Lyric Of The Day

"we live beyond our means

on other people's dreams

-and that's succeeding"

-from Janis Ian's "Between the Lines"

MTV "Video" "Music" "Awards"

The earliest MTV Video Music Awards I remember watching live was back in 1988. I don't know how into it I was, as the only performance I remember seeing was Guns N' Roses performance of "Welcome to the Jungle".

I don't care what you say, they were an amazing band.

Being that I was 9, I wasn't quite into them yet. That would be another year or so.

1989 was the first year I was really into the Video Music Awards. Though looking back at the performances, I'm shocked I cared so much. The Cult, Cher, Rolling Stones...as a 10 year old, that's not an enticing mix. But I was really into Paula Abdul at the time and Arsenio Hall was hosting and they were rumored to be together and even back then, my attention to gossip was strong, so I was very excited for her performance.

I tried and tried to learn those dance moves.

1991 was probably the most memorable. R.E.M. won award after award for "Losing My Religion", with Michael Stipe removing and revealing a different t-shirt each time they went up to accept their moon man, though Pee Wee Herman stole the show right off the bat, making his first public appearance after getting caught masturbating in a theater spouting the line: "Heard any good jokes lately?"

Bands like Metallica and Guns N' Roses and Van Halen still performed. Your pop stars were the likes of Mariah Carey and Paula Abdul. L.L. Cool J was THE rapper and this was as cheesy as it got:

Admittedly, this is very cheesy.

So what am I getting at?

Last night was the 2011 VMAs and this was the big winner:

Looking up this video and checking it out before posting is my first encounter with Katy Perry. Don't get me wrong, I've seen her all over the blogs. I know she's a good Christian girl who just happens to be married to Russell Brand.

But this is the video of the year? An auto-tuned mess of a song with a message about being a firework?

Okay, take away the song. This is the "video" music awards. Or excuse me, the VMAs (just like KFC, MTV can't false advertise anymore).

What is this video? Why is it the winner? I don't understand. There is nothing of interest happening here.

To put this in perspective, let's look at some of the past Video of the Year winners, shall we?

1984: The Cars - "You Might Think"

1986: Dire Straits - "Money for Nothing"

1990: Sinead O'Connor - "Nothing Compares 2 U"

1991: R.E.M. - "Losing My Religion"

1992: Van Halen - "Right Now"

1993: Pearl Jam - "Jeremy"

1994: Aerosmith - "Cryin"

1995: TLC - "Waterfalls"

1997: Jamiroquai - "Virtual Insanity"

1999: Lauryn Hill - "Doo Wop (That Thing)"

2003: Missy Elliot - "Work It"

2004: Outkast - "Hey Ya"

All iconic videos. Sure there have been a few duds along the way, but for the most part, the videos have been worthy winners.

So is the Katy Perry video a dud/mistake or a generational thing? It certainly doesn't seem like a mistake since people aren't shocked by the win. I mean, when Neil Young won way back when, people were stunned.

That makes me think it's a generational thing and I'm finally too old for this shit.

For example, I don't understand how this could be a heartthrob:

I know my Teen Idol was not exactly a snazzy dresser either:

But at least he had facial hair.

This is probably the first time where I've never heard the music of over 3/4 of the nominees and when I clicked on the red carpet pics this morning, I knew maybe a handful of names.

In the interest of trying to know what I'm talking about, I've explored some of these artists and all I can say again is...I don't get it.

I understand and like Lady GaGa. Britney Spears is a special gal and she has some fun songs. Beyonce is The Queen and nobody messes with her. Everybody likes Adele.

I can see why young girls like Katy Perry.

But...Justin Beiber? Kreayshawn??? LMFAO????? Fucking Chris Brown?????? Yes, let's hero worship the guy who beat his girlfriend to a bloody pulp. That will be a good lesson for everyone.

Even in my younger days, I appreciated the music that I may not have liked. I had friends who listened to Cannibal Corpse. Is it really just the music you're exposed to as a teen is the music that can do no wrong? Or is it what I really think which is popular music today really really sucks?

I'm going with the latter. Now get off my lawn.

Ultimate Mix CD #2

Here is your second installment in the Ultimate Mix CD Series.

Ultimate Mix CD #2

1. "Jerusalem" - Dan Bern - Dog Boy Van

2. "Tadpole" - Tristen - Charlatans At The Garden Gate

3. "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" - Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

4. "Bread and Roses" - Utah Phillips & Ani Difranco - Fellow Workers

5. "This is a Rebel Song" - Sinead O'Connor - Gospel Oak

6. "Traffic" - Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles - Orange Peels & Rattlesnakes

7. "Universe of No Parts" - David Karsten Daniels - Sharp Teeth

8. "Blindsided" - Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

9. "Terrible Love (alternate version)" - The National - High Violet (expanded edition)

10. "Running With the Wolves" - Cloud Cult - Light Chasers

11. " Maps" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever To Tell

12. "Burn O' Junk Pile Burn" - Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs - No Help Coming

13. "New Yorker Cartoon" - Jenny and Johnny - I'm Having Fun Now

14. "We Are Nowhere and It's Now" - Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, Its Morning

15. "3rd Planet" - Modest Mouse - The Moon And Antarctica

16. "Us" - Haley Bonar - Lure The Fox

17. "I Walked" - Sufjan Stevens - The Age Of Adz

18. "Who You Are & When" - Flatbear - Flying Days

19. "Stars" - Hum - You'd Prefer An Astronaut

20. "Hold Tongue" - Zoo Animal - Young Blood

Ultimate Mix CD: Because Sometimes Some Songs Belong Together

Thanks For Finding My Ears #1

So I keep starting these reoccurring blog posts and then either only posting a few follow ups, or never posting anything else on the subject again.

Sorry about that.

But I'm going to start another new one again anyway.

Think of Thanks For Finding My Ears as an introduction to bands that I quickly and easily fall in love with upon first listen.

This introductory post will feature 2 bands.

1. Tristen

I saw Tristen open for The Elected over 4th of July weekend. I didn't really pay much attention to her when she was playing, but liked her enough (and the venue was empty enough) that I approached her at her merch table after she played and bought a CD. The album is awesome. Great sing along songs, catchy, good voice, good lyrics, good music.



2. Agnes Obel

I was given Agnes Obel's album by a co-worker who's native country is where Agnes is from (Denmark). She had picked it up on a return trip home and gave it to me thinking it would be something I liked. It took me a few listens to really love it. It is a very quiet, classical-like album full of piano and other stringed instruments, yet still surprisingly catchy. Her debut album, Philharmonics, has since been released in the states.



I suggest that you check out both of these artists.

It's That Time Again?

The Minnesota State Fair kicks off tomorrow. I swear this year has gone by in a flash. All of these things that are coming around again feel like they just happened last week. I mean, the fair is here! The fair is the unofficial end of summer. I love the fair, but when it ends, it’s September and September is basically fall just like June is supposed to be summer when neither of those statements are true.

September provides Minnesota with some of its best weather. It’s a beautiful time of the year. Yet, by the end of it, the leaves will be changing and the nights will requires sweaters and will begin much earlier than now.

But I shouldn’t dwell on it because if I do, I will curl up in a ball and cry after stuffing myself with Ho-Hos and Ding Dongs because really wants the point? Another winter? Are you kidding? Already? I. Just. Can’t.

So instead, I will look forward to the fair. Once again, I am working tomorrow morning. First day of the fair. It’s the best day. Everything is fresh. The bathrooms are clean. People are happy. It’s supposed to be a beautiful day.

And I’ll be taking the afternoon off of work to enjoy the fair. Cheese on a stick, mashed potatoes, garlic fries, corn on the cob, cheese curds, ice cream, and beer.

Cannot wait.

My Weekend In Pictures

Animal Ways

Meet Scout. We are currently dog-sitting her.

She really likes it under the desk.

She’s a very good dog and one of the only - well, okay, the only – dog that Murray will have anything to do with. And even then he barely has anything to do with her. Every once in a while he’ll go up and smell her and then walk away. He has zero interest in her existence.

It’s interesting to see the difference in these two very similar animals. Murray is about 13 years old and very…delicate. Scout, though no spring chicken at 10 years old, is still very much puppy-minded. While Murray has to really consider if lying down is something he really wants to do since his hips make it very difficult, Scout just plops down anywhere on any surface and then jumps right up when something is of interest. She can still sit like a champ – and does so whenever she wants your attention or a treat. We ruined Murray on this “trick” years ago. And he can’t sit anymore anyway.

She also sits when she has to go to the bathroom. Murray has stopped giving us a heads up (honestly, I don’t think he knows ahead of time anymore) and it means that we have to constantly have one eye on him, watching his tail for the sign he’s about to go into bathroom position. With Scout, she can be doing any activity and suddenly she just stops and sits perfectly still. It’s kind of weird.

Something else I noticed, and caused alarm for me at first until I realized last night that this is perfectly normal dog behavior, is the scratching. She’ll take that back leg and start going to town on the side of her face or behind her ear. As I am deathly fearful of fleas entering my home, this had me very concerned she picked something up – until I remembered – dogs scratch themselves, just like humans have an itch every once in a while. The only difference is, I haven’t been around a dog that can do that in a long time. When Murray’s face itches, he comes up to me and turns the side of his head that itches towards me and then I vigorously rub the side of his face because his legs don’t reach that far anymore. It’s generally kind of gross, but I do it because I love him. Also, it’s either that or he rubs his face all over the furniture.

My baby.

I tend to think Murray is a very strange dog. He is. He’s really strange. But these past couple of days, I can’t get over how strange Scout is, when really, she’s probably exactly the dog that people have in mind when they think to themselves, I want a dog. She’s ridiculously mild-mannered. She adores people and attention. When she gets overwhelmed, she just leaves the room and finds a quiet place to lie down. She leans on you when you pet her. She does this thing where she hands you her paw to hold. You don’t even have to pet her, you just have to hold her paw. She sits and lies down when told. She pulls a bit on the leash, but is an angel with a gentle leader on. She goes to the bathroom when you tell her. She sits for treats without being asked to sit. She’s submissive, so she either stays away from other dogs, or rolls over immediately to let them know she’s not going to try anything crazy. She’s really a great dog.

Really wants me to hold her paw, but just wrapping it around my leg is enough.

We took her to Sea Salt on Saturday. We can’t take Murray places because he’s just anti-social and really just wants to be with us and if other people or dogs come close, he just does not like it. So we brought Scout to Sea Salt, a place we’ve only ever dreamed of bringing Murray. Sea Salt is my favorite restaurant. It’s only open in the spring-summer-fall. They have live music out on the patio, children are dancing and there are dogs everywhere. It’s just a very happy place. And the food and beer is excellent. Scout was perfect. She laid down while we ate, then when we got up to walk around the park, she let all the people approach her and pet her.

It’s been a bit of an adjustment having two dogs in the house. They are both very hairy and we are constantly picking up fur balls and vacuuming. I don’t know how people have more than one child because I constantly feel like I need to be giving them equal amounts of attention. I don’t want Murray to feel like he’s being replaced. And I don’t want Scout to be scared and I want her to feel welcome. It’s exhausting.

Oddly, I was somewhat happy for Monday morning to arrive just so I could get a break from Dog Land for a while.

Although, they are quite cute.

We watch a lot of My So Called Life.

Thoughts From A Sleep Deprived Mind

I got no sleep last night. None. Well, okay, I got like 3 hours. I woke up at 3am and that was that. I could not go back to sleep. Eventually I got up, headed to the couch, put some headphones on, listened to some music and had these thoughts:

1. Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago might be quickly becoming my most favorite album ever. It's truly an amazing piece of music. The whole thing. One big glorious piece of music. I've written about it before. It really must be experienced on headphones to hear every little part of it. The sporadic blips, the sound of his fingers hitting the wood of the guitar, the breaths of his voice, the endless layers of vocals. Really something special going on with this album.

2. Haley Bonar's Lure the Fox is a perfect companion piece to For Emma, Forever Ago. It's the girl meets boy of modern acoustically driven music. Or maybe For Emma is the companion piece to Lure the Fox. Lure the Fox did come out first...Oh, Bon Iver, I see what you did there...

3. Bon Iver's new album titled Bon Iver or Bon Iver, Bon Iver - depending on who you talk to - did not sit well with me at first. But holy crap is it wonderful. Maybe Bon Iver albums need to be experienced first via headphones in a truly sleep deprived state, seeing that For Emma didn't truly resonate with me until about hour 6 of an overseas plane ride while I tried desperately to sleep.

4. Eddie Vedder, I will always love you. Especially now that you sing ridiculously sweet love songs on the ukulele.

5. Music and songs and albums are best created in manic states. While lying in bed with my pillow crushed over my ears, eyes clenched tightly closed, I envisioned my entire next album. From the opening notes to the track order and how they will all move from one to the next. Every instrument, sound, vocal is now swimming around in my mushy sleepy brain. I heard the whole thing. Interestingly enough (for me) two songs written for the album did not make the final cut in my brain. Maybe that means they don't belong.

6. I hope it's a nice day today.

Invent A New Flavor Of Ice Cream

One of my favorite blogs is Yes and Yes. If you don’t read the Yes and Yes blog, you should. It’s uplifting, informative and fun. So go read it.

Each year, Yes and Yes puts out a calendar. Scattered throughout are fun things to do on random days. So today it is Invent A New Flavor Of Ice Cream Day. So my new ice cream flavor is…………

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Fat Tire

One random Friday night I was drinking a Fat Tire (my favorite beer) and I got a little snacky. I grabbed a raspberry out of the fridge and was amazed at how deliciously it mixed with the flavor of Fat Tire. On another random night, the same thing happened (this is my life) and I just happened to have a bar of dark chocolate lying around. Once again, Fat Tire was an excellent accompaniment.

I already love chocolate covered fruit, so there is no doubt in my mind that raspberries and dark chocolate would go together wonderfully.

Yes, Dark Chocolate Raspberry Fat Tire Ice Cream. Somebody make it happen.

Levels Of Customer Service

The other day I had to make a couple of stops before heading into the office. These 2 stops each filled me with rage, but for completely different reasons.

The first stop was the bank. I really hate going to the bank in the first place. I was just making a deposit, which I know I can do via the ATM these days, but I just like the automatic confirmation that I receive handing my money over to the teller, seeing her type in the numbers, and handing me a receipt.

So I approach the teller and she greets me with a smile – which is nice – and I tell her I’m just there to make a deposit. I have all of my forms and money in hand. The transaction should take less than a minute.

She begins to chat.

1. “Are you on your way to work, or just on a break?” – Um, on my way. It’s 7:45am. Why would I be on a break already unless I got to work at 5:00 in the morning?

2. “Do you work in the building?” Um, no. I work in one of the many other buildings downtown, but this is the only bank that I can get to.

3. “The skyway makes getting here easy even if you don’t, right?” So do the sidewalks and crosswalks outside on this gorgeous summer day.

4. “Sure is beautiful outside.” Sure is.

5. “Are you having a good day so far?” See #1. It’s 7:45am and I haven’t had my coffee yet and I just want to make a simple transaction. What is with all the fucking questions????

The above is just a small sample of the interrogation I received trying to make a deposit. I’ve said it before: I HATE small talk. It makes me want to break things. I don’t know what sort of incentive program the bank is offering its employees to be so overly smiley with its customers, but it makes me want to bang my head against the counter, shove my fingers in my ears, and start yelling “LA LA LA LA”. What is with all of the questions??? Why????

Eventually my transaction is completed and I head on over to destination #2: The Convenience Store.

There are 2 stores within decent walking distance of the vicinity of my office building. They are both owned and operated by the same person. He has a harem of women who man the tils while he breaks down boxes and says inappropriate things to customers.

I normally go to the one that is located on the street level. But since I was leaving the bank and already in the convenient skyway system mentioned by the bank teller, I headed to the skyway level store to pick up my Halls cough drops of which I am completely addicted to. Seriously, they’re like my cigarettes.

Working this counter is a she-beast of a woman with the Hardest. Job. In. The. World. I’ve heard her complain to customers about how her job is so stressful. I’ve worked at gas station/convenient stores before. They aren’t stressful. Annoying, yes. Stressful, no.

I approach the counter and place my bag o’ cough drops on the counter and patiently wait for her to finish reading the tabloid article on Selena Gomez and Justin Beieber. She flips the page and then walks over to the register – I say good morning - and she bangs the keys, loudly sighing with annoyance at my presence, and rings me up without ever making eye contact. I wait for her to tell me the total, and when I realize she is opting for a code of silence today, I look at the LCD screen and start to pull out the exact change. I know, as a former cashier, this can be excruciatingly annoying. But my wallet is bursting with excess change that I want to get rid of.

Stupid me and my poor math skills miscounted the amount of change I handed to her. She looks at it in her open palm, dumps the change in the drawer and then maniacally paws at the give a penny/take a penny cup to get the difference. With a ton of embarrassment, I apologize and grab the remaining pennies from my purse and hand them over to her repeatingly saying I’m sorry.

She begrudgingly takes my change dumps in the drawer and turns back to her tabloid.

She never once said a word to me or looked at me.

Wanting to make some passive aggressive comment about being pleasant, I bit my tongue instead and headed out of there.

There is really no reason for either of these situations to happen. All that is required for someone in the customer service industry is to provide customer service. Smile when the customer walks in the door, say hello when they approach the counter, ask them how they can help, and then help. That’s it. We don’t need to exchange life stories. You don’t care what my answer is and I don’t want to know that your kid has pink eye or that you leave for vacation in 24 hours.

At the street level convenience store, the cashier is the epitome of good customer service. She’ll joke with you if you joke with her. But otherwise, she greets you with a “good morning”, asks you how you’re doing today, and says “thanks, hon” as you leave. I am more inclined to engage with her on a social level throughout the transaction because there is a naturalness to it. With the bank teller, I feel like her manager is hiding under the counter holding her paycheck between his fingers, ready to rip it in half if she doesn’t ask me exactly 7 questions within the 1 minute duration of my transaction. With the she-beast, I just felt like I was completely intruding on her day and should get out of there as quickly as possible before her skin turns to scales and she swallows me whole.

All before I've had my coffee (which is a whole other customer service nightmare).

New (Anniversary Poem)

i have nothing new to

give to you

today

stories have been told

in every possible way

like the one about me

and the apple river

or the pets i had

as a kid

i have nothing new to

show you

today

you’ve seen all of my scars

both real and metaphorical

seen my hair in the morning

and the way i

chew my food

yet i wake up in the morning

with a touch of your hand

on my ankle

a gentle reminder

a new day is here

that you are here

a new way to say

good morning

without saying anything

i don’t know how you do it

i have nothing new to

tell you

today

i’ve said it before

it stays the same

i said it in a garage

filled with family

filled with friends

9 years ago

today

and it’s nothing new

how much i love you

Happy Anniversary, Baby

Thunder And Lightening And Sleeping

There are frequent thunderstorms in Minnesota in the summer. They can get pretty nasty…often. Strong winds, hail, loud booming thunder, cracking lightening. Just plain loud.

Whenever a storm is on the horizon, my Facebook page is hit with status update after status update of people saying they can’t wait for the storm to come because it is so wonderful to sleep during that kind of weather.

What. The. Fuck?

Who looks forward to a thunderstorm? Who looks forward to a thunderstorm because it helps them sleep? I don’t understand. Who looks forward to a “good night’s sleep” filled with loud crashes of thunder and bright flashes of lightening and wind that rattles the windows and rain that drums the roof? Did their parents spend their evenings throwing around pots and pans and flicking the lights on and off around the house when the kids were sleeping?

I’m not saying I’ve never slept through a thunderstorm. It’s happened. But, I would prefer one not be there when I’m sleeping. I don’t know. I kind of enjoy quiet and darkness when it’s time to go to bed.

There’s also the stress factor that comes with a wild thunderstorm. How much water is going to end up in the basement? Will I lose any trees? Is the power going to go out? Will there be hail damage?

Am I just someone who worries too much? Possibly. Do all of these people live in concrete apartments? I know that’s not the case.

I understand the desire to not leave the house and curl up somewhere during a storm. But to wish one was coming your way so you can sleep? That’s just strange.

Double Header

I had two shows yesterday. It was a great day. It was a long day. I did so much and kept looking at the clock on my phone, shocked that time seemed to be crawling-which is great for a Sunday. And it was hot. Holy Hell was it HOT.

Just a couple of weeks ago, it was something like 120 degrees (when you count the heat index). Yesterday felt worse. I don't know why. But just sitting outside would cause me to drip with sweat.

And then I got to play in it.

First show of the day was at the Red Hot Art Festival. I went on at 11:30am, which required me to get up early. It's kind of weird to get up in the morning and go perform. But, it would be awesome if that's what I got to do everyday when I got up to go to "work".

I sweat pretty easily. When I'm done performing, there's always a very obvious dampness to my hair and brow. I've learned to accept that. But I got done with that first show yesterday and I looked like I just stepped out of the shower. My hair was soaked. It was kind of embarrassing.

We played 2 new songs at this show. I thought they went really well.


Setlist for Red Hot Art Festival 7/31/11
-Good
-Float (first time played!)
-The Party
-Can't Even Tell
-Salt (first time played!)
-The Paul Simon Song
-Here
-Adore

The second show of the day was at the Turf Club. I really really like playing there. I love the stage. I love the sound on the stage. I just really like the Turf Club. And it was air conditioned.


Setlist for the Turf Club 7/31/11
-The Paul Simon Song
-Cast a Spell
-Float
-Thursday
-Can't Even Tell
-The Party
-Good
-Salt
-Here
-Adore

And, once again I just have to say, I really really love performing.

Next show: Friday, September 9th at the Republic on Seven Corners.

That seems so long from now. But in between I begin recording for the next album! Very excited about that.