Bella is watching you read this.
Here we go again! Thanks for opening this up and attempting to read the latest episode of my newsletter. I hope you make it to the end, but if you don’t, be assured that mostly what matters to me is the number of subscribers. That’s the only form of self-worth I know when I find myself alone wondering what my value is in a universe that is infinite and cruel.
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Random thought of the week:
We lost Ric Ocasek and Eddie Money this week which sorta sent me through a nostalgia trip the past few days and I’ve been thinking a lot about the 80’s and MTV and what an odd but cool time it was to be a kid. It felt like there was so much room for so many different types of music on just one channel. There’s a lot of music that I don’t even know I’d be a fan of if it wasn’t for MTV. Sure, things are probably better now as far as the amount of music we have access to. But no one’s curating it for me anymore. MTV was that curator. And whether or not you liked their selection, it felt like as a kid, I was always on the same page with everyone around me. We weren’t all the same but if you wanted to know what the hip hop kids were into, you’d sit through an episode of Yo MTV Raps and you’d be semi-up to speed. With the metal head kids it was Headbanger’s Ball, and so on. It just felt like it wasn’t hard to get a grasp of what everyone else was in to since it seemed like MTV had a certain amount of time dedicated to all the tribes. It helped to make me and maybe an entire generation more well rounded music fans.
Movie I recently watched:
District 9
Okay, so this movie is pretty cool. It starts off a bit like a documentary, getting you up to speed on a bunch of prawn looking aliens who come to Earth and end up becoming refugees in a giant refugee camp. The gov’t wants to relocate them to what I assume is a worse camp and hi jinks ensue and there’s aliens and Nigerian warlords and top secret gov’t operations and weapons and a giant space craft hovering above Johannesburg.
There’s a ton of themes and social commentary going on here. It leaves you with a lot to think about. But there’s also a fair amount of action and the aliens look pretty fucking cool. Without trying to spoil things too much, I think I would’ve appreciated more of a clear resolution in the end. But much like life, if you look around at all our current refugee situations, clear resolutions are unfortunately few and far between.
Documentary I recently watched:
Hail Satan?
This is a great doc that will leave your head spinning. The Satanists are the good guys. The Christians are the bad guys. I know, that’s a totally explosive thing to say. But it’s Christians (not all of them) who stand in the way of dividing politics and religion in America. The Satanists make all the good, logically sound points. The Christians battle back with condescension and mockery.
One of my favorite moments is when the Satanists disown one of their own because her rhetoric gets a little too crazy when she mentions assassinating Trump during a sermon. Imagine if more Christians/Christian politicians (cough, cough, Republicans) disowned one of their own publicly when their rhetoric got too crazy? That shit would be patriotic as fuck.
TV show I’m currently watching:
Glow (Season 3) and Bojack Horseman.
Glow has become way more enjoyable since last week. It started with the episode where the cast members say fuck it and start switching roles for their Vegas show. It’s been a more fun watch since. Is it still more emo than Seasons 1 + 2? Sure. But they’ve been mixing it up with more fun stuff so it’s become more enjoyable since.
Bojack Horseman is great, great, great. So much fun to watch. And the cast and guest voices are incredible. They got the real Paul McCartney to say one silly line. Incredible.
I wasn’t sure if I had a favorite character but right now it’s Todd. Todd rules. Shut up, Todd!
Book I’m currently reading:
The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories by Leo Tolstoy
I didn’t read a whole bunch this week but I did finish the story, ‘The Death of Ivan Ilyich.’ It’s mostly depressing but I guess somewhat thought provoking. Ivan is dying, actually he dies. I mean, it’s in the title. Most of the story is spent with him contemplating his death and how sad he is and how much contempt he has for the people around him. I guess I’m maybe supposed to walk away from this with some kinda weird, ‘carpe diem’ mindset so that I don’t find myself regretting things on my deathbed. But mostly it’s got me hoping for a quick death that leaves me with no time to think about things. Overthinking is the worst and what worse form of overthinking could there possibly be than deathbed overthinking.
Album/song of the week:
Lana Del Rey / Norman Fucking Rockwell
For the first time ever in my life, I listened to an entire Lana Del Rey album. The reason I chose this album is because I heard a cover she did of Sublime’s, ‘Doin’ Time,’ on the radio and I thought it was really good so why not give her whole album a spin.
It’s pretty good. It’s not exactly my cup of tea but it’s some pretty powerful stuff. She sets a very mesmerizing, sorta intoxicating vibe. It’s mostly just her voice and a piano. Very bare bones. I think this is her California album (every artist who’s not from Cali but moves there should probably have one). But it’s not ‘Surf City, USA.’ It sorta feels like she’s breaking up with someone the whole time but it’s not them, it’s her, but really, it’s them and she was just saying that to be nice and that maybe they should get their life together. She also seems to have a nostalgia for a time earlier in her life when maybe she didn’t have her shit as together but also maybe it’s good to grow as a person and become a better you so maybe it’s about aging and the good and bad of it all. I don’t know.
Rest in Peace Ric Ocasek
Here’s a thing I wrote on Facebook:
Bummed about the loss of Ric Ocasek. The Cars are one of the top 3 bands I think of when someone mentions, "new wave" (the other two are Talking Heads and Blondie). He wrote and sang many catchy tunes and produced records for Bad Brains and Weezer. What an incredible run. A true legend in the tall and lanky dude community.
Random sports thought of the week:
New Jersey football sucks! That’s right, NEW JERSEY FOOTBALL. The Giants and the Jets both currently reside and suck in East Rutherford, NJ. They both lost to the only true New York football team, the Buffalo Bills. The Buffalo Bills have more wins in East Rutherford, NJ than both the Giants and the Jets combined.
So anyways, if your boyfriend/significant other roots for either team, good news, they are now available for apple picking on Sundays.
Also, my fantasy team is 2-0! Still undefeated!
Random pro wrestling thought of the week:
Luke Harper is back! Luke Harper Fan Club, stand up!
Luke’s one of my faves. They have him teamed up with Erick Rowan and if beards mean anything at all, they’re about to dominate.
(Rowan’s the one on the left, Luke’s the one on the right)
Harper’s return does ruin one of my predictions though. Jericho said he was gonna have two secret partners for the AEW TV debut that we, “wouldn’t believe.” I thought it was gonna be Luke Harper and Rusev. Both returned to WWE TV this week. Wrong again dude who said Samoa Joe was gonna win the championship last year.
Weekly Top 5 List: My Top 5 Cars Songs
1- Just What I Needed
2- You Might Think
3- Good Times Roll
4- My Best Friend’s Girl
5- Shake It Up
Yeah, I know, these are their biggest hits. No deep cuts. But I think that speaks to the strength of the Cars overall. I didn’t own any albums, didn’t go to any concerts, don’t own a Cars t-shirt. But there’s still at least five songs of theirs that I enjoy very much.
Motivational Quote:
“I could never be a country person, sitting around trees trying to write a song. I would rather be in the middle of society, whether it's growing or crumbling.” - Ric Ocasek
Me too, Ric. Me too.
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@joshaintfunny
Feel free to shoot me a message or ask me a question. Maybe I’ll answer it on the newsletter. Won’t that be fun???
Upcoming shows:
Wed, 9/18- Low Fidelity, Jersey City, FREE (I’m hosting)
That’s it, slow week. I’m gonna try to catch up on reading and sleeping.