♫♪  The Rock*A*Teens - “Turn and Smile”

Oh, Rock*A*Teens, you make me feel so old. Was it twenty years ago I saw you open up for Superchunk on whatever tour that was? Probably more like seventeen or eighteen, but still — it was great. I still have the t-shirt I bought. (I’m not kidding — I even mowed the lawn in it this weekend.)

But it’s awesome to have you guys back. And new music too! This Sixth House record on Merge, quite a return to form. You may be a little older, a little grayer, a little heavier (not a jab, because hey, me too), you might not be able to pogo around stage anymore (did you ever?), but you still have what it takes, let me tell you that.

“Turn and Smile” makes me wish all music videos were graphic novelized. You get lost in it, lost in the story, lost in the characters. You guys seem to have a knack for gripping in medias res storytelling. I’ve watched this a bunch of times without getting bored. I guess you could say, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Welcome back. Look me up if you’re through northeastern Florida. We’ll hit a pub.


Chocolate Grinder

CHOCOLATE GRINDER is our audio/visual section, with an emphasis on the lesser heard and lesser known. We aim to dig deep, but we’ll post any song or video we find interesting, big or small.

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