Miley Cyrus, John Cusack, Vibes, The Mandalorian, The Crown, My Name is Earl, NFL, AEW, NXT and more!

The Josh Wells Weekly, Episode 69

Bella holding it down under the tree with the gifts.

Random Thought

I’m gonna pass on any attempt of making easy “69” jokes just because this is the 69th issue of the newsletter. I see that number, and instead of chuckling, I think, wow, I’ve been doing this a while. 69 weeks is well over a year. I usually don’t commit to things well and being one shy of a nice round number like 70 is impressive to me. Will I make 100? I like to think I will. I enjoy this newsletter, even if there’s times when I’m writing it and think, “do I have to write all of this today?”

I was recently asked why I don’t have a podcast. Actually, I get that question every so often. I think it’s par for the course in stand up comedy. It seems every comic has a website, social media, and a podcast. I don’t know how anyone can listen to all of them but they’re out there and people are listening to them and that’s pretty cool. I don’t like podcasts though. I don’t hate them either, but most of the time, I’d rather fill my ears with music, even if most of the time the music I’m listening to is already a song/artist/album I’ve heard at least 69 times before.

I did have a podcast at one time. I actually enjoyed recording the podcast. It was a lot of work though. I’d have 4-5 guests per show and we’d do a round table discussion on something music related. I can sit around and bullshit about random music stuff forever so it felt like it was well within my wheelhouse. But week after week, it became a grind and felt like a chore. I was losing one night a week to recording it. Then there was the editing, the promotion, and all the other miscellaneous stuff that comes with a podcast. Having gone through those motions for a few months myself, I actually have a lot of respect for almost anyone who has the drive to keep a podcast going, especially if it’s on a weekly basis, for a long period of time. I’d high five just about anyone who can make it to episode 69 of their podcast without giving up. I gave up on mine well before I hit the 60’s.

I also don’t listen to podcasts and something about that felt unfair. I was adding more content to an already overpopulated art form without appreciating said art form in any manner. It felt kinda selfish to ask people to listen to my podcast. If asked for a Top 5 Podcast list, I’d be hard pressed to name five podcasts at all that I regularly listen to and enjoy. And that’s no beef against podcasts. That’s just to show how little podcast listening I do.

So I have a newsletter and this feels like my lane. I mostly enjoy doing it. I get a lot out of it. I love when I get feedback or when people I know wanna converse about it when I see them in public. Sometimes it almost feels like a podcast when other people start chiming in. It’s also kept me driven to keep consuming new content, new movies, TV shows, books, and albums. Before the newsletter, I was pretty lazy in all those departments. I tend to fall back and listen/watch the same stuff over and over. That’s my comfort zone and this newsletter helps me break out of it. Also, watching more movies is really dope. If there was a contest for person who’s seen the least amount of movies that everyone else has seen and talks about, I feel like I’d win. So in the past 69 weeks or so, I’ve done a little catching up.

I also read and enjoy other newsletters/blog posts/etc. I feel more supportive of this craft. I won’t win any, ‘most well read dude,’ contest anytime soon, but I am a fan of the written word and I’d like to do my part and add to it and so I have 69 times now. Nice.

Movies I Watched Recently

The Frozen Ground

Kinda surprised I didn’t already know about this movie. It stars John Cusack AND Nicholas Cage. That’s a mighty duo right there. This was a very entertaining, albeit dark, flick about a real life serial killer in Alaska. I don’t think it’s much of a spoiler to say that Cusack is said killer. I thought I’d have a hard time rooting against Cusack, he’s usually the dude I cheer for in any other movie I’ve seen him in. But he does a good job of making me not like him more and more as the movie goes on which I guess is important if you’re playing a serial killer.

Cage is Cage. Always solid.

I totally recommend this flick. It tackles some dark and difficult subject matter, but overall I found it to be a compelling viewing.

Vibes

This movie features another dynamic duo, Cyndi Lauper and Jeff Goldblum. Both are very young. The combo of this pairing and the setting of a cheesy 80’s movie was all the bait needed to give this a watch.

This movie is just okay. It’s very cheesy. Jeff and Cyndi’s characters have psychic abilities and are suckered into helping some nefarious characters try to steal the juju from some kinda supernatural structure at the top of a mountain in Peru. It’s fun at times and I always enjoy 80’s cheese for what it is.

There’s also a scene with a young Steve Buscemi who actually spurns Cyndi Lauper for some other woman. Can you imagine that? Buscemi rejecting Lauper? I love Buscemi, but that’s just ridiculous, especially in the 80’s, man! That’s Lauper’s decade, not his.

TV shows I’m currently watching

The Mandalorian

This show just keeps out doing itself and is now on an incredible three episode run. And given where it left off, I don’t think it’s gonna slow down anytime soon. Things are really starting to happen now with the resurgence of the Empire and the addition of Boba Fett being thrown into the mix. My hype levels just keep getting higher for the next episode.

Also, looks like we’re gonna get more Bill Burr soon. The casting is oddly amazing in this show.

The Crown

Finished out the latest season. It’s mostly a downer. I was a fan of the Margaret Thatcher stuff because it felt like I was learning some real history stuff along the way, even if I mostly didn’t dig her politics. But the Diana/Charles stuff is really fucking sad and I feel really bad for Diana. She’s basically trapped. Being a princess doesn’t seem so cool. Charles is a dick and no one cares. Diana has no true ally or anyone to run to. It’s really sad. The monarchy seems to be a highly overrated experience.

My Name is Earl

Life actually seems cooler and more fun at the trailer park in Camden than in Buckingham Palace.

The story arc of Darnell and Joy being in witness protection comes to an end and I’m glad. It was an interesting story arc, but knowing that the series is coming to a close for me soon (only three more episodes, yikes), I definitely wanted to see them back home with the rest of the gang.

There’s a really great episode where Betty White plays a witchy woman that Earl picked on as a kid. Betty White could be the best cameo character in the entire series (and there’s been a lot of great cameo characters along the way). It’s highly enjoyable. I’d probably rank it as one of the best episodes of the entire series.

Also, Randy and Joy make out in an episode. Pretty crazy.

Albums of the Week

Plastic Hearts / Miley Cyrus

Yea, that’s right, I listened to a Miley Cyrus album. And you know what? It was better than that new Smashing Pumpkin’s record I listened to last week.

Plastic Hearts is pretty okay. It’s not great but it’s good. It’s got a few solid upbeat pop songs. There’s a lot of, ‘please don’t love me, I’m too much of a bad girl,’ energy on this album. She even uses the word, “fuck” on this album (but as in, “wtf,” not the other, naughtier fuck). There’s some solid covers on here (Edge of Midnight, Heart of Glass, and Zombie) and some cool collabs with the likes of Billy Idol, Joan Jett, Stevie Nicks, and Dua Lipa.

Ahh, The Joys of Mortgaging Your Future / Today is…

Today is… is a friend’s band, a fellow comedian friend of mine, Anthony Brown. He told me about his band and told me he does the vocals and in the back of my head I thought, ‘this could get ugly.’

But it didn’t! I enjoyed this album very much! It’s ragey and grungy and doesn’t slow down or take any breathers. It somehow sounds contemporary, for young people today, but also has a 90’s throwback alt-rock feel. And my buddy Anthony is very solid on the vocals, which are raw, impassioned, and paired well with the fuzzy rock assault they’re laid over.

Sometimes when you journey down the rabbit hole of listening to bands your friends are in, it can get awkward and uncomfortable and you can find yourself employing fake smiles and compliments because no one wants to hurt a friend’s feelings, especially when it comes to the art they create. Lucky for me, I didn’t have to do that at all for this album. My enjoyment is all the way sincere. Give these guys a spin:

Book I’m Currently Reading

Writers & Lovers / Lily King

This book is still mostly sad. But I do find myself kinda connecting with it on some level. It’s just a lot of struggle (a thing I’ve said before about this book) and honestly, who can’t identify with that, struggling and feeling like you’re not living your best life?

Casey does have a couple things going for her though. She finished her first draft and her writer friend Muriel read it and loved it. Casey is also dating two men, one is a bit older than her, Oscar, a locally well known author with two sons (and who makes a lot of references to his own mom which I guess is probably weird for Casey, since her mom unexpectedly died recently) and Silas who is more her age but doesn’t seem as settled down. Who will she choose?

Random sports thought of the week

The Washington Football Team beat the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers so that’s a fun thing. The NFC East is so odd. They are statistically the worst division in the NFL but might be the most compelling. The NFC East will send one team to the playoffs and that team will almost certainly have less wins than any other team that makes it. In fact, they’ll probably end up playing a wild card team with a better record than them on the comfort of their own home turf. The Football Team and the return of Alex Smith is such a cool football/sports story. Also, they’re just the Football Team. I love that shit. They’re logo is just a ,’W,’ for Washington. It’s so simple yet effective. I’d almost love to see them shock the world and win a Superbowl. Have it written in the annals of history, the winner of the 2021 Superbowl, “The Football Team.”

Fantasy Football Update

I took another L this week. And with the lowest amount of point scored in the league, and with a current four game losing steak, I have somehow backdoor’d my way into the playoffs with the 6th seed. Here’s hoping I can turn things around now and be the plucky underdog.

Random pro wrestling thought of the week

(Preface: I wrote this on Wednesday even though I sent it out Thursday so the AEW/NXT stuff might feel slightly outdated if you’re up on your shit).

Very good week for pro wrestling! AEW pulled off two shockers, the return of 61 year old Sting and the crowning of a new champ, Kenny Omega, who we were told was going to make his first public appearance with the title at another promotion, Impact. That happened. I didn’t watch it. I’m not watching Impact. Just not into it. However, I do like the drama.

I hope Sting doesn’t wrestle. He’s 61!!! AEW, please don’t break Sting.

Also, NXT War Games was very, very, very good. Not one bad match, and three amazing matches (the two War Games matches and the triple threat). Watching that triple threat match for the North American title, I couldn’t help but think if wrestling was still happening in sold out arenas, Leon Ruff would’ve been so over. Thousands of people cheering him on and booing Priest and Gargano any time they attack him. It might be the most I’ve missed live crowds so far while watching wrestling. I just can’t help but think how much it would’ve elevated that match and also Leon Ruff’s moment in the spotlight.

Unfortunately Ruff’s reign as North American champion didn’t last long, but it was a lot of fun.

Weekly Top 5 List: Top 5 John Cusack Movies

1- High Fidelity

2- Grosse Pointe Blank

3- Say Anything…

4- Sixteen Candles

5- Love & Mercy

Motivational Quote

“The minute you realize that your options are unlimited, things just start falling into place all around you.”

-John Cusack

Of all the quotes I’ve chosen for the newsletter, this one might be the hardest to swallow or buy into but I sorta wanna believe Cusack knows what he’s talking about and it’s just a realization in life I’ve yet to attain.

Thanks for reading!

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