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The Exploding Boy

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The Exploding Boy: Afterglow

• The Right Spot
• Heart of Glass
• What You Want To
• Intervention
• Let the Right One In
• Explodera Mig

The Exploding Boy: The Exploding Boy

• Better Than Fine
• Cold Things Start to...
• Show You Me
• What Else Is New

The Exploding Boy: The Black Album

• Sweet Little Lies
• Talking Back
• Here Comes the Rain
• Get out of My Head

The Exploding Boy: London

The Exploding Boy: Alarms!

• Fireland (The End of...
• Alarms in Silence
• Pointless Action
• Danger Zone
• Sign O' The Times
• O.H.M.Y.G.O.D.
• Liar's Roar

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Interview with The Exploding Boy.

The Exploding Boy is one of the bands that I listen to a lot since their first releases, over a decade now. ElektroSpank spoke with one of the founding members, Johan Sjöblom, and what he told us is really interesting. Things for a band that has been one of the first ones that gave a new perspective on post-punk and dark indie music.

The Exploding Boy is a Swedish post-punk, dark indie band and was formed back in 2006 from Johan Sjöblom and Lars (Les) Andersson. Since their first releases and appearances they were spotted by major media as one of the best new bands when it comes to post-punk, new wave and related genres. Nowadays and after several member changes The Exploding Boy returned with their 5th full-length album released in 2018, with the name "Alarms!" and a turn in the lyrics to a more social concept. 

We found  Johan  Sjöblom a while after the end of their "Alarms!" tour and asked him about the band's past, present and future....

ES: Hello Johan. Thank you, and The Exploding Boy, for this interview. Can you tell us about The Exploding Boy? When did you decide to form the band? What is the story behind the name "The Exploding Boy"?

Johan (TEB): It was me and Les who started it all in 2006. I had played in a couple of bands but had played bass for a couple of years in the latest band, so I wanted to write songs and sing again. Then I was dj together with a guy at a party, and when I visited him I saw he had sort of a studio at home. So we suddenly started making songs together, and they were great from the start!

I just thought the name was cool. I know it was a cure-song, but I thought it sounded a bit Bowie and Iggy Pop as well. I told Les the name, he liked it and then the name was born!

ES: There are many different influences that someone could listen in your music. Where would you position the band music-wise? Which are the main influences?

Johan (TEB):   All the members always had different influences. Me: Indie, Les: Grunge, Nick: Goth & 80s, Stefan: Punk, and so on, so the mix I would say is the magic. Since we write "just great own songs" people have a hard time to tell who we sound like. Of course the sound of the instruments can sound like bands, for example a chorus guitar like the cure on so on, but I think a band have a sound of their own if people have a hard time telling who we sound like.

We always said post-punk or so, but now the label has said Dark Indie, which we think feel good.

ES: While writing the music and lyrics where do you get the inspiration from? Do you get affected by specific events or feelings?

Johan (TEB):  We are 2 making the grounds in the songs, so I can just speak for me, but I would say I like dark sad songs. I think that is the only way to do a great song. But I don't do them when I feel bad, then I just feel bad. I make great sad songs when I feel good and are inspired. Or if it is in a hurry to do a new song, I take it as a work. Have a whiskey or two, and work until the song is done!

ES: While reading "The Exploding Boy" 's bio someone could say that the band was immediately accepted and became rapidly known not only in Sweden but around the world, as well. Did you expect such a reaction from the audience and the media? Do you think that, along with your music, this factor boosted The Exploding Boy future course?

Johan (TEB):  Hmm, we have never been big in Sweden. Only our friends like us here :) Maybe some others as well... But it was true in the beginning, we got "big" pretty fast, mostly in Germany. But then it sort of stood still. Maybe we should have toured more or something, because we released albums and always got really good reviews, but we never really got bigger than that. On the latest album it has spread a bit more I think, but I'm still waiting for the big breakthrough...

But yes, I understand that people like our songs. They are all great, we could never release a song on an album that wasn't good.

ES: In 2018 your last full length album "Alarms!" was released. Can you tell us some things about this release? Does "Alarms!" differ from your previous albums, in any way, and which are the main differences and influences?

Johan (TEB):  We have 2 new members, a drummer and a bass player. And we have a producer! We've been doing it ourselves the first ten years, and been working with a drum machine since the drummer we had in the beginning quitted the band together with the bass player after the first album in 2007. 

So even if there is the same 3 people who makes the songs, there are 6 people involved with the details and deciding. And of course we have real drums and a kick ass bass player.

It is also the first album in 5 years, so we had time to write some great songs, and I think we did. As usual :)

Johan (TEB):  As usual it was great from media. People liked it as well, but I've heard some say they think it is too "mainstream" or something. I don't know what they mean. I've always only wanted to write really good pop songs, and still do. And we've always done kind of "arena music", and this album is far more arena music than any of the albums.

I also must say, I'm not really a fan of political lyrics, but since the world looks like it is at the moment, we just HAD to do something about it, and I must say I am very proud of doing a VERY political album that works as a great pop album as well.

ES: You have just finished the "Alarms!" tour around  Europe. Can you tell us the best and the worst moment of this tour? Is there a specific concert that you will remember as the tour's highlight?

Johan (TEB):  I think the whole tour was a highlight, since we haven't been on a club-tour like this for a lot of years, and we could meet all the old friend and fans again. Hmm I had a bad hangover one time, but I can't really think of a worst moment. It was just good moments. A couple of new cities and countries we've never played in. Italy, Prague for example, it was just wonderful. We must also come to Greece in the future for the first time!

ES: How do you see the dark and post-punk scene in Europe? Do you see some changes compared with the time you started, before over a decade?

Johan (TEB):  Yes, it's been a lot more. Especially from Sweden. We were the first band who started playing in Germany and the countries, and now there is a lot of Stockholm bands doing it. I think some are good, but sadly I think a lot of them sounds a lot the same. I am missing a personal sound, but well, if people like it, who am I to complain! I'm always going to think that I am the best, so...

ES: Which are your plans for the future? Which are the next steps and what do you want 2019 and the future to bring for "The Exploding Boy"?

Johan (TEB):  Not sure at the moment. We want to straighten this band up a little bit, make some new songs and have a couple of cool festival shows. But at the moment we are relaxing a bit and wait for our next move. But you'll hear from us pretty soon!

ES: Would you like to say something to our readers and Greek dark scene audience?

Johan (TEB):  Yes, if you haven't heard about us, check us out, and take us to Greece for a show. We really want to come over! xxx

The Exploding Boy - The Day - Official lyric video

https://www.facebook.com/theexplodingboysweden/

The Exploding Boy on Spotify

https://www.drakkar.de/t/72-the-exploding-boy-eng.html

About ElektroSpank - FMA - Online Music Magazine

ElektroSpank FMA is an online music magazine about the darkest side of our lives. We write about Gothic, industrial, dark wave and all of their sub genres. ElektroSpank FMA is not only about music, but for the dark, Gothic lifestyle as well. We try to support the music and scenes we love. For those who have never heard about ElektroSpank before please visit our about page for more info and history.

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The Exploding Boy Concert Setlists & Tour Dates

The exploding boy at hafenklang, hamburg, germany.

• The Right Spot
• Heart Of Glass
• What You Want To
• Intervention
• Let The Right One In
• Street Cliché
• Better Than Fine
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The Exploding Boy at Noels Ballroom, Leipzig, Germany

• { happy birthday 2 Lars @ [guitar play of the band] }

The Exploding Boy at Naumanns, Leipzig, Germany

• Dark City 2
• Going To Hell
• Danger Zone
• Heart of Glass

The Exploding Boy at Das Rind, Rüsselsheim, Germany

The exploding boy at nuke club, berlin, germany, the exploding boy at backstage club, munich, germany, the exploding boy at viper room, vienna, austria, the exploding boy at underdogs', prague, czechia, the exploding boy at der schwarze ball 2018.

• Sweet Little Lies
• Scared to Death
• Let the Right One In

The Exploding Boy at SubKultur, Hanover, Germany

• Pointless Action

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• Desperados ( 19 )
• Dark City 2 ( 13 )
• Street Cliché ( 12 )
• Better Than Fine ( 11 )

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A Queer Teen Wants to Be the Next Jim Henson in Monty Wolfe and Ian Southworth’s Portland-Shot Film “The Exploding Boy”

The movie, which is now streaming, survived the chaos of covid-19 and having its master file deleted..

Growing up, an odyssey through a physical and emotional minefield of changes, accumulates into an explosion of self-actualization. So goes the metaphor behind the title of screenwriter and co-director Monty Wolfe’s film The Exploding Boy (Wolfe says he had hoped to feature The Cure’s 1985 song by the same name in the film, but limited funding prevented him from obtaining the license).

The Exploding Boy , last year’s winner for Best Dramatic Feature at the Oregon Independent Film Festival, follows Alex Silvers (Parris Bates), a queer teenager isolated by lack of friends and a tense home environment. His only reprieve is his puppets, each named and cast in his shows. Only when a new student arrives at Alex’s school and tears open his world does he share his dream of becoming the next Jim Henson.

Shortly after graduating from Portland State University’s film school in 2020, Wolfe began editing a dramatic romance he wrote about a teenager struggling with drug use, a process that inadvertently birthed a romantic comedy with a different plot and set of characters, The Exploding Boy . The filmmaker said the solitude of early pandemic life drove him to write a story about loneliness and need for community, core themes of the film.

“The biggest thing that inspired [the film] was being in lockdown in COVID,” he tells WW . “When I was cut off from people, I realized how important they were.”

While Wolfe and co-director Ian Southworth had planned to complete filming within three months, the process ultimately stretched across a year and a half (except for two scenes shot in Vancouver, Wash., the movie was shot in Portland). Wolfe says pandemic restrictions complicated filming; without insurance, the crew could not gain approval to film in a school and instead rented a hotel conference room for classroom scenes.

Wolfe also contracted COVID-19 during filming, as did two other crew and cast members soon after. Production paused for several weeks, resuming in the rainy Portland winter when outdoor scenes became difficult. “I thought we’d never see the end of [filming],” Wolfe says.

Editing took eight weeks, but afterward Wolfe accidentally deleted the project’s master file while sending different formats of the film to distributors. He used an HD copy of the film to help rebuild the video timeline, which led to him rearranging, cutting and reincorporating scenes in the movie. While he submitted the film’s original version to festivals, streaming services received the final cut, which Wolfe says is a “far better film.”

Deleting the master file was “the stupidest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” he says. “But in the end, it really benefited the film.”

Bates won Best Actor for his lead role at the Oregon Independent Film Festival. Wolfe says he first contacted the actor after seeing him in the student short Fencesitters , a comedy about a group of 20-somethings attempting to break a friend out of rehab. “[Bates] had the proper emotional range to play a moody angsty teenager,” Wolfe says.

Wolfe says Alex’s passion for puppetry stems from his own love for the Muppets as a child. As a 6-year-old, Wolfe attended a production of Sesame Street Live! and became fascinated by how puppets worked. In The Exploding Boy , puppets allow Alex to create a world he can control and understand.

Currently, Wolfe is working on a “queer noir” about a college graduate searching for meaning in life. He says the comedy will satirize the film noir genre “through a queer lens.”

Wolfe, a gay writer raised in rural Louisiana (he currently lives in Portland), commits to exploring LGBTQ themes in his work. “I absolutely do not write straight stories [for film],” he says. “They had their chance for a hundred years.”

SEE IT: The Exploding Boy , not rated, is available on Amazon Prime Video.

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The Exploding Boy

By Bobby LePire | April 20, 2024

Despite its title,  The Exploding Boy  is not a sci-fi or superhero flick. Instead, it’s a compelling coming-of-age drama, co-directed by Ian Southworth and screenwriter Monty Wolfe. The movie takes us on a journey into the life of a 16-year-old boy, grappling with his intense emotions. Will he find a way to manage his inner turmoil, or will his unexplained anger consume him?

Alex (Parris Bates) is a misfit at school, enduring bullying and harsh scrutiny at the hands of the hall monitor. His neighbors are quick to judge his every move, making a fuss over trivial matters like Alex not picking up his dog’s excrement the second the four-legged furry friend is done doing his business. At home, his father, Charles (Bradley Thomas Stephens), is a strict disciplinarian, constantly demeaning Alex and never trying to understand him. His mother, Anna (Adrienne Sparks), attempts to bridge the gap, but Alex remains distant.

Alex takes solace in the world of puppetry and filmmaking. He finds inspiration in old videos of Jim Henson teaching how to craft puppets. Then, a new student named Julius (Daniel Q. Taylor) enters the scene. Their instant connection, a beacon of hope in Alex’s life, marks a turning point. The boy who once responded to the hall monitor with mace is now bringing a friend home and finding joy in his days. As their bond deepens, their friendship blossoms into something more. But Julius harbors a secret that could disrupt their relationship, pushing Alex further into his shell and his anger.

“… Julius harbors a secret that could disrupt their relationship, pushing Alex further into his shell…”

The Exploding Boy  starts off with the puppet short Alex is making. It stars a fox and a raccoon and is hilarious. While amusing, this opening doesn’t give off the real tone of the story. That comes in when Charles degrades the work. His mom likes it, though she asks what he’s trying to say with this art. Alex isn’t too sure. The thematic throughline of the lead coming out of his shell and seeing past his rage allows him to spark emotions in his project better. It’s subtle and sweet, much like the whole production.

Bates is quite good at being awkward and mad yet likable. Taylor makes his character’s quiet nature fit right in with Alex’s world while being more approachable and friendly. Stephens is absolutely hatable, as it should be. Sparks is brilliant as the doting mom at her wit’s end. Her subplot involving a gym class is compelling in its own right. Isis Eggleston plays a fellow student named Tatiana. She radiates charm and has a lovely singing voice.

The Exploding Boy  is a sweet little film with an impactful ending. Yes, it hits the expected beats of a coming-of-age tale, but it uses them well and realistically. The cast is superb, and everyone gets at least one moment to shine.

For more information, visit the official The Exploding Boy site .

The Exploding Boy (2024)

Directed: Monty Wolfe, Ian Southworth

Written: Monty Wolfe

Starring: Parris Bates, Daniel Q. Taylor, Adrienne Sparks, Bradley Thomas Stephens, Isis Eggleston, etc.

Movie score: 8/10

"…a sweet little film..."

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The Exploding Boy

Alex Silver dreams of becoming the next Jim Henson. Unfortunately, his life is no happy puppet show. His dad is overbearing, his school is oppressive, and even people in the neighborhood see... Read all Alex Silver dreams of becoming the next Jim Henson. Unfortunately, his life is no happy puppet show. His dad is overbearing, his school is oppressive, and even people in the neighborhood seem out to get him. But everything changes when Julius, a charismatic transfer student, ente... Read all Alex Silver dreams of becoming the next Jim Henson. Unfortunately, his life is no happy puppet show. His dad is overbearing, his school is oppressive, and even people in the neighborhood seem out to get him. But everything changes when Julius, a charismatic transfer student, enters his life. With Julius' upbeat optimism, Alex slowly learns to better himself, step by s... Read all

• Ian Southworth
• Monty Wolfe
• Parris Bates
• Abel Cosentino
• 1 User review
• 1 Critic review

• Alex Silver
• Hall Monitor

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• Aerobics Instructor
• The Teacher

• Anna Silver
• Charles Silver
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• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews 1

• Mar 29, 2023
• March 22, 2023 (United States)
• United States
• Portland, Oregon, USA (3405 SW Barbur Blvd, Portland, Oregon)
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Schoolboy Q Is Going On A Quick Tour Of The US This Summer With ‘Blue Lips Weekends’

March was a major month for Schoolboy Q fans, as the rapper dropped Blue Lips , his first album since 2019’s Crash Talk . The project features collaborations with folks like Ab-Soul, AzChike, Freddie Gibbs, and Rico Nasty, and has been regarded by some critics as one of Schoolboy’s best albums yet. If that sounds like something you’d want to see live on stage, the good news is that Schoolboy has decided to take the album on tour.

The bad news is that as it stands now, he’s offering relatively limited opportunities to see it. Yesterday (April 24), the rapper announced Blue Lips Weekends , a series of concerts in July and August that, yes, take place during the weekends, allowing for a relatively relaxed touring schedule.

Information about specific venues isn’t available yet, but we do know that the tour will hit major cities like Toronto, Chicago, Atlanta, Brooklyn, San Francisco, and Seattle, among others. Tickets aren’t for sale yet, but fans can RSVP here to be notified when more information is available.

Check out the list of tour dates below.

Schoolboy Q 2024 Tour Dates: Blue Lips Weekends

07/18 — Toronto, ON 07/20 — Chicago, IL 07/25 — Washington, DC 07/26 — Atlanta, GA 07/27 — Brooklyn, NY 08/01 — Dallas, TX 08/03 — Houston, TX 08/04 — Denver, CO 08/08 — San Diego, CA 08/10 — San Francisco, CA 08/11 — Seattle, WA

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Taylor Swift’s Best ‘Tortured Poets Department’ Lyrics: ‘So Long, London,’ ‘The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived,’ ‘LOML,’ ‘The Black Dog’ and More

By Chris Willman

Chris Willman

Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic

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The torture is over for fans who waited weeks and months for Taylor Swift ’s “ The Tortured Poets Department ” to arrive. But the truly faithful still have some work ahead, in trying to decode what or who is the subject of each of the 16 songs (plus four bonus tracks). Even without immediately solving all those mysteries, though, the album is filled with lines that are bold and striking (and sometimes funny).

Here is our guide to the most quotable lyrics from every song on the standard edition of “The Tortured Poets Department,” plus some of the bonus tracks. (Additionally, we’ve broken down some of the lyrics of the surprise double album .)

Ask about the weather Now you’re in my backyard Turned into good neighbors Your wife waters flowers I want to kill her

THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT

A fairly blissful love song — destined not to last, in the overall arc of the album. Speaking of things that people don’t get over, Charlie Puth may never get over this shout-out.

You smoked then ate seven bars of chocolate We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist I scratch your head, you fall asleep Like a tattooed golden retriever

The singer brightens at being considered marriage material, even if it’s only hinted at in a toying way.

At dinner you take my ring off my middle finger and put it on the one people put wedding rings on And it’s the closest I’ve come to my heart exploding

The first of the album’s many F-bombs appears, albeit in a sweet way in this first instance.

Who’s gonna hold you like me? Nofuckinbody

MY BOY ONLY BREAKS HIS FAVORITE TOYS

The first of the true breakup songs has the singer feeling like Weird Barbie.

I felt more when we played pretend Then with all the Kens Cause he took me out of my box Stole my tortured heart Left all these broken parts Told me I’m better off But I’m not

Crying at the gym Everything comes out teenage petulance Fuck it if I can’t have him

SO LONG, LONDON

Anyone who’s spent years in an ultimately failed relationship, maybe especially women, will have a line to relate to here.

I’m pissed off you let me give you all that youth for free

The singer references an altar where she was never joined… and rues having to break up with a city as well as a bloke.

You swore that you loved me but where were the clues? I died on the altar waiting for the proof You sacrificed us to the gods of your bluest days And I’m just getting color back into my face I’m just mad as hell ‘cause I loved this place For so long, London Had a good run

BUT DADDY I LOVE HIM

One of the album’s most comical and upbeat songs has her quoting the title line lifted from “The Little Mermaid,” and faking her folks out with some good/bad news.

Now I’m running with my dress unbuttoned Screaming “But daddy I love him” I’m having his baby No, I’m not, but you should see your faces

Things get more serious as the narrator spits fire at anyone who clutches pearls and judges her for hooking up with a bad boy.

I’d rather burn my whole life down Then listen to one more second to this bitching and moaning I’ll tell you something about my good name It’s mine alone to disgrace I don’t cater to all these vipers dressed in empath’s clothing

Another serious keeper, along those same lines:

God save the most judgmental creeps who say they want what’s best for me Sanctimoniously performing soliloquies I’ll never see

FRESH OUT THE SLAMMER

The title phrase is comical, but Swift’s description of a long prison sentence, i.e. years spent with a fickle jailer, sounds dead-serious.

Handcuffed to the spell I was under For just one hour of sunshine Years of labor, locks and ceilings In the shade of how he was feeling But it’s gonna be alright I did my time

She sings about ignoring good advice from those who wanted her to go for parole a lot earlier:

My friends tried but I wouldn’t hear it Watched me daily disappearing For just one glimpse of his smile

Not a love song, but a song about escaping bad or boring circumstances by relocating (metaphorically or otherwise). Here comes the album’s single funniest line…

My friends all smell like weed or little babies

…which is soon followed by the album’s second funniest line, shared as a twin lead vocal with Florence from Florence + the Machine:

Fuck me up, Florida

GUILTY AS SIN?

It’s not clear if Swift deliberately means to reference her own song “Mine” here, but the sensual fantasy that she’s bringing to life works either way:

What if he’s written ‘Mine” on my upper thigh only in my mind?

Religious imagery comes to the fore as she looks for redemption in perceived sin.

WHO’S AFRAID OF LITTLE OLD ME

In one of the few non-love songs on the album, Swift harks back to songs where she riffed on the bad image people have had of her, from “Blank Space” to “Mad Woman.”

I was tame I was gentle till the circus life made me mean Don’t you worry folks, we took out all her teeth Who’s afraid of little old me? Well, you should be

Moving on from the circus, she proudly paints herself as the town witch:

I want to snarl and show you just how disturbed this has made me You wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they raised me So all you kids can sneak into my house, with all the cobwebs I’m always drunk on my own tears Is that what they all said? That I’ll sue you if you step onto my lawn That I’m fearsome and I’m wretched and I’m wrong Put narcotics into all of my songs And that’s why you’re still singing along

I CAN FIX HIM (NO, REALLY I CAN)

Swift references a lover known for his inappropriate humor. Sound like anyone in her past life we know?

The jokes that he told across the bar were revolting and far too loud They shake their heads saying, “God help her” when I tell ‘em he’s my man But your good Lord doesn’t need to lift a finger I can fix him (no really I can) And only I can

Her argument about being able to rehabilitate a guy falls apart with one nearly tossed-off final line:

Woah maybe I can’t

Before she gets into a relationship that has more recently devastated her, she looks back to a previous one, in which she feels she sacrificed deep romance or passion for stability.

I thought I was better safe than starry-eyed

With this newer guy, she cleverly mixes language usually reserved to describe mutually getting drunk with language about the promise of marriage and family.

You shit-talked me under the table talking rings and talking cradles

And then come accusations of cowardice and casual ghosting:

Oh what a valiant roar What a bland goodbye The coward claimed he was a lion I’m combing through the braids of lies “I’ll never leave” “Never mind”

I CAN DO IT WITH A BROKEN HEART

The most upbeat track on the album is about smiling through tears — presumably meaning the giant smile that was the Eras Tour, during which, it’s clear, she was nursing a broken heart for at least part of the early going.

I’m so depressed I act like it’s my birthday Every day

She finds a reason to be cocky as well as depressed in the song’s big finish.

You know you’re good when you can do it With a broken heart And I’m good Cause I’m miserable And nobody even knows! Try and come for my job

THE SMALLEST MAN WHO EVER LIVED

The details get remarkably specific in the song that may count as her most dramatic cut-down of an ex ever.

You tried to buy some pills from a friend of friends of mine They just ghosted you Now you know what it feels like

And I don’t even want you back, I just want to know If rusting my sparkling summer was the goal

Looking for motives of a hit-and-run lover, she can only imagine ulterior ones.

Were you writing a book? Were you a sleeper cell spy? In 50 years will all this be declassified? And you’ll confess why you did it And I’ll say “good riddance” Cause it wasn’t sexy once it wasn’t forbidden

The fusillade continues:

You crashed my party and your rental car You said normal girls were “boring” But you were gone by the morning You are what you did And I’ll forget you But I’ll never forgive The smallest man who ever lived

THE ALCHEMY

Back to love songs, she makes a curious reference to possible past drug use, in setting up a common play on words.

He jokes that it’s heroin but this time with an “E”

But then come sports team metaphors… if not written more recently than a lot of the rest of the album, then possibly coincidentally prophetic.

Shirts off and your friends lift you up over their heads Beer sticking to the floor Cheers chanted cause they said There was no chance Trying to be the greatest in the league Where’s the trophy? He just comes running over to me

The entire lyrics to this song are set off in quotes, coming from the points of view of people who look up to starlets but demand they be non-stop dazzling. Swift references silent screen star Clara Bow in the first verse and Stevie Nicks in the second before finally getting around to name-checking a third superstar.

“You look like Taylor Swift In this light We’re loving it You’ve got edge She never did”

BONUS TRACK: THE BLACK DOG

Thanks to shared location tracking that never got turned off, the narrator gets evidence her recent ex has just entered a bar called the Black Dog, where, apparently, they would have memories of hearing songs by the 2000s pop-punk band the Starting Line.

And I hope it’s shitty in the Black Dog When someone plays The Starting Line And you jump up, but she’s too young To know this song that was intertwined In the tragic fabric of our dreaming Cause tail between your legs You’re leaving

BONUS TRACK: THE MANUSCRIPT

The singer quotes a sweet-talker who was equally good with promissory bedroom talk and baby talk.

He said that if the sex was half as good as the conversation was Soon they’d be pushing strollers But soon it was over

An age difference is brought up, as it’s clear this song is describing a relationship that happened in youth, in the narrator’s case. She’s still trying to figure out how inappropriate the disparity was.

Then she dated boys who were her own age With dartboards on the backs of their doors She thought about how he said Since she was so wise beyond her years Everything had been above board She wasn’t sure

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Concrete Boys Announce 'It's Us Tour'

Kicking off in june..

After carefully constructing a captivating world on It’s Us Vol. 1 , the Concrete Boys are ready to go on tour. The Lil Yachty -led collective officially announced the It’s Us Tour this morning, which sees the group making 13 stops throughout North America this June.

KARRAHBOOO , Camo!, Draft Day and Dc2trill are set to kick off the tour on June 6 in Miami, Florida. It’s Us will then see stops in Houston, Los Angeles, Toronto, New York and Denver before closing out in Atlanta on June 29. Find the full list of dates and venues listed below.

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by CONCRETE BOYS (@concreteboys)

Thu June 6 — Miami, FL — The Joint Sat June 8 — Orlando, FL — The Social Tue June 11 — Dallas, TX — House of Blues – Cambridge Room Wed June 12 — Houston, TX — House of Blues – Bronze Peacock Sat June 15 — Sacramento, CA — The Rink Studios Sun June 16 — Oakland, CA — The New Parish Mon June 17 — Los Angeles, CA — The Echo Wed June 19 — Denver, CO — Cervantes’ Other Side Sat June 22 — Detroit, MI — Saint Andrew’s Hall – The Shelter Mon June 24 — Toronto, ON — The Axis Club Tue June 25 — Boston, MA — Brighton Music Hall Thu June 27 — New York, NY — SOBS Sat June 29 — Atlanta, GA — Terminal West

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The Exploding Boy follows Alex Silver, a talented but angsty teen who dreams of becoming the next Jim Henson. Unfortunately, his life is no happy puppet show. His dad is overbearing, his school is oppressive, and even people in the neighborhood seem out to get him. But everything changes when Julius, a  mysterious  transfer student, enters his life.  

ExplodingTrailer.mp4

Something Sinister

Taylor Swift shows no mercy

The pop superstar’s overdone new double album, ‘the tortured poets department: the anthology,’ feels relentless.

Who’s torturing who here? Sorry, sorry. That isn’t the freshest zinger to zing in the direction of this sprawling new Taylor Swift double album , but please know that after funneling 19 of its 31 tracks through my headphones on Friday morning, my phone died, as if by its own volition. Same for any hope I had that the overall mood might improve in the third act of this two-hour hostage situation, a despair made manifest once I located my charger and heard the lyric, “My friends used to play a game where we would pick a decade we wished we could live in … I’d say the 1830s, but without all the racists.”

As a 21st-century pop omnipresence, Swift remains mercilessly prolific and unwilling to edit for length, which makes this extended version of her new album, “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology,” feel miserable and bottomless. The big surprise is how much of that misery is intentional. In concussive contrast to the good times she’s been having in the public eye — highest-grossing concert tour in the history of the species; highest-grossing concert film to match; on-field kisses with her boyfriend after he won the Super Bowl — Swift’s new ballads are sour theater, fixated on memories of being wronged and stranded, sodden with lyrics that feel clunky, convoluted, samey, purple and hacky. There are song titles that burn hot like distress flares (“I Hate It Here”), and lines that feel waxy with Freudian slippage (“I know I’m just repeating myself”), and a profusion of soft-edged, slow-moving melodies — produced by Swift, Jack Antonoff, Aaron Dessner and Patrik Berger — that do her lyrics few favors. As she unloads every last item from her grievance vault, it’s hard for sentient listeners to not want to reciprocate.

That said, is this the album that finally grants us societal permission to say that Swift is not a great lyricist? She can be, sometimes, but greatness isn’t a part-time job, and the thinning thinness of her words can make big emotions feel hollow. Plus, the objects of affection that populate these midtempo reminiscences all sound like real creeps. “At dinner, you take my ring off my middle finger and put it on the one people put wedding rings on,” sings the most celebrated songwriter of her generation on her album’s title track , “and that’s the closest I’ve come to my heart exploding.” Oh man. In “ The Manuscript ,” she sings in the third person, describing a flame who once “said that if the sex was half as good as the conversation was, soon they’d be pushing strollers.” During “ I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can) ,” she gloms onto some imaginary bad boy, describing how “his hand, so calloused from his pistol, softly traces hearts on my face” — which must be pretty close to what you get when you ask ChatGPT to compose a Lana Del Rey hook. Attempting to further signal her maturity, Swift deploys profanity with awkward relentlessness across too many of these songs, sounding like a child test-driving her illicit new vocabulary in hopes of convincing the greater populace that she is, in fact, 34 years old.

Her music has no problem walking up to the precipice of self-examination — Hmm, why did I want to live in the slavery era if I’m not all that into the slavery part? Hey, why didn’t I barf when that dude played his cringey ring game? — but Swift almost always steps back into the shallow end, dulling her ideas with reflexive clichés. Lightning appears in bottles. Wrinkles appear in time. Ships are abandoned or gone down with. Plans are best laid. Hearts are cold, cold. Scripts get flipped. Poisons get picked. To zest things up, she likes tweaking certain words in rote figures of speech, or grafting them onto more melodramatic phrases until a completed line begins to resemble cathartic teenager poetry. “They say what doesn’t kill you makes you aware, ” she sings on “ Cassandra ,” a piano ballad that vaguely surges in the direction of Tori Amos. (Stay that course, please.) “Old habits die screaming ,” she sings while seething tidily during “ The Black Dog .” On “ Loml ,” she feels “better safe than starry-eyed ,” but eventually grieves “our field of dreams engulfed in fire. ” On “ How Did It End ,” she flips the old playground matrimony ditty so that she’s “sitting in a tree, D-Y-I-N-G. ”

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Enough. These are highly embarrassing combinations of words made to serve an even more embarrassing narrative: the childish idea that the most famous singer alive should be pitied for living alone atop her mountaintop of money, feeling sad and aggrieved. We should all try our hardest to forget the manipulative underdog posture that Swift refuses to forfeit with each passing album, especially when the genuine tragedy-like feeling to be gleaned from all of these songs — and from nearly every Swift song that came before, too — is that Swift has traded her adulthood for superstardom.

She hasn’t been an anonymous human being since she was 17, and in terms of her art, many of her horizons seem to have stopped right there. It helps to explain why at least three songs on this double album take place on playgrounds; and why another one is set at a high school party (where the sexiest lyric of her career sounds like additional AI-generated Lana worship: “You know how to ball, I know Aristotle … Touch me while your bros play Grand Theft Auto”). It’s probably why her songs rely so heavily on the make-believe concepts of destiny, and prophecy, and fate. She has not lived a normal life. She doesn’t make normal choices. Everything in her creative and professional world happens at epic heights that are difficult to comprehend and from which there is no coming down. Where are the songs about the profound sadness in all that?

Also, who cares what I want? You are a middle-aged man , you’re saying, This music is not for you . The first part is true. But I would argue that pop music is for everyone. You’re here, I’m here, I’m writing, you’re reading, we’re in this listening life together, and it’s probably just fine to wish that the most widely circulated music of our lifetimes might be more imaginative and less self-obsessed. We’re long overdue for a Swift album that feels even a little bit curious about the world she rules.

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