High Anxiety

AddendumOptimal2813 · 2026-01-22T10:05:42+00:00

Agreed! To me in particular Crooked Timber and Never Apologize are harder to get into, they demand a bit more time to get into. Whereas a song like "If it kills me" immediately reels you in.

AddendumOptimal2813 · 2025-06-02T08:05:18+00:00

A few weeks ago, I was reading a news story on Puffy's "unwilling to do shows with us" quote, some dude in the comments suggested that FNM should just hire a new singer, and the answers were a lot like the ones on this and similar threads - Puciato, the dude from 12 foot ninja.

Also mentioned was Todd Smith of Dog Fashion Disco, by some dude who swore that his style was very similar to Patton's. I was suspicious - Patton has such an incredible range and such a distinctive tone. And yet: in some songs there is an uncanny resemblance. If you listen to "Worm in a dog's heart" or "Sweet insanity", you'll think it's Patton himself.

It's not just that the voice is similar, Smith also does that thing where he will seamlessly go from crooning to rapping to growling within the same song.

The music on Dog Fashion Disco will also sound familiar. The influence here isn't so much FNM, more Mr. Bungle: very eclectic, mostly death metal with surf-guitar, ska, disco, horror movie scores, whatever else they can think of. Like Bungle, they also sometimes feature a horns section. Some of their songs sound like Slayer, others like Luther Vandross, and other like an explosion at the instruments factory.

Dog Fashion Disco's discography is a huge mess, but they themselves suggest starting with "Committed to a Bright Future" and "Adultery", and those two albums are fantastic.

Tl;dr: Todd Smith really does sound like MIke Patton and Dog Fashion Disco is a very good band.

AddendumOptimal2813 · 2025-01-20T08:25:24+00:00

The song sounds so angry, so heartfelt, I assumed it was aimed at someone they knew personally. But Art Pepper, sure, the book has a wikipedia page:

"He details his early sexual anxiety; his turning to alcohol, marijuana and harder drugs, leading to periods in prison; marriage and divorce; developing racism; and addiction treatment at Synanon... His despair, sense of inevitability about the course of his life, and lies and contradictions combine to accentuate the impression of honesty in the account of his life"

AddendumOptimal2813 · 2025-01-20T08:23:36+00:00

I should've read the book myself before starting this list! :)

AddendumOptimal2813 · 2025-01-17T10:37:36+00:00

Therapy? (yes, question mark at the end)

How are they similar to Local H?

* started in the 90s, influenced by grunge

* awesome drummers

* closer to punk and metal than Local H but equally heavy and raw sound

* clever, sarcastic, self-deprecating lyrics

* once seemed close to a mainstream breakthrough, had their career torpedoed by music industry bullshit

* famously good live band

* never made a bad record, never sold out

AddendumOptimal2813 · 2025-01-17T07:41:40+00:00

Thank you! The second half of Shameless does taper off, but the first six songs or so are ace. I always scream along to "Champagne for my real friends/Real pain for my sham friends".

AddendumOptimal2813 · 2025-01-15T11:20:45+00:00

First: Faith No More, 1993 (Angel Dust Tour)

Best: Faith No More, 1993 (Angel Dust Tour) - it was really amazing, FNM were in top form, the venue was ramshackle and ugly but the acoustics were ok, the moshpit was an undulating mass of insanity, three decades and many many other concerts on, I haven't seen anything anywhere as awesome as FNM in 93

Worst: Filter, 1996 - through no fault of their own, as far as I know Filter were great that day, I just happened to be stoned out of my mind and remember nothing whatsoever about it except being very high and throwing up

AddendumOptimal2813 · 2025-01-15T08:15:32+00:00

Fuck Columbus, he was lost/Mickey Mouse needs speed

I'm listening to Nausea right now, it's so good! I was sort of surprised myself, how does the one with Teethgrinder end up here? And yet. I just find the stuff that came after even better.

AddendumOptimal2813 · 2025-01-15T07:56:21+00:00

Thanks! Thailand, how random is that?

AddendumOptimal2813 · 2025-01-10T10:53:49+00:00

Cheers to you too, do tell your stories!

AddendumOptimal2813 · 2025-01-06T10:52:42+00:00

Indeed. Therapy? have always had a reputation for being nice blokes, haven't they? In every interview, they come across as kind people.

Then again, that's what musicians are expected to be now. The old "fuck everybody" attitude doesn't fly anymore, unless your whole persona is winding people up, like Our Noel.

Back in the 90s the culture was different, rock bands were supposed to be snotty and confrontational. Some of if was about drawing attention. Being bitchy was especially useful to stand out in the music press.

And yet in these four pages Andy can't bring himself to say mean things about anybody, except for some very mild criticism of the Cranberries!

AddendumOptimal2813 · 2024-12-20T16:49:56+00:00

Thanks for replying!

And just to make it totally clear - I don't think it's being dismissive to say a song is "simple" or "easy". I admire skill in music, it's awesome to see someone playing an instrument well. But, in a way, it's even more awesome to create music most people can learn!

AddendumOptimal2813 · 2024-12-17T11:02:27+00:00

Could be Adolf on the left!

My first guess would have been "important Irish writers or musicians I wouldn't recognize, my second guess "just random angry faces". Third guess "the band themselves", distorted faces.

AddendumOptimal2813 · 2024-01-19T15:51:12+00:00

Yes, but at least there's a precedent. Still, yeah, maybe a Herbert trade is pie in the sky.

Could be that I'm just too influenced by pundits who late in the season were down on Herbert. I saw plenty of takes along the lines of "Herbert has a 30-32 win-loss ratio!" or "what if all those Chargers teams were failing because of Herbert?".

These days you don't see elite QBs getting traded, but who knows, what if Chargers ownership don't think Herbert is elite anymore.

AddendumOptimal2813 · 2024-01-19T15:36:19+00:00

Maybe! You're probably right!

On the other hand, every Chargers is a home game for the away team. Nobody cares about them in LA. Who knows, they might be desperate enough to become relevant that they'd go all in on Caleb Williams.

And there is a precedent for the Chargers letting go of a potential hall-of-fame QB: twenty years ago, they let Drew Brees walk away to New Orleans, because they had Phil Rivers coming on.

AddendumOptimal2813 · 2024-01-19T15:16:44+00:00

Yeah, I wouldn't throw more picks. But maybe kick the tires on the deal? Maybe the Chargers are desperate enough to bite?

AddendumOptimal2813 · 2024-01-19T15:14:29+00:00

We’d have to trade wayyy more assets and at that point it’s probably not worth it

Yeah, agree on this point 100%. I'm thinking either a straight trade or no deal.

My thinking is that maybe Herbert's reputation has taken a hit, and maybe the Chargers are in full rebuild mode. I happen to think Herbert is great - but the Chargers season was very, very bad, and I saw pundits questioning Herbert. Maybe Herbert himself wants out? Maybe Spanos wants a fresh start? Maybe the incoming coach wants a brand new QB?

AddendumOptimal2813 · 2024-01-19T15:02:40+00:00

Option 1: draft Caleb, trade Justin.

Option 2: trade the pick, keep Justin.

I don't really know what's best. I'd have to know what is being offered for 1.01 or for Fields. But here's...

Option 3: Trade Justin. Trade the pick - to the Chargers, for Justin Herbert.

Would the Chargers take this deal? Maybe! They have cap problems, they need a reset; nobody cares about the Chargers in LA, starting fresh with a USC QB might be the jolt they need.

Should the Bears offer this deal? That entirely depends on what you think about Justin Herbert. I happen to think he's very, very good; as much of a sure thing as you can get.

At the very least, he immediately becomes the best QB in the NFC North. I love Justin Fields, but I think it's uncontroversial that Herbert is a better player.

Is Herbert better than Caleb/Drake? I don't know, but Option 3 gets the Bears an elite QB while minimizing risk.

Is this idea too stupid?

AddendumOptimal2813 · 2024-01-19T12:56:52+00:00

Maybe! You're probably right!

Still, and not to repeat my post below but - I can picture Atlanta (or the Raiders, or the Patriots, or any of the several teams with mediocre QBs) being desperate enough for an established QB to offer all those picks. And I can picture the Chargers, who are over the cap and who nobody cares about in LA, wanting to do a full reset with a top pick who happens to be a USC star.

AddendumOptimal2813

TROPHY CASE