So... Alright - An Impromptu Tribute, a Rant, and Turning in Homework

Episode Date: October 22, 2024

Geoff bounces around this week from McDonalds to NOFX, to the Forgotten Firsts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

And chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken of my mind right now is I have to say, as much as I love to eat there, fuck McDonald's drive-thrus. I'm so fucking done with it. Every time I go through such mental pains in a drive-thru, it gets worse the older I get and my patience gets less. I cannot get through a drive-through, but specifically a McDonald's drive-through. And it must be some script they're legally required to read, legally required to read, or they're required to read for their company. But every time I go to McDonald's, I try to make it so easy.

I have the easiest order on earth, the second easiest order on earth. The easiest order on earth would be a number one, a medium number one with Coke. I get a medium number one with Diet Coke, right? So when I roll up and they say, welcome to McDonald's, would you like to order using the app? And I go, no, I don't know what that is.

And they go, oh, okay. What would you like today, sir? And this is what I say. And I've tried it a million different ways, and I always get the same fucking result. I say, I'd like a medium number one with diet coke. That's all, okay? And they go, okay.

You wanted a, you said Big Mac, you want the the meal or do you just want the sandwich? I'd like the sandal. I'd like the meal. I'd like the meal. I'd like the meal. OK. What size? The medium. They go medium. And what would what would you like to drink there, sir? I got a diet coke and they go. All right. So I got a medium number one with Diet Coke.

And then they say it exactly as I said it to them. And I go, yeah. And then they go, all right, pull around. Every time, no matter how I do it, I could roll up and say, I'd like to buy a number one, I want it to be medium, and I want a Diet Coke with it, and that's it." And they go, uh, okay, got it. So what was that, sir? And you go, uh, number one. And they go, right, did you

want the sandwich or did you want the whole combo meal? I want the combo meal and I want it to be a medium and I want to diet coke. They go, got it. So combo meal. What size did you want that combo meal, sir? Medium. They go, okay. And then what would you like to drink today? Diet Coke! Oh my God! I don't understand how the world's getting harder to navigate in 2024. I feel like I keep beating this drum over and over again.

I sound like a broken record. But how did it get so hard to do simple things? When did it get so hard to do simple things? When did it get so hard to do simple things? I'm trying to make it as easy as possible on the McDonald's employee. I have the second simplest order on earth. I know how to say it. I give them all the information concisely

and clearly upfront. And I still have to go through the process where they act like they've never heard of a number one before. Where they go, number one? Let's see, we've got eight numbers here. You said number one? Yes!

Ugh. Anyway, that's how I'm feeling about McDonald's drive throughs these days. What was the first video ever taken of you? I was thinking about this the other day. I was trying to compile a bunch of videos and photos and stuff of Millie throughout her childhood and just thinking about how she's been videoed pretty much since day one.

You know, and I was not the case for me. I got to thinking about how like she's been videoed pretty much since day one, you know, and I was not the case for me. I got to thinking about it. And I don't remember my family ever owning a camcorder. I'm sure there must have been one at some point. Like, it seems like something my grandpa might have wanted to have at some point. And he if he wanted it, he would have been able to get it. I can't remember ever seeing one or ever seeing like a home video.

It just wasn't a thing when I grew up in the 80s in Alabama at least. So I started to think about the first video I ever remember seeing of me. And I guess it must be when I was in basic training they record you they have like a video crew that follows you around and takes a few videos at like drill ceremonies and as you practice in you you know on a recon or going through the mud or doing a ropes course or rappelling

or the one that they got me on was when they do gas mask testing and they take you in to the room and they gash in and they make you take the mask off and then you fucking snort and throw up all over yourself. They filmed me there. Anyway, and then at the end of basic training they sell like a VHS tape you could see of it. And then they also sell a VHS tape of the ceremony

of you actually graduating. And I have both of those VHS tapes, my parents or my grandparents, somebody bought them for me. And so I own them and I've kept them all these years. And I think those might be the first two times I was ever filmed. Like at 18. Yeah, I think at 18, I mean,

surely it must have happened before. Surely I was filmed at like a first, like I don't know, a school thing or something. But I cannot for the life of me remember the first time someone pointed a video camera at me and recorded me. And it's such a silly thing now because every second of every moment of our lives is recorded in some way it feels like. But that was not the case a generation ago or two generations ago. I guess two genera- God damn, I'm two generations ago.

That's heavy. And so if you're a younger listener to Swell, right, there's probably no way for you to pinpoint the first time you were ever filmed. It was probably when you were born. And you've been filmed so much throughout your entire life and filmed yourself so much throughout your entire life that it's just always been there. It's been a constant. But for those of us who are a little bit older,

think about that. Take a second. Can you remember the first time you were ever filmed? What was it for? How old were you? I'd be interested to see if it's like, you know, I imagine a lot of people it's going to be like my dad had like a high eight camera and he filmed my third birthday party or, you know, whatever.

But is there anybody that's like, oh, yeah, now I think about it. I was 26 before I was ever filmed. If so, I would love to hear. I'd love to hear that. Send me an email to Eric at Jeff's boss dot com. I'd love to hear your first film story. email to ericatjeffsboss.com. I'd love to hear your first film story. Really been enjoying the emails you guys sent, so. I saw something on TikTok that I kind of went down

a rabbit hole. I was tangentially aware of this happening and it didn't really mean much to me at the time, but the punk band No Effects recently retired. They made a big deal out of it. They played like they announced it probably last year or two years ago that they were ending and they were going to have this big blowout of of tours and shows as a send off farewell. Say goodbye kind of thing. And I think I had probably a couple of opportunities to go see them along the way during that goodbye tour

didn't really want to For no other reason than I've just I've seen them a bunch before in the past and it's a band that I like But I don't think about a lot and I haven't I wouldn't consider myself an active fan of them for a really long time but Seeing them on stage hugging and saying goodbye, like there was a, seeing Eric Melvin and Fat Mike hug,

knowing that they'd been friends for essentially their whole lives, I don't know, man. It hit me emotionally pretty strongly. And so I watched every video I could of their final performances, every TikTok, I guess I should say, of their final performances. And it's them out there with like, you know, members of Bad Religion and The Offspring and all these other bands that have been around a long time too, having this amazing and kind

of beautiful send off. And I don't know why, but it just got me thinking about that band and my life. So I did some reading, I did some exploring on NoFX, a band that I used to consider myself a big fan of and that I knew very well at one point. And they started, this kind of blew me away. They started in 1983, right? So they first got together in 1983. I discovered them probably somewhere around 1993.

I'd like to say it was a little bit earlier than that, but I don't think it was. So I think around 1993. So I discovered them 10 years into their band. They retired this year in 2024. That's 41 years of doing your passion as a job, as a career successfully. I didn't discover them until they were a decade into that career, a quarter of the way through their career. And then

I was, so I came in, I came in around Ribbed was the first album I got by them. That came out in 91. I didn't get it new. I think, like I said, I don't think I discovered them until like 93. first album I got by them. That came out in 91, I didn't get it new. I think, like I said, I don't think I discovered them until like 93. But this kind of blew my mind, kind of putting it in perspective. For one, when you're 19, 20 years old

and you're in the punk world and it's all you know, or you're in whatever scene you're in, it doesn't have to be punk, it just happened to be mine. And it's all you know and you feel it like you've never felt anything in your life and you identify with it and you feel like it's important and it speaks to you and more importantly you speak through it and it it starts to take on defining qualities in your personality right like when you're that deep into it you. Experience a love for a fandom that can't be recreated, I think. I had that with No Effects from the albums Ribbed, White Trash, Two Heaps and a Bean, and Punk and Drub Look.

In 1996, Heavy Petting Zoo came out. I wasn't as big of a fan of that album. I thought war on terrorism in 2003 was pretty strong, but then I was out like I was into them from I'd say like 93 to 2005 or so was when I kind of I would consider them at like out out grew it is not right just grew differently I didn't I wasn't looking for Silly immature music at the time Just wasn't what I was connecting with anymore at that point in my life, right? But there's a period in time, like one, two, three, four albums that I was like super into.

And then they had a bunch of other stuff that I really liked that was on EPs and compilations and stuff. And I'm actually gonna talk about some of that stuff in a minute. But I thought, man, when was the last time I listened to a NoFX album? I bet that they've been, you know, if they've been playing this entire time, they've probably been putting out albums this entire time. And holy shit, they have.

They have like 15 studio albums. So I mentioned Ribbed that came out in 1991. That was the third album. The first two albums were Liberal Animation and S&M Airlines. I can't super recommend those albums. Liberal Animation is pretty rough. It's very raw. S&M Airlines, I can't super recommend those albums. Liberal Animation is pretty rough, it's very raw. S&M Airlines has hints of where they're headed, you know? There's moments in it, it's worth a listen. I think Ribbed is a perfect, quick, snotty, childish, silly, doesn't take itself too seriously, self-deprecating album.

I think it's fucking awesome. It's perfect start to finish. Why trash two heaps and a bean is more, a little bit bigger and grander. And then Punk and Drubbik is like, when that came out in 94, Jesus Christ, man. I don't know if you were around, if you were around and in punk in 94,

everybody's freaking out about Green Day, but we were in fucking love with Punk and Drubb. That was an album that nobody disliked, and everybody was in. That was a fucking, that was the album for a while. And then like I said, I didn't really like the next album, Heavy Pettings 2, but they continued, listen to this, like, 97,

so long as thanks for all the shoes, 2000, Pump Up the Volume, 2003, war on errorism. 2006, wolves in wolves clothing. 2009, coaster. 2012, self entitled. That's kind of funny. 2016, first ditch effort. 2021, single album.

2022, double album. That'll be their last album, I guess. Then they had three live albums. I heard they suck live, which is pretty good. They've actually gotten worse live, which I had never heard of. That's funny. And then ribbed live in a dive. That's pretty good. They've actually gotten worse live, which I had never heard of. That's funny. And then ribbed live in a dive.

That's pretty cool. And they got like they got a billion EPs to and singles, yada, yada, yada. But crazy to think about that band existing for 41 years long enough where I am a fan. I was a huge fan. Just as a segment of their career, you know? And I think that that's probably the case when a band is able to endure for that long

and exist for that long, especially in a scene where it's not only not expected, but it's kind of unheard of, you know? Like when you're in that world, at least at this time and place when I was in it, I'm not I can't consider myself to be in the punk scene in twenty twenty four. So I don't know that these rules apply. I don't know that it's similar in any way in twenty twenty four.

There was in the nineties. But bands implode left and right. And you just hold on to them until you get the word through maximum rock and roll or punk planet or your friend or whatever, that they broke up. Almost the worst thing in the world is to find a band that's actively playing that you really like, because it's almost like the second you recognize them

and they're like, oh fuck, I really like Kid Dynamite or I really like 88 Fingers Louis, then the countdown to their breakup begins. And so a band like NoFX, I didn't expect to last 41 years, you know? You don't expect any of these bands to last 41 years. You expect them to flame out on tour in a van like Jawbreaker did.

Crazy to look back and think about the bands that endured and those that didn't and what it took to endure and how they did it. And I just gotta say, it's impressive. It's impressive to go 41 years at anything. But I think they went out still kind of on top, at least in terms of fandom and pulling in a crowd and being able to perform.

All the live stuff I watched from the final shows was really, for them, pretty good. And I bet they have another 10 years in them and they know that. I just think it's cool. I think it's really cool to stop when you wanna stop, when you're ready to stop. To not go till the wheels fall off necessarily,

which is a phrase that's thrown around the punk community a lot. To end it on a high note, you know, I don't know, man. It, uh, I think that's that's something. It's something to admire from one creator to another. I admire that. I admire the longevity. I admire the fact that they're very clearly still in command of their platform and their art and that they're still able to do it at a high level at a higher level than most and to know when to put the guitar down or the paintbrush down or the pin down or the keyboard down or the microphone down and to walk away and to say, this is

it. I'm done creating this. I'm going to put a bow on it. It's going to exist as what it does. And that's it. We're done. They have been very clear. They even wrote a song. That's the last song they ever played live. It was really sweet. If you want to watch, there's so many good Tick Tos of this last show, but they wrote a song that tells the journey and the story of NoFX. And in it, they say, we're never coming out of retirement.

We're never playing again. This is it. When it's over, it's over. Listen to us. And I believe them. And I think that's fucking awesome. Because who wants to see, how many people have seen the Rolling Stones final tour,

you know what I mean? They have one every five years. I if no effects sticks to it, if they don't stick to it, I have no no ill will. I'm sure a reunion 10 years from now would be amazing and I probably would want to see it, you know, but if they do stick to it because it's what they want to do and they're happy with that decision and they continue being happy with that decision. I just I I just, I just admire it. I just think it's really cool. I'm 22 years into my career with, I was going to say Rooster Teeth, but Rooster Teeth is over, but with whatever this is, right? This internet career that I've had. That means I have 19 years to go to get to where they stopped at. Now, granted, I started a lot later in life than they did. I started 10 years later than they

did probably, at least age-wise. And they're six, seven years older than me. I think they're in their mid fifties. But I'd have to go till I'm 68 or something to stop where they stopped. And as much as I'd like to be able to say, I have another 18 years than me, I don't know, man. That's a long time. That's basically looking forward and seeing the entirety of everything that's behind me again.

Not quite, but it's close, right? Although, you know, time moves faster the older you get, so who knows? But I just, I don't know, just sitting with the gravity of that, sitting with the the completion of what they've done, I think is really cool. Whether you were a fan of them in 1987, whether you were a fan of them in 1995, whether you didn't discover them and you were a fan of them in 2010, or whether you're like a, if you discovered them in 2015, you've been a fan of them for nine years. You've been a fan of them for almost as long

as they had existed when I discovered them in 1993. So There's probably three to four to five overlapping Generational fandoms that exist within a band like no effects I'm sure there are people that have been fans for all 41 years just like there are people that have been around since drunk gamers and ugly internet that are still following the stuff that we do Those people are here heroes in my book but they've got to be few and far between and It's just it's I don't know man. It's almost unheard of

41 years is such a long time I hope that I can look back on my career and say that I did it for 41 years. I'll be excited if I get to do it for another five years. Honestly, like it's not a given, you know? They're only able to do something like that for as long as they did because of the support of the people that listened to them. And they were only able to maintain that support

by providing content that the audience wanted and identified with and connected with and appreciated. And that's just, when you have that symbiotic relationship home and it's a give and take on both ends, it's a beautiful thing. And so congratulations, NoFX, my hat's off to you. On 41 years, I wish I could say I was an active fan of your band for the entirety of 41 years.

I wasn't, but man, I loved the fuck out of them for about 15 years. And looking back on it now, I have gone down up. Like I said, I watch a ton of TikToks. I've also listened to a shitload of music lately, a shitload of no effects music. And to that end, I think I wanna have the song of the day be two no effects music and to that end I think I want to I think I want to have the song of

the day be a no effects be two no effects songs okay one is off of a comp that was originally it was originally one of those epitaph comps and then I think it ended up on like one of their their internal compilation like 45 or 46 songs we didn't think we're good enough to put on an album kind of comps it's called it's a silly, but it's just a really good rock and roll song. We threw gasoline on the fire and now we have stumps for arms and no eyebrows. Listen to that song, it's short, three minutes. It's just fucking good.

It's just a good rock song. And then after that, we're gonna do something a little different. This is the real, like the big song of the day. Couple years ago, what year did they do it? Let's get accurate with this. Yeah, in 1999, they released an EP called The Decline. Now the thing about this EP is that it was,

at that point in time, No Effects was, they were mostly a self-deprecating, silly, obnoxious, snotty punk rock band. And they didn't take anything too seriously. So when they released an EP for a 18 minute and 19 second song called The Decline, I and I think everybody else was completely and totally blown away.

18 minutes and 19 seconds for one song from a punk band who has albums that might not be that long, ribbed and that might be around 18 to 20 minutes. Their songs, they started out playing, you know, sub two minute songs and even at this point, they're playing, you know, sub two minute songs. And even at this point, they're playing three, three and a half minute songs. I think it's probably at the time I who can say now because I haven't maintained, you know, my ear to the ground on the fandom.

But at the time, I feel confident in saying I think it was the most ambitious thing a punk band had ever done musically. And on top of that, they pulled it off. They created this beautiful, personal, political, heartbreaking, bittersweet, sad, melodic journey sad, melodic journey called The Decline that is poignant and it's smart and it's insightful. The lyrics are of the time, but they are prescient and they are important. And the music is something more than they have ever accomplished before. And. I don't know, man, I it changed how I felt about them at the time and going back and listening to it again now, it's a song that I

it's a song that I go back to every few years that just because it's I just think it's so impressive and and maybe I'm naive, maybe I'm silly. I just, this musical world that I grew up in, bands didn't write 18 minute songs. And if they were the, punk was the antithesis of that. And for them to do it and to pull it off and to do it, and really I think mark a change in them, a maturity in them that they fought against

the entirety of their career, but there it is there. And you can hear it in this song. You can hear their musical ability in this song. And it's, I just think it's beautiful. And I think you should listen to it. It's a really good song. So two songs of the day today, the decline by no effects and we threw gasoline on the fire and now we have

stumps for arms and no eyebrows. Two really good songs from a band that managed to endure for four decades and then go out on top. Also, if you want to see it, they reportedly hated that song after they made it the it, they reportedly hated that song after they made it the decline. They only played it live a few times. It was very difficult for them. I get it.

They play the song. It's the second to last song they play on their final concert. There's a TikTok that shows the entirety of it. And I recommend you find it and watch it. Listen to the album version first so you can hear it as it's meant to be heard, but then just watch them play it live. It's really something. It's really, it's really, it's really cool. Anyway, that's enough of no effects. Got me

thinking about bands that endure that long that are still enduring. I know that we've kind of covered this in previous episodes of So Alright, like longest active membered bands and stuff. So I don't wanna go through that. But what I did do was I looked at bands that started in my birth year. And maybe you do this too. Especially, it'll be more interesting the older you get.

If you're listening to this and you're 22 years old, the results may not be as interesting. But I was born in 1975. So I thought, what bands that started in 1975 are still going strong today? And I was surprised and delighted to find out that Iron Maiden, Boston, Crocus, and the Saturday Night Live Band all started in 1975

and are still going strong. Iron Maiden started in 1975. I think that's so cool. In addition, and I thought this one was kind of hilarious Molly Hatchet started in 1975 and is still an active band except every Original member of the band is dead the Molly Hatchet trademark is owned by Bobby Ingram who's been their guitarist since 1987 when he came on to replace the founding member Dave Lubeck, who ended up coming back like 18 years later and then he

stayed with him until he died. But the only other veteran in the lineup is keyboardist John Galvin who's been a member since 84. So a very long time, but still it's another and I think we talked about this too like bands that still are still in time, but still it's another, and I think we talked about this too, like bands that still are still in existence, but all the original members are dead. I don't know if we mentioned Molly Hatchet at the time, but just kind of funny that Molly Hatchet's going strong and everybody who founded and created Molly Hatchet is not. Before we wrap this up, I have to circle back around

and get to our forgotten first playlist I don't know if you remember but a couple episodes ago now we talked about forgotten firsts and I was Doing some research on this band that I like called the feminine complex And then I found out about all these other early female rock bands And so I created this playlist called forgotten firsts on Spotify. You can go listen to it It's under my name Jeff O Ram. Ramsey, should be public. And I finally had a chance to kind of listen through it

and I have some insights. First off, through all those bands that we talked about in there, and I still think above it all, Feminine Complex is the best band. It's the one that took me down this rabbit hole and it's still the one I enjoy the most. So I cannot recommend Feminine Complex enough,

but other bands that absolutely stood out to me, Goldie and the Gingerbreads, I added like three songs to my playlist, my personal playlist. I'll be listening to them for a while. Absolutely love this song, no one, but everything that I heard of theirs, I genuinely dug. Pleasure Seekers, I thought was okay.

It was a little less accessible. I enjoyed it. They grew on me. I will probably continue to listen to them as well. Another absolute home run for me was Ace of Cups. They are weird in all the right ways. Listen to the song, Glue, especially. I thought that song went fucking hard.

I really liked everything from Ace of Cups I heard. I liked the Pandora's a lot. I had no idea that Kim Shattuck from the Muffs was in the Pandora's and that's where she got her start. So that was wild. I don't know how I ever missed that. And then the last band that I really connected with and liked was Dara Puspita,

which I have no idea what they're singing about, but the music is fucking awesome and they're having a great time singing. And I really really really dug that so the big winners to me from the Forgotten Firsts were clearly feminine complex But Goldie and the Gingerbreads Pleasure seekers ace of cups for sure

Dara Pespita for sure and the pandora's listen to any of those bands and I think you'll dig them And that should do it for today. So I guess I'll see you guys next week. Alright. This is the end of the show.