The Wednesday Watch is Orestes P. Xistos’ weekly column. We do not sanction his buffoonery, but he owns a dossier full of incriminating evidence, so we must abide with His Plushy Madness.

Hullo, hullo, hullo, govnahs and govlasses, it is I, Orestes P. Xistos, free again to roam the streets, jennels (or ginnels), deciding unilaterally whatever I want to blog about. I’d like to thank the higher ups at this Shithole of a Website (TM) for their space…but them lazy fuckers never reply.

BTW, if you ask AGAIN about submithub or flippa, I’ll ask you kindly to jump in front of a crazy train. RIP Ozzy.

Oh, yeah, reviews and recommendations…

New Thrice for your aching knees! The Irvine natives bring that glorious screaming energy and them lovely explosive guitars for ‘Gnash’, the fledgling single for their upcoming album, Horizons/West (out October 3, Epitaph Records). Presave here.

I’ve recently finished reading Josie Rieseman’s Ringmaster, a deeply emotional, thoroughly researched book about Vincent McMahon Jr. Feels like serendipity that Jobber releases this song. Intimate but loud, Kate Meizner‘s voice conveys a reflective sadness that punches in its honesty. Jobber to the stars drops August 22nd. Exploding in sound records, of course. Pre-order here.

Shiner are back. If you know the band, you are elated. If you haven’t, listen to them. Invest a few minutes into ‘Asleep in the trunk’, their gorgeous new single, and let them take you through soundfields of calamities as society collapses. Loud, brash, emotional. Just what I needed. Their album, Believeyoume, drops on September 26th on Spartan Records. Pre-order, pre-save.

Dominie Hooper‘s introspective ‘Hurricane’ has a tremendous video to pair with the powerful song. That “remember when I gave you your first black eye?” line, whoa! It’s disturbing, artsy, and infectiously addictive. Dominie‘s debut, In this body lives, is out October 31st on Lost Map Records and you can pre-order here.

‘Beautiful Ruins’ is another crisp slice of sadcore music courtesy of Emma Swift. An easy going track that is both wistful and realist. The pairing of “beautiful” and “dutiful” is as perfect as the string arrangement. Emma Swift‘s The Resurrection Game is out September 12 on Tiny Ghost Records. Pre-save.

Grant-Lee Phillips is a workhorse. For all the decades of music I’ve consumed in my rotund life, I can’t think of anyone has dedicated and hardworking as him. When not dealing with instagram impersonators -they can fuck off- Grant-Lee weaves the most precious of songs and ‘She Knows Me’, from his upcoming album Hour of Dust (out september 5, pre-order) is an sparse meditation. You can hide all your emotions from everyone, but there’s always a person that knows you better than you think. Lovely track!

Pile? Yeah, just Pile. I love you Pile. Since y’all almost killed me at a house party with the flying splinter from a drumstick that hit me with the accuracy of The Jackal. Pile’s acumen for the thin line between soul-crushing quiet build ups and the soul-tearing breakdowns piercing through emotions is one for the history books. ‘Bouncing in Blue’, their latest video, is now free to pique your interest for their upcoming album, Sunshine and Balance Beams (out on Sooper Records on August 15.)

On other entertainment fronts…

*Still on the moon with some of this Summer’s movie releases. Superman (Gunn, 2025) is a clear reminder that silver age comics were goofy emotional messes and James Gunn is clearly a fan. F1 (Kosinski, 2025) walks the well-threaded path set by Top Gun: Maverick. Javier Bardem is on top of the game and visually it’s a treat. Don’t look for anything deep plot-wise, leave that for the Autumn releases. Avoid Dean Fleischer Camp‘s live action Lilo & Stitch and instead look for his 2021 masterpiece, Marcel the shell with shoes on. That is truly an underrated, emotional gem.

*The current Rick & Morty is not their best, but it’s consistently entertaining. Shame on HBO Max México now offering the most recent episodes dubbed only. Y’all making me re-think my subscription.

*Also on the streaming front, Chespirito: not really on purpose is a terrible show and I’m hooked. Which I guess it’s what HBO really wanted. Too many watercooler moments, cynical as they come, and supposedly a lawsuit is incoming from Roberto Gómez Bolaños‘ widow. Whatever happens, the last episode is out on July 24. You bet your sweet bippy I’m going for blood with my review…if this website DARES to publish it.

*Need book recommendations? Josie Riesman‘s Ringmaster is so good it made me re-watch tons of wrestling. Some of the stories are well-known if you’ve read Bret Hart’s book, other parts took some digging and Josie Riesman‘s work is a sight to behold.

*On lighter reads, if you’re a Doctor Who fan, get a copy of The Wheel in Space with your copy of Doctor Who Magazine #217. One of the best adaptations by Terrance Dicks, it gets as brutal as it can for a children’s book, making an atmospheric story even better.

And with that said…It’s me, Sloucher, it’s me! It was me all along, Sloucher.

Shit, I’ll save it for next week. Take care. Love y’all

Orestes “P is for Panache” Xistos.