As 2011 comes to an end, we are taking a look back at some of our favorite posts of the year by our guest editors.
Aside from having the coolest name of any punk-leaning Chicago-area band since Big Black, Smoking Popes have been blessed with core fan base that refused to quit on the outfit. When leader Josh Caterer pulled the plug on the Popes in 1998, it came little more than a year after releasing what might have been the group’s best album, Destination Failure, perplexing many but apparently offending few. Seven years later, a sold-out reunion show in the Popes’ hometown was all it took to get Caterer back in a creative mood. From there, Josh and brothers Matt (bass) and Eli (guitar) pretty much picked up where they left off, releasing Stay Down in 2008 and compilation It’s Been A Long Day last year. The new This Is Only A Test (Asian Man) is a concept album that only occasionally comes across as such, with the 38-year-old Josh taking on the role of an angsty teenager to convincing effect. Josh and Matt will be guest-editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new Q&A with Josh.
Josh: My wife and I went to Memphis for our honeymoon. We thought it would be cool to go to Graceland. Which it was. But we ended up spending most of our time at the Botanic Garden feeding the fish. They’ve got this big pond full of enormous Japanese koi fish, and you can buy fish food pellets and drop them in the water. The fish all gather up in a big pile right in front of you, hundreds of them climbing on top of each other, and they thrust their open mouths up at you and make this weird slurping sound. It’s creepy and fascinating and awesome. We didn’t have any children yet, but we knew that if we ever did, we would bring them there and they would be amazed. So last summer we took our 10-year-old son and five-year-old daughter down to Memphis on vacation and spent an entire day feeding the fish. They were just as amazed as we hoped they’d be. Then we went out for dinner and got some of the best ribs we’ve ever had. Memphis is our kinda town.
Video after the jump.
