Dear Jane

Why are you so unmotivated to run and practice piano, want to eat everything in and out of sight, want to sit and read books and generally do nothing?

Guess what?  It’s Tuesday tomorrow and it’s back to work after a nice long weekend so suck it up.

Also, piano exam in a week.  Suck that up too.

Also, you’re getting fat.  Stop eating and start running.

Oh yeah.  Go power yoga Tuesdays.

And good job with the writing.  At least you’re writing.

Love, your brain.

Musical Bucket List … of sorts

I’m bored… can you tell?

Bands I’ve Seen And Liked

• Muse
• Three Days Grace
• Marianas Trench
• Faber Drive
• 30 Seconds To Mars
• All American Rejects
• OneRepublic

The Ones I Would See Again

• Three Days Grace
• Marianas Trench
• OneRepublic

Bands I’ve Seen And Didn’t Like

• The Used – sorry Bert but I still love your S/T album and In Love and Death
• Finger Eleven – love the music but I was very confused

Bands I Want To See Before I Die

• HIM
• Breaking Benjamin
• Jimmy Eat World
• Green Day
• Lostprophets
• My Chemical Romance
• Social Code
• Sugarcult
• Matchbook Romance

Bands I Wish I Could Have Seen But Will Probably Never See

• Armor For Sleep
• Fall Out Boy
• Blink 182
• Finch

I made a list of bands.  How lame is that?

All salted out

I realize that that is possibly the lamest title I have ever had the misfortune to come up with.  But it’s relevant, I promise.  I went looking for snacks after lunch (I ran out of fruit at home and eating two asian pears in one day just didn’t seem right… and I now have this really bad habit of eating 2-3 fruits a day.  I guess it’s a good habit but it becomes bad when it makes me run to the grocery store for emergency trips.)  So I went to the grocery store, picked up a banana (yes, one…), a bag of pistachios and pocky sticks.  I know the pocky isn’t healthy, leave me alone.  Anyways, I guess the long-ass-winded point is that I walked around and looked at chips and stuff and didn’t want any salty snacks.  And if you know me, I love love love my chips and crackers.

I guess it comes from the past couple of days… I bought a bag of ruffles barbeque chips yesterday at food basics.  Bad, I know, but I was craving chips and I haven’t had those in forever.  I’ve eaten the whole bag now… but my first taste of it was that it was really, really salty.  Like who dumped an entire box of salt in my chips salty.  I guess I got weaned off salty since recently, with me being all diet conscious and watching what I eat, even my chips and crackers have been the organic, less than 5 ingredient kind, so there’s not quite as much salt.  Anyways, I ate them because I wanted to eat (I’m kind of like that… that’s really why I don’t lose weight) but not necessarily because I liked them.  Which is a first… I used to be addicted to those things.  Well, good to know.

Anyways, so I bought no-salt pistachios since from my most recent recollection of buying the salted version… those were salty.  So non-salted it is… we’ll see how this goes.  I guess I can sprinkle on my own salt if I need to but we all know I’m too lazy for that.  Pistachios are healthy right?  They’re supposed to have lots of good fiber and minerals and stuff.  Geez that saturated fat content though… YIKES! 

Also, I was going to try and go for a run today.  It got downgraded to a light run when I woke up and my left calf and right ankle told me they hated me and that I”m an idiot for doing Plyo on Wednesday and running 4 miles with 4 hills yesterday.  So I figured I’d just jog lightly on the flat part of Keats and maybe part of fischer hallman and not try and time myself… really, just run 2 miles-ish, whatever I felt like.

Then the weather started getting dark and I checked the weather network and apparently it’s supposed to thunderstorm.  I think anyone who knows me knows that I hate… absolutely hate… thunderstorms.  So possibly nix on the run now.  Not sure what to do for exercise anymore.  Go for a walk at the mall, maybe.  LOL.  But I’m possibly picking up a new acoustic this weekend so I really don’t have the money to spend.  Go me.

I think I wanted to blog about something else to but I can’t remember what for the life of me so meh.

You know what sucks?

Listening back to songs you wrote with a band and realizing that they were really, really, fucking good.  And then realizing that that particular combination won’t happen again due to the loss of a member. 

What’s cool though, is listening back to songs that you wrote and realizing that it’s actually really, really good.  Hey, maybe I do have some talent.  Some.

Dear weather:

Why is it that on every day I had planned to run this week, you think it’s a good idea to have a thunderstorm, a 90% chance of rain or winds above 20km/h against me when I’m running up that hill better known as Westmount Road?  Do you hate me?  Is this a sign that I should stop running?  Look, there’s 7 days in a week.  I’m asking for 3 nice, sunny… scratch that, it doesn’t even have to be sunny.  Overcast is fine too.  3 nice, sunny or overcast, not so windy days.  And look, I’m not too picky about which days.  But I like my long runs on Friday or Saturday and I need good weather for those.  I realize it’s my fault for scheduling piano on Friday this week, pushing my long run to Saturday.  But it’s the weekend.  Couldn’t you just be nice?

More band ranting

Okay, I get it, I’m only in Band C because I happen to be able to write lyrics quickly (although not necessarily well), I own recording crap and I’m willing to just do whatever and go with the flow.  But really, this is getting out of hand.  The whole pop punk thing was my thing a long ass time before this band existed – why is it that suddenly everyone wants to write a fucking pop punk song.  Also, I wrote the one night stand song.  Stop copying my fucking song ideas.  Sure, you say it’s a tribute but really.

Also, if you want to harmonize, learn to sing together and learn to project.  Okay, I won’t lie.  Both singers sing better than me and probably project better.  A LOT better.  So why do I feel like the vocals add nothing to the band?  Oh yeah, that’s my other issue with the whole pop punk in Band C thing.  Neither singer sings like that – one is broadway-ish and the other is folk-ish.  And the vocals don’t mesh.  They DON’T MESH.  Why?  I couldn’t tell you.  Besides which, it’s not my job to tell you.  I just stand in the corner and play some random shit anyways.

And please stop being the grammar police on my lyrics.  It’s a song, not my latest business valuations report.  I’m pretty upfront about this.  I WILL BUTCHER GRAMMER to make the line fit. 

Also, stop being a diva.  I want to get into the hall, practice and get out.  Smoke breaks make me want to gag more than usual and the hall already smells like ass. 

And about Band A.  I know we don’t have a singer, but I don’t want to turn it into an industrial band writing music I don’t give a shit about.  I also have no interest in you putting Singer A from Band C into Band A as a backup singer.  Working with said singer in ONE band is quite enough for me.  I don’t want any more random harmonizing… not in Band A.  And besides, then Band A will turn into another soft band and honestly, I don’t really like that kind of music.

So maybe I”m narrow minded and really picky and just too passive aggressive.  But really, it’s all getting on my nerves.  Did I say how much I don’t actually like the music Band C writes?  At least, most of it.  Something’s off and it’s not the drummer because he’s fucking fantastic.  Maybe it’s the lack of oomph?  I don’t know.  I get that a lot of people will probably like it because it’s all pretty and non-edgy and easy on the ears.  But really.

Or maybe I just have issues.  Who knows.

Being Different

I think that I’ve known this for awhile but I think (occasionally) that I’m hanging out with the wrong people.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the friends that I have in Waterloo and they’re great people, but I don’t have very many close friends because we’re so different.  As much time as I spend playing in bands and doing band stuff, I’m an accountant and I exhibit a lot of the traits of an accountant, despite my occasional disdain for my career. 

I like my schedules and plans and I don’t deal well with lateness – at least when it’s more than 5, maybe 10 minutes.  I also am not a bar person – I tried it for a bit and enjoyed going occasionally but I’ve found that I’m happier at home with a book… or watching Gossip Girl.  Yeah, I’m a dork.  My idea of fun is shopping.  I have an obsession with lululemon and gym clothes in general – I know, I’m strange.

Also, I can’t deal with people who make promises with absolutely no intention of keeping them.  Sure you’ll help me clean up after the party.  Uh huh.  That’s pretty typical – Promises and nothing.

I was going to write more but I’m busy watching Gossip Girl alone on my bed.  I like things this way sometimes.

Random Things…

So I guess I haven’t actually written anything in a bit.  Because I’m a grumpy bear these days, I figured I’d write a post of really annoying things.

• Construction in KW: I know, shocking.  First they dug up Erb.  Then that intersection at Courtland/Queen (and/or Courtland/Benton)… multiple times.  Now Columbia.  Of course, we all complain when the roads suck and we also complain when the roads are closed for construction.  But who decided that the best time to redo Columbia (which runs north of UWaterloo) would be when school was back in session? 
• Cyclists going the wrong way: I love cyclists, really.  Except… those arrows on the road… they apply to you too.  I’m not looking for cars or cyclists to come at me when I’m on the right side of the road.  It’s fine if I’m on a straight road; usually I can see you then.  But if I’m behind the ginormous SUV or turning around a semi-blind corner… good news… you’re not that big… I can’t see you.  Plus, cyclists are on the road.  There are arrows on the road.  Follow the rules.
• People being late: I get being 5-10 minutes late.  I’m always 5-10 minutes late.  But 2 hours?  Next!
• Really loud music: I know, totally counter-intuitive for a musician.  But jesus, I already have tinnitus.  Let’s not add to it.  And if my ears actually hurt… physically… you’re way beyond loud.  Oh yeah, the tinnitus is driving me crazy.  No wonder I’m officially totally mental now.  Can I just blame all of my life’s problems on it?  Maybe that’s why I can’t get this CBV thing.
• Impatient people: I’m not going to lie… hi pot, I’m kettle. 

I totally just blanked out on the awesome ones I had.  No, it wasn’t the geese in Waterloo.  I think I already wrote a post about that.  Blargh.

Bah… things that begin with B

Why is running a band such a pain?   I see now why I’ve never put one together successfully… I’m impatient and I expect that when people tell me something, it’s a fact.  *breathes*  Apparently I think I need more yoga lessons or something.

Maybe meditation will help. 

My brain doesn’t work either.  That starts with a B, right?

Stereos Boys

So this band called the Stereos are playing at Beat Rocks the Block and I’ve seen pictures of them so I figured I’d check them out… they might be interesting.  I mean, I love lots of pop/rock type music… including many bands that seem like boy band – pop/rock/punk band mashups (see: marianas trench, all american rejects, fall out boy… oh wow… I’m totally showing my blond roots here.)

Oh boy… the incongruity of seeing 5 guys with tattoos who look kind of like emo dudes singing justin timberlake type stuff… wow.  That’s something else altogether and totally unexpected.  It’s not terrible, kind of cliche music and nothing terribly special… their beats are kind of typical, nothing special.  The melodies are kind of normal.  The lyrics are kind of cliche.  Usually when I like boy band – pop/rock band mashups, there’s something… marianas trench writes amazing lyrics (usually… please ign0re shaketramp and cross my heart) and have catchy hooks, all american rejects have amazing hooks and fall out boy have amazing hooks too and some cool lyrics.  Not to say that the stereos were terrible necessarily… but… wait, yeah they weren’t too hot.

They kind of reminded me of metro station although the live vids I checked out on youtube indicated that despite the autotuning in summer girl, it was at least mostly for effect because they didn’t seem too terrible live.  OTOH, I loved shake it but hated metro station once I saw a video of one of their live performances.  Holy hell Trace Cyrus CANNOT sing… wow.  Kind of sings like me, actually… except I don’t claim to be able to sing.  Mason Musso was at least better.  Actually, their whole performance of shake it was just weird, it was so bad that I actually remember watching it… I youtube so many bands that only the great and really sucky stuff stick out.  Anyways, I think Trace was singing every line twice like he was trying to be his own echo… and both times they sounded like echos because he sang them both in that almost-falsetto-kind-of-wimpy voice… it was weird.

I’ll stop band bashing now.  I still think shake it is an awesomely catchy song… just… don’t check out metro station live… in video or in person.  Just enjoy the fact that shake it is catchy and kind of fun to sing along and zumba to.  And the stereos aren’t too terrible I guess, just not my cup of tea.

But I like boy band – pop/rock band mashups… so maybe you should ignore me.