Today in Anti-Matter: When The Wonder Years released their debut album in 2007, there was really no way anyone could have predicted everything that’s happened since. The record was called Get Stoked on It!, for one thing. There were songs called “Bout to Get Fruit Punched, Homie” on it, for another. The band’s singer, Dan Campbell, has since famously called it an “unmitigated disaster,” and has conceded that they probably should have changed their name at some point. But personally, I’m glad they didn’t. The Wonder Years are a testament to the way change necessitates growth, and how growth is a hardcore value. The band they became? We need them. As I begin to think about what I am leaving behind with this iteration of Anti-Matter, our conversation seemed to have arrived at exactly the right time. Dan is quite possibly one of the most considered people I’ve ever interviewed, and this conversation barely starts before he begins to go deep on the existential value of his band and the ways in which living a life like ours is truly “worth it.” It’s an echo of his work as a lyricist: On The Wonder Years’ newest album, The Hum Goes On Forever, Dan is frequently imagining alternate histories and disparate futures for himself. Becoming a parent will do that to you. “I don’t know how you grew up, but for me, it’s poor-kid mentality,” he tells me. “It’s like I gotta have a backup plan to my backup plan to my backup plan… The big thing for me, though, is just making sure that my family feels OK and secure. Whatever is best for them is best for me. Whatever makes my kids’ lives the happiest and the least stressful they can be is what I want to be doing. And right now, that’s playing in a band.” This is a really special conversation where almost every turn we take renders serious thinking into our community, our lives, our mental health, and our futures—and as always, it’s in your inbox now. Subscribe now at antimatter.substack.com and don’t miss a thing. Thank you, friends ✨ 📸: Dan Campbell, live with The Wonder Years. Terminal 5. New York, NY. September 10, 2023. Photo by @mitchellwojcik