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This episode is a little late, but that doesn't make it any less great! We've got four blocks of some of my favorite tracks from last year, including several great selections from artists in my own neck of the woods. More info at the blog.Follow us on Instagram and Twitter! We ~might~ make a TikTok?

It's a Halloween episode! 2 hours of music to make your toes tap, make your head nod, and make your skin crawl. Enjoy!https://blsst.blogspot.com

This week, I'm tired. I've been daydreaming of taking a sabbatical from everything. Everything being BLASST, social media, the U-Punk stuff - everything. I just feel overwhelmed. This is partially due to everything happening in the world, but I also just feel like I haven't taken the time to replenish my energy, both physical and emotional. Humoring the idea of not doing BLASST anymore, I wonder: is anyone out there interested in learning how to do these things? I'm more than happy to share my skills and knowledge with anyone looking to learn how to run a podcast, run a weekly live music series, etc. Send all inquiries to uupunk @ gmail.com and I'll get back to you promptly. More on the blog: https://blsst.blogspot.com

Today's episode is compiled of stuff I've been listening to lately as well as tracks I've been meaning to play on the show for some time. We begin by talking about the recent shooting of Jacob Blake by Kenosha, Wisconsin police officers, 7 shots in the back at point blank range - in front of his kids on one of their birthdays - truly monstrous. Thankfully, Blake is said to be in stable condition at a Kenosha hospital, but remains in the ICU. Meanwhile the two cops who followed him to his car, including the one who shot him, are on administrative leave. As you would expect by now, people across the country have erupted in protests calling for the termination of the aforementioned officers, as well as some less-abolitionist folks calling for charges to be brought upon them for attempted murder. If only we didn't have police to begin with! If only our communities - especially those of color - weren't so systematically disenfranchised that the idea of policing is practically inseparable from the average person's concept of a society! This and other notes at the blog: https://blsst.blogspot.com

Today's episode is about the Postal Service! No, not the band, though we do play them at some point - because of course we do. It's not every day that the most essential branch of your country's government is being ripped to pieces, limb from limb, like a rotisserie chicken fresh out of the oven. Louis DeJoy - aka Trump's recent appointee to the position of Postmaster General, has effectively kneecapped the USPS at Trump's request. The reason: to curb mail-in voting, AKA the only safe way to vote during a global pandemic, and possibly the only way Trump can lose the 2020 presidential election. It's corruption at it's most blatant (Trump's admitted his plans in the news), and we the people are powerless to do much about it at this point, short of burning it all down I guess. If you have your torches ready, I've got the music. Let's gooo.https://blsst.blogspot.com

Today's episode focuses on music from Lebanon, specifically (most of the time) Beirut. Last week, a massive explosion completely leveled a chunk of the city, killing hundreds and injuring thousands more, destroying buildings, and utterly devastating their community. As a gesture of solidarity and support for those hurting, I thought it would be cool to dive into music from the area.https://blsst.blogspot.com

Today's episode features my conversation with two of the founders of Hues of Humanity, a virtual art exhibition featuring Black artists from throughout the Rio Grande Valley from a wide variety of practices: music, poetry, digital collage, illustration, and more. The exhibition caught my eye a couple of months ago when it was first announced as a brief online event. As of July 8th, the virtual exhibition is now available for the foreseeable future. To visit it, look up @hues_ofhumanity on Instagram, or check out the BLASST Blog: https://blsst.blogspot.com

Today's episode is a throwback to June 2nd, 2017. Donald Trump had only been president for a few months, and he was already wreaking all sorts of havoc. The music selections are excellent and eclectic - as this show has always intended. Unfortunately, following the events of Hurricane Hanna, a few things needed to be tended to at home (nothing tragic, thankfully, but important nonetheless). I hope everyone out there is safe and has shelter of some kind. A lot of people, including friends, are at-risk of losing their homes if they haven't already, and some definitely have. Things are really fucked up in the Valley right now. They always are when hurricanes and big storms with a lot of wind and rain hit us from any angle. Going to post a link in the BLASST Blog to a local mutual aid effort that has been created by some friends looking to raise funds for those who have been affected by Hurricane Hanna. You can both donate funds and - if you're from the RGV - apply for funds to be disbursed to you!http://blsst.blogspot.com

The RGV is in really bad shape right now, people are dying of COVID-19 every day, our hospitals are full, and our most powerful hospital is withholding resources - and hospital space. All this paired with the firm refusal on the part of the State Government to shut down the economy again are sending my neck of the woods head-first into a pile of shit. That being said, the music on today's show is almost all from Valley artists, each track more remarkable than the next. https://blsst.blogspot.com

Today's episode features a conversation I had with siblings Aimaloghi, Ohiozele, and Ohireime Eromosele, who are not only friends of mine but also members of the Rio Grande Valley's Black community. Aimaloghi is a UTRGV graduate (double majoring in Biology & Psychology) and community organizer who's been involved in the RGV's activism community for the past 6-7 years, Ohiozele is a Biology student at UTRGV with an eye on pursuing Public Health studies, and Ohireime is a graduate of the Howard University School of Law, where he studied patent law. The idea for this episode came after I watched an Instagram livestream that Aimaloghi did a week or so after the murder of George Floyd, where she spoke openly and critically about the Rio Grande Valley's activist response. In her stream, she explained how the Valley lacked the proper framework to build meaningful anti-racist direct action capacity and offered some critiques as well as different ways that activism can take shape when focused and properly organized. I resonated pretty deeply with all of this, considering the time I've spent around activists, as well as the fact that I also have had questions regarding how to move forward as a community that wishes to work toward an anti-racist future. Considering that at this very critical time, the focus of the movement throughout the country is to support and uplift Black lives and Black voices, it makes sense to me that I also look to Black voices in my own community for leadership in this kind of work. I'd already spent a few episodes speculating about this throughout the month of June, so when I saw Aima's stream, I thought it would make a great jumping point for a conversation on the show, where we could dive deeper into what we can do as a community to move forward. When I asked Aima to be on the program, she asked if she could have her brothers Ohiozele and Ohireime join her, which I thought was a great idea. As a result, the discussion was able to grow beyond simply talking about the wave of anti-racist uprising around the country and local activism, but also about the experiences Aima and her brothers have had growing up as Black people in the Rio Grande Valley. Overall, the conversation had a very warm energy and provided everyone with open space to share, reflect, and of course, enjoy some excellent music selections. I hope you enjoy it!https://blsst.blogspot.com

Today's episode features a conversation with Charlie Vela and Jonathan Leal, the creators of Futuro Conjunto, an ambitious trans-media experience that is equal parts speculative fiction and RGV music scene time capsule - for three different generations at once, over the span of 300 years. I realize that might be a lot to comprehend at the moment, but if you'll grant me your time for about *checks watch* two hours, today's conversation breaks the whole thing down pretty well. Whether you're a longtime RGV music scene veteran or a sci-fi fanatic looking for a new geo-political narrative to expand your mind with, Futuro Conjunto has something for everybody. More at the BLASST Blog.https://blsst.blogspot.com

It's like the title says. Your vote holds significantly more weight in local elections where an electoral college is not present. Vote with your conscience all you want, just look up your ballots beforehand so you know what you're doing. That being said, today's tracklist is full of incredible music. It's a wild ride from start to finish, and that's just the waveforms. Best listened to while riding in a subway car, or getting some work done in a big empty space. Blog will be up in the afternoon: https://blsst.blogspot.com

All three of the officers who murdered Breonna Taylor in March (103 days ago now) remain at large. None of them have been arrested, charged with a single thing, or held accountable in any way for their killing of an innocent woman - and subsequent lying about the incident in their reports. Abolition in mind, justice must still be served. On another note, the music on the show today is especially fantastic, and international!https://blsst.blogspot.com

The police should be abolished, but if that can't happen today, at least, their budgets can get chopped in half. Okay fine, quarters.  Also today's jams are fire as hell. I was up late putting this one together so the blasst blog won't be up til the afternoon. Keep an eye on our Instagram for the post! Or check back around 5pm.https://blsst.blogspot.com

Let's talk.https://blsst.blogspot.com

Not speaking today. Not because of the apparent music industry "blackout" that's happening today, which...I don't even know what that means, honestly. No - my decision not to speak today is in response to the reaction that people in the Rio Grande Valley had to the recent solidarity protest in Edinburg on Saturday. Their reaction was full of anti-blackness, and was a stark reminder that no matter how 'progressed' the Valley thinks it is, it still has a lot of work to do in unlearning its own internalized racism. So, for today's episode, I've put together a playlist of some pretty incredible Black artists whose work I admire very much and I eagerly wish to expose you to (if you haven't heard of them already). More, as always, on the BLASST Blog: https://blsst.blogspot.comBLACK LIVES MATTER. NOW AND FOREVER. JUSTICE FOR GEORGE FLOYD.

Contrary to what was said by a now-infamous partier at South Padre Island, the coronavirus does - in fact - exist, and it continues to wreak havoc on the United States, though not entirely in the way you might assume. First, we had the pandemic to worry about, and now, we have its agents of destruction - ignorant, entitled Americans desperate to cling to their pre-COVID sense of the world - coughing and spitting on people out of spite, many of which work for the businesses said Americans fought so desperately to reopen, and further spreading the virus to those present. This is happening all over the country. Yes, even in the Rio Grande Valley...and other favorites.More at the BLASST Blog: https://blsst.blogspot.com

Today's COVID CALLS wraps up our mini-series for the time being, and features conversations with two students and one public school employee. More updates at the BLASST Blog at noon - https://blsst.blogspot.com

Today on COVID CALLS, we return to the world of Education in the Rio Grande Valley, and we talk to two guests: a music teacher from Harlingen who plays in a ska band, and...my dad? Yep. My dad is an administrator at Weslaco ISD and was able to share some information about how his district has been handling the recent changes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. I'm actually really excited that he's on the show.More details on the BLASST Blog: https://blsst.blogspot.com

Today's episode of COVID CALLS focuses on the realm of Education in the RGV. We speak with three callers: a college student followed by two English instructors. One of whom you may already be familiar with. BLASST Blog will be up at noon: https://blsst.blogspot.com