Mixtape: Never Meant
Here's a recommendation: Go to a show with the person who introduced you to the band you love. There's something about that intimate connection between friends that bonds the music to time, not only unlocking memories but feelings.
A brief flashback: In my freshman year of college, my friends and I went to shows, haunted Waffle Houses, watched Adult Swim on Sunday nights and saw cheap movies at the UGA student center; it was the first time I ever felt understood by a group of people, gentle toward each other and curious about world thrown at us. For birthdays, we made cakes (from boxes) and mix CDs. Though I could not find the sharpie'd CD-R, Laura included American Football's "Never Meant" on one such mix; she got a kick out of the intro's posturing count-off, only to launch into the non-rockingest noodling of a song. (Laura also introduced me to Crooked Fingers, whom we saw several times, and probably Wilco, if I had to guess.)
Recently, Laura invited me to see American Football at the Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C. The quintessential Midwest emo band is touring on the 25th anniversary of its self-titled debut, performing the album front to back, tacking on songs from LP2 and LP3 — acknowledged through corresponding album visuals — and closing with "Never Meant."
I'm in the minority of American Football fans who actually prefer the recent records to the debut, partly because I relate more to their themes of age than young heartbreak and foolishness, but mostly for the way the music compliments and especially imbues a bleary-eyed view of nostalgia: Mike Kinsella doesn't dismiss those teenage feelings, just offers more perspective on old wounds. Kinsella's voice has changed — his plaintive yelp now a grizzled rasp — which is why it felt like he spent much of this set getting back into character. Yet when the band began to play "Where Are We Now?" and "Uncomfortably Numb," songs that speak to his now, Kinsella found his footing just in time for "Never Meant." That reinforced my mode of late: Trust the artist where they're at and they'll show you where they're going. But it also opened a loop to remember where we've been; I felt lucky to share in that moment with Laura. —Lars Gotrich
P.S.: Did you know that I brought American Football — and a children’s choir (!) — to the Tiny Desk in 2019?
Stream the Viking's Choice mixtape via BNDCMPR. Follow my Bandcamp collection. Tracklist below:
Lolomis, "A Fenyes Nap"
Outer World, "Coming Down (The United States of America cover)"
Conambient, "Partenza dalla costa est"
Jeff Parker ETA IVtet, "Late Autumn"
Ava Mendoza, "Pink River Dolphins"
Usurabi, "Chita"
Aisha Orazbayeva, "With My Lute"
Andrés Guerrero & Las Luces, "Gran Organismo"
Nadia Reid, "Chained Unchained"
Loose Choir, "Santiago"
Kassie Krut, "Reckless"
Traktat, "Subdue the Filthy Pride of History"
Bedsore, "Realm of Eleuterillide"
Fennesz, "Heliconia"
The Choir, "Clouds"
Lambrini Girls, "Company Culture"
Lifted, "Specials"
SABIWA, Queimada, Nathan L., "Nothing blue"
Venediktos Tempelboom, "De woelige rit op een roze"
Philip Jeck, "Mono"
Yara Asmar, "i am a terrible mathematician (and an even worse clown)"
Drop Nineteens, "Daymom"
Drive your plow over the bones of the dead, "spirit incantation"
Underneath, "Finishing Reconstruction"
Straw Man Army, "Extinction Burst"
Serpent Column, "Unto Works and Days"
Fan Club Orchestra, "Void"
Or Sobre Blau, "Do Menino Deus"
Sam Moss, "Swimming"
Art Sorority, "You've Got It Bad"
Felinto, "Encanto Banga"
Bridget Hayden, "Lovely on the Water"
American Football, "Never Meant"