HeyJaredEar Candy Update
Connecting emotion and memory with every song that’s left a mark on me.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 17
- Latest publication
- Sep 30, 2026
- Audience
- Checking…
- Earliest in this view
- Aug 31, 2026
Latest issues
The Battle of the Fictional Bands (opens the original)
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The Battle of the Fictional Bands (opens the original)
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It started as a lark, a goofy and fun exercise to enjoy over a beer while talking and laughing about our favorite fictional bands, and then it turned genuinely interesting. We have reached the finals, and it feels appropriate to say huzzah about it. Josie and the Pussycats put up a tremendous fight on their way to the Final Four, but they were ultimately slain by the mighty Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem in a final vote of 81 percent to 19 percent, a margin that suggests the readership has de
The Battle of the Fictional Bands (opens the original)
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Sixteen fictional bands entered the Thunderdome, and four have survived, including the terminally plucky, overachieving Josie and the Pussycats. I certainly didn’t have them getting this far, but apparently you did. In the second slate of quarterfinals matchups, The Wonders leaped out to an early lead in the voting, but Josie and the Pussycats rallied hard and punched their semi-final ticket on the strength of a 60-40 victory over the boys from Erie, Pa. Meanwhile, Troy, Michigan’s homegrown Sti
The Battle of the Fictional Bands (opens the original)
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Typically, one doesn’t expect a comprehensive beatdown in the quarterfinals, but that’s exactly what’s happening in Fictional Band Land, where Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, the presumptive number one seed, poleaxed the School of Rock. But wait! There’s more. Spinal Tap took their British steel to the Jersey Shore and pummeled Eddie & the Cruisers. Spinal Tap was the early betting favorite, but I didn’t anticipate Eddie’s gang failing to capture even 20% of the vote. Times is rough out there
Inside the Mind of Borderline Obsessing (opens the original)
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Get more from Jason Thompson in the Substack appAvailable for iOS and Android<a class="install-substack-app-embed-link" href="https://substack.com/app/app-store-redirect?utm_camp
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