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Jinx giving me her ‘no more pictures’ pose.
Random Thought
NOFX, a band I love, recently played their last show ever. They’re now retired and gone for good. I believe and have even written previously that I think it’s a good thing that they were able to call their final shot and go out on their own terms and that they won’t grow into an older, sadder band that hangs around too long. I stick by this however it still saddens me a bit to come to terms with the idea that NOFX is no longer a thing. I’m not super sad or devastated. It’s not depression, I’m gonna be okay but it’s just sorta like, damn, there goes one of my favorite bands. But I also feel like it hits on a few different levels.
The most obvious level being that NOFX is a band I’m a big fan of and I selfishly don’t want to see it come to an end. I paid money to stream their final show live and it was very entertaining and seeing them in good form can’t help but lead me to think that they still got something left in the tank. If you gotta go, delay it, end it later. But that’s not up to me and I mostly acknowledge that it’s selfish to want a band to go on just because that’s something I want to see. NOFX, and any other band in the world, is a group of human beings with their own needs, wants, and desires and they should go do what works best for them.
But another thing about NOFX is how long they’ve been around. They’re a punk staple for my generation. They started to really blow up when I was a teenager. NOFX helped inform me on punk. They also inspired a slew of punk that came after them. In some ways, I grew up with NOFX. They consistently dropped good albums every few years. It was a 30 year pattern I’d grown to depend on subconsciously (they’ve been around for 40 years but I’d be lying if I tried to tell you I was into NOFX before 1994, the year that punk broke through the mainstream).
NOFX acknowledging that they’ve been together so long that they can retire is a bit of a hard pill to swallow. They’re all older than me, but not by that much. They almost felt like an older brother showing me the ropes. And now they’re too old to do it anymore. What does that say about my own age? NOFX’s acknowledgement of growing old forces me to acknowledge the same about myself. And I don’t wanna do that. I thought me, NOFX, and everyone else that was cool in the 90’s were gonna stay young forever.
And then there’s what NOFX means to me. If I could sum it up in two words, I’d say it’s ‘joyful nihilism.’ Although I guess NOFX isn’t completely nihilistic. They’ve displayed personal philosophies and political leanings over the years. Some things matter to them. But when they’re on that stage, they’re just having a real fun time and they don’t really play by the rules of what a good live show should be. They banter… A LOT (which I’m a fan of). They make mistakes and admit it. They self-deprecate on their own music and yet still somehow take it serious enough that when they are playing, mistakes be damned, it sounds so fucking good.
NOFX is punk. But their sound was never that aggressive, tough guy punk that sometimes makes me cringe. NOFX is having a party and they want you to join in. They’re having fun within the confines of punk so why shouldn’t you? Even if the subject matter is sometimes serious (many times it’s very unserious), it’s still cool to not be a total bummer about it and try to have a good time.
This won’t be the end of good times. But it’s one less avenue I can count on for a good time. I’ll miss NOFX and especially seeing them live. They delivered for me in a very specific way that no other band can. The music lives on and I’m grateful for that. I’m not naïve enough to think that someone from NOFX will ever read this newsletter, but if they do, maaaaaan, thanks so fucking much. Thanks for the music. Thanks for the good times. Thanks for NOFX. A world without NOFX will be a weird thing to adjust to but it’s better than living in a world where there was never a NOFX at all.
Some of the scene at their final show. This is the exclamation mark at the end of a very long sentence.
Wordle Side Note
I had a Max Streak of 219 but as of writing this, it is no more. Be sure to spill a little bit of your drink on the ground for my streak over the weekend.
No sleep till 220.
(I kid. I’ll sleep. I love sleep. I’ll probably take a nap before this day is over.)
Movie I Watched Recently
Welcome to Me
(Prime)
There’s this internet meme about how if you won the lottery, you wouldn’t tell anyone, but there’d be signs. This movie is pretty much an answer to that. Kristen Wiig plays Alice Klieg, a woman dealing with some mental health issues who wins the lottery. She stops taking her medication and uses her winnings to buy her own TV show, which to me seems like a really fun idea.
And the TV show idea is actually pretty good. It’s all about her and her daily life and it’s super bizarre and weird but I think that something like this could maybe be a big hit in real life. She does go a little too far though and I’m not gonna say how but even I would’ve stopped watching. But before all that, pretty good stuff, I think.
The station she buys the show at pretty much resents her although they do also seem genuinely entertained with how off the walls it is. Joan Cusack plays a studio producer if you’re looking for some star power.
Beyond the TV show and winning the lottery, there’s a story about friendship. Alice kinda loses perspective and becomes selfish and self-centered and doesn’t seem to care about anyone close to her.
What happens to Alice? What happens to her show? Gonna have to watch the movie to find out.
One of her demands is that she enters the stage at the beginning of the show in a giant swan.
TV show I’m currently watching
Mr. McMahon
(Netflix)
I finished this series up and there’s really no surprises. I already knew everything. The good, the bad, the ugly, the VERY ugly. Vince is pretty much a disgraced personality now. There’s a ton of damaging harassment allegations against him and my guess is that he’s been behaving like this for a long time. It’s tough to be a fan of something but also know the dude who owns and runs that thing you enjoy is probably a bad person. That’s why I’m mostly glad he’s no longer a part of WWE anymore.
I feel bad for the people he’s harassed and wrestlers he’s embarrassed. It was a little embarrassing to see some wrestlers still go to bat for him. There’s a real mafia-vibe going on where it’s like wrestlers stick up for their own and I feel like Vince was protected a lot because wrestlers/personalities we were fans of protected him. There’s some odd takes too, like Stone Cold Steve Austin doesn’t believe in CTE, Undertaker was sad when they banned chair shots to the head, etc, etc. There were a few dudes who had a father-complex thing going with Vince and that’s weird but then again, I’m not part of that world so I’ll never fully understand.
I mentioned this last week, but the most interesting aspect of this series is how they got Vince to cooperate for as long as he did and how oddly open he was as a dude who’s not famous for opening up to others in the media.
Overall, it’s probably a must-see for wrestling fans. I am interested in what non-wrestling fans think of it. I think it was the 4th episode with all the family stuff, Vince using his family on TV in storylines…. there’s so much cringe going on and if I had to watch that part with a non-wrestling fan, I think I might be personally embarrassed in that moment.
Anyways, may we never hear a, “Thank You, Vince,” chant ever again (a chant that I’ve heard WWE fans do a lot over the years).
“Why would wrestling embarrass you, Josh???”
Album of the Week
PRUDE / Drug Church
I didn’t know a whole lot about this band going in, but I did see them live once. They opened for a double billing of The Chats and The Bronx. That was a pretty intense punk rock show. I figured anyone opening for those two bands was gonna have to bring it. And they did! I was super impressed. I thought they were cool that night but I never followed up on them after that. So it goes…
Anyways, this is a pretty solid album. It leans towards a hardcore sound but sometimes it’s a little too polished or maybe this band is a little too talented to write your usual hardcore stuff. It happens. It sometimes leans into a more heavy rock/post-punk type thing which is also cool. I don’t love it but I do think it’s very good. If someone told me they were a Drug Church fan, I’d totally get it. There’s a lot to like.
I’d also like to state for the record that I love the band name. I’m not sure what a Drug Church is but it just sounds cool. Maybe it’s nothing at all. Maybe it’s just a fun juxtaposition of words. Whatever the reasoning, I dig it.
Yeah, I don’t know what to make of it.
Book I’m Currently Reading
The White Guy Dies First / Several Authors
This is a collection of short horror stories where, you guessed it, the white guy dies first. I’m only two stories in and I don’t know if a white guy dies first all the time. That definitely happened in the first story. But in the second story, several people died in a short amount of time and I don’t really recall if the first one or any of them were white.
I bought this book while I was in Chicago. Not sure if that’s an important detail. I usually don’t buy books when I’m out of town. My friend wanted to dip into a bookstore and me in a bookstore is usually gonna lead to the purchase of new book(s), of which I bought two that day.
Pretty cool cover. The combo of the cover and title sorta sells itself. I’m still kinda slacking on my reading pace but I’ll try and pick it up next week.
Random sports thought of the week
Some quick thoughts:
-I guess I’m rooting for the NY Liberty to win the WNBA Finals only because living in the NYC/NJ area, I think it’d be cool for the Liberty to be a local team that wins a championship. I’m no NYC homer though. Gimme NJ sports teams all day. It’s just that we barely have any.
-The Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh this week. I don’t have much of an opinion either way and I’m not one to root for the firing of coaches because I find it kinda cruel. But this is a fun debacle if only because people are gonna think Aaron Rodgers masterminded it, like some grand conspiracy. And in turn it’ll be fun to watch Aaron Rodgers, a guy who believes in a few conspiracy theories himself, try really hard to deny one.
-If I was Bronny (LeBron James’s son) I’d wanna play anywhere but with the LA Lakers. I wouldn’t wanna be on the same team as my dad, especially if my dad was in the convo for Greatest Of All Time. I feel like he’d have a much better, less awkward basketball experience elsewhere (and before you try and say no one else would’ve drafted him, supposedly the Warriors were interested late in the draft).
-Baseball playoffs are happening and both the Mets and Yankees are still in it. People around me seem really hyped on the Mets. When the Yankees win, their fanbase seems to just act like that’s what’s supposed to happen and they don’t seem too hyped. When the Mets win, fans tend to make some noise and get excited. I don’t like baseball, but it seems like being a Mets fan would be the more fun experience.
I present to you the NY Liberty mascot, Elite the Elephant.
Random pro wrestling thought of the week
CM Punk and Drew McIntyre had an incredible Hell in a Cell match at the Bad Blood PPV this past Saturday. Going into this match, I had complicated feelings as a fan about CM Punk. He’s still great on the mic and might be the best promo guy in all of pro wrestling. And while I think he’s still good in ring, I didn’t know if he had great in him and I worried (and still do) that he’s injury prone.
But what him (and Drew) pulled off in the match is a definite match of the year contender. I didn’t think Punk had that in him. Hats off to both these guys. They carried this feud for ten months now. That’s an incredible amount of time in our current short-attention-span climate.
We can’t forget Drew in this match and this storyline. Drew McIntyre stepped up as a heel and I’ve never been a bigger fan. He did a lot of the heavy lifting in this feud when Punk was sidelined with an injury. I hope he’s not forgotten post-Punk feud since he came out on the losing end. Drew deserves big things.
I do find it kinda humorous that Punk’s best WWE match since he’s been back opened the PPV. It was definitely match of the night, but Punk still doesn’t get the main event spot AND still gets some of his thunder stolen by a returning Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The pipe bomb promo lives on.
Also, just for the record, I could care less about the Rock. I’m just not a fan. I’m obviously a little out of step with the rest of the wrestling world. If more people felt like I did, AEW would be selling out everywhere and blowing up the TV ratings.
Yeah, I know CM Punk won the match. But I’m still gonna post this pic because I just enjoy the visual of Drew being all, “get the fuck outta here” to Punk.
Top 5 NOFX Albums
1- White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean
2- Punk in Drublic
3- So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes
4- The War on Errorism
5- Pump Up the Valuum
Weekly Quote
“We didn’t so much make the music that we thought fans would like, we made music that we like. We didn’t do it for the fans. We did it for ourselves. Because of that, we enjoyed ourselves so much, and I think maybe that’s what people came to enjoy and kept coming to see.”
-Eric Melvin of NOFX
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