Go Out Waltzing

The Josh Wells Weekly, Episode 327

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Things got a little silly at Thanksgiving this year.

Random Thought

Around this time every year, I try to watch the Band’s ‘The Last Waltz.’ It’s become a tradition of mine. For those that don’t know what I’m talking about, A band called ‘The Band’ decided that they were gonna call it quits and turn their final show ever into a big event. It was filmed in San Francisco on Thanksgiving of 1976 and later made into a concert film/documentary by none other than Martin Scorsese (this is my favorite and most-watched Scorsese thing ever. That’s probably a wild statement to some but yes, Last Waltz > Goodfellas). A list of famous musicians would come out and make cameos and jam with the Band, making it one of the most prolific last performances ever in rock and roll history.

Strengthening that tradition, over the past 6-7 years I’ve made it a point to catch a group of super talented local musicians who put on their own live version of the Last Waltz, and it is incredible. It’s the same show every year and it never stops blowing my mind how impressive and meticulous the whole thing is.

I mention all of this as a preface to what I’m about to say. I watch this every year and with anything else I watch several times, I tend to take in a new thing from the experience that I didn’t quite take in before. For years, the mystique for me was how the Band called their own shot for how they’d go out. They’d turn it into a good-vibe, famous friend fest that would help solidify and strengthen their overall impact for generations to come. As someone who warmed up to the Band a little later in life, I found my entry into being a fan through the last thing they ever did, The Last Waltz. As I’d work my way backwards through their albums, I’d never quite grasp onto or like anything as much as The Last Waltz.

But this year, as I was watching the likes of Dr. John and Neil Young come out on stage to do their thing with the Band, I realized something different. The Band accidentally called the shot for a whole generation. This was late 1976 and shit was changing. The 80s were coming in fast. Disco and punk would be on the rise, and hip-hop shortly after that. Popular music would dramatically reinvent itself. Musicians like the Band, Neil Young, Dr. John, Van Morrison, even Bob Dylan, would never be as popular as they once were after 1976 and after the Last Waltz. Music fans would lose their rabid taste for Americana/folk/country-tinged rock and roll.

When the 80s and MTV came sweeping in like a tsunami, it was classic rock that took the damage. Growing up listening to classic rock radio, the classic rock they played was mostly late 60s/early 70s stuff. There’s a definite vibe and generational lining that comes with that. I had a friend once call it ‘Vietnam Rock,’ which although it’s not all protest music, makes a lot of sense. The generation that would find themselves mired in the Vietnam War is responsible for an amazing generation of rock and roll music.

But nothing lasts forever. You could look at the list of cameos in the Last Waltz and sure, many of them would go on to still be productive and put out new music for years to come, but none of them would ever be as popular as they once were. There’s something almost prophetic about what the Band pulled off. The writing was on the wall. Let’s have one more good-time, killer jam session and then get the fuck out of here. These kids coming up behind us do not wanna hear our shit.

That’s why going to see the Last Waltz performed live by a group of musicians who are mostly of a similar age to me is so oddly powerful. The Last Waltz is practically a bookend for an era of music that we were accidentally raised on by our parents and classic rock radio formats. To this day, I love that shit so much. And it’s so amazing for one night a year to share the same space with hundreds of other people around my age who also grew up with that same intense love for an era of music that we were told was better than ours and is never coming back. They might be right about the first claim (I’ll let everyone else exhaust themselves with that debate), but the second claim is a stone-cold fact.

The Last Waltz is the unofficial last hurrah. Instead of a funeral, they made it a party. And now, all these years later, I’ll sit back and watch and be transported to a moment in time I wasn’t even alive for and think to myself, whether it’s better than what I grew up with or isn’t doesn’t matter. What matters is that they’ll never make it like that again and although there is something sad about that, at least The Band and all their famous friends decided to get together one last time and jam out and leave us this incredible historical record that almost dares us to come up with anything that good ever again. If you can’t do that, the least you could do is get together with some of your musician friends and put on your own Last Waltz show every year around Thanksgiving time.

This is The Band. This is a picture of them when they were young and in their prime. I feel like young dudes looked older back then than some older dudes look now. The times, they are a changin’. We’ve become youth obsessed with our looks. Bring on the next young generation that starts dressing like old people again.

Movie I watched this week: After the Hunt

I had a moment back in high school where I thought I maybe wanted to go to college for philosophy. Sometimes I think about that, and those thoughts came in heavy watching this movie because it’s all about philosophy teachers and students. Sure, they went to Yale and there was no way I was ever gonna pull that off, but still, when they sit around and talk about philosophy all philosophical like, I can’t help but think there was a time in my life that that was the adult life I wanted.

With that being said, this movie isn’t really about philosophy. That’s all window dressing. It’s really about teachers and students and their relationships and generational divides and also about one ugly incident of sexual assault between a teacher and a student that maybe happened or maybe didn’t. Heavy stuff for sure. A movie isn’t afraid when it’s willing to lean into the, “but what if she’s lying?” angle.

So, yea, it’s a lot of heavy subject matter that may make some people uncomfortable. There’s also a lot of heavy dialogue. But I think it helps shine a light on the uncomfortable idea that different people can see the same thing in different ways based on different circumstances whether it be age-based, class-based, or even your proximity to the people involved. Maybe this movie is more philosophical than I thought.

The ‘И.’ in Hunt is backwards on movie posters and promos. I’m not 100% certain but I’m wondering if that’s a nod to Trent Reznor of NIИ fame (who also use a backwards ‘И’ in their logo) who worked on the score for this movie.

TV show I watched this week: Jeopardy!

Actually, it’s been a hectic week and I’m two days behind on Jeopardy, so I don’t even know if Super-Champion Harrison Whitaker is still with us. So please, don’t tell me.

Speaking of being behind, I have not watched the new Stranger Things yet. I just learned that the girlfriend is a season behind, so we have to watch that first before moving on to the new stuff. The things you do for love.

But also, pretty cool that I’ll have someone to share the end of Stranger Things with.

Album I listened to this week: Let’s Tip the Landlord / The Brokedowns

They already won me over with the title of the album which is a nod of sorts to one of my all-time favorite Dead Kennedys song, ‘Let’s Lynch the Landlord’ (Coincidently, Dead Kennedys are a band that I’ve been reading about recently and you probably know that already if you read the book section of the newsletter).

I’m really into this album. I love punk and I’ll die on a hill defending it. But I can admit that a lot of it can be very generic. Sometimes it’s just generic rebellion for the sake of generic rebellion, often lacking specific or meaningful targets. That is not the case with this album right here. The Brokedowns are going after things that matter for a current generation of young people.

There is a recurring attack on the whole alpha-male thing going on right now in the world. Plus, some other fun stuff. They not only make a nod to the Dead Kennedys in album title, but also in their onslaught on current topics while also being able to use comedic elements and satire.

Punk in some ways should be like a roadmap. Yes, we’re angry. But what are we angry at? Tell me where to direct the anger at exactly. And if you do that and you luck out, maybe 40 years down the line there’ll be some new, young punk band that will name their album after a song you wrote.

There’s this whole, ‘be the wolf,’ thing that recurs throughout this album, which feels like a take on alpha-males. I think punk rock at its core has always been against the alpha-males and the Brokedowns do an excellent job of reinforcing that concept.

Book I’m currently reading: Dead Kennedys (Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, the Early Years) / Alex Ogg

I finished this book this week. I do this thing with books where I feel like I say everything there is to be said before my final entry in the newsletter about it and that’s probably the case here.

I guess I could say that there’s a part of me that wanted something a little more from this. I know the words “early years” appears on the cover, but still, I think I would’ve liked a little more drama. Maybe some of the court stuff they end up going through. Maybe dig a little deeper into the things that tore this band apart. But that wouldn’t be the early years I suppose. Guess I’ll just have to wait for the sequel.

It’s hard to write or talk about the Dead Kennedys in 2025 and not feel the urge to make an inappropriate joke about this guy right here. I’m not gonna do that. I feel like I’ve given you the nuts and bolts for the joke and you can build it yourself in your own head. Have fun!

Random Sports Thought: Thanksgiving Football

When my family does Thanksgiving, football is on the TV. It’s not the main event. No one is forced to pay attention to it. The volume is on real low so as not to obstruct any other conversation. But also, if you’re looking for something to converse about, you can try to converse about the game that’s currently on the TV.

That feels like a very American thing to me. Deep down inside there’s a punk in me who wants to be all anti-jock, but the truth is, I enjoy watching the NFL. In fact, I feel like my jock tendencies (mostly being an NFL and NBA fan) have helped me bridge some gaps socially. It opens different avenues of conversation for me and helps me find common ground with people I may not have found that common ground with before.

Not that I don’t have common ground with my family, I do. But it’s fun to go back and forth with my Uncle John and either agree or disagree on his football takes not because it feels obligatory but because I pay attention and am a fan and actually wanna talk about this stuff with somebody. Bonus points if it helps with the flow of conversation with my family.

I enjoy my family. I enjoy football. It’s a cool mix. Shoutout to sports for sometimes being a cool family thing.

Also, sometimes Jack White and Eminem show up at halftime just as you’re cramming your first serving of stuffing into your face. That’s pretty cool.

Random Pro Wrestling Thought: Samoa Joe

Hell yeah, Samoa Joe is the AEW World Champion once more. I love it. Going into Full Gear, I was certain that Joe was just filler for Hangman’s title reign. That was not the case. We got an entertaining cage match (although it might’ve been slightly overbooked towards the end there). And if that wasn’t enough, we got the surprise return of Swerve Strickland who apparently decided to spend his off time lifting all the weights and eating all the protein.

Samoa Joe is one of the best on the planet. I write fairly frequently about a current generation of aging wrestlers that are performing at a high level in their twilight years. This feels like one more good time hurrah for Joe before he calls it a career. Perhaps this is Samoa Joe’s, ‘Last Waltz.’ And if it is, that’s awesome. All the greats should be lucky enough to have one.

Things got messy. I love watching this dude work. He always feels like a legit threat to me, like if things got real, he’d actually whoop everyone’s ass.

Top 5 Martin Scorsese Movies

1- The Last Waltz

2- Gangs of New York

3- Goodfellas

4- The Departed

5- Raging Bull

I just googled Martin Scorsese movies and there’s so many I haven’t seen so take this list with a grain of salt.

Weekly Quote

“There were no rules, other than that the song should sound good and be fun to play.”

-Levon Helm

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