My Big Confession

I've finally acknowledged that it is time for a confession. A big one. The Beatles are officially NOT my favorite band. "What?!" you all cry. "Who is it??" Well, I've decided that choosing a favorite band of all time is not a good idea, as it will make me close-minded to explore the possibilities of loving new bands. And honestly, I really don't listen to The Beatles very much, and haven't for a long time. Although I have acknowledged that fact, I still have always claimed they are my favorite band. No more.

And crazy as I am, I see that Fate would have this be. Haha. I was at the movies a couple weeks ago (Iron Man), and was annoyed as usual by the commercials and continuous cycles of movie pop-quiz questions and such. Honestly, I love a blank screen until the movies start up. And since we pay to get in, I really don't think we should be forced to see commercials by any right. Anyway, one of the questions up on the screen just happened to be: "Who is your favorite band?" The guy next to me read this question aloud and said "Hm, let's see, I think it would have to be...Rush!" As I have been really into this band lately I was very happy by this remark, and turned and replied "I love Rush!" And we started talking about them for a few minutes.

I thought that it was especially cool, since they are not an incredibly popular band (mainstream-wise). Sadly, it seemed like the guy was on a date, so I felt inclined to not chat the boy up too much. Interestingly though, the girl he was with mentioned liking The Beatles, and I felt...a slight hint of disdain for them. Very fleeting, and possibly only because I wanted to talk to him longer and really couldn't because of her. Who knows. I just found it really satisfying that we both really liked a band that wasn't hugely popular, but are hugely talented for sure.

After this little experience, I moved into the Beach House (as I have mentioned), and have just been unpacking the last few days. And guess what got damaged in the move, the only thing? Amazingly enough, all my Beatles albums. No, no, but close. The glass on my Beatles collage was broken. It was sad!

And just yesterday, as I was cleaning out one of my boxes I saw this number written on the side of it:

Okay, now, check out this Rush album cover:

It was a weird sign. But a sign nonetheless. I needed to put the Beatles reign to an end, and acknowledge fully what I am currently obsessed with. Today, it's Rush. And I don't have a favorite band. And The Beatles are not the greatest band in history.

I consider admitting it in this blog a big step to expanding my musical horizons. And just so you know, the other day when someone saw my Yellow Submarine hoodie and said that they loved The Beatles, I withheld my usual "They're my favorite," and just said "Cool, me too." Wow, what a confession.

A View to a Kill

Well, summer is officially here, and I'm actually pretty excited about it. I've moved back to the Beach House, and am near some of my friends again. It's nice to be back.

As far as the job goes, I've actually decided to stick with the same one for the summer, for a few reasons:

1. I hate looking for a job.
2. I hate waiting around to get hired for a job.
3. I hate training for a job.
4. I like having my weekends off, always.

Good enough for me. I do like changes, but not at the expense of too much stress when you are absolutely poor. I am...absolutely poor. Unfortunately, for the first half of the summer I don't have very many hours at all (seriously, only about 25/week). That's what happens when small summer classes end up getting canceled. Bah! Maybe I'll just enjoy it, as I actually have Friday afternoon-Monday completely off. Wow, now that's a weekend!

In other news, the last couple of days I've been at Ali's house watching over her kitty Crash, and her garden, plants, etc. I was really looking forward to a whole week of just bumming around her house while she's in Oregon, but I actually had to come back early due to work starting earlier than expected. While there, I discovered a good reason why she should have someone staying in the house, rather than just having someone come by and check up on things.

So, I awoke Sunday morning to the sound of Crash's jingling bell from his collar as he jumped through the window (he comes in and out as he pleases). I looked up from my sleep to greet him, and he sets down this dead mouse on the floor and starts meowing in a bright and chipper fashion, as though to brag. I was a little horrified by the greeting, but a little amused at the same time by the nature of cats to impress you with their kills.

The next morning, I woke up to the same jingling and looked up to see a dead bird this time. Feathers all over and everything. Definitely gross. But then I thought, maybe this cat likes me if he's trying to impress me with two kills in two days. There is a bright side to everything. And it's a good thing I was there to get those dead animals out of the house.

Here's the culprit:

Anyway, now that I'm back I've got to unload all my stuff into my new room, which is actually really nice because it is usually a shared room, so it is fairly large with it's own spacious bathroom and a walk-in closet. I've always wanted a walk-in closet! Plus, the walls are green, which is my favorite color.

I've thought about planing some weekly or semi-weekly events for the summer, much like the Simpsons Night from a few years ago. Heidi and I also want to organize our own little book club. We'll see how that goes.

Also, I just checked my grades, and am pleasantly surprised to find no C's this semester, and two A's. I got a B- in Physics II just like I hoped for (yeah, I did hope for a B-). My health/motivation/class attendance/whatnot have all pretty much sucked this semester, so, it's a good thing most of my classes were really easy or else who knows what the results may have been. I do have to retake Physics I, since I screwed that class over last semester. I found that the one I was in this semester was actually pretty interesting as we talked about sound waves, electricity/electromagnetism, and optics whereas last semester it was all about calculating applied forces...boring, boring stuff. I actually might read up on optics in my spare time, I've got lots of it for a while :)

Love Bites

Ah, so I was just looking through my pile of junk trying to get organized before I move out and came across the "poem" I wrote for the Def Leppard concert (back in October). Now, I'd never made any kind of a poster to hold up for an event before this time, so I was determined to do so. On my poster, I decided to create a poem strictly out of the song titles of the bands playing at the concert, which were: Foreigner, Styx, and Def Leppard. It actually turned out pretty comprehensible, and I didn't need to add any extra words at all.

Love Bites

The Best of Times Feels Like the First Time. Too Much Time on my Hands, Waiting for a Girl Like You, Girl on the Moon. I Don't Want to Live Without You. Say You Will Show me the Way. See the Lights? Photograph The Grand Illusion. Another Hit and Run When Love and Hate Collide. Double Vision. Hot Blooded Animal Heart Turns to Stone. Heaven Is Two Steps Behind. Too Late for Love.

And on the other side I got a bunch of different shades of lipstick and put my lip prints all over it and drew in fangs for each one. Haha...it was a cool poster. And those who read it appreciated it. I remember I got a cool idea after I made it. There should be magnet poetry with song titles to rock songs. They could package them together with bands that tour together! It would be fun. Okay, I'm a little nuts, and I lost the definitions of the words to my genius themed magnet poetry, so...I'm at a loss.

EZ

I waited until today to do my taxes. Ah, well, at this point in my life they are EZ. Once they become complicated, I'll make my brother Matt do them. Wait, now, Matthew...I mean, I will pay you to do them. Yes... (twittles her fingers in a Mr. Burns-like fashion and laughs maniacally).

Apparently the equipment is down at work today, so I'm just sitting here waiting for it to come back on line. However, since the one student that comes to tonight's class is not here today I'm not too concerned about whether or not the broadcast connection will be re-established. Hmm...the irony is, now it seems that I am getting paid to twittle my fingers and wait, whilst laughing maniacally. I'm not getting paid much for it, though.

I still need to decide where I'm going to live and work for the summer. Alaska seems very doubtful, it was a passing fancy/fantasy. "Who guts fishes in their fantasies?!" you ask. Good point.

Here It Goes

That was absolutely the best concert I've been to! I even went back in to make friends with the security personnel so that I might be able to meet the band, but, alas, they did not linger long. Jim Adkins even said that we were the best crowd on the tour so far! It wasn't fanfare, I know the difference. He even laughed at our enthusiasm at one point and said that he'd like to play for us all night, but that they had to get to Utah for the show that's tonight. And I wanted very much to go to that one too, but Mondays are Mondays...and a Monday crushes all my hopes for happy happenstances.

Paramore also played, as well as an opening band called Dear and the Headlights (also from Mesa, AZ). I was excited to find that Paramore had a female lead singer, as I often bring up the topic of naming good bands with a female lead and can't think of many. Most that come to mind for me happen to only be single artists, and not the lead to an excellent band. So, if anyone has a decent list, I do need some more female vocalists in my collection. Paramore was pretty cool, but I didn't recognize any of their songs, and I noticed that the fanbase was mostly throngs of teenage girls. However, it was the girl-power sort of throng, rather than the swooning over the lead singer type (which in this case would be disturbing rather than annoying/humorous).

Speaking of swooning over the lead singer, I came pretty close to that myself. I loved watching Jim sing and play live, and I rarely took my eyes off of him. I guess from just seeing videos of their live shows, I became pretty familiar with what to expect. I immediately recognized that Jim was wearing his black button-up concert shirt. It's the only shirt I've seen him wear in concert, and I think it's cool that he keeps up the tradition, especially since this shirt invariably becomes absolutely drenched in sweat after each show. And yes, it was very entertaining to watch him transform from being completely dry to completely wet.

Set (as well as memory serves):

Big Casino- Obvious choice for the opener. It's their new hit single, and it has a lot of energy. I think the chorus is really catchy.
Sweetness- One of their biggest hits ever. Everyone has heard this one. It was great to jumpstart the enthusiasm of the crowd.
Work- I like this one, and I gave a good shout for the Futures album.
Crush- I was a little surprised by this choice, but was glad to hear a lesser known song from a lesser known album.
Dizzy- This is my favorite song off of the new album, and I loved seeing it live. They had this green misty light on the whole time which gave off a Great Gatsby vibe. Definitely a highlight to the show.
Just Tonight...- They seemed to downplay the usual intensity of this song. It was kinda a shame, but it was still cool. I love the guitar solo on this one!
A Praise Chorus- Josie likes this song a lot. I think it's fun.
Polaris- This is another of my favorite slower songs of theirs. I was glad that they played it, and gave it a good cheer.
Always Be- This is a pretty catchy track off the new album.
Your New Aesthetic- The only real rocker on Clarity. I like it better than Bleed American.
Let It Happen- That's the first time I've heard the crowd laugh along to a song. This is one of my favorites from the new album.
Pain- High-energy crowd pleaser. A nice rocker from Futures.
Blister- I always skip this track on Clarity because the beginning always startles me with Tom's voice shouting from the start. Ewwh. It's a pretty good song other than that beginning. It's likely that they play this at every show to give Tom a chance to shine, and Jim some time to rest from singing.
Here It Goes- This is such a good dance song. It's got a good message to be yourself and have fun.
Get It Faster- I like the loud and soft transitions on this one a lot. It was at this point that I heard the people around me beginning to comment on how soaked in sweat Jim's shirt was, and I thought it was funny.
Futures- Always cool. I like the lyrics.
Bleed American- The classic rocker. I was getting a little sweaty myself at this point.

Encore:
The Middle- It's certainly a crowd pleaser. I was a little out of energy to fully appreciate it.
Hear You Me- Nice way to end. This is the only song I didn't sing along/lip sync with. I just peacefully enjoyed it. I was surprised at how many people still wave lighters around instead of cell phones. I like lighters. There's something very rock-and-roll about the old-fashioned flames in the air.

Lousy commentary, I know, but I wanted to remember the set, so I typed it up. It was an excellent show!

I also enjoyed getting to see Josie and her family, of course. I saw a potato cellar for the first time, and it reminded me of Scrooge McDuck's vault of coins off of Duck Tales. I'm sure her dad doesn't dive in and take a swim in the potatoes, but...I can't say I didn't imagine it :)