Well, hello there. How are you?
Happy unofficially start to Fall. I love this season. I took last week off for Labor Day, as well as to address the classic “Oh, shoot, the long weekend was nice, but now I only have four days to fit in all this work, blah” feeling. Some more tunes and links than usual this week. Nothing wrong with that.
And so we get on with it. Here are some links and tunes for the week.
LINKS
The decomposition of Rotten Tomatoes.
Suits on Netflix and the Rise of not TV binging but TV Wallowing.
In dating, there are ghosts …. and then there are zombies.
Becoming a contractor. (As someone who’s freelancing full-time right now, I liked how blunt and transparent this freelancing breakdown comes across, even if we’re in different industries.)
THIS WEEK’S MIXTAPE
Listen to this week’s mix on Spotify.
(Note: Not every song is available on streaming services.)
Hannah Frances - “Floodplain”
Scratches that “Fiona Apple but more folk” itch I didn’t even know I had.
Maya Gray - “Sand Prayer”
“Sand Prayer” indeed sounds like a prayer. I love how this song builds. Think Bono’s whole “Scream without raising your voice” bit but make it pretty and earnest.
Gaza Ali - “Misled”
I would have enjoyed The Idol more if “Misled” was in the show.
2/14 - “Graduation”
“But at least his tattoo is cool”-core.
1 REBEL NATION - “Jonestown”
Similar to that lovely Anna Shoemaker song I shared a few weeks back when I moved to LA. I love the vocal change-up from the verse to the chorus, showing off figurative and literal range.
Bobby Greenshoes Parker - “It’s Tearing Us Apart”
Old school soul without feeling old.
Atka - “Desiring Machines”
I’ll have more to say about the new Mitski album when it comes out; last week, I attended her listening party at LA’s Brain Dead Studios which was followed by a screening of Days of Heaven, a lovely film and heavy-handed metaphor for the new LP. For now, I will say this: I miss when Mitski wrote songs like “Desiring Machines.” Hell, I could have heard “Desiring Machines” on the last Alvvays record. Y’all know how much I love the last Alvvays record.
Ratboys - “It’s Alive!”
I like the new Ratboys record. I think I wanted to love it. If I was still living in Chicago, I would be listening to this album nonstop on my daily neighborhood walks. I’ll revisit this album deeper into Fall when I think this album will really thrive. Reminds me of Great Grandpa’s Four of Arrows, another album that’s not interesting to write about but still sounds amazing when you play it at a party with friends. “But you have a great personality”-core. This will be my first Fall on the West Coast, so maybe “It’s Alive” will be my lifeline when I need to remember what turning leaves and scarves look like.
Zach Bryan - “Overtime”
We now have the real-life embodiment of Bradley Cooper’s character from A Star Is Born. The idea of Zach Bryan is more interesting to me than his actual music. The new album is fine and a little too long. It reminds me of Pinegrove—kind of basic but pretty, spacious, and diet-emo enough for non-country fans to jump onto with ease. My colleague Zach Kelly joked on Twitter that Bryan is just Bright Eyes for meatheads, which … yeah. But we all need a gateway drug. Bryan also seems to be this year’s “OK, fine” breakout star for many music fans who don’t care about country music but want someone to root for against Morgan Wallen. 2023 will be the year that country music took the spotlight away from hip-hop and any popstar not named Taylor Swift, and Zach Bryan (for now) will be country’s critical darling anti-hero until he says or does something vaguely moderate or conservative. This isn’t me acting like an Internet troll but more pointing out how right now, it feels easier to defend Bryan the dude than Zach Bryan the musician.
And yet. As I write this newsletter, every time I relisten to “Overtime,” it grows on me. I go from snickering at the Bright Eyes comparison to actually appreciating how this would indeed be what Bright Eyes would sound like in 2023. The horns really get me. The lyrics are refreshingly direct; I don’t doubt for a moment that Bryan means every word he sings. I would be happy to be proven wrong and by the end of this year, declare this album a flawed classic.
(I’m aware that I haven’t written about Oliver Anthony in this newsletter. I’m not actively avoiding him—I think his story and the collective reaction to his music are fascinating and worthy of examination—I just haven’t had the time or energy to do that deep dive yet.)
The Rolling Stones - “Angry”
Very sad but not surprised to hear Mick Jagger force his tired and wealthy bandmates to sound more like Harry Styles.
Olivia Rodrigo - “all-american bitch”
[Insert lame and generic joke about how music critic guys in their late 30s and 40s would rather go out of their way to gush over Rodrigo and seem cool than go to therapy and yeah, wow, a music critic dude who doesn’t love the new Rodrigo album, wow, how out of touch he must be, music critics should only promote music beloved by TikTok teens because TikTok teens are the new music critics according to TikTik teens and yada yada yada.]
I don’t know, y’all. I will say that I like this album a little more than her last one, even if it still gives me too many flashbacks to endless rotations of Avril Lavigne's music videos on MTV and VH1. The Zoomers weren’t around for Lavigne, so I forgive them for getting super excited about Rodrigo. My generation was the target demographic for Lavigne, so I forgive my friends for getting super excited about music that makes them feel like they’re teenagers again. I also won’t pretend that this music is interesting or even well produced, even by corporate-approved feminist rock standards. “Oh, wow, an 20-year-old is using curse words, WOW!” I wonder how this album would play if most modern media wasn’t run by Disney adults.
Once again, Julia Gray got it right.
Joyce Manor - “End of the Summer”
Happy Fall!
Tim Burnelis - “Pikmin 4 Title Theme”
I started playing Pikmin for the first time over the holiday and am loving it. Scratches a Stardew Valley itch of blending wholesomeness with ruthless time management. The main piano theme is so inviting. Video game music is incredible, of course.
The Breeders - “Divine Hammer”
Happy 30th anniversary, Last Splash. The reason I like the new Olivia Rodrigo album more than her last album: it reminds me more of The Breeders.
Arctic Monkeys - “Do I Wanna Know?”
AM turned 10 since the last newsletter. I’m kicking myself for not pitching a story about this anniversary. I don’t usually do anniversary features, but I would have made an exception for AM because 1) I still think it’s a strong record from a great band 2) I clearly remember this album rollout from 2013 and all the chaos that came from NME (and I think Rolling Stone) adding it to their list of greatest albums of all time … the literal day the album came out 3) The music video for “Do I Wanna Know?” has 1.5 billion streams on YouTube, which is insane for any rock band from any era (including eras when the mainstream still cared about guitar bros) 4) Within the same week this album came out, another formative guitar-rock record came out …
The 1975 - “Sex”
… Yes, The 1975’s self-titled debut came out within the same week span as AM. If I had more time, I would have done a deep dive into how AM was guitar rock’s last big breath before The 1975 took guitars in the direction that would dominate the next decade in rock music, even as the emphasis was less on earnest riffs and more on bits. The timing is uncanny. The self-titled debut mostly holds up, though I would forgive diehards who still prefer the original EPs and still think this album is a wet blanket. The entire band has always sounded good, but it would take another album for Matt Healy to better balance being annoying with compelling.
Smash Mouth - “Walkin’ On The Sun”
RIP Steve Harwell. I’m also in the target demographic and generation of Smash Mouth’s original rise to fame. I don’t have anything clever or contrarian to add for a band that I enjoyed mostly through their hits. I just hope his family is finding peace at this time.
Jimmy Buffett - “A Pirate Looks At Forty”
RIP Jimmy Buffett. Like Smash Mouth, I don’t have deep knowledge of the catalog but also don’t have any ill will toward someone who figured out how to build a successful career. “A Pirate Looks At Forty” is the only Buffett song I’ll go out of my way to relisten. It’s an especially strong and gentle song that never sounds bad. The next time you’re watching a sunset, put on “A Pirate Looks At Forty.”
And that’s it!
Until next Wednesday, as always.
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With love and all the other good things,
-b
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