Monday, May 16, 2011

Feeling Lonely?

Or need a creepy cooing fix? Get it from Target....middle aisle, toy section...


Monday, May 9, 2011

The Waitress's Speech

I was riding my bike down town when I decided to stop and snoop around the internally demolished Macleod's Irish Pub (or used to be). This classy karaoke hot-spot just happened to be my place of employment a little over a decade ago. One of the gazillion restaurants/pub jobs I held during my roaring twenties.
So I go inside, start shuffling around and memories are surfacing. Mostly of a few folks I worked with, two ladies in particular. First, this early forty something hyper-granola girl, not the typical jam band following trustafarian type but closer to the fruit loop type. During break time she'd speak of various activism efforts gone awry and her favorite hippy hobbies consisting mainly of grass smoking, acid dropping, and physically rolling in flower beds (well, guess we had a few things in common). But this girl would tie herself to T-Dot trucks, wander parking lots slapping earth-first stickers on Escalades and camp in trees three days on end. Unfortunately, her efforts landed her in jail, roads were still expanded and trees were still hacked. Gotta give her an "A" for effort at least. The thing I found highly peculiar was how she nonchalantly giggled about these fizzled fiascos as if the causes she so boldly fought for, in reality, held no importance to her whatsoever. 
The next girl coming to mind trained me my first week. Boy was she ever mean! She bitterly bossed the heck out of people and wore her seniority like a neon sign, flicking it on every time we needed something. But here's the kicker, she stuttered....horribly. I watched "The King's Speech" the other night and consistently thought of her throughout the movie. And listen folks, I'd never make light of someone's physical uncontrollables, that's ALL KINDS of wrong. But I won't lie, the idea was definitely entertained. My darker side wanted full on no-holds-barred retaliation! That's right, I wanted her to feel as horrid as I felt in the wake of her extreme bitchiness. And with my twenty two year old piss-poor attitude and unbridled tongue, it's surprising I kept my cool. Looking back, I'm glad I did. Who knows what she'd been through, probably some messed up stuff. You know, it sorta feels bad thinking about it now, wish I'd been kinder. Oh well, you live and you learn right? And I can't beat myself up too much. As time passed, we did actually become friendlier with one another and her stammer lessened (around me at least).....that movie was fabulous by the way.

Welcome to Macleod's! Smoking, non, or landfill section?

      This drink station appears to be out of order.

Bring on the drunk frat daddies!!


Wednesday, May 4, 2011

"Illogical Affair"

Today's blogtastic plan is to write a quick and short review of a new album I heard this past week. No Pitchfork-esque write-up but merely a simple "how this music speaks to me" note. A week ago, musical artist Joshua Rosen contacted me via lastfm email and asked if I would review his new album on my blog. It was kinda cool. And no, he doesn't know me from Adam but his listener fan base is relatively small and I happened to be the sole commenter on his page, or better yet, the sole shouter in his shout box thus making me a prime target. In this case however, I was happy to be hit. And well, I sorta felt sorry for him....haha.... oh I'm kidding. Seriously, the message in his music is awesome and spreading it around makes me feel good.
"Illogical Affair", released in late April, is Rosen's second record. Keep in mind, I'm only a happy listener and not your typical techy music reviewer/writer so please bare with my simplicity. The album is highly spiritual but not religious, and thankfully it doesn't have that extreme Christian radio sound. I'd name a few bands that fit this bill but I figure that's a fruitless endeavor. And again, these are my personal thoughts, to each his own. The new record's musical style is primarily folk, lots of acoustic guitar, soft vocals and occasional trumpets (which were a lovely addition). However, the appeal of Rosen's music is more personal than instruments and vocals. The author of his lastfm bio states it well, "I'm pretty sure he didn't write all these songs in the woods somewhere. No, the intrigue and richness of this music comes not through fabled lore or even musical prowess, but rather in his person." That is so true! You'll find no spousal rights, late nights or whiskey fights on this record. Mistakenly, I blew through the first listen and didn't fully take it in until I sat down, got quiet, and concentrated on the music/message. I tell ya, it's meaty stuff. A close friend of mine always says "it's like steak!"...and no need for A1 (which I find gross anyway), there's plenty of flavor here...nurh....Corniness aside, the lyrics resonated with me the second time around and I even got a little misty eyed. His songs are filled with restoration, transformation, taking off the old, putting on the new, boldness, unity and simply enjoying God. It reminded me how one touch or simple word is often more life changing than a thousand sermons. You'll also find praise in the mix and honest depictions of struggles we face as flawed humans living in a world of full of fears, distractions, empty pleasures and limitations. If you pay this album proper attention, it'll strike a few heart strings regardless of your beliefs. So get dinner out of the way, feed your dog, put earphones on, quiet your mind and head to the closet...