I’m a nerd who listens to prog…of COURSE I also love Douglas Adams. So when episode 42 reared its head I needed to add some kind of acknowledgement. It’s been a rough week, and I’m still dealing with some sizable mental and emotional duress, so I did what I usually do in those circumstances: ignore the problem and buy a lot of music. I kid (kind of); I did buy way too much music this week but I’m also looking at more healthy options and outlets to work through it, like these shambling, error-filled review I’ll try and clean up (I did fix the Steven Wilson title, thanks, Jon). I’m also going to my first concert of 2025 tonight: the final – and hometown return – of Dream Theater’s 40th anniversary tour with Mike Portnoy at Radio City Music Hall. Yeah, more nerd stuff so let’s just get to the playlist, huh?

• Izz – “42”
• Van Der Graaf Generator – “The Undercover Man”
• Haystacks Balboa – “Spoiler”
• Pink Floyd – “The Narrow Way, Pts. 1-3”
• Yawning Balch – “The Taos Hum”

Not a whole lot of commentary this week. It felt appropriate to kick things off with another Adams reference, and not only does Izz have a track called “42” but the name of their album is Don’t Panic…I’ve been turning to a lot of music that I can relax and drift off to, which is most definitely NOT Van Der Graaf Generator, but I finally found a copy of Godbluff for a good price to complete my collection of their “essential” albums, at least until I go further into their more recent stuff…My buddy Baxter has a good ear for music I’d like and the other day he shared this track from Haystacks Balboa. Never heard of them before but now I’m hooked and have to track down a copy of the album. That’s why you need connection, folks. Nothing like a friend to share something to pull you out of the black…

Finally, more long winding tracks that soothe and flatten the spikes in my mind. I grabbed two more Pink Floyd albums I never owned, and Ummagumma (I also grabbed Relics) has me in its clutches with both the great live cuts and this sprawling track from David Gilmour…Yawning Balch is a band I know from their individual components of folks from Fu Manchu and Yawning Man. Their recently released Volume Three is exactly the kind of desert rock I love, two massive jams that work on all my frayed nerves.

Be safe, be good to each other. See you next week.