Van Halen is embedded so deeply in my consciousness, it's kinda unreal.

#TransitTunes
#MusicSky
#OnThisDate

Today on #TransitTunes, we paid homage to the late, great Eddie Van Halen, born #OnThisDate (1/26) in 1955. Gotta say, I do not feel nearly the levels of shame I'd assumed I would rockin' out to Van Halen all day. #MusicSky

Today's #TransitTunes pays tribute to the late, great David Johansen, who was stolen from us by 2025. Born Jan 9, 1950, Johansen was, among other things, THE sexiest human being ever to have walked this wasteland earth. #MusicSky

Earlier this week on #TransitTunes, riders were treated to Iris DeMent (who turned 65 on Monday, Jan 5), Syd Barrett (1/6/46, d.2006), & Kenny Davern (1/7/35, d. 2006). I'm considering breaking from tradition & doing a New Releases day on Friday. Any suggestions or thoughts? #MusicSky

Having the best time on the bus today, despite it being an extra shift, because #TransitTunes is celebrating the big 5-0 of the great Jenny Lewis (born 1.8.1976)! Jan 8 offers formidable options (it's also Elvis Presley & David Bowie, among others) -- but I def made the right choice. #MusicSky

Yamano is singer, guitarist, & the one constant in Shonen Knife over the years. And YEESH, talk about a band that I'm WAAAY overdue for a deep dive into, omg. Everyone knows how awesome they are, ɓut I couldn't even name a handful of songs. Looking forward to today! #TransitTunes

Psyched to be picking up an extra shift today, as it allows me to wish a very happy #TransitTunes birthday to Naoko Yamano of Shonen Knife, who turns 65 today, Dec. 18, 2025! #MusicSky

It's fun to listen through a Mike Mills lens, because it takes me back to my first true musical love: harmonizing. Mills' backing vocals are so elegant; his harmonies so intuitive. It reminds me that I never really wanted to sing lead: I just dreamed of having a Stipe to orbit. #TransitTunes

Riding a mad wave of nostalgia today as #TransitTunes celebrates the 67th birthday of bassist Mike Mills with 10 straight hours of R.E.M. 💜🎉 #MusicSky (b. 12/17/1958)

I'm in my happy place! Sending warm #TransitTunes birthday wishes to elusive icon Nivek Ogre, who turns 63 today, Dec. 5 (which also happens to be Krampusnacht). Listening to Skinny Puppy and oGhr from dawn until dusk: I can't imagine a more perfect Friday! #MusicSky

And he was the dad we needed, tbh. An embarrassing ass. A lifelong fuckup trying sincerely to earn a spot in his kids' hearts. It was a solid second act. (In theory, I mean: I never actually watched the show, lol.)

#TransitTunes #MusicSky

Then came 'The Osbournes.' I mean, what? To me, a punk-ass early 20s ne'er-do-well with all the judgment of a flea, that show was the least metal thing anyone had done since Metallica v. Napster. But he pulled it off, didn't he? The Prince of Darkness became America's dad. #TransitTunes

Today, 12/3/25, would have been Ozzy Osbourne's 77th birthday. We're blasting the Sabbath for #TransitTunes of course, but I'm posting this before even pressing play, because I have complicated feelings about the Prince of Darkness, and I plan on blathering about them throughout the day. #MusicSky

Almost better than her classics, she has some covers that are deliciously weird af, including a version of Donovan's "Season of the Witch" that is guaranteed to leave you equally puzzled and in love.

#TransitTunes

Listening to Iowa treasure & Badelamenti/Lynch muse Julee Cruise on the bus all day -- she would've been 69 years old today, 12/1/25. Cruise (1956-2022) had a voice that could only be described as the platonic ideal of dream pop. #TransitTunes

OK #TransitTunes fans: Here’s a poll for y'all. I'm picking up an extra shift tomorrow, and it happens to be drummer #DaleCrover 's birthday. Dare I subject the general public to a Melvin's day? It would make ME happy, sure ... but is it the best way to keep my sweet, sweet gubmint gig? Weigh in!

Out-of-focus roadside brush through a rain-spattered windshield.

Sometimes, on #TransitTunes, I'll choose an artist I've just never quite grokked in hopes of discovering just what everyone else loves about them. This morning, listening to Matthew Sweet (born #OTD 1964), I was rudely reminded of how inexplicably anxious certain eras of pop music make me. But ...

Also familiar to me was "Hot Sand," which I'm certain was used in some film or TV show recently (I'm guessing Duster, maybe?). #TransitTunes

Early morning. Exterior lights are still on at a cluster of county-owned farm buildings, viewed from across an e.pty road. Above them, the sky is beginning to lighten, and clouds lit from below a warm, salmon-y color fill the sky.

Hell of a sunrise this beautiful fall morning! Happy October, BlueSky! For #TransitTunes today, we're rockin' the psychedelic sounds of Shocking Blue, the Dutch group from the 1960s/70s led by singer Mariska Veres (1947-2006), born #OTD.

G, a brown middle-aged enby, stands by the Emergency Exit of their bus, view of a parking lot through the glass, with the night sky just starting to lighten in the distance. They have short, curly, brown hair and rainbow glasses, and they're wearing a black v-neck T-shirt. They have a neutral expression.

One of the top reasons I love the work I do: driving in the pre-dawn, window down, chill tunes, sleepy but satisfied. (photo taken while parked, obvi)

Today's soundtrack: The Ventures Hbd to drummer Mel Taylor (1933-1996). #TransitTunes

White paper sitting on a brown table reads: Friday, July 25 National Carousel Day 🎶🎵 Now Playing: Yardbirds, Renaissance, Box of Frogs, Stairway drummer JIM MCCARTY born on this date 1943 (82yo)

OK, today's #TransitTunes was a riot of joy for my earholes! Here's wishing a very happy 82nd birthday to drummer (& so much more) Jim McCarty, born July 25, 1943.

Today's #TransitTunes got real, y'all.

Yesterday got a bit weepy on #TransitTunes. Today, by contrast, we explore the incandescent invulnerability I felt around ages 9-16ish, pre-college, when I was buoyed by the loud, reckless, aggressive strut of Guns & Roses and their ilk. Happy 60th to Slash, born July 23, 1965!!! #MusicSky 🧵

A handwritten note on white paper hangs on a gray bus dash. It reads: Tuesday, July 22 Spoonerism Day ~ 🎵🎶 Now Playing: Indigo Girls multi-instrumentalist EMILY SALIERS born on this day 1963 (62yo)

Today on #TransitTunes I drifted further along memory lane by celebrating the 62nd birthday of Emily Saliers with a full day of the Indigo Girls. NOW. I don't know if you ever attended college in the 1990s. But the Indigo Girls were KINDA pervasive ...
#MusicSky 🧵

We're logging some serious nostalgia hours at #TransitTunes this week! It's like a wayback machine to my childhood obsessions. Things kicked off yesterday with the 77th birthday of Cat Stevens, born July 21, 1948. That "obsession" was focused on Tea for the Tillerman & Teaser & the Firecat, though.🧵

Wanted to come back to this #TransitTunes moment bc I don't think I talked about Malmsteen on the day I featured him. Going into that shift, I'd read a lot about people who didn't like his work because it was too fast to follow. Setting aside how weird that is, I also think it's bad listening ...

A handwritten note on white paper hangs on a gray bus dash. It reads: Tuesday, July 15 Celebration of the Horse Day ~ 🎵🎶 Now Playing: JOE SATRIANI born on this date 1956 (69yo)

The guitar that kills fascists is a hard act to follow, but #TransitTunes is making a go of it by continuing this week with even more guitar! Today, we listened to Joe Satriani, born July 15, 1956. (Happy 69th!)

#MusicSky
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A handwritten note on white paper hangs against a gray bus dash. It reads: Monday, July 14 International Nonbinary Peoples Day ~ 🎵🎶 Now Playing: WOODY GUTHRIE [[rudimentary drawing of a guitar with "THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS" written on it]] born on this date 1912 (d. 1967)

Kicking off this #TransitTunes week with a full day of the GOAT's GOAT, Woody Guthrie -- born July 14, 1912. There's no wrong time to blast the antifascist anthems, but now is a particularly good time, IMO.

#MusicSky
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A handwritten note on white paper reads: Friday, July 11 National French Fry Day ~ 🎵🎶 Now Playing: Bauhaus, Dalis Car, & solo PETER MURPHY born on this date 1957 (68yo)

Today's #TransitTunes centered on the work of birthday boy Peter Murphy, born July 11, 1957. Apologies for the rain-stained image; I forgot to take the pic before getting off the bus to leave at the end of this rainy day.

#MusicSky

A handwritten note on white paper sits on a gray bus seat. It reads: Tuesday, July 8 National Video Game Day ~ 🎵🎶 Now Playing: BECK born on this date 1970 (55yo)

Today, #TransitTunes sends wishes for a happy 55th out to Beck, born July 8, 1970 (ouch! right in the aging!). Now, if you'd asked me 48hrs ago who would be more accessible to my riders, Mahler or Beck?, I'd have guessed Mahler in a heartbeat. I'd have been so wrong. 🧵 #MusicSky