95 North. . . The Newspaper

About two weeks ago, I attended church the day directly after the Pride parade in Middletown, CT. I tend to remember bits and pieces of the sermon each week, and what stuck with me this particular Sunday was this proclamation: "shame is the number one inhibitor of joy in our lives". That message was relevant in light of the weeks festivities. First Church had a large presence on Main Street in Middletown for the Pride event, including but not limited to a booth, a float/marchers, and the handing out of stickers that read "God Loves You- and so do we". A brochure read "A little off Main St. . . in more ways than one", which represents a clever hint that weds our location (Court st, right off Main) and the church's bold open and affirming stance to all sexual and gender identities. This celebration of the full spectrum of humanity, one that inched my heart forward towards possessing a sort of general love and acceptance of all people, brought to ...

I opened up my Spotify library and shuffled everything: all of it, the comedy, the guilty pleasures, the tracks that were interesting at some point for some reason, and the Bob Dylan. What came out? Here, I review the first five songs that show up, no matter what they are: 1. "Bands With Managers": Pedro the Lion I really like this song, as it perfectly encapsulates that sad-core minor-key-electric-guitar-Seattle- rainy-type sound of the early 2000's. Pedro the Lion was the moniker for songwriter David Bazan, who at the time still identified as a Christian artist, although his work would slowly move away from spiritual themes, as they do here. The lyrics don't really provide any sort of transcendence, rather, they cast a critical eye towards popular music culture as Dave Bazan deals with the reality that his career path just might not work out. The songs reaches a emotional high point as Bazan falsettos the bridge home: "You don't believe when I say/ th...