Content Nausea No. 94: In A Body Like A Grave
And age is a traitor and, bit by bit / Less lust for life, more talking shit
Welcome to the 94th edition of Content Nausea. You can read No. 93 right here. Please let me know what you think. Thank you for being here. Here is the welcome blog.
I walked into Wegmans on Friday afternoon behind a woman who was carrying a crushed Miller Lite can while her husband and son looked for a trash can for her to throw it out in. I’ve gone grocery shopping the day before game day every home game this season, and it hasn’t been as bad as everyone kept telling me it would. Yesterday, the cashier saw my Packers hat and asked me what Aaron Rodgers’ deal was before getting to Brett Favre…
Some content I wrote this week
Wrote about a kind of goofy celebration that everyone does (and I did on a podcast this week).
One of the better/more interesting things I’ve written in a while about a veteran running back who stuck around.
Making a statement in Auburn.
A wide receiver went home to Alabama.
Some content I listened to this week
The 092k22 playlist is done. Don’t forget about vibes [fall], either.
Currently listening to Wind Burn, the new album from Cave People. I fell into Cave People during the pandemic back in 2020 and it soundtracked some part of that year that I’ve lost track of. Wind Burn is pretty good.
I kept forgetting there was a new No Age album coming out, and while I need to revisit People Helping People, it did feel like a warm hug.
I hadn’t stayed up till midnight on a Friday for a new album release in a long time, but I did that last week for God Save The Animals by Alex G and The Hum Goes on Forever by The Wonder Years. Both are very good. I really can’t stop thinking about the hook of “Throw me into the Delaware!” on “The Paris of Nowhere.” I’m a pure sucker for that.
Speaking of The Wonder Years, this Gawker essay by Adam Nayman on the “Dad Rock” of Dan Campbell and Craig Finn was a nice read.
Remains wild that I used to see Alex G in the 8908 basement:
A through-line of this year has been falling into random Bloc Party songs. “I Still Remember” was the closing song for a How Long Gone episode and then I couldn’t stop listening to it. Earlier this week, Matty Healy posted some of the “Little Thoughts” video to his Instagram Story, so I’ve been listening to that a lot. Good band.
Speaking of How Long Gone, I had this episode with Chuck Klosterman from a while ago tagged in Pocket. Also speaking of How Long Gone and Matty Healy, I enjoyed The 1975 episode of the podcast.
Some content I read this week
Emily finally launched her newsletter LEMON EXTRACT last month, and it’s great. I’m excited that it’s finally here after casually talking about it for a while. I really loved her first post about summer and quitting drinking. Subscribe!
Hanif Abdurraqib on summer league basketball in ESPN:
I believe this to be a part of the magic of these moments, where the barrier between the professional superstar and the people becomes flimsy, a bit more grounded. Even for elders, there's a reversion back to a younger self, a self who was more easily susceptible to miracles.
Dan McQuade at Defector is an expert at cataloging Philadelphia, and this line from his post about the Eagles’ win over the Vikings earlier in September was peak Philly:
A man trying to sell me something outside the supermarket this morning launched into a rant about how good the Eagles are after I declined to buy it.
“I’m Still Here” by John Wall
A couple lines from a recent Deez Links post by Delia Cai kind of resonated with me a bit:
…it reminds me that this armored vault of isolation is not entirely my fault, although some of it certainly is: how can it be a coincidence that my closest friendships are almost all safely long-distance? How did I get to be 29 years old without filling in whatever space in your life ensures that you’re asked how was your day with regularity?
Also a Delia Cai interview with Carly Rae Jepsen in Vanity Fair.
On neighbors.
Alicia Kennedy’s “On Selling a Lifestyle” was yet another really good post from her always excellent newsletter:
The eternal question: Can we look at what someone else has and not believe we should also have it?
“On Hurricane Fiona” was also another post that stuck with me a bit.
Beautiful piece in The New York Times on Pacman Jones, one of the more notorious figures in the NFL during my adolescence, taking in the sons of a late former teammate and raising them. Chris Henry Jr. looks so much like Chris Henry.
Forget exactly what it was in this episode of The Distraction, but I thought it was good and I bookmarked it so here.
Alex Prewitt on the Diggs brothers in Sports Illustrated from over the summer.
Giri Nathan on Serena Williams in Defector.
Some other content I saw or thought about this week
My dry cleaner is really aggressive when it comes to coupons and getting me to come back. Maybe I need to wear my suit more often.
Thank you for reading the 94th edition of Content Nausea. It will get better. Thank you, and see you soon.
Christ will call you out
School will deepen debt
Work will sap the soul
Hometown haunts what’s left
Love will scar the heart
Sun will burn the skin
Just the way it is
And way it’s always been
—D.G.