So....
 
What a week.   Let's see, how did it start out...Friday, the surprise party for me at Jordan's, which was awesome.  Saturday, a three-year relationship ended.   I can honestly say I experienced both ends of the emotional spectrum in a 24 hour period.  Maybe it really is the best thing, time will tell...part of me wants us to get back together, but then I realize that if I spend my time dwelling on that, I'll never move on...and end up like Bill Dautrive...and that's not going to happen.  All I know is that I've lost 10lbs in a week due to my incessant treadmill routine. 

I'm also afraid I'm going to lose my best friend...it would be a shame if 3 years of memories went to waste.   I mean, romantic interest or not, I've shared more with her on a person to person level than anyone else, and I don't want that to just fade.  So I guess if she's reading this, I just want her to know that I'm always there for her and that if she thinks we can continue this on a friends level, I'm for it.  There!  I put the pressure on you! ;)

Anyways, I'm leaving for Columbia a lot earlier than I expected (i.e. This Monday).   Everyone who wants to say goodbye to me, better get on that fast, cause I'm leaving Texas baby, and I ain't coming back.

awesome...this journey can only get better.

I don't care what they say, I like the Polyphonic Spree
and other random musings.
 
Anyone else drawing Uncle Tueplo comparisons with Sparta and the Mars Volta?  Sparta is obviously the Son Volt of this pairing, with the Mars Volta on a Wilco-like tear.  Sparta puts out their debut, a strong one at that, that isn't much different that At The Drive In (a la Son Volt, Trace).  Critical acclaim follows.  The Mars Volta puts out an EP, not as widely acclaimed (Wilco, AM).  Then the Mars Volta busts out with their debut, a prog-rock masterpiece that blows everyone else out of the water (Wilco, YFH).  Sparta then releases their next cd which, while good, shows no real growth or deviation from ATDI.(Son Volt, Jay Farrar's every other release).  Interesting...hopefully the Mars Volta won't suffer a Ghost Is Born type relapse.
 
 
I think I'll get a haircut today.
 
All of my friends are dirty sneaks, and I love them for it.

Holy crap...Blogspot upgraded...amazing!
 
The Ultra Secret Vishnu Department at Harcourt, Part I
Ok, this is really strange...there's this section, suspiciously titled "Alerts" in the back of my office, near the door.  Every single person, and when I say every single, I mean every freaking single person that hides back there is of Indian enthnicity.  Not Sitting Bull Indian, but the "I wanna blow up Pakistan" Indian...now that I've said that they're probably Pakistani...but who can really tell.  For argument's sake, they are Indian.  But whatever the hell it is they are doing, obviously Harcourt decided that only Indians can do it.  Are they dealing with the Indian gov't setting up tests?  Well, obviously not otherwise I would have dealt with it.  There are also no other Indians anywhere else, save the one guy who sits in the cubicle next to my favorite copy machine who is always on IM, but he's secluded so it just lends to my secret Indian conspiracy theory.  It's really bothering me.  I will get to the bottom of this before I leave.
 
 
Finished my first recording with the olde Lap Steel.  My summer EP is turning out good despite my limited time to record it.  I've turned into a big fan of one takes.  Except for the lap steel, cause I'm learning the instrument as I'm recording so it takes a few times to nail down exactly what I want. 
 

boob.

 
 

I don't have the energy to write a bunch today...but needless to say, Fleetwood Mac's Rumors is by far the best record my mother ever bought...and one of the only ones...I guess when you sell eleventy-billion copies, even Liz will have it.

And needless to say I'm pretty lonely right now...haven't talked to Maddie in a week cause her cell phone doesn't work in the mountains. I thought she got back today, but I'm not really sure. Oh well...I'm listening to "The City" a lot ( see post on greatest songs ever).

I'll deal with Johnny Liberal tomorrow night.

Why John Kerry is full of it
and why the current celebrity sentiment is built on nothing but ignorance

I feel I must write something about this upcoming election thing after this week's barrage on why Johnny K's picking of Johnny E as his running mate is going to improve his chances. Let's examine the new battle cray of the K/E campagin..."Middle Class Values"...Um, excuse me, when the hell were John Kerry and John Edwards considered middle class? John "The Male Anna Nicole Smith" Kerry, while rich before, married into extreme wealth with his marriage to the Heinz woman. Edwards, while he gives a great story about his middle class parents, is a succesful trial lawyer (read: multi-millionaire), far removed from the middle class I live in, where we live pay check to pay check, drive chevrolets and don't give a flying flip about Kyoto. John Kerry is obviously out of touch with the "Middle America" he's trying so desperatly to court, which is why he selected Edwards as his running mate...a Southern gentleman who will singlehandedly swing the vote in favor of Kerry in the Southern states. Voters should be insulted by this. Instead of having the balls to run on his own platform, Kerry is using Edwards to reach the people he can't. Some might say "wow, brilliant." I say "What a dumbass, no one votes for the VP." Seriously...this is the campaign for President. If Kerry is so insecure about his chances that he must rely on an unproven charmer to carry him, that says a lot about the man. Not that I'm the biggest Bush/Cheney fan, but Bush has a confidence about him that is nowhere on Kerry. Kerry's makes me feel like I should beat the crap out of him just because he exudes weakness.

AND...I'm sick of this bleeding heart liberal entertainer crap. God bless Arnold Swarwherever for having the balls to run as a republican in Hollywood, at least he's living in a somewhat real world. I've yet to see one of these celebrities send back their fat refund check from the Bush tax cuts...then I'd believe their rants. oooh, classic moment I saw on Fox news today. This is when I knew Kerry was a douche bag for good. His Press whore (who happens to be a guy with a horrible haircut) was shown a clip where Kerry is jamming out with all these celebrities and musicians (Bon Jovi, Whoopi Goldberg, etc...) and they start bitching out Bush with all these horrible phrases, then they cut to Kerry going "And these are the middle class values I'm talking about!!" His press whore then spends a few minutes spouting off stuff like "I don't think he was present at the whole event" and "The values he's talking about aren't what they were saying." give me a break...it's a fund raiser for Kerry, if he's not there ther entire time, what a scam, and of course he's talking about what they were saying. John Kerry is a douche bag, and everyone around him knows it.

And finally, why any one trust celebrities for political awareness is beyond me...case and point a quote from Adam Yauch of the "politicaly-minded" beastie boys in Spin Magazine. "I think Bush is terrifying. The guy is a lunatic. We'd be hard pressed to find somebody worse to put in there. Maybe Adolf Hitler." um....can we say dumbass? I think so. Next, when asked if he's politically active, he says "Does that mean I'm at political functions...Or does that mean I'm in the park with my friends talkinb about how fucked George Bush is? I guess I"m in the category of talkinb about hom fucked George Bush is...That's how politically engaged I am." So this artist, who is touted by MTV as being one of the most politically astute basically does no research on his stands and is just shooting the shit with friends and that's how he comes by his opinions. Nice.

Tomorrow...the Saga of the Brainwashed Liberal College Student that sat next to me at work.

First off...

I am convinced Joel does not realize how insignificant a role I play at the office...He goes "We're gonna need everyone to come in on Saturday." Joel, seriously, I spent 30 minutes today picking lint out of my "Shipped On (Date)" stamp, I really don't need to be there Saturday...in fact, I don't serve a purpose at all except to keep Sandra and Diana entertained. I suppose that's what keeps me from being fired, they like me for some reason. Oh well, I'm still getting paid.

Secondly...

My pop song project is underway, I have a killer hook and chorus already. I'm proud of it.

Thirdly...

Spin was right, Fleetwood Mac is a damn good record.

Fourthly...

Where is my lap steel guitar?? It's been two weeks. Stupid Canadians.

Fifly...(Dave Chappelle anyone?)

I don't care what Larry Ratliff says, I am going to go see "Anchorman"


Rhiannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnon.

Why Thursday is the worst day of the week

Simply because it's not Wednesday or Friday.

Let's think about it...Wednesday is hump day...the week is half over...two more days and it's Friday (aka payday)...you begin to party.

Then Thursday hits you like a ton of bricks. There's one, awful, horrible, long day before Friday, and you gotta work the whole damn Friday to get paid anyways. Friday seems so far away, and Wednesday is a distant memory. Basically, Thursday is like the other Osmonds. No one gives a crap about anyone but Donnie and Marie, and when you have to think about the rest of them, it's painful. Think about Thursday...hurts, doesn't it?

It's only a mater of time...

My job is growing irrelevent at an exponential pace. Sandra makes me sit with her and act like we're doing something so I don't get fired too quickly. I like her, she understands I have really stopped caring about this job...and she made me corn cakes one day. When everyone else got the boot, and I revealed that I'm not coming back, my position quickly became in jeopardy...and with that in mind, my performance has, shall we say...suffered. Not that I do a poor job on what I do accomplish during the day...on the contrary, I'm still as dilligent as ever with my QCing duties...it's just that I take longer...go for walks...find any excuse to go shred stuff on the industrial shredder...use the bathroom in the cafeteria...I guess this is a bad thing...I keep telling myself that I can't be like this when I have a "real" job, but then I tell myself I'll be doing something I like, which, as we all know, is bullcrap...but this is my first real job...I'll call it my "Rookie League" season.

Peace my honkies.

Anyone actually reading this? Let me know (AIM: downsouthpunk35)

I am going to prove a point...to show my utter disregard for today's pop music scene and my own overblown confidence in my songwriting ability, I am going to write a commercially viable pop song. I have done this before, with "One Step Behind", which, though in a bare-bones arrangement was a really good fluffy-pop song. And this one is going to be good too...just to prove that you don't have to be a musical genius to write "acceptable" radio songs, I am going to do this. Will I actually finish it? With all the crap going on right now, signs point to no, but I'm gonna get the idea in my head and on paper at least.

All The People That Pretended To Like Me Are Gone
(or at least those that ate lunch with me)

It's true. I'm the last one left standing out of my hiring group. I guess I get the longevity award. Victor, Esther, Sarah, Jon, and Stacey, this one's for you.

Victor - I will miss your stories of prostitutes in Guam. Maybe someday you will be able to play your drums and not have your girlfriend yell at you.

Esther - You amazed me with your stories of your drunken exploits. And yes, even though you were .01 above the legal limit, the cop really shouldn't have thrown you in jail.

Sarah - Wal-Mart really is the only store that matters. Hope you finally find a job.

Jon - I will never forget your daily "meetings" with the newspaper in your "office". And all the pot you smoked.

Stacey - I will miss your agreeing with me and Victor that Harcourt is devoid of attractive women and your open oggling of Jugs.

So what's it like to be the longest tenured temp at the office? Pretty crappy...I'm still doing menial work like shoving stuff into envelopes...I wish they'd fire me and end this tension.

Miss my Maddie.

Peace my crackers.

How I've fooled them all...

So I got offered a full time job at Harcourt today...seems that I forgot to mention that I go to college in Nashville and am getting the hell out of Dodge ASAP. I feel my imminent firing approaching, considering Norma said something to the tune of "Well, we need to find someone else to train to do this." Yet again my "slacking just less than the others" attitude has gotten me a pseudo-promotion...I may be on to something.

Making progress with DJ Dave's record collection...my favorite find so far is the s/t Fleetwood Mac one..."Say That You Love Me" is such a great song. And I don't think there is a better record side than side 2 of London Calling by the Clash...Also, despite Pitchfork's glowing recomendation of David Bowie's Low, I seriously doubt that it's the #1 record of the 70's...it would have to be Led Zep IV or London Calling.

Forgotten Treasures - as I was in the process of trying to organize my cd's in one of my new 200 cd-holding cases, I came across Neon Golden by The Notwist...dunno how I forgot this bad boy, but it's an excellent record.

This summer's EP is shaping up nicely...track list is as follows: Niches, Crutch, Say That You Love Me (Fleetwood Mac Cover...I ditched the Nick Drake idea), and Boylston.
I've done 4 track tape demos for all of them and only the instrumental "Boylston" is on Nuendo right now....quit acting like you know what I'm talking about.

Peace, Love, and I'm getting laid off soon! Yes!

What's Wrong With Music: A List by Eric Domkowski

(I scribbled these down during a break at work)

1. Clear Channel Communications (obviously)
2. Pop-Country (crash commercialism surpassing even that of pop music)
3. Letting Pop singers sing the National Anthem (seriously, they suck...and did anyone see Aretha Franklin do the one at the NBA Finals? Could she do a worse job at lip-syncing? It was awful)
4. Barbara Striesand (from her ridiculous leftist politics to her less than acceptable singing voice, why do we even give her air space any more?)
5. "Big" sounding 80's drums (come on, obviously you didn't record the snare in a warehouse, you're not fooling me)
6. Nu-Metal (crap, the entire state of rock radio falls under this one)
7. Michael Jackson (I love "Off the Wall" and "Thriller"...it's a shame he didn't just die or something to preserve a legacy...now it's just sad)
8. Arena Concerts (is there anything less intimate than sitting 500 feet from a performer?)
9. The rap "image" (especially the pimp, ho's money crap...I'm not against the music, just the image that certain popular groups exude is bullshit and needs to stop before a generation of kids imbibes much more of it)
10. Auto Tune (now any dumbass can sing).

Random Thoughts Time...

In all sitcoms, why do people always bust in through the back door that leads to the kitchen? When in real life do people come into your house through the kitchen door? And it always leads to the carport and backyard when they go outside...does that seem odd to anyone else? Did the option of using the conventional front door just not enter their minds? WHY??

So this lady at work I thought was fat, turns out she was pregnant. This isn't the first time this has happened to me.

When did our radio stars cease to be musical innovators? I'm betting on the late 70's, early 80's. Besides, let's say Nirvana and Radiohead, has anyone done anything of merit in the past decade that's been commercially succesful? I mean, though I don't always like them, Pink Floyd were amazing musicians. Led Zepplin? U2? Geez, even Dire Straits. Can you name a group of solo artist that garnered tons or radio play that you were like "Man, that guy can play" No? Me neither. My generation's radio stars are about as adventurous as bingo night in the retirement home. And that is something very sad. We are glorifying stars who incresingly rely on vocal talents instead of true musicianship, and those talents should be called into great question due to advances in the studio (I should know). Not that musical innovation is totally absent from the world, it's just that those who are pushing the envelope are not getting the respect they deserve while today's kids are being given music of the lowest common demoninator.

Best Investment I've made this summer - the one pound bag of sunflower seeds. Best $2 I've ever spent.

Why are all my recent songs sounding like Songs For A Blue Guitar - era Red House Painters? Oh yeah, that's cause it's all I've been listening to.


Ok, here are the songs that made up the 1st ever Belmont Hockey game pre-game drive mixtape. Wow.

"Bille Jean" - Michael Jackson
"Theme From Shaft" - Issac Hayes
"Don't Stop Believing" - Journey
"Get Your Hands Off My Woman" - The Darkness
"Enter Sandman" - Metallica
"Fat Bottomed Girls" - Queen
"Carry On My Wayward Son" - Kansas
"Jenny Says" - Cowboy Mouth
"Damn It Feels Good to be a Gangster" - I really don't know...the mp3 I had says the Eels...but I doubt that.
"All Falls Down" - Kanye West
"Firestarter" - Prodigy
"One More Time" - Daft Punk
"Staring at the Sun" - TV On The Radio (this song makes every mix I've made this year, regardless of format.)

Guess which one got the most groans? Yup, Daft Punk.

Till we meet again.

(and no I haven't forgotten about my worst list, give it time)

someday, when I have $2,500 to throw around...I will own a Gretsch White Falcon. *sigh* too bad this thing doesn't allow for pictures, or I would post one.

What I hate about my job...

no, it's not the things like the early hours, or the bad coffee.

It's things like how I have 5 feet between my desk and the one behind me, but my fat boss manages to run into the back of my chair everytime...or how parents wonder why their kids can't spell when they are spelling their names phonetically like a retard...come on, you name him D'Schuwan and you wonder why he fails...idiots...I saw 5, count them, 5 different spellings for "Michelle".

Also, God have mercy on my soul, but I utterly despise Christian school names...after having to audit the entire American Association of Christian Schools, I am growing tired of all these "Heritage Christians"...look, if you've been a school for 2 years with 10 students you don't have a heritage. There were other offenders, but I have banished them from my mind.

And I haven't forgotten about the glorious "Worst things in music" list...here's a sneak peak...BARBARA STRIESAND.

Also, if anyone wants a cd copy of my greatest songs ever, I will gladly provide them with one.

Peace

Yeah...didn't win the lap steel...I put my max bid at $330...sold for $335...I think I blew my ebay good luck with the zztop t-shirt. So I think I might have to buy it at full price from somewhere...and that chaps my ass man, it really does. Not only would I have gotten it for $20 less than Musicians friend, but I would have gotten free shipping...dang.

Next week, there will be the unveiling of the grand list of "The Worst Things in Music in the Past 100 Years" Not that I have 100 years worth of musical knowledge, but I just didn't want to leave any room for error.

Madeleine comes home tomorrow! Yes!

"Name me someone ridiculous, Danny Richmond!"

"Eiesenhaur Nazi Fascist Supreme!"

"2, 4, 6, 8 they brainwash and teach you hate!"

Oh, I just love Charles Mingus.

The Chandler Lap Steel is mine in exactly ONE HOUR...as long as no one bids over $330. Bastards (copyright Jordan).

ok, I lied, the triumphant return is today, the 20th.

Aaaaaaaaaaand...I'm back.

Yeah, I can't believe it either...it's been a while. So why am I returning, you ask? Ah, good question, young lady. I return to bring you my list of the fifteen greatest songs ever.

Another list? Didn't you already exhaust yourself with that stupid "Top songs of the 90's?"

No.

Now, this list is kind of different. It's not enitirely based on musical value, but more on the value these songs have to me personally. I had a few criteria for this list, not just compiling ever 90's alt-rock song like I did last time. First off, the song had to be known to me for over a year (a rule that I make an exception for for a few songs). I wanted songs that had lasting power. I'm in love with "Staring at the Sun" by TV on The Radio, but I've only had the cd for 2 months or so, so I don't want to go calling it a classic just yet. I mean, there was a time in my life I would have sworn "Tomorrow's Another Day" by MxPx was a work of art. You can understand my hesitance to champion anything fresh in my mind. Second, it had to have some emotional value. These songs had to be more than just great melodies, they needed to bring some sort of feeling or memory to me at their opening chords. Third, they had to be awesome. Ok, that said, I present you with the Greatest Fifteen Songs of ALL TIME.

1. "The City" - The Dismemberment Plan - Sometimes there are songs that you hear and you go "Shit, that's me." This is one of them. I first got this cd before I left for college, but I didn't understand the lyrics of this song until I had been on my own for a while. Travis Morrison, the singer, has an amazing way with words, and this is his finest moment, describing the utter lonliness of being abandoned and living alone. This song, while one of the greatest breakup songs ever, hits on so many more levels, and I challenge those who are in college to try to listen to the first verse and not feel like he's talking about you. On a personal level, I always get an urge to play this song whenever I'm away from my girlfriend for an extended period of time. I don't relate to the last part of the song, but something about "The city's been dead/since you've been gone" makes me want her back with me more than ever. Needless to say, this song got a lot of spins last week.
"Sometimes I stand alone on my roof at night/and watch as something seems to happen to someone else/I wish that a breeze/ would pick me up and carry me away."

2. "The Stars are Projectors" - Modest Mouse - This entire list could be overrun with Modest Mouse songs, but I chose the one that has found more plays on my stereo than any other one. At nearly 9 min, this song takes you on so many twists and turns, and most bands would be lucky to have an album's worth of material as good as this song. If this cd is in my changer in my car and I'm driving at night, I always turn it up, lower my windows and sing at the top of my lungs. I know, I'm a bit off.
"The stars are projectors/projecting our lives down to this planet Earth/Everyone wants a double a feature/they all want to be their own damn teachers"

3. "Lowell, MA" - Death Cab For Cutie - This song is so important to me because it taught me to enjoy melodies. Before this song, I was a total punk rock kid, as were many of us, stupidly. I was convinced everything needed to be fast and loud. This song hit me over the head and opened my ears to so many more things. DCFC is one of the most influential bands ever for me musically and I owe what little sense of melody I have to listening over and over to Ben Gibbard songs. Scary!
"Don't go holding out on me now."

4. "Close to Perfect" - Homesick for Space - Ok, here's what I meant about what songs not being classics, or musically astounding. This band is the most influential band ever as far as my musical tastes now. I came across a review for this 5 song EP on some punk website a few years back and decided to give it a try. I burned a copy of this song to a cd before I had ever listened to it, along with a bunch of hardcore songs. To think that I heard this song in the middle of a mix of hardcore is humorous unto itself, but this song blew me away with it's melodies and drumming. Falsetto...I'd never thought about that before. This band opened my ears to other acts like DCFC and Sigur Ros...and of course that led to everything else.
"And we turn too slow/These days come and go"

5. "Olsen Olsen" - Sigur Ros - I remember my first taste of Sigur Ros like it was yesterday. It was a clip of them playing "Untitled 1" and it was low grade, audience tape recorder quality, with talking in the background. I was floored by it and immediatly bought their "Untitled" cd. But I didn't find this song until Madeleine gave me that "A-blah b-blah blah" cd for Christmas one year. This song stayed on repeat on my stereo for nearly a day. If I ever just want to chill out, I throw this on and make a glass of tea and just meditate. Amazing.
(Not a real language....wait..."da da da da da da da da da da")

6. "Look Away" - Hootie and the Blowfish - As my favorite band before my forgettable punk-only years, Hootie and the Blowfish, though despite the crap I get from people these days, rocked. This is an obscure track of their major label debut, and it's so beautiful that I challenge all the Hootie naysayers to listen to this song and not at least come away with some respect for them.
"Saw her standing there/tears upon her face told me something was wrong"

7. "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" - U2 - I get chills still when I hear this song. Enough said.

8. "Train in Vain" - The Clash - This is where The Clash showed they were a truly great band, in my opinion. Arguably the greatest punk band ever, they wrote this amazing pop song, that should be counted as one of the greatest songs, period, genre nonwithstanding. I saw a country band, Two Tons of Steel, cover this song, and it translated as well in that style as it does in the original, the proof of a great song.

9. "Black Lung" - Rancid - Ok, one pure punk song makes the list. Rancid are great, and I still hold to that even now, and this is my favorite song by them, by a longshot. I listened to this before every soccer game my junior and senior year in high school and I never got tired of it. The bassline drives this thing and the call and response chours is perfect.
"Hey unbeliever/Hah! Black Lung Fever/Transmit reciever/ I don't like you either!"

10. "The Seed 2.0" The Roots ft/Cody Chesnutt - A cover of an original Chesnutt song, this thing broke my year rule by just flat out kicking musical ass. As my buddy Jon A pointed out, the innuendo is perfect. If all rap-ish songs were this clever, the genre might have a leg to stand on (props to Outkast for delievering such an album this year).
"I push my seed in your bush for life/I take my time because I'm pushing it right"

11. "Haitian Fight Song" - Charles Mingus - I love jazz, no exceptions. More specifically, I love jazz with great basslines. Charles Mingus was a bass player. Ergo, this song has an amazing bassline. I will hold to the day I die that this man was a musical genius worthy of mention with Beethoven and Mozart, though I doubt anyone will go with me on that, due to the musical sonbbery I wish didn't exist. "How could a black bass player from Arizona be as worthy as Beethoven and Bach? Ludicrous!" Well sir, you have your gods, I have mine. BTW, Bach sucks. Beethoven wasn't too bad. Debussy was better.

12. "Airegin" - Grant Green/Sonny Clark - More jazz! One of my first jazz cd's, the opening track caught my attention right away. There's this tension near the end of the song after the drum fills, and then the guitar comes in with the main melody again and just levels entire cities with the groove on it. Again, one of those that has more emotional value than musical, yet still a great song.

13. "Cold Shot" - Stevie Ray Vaughan - I have my grandfather to thank for my SRV addiction. When I was 11 or 12, he gave me a cd that came with his new computer that had a bunch of songs on it from Sony artists. Most of it was crap, with people like Gloria Estefan and Alice and Chains, "Couldn't Stand the Weather" by SRV was on there, and seriously, this moment has had more influence on me (indirectly) than any other incident in my life (so far). I quit playing classical guitar, bought a strat and proceeded to immerse myself in blues and jazz for a good 3-4 years. Imagine if were still playing classical guitar. You can't? Me neither. I can't imagine my life before SRV. That's heavy, man.
"That's a cold shot baby, yeah, that's a drag."

14. "First Tube" - Phish - Man, I get so much crap for liking Phish in college, despite being the perenial pot smoking college band. This song flat out grooves for like 9 minutes, building on the main riff. The synths bleet and splat all over the place, and the bass is relentless. Too bad they're breaking up, I think I'll go buy their new cd, just to piss off all my friends. Hey, remember that time I played this during a poker game and everyone got mad at me? Yeah, that was great.

15. "Good Morning, Aztalan" - Los Lobos - I really connected with this band, being from such a heavy hispanic town like San Antonio...and another one of those bands I get crap about. This is from the album of the same name from pretty late in their careers, and the driving drum beat really sells the song. I remember going to their concert last year and saying to myself after they finished their set, "There's no way they won't play this for the encore." Sure enough, they busted this thing out in the packed confies of Gruene Hall and pretty much made my life a much better place. I left right after that because I realized it couldn't get much better, ever.
"I gotta say 1, 2, 3 more things before I go on."

In the next few days, I will list the top 15 worst songs ever, beginning with every hair metal ballad ever written. Warrant, you're a marked band, son. Sister Christian would rap your knuckles while you picked every rose thorn out of your ass, you pansy. You thought it was clean, but no! Every rose has it's thorn.

HOLY CRAP HAVE YOU HEARD? THE TRIUMPHANT RETURN OF THE FIREWHEEL PROJECT BLOG...JUNE 21ST, 2004. BE THERE.

I Don't Understand "Texas" Music

Really, I just don't get it. It's nothing special. I have seen both Jerry Jeff Walker and Robert Earl Keen, the monsters of Texas Music, and I have left both shows very unimpressed.

Perhaps it wasn't the right venue. I saw JJW at the San Antonio Rodeo, complete with amazingly cheesy revolving stage, and I saw REK at Vanderbilt's Rites of Spring, with the place in a decidedly damp mood after the afternoon's downpour of rain.

Maybe both are past their prime. These guys are old. REK looked like he could have cared less about the show. JJW just looked half dead.

Perhaps it was the uninspiring music. I think that unless you now every word by heart, these shows aren't fun. Like I said about REK; he didn't look very happy to be there. That doesn't translate well for the audience. At least the guy on before him, Matt Wertz, gave it his all.

Anyways, give me Two Tons of Steel anyday for my Americana fix.

Au Revoir.

I HAVE CONQUERED EBAY
Here is an hour by hour account of my first experience winning an eBay auction...

2 pm: I see that a vintage ZZ Top t-shirt is for sale for $20. Being an absolute ZZ Top freak, even to the point of suggesting that we play "Just Got Paid" at a church retreat, I feel the shirt is well worth the $20.

3pm: Check the shirt again. No one has bid yet. I am excited.

3:05pm: I realize that the shirt is probably too expensive for the average bid-stealing jerk. I am feeling better about the auction.

3:30pm: I try to sign up for a free service of Auctionsniper that Jessi told me about. Keeps telling me that my account doesn't exist. I know for a fact that this is a lie, since I am signed into eBay as I attempt this maneuver. Much cursing the internet follows and I decide to do it the hard, honest way.

5pm: I go to dinner. Still no bidding. I am picturing me walking around campus and people going "Man, what an awesome shirt."

5:25pm: I rush back to my computer to place a bid since I will be in the studio for an undetermined time. I put my maximum bid at $30. I am the first bidder.

7pm: I return from the studio to find that I am still the only bidder. I can see the shirt fitting tightly over my huge muscular arms while I am hanging out with Dusty Hill.

8:16pm: I return from playing basketball to see that I am still the only bidder. only 50 minutes remain in the auction.

9pm: I sit glued to my computer screen, refreshing every 10 seconds. I have not been this nervous since last night when I did the same thing with a Van Halen t-shirt (see yesterday's entry)

9:05pm: I am now the proud owner of a vintage ZZ Top "El Loco" t-shirt. Much rejoicing. I only had to pay $20. I start singing show tunes cleverly changing the lyrics to reflect my newfound love of eBay. I pay the guy. The shirt is mine. The shirt is MINE.

Tomorrow the cycle repeats with the bowling shirt. Let's keep this winning streak alive, baby!

Gracias.