It was raining today, such weird weather.
If there's one thing I've learned in my life it's the more people involved in ordering a pizza the more impossible it is to order a pizza.
How is it that religious people are always the victims while they are also the persecuters?
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
The Rise And Fall Of Indie
I can't take it anymore. The word indie has been so altered from what it means so much, that I just can't take it anymore. Indie was originally used in music as in Independent and non-major lable music. DIY or Do It Yourself, that is what indie is meant to be. Then indie got applied to books and film, and I have no problem with that because there are independent films and independently published books so it still fits in the mantra and philosophy of Do It Yourself and being anti-major distrubution.
What I can't stand is when someone says I'm indie. What does that mean? What are you independent of or from? Isn't everybody indie then? Maybe it's some kind of counter-culture thing to say and be and the non-conformists are indie, but when law students and business majors call themselves indie and they act no different than the trendy want to be philosopher who uses "hip" words and acts anti-social and works at Belmont Army then who is indie? I think the term was been used way past its means, and indie needs to go back to what it means and refers to which is art.
People are not indie. Clothes are not indie. Just because your tight jeans and v-neck looks really cool and "hipster", guess what it's made in china and bangladesh and it's not indie! If you like to go to major brand stores and national chain businesses like Barnes & Noble, Starbucks, American Apparel, Borders you are not indie! You want to be indie, then do it yourself. Make your own damn clothes, or at least design them and get them custom made, then I would say you have a better grasp on what it means to be indie. As a musician who makes independent music all I can say is that most people would not survive trying to do everything yourself. I've designed my own shirts, recorded my own music, designed and distributed my own albums, booked my own shows, and it's hard work. It's not easy to have a DIY ethic, and I see all these people who claim to be indie when they don't even know what it means to be indie. Even having said and done that I still don't consider myself indie. I considered myself an independent musician because I play indie music and have a DIY ethic, but as a person I'm not indie.
It seems everyone is indie anymore. Why can't people be themselves. No one is naturally indie, because indie is not a term that describes people, it describes art. Indie music, and indie films became marketable so then people have a desire to be like those who make indie music and indie films and indie books and then people start calling themselves indie, but when people say they're indie all they are doing is vicariously living through someone else and someone else's art really.
If someone really is indie, or what it indie means as being independent and having a Do It Yourself attitude then someone who is independent wouldn't label themself as such and thus categorizing who they are. It's a contradiction to call yourself indie. It's like using the term freedom fighter, it's an oxymoron, it doesn't make any sense and doesn't have any relevance being used in society.
I will still use indie to describe independent music, film, design, and books, but I just wish people would stop describing themselves as indie, because no one is. The term has been bastardized, and it makes me sad because indie is kind of like emo now where so many different people use it in different contexts that no one knows or can define what it means anymore. I don't blame the people who use the word indie for ruining it, I blame the capitalist blood-suckers who marketed indie and made it trendy to the masses.
Marketing and capitalism ruins everything eventually.
What I can't stand is when someone says I'm indie. What does that mean? What are you independent of or from? Isn't everybody indie then? Maybe it's some kind of counter-culture thing to say and be and the non-conformists are indie, but when law students and business majors call themselves indie and they act no different than the trendy want to be philosopher who uses "hip" words and acts anti-social and works at Belmont Army then who is indie? I think the term was been used way past its means, and indie needs to go back to what it means and refers to which is art.
People are not indie. Clothes are not indie. Just because your tight jeans and v-neck looks really cool and "hipster", guess what it's made in china and bangladesh and it's not indie! If you like to go to major brand stores and national chain businesses like Barnes & Noble, Starbucks, American Apparel, Borders you are not indie! You want to be indie, then do it yourself. Make your own damn clothes, or at least design them and get them custom made, then I would say you have a better grasp on what it means to be indie. As a musician who makes independent music all I can say is that most people would not survive trying to do everything yourself. I've designed my own shirts, recorded my own music, designed and distributed my own albums, booked my own shows, and it's hard work. It's not easy to have a DIY ethic, and I see all these people who claim to be indie when they don't even know what it means to be indie. Even having said and done that I still don't consider myself indie. I considered myself an independent musician because I play indie music and have a DIY ethic, but as a person I'm not indie.
It seems everyone is indie anymore. Why can't people be themselves. No one is naturally indie, because indie is not a term that describes people, it describes art. Indie music, and indie films became marketable so then people have a desire to be like those who make indie music and indie films and indie books and then people start calling themselves indie, but when people say they're indie all they are doing is vicariously living through someone else and someone else's art really.
If someone really is indie, or what it indie means as being independent and having a Do It Yourself attitude then someone who is independent wouldn't label themself as such and thus categorizing who they are. It's a contradiction to call yourself indie. It's like using the term freedom fighter, it's an oxymoron, it doesn't make any sense and doesn't have any relevance being used in society.
I will still use indie to describe independent music, film, design, and books, but I just wish people would stop describing themselves as indie, because no one is. The term has been bastardized, and it makes me sad because indie is kind of like emo now where so many different people use it in different contexts that no one knows or can define what it means anymore. I don't blame the people who use the word indie for ruining it, I blame the capitalist blood-suckers who marketed indie and made it trendy to the masses.
Marketing and capitalism ruins everything eventually.
Isn't Jazz Improv Lovely
I've been arguing on behalf of jazz for years now, and I know I will continue to argue for it. There are two groups of people I argue with over jazz. Those who hate jazz and just don't like it at all. Those who are jazz snobs and so-called "purists." They think jazz shouldn't have evolved past swing, but gladly it did.
I found a real gem of a video on youtube. It's my favorite jazz band the Mahavishnu Orchestra playing at the Montreaux Jazz Festival in 1984. What's great is the band's use of improv. The gem in the video starts at the 4 and 1/2 minute mark. While in an improvised jam John Mclaughlin comes across the melody to Stevie Wonder's Isn't She Lovely on guitar and the jam then changes to the song Isn't She Lovely with everything figuring it while they're playing it. It's pure brilliance and just great jazz playing. Watching it makes me want to play live right now.
I found a real gem of a video on youtube. It's my favorite jazz band the Mahavishnu Orchestra playing at the Montreaux Jazz Festival in 1984. What's great is the band's use of improv. The gem in the video starts at the 4 and 1/2 minute mark. While in an improvised jam John Mclaughlin comes across the melody to Stevie Wonder's Isn't She Lovely on guitar and the jam then changes to the song Isn't She Lovely with everything figuring it while they're playing it. It's pure brilliance and just great jazz playing. Watching it makes me want to play live right now.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Fat Of The Land (A Short Short Story)
You wake up to sweat beading on your brow and sun beating on your face. You are laying in a ditch and your body ached and felt numb. You just look up at the sky, contemplating the real questions of life. Why didn't I fuck a teacher in college? Why did I ever bother voting? Why didn't anyone ever give me better advice? Why should I have to pay for my parents funeral?
You stand up and try to think more deeply about the situation you're in, but you can't because your head is throbbing now. You walk to the road and see not a soul in sight. You walk across the road into a field, your color is green. You have an elegance about you as you walk through the field. You feel more alive than you have in a very long time. It almost feels like a gift, but you know it's not and you wonder who else is there.
You get near to the edge of the field where it meets the woods. You look down at your feet and they are covered in mud, now your color is brown. At the end of the field there is a river that cuts into the woods. You look into the murky waters, and feel scared. You should be. You start following the river north, you don't care where north leads to, you just want to get north of where you are.
You make your way through the foliage of the woods following the river moving very slowly like a giant sloth through the Brazilian jungle. You feel sensitive to your surroundings, and you feeling like damning the world for doing this to you. You are a human being now forced to wander through a decidous forest looking for something you can't find and you don't know what it is anyway. There's a clearing in the woods like a sanctuary elephants migrate to in the fierce African jungle of the Congo. The clearing looks so familiar, you've been here before.
Now it's starting to get dark and you don't have much time to get yourself out of this city of forestry. That's when it happens. Thrak! Thwck! You go down to the muddy ground next to the river. Your head is just absorbed with instant pain. You've been struck in the head. You can taste blood and dirt in your mouth. Now red is your color.
Your eyes instantly become very heavy and you become very tired. Your eyes hurt too much to open. You don't see your surroundings, but you hear voices. There are people next to you, they sound distorted to your ringing ears. You can make out the pitches of the voices, but the words you can't. Are they Angels or Demons you think to yourself. You know what they are. They are the ones who did this to you.
They are the consumers of life. They are the fat of the land. They can't understand beauty in the world, so they rape and pilage their way through life. They are the consumers, they are the financers, they are the fanatics, they are the controlled. You think to yourself, Why can't people leave me alone? What did I ever do to deserve this? It is no matter now, you feel the presence of doom as you lay there bleeding. You're just another victim in a world of institutions and madmen. Christianity through all its proclamations, can't and won't stop your suffering. Everything gets silent, and your body becomes tense. Your conscious fades. Now black is your color.
You wake up to sweat beading on your brow and sun beating on your face. You are laying in a ditch and your body ached and felt numb. You just look up at the sky, contemplating the real questions of life...
You stand up and try to think more deeply about the situation you're in, but you can't because your head is throbbing now. You walk to the road and see not a soul in sight. You walk across the road into a field, your color is green. You have an elegance about you as you walk through the field. You feel more alive than you have in a very long time. It almost feels like a gift, but you know it's not and you wonder who else is there.
You get near to the edge of the field where it meets the woods. You look down at your feet and they are covered in mud, now your color is brown. At the end of the field there is a river that cuts into the woods. You look into the murky waters, and feel scared. You should be. You start following the river north, you don't care where north leads to, you just want to get north of where you are.
You make your way through the foliage of the woods following the river moving very slowly like a giant sloth through the Brazilian jungle. You feel sensitive to your surroundings, and you feeling like damning the world for doing this to you. You are a human being now forced to wander through a decidous forest looking for something you can't find and you don't know what it is anyway. There's a clearing in the woods like a sanctuary elephants migrate to in the fierce African jungle of the Congo. The clearing looks so familiar, you've been here before.
Now it's starting to get dark and you don't have much time to get yourself out of this city of forestry. That's when it happens. Thrak! Thwck! You go down to the muddy ground next to the river. Your head is just absorbed with instant pain. You've been struck in the head. You can taste blood and dirt in your mouth. Now red is your color.
Your eyes instantly become very heavy and you become very tired. Your eyes hurt too much to open. You don't see your surroundings, but you hear voices. There are people next to you, they sound distorted to your ringing ears. You can make out the pitches of the voices, but the words you can't. Are they Angels or Demons you think to yourself. You know what they are. They are the ones who did this to you.
They are the consumers of life. They are the fat of the land. They can't understand beauty in the world, so they rape and pilage their way through life. They are the consumers, they are the financers, they are the fanatics, they are the controlled. You think to yourself, Why can't people leave me alone? What did I ever do to deserve this? It is no matter now, you feel the presence of doom as you lay there bleeding. You're just another victim in a world of institutions and madmen. Christianity through all its proclamations, can't and won't stop your suffering. Everything gets silent, and your body becomes tense. Your conscious fades. Now black is your color.
You wake up to sweat beading on your brow and sun beating on your face. You are laying in a ditch and your body ached and felt numb. You just look up at the sky, contemplating the real questions of life...
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The Green Fairy (Slight Return)
What do you do when it's snowing out in Michigan in the dead of winter? I solved that question for today at least.
I saw the movie The International today. I don't watch too many films in theaters anymore, but that film is absolutley brilliant. I was gitty halfway through the movie, it is so good and I recommend it to anyone who appreciates or even thinks they might appreciate good cinema. The story is awesome, Clive Owen is great in it, Naomi Watts is spectacular, and the villian is an international bank so yeah the movie has everything.
Then for the second day in a row I drank Absinthe today. I wanted to see if yesterday was a fluke with not hallucinating, but it was to no avail tonite either. I did get an alright buzz though, which prompted some friends and I to grace our most famous bar in town the stupidly titled Stray Dog, or as we call it the Gay Dog because of all the old queens who patron the lakefront establishment. As usual the music there was garbage and produced a large amount of sensory depraving noise pollution, which caused me to be a bit surly, but not as surly as my counterparts who seemed to be possessed by some drunken spell laced with confused anecdotes and analytical preaching. We got to the bar pretty late because it wasn't originally in our plans, but was a whim decision to go out because of my non-sensical encouragement to get weird, go act like savages, and get kicked out of a bar. My friends I was out with tonite are remains from a once great social society we called "The Too Much Fun Club" and tonite we tried to live up that name. Once there we ruled the bar, and ordered drink after drink not bothered or even phased by the amount of glasses in front of us. It was like the good ole days, when fun was cheap and excitement and energy was everything. My friends told me for some reason they always feel excited when they go out with me, perhaps it's my indulgence for being spontaneous and free. My friend Chris said I was most entertaining person he's ever gone out drinking with, and told me I had a wild spirit that many wish they could have, but most can never achieve. I hadn't received a compliment like that in a long time, it was nice.
But everything ends, and so did tonite. I think I finally found a place to live on the edge of Humboldt Park really close to Wicker Park. It's a pretty cool looking place, I think it's the proverbal one.
"Morality is temporary, wisdom is permanent."
- Hunter S. Thompson
I saw the movie The International today. I don't watch too many films in theaters anymore, but that film is absolutley brilliant. I was gitty halfway through the movie, it is so good and I recommend it to anyone who appreciates or even thinks they might appreciate good cinema. The story is awesome, Clive Owen is great in it, Naomi Watts is spectacular, and the villian is an international bank so yeah the movie has everything.
Then for the second day in a row I drank Absinthe today. I wanted to see if yesterday was a fluke with not hallucinating, but it was to no avail tonite either. I did get an alright buzz though, which prompted some friends and I to grace our most famous bar in town the stupidly titled Stray Dog, or as we call it the Gay Dog because of all the old queens who patron the lakefront establishment. As usual the music there was garbage and produced a large amount of sensory depraving noise pollution, which caused me to be a bit surly, but not as surly as my counterparts who seemed to be possessed by some drunken spell laced with confused anecdotes and analytical preaching. We got to the bar pretty late because it wasn't originally in our plans, but was a whim decision to go out because of my non-sensical encouragement to get weird, go act like savages, and get kicked out of a bar. My friends I was out with tonite are remains from a once great social society we called "The Too Much Fun Club" and tonite we tried to live up that name. Once there we ruled the bar, and ordered drink after drink not bothered or even phased by the amount of glasses in front of us. It was like the good ole days, when fun was cheap and excitement and energy was everything. My friends told me for some reason they always feel excited when they go out with me, perhaps it's my indulgence for being spontaneous and free. My friend Chris said I was most entertaining person he's ever gone out drinking with, and told me I had a wild spirit that many wish they could have, but most can never achieve. I hadn't received a compliment like that in a long time, it was nice.
But everything ends, and so did tonite. I think I finally found a place to live on the edge of Humboldt Park really close to Wicker Park. It's a pretty cool looking place, I think it's the proverbal one.
"Morality is temporary, wisdom is permanent."
- Hunter S. Thompson
Saturday, February 21, 2009
What Is A Boy To Do?
I'm really drunk right now, but I've had no hallucinations, ugh. I've been drinking Absinthe all day now and I didn't have any hallucinations that it is famous for. If I wanted to get drunk I just would have drank bourbon. I feel disappointed. Absinthe is bullshit. I thought it tasted really really bad. It reminded me of bacardi 151. I suggest not drinking absinthe, it's not the drink it's advertised to be. I did eat quite a bit of sugar cubes today, ate some delicious home-made gyros, and watched the movie Factory Girl which I give two thumbs up and really liked Guy Pearce's portrayal of Andy Warhol. So today was an alright day.
Friday, February 20, 2009
The Green Fairy
I've been drinking Absinthe now for a few hours, and I'm out of my mind. I've never had Absinthe before and a friend of mine wanted to do it because it's legal in the states now so you can buy it at liquor stores for a hefty price, so here I am. I haven't had any hallucinations yet, but I'm very drunk. The stuff is 138 proof alcohol, so yeah it's pretty wild, I'm channeling my inner wildman. Cheers!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
It Never Got Weird Enough For Me
I can't remember the last time I've been so exhausted from seemingly not doing that much! I've been in overdrive and have done nothing lately, but apply for jobs and get focused in on grad school. Applying to grad school is so unbelievably boring and requesting transcripts is a goddam pain in the ass. These colleges act like transcripts are classified government documents that must never see the light of day. Even though I've been at my computer today longer than any day in my recent memory, I feel pretty accomplished and content right now. Now comes the waiting game.
I watched a great documentary earlier about the life and times of Hunter S. Thompson. The older I get the more and more I like the fellow, I think Thompson was a real visionary as a writer and patriot. It's too bad he blew his brains out because of George Bush. I love the conspiracy theories around online that Thompson didn't actually shot himself over his distraught feelings with the Bush administration, but was killed by the Bush administration for claiming 9/11 was an inside job on national television to Tim Russert. I heard online an audio recording of Thompson on the phone the day before he died yelling at a friend how they're going to make it look like a suicide and he needs someone to help him, but of course with Thompson you never really know what he was saying.
I think I'm going to play some drums, listen to some jazz, and drink a cold one; in that order.
I hate myself sometimes. With everyday that passes more and more I want to be a writer, and I was offered a job as a journalist, but turned it down. Sure the pay was lousy at only $20 per article, and was for a magazine no one ever heard of, and was in New York, but would a real writer have turned it down. That's the dilemma I'm dealing with, I suddenly became a capitalist and let money keep me from doing something that I wanted to do. Of course I also didn't feel it was in my place to critique someone else's music and write about it.
Ugh, how many more chances will I get at redemption.
As Hunter Thompson would say "Football season is over."
I watched a great documentary earlier about the life and times of Hunter S. Thompson. The older I get the more and more I like the fellow, I think Thompson was a real visionary as a writer and patriot. It's too bad he blew his brains out because of George Bush. I love the conspiracy theories around online that Thompson didn't actually shot himself over his distraught feelings with the Bush administration, but was killed by the Bush administration for claiming 9/11 was an inside job on national television to Tim Russert. I heard online an audio recording of Thompson on the phone the day before he died yelling at a friend how they're going to make it look like a suicide and he needs someone to help him, but of course with Thompson you never really know what he was saying.
I think I'm going to play some drums, listen to some jazz, and drink a cold one; in that order.
I hate myself sometimes. With everyday that passes more and more I want to be a writer, and I was offered a job as a journalist, but turned it down. Sure the pay was lousy at only $20 per article, and was for a magazine no one ever heard of, and was in New York, but would a real writer have turned it down. That's the dilemma I'm dealing with, I suddenly became a capitalist and let money keep me from doing something that I wanted to do. Of course I also didn't feel it was in my place to critique someone else's music and write about it.
Ugh, how many more chances will I get at redemption.
As Hunter Thompson would say "Football season is over."
Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Mountain
Eric Holder the first African American Attorney General today stated that America is a country of cowards when it comes to race. I strongly disagree with Eric Holder, if America was a country of racial cowards, he wouldn't be attorney general because Barry Obama would not be president. I literally just saw that on CNN 10 seconds and say something about it.
Anyway...
I am not happy with what the government is doing in regards to almost everything.
Obama was elected to bring change and I still wish him the best, but Tim Geithner is a piece of Wall Street Shit. He is a liar and a wolf. Geithner was formally the head of the New York Fed, and is part of the business machine that caused this recession and I'm leaning towards calling it a depression. Geithner should be fired immediately, and I question Obama's commitment to change by appointing him. Geithner is the federal reserve and the banking powers bitch boy, and he'll come crawling to suck their slime anytime they tell him to. I can't wait for the sequels to the bailout that Geithner is already suggesting.
I think the Bailouts are a huge mistake. The stimulus package is costing almost $800 Billion, this money is getting created out of thin air. Who is really benefiting from all this? It is the Federal Reserve Bank. They are borrowing this stimulus to the U.S. gov't at 6% interest rate, that is absolutely ridiculous! It's going to cost $900 Million dollars a year in interest to pay off this Stimulus Package, and that interest money goes to the federal reserve. Where is that money going to come from. We are pretty much to a point where we have fucked ourselves. We need a total reformation of this economy and of this government. Lets not forget while Tim Geithner was the head of the New York Fed last fall it was him and Ben Bernacke who suggested to Henry Paulson to do the Bush Bailout. It didn't do shit, and it just made the Federal Reserve and the bankers who run that bank a lot of money at taxpayer expense.
It is suppose to be a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. That is gone in America today. It is now a government of the economic elite, by the lawyers, and for the bankers. We are nothing more than mince meat to feed to the dogs. I really don't think the people who make the important decisions give a shit about the majority of the American people and the problems we face. To define a little more, Obama is not making important decisions, it's his puppetmasters the Democratic Party, the democrats more menacing siblings the Republican Party, and the goddam bankers who make the important decisions.
For me the root cause of all of the current problems going on in the America today stem from two things:
1. The Federal Reseve System
2. Our retched public education system
I find myself in times like these when I'm full of rage I think about leaving this shark tank we call America and living elsewhere. My problem is, I become full of rage because I see my America being tainted and disfigured, and I want America to be prosperous, but what can one do? I'm tired of these fat aristocrats making my beautiful country ugly and disfigured.
I wish I had something good to say about the government and the current state of America, instead of always criticizing it, but I can only say how I feel and what I see going on in America today.
My mom and my aunt both got laid off today from their respective jobs. I remember as a kid when my mom didn't have to work and stayed home and life was good, and now it's a point where she has to work to just stay afloat and is now afraid of sinking.
I want my house in the mountains. I want my cabin in Oregon or Northern Colorado and just get drunk, throw massive parties, connect to nature without billboards, freeways, and wal-marts, and just go crazy and be human. I want to live in America and not be stressed out anymore. Can I have all my civil rights now.
Anyway...
I am not happy with what the government is doing in regards to almost everything.
Obama was elected to bring change and I still wish him the best, but Tim Geithner is a piece of Wall Street Shit. He is a liar and a wolf. Geithner was formally the head of the New York Fed, and is part of the business machine that caused this recession and I'm leaning towards calling it a depression. Geithner should be fired immediately, and I question Obama's commitment to change by appointing him. Geithner is the federal reserve and the banking powers bitch boy, and he'll come crawling to suck their slime anytime they tell him to. I can't wait for the sequels to the bailout that Geithner is already suggesting.
I think the Bailouts are a huge mistake. The stimulus package is costing almost $800 Billion, this money is getting created out of thin air. Who is really benefiting from all this? It is the Federal Reserve Bank. They are borrowing this stimulus to the U.S. gov't at 6% interest rate, that is absolutely ridiculous! It's going to cost $900 Million dollars a year in interest to pay off this Stimulus Package, and that interest money goes to the federal reserve. Where is that money going to come from. We are pretty much to a point where we have fucked ourselves. We need a total reformation of this economy and of this government. Lets not forget while Tim Geithner was the head of the New York Fed last fall it was him and Ben Bernacke who suggested to Henry Paulson to do the Bush Bailout. It didn't do shit, and it just made the Federal Reserve and the bankers who run that bank a lot of money at taxpayer expense.
It is suppose to be a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. That is gone in America today. It is now a government of the economic elite, by the lawyers, and for the bankers. We are nothing more than mince meat to feed to the dogs. I really don't think the people who make the important decisions give a shit about the majority of the American people and the problems we face. To define a little more, Obama is not making important decisions, it's his puppetmasters the Democratic Party, the democrats more menacing siblings the Republican Party, and the goddam bankers who make the important decisions.
For me the root cause of all of the current problems going on in the America today stem from two things:
1. The Federal Reseve System
2. Our retched public education system
I find myself in times like these when I'm full of rage I think about leaving this shark tank we call America and living elsewhere. My problem is, I become full of rage because I see my America being tainted and disfigured, and I want America to be prosperous, but what can one do? I'm tired of these fat aristocrats making my beautiful country ugly and disfigured.
I wish I had something good to say about the government and the current state of America, instead of always criticizing it, but I can only say how I feel and what I see going on in America today.
My mom and my aunt both got laid off today from their respective jobs. I remember as a kid when my mom didn't have to work and stayed home and life was good, and now it's a point where she has to work to just stay afloat and is now afraid of sinking.
I want my house in the mountains. I want my cabin in Oregon or Northern Colorado and just get drunk, throw massive parties, connect to nature without billboards, freeways, and wal-marts, and just go crazy and be human. I want to live in America and not be stressed out anymore. Can I have all my civil rights now.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Eye Of The Needle
This is the second poem compiled from my "Acid Diary" it is a continuation of personal introspection and written while on LSD. The name of the poem is
Eye Of The Needle:
"I am a human being, I can't believe the things I'm seeing.
I don't want to live in a world of muir.
I am a drummer.
I hate Hitler.
I am an artist.
I want to be more artistic.
I am a blood sucker, I am a tick.
I love music.
I live to play live music and have sex,
Everything else in life is voluntary.
Sometimes I feel people just hate my guts and I don't know why.
The clouds in my mind block the scope of the needle's eye.
I want to be the shepherd,
But I feel like just another sheep in the flock.
I am afraid my friends and family will abandon me.
On the shores of time, sand will erode my clock.
I love The Smiths.
The sticks in my hands are more powerful than Thor's hammer.
My main problem is I don't get along with myself.
My curse lies in what the clouds of thought once were.
I thought about living in North Chicago.
I don't care how people react or make fun of me and call me gay.
I am lonely and I feel it is my own fault, is this the right way?
In the eye of the needle all colors are seen as gray.
I am hungry.
The censor's purging blade, here comes that sound we made.
True darkness will always fade.
Here I am."
- William Covert
Eye Of The Needle:
"I am a human being, I can't believe the things I'm seeing.
I don't want to live in a world of muir.
I am a drummer.
I hate Hitler.
I am an artist.
I want to be more artistic.
I am a blood sucker, I am a tick.
I love music.
I live to play live music and have sex,
Everything else in life is voluntary.
Sometimes I feel people just hate my guts and I don't know why.
The clouds in my mind block the scope of the needle's eye.
I want to be the shepherd,
But I feel like just another sheep in the flock.
I am afraid my friends and family will abandon me.
On the shores of time, sand will erode my clock.
I love The Smiths.
The sticks in my hands are more powerful than Thor's hammer.
My main problem is I don't get along with myself.
My curse lies in what the clouds of thought once were.
I thought about living in North Chicago.
I don't care how people react or make fun of me and call me gay.
I am lonely and I feel it is my own fault, is this the right way?
In the eye of the needle all colors are seen as gray.
I am hungry.
The censor's purging blade, here comes that sound we made.
True darkness will always fade.
Here I am."
- William Covert
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
All Heaven Broke Loose
This is the newest piece of poetry I've written. It's kind of short as is, and might expand into a larger piece, but I kind of like the current length.
It's called All Heaven Broke Loose.
"All Heaven Broke loose
America has been fitted with a noose.
The masses sing hymns to the wicked and rich
the ones who bought our rights with a great sales pitch.
The noose America wears is tailor made
It was made in China, your tax dollars will make sure they get paid.
There is no Constitution or freedom, but don't panic or fright
We now follow business by-laws to tell us what is right.
Nobody paid much attention when America hung herself
She left behind a world in turmoil, struggling for wealth.
People still sleep in her streets, and carry on with their days.
America may still look alive, but is dead in many ways.
No one came to the funeral, not a friend in sight
No one gave last respects or talked about her former might.
The founding fathers were all spinning in their graves,
What happened to America the former home of the brave.
The funeral is not for America
So my friends don't fret or cry.
This requiem is for the death of the individual
The end of you and I."
- William Covert
It's called All Heaven Broke Loose.
"All Heaven Broke loose
America has been fitted with a noose.
The masses sing hymns to the wicked and rich
the ones who bought our rights with a great sales pitch.
The noose America wears is tailor made
It was made in China, your tax dollars will make sure they get paid.
There is no Constitution or freedom, but don't panic or fright
We now follow business by-laws to tell us what is right.
Nobody paid much attention when America hung herself
She left behind a world in turmoil, struggling for wealth.
People still sleep in her streets, and carry on with their days.
America may still look alive, but is dead in many ways.
No one came to the funeral, not a friend in sight
No one gave last respects or talked about her former might.
The founding fathers were all spinning in their graves,
What happened to America the former home of the brave.
The funeral is not for America
So my friends don't fret or cry.
This requiem is for the death of the individual
The end of you and I."
- William Covert
From Under Bridges Of Silence
I have had a strange and sudden impulse lately get to more in touch with nature. I think this April I'm going to take a trip out west and go hiking. I haven't decided on whether to go to California, Arizona, or Nevada yet.
I was recently offered a job as a writer for a magazine, and I turned down the job because the pay was absolutely awful, there was a lot of work involved for very little, and it was in New York. The idea that a professional liked my writing, has given me the idea to maybe pursue writing, but in a different form. I've been started to focus on writing more poetry, and I think maybe a trip out west would really get my creative juices going. The Midwest is just not very inspiring.
I have been compiling poems from what I call my "Acid Diary." What a lot of people don't know about me is I don't do recreational drugs, but for a period in college I took LSD every 6 months, and I did this ceremoniously for a couple years. While on LSD I kept a diary of my thoughts and feelings while tripping on acid. I did it just as an artistic experiment to look back when I'm sober and try to see my mind's eye. I've recently gotten the impulse to take some of the entrys and compile them as poems. The style and manner is very cryptic, but I find the process intriguing. The poems consist of material that I wrote while on acid and is me totally vulnerable and honest, and have not been tampered while with sober.
The first poem is called From Under Bridges Of Silence:
"Only those that have conquered darkness can understand the embrace of light.
To understand Philadelphia is to understand me.
I have to get out of here.
I thought about living in New York or New Jersey.
I am alive, I am living.
I am resplendent in divergence, am I Catholic?
I am the Keith Moon of my generation.
I have some tricks up our sleeves.
I am still a kid at heart.
I know I am witty.
I am smart.
I am a bastard.
I hate farting.
I feel I don't fit in a lot, am I weird?
I am a human being, I am misunderstood.
It's not all bad, it's mostly good.
I use to think I was cool and funny,
And now I just think I'm an idiot and a dick.
I feel the name Bill Covert is the punchline to a lot of jokes out there.
I think I have a lot to offer that I don't share.
I love jazz, I love baseball.
I thought about living in Montreal.
I feel pretty good about America.
Candles still flicker in Romania's dark..."
- William Covert
I was recently offered a job as a writer for a magazine, and I turned down the job because the pay was absolutely awful, there was a lot of work involved for very little, and it was in New York. The idea that a professional liked my writing, has given me the idea to maybe pursue writing, but in a different form. I've been started to focus on writing more poetry, and I think maybe a trip out west would really get my creative juices going. The Midwest is just not very inspiring.
I have been compiling poems from what I call my "Acid Diary." What a lot of people don't know about me is I don't do recreational drugs, but for a period in college I took LSD every 6 months, and I did this ceremoniously for a couple years. While on LSD I kept a diary of my thoughts and feelings while tripping on acid. I did it just as an artistic experiment to look back when I'm sober and try to see my mind's eye. I've recently gotten the impulse to take some of the entrys and compile them as poems. The style and manner is very cryptic, but I find the process intriguing. The poems consist of material that I wrote while on acid and is me totally vulnerable and honest, and have not been tampered while with sober.
The first poem is called From Under Bridges Of Silence:
"Only those that have conquered darkness can understand the embrace of light.
To understand Philadelphia is to understand me.
I have to get out of here.
I thought about living in New York or New Jersey.
I am alive, I am living.
I am resplendent in divergence, am I Catholic?
I am the Keith Moon of my generation.
I have some tricks up our sleeves.
I am still a kid at heart.
I know I am witty.
I am smart.
I am a bastard.
I hate farting.
I feel I don't fit in a lot, am I weird?
I am a human being, I am misunderstood.
It's not all bad, it's mostly good.
I use to think I was cool and funny,
And now I just think I'm an idiot and a dick.
I feel the name Bill Covert is the punchline to a lot of jokes out there.
I think I have a lot to offer that I don't share.
I love jazz, I love baseball.
I thought about living in Montreal.
I feel pretty good about America.
Candles still flicker in Romania's dark..."
- William Covert
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Downside UP, Upside Down
Aceeptance is such a crazy thing in this world. What does it matter to be accepted?
I feel so torn on the subject, because it's something I very much want and strive for yet like sometimes I wonder what it's all for.
It's unbelievable how fast acceptance can change and like why do people have such a hard time accepting others? The push for conformity and for likeness can really be a killer.
My dad told me tonite that I "failed at my obligations as a human being." I'm still reacting to that statement I guess.
I'm still searching for acceptance even though I don't know why I still try. The very few people that I know and trust and who do accept say I just need a change of scenary and I'm sure they are right. I don't know if Chicago is enough of a change anymore. I've been thinking maybe taking a sabbatical to Tangiers, Morocco for a while, maybe I could study North African music or Arabic style drumming or something. Romania has finally recognized the former Royal Family again, which I am related to and a distant descendant of so I've even thought of maybe checking out Bucharest and maybe I'd get some prospective of my life by seeing where at least some of my family came from. My family was booted out of Romania when the Royal Family was dethroned and removed so I've always felt a kinship to them because they were exiles and I very much feel like one.
I've been listening to The Futureheads a lot recently. One song I relate to that they play which is originally a Kath Bush song is "Hounds Of Love" and my favorite lyric from the song which sums up how I feel right now is:
"I found a fox, who was caught by dogs,
He let me take him in my hands
His little heart, it beat so fast
And I'm ashamed to be running away
From nothing real, i just can't deal with this
I feel ashamed to be there
Among your hounds of loving
And feel your arms surround me
I've always been a coward,
And i dont know what's good for me"
I don't feel lost, but I just feel kind of confused and vulnerable in the world.
As shitty and pinned down as I feel I still feel music and love will set me free and I am empowered by it, so i can still go to bed with a smile on my face regardless of my current situation.
I feel so torn on the subject, because it's something I very much want and strive for yet like sometimes I wonder what it's all for.
It's unbelievable how fast acceptance can change and like why do people have such a hard time accepting others? The push for conformity and for likeness can really be a killer.
My dad told me tonite that I "failed at my obligations as a human being." I'm still reacting to that statement I guess.
I'm still searching for acceptance even though I don't know why I still try. The very few people that I know and trust and who do accept say I just need a change of scenary and I'm sure they are right. I don't know if Chicago is enough of a change anymore. I've been thinking maybe taking a sabbatical to Tangiers, Morocco for a while, maybe I could study North African music or Arabic style drumming or something. Romania has finally recognized the former Royal Family again, which I am related to and a distant descendant of so I've even thought of maybe checking out Bucharest and maybe I'd get some prospective of my life by seeing where at least some of my family came from. My family was booted out of Romania when the Royal Family was dethroned and removed so I've always felt a kinship to them because they were exiles and I very much feel like one.
I've been listening to The Futureheads a lot recently. One song I relate to that they play which is originally a Kath Bush song is "Hounds Of Love" and my favorite lyric from the song which sums up how I feel right now is:
"I found a fox, who was caught by dogs,
He let me take him in my hands
His little heart, it beat so fast
And I'm ashamed to be running away
From nothing real, i just can't deal with this
I feel ashamed to be there
Among your hounds of loving
And feel your arms surround me
I've always been a coward,
And i dont know what's good for me"
I don't feel lost, but I just feel kind of confused and vulnerable in the world.
As shitty and pinned down as I feel I still feel music and love will set me free and I am empowered by it, so i can still go to bed with a smile on my face regardless of my current situation.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Am I Michael Cera?
In about the past two years I've had close to probably 20 people tell me I look like Michael Cera and I'm not kidding about that number. Michael Cera is probably most famous for portraying George Michael Bluth on the tv show Arrested Development and for playing Paulie Bleaker in Juno plus being in Superbad and Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist.
I was in New York this past September and had a girl even tell me that I "acted" like him. Even though I wore brown sweatshirts, walked funny, occasionally get akwardly nervous, and had medium length brown hair long before anyone knew who Michael Cera was.
In the past three days, three new people have told me I looked like him, one girl told me we looked like twins no less. So I guess I'll ask the question and do I really look like Michael Cera? Even though I will say all the Michael Cera comparison has been kind of flattering though I would prefer to not be told I 'act' like someone else. It's better than high school though when people said I looked like Luke Skywalker, yuck.
I was in New York this past September and had a girl even tell me that I "acted" like him. Even though I wore brown sweatshirts, walked funny, occasionally get akwardly nervous, and had medium length brown hair long before anyone knew who Michael Cera was.
In the past three days, three new people have told me I looked like him, one girl told me we looked like twins no less. So I guess I'll ask the question and do I really look like Michael Cera? Even though I will say all the Michael Cera comparison has been kind of flattering though I would prefer to not be told I 'act' like someone else. It's better than high school though when people said I looked like Luke Skywalker, yuck.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Thinking Of Coconuts
The dimly lit walkways
and avenues.
Beneath bridges,
lead me through
dreamy days.
It's into the dark
everytime,
it's no wonder I lost my mind,
and my memory.
But I wouldn't have it any other way.
Wonder weary all along the empty streets.
And I don't mind my broken legs.
Walk myself home beneath the stars.
strolling along the ocean shore,
and I wish for tidal waves,
to carry me out to sea.
To an island that's all for me,
to fade away.
But I wouldn't have it any other way.
With no one there to tell me how to be.
I'll grow my hair down to my knees.
I'd befriend coconut trees.
the breeze,
breathe in through the sparkling seas.
Evaporating in the sun.
Is my number one,
Priority.
But I wouldn't have it any other way.
No I wouldn't have it any other way.
I wouldn't have it any other way.
and avenues.
Beneath bridges,
lead me through
dreamy days.
It's into the dark
everytime,
it's no wonder I lost my mind,
and my memory.
But I wouldn't have it any other way.
Wonder weary all along the empty streets.
And I don't mind my broken legs.
Walk myself home beneath the stars.
strolling along the ocean shore,
and I wish for tidal waves,
to carry me out to sea.
To an island that's all for me,
to fade away.
But I wouldn't have it any other way.
With no one there to tell me how to be.
I'll grow my hair down to my knees.
I'd befriend coconut trees.
the breeze,
breathe in through the sparkling seas.
Evaporating in the sun.
Is my number one,
Priority.
But I wouldn't have it any other way.
No I wouldn't have it any other way.
I wouldn't have it any other way.
Rules For Music
I hate to do this, but after yet again another arguement over music I find I have no choice but to make some things clear. Sorry to sound pretenious, not my intention.
1. If you can't sing you're not a singer.
2. Just because you can dance does not make you a musician.
3. Just because you know how to edit audio, does not make you a songwriter.
4. Stealing other people's music should be a crime. Artists create art with a certain creative impulse in mind. To take someone else's art and present as your own with a few things added or changed is a crime to the original intent of the original artist's intent.
5. Lyrics have nothing to do with music at all. If you're good at rhythming words than go be a creative writing major at a community college. Music is called music for a reason.
6. There is more meaning to music than something to dance to. Do you think people danced to Gregorian Chant? A little clue they didn't. Music is art and is made to create an emotional response, which at times may be dancing, but is not strictly limited to it. If music doesn't make you think then it's not very good music. Good music inspires people.
7. You wouldn't trust an illiterate person's book review, so why does everyone who knows nothing about music take it upon themself to feel righteous and dignified when insulting and criticizing someone else's musical taste they don't like? I've studied music for a very, very long time, and have been playing music for even longer, and I would never tell someone their opinion on music is wrong, yet a lot of people have no problem telling me I'm wrong when it comes to music. I don't get it. I wrote my first concerto when I was 17, I'm not musically stupid. I'm not afraid or sorry to say it, but Kanye West is an idiot and not a musician, nor is lil' wayne and all these idiots who make up the so-called "popular music" today. There is a very big difference between being an entertainer and a musician. A musician is an artist and an entertainer is not. A DJ is not a musician, he maybe an entertainer, but if you don't play a bloody instrument then you're not a musician. The idea of non-musicians making music is absurd. As soon as one composes and plays music you enter the realm of being a musician. I'm tired of this daydream fantasy of people who don't want to work hard to achieve a skill so they play fucking guitar hero and think they know music. Am I the only one left in this world that believes that sampling someone else's music and claiming it as your own is not artisic and is not musically inclined? I wrote a lot of music, and the first thing to know about writing music is it is very hard. It is not easy to write music, so insted of using pro-tools and cutting and pasting someone else's songs, write your own damn music. What happened to creative outlets? Are we so desensitized by society that people don't know how to be creative anymore? It makes me sick to my stomach to look around at the profession I have chosen and see nothing but marketed hacks and uncreative weasals. The problem with digitally created electronic music whether it be rap or techno or whatever is, those kinds of music have no soul. There is no organic element to it at all, it is ridiculous to call it art because there is no primal creative element you either take someone else's creation and mess with it or you cut and paste computer programs to come up with 'beats' for you. If there is a primal creative element please someone show me an example and prove me wrong, but I don't see it or should I say I don't hear it.
Let's face it, a lot of music today sucks and is just terrible and seems uninspired. Oh where of where is the Mahvavishnu Orchestra when needed.
1. If you can't sing you're not a singer.
2. Just because you can dance does not make you a musician.
3. Just because you know how to edit audio, does not make you a songwriter.
4. Stealing other people's music should be a crime. Artists create art with a certain creative impulse in mind. To take someone else's art and present as your own with a few things added or changed is a crime to the original intent of the original artist's intent.
5. Lyrics have nothing to do with music at all. If you're good at rhythming words than go be a creative writing major at a community college. Music is called music for a reason.
6. There is more meaning to music than something to dance to. Do you think people danced to Gregorian Chant? A little clue they didn't. Music is art and is made to create an emotional response, which at times may be dancing, but is not strictly limited to it. If music doesn't make you think then it's not very good music. Good music inspires people.
7. You wouldn't trust an illiterate person's book review, so why does everyone who knows nothing about music take it upon themself to feel righteous and dignified when insulting and criticizing someone else's musical taste they don't like? I've studied music for a very, very long time, and have been playing music for even longer, and I would never tell someone their opinion on music is wrong, yet a lot of people have no problem telling me I'm wrong when it comes to music. I don't get it. I wrote my first concerto when I was 17, I'm not musically stupid. I'm not afraid or sorry to say it, but Kanye West is an idiot and not a musician, nor is lil' wayne and all these idiots who make up the so-called "popular music" today. There is a very big difference between being an entertainer and a musician. A musician is an artist and an entertainer is not. A DJ is not a musician, he maybe an entertainer, but if you don't play a bloody instrument then you're not a musician. The idea of non-musicians making music is absurd. As soon as one composes and plays music you enter the realm of being a musician. I'm tired of this daydream fantasy of people who don't want to work hard to achieve a skill so they play fucking guitar hero and think they know music. Am I the only one left in this world that believes that sampling someone else's music and claiming it as your own is not artisic and is not musically inclined? I wrote a lot of music, and the first thing to know about writing music is it is very hard. It is not easy to write music, so insted of using pro-tools and cutting and pasting someone else's songs, write your own damn music. What happened to creative outlets? Are we so desensitized by society that people don't know how to be creative anymore? It makes me sick to my stomach to look around at the profession I have chosen and see nothing but marketed hacks and uncreative weasals. The problem with digitally created electronic music whether it be rap or techno or whatever is, those kinds of music have no soul. There is no organic element to it at all, it is ridiculous to call it art because there is no primal creative element you either take someone else's creation and mess with it or you cut and paste computer programs to come up with 'beats' for you. If there is a primal creative element please someone show me an example and prove me wrong, but I don't see it or should I say I don't hear it.
Let's face it, a lot of music today sucks and is just terrible and seems uninspired. Oh where of where is the Mahvavishnu Orchestra when needed.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
A Man More Intelligent And Insighful Than Myself.
I've been talking alot of music with people lately, especially since the show I played last friday at The Elbo Room. Some of the talk has been technical as far as equipment and mechanics, but much of it has been musical philosophy. Why do I like the music I do, why do I play the music I do. Why is certain music popular more than others, what are people are listening to in music.
Much of my musical philosophy is based on my musical heroes and influences. People who know me, notice that whenever I talk about music I mention the name Robert Fripp quite often. Robert Fripp is kind of like the center to my musical philosophy. I think the man is genius, and is a very true and geniune artist and human being. Robert Fripp actually walked past me this last August at The Park West in Chicago, and I don't really count it as meeting him I was next to him and felt just such a benevolence of his being. With that said, I thought I'd post two videos of Fripp speaking. To most people they probably don't care what Fripp has to say, but I think even to non-musicians Fripp can be insightful and he's a great philosophical thinker/speaker. The first video talks about Fripp's career in the late 70's and he talks about playing with David Bowie and Blondie and is pretty interesting. The second video is from the mid 80's and is Fripp discussing musical philosophy, but not in the sense of judging what music is good like most people do, but the relationship of music to people and understanding music. I think it's very thought provoking and is where I derive my philosophy as far as a musician and artist comes from. More musician focused, but still insightful.
Much of my musical philosophy is based on my musical heroes and influences. People who know me, notice that whenever I talk about music I mention the name Robert Fripp quite often. Robert Fripp is kind of like the center to my musical philosophy. I think the man is genius, and is a very true and geniune artist and human being. Robert Fripp actually walked past me this last August at The Park West in Chicago, and I don't really count it as meeting him I was next to him and felt just such a benevolence of his being. With that said, I thought I'd post two videos of Fripp speaking. To most people they probably don't care what Fripp has to say, but I think even to non-musicians Fripp can be insightful and he's a great philosophical thinker/speaker. The first video talks about Fripp's career in the late 70's and he talks about playing with David Bowie and Blondie and is pretty interesting. The second video is from the mid 80's and is Fripp discussing musical philosophy, but not in the sense of judging what music is good like most people do, but the relationship of music to people and understanding music. I think it's very thought provoking and is where I derive my philosophy as far as a musician and artist comes from. More musician focused, but still insightful.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
One Of A Kind: My Tribute to BB
Today is a sad day in the world of William Covert. My favorite drummer, and quite honestly my favorite musician has retired from performing live music. Bill Bruford whose professional music career started in 1968 is hanging up playing live. Growing up and listening to all the bands Bill played with whether it be Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, UK, Earthworks, Chris Botti, I always thought one day I would get the chance to see him perform live and that dream will now never be fulfilled. Bill Bruford is the most important influence on me as a musician and an artist. I did my senior thesis in college on the drumming style of Bill Bruford and how he's changed drumming not only in rock and pop music, but also in jazz and electronic music, but I could go on all day about that.
My tribute to Bill is just some of my favorite live photos of him playing and a video of one of my favorite live drum solos of his, which is unique in that fact that it's entirely on electronic drums and Bill was one of the first musicians ever to use sampling and sequencing technology and though the video is from the 80's I find it's still ahead of its time in terms of the use of electronic drums as a melodic instrument.
My tribute to Bill is just some of my favorite live photos of him playing and a video of one of my favorite live drum solos of his, which is unique in that fact that it's entirely on electronic drums and Bill was one of the first musicians ever to use sampling and sequencing technology and though the video is from the 80's I find it's still ahead of its time in terms of the use of electronic drums as a melodic instrument.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Hair
I feel like a teenager again. I just turned 24 less than a week ago, and I've never had much if any upper body hair my whole life. For the first time in my life I have chest hair, like literally. The amount of hair on my chest has increased like tenfold in the past two days, what is going on! Not only that, I use to also be able to go about 4 or 5 days without having to shave, because my facial just doesn't grow very fast or thick, but I noticed very recently that's starting to change. I feel like I'm going through some body changes that should have happened to me several years ago. I still have baby teeth though, so as long as I have those I don't think I can feel too old, ha.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
The Howler (An Ode To Allen Ginsberg)
Here is the angel of the world's desire
Placed on trial
To hide in shrouded alley sihouettes
With cigarette coiled
To stike at passing voices
Dark and suspect
Here is the howling ire
Here is the sacred face of rendevous
In subway sour
Whose grand delusions prey like intellect
In lunatic minds
Intent and focused on
The long thin matches
To light the howling fire...
No, no, no, not me,
Burn, I don't wanna burn.....
- Adrian Belew
Placed on trial
To hide in shrouded alley sihouettes
With cigarette coiled
To stike at passing voices
Dark and suspect
Here is the howling ire
Here is the sacred face of rendevous
In subway sour
Whose grand delusions prey like intellect
In lunatic minds
Intent and focused on
The long thin matches
To light the howling fire...
No, no, no, not me,
Burn, I don't wanna burn.....
- Adrian Belew
I've Had It Up To Here With Your Morals
Too many people live their lives as an illusion in the land of confusion.
The political right and left in this country are both leagues of idiots.
when will people realize and understand that humans are animals. There are no morals. Morals are not real they are a myth like the yeti or his north american cousin the sasquatch.
To really have freedom we must get rid of this belief of judging by morality and basically judgement in general. It kills me that in Christianity the who idea is you are judged when you die, so you better be good. What a stupid idea. It's like santa claus for adults.
If as a society we really want to end discrimination, end class warfare, and bring equality to everyone, then stop judging people and get rid of this holier than thou belief system.
I also think that this bailout situation is getting way out of control.
I have come up with a better solution.
You take all the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and bring them home, followed by closing military bases in Germany, The Middle East, Japan, The Philiphines, and South Korea. Then you cut the military budget in half. Now you just cut a lot of spending and will be able to save a lot more money. You then take the money you're saving from a slashed military budget and use that money to bailout out the country, but you bailout the country through ideas and not just wheel barrows full of money creating out of thin air. The majority of that bailout money should go towards education. You want to really fix the country than really focus on educating people. The gov't needs to spend around $500,000,000 to buy up toxic assests from banks, which would then make the banks solvent again and good to go. The rest of that bailout money should be pumped into education, and building more schools which creates jobs and helps the infrastructure of the country. It's a long term solution we need and is exactly what we won't do.
The political right and left in this country are both leagues of idiots.
when will people realize and understand that humans are animals. There are no morals. Morals are not real they are a myth like the yeti or his north american cousin the sasquatch.
To really have freedom we must get rid of this belief of judging by morality and basically judgement in general. It kills me that in Christianity the who idea is you are judged when you die, so you better be good. What a stupid idea. It's like santa claus for adults.
If as a society we really want to end discrimination, end class warfare, and bring equality to everyone, then stop judging people and get rid of this holier than thou belief system.
I also think that this bailout situation is getting way out of control.
I have come up with a better solution.
You take all the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and bring them home, followed by closing military bases in Germany, The Middle East, Japan, The Philiphines, and South Korea. Then you cut the military budget in half. Now you just cut a lot of spending and will be able to save a lot more money. You then take the money you're saving from a slashed military budget and use that money to bailout out the country, but you bailout the country through ideas and not just wheel barrows full of money creating out of thin air. The majority of that bailout money should go towards education. You want to really fix the country than really focus on educating people. The gov't needs to spend around $500,000,000 to buy up toxic assests from banks, which would then make the banks solvent again and good to go. The rest of that bailout money should be pumped into education, and building more schools which creates jobs and helps the infrastructure of the country. It's a long term solution we need and is exactly what we won't do.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Indie Music, Beer, & Lawyers: The Weekend that was my Birthday
Rock 'N' Roll at the Elbo Room, drunken debauchery in Lincoln Park, photo session on Division St, are just the main points to how I spent this weekend in Chicago for my birthday.
Friday night I played my first show with my newest band Ben Joyce and The Savage Young. The gig was at The Elbom Room on Lincoln Ave opening for the group aptly named A Band Called Catch. Going into Friday night I wasn't thinking about the gig too much, and really didn't expect much of it. I had played at the Elbom Room previously before, and it's the typical rocker/indie bar like The Subterrean or the Double Door. We were the opening act and only playing 40 min, so I wasn't expecting much money or many people there yet to watch us, but i was totally wrong.
Ben Joyce has quickly become my favorite person to play a show with. Ben brought about 30 people to the show and there were about 100 people in The Elbo Room by the time we started playing and it was so packed people were wall to wall after we were done i couldn't move around in the crowd and it was almost impossible trying to get our stuff off the stage. It was pandamonium, it was the kind of crowd you'd expect at CBGB's in 1977 or something. It was Rock 'N' Roll at its purest and most raw form, and the energy was amazing. I am so proud of our performance as a band, especially it being our first gig together. The highlight for me was the last song we played, which was a cover of The Police's classic "Next To You" which is probably my favorite song of The Police. We recorded our set, and listening to it the next day, I think my drums on "Next To You" is the best drum track I've ever recorded and listening to myself, which I usually hate to do because I'm more own biggest critical, I was blown away by my drumming. I don't mean to sound full of myself, I was blown away because I usually think I could have done way better, but It was maybe the first time I heard myself playing and thought that was damn good and better than I thought when we played the show the night before.
So the gig Friday night went unbelieveably well, and is something I'm really proud of, and we got paid way more than I thought we would, and is the best pay day I've had for a quite a while and reminded me that of yeah you can actually make a lot of money playing music.
Friday and Saturday Nights I went out with friends of mine in Lincoln Park. Friday night was the cause to get annihiliated was my band's performance which put me on cloud 9. We went to 3 different bars that I remember, and I dropped a total of three glasses throughout the night, and somehow I ended up crashing at my friend's by Clark and Fullerton in Lincoln Park, but my van ended up being parked two blocks from Wrigley Field, how this happen is still blurry, but it's all good now.
Saturday night we went out celebrating my birthday which was actually Sunday. I realized a few things after going out Saturday night. I am not a lawyer. One of my best friends is going to law school, and I've pondered the idea from time to time especially because I plan at somepoint in my life in getting involved in politics, so logically it would seem to make sense to go to law school. We went out to the bar and met up with some of my friend's friends from law school. I just don't really get along with law students. I don't want to make any assumptions or try to make stereotypes, but there is just something about lawyers that rubs me the wrong way. I was trying to be polite and talk to this guy who was a law student and he's making fun of me because i was wearing really tight jeans and blue/yellow shoes, while he's wearing a cardigan sweater and to me resmbled a guy who would be named Prescot and spend his summers sailing somewhere wishing one day to be able to suck Mitt Romney's cock. He's going on about how great John Roberts is and just sounding like the typical non-free thinking idiot. Or as John Malkevich would say "he's an idiot in a league of idiots."
It's just crazy how many people have a holier than thou mentality, and it drives me up the wall. Having a law degree doesn't mean anything. Having any degree doesn't mean anything. Getting an education is only useful if you use it. Just getting a degree and hopefully an education doesn't mean anything, it's all about how you use it. I wish more people understood that. I feel more of an urge now than ever to get involved in politics, maybe it's the Thomas Jefferson and Harvey Milk in me.
Me and a hipster friend of mine spent a good chunk of time Saturday night at bars discussing and observing members of what we call the non-thinking culture(religous people, die-hard capitalist consumers, nationalists, people driven only by money, elitists, bigots, conformists). This is the culture that makes up most of America, which is sad, but i think will hopefully change or eventually our species is doomed at some point in the future.
My hipster friend and I eventually got tired of hanging out with law students and we ended up at a Golden Nugget until 6 a.m. discussing politics and environmental concerns. After tiring of talking about green technology for hours, we decided to hit up an after hours bar, which was insane. It was literally an urban jungle in this place. I don't mean that in any kind of racial way at all, it was about all young white people in there. What I mean about urban jungle is, you get all these people who probably in every day life are and seem normal. You then put these people in an environment which allows them to drop their inhibitions, and they literally go wild. It is amazing what alcohol, multi-colored bright lights, and crappy dance music with too much bass will make people do. In a way though I think it's good for people to be more animalistic, but I think way too often people take it way too far in their wildness and still don't at the end of the day realize we are just animals who have the same needs as other animals. Morals aren't real and are a manmade delusion, the sooner people realize that the better off we are as for as social progression.
I also was involved in a photo shoot this weekend, which was a lot of fun and the first one I'd been involved with in a couple years. In and all it was a quite memerable weekend.
Friday night I played my first show with my newest band Ben Joyce and The Savage Young. The gig was at The Elbom Room on Lincoln Ave opening for the group aptly named A Band Called Catch. Going into Friday night I wasn't thinking about the gig too much, and really didn't expect much of it. I had played at the Elbom Room previously before, and it's the typical rocker/indie bar like The Subterrean or the Double Door. We were the opening act and only playing 40 min, so I wasn't expecting much money or many people there yet to watch us, but i was totally wrong.
Ben Joyce has quickly become my favorite person to play a show with. Ben brought about 30 people to the show and there were about 100 people in The Elbo Room by the time we started playing and it was so packed people were wall to wall after we were done i couldn't move around in the crowd and it was almost impossible trying to get our stuff off the stage. It was pandamonium, it was the kind of crowd you'd expect at CBGB's in 1977 or something. It was Rock 'N' Roll at its purest and most raw form, and the energy was amazing. I am so proud of our performance as a band, especially it being our first gig together. The highlight for me was the last song we played, which was a cover of The Police's classic "Next To You" which is probably my favorite song of The Police. We recorded our set, and listening to it the next day, I think my drums on "Next To You" is the best drum track I've ever recorded and listening to myself, which I usually hate to do because I'm more own biggest critical, I was blown away by my drumming. I don't mean to sound full of myself, I was blown away because I usually think I could have done way better, but It was maybe the first time I heard myself playing and thought that was damn good and better than I thought when we played the show the night before.
So the gig Friday night went unbelieveably well, and is something I'm really proud of, and we got paid way more than I thought we would, and is the best pay day I've had for a quite a while and reminded me that of yeah you can actually make a lot of money playing music.
Friday and Saturday Nights I went out with friends of mine in Lincoln Park. Friday night was the cause to get annihiliated was my band's performance which put me on cloud 9. We went to 3 different bars that I remember, and I dropped a total of three glasses throughout the night, and somehow I ended up crashing at my friend's by Clark and Fullerton in Lincoln Park, but my van ended up being parked two blocks from Wrigley Field, how this happen is still blurry, but it's all good now.
Saturday night we went out celebrating my birthday which was actually Sunday. I realized a few things after going out Saturday night. I am not a lawyer. One of my best friends is going to law school, and I've pondered the idea from time to time especially because I plan at somepoint in my life in getting involved in politics, so logically it would seem to make sense to go to law school. We went out to the bar and met up with some of my friend's friends from law school. I just don't really get along with law students. I don't want to make any assumptions or try to make stereotypes, but there is just something about lawyers that rubs me the wrong way. I was trying to be polite and talk to this guy who was a law student and he's making fun of me because i was wearing really tight jeans and blue/yellow shoes, while he's wearing a cardigan sweater and to me resmbled a guy who would be named Prescot and spend his summers sailing somewhere wishing one day to be able to suck Mitt Romney's cock. He's going on about how great John Roberts is and just sounding like the typical non-free thinking idiot. Or as John Malkevich would say "he's an idiot in a league of idiots."
It's just crazy how many people have a holier than thou mentality, and it drives me up the wall. Having a law degree doesn't mean anything. Having any degree doesn't mean anything. Getting an education is only useful if you use it. Just getting a degree and hopefully an education doesn't mean anything, it's all about how you use it. I wish more people understood that. I feel more of an urge now than ever to get involved in politics, maybe it's the Thomas Jefferson and Harvey Milk in me.
Me and a hipster friend of mine spent a good chunk of time Saturday night at bars discussing and observing members of what we call the non-thinking culture(religous people, die-hard capitalist consumers, nationalists, people driven only by money, elitists, bigots, conformists). This is the culture that makes up most of America, which is sad, but i think will hopefully change or eventually our species is doomed at some point in the future.
My hipster friend and I eventually got tired of hanging out with law students and we ended up at a Golden Nugget until 6 a.m. discussing politics and environmental concerns. After tiring of talking about green technology for hours, we decided to hit up an after hours bar, which was insane. It was literally an urban jungle in this place. I don't mean that in any kind of racial way at all, it was about all young white people in there. What I mean about urban jungle is, you get all these people who probably in every day life are and seem normal. You then put these people in an environment which allows them to drop their inhibitions, and they literally go wild. It is amazing what alcohol, multi-colored bright lights, and crappy dance music with too much bass will make people do. In a way though I think it's good for people to be more animalistic, but I think way too often people take it way too far in their wildness and still don't at the end of the day realize we are just animals who have the same needs as other animals. Morals aren't real and are a manmade delusion, the sooner people realize that the better off we are as for as social progression.
I also was involved in a photo shoot this weekend, which was a lot of fun and the first one I'd been involved with in a couple years. In and all it was a quite memerable weekend.
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