we live for reference sections in libraries...but mostly metal.

this. is. freaking. amazing.

i don't need no instructions to know how to rock.



i want to be friends with these dudes.

"Just Play The Game, Pretend To Do Work "

i just recently (as in, a few seconds ago) realized that i've loved the descendents' album everything sucks for half my life.

and that's terrifying.

it's not terrifying that i've loved an album for that long. it is, in fact, quite the opposite of terrifying.

it's comforting to know that i can still feel this way about something that i loved with most of the fibers of my being when i was 14. there are only a handful of other things in life that a person can say that about and in a man's case, two (or one?) of them are nsfw. (edited to say: i had no idea how telling that last sentence was until i just re-read it after posting...think about it.)

which is one of the reasons that i love the descendents so much. even in 1996, 17 years after forming, and after singer milo aukerman got stupid numbers of degrees and became a research biochemist (apparently living in delaware...now i might have to reevaluate my stance on the first state), a bunch of middle-aged men with full-time jobs could still record an album with a song like "eunich boy," filled with the same stupid, juvenile, 14-year-old boy humor as early songs like "i like food," "pervert," and "enjoy."

but then that's the other part, and one of the reasons i can still love them now and for entirely different reasons i loved them then -- despite being (especially in the case of "coffee mug") full of the super-fast, surf-pop-punk that the descendents helped originate, and that is arguably a young man's game, everything sucks is surprisingly grown-up.

don't mistake "grown-up" for "mature," because it's not "mature" (see "when i get old"), and neither am i.

because you know what? i got my w2s the other day, and the "taxman came and took my money/ now all my other bills are gonna be late...everything sucks today." and "this place sucks/ i haven't found a single thing to call my own/ and there's nothing left for me to do/ just play the game, pretend to do work...it's just this place, this place sucks!"

but it's not all negative, and while 14 years ago, filled with unrequited puppy love, my favorite "song about a girl" was "i'm the one" ("i'm the one/ i've been here for you all along/ i'm the one/ who's shoulder you've been cryin on/ nice guys finish last/ no one knows as good as me"), now, as a married man, "we" fits the bill perfectly ("i don't care if we get a job/ we've already got a life/ we've got it made/ i don't know what the future holds/ all i know is you're there with me/ that's all i need/ hey, everything's gonna be okay/ we've got it made together/ when i look in your eyes/ i know what i want in life/ nothing more, nothing less").

so, descendents, thank you. thank you for 14 years of pumping me up, making me laugh, and helping me through the s^!tty times.

actually, i think you might have said it best:

Thank You - Descendents

I listen to you for hours, I'll listen all day
Just keep hitting me the right way
Sing your song in the shower
Cause you got a way
To say what I can never say right - right on
When I feel weak you make me feel strong
Make me feel strong

I won't say your name
But you know who you are
I'll never be the same again now - no way
I just want to say
Thank you for playing the way you play

You don't get played on the radio
That's not the game you play
Well I don't care anyway
I glued your tape in the stereo
So I know every word, every note
And every chord is right - right on
When I feel weak you make me feel strong
Make me feel strong feel like nothing's wrong

I won't say your name
You know who you are
I'll never be the same again now - no way
I just want to say thank you for playing the
Way you play

Did you know you're why I go
And waste my time
At a rock and roll show
You let me know I'm not alone
You make me feel strong, make me feel strong,
Feel like nothing's wrong

I won't say your name, you know who you are
I'll never be the same again now - no way
I just want to say
Thank you for playing the way you play
Thank you for playing the way you play
Thank you for playing the way you play

as my friend said to me when he sent this to me...

you are SO welcome.