Promoting Yet Again

Come check it out as The Run In are one of my favorite local band, and, of course, there's always Telograph.

(Sorry I haven't written much later, Mr. Blog. I currently live only for grad school applications.)

CNN.com - Gonzales defends wiretaps amid protest - Jan 24, 2006

CNN.com - Gonzales defends wiretaps amid protest - Jan 24, 2006

Heroes:




In other news, there's this little tiny piece of asphalt stuck to the ground under a mound of caulk that I like to stand on and occasionally kick when I go outside to smoke. Today, that little rock broke away from the ground while I was bouncing my shoe off it. This made me unreasonably sad.

Television

I can't wait until the baby boomer retires and we can finally have a musical character on television who doesn't constantly worship Bob Dylan. While I deeply appreciate the stylings of Mr. Robert Zimmerman, it's time let our TV characters listen to music that came after 1979.

That said, "Love Monkey," a new show centering around the adventures of a NYC A&R exec starring that guy from Ed, is probably one of my new favorite shows, second only to "Lost."

Thoughts on Bands and Girls

I got an interesting email from a female friend today who hasn't been seen or heard from in a while. She said, "Oh, well, I guess you must be beating away the girls with a stick, playing keyboards in a band and all, making the girls swoon." Um... The answer to that question is no.

Just for future reference, this is a list of the order in which rock musicians in bands get laid, from my own experience being in and around bands.

1. The Drummer - Most people automatically assume the frontman comes first, but few realize that the drummer pulls more than anyone else. He is the beat, the rhythm personified. It's the same as being the best dancer at your local salsa hall.
2. The Lead Guitarist - Obviously. Girls imagine him blowing smoke in their parents' faces while roaring away on motorcycles.
3. The Singer/Frontman - However, this guy moves to #1 if he also plays guitar and calls himself a "songwriter." Being an alright singer helps, but it's really not required.
4. The Keyboardist - Again, like the lead singer, a keyboardist can move up the list by use of "songwriter," as long as said songs are not Billy Joel ripoffs, because as we all know, only church girls listen to Joel and you're leaving that date high and dry. However, the Keyboardist songwriter may never move above #3 on the list. The Drummer and guitarist/songwriter will always win. Actually, scratch that. The Keyboardist will always be #4.
5. The Lonely Bass Player - I guess it's just the fact that nobody ever really notices the Rock Bassist. His musical contributions can rarely be easily identified, outside of Led's John Paul Jones and John Entwistle from The Who. Think about it. It takes a lot to identify a great bass player for the average listener. This translates directly into this hierarchy. They're not flashy, they're just holding down the fort while the others can advertise for women with their impressive displays of solo virtuosity, aka "blowjob notes." This doesn't really transfer over into other genres though. The jazz bassist never goes hungry.

Writing this list made me think of a funny story I heard from David Lee Roth (DLR.) Apparently, Sammy Hagar and John Entwistle were hanging out at Cabo Wabo, Hagar's club in LA. Sammy turned to John and said, "Ox, here we are, two rock legends, just hanging out!" John replied, "No, Sammy, one rock legend and Sammy Hagar..."

Aca-What?!

Aca-What?!

The title of this entry is a clicky link!

I find it shocking that an a capella group is looking for men who are "good with [their] mouths." I just hope they get the beatboxer who also plays a mean set of air drums.

Passing moments

Do you ever have really quick moments where you return to suddenly vivid memories that follow a specific theme at the most mundane times?

For instance, Tuesday night, I stood on my porch smoking my 8:30PM cigarette when all of a sudden I was hit by a barrage of my most guilt-induced embarrassing moments of all time. I have no reason why, but it hit hard and quieted me down for the rest of the night, hanging overhead like a dark cloud on a beach.

Then, last night, I headed outside for the same smoke when I was instantly struck by a barrage of my greatest moments in public mockery. Needless to say, this put me in another weird mood, but this one more of a "Laughing Mr. Lens" which others found slightly perturbing. I will share one memory from this sequence however:

When the first of the new Star Wars movies came out, I was still living in Danville. My friends and I went to see it at the midnight showing simply because it was an excuse for us to stay out really late. Just before the movie started, this movie employee felt the need to "warm up the crowd." Standing in front of everybody, he gleefully shouted, "I just want everybody to realize that this movie is completely digital. It's the first film with no film!!! Woohoo!" The crowd fell to a hushed silence and continued to stare at this crazy man like a dead animal in a sack. Enter me. Ringing out from the 10th row, I clearly said, "Man, I feel embarrassed FOR you." Instant laughter from a sold-out theater for no less than 2 minutes.

So yeah, that's it. One of my greatest moments in public mockery. I know, I know. I'm terrible. Yes, I know. Here's that guy, putting his enthusiasm and nerdery out for public display, and here's me, Mr. Snide. Hopefully Mr. Solo there learned his lesson.