The Action Index

T-Time 0:02
Welcome to The Action index. This is a more laid back segment where I'm going to take a look at the production and impact of my favorite emo releases, aptly named "T-Time Essentials." Today we're going to take a look at the modern classic-- inside Jokes by Midwest Pen Pals. Stay tuned...

Midwest Pen Pals was a band formed in 2009, featuring Jack Senff, Nick Stutsman and Garret Cabello. Formed from the ashes of Merchant Ships, the Pals dropped their first and only EP, Inside Jokes, on their MySpace in the summer of 2009.

The way I see things, is that this EP started the whole Midwest emo revival thing that happened in the 2010s and is still sort of going on today. This release is heart wrenchingly angry, but still retains a sort of childhood innocence. After all, all the members were 15 or 16 at the time. Furthermore, the band only lasted the duration of their summer break in 2009 From June to September. And this episode we're gonna be talking about abandonment, divorce, and betrayal. So if you're not really comfortable with that, you might want to skip this episode. If you're cool with it. I'm cool with it. Let's get into it. Inside Jokes begins with the track Leaving Songs, a short instrumental intro. After that, it then quickly throws you into Bobby Marcos Posi Talk, a fast pace jangly track about moving on from toxic relationships, but not really being able to forget or forgive them.

"You kids shouldn't play so rough...

somebody's gonna start crying." My Castle, Your Castle is a track that starts with a sample from Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs. This track is about being betrayed by those you considered friends. Specifically how the vocalist Jack Senff wanted Merchant Ships, his former band, to adopt the straight-edge lifestyle. (I talk more about the origins of straight-edge punk in my first episode Dance of Days) He caught a few of his former bandmates at a house party smoking and drinking and he quickly cut ties with them and started Midwest Pen Pals. And this song is about those former friends. Austin's House continues this feeling of betrayal. The track's chorus gives us the name for this EP. "This is not an inside joke that we'll make a song about later." Because He's There, And He Hates me tackles the difficulty of trying to maintain a relationship with someone that you're completely incompatible with. "I don't think this is too bad. Maybe we can start again. Wait, nevermind, you're still the same and so am I." This track then ends with the heartbreaking line, "And although I still see you around, it's just not the same." The last track on this EP is my personal favorite and probably other people's too-- Movies Like Juno. And if you've ever watched those emo mixtape type videos on YouTube, you've definitely heard this track. Movies Like Juno begins with one of the catchiest little intro riffs in all of Midwest emo, hands down. Lyrically, the song is about Jack's strained relationship with his mother, who abandoned him and his father, and took his younger brother in the divorce. Just a quick side note, Merchant Ships did return for one more album in 2010, called For Cameron, which takes a deeper look into Jack's relationship with his brother and adds more depth into why he resents his mother. The bridge of this track sort of devolves into a spoken word thing directed towards his mother, that many fans including myself, know by heart. "Sometimes I lay awake thinking about the past and all the shitty things that have happened, the way that it turned out in the way that things are now, what are scars but memories we can't forget? Well, Mom, you gave me a lot of scars and they really haven't faded. We all get your letters, but you can't quite seem to get it. We all forgive but none of us can forget. I hope you're doing well. Maybe we'll talk again one day? I loved you. I loved you never." Ending the track and the EP, the entire band sings in unison, that there'll be alright as long as they have each other. "We'll be alright. We've made plans to hold our heads high." Inside Jokes in my opinion is the perfect modern emo album. It has the same sort of innocence as Cap'n Jazz but with a more angsty teenage attitude. And if you enjoy this EP, I implore you to take a listen to Merchant Ships and William Bonney, both fronted by Jack Senff, the latter being his last sort of foray in emo... he does folk rock now. And depending on where you listen to this album, or if you download it from somewhere, the last track on Inside Jokes might be called A Kick Ass Life. This wasn't officially released, it was leaked in 2014. But it wasn't originally a track on Inside Jokes when it dropped in 2009. While it's still a great demo, don't get me wrong, I didn't include it on this album review because it wasn't originally released that way. I hope you enjoyed this episode of The Action Index. I'm going to try to put these out in between like major historical episodes to sort of give context to them. I guess you could say that this is a supplement to the last episode where we talked about MySpace and MySpace demos. The music you heard today was Blue Mood by Robert Munzinger. And the intro music was Manic. No Depression by Jeremy Corpas, all courtesy of the YouTube Audio Library. Thanks for listening!