THE RIDER: Wifey's Top 10
Fresh off the release of their debut single, the Brooklyn power-pop band on creepers, crochet and NYC's angriest internet celebrity
FIRST OFF, sincerely sorry that we’re a few SETLISTS behind. SXSW-related insanity — mostly watching Mary Shelley play 13 shows in 6 days — pretty much occupied every brain/body/soul cell in this lil blog body last week. And while we can’t responsibly recommend that sort of festival marathon for, you know, your organs, from a mental-health perspective, damn. Not touching a laptop for like 7 days? Pretty sick.
Anyway, we’ll be BACK IN ACTION next week. And in the meantime, have we got some kewl content 4 u.
ICYMI, last leap day (that’s 2/29), Wifey dropped their new single, “Mary Ann Leaves The Band”—a song that simultaneously served as their digital debut and a sonic declaration of what these power-poppers are about—
Namely, not taking this shit too seriously.
After all, where would we be without pop? Our cereal would merely snap and crackle! We’d be expected to simply …. lock and drop it? HOW WOULD THE WEASEL EVEN GO?!
No, no. Pop is important. Pop is for the people! And in an era overcome by ~emotions~ , Wifey’s debut single is an ultra-singalongable story of a song that is here to fill the Bowling for Soup-shaped hole in your heart.
After the song’s release, Teddy of Wifey emailed us a sort of manifesto offering insight into the band’s likes, inspiration and musical mission — plus a shoutout to their track’s titular character.
Modern rock, particularly in the punk and indie sphere, is largely centered around societal issues, mental health awareness, and diaristic confessionals. That's all fine and good, but we must ask: Where did all the dumb pop songs go? Your average karaoke night shows that guilty pleasure classics like “All The Small Things” and “Teenage Dirtbag” haven't waned in popularity, so why are no modern bands rising to the challenge of writing their successors? Where are the 2024 equivalents to “My Own Worst Enemy”? “Absolutely (Story Of A Girl)”? “Stacy's Mom”??
This is where Wifey comes in. We aim to fill the void of pleasurably dumb power-pop / pop-punk songs, and first single "Mary Ann Leaves the Band" is merely the first entry in our upcoming series of songs that could've slotted in nicely on the American Pie soundtrack. Yes, we have "depth" and we go to therapy, and all those things you're supposed to talk about in interviews these days, but to get started, we just want to win you over with a shamelessly dumb pop tune. Which is exactly what "Mary Ann Leaves the Band" is.
As for the inspiration behind it, I'm really not sure what "inspires" a person to write a song like this. People have asked me why I wrote it, and I have no idea. Divine intervention? Perhaps. But Wifey's ultimate goal is to write the catchiest songs ever written. So the desire to hear those drives me far more than any personal need to expose my soul through song. We miss big, obvious choruses. We like songs that get lodged in your brain after one listen. For this one in particular, I wrote it in about 20 minutes out of boredom after Carly went to work, and then came to the bar to present her with it. She reacted to it with an equal amount of glee and horror, which is how we knew it had to be the first single.
As for Mary Ann, if she remembers me from marching band, I hope she and Johnny K worked things out, and I hope likes the song. Hope she buys a t-shirt while she's at it.
As a reminder (we’ve only done a few), THE RIDER is a band’s top 10 must-haves, and with theirs, Wifey doubled down, sending over not one but two Top 10’s, one from both Carly and Teddy.
Which technically amounts to a Top 20. And thus is twice as good.
From 90s sitcoms to cards to kitchen appliances, READ ON for the products and practices that Wifey is workin’ with + be sure to catch the band IRL at their next show—Friday 4/26 at Heaven Can Wait.
CARLY’S TOP 10
1. black coffee
OK sometimes i take it with soy (the most under-appreciated milk, overdue for a comeback). very unpunk of me ik. cold brew year-round, death before decaf blah blah blah
2. tetris!
i play Tetris99 on nintendo switch almost daily and religiously. i hear it has mental health benefits so this is a self-care activity, not a problem
3. stardew valley
i can't claim to be a gamer i play like 5 games on-and-off, but this one's in my current rotation. i just restored my community center, put jojamart out of business, and started dating emily iykyk
4. creepers
the only type of shoe i'll wear when i play. im 5'2 at best and i need my mondo platforms
5. short scale guitars
I have baby hands soooo i play a Fender Mustang bass and a Duo Sonic
6. crochet
i missed the boat when everyone else picked up grandma hobbies in isolation, but better late than never. if you need an ugly scarf or homemade vape holder hml
7. my chemical fancast
i don’t geek out about many things but my chem (the greatest band to ever exist) is one of them. i've been re-listening to this 47-episode deep-dive nerdcast on mcr history. sometimes i fall asleep to it like white noise
8. the NJCL
god bless the great state of new jersey and somewhat reliable public transport
9. blackjack
always hit on a soft 17, split the 8s, never surrender
10. rocking out, throwing shit around, going nuts, losing myself onstage, screaming, hollering, breaking things, yelling
i think that im just a rock chick
TEDDY’S TOP 10
1. my phone
let’s be honest here
2. oasis’ 1990s recorded output
everything from 1994 to 1997. the greatest 3 year stretch for any band ever. truthfully, the best band of the 90s. my bandmates will crucify me for saying that but fuck em
3. noise canceling headphones
preferably large enough that it’s clear i don’t want to talk to anyone
4. the angry trumpet guy video
a perfect new york moment. the first thing you should show anyone when trying to explain the appeal of this godforsaken city
5. edy’s double fudge brownie ice cream
the only thing on gods green earth that brings me just as much joy now as it did when i was 8 years old. apparently now it’s triple fudge…icarus shit
6. randy newman
primarily the pre-pixar stuff, no disrespect to the toy story soundtrack tho. easily one of my top 10 songwriters ever. he & the magnetic fields are pretty much responsible for why i write the lyrics that i do
7. buffalo trace bourbon
high west also works
8. microwaves
i’m a serial reheater. big on setting very specific times too. never one minute, always 56 seconds. you gotta be precise when handling this shit.
9. conspiracy theory docs
if you want me to elaborate on that, then in the words of david lynch, “no.”
10. frasier
to be clear, the og run only - not this blasphemous revival. no niles, no teddy.
The Top 10(s) above written + provided by Wifey. Follow the band at @wifeytheband, buy music on Bandcamp and add the songs to your Spotify playlists!
Feature image provided by the band.