I almost didn’t even want to admit it, but I had a dream about Sam. A bad dream. I can’t really remember the details (and nothing sexual so save it for your fan fic) but I do remember we were in a fight. But it was a one-sided fight. I was really mad at him, and we were fighting on Gchat, but it wasn’t working because he kept laughing at me. I remember I called him a “cringe Reddit atheist” and it made him laugh at me in all caps, which made me even more mad. Later in my mind I realized I had been overreacting and irrational, but now in the waking world I still think I was right.
I will say, my subconscious wasn’t mad at him when we were talking about YouTube videos for 7 hours a week. Is that why? What inner healing must I complete? Anyway, here’s what we’re listening to this week.
METZ “Light Your Way Home”
Sam: Hey has anyone heard of this band?? It feels quant to think about now, but when Metz (not stylizing) started playing in Toronto in the heady days of 2008, it felt like the first band from the city since Fucked Up where every show was a guaranteed do-not-miss-something-sick-will-happen thing. And liked Fucked Up, as their appeal quickly broadened to include people who didn’t like or know the bands they were often explicitly referencing, you’d hear very funny critiques about how all the songs sounded the same (yeah, they sounded sick as hell). Yet here I am, in 2024, stoked out on a METZ (I’ll do it now that we’re in the present) song that does something totally new - the ‘gaze. I still just want songs that sound like Shallow North Dakota but this is cool, too! METZ, more than a t-shirt being worn by someone you don’t like!
Jos: It’s funny to joke about Wilco dads, because I think Metsz (how’s that stylizing, bitch?) is the real “music for heather-grey shirt dads who are excited to tell you there’s a Sub Pop record store in the Sea-Tac airport.” The problem I have with Metz is not just that every song sounds the same, but that one song is always 4 minutes long in a way that feels 7 minutes long. So if there’s shoegaze going into the mix, that’s gonna be a long ass ride. Isn’t someone from Moneen in this? Why can’t they add some octave chords? Okay I finally clicked in and this shit is 5 minutes long. It’s gonna feel like sitting through an episode of Ozark. You’re right, they are ‘gazing. I think we need a new Moneen album.
Restorations “Cured”
Sam: Trippin’ down memory lane this week! In the brief period of time where Junior Battles was touring A LOT and somehow every Philly show we played was a magnificent experience (having zero to do with us but everything to do with timing and adjacency to bands having a moment), I somehow don’t think we ever played with Restorations. But Jon was always around and the nicest dude, and we had the same glasses and looked the same (didn’t we all, though) which people loved to comment on. His band became much more popular than my band, but I think they also got old and slowed down. This return - first album since 2018 - is my favourite thing they’ve ever done. Without knowing, but knowing in my heart, I have to imagine it’s because… nothing matters now. You’re not going to get a better spot at the Fest. You’ve probably got a job and a life. Now you can just make your Constantines-but-more-Jawbreaker music in peace. That’s nice!
Jos: I love that there was a band in Sam world called Restorations, probably just a little bit after the time that everyone in cool world was obsessed with the band Regulations. I wonder if Sam has ever heard Regulations? Does Sam fuck with the blistering hot telecaster tone? Does anyone anymore? Seems like Regulations was so big with a certain kind of punker for almost 10 years and then no one ever spoke about them ever again. There’s probably a pile of garbage on an island in the middle of nowhere with a mountain of Regulations shirts that have been cropped and cut to have scoop necks, right between the island full of Jane Doe hoodies and the island of Bane hoodies. Anyway, it makes so much sense that Sam’s favourite band is the Matthew Good Band, because even the punk bands he loves have that sound.
Anonymous Carpetting “Bell Bottom Strutter”
Jos: My friend Arielle would have been the perfect pod guest: she has an encyclopaedic knowledge of punk, a great sense of humour, and a history making unique college radio. Only problem is, I couldn’t possibly think of a place to invite her on. She’d probably have said yes, too, but she’s just too cool to be forced to talk about Lagwagon or Simple Plan or, worst of all, blink-182. Best known for Janitor Scum, Glitter, and Puppet Wipes, she’s just released another new tape of baffling outsider music that’s equal parts creepy naivete and joyful pastiche. It’s hard to sound like you might not know what you’re doing when you definitely know exactly what you’re doing, but she makes it sound effortless.
Sam: “Bell Bottom Strutter” is such a fantastic phrase and it sounds so good when it gets sung. I just searched and this is the very first instance of anyone writing “bell bottom strutter” anywhere online. That’s so fucking sick. You try coming up with a sick evocative collection of three words that no one has ever tried out before. You can’t! What about “reckless phrase originator.” Actually yeah I just invented that. I’m as cool as Arielle now.
James Massiah “Charlie”
Jos: Earlier this week, we got lunch from a nearby spot that represents the perfect kind of gentrification: a white-owned banh mi place with a punny name that has a really cool interior and the hippest people you’ve ever seen working there. And it’s also somehow really cheap. Anyway, while I was standing in line, the entire shop — customers and band member employees alike — was bobbing along to a song that was undeniably so good even though it’s mostly some guy saying the name “Charlie” over and over again. I normally use Shazam to continue beating the same tired old bit into the ground, but I just had to find out what the song was that was causing an updated post-record store version of the High Fidelity Beta Band scene to unfold. Turns out it’s James Massiah, a South London poet, producer, and performer whose latest EP is said to document “the dark yet electrifying energy of London’s nightlife whilst documenting the highs and lows of his love story.” Such a rich experience while waiting for my sandwich (one time I called it a “sub” and they made fun of me).
Sam: I remember being absolutely horrified by my last Shazam so I just checked and yeah, it’s bad - “Le Roy, la Rose et le Lou[p] (Chanson thème)” by Ariane Roy, Lou-Adriane Cassidy, and Thierry Larose. I can’t tell if this is a theme to a show, or a theme to their tour, or their friendship? Tried to read a translated article from La Presse about them but every anecdote reads like “Is it almost the bowl?” », asks Lou-Adriane. “What’s the bowl?” », replies Dominique Plante, guitarist and privileged collaborator of Ariane. Now I’m listening to this song again and honestly it’s a pretty cute time. But the “Charlie” song is better. Who is he?? So mysterious. Like all Charlies.