Welp, everyone in Australia hates me again. We took a few weeks off from the normal newsletter for a mixture of real-life reasons and the fact we had two weeks of deep deegie soul-sharing to post. And in that time, I once again have managed to make many powerful enemies around the globe.
It all started with an innocent post of a fake tattoo (it’s a real tattoo — the guy who did it found me and yelled at me for claiming it was my own before going private), where I then begged parents not to let their children talk to me about it. And as a result, thousands of people have been calling me “anti-natalist” for the last few weeks. And it became international news, with poorly written pieces in both Yahoo! Lifestyle and the Daily Mail. Meanwhile, I’m just tryna chill.
Anyway, here’s some stuff we’re listening to this week.
Hill View #73 “All the Time”
Sam: Expertly but I think accidentally the most 2004 mix CD thing I’ve heard in 20 years. Slip this between some Let’s Go Sailing and Say Hi to Your Mom and that’s a strong run guaranteed to get some serious spins when you’re just chilling at the arts and crafts hut on a late August day working at summer camp. This could have been on the I Saw the TV Glow soundtrack which, for me in this exact moment in time, is the highest praise I am able to offer any musical work.
Jos: Still haven’t seen that movie. But I do get the feeling that Sam is taking the long route to have an Alex G phase. Which I’m also doing, I like lots of his songs but I haven’t fully taken the plunge yet. This is just really nice music. And I love the cover art. And I love how bad the heavy guitar tone sounds at the end. Good work Sam, I will let you continue writing the newsletter.
Mandy “Forsythia”
Sam: Now That’s What I Call a Dirge! A quick search has shown that I have actually only written about my love of the humble pop-punk dirge in this newsletter twice, and once only to say that I actually love a pop-punk shuffle more. How restrained and tasteful of me! I love this sludgy tempo juxtaposed with that playful little guitar lead mimicking the distant vocal hook. One of those songs where you can picture the drummer struggling through every fill to not up the pace, like Animal when the Dr. Teeth forces him to play restrained.
Jos: You do love a dirge and this lightly elvish sounding vocal delivery. It’s kinda crazy that you’ve found two songs that sound so much like a floppy soft case CD-R promo either of us would’ve gotten in 2003. But I do sometimes wonder — are young people making bands that sound like the olden days? Or are the only people left starting bands the same old people from the olden days? Like is this band a bunch of 22-year-olds, or a bunch of adjunct professors who still have 5 roommates and play tunes on the weekend? Either way I do agree, this is good.
Jack White “Underground”
Jos: Maybe it’s because I’m lost without the pod. Or maybe it’s because I’ve been playing guitar so much lately. Or maybe it’s because I fucking hate post-punk and indie sleaze revival and especially the Dare so much. Or maybe it’s all of those things. But I’ve been secretly having an alternative rock phase over the last couple of weeks? I have never ever liked the White Stripes, but I went to Third Man Records in Detroit and obviously loved it because what can I say? I’m still a millennial, gang. Anyway, even surprising myself, I listened to the new Jack White album and really liked it. It’s very raw and rockin’ and other disgusting descriptors that normally would’ve turned me away. But the vibe shift is forcing me into a guy who loves stuff like this. Next stop, soyfacing at the vinyls at the Seattle airport Sub Pop store.
Sam: I was so excited to roast this man Josiah-style but honestly this is fun and I like it, too. It’s sunny out, it’s Friday (we’re writing late this week) and I already know I’m going to pop this on when the whistle blows and it’s officially the freakin’ weekend. Every time Jack White is on TV I think “this guy is so annoying” and by end I’m like “but he does rock” and without having to see his whole band dressed up like a Peaky Blinders-themed bachelor party in some horrible part of London (all of the parts of London). We’re old.
The Smashing Pumpkins “Goeth the Fall”
Jos: What’d I tell you? I’m taking this alt phase seriously. I’ve listened to the new Smashing Pumpkins album like 3 times. It’s awful. But I keep finding things to like about it. This song “Goeth the Fall” is definitely the best one because it doesn’t sound like wrestling entry music (although I’ve also been watching Billy Corgan’s wrestling reality show Adventures in Carnyland, which is kind of great because it feels like a reality show from 2002). Instead, “Goeth the Fall” sounds like Tool trying to write a Vanessa Carlton song. Plus, it’s called “Goeth the Fall.” What more could you want?
Sam: I missed the Rancid / Smashing Pumpkins / Green Day show here two weeks ago, and while I was disappointed I have found solace in reading the very rude reviews of the new Pumpkins album. With zero interest in it myself, I was surprised to find this song to be quite good? Although another new one shuffled on after and it was exactly what I expected, but it was also called “Sicarus,” which sounds like a 12 year-old trying to remember “Zero” having only heard it once while their older cousins played Guitar Hero when they were younger. This just sounds like bad “1979,” which I will always take.
Luca LoPriore “Come with Me”
Jos: Don’t worry, I’m still a normal style rocker too. I was reminded of that when I heard “Come with Me” by Luca LoPriore, who is a teen that advertised his single to me via Instagram. This is definitely someone we can all get in on the ground floor with. From what I can tell, he’s gotta be like 16 and started by covering White Snake songs on Instagram Reels before writing this absolute cooker of a late ‘80s power rocker. This song seems like it would play over the opening scene of a 1991 teen sex comedy that has only been released on VHS, and the poster says it’s called like Summer Weekend Craze but the opening title says it’s called Guido’s Getaway and the director like died while it was being shot and also Shooter McGavin is in it for some reason. What I’m trying to say is Luca is cooking, big time. Check out this vid of him singing part of it in his school hallway.
Sam: Incredible. I know you’re only sharing the best of the best from your Instagram ads, and if there were more it would be less special, but I want this to be a weekly feature. How perfectly out of time, from the photo to the font to the thoroughly modern fake drums. I’ve always had a soft spot for Guido’s Getaway since I first caught it one night on CKVR-DT when it was still called “The New VR.”