Tag: Music

Comedy

A decade of Seeing You Next Tuesday…

by Matt DrufkeLeave a Comment on A decade of Seeing You Next Tuesday…
A decade of Seeing You Next Tuesday…

Open mics are weird things. As I mentioned in a piece I wrote earlier this year, you are given the chance to get onstage and talk into a microphone and the only thing you have to be able to do is show up and write your name down. On that night, a person going up for the first time is on even playing field with an experienced veteran. All that matters are the jokes.

There are some open mics that are basically booking auditions. Usually held by comedy clubs, these mics are not about working on new material, but they’re about trying to get paid work. Those mics serve a purpose (comedians should learn how to professionally try out for spots) and they are important, and because of that, they’re usually very well attended.

But See You Next Tuesday, a mic celebrating its tenth anniversary of being in the bottom level of Plainfield bar MoeJoes, is not an audition mic. It’s something much, much more special than that.

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Music/Movies, Uncategorized

The Top 25 Songs Of 2023

by Matt DrufkeLeave a Comment on The Top 25 Songs Of 2023
The Top 25 Songs Of 2023

2023 was, by all indicators, an incredibly horny year for pop music.

Maybe there was some kind of full moon or maybe this is the first time people are feeling more safe in public spaces post-COVID. But, goodness gracious, if you had a pop star making an album, they were- as the kids would say- DTF. Because of that, this year’s batch of songs feels like they need a cold shower. However, there is still plenty of good stuff here.

The year wasn’t all about sexy sexy time. There were also great songs about loss and heartache and anger. As always, there was tons of good music if you knew where to look for it.

Here are the 25 best songs of the past twelve months:

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Music/Movies, Rocktober Roundup

Rocktober Roundup: Guts by Olivia Rodrigo

by Matt DrufkeLeave a Comment on Rocktober Roundup: Guts by Olivia Rodrigo
Rocktober Roundup: Guts by Olivia Rodrigo

Olivia Rodrigo is only twenty years old as Guts, her second album and follow-up to the massive success Sour, got released last month. It’s an immature and bratty mess of an album, but I don’t say that as a bad thing. In fact, all of those things show an intelligence to her that many of her peers did not have at her age. When she sings, “I know my age and I act like it” on opening track “all-american bitch”, she is not fucking around. It’s a promise and a threat and for her sophomore attempt, she follows through on it.

This is all to her credit.

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Music/Movies, Pop Culture

Grappling with the most popular song of 2023 in 16 listens

by Matt Drufke2 Comments on Grappling with the most popular song of 2023 in 16 listens
Grappling with the most popular song of 2023 in 16 listens

It is rare that something that is culturally dominant somehow slips by me. However, apparently this was the summer of Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night”, and I didn’t even know. I’ve never even heard the song. I’m clearly in the minority.

Six days ago, “Last Night” was the #1 song on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the sixteenth week in a row. In doing so, it set the record for the longest running song at #1 for a non-collaboration in the 65-year history of the chart. If Wallen’s song can keep it’s streak going for number one, it will set the record for the longest time on top of this chart for all songs. And since the Hot 100 measures streaming, sales, and radio plays, to have this record would make the country tune, in my opinion, the most popular song of all time.

I would like to point out again that I have never heard this song. But that is about to change.

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Music/Movies

I Can’t Feel The Way I Did Before

by Michael GraceLeave a Comment on I Can’t Feel The Way I Did Before
I Can’t Feel The Way I Did Before

Twenty years ago I was sixteen, still a few years off from even comprehending what twenty years felt like. Every responsibility I have now was merely a pipe dream. Kids? Wife? Mortgage? I couldn’t begin to imagine how far away these concepts were back then. In 2003, my primary concern was getting a driver’s license. I was a suburban kid full of all of that teenage angst and disillusionment toward the world around me. I internalized every negative thought and interaction, feeling as though only I could see the cracks in the suburban façade. Linkin Park was practically handing me a tract for whatever they were preaching. Their debut album, Hybrid Theory, was my obsession. I gravitated toward their extremely catchy hooks and melodies. When they announced their second studio album, Meteora, was coming in March of 2003, it was the most important thing in my life. I had favorite musicians and bands prior to them, but no act had fully overtaken me like Linkin Park did at that time.

But as I found out- time doesn’t stop. And the only constant is change.

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Music/Movies, The Swiftening

The Swiftening, Part 10: Midnights… 10 Multiple Songs With The Word “Midnight” But Not All

by The Fancy Boys4 Comments on The Swiftening, Part 10: Midnights… 10 Multiple Songs With The Word “Midnight” But Not All
The Swiftening, Part 10: Midnights… 10 Multiple Songs With The Word “Midnight” But Not All

Before December of 2020, Jordan Holmes (comedian, author, podcaster) had never, intentionally, listened to a Taylor Swift song. Then began The Swiftening, where Jordan decided to review every Swift album in order. So far, he has covered Swift’s 2006 debut, 2008’s Fearless, 2010’s Speak Now, and 2012‘s Red, 2014’s 1989, 2017’s reputation, 2019’s Lover, and 2020’s folklore and evermore, which we encourage you to check out if you haven’t already.

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Music/Movies, Uncategorized

Sad Boy Album Chats 2: “The Hum Goes on Forever” by The Wonder Years

by Jake DrummondLeave a Comment on Sad Boy Album Chats 2: “The Hum Goes on Forever” by The Wonder Years
Sad Boy Album Chats 2: “The Hum Goes on Forever” by The Wonder Years

On a brisk autumn morning, a curious ray of morning sun gleams through the gap of smoke-stained plastic window blinds. Countless particles of dust dance through the beam above a desk adorned with half empty mugs of tea and a crumpled Del Taco bag from the night before. The golden streak of dawn presses on through a slight opening of a closet that does not close, layer upon layer of landlord white hamstringing the hinges. It shines on a dark, sherpa-lined jean jacket emblazoned with pop punk patches, a cartoonish skull enamel pin, and a worldly collection of coffee and beer stains that blend into the deep blue denim. One of these days, I should get that jacket dry cleaned, but that will have to wait, for it yearns to be donned once more; The Ides of October have come to pass and sad boy season is well underway.

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Music/Movies

The Best Song Wasn’t The Single: time traveling to the sun-kissed bliss of Frank Ocean’s channel ORANGE

by Michael GraceLeave a Comment on The Best Song Wasn’t The Single: time traveling to the sun-kissed bliss of Frank Ocean’s channel ORANGE
The Best Song Wasn’t The Single: time traveling to the sun-kissed bliss of Frank Ocean’s channel ORANGE

Memories are made to fade. Even the strongest of them lose data over time. That’s where music comes in. A song, an album, an artist can act as a time capsule for eras of our lives. They serve as sensational time machines that can conjure up images enough, just enough, to make us feel that moment again. Something truly great can stitch together memories in an un-tattering fabric that yearns to be worn when we need the halcyon digest of youth the most. Listening to channel ORANGE, I always embark on the same somewhat mundane stream of consciousness that, in full, transcends the mundane. It isn’t a memory of summer, it is the summer, and it lives with me still, ten years later.

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Misc., Pop Culture, Uncategorized

Farewell Girl Group Goddess

by Billy Sullivan1 Comment on Farewell Girl Group Goddess

I’ve always had a fascination and affinity for the name Veronica. As a an Elvis Costello fan, his 1989 single bearing the name is still a favorite of mine. In the Archie Comics universe, I choose her over Betty. In the film Heathers, Winona Ryder played its heroine with the moniker. I also have been heard to say that I love the name because of a cute nickname that can be given to it….Ronnie.

Sadly and too soon, we lost one this week. The one, only and unforgettable Ronnie Spector (born Veronica Bennet in case you weren’t aware).

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