Album of the Week: The Medicine

I'm not gonna go crazy asking you to vote for the RC summer album, because I don't have it in me. But if you have a moment, and haven't already, you should vote. It'll take 30 seconds. Please and thank you. Enjoy the music this week!

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WEEK 391 — July 26-August 1, 2026

The Medicine

by the Jazz June

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PICKED BY VOTE

CATEGORY OF VOTING: "Ring a Bell" — These are the albums that have the same title as previously covered RC albums. Basically, I'm scrolling down the list of past albums, and I'm trying to pick out some of the titles that have a more common name, and then searching for that name on RYM. That's how we got The Medicine, which is the same name as the album by Jeremy Renner. The funny part is, I think The Medicine by the Jazz June was the only pick out of the five albums here that is actually more popular and/or well-known than the RC album we originally covered (the album itself, not the artist, only because no one knows that Jeremy Renner made an EP besides us).

LOSING ALBUMS: But actually, The Medicine did not originally win the poll. That would be Fine Art by a band called Fine Art, whose self-titled shares an album name as the one we did with Kneecap. But a couple weeks ago, I got an email from our PoYB Contributor Tom, who informed me that Fine Art wasn't available online. The easiest solution is to just go with the second place album. And these two really were neck-and-neck for a while. The other three got wiped out—Healing by Todd Rundgren (same as In Love with a Ghost), Punk by Patricia Taxxon (same as CHAI and same as Young Thug), and Loaded by Brotha Lynch Hung (same as the Velvet Underground). The latter got zero votes, and hopefully that was on purpose, and not coincidental, because it proves once again that y'all know what you're doing; I didn't realize that Brotha Lynch Hung was basically a shock-rapper, and I'm glad we don't have to grapple with the subject matter he raps about this week.

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ALBUM DETAILS

GENRE: Midwest emo, post-hardcore, math rock

RELEASED: 2000 (unknown exact date)

LENGTH: 56:09

TRACKLIST:

1. Viva la Speed Metal
2. The Scars to Prove It
3. Excerpt
4. The Phone Works Both Ways
5. The Medicine
6. At the Artist's Leisure Part 2
7. Motorhead's Roadie
8. Death from Above
9. Fight like Sinatra
10. Get on the Bus
11. Balance

LYRICS: Genius.com

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ARTIST DETAILS

PRONOUNS: n/a

ABOUT: The members of the Jazz June all went to Kutztown University, and in 1996, they formed a band. Wikipedia is unclear about who was originally in the band, but I think it's Andrew Low (vocals, guitar), Bryan Gassler (guitar), Nat Duncan (bass), and Justin Max (drums). But Duncan left after the first album, and was replaced by Daniel O'Neill. Other members listed are Adam Gerhart (unknown what he played) and Tim Holland (guitar, trumpet, keyboards). The band was known for taking hardcore emo sounds and adding a healthy bit of experimentation to it. They broke up in 2003, after their third album, but reunited in 2006 for a benefit show, and in 2014 for a fourth and (as of now) final album. "Jazz june" is a phrase used in "We Real Cool," a 1959 poem by Gwendolyn Brooks. 

DISCOGRAPHY: This is the Jazz June's second of four studio albums. The first is 1997's They Love Those Who Make the Music. The third was 2002's Better Off Without Air. The most recent is 2014's After the Earthquake. They also released an outtakes compilation in 2007 called The Scars to Prove it. There are also two EPs.

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ADDITIONAL INFO

READING SOME SHIT: a 2014 oral history of the band via Vice

WATCHING SOME SHIT: the title track live in 2013

RECORD CLUB CONNECTIONS: The strongest connection was already mentioned at the top—we've already covered The Medicine by Jeremy Renner. Hey, did you know that in late 2025, Jeremy Renner was credibly accused of sex abuse? And that he threatened to call ICE on the victim when she attempted to confront him about the abuse? Just leaving this information here, in case you need it.

This album was rated as the 33rd-best emo album of all time by Rolling Stone. Other RC alumni featured on the list: Coheed and Cambria (#35), Paramore (#28), Weezer (#14!), Thursday (Full Collapse at #11), My Chemical Romance (#10), Fall Out Boy (From Under the Cork Tree at #9), and Sunny Day Real Estate (#1). We didn't cover that #1-ranked Sunny Day Real Estate album in RC, but I would probably point to the RC album as the closest match to the Jazz June, in terms of the Midwest emo sound and genre.

MENTIONS ON THE BLOG: None, but I thought there was going to be. For Summer Song Challenge Day 6, I chose a song from a compilation called Kickstart Audio Presents: Pennsylvania, USA Volume One. I thought for sure the Jazz June was going to be on that compilation, being from Kutztown, but no such luck.

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RECORD CLUB ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

This week's discography dive album: unhammerlike by Fibulator

This week's follow-up album: Unclouded by Melody's Echo Chamber

This week's keeping up album (probably): Everything I Ever Saw by the Menzingers

Listen with us! Keep your favorite Record Club artists in the rotation!

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COUNTDOWN:

69 Weeks Until Week 420

We are tracking and counting down every week from here on out till Record Club Week 420. We started this countdown 69 weeks out. During Record Club Week 420, we will be covering Donny Most by the esteemed Happy Days virgin Donny Most. The goal for Week 420 of Record Club is that it will feature 69 reviews from 69 different people. 

THIS WEEK: We are 29 weeks away from Week 420.

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Happy listening, RC family!
Have a great week!