Housecleaning: Links. Music. Sports.

Welcome to Open Up and Read, the newsletter from music journalist Jason Brow.

So, what do you think of that new Turnstile record? Hold that thought. We’ll get to that later.

Hello again. It’s the first week of June, meaning that it’s Pride Month, Black Music History month, and the month where publications run their “Best Albums of 2025 So Far.”

There have been some stellar releases this year, but I feel as though things are running at about 70% from last year. I’ve enjoyed some albums, but in the punk/rock world, there wasn’t one that grabbed my throat the way Pissed Jeans’ Half Divorce or Mannequin Pussy’s I Got Heaven did. But I need to check. My bookkeeping has fallen to the wayside, and I have to see what I’ve been listening to.

June is the ideal time to conduct an inventory. It’s also the month marking one year of Open Up and Read.

This newsletter wasn’t as frequent as I would have liked. However, shortly after launching it, I took a job that consumed over 40 hours of my week. And when it ended prematurely in November, it sort of picked back up. In recent months, I’ve taken on some new work, and now that things have plateaued there, here we are again.

I’m glad OUAR was able to observe certain holidays: the 10th anniversary of music journalism’s peak, and the first anniversary of Steve Albini’s death. Next month marks five years since Mr. Chi-Pig died, and since I tend to memorialize those artists I love, expect something about SNFU around then.

And hey, we might get some book reviews this summer. What a novel idea for a newsletter called Open Up and Read.

95 Bulls is a “garage-punk, psych, post-punk, and synth-wave” band here in New York City, and one of the best rock groups around. The band features members of The Othermen, a band I had the fortune of seeing many times before their dispersal. 95 Bulls are just incredible. They have that level of radioactive nonchalance. Like, if you get too close to them, you’d disintegrate from how much they don’t give a damn about you. Their music is the soundtrack of coming out on the better end of a bad night.

They have a new album, Canadian Nightclub, out June 20. They released the second single, “Well Wisher,” a week ago, and it’s the soundtrack to the pair of boots I put on when I want to feel indestructible. It’s just so goddamn cool.

You can listen to it on Spotify until it’s live on Bandcamp. But you know what? Go pre-order their album on Bandcamp anyway.

Also, check out the new music from Shilpa Ray. Shilpa was one of the first artists I wrote about as a music journalist. At the time, she wasn’t mainstream or huge or signed to a major label. Listening to her felt joyous—hidden treasure.

She has two new songs out. “Portrait of a Cat Lady” and “I’m a Ghost.” Fans of OUAR will recognize some familiar faces in the first single’s artwork.

In March, I started writing for Screen Rant. It’s mostly lists. Doesn’t everyone love lists? I think so, since a few pieces have received some responses, both good and bad.

A few highlights:

•  10 Heavy Metal Songs That Defined The 1980s: Did you know a wide range of metal came out in the 1980s? And that it all wasn’t just Iron Maiden? Putting Ratt and Faith No More in this list pissed off the heshers.

• Why Fatboi Sharif is the Rapper That Every Punk and Metal Fan Should Be Listening To: It was nice to hype up this rising star. He’s also a really nice dude.

• 10 Classic Pop Punk Albums That Aren’t By Green Day Or Blink-182: Initially pitched with a title of “Classic Pop Punk Albums of the 90s,” I stuck with that because there’s too much pop punk. Fans were mad at me. I got to talk about Smoking Popes and The Muffs. I win. 

• 10 Shock Rock Metal Songs That Show Why GWAR Rules With A Bloody Fist: Surprisingly, GWAR fans had issues with this. One Bohab said I only listened to four albums, when the list references nine.

• 52 Years Later, The Alice Cooper Group Is Finally Coming Back: Here Are Their 7 Classic Albums, Ranked. I’m just glad to share this, as I still have my Mom’s old Cooper LPs, and it was a nice way to kind of low-key honor her badassery.

I’m back to writing about sports. In April, I began contributing to Raising Zona, FanSided’s Arizona Cardinals blog. I’ve supported the Cardinals ever since I was seven, a curse/byproduct of being born in Tucson. I’m not a stats or analytical nerd, but I like sports for the narrative and stories.[2]

Some highlights:

• These Etsy finds capture the Arizona Cardinals fan experience (for better or worse): where searching for merchandise on Etsy becomes an existential crisis for a Cardinals fan.

• 3 do's (and 1 don't) the Cardinals should consider for their Rivalries uniforms: The Cardinals are getting a trial run of the NFL’s version of MLB’s City Connect/NBA City Edition. Here’s what I think they should do (and please, no camo)

• Is It Time for the Cardinals Logo to Get a Redesign? What better way to announce my tenure at this blog than by saying the team needs to change its look?

Before I was Hollywood Life’s last Music Editor, I was its first Sports Editor. Granted, my official designation within the company never shifted from “Senior Writer" [3], but I got a raise, a title, and I did cover sports to some extent. The best part of the gig was getting to know and work alongside Jenna Lemoncelli, whose knowledge of the NBA is beyond compare. It’s great to see her thrive at the New York Post’s sports page and in her hosting roles for the WNBA, the New York Red Bulls, the New Jersey Devils, and Gotham FC.

Also, check out FD Signifier’s take on sports. His essay on the Sheduer Sanders draft slide and its greater implications was very insightful.

One band that is alive and well is Pelican. I interviewed the band’s prodigal son, Laurent Schroeder-Lebec, for Treble. It was a lovely talk, and their album, Flickering Resonance, will be on my ‘Best Albums Of 2025 So Far’ list, which will be released towards the end of June [1].

[1] I honestly don’t know why they run these in June. It means they need to prep them in May, which eliminates 1.5 months’ worth of music. Turnstile’s NEVER ENOUGH came out on June 6, arguably the worst day possible: too late to be on the “Best of the Year So Far” lists (unless the publication got the review copy early) and far too soon for the overall Best of the Year review. Recency bias is a thing.

[2] I’m aware of the sins of the NFL and Arizona as a whole. I have a lot to atone for.

[3] Something I learned during a recent employment nightmare when a background check revealed this inconsistency. HL never made a separate designation, and it’s too late to correct it. The company was dissolved after its second acquisition.

Open Up and Read is the newsletter from music journalist Jason Brow. Thanks for reading. Share this with your friends and encourage them to subscribe at OpenUpAndRead.com. You can also support him with a few dollars via Ko-Fi. Be kind to cats. Music is the best.