05.23.2002 – dream
Originally written .
dreamt that i was playing in some bizarre golf tournament. it was like golf mixed with extreme sports where there was this crazy wall climbing/rope swinging obstacle course before you even got to the green. the tournament was in some weird hotel, and i remember being bummed because i had to eat a pork chop in the hotel restaurant as part of the tournament.
05.23.2002 – if only it were a dream
Originally written 05.23.2002.
the crisp wretch of a dry heave followed by the splash of a more successful attempt. rolled over and hoped it was just a nightmare. it wasn’t. it was nat from downstairs. i wrote a haiku:
sound breaks silent night
dry cough then stomach empties
puddle of vomit
05.23.2002 – day
Originally written 05.23.2002.
what i really want to say, but will never get a chance: “that kid has more issues than a compiler for a vliw architecture”. hehe. revision delerium setting in.
wasted valueable revision time playing guitar last night. getting things sorted out for our 06.10 gig @ tron in the ‘burgh. almost have a set together which, surprisingly, is mostly original songs. it’s cool to write songs just for fun for a project that you take seriously but don’t care deeply about. you can just make up characters, or use someone else’s voice rather than trying to write something sincere. helped marco pen the line: “and i know that it’s time i get over it. in my mind, but my heart just won’t let it quit”. finalized the lyrics for a song i wrote about trading sexual favors for drugs and roles in hollywood (see above comment about making up characters), self-penned a misogynistic little rock ditty titled “you’ve got a pretty face (so i’m gone)”, and worked on some hilarious drop-d nu-metal tunes. haha.
media check. tim is like a music pusher or something. he uploads albums to an ftp drop and i get hooked. so here’s what i’ve been listening to lately: alec empire’s intelligence and sacrifice, superchunk’s art class, the fucking champs’ v, and belle and sebastian’s if you’re feeling sinister. i’ve never really liked electronic music other than as background chill out music, to support my friend’s gigs, or for the cultural experience of going to a party. i guess what i often don’t like about electronic music is that the music seems so seperated from the person making the music (though artists like moby, matmos, and fat boy slim and probably some others that are too cool to be on my radar are able to overcome this to a large degree). alec empire’s take on electronica, however, has a certain directness that is lacking in a lot of electronic music. it combines breaks, beats, general noise, punk rock, and politics to create an end product that isn’t so much genre defining as it is genre defying. that is, it plays by the rules of electronic music, or punk rock, but creates something that is only vaguely discernable as either. i don’t always find it enjoyable, but there’s something about it that’s irresistable. alec empire’s solo stuff will at times remind one of his old band, atari teenage riot, but it goes beyond the old musical formulas and the “fight, destroy, fuck, riot” vocabulary to create something that is generally much more satisfying. i think that alec empire represents in a lot of ways, the cutting edge of music – combining styles of music that themselves are on the fringes of pop culture to create something that stays one step ahead of mass media. so alec empire is important, but perhaps not as influential as superchunk. listening to the art school single (or ep or whatever – actually, i later found out it’s a single. the title track is on the full length here’s to shutting up) you realize what the better bands of the recent onslaught of pop-punk grew up on, but are also so far away from capturing. the titular track is just a great pop/rock song, filled with melody, hooks, and power, but also that quirkiness, even nerdiness (“welcome art class, so get your acid free paper and glass … welcome to art class and yes it does involve shaking your ass”), that for me puts the “indie” in “indie rock”. this is what gets lost in the translation when i see the latest jimmy eat world video on viva+ (though the older video for lucky denver mint comes a lot closer). the song is pure bliss and it’s been running through my head since i’ve heard it. i give props to anyone who includes the lyric “everybody dance now” in any song, and i’d almost say that’s the feeling that is purveyed by this track. i highly anticipate their 06.30 show in dc. v is the fucking champs’ highly anticipated follow-up to the rocking iv. the album is more of the same – indie rockers playing what i call “viking metal” (soaring, clean, technical guitar solos), and i still can’t get enough of it (though iain will surely strongly disagree – he prefers more ‘heavy’ in his metal). i haven’t listened to iv in a long time, but the new album seems to be more unabashed about it’s cheesiness which is fine by me. actually, i take that back. this album seems to have a distinctly math rocky feeling to it. make your devil signs with your hands and rock out. if you’re feeling sinister is essentially belle & sebastian’s first release and i’m giving it another listen because peter is really stoked on the record. it’s definitive belle & sebastian, and sets the groundwork for the sound of all their subsequent albums – 60’s folk-rock melodies layered on top of a killer string section. the instrumentation is beutiful, but the lyrics have an intelligence and humor that make the band irresistable. i wrote last month about seeing them live, and listening to this record brings back happy memories of everything that was so great about the show. the album is worth checking out if only for the excellent judy and the dream of horses which is just an amazing song. period. (note to self: make a copy of this for my dad. this might be one of the few contemporary records that he’ll listen to)
without fail, the second i walk out the door to go skate, it starts raining.
quote of the day – i’d rather by smart than a movie star
Originally written 05.23.2002.
“I don’t care if [college] ruins my career … I’d rather be smart than a movie star.”
– natalie portman as quoted in a fox news article discussing actors and actresses (including math nerd danica mckeller, winnie cooper from the wonder years, and mayim bialik, from blossom) who gave up the silver screen for academia