MUSIC

David Wain wants to know: What if Rush and The Police sucked?

December 3rd, 2020

Many of you may not be aware of this, but veteran comedian/actor/director David Wain has been quietly hard at work throughout quarantine. Not on any one particular new project (that we’re aware of), but with live Zoom performances of Wet Hot American Summer, revamped sketches from The State, and, um, sleight of hand street magic. Earlier this week, however, he might have stumbled on his most serious and important COVID-19 undertaking so far, one that few, if any, have dared to consider.

Yes, that’s right. Wain is bravely pondering the very difficult question: What if Rush and The Police sucked ass?

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Turns out it doesn’t take a helluva lot of tweaking to make legends like Sting and Neil Peart sound like a couple of damn amateurs. Just pitch-alter some voices, shift tempos off-beat every so slightly, and voilà: Suddenly, we find our unfortunate selves listening to a seventh-grade battle of the bands’ version of “Tom Sawyer.”

We know this couldn’t have been easy for Wain, and he’s proven he’s braver than the most of us. But in this age of constant uncertainty and doubt, we get the heroes we need, not the ones we necessarily deserve.

Curated By

Maya Gupta
Investigative Journalist | Grassroots Movement Organizer | Economy Consultant/Speaker
Maya Gupta writes from the fault lines of a world that refuses to stay quiet. Focused on the collisions between culture, power, and accountability, her work cuts past polished narratives to expose what’s really moving beneath the surface. From the rise of creator-driven influence to athlete activism and grassroots resistance, she tracks the momentum shaping a generation unwilling to wait its turn. Her reporting doesn’t cater to comfort, it confronts it, challenging institutions that lean on legacy instead of legitimacy. With a voice rooted in urgency and a lens tuned to those often ignored, Maya delivers coverage that reflects the stakes as they are, not as they’re packaged. This is journalism that doesn’t just observe change, it stands in the middle of it, documenting the push, the backlash, and the undeniable shift underway.

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