#jamies elsewhere

[thisaintascenereviews]

Yellowcard - Childhood Eyes / Jamie's Elsewhere - Paradise EP

This past Friday, two projects were released at the same moment, both being ultimately different, but very similar in a lot of ways. If you're thinking this is going to be a review of Barbenheimer, you're sorely mistaken, but in all seriousness, two bands from the "alternative" world dropped a comeback EP on the same day, and they're both worth listening to and talking about if you're familiar with these bands or that scene in particular. Those two bands in particular are the pop-punk pioneers Yellowcard with their newest EP, Childhood Eyes, and post-hardcore underdogs Jamie's Elsewhere with their Paradise EP. Both of these bands are rather different, whether it's their sound or their influence in their genres, but it's a big deal that they're both back.

I want this piece to be less of a "review," and more or less on what it means for the alternative scene that they're back. The thing is, both of these EPs are really good, and despite them both having different sounds, they have a lot more in common than you'd otherwise think. Both of these bands were beloved in their scenes, and they bowed out around a decade ago, although the reasons are a bit different. Frontman of Jamie's Elsewhere Aaron Pauley stepped away due to becoming the bassist (and eventual frontman) of some band called Of Mice & Men. I don't know, I think they're a big deal in the metalcore world, but who knows? These are also both EPs, which is kind of weird, but it means to drop EPs instead of a full length, as they're smaller teasers of what kind of new material they have.

I could go on about these EPs, but in reality, they're both very good and that's all you need to know before listening to them. They're essentially modernized versions of what people loved about each band. Yellowcard's brand of violin-infused pop-punk sounds oddly fresh in 2023, and Jamie's Elsewhere's brand of electronic-heavy and experimental post-hardcore feels very ahead of its time in 2023, but they don't feel as though they're pandering to fans, really just picking up where they left off. That's what I wanted to talk about with this piece, at least the overarching idea, because 2023 has been a year where bands that haven't released material in a long time are releasing either some of their best material (here's looking at you, Fall Out Boy), or a genuinely great album to add to their already solid body of work (obligatory mention of Paramore). These EPs would fit into the latter category, but the quality doesn't matter as much as the meaning behind them.

I'm not a diehard fan of either one of these bands, so I could sit here and critique these EPs, because I don't have any personal or nostalgic attachments to them (I did listen to Jamie's Elsewhere a lot in high school, but not religiously), but what's the point of that? I wanted to talk about these records in some way, because I like them a lot, and I wanted to add something to the conversation. I think there's something to be said about these two bands returning after so many years, and being welcomed with open eyes (and open ears).

It's something special when a band you love returns after so many years, and it feels like nothing's changed, despite how you've all grown up. That's how I felt with the new Fall Out Boy record, So Much (For) Stardust, earlier this year. Despite them being gone for five years, and myself being a fan for the past fifteen, Stardust is a fantastic album that isn't a return to form, per se, but it's still a showcase of their creativity and maturity as a band and a group of guys. I don't have that same attachment to Jamie's Elsewhere or Yellowcard, so I wanted to extend an invitation to someone who does. My buddy Jake just put out a retrospective on Yellowcard's Ocean Avenue, because its 20th anniversary was a day after Childhood Eyes' release, and I felt as though it wouldn't be right to talk about that EP in particular without bringing along who has that sense of nostalgia and attachment to the band, ultimately asking what this EP means to him and what the band coming back now represents.

He writes, and I quote, "It's actually really fitting that this new Yellowcard EP came out a day before the 20th anniversary of Ocean Avenue, because when I first listened to it, Childhood Eyes gave me a lost of similarly warm and fuzzy feelings that I felt all those years ago listening to Ocean Avenue, but in a fresh way for someone who has grown up with them in those 20 years. What I think really works about this EP is that, cliche as this term might be, it's a more mature, updated version of Yellowcard that grew up along with their fanbase who fell in love with them all of those years ago. The sound itself isn't radically different (in fact, the band themselves has said as much), but they didn't take the easy way out and try to capture the exact magic of 20 years ago like a lot of bands unfortunately do (looking at you, 2010's Green Day). And this is all after what everyone thought was a final, self-titled album in 2016 and permanent breakup; to have them come back in this way, capturing that same magic in 2003, and really their entire career afterwards, is really special, and this EP really couldn't have come out at a better time."

In all honesty, both EPs are worth hearing, especially if you enjoy pop-punk and/or post-hardcore. I don't have a whole lot to deconstruct with these EPs, because they're what you'd expect from these bands, but they're very good, nonetheless. Although I will say that I don't understand why Yellowcard put Pierce The Veil on Childhood Eyes, but that's really neither here nor there, because their feature is surprisingly fine. It's just very interesting and oddly satisfying that a lot of bands that we didn't expect to release new music this year, or reunited the last few years but haven't released any music yet, are doing just that, especially ones that are more nostalgic to us. I wanted this to be less of a review, and more of a "welcome back" for these bands, because it's good to have them back. Here's new records from both of them soon, but in the meantime, I hope their fans are enjoying the hell out of them.

[the-casbah-way]

jamie and malcolm’s argument at the end of spinners and losers was essentially a messy breakup and i cannot stop thinking about it

[lunar-years]

obviously Jamie not being in season 4 would suck mostly because I simply want Jamie to be there and to get more of his story and get to enjoy more interactions between Jamie and the other characters. At the end of the day though, I can just not watch s4, which I'm perfectly okay with.

what sucks EVEN MORE to me, and is far harder to avoid, is that not having Jamie in the show totally changes the *canon* of the character in a way that will inevitably bleed over into fan spaces, regardless of whether or not I'm actively watching. However they write him out (I assume it would just be having him go to another team) becomes the new "Jamie Tartt canon." And that small thing totally changes his story and we don't even get to see it play out! When i was perfectly happy playing in my sandbox of a million equally valid possibilities.

[jamiesfootball]

Six Sentence Sunday

When Jamie was really little, his mummy used to work the swing shift.

She would pick him up from daycare and stop home for a quick meal. Then she'd take him, his kiddie-sized backpack, and his kid-sized football down the street to the old woman who watched him when mummy was at work. After making him promise not to cause trouble, his mum would kiss his cheeks and wrap him in a hug so tight for so long that Jamie would grow fidgety, wriggling around in her grasp until with one final kiss she let him go.

Watching her leave, he'd instantly regret the wriggling, he'd swear to himself that next time he'd do better, and his mummy would hug him forever and never have to go to work.

Then she would leave and he'd get caught up playing footie and he'd forget all the promises he ever made his mum.

[alexturner2005]

Arctic Monkeys @ The Mann, Philadelphia 5th Sept. 2023, By Steve Cerf

[melvinthedepressedrobot]

for me, rabies is one of those things like quicksand where you were convinced as a child it was gonna be a way more prevalant danger in your life than it actually was

turns out there's not a single person been infected by it in the UK since the 1920s

[travisdermotts]

look, I'm glad that gauthier wasn't forced into playing for a team he didn't want to play for and I'm glad he had enough of a voice to advocate for himself, but to say his refusal to play was just a "personal matter" and shutting down any other discussion feels a little gross when that refusal impacted another player's life and career in such an extreme way

[variousqueerthings]

last episode of ted lasso really setting up questions and providing no answers H U H

[protect-daniel-james]

This part of the ALOTO US Road trip where Freddie and Jack have a little Brokeback Mountain moment and Jamie is just like 👁️👄👁️ 

[there-must-be-a-lock]

I love this whole thing 🖤 not least for the History Boys reference.

I just watched the ep and I didn’t even think about it from this angle but you're so right, the narrative symbology is on point.

writing sucks because after i share what i wrote i wanna be like "hey did u notice this technique i used? did you notice the repetition here? let me write you an analysis on my own work."

[sussudioo]

to everyone who knows a 10-year old at sephora, they just need sunscreens, lip balms/glosses, and hydrating products or oil control (for the folks who had acne earlier than the rest)

[faeroseate]

can we all like, instead of saying smth is cringe just admit that some things just arent for us and call it a day? Like, when did it become the norm to call everything cringe? Someone liking or playing smth that was popular 5+ years ago isnt cringe. Someone listening to a controversial artist isnt cringe. If there's something you dont particular like or you dont agree with someone with that's totally okay and actually normal. Not everything is meant for you and either it got lost along the way or wasnt mentioned enough but we were all created to be unique and different. We're gonna find people who have similar interests as us and we're gonna find people who have opposite interests, that's just life. But not everything is cringe because you dont like it or you find it weird

[sagehaleyofficial]

What is UP, my dudes?! It’s Friday again, meaning it’s time for another NEW RELEASE ROUND-UP! Which of these new releases is your personal favorite? Let me know in the comments, and suggest your own new releases for the week if they’re not listed! 💿

#BlocParty #Borderlines #Guardin #JamiesElsewhere #ThePenskeFile #Yellowcard

[jamiesfootball]

🌹

Chomping a few more of these just so I can stare at something other than the chapter I'm working on.

From one of the gift fics:

From there he’d pop round to Nelson road. Bit early, even for him, but he hoped to catch Ted before the coach got swept up in pressers and the like. He wanted to thank him, properly, for all he’d done to help Jamie and straighten him out over the years. He knew Lasso had a busy schedule and a quick turnaround to get home, and Jamie wouldn’t take up too much of his time. He just- he needed to say it. He had his fingers crossed that it’d be one of their better talks — the kind that left him feeling pleased with himself and a bit like he could float on air — instead of one of the awkward, stilted ones that fizzled out between his fingers and left him feeling wrong-footed and confused, like he'd put his elbows on the table or committed some other social fake paw that he was supposed to know about by now.

But just in case it did go like that, he'd still have said it, and he’d still have left himself plenty of time to screw his head on before the match. He was a professional after all. Give him a few minutes recovery in the storage room that wasn't Higgins' office anymore, and by the time the lads started filtering in, he’d be fine.

[thetarttfuldickhead]

Roy/Jaime/Keeley fic idea: Just a series on what would happen if they were told the other has somehow been killed. How would Roy and Keeley react if they thought Jaime died in a train crash? How would Roy and Jaime feel if someone said Keeley's plane went down when she flies out for a job? How would Keeley and Jaime respond if Roy was the victim of a heartless death prank? So much angst and lovely reunions when the one thought to be dead comes home safe, sound, and completely oblivious to the hell their lovers have been through?

I love that you brought this to me, nonny, but I'll be honest - I'm a very slow writer with limited time and it's highly unlikely that I'd ever get around to writing this. So I'm releasing this idea out into the Tumblr wild and hope that someone else picks it up and does it justice and writes the most gorgerous fic for you. <3

[melvinthedepressedrobot]

please for the love of everything good in this world use fucking paragraph breaks