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finally saw this guy last night after buying the tickets months ago, and WOW. genuinely the show of a lifetime. if he is not this generationās woody guthrie/john prine, then i donāt know who is. dude can go from singing a song about the corruptness of american health insurance to a little tune about turtles, and it all flows together perfectly. he sings all the things that i think the majority of us want to say about the world today, and he does it insanely well with such a simple set up. also one of the best harmonica players iāve ever witnessed. ok iām just fangirling nowā¦please go see this man if you get the opportunity.
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iāve already followed the guy for quite some time and am always amazed by his talent, but i just witnessed him covering āhave you ever seen the rainā live with mt. joy and it felt like i was witnessing something historical. holy cow. i love you jesse welles.
Sep 25, 2024
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I found Jesse Welles via Instagram a few months ago, and fell in love with his rocky vocals, JJ Cale sounding guitar & Bob Dylan-esque lyrics. The videos on his instagram are filmed in locations that make me feel as though Iām the only one watching for miles around. His words are intelligent, and draw attention to things we forget; both politically and day-to-day. Start with: Whistle Boeing/Payola/Bugs.
Dec 29, 2024
New Jersey may have Bruce, but Massachusetts has Jonathan- a guy who has always been unapologetically himself whether it was being totally sober in the 70s, writing pleas for tenderness in a genre known for bravado, dancing in lesbian bars, or driving down to NYC every weekend to be Velvet Underground's biggest fan before anyone else was. a guy who despite being a rock legend, spends his days installing pizza ovens around the san fransisco area.
I've seen him live a few times now, and watching him play his sweet silly songs in an unapologetically sincere + sort of autistic way is somehow just as transgressive as the proto-punk he invented with The Modern Lovers over 50 years ago. I can't help but smile ear to ear for his entire set. effortless humor and charm.
Something that's also stood out to me after seeing him live a few times now, is the way he recontextualizes the classics. When he played "Old World" in 2022 he changed the lyrics to recognize how some things should be left in the past rather than simply romanticizing it. And last night he played with the iconic "Pablo Picasso" to focus less on the swagger of Pablo, and more on how that type of guy is actually kind of an arrogant creep. Angel Prost (of Frost Children) wrote a great essay on Jonathan's reinvention for her email-only newsletter a few years ago, if you'd like to read it I'm sure I can dig it up for you.
From last night-
When I was a kid, I wanted to be an oil painter. I was obsessed with colors.
Then I heard Velvet Underground and saw you can paint with a guitar
Anyways...if more people were a bit more like Jonathan the world would be a better place. A huge inspiration to me!
Mar 8, 2024
Top Recs from @carolinebreeden
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this world is too cold and life is too short to not make sure that the people around you know you love them, that they matter to you. stop this mindset of needing to be nonchalant!!!! if someone leaves you after you tell them you love them, well, they werenāt mean to stick around anyways. tell your friends, your family, your lovers that they are what makes life worth living! that they are sunshine personified to your heart and soul!! the real ones will stay, and theyāll tell you the same. too many people donāt realize how loved they are. 2025 is the year of telling people you love them. flat out.
Feb 2, 2025
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iām definitely not the first person here to make a rec about this, but my tired brain is truly rejoicing. i have a very hard time completely leaving it since i communicate and share creative work through the app, but i think iāve decided i will only be on it once a week or when i need/want to post. thatās all. as an already anxious person, seeing the same anxiety-inducing general information (as in something i could easily find on google or a news app) be reposted by 20+ people on their stories has become HELL, especially these last few weeks. not only that, but the constant push of personal opinions about such matters (even if i agree with them) just seems to warp your perception of people. maybe iām just a wimp, but i donāt think humans were meant to see each other in such a way; weāre not so flashy and impulsive face to face. add the endless scrolling onto that, and itās downright exhausting and kills productivity. there is so much more dimension and depth to humans and life than what is said or done or seen through this screen. can we please go back to flip phones?
Jan 31, 2025
iām tired of acting like this isnāt one of the greatest songs of our generation. i swear there is something injected into this. i could be having a horrible day, but if i hear even just the first few seconds of sexyback, my worries are behind me. had to wake up really early for something important? sexyback will hype you up. sexyback heals all.
Feb 6, 2025