I’ve noticed a lot of people have followed the former pod/now 155 Newsletter account on Twitter, and I think it’s because I have it in my bio. And somehow, while that website devolves into one of the most openly disgusting, wretched places on earth, my popularity is skyrocketing. What does that say about me? Let’s not worry about it.
But that’s not why we’re bringing the newsletter back. We’re bringing it back because Bob Dylan posted a video of MGK performing one of the worst rap songs ever on his Instagram this week. We’re bringing it back because Bif Naked — under her birth name name, no less — keeps popping up as a recommended friend on my Facebook. We’re bringing it back because I was backstage at Sum 41 a couple weeks ago. Because I’m listening to tunes more than ever. Because music is my life.
And, most importantly, because I miss bullying Sam. I need my little pop culture whipping boy so I can let out my rage once a week.
We almost brought back our newsletter in January, and when I say we almost did I mean we planned to share our top 50 tracks of 2024 and write a blurb about each song. And I did that. I wrote 50 blurbs about 50 Sam songs, sitting through the heartfelt harms and corny ass singalongs, and thinking of new things to say about the songs I already liked. I still have it as an open, unsaved TextEdit doc on my computer.
I don’t blame Sam, he’s had more life experiences in the last year than most have in, well, a life. In fact, maybe that’s the problem. I haven’t been blaming Sam. After spending so much time talking to him every week, I started falling in love, rolling my fingers around inside an imaginary phone cord while we babbled deep into the night. But now that time has passed, I no longer give a shit about Sam! Who cares that you have a new kid and a new job and so much to do? I’m making you write a weekly newsletter again!
Fuck you, Sam! And fuck you, readers! And as someone who thought he was going to quit writing about music in 2021, fuck me too.
Here’s what we’re listening to this week.
Initiate “Too Much”
Sam: It’s good. And then the aggressive acoustic guitar start strumming away and it becomes GREAT. A very quick search has led me to believe this band has somehow never played New Friends Fest which feels spiritually incorrect. I want to watch this band play at a big ass Lithuanian Hall while I wonder if I’m the oldest and least punk person in the room. Let this grandiose anthem ring through the halls of Lithuania!
Jos: Welp, all that build up and now Sam’s just showing me something pretty good. I guess what I don’t really understand about Normie Skramz is like, are these people just among us? My Uniqlo-sporting waiter is bussing plates to save up to tour with his tasteful Envy mock? The person bored working at a kiosk while I wander around the mall is actually ornately writing “nightmares become reality” in their notebook? The more I listen I definitely hear Level Plane and Deafheaven and that kinda stuff, but it’s also straight-up a Creed song if you switch out the vocals. Creed, another great band I saw recently that I didn’t get to write about in the newsletter.
Hazzerd “ThArSh 'TiLl DeTh”
Sam: From Calgary but probably too cool to waste time hanging with anyone like Josiah who isn’t interested in shotgunning tall boys of Old Style, this is true Canadian culture. Americans, do you like what you see? Do you want this? This is why we boo at hockey games now. We must protect the heshers of Western Canada.
Jos: Scared to watch this one. That band name. The fact they’re from Calgary. It’s definitely gonna be someone I directly cyberbullied when I used to write the local alt-weekly music column. (Although that was in print… inkbullied?) Okay I don’t recognize these guys and they do seem a little more classically thrash metal and not like, they got into it the hesher lifestyle after they went to a sad Fubar meet and greet way too late (btw, it’s crazy that those Fubar guys broke up). They also don’t seem particularly proud of being from Calgary, so they’re winning me over. As long as I never have to speak to them or see them live or listen to this ever again.
Yung Lean “Forever Yung”
Jos: Look, we’re probably going to be posting about some stuff that we’ve never heard of before at some point, but we’re old dogs and it’s hard to learn new tricks. I love Yung Lean and I still feel like every new thing he releases is some form of a victory lap. This song is so incredible… some have pointed out the “Tainted Love” vibe, but to me there’s something downright U2-ish when the strings hit. It’s like a warbly drunk-sounding (but still sober) “The Sweetest Thing.” And the video is just pure magic as Yung Lean and his real-life friends take over a Hungarian village. (Although “I HATE WOMEN” is certainly an interesting choice for a hoodie….)
Sam: I’m going to have to start making changes to the structure of this newsletter so we’re not already at the end before I have a chance to respond to Josiah’s scurrilous accusations. First of all, I did make notes on Josiah’s year end playlist. I just didn’t get as far as he did:
Damn why wasn’t this in the newsletter before? This is so magical. Been doing a lot of staring at a child and singing and this is making me all cried up
This was on my list too but only because Josiah put it in the newsletter and he’s right it rocks. Very funny people don’t like this? Why are we so brave? I think this is probably better than Sabrina Carpenter, if I can recall her SNL performance correctly?
I’m starting to realize how much of my list came from Josiah and skipping ahead I’m disheartened to discover I had zero impact on him this year. Not even a single song?? Not a single nim for Sam???? Feeling like a younger sib, hating it.
Stopped paying attention
This album was so good why didn’t I include it.
What songs were these? You’ll never know, just like how I’ll never see what Josiah wrote about all 50 songs I picked. Wow that’s really funny to think about eh.
Brian D’Addario “Till the Morning”
Jos: Look, this is obviously just like Kinks cosplay. But it’s so fucking good. You can’t make music that sounds like this! It’s just unbelievably perfect. The Lemon Twigs are two absolute freaks. These little dork ass brothers that are just completely obsessed with chord progressions and cool production tricks and wearing perfect little vintage clothes. When I’m listening to this it makes me feel shame for all the other pathetic little worms who are starting bands. Do this instead. You can’t.
Sam: Maybe it’s because I don’t sleep anymore (hints above) but up until the music video started I was expecting this to be Head from Korn. How? Why? Well, trying to follow the crumbs my brain is leaving me – His name is “Brian,” and “D’Addario” is also a popular brand of guitar string, and that’s it. Wish this is what Brian Welch did as a side project. We’d all be delighted!
Counting Crows “Spaceman in Tulsa”
Jos: I don’t know what it is about Adam Duritz but I just can’t resist this freak of a man. Now that he lost his dreads, he’s growing his hair out again, but there’s a massive cavernous bald spot on his hairline and it’s really emphasizing the jet black-ness of his hair dye. And yet… I think he’s the coolest guy on earth. This song has some of the worst lyrics he’s written in a while (“I’m a painkiller and I’m a caterpillar”) and I always recoil in disgust when I hear people sing about being in a “motherfucking rock ‘n’ roll band.” And yet… he sells this shit with his whole Durussy. By the end I feel just as amped up as the drummer, awkwardly hitting the cymbals like that.
Sam: I will simply never recover from the revelation that his dreads were a wig. He didn’t commit to something. He made that decision every day. He kind of looks like Kevin Smith now? As in, now he looks like Kevin Smith, but probably from a few years ago. I need to stop listening to this.
Liberal Jelly Roll
Jos: The truth of the matter is that I’m also busier than I’ve ever been in my life, working so hard at, well, work. I shouldn’t be doing anything like this, but I’ve noticed that I need an outlet for all my bad energy when I’m feeling stressed and overwhelmed. For example, on a particularly busy week, almost not of my own will but as though a foreign entity had taken over my body, I started a Bluesky account called Liberal Jelly Roll that ultimately imagines what it would be like if the country rap phenom Jelly Roll had rebranded himself as a #Resistance Liberal in the wake of Trump 2.0. And every once in a while, without realizing I’m doing it, I log into the LJR account and post, well, I don’t remember. I don’t want to know. I don’t know what’s happening. How do I escape this life I’ve built for myself?
Sam: I logged out of my Twitter account at the start of November and haven’t looked back, except when I think longingly of all the horrible shit Josiah is posting that I never see. At some point I told him I wished there was a digest of his worst tweets I could just get, and he got the hint and sends me anytime he becomes the object of an entire community’s ire. LJR is some of his finest, stupidest work, and bodes well for Bluesky as a platform. morning nut >>>>>>