For those keeping track of my crashing mental state, Tuesday was…better.

Sure, I worked eleven hours, thanks to annual ethics training, some interesting contract communication issues, and everybody trying to squeeze a whole week into two and a half days’ worth of desk time, but I got a ton done, had a nice sunset walk along the river, and a pleasant pint at the brewery afterwards with the lovely spouse, so that helped..

Today will be a short one, largely buttoning things up until I get to hand a bunch of folks work when they get back on Monday. I aim to be off the clock by lunchtime, after which the weather looks gorgeous, so I’m going to get some outside time before working through some tunes for the weekend gigs.

Speaking of those gigs, the published con schedule is still in flux, though here’s where I *know* I’ll be this weekend:

• Saturday, 1:30pm, Salon A – Chuck solo show
• Saturday, 9pm, Valley Room – Blibbering Humdingers show
• Saturday, 11pm, Valley Room – Turkey Awards Presentation (I’ll be reading samples of the “winners”)

Otherwise, I’ll be bumming around, schmoozing, taking it all in, and generally not thinking about the holiday business, because frankly, it’s not where my mind needs to be.

As indicated and alluded to previously, it’s my intention to be aggressively offline this weekend; just warnin’ y’all.

Anyway, for some tunes that aren’t mine or mine-adjacent, here’s the weekly offering of the algorithms a few days early. Pretty mellow, generally, which is fine. #2 is a nice deep cut from the indie radio playlists, and I’m never opposed to covers of one my favorite Springsteen songs, as represented by #8:

1. “I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight” – Richard & Linda Thompson
2. “Squid Tattoo” – Sean Rowe
3. “Stay Forever” – Ween
4. “Almost Home” – Gary Louris
5. “Babydoll” – Laurie Anderson
6. “Ain’t Killed Me Yet” – Adia Victoria
7. “Hypnotized” – Watkins Family Hour
8. “Atlantic City” – River Kittens w/ G Love & Special Sauce
9. “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart” – JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound
10. “Magnetic Moves” – Katie Toupin
11. “A Case of You” – Tristan
12. “Go Through You” – Rhett Miller
13. “El Camino” – Elizabeth Cook