Hipsters Eat Babies

Well...not really. But it would be funny!

An artificial appropriation of different styles from different eras, the hipster represents the end of Western civilization – a culture lost in the superficiality of its past and unable to create any new meaning. Not only is it unsustainable, it is suicidal. While previous youth movements have challenged the dysfunction and decadence of their elders, today we have the “hipster” – a youth subculture that mirrors the doomed shallowness of mainstream society.

That is from the essay Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization by Douglas Haddow which is appearing in this month's issue of Adbusters. While an interesting read, Haddow's essay doesn't touch on anything that's particularly original and lacks a few important incites.

First, yes, hipsters do suffer the malaise of being the off-spring of failed revolutionaries/counter-culturalists, while living in a society where you are confronted with image and consumerism at every turn. This is true. But what Haddow fails to point out is that Hipsters are not as different from past counter culture groups as one would like to believe.

Remember that hippies, punks, and hiphop culture all eventually "sold out." They're movement became commodified (for the most part) and never achieved the initial goals (if any even existed) of the movement. There is no doubt that society has significantly changed because of past counter culture groups, but the leaders of those groups eventually became the heads of corporations that have jammed advertisements and lifestyle choices down our throats.

Besides, what the hell is a hipster? Sure, the events described by Haddow could be indicative of a "hipster" party (a party that I'm pretty sure that if I was at I would leave in about 5 minutes), but that's a pretty general scenario.

Western civilization is not going to die because of hipsters. Hipsters are soulless creatures that latch onto styles and images that surround them. But isn't that what the hippies became? Or how about the punks? I'm pretty sure there were a lot of posers and imitators. Humans are social creatures and latch onto anything that will make them feel apart of something. Hipsterdom or whatever the fuck you want to call it is coming to an end. Changes are on its way. You can feel it in the air. Kind of.

Besides, this whole article is a moot point.

Western civilization is already bunk and on the downward spiral.

Singing Jesus

It's a stunning day out.

Really gorgeous.

It's one of those days when the light of Jesus shines down on everyone!

At least that's what the lady that sat next to me on the train today would probably say.

After over a year of commuting on the LIRR I've had my fair share of strange encounters/events, but this morning was one of the strangest.

As usual the train was packed and the only available seat was the middle seat in a row. I sat down between a man, probably in his early 40s, and a woman who looked to be in her early 60s.

Everything seemed fine at first. I settled into my seat, opened up the paper and tried to relax. Then the woman started talking. To herself.

It was only a slight mumble, but it was still a little unsettling. I couldn't entirely make out what she was saying other than hearing a few key words like "lord" "jesus" and "almighty."

That's fine. She likes religion. A lot. And she likes to talk to herself about it. Cool.

The talking wasn't very loud and was pretty easy to ignore; that was until she started humming. It began pretty soft and quiet, slowly creeping into my ear drum. The tune appeared to be some sort of gospel, church hymn or something of the sort. I could tolerate the humming. I'm pretty sure I hum to myself without realizing it all the time. It happens. Sometimes you just can't contain yourself.

Then she started to sing. No more with the humming. She was singing. Loud. She was proclaiming the coming of the lord by song. How wonderful. There's nothing better than hearing some out of tune gospel singing at 8:00 a.m.

I guess the spirit of jesus consumed her and she just had to let it out. Next time she should wait till she's not on a train.

Burn that Fat!!!!!

Remember how Tyler Durden made soap out of human fat in Fight Club? Well what if we used that same human fat and used it for energy?

This is what Barbara Ehrenreich asserts in her recent article in The Nation, "Liposucition: The Key to Energy Independence." It makes sense. Why not burn some of the fat that rich, overweight Americans have shed?

She writes:

This is the humane alternative to biofuels derived directly from erstwhile foodstuffs like corn. Biofuels, as you might have noticed, are exacerbating the global food crisis by turning edible plants into gasoline. But we could put humans back in the loop by first turning the corn into Doritos and hence into liposuctionable body fat. There would be a reason to live again, even a patriotic rationale for packing on the pounds.

WOW!
What a brilliant idea?!?

It would be the perfect solution to America's problems. We wouldn't need to worry about a lack of crops, the weight problem that Americans face will be greatly diminished, and we would still be able to drive our cars!

WONDERFUL!

I don't know about you but I'm going to run right off to the plastic surgeon this instant! I figure with the amount of fat on me I could get enough gas to last me a week? a few days?

YES!

Lets be thin, fat guzzling Americans!

Later Willie

So the Mets fired Willie Randolph in one of the most classless acts ever by a sports team.

I'm ashamed to be a Mets fan.
Seriously.

Just read Buster Olney's blog over at ESPN.....that about sums it up.

No Way! No Wave!

In the Books section of the New York Times today there is a great review of a new book chronicling the infamous No Wave punk scene in New York in the late 1970's

The book, No Wave: Post-Punk. Underground. New York. 1976-1980, is a visual history by Thurston Moore (of Sonic Youth) and Byron Coley and includes photographs and interviews of groups such as James Chance and the Contortions, DNA, and Teenage Jesus and the Jerks.

Looks like it should be an interesting book covering one of the most intriguing, short-lived musical movements.

Below is a live clip of James Chance and the Contortions.

The Fallacy Is You

"if the folks known as the hiphop generation are learning their politics from "conscious" rap, there is little hope for our future."

Huh?

That was my first reaction after reading this op-ed by John McWhorter in The New York Sun. McWhorter, the well known columnist for the Sun and Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, has long been know for his "interesting" views on race that usually take a Clarence Thomas approach to being African American.

Clearly McWhorter knows very little about the foundations of Hip-Hop and the political nature of it. Sure, mainstream hip-hop is shallow, sexist, and offers a poor representation of African-Americans (which McWhorter does in fact realize). However, he misses the boat in asserting that conscious rap and hip-hop are somehow undermining the new generation of African-Americans.

In citing songs by Pete Rock, Dead Prez, The Roots, and Kanye West, he takes the lyrics out of context and fails to acknowledge that the themes from these songs are common within African-American communities. The idea that public school systems (NOT charter schools McWhorter specifically talks about) in low-income communities are failing and providing a curriculum that is not properly aimed at the students is a topic that has long been talked by educators, civil rights leaders, AND hip-hop artists.

McWhorter, who in previous op-eds has gone as far to say that race is not playing a role in the current presidential campaign, clearly failed to do his homework when writing this piece.

Get Out of My Head!

I woke up this morning with the song "Pink Houses" by John Mellencamp stuck in my head.

What the hell?

I don't even like that song, yet all day long I've found myself humming this crappy, midwest-cheese rock that is John Mellencamp.


However, I do really like that in the video he gets all wild and crazy, dancing in a field. That John Cougar, he's so innovative!

Best Groomed Facial Hair

Mike Piazza retired yesterday only a few days shy of what would have been the 10th anniversary of his trade to the Mets.

Has it really been ten years?

I remember when I first heard about the trade. I was on my way to practice for what would be the last little league team I played for. I was in the car when the radio announcer came on and said that the Mets had just completed the deal to bring the All-Star catcher to New York.

I couldn't believe it. I was twelve and Mike Piazza was my favorite player who didn't play for the Mets. Now he was a Met. I was ecstatic.

Practice seemed to be more fun that day. I remember having a warm-up catch with one of my teammates and talking the whole time about how great Piazza was and how he's really going to help out the Mets.

Piazza did help the Mets. He was probably the greatest position player the Mets ever had. Now the Mets are falling apart and disappoint the way they always do.

The Mets could really use another player with perfectly groomed facial hair and the ability to carry a whole team on his bat.

Get Over Yourself

About a week ago I got an email from my friend Jayme Gonz asking me if I was interested in writing for his blog, Get Over Yourself.

I gladly accepted and will now be doing some album reviews and other assorted writing for the blog.

I posted my first review yesterday of the album Corruption Concealed (Under Deceptive Slogans) by Astpai.

You can check the review out here.

Waste, Waste, Waste

To Dumpster Divers this comes as no surprise, but the New York Times reported yesterday in the Week In Review that Americans waste 27 percent of consumable food. That's an astounding number. Twenty-Seven percent!

The article goes further to explain that the large amount of wasted food is not scraps of food, but whole, consumable food that could easily be provided to those without access.

One quote from the article:

“We’re not talking about table scraps,” said Joel Berg, executive director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger, explaining the types of wasted food that is edible. “We’re talking about a pan of lasagna that was never served.”

In a time when food shortages and riots are breaking out worldwide, is it really such a shocker that the United States consumes more food than anyone else and wastes more at the same time? It's the American way to have more of everything; to be bigger; to waste.

I've gone dumpster diving a few times, the first was by far the most exciting, probably because it was the first time. I was 17 I was playing a show in Connecticut with my old band The Buddy System. We were young and didn't have much money. The show ended late and it seemed that nothing in the town we played at was open. Except for a Dunkin Donuts. I had remembered there was a rumor that after midnight they take whatever doughnuts on the racks and throw them in the dumpster. Luckily it was 1:00 A.M.

We pulled up behind the Dunkin Donuts, found the dumpsters, jumped out of the van, quickly browsed through the bags of garbage before returning to the van with a bag full of doughnuts. They were not fresh and mixed in the bag was other assorted waste. I was the only one to eat a doughnut. It wasn't great, but it was edible. It tasted like day old doughnut.

If that's what it's like at Dunkin Donuts imagine what happens at super markets. The amount of food that is thrown away is unfathomable. Wasted food could be used for so much more, but in the uncontrolled world of American consumerism it rots while others starve.

Pleased to Meet Me Review

Go to Punknews.org and check out my review of the album Pleased to Meet Me by The Replacements.

Yes the album is twenty-one years old, but with all the hype around the band lately and my purchase of this album on vinyl two months ago I thought it would be a good idea to write a review.

You can read it here.

Sick Mic, Brah

A few months ago the New York Times began a blog titled Measure for Measure, which features entries from some modern musicians. The intent is to describe the song writing process - how a song is written, recorded and ultimately performed.

Today's entry from Andrew Bird recounts the recording that he is currently undertaking at Wilco's studio in Chicago. If you're at all interested in the recording process this is an excellent article.

I'm especially interested by the RCA 44 microphone from the 1940's that Bird used to record drums. I want that! Where can I get my hands on one?!?


In the past whenever I've done a recording session it's usually been pretty straight forward. We'd usually have limited time and rather than really focusing on how to get the best sound, we (my band mates and I) would focus on playing the best of our ability. Thinking about it now, I'm not sure if that's necessarily been the best approach. I think that the recording musicians that have gained success in the past did so because of their ability to make a recording sound great. The type of microphones used, the sound of the recording space, the placement of mics all play a pivotal role in forming a great recording.

Geez, I'd love to record drums with a vintage microphone.

New Jack Swing

The late 80's had a lot of pretty crazy musical movements, but New Jack Swing was probably one of the best.

The combination of hip-hop's rhythms and sampling with R&B vocals produced a sound that could have only come from that era.

As a kid I loved the Ghostbusters. I would watch the movies and cartoon non-stop, not to mention play with all of the action figures I had. I also became a big fan of the music, especially the music played in Ghostbusters II.

More specifically the song "On Our Own" by Bobby Brown. As a five year old I would have the song stuck in my hand and would dance around the house listening to it.

The New Jack Swing style was everywhere in the late 80s/early 90s. Everyone from Michael Jackson and New Edition (including all of it's splinter groups) to New Kids on the Block to Sesame Street influenced by the genre.

But then it disappeared. All of a sudden the feel good dance grooves were replaced with heavier, hardcore beats has gangsta and hardcore rap entered the mainstream.

New Jack Swing didn't last very long, but it continues on whenever you hear a hip-hip that features some sort of smooth chorus. Plus who can forget hi-tops, fades, and parachute pants?

Here are two of my favorite New Jack Swing Songs. The first is my "jam" when I was five, and the other is a classic from Biv Bell DeVoe.

Stoner vs. Candy?

People love marijuana. People who smoke marijuana, usually called stoner's, love candy when they have the munchies.

So wouldn't marijuana flavored candy be the perfect product for the High Times crowd?

Doug Stoner doesn't think so. Stoner, who is a Georgia State Senator from District 6, has been a strong advocated of a recent bill passed by the State of Georgia which bans the sale of such candy to minors.

Candies with names such as "Pot Suckers" and "Kronic Kandy" are made using hemp oils, and many critics claim promote a drug lifestyle. Critics have also asserted that the companies behind such candy have promoted these products specifically at minority people.

Now being caught with marijuana flavored candy will result in fines of up to $500.

Senator Stoner....fighting the good fight against the oh-so-harmful marijuana-flavored candy.

For more info: http://www.wsbtv.com/news/16186311/detail.html

Dodger Stadium - The End of Civilization

The Mets are in L.A. at the moment and today will play the third of a three a game series. The past two nights I've been staying up late to watch the Mets lose to the Dodgers (What fun?!). During the broadcast there's been much talk about how this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Dodgers moving from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, and how Dodger Stadium has remained virtually unchanged since it opened in 1962.

For many baseball fans the move of the Dodgers (and the Giants) to the west coast marked the end of an era in baseball. The old style of playing was replaced with more teams, expanded rosters, and the commercialization of the game. Like with many aspects of modern society the expansion of professional baseball, while a seemingly minuscule event, marked an obvious choice that society as a whole was making.

The Dodgers (of Brooklyn) were a beloved team that united the whole Brooklyn community. The local stadium of Ebbets Field was representative of the traditional baseball stadium. Much like Fenway and Wrigley, Ebbets was an integral part of the local community. The 1950's saw an end to these local centers of culture as more people decided to leave urban centers and expand out to the suburbs. The move of the Dodgers to L.A. goes hand in hand with the move of people to greener pastures.


The Dodgers organization were in search of a new, rejuvenating life which they found in the sun of Southern California. The Dodgers have thrived in California, more so than they did when they played in Flatbush. Part of their success has been attributed to their home field, Dodger Stadium, which has often been considered one of the best pitchers parks in the league with the likes of Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Fernando Valenzuela, and Orel Herschiser all thriving within the confines of the expansive field.

On a deeper level the success of the Dodgers represent the success, or mirage of success that American society has experienced. The idea of the suburban American dream with a nice home, two car garage, and steady job go hand and hand with the image that the Dodgers emit. Dodger Stadium was the first stadium of its kind. The setup of the stadium allowed a more relaxed fan experience within the expansive seats of the stadium, but more important was the location of the stadium.

Built on a hillside overlooking downtown Los Angeles, Dodger Stadium became the first ballpark that was only accessibly by a modern freeway. Unlike the stadiums of the past that were easily accessibly by public transportation, Dodger Stadium was the sports complex for the modern-suburban-automobile age. It set the stage for the creation of a series of huge, expensive concrete structures that would be surrounded by a sea of concrete parking lots.

America's pastime was adhering to the growth of society and giving into the demands of urban sprawl. The fifty years of the Dodgers on the west coast creates a certain insecurity for many people. For my grandfather it's the pain that he's felt since his beloved Bums left his Brooklyn home. He still tells me stories about how right fielder Carl Furillo would throw out lazy runners going to first base. But for others, the move west by the Dodgers has a different meaning. It means gridlock, expensive hot dogs and beer, aggravation with finding a parking spot. It means driving your car everywhere. It means some modern version of manifest destiny.

It's the epitomy of expansion, urban sprawl and unsustainable life.

Flight of the Conchords Review

I recently wrote a review of Flight of the Conchords debut, self-titled, full length over at Punknews.org

You can check it out here.

Lunch Time Munchings

I'm always on the look out for good food, especially good, healthy vegetarian food that is also cheap.

Working in Midtown Manhattan affords me the opportunity to experience a wide variety of foods all within close proximity to my office.

Somehow, though, the opening of Zen Burger last November totally slipped right by me. I only recently discovered this place and decided today that I would trek over to Lexington Ave. to try out this vegetarian fast food.

Looking quite flashy, Zen Burger is the McDonald's for the Vegetarian at a decent price. I decided to get the Southwestern ZenBeef Burger with fries and Iced White Tea. I've never been huge on fast food, but every so often I enjoy indulging in some nice quick cuisine.

The thing that really got me was the chipotle sauce and onion rings on the southwest burger. It really was made to perfection.

Old Bits and Pieces

I wrote this a few months ago when I was a little sick. I tried to get it published, but was rejected. Ultimately I don't believe that it is my best writing and I think the idea I had when I first put pen to paper was better than what came about.

Anyway, I've decided to post this here. Enjoy.

Gastric Flu AKA Throwing Up From Both Ends

I woke up in my crumby bed feeling the springs through the hole in my mattress. “I’ll probably have a knot when I get up,” was my first thought. That quickly changed. Something didn’t appear to be right. My stomach gargled, then tightened.

This couldn’t be good.

“Maybe I just need to take a shit,” I thought. After nine hours of lying dormant my body probably had some waste to get rid of. I forced myself out of bed, fighting against the increasing gargle from my bowels. I made my way towards the bathroom, pushed the door open and then it hit: we had an emergency. It was time for evasive action.

I rushed to the toilet. It had to be one swift, fluid motion; boxers down, toilet cover up, sit down, let’er rip.

I succeeded in the motions, but upon my release I discovered this was going to be the beginning of a rough day. What came out of my body was not solid (and it should have been, for it came out the hole that nature deemed “solids exit here”). It felt as if my body was redirecting all of the fluid within my system and pushing it out my ass in one continuous stream.

This lasted at least 20 minutes. By the end of round one, I already felt as if a heavyweight champ had pummeled my body. This was only the first of a 24 set match.

I had a bug, most likely contracted somewhere along my daily commute. It approached silently and made itself at home without a disturbance until it decided to make its presence known. Like a bad drunken decision, I can’t be entirely sure who or what the bug was, but I’m fairly certain it was some form of Gastric Flu.

I left the bathroom, dragging my feet, poured myself a glass of water and collapsed on the couch. I’m pretty sure that I passed out for what felt like a few hours, but it could have only been a few minutes. All I know is that out of nowhere I jolted up off the couch and with whatever energy I still had sprinted towards the bathroom. This time I was dealing with the opposite end of my system, up and out as they say. I spewed out whatever solids remained in my stomach, feeling the little bits of my partially digested dinner of the night before rub against my teeth. It was such a sweet, acidic flavor that you only get from the finest of vomit, after all, vomit, like wine is better aged.

The thing with throwing up is that even when you think you’re done, your body keeps forcing something, anything out. This is the dry heave (or non-productive emesis) and for lack of a more poignant word, it sucks. Once this was over, I felt like I had been punched in the stomach a few times. I splashed some water on my face, rinsed out my mouth, and actually thought that I was feeling a bit better.

I was wrong. I was only in the eye of the storm.

Believing that I was semi-better and that I should get some food and drink in my system; I made myself a nice cup of tea and some lightly buttered toast. It wasn’t exactly breakfast of champions, but my taste buds had been numbed by the exposure to stomach acids. I began to feel quite jubilant, as if I had vanquished some terrible beast. I finished my toast and drank my tea down, only to see the beast rise again from its ashes.

I didn’t have time to make it to the bathroom this time. Instead I grabbed the nearest pot that was hanging in the kitchen, and proceeded to enter the next round of my match with the flu. Out came my tea and toast, mixed in with more acid and bile. I finished. As I got up to wash out the pot, I got another twinge from my bowel area. It seems my lower digestive track felt neglected.

Rushing to the bathroom, pot still in hand, I went through the same evasive measures that I had taken earlier. This time even more toxic sludge came out of me! I’m still amazed that this was even possible, that I could have so much crap inside of me. As I sat on the toilet in agonizing pain as my lower digestive tract was drained, my stomach started to gargle. “How is this possible?” I thought to myself, but before I could even comprehend what was going on. I was throwing up into the pot again…all while still having the most terrible diarrhea of my life. I was throwing up from both ends. Whatever was in my system, my body was forcing out as fast as it could.

It’s a strange feeling to have your body conduct two violent system discharges at the exact same time. You feel helpless, dirty, and slightly amused at the same time. “I’m throwing up and shitting at the same time,” I thought. This goes against all laws of physics! What would that girlfriend I had that said I couldn’t multi-task say if she saw this?

Clearly, she’d probably be sickened by the fact that she was wrong… or by the swirling smell of vomit and diarrhea in the air.

The Attic

I've been spending a lot of time the past few weeks doing some remodeling/reorganizing around my house. The plans is to a rearrange the current living situation (which is pretty odd, but that's another story..) to allow my mother to rent out the second floor of the house.

Seems pretty reasonable.

Part of this process includes cleaning out my attic...which I tackled this weekend.

My attic has long been a place of mystery. As a child I remember it being a monumental occasion when my father would allow me to come up into the attic with him, usually, this was around Christmas so that we could retrieve the boxes filled with decorations.

The low ceiling, musty air, and insulation that looked like cotton candy provided the environment where the Christmas decorations and forgotten household items went to disappear from view.

I always thought there was something hidden up there. Some sort of forgotten family treasure. Instead I found 25 years of forgotten items.

It was sort of sad finding all of these things that had been exiled from use. Banished to the black hole that is the attic. It was the most literal account of the saying "out of sight, out of mind" that I have encountered. In the boxes and bags of things I saw my child flash in front of me. I saw a lifetime of changes and family issues that rather than being sorted out were boxed up and put in the attic.

The attic.

Sometimes I would hear noises from up there and think that maybe there were squirrels or birds up there, but after a spending a weekend moving things around up there and clearing out the place I saw no sign of there being anything living up there.

Perhaps those noises I heard were the boxes of forgotten objects longing for attention.

Along Time Ago

Well I've sure been neglecting this blog.

I suppose there's not much that can be said.

I work. I have band practice. That's pretty much it.

We started recording last weekend...that was fun.

Wow. I'm boring.

This however is not...

I came across this hilarious video of an interview with Black Flag from the early 80s.

Lesson of this video: Know who you're interviewing and don't ask stupid questions!

More Vinyl!

I'm going kind of crazy with this vinyl buying spree that I've been on.

This past Friday I returned home from my day of work/boredom to find a wonderful surprise.

It was my double LP of Possibilities and Maybes by The Casket Lottery! On beautiful White vinyl!

It looks and sounds great!

In the past few days I've made a few more online purchases of some records that I'm pretty psyched about.

The first I acquired through Ebay and is an original, Canadian pressing of The Queen is Dead by The Smiths. Since then I've been browsing through a number of auctions on Ebay, bidding on a few different records.

Luckily I lost a number of auctions that would have put a huge dent in my bank account, though I was pretty bummed to lose the auction for Talking with the Taxman about Poetry by Billy Bragg.

However, I did win a really great auction. Once it arrives in the mail I will be the owner of a rare, limited, first pressing of the split 7" from Texas is the Reason and The Promise Ring. Released in 1996 on Jade Tree Records, this split features one of my favorite Texas is the Reason songs, "Blue Boy."

Oh, and did I mention that it's on red vinyl?

Yeah, I can't wait to listen to it!

Finally I just ordered a copy of Funeral for a Feeling by Kill Your Idols. Released in 2001 on SideOneDummy, it's a classic album from the recently-deceased New York Hardcore group. I used to have this on CD but lost it a few years back, so I'm pretty excited to have a physical copy of this again!


So that's about it for my record buying habits at the moment. I should slow down a bit.

Also, if you're interested in listening to some great tunes check out some new tracks from my friends in Mooseknuckle. It's feel-good punk rock at its finest.

Backyard Farming

I've had it in my head for a number of years that sometime in the not-too-distant future I would like to live on a farm. While I'm nowhere close to the point of acquiring a farm of my own, I'm working on getting some practice in my backyard.

At the moment my backyard is in shambles after years of neglect. I've been away from school the past few years and haven't had the time to put in the upkeep. This is all going to change this year. Around now is the time to start preparing the yard and that's exactly what it is that I'm going to start to do. This weekend I'm going to start to get my yard in order and begin the process of transforming my now dormant suburban landscape into a blooming variety of vegetable, fruit and flower gardens; or so I hope.

It will certainly be a bit of trial and error. But who knows, perhaps in due time my yard will look like this:



For now I'll just keep on planning everything out.

Also, there was an article in the New York Time today about people in urban areas growing small orchards. You can check it out here.

Watchmen

This is making me really excited for the Watchmen movie coming out next year.

I only hope that it's not destroyed like virtually every other Alan Moore comic that is made into a movie, i.e. The League of Extraordinary Gentleman

THEEEEERRRRMAAAALLLL

The New York Times had an interesting article in the Business section today about Solar Thermal Energy and how it's being developed around the world.

You can check it out here.

It's interesting because the article talks about how a whole new industry is starting to pop up. Perhaps by redirecting energy consumption to renewable options the economy could get jump started again.

It's highly unlikely that could happen, but it's possible. The renewable energy industry could create new jobs in both the production of technology and the installation of the equipment. But like I said...it's highly unlikely that could happen.

Dream

Last night I had a dream that My Morning Jacket and Dinosaur Jr. went on tour together.....

That would be incredible if it were true.

Jim James and J. Mascis.....if you're reading this, make this happen!

Singular

The talk in the office today has been a circular conversation about the results of yesterday's primaries in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont. It's the same conversation that's been had everyday for the past six months.

ObamaClintonMcCain.

They should be one singular candidate. In reality there isn't too much of a difference between all three. Experience doesn't necessarily matter and they all are politicians working towards that common goal of sitting behind (arguably) the most powerful desk in the world.

But why should they be the only candidates allowed to run? Why should they be the ones who work for us? If they are working for us, shouldn't we have a greater variety in our decision making process?

I just don't know how comfortable I am with the idea of only having two viable choices come November. I'm not a fan of neither McCain or Clinton, and I'm on the fence with Obama, who one minute says what I want and the next plays the party line like everyone else.

There is always Ralph Nader....

Who knows? Maybe this system is beyond repair...

Or maybe I can't take the circular conversations of my co-workers.

Vinyl Habits.

I've been thinking a lot about consumerism and how Americans consume large amounts of EVERYTHING on a regular basis.

I try and break that cycle of consumption within myself as much as I can. I try to avoid buying useless things and always look to find a way to reuse something.

But I'm American. I was brought up within the the consumer mindset. It's almost as if I do not feel complete if I don't consume in some way.

So, lately I've been increasing my vinyl record collection. Over the past three weeks I've bought nine records. So here's a little recap of the records I bought:

It all started three weeks ago when I was visiting Alice up in Maine. We went to this great store in Brunswick, Maine by the name of Bull Moose, which is a sort of independent chain in the Maine/New Hampshire area.

While there I bought two records: Nas - Illmatic (1994) and Pavement - Westing (By Musket & Sextant (1993). I was pretty happy with both buys. Illmatic is considered one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time and Westing (By Musket & Sextant) is a collection of Pavement's early EP's and 7"'s.

After returning to the New York area I didn't do much vinyl buying for about a week, until on an impulse I decided to visit Looney Tunes in West Babylon. I hadn't been to Looney Tunes since a fire burned it down in August. I was kind of surprised by the new appearance of the store..it kind of felt like I was in a Borders.

Regardless I browsed their rack of vinyl and came away with three pretty good finds: Paul Simon - There Goes Rhymin' Simon (1973), Weather Report - Heavy Weather (1977), and Peter Tosh - Mama Africa (1983).

The Paul Simon buy came because for some reason I've been on a big Simon & Garfunkel and Paul Simon kick lately. I figured it'd be a good addition to my collection. Peter Tosh goes without saying....the man was great and arguably a more prolific Reggae artist than Bob Marley was. While Mama Africa isn't Tosh at his best, it still is a great record that features an interesting cover of Johnny B. Goode. The Weather Report buy is kind of out of my element and the only reason I bought it was for nostalgia. The opening track on the record (and Weather Report's most famous,) Birdland, holds a special place in my musical history. When I was in jazz band back in high school, Birdland, was one of those staple songs that alway made it into a set. At Bothan Spies practice, Dana and I will sometimes break into a little rendition of it. Ah memories.

That was a week ago. Yesterday, on a whim, I bought The Casket Lottery - Possibilities and Maybes (2003) online at Vinyl Collective. This record is a great collection of a bunch of EP's and 7"'s by The Casket Lottery and is a 2XLP on white vinyl. I really can't wait for it to arrive. If you haven't checked out Vinyl Collective go right now! It's a great little site that has a lot of great records at great prices (Great Great Great!).

Today I went to High Fidelity Records in Amityville. I had heard about this store which opened up a few years back, but had yet to make it over to check it out. Specializing in used vinyl and CD's, I was pretty impressed with the selection at High Fidelity. I ended up buying three records: Husker Du - New Day Rising (1985), The Replacements - Pleased to Meet Me (1987)and Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home (1965).

I almost drooled when I saw New Day Rising. It's practically mint condition. What a find?

So that's my recap of my vinyl buying spree.
Maybe I'll make it four weeks in a row...

More Delayed Trains

I'm starting to become one of those cranky commuters I always used to see on the LIRR...

This morning there were more delays on the LIRR. According to Newsday, switch problems on tracks caused delays at Hicksville at 6:25 a.m. which lead to further problems two hours later just east of the East River Tunnel. You can check out the article here.

I've come to realize that this is the reality of the busiest commuter rail line in the world. There are going to be delays, but the frequency that these delays occur and the nature of them (switch and mechanical problems) can very easily be prevented if there was more emphasis placed on preventing oversight.

The very infrastructure of the New York area's transportation grid is asking for a major problem. The system is aging, fares are continuing to rise, and it seems at times that not enough is being done to promote public transportation throughout the New York region.



It's starting to feel like I'm hitting my head against a wall.

Awful Reporting

I'm finally getting around to this...

I've been meaning to write a response to this report since I saw it on Thursday night.

Airing on WABC-TV, channel 7, in New York this report focused on three high speed boats that were unveiled for service by the U.S. Coast Guard to patrol the waters of New York Harbor.

The report was one of the worst pieces of Journalism that I had seen in some time. Continuously usually words such as "terrorism" and "9/11" throughout the report, the video acts as a PR stunt for these new high speed water crafts that are mounted with machine guns.

There is nothing wrong with having boats like this for security reasons, but when a major news outlet broadcasts a report that claims these boats will help in the "war on terror" it just feeds the fire. There is no "war on terror" being waged in the United States or anywhere else in the world. It's all rhetoric that has been used by the Bush administration for the past six years.

The question is, is this a real news story? Sure it's important that the Coast Guard have high speed boats in New York Harbor, and the report points out that the boats would be essential in saving the lives of disabled boaters, but this report acts a show of might and superiority. Another way of lulling citizens into a false sense of apathetic security.

But hey, it's nice to flex a little muscle. In the words of Bill Ritter, the broadcaster WABC-TV, these boats are "impressive little puppies."

That's just super.

The Number Game

The New York Times is reporting today that 1 in 100 adults in the United States is incarcerated. That's 1.6 million people in prison. The ramifications of this are completely mind boggling.

First, it shows that the United States justice system has a severe racial divide. One in 36 Hispanics and one in 15 African-Americans behind bars. There's consistent talk in the mainstream that America is on its way being colorblind; the strength of the Obama campaign is a testament to this colorblindness. But how can that be the case when there are such severe divisions in who is incarcerated in the United States?

Second, the amount of spending that goes into the prison system is utterly absurd. On average, the cost to imprison someone is $23,876 a year. System wide, the United States prison system requires $44 billion in tax money. Is it really worth that much in citizens money to fund a failing system?

The correction system is failing. Many imprisoned are repeat offenders, who, rather than be rehabilitated consistently commit nonviolent crimes that land them back in jail.

So what can be done?

The first thing would be to decriminalize drugs. A large number of the incarcerated are there because of drug related issues. By decriminalizing prisoners who are in the system for use or possession, would instead have to attend rehab and conduct community service. Also, by decriminalizing a number of violent crimes that are related to drug trafficking would also diminish due to the semi-legalization of the trade.

This would greatly reduce the prison population and reduce spending within the prison system. In general, the prison system would benefit from an emphasis on rehabilitation rather than incarceration.

Daniel Johnston Review

So I recently reviewed Daniel Johnston's performance at the Highline Ballroom in New York.

You can check out the review right here.

Thursday Afternoon

This day is going by slow.
Too Slow.

As usual there is nothing for me to do, so instead I've been staring at a computer mindlessly.

I did come across this great video that my good friend Steve Tannberg made.




Steve and I go back almost five years now. We met at freshman orientation at Marist, and ended being pretty close for the next four years. He's now in grad school at SVA, where it seems like he's been doing some pretty neat stuff.

Meanwhile I am stuck staring at computer screen, watching my brains spill out through my ears, eyes, and nose...

Who Watched the Eclipse?

I DID!

It wasn't all that exciting. It wasn't a particularly clear night here in the northeast, plus it was a bit on the cold side. I still made the best of it though.

I set up two telescopes that I had lying around the house, grabbed a few beers and hung around outside. It was pretty relaxing. I find comfort in looking at celestial happenings, it sort of puts things into perspective.

There won't be another full lunar eclipse in North America until 2010. I guess that's not really all that long. Two years can go by pretty quickly...

White People

Everyday I sit down at my desk here at my job and think of things to do to relieve myself of the absolute boredom that is my current employment.

This morning I have found something that has made me smile; made me giggle; made me chuckle; made me think about how I fit into some of these categories.

This morning I found Stuff White People Like.

This is seriously my new favorite blog.

8 Hours On A Bus

This past weekend I took a little excursion up to Maine. The past few times that I had trekked up to vacationland flying was my transportation of choice. This time, however, due to last minute planning and the expensive price of flying, I decided that I'll take a good old Greyhound bus.

My journey began Friday morning at approximately 5:52 AM when I took the LIRR from my town to Penn Station. From there I got on the C train, only to get off at the next stop, Port Authority Terminal. The bus I had to catch was the 7:01 headed for Boston.

I slept most of the way. At Boston I transferred to the Maine Coast bus route which made stops at Portland, Brunswick, Bowdoin College, Bath, and Wiscasset before reaching my destination of Damariscotta, Maine at about 3:25 PM.

It's nice to get away from New York/Long Island. A lot of times I feel like this place really drags me down in a lot of ways, trapped in the confines of congested roads, bright street lamps, and endless (mindless?) strip malls.

I like Maine because I feel like that all sort of disappears.

And of course it helps that Alice is there. Helps a lot.

Speaking of Alice.....the two of us won trivia night at the Maine Coast Book Shop on Friday.

Here's a picture that I stole from Bobbi's Bookshop Blog:



Look at those champions!

Train Hits Car

MTA Long Island Rail Road
Service Alert

Tuesday, February 12, 2008 8:30 PM

Ronkonkoma Branch Customers

LIRR service has been restored on the Ronkonkoma Branch with residual delays of up to 2 hours. Earlier service was suspended when a train struck an unauthorized vehicle on the tracks at the East Little Neck Road crossing.



I WAS ON THIS TRAIN!
It was the 5:01 out of Penn Station and we were only a half a mile from the Wyandanch station when the event happened.

Luckily no one was injured.

I did have to sit for over TWO HOURS waiting for something to happen.

It was another wonderful evening on th LIRR, which according to Newsday has set a ridership record.

I suppose with more riders comes more angry riders.

The Art of the Mixtape

Making a Mixtape (or Mix CD) has always been an almost cathartic experience for me, especially when making a Mixtape for another person. It's a form of expression that requires a certain amount of attention, detail, and knowledge of whom the individual or group is that will be given possession of the mix.

Since roughly the age of 13 I've been making mixes for other people. There are a wide variety of mixes to be made. There are the mixes given to friends, mixes for those you might have a crush on, and then there mixes for certain events. Each one has it's own way of assembling the most rockin set of tunes.

The most important and common thing for all styles of mixes is that you need to know what you want the mix to say and what's going to be on it. You need to plan ahead. What I usually do (because I take this pretty seriously) is first get an idea of what songs I want on the mix. I then figure out what the proper order should be, making sure not to go over the amount of space available on the cassette or CDR. Next you need to make sure that the order of the songs flows well. Much like when an artist puts together a track list for an album, there needs to be some sense of cohesion and flow from track to track. With the digital age this has become much easier by being able to play back the end of a song into the beginning of a song to make sure it fits.

When making a mixtape for a friend or for an event, you can pretty much just put together whatever it is you want. When I DJed at WMAR in college in the pre-ipod days I would usually burn a CD of a bunch of tracks that I wanted to play for the show that week. For the sake of the show it helped to move things along, but it also helped to bring a general theme to the atmosphere of the show. It also in some weird personal sense made me feel a little bit closer to whoever was actually listening to the show because I had personally selected each individual song and had some, however insignificant, connection.

Whatever smattering of noise you end up putting together doesn't usually matter, unless you're making it for someone that you're dating or want to date/hook up with/obsess over/go on picnics with. You need to make sure that the songs reflect what you think the persons taste in music may be, and make sure that the songs that you're selecting are not sending some sort of message that you don't intend. Remember music is communicated on multiple levels, both the aesthetic level of the sound and the poetic level of the lyrics.

Now I'm going to go finish making a bunch of mixes for my girlfriend for Valentines Day.

Hooray!

Bang A Rang!

So last night Bothan Spies and I performed at a local bar. It's nice to be playing out again. We took a few months off as a new member joined the band, and the results have been magnificent. Our new songs our sounding great and I really feel like there's some great chemistry between the four of us on stage. I'm really looking forward to the future for us.

So the show last night went well. It was a pretty damp and cold night here on Long Island, and of course it didn't help that the bar we were playing at, Katies of Smithtown, is supposedly haunted. Apparently there some ghost named "Charlie" that plays some pranks on the owners and patrons of the bar. This actually led to the bar being featured on the A&E show Paranormal State.

Anywho....So the show went well. We played first and other than a few little mishaps (including a drum stick flying out of my hand; I blame "Charlie") our set went well. Following us a really great band by the name of The Woolgathering played. They were all incredible musicians and really brought to mind bands like Hella and The Advantage. Following The Woolgathering our friends in Commissariat played. This was both their demo release show and their last show in awhile. It seems that Niq, the leader of the group is going to South Korea for a year to teach English. Pretty crazy.


It was a nice show. Good tunes. Good Brews (check out Blue Point Winter Ale, very excellent choice). Good Friends.

That's all. I'm going to enjoy my lazy Sunday afternoon.

$4 Prescriptions

It's been a pretty lazy Saturday afternoon. This morning I went to the bank to deposit my last paycheck, and to this point that's been the most productive thing that I've done today.

It's a bit damp and chilly out, so like every good American I plopped down on the couch and got sucked into some numbing television. After flipping through the channels for a bit I decided to watch the 1995 remake of Sabrina starring Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond. I'm a sucker for romantic comedies.

I ended up not paying too much attention to the film and I started to doze off. I awoke during a commercial break just as the most recent assault form Wal-Mart's advertising desk was airing a commercial.

Like all Wal-Mart commercials, a certain air of wholesomeness, community, and good feelings was exhibited, though this is of course far from reality. This new commercial propaganda exclaimed that the sick can now get their much needed prescriptions drugs at their local Wal-Mart pharmacy for the cheap low price of $4.

That's all great and dandy, but is it really a reality?
First off, the plan only covers certain generic prescriptions drugs. The customer needs to fill out the initial prescription at the local Wal-Mart pharmacy and then the plan goes into effect. The plan claims to cover over 360 types of drugs.

However, like much of the policies behind Wal-Mart, the reality is that 360 generic drugs at $4 is not all that impressive. Many of the drugs on the list can be obtained at other pharmacies for a similar price, minus the selling of your soul.

Second, Wal-Mart's plan aims to paint the company as a benevolent chain that is out to aid consumers and help the average citizen. If the company really wanted to help stretched thin consumers, then this $4 prescription program would include non-generic drugs that are much more expensive and are the real cause of high health care costs.

In the end it's all just a ploy for Wal-Mart to paint itself in good light and bring in more customers.

It's all about the money. Always.

Hooray!

My week so far has been slightly on the 'eh' side. I had an incredibly terrible 24 hour sickness, played a show in front of a bunch of lame-ass wannabe punks in Brooklyn in lieu of watching the most incredible Super Bowl game ever, had my time wasted by "Super Tuesday," plus my job seems to get more mindless and frustrating by the day.

Ah, C'est La Vie.

The bright side of the week has been the announcement yesterday that Mitt Romney is dropping out of the Presidential race after discovering that he can't buy an election (not that that's not what the other candidates are doing).

Romney was one of those fellows that you just look and you instantly know that you hate him. In college he was one of those preppy, rich kid schmucks that would claim that we need more morals and law and order in our country and then go get loaded and date rape some girl.




The guy probably doesn't have an honest fiber in him.

How can he with a name like a Mitt?

You can't ever believe a man that is named after a protective article of clothing worn over your hand.

Plus, how can someone be elected President that is so incredible divisive?

You're dropping out of the race to prevent terrorists from taking over?

If someone who is not a Republican wins the election the United States is going to explode?

What kind of warped reality do you live in Willard Mitt Romney?

Thanks for the good times Mitt.

You may now return to your stuck-up, preppy life that is full of hypocrisy.

New Blog

New beginnings are good. Lately I've felt like I've needed something new to focus on in my life. Something that I can create from the ground up. My previous blog had begun to feel a bit stale for me, so I have started anew.

My goal for this blog isn't entirely clear. I'd like to be able to update more frequently than I have with previous blogs, but I suppose I'll have to see what happens.

At the moment I am home from work sick. Yesterday I had a bit of a stomach virus that hasn't entirely gone away just yet. In the past 24 hours I have had really only a few slices of toast and a bagel. I just managed to eat a banana, so perhaps this could be the beginning of the end of this terrible stomach malfeasance, but much like politicians, no matter how terrible the misconduct may be, they always seem to pop back up again and return to their dastardly deeds.

Time to drink some fluids and flush out my system.