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Me and my mom after the last Sunday night show at the Wild Rover (last comedy show… for now. Stay tuned for possible future comedy happenings at the Wild Rover).
We did comedy almost every Sunday (we skipped one week) starting in early May. It was a heck of a run. We had fun shows. We had weird shows. We made friends. We made memories. We all had a hard time parking.
Shout out to Sean who owns the Rover for having us and shout out to our elite bartender Alyssa, who approached me about making comedy happen and helped me get the ball rolling.
Also, I just realized that me and my mom dress the same.
Random Thought
I saw Sublime live this past week and it was pretty cool but also a little heavy. Sublime was/is a band from the 90s that I love a whole bunch. For those that don’t know, their lead singer/guitarist/ringleader Bradley Nowell died in 1996. He died right before I would even learn who Sublime was. My introduction to them was hearing ‘What I Got’ on the radio. It was like as soon as I learned about the band, I also learned that Bradley was no longer with us. Kinda an odd way to learn about a new band, especially one that would go on to become one of my all-time favorites.
The other two original members (Eric Wilson/bass, Budd Gaugh/drums) recently hooked up with Bradley’s son, Jakob Nowell, who is now taking the helm with front man/guitarist duties and filling the very big shoes of his deceased father. I’m not gonna make any assumptions on how Jakob has processed his father’s death, but hearing him sing and play those songs, and doing it so well, and eerily sounding something like his father vocally, it added an extra layer of emotion to the entire performance.
This wasn’t just a concert. It felt something like a memorial and a celebration at the same time. And while a part of me felt some heavy feelings about how Bradley is no longer here and the songs we’re hearing are all his, there was also this amazing performance by his son happening. It was new and old all at once.
As a concert, it was so much fun. They played a ton of great, lesser-known songs. They dipped into the hits too, but it felt like they really aimed for life-long Sublime fans with the set list. They didn’t even play ‘Date Rape’ (which I’m fine with. There are some deeper cuts I’d much rather hear). It was such a great time singing along to all those songs I never thought I’d sing along to with the band in a club packed with fellow Sublime maniacs.
I’d spent all these years as a Sublime fan singing alone and enjoying them in solitude (okay, I went to a few Badfish shows that were fun. Badfish are an excellent Sublime cover band that’s been around for a long time now). I spent years refusing to go the the Sublime and Rome shows. It just felt wrong. I’m sure Rome meant well and is a talented dude, but I just didn’t wanna see Sublime out here with some other guy doing the Bradley stuff. In my mind, there was no replacing Bradley, and the other two guys were wrong for trying to make that a thing.
That stance eased up a whole lot though when it was Bradley’s son, the same son who as a baby was on the insert of the self-titled CD. Sure, Sublime is sorta a ska band and they supply good vibes and make for great party music but there’s always been something heavy about Sublime hiding behind that sunny exterior. I was a teenager opening that self-titled CD all excitedly and almost immediately I was hit with a picture of the baby son that Bradley left behind. As a Sublime fan, I learned very early on that there was sadness and tragedy.
It’s almost a full circle experience really to go from that CD insert to almost 30 years later, seeing that same baby from the picture all grown up and now leading the charge for Sublime and their fan base and doing it well (it would’ve hurt A WHOLE LOT if Jakob sucked. But he didn’t. Phew).
Carrying on the family tradition of playing these beloved songs while not wearing a shirt.
Movies I Watched Recently
Devo
(Netflix Documentary)
This is a GREAT documentary. I cannot recommend it enough. Going into this doc, I liked Devo. I’m into some of the stuff but I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan. But this doc made me like them a whole lot more than I already did. I found myself very into everything they stand for and their humble beginnings based in and inspired by art and protest movements.
I cannot tell you how much I agree that humans seem to be devolving. We just keep getting dumber. This is something Devo tried to tell us since the 1970s but here we are, it’s the 2020s and I feel like we’ve gotten even dumber since. Devo seem a little more optimistic about things than I do. Buti it was kinda cool hearing their philosophy and agreeing with a whole bunch of it.
I like a band with a purpose. That’s definitely Devo. I think they’ve done a great job of being subversive and not overly obvious but also not completely shrouding their intent either.
I feel like even if you don’t like Devo, you could like this documentary. It’s very interesting. They came up through all the cool eras. They began on the backend of the hippie/Vietnam stuff. They gained notoriety in the punk rock era, and they found their mainstream form in the early years of MTV.
Overall, a very cool history and a very cool story.
Are we not men?
We are Devo.
The Gutter
(Hulu)
This movie was okay. I only watched this movie because it was about bowling, and I thought that would be pretty cool. There’s never gonna be another Big Lebowski, but I do enjoy cinema trying to take on the wonders of the sport. This movie is mostly silly. It’s about this dude, Walt, who starts working at a bowling alley. He’s never bowled before, but it turns out he’s a natural and he’s great at it.
He’s coached by Skunk, who is a beer guzzling barfly who hangs out at the bowling alley. She used to be really good at bowling but quit because something bad happened along the way.
Walt and Skunk end up entering tournaments in hopes of trying to save the bowling alley they work/hang out at (they’re going to be shut down if they don’t fix a bunch of expensive stuff soon). As Walt takes on the bowling world, he’s met with a lot of resistance from the establishment that is a mix of gatekeeping and racism (Walt is Black, most other bowlers are… well, I don’t have to tell you, do I?)
Paul Reiser and Susan Sarandon are in this movie as well and they’re both great and I’m not sure how they ended up here, but I imagine a movie like this is a fun and loose outing for them and it’s two big gets for this film.
There are some serious laughs along the way. It’s sometimes a little too silly and maybe the jokes don’t always hit but when they do, it’s pretty good.
Walt and Skunk looking fly in their Pornhub gear (one of their sponsors).
TV show I’m currently watching
I am not watching any TV shows right now. Better luck next week.
Albums of the Week
Songs in the Key of Yikes / Superchunk
It was a weird week for new music. Superchunk is an indie rock band that’s been around forever (since the early 1990s) and also a band I’ve never listened to before. All I knew was they existed and that’s about it. Also, I confused them with another band, Superdrag. Superdrag is another band I don’t know a lot about, but they put out that song ‘Sucked Out’ in 1996 and I fucking love that song. Well, it didn’t take long for me to realize I had messed up and Superchunk is not Superdrag, it’s something completely different.
Anyways, even though I had bamboozled myself, I figured I’d gone this far to hit play on this album, and they at least put in the effort of coming up with a really fun album title, I might as well give this whole thing a listen. So, I did. And it was okay. It’s kinda upbeat indie/garage rock. The sound is upbeat but I’m not sure if all the lyrical content is. They’re like a high-end garage band that shows a lot of talent, which I guess makes sense since they’ve been doing this for over 30 years.
This is the album cover. I’m now curious what the band Superdrag is up to these days and if there’s some small venue where I could possibly pay to see them perform ‘Sucked Out.’ I’d go just for that.
I Just Can’t Wait to Die / Yawn Mower
Not feeling completely satisfied with this week’s musical selection, I went and gave another new album a listen, a different album that also has a really fun title. This was also an okay album. This was also some kind of indie rock but maybe with a tinge of punk infused into it. It’s decent stuff and I’m sure there’s a fan base for it. I just wasn’t crazy about it.
Yawn Mower is from New Jersey so of course bonus points for that. I’m also gonna assume that being from Jersey is the reason they put a tomato on their album cover.
Book I’m Currently Reading
The Come Up (an Oral History of the Rise of Hip-Hop) / Jonathan Abrams
I just started reading this book and I’m not very deep into it yet. But it starts off with the declaration that hip hop started in the South Bronx. I was already under the impression that that was the case, but I think maybe that might be a contentious topic in some circles. But this book went with it. It all started with Kool Herc and his parties.
Not that Herc gets ALL the credit. So many names are dropped, too many to list here. And they also get into their influences and the things that predated hip hop and helped influence the culture.
It’s also a lot of fun reading about a time in the 70s when the technology was record players and mixers. I don’t know man, call me an oldhead. The older I get, the more I pine for simpler times and finding myself succumbing to waves of nostalgia thinking about when things weren’t as easy as they are now, but the tradeoff was there was still a possibility for an underground and a subculture free of algorithms and ad space. As I read about it, it just feels like things were purer back then.
Anyways, I got a lot more to go in this book. I haven’t even gotten close to the Beastie Boys yet and to know me is to know that I’m waiting and anticipating that part.
It’s a lot of fun reading about the history of hip hop. Hip hop is still relatively a young thing. It’s not that much older than me (and I’m not THAT old). In many cases, a lot of the individuals who were there in the beginning are still with us. We can still talk to some of the forefathers/mothers of hip hop. That’s a cool aspect that is prominent in the opening section of this book.
I feel like it should also be noted that my buddy Sam recommended this book to me and I’m a big fan of book recommendations when it seems the people doing the recommending get me.
Random sports thought of the week
I got no sports thought this week. I haven’t watched any sports. I’m sure as soon as the NFL season comes around, I’ll have a lot more content. Or maybe you’re happy I’ve got no sports thought this week so you can get through this whole thing quicker (my guess is half of you don’t make it this far and half of that half that does skip the next section: wrestling).
Random pro wrestling thought of the week
AEW’s Forbidden Door was really good but now that it’s over, it feels like AEW is about to hit a weird, transitional period. Well, maybe it won’t be weird, but it feels like there’s a few combustible elements that’s going to force AEW to stay on its toes and get creative.
Swerve and Ospreay are both due to miss a considerable amount of time. They’re both slated to take time off to deal with surgeries that they’ve been putting off. As much of a fan as I am of both of these dudes, I’m glad they’re gonna get off the grind for a bit and deal with their injuries. I’d love to see them back asap, but it’d also be better knowing that they both take the necessary time to fully heal so they can go on and deliver for many more years down the road.
That’s going to force AEW to push some new faces in storylines. My guess is we’re about to get a whole lot of Darby Allin and Kenny Omega. Darby is back from Mount Everest and fully embroiled in a feud with the Death Riders. I’m not sure what the plans are for Omega, but I’d love to see him get a really serious push before it’s too late. He’s 41 and in great shape so I’m certain he has at least a few great years and he’s been such a great asset to professional wrestling throughout his entire career, it’d be cool to see him receive top of the card booking again.
And of course there’s Hangman Page, the current Men’s World Champion. This is his time and era. I’d like to see him navigate the next few months or so and help keep AEW entertaining. I felt like Mox’s title run went a little too long and it got a little boring so here’s hoping Hangman can help keep things exciting for a while.
I’d also like to see AEW push Willow Nightingale more. I feel like she has great babyface energy and could easily be a top-of-the-card fan favorite. I know we got so much more juice in the Toni Storm era, but it’d be cool to see Willow get more shine as well. I feel like fans are just dying to root for her in some major storylines.
A big challenge for AEW coming up will be the obvious counterprogramming from WWE. WWE has decided to ratchet up the competition and is now scheduling main roster PPVs on the same dates as AEW PPVs. I personally don’t like this. I’d prefer both promotions to have an unspoken gentlemen’s agreement not to do that but that’s business and business is a jungle. It’s no secret that WWE is the bigger animal here. I’m not sure what AEW can do to counteract WWE’s new aggressive approach, but hopefully they’ll figure it out.
AEW definitely offers something WWE can’t provide. It’s looser and at times more violent and vulgar. I think pro wrestling benefits from both promotions doing well. There are too many great wrestlers on the planet for just one major promotion to feature the ones who are deserving to be featured. Best case scenario- AEW gets through this and performs well and maybe WWE backs off a bit. I guess we’re about to find out.
Willow has some of the most natural babyface vibes since super babyface Bayley in NXT. I’m big on the idea of pulling the trigger while something is hot. Willow is super popular and over with the fans. Give her something with some meat, a real storyline. Her booking has been inconsistent and underwhelming as of late (her booking is underwhelming, not her. Willow is great. If anything, she overwhelms).
Top 5 Sublime Songs
1- Don’t Push
2- Same in the End
3- Pawn Shop
4- What Happened
5- Under My Voodoo
UGH this was tough, so tough that I feel obligated to explain myself:
‘Don’t Push’ got the #1 spot because to me that song best exemplifies the quintessential Sublime sound.
‘Same in the End’ is the song I heard as a disgruntled teen with dad issues that had me saying this band gets me.
I’m not saying ‘Pawn Shop’ is like ‘Stairway to Heaven,’ but if Sublime has a Stairway, it’s ‘Pawn Shop.’
‘What Happened’ is the soundtrack for the Sublime house party.
‘Under My Voodoo’ feels like this underrated, slightly weird Sublime song that deserves more love.
Weekly Quote
I found this cool article about Sublime and the author writes much more eloquently than I do about their appreciation for Sublime. It feels like a sort of, “in defense of loving Sublime” piece. Here’s the link and a quote from the article:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/why-i-love-sublime-25-year-anniversary/
“And then, I eventually got old and exhausted. I stopped caring about what was cool, and just liked what I liked, and let others like what they liked. I stopped believing in the concept of “guilty pleasures” because fuck it, why feel guilty about what I like if it isn’t hurting anyone? Being an asshole about insignificant shit affects the vibe.”
-Alex Zaragoza
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