A Few Words On 'In Utero'

Nirvana.
Yeah, I may or may not have heard of them. I may or not have been alive for the last 22 years.
Anyway, in a week or so, the folks at Universal are re-releasing Nirvana's 1993 album In Utero.
I was like, 2 years old when this album was released. And it isn't even Nevermind, the Nirvana album that changed rock 'n' roll forever and all that shtuff. So why do I give a crap?
I freaking love In Utero.
I haven't always been a Nirvana fan. For most of my life, I just thought they were over-rated. And maybe they are... I just love them for different reasons than most folks.
I often wonder if as many people would think Kurt Cobain a legend if he didn't commit suicide. He was a very personal songwriter with pop instincts he fought hard not to use. Some people think him to be a poetic God. To me, he's like the dude I wish I had living in my garage my whole life. (We'd probably get along. I'd probably also help him avoid cocaine abuse.)
Nirvana didn't invent "grunge" music. But they were arguably the best at it. Kurt Cobain isn't worth worshiping. But he's worth your time. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" isn't my pick for the best song of the 90s (ooh, I should list that some day!). But it's pretty darn close.
In Buddhism, the term "Nirvana" is used to define a state of "external reality to pain or care." (Thank you, LDS's Preach My Gospel.) Nirvana was a band true to their name. Total numbness in lyric and music I would like to go into a music history lesson, but I'd rather talk about my personal connections with the album.
I bought In Utero for 99 cents at a Hasting's.
My favorite Nirvana song through-and-through is "All Apologies."
I think the riffs are better on this album than on Nevermind.
Kurt Cobain's mumbling is super legit, to me.
Some of Cobain's influences: Dinosaur Jr, The Pixies, Neil Young, Daniel freaking Johnston.
Steve Albini is a boss on production.
Kris Novoselic is a boss on bass.
Dave Grohl is a boss at life.
"I tried hard to have a father, but instead I had a dad." No personal relation to this. In all honesty, I don't know what it means. But it's sounds nonsensical and I like it.

Consider yourselves cultured. 

ONE DAY

I just wanted to remind everyone that today is September 11. On this day in 2001, I was in the 5th grade & was very unemotional about the event. I was a dumb kid and didn't take it seriously. I guess I don't have much to say about 9/11/01 that nobody else can say. But I do know that this ONE DAY has impacted the nation ever since. There have been wars, conspiracy theories, economic issues, unjust angst & justified angst alike... But in ONE DAY, over 2750 people died on US soil. That's about 25% of my hometown, Jerome. No matter what happened, we KNOW that THAT happened.
(Side note: For the last 2 weeks, my Facebook cover photo was a picture of the Marina City towers in Chicago. It may have looked like the World Trade Center buildings, but it wasn't...)
Is the United States of America the greatest country in the world? If you're from the US, the answer is yes. Is it a perfect country? It never has been. So I'd just like to see ONE DAY on internet where we don't have to see any stupid posts about how "OBAMA IS PURPOSELY MESSING UP OUR COUNTRY," or about how "GEORGE BUSH WAS A TYRANT," and especially nothing like "THOSE RAG-HEADS IN THE MIDDLE-EAST ARE TRYING TO BLOW US UP." At the end of the day, our political biases amount to crap, especially on a day like today. You can definitely give it a rest for ONE DAY.
Please at least remember the fact that September 11, 2001, was a somber, transformative moment in the history of a country that has done everything in it's power for the last 250 years to keep people alive and well. If you care to disagree with that statement, unfriend me.
God Bless America.

Complaint Box, Vol. 1

After a 3 day weekend of basically zero worries, I'm back in school and have come to a cold realization:
Oh. Wait. I'm a journalism major.
This means I have to do something on a daily basis that I often avoid:
Actually follow the news.
Anyways, I have not been following the news and I have an assignment or 2 due this week that tells me I should have been doing that for the last week. I also realize that I kinda suck at writing news, but I guess I'll get better at that. As for staying up to date with current events, it will be quite hard for me to give a crap. So I just consider this a humbling experience. A humbling experience that I really really really don't like.
Not like I don't find the news interesting, but I'm just too self-conscious to dedicate time to it.
And my feisty comment of the day: Most people reading this don't follow the news, either. Some people out there think they do, and they act like smart-@$$es about it.
Shout outs go to my brother Keith, Hyrum Hemingway, Patrick Harberd, Mr Brown, Ross Irwin + many others I can't think of right now. You guys follow the news and don't focus on 1 story all week.
It took me about 10 minutes to write this. I will now be pulling news stories from the past week from my butt and spilling them onto the class's discussion board.
"Fight the powers that be." -Public Enemy

Favorite lyrics from Beach House's 'Teen Dream'

Zebra
"YOU KNOW YOU'RE GOLD//YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY NONE..."
Silver Soul
"IT'S A VISION!"
Norway
"THE BEAST, HE COMES TO YOU//HE'S A HUNTER FOR A HUNGRY HEART."
Walk in the Park
"THE FACE THAT YOU SEE IN THE DOOR//ISN'T STANDING THERE ANYMORE."
Used to Be
"DOES EACH DAY JUST FEEL LIKE ANOTHER LIE?"
Lover of Mine
"NEAR, YET SO FAR//ISN'T IT?"
Better Times
"HOW MUCH LONGER CAN YOU PLAY WITH FIRE BEFORE YOU TURN INTO A LIAR?"
10 Mile Stereo
"THE HEART IS A STONE, AND THIS IS A STONE THAT WE THROW..."
Real Love
"I MET YOU SOMEWHERE..."
Take Care
"IT'S REAL, AND THEN IT'S FAKE..."

2013 So Far (musically speaking, of course)

FAVORITE 2013 SONGS THUS FAR
1"Step" // Vampire Weekend
2"Mute" // Youth Lagoon
3"She Found Now" // My Bloody Valentine
4"Give Life Back to Music" // Daft Punk
5"Retrograde" // James Blake
6"White Noise" // Disclosure ft AlunaGeorge
7"Shut Up" // Savages
8"Wakin' on a Pretty Day" // Kurt Vile
*OTHER GREAT SONGS*
"Dumb Disco Ideas" (Holy Ghost!)
"Suit & Tie" (Justin Timberlake)
"So Good (Good Ass Intro)" (Chance the Rapper)
"Get Lucky" (Daft Punk)
FAVORITE 2013 ALBUMS THUS FAR
1Modern Vampires of the City // Vampire Weekend
2Settle // Disclosure
3m b v // My Bloody Valentine
4Random Access Memories // Daft Punk
5Wondrous Bughouse // Youth Lagoon
6Yeezus // Kanye West
7Silence Yourself // Savages
8You're Nothing // Iceage
*OTHER STUFF I'M DIGGING*
...Like Clockwork (Queens of the Stone Age)
We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic (Foxygen)
Wakin' on a Pretty Daze (Kurt Vile)
Shaking the Habitual (The Knife)
:( DISAPPOINTING ALBUMS :(
The 20/20 Experience (Justin Timberlake)
Amok (Atoms for Peace)
Monomania (Deerhunter)

* The year holds more great tracks, great albums and great disappointments to come.  My opinion could very possibly change over time. *  

The Death of the Singer Songwriter

Does anyone remember The Great Singer-Songwriters?  Not me.  I wasn't alive for any of them.

The term "singer-songwriter" doesn't have a strict definition.  I suppose if you look at the album covers on this blog, you could say a "singer-songwriter" is a person who gets pictures of themselves with their name next to it.  I suppose there are a lot of artists like that these days.  The difference now is the personality behind that picture.  Or more importantly, the personality behind the microphone.
All (or most) of the artists portrayed here actually have unique voices and full sounds to back up their names.  Some are born entertainers (Tom Waits, Bruce Springsteen).  Some never even toured (Harry Nilsson, Nick Drake).  Some were just flat-out depressing (Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake again).   I believe there are still great singer-songwriters out there, but the title doesn't mean the same thing as it did in the early-mid-70s.  I'd say there's a difference between being a "singer-songwriter" and a "solo artist."  There are plenty of great solo artists out there talented in lyricism and songsmith.  There are even great artists who are frontmen for great bands, but their solo work doesn't add up.  I think that singer-songwriters have a different edge though.  What artists these days live up to the title next to folks in these pictures?  That new Fiona Apple album definitely does.  Joanna Newsom.  Sufjan Stevens.  Nick Cave.  What else do all these artists have in common?  They're not popular.
Looking back on the 70s, I could've added plenty of other artists to this blog post- Elton John, John Denver, Carole King, Gordon Lightfoot, Jim Croce- and you would all totally know who I'm talking about.  But today?  The billboard chart is full of solo artists, and for that matter, CRAPPY ONES.  Not like there wasn't any crappy music back then, but you gotta admit, it was a better place.  The singer songwriter died.  I couldn't tell you when, but looking at these album covers tell me when they were alive and kicking.  So here's to one man or woman who uses all their energy, heart, wit and honesty behind the microphone.
Now go make a serious face and put your name next to it!

SUMMER: 2008

I am wearing this hat today for the first time since this very backpacking trip.  I thought I lost it in the mountains that week, but found it in my closet about 5 years later.  I put it on this morning, and all the sudden, it was the summer of 2008 again!  All these songs I was into at the time kept popping into my head!  It was like something from a cheesy fairytale movie full of nostalgia!  All morning, I've been listening to bands I got into at that time of my life.  I was 17.  I just finished my junior year of high school.  I followed Rolling Stone and the alternative rock chart, in the music world.  My favorite

song was "Time to Pretend" by MGMT.  I was working part time at Ridley's.  Life was a joke.
When it comes to the cliche definition of summer, I feel like I never really had one in my youth. 2008 was the summer where I stayed out too late and got grounded.  AKA, it was awesome.  I, of course, was 17, so I was awesome, too. 
I remember my brother Kieth was engaged, and that was weird.  Todd was on his mission.  I had an excellent trip back to my homeland, CA, with my family.  I was doing The Laramie Project with the RAT Performers, which was one heck of a show.  I met a lot of new friends from that.  I remember after each rehearsal, a few of us would ride 

our bikes from the high school to the county fair.  One night in particular, Mr Brown and Patrick Rexroat created the classic "Mutton Busters" story that Brown still tells his students.  I remember me, Tom, Michael, Jeff and Luke all asked people for quarters so we could play a game to win a poster of a hot chick.  It totally worked, and we came across this Creepy Black Carnie Guy who was serious about his posters.  Meanwhile, Joey Avila lost millions of dollars to Bingo.
Another highlight was a 3-day backpacking trip to Alice Lake with Jeff Horgan, Wade Sugden and Wyatt Shewmaker.  It was my first time in the Sawtooths, and little did I know that I would be spending my next summer there.
I didn't have a crush on anyone that summer... I may have had a cliche summer, but it wasn't that cliche.
I remember watching The Dark Knight with a bunch of guys, and Michael Rexroat and Ross Irwin came up with the series of "Man, f*** you, Batman" stories.  Why do I still remember those?  I'll never know.
I could go off on a list of names of people I met that summer, but that's not the point.  The point is: Being young and stupid with a lot of free time is awesome.  And I think there is a magical time machine in that "England" hat.  And my summer ended like all good stories:                                       

EVERYONE GOT MARRIED!!!

 "This is our decision/To live fast and die young/We got the vision/Now lets have some fun"