Write that down!!

 I work up early Sunday morning thinking about the passing of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, and felt the need to make a note of these three things:

1. I’m gonna need some stuff…

2. “What should we call this?”

3. A tribute to Taylor Hawkins…

I don’t remember much of the context of that line of thinking.  I think I was Dave Grohl in a dream or something.  I remember planning this on a warm sunny day at a beach.  That’s about it.

No idea where I was going with that.   And I’m OK with that.  No point of grasping at straws that wouldn’t get spun into gold…

I lost a LEGO piece... MAYBE...

 I may have lost a LEGO piece, and it's fucking up my mind 6 ways to Sunday...

I've been working for a number of years to build a Pyramid Nightclub.  And I may have lost a 1x1x6 Column, Piece #43888, Bright Yellow that is a support piece for the roof to the entrance to the club.  It's somewhere in my house between the LEGO room (where I keep 95% of my collection) and the living room.  I know it's in the house, because that stuff never leaves my residence once it enters my plastic Thunderdome.  i probably have to tear apart both rooms to see where it is.

But that's not the worst of it.  The worst of it is that is my obsession with trying to figure out where it is.

LEGO doesn't currently have that part in that color in their online store.

The voice in my head doesn't want to let me rest until I find it.

The piece is cheap, only a few cents.  I can easily order a new one and get it in a handful of days.  But that's not the point.

I overthink everything.  I hate leaving things unfinished.  I spent nearly all of April trying to work to clean up my music collection.  I got it done, but it kept my mind awake trying to figure out how I can return to a state similar to how I had it in late May 2019 before moving to California.

Once I complete one major project, I feel the need to move onto the next one. It never ends.

I should seek professional help.  Maybe I will in a few days...

Until then, I will not rest...  Because I can't...

I put the OCD in CD…

Before I moved to California with my wife, I kept a meticulous SQL database of all my legally obtained music…

Before we got our house, I let it fall by the wayside because I didn't have the time or space to work with it…

Over the past several months, I've been picking it back up and returning order to that chaos.  I think I’ve identified everything, so I can load it back into my database.  There were about 7500 songs in it before I left Minnesota, and now I’m around 8650.

I know no one else cares about it, but it is important TO ME.  It's tough when my mind starts getting on my case about the mess that it is, but I think I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel now.  I just need to remind myself to be kinder to me…

I also know self-diagnosing myself with OCD is not the same as medical professionals telling some person that they have *ACTUAL* obsessive compulsive disorder.  It's probably something I shouldn't be joking about.  I'm not on the same level as Michael J. Fox's character in the third season of "Scrubs".

Fortunately, I have today off of work, so I can spend my afternoon cleaning up my database of music.  Wish me luck...

So what'cha want?

Adam, Adam, and Mike tried to warn the record companies ~30 years ago.

The only people who need record companies are the artists TO HELP PROMOTE THEIR BANDS.

Albums help sell tickets to shows, which is where musicians make their money. But now that the shoe is on the other foot, where bands can start their own labels, work directly with studios, and can cut the big name producers out of their equation.

There is no need for a middleman anymore.

Technology helped too. Thanks to the iPod eventually becoming big enough to hold entire PERSONAL libraries of music, why do you need to listen to SOMEONE ELSE'S collection?

Need recommendations for new music? Ask a friend. 

And the whole Napster fiasco? It showed record companies only cared about their bottom lines. 

Music, and making albums, adds to their wealth, so they can sign more bands and make more recordings increase their IP catalog.

Once the albums are stamped, they'll license their productions out where they can make their bucks. 

Who needs record companies? Investors, and that's it...

Where's my iPhone?

So, I have a classic 80 GB iPod (6th Gen), a Windows Mobile 6 Samsung SCH-i760 smartphone, and an original 16 GB iPad.

I'm starting hate Apple these days. Mostly becuase I'm responsible for managing them at John Deere, and they keep neglecting the business market in favor of personal consumers. But they'll screwing me over on that side as well.

My cell phone is nearly three years old and up for replacement. But I'm still waiting for Apple to release an iPhone with sufficient hardware capabilities. I want an iPhone that replaces both my cell phone AND my iPod. That means at least 128 GB of storage.

"Dude, just use the cloud." No. Besides the security concerns I have with opening up my data to the outside world, I don't want to PAY to store and access my own data.

"DUDE, YOU BOUGHT AN iPAD!!" That's besides the point. I bought a refurbished, bottom-of-the-line, previous version of Apple's famed tablet device TO REPLACE MY LAPTOP, after the AC adapter port broke on it. The $349 was cheaper than $600-900 for a new laptop, especially when all I'm using it for is Facebook/Twitter/web surfing from my couch or on the road.

So, back to the iPhone thing: I have over 7400 songs on my iPod, taking up 52 GB of disk space. Apple would charge me $100 a year to put all that music (up to 55 GB) in their iCloud. Amazon offers 100 GB at the same yearly rate. Not to mention what a service plan from a cell provider would charge me for streaming all that data (I listen to my iPod about 6-8 hours a day).

I am grandfathered in with Verizon's unlimited data plan, but I'd STILL have to get a newer phone, because the software to use either cloud on my 4+ year old dinosaur WM6 phone doesn't exist.

So, until Steve Jobs and Tim Cook release the type of iPhone I want, I'm not upgrading. I'll use the money I'd save from the cloud for a higher-end, larger capacity, and probably more expensive cell phone/MP3 player, only paying for the single upgrade and the ability to carry one fewer device with me when I leave the house. #WorthIt

Anybody wanna start a band?

Over the last couple of weeks, me and a friend in Phoenix, AZ are talking about starting a band and moving to Southern California (not necessarily in that order.  She plays guitar, and I've been learning bass for the past six weeks.  We're looking forward to playing with each other, but I'm itching to find some other musicians at my level to jam with until then (and who knows when that would be, our discussions have been VERY preliminary).

I've speculated on how we could put this together.  I know we'll be looking for a drummer, a rhythm guitarist, and a multi-instrumentalist (keyboards, bass, rhythm guitar) who can be the wild card.  Yeah, I know, what do we need with another bassist?  Until I learn my chops, I'd feel better having an experienced bass player around to help me out.  Plus, I'm also picturing myself as lead singer (I'm good at memorizing lyrics), so I may put the bass down for a couple of songs while we perform.

As for how big we'll make it, I'd be happy just being in a bar band.  Playing to patrons on Friday and Saturday nights.  Food, drinks, and some money to invest in my new hobby is all I'd ask for.  Maybe getting to be good enough to be a permanent house band at an establishment (and if we can't do that, I'll BUILD a bar where we can be the house band).

Well, while we wait to see how this plays out, please let me know if you're interested in playing with me.  Because for those about to rock, I salute you.

Top 10 Bassists

Disclaimer: Similiar to my list of top ten drummers, this not a list of the best bassists of all-time, or the best bassists around right now, or anything like that. I am not qualified enough to judge the abilities of every bassist in the history of the world against each other and determine the best. Nor is this a list of the bassists from my favorite bands (though there is a noticeable overlap; half of them are/were a member of one of my top five favorite bands). This is a list of the people I'd pay just to watch them play bass (without the rest of their respective bands) and get some pointers. They are presented in no particular order.

Kelly Ogden, The Dollyrots - One of my more recent favorites, I love her upbeat personality, and the way she has fun with it.
Maya Ford, The Donnas - She's also a pretty good artist, as seen by this Donnas T-shirt.
Mike Dirnt, Green Day - My favorite on this list. Author of one of my favorite Green Day songs, J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva).
Scott Shriner, Weezer - A great pick up after Mikey Welsh left Weezer in 2001.
Flea, Red Hot Chili Peppers - Slap-style technique, very cool.
Gene Simmons, Kiss - A tip of the cap to Gene for admitting why he markets the hell out of Kiss. He didn't want his kids to grow up poor like he did. His reality show is pretty good, I enjoy watching it.
Mark Hoppus, blink-182 - I prefer his singing to that of guitarist Tom DeLonge.
Greg K, The Offspring - Dexter and Noodles get all the love, but don't underestimate what Greg brings to the table for this band.
Matt Sharp, Weezer - Did a fantastic job when he was in Weezer.
Emma Anzai, Sick Puppies - The most hardcore (IMO) on this list. Just look at the way she rocks it in their video for "You're Going Down".

American Idiot musical soundtrack review

Green Day has been a commercial juggernaut within the last 18 months. They followed up their most successful album to date, American Idiot, with 21st Century Breakdown, a very solid album in its own right, and worldwide tour to support it. EA released a Green Day Rock Band title. And most impressively, Billie Joe Armstrong worked with Broadway director Michael Mayer to turn American Idiot into a Tony award-winning musical.

If, in 1995, you tried to tell Green Day or any of their fans that they'd pull of something like this, he/she probably would have punched you in the face. But the soundtrack to the American Idiot musical shows how far Green Day has come in their 20 years together. This album shows both the band's maturity, as they all approach 40, yet how they've remained young at heart with their devotion to all things rock and their punk attitude.

I cannot stress how great this musical soundtrack is. In fact, I'd even say it's an improvement over the original American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown albums. Everyone involved just took this thing to another level. The cast of the musical has incredible vocal range, hitting and sustaining notes in a way that Billie Joe never could. They made such a production of the music by adding string sections and choruses (I love that kind of stuff; the more, the better, IMO). But Green Day didn't just sit on the bench during the recording of these tracks. They did what they do best on this album: they recorded most of the music themselves. Yes, that's Mr. Armstrong on guitar, Mike Dirnt on bass, and Tre Cool on drums. Finally, the album is uncensored. Honestly, you think Green Day would allow that? Hell no. No parental advisory label on the album either (not sure how they pulled that off, as the F-bombs are clearly audible throughout the album).

This is the first album I've ever listened to that IMMEDIATELY gave me goosebumps. And this was on a warm, sunny Sunday afternoon, during the summer, in a hot car, after picking it up at my local Best Buy. It instantly got to me, and I fell in love with it (and Green Day).

The album starts off with the title track, and you notice the first of the subtle changes with the music itself. The intro is a little bit different than that from the original version of the song. The goosebumps kick in when the cast sings round during the bridge from the guitar solo to the final chorus. So good...

The goosebumps continue into track 2, Jesus of Suburbia. Especially when "Heather" (Mary Faber), one of the female lead character, comes in for part 4 of this song, Dearly Beloved, and again for part 5, Tales of Another Broken Home. It's haunting, sending chills down my arms.

The next track, Holiday, starts off with an awesome bass intro. Mike Dirnt did a great job with it, trumping Billie Joe's original guitar intro. The "ooh, ooh, OOOOOH" during the guitar solo, the "THREE FOUR!!", the deep-toned piano into and during the bridge. Amazing. They melded into the rest of the song very well.

Boulevard of Broken Dreams starts out with an acoustic guitar intro that nicely mellows down the raw energy from the first three tracks. This relaxed tone is calmed down even more by the string section and lead character "Johnny" (John Gallagher, Jr.), but it kicks back into gear during the second chorus and bridge into the guitar solo. The outro really drives it home and brings the goosebumps back in full force.

Track 5 is Favorite Son. At first, I thought this was a new song written for the musical, but after some digging around on the Internet, I found out it was an unreleased B-side from the original American Idiot album, and it was eventually used in the protest compilation "Rock Against Bush, Vol. 2". I won't get into the politics this song MAY convey, but it's a damn good song. A real hidden gem. I love the female backup vocals chanting "Oh no, it's a drag" during the chorus that are anything but. The song stops briefly before the third verse goes off with a very appropriate "Now where's your fucking champion?" and a series of "Doot doo doo"s from those ladies singing backup. Chants of "It's your favorite son" and a drum outro segue nicely into Are We the Waiting. The entire cast continues delivering goosebumps with the choruses of "Are we, we are/Are we, we are the waiting". Tre Cool finishes out this song with a very nice drum solo. The outros for these two songs are some of the best drum work on the entire album. Tre one of the best in the business these days BY FAR.

St. Jimmy has a very quick pace to it, full of all kinds of energy, bringing you back up from the last track. I didn't like this song at first, thinking it was too busy, too noisy, too all over the place, but after listening it to it a couple more times, it grew on me. I can listen to it without pressing the skip button on my media player, but it'll never be my favorite track of this album, unlike...

Give Me Novacaine. This is my favorite song from the original American Idiot album. You can keep all those other songs that got released as singles, but this one? It's all mine. It starts out with the same drum beat as the album cut, but then the drums stop and an acoustic guitar starts, with Michael Esper ("Will") singing a couple seconds later, then a stringed portion during the first chorus. It turns the goosebumps up to 11. It gets me EVERY time. Then after the second chorus, the drums come in hard and fast, the cast belts out a "Aaah, novacaine", and a small snippet from a stringed instrument, BOOM, right into the guitar solo. Turns the goosebumps up to 12!! After the final chorus, the tempo comes back down, but not for long.

Track 9 is a medley of Last of the American Girls from 21st Century Breakdown and She's a Rebel from American Idiot. The cast goes back and forth between the two songs, not just lyrically, but musically. Last of the American Girls is backed solely by a stringed section, with She's a Rebel with the full rock, like the original. This medley is greater than the sum of their parts. Each original was good, but the two together is unbelievable. Everyone involved in this arraignment is a genius.

This album turns somber again with the stringed intro for Last Night on Earth. Another haunting song with "St. Jimmy" (Tony Vincent), "Heather", and "Whatshername" (Rebecca Naomi Jones) on vocals. It's chilling. Finishing off the roller ride of down, up, down, and back up again from these last four songs on Disc 1 is Too Much Too Soon. Another Green Day B-side, this time from the American Idiot single. It's got that classic, "I don't give a fuck" Green Day attitude. You just want to sink your teeth into it. Strong guitar riff, constant drum beat, driving bass line. Real good modern punk rock sound. The big "FUCK YOU!!" drives that point home so well.

Disc 2 kicks off with the first half of Before the Lobotomy. The organ intro sets up the four-man round of cast members Stark Sands ("Tunny"), Chase Peacock, Joshua Henry, and Ben Thompson. Each one finishes their respective verses, then repeats their parts as the next man joins in. I can picture a dark stage, with a spotlight coming down on each one they enter. It gets a little busy at the end, but you can still make out most of the words. Very well done. Extraordinary Girl, sandwiched between the two parts of Before the Lobotomy, has a very Middle Eastern tone with the opening beats and backing vocals. The reprise of the former song lights the fire after these two very relaxed songs. Again, goosebumps start as soon as this track opens up and will stay with you the rest of the way.

When It's Time is a song from WAY back in the Green Day. According to Wikipedia, Billie Joe Armstrong wrote during the Kerplunk! days for his wife Adrienne. It's a very sad song, with "Johnny" alone on vocals and guitar. It really touches you. You won't feel down for long, as Know Your Enemy will pick you back up again. It moves you to get up and do something about all the crap you've experienced in you rlife. It ends abruptly after a couple of minutes, which is a little disappointing. The original version clocked in a little over three minutes. They certainly could have done more with it, especially when you crash right into...

...21 Guns. This is probably the best track on the whole album. Six of the seven main characters sing this together, but it's the women ("Whatshername", "Extraordinary Girl", and "Heather") who really knock it out of the park. Haunting, chilling, driving, all filling you up with more goosebumps. It's got all the emotions we've heard across the album rolled up into this song. It's easy to see why a version of it with Green Day and the entire cast all together (with Billie Joe Armstrong handling most of lead male vocals himself) was released as a single. It finishes up with a couple lines from Nobody Likes You, part 3 of Homecoming. "Heather" sings "Nobody likes you, everyone left you/They're all out without you, havin' fun". Those words will stick with you FOREVER. I just can't get them out of my head.

Letterbomb brings the bar back up again (it's just one roller coaster ride after another). "Whatshername" carries the torch on this one solo with her voice. I expect Rebecca Naomi Jones to have a long, successful career after all is said and done. She's definitely one of the stars on this album. She belts out, "It's not over 'til you're underground," and just have to nod my head in agreement. The great guitar work and drums also carry this song to that higher level. It comes down again with Wake Me Up When September Ends. Another one of the vast improvements over the original version by Green Day. Again, conveying great sadness, more appropriate to its original intent (a story about Billie Joe's father passing away while he was a teenager). It really makes you reflect on those low members in your life, when you just wanted the calendar to turn the page to something better.

Homecoming starts bringing the show to a close, but it's doing so at full speed. The energy rides high through all five parts of this song, closing out with the entire cast singing the same last lines as 21 Guns. Whatshername is the final track from the musical itself, with a sobering piano intro and "Johnny" reflecting back on everything that's happened throughout the story line. Those aspects and the stringed portion after the first verse make you think, "Geez, it's just never gonna be the same, and that sucks..." But all hope is not lost. In the final sequence of goosebumpery, the "Aaaaaah..."s and guitar solo carry you into the cast repeating the chorus of "Remember, whatever/It seems like forever ago", you get the hope back. Yes, things have changed, but you can't go back and "fix" them. You have to continue down the road you're on.

The album closes out with Green Day's own version of When It's Time. It reminds me a lot of Good Riddance (Time of Your Life), but this one has the weight of the full band behind it. It's also one of the rare exceptions on this album (and perhaps the ONLY one) where they did a better job than the musical cast did. The Green Day version just doesn't seem like the emotional drag that the musical version is, and I think that's why I prefer it.

Start to finish, you go up and down with Green Day and the cast. It's a journey full of all kinds of emotion. This album is so good, it makes me want to fly to New York so I could see this show on Broadway. And I HATE New York with every bone in my body. It's just that good. All musical theater should be like this. I'd love to see other bands try to pull this off. Maybe Weezer can resurrect Songs from the Black Hole (the follow-up to their debut album, but ended up becoming Pinkerton). Or The Donnas can go on tour to support their upcoming Meatballs musical.

Green Day is one of the greatest bands in the last twenty years. With work like this, I expect them to stay on top for another twenty years. Keep it up, guys.

Having a Blast (or five)

I've been on a huge Green Day high the last couple of months. No, not Mary Jane, but the band. Partly because their recent commercial success permanently solidified them as my #3 band, but I'd also like to think it's because my Minnesota Twins have battled back from being 3.5 GB of Chicago to leapfrog them and Detroit for the AL Central lead. It'd had me thinking about one of my many fantasies: becoming the first player in MLB history to hit 5 (yes, FIVE) home runs in a game.

I know I stated that if I were a closer in the majors, I'd come onto the field to The Who's "Baba O'Riley". As a position player, however, I'd go with Green Day hits for my plate appearances. I'd rotate through a list of ten or twenty, including (but not limited to) "American Idiot", "Who Wrote Holden Caufield?", "Basket Case". The intros for each song would be played as I make my way from the on deck circle to home plate. If I were to hit a home run, the guitar solo would come over the sound system as I'm rounding the bases, greeting my teammates at home plate, and going back into the dugout. For my place in history, I'd go with these five, in order of game progression (first song for first plate appearance, etc.).

Picture a warm, early September afternoon at Target Field (or maybe Busch Stadium)...

** Geek Stink Breath - A power packed song to get the day started. Something to get the crowd going with a lot of energy (and they're going to need it). I'd start off with a solo home run in the 1st to give my team the early lead.
** Holiday - More energy for more power. And it'd work. A two-run shot in the third breaks the tie and puts us on top once again. Score at this point would be 3-1.
** When I Come Around - Take the tempo down a little bit. Try to play it cool from having a good day at the dish. This fifth inning, three-run homer would increase our team's lead to 6-2. After this third round-tripper, the fans would be giving me a standing ovation, and I'd come out of the dugout non-chalantly for a curtain call. I don't know why they'd be so into it. The game's far from over (as they'll soon find out), and plenty of people hit three home runs in a game all the time. Big deal...
** J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva) - Here's where things get interesting. Our opponent has battled back and taken an 8-7 lead on us. I'm coming up in the seventh, with a man on second and a shot at the record books. Only 15 men have accomplished this feat in MLB. With one swing, I become #16 and put us back in front 9-8. I get another standing ovation from the crowd and acknowledge it, showing a little more emotion about it compared to the last one.
** Hitchin' a Ride - That lead became short lived. Our opponent is up 11-9 heading into the bottom of the ninth. I come up with two outs, bases loaded. After a first-pitch ball, their closer fools me once with a nasty slider I swing at (shame on him), then catches me looking at a sweeping curve (shame on me). One more pitch to decide the whole thing. I swing and connect with his next offering, a fastball on the outside part of the plate. I start a VERY slow trot down the line, while I and everyone else in the stadium (including those of us on the field) watch the flight of the ball to left center field, the stringed portion at the end of the bridge comes on the speakers. As the ball clears the fence and lands, Billie Joe screams "SHIT!" and the solo kicks in. Everyone is going crazy. I jump for joy once on my way to first, then shake my right fist as I head to second. I give a big Kirby Puckett-esque fist pump on my way to third, then make the turn home where my teammates are awaiting. They've got a nice three-foot radius cleared out for me. After I touch home plate and raise both my arms in the air in celebration of our 13-11 win, we do a World Series-caliber jumping group hug/mob (like Joe Carter and the 1993 Toronto Blue Jays).

I stay on the field for a few minutes to take it all in, maybe give an interview (where I don't want to talk about my accomplishment, but how we won an important game to put us in prime position in our run into the playoffs). We ride the high of that game into the division lead, League Divison and Championship Series, and finally a World Series victory.

Certaintly a VERY far-fetched dream. But hey, it's for the love of the game, so it's OK.

Weezer at 2010 Basilica Block Party - Concert Review

On Friday, July 9th, I crossed off one of the top priority items from my bucket list by attending the 2010 Basilica Block Party in the Twin Cities and seeing Weezer perform on stage.

The set kicked off with "Hash Pipe", a great choice for it's catchy guitar hook. Dun-dun-DUH-naa, dun-dun-DUH-naa... You knew you in for a hell of a show with that opening riff. After that, Weezer's true colors revealed themselves with the next song, "Troublemaker". Rivers Cuomo was singing lead WITHOUT a guitar, so he started started climbing the stage set onto speakers.

I felt a little ashamed watching his antics. I've always considered Weezer to be "geek rock", for the way my fellow geeks have embraced these guys as one of our own. The look, the attire, the meticulous attention to detail, their music evolution throughout their seven-album catalog. But that night, Rivers seemed more like a dork (heck, they all did with guitarist Brian Bell in a polo shirt, Rivers in his red jacket over the top of a polo shirt, bassist Scott Shriner in a brown kilt, and drummer/guitarist Patrick Wilson in a faded gray T-shirt and plaid green and blue shorts) with how he was flailing his arms around while "dancing" and belting out the lyrics. As the song came to an end, he tried to take one of the production crews' cameras and hoist it up on his shoulder, with mic still in hand and singing the last few lines. Someone should have given that kid a guitar...

The rest of the night continued in mostly the same manner as they played a nice variety of songs from the Blue Album to Raditude. After being troublemakers, Weezer charged through Undone (The Sweater Song) and Surf Wax America, to a "medley" of Trippin' Down the Freeway and Keep Fishin'. I use quotes there because they only did a few lines from Keep Fishin'. I wish they would have played more of that song. It's one of my top five favorite Weezer songs (if you want to know why, check out the music video).

After that medley, they played Perfect Situation, and then Dope Nose, with Scott taking on the lead vocals for Rivers. Over the last several years, from about Make Believe onward, Weezer has shifted away from being a Rivers-ocracy towards involving the rest of the band more in the performance and authoring process. That's a good thing. Scott, Brian, Patrick and are all very talented musicians in their own rights, and they bring a nice contrast to both Rivers' musical and lyrical style. I would have liked to seen more of this, maybe next time.

Next on the setlist was one of Weezer's crown jewels: Say It Ain't So. For most of the night, and ESPECIALLY during this song, I sang along at the top of my voice. This was also one of the first songs where Rivers was playing guitar while he sang (a VERY NICE white Gibson SG). After they finished this song, the rest of the band took a bit of a break while Rivers switched to an acoustic guitar and started out with a solo performance of Island in the Sun. This was a cool and collected performance, but as soon as Rivers completed the second chorus and went into the bridge, the rest of the band joined back in and turned it back up to 11. An excellent job kicking the show back into high gear, almost like a second wind.

After some Can't Stop Partying action, there was some more intra-band collaboration when Brian and Rivers shared the duties of lead vocals on El Scorcho. They played My Name Is Jonas, then made the turn at third and started bring it home by going to their bread and butter of their more recent hits, Beverly Hills and Pork and Beans, the lead singles off Make Believe and the Red Album, respectively.

They finished their set with a two-song medley. I didn't recognize the first half, so I made a note of the lyric "control yourself, take only what you need" to look it up online later. I found out it was MGMT's Kids. I'd never heard of it before, but after listening to their original version, I think Weezer did a better job with it than they did. The second part of that medley stabbed me in the back. Lady Gaga's Pokerface. Ugh, now I was REALLY embarrassed. I don't care for most pop stars from the last ten years, and even less of those who dress in ridiculous costumes like she does. But again, Weezer made an improvement over her version of that song.

The show was over after this final song. Or was it? No, of course not. Weezer came back on stage a couple minutes later to perform (If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To, the lead single off their most recent album, Raditude. Finally, THE Weezer song, Buddy Holly. And that was it, more than an hour and a half later. A very solid, balanced setlist from their 18 years together.

A few things to nitpick on after it was over. They only played one song from Pinkerton. I would have loved another one from that album, like Falling for You or maybe Why Bother?. As I mentioned before, they should have also played Keep Fishin' in its entirety. A little more Patrick Wilson; he seemed a little too quiet for the goofball he can be (check out the Photograph music video; there's a guy who really enjoys life). And I can never get enough Weezer. I wish they could have played a few more songs, at least enough to fill up another 20-30 minutes.

Overall, I give the concert a 9.5 out of 10. There was very little filler between songs, and they touched upon many of the top-tier tunes. I had been worried that I would have never seen my favorite band perform live after the bus accident last winter that almost took Rivers from us. I don't have to worry anymore; I'm as good as he and the rest of was on stage that evening.

You guys could learn a thing or two...

Even though Weezer is and will forever be my favorite band, and I fell head over heels in love with The Donnas last Labor Day, I really think Green Day is the team to beat now.

If Green Day continues the musical and commercial success they've had over the last 12 months, the bands in my top two could fall out of their respective rankings. How can Weezer and The Donnas solidify their spots? Easy, just borrow from Green Day's playbook.

For example, Rivers Cuomo and the rest of Weezer should go back to Songs From the Black Hole. This album was planned as the follow up to the Blue Album, but the idea eventually fell apart and the end result was Pinkerton (which itself was a good album, but not the immediate commercial success that the Blue Album was, and more or less caused Cuomo to disappear from the scene for a few years). With the success of the American Idiot musical on Broadway, maybe it's time for Weezer to go back to that fountain. They can make it work, Rivers is just a musical genius, and I'm sure he and a broadway director would hammer out a damn good show.

As for The Donnas, they should also release their own Rock Band title. I love playing Green Day: Rock Band, even more than Rock Band 2. I realize that The Donnas: Rock Band is probably more of an EA decision than anyone else's, but I've thought most of this out. Three of the four venues would be Hugh Center Court at Jordan Middle School in Palo Alto, CA, site of their first performance when they were still in the eighth grade; the auditorium hosting the battle of the bands in the Take It Off music video; and Pappy and Harriet's Pioneertown Palace, site of Desert Moon 2, the holy grail of live Donnas performances. As for the song list, I think there'd be significant overlap with this sampler platter playlist and the DM2 setlist. I don't think you'd have full albums like GDRB, but definitely 4-5 songs from every single album they've released (might be a little tricky, though, since The Donnas have been on 3 separate record labels in their 17-year history).

I really can't make it any simpler than that. You have your orders, so get to work. :D

Welcome to the mountain top...

Your own kick-ass Rock Band title? A Broadway musical based on your multi-Grammy, multi-Platinum rock opera?

Welcome to Level 6, Green Day. Sit anywhere you like. Keep up the good work. Glad to have you aboard.

Dark Horse Tour - Concert Review

Last night, the 2010 Dark Horse Tour with Nickelback, Sick Puppies, Shinedown, and Breaking Benjamin came to the Fargodome, they put on one HELL of a show. Here's my review of the evening's festivities:

Sick Puppies - They were awesome, despite the short set (only 5 songs). I debated about going to meet them at one of the merchandise vending locations, but decided against it, in fear of losing my spot on the floor (I got within 30-40 feet of the stage when I arrived), and because they are going to be back in Fargo in a couple weeks to play with Papa Roach. I might have to go check them out.

Shinedown - They were good, but I'm going to nitpick on them. I wish they played a little more older stuff (all but 2 of their songs were off their new album, "The Sound of Madness"). And they could have used a little less acoustic guitar and rocked out more (they played three songs that'd be considered rock ballads). However, Brent Smith has an amazing stage presence. Reminded me a lot like Josey Scott when Saliva played here in Sept. 2007.

Breaking Benjamin - This was the only "meh" band on the tour, and by that I mean I was indifferent to them. I went to this show to see every band on the bill BUT them. Regardless, they were good, in that they didn't suck.

But I didn't get much of a chance to enjoy their set because: 1) My back was really starting to kill me at this point. Doors opened at 5:30, and Breaking Benjamin's set started around 8, so I'd been standing for close to three hours at this point. I had to frequently drop to a crouching position to relieve the pain. Thank you to the two fellow concertgoers for checking to see if I was OK. 2) Three drunk girls behind and to the left of me who HAD to start dancing halfway through the set. They kept bumping into me. It was very annoying. And they were DRUNK; they had been holding onto all their beer cups since the evening started, and I counted 6 in one girl's hand. I usually don't have a problem with people who drink, as long as it's responsibly and they aren't causing havoc to others. Fuckin' bitches... Needless to say, this was the most sour moment of the evening.

Nickelback - The headliners, but to be honest, if Shinedown and Sick Puppies weren't opening, I don't think I would have went. Don't get me wrong, I do like Nickelback, just not enough to pay $70 JUST to see them.

They put on one amazing show. Playing some of my favorites, like "Figured You Out" and "Someday". Daniel Adair's 6 minute drum solo was probably the best I've ever heard. I'm going to have to promote him Top 10 Drummer status after that, but I'm not sure who to bump off the list (I'm getting off-topic). And the partial covers of Garth Brooks' "Friends in Low Places" and Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'"? God, I WISH they would have played them all the way through, those were GOOD. Guitarist Ryan Peake was right when speaking of the latter, "I wish we'd written this song". I'm sure it would have torn the roof of the Fargodome.

However, the thing that I'll remember most from Nickelback's performance was Chad Kroeger. Firstly, he cut hair and trimmed his beard!! He looks like an extra on an episode of Dawson's Creek. Not very rock 'n' roll. Secondly, he acted like a stereotypical frat guy. You know the kind, only cares about drinking, perverted mind, cusses like a sailor. I don't know if this is what he's really like, or if this is just a persona, but either way, I can see why critics say the things they do about Nickelback. Regardless, he and the rest of the band had a good time on stage.

---

And I had a good time watching them and all the rest of the bands at that concert last night. I give the entire show a 9 out of 10. I also proceeded to purchase four albums this morning, Sick Puppies' "Tri-Polar", Shinedown's "Us and Them" and "The Sound of Madness", and Nickelback's "Dark Horse" (I woulda bought them after the concert, but they were $15 each, but only $10-13 each on Amazon).

Shimon, Emma, Mark, Brent, Zach, Eric, Barry, Benjamin, Aaron, Mark, Chad, Chad, Ryan, Mike, Daniel, and Timmy, thank you once again to coming to Fargo and putting on a great show. We'd love to have you back again someday.

Doomed from the beginning...

So, a couple of weeks ago, MTV re-branded itself to remove "Music Television" from its network. It was just a technicality, that channel hasn't had anything to do with music for years (and possibly even decades).

Not that I really care. I don't need MTV to tell me what's cool (although they are kind enough to let me know what isn't cool, which is pretty much everything they air). A rotten pile of shit by any other name would still smell revolting.

I want to submit a resume to them to take over as network president, but I couldn't find an e-mail address to sent to. Return it to its former glory. Make the focus on MUSIC again.

I'm sure everyone will agree that MTV has going downhill since the mid-90's. But their problems go back way further than that...

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In an effort to broaden my musical horizons and expand my collection of songs (because MTV sure wasn't going to do so), I ran out to my storage location to find any and all Blender magazines I owned. I knew I had a couple with articles like "500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born".

While working on backing up my computers, I started reading it. The #1 song on that list is "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson. Duh. But here's the shocker:

MTV rarely aired videos by black performers, and when they refused to show “Billie Jean,” CBS Records president Walter Yetnikoff went ballistic. “I said to MTV, ‘I’m pulling everything we have off the air, all our product. I’m not going to give you any more videos. And I’m going to go public and fucking tell them about the fact you don’t want to play music by a black guy.’” - Page 78, October 2005 issue.

---

There it is. Back in 1983, MTV was run by idiots. Maybe they were more concerned with the bottom line being negatively affected by airing a video by a black man than they were with good music. Maybe they were just racists.

MTV was doomed to fail from the beginning. They should just take it off the air at this point, because it's only going to get worse.

Take your time

There are two ways to choose when become a fan of something.

First, you can become a fan of something right away, getting in on the ground floor. And sometimes, it's really great, because you can "grow" with the target of your fandom, change in-sync with them, and the influence it/they have over you will last your entire life.

It doesn't always work out that nicely and neatly. You're human, so change can potentially frighten you. And when your idol changes for the worse, you're disappointed. You don't like that change, you complain "it's not like it was before". Eventually, you're not a fan anymore, because they don't stand for what they originally did.

Worse yet, if you remain a fan, accepting the change of your heroes, you could become overpossessive. I knew a guy in college who was (and probably still is, to my knowledge) a big Barenaked Ladies fan. Even before they broke through in America with "One Week". And he was ultra-critical of those more recent fans who only liked BNL because of "One Week". He was kind of a hateful douchebag about it. So angry. You'd think a true fan would be glad when their heroes make it to the top and get more fans. You know, to validate the time and money they've invested in following their pursuits and have someone to share it with.

Or secondly, you can wait before you hop on the bandwagon. Wait until someone has been out there for a while before you decide if you want to be a fan or not.

I recommend this approach. It's way less stressful. When you look back at something that's been out there for a while, you can be more objective about the things that entity has done. Sure, you can say "Oh, they changed". But that change happened YEARS ago. It's done, it's over. Looking at something in retrospect, you don't have that emotional attachment, so you can judge things with a clearer mindset.

For example, my two favorite bands are Weezer and The Donnas. In both cases, I didn't become a fan of them until they'd already been around for nearly 10 years (or more). Sure, I did have one of their albums each for a few years before I became their fan, but I was only a fan of the album (or even just a few of the songs). Then one day, something just clicked, I started digging through their catalogues, and fell in love.

If you want to understand how I got to this point, you can read my "Levels of Music" post, but to quasi-summarize: Weezer released the Blue Album in '94; I got it as a freshman in college. They released their Video Capture Device DVD containing all their videos and some behind-the-scenes stuff in '04, and I absolutely loved it. I then proceeded buy their other three albums (at the time) and their three albums since then shortly after their release dates. The Donnas released "Spend the Night" (their major-label debut, but fifth album overall) in October '02, I bought it in October '05. I got Rock Band 2 last summer, featuring their song "New Kid in School". The last weekend of August, after a brutal week at work and still waiting for my replacement drum pads to come back from EA, I surfed the Internet and became entranced by those beautiful sirens. Since then, I bought 6 of their albums, watched countless videos of them online, and read anything I could find about them.

In both instances, I can look back at all their albums and see the evolutions in their respective styles and sounds. Each album from both bands represents not only a different sound, but a different maturity level and emotional state. I could get into a big long thing about what I think each album stands for, but that'd take too long. What I can say is, "I can appreciate each one in their own special way. Just because X doesn't sound like Y, and neither sounds like Z, doesn't mean I can't like them all."

So, if you're considering becoming a fan of something, take your time. This isn't a limited time offer. You don't have to act now. Wait. Days, weeks, months, years; doesn't matter. The targets of your affection will be there for you, if and when you become a fan.

Top 10 Drummers

Disclaimer: This not a list of the best drummers of all-time, or the best drummers around right now, or anything like that. I am not qualified enough to judge the abilities of every drummer in the history of the world against each other and determine the best. Nor is this a list of the drummers from my favorite bands (though there is a noticeable overlap; 4 of these people are a member of one of my three favorite bands). This is a list of the people I'd pay just to watch them play drums, up close and personal (within 10 feet, and over their shoulders), without the rest of their respective bands. They are presented in no particular order.

Torry Castellano, The Donnas - My dream girl for the last five months. Get well soon, sweetie, I wanna see you play in MSP this year!!
Patrick Wilson, Weezer
Tré Cool, Green Day
Brad Arnold, 3 Doors Down
Longineu Parsons, Yellowcard - That guy is fast, holy lord!! Just listen to some Yellowcard and you'll be blown away.
Rivers Cuomo, Weezer - I know he's not the drummer for Weezer, but he's just as talented. He can play as well as anyone on this list.
Brad Wilk, Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave
Greg Eklund, Everclear - I will always see Everclear as the '94-'03 Art Alexakis-Craig Montoya-Greg Eklund trio
Dave Grohl, Nirvana/Foo Fighters - The BEST drummer on this list, by a good margin (IMO)
Chad Smith, Red Hot Chili Peppers

My new career path

I just had a thought...

I should submit a resume to MTV to become the president of the network. Or maybe the director of programming. Or whatever position would give me the power to decide what goes on the air and what doesn't.

I don't see how I'm any less qualified than the bozo monkeys that are currently running the show...

Step 2: ???

I love The Donnas. Probably in an incredibly unhealthy way. All because I became obsessed with them after going nuts that I couldn't do anything satisfy my hunger for playing Rock Band.

I love The Donnas, but this is only a recent revelation. Even as recently as mid-September, I only owned one Donnas album, their major-label debut "Spend the Night". I'm sure I only bought that album for the two biggest hits, "Take It Off" and "Who Invited You". I also purchased "The Cream of Clapton", Tom Petty's "Wildflower", The Killers' "Hot Fuss", and greatest hit collections from The Who and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones in that same order from Amazon.com. This was a seven-album, eight-disc boost to my music collection. I'm getting off-topic...

I love The Donnas. And not just because I'm attracted to them. That may have started this thing, but it didn't end there. I love their music. I started working my way forward through their catalog, not particularly caring for some of the older stuff (initially, I didn't like younger Brett's higher-pitched voiced and the faster pace at which they played, but I've come to embrace it as much as their current musical style), but as I filled out the front end, I had to start going through the back end to alleviate my need for a fix (and I fell in love with those albums too). Ask me my favorite Donnas album, and you won't get an answer. It'd be like picking a favorite child. I love each of their six albums in my possession (Get Skintight, Turn 21, Spend the Night, Gold Medal, Bitchin', and Greatest Hits Vol. 16) in their own special ways. They each bring something different to the table. The Donnas have evolved musically in their nearly seventeen years together. Each album is a stop along that road, and they're all great. Getting off-topic again...

I love The Donnas. Along with the music, they're very enjoyable people. I've ended up favoriting just as many interview/backstage videos on YouTube as I have performances/music videos. Allison Robertson (guitar) just talks with so much passion for their jobs. Brett Anderson (lead singer) and Maya Ford (bass) are dynamic as well. And Torry Castellano (drums)... Well, she's just a little pixie. Gun to my head, forcing me to choose one of them to be with? It's Donna C.

After being on this road for the past 4+ months, there is only one way this can end. Once, just ONCE, I want to meet them. It's probably one of the biggest deciding factors in me wanting to move to the Twin Cities. Pre-Donnas, I just needed to get out of Fargo; they gave me a concrete goal to work towards. Eight shows in Minneapolis since '98 (just as many as Vegas, Salt Lake, or London), the most recent of which was Feb. 28, 2008. They'll be back, I know it.

The Donnas have opened my world. Kinda. For example, guitarist Allison Robertson appeared in some print ads for the Zoom Q3 device. On YouTube, there is this video of the photo shoot she did with Anthrax's Scott Ian. The song in the background sounded awesome, so I had to find out what it was and download it (via legal methods). It was Feel Good Drag by Anberlin. It rocks! I like it so much it's made the list of the 1% of my music collection on my PDA smartphone. Brett did an interview with Suicide Girls Radio. She mentions root beer floats with Jack Daniels in it (which I tried but didn't particularly care for, but I think that's because I can't drink any type of soda other than cola-flavored anymore) and Ikea Heights, a web-based soap opera shot entirely in an Ikea store (which I found to be pretty clever). I want to get Drive Me Crazy (where they appear as the Electrocutes, they band they formed before they became The Donnas), Detroit Rock City and Grind on DVD (both of which include a music video that I could rip onto my PC). I could go on, and I know these are pretty stupid examples, but I feel they're great for trying to explain how these girls have touched me since I became a fan of their band.

So, the question that then presented itself was "How could I meet them?". And not the obvious stuff, of course. I get to the Cities by moving down there. They come to town for a show. I get a ticket and go. Then I try to get backstage or wait outside afterwards (this is Step 1: Meet The Donnas). This is where the "How?" comes into play. I needed to come up with an idea that'd get me through whatever barriers I may run into. Not so much physically (bouncers, locks, etc.). I mean, once I do get face-to-face with them, what do I say? What do I do? How can I make a good impression on them? (the as-of-yet undefined Step 2) I want to leave that venue at the end of the night not just with a couple of autographs and a few pictures. I want to be able to call Brett, Maya, Allison, and Torry friends. More importantly, I want them to call ME a friend. Where I could call them to say "Hey" or they call me when they come to town: "Hey Paul, wanna go grab something to eat?" (Step 3: Profit!).

Yes, I totally admit this is dangerously obsessive. And because I'm thinking like this, I should be kept hundreds of miles away from them at all times. But I can't shake this feeling like this is fate. Like maybe I'm supposed to be with Torry (or maybe one of the others, but again, gun to my head...). A part of me says, "There's nothing wrong with that. You're 29, they're 30/31. It's natural to be attracted to someone your own age." And if I get to them, make my play, and get shot down, I'd be totally OK with that. I could move on, because I had to find out and did. I won't have to live with that regret for the rest of my life. I'd still be a fan of their music and them as the people they are.

After weeks of contemplation, I came up with an answer. Twizzlers. They went nuts for them when Charmaine Brooks brought some backstage (for the purposes of this post, it doesn't really matter who Charmaine Brooks is, other than a person who has backstage access to The Donnas; now YOU'RE getting off-topic). Just fast-forward to the 4:10 mark of this video, as Allison is pulling things out of a bag of gifts Charmaine brought the girls. After about 30-40seconds, Torry just starts chanting, in fact, BEGGING for some Twizzlers. They just love them (or at least I perceive they do). If I show up backstage with a bag (or two) of Twizzlers, I'm in. That's how I see it.

But I keep thinking that I need something more. A conversation piece. Something to talk about and try to form a bond over.

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As a sports fan, I visit ESPN.com on a daily basis (with multiple visits per day). The best part is when Bill Simmons, The Sports Guy, posts a new article. Even if it's about the NBA, which I don't care for, or even something not related to sports at all (movies and other pop culture-related things). Bill is awesome. I just love his work. I've gotten countless hours of enjoyment out of it.

In 2005, Bill introduced a new type of article to his ESPN.com repertoire, The Curious Guy, where he sends e-mails back and forth with someone. Yeah, that's it, that's the whole article. One of the first ones that Bill did was with "the best-selling author and pop culture guru" Chuck Klosterman. Klosterman, like myself, is a native of North Dakota. And after reading this Curious Guy article, I was impressed with Chuck. His primary realm of expertise was music and its affects on pop culture, but he also knows quite a bit about sports too. After this article, Chuck started writing things for ESPN's Page 2 as well.

One of the best of these articles was "All Too Perfect", written before Super Bowl XLII (for those of you not keeping score at home, that's the one where the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots to end their bid to go a perfect 19-0). The article "explains why losing the Super Bowl would make the Patriots immortal". Funny how things work out; he may have jinxed them with that piece. But as I was reading it in the days leading up to that big game, I found myself agreeing more and more with the point Chuck was trying to make. It was fuckin' brilliant. That's when I became a Chuck Klosterman fan.

A few days after that game, I was reading the Fargo Forum at lunch at a fast food restaurant (I'm pretty sure it was the McDonald's on 19th Avenue N. in Fargo), and saw that Chuck was coming to the F-M area to do a talk at MSU-Moorhead. I had to go and meet this geek-chic pop culture guru. Listen to him talk. Maybe get an autograph. So that evening, before the show, I ran to Barnes and Noble and picked up a couple of his books, "Fargo Rock City" and "Killing Yourself to Live". Yeah, maybe it's a little hypocritical, I didn't (and still don't) care. Went to the talk. He sounded a little more geeky than I was expecting, but I had a good time (particularly when he proceeded to tear apart a girl and her logic when she stated that she's anti-pop culture, but he argued that she's still using pop culture as a defining point to describe what she does or doesn't like). Afterwards, everyone lined up to get his John Hancock, as did I. When my turn came to talk to him, I told him how great that article about the Patriots losing the Super Bowl was. He signed my copy of "Fargo Rock City" and I left. I ended up reading the first couple chapters before I lost interest with it (the last book I read was the final Harry Potter book in July '07; it felt like such a chore, but I had to do it since I read the previous 6).

---

Fast-forward back to the present. I use Twitter, but I'm only following about 20 people. A few friends, my Gophers and Jayhawks, a few random people who started following me, and my favorite columnist, Bill Simmons. Bill recently mentioned in one of his Twitter posts (I refuse to use the term "tweet") that Chuck has started using Twitter. I start following Chuck, then it comes to me after following him for a couple days...

This is how I can get a conversation started with Torry, I can just give her a copy of "Fargo Rock City"! It's about the same kind of music that The Donnas grew up on. Kiss, AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, Mötley Crüe. It'll be perfect! I'm set!

I'm basing this hypothesis on two things. One, a blog post from a round of "Ask The Donnas" (concept explained my blog post here), where Torry talks about re-reading Crime and Punishment (and implying that she's read it at least once before). Two, this appearance on mun2 where she mentions that she's reading Slash's autobiography (fast-forward to the 8:00 mark). Based on these two examples of books she's read, she is an avid reader, and she'll likely read "Fargo Rock City" if I give her a copy. This may be some of the most fucked up logic that you've even seen, but it makes sense to ME.

Of course, how I can a recommend any book to any person if I haven't already read it myself? I grabbed my copy of "Fargo Rock City" off my bookshelf and started reading it. I took it to work so I could read it on my breaks and during my lunch hour. I also read it at home a bit, at night, if nothing good was on TV. It was good. Although Chuck and I have little in common; he's eight years older than me. Musically, he's a product of the late '70s and the '80s, and I'm a product of the '90s. But I get it. Or at least I think I do. He breaks down metal in so many ways, how it affected and influenced him and the rest of America. I loved it. I think I can honestly say that I have never enjoyed a book this much in my life. I was laughing out loud. I was nodding my head in agreement. I was making that noise my buddy Travis makes when he comes across an amusing revelation (that I can only best describe as a high-pitched "Hunh!"). It's great, I'm glad I finally took the time to read Chuck's book (and I will proceed to purchase and read his remaining five books).

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It's 8:30 last night. There's nothing good on TV, except the Gophers hockey game, but I've never been one who could sit still enough to watch sports on TV (blame it on my ADHD). I turn the volume down, start playing music on my laptop, pick up "Fargo Rock City", and start reading. I had about 70 pages left (roughly the last quarter of the book), and I was planning to read until 10, when South Park would come on.

I'm making my way through the final chapters, when Chuck starts to discuss the current bands (current as of 1998, when the book was written and published) that best carry the torch of those 80's hair metal bands. He first talks about groups like Korn and Rage Against the Machine, but they don't quite fit the bill to his satisfaction. Chuck starts to dig further into it. And who does he mention at the bottom on page 246?

You're damn right. The Donnas. An entire paragraph to devoted all aspects of their music. Comparisons to the same bands that Chuck himself (and The Donnas) grew up on. Kiss, Skid Row, Mötley Crüe. He calls their second album, American Teenage Rock 'n' Roll Machine, "the only legitimately great record released in 1998".

"Holy Fuck!" That was my initial reaction, then I was literally speechless after I read that paragraph. For two or three minutes, I wasn't sure how to react. I stopped reading immediately to try to process this. The same book that I was going to recommend to a member of a band actually MENTIONED that band. Needless to say, this was totally unexpected. I tried to post something profound about this revelation on Twitter, but due to my speechlessness and the 140 character limit, I could only get this out. Even weirder, I had decided only a day or two before this that I was going to purchase ATRM in the near future, partly because I want to complete my Donnas collection of albums (I had only obtained Get Skintight and Turn 21 a couple weeks ago), partly because The Donnas posted a new video on YouTube, the live performance of "Speed Demon" from their Desert Moon 2 concert in Sept. '08 (this song is on ATRM).

I only had 20-25 pages to go, so I decide to finish the rest of the book. I left my couch, where I had been sitting (the Gopher game was over and everything else on TV was just going to be a distraction I didn't need), go into my office, and finish "Fargo Rock City". Then I could, and would be ready to, start writing on my blog about my reaction to this.

Officially, if the topic comes up for discussion, I don't believe in signs or fate or destiny or any of that crap. Sure, there maybe some kind of supernatural force at play that I may never fully understand, but people are on the paths they travel because of the decisions they make. That's why I'm at where I am now. I control my own destiny. But I don't think I've ever actually said that to anyone...

But that one paragraph in Chuck's book... Maybe THIS is a sign... Even further enforcing that belief: yesterday (January 8th) was both Maya's and Torry's birthday.

I know what you're going to say. "Paul, you don't believe in signs!!" Well,... maybe this is a sign that I should believe in signs.

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At work this week, most conversations I'd have with my co-workers would focus on "Are you going to the holiday party this weekend?" I don't really want to go. I hate that they moved it to after the holidays instead of before. That first week back from work each of the last four years has been so stressful from the "urgent" needs of people to address their computer issues, that I really want nothing to do with any of them. At all. So I'd answer "Yeah, probably, but I got this nagging feeling like there's something important I need to do this weekend..." It's mostly bullshit, but a very small part of me did feel that way. And I'd admit to that person that I need to laundry (which is true), but that wasn't it (especially since I've got all day Sunday to take care of it).

Looking back on this whole thing... Maybe this was that important thing I needed to do. Maybe it's yet another sign... Then again, maybe this is just me trying to find a pattern, a connection, something, to interrelate a number of highly coincidental events.

And this doesn't even begin to address a potential flaw in Step 2 to make a play for Torry. It's totally possible that she may have already read this book. It's more than ten years old at this point, it's about the same kind of music she grew up on, it mentions her band (though not her specifically, like it does Brett and Allison). I can't speak for her, but I'm such a narcissist that I would read every single book out there that mentioned me or my band. But doesn't this still give me a way in? I mean, if she's already read the book, then I don't have to wait for her to read it and call me to discuss it. I present her with the text, she recognizes it, and we start talking about it. Like Chuck states in the foreward to "Fargo Rock City", "You walk up to any desirable person..., and you say (with a certain sense of endearing bewilderment), 'Isn't it insane how many books there are about ___?' Fill in the blank with whatever subject..." (Yes, I took some liberties with the ellipses, but that doesn't totally invalidate the approach in this situation.)

Last week, The Donnas posted on their Facebook page, "BRAND NEW YEAR, BRAND NEW ALBUM! HELLO 2010!!!" (their caps, not mine). Torry has been sitting on the shelf since at least May '09, due to shoulder problems. I infer from this Twitter post that at some point this year, she'll be well enough to go back into the studio with the rest of The Donnas and record, then they'll go out on tour. They didn't visit the Twin Cities during their tour this past summer, so I'd say they're due.

When they do, I'll be there with Twizzlers and "Fargo Rock City". I'll find a way to get to them, and we'll play ball. Regardless of how it will end, I'll be happy. I just gotta get past Step 2 and find out, you know?...

I've learned something today...

I truly believe that I do learn something everyday.

I should be making a list of those things, for posterity's sake. Maybe start another blog with those things.

Today's learnedness: That's not a guy standing in the background in the individual shot of The Donnas bassist Maya Ford in the CD insert for their "Spend the Night" album. That's a Freddy Krueger cardboard cutout!! Don't believe me? Check out and compare that picture with the back cover insert.

If you have doubts about using social networking websites, let this story convince you that they are worth your time. Or convince you that I've finally lost it...

Over this past summer, especially the July/August timeframe, I was being more and more vocal about my abhorrence (extreme hatred) for social networking sites. I thought they had nothing to offer me, and I had nothing to offer to them. It was like "Why bother? Who cares? I never do anything exciting ever."

After a late night discussion with my buddy Travis in early September, I slowly became convinced that it may not be as bad as I thought it would be. About a week and a half later, I was on Facebook. I was unimpressed, at first. But I put it to use for me. Getting the word out about my blog. Posting pictures. Locating people. Even found a fan of my video game FAQ's. You know, the usual.

"So, now I'm on Facebook." I was going to leave it at that. "What more would other services, like Twitter, accomplish?"

Well, I joined Twitter a month after I got on Facebook. I proceeded to use it in the same way. Partly to further readership of my blog (Seriously, who reads this shit? Wait, don't answer that...). Partly because Travis (@trav) would "be interested in following your twitter." But let's not kid ourselves here. I did it so I could #AskTheDonnas!!

The concept is pretty simple. Send them a question over Twitter with the tag #AskTheDonnas. Roughly every other Friday, they pick 8 questions and post the answers to their iLike blog (which then gets propagated to their Facebook and Twitter pages).

Yes, I'm still obsessed with them. And I'm proud to admit it. They rock. You can't avoid it, might as well enjoy it, 'cuz I do. But this isn't about them. It is, but it's not... We're getting off topic here...

I wanted to come up with a good question to ask @the_donnas. Something normal, something interesting, maybe a little humorous. I gave this a GREAT deal of thought. Do I ask something innocuous, as not to scare them away? Do I try to be a smartass and potentially (hell, DEFINITELY) make a fool of myself? Do I ask a question that I think they'd enjoy answering, "guaranteeing" (in my mind) a response? I spent weeks trying to come up with something.

I finally decided on one about a week and half ago. Asking which of their videos is their favorite, and which one they enjoyed making the most. Lame, I know. I thought it was the safe play. An innocent question, which, if answered, could potentially open the door to something a little more... aggressive (by that, I mean maybe get them to reveal even a mundane, yet fascinating, slightly personal detail).

Round 5 of #AskTheDonnas came around yesterday and they didn't answer my question. "No big deal, I'll live. It was a dumb question anyways." I had a much better one ready to go.

Before I even became obsessed with The Donnas, they had announced that drummer Torry Castellano would not be touring with them this summer (technically, it would appear her replacement, Amy Cesari, broke the news on 5/7/09 on her band's website; I couldn't find anything earlier than that on the Interweb). When I found this out during my descent into Donnadom, I was disappointed in the lack of Torrance, but gradually warmed up to the idea of Amy, and even started to like it. "Hey, if it keeps the band going, I'm gonna support it." Eventually, I did my due diligence to get to know her, maybe not as much as the regular Donnas, but enough.

Anywho, when Amy performs with The Demonics, she's sporting red face paint and devil horns on her forehead. Odd, but hey, whatever works for you.

Then I had watched The Donnas' "Who Invited You" video for the bazillionth time this past weekend. BAM!! It hit me. Like I suddenly put 2 and 2 together. "Wait a minute... That girl with face paint and horns on her forehead... (check out the 1:54 mark of the video) Is that Amy?"

Bingo. I had my question. So after Round 5 was finished and the bell rang, I came out swinging for Round 6. I asked...

And ye shall receive! Hell, I got something even better. My question was so good, The Donnas didn't even bother with waiting.

They responded with an empathic "Yes!" and retweeting my question on Twitter.

How fuckin' awesome is that? Getting RT'ed by one of your favorite bands, for the whole world to see? When I saw that on my phone during my lunch break today, I was beside myself. Arms raised in victory as I walked to my car. Cranking up that song on my radio during the drive back to work. Laughing like a mad man from my cubicle, with a huge grin on my face. That made my day. Literally. I'm gonna ride this high for the rest of the week and through the weekend. I'm tellin' everyone!! This is THAT good.

This one event erased every reservation I had about social networking. Travis, your infinite wisdom has shown me the way once again. Thanks. Again. I could never repay you, but I'll spend the rest of my life trying. Even it's from the looney bin after they come to take me away.