Welcome back! Gen X Jersey is taking a new turn, starting in 1970s Jersey City.

In Season 2, the podcast unfolds in chapters, blending personal storytelling with commentary on life, news, pop culture, music, and whatever else calls for attention, all through host Melissa’s Gen X lens.

This episode begins at the beginning, in the early 1970s. If you grew up Italian-American in New Jersey, this may feel very familiar...think Sunday sauce, Entenmann’s cakes and a little bit of multi-generational drama. And even if you didn’t, it might still sound like someone you know.

These early experiences drove the habits that led Melissa to become the writer, music lover, foodie, traveler, and observer she is today.

If you have something to say about anything in this episode, or if you’d like to share your own chapter, call 732-455-9155.

And don’t forget, Melissa brings the soundtrack to life on her companion radio show, Gen X Jersey, Wednesday nights at 10PM on Radio Garden State. Tune in for a playlist curated to match this chapter, or find the “Gen X Jersey” playlists on Amazon Music anytime.

Part 2 of Chapter 1 drops May 15. Look for new episodes twice a month.

After leaning all the way into the heavier side of music in last week’s episode, Let’s Get Sad, Melissa goes in a completely different direction.

This time, she set out to build a playlist around something that should have been easy to name but wasn’t; songs that bring us joy.

What she found instead is that while she’s always been able to track the songs that make her feel something deeply, the ones that make her feel better were more elusive. They’re not always tied to lyrics or memories. More often, it’s the beat, the movement, the way a song can cut through everything else without asking for much in return.

The result is a mix of familiar and unexpected tracks, many of them discovered later in her life, that reflect how her listening habits have evolved beyond what she grew up with. Along the way, Melissa explores why joy is harder to catalog than other emotions, and why it might be worth paying closer attention to the songs that simply make things feel lighter.

As the episode unfolds, she also begins to tease what this next version of Gen X Jersey could become, which is not a place to revisit the past, but a place where you don’t have to grow up and just figure things out as you go.”

“Oh my God… is this what adulthood is?”

That question, from Melissa’s niece, sets the tone for this episode of Gen X Jersey: The Aftershow. It becomes the starting point for an hour built around something many people avoid, but instinctively understand: grief. Loss and sadness can have a place in daily life without overwhelming it.

But it’s not a total downer. Hope carries through both the music and the conversation. Melissa shares how she curated the “feel the feels” playlist, along with perspectives from musician friends and, as she understands it, John Lennon.

As Season 1 of Gen X Jersey begins to wind down, Melissa also explains that while listener calls haven’t dictated many episodes so far, they’ve helped clarify what the show needs to become and invites more input about where it’s headed next.

The name isn’t changing, but the format is. Season 2 is coming soon.