091 Happy And All That

Have you seen that most recent TV miniseries adaptation of The Shining? It's on right now. It's just terrible. You know who plays the why-even-try-and-outdo-Jack-Nicholson character Jack Torrance? Steven Weber. Yes, from Wings. It's sort of ironic that the real success stories of Wings were the two supporting characters... played by Tony Shalhoub (Emmy award winner for Monk and damn fine actor - have you seen Barton Fink?) and Thomas Haden Church (Academy Award nominee for Sideways and new Spiderman villain)... the three leads have done nothing of note. Nothing!

Played 2 Halloween shows this weekend. A small house show and a big skate park show. Both equally awkward and exhilarating. Didn't help that we were dressed like this:

090 Trotting Across Zaire

While watching the Bears beat the Lions today, I did this...

The Book Club

089 Tuesday The Terrible

In terms of health that is. The coughing has gone, but in it's place, a raging sore throat. You just can't win against these infections or whatever you call em. I have a lot to do today, however, given my present state, my body has created a magnet-like attraction to this bed. It's a great excuse to be lazy when you're sick. Just relax and rest and drink plenty of fluids. Check. I do that every friggin day. Now what do i do?

Laundry? Actually, there is going to be another practice tonight of the newest incarnation of the City On Film collective - the one that will be doing the November dates with Spitalfield. It's something completely different so I'm excited. I'll / we'll also be playing 2 new songs. So I need to do some quick preparation for that. Eventually... Right now, I think the time is right to roll around and moan.

Someone mentioned throwing together songs using lyrics from the tub so that i can finally get rid of all of that paper. But if the lyrics were made into songs, then I'd have to save them anyway for future curiosity's sake. What I really should do is make a song out of one of those high school notes. Although I'd have to give it away as a free download cause damned if i have to contact old girlfriends to give them royalties or something. We broke up for a reason.

I think for Halloween I'm going to be the character of Charlie from LOST. Why not?

088 Monday The Mess

I'm sick. Don't know what it is. I'm coughing up a storm. I do however know that one of my friends and soon-to-be bandmates is in the hospital at the moment with pneumonia, so that's not very encouraging. As we were practicing last Thursday she almost passed out! I'm not there yet, but I have been taking advantage of the temporary gruff voice to continuously sing the beginning "la la la" part of Bob Dylan's "The Man In Me," featured prominently in The Big Lebowski.

And speaking of Mr. Dylan, I have finally come around to being completely hooked. In particular, Blood On The Tracks. What a fucking incredible album. I don't know where to begin. Yes I do. "Idiot Wind." Arguably the most passionately sung, meanest old fuck you ever written. And at the same time, it's gorgeous. I can't stop listening.

I'm still in that anti-collections mood. I really just want to get rid of everything. When I see an item laying around that hasn't been used or appreciated for a year or more, I just want to take it and smash it... or burn it. I have this tub. This tupperware tub FULL of lyrics. And I guess they're not really lyrics per se. More like ramblings and writings dating back to 1991! I started to go back and read some of that stuff but then a book caught my eye. A book on my shelf that I read and hated. Why is it there? Goodbye.

I need to resist by packrat urges. I swear to you, in the corner of my closet at my parents' house, there is an enormous box chuck full of you'll never guess... NOTES. Notes passed to me in high school. All folded up in various origamirific patterns. For some reason, I saved every fucking one. Cards and presents from old girlfriends. I mean like my very first girlfriends. Why would I ever need this junk? The funny thing is... it's still there. I didn't throw it out. What a joke.

I read briefly today about a feud between The Killers and Fall Out Boy. I'll just stop now because i've stopped typing... in an attempt to find "nice ways" to say certain things. That's the inherent problem with blogs or interviews or what have you. It's just not right. You can't really speak your mind without sounding like a crybaby or something. And then again, isn't that what blogs, mine especially, are? A way to get stuff off of your chest? It helps. Even if no one reads, it helps.

And so, as Dylans before and Dylans to come, you keep on keeping on that high road, channeling impulses from every dark corner and every bright glorious expanse of the emotional rainbow and you make music.