InterNutter

Anyone who's dug into the depths of this blog or followed me on Tumblr for a while knows that I have enough issues to run a major news-stand.

Let's just summarise it as: ASD with co-morbid anxiety and sleep issues with a massive side order of depression.

I have some really bad days, sometimes. I can, have, and will get to the point where I need to make a pillow fort just to survive the day. BUT - on any given bad day/hour/minute/whatever... I can turn on Steam Powered Giraffe and... their music helps me feel better.

Just the other day, I had a pretty intense session at the dentist's [self-neglect issues, wa-hey!] and it was getting painful and I was getting fretful to the verge of panic.

And I deliberately thought of Starlight Star-shine [from their latest album: The Vice Quadrant: A Space Opera] and my panic levels dropped like a rock. I may have segued into Oh No at one point, but the effect remained.

I calmed the fuck down.

Steam Powered Giraffe - their music, their goofiness, their weird snippets, all of it - has helped me battle the Bad Moments. Even my hardy perennial inner demon, the Dark Side, will shut up when listening to SPG. I've even played Vice Quadrant in bed to help me get over some bothersome intrusive thoughts, and to drown out the sounds of the family being incredibly insensitive about my need for quiet, just a door away.

I had a much more restful sleep that night.

SPG helps me focus when I'm scatterbrained. It helps me stay calm when I'm nervous. It soothes my personal beast within. It inspires cheer when I'm depressed.

I might even request that I play their music when I go to have a cavity filled.

I used to use a lot of mental muscle to get through the bad times. With SPG in my ears, it's a lot easier to deal with those moments.

Today's reason: Li'l Steve.

Once upon a time in fandom past, a crafty member of the fanmily gave the band crocheted effigies of themselves. Most members of the band only played with them a little, and this happened:

But Steve "actually a dragon" Negrete developed an attachment to his yarn doppelganger. And has taken to animating his dolly and speaking for it in... The Adventures of Li'l Steve.

I'll link you the playlist:

Li'l Steve is a lot ruder and abrasive than

You know what? Fuck it. I'm posting these before I do my Instant in the morning. Having them written in advance is just a bonus. No more apologies. I have the organisational skills of a diseased whelk. Let's just live with that.

Okay? Okay.

Today's reason: Five-star production values on a five-dollar budget

Pretty much all of the money that SPG earns from their music and the Engineer-ateer site [for as little as $2 a month, you can have access to all

Argh, I wrote yesterday's post in the morning so I could post it by the evening, and then I forgot to post it. I derped big time.

Fingers crossed, I actually remember to post this one tonight. I'm not holding my breath though.

Today's reason to love Steam Powered Giraffe is: Their covers.

Once in a great, long while [averaging roughly once per album] band members hear something cool on the radio and decide, "Hey, we can do something to that."

Then

Yeah, I'm being erratic with this. My life kind of imploded. Things get interrupted when my life implodes a bit.

Anyway. Today's reason to love Steam Powered Giraffe: Holy shit, they're sexy.

Yes, I know. They're so very much younger than I am. I'm plausibly old enough to parent them. But... consider exhibit A.

Pictured here is David "The Spine" Bennett nomming on a granola bar. Just... standing there and staring at not very much whilst masticating calmly for all to see.