Another break-up.

Today is probably the last time I'll see my gym. Sadly LSF Verge, formerly Cheetah Gym, closes their doors at the end of the month. It's a huge bummer, and even though there were some rocky times in our relationship when they changed owners, they ended up righting the ship and creating a great atmosphere. But I guess it wasn't great enough to survive.

I've been a member since December 29, 2003. I know, what?! Heck, outside my family this has been my longest relationship with regular contact. When it briefly closed in 2007, it gave me a series of articles that at the time brought in crazy new traffic to Chicagoist. The gym really meant something to people.

It was also known as "the gym in the Real World house"—which was true—but to me it was always "the gym in Urbis Orbis" a '90s Wicker Park/Bucktown coffee shop I used to go to and drink coffee and buy 'zines. So it's roots go deep. I mean, do I really have any reason to go that part of town any more? Not really.

How do I even find a new gym? My company will start offering subsidized memberships to a nearby gym, but that doesn't start until the summer. And lord knows if I hold off until then my summer bod won't show up until winter at the earliest!

Say 'Hi' to Little Junior and their amazing cover of Carly Rae Jepsen's "I Really Like You."

Usually I don’t go for kitschy covers as a promotional tactic, but this version of Carly Rae Jepsen's "I Really Like You" by Toronto’s Little Junior is an exception. It’s definitely a bit of a stunt, but there is zero ironic distancing going on here. The song appears as the final track on the band’s debut LP Hi, and the video they created is a great lo-fui production that mimics the original.

In the video Annie Murphy from Schitt's Creek plays Tom Hanks, while Rane Elliott-Armstrong of Little Junior is Carly.

The band’s heart is also in the right place. They said:

Any money we get from covering this video by the flawless Carly Rae Jepsen is going to Youth Line, a youth-led organization that provides peer support for LGBTQ2 youth in Toronto. It's a great cause and we feel we have a responsibility to use our privilege to give back to our community. To our LGBTQ2 family and friends: we see you, we're here for you.

Hi isn’t out until May 11, but I’ve been listening to it this morning and it brings up the same question I frequently ask about band’s from Toronto: are they just born with hooks galore running through their blood? Hi is more power-pop than punk, but there’s enough attitude in there to keep things just the right amount of scuzzy with flashes of polish. And these folks can really write concise bursts of music that waste none of your time but give you all the pleasure—the album’s 11 tracks clock in at under 32 minutes.

The band will be touring in April and May, and I'll definitely be at their Chicago show at Subterranean on May 19.

Hope this video brightens your day as much as it did mine.

You can bleed when you wanna bleed.

I had forgotten how much I love this song. Crank it up and transport yourself to 1993. Also, am I crazy or is Liz Phair in this video as well and I just never noticed it before?

'Move On' with The By Gods.

The By Gods recently rolled through town, and I didn't even realize they had put out another album late last year! If you're a fan of heavy, melodic rock and/or roll, you'll really like this. The show was pretty fabulous too, so you can see if they're coming through your town.

Sour gifts.

I had bought her the 30th anniversary edition of INXS' Kick for her birthday. It was an import, so I'd pre-ordered it months before, but had already moved out before I could give it to her. I sent her a text letting her know where it was—I didn't want her to think I'd forgot her birthday—and she texted back that it was one of the most depressing gifts she'd ever received. Clearly had I been there and present and given it to her in person it would've been a completely different situation. But I didn't. And I regret that.

Yesterday I discovered it buried underneath a bunch of Blu-rays and realized she didn't even take it with her. That was pretty depressing.

It's the stuff she left behind that stings. She knows I will never eat "classic onion pierogis." And that I would never open the Orange Hostess Cupcakes I bought her because I knew she loved them. But she did take all the clips for the potato chip bags, and all the magnets off the fridge. And I could've still used those. Oh well.

Making the best of a bad mood.

I'm in a bad mood today. I'm under the weather. The divorce settlement went from cruising to rocky. I'm now avoiding rock shows because I don't want awkward encounters with a person I know. My right arm aches. My The Man Who Fell To Earth digital movie code got borked and I'm sure I'll never hear from the distributor about it. Blah blah blah, poor me.

So instead of wallowing, why don't we just let's dance in honor of modern love?

Marmalakes turn "Milwaukee" into a power pop rager.

Well, this hit my inbox at the perfect time! It’s a beautiful, sunny day in Chicago and this track “Milwaukee” is perfect listing. And hey, if it’s not sunny wherever you are, this might just melt the clouds above you.

It’s performed by Marmalakes, out of Austin, and is a new single off their debut full-length Please Don't Stop, out May 11. The bandleaders’ names, Chase Weinacht and Josh Halpern, might ring a bell since they each also play in a number of other bands including Shearwater and The Hermits.

“Milwaukee” is a surging little piece of power pop, that glistens and shines. But the band isn’t afraid to get a little scuffed up—the instrumental break down near the end of the tune offs just the right amount of grit—and the resulting combination is a song that is over far too quickly. Luckily, you can just put it on repeat.

Get caught up in Ten Million Lights' "Red Tornado."

I can't remember how I stumbled across Saturna. It was probably when I got their excellent single "Pop Rocks" off one of Largehearted Boy's daily downloads a decade plus ago. Unbeknownst to me, one of the band members was regular Tankboy reader and alerted me when a couple folks from Saturna had started a new project called Ten Million Lights. Their  music was a little more on the dreamy shoegaze side, while Saturna was a little more rocking, but I dug both projects.

Ten Million Lights released their self-titled debut in 2010 ... and then didn't do anything else. Until this year when they released a new single and EP. That I completely missed, until Ryan from the band emailed me yesterday with another new single they're releasing ahead of their sophomore effort, Sour Oranges, out next month.

All this build up is to say, it sure took you folks long enough to put out a second album! Talk about taking your time.

Ten Million Lights have changed their sound a bit, adding more straightforward hard rocking and chugging guitars to the dreamier elements of their earlier music, with a dash of the poppier muscles they flexed in the Saturna days. If "Red Tornado" is indicative of this slightly new direction then Sour Oranges will probably find a welcome place in my music collection.

Check it out for yourself and let me know if you agree.

As a matter of fact, if you live in Portland, you can go to the band's record release show at The Fixin' To this Saturday, March 24. If you do, let me know how the rest of the album sounds!

How much new music did I listen to in February 2018? Let's find out!

Whoops. Took me a while to get to this, huh?

Not only is March almost over, but I listened to a pitifully small amount of new music last month. February was rough—especially that whole flooded basement thing—so I think I retreated into older, comfort music. I also played Sloan’s 12, like, a bajillion times. But hey, at least I finally got around to putting this together!

Don’t worry, March is already shaping up to be much better numbers-wise.

Revamped rating system is here.

Total number of new/upcoming releases listened to in February 2018: 17

Number of those releases that rated 7-10: 2

Number of those releases that rated 5-6: 1

Number of those releases that rated 3-4: 14

Number of those releases that rated 1-2: 0

Highest rated album: Surprise, surprise! Sloan’s 12.

New band I’d never heard of that caught me off guard: Moaning’s self-titled debut is worth checking out. If you’re reading this on March 20, you can check them out at The Empty Bottle tonight.

Most surprising discovery: Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John was truly delightful. It could have been twee or ironic, but it’s just  straightforward, loving covers.

Stefon!

Seeing Stefon on SNL this weekend was slightly bittersweet. He was my ex and mine's favorite character so seeing him reminds me of her. At the same time the segment was so laugh-so-hard-until-you-cry funny that it was a high point of my weekend. And they managed to get a Seth Meyers joke in there too! So it's good to know that in that universe, Stefon and Seth are still a couple.

Cruising around and checking out David Bowie's favorite spots in L.A.

Pat Smear and Dave Grohl do exactly what the title of this video suggests: they drive around and check out a bunch of David Bowie's haunts around L.A. I guess this ran on Playboy's website a few years ago, which is why I obviously totally missed out in existence until now!

Get amped and rev up your day with HotLips Messiah.

I don’t know what’s up with me; I slept really poorly last night. And I even made a concerted effort to get to bed early since I’ve been fighting a nagging low level cold all week long. How can I get rest and get better if I can’t sleep?

Even Pickle the Kitten is conspiring against me! Just as I dozed off for the dozenth time, she came upstairs around three in the morning and started click-clacking and meowing all over the place. Why is this odd? Pickle never comes upstairs! Nice move, Pickle.

So, you know what that means—I need a really rocking Friday tune to get me amped up for the day! But why stop at one tune? The always rowdy HotLips Messiah is playing Liar’s Club tonight, and though I probably won’t be able to make it I’m gonna let their 2015 EP soundtrack the start of my day.

If you dig it you should check ‘em out tonight!

Getting there.

I keep worrying I’m going to have a heart attack and no one will realize it for days since I live alone. Any time my chest tightens I’m convinced it’s time, which of course leads me think my arm is getting numb and the anxiety just builds. Does this happen to everyone? Or am I just a weirdo? Even as I write this now my chest feels like it’s being squeezed, but I’m probably just getting worked up over nothing.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my mortality lately, and the choices I’ve  made and what I’ve done with my life thus far. I’ve accomplished a lot, but being middle-aged forces to to really evaluate your position in the world and in relation to the people around you. I think of mistakes I’ve made in relationships and how I don’t want to repeat them. And I'm getting there.

And I don't want to have a heart attack.

Kill yr television.

I can still play this album over and over again and never get tired of it. I remember seeing them open for Jesus Jones, running into the bass player at the bar after their set and telling him he reminded me of my friend Jim.

Blocked!

So Mich blocked me across her social media a while ago, which is totally understandable if a bit unnerving. But then yesterday I realized someone else I had been close to unfollowed me across a bunch of platforms and restricted access to their Facebook as well.

I'm obviously great at making friends.

So I blocked them. And you know what? It was liberating!

Social media is a useful tool, but it can also be an emotional distraction that keeps us tethered to unhealthy habits. This was one tether that felt really good to break. Hopefully sometime in the far, far future I can unblock them and we'll be friends again, but for now this felt really good.

Broken cheek.

So two years ago I was outside Double Door and completely passed out on the sidewalk. In retrospect it was probably a mixture of not eating and getting too little sleep. The staff was awesome, and took care of me, and called an ambulance, and all that fun stuff. I hadn't even been there all that long so it definitely wasn't a case of me being over served or anything! I thought I was fine but the next day I had quite the shiner and I realized something was definitely wrong with my cheek. Ever since then the cheek bone just below my left eye has been super sensitive and i don't think it ever healed quite right.

The lesson here? Get more sleep and don't forget to eat at least three meals a day!

Now you can hear 1/4 of Sloan's new album!

My number of Last.fm listens to Sloan's new album 12 is almost embarrassing. Let's just say I have been listening to it A LOT. And now, luckily for you, they're released three of the album's 12 songs to stream ahead of its release on April 6.

The whole thing is ridiculously good.

Get a little "Closer To God" with Wilder Maker.

Wilder Maker's new album Zion isn't out until July, which is a shame since it seems like the perfect soundtrack for that gently gliding of Spring into Summer. The airy and buoyant melodies reel lazily out at their own pace, one song clocks into a wonderfully building ten minute opus that remains entrancing throughout,  and its one of those albums that makes the most sense when you strap in and just listen to the whole thing from start to finish.

Since you can't do that quite yet, the band did just release the first single off Zion, "Closer To God." It's a good sample of what to expect, even if it a little more conventionally poppier than some of the other tracks on the album.

The band is on a short tour this week, making their way to SXSW, so if you're attending the festival you might want to check out one of their shows to hear more of the new album before it comes out.

Get animated with Superchunk

Superchunk's new album What A Time To Be Alive is absolutely fantastic. If you haven't listened to it yet, their new video should convince you to dive deeper in a minute and a half.

A new promise.

My writing can hurt people and that makes me feel terrible. Long ago I stopped writing negative music reviews—aside from the occasional high profile major releases—because I think time is better spent turning people onto music they should listen to than dissing music.

I should have thought to apply that same maxim to my personal writing as well.

I work through things by writing, and I've always been public, but I admit I forget that other people aren't public. And have no wish to be. But I lost sight of that and deeply hurt someone. And I'm horrified by that. And unendingly sad that a person I really respected never wants to have anything to do with me again. Rightfully so.

It's been a rough few months but that's no excuse. So I'm never letting that happen again. I'm saying this publicly so you can hold me to that.

Get sucked into the howling vortex that is Archie Powell & The Exports tonight.

Tonight Archie Powell & The Exports (who for some reason in my head I always call Dirty Mike and the boys, not because they do questionable things in people's cars, but because they are so tight knit ... and funny) play The Empty Bottle. They're opening for the rowdy and genuinely unclassifiable Juiceboxxx—who should be pretty entertaining—but Archie and the gang are the reason I'm heading out tonight.

The Exports put on one of those shows where you're sure the band is telepathic, mostly to keep Archie from flying off the stage. Every time he seems about to lose it and spin out of control, something about the keys or the drums seems to reel him back in and there's a sort of a mental acrobatics in play that really makes you appreciate how a band band functions.

(My old band was similar. Maybe that's why I'm so enamored with these boys.)

Their earlier albums more accessible, but it's their last album that really won me over. When I wrote about it for Chicagoist I said:

Archie Powell & The Exports' new album, Back In Black, is aptly named. It's the sound of a howling vortex sucking naked emotion down its funnel and sharpening it into screaming songs. The first time we listened to the album, we pictured it as being inside someone's head who was in the midst of a blackout. The thoughts race unconstrained and with no vision of what's coming in the future. It's the sound of what happens when you abandon your boundaries without realizing the price you'll pay the next day.

So you can see why I immediately related to it. Listen to the album below and then get tickets to see them tonight if you're in Chicago!

Hear the siren call of Hot Snakes.

It's a dreary day, I've got a couple things on my mind, and I'm a little bummed I'll be missing the Chicago Media Bowling League playoffs tonight. So I've been trying to figure out what to write about all day that will pick both you and me up. Luckily for everyone I was listening to my albums of 2018 playlist and the new Hot Snakes, Jericho Sirens, came up.

The album's blast of furious strumming and galloping drumming was just what I needed to hear. For a band who hasn't hit the studio in 14 years they certainly don't seem to be resting on some sort of lazy nostalgia here. The album isn't out until March 16, but if you were smart enough to grab tickets (I wasn't) they play Thalia Hall in Chicago on March 9.

Get sweaty and crank up the sneak peek below of what to expect to Jericho Sirens when it drops in a few weeks.

The horizon looks bright.

It's been a really weird last couple of days, but in a really good way. Oddly for me, it's nothing I can really talk about right now—I know the irony in that statement coming from a guy who has a tendency to overshare. But it's all good stuff. Getting through the flood definitely filled me with a new sense of balance, and a number of other recent positive developments have also given me a rosier view of the future. It's been a pretty dark couple of months so this is a welcome change in perspective. I KNOW it sounds like a terrible cliché, but sometimes you really do have to go through incredibly rough times to appreciate what the world has to offer outside of its challenges.

I went to a party with a friend over the weekend, populated with people I had never met, and had a really good time. It reminded me to get out of my comfort zone, and that hanging out with other adults who have pretty much zero in common with me is a healthy thing. I think over the last few months I've probably retreated too much into familiar settings that haven't been the greatest as far as growing and moving forward. I don't have to give those things up, but I'm learning I shouldn't lean on them so heavily.

In completely unrelated news, here's my favorite ad from last night's Academy Awards broadcast.

Flood! Part four!

So my basement has been torn apart, but at least all the flood damage has been taken care of and anything that could mold or cause further damage has been torn out. Insurance is all lined up to help me out, so that's good too.

The last week and a half has been challenging. There were times where I thought I was just gonna lose it. But the thing about an event like this is that you come out on the other end realizing, "I handled this." And it fills you with both confidence and balance. And that's a good feeling.

I had help, to be sure. Photogal has been great support through the whole thing, and was there to keep me moving forward when I thought everything was just too overwhelming. But for the most part I had to handle everything myself. I didn't ask for this, but there was no way around it, so I just soldiered on.

I'm in my mid-40s and adulting is still hard. I don't think it actually gets easier at any time, but you do build up the skill sets to deal with disaster after disaster. Because if there's one thing you can count on in life, it's that there is gonna be another disaster.

But hey! I made it! My basement's in a shambles but it will be rebuilt. The hardest work is behind me. And for at least the next couple of days I will be lulled gently to sleep by a dozen fans and industrial dehumidifiers humming away in the background.

Let's get physical!

I am so excited for everyone to hear this album when it comes out in April!