My Life In 35 Songs, Track 22: “Handwritten” by The Gaslight Anthem

My Life in 35 Songs
Craig Manning

Here in the dark, I cherish the moonlight/I’m in love with the way you’re in love with the night.

It got warm early that spring. I remember that much vividly.

There’s a night from April 2012 that sticks in my head, where my college roommates and I got drunk off beer and long island iced teas and sat out on the deck of our apartment until the wee hours of the morning, so amped up by the alcohol and the unseasonable warmth of the night that we were almost howling at the moon. It felt like summer, and we were absolutely acting like it was, even though it was a Wednesday night and we all had early classes the next morning.

I hadn’t heard a note of The Gaslight Anthem’s Handwritten when that night happened, but for whatever reason, when I think of this album, that’s the night I remember. Maybe it’s because I was already anticipating Handwritten with as much fervor as I’d ever anticipated any album before. Or maybe it was just because that night felt like a Gaslight Anthem song: the friends, the instant nostalgia, the magic in the night. Whatever the reason, I’ve always thought it was funny that my most vivid memory of one of my favorite albums is from a night before that album even existed out in the world.

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Banquets – “Episodes” (Song Premiere)

Banquets
Adam Grundy

Today is a great day to share an early listen to the New Jersey 4-piece emo band, Banquets, new single called “Episodes.” The last we heard from Banquets, they announced their third and final LP, Spit at the Sun. The Jersey City quartet had decided to hang it up after years of shows and several releases with Black Numbers. They played their final show in February of 2016 and the members went their separate ways, parting on good terms but with the understanding that the realities of life made it difficult to carry the banner any further. Today marks a new chapter in Banquets story, as lead vocalist/guitarist Travis shared:

The song ‘Episodes’ takes the form of a letter to my former self. It acts as a reflection of how I’ve hurt and let others down. I’ve squandered some truly remarkable moments by not being fully present. Days and nights were more episodic. Like a malnourished Zack Morris, I’m trudging through a Belgian field looking for a chance to swipe some Jagermeister at Groezrock. Then I’m punishing random people with Nesquik Bunny references and making everyone stage-dive in between Lifetime songs. Cap off the episode by time-traveling during a Lagwagon set, and watching Rancid from behind my eyelids in a Sprinter. Sounds cool. Wish I was there.

Banquets fit somewhere within the artistic realm of Jimmy Eat World, Hot Rod Circuit, and The Menzingers, and they’re quickly re-cementing themselves as a key artist to watch as this year unfolds. If you’re enjoying the new single, please consider pre-ordering Banquets’ new record, Petty Relics, that will be released via Black Numbers on October 17th here.

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FTC Sues Ticket Reseller

Legal
Jason Tate

Rolling Stone:

The complaint alleges that between Nov. 1, 2022 and Dec. 30, 2023, the defendants bought at least 379,776 tickets for approximately $57 million. A portion was allegedly resold on secondary marketplaces for approximately $64 million. 

To scoop up all those tickets, the FTC alleges that the defendants used “thousands of fictitious Ticketmaster accounts, thousands of virtual and traditional credit card numbers, proxy or spoofed IP addresses, and SIM banks to bypass or otherwise avoid security measures, access control systems, or other technological controls or measures on Ticketmaster’s websites that would have otherwise blocked or prevented them from violating Ticketmaster’s posted ticket purchase limits.”