Daily Archives: April 11, 2022

Im not sure if this is a song, I dont even know what Im saying, admits Rhian Teasdale on Wet Legs eponymous debut. The confessional stream-of-consciousness mid-section of sparkling closer Too Late Nowfractures the often comic-strip facade of a record that captures the unease of the 2020s like few others. Across its 12 tracks, Wet Let light the kindling of intimate disappointment, restless social anxiety, the blind alleys of academia and the fleeting thrills of hometown hedonism and then gleefully stoke the flames.

Ever since the viral boom of debut single Chaise Longue in June 2021 (complete with cottage-core parody video), Wet Leg have been met with near-ludicrous hype. The duos five electrifying follow-up singles, kicking off with the bouncy Wet Dream, continued to jolt a lockdown-stiffened industry from its slumber, and gave rise to breathless premonitions of world-beating success.

Formed in 2019 by former music college students Hester Chambers and Rhian Teasdale (bolstered by additional live guitar and keys, bass and drums), Wet Legs essence is the interplay between its two frontwomen. Though drawing on new-wave punk, slacker minimalism and classic pop, accompanied by crafty vocal production and a solid rhythm section, Wet Legs sound and personality feels enticingly fresh.

Those expecting their debut record to be a compendium of spritely, party-ready tracks will find much to savour here. But Wet Leg is at its most beguiling when its thematic and musical ambitions are laid bare. The introspective I Dont Wanna Go Out is an early indication of its complicated depths, the drama of its downcast chord sequence matching a lyric that faces the dawning shadow of adulthood. Further cuts, such as the shimmering Loving Youand self-deprecating Piece of Shit, reveal colourful forays into dream pop and gloomy acoustic-led angst. In this context, then, Wet Legs hook-driven bangers are put through a new prism, working in counterpoint to the records emotional conflicts and tonal shifts.

The laddering riffs of Ur Mom and the awkward, angular brilliance of Angelica, perhaps the albums finest track, match up to the propulsive tone of Wet Legs initial salvo of singles, and both songs became singles in their own right. Angelicas brilliance lies in how it reframes a relatable social anxiety (The ambience was overrated at the party / I want to run away before its even started) into a defiant deconstruction of the empty promise of enforced fun. Its matched by an inspired musical framework led by cleverly crafted, octave-tilted riffs.

Image: Hollie Fernando

Angelica is just one example of Teasdale and Chambers captivating use of guitar. Responding to the records changing shapes, the guitar provides the core riff of Oh No, the reverb-soaked light twinkling on the horizon of closer Too Late Now, the Beck-esque acoustic patchwork of Supermarket, and the springy thorn in the side of the pained epic I Dont Wanna Go Out. Wet Legs arrangements, elegantly produced by Speedy Wundergrounds Dan Carey, often economise guitar, fuelling its impact when it re-emerges or colours the mix in textural ways.

Frequently, Teasdale and Chambers put aside their Jag and Strat to allow close-micd vocals to take the lead, as with the Jane Birkin-meets-The Strokes pep of Chaise Longues loaded verse, and the touching Loving You. But, when required, the pair show considerable teeth. From the sludgy Convincingand the fuzz that envelops opener Being in Love to the distortion that batters Angelicas wobbly structure, Wet Legs overdriven outbursts stress a visceral, punkish spirit that flows through the record.

Modernity is a stifling, omnipresent theme here, evident in the lyrics of Oh No and its phone-scrolling time-sinks, Too Late Nowand its dangerous dating apps, and I Dont Wanna Go Outand the hunger to simply Ctrl-Alt-Delete emotional mistakes. The lyrics interplay of tech and all too human feelings of alienation will resonate many, particularly in the midst of a decade so far defined by contact-limiting.

Wet Legs debut doesnt just deliver on the potential of those promising early singles this is a thematically rich, musically adventurous and endlessly repayable classic. Its best moments, Angelica, Too Late Now, I Dont Wanna Go Out and Ur Mom, leave us giddily pondering where Wet Leg will go next. But right here, right now, this is the manifesto of a band ready to take their place as a generations new figureheads.

Wet Leg is out now.

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Wet Leg Wet Leg review: Believe the hype | Guitar.com | All Things Guitar - Guitar.com

Sweet Emotion by Aerosmith is an iconic track. Whether it be the chorus, guitarist Joe Perrys riffing, or even its use in Richard LinklatersDazed and Confused, there are many reasons to love the 1975 classic. This accounts for why the song has been so enduring within popular culture. It has a timeless style, and thats why we love it.

The song has long been taken as an ode to the hippie spirit, a celebration of being high, and hedonism in general. However, the song has a much deeper meaning than that, and ironically, it was written during a tense period for the band.

Frontman Steven Tyler wrote the track about how frustrated he felt with the situation in the band at the time. Famously, the band were doing a lot of drugs, and this led to boiling tensions, particularly between The Toxic Twins, Tyler and Perry. The finished product became a statement of independence, defiance, and an unwavering dedication to self-fulfilment in the face of adversity from others.

On numerous occasions, Tyler has claimed that the first lines, Talk about things that nobody cares / wearing out things that nobody wears, were written about Perrys first wife, Elyssa, as at the time, there was an incredible amount of tension between the two, exacerbated by drug use.One night, things came to a head between Tyler and Elyssa when the frontman went to Perrys hotel room on a desperate hunt for drugs, but he was sent away by the couple, who refused to share their score.Understandably for an addict, he was incensed.

In his 1997 memoirWalk This Way, Tyler explained that the opening lines of the song were his angry side talking, and recalled that when he wrote the line, Cant say baby where Ill be in a year, he had Elyssa in mind, quipping but it will be at least 1000 miles away from you!

Musically, the song was based on the grooving bassline that Tom Hamilton stumbled across one day in the studio. Tyler knew instantly that this was the perfect setting for his lyrics, and they put the song together with ease in a jam session.

Hamilton credits the bands producer, Jack Douglas, with him completing the bassline. Towards the end of the recording sessions for what would becomeToys In The Attic, Douglas asked the band if anyone had any leftover riffs that hadnt been used. Allegedly, that was when Hamilton stepped forward, and he won over everyone in the room instantly.

InWalk This Way, Hamilton remembered: I smoked a bowl or two and wrote the arrangements, the guitar parts. Steven took the intro, turned it around, changed key, and we used it as the tag, the resolution of the song. Brad, Joey, and I went home. Next time we heard Sweet Emotion, it had the overdubs, the vocals, and I flipped out. I loved what they did with it.

Interestingly, the song also has a hidden message buried within its heady tones. The band recorded themselves clapping and chanting, which was then played backwards in the final mix of the song, which creates the iconic sucking-type noise that is heard during the bridge, as Perry lets rip with one of his best licks. Due to conflicting accounts, what the band actually chanted is up for debate.

One thing is clear. The chant was based on Aerosmiths ex-manager, Frank Connelly, who had just been diagnosed with cancer and had sold the rights to manage the band to Steve Leber and David Krebs. Per Tylers account, the band were saying Fuck you, Frank. However, Douglas maintains that it was instead, Thank you, Frank. Its up to you which you choose to believe.

An iconic song, with a lengthy backstory to boot, it just adds to the brilliance of Sweet Emotion. Theres no surprise the song has found a place in the hearts of three different generations, as with many classic songs, it has a genuine density.

Listen to Sweet Emotion below.

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The Story Behind The Song: Aerosmith's iconic 'Sweet Emotion' - Far Out Magazine

A24s weird af sci-fi comedy, Everything Everywhere All At Once, may have only been shown at a select few cinemas in the US, Canada and parts of East Asia so far but its already becoming adored by movie fans. It is currently the highest rated movie on public film review platform Letterboxd; its 4.6 out of 5 star average even higher than Oscar-winning movies Parasite (2019) and The Godfather (1972). The movie tells the story of down-and-out Evelyn, played by Michelle Yeoh, and her exploration of a multiverse of alternative realities where she is a thriving girlboss. Its also been noted for being utterly chaotic with blood covered dildos, anal wars and snot weapons. Naturally, then, it's become the internets new favourite movie.

Luckily we wont have to hear about the film vicariously through the few who have seen it for much longer, with Everything Everywhere All At Once having a wide US release today with it then hitting cinemas around the world in the coming weeks. To prepare you for the deranged viewing you are about to witness here are seven other chaotic movies filled with sugar daddy drama, queer cannibalism, horny hedonism, crazed pop star stans and Daniel Radcliffe playing a flatulent corpse with a magical boner. No, were not kidding.

Considered a milestone of Czechoslovakian New Wave cinema in the 60s, Daisies follows Marie I and Marie II, two young girls feeling so dejected and disenfranchised by the selfish hedonistic world around them that they decide they too will be utterly self-serving and spoiled, acting exclusively off their impulses and whims. At the time of release the movie was considered a scathing take on authoritarianism and was banned by the Czech government from theatres, only being shown discreetly at smaller venues.

This odd fart-filled comedy is directed by Daniels, the filmmaking duo behind Everything Everywhere All At Once. It stars Paul Dano (who was also in the new Balenciagaified The Batman) as Hank, a man shipwrecked on an island and about to commit suicide when he discovers a corpse (played by Daniel Radcliffe) washed ashore with a serious post-death flatulence problem (Is that actually a thing?) for some absurd reason. When the cadaver, nicknamed Manny, starts to speak to Hank, it/he becomes a useful source of survival on the island (from being a source of drinking water to its rigour mortis erections acting as a compass - a sentence I never thought I'd type in my life.) Together, the new besties explore the pleasures of a gross yet inhibitionless life.

Before there was cannibal dating horror Fresh (2022), there was cannibal dating horror Raw. Directed by Julia Ducournau, the mastermind behind the fucked up Palme dOr-winning movie Titane (2021), Raw is about meat-virgin Justine. A lifelong vegetarian, as she moves away from home to go to veterinary school, she enters a world of partying, sororities, hazing, hedonism and sexual freedom. And in turn, she discovers deep internal desires within her she never knew existed. Definitely not for the squeamish, Raw was critically acclaimed upon its release and put Julia on the map as a director to watch.

From renowned horror director James Wan co-creator of the Saw, Insidious and Conjuring universes comes one of the most unhinged horrors to ever hit the screen. The film introduces us to Madison, a pregnant woman with an abusive partner who finds that all those in her life are being attacked by a hellbent deformed figure from her past she thought was gone forever. Starring Annabelle Wallis (Peaky Blinders), Michole Briana White and George Young (who is also a lead in the upcoming Lindsay Lohan christmas movie), Malignant may not be a cinematic great, but it's chaotic energy, sassy one liners, fantastical, twisty mystery and unintentional goofiness means that all those who watch it become obsessed.

Yes, that is the girl from the come on, its LA. Were all addicted to drugs video. Viral comedian Rachel Sennott stars as Danielle, a lost, bisexual Jewish woman who attends a Shiva (a week long mourning period observed in Judaism following a death where close relatives of the deceased stay at home whilst friends and family visit and provide comfort). Over the course of the week she bumps into her ex-girlfriend Maya and her current sugar daddy Max as well as his wife and their baby. Sounds very chaotic! The movie is actually an expanded version of a 2018 short film made as part of director Emma Seligmans thesis project at NYU, which also starred Rachel in the lead role.

Described by Polygon as Lord of the Flies in space, Voyagers comes from Limitless (2011) director Neil Burger and stars Tye Sheridan (X-Men), Lily-Rose Depp (The King), Fionn Whithead (Dunkirk), Viveik Kalra, Archie Renaux, Quintessa Swindell (Euphoria) and Isaac Hempstead Wright (Game of Thrones) as a group of teen astronauts in 2063 sent to colonise a distant exoplanet after climate change has made the earth inhabitable. Ten years into their trip though, the horny teens realise theyre secretly being given tablets that make them less, well, horny. Refusing to take them anymore, their hormones go into overdrive, descending the crew into primal, angsty chaos as they are fuelled by their reckless base instincts.

A favourite of Darren Aronfsky the man behind bone-cracking thriller Black Swan (2010) amongst other unhinged titles this psychological Japanese anime has been dubbed the scariest animated film ever by /Film and 25 years later still feels rather prescient. It tells the story of Mima, a member of a hugely popular J-pop girlband, who decides to quit music to pursue acting, changing up her image from innocent and wholesome to channel darker, mor mature vibes. But this change angers one of her former J-Pop super-stans who begins to stalk Mima. At the same time gruesome murders begin happening around her that make her look like the suspect. With all the new stress, Mima begins to spiral, losing her grip on reality whilst attempting to take back control of her life.

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7 unhinged movies to watch after Everything Everywhere All At Once - i-D

The New York-based trio have a sound that takes in glam, psych, indie and shoegaze, but with new album Headful of Sugar they are releasing their most direct, attention-grabbing set to date.

Thematically Headful, due out on May 6, covers the bases from hedonism to life under late-stage capitalism and the American Dream gone sour.

The Guide caught up with frontwoman Julia Cumming via Zoom from a hotel room in Dallas, Texas, as the band were on their way to perform at the music biz bonanza South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas.

Julia is an old hand at the event: The first time I went to SXSW I was maybe 13 years old in my first band, the short-lived Supercute!, and I just busked on the street for business cards.

SXSW runs very deep for me it's a great place to see all the bands you've been waiting to see, see new bands, hear what everyone's been up to... It's a really great time to connect in real life, and those opportunities are more rare than ever these days.

While at SXSW the band play a show dubbed Women That Rock and Julia sat on a panel discussion, Feminism In Rock. While it is arguably sad that these conversations still have to be had, Julia believes it is more important than ever that we have them.

In the music industry right now, there's lengthy plethora of issues which are extremely pertinent, the fact that women's role in music, women's rights within music, visibility, access, being able to have your music heard the fact that that is at the forefront right now, is really important.

I think that every woman or fem-presenting person that's out there creating that visibility just by being themselves... it's a person-by-person effort, and I think right now people are excited to talk about the future.

I see so many cool bands now which have women and girls, fem-presenting people, and it is way more normal than it ever was. I feel that's what everyone was fighting for just to be seen as normal, making music not to be seen as an outsider and to have your perspectives be taken as seriously as a man's or anyone else's.

Even though it might seem annoying we're still having these conversation, to me it's not. The fact we're even having the conversations we're having now, it's worth continuing to fight for that visibility.

These conversations have become even more pertinent to the band recently since their last album, drummer Olive Faber has come out as transgender.

It's not really right for me to speak on her experience, but I am very very glad that someone I love so much gets to be who they are and gets to be true to themselves, and I support her 100 per cent, and so far everything has been really great.

Latest single Roll The Dice is the three-piece at their most immediate, a three-minute critique of the American Dream, with guitarist Nick Kivlen sharing vocals with Julia.

Everything about this song, the fact it's so abrasive, sonically in a unique place with both of our voices, it's really supposed to bring up that uncomfortableness in yourself. Just the global experience of whether you know that these systems you reside in are massively imperfect, you also know that you have to take huge gambles and risks in order to have the chance to succeed within them.

When we sing that part, I just want to win, win, win, win, win, it's both looking at it, but also accepting it within ourselves.

You can critique something while also having to accept that you are every day, coming with these claws to try and figure out how to survive and get ahead of another person. There's so much competitiveness, which we also inherently accept just to survive.

While they are obviously writing as Americans, Julia sees the songs theme as being something more universal.

There's a primal thing about it which is outside the American Dream we are so connected, and we all become more culturally similar all the time due to the access we have to each other.

I do hope that it speaks to everyone in that way, and that people are open to that experience within it.

Previous album Twentytwo in Blue came out in March 2018 to critical acclaim, appearing on numerous end-of-year lists. The band had planned to follow it up long before now, but with the arrival of the pandemic they decided to keep writing, ending up with more than 80 demos for this album.

However, with so much material at their disposal, instead of throwing the kitchen sink at their next release they opted for a lean, taut album.

It's very lean, agrees Julia, 11 songs in 35 minutes and that was definitely intentional. When we made this record we were very clear on our intentions.

We wanted to make something that was very grounded and tangible, yet psychedelic. We wanted to live in the real world, have it be about the real world and about real things. And we wanted it to be powerful and fun.

While we haven't thought of it as a "pandemic record", there's darkness around all the time and a lot of the themes on the record are dark, but we wanted to kind of play into that sugar element.

When it came to choosing what made it on we went back to the ethos of keeping it fun, keeping it light.

Are any of those other songs likely to be released elsewhere?

Yeah, all this music exists, so I hope a lot of it will see the light of day.

It's such a great thing to have. I never would have imagined to have that much time to try so many different things. Its very cool to have this much material.

The circumstances of the last two years also gave Julia the chance to get involved in two really cool pandemic collaborations with experimental musician Yves Tumor on his latest album Heaven to a Tortured Mind, and with Manic Street Preachers on the single The Secret He Had Missed from their chart-topping album The Ultra Vivid Lament.

Nicky Wire of the Manics has previously praised Twentytwo in Blue in interviews as one of his favourite albums of recent years, and the band contacted her about working together.

I knew they were writing and they told me about that song, we talked about the inspiration and the lyrics, the sound, and it was a really cool opportunity to be part of their legacy.

It's the first number one record in the UK I've been part of, and it was really awesome to get to know them, and they have remained so passionate and excited about new music. They don't have to do that - they don't have to do anything, so the fact they listen and get excited and share that experience with me, it was definitely a highlight of the pandemic.

I was supposed to sing it with them at Wembley, but Omicron happened, so it got cancelled.

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Sunflower Bean have a Headful of Sugar and they're heading to The Wedgewood Rooms | Interview - Portsmouth News

Danya Taymors production of Daddy A Melodrama has a huge exuberance: a tour de force in itself, it's also a scintillating introduction to the work of Jeremy O Harris. The young American dramatist earned considerable attention, and acclaim for the acuity of his investigation of race issues, for his 2018 Slave Play, but it's this earlier piece, written when Harris was in his mid-twenties, that reaches London first (after a two-year Covid delay).

The music, lighting, movement and sheer dramatic craft not least the stage-front swimming pool in which a fair part of the action takes place has an energy and style thats a wake-up in every sense. Harriss text seems a more multifarious thing though, excelling when its at its tightest, especially sharp (and funny) in its satire, but losing something in a second-half prolixity that comes to feel protracted.His lead characters are Franklin, a young black artist not long in Los Angeles, preparing for his first show and Andre, an older white man whose apparently European origins remain as unspecified as those of his wealth. The action takes place on the terrace of the latters luxurious Bel Air villa, a scene thats infused with a Hockney hedonism, with a formidable collection of contemporary art adorning the living space behind. The sense of plein air California is very nicely realised in Matt Saunderss design.

Theres an anxious frisson there from the very first touch we witness between the two men as we encounter them in a morning-after moment. As Franklin, Terique Jarrett really does look young, but he's hugely expressive in his facial expressions, catching the changing nuances of the pair's interaction as it develops. Harris is accomplished in telescoping that developing attachment through his first act, with Andre pushing a balance that swings between possession Be mine! hes soon urging his protg, offering a support that veers between the paternalism of the title and the control of a sugar despot and interdependence (Franklin learns to manage that balance too, the power working both ways). The Danish actor Claes Bang plays Andre with an assurance that may leave you pondering if the script could have offered him more.

Theres a parallel for their relationships element of possession, of course, in the art world itself, and ideas about ownership, and how it can change an artwork, ripple intelligently through the play. Despite his youth Franklin shows himself the intellectual equal of his lover/partner he has the instinct of a natural, whereas Andres tastes are as much cultivated by the dealers who must court him. (In a nice touch, the post-interval set shows that the pictures have been rehung, a revision of the collection that must be the younger mans work.)

The arrival of Franklins gallerist (Jenny Rainsford) allows Harris to develop these themes further, as well as hone his satire to heighten the absurdities of this artistic world. Its a wickedly funny streak that hes shown earlier when Franklins best friends, Bellamy (Ioanna Kimbook) and Max (John McCrea), set up court as poolside loungers. Harris catches their vapidity with devastating acuity, though somehow it's not finally cruel.

But all this LA surface shallowness needs ballast, and it duly comes in the unforgettable form of Franklins mother Zora, whos first seen linked into the action by 'phone and linked herself to a trio of gospel singers, a kind of melodic chorus that becomes increasingly involved in proceedings (their stage presence is absolutely winning). Zoras appearance in the flesh in the second act really raises the temperature: gothically splendid in both voice and attitude, Sharlene Whyte comes close to stealing the show, but her presence fuels "Daddy" with a welcome sense of conflict. Zora and Andre may prove worthy opponents as they stake their respective claims on Franklin, but it turns out that he has much more to face.

As that maelstrom comes on, Taymor exploits the always inventive work from lighting designer Isabella Byrd, as well as Lee Kinneys sound and composition, to surreal effect (plaudits throughout, too, for movement director Anjali Mehra). Are we caught up in this emotional climax, or does it risk becoming precious? Like the art that hangs on Andres walls, its a matter of taste. Whatever Harriss subtitle may proclaim, I came away with a sense that less might have been more. The intensity of that less can be caught most of all in the face of Terique Jarrett, whos a real discovery in this production. His youthful trepidation is indelible in a way that outlasts all the fireworks.

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'Daddy' A Melodrama, Almeida Theatre review - production exuberance carries a new play of promise - The Arts Desk

Friday is here and so is our new batch of Essential Tracks, featuring an epic new dirge from some metal vets, a darkly mystical hip-hop posse cut, and some breezy guitar pop to usher in spring right. Read and listen to our picks for this week below.

Plus listen to our ongoing2022 Essential Tracks playlist.

Cave In are better than most at creating heavy music thats more than just heavy, but big. Ever since 2000s Jupiter, theyve seemingly strived to create rock and metal that sought destinations beyond the earth beneath us, their riffs and production harboring as much space as it does sheer weight or density. Blinded by a Blaze is a prime example of Cave Ins epic, astral tendencies at their best. Technically speaking, this is perhaps a power ballad, but its tinged with a sort of folk noir, spiritually aligned with the Bloodmoon album Stephen Brodsky recently released with Converge, and embracing a beauty within the crunch. Which doesnt mean that its not heavy, of course, but its in the mystical acoustic arpeggios that Blinded by a Blaze opens itself up and reveals something deeper and more interesting.

From Heavy Pendulum, out May 20 via Relapse

The new collaborative record from billy woods and Preservation didnt have any pre-release singles, which is par for the course for the enigmatic rapperArmand Hammers Haram, for instance, only had one, released just a few days before the album dropped. But given the albums bleed from one track to the next, I understand the hesitancy to isolate any singlesbut dont mistake that for a lack of standout tracks. Like this, one of two on the album featuring woods Armand Hammer bandmate Elucid, as well as Denmark Vessey and Quelle Chris, plus some eerie grooves from Preservation, rife with harmonica, guitar and organ samples. Like any track with this much talent, it feels at times like a challenge to see who can drop the best one liner, and theres a lot of incredible moments, though its hard to top woods in the first verse: The future isnt flying cars, its Rachel Dolezal absolved.

From Aethiopes, out now via Backwoodz

Quelle Chris said in a statement that accompanied the announcement of his new album DEATHFAME that it carries on like an incredible lost tape found at a Baltimore flea market. Which sounds kind of amazing in theory, and in practice, Alive Aint Always Living seems to live up to this ideal in practicethough not to the extent that 90s Memphis horrorcore tapes might feel like cursed objects. Its a track built on a crackly, lo-fi gospel organ and slow-moving beat beneath Chris soulful expressions of gratitude. It feels somehow both uplifting and more than a little weird and disorientinga paradox that only makes us keep coming back to it. Also, respect to Chris for showing up twice on this weeks Essential Tracks.

From DEATHFAME, out May 13 via Mello

Michael Beharies work with Zs tends to lean more toward the experimental edge of prog, and his collaborations with the likes of Greg Fox (Liturgy, Ex Eye) and Ben Greenberg (Uniform) might place him in a more intense kind of avant garde. But For Days is not thatits breezier, prettier, awash in gorgeously shimmering guitars and juxtaposed with some hypnotic flute accompaniment. Its both a testament to Beharies versatility as an artist and songwriter, and a great track to usher in the spring thaw.

From Promise, out now

After we premiered this track earlier this week, were now giving Copy of You more attention, marking an entire third of the debut EP by Beijing post-punk group Naja Naja that has landed in our pantheon of Essential Tracks. Copy of You leans more toward the darker side of the groups sound, steeped in eerie gothic synthesizers and stark, minor-key guitar riffs. Its as fit for the dancefloor as their previous single, Dong Dong, but its a little more of a goth club than a discotheque, a sexy and shadowy standout fit for some shadowy hedonism. Its songs like this that make Naja Najas debut EP one of our most anticipated releases this month.

From Naja Naja, out April 29 via Wharf Cat

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Jeff Terich is the founder and editor of Treble. He's been writing about music for 20 years and has been published at American Songwriter, Bandcamp Daily, Reverb, Spin, Stereogum, uDiscoverMusic, VinylMePlease and some others that he's forgetting right now. He's still not tired of it.

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Essential Tracks This Week: Cave In, billy woods and Preservation and more - Treble - Treble

Learning how to run towards, instead of away, from our challenges.

Life is full of both blessing and suffering. Imagine if we each held a sign that let others know the challenges we face each day:

There would be the secretary that you see at your doctors office who always seems stressed: In the middle of a messy divorce and just got a call from my sons school that he was suspended.

There would be that guy at the gym who seems so quiet. Sister is in the hospital from an overdose and just got a message that my company is downsizing.

There would be the colleague who never seems to make it to the meetings on time. Single mom, special needs child, no family support.

They are the people sitting beside us on the train and walking past us on the sidewalk. They are our friends and our families.

They are us.

In her recent book, Dopamine Nation, Dr. Anna Lembke, teaches us how to run towards, instead of away, from our challenges. The upcoming holiday of Passover is a unique time when we re-examine what it means to be free. Here are four ways, based on lessons from Dopamine Nation, that we can utilize to find new freedom and expansiveness within both our blessings and our adversities.

1. Walk toward what youre trying to escape.

Many of us are afraid to face our own discomfort. Whether its loneliness or sickness or grief, at some point we would rather distract ourselves from the pain.

But the pain we feel is the pain of being alive, and if we stop running from it, we may discover that it wasnt something we needed to escape from in the first place.

We are far stronger than we imagine. As Anna Lembke writes,

I urge you to find a way to immerse yourself fully in the life that youve been given. To stop running from whatever youre trying to escape, and instead to stop and turn and face whatever it is. Then I dare you to walk toward it. In this way, the world may reveal itself to you as something magical and awe-inspiring that does not require escape. Instead the world may become something worth paying attention to.

2. Light one step at a time.

Walking towards what we fear is not an all or nothing effort. It is a continuous, daily effort that requires patience and resilience. We can light one step at a time by doing the next right thing at this moment. And only after we have made our way through the tunnel can we see all the dark corners that we have lit up with our perseverance.

Lembke compares growth to the scene in Harry Potter when Dumbledore walks down a darkened alley lighting lamp posts along the way. Only when he gets to the end of the alley and stops to look back does he see the whole alley illuminated, the light of his progress.

3. Learn to use pleasure to grow instead of allowing it to keep you stuck.

When pleasure becomes an end in and of itself, it stunts our growth and blocks the way forward. Neuroscience has taught us that in order to keep our dopamine levels stable, there is an inherent pull on the side of pain as soon as we overindulge in any pleasure. This pain is a gift. It teaches us the necessity of self-regulation in order to find balance in our lives. It also teaches us that we cannot always avoid pain and discomfort.

In our temperature-regulated, tech-run, bubble-wrapped lives learning to tolerate discomfort has become a kind of superpower. Lembke describes the paradox of hedonism: the pursuit of pleasure for its own sake leads to anhedonia. Which is the inability to enjoy pleasure of any kind. The relentless pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain, leads to pain.

4. Accept that grief and sadness are part of what makes us whole.

We all experience days even periods when we feel sad, grieving or frustrated. And as anyone who has ever grieved can attest, the more you try to avoid the grief, the more relentlessly it will find you, often at the least expected moments. Loss and sadness are part of what makes us whole. Dont try to avoid them; accept them.

Passover is a unique opportunity to reflect on the journey that we have each taken over the past year with all of its obstacles and gifts. This is the time of year we left the narrowness of Egypt and walked forward into the expansiveness of an unknown destination. Each of us can find a way forward today as we walk toward whatever we have been trying to escape from.

If we were holding a sign at the table this Passover, perhaps it would say: I have come through the darkness. And tonight, I can see that there were little lights guiding me forward all along. Thank You for showing me that there is always a way to find freedom. Thank You for giving me the strength to turn towards the life I have been given.

Feature image: Unsplash.com, Divya Agrawal

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Four Ways to Find Freedom and Expansiveness Amidst Our Blessings and Adversities - aish.com - Aish

Have you ever wondered why we tap our shot glasses on the bar before throwing one back?

Yeah, I wondered, too.

Is it a Milwaukee thing? A Wisconsin thing? Or does this tradition expand beyond state borders?

The Google offers some ideas, but they didnt really add up. Some suggest that its a way to toast the dearly departed, and its less wasteful than pouring one out but does your great great grandpa really want you to wake him up in heaven every time you slam a slot of tequila?

Others speculate its a way to recognize the bartender for his or her service. That kind of makes sense, but customers tap their shots whether or not the bartender is participating or even watching.

I even found this unlikely explanation: In Ireland, it was believed that liquor contained spirits that might be harmful if consumed, and tapping the glass dispelled those spirits.

It all sounds a little random to me. So I asked a few Milwaukee bartenders, as well as ones farther out, why they think we participate in this ritual at the corner tavern.We've all see the "tap." And yet no one really knows why we do it.X

Paul Kennedy, who bartends at The Newport and Creeds Foggy Dew, sayshe noticed this tradition about 15 years ago. He says he asked customers why they did it but never got a definitive answer.

The most common answer Ive been given is its in honor of a friend/loved one who is no longer with us, he says. Ive also been told its a salute to the bartender. Thats sweet but salutes dont pay the electric bill. I refuse to do it. For all I know it could be a black magic ritual and a way to conjure up evil. Thats how we ended up with Ron Johnson in the Senate.

Ive always thought it was a sign of respect for the bar and/or the bartender, suggests Nate Tomzcuk, who used to bartend at the Safe House and Fanatics Sports Central, but cut his teeth bartending in Manitowoc. "Just like people clink their glasses with their cocktails/drinks or pour a little on the floor for their dead peeps.

Nomad bartender Sammy Mentkowski suggests a different reason, one that I am taking with a shaker of salt and a lime.

It all dates back to the early juke joints, where sawdust was placed on the dance floor for easy cleaning should the necessity arise, he says. After particularly raucous wang dang doodles, sawdust particles would fill the air covering everything in the vicinity including the glassware. Tapping the glass on the bar was a way to remove sediment before taking a gulp of that sweet dancing juice.

"Its one tap on the bar for me," says Amanda Wisth, who bartended at Joey's Yardarm in Racine. "When I was behind the bar and throwing them back with patrons, it was one tap, a wink, and a raise of the glass. To thank them for the (many) shots.As a patron, whether the bartender is joining in or not its the same: one tap, a winkand a raise of the glass to thank them for their service. Whether they see it or not, that good energy never hurts."

Amy Freeze had always heard while slinging drinks at bars andsupper clubs, it all comes down to gratitude. A shot tap, a nod of the head, a silent thank you to the bartender. I do like the idea of toasting your past, with your future. Sure. Ive poured one out for a homie. We all have, right?The shot tap means so many different things to different people and thats what truly makes it unique and well-loved by so many."

Maybe?

Emily Milquet, the owner of Manor on Main, a supper club in Wausaukee about three hours north of Milwaukee, admits she doesnt know why people do it, but liked the Internets explanation of showing respect to the bar.

So, she thought about it a little more, and came up with this explanation:

Well, when I take a shot I generally cheers and tap everyone elses shot glass as a way of including and thanking them, she says. The reasoning would be tapping it on the bar would be the same as saying cheers to the establishment.X

Hmm. This still sounds iffy to me, so I expanded my search for answers, and apparently, this isnt just a Wisconsin tradition.

Diane Dowland, who once owned the Monkey Bar in Milwaukee and now lives in Arizona, sees it out west, too.

"Ive seen both:the one tap and the double tap. I was told that the double tap is one for the bartender, one for someone who is no longer with us. In Wisconsin, youre doing shots with the bartender, so there it's is your 'cheers to the bartender.' In states like Arizona where the bartender is not legally allowed to drink behind the bar, the one tap is a frequent acknowledgment to the one serving you the shot, since they cannot partake with you."

By the way, Dowland says a Wisconsin bartender is practically a celebrity in Arionza.

'You can drink while you work? Inconceivable,' and 'how are you even able to count your drawer at the end?'I tell them how the main requirement when hiring a bartender in Wisconsin is that they can handle their alcohol. Even more so than how they look in TikTok leggings or whether they have a boob job. Weird!"

But the most stoic explanation comes from former Seattle bartender Jonny Cragg, who has served drinks around the world. Sadly, heremains stumped.

Short answer: I have no idea, he says. Longer speculative answer: Its a declaration of intent, a commitment to self harm in the name of hedonism.

So there you have it. Kind of. The answer: no one really knows. Bottoms up!X

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Why do we tap our shot glasses on the bar? - OnMilwaukee.com