Freddy Closes His Mind For Repairs

I started writing this blog in August of 2009. Seems like a short time in many ways, but I feel like it's been 1,000 years. I've really become a different person. In the 4 years I've been maintaining this, there have been plenty of changes and many of them I've documented along the way. I always kept you "in the loop" about what was happening with me and how I was seeing the world. I've been over the top. I've been subdued. I've been sarcastic. I've been (at least I hope so) funny. But above all that, I have been honest. 

I'm on my third job in that time frame. That's after being at a job for a stable 16 years. I stopped taking prescription medicine. I've started taking "non-prescription" medicine at times. I went from feeling underwhelmed by adult life, to embracing the moment as often as I could (and then going back to the old way). I stopped idolizing grown men chasing balls (yeah, I laughed too) and started idolizing the universe. I stopped following a religion. I started searching for god, or at least the concept of what god could be. Not limiting myself to the rules of a book, what could god be? If there was a god, it must be vastly beyond our comprehension, not caring and not caring if we care. I stopped merely loving my family and started to try and experience my family. To be a part of it. 

I now realize, even through the eyes of a "history of slight mental illness" (my nod to Breakfast Club fans), that my happiness has nothing to do with anyone other than myself. But even realizing it and still not being able to put that truth into action is a curious way to react to a fact you know about yourself. 

I should be more grateful to be alive. Maybe I'm not even grateful enough for the life I've lived, which I've never put an abundance of care into, at least not on my own behalf. My life is sharing a second with the rest of you in the eternal vastness of time that has passed and time that will be. One of my favorite topics to talk about, you didn't ask?  Well, that's easy; would anything exist if there wasn't a life to exist in it? Not sure why I wrote that....well, OK....I am VERY SURE of why I wrote that, but here nor there....just thought it would be nice to share one of my favorite topics; existence.

For four years some of you, at least a few of which I'm certain, have been able to lay your eyes and ears on my favorite stuff. Movies and music mostly. They have become my passion after stopping the athletic portion of my life. I love to share how I feel about a movie or a band. It's (music/film) art to me. I have a great appreciation for what it must take to be a working professional musician, actor, comedian, etc. I hope I've turned some people on to some new stuff. Come on, I gave you The Monkees!!!! THE MONKEES!!!! Who else can make you reconsider how you feel about The Monkees? Nobody. N-O Body.

Regrets? I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention.I did what I had to do, and saw it through without exemption. I did it my way. :-) In four years time I've written, not to benefit you or anyone else, but to feed my ego. To give it nourishment, like each of us do every day. I wrote because I enjoyed expressing myself, so don't misunderstand, but I do realize that I enjoyed the bit of the "fame" it brought. And by fame, I mean any time someone tells someone else how good they are because of something they have done. I wrote to get you to tell me "good job!" Just like you do at your job or with people you admire or when you talk about an accomplishment to others. We all want a little validation and I'm not ashamed to admit it. It was much easier to get when I was younger. It came through being a wise ass and making people smile, or it came through hitting a baseball. Now, I have to be a wise ass among a sea of wise asses on the internet. Everyone clawing at mattering. Putting fucking cat pictures on Facebook, like this one;

It's a gawdammed disgrace. That's what it is. We wanna be happy, so we let it pass. We let it evolve into us and some of us let it become who we are and our validation. Our ego. Not our true selves. Not who we were born to be, but were knocked off track by adults downloading all their shortcomings and insecurities, hopes and fears into our little impressionable heads. We got hardwired by this brainwashing and the culture. We become a part of that machine and pass the same things down to our children. 

Well, with that ray of sunshine I am putting the blog on SLEEP mode. Reading some of the stuff above should let you know that this is just a part of the things that I've been living for the past four years. I no longer care if anyone knows what I think (oh, yeah?), unless it's in a discussion. In a discussion I get feedback and can learn something new to think about. I've grown a bit bored of expressing (talking about?) myself and I'm ready to exchange ideas or probably more likely, to simply think about things and make some decisions and settle on the world. 

For all of what I have just written, oops, I did it again. My ego has a full tummy and needs a nap.

Freddy

Cell Phones: I Hate 'Em

I just hate a cell phone. I recognize they are a necessity in today's world of hustle and bustle, but they seem like such an impossibly arrogant and self-serving tool of rudeness. Yes, I have a cell phone, and it's come in handy many times. I'm not going to begrudge anyone for having a cell phone, but there are certain aspects of it, apart from the obvious good things about them, that rub me wrong. 

I'll start by saying that it's smart to have one. You never know when you may meet an emergency and the phone will come in handy for calling the police, firefighters, an ambulance or someone to help when your car breaks down. I think it's great for kids to have access to them when they are out and about, especially teenagers. People with jobs that involve traveling all the time also benefit from them. So, it's not as though I don't "get" what good they can do, it's all the other junk that overwhelms my feelings. 

Walking around with an earpiece and talking loudly is rude. You are out in public, not in your house, turn down your voice please. Others, often times, can't see you have a microchip hanging out of your ear and they answer the phone user with an "excuse me" and the phone person gives them that disgusted look and points at their ear. Well, piss off. Stop walking around like you are talking to yourself and maybe you won't get bothered you douche bag. 

There is also nothing like holding a conversation with someone in person and then a phone rings. Gotta answer it. Serve the master! Don't let it go to voice mail, nooooo.....too damn important for that. Nothing says "I don't give a shit about what you are saying." more than answering a phone call in the middle of a conversation with a person sitting across from you. "Oh, sorry, I WAS gonna listen, but I'd rather talk to this person. You may sit until I'm finished."

And for crying out loud, turn down the friggin' ring tone. Not everyone thinks it's hysterical to hear "Baby Got Back" every time someone calls your dumb ass to ask where you are or let you know that Krogers has a buy 1 get 1 free deal on asparagus flavored Ramen noodles. 

I just think the over use of the cell phone has made us less social in situations that imply being social and has shut us off from interaction with others out in public. Sorry, as much as I don't really LIKE people in general, we are social creatures that often times have to deal with one another. Here's an example of what I'm talking about; don't talk on the damn phone when someone is taking your order at a restaurant. It's rude and I hope you get a tumor. Furthermore, how about NOT calling someone when you are ordering. It's all about you, I know, but the person you are talking to and the waiter/waitress/counter person are trying to get on with their lives you inconsiderate pud. I'm not talking out my ass here, I know people who do that and I've been a victim. Call me and then immediately put me on hold or start talking to someone else? I'm hanging up. 

In closing, I just wanted to bitch. So, there it is. Finally (patting myself on the back), someone is speaking for those of us who are not on the phone 24/7, acting like a prick. 

Oh...yes!!!! Found this after writing and Darryl Rhoades nails it! He rips cell phones and then an audience member starts using theirs during the show. Can't make that shit up!

Neil DeGrasse Tyson: An Astrophysicist Of The People

Usually, my posts involve music, movies, and things that interest me about the human condition. Over the past few years, I've really grown to love learning about science and the universe. Quantum theory is a lot of fun to learn about, but at a certain point, there is a lack of connection because I'm not capable of understanding some of the mathematics that are behind the theories. So, I have turned my attention more towards the universe and how interesting it is in all its vastness, glory, and mystery. 

Neil DeGrasse Tyson has inspired me to expand my mind on our origins in the same way that Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Harris challenged me to expand my mind to conceptualize what life could be like without a deity. It's one thing to hear that "there are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on all the beaches on the entire planet Earth" and it's another to have someone explain what that means in a practical way. It's all so vast that we sometimes get arrogant about our place in the universe. We can feel as though we are separate from the cosmos, and special in regards to it. Nothing could be further from the truth, because we are a part of the universe. That is inspiring to me, not depressing. Some folks push past the realization that we are OF the universe by ignoring knowledge and filling the gaps in understanding with a god. I do find that a bit depressing. At the edge of understanding, you will find god. But that only lasts until we finally do understand. Through the centuries, Galileo, Newton and others were content to reach the edge of their capacity for understanding and left it to a god from there. Then others came along and added on to what was known and once again, god was pushed further down the line to a new edge. Not to debate the existence of god, that's something I don't have an answer for, but I do know that it's simple and shallow to just assume what we don't understand has to be given over to a god or gods. 

Tyson loves to talk about how much a part of the universe we are. That's inspiring to me. To know that all of this that surrounds us, is, indeed, us! It's like when I finally figured out that people in Iraq, Russia, China, Africa and everywhere else on earth are me. They are the same as me, they just live somewhere else. They are not separate from me, they are my cousins that share a common place in the cosmos. The most common elements (that are not inert, like helium) in the universe (hydrogen, oxygen, carbon) are exactly the same as the most common elements in the human body. Is this an accident? No, because we are the universe. We are star dust. We have been exchanging atoms with the universe since life began on this planet. The atoms in us right now were in something else before us and something else before that and so on. That's fascinating and inspirational. In that way, we truly are immortal. We've always been here in some capacity. For billions of years....all that we are now has existed and will continue to. 

Back to Tyson though. This guy is one of about 6,000 astrophysicists on the planet and he is the only one that has really struck a chord with the mainstream popularity wise. He speaks in an excited tone and offers up the universe in a way that is interesting and full of possibility. He isn't dry and doesn't drone on with huge words and abstract language that is beyond the common persons understanding. I can't recommend him enough to those who are truly interested in grasping the universe outside of the usual dumbed down notion of the cosmos and our place in it. His take on the existence of life in the universe is interesting and exciting in that the vastness of the cosmos implies that life is bountiful and just because we have not seen evidence of it in the VERY, VERY small area we have explored and reached out to makes it no less likely. He says we only really understand about 4% of what there is to know about life, our universes origin, matter, energy and so forth and that leaves a lot of room for exploration and discovery for what is likely to be hundreds of years. Or, with the development and exponential increase in computer power, perhaps it's just decades away when we will have a really firm grasp on how the universe works. Hell, it's likely that there are many universes, especially when you start listening to Tyson talk about the theories of dark matter and dark energy and how empty space is anything but empty! 

The Testimony of Neil DeGrasse Tyson

So, if you dig this sort of thing, but can't deal with the dry wit of Carl Sagan, the often beyond comprehension language of Susskind or Hawkins, or the long winded, sometimes dull explanations of Brian Greene (all of whom I like, but don't hold a candle to what Tyson brings to the table in the way of communication) then give Neil DeGrasse Tyson a shot at needling your mind and moving you towards a greater understanding of the universe and what it means to be a member of all that exists! 

Shooter Jennings: Treading His Own Ground

There is always a danger in being the son or daughter of a legendary figure. Hank Williams Jr. is a country music icon, but he didn't build his fame until he stepped out of his father's shadows and started doing things his own way. Early in his career he just covered his father and lived off the name. Waylon Jennings shadow looms large in country music. He is an icon and broke a lot of ground in Nashville that country artists to this day should still  thank him for. The toughest situation Shooter Jennings could have put himself in would have been to go into country music and try to live off his dad's legacy, but he didn't. He did an about face and ran towards hard rock, playing music that was closer to Metallica and Guns N Roses than anything his father ever did. He left Nashville and went to LA, where he would have to learn the music business away from his father's considerable influence. He formed a hard rock band called Starrgun, recorded a pretty solid record that was never formally released, and was even asked to front Velvet Revolver. 

He left that behind though, as he decided to return to his roots and pursue his music along the lines of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Neil Young, with a bit of the old country twang mixed in. What resulted was a record contract and a first album, "Put The O Back In Country" that yielded a hit (Fourth of July) and got some notoriety from critics. After that, he continued the hard country sound and released "Electric Rodeo" which saw him make significant progress as a song writer, with several really great songs that will be classics for him years down the road. His third album, "The Wolf", didn't fare very well and from my perspective and just lacked the hardcore authenticity of his first two recordings. 

In my opinion, his album called "Black Ribbons" entrenched him as a serious artist with something to say. It is an eclectic mix of progressive, southern, and hard rock with some country splashed on it. It's a concept album that attacks the nature of our government and society as we move towards living in a country with less privacy, less individuality, and less concern about our culture. It was an eye opening experience for me and I would recommend it to anyone that is a fan of progressive rock and has a penchant for exploring the darker side of power through conspiracy type entities such as the NWO and Illuminati. 

Next came "Family Man", the first album with his new record label and once again, Shooter showed growth lyrically, but also in the arrangements of the music. He really has found a way to melt country and rock together without it coming off as contrived. He has the chops. He has developed an integrity through his music that comes with having to go on the road and not getting support from hit radio. He rips Nashville and the music machine at every opportunity and can do so with gravitas. He knows what he's talking about. He knows what his father went through and he damn sure isn't done beating that drum. "Family Man" is about Shooter. His personality. His outlook. His ties to his family, past and present. 

Which brings me to the actual album I want to write about, but have now spend hundreds of words getting to. I'm not sure if anyone will hang with me any longer, but so be it. Shooter's latest record is called "The Other Life" and it is peppered with references to his father, country musics past (what's new, he name drops quite a bit, but it never seems out of place), and his world view. 

"The Other Life" kicks off with a very Pink Floyd-ish sounding "Flying Saucer Song". The song drifts along until it hits a keyboard groove with bongos echoing in the background, which leads to a decidedly southern rock tinged tune where he laments the loss of his heroes (A Hard Lesson To Learn). The third song is maybe the weakest of the album, but that's not to say it's bad. Any song that takes a shot at Jimmy Swaggart while boasting about chugging whiskey and being a "nighttime rambler" is tailor made to be on a Shooter album. From here the album takes off and I'd say it damn near hits greatness, in my estimation. He and Patty Griffin team up to perform "Wild & Lonesome", a throwback tune that is a bit reminiscent of George Jones and Tammy Wynette.....heavier on the Jones though. 

The next song is "Outlaw You" and it just abuses the city boy cowboy, black hat wearing, boot scootin' frauds that have overwhelmed modern country music radio. The music sounds tailor made to be a hit, but the words guarantee it won't be played on any mainstream radio station. He reminds the listener that country music at its core is very American and rebellious, by recalling the tribulation that his father went through in trying to wrestle control from the labels and give it to the artist. 

Next up is a really nice piano ballad called "The Other Life" which will be the last of the soft side from Shooter on the album. A great "whiskey drinkin'" song which is belted out with a world weary sadness. From here we move on to "The Low Road" where Shooter throws some reality at you. It's nice to try to smile and take the hide road, but now and again, you gotta smash someone in the mouth with a "Skeletor" lunchbox and take the low road to deal with life and its' problems. "Mama, It's Just My Medicine" is a  really kick ass tune that has country layered beneath some strong guitar and synth work. If the original Lynyrd Skynyrd were still making albums today, I'd like to think that this song would be their sound. 

"The Outsider" should be a hit. In another dimension maybe it is. It's pure country without any trickery musically and lyrically, Shooter creates an anthem for those who don't want to conform to an ideal of what they should be. It's a song for those who like to make their way through life on their terms and won't apologize for doing so. The album ends with two sort of weird tunes. "15 Million Light Years" is a duet with Black Oak Arkansas' Jim Dandy. It's very distinctive song and their voices play off of each other well and it has a "end of times", dark feel to it. The song expresses concern over the direction of humanity, but it also offers a glimmer of hope that we'll get our shit together....maybe today, maybe tomorrow....or maybe it's 15 million light years away.

The final tune is likely to be the most hard hit by mainstream critics and first time listeners. In less capable hands, "The Gunslinger" would come off as contrived. Instead, it sucks you in with Shooter's cadence and flow. In many ways this is a rap song. It's full of braggadocio and pointed lyrics, but really does come through as authentic. It's a song that I'm guessing Kid Rock will hear and say "Dammit, I wish that was mine". Shooter puts the world of music on notice with this one. Just leave him alone to do what he does. Don't start no shit and there won't be any shit. Musically, it starts out slow and develops into a crescendo of guitars before giving way to a smoky saxophone and synthesizers, which pull the listener in and carries you through to the end of the album. The album is book ended and let's the listener know that it's an experience, not just a collection of songs thrown together. A very satisfying experience that seems to gain my appreciation a little more with each listen.

I have had this album on non-stop since buying it on Monday night. In my opinion, it's his best work and he truly touches on so many different types of music and subject matter that it's simply not possible to catch every reference, nod, wink, cloaked riff, and gut shot. It delivers all of that. It's the best new album (not just a collection of tunes, this one is cohesive) I have heard in quite some time. Shooter is making his way, and not on the coattails of his father. In fact, I think he has Waylon in his pocket and he pulls out that card when he feels necessary, but he is his own man, making his own kind of music. It's hard to pin down. It's hard to categorize. It's just music. Really good music. 

I'm with you Shooter. Keep bringing the goods! 

"New" Replacements Music!!

Alright anyone who knows me very well at all knows that I'm fanatical about the Replacements. They were (are?) a rock band from Minneapolis that had their hey day back in the mid-80's. They were influential on quite a few alternative, alt-country, and grunge bands that would begin to emerge around 1990 or so. I don't need to go into their past, I've probably done that enough already in other articles. All you need to know is that I love this band. 

Last year, Slim Dunlap, who was a guitarist for the last incarnation of the band (replacing the beautiful mess Bob Stinson) had a stroke. A bad one. Being a struggling musician doesn't always afford a person with access to great health insurance (does being anything give you that access though?) and his long hospital stay put his family in a major league financial bind. So, his friends and fans swooped in to lend a hand. 

People donated via Pay Pal and that was great, but the real big money help would come in the form of an effort by musicians who had a genuine interest in helping a good man out who was down. Musicians like Steve Earle, Joe Henry, Lucinda Williams, The Minus 5, Tommy Keene, Jakob Dylan, Lucero, The Jayhawks and many others recorded some of Slim's songs and they will be pressed into vinyl 45's and sold at auction on EBay. Following the auctions, they will be released in a more commercial form. 

That's not the end of the story though. The story continues with Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson coming together to record a few songs to release on a limited edition EP. That EP included a song submitted by former Replacements drummer Chis Mars (who is also a fantastic and successful artist) and by virtue of having three of the four original band members on the EP, it was easy and non legacy threatening to slap the Replacements name on it. Mars also released a song called "When I Fall Down" (in my opinion it's among his best work as a solo musician) that he made available on the 'net with proceeds going to the Slim fund. 

The EP is called "Songs For Slim". I don't really want to review it. It's not as if this is a comeback album in any traditional sense. They knew their loyal fans would want some fresh Replacements music and it was a great thing to do for a friend in need. How good it is really shouldn't matter. Personally, I was instantly drawn to "I'm Not Sayin'" which is a cover of a great Gordon Lightfoot song. Of course, they rock it up, but it's very much a Replacements tune. It has the lyrical twists of a typical Westerberg song and a supped up tempo that was a big part of the Replacements "sound". There is a really solid version of "Lost Highway" which was made famous by Hank Williams, and a fun, loose cover of Slim's "Busted Up". "Everything's Coming Up Roses" (which was Ethel Merman's signature tune) taken from the Broadway musical "Gypsy" in 1959, is on the EP as well and gets the Replacements tongue in cheek, "we'll try anything once" treatment. The other song was submitted by Chris Mars and it's a cover of Slim's "Radio Hook". Chris throws a little juice into the song and steers it away from the ever so slightly psychedelic direction that Slim recorded it with. 

It's not "vintage" Replacements by any stretch. They can't reproduce that. Most of us can't find the inspiration or motivation in us that we had when we were teenagers or in our early 20's. Trying to duplicate that would basically reduce them to caricatures and if there is anything that Paul Westerberg probably would like to avoid, it's turning the Replacements into a critical dart board.

I'm more than happy with the effort and I'm likely in the majority of Replacements fans with that feeling. It's good to know that these guys have matured and grown enough to be comfortable settling back into old roles, even if for a short time to help out a friend. It may not seem that way in regards to Chris Mars, but I have to think that would be inaccurate to believe. Mars helped out and even made it in to do some backing vocals when Stinson and Westerberg got together to record a couple of songs for their retrospective disc a few years ago. He also provided the artwork for the "Songs For Slim" EP and apparently may do so for each 45 record that is released, although I'm not positive on that.

The Replacements members all have their places in life now and I'm just happy they saw fit to help out their friend and in doing so, gave me a few new songs to enjoy. By the way, the fans who purchased the Special Limited Edition EP deserve a pat on the back. 250 records raised over $100,000 to help with Slim's medical bills and home care. That's awesome! Now, the EP is being sold on Amazon and through other vendors and even more money can be raised to help out Slim. I've met Slim and got to spend some time listening to him talk about music at an in-store he did in Louisville when he toured with Son Volt. I even got to go on stage (in a drunken stupor) and "play" his guitar at the BBC. Why did I get to do that? Because, I can't play a lick and that's what he wanted! 

Slim Dunlap