Dave Grohl.

Sitting here I am bombarded by the deafening and bone rattling sounds of Probot. Funny thing is that I would have never put heavy metal and Dave Grohl in the same sentence but here I am listening to Red War featuring Max Cavalera (Soulffly) with Grohl at the drum set hammering out some of his best. But Probot will come up a little later as the project itself is worthy of some reflection.

I had no idea on how to even begin this process. The biggest problem is attempting to forget what Grohl has done musically since the fall of Nirvana. The list is so impressive that there are very few rock stars that could ever have a similar resume. From Foo Fighters to his contributions with; Motorhead, Toni Iommi, Eddie Vedder, Paul McCartney, Queens of the Stone Age…I could honestly keep going but I think the point is made; the guy is revered by some of the greatest.

As I was reading everything I could about all members of Nirvana (including Kirst Novoselic' Blog at Seattle Weekly really worth taking a look at) I personally don’t think the band would have continued on after grunge. I could see some sort of album afterwards but it most likely would have ended up being something like Mad Season.

Assuming that the band would not have continued on or would Grohl be who he is now...these questions are as hard to assume or fathom as; Would Jesus have been as popular if his mother would have been knocked up in the old fashioned way (new way then I guess)? or would have Adolf Hitler chose the same path in life if he hadn’t read anti-Semitic literature including Martin Luther's On the Jews and Their Lies, in a very influential part of his life? We can only make assumptions.

But concerning the Grohl question and without knowing the individuals in question or ever being around these people it isn’t an exact answer but I do believe that even if Kurt would not have tragically taken his own life, Grohl while with Nirvana (for whatever amount of time that would have lasted) would have had side projects and other bands to work with.

The answer can be traced Grohl believing that his style was negatively affecting Nirvana. Grohl wouldn’t even contribute his writing with the band as he believed it would ruin them for good. But he was still writing and creating songs on his own and then the clincher was an indie album named Poketwatch.

The album was written and produced by Grohl as a solo project which enabled him to lay down ten songs that, now knowing the Foo’s, would be its ground work. The album was hard to find but when I did I couldn’t stop listening to it. It resembles a rough Foo Fighter sound with some heavier punk influence including scratchy vocals that were fitting of the time.

So there you have it Poketwatch sealed the deal for me making me believe there is no doubt he would have had at least a similar path to that of what he has had. From Nirvana to the Foo fighters or the influence on the Queens of the Stone Age and even though you may not be a metal fan you should sit down and listen to the homage Grohl created for those greats in metal that influenced him so much.

This aforementioned album is under the name of Probot. It only has one collaborative album to date but I hope that Grohl will continue on this in the future. To hear Lemmy from Motorhead sing Shake your Blood with Grohl on the drum set is, for the lack of a better word, mind blowing. The song is steeped in old school metal mixed with the originality of Grohls writing and harmonious nature.

Then when I think of his range I think of when I listened to the awe inspiring acoustic/classical guitar song The Battle of the Beaconsfield Miners for the first time, I literally had chills. I then find out several months later that this song was dedicated to two miners who were trapped in the mine they were working in. Grohl sent them a letter stating his support and thoughts of the two men with a deal stating: "Though I'm halfway around the world right now, my heart is with you both, and I want you to know that when you come home, there's two tickets to any Foos show, anywhere, and two cold beers waiting for yous. Deal?

The two miners took him up on it and had a ‘meet and greet’ at a Sydney acoustic performance with the Foo Fighters. I mention this song and side story only as a confirmation of his talent along with his contribution and utter devotion to music perfection and above all a true understanding and respect of what real and true music is.

Waiting.

Of all the things we get annoyed with I would have to say waiting is one of the worst. I have a great deal of patience and can wait for most everything. But when it comes to a test or evaluation, which you are prepared for, waiting can be excruciating.

Mentally it plays on your mind as you go through everything that you must do to complete the task at hand. Go through it to prepare and reduce stress but think about it to much and you begin to over stress yourself or begin thinking about; what if I do this wrong? Or what if I am to slow?

In most cases with exams, or waiting on a decision or results, running, specifically long runs, helped burn some of the energy and on the road for 8, 10 or more kilometres, I was able to clear my head. But in this case I can’t even do that. I need to limit the amount of physical activity I do today to a short run and tomorrow even less with some stretching and long walks, hardly enough to burn the extra energy and clear my head.

So from here on out I will be listening to motivational words, for example, the Inches Speech from Any given Sunday on my iPod helps through training and other times (can’t believe that speech got so popular that some high school and NCAA coaches use it from time to time). Listening to some of my heavier and/or more energetic music (can’t believe it but a few hip hop songs have made it on my iPod for energy during my training sessions).

Sports psychology is a huge part of these sorts of events. I am happy knowing that playing on teams and being in competitive situations similar to this in the past helps. A person without an athletic mind is will not have the same advantage. But in times we need that push from an external source. Music is a great place to find this push.

The great thing about music is that it comes down to personal choice and what makes us as individuals move fast or push harder -bottom line what gives us energy? For me it ranges from bands like, Joe satriani, metallica, tool, slipknot, alexisonfire, Dropkick murphys...Sometimes even a few epic songs from the 300 soundtrack will be added to provide energy.

But even at some times someone like eminem or Kid rock will be added to the playlist. It all depends on what you need at that specific moment and/or for the specific task at hand.

For now back to waiting and listening to some more inspiration.

No Handlebars.

Lately I have been on the prowl for some new music. I seem to be constantly doing this. The most recent possible purchase could the new City and Colour album. Most of the songs are similar but the more I listen to it the more I like his sound. The guitar play and voice seem to be mixed so well that it is hard not to get sucked into it.

Dallas Green, originally from AlexisonFire, has also added some really decent lyrics to his songs. And of course it can’t hurt to have a Canadian music icon like Gord Downie sing a song with you on your album.

The other band is entrenched in a genre that I am not usually to concerned with. But I have to admit that there are several songs by the Flobots that I am actually really enjoying. There alternative rap/rock sound has a mix of Cake, Eminem style rap vocals and a violin thrown if for good measure. I know this sounds like a horrible mix but take a listen to May Day, and the reason I know of them Handlebars which is getting a great deal of air time.

The other reason why I liked their sound was the lyrics and meaning behind them. They speak about the ever growing number of impoverished people dieing from starvation among other things. How unjust the political and economical world of the West continues to conduct its day to day activities.

But then I started thinking about how many bands I know that have lyrics in the same fashion that challenge the status quo. They should all be applauded for their individual efforts for attempting to initiate positive change. Buuut on the negative side these are merely lyrics from a song right? As we all know actions speak louder then words.

So do they back up what they say? In the case of the Flobots the answer is a resounding YES! The group started a cause called "Street Team." Essentially they created an ongoing database of volunteers to work in assisting Student Peace Alliance, Child Support in Denver and Progressive Coalition.

And as one of the band members, Brer Rabbit, states, "There are lots of things we can say theoretically about wanting to activate a population, but we are actually trying to create a real plan to allow people to be a positive force in the community."

Not sure if their music is something that I will listen to for long as it is getting repetitive very quickly. Regardless it will be downloaded and not something to be purchased for sure. I hope that they maintain this energetic and broad based approach of attempting to create awareness and educate the masses on the issues and problems we have. But more importantly it is great to see a band actually follow up with what they preach. If change is to happen there needs to be a great deal more of "do as I do."

Finally there is an aspiring musician who is worth listening to. She does her own spin on a cover of Handlebars by the flobots and is really, really good. She has many others along with some of her own originals. This girl should be signed to a label.

No WOD, not a great deal of sleep last night as it turned out to be a later night then expected.

Winona's Big Brown Beaver Comes To Ottawa.

Although there are not many bands I would pay to see at this year’s Blues Fest -Tragically Hip are fun but seen them over 10 times including their latest album tour, Fergie no way, Brian Wilson although a great bassist probably not that exiting. Sam Roberts on the other hand would be a decent show to see.

But then I came across a name that is not been overly publicized and probably b/c they’re music is not easy to explain and are a band that really isn’t the norm for your average Blues Fest fan. But just the same the band Primus will be metal/funking up the stage this summer.

They are one of the oddest bands musically (I have a ton of bands with extremely odd people in them; see: mortician) that I have ever purchased albums from. Their music is considered metal-funk, or thrash funk, even alternative metal and so on. Primus’ front man, Les Claypool, has even stated that the description that best fits would be "psychedelic polka."

Primus was a great addition to a grunge and metal music collection in the early nineties. The single "My Name is Mud" from the album Pork Soda, was what got me hooked. Although you might not consider them anywhere near a must have or classic they are intriguing in their own right. Their live shows and characters, while odd, are extremely entertaining.

The song; Winona's Big Brown Beaver, from the album ‘Tales from the Punchbowl’ was one of my favourites for two reasons. First off at 16 or 17 I thought the silly story about Winona’s ‘beaver’ was hilarious. But more importantly I just liked the guitar, vocals and drum progression in the song.

Now listening to it years later I see the talent guitarist Larry LaLonde truly has. The song begins with a heavy portion of guitar picking with distortion which then transitions into a bluegrass/country, banjo style finger picking, which has been stated to be the style that Jerry Garcia made famous. Drummer Tim Alexander has a sound greatly influenced by greats like John Bonham, and other styles like Juju music or African rhythms. And to finish it all off the melodically inspiring dead pan (best wording I can think of at the moment) vocals that Claypool lays on top.

Les Claypool's lyrics although mainly odd and silly also contain some political influenced rants including of course those against president Bush. He is also an extremely talented bassist. Many bassists are good but often merely pluck along filling in the sound where required. Where as people like Claypool fall in with those unique and imaginative bassists like Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) or Geddy Lee (Rush).

So baring some unforeseen reason I hope to see the psychedelic polka freaks this summer when they take to the local stage.

Choke

Although the movie Choke isn’t being released until August, I finished the book within a couple weeks as I could not put it down. The book: Choke by Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club.

I will not ruin anything for those who might chose to read this book. The most inspirational thing for me was concerning his writing style. It is not the average book that fits into the ‘normal rules’ of writing, if you will. It seems similar to that of older literature (Kafka comes to mind) from the late 1800’s and/or early 1900’s where for example; one word -if used properly- could be an entire sentence to describe an event, person or what have you.

His humour and overall feel of the book are honest, bold, dark, and dramatic. The main character, along with some secondary characters, gives you a range of feelings from frustration, anger, disgust and empathy. They are those people we don’t think much of in life that often surprise us in the end. Palahniuk implements time shifting and leaves the reader in the dark until the moment to let you in is ideal. Description is key and as a good author he enables you to envision what your imagination believes the scene looks like as opposed to over explanation or attempting to force a specific image in your mind.

But I think what really spoke to me was Palahniuk’s ability to write openly and honestly no matter the subject. And from reading other things he has written like ‘Guts’ it truly seems -to me- that his underlining message in some of his writing is that the majority of people hide from things even if it is put directly in your face where you will turn and ignore it. Many will criticize that it is merely a way of shocking to be shocking. Although some of it is shocking -especially Guts- I truly don’t see it that in Choke.

Basically the idea with the honest and open writing style I sum it up this way; humans ignore discussion or will not face things, let’s call them ‘taboo’ in ‘polite society’, which exist b/c of the way we have been taught over time. We were told to react to these issues, like sex, or being to embarrassed to get checked for colon cancer or masturbation just for a few examples, in a certain way, yes this is to help with development, protect us and respect others which is all good, but can shape our mind and make us withdraw.

So when it comes to a book like this it is nice to read something that does not hide from things that might make us blush. Essentially we have all experienced the same or similar things and he merely uses extreme cases to make the point that we can not ignore what we all experience, "Tyler and I just gave it a name."

The negative issue for me was an overwhelming feeling, in certain parts of the book that made me think it could have been called "Sex Club" and been in a series with Fight Club. Only b/c there are similarities in characters and overall feel. Which -from my experience- most authors have generally an ongoing feel to their books b/c these characters are those they relate to.

The other thing was that it left me wanting more. But this can quickly be seen as a positive b/c I didn’t feel that the book was unfinished because he ran out of creative juices but actually b/c I just liked it so much.

“I now walk into the wild." – Chris Mccandless

"There is pleasure in the pathless woods,There is rapture on the lonely shore,There is society where none intrudes,By the deep sea and the music in its roar;I love not man the less, but Nature more."— ~Lord Byron

The second book I read from author Jon Krakauer was; Into the Wild. Warning; plot discussion and spoilers. Krakauer spent two years following leads and interviewing and befriending all those people that had their lives touched by a young adventurer. Chris Mccandless decided to live his life without the comforts of society and attempted to find what he believed life was truly about; living on, or more accurately, living with nature.

"Mr. Franz I think careers are a 20th century invention and I don't want one."~Chris Mccandless~

Last night we decided to take a chance and watch the film, Into the Wild. I was highly skeptical and hoped that I would not be disappointed with ‘hollywoodized’ version of this young man’s life. I am actually happy to state that they did a phenomenal job. The images I had created with my imagination while reading the book, were now in front of me as director Sean Penn really nailed it.

But what I was more impressed with, and what made me the most nervous, was the overall feel and dialogue of the movie. I found that, in my opinion, it actually paid homage to Mccandless and honored the book written by Krakauer. I truly think that the movie would have been a flop if it wasn’t for the collaboration and insight from Jon Krakauer and the Mccandless family, who all helped with the film by contributing their knowledge to create an authentic and accurate film

The story portrays the adventurer, dreamer, minimalist during his travels. It reflects on all those fascinating people a man on the road can meet. The story tracks Chris to his ultimate goal to head north and live within nature. For Chris it seemed that Alaska was the epitome of nature in its most unadulterated form, most likely having something to do with the influence of literature from Jack London. With its vast landscapes and extensive natural countryside Alaska is as completely removed from society and human connection as an individual can get

Chris left behind all his money, I.D…and set off from the furthest point a vehicle can go and headed into the wild with only the basic essentials. He reached the, now famous, Fairbanks bus in April. After three months in solitude he attempted to leave in July but the river he had crossed in April was now ragging and much wider then a few months prior. He was forced to try and survive until winter. Starvation and weakness would get the better of him and his body was finally discovered by hunters and a couple hikers on September 6 1992. He had left his final words behind along with a detailed journal. He weighed in at 67 pounds and had been dead for roughly two weeks.

"I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD. GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL!"
~Christopher Johnson McCandless February 12 1968 – August 18 1992~

The answers you get from literature depend upon the questions you pose. Margaret Atwood

Although I am not a fan of Atwood's, she is a great story teller and I really like this quote simple and to the point -which is ironically why I hate her writing. She too often over explains the smallest thing and while trying to come across as artistic, she seems to be bombarding the reader with words leaving it tiring and verbose.

After the internet’s slow and labored conception, its use has skyrocketed to the level that we see today. The majority of the world uses it on a daily basis be it for research, banking, communications, business or leisure. Millions of search queries are merely a click away.

During a recent search I came across, The Gutenberg project. First off it has nothing to do with the terrible actor of similar name. Nope it is an online database that contains over 3 million ebooks available to search through read and download. There tons of authors to choose from that, the site itself boasts, have been provided by tens of thousands of volunteers.

The only reason believe this great number of volunteers is based directly on the actual costs for downloading this material. It is a whopping zero dollars and zero cents a day. Making it zilch per month and your yearly fees at absolutely nothing. Ok sorry I just felt compelled to over explain and emphasize that all this literature is available to all for absolutely nothing. Although it is not mandatory, donations to keep the site running are accepted. I am personally to cheap to put my money out to a website, so I will take advantage of the freeness and hope that it never crashes. And when it does it will be ok as I still order books from sites like Amazon and still only pay about 40 to 50 percent of what Chapters would charge me.

There are probably similar sites available but I happen to come across this one first and thought that it was worth mentioning. I found it when I was looking for some stories from a true word master and man who was dubbed "the father of American Literature". Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) created some of the most amazing writing of all time. When one needs inspiration or the exposure to a plethora of descriptive and properly placed words that are eloquently weaved together in a fine tale, look no further then Twain’s work.

When I needed some aforementioned inspiration I decided to look for something that specifically related to the subject I am presently working on in my writing and came across a piece that was perfect; The Facts Concerning The Recent Carnival Of Crime In Connecticut.
If you haven’t read it before I highly recommend it. It is a short read that provides the reader a great deal of insight and understanding into Twain’s humor, intelligence, vocabulary and ability to tell a story while explaining life itself. Here is the link;

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3183/3183.txt and from here you can head to the main page to access all the great free books. Enjoy.

Oh and for those of you that may have chosen to take an adventurous leap and looked at Guts by Chuck Palahniuk, please feel free to tell me what you thought of it even if you didn’t finish it.

“Buy now and be a better writer in only 7 days”

I haven’t been writing much on here lately as I have focused some greater time to several of my own short stories. Looking for inspiration and seeking different paths to take my writing I have looked into several different styles.

I am coming to the end of Hunter S. Thompson’s “Hell’s Angels”. Good novel written with the feeling of one long news paper article that explains a great deal of what the day to day lives were like of the Angels in the 60’s. The facts are continuously explained from three sides; the Angels, the police and the general public. Hunter hung around the rogue biker group and learned a great deal of their actions, why and who they were and the publics’ misconceptions of the group.

So I started thinking of authors that I had been interested in reading when I had completed school. I have decided to order a few pieces from Poe, Hemingway, other classics and Chuck Palahniuk-someone completely different form the previous two.

Chuck Palahniuk is the genius behind the cult classic, and one of my personal favorites, “Fight Club”. He has an intriguing style of writing that utilizes several styles at the same time i.e. descriptive, explanatory and so on. He was considered merely a shock writer and was said to be merely doing this to get attention. Of course this wasn’t really his first and only intention. He is a shock writer only in the sense that he writes and creates pieces that reflect his life, personality and fiction.

A second book of Palahniuk’s, Choke, was also made into a movie and will be released August 1st, 08. I would prefer to read the book before it is released and will be ordering it along with Invisible Monsters and Survivor. Survivor was slated to be a movie released in late 2001 or early 2002. The reason it was not is that plot of the novel is based on a man that hijacks a plane with the intentions of crashing it in Australia. Not really a film that America would have been rushing out to see in the post 9/11 world.

Finally I read a short story of his online entitled, Guts. I was going to put the link as it is a window into his humour and intriguing -some might say demented- personality. But the fact that my stomach actually turned a couple times during my first reading of it, I decided against posting the link.

If you are interested in reading it -kind of like a car crash don’t want to look but can not turn a way- then it is merely a google search away. But this is a STRONG WARNING, I am warning you do not blame me if you do not like it or feel ill from reading it, this isn’t a passage from your classic best selling novel. I do not warn to often as I feel things need to be experienced in life but in this case I am saving my own ass -you will think that is funny in a gross way if you read it.

Plus if you do decide to read Guts, do not base your impression of Chuck solely from this piece. It is merely one of many and is why he was considered merely a shock writer. I just found the style and comedy at the beginning to be rather well done. I would be much happier if you were to read his other books first.

What I will put is his website, http://www.chuckpalahniuk.net/. It has all the regular stuff you would think of i.e. bio, interviews, book info, but what I find really interesting are his short essay’s and tips and information on how to be a better writer.

Most authors would write a book on these instructions call it “How to be a better writer in 12 easy steps”. Slap a sticker on it stating “What a deal, all this information for just $29.95.” It would then be shipped to every Strabucks injected Chapter’s where it would be placed between “Writing for Dummies” and “How to Be a better Person”. The author would hope that Oprah would bless it with her personal seal of approval after completing and interview on her show. They would finally sit at home waiting for the cheques to roll in.

Chuck on the other hand is offering these tips, writing workshops and forums for free. Guess that’s why he writes as he lives; a dedicated minimalist.

Nickelback letter.

Well I said I would do it a while back and here it is my letter to Nickelback. I don’t normally write letters to bands or groups…as they usually don’t get a response and are most likely simply deleted or trashed as soon as they are received -plus I just have better things to do. But I had to at least send this one as my concern for music is rather grave and I couldn’t live with myself it I hadn’t.

Dear Nickelback;

Concerned music fan.

I know that music has had dark times in the past and the last several years -too many to count- have been no different. As the days seem to get their darkest and the clouds seem to get ever lower and heavier and when all seemed to be bleak with no hope in sight it happened. Nickelback appeared on the scene amid all the dark depressing ‘talented’ bands that are out there. This could be the light that will bring us out of this horrid dark age of music.

So with this pressure you (Nickelback) jump in the front seat and drive us deeper and arther down a depressive pit of depravity and anguish where we (especially Canadians) are embarrassed of the sad state affairs that is the music industry. The bar that represented what is considered recordable music has fallen so low that I don’t actually think it has been elevated in quite some time. What makes this travesty sink further is that the garbage is peddled to the general public and unfortunately many are so jaded and confused that they are buying what is considered 'music' b/c they have no other choice.

So I thought that if you can answer these questions honestly then we can maybe move on;

When do you believe your 15 minutes will be over?

When asked about producing the same song but just changing the lyrics of "How You Remind Me" & "Someday" you stated;
"If all hits sound the same, then sorry. When you are a band that has a distinct style such as us or AC/DC, that happens. When you have a distinct style, you run the risk of sounding similar." So you actually believe people bought that lame response? If you have creativity and imagination then no matter what your "distinct style" is, the songs won’t be exactly the same. In addition to that; how can you put yourself in the same category as AC/DC? Not sure if that is ballsy or just stupid, as you are nowhere close.

Does it get easier to be bottled off stage?

I could go on and on but I think that I will end with a question that was suggested from a friend of mine. It would probably be best to attempt to answer this one over the others. It will probably take you an extremely long period of time to come up with an answer so sharpen your crayons and get thinking;

Tell me why you don’t suck?

That's it, that's the question -oh and a heads up answers like "I am not you" are even a little juvenile for you although from your stellar song lyrics I am sure that you wouldn’t have the originality or vocabulary to come up with an answer that witty.

So as I am sure you and your feeble minded partners didn’t have a chance to peruse this letter, but in the off chance that you did, I have two strong alternatives for you they are merely suggestions and do with them what you wish;

Completely stop what you are doing NOW, and go back to your cover band.

Or

Take some time off and do some really strong soul searching maybe visit the Shaolin monks, learn other peoples cultures, have a near life experience by doing something extreme like maybe sky diving for example. Or do some strong drugs, go on a bender and drink nothing but whiskey and get into some trouble, fight…What I am trying to say is you need to figure out what a rock star actually is. And not just another main stream poser rock star but actually a talented one.

Sincerely
Melodically Annoyed Repulsed and Chafed by your music.

Devil’s Playground.

I had to post this video, not b/c of the video, but actually the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvjWlPQTOcA

I was never really a big fan of Billy Idol when I was a kid but his classics remained just that as he tweaked his sound according to the times and genres that he belonged to. 2005 was no different as his sound was tweaked yet again resulting in Devil’s Playground.

The album has a great deal of punk to it with some heavier stuff mixed in while containing some of Billy's old sound as well. The three songs that stand out for me the most are Romeo's Waiting, Super Overdrive and of course Scream the video I have posted. If you wish to you can listen to the other samples here;

http://www.amazon.com/Devils-Playground-Billy-Idol/dp/B0007DII8G

The other reason I have listened to this song, among others, about 20 times so far today is b/c Tracy and I have purchased our tickets to Europe in late summer early fall and I am really stoked. We will be spending a little over two and a half weeks in France, Switzerland, Italy and possibly Germany. The main purpose will consist of a 7 day trek of the Mont Blanc circuit.

Essentially we will be circumnavigating Europe’s highest peak (Mont Blanc) crossing from France, into Italy, then Switzerland and then returning to Chamonix, France. Throughout this hike we will see the valley’s and country side of all three countries involved as well as cross several passes of 7, 8 and 9000ft in elevation while we hike hut to hut. There will also be opportunities to be close to, and possibly on, some of the glaciers in the area.

Of course we look forward to partaking in the local fare including foods (French cheeses, breads and wine, Italian dinning, Switzerland’s chocolate…), more wines, and ales -obviously. After the hike is completed we will have the rest of the time to relax see some sites like Zermatt (The Matterhorn), Geneva, Chamonix, Paris and hopefully make it to Germany if time allows.

Once recovered from the trek we will most likely do some day hikes into the mountains and possibly some mountain biking. I would hope to be able to ski once in the Alps if possible as that would be one of the most amazing experiences of all. Now just have to save the money to go -well I guess I know where that nice tax return is going.

We are extremely stoked for this trip and are counting down the days

Loathsome Secrets of a Star-Crossed Child in the Final Days of the American Century

Today marks the third anniversary of Hunter S. Thompson’s death. I have included two of my favorite passages from Hunter’s writing. The shorter of the two Tracy had inscribed it in a photo album of our travels as a gift to me.

Here’s to you hunter; Res Ipsa Loquitur.

"Strange memories on this nervous night in Las Vegas. Five years later? Six? It seems like a lifetime, or at least a Main Era -- the kind of peak that never comes again. San Francisco in the middle sixties was a very special time and place to be a part of. Maybe it meant something. Maybe not, in the long run...but no explanation, no mix of words or music or memories can touch that sense of knowing that you were there and alive in that corner of time and the world. Whatever it meant. ...

"There was madness in any direction, at any hour. If not across the Bay, then up the Golden Gate or down 101 to Los Altos or La Honda. ... You could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning. ...

"And that, I think, was the handle -- that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn't need that. Our energy would simply prevail. There was no point in fighting -- on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. ...

"So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark -- that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back."

-- Hunter S. Thompson, Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, 1972

"With the palms zipping past and the big sun burning down on the road ahead, I had a flash of something I hadn't felt since my first months in Europe. A mixture of ignorance, and a loose, what-the-hell kind of confidence that comes when a man picks up and begins to move in a hard, straight line toward an unknown horizon."

--Hunter S. Thompson, The Rum Diary (1998)

Here are a couple clips of an interview in the 60s (I believe) the first is a short piece and then the second is the continuation (can’t find the whole thing any more and it could be b/c at one point Hunter sniffs coke behind a
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBVvBL8c8Q0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r31hV_BPFf0&NR=1

And this one is a trailer of the film that I purchased based (Breakfast with Hunter) on Hunter’s interesting life style and it has a kind of ‘a day in the life…’ feel to it. There are tons of clips on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Zw2atBc0RI

"Turn down the suck, turn up the good"

"You got the suck turned to 10 Farrell. I think you broke the knob off cranking so hard."

-For those of you that don’t know this quote is from FUBAR probably one of the funniest unknown and tiny budgeted movies of all time and Canadian to boot -yes I said boot.

Basically I love a great deal of what I consider ‘real music’. Musicians and singers with talent (and not electronics to make them sound good), imagination and stage presence. Now I have said this many times in the past to the point that Tracy just tunes me out when I start talking about music unless it is something new or a new band that I want her to hear.

So to keep the repetition down to a minimum right now I wanted to post some of my most hated singers and songs that have all cranked the suck knob to 11. Reason being is that at work we must have a radio station on that appeases everyone Bob FM. To be honest I only want to pull my hair out about 60% of the days as opposed to the other options. But none the less they still play top 40 and worse yet hits from "70’s, 80’s, 90’s and whatever" -as is their tagline.

Basically this station has made me think of some of my all time most hated songs and ‘musicians’ as they play a good portion of them;

In my top five songs that make me want to scratch my eyes out and shove something pointy in my ears -haven’t narrowed them all down yet:
Rosanna by Toto
Walking on sunshine and Walk like an Egyptian
We built this city…

In more general terms bands and songs that make my head literally hurt and my heart cry at the fact that people are allowed to make this type of ‘music’;
Human League – Human or anything for that matter
Woss Rock form Bon Jovi - most hated Bed of roses
George Michael – Anything at all by him
Foreigner – especially Hot Blooded
Cyndi Lauper – Again anything
Powder Blues Band - Doin' It Right
Corey Hart – that’s any easy one – ANYTHING
Maroon 5 –anything
Bryan Adams - especially Summer of 69’
Elton John pretty much everything, except Tiny Dancer as it is a great song and he does it well.
obla di bla da By the Beatles, why they made this song I will never understand.
Nickleback –do I need to mention any? Didn’t think so.
The entire EMO genre and the little kids that think it is actually punk music.

On second thought pretty much anything from any of these people is terrible. Well I could add a tone more but we all have bands and songs that we hate. Feel free to list any that you believe to be in your top most hated songs that make the bile back into your throat.

Art?

Like many kids I would draw a great deal when I was young. My parents saw something in what I was doing (probably just to keep me out of trouble) and put me in art classes –yes begin the laughing now. But what I found out was that I could paint rather well and did so for many years. I also learnt a great deal about art, artists, art forms and meanings. A fundamental question has always been what is art? Who determines what art is? And so on.

In a political science class I have this semester we studied certain artists work to understand political ideologies like post-modernism or colonialism and the like. Art can be an excellent tool to understand certain moments, decades, and or people over time. Art is meant to make you think, and even if you don’t consider something art the fact that it may make you break it down for what it might be, is an art form in its own.

I thought that I would pose a question similar to that of an email that was that was sent to me months ago. The images are different but I picked them out as some of them are my favorites, others seem to have something that draws me to them and who knows others could be yours not sure. But that is the idea; from the images below what do you considered art? I will state my choices below:

Salvidor Dali mainly known for his surrealist art style on the left and some of his more finer art like the one of his wife. He is part of the community of classic artists. Always a favorite.

Cubism founder Picasso & Monet's Venice
not really a big fan of these two but Picasso was speaking more about the changing times with his cubism style.

Modern artists like Warhol and Duchamp's Dadism style with the 'Fountain' again a comment on his times that after the first world war any daily item could be considered art.

Photography

The last amazing picture is of homeless leilana sitting against a trash can on sidewalk. she had just been in a fight so her eyes are swollen. sleeps in the park, which she's done since goming to sf 8 years ago. she got there by hitching from east coast; doing "whatever" to make a buck along the way. To see more of this talented work visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/stoneth/

Tattoing and Graffiti two modern forms of art that if done is some ways I find extremely artistic. Pretty amazing what people can do.

Don't Drown in the Main Stream

Many music genres have suffered a great deal and have become diluted or even in some cases completely torn to pieces and put back together containing bands that believe they are living up to the genre’s name when the fan knows they are not. There are those diamonds in the rough that we can find in music today but you have to sift through all the garbage that is past off as music.

Punk is no different and its downward spiral into the putrid musical era that we presently reside in. But before it did the three major acts and would become the backbone of the genre, Black Flag, Bad Brains and Minor Threat.

Approximately 1985 is as close to a time that you can equate with the fall out of true punk and hardcore punk. Black Flag saw the change coming and disbanded in 86 after one more tour attempt. Although Black Flag is considered by many to be the Flagship -no pun intended- all the angry punk fans road in on, today’s fans may miss one of the most influential punk bands of all time.

The Bad Brains, from Washington DC, have influenced many punk bands and others along the way including the Beastie Boys (one reason why they named themselves the Beastie Boys was to have the initials BB as the Bad Brains did obviously).

Lead singer, H.R. (human rights) stage name for Paul D. Hudson, rifled off lyrics fast and furious to the moshing and rioting crowds. Their songs were testaments to the hate for the establishment, injustice and all the regular crap that is wrong with the system we live in. Obviously these views were shared and strongly supported by their fans. The furious anger was only justified by the sound their collective talent produced.

They decided to change with the times in the mid-80s still sticking to their punk roots but changing up slightly. They saw that true punk was being boiled down in a large pot filled with main stream tones and wannabes. Along this path they would slowly move toward a reggae based sound with under tones and sometimes quick change ups into a punk sound.

So today we are stuck with that lost genre for the most part. Bands like Sum 41 and all those EMO bands like Jimmy eat world are considered punk. Who is considering them punk? I have heard a great number of teens’ state how much they hate that music and the path that music is on. Also university students prefer good spin-offs of punk i.e. Grunge from the early 90s as opposed to the crap today. But someone has to be buying today’s crap. Oh yes the boy band and Britney generations; no clue as to what real music is no matter the genre.

Maybe this is a good sign. See punk and punk hardcore began as an underground movement. Black Flag, minor threat, Bad Brains, Circle Jerks, The Ramones, Iggy Pop and many more all started as edgy punk bands that were hated by society. Slowly over time they became more accepted and slowly spilled into the main stream where they all decided to jump ship. Maybe the recent dislike of new bands today will start another underground revolution of “true” punk and good music from this genre will be created once again, at least for as long as it can before it is ruined once more.

Hey to each his own we all like our on music and music is like beauty it’s in the eye of the beholder. But there are limits to this and most of what is presently being produced is not beauty and nor is it music. If you look hard enough you can find something that has the sound you seek. For now I will continue the search and find those little known gems and always continue to listen to the classics.

The Boy Scout and the Shark man of the delta.

I have always enjoyed books based on military tactics, missions and so on. I also enjoy reading true stories of physical and mental challenges. What better then books about men who have made great sacrifices and came up with revolutionary Intel on how to complete sensitive and top secret missions.

Five years ago my father gave me a book from the direct point of view of the soldier. The book, “Rogue Warrior”, is the autobiography of one of the toughest SOBs in the military, Richard Marcinko. Marcinko and his men created revolutionary military tactics that are utilized by the SEALs. As a lieutenant for the SEALs in Vietnam, he led what was considered by the Navy “the most successful SEAL operation in the (Mekong) Delta.” Marcinko and his men killed great numbers of vietcong and proceeded to destroy six sampans.

After his first tour he was promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade. After this Marcinko wanted a second tour in Vietnam where he completed several highly successful missions and was rewarded with Lieutenant Commander and several medals of honor. There was also a confirmed rumour that the Vietcong had a bounty out for Marcinko’s head. These were the reasons among others of why he was considered such a deadly warrior.

Once completing missions in Vietnam Marcinko would go on to work with SEAL team six in 1979. Here he aided in the Iran hostage crisis named; Operation Eagle Claw. Would later finish his degree as well as an MA in international relations and is now a freelance consultant for many large corporations. There are many criticisms about marcinko many have to deal with his brash attitude but a great deal are based on his tactics. But in Marcinko’s world of clandestine missions there was but one question, “Them or me?” Although not always by the book Marcinko did what he had to do to ensure the safety of his men, himself and then his country.

This past summer for my birthday a friend of mine (Alex) gave me a book along the same line as Marcinko’s. “Inside Delta Force” by Eric Haney. Eric Haney retired as Command Sergeant Major in 1989 after serving in the Delta Force for 8 years. He was involved with operation eagle claw and was actual in a plane that went down in that conflict.

Haney suffered through Airborne Ranger training and had served as one in Vietnam. He was recognized as one of the best in his division and was quickly making a name for himself as a born leader, decision maker, and accomplished soldier. This made him a perfect candidate for a newly created division in the Army, Special Operations Unit Delta (Delta Force no not that bad Chuck Norris movie). Haney accepted the challenge.

When he began the selection process for Delta he would experience challenges of mind and body that the average person could not comprehend. 180 were asked to apply for the selection program and only 18 made it through. The training would move through physical applications, sharp shooting i.e. being able to put two shots into a terrorist with hostages all around and only a few inches as a window. To room breaching, demolition and finally espionage similar to that of the CIA. Haney would become a military consultant and after 9/11 was often seen on national TV being asked for his professional opinions on the matter. Rather amazing soldier.

Both books are great reads. Major similarities/differences; I didn’t realize the Delta force did so much espionage. Very interesting as I believe delta is more like the CIA in that respect then the SEALs.

SEAL training and hell week for that matter still think that it is a little more demanding, but have to admit once I realized all the miles that were calculated and the navigational cluster fuck the delta operaters had to go through for selection, it was by no means ‘a walk in the park’. The Delta men suffered immensely and were always left questioning if they made the right decisions.

The two as soldiers honestly I think that Marcinko comes across in his book very macho and brash, but you have to think of the world this guy is coming from. He attempts to paint the picture perfectly and is not around the bush. It is war, war is not nice, and you want to know if the guy next you will stay and fight with you tooth and nail or will he run and hide.

Haney has a different approach. Similar worlds but more of the CIA operative type. He seems to try and respect his readers and is probably the same way in real life. I am sure that he is probably extremely polite and would not curse around a lady or in front of anyone for that matter. I felt that the contrast of both books that dealt with similar situations was rather interesting. But I guess they are both completely different people and soldiers so that is to be expected.

I highly recommend both. If not for anything more then to get a feel for why these guys want to protect their countries. By the way Haney is the guy on the left.

What will happen to 'good' music in 2009?

Music. I listen to music for many different reasons but primarily for the same thing, how it makes me feel and the mood that I am seeking. But a large portion of the music I listen to contains a deeper meaning. And no I am not talking about playing Helter Skelter backwards to see if they are actually talking about Satan. I am speaking of bands that stand for something and that use their fame and fortune in an attempt to protest social injustice as opposed to just making large sums of money and striving to be on the cover of ‘Teen’ magazine.


Where will music end up? That is a question that has been bothering me lately. Anyone who knows me knows that I have strong opinions on what is good music and where we are heading musically and politically. But why would I speak of music and politics in the same breath? A-ha, there in lies the problem. Music and politics.

It has been said that music is edgier and for the most part better when there is a republican in office in the US. Why? Most of the time there is so much political disharmony people are generally angry toward the government. Bush obviously did not let us down and if you compare the music from Clinton’s term in office to Bush’s, bush obviously delivered a great deal of inspiration and anger resulting in better music.

One such band that I have been listening to for years has been NIN (Nine Inch Nails for those who may not know). Trent Reznor has often used his writing expertise in a way as too point out social injustice. His latest song, Capital G, from the album, Year Zero, is no different.

The songs opens with;
I pushed a button and elected him to office and
He pushed a button and it dropped a bomb
You pushed a button and could watch it on the television
Those mother fuckers didn't last too long huh huh
I'm sick of hearing 'bout the haves and the have notsHave some personal accountability

Full lyrics http://www.9inchnails.com/lyrics/capital-g.php
Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgq0_OqYkx4

Trent wrote the song from the point of view of someone who has obviously voted for Bush and has become angry with the state of the world. But has been so put off by it that she/he has lost all faith and doesn’t care anymore about society or future generations. Trent -obviously not a Bush supporter- is attempting to use his recognition and music to transmit a message that although many voted for Bush, many believe nothing can be changed, and that the fate of generations to come is sealed, that this is not the case.

Now I hope that we are able to have a decent representative take office in 2009 -preferably a democrat. But what will this ultimately mean to music? Not sure it is obviously too early to tell. We always have troubles in the world but nothing seems to get the creative juices flowing better then when there is a disagreeable president in office. All in all I would much prefer that a more appropriate president -in all aspects- in office but we will have to wait and see.

Another person doing their part and being censored for it, is System of a down lead singer Serj Tankian. He wrote a great article two days after 9/11, please give it a read it is well worth it. He posted it on his band’s website and Sony immediately pulled it down stating that Serj was justifying the attacks of 9/11 when he merely stated the facts and his opinion. Hmmm not sure but I do believe that is censorship. Way to go Sony you bucnh of Nancy's.

Article here http://donce.awardspace.com/esej.html

Rolling stone has a list of over 200 bands that are against Bush;
http://www.spacechase.net/green/rock_against_bush.htm#secttop