Thinking of something clever to post alongside anything which could remotely be considered band promo—yours or someone else’s—is difficult on normal days.
These are not normal days.
We’re still muddling our way through this pandemic with over 160,000 dead Americans, the economy is on tenterhooks, 40% of Americans are at risk of losing their homes this month, and the administration is eroding the USPS before our very eyes in order to suppress the vote. (My grandma—a political refugee, no less—was a decades-long USPS employee; this is a particularly personal kick in the teeth for me.)
So: please consider this week’s selection of songs as the soundtrack to your activism.
What can you do?
- For a start: make sure you’re registered to vote. Pretty sure you’re registered already? Verify that you are registered over at vote.org—I did this yesterday, and it takes less than a minute.
- Who better to tell you how to help than the people who need it? US Mail Not For Sale is a postal worker-led campaign. Visit their website to find out how you can help defend the USPS.
- Make a voting plan. These people are trying to make it as difficult as possible for you to vote. The good news is we’re much smarter than these assholes. (Moral clarity will add +10 to your INT score, or so I’ve heard.)
- Twitter user @chicklette_ put together an incredible Google Doc with mail-in voting deadlines for each state.
- Find your polling place in case you need to go in person.
- Vote early if you can.
- Contact your representatives in Congress. Listening to you is what we sent these folks to D.C. for in the first place. Indivisible Guide remains a prime resource on best practices. • Find your representatives here.
- Donate. There are a lot of great organizations already out there doing a lot of legwork to get shit done. Consider helping out by donating or volunteering—or both!. (Two of my personal go-tos are EMILY’s List and the ACLU.)
There are people are there far smarter than I out there getting shit done, so do a bit of homework when you can. I promise I’ll do the same.
Things are hard, but they’re not hopeless. Let’s work to make this all a little less difficult, shall we?
Oh yeah, here are some tunes.
xoxo,
Elvis Bustelo
- “Please Mr. Postman” — The Marvelettes
- “Morning in America” — Durand Jones & The Indications • Bandcamp
- “Am Gold” — Nicole Atkins • Bandcamp
- “Lucky” — Ganser • Bandcamp
- “Sweatshop” — De Staat • Website
- “You” — Laura Jean Anderson • Website
- “Let The Good Times Roll” — JD McPherson • Website
- “Better Better” — Devil Love • Website
- “Now or Never Now” — Carissa Johnson, Steph Curran • Website
- “Red Shoulder” — Squirrel Flower • Bandcamp
- “Black & Blue” — MAWD • Website
- “Fear” — Seratones • Bandcamp
- “Error 35” — Party Muscles • Facebook
- “Clementine” — Hanorah • Bandcamp
- “Benson Arizona” — Emma Cole • Website
- “Little Old Money Maker” — The Meters
- “I Don’t Need No One” — Allen Toussaint, Willie West
