there was a considerable amount of frustration last week following the announcement a media outlet that at one time seemed part of the fabric of everyone’s routine was essentially being shut down by ownership. And while I would never applaud anyone losing their jobs, in the case of The Hard Times, yeah, this was a moment for celebration. Fuck that unfunny pseudo-Onion-putting-the-tired-in-satire fucking garbage. If you ever sent me a link to that shit or posted one FOR SHAME.

In the overall scheme of “Hard Times”, here’s how they’re ranked :

1) Dusty’s oft-imitated / never equalled promo
2) Walter Hill’s 1975 film starring Charles Bronson as a barnstorming bare-knuckle fighter
3) every other use of the phrase “Hard Times” or the words “hard” and “times” appearing on the same page or screen
4) the website, The Hard Times.

(As it stands, the outlet in question turned out to be Sports Illustrated. RIP FOOTBALL PHONE)

Memo PST – Way Too Late (For Me)
Pitchman – Shrinker
Variety – Plover
Greymouth – Front Porch (had dry rot)
Death Puppy – Star Spangled Sickness
Afterbirth – All I Want Is Two
Usurper – Concert For Your Home
The Missing Brazilians – Gentle Killers (feat. Annie Anxiety
Gherkin Jerks – Red Planet
A Bad Diana – Behind The Curtain of The Sun
Blackbody Radiation – Particle Float
Mia Loucks – Let Me Live
Ceramacist – Take Me Out At The Ball Game
Khanate – Clean My Heart
Jim White – Names Make The Name
Sandy Ewen & Jason Nazary – Under A Dripping
Young Echo – Psychology Of Destructive Cult Leaders
Jon Collin & Demdike Stare – Side A of ‘Minerals’
Anthony Moore – A Chime Of Psalters
Cyrus Pireh – Erased And Marginalized Original Persons of The Electric Guitar