Went to an auction last week run by the company powering this newsletter, featuring my friend Eddie’s boxer shorts and various other items.
Fun was had — good homies and free spring rolls tend to have that effect — and professional auctioneer CJ Swett put on a clinic, far and away one of the best master-of-ceremony performances I have ever encountered.
This is where I drop a however, right?
Maybe something sassy about feeling like everyone in the room was quietly drafting their “take.” Perhaps a deep dive on scene-dom in general… Groucho Marx quotes?!?
Nope. It’s fine for something to simply exist.
Our increasingly brain-battered world doesn’t need an essay on everything. That’s not a sub re: this specific event, or any of the eight zillion new Substacks popping up daily from friends and strangers alike.
I’m saying it to myself!
It’s fun to opine on action figures or Vin Diesel when the inspiration truly hits, but I don’t want to force it on a weekly basis.
This site can be whatever I want it to be (one of the many things I love about the platform) so there’s gonna be some tinkering with format here.
Don’t get scurred…
I’m deep in pre-production on my film and need to focus. Plus, there’s so much good stuff that I forget to share while I’m on an extended RoboCop riff or whatever.
Will still update playlists on Monday, but midweek URL dump / media digest (with occasional longreads and behind-the-scenes #content) might be the sweet spot for this ‘stack moving forward.
Who needs OnlyFans when u have MostlyLinks?
Wavy Bagels & DRIVEBY, “Pancakes!/PONCE” — don’t know ‘em (I think DRIVEBY has a record with Fatboi Sharif?) but always down for rappers teaming up with puppets.
Hua Hsu x Andrew Kuo Previously Unknown podcast — fun convo between two absolutely brilliant dudes. Hua remains the only Pulitzer winner I have b2b’d a DJ set with, while Andrew is responsible for my Metta World Peace watercolor and countless other works of art.
Dizzy Worldwide MTV / Nickelodeon bumpers — deep cuts for the cable heads, including some fantastic Designers Republic collabs. If ur dialed into the vibe, check this roundup of ‘00s Macromedia Flash websites (thx Phil).
Smoking Popes, Lovely Stuff — still have to give a proper listen, but the fellas behind two of my favorite albums are always a welcome presence.
Bb trickz, “Super” — following a Clairo tribute with NoahSoCold going Sanrio? Her whole EP (11 minutes long lol) is just as kawaii.
New Skrillex tape — also crazy fun. Love Rolling Stone’s deep dive with DJ Smokey on his voiceovers, a bomb-dropping Greek chorus for the infinity scroll. Kudos for connecting it to Swamp Izzo’s presence on Carti’s album (also on endless repeat because yo soy mallrat). Mary HK Choi penned a great Skrill-related essay a decade ago, can’t find it so you’ll have to settle for the audiobook.
Pete Townshend on “My Generation” — while we’re in HOW DO YOU DO FELLOW KIDS mode, this totally explains Nettspend.
After the show, a group of boys and one girl came up and asked if they could speak to me. They took me aside and said, “Listen, Pete, we want you to do more songs like ‘Can’t Explain.’ We think it’s important.”
“In what way is it important?” I asked. “This is a song about some kid who doesn’t have the courage to say that he’s in love with this girl.”
And they said, “Well, that’s not the way we hear it. We hear it as a song about the fact that none of us can really explain how we feel about anything.”
John Mulaney Cenobites — Richard Kind saying “Order Of The Gash” had me dying in a very real way. How did this not make the Six Times Cenobites Appeared in Non-Hellraiser Media roundup?!?
Bronson Arm, “Permitted To Be Omitted” — need to learn more about these two but they sure make a big ol’ noise.
Nick Bakay on Pod Meets World — Salem The Cat speaketh!
Flight Risk Steelbook packaging — interactive Marky Mark baldcap, instant cover of the year contender.
E-Town Concrete Time 2 Shine anniversary show — spent the morning blasting this directly into the Glassjaw homecoming, very different but somehow exactly the same? I’d say I can’t explain it but I totally did.
Playlists updated!