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October 2, 2025

Mixtape: Into the Void

The Talking Head of Albertus Magnus
Mixtape No. 129 features Good Luck's mathy pop-punk, Shallowater's slowcore twang, Panopticon's epic black metal, Weston Olencki's deconstructed Americana.

Just a few things, then let's get into this week's mixtape…

Thanks to y'all, we raised $300 in donations for Chris Schlarb's GoFundMe! My short-lived label Thor's Rubber Hammer was very much patterned after Schlarb's old label Sounds Are Active, so all proceeds from a week's worth of Thor's digital catalog — plus 2 test pressings of I Heart Lung's Interoceans, which never got an official release on vinyl — was my way of giving back for many years of friendship and inspiration. Love you, dude.

I recently guest hosted an episode of NPR's New Music Friday podcast. I dip in and out of Wilco and its many offshoots, so among the 5 records discussed, I was pleasantly surprised by the unexpected treasures within Jeff Tweedy's triple (!) album Twilight Override.

Moa Romanova's graphic novel Buff Soul is, ostensibly, about the rock and roll lifestyle (sex, drugs, etc.), with illustrated appearances of Melvins' Buzz Osbourne and the Butthole Surfers' Jeff Pinkus, set during SXSW. But, really, the story navigates shifting dynamics within friends as they realize this kind of excess isn't built to last. 

I'll be at the Best Friend Forever festival next weekend in Las Vegas. If you're there, come say hi! Or scream with me when Pretty Girls Make Graves plays one of my favorite songs ever. Or cry with me during Mineral's (alleged) last show. I’m hoping to enjoy some Thai food at Lotus of Siam while I’m there. 

Oh, and one last thing: I’ve got a gig! My friends and I will play Cranberries songs as The Boo-berries for a Halloween benefit show in D.C. on Oct. 24 at Haydees Uptown. That’s the flier below. Proceeds benefit MSMA. —Lars Gotrich

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2025  A Halloween Cover Show to benefit Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid.   Electric Funeral as Black Sabbath Gobstopper as Jawbreaker  The Boo-berries as The Cranberries  Gary’s Boners as The Replacements  $15 Haydee’s 6303 Georgia Ave. NE  Doors at 7, Music at 8
Get 2 tha gig!

Stream the Viking's Choice mixtape. Follow me on Bandcamp and check out previous mixes via Buy Music Club. Tracklist below: 

Good Luck, "Into the Void"
СОЮЗ / SOYUZ, "Крок / Krok"
Neti-Neti, "Grace in Rot"
Vanille, "Ce n'est pas ici, ce n'est pas ailleurs"
BRAINBOMBS, "Midnight Slaughter"
Haram, "Until the Last Breath – ل آخر نفس"
Die Spitz, "American P*rn"
Shallowater, "Ativan"
Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore, "Perpetual Adoration"
Rafael Toral, "Easy Living"
Stephen McCraven, "Wooley The Newt"
Verity Den, "wet glass"
Sharp Pins, "(I Wanna) Be Your Girl"
Cachicamo, "A la intuición"
Bhairavi Raman & Nanthesh Sivarajah, "Unfolding"
Jeff Tweedy, "New Orleans"
Juana Molina, "siestas ahí"
Panopticon, "The Poppies Bloom For No King"
The New Eves, "Red Brick"
Jessica Williams, "Blue Abstraction"
Anna Högberg Attack, "Hematopoesi"
Ava Mirzadegan (feat. Jason Calhoun), "Carolina Wren"
Weston Olencki, "Foggy Mountain Breakdown // Ground Speed"
Arp (feat. Takuma Watanabe), "Echo's refrain" 
Thou, "Into the Void (Black Sabbath cover)"


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