Something that gets me hard (musically speaking) is when an awesome classic song is covered by a capable contemporary artist and brought back to life like the phoenix. Now I don't think there's anything wrong with the originals of course, but hearing a new energized and youthful version of a song that was already fantastic can be magical. Examples of artists who do this well are Prince and Muse.
But here are some songs from those wonderful decades that I think could use some Rock-vamping (Rock-vamping as I define it is giving a song a new feel and making it become re-energized by spreucing up the arrangement and giving it a little youthful spark and shimmer. It doesn't mean shit, really.)
This song is charming, quirky, and has the badboy streak that made Lou
1. Lou Christie - Two Faces Have I
I know I already put Lou Christie on here but this one is a dead ringer and
Yes, you read that title right. Creating a balanced, flowing mix cd is an art-form; One that requires patience, a dash of perfectionism, and a love of music. Here are some tips on how to make an awesome mix CD, be it for your friend or a bird you really fancy.
- Choose a fitting opening song
- Switch things up
- Don't add songs just because you can
- If you like the person you're making this mix for, don't spell it out
- Throw some The Shins on there!
- But seriously... don't expect the world
You should always try to start a cd off on the right foot. If you open with a less-than-stellar song, you're going to be giving anyone who listens to your mix a one-way ticket to skipsville. Maybe choose a song that opens up an album really well or a song that really keeps your attention and builds anticipation and adrenaline.
THE RIGHT WAY: Track 1 - Billy Joel - Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)
THE WRONG WAY: Track 1 - Metallica - Shoot Me Again
Make sure your mix has a lot of dynamics and range. Don't just choose hard-rocking fun songs. Throw a few ballads on there. Choose songs with different tempos, energy levels, and styles. It really makes your mix more interesting for the listener and you'll feel cool for having all this different on one disk. You'll think to yourself: "Wow, it's like Lil Wayne and Foo Fighters had a jam session and I was invited!"
THE RIGHT WAY: After a couple fast songs, slowing things down with a more thought-provoking piece.
THE WRONG WAY: No deviation. This mix needs to stay funk-rock driven and that's final!
Simple really. You don't have to make a mix 80 minutes just because that is the limit of a CD-R. Bottom line: Maybe it's best to stick with A+ plus songs on only and end up with a nice 60 minute mix. But maybe if the chick you're making this mix for really digs your musical style, you can get away with a bloated mix. Use caution.
THE RIGHT WAY: Wow, there is no filler on here at all. A nice compact collection of my favorite songs!
THE WRONG WAY: Hmm, I still have 8 minutes left on this piece. I'll throw on some Limp Bizkit songs.
Now I may not know much about women (what the Hell is a labia, anyways?)... but I do know a lot about sucessfully serenading a woman via a mix cd. Don't be too forward and add that Boyz II Men song "Want To Sex Ya (Right Now)" no matter how much it expresses your true feelings. Honestly, being too straightforward in that manner with someone you are getting to know will come off as creepy and makes you look very sketchy.
THE RIGHT WAY: Beach Boys songs are cute and unthreatening but show you really like this chica.
THE WRONG WAY: Prince - Do Me, Baby
If Garden State taught us anything, it's that New Slang will win you the affections of any girl (if you're into that sort of thing).
THE RIGHT WAY: Any "Shins" song.
THE WRONG WAY: A song that is not by The Shins
What I mean by that is... don't expect people to rant and rave to you about how amazing your cd is. There is a good chance that people won't even give your compilations a real shot and spin it a couple of times. So why do we do it? Why do we create these playlists of perfection for an undeserving, fickle public?
Because when people do appreciate your mixes, it's really worth it. There is nothing like listening to a mix you made with someone and seeing how much they enjoy it. It's a very cool thing to do for someone and if you enjoy your mix more than the recipient you can always save the playlist for yourself. ;) Don't just do this for someone else... you should enjoy your mix cds too.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Your lead guitar work is what draws me to you most though RC (anyone ever call you that before? thought so). In the guitar solos you play in songs like "Susanne" or "Pink Triangle," I feel pure unadulterated sorrow and power tugging at my very essence. It is what makes me realize that the connection we have is special. Not weird special but platonic special.
3/20/09
My brain is working overtime, I need something to ease my mind
'Cause as my thoughts go manic, I reel and start to panic
And there's no place to hide behind
- My Brain, Rivers Cuomo
Let me start by saying this: Sometimes the process of breaking away from my inner critic is the hardest part about writing. I've had to re-write that first sentence about 8 times and, truth be told, I am still not close to being satisfied with it. Allow me to change that: breaking through my inner critic is the hardest part about doing anything in my life. If I was hired to pen my own dirge (funeral hymn), it would take me well into my afterlife before it was completed.
One of the most destructive recurring statements that I've told myself for a long time is that whenever I am attempting to express myself artistically I am "pretending." That I am not doing anything worthwhile or meaningful when I create. I mean, there is some degree of truth to the fact that I am only "pretending" to be a film-maker or a musician but when I am telling myself that I am "pretending to be a writer" that is both counter-productive and hurtful.
What's ironic is that while my psyche' encourages me to tell myself I am "pretending," it discourages any sort of dreaming. As soon as I catch myself feeling hopeful for my future and drifting off into a positive landscape, that is shot down by a damning shout from my consciousness: "Oh, be realistic here! That'll never happen!" It's okay to have the occasional naysayer in your life, that can oftentimes be inspirational and a great source of strength (in a more negative way than most)... but to be your own worst enemy only leads to conflicting emotions and self-doubt. And this has lead to a huge revelation over the course of the last few days. While a music critic's complaints do not directly alter the album they are listening to, my inner critic has drastically thrown my whole world out of balance.
"Damn my psyche'"
- John Michael Dorian, Scrubs - My Last Words
I find myself wishing I could become a more active player in my own life. A few days ago, a friend of mine invited me to go to his frat and meet some new people. Honestly, I had wanted to hang out with someone that entire day and I had felt isolation's prickly cactus-fingers tightly wound around my heel. However, the thought of meeting new people and being slightly out of my element frightened me and my reaction was "No! I will just be awkward and embarrass myself!" I decided that instead of hanging out with one of my best friends I would stay home and drown my loneliness out with Weezer's Pinkerton.
I pondered why I did this over the course of the next couple of days. Do I just have low self-esteem? No, I feel pretty good about myself. Am I depressed? I was, but I haven't been for a long time. Do I need to grow up? And I paused upon that statement for a while. Who is ready to honestly answer that question?
At first I found myself habitually leaning towards yes, feeling that my desire to be alone and pout (well, not pout) was because of the fact that I was a bit of a manchild; but it dawned on me that I have taken strides towards being a more mature individual and becoming a "man" (whatever that means) for a year... and if I really think about it, I am still well on my way to achieving that goal. I realized that the problem wasn't that I needed to grow up. I realized this during the course of an AIM conversation, of all things.
"You're such an old man sometimes," Aaron Isaacs tells me. I tell him to fuck off. But a simple comment I took in passing really showed me what had been driving me crazy for nearly a week: I haven't been acting like a spoiled little boy... I've been acting like an old hermit. The fact that I could listen to the lonely and isolated Pinkerton and 'The Good Life's' chorus in particular (I don't wanna be an old man anymore / it's been a year or two since I was out on the floor) and not feel irony stabbing me in the gut truly is a credit to my ignorance. I've finally seen the dawn: I realize that I need to live young now while I can and stop holing myself up in my basement. I value the people in my life and I need to spend time with them while I still can. I am so grateful to even exist and what do I do with my existence but listen to others' work?
"In the days of my youth
I was told what it means to be a man
Now I've reached that age
I've tried to do all those things the best I can"
- Led Zeppelin, Good Times, Bad Times
How did it come to this? I'm not going to be that kid who blames his parents for all of his personality flaws because I think I'm old enough to shape who I am for myself. And I'm not gonna be the optimist who glamorizes and glosses over them by saying "This is who I am." Because while this is the way I am right now... it really doesn't have to be. I am sick of shooting myself in the foot before my thoughts are even fully fleshed out.
Today, as I was attempting to "perfect" a song I had recently written (perform it without any mistakes and make its structure flawless), I blocked out all the voices in my head and just cut loose, attempting something I don't usually do: Soloing with my right hand while my left hand played the rhythm part of the song. In short: I was jamming. Was it perfect? No. Was it liberating? Yes. Before I would have heard "Don't fool yourself. Focus on doing what you're good at. Stop pretending to be able to play the piano." All I hear now are descending chords and slightly out-of-tune keys from my vintage grand piano.
I don't know why I put off trying to get rid of that negative voice. Maybe it's because I liked pretending that it wasn't a problem.
1/30/09
As some of you may know, I create "films" with my friends Charlie, Jase and Ian (with Chris sometimes making a guest appearance to attract ratings during sweeps). Any of you who have seen those films might call them "less than good." I'd like to say that we strongly disagree with you, but with almost all of them, we are mostly in agreement.
Every other film of ours is a flop artistically (with all of them being flops business-wise of course since we make $0.00 off of them). We can't really act all that well (with the exception to that rule being Charlie) and for the most part our plots are mostly pieced together by ourselves while we are in the process of post-production on the film.
I'll tell you why: because justice never rests.
That's not really true. That's not the reason and that statement isn't true (I recently lost my iPod and no one has returned it to me. Tell me how that can't be explained by justice taking a catnap). No, here are the real reasons why I enjoy creating films, whether as NGCG, WDG, etc.
- Editing. I love figuring out how to form scenes together and finding ways to improve the source material. One of the best experiences with editing I've had is the music video we made for "The Doorway". Fantastic editing by myself and the crew if I do say so myself.
- Filming. Kind of an obvious one, huh? When the NGCG demolition crew gets together to create a new masterwork, we have a blast and combine all of our greatest strengths to try and create a unified piece. The best experience we have had filming is probably GHASP. What a fun night that was.
- Creating a soundtrack. Picking the music for our films is a total blast. In NGCG's later years, I really stopped appreciating this as much. I just threw on random songs on such pieces as "Duality" and "Ghost Blasters!" with "AxE" having a surprisingly great soundtrack. Our best soundtrack IMO is our most recent work "The LARP Meet-up"
- Re-watching our films and being proud. There's nothing like gathering us all together to watch an old movie of ours. Some movies have aged better than others, with GHASP and Acupressure only getting better with every viewing.
Here's a sampling of our work:
If one checks out Prince's latest website and clicks on the ticket stub, they'll see the date "Janurary 31st, 2009". The fanbase erupted with speculation that this would be the date of a concert in LA and that the site would open sooner than that. However, we are two days away from this much-discussed date and the LA gig has not come to fruition. One can only assume that the website will open tomorrow.Prince has said that the site would include full albums for download. Those 3 albums are Elixer (by his protege Bria Valente), MPLSound (a minimalist, electro-funk workout recorded in 2008), and the big one: LotusFlow3r.
Lotus Flow3r is an album that we've been waiting for from Prince for quite some time. Its major theme is the guitar and It was compiled over the last 3 years, starting in 2006 after his tour with Tamar in which he fell back in love with the instrument. Judging from the four songs he leaked onto the radio, the album will be full of great solos... ones that don't sound restrained and weak like some of the solos on his last 3 records.
I'm hoping you don't have to pay 77$ to access the site, but if you do have to then I'll definitely do it. 3 great albums by Prince, videos, and access to great concert tickets are worth that much, if not more.
I really, really hope the site opens in two days... or maybe tomorrow at midnight. Would be quite the year-maker. I will review all 3 albums as soon as I can.
[Guest Entry - Dan Brown:] LITTLE PEOPLE; BIG JERKS... JUST KIDDING!
2 comments Posted by Michael Rowland at 11:33 PM1/27/09
Dan Brown is an accomplished writer, whose novels "The Da Vinci Code" and "Angels and Demons" both really suck but somehow became movies. Wait, no that's a different Dan Brown. This Dan Brown goes to Kansas University and enjoys wondering about the intricacies of life. If he's not eating ice cream then he's not breathing and if he's not breathing then odds are he's dead. He's a great guy and he'll be the first person to vouch for that.
[Music:] Releases I Am Most Looking Forward To in 2009
2 comments Posted by Michael Rowland at 8:01 PMIt'll be great to finally hear the conclusion of this trilogy. The first two albums were great because they combined catchy melodies and a unique vocalist with a truly un-categorzable style and sound. Hoping to get plenty of references and connections to the prior two albums.
Devin Townsend - Ki
The eccentric skullet donning Devin Townsend is releasing a new album again after the oddness of Ziltoid. Apparently, this is a mostly self-written and played album, which could spell success or doom for Devin (hey, it worked for Prince...)
Prince - Lotus Flower
So, Prince is finally releasing that rocking guitar album that I've been begging him for for years. Judging by the tracks he premiered on Indie 104.1, it'll sound a little old-school while still feeling new.
Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
I'm a fairweather Franz fan, but every song off of here sounds like the perfect mix of the classic groove of the Ferdinand of yore with something more... seemed to be some pretty strong songwriting too. Will be interesting to listen to this one.
The Mars Volta - Untitled
After Bedlam In Goliath's insanity and feelings of bloatedness, I'm hoping that their next album is a little more scaled back. Granted, it wouldn't be The Mars Volta without feelings of pandemonium and pure insanity, but maybe they could get the running time closer to 50 minutes than 80 minutes. Just a thought. I still really enjoyed Bedlam.
The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love
Dude, it's the fucking Decemberists... do I need to explain myself here? Their last album was a conceptual, flowing labyrinth of beautiful semi-prog-rock pastiches. While never dipping into the excess that plagues classic prog-rock, The Decemberists definitely capture the experimentalism and beauty of vintage Yes and Genesis.
Dredg - Untitled
Emery - In Shallow Seas We Sail
Why do I feel embarassed to admit that I listen to Emery?
Ghostface is a legend. Ditto that for MF DOOM. I'm looking forward to this album as these two being together will always dominate. Eagerly looking forward to my eventual flowverdose from spinning this.
Muse - Untitled
Pretty much, we already know the next album will be great. Would love to see a throwback to Origin, but would love even more for a totally new sound. As long as Matt shreds guitar, has plenty of great piano work, and sings like an angel then this album will be fine. Oh, and if Chris has great bass parts.
Albums I'm Not Sure About...
Weezer - Untitled
Yes, my current favorite band will be releasing a new album in 2009. This should be awesome news, but after The Red Album, Rivers seeming less and less interested in writing his own songs again and even less interested in singing... I'm not sure I can get excited about this?
Prince - MPLSound
One of the three albums Prince should be releasing at the end of January, MPLSound was reported to have captured When Doves Cry's classic minimalist sound. The two tracks we've heard seem more like New Power Soul-era material, with Chocolate Box being one of the worst Prince songs I have ever heard. I'm keeping my expectations low and am just thankful for Lotus Flower.
Alice in Chains - Untitled
Making an album without Layne Stanley, THE voice of Alice in Chains is incredibly disrespectful of his legacy and feels like a cash-grab more than anything. With that said, I'm sure there will be some great riffs on this album and good vocals and lyrics by Jerry Cantrell... just wonder why he couldn't put them on his solo album.
Dream Theater - Untitled
After seeing them live and being blown away by how much worse they'd become, being incredibly disappointed with their last album, watching DT embarass themselves with horrible singles and music videos, and seeing Mike talk about the terrible new direction DT is heading in... I can't muster up any hope for their 2009 release... no matter what old songs Mike compares it to. Only shows his desperation. Did I mention Mike is a douche?
Extended: 8.5/10
1/22/09
Scrubs hit a bit of a sophmore slump this week. And by slump, I mean had one episode that wasn't omgawesome. "My Saving Grace" was full of laughs (inteferon sounds like a robot that always gets in people's way), but somehow had an ending that felt empty and unfulfilling. Just like that. Courteney Cox was gone. She had not been that great at all anyways so her leaving is a good thing. Now we can let the show progress with no more distractions from a character with the depth of a puddle... and not a puddle so large that a manatee lives there. The "everyone hide in the closet" bit was a little too outlandish for me but this kept the realism of seasons 1-3 for the most part.
So the episode wasn't perfect, but it was still better than season 6 and 7.
My Happy Place was amazing. Classic Scrubs. The Todd finally came on the show this season and was more funny than he's ever been. The Dr Cox and Turk plot was full of great parts and led to a satisfying conclusion with Dr Cox letting Turk believe that he trusted (but still watching him secretly). Janitor and Ted's plot was also quality stuff too.
The main course of the episode was JD and Elliot trying to help Kelso find a new place to hang out besides Coffee Bucks. That morphed subtly into him thinking they were still dating, finally talking about things and dating again. JD and Elliot are finally together and it was handled in a mature, non-cheesy, non-Ross & Rachel way. Can't wait to see more of them together. Loved the ending montage with them holding hands. So different from their wild, sexual flings before. Glad to see these characters have evolved and finally become mature. I'm willing to bet that JD and Elliot are 100X less annoying to watch than Jim and Pam are as a couple.
The thing I loved about both episodes (and about the first 2 episodes as well) is how perfectly they are leading to the show's ending. Every episode seems to have a purpose in advancing these characters' storylines, which is not something I can say for season 7 at all (the triviality and pointlessness of some episodes being one of the things that drove me nuts). The potential in each character's storyline seems to be being fully utilized this year. I can't wait till we get passed all the "cast sitouts" and we hit the last few episodes which have the whole cast in them and are incredibly important, according to Bill Lawrence (the show's creator).
My Saving Grace: 7.5
My Happy Place: 9/10
I’m sitting on the couch, half asleep, staring at the television. After a few minutes of searching, stay on VH1, because this channel shows programs that require the low level of brain activity I am willing to exert in this near hypnotic state. The show that pops up is Celebrity Sober House, or maybe it’s just called Sober House. It is the sequel to the show Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, which I vaguely remember watching over the summer.
The premise of Rehab was to follow celebrities as they quit doing drugs. I remember none of the American Idol rejects, or has-beens, who were supposed to put the Celebrity in the title of the show.
Sober House is the next step in sobriety for these F-listers. Instead of living in a supervised rehab facility, our participants are put in a house in California and told to stay sober. Dr. Drew, who hosted the first two seasons of Rehab, tells us that he will not be present in Sober House. The Doctor has been the co-host of the radio call-in-show Love Line for twenty-five years, which is probably how he got the gig hosting Celebrity Rehab. Drew tells us, “I will not be their babysitter in this show,” in a voice too monotonous for radio. His absence makesSober House feel like The Real World. He talks for a couple more minutes about how his absence from the show, which starts to sound more and more like Real World’s “this is the story of seven strangers…” speech.
Celebrity Rehab was a terrible show, but it had a point and a goal. It shows us what rehab is like, even viewers as dull as the targeted audience could come away from each episode with something they’ve learned about addiction. Also, if someone is addicted to drugs, they could be inspired to go to rehab when they see their favorite 70’s sitcom star could do it. Despite it being a shameless reality show, full of manipulative editing to make things seem more dramatic, I can respect what they are trying to do. This is the first time, to my knowledge, that rehab has gone mainstream. It was informative, and even inspiring.
Sober House is a reality show as much as Rehab was, but it lacks Rehab’s substance. In the episode I saw, the former Guns ‘n’ Rosesdrummer shows up high on heroin on the first day. Most of the episode is spent following him as he attempts to talk to people, wanders around, and makes faces at the camera. By the last fifteen minutes, he is severely tweaking out, and even has to vomit because of how much heroin he’s taken. His belongings are searched, and a tinfoil tube with is found. The drummer had been smoking heroin with this tinfoil. I, assumedly like most people, did not know that one could smoke heroin through tinfoil. While the former show taught us about quitting drugs, this show teaches us about different ways to take heroin. The people who run the house do not know how to handle this situation, so they call Dr. Drew. Drew decides to go to the house, even though he said he was not going to do that. Dr. Drew and the house supervisors emulate a football huddle, without touching each other, while they decide how to handle this situation. Heroin drummer goes unpunished, except he has to spend the night at one of the supervisor’s house. The only thing we can gather from him is a new way to take heroin. None of the other characters even get screen time!
The only other noteworthy Celebrity in this show was an adult film star named Mary Carey. The reason I call her noteworthy is not her line of work, it is because I remember her from the first season. The only thing I remember was Dr. Drew telling her that she will have to quit doing pornography if she wants to stay sober. The only problem is, her exposure on VH1 probably gave her video sales a boost. So she becomes torn between staying sober and making easy money. Also, she would not be on CELEBRITY Rehab, if it weren’t for this career choice. If anything, Celebrity Rehab had a negative impact on her struggle with sobriety. She, however, makes the show more marketable. For viewers who do not know who she is, she serves as a pretty face to look at. For those who are familiar with her, she attracts people to watch because pornography is taboo. Nobody knows much about who makes it. Nobody knows how she acts. To them, it’s like watching an alien, or a dog with rabies.
This show is clearly crafted to get people to watch, not to help the participants. The way these two characters are shown does not help their sobriety. They are being treated like celebrities, when really they should be treated like addicts. When it comes to other television shows I don’t like I can just change the channel. This show compels me to watch because it deals with real people who need help. I will wind up suffering through the entire season because I want the characters to beat the odds and get sober.
1/21/09
The WTF blog entry signifies that I will post about whatever the fudge I want to on Wednesday. It adds spontaniety and a spark to my blog, in case this format becomes a bit too monotonous. This week, for the WTF entry, I decided to take the WTF acronym and create a more positive meaning for it.
WEEZER'S TOP FIVE
5. Across The Sea (Pinkerton, 1996)
An ode to fanmail from Japanese school-girls. The song is sung with enough honesty and emotion to make you feel slightly uncomfortable. The lyrics are personal enough to the point where I actually feel like I shouldn't be listening ("I wonder how you touch yourself at night" Rivers confesses). A page from Rivers' diary with a big rock band soundscape, the focal point of which is a rusty, but show-stealing selection of guitar melodies, solos and effects.
4. No One Else (Blue, 1994)
Rivers has been known to research what it is that makes the perfect pop-rock song. His findings sure have given him plenty of hits, even in 2008. One absolutely faultless pop-rocking tune slipped under the radar and was never given a single release. That tune is "No One Else", the catchy track about Rivers' old girl who he does not have the courage to face. "And if you see her, tell her it's over now". The guitar cries with emotion during the solo section, saying everything that Rivers is too reserved too. One of those songs with the perfect structure and arrangement for what they're trying to accomplish.
3. Perfect Situation (Make Believe, 2003) FIRST VERSION
The Rivers Cuomo from Pinkerton is not dead, he's just sleeping. That is what this song from the controversial Make Believe album seeks to prove from the opening guitar solo. The production is devoid of any "live" feel and feels very desolate and empty.This only serves to strengthen the song even further. Rivers opts not to add any vocals over the chorus, instead adding a cry of desperation and sorrow. Probably the most lyrically relatable song Weezer's ever made for me.
2. Pink Triangle (Pinkerton, 1996)
The story of a boy who falls in love with a girl who is, in fact, a lesbian. Been there, bro. Well, no I haven't. But this song's lyrical, vocal, and all other execution is just perfect enough to make me feel like I have. I love everything about this song, but the guitar is the star throughout the whole thing, not just during the solo or chorus like some Weezer songs. It moans along with Rivers as he cries "When I think I've found a good old fashioned girl, then she put me in my place" The highlight of the song, and the album, is the triple tracked guitar solo, which continues to blow my mind every time I listen to it.
1. Only In Dreams (Blue, 1994)
1/20/09
(This entry is by a friend of mine who wanted their identity to remain a secret.)
I have this urge. I’ve had it my entire life. This is urge is to do as little as possible. I am a minimalist, unmotivated, a waste. It’s sad, I can’t push myself to do things because I would so much rather be in bed doing nothing. I don’t struggle in school, but I struggle with myself. In fact, I know I could be a straight A student, if I could only focus myself. I would rather distract myself with the Internet, sleep, and meeting people. I can give the argument that what I’m learning will have no relevance later, but it does have relevance now. I need it to get into grad school and do something with my life. I have this weird feeling that no matter what I do, no matter how far I go, I will always think I did too much.
Some people become fuck-ups because of drugs or alcohol. This didn’t happen to me. Sure, I indulged several times in alcohol and Marijuana, but society has scared me so much about becoming an addict, that I cannot find any form of intoxication enjoyable. Besides, I don’t have the energy to become a drug addict or alcoholic. I could love weed, but I hate the weed culture and people who sell it so much that nothing is worth dealing with them. And in terms of alcohol, I always feel like a hillbilly when I get drunk. That combined with my fear or alcoholism and liver failure makes drinking not worth it. All other drugs scare me/are too expensive.
So was it that instilled this desire to do nothing in me? Was it my parents? I strive to be nothing like my parents, and if you look at me on the surface, you’d think I had succeeded. I don’t have the temper of my father. I am far too cynical to be compared to my mother. I don’t dress like them. I eat different food as they eat. Beneath the surface you will see that this urge for nothingness comes from them. My mother sits, reading detective novels, waiting for death. My father sits, watching professional wrestling, eating cashews, waiting to die. In fact, their lifestyle of immobility, and surrender are about as close to death a living person can be. If they made coffins with book lights or built in televisions, my parents might be content with being buried now.
Then you come to me. I sit around fingers clanking on the keyboard of my laptop, bullshitting. It is a struggle for me to get out of bed and go to class, or eat breakfast. I am just like them. I am aware of it. I hate it. But I feel incapable of changing it. It is so much easier to lie in bed all day, than to not lay in bed all day. I find myself happier with dealing with myself than having to deal with other people. So what am I going to do? My girlfriend’s mother recently told me that we were put here to change the world, to improve it in someway. I got so excited. “I’m going to change the world,” I thought. I fantasized about being elected senator or president. I could do it. A week later, I am ready to do nothing. I am no longer here to change the world. I am here to grow old and die, and not bother people along the way. I got here because I spent the past week realizing that I lack the talents and will power to change the world. I’m plenty smart, but I am terrible with working with other people, goodbye politics. I can usually memorize things pretty well, but nothing science, especially Biology, related. Goodbye being a doctor. I considered becoming a lawyer, but then I had a few thoughts. What if I defend someone who is guilty and they get off? What if I prosecute someone who is innocent and they go to jail? What if someone loses their children or house because of me? It’s just too much pressure. I could become a teacher! But then I’d have to spend the rest of my life in school, which is something I refuse to do. So what is left? Nothing.
1/19/09
This album is absolutely timeless. As each track weaves its way into the next, I sometimes forget that this album was released in 1993 by a band on the brink of destruction. This album feels more like a classic rock band (The Beatles, Queen) at the top of their game creating the masterpiece for which they'll be remembered.
This album has vocal harmonies that would make Freddie Mercury proud. Envious, in fact. In fact, the vocal work, on this album oftentimes sounds like a fusion Freddie Mercury and Brian Wilson's (The Beach Boys) . Really, the whole album is very reminiscient of Queen, with its ability to change dynamics at the drop of the hat; piano stabs transition into a hard-rocking stomp on the second track "Joining a Fan Club" which was preceded by a lullaby simply titled Hush.
It's really this album's ability to retain a sense of child-like wonder while still sounding totally honest that fascinates me the most. Sebrina, Paste and Plato is one part the tale of a classroom having lunch, two parts love song, 1 part random heavy riff, one part majestic orchestral fanfare outro. All in two minutes flat.
I'll answer both those questions with a song title: All Is Forgiven. This song would mesh in so well with our current rock radio scene. If Dave Grohl was singing on this track it would be a hit faster than you could say "Monkey Wrench". The song has a passion and an energy that can't be contained from the get-go as it throws musical punch after punch whether it's the angered, intense vocals or the rough and violent guitar.
A