Top 10 MJ Lenderman-isms on Manning Fireworks

MJ Lenderman, the king of Asheville alt-country pulls no punches when it comes to punchlines. You may know ‘em from the band Wednesday or maybe you’ve heard your annoying hipster friends raving about ‘em- one thing’s for sure, as he once sang on “Infinity Pool” (2021), he’s on top of the world. With the release of his fourth solo album, Manning Fireworks, every outlet is talking about this guy, while his spotify streaming numbers have skyrocketed to 750,000 monthly listeners and with good reason. He’s sharp as a tack when it comes to a good pun and a killer riff. He’s the new Neil Young, indie rock Jesus, Mark Twang. In today’s article, I’ve gathered my favorite lyrics from his discography – culminating in our top 10 MJ Lenderman-isms (first coined by Taylor of Swim Into Sound).

Let’s get into it

10. “How many roads must a man walk down ‘til he learns

He’s just a jerk who flirts with the clergy nurse ‘til it burns

I wouldn’t be in the seminary if I could be with you” – “Rudolph”

Lenderman sings about Catholicism a lot in his lyricism. Perhaps it’s this subtle reminder of god and man that makes his music feel so poetic. All the same, this is one of those lines that beckons you in to shout alongside in righteous raucousness. While we’re at it shoutin, I’d like to shoutout Chase Heffron who first put me onto MJ Lenderman way back when. This is one of his favorite lines from the album so it had to make the list.

9. “We sat under a half mast McDonald’s flag” – “You Don’t Know The Shape I’m In”

As Jesse Shafer puts, “it just says so much in a single line.” It places you right smack dab in suburban America, with a tongue-in-cheek line about death.

8. “Said there’s men and there’s movies

Then there’s men and men in black

Said there’s milkshakes and there’s smoothies

You always lose me when you talk like that

If you tap on the glass, the sharks might look at you,

you’re damned if they don’t, and you’re damned if they do” – “Riptorn”

This quote I love for two reasons. The first bit walks you into the rambling ways of MJ Lenderman, crossin’ movie references and dairy dietary options like it’s nothing. The second reason I love this ending is just how chilling and impactful the last two lines feel. To me this last couplet represents feelings on success and failure- either, no one cares and all this was for nothing or everyone cares and now I gotta deliver forever. Maybe it’s not that, but I interpret his slacker rock demeanor to be so.

7. “I’ve got a beach home in buffalo” – “Wristwatch”

I wonder if he got the idea from Frank Ocean’s Beach House in Idaho.

6. “You can put your clothes back on, she’s leaving you

No time to apologize for the things you do

Go rent a ferrari and sing the blues

Believe that Clapton was the second coming” – “She’s Leaving You”

No matter how ya feel about Clapton, these lines rule and Ferrari rentals are just about a thousand a day if you wanna go ahead and blow your rent away. Anthemic opening lines.

5. “You’ve opened the bible in a public place

You’ve opened the bible to the very first page

And one of these days it will all end

You’re tired approach to original sin” – “Manning Fireworks”

These lines show the man MJ is. The shame hidden behind these words is beautiful and revealing. It’s vulnerable because it’s honest and so the imagery is clear as day, painted painstakingly by his own catholic guilt.

4. “I’ve got a houseboat docked at the Himbo Dome” – Wristwatch

Champion of the Himbos, MJ Lenderman. Wristwatch is back with another banger.

3. “Deleted scene of Lightning McQueen, blacked out at full speed.” – Rudolph

This is what MJ Lenderman is about: taking your childhood heroes and warping them before placing them in strange and deranged situations- it’s hilarious every time.

2. “Every catholic knows he could’ve been pope” – Joker Lips

In a discography where Catholicism is brought up in just about every other line, this is my favorite.

Honorable mentions:

Before we give away our number 1, let’s go over 5 honorable mentions including some of my favorites from the rest of his catalog.

“Someday I’ll have it all
Jack Nicholson’s courtside set
Purple foam imprinted with celebrity ass cheek”
– Gentleman’s Jack, The Ghost Of Your Guitar Solo (2021)

Nothing gets a bunch of nerds to care about sports like an MJ Lenderman line. Someday I’ll have it all MJ Lenderman’s courtside seat. Purple foam imprinted with celebrity ass cheek.

“Burdened by those wet dreams
Of people having fun
‘Cause I know vacation brings the worst out of everyone
And every day is a miracle
Not to mention a threat
Of bees nests nestled in the yard
Of Travolta’s bald head”
-On My Knees, Manning Fireworks (2024)

MJ Lenderman is the Michael Jordan of namedropping celebrities in ridiculous fashion.

“It’s hard to see you fall like that
Though I know how much of it’s an act
In this tables ladders and chairs cage match
Where all things go”

-TLC Cage Match, Boat Songs (2022)

One of his most lyrically charged songs showcases his skill of delivery along the way. As the lines come around the bend, those last few words set up the track for a haunting listen.

“Jackass is funny, like the world is round”

– You Are Every Girl To Me, Boat Songs (2022)

The ever iconic MJ Lenderman-ism. Emblematic of all that is MJ Lenderman.

“It wasn’t a pizza that poisoned him in Utah
With a hotel bill to prove
Three thousand dollars on just five dudes”
-Hangover Game, Boat Songs (2022)

This is my favorite MJ Lenderman-ism but this list is about Manning Fireworks so I’m putting it here. MJ Lenderman is the only person who could write this song given he shares the name of the song’s central character, Michael Jordan. At the end, MJ exclaims, “yeah, I love drinking too.”

Michael Jordan’s illness in the legendary game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals is generally attributed to the flu. However Michael’s security guards and trainer suggest in The Last Dance docuseries that he was actually intentionally poisoned by a bad pizza made by Utah Jazz fans. Another less popular theory is that MJ was hungover after partying and playing poker — one person says he was at Robert Redford’s chalet, another says he was in Vegas — all night before the game. I liked the idea of the latter theory so I wrote a song about it. Remember that I am no detective, just a songwriter and whatever really happened in Utah, Jordan still dropped 38 points and won the game.

-Chris Deville, Stereogum