#1 - WHAT IS THE ONE ALBUM (OR EP OR SONG) THAT YOU THINK SHOULD BE THE VERY NEXT MUSICAL THING THAT EVERYONE PRESSES PLAY ON THE NEXT TIME THEY FIND THEMSELVES THINKING “WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NOW”?

Well, I know there’s a ton of great music out there that I’m completely oblivious to. But this last year I’ve listened to Kurt Vile a lot. Big Thief. I really like Sharron Van Eton’s new record. Kevin Morby’s “Oh My God” last year was a cool one. I went down a rabbit hole the other day watching some amazing videos by Thao & The Get Down Stay Down. I’d heard of them but wasn’t really aware of their music. Killer stuff. But If I have to say, “hey, listen to this, now!” I’ll have to go with The Meters.

Let’s say their 1970 album “Struttin”, 14 solid tracks of these guys in their funky prime, bookended by the classics, Chicken Strut, and Meters Strut, with a nice muscular cover of Lee Dorsey’s Ride Your Pony, and the hidden nugget, a sweet Meters’ take on Wichita Lineman, buried halfway through.

#2 - WHAT IS THE ONE MOVIE OR TV SHOW THAT YOU THINK SHOULD BE NEXT IN EVERYBODY’S NETFLIX QUEUE (OK, DOESN’T HAVE TO BE NETFLIX, WE’RE ALL INTERNET ADULTS HERE AND KNOW HOW TO FIND ANYTHING ONLINE, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER)?

I don’t watch a ton of TV or movies, but these are strange times, and I’ve been looking forward to an episode of Killing Eve before bed.

It’s so funny and dark and weird it’ll take your mind off anything else.

#3. I (AND BY “I” I MEAN “THE PERSON THAT IS READING THIS”) AM GOING TO THE LOCAL BOOK STORE (OK, MAYBE THE LOCAL LIBRARY FIRST) TO FIND THE VERY NEXT BOOK THAT I WILL BE PUTTING SOME EXTREMELY VALUABLE ‘ME-TIME' ASIDE FOR. WHICH BOOK WOULD YOU GET, IF YOU WERE ME (AND, I SUPPOSE, YOU HADN’T ALREADY READ WHAT YOU’RE ABOUT TO SUGGEST)?

The BEASTIE BOYS Book is a great read. Not surprising, given their music, but the mixed bag format works great at conveying all the, well, mixed bag, of stuff their talking about.

It was especially fun for me to read because a lot of that early stuff they write about was right around the time I’d moved to NY and was hanging out at a lot of the downtown bars and clubs and record stores they talk about. Fun trip down memory lane for that stuff.

#4 - WHAT IS THE ONE WEBSITE (OR JUST ANY OLD INTERNET THING: APP, GIF, SERVICE, WHATEVER) THAT YOU WOULD GET REALLY DOWN IN THE DUMPS ABOUT IF IT WERE TO SUDDENLY GO AWAY?

I’m back living in Montana now, and my older kids live in Brooklyn and New Orleans. We’ve been getting together a couple nights a week playing cards on Trickstercards.com.

It’s a great way to get together and hang out.

#5 - AND FINALLY… PLEASE GIVE ONE COMPLETELY UNAIDED RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU THINK EVERYONE SHOULD START DOING / USING / WATCHING / EATING / THINKING / QUITTING / ETC-ING TO MAKE THEIR LIVES A LITTLE BIT MORE BETTER AND/OR BEARABLE.

I live in a pretty small town in Montana where it’s really easy to get out in the woods everyday, just banging around by the creek or whatever, which I love doing, but I realize that’s a luxury for a lot of people.

I did live in Brooklyn for years, where it was hard to do that stuff and I rode my bike almost everyday, any time of year or type of weather, always. Whatever happiness and mental health stability I have, I have to give a lot of credit to riding a bike.

OK folks, there you have it. Things that King Ropes thinks you should consider incorporating into your day/life. Before you log off and go ride a bike out to the woods, make sure to follow King Ropes on the Facebook / Instagram and then also give ‘Girls Like Us’ a listen…

…and if you like what you’re hearing, go do some further king-ropes-flavoured audio exploring over on the Bandcamp / Spotify.