THIS IDEA OF HUMANITY...

THE NEW ALBUM FROM ED ALSTROM FOR 2026:

This Idea Of Humanity...

On the heels of Ed's critically acclaimed 2025 album FLEE THOUGH NONE PURSUE, he is back with 14 new original and diverse blues songs, released in February of 2026 on his own HAYWIRE label.

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PROMOTION: Betsie Brown, Blind Raccoon, Memphis, TN - 901.268.6065 - info@blindraccoon.com

Organ music has its roots in ancient Greece, where it was played at games and events. Ed Alstrom plays modern organ music that has its own roots, deep in the blues. He is something of a newcomer to the 'blues scene', but he made a significant impact in 2025 with his self-produced debut album Flee Though None Pursue; he placed #15 in the RMR Top 200 for the year, and #1 in the Jazzy Blues category.

Alstrom started his journey in music when he began playing his family's Hammond M-3 at the age of five. Later, armed with a degree in Classical Organ Performance from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N.J., and experience surviving disco lounges while playing in churches, Alstrom worked the stage with performers like Bette Midler, Chuck Berry, Leonard Bernstein, Herbie Hancock, Odetta, Dion -- and many others. But Alstrom hasn't ignored that ancient history of games with organ music – one of his weekend gigs is playing the organ at baseball's Yankee Stadium, which he has done since 2004.

With all that Hammond mastery, it was only natural, Alstrom says, that he would eventually become – a bluesman. His latest album, This Idea of Humanity, finds him at the top of this blues game, crafting eloquent tales of love and life in 14 original songs.

Alstrom's majestic organ work simmers throughout, but his instrumental contributions also include piano, melodica, clavinet, synthesizer, Suzuki Andes, bass, guitar, percussion and drums. Ed is in fact the sole musician and vocalist on a good portion of the album! His songs are intricately crafted visions of the humanity that fascinates him; his gritty vocals enhance lyrical morality tales that spin from the whimsical to the sublime.

The album opens with a soaring Ray Charles-inspired love song, Put You First, sparked by a furious Hammond solo and Alstrom's fervent vocal proclaiming: “My love is deep and wide, a love that's strong and vast / I'm gonna put you first, and I'm gonna make it last.” The defiant blues anthem All I’m Gonna Do proclaims Alstrom's love for his music: “We’ve only so much time on this mortal coil / So I’m bringing my genius to a rolling boil / Communin’ with no one but my muse / And all I'm gonna do is play the blues.”. This cut (as well as several others) features a melodica solo, which in Alstrom's hands works surprisingly well as a harmonica substitute.

The philosophical rhythms of Humans get to the essence of the album title: “See, I love this idea of humanity / It’s these humans I just can’t tolerate.” This and several other cuts feature the brilliant background vocals of Ula Hedwig. Nothing Good to Say chugs along in a bluesy shuffle with its childhood lesson from Alstrom's past: “Son, hear me good, and I still hear my Daddy’s call / If you got nothing good to say, don't say nothing at all.”

Bridesmaid gets a sanctified church organ intro that becomes an updated blues version of the traditional “always a bridesmaid” theme: “Always the best man, never the groom.” Alstrom's childhood friend and fellow bluesman Jimmy Vivino shares the vocals on Party Planner, reviving their Sam and Dave-style gigs, with a soulful Hammond solo: “I say hey party planner, plan a party for me / I'm rid of this woman and I'm as happy as I can be.”

Understanding is Alstrom at his thoughtful best, not understanding the art of understanding, in an elegant slow blues: “I try to read expressions and feel synergy / Decode body language but all I get is ennui.” Alstrom's ode to the resilience of the blues, Blues Keep Coming Back, pushes the musical boundaries of the music in this multi-colored creation, adding drummer Don Guinta: “It's rooted in the cosmos, its fruit flowin’ with the streams / The blues keep coming back, unlikely as it sometimes seems.”

The upbeat “Go Ahead” explores the concept of letting others have their say, no matter what: “You can go on your tawdry spree, go ahead, go ahead / I ain't wasting no more energy, so go ahead.” The jazzy Inquiring Minds updates an old slogan: “Stop this division, hate and war / Inquiring minds can't take no more.”

The Way Back is a primal slow blues featuring Vivino on slide guitar: “But I got some kind of grip now, and there's still one thing that I know / Found my way most of the way back, but I still got a damn long way to go.” Got to Stop opens with a jaunty Ramsey Lewis piano vibe, listing personal vices that just have to go: “Got to shake my sordid past, or my next might be my last / I’ve got to stop.”

So Hard is a rocking song for the unsung workers of the world: “I’m sayin’ you should think about what other folks do / They’re doing it to make life better for you.” The closer, Worry, floats in on an airy progressive jazz intro enhanced by ethereal background vocals from Meredith Greenberg, offering Alstrom's key to happiness: “Don't worry about the world cause each spin might be its last.”

This Idea of Humanity articulates Ed Alstrom's compelling musical visions of the humanity he tolerates with humor and compassion. It is a worthy follow-up to last year's successful debut, and rewards an attentive listen.

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THIS IDEA OF HUMANITY... lyrics

PUT YOU FIRST

I want you to love me the way that I love you
And I want you to feel it the way I'm feelin it too
My love is deep and wide, a love that's strong and vast
I'm gonna put you first, and I'm gonna make it last

I'm gonna do everything that a man can do
Run through whatever jungle that you tell me to
Every hurdle I'll clear, every test I'll pass
I'm gonna put you first, and I'm gonna make it last

Now we may have some hard times, like everybody does
But we always work through em no matter what it was
We're a winning team, we make a stellar cast
Because I put you first, so we can make it last

I'll be here forever and I'll be true always
And I'll stick right by you through the end of my days
We got a thrilling future and a beautiful past
Because we put us first so we could make us last

So let's make a vow to do each other right
And live every day and love every night
And maximize this life and have a natural blast
Because we put us first so we could make us last

ALL I’M GONNA DO

Don't wanna mow the lawn or sweep the stairs
Don't need no busy work or home repairs
Ain’t gonna paint the house or wash the car
The things you said to move can stay where they are
Don't wanna do all these honey do's
All I wanna do is play the blues

Don't want no paperwork or filing claims
And I get bored of playing those board games
Ain’t gonna organize or file no files
Or put up shelves or sort no piles
Strap on my ax and put my mind on cruise
All I wanna do is play the blues

Don't wanna clean the minivan out
You can take the kids to ballet
I‘ll let you handle the teacher conference
And the meeting with the PTA
You're nagging me to change a million things
But the only thing I'm changing is my strings
For everything else I've got no use
Cause all I'm gonna do is play the blues … (SOLO)

I've cut myself off from all earthly bane
I've signed a pact with the mystic
Sworn off the workaday and the mundane
I'm only answering to the artistic
We’ve only so much time on this mortal coil

So I’m bringing my genius to a rolling boil

Communin’ with no one but my muse
And all I'm gonna do is play the blues

So if you’re lookin’ for me, I’ll be out there dealin’
Hittin’ and hopin’, hollerin’ and healin’
My mind is diamond and my will is granite
And I’m boardin’ the time machine and leavin’ this planet
No time for photos or interviews
Coz all I’m gonna do is play the blues

HUMANS

It’s said you should always love your neighbor
By some cockeyed optimistic scribe

It’s said you cannot slander human nature

Cause it’s far worse than words can describe

It’s said love is never out of season

So what’s the reason so many hibernate

See, I love this idea of humanity

It’s these humans I just can’t tolerate

It’s said friends are dangerous as enemies

Yet we’re judged by the company we keep

It’s said a moment’s thinking is an hour in words

And still talk comes so very cheap

They say we can unravel in a second

What it took five million years to create

See, I love this idea of humanity

It’s these humans I just can’t mitigate

It’s said you must be ignorant to be happy
Yet knowledge is the key to the universe

It’s said life is a game and all are losers

Yet suicide is said to be much worse
They say this world is coming to an end soon

And I myself can hardly stand the wait

See, I love this idea of humanity

It’s these humans I wish would dissipate

There’s some humans I’d like to immolate

It’s these humans I just can’t tolerate

NOTHING GOOD TO SAY

My daddy always told me since I first began to crawl
He said Son, hear me good, and I still hear my Daddy’s call
If you got nothing good to say, don't say nothing at all

He said don't lose your faith, because this life’s a free-for-all
Don't let your temper flare, or anger be your downfall
If you got nothing good to say, don't say nothing at all

Some people are worse off than you and some got the blues
Some got no morals and others got no shoes
Some act like they're special and will try to cheapen you
And some just plain stupid, and then there's nothing you can do

Daddy sure was right, he endowed me with his wherewithal
So when I'm put to the test, pressed or stressed, or my back’s against the wall
If i got nothing good to say, I don't say nothing at all

I've met so many miscreants and charlatans and fools
People who won't listen or abide by any rules
I been stood up, had to stand down, been scoured and been screwed
Been frowned on, looked down on, disbelieved and misconstrued

But it does no good to lash out at perceived bad protocol
Or get yourself into a tiff if someone‘s trying to play hardball
If I got nothing good to say, just don't say nothing at all

My daddy sure nailed it, so I pass his wisdom to you all
He taught to stand firm, stand up for right and stand up tall
And when I got nothing good to say, I try not to say nothing at all

BRIDESMAID

Here comes the bride and once again it ain't me
The Maid of Dishonor’s all I'm destined to be
Always in the background, always pushed aside
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride

Always second fiddle, runner-up in the race
The answer to the riddle who came in second place
I glibly watch as others take over the room
Always the best man, never the groom

I wallow in losing out on the grand prize
I follow my dream and watch as the dream dies
If there's limitless bounty, why can't I get some?
I hate to be Eeyore but that's what I've become

Been booted off the dais and bounced on my ear
Brought cred to the party while I brought up the rear
Paved way for the star every stage I was on
Always the Sancho, never the Don

I'll never stop striving to score some respect
Though rejection is all I have come to expect
If you look up loser in the encyclopee
I hate to admit it but that dude looks like me

So the bride and groom flyin’ off for their honeymoon
While I sit all cryin’ and plan my next swoon
Doomed to the sidecar, just along for the ride
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride
Always the best man, never the groom
Always the Eeyore, never the Pooh
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride

© 2026 Edward Alstrom/Sophimatic Music

PARTY PLANNER

I say hey party planner, plan a party for me

I'm rid of this woman and I'm-a as happy as-a I can be

Cause I'm steppin into daylight, I'm now a free man

Open bar at this mitzvah, getting as drunk as I can

So go on, party planner, bring your creativity

I said hey party planner, it’s independence day

And we're pullin all the stops, gonh be a swinging soiree

Gonna invite all my friends, we gonna get high as kites

Gonna be a bonfire, might last 3 or 4 nights

So get ready, party planner, gonna be one long ass day

Cause our bright days got short and dark nights were getting long

Cause I could do no right and she could do no wrong

We kept butting heads till we was bleedin and sore

Now all the bile's spilled and I ain't bleedin no more

So hey party planner, the theme is unwedded bliss

Get a good night's rest cause there ain't never been a party like this

I been all the way past bad and straight on to the worse

But now I'm the goodest man in the whole universe

So gear up, party planner, this ain't no time to reminisce

We tried to live the good life but it all went awry

And we couldn't get on track no matter how we tried

We both finally reached the realization it was doomed

And now the body's dead and it can't be exhumed

So hey party planner, got your work cut out for you

I want this party biblical, Greek orgy through and through

Blast some holes in the roof, make the sounds fast and loud

Gonna do Dionysus and P-Diddy proud

So get right, party planner, a signature whoop-de-doo

Get ready, party planner, helluva hullabaloo

Gimme five, party planner, because I'm counting on you.

UNDERSTANDING

I've traveled the world, been to many lands
Met a lot of people, shook a lot of hands
But it's still foreign to me - maybe I just don't understand

I try to read expressions and feel synergy
Decode body language but all I get is ennui
It's all Greek to me ‘coz maybe I just don't understand

I try to groove thru life with a smiling face
But people react to me like I'm from outer space
I'm confused by the things others say and think and do
Maybe it's me, but there's an outside chance it's you

I watch these people that have this social thing down
I make friends readily, but they often don't stick around
It gets me so down, ‘coz maybe I just don't understand

Maybe someday I can stare down my fears
And realize that people dig me more than it appears
Till then I'm just here, and maybe I just don't understand
Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe I just don’t understand

BLUES KEEP COMING BACK

Time can't stop it, no matter how it tries
The rumors can't stop it nor reports of its demise
It's rooted in the cosmos, its fruit flowin’ with the streams
The blues keep coming back, unlikely as it sometimes seems

Prejudice can't bury it, tho trends will come and go
Ignorance ignores it, but still those waters flow
The purists pine for past times but the future motors on
The blues keep coming back, when we're convinced all hope is gone

The children can't be cowered, their minds won't be controlled
No matter how implausible they’ll fight to find the soul
And they'll walk a hard and lonesome road, til they reach some destiny
And the blues keep coming back, with its multicolored symmetry

And when this life is over and the next march takes its place
The blues and all its children will all wear a different face
But the soul remains the same, though shiny baubles rule the day
The blues keep coming back, as old as time, new as today
The blues keep coming back, black as night, opaque as day The blues keep coming back, under the surface, here to stay

GO AHEAD

If you wanna act like a loon, go ahead, go ahead
If you wanna sing the wrong tune, go ahead
If you wanna insult or slight me
Or throw a party and don't invite me
Or darken my door daily and nightly, go ahead, go ahead

If you wanna show up late, go ahead, go ahead
If you wanna no-show the date, go ahead
If you wanna ransack my soul, dig me an even bigger hole
Those are all things I can't control so go ahead, go ahead

If you wanna slander my name, go ahead
If you need to transfer your blame, go ahead
If you wanna accuse me of something rash
Or tell your lies and talk your trash
I'm gonna handle it with panache, so go ahead, go ahead

You can run your game but it won't go far so go ahead
Show the world who you really are, go ahead
You manage your disdain valiantly
But it's all for naught and I'll make you see
I'm through letting you get to me, so go ahead, go ahead

You can go on your tawdry spree, go ahead, go ahead
I ain't wasting no more energy, so go ahead
Y’all actin’ like you so rogue, but I was lettin’ them before it was in vogue So spew your venom, go for broke - Go ahead, go ahead

INQUIRING MINDS

Drones hovering, filling up the sky
And noboby’ll say the reason why
The FAA's says they perplexed
And can't predict what might be next
What's up there? Is it friend or foe?
Inquiring minds deserve to know

What is these toxins in the water?
Why can't we drink it the way we oughta?
Callbacks on things that we've ingested
Shelves full of products never tested
Why must we hazard all this stuff?
Inquiring minds have had enough

After centuries of trying to get it right
You still can't walk the streets at night
There's children starving, millions poor
And people stranded at death's door
What's all this mess, for heaven's sake?
Inquiring minds deserve a break

Why is it always buffoons in charge?
And why is their influence so large?
And why no balances and checks?
And why these feet on all our necks?
Weren't things better long ago?
Inquiring minds demand to know

Can all this madness disappear?
Can we find peace while we're still here?
Can we lower the curtain on this show?
Can't we just end this fiasco?
Stop this division, hate and war
Inquiring minds can't take no more

THE WAY BACK

I was down in a black hole, was lost, had to get found
No clue where I was coming from, no harbor where I was bound
Hit the ceiling going up, and there was no bottom to my down
Had to try and find the way back, back up to some holy ground

I forgot how to love, forgot how to let things be
When it came down to compassion, I lost my capacity
Couldn't face myself, let alone anyone I'd see
Had to find the way back, back from this atrocity

Had to give up control, stop insisting on my way
Had to shut my damn mouth for a change and let others have their say
Had to congratulate you on a win rather than trying to make you lose
Had to find my way back and stop giving myself these blues

God had to have a hand in this, He saw what I was doing
He said Son, reform your routines or resign yourself to ruin
But I got some kind kind of grip now, and there's still one thing that I know
Found my way most of the way back, but I still got a damn long way to go

GOT TO STOP

I’ve got to stop this drinkin’, this juice is killin’ me

I’ve got to look in the glass, face up to what I see

I’ve got to stop DWI before I’m DOA

I’ve got to stop getting’ high or find some safer way

Yes, I’m quittin’ this evil booze, life or death I’ve got to choose. I’ve got to stop

I’ve got to stop this smokin’, put this vice to rest

I’d like to stop wakin’ up with this fridge on my chest

I’ve got to stop wastin’ money on all this carryin’ on

I’ve got to stop bein’ weak before all my strength is gone

If I don’t get some grip here soon, I’ll be swallowed up in ruin

I’ve got to stop

I’ve got to stop this philanderin’ with every girl I see

I’ve got to stop bein’ shady like that old oak tree

I’ve got to stop bein’ dark, indifferent and lame

I’ve got to think who I am, coz all I’ve got’s my name

Thinkin’ ‘bout the mess I’m in, thinkin’ ‘bout the heel I’ve been

I’ve got to stop

Got to stop - I’ve got to stop (2x)

Stop it quick, stop it now

Stop it cold, stop it somehow

Got to shake my sordid past, or my next might be my last

I’ve got to stop

SO HARD

You see that busboy, juggling them plates? - The weight he schlepps, the racket he creates Because of him your table’s spic and span - He bus so hard, he’s a mighty mighty man

You see that maid in the white collar dress? - She’s got a job because you make a mess
She’s got a work ethic that’s second to none - She maid so hard while you out havin’ your fun

You see that man parking your car? - He’s in a career that won’t take him too farRespect that man, his work is sublime - He park so hard to get you home in time

You see that cook preparing your food? - Shaking and baking, a hard working dude
His skills are solid and his soul is real - He cook so hard, you just enjoy your meal

You see that man going down in the sewer? - Or how about the woman who’s slinging manure? Doing something critical that you’d never do - They sling so hard, they’re more man than you

You see that woman? She’s a cashier - She flies like a checkout bombardier
Respect that woman, she’s worth much more - She cash so hard you can get out of the store

I’m sayin’ you should think about what other folks do - They’re doing it to make life better for you

So don’t disrespect them ‘coz you think it’s dead-end - Thank ‘em so hard they’ll wanna be your friend

He’s a Port-O-Potty Cleaner - She’s an Entry Level Machiner
Crime Scene Inspector - Whale Snot Collector
Forensic Entomologist - Roadkill Removal Specialist.
Diaper Changer - Funeral Arranger
Head Lice Technician - Hey, what about a Musician?

WORRY

I've found the key to happiness - It's not what you might think
It could be my salvation - Could be my missing link
I'm turning two blind eyes to this existence on the brink

I'd love to view the heavens, be the change I'd like to see
But I've no strength left to fight this overwhelming reality
Of sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity

Don't worry about your values, what’s in line or what’s askew
Don't worry about the world, cause what can you really do?
Don't fret about your worry, stay ensconced in your cocoon
Don't worry about the world cause it may all be over soon

I cannot stay abreast of reams of stultifying news
The constant strife and conflict, never empathy or truce
And if you've previously escaped them, surely now you have these blues

So I've shut myself away from every shred of evil's coup
And trying to parse what's right from wrong, what's fiction and what's true
And if you value peace of mind, I recommend to you

Don't bother with your credos, or what change you can imbue
Don't worry about the world, there's precious little you can do
Don't cry about the sky or the sun or the moon
Don't worry about the world cause it may all be over soon

You say that we must stay the course and with ambition wait
I say I'll stay in hiding since the hour's getting late
I'll leave others to fight the power and vent their ample spleens
And pray each day that we all don't get blown to smithereens

I may not know what's happening now but I surely do know this
The reckoning and cleansing and apocalypse I'll miss
Head firmly planted in the sand, my ignorance, my bliss

Don't worry about the future, embrace your perfect past
Don't worry about the world cause each spin might be its last
Don't worry about the earth or that business on the moon
Don't worry about this world cause it will all be over soon.

ED ALSTROM • THIS IDEA OF HUMANITY… LINER NOTES

1) Put You First (3:27)

Ed Alstrom: Lead vocal, piano, Hammond Organ, bass, drums, tambourine; Ula Hedwig: background vocals and arrangement

Just a love song, Yes, very much inspired by Ray Charles. The brilliant mind reader Ula Hedwig, formerly of Bette Midler’s Harlettes, is featured on this. I never even give Ula a hint about what I want or what to do; I give her the song, she emails her vocal creations back to me from Nashville, and I pop them in; no questions ever asked and no revisions ever needed. Background vocals are indeed a profound art and talent, and Ula is the best.

2) All I’m Gonna Do (3:42)
Ed Alstrom: lead vocal, piano, Hammond Organ, guitar, melodica, bass, drums

Many of us musicians, I imagine, would secretly (or not) like to be doing nothing but our music at the expense of a broken home, figuratively and literally.

3) Humans (3:38)
Ed Alstrom: lead vocal, piano, Hammond Organ, Fender Rhodes, Clavinet, bass, drums; Ula Hedwig: background vocals and arrangement

Lyrics written in the early 90s, unchanged in the present, maybe even more apropos now. The genius of Ula Hedwig at work again

4) Nothing Good to Say (4:05)

Ed Alstrom: lead vocal, piano, Hammond Organ, guitar, melodica, bass, drums

My father Ludwig (he went by Eddie), a master plumbing-heating-cooling man, a savant amateur musician who could hear anything once and play it, and a very fine human being, actually did say this and it always sticks with me. I am constantly in awe, however, of how unsuccessful I am in implementing it.

I was in Memphis in 2025 for the IBC, and came up with this song in its entirety while waiting 45 minutes in the lobby of Sun Studios for the tour. I tried to get a date to record it there while I was in town which woulda been cool, but couldn’t wangle that, so I did it at home.
I have been playing the melodica since my early days in bands 50 years ago, when it sat atop my massive keyboard rig, with a long hose hanging down that I would stuff into my mouth when we needed a horn solo. I am finding now, with a bit of amplification and distortion, that it makes a pretty good harmonica substitute as well.

5) Bridesmaid (3:02)

Ed Alstrom: Lead vocal. piano, Hammond Organ, bass, drums; Ula Hedwig: background vocals and arrangement

You know this old saying, and I guess there are a bunch of songs using it already. The church organ sound in the beginning and end is from the church I was organist/choir director at in Montclair, NJ until I recently retired: a magnificent 1957 fire-breathing four-manual 66-rank Austin with some 1923 E.M. Skinner pipework as a bonus. I miss that thing already.

6) Party Planner (3:41)
Ed Alstrom: lead vocal, piano, Hammond Organ, guitar, bass, drums, tambourine; Jimmy Vivino: co-lead vocal

In the 80s and 90s when I was playing a lot of weddings and private parties, party planners were not a ‘thing’ yet. I encountered them later and found most of them to be intrusive, wrong-headed, and basically incompetent and unnecessary. Maybe they’re better now.

This song was hatched by thinking about a handful of parties I played back in the day that were celebrations of a divorce or breakup, which were usually very joyous affairs thrown by their newly-liberated and ecstatic host. This one is taken to the extreme.

Jimmy Vivino is a childhood friend of mine. We played in all kinds of bands together for many years and learned a great deal of music nuts and bolts from each other. He afforded me a lot of great opportunities coming up, for which I am eternally grateful. We used to sing a lot of songs together in the Sam and Dave style on bar gigs, and this song hearkens back to that era..

7) Understanding (3:06)
Ed Alstrom: lead vocal, piano, upright bass, drums

If there is a truly spot-on autobiographical song I’ve ever written, this is it. I am not blessed with the greatest natural social or communication skills, and I get myself in awkward situations because of it. I am envious of people (like my dear wife Maxine) who are gifted and natural in that. People like me really try, but it doesn’t just happen organically or easily, and it unintentionally can lead to… well, misunderstandings.

8) Blues Keep Coming Back (5:00)

Ed Alstrom: lead vocal, piano, toy piano, Hammond Organ, Fender Rhodes, melodica, synthesizer, Suzuki Andes (keyboard mouth instrument simulating Andes pipes), upright bass, percussion; Don Guinta: drums

This is an experiment to explore how far the blues can get stretched out of shape and retain its character. It is a 12-bar form and does have blues symmetry, but obviously is not a John Lee Hooker-type blues. It is, above all, an ode to the resilience of the blues as an art form, and how it seemingly (and hopefully) will never die, despite all the stones and modern trappings in its passway, and mangling of its precepts, of which this might be one instance.
I recorded reference drum tracks on all of the songs on this album, with the intention of getting ‘real’ drummers in to record the final tracks. Then, a funny thing happened: I started to like the drum tracks I had put down, and figured they fit what I wanted best, so I left them in. However, there were a few songs that just were served better by said ‘real’ drummer, and that is in this case my good friend and longtime compatriot, Don Guinta.

9) Go Ahead (2:51)

Ed Alstrom: lead vocal, piano, melodica, upright bass; Don Guinta: drums

There is a popular current philosophy and movement espoused by the author Mel Robbins known as ‘Let Them’, in which people ignore opposition and scorn directed toward them. This touts letting people say and do whatever they like to you, I assume with the aim of defanging the offender by disavowing the impact of their actions. Upon hearing about this, I found that I had already been ‘letting them’ for many years, since I couldn’t do anything about the smack people were talking about me and to me, so I let them go ahead. As a result, this song celebrates the old and the new!

10) Inquiring Minds (3:17)

Ed Alstrom: Lead vocal. piano, Hammond Organ, melodica, bass, drums, cowbell; Ula Hedwig: background vocals and arrangement

The phrase ‘inquiring minds want to know’ was popularized by the tabloid newspaper, the National Enquirer, as a marketing slogan in the 1980s, often used playfully to encourage interest in sensationalist and often ridiculous stories. That tabloid may have been finally rendered irrelevant by the fact that its once wacky headline style is now very real-life, and is de rigueur and shocks no one.

11) The Way Back (4:35)

Ed Alstrom: Lead vocal. piano, upright bass; Jimmy Vivino: guitar

Had to have a conventional slow blues on here to balance out the various experiments, and I do love me some straight-up slow blues. Jimmy V on the slide guitar thing that he does so very well. I had originally tracked this with piano and organ and no guitar, and Jimmy thankfully steered it in another direction.

12) Got to Stop (3:46)

Ed Alstrom: lead vocal, piano, upright bass; Don Guinta: drums[

Maxine Alstrom: background vocals
Again, lyrics exhumed from a pile written in the 1990s, turned into a song in the early 2000s that my group ACID CABARET used to play, with drummer Don Guinta. We actually recorded this for my ACID CABARET CD released in 2003, but it didn’t make the album. I still do have to stop doing most of these things in the lyrics; hence, my wife came downstairs while I was mixing it and insisted on adding background vocals affirming her agreement with what I was saying. Maxine is a brilliant piano player and the most wonderful human being imaginable; she claims she is not really a singer but she gets by on guile, which her thoughtful background vocals most certainly do in spades here.

13) So Hard (2:32)

Ed Alstrom: all vocals, Farfisa organ, piano, guitar, bass, drums

I was in Memphis for the IBC in 2025, and walking down a deserted and snow-covered Beale Street one morning. There was a restaurant with large windows, and someone drew with markers on the glass something about their breakfast offerings, and drew a picture of a wine glass with the words ‘Mimosa So Hard!’. As I often do when getting outside stimuli, I said ‘there’s a song there’. I went back to the hotel and Googled up ‘undesirable professions’ or ‘worst jobs’, and came up with lists of things that no one really wants to be doing. Fortuitously, the jobs listed in the tag of the song almost all rhymed in pairs, as if they were planted for lyric use!
You or I may not want to be doing most of these jobs, but they sure as hell make the world go round, and we should celebrate the people that DO do them.

14) Worry (6:45)

Ed Alstrom: lead vocal, piano, Fender Rhodes, Hammond Organ, melodica, bass, hand percussion, background vocalsMeredith Greenberg: vocal and percussion; Don Guinta: drums

One more lyric idea revived from the 90s, renovated for the modern age of discontent. I am mostly a political anti-activist, and this song celebrates that, and those who instead of fighting and lamenting and worrying every step of the way, would rather wait until inevitably it all… just… goes… away… hopefully.

I am a huge fan of early ‘70s progressive jazz (as embodied by McCoy Tyner, Gary Bartz, Azar Lawrence, Pharoah Sanders, Weather Report, etc.), and this is an effort to see how the blues would get along with that. The crux of the music was lifted from part of a jazz choral cantata I had written for my church (it’s on my YouTube channel), again which Guinta played on, so he knew exactly what to do. ‘Jazzy Blues’, I guess? 2026 Blues, for sure.

My good friend Meredith Greenberg is the Cantor at the temple I’ve played at 15 years. We have done a whole lot of completely improvisatory music together, and this is a small sample of what she can do without words that just happened to suit this weird piece of music perfectly.

All music & lyrics written by Ed Alstrom

Produced & recorded by Ed Alstrom
Special thanks to Mark Berger for audio wisdom
Recorded in Alstrom’s basement in NJ during 2025

www.edalstrom.com

Ed Alstrom: vocals, organs, pianos, melodica, clavinet, synthesizer, Suzuki Andes, basses, guitars, percussion, drums (unless otherwise noted)

Jimmy Vivino: vocal (track 6), guitar (track 11)

Ula Hedwig: background vocals (tracks 1, 3, 5, 10)

Maxine Alstrom: background vocals (track 12)

Meredith Greenberg: ethereal vocals and percussion (track 14)

Don Guinta: drums (tracks 8, 9, 12, 14)