Let's Dance

To quote the Cars, hello again. I’m going to be super up front with you and start by telling you that I’m rebranding and resurrecting this newsletter because I promised my literary agent I would at least make an attempt to get an audience somewhere. I just cannot bring myself to give a shit about doing it on social media so Mark Zuckerberg can get rich and train AI from it (and also, we all know that social media followers do not convert to people who are going to buy a book). Or make videos so people can call me fat or tell me about what I’m getting wrong, even when I’m an expert in it, because I’m just another in a sea of strangers talking to them about stuff.

I did tell my lit agent I would not be starting a Substack because of my moral objections to its business model (hit reply if you want to know more about that). After she reminded me that it is easier to get followers there, she conceded that any kind of newsletter was fine. So here we are. And this also hasn’t happened because Kaia Fischer of Rainer Maria willed it back into existence, although they have sent me the odd message trying to get me to write about music again. Okay, it’s a little bit because of that.

Let’s give my lit agent a break, though. It’s not her fault you’re being subjected to my return to newsletter blogging, probably best known as shouting into the void. It’s the publishing industry who are to blame here. They don’t know how to market books anymore in a fragmented society and with minuscule budgets, in a world where most people apparently don’t even read one book a year. They need authors to come to the game with a platform so they can spend months to years working on and producing a tomb that will make them next to no money. I’ve really chosen well with my life.

Anyway, you probably want to know what kind of book I am cooking up. Well, I’ve got a podcast coming out in September (be patient, it is related). It hasn’t been announced yet, but I’ve interviewed a handful of people in the music industry and several artists for it, so it’s also not a secret. It’s a documentary-style limited series about indie rock in the 2000s that picks up where Meet Me in the Bathroom left off — with all the bands who weren’t from NYC. It explores the weird confluence of cultural and technological events that aligned to help the genre break into the mainstream in that decade. It has been a lot of fun (a pain in the ass) to put together. So, now you know about it. Obviously, this lends itself well to an oral history.

And that’s how you found yourself here, reading my thoughts on music (okay, on the publishing industry) yet again. To give you some music in this first return to your inboxes, here are a few things I’ve enjoyed this year.

Grand Eugéne

I randomed myself into loving the album this Montreal duo put out, called Deux places au cimetiére. This is my favorite song. It’s light and fluffy and all in French. Pretty sure this came from a random scroll on TikTok where someone I’ve never seen before was recommending music and nailed it.

Metric

There have been an insane number of nostalgic and indie legacy releases this year, and I’ve felt mildly disappointed in all of them. Except Metric’s new album, which I full-throated love, more than I liked anything in the 2000s, which is dumb because I love those albums now. Also, I’ve interviewed Emily Haines a few times over the years, including for that podcast I mentioned, and I just really like talking to her. She hates nostalgia, though, and I had to force her to talk about some of her thoughts on things that happened 20+ years ago. Also, my friend Matt Mills was in Austin shooting a tour film with them this month, so keep an eye out for that.

Courtney Barnett

I find her hit or miss with the albums. Some I’ve resonated with deeply, and others are just fine. But I went to see her on the tour for this one, and my god, she’s got the sound nailed. She was in a thousand person capacity room, but could have easily played a stadium with the robust sound she’s got. It’s not always clear on the records she’s got that kind of push. It was really impressive and reminded me of how the White Stripes sounded back in the day.

Suki Waterhouse

Okay, I thought it was kind of dumb when Sub Pop signed her, but then some of the songs were really good, and I was like, yeah I get it. She moved to a major label for the new record, which is also dumb but in a different way, but dammit if she didn’t get me with this ode to pick me girls. She’s playing some kind of character who is wildly horny on the album, and that’s where the acting chops come in. Anyway, it’s just fun.

Mr. Dinkles

Do you want to eat chips and talk shit? Smash cut to fuck Republicans. This is my theme song.

Probably some praise to come for Beth Orton, Rhye, and PJ Harvey with this Voyager thing. Let’s see how it goes.