For over thirty-five years families all over the country have gathered in their living rooms week-nightly, some at seven some at eight and a rogue few at seven thirty after Wheel, to watch three lucky contestants compete to determine whose knowledge will rein supreme as Alex Trebek guides them and us along. Few programs can honestly get my seven person immediate family to pay attention to the television at the same time and there only seem to be three TV events that can still enrapture us: Jacob DeGrom pitching, overtime NCAA lacrosse, and our daily Jeopardy. Jeopardy is seeing one of its strongest stretches in ages, with the success of James Holthaur who fell just $58,484 of Ken Jennings winnings total last year and with Ken then beating both James and Brad Rutter in the Jeopardy Greatest of All Time fortnight long extravaganza earlier this month. The impetus for that tournament was unfortunately however an eagerness to have it while Trebek could still be the host, as he was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. While Trebek has been the ultimate trooper continuing to host the program as well as he ever has, it has forced those same people in those same living rooms all over the country to ask themselves the same scary question with no good answer: Whose gonna take over Jeopardy???
One of the many people who has been asking himself that question is DIY rock and roller out of the Garden State John Cozz. John has been asking the hard questions with his music for some time putting out the fantastic Deep Fried tape last year, but this may be his most existential number to date. John had grown up watching Jeopardy with his grandfather who passed away in 2017, and Alex’s mortality could not help but remind him of both his grandfather’s mortality and his own. Alex Trebek will inevitably pass as we all do and will justifiably be celebrated for generations to come. However, inevitably ABC will get their board together and figure out who they’re gonna plop out next, and the way that life goes on and capitalism continues to run unbothered can be just as unsettling as the idea of our lives ending. The thing is it’s not just that we won’t have Trebek leading us through Jeopardy any more, it’s that we’ll all have to deal with Josh Gadd try and balance a career transition for two seasons before they figure out a replacement who actually makes sense (like, idk, me for example). By the end of the track John, perhaps correctly, comes to the conclusion that there couldn’t possibly be an acceptable replacement for Trebek and prays they don’t even try and just throw it all on Netflix. The track has a fantastic bounce to it and is leagues more fun than contemplating its message.
John and a few buddies recently started Pizza Bagel Records to release their own music and the music of others trying to make it in New Jersey. They felt that as the speculated about what was next for Jeopardy they should do what they could to help Alex, who John described in his moving GoFundMe piece as practically having a seat at his family’s dinner table. John and the gang decided to start a fundraiser around the song to raise money for Pancreatic Research that will go hand in hand with this track. The money will ultimately go to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. If you have the means please consider donating to it at this link, and give the tune a listen on Spotify. Also follow John on Insta and Follow Pizza Bagel Records on Insta and Twitter!
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