“Well, at one time, you’ve got it, and then you lose it, and it’s gone forever.“- Sick Boy, Trainspotting.

It’s hard to keep an open mind to new art. I can’t quite pinpoint when or how our brains stop accepting fresh stuff and delve into times long gone, but when it happens, it happens, and it’s all downhill from there.

I was rewatching Homerpalooza, an old episode of The Simpsons, a couple of days ago and it hit me like a hammer. It’s time, the brutal, cruel passage of time. Aired in 1996 and having a quote like “everyone knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It’s a scientific fact.”, now that episode is older than the 22 years between Grand Funk Railroad’s hey day and Homer’s NIN and Sonic Youth shock. Today, NIN and Sonic Youth are no longer ‘it’, they changed what ‘it’ was. Now what I’m with isn’t ‘it’ anymore and what’s ‘it’ seems weird and scary. And it’ll happen to you!

Fret not. Fresh music, with a few familiar faces facilitating your frowns. From Mexico, check out Margaritas Podridas, Sgt Papers, Mint Field, El Shirota, Leonora Post Punk, and Diles que no me maten. If you feel the need for more fuzzy madness, Church of the Cosmic Skull will pull you out of The Cookie Club and take you to the once proud remains of Broadmarsh. Scupper your chances at cordiality with All them witches. And if it’s warmth what you want, there’s A flock of Dimes with some of the most honestly brutal pop sincerity I’ve heard in a while.

Stay hard to find.