Cass turns 18! We celebrate, reflect briefly, and move on because there are things to talk about.
Britannica Facts!Three this week: What surprising animal is causing flight delays at JFK? When did the last World War I veteran die? And how much did Prohibition actually cost the U.S. government? (A lot!)
Movies We WatchedNeil Breen's Fateful Findings: egosploitation cinema at its most gloriously unhinged. One man, many laptops, zero self-doubt. Essential viewing.
Battle of Algiers : 1966, documentary-style, shot on location, almost entirely non-professional actors. Masterpiece. The Pentagon screened it in 2003 as a training manual for understanding insurgency.
Synecdoche, New York : first, we'll tell you how to pronounce it. Then we'll get into the fan theory that reframes the entire film. Buckle up.
TV We're Watching: The Gong ShowGo to YouTube now. Watch episodes. Chuck Barris never wanted to be on camera. The prize money was $516.32, and there's a reason for that specific, odd number. Plus: what happened on the final NBC taping that the network had to censor.
Music We're Listening ToFive new tracks worth your time:
Music City, "Pretty Feelings": power pop with chiming guitars. If you like Big Star, The Replacements.
Voxtrot, "My Peace": Austin indie pop, reunited after 14 years. Sounds like Belle & Sebastian or The Smiths with festive horns.
Clementine March, "Fireworks": jazz, folk, Brazilian music, 90s alt-rock, disco, and krautrock, sung in English, French, and Portuguese. Yes, really.
Ratboys, "What's Right": Chicago indie rock referencing The War on Drugs. Comparisons: Soccer Mommy, Waxahatchee, Wild Pink.
Fazed on a Pony, "Time to Turn": alt-country from New Zealand with pedal steel and fiddle. Silver Jews, MJ Lenderman, Mutton Birds. Do the homework.
Book CornerLee is reading Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima, the first volume of his four-novel masterwork. The backstory of its completion is fairly extraordinary stories in literary history.
Cass is reading Infinite Jest: 1996, well known, nearly 1,100 pages, 400 endnotes, some of which have their own footnotes. Set in a near-future North America where years are sponsored by corporations. We'll check in on her progress.
Country Crap CornerLee Brice debuted a new song at Turning Point USA's alternative Super Bowl halftime show. We have the lyrics. We have thoughts. Bo Burnham wrote a parody of exactly this type of song in 2013, and Brice essentially performed it unironically 12 years later.
What's Annoying Us: AI Hits the ChartsAn AI artist called Solomon Ray hit No. 1 on Gospel Digital Song Sales. Another AI act charted on Hot Gospel Songs the same week. In country, an AI project hit No. 1 on Billboard's Country Digital Song Sales, and the math on how much it costs to buy a chart position will make you tired.
The genres most built on authenticity and spiritual meaning are the ones being gamed first. We have a lot to say about that.
Main Topic: Original vs. Cover — Which Is Better?
We break it into categories:
You Probably Think This Is the Original: "Nothing Compares 2 U," "Hallelujah," "Hound Dog," "Respect," "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," and more.
Indie Artists Covering and Being Covered: including the full Tom Waits / Eagles saga.
The Great Debates: Dylan vs. Hendrix on "All Along the Watchtower." Nine Inch Nails vs. Johnny Cash on "Hurt." The story of "Blinded by the Light" and how Manfred Mann's Earth Band accidentally went to No. 1 with a word their label begged them to fix. (You know the word)
Special Section: The Lemonheads: the accidental hit Evan Dando was paid $10,000 to record. Plus the full Favourite Spanish Dishes EP breakdown.
And because you didn't ask: how do mechanical royalties actually work? What does a songwriter earn from a cover in the streaming era versus a platinum album in 1974? The numbers are not encouraging.
Thanks for listening!
