The following mainstays of the New York scene circuits hardly need any introduction. To celebrate the release of their new album I Won't Let Me Down, Stolen Jars own Cody Fitzgerald and Sarah Coffey present an exclusive assembly of current fascinations, items of comfort and curiosities for the world to behold. A record that was made in conjunction with fellow collaborative luminaries like Joe Reinhart of Hop Along, Greta Kline of Frankie Cosmos, Elias Spector-Zabusky and Isaiah Hazzard — the band presents a song cycle dedicated to the commitment of care to the self and the surrounding world at large.

Stolen Jars shatter the antiquated qvevris with the strength and styles of today’s new wine. The neccessary diversions and illusions transpire in the reflective pop of "Reality TV" that mulls over the pandemic era observations and perceptions of life switched into the liminal in-between world of the pause button. Pangs of triumphant melancholy ring out on "Adeline", gazing inward at the spirit and self on the saudade "Austin", dovetailing into the homesick ballad for weary, touring travelers on the wistful aches of absentia, "Won't Stay Gone Forever".

Haunted and stir crazy sentiments make for pure festival anthem fodder on "Somewhere Else", to recollecting the throes of eras we would rather forget with "In the Bad Times", mulling over the the indelible memories that mirror together with the present on "South". The impact and influence of others linger like the vapor from the lingering smoke left from a cigarette lit indoors with "Smoke in the House", concluding with the panoramic scope pop of "Run It Wild" that gallops full speed ahead toward a light toward new horizons, new todays, new tomorrows and an unlimited new future of unlimited opulence and perpetual states of limitless possibilities. Join us after the jump as Cody & Sarah take over Week in Pop with the following exclusive feature:

Sarah Coffey and Cody Fitzgerald present a Stolen Jars Dream Board

Love Island / Reality TV

It would be hard for us to talk about things we are mutually obsessed with without talking about shitty reality tv. It is truly the lifeblood of American culture and the lifeblood of my ability to mindlessly tune out of the world around me. It is a true joy to watch Love Island (only the British one… obviously) and revel in the glory of the absolutely insane slang, accents, and actions of these people who are usually blaming everyone but themselves for problems they have created. It's the daily dose of drama and gossip I need since I try to keep my real life as drama free as possible. If you have gossip though, I am always ready to hear it.

— Cody

Crossword puzzles

Both Sarah and I do the New York Times crossword puzzle obsessively. I have now gone almost two years without missing a day. It's a little insane, but the daily ritual of it is something that I now cannot live without (and at this point I can’t lose my streak). I have a little group chat with a few friends who also do it obsessively and we talk about particularly good puzzles with fun themes, or answers that we thought were particularly stupid. I also read Rex Parker’s blog daily — he does the crossword every day and usually rants in a pretty hilarious way about how bad he thought it was. I mostly work out of my apartment since I do music full-time, but when I do have a long subway ride I am always excited when it falls on a day of the week with a harder crossword (Thursday-Sunday) so I can spend more of the ride solving.

— Cody

Dijon

When I first heard the song “Many Times” by Dijon I was absolutely blown away and I was not the only one. For the next two months almost every artist or producer that came to my studio would ask if I had heard it, and I would say that it was one of the best and most interesting pieces of music I had heard in years. It is chaotic and emotional, driven forward by a frenzied drum groove and brought home by Dijon’s incredibly visceral vocals — every second of the song feels alive. I just got a chance to see Dijon play at Forest Hills and my love for his music has only deepened since then. The band’s creative chemistry was undeniable — you could almost hear them breathing together, feeling each note with each other — I found it so unbelievably inspiring and beautiful. Working in music and listening to it all day it has become increasingly rare for a song to hit my emotional core. For me, Dijon’s music is a rare reminder of why I originally decided to spend my life making music, a reminder of how much songs can matter.

— Cody

Awareness by Anthony De Mello

My therapist recommended this book to me during a very rough emotional point in my life. This guy is a little intense and a little harsh, but he ultimately gave me a big wake up call to stop caring so much about potentially failing or looking stupid. It helped to reframe my happiness and my emotions so that other people stopped defining my life experiences so much. It promotes that kind of life that’s almost impossible to fully embrace, unless you are a literal monk, but it pushes you to live a little more peacefully, and live a little more for you. That helped me to access a vulnerability in these lyrics that I kept locked up before.

— Sarah

Francis Ford Coppola’s new Instagram account

Recently, Francis Ford Coppola started an Instagram. He posts pictures of his casts, his crew, thanking them for the work they’ve done on his projects. It’s super earnest and sweet. This absolute movie legend, who doesn’t need social media to continue directing money-making films, takes his time to communicate with the world his genuine appreciation to all the people he works with. With the SAG and WGA strikes happening, it’s scary to see how much art and the work of artists has been sacrificed and undervalued in order to appease shareholders and make people money. It’s cool to see a real artist show appreciation for his collaborators in a simple way amid all the chaos. If FFC were to ever shout me out on his Instagram, I’d be happy forever.

— Sarah

Stolen Jars’ new album I Won’t Let Me Down is available now everywhere.