As someone whose screen name was 'bf5chick' for the entirety of AIM's run, I feel I can accurately comment that there WAS a weird ground swell of anti-Brick people, and the main reason I remember is that it got popular. Remember how selling out was the worst thing you could do in the 90s unless you were Reel Big Fish and hanging a lantern on it via a brass section? I'm with you that it's sad and gorgeous and thematically a BF5 song all over. There are still people from the message boards (Magical Armchair, anyone?) who light candles in their windows at 6 am on Dec 26.
Fun fact about Brick being their "breakout hit" is that often people will REALLY get into it during shows, like dancing along, which is one of the most surreal concert moments I've ever had. Are they... listening?
ANYwhoozle, thanks for never making me feel like a big ole weirdo for leaving comments like this on your newsletter <3
okay you were EXACTLY who I was hoping would comment because I trust you to know ALL the BF5 lore with a screen name like that! I guess I could've figured out that "Brick" would get hate because of the popularity alone. I love that people still light candles at 6am on December 26 and dance along to "Brick" at shows, which . . . yeah, does not seem tonally right. Your sentence about selling out in the 90s is just about the most perfect sentence I've ever read. I do remember that very distinctly from following Green Day's career in particular lol. Anyway, thanks for commenting!!!
Gawd, that freaking song. Just the memory of the video made me a little teary (I did not watch it because I’m not trying to cry at my desk right now!) I’m actively dreading my own upcoming post-pub blues, so it's nice to get confirmation that this is something a lot of people go through, it’s cyclical, it will end. I always really appreciate it when people are able to be publicly vulnerable. Like it's not something you owe anyone, but sometimes it helps to get it out there.
ha not wanting to watch the video is VERY fair! when I'm not in the mood to hurt myself I might be wary, too. when I'm wallowing on the other hand . . . ask me how many times I watched it. It is helpful to know these things are cyclical and almost expected, so when they roll around they (hopefully) don't hit you quite as hard. Thanks for reading!!!
So my birthday is the day after christmas and when I told a then-acquaintance, now friend that, she said "oh, the same day Ben Folds' girlfriend got an aborition."
Yay vulnerability! Boo depression! RIP Pop Up Video, a 90s night owl's closest companion! I'm contractually obligated to be annoyed that the Rays took the Mariners series (the contract is my marriage license) but I'm glad you've been spending time in your happy place.
I read this while also listening to your Happy to Meet Cute episode, just marinating in how great you are. 😊
I have a lot of love and respect for the Mariners, so they are a team I always wish well (while, of course, I'm happy to see my Rays win). I really really want the Mariners to win their division so I'm rooting for them!! Thanks for reading my newsletter and always being there to gas me up <3
The post-pub crash is real. After 20+ book releases over the last decade, I've grown to expect it, but it still sucks. It's especially intense for book two in a series or book two after a debut because debuts and first in a new series seem to get so much more fanfare and the buzz lasts longer for those. I have a note pinned to my bulletin board that says "the reward is the process not the outcome" because I have to remind myself over and over again that getting to write is supposed to be the fun part. It's not supposed to only be about the one day your book hits shelves or the one day you win an award or whatever, but that's an ongoing journey to get that message through my head. :) (And don't worry about sharing it publicly. I write a whole separate newsletter from my main author one just to talk about being in writer burnout and trying to recover from that. That dirty laundry is hanging out there for all to see, lol. It helps to share this stuff sometimes because then you realize you're not the only writer/creative who struggles with these things.) Good luck getting through those edits!
Yeah, I think the whiplash from debut to second novel is especially hard to take. I love that quote and may have to pin it to my own bulletin board! I love both your newsletters, and in fact have been meaning to talk to about your last one because I, too, have been developing a syllabus for myself for a project I want to do in 2024 . . .
I too loved Pop-Up Video! I watched it a ton in college. It was always great when they did a cheesy 80s video or had a running joke during one of the videos. The show was briefly revived in 2011, but I don't remember it being as good.
dude the remix of girlfriend and better than revenge is like perf😍 your stories are great, i like them sm.💗💗
thank you!!! sometimes what I need is just a good pop remix, what can I say!
As someone whose screen name was 'bf5chick' for the entirety of AIM's run, I feel I can accurately comment that there WAS a weird ground swell of anti-Brick people, and the main reason I remember is that it got popular. Remember how selling out was the worst thing you could do in the 90s unless you were Reel Big Fish and hanging a lantern on it via a brass section? I'm with you that it's sad and gorgeous and thematically a BF5 song all over. There are still people from the message boards (Magical Armchair, anyone?) who light candles in their windows at 6 am on Dec 26.
Fun fact about Brick being their "breakout hit" is that often people will REALLY get into it during shows, like dancing along, which is one of the most surreal concert moments I've ever had. Are they... listening?
ANYwhoozle, thanks for never making me feel like a big ole weirdo for leaving comments like this on your newsletter <3
okay you were EXACTLY who I was hoping would comment because I trust you to know ALL the BF5 lore with a screen name like that! I guess I could've figured out that "Brick" would get hate because of the popularity alone. I love that people still light candles at 6am on December 26 and dance along to "Brick" at shows, which . . . yeah, does not seem tonally right. Your sentence about selling out in the 90s is just about the most perfect sentence I've ever read. I do remember that very distinctly from following Green Day's career in particular lol. Anyway, thanks for commenting!!!
Gawd, that freaking song. Just the memory of the video made me a little teary (I did not watch it because I’m not trying to cry at my desk right now!) I’m actively dreading my own upcoming post-pub blues, so it's nice to get confirmation that this is something a lot of people go through, it’s cyclical, it will end. I always really appreciate it when people are able to be publicly vulnerable. Like it's not something you owe anyone, but sometimes it helps to get it out there.
ha not wanting to watch the video is VERY fair! when I'm not in the mood to hurt myself I might be wary, too. when I'm wallowing on the other hand . . . ask me how many times I watched it. It is helpful to know these things are cyclical and almost expected, so when they roll around they (hopefully) don't hit you quite as hard. Thanks for reading!!!
So my birthday is the day after christmas and when I told a then-acquaintance, now friend that, she said "oh, the same day Ben Folds' girlfriend got an aborition."
Was that the moment that got them from acquaintance to friend? Because that would've done it for me.
Pretty much actually.
Yay vulnerability! Boo depression! RIP Pop Up Video, a 90s night owl's closest companion! I'm contractually obligated to be annoyed that the Rays took the Mariners series (the contract is my marriage license) but I'm glad you've been spending time in your happy place.
I read this while also listening to your Happy to Meet Cute episode, just marinating in how great you are. 😊
I have a lot of love and respect for the Mariners, so they are a team I always wish well (while, of course, I'm happy to see my Rays win). I really really want the Mariners to win their division so I'm rooting for them!! Thanks for reading my newsletter and always being there to gas me up <3
The post-pub crash is real. After 20+ book releases over the last decade, I've grown to expect it, but it still sucks. It's especially intense for book two in a series or book two after a debut because debuts and first in a new series seem to get so much more fanfare and the buzz lasts longer for those. I have a note pinned to my bulletin board that says "the reward is the process not the outcome" because I have to remind myself over and over again that getting to write is supposed to be the fun part. It's not supposed to only be about the one day your book hits shelves or the one day you win an award or whatever, but that's an ongoing journey to get that message through my head. :) (And don't worry about sharing it publicly. I write a whole separate newsletter from my main author one just to talk about being in writer burnout and trying to recover from that. That dirty laundry is hanging out there for all to see, lol. It helps to share this stuff sometimes because then you realize you're not the only writer/creative who struggles with these things.) Good luck getting through those edits!
Yeah, I think the whiplash from debut to second novel is especially hard to take. I love that quote and may have to pin it to my own bulletin board! I love both your newsletters, and in fact have been meaning to talk to about your last one because I, too, have been developing a syllabus for myself for a project I want to do in 2024 . . .
Ooh, fun! I've been loving hearing other people's ideas for what topics they want to dive into or what stuff they want to put in their own syllabus.
I too loved Pop-Up Video! I watched it a ton in college. It was always great when they did a cheesy 80s video or had a running joke during one of the videos. The show was briefly revived in 2011, but I don't remember it being as good.
The running jokes were my FAVORITE. I think I also saw the revived episodes, and agree that they weren't the same.
aw I love that!! thank you!