Brian James W.'s Journal

836 WORDS IT'S OKAY TO LOVE
so, i've been hearing a lot about "guilty pleasures" lately. Q or uncut or one of those over-sized british music magazines has an issue out right now, "115 records it's OK to love", 115 guilty pleasures. it's bullshit. there is no such thing as a guilty pleasure. i'm sure in all my days i have referred to things, mostly music probably some tv, as a guilty pleasure but only so that whoever i am talking to will understand that i know the difference between something that everyone understands to be cool and stuff that people think is lame. however, i don't think it's lame. i don't ego get in the way of liking some little piece of pop culture, that's what aggravates me about the idea of a guilty pleasure. people act as though they're too good to like the bee gees or something. as if some kid can call a great some a guilty pleasure just because all his little buddies, essentially everyone, thinks it's uncool. well guess what dude, if you like something that's uncool, yr uncool, at least for that moment. deal with it, it's alright. i don't see the point in elevating yrself to this status of being too good for some song or tv show. you know what the fucking #1 song on the records it's okay to love by super cool brit mag was??? "livin' thing" by EL fucking O. i couldn't believe it either. of course it's alright to like 'livin' thing', it's a fucking amazing song. oh, but it's disposable pop from a few decades earlier, so it must be a joke. so it's alright to believe that radiohead are the real deal and making meaningful lasting music, but ELO is a guilty pleasure? radiohead has fooled everyone, even established music critics which pisses me off because in 20 years when they should be regarded as a guilty pleasure at best they'll probably be like U2 with their core of fans that never go away and glowing record reviews until their last reunion tour, which will most assuredly hit new heights in excess. i'm sorry, i really dislike radiohead, but that's not the point. my point is really just a question, why do people think they need to say something is guilty pleasure. maybe they're confused. there is such a thing, of course, as good/bad pop culture. as in so bad it's good, you know. a lot of reality tv is based on this, people so utterly loathsome they're actually endearing. or that song "the final countdown" which is huge right now, used in everything including the brilliant arrested development. that song sucks so bad that it's great because of how much it sucks. but that's the thing where it's not a guilty pleasure, it sucks...it's not actually good, it actually sucks. so it's good/bad, with the emphasis on bad. the thing that really frustrates me is when something that is legitimately good is put down by some know-it-all who refers to it as a guilty pleasure.
i'm sorry to blurt like this, that damn article just made me so mad. the idea that some magazine is telling you "it's okay to love these records" which is followed by "even though they're not artistic or quite as meaningful as the shit we have now, or bob dylan or whatever". of course it may be different in yr mind, that's just what i heard. i'm doing the same thing essentially, well, not really. i'm giving these records their dignity back and telling people to toughen up and admit the like something without the posturing and ego. i love the bee gees. a large part of this is the fact that pure pop is so under attack these days. go up to someone who is under 30 and tell them you like the gin blossoms and see what they say, if they say anything at all! you'll probably just get a weird look and a laugh. especially if it's some indie rock elitist or any of the other subculture prick we all come into contact with each day. i heard of the smiths as a guilty pleasure one time, are you kidding? if they're a guilty pleasure then you'd probably get crucified for liking morrissey (i always found the smiths much more interesting). is it okay to like the housemartins? pulp will be cool forever, but what about girlfrendo? they're super pop, are they alright? it's all so subjective. they had an A-Ha album on the list, does that mean "take on me", one of the best pure pop records ever is now not cool enough to be thought of as simply good, not "good but..."
anyway, i could go on. oh jeez could i go on. but i won't. it's true, there will never be another "wild thing" but music is what it is and it doesn't need some bullshit projection to be certified. like it or hate it but save the ego for defending the next radiohead record.

Current Music: jason falkner, brendan benson

SLOOPY JOES
BULLETIN: hellish two-headed barnes & noble cafe/algebra mod 4 beast spawned yesterday. when reached for comment local dude Brian James remarked, "oh this sucks so much". the beast's reign of terror expected to last 3 weeks when it's grotesque body will split in two and continue to thrive, further causing shit to said boy. His gf Yamz was quoted as saying, "oh, i'm sorry bub". "Thanks babe" he replied.

In other news, a massive heat wave has swept over new jersey causing all patrons of the aforementioned Barnes & Noble cafe to bring it up while in line. Also, babies continue to cry like crazed banshees while their parents buy a frap. This phenomenon has been getting on people's nerves, the parents apparently could not care less.

Stay tuned for updates on things that make Brian mad. Coming soon...high gas prices, unappealing television, and a possible editorial on the declining state of music.

Thank you Americans.

WHEN YR BOTH MACHO IT KIND OF CANCELS IT OUT AND YR NOT EVEN MACHO ANYMORE
okay, so this is the week of my jury duty...and i don't think, according to the law, that i can say anything about it. i might not even be able to say i'm on it. oh boy, no, i think it's okay. i have jury duty and it's no fun.

okay, so here is my list of the 20 all time best punk songs...

THE TOP 20 PUNK TUNES (not in any order):

1. "Judy is a Punk" by The Ramones - Any list about the history of punk should start with the Ramones. This is one of the first and best examples of the genre. It's more or less a perfect song. The Ramones created a truly new sound by simply stripping it down. Once you hear the Ramones, if you get it, it will change the way you think about music.
2. "Teenage Kicks" by The Undertones - This song is probably the best example of punk rock going pop. It's a pitch perfect 2 minutes and 26 seconds of genius. I remember hearing about the song, going and buying a CD and just being in awe.
3. "Walking Out on Love" by The Beat - This was recorded by The Breakaways first, but once Paul Collins moved on to the Beat it was re-recorded. No matter which version you hear it's an anthem and a power pop essential.
4. "Come Back Jonee" by DEVO - These guys get nowhere near the respect they deserve for their early work. This is a classic and has one of the best videos ever made.
5. "Beat Your Heart Out" by The Zeros - I'm partial to L.A. punk and in that era there was no better song than this. Romantic without being sappy and cool without pretension. A dude from The Briefs described The Zeros as 'the mexican Ramones' and that works for me.
6. "New Rose" by The Damned - Produced by Nick Lowe and released by Stiff in a time where a song like this really mattered and broke new ground. The Damned have plenty of great songs, it's just a matter of picking one to represent them. The Damned are a great example of a natural punk band, in their element they embodied it.
7. "Tearin' Me Apart" by Teenage Head - One of the best punk songs ever written. It grabs you from the first note and yr hooked till the end, great vocals and raw guitars sealing a spot for an amazing somewhat forgotten band.
8. "Your Generation" by Generation X - This is as pop as it gets and it's so good it's hard to believe. Without Generation X punk wouldn't be where it is today (and that is a compliment).
9. "I Ain't Think, It's Just a Trick" by Crass - Crass were kind of the exact opposite of the more popular British late 70's punk bands. However, they were inventive, original and fearless and made some of the best music of the time. They had more going on than most groups and are a perfect band for any angry teenager to latch on to.
10. "First Time" by The Boys - The Boys wrote hit after hit and were super cool. This is the kind of band I wish I discovered when I was 15, not 22.
11. "Jealous Again" by Black Flag - It's hard to pin down a favorite from the early years of Black Flag, Keith Morris, Ron Reyes and Dez Cadena all made classics. "Jealous Again" is angry, sweet, comedic and nihilistic all at once. Black Flag lost whatever they had though with the addition of that weightlifter guy.
12. "Mary and Child" by Born Again$t - Jersey born hardcore punk that changed my life from the opening announcement of 'The Rebel Sound of Shit and Failure'. One of the angriest and most sincere bands ever.
13. "Whole Wide World" by Wreckless Eric - My all time favorite song. Eric's style is not classic punk rock but everything else about him is. Another Stiff release that puts to shame most of the other so-called-classics.
14. "S&M Party" by Redd Kross - Early Redd Kross is great for a few reasons: 1. They sounded like a bunch of 14 year olds. 2. They were a bunch of 14 year olds. 3. Posh Boy records. 4. Their stuff had more attitude and energy than most of the junk that came before or after them.
15. "Atomic Lawn" by Rik L Rik - Another Posh Boy release out of L.A. Rik was a powerhouse and had an amazing voice with an incredibly relaxed delivery. If any performer from that scene could have been huge it was Rik.
16. "Marching Song" by Pointed Sticks - Kind of a late blooming British power pop band complete with the drummer of the Subhumans. This song will stick in yr head and make most of yr favorite love songs sound boring.
17. "Seeing Red" by Minor Threat - Minor Threat made perfect music. Picking one song is useless, everything they did was important. For as long as kids are being rebellious Minor Threat will be required listening.
18. "My Girlfriend is a Rock" by Nervebreakers - All I really know about this band is that they recorded the all time coolest song about a relationship with an inanimate object. This is one of those great unknowns (or at least lesser-knowns) that makes you glad to be a fan of underground music.
19. "(Making) Teenage Faces" by The Exploding Hearts - One of the most fun and energetic songs to come my way. It's a perfect song to represent modern power pop. Of course, this is just one of many unforgettable Exploding Hearts songs.
20. "Spinal Remains" by The Misfits - My all time favorite band performing a raw and uncompromising song. Just about everything on the "Static Age" record was done that way, but this is the one I'd play first.

there they are, it took a little bit and there were some close runners up. i had to knock off '3rd homosexual murder' by the forgotten rebels for the exploding hearts song. my list actually included 41 songs to start off that i had to cut down. interesting fact...no clash or sex pistols in the 41. hmm...two bands i like, good albums but no real stand out cuts. but i'll expand the list to 43 and add 'bodies' and umm, 'spanish bombs' because i think that's more what the clash were about. different kind of music in a punk context. and of course 'bodies' is the best abortion song of all time. what are the others? 'papa don't preach'??? i heard that wasn't about a baby, it was about a man? her dad? i've heard some rumors. abortion songs are few and far between, thus, 'bodies'. anyway, those are my selections, if i get 7 more i'll put up all 50!!! then 50 more and i'll have 100!!! i think my next list will be the top 5 songs that make me think about being in middle school. or maybe, the top 5 songs about shoes. or the 5 worst songs for lovemaking. i wanna do em all.

anyway, things are going good. i'm in a weird mood. i'm waiting for my gf and wasting time. i guess that will be it for today. stay cool.

Current Music: old mixtape

PINK+POINTED+SHAKES> REECORD
oh my life, it's occurring. i went record shopping today. after i got up and opened the window and smelled the air and stitched up my pants i put on my hat and hit the road. i got there and grabbed like 4 7 inches and was all prepared to buy them until i realized they had both CDs i wanted (DFA compilation #2, and "underwater moonlight" by the soft boys) so i could only get one record, some f-word single on POSH BOY, rik l. rik's band. it's got the worst cover. "f-word" is written like "ford" in the oval or whatever. like the car maker??? you know? FORD??? "built ford tough"??? yeah, so it's like that and it's kinda ridiculous. i'm sure it's good though. they had the second daft punk record on vinyl and i really f-ing wanted it but then i couldn't listen to it in the car. i remember the make-up had a record player for their car, that was cool.

so, i was reading Q magazine a while back, their 1976 PUNK issue!!! and they had all these rock n rollers (you know...like moby and the guy from hard-fi???) give their top 20 punk songs of all time. and i did a list, and it's good, but i'm not in the mood to put it on. actually i'm more in the mood to talk about my most hated's. like, that's the mood i'm in. that's the only reason i'm talking about f-word's cover, you know? what the f do i care. but i'm in a put down mood. so i'm gonna do a list about stuff bothering me.

BRIAN'S "MUSIC ORIENTED TOP 10 SHIT SEARCH*" 2K6
1. i (briefly) read nick hornby's 'songbook' about some of the songs he loves. one of the songs was 'i'm like a bird' or whatever it's called by nelly fertato or however it's spelled. i'm mad that i put in time reading 'high fidelity' when i wouldn't have bothered if i had known the author liked that song. not to mention springsteen.
2. i'm somewhat mad at CRASS for making me, at one time, hate the clash (and i'm not alone in that opinion)
3. i'm mad at myself for not noticing the greatness of the songs 'back against the wall' by the circle jerks and 'not of this earth' by angry samoans until recently.
4. lack of money is keeping me from possessing music i feel i need. i long for the days of hundred dollar record store shopping sprees, although if i was 16 again i would avoid certain genres, the occasional street punk, emo, and indie mistakes would be corrected.
5. i hate that i have records i don't remember buying. today, on my 15 hour drive home from the 20 minute away record store, i thought about the album 'blond on blond'. i own it but i can't recall the circumstances that led me to buy it, i can't remember what else i bought with it and i can't remember where i bought it. wouldn't bother you??? yeah, i know, so i don't know why i even think about it. maybe i'm just mad it enters my thoughts.
6. the song 'i drink alone' by george throughgood, in general.
7. the fact that bands like born again$t and killer dreamer don't have like 10 records each.
8. the eagles and don henley.
9. i'm really mad at those my chemical romance action figures, what's the deal?
10. the fact that i can't find either of the first 2 daft punk CDs for less than 20 bucks...except for today when the vinyl was only 16.99, (a price i am willing to pay) of course...it's one of the only records i'm looking for that i actually want on CD!!!!!

okay, so that was rather cathartic. hopefully i'll have the happy heart to share my 20 next time.

alright, what else is up with my life? the other night i went to my babe's house and we went food shopping. while she was looking for a cobb salad i was checking out the little flags of the countries at some kind of worldly food table. i wanted to steal the little union jack, but i decided not to. my girlfriend danced like a pro to the song about dancing. umm...it goes 'do deedee do deedee ba ba ba ba, ba ba ba ba. "jump in! you gotta jump, for yr love, jump it!!!" you know that one??? i thought it was by the pointer sisters but what do i know? but oh my lord what a little dance machine i'm involved with. i had no idea. it must be the frozen food that brings it out in her. then we watched tv and i ate motz sticks and it was a good time. love is...real nice. (nat. lampoon's christmas voice).

alright. i'm going to the mall.

*in reference to the song 'shit search' by wrangler brutes, one of my current faves.

Current Music: new mixtape

JAZZ FANS ICH LIEBE FARTY
oh my...here i am again staring at the screen with a mission. write in this thing without being too self-indulgent or boring. hmmm...what has my life been about lately? work, shit, being broke. and of course chooch. i just finished a mixtape, i'm thinking about a possible GOOSEBUMPS themed layout. it's funny to read goosebumps at work cause i imagine that people see me reading a book meant for 10-12 year olds and think i either, 1. have a tremendous learning disability, 2. have just started reading at 24, or 3. am totally lame. i guess 3 is the closest although i can't seem to learn math...maybe it's 1, oh jesus.

i love days like today, i have the day off, nothing to do but lay around and wait for my baby and then watch maury. today was "my teenage bf hits me" or something. tomorrow is crazy phobias, which looks amazing. scared of pickles??? days off are where it's at. i wish i was still there with that little bunny snuggled up with me. i love you boo! i don't know how she does it, i read goosebumps, write like a stupid baby, and act like a dork. i'm a lucky man.

i'd like to give a birthday shout out to my brohem seany p. yo, happy b-day. babykiss. dude, i'm gonna call you for the next tape, should be a triumph.

i feel like i should do a list. i've been meaning to write a nice list of the top 10 records of 2005, that's relevant, but i always get caught up in madden 03. oh well. i'll write again soon.

Current Music: new mixtape, unnamed as of yet

BEING A TEENAGER SUCKS, BEING A RETARDED TEENAGER SUCKS WORSE...DRUGS MAKE IT SUCK LESS
so, remember how i was gonna get all active and stuff??? well, i bought a video game called madden 2003 and it's all i do now. i got super active, but it's mostly just running post patterns and keeping a list of the teams i beat. oh it's pathetic. in other news, the first two months of 06 have been pretty good, work has been shit but most other areas are on the plus side. things are going very well with my special lady and i've made a point to see my pals. i was gonna make a mixtape last night, SOUR LEMON VIBRATIONS, but instead i played madden for 3 hours. at least i added 3 teams to the list. it's so crappy, like, isn't that what lame nerds do? play video games and record the results? i have a "oh god i'm such a nerd" smile on my face. i got 'plague soundscapes' by the locust the other day, don't know why it took so long, and it's great of course. it's so weird to actually be growing up. like, i've been listening to the locust since, what? junior year of high school? so that's like 8 years??? how fucking insane is that? at least i'm not still listening to snap and ace of base. rhythm really is a dancer.

so, me and my boo watched the project runway reunion last night and all i've got to say is, how fucking drunk was guadalupe????? jeeeesus! what a crazy couple moments. and that dude who was fat got skinny and now i no longer identify with him. i really hope daniel v. wins, he's rad. and project jay was awesome. i hope he's not really as lonely as he seems to be, talking about not getting laid and whatnot, you'd think the men would be banging down his door. i don't know.

so, i'm really f-in excited for the summer, maybe the spring more since it won't be as hot, but i'm sick of wearing a jacket, i'm sick of wearing long pants, i'm sick of running to and from my car due to the intense cold, i'm sick of not being able to have my windows open. winter is shitting on me. i want leaves and grass and bugs and all that shit. i'm changing, for real like. it's crazy to have that dawn on you, that yr becoming this new version of yrself that finds it harder to stay up all night than work for 8 hours. i'm embracing it, only thing you can do, i wanna see who i become. i hope it's someone who wears an amazing shark shirt loses a bunch of weight in his mid twenties.

THE 23 DAYS INTO FEBRUARY OF 2006 'JUST DOING IT TO WASTE TIME' TOP TEN LIST!
1. brian and sean mixtapes
2. judy and her boat
3. 'goodbye girls' by broadcast
4. surprising my baby with black hair and decorations
5. the chicago bears
6. relaxing afternoons with yamboo
7. goosebumps books
8. the clint eastwood impression
9. not having to listen to the radio in my car
10. being in love

THE 23 DAYS DAYS INTO FEBRUARY OF 2006 'STILL WASTING TIME' MOST ANNOYING LIST!
1. the olympics
2. that band she wants revenge, pathetic interpol ripoff and possibly the ugliest bunch of dudes ever
3. my dvd player not working with one of my arrested development discs
4. having no idea when nip/tuck will be back on and thinking i should probably just not think about it but then not being able to help myself from thinking about it and then being pissed
5. having no money for records
6. losing a fucking overtime game to the eagles on a bullshit interference call and knowing i'll have to go back a beat them several times before i feel better
7. the weather, oh that f-ing weather
8. when i'm cleaning a soup bowl or espresso cup at work and i aim the sprayer thing incorrectly and a torrent of water cascades across my upper body soaking me leaving no one to blame but myself
9. the fact that i couldn't think of a better word for the "sprayer thing"
10. waking up in the morning before my alarm goes off and hoping to see that i still have several hours to sleep then looking at my clock and seeing that i have about 5 minutes before i have to get up

woah, that's for real. that last one happens more than i'd like to mention. alright well, i'm all done. till next time.

Current Mood: waitin
Current Music: the BENOIUS NOSECHES mixtape

MORE RD.
hey guys and gals and teens of the universe. i'm waiting for my beautiful girlfriend to get outa class so i'm gonna write in this livejournal thing i vaguely remember once enjoying. okay so, 2005 was a shit year, can we all agree? good. it totally sucked for the following reasons:

1. my grandma died.
2. i had to move out of my house in bound brook because i was poor.
3. i still work at barnes & noble.
4. two cars crapped out on me (one only a day or two before the new year).
5. i went back to school and failed math again along with a human origins class that i could have just dropped but i was too lazy.
6. i saw the movie 'doom'.

i could go on but i'll spare you. it was a good year in a lot of ways too, maybe i'm only focusing on the negative, but there was quite a bit. and here now are the reasons 2006 looks like it's gonna suck too:

1. my uncle died.
2. my new car (although i love it) has a few problems, including tires which i've never had good luck with. i've had about 20 flats in my few years of driving.
3. i still work at barnes & noble.
4. i'm starting off the year with like zero cash-o-la (0$$$) and that always sucks.
5. i rented and watched 'red eye'
6. i rented and watched 'the cave' (babe, we rented these in 06' right? i got my times all mixed up)

but here's why this is gonna be a good year. i'm going to be happier, i'm gonna write a lot more and try to get it seen, i'm gonna save money, i've still got my yams, i'm gonna pass mod 4 algebra (believe it!), there's a new ariel pink cd and it's amazing, i have a hat that i like, and some various other reasons. i really wanna get back into being creative. i mean, even that self portrait i did in high school where i look like ashley simpson is better than the nothing i'm doing now. i just finished reading john waters' "crackpot" and it was so cool and inspiring. he's amazing and i kinda have an obsession with him right now. this is my top ten list for 2006:

1. the new ariel pink cd 'house arrest'. it is unbelievable and brilliant beyond anything else i've heard from him and almost anyone else. he's my musical savior, that's all i can really say.
2. getting a microwave, i miss soup and ravioli but do not have "stove patience".
3. pretending it's summer and wearing shorts and having the sun shinning in and probably once it's summer and super hot wishing it was winter again
4. driving around hillsborough backroads with my babe-a listening to music.
5. reading and learning more about john waters.
6. being more active and earning my constant tiredness.
7. all the new records that are gonna come out in 2006 that are going to be amazing and change things.
8. spending more time with all my friends.
9. project runway, one of the few bright spots in the dreary tv obsessed life i lead, daniel v. is my guy. it's such a cool show and it's actually interesting and funny and has a voice and an attitude. my enthusiasm for that show is somethin' else.
10. sweet baby a, i love you.

so yeah, i want this year to be "shitty lite" if possible. as opposed to the "shitty genuine draft" i'm used to being forced to swallow. what an odd analogy..."shitty 120 proof", "shitty stout", "shitty ice"??? i like "shitty genuine draft". i don't really know how to wrap this all up, so i won't. 2006 comin' atcha'!!!

Current Music: GAY GAY GAY mixtape

TURN IT UP!!!
so, the other night me and amber go to white castle to get delicious food. we're in line at the drive-thru and we make our order and everything seems normal. we get up to the window and i give the girl my money and she gives back my change and then she's like, "you listen to the radio in there?" i couldn't understand her and i was like, "what???" and she goes, "you got a radio? turn it to 97.1!" i was really surprised, i didn't know if she was serious so i turned on 97.1, which is like a hip hop station and she's like, "turn it up!!!" so i'm sitting there blasting some r&b song and she's listening to it out the drive up window. i just looked at amber and was completely confused, but totally thinking it was awesome. so then she walks away to get the food and i'm like, "can i turn it off???" to amber and she just shrugs her shoulders, so i turned it off. then shes about to hand us the food and she's like, "turn on 105.1!" which is another hip hop station, this is the one i listened to when i first got my old crown victoria, before it had a tape player. so i turned it on and she listened for a few seconds and handed me the food. and i'm like, "can i have some more ketchup and honey mustard?" and she's like, "turn it up and i'll give it to you!" by now there's a line piling up and i can't help but laugh at how funny it all is. so i turn it way up and she hands me some more packets. it may have been the funniest thing that ever happened at the castle. between me and rob being asked if we're in a gang, and me drunkenly eating a cheeseburger after 4 years of vegetarianism, it's defiantly up there. i just thought it was awesome and i had to write about it.

me and amber had fun today just hanging out and doing math. we tried this math before but we finally got it today and that's awesome. she's awesome. and seriously, those eggs you made...jeez. this little lady can cook. i love her.

umm, let's see, we also went and saw the briefs on monday night. they were really great, and all the mohawked kids loved em. i think that's cool, i don't know if when i was like all into crass and like political music i would be so into the briefs. i was an idiot in high school though...all i'm saying is that i think it's cool that so many kids were there (especially for a monday night) and they loved em. their new record is amazing too, their best yet, i've listened to it 5 or 6 times already...and that's in between a haircut, a night class, a sleepover, meals, and lots of laziness.

umm, i guess that's it. yeah, it is.

Current Mood: feelin fine
Current Music: LCD SOUNDSYSTEM, the mice, steve jones, bjm

BANSHEE BEAT
so...
i got the new animal collective album and it's good, but i feel like i have to sit and listen to it all the way through. there are some songs on it that just shock me at how amazing they are...i love having that anticipation and then having an amazing record come along and being even better than i hoped. right now my musical life is ruled by a few specific elements: my new as of yet unnamed mixtape, the nice boys- "you won't see me anymore", the mice- "second best", public toys- "sorry", and a few other choice moments. i also bought chelsea- "alternative hits" which has this amazing cover, i wish it was a better record so i could validate putting it up on the wall. not that it's a bad record, it's just not quite there, you know?

i just started writing about school and shit and how much i hate certain classes and then i realized i wrote about that like two entries ago, haha. i think i need to start writing from home again. i don't want this thing to fade out, i've had it way too long. sure i don't write much anymore but, as i've learned, it's hard to sit and write about life when you actually have one to live. i've had this thing for 5 years, i can remember the day i stared it, i was at princeton and i was soooo bored. i started it just to write really stupid sentences that had nothing to do with each other, really, go look at those first few entries. weird. i feel like i need something...but i don't know what it is. maybe new clothes or something like that, simple but out of place. alright, that's enough.

Current Mood: eh
Current Music: new tape

YO HIPPY!!! WHAT KINDA DUDE ARE YOU?
i saw a movie over the weekend, it's called DOOM. it's based on a popular 90's video game, that should have been a clue. it stars the rock, yet another clue. it was one of the worst movies i've ever seen in the theater, i've seen way worse through rental and whatnot, but this was in the top 5 for sure.
1. godzilla (the new one with matty broderick)
2. u-turn (j.lo and sean penn i believe, i saw it a long time ago and i don't remember anything much about it, just that i hated it)
3. war of the worlds (oh man, i doubt i've ever complained more about a movie)
4. the truman show (i don't really remember seeing it in the theater, but i'm sure i did and i know i hated it)
5. doom (terrible characters, little to no action, and the use of awful lines like "ohhhh shit" every five seconds...plus the whole thing about doom is that it's monsters and like floating eyeball goblins right??? that's what i remember. in the damn movie they killed like 2 monsters and all the rest were zombies!!! what the hell?)
i wouldn't be so pissed probably if it didn't cost me 18$ to see it. the most entertaining part was the audience, mainly the high school (possibly middle school) dudes that were sitting in front of us. they laughed awkwardly at every bad joke and right before the rock gets killed (oops!) one of them was like, "peace!!!!" it was great. so that's that story.

i don't have much else on my mind, i like the rock by the way. i think he seems like a good dude, when he's on like conan o'brien and stuff. he was funny on snl. oh well. anyway i guess that's it.

hey arthur spooner! best fish ever.

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: f the bank

CAUSE WE'RE JUST A PACK OF GOOFS
computer lab, yuck. about 2 hours until my math final. am i in the math lab, or sitting quietly studying up? no, i'm in the computer lab listening to new music and typing on the long forgotten livejournal. i'm split on my final, it's gonna make my grade, if i do well i do well and if not, then not. i don't know, how long can you continuously take a class before the effect wears off. i'm just glad to not have to take it anymore (for a while at least) after today. i just took a spanish test too and i put 'stupido' as the opposite of 'interesant' or however it's spelled. haha, i couldn't think of anything else, i've been blanking a lot recently. i've come to realize that what i enjoy about school is discussion and arguments and new ideas, not memorization and equations and that shit. it doesn't work for me. i have classes i love here, they're the ones where i can speak up and say things without hearing, "no, the correct way to form that thought would be X divided by the square of pi" and all that crap. i hate it so much i can't explain it.
all i really care about is music, as usual. i've been so into it and i've gotten a lot of great stuff (teenage head, the brian jonestown massacre, the mice, neon blonde, the moles, the yardbirds, the stranglers, b.c. camplight...) and the new animal collective came out tuesday, i gotta find myself a copy of that. oh, me and ambiecakes went to see the reigning sound in hoboken on saturday night and the raveonettes were there, just like hanging out checking out the r.s. and the detroit cobras. it was cool, they were dressed to impress and very tall, i didn't expect them to been to tall. we wanted to talk to em, but we never got around to it. it was cool though. me and sean finished our new tape last night "FUCK THE BANK" and there are some classics on it. it's really f-ing good. i wanna make a new tape for myself too, but i never have the time, i don't have time for much these days, i haven't had a solid day off since school started. i'm not trying to feel sorry for myself, i just hate not getting time to myself, i hate having to always be on someone else's clock. work is really getting to me, i do 2 to 3 days a week and it baffles me how i used to do 5 and how i'll probably have to do 5 again at christmas, it's the worst. but let's forget about work.
i don't know what else. things are good with amber, we had an awesome lunch yesterday. exactly what i needed, a couple sandwiches and a really creepy X-files. that was really nice and something i expected from the fall. home life is moving along fairly well. my only real trouble comes from professors, managers, etc...
alright, that's it.

Current Mood: eh
Current Music: bjm, FUCK THE BANK

I HATE EDUCATION
it's the first day back to school and i'm bored and tired. i haven't been up to much lately. i got a bunch of new cds including a copy of the new fall out boy which has a few really good songs. i'm just too old to care about the fact that they're fall out boy and they do that sideways jump move with their guitars and every dork on earth loves them, it doesn't matter, it probably would (no it definitely would) if i was still 17 but i'm not. due to my recent birthday i am now 24 and too tired to discriminate when it comes to 'catchy'. yeah, i had a birthday a few weeks ago and i got to see all my pals and it was great. i really miss all my old roommates. it was an awesome year and i don't get to see them nearly enough so it was rad to have (almost) all of them together at once. i have to make more of an effort too though and now that i'm back at school hopefully i can use some of that free time to not just sit around and watch MADE. although that is a great show.
okay, i just did this survey. i'll try and write more next time but right now i have a date with my beaufiful gf.

TEN Movies I Can't Live Without:
1. anchorman and wake up ron burgundy
2. raiders of the lost ark
3. leprechaun in the hood
4. just one of the guys
5. goldmember (yes, it's true, i think it's really really funny)
6. end of the century: the story of the ramones
7. superstar
8. evil dead II
9. class of 1984 (which is being re-released!!!)
10. high fidelity

NINE Albums That Are Important to Me:
1. the FAITH/VOID split 12", but only for the VOID side
2. 'worn copy' by ariel pink's haunted graffiti
3. 'perfect youth' by the pointed sticks
4. 'the big come up' by the black keys
5. 'nervous circuits' by the vss
6. the first ramones record
7. the first beat record
8. 'to hell with the boys' by the boys
9. 'sung tongs' by animal collective

EIGHT "Bands/Artists" I Couldn't Live Without:
1. the ramones (but i don't really think anyone could)
2. ariel pink's haunted graffiti
3. rufus wainwright
4. gun club
5. my bloody valentine
6. the misfits
7. the boys
8. teenage head

SEVEN Things that Annoy Me:
1. people in the hallway who walk like dicks
2. those pants that girls wear with the big white lines down the front and back of the legs, i guess it's supposed to look like it's faded but it actually just looks like they awkwardly spilled bleach
3. people who prefer leno to letterman
4. mcdonalds commercials
5. sweating
6. the real world austin
7. the fact that joey didn't win on the 70's house

SIX of My Favorite Songs at This Moment:
1. 'of all the gin joints in all the world' by fall out boy
2. 'couldn't you tell' by b.c. camplight
3. 'disco infiltrator' and "movement' by lcd soundsystem
4. 'somewhere in europe/hotpink!' by ariel pink's haunted graffiti
5. '1979' by this robot kills
6. 'this is a happy garden' by the moles

FIVE TV Shows I Watch Regularly:
1. re-runs of who wants to be a millionaire on gsn (doo-doo!!!)
2. nothing but knockouts, top five reasons you can't blame..., and the top 25 countdown shows on sportscenter (or sportscenter 2 or fsn or whatever)
3. date my mom, occasionally
4. any 'awesomely bad' countdown shows on vh1, i drive amber crazy with that shit
5. snl re-runs

FOUR of My All-Time-Favorite Books:
1. nevermind the pollacks
2. me talk pretty one day
3. i am the cheese
4. we got the neutron bomb: the untold story of l.a. punk (much much better than new york punk, by the way)

THREE Albums I've Bought Recently:
1. 'hide, run away' by b.c. camplight
2. 'souvlaki' by slowdive
3. 'headlines' ep by neon blonde

TWO People That Have Influenced My Life the Most:
regis philbin and richard simmons

ONE Thing I Could Spend the Rest of my Life With:
a beautiful blonde lady who sings amazing songs and has a great chicken recipe

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: pop

...BECAUSE I EAT LEMONADE
there's something amazing about pulling into white castle and hearing the girl you love saying something that funny...

okay, so i haven't written here since june? that's a while. let's see, what's new??? well, i've moved home and have not been near a computer more that 3 or 4 times in months. all i've really been doing lately is working, sleeping and neglecting room decoration. i've felt very inactive lately, i hate it but i'm always so tired that i can't really do anything about it. soon enough i will be back at school and not have to worry about work so much. i'm ready to go back honestly, i've been away too long and i'm sick of moping floors. all i wanna do is get a job where that is not a main component. i'd like to do something with music, music reviewer would be the dreamy dream of course, but i've gotta find my niche first. anyone can talk about how bad matchbox 20 is, you know? so maybe that, maybe magazine work, something like that, who knows...so yeah, going back to school, math and stuff, lame. right now i'm like, "yeah, let's get me back there, i wanna learn!!!!" and like the night after my first class we all know i'm gonna be whistling a different tune. i have one class at 7am! oh well.

alright so that's one part of my lame-o life. the next is music, i've been nuts about music lately. power pop mostly, i've been listening to it like crazy. there was a time, right around when me and amber stared going out that power pop was all i cared about and then for some reason i lost touch with it. i got obsessed over the new fischerspooner and death from above 1979 and like devendra banhart and stuff like that. i don't know what happened, and i don't know what brought me back either but thank fuck. i've been listening to zero boys and pointed sticks and the BOMP 'roots of power pop' compilation and all that stuff quite a bit and it's just the best form of music ever. it's got everything. the other musical obsession i'm proud to confess is ARIEL PINK'S HAUNTED GRAFFITI, some of the best fucking shit i've ever heard. it's the most brilliant, infectious, beautiful, strange, amazing stuff ever. someone described it as classic AM radio being played from the bottom of the sea, which is pretty good. i can't even begin to describe what it sounds like, it's just all i can listen to. the record 'WORN COPY' is always in my stereo, like all the time. i was just on his website and even that is brilliant. it's too much. speaking of music, me and seany made our...umm, 5th or 6th mixtape a little while ago. wait...yeah i guess it's the 6th. it's called 'YR RIGHT HERE, BRO' and it's fucking amazing. we have yet another on the horizon and i totally can't wait for that. soon enough it will be time to say 'FUCK THE BANK!'

one of the only other important things is my life is amber. we've been doing countless fun crap since i moved home. actually before that, we went to the beach and dorney park and stuff like that. it's really nice so have someone to do that kind of stuff with. i've never had that. the beach was awesome, we mini golfed and sat on the beach, i read an article on the damned. i love to be able to relax away from home and it was the perfect mini vay-cay. dorney park was one of those experiences that you put all these expectations on and you kind of assume it can't be as good as you hope...but it was so much better than i thought it would be. short lines, awesome people to make fun of, little to no sunburn, 3 or 4 rides on the log flume, being totally exhausted and totally happy. most of the time we just watch tv and hang out and drink soda which is all i've ever wanted. we watch andy milonakis and the real world, pretty much anything on MTV. it's strange to be happy and not have that longing, you know? to not have to worry about being lonely and all that, it's a really good feeling and i have her to thank for that. i love you babe.

jeez, well, i'm totally sick of being here so i guess i'll wrap it up. once i get back to school i should be writing quite a bit more. okay, that's it.

Current Mood: vacation contentment
Current Music: mixtapes: MEL, DO A PARTY THING

BOOOGT
god damn, i'm sitting here drinking a glass of water, it's all like half gone and i realize there's fucking like flakes floating around in it. like old flakes of shit from the glass (or the water???) and i was drinking it. that's what a get for drinking fucking water, huh? i'm drinking a soda now but i still feel little tan flakes in me.

i've been having a very exciting televised time lately. i bought seasons 1 and 2 of the 'kids in the hall' and i've been watching the new mtv show 'NEXT' like it's going out of style...AND tonight i finally caught the first 2 episodes of 'HELL'S KITCHEN' which is awesome. kids in the hall is great not only for the sketches but also from the interviews, i could watch them talk about the show for hours, too bad for me it's only 38 mins. NEXT is great because the kids are so forcefed their sassy comments, it's just great to watch them deliver these pathetic lines all halfassed. this girl last night goes "i had a terrible time on the bus...and umm...i guess you missed out", like 'this was awful...and oh yeah, i'm hot or whatever and too bad for you'. it was the best. oh wow, john doe from X is on conan. anyway, hell's kitchen is great because the chef guy is mean to the contestant people AND the customers. i have 2 impressions of him, one is "i'm the chef!" and the other is "be perfect!" and they are both yelled with a hint of britishness. i'm proud.

this is a condensed list of my current favorite things: george carlin, death from above 1979, kinkos, mst3k, devendra banhart, newman o's (paul newman oreos), D-E-V-O!!!, space hospital, taking showers (now that it's summer i can't get enough, unlike in the winter), tom goes to the mayor, black polo shirts, animal collective, overgrown lawns, broken glasses, being excited to get 'the adventures of pete & pete' and 'news radio' on dvd, 'i'm not a loser' by the descendants, and all that tv i was talking about before.

but now it's late and i gotta go to sleep.

Current Mood: getting a bit sleepy
Current Music: george carlin special

I DIG THE BUNGEE...THAT'S HOW I LIVE MY LIFE, I GRIP IT & I RIP IT
so, i just walked out of my room to go to the bathroom and spazzy was in there taking a shower cause he has to go to work soon, that's how fucking late (early) it is. and that's how out of touch i am with the night. for the last 2 or 3 hours i've done nothing but play space hospital and listen to me and seany's new tape and stuff. it's 4:21am...ooh, missed it by a minute. i wonder how many dudes and dudettes in the eastern time zone are getting high at this very moment...i love thinking about that kind of crap, what someone else is doing right now. everyone's probably dreaming like i should be, instead i'm sitting here writing about them.

i want to the shore last week, it was rad despite the weather. it was all rainy and cold, me and amber went down and stayed with my aunt and went to the aquarium...awesome. i love sharks so much, and penguins. they're like the scariest and the least scariest animals ever. if i saw a penguin walking down my street i doubt i'd run. it was good, the trip i mean, it was relaxing and informative (watched a lot of msnbc) and it's always great to be at the beach. even if it's windy and rainy and the streets are confusing you can still win adorable stuffed animals in the claw machine and listen to tweenage girls question the timing of the photo booth. it was a hell of a trip and i can't wait to go back.

for the obligatory music section i will only say that in my cd played right now are the kings of leon, ratatat and the hunches...and that my current music obsession is with seminal synth geniuses D-E-V-O! oh lord, i'm so into em. in fact just today i bought "the complete truth about de-evolution", all their videos and some other weird crap. they're so cool, it's everything i would love to do if i was that inspired and motivated. i love "come back jonee", good video too. so yeah, devo...
(trying to keep the music talk to a minimum, BORING)

i have a really bad rug burn on my left leg from the movies today. me and ambie went to see the amityville horror and when the screen was messed up and i want to tell the dudes i did a fall in shorts. top notch fall, i don't regret it a bit, i miss it like hell. one of the best parts of falling at the movie theater is, well, i always sit up at the top row, so when you fall and leave people see it and wonder and then when you get back you every damn person in the theater is looking at you going, "hey, there's that dumb dude who fell on his face, i bet he feels dumb" but yr thinking "hey, here's these dorks who think i really fell and are staring at me and ha ha ha, or whatever". i don't know it's hard to explain, i guess it's kind of like performance art, only the audience doesn't know they're the audience and the performers are looking for more gasps than applause. or maybe it's just falling down in front of people and seeing them be all "oh jeez, oh are you okay?". i tend to over think at 5am. the movie was okay, it had moments of creepy...but the plot was just like every other scary movie, especially since it was a remake. horror is so tame lately i don't understand why there are so many horror movies coming out. the whole point is to scare you...but they're not scary (not to me at least, but others may disagree)...and i wouldn't even mind if they had a perspective or a message or original ideas, but it's all the same shit over and over. oh well.

god, im so tired. it's 5:19am now. maybe i should try writing in the pm? i might actually be...i don't even know what i wanna say. i think that's what i'm trying to say. yikes...goodnight.

p.s.- (almost 6am, downstairs) i almost forgot that me and amber watched "i <3 huckabees" and it was fucking awesome, i heard from people that it sucked but i thought it was great. totally cool, different, weird...just get some mcdonalds and sit and watch it, that's the way to go for a pleasant evening.

Current Music: kol, ratatat, hunches, DEVO

YOU GUYS ARE DRIVING ME BANANERS
i'm sitting in my room, it's 2:33am. i'm watching mr. show and listening to the party of helicopters' first album...even on "abracadaver" they're crazy and have such a flowing sound, it's way rad. now i'm listening to PIXELTAN, i don't even know if they were very popular, this ep was on troubleman so i guess it had some heat. i love when drummers are so good and coordinated that they can play and make it sound like a machine, this dude, i think it's hisham from black dice, is like that...the guy from i am spoonbender and the dude in the faint were the best drummers of that type i ever saw. repetitive but perfect, you know? oh and the dude from lightning bolt of course. oh man, i just put on this cd by this band "the infected", i bought it at a show in new brunswick...jeez, like 5 or 6 years ago at least, yeah it says it was recorded in 98. that's so fucking funny, taking out old cds and records you listened to when you went to shows and just bought anything and everything you could. totally trying to immerse yrself in the scene, i wonder if this band is still around, they have kind of an AVAIL-ish sound, it's not bad, i listened to it alot when i first got it. basic but catchy. it pisses me off that i don't have a lot of the stuff i got back then, i have all the good stuff, but i got rid of most of the bad stuff. i miss going to shows with my big messenger bag and getting home and dumping it out on my bed and looking at all the patches and buttons and music and crap. i was a nerd and i guess i still am but whatever you know? when i'm 33 i bet i'll be writing about missing living in bound brook with my friends and working at barnes & noble, haha...yuck. the first part yeah, the second part i doubt it. ooh, enough reminiscing, i gotta put in something else.

oh man...men's recovery project...i hate to keep discussing music but i think born again$t is like the best band ever. they're one of the most punk rock bands ever. like real fucking honest, angry punk rock. it's all born again$t. men's recovery project is just weird and creepy and good 2am music. just for that song "man hole" the MRP deserve a spot in the rotation. vermiform records is just awesome forever cause they put out amps for christ. seriously though, born again$t are right up there with the misfits and crass for me, fucking brilliant. okay, now gary numan is on and maybe i can think straight.

you know what i'd do if i could have any job ever? besides own an amazingly successful record store, i'd write and direct horror movies. i know that sounds like a dream every kid has but i really think i could do it. i've got so much creepy and scary shit hanging out in my head, i'd love to put it out there for someone else to be creeped out by. i could make a whole movie about how terrifying whales are. but it would be different, disconnected from nature...ooh, maybe it's just me but those things are too big. "you wanna go whale watching?" says my friend to me and i'm all "you kidding mac? those things are big, i'm talking huge" and i get this look on my face like 'woah dude'. that's not in the movie, that's in a modern day situation. what? anyway...it is now 3:25am and in california it's what? 12:35am? does that mean rodney bingenheimer is on the air right now? god, if i lived in LA that's all i would do is try to be his bff. i really wanna hear his show. i can't remember if i ever talked about him on this thing, i know i wrote about it but i don't remember if i posted it. whatever i did, he's the best. yeah i think i did post it, my memory is going man...this morning i couldn't remember if i shampooed my hair! i totally did, but i forgot and i was all "oh jeez". okay now my musical choice is creation is crucifixion...awesome awesome awesome intricate metal, i think they were from philly, but who knows. my friend dan saw them there once so i just associate them to philly. god they are soooo good. this "child as audience" thing only has 3 songs but it's classic. okay, i had to just change up the cds. now, it's "young prayer" by panda bear from the animal collective, mine and amber's new obsession. along with 'freaks and geeks' and new hope pa, and nice weather and whatnot. i don't know, i think freaks and geeks is one of the best tv shows of all time. it's totally on the top 5...#1 of course being twin peaks, it will never be topped it will always hold the first position forever and ever amen. then at numero 2 it's probably batman, the original show just because everything about it is so perfect and funny and amazing. 3 is probably mr. show, funny and smart and instrumental in my growing up, it really helped me figure out what's cool and what sucks and how to be mean about it. i would say 4 would be mystery science theater 3000, but is that a tv show? because it's movies...you know??? so we'll hold off on that for now, it's under review...so for now 4 is going to be strangers with candy and 5 will be family guy and 6 is freaks and geeks...so it's rests at 6/7 on the top 10, rounded out by 7/8. ren and stimpy, 8/9. seinfeld, 9/10. oh my god i forgot about kids in the hall! alright, let's drop this debate for now, let's just say freaks and geeks is in the 6th to 8th best show ever category. do you like how important i make this all sound? it is important is the thing, haha.

so, enough of these lists and bands and all that shit. i never write about about my life anymore, that's all it used to be about. what have i done lately...well the other day me and amber tried to get drunk and actually we just got all tired...after a long day walking around new hope i think we were just not in a drinking place. queer eye for the straight guy is probably not the best thing to watching while drinking anyway, haha. free moral agents just came on, the keyboardist (i believe) from mars volta's solo record. it's weird, i'm having a hard time with time lately. i can barely remember when things happened, even if they like just fucking happened. amber says i'm getting old, i fall asleep way easy now, i don't think i'm getting old as much as i'm working a lot, but yeah, i have no tolerance for tiredness these days. we saw SIN CITY recently, that was rad. i thought it was really cool, for a while i was kind of like "uhhhh..." then it hit me and i realized how good it really was. okay, now circulatory system is on. oh dude, i missed real world/road rules good guys/bad asses battle of the whatever inferno 2 thing...damn, i'm into it, totally. jeez, i'm so tired, i can't really even write. and i'm scared to go see how many spelling mistakes are in this thing. i'll try to make my next entry a little shorter and a lot more interesting. haha.

Current Mood: tired and tireder
Current Music: all of it

DREAMY DREAM ICE MACHINE
okay...how do i categorize the last few days? complete happiness, discovery, prolonged aggravation, completion...they seem to have had everything. at the start of my remembering is amber and myself finishing the entire series of TWIN PEAKS and anyone who knows what that's like knows what that's like, you know? so with that being done we're kind of stuck and with 'nip/tuck' being on a rather long vacation we're not exactly what direction to head in. all i can say is that twin peaks is the greatest show to ever appear on tv. it's perfect, it's addictive and funny and stranger than anything. after twin peaks, interpol pops into my head. me and amber went to see them on sunday in philly. them and blonde redhead. the show was really great, i remember when the girl from blonde redhead sung the first note of her first song my eyes teared up...not from crying, but they tend to do that sometimes. usually when i am singing really loud or yawning (neither of which i was doing at the show), i think it was just from the shocking force of her voice, it was loud and made me shiver. they're just got this thing about them, a power in their delivery...i enjoyed their show more than interpol's. interpol was good though too, they didn't play as long and they had more lights and presentation and they sounded great, the crowd was going wild, i'll tell you that much. for me it was more about blond redhead, but interpol was great. after all that the next two incidences are kind of both still going on. the first is my endless car trouble. skipping the part where i flip out and feel sorry for myself, let's just say i had 2 cars at my house this morning that i could use to get to work and neither one of them worked. and yes, at least one of them was fine last night. so that happened, and is still happening. meanwhile, last night me and amber watched "mayor of the sunset strip", the documentary of rodney bingenheimer and it was fucking amazing. i'm not trying to pretend i know everything about him or that i know how accurate the film was, all i know is that the guy seems awesome and i totally wanna move to california and be his best friend forever. i was so hoping that when he went to england to spread his mom's ashes he'd find a girl and they'd get married and stuff. there's a shot early on of him going through his cluttered house talking about music and stuff and amber goes "that's gonna be you" and i said "thank god" and i meant it. oh, so we watched it last night and since i liked it so much she bought it for me today, because she's awesome.

so, some other things without a real time frame to place them in. some occurrences as of late. my new favorite band is the animal collective...oh my god, it's like the best thing ever. "sung tongs" is so damn weird and beautiful, i'm listening to it right now. it's my music of choice to sing at work, and that's the mark of something special. also on heavy rotation in my little room is gary numan, the fairly new hunches record, and that's about it...this animal collective really has me. it's like a younger, much more drugged out and happier amps for christ...i can't say enough really.

i just put ratatat and killer dreamer in my stereo to round out the 3 disc changer. i'd really like to see animal collective and killer dreamer...they're on my list. lately i've been thinking about how long a list of all the bands i've seen live would be. i'd like to post that, it's funny you start thinking really hard and you remember bands you totally forgot...i'd love to attempt that. lat's see if i started going to shows at 15 (just for a broad figure) and i'm now 23 and let's say i saw 3 shows a month (it's totally more than that but i'm just rounding off) that comes to 96 months over 8 years, that's 288 shows...now say th amount of bands per show...this is hard because in high school you'd go to a show and see 10 bands and stay all day, now i go somewhere and see 2 maybe 3 or 4 in one night. let's round of bands per show to 4...that's still possible today and it was the minimum way back when...so that's 288 x 4 = 1,152!!! that's so many bands. so many terrible terrible bands, haha. c'mon, you know they were shit for the most part. plus i've seen of montreal, murder city, blonde redhead, the party of helicopters and the rapture a couple times each so minus a few for doubles or triples...and i've seen the gallows like 20 times so let's make it 1,125. it's still alot. i'm sorry, this is so just me sitting in my room at 3:49am being bored and self-indulgent. well, if you were bored you would stopped reading a while ago, right? jeez, what a nerd i am. haha. 1125, now i just gotta write em all down.

Current Mood: growing tired
Current Music: bowie, animal collective, ratatat

I FORGET I'M STILL AWAKE
so, i'm sitting here on my bed, working on my tape, watching bridget jones's diary and eating cold popcorn and i decided to write. it's been forever i know. i know saying i've been too busy is an old excuse, but with business comes tiredness and that's been more the reason. ugh, i'm so close to ending this tape, i feel like i started it a month ago, and that's probably pretty accurate. i'm listening to the first disc on my DEVO anthology trying to decide which song to put on. it'll probably be track 8, i think it's the song from 'rock n' roll high school'. hold on...i'm gonna go get my lemonade...oh man, i have been on this lemon kick recently, i love em and i always want them. my snapple fact is: "Christopher COlumbus brought the first lemon seeds to America." i like that they give you a lemon fact with the lemonade. i don't think i ever got a tea fact with my iced tea.
so there have been things happening like crazy lately...we'll start with a man they call wreckless eric. he played in hoboken on thursday night, amber and myself attended the show...but we almost skipped it. i was having second thoughts. i was worried that he might not be as good as i hoped he would be. i don't know why i was so worried...he was like an original you know? he was right there, 1976, stiff records...you know? so amber convinced me and it was amazing, like easily in my top 5 shows ever. he was so cool and so funny and so british...haha, it was the best. when he played 'reconnez cherrie' right at the end he went into this like 20 minute long story about how he wrote the song and how it was a hit and how the french is all bad (or non existent possibly) and it was so intimate and fun...amber said i had this huge smile on my face like the whole time. so yeah, amazing. and i got to talk to him and tell him "whole wide world" changed my life, he seemed surprised, i'd figured he heard that everyday. then he told me about stuff that changed his life...seeing the clash and all these amazing shows he's seen, he was really nice and he liked my aladdin sane button...i'm probably gushing now. it was the best.
ugh, i'm stuck, i've got room for about 2 more bands on this tape and i've got nothing to play...what the hell do you follow DEVO with? i wanna put X on it, but i need to bridge that gap...lou reed.
another amazing thing happened, amber likes twin peaks...ahh. oh god twin peaks, that fucking show is the best fucking show ever on tv. it's addictive. so we watched the first season and now we're just waiting for the rest to show up at that house. i've seen it, i watched it all in one night a while back but i'm excited to see it again, especially with someone who's never seen it. twin peaks and nip/tuck are the shows of the moment...we just finished season 2 of nip/tuck and what a cliffhanger! that show is rad. all tv should be this good.
okay, no X, but i think lou reed will lead in to the black keys well, and i've been wanting to get that kinks cover on the whole time. it's 3:46am and i'm sitting here in my room typing like a nerd and singing along with songs with headphones on...i wonder if my roommates hate me...i gotta get up tomorrow too though...not until 11 but still...haha, this is the important stuff. sitting in my room making mixtapes and thinking about stuff, that's what i'll remember, not 8 hours serving people drinks. god, i have such a lame job, haha.
you know what sucks? it seems like you can't like new music without being lumped into some dumbass category. like, i'm really excited for the new records by bravery, kaiser chiefs and bloc party but ut-oh, they're just the new franz ferdinand and killers. well, i really rather dislike the killers...so i guess i better not like anything that sounds like them. like when franz ferdinand came out i don't remember anyone bringing up other dance/post-punk bands...i guess they invented it...so the kaiser chiefs just stole it. but they do it better...oh god now what do i do??? i hate that music can't just be music, but that's how it is. it's like, people will ask me, "so what kind of music do you listen to?" and i'm like, what the hell do you mean? all kinds, what kind of dork only listens to one kind of music? like, i'm really not trying to sound like a jerk, it just seems logical that people would obviously like a wide range of bands. and then if people (especially "punk" people) ask you what you like and you say "pop music" you get this look like, "you phony! you like creed?" it's useless...it's not like high fidelity, i won't get a fun record store job...i can't even get a fun bookstore job. anyway, enough whining...my mixtape is done so i'm gonna go put this in my journal and stuff. alright.

Current Mood: kinda tired
Current Music: DEVO, lou reed, X, the black keys

WARM MILK CONVENTION
eww, i was just reading a journal entry from a year ago today and it's all like, "when i leave here i'm gonna go drop off an application at barnes & noble"...what was i thinking??? it's so weird i've been there a year. the only other job had for that long (and a lot longer actually) was princeton and that was because i was in high school and i could use a computer there and i made 2.50 more and hour there. what am i still doing at b&n??? honestly, god, i haven't written in this thing in like a month...is that right? maybe less maybe more...next year when i look back at now i'm not gonna have anything written. that's gonna suck, but i'm so damn busy all the time, and if i'm not busy i'm more tired than i've ever been. i hate it.

anyway, me and amber went and saw constantine over the weekend and it was soooo fucking bad, it was like...i don't even know. they made the devil into some effeminate southern guy and they made up a whole part of the bible...yeah, the bible in hell. that's right. how can you base a movie on all stuff that's supposed to be real and then just make up something to make yr story (somewhat) work? i don't know, it's weird, bottom line it was bad. my new band finally had practice yesterday, went really well, i'm expecting big things in our bright and shining future. record deals, limos...woah, make that, hummer limos. yeah, watch out world.

i'm tired and i gotta go to work in a bit and it suuuuuucks, i hate my job. i hate knowing i have to go there and knowing i could probably be doing a better job that i like a lot more. hopefully my animal collective cd came in but probably not. i'm really excited for the new mars volta cd, i think we're getting that next week. crap, i just looked at the party of helicopters website and myspace page and it doesn't look like anything's on the horizon for them...they haven't put out a record in almost 2 years. and the exploding hearts are dead!!! and ughhhhhh, i'm so sick of caring about music so much. how many times can i listen to that blood brothers cd? i don't know, i'm in kind of a bad mood, just everything you know. my car was f-ed yesterday and it's got all kinda of problems and i can't get a new one and work sucks and i have no money and i can't find pants i like and it's still fucking cold out...that i'm REALLY sick of, i want warm weather like right now. i want windows down and wiffle ball and sweating and all of it. i want to be outside at night in a t-shirt and shorts and not be freezing and have to jump up and down to get warm. oh jeez, i don't know, complain complain...what good does that do ya. let off a little steam but then try and change it...and i'm gonna. if i got a bunch of money i'd be set. i'd buy a new car and just relax for a while and then buy like everything i've ever wanted off ebay. you know what i'm surprised like really really rich people don't do...buy sports teams and make em all crazy. like if i had billions of dollars i'd buy like the chicago white sox or the san diego padres or some team and make them like the chicago sillys or the san diego total crazies or something, i'd buy like the cheapest team and do something great with them...the seattle mariners could become the seattle golden girls...you know???? that would be awesome and i'd get all my super rich friends to do it too. i think it would only work with baseball though, maybe football but i think you'd have to make the names like super tough, like the denver broncos would be the denver bulldozers of thunder...or something. but baseball is lighthearted and fun so you could have a team called the goofies or the adoreables...it's just my own take on it. what a ramble and a half that was, i'm almost embarrassed, haha.

i guess i should wrap it up. okay, that's all.

Current Mood: eh
Current Music: rvcc could use a little light jazz

I CAN'T BELIEVE I USED TO WORK AT THIS LIBRARY...
like, this is where i came to work and make a living and i did a job and got sweaty and got paid for it. just like 2 or 3 years ago, it's so strange. i don't know, like...i had to organize things and put away books and i had this fantasy of having sex (or at least making out) with someone hidden away by the oversized books. and since then i worked at another library and a liquor store and princeton and barnes & noble...and before that i worked at a car wash??? i'm such a weirdo. i suppose it's weirder to be thinking about it, but it's still weird. as verne says, "this whole thing is strange..." i think that's what he says.

so, a few minutes ago i thought of how cool it would be if i had a radio show. recently i've been thinking about how good it would be if i was a record reviewer and i got records for free so i could write about em, and now i wanna have a radio show. although i've been trying to make a mixtape for like 3 weeks now and it's going nowhere, so i don't know what the f i'd play on the air. i just got the new blood brothers and it's really fucking good, and i'm not sure if it's something i should be interested in, which kind of makes it even better, but i like it anyway so who cares. it's kinda like that my chemical romance song (he whole band even not just the song), i like it and i'm fairly sure that i'm not supposed to. the blood brothers aren't that extreme though, i've liked them forever so...and i also got the moving units,a nd that song 'between us and them' i think it's called, it's all i've been listening to, i love it. other than that stuff i've just been listening to the new alleged gunmen cd, the new converge, ummm...the new blonde redhead, fischerspooner and stuff like that. i'm kinda all over the place with music right now. it's strange, since there's so many bands it seems really hard for one band to change everything. like, i can't imagine a band coming along and making up a sound that i've never heard. songs yes, but not sounds. the last band to do that was the party of helicopters...they still had kind of a my bloody valentine feel with the lyrics but that really blew me away. the exploding hearts perfected the power pop rock n roll kinda sound, but i've heard similar bands, you know? the mars volta are exciting, same thing with the blood brothers and the rapture...they're all really interesting. but i'm still waiting for something really unbelievable. i'm such a dork, i'm just kinda typing what i'm thinking...music is important, you know. it's so f-ing good.

anyway, sir rants-a-lot...what else is new??? me and amber tried to watch 'garden state' and i gotta say that i am completely sick of three things. 1: movies where nothing happens, garden state and napoleon dynamite (or however it's spelled) are the most recent offenders in this category. really, it kills me to watch movies where people are just hanging around and being kinda sad but not really sad, kind of a mysterious sadness. god it's so boring...i'm not interested in a revelation if it comes from such a boring character. 2: the wild girl who loosens up the straight guy, i can't take watching a fake crazy girl open up the mind of an uptight guy anymore...it's the oldest story in the book. 3: movies with characters i have no feelings toward, this happened in 'eternal sunshine', which was actually a good movie because the story was interesting, but i felt nothing for either of the main characters. i'm not sure if you were supposed to feel that way or not, i could see that being a different way to move, but i doubt that's what they did. how can i be expected to care what happens to people i don't care about? i'd rather just go watch high fidelity or something. anchorman possibly. anchorman for sure.
not that it matters anyway, tons of people love the movies i just complained about and that's fine, that's how it is. i like that people like stuff i don't like. i guess that was just another rant for rants sake.

i guess i'll stop for now, to sum up: jobs are weird, i like music, i hate movies, it's okay. yeah, that's good.

Current Mood: waiting
Current Music: just the sound of keyboards

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