First thing’s first. MILLIONS of you wrote in to me last week to let me know that I forgot the literal most important part of a JackJams newsletter. I didn’t say whether he liked the week’s new song!

If you, like me, forget what you’re doing the second after you do it, let me refresh your memory. We highlighted an older song from Steve Keery’s Djo, called “Change.” It’s a fuzzy, dancy, midnight-in-a-bar-alley pop song that is super fun. And Jack LOVED IT! This might have something to do with the album art featuring a Magic 8 Ball, but this one was a hit. Play it for your four year old or your 44 year old, they’ll dig it.

Now, what did me forgetting a whole section of this newsletter teach me? Probably nothing because I’m not wired like that. But what can it teach you? I don’t know! I’m doing my best here, just try and make a mental checklist in your mind or something!

Let’s get going.

The 1975 - “If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)” (2020)

Here’s the first thing you need to know about this song: It has about 50 seconds of build-up. A death knell for a toddler if I’ve ever heard one. So if you can get around that or fast forward it, you’re golden. The 1975 is not a band not known for being terse (this is the 16th song on a 20-track album), but they prove that a banger can show up anywhere on an album. “If You’re Too Shy” is a song about obsession and unrequited love and dealing with those things in a technological world where loneliness feels like our fault.

Also there’s a lot of talk about being naked, but your toddler (or my parents) don’t need to know about that.

Mostly “If You’re Too Shy” is an example of what The 1975 have essentially patented at this point. Matty Healy telling an intricate-yet-vague story, one that’s kind of sad and dystopian, but will still make you dance. And I haven’t even mentioned the SAXOPHONE SOLO yet.

One reason I believe The 1975 has succeeded is Taylor Swift their ability to talk about technology and “current events” without it feeling like a cringe-y fake newscast in a Marvel movie. “If You’re Too Shy” is essentially about how hard it is to feel alone or unwanted when your love interest is literally always available or online. These days, it’s hard not to feel like if someone is unreachable they’re making a conscious choice to ignore us. Whether that’s true or not, it’s pretty much how everyone feels. Right?

That’s why I’m not gonna ask you to respond to this email. I don’t need the heartache.

Is It a JackJam?

Yeah, baby! And he doesn’t even know what a saxophone is yet! Jack is also a big fan of The 1975’s more recent song “Part of the Band,” even though this sounds nothing like that. Driving drum beat, slightly falsetto singing, great harmonies, it’s got everything you need to keep a 4-year old entertained (after the 50 second intro, of course).

And as a fun side-benefit, your kid might just go around singing, “Maybe I’d like you better if you took off your clothes!” Give it a try, but be prepared to have to pick them up early from school.

See you next week (if you’re not too shy).

BLAKE