Liner Notes (May 28th, 2022)

Posted by Jason TateMay 28, 2022

This week’s newsletter has thoughts on music and entertainment I enjoyed over the past week. 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

For too many weeks, I’ve had to open with a somber note about the state of the world. The mass shooting in Texas this week is just the latest in a long line. I’m out of words. This country’s unwillingness to do anything to address gun violence has left me broken. I’m once again reminded of this piece from Kieran Healy:

The United States has institutionalized the mass shooting in a way that Durkheim would immediately recognize. As I discovered to my shock when my own children started school in North Carolina some years ago, preparation for a shooting is a part of our children’s lives as soon as they enter kindergarten. The ritual of a Killing Day is known to all adults. It is taught to children first in outline only, and then gradually in more detail as they get older. The lockdown drill is its Mass. The language of “Active shooters”, “Safe corners”, and “Shelter in place” is its liturgy. “Run, Hide, Fight” is its creed. Security consultants and credential-dispensing experts are its clergy. My son and daughter have been institutionally readied to be shot dead as surely as I, at their age, was readied by my school to receive my first communion. They practice their movements. They are taught how to hold themselves; who to defer to; what to say to their parents; how to hold their hands. The only real difference is that there is a lottery for participation. Most will only prepare. But each week, a chosen few will fully consummate the process, and be killed.

We don’t have to live like this.

Federico Viticci reviewed an excellent app called “MusicBox” over at MacStories. The basic idea is that it’s a “read later” app where you can store various albums to make sure you check out later. It’s great for when someone recommends an album and you want to ensure you don’t forget. The review goes into far more depth and is definitely worth reading if this kind of thing sounds even remotely interesting to you. I’ve been playing around with the app for a few weeks, and I’m still trying to figure out how I want to incorporate it into my listening habits. Currently, I have a playlist I call “Listenlist,” where I put albums I want to listen to. I use it to put albums I want to remember to come back to through the week or albums someone recommends to me, and that’s been working pretty well. However, this app and its ability to organize albums, categorize them, and tag them, really feels like something I should be using to some degree. I could envision splitting up my Listenlist to have one section for “recommended to me” albums, one for “read about and want to check out” albums, and then one for “things to revisit this week” as well. I need to think about it some. I have a Shortcut on my phone for quickly throwing stuff into my various apps, and I feel like MusicBox is a perfect companion. Maybe with the holiday on Monday, I’ll have some time to dive into the app.
Just a quick public service announcement that there are a bunch of great records on sale (many under $20) over at MerchBar.

Sponsor

Dane Johns has released his new novel, The Futile, which one reader described as “Hunger Games on the Warped Tour.” The pitch is simple:

In a near future world, where critics of the authoritarian leader are imprisoned and media has become a state sponsored tool for repression, one young punk rock band goes on the road to start a revolution with their music. Written with plenty of humor and heart, The Futile is ultimately a book about how people have the power to change themselves—and the world—even in the darkest of times.

The author is a long time punk and and emo music and the book is filled with various references to bands like Colour Revolt, Foxing, Now, Now, mewithoutYou, Pussy Riot, The Copyrights, and many more. You can order the book here, and make sure you check out the author’s website to get a free zine and various buttons/stickers made for the release.

Music Thoughts

It was another week where I spent the majority of my time listening to Coheed and Cambria. Mostly playing their new one, which was supposed to be out yesterday, but got delayed until next month. I wrote some first impressions last week, and the past week has just solidified for me how much I like this album. The best way for me to put it is that it’s fun. It’s just infinitely enjoyable.
I saw John Mayer post about the Born and Raised tenth anniversary, and that led to me revisiting it throughout the week as well. It’s top-tier Mayer for me. Might even have it as high as my second or third, behind Continuum and (on some days) Heavier Things.
I missed having a chance to listen to The Smile before I wrote last week’s newsletter but gave it a couple of spins this week. It’s the most like Radiohead that a Radiohead side-project has been so far. Very thematic.
I saw Drew describe the new Sweet Pill album as a proggy/more emo Paramore. And the vocal comparisons are pretty spot on. I enjoyed my first listen to a band I hadn’t heard of before.
A pretty fun ska day yesterday with new releases from both JER and the Bruce Lee Band. The weather is currently not cooperating with putting my mind in the right space for some fun ska-punk, but we’re hopefully a few weekends away from sunny weather and horns.
I am unsure how I felt about my first listen to the new Stars album. It didn’t really grab me, but I also couldn’t find anything about it that I actively disliked. It was just kind of there, and then I went on to the next.
I plan to give the new With the Punches album a listen but just haven’t quite had time yet.
Oh, and the remastered 20th-anniversary version of Taking Back Sunday’s Tell All Your Friends came out yesterday, and I’m (surprisingly) a big fan of the way it sounds. It’s one of those rare fresh coats of paint where I think it does improve the whole experience. Worth having both in the collection at least.

The Stats: Over the past week, I listened to 27 different artists, 40 different albums, and 354 different tracks (508 scrobbles). My most played artist was once again Coheed and Cambria, with their new one once again being my most played album. It rules. Here is my Top 9 from last week, and you can follow me on Apple Music and/or Last.fm.

Entertainment Thoughts

The Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers film was a fun little flick. Not amazing, some good jokes, but an overall enjoyable way to spend the evening.
The third season of Derry Girls was a delight. I’ve adored every season and just spending time in that world leaves me with a smile on my face. Highly recommended.
I did not know Tokyo Vice was going to be an ongoing series. I assumed it was a mini-series. Oops. First season was good though, and I hope that it gets to continue its story.
Next up is the new Obi Wan Kenobi series, which we plan to watch week to week, and then starting Stranger Things next week. Should be a good few weeks of TV, and with Monday off I’m hoping I can catch up on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Random and Personal Stuff

I haven’t been posting much on Instagram the past few weeks. I dunno, but when the world feels as blah as it has recently, I feel far less motivated to do anything on social media.

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.

MUNA – Home By Now
Caracara – Harsh Light
John Mayer – Shadow Days
Coheed and Cambria – Shoulders
Pennywise – Time Marches On
Stand Atlantic – Dumb
The Smile – The Same
Charli XCX – Use to Know Me
Greyhaven – All Candy
POP ETC – Dreams

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 popdisaster00 in the “General Politics Discussion IX” thread.

Previous editions of Liner Notes can be found here.

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