I have a lot of interests, which in my case, are actually more like passions, as I pursue them so vehemently. My wife would probably tell you that I have too many interests and that my interests take up entirely too much room in our house. On that last account, she certainly would have a point.
One of my first loves growing up was reading and books are still a big passion of mine. And when I say books, I mean actual books, not files downloaded onto a reading device. I like to hold them in my hand, turn the pages, smell the paper, and I like the way that they look on a shelf. There is a certain feeling of accomplishment when one gets to the end of a book, turns that last page and snaps that cover shut.
However, my bookcase is almost full to bursting, so full that I have a stack of books on the desk in our guest room and another on my night table. So I am realizing that I may yet have to relent at some point in the very near future, and move on to an e-reader of some kind. There is also cost to consider, as the electronic versions of books are at times half the price of the physical version.
Alas, there will ALWAYS be an exception to that for sure, and that is comic books whether they are single issues, trade paperback or hard cover collections, and graphic novels. First off, the price is the same for a physical copy and a digital copy of a new single issue, that’s no bueno. Second off, when it comes to something like art work, you really need to look at it as it was meant to be looked at, on the page. There is no substitute for seeing things the way the artist intended you to see them, which is in ink & paper form. This presents a big problem as I have a big shelf on my bookshelf full of trades as well as the aforementioned piles. This is along with the box of old issues in my attic and the two nearly full long boxes in my bedroom closet. And there are always trades of stories that I missed that I wish to acquire.
The next big obsession in my life is music, I spent years working at Tower Records and Virgin Megastore and making good use of my discounts, both legitimate and of the five fingered variety. I own well over a thousand physical CDs, and they occupy a large wooden spinner in my guest bedroom. Music was an area in which I relented early on, but not for the same reason as I see my imminent caving in on the book front. The iPod presented me with the opportunity to carry around more music than I ever thought possible right in my pants pocket! I could listen to almost anything, anywhere! And for me, the accessibility just could not be beaten. Despite missing the booklets and holding the CD in my hand, I bowed willingly to the mighty iTunes!
While music no longer poses a threat of the spatial variety it is still a threat on the financial front. There are just so many good bands out there if you take the time and make the effort to seek them out. Then when you find them, if you really dig them, you’re not just going to want their current album are you, not if you’re like me, you’re going to want all their albums! It’s almost to the point where I curse audibly upon getting into a new band. It’s hard enough to keep up with releases of bands I have loved for years like Depeche Mode and Alkaline Trio. This is to say nothing of the ridiculous cost of concert tickets with all their surcharges and handling fees! What are you handling? I’m printing the damn things out myself with my own ink and paper! And yet I’ll be attending five concerts in the next 4 months.
Food is another passion of mine, I love to eat it and I love to prepare it. I have a shelf full of cookbooks and I have several binders full of recipes of the familial variety as well as ones printed off the internet. I also have my four binders from culinary school. (I know, back to the overflowing bookcase again!) I love to go to new restaurants of all different varieties from all over the spectrum in cuisine as well as cost. My to-do list on foursquare has 535 places on it! I am fully aware that this is absolutely ridiculous. This fact does not stop me from continuously adding places to said list. However it does drive my wife crazy as I tend to get pissy about going to restaurants multiple times as I would usually rather try new places.
One of my biggest passions is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and I don’t just love to train in the art, I love to study it & live it. I was told by Sensei Matt Serra back when I started that BJJ isn’t just an art, it’s a lifestyle, and man was he right! I have many, many books on the subject (BOOKCASE!), DVDs, T-shirts, hoodies, and grappling mats in my garage. This flows into my love of the UFC and the tons of DVDs/Blu-Rays of theirs I own and the amount of their programming that is monopolizing my TiVo. Not even considering the amount of money I have spent ordering their PPVs!
And I haven’t even discussed my love of film or stand-up! Though to be fair my wife has pretty successfully weaned me from owning films and stand-up performances to just watching them via Netflix. And I do download a lot of stand-up albums onto my iPod.
OK, so if you’ve made it this far, I am sure you’re wondering where the hell I am going with this, aside from prattling on and on about my interests and how much space and money they’ve cost me. The point is, I’m still not satisfied or “done” collecting. There are 120 books on my Amazon Wish List, there are always new bands & comedians to discover and old favorites keep dropping albums, as previously mentioned there are 535 places on my foursquare to-do list, prominent BJJ instructors including my own will keep releasing books and DVDs, and the UFC will keep putting on events.
This is where my head begins to spin, why do I have such an insatiable need for content? I finish a book and I immediately want to start another one. Before I am even finished reading my weekly new comics I am looking to see what releases are coming out the next Wednesday. I already read too many monthly titles and consistently get swept up in new ones! I am constantly adding things to my Amazon list despite it being way too long and ridiculous as it is! I read Rolling Stone and SPIN to stay current in music & I am always on the lookout for concert updates! I repeatedly search cooking web sites for recipes and lifestyle sites for dining suggestions. I just bought a new BJJ t-shirt the other day and look forward to every UFC event notification. Why am I so…obsessed? And is it a bad thing to be so?
I just cannot get enough of these passions of mine and yet I have to tell you, and I am telling you true, all of these things pale in comparison to my love for my girls. My Mrs. and my 14 year old daughter, now can you even imagine how much I love them? Nope, I didn’t think so. Until next time, thanks for stopping by.
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
What I am currently listening to, reading, watching, playing
Albums currently in heavy rotation:
White Lies – To Lose My Life…
Dead Man’s Bones – Dead Man’s Bones
Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Editors – In This Light and On This Evening
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
The xx – xx
Owl City – Ocean Eyes
Ladyhawke – Ladyhawke
The Big Pink – A Brief History of Love
Julian Casablancas – Phrazes for the Young
Florence + the Machine – Lungs
La Roux – La Roux
Wilco – Wilco (The Album)Weezer – Raditude
Currently Reading:
The Complete Guide to Gracie Jiu-Jitsu by Rodrigo Gracie & Kid Peligro
Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman
Currently watching:
Cobrinha BJJ 3 DVD Set with Rubens Charles
Films recently watched:
The United States of Leland (2003)
Stay (2005)
Currently dominating the PS3:
The Beatles: Rock Band
White Lies – To Lose My Life…
Dead Man’s Bones – Dead Man’s Bones
Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Editors – In This Light and On This Evening
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
The xx – xx
Owl City – Ocean Eyes
Ladyhawke – Ladyhawke
The Big Pink – A Brief History of Love
Julian Casablancas – Phrazes for the Young
Florence + the Machine – Lungs
La Roux – La Roux
Wilco – Wilco (The Album)Weezer – Raditude
Currently Reading:
The Complete Guide to Gracie Jiu-Jitsu by Rodrigo Gracie & Kid Peligro
Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman
Currently watching:
Cobrinha BJJ 3 DVD Set with Rubens Charles
Films recently watched:
The United States of Leland (2003)
Stay (2005)
Currently dominating the PS3:
The Beatles: Rock Band
Friday, October 30, 2009
When do we stop using the type(s) of music we enjoy to define who we are, or do we ever?
My Thursday night Muay Thai class was cancelled this week due to my instructor being under the weather and Team Serra two alternates being unavailable. Normally, I most likely would have been extremely disappointed. However for the past few days a sinus cold has been kicking the crap out of me and Erin is going to be away for the weekend at her brother & sister-in-law’s house in Atlanta. So, I was glad to have a night at home to rest and spent a bit of extra time with the Mrs. before she left for her trip this morning. So, this how I ended up flipping channels on a Thursday night while eating a DiGiorno pizza with my wife. Oh, and by the way, if you can’t tell if it’s deliver or DiGiorno, you either have shitty taste in pizza or have never had real pizza, ever.
While flipping channels I stopped when I hit the IFC Channel as they were showing the documentary film Goth Cruise. Now I had remembered hearing about this documentary as a girl I knew from my clubbing days had posted on facebook that she and her husband were featured in the film. So, I left it on with more than the cursory interest that I might have normally had. As most of the people who would have any reason to read this would know, I was pretty damn immersed in the NYC/LI Goth scene for a number of years. Hell, Erin and I met at a show my brother’s old band was playing at a Goth club. We sat there watching it, while munching on our store bought pizza, commenting here and there about this song or this outfit. Erin laughed when Amanda, the aforementioned acquaintance, appeared on screen wearing the same I, Synthesist t-shirt that I frequently wear. I, Synthesist is a band fronted by an acquaintance of my brother. I must admit, while I do dig a few of their songs, I mostly wear the shirt because I like the way it fits on me! However I did remember that Amanda was a big fan of theirs.
Our watching of this little documentary lead to my questioning my wife if she liked it better when I dressed more Goth or the way that I dress now. She told me that she prefers my current wardrobe which usually consists of t-shirts and jeans, the occasional hooded sweat shirt or button down with Doc Marten shoes or my limited edition Alkaline Trio Nikes. She prefers when then t-shirts have shorter sleeves that reveal more tattoo and biceps and have a logo or design of some sort. A favorite is the shirt I picked up at the Dead Man’s Bones concert.
This combined with the fantastic book I am currently reading, How Soon Is Never by Marc Spitz, reminded me how much the type of music we listen to often affects how we dress and how we define ourselves. If someone asked me in Junior High or the first year or so of High School, what are you? My response probably would have been I’m a Metal Head. And with my wardrobe consisting mostly of Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer t-shirts worn with tight black or blue jeans and combat boots most likely would have lead you to believe me. And in my High School, that really was how you defined yourself, metal heads listened to metal, hoodies listened to hip hop or rap, guidos listened to TKA. That’s just the way it was.
By the time I was in college the uniform and music had changed. The wardrobe was now dominated by Depeche Mode, Smiths, Cure, and Morrissey shirts or black button downs, but still with boots and tight jeans! And most nights were spent at Goth clubs swirling around the dance floor with similarly dressed boys and girls in corsets with my black eyeliner, lip stick, and nail polish topping it all off. As I got more into the Goth subculture my wardrobe expanded to include shiny vinyl pants, velvet skirts, mesh shirts, bondage pants and even more impressive knee high, steel toed combat boots. And I frequently dressed that way whether I was at a club or not. Working at Tower Records afforded me the kind of freedom of dress that a lot of other jobs don’t. In college it seemed that this still had an impact on how you defined yourself, were you Goth, a Punk, a hard core kid, or an indie rocker? Maybe you were in a fraternity or sorority and were just one of the Greeks?
As I got older, I just seemed to stop dressing that way. I have not stopped listening to the music, and hell, I’m listening to Tomorrow by Morrissey as I type this. I have over 7,000 songs on my iPod and I own over 1,000 CDs. The genres of music stretch from Classic Rock, to Heavy Metal, to Hip Hop, to Rap, to Disco, to Industrial, to Punk, to New Wave, to Industrial, to Alternative, to Ska and on and on. What I listen to no longer dictates how I dress, I wear what I feel comfortable in and what I think looks good. Sure, I still wear t-shirts of bands that I like, but I also wear a lot of Straight Edge and Serra Jiu-Jitsu shirts. And if someone said, what are you? I certainly would not use the contents of my iPod or wardrobe to define who I am.
First of all, what I am listening to can be so different on a day to day basis that I can no longer see myself saying, I’m Goth or I’m a Punk or an Indie Rocker. I mean people obviously still do this, hence the Goth Cruise flick. And I know people still call themselves Hipsters and Punks and the like. I’m just not one of them. I don’t know when or how this happened and I don’t know why. It just did. I still love music more than most people love their pets but I don’t let it dictate who or what I am. Hell, I don’t let my job do that.
The clearest definition of who I am is probably right here on this very blog, in the little blurb to the right: Married, father, writer, musician, straight edge, beginning BJJ practitioner. This is how I choose to define myself. And I think it fits even better than my I, Synthesist t-shirt. Until next time, take care.
While flipping channels I stopped when I hit the IFC Channel as they were showing the documentary film Goth Cruise. Now I had remembered hearing about this documentary as a girl I knew from my clubbing days had posted on facebook that she and her husband were featured in the film. So, I left it on with more than the cursory interest that I might have normally had. As most of the people who would have any reason to read this would know, I was pretty damn immersed in the NYC/LI Goth scene for a number of years. Hell, Erin and I met at a show my brother’s old band was playing at a Goth club. We sat there watching it, while munching on our store bought pizza, commenting here and there about this song or this outfit. Erin laughed when Amanda, the aforementioned acquaintance, appeared on screen wearing the same I, Synthesist t-shirt that I frequently wear. I, Synthesist is a band fronted by an acquaintance of my brother. I must admit, while I do dig a few of their songs, I mostly wear the shirt because I like the way it fits on me! However I did remember that Amanda was a big fan of theirs.
Our watching of this little documentary lead to my questioning my wife if she liked it better when I dressed more Goth or the way that I dress now. She told me that she prefers my current wardrobe which usually consists of t-shirts and jeans, the occasional hooded sweat shirt or button down with Doc Marten shoes or my limited edition Alkaline Trio Nikes. She prefers when then t-shirts have shorter sleeves that reveal more tattoo and biceps and have a logo or design of some sort. A favorite is the shirt I picked up at the Dead Man’s Bones concert.
This combined with the fantastic book I am currently reading, How Soon Is Never by Marc Spitz, reminded me how much the type of music we listen to often affects how we dress and how we define ourselves. If someone asked me in Junior High or the first year or so of High School, what are you? My response probably would have been I’m a Metal Head. And with my wardrobe consisting mostly of Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer t-shirts worn with tight black or blue jeans and combat boots most likely would have lead you to believe me. And in my High School, that really was how you defined yourself, metal heads listened to metal, hoodies listened to hip hop or rap, guidos listened to TKA. That’s just the way it was.
By the time I was in college the uniform and music had changed. The wardrobe was now dominated by Depeche Mode, Smiths, Cure, and Morrissey shirts or black button downs, but still with boots and tight jeans! And most nights were spent at Goth clubs swirling around the dance floor with similarly dressed boys and girls in corsets with my black eyeliner, lip stick, and nail polish topping it all off. As I got more into the Goth subculture my wardrobe expanded to include shiny vinyl pants, velvet skirts, mesh shirts, bondage pants and even more impressive knee high, steel toed combat boots. And I frequently dressed that way whether I was at a club or not. Working at Tower Records afforded me the kind of freedom of dress that a lot of other jobs don’t. In college it seemed that this still had an impact on how you defined yourself, were you Goth, a Punk, a hard core kid, or an indie rocker? Maybe you were in a fraternity or sorority and were just one of the Greeks?
As I got older, I just seemed to stop dressing that way. I have not stopped listening to the music, and hell, I’m listening to Tomorrow by Morrissey as I type this. I have over 7,000 songs on my iPod and I own over 1,000 CDs. The genres of music stretch from Classic Rock, to Heavy Metal, to Hip Hop, to Rap, to Disco, to Industrial, to Punk, to New Wave, to Industrial, to Alternative, to Ska and on and on. What I listen to no longer dictates how I dress, I wear what I feel comfortable in and what I think looks good. Sure, I still wear t-shirts of bands that I like, but I also wear a lot of Straight Edge and Serra Jiu-Jitsu shirts. And if someone said, what are you? I certainly would not use the contents of my iPod or wardrobe to define who I am.
First of all, what I am listening to can be so different on a day to day basis that I can no longer see myself saying, I’m Goth or I’m a Punk or an Indie Rocker. I mean people obviously still do this, hence the Goth Cruise flick. And I know people still call themselves Hipsters and Punks and the like. I’m just not one of them. I don’t know when or how this happened and I don’t know why. It just did. I still love music more than most people love their pets but I don’t let it dictate who or what I am. Hell, I don’t let my job do that.
The clearest definition of who I am is probably right here on this very blog, in the little blurb to the right: Married, father, writer, musician, straight edge, beginning BJJ practitioner. This is how I choose to define myself. And I think it fits even better than my I, Synthesist t-shirt. Until next time, take care.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
My Aging Alternative Icons and more…
Morrissey collapsed on stage Saturday, October 24 after performing one song at his show, then falling to the ground, unconscious. He was "stable" at a hospital in Swindon, England, on Sunday morning, according to a hospital spokeswoman quoted by the British Telegraph. I certainly wish the Moz a full and speedy recovery. He has had such an awesome resurgence over the last five years, putting out several fantastic albums in a row: You Are the Quarry in 2004, Live at Earls Court in 2005, Ringleader of the Tormentors in 2006, and Years of Refusal in 2009.
Morrissey’s recent ailment as well as Dave Gahan’s recent health issues during this past year while on tour was reason to give me pause and realize that some of my biggest musical influences are getting on in years now. Dave Gahan is 47, Martin Gore is 48, Morrissey is 50, Henry Rollins is 48, Johnny Marr is 45, Mike Ness is 47, Robert Smith is 50, Bono is 49, and the Edge is 48. Well, at least Rivers Cuomo at 39, Matt Skiba at 33, and Dan Andriano at 32 are all close to or at my age! I know that it shouldn’t have escaped my attention that most of my influences were getting up there in terms of numbers. I mean, they have been actively contributing to the musical landscape since the late 70’s and I was not even born until 1976 and am now clocking in at 33 years old myself.
However, the realization of my aging alternative icons did give me a bit of a shake. I mean, if the HOT ANIMAL MACHINE Henry Rollins is aging…what the hell is to become of me? I remember being in high school and buying a cassette (yes, that’s right, a cassette) of the End of Silence off of some kid in the locker room. Low Self Opinion used to just, DESTROY me. And I still love to blast that song. And Weight and Come In & Burn are both fantastic records as well. And I know I need not speak of how I feel about Hank’s literary output. If this guy is getting on in years, man…that means we’re all aging!
And yes, of course I have realized that I am getting older, hell if the scant grey hairs in my goatee don’t tell me that the fact that my DAUGHTER will be eleven in February sure as hell does! And I have certainly stepped up my efforts this past year to stave off the effects of aging as best as I can. Between Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu twice a week, Muay Thai once a week, my additional daily works outs six times a week, and add to that my much improved eating habits and I am in the best physical condition of my entire life.
Yet there are still effects of the aging process that I feel every day. My joints often hurt and my legs are tired as hell after hitting the elliptical for a half hour. I also require much more sleep than I used to. I remember the days when I could run at peak efficiency on as little as two hours of sleep! I can still pull a day like that out if absolutely necessary but chances are I would be seriously hurting from it! These days with my waking up at five AM Monday to Friday I am usually nodding off by eleven PM. Gone are the days of the sleep deprivation machine that I once was!
Of course, there are advantages to getting older as well. I appreciate a lot of the little things as well as the big things so much more. My idea of “going out” or “doing something” has drastically changed as I have gotten older. Having a cup of coffee or dinner with a friend is big deal now and just spending a day walking around the Village with my wife is a treasure. And when I was in college I used to go to shows all the time! Did I enjoy and appreciate them; of course I did, but not nearly as much as I do now, because I don’t have the time to experience them as often. I also used to have all the time in the world to grab a cup of coffee or a meal with a friend, whereas now scheduling conflicts rule the day! Between who has a job with a whacky schedule, who’s married, who has kids, who’s in a band there are so many outside factors to planning a get together! So when we can make them happen, we really enjoy them!
Ugh, enough about my old decrepit ass! MOVING ON! When will people learn that negative reinforcement is about as useful as pouring water on a grease fire? I mean, does anyone really respond all that well to threats and constant brow beating in a work environment? All that does for me is make me tense up, frustrate me, and put me on the defensive. Now, how exactly, is this conducive to better job performance? Heaven forbid you question their methods, because then you’re not open to criticism and not a team player, as well as not willing to work to improve upon your weaknesses. I love when people who have never taken management classes are allowed to manage others. It’s awesome!
I guess this is enough whining for now! Turn in next time for even more bitching and kvetching! No, no, hopefully the next blog will be of a more positive nature. I just needed to get all this out. Thanks for listening (reading).
Morrissey’s recent ailment as well as Dave Gahan’s recent health issues during this past year while on tour was reason to give me pause and realize that some of my biggest musical influences are getting on in years now. Dave Gahan is 47, Martin Gore is 48, Morrissey is 50, Henry Rollins is 48, Johnny Marr is 45, Mike Ness is 47, Robert Smith is 50, Bono is 49, and the Edge is 48. Well, at least Rivers Cuomo at 39, Matt Skiba at 33, and Dan Andriano at 32 are all close to or at my age! I know that it shouldn’t have escaped my attention that most of my influences were getting up there in terms of numbers. I mean, they have been actively contributing to the musical landscape since the late 70’s and I was not even born until 1976 and am now clocking in at 33 years old myself.
However, the realization of my aging alternative icons did give me a bit of a shake. I mean, if the HOT ANIMAL MACHINE Henry Rollins is aging…what the hell is to become of me? I remember being in high school and buying a cassette (yes, that’s right, a cassette) of the End of Silence off of some kid in the locker room. Low Self Opinion used to just, DESTROY me. And I still love to blast that song. And Weight and Come In & Burn are both fantastic records as well. And I know I need not speak of how I feel about Hank’s literary output. If this guy is getting on in years, man…that means we’re all aging!
And yes, of course I have realized that I am getting older, hell if the scant grey hairs in my goatee don’t tell me that the fact that my DAUGHTER will be eleven in February sure as hell does! And I have certainly stepped up my efforts this past year to stave off the effects of aging as best as I can. Between Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu twice a week, Muay Thai once a week, my additional daily works outs six times a week, and add to that my much improved eating habits and I am in the best physical condition of my entire life.
Yet there are still effects of the aging process that I feel every day. My joints often hurt and my legs are tired as hell after hitting the elliptical for a half hour. I also require much more sleep than I used to. I remember the days when I could run at peak efficiency on as little as two hours of sleep! I can still pull a day like that out if absolutely necessary but chances are I would be seriously hurting from it! These days with my waking up at five AM Monday to Friday I am usually nodding off by eleven PM. Gone are the days of the sleep deprivation machine that I once was!
Of course, there are advantages to getting older as well. I appreciate a lot of the little things as well as the big things so much more. My idea of “going out” or “doing something” has drastically changed as I have gotten older. Having a cup of coffee or dinner with a friend is big deal now and just spending a day walking around the Village with my wife is a treasure. And when I was in college I used to go to shows all the time! Did I enjoy and appreciate them; of course I did, but not nearly as much as I do now, because I don’t have the time to experience them as often. I also used to have all the time in the world to grab a cup of coffee or a meal with a friend, whereas now scheduling conflicts rule the day! Between who has a job with a whacky schedule, who’s married, who has kids, who’s in a band there are so many outside factors to planning a get together! So when we can make them happen, we really enjoy them!
Ugh, enough about my old decrepit ass! MOVING ON! When will people learn that negative reinforcement is about as useful as pouring water on a grease fire? I mean, does anyone really respond all that well to threats and constant brow beating in a work environment? All that does for me is make me tense up, frustrate me, and put me on the defensive. Now, how exactly, is this conducive to better job performance? Heaven forbid you question their methods, because then you’re not open to criticism and not a team player, as well as not willing to work to improve upon your weaknesses. I love when people who have never taken management classes are allowed to manage others. It’s awesome!
I guess this is enough whining for now! Turn in next time for even more bitching and kvetching! No, no, hopefully the next blog will be of a more positive nature. I just needed to get all this out. Thanks for listening (reading).
Thursday, October 22, 2009
One Year Anniversary, BJJ, Muay Thai, writing, etc. etc
A year ago yesterday I walked through the doors of Serra Jiu-Jitsu for the first time and my life has not been the same since. I have lost 40 pounds and gained more than I can ever say. I would like to thank all my instructors and training partners, hopefully one day I will be good enough to make them all proud!
I am hitting the Jiu-Jitsu as hard as I possibly can. After achieving my fourth stripe back on August 25 my obsession with earning my blue belt has increased immensely. And I had thought that it was at peak levels before, boy was I wrong! I love Jiu-Jitsu so much and want so badly to perform well! I know I have to keep walking through that door and have faith that every time I train I am improving, even if I cannot see it, it is there.
I have been hitting the beginners gi class on Tuesday nights and since June 20th I have moved on to taking the advanced no gi class on Saturday afternoons every week. The difference in gi and no gi is very clear and a big adjustment for sure. Add to that facing the upper belts and doing feet on the floor matches and conga lines and the intensity is huge. Everyone is great though and extremely helpful. I am very lucky to train with such great teammates who want nothing but to help everyone get better. Everyone is so selfless and wants to help everyone else out. Such a fantastic environment to train in! Not to mention the unbelievable instructors we have!
This past Tuesday after my regular beginners gi class I was asked by Del, one of our instructors, if I would be able to stay for the competition class to help Nikole, one of our blue belts, to get ready for an upcoming competition. Del, warned me that the class was "not fun." Of course I jumped at the chance to work with someone as experienced as Nikole! She was awesome to work with and I really enjoyed the class. Man, two classes back to back, especially one as intense as the competition class was a hell of a work out!
Again I must apologize as it has been quite some time since my last post. I am however making a renewed commitment to posting something on here every day. Even if it is just a few sentences, I need to write every day. I feel that it will improve my state of mind and to help me achieve some clarity.
I have also decided that I should start carrying my digital camera with me every where I go. The thing is so small and light it's ridiculous not to have it with me. Especially when I live and work where I do, there are so many things that catch my eye and make me stop and think on a daily basis. I am no photographer, not by a long shot, but I would love to just give it a run of taking photos of the things that catch my eye. Besides, I have a huge memory card in the thing and it takes what, 2 seconds to delete a shot I don't like?
I have Muay Thai tonight for the first time in a few weeks. I missed class on 10/1 as my old shoulder injury was acting up and I wanted to rest my arm so that it would be good to go for Jiu-Jitsu on that Saturday. I missed class on 10/8 as we were leaving for Salem, Mass the next day and I had to pick up Lyric, pack, and settle some last minute details. And then I missed class last week on 10/15 as Erin and I had tickets to the Dead Man's Bones show. I am a little nervous as the Muay Thai class is very intense. I am also pretty damn sore in my hips for some reason the past two days. Glucosamine don't fail me now! Of course this has not stopped me from my daily cardio routines!
Speaking of the Dead Man's Bones show, what an awesome show! It was the best time I have had at a show in a long time! They played so well and were having such a good time up there! Those fellas really make me want to find time to pick up the guitar again and write some damn music! I love their album too, if you have not picked it up yet, I definitely recommend it!
Well, I think that I have prattled on for long enough today! I will be back tomorrow with more of my incessant rambling!
Currently Reading:
A Mad Dash (Limited Edition, signed by the author) by Henry Rollins
Currently dominating my iPod:
Dead Man’s Bones – Dead Man’s Bones
Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
M83 – Saturdays = Youth
Ladyhawke – Ladyhawke
Silversun Pickups - Swoon
I am hitting the Jiu-Jitsu as hard as I possibly can. After achieving my fourth stripe back on August 25 my obsession with earning my blue belt has increased immensely. And I had thought that it was at peak levels before, boy was I wrong! I love Jiu-Jitsu so much and want so badly to perform well! I know I have to keep walking through that door and have faith that every time I train I am improving, even if I cannot see it, it is there.
I have been hitting the beginners gi class on Tuesday nights and since June 20th I have moved on to taking the advanced no gi class on Saturday afternoons every week. The difference in gi and no gi is very clear and a big adjustment for sure. Add to that facing the upper belts and doing feet on the floor matches and conga lines and the intensity is huge. Everyone is great though and extremely helpful. I am very lucky to train with such great teammates who want nothing but to help everyone get better. Everyone is so selfless and wants to help everyone else out. Such a fantastic environment to train in! Not to mention the unbelievable instructors we have!
This past Tuesday after my regular beginners gi class I was asked by Del, one of our instructors, if I would be able to stay for the competition class to help Nikole, one of our blue belts, to get ready for an upcoming competition. Del, warned me that the class was "not fun." Of course I jumped at the chance to work with someone as experienced as Nikole! She was awesome to work with and I really enjoyed the class. Man, two classes back to back, especially one as intense as the competition class was a hell of a work out!
Again I must apologize as it has been quite some time since my last post. I am however making a renewed commitment to posting something on here every day. Even if it is just a few sentences, I need to write every day. I feel that it will improve my state of mind and to help me achieve some clarity.
I have also decided that I should start carrying my digital camera with me every where I go. The thing is so small and light it's ridiculous not to have it with me. Especially when I live and work where I do, there are so many things that catch my eye and make me stop and think on a daily basis. I am no photographer, not by a long shot, but I would love to just give it a run of taking photos of the things that catch my eye. Besides, I have a huge memory card in the thing and it takes what, 2 seconds to delete a shot I don't like?
I have Muay Thai tonight for the first time in a few weeks. I missed class on 10/1 as my old shoulder injury was acting up and I wanted to rest my arm so that it would be good to go for Jiu-Jitsu on that Saturday. I missed class on 10/8 as we were leaving for Salem, Mass the next day and I had to pick up Lyric, pack, and settle some last minute details. And then I missed class last week on 10/15 as Erin and I had tickets to the Dead Man's Bones show. I am a little nervous as the Muay Thai class is very intense. I am also pretty damn sore in my hips for some reason the past two days. Glucosamine don't fail me now! Of course this has not stopped me from my daily cardio routines!
Speaking of the Dead Man's Bones show, what an awesome show! It was the best time I have had at a show in a long time! They played so well and were having such a good time up there! Those fellas really make me want to find time to pick up the guitar again and write some damn music! I love their album too, if you have not picked it up yet, I definitely recommend it!
Well, I think that I have prattled on for long enough today! I will be back tomorrow with more of my incessant rambling!
Currently Reading:
A Mad Dash (Limited Edition, signed by the author) by Henry Rollins
Currently dominating my iPod:
Dead Man’s Bones – Dead Man’s Bones
Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
M83 – Saturdays = Youth
Ladyhawke – Ladyhawke
Silversun Pickups - Swoon
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Long time, no blog
I know it has been an extremely long time since I have written anything. And it isn’t that I haven’t had anything to discuss, plenty of things going on right now for sure. Erin and I spent a week in Ireland in May and had a fantastic time. I earned my third stripe in Jiu-Jitsu and took my first advanced/no gi class. I have been motoring right along in Muay Thai class. And there was the sudden passing of the Japanese legend Misawa on January 13 and my attendance at ROH’s Manhattan Mayhem III on the same day. The release of several new albums I was anticipating: Crossing the Rubicon by the Sounds, Battle for the Sun by Placebo, and Back and Forth by Pete Yorn. I also had to endure my first Father’s Day without my beloved Father. So, yes, there has been plenty to talk about.
I have contemplated starting one of these quite a few times since we returned home from Ireland and yet I haven’t written a thing. I think there are several reasons for this. The first being that I have just been extremely busy, I am training three times a week: Tuesday night is beginners Jiu-Jitsu, Thursday night is Muay Thai, and Saturday afternoon is advanced/no gi Jiu-Jitsu. I also get up at 5 AM every morning to get in some cardio before work with additional exercises on the days I’m not training. Factor into that a full time job, a daily commute that takes 90 minutes each way, a lovely wife, and a fantastic daughter and you can see that my “free time” is pretty limited.
Another reason is that I really wanted to make this blog completely uncensored. Yet I am realizing that this is a complete impossibility. Anyone can Google anyone nowadays and along with that comes the ability to check up on activities such as blogging. I don’t believe in hiding or that there is any strength in blogging anonymously. Anyway can be brave behind a mask and without consequences, I like to stand behind what I say so that’s not an option for me. However, I do have a family to take care of, and they come before my freedom to mouth off across the internet.
Anyway, on with the blogging and this one is going to be a corker! As one of my Father’s Day gifts I received A Dull Roar: What I Did on My Summer Deracination 2006 by Henry Rollins. I was extremely excited to receive this as I am a HUGE fan of gold old Hank and own and have read and re-read all of his books (well, except for Roomanitarian which I own, started reading, and for whatever reason, didn’t get around to finishing, but I will once I finish this one, though I will have to rescue it from its cardboard tomb in the attic.)
As is always the case with missives from Hank, I totally and completely love the shit out of this book. This book is a collection of journal entries from back in 2006 and I absolutely love how after every entry he catalogs what he ate that day as well as his work outs. Somewhere along the line old Hank became a quasi vegetarian (he still eats fish, eggs, and dairy) which totally surprised me as I remembered earlier books where he mentioned his cupboards only containing beef chili and him making fun of vegetarians as recently as his spoken word CD Think Tank which came out back in 1998. Hank is also apparently a big fan of carrot juice, cream cheese bagels, sesame bars, and ice bars. This is a great read and Henry’s dedication to his work is simply staggering. I am happy to report that I am as big a fan of his as ever. I am definitely going to need to upload all my Rollins spoken word CDs onto my iTunes so that I can throw them onto the old iPod. And I would love to get Talk Is Cheap Vols. 1-4. I am also really looking forward to his next book, A Preferred Blur: Reflections, Inspections, and Travel in All Directions which will be released on August 1, 2009.
Moving on! I have quickly come to realize that I have become much more comfortable being alone than I was in years passed. I went back and read a lot of old journal entries and they reminded me, not that I needed much reminding, how much I used to hate being alone. I seemingly never, ever wanted to be left to my own devices. I know that a great deal of that had to do with my self esteem issues and my crippling need and desire for everyone I met to like me. Nowadays I have no problems at all with time to myself. And I have plenty to do with that time when I have it. Be it reading, catching up with DVD watching or the occasional quality time with my PS3!
I know that in the past, not here, but other place I have addressed the “who shit in your cereal” issue before but it could definitely use another go around. Look, I’m not the type of dude who walks around with a huge goofy smile on his face all the time; it’s just not my natural expression. However, I also don’t walk around looking like someone raped my dog with a red hot poker. There are several people I see in my daily travels who constantly wear the “someone took a big dump in my cornflakes mask” and it’s fucking ridiculous. This one woman, I see her at least 2 or 3 times a week, always looks at me like I punched her wheel chair bound great-grandmother in the face or something. I don’t even know this woman! And yet I often find her staring at me with that look upon her face, I just want to close my book, pull out my ear phones, walk over to her, and say “may I help you?” People need to just chill the fuck out and get over themselves.
I had an interesting conversation with some of the upper belts after no gi class on Saturday. We were all talking about how grateful we were to train where we did and to have the instructors and training partners that we had. One of the guys mentioned despite the fact that we were located on Long Island, not one “typical Long Island douchebag” could be found among us. Now, if you don’t know what he was referring to, I suggest you check out either Roosevelt Field or the Source Mall and cruise around for a bit. You know the guy, polo shirt, blow out hair cut, sunglasses that your girlfriend should be wearing. He surmised that this was due to the fact that these were the type of guys who would rather talk about fighting, than do it. I bunch of us also joked that you should have had to either been tapped out or tapped someone out at least a few times before you could wear a TapouT t-shirt. I suggested that perhaps a screening at check out followed by a quick lesson in Jiu-Jitsu prior to purchase would be a fun idea! I kiid I kiid!
Monster then let us know that a majority of the guys he has come across who train in MMA really are not looking to be true Martial Artists and can be complete assholes. However at our academy, people are looking to learn the Martial Arts and are friendly, helpful, and respectful. I cannot stress enough how luck I am to train with such a great group of individuals.
Alright, I think I have rambled on long enough for one installment. I hope that you enjoyed reading and I will try not to go so long in between entries. Take care and keep your head up.
I have contemplated starting one of these quite a few times since we returned home from Ireland and yet I haven’t written a thing. I think there are several reasons for this. The first being that I have just been extremely busy, I am training three times a week: Tuesday night is beginners Jiu-Jitsu, Thursday night is Muay Thai, and Saturday afternoon is advanced/no gi Jiu-Jitsu. I also get up at 5 AM every morning to get in some cardio before work with additional exercises on the days I’m not training. Factor into that a full time job, a daily commute that takes 90 minutes each way, a lovely wife, and a fantastic daughter and you can see that my “free time” is pretty limited.
Another reason is that I really wanted to make this blog completely uncensored. Yet I am realizing that this is a complete impossibility. Anyone can Google anyone nowadays and along with that comes the ability to check up on activities such as blogging. I don’t believe in hiding or that there is any strength in blogging anonymously. Anyway can be brave behind a mask and without consequences, I like to stand behind what I say so that’s not an option for me. However, I do have a family to take care of, and they come before my freedom to mouth off across the internet.
Anyway, on with the blogging and this one is going to be a corker! As one of my Father’s Day gifts I received A Dull Roar: What I Did on My Summer Deracination 2006 by Henry Rollins. I was extremely excited to receive this as I am a HUGE fan of gold old Hank and own and have read and re-read all of his books (well, except for Roomanitarian which I own, started reading, and for whatever reason, didn’t get around to finishing, but I will once I finish this one, though I will have to rescue it from its cardboard tomb in the attic.)
As is always the case with missives from Hank, I totally and completely love the shit out of this book. This book is a collection of journal entries from back in 2006 and I absolutely love how after every entry he catalogs what he ate that day as well as his work outs. Somewhere along the line old Hank became a quasi vegetarian (he still eats fish, eggs, and dairy) which totally surprised me as I remembered earlier books where he mentioned his cupboards only containing beef chili and him making fun of vegetarians as recently as his spoken word CD Think Tank which came out back in 1998. Hank is also apparently a big fan of carrot juice, cream cheese bagels, sesame bars, and ice bars. This is a great read and Henry’s dedication to his work is simply staggering. I am happy to report that I am as big a fan of his as ever. I am definitely going to need to upload all my Rollins spoken word CDs onto my iTunes so that I can throw them onto the old iPod. And I would love to get Talk Is Cheap Vols. 1-4. I am also really looking forward to his next book, A Preferred Blur: Reflections, Inspections, and Travel in All Directions which will be released on August 1, 2009.
Moving on! I have quickly come to realize that I have become much more comfortable being alone than I was in years passed. I went back and read a lot of old journal entries and they reminded me, not that I needed much reminding, how much I used to hate being alone. I seemingly never, ever wanted to be left to my own devices. I know that a great deal of that had to do with my self esteem issues and my crippling need and desire for everyone I met to like me. Nowadays I have no problems at all with time to myself. And I have plenty to do with that time when I have it. Be it reading, catching up with DVD watching or the occasional quality time with my PS3!
I know that in the past, not here, but other place I have addressed the “who shit in your cereal” issue before but it could definitely use another go around. Look, I’m not the type of dude who walks around with a huge goofy smile on his face all the time; it’s just not my natural expression. However, I also don’t walk around looking like someone raped my dog with a red hot poker. There are several people I see in my daily travels who constantly wear the “someone took a big dump in my cornflakes mask” and it’s fucking ridiculous. This one woman, I see her at least 2 or 3 times a week, always looks at me like I punched her wheel chair bound great-grandmother in the face or something. I don’t even know this woman! And yet I often find her staring at me with that look upon her face, I just want to close my book, pull out my ear phones, walk over to her, and say “may I help you?” People need to just chill the fuck out and get over themselves.
I had an interesting conversation with some of the upper belts after no gi class on Saturday. We were all talking about how grateful we were to train where we did and to have the instructors and training partners that we had. One of the guys mentioned despite the fact that we were located on Long Island, not one “typical Long Island douchebag” could be found among us. Now, if you don’t know what he was referring to, I suggest you check out either Roosevelt Field or the Source Mall and cruise around for a bit. You know the guy, polo shirt, blow out hair cut, sunglasses that your girlfriend should be wearing. He surmised that this was due to the fact that these were the type of guys who would rather talk about fighting, than do it. I bunch of us also joked that you should have had to either been tapped out or tapped someone out at least a few times before you could wear a TapouT t-shirt. I suggested that perhaps a screening at check out followed by a quick lesson in Jiu-Jitsu prior to purchase would be a fun idea! I kiid I kiid!
Monster then let us know that a majority of the guys he has come across who train in MMA really are not looking to be true Martial Artists and can be complete assholes. However at our academy, people are looking to learn the Martial Arts and are friendly, helpful, and respectful. I cannot stress enough how luck I am to train with such a great group of individuals.
Alright, I think I have rambled on long enough for one installment. I hope that you enjoyed reading and I will try not to go so long in between entries. Take care and keep your head up.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
U2, living in the moment, appreciating what we have
Last night I was taking the train home from seeing Watchmen with my good friend Shannon and several things coursed their way through my mind. The first was that U2's early albums are still absolutely incredible. I've worked my way through Boy, October, War, and I am now up to the Unforgettable Fire. Edge's guitar playing still stirs something up in me that I cannot quite describe. I just cannot get over how good a band they were so early in their career, I Will Follow is the first track on their first album, wrap your head around that!
And I know, I know, Bono wants to save the world...yadda, yadda, yadda...save it. They are incredible band who write incredible songs. Leave Bono's messianic complex at the door an just enjoy the music. It is possible to separate the two and there are worse things than wanting to put a stop to poverty and AIDS aren't there?
And yes, I have listened to the new album three times and I am still not falling in love with it. I decided to start over and work my way back. I want to enjoy the journey these boys from Dublin have made to get us to this point here in 2009. That's also something to think about, these fellows have been together without a break, making music, recording, touring, the whole deal, without a single line up change since 1976! That's 32 years!
OK, enough of the U2 fan boy nonsense, and no I am not Irish, I just marry Irish. This leads us to my next thought. I was thinking about my wife, Erin, and about some of my favorite memories of our six and a half years together. And I was thinking that some of my favorite memories are not of the huge life changing variety. I mean, of course, our wedding was fantastic and one of the most amazing nights of my life. And yes, it was amazing standing there holding her hand and staring up at Big Ben in London.
However, perhaps my favorite memory, is kissing her in the rain outside of her old apartment in Long Beach. And I thought about how early on in our relationship we were walking along the beach, it was at night and I was dressed in a really nice new pair of black slacks and Erin asked me to sit in the sand with her. I told her I didn't want to get sand all over my nice pants! What a fucking moron! How could I not sit in the sand by the ocean with this young woman that I was falling in love with?
Last night when Erin picked me up from the subway I was telling her how I felt that memories of the little things like those I have mentioned here were so important. And how much I regretted not sitting in the sand with her that night.
Sometimes we worry that my daughter is far too concerned with what everyone else is doing or will be doing and not what she herself is doing or will be doing. She always seems so concerned with what she may be missing or could have missed/will miss that she misses everything. She often does not seem to enjoy what she is doing because she gets so wrapped up in watching what everyone else is doing.
I know fear that she may have gotten this from me. Too many times I am looking back or ahead and not enjoying what I am doing. I am worried about what tomorrow will bring or what happened yesterday and not enjoying what I am doing. I think this is partly due to the fact that for a while I thought only of the moment and completely disregarded the consequences of my actions. I lived completely in the moment and was totally dedicated to doing whatever would make me most happy at that exact moment. This is not a good way to go about things either I soon found out.
So I think that in an effort to avoid this behavior I shifted to completely the opposite. I was always looking to what comes next and not what's going on now. What am I doing tomorrow or this weekend? That I have to be at work the next morning instead of enjoying the night I have to spend alone with my wife.
I've realized that I need to focus more on the moment, to enjoy the here and now and to not be rushing off to tomorrow or next weekend. It is good to have things to look forward to but not so much so that you don't enjoy where you are at present. I need to stop worrying about the fact that I may not be perfectly mastering a technique in Jiu Jitsu and appreciate the moment that I am being taught and the privilege of learning from such great instructors. I need to stop and enjoy my daughter giggling as I tease her or makes jokes and stop worrying about what time she has to be at a Girl Scouts function the next day. I need to enjoy sitting and watching a movie with my wife's head on my chest and stop thinking about how much work I have on my desk waiting for me the next day.
I also thought about the fact that there are so many people out there right now who have it so much worse than I do. I know that sometimes I can be overcome by thoughts of sorrow or hopelessness or frustration and that part of that is genetic and part of it is my own obsessing over meaningless crap. I am a lucky man, I am married to a fantastic woman, I have a wonderful daughter, my wife and I have good jobs, and a nice house. I have a wonderful family and amazing friends.
I have lost my father, who was one of my absolute most favorite people in the entire world. But I have not lost everything. And instead of focusing on the fact that I lost someone that I loved so very much, I think I need to try and focus more on the fact that I still have so many people who I love and who love me so very much. And to be grateful for what I do have instead of being so angry about what I no longer have anymore. And I need also need to be grateful for all those years I did have with my father. I got a little over 32 years with him and that's 29 more than Erin got with her Dad. And I need to cherish those memories, instead of regretting that there will not be more of them.
So I just want to say, stop living in the past, stop longing for the future, and live in and love the moment that you are in.
And I know, I know, Bono wants to save the world...yadda, yadda, yadda...save it. They are incredible band who write incredible songs. Leave Bono's messianic complex at the door an just enjoy the music. It is possible to separate the two and there are worse things than wanting to put a stop to poverty and AIDS aren't there?
And yes, I have listened to the new album three times and I am still not falling in love with it. I decided to start over and work my way back. I want to enjoy the journey these boys from Dublin have made to get us to this point here in 2009. That's also something to think about, these fellows have been together without a break, making music, recording, touring, the whole deal, without a single line up change since 1976! That's 32 years!
OK, enough of the U2 fan boy nonsense, and no I am not Irish, I just marry Irish. This leads us to my next thought. I was thinking about my wife, Erin, and about some of my favorite memories of our six and a half years together. And I was thinking that some of my favorite memories are not of the huge life changing variety. I mean, of course, our wedding was fantastic and one of the most amazing nights of my life. And yes, it was amazing standing there holding her hand and staring up at Big Ben in London.
However, perhaps my favorite memory, is kissing her in the rain outside of her old apartment in Long Beach. And I thought about how early on in our relationship we were walking along the beach, it was at night and I was dressed in a really nice new pair of black slacks and Erin asked me to sit in the sand with her. I told her I didn't want to get sand all over my nice pants! What a fucking moron! How could I not sit in the sand by the ocean with this young woman that I was falling in love with?
Last night when Erin picked me up from the subway I was telling her how I felt that memories of the little things like those I have mentioned here were so important. And how much I regretted not sitting in the sand with her that night.
Sometimes we worry that my daughter is far too concerned with what everyone else is doing or will be doing and not what she herself is doing or will be doing. She always seems so concerned with what she may be missing or could have missed/will miss that she misses everything. She often does not seem to enjoy what she is doing because she gets so wrapped up in watching what everyone else is doing.
I know fear that she may have gotten this from me. Too many times I am looking back or ahead and not enjoying what I am doing. I am worried about what tomorrow will bring or what happened yesterday and not enjoying what I am doing. I think this is partly due to the fact that for a while I thought only of the moment and completely disregarded the consequences of my actions. I lived completely in the moment and was totally dedicated to doing whatever would make me most happy at that exact moment. This is not a good way to go about things either I soon found out.
So I think that in an effort to avoid this behavior I shifted to completely the opposite. I was always looking to what comes next and not what's going on now. What am I doing tomorrow or this weekend? That I have to be at work the next morning instead of enjoying the night I have to spend alone with my wife.
I've realized that I need to focus more on the moment, to enjoy the here and now and to not be rushing off to tomorrow or next weekend. It is good to have things to look forward to but not so much so that you don't enjoy where you are at present. I need to stop worrying about the fact that I may not be perfectly mastering a technique in Jiu Jitsu and appreciate the moment that I am being taught and the privilege of learning from such great instructors. I need to stop and enjoy my daughter giggling as I tease her or makes jokes and stop worrying about what time she has to be at a Girl Scouts function the next day. I need to enjoy sitting and watching a movie with my wife's head on my chest and stop thinking about how much work I have on my desk waiting for me the next day.
I also thought about the fact that there are so many people out there right now who have it so much worse than I do. I know that sometimes I can be overcome by thoughts of sorrow or hopelessness or frustration and that part of that is genetic and part of it is my own obsessing over meaningless crap. I am a lucky man, I am married to a fantastic woman, I have a wonderful daughter, my wife and I have good jobs, and a nice house. I have a wonderful family and amazing friends.
I have lost my father, who was one of my absolute most favorite people in the entire world. But I have not lost everything. And instead of focusing on the fact that I lost someone that I loved so very much, I think I need to try and focus more on the fact that I still have so many people who I love and who love me so very much. And to be grateful for what I do have instead of being so angry about what I no longer have anymore. And I need also need to be grateful for all those years I did have with my father. I got a little over 32 years with him and that's 29 more than Erin got with her Dad. And I need to cherish those memories, instead of regretting that there will not be more of them.
So I just want to say, stop living in the past, stop longing for the future, and live in and love the moment that you are in.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Music influences and the album reclamation project
I love music, I really, really love music. I own over a thousand CDs and I have downloaded many, many more albums since acquiring my first iPod as an anniversary present from my wife Erin.
My older brother Frank and close friends Earl Maneein, Chris Gavagan, Chris Brady, and Shannon Gramas have each had major impacts on my musical choices throughout the years. Growing up Frank opened up his vast music collection with only two rules: put it back where you found it and don't leave the house with it. He's also the reason why my own collection has always been in alphabetical order by artist and chronological order within each artist.
Earl and I have been close friends since we were 11 years old way back in 1987. At the time our musical obsessions were hard rock bands like Def Leppard and Guns N' Roses. This led us into an obsession with metal acts such as Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth, Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies, and Pantera. We later shifted over into alternative acts such as Jane's Addiction, Nirvana, Alice In Chains, and Pearl Jam.
In my later High School years Frank's growing obsession with New Wave, Industrial, and Brit Pop began to take over my musical interests. Soon enough Frank's favorite band became mine and it's the same band for the both of us to this day, Depeche Mode. Through Frank I was introduced to the bands that are still my favorites to this day: Depeche Mode, the Cure, the Smiths, Morrissey, U2, and Nine Inch Nails. I also found a love for Duran Duran, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Ministry, Nitzer Ebb, Joy Division, and Erasure. Earl became a big fan of these bands as well and introduced me to Alphaville.
My New Wave & Industrial obsession continued on in college and flavors of Goth were added to the mix with Bauhaus and Cranes leading the charge. I began going to clubs two to three nights a week and dancing my ass off to retro 80s New Wave as well as 90s synthpop, goth, and industrial.
I met Chris Gavagan in January of 1996 and we formed a quick and close bond based on music, film, hockey, Star Wars, & GI Joe. Chris was into a lot of the bands I was like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Depeche Mode, the Cure, Duran Duran, and Rollins Band. He helped me get into the Dead Kennedys, Sublime, 311, and Cat Stevens. I have many fantastic memories of driving around in Chris' blue camaro blasting DM, 311, and Sublime and singing our hearts out. In later years Chris and I have handed each other tons of CDs peaking each others interests in many bands like Alkaline Trio, Coldplay, Anti-Flag, and Mindless Self Indulgence. Chris and I also share a love of tattoos and have been there to watch each other bleed many a time!
Chris Brady and I met when we both worked at Tower Records. Our friendship started with common interests in stand up comedy, music, and pro wrestling. Chris is responsible for getting me into bands like Flickerstick, Wilco, Ryan Adams, and Ben Kweller. I'll never forget that New Year's Eve we spent at a packed Irving Plaza watching Vida Blue blow the roof off the place. When midnight struck and they played Instant Karma, it was an awesome experience. In recent months Chris and I started taking Brazilian Jiu Jitsu together and it's a real blast training twice a week with one of my closest friends!
I met Shannon Gramas in February of 2005 when I first started working at ITN. I happened passed his cubicle when I heard music playing. I saw this dude sitting there with stacks of CDs on his desk and I was digging the music he was playing. I struck up a conversation and I've been friends with the guy ever since. He's one of my favorite people to talk music with and I love waxing nostalgic about 80s cartoons and comics with him. Shannon got me into Jeff Buckley, Iron and Wine, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Neutral Milk Hotel, Cat Power, M83 and a slew of other artists. The Gramas is a musical encyclopedia and I love sharing music with him.
A lot of people out there like to blame iTunes and the iPod for ruining the idea of the album. I decided to do a bit of musical soul searching and I realized that I most often either had my iPod on shuffle or would be listening to one of my play lists. Now, shuffle is one of the most fantastic things about the iPod or any digital music player. Especially when you have over 6,000 tracks on your iPod covering a vast array of genres. One minute I am listening to Depeche Mode, the next Cat Stevens, then James Brown, then Pop Will Eat Itself and so on.
However, I realized that the only time I had been listening to albums was when I downloaded or uploaded a new one. So I decided to do a little project, I was going to listen to all the albums of some of my favorite acts in chronological order. This way I could appreciate the individual albums and the growth and change of the artists themselves.
I started off with my all time favorite act, Depeche Mode. Listening to the whole albums really makes you remember how much you loved certain tracks that weren't necessarily hits or the best tracks on the album, but that struck you anyway. I love Puppets and Love In Itself! I finished off my DM experiment last night and I can say that Black Celebration is still my favorite album of theirs and that Exciter is still my least favorite. And Blue Dress off of the Violator album still mesmerizes me like no other track.
I took a brief detour in my project with the release of Morrissey's latest album Years Of Refusal. Holy crap am I in love with this album! It's just a wonderful example of Morrissey's incomparable lyrical wit and some great rocking guitars featured on quite a few tracks. If you love the Moz, buy this, now!
And I am back on track with my little project now moving on to...the Smiths! I decided to go with the Smiths next after drooling all over Morrissey's latest solo triumph. So far this morning I've listened to the Smiths and began Meat Is Murder. Goddamn this is a fantastic band that wrote fantastic music!
I think I've gone on long enough about my musical interests and my ongoing album reclamation project for now. I hope everyone reading this is happy and well. Until next time, keep your head up.
My older brother Frank and close friends Earl Maneein, Chris Gavagan, Chris Brady, and Shannon Gramas have each had major impacts on my musical choices throughout the years. Growing up Frank opened up his vast music collection with only two rules: put it back where you found it and don't leave the house with it. He's also the reason why my own collection has always been in alphabetical order by artist and chronological order within each artist.
Earl and I have been close friends since we were 11 years old way back in 1987. At the time our musical obsessions were hard rock bands like Def Leppard and Guns N' Roses. This led us into an obsession with metal acts such as Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth, Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies, and Pantera. We later shifted over into alternative acts such as Jane's Addiction, Nirvana, Alice In Chains, and Pearl Jam.
In my later High School years Frank's growing obsession with New Wave, Industrial, and Brit Pop began to take over my musical interests. Soon enough Frank's favorite band became mine and it's the same band for the both of us to this day, Depeche Mode. Through Frank I was introduced to the bands that are still my favorites to this day: Depeche Mode, the Cure, the Smiths, Morrissey, U2, and Nine Inch Nails. I also found a love for Duran Duran, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Ministry, Nitzer Ebb, Joy Division, and Erasure. Earl became a big fan of these bands as well and introduced me to Alphaville.
My New Wave & Industrial obsession continued on in college and flavors of Goth were added to the mix with Bauhaus and Cranes leading the charge. I began going to clubs two to three nights a week and dancing my ass off to retro 80s New Wave as well as 90s synthpop, goth, and industrial.
I met Chris Gavagan in January of 1996 and we formed a quick and close bond based on music, film, hockey, Star Wars, & GI Joe. Chris was into a lot of the bands I was like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Depeche Mode, the Cure, Duran Duran, and Rollins Band. He helped me get into the Dead Kennedys, Sublime, 311, and Cat Stevens. I have many fantastic memories of driving around in Chris' blue camaro blasting DM, 311, and Sublime and singing our hearts out. In later years Chris and I have handed each other tons of CDs peaking each others interests in many bands like Alkaline Trio, Coldplay, Anti-Flag, and Mindless Self Indulgence. Chris and I also share a love of tattoos and have been there to watch each other bleed many a time!
Chris Brady and I met when we both worked at Tower Records. Our friendship started with common interests in stand up comedy, music, and pro wrestling. Chris is responsible for getting me into bands like Flickerstick, Wilco, Ryan Adams, and Ben Kweller. I'll never forget that New Year's Eve we spent at a packed Irving Plaza watching Vida Blue blow the roof off the place. When midnight struck and they played Instant Karma, it was an awesome experience. In recent months Chris and I started taking Brazilian Jiu Jitsu together and it's a real blast training twice a week with one of my closest friends!
I met Shannon Gramas in February of 2005 when I first started working at ITN. I happened passed his cubicle when I heard music playing. I saw this dude sitting there with stacks of CDs on his desk and I was digging the music he was playing. I struck up a conversation and I've been friends with the guy ever since. He's one of my favorite people to talk music with and I love waxing nostalgic about 80s cartoons and comics with him. Shannon got me into Jeff Buckley, Iron and Wine, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Neutral Milk Hotel, Cat Power, M83 and a slew of other artists. The Gramas is a musical encyclopedia and I love sharing music with him.
A lot of people out there like to blame iTunes and the iPod for ruining the idea of the album. I decided to do a bit of musical soul searching and I realized that I most often either had my iPod on shuffle or would be listening to one of my play lists. Now, shuffle is one of the most fantastic things about the iPod or any digital music player. Especially when you have over 6,000 tracks on your iPod covering a vast array of genres. One minute I am listening to Depeche Mode, the next Cat Stevens, then James Brown, then Pop Will Eat Itself and so on.
However, I realized that the only time I had been listening to albums was when I downloaded or uploaded a new one. So I decided to do a little project, I was going to listen to all the albums of some of my favorite acts in chronological order. This way I could appreciate the individual albums and the growth and change of the artists themselves.
I started off with my all time favorite act, Depeche Mode. Listening to the whole albums really makes you remember how much you loved certain tracks that weren't necessarily hits or the best tracks on the album, but that struck you anyway. I love Puppets and Love In Itself! I finished off my DM experiment last night and I can say that Black Celebration is still my favorite album of theirs and that Exciter is still my least favorite. And Blue Dress off of the Violator album still mesmerizes me like no other track.
I took a brief detour in my project with the release of Morrissey's latest album Years Of Refusal. Holy crap am I in love with this album! It's just a wonderful example of Morrissey's incomparable lyrical wit and some great rocking guitars featured on quite a few tracks. If you love the Moz, buy this, now!
And I am back on track with my little project now moving on to...the Smiths! I decided to go with the Smiths next after drooling all over Morrissey's latest solo triumph. So far this morning I've listened to the Smiths and began Meat Is Murder. Goddamn this is a fantastic band that wrote fantastic music!
I think I've gone on long enough about my musical interests and my ongoing album reclamation project for now. I hope everyone reading this is happy and well. Until next time, keep your head up.
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