The late aughts were a time of reveling in self pity, doubt, and/or hatred. But one band was vulnerable enough to stand up and say, hey, maybe we can get ourselves out of this mess. This band was The Wonder Years, and the album that changed it all was The Upsides.
This record came out when we seemed to need it the most. We were just started college, getting our first taste of homesickness, and were just starting to seriously doubt our choices and the integrity of the futures we were starting to build for ourselves. It’s easy when you’re too close tp the subject to not see beyond the depression and the failures, but frontman and lyricist Dan Campbell encourages us to find the small moments that make life worth living through this autobiographical war-cry of a masterpiece.
Pat and Tom look back to how hard this record hit when it first came out, and how the feelings associated with this record and what it stood for back in 2010 has changed over time. It turns out this is the kind of record that can grow with you, and looking back doesn’t seem so painful because these songs were there for us when nothing else was.
Links:
Dynamite Shovel Campfire Version by The Wonder Years
Living Room Song by The Wonder Years
I Don’t Need to Pump My Fists to Look Sweet Shirt (Tom’s Old Band!)
Songs of the week:
All Too Well (Taylor Swift Cover) by Dan Campbell
I’d Rather Lose by Mandy Moore
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With Hayley Williams dropping her brand new solo effort “Simmer” just days ago, we felt inspired to take a look back at the very beginning of Hayley Williams career as one of the most iconic and influential front-women in rock history. After the release of ‘Riot’ in 2007, the band experienced a meteoric rise to fame, and they brought their debut album ‘All We Know is Falling’ along with them.
The guys both had a hard time getting through this album, because it cuts so deep on so many levels. It’s hard to not feel that pain and angst that’s oozing out of every line on this record. Tom and Pat ranked each song on the newly engineered “Angst-O-Meter” to figure out where all the pain and sadness is coming from on this record.
Links:
Simmer by Hayley Williams Music Video
Taylor Swift ‘Miss Americana’ Trailer
Told You So by Paramore Music Video
Songs of the week:
All Too Well by Dan Campbell
Circle the Drain by Soccer Mommy
*Listen to these songs and millions of other songs on Apple Music with a 3 month free trial*
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Say Anything is a band that deserves way more love and respect than they got, and probably even more than we were able to give them on this episode. Alive With the Glory of Love was culturally an important song, not just because Tom skanked to it at his wedding in 2018, but primarily for the way it was used in Scrubs to emphasize one of the most pivotal moments on the show (check out our blog post below!)
Somehow Say Anything has managed to keep itself from most people’s Mount Rushmore’s of culturally impactful and meaningful groups, but we’d like to make the case that they at least deserve to be a nominee.
Links:
Alive With the Glory of Love: The Day Say Anything Helped 'Scrubs' Go Nuclear by Pat Holmes
Vince McMahon / Say Anything Meme
Tom Dancing to Alive with the Glory of Love at his Wedding
“You Don’t Drink Scotch”: An Appreciation of ‘Scrubs’ and the Inimitable Dr. Cox by Shea Serrano
Alive With The Glory of Love on Scrubs
Songs of the week:
Good News by Mac Miller
Homebound by Set the Score
*Listen to these songs and millions of other songs on Apple Music with a 3 month free trial*
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Commit This to Memory is an album that shook our 14 year old souls when it first came out, or in Tom’s case, just a year or two later. Having been introduced to this band by 2 kids that Pat and Tom looked up to for musical advice, this album was destined to make waves all 15 years since it’s release, with no sign of stopping in sight.
The guys play this dumb game they both hate where they try to rank the songs from worst to best, and ultimately they decide every song is great and they wouldn’t change a thing.
Links:
Blog: Revisiting "Commit This To Memory" by Motion City Soundtrack, which somehow turns 15 this year
Commit This to Memory on Apple Music
Commit This to Memory on Spotify
Tom’s Janky Version of Feel Like Rain
Songs of the week:
The Outside by Honeylip
Twitter Tease by Hayley Williams
*Listen to these songs and millions of other songs on Apple Music with a 3 month free trial*
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Best friend Zach drops in to accompany the guys on their usual New Year goals episode. As everyone approaches 30, there’s some big life changes about to take place (did someone say kids?!), and 2020 will surely be a huge year of growth. The guys reflect on their goals for 2019 and how they did, and look forward to what they hope to accomplish in this new year.
Links:
Mike Birbiglia: The New One on Netflix
SNL: Duolingo for Talking to Children
Songs of the week:
As Alone by Florist
Reasons by The Bottom Line
Ode to a Butterfly by Nickle Creek
*Listen to these songs and millions of other songs on Apple Music with a 3 month free trial*
Follow us on Twitter at @_ReminscentFM and on Instagram!