First Podcast

Jack Kerouac's On The Road Has Me Feeling Real Stuck

As much as anyone over the age of 50 would hate to admit it, the simple, golden years of America are quite over. Gone are the days of hitchhiking, peace, love and legal LSD.  Jack Kerouac was once described to me as Steinbeck, on Acid, which after reading On the Road, is not a bad comparison.   This great American Novel had me bewildered by the end.   Thinking to myself, “What did I just read?"  But is that not the point?  The book is a pseudo-biography, a journey of a young adult surrounded by his disastrous friends to nowhere in particular, for not a whole lot of reason.  Back and forth across the country multiple times and finally down to Mexico, the whole thing seems so foreign in the information age.  The prose and the rhythm of the writing are enticing.   Kerouac’s style of using simple imagery to form complex thoughts and descriptions has to be 
why he is one of the best 

authors of this time period.

Some Examples:

…the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes 'Awww!' What did they call such young people in Goethe's Germany?"

…"I woke up as the sun was reddening; and that was the one distinct time in my life, the strangest moment of all, when I didn't know who I was - I was far away from home, haunted and tired with travel, in a cheap hotel room I'd never seen, hearing the hiss of steam outside, and the creak of the old wood of the hotel, and footsteps upstairs, and all the sad sounds, and I looked at the cracked high ceiling and really didn't know who I was for about fifteen strange seconds. I wasn't scared; I was just somebody else, some stranger, and my whole life was a haunted life, the life of a ghost." …

Above all, On the Road is a window into the Beat era, pre-hippie, and 1950’s counterculture, the very beginning of a revolution carried on by many in the next 20 years.   The simple freedom of Kerouac is something that I envy.  What is it that people my age have lost?  Why is it that we are too serious to shrug off a little responsibility?  It would be a difficult decision for me to just get in my car and drive to California, leaving my safety net to come back with nothing; all in the name of finding myself.  Maybe I am not about to embark on any insane road trips with my friends just yet but this novel will definitely give you the itch to pack your things and wave goodbye.

New York Sports In a Nutshell

In my effort to know everything and as part of my cover as an office worker, sports have become a growing obsession in my life.   Mostly due to lunch room talk and boredom there is no doubt in my mind that the constant input of sporting events in my life is a growing necessity. 

So here is the rundown in my oh so humble opinion of course

As I write this, the Knicks are playing the Bucks with two new all-stars, Carmelo Anthony, and Chauncey Billups.  If there is one thing that we know how to do here in the Big City, it’s buy and sell.  The Knicks made a tremendous, franchise saving move and if there is anything that proves it:  I don’t even like basketball and I am watching.  It will take time for Anthony and Billups to fully integrate with the team, especially   Billups who had so much going for him in Denver.  It took the Heat 18 games to purge all the lines before finally reaching maximum wrecking power.  (The Heat play the Knicks this Saturday).  Management is doing a great job with the Knickerbockers, and much to the happiness of Spike Lee (possibly the only Knick fan left in NY) it would appear that basketball may be back for the Big Apple.   

The Nets are Terrible and not even worth talking about despite the recent trade for Deron Williams

Hockey

As much as I love my Rangers, they are a pain to watch at times.  They lack the smoothness and the discipline of the top 5 teams, they are terrible in the open Ice.  I often find myself frustrated at their dump and fore check strategy.  Their defense is tough and scrappy but their offense lacks creativity.  The Rangers just need one big forward to put in the rebounds…someone like Esposito to clean up loose pucks in front, this would complete their strategy of dump and run hockey.  At the moment, their position in the East seems solid although I doubt they can beat any team from the top tear, in a series,  in the play offs.  Hockey is an insanely long season though, so we will have to wait and see in the summer.

The Devils are doing amazing.  Jack Lemaire, all star forward for the Canadians with his name written 8 times on the Stanley Cup, has completely turned Jersey around.  The only issue is that they have been terrible for so long that there may be no hope to climb the ladder. Regardless of their 8 straight wins the teams above them continue to claw along as well, giving the Devils no room to step up.

Baseball

Finally, my beloved Yankees.  They aren’t even playing yet and the BS is already starting to pile up.  Management is talking about how the players are too busy building mansions and that they lack hunger…..already many nay sayers are chiming in on the Bronx Bomber’s future in the AL East.  But at least let someone swing a bat!  I am chomping at the bit myself for some spring training action but seriously,  everyone needs to relax a minute.  For some quick analysis, the Yankees are an aging team and the new guys this year are going to make the difference.  My hope is that they have some home grown boys who can come up and step in for this year and the future.  Starting pitching is also an issue with the retirement of Petite and the atrocious head case known as A.J. Burnette, again I’d like to not get ahead of myself and go into it too much.  Let’s at least wait and see how they look when everyone leaves Florida.  

The Mets don't even exist....that is all.

How long can you hide your comic books from your friends?

Not very long apparently, because after reading a Rolling Stone article highlighting fellow New Jersyians, My Chemical Romance's new album, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys my interest has been revamped in the Comic book world. It is ironic how interests come full circle and after a long hiatus from reading anything of this genre, I have been successfully impressed by The Umbrella Academy.  Putting your thumb on exactly what makes a graphic novel successful is difficult.  Encompasing, art, color selection, plot and script is a balancing act that not many have done to any sort of fanfare.  Of course, Watchmen has drawn a great deal of mainstream acclaim due to its pseudo-silver screen success, but the novel had been a long time classic in the world of geekdom.

The Umbrella Academy highlights the crazed antics of 7, virgin born, super powered children who were adpoted by a wealthy entrepreneur and well connected Sir Reginald Hargreeves.   The novel is illustrated and written in Gerard Way's signature psychogothic styling that is riddled with dark comedy and interwoven plot threads.  Gabreil Ba illustrates the musings perfectly in a seamless combination of script writing and artistry.  Ontop of the actual meat of this grahic novel, the extras that come along with it are interesting as well.  Both forewards are well written and paint a nice backdrop to the genesis of the novel. Other extras include some original concept art work along with the short first issue that was given away at free comic day.  The most inspirational part of the whole deal is the fact that Way wrote the script for this novel while on tour promoting The Black Parade, and the fact that hey came up in the right way.  I give him tons of props on the side project skills.  I am used to slaughtering regular books, so reading The Umbrella Academy was a nice change in pace.  A way to slow down and look at the pictures while enjoying some decent script writing. 

Maybe you should still hide this one from your non-comic loving friends, but you can definitely enjoy it from the safety of your room.  Both editions:  The Apocolypse Suite, and Dallas are worth your time and dollars.





I am not sure how I feel just yet about this album, I am not the biggest MCR fan.

Disenchantment Cast Upon Television

After a 2 month respite I decided to reboot this here blog for myself in order to write the kinks out of a sluggish mind.  There is nothing like a little disappointment to spark one's inspiration into a kindling of productivity.

TV is boring and terrible; aside from sporting events I find myself shying away from any new series.   Maybe the tipping point was the brutal way in which JJ Abrams finished Lost, or how his new shows heinously waste the time of the masses.    It might have been the sudden emergence of an indiscernible Irish accent in Sons of Anarchy.  Whatever happened, the waves are certainly not breaking for the Idiot Box.  Entourage became the same episode each installment, and the same goes for Weeds.  I used to love   Californication and up until this season I was fairly entertained.  But the debauchery is no longer shocking, and the witty musings of Hank Moody are no longer enough.   The key metric is the same for a pro-athlete.  Knowing when to say when.  The grand machine of Los Angeles loves to rock the car until the wheels fall off, abandoning ship and leaving viewers downtrodden.  Pulling the plug one season is too much to ask apparently.

For now the search for quality television aside from athletic prowess continues.  I recommend nothing, hunt at your own risk.  Luckily for me I can read.

Taking Ya Back to Highschool

High school can be a tragic time for some, while for others, it is the peak of their existence on a specific rung in the social ladder.   All of the cliques apply, and every stereotype is true.   Jocks, Nerds, popular girls, ugly girls and even racial lines; those four years of your life were all about how you fit into one category or another.  Many individuals will look back on their high school days and feel the urge to erase, many look back and gladly reminisce.  

Whatever the case may be the music you listened to back then was all too important.  Whenever a familiar song is played, it can take you back to where you were, and who you were there with.  The music may not have been as good when you look back, but in the moment, the song had relevance in your life.   Since Rolling Stone and Spin are putting out their 2010 playlists,  I decided that I would put out mine.  So here it is, most of these songs will take you back to somewhere between the years of 2002 – 2006, my “When I was in High School” Playlist.

Linkin Park

Taking Back in Sunday

Brand New

Finch

My Chemical Romance

Muse

New Found Glory

Blink 182

Alien Ant Farm

AFI

Sum 41

In 10 years we are all going to think this music was terrible, but for now it’s not too embarrassing.

The Boxer Rebellion: A New Marketing Plan

The recent decline in legal music sales has forced music marketers and artists to promote differently.   As CD stores fade away, a new medium of music integration has arrived at our theaters and TV screens.  In the past, after ‘Googling’, I have discovered bands through television advertisements.  Anytime I hear the song “1901” by Phoenix, I always think Cadillac.  Ford also featured the Band of Skulls song, “Light of the Morning”, in their 2011 Mustang commercial.  A movie soundtrack is always available after a little probing, but never has a band so readily jumped out at me as The Boxer Rebellion; featured in the movie, Going The Distance.  So ‘congrats’ to all you suits, your initiative worked.  In the film (spoiler alert) Justin Long’s character winds up fictionally managing, this non-fictional band.  An obvious display of the band’s webpage is shown, and two performances are featured in the movie as well.

Upon review of the The Boxer Rebellion’s music I am pleasantly surprised and actually thankful that I sat through this movie long enough to be interested. Following the death of his mother, singer Nathan Nicholson moved from Tennessee to England.  Through an internet posting he was connected with guitarist Todd Howe and the remainder of the band, Adam Harrison and Piers Hewitt.  While planning to tour with The Killers after the debut of their EP, TBR had to cancel after Nate’s appendix burst while on tour, requiring 5 hours of surgery, resulting in months of subsequent recovery.  The band has been successful since then, through their movie promotion, touring, and iTunes album sales.

The Boxer Rebellion has released two full-length studio albums.  The first, released in 2005, is entitled Exits.  Their second studio album, Union, was released in 2009 exclusively through iTunes.  A third studio album is promised for 2011; the title forecast for this album is The Cold Still. The Boxer Rebellion is actually a loaded phrase, and finding a catchy band name is becoming increasingly difficult as more musical acts emerge.  Digging around Wikipedia, I uncovered that the band derived its name from an uprising in Northern China between the years of 1899 and 1901 against Western Imperialism and the spread of Christianity.  The Boxers were known for their athleticism because they were under the impression that through the proper training, they could become impervious to gunfire and knife attacks.  As stupid as this sounds, the revolt lead to a siege of foreign embassies in Beijing and costly damages to European spheres of influence in China. 

I have listened thoroughly to the album, Union,  which sounds like less depressing Radio Head and is hitting the proverbial ‘spot’ with me during my stay here in wintry NJ.  Not only was Union named album of the year in 2009 by iTunes, but Spin Magazine named The Boxer Rebellion “Best Men in Black” at South by Southwest.  My favorite track on the album has to be No. 9, entitled “Evacuate”.

These guys are worth a listen if you will take the time.  The Indy scene can be disappointing and does require a great deal of sieving, but that’s what I’m here for.  Enjoy.