The low buh buh buh chug followed by the discordant wee wee wee notes
This week in 155, blink-155 and beyond
It’s April Lavigne… or should we say… April La Green??? Do you understand? This week it’s all about “He Wasn’t” and guess what? “She Was” available to come on the show. I’m talking, of course, about the leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party, Marit Stiles, who came on 155 podcast to talk to Sam Sutherland about Avril Lavigne and the Greenbelt. Is there a bunch of other stuff in this episode too? Yeah sure.
Listen to the new ‘sode of 155 here.
Here’s some other stuff we’re thinking about right now:
Better Lovers “30 Under 13”
Sam: Hahahahahaha yes, yessssssss looooooool I am listening to this on repeat as I write and getting more stoked by the second. Could “Greg Puciato basically fronting Every Time I Die” deliver more fully on the promise of “Greg Puciato basically fronting Every Time I Die?” No disrespect to the cute lil electronic digressions of very cool genius Ben Weinman and the most artistically compelling (and easily ignored) aspects of Dillinger Escape Plan’s late-era material, but this is like speedrun through the best of both bands at their most audience friendly. I want to lift so many weights to this for the rest of my life until my biceps explode and I die. It’s looping again.
Jos: I actually clicked on this the other day because someone posted it. I think I’ve followed back a few too many Sam-adjacent people, and it’s fucking up my day-to-day. I listened to Calculating Infinity the most when I was but a boy, so I still think of this muscle man as being the new Dillinger Escape Plan singer. And I also think it’s so funny that there’s only one guitar thing that happens in every metalcore song, the low buh buh buh chug followed by the discordant wee wee wee notes. And people have turned it into a decades-long thing. Very strange.
Deadguy: Killing Music
Dir. William Saunders
Sam: Josiah’s not the only cinephile here! I have an incredibly soft spot in my heart for these exact kinds of music docs — pure passion, zero budget affairs assembled over years and visibly evolving formats for an audience of dozens. “Real” docs can feel like homework — I have a list of recent films I know I should watch for work and that designation alone means I’ll continue to avoid at all costs — but if you’ve been filming your favourite band with whatever equipment you can get your hands on just because you know it’s important? That’s the stuff. Obviously mileage can vary with these kinds of projects, but Deadguy have a genuinely interesting story and make for compelling characters, plus all the big names you’d hope to see in a doc like this are here — Jake Bannon, Justin Pearson, the above-dissed Ben Weinman and the white guy with dreads from Lamb of God. Contains copious amounts of sick old VHS footage of 90s hardcore shows. Extremely sick for people interested in this shit!
Jos: Hahaha the Lamb of God dread guy just did the metalcore impression that I typed out a second ago, right here in this trailer! I get what Sam is saying and this does seem pretty cute. But I need to shield myself from metalcore content. Unless we do like metalcore May or something, I will not be allowing myself near anymore metalcore. Deadguy is a really funny band name though. I probably would have made fun of them and gotten killed.
Tim Hecker
“Total Garbage”
Jos: I’ve noticed Sam has been providing extremely short responses to my entries in the newsletter lately. I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve been posting things that are a multi-hour investment, or if it’s because he’s being glib. But we’ll get into Sam’s glibness on the pod this week. I listened to the new Tim Hecker album and, I’m not sure if I’ve changed or he’s changed, but it hits so hard. I kinda fell out with his tunes for a while (coincidentally as I started seeing him around at the YMCA…) but this new one really feels like a classic. I also recently found this old interview I did with Andrew WK and Tim Hecker at the same time on the concept of composition, which kinda feels like the pod before the pod. Anyway Tim Hecker is cool. I should start saying hi to him at the gym, or at least start sneaking pics.
Sam: Okay dude you’ve mostly been sharing movies lately and I’m not watching a whole Albert Brooks movie just to be like “not Mel but my man got jokes!” I think if I had listened to this a day ago I would have been into it because it went from mid-summer to snowy and terrible in a few hours here and everyone got depressed again. But I’m sitting in a sunbeam and honestly I just want to listen to “He Wasn’t” again. Tim Hecker is on the list of stuff I know is cool but I’m not cool enough for it. I still added this album to Apple Music for more thoughtful nighttime listening.
Beabadoobee “Glue Song” (ft. Clairo)
Jos: Sometimes I wonder if I should start getting into all of the young bucks that are making nice whispery indie ditties, but that really does seem like mid-life crisis behaviour, and my Neil Young Archives membership is about to re-up so I’m better off staying on there. But I have always thought Beabadoobee has strummy indie swag, and her “Glue Song” has been bolstered with a guest spot from Clairo. I was really digging it at first but then the piano lead got way too Feist-y and I started feeling like a National dad. Also, Beabadoobee was the basis for that Powfu song a couple years ago, and he’s from Mission, BC, and Clairo is a very public Jay Arner fan, so we’re basically triangulating on Abbotsford with this song, and that’s definitely a good thing.
Sam: Since our Powfu episode I’ve been a confirmed Beabadoobee fan. Really loved Fake it Flowers. Clairo is cool, really enjoyed Sling. This sounds so Canadian tho. I can picture myself getting riled up yelling at someone about this at an Exclaim! party ten years ago, that government money only goes to support the most middle of the road pablum and this will probably win Polaris and no one actually likes this music it’s just polite. Huh a Tim Hecker song from that new album just shuffled on after this finished on YouTube and it’s actually pretty sick. Maybe I’ll like this if I just wait another five minutes. But “it’s giving Feist” is something I would say if I said stuff like that.
Foo Fighters
“Rescued”
Jos: I like to close out the newsletter with something that neither of us necessarily endorse but also might have something to say about. I don’t really like the Foo Fighters at all, even though some recent Sirius XM drops on “Pop Rocks” have been attempting to change my mind. But it is interesting that they were churning out content right up until Taylor Hawkins’ death, and they’re already back churning out content again. Okay, hitting play. I was kinda into the clean guitar noodles but then these awful guitar stabs and grunty vocals came in like new Death From Above 1979. Man this fucking sucks. You know who’s aging perfectly? Billy Corgan.
Sam: I’m big Foos apologist. Haven’t enjoyed any of their album since There is Nothing Left to Lose, but I truly love those first three records a lot and Dave Grohl seems like a genuinely very cool guy, memes that are not his fault aside. That Sonic Highways series he made is fucking sick (name also aside)! I’ll even listen to new records once, just to see if the old magic is back. I thought I liked one of their new songs but it turns out that song is 12 years old. Don’t like how that made me feel. This is pretty decent! I like the stabs! I’ll never listen to it again. But I hope my boys can heal.
blink-155 s02e25
It’s finally happening. People are starting to understand the power of the “Words” cycle on blink-155. It only took three hours and 33 words, but everyone seems to be on board with our series where we talk about the lyrics of “Edging” one word at a time. This week it’s “get,” “the” and “rope,” four times each. And it’s good!