No Doubt
How do we recreate a monoculture? Also: big grills, dad clubs, and expense reports from the 18th century.
Gwen Stefani was so in her bag, she didn’t even know it.
That’s what I thought when the 90’s cover band at the Talkhouse in Amagansett opened with “Take this pink ribbon off my eyes…” at 10:30PM Thursday night.
Just A Girl by No Doubt is undoubtedly one of the greatest songs of the generation. And there we were, 150 fortysomethings, hopped up on overpriced tequila and Montauk summer ales, waiting in suspense as our moms, and nannies, and high-school age babysitters watched our kids. We all went into a state of euphoric revelation when those first few guitar chords kicked in. It was a collective fantasy, sending us back to the glory days of calling the local radio station with a request, of a monoculture long since gone.
Will our kids have the same? I’m thinking about the Springsteen concert I mentioned a few weeks back - watching all these dads and their kids, rocking out to Thunder Road, the lyrics memorized on car rides and school trips. Now, the AirPod generation may eclipse this familiarity, this collectivism, this sense of globalized appreciation.
Yeah, there’s Taylor. And Beyonce and Harry Styles and KPop Demon Hunters. But we had so many big names. We had No Doubt and No Diggity, Oasis and Offspring, Bright Eyes and Elliot Smith. Rilo Kiley, Death Cab, Belle and Sebastian. We had The Strokes, The Killers, The Flaming Lips, The Shins. I could go on forever. We had tentpoles. Now, it feels like we have lost all of our tents.
This is all what I am referring to as Pre-Emptive Dad Nostalgia (PEDN). It comes from watching Sadie grow into a real person with real emotions and real likes and don’t-likes. She has become extremely adept at “NO!” She listens to what she wants, when she wants. She owns the remote control. She’s the boss, I just work here.
And as I watch the toddler joy of listening to the same nursery rhyme song for the ten thousandth time in a row (a very precise form of torture), I start to wonder what she’ll be into. What she’ll listen to. What we expose her to, what she chooses on her own, the stuff that makes these little people become big people, and those big people go on to lead interesting, important, and hopefully joyful lives.
This is a weird and scary time to raise little kids, I assume it has always felt that way. In our generation, there are many terrifying things, and the loss of monoculture is not necessarily a big one. Yet it is a persistent thought I think we may share, and it very well may define the behavior of this next generation.
A new Time study says that the average words spoken per day has fallen 28%. We communicate less with each other and more with our devices. Not surprising, but also, in the words of Pete Campbell (another monoculture icon), “Not great, Bob!”
Music is one of our last remaining collective enterprises. And my gut is that we will need those more than ever as the technology attempts to divide us. It isn’t malicious, or at least not in my view. It’s just… the more time you spend on your phone, the more potential revenue X company makes. This is natural capitalistic behavior. I’m not mad at them. I just want a world where eye contact isn’t at a premium. Where we can ask each other if we heard that new record. Where we wave at strangers and they wave back, because end of the day, we’re all in this ship together.
I started a(nother) podcast
Three weeks ago my friend Greg Fass and I quietly released the first episode of a new project called Dad Club.
It’s a podcast about being a dad.
On it, we talk about the ins and outs of dad stuff: daily challenges, sleep training, how to handle all of the weird equipment you need to travel with, trying to be an active parent while also being good at your job, and who will be the next Springsteen. We also talk sports (bc, uh, dads), big questions (to suburb or not to suburb), and what events should be in the Dad Olympics.
It’s funny to start something new like this - to rip a band aid, to give it a shot, to do something I do for a living but also for me. It’s refreshing and it’s fun and it’s what life is about, I think. To just go for it. We’re dads, we’re doing our best, and we’re going to talk about it once a week. In the words of the failed US soccer team, why not us?
We’re making a show for dads, but also moms, and, also other people. Anyway, if you’re into it, I’d love if you listened. You can subscribe on Spotify and on Apple and on YouTube.
Expense Reports
And another thing! Last week a new digital short I wrote, produced, and directed dropped for the expenses/travel company Navan. The premise is based on a true story: Paul Revere was the original American business traveler, and he submitted an expense report that was partially denied.
The rest is history.
I love doing branded work like this - original storytelling, fun, ambitious, and it plays for the brand. The actors killed it, our set design and costumes were hilarious, it was a joy. We have a few more in the pipeline. I’ll keep you posted.
I’m Grilling.
It’s summer. You think I’m not on the barbecue?
I have a new recipe for sheet pan summer below. Hit it and never quit it. This is what I’m making on repeat:
Sheet Pan Mixed Grill
(Feeds 4-8)
Get 2 or 3 big ass sheet pans. On them place the following, somewhat haphazardly:
Asparagus
Zucchini
Other colored Zucchini
Carrots
Eggplant
Corn
A Meat or A Fish Or Both (Steak, Swordfish, Shrimp, Burgers, Hot Dogs, Sausages, Pork Chops all work! Wanna try something else? Go for it, big dog!)
Cover with olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder. A lot of garlic powder.
Grill from most to least: corn goes first for about 10 mins by itself. Then add thick veggies (zucchinis, eggplants, carrots). Add your meat if it takes more time. Burgers and fish can wait a little. Cook for like 6 or 7 mins. Is it getting crispy? Have you grabbed a glass of wine? Do that.
Rotate the corn and the carrots. Flip the zukes. Flip your steak once it is grilled up the sides and still reddish pink in the middle. Take a sip. Make sure Khruangbin or Leon Bridges or Dave Matthews is on the stereo. It’s summer time, guy.
Add the meat / fish if you haven’t. Asparagus goes last. It crisps up in about 4 mins and then gets chewy, caveat emptor.
If the zucchinis are charred, get em off. The corn should start popping / blackening. Swordfish is ready to go when it starts to split. Burger you want to be able to push down and feel a little give, not too much for a medium rare. Steak same deal. Sausages… your grill is probably on fire. Move them to the top rack, rotate, if they split open, they’re done.
Then serve on the sheet pans. Cut a bunch of sourdough, ideally from Radio Bakery or Carissa’s, and serve that. Make sure you have dipping / tasting sauces. Tzatziki, Lemon Aioli, Hummus, Hot Sauce. Whatever.
Open a big bottle of crispy white or juicy red. Put your phones away. Talk to your friends. This is what life is about.
Love you guys.
JW
PEDN is going in the lexicon.
Love the Revere spot. Those nineties bands were fun to see. My impression was that the nineties were the years when monoculture actually started to splinter. The only band among those I listened to was the Shins, which are worth a listen still, mostly Chutes Too Narrow.