The 25 Things

A very close and dear friend of mine created a list of 25 things about herself recently (a trend that has gone viral since a completely unrelated person I know recently did the same thing). I thought in response I would create my own list of 25 things about myself.

1. I am a t-shirt junkie. I haven’t counted the number of t-shirts I own, but it is a lot. I even have some in storage at my parent’s house. I order many original design t-shirts from Threadless, which has new designs for sale each week online. I also typically get a t-shirt from memorable concerts and the occasional cool design from Urban Outfitters.
   
2. I am generally shy when meeting people for the first time. Do not take it personally if I seem reserved at first.
   
3. I read comic books. I don’t care if that makes me a dork.
   
4. I desperately want to learn how to play guitar. My goal is to own a guitar before my 35th birthday, preferably a Fender Telecaster. I will not be satisfied until I am melting faces.
   
5. I don’t think I watch a lot of television, but in reality I do. I regularly watch only a handful of programs, but I will watch mindless shows until the one I am really interested in comes on the air.
   
6. My undergraduate degree is in Economics. Since I graduated from a liberal arts university, I had to have a “support program” of other disciplines. So I also “minored” in Philosophy and Art.
   
7. If I could have a different profession it would be in psychology/psychiatry, architecture/urban planning, or teaching.
   
8. I am afraid of exposed heights.
   
9. Three moments in rock and roll history have occurred on my birthday: (1) R.E.M. played their first show; (2) Kurt Cobain committed suicide; and (3) Layne Staley died from a “speedball” overdose.
   
10. I tend to give more in friendships/relationships that what I either get or expect back. I am trying to change this pattern because it can lead to dark places.
    
11. When I am around my family I am routinely called by my brother’s name. I try to act like it doesn’t bother me, but in fact it sucks. The next time it happens I am thinking of requesting they call me something they would find very offensive until they learn to actually use my name.
    
12. I love music festivals. I attended Bonnaroo for the first time in 2007, which was the first multi-day festival I experienced. I went to Bonnaroo again in 2008. This year I will be going to at least the Sasquatch Music Festival at The Gorge in George, Washington and the Austin City Limits Festival. I can no longer imagine a year where I don’t try to attend one music festival.
    
13. I love modern architecture and mid-century to modern furniture.
    
14. Similarly, I love modern and contemporary art. My favorite artists off all time are Pollock, Rothko, and Rauschenberg.
    
15. My favorite colors are blue and green. Though I don’t like combinations of the two, like aqua or teal.
    
16. Since I was born in the Chicago metropolitan area, my favorite sports teams are the Cubs, Bears, and Blackhawks. I don’t care for the NBA, so I am not going to add the Bulls to the list. The only non-Chicago team I support is DC United soccer.
    
17. I unfortunately like ice cream and Oreo cookies (not always together). Both of those things are really bad for me since I need to watch my cholesterol levels.
    
18. I can’t stand coconut, cinnamon, or raisins. I am okay with coconut milk in soups and curries, but things with actual bits of coconut in them are repulsive.
    
19. I absolutely detest scrapbooking. In fact, the question “do you scrapbook or do you ever see yourself getting into scrapbooking?” will from now on be used to screen all potential dates. Other screening questions are “do you want to have children?” and “how religious are you?” Incorrect answers to those questions are “yes” and “very.”
    
20. Since I am naturally a fast walker, I tend to hate people that walk slowly on city sidewalks during the workday.
    
21. I generally hate malls, or more specifically people that go to malls to just hang out and walk around. I like to have a plan and a focus when I go to a mall so I can get out of there as quickly as possible.
    
22. I have lived in 5 different states and 1 district.
    
23. Speaking of the District of Columbia, I do not like living here. I don’t like most of the people that live here either. DC has a way of changing people, and not for the better.
    
24. Because I don’t like where I currently live, I no longer have family in any place I grew up in, and my family is spread out in different faraway locations, I feel like I don’t have a true home. I think I know where I would like my home to be. Now I just got to make it happen.
    
25. I really want to be happy. I am taking the steps to get there and someday I will find reasons to smile everyday.

Edie Sedgwick, Title Tracks, and Imperial China at the Black Cat

Every year I to dedicate myself to seeing as many concerts as possible.  Since I live within 10 blocks of both the 9:30 Club and the Black Cat, as well as smaller venues the Velvet Lounge and DC9, it is easy for me to see live performances on a regular basis.  However, my aversion to going to shows alone and general laziness usually prevents me from accomplishing this goal.  One of my hopes for this blog is to give me the inspiration to go to shows by myself.  Thus, I decided to check out three DC based bands play at the Black Cat last night: Edie Sedgwick, Title Tracks, and Imperial China.

Some pre-concert notes:

• I spotted Title Tracks enjoying a pre-gig meal at Taco Bell/KFC.  I like them already.
• Pretty diverse crowd in attendance.  There are the usual hipsters, but also some guys that have to be in their 50s and an older woman that was playing The Cure on the jukebox.  I hope I am still going to shows when I am that age.
• Is that Ian MacKaye?  Yes it is.

Edie Sedgwick is the solo project of DC musician Justin Moyer.  Getting his inspiration in name and appearance from the former Andy Warhol groupie and underground film actress, Moyer dresses in drag and wears a short blond wig.  However, he doesn't bother getting rid of his goatee.  Moyer sings and plays keyboards, backed up by an all female band.  Edie Sedgwick's sound had elements of older B-52's and Of Montreal.  The songs are influenced by celebrity, as exhibited by the titles "Sissy Spacek," "Bambi/GW Bush," "Angelina Jolie," "Anthony Perkins," and "Rob Lowe."  The show was entertaining, energetic, and danceable.  Unfortunately, there was a typical DC crowd in attendance and no one was dancing.  Actually, one guy was dancing.  I applaud his courage and/or insanity.

Title Tracks is the new band fronted by former Q and Not U and Georgie James member John Davis.  This four piece outfit performed songs they are recording for their debut album to be released this summer.  Drawing on the influences of Elvis Costello, The Jam, and The Clash, Title Tracks ripped through their set of catchy songs and showed they are definitely a band to watch out for in the coming months.  I really liked Title Tracks and I look forward to seeing them again.  Once again, no one danced to Title Tracks except for the dancing guy.  I am guessing he might dance to anything.

Imperial China is a three piece post-punk band.  Their sound is influenced by bands like Battles, with a little bit of metal and some reggae (at least for one song).  Not all of their songs have lyrics, but the ones that do have vocals reminiscent of DC punk pioneers Fugazi.  I bet Ian MacKaye was proud.  Imperial China displayed sound musicianship and energy.  The crowd was head-nodding in approval throughout their set, which was briefly interrupted by a blown bass drum.  I had moved to the back of the venue during Imperial China's set, so I have no idea if the dancing guy was busting a move.  I bet he was.

Uh-oh! SpaghettiOs!

I made an unwise decision the last time I went grocery shopping.  I decided I was going to purchase SpaghettiOs.  The decision might not seem strange to those that eat SpaghettiOs regularly or have children that enjoy the circular pasta in a can.  However, I have not had SpaghettiOs for at least a decade and during that time it has not crossed my mind to buy or eat them once.  I can only guess that my commitment to eating more vegetarian combined with my desire to have an easy to make meal drove this decision.  What's easier than open can, put contents in pot, heat pot on stove, and serve?

The first problem with buying SpaghettiOs is that it is primarily a product enjoyed by children and stoned college students.  At the age of 34, I do not fit either category.  Nor do I have my own children that I can rationalize buying the product for and then enjoy myself.  The second problem is deciding what kind of SpaghettiOs to buy.  When I reached the shelves of canned pasta products I immediately began looking for the regular variety.  In that spot on the shelf was one can so dented I was shocked its contents had not exploded out the top.  These are the types of products my former grocery store employer would put in a blind grab bag and sell to employees for a couple of bucks.

To the left of the dented can was the "with meatballs" variety.  This type goes against my desire for more vegetarian meals and I was not about to trust the processed meat product of the Campbell Soup Company (author's note - Campbell's bought Franco-American over 90 years ago and it fazed out the Franco-American label over 4 years ago).  To the right was the "shapes" variety, which is just regular SpaghettiOs shaped like cartoon characters instead of rings.  I didn't recognize the cartoon characters, but they were princesses of some sort.  I am guessing it is from some Disney creation.  There was no way I was going to eat princess shaped SpaghettiOs.  That would be creepy on many levels.

That left one variety on the shelf.  SpaghettiOs "with calcium" bothered me for a couple of reasons.  First, SpaghettiOs are in a tomato and cheese sauce.  One would think that the cheese in the sauce would provide adequate calcium.  I began to wonder about the quality of the "cheese" used to make the sauce.  Second, are kids these days getting so little calcium in their diets that there needs to be "with calcium" options for kid-friendly products?  Unfortunately, "with calcium" seemed to be my only choice if I was going to buy SpaghettiOs.

Like Ron Burgundy after he jumped into the bear pit and the last time I ordered a Filet-O-Fish, I immediately regretted the decision.  I decided to eat the SpaghettiOs right away so that I could be rid of it in my apartment.  Thus, I opened up the two cans I bought and started to heat them up on the stove.  I bought two cans because: (1) canned products are getting smaller; and (2) as an adult I felt like I could eat more than I could as a kid.  It was another poor decision on my part.  At least I ate the SpaghettiOs out of a bowl instead of out of the pot.  In an effort to make the meal more palatable, I added some salt and pepper.  That was probably one of the most useless things I have ever done.  Why should I attempt to spice up this mess?  The only thing more useless would have been to add fresh garlic, rosemary, and perhaps some shaved parmesan on top.  Extra cheese would have been pointless.  I was apparently getting extra calcium without it.

Safe to say I didn't feel good about the meal or myself afterward.  It had been over 10 years since I had SpaghettiOs, and in retrospect that was not long enough.  Let's hope the next time I cook up some in a pot it is for a child or a stoned college student. 

Reflections From Starbucks

If you want to get the flavor of a neighborhood in DC, head to the closest Starbucks and observe the customers.  I live in Adams Morgan, a diverse neighborhood that turns into one of the city's busiest nightspots along its 18th Street spine of restaurants, bars, and nightclubs.  Here are my observations of the patrons of two different Starbucks in the general Adams Morgan area on a Saturday morning.

• African cab drivers communing before or after their shifts;
• Homeless men sleeping in the chairs and sofas;
• Gay men coming back from their early morning gym workouts;
• A gaggle of young women wearing the previous night's skinny jeans and Ugg boots;
• Older women talking on cell phones speaking a language I don't recognize;
• Hipsters walking their tiny apartment dogs;
• Lesbians walking their tiny apartment dogs;
• Professionals and students appearing to work on their laptops, but who knows what exactly they are doing;
• Parents with newborns that probably have designer names, owning the latest in stroller technology, and toting the trendiest of diaper bags;
• Young couples in almost matching workout clothes, drinking matching soy lattes, hauling their dry cleaning back to their Pottery Barn filled apartments or condos thinking that their lives are so interesting and important (okay, that is what I'm thinking they're thinking); and
• Me, a lonely middle-aged divorced man living in a crap apartment in a city he doesn't love while working a decent but unfulfilling job.

As I wait for my venti skim no-whip mocha, I can't help but think that I have very little in common with any of these people.

Rudderless

Music has the power to take us to a time, place, and feeling.  I was reminded of this today when I re-purchased the 1992 classic It's A Shame About Ray by The Lemonheads.  Over the years I had either lost, loaned out, or had this disc stolen.  It feels good to have it back.

I was really into the Boston music scene in the early 1990s.  Bands like the Pixies, Buffalo Tom, and Dinosaur Jr were getting heavy rotation in my CD player.  The Lemonheads were getting lots of national music media attention following the release of It's A Shame About Ray.  Evan Dando, the band's leader with a major drug habit, was labelled an "alternahunk."  There was also the "are they a couple" intrigue between Dando and Juliana Hatfield, the former member of the Blake Babies and The Lemonhead's bass player for the album.  More importantly, the album was 13 songs of pure pop perfection.  The songs are filled with longing, desperation, and lost opportunity.  It will always remind me of my first year of college.

I was a first year student at the University of Michigan when the album was released.  While I was academically prepared for the transition from high school to college, I wasn't emotionally or socially prepared.  I was struggling, utterly depressed, and finding solace in alcohol.  I was trying so hard to fit in with my surroundings, but I could not help but feel totally alone in a new state and at a school of 40,000 students.  I was "a ship without a rudder."

Toward the end of that difficult first year, on a clear and crisp April afternoon, I decided to take a walk around Ann Arbor to find some comfort and maybe a few answers.  I pulled on the ubiquitous Patagonia fleece jacket, popped It's A Shame About Ray into my walkman, and soaked in the songs repeatedly while disappearing into the student body.  It was a perfect day in my imperfect year.

As I neared the end of my walk I came across Sarah, a girl from my dorm that I had a massive crush on.  Sarah was pretty, loved R.E.M., and had this smile that melted my heart.  I was completely incapable of talking to her, overcome with my natural shyness.  We once nervously tried to speak to each other at our dorm's mailboxes, but I stumbled over my words so badly I never tried to speak to her again.  She was coming toward me and the lyrics of the song "Confetti" spoke volumes:

He kind of should have sort of would have loved her if he could have

The story's getting closer to the end

He kind of should have sort of would have loved her if he could have

He'd rather be alone than pretend

As we came close to each other our eyes met, we smiled, she nervously began to look away, and I awkwardly gestured hello.  Somehow in that moment I knew at some point I was going to be okay.

It would be a few more years and much darker times before I figured things out for myself, found some confidence, and overcame the depression.  It's A Shame About Ray will always remind me of that day and Sarah.  When I listen to the album now I reflect on that awful time in my life and realize just how far I have come.  That's the power of music and that's what It's A Shame About Ray means to me. 

Welcome!

Some of you might be asking, "Why are you writing a blog?"  It is a great question.  I have been asking myself the same thing.  The short answer is I wanted a forum to express the thoughts that float in and out of my brain, to talk about my adventures in this world, and express my opinions on things that are important to me like music and art.  Besides, it is cheaper than therapy.  I hope this blog becomes equal parts diary, life story, travelogue, and cultural review.  So, my journey in the blogosphere begins.  Thanks for coming along for the ride.