Down On High: Examining the Records That Made Us

Two years after Jack White's shadow drop of No Name, we are reviewing the latest outing, Frozen Charlotte. 

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In light of the possible upcoming war with Iran on Israel's behalf, we are taking a look at Green Day's American Idiot. On the surface, it may seem like a criticism of American culture through the lens of the "War on Terror," but we find even more depth -- it's a critique on behalf of those whose live's were subjugated and used up by the war machine over seas and the suburban malaise at home. It's not making fun of American's and their love for cheeseburgers and guns; it's about an interminable cycle of loss in meaning, where the myth of patriotism did not deliver. Why did we do this? What was this for? Seemingly little. All the while, those who did not want this were called weak and gay. "You don't support the troops?" Arguably, Green Day and other protesters supported the troops more meaningfully than America did, as it owned its citizens through aggressive recruitment, tour after tour -- and the death of hope -- stop loss. Let's not do this again.

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In this episode, we discuss the mythology of misery around Bright Eyes and Conor Oberst, as he surprises us with his showing up as "okay" to the Palace Theatre in St. Paul on April 4, 2025. Okay is by no means a low bar, considering the show was top form Bright Eyes. Truly. It was an incredible show that shook our expectations, and we're thrilled to share what we learned.

Setlist:

1. Bells and Whistles
2. El Capitan
3. Gold Mine Gutted
4. We Are Nowhere and It's Now
5. Loose Leaves
6. Persona Non Grata
7. Mariana Trench
8. I Won't Ever Be Happy Again
9. Method Acting
10. Trains Still Run On Time
11. First Day of My Life
12. Old Soul Song (for the New World Order)
13. Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed)
14. Happy Accident
15. Tiny Suicides
16. Rainbow Overpass
17. Shell Games
18. Tin Soldier Boy
19. One For You, One for Me

Encore

1. At The Bottom of Everything
2. Devil Town
3. Let's Not Shit Ourselves (to Love and to Be Loved)

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