The meaning of Green Day’s ‘Wake Me Up When Me When September Ends’

September 1, 2020 | Kevin

It’s September in a crappy year with a lot of depressing things happening to thousands of people every day, so somewhere today you will see someone reference the years-old joke about Green Day’s emotional classic ‘Wake Me Up When September’ ends. So let’s try to use more part of our collective brains than just the part that wants to see memes, to dig into the origins of the song and it’s profound impact.
The 4:19 track was one of the smash hit singles off Green Day’s wildly successful 2003 concept album ‘American Idiot’ which sold millions and became one of the biggest alternative releases of the 2000s. The song itself peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and was a top ten song in multiple countries. Though the story of ‘American Idiot’ is quite clear to fans and has been adapted into a Broadway musical, ‘Wake Me Up’ is viewed as a song that has no direct connection to the album’s concept.

In the first few years after its release, the song has been seen as a bonding point for the survivors of Hurricane Katrina and the terror attacks of September 11th. In recent years, the song has been adopted by meme culture to be a comedic complaint about the end of summer and other saddening topics.

So what is the actual inspiration for the song? The crowd-sourced lyrical web portal Genius has culled together some info detailing that the song depicts singer Billy Joe Armstrong dealing with the death of his father from cancer on September 1, 1982 at the age of 10. The title of the song allegedly refers to a conversation that a young Armstrong had with his mother when in his room after his father’s funeral. That is a lasting experience for anyone who has lost someone they love, let alone at such an impressionable age. Armstrong though has said in recent years, the song still brings up memories of his father but that it’s also has a newer celebratory tone to it.

September already? Woof. #wakemeupwhenseptemberends

Posted by 101 WKQX on Tuesday, September 1, 2020

In April,2020. Armstrong performed the song on the Global Citizen ‘Together At Home’ charity broadcast to organize resources against COVID-19. Yes, April this year feels like it was years ago.

The Killers have a murder mystery in ‘Hot Fuss’

September 1, 2020 | Kevin
Middle 8 on YouTube

True crime has exploded as a genre of interest in the past few years from ‘Making a Murderer’ on Netflix to huge podcasts like ‘the Syndicate’. We all want to know the who-done-it’s and how they did it. They are compelling stories of tragedy and one band who has been able to tell some of those stories is the Killers.

Middle 8 created this great short documentary video that explores the ‘murder trilogy’ that plays out over several songs on their 2004 breakout album ‘Hot Fuss’ with the final piece yet to be released years later on their ‘Sawdust’ collection. “The murder of a woman named Jennifer at the hands of her ex-boyfriend. A classic tale of a romance gone bad.” says the channel in the video description.

A few months ago, 101WKQX’s Jon Manley spoke with Brandon Flowers of the Killers about their new music, being creative in quarantine, and much more.

Queued Up Playlist 8/30/20

August 30, 2020 | jmanley
HOUR 1
Smashing Pumpkins CYR
Dylan Cartlidge Yellow Brick Road
Cannons Fire For You
Phoenix Identical
Unlikely Candidates High Low
Cold Hart/ Lil Peep Me and You
IDKHOW Leave Me Alone
J GRGRY Don’t Ever Give Up
Phoebe Bridges Kyoto
Lewis del Mar The Ceiling
Fontaines D.C. A Hero’s Death
Hoko Ok Ok
Gerard Way Here Comes the End
Blu de Tiger Figure It Out
Curtis Waters Stunnin
Dayglow Can I Call You Tonight
HOUR 2
Brye Lemons
Houses Paranoid
Washed Out Time to Walk Away
Peach Tree Rascals Mariposa
Juice WRLD/ Marshmello Come and Go
Beabadoobee Care
Royal and the Serpent Overwhelmed
Blindlove I Wanna Be Okay
The Backseat Lovers Kilby Girl
Ashe Save Myself
Gus Dapperton Post Humorous
Tones and I Ur so Cool
Almost Monday Broken People
Remi Wolf Woo
Bully Where to Start
Tags:

8.30.2020 Alt_Backspace

August 30, 2020 | bphillips

Hour 1

  • Weezer – The Good Life
  • Talking Heads – Life During Wartime
  • Mazzy Star – Fade Into You
  • Green Day – Nice Guys Finish Last
  • The Fixx – Saved By Zero
  • Bush – Greedy Fly
  • The Posies – Dream All Day
  • R.E.M. – Stand
  • Pearl Jam – State Of Love And Trust
  • Cake – Sheep Go To Heaven
  • Toadies – Possum Kingdom
  • The Ocean Blue – Between Something And Nothing
  • Juliana Hatfield – Universal Heart-Beat

Hour 2

  • Social Distortion – Bad Luck
  • Depeche Mode – Everything Counts
  • Tracy Bonham – Mother Mother
  • Rancid – Ruby Soho
  • The Pixies – Debaser
  • Jesus Jones – Right Here, Right Now
  • Incubus – Privilege
  • The Cure – Love Cats
  • No Doubt – Excuse Me Mr.
  • Oasis – Rock N Roll Star
  • Beck – Sexx Laws
  • The Smithereens – Only A Memory
  • Camper Van Beethoven – Take The Skinheads Bowling

…all the feels

…got big lanes!

The (un)definitive Top 10 list of Red Hot Chili Peppers music vids.

August 30, 2020 | Eric

There was no better feeling in the 1990s then flipping on MTV and having “Under The Bridge” flash on the screen.  The John Frusciante outro guitar riff still rings in my head to this day.  That’s the power of music and visuals, combined.

Music videos are a big part of The History Of Alternative.  And The Red Hot Chili Peppers have a lot of great ones.  Here’s ten.

This list was made from a compilation of Top 10’s [Rolling Stone, Louder Sound, Pop Matters, Noise Creep, Diffuser] as well as views and other fan feedback/polls.  Ultimately, these 10 songs shook out in order of popularity — down from a list of 25+, which for ANY band would be an impressive resume of video hits.  — [eric]

10. Fight Like A Brave

9. Otherside

8. By The Way

7. Can’t Stop

6. Scar Tissue

5. Soul To Squeeze

4. Dani California

3. Under The Bridge

2. Californication

1. Give It Away

Chicago comedians host their own ‘MTV Movie Awards’

August 30, 2020 | Kevin

MTV is airing the VMAs tonight, an annual reminder that they used to feature music a lot more and still post content about it online. Their other annual event the MTV Movie Awards was postponed indefinitely due to the current pandemic, but that did not stop ‘SNL’ writer Steven Castillo from creating 40-minute hilarious spoof of an award show that was always just a pop culture curveball on the Oscars. From telling hammy two liners with spliced-in footage of bored celebrities to the gratuitous use of green screens, Castillo makes you think the MTV Movie Awards are somehow airing on Adult Swim.

Castillo spent several years on comedy stages around Chicago, before moving east a few years ago. It’s nice to see several other midwest converts like Tyler Snodgrass, Meg Stalter, and more contribute to this must-see mini-movie. SNL cast members Chriss Redd and Melissa Villasenor also make cameos here as well. If you really like this, go ahead and share the link

In the original video post, Castillo called for viewers to help out those in the need in New York City. Donate to Community Service Society of New York at: https://www.cssny.org/donate

2020 MTV Movie Awards With Steven Castillo! from MTV Movie Awards 202 on Vimeo.

Tik Tok stars criminally charged for unhealthy parties

August 29, 2020 | Kevin

They have 19 million impressionable people following them on Tik Tok and they are throwing huge parties in our current pandemic without any social distancing or masks, but the city of Los Angeles is not having it anymore. Blake Gray and Bryce Hall who have been hosting the huge house parties recently and documenting them online are now facing criminal charges for unsafe events. Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer announced the charges this week for defiance of local health codes, with the pair potentially facing up to a year in jail and $2,000 in fines.

“If you have a combined 19 million followers on TikTok in the middle of a public health crisis, you should be modeling great behavior…rather than brazenly violating the law,” Feuer said during a press conference according to CNN. 

The controversial parties in question have gotten so out of control, they have faced multiple police calls. On August 19th, LA Mayor Eric Garcetti even ordered to cut the power off the Hollywood Hills house involved in one of the ragers.

Internet Today went off on the whole issue in their latest video here.

 

 

Top 25 Green Day Songs (Stream Here)

August 29, 2020 | Kevin

Green Day is the band that has ruled Chicago with a huge Wrigley Field show and a live streaming press conference today on the 101WKQX Facebook page. They are Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Famers, have sold millions of albums, played to hundreds of thousands all over the world, and they are still going with a vibrant energy that shows their time at the top of the alternative mountain is far from over.

Guitarist/singer Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool have been hustling to get they are today at the ‘stadium level’ shared by top tier bands like Foo Fighters and Coldplay, with an enduring focus to political activism, emotional truth, and constant dedication delivering on being so much more ‘just another punk band’.

So let the delightful debate begin about what songs are the best from this West Coast trio, here is a Top 20 according to me and suggestions of trusted music fanatics of GD. So if you don’t like it or you love it, let ME know on social media. Yeah, if you are upset in any remote way, it’s my fault. 

25. NICE GUYS FINISH LAST

24. 21 GUNS

23. BANG! BANG! 

22. KNOW YOUR ENEMY 

21. WAITING 

20. PULLING TEETH 

19.  HOLIDAY

18. WARNING

17. STILL BREATHING

16. MINORITY

15. KING FOR A DAY

14. GEEK STINK BREATH

13. REDUNDANT

12. BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS

11. 2,000 LIGHT YEARS AWAY 

10. SHE 

9. LONGVIEW

8. JESUS OF SUBURBIA 

7. GOOD RIDDANCE (TIME OF YOUR LIFE)

6. WELCOME TO PARADISE 

5. WHEN I COME AROUND

4. WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS

3. AMERICAN IDIOT

2. BRAIN STEW /JADED

  1. BASKETCASE

Watch Dave Grohl and 10-year Nandi Bushell in a drum-off

August 29, 2020 | Kevin

 

10-year old Nandi Bushell has taken the internet by storm with her on-point rock covers, earning praise from the bands she is paying tribute to, and now she has even earned an answer to her dream drum off challenge. Foo Fighters leader and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl has answered the music community’s call to see him do a drum-off with Nandi, and he delivered in the following videos this weekend..

You might burst out laughing when the brash and bold Bushell yells “CHECKMATE!” at the camera after crushing this Foos cover.

‘Black Panther’ star Chadwick Boseman has died

August 29, 2020 | Kevin

Chadwick Boseman who starred the massively successful Marvel film ‘Black Panther’ has passed away at the age of 43 after a long fight with colon cancer. The sad news was confirmed by the actor’s publicist and has been garnering a massive reaction across the world online. Boseman was reportedly scheduled to reprise his Black Panther role for a solo sequel due out in 2022.

Boseman’s career was not limited to being a superhero, as he also portrayed groundbreaking baseball player Jackie Robinson in ’42’ and music icon James Brown in ‘Get On Up’.

His cancer diagnosis was not public knowledge. The Howard University graduate was fighting the disease since 2016. He filmed several hit films during the period including the critically acclaimed ‘Da 5 Bloods’.

His performance as Black Panther’s T’Challa gained him international fame and praise as the film became the cultural event of 2018.

Wakanda forever.

Behold! The world’s tallest mohawk

August 28, 2020 | Kevin

Joeseph Grisamore of Minnesota proved he’s pretty dedicated to a hairstyle that could be ruined by a ceiling fan this week when he earned the Guiness World Record for the tallest mohawk. The impressive do stands at 42 inches and takes over an hour to create with a hairstylist or his very supportive wife helping him. He attempted a spiked mohawk some years back and was unsuccessful, but cut it all off before spending years to get follically fit for this current record.

The new Guiness World Record 2021 edition comes out next week.

 

 

 

Stream 2 new songs by Smashing Pumpkins

August 28, 2020 | Kevin

The Smashing Pumpkins reformed with a majority of their definitive lineup a few years ago with Billy Corgan mending past issues with guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, with Jeff Schroeder staying in his role as guitarists which he has had since 2007. They had a very successful tour which included packed shows at the United Center and released the warmly received ‘Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol 1: No Past, No Future,. No Sun.’  Now Corgan and company have fulfilled the cryptic countdown on their social media accounts, with two new songs called ‘Cyr‘ and ‘The Colour of Love’

These tracks are expected to be a part of a new double album due out sometime soon. Scroll up and also enjoy our exclusive Lounge session with the Pumpkins telling stories about their suburban Chicago lives shaping their creative spirit and much more.

Everything excellent about Bill & Ted

August 28, 2020 | Kevin

 

One of the most anticipated sequels of the year in a year, ‘Bill & Ted Face the Music’ hits theaters and on-demand today. The teenage wanna-be rockstars who stumble through time in a telephone booth are 30 years older, and according to reviews they have matured and gracefully work in new characters in the new film. Series creators Ed Solomon and Chris Mattheson penned the script with Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter back for another most excellent adventure that is getting solid reviews with a current Rotten Tomatoes score of 78%. 

Before you see the new movie, let’s hop in a bloggable blast to the past to our youthful consumption of Bill and Ted’s mischief that is fun and sometimes questionable. An animated spin-off, a not-so-well received live-action adaption and action figures that look very radical. Scroll down for that.  We will be doing some fun things with YOUR past with History of Alternative [ON AIR] on 101WKQX starting September 8th.

Red Letter Media who are known for their dry wit and biting sarcasm, dig into why both of the original movies stood out and why a lot of Gen Xers love these movies. They make some great observations about how the first film was very 80’s and the second one is very 90’s. They also show in this Re:View episode that the script for the ‘Excellent Adventure’ predates the script for ‘Back To The Future’. 

The party dude teens were so popular with the kids that it got it’s own animated Saturday morning show on CBS but as SyFy breaks it down in their Everything You Didn’t Know series. The cartoon took some really fun spins on the original movie concept. The actors from the original series provided voices to give it some real-life flavor and authenticity. The second season of the show took an unfortunate dip with some odd choices, production changes, and the animated show moved to FOX along a new live-action adaption.

The live-action series was just um….it was. Stoned Gremlin tells us how the live-action which somehow became a thing. It aired in prime time in the summer, which is never a good sign if you follow how TV shows are rolled out. 

 

So if you like air-guitaring along with these two bros, then you likely wanted the action figures. Kenner made this playful series which also includes some noteworthy names from the past. Figure Collections shows off the toyline in mint condition which is worth more than a $100 now. 

 

Baking soda + 10,000L of Coke = a really fun viral video.

August 27, 2020 | Eric

I have a viral video out of Russia.  That sentence in itself should be enough to tell you — you’re about to watch something epic.

A YouTuber that goes by the name Mamix reportedly spent $9K constructing this “science experiment” in which a heap of baking soda was dropped into 10,000L of Coke (or 5,000 2L bottles, if that makes it easier to visualize 😉).

Skip to 17:00 for the action — or watch the whole video, if you speak Russian.  — [eric]

[Photo by alleksana from Pexels]

You need to hear this girl sing!

August 26, 2020 | jnettlebeck

Check this out it’s amazing!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Today on her 12th birthday, we celebrate Kara, who at 10 months old was diagnosed with hydrocephalus and has been cared for by our Neurosurgery team. Because of some complications with her shunt, today isn’t quite how she or her family expected to celebrate Kara’s birthday. During a recent music therapy session, Kara’s mom, Nicole, captured Kara beautifully singing “Amazing Grace.” Her mom shares, “Kara is a bright, beautiful little spirit who loves to entertain people. Although she has endured a lot these past couple days, she still remains in good spirits and singing is just one way she does it. I’m sharing this video with everyone in hopes of spreading some joy and love to others ❤️ I hope you all enjoy!” Happy 12th Birthday Kara! Share a birthday message for Kara below. #neurosurgery #hydrocephalus #amazinggrace #music #musictherapy #musictherapist #happybirthday #all4your1

A post shared by Lurie Children’s (@luriechildrens) on

Happy Birthday Kara!

Two guys invented a new swimsuit for men called the ‘brokini’

August 25, 2020 | jnettlebeck

Why do girls get to be the only ones to wear a bikini at the beach?

Well these two bros from Toronto solved that problem with their new invention.

Introducing the Brokini.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

How to measure your Brokini size 😉 #brokinis

A post shared by Brokinis (@brokinis) on

You know what, these don’t look too bad!

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