03x06 - Hard for Me to Say I'm Sorry

[bunniefuu]

[SOFT ROCK MUSIC]

LOUDERMILK: After you left,
there was a guy
hanging around.

Uh, gave me a card
to give to you.

Said he wants
you to call him.

Yeah, he's a health
inspector, right?

No. He owns a restaurant.

Says he's looking
for some help.

CLAIRE: My mom's taking
a writing class,

and she gave me
a short story
of hers to read.

Do you think you could
read it for me,

maybe just give, like,
a couple notes?

"Her mind kept returning

"to his throbbing muscle
thrusting into her..."

Yeah, your story,
I read it.

You sure do have
a lot of vinyl.

Pool? Yeah, throw it on.

♪ ♪

I had a hot dog
with my son Jeremy today,

and he made me this.

Aww, that's so cute.

He drew you
a picture of a...

Koala bear.No.

No, that's me. See.

You got a budding artist.
How old is the little fella?

He's 15.No, the kid who
made the mug.

That's Jeremy.
He's 15.

He just got
his learner's permit,

and he wants me to teach him
how to drive in my van.

Okay, well...
[SIGHS]

I'm really glad
that you're reconnecting
with your kids, Mugs.

Yeah, they, uh...
They grow up fast.

Yeah, especially when
you miss half their life.

[STAMMERING]

f*ck you,
you brittle-boned
half a m*therf*cker.

LOUDERMILK:
Okay, uh, just...
All right. Yeah.

We got a couple
minutes left.

Um...

Ben, you haven't
said anything in a while.

[CHUCKLES]
Fine, if I have to.

Uh, life's been
mostly good,
you know.

I've been crossing a lot
of stuff off my list.

I just finished every episode
of Buddy N' Andy,

so I'm pretty proud
of that.

And I've been playing
some video poker,

and, uh...
Oh, the food truck

made me realize
that it's time for me
to get back in the kitchen,

so I've been looking
for a chef job.

But not really
a lot out there.

What about the
restaurant owner who
wanted to hire you?

No, no, no, no,
he's looking for
a line cook,

not a head chef, so...

Nothing wrong with
taking a job and
working your way up.

And if you're good,
you won't be
line cooking for long.

Especially true
in the service industry,

where an IQ over 70
and two working thumbs
makes you a superstar.

No offense, Rog.

Oh, I'm not offended,

because I have these.

Heh. Heh.[LAUGHS]

Hey, you know what?
Stevie's right.

I started out rinsing
chem-packs
at my current job,

and now I'm the guy
who mixes the chemicals

and gets
the spray canisters ready

for our boys
out in the field.

It's a lot of responsibility.

You get a clogged nozzle
when you're knee-deep

in a nest of mud daubers,
it's over.

What the f*ck
do you do again?

I'm regional equipment tech
for Value Pest Control.

I'm like Q
from James Bond.

Oh, I've seen those ads
all over cable TV.

Hey, how much
would you guys charge

to take out
my neighbor's beagle?

What are you,
an assh*le?TONY: What?

Damn thing's yelping
all night.

Sounds like a seal
having a stroke.

What...
What do you
say, Mugs?

Shame on you
for even thinking that.

It's my job.
This is my career.

I would never do that
in a million years.

Thousand bucks?

MAN: I'll do it.

You want it clean,
or are we sending a message?

You know, uh, I-I think
I'll live with it.

[FRANZ FERDINAND'S
STAND ON THE HORIZONPLAYS]

♪ ♪

♪ My head
is still spinning

[MUFFLED MUSIC PLAYING
OVER SPEAKER]

♪ I don't know
what happened

♪ But I know I have to turn
and walk away

Claire.

♪ The house
is still burning

♪ The walls are caving in

[DOOR SLAMS]Oh! What the f*ck, man?

You almost made me
pee myself
on my new couch.

That's new?New to me.

Got it over on Howell Street.
Ben helped me carry it up.

Somebody threw that out
for a reason.
It's probably got lice.

Why are you
in my apartment?

Why is my record
in your apartment?

What?This is my album, right?

Did you steal it?No, it's not.

My mom
sent me this playlist.

She sent you this?Yeah.

It's her new favorite album.

♪ ♪

Uh, cool. Okay.

Maybe just turn it down
a little bit

so you don't bug Levon.

[VOLUME LOWERS]

Who is this again?

The band's called Pool.

It's actually
just one person,
Lizzie Poole.

She's local.
I like her.

She's damaged
in all the right ways.

Like me.[SCOFFS, SNORTS]

Don't flatter yourself.

Oh, m*therf*cker!

I'm imagining bugs now
because of you.

Are you, though?

♪ The fog is just lifting

♪ Glimpses
of where I've been

♪ I'll pass the torch ♪

[SOFT ROCK MUSIC PLAYING]

♪ When I tell you, baby,
that I've got a problem ♪

[WHISTLES]

Hmm? How about this?

Does this say
fine dining
or what?

Did you get
the chef's gig?

Not exactly, but I decided
to take the g*ng's advice.

And I took a foot-in-the-door
position, if you will.

What are you doing,
making Claire's mom
a mixtape?

I'm having
a Lester Bangs moment.

[LAUGHS] Okay.

Right here on the couch,
all by your lonesome?

I'm sorry. I don't know
who that is. What's that?

Lester Bangs.
Rock critic, Rolling Stone.


MC5's debut album,
Kick Out the Jams

and then years later realized
he made a mistake.

Oh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

But who gives a sh*t?I do.


Lizzie Poole,
a local girl,

she puts out
her debut album,

and I write
a really bad review of it.

Not just bad,
but I'm a total d*ck
about it.

That's okay. Aren't all
your reviews like that?

I mean, being a d*ck
is sort of your thing,
isn't it?

Yeah, when they deserve it.

But I just listened
to this thing.

There's not
a bad song on there.

And the thing is,
I don't even remember

listening to it
the first time around.

I mean, that would've
been probably

right when
I was bottoming out

and touring around
with Monster Magnet

for what was supposed
to be a weekend

and turned into two months.

[LAUGHS] Why?

'Cause they were good.

They were that good?

At partying. Yeah.

I don't think she's ever
put out another album.

I can't help but think
it's 'cause of my review.

No, don't do that
to yourself, Sam.

You don't know that.

Maybe she said
everything she wanted
to with the first album.

No, no.
I had a lot of
pull back then.

You ever hear of a band
called The Young Adults?

Mm-mm.Exactly. 'Cause of me.

Their lead singer, uh,
Rudy Cheeks,

he slept with my girlfriend,
so bye-bye.

[KEYS CLACKING]

This girl didn't deserve that.

Is this her?

Yeah, I think so.

Hmm. Well,
there you go.

She's alive,
and she's doing great.

Oh, wait. This might be
one of those memorial pages.

No, no, she just
posted something
two days ago.

Says here she works
at Lines Vintage.

It's right in town.
It's a clothing store.

[SIGHS] Vintage clothing.
That's where artists
go to die.

This girl
should be making music,

not folding
dead people's clothes.

[SOMBER MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Thanks.

♪ ♪

Your sign says
"No food
or drink allowed."

Is that enforced?

Sounds and Grounds coffee?
Yeah, that's enforced.

If you spill that sh*t
in here,

the whole place will smell
like cat piss.

[LAUGHS]
Well, normally, yeah.

But, you know,
they're onto something
with this cold brew thing.

It's like they managed
to filter out

that sewage-y aftertaste.

You want a sip?No.

Huh. What, are you OCD?

No, just a healthy fear
of herpes.

Ah.Are you looking

for something
in particular?

Um...no.

No, I'm just checking
the place out.

Oh, those are made
of old typewriter keys.

Yeah, you got
different letters there
spelling out different names.

It's clever.I know.

It's been done to death,
but the hip-ennials

can't get enough of anything
with their name on it.

No, I said I thought
it was clever.

Oh, well, you said it
with a hint of sarcasm.

You look familiar.

I didn't f*ck you, did I?

No.[CELL PHONE CHIMES]

Oh, good.

Ugh, uh,
I have a situation,

and I'm gonna have
to close up early.

Um, do you see anything
that you wanna buy?

Uh, no. You know what?
Uh... I'll just come back.

I live in the neighborhood,
so it's not a problem.

All right. Thank you.Okay.

♪ ♪

You should see
where this girl lives, Ben.
It's f*cking depressing.

How do you know
where she lives?

'Cause I followed her
home from work.

[INHALES SHARPLY]
That's creepy, dude.

No, she doesn't know
I followed her home.

Even more creepy.

It's this
cr*ck house-looking place
over on Edleman Street.

It's all boarded up.
Looks like it's haunted.

Aw. Well, maybe she's
getting a break on the rent.

Or better yet,
she might be squatting.

Why is the tie so short?

I have a 23-inch neck.

[SNAPS FINGERS]

You have any bow ties?No, I don't have...

God damn it!

Actually, never mind.
I have an idea.

♪ ♪

[BELL DINGS]When you hear that bell,
it's go time.

Food comes out there.

Every ticket
has a table number on it.

You know, I've actually
worked in restaurants

since I was 14,
so I know the drill.

I like your confidence.
Hey! Guess what time it is.

It's f*ckin'
late o'clock again.

Leo, meet our new
food runner.

Hey, Leo. I'm Ben.
Nice to meet you.

He seems like
a real go-getter.

What does he do?Head chef.

[LAUGHS]

He's an odd duck,
I know.

But he's my sister's kid,
so can't get rid of him.

She put up half the money
to open this place.

Oh. Well, you know,
sometimes the odd ones

make the most talented chefs.

I worked with this one guy...f*ck, that's hot!

♪ ♪

[OBJECT CLATTERING]

[BANGING]LIZZIE: Come on, Jerome!

Get your sh*t together!JEROME: I swear,
that's not mine!

LIZZIE: Bullshit!
I saw you do it.

You gotta stop
hitting that sh*t so hard.

JEROME: Quit yelling at me!
It's just a little cr*ck.

Look at it!

Well, maybe if you
were more careful...

[SOFT ROCK MUSIC
PLAYING OVER RADIO]

♪ ♪

What are you
doing here?

Hey! Type...
Typewriter keys.

Um, I-I was just
walking by,

and I heard
some yelling,

so I just wanted
to make sure
everything's okay.

She's bitching at me
'cause I put a damn cr*ck
in the crown molding.

Oh, cool, okay.
Good to know.

Yeah, your voice
really carries.

So you just happened
to be walking
by this house.

Yeah, I walk by here
all the time

on my way
to Immaculate Heart.

The church?Yeah.

Run some meetings
over there.

[CAR HORN HONKS]

That's it. [SIGHS]
My ride's here.

You're leaving?f*ck yeah.

Unless you don't feel
comfortable with this weirdo

who just walked in here
out of nowhere.

Oh, I just said,
the church
and the meetings...

We've met before.
He's okay.

I'll see you later.

[INHALES]

[SPOON'S CAR RADIO
PLAYING OVER SPEAKER]

♪ ♪

So you have a second job.

No, this is
my mom's place.

I'm just helping her
fix it up before
we put it on the market.

♪ That's what I got ♪

Spoon, A Series of Sneaks.

That's a great choice.
This album is nearly perfect.

Have you heard
the new stuff?No.

No b*ll*ts Spent? Oh, yeah.

I've heard that stuff, yeah.

Love it.
The guitar is amazing.

It sounds like
Hanni El Khatib.

Right.

Anyway, uh,
I got a bunch
of stuff to do.

So I don't wanna
be rude, but, uh...

Can I give you a hand?

You wanna help me
do demo work?

I thought you were
going to the church.

Coming from.

Uh, yeah, I mean,
you got two
sledgehammers, uh...

All right, there's
extra goggles
by the cooler.

Oh.

BEN: Leo.Yeah.

I'm still waiting
on a risotto for table six.

It's coming.
Uh, bear with me.

I'm trying my best here.It's all right.

Take a couple breaths,
buddy. Okay?

Everything's gonna be fine.
We're a team here.
Right, everyone?

Hey, I got a table
waiting on two carbonaras.

What the hell's
going on in here?

What? No, no.
Sorry, I thought I told you
to eighty-six the carbonara.

The uh, egg, um, supply guy
didn't show up.

You know what? That's fine.
You can call an audible.

You don't need eggs
for carbonara.

Just use extra parm
and some heavy cream.

Okay? It's gonna be great.
Or we could buy eggs.

Whatever.

Take a note
from this guy, Leo, huh?

He doesn't make excuses.

He figures out
how to get sh*t done.

Now, f*ckin' turn that down.Oh, that's not ready yet.

I've had three complaints
tonight about
overcooked pasta!

I'm sorry.
I used the timer
like you asked me to.

You know,
Ben here used to be
head chef at Cafe Lapin.

I bet he doesn't
overcook pasta!

Oh, my God.
Is that a tear?

No. No, no, no, Roberto.
It's hot in here.

That's a... He's just...
That...
You know, that's sweat.

Sweating.You take off your diaper

and you put on
your big-boy chef pants!

Leo.

Come on,
you're the head chef.

You can't let this guy
talk to you like that
in front of your whole staff.

Oh, I don't take it
personally.

It's...
It's his place.

I mean,
it's his staff too.

[DOOR BANGS OPEN]My table ordered

the steak Florentine rare.

You cooked the f*ck
out of this.

Looks like
a dried pig's ear.

Uh, sorry, yeah.
I'll, uh, put another one
on for you right away.

Don't f*ck it up,
dipshit.Okay.

[SOFT MUSIC]

LIZZIE: Hey, Sam.

That's enough for tonight.

You're great
at wrecking stuff.

Yeah,
so I've been told.

Careful. I'm pretty sure
that's asbestos.

Why didn't you
give me a mask?

Relax, Nancy.

I don't think
you can get mesothelioma
from one exposure.

♪ ♪

So, uh, Sam,
what do you do?

For?For work.

Um, I-I used to be
a writer.

I guess I still kinda am.What kinda stuff?

Hmm?Uh, what do you write?

Are you a novelist?

Um, no.

No, I-I write about...
Music, mainly.

I used to be
in the business myself.

Ha, thought
that was you.

That's two days
in a row, man.

You gotta admit you love
my nitro cold brew.

It's not terrible.

See, that means amazing.

This guy
doesn't give out
compliments.

"Not terrible" means, like,
"world-class" coming from him.

Well, I agree.
It is very drinkable.

Very dr-drinkable.

Jesus, you two are made
for each other.

Felix, Lizzie.
Lizzie, Felix.

Hi.Lizzie's a musician.

How do you know that?Oh... What?

I never said
I was a musician.

Yeah, you did.
Didn't... Just a minute ago?

I said I was in the business.

I'm not a musician.

Okay.I-I used to be a musician.

Make up your mind, lady.
Are you, or aren't you?

I used to be in a band.

Anyone I would've
heard of or...

Probably not.

Try me.All right, she obviously

doesn't wanna
talk about it.Pool.

P-Pool?

W-wait a minute.

You're not Lizzie Poole.

Are you f*cking
kidding me?

Man, I loved
your f*cking record.

That's a...
That was amazing.

Where the f*ck
did you guys go?

I...stepped away.

No sh*t,
you stepped away.

I've been waiting years
for your next record.

So, like, what...
What are you guys doing?

When... When's the album drop?

I don't know.
It's hard...
Hard question.

Okay, well, can you,
like, play us a song?

Oh, no.
I don't play anymore.

Come on, I got my guitar
right up front.

I told... I told you,
I don't... I don't play.

Felix, just
leave her alone, okay?

Why not?It's a very
long story, and...

But I...Please, please, please.

Come on, come on.
I'm begging you.
Just... Just one song.

Look, I haven't
played the guitar

in a really,
really long time.Whatever. You'll be rusty.

There's, like,
f*ckin' three people
in here.

No one's gonna
give a sh*t.

Plus, no one's
gonna film it.
I promise.

Come on.
Just leave her
the f*ck alone.

Please? I just wanna
be able to say that
Pool played here.

Come on.

Yes!

Thank you.
Thank you.

Come on. No, no, no, no.
You can do it. You can do it.

[GUITAR CHORDS PLAYING]

[STRUMS SOFTLY]

♪ I turned my back, you were gone in a flash

♪ Like you always do

♪ You've always gone off

♪ Somewhere else

♪ And when the phone rang and I thought it was you

♪ And I sprung like a kid who just got out of school

♪ But it's almost

♪ Always never you

♪ Never you

♪ I scream

♪ Like a child

♪ My insides

♪ Went wild

♪ When I'm alone with you

♪ You make me feel
Yeah, you make me feel

♪ When I'm alone with you

♪ You are the one
You are, ohh

♪ And when I'm alone with you

♪ Yeah, you make me feel
You make me feel

♪ Yeah

♪ I'm alone with you

♪ You are the one ♪

[STRUMMING SOFTLY]

[APPLAUSE]MAN 1: That was amazing!

MAN 2: Thank you!MAN 3: Bravo!

Wow.

How did that feel?

[SIGHS] Good.

Weird...good.

f*ck, that was
f*cking amazing.

Jesus Christ, Loudermilk.
How have you not
brought her in her before?

We just met.
We're just...

Loudermilk?

Sam... Sam Loudermilk.

Look, I came
by the store
to apologize.

All right?
I know that...

MAN: Whoa.

I like her.

MUGSY: Christmas came early!LOUDERMILK: What?

I come bearing gifts.Oh.

I told my son Jeremy how much
everybody here loved my mug,

so he made one for everyone.

Now, keep in mind,
I don't have photos
of any of you,

so he went completely
by my descriptions.

We begin with Cloud.

Feathers on Cloud.

That's kind of
offensive, Mugsy.

No, no, no,
that's a turkey, nitwit.

Thanksgiving?

Not the greatest day
for my people,
but thank you.

You're welcome.

This one is for you, Claire.

You gave me Roger's.

Let me see that.
No, that's yours.

This one's Roger's
right here.Oh.

Oh, why have I got
feet for hands?

I thought you do
have feet for hands.

No, Mugsy,
these are hands.

You can tell because
they're on the end
of my arms

and not my legs.

Okay. Ehh.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

It looks like
I'm crying.

Oh, well, no... I didn't know
how to describe whiny, so...

Okay, here we go. Ed.

Uh, this has gotta be
for Cloud.

It's got another turkey on it.

No, that's a chicken.

Oh, for f*ck's sake.You told your son

he f*cked a chicken?No.

I-I did not say that.
He's a kid.

I said made love.

Oh, boy. Oh, Stevie,
you're gonna love yours.

Oh, you can... You can...Uh, you know, actually...

Leave it in the box.No, no, no.

You're absolutely
gonna love it.

No, no.No, Mugs, Mugs, no.

Leave it.Okay, okay.

Oh, hey, I got
one for you,
New Guy.

There you go.
All right.

What the hell is this?

Oh, that's an assh*le.
Yeah.

I made that one myself.

Okay. All right.

♪ ♪

I have your
wedge salad here,

the linguine with clams,
and carbonara.

ROBERTO: Emptied his bowels
on a pile of dirty shoelaces!

Pardon me.

Look at it.
Look at it!

What were you thinking?

I wouldn't serve this
to the rats in the alley.

Okay, that's enough.

You're being a real assh*le,
you know that?

I mean, jeez,
if you don't like something
that Leo's doing,

why don't you just
talk to him
after his shift?

Because right now
is not the time
or the place.

Now, get the hell
out of the kitchen
and let this guy work.

Go. Buh-bye. Shoo.

See ya. [LAUGHS]

[LAUGHS] I can't believe
you just did that.

Nah, don't worry
about that guy, Leo.

Let me let you in on a little
restaurant secret, okay?

Every once in a while,

you gotta put the owners
in their place.

Trust me.
They will respect you
for it in the end.

[g*n COCKING]

Get the f*ck
out of my restaurant.You're the boss!

♪ ♪

Oh, great.

Why are you
f*cking with me?

I'm trying to apologize.

I was wrong
about your album.
It's a great record.

That's why you gave it
zero f*cking stars?

Well, I was wrong.
I heard it again.
It's great.

That's why
I tracked you down.

You tracked me down?Yeah.

To tell you
that I was wrong.

I worked on that album
for two years.

I put everything I had
into those songs

only to have some assh*le
piss all over it for sport

in Rolling Stone.

It wasn't for sport.

I... The whole thing
is fuzzy to me, okay?

I was drinking and drugging
really hard back then.

That makes it okay?

I have an idea.
Let's read the review.

Let's refresh our memories.

I actually
printed it out
yesterday.

I have it right here.

No, that's not gonna
help anything.

"Lizzie Poole
has made an album

"that nobody
will be happy with.

"Have you ever stumbled across
one of those debut albums

"that restores your faith
in music and humanity?

"Well, this is not
one of those albums.

"Not even close.
Lizzie Poole,

"who goes by the band name
Pool without the E,

"has made an album
that nobody
will be happy with,

"except, perhaps,
the letter E,

"who dodged a b*llet by being
omitted from the project."

I bet you
were pretty proud
of that wordplay.

Look, you don't have
to keep reading that...

"Sub Pop used to be
Seattle's great hope

"when it came to music,
but something has gone
horribly awry.

"By the time I got
to Pool's third track,

"I was ready to put
my cinder block shoes on

"and jump into
the deep end.

"Unfortunately,
there was no deep end.

"It was as shallow as
the puddle of staircase piss

"Method Man threatened
to make us kneel in."

Well, it sounds bad
when you read it like that.

Okay, look, I-I-I know
what I wrote was bad.

It was really bad, okay?

But it was just
one f*cked-up
person's opinion.

For the whole world to see.

All right,
so one bad review
and you just quit?

Yeah, I did.

I felt like a failure.

I couldn't perform.
My record label dropped me.

I ended up pawning
my '58 Telecaster

to Lucky Lou's
to pay my rent.

It f*cked me up.

[SIGHS]

Yeah, that...
That all sucks.

And I'm to blame.

But it's time
to move on.

You gotta get back
to making music.

Will you please
let me help you do that?

You're too good
to end like this.

Please, leave me alone.
Leave.

Go.

♪ ♪

So my Jeremy,
instead of learning to code,

he is now considering
going to art school.

Oh. Well, somebody's
gotta be the assh*le here.

I guess it might
as well be me.

Your son's art
is horrendous.

It looks like
a four-year-old did it.

What are you
talking about?

You guys said
you liked your mugs.

You know what?
It doesn't matter
who likes what.

This is art, assh*le.

Art is subjective.

You know, Van Gogh
sold one painting
his entire lifetime.

People thought
he was batshit crazy
with no talent.

You just tell Jeremy
that if he likes doing it,
keep doing it.

Don't listen
to the critics,

'cause they don't
always know what they're
f*ckin' talking about.

Hundred years from now,
these mugs could be

sitting under glass
at the Louvre.

Thanks, Loudermilk.

And by the way, you cannot
put these in the dishwasher.

You have to dry wash 'em.

What does that
even mean?

Dry. Dry. You don't have
that word in your land?

It means they're not good
with liquid.

Aw, damn it,
it spilled!

This is Banana Republic
Heritage Collection.

[LAUGHS] What are
you laughing at?

You spilled some
on your shirt too,
loser.

Oh, f*ck!
It's the mug.
It's leaking.

[LAUGHS]
Ah! Aw, aw, come on!

Seriously?
Wait a minute.

How come yours isn't leaking?

Because I'm not an idiot.

I put a Styrofoam cup
in my Mugsy mug.

Would've been nice
to know that.

♪ ♪

Where'd you get that?

Turns out, Lucky Lou
kept really good records.

Uh, some kid got it for
Christmas a couple years back,

never played it, so...

His mom was happy
to get her money back.

[STRUMMING SOFTLY]

[JOHNNY KNIGHT'S
ROCK & ROLL GUITARPLAYS]

♪ ♪

♪ Oh, when I hear the sounds
of the wild guitars

♪ ♪

♪ I start jiving around
like a man from Mars

♪ ♪

♪ I get a feeling deep inside It makes me shake my feet

♪ Them rock and roll guitars
are really moving me

♪ When I hear the twang
ringing in my ear

♪ ♪

♪ I say, "Baby, let's rock
And don't you have no fear"

♪ ♪

♪ I go shaking all around
Man, it's something to see

♪ Them rock and roll guitars
are really moving me

♪ Rock and roll
Rock and roll

♪ Makes me do the chicken
Makes me do the stroll

♪ Rock and roll
Rock and roll

♪ Ah, ooh
It's good for my soul

♪ Oh, when I hear the sounds
of the wild guitars ♪