Admin Reveal

A sunny day in K'emk'emeláy̓

Hello! Welcome to QSLJMP (a.k.a. The Queer Skater Leftist Jewish Musician Perspective), a newsletter written by me — Jesse Locke! If you don't know much about me, you can read my bio on the website of Dani Janae's No Skips podcast, where I recently appeared as a guest to talk about Eric's Trip.

I'm going to use this space to write about all the things that interest me, which are not limited to but will likely focus on: music, skateboarding, queerness, mental health, leftist politics, international news, plus the issues facing our various intergenerational cultures and communities. I'm also going to write about music that I can't find a home for anywhere else. If you're reading these words — thank you, and welcome to QSLJMP!

Anyone who has spent time interacting with me on the internet will tell you that I post far too much. I joined Twitter (oh sorry... X, The Everything App) in 2009, and Instagram shortly after that. Before those two websites, I invested far too much time, care, and energy into Facebook, MySpace, and my first social media love, Friendster. At this point, it's safe to say the membrane between my thinking brain and my posting finger is basically non-existent, and that frequently gets me into trouble.

Anyone who has spent time interacting with me IRL will tell you that I have the same kind of addictive personality that I do URL. When I get into something (or someone), I dive in headfirst. I've had issues with (co-)dependency in the past, but thankfully, I've been able to quit alcohol (minus two relapses) for four years now.

While I originally made the choice as an act of solidarity with my booze-free partner, getting "California sober" has improved my life in every way imaginable — from physical and mental wellness, to saving money, to finally being able to remember everything. Hangovers, headaches, and drunken mistakes were ruining my life, but thankfully you don't get any of those with weed and psychedelics.

On MySpace, I was known as Mötley Jüe — which makes me cringe in 2024, since Mötley Crüe are misogynistic assholes — but I still think the play on words is funny, and I'm proud of myself for leaning into my Judaism. Even though I'm only Jewish on my dad's side, and don't have the strongest connections to the traditions or culture, I proudly consider myself a member of the tribe. That's what makes the genocidal violence being perpetrated against the innocent Palestinian people in Gaza and Rafah — being done in the name of Judaism — so disgusting to me, and why I'm a loud and proud anti-Zionist Jew. Free Palestine!

I'm talking around the point here, so let's get down to it. I've decided to finally try my hardest to break my social media addiction, so I'm going to quit cold turkey, and re-focus my efforts on this newsletter. Upcoming posts will include: my thoughts on the amazing pro-Palestine student protests at the UBC encampment and all around the world, my thoughts on the thrilling rise of queer and trans skaters, my thoughts on the local Vancouver music scene, and much more.

I'm really glad you're here to join me in this new project. As I break myself away from Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk's horrible online portals to hell, I see myself doing more good in the world with my personal platforms as a writer, musician, and human. I'm also reconnecting with people IRL on a personal, vulnerable, human level, so I hope this newsletter can help start some of those types of conversations.

Thanks for reading and subscribing to QSLJMP!

What I've Written Recently

Myriam Gendron interview (Stereogum)

Laetitia Sadier interview (Bandcamp Daily)

Cindy Lee and Me (The Toronto Star)

What Treefort Taught Me About Boise Queer Cuture (Pink Ticket Travel)

Dehd, Broadcast, and Jon McKiel album reviews (FLOOD)

What I've Read or Watched Recently

If you're fed up with mainstream media and the failing New York Crimes as much as I am, I highly recommend following/supporting Mehdi Hasan's new project Zeteo — along with old standbys like Democracy Now! and Al Jazeera — to find out what's really happening in the world.

On a more local Western Canadian level, balanced leftist coverage of current events can be found from The Tyee, The Maple, and Alberta Views.

I'm also thrilled about the return of Epicly Later'd, filmmaker Patrick O'Dell's skateboarding biography video series! The incredible new episode about Chandler Burton, the world's gnarliest skater drag queen, is one I'm going to write more about soon.

What I've been Listening to Lately

I recently reviewed London via Nigeria's Ibibio Sound Machine, and I've been blasting their new album, Pull the Rope, pretty much non-stop. It's the perfect combination of Fela Kuti's influence on '70s art-rock, combined with squelchy '90s acid techo, and PLUR lyrics. When Eno Williams sings about breaking down borders, avoiding violence, and respecting everyone around you as much as yourself, it also becomes the perfect soundtrack for the first edition of QSLJMP. Thanks for reading, and listening!