Liner Notes (June 25th, 2022)

Posted by Jason TateJun 25, 2022

This week’s newsletter tries to make up for missing last week by being jam-packed with treats. We have brief first impressions of the new albums from The Midnight, The Wonder Years, The Interrupters, and Yours Truly, and we have some thoughts on other music and entertainment I’ve been enjoying the past couple of weeks. There’s also a playlist of ten songs I think are worth your time, and this week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.

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A Few Things

Last weekend saw my sister’s birthday and Father’s Day lining up on the same weekend, which led to quite a bit of family time and not a lot of time for anything else. That’s why I decided to end up skipping a week of the newsletter instead of trying to force something. This week will probably end up being a tad super-sized. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve also been revamping my home office. With Hannah getting a new job and now going into an office downtown most days, I’m once again roaming the home alone. After the last two couple of years, I felt it was time to re-do a few things in the room where I spend most of my weekdays. When I first moved in, I had painted the back wall behind me as a big giant whiteboard. However, after ten years, that whiteboard paint had basically stopped working. It became a green/blue/red smear. So, I decided to paint over that entire section and hang up a new pegboard so that I could better customize the space and change things out when I want to showcase different sides of myself. I wanted something that could be modular and easy to change as needed. I’ve got a good portion of it done, I need a few more photos to ship, and then I’ll probably do a longer post, or dedicate a newsletter, to the entire thing. I’ve also got some new stuff coming for my desk area to upgrade it as well now that my new computer and monitor are finally here. The timing ended up not quite working out, so now I’m waiting on my desk shelf to ship while the computer sits in a box. I only want to have to do all the cord management stuff once, so, alas, I am still waiting to use the new Mac Studio that is just sitting there calling to me every time Chrome beachballs.
I saw a funny post going around in the forums where people were talking about their very first portable CD players. I am 95% sure this was mine.

Sponsor

Mrs. Ghost have released their new album, Entertainment for the End Times, to all streaming platforms.

Entertainment For The End Times is the debut album by Austin, TX and Missoula, MT-based power pop band Mrs. Ghost. The 11 track album, with moments ranging from Bob Dylan-esque acoustic singer-songwriter moments to fast-paced tracks like Jimmy Eat World’s early 2000s output, is the culmination of band members Jacob Godbey’s and Sean Larichiuta’s contrasting personal tastes coming together in an extremely complimentary way. It is an album with elements that are enjoyable for fans of stripped-down sets, aggressive rock, and everyone in between. Formed in 2019 in Austin, TX, Mrs. Ghost emulates all of the great dual-vocalist bands including Blink-182, Less Than Jake, and The Menzingers. Also heavily influenced by Alkaline Trio, Mrs. Ghost brings a unique blend of singer-songwriter style acoustic grooves and pop punk riffs to the table, while touching many bases in between. Mrs. Ghost is Sean Larichiuta on guitar and vocals & Jacob Godbey on drums, bass, vocals, and guitar, with both writing and programming. Larichiuta, based in Austin, and Godbey, based in Missoula, actively write and record primarily remotely. With a history of hosting livestreams before it was 2020-cool, Mrs. Ghost has long been at home in a technologically, if not physically, connected world.

You can purchase the digital album, a CD, stickers, and t-shirts at the band’s website. And make sure to stream the album while you’re at it!

Music Thoughts

This week has a trio of albums I’ve written about in this newsletter multiple times but are now out for your enjoyment. The first is the new one from Coheed and Cambria, and it comes highly recommended to anyone that has either never listened to the band before or maybe hasn’t checked them out in a few years. Go in with a fresh mind and give this a shot; I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Next up is the new album from a perennial favorite of mine: MUNA. Their first two albums were great, and they leveled all the way fucking up on this one and released one of the best albums of the summer. Full of huge hooks, giant choruses, and if “What I Want” doesn’t make you want to bounce around, you’re not hooked up right.
And the third new one out this week I think is worth your time comes from Soccer Mommy. This is another release where I think she’s improved on basically everything from her previous albums and is really coming into her own as a songwriter. This is more of a late-night, somber listen, but it’s something you can really sink into and just let wash over you.
Spiritbox dropped three new songs this week, and I’m a fan. Their last album ended up being one of my favorites of the year, and these continue right along as scratching a very specific itch.
Last week saw a new album from Lit, and I ended up playing it multiple times since its release. It’s not great, but it is catchy as hell. It kind of reminds me of the last album from American Hi-Fi, where they are doing a very specific brand of pop-rock that’s not really seen much these days.
The Wonder Years announced their new album this week. It’s called The Hum Goes on Forever. It comes out at the end of September. And it’s their best album, by a wide margin, since The Greatest Generation. There’s a directness to the songs, but beyond that, I think the band sounds focused. It’s funny; in my head, I’ve always had bands like The Dangerous Summer and The Wonder Years on the same level. Bands that are (rightly) praised for their songwriting and lyrical prowess, and when they connect on a swing, it’s a thing of beauty. And I get similar vibes here that I did when I first heard Mother Nature, real “yep, they did the thing” shit. I’m sure I’ll write more about the album over the next few months as I sink into it, but yeah, I’m impressed. For those that follow this band with the passion and obsession that I do Jimmy Eat World, where each album has become stapled to your life like indelible ink. You’re gonna lose your absolute shit.
I’ve now had two weeks with the new The Interrupters album, In the Wild, and I think it’s a great follow-up to their breakout. It gives me some pretty big Rancid vibes in places but also has some dramatically excellent ska-punk songs mixed in. It might feel a little long by the end with a few filler tracks, but barely. Anyone that liked their previous one will feel right at home with this.
I’ve also now had two weeks with The Midnight’s upcoming Heroes, and I think I can safely say (as a big fan of their previous releases), this is my favorite from them. And it may not be particularly close. It’s everything I love about the band, and they’re just going for it. Huge synths, massive choruses that all sound like they could soundtrack the 80’s movie in your mind, and the kind of album that feels like it has been part of your life for years even after one spin. Keep your eyes peeled for this; it’s awesome.
Olivver the Kid released Puke Blue last week and it may be the most absurd name and album cover for an album that sounds nothing like you’d think based on both. It’s a synthy pop album that feels destined for these summer days.
Yours Truly’s new EP is this what i look like? comes out on July 15th and is probably my favorite pop-punk release I’ve heard so far this year. Helllllllloooo summer favorite.
Third Eye Blind’s acoustic album has some fun renditions on it. I don’t know if it’s something I’ll return to that often, but I found it a fun and inoffensive entry into their catalog. And far more listenable than that last release.
I haven’t had time to spin the new Alexisonfire yet, but that’s next on my list as soon as I get some time.

The Stats: Over the past week, I listened to 21 different artists, 24 different albums, and 222 different tracks (291 scrobbles). My most played artist ended up being Strung Out, and my most played album was the new one from The Wonder Years. Here is my Top 9 from last week, and you can follow me on Apple Music and/or Last.fm.

Entertainment Thoughts

Fire Island was fun. Enjoyed drowning out the world with it for an evening.
We finished Under the Banner of Heaven, and I thought it was incredible. Dark and difficult, but I loved the performances and was pulled completely into the story.
Ms. Marvel has been a real delight. I’m a sucker for shows/movies that have a real distinct style, and that really comes through here. Sometimes it even reminds me a little of Edgar Wright’s stuff. Hard to know how I feel about the show as a whole, since we’re watching it week to week, but these first few episodes have been delightful.
I wasn’t sure how I was feeling about Obi Wan Kenobi, but I was powering through it, because … Star Wars. And there were glimpses. Little glimpses that made me think, “ok, that was pretty cool.” But the last two episodes took it to a whole new level. I legitimately loved the last two episodes and found myself sitting there with a dumb smile on my face in that special way only Star Wars can pull from me. Not a perfect show, but those last two episodes, in my opinion, justified the show’s existence and I enjoyed every second of them.
This week has The Wonder Years (band) first impressions, and oddly enough we also started watching the new version of the TV show as well. It’s become our late night before bed show and I was a little surprised by how much I liked the first three episodes. Sure, it feels network-y, and it’s a very long season (have’t seen something with 22 episodes in a while), but so far, I’m in on it. We’ll see where it goes from there.

Random and Personal Stuff

We ordered a new coffee table from Article that was supposed to come today. Got everything ready. Delivery people came and were super nice. Delivered the giant box. We unpacked it, took everything out … and there’s at least four to five paint scratches all around the base. And the glass top as a knock on it. It’s as they say, “not what you want.” Now we have to go through the process of an exchange. And cross our fingers the next one is better. For all the convenience of online shopping, not being able to see and inspect what you buy first really does sometimes bite you in the ass.

Ten Songs

Here are ten songs that I listened to and loved this week. Some may be new, some may be old, but they all found their way into my life during the past seven days.

Coheed and Cambria – A Disappearing Act
MUNA – What I Want
The Wonder Years – Wyatt’s Song (Your Name)
The Midnight – Heartbeat
Spiritbox – Rotoscope
Olivver the Kid – ISHICD!!!
Soccer Mommy – Don’t Ask Me
Yours Truly – Hallucinate
The Interrupters – Jailbird
Coheed and Cambria – Bad Man

This playlist is available on Spotify and Apple Music.

Community Watch

The trending and popular threads in our community this week include:

The most liked post in our forums last week was this one by RyanRockwell in the “The Wonder Years” thread.

Previous editions of Liner Notes can be found here.

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