All things circular

If six were nine
I don't mind
But it seems more like eight is 00s
So that's how it goes





As a teenager in the late 80s and early 90s the 1960s were the rad thing that retro and cool . . . man. Girls dressed is semi hippie garb as did some boys and everybody listened to the music. It may have been a reaction to the 80's superficial and materialistic or that's what the people who market such fantasies of their own youth would have us believe. They would have us believe that the question "Are You Experienced?" was still a relevant one but let's face it a 16 year old in 1989 was quite a bit more "experienced" than a 16 year old from 1969 we even got to study that era in class. I can only imagine the wistfulness of any teacher having to dig up their own youth or younger days and try to explain it without going into some nostalgic breakdown. I suppose there's some chode of professor who gets misty eyed over the 80s but that's because they feel sorry for themselves . . . or maybe I'm wrong.
Let's face it, the decade of decadence where we our senile, B-movie star president forfeit the countries future and converted us into a debtor nation, awesome! The reality is the 60s were more commercial than we talk about and the 80s were more conservative than we like to admit. (the 90s was the decade we sold out, we had no choice)

Here we are though in the year 2009 and eighties styles are in and keyboards have made a bit of comeback on the music scene. Naturally I think it's weird to see all this stuff on the kids who I guess were born at the tail end or just after the 1980s but really It's just the way of things.
I wonder how it will all look a hundred years from now, will the decades all blend into one, the subtleties lost?

The there's the myth of the eighties floating out there and not the Wall Street version but some hip and awesome version that only existed in an amalgam of high points.
So what the heck does it mean that we're looking back to the decade that began looking back? Actually that may have started in the 70s with "Happy Days"
Anyway, onward and upward!

This is Life

Escaped insane killer! Man the 70s are back even this guy's hair is 70s


full Story from CNN.com

A legally insane killer was on the loose in the state of Washington on Saturday, two days after he escaped during a field trip to a county fair, authorities said.

Phillip Paul was able to elude a massive manhunt in Spokane County, Washington, after escaping on Thursday, a spokesman for the sheriff's department said.

Though Paul had been confined in a mental institution because of a murder confession, he was allowed to be part of a trip to a county fair Thursday.

Paul, 47, escaped from the fair around noon, which launched the massive manhunt and brought criticism from many, including state government officials. Sheriff's officials told CNN affiliate KREM-TV that Paul also escaped briefly in 1991 and assaulted a law enforcement officer.

A review has been launched on the incident along with the policy that allows patients to take trips, said Susan Dreyfus, secretary of the state's Department of Social and Health Services.

Dreyfus said she was concerned about Paul's escape and another recent brief escape by a patient at a different local mental facility.

"These incidents, separate and coincidental, have raised serious questions about the security readiness of our two state psychiatric hospitals," Dreyfus said.

Paul was committed to Eastern State Hospital after admitting he strangled and slit the throat of community activist Ruth Motley in 1987, KREM-TV reported. According to court documents obtained by KREM, Paul believed Motley was a witch and killed her in response to voices in his head.

He subsequently burned a deer carcass as a sacrifice, according the documents.

The extent of Paul's illness was disturbing even to mental health professionals, KREM reported.

"He's the only paranoid schizophrenic -- I've seen hundreds, maybe thousands of them -- that frightened me," Dr. Frank Hardy, a licensed psychiatrist, says in one of the documents, according to KREM. "The first time I took one look at him -- and I've never done this before or since -- I asked the jailer to remain in the room while I examined him.

"I believe he would respond to his delusions and his voices again" if released, Hardy wrote.

But Paul "Coyote" Neumann, a disc jockey at Spokane radio station Kix 96-FM, has an entirely different view of the escapee. Neumann has known Paul for 12 years through volunteering at the hospital and correspondence by mail.

Paul is a talented artist, Neumann told KREM-TV.

"I was just amazed by his ability. I always took him as a savant," Neumann said. "I never knew that he had murdered somebody until three or four or five years later."

Neumann described Paul as a "gentle soul."

"I've never seen him raise his voice; I've never seen him get frustrated; I've never seen nothing but kindness from him," he told KREM.

"I get mixed emotions because I do see the sweet, softer side of this individual, but I've never seen him unsupervised, I've never seen him not medicated," Neumann said. "But that's not to say in another 12, 15, 20 hours without those medications that he doesn't revert to those demons."

It amazes me that this psycho escaped at a county fair, how crazy is that; it's straight up Hollywood schlock! He also escaped once before back in the 90s, he's a got a friend who says he's a gentle soul yet others are terrified of him, animal sacrifice; it wild stuff.
Write the script, cast it ASAP!

Muscle Time

This could be a sign of the apocalypse or it could just be the cheese ball in me showing it's full capacity.



I'm not sure where this obsession came from; it sort of crept out of nowhere.



It's disheartening however that I haven't had this urge for one of these beasts my whole life like a primal animal just waiting to tear out and speed off with the pungent aroma of burnt rubber left behind



Somewhere however I got a notion that these cars were so, so, so cool.



Don't worry though I'm not going to buy an IROC or a fire bird Trans Am; I'm just an observer.

My First Mix Tape

I recalled today as I walked around and listened to my little iPod shuffle the point in my life I would like every other kid make mix tapes. some were iffy while others are classics of the genre. yes, classics because friends used to ask me to make them mixes after hearing mine . . . I should have been a DJ, right?
Anyway, after much digging I found my first mix tape that I created on August 1st 1987 just a month before I started High School and less than 6 months before I discovered Gins n' Roses



Here is the track list:
SIDE A
1 What you Need, INXS
2 Message In a Bottle, The Police
3 If This Is It, Huey Lewis and The News
4 Walk of Life, Dire Straits
5 Best of Both Worlds, Van Halen
6 Sledgehammer, Peter Gabriel
7 Can't Stop Rockin', ZZ Top
8 The Ocean, Led Zeppelin
9 Take My Breath Away, Berlin
10 To Be A Lover, Billy Idol
11 Keeping The Faith, Billy Joel



SIDE B
1 Last Child, Aerosmith
2 Twistin' The Night Away, Sam Cooke
3 Some Like It Hot, Power Station
4 New Religion, Duran Duran
5 Mighty Wings, Cheap Trick
6 In Your Eyes, Peter Gabriel
7 Rock and Roll, Led Zeppelin
8 If I Could Only Flag her Down, ZZ Top
9 Every Breath You Take, The Police
10 Sweet Sixteen, Billy Idol
11 Get Up, van Halen


So I'll let you be the judge on whether or not this mix was any good. There are a couple songs here that I still listen to but most of them are pieces that I'd leave off of any list at this point in my music listening life. I think I still have about 20 or so of these tapes in a nice carrying case from years ago; where was I bringing these tapes?
Enjoy!

Bare Chested Ambition

I have tried to diet a little throughout my life, the main things would be to lay off the donuts before I go to sleep and drink light beer if I drink beer at all. Once I thought I’d give Atkins a try but after becoming spaced out and cranky I began devour a baguette with no quarter. I consider eating vegetarian once in a while but really I enjoy the omnivorous diet greatly.
More than dieting I have attempted to get in shape through light weights and running; I haven’t been to a gym in over a year. At my best I was running 5 miles every other day and doing a bunch of upper body work which rewarded me with more energy, less man boob and some definition in my triceps. I did feel better about myself which in the end is what you’re supposed to want.





The truth of the matter is I want a body not unlike Tyler Durden’s sinewy and glistening body in Fight Club and if that’s too much I’ll settle for Scott Weiland’s yoga and heroin physique. No, I have no intention of shooting up but I have done the yoga and it kicked my butt. A little while ago I had found myself in a situation where food wasn’t part of my budget and my waist size shrank to a place it was when I was about 21 and while I was the envy of a couple of my friends I felt weird about the whole thing. I’m not a drastic guy and so I don’t think I’ll be doing anything drastic to get a body that I want, most likely I’ll just think about it a lot and wonder what if . . .
Frankly I don’t have time to get awesome but maybe I’ll give up all that couch potato time to pursue a more athletic cut to my jib.

I Love Pants

At one point in my younger days I wore a pair of green, no pleat, twill pants that were for whatever reason pretty special. I liked them because they fit very well and could be worn with just about everything I owned, T-shirts, button downs with long sleeves or short, my vintage, black, leather car coat. I guess it would have been in the mid 90s when they were prominent, before I got snagged on some sort of sharp edge or barb and was left with pants I felt couldn’t be worn any longer.
The pants seemed to impress the ladies as I recall; on at least two occasions did they become a major player in the circumstances that came to be. One young lady even wanted to seal them.
I can’t deny that they made me feel more slick and fashionable. People have questioned my taste when I mention green trousers but they never saw them and just don’t know how good they looked and how comfortable they felt.

Sweet Lou

Lou Piniella is a Major league manager currently working for the Chicago Cubs and trying to get into the post season again. Mr. Paniella has been a manager since 1986 starting with the Yankees, Cincinnati, Seattle, Tampa Bay and now the Cubs. His biggest successes would be winning a Major League record 116 games in 2001 and his World Series championship with the Reds back in 1990. As a player he was a career .291 hitter with barely over 100 home runs and just 32 stolen bases to his credit. Most of this came with the Yankees and Royals while he spent a bit of time with the Indians and the Orials. More than this he known for his temper.





I'm guessing that ones drama appeal can keep them desired and keep things interesting for he even does commercials where he plays with his reputation. I think I need a hook where my mediocrety can be superceded by my flamboyant outbursts.

Let the countdown continue 90-81

So really what more is there to say but something over due and well after the point. When Kurt Cobain died so did the future. Let's face it once he passed into Rock n' Roll here after all music dried up and became retro and forever pulled backward but then again that is the fate of the Generation X, to insist on looking back to their beginnings like some dumb founded lab bred species wondering where the hell they came from. To spend far too much time probing the question of why did these mixed up people who bred us bother, what did they get out of it? It seems like my ge-ge-ge-generation is as selfish as the folks we were supposed to loath in the 80's; those god dammed yuppy scums who's blind ambition ruined the country . . .at least they got new wave.
What did I get after 1994? The revenge of pop and the dominence of hip hop which were both just nice things for MTV to broadcast sinse the performaers involved all seemed to have nice bodies and fancy things. Now music is sort of rolling somelace that I can't be bothered with to examine.

90. No One Knows by Queens of the Stone age
They get a nod due to their awesome friends
89. Fallin' By Alicia Keys
Moonlight Senata never sounded so top 10.
88. Make it Clap by Busta Rhymes and Spliff Star
Busta's the man and even though isn't his best song it's was the best in new millenium
87. When the Man comes Around by Johnny Cash
Gone but not forgotten, Johnny served us a nice tail of revelations on his way out the door
86. The Rat by the Walkmen
Heart ache and breakup sound perfectly angry and scared on this gem of a song by a band I don't know anything about
85. Do You Want to by Franz Ferdinand
I love the beginning of this song and the way it makes me move is good too
84. Lovely Head by Goldfrapp
In the 00's Goldfrapp was better than Portishead but really the same aside from all that weird dance music
83. Float On by Modest Mouse
This was a big hit for these guys and so they get to make an appearance on the the top 100 of the 00s
82. Crazy by Gnarles Barkley
Another big, big song. These guys will never have to work again. I saw The Racontuers cover this live; it was the high light of the show
81. Fuck the Pain Away by Peaches
If you aren't familiar with the teaches of peaches there are thousands of girls with scars on their arms who are. Why so high on the list? Because it is an anthem of sorts for the alterna-slut culture

Lost in Space

There is a struggle I that I have had for the past 4 years which is how to best set up my studio apartment. I know interior decoraters and people who adore the interior design aspect of life enough to appear that they know what they are doing so I should be able to get plenty of feed back and ideas but it never worked out that way. Actually I did ask one of these types but I never really got the answer I needed. I should be able to read a book and get all the ideas I could ever want but it's hard to make my studio more than what it is. I've even moved my office space (desk and chair) into the kitchen to find some relief from over crowding but I constantly found myself wonder what was going on in my living room and would turn the TV or stereo on just to ensure I knew no supernatural shenanigans were afoot.
I've moved my bed all sorts of ways and had my couch all sorts of angles none of which satisfied. I had the bar in the kitchen and in the main room, I've had large wardrobe pose as a TV cabinet all in the name of better usage of space. Now what I have really realized is that I need to get rid of the clutter in my pad. I too much stuff and stuff I haven't touched in years at that; this is stuff I don't need, right? I'm sort of a pack rat but I'm not horrible. I have too many magazines; they need to be tossed in the recycle bin. I have a closet of collectibles, clothes and bullshit. I need to figure out what I can part with.
I have friends that have no need for anything extra and don't have this issue which I am jealous of. It seems that I am collecting possibilities and memories that are getting in the way. This could be a trite metaphor couldn't it?
Whatever, the point is I need to unload all the crap and streamline the goods.

That should be my motto for everything!

The Suggestion Box

So I've been advised by my people to make this blog an all music venture which isn't a bad idea but I don't know if I can focus that long on one topic without getting scared of the commitment. The only thing I can promise is this, I have compiled my top 100 songs from the 70s, 80s, 90s and the 00s . The idea of this nearly gave a friend of mine an aneurysm . . . actually it wasn't the idea as much as the songs I told him that were in the top ten; he's easy to mess with. So we'll start with 00's because the other decades are so, so analogue. Here's the start with #100-91; try not to get too bent out of shape or laugh too hard:

100. United States of Whatever by Liam Lynch
Stupidest/awesomest song to come out the whole decade . . . Whateveh!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz7_3n7xyDg

99. I Don't Wanna Stop by Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy goes for it and proves that with some help of Zack Wylde he can rock
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt_Bu1r-Ovg

98. Flavor of the Weak by American Hi-Fi
Props to the Heavy Metal Parking Lot refernce. This song came out and got me ready to rock. Also I like to give props to Boston bands
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n87oD8E98MM

97. Boyz-N- The Hood by Dynamite Hack
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNDMBfyO2ww
It's just funny!

96. Milkshake by Kelis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZ-FAV9fBII
Sex sells and I buy!

95. Entertain by Sleater Kinney
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gkiYkqGU6Y
I love a group of chicks who can rock! This song does not back down!

94. Sex On Fire by Kings of Leon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHhhcKxflMY
Kings of Leon learn to write a melody and score a hit


93. There is An End by the green Hornes and Holly Golightly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwq_sksL_6o
This is one to shake your fist at but it's a great little gem from the Bill Murray movie where he's looking for . . . I don't remember anything but this song and the naked girl.

92. Prepare to Fight by The Lovemakers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6jWUeyb7X4
Melodious and retro

91. Playground Love by Air
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAgX1jO3No0
Let the dreaming begin. I don't think I ever heard this song anywhere but the movie

So there's the first part of this list, there will be more coming up at some point but don't count on it being too soon. Think of this list as something that just happens and you're stumbling upon it

Was this not my 80s?

Do you know what this is about yet? If you can't tell by the pictures and you haven't been paying attention, John Hughes is dead; he passed away from a heart attack a couple of days ago. This is sad as all deaths are but now we must take a step back and look at the work the man left behind; I wish it was only the brat pack movies for even though "home Alone" is a phenomenally successful movie I don't care for it much. So we have "16 Candles", "The Breakfast Club", "Pretty in Pink" and "Some Kind of Wonderful".The message in all these movies is that no matter who you are you are a weirdo but you are ultimately loved; not a bad message even though it's a bit rose colored. My problem is I can't recall ever relating with any of these characters, not Judd Nelson's Bender, not John Cryer's Ducky (though girls have said I remind them of him), not Eric Stoltz' as . . . whatever his name was in "Some Kind of Wonderful". Now believe me when I say that I wish I related to Ferris Bueller, I wish I was Ferris Bueller; I think we all do; I mean why can't everything we do work out no matter how dodgy it may be. Truency problems, grand theft auto, identity theft, hacking into and changing official documents, tresspassing, lying to just about everybody he comes in contact with, conspiracy, and I'm fairly certain statutory rape. Whatever Ferris was awesome, fine taste in food, art, cars and women. I don't think he goes o to be a fry cook on Mars I think he joins a frat and cheerfully goes on to be a spin man, getting politicians out of trouble. Where's my charmed life?

As I was saying I never related to any of these characters and I was made to feel like I should by some peer pressuring classmate or another. Have I felt like an outsider? Of course ! The thing is I always felt that these kids were forcing themselves to be in such turmoil, a relentless insistence on not getting what they want seemed to be their M.O. (aside from the young Mr. Bueller) I suppose being a teenager is an excuse for not quite being able to put your finger on what you want or being too insecure to grab it but I recall an understanding of what was and what wasn't within my realm of reality which was one of the reasons I was sullen (just like you).
My appreciation for Hughes though comes because he didn't make teens out to be simple kids who have not a real problem outside their acne and curfew (I had neither and both).
The real question would be is "The Breakfast Club" a modern day "No Exit"? These character all torture each other . . . But there's a happy ending so I think not but it's an interesting concept, right? No? Bite me!

Somebody cue the Simple Minds; we have to listen to "Don't You (Forget About Me)"

Changing Out

So what, now I'm over this and think it's time to move on to something else that makes me go.

"Teenage angst has paid off well but now I'm bored and old" - Nirvana

This is in no way to say these dozen entries or so have any stature next to a genre defining rock band from nearly 20 years ago but I'm considering the ideas that I have held before to be rather obtuse and outdated now. So this means I have to find something to motivate me or I will become something of a useless human being which I may already be.

What will be the answer?

Middle Meal

I can say that I enjoy a nice lunch with a certain strange pride. A lovely sunny day accompanied by a great selection of light tastes. Starting with a glass of wine and half a dozen oysters while mid day sounds curly through the ear and pleasantries abound. Sometimes a soup if it;s something nice will do the trick. A well made sandwich with almost fancy ingredients prepared with a chef's delicate precision served next to complete the meal.
This sort of thing just puts a silly smile in me and makes me feel like a better person.

Strange but there it is.

I Just Want You To Know

It continues; my weird fascination with Lady GaGa has made me into some sort of teenage boy. I don't think she's amazing or even that hot I just can't stop thinking about what the heck she's doing here on earth. I think she's a snack from Venus, that is to say on Venus you eat pop stars for something to fulfill your snack needs. She probably tastes like tofu fried, dipped in a Tang and chili flake powder. When you eat the pop star snack the music plays.
On the wilder side of things I think her music is the proper music to do blow to and I have some suspicion that her and Paris Hilton probably listen to "The Fame" do lines, have a straight girl make out and laugh at all the mooks ogling them like it's the most important event in history. Do they make T-shirts that read "disco stick" with an arrow pointing down?
Continuing in the blue department I wander if she's a good lover . . . I'm gonna' guess not. I mean she probably can do a good solo show in front of a mirror or a spectator but I think that's what her "Poker Face" is for.
Question: When was the last time somebody thought Madonna was hot, I mean really hot? Like a fantasy.
Answer: 1984

I'm dumb!

Stupid Head Game

I am an owner of a laptop computer. I use it as a desk top. I am ashamed to bring it out into the public where I will be in that weird laptop cult . . . especially at a cafe. I worry that I will suddenly stare at the screen and not have a single thing I want to do. The Internet will cease to be something I can't imagine being interesting or useful, all my finances will be in nice kept order, my ideas for writing will all be blank, my video games will be completed and my pictures and music will be tiresome.
It is a 21st century anxiety that shouldn't exist . . . not in my world. This is also related to my ire directed toward cell phones; I do have one and I depend on it like a little baby needing mother's milk. It just makes me a slave to communicational whims and paranoias. If you don't understand just think about that time your S.O. didn't text back right away, how crazy did you get? If you didn't freak out, congrats; you're a very chill and understanding person that I would like to know . . . maybe even date (not really, I'm off the proverbial market, yes this is a disclaimer because I don't want to send any mixed signals)
What will be next I wonder, live feeds from your cyberdata implant that never go off line; everything you do will be broadcast for the world to watch and judge. Just imagine you're a man, your implant is live and you're at a bar, you see a woman, dozens, hundreds maybe thousands of messages start coming into your head on what people think of her appearance and what you should do to get someplace with her. You're at the supermarket and people send you messages about what's on sale, corporations send you messages about what to buy once you enter, people send messages about horrible season we're having for berries, recipes are sent to you. Overload? Nope, the brain can handle it, we only use 10% remember? This is what the other 90% was meant for!
So there you have it I won't have to worry about having a lap top in public because my head will be one!

PROBLEM SOLVED!!!

Two mixed up

Your skort turns me off, like the spork and the mullet; it’s really just a tease. It is sort of the opposite of a mullet though which is business up front and party in the back; the skort is sexy/cute skit in front and hiker in back and totally a turn off. Is the chick afraid of a strong breeze or quick sexy times? Is she afraid to show the world that she is a chick who likes to climb stuff like rocks and rock hard dudes? I mean both would get a rise from me on their own but together they leave me irritated sense of forced duality much like cafés that become bars in the evening. The spork on the other hand is just an over achieving spoon with fork envy; it really can’t stab into anything with the same depth. It all comes down to synergy and my basic disgruntlement towards the notion.

Is there a cool synergy name for the tuxedo T-shirt? Shirtxedo?

Stupid memories

So it’s prom time again and this makes me think in weird nostalgic embarrassment about my own senior of high school year gala. I wore maybe the most ludicrous outfit worn to the event consisting of a white button down shirt with a bolo tie, a tuxedo jacket with tails, charcoal dress pants and some saddle shoes. My hair for some teenaged reason was in braids, a bunch of them bearing red and black beads and silver clasps for some pizzazz! My date, a blond with a pair of beautiful blue eyes and healthy bosom both of which I spent hours staring into like puppy wore a simple black dress; I was more done up than she was. In my hyper fantastical mind she would have been braided up as well as rearing the nose ring she got at a later date. I’m not telling the year of this but at the time it would have been the coolest thing ever. The prom it’s self was held in a hotel with glass elevators which I spent much of my time riding up and down in, trying to make time with my date/girlfriend who was suddenly shy like she had to behave for my school mates. There was a salty meal from the hotels banquets and there was a DJ and dance floor both of which I glared at in hatred and fear . . . not really. Anyway it seemed like everybody was having a good time, nobody was noticeably drunk, nobody was fighting, everyone more or less seemed like they were there just because they had to be . . . but not in an ironic way the kids today do. In the end I had a little fun and some memories. A friend of mine who works in a hotel told me that they were going to be hosting a prom for several hundred kids where there would be three chaperones, five police officers, a breathalyzer testing station and a metal detector. Good times!

Dark Rooms with Flickers

Summer movies!
Oh yeah I gotta’ see ‘em! I want action, dudes with guns, fast cars, hot chicks and all that stuff the teenager in me wants to see. Though if I recall the teenager I was wasn’t too interested in all that; I wanted to see art house movies with French accents and mild twists of insanity. A movie like “Betty Blue” or “Naked Lunch” or “Amelie” was the type of film I wanted to sink my morose teeth into and soak up the weirdness of all. I suppose I wanted my life to be that then, those were my fantasies. A dark hole, a twisted little place where the supernatural was always just around or in the corner was just the ecstasy I needed.
Where did all this change? Did action get better? Did I get tired of odd, little independent movies and the fact that there isn’t always satisfaction in them? Maybe I just don’t care to put my mind into anything anymore and just want explosions and a happy ending. I watched a movie recently called “Girlfriend Experience” which is directed by a major “indie” fellow and stars a porn actress; it left me feeling like I didn’t give two cents about anything. Yes, the movie looked great and there was a certain voyeuristic quality of it that I liked but I didn’t get jack from it. So now I have to compare this to “Star Trek” which while silly and a bit overdone had all the things we want in a summer movie! I was still left feeling, feh. This is a result of me being jaded, right? Maybe the action genre has been taken as far as it can, maybe it reached it’s most awesome realization in “Terminator 2”
Maybe I just can’t escape anymore. I’m too in my own head to get off.

Oh my God . . .

Is there anything better than a huge rock concert? If the a few strains of Alternative rock and punk rock fans had their way the answer would be, yes. I’m not gonna’ lie and say that I can’t handle both and that I haven’t been thoroughly satisfied with show at a smaller venue but when you see that band that is huge with star power and they have a show to equal the sound it is raw awesomeness!
It’s the train bursting through the stage, the huge Rosie blow up doll and it’s the big canon blasts that AC/DC guarantees as they go out with “For Those About to Rock”! Iit’s even an Alternative band like Jane’s Addiction at their first Lollapalooza show and the big screens behind them, the dancing monster, the sexy, sexy girls getting totally sexy on one another during “Ted, Just Admit it . . .”! It’s Tommy Lee being raised up, spun around upside down in his drum cage while banging out his solo! It is Ted Nugent swinging onto the stage from a vine and then firing an arrow into a flaming guitar! It’s that pig floating around the Pink Floyd shows; it’s the spectacle of Rock! It’s Kiss.
These are freaks doing crazy things for our acceptance and appetite of sex and war. I have it and you have; it is the desire for primal exploitation, birth, death and rebirth. Now I’m not sure f this is any different than some opera or religious story though the music makes the rock show kick much more ass! To me it would confirm that all we are here to do is procreate and keep our species and DNA strands going like any creature in the animal kingdom. Sure we have sky scrapers, airplanes, civil engineering and Blacky Lawless but I don’t know if it’s really anything more than man’s brain making use of it’ self. If our brains weren’t so big we would still all be in the area around Nairobi eating, sleeping, defecating, fighting and making babies rather than watching David Lee Roth do spin kicks while Eddy Van Halen does guitar crazy.
What was the point?
I love Rock n’ Roll as if my survival depended on it!

Side topic: is Sid Vicious actually slicing up his chest with broken bottles on stage the same as Alice Cooper replicating his decapitation on stage? I never saw either in person.

"culture" vs. "pop" culture vs value

What matters vs. what do I like vs old school entertainment that supposedly hold more weight than more modern forms. I can't lie that I try to absorb all this stuff because I'm not interesting but the things I am exposed to make me seem interesting . . . isn't that true for everybody? Isn't that from "High Fidelity"?
A friend was teasing me that I had no culture but I argued that I'd been to symphonies, I'd been to The Nutcracker, I'd been exposed to famous works of art, she argued that I would still be happier at a rock concert. I didn't respond or retort, why waste my breath with words that can't back up actions, after all I'm just a man not the son of the sun king.
I'm not exactly sure if there should be a difference between any of these things because they all made money, they all convey some sort of information, they all make people happy or feel something and maybe a grand opera tells the same story as an Aerosmith song. So there's Andy Worhal who was like some flake who said simple cocktail observations and did some art because there wasn't anything easier to do. While doing this he invented something for people with nothing substantial but not before getting art critics to go for his schtick. I actually don't know if any of that is correct but it sounds about right.
Is classic art important beyond asthetics? Personally I feel that if it can tell a good story with something interesting to say. The Greek plays or poems are a good example of this as is the next versions of those in the form of Shakespear . . . now we have Stephen king.

Have I mentioned that I have this odd hunger for sugar cereal lately? I just want to chow down on some sugar pops. I don't know why but there it is. Steak and eggs also sounds really fork licking good too!

I guess none of this matters because it can all come down to generational themes and technology. We are humans and have a lot of free time which most of us choose not to do anything important with so we need to use up that time with entertainment and leisure activities . . . so even sport gets thrown into the mix here. Athletics are important because it can represent what we are physically capable of even if we need performance enhancers. I don't know what the Ancient Greeks and Egyptians used to make themselves better in competition but certainly there was a modern idea of cheating going on.
You know classic books have more references to their times than you might expect, making them essentially pop items before the term was what it was. I like a book that can capture a time without being obsessed with it or being so much a product of it's time it doesn't transcend it.

"What's a transom, Bob"