Ultraparadoxical

There is nothing I like better than going to check out some bands play.  Some people prefer tailgating, going out dancing or sitting at home on the couch watching Three’s Company reruns on a Tuesday afternoon to get their “drink on” but, for me, concerts are the best all around drinking pastimes.  The people watching at these events is superb, depending on the style of music the concert goers can range from hipster douche bags to people who look like they would be more at home in a meth lab or a greyhound bus stop.  There are so many options for entertainment.  You can bang around in front of the stage, listen from afar and chill out or get away from everything and have a drink on the concourse or  a cigarette outside.  Everyone is always in a good mood and by the end of the night there are plenty of drunk people doing drunk people things that you can enjoy on the walk out.

I went to a show this weekend and this is my story (actual names withheld to protect the innocent): read more »

For the remainder of December I will be dedicating Top Nine Friday to a “Best of” series for the decade (I know its fucking crazy, the 00’s are over and no flying cars, wtf?) I am going to start with something very close to my heart – the Top Nine Albums. I have pretty much stopped listening to the radio at this point – the shit they play is brutal. I have resorted to combing Amazon, pitchfork.com (read: hipster douchebag), seeing live shows and friends recommendations for all of my tunes. The only time I ever hear the music I like is on commercials and it annoys the shit out of me. It always happens the same way – some indie band that I started liking a few months prior is on a Cadillac or GE commercial – fuck that. I am all for the bands cashing in but it is sad that the best music that we have today is the soundtrack to shitty commercials. *end rant*

Top Nine Albums of the 00’s (In no particular order) read more »

What is it about music that makes people say they are interested in all types and really “don’t like any specific style”?  A guaranteed response from anyone who you ask “What type of music do you like?”, will be, “Nothing specific really, I like everything except maybe X style and Y style of music.”  No other medium is like that.  The question is usually phrased differently if it is posed regarding movies, books or TV shows, however, most people are more reluctant to commit to any specific genre in respect to music.  Most people can’t even come up with a favorite band if you ask them, however, in general people can tell you what their favorite movie is without a problem.  Are people’s musical tastes much more all inclusive than any other medium or is it that most are reluctant to be included into a social category that certain musical tastes connote? read more »