this. is. freaking. amazing.
i don't need no instructions to know how to rock.
i want to be friends with these dudes.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
"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:
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
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:
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
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Thursday, November 12, 2009
the flaming muppets
listening to the flaming lips and watching their videos, especially in more recent years, makes one wonder if, much like kenneth the page on 30 rock, wayne coyne views the world through muppet-flavored lenses. however, unlike kenneth the page, to wayne coyne, those muppets are the scariest things in the world.
just look at the look on his face in their video for "watching the planets" (totally nsfw, by the way).
although, in his defense here, if i were surrounded by that many naked hipsters and hippies, i'd probably be terrified as well.
also, if you had asked me this morning, "hey, will you see wayne coyne's penis today?" my answer would have a resounding "no."
sometimes, you just don't know what the day will bring.
just look at the look on his face in their video for "watching the planets" (totally nsfw, by the way).
although, in his defense here, if i were surrounded by that many naked hipsters and hippies, i'd probably be terrified as well.
also, if you had asked me this morning, "hey, will you see wayne coyne's penis today?" my answer would have a resounding "no."
sometimes, you just don't know what the day will bring.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
ten things that are making me happy right now
okay, so i'm inspired to write this blog post for two reasons: my cousin did something similar and i think it's an excellent exercise in positive thinking and then i'm only one blog post away (after this one, anyway), from breaking my previous blog record!
1) getting bobby flay burgers for dinner tonight. totally going to find out what the burger of the month is, and if it stinks? miami burger....mmmmm pressed ham....
2) 27 days until the official start of fall! things that that means? the return of pumpkin spice lattes, "cool ghoul" colored m&ms, target's always excellent halloween decorations, the dvd release of the long-delayed trick r treat, my other cousin's wedding, and a total justification of my horror obsession. plus, bug-free camping! (and no, those don't count as several different things. they count as one! go to hell!)
3) death metal. i'm listening to the south carolinian, egypt-obsessed band, nile, right at this second, and at home, in my free time, i'm watching the second season of metalocalypse, getting ready for the third and dethklok's second album.
4) the superchunk song "misfits and mistakes." whether it's the version with meatwad from aqua teen hunger force or not, it's still an amazing song. "For all the misfits, mistakes, and the others/Say you will, say you will/Fall down together like lines in your letters/Put all the random pieces together."
5) prince.
6) okay...enough of the music ones... my wife. how's that for cheesey? would it make it better if i said "my family" (i.e., my wife and my cat)? no? oh well. you can go to hell again.
7) Zornow Must Be Destroyed. He's my of-the-moment illustrator obsession. but, give me about 30 seconds and i'll come up with some more. ed repka (that's by no means ALL of his stuff. not at all). drew millward. john dyer baizley. dan mumford. i can keep going. believe me.
8) less than 50 days until the release of brütal legend. start stretching your thumbs and banging your head: ..........NOW!
9) MetalSucks.net.
10) old-school sailor jerry-style tattoos.
on a completely different note, i think my new coworker is an alien.
he keeps asking the most random and simple questions like he's never experienced anything in his life before (weird stuff about dogs, the blackout of 2003, pizza, etc., etc.), and clearly, the only answer is that he must be an alien.
also, i totally just discovered this website, and it makes me happy in my heart:
Sleevage.com. why didn't i know about this before?
1) getting bobby flay burgers for dinner tonight. totally going to find out what the burger of the month is, and if it stinks? miami burger....mmmmm pressed ham....
2) 27 days until the official start of fall! things that that means? the return of pumpkin spice lattes, "cool ghoul" colored m&ms, target's always excellent halloween decorations, the dvd release of the long-delayed trick r treat, my other cousin's wedding, and a total justification of my horror obsession. plus, bug-free camping! (and no, those don't count as several different things. they count as one! go to hell!)
3) death metal. i'm listening to the south carolinian, egypt-obsessed band, nile, right at this second, and at home, in my free time, i'm watching the second season of metalocalypse, getting ready for the third and dethklok's second album.
4) the superchunk song "misfits and mistakes." whether it's the version with meatwad from aqua teen hunger force or not, it's still an amazing song. "For all the misfits, mistakes, and the others/Say you will, say you will/Fall down together like lines in your letters/Put all the random pieces together."
5) prince.
6) okay...enough of the music ones... my wife. how's that for cheesey? would it make it better if i said "my family" (i.e., my wife and my cat)? no? oh well. you can go to hell again.
7) Zornow Must Be Destroyed. He's my of-the-moment illustrator obsession. but, give me about 30 seconds and i'll come up with some more. ed repka (that's by no means ALL of his stuff. not at all). drew millward. john dyer baizley. dan mumford. i can keep going. believe me.
8) less than 50 days until the release of brütal legend. start stretching your thumbs and banging your head: ..........NOW!
9) MetalSucks.net.
10) old-school sailor jerry-style tattoos.
on a completely different note, i think my new coworker is an alien.
he keeps asking the most random and simple questions like he's never experienced anything in his life before (weird stuff about dogs, the blackout of 2003, pizza, etc., etc.), and clearly, the only answer is that he must be an alien.
also, i totally just discovered this website, and it makes me happy in my heart:
Sleevage.com. why didn't i know about this before?
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Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
bizarre song of the day
reminds me of shonen knife a bit. i'm not even sure if i like it all that much, i'm just more oddly intrigued.
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