On A Totally Stupid Article Against Harvey Milk

I found this article about Harvey Milk which is basically the author bitching and making things up about Harvey Milk probably because he hates the fact a gay guy is going to have a day recognized after him.

I am no great scholar of the life and career of Harvey Milk but what I find really offensive in this article was to downplay Milk's accomplishes by stating he only served in office for a year. This would be like saying JFK was a horrible president because he didn't finish his term.

The quote in context

Milk makes a rather unremarkable subject for the silver screen. In his seven years in San Francisco, he made four bids for elective office, only emerging victorious in his last—a 1977 run for city supervisor. For his persistence, Milk jokingly referred to himself as the “gay Harold Stassen.” He served for less than a year. In naming the onetime camera-shop proprietor one of the 100 most important people of the twentieth century, Time conceded, “As a supervisor, Milk sponsored only two laws—predictably, one barring anti-gay discrimination, and, less so, a law forcing dog owners to clean pets’ messes from sidewalks.” Eleven months on the city council hardly seems the stuff of Hollywood legend. So Hollywood invented a legend.

By trying to downplay Milk's contributions he made in his life by insinuating that Milk was unsuccessful because he did not even serve a year is blatantly dishonest and it illustrates that no one should take him to seriously.

Call Me When The Kid Hits The Ground

I have been so busy I have not had a chance to update my blog as often as I would like. Fuck man I didn't even get to part four of my attempted five part series regarding music last week. How shameful. But yeah going out almost every night doing trivia or concerts or movies or just hanging out with someone you think is really great is a very stellar way to live life but the downside is that you readers don't get any of my witty and insightful views on pop culture and current events. I know I get you hooked and then suddenly take it away and next thing you know you're that guy from Trainspotting crawling into his toilet desperately trying to find out my views on campaign finance reform.

So anyways I made a list of topics I wanted to write about in my wallet. But what I think got the whole world's attention yesterday was that stupid kid who was not in the hot air balloon. Come on every news source that exists in this country; wasn't there anything else going on? Does one kid not in a hot air balloon really warrant this intensive coverage and mass hysteria?

I don't even care if it was a hoax. I did not follow the story at all because I would rather listen to The Lawrence Arms but apparently the kid was at his house the whole time. I'm pretty sure it was a hoax because lets face it this kid and his family were awfully ready to be on all the morning television shows today weren't they? Can we stop giving these attention seekers what they want and get them off the TV? Do what my friends did in the summer of 2003 when I had my Crystal Meth addiction; starve the beast.

Hey did you hear about this asshole justice of the peace down in Louisiana who refused to issue a marriage license to a mixed race couple? What is even more infuriating was the justice of the peace's defense which was "I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way." I don't know what it is in today's but it is fucking hard to be labeled a racist now a days. Unless you're Glen Beck then you get to call the president a racist.

Speaking about racists I guess it was a big deal recently when it was disclosed that Rush Limbuagh wanted to obtain ownership status of the St. Louis Rams. Its actually unfair to call Rush a racist. I suspect he isn't but he does employ a lot of race baiting on his show probably because he knows his listeners eat that shit up. Like the previous mentioned Justice asshole and Rush Limbuagh I guess they figure its not being racist unless the explicitly use the "N" word. Racist or not I think its fair to say that there a lot of vitriol still permeates not just in the Southern United States but everywhere in this world. It makes me :(

Wow. Where did this post end up going? Truthfully I am really tired and my mind has kind of wondered and I think I have left a whole lot of incomplete thoughts on here. I can't even remember what I just wrote. I think I'll give it a quick proof read and then get out of here and relax. I'll try to put something more substantial on here this weekend. Or at the very least naked pics.

Those crazy kids and their crazy punk music

So the job I used to work I was on call which meant I would be responsible for working different shifts when needed. This meant that I would usually work with what was a random group of guys each every time I worked. Off hand I can't tell you how many people I worked with but I can tell you that each individual was a crazy character who could probably fit the archetype of the wacky next door neighbor in a CBS sitcom. This particular story starts with the Hammer.

Now I don't know why they called him the Hammer but I could go on all night about this guy. I won't. All you need to know for this story is that he would always show up an hour early so he could eat whatever the fuck it was he would bring in every day and get the skinny on what happened earlier in the day. One of the perks of the hell hole where I worked is that we got to listen to a little ten watt radio. The only catch on the midnight shift, The Hammer's shift, was that the radio always had to be tuned to the classic rock station. God did I hate working that shift. Do you know how many times in an eight hour block the classic rock station plays Journey?

One day, and it must have been a Friday night because I always hated working Fridays since I would not get off work until 11:00 pm. I decided that I was going to go out of my way and piss off the Hammer consequences be damned. I like to think I have a very accute knowledge of what exactly to say to push someone's buttons and I know to get to the Hammer all you have to is bash any of his favorite classic rock artists. On this particular night I chose to shit on the Eagles because, well, becuse they are a fucking shitty band who I hate more than The Dude does. Yes I do not abide the Eagles.

Let me tell you the Hammer was pissed. He muttered under his breath "punk kid. Don't know what real music is. They did it better back in the day." IT was one of those instances where he tried saying it under his breath but also wanted to make sure I heard it. I really appreciatted that.

What later really stuck with me about the whole altercation was why would he bash current music. You would think that as music has evolved over the years that current artists would rock just as hard if not harder than his favorite bands from the 70's. This lead me down the rabit hole and made me wonder at what age or what specific event make most people decide "You know what? I've listened to some good music but I don't think it is going to get any better than this. I'm done with new music."

Every once in a while I think about it and I have come up with a couple hypothesizes that sound like they could be valid reasons why someone who loved Bruce Springsteen could give a fuck about The Arcade Fire. I would like to share them with you below and would also be curious if you have any theories as well.

1.) Like I said earlier, someone hears what they think will be the best song ever so why continue?

I know this sounds like a stupid theory but if you think about it it almost makes sense. I mean if someone really thinks Styxx's song Lady was the greatest song ever why continue to go on with keeping up with Pop music. After all wouldn't everything else be downhill from there. It's like fucking Megan Fox. Where do you go after that? Not Kirsten Dunst. Makes sense right?

2.) The mainstreaming of Rap

I don't know when rap became part of the mainstream conscience of America but I would not be suprised to find that it coincides with the year most people gave up on new music. Some of it might have to do with the race factor since most rap artist back in the day were black. I'm sure people really into in Lynard Skinner were not into Grand Master Flash. And race might not even be a factor. Just the fact that it is so radically diferent and alien to most people could turn these baby boomers off. Maybe they decided if this is where te future of music is going then let me off the train at the next stop.

3.) The introduction of Punk Music and the Alternative Scene

I lot of the same reasons from number two I think would coincide with the notion that alternative and punk music would turn people off from discovering new music. Also this music was directed to a younger crowd by artists who rejected the current music scene that is embraced by people like the Hammer.

4) My Generation Did It The Best

You hear this cookie cutter arguement from these baby boomers who are into Fleetwood Mac or whatever else was popular back in the day. This is the argument that I hate the most because you are basically saying that something was awesome just because you were there. You know I"m sure the people who survived Waco didn't find it awesome when the FBI raided their compound and shot the hell out of them just because they were there. I understand why people make this argument because if they don't it invalidates their entire existance but it is a really lame ass arguement. Its a good way to pigeonhole yourself whether it be pop music, movies, or birth control methods.

5.) Having a kid

When I asked my dad why old fuckers decide they are going to stop listeing to new music he said it was proably because they had a kid. I forget his reasoning but if you think about it this reason might make the most sense. Having a kid is hard work and I am sure that trying to keep up with the latest trends is the last thing a new parent wants to think about (coincidently this might be why most kids in my age bracket listen to classic rock unironically; because their parents do. One of the reasons I got into punk and alternative is because my dad listened to it). Also if you think about it having a kid is one of those events that defines your life and acts as a transitional phase; like your your first steps, getting a drivers license, your first blow job, and the first time getting arrested for urinating in public. It would make sense to stick with what you know.

Anyways what are your thoughts if any? Please share. Or at least tell me to fuck off or something.

What Happened To My Radio

This is part two in what will hopefully be a five part seemingly interconnected but probably not at all series on aspects of music. For part one go here.

I don't know if you are aware of this but the Washington Post's online paper has various discussion groups everyday where some of their employees will answer questions their readership have asked them. A couple months ago I used to try getting as many questions answered as I possibly could which meant me asking questions to the Washington Post culinary expert on what are the best ingredients to make a a rhubarb pie. Yeah it can get pretty boring at work and anything to pass the time.

Well one day the Washington Post Pop Culture guy was online answering questions about this or that. Usually its about why he thinks the Springsteen show was super awesome or how much old R & B is better than whatever R & B is popular with the kids today. I decided to ask him, and again I paraphrase all of this because it happened a long time ago, "to get more listeners why don't radio stations actually expand their playlists, put on new and exciting artists, and maybe not play The Red Hot Chili Peppers twice every hour?"

The answer he gave me basically boiled down to "because with their ratings all ready as anemic as they are they would suffer more because people want to hear stuff that is familiar." At first his answer pissed me off because 1) It seemed like he was blowing me off and 2.) Yeah because that line of thinking has been working so well as of late with every single radio station either folding or switching to a different format. The more I thought about it and considered it I think it was a totally valid point.

When I was in twelfth grade it must have been the year that Napster became ingrained in the mainstream conscience of America. I will admit it was an exciting time. Imagine how excited some broke ass penny pinching loser like me was. You mean I could download the Clash's Sandinista for free and also totally rock out to it in a couple hours! No seriously I can hear Washington Bullets almost immediately on my Winamp without paying a nickel. To me this was the greatest development since I discovered the late night Cinemax.

Well anyways with Napster catching on in some of my classes my fellow students would use the computers to download whatever shit music happened to be popular that hour of the day. For some odd reason the people in my marketing class were downloading a Limp Biscuit song which was probably Nookie. I will never forget this because of a conversation between my friend and one of the Limp Biscuit Fans:

John: So let me ask. This Napster you can download any song you want?

Nick: Yeah man. Its awesome.

John: So you can download any song by anyone you want but you guys are downloading Limp Buscuit? You can hear that on the radio all day.

Nick: uhhh.

I find it fascinating in today s modern world where there are now numerous venues to expose someone to new and exciting music that more people don't go outside of their comfort zone to find exciting new bands that could possibly make their eardrums orgasm. I mean look at the facts; the old gate keepers of what used to be pop culture definers such as the radio and MTV are either dieing or more content on creating horrible fucking reality shows with these brainless people who work at modeling companies and are sad because their boyfriend Spencer did not recognize their new Prada bag.

It would be understandable back in the day when all you had to chose from were the Beatles and Rolling Stones. There was only radio and whatever word of mouth of whomever the coolest guy at school was on what bands you should be listening to. Now a days its much easier to hear what the coolest guy at school thinks thanks to the internet. Even if you go to some shitty Catholic school who's idea of cool is wearing a abstinence ring and a Jesus is My Homeboy t-shirt(but I'm sure this person can inform you that Five Iron Frenzy still rocks),you can get on the internet and hear what the cool kids have to say there. Now you can hear what the cool kid at some hipster university in the North East thinks about the new Vampire Weekend song (He probably likes it, along with drinking Pabst Blue Ribbons and wearing tight Sweaters)!

Look at the various mediums to discover new music. Heck man you have Pandora the musical Genome Project that will take songs you like and play similar sounding ones. You can sample any song you want to off of Itunes. There are tons of websites you can go to where people who have even more time on their hands than me write very pretentious reviews of the latest folk rock album out of Tanzania. I guess my point is that there is no excuse to be downloading "I Did It All For The Nookie" anymore.

Until tomorrow.

This is no Existential Crisis

So the biggest football game of all time in the history of man is on right now and I have decided to write this blog. Of course the next time The Packers play the Vikings that will be the biggest game of all time so enjoy this one while you can. I mean fucking seriously ESPN is there nothing you won't hype up in your quest to totally dilute the overall enjoyment I derive from sports?

I promise this is not some sort of post about how "this is the first day of the rest of my life," because that is just a really lame thing to say. People who say that all ready have a defeatist attitude. That is not me.

I was sitting around I think yesterday probably watching a football game and I suddenly thought what the hell am I doing with life man? No it wasn't because I felt guilty for sitting around inside on such a good day or because there are kids in Indonesia who have to eat bugs to sustain life (though both those things have a varying degree of sucktitude). It is more or less one of those things were I am not happy with my current lot in life.

Make no mistake I am not feeling suicidal and I don't plan on joining a book club. Its not that life sucks but more or less that it doesn't fucking rock. My job is not something I enjoy doing and most of the night life around here has become not only repetitive but sort of lame. IT could be so much better if instead of just going with the flow I actually took some chances and was more proactive in various outlets of my life. I know the things that will make me happier and outcome be dead fuck it lets do it live and go for it.

That includes writing more. Though I enjoy writing these blogs I have had an idea for a book in my head for a very long time that I think could be pretty good that I want to finally get started on. I also want to finish a short story I started a year ago that needs some polish.

So yeah. Thats where we are now.

This Message Brought To You By Tide Detergent

(Part of a a weekly five part series I am trying to complete this week in regards to music).

I have officially sold out. From now on this blog is brought to you by Aquafresh Toothpaste. It was simple economics man. I have to adopt a new model in today's troubled economic times and the only way to do that was by selling out and adopting corporate sponsorship.

Ok thats a joke. I would never endorse Aquafresh but only because I use Crest.

In the world of music the topic of selling out is a hotly contested issue. I don't think there is one set definition of how a band can sell out. Some people think a band signing to a major label is selling out or that selling your songs to some corporation to use in a car commercial is selling out. Basically I think selling out is creating or changing your music to adhere to whatever the popular musical trends are to become sucsesful. Other than that I don't care if a band has their songs in the new Madden game or sign a fifty million dollar contract with Virgin Records (well I guess I would be mad if my favorite band decided to have ties to some brutal represive government in Africa i.e.Pat Robertson).

I remember a couple years ago at work on the radio a familiar song by one of my favorite bands Of Montreal was being played. Actually, instead of what I thought was Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games it was the same music but the lyrics were changed for an Outback comercial.

Here is the original version:



And here is the Outback commercial version:



You know what? I didn't care. I can kind of understand why someone could get upset and accuse the band of selling out because I, like most other people, attach a special meaning or emotional connection to a song but you have to realize in today's changing music industry there are only a limited number of avenues a band can go down anymore to make enough money to eat food. Maybe I'm wrong here but I also think you have to let whoever created these songs to be able to make their own decision with what they do with their own intellectual property.

And have you noticed that most people who complain about a band selling out are also the same assholes who download albums without paying for it. These assholes who don't want to pay any money for music will get mad at their favorite artists who just want to make a little money so they can actually have a career and keep making music that can be enjoyed. I mean how do they expect their favorite band (and not only the members of the band but also the people who are employed through the band) to continue to make music? The money has to come from somewhere.

I think most people who are concerned with their favorite artist selling out are either fifteen years old or don't really care about the music but care about the image they want to project to their peers by their impeccable music taste. You know these are the the same hipsters who decided it was ok to like Bob Dylan until he went electric or Dashboard Confessional was better before he got the backing band so you hear the the words sell out.

So here is an idea to all lovers of music. Who cares if your favorite band gets paid by Apple to have their song played in an Itouch commercial? You should like a song or an artist because its a good song and it connects with you emotionally. Please lets forget about this made up and I must say childish notion of selling out.

And if I didn't sum it up good enough here are two songs about selling out. The first is by Lagwagon:



The other one is by a band called Bigwig:



Catch you tomorrow.