I blasted “Sweetness” before every track cross country and track race I ran. I replayed the guitar riff in “Get It Faster” every time I listened to it and plucked it out on the piano regularly. I played “Hear You Me” the day a friend died. To this day, my brother and I play Jimmy Eat World at the end of the 11-hour car ride from Provo, Utah to Gilbert.

The album’s biggest hit, “The Middle,” was never among my favorite tracks from the album, mostly due to its radio saturation, but as I’ve grown up, I’ve realized that all I need to know, I learned from that  song. Lessons like “don’t write yourself off yet,” “it’s only in your head you feel left out or looked down on” and “you’re doing better on your own, so don’t buy in” are the type of pep talk lyrics we all occasionally need when things are rough. And in the “It Gets Better” era where pop stars are constantly reminding us we were “born this way,” Jimmy Eat World’s music video for the song featuring  a scantily clad house party where two dressed teens find each other and leave seems to portray the message of not trying to fit in better than Gaga’s most sincere pleas.

Jimmy Eat World formed in 1993 in Mesa, Arizona. Jim Adkins, Tom Linton, Rick Burch and Zach Lind, were four high school buddies who paid their dues playing shows around the Valley and built a following. They were eventually signed to Capitol Records where they put out two albums, the rough Static Prevails and the sprawling, gorgeous and criminally under appreciated Clarity. Unfortunately, J.E.W. failed to live up to Capitol’s expectations and was dropped from the label.

Rather than give up, however, Jim Adkins and company began touring on their own to record and put out an album. The result was the most perfect pop record the ’00s. The airtight Bleed America proved the executives at Capitol Records wrong when it set off a bidding war between labels. Dreamworks won out and release the album which was retitled Jimmy Eat World after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and went on to sell more than a million copies.

Bleed American launched a million wannabes, but none were nearly as good. What separated Bleed American from all other emo pop-rock records of the early decade was its earnestness. On paper, some of the lyrics are cheesy, but Jim Adkins pulled them off. Adkins has always had a way of making songs that give the listener the “Finally, somebody knows what I’m going through!” feeling every time they listen to them. I felt that feeling as a 14-year-old when the album was brand new and I feel as a 24-year-old. Something tells me I’ll feel the same way a decade from now.

“Are you listening?” Adkins asked on “Sweetness.”

Yes Jim, yes we are.

You can stream the podcast by simply clicking on the link below, or you can download it to your computer by right-clicking the link and selecting “Save Link As” from the menu.

Listen to: Rhombus Podcast 027 — The PB&J Report (2010.11.04)

1) APRIL FOOLS: For your pseudo-holiday pleasure, the Museum of Hoaxes has a comprehensive list of the 100 greatest April Fools jokes of all-time. There’s some good stuff there. April 1st is like Christmas for these people. (Museum of Hoaxes)

2) POLITICS: I only wish this was a hoax: Fox News blowhard Sean Hannity praises Tea Partiers as “these Tim McVeigh wannabes” — and they cheer him for it. Because apparently there’s no higher compliment than being compared to a homegrown terrorist who took the lives of 168 innocent people. I really wish this was a joke, but you just can’t make this stuff up. Watch the video — you have to see it to believe it. (Daily Kos)

3) MUSIC: Apparently the brash contrarians in MGMT might actually secretly (but don’t tell anyone!) care about what people think of their upcoming album. (And yes, I and many others think it kind of sucks.) An interesting and revealing look at one of music’s most intriguing duos. (Blackbook Mag)

4) MUSIC: On a more positive note, the always excellent Band of Horses has a new album coming out that probably won’t suck. The band released the music video for the disc’s first single, “Compliments,” today — and both the song and the video are pretty great. Just enough to further whet my appetite for Infinite Arms‘ release on May 18th. (Spin)

5) TV: ABC sitcom Modern Family has been taking its lumps today in the Internet community for apparently shilling for the Apple iPad on last night’s episode. But, according to series creator Christopher Lloyd (yes, that Christopher Lloyd), it wasn’t product placement at all — because Apple didn’t pay the show a cent! Really, ABC? If you’re going to essentially make a half-hour promo for a product, at least get some cash out of it. (That being said, Modern Family is still awesome.) (NY Mag)

BONUS TRIVIA: I didn’t know until just now that there was a sequel to Teen Wolf — and that one of my personal favorites, Jason Bateman of Arrested Development fame, was the ever-so-hairy lead! This is too rich. You go, Michael Bluth!

1) POLITICS: An intriguing (if more than a bit wishful) article speculating on favorite Mormon homeboy Mitt Romney’s uncanny fitness to oversee the implementation of President Obama’s new health care reform laws — you know, if he ever realized that he’s not all that talented at playing a politician. That being said, Romney would be uniquely qualified to oversee “Obamacare,” seeing as he passed a nearly identical law in Massachussetts during his time as governor. (Gasp!) An interesting thought to say the least. (Newsweek)

2) POLITICS: Chalk up another one for favorite Mormon homeboy #2 Glenn Beck and his merry band of loons. Just take a listen to this gem. It would be a great SNL parody if the guy wasn’t absolutely dead serious. (Think Progress)

3) TV: Tina Fey’s impression of Tracy Morgan is pretty much hilarious. “You look like you should be married to one of the San Diego Padres!” (YouTube)

4) TV: This is always a good question to ask oneself, especially if you have any interest whatsoever in that national singing competition on Fox that everyone seems to watch. (NY Mag)

5) MUSIC: As all good humans should know, Brooklyn bar-band extraordinaires The Hold Steady have a new album coming out on May 4th. The group’s fifth studio effort, entitled Heaven Is Whenever, will be their first since 2004′s Almost Killed Me not to feature (now former) keyboardist Franz Nicolay. Frontman Craig Finn has been quoted as saying the new record is more introspective and “less anthemic” as a result — but you would never know it from the album’s first single, “Hurricane J.” Go ahead and sing along. You know you want to. (Pitchfork)

1) SPORTS: Michigan State’s Tom Izzo is back in the Final Four again this year — making him arguably the most successful postseason coach in the history of college basketball. And now we have statistical proof. (FiveThirtyEight)

2) POLITICS: Contrary to what you hear on cable TV, most Americans are right in the middle of the two political extremes. As such, many don’t really know much about the knew health reform laws recently signed by President Obama and aren’t sure where to turn to get substantive analysis. In a name: Ezra Klein. The Washington Post blogger has done an excellent job in prolifically covering the bill since its inception and has some of the simplest, most intelligent writing on the subject you’ll find. Definitely worth giving some of his posts a read. (WaPo)

3) MUSIC: British shoegaze experts The xx were on of 2009′s biggest buzz bands — and now their masterful debut album has been mashed up with vocals from none other than the Notorious B.I.G. and distributed for free online. If you weren’t suspecting a Biggie-xx collaboration, don’t worry, neither was anyone else. But it certainly makes for good tunes. (Wait What)

4) TV: For all my fellow Gossip Girl fanatics (and if you’re not one, you should be), it’s time for your weekly recap from New York Magazine’s always excellent Culture Vulture blog. Gotta love it. (NY Mag)

5) And just in case you were one of those stubbornly ardent defenders of Owl City who insists they’re nothing like the Postal Service (!), this one’s for you. (NY Mag)

Many of you (okay, not that many) have probably wondered why Rhombus, which had previously been a picture of near-daily publishing consistency up until a month or so ago, suddenly went M.I.A. for a couple weeks there. Sure, we posted an article or a podcast here and there, but nothing too snazzy. Well, if you have questions, I have answers.

To be frank, I mostly got overwhelmed with the task of constantly publishing content and running an online magazine. Life got a little hectic with school, work, politics and everything else — and Rhombus just happened to be the easiest thing to cut out to ease the time crunch. Was this a good decision? Probably not. In the media business, if you don’t produce regular content you die. And Rhombus essentially died for the last month or so.

Nevertheless, here we are — in a brave new world with a beautifully redesigned site to boot. In the immortal words of The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn, “Damn right, we’ll rise again; Yeah, damn right, we’ll rise again.” Myself and, even more importantly, the Rhombus team are back and ready to return the magazine to its glory days of consistent, top-quality content. I will personally be writing a larger number of shorter, more topical pieces and aggregating some interesting things I find around the Web. Likewise, we’ll also be doing more podcasts and other special features (including a new local music compilation) that should help take Rhombus to a new level.

Yeah, it’s been awhile, but we’re back and ready to roll. Thanks so much for your patience in sticking with us; We hope you keep coming back to check out the new site and our fresh content. (Feel free to start with two great articles by Jake Welch and Randal Serr just posted today.) Also, thanks so much to my partner Colton Chesnut for crafting this beautiful site design. We hope you enjoy it and it makes your Rhombus experience just a little more enjoyable.

Thanks so much for reading. We look forward to sharing the next step in the magazine’s progression with you, our readers.

Best,

Steve Pierce, Editor

The WRI, a resource through which interdisciplinary research can be performed regarding gender issues, has been operating for 31 years. Its research aims include support for: “1) studies designed to prevent gender-related violence and increase peace in individuals, homes, and communities; 2) longitudinal studies to determine effective ways to improve the lives of women in developing countries, especially through education; and 3) studies capitalizing on innovative technologies in order to create repositories of information documenting the conditions in which women live . . . as well as their contributions to society.”

The dissolution of the WRI was a decision made by a single-gendered committee consisting of John Tanner (Vice President over Academics), David Magleby (Dean of the College of Family Home and Social Sciences) and the university’s Board of Trustees. The dissolution was decided under the ill-advised premise that “this reorganization will result in significantly expanded resources for research and creative activities pertaining to women.” The discontinuance of the WRI is in congruence with the university’s goal to, as a BYU press release stated, “streamline and strengthen” its programs.

The new Women Studies minor will be administered by the College of Family, Home and Social Sciences. Most of the faculty and professors of the WRI will be transferred into that college and teach in areas of sociology and psychology. The operating budget for the former WRI will be funneled into the Emmeline B. Wells Grant, which will administer $25,000 a year for women’s research and will be available university-wide.

The faculty of the WRI argue that this grant represents significantly less funding than the the institute currently receives. One of the many concerns of WRI members is that the institute’s abolition dismantles the community of interdisciplinary research regarding women at BYU. Research grants will be harder to get and, as a result, the quality of research will diminish. Collaborative efforts will be disorganized and less effective without the the role of the WRI in seeking to liberate women through education.

While the recession has caused BYU to make many program cutbacks over the past couple of years, many women are troubled that BYU chose to eliminate a program that deals so specifically with gender equality issues. Some also believe the move may send a problematic message to other universities about the academic environment at BYU; most other reputable universities have a program comparable to the WRI, and its dissolution could send the wrong message.

A coalition of people against the dissolution of the WRI has been formed. You can join the Facebook group, entitled “Save BYU’s Women’s Research Institute,” and become involved in the fight to preserve this worthwhile institution.

Kristin Clift is a Rhombus correspondent.

Nevertheless, we’re back with the top stuff from around the web on this Election Day. Seems to have been a pretty good day for Republicans, having picked up expected wins in the Virginia and New Jersey governorships. However, the silver lining for Democrats is what looks like a complete collapse by Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman in New York’s 23rd congressional district, potentially giving the Dems control of that seat for the first time in over 100 years. (Democrat Bill Owens currently leads Hoffman 49%-45% with 64% of the votes in, though many organizations have begun calling the race for Owens.) Yet there was still other non-election related news on this lovely November day…

Politics

The Republicans have a health care plan! The Republicans have a health care plan! I know you thought you’d never see the day, but here it is. Well, I guess it’s technically just the House Republicans that have a plan. And it’s not necessarily a bill per se, but more of an extended press release — and Ezra Klein is not a fan of this extended press release strategy. Not at all. Don’t hold back, Ezra. Tell us how you really feel. [Washington Post]

Oh, and unfortunately it turns out that the ideas contained in the extended press release may not be very good — as in, they may be awful and accomplish nothing but making life better for insurance company CEOs and worse for average Americans. But that could just be my reading of it. Regardless, there definitely look to be some problematic elements in the bill. [Daily Kos]

Sports

Apparently the U.S. speedskating team lost their primary sponsor when some bank in the Netherlands went down last week, leaving a huge hole in the teams funding with only months left before the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. But don’t you worry, American speedskating enthusiasts — a real patriot has stepped in to fill the void left by those lederhosen-wearing failures. That man is Stephen Colbert — or rather his droves of rabid supporters, the Colbert Nation. Yes, it’s true, no joke: the Colbert Nation is now the lead sponsor of U.S. speedskating. What a wonderful world. If you’d like to see the full video on the matter from last night’s Colbert Report, you can check it out here.) [BBC]

Popular Culture

A quick rundown of the day’s notable cultural news:

Austin-based indie gods Spoon announced they will release a new album in January 2010, their first since 2008′s excellent Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Expect another disc of minimalist pop perfection from Britt Daniel and company. [Pitchfork]

Troubador and multi-instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens dishes on how his once-audacious, now-defunct 50 States project was “such a joke.” I guess that means we won’t be expecting an LP devoted exclusively to songs about Delaware any time soon? (It looks like we shouldn’t be expecting any LPs from Sufjan, period. He apparently feels the medium is now antiquated. Bummer.) [Paste]

Also, the Oscars finally have a host. Well, hosts really. After months of fruitlessly searching (when you get turned by the terrible tandem of Robert Downey, Jr. and Ben Stiller, things are definitely bad), the Academy lands — drumroll, please — Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. Color me intrigued, if only because I’ve always wondered how Jack Donaghy would host the Oscars. [Awards Daily]

Random Bits

New York Times political columnist David Brooks briefly turns his pen towards perceived social malaise. Apparently Mr. Brooks (not Kevin Costner) feels that Twitter and text messaging have ruined our generation, killed romance and will probably come after your grandma next — you know, after the Democrats and their spooky health reform plan are done with her. [New York Times]

Ezra Klein (who we’ve cited twice today, which is rare but also warranted in this case) feels Mr. Brooks is full of it — and he probably is. [Washington Post]

Steve Pierce is editor and co-founder of Rhombus.

Popular Culture

Friday Night Lights is back! Hallelujah! This criminally under-watched show about life in a small, economically recessed Texas town is one of the best shows on television, hands down — and it’s finally back from a break that seemed far too long for its die-hard fans. If you haven’t seen FNL, you must remedy the situation. (After all, the DVD sets are only $20 at Wal-Mart. How can you afford not to?) Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton are two of the best, yet most underappreciated actors on television — something I hope will change as the show takes big steps into a constantly evolving and uncertain future. Get psyched for season four with James Poniewozik’s great preview article. [Time]

Also, ABC’s Modern Family rounded into their sixth episode of the season tonight. I’m not a huge fan of ABC (I generally loathe their programming as a core principle), but Modern Family is the best new show of the fall TV season — and I love Community as much as the next guy. It just seems to me that Modern Family is a little sharper and has a little more heart. Tonight wasn’t their best episode, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t pretty great. As per usual, The A.V. Club has their customary recap. [The A.V. Club]

Sports

If you consider yourself a sports fan and you’ve never read any of Bill Simmons work, well, I just feel sorry for you. One of the best (and certainly the funniest) sports columnists around, Simmons effortlessly blends a fan’s perspective of both sports and pop culture to absolute perfection. If you’re not familiar with Simmons, you need to be. If you already are, then you’ll probably find this video (with Kenny Mayne) to be pretty funny. [ESPN]

I’m 99 percent sure this is a huge joke, but it’s not a laughing matter: J.J. Redick should never, under any circumstances, be allowed to record a rap album. I don’t care how semi-ironically hilarious his blog is. [J.J. Redick]

Politics

A slow news day in the political realm today, but there was some worthwhile commentary.

Andrew Sullivan thinks those dastardly Democrats have really put the GOP between a rock and a political hard place with their “opt-out” version of the public option. He may be right. [The Atlantic]

And Richard Wolffe probes the depths of Joe Biden’s new found unpopularity — and his potential similarities to the Sith Lord himself, Dick Cheney. [The Daily Beast]

That’s all for today. As always feel free to leave your comments below.

Steve Pierce is the co-founder and editor of Rhombus. He publishes the Reading List, a daily digest of the best content from around the Internet, Monday through Friday.

Politics

Ol’ Joe Lieberman is at it again! He’s being all mavericky and such, saying he’ll filibuster a health care bill that includes a public option. Unforunately, despite all his bluster about his “principles,” it turns out that everything he says about the bill has pretty much been proven false. [Firedoglake]

But that’s not what it’s really about anyway. It’s not about principles with Joe Lieberman; it never is. As Nate Silver points out, this is all about attention — which could still be a potentially scary thing for Congressional Dems. [FiveThirtyEight]

It’s interesting that Lieberman, a senator from a liberal state that strongly supports the public option, would choose to a) oppose the policy in the first place, and b) do it now, as national support for the policy continues to rise. [CNN]

Also, if you’re one of those that’s agonizing of Obama’s supposed “War on Fox,” try to remember such tactics aren’t especially new. I mean, George Bush did the same thing with MSNBC just two years ago. But one president really makes Obama, Bush and even Nixon look positively press-friendly. You want to know how to conduct a full-on war against the journalistic opposition? Just ask FDR (a.k.a. the greatest president of the 20th century). [Slate]

Oh, and George W. Bush is apparently a motivational speaker now. His words of wisdom? “Don’t worry about popularity.” Well, we know he certainly took his own advice. High comedy. [CNN]

Popular Culture

In keeping with the spirit of Halloween, now just five days away, The A.V. Club has an excellent interview with America’s premiere pop culture guru (and my favorite writer) Chuck Klosterman about his own personal fears. (Klosterman’s new book of essays, Eating the Dinosaur, was released last week. Do yourself a favor and pick it up. [The A.V. Club]

Also, Adam Lambert has officially created the world’s worst album cover. Silver lining: It’s a ready-made last-second Halloween costume. [Movieline]

Sports

H.G. “Buzz” Bissinger (he of Friday Night Lights fame) takes to the pages of The New York Times to excoriate the NBA’s age limit policy and advocate for the reintroduction of college-skipping high school phenoms into the league. And, at the rate David Sern and the NBA are losing money, there’s no possible way any such change could make things worse. You can only go up from here. [New York Times]

As always, feel free to share your thoughts below — and check back tomorrow for another edition of the Rhombus Reading List.

Steve Pierce is the co-founder and editor of Rhombus. He published the Reading List, a daily digest of the best content from around the Internet, Monday through Friday.