I don't often quote myself but on the morning of July 12th I awoke and found a news article on The Ramones Family Retrospective Facebook page about Tommy Ramone's death and posted this status update:
"If your legacy was that you in were the greatest American rock 'n roll band then I think you did all right. Goodbye, Tommy, the last Ramone standing."
People "Liked" my comment because it was something that resonated with them. One dude made a comment about another band, Grand Funk Railroad, possibly holding the title of "greatest American rock 'n roll band" but for me it's a no-brainer.
Their hometown, New York City, is my idea of the quintessential American city: culturally fragmented yet somehow unified, capitalistic, and burgeoning with possibility and pain. There wasn't a single ideology represented by the Ramones. There wasn't an activist spirit. They didn't write an advice column. They didn't ask you to identify with them. They just said what was going on.
Sometimes they wanted to pick up chicks in school. Sometimes they wanted to go to the beach. Sometimes they wanted to hock their stuff for heroin. Sometimes they fucked dudes for money but would kill you if you questioned their sexuality. They were a bunch of reprobates doing something that is purely American: playing rock n' roll for fun. F-U-N
They played a Trashmen cover. They played a Rivieras cover. They played a Ronettes cover. They were uniquely positioned in that they were able to take dashes of the speed and pop sensibilities of early rock, the energy of garage rock, and fragments of America's psychotronic cultural history without being hippies, without being ironic, and without popular approval. They set the stage for a hundred thousand bands that learned to reduce rock down to it's necessary components and shoot from the hip but none of there followers ever seemed to make you want to clap your hands and dance like they did.
To me, that's America. We struggle with racism, sexism, homophobia, drug abuse, homelessness, war, a growing police state and all sorts of absolutely fucked up things but, goddamnit, we know how to have a good time even at our own expense. Let's face it, sniffing glue is a pretty terrible idea but if you know how to write a catchy song about it I'll play that shit loud enough to shake a grave.
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
I Hope They All Die
** Even though I have read all of the books in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series that have been released up until this point I am going restrict any commentary on the subject in this or any future possible blog entries to events chronicled on the show "Game of Thrones." This decision is based on two things 1) more people are familiar with the television series than the novels and 2) they change things in the adaptation, often dramatically so. **
Excluding the dozen or so characters in the GOT world that I loved who have been murdered, mortally wounded in battle, or executed so far none of my favorite characters are dead. This primarily means the characters that, like most fans, I have latched on to early in both the books and the show: Tyrion, Arya, Danaerys, and Jon Snow. Likewise, less likable characters but still highly intriguing characters like Petyr Baelish, Varys, and the whole Lannister clan have also escaped death. I guess it's because I'm so engrossed by the richness and thoroughness of their characterization that I find myself so emotionally attached to Stannis and the Hound but it's great that a reader and viewer can care about what happens to them.
It's because of this love of these characters that I can't wait to see them die. Of course I have my own questions about each and every character (will Bran ride a dragon? will we find out about Jon's true parentage?) but the fact that they all are in constant peril excites me. Danaerys, is one of the most popular characters; she's certainly the one fans want to see amass even greater power. Now imagine what drama, what emotion would be pulled from fans if she died. George R. R. Martin creates the most spectacular, imaginative deaths for his characters and if he were to kill off Dany that it would have to be the most shocking and narratively significant event in all of the ASOIAF universe.
Of course it would be met with fan outrage. That's the point! OUTRAGE. It would be so emotionally jarring that readers would feel like they've lost a friend and hero. I cried while both reading, and years later viewing, the execution of Ned Stark. As an artist who hopes to create an emotional experience with my audience I truly admire and respect the audacity of a writer like Martin who would be willing to put both the lives of his characters and the hearts of his fans in peril.
Monday, May 5, 2014
Star Wars de Mayo
Holidays are made up anyway so I don't know why this one should mean anything to me but I don't celebrate "Star Wars Day." Not on May the 4th anyway. "STAR WARS" came out on May 25, 1977 so I celebrate on that day. At least I did up until 7 years ago.
On May 25, 2007 my friend Blake and I decided we would watch ALL SIX MOVIES in one day. Not in one sitting because this was back when I smoked pot so we had to take a burrito break between trilogies. But regardless, we watched all six in one day.
This was an all-around terrible decision. Not only did it further entrench our displeasure with the so-called prequel trilogy but it really made watching the original trilogy a chore. After 7 and half hours of awful shit we weren't able to slip into that nostalgic pleasure that is brought on by watching those movies. It was a mind-numbing, brutal experience and I haven't watched a "STAR WARS" movie since then. Why would I? Even if I could I wouldn't be able to watch the original trilogy on Blu-ray so it means that I have to except an inferior experience no matter what.
On May 25, 2007 my friend Blake and I decided we would watch ALL SIX MOVIES in one day. Not in one sitting because this was back when I smoked pot so we had to take a burrito break between trilogies. But regardless, we watched all six in one day.
This was an all-around terrible decision. Not only did it further entrench our displeasure with the so-called prequel trilogy but it really made watching the original trilogy a chore. After 7 and half hours of awful shit we weren't able to slip into that nostalgic pleasure that is brought on by watching those movies. It was a mind-numbing, brutal experience and I haven't watched a "STAR WARS" movie since then. Why would I? Even if I could I wouldn't be able to watch the original trilogy on Blu-ray so it means that I have to except an inferior experience no matter what.
Friday, May 2, 2014
Screw That Guy
I had this one friend who killed himself a few years ago. He hanged himself (pictures are hung, humans are hanged). On the day his divorce was finalized he placed a bolt into the archway leading from his dining room to his kitchen, tied a noose to it, and hanged himself with his dog watching. Friends found him the next day when he didn't report into work. The most awkward moment of my life was when I met up with his elderly mom a couple of days later at his house and she asked, "is this where Shawn hung himself?" I let the grammatical error slide.
That's all fucked up. Leaving all that emotional baggage to his ex, not letting anyone know that his dog would need to be fed. And perhaps worst of all was that he was this mega collector with awesome stuff and a pile of debt that he left his mom to deal with. All she had in her life was her son and he traded her that for some dumb shit. As it turns out two months later she got a heat stroke in one of his storage spaces, fell and knocked her head and died. The last time I saw her alive was when she was on the front row of his memorial service and I spoke about missing my friend.
This dude was like my big brother and I haven't forgiven him for killing himself and leaving things the way he did. I hope I can some day but here we are, over 3 years later, and I still get pissed. When folks post on Facebook how much they miss him and their conversations and whatnot I feel disconnected from that person. Maybe it's a flaw on my part, I don't know. But this is the first time I've publicly shared these feelings with anyone and since no one reads my blog anyway I figured I would get it out there.
That stupid fucker would have loved "Drive" and the last two seasons of "Breaking Bad." The dog found a new home.
That's all fucked up. Leaving all that emotional baggage to his ex, not letting anyone know that his dog would need to be fed. And perhaps worst of all was that he was this mega collector with awesome stuff and a pile of debt that he left his mom to deal with. All she had in her life was her son and he traded her that for some dumb shit. As it turns out two months later she got a heat stroke in one of his storage spaces, fell and knocked her head and died. The last time I saw her alive was when she was on the front row of his memorial service and I spoke about missing my friend.
This dude was like my big brother and I haven't forgiven him for killing himself and leaving things the way he did. I hope I can some day but here we are, over 3 years later, and I still get pissed. When folks post on Facebook how much they miss him and their conversations and whatnot I feel disconnected from that person. Maybe it's a flaw on my part, I don't know. But this is the first time I've publicly shared these feelings with anyone and since no one reads my blog anyway I figured I would get it out there.
That stupid fucker would have loved "Drive" and the last two seasons of "Breaking Bad." The dog found a new home.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
They Throw Everything At Him
A friend once asked me for some advice on a script she was developing about a professional wrestler. She wasn't interested in the "hows" of professional wrestling, such as "how does one become a wrestler" or "what is the thought process when creating the unusual art that is professional wrestling?" Her line of questioning focused more on "who becomes a wrestler" and more importantly "why does a person become a wrestler?"
Clearly that answer is unique to each individual involved and as you can imagine everyone in our industry is a bit of an odd bird. I sometimes joke that the people in wrestling range from the unique to the mentally ill. Though involvement may sometimes be for the wrong reasons almost all of us do it because we simply feel like we have to.
There is a unique experience that comes from professional wrestling that is found in no other art form that I know. There is the ballet-like expression of human emotion through physical movement, there is improvisation interwoven through conspired melodies like jazz. But to combine them into one form with a beautiful, sometimes malevolent, intention of manipulating people into states of cathartic fury is unlike any other I've seen.
Though she had seen the film already I advised her to watch Darren Aranofsky's The Wrestler. Though it does illustrate a darker side of professional wrestling, the side of drugs and damaged relationships, it also shows the kind of personality that thrives in that business. Due to it's numerous allusions to the Jesus story I sometimes call the film "The Passion of the Ram." Randy "The Ram's" side is pierced in his match against Necro Butcher, he has a messianic pathology that leads him to sacrifice everything for the enjoyment of his fans, and eschewed by society and scourged in the ring. A direct comparison is even made by the character Cassidy who quotes the Bible by way of the film The Passion of the Christ:
"He was pierced for our
transgressions, He was crushed for
our iniquities. The punishment that
brought us peace was upon Him, and
by His wounds we were healed."
It is as if the sacrificial lamb has reached full adulthood and has become The Ram. I know that my involvement in wrestling makes me predisposed to enjoying this film but I'd advise you to look up Penn Jillette's "Penn Points" in which he reviews this movie. He is an artist with whom I have great admiration and I think his time as a performer gives him a special understanding of the picture.
I've heard many criticisms of our "sport" and consider myself an ambassador for our business. My character, my "gimmick" if you will, is "The Voice of Reason" because it is a reflection of who I am in real life. I do not believe in supernatural powers and am an advocate for science and skepticism. I do not use drugs or alcohol because, as a human, I am already driven by enough irrational thinking and I feel that as person of some minor influence (particularly to children) that I should demonstrate that toughness is more than just physical.
Clearly that answer is unique to each individual involved and as you can imagine everyone in our industry is a bit of an odd bird. I sometimes joke that the people in wrestling range from the unique to the mentally ill. Though involvement may sometimes be for the wrong reasons almost all of us do it because we simply feel like we have to.
There is a unique experience that comes from professional wrestling that is found in no other art form that I know. There is the ballet-like expression of human emotion through physical movement, there is improvisation interwoven through conspired melodies like jazz. But to combine them into one form with a beautiful, sometimes malevolent, intention of manipulating people into states of cathartic fury is unlike any other I've seen.
Though she had seen the film already I advised her to watch Darren Aranofsky's The Wrestler. Though it does illustrate a darker side of professional wrestling, the side of drugs and damaged relationships, it also shows the kind of personality that thrives in that business. Due to it's numerous allusions to the Jesus story I sometimes call the film "The Passion of the Ram." Randy "The Ram's" side is pierced in his match against Necro Butcher, he has a messianic pathology that leads him to sacrifice everything for the enjoyment of his fans, and eschewed by society and scourged in the ring. A direct comparison is even made by the character Cassidy who quotes the Bible by way of the film The Passion of the Christ:
"He was pierced for our
transgressions, He was crushed for
our iniquities. The punishment that
brought us peace was upon Him, and
by His wounds we were healed."
It is as if the sacrificial lamb has reached full adulthood and has become The Ram. I know that my involvement in wrestling makes me predisposed to enjoying this film but I'd advise you to look up Penn Jillette's "Penn Points" in which he reviews this movie. He is an artist with whom I have great admiration and I think his time as a performer gives him a special understanding of the picture.
I've heard many criticisms of our "sport" and consider myself an ambassador for our business. My character, my "gimmick" if you will, is "The Voice of Reason" because it is a reflection of who I am in real life. I do not believe in supernatural powers and am an advocate for science and skepticism. I do not use drugs or alcohol because, as a human, I am already driven by enough irrational thinking and I feel that as person of some minor influence (particularly to children) that I should demonstrate that toughness is more than just physical.
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