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Lousy T​-​Shirt

from Don't Let the Bastards Get You Down by NEWSKI

/
  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    How do you feel when someone starts playing on their phone while you’re talking to them? It’s a dark moment. It’s a seemingly small, yet significant moment when we realize we’ve got work to do as both individuals, and as a species.

    BRETT NEWSKI’s fourth studio album Don’t Let the Bastards Get you Down is a call to arms against whatever destructive forces we may find ourselves battling, from our individual struggles with toxic relationships, low self esteem, loneliness, and apathy to the more global challenges facing us in 2020: The erosion of face-to-face human connection, the breakdown of the proverbial village, the destruction of the planet, and the myriad ways in which our social media addictions amplify these problems. Depression and anxiety are at all time highs, with many, if not most of us, struggling to preserve our optimism.

    So how do we regain control and stay hopeful in the face of these challenges? Perhaps it’s less screen time. Perhaps it’s changing the way we approach our tiny pocket TVs. Perhaps it’s discovering or recommitting to our passions. Perhaps it’s getting our hands dirty in pursuit of real solutions to our problems (instead of just complaining online). Perhaps Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down can shed some positive insight.

    In Last Dance (cowritten with Grammy nominated songwriter Pat Macdonald, ‘Future’s So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades’), Newski lays bare the highly relatable challenge of trying to stay informed and engaged while simultaneously staying afloat psychologically: “I ain’t trying to build the ark, I just really wanna learn how to swim / Thru a sea of plastic bottles, all the refuse, the mess we are in.” In Grow Your Garden, Newski issues a wake-up call from the hypnotic, numbing effects of living with our eyes glued to our screens: “If I was the dirt beneath the sneakers on your soulless feet / I’d nudge you far from the mirage so you could see the water”.

    In Lousy T-Shirt, Newski describes the traps of social comparison in these “tiny TV times”, in which we so often compare ourselves to the “greatest hits” of others’ lives. (“I ain’t making any headlines / It’s a failures parade / I drove all the way to Hollywood and all I got’s this lousy t-shirt.”) He doubles down on this theme in Buy Me a Soul, singing “Step out from behind these little screens that rule our lives / I’m sick of highlights / Cause we’re an empty shell and we’re on earth but we’re in hell / Can anybody hear me? / Is this a permanent bad dream? Or is it too much reality?”

    What could topically threaten to amount to “too much reality” for the listener is buoyed by Newski and collaborator Spatola’s signature blend of largely up-tempo, guitar-driven alternative with splashes of what they describe as “Geek Rock”, “Happy Punk”, and “Diet Grunge”. The band has had a busy few years, playing alongside acts like PIXIES, Courtney Barnett, Violent Femmes, Better than Ezra and Manchester Orchestra, and will be touring extensively in support of this release. 

    “Newski's live shows are part rock n' roll, part stand up, and part therapy. In the end, the room is won over,” says Jim McGuinn of The Current in Minneapolis.

    2020 tour dates can be found here: www.brettnewski.com/tour

    Includes unlimited streaming of Don't Let the Bastards Get You Down via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ... more
    ships out within 3 days

      $12 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $1 USD  or more

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    How do you feel when someone starts playing on their phone while you’re talking to them? It’s a dark moment. It’s a seemingly small, yet significant moment when we realize we’ve got work to do as both individuals, and as a species.

    BRETT NEWSKI’s fourth studio album Don’t Let the Bastards Get you Down is a call to arms against whatever destructive forces we may find ourselves battling, from our individual struggles with toxic relationships, low self esteem, loneliness, and apathy to the more global challenges facing us in 2020: The erosion of face-to-face human connection, the breakdown of the proverbial village, the destruction of the planet, and the myriad ways in which our social media addictions amplify these problems. Depression and anxiety are at all time highs, with many, if not most of us, struggling to preserve our optimism.

    So how do we regain control and stay hopeful in the face of these challenges? Perhaps it’s less screen time. Perhaps it’s changing the way we approach our tiny pocket TVs. Perhaps it’s discovering or recommitting to our passions. Perhaps it’s getting our hands dirty in pursuit of real solutions to our problems (instead of just complaining online). Perhaps Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down can shed some positive insight.

    In Last Dance (cowritten with Grammy nominated songwriter Pat Macdonald, ‘Future’s So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades’), Newski lays bare the highly relatable challenge of trying to stay informed and engaged while simultaneously staying afloat psychologically: “I ain’t trying to build the ark, I just really wanna learn how to swim / Thru a sea of plastic bottles, all the refuse, the mess we are in.” In Grow Your Garden, Newski issues a wake-up call from the hypnotic, numbing effects of living with our eyes glued to our screens: “If I was the dirt beneath the sneakers on your soulless feet / I’d nudge you far from the mirage so you could see the water”.

    In Lousy T-Shirt, Newski describes the traps of social comparison in these “tiny TV times”, in which we so often compare ourselves to the “greatest hits” of others’ lives. (“I ain’t making any headlines / It’s a failures parade / I drove all the way to Hollywood and all I got’s this lousy t-shirt.”) He doubles down on this theme in Buy Me a Soul, singing “Step out from behind these little screens that rule our lives / I’m sick of highlights / Cause we’re an empty shell and we’re on earth but we’re in hell / Can anybody hear me? / Is this a permanent bad dream? Or is it too much reality?”

    What could topically threaten to amount to “too much reality” for the listener is buoyed by Newski and collaborator Spatola’s signature blend of largely up-tempo, guitar-driven alternative with splashes of what they describe as “Geek Rock”, “Happy Punk”, and “Diet Grunge”. The band has had a busy few years, playing alongside acts like PIXIES, Courtney Barnett, Violent Femmes, Better than Ezra and Manchester Orchestra, and will be touring extensively in support of this release. 

    “Newski's live shows are part rock n' roll, part stand up, and part therapy. In the end, the room is won over,” says Jim McGuinn of The Current in Minneapolis.
    
2020 tour dates can be found here: www.brettnewski.com/tour

    Includes unlimited streaming of Don't Let the Bastards Get You Down via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ... more
    ships out within 3 days

      $20 USD or more 

     

  • T-Shirt/Apparel + Digital Album

    Proudly rep your failure to hipsterdom & support arts n culture with this fine Bella Canvas shirt.

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Stars are as Good as a Nightlight EP via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days

      $20 USD or more 

     

  • Poster/Print + Digital Album

    Get a drawing of you or a buddy. Primo for gifts or ego-boosting. Delivered to you digitally via email with multiple color versions so you can pick. Any specific requests can be sent to: hello (at) brettnewski.com

    Includes unlimited streaming of Don't Let the Bastards Get You Down via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days

      $100 USD

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 61 NEWSKI releases available on Bandcamp and save 10%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of This Love is a Fluke, FRIEND ROCK, Airplane (feat Ryan Miller of Guster), Chemicals (feat Matthew Caws), Sweat the Small Talk, Theoretical Soul EP, Why Even Bother? (analog tape demo), Why Even Bother? (feat The Verve Pipe), and 53 more. , and , .

    Excludes supporter-only releases.

    Purchasable with gift card

      $129.13 USD or more (10% OFF)

     

about

“Lousy t-shirt” and “Effervescent” by Newski/Shane Alexander. Written at Shane’s studio in LA while eating string-cheese.

lyrics

LOUSY T-SHIRT


Choking down American breakfast so that I can stomach
All the BS that comes next
In these tiny TV times

I’m in the backseat of a TAXI
Feeling naked and afraid

I’m not making any headlines
It’s a failures parade
I drove all the way to Hollywood
And all I got’s this lousy t-shirt

Passed a hobo down on Pico
He was looking so much cooler than me
As he danced in the backstreets, on the backbeat
Feeling groovy and composed

I’m not making any headlines
It’s a failures parade
I drove all the way to Hollywood
And all I got’s this lousy t-shirt

Everybody gets their 15 minutes of fame
But don't spend it all too quickly
Or you’ll never be the same

credits

from Don't Let the Bastards Get You Down, released April 17, 2020

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about

NEWSKI Milwaukee, Wisconsin

FESTIVAL APPEARANCES: Rolling Stone Festival, Iceland Airwaves, Reeperbahn Germany, SXSW official

BRETT NEWSKI supports and tours: 
Courtney Barnett, Pixies, Violent Femmes, Manchester Orchestra, New Pornographers, Chuck Ragan, Rocky Votolato, Ezra Furman, Better than Ezra
... more

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