#Malört

[sinceileftyoublog]

Say Anything Interview: Intentional Is My Default

Photo by Nicole Mago

BY JORDAN MAINZER

I'm waiting back stage at Riot Fest for Say Anything's Max Bemis to finish a photoshoot, one that sees him lie in the grass in various positions that make it look like he's stretching after a tough workout. Despite the fact that he hasn't yet gotten his real workout in yet--his newly reformed band would go on stage in a few hours--and that this photoshoot is full of capital-p Poses, I'm taken by how at ease Bemis seems with everything. When we speak, he reveals to me that, yes, while he did in fact feel awkward during the photoshoot--most of us do--he's learning to lean into his feelings much more naturally.

Five years ago, the legendary emo band disbanded, with their 2019 album Oliver Appropriate billed as their final LP for the moment. A purported sequel to their beloved sophomore record ...Is A Real Boy, the album was publicized in conjunction with a nine-page letter from Bemis, in which came out as bisexual and admitted to struggles with drug use. (The frontman has long been open about his diagnosed bipolar disorder, previous self-medication through drugs, and manic episodes.) During the pandemic, Bemis stayed busy, performing livestreams of older material, but there was always lingering doubt the band's hiatus would become permanent.

It wasn't until late last year that Bemis dropped that the band would be reuniting for festivals in 2023. In typical nonchalant fashion, he shared that the reunion would include past members drummer Coby Linder and bassist Alex Kent by replying to someone's comment on a Facebook post. In April, the band released their first new material since Oliver Appropriate, the maximally stream-of-consciousness rant "Psyche!". The song sees Bemis laying out those same struggles for everyone to bear witness to, blaming himself for his personal, marital, and familial problems atop a bevy of references to the band's older material, Titanic, and Riot Fest itself. "By Riot Fest '24, I'll be coughing up corks if you supply the Malörk," he sings, a line that's instantly iconic and bound to be infamous for its satiric misspelling of Chicago's shot of choice. In August, the band followed it up with "Are You (In) There?", which also establishes itself within our emo universe, with mentions of Sunny Day Real Estate and mewithoutYou, but a more personal ode to Bemis' wife and the love they have for each other despite his past actions and shortcomings. And just this morning, Say Anything annouced ...Is Committed (Dine Alone), their new record, along with a single entitled "Carrie & Lowell & Cody (Pendent)", Bemis placing his "mommy issues" in conversation with those of indie folk luminary Sufjan Stevens. The song is musically heavier and more complex and full-throated, while also containing gorgeous choral harmonies from Bemis' wife, Sherri Dupree-Bemis.

At one point, the future of the band was a mystery to everyone, Bemis included. But with some newfound perspectives, the musical and personal influence of new band member Brian Warren of Weatherbox, and therapy, it seemed from just the short conversation I had with Bemis and Kent that they're in a good place, ready to embrace their new chapter. Read my interview below, conducted last month before I knew about their new album, edited for length and clarity. Catch the band three nights next week at The Regent Theater in LA and at When We Were Young in Las Vegas next weekend.

Photo courtesy of Say Anything

Since I Left You: How does it feel to be back?

Max Bemis: It feels great. I don't think I would have decided to write the songs again if I didn't aspire to how this feels now, which is very different than our experience as little kids being in a punk band, which was very intense and an experience I wouldn't trade for anything. But this is comfortable, and it feels like having the best job ever, in the words of Piebald. It could have been a stress fest, anxious, or bad, but the only reason I wanted to write again was to reach for this thing that we never got to settle into, being dads approaching 40. The bands we looked up to were doing it at that age and still making inventive music but still seeming to chill and not base their entire personas and aspirations around being in a band. I think I appreciate it more now that I'm not trying to be "a guy in a band" as hard as I was.

Alex Kent: Something we've been talking about since getting back up and running was the transition from utilizing it as an escape versus a form of healing. Because we've been through so much traumatic shit in our lives, most of the time Max and I talk, we talk about therapy. It's fucking weird going from 18 years old on a tour bus to having that self-awareness and reflection.

MB: I didn't need it like that for many years because our entire life cycle was keyed in to being on tour. I wasn't living a normal person life. I'm not saying I ever have really or ever will--I wrote comic books for five years. That's still weird. We're still weirdo guys. Having a family, coming out of that kind of circus, I feel more like my 14-year-old self who needed this music for that reason.

SILY: The new songs have a self-aware quality.

MB: More than ever.

SILY: How do you include the self-awareness in a set at a festival or concert, where you're literally referring to other songs you're playing in the setlist?

MB: We refer to Riot Fest itself!

SILY: And Malörk [sic]

MB: And Malörk. It's incredibly self-referential and ironic, but because the band started that way, it's come full circle and is no longer ironic at the same time. There's still a lot of exaggeration and bullshit, but it's closer to me saying actual things that are happening. As you age, everyone's life becomes a circus, more surreal. The world has been very surreal, with COVID and Trump. You kind of have to say your inner experience now. It's an emotional, crazy, surreal thing anyway. It's not like before, when I said, "I have to think about my ex-girlfriend, but I'm thinking about my wife, and what the fuck is this about?" Now, this is about being at Riot Fest. And I am at Riot Fest.

SILY: There is a song about your wife, though.

MB: Yes. Also quite literal. So many emotions are certainly exaggerated, but the sincerity isn't. The love for my wife is very real. But even there, if you're in any successful relationship, it goes through the most intense rebirths and reformations, and you're adjusting to each other, especially after having kids. It's more potent to me to say what's happening or what my emotions are than do what we did on In Defense of the Genre, where I was literally forcing drama into my life on a regular basis. Now, I have no room. I'm tired. I have children to look after. The drama just happens from kids, life, everything. It's real and heartfelt, but a seasoned emotion and not so adolescent. I still love those songs, and I relate to them, but they all speak to a certain side of me I can't live out anymore.

SILY: Do the new songs more than ever exemplify the idea that the more personal you are, the more universal the songs can be?

MB: Yeah. But probably by being a little too hyper-specific. That's why I fell in love with this kind of music. Saves The Day got me into wanting to be in a band. What wowed me was when he was talking about the names of the other band members in song, like, "Ted's drooling on his sleeve." He's just saying he's in this New Jersey bar and he misses his girlfriend. He's not cloaking anything. Our thing has been a kind of parody of that, but now I don't have to stretch anything for it to be a parody.

Photo by Ben Trivett

SILY: What do you think Brian Warren brings to the table on the new songs?

AK: I've known Brian since we were 9 years old. Our very first band, we were in together.

MB: I wouldn't know about Weatherbox if it wasn't for Alex.

AK: He brings this calming energy. Humble is a weird word to describe him.

MB: It's accurate.

AK: Weatherbox is fucking amazing.

MB: He has more impostor syndrome than even me.

AK: He can play everything, and he writes cool shit.

MB: He's a virtuoso. The cool thing about Brian is that there's always been a connection between our bands. It's similar to me playing music with [Chris] Conley [in Two Tongues] back in the day. It's surreal, but it makes so much sense that you don't have to think about where he fits into the sonic picture or personality picture because we're friends.

AK: It's very cool how much sense it makes.

SILY: Has your relationship changed to your old songs?

MB: I like them more. Over the break from the band, I would listen to Say Anything, with my kids or in my car, alone. The way I severed it was so intentional. I wasn't saying, "The band was over." I was saying, "We're probably going to get back together, but I have to sever this incarnation." I was listening to [old Say Anything songs] and thinking, "I like Alex's bass part. I like the production. I even like my voice." It was like listening to another band, because of the space. I've grown to like them. I definitely know people in bands that are not what they listen to, but Say Anything has always been a conglomeration of the type of thing we listen to. If I'm going to listen to The Get Up Kids, I might as well listen to Say Anything.

SILY: Moving forward, are you trying to continue to be more intentional, or do what feels best?

MB: Both. I know that's cliché to say, and it does and doesn't make sense. I find that intentional is my default, and before, I would second-guess myself constantly. Now, I allow myself to make mistakes, and I let other people give me advice that before were such cerebral trips. There was a lot that weighed on me. If the lyrics are super intentional and literal, I'm just going to do it. If I feel awkward in a photo shoot like right now, I'm just going to be awkward in the photo shoot. That is, of course, my safe and happy place in life.

[forgottenbones]

Sommelier Reviews Jeppson's Malört (Holiday Special!)

[dzone-16]

Today I bought this

Described as tasting like "the devil's taint sweat", "a condom filled with gasoline", and "pencil shavings and heartbreak", Jeppson's Malört is famously maligned and beloved. By outsiders and Chicagoans, respectively.

I've been curious about this stuff for a long time, but with no plans to go to Chicago anytime soon, it wasn't looking likely to get a taste. It might be changing in more recent years, but I'm pretty sure it's still difficult to find this stuff outside of the windy city. The inland northwest wasn't a place I expected to find Malört, so I accepted the slightly high price for the bottle I snagged.

Malört is the Swedish word for wormwood, the liqueur's main ingredient. When Carl Jeppson emigrated from Sweden he began brewing and selling his favorite bäsk liqueur recipe door to door as a medicine (like just about every other type of alcohol back then lol). Since then, it's become a rite of passage for anyone calling Chicago home to sample one, two, three shots of the bitter stuff.

I kinda want to break down my thoughts about Malört, having heard a decent amount about it from the YouTube channel How to Drink, and now tasting it myself. I've never really done this kind of thing so let's see how much I embarrass myself lol

The nose is straight up gasoline. Not as intense as the real stuff, more like gasoline one room over. It would be extremely off-putting to someone not expecting this, and I imagine watching people's faces crumple in disgust is half the fun.

The first taste is surprisingly sweet. Malört clocks in at 35% ABV, 70 proof. Despite only being just short of a full proof spirit, it doesn't taste as such. Most liqueurs range from 15-25% ABV (11% in the case of Aperol!). That sugar really blunts the impact of the ethanol.

The evolution of flavors is quick, a mouth-filling burst of grapefruit pith without the citrussy oils from the rind. It is violently bitter, especially if you're not used to drinking things like black coffee or grapefruit juice. The ethanol comes through shortly after, but is still blunted by the sugar. Beyond that, it's kinda like chewing on Nintendo Switch cartridges.

The aftertaste lasts. And lasts. And lasts. Not washing the flavor out of my mouth with something else, Malört stays on my tongue for a half an hour easily. Unfortunately, the one complaint I have with this is that there's very little else going on in terms of flavor. It tastes like wormwood from start to long, withering finish.

So, do I think Malört deserves the title of worst liqueur ever? Nah, not at all. I actually quite like it. But I'm someone who actually likes grapefruit, black coffee, and negronis. I find bitter to be a very interesting flavor that doesn't get enough of the limelight. It's why I prefer Coke over Pepsi. I DO think that Malört will be horribly vile to MOST people, and non-adventurous eaters/drinkers QUAKE AND PRAY TO THEIR VARIOUS GODS at the thought of such a bitter drink. I'm personally on the side of the Chicagoans.

I'd recommend grabbing a bottle (if you're of legal drinking age, of course) if you see one. Scarcity should be the only thing keeping you from trying Malört, because even if you don't like the taste, watching other people's reaction to it is well worth the money.

[trendynewsnow]

The Unforgiving Spirit of Malört: A Chicago Tradition

The Unforgiving Spirit: Malört Malört is, in one word, unforgiving. This unique spirit, crafted from neutral grains, wormwood, and a hint of sugar, delivers a flavor profile that can only be described as akin to sucking on dandelion juice through a straw made of car tires. Yet, paradoxically, it possesses a certain allure. Its intensely bitter taste is herbaceous with a touch of citrus,…

[violentlyexplosive]

why am i on the malört side of the internet. I'm tryna be sober for a while why is youtube advertising swedish absinthe to me. håll käften för fan. ja vill inte dricka ditt fucking ved.

[voidingintotheshout]

I’ve had it recently. OK, so famously Dr Pepper has a taste that is tough to pin down but once someone tells you what the inspiration for Dr Pepper is, it makes sense. Dr. pepper tastes like the smell of an old soda fountain. Back in the day, the two most popular sodas were cherry and cola. So a lot of the major notes in Dr Pepper are cherry and cola with some Gingerale and root beer notes mixed in. 

Moxie, in the other hand, tastes like medicine. You can get it at Cracker Barrel, the store, not the restaurant in their miscellaneous sodas sections from time to time. The store is nice because they have some vintage all natural soaps, very good rocking chairs, as well as all the vintage candy and soda you could ever want. Moxie doesn’t taste like any modern soda. If I was to be unkind, it tastes like the Malört of sodas. I finished it, but it just tasted like someone had tried to make a soda, but had no idea what they were doing. Like some old sodas have fallen out of favor because people just got obsessed with Coca-Cola and forgot about it, like cheerwine is an amazing soda, and it deserves a lot more attention but Moxie just feels like the kind of thing that fell out of favor because it just isn’t very palatable.  it’s like a more medicinal version of root beer, but with a really weird aftertaste. 

Trick or treat!

oh hang on I wasnt prepared for this uhhhh oh uh you like soda I hope so uh here:

Yeah everyone loves soda. I'm so good at this.

[interrobangbitch]

IMAGES

When you see a river

I hope you think of me

When you see strawberries

I hope you think of me

As Halloween approaches

I hope you think of me

On December 31st

I hope you think of me

When you see a Mexican flag

I hope you think of me

When you see a curly black hair

I hope you think of me

When you see a nuked meme

I hope you think of me

When you see Julia Louis Dreyfus

I hope you think of me

When you see a pair of tights

I hope you think of me

When you see a bottle of malört

I hope you think of me

When you see a scrunchie

I hope you think of me

When you see the color red

I hope you think of me

When you hear something in French

I hope you think of me

When you smell cigarette smoke

I hope you think of me

When you hear karaoke

I hope you think of me

When you see platform shoes

I hope you think of me

When you watch the news

I hope you think of me

When you see a mess

I hope you think of me

When you taste mustard

I hope you think of me

When you drink a cup of tea

I hope you think of me

When you see the color pink

I hope you think of me

When you smell lemon

I hope you think of me

If you drink white wine

I hope you think of me

When you see a shih tzu poodle

I hope you think of ines

But

When you rest your head on several pillows

When you see a butterfly

Drifting off against your orchestra; the slumber

I hope you think of me

And if a bed of wild flowers presents itself before you

In any capacity

I hope you lie down in it

Or grasp softly at their petals

And think of me

[virfujiwara]

Halloween Tintin Tinman has been in my mind for years...

[strebcr]

Streber trying to stop people at the party from drinking Malört while they're on drugs like:

[krakenteacups]

You can’t tell me a raccoon didn’t make that, so I’m making up the evil twin of the raccoon water cocktail I made with our cotton candy:

Trash Snacks

Doritos Empirical

Club soda

Tiny splash of a Malört float atop, just for those dumpster juice vibes 🤌🏽😘

Serve over ice in a nacho cheese dust rimmed rocks glass, garnish with a pepperoni slice and a pepperoncini

[becauseanders]

varric would be a malört troll

[forgottenbones]

The Worst Liquor Ever

[impassioned-heart]

6 selfies, tagged by @dyke-on ☺️.

Taggingggg @moon-rriver @femme-bo @g0lden-retriever-butch @intoxicate-me-now @femme-flower @lesbiciousbeginnings

[strebcrarchivess]

Dumb bitch takes a single sip of the grimace shake and mcfucking dies!

Right now it looks like a fucking dangan ronpa body discovery!

[highways-are-liminal-spaces]

I have four hours in Chicago what should I do

take two shots of malört and then eat the bean

(but seriousy, art institute, field museum, walk along the lakefront especially up by montrose, go to open books or myopic, go to devon for indian food, find a self guided public art walking tour route online (there are lots for pilsen but some for the loop and the north side), see what’s playing at the siskel and the music box, go to the neofuturists, eat at either the purple pig or longman and eagle if you can afford it and get in. go to the game today and wear a cheese on your head)

[fivepointpalettes]

Malört

#a25d10 | #f7dc00 | #ebb241 | #ffa745 | #f4f4b8