G's never say die.

Drove down to Seaside, Oregon last week with my brother and his fiance. Stayed at this ridiculously nice hotel (bro's fiance hooked it up through her work). Full kitchen. Got a queen sized bed all to myself. The balcony had a gas grill. Press start to fire it up. Cooked a lot of phony baloney. Took a swim in the pool - first time in about six years. Went to Cannon Beach and had some peanut butter-chocolate ice cream. Watched two movies: August and Live Free or Die Hard. Have to agree with my brother and say that I'd rather see a crappy action flick I can laugh at than an average indie-film that's going to put me to sleep. Turns out the 25th anniversary celebration for The Goonies was taking place in Astoria. Couldn't find any bully-blinders for sale. Managed to scope out Bram and Mikey's house, the large ocean rocks which Mikey matches with the "key", along with a windy road that I am pretty sure the kids ride down while Cyndi Lauper's "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough" plays. All in all, it was good to get out of town for a few days.

Finished Neil Gaiman's Stardust. For a fantasy novel, it's deceptively conventional. Yes, there is the unlikely "hero" who embarks on the impossible quest, receiving help along the way from inventive array of characters, to ultimately complete said quest. But the book does a few things differently from the standard LOTR copycat. The heart of the story really isn't in the played out conflict of good vs. evil. While the hero has couple of run-in's with those who look to deter him from his quest (who might be considered "evil"), ultimately there is no grand culmination of this conflict, which works because a halfway intelligent reader would have seen it coming from the beginning and questioned the necessity of reading all the way through to get to something foreseen so far in advance. Instead, the conflict is ditched for more of a coming-of-age realization, where the hero achieves his original goal but comes to understand that the implications of his success are much different than they seemed when he first set the goal - a time when he was a little younger. There are no constants in the world (even a fantasy one); reality and perception of it is always shifting. And that's nice to encounter in a genre that mainly thrives off steadfast archetypes (elves are good at this, dwarfs are bad at that, etc).

Decided to clean out my desk. Tossed a bunch of accumulated garbage from years gone by. But also found a few interesting items in the process.

Old pictures of my dad. I'd never seen these before. He must have been in his 20's when they were taken, which is kind of a trip since he just turned 62 yesterday. I will refrain from taking cheap shots at the photos. That'd be cold-blooded on here. Just know that fashion changes over time. My grandma is some of these too, with a dark head of hair that I undoubtedly inherited but was born about 15-20 years too late to remember.

Tolo pictures. From my freshman year in high school. Wore khakis and a Hawaiian shirt - definitely her choice. Her? Nicole Olsen (what up, girl). She's holding a stuffed-fucking-Tigger in the shot. It's okay. We were both nerds.

Rolling Stone: 35 Anniversary Special. Has a cool section on some of the most notable "American Icons". Springsteen, Warhol, Jordan, Homer Simpson, Chuck Taylors - amongst other people and things. Unfortunately, it also has a small blurb about Avril Lavigne with a headline that proclaims she shows a surprising amount of edge, which is described as "having no light show [and] a simple black curtain emblazoned with a gigantic TRY TO SHUT ME UP slogan and three giant TV screens running real-time footage of Lavigne." Now I remember why I stopped reading this magazine.

Saves the Day - I'm Sorry I'm Leaving. Ah. I do recall a story behind this one. The first Saves the Day song I heard was "Sell My Old Clothes, I'm Off To Heaven", from a Vagrant Records compilation (the one with the Get Up Kids cover of "Beer for Breakfast"); it ripped about as much as emo/pop-punk can rip. So I went off to Circuit City to pick up either Can't Slow Down or Through Being Cool but this EP was the only thing in-stock. I took a gamble on it, not knowing it was all acoustic. Got home and was disappointed to hear Dashboard Confessional pump through my speakers. Well, only slightly disappointed. I was into that dumb shit back then.

Atticus: ...dragging the lake. Grabbed this comp because it had a new Glassjaw track on it. Turned out to have other good songs (some unreleased) by Alkaline Trio, The Movielife, Rival Schools and American Nightmare. Though there is a fair share of crap on there: Finch, The Used, Simple Plan, Sugarcult. Again, I was into some bad stuff at 17 -18. So there are tracks on here by Midtown and The Starting Line that I still know the lyrics to. Catchy like herpes.

A stamp with my name on it. I really don't know what this was for. I did have atrocious handwriting as a kid. But I wasn't an invalid. I could write my own name. My best guess is that I used it for marking ho's on the playground - had to let 'em know.


Clean out your desk, dresser or closet. See what wonders you find.

The death toll rises.

Now Dennis Hopper has peaced out? At age 74 too. That's not young. But it's really not that old either. If anything, it makes me feel old. The first movie I can recall seeing him in was Speed. I remember going over to my uncle's with the family to watch it, which was kind of odd because we never really did that. My parents must have been caught on the slide because that is definitely an R-rated film and I was definitely nine or ten years old at the time. Oops. I remember Hopper being a total psychopath, crazier than anything I had ever seen. A few years later I saw Waterworld in the theatre. The guy was still nuts, but this time as a one-eyed pirate. Then Easy Rider and Apocalypse Now, where I started to detect a pattern in his roles. Finally I came across Blue Velvet and was convinced the guy masturbated with sandpaper (pretty sure his character heavily influenced my friend, Cameron). He was in a lot of other stuff that I'm forgetting. I think he was an alcoholic in Hoosiers too. Anyways, his passing is a bummer. It's been a sad year for notables: Guru, Dio and now Hopper. I guess the real question is how Ozzy is still alive.

Final Isis show in Seattle on Tuesday. Agh. I'm torn over what to do. The sensible person in me says not to go since I don't have a job and shouldn't be frivolous with the cash flow. But then there's another part of me which says that (a) I haven't been to a show in over a year, (b) haven't ever seen Isis live, and (c) will never get to see them again. Revisiting their last record, Wavering Radiant, has me leaning towards the splurge. I don't know. Maybe I'll sell some plasma.

I'd also like to send a shout out to Jordan. He always comes through with the brews at Azteca for the afternoon happy hour rendezvous...even when they get shiesty by charging full price. $31.50 for two pitchers of domestic beer? Get the fuck out. This isn't some bougie lounge with tang aplenty. This is a Mexican-American "cantina" at 2:30pm that is two blocks from the goddamn Funtasia. Still, the man shelled out like it was no big deal. Props, daps and a handshake, my friend.

Josh! I don't normally use exclamation marks, because I think they're clownish. However, I am beyond stoked that you are moving back to Washington. I realize you have an overwhelming amount on your plate at the moment. But being a completely vain and selfish individual, I declare we shall be hanging when your ass comes west of the Cascades. Get 'er done.

CURRENT FAVORITE

Bruce Springsteen - The Ghost of Tom Joad (It's hard for me to believe that at one point I could have actually hated The Boss. But it's true. I was young and dumb, though - probably spinning Finch records like they were worth a damn. I think it was when I heard Nebraska that I was able to find appreciation. All the corny bravado I had previously associated with Springsteen was stripped down to the bare minimum - guitar, harmonica and vocals - and there emerged a great collection of stories about blue collar America. The Ghost of Tom Joad shares the same lyrical themes and subdued musical aesthetic with the subtle addition of background synths. While not quite as good as Nebraska, it's certainly one of The Boss's best albums.)

Why I don't believe in God.

First-week sales of the new Bullet For My Valentine album, Fever: 71,000


First-week sales of the new Sick Of It All album, Based On A True Story: 1,500


(sigh)

Bummed again.

Earlier this week we lost the almighty Dio. Today yields the passing of Isis - who are calling it quits after thirteen years. Definitely one of the most influential bands in post-metal, having released some genre defining classics in Oceanic and Panopticon. They showed how a band could continue to evolve musically without losing the qualities that were inherent upon inception: i.e. that special Isis touch. Whether it was the bleak, Neurosis-like drone of their early years or the later incorporation of melody, Isis always kept it heavy and epic. Additionally, their music has always been a visual affair for me, laying thick atmosphere and conjuring up vivid scenery. So a video is quite necessary here. Below is a fan's homemade creation for one of my favorites, "So Did We", which is set to the 1956 short, American Engineer. I find it to be an effective pairing and an appropriate manner in which to send out one of the greats.

By the way...

...Bizkit is back.

I was 14 once. I was into this hot garbage for a hot minute. But before my crucifixion begins, understand this: I didn't grow up with any guide to music (outside of hip-hop). I didn't have older friends to provide a proper foundation by showing me the classics. I had to figure it out for myself. Missteps were inevitable. Limp Bizkit were one of them. I'm not sure what I was thinking. Or hearing. But that's all in the past now. There. I've manned up. I feel much better.

But seriously, what is this mess? What are Limp Bizkit coming back for? More specifically, who are they coming back for? I'm stumped. It would appear that the fanbase the band once had no longer exists; kids either eventually discovered good metal or jumped on the booming metalcore bandwagon of the early 00's. Whatever the case, support clearly began dwindling in numbers after the release of Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water and the band - along with the rest of rap-rock and nu-metal - faded into relative obscurity.

It was only a just couple of years ago that I was reminded of this band when Fred Durst made a cameo on House as a bartender - I had a good laugh at the sight of that balding dumbass on television again. But now that Limp Bizkit has returned with a new album, I'm not sure what to do with my laughter. On one hand, it might increase because LB is great fodder for unintentional humor; Durst, as I mentioned in an earlier post, is an old faithful for unknowing quotables.

But there is a part of me that expected more out of humanity. Expected that people would learn from their past mistakes (I did). In the wake of file-sharing and Myspace, quality music should have become more accessible (it did), killing any demand for bands like this. Oh how idealistic I am, trying to generalize my own experiences for everyone else. I guess all I can really do is proudly state that once I heard some halfway intelligent shit like Snapcase, Bizkit became obsolete.

Damn I love that song.

"Ball don't lie."

With only two classes, no job and cable television, being productive with my time has become difficult. I'm watching too much playoff basketball. When I didn't have television, sports wasn't really a concern or something that I felt my life was missing. But now I find myself enjoying it quite a bit. Will the Lakers meet the Cavs in the finals? Or will the Magic crash the party once again? And what the hell is wrong with Paul Pierce's sideburns? It's a soap opera for dudes. And like any soap opera the narrative is old, yet powerfully addictive. Watching the NBA again reminds me of the golden years the Sonics had when I was a kid: Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, Detlef Shrempf, Sam "Big Smooth" Perkins, etc. Someone needs to upload that song by the Presidents of the United States of America that was a dedication to the team. "Supersonics, oh yeah!"

Watched Where the Wild Things Are with my parents last night. My second time, their first. Don't think they hated it, but they weren't that big on it. I expected that, though.

Currently reading Vonnegut's Sirens of Titan. The problem with most of the science fiction I've come across (in my admittedly small sampling of the genre) is that everything gets bogged down by unnecessary technobabble that only in-the-know nerds can make sense of (*cough* Neuromancer *cough*). Vonnegut, however, never did that. His imagination was infinite, but never tripped over itself and was relatable to almost anybody. Too bad he's gone. Though I'm not even halfway through his body of work, so there's plenty of great stories left.

CURRENT FAVORITES

Red Sparowes - The Fear is Excruciating, But Therein Lies the Answer (A pleasant surprise. Their last effort, Every Red Heart Shines..., only had one jaw-dropper and was plagued by flat production, which may have been partially due to the band getting robbed before recording. I was also a little bummed to hear that Josh Graham of Neurosis left, but it appears that some member swapping has done the group good; besides being an improvement musically, there now appears to be a rather attractive lady in the band. Anyways, this new release is more on par with their debut, At the Soundless Dawn. Good use of dynamics and utilization of three-guitar interplay. Could still use more steel pedal guitar. But I'm a shameless fiend for that shit.)



Descendents - Milo Goes to College (An obvious classic from the California punk scene of the 1980's. "I'm Not a Loser", "Hope" and "Bikeage" are some of the genre's best songs - pissed, melodic and fun. Makes me wish I had learned to skate and gives me the hilarious image of tearing up Brier a la Gleaming the Cube at age 26. First heard "Bikeage" as a cover back when I was 16, listening to Big Choice by Face to Face; it's the last track, right after the ever-popular "Disconnected". Always loved the lyrics:

Sitting there with a mouth full of beer,
Your eyes are glazed, your face is red,
Who's gonna pick you up and use you for tonight?

Not Dave.

YAWN.

Who's lazy? This guy. I've got nothing, really. Maybe some advice.

Watch Treme - new show from the creator of The Wire, David Simon. Only one episode has aired, but it looks like he's got something promising on his hand. It's about a post-Katrina NOLA, to be extremely general. What's that? You don't have HBO? Well neither do I. Get crafty.

Peep the new Minus the Bear album, OMNI. It's taking a lot of criticism for being "soft". I realize that they've had their fair share rocking tunes, but I've always considered MTB to be feel-good music - shit to chill to. Anyways, people are stupid and the new one is dope. And most of its detractors are claiming Planets of Ice to be the best MTB album. Noobs. Highly Refined Pirates and They Make Beer Commercials Like This, for the win.

Don't read any Dragonlance. Just terrible. Sorry Gibbs, I tried. Way too much Mormon propaganda. Both in the text and annotations. Regardless, the story is atrocious. It was unintentionally humorous for a couple hundred pages. But after about 400 pages, the charm wears off and it becomes painfully obvious that this stuff was written by/for D&D nerds. I feel like I should have been reading The Lord of the Rings trilogy instead.

Here's some other things I have been listening to lately.

Supermachiner - The Rise of the Great Machine (Ambient/Industrial side-project between Converge's Jacob Bannon and Kurt Ballou. Reminiscent of Swans, Mogwai, Earth, Depeche Mode, etc. Came out awhile ago, but didn't hear until recently. Definitely a mash-up of ideas. Some work really well, while others feel undeveloped. Still, a cool listen for fanboys like myself. Bannon has continued in this direction with Dwid from Integrity for another project, Irons, which I'm stoked on.)

The Get Up Kids - Simple Science (New EP. Picks up where Guilt Show left off, which isn't a terrible thing. But I can't say it's great either. Whatever. It is what it is. There will be no Something To Write Home About part two. So take it or leave it.)

Propagandhi - The Recovered EP (John K. Samson, good call on leaving these guys and starting The Weakerthans. You are not punk rock. Your vocals on "Leg-Hold Trap" are one of the most awkward things I've ever heard. Time to go back to your indie band.)