rock

I Read the News Today, Oh Boy

I’ve been making a conscious effort to not post about the Beatles as often to avoid being pigeonholed as a Beatles blog, but I simply can’t hide my love away any longer.  I love this song a little too much I think. It’s just so clever lyrically and musically not to mention beautiful. When the song changes halfway through and goes into the upbeat 4th and 5th verses it feels like a weird dream of adulthood and boring “real life.” But then the 5th verse ends with “somebody spoke and I went into a dream.” I think it’s speaking to how we dissociate our everyday existence from violent world news. We read the news and think it’s just a bloody dream.

Jesse Sings Wish You Were Here

OK this video is poor quality for which I apologize. The other night in Austin Jesse (Jesse Lacey of Brand New) did an acoustic cover of Wish You Were Here which is without doubt my favorite Pink Floyd song since I was little. How good does it sound? I’m seeing Brand New with Modest Mouse at the Greek on Thursday, and the excitement is bubbling up and spilling over. It will be my 4th and most likely last time seeing them because they’re breaking up (see my post). I just can’t wait. I’ve been obsessively reading recent setlists, and it appears that they’ve been playing super long sets with lots of Deja and ahhhh! Can’t wait. Hoping for a fun weird acoustic cover from Jesse.

Modern Baseball!

I promised a Mobo post a long time ago and never delivered. I’m sorry! Here it is.

I honestly don’t remember how I discovered Modern Baseball. I think I got into Tigers Jaw (post will come) first and then just kept exploring the Run for Cover Records family. Sidenote: RFC is the freaking best record company in the universe. They have wonderful bands that they treat well, and the record company itself is composed of the coolest guys ever. I stopped watching Tuesdays With Tay, but my god it used to be my favorite Tuesday ritual. Bean Dip and Alex are the coolest guys ever and Tay is so funny. If you don’t already support RFC please consider checking out their bands, buying their merch and watching their funny videos.

So I found Modern Baseball somehow. Then I hardcore fell for Sports. The whole record is perfect. The lyrics said exactly everything I was feeling as a sad little sophomore in high school and the music is fun and upbeat and quirky. “The Weekend” literally articulated everything I was feeling while also being fun and happy and way too catchy. Also Brendan’s vocals are just perfectly pop punk but with a fun nerd rock twist. IT IS SO IRRESISTIBLE.

Also their image is just too perfect. I mean some pop punk bands simply aren’t believable because the band members all look like god damn male models with chiseled muscles and frat boy clothing (talking about you Parker Cannon of The Story So Far). Modern Baseball is believable. Ian Farmer is a total ragamuffin nerd, Brendan is quite pudgy, and Jake is a nerdy looking short guy. You know these guys really were miserable in high school. It just makes the music feel that much more honest. The lyrics are all quite introspective and actually come off as extremely emotionally mature and self aware, but you also know they’re teenagers. I think I like pop punk because it’s generally (maybe surprisingly) so genuine, self reflective, and honest as a genre.

Anyways Sports is a perfect record. I was going to pick out my favorite songs, but honestly I like every song on that album. Hours Outside in the Snow or The Weekend or Coals or Tears Over Beers likely my favorites.

Then I discovered their old EPs and splits and COULD NOT STOP listening to “It’s Cold Out Here.”

Then they released “You’re Gonna Miss it All” right before I saw them on a super small stage in Oakland with a bunch of other more punk bands. YGMIA never disappointed for a second. I think it’s a wonderful record, and I love tons of songs off of it (namely Apartment and Rock Bottom). However, it never really earned the same place in my heart that Sports inhabits. I think that’s mostly due to timing and when I discovered Sports. Anyways, the show was awesome. Modern Baseball looked so funny and cute and not punk compared to the other bands playing the venue that evening. It was before they kinda blew up and you could really feel the excitement of the crowd. We knew that they were good and that people would know about them.

And they did blow up (for a pop punk RFC band). You’re Gonna Miss it All sold a lot and “Your Graduation” was a big hit. I actually even occasionally see it on Apple Music playlists!!! Also the New York Times recently did a piece on the band so you know they’ve basically made it.

Anyways I love them dearly and only wish the very best for Brendan, Jake, Ian and Sean. Thank you guys for always liking my tweets about your band and being nice cool people. Thank you for being nerdy guys in a pop punk band who don’t care about looking cool. Sending much pop punk love your way.

P.S. I have the Into It Over It shirt Brendan is wearing in the picture above!

UPDATE: I was just reading an AV Club article about MoBo’s desire to create a safe place at their shows and came upon this quote from Jake: “I can’t even imagine what it feels like to be a 16-year-old girl and love music and really want to play music—but go to a show and see four men on a stage, followed by four men on a stage, followed by four men on a stage. They have to think that the chance of becoming part of that feels so slim.” It’s so damn cool that he realizes how white and male pop punk is and wants to change it.

 

British Music Again!

Everyone who knows me is surprised by my patriotism on 4th of July. The truth is I feel like I’m pretty pessimistic and critical of the U.S. 364 days of the year, and I like having a day to celebrate the great ideas of our founding fathers and the crazy dream that is America. So I get pretty into 4th of July (also because I think fireworks are gorgeous and magical). This 4th I decided to listen to only American artists (forgoing any of my usual Beatles) for the day. This exercise actually proved quite difficult for those around me and made all of us realize how many foreign artists we could never live without. My best friend, Mia, was TORTURED by not being able to play any Rhianna (Barbados) or Drake (Canada), and my mother was upset that I skipped Gimme Shelter (Stones, England) when it came on Pandora. When it hit midnight (I was driving home) even I was ready to get my British music back.

Here, There and Everywhere

Here, There and Everywhere is my favorite love song Paul ever wrote if not my favorite love song of all time. Every lyric is beautiful, and it doesn’t rely on love song clichés.

I want her everywhere and if she’s beside me
I know I need never care
But to love her is to need her everywhere
Knowing that love is to share

It is so painfully romantic (but also painfully true) that to love someone is to need them everywhere. The idea of physically wanting them everywhere but also to share life with them because that is love is beautifully but simply articulated in the song. It resonates as so true, honest and perceptive.

UPDATE: I forgot about “I Will” at the time I wrote this post. Also I could never actually choose a favorite Beatles song of any category (love song or otherwise). Obviously would be a folly.