Mailbucket #17: Wait, Is This a Pop Culture Podcast?

Also: Those white-knuckle years between achievement and success

Granted, we probably encourage this impression ourselves through various discussions about music, movies, literature…. But! You people sure do love to go long in your emails about pop culture, so I will return the favor by collecting a half-dozen in this here ‘Bucket, with the usual light editing, appended hyperlinks, and italicized responses.

From: Andrew F.

Subject: Desmond Child and the Bon Jovi Singularity

Date: Aug. 8, 2025

Hello, friends. Get out the bell, Matt, I believe I just hit my 5-year anniversary as a paying subscriber.

Anyhoo, I was just listening to the Members Only episode where you mentioned Desmond Child and the vice grip he had on the charts during the Hair Metal years. Your brief mention of "You Give Love a Bad Name" reminded me of an interesting bit of Bon Jovi history that I learned from Chris Molanphy's Hit Parade episode on that fucking awful band, an episode with the clumsy but accurate title, "You Give Rock a Bad Name." It's a fascinating listen from a strictly music nerd perspective, made better by the contempt the usually affable host obviously holds towards his subject.

So the bit of history I wanted to highlight is Bonnie Tyler's Child-penned song from 1986, pre-Slippery When Wet, "If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)." This one song is the primordial ooze from which Bon Jovi was released onto the world ... it's sprinkled with riffs and melodies that show up in Bon Jovi's singles for the next few years. From a macro level, it's basically take one of "You Give Love a Bad Name."

If you're picking up some ... anger ... from me towards Bon Jovi, good! I fucking hate them and have hated them since they were shoved down my throat as a 6th grader in suburban New Jersey in 1986. I've never understood why they seem to avoid the ridicule that their Hair Metal peers in bands like Warrant, White Lion, Poison, etc., regularly receive. Is there really a difference? Why does Bon Jovi get the "authentic" or "rock band" reputation while the other bands who made the exact same music are treated as punchlines? They all sucked equally.

But, of course, Dave Matthews is almost certainly worse.

P.S.: You absolutely should have thrown Jon Bon Jovi in with the list of aging rockstars who now look like women. That guy looks like he should be playing on the LPGA Seniors tour.

(Ding, ding, five-year DING!

Random factlet: I went to Bon Jovi’s brother’s wedding, in Vegas. He was marrying a friend of my wife’s. Jon came in, and he was … not very tall.

My internal two-part rule for talking about music is, 1) Don’t Be a Hater, and 2) Appreciate Those Who Bring Original Joy to the World. That said, I do enjoy, and occasionally even harbor, a little well-placed irrational hatred, and yours made me laugh.

As for your question. I believe it has an answer, and that answer is the September 1989 MTV Music Awards, which I watched in real time. With Hair Metal at or near its peak, with production values not just of Hair Metal but of mainstream pop/rock and emergent New Jack Swing just filled with the absolute worst milk-splash snare drum sound and treble-maxing cellophane Mutt Lange sheen, in addition to the all-visuals emphasis (recall that 1989 was peak Milli Vanilli) and general Tammy Faye Baker level of personal grooming, even those of us who liked some metal were desperate for some fucking low end, and actual proof of real musical chops. (There’s a reason why Boomers like Lou Reed and David Bowie and Neil Young went on reactionary, back-to-basics guitar-rock binges that year.)

What does that have to do with Bon Jovi and the Music Awards? Well, Jon and Richie chose the literal platform of MTV to make the then-radical choice of stripping their two biggest hits down to acoustic guitars and harmony singing, to which a nation of baffled millions said, “Oh, I didn’t know they could actually PLAY!”

There was a great pivot afoot. After Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years, Sunset Strip metal had to de-ridiculize itself. Guns N’ Roses got the memo early, getting rid of the crimping iron even between “Welcome to the Jungle” and “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” then recording the fantastic acoustic side on G N’ R Lies. Grunge, itself an anti-Hair Metal reaction (choosing instead to revere punk rock and, uh, Led Zeppelin?), was just getting started in 1989, and would dominate already by 1991, after which the old Strip bands were scrambling to hide the mascara and learn some old punk songs. Bon Jovi had the good sense (if unplanned) to not release anything for four years, so by the time they came back Jon could show up with a new short haircut, write moderately serious songs that still had some hook, and this + the Music Awards memory refreshed by a obligatory appearance on MTV Unplugged (a series they helped inspire), meant that people took B.J. more seriously than Warrant, the end.

You must watch Decline Part II:

***

From: John McWaters

Subject: Mount Rushmore of Foreign Based English Language Songs That You Likely Have Never Heard of.

Date: Aug. 6, 2025

Gentlemen, and Kmele,

Do you call an eunuch a gentleman? Well, related to the previous email on the Mount Rushmore of bands, I have collected four English-language songs performed by foreign bands that you likely have never heard (all of them from Japan and Korea for some reason), that I think are unimpeachable.

#1. “Painty Paint Pots,” 800 Cherries

Y’all, this is a masterpiece of Shibuya pop magic from 1999. One of the virtues of obscure bands is that it’s not hard to get in touch with former members. The language barrier is tough though. I don’t speak Japanese and they speak like no English. That said, we’ve had many lovely correspondences, and through that got them to re-press this album. This is fine Members Only end song material, perhaps.

#2. “Perfume,” Cosa Nostra

This song is sexy.

This song hails from 1994 and I really don't recall how on God’s green earth I found it, but man, I’m glad I did.

#3. “A Shotgun & Me,” Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her

This furious and pounding punk-adjacent song gets a bit lyrically repetitive, but man oh man it’s fantastic LOUD. Very ominous and infectious, from 1997.

#4. “We Look Alike,” Say Sue Me

I’m not even gonna lie, the lyrics are questionable in how much sense they exactly make, but the outro is magical.

Well gents,

Thank you for humoring my late-night rambling.

(Thank YOU for sharing music! “Painty Paint Pots,” complete with Peewee Herman-style name, would have fit snugly in the late-‘90s indie-pop L.A. scene I talked about in Members Only #263, and is my favorite of this bunch. Cosa Nostra actually got played a bunch on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic when I was there. Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her is the band here I’d be mostly likely to see [and fall in love with]. Say Sue Me, I would definitely steal their gear.)

***

From: [Anonymous]

Subject: What Do Ya Do With All That Disdain and Jealousy?

Date: Aug. 7, 2025

Gents,

Third (?) time emailer, long-time listener, too poor for NFC, but paid subscriber.

I’ll keep this brief for all our sakes.

I work in film. I’ve been making movies and, despite committing my life to it for 10+ years, the needle has hardly moved. Some success, some funding—I’ve been lucky in a few ways. However, it’s often hard to know whether or not to keep going when talentless hacks and nepotism rule the industry. Yes, a luxury problem, because it’s just movies—but they’re important to me, and they’re not just movies. I’m committed to the art form.

My question is: how do you deal with jealousy and envy? How do you deal with failure? Did it take fucking forever for you to make a good living/get recognition/momentum at what you love doing?

Most importantly: Is there a point in continuing to make art if someone like myself can hardly get a festival selection, or a producer to read my script? (Those are the two major issues—it’s not a lack of creativity or will, necessarily. It’s access.) I make a living in the industry outside of directing my own films, so that’s not really the issue (although with the way things are going, it's dicey at times). I don’t want to do anything else, and I don't think I could at this point. I was always a shitty employee for the most part when not working in film.

My biggest struggle is the validation from the industry. And while one can wax philosophical about validation from the outside world not mattering—it’s the only fucking thing that matters in the movie biz. And I’ll just say with confidence, not hubris: I’ve made good movies! I’ve got a voice! I can do it! But you ultimately can’t do it without an audience. You can’t do it without money and support from the Hollywood or indie world. It’s very political and cutthroat—yadda yadda. I know all that. But it’s hard for me to see the point when it seems like my work is rejected at almost every turn.

It’s also hard when I’m in a city with a burgeoning indie scene that seems to want nothing to do with me. I find it difficult to get support from almost anyone besides my mom, dad, girlfriend, and a few friends, and that's great and helpful, but I'm ambitious and somewhat greedy. I want success. But as I said—the industry is what I’m after. I want to win the Palme d'Or, I want to make money and make a lot of movies, and I want to succeed for my own sake, but also out of spite, too!

I’m starting to think I’m unlikable—and maybe that’s true. However, there are so many fucking assholes in the world, and particularly in art, so why can’t a good-looking (my mom says so!), relatively smart (says no one), and well-watched gent like myself find that support?

I’ve been the nice guy—it hasn’t worked. I’ve been the asshole—it hasn’t worked. I’ve been myself (somewhere in between, but maybe closer to the latter, because Italian)—and it still hasn’t worked!

The fuck does one do with all that?

(The struggle to deal with the gap between achievement and success is so so SO real, even for those of us with cooler blood and unimpressive facial hair. What you send more outward via disdain and jealousy, many of us turn inward, as bitterness, self-doubt, and ultimately an excuse to quit. Please don’t quit.

You say 10+ years. Well – and this is cheating a bit, but only a bit – what would you say to 19? That’s my span from age 18 to 37, during which my annual earnings topped $15,000 maybe three times and never exceeded $42,000, and my periodic [and unusual!] bouts of micro-fame were more for who I was [an expat, a media entrepreneur, a “blogger”] than my personal written work. You can if you want lop off four years of that for the college newspaper, and maybe the 2.5 years I spent making a locally very good wage in Budapest, but still, American newspaper hiring editors [back when they existed!] treated me like a leper, my [decent, I swear!] freelance pieces rarely made a big ripple, and the only real job offers I got [pre-Reason] were from tech-bubble charlatans. People whose careers I helped nurture were zooming way past me all the way to New York City! And though I lived [and still live] pretty frugally, my credit cards swole. I will confess to occasional bouts of self-pity and bitterness, neither of which come very natural.

Even typing this, I’m getting flashbacks to all the times when friends and acquaintances would say a variation of, “Gee, you’re pretty good; how come you’re not more successful?” These actually helped in their way, especially when coming from strangers whose work I admired. But ultimately I did not quit [even as many of my aforementioned fancy transplants to NYC eventually gave up the ghost], because I COULD not quit. I don’t have any backup plans, and I like to write too much.

Spite/revenge are great motivators, but bitterness and jealousy are corrosive to both art and relationships. Quick stupid anecdote: In 2003 or so, a visiting Nick Gillespie corralled me into accompanying him on a trip to the L.A. Times Opinion section, so he could lobby to get more Reason writers in there. The East Coast transplant editor there, who I shall not name, said at one point, “You know, I’ve just had the hardest time finding anybody in L.A. who can write!” You can imagine the steam shooting out of my nose, my ears, my wherever. And not just on my own behalf, but for all my amazingly talented friends and acquaintances in that freelance-tastic town. But, I bit my tongue, tried to be constructive & helpful to everyone present … and within three years I was hired by the L.A. Times Opinion section, where I worked like a bastard [and next to that aforementioned editor] to introduce talented locals into those pages.

I don’t know much about the film industry, other than that it’s just brutally collaborative, requiring even the biggest future auteur to be at least passable at relationshipping. I can get why you’re in your own head a bit about which bowl of your internal porridge to present to the world. Would just counsel: Don’t quit, treasure and nurture relationships with literally anybody who understands your talent, and keep fighting long enough to afford to Never Fly Coach!)

***

From: Chris A.

Subject: First Time Emailer, Late Night Rant

Date: Aug. 7, 2025

Greetings, all. Chris A from the forums here. I've been a lurker since Dan Crenshaw was on your show, a free subscriber since the beginning of summer, and now a full-blown paid subscriber. I've found your podcast to be a small island of sanity in a world gone mad, and I enjoy listening even when I don’t entirely agree with you (which is the point, I believe).

On your recent Members Only podcast (#270), you brought up the firing of Colbert, and the state of late night comedy. I haven't really watched any late-night shows since Conan (so, back when they used to be funny), but I catch clips online now and then. Apparently, they are shocked to learn that losing your employer $40 million a year means you lose your job. Who knew? However, I recently read a statement from Seth Meyers that made my blood boil, and I just had to get this off my chest. He said in an interview that he is terrified of losing his show. He is worried that the TV ecosystem won't support late night comedy anymore, and he fears for his mental health if the worst were to happen.

Normally, I'm sympathetic to people losing their jobs. However, as far as I'm concerned, Mr. Meyers can write out his fears on an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper, fold it neatly into thirds, and cram it directly into his ass.

I spent the better part of the last 20 years as a self-employed, independent landman in the oil and gas industry (I recently went in-house, hooray for benefits!). The possibility of losing my job was a daily occurrence, and it happened more than once due to the ebb and flow of the oil and gas industry. I watched Barack Obama's inauguration speech from a greasy spoon restaurant in New Cordell, OK. I was doing odd title work for a local car dealer and was paid irregularly. It was the only work available. I was not feeling the hope and change. There was another downturn in 2019. That year was worse for my family than the actual pandemic. Did it affect my mental health? Hell yeah, it did. But I still had a family to feed so I went out and took any odd job I could. I drove for Amazon for a bit; it was easily the worst job I've ever had. I worked 11-hour days, was paid beans, and was cheated out of at least one bonus. Every horror story is true (I didn't pee in a Coke bottle, but I know people who did).

Why am I so pissed at Seth Meyers over his statement? For one, I have a hard time listening to a millionaire TV star whine about unemployment. He'll just go sleep in his mansion, then probably have a well-paying gig the next day. But mainly, I'm pissed that I work for an industry that Mr. Meyers and those of his persuasion deride, ridicule, and attempt to tear down any chance they get. The people he caters to have tried to destroy my livelihood for decades, and now he's afraid of being on the receiving end for once.

Maybe he can go drive for Amazon.

Anyway, I just needed to vent that somewhere. Looking forward to the next show, keep up the good work.

(What was I saying above about a little well-placed bile…. Thanks for this perspective-check, and I’m glad you went in-house, at least for a while! And I appreciate you lot bringing so much product and value out of the ground this past decade-plus….)

***

From: Bethany

Subject: Moynihan’s Misinformation Campaign

Date: Aug. 11, 2025

Good day gentlemen, and ... Misinformation Moynihan,

I would like to address the Members Only episode #270, where Moynihan
advises paying Fifth Column members, no less, that various parts
of Italy, including the Amalfi coast and Florence, are just unbearable
to visit in the summer. I would like to object.

This past June my family and I took a 17-day trip to London,
Dubrovnik, Naples, Capri, Positano, Florence, and finally Venice. If
it had been for the naysayers, such as Moynihan, I would have canceled
my trip. Thank God I couldn't.

After booking, I was convinced by the reviews and by my husband that
visiting the Amalfi coast and Venice, especially, would be a tourist
nightmare; a total waste of time and money. Far from it: It was
instead a once-in-a-lifetime trip that got me out of my months-long
depressive funk and gave us memories that we will cherish forever.

There are caveats to this experience to be sure. I've heard Europe is
swamped by tourists in July and August, and so I'm not sure how big of
a difference going then would have made. And it was definitely hot;
most days were in the 90s. Maybe my family was particularly well
suited to the climate, since we live in South Florida, and as a side
note, my husband does advise to research A/C strength when booking
hotels. Also, if one doesn't plan ahead, having to stand in long
lines could severely dampen the experience. But whatever the case, I
hope that the listeners don't take Moynihan's advice too much to heart,
and miss out on what could be an amazing trip for them and their
families.

By the way, my husband, our son (aged 19), our daughter (14), and
I would like to visit Corsica at some point. Do you all have any tips
for that region? We would also like to visit some European cities more
off the beaten path. Any particularly strong contenders that don't
cost a fortune to get to?

Thanks for all you guys do, and for your usually good advice, I think.

***

(“Misinformation Moynihan” is a keeper, I tell you what.

Do NOT, I beseech you and anyone else, sleep on the difference between June and July/August, particularly in southern Europe. My first visit to Italy, in 1990, was the last two weeks of July, and I remember basically unrelieved suffering, with the notable exception of swimming in Capri’s mesmerizing Blue Grotto. If you must do the hot months, do them at or very near a beach; and not at the big touristy cities.

Have long counseled that the best time to visit most any place in Europe is at the end of May or the end of September, when the tourist crowds are down, the weather is tolerable, the locals are back to work, and everyone’s less grumpy. Of course, that’s hard to manage with a family….

Have not been to Corsica. Off the beaten path [and actually very good in the summer months!]: Southern Bohemia generally [river valleys and castles and beer], and specifically Český Krumlov. Southwestern France in the departments of Dordogne, Lot, and Corrèze [river valleys and castles and Catholics and caves and wine and cheese and roadside produce]; start from Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne. In Poland I loved Kraków and Zakopane; in Slovakia, Trenčín, Trnava and [way out east!] Košice. Am that rare stan for Luxembourg, found Lake Ochrid bewitching, and there’s always been something about Trieste. I’m sure you’ll get many other good recommendations in the comments!)

***

From: Mané

Subject: A Czech Hello

Date: Aug. 11, 2025

Hi, guys,

As a long-time subscriber from former Eastern Europe, I just wanted to send a thankful Pilsner "Na zdraví!"

My dearest mom used to be a regular BBC radio listener, first in our hometown of Cairo, Egypt (you guessed it, as descendants of an actual Armenian genocide), then secretly, after she married my father and moved behind the Iron Curtain during the so-called "normalization" of 1970s and ‘80s Czechoslovakia.

I easily adopted her habit and maintained it for decades, only to be gradually disenchanted by so many previously trustworthy media outlets during these shit f*cking crazy recent years. It was then that my journalist husband recommended The Fifth Column, and since then it's been kind of a close relationship (although a loose one, too, 'cause I regularly cheat on you guys with Katie Herzog and Jesse Singal).

Your brilliant trio is a joy every single time, so a great thanks to Moynihan, whom I would love to get drunk with but definitely would not introduce to our daughters. To Kmele, with whom I heartily agree and disagree on so many subjects. And last but not least to Matt Welch, with whom we share a similarly unique experience of the ‘90s in Prague. And God damn, what a time that was!

Anyway, the reason I finally decided to write was your repeated mentioning of the famous German Stasi movie, The Lives of Others. Although there is no higher praise for Ulrich Mühe and his complex portrayal of the role, the movie itself is considered in our part of the post-communist [world] to be a bit on the Hollywood side. So instead, I highly recommend a relatively unknown Czech movie with a similar plot called Pouta (strangely translated as Walking Too Fast). The trailer isn't very appealing, but I can send you the whole movie with English subtitles. Maybe the reason why I'm so picky on the subject is because my father turned out to be an StB agent, as my mom and me found out after The Velvet Revolution.

So keep up the good work, and don't forget that you are truly and undoubtedly international stars :)

Genatz!

(As I wrote in my private response to this, talk about burying the lede! Will definitely be checking out Pouta….

Thanks all for the value-adding emails, and brace yourselves for some exciting imminent announcements!)