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Taste Profile: Ratboys' Julia Steiner

The Chicago songwriter raves about Danny DeVito's 'Matilda,' Women's Soccer, and on demand alt-rock music videos.

josh terry

Aug 22, 2023

Welcome to a bonus edition of the No Expectations newsletter. It’s another Taste Profile, the Q&A series that asks interesting folks about the formative albums, books, movies, and more that inspired them then and the things that they’re into now. This edition features one of my favorite songwriters and people in Chicago, Ratboys’ Julia Steiner. Her band’s AOTY-contender and Chris Walla-produced LP The Window is out Friday. Preorder that here.

You can still expect the regular newsletter to hit your inbox each Thursday at 9am cst / 10am est. This week’s blog might be for paid subscribers and behind a paywall but I haven’t decided that yet. We finally hit 100 paid subscribers and I’ve long thought that’s when I’d introduced paywalled newsletters. As of right now, it probably makes the most sense to do posts for paid subscribers only when I have a Taste Profile interview available for free running the same week. I’m open to feedback at noexpectationsnewsletter@gmail.com. Anyway, subscribe, share, and tell a friend if you feel like it. Thanks for being here.

Julia Steiner’s Taste Profile:

Here’s the thing about Ratboys. Not only are they consistently one of the best bands in Chicago since they moved here a decade ago but they’re also some of the friendliest folks I’ve ever met while writing about music. (I’m a culture journalist in the Midwest and basically everyone is nice here so it’s really a high bar!). Their music in a lot of ways feels as welcoming and easygoing as its band members. Some of my favorite memories have been seeing them play and watching their growth from album to album. Their latest LP The Window is their best yet.

Out Aug 25 and produced by former Death Cab For Cutie sonic wizard Chris Walla, it’s the culmination of almost 15 years of patient, inviting, and resonant songwriting that skirt the lines between alt-rock, country, and a little bit of emo. I’ve had the promo for months and the songs here blow me away each time, especially “Black Earth, WI” and “Morning Zoo.” I’d bet it’ll be a favorite for you too. Besides a few random stories like interviewing Julia about Taco Bell’s Feed The Beat or premiering a song of theirs in 2015, I haven’t written about them as much as I would like over the years. So, I decided to ask Julia to hop on the newsletter for a Taste Profile interview. Her picks rocked and surprised me in the best ways. Read on to see three things that inspired her growing up and three things she’s into now.

Formative Movie: Matilda

I have not seen Danny DeVito’s Matilda in maybe 20 years but tell me about your first experiences with that film.

That movie holds a really special place in my memory as what I would watch anytime I was home sick from school. My parents would both be working and so anytime I couldn't go to school or had to come home, I would go to my grandparents' house and my grandma would make me some fresh popcorn on the stove. We would just watch this movie literally every time. I probably watched it 15 times in my childhood or something. It's just such a comfort watch. Looking back, it's such a remarkable movie. It's really funny. It's very colorful, but also the heroine of the film is a young girl who likes to read. That's pretty remarkable. As a young girl who liked to read, it was pretty empowering and magical and badass.

I remember loving the movie a lot more than the book, which is by Roald Dahl. He was an asshole but wrote some classics. Did you read it too?

No, never read the book. I've read a few Roald Dahl. The Witches by him was one of my favorite books. But no, I never read them until the book. How did it compare?

The movie is more fun. It's pretty dark for kids but I think that's kind of why kids like his work.

If you think about it, Matilda has got some really dark moments like that kid being force-fed chocolate cake as a punishment from the whole school. It's pretty gnarly. I think I've kind of realized something about myself, especially over the last few years, when I've had a lot of time to think about it and reflect on the media that I'm into. It's anything that has this overlap between being morbid and whimsical at the same time, I'm 1,000% in. Anything that has those two things smashed together, I'm gonna fall in love with. I feel like this movie definitely counts for that.

When was the last time you watch it?

I did watch it again recently. We do movie nights in the Ratboys Discord sometimes. It held up in like a really profound way. It honestly felt like this very kind of subversive tale. Like I said, where the protagonist is this intellectual young girl and all she wants is a family. That really resonated with me as a kid. Now it just strikes me as such a brave and bold choice for a movie to market itself as that. It's more than a fairy tale.

It’s also very cool that Danny DeVito directed this.

He directed it, wrote the screenplay, and, obviously starred in it. Also, there's some really nice trivia associated with it, too. He went out of his way to really be there for the cast. Mara Wilson, the actor who plays Matilda. Her mom was battling cancer. I don't know if you've heard this. And so DeVito was like, extremely hands-on with checking in on her and distracting her and like keeping her you know, happy on set. One other thing I wanted to say about it is, there are a lot of practical effects in the movie. I'd highly recommend getting the DVD and watching the special features or maybe it's on YouTube somewhere, but they use skateboards and little invisible pieces of fishing line and like, really creative practical effects to pull off some of the cool magic in the movie.

Formative Music Video: Silversun Pickups, “Lazy Eye”

So, just to be on the same page, you’re choosing the Silversun Pickups “Lazy Eye” music video not the song or the album from 2006 that had that track on it?

Yeah, so I have a very distinct memory of walking into our family room in the house where I grew up, and that music video being on TV. It wasn't like a channel on TV but at the very beginning of cable boxes and DVR, there was this on-demand section or whatever. That's how I found Wilco: The I Am Trying to Break Your Heart documentary was on demand. So this music video was on there too. I think my someone in my family must have just been clicking around and left that music video on from that section of the cable box. I walked in and was just completely mesmerized. I think I must have been 13 or something. It's probably not the first time that I saw a rock band on TV, but it feels like the first time. It's crystallized in my memory as the first time I saw a rock band on TV. It just felt extremely like a pivotal moment for me when I saw that and thought that I would want to do something like this someday. It's also such an earworm. It was infectious right away.

That song came out in 2006 and I think I first heard it because it was on the iTunes homepage. I remember, getting the download and thinking was really cool and sounded like the Smashing Pumpkins. That video is cool. It looks like they're at the Hideout or something. It's simple but it captures what it's like to be at a club show.

Totally. There's something there. They capture that energy of being at a live gig. There's something so alluring and like mysterious about it with the dark colors and the shadows, but also it's like you said a very simple presentation and it's just them playing music. It grabbed me. I love it.

Did you follow up Silversun Pickups after that video or was the video more of a gateway into discovering other stuff that you really liked?

It was a gateway into being interested in the electric guitar and paying more attention to louder bands. But I got really into that Carnavas album by Silversun Pickups. Still to this day, it's one of my absolute favorite records. I listen to it anytime I have like a long night drive.

I listened to it again today for the first time in a long time. I forgot how much that song "Future Foe Scenario" rips. I remember learning it on the electric guitar when it came out and it's just the coolest riff.

There are so many riffs and so much fucking nuts guitar tone. It sounds so awesome. As someone at the time who was 13, I had never been to a club show and I never touched an electric guitar. That video and song got me excited about a world that I was not familiar with.

Formative Video Game: The Sims 2

Tell me about being a gamer with The Sims 2

I wouldn’t call myself a gamer. I wish I could call myself that but I literally just played The Sims.

I never played them but I’ve heard this one was the best in the series though.

I tweeted this years and years and years ago: The Sims 2 gameplay plus The Sims 3 graphics, plus The Sims 1 soundtrack, would be my perfect version of The Sims.

Wow, the Holy Trinity.

I think Sims 2 overall, though, was the most realized game. I think they hit their peak. I don't think there was that much more to do. With the latest version of The Sims, I played it in 2020. And it was shockingly bad. There wasn't that much to improve on from the early versions, in my opinion. But Sims 2 was my obsession.

Tell me about your Sim.

Oh my God. Well, I made myself and I made my dream husband at the time. We had our whole brood and we had our whole lineage in the game. I would play for eight hours a day sometimes. Anyone who played the Sims can attest to this. You could play for eight hours and not even notice time passing. I would just be in our family computer room. Of course. I'm sure my siblings were pissed that I was hogging the computer all day. I would just, yeah, not even look at the clock and then all of a sudden, I'm like, "Holy fuck, I've been here for seven hours." or whatever. I made us and then we, you know, had the next generation and so forth for 12 generations. It was a whole thing.

When was the last time you caught yourself in an eight-hour video game hole?

It must have just been that. I never really got into competitive games. The last thing I played was Animal Crossing, which is a very similar thing.

During the pandemic, I bought my girlfriend a Nintendo Switch and I saw how much fun she had so I bought myself one to play Super Mario 64.

That's when I dipped my toes back into The Sims because I had nothing to do. Truly only then was the time right for me to do that. And it was bad. I did not have fun. I did it live on Twitch. Big mistake. I don't even know how to explain this but there was some glitch in the game. You could throw a party in The Sims and invite someone to cater your party, whatever. So the caterer was at my house in the game. For some reason, she didn't leave when the party ended, and I didn't notice. Anyway, this caterer ends up dying on my property in The Sims so my character would just grieve this stranger constantly. I would have her go to the bathroom, make dinner, whatever, but she would always just X out my commands and go to the caterer’s grave in the backyard. It was like a glitch in the game. Anyway, this was all happening live on Twitch for people to see.

Recent Music: MeTV FM (87.7)

You are the first person to pick MeTV FM.

I definitely won’t be the last. The word is spreading, let me tell you.

I listened to this radio station a couple of days ago when I got your picks and the first song that was playing when I tuned in was “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley.

Classic. They RickRolled you right off the bat.

Tell me about your relationship with this radio station.

Well, for one I’m relieved you were able to get it. Some of the newer cars don't get this station because it's the first station on the dial. Technically it's not a true, proper radio waves station. They bounce a wave off of the cable television station that they use. Anyway, the reason it's there's a lot of mythmaking involved with Me TV in my opinion. It's this oldest station in Chicago that plays you know, a lot of the hits like "Sweet Caroline, and "Saturdays In the Park" and Beach Boys. They got all the hits, but they also play true deep cuts that like I've never heard before. And they do all these crazy-themed weekends. For instance, today is Carole King's half-birthday so they're playing Carole King songs all day for her half-birthday. They love Carole King. It's just the craziest selection of the craziest catalog of music and I've discovered so much wonderful stuff on this station that I had never heard before. It honestly feels kind of like treasure hunting sometimes when when I listen to it because I am so eager to hear amazing song that's been out for 40 or 50 years that I've never heard.

What’s been your favorite discovery?

Oh my God. Well, Dave and I have a playlist that we add to always called MeTV Bangerz which is up to like 150 songs now, Those are our favorite songs that we've discovered on there. I've gotten really into Linda Ronstadt through MeTV. I've been listening to her so much. There's a deep cut from one of her old records called "Justine" which is one of my absolute favorite songs ever now. It has some really weird tempo changes and her band is just very in the pocket. If you want to hear a true, locked-in tight live band performance, look no further. It's so sick.

Knowing you and your tastes, I’m shocked you weren’t a lifelong Linda Rondstadt fan already. What was your first time turning the dial to MeTV?

I don't even know. So MeTV has existed since 2015 and I moved here in 2014. So that means there was a whole year that I lived here that I didn't have the station. I shudder to think back to then. I don't have a pivotal moment when I discovered it. It just feels like it's always been with me. It's part of me now.

Shoutout the radio. I feel like we take it for granted.

I'm a total control freak in most aspects of my life, but the radio is the one thing where I just love to let the DJ, take the wheel. I like not knowing what's coming next.

Recent Sports: Women’s Soccer

First off, go Chicago Red Stars. I’m so happy you picked this. I’ve seen you post from games at SeatGeek Stadium. They’re so fun to go to. When did you get into women’s soccer?

Back in 2019, when the US women's national team won the World Cup, we were on tour driving home from the west coast. So we had a huge amount of downtime just on those long, long-ass drives. It was literally I think the day after they won and of course, I hadn't watched any of the tournament because I didn't even really know what was happening. But I saw the highlights from the game and it was just so electric. I immediately did this huge deep dive into the team and their social media channels and highlights from the whole tournament. I was kicking myself for having missed this. I never played soccer growing up or anything. I played as a six-year-old or whatever, like we all do, but I was so unathletic.

I've always loved sports, though, so this was just a huge new door that opened up for me as far as a new game to appreciate and a new set of players to follow. Once I discovered all the players on the national team, it was so easy to discover their club teams and all the players on those teams and of course, the Chicago Red Stars. I immediately just became a huge fan. I love going to the games. I wish more people went and knew about it, but I'm doing everything I can to spread the word and get people into it. These women are just complete freak athletes. It's amazing to watch. I can't say enough good things.

Who were the first couple of players that you gravitated towards?

The first one that comes to mind for sure is Rose Lavelle because she scored the clinching goal in the final of the 2019 World Cup. It wasn't just any goal. She dribbled it, almost box to box. She was in control by herself sprinting with the ball. She looked truly like a gazelle. I know people give her that nickname sometimes: Rose Gazelle. But it was such a cool goal. Then looking more into like her life. She's from Cincinnati, she's very Midwestern, and she's very funny and has a bulldog. It was just so easy to become a fan of her not just as a player, but as a person.

I was so all-in during that World Cup cycle. It was a lot of fun.

I wish that I had known because this World Cup was such a different experience.

Yeah, I’m so sorry. You picked a bad time to bandwagon.

I knew it was coming. The first two US games for this World Cup were at a normal hour so I watched those at a bar. But then the third game I stayed up for that one because it was like 2 am. That was the 0-0 tie with Portugal and that was such a disappointing experience. That game felt the worst I think out of the three group-stage matches. I hate going to bed in a bad mood like that. For the Knockout Game, I woke up early to watch that. We were in the middle of nowhere, Wisconsin, so my service was kind of spotty. That was not the most fun experience either. But I had to watch my gals. I knew they were gonna lose. I feel bad saying that, but I just knew I wanted to watch it.

The vibes were off this year.

I'm looking forward to a fresh start and if you ever want to start a women's soccer podcast, we should do it.

I’d probably be better suited to a WNBA podcast. Have you ever been to a Chicago Sky game?

No, but I would love to. I'm near Wintrust Arena all the time.

It’s the best. I’ve been a Sky fan for years but started going to pretty religiously to games in 2021. My aunt and uncle are huge fans and their daughters—my cousins—are genius student-athletes who know ball. I got laid off from VICE in August 2021 so just used my severance money to go to every playoff game with them that year. We won the championship too!

That sounds so sick. Let’s do it.

Recent Activity: Chicago Architecture Boat Tour

white and blue boat on water near city buildings during daytime — Photo by Richard Tao on Unsplash

The Architecture Boat Tour rocks.

Dude I know. I've gone on quite a few of these, which is kind of odd. I've been on two just as a paying customer with friends who visited town. But also, my side job to make ends meet is that I work for this corporate event planning company. I'm basically a chaperone for business travelers, whether that's at the airport, at hotels downtown, at McCormick Place, or whatever. Sometimes that means that I'm accompanying them on tours. So I've gotten to go on like five of these architecture boat tours, just with these groups of business travelers. I swear, there is no better tourist activity one can do anywhere in the world. I really, really believe that this is one of the most enriching, relaxing, and beautiful educational experiences that a person can have in any big city. It makes me so proud to live here. I'm not even that big of an architecture buff, but it's just so fascinating to see the history of a place progress over time, and all these styles just coexist next to each other. You're sitting on a cruise and you're drinking a beer, it's like the best thing you can do. I'm obsessed.

Sometimes people who live in Chicago take for granted the tourist destinations and activities here when some of those things are actually just the best time even if you live here.

I think it's something that everyone who lives in Chicago should do at least once. Anyone who has that attitude that it's too touristy they're maybe saying that out of a place of pride. Like they're inherently proud of where they live. And I feel like there's no better way to inform your city pride than to go on one of these tours and learn more about the city you live i