If Coheed and Cambria liked to share memes about not skipping leg day

This week from Sam and Josiah

Hey it’s Sam this time. Ending a podcast that somehow managed to occupy eight-plus hours of your week really opens up your life to new experiences and opportunities. You could travel. You could learn a new instrument or take up an exciting hobby. I have decided to ensure I can never do either of those things again by adopting a dog named D.B. Cooper. He is an angel sent from heaven and I would die for him. He loves all the music I like and is never rude about any of the cool bands I listen to. He is an excellent replacement for the other DOG in my life, if you catch my meaning.

Here’s what we’re thinking about this week (when we’re not thinking about sweet Deebs, my best and only friend in the world).

A Wilhelm Scream “Swallowed by the Sea”

Sam: The band that maybe best defines the taste chasm between Josiah and I is back with a remaster of Partycrasher, their 2013 No Idea full length that I LIKED but did not LOVE at the time. Maybe it was the proximity to all those Grabass Charlestons and Glass & Ashes LPs, but the album sounded muddy as hell which is kind of not the vibe when you’re speedily riffin’ through some Strung Out-style techy skate punk. This 10th anniversary edition is as revelatory as the new Tim mix, even though most cowards of the internet would never be brave enough to say so. Turns out this album is fucking sick as hell! And this unreleased track rocks! I love this band. I bet Josiah is a huge fan now, too. 

Jos: I saw that you put this band in here and let out a loud audible sigh and closed the shared Google Doc for, I’m just looking at the last time I chatted you, a full four hours. That’s even why I told you to put your dog in the intro, so that I could postpone looking at this. Everything about this band, from the name to, well, the 25 seconds of music I’ve heard prior, makes me think of clean-cut guys with really good posture who intentionally try to talk in a lower register so they sound more macho, but still somehow identify as dirtbags because of how much they love jorts. I’m listening now, it’s also so much more technical than I remembered? It’s like if Coheed and Cambria liked to share memes about not skipping leg day. Okay I listened to a minute, might need another four hours of recovery time.

Jean Dawson & SZA “NO SZNS”

Sam: I very belatedly (like, this summer) got obsessed with Jean Dawson’s 2020 album, Pixel Bath, because I like to discover popular things in my own time. This new song is going to be one of those things I play to death over the next few weeks, and maybe one day I’ll be sick of it, but that day is not today. Not only is it an incredible song, the PRODUCTION. The production! I’m chilling but ALSO at attention! What new sounds will be mingling into this heady mix next?? This hook is the best thing I’ve ever heard in my life!!!!!

Jos: Okay this is an extreme ~vibe shift~ but thankfully it’s not a bunch of sales guys doing grunty Punknews prog. I was loving how soft and slowcore this is, and wondering why Sam likes it so much, but then a spooky scary guy showed up and gave it some Spirit Halloween vibes. This is actually insanely good though. Sam’s right sometimes. But he’s going to think he’s always right now that he’s replaced me with a dog.

Pangaea “If”

Jos: You know those played out memes that are like “if the metalcore guitarist looks like this {guy with glasses} you’re gonna die in that pit”? Obviously that shit is extremely played out, but I think there’s a better version. I only want to listen to dance music made by guys who look like this. He looks like a guy you know through a friend-of-a-friend, or maybe your spouse’s coworker, and your brain physically won’t let you remember his name or anything about him, but he still insists on glomming onto you at social events. Even though he doesn’t say anything and there’s clearly no friend chemistry. He just gives you that neutral stare. That guy is fucking sick at drum production and chopping up samples. This song gets really, really good if you let it play out. 

Sam: If only Coop could recommend music I would never otherwise discover on my own I could fully phase Josiah out of my life. But regrettably I consistently find that Josiah is putting stuff in here that I constantly return to, especially because my library is never otherwise filled with the same vibe (thinking specifically of the Helena Deland album from last week that is on constant rotation now and how I wanted to include it this week until I remember why I was listening to it). This reminds me of the music from Tetris Effect: Connected, a game truly built around friend-of-a-friend drums production. Huge compliment.

Dasha Rush “LoveX”

Jos: Generally have a rule to not click on things that include the name “Dasha,” but I’m glad I made an exception for the latest album from Dasha Rush. Yep, I’ve gone full wanker again… I’m back to playing field recordings of birds, warbling synths, and scratchy clicks and cuts on an album literally called Contemplating. I can feel it exfoliating my brain. 

Sam: This is perfect for my new Josiah to fall asleep to during this stressful week of transition, so thank you. But I will not be listening to this again. Good to be brought back down to earth after building you up. I love how much serious ambient artists hate the anonymous-playlistification-of-a-serious-artist pursuit but honestly I will only listen to this ever again on accident in that context. 

Real Lies “Shirley Road”

Jos: There’s no way Sam engaged with either of those other two tracks, right? I’m not even mad… it would be scarier if he had. (Edit: I’m checking in now, and he did! Awww, Sammy.) What if he became a chinstroking turtleneck guy. Anyway, I’m sharing one more, with a bit more of a pop appeal, just in case. Sara and I have become hooked on watching the show Line of Duty, in part because we ran out of good stuff to watch and in part because it has Lol from This Is England in it. I always heard it was good good, but it’s more like 24 good. But because everyone’s British, it still seems more highbrow than the bullshit they peddle over here. That’s kind of how I feel about this new song from Real Lies, a band that almost definitely is not good good, but is still a step up from entry-level crap. I mean, their band name is hinting at some Real Eyes Realize Real Lies shit, and they have a song called “All Good Dogs,” but they still seem kinda cool and hard because they’re British and make bangin’ club chunes. I feel like they’re somewhere on the spectrum between Lust for Youth and the Chainsmokers, my pop sweet spot. Maybe my wanker era is already over.

Sam: Was really hating this until the bit about dogs, which is obviously about New Josiah. Turns out this band rocks even if they have a very high school sophisticate name. The big takeaway here is Line of Duty. I loved 24, obviously, and Ashley and I are going to be looking for a fall show soon. So thank you, Real Lies, for loving my dog and giving me a new stupid television show to watch.