chickfactor lists 2024: round four

Birdie

Paul Kelly (Birdie/East Village): Top Ten London Pubs
I should probably keep some of these pubs secret but hopefully most readers are in the US anyway.

The Betsey Trotwood – Farringdon Road, EC1
King Charles 1st – Northdown Street, N1
The Shakespeare – Arlington Way, EC1
The Angel – St Giles High Street, WC2
The Dolphin Tavern – Red Lion Street, WC1
Hemingford Arms – Hemingford Rd, N1
Bradley’s Spanish Bar – Hanway Street, W1
The Lamb – Lamb’s Conduit Street, WC1
The Blue Posts – Berwick Street, Soho
Cittie of Yorke – High Holborn, WC1

Erin Moran (A Girl Called Eddy)
My Top 10 Albums of 2024 (new releases and new to me discoveries)
1. The Lemon Twigs/A Dream is All We Know
2. Laetitia Sadier/Rooting for Love
3. Jerry Merrick/Follow
4. High Llamas/ Hey Panda
5. The Cure/ Songs of a Lost World
6. Blossom Dearie/ Verve-Third Man Special Edition
7. The Pearlfishers/ Making Tapes for Girls
8. Joni Mitchell/ Hejira Demos
9. Walter Wanderley/Kee-Ka-Roo
10 Rod Stewart /Never a Dull Moment

Top 5 Dutch Artworks Visited by Jim and Emily with Belgian Beer Pairings

1. Rembrandt’s The Night Watch – Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Pair with – St Bernardus Christmas Ale. “A strong, dark, quadrupel, It tastes of licorice, apricots and marzipan.”

2. Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring – Maurits Huis, Den Haag. Pairs well with Chimay Grande Reserve (blue) Trappist Ale. “It exhibits a considerable depth of fruity, peppery character (including hints of plum, raisin and nutmeg).”

3. Frans Hal’s The Regentesses of the Old Men’s Almhouse Haarlem – Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem. Pair with a Cherry Chouffe, “a Belgian Brown Ale – with cherries added. Ruby-tinted, it has a full cherry aroma with notes of strawberry, almond, spices, and port. Round-bodied, soft, and delicate, it has a satisfying finish, with very slight bitterness.”

4. Dom Tower and Church, Utrecht – Paired here with La Trappe Tripel, “a strong coppery-gold Trappist ale with an off-white foamy head and an enticing aroma of fruit, honey and spice. Coriander adds an herbally spicy note to its fruity, well-balanced bittersweet taste.”

5. Rietveld Schroeder Huis, Utrecht – Pairs nicely with St. Bernardus Wit “The Aroma is wheaty, with apple-like tartness; herbal-spicy notes of coriander, white pepper and orange peel are complemented by a light, honey-like sweetness.”

All descriptions taken from the Belgian Style Ales website.

Jessica Pratt / Photo: Renee Parkhurst

Gail O’Hara / chickfactor editor in chief 
Jessica Pratt, Here in the Pitch
The Innocence Mission, Midwinter Swimmers
Yea-Ming and the Rumours, I Can’t Have It All
The Umbrellas, Fairweather Friend
Rachel Love, Lyra
Chime School, The Boy Who Ran the Paisley Hotel
Myriam Gendron, Mayday
Reds Pinks and Purples, Unwishing Well
The Softies, The Bed I Made
La Luz, News of the Universe
Tara Jane O’Neil, Cool Cloud of Okayness
William Tyler, Future Myths
Milton Nascimento + Esperanza Spalding, Milton + esperanza
Tears Run Rings, Everything in the End
The Green Child, Look Familiar
High Llamas, Hey Panda
Pernice Brothers, Who Will You Believe
Kathryn Williams and Withered Hand, Willson Williams
Yasmin Williams, Acadia
Kate Bollinger, Songs from a Thousand Frames of Mind
Magic Fig, S/T
Mt Misery, Love in Mind
Jim White and Marisa Anderson, Swallowtail
Mary Timony, Untame the Tiger
Broadcast, Spell Blanket + Distant Call
Ladybug Transistor, Albemarle Sound
Birdie, Some Dusty (oh hey, yes, I wrote the liner notes!)
Sacred Paws, Another Day
Iraina Mancini, Sugar High (St Etienne Version) I played this endlessly
The Clientele, Trains in the Night + Claire’s Not Real
The Cords, Bo’s New Haircut/Rather Not Stay

+ also too:
– Karaoke parties: highlight was Janice Headley’s version of Cibo Matto’s “Birthday Cake”
– Road trips: Going to Olympia with JJ, Nancy and Yvonne was super-fun (save for the drive home) and we got to see Lois and Heather Dunn play together and Lois even slayed the room as Calvin in “C Is the Heavenly Option” – EPIC!
– Timberline outing with visiting pals
– USWNT winning Olympic Gold: triple espresso FTW!
– Portland Thorns (esp. beating Orlando and witnessing 12 years of #12 Captain Christine Sinclair): Please stop trading away our favorite players and hire more women in the NWSL FFS.
– Portland Timbers (esp. beating the cup winning LA Galaxy): Please get a new owner and GM ASAP.
– West Coast Heavenly Tour; TMF 69LS friend reunions; YLT + Built to Spill; Alvvays and the Beths in the town square. Swansea Sound + meeting Hue

Me and Charles at the studio making the album
I had my head down most of the year making my upcoming album (shameless plug: my first “solo” album, Space, comes out 2.28 on Mother West), but when I wasn’t recording or obsessing over something or other about the record, I was loving experiencing the following things:
SONGS
“Dominoes” by Mary Timony
“A Little Longer” by Johanna Samuels
“Slim Pickings” by Sabrina Carpenter
Girl, So Confusing by Charli xcx (feat Lorde)
“Tiny Flame” by The Softies
“Right Back To It” by Waxahatchee feat MJ Lenderman
“Deeper Well” by Kacey Musgraves
FILMS
Flipside by Chris Wilcha
23 Mile by Mitch McCabe
A Complete Unknown by James Mangold
LIVE SHOWS
Magnetic Fields two nights in a row in LA with Gail Chickfactor
Mary Timony at the Lodge Room
Matthew Caws (solo) at a KCSN event at Houdini’s old mansion in LA
Kacey Musgraves in Dallas
Ladybug Transistor at Lodge Room
Mac DeMarco at the Greek with my nephew
Mitski and Sharon Van Etten at the Hollywood Bowl
The Love Hangover at The Bowery Ballroom in NYC
Matthew Edwards at SYZYGY in SF
Joni Mitchell and Friends at the Bowl
Will Sheff at this groovy stoner event at the Philosophical Research Society (and I even got to sing a song with him),
Joan Wasser at the Cha Cha Lounge in LA.
Friends and fam at The Hotel Cafe
OTHER STUFF
Buying my niece her first guitar (she chose a Fender acoustic).

Hosting a residency at Hotel Cafe in October and playing every week was great for me to brush up on my act as a performer. It was also a wonderful way to gather old and new friends. Benjamin Cartel, Nicole Lawrence, Alie Byland, and Eli Wulfmeier opened the shows, and they were excellent.

Making time for long, healthy hikes with friends in and around LA (a bonus of living here).

Feeling very ladylike by joining The Huntington in Pasadena, which hosts the most beautiful art collections and has huge botanical gardens to get lost in. My friends and I took our moms there for high tea, and it was so sweet.

I spent 3 days in Palma de Mallorca for a friend’s big birthday. It was stunning, and I would love to go back. Shout out to all the pastry shops in Palma and the beautiful beaches.
I got to spend time in Detroit with my Dad and play my now annual holiday show at a little dive bar called The Polka Dot.

Wrangling many of my friends to play on my new record in LA, Detroit, and NYC, and wrangling others to make content with me and artwork and all of the things that go into making and promoting an album. Feeling very grateful.

Dickon Edwards

SONGS:
Chappell Roan, ‘Good Luck, Babe!’,
Jessica Pratt, ‘Life Is’
Gigi Perez, ‘The Sailor Song’
Tess Parks, ‘California’s Dreaming’
Pet Shop Boys, ‘Loneliness’
Bruno Mars and Rosé, ‘APT.’
Claire Rousay, ‘Head’
Laurie Anderson, ‘Road to Mandalay’
Emma Anderson, ‘Taste The Air (Julia Holter Mix)’
Charley Stone, ‘Free Food’
Janis, Perez & YANIS, ‘Pharmacoliberation’
Noel, ‘Dancing is Dangerous’
Abstract Crimewave ‘The Longest Night’
Fuse ODG, ‘We Know It’s Christmas’

BOOKS (fiction):
Alan Hollinghurst, Our Evenings
Nat Reeve, Earlyfate
H. Gareth Gavin, Never Was
Khaled Alesmael, Selamlik
Chloe Michelle Howarth, Sunburn
Iain Sinclair, Pariah Genius
Justin Torres, Blackouts
Adam Macqueen Haunted Tales
Henry Van Dyke, Ladies of the Rachmaninoff Eyes (reissue)

BOOKS (non-fiction / memoir)
Katherine Bucknell, Christopher Isherwood Inside Out
Claire Dederer, Monsters
Xiaolu Guo, My Battle of Hastings
Liam Konemann, The Appendix
Salman Rushdie, Knife
Hanif Kureishi, Shattered
Claude Cahun, Cancelled Confessions

BOOKS (poetry):
Peter Scalpello, Limbic
JP Seabright, George Parker, Jaime Lock, Not Your Orlando
Camille Ralphs, After You Were, I Am
Jen Calleja, Goblinhood (poems and essays)

FILMS / TV:
Orlando, My Political Biography
Wilding
Scala!
Poor Things
Past Lives
Feud: Capote Vs the Swans

PLACES:
The Goat Ledge Beach Cafe, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex
Black Gull Books, St Leonards
Cute (exhibition), Somerset House, London

Oed Ronne (The Ocean Blue)
There were four standout records I heard this year, 3 of which came from people I was hashtag blest to play shows with this year.

Photos of Happy by Oed Ronne
Bart and the Bedazzled – Blue Motel
We got to play a few shows with Bart and his band the Bedazzled this year – all charming, warm, and incredibly talented. Man, Bart has the ability to command the room. Though a few years old, this record was in the background of all year long for me. Absolutely lovely.
Asteroid No.4 – Several Shapes of Solar Flares
We also got to play a few shows with Asteroid No. 4 for a few shows this last year. Always rocking sunglasses and walls of melody and guitars. Amazing band.

Fave track: Rescue

Wayne Faler – Wayne Faler 
Wayne plays guitar in Bart’s band and on this, his debut, he sort of reminds me of Deebank-era Felt and the Go-Betweens. I love the way the 7/4 hook of Millwood St sucks you in. I’m at risk of wearing this album out for reals.

Fave track: Millwood St

The Tyde – Season 5
Thank goodness there was a new Tyde record this year. Kind of stylisitically the same touchstones but also here with a dash of Mike Post and more of a tropical flavor. I love this record.

Fave track: Heal Thyself

label spotlight: shelflife records

Ed at Toffee Club in Portland. (Photo: Gail O’Hara)

Shelflife Records
label head: Ed Mazzucco
location: Portland, Oregon

as part of a new series focusing on indie labels, we introduce (those who don’t already know him) y’all to Ed Shelflife! Not too surprisingly, he also has a day job, is a massive karaoke aficionado, is a soccer dad, cat lover and longtime vegan! Shelflife has put out loads of records that we adore. Meet Ed…

chickfactor: What year did you start a label? Where? Why? 
Ed Mazzucco: Shelflife started in 1995 from my bedroom in Southern California.  I was inspired by a lot of the great international bands I was discovering at the time and I really wanted to help get these bands a little more exposure in the US.  That was basically the label’s mission at the time and our first release (the Whirl-Wheels compilation) was the product of that.  

What has been the most fun bit about running a label? 
I love working with so many amazing artists and helping bring their visions to life.  I never grow tired of holding a brand new release in my hands for the first time. It’s a pretty magical experience working from start to finish with our artists to create a product together that will soon be shared and loved by our community.  I put a lot of time and energy into making each and every release the best it can be.

What have been the biggest challenges? 
Right now the vinyl production bottleneck is causing me quite a headache.  It’s all a bit insane, going from 3-4 month to 6-7 month turnaround times.  We are doing our best to navigate through it, but really hoping the plants can catch back up in 2022.  

What are the top sellers of all time on yr label? 
Off the top of my head, probably Airiel, The Radio Dept, and The Ocean Blue.   

What new stuff are you working on in the coming year? 
We just released wonderful new albums by The Catenary Wires (ex-Heavenly), Always You, and Pastel Coast.  We haven’t announced our fall releases just yet, but there are some really exciting things coming up.  

What labels have inspired you? 
Factory, Sarah, and Slumberland are the first to come to mind. Slumberland probably was the most influential for me in starting Shelflife.  I still remember writing letters to Mike asking for advice.  

How do you find new records (not on your label)? 
Usually word of mouth from friends or sometimes on Instagram.  

What are some great record stores and mail orders still operating? 
I have to give a shout out to My Vinyl Underground in Portland, OR.  Hands down the best indiepop shop around today.  

Ed DJing at the Indiepop Brunch, the Toffee Club in Portland a few years ago. Photo: Gail O’Hara

Can people get your releases outside your country? 
Yes, but sadly shipping costs and taxes are making it harder these days.  Our solution has been to work with an overseas partner label on most of our releases, so fans can have a local label to service them.  That helps a lot with keeping shipping costs down.  

What bands/records are you really excited about? 
I have been really into the new Lightning Bug “A Color Of The Sky” LP and Submotile’s “Sonic Day Codas” CD.  

What are you drinking, eating, listening to, reading, watching these days? 
drinking: Fort George 3-Way IPA
eating: Modern Times Crunchwrap
watching: Unsellable Houses on HGTV

Do you also play music? Tell us about it. 
Yes, I play guitar in Tears Run Rings.  We’re working on our 4th album right now. 

Anything else you would like to add!? 
Thanks Gail for the interview.  We miss you in Portland.  Go Timbers!

Ed loves futbol!

rewind 2020: top whatever lists from artists, writers and musicians (round one)

Erin Moran (a.k.a. A Girl Called Eddy)

Best things about 2020: 

The Dodo on Instagram. Heartwarming stories about our animal buddies. Kept me sane(ish). 

* Flaming Lips, American Head

* New sink/faucet/counter action in my apartment. Cheap and cheerful but what a difference in my “quality of life”

* Wine

* Finally getting my new record out. Yay. 

* Being alive. All the rest is gravy. 

John Jervis (WIAIWYA)

Ten obsessions during lockdown

Broken Greek by Pete Paphides – lovely, just lovely, but you all know this, right?… you no doubt all have it already, and have been similarly enjoying it (both physically, and as an audiobook) throughout lockdown, listening to the accompanying playlist, thinking about your own childhood, remembering your own teen music obsessions… also, not bragging, but the last gig I went to was the book launch (Chrissie Hynde! David Arnold! Mike Batt! – basically, a better lineup than Live Aid) and the last non-partner hug I had was from Pete!

Jackie Mittoo – working from home has meant listening to more music during the day, and after a few weeks of trying different playlists to see what was easiest to work with (I went through a lot of Dungeon Synth, ’60s soundtracks, and ambient tracks), I settled on instrumental reggae, ska, rocksteady and dub, which in turn has led to a minor obsession with Jackie Mittoo records… solid gold…

Spun Out of Control – a cassette label that went vinyl during 2020 – broadly they release creepy electronic not-soundtracks to nonexistent horror films that have become the actual soundtrack to a LOT of walks through empty West London streets this year… treat yourself to the Sleepers by Hattie Cooke:

Double Deckers – “The chocolate bar is structured in two layers; a lightly whipped nougat layer, with a lower layer of cereal “crispies,” these are then coated in milk chocolate”… need I say more?

Disaster films – this year I’ve been watching a LOT of worlds ending, buildings collapsing, planes crashing, volcanoes erupting, diseases spreading, boats sinking and SHARKS… the Poseidon Adventure is the best one

Singing Streets app – I tend to walk the same streets for my daily exercise, it’s just easier not having to think… the Singing Streets app was launched at the start of September, and I found out, among other things, that Bryan Ferry’s Studio (where Prince recorded!), the house where Freddie wrote BoRap and the caff off the front of Common People were all on my daily route… I branched out to walks from where Dan Treacy went to school to where Syd Barrett lived (via the Troubadour, David Gilmour’s old flat, the Nashville Rooms and the Beggars Banquet shop) and from the studio where Buzzcocks recorded “What Do I Get?” and “Orgasm Addict” on 9 Sept 1977 to the place Bolan died one week later.

Discogs – Finally catching up with adding all my records to Discogs, realising how much utter rubbish I have, having a clear out, and using the money from any sales to treat myself to deluxe versions of Saint Etienne albums, and…

Paul Collins  I Don’t Fit In, the Paul Collins autobiography was announced over the summer, copies came with a 7-inch but postage from the states was crippling… a discogs sale for exactly the value of the book, record and postage, came in and I bought the book, all in a couple of minutes… I listened to a LOT of the Nerves this year too…

Joy Division – I’ve always dismissed them as a not-as-good OMD, with a good song I’m a bit bored of (you know the one) and a great song that keeps getting better (Atmosphere), but a combination of the Stephen Morris book (excellent, really funny, tragic) and the Transmissions podcast narrated by Maxine Peake has led to a reappraisal, and finally listening to a pair of 40-year-old albums… turns out they’re pretty good (not as good as OMD though)… 

Very early pre-orders – ordering records, forgetting about them, and getting them in the post months later is great… in 2020 new ones from Taylor Swift and Kelly Lee Owens arrived as a surprise, as well as the reissue of Sisters by the Bluebells, and Forever by the Spice Girls… I’ve just checked, and there is still a Pye Corner Audio box set, the new Insides LP and another from Taylor Swift in the pipeline… roll on 2021

Photograph of Nikki by Gail O’Hara

Nikki McClure (artist)

10 people I want to hug as tight as I can and I’m not much of a hugger

1. Lois Maffeo and I will eat tamales with her

2. My sisters who are quite far away

3. Oscar Soule, my college botany teacher who just dropped off raspberry jam

4. Amber Bell because she would then pass it on for me to everyone in Portland

5. My Mailman Craig who I repeated his name all day to remember it.

6. Marena at the Farmers Market who sells me bread every week and I put it in my basket that her Father made

7. Tina Herschelman and hopefully she is wearing cashmere

8. Aaron Tuller at Buyolympia because he’s not a hugger either

9. My Mother because she’s my Mother

10. Doctors and Nurses and Teachers and Grocers and Delivery Drivers. I think I heard another van pull up at my neighbor’s. I will hug my neighbor too and we will dance in the street.

Selfie by SM; Shirt: Boredwalk. Hat: Bailey of Hollywood. Specs: Schnuchel

Stephin Merritt

Ten records I’ve been listening to obsessively this year, in descending order of repeats: 

Huerco S.: For Those of You Who Have Never (And Also Those Who Have) (2016) [hundreds] 

Gas: Rausch (2018) 
[dozens] 

Roisín Murphy: “Murphy’s Law” (2020) 
[dozens] 

Radio Dept: Passive Aggressive: Singles 2002–2010 (2011) 
[dozens] 

Toumani Diabaté: The Mandé Variations (2008) 
[dozens]

Chris and Cosey: Trance (1982) 
[many] 

Slowdive: Souvlaki (1993) 
[at least twenty] 

The Durutti Column: Another Setting (1983) 
[at least ten] 

Sun Ra: Strange Strings (1967) 
[several]

Various Artists: Congotronics 2: Buzz ‘n’ Rumble from the Urb’n Jungle (2006) 
[several] 

Photo of Lois by Gail O’Hara

Lois Maffeo

6 Women I’d Like to Personally Thank (I Was Trying for 10, but I Am Nearing Deadline)

Marcy Mays
I’d like to thank you for your cowboy boots and for always being full-on ready to rock. Scrawl Forever!

Heather Lewis
Thank you for coming up with my favorite drumbeat. Interested listeners may refer to “Midnight A Go Go” by Beat Happening to hear it.

Sara Lund
The best drummers in the world have an idiosyncratic system of timing. Is it in their head, their hands or their feet? Wherever it stems from, Sara Lund’s drumming in Unwound not only withstood the art-damaged time signatures of Justin Trosper and Vern Rumsey—she elevated it. 100% fucking genius musician.

Stella Marrs
Since we’re on the subject of drummers, has any performance more radically changed my views on and understanding of performance than Stella playing a snare drum with hands holding stiletto pumps? Her voluminous influence on visual and graphic art is well known, but she also resides in my life as a continual handmaiden to my blown mind.

Kathleen
In 1984, I lived in Portland, Oregon, and walked across downtown to Satyricon once a week for a poetry night organized by Walt Curtis (who was inspiration for the older protagonist of Gus Van Sant’s Mala Noche.) It was more or less an open mic in which self-serious poets from Reed College would recite their verse and aging gay men would yell at them. (“You are an abortion!” was a favorite taunt I heard there.) One consistent feature of this weekly event was the pre-intermission arrival to the stage of a late-middle-aged woman named Kathleen, who would sing (a capella) the 1961 hit “Norman” and then return to her seat next to her ever-changing (yet gentlemanly) elderly date. Each of the 7 or 8 times I heard her sing it, it was so pure. And never once was it not entirely cheered on and welcomed by the otherwise vicious crowd. She is unforgettable to me and I wish I’d had the good fortune to get to know her.

Gilmore Tamny
A friend had a copy of Wiglet in his apartment and I picked it up to scan the contents, thinking it was a music zine. In it, there was a cartoon about having a job where you had to drive around all over the place and knock on people’s doors. But the panels ended before the actual job was named. So I wrote a letter to the zine address in Columbus, Ohio, and asked if the job had been delivering flowers or pizzas. I received a note in return that said, “I was a process server.” That brief letter of reply (in 1985?) brought Gilmore Tamny into my life and from then on she has been a total heroine to me. Who else can make a shitty job into a thrilling zine cliff-hanger? Who else can convince me to go on a 1-show tour, in order to drive to Columbus, OH and play at an All Girl All Star Hoedown? (With Scrawl! See above!) And who has combined metal chops and chutzpah in bands the Yips, Weather Weapon and in her side gig as a spokesmodel for the Mystery? And who follows their idle thoughts of, “Hmmm…maybe it would be interesting to become an expert in art theft and forgery?” into REALITY??? Musician, artist, novelist, poet, promoter and Bostonian Gilmore Tamny, that’s who. All hail.

Thank you, brilliant women. 

Photograph by Meredith Heuer

Daniel Handler (a.k.a. Lemony Snicket)

Books of Poetry I found especially useful this year:

Gwendolyn Brooks – Blacks

Anslem Hollo – Sojourner Microcosms

Robert Fernandez – Scarecrow

Samuel Amadon – Listener

Louis MacNeice – Autumn Journal

Caroline Bird – The Hat Stand Union

Ada Limon – The Carrying

Atsuro Riley – Romey’s Order

Elizabeth Bishop – Questions of Travel

whoever wrote Gilgamesh – Gilgamesh

Rachel Blumberg and Jeffrey Underhill (artists, musicians)

Top ten favorite foods we made in 2020 that gave us some slivers of happiness.

1. enchilada lasagna

2. cullen skink

3. bacalao gommes

4. vegetable shepherds pie

5. kedgeree

6. grilled scallops

7. pan con tomate with garden tomatoes

8. sourdough discard biscuits with fig jam

9. eggplant parmesan

10. gingerbread pancakes

Gilmore (left); Weather Weapon photo by Sasha Pedro

Gilmore Tamny (Weather Weapon)

10 Things That Happened, I Noticed, Were Important to Me, or Were Merely Novel

This list does not include my shock, horror, and despair of the wider world. Take that as writ. 

1. passed a dear friend on the street without recognizing her due to masks and fogged-up glasses 

2. drew chinchilla plotting to destroy a Chihuly 

3. thought New England spring 2020 tulip game absolutely outstanding

4. discovered the way I express love to my petfriend is to continually fret about their wellbeing and contentment, and the way I experience work anxiety is a tiny tasered sensation everytime I hear that arriving email bingbong 

6. started a taut psychological thriller

7. took a class on Sea Monsters

8. thought about hypocrisy all the time—mine, yours, the world

9. FOOD: a) tried to bring iceberg lettuce back into my life b) bought a croissant crust frozen pizza, made a big deal about it, thought about doing a Zoom roundtable where we try/discuss en masse, but it still lays in my freezer withering c) discovered there is no room at the adjective inn for Snickerdoodle-flavored popcorn 

10. had a fling with nonfiction: The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: The Amazing Story of How America Lost Its Mind Over a Plush Toy—and the Eccentric Genius Behind ItMy Friend Anna, and Children of Ash and Elm. All highly recommend (not necessarily pub this year BTW).

Oed Ronne (The Ocean Blue)

Top Ten Episodes of The Rockford Files

1.      The Farnsworth Stratagem

2.      Quickie Nirvana

3.      In Pursuit of Carol Thorne

4.      The Girl in the Bay City Boys Club

5.      The Mayor’s Committee from Deer Lick Falls

6.      The Oracle Wore a Cashmere Suit

7.      The Becker Connection

8.      Requiem for a Funny Box

9.      Dwarf in a Helium Hat

10.    If the French Heel is Back, Can the Nehru Jacket Be Far Behind?

Portland photo by Gail O

Chickfactor editor in chief Gail O’Hara

Top Ten Things I Miss About Portland

1. Eating! Especially at Back to Eden Café (RIP), Harlow, Kati Thai, Luc Lac, Maruti, the Sudra, Supernova, Cedo’s, Eb & Bean, Tarai Thai, Modern Times, including delicious big bowls at Bye & Bye and Sweet Hereafter, the best falafel and hummus and pickled veggies in the entire world at Cedo’s, the vegan pizza at Red Sauce, Pizza Jerk and Virtuous Pie, the hummus at Aviv, the breakfast, reubens and burgers from Off the Griddle, oh so many things! I’ve probably already lost a stone by being gone (not really). I wish I could order takeout of everything and have it delivered. Vegan heaven. Comfort food capital of the world.

2. Playing indoor futbol with my team The Crusty Punks. They are the best! After 9 months of not playing, I feel sad and less powerful.

3. Chanting my head off at Portland Thorns games (also so sad that I won’t be seeing Crystal Dunn play a bunch of home games; also sad that Tobin Heath is technically no longer a Thorn; I will miss seeing Christine Sinclair and Lindsey Horan play a ton) I am starting a covert Rose City Riveters supporters group in my current home town if anyone wants to join. #BAONPDX

4. Screaming like a banshee and jumping up and down and swinging my scarf at Portland Timbers games; I never truly understood the meaning of sports until I became a fan of this team in 2011. My love for them; their love for the fans; the love affair between the Timbers Army and the players, so pure, so magical. The Magic Is Real. #RCTID

5. Karaoke!! Especially at Voicebox with like 8 of my friends. My standards: “99 Red Balloons,” “Buffalo Stance,”  and I miss the group scream-along to any B-52s tune.

6. Beulahland: my footie-watching local, where I wasn’t crazy about the food but I dug the atmosphere, the people, the vending machine and the left-wing history. (sings) “Where everybody knows your name…” 

7. Toffee Club! It was such a fun place to watch women’s futbol, like the Thorns and the USWNT, plus the cider selection and the people were so great. We all used to DJ there a few years ago. I guess I miss living in SCUSA (Soccer City USA): ya think?

8. Walking in parks with friends! Especially in Laurelhurst and Mt Tabor, the general overwhelming blossoming fertile bucolic pastoral beauty of the Pacific NW, the elephants and seals at the zoo, and the Japanese Garden and International Rose Test Garden. So much beauty.

9. Venues! There were three venues that I treasured the most: Doug Fir, which is ideal in terms of size, sightlines, coziness, sound, and everything. It’s underground and looks like a softly furnished log cabin. Mississippi Studios, which is just a wonderful space in every way, though I never was able to set up shows at either sadly. And of course Bunk Bar, which is the greatest in terms of working with them on events, they feed the bands fancy tater tots and big sandwiches, they pay artists properly and are easy to work with. The shows we did set up there were epic. 

10. Record stores! Bookshops! Powell’s. Old movie theaters! Dive bars. Bridges and rivers.

11. My friends! Their dogs! Their yards. Their support and company and conversation. Still can’t quite accept that I’m not going back. (I know I’ll fall in love with my new home but I feel like life is in limbo so…)

Photograph of Jen by Gail O’Hara

Jen Sbragia (The Softies, All Girl Summer Fun Band, chickfactor designer)

1. Feeding and viewing hummingbirds on my porch
2. Walking through deep puddles in old rainboots that I have mended with goo I bought from the internet
3. Listening to podcasts about crimes and/or terrifying stories and then podcasts about self-help and mindfulness whilst cooking.
4. Coffee
5. Avoiding sugar long enough that a consuming a small chunk of dark chocolate feels like snorting a line of something
6. Fashion Plates and colored pencils
7. Potatoes in all forms
8. Snuggling with calm children
9. Not putting on jeans for almost a year and also witnessing the death of the skinny jeans trend and being like, “cool… bye”
10. Porch dates

Photograph of Sukhdev by Gail O’Hara

Sukhdev Sandhu

What I did in 2020

Switched off the news.

Followed Peter Terzian on Instagram as he shared and contemplated photographs of himself. One a year up until the present. (He’s a very handsome 52.)

Wiggled around in the kitchen while listening to Jarvis Cocker’s Saturday-night Domestic Disco DJ sets in the spring.

Caught up with The World At War. All 26 episodes and 47 years after it was made.

Cheered on Sander Bos and Esther Perbandt in the first series of Making The Cut. Mittel-European fashion designers really do trump American ones.

Went to Germany, embraced lido culture, and took up cycling.

Missed drinking through the night with strangers at Milano’s on New York’s East Houston Street.

Bought lots of records from Monorail in Glasgow and Discreet (a.k.a. ‘New Sounds of Swedish Underground’) in Gothenburg.

Listened to Mikey Kirkpatrick’s daily live flute improvisations on Wild Lakes Radio.

Wandered through forests looking for deer and pondering the past and the future.

Watched lots of ski jumping and took up sledding.

Sent Christmas cards for the first time in three decades.

Dawn Sutter Madell (Agoraphone)

I found it hard to concentrate on much besides music, but here is a top 10 list of things that distracted me from 2020

1. ancestry deep dives
2. schitt’s creek (which I had never watched)
3. true crime (podcasts, doc-series)
4. gardening for myself
5. gardening for others
6. freaks and geeks re-watch
7. running
8. Cassi Namoda art 
9. His Dark Materials (the show)
10. cbd

Photograph of Jeffrey by Gail O’Hara

Jeffrey HoneyBunch

13 Highlights in a Low-Life Year 

1 Gonsalves Portuguese Seasoning (an indispensable part of our pantry)
2 Open E Tuning (courtesy of Johnny Marr’s “Headmaster Ritual” guitar tutorial on YouTube. Now I use it on everything, just like the Portuguese seasoning)
3 Arch Cape, Oregon
4 Kamala Harris
John was Trying to Contact Aliens doc. on Netflix
6 Anarchist Jurisdictions (There were no delays getting our Holiday packages either to or from Portland—go figure.)
7 Michael Galinsky’s photo archives
8 KMUN Coast Community Radio, Astoria, Oregon (especially the rockin’ Backbeat program, and the ship report)
Strum & Thrum: The American Jangle Underground 1983–1987 compilation (Captured Tracks)
10 City of Dreams: a tasty unfiltered/citrusy pale ale from Ft. George Brewery in Astoria, OR.
11 Takeout Cocktails: an idea whose time has come, and hopefully outlasts the pandemic.
12 O & H Bakery’s Almond Kringle: Maybe the sweetest thing to ever come out of Racine, WI
13 Cawston Press’s Rhubarb soda (hard to pick a favorite flavor—their Elderflower Lemonade is also right up there.)

Evelyn (left). Photograph courtesy of Cotton Candy

Evelyn Hurley (Cotton Candy)

Top 10 walks & bike rides I made in 2020

#10- The walk from my house to Central Square, Cambridge. A utilitarian walk usually made to complete chores.

#9- The walk from my house to Whole Foods on Beacon St., Somerville. The sidewalks are usually really crowded, and there seems to be a lot of pedestrians who don’t know how to socially distance and also share the sidewalk, and the intersection at Inman Square is kind of annoying. But other than that, it gets me where I need to go pretty quickly. 

#8- The bike ride from my house to my office. Thankfully there wasn’t as much traffic as usual, and it’s not a relaxing or easy bike ride, but it was nice to be back in the office even if it was only for one day a week.

#7- The walk from my office to the library stacks. I used to think it was ordinary, now I find it exhilarating! 

#6- The walk from my office to Trader Joe’s and the Trillium beer garden. I always come back to work with delicious goodies in my bags!

#5- The walk along the beach in South Boston with my friend Viktoria and her adorable dog.

#4- The walk up Buffalo or Seneca Street in Ithaca, NY. It’s a brutal hike up this street, but you get your entire workout ring closed and it’s a thrill to successfully achieve the hike!

#3- The walk from my house to the Cambridge Brewing Company, two blocks away.

#2- The bike ride from the Provincetown Ferry to Race Point Beach, Cape Cod. I only did it once this summer, but it was hard and totally rewarding.

#1- The daily walk I took from my house over the Longfellow Bridge and back. I’d head out after WFH was done, or I’d finished making dinner, this jaunt was my daily dose of sanity. I’d listen to books on tape, podcasts like “Rock and Roll Film Club,” new music, Folklore” from TS was in heavy rotation, or I’d talk to friends on the phone.  I have far too many pictures of the sunsets, which were often technicolor and always gave me hope.

Hope 2021 is good for everyone and we are all healthy and safe.