**** Producer's Note: The following is a general transcript of LCC Connect's weekly radio program. Contents include but may not be limited to podcasts, program imaging, announcements, and PSAs. More detailed and accurate transcripts of the podcast episodes featured in this broadcast can be found at LCCconnect.com or by following the links provided in the show notes of this episode. ****

You are listening to Written in the Stars, Books and Beyond, where hosts from the LCC Library sit down with writers, publishers, entrepreneurs, and literary enthusiasts of all types. Join your hosts, Amy Ewald, Robin Moore, John Celaici, and Abby Tebow, as we explore the very heart of the written word.

Welcome to Written in the Stars, Books and Beyond Beyond. I'm Amy Ewald, and I'm joined by my co host, Robin Moore. And today, we're thrilled to have a very special returning guest who is a writer, producer, filmmaker, and also an LCC alumni. Welcome to the show, Jesse Edwards.

Hey, thank you for having me. Amy. Robin. This is awesome.

Oh, my gosh, I'm so glad you're back.

Yes, we're happy to have you back. And today we're gonna dive into Jesse's latest film. Thank you. The Wildman of Shaggy Creek, which he is the writer, director, producer. I think he's got all the credits on that.

Yes.

So give us a little rundown about the Wild man of Shaggy Creek.

Well, you know, it's based on a book, and I met the author at the Utah Film Festival when I was there for Stolen Valley, which is what we got to talk about last year.

First time.

Yeah.

Yeah. And so I was out there doing the festival tour, and I met him, and he's got kids. And I said something about how I had. And he goes, hey, I've got a kid's book that I wrote. Show it to your kids. See if they like it. And it's got this monster on the front. And I'm like, what is this? I didn't grow up with goosebumps or movies like that. A lot of people did, and they love them. So before I gave it to my 10 year old, I'm like, I'm going to read this first. I'm like, this is actually pretty good. And so a year later, I was working on another project when the funding for it fell through. I was like, man, I gotta make something this year. And I was in my driveway looking at the woods that surround our house, and I'm like, I think I could shoot that Wild man thing here. So I don't really love horror films. There are some really good ones, and this is about as close as I feel like I'd want to get to making a really scary movie. It's funny, it's sweet. It's got a very uplifting and heartfelt ending, but it has that suspense that drives the plot and drives the characters forward and just asks the question, is this Bigfoot monster real? And the kids have to play detective and try to figure that out for the film.

Wow. So it's definitely. It is loosely a horror movie. Right. But it's a family.

It's family fantasy is the genre. And that's what ET Was. Goonies is kind of like that.

Goonies, one of my favorites.

I almost wore my Goonies shirt today.

Oh, really?

Because I was thinking that and I looked at it in the drawer. I'm like, yeah, this movie's kind of seems along that line, you know? Yeah. Kind of. If you're a fan of Goosebumps and that series.

Exactly.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

But the Goosebumps movie is, I think, way more dramatic and intense than Wildman ever gets. I don't know if y' all have seen that. I've just seen the trail. They did a live action remake. It looked pretty. Pretty tense. And, you know, that's one of the challenges of adapting books to film is where do you push the envelope? Where do you make it more visually intense? Or where do you just keep it in their head? Because in books, you have access to the protagonist's mind and their thoughts, and you can do a lot of, is it that or is it not that, or is it that or is it on film? You have to show it. So you have to make a choice. You know, what are they seeing, what are they not seeing?

How did you do that? How did you make those choices? Did you write the screenplay now on this?

So I worked with Rob York, wrote the book. His pen name is R.H. grimley. So if you look it up, that's what you see. And he's actually done a series. I think he has 12 of them or eight of them in a 16 book series that he's still finishing. They're really cool. So he had a teleplay of the book, like 50 pages that he had tried to develop years before. And so he sent that to me and I adapted that to a full length. It was very fun because the core of the plot and how it starts, you know, the problems they face and where it goes, that was all done. And I just got to embellish and really just add a lot of what I'm passionate about into the character's development throughout it. So I got to add more dialogue scenes, I got to add some more family conflict, some more conflict with the friends, and just, you know, flesh out what was already a really great premise.

I love that because I was gonna ask you, what deeper themes does the film explore behind the legend? So you sort of answered that.

Yeah, yeah, I Mean, my wife said something funny. She's like, so what's this thing about? And I'm like, well, it's about this, like, you know, this boy who's like, afraid of the woods, and he's afraid of going out into them by himself and doing something that's really hard. And she's like, yeah, that doesn't sound familiar. And the context of that is this was the first movie that I was producing solely on my own. I was a part of a bigger production company with my last film. And so me stepping into the woods was like the unknown of, like, I don't have all of the partners I had before. And I'm going out on a. On a big limb here and really starting over with the team that I'm able to bring together to make the film. So. And no, you know, that's not to say this was made by myself at all. No film can be really. It's a team sport. You have to have a lot of people in it. But I was starting a brand new team and starting over there.

It sounds like it's kind of a. You challenged yourself a little bit, right?

Yeah, absolutely. You started to list some of the credits earlier, and I'm like, it's too many. Cause it's really hard. But I think you have to do the best you can with what you have with where you are. And there's a lot of excuses that you will make as an artist. It's not the right time, or I'm doing too much. Like, the prep time's too short, we're moving too fast. Those are the voices I had to fight against and just say, no, this is what we have, and we're gonna make the best of it and move forward. So because that's what I was facing, that became a lot of the theme in the script of what the main character deals with is he's like. He has all these reasons why he shouldn't take up a bully on a dare and camp in the woods overnight. And that's what's sweet about it. That is an innocent. He goes and gets his little tent and his backpack, marches out into the wood. And it's a very sweet thing that he does, but that it's making that with the music and the score and the cinematography and all of the opposition that we put on the character beforehand and showing how scared he can be of the woods, it's making that moment as big as possible. So it has the weight of, like, he's risking everything to go into these woods.

Tell us A little bit about the music, because I know that you're also a musician.

Yes, that's right.

I know you put a little extra into that or really have the ear for it. So let's talk about that a little bit.

Oh, yeah. I put a lot of heart into it. It's one of my favorite parts of the process. And I've worked with a lot of composers on a lot of commercials. My other film. I've done a lot of bigger budget documentary projects for National Geographic, espn. And all those projects had a lot more money behind them. So I was going to all the composers who I've worked with before, and I'm like, here's the project, here's what it is. And it's everywhere financially right now. And I got a lot of like, man, I love working with you, but I just. I can't come on for this budget. I was. I was in a pinch with the music. It was one of the last positions that we locked in. But thank goodness a friend of a friend had introduced me to a guy who knew another guy. This was like. So I was worried. I'm like, this is too many.

You know, it's all about networking, right? And who, you know, who knows, somebody

who knows, you know, this was way down the line and. And sometimes that's great and sometimes it's not so great. This one was fantastic. Jose Skerchli I met through zoom. He lives in Mexico. He is brilliant. He teaches at a university. He's very kind, he's very humble. He's very soft spoken. And we were going through the first call and I'm like, man, I'm not. And then he sent the first link over and I was like, I'm not sure this is quite right. And I sent a long. A bunch of feedback and I'm like, we'll see how this goes. Because our other option was trying to sort together a stock music for the. I don't like doing that. I don't like. It can be done, I've done. But for a film, like, it should be original, I think, to the story, to the film. What he did with the feedback was the best response I've seen to direction ever. Working with the composer, that's a huge deal. Like, if you've done, like, worked with the composer, worked with an artist trying to communicate. Here's an idea. Here's what I want from this. We talked about my musical background. I can be unhelpfully specific sometimes because I understand a little bit of music theory. So I'll Say, like, hey, I think this should be, like, a half cadence. You know, like, end on, like, a five chord. Like, this needs to let us feel like we're not quite resolved yet.

Yeah.

And I've said that to some people, and they do exactly what I say, and they say, there's your half cadence, Jesse. And, you know, it's kind of like, why are you talking my. He was never like that. He always tried the suggestions I had. If they worked well, awesome. If they didn't work well, he worked harder to make them work well. You know what I mean? It's one thing to be like, oh, I took your note and it doesn't work, but it's another, like, I took your note, but it also needed this, this, and this for the half cadence to work. So let me try that. That was Jose. He had the most humble spirit and collaborative spirit in the music. And we did the whole thing over zoom in, like, two weeks, and it's all. And he released the whole thing on Spotify. You can listen to it. And it's honest. He won best score at the Los Angeles Film up against a lot of other film projects for this film for Wildman.

Wow.

That's awesome.

Maybe I should have led with that, but I was lost in the half cadence story. I don't know. That story just means so much to me because he didn't know me, and he didn't have to work on it for such a low budget or work as hard. But he's never done a film. And it was one of those things where the opportunity aligned with the dream.

Yes. I love that.

And he was willing to pour into it, and I think we made something really special together because of it.

Yeah. That's the key. The opportunity aligned with the dream. Your dream. It's wonderful.

Well, in his. In this case.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Because I was saying, hey, I have the opportunity. I have a little bit of money, but more than the money, I have the film that's been shot and I've got distributors interested and it's ready to go. It just. It needs its soul, you know?

Yeah.

And that's what I think the score brings.

Yeah.

It sounds like it was a very true collaboration. And when it wins an award like that, too, then you kind of know, like, yes, because when you collaborate, I think it always makes things better. Right. And a true collaboration like that.

Yeah.

And the fact that he got an award for it that says, yeah, that's awesome. Congratulations.

Thank you so much.

That's so cool.

Thank you.

I'm very proud of it.

I'm so excited about the fail.

I know, I know. So what. Tell us a little bit more. What was like the biggest challenge that you think faced in filming or in writing or.

Man, there's so many. What are you most interested in the actual shoot side or.

Yeah, like, tell us where it was filmed.

Can you say your neighborhood?

Well, yeah, I was looking at my. At my backyard.

Yes.

Which isn't. It's not.

You didn't film the movie back then.

We filmed a couple pickups there because it was. It's. Yeah, there's a few trees. There's like, I don't know, 20 yards of trees between our house and then the other house. Like, you know, in the winter you could see another house. In the summer, fall you can't, which is nice. Cause the trees come in. So that story about seeing it and thinking we could do that, that was the inspiration that got me going. Which honestly might be the hardest part of the entire thing is like giving yourself that green light. This was a self funded project. So for me it was that risk of like, I have to put the money up for this and this has to work and I'm in a lot of trouble if it doesn't. Like we were saying about that boy walking out into the woods, I was

feeling that that was you.

So I think that initial green light is the heart. But then once it was like, okay, we are gonna do this. And my friend Rachel Helton from New York, she was my art director on the Stolen Valley. So she was somebody who I had worked with before who was coming on in a. A much bigger role on this film, going from art director to managing, you know, several other department heads. So she was line producer and co producer of the film first ad. She did production design. Pretty much everyone who was on it had like four or five different roles that they had to help with. But she was the first person that I hired for all of the prep. And so that was a very like, okay, this is happening moment. But as soon as I did that and was willing to like start spending money and get the wheels moving, I was like, oh, I don't want to shoot this in my backyard. Like, we can beat that. You know, this should be big and grand and dramatic and, you know, all the things that, you know, I said about setting up the opposition so your hero looks great. Like, they're only as good as the obstacles that they overcome.

That's right.

So if there's 20 yards of trees, you know, eh, but if it's, you know, 2,000 acres of foggy, dark, dense woods and he can barely even see his hand in front of him. And then he hears a lion growling for. Or bear or is it a wolf? I'm not sure. We used all of those animals by the way, to combine and make the sound, which was kind of crazy. I don't know. Have you seen these behind the scenes sound designs of what they do in Star Wars?

For the Rancor, I just got to tour the Warner Brothers studio out in la. And yeah, there's a name for it too. Of those sounds and the recording Soleil artists maybe. Yeah, I think that's what it was. And they had a couple different things that you could look at, listen to them doing.

It's just unbelievable. Like the really cool animals and scrapes and metal that they combine, you know, to make these, you know, really dramatic, you know, fictional sounds because they're not real. Right. So. So yeah, we, we got a very big state park I think, or city park, I'm not sure. Now it's called Oakland's Park. It's down in Murfreesboro and it's about 30 minutes south of where I live in Nashville. And then there was a school down there. We shot it. And then we spent a long time reaching out to houses through Zillow, people who were selling their homes. And we talked to a lot of owners we knew too, but nobody had the perfect fit because we needed a house that was very pretty and nice and looked like a family's moved from California to Nashville to relocate, which is very common there. It's like everyone you meet is from California and moved two weeks ago. It's like. Yeah. So needed to look great and nice but then needed to be just surrounded by trees.

Yeah.

In the, the story it's, you know, the, the, the Shaggy Creek woods are the only thing between the home and the school. And so when they're down a car or when it rains, there's a couple different pinch points where we kind of force him into like the only way to get out is to go through those woods

and he hates it.

So we had. Those are our three locations. The school, the house, the woods that were there were really good. But then we got Oaklands park for those big wide shots and it was a lot of hiking in with a lot of stuff. The hardest thing is the lawnmower fogger, which is basically like a huge generator with a couple wheels and a metal handle that's hanging on for dear life.

I'm thinking about the casting. It's a great cast It's a great cast. So how did you find your cast? I mean, how did that come about?

Yeah, I mean, we got the ball rolling and we reached out to all the agencies I've worked with before. They had some people. We have like a sample script that we send to everybody with a character description. And then we do, like, everybody submits their auditions through their agent or directly through us because we do, like, Facebook posts or backstage. Oh, wow. Yeah, it's a very much like a shotgun blast. Like, get what we need out to as many people as possible and try to get them to just submit one thing that we can look at, which is like a 30 to 60 second clip. Like, hi, here's my name and I'm reading for Scott. And then it goes black and it comes back up and they say the lines from a scene and that's it. And, you know, pretty quick. Usually before they're even reading the script, like, is this a fit or is it not?

So the main character, the little boy. So that his first time, like, that is.

Yeah, that's his first film.

His first film.

And he's done some. Like, a lot of them do, like, you know, theater, musical. They have. They all have experience, otherwise they wouldn't be wanting to audition for it.

So was it a little different working with younger actors like that?

Yeah, that.

Older.

Yeah, absolutely. You know, they're just. Everybody's still a kid at some point. We all just have different baggage that we've picked up along the way. I think the biggest noteworthy piece is the enthusiasm. I mean, they're not jaded at all. They haven't been burned.

Yeah.

And it's so sweet. It's kind of like contagious. Yeah. It really makes it easy to stay excited and positive about what you're doing. Whereas when you work really hard on developing a script and a project and a film and you're afraid and you aren't sure how you're going to do it, and you feel alone and you reach out and people come and then it's still super hard. And you work for months and then you get up to the day and the person's like, all you have is light roast coffee.

Where's the snack? We don't get steak tonight.

Craft services.

Yeah.

Can we send someone out for some sushi?

Yeah,

I can't eat that. We're like, oh, we said we were having these sandwiches. I can't eat that.

And the kids are like, can we just get some popcorn?

The kids are just stoked.

They're just so Happy. There's none of that.

There's no ego there.

And what an opportunity for them.

Huge.

Yeah. Huge. Thanks for offering that.

Yeah, it's really big. And all of them seem to get that, which was really special because you work with some kids who they just expect it and that was not any of these kids. Wonderful.

Yeah, yeah.

Oh, my gosh.

That's.

It's cool.

It is, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm so excited for it.

Are there when you're creating a film, though, that is for family or a family film?

Yeah, yeah.

Again, is there different considerations than when you're creating, like more a mature audience versus a family, like in your choices in directing, your choices in the writing?

Yeah, absolutely. I think the biggest change is we're in the writing and we're in the conflict that was presented. Because I think what you lean towards is. And what you should lean towards is make this as hard as possible on your main character, you know, so their choices are even more brave and that, you know, you develop more empathy for the character, you know, from the audience. And you have to draw the line, like you said. Again, you can't. I don't want the mom or dad, like just berating the child, shaming him. Or, you know, like, for example, in a more mature movie, you may have a main character with an abusive traumatic history with their parents. That has no place in a pg, you know. Well, if the dad. If you tell me you think there's a monster again, I'm getting my belt out. No, right.

Yeah.

I know it has no place, but in some, you know. But then you think of Forrest Gump, which is like a PG13 film. The character and the scene where they go sit at the house and she's running from her dad who's like chasing her, and it's. And it makes you feel something. And that's done so tastefully and it's done so well, but that's not. You don't show that to your 8 year old and say, traumatizing.

Check it out.

Yeah.

So you have to make those choices.

You're a pretty busy person. How do you find a balance there between your work and you've got young children? And how do you find a balance?

In what way?

A work life balance.

Yeah.

Are you sleeping very well?

Yeah. That's tough with the Littles. But I think doing what you love is super important and I think finding rhythms in it that keep it sustainable is important. I spent so many years on the road. Like when I started my career, I did a lot of Commercials and documentaries a lot for espn, National Geographic, Disney. It was such a grind. And, like, the first few years I was on the road 250 days per year, which is, you know, that's like 20 days a month, like, average, and sometimes gone, like, you know, six weeks at a time. My suitcase was. It just had a permanent spot. You know, I lived out of it for, like, two years. And that. It's not an exaggeration to say that was destroying my marriage. I was a young, you know, man. We had a wedding, amazing wedding, honeymoon. And I was like, I'll see you later. Oh, I thought the trip. Yeah, trip moved up. I'll see you later. It was bad. And it took me, like, years and a lot of hard conversations for me to understand. And not only is this not sustainable for me, this isn't sustainable for any meaningful relationship that I'm ever going to be able to have. So early on, too, like doing these commercials and starting to have kids, I had a lot of moments where it's like, do I want to get another pitch done or do I want to get another round dervish, or do I want to put my daughter to bed? And early on, I remember saying, at some point, I want to be a much better dad than. And I am a director.

I don't know.

It seemed like an easy or obvious choice. I've always, I think, had a passion for family and doing the best I can as a father. There's a sign I have. I had it in my office and now it's in my home office. This is great. It says, if you want to change the world, go home and love your family.

That's it.

I think that's Mother Teresa.

That's it right there.

Though a friend of mine was like, she didn't say that. Where'd you get that sign? And I felt embarrassed. I'm like, I don't know. It's on etsy. We love $19 on Etsy. I thought it was cute, but isn't that sweet?

It is.

And I think that. And I think what that does is it changes you.

It does.

Words.

Words change you. You read it, it meant something, and look at you now.

And. Well, but the. I mean, the. The act. Yeah, well, yeah, the sign. But. But the act itself, like, going home to love your family is now like, well, now my career is not. It's not about me, you know, and now this hustle and grind, like, this isn't clearly, like, yes, there's excitement and fulfillment and joy and hard work. And in creating things like I think that's such an important part of who we are, is making things that are good and beautiful. But you get, man, it can kill you. You can get lost in it. So you have to be able to just step away from it. And I'm a work in progress, let me tell you that too.

Oh, we all are a work in progress too. And it sounds like you have good, A pretty, pretty supportive wife to help you with all of that stuff too. Beautiful. You have a lot of passion for your work too, so that helps.

Absolutely. One of the big things about doing Stolen Valley, which was a more mature audience, you know, action, neo western to now doing this PG family fantasy film, is I have been able to share it with my kids who are getting older and they were 6 and 4 when I did Stolen Valley. So they didn't quite get what was going on. But now they can really, like, how can we help work and how can we help prep for this? And.

Yeah, yeah, it's a family thing.

It is, yeah.

It is awesome.

And they'll remember this, though.

Yeah.

Oh, for sure.

Yeah.

So, Jesse, tell our audience here how they will be able to check this film out.

Well, this film, Wildman, will come out in theaters on August 1st, but you'll be able to see it everywhere on September 30th, and that's when it'll be on Apple TV and Amazon prime and Google Play. From there, it'll go to other streaming services, potentially depending on how the theatrical release goes. So it may be a thing that's up on Netflix or Peacock or. Yeah, Disney even. It gets pitched to all of them. Most of them are doing their own content now, so it's really tough to. You have to have, like, offer something to the platform, you know, with like, usually with cast or based on a certain level of book or something like that. So those aren't super likely. But that release on September 30th, where you can buy or rent the film, that's what we're super excited about because that's gonna put it just everywhere across the United States. We had two sold out showings of our first premiere down in Franklin. The audience responses have just been. I've been shocked at how great they've been, honestly, like people ecstatic about the movie and laughing and cheering and loving it. And so September 30th is the window we're super excited about where everybody who's seen it and who cares about it can share it with their friends and send it out and say, hey, check this out. It's fun. You know, but it's thrilling and it's like a safe movie for families that your kids actually want to watch.

Yeah, Well, I can't wait to wear their hat because that's gonna be be my talking point.

Oh, thank you.

Yeah.

Wild Man.

Wild Man.

I thought that. I thought that's kind of a cool hat, you know, It's a cool one.

I think so. I think so.

That was also on Etsy. Yeah.

Shout out to Etsy.

Thank you, Etsy, for sponsoring this podcast. You can send the check to three two, two.

Oh my goodness.

Oh, well, Jesse, thank you so much for being here. And I encourage our audience and our listeners to check out the W of Shaggy Creek. And also, if you'd like to hear more from Jesse, you can check out our earlier episode of Written in the Stars where we had Jesse on. He talked about the Stolen Valley. So feel free to check that out to our listeners. And thank you everybody for being here. Thanks for listening.

Yeah, this was awesome. Thank you all so much.

Thank you.

You have been listening to Written in the Stars books and beyond. Visit LCC Edu Library to find the titles discussed in this episode. You can find previous episodes of Written in the stars and other LCC Connect shows at lccconnect.com in the words of Miguel de Unamundo, I hope, reader, we shall meet again and we shall recognize

each other, Examining the issues and topics that affect our lives from the local level to the world stage. Listen to the programs of LCC Connect anytime@lccconnect.org

LCC Connect Voices Vibes Vision

Lansing Community College's dual enrollment program offers the opportunity for qualified high school students to earn college credit while working towards their high school diploma. Dual enrollment lets students receive educational advancement in areas where the student's interest is displayed, especially in courses in academic areas not available in the student's high school. To find out more information about dual enrollment, visit lcc. Edu. Hey there. This is Dedalion and I want to invite you to join me for a show called behind the Connection. It dives into what's happening behind the scenes here at LCC Connect. It also provides you early introductions to new podcasts, some of the Connect initiatives that we are putting forth, and, of course, insights into the concept of building the Voices, Vibes and vision of LCC Connection. Find out more about it at our website. It's lccconnect.org.

Are you or someone you know having thoughts of suicide or experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis? 988 connects you to compassionate and confidential support for free. 988 is a three digit dialing code for the suicide and crisis life. For years, the Lifeline, formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, has answered tens of millions of calls and helped people overcome mental health related distress. 988 is the same trusted resource. When you call, text or chat 988, you will be quickly connected to trained crisis counselors who will listen to your concerns, provide support and get you additional help if needed. There is hope the Lifeline works. You are not alone in crisis. Just call, text or chat 988.

Lansing Community College's School of Business incorporates areas of study including marketing, insurance management and more.

Transfer options and direct degree options are

both available depending on the area of study. To find out more about LCC's business programs, visit LCC.

EDU LCC Connect Voices, Vibes Vision. Hello everyone and welcome to Now Spinning, the official podcast of the Lansing Community College Vinyl Record Club. We meet twice a month to listen to vinyl and talk about music. Stay tuned to learn about how you can get in touch with us and attend our meetings. With me today I have Leo Ackerman,

Matty Zampaloni, LCC Vinyl Record Club President

Amy Rehobiak, and I'm your host Simon Medina. And today we're going to be talking about a topic that is very near and dear to all of our hearts and of course to club lore itself. And that of course is the incredible 1994 album by Weezer Weezer, also known as the Blue Album, of course, on account of the fact that it is blue. Evidently shocking. And this is a record that is a little bit famous among the club because this album's been brought in more than any other album individually by more people. There's been a couple meetings where like, was it four or five people have brought in the Blue Album for I think we did a 90s day one time. Yeah. And we at one point decided that it would be really cool to try and play both of them at the same time to get the Buddy Holly Lick to line up. And we almost did it. That picture is featured on the podcast site actually as the example picture for our group. So go to the podcast website.

Go to the podcast website.

Check it out, please.

I'm pretty sure every single song on this album has been played at least twice.

I'll have to look into that. But there's a lot of them. That's what we're gonna be doing today actually is we're going to be going song by song. We've done a full artist deep dive before. We've never gone into a single album and I think this is probably a good one to with because I feel like everybody here has something to say about every song here.

It's like a greatest hits compilation.

Oh, no, absolutely.

I don't.

It's mean to say that they peaked their first album, but, like, that's tough. They kind of did. Bless you. Bless their hearts. We love Weezer.

Mm.

Great friends of the show. But anyway, without further ado, let's get into the songs here, actually. So starting out, of course, is the incredible Weezer classic, My Name Is Jonas.

So who's Jonas?

Though not Rivers, apparently. His name is Rivers. Rivers Cuomo of the band Weezer, who is the main songwriter and also the frontman of the band. And a interesting character is what we'll put it as. And you'll learn more about him as we go along, as we kind of go into the mindset of what's going on here. This song, I believe, is actually based on, like, a story about his brother, like, hurting himself and not being able to pay for it with insurance or something like that. And that's River's childhood and those kind of things. His whole. I don't wanna say backstory, like he's a character, but, like, that's what's going on here. That is kind of where this whole album comes from, is his life experiences and where he came from with that. And this song kind of starts that out with, you know, My Name is Jonas. It's a very. It's very like, nostalgia song. You know, you listen to the lyrics and it's kind of talking about, like, you know, back in the day when things were better and all that.

I think it's the first, like, the perfect kicking off point for the record. It starts with the clean, dry production courtesy of Rico Kasich has the awesome, like, arpeggiated acoustic guitar, which, by the way, super hard to play properly.

Sounds difficult.

I just. I think it's probably the best way to kick off the record. It has great showcase of the soft, loud dynamic that they would. I'm not gonna say they perfected it, but they did come close.

This album's full of that. They. They love their crescendos and. And just cutting that off immediately. But I had written down here that this is probably, like, the best opener they could have picked out of any song on this album, just because of, like, that really cool guitar intro. And they kind of, like you said, it sets the tone for the whole album coming Forward it also.

I don't know why, it just feels like a very almost relatable song because there's like that one line about, like, the construction that never ends.

Yeah, no, as a Midwesterner.

Yeah, yeah. It really builds it up as just something like, oh, this is like. Like something deeply personal. This is really like a look into someone's mind. Right. And yeah, like, this is the perfect opener because it's not like straight into some, like, the more edgier songs that come in this. Oh, we'll get to that. It's a very nice lead into what's about to happen for the whole album.

And what's about to happen, the follow up song here is of course the song no One Else, which is an interesting song lyrically and it also kinda, in terms of, like, what's going on with it, it kind of foreshadows the group's next album, which would kind of go all in with the themes presented here. But, yeah, that song is, of course, no One Else, which is River's Semi auto. He's singing it kind of from the perspective of a character, I think that's talking about how he wants a girl who will laugh for no one else. And he says that he will leave her immediately if she likes, like, you know, talks to anybody. So it's a very, like, possessive, jealous kind of thing going on here. And that. That line kind of rears itself more on the second album. But this one here, we'll talk about this for a second.

It's pretty controlling and weird.

If you ask.

That is exactly what I had in my notes. Yeah, it feels like a very controlling song. Like he wants this perfect woman who's essentially just gonna be sitting on a shelf looking pretty for him.

Right? Absolutely.

And can't leave the house when he's gone.

Exactly. No, that's.

That's. That was a line that really stuck with me. Yeah. Like, she. She doesn't leave the house when I'm gone.

Sounds like a prisoner.

And I.

When I was looking into this album, I know, like, someone said it almost had, like, serial killer vibes.

No, I can. Because low key.

Because, like, when you actually read the lyrics, it, like, it's like, oh, oh, that's not right.

But, you know, like, just to give Rivers some credit, it's a. This isn't like saying that this is what he literally wants. This is just him expressing his own insecurities, which. That's his whole album. Well, their whole discography is him talking about how insecure he is. But this song Especially is him just saying this would be really awesome. But it's also very bad that I'm thinking this, which also. That theme will come up a ton on Pinkerton, which we'll talk.

Foreshadowing.

Foreshadowing. This song is the Pinkerton preview, I think.

I'm surprised that it didn't get that much flack at the time, because I'm sure people at the time just kind of interpreted it as, like, kind of like a. Like a. Kind of, like, weird, like, kind of jokey song where it's like, oh, he's, like, being over the top and whatever. Whatever. But in retrospect, it kind of comes across as, like, a dorkable misogyny where we kind of let him get away with it because he's Rivers Cuomo, and because he was such, like, a dork, and we were like, well, he's just singing a little song about what his heart wants, and it's like. But what his heart wants is kind of weird.

And they thought he was joking, and then this happened. So.

Yeah.

And they're like, oh, but the song

is a banger, though.

I love this song.

Yeah. So catchy. So good.

No, the whole album. The whole thing is, it's such a catchy album. Every song has, like, so many, like. Like, hooks in it, and it's like. That's just. River's thing is that he's, like, lyrically a little bit questionable sometimes, but, like, the melodies, he's just. That he's got a gift for it, you know?

You still can't skip the Swan, even though it's. It's kind of out of pocket.

Out of pocket. No, and that song actually kind of leads directly into the follow up, which is the World Has Turned and Left Me Here, which is kind of a song about a guy whose girlfriend dumped him because he's a bad person. So at least he acknowledged it in the album that, like, this is a not a good way to think. And then your girlfriend is gonna leave you if you do this to her.

Yeah. No, I specifically noted that, like, it. It's not just, like, a specific, like, rejection song. It's very much, like, in the mindset of, like, teenager. Young adult.

Yeah.

Like, this is not someone who is, like, fully emotionally mature. And it's, like, broken up with this, like, the whole world has turned and left me behind.

A lot of teenage angst.

Yeah. It's such an angsty song, this one album.

Yeah, the whole.

The whole album is full of that angst.

But.

Yeah.

Yeah, but that. Yeah. Good song, though. It's like. I think this is another one where it's, like, a very unique kind of sound going on. Like, musically speaking, this album takes a lot from, like, you know, a lot of bands out there, I think, especially, like, power pop stuff from, like, the 70s is really where this gets most their inspiration from. There's like, a little bit Nirvana, Beach Boys, Beatles. That's all kind of mixed together here. After this one. We have a song that exists, and you've probably heard of it before, and that is Buddy Holly. And that's asking the eternal question, what's with these homies dissing my girl? Why do they got a front?

Does Rivers actually look like Buddy Holly, though?

I mean, you look at him in this picture. I mean, like, if you put glasses on him. Yeah, he's got, like, those. There's on the back cover of Van Weezer here, actually. I can pull this back up. You can try to see those. Like, he's a little older in this movie. This little nerd. Glass glasses there. But I think that the song is just him trying to, like, seem feel like a rock star, you know?

Yeah.

The thing about the song is, like, when you listen to the album, like,

straight through, it is jarring because every.

Every other song on this album is incredibly, like, grungy. Very much that. Really heavy. Like power pot.

Yeah.

But then you get to this one, it's like.

It just feels like.

It feels like. Like a normal pop song.

No. Yeah.

And it's just so much like. Like, brighter than all the other songs. And you're just like, this doesn't fit in. But, like, the fact that it doesn't fit in kind of fits with the whole vibe of the album of not fitting in.

Exactly.

It's beautiful. It feels very much the most like Cars. Influenced who?

Yeah.

I mentioned Rico Kasich earlier, and Rico Kasich is, I believe, the lead singer of the Cars.

He's one of. There's a couple lead singers. He's the main songwriter, I think.

Yeah. He's the main songwriter and main producer on the Blue Album. And I think Buddy Holly. You can hear a lot of, like, Just what I needed.

Yeah.

Like. Like the synth work and, like, everything is just, like, in your face and fun and kind of light relative to the rest of the record.

Fun Weezer fact. Actually, he didn't want to put this on the album because he was afraid that this was gonna make people think that they're, like, a joke band, which. Oh, that'd be.

Oh, no.

But Rick Ocasek like you said, Ric Ocasek, he came to him and said, you gotta put this on here. This is a hit right here. And he was right. This is probably not, maybe not their biggest song, but it's definitely. If name a Weezer song most iconic. This is one of the ones they're immediately gonna drop. You know, Also, I want to mention on this song, there's, like. I don't want to call it a rap verse, but there's a bit where he just starts, like, do you want to call that a rap verse?

I. I'd say it's a rap verse in the sense of, like a Debbie Harry rap verse.

Yeah.

Fat Five Freddy's told me everybody's fly.

Yeah. Right. And then. But just the whole song, I love how it just all builds up to that single moment. And then there's just the riff, and that is burned.

Legendary.

Every time somebody. If you look at this album cover, you'll hear it in your head. You're just gonna hear it, like, the second you look at it. Tell me you don't hold this up. I'm hearing it right now, really loud.

Yeah.

The song almost pivots after that riff, too. And, like, I feel like it really does start to go back to the more. Like.

I don't care about that.

Yeah. Like, the more grungy aspects of the rest of it.

Yeah. Iconic piece of music.

It's Buddy Holly.

I think that, like, every concert they do, they close it with Buddy Holly, which I get why, because that's the one everybody's waiting to hear.

Yeah.

Incredible song. It's like a meme, but, like, it's so good that you still listen to it and you're like, this is really good. But, like, you're just thinking about, like, the jokes about it and you're like.

Which, I mean, like, that's kind of the mindset you have to get past to really listen to.

No. Yes. Or Weezer in general. You gotta, like, acknowledge that, like, whether this is self inflicted or not, they're a little bit of a joke band to a lot of people. But, yeah, I think.

I think Weezer.

There is a stigma. There's a stigma to Weezer, but, you know, that's the first step is just not caring about it and just acknowledging it's a bunch of nerds. I don't care about that. It's. He knew. It's like he knew. He knew the whole time. He can't keep getting away with it.

Except he kind of does care about that.

That's like, oh, That's a. Oh, that's also. That's another thing about Rivers. He's very sensitive about what people say about his music, which every album after this, it's kind of like a sharp left turn from the last one. Because Pinkerton is definitely like, after the, like the Poppy Blue album, they kind of took. They. They said, like, I want to do. He wanted to do something more deeper and personal. And that's a whole nother can of worms that we might do a whole Pinkerton episode.

They decided to pioneer second wave emo

and then never did it again. Yeah.

Yeah.

And then immediately after Pinkerton, of course, they didn't, like, the critics were like, this is terrible. And he was like, oh, crap. And he made the Green album, which is a very return to the Blue album. But, like, the lyrics are not there. Power pop kind of thing. And then, you know, back and forth and back and forth. Up until this day, he just zigzags. Zigzags. I mean, lately I feel like he's just doing what he wants now. Cuz he's given because, you know, he's earned it. I mean, it's Weezer. They earn the right to do what they want now, I think. But we're talking a lot about Buddy Holly. I feel like we need to move

on to the next song, which is my favorite on the record, Undone the Sweaters.

And if we're talking about, like, little joke songs, this one's so up there. But it's so. It's such a. I don't even.

I don't know if I hear it as a joke song.

I mean, like, I kind of like. I don't want to call it. I don't want to call it a joke song, but, like, it's definitely one of like the more like, like, almost like geeky or like nerd songs, because it's. The whole song is about, like being like, people don't want to hang out with you and go to parties with you. And you're just kind of like the whole intro where it's just like the spoken word bit where he's like, hey, man, this party's so awesome. So got the bands back together. You know, it's just about like the whole rejection thing, you know, like what that does to people, you know, I just.

I love the opening, though. It's just.

Oh, God, yes. That's a. It goes on for so long, but then again, it finally just hits you.

You.

But yeah. I'm sorry, you're gonna say something.

Yeah, I was just gonna Say it feels like very Pavement influenced, even. Yeah, like, very, like, slacker rock, indie rock. I believe this was the first Weezer song ever written.

Yes, it was.

This first single, I think.

I think I recall an interview where Rivers said it was the first.

Wow.

The first he ever wrote. I know, like, we're talking about it being, like, kind of a joke song and, like, how he's a nerd, but honestly, it's. For me, it comes across as like, a very sincere portrayal of his anxiety and his terror in social situations. Like the sweater metaphor, you know, for as ubiquitous as it is now, like, it's striking. It captures how he's feeling perfectly, how his, like, social battery is dwindling away and how he can't really talk to people.

Right.

It just. It also just rips hard.

It does. It does. And, like, I want to say. I don't want. I feel like I was being disingenuous when I said, like, it's like a. Like a joke song. I was saying it was, like, perceived by a lot of people. You know, it was like, a joke song. And that's the whole thing about Weezer is, like, this whole album, they took it like, the critics were like, oh, wow, it's so funny how he's, like, self aware and poking fun at this. And he was like, oh, no, this is real. This is my soul. I'm pouring it out for you guys. And that's why Pinkerton. Pinkerton is so, like, emo and dark. Because he's like. He's like, all right. He wants to be more direct about it. You know, it's like the undercurrent during the whole album is like, you know, people. It's like, jokey and poppy, but, like, it's real. You know, that's really what he's feeling. It's really good.

That's why we love it. We love him so real.

Following that. Oh, you want to say something? Sorry.

Oh, yeah. I was gonna say, like, sweater song. I feel like it really just really emphasizes that, like, empty feeling of when you no longer have that social battery. Like, it feels like, oh, wow, this man is drained. Like you said, it just bless his heart. Perfectly emphasizes.

Yeah.

That anxiety.

I believe that's the end of side one.

Yeah, side one. And then we flip. Flip the album over. And that follows that up with. After that little, like, depressing song, we have Surf Wax America, which is probably, like, the most upbeat song in the whole album. And it's about how much Rivers wants to go surfing. But it's like, it's a very direct, like, Beach Boys surf rock pastiche going on there. But it's so good. It's such a happy song. I love, love it.

I noticed a trend that, like, in, like. I don't know if this is real, but, like, I saw in the, like, pretty much all the rest of the album. But it really starts with this one of just, like, escapism. Yeah. Like, I know, like, the one line that really got to me was, when you're out of fuel, I'm still afloat.

Yeah.

And it's. Yeah, you know, it. It's just running away from your problems.

Exactly. The surfing is, like. It's like a metaphor for that. It's deep. Songwriter. I'm going surfing because I don't like your face. That was the lie master.

Masterful lyric writing, yet beautiful.

I just. It's surf wax America.

It rocks.

You take your car to work.

He loves the Beach Boys. So does the club. He's a great friend of the show. That's all I have to say about it.

Beautiful song.

It's amazing. It's fun. It's just. Yeah, it rocks.

And after. Yeah. And the album, of course, after getting you into, like, a good, hyped up mood, they hit you with the, like, heaviest song on the whole album, which is, of course, say It Ain't so, which is just. Jeez, it's the heart of the river.

Yeah, it is.

This is where, like, rivers, really, he just dives into, like, you know, his own childhood problems. His, like, father, stepfather, the son is drowning and the flood, that kind of thing. But this is probably one of my favorite songs on, like, their whole discography. I know it's like. It's a basic choice, but, like, there's a reason why this is, like, one of their most well known songs. It's like a. You know, it's probably the most, like, brutally honest song in the whole album. This is the one that, you know, people don't joke about this one as much because, you know, it's like. This is like, very serious stuff going. Yeah.

No, they joke about Wrestle with Jimmy.

Wrestle with Jimmy? No, because that little.

Because of the line delivery.

But so with Jimmy, they glad everybody did it.

It feels like. It feels like a precursor to the second wave emo that we would get

on Poly It Up Pinkerton.

On Pinkerton. It's incredibly raw and honest in kind of an ugly way. And it's. It's just upsetting. It's a deeply upsetting song.

But it's. It's such an interesting like, musically speaking, though, like, it's such a banger. It's so good. Like. Like, it's like the. Like, almost like a reggae thing going on. Like, the beat to it. And then, like, in this song, like, all the songs do it, but, like, this one especially, there's, like, that build up to, like, the. I don't know, like, the musical term for it. But, like, the second, like, the part where he's, like, directly speaking to his dad. I don't know what. Like, the.

That's the bridge.

The bridge, right. Yeah. That show you how good of a host I am. I don't know what a bridge is anyway. Weezer, so. Yeah. Say It Ain't so.

It's an incredible.

It's like a brick.

It's an incredibly vulnerable song, right?

Oh, absolutely.

While still not compromising the, like, crazy hook game that he has.

Yeah, I just.

I love say It Ain't so so much. Dude. This was, like. It just has a special place in my heart. Like, I know it's, like, a classic, and it's, like, one of their biggest ones.

Yeah.

This is the one that got me into Weezer, actually.

Absolutely.

Like, I'll never forget when I was, like, I don't know, like, 10, my sister showed me this. I'm like, this sucks. But now I'm like, this is really good. And it's just nostalgic. It's great. It's relatable. It's sad. It's. It's just. It's. It's beautiful, man.

It's very. It's a wonderful song.

I do think it's. I do think it's a little bit funny. This song was actually based on a misunderstanding. His father was not an alcoholic. Just wasn't. Didn't drink, didn't smoke. He was like a Buddhist. Rivers Cuomo, if we were correctly, was raised in a cult. Like a Buddhist sort of cult thing. That's why his name is Rivers.

His brother's name is Leaves, I think.

Yeah.

Brother's name Leaves. Cuomo, apparently, also. So that's something.

Yeah. When Rivers asked his mother about it, the mom was like, what? Not. No, he didn't, like, drink or smoke or anything. Was just for the photo.

Still was an absentee father, though, so that's. You know, there's. That.

Don't want that.

Yeah. But anyway, say it ain't so. If there's one song you listen to unironically.

If there's one song you listen to from this episode, I'd probably pick saying

Ain't so I would agree with that. It's the emotional part of the whole album.

Next up, we have in the garage

after that really messed up song about him, his. His father and stuff. We have this song about how he

chilling in the garage, loves to chill

in the garage with his comic books and his Kiss posters. And he's just a little nerd in there.

See this, this is again where I bring up that, like, that theme of escapism. Like, he just wants to go somewhere

where he's safe and where he doesn't

have to, like, face the pressures of the outside world.

No one knows about my ways.

Yeah. Like, I'm trying to remember the line, but it's. It's like something along the lines of, like, I like my music.

Yeah, yeah.

And like, no one else needs to hear it. And I'm like, yeah, he just, just. He just wants to be by himself. He has stuff he wants to say, but he wants to say it to himself. He doesn't want to put it out there. He's scared.

And

spoiler alert. That's why Pinkerton holding up.

Keep holding it up. It's really interesting that Rivers just didn't see any of the this guy's a nerd commentary coming in, especially considering the, like, I love Star Trek. Brian Bell got into the band because he answered like, an obscure Star Wars.

I saw it in a YouTube video. They were like, what's your favorite Star wars action figure? He's like, hammerhead. And he's like, welcome to Weezer. He's like, can you sing? Yeah, you're in Weezer. And he's like, all right.

I mean, isn't like the opening line about, like, he has, like a Dungeons and dragons book?

Yeah.

12 sided die. And like, he's naming off like, X Men and stuff, and it's like he's really getting into it.

Toys and trinkets.

Yeah, it's a safe spot. Can a guy have some trinkets?

I mean, it really does build house atmosphere of a safe space.

What's wrong with the dude having some doodads?

All right, if that's a crime, then lock me up, man.

It has some trinkets and doodads in

this economy, but trinkets and doodads. What a beautiful song. And then the next song is. Was it Holiday?

Yes.

I like that song. That's a good one. It's a good song. Yeah.

I don't.

It's probably the one I revisit the least.

It's not that deep, honestly.

It's not a bad song. I like it quite a bit. It's on the Blue album.

It's good. The escapism.

The one comment I made for this was just, surely running away will solve my problem.

Exactly. That's. That's the theme. It's all about the escapism. Like, this whole side of the album is about that.

I think it's like the whole, like, don't even bother packing your bags. We're just gonna go where the wind takes us.

Let's go away for a while. That's a Beach Boys song, by the way. Just a little spoiler.

I figured this was kind of Beach Boys.

Yeah. No, that's one. I think, like, he. When he was younger, like, he got the. I remember, like, reading. So I saw this in a YouTube video. This is all based off of, like, I saw in a YouTube video, by the way. So if that guy was lying, I'm lying. But, like, at some point when he was younger, he. He, like, when he first got to la, before he made Weezer, he basically, he got to a record store and he could choose between. I think it was like, Led Zeppelin 4 and Pet Sounds. And he picked Pet Sounds. And that really steered his whole course of his, you know, career, especially the Blue Album. Like, the harmonies and the hooks and stuff. It's really very heavily Beach Boys based. The whole cover, actually, I learned this from, like, an Instagram post, but it was. Even. It was a. There was like, a Beach Boys casino that was, like, randomly put out by their record label. That's basically just the four of them on a blue background. And Rivers wanted to recreate that for the album. And that's. That's kind of where that came from.

That's about it.

Yeah. Cool stuff.

But I remember there's also, like, another album cover that looked almost identical and they just didn't know about it.

Yeah, that track.

Yeah, yeah. It's the one where they're in the striped shirts, right? Yes.

Yeah.

Okay.

Just blue background, striped shirt, standing in the exact same way. And after the fact, there's like.

Yeah.

No, we didn't know about.

Oh, no.

Yeah.

But anyway, Holiday, good song. But I do want to spend a little bit of time talking about the closer to this album, which is Only In Dreams.

My favorite.

Oh, my goodness. Oh, my God. I don't even know what to say about this song. It is.

Let's start at the beginning.

The bass line. It starts out with just, like, the. Like. Just, like, this bass line. Just by itself, unaccompanied. And then, like, slowly, like, more and More instruments start getting added.

Mm.

And the song is really about, like. Like, lyrically speaking, it's like, you know, like, you. Even after, like, you, like, you know, the girlfriend left you, like, you can't get away from it. It's like, always gonna haunt you and

that kind of thing.

And that's very deep for that.

Mm.

And then, like, my favorite thing about the song, like, it's just the whole thing is, like, slowly ramping up until, like, halfway through, there's, like, just this breakdown that lasts, like, the entirety of the rest of the song until, like, at the very end, like, they just reverse what they did at the beginning and all the, like, the instruments drop away until it's just a bass again. And then it just ends like that. And that's just.

It's beautiful.

This is an almost eight minute long song.

Yeah.

Normal minutes of that is just instrumental.

Exactly. This is.

But yeah, I. I had noticed because, you know, you said, like, no one else and world has turned and left me behind were like, two things. I'm like, it almost feels like a resolution to that. Almost.

Yeah. The story arc of Rivers being a bad boyfriend. Wow. And that Pinkerton treats her. And then Pinkerton. Stop holding up Pinkerton like that. I'm sorry. But yeah. No. Only in dreams. My God. How did they do this? This was. This is. This might be. This is my favorite Weezer song, by the way. I don't know if I could. I agree.

Me too.

Like, I know I said say it ain't so. It was really good, but this is like, it's eight minutes long. Come on. Like, I can't even describe it. A lot of it, it's just. It's. All of it's good. Like, you're like. You sit down and you're, like, just dragged into it, and you got to sit there until the whole thing's over, you know?

But

makes sense that he went to Harvard for composition after this.

Yeah.

Like, it really does make sense. His arrangements are fantastic. Like, it's. It's only in dreams.

It is only in dreams.

And you mentioned the base earlier. I feel like we should, like, like, mention Matt Sharp a little bit.

Matt Sharp? Yep.

Matt Sharp was the original bassist for Weezer.

He's this guy. This is gonna get the.

Matt Sharp.

Matt Sharp.

He was like. Though Rivers was like, the lead songwriter and lead vocalist.

Rivers.

Rivers.

Sorry, I'm holding up the camera. Yeah, Rivers.

Matt Sharp was actually kind of the front man. Because Rivers in interviews would just sit there and stare at the wall. Cause he did not know how to talk.

He's me.

And Matt Sharp would function as sort of the spokesman for the group and also the backup vocalist who's on quite a few of these cuts. Like on Buddy Holly, he does, like, these falsetto vocals.

Listening back to it. Yeah.

And say it ain't so. He's. The whole time he's doing, like, the falsetto. Yeah. And like, that's what. Like that. Yeah, he's. He's there. He's all over the. You'll know when you hear him, you know, but he's a. Yeah, he's a major part of this album's like, sound like their early stuff. This and Pinkerton were the only two he was on. And, you know, I don't say. I'm not saying it was like, his fault that they were good, but, like, he went away and then they kind of. Of wasn't as good afterwards. But, you know, there's a lot of reasons. That was one part of it.

Did he leave after Pinkerton?

He left after Pinkerton because of his

side project called the Rentals, which was getting some attention back in the day.

And, yeah, Rivers is notoriously Rivers Cuomo. So he's very controlling about what goes on in his music. And think about Matt Sharp is that he also had a lot of ideas about where they should go with the music, and Rivers didn't really agree with much of it, and they kind of had a falling out over it, but that's kind of why he left.

Kind of sounds like the. The Ryan Ross of Weezer.

For anyone.

Yeah, yeah.

They did it first. They did it first. I mean. Yeah, they did. But this. Yeah, this whole album, though. I mean, that. Only in Dreams, that closes the whole thing out. And you just got to sit in there like, wow. Yeah, that was Weezer.

Yeah.

You got to sit and.

Man, I can't wait to hear what they do next. You know, it is.

It is a heavy album. And then you listen to Pink, you tend and like, oh, wow, I didn't

realize it's worse so much.

I don't think they're scary, but it

gets worse and better.

Huh?

Worse and better.

Worse than Pinkerton?

Well, did you mean, like, the themes or just like the album itself?

No, no, I mean the themes.

Like, okay, well, we're gonna definitely come back to Pinkerton in the future, but.

Oh, God, Yeah.

So hold the fort.

Don't talk too much about Pinkerton, but Weezer.

And we're staying wheezy.

Stay wheezy. If you're. If you're interested in coming to any of our meetings though, you can come to our website, which is going to be linked along with the podcast on our website. You're going to find our meeting schedule, themes for meetings, playlists that we make after every meeting, and anything else you'll need to know about the club. All the information is right there on our website. Everyone's welcome to come to our meetings. Whether you are a seasoned record collector and you have a million records in your collection, or if you don't even listen to records, you don't even have any. You just want to expand your music taste and you want to meet other people at LCC here who also have have very eclectic music taste as well. Great group of people, very accepting. Thanks everyone for tuning in and we hope to see you next time. Keep it wheezy. All right, bye bye now. Bye bye.

Bye bye.

Love you.

See you later.

This is WLNC Lansing. You're listening to LCC Connect, a weekly program that features the Voices, Vibes and vision of Lansing Community College. To find out more about LCC Connect programs or to listen on demand and Visit us@lccconnect.org LCC Connect, voices, vibes, Vision,