NUDGE VOL II: MUSIC TO NUDGE 2
Sometimes getting to the multiball needs a nudge
Pinball is a game of millimeters. It’s about flow and zoning out and being borderline dead to the world while simultaneously being completely locked in — all at the same time. It’s some fucked up, magical shit. When you’re off you know it, when you’re on — there is no thought. We’re soaring. We’re better than human. Fear is the mind-killer. We are all timothy chalamet.
Do you get it? Do you get that this is how freaking beautiful we are when the pinball is humming? Honestly, It’s pretty much as good as I ever feel.
What if we could get you there faster and keep you there longer?
This mix was scientifically designed to get you off
That place where good pinball happens? This mix gets you there. Not every time, and not forever — but it works. Put this shit on and do what needs to be done. It’s going to happen. That’s a Nudge guarantee. We spend a lot of time in various stupors putting mixes together. We’re really good at this. Trust us. Also, we’re sorry there’s already so much swearing in this article, mom. I can’t help it. It’s a crutch, but damn it — it’s my crutch and I’m gonna own it, y’all. *stands up and snaps fingers in a Z while a crowd shouts jerry, jerry, jerry behind me *
Spotify sucks. Why Spotify? That’s not very punk of you.
Well hey, who died and made you punk rock sheriff? But seriously, legit question. As a buncha former middling musicians and dudes who are still friends w real musicians who struggle to make money: Why are we doing a Spotify playlist? Spotify is notorious for not paying artists what they’re worth, they ruined downtown Oakland, and uh, the whole algorithm approach to liking stuff weirds us out. That said, we’ll give you a couple of reasons why we decided on this format.
It’s easy. We don’t have a team of hackers working around the clock to get you amazing content. We have a guy smoking weed at 11:30 PM and just sorta figuring stuff out. Spotify makes it insanely easy to make and embed playlists.
They have a ton of music. Do they have everything? Hell no. Not even close. They do have a surprising amount of awesome stuff.
Our goal is not to get you to support Spotify. It’s to support these artists. When applicable (and available) we’ll try and link to better, more equitable links for the artists we feature. That’s gonna include a buncha Bandcamp and other streamers who put artists first. IF YOU ARE READING THIS AND ARE AN ARTIST AND DON’T LIKE SPOTIFY, CONTACT US IMMEDIATELY AND WE WILL TAKE YOU OFF — NO QUESTIONS ASKED. That said, I hope y’all take this in the spirit with which it is intended: we wanna showcase dope artists that will make you play pinball better. That’s it. We good?
What’s on it?
3 songs (yeah, that’s right) from Constant Insult (Minneapolis punk). Shut the hell up. They’re that good.
Constant Insult is the most underrated band to ever come out of Minneapolis. Fact. They wrote super melodic, hard as hell punk. I’m not going to disgrace it by writing all pitchfork about it. But seriously. Every track absolutely rips. If you’re just dipping in, Forwarding Address is a helluva place to start. It’s literally a crime that they have 355 Facebook likes. Or maybe that’s great. Maybe that’s the ultimate fucking indictment of how absolutely out of touch and lame Facebook actually is. That a band this good would barely be a blip on their radar. That songs this awesome barely exist in that universe, in old reptile McZuckerberg’s “social ecosystem”. Blind fucking idiots.
Arms Aloft - Eau Claire/Minneapolis punk
I’ve known the lead singer of this band since third grade. He’s authentic as it gets, like in an uncompromising and real way that makes me feel uncomfortable now that I’m old and soft and without real morals. This band is that times a million. It’s earnest and hard and absolutely owns. It’s cool when your friends grow up to be weirdos with a cause.
A couple of songs from Jay Reatard
Jay Reatard is one of those guys that all my hipster friends were raving about like eight years ago and I think I just instinctively recoiled. I was wrong. Jay Reatard is good. I’m a little iffy on the name, but hey if you’re ok with sharing a name with Jay Leno, a complete and utter fucking imbecile then maybe you have the confidence it takes needed to rock this hard. Night of Broken Glass sounds like a horror story.
Buncha songs from Broncho
Broncho rules. I think they’re from Oklahoma? I went to a Broncho show in the Bay Area a couple of years ago when I was back and visiting. It was a great show, but I think the lead singer said maybe three sentences the whole time. Only one of them could I actually understand, when he started shrieking in a frantic voice to tip your servers and be nice to the bartenders. It sounded really weird. Like a wail or, I dunno, someone in pain. Seemed cool and bizarre. I haven’t heard anything from them in a long time, but I’m not gonna look it up. Hopefully Broncho is still doing stuff. They’re awesome.
Lovage, Caroline Rose, and some other good stuff
Just a literal metric ton of jams. Lovage, Black Flag, The Thermals, The Hives (so what?), Hot Snakes. Etc. Enjoy it. Become it. The multiball starts now.
