Needles & Grooves AotM /// Vol. 37 - July 2022 // Smoking Popes- Into the Agony

Tys1 said:
And here's a playlist of my favorite songs from one of my all time favorite bands 🥰

Give my playlist a listen: Popes
Click to expand...


Great pick!!

Funny enough this is a band that I had heard of but never listened to until about a month ago a random track was suggested to me on Spotify and down the rabbit hole I went!! Looking forward to this playlist!
 
Clue 1 = 6. Label :: Asian Man Records Mike Park runs the label and began releasing music under the name Dill Records.

Clue 2 = 4. Artists place of origin :: Chicago, the WINDY city, home of the Bulls and deep dish pizza

Clue 3 = 3. Album title :: Into the Agony, sleuthed by @Hemotep by listening to Yung Lean

Clue 4 = 8. A project the artists was involved with :: The Clueless soundtrack, sleuthed by @4080 (great stuff - I meant to dig deeper this weekend on that bit but was busy as can be and have been driving most of the last two days!)

Clue 5 = 1. Artists name :: Smoking, Sitting Bull is holding a peace pipe and Orville Peck has been pretty open about trying to quit smoking in the past (dunno if he's succeeded yet or not)

Clue 6 = 5. Album design :: Black & white

Clue 7 = 2. Artists name :: Popes, as laid out by @4080 above

Clue 8 = 7. Individual members :: As laid out by @4080 above


Fuck yeah, really well done @Tys1!!

This was a blast the whole time even when I didn't feel like I had a clue where were headed.
 
avecigrec said:
Clue 1 = 6. Label :: Asian Man Records Mike Park runs the label and began releasing music under the name Dill Records.

Clue 2 = 4. Artists place of origin :: Chicago, the WINDY city, home of the Bulls and deep dish pizza

Clue 3 = 3. Album title :: Into the Agony, sleuthed by @Hemotep by listening to Yung Lean

Clue 4 = 8. A project the artists was involved with :: The Clueless soundtrack, sleuthed by @4080 (great stuff - I meant to dig deeper this weekend on that bit but was busy as can be and have been driving most of the last two days!)

Clue 5 = 1. Artists name :: Smoking, Sitting Bull is holding a peace pipe and Orville Peck has been pretty open about trying to quit smoking in the past (dunno if he's succeeded yet or not)

Clue 6 = 5. Album design :: Black & white

Clue 7 = 2. Artists name :: Popes, as laid out by @4080 above

Clue 8 = 7. Individual members :: As laid out by @4080 above


Fuck yeah, really well done @Tys1!!

This was a blast the whole time even when I didn't feel like I had a clue where were headed.
Click to expand...

Pretty spot on! I can't wait to put my write up together for this album/band. It might not be tonight since I will be on a date with my wife while the kids are away at camp.

I am considering this our 2nd giveaway since you got everything correct.

But... here was my intention with the clues

1. Pickles... Mike Park was the frontman for Skankin' Pickle and owns/operates Asian Man Records

5. Sitting Bull holding the pipe, Orville Peck dressed up like the goddam Marlboro Man, sitting on Camels (cigarettes)
 
Tys1 said:
Pretty spot on! I can't wait to put my write up together for this album/band. It might not be tonight since I will be on a date with my wife while the kids are away at camp.

I am considering this our 2nd giveaway since you got everything correct.

But... here was my intention with the clues

1. Pickles... Mike Park was the frontman for Skankin' Pickle and owns/operates Asian Man Records

5. Sitting Bull holding the pipe, Orville Peck dressed up like the goddam Marlboro Man, sitting on Camels (cigarettes)
Click to expand...
Oh shit! I didn't realize how close my Skankin' Pickle guess was. I didn't know that Mike Park was in both bands.
 
Hey! Sorry it took me a few days! I have updated the first post of this thread with where to buy links and the playlist! 💜

As we now know, our journey for our July AotM has come to an end! I had a great time putting these clues together and hope that you guys involved with the sleuthing had fun too! The album I chose was Smoking Popes- Into the Agony. Here's why!

Personal:
1. More than anything, I just want people to know about this amazing group that carries tons of respect amongst those whos sound they inspired (there's a lot). Hearing some of their early cuts was the first time I personally realized that punk music could be instantly recognizable as punk, yet wayyyy different than their peers. They had their five minutes of fame, got picked up by Capital records, then shortly afterward dropped from the label after an acquisition change... then, sadly, swiftly forgotten. The industry really sort of undeservedly let them down.

2. My greatest hope is that everyone reading is at a point in their life where they are stable and happy. Being realistic though, I know that might not be the case for some. And if you're at a place like that now please know that there are lots of people here that have your back and that you can confide in (shoutout to https://www.needlesandgrooves.com/t...ort-thread-fka-depression-support-thread.107/ ).

I'm sure I'm not the only person here that finds great reprieve in music during their dark times and finds certain artists or albums that speak to them and can lift their spirits up enough to where they decide to see the sun rise another day. Music saves lives, I firmly believe that. For me, the one band more than any other that has always done that for me is Smoking Popes. Perhaps that may be because of the particular timing in my life when I discovered them, but I think it's more than just that. From the moment I heard them I felt an instant connection to both Josh Caterer's voice and his lyrics. As he says in the song Spoke to Me, "I don't know if you actually saved my life, but you changed it, that's for sure". All that stereotypical stuff friends say to make you feel better wasn't working for me, but when I heard these songs it made the world make sense just long enough for me to get my head on straight.

The Music:
I'd be lying if I said Into the Agony would be my first choice in their discography (Destination Failure and Born to Quit are very hard to find though), but it's GOOD! Really good! Especially after coming off an album of theirs that I wasn't too keen on. The difference? The drummer! That's right, the group is 3 brothers and a drummer. I never realized how reliant that great Popes signature sound was on the drums. Into the Agony sees the return of Mike Felumlee (who you may recognize from Alkaline Trio). The result is something that feels fresh yet recognizable. They try a few different things on this album that work well, some better than others, but in the end the album from start to finish is decidedly them.
 
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Tys1 said:
Hey! Sorry it took me a few days! I have updated the first post of this thread with where to buy links and the playlist! 💜

As we now know, our journey for our July AotM has come to an end! I had a great time putting these clues together and hope that you guys involved with the sleuthing had fun too! The album I chose was The Smoking Popes- Into the Agony. Here's why!

Personal:
1. More than anything, I just want people to know about this amazing group that carries tons of respect amongst those whos sound they inspired (there's a lot). Hearing some of their early cuts was the first time I personally realized that punk music could be instantly recognizable as punk, yet wayyyy different than their peers. They had their five minutes of fame, got picked up by Capital records, then shortly afterward dropped from the label after an acquisition change and forgotten. The industry really sort of undeservedly forgot about them.

2. My greatest hope is that everyone reading is at a point in their life where they are stable and happy. Being realistic though, I know that might not be the case for some. And if you're at a place like that now please know that there are lots of people here that have your back and that you can confide in (shoutout to https://www.needlesandgrooves.com/t...ort-thread-fka-depression-support-thread.107/ ).

I'm sure I'm not the only person here that finds great reprieve in music during their dark times and finds certain artists or albums that speak to them and can lift their spirits up to see the sun rise another day. Music saves lives, I firmly believe that. For me, the one band more than any other that has always done that for me is The Smoking Popes. Perhaps that may be because of the particular timing in my life when I discovered them. From the moment I heard them I felt an instant connection to both Josh Caterer's voice and his lyrics. All that stereotypical stuff friends say to make you feel better wasn't working for me, but when I heard these songs it made the world make sense just long enough for me to get my head on straight.

The Music:
I'd be lying if I said Into the Agony would be my first choice in their discography (Destination Failure and Born to Quit are very hard to find though), but it's GOOD! Really good! Especially after coming off an album of theirs that I wasn't too keen on. The difference? The drummer! That's right, the group is 3 brothers and a drummer. I never realized how reliant that great Popes signature sound was on the drums. Into the Agony sees the return of Mike Felumlee (who you may recognize from Alkaline Trio). The result is something that feels fresh yet recognizable as. They try a few different things on this album that work well, some better than others, but in the end the album from start to finish is decidedly them.
Click to expand...
Thanks for a super fun month of clue sleuthing and for telling us about your pick. Mine should be here Tuesday!
 
For those wanting to dive deep and learn more about their interesting story and journey, I found this recent interview with Josh really good.


My favorite bit comes when he's talking about his dad's record collection

"When you're listening to the record and you're looking at this big physical object that's in front of you, It's sort of this manifestation of the music and you're connected to it and you're able to enter into that world"
 
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