We're Letting the Bad Times Roll!
I love The Offspring, long live The Offspring
“Ohhhh, baby let the bad times roll, oh, oh, oh, oh
Yeah, fuck it, let the bad times roll”
Let the Bad Times Roll is a single off The Offspring's 2021 studio album of the same name. Let the Bad Times Roll, the album, was released in 2021, but the song itself was written far earlier, during Donald Trump’s first presidency. Thanks to various factors, like band interpersonal conflict and COVID-19 quarantines, the album, including this song, wasn’t available for public consumption until 2021.
I actually think Let the Bad Times Roll is a song much more suited to the Trump 2.0 era, at least from what I’m witnessing. Trump’s first term was marked with shock and horror, fear and rage from the center-left coalition. Bless our hearts, we still thought we could fix this terrible, flukey aberration. But Trump wasn’t, and isn’t, an aberration. We know that now. Our fight is different this time. We knew little if any joy and pleasure during Trump’s first term. We were willing to largely set that aside to stay the course and devote as much time and energy as possible to fighting this scourge. Now? Things are different. This time around, we’re exhausted, but much wiser. We know what to expect, and we’re more sophisticated. This time, we know to keep something for ourselves. We know that quiet forms of resistance exist, and can be quite effective.
This time around, we know to keep joy and pleasure in our lives. Let the Bad Times Roll is a catchy, upbeat song blending punk and pop genres. It beckons a dance party while speaking truth to power, and if that doesn’t describe the current vibe, I don’t know what does! Yeah, I’d like to believe we’re choosing neither “apathy or suicide”, that we won’t allow a fascist erasure of the truth. But, tell me readers, do you think I’m right in my perceptions? Are we better at saving truth and joy this time around? Because I have enough self-awareness to realize and admit that this is more personal meditation than fact-checked reporting. I’m in my feelings a little here.
Last week my daughter brought home a wretched but mercifully brief twenty-four hour bug from daycare. I’m sad to say it caught me Thursday night and wrecked every last ounce of productivity I otherwise would’ve possessed on Friday. But I love the articles and book recs I’d been planning to share on the last day of Black History Month, so better late than never, I will leave them with you today!
Articles to Share:
“Don’t Fall for Candace Owen's Rebrand” by E.J. Dickson, The Cut: In addition to sharp reporting, Dickson offers a short but gut-punching masterclass in how easy it is to fall for propaganda! An essential read for these troubling times
“This is a Culture War Not a Class War” by Smug’s Substack: An interesting and thought-provoking article about our country’s political divide, what may be causing it, why Democrats fumble so hard. I’m not even sure I agree with it wholesale, but the author has clearly thought deeply on the issue and offers some compelling argument. I’m curious what others think as well.
“Horror is so ALIVE in 2025” by Sadie Hartmann, Mother Horror on Substack: 2025 is really an *amazing* year for the horror novels, and Hartmann lists off some of the best! Your brain will delight, your wallet will not :)
Currently Reading:
Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age by Katherine May (nonfiction)
Joyland by Stephen King (fiction)
Book Recommendations:
NONFICTION:
Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres by Kalefa Sanneh
I loved this book! Kalefa Sanneh, a cultural critic and columnist for The New Yorker, traces the history of Rock, R&B, Country, Punk, Hip-Hop, Dance, and Punk in seven distinct chapters. An ambitious project, but one that delivers on its promise. Sanneh contextualizes each genre within its place in history, culture, race, and commerce. You’ll learn a ton of trivia, plus really think about why you love and hate the popular music that you do. And, if you’re like me, prepare to be surprised when it comes to picking your favorite chapter, because it may not line up with your most favored musical genre! Anyways, buy this book now, it’s one of my favorite reads of recent years.
FICTION:
American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson
Oh my, this novel is incredible. Lauren Wilkinson penned a work of historical fiction based on real events involving the CIA taking out the president of Burkina Faso in the 1980s. Tense, riveting, challenging, but compulsively readable, devourable. A spy novel with a woman protagonist, I love it!
TBR for Me:
Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall
Happy March everyone!