#eric mcgrady

[nofatclips]

Letter by DEHD out on @firetalk - director/editor: Ryan Hart

[thebowerypresents]

DEHD – Brooklyn Steel – October 20, 2024

DEHD were back in Brooklyn on Sunday, the Chicago trio making the weekend last just a little bit longer, playing from their fifth studio album, the spare but energetic Poetry, at Brooklyn Steel.

Photos courtesy of Adela Loconte | www.adelaloconte.com

[karmaalwayswins]

Dehd perform a live set on KEXP in 2022.

Video Credit: KEXP

[rookieoneil]

Tim: no Ashley’s great

Angela: her names Ashley? That’s not even a real name, like ballswick or cathward

Tim: I think Ashley is a real name.

Angela: yeah well what do you know? Your not even dating Lucy

Tim: what?

Angela: what?

[summerongrand]

All Of The Girls You Loved Before (Tim Bradford Has a Type)

Chapter 1: Every Dead End Street

Tim Bradford has a type—but what exactly is it? Through a series of relationships, from pre-Isabel to beyond Lucy, Tim’s preferences become clearer. So, what is Tim really looking for? It might not be what (or who) you think.

For Lucy, watching Tim date another white woman was difficult on two levels. First, there was the social construction behind it. Growing up, Lucy had too often seen men like Tim—attractive, strong, the quintessential “leading men”—end up with white women in every movie, TV show, and magazine cover. It was the same tired narrative, recycled endlessly, woven into the fabric of society: the white partner, the ultimate prize. And it hit a nerve for Lucy. It made her feel unseen, not just as a woman, but as an Asian woman with zero representation in this regard, erased by the narrow standards that society still upholds. Seeing Tim date his “type” was yet another reminder of how women of color were often overlooked, their beauty, value, worth and desirability pushed to the side for women like Ashley. And even though she didn’t want it to, this kind of repeated exposure throughout her life led to Lucy losing her own authenticity. She recalled how the way she referred to her grandmother felt like a subtle form of washing away her own culture. In a documentary, Lucy called her grandma Anna "Nana," a term that, while endearing, wasn’t true to her nor her culture. It served as a reminder that, in an effort to appease the general public, there was a tendency to adopt language that fit a more user-friendly narrative, leading to her obscuring her own identity in the process. So even though Lucy could, in theory, alter her appearance, she would never do that to fit someone else’s narrow ideal of the kind of girl who "belongs" with a guy like Tim. It wasn’t just about changing her looks—it was the insidious message behind it that being herself wasn’t enough. The idea that, to be with a man like Tim, she would have to conform to an impossible and toxic beauty standard that erased her own identity was dangerous. It implied that to be seen, to be accepted, she’d have to strip away the very essence of who she was. And even if she tried, she would still be Lucy Chen. She would still look like someone from her own culture. Pretending to fit a mold that was never meant for her wouldn’t make her feel more seen—it would only deepen her sense of invisibility, making her feel like she was disappearing from herself. And there was no way in hell that Lucy Chen was going to whitewash herself for Tim, or for anyone else.

Read the full chapter here.

[sinceileftyoublog]

Square Roots 2022: 7/8-7/9

BY JORDAN MAINZER

In its first incarnation since the pandemic, Lincoln Square’s preeminent summer street festival, Square Roots, continued its penchant for expanding the average person’s definition of “roots” music. This year’s lineup, with the likes of Bob Mould and DEHD, made the case for punk being just as big of a part of America’s roots as any type of music, while still showcasing the best of the Midwest in folk and indie rock.

Ten years ago, the best reason to see Mould would be to hear a pitch-perfect mix of classic songs from Hüsker Dü, Sugar, and his perennially underrated solo career. But over the past six years, specifically, he’s been on a real heater. 2016′s Patch the Sky is potentially his best post-Workbook solo record, and unlike last time I saw him, Friday night, he played both “Voices in My Head” and “Black Confetti”, the former a nice change of tempo after a flurry of Hüsker Dü heavyweights like “Never Talking to You Again” and “Celebrated Summer”. 2019′s Sunshine Rock had its moments, and Mould burned through one of its unabashed highlights, the unintentionally Yeah Yeah Yeahs quoting title track. And as this will be the first year Mould will be able to fully tour his pummeling protest album, 2020′s Blue Hearts (Merge), it was the solo album from which he thankfully pulled the most. Bassist Jason Narducy offered soaring harmonies on “Siberian Butterfly” and screams on “Next Generation”, while “Forecast Of Rain” and “The Ocean” played the role of “Voices In My Head” in the set, a break before the flurry of madness.

Guided By Voices, meanwhile, are used to Mould’s challenge. They’ve released two of three planned albums in 2022, and both are some of the strongest with the Robert Pollard-Doug Gillard-Bobby Bare Jr.-Mark Shue-Kevin March lineup. Both Crystal Nuns Cathedral and Tremblers And Goggles By Rank (Guided by Voices Inc.) continue the band’s prog rock-inspired streak. A few songs on the former are bolstered by cello from Chris George, like the slow-lurching, yet mammoth “Eye City”. Saturday night, GBV played what I thought would be the most challenging of those to pull off life, “Climbing A Ramp”, which is almost entirely built on George’s strings. That said, Gillard, who rips solos with the best of them, carried the song to the end and right into his masterpiece “I Am A Tree”. I would have liked to have heard a song like “Re-Develop”, with its soaring vocals around acoustic-to-electric guitar lines, or “Never Mind The List”, a tune that has the potential to become a crowd shout-along for years to come. “Go inside, let us play / And I’ll always throw another list away,” sings Pollard on that one, perhaps referring to the band’s time-honored tradition of giving away their setlists at the end of shows.

Tremblers And Goggles By Rank, on the other hand, basks in the lyrical non-sequiturs that define GBV, returning from the rare moments of thematic clarity on Crystal Nuns Cathedral. As it’s the more recent of the two, the band played from it more than they did any album, even Bee Thousand or Alien Lanes. They led off the set with the choppy “Unproductive Funk”. “Boomerang” was the clanging respite between anthems “Tractor Rape Chain” and “The Best of Jill Hives”. Of the two The Who Sell Out-inspired tunes on Tremblers And Goggles By Rank, Pollard and company opted for the power pop of “Alex Bell” over the album’s pseudo title track. While “Alex Bell” is a name portmanteau of two of the co-founders of Big Star, its ambitious structure is certainly a far cry from the ear candy of Chilton and Chris Bell. I was perhaps most surprised to hear 6+-minute Tremblers closer “Who Wants To Go Hunting”, which makes use of pianos and timpani; Gillard at least triggered some noise for good measure.

The two bands that played before Guided By Voices on the festival’s main stage have been following formulas that work for them for years, kind of like GBV themselves (well, up until these past few years’ delving into prog rock). But instead of indie rock ditties, Chicago’s DEHD thrive with lovelorn surf punk and Minneapolis’ The Cactus Blossoms with languid country folk. The former recently released their fourth studio album and Fat Possum debut Blue Skies, produced by the band’s singer/guitarist Jason Balla and mixed and mastered by heavyweights Craig Silvey and Heba Kadry, respectively. Indeed, Blue Skies combines the ethos of previous records like Flower Of Devotion with more tools at the band’s disposal, from the personnel involved to access to more instruments. It’s their best record yet, but its success is more due to the band refining what they do to a science. “Run, baby run” and “Walk, baby walk” are calls that pervade two of the live highlights from the new album, bopping even more than “Dream Baby Dream”. The former comes from Blue Skies lead single “Bad Love”, which combines almost all of the things DEHD do well: Emily Kempf’s bellowing vocals, Balla’s twangy guitars, drummer Eric McGrady’s two-snare gallop. “Run, baby, run / Run from the bad love / New love baby, come on honey, gimme some,” is a paean to the optimism of summer crushes, tailor made for a festival set.

The Cactus Blossoms played greatly from their most recent album One Day (Walkie Talkie), whose best songs combine dark themes with breezy instrumentals. Despite the googly eyed choogle of a song like “Desperado” or the retro sway of “I’m Calling You”, the brother-led band isn’t all roses, and One Day exemplifies their complexity. Take a track like “Ballad of an Unknown”, soft psychedelia that’s actually a story about a vagrant suffering from society’s lack of care, the opposite of hippie idealism. On “Is It Over”, Jack Torrey and Page Burkum sing, “All washed up, you're bound to fall / Just waiting for the curtain call,” a sense of fatalism hovering above their pleasantries. Of course, listening to the band in a crowd of people drinking good beer is pleasant, not lost on The Cactus Blossoms. One Day’s “Everybody” was a surefire set highlight despite its absence of Jenny Lewis (who guests on the studio version). “Everybody tryin’ to do what’s right / Everybody stayin’ up all night / Everybody waitin’ for the light,” is a simple, but true sentiment, especially heartfelt delivered in unison with a buzzed crowd. And of course, You’re Dreaming centerpiece “Change Your Ways Or Die” is the best tick-tock chug this side of the late, great Walkmen.

Overall, Square Roots continues to be the best street festival of the summer thanks to its cohesive identity. I can’t wait to see what comes in 2023.

[lxnelylxnely]

[iwaseasymeat]

DEHD - Lake (live @ Union Pool 5/17/19)

[abductionradiation]

Chicago, IL -- Dehd, trio of Emily Kempf (vocals/bass), Jason Balla (vocals/guitar), and Eric McGrady (drums), will be releasing their sophomore album Flower of Devotion on July 17 via Fire Talk. This week, they shared the lead single titled “Loner”. With the song hitting just over 3 minutes long, Dehd showcases how their sound is a tad more polished this round. “Loner” hits that perfect in-between of post-punk angst and jangly indie rock, from the light strums of the guitar to the punchy vocals. 

On “Loner,” Kempf reflects on a period of self-focus and isolation, examining her self-sufficiency and how to be alone.

Connect with Dehd:

Official Site | Instagram

[nofatclips]

Lala Lala remix of Desire by Dehd from the album Flower of Devotion Remixed, out on @firetalk

[taylorkellyreporting]

she looks so sad i wanna hug her ☹️ but pining lucy’s gonna eat idc idc eventually it’ll be mutual pining then boom chenford endgame STAY WITH ME

[westwingwolf]

True love is knowing your partner's issues with mushrooms.

[karihighman]

Late night filming = great chaotic posts from these guys 🙌😅👏 gotta love it! It’s officially ChrisChen & Ashford y’all (still rooting for Chenford endgame!!)

[blris96]

Eric, Melissa, Helena and Kanoa are professional pot stirrers. They know what they’re doing.

Plus, they posted those on April Fools (with how much they clown around on set, no way they don’t know it’s April Fools) 😂😂.

We’re fine.

[crzredhead44]

I am sooo annoyed with the character Ashley! Her character in general is lame. Don’t get me wrong, she seems like a nice girl and all, but there is just something about her that doesn’t sit right and doesn’t make sense. Tim really thinks that this chick is “the one”?!? C’mon, yeah freaking right. This chick is a 30 something year old with a chosen career path of being a Lifeguard? This isn’t summer camp, nor is it Baywatch, lets be real! Also, no hate on the real lifeguards (shoutout to all y’all). This just doesn’t make sense for hard-ass Police Sergeant, Tim Bradford to be dating a girl like this. At least Rachel was in Social Services - don’t want to say it, but THAT relationship made more sense. I get that Ashley’s dad (Jerry) was a police officer (and we don’t have a full backstory on her yet), but a part of me feels like she’s a BADGE BUNNY! I also understand that she has childhood trauma with dogs, but the whole Kojo thing made it seem like she wanted Tim to chose between her and the dog (which really pissed me off). She also had NO business calling Lucy to ask about it - isn’t that why you have a boyfriend - call HIM about your issues with his dog. She acts like a freaking teenager and last week’s episode made me feel like I was watching those three as high schoolers 🙄. Lastly, I feel that Tim doesn’t want to be mean to Ashley and act like himself because of who her father is. Tim you have really created a mess trying out this relationship, and Lucy, babe, stop trying to be so helpful and excited about everyone else’s relationships - worry about yourself.

You would think that I’d love the fact that there is a character on my favorite show named Ashley, because that’s my name, but I legit despise it. I hate hearing that name come out of Tim or Lucy’s mouths. I literally cringe every time it’s said. I’d rather Rachel come back for this love triangle thing that’s kinda going on. I’m hopeful that Tim finds a reason to kick Ashley to the curb - she’s not the one, bro! You would’ve thought that his girlfriend not liking his dog and questioning the breakfast thing was a red flag - wake the F up, Timothy!

Sorry for the rant! I’m very passionate when it comes to Tim & Lucy. To the fictional character(s) Gods, send help. 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

[sophiaisthatgirl]