Why are things that suck so good
Josiah has been my footprints in the sand for about two months so even though he probably has 200 new screencaps of people yelling at him for posting, like, “sorry to say that Jello Biafra was the MGK of the Bay Area and even he’s been made obsolete by the progressive punk ethos of Sam Altman and his merry band of AI pranksters” or “sorry stoners but weed isn’t punk, I just heard about straight edge from Lil Wayne at a Trump rally #MAGA” or whatever, I thought I’d give him a break and surprise write the intro without asking. I’m so noble.
Admittedly, I don’t have anything new to say but I did take a nice photo of Coopie this morning so you get to look at that. Actually you know what, here’s a photo of me gazing longingly at my brother, Kiefer, from earlier in the month. It’s been an extremely weird one.
Here’s some other stuff we’re listening to this week.
Hey, Ily “(Dis)Connected”
Sam: I really liked Internet Breath and Psychokinetic Love Songs, but this new single from Hey, Ily is sooooo anthemic and shiny it makes me think I was an IDIOT for ever enjoying those other records. There’s still a scrappiness here that is extremely charming, but the big parts feel so BIG that can’t wait to see where the band goes next. More of this Stereo / Anniversary vibes from all young people, please!
Jos: That is such an annoying band name (which appears to not have a comma but I’m not fixing your blurb… well fuck now in my pursuit of being a pedant I’m learning the band is called Hey, ily! when not on streaming services, it just keeps getting so much worse) and your impression of my perfect tweets was so bad that I’m fuming. I’m ready to rip this and you to shreds. Now to hit play…. Yup I knew I was setting myself up for this. This is really good. I love all the bells and whistles they’ve got going on, and the vocals are sensi and emotive without being too annoying. I like it. So now I’m even more angry.
Kanonenfieber “Sturmtrupp”
Sam: Lot of concerning signs here but strenuous searching has led me to believe that the band “Kanonenfieber” who dress like this and have a song called “Sturmtrupp” on an album that looks like this are actually not Nazi. I guess their entire thing is rooted in German stories from World War I which, SURE, but this feels like it’s quacking a lot like a duck while telling me it’s just a duckling. That said, this duckling has RIFFS FOR DAYS!!! I’m positive I won’t look back on this with regret, and neither will anyone else.
Jos: Hahahah okay now we’re talking. It’s sick that Nazi signifiers have made it downstream enough that you can get a band with mysterious guy hardcore Canva presets, but they just sound like Five Finger Death Punch. This unbelievably terrible in a perfect way that makes me happy again. Omg the Rammstein esque part around the second verse is so shitty hahaha. Why are things that suck so good.
Brandy Senki “Coming-of-age Story”
Jos: Okay, time to right the ship. YouTube recommended me this video last week, and normally I would never be so philistinic as to click on such a thing, but I’m so glad I did. Brandy Senki is a Japanese indie rock trio, and “Coming-of-age Story” really lives up to its title with a beautiful collection of riffs, quiet-loud dynamics, and soothing vocals. The video is so good. Yes, it kinda looks like a Levi’s ad or something, but they really manage to make it unbelievably charming. Also when the blonde hair dye guy pours water all over his head around the 2:17 mark it really becomes a Gob video. Just an all around instant classic.
Sam: Oh wow yeah I love this but I cannot believe that’s how you found it. I guess how does anyone find music in this crazy modern world? You mostly hear about YouTube recommendations in the context of everyone’s parents being racist now so it’s good to know that as a platform is still has power for good (unless you play in Kanonenfieber, which case I guess it’s doubly good now).
The Innocence Mission “This Thread Is a Green Street”
Jos: It’s been a minute, but I think being wimpy as fuck is coming back in a major way. So it’s wonderful news that my sweet, sweet Innocence Mission have another new album coming out. And of course it comes with a delightfully rough-around-the-edges music video straight out of the craft drawer. Gen X rightfully gets a lot of shit for their whole thing, but one thing they really did nail was twee.
Sam: I’m feeling a lot better than I was last week but this ruined it. I appreciate that Josiah and I both love wimp shit but in very different ways. This makes me feel uncomfortable with myself, like I’m trapped on a long bus ride and my headphones died, but I guess I’m hearing this so maybe some weird teens are playing it off their phone? I don’t know I just want to move on.
The Cure “Alone”
Jos: I obviously like the Cure, but I’ve never gone all in. And now that I’ve missed my opportunity to see them for like $20 or whatever it was, it seems like the perfect time to learn all the albums. They’ve got their first one in 16 years about to arrive, and this first song from it is so cool. It’s like an hour long, and the vocals don’t come in until the very end, so you’re just hanging out with these synths and pianos and stanky bass lines. It’s perfect music.
Sam: Seeing the cheap Cure tour last summer was really magic, and it feels like it really put some pep in the step of all the fencesitting fans like me who might have otherwise stayed casual for our whole lives. This rocks. I’m retooling my whole personality to be about this now.
U2 “The Country Mile”
Jos: Wait Sam’s busy and I just found this so I’m adding a fourth thing. U2 is reissuing their horribly titled How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb with an even worse titled bonus album How to Reassemble an Atomic Bomb, 10 more songs that didn’t make the original sessions. I didn’t really fw this album at the time, but “City of Blinding Lights” is an unbelievably good song. And this newly dropped “The Country Mile” also sounds pretty great. U2 is such a sick band.
Sam: I am not even going to listen to this, you can’t keep adding songs until I get to the newsletter. The whistle is blowing here at the office and need to get home and I won’t be five minutes later because I had to listen to “The Country Mile.” Although I will say that I heard “All I Want is You” for the first time in a minute this week and I was reminded that U2 can occasionally rock. Probably not now, and probably not this!