About Us


There is a good chance you found us accidentally by using the word “taint” in your search (If you found us on purpose, you deserve our accolades). Of course, we don’t know what you were looking for, but you stumbled on a damn cool project. Look around; let us help send you on a musical journey. Here you will find a number of album reviews from the strange and extreme to the tame and mainstream. Our reviewers are a bunch of obsessive miscreants. Most of us are avid music collectors and have been involved in the music world for decades. A couple of us have been in or are still in bands.

There are no rules on Tickle Your Taint Blog. Our reviewers might make you laugh, or piss you off; both results are legitimate. One reviewer might write a glowing review of an album; another might tear it apart. We may have a new review every week, or we could end up with one every six months. This blog exists as a social experiment to build community among a diverse group of music maniacs – our reviewers and hopefully you.


Sunday, November 21, 2021

Ricky Schroder (1970-2021)

 The following post is part of the imaginary obituaries series.

Conservative celebrity, subpar actor, Ricky Schroder died this past weekend in his California home. Ironically, he choked to death shoveling foie gras down his gullet with a silver spoon. He was celebrating the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse, who Schroder had previously donated over a hundred thousand dollars for bail. Schroder was primarily known for his acting roles as a spoiled rich kid in the television show Silver Spoons and a detective in NYPD Blue. In real life, he was also a prick, opposing Black Lives Matter, promoting anti-vaccination, committing violence against loved ones, and protesting Foo Fighters concerts, arguing that vaccination requirements are equilivent to segregation. Perhaps, Schroder’s mother said it best when she was asked to reflect upon her son, “Every day of his life, I wish I would have had an abortion.” 

The Heart of Rochford

By SoDak


On cold, November evenings, the smoke climbs to the moon, as it escapes from the rusting chimney that sits precariously on the roof of a ghostly wooden bar in Rochford, South Dakota. A few pickup trucks, belonging to the locals, are parked in front of the porch, where a black Labrador lays watching the mice scurry across the gravel road, which leads to a highway. From the junction that is twenty-three miles away, it is still over half an hour to the nearest city.

Rochford is an old mining town, composed of a few houses, a general store, a church, and, most importantly, the Moonshine Gulch, the bar. Some of the locals work for the U.S. Forest Service, others raise a few cattle, and almost all of them, historically, have run off developers. There are a few old timers, as well as a handful of redneck-hippies, nestled in the gullies between the rolling hills that are surrounded by the yellowed Great Plains where herds of cattle and sheep graze.

The Moonshine Gulch is the heart of this community. The building shows its age and seems quite fragile. Inside there are a few tables with chairs, a couple of wooden booths, and a small counter with stools. An old oil drum, turned on its side, serves as a wood stove. A jukebox, stocked with songs by Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson, keeps the toes tapping on the uneven plank floor. The pool table was vanquished to make room for weekend hootenannies. Hats and business cards adorn the ceiling. The cap with the foam boobs draws attention to itself among the standard hats with names of electrical companies and other businesses printed across them. Drawings of outhouses, horses, and political satire cover the walls. A sign promoting this year’s gun raffle to raise money for the volunteer fire department is posted on the wall. A beautiful painting of this poor man’s paradise, the Moonshine Gulch, is proudly displayed behind the counter, above the door, which leads to the kitchen where Betsy, the owner, cooks homecut fries, grilled cheese, hamburgers, and Campbell’s Soup, if one desires. While food is not the reason that people head to the Moonshine, it adds comfort to the experience, as Betsy adds something extra special, a little extra seasoning. She is the pulse of the Moonshine, as she greets each person, who enters through the front door. Locals sit on the stools at the counter to catch up on happenings and gossip. When vagabonds find this out of the way place, Betsy solicits life stories and intentions from these strangers. Part of this is due to curiosity and another part reflects a tradition of hospitality in these hills, even as new folks buy up land and build big homes, threatening to undo what has long been so special about this place.

For many years, Roy was a fixture at the Moonshine. He sat at a table, next to the counter, lighting cigarette after cigarette, while drinking beer through the midnight hours. From this position, he watched the happenings of this world, rarely speaking, except to locals. Despite the appearance of disdain and disinterest on his face, he was not grouchy. As Betsy’s husband, he tended to the fire and a customer from time to time if more than a few folks drifted into the place. On a rare occasion, he would cut the potatoes and cook the fries, but this was only if Betsy had headed to town for supplies. Otherwise, until his death, Roy sat in his chair rubbing the scar on his arm, left by the metal stitches that long ago closed an injury.

Betsy remains the guardian of this sanctuary. Almost every night of the year, she is hugging friends and strangers, sharing stories, taking photos, distributing beers, and cooking meals. Her love for life and this place burns hotter than the glowing metal drum, which she feeds throughout the day, as whiffs of smoke escape, climbing to the ceiling, searching for a crack between the boards, to float towards the celestial stars, which envelope this home in the Black Hills. 

Spooner D and Me

 By SoDak


The breeze feels like spring, 

bringing memories from thirty years ago,

when we were driving

through the hills

and you showed me 

all of those places 

that one day we would call

our own.


Thunder and Consolation

intertwined our lives

with the power of song.

“I love the world”

and I think of you, 

sitting by the campfire, 

laughing at our follies,

basking in the glow of the moon, 

above Castle Peak, 

when life was uninterrupted.


Today, I am reminded of 

“these valleys of the green and the grey,”

as the sun is out

and the clouds look the same 

as they did thirty years ago.

Spring always feels lonelier,

when you are miles away,

but these memories

are an embrace, 

waiting for your return.