Today we’re taking a look at Weird Al Yankovic’s UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff (#48) as he takes on 11 by The Smithereens (#81)
Note: As many of you know, I recently wrote about a Best Record of 1989 challenge and noted that I’d be occasionally writing some of these up.
I’ve started doing some quick hits of each matchup and posting them directly to the page. Some will be longer, some won’t, and some might just be a handful of sentences. There’ll probably definitely be some typos.
Check ’em out and let me know your thoughts! Chin wags & hot takes welcome! Sharing and restacks are always appreciated.
KA—
I want to preface this by adding a few points for context. First, writing humor is hard. Like, really hard. If you think it’s not, just try it and show your work to a couple of friends. See what happens. Anyone who can do it once is worth noting—anyone who can do it for four decades plus is nothing short of amazing.
Weird Al‘s parody songs have delighted generations of fans, and it won’t be me that says anything bad about that.
UHF (the movie) was itself a parody- a parody of all the bad TV we used to be subjected to, where the channels were still changed by hand via a clunky dial. Before there were 57 channels and nothing on. It’s a fun enough premise and the sort of film you might’ve watched on a Saturday afternoon when it was pouring with rain. Yankovic plays a schlub who gets a job running a TV station his uncle won in a card game. Michael Richards plays one of the main characters. Hijinks ensue!
My second point? I have a very low capacity for humor in music. I’ve never gotten the appeal of a novelty band like Ween, and don’t get me started on that fistful of late 90s/early 00’s groups whose whole mission was to make “Zany” a new sub-genre. That goes double for all the ska groups that tried. Christ, some of that was interminable.
There’s none of that pretense here. The value prop with Weird Al is that he’s gonna take a song you love, and tweak the lyrics just enough to make you laugh. Maybe there’ll be enough of us smirking to make it a hit. There’ll be a metric ton of puns, some wordplay, and a liberal dose of accordion—all part of the schtick, and all good things.
The UHF soundtrack is no exception. There’s a take on Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing” that’s solid. Ditto the spoof of Fine Young Cannibals’ “She Drives Me Crazy.”
Among a few of my friends, Spatula City was an inside joke for so long that it had morphed into something unrecognizable —one of those things that would be impossible to reverse engineer.
And hey, Yankovic’s songs are cool…the first time you hear them. But for me, they’re like a Carolina Reaper or Dave’s Insanity Sauce; you really only need to try them once every few years.
Speaking of movies, the title of The Smithereens’ 3rd record was actually a nod to Spinal Tap (as in “This one goes up to 11”). I am not entirely sure that’s true, but I’ve heard it enough over the years to think it might be. Besides, I want to believe it, so…
Even if you don’t recognize the record, you’ll likely recognize “A Girl Like You,” which cracked the Top 40. That was supposedly written for the movie Say Anything, but didn’t make the cut. Just imagine Lloyd Dobler blasting that out of his boombox instead of Peter Gabriel’s ‘In Your Eyes.’
Woulda, coulda, shoulda.
That song would be their biggest hit, and it would be easy to assume that every track went as hard as it did. But the band owes much more to pop bands than rock bands. There are family-sized riffs and plenty of power chords, but those are balanced with plaintive lyrics and plenty of catchy choruses purpose-built for singing along. I wrote a whole ass love letter to Ed Stasium about his treatment of The Replacements’ Tim LP, and his touch behind the boards here is just as on point.
You get “A Girl Like You,” but also tracks like “Baby Be Good” (this writer’s fave on the record), and “Maria Elna,” which would be equally at home on a Gin Blossoms record.
Anyway, like Weird Al, the value prop with the Smithereens is simple; you get Mack truck-sized riffs, a groove so in the pocket, you owe it some change, and Pat DiNizio’s vocals. With 11, you get a record that is best enjoyed loud.
Bottom Line: My streak of playing the odds on my brackety and voting with my heart aligning was short-lived. But hear me out here: Somehow, Weird Al made the cut to get into this tourney. Do enough people actually like this record for it to be taken seriously, or was it, well, a parody of sorts? When making my picks, I went with the former. Each had to meet a threshold of votes to be invited to the dance, and I just can’t see there being a viable path to collusion. Maybe there’s an inside joke from previous tourneys that I’ve missed. I dunno. Either way, once again, my bracket pick is for one record, and my vote will be for another.
Head: Weird Al
Heart: The Smithereens
Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!
808 State, 90 takes on LL Cool J’s Walking With a Panther
Good morning!
Today we’re taking a look at #49 808 State, 90 vs. #80 LL Cool J, Walking With a Panther
A bazillion years ago, I was watching an interview (probably on Yo!~ MTYV Raps) with LL Cool J, where he made an off-hand comment about driving a Honda Civic. Yes, really. The gist was that sucka MCs were wasting money on things like gold chains while he was playing the long game. It was a weirdly sensible flex—especially for a guy that had been dropping rhymes like “I’m so bad, I can suck my own d*ck.”
For someone so pragmatic on the street, he was prodigious in the studio; one of the knocks against the record is that it’s long, at 18 tracks and with a run time of 76 minutes, there’s a lot of space to fill. Luckily, our man has some big rhymes and big beats to fill in the blanks.
But it wasn’t just the usual fare. There was plenty of stuff like the aforementioned “Clap Your Hands,” but also what at the time was a clean break from the norm. As Exhibit A for the people, I’d present the Rick Rubin-produced “Going Back to Cali.” LL’s flow is smooth, almost conversational- instead of announcing to us all how bad he is, he’s telling a story on top of a jazz beat. As if that wasn’t wild enough, the whole thing ends with a sax solo. We’re beyond the looking glass here, people.
“I’m That Type of Guy” also has an unorthodox flow and, of course, talks about stealing girls like it’s an Olympic sport. It’s an interesting side trip and a solid track overall. Still, the best part is the outro, which, as I type this, sounds like more of an indictment than it really is.
“Jingling Baby” is another favorite, and is ostensibly about…earrings. Sure. At any rate, it’s a banger. And I was a little surprised that I still knew a good chunk of the lyrics. Funny how those are in my mind’s Keep pile, and not things like where I left my glasses.
(sigh)
A year later, LL would kick the door back down and dare us to call it a comeback. After all, he’d been here for years. And just a year earlier, he’d dropped Walking With a Panther, still one of his best, and one that sounds great, even in a Honda Civic.
One of the paradoxes of electronic music is that you sometimes remember the nights you heard it more than the tracks themselves. And I suppose that’s partly the point- EDM (or house, or techno, or…) has always been more about immersion than anything else. How do you know a song is good? When you can still feel the beat three days later at work. In the pre-Shazam era, many of these tracks were lost to time and a fuzzy memory. Sure, sometimes you could ask the DJ, but not always, and if you didn’t want to stop dancing? Well, that was the price you paid.
But sometimes-sometimes- something was so good you had to get off the ride and find out what was playing. That’s how I found 808 State.
Last year, the band’s 1993 record Gorgeous made my Top 100 records of all time. I described it as:
…the perfect pairing to taking NyQuil. That’s a little unfair—when it came out, it was the perfect pairing with many, much stronger things. It was fun to have these sounds swirling around at the club or in your headphones while the walls shapeshifted around you.
That said, it’s more than that; it’s a beautiful sonic landscape that transcends the era it was made in and many of the records that came out of the same place.
Which, I mean…fair. But I don’t think you need to be on anything to enjoy that record, and you certainly don’t while listening to 90. The music is more than enough. Compared to today, some of the production might seem rudimentary—or at least minimalist. Some of that is due to the technology available at the time and what the band could afford. But the magic they made with what they had was something to behold. Besides pulse-pounding beats and the just-right BPM rate, some jazz elements were sprinkled in, lending the whole thing an experimental feel. This is a group masterful at transporting you back to wherever your favorite dance floor was.
House music is very good at helping you break a sweat, but it’s often very cold (this is what happens when music is made with machines!). Nothing wrong with that, but one of 808 State’s superpowers was making these tracks feel warm. There’s a strangely human element to them that’s lacking in many of the records from the same era. Just when you’re running on empty, they work in a soothing track like “Pacific 202” to give you a chance to catch your breath. They know what they’re doing.
In a dark time like this, the best music can be escapist. Rest is resistance, but so too is checking out and immersing yourself in some beats. 90 is just what the doctor ordered.
Bottom Line: I am once again in the weird spot of picking one record for my bracket while voting for the other. If LL Cool J was the ruthless ladies man that would steal your girl and your wallet, 808 State were the homies that would take you out on the town to forget it all. Ladies Love Cool James, and so do I, but my heart is still on the dancefloor. My bracket pick is Walking With a Panther. My vote is for 90.
Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!
May 2025: Sam & I bring a some boom bap and Jeep beats to the table.
Good morning!
Today Sam Colt and I are each sharing a few of our favorite hip hop records from the 90s
Welcome to the fifth installment of our (not so) new series! For those of you who may have missed previous editions, here’s a bit of context:
In this monthly series, Sam Colt and I will each share our picks for artists and/or titles that haven’t received their due. You’ll recognize Sam’s name from our On Repeat and Friends Best of Series, and also our Top 100 of all-time serieslast fall. These posts will adopt the latter’s format; I will make my case for my three picks and my reaction to Sam’s. Sam’s page will do the reverse.
In the inaugural post, we noted that successive editions would narrow things down slightly. Maybe a specific genre…maybe a specific era…maybe a specific…well, who knows!
Break out your Timbs and turn up the Alpine; This month, we’re each making a case for a few underrated hip hop records from the 90s.
California’s share of the Best Coast is just under 900 miles, but NorCal and SoCal might as well be two different universes. In many ways, they are—and certainly were in the 90s. While NWA talked about bumpin’ in the city of Compton and Snoop’s smooth drawl introduced us all to the LBC, there was a whole world of hip hop artists up the road in the Bay Area. E-40 was there. Too Short, too. And then there were The Hieroglyphics; a collective made of cats like Del Tha Funky Homosapien, Casual, and Souls of Mischief.
Back then, we didn’t have any money. People did odd jobs, this and that. So I didn’t have a whole bunch of money to buy records, but I did whenever I could. I found that particular record, it’s a Billy Cobham album called Crosswinds. At that point it wasn’t one of the hot records for people to sample. It didn’t cost hella money, it was in the dollar bin. I just grabbed it, and when I got home, I listened to the sample. I used to listen to my samples on 45, because I didn’t have much sampling time in my sampler. [It was] some cheap shit. [The record is] a little gritty, but listening to it on 45, I was like, “Aw, this’d be dope, I’m gonna make it uptempo.”
The latter were perhaps the best of the lot…or at least made the best record of the bunch. The title track is an all-timer—and with good cause—but the album is here on your screen because it’s solid all the way through. Like The Pharcyde below, Souls of Mischief spent a lot of time digging through the crates looking for melodies, jazz, and other touches that gave the record a languid and infectious sound.
Lyrically, the crew was using words in ways others hadn’t thought of yet. And while they were still talking about the same things as other rappers (girls, guns, weed), they were doing it with a vibe that could only have come from the Bay Area.
You chillin’?
Sam’s pick and my take: Big L- Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous
Sometimes, timing is everything. 1995 was a banner year for hip hop. Mobb Deep dropped an all-timer. Seemingly half of the Wu-Tang Clan released solo records, and even The Pharcyde followed up Bizarre Ride II with Labcabincalifornia. It was… a lot. Charts and tastes are finite spaces. Something had to give, and one Lamont “Big L” Coleman got lost in the wake. Before the comments light up, I’m sure the true heads knew about this record, but no one I knew was talking about it. And in 1995, I was 3 time zones away from Harlem.
Lifestylez pops off with “Put it On,” a track with a weapons-grade boom bap that quickly establishes that he’s taking no prisoners. We’re off to a strong start. Listening to follow up “M.V.P.” bugged me. Not because it’s bad—it’s not— but because I couldn’t place the sample. Dear reader, I spent way too long trying to figure out that it was “Stay With Me” from De Barge, but one I recognized from The Notorious B.I.G. Yes I know WhoSampled exists. Nevertheless…
A lot of the records on this list transcend the era in which they were made. They sound as relevant now as they were in the last millennium (eek). This one bets the other way. It 100% sounds like something made in the mid-90s. To my ear, that’s high praise. This is the sort of style I gravitate to more than any other. I’ll take all of this you got! This is a great record released in the middle of a tidal wave of great records. I have to think that had the timing been better, it would’ve been huge.
The Pharcyde- Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde
Hip hop has always had an urgent side. A side that shines a harsh light on the plight of others and pulls the curtains back on parts of society most of us either don’t know or choose to ignore. Public Enemy and NWA are great examples of each, and I’d argue that both are (very) necessary.
But you can only listen to so much before burning out. You need a record with some bounce that is serious but doesn’t take itself too seriously—one that’s dare I say…fun? You need a record like Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde.
A good record also makes you take a step back and excitedly mutter something like “oh shit” while you try to make sense of what you’re experiencing.
It’s not lost on me that the first words you hear on this record are “oh shit” and from a comedian. Bizarre Ride II is a record that will make you laugh and rearrange your mind in equal measure. The question isn’t if either of those will happen, it’s which one will happen first.
Musically, the album is much more elaborate than many of its contemporaries. There’s plenty of bass, but the crew builds elaborate soundscapes. The ride takes you through jazz, psychedelia, and just about everything else along the way. It’s a record that is much more in the vein of Paul’s Boutique than, say, something from Grandmaster Flash.
Lyrically, the crew knows their way around a little braggadocio (I mean, there’s an entire track of “Yo Mama” disses), but are much more interested in self-deprecating humor. There’s swagger in the verses, but an undercurrent of vulnerability underneath. Chuck D’s not gonna drop a line like “Damn I wish I wasn’t such a wimp“ the way they do on “Passin’ Me By.” Also: is this the first instance of “simp” being used in a track? Young guns take note.
Hip hop expert and friend of On Repeat Records Jeffrey Harvey nailed it, writing:
The Pharcyde are at their most inspired and relatable when addressing affairs of the heart. The album reach’s its zenith with a pair of colorfully imaginative parables of love lost, found, and unreciprocated.
“Passin’ Me By” stands not only as The Pharcyde’s signature song, but one of the signature songs of early ’90s hip-hop. From the first shuffle of the inverted drum loop cribbed from Jimi Hendrix’s “Are You Experienced?,” J-Swift’s meticulously constructed sample collage evokes the dizzying dervish of teenaged infatuation. Spirits soar high and crash hard as the fearless foursome hand their hearts to a quartet of enchanting young ladies, only to have them ignominiously broken.
The record has some skits; long-time readers may recall that I’m not a fan of those. But they are used in moderation here, and aren’t quite the distraction they can be on other records.
The worst part is that you have to wade through them before getting back to the good stuff. “Soul Flower” is an absolute banger, and relistening to the record ahead of this write-up, I found myself reaching for the “back” button a couple of times before remembering that I needed to keep moving.
The MCs are breaking new ground, but aren’t so busy that they don’t give an occasional nod to those who came before them. On “Officer,” a verse tips its hat to none other than Public Enemy’s “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos,” but make sure that you remember what record you‘re playing by dropping a verse like this on “So I Ramble”:
About my life, is actually shambles Should have took the bus A bus without the silence or some old Nikes I wish we had good bikes We need to exercise
At one point on “Soul Flower,” they ask, “How long can you freak the funk?” The answer, in this case, is 56 minutes and 39 seconds—the whole damn record.
Sam’s pick and my take: UGK- Ridin’ Dirty
If it’s not already patently obvious, I’m not the target demographic for records like Ridin’ Dirty. Case in point: at first glance, I confused this with Chamillionaire’s track, and thought maybe Sam had included something from the wrong decade. Silly me. It should also go without saying, but playing this at work might not be the best idea. Like many of the records on this list, the lyrics don’t always hold up. Pound for pound, this LP has more profanity than the rest.
Which is kind of my point. Maybe more so than any other, this one is the most gritty. The most “real,” whatever that means. There’s no lack of bombast and bravado here, and -again, maybe I’m not the best one to plant this flag— but a lot of it sounds like UGK spent some time at the G-Funk finishing school. The fluid beats and rhymes all feel like maybe you’re on your second cup of Lean, or maybe you’ve been out in the Houston humidity too long. Either way, this was an enjoyable ride…not sure if it’s possible to be riding dirty in a Subaru wagon, but here we are.
Life in the dirty south might not be for the weak of heart, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a little fun.
Handsome Boy Modeling School- So…How’s Your Girl?
You might not recognize the name Prince Paul, but having worked on the boards for everyone from Stetsasonic to De la Soul (and as a member of Gravediggaz), you know his work.
Dan “The Automator” Nakamura might be a tougher call. Still, there’s no doubt he’s made his mark, producing all sorts of indie rap records and perhaps most (relatively) famously releasing Dr. Octagonecologyst, a collab with him, Kool Keith, and DJ Q-Bert.
The two producers became friends, and like any close friendship, developed a second language of inside jokes. They also became fans of comedian Chris Elliott, which…is a choice. But from Elliot’s work came a reference; the sort of thing you sling back and forth in your texts. A wink and a nod that makes total sense to you, and absolutely none to everyone else on Earth.
Handsome Boy Modeling School was born from a plot line in an episode of Elliot’s show.
So to recap: you have two producers known for their quirky styles, a project built off the cuff, and named after a plot in a largely forgotten sitcom episode.
There were really only two ways this could have gone:
A: It was going to be a groundbreaking record built by—and for— the true heads
B: It would be too clever by half, become an oddity ouroboros, and collapse under it’s own weight.
25+ years later, I think it’s safe to say that it is absolutely an example of the former. The producers might be idiosyncratic, but they leverage that to their advantage here, creating track after track of incredible work. A record crate diggers would love, but one that was also accessible to everyone else.
And they brought some friends along. Long before “collab” was a verb we all knew, the two invited MCs from all corners to come through. Grand Puba is here. So is DJ Shadow (note: this record may remind many of his Endtroducing record). So too are Beastie Boy Mike D and (checks notes) one half of Cibo Matto— the two appearing on the same track should paint a clear picture of what sort of collage was built here. It only gets better from there.
So… How’s Your Girl is hip hop for those with discerning tastes, for the people who look at ID’ing samples as a parlor game, and for those who want something unconventional in their crate.
Sam’s pick and my take: De La Soul- De La Soul is Dead
You didn’t even have to play the record to see that the D.A.I.S.Y. Age was over; the wilted flowers and broken pot were right there on the cover. If that wasn’t enough, the title was a dead giveaway: De La Soul is Dead.
The D.A.I.S.Y. Age might have passed, but only the version of De la Soul we all knew was gone. You’d be excused for only knowing “Me, Myself, and I,” but the trio (and Prince Paul!) made quick moves to ensure the band didn’t become a novelty act. The follow-up is a pivot sharp enough to give you whiplash, but plays to the group’s strengths. The middle child in an incredible 3-record run (3 Feet High and Rising, De La Soul is Dead, and 1993’s trippy Buhloone Mindstate) is arguably the best of the three.
Like many records from the era, there are once again too many skits for my tastes, and that makes for a 27-track LP that would be much better as a 15-16 joint. But that’s a small price to pay for getting all-timers like “A Roller Skating Jam Named ‘Saturdays,’” or watching them take on heavier themes in tracks like “My Brother’s a Basehead.” And of course, the sample-rich jams that are Prince Paul’s trademark.
It’s not lost on me that we both picked a Prince Paul-related project as one of our picks. If there is a poster boy for “understated” in the hip-hop game, it’s him. He also has an almost unblemished track record of putting out shelf-stable records that sound as fresh today as they did on Day 1.
If sales are anything to go by, the message flew over a lot of people’s heads, and many copies of this record were left to collect dust on record store shelves. But that’s their loss. De La Soul is Dead showed that not only were they back—they were a force to be reckoned with.
That’s a wrap! What are your thoughts on these records? Do you own any of them? Share your thoughts in the comments! Rants, raves, and spicy takes are all welcome. And if you have any ideas on future themes, please share those as well! Don’t forget to check out Sam’s thoughts over at This Is a Newsletter!
Need an antidote for the algorithms? Looking for a place to share the music you love with like-minded people? You’re in the right spot.
As always, thank you to those who have recently upgraded your subscriptions. Your direct support fuels this community and makes a positive impact. Shares and reposts all help as well! Thank you!
When you’re ready, joining them is easy. Just click here:
For those of you who are new, we kick off every week by sharing what we’ve been playing.
The playlist below is some of what I’ve had in heavy rotation. This week, we’ve got new sounds from Stereolab, Saint Etienne, and Robert Forster (among others). They’re balanced with a couple of old favorites & deep cuts.
Now it’s your turn.
What caught your ear this week? Any new releases or shows you’re looking forward to?
Good morning! Need an antidote for the algorithms? Looking for a place to share the music you love with like-minded people? You’re in the right spot.
As always, thank you to those who have recently upgraded your subscriptions. Your direct support fuels this community and makes a positive impact. Shares and reposts all help as well! Thank you!
When you’re ready, joining them is easy. Just click here:
For those of you who are new, we kick off every week by sharing what we’ve been playing.
The playlist below is some of what I’ve had in heavy rotation. This week, we’ve got sounds from Santa Fe to the South Coast. Sounds from close to home and tracks from a Million Miles Away.
Now it’s your turn.
What caught your ear this week? Any new releases or shows you’re looking forward to?
The flood of great records continues! Today we’re taking a quick look at the latest from The Tisburys, Mekons, and Silvis.
Longtime readers may recall that I reviewed 100 new (to me) records last year. Because I’m a glutton for punishment love music, I’m doing it again this year. This is the latest in the series.
Good morning!
Today we’re listening to the latest from The Tisburys, Mekons, and Silvis.
Every year, I celebrate all the great music we’ve been gifted while worrying that next year will see the other shoe drop. I first did that in December 2020 and have been proven wrong every month since. Not only are there a ton of releases steadily coming out, but it also transcends genre or any other artificial guardrail we try and put up—
In other words, a ton of good stuff is coming out, and there’s something for everyone. It’s almost overwhelming— but in all the best ways. Below is another batch that caught my attention recently.
Let’s get into it!
The Tisburys- A Still Life Revisited
There was a time—even in the recent years— when Twitter had a few redeeming qualities. Sure, you still had to wade through AI slop, Temu ads, and tech bro weirdness, but the reward was connecting with people like Tisburys frontman Tyler Asay, and in turn the band’s fantastic Exile on Main Street, a record I described as
“… an album with a seriously well-put-together sound. The tracks are well-balanced, blending Americana, Power Pop, and just the right amount of jangle.
It’s meant as a love letter to Philly, but it feels like it could mean just as much to anyone, anywhere.”
Hard to believe it’s been roughly three years since that record’s release, but here we are. And here The Tisburys are with A Still Life Revisited. The band’s sound has evolved with each release, and this latest iteration shows them hitting on all cylinders.
With it’s rollicking piano and anthemic chorus, lead single “The Anniversaries” is a bit of sonic comfort food. But before we get there, we get to first pass through fantastic tracks like “Painted Eyes” with just enough horns, and the delightful, sensible pop of “Elephant Hotel” (this writer’s favorite track on the record), before ending on a strong note with “Here Comes The Lonesome Dove.”
If Exile felt like an homage to ‘90s college rock (it did), Still Life feels like a reflection on running full speed into the wall that is adulthood. The band might be growing up, but so is their style, with more harmonies and a fuller sound. They’re also not afraid to explore new ground (see: the dancefloor-ready “Wildfire”). The guitars are brighter, and the horns are more prominent (yes, please!). Asay might be singing about time marching on, but he refuses to sound down about it.
A Mekons record in 2025? I can’t think of a more timely release. If you’re a fan of the band, it will not surprise you in the least that they’re not happy with the state of the world and have some thoughts about it. In a time of presidents floating Papacy trial balloons and measles on a comeback tour, current members Jon Langford, Sally Timms, Tom Greenhalgh, Dave Trumfio, Susie Honeyman, Rico Bell, Steve Goulding, and Lu Edmonds have gifted us an antidote. Will it surprise you to hear that the tracklist contains tiles like a “War Economy,” “Private Defense Contractor,” and “Sad and Sad and Sad?” Probably not. Nor will it shock that their particular blend of styles are on full display here. It’s leftist punk stylings with a steady beat, “War Economy” and “Mudcrawlers” in particular. Seen through her lens of historic British imperialism, it’s a record only Mekons could’ve made. The band is on tour and will return to the States starting in July. Catch ‘em if you can.
One of the things that amuses me most about living in flyover country are the chronic debates about which states count as part of the Midwest and which ones don’t. Should Ohio count? Indiana? And in what universe does Missouri make the cut?
What does this have to do with anything? Not much other than I like to spotlight Midwest bands, and Silvis is from Columbus. On their latest, A Tendency to Seek Distraction, the trio of Luke and Matt Johnson and Nick Allen delivers another dose of catchy melodic guitar pop. Opener “Do I Need It?” was featured on Monday’s playlist, and sets the tone and expectations early. This is gonna be a record full of smart hooks, smarter lyrics, and plenty of oohs and ahhs.
“This album is about the push and pull between distraction and clarity—how we sometimes run from our realities but eventually find meaning in the chaos,” says Luke, Silvis’s frontman. “We wanted to create something that feels distantly familiar, real, and emotionally resonant.”
Tracks like “Avert Your Eyes” take a bit of a harder tone with crunchier riffs, while “Who I Am” shifts toward the more gentle, but neither strays too far from the blueprint. This is a good thing. The closest RIYL line I can draw is to Saint Paul’s’ Hippo Campus. This is also a good thing.
Minnesota? Definitely in the Midwest. A Tendency to Seek Distraction? Definitely a record you should have on your radar.
Good morning! Need an antidote for the algorithms? Looking for a place to share the music you love with like-minded people? You’re in the right spot.
As always, thank you to those who have recently upgraded your subscriptions. Your direct support fuels this community and makes a positive impact. Shares and reposts all help as well! Thank you!
When you’re ready, joining them is easy. Just click here:
For those of you who are new, we kick off every week by sharing what we’ve been playing.
The playlist below is some of what I’ve had in heavy rotation. This week, we’ve got new sounds from Young Gun Silver Fox, Fishbone(!), and more. Also a couple of old faves to balance out the mix.
Now it’s your turn.
What caught your ear this week? Any new releases or shows you’re looking forward to?
Kevin Sent 
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