For so much of my life the Spurs and the Lakers were the teams I hated the most, denying those Suns teams in the 2000s Finals opportunities. But... since living in Los Angeles, it's become the Dodgers and its not really that close.

Should’ve ended with a grand slam against the bigot Clayton Kershaw smh

The 1%’er Pro-ICE Dodgers winning the World Series is just a bit on the nose no?

I'm over at @mgrmagazine.bsky.social for the first time writing about the finale of "WTF With Marc Maron," and the concept of what is or isn't a "satisfying" podcast finale at all in an era where it's eclipsing even legacy TV. merrygoroundmagazine.com/wtf-do-we-th...

We had the honor to chat with director Emily Mkrtichian to discuss her new documentary THERE WAS, THERE WAS NOT. She broke down the visceral immediacy of the conflicts facing production, the challenges and triumphs of connecting with and celebrating Armenian heritage, and more!

It's our Bandcamp Picks of the Week, featuring the imaginative and inspired ambience of Kirin McElwain's YOUTH, out now via @akprecordings.bsky.social, and the crushingly soulful lo-fi folk of Emily Hines' THESE DAYS, out now via @keeledscales.bsky.social! Read about both albums today!

I get that there are too many bands mining the Hum/Deftones/Nothing'y space right now and it's beginning to feel pretty derivative but I just thing the Glimmer album is sick anyway lol

Listen to Editor-in-Chief @cjsimonson.bsky.social gab about the music of the early '50s over on the @indieheadspod.bsky.social!

On the premiere episode of the 1950's Number Ones, we're joined by @mgrmagazine.bsky.social’s @cjsimonson.bsky.social as we relay every #1 hit from Truman’s State of the Union to the End of the Battle of the Ch’ongch’on River. Support us now on Patreon to hear the full episode over 48 hours early!

Best Golden Apples album to date by quite a bit, in my estimation

Wrote about some plane movies:

You think I just go on and on and on about comics? No, dude, my blow-hard-ed-ness also applies to music, like that of the awesome BRNDA. My latest for @mgrmagazine.bsky.social:

Love Jens Lekman, but that was TOO MUCH Jens Lekman.

@chrisdeville.bsky.social's new book, SUCH GREAT HEIGHTS, is a thorough and often necessary feeling exploration of blog era indie rock writ large, from Pavement to Mitski to Sufjan and beyond. For those of us who lived it, it's a refreshing read but a devastating reminder of the passage of time.

Merry-Go-Round Magazine is officially 10 years old! Owner and former Editor-in-Chief Thomas Seraydarian reflects on what a decade has meant—the ups, the downs, last weekend's MGRM10 shows, and the zen art of just continuing to do it the same as it ever was (because someone has to).

Wrote about a few things I’m nostalgic for (Streetlight Manifesto, Nanami Ozone):

The thing about TONY HAWK PRO SKATER 3 + 4 is that 4 is remarkably harder than 3.

Twenty years after its release, and on July 4th no less, Sufjan Stevens' ILLINOIS feels like a hopeful piece of fiction. The America in these songs isn’t the one we live in today, but through community and solidarity, we can make it into something better.

The thing about Wavves is, they're a genuinely amazing singles band, and if I was *insert name of big pop punk / rock band* I'd hire Nathan to help write songs for me yesterday

@jackprobst.com is dusting off some LPs and exploring how music becomes etched into our own stories. This month: Learning to wear earplugs. Contemplating your sexuality. Awkwardly meeting your idols. Bob Mould's BODY OF SONG. It's a tale from the Bargain Bin!

At one point a sound drop of Don in the final episode of MAD MEN lamenting he’s never made anything of himself transitions us into A$AP Rocky’s “Everyday,” you should come and dance with us!

Processed my hatred of MATERIALISTS:

Had the honor of premiering the new @fleshtape.bsky.social EP today ahead of its release tomorrow. Their debut from last year was incredible and this EP picks right up where that left off!

Tonight’s episode of Game Changer is just remarkable stuff. On a tremendous hot streak here this season.

It's our Bandcamp Pick of the Week, featuring (possibly?) the first ever proper Armenian death metal album, Exileth's DEATH OF THE ALMIGHTY, out now via Satanath Records! Read all about it and then grab a copy over on @bandcamp.com!

"Context doesn’t matter anymore. Does the supervillain who rattles off cruel comments and fascist ideology make you feel seen? Then sure, he’s the protagonist." On THUNDERBOLTS*'s John Walker, modern superhero tropes, and the Homelander Effect.

It's our Bandcamp Picks of the Week, featuring a pair of debut self-titled releases, including a blissfully nostalgic EP from Los Angeles dream pop purveyors After, as well as a whirring, dancy rock album from Danish duo 100%WET, out now via @crunchyfrogrecords.bsky.social! Read about both today!

The modern C3 Presents style of music festival poster, specifically for recent Austin City Limits and Lollapalpozas, sucks shit. Just a big block of text that’s impossible to navigate, nowhere to draw your eye. Horrible.

Hello! I have spent essentially seven months working largely by myself on this and it’s finally here… tickets on sale Wednesday. For like 53ish bucks total you could have two incredible days of music and fun. And I’ll probably buy ya a drink. Hoping for a big sell out! Cheers!

Watched both CHILLY SCENES OF WINTER and CASABLANCA tonight and it’s funny that both are about a dude conveniently being in a relationship with a married woman and their reactions when the relationships end couldn’t be more different.

Uber on the way home only asked my name, his car reeks of cigs, and he was blasting the Offspring >>>>>

It’s our Bandcamp Pick of the Week, featuring Nicole Grace’s whimsically folksy solo outing MINERAL FORK, out now and available to purchase over on @bandcamp.com!

Uber driver asked who I was seeing tonight and I told him Franz Ferdinand, and as I was in loose terms explaining who that was, I watched that man queue up “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People, and ya know what? Fair play to him. Got my ass.

Ahhhh, to die happy seeing Ovlov do “Baby Alligator” live

New @softblueshimmer.bsky.social is unsurprisingly very good, love this one especially—lotta change of pace songs for them on this album and I dig it

Worth about a handful of films for our best of the year list! Happy Oscars week!

“can you ever really know?” by fish narc… many are saying it’s THE song of the year… and me? I agree.

On today, the 25th anniversary on AND THEN NOTHING TURNED ITSELF INSIDE-OUT… I’m here to say “Cherry Chapstick” is the best Yo La Tengo song

I like the title track okay I guess, but it's kinda baffling HURRY UP TOMORROW doesn't end with the Lana Del Rey song. Like "The Abyss" is a natural closer in every way, and then it goes on for another nearly 15 minutes.

My wife (from Boston) frequently out loud about me (from Arizona):

Do with this what you please, but was pretty into this flipturn album on first listen. Feels, at times, like what Local Natives have tried kinda unsuccessfully to make work on their more recent albums. But also it just feels and sounds like a big “modern” indie rock album that isn’t embarrassing.

Monica Barbaro getting a nomination because there are many men in the academy who now also believe that Joan Baez could’ve fixed them in the late ‘60s… that’s representation, babyyyy

Adam Pearson and Joe Alwyn snubbed for Supporting Actor

Have sunk about 10-12 hours into WILDFROST over the last few days and I like it but, won’t lie, it’s hard for me to take any game that’s using an adjacent Comic Sans font on everything too seriously.

Watching cable at my parents house and don’t have cable, so can someone tell me why (some of) the ads on TV Land run in HD but the actual broadcast (and labeling of the channel) runs in Standard Definition? That’s insane.

I wrote blurbs about some of my favorite records from 2024 for @mgrmagazine.bsky.social. I love getting to be part of a the year end best of list with them every year. ❤️ I wrote about Good Looks, Peel Dream Magazine, Ducks Ltd., and my personal number one for the year, the new one from Hoorsees.

An honor to be able to ramble a little bit on the #1 pick for MGRM this year, along with several other awesome releases. Check it out!

Without further ado, from @chatpileband.bsky.social's COOL WORLD to @ducksltd.bsky.social's HARM’S WAY, @peeldreammagazine.bsky.social's ROSE MAIN READING ROOM to Wild Pink's DULLING THE HORNS, here are Merry-Go-Round Magazine's Top 50 Albums of 2024!

"Just as George Bailey didn’t know the citizens of Bedford Falls would bail him out, we can’t know what’s around the corner for each of us. Our fates are inevitably bound up in each other. Each of us benefits from the other continuing to stick around."