I don’t know why, but these seems to me like an idea that would suit OK Go remarkably well: Write and record a song, then hand all of the individual instrumental and vocal tracks to 12 different producers. Don’t give them any direction beyond “Do what that wilt shall be the whole of the Law.” Go ahead and work with them, re-record stuff if needs must, but make sure all the producers are working completely sepearately from each other. Then, voila, a new OK Go album made up of 12 versions of the same song produced by 12 different producers. Is it just me, or does that seem like an OK Go kind of thing?
Author: Ridley
I’m certain there’s a word for it…
The sense of horror one gets when witnessing from afar a tragedy unfolding but being unable to either avert the disaster or to even warn the soon-to-be-victiims of what the certain doom which approaches. From your office window, you see the train and the car stalled on the tracks. In cinematic slow motion, it dawns on you that the crash is inevitable and you have no time or means to alert the engineer nor to signal to the driver whose car straddles the rails. Even though it has yet to happen, it will, as certain as the rising of the sun. Which is to say, my family, rabid supporters of the Three Lions, taped the England-Uruguay match and implored me to keep the result to myself.
Brill Bruisers
I adore power pop music. All the way from Badfinger to Squeeze to Matthew Sweet up to the New Pornographers, give me a good pop melody and some crunchy guitars and I’m a happy fellow. So, not only am I thrilled to see that there’s a new NewPo’s album on the way, but I’m delighted that Carl Newman had this to say about it: “We wanted Xanadu and we wanted Sigue Sigue Sputnik, which translated into sparklier and faster [music].” The interactive video for the first single is the most fun I’ve had with video since Devo’s “What We Do.” I thought someday I’d grow out of being excited by the prospect of a new album, and maybe someday I will, but I’m nowhere near that point now.
Talking To My 20-something Self About Elliot Rodgers
I’m not feeling well today, so please bear with me as I try to work through this. I’m hesitant to say too much about the Elliot Rodgers massacre because I know so little about it and I don’t want to be one of those people that sees a tragedy and immediately claims with certainty that the cause of the tragedy was whatever axe the writer has to grind. Obviously, I wasn’t Elliot Rodgers or anything like him. I will say, though,that there are aspects of the story that sound uncomfortably familiar to me. At Elliot’s age, I too was awkward, single, and miserable about being both of those. I felt I was “friend zoned” before that was a common expression, that women always went for guys who were jerks, and that there must have been something wrong with me because being “who I was” wasn’t working. It was a pretty lousy time, and I suspect it was a pretty lousy time to be the object of my affection as well. So, what I’d like to do is to try to lay out the advice I wish I’d been given (or, rather, wish I’d had the wisdom to hear). This may not paint me in the most flattering light; hindsight may be accurate, but it isn’t always fun. The first thing I’d say is to be honest about your intentions. If you’re romantically interested in a woman, don’t try to hide that from her. Back when I was your age (or, in this case, you), I’d get a crush on a woman and try to be so good to her that she’d just fall in love with me. That way, I didn’t have to put myself out there if she didn’t feel the same way. Of course, it also meant that she has no clue how I felt. I was building up this relationship up in my head, making it a huge thing that would break me in two when it didn’t work out. It was a bullshit thing to do. While I was busy trying to be super nice, some other guy would actually ask her out and she would often go along with it. I felt so betrayed, as if she was rejecting me. In reality, I’d never even taken the first step of letting her know I was interested. So, seriously, that’s step one: Be honest. She deserves the opportunity to respond to your true intentions. The second one is tougher because it’s a lot easier to see in the rear view mirror: Rejection isn’t the end of the world. It only seemed like it because it the entire relationship was taking place in my head. It’s so much less painful if you’re up-front. I’ve managed to remain friends with plenty of women who weren’t interested in dating me because we started out from an place of honesty. Once they decided they weren’t interested, then I could choose to either be friends, or if I felt I couldn’t do that, then cut things off. The next one is related to that last: If she says she’s not interested, respect that. Don’t pretend to be a friend while harboring a secret crush. Either be a real friend or get out of Dodge. This one’s much, much harder than it sounds, and I’m not going to pretend like I’ve ever completely mastered it, but it will save everyone involved a lot of heartache. This is probably something that needs to be said to all teens and twenty-somethings, and they probably won’t really take it to heart, but here goes: You are not alone. There’s nothing unique about your awkwardness, your loneliness, your sense that something’s “wrong” with you. Maybe the existence of the internet alleviates this a little, maybe not. But no matter how utterly alone you feel, and you will feel that way sometimes, it isn’t just you who is struggling with these things. Finally, and I’m embarrassed to have to bring this up, but there is no method, no trick, no magic to getting a woman interested. Manipulation is no way to start a relationship, and it’s a horrible, disrespectful way to treat someone. Even if it worked (and thank goodness it doesn’t), that’s not how you treat someone you want to have as your partner. In short, she’s not with the other guy because he’s a jerk and she’s not rejecting you because you’re too “nice.” I get where that internal narrative comes from, but it’s a fantasy I created to try to make sense of a lot of frustration. I really do get it. But it’s not true, and a huge source of your disappointment is due to looking at it through this lens. She’s her own person, and if you don’t treat like one, you’re going to be miserable for a long time. That’s about it. I wish someone had told me this stuff. Of course, maybe they did and I just didn’t listen. Knowing the twenty-something me, that sounds pretty likely.
Hello. Hello again.
I’ve recently ported a stack of entries over from another blog. They fit here better, anyway. Long story short, Blogger is not good and I’m not nearly as certain about Google.
Nearby Library Doing Good
This: http://www.lynn.edu/about-lynn/news-and-events/news/lynn-university2019s-new-library-director-sees-libraries-as-evolving-to-meet-the-needs-of-public I’m pleased to see a library that isn’t trying to make a last, futile stand against the future. Libraries are about making information public, and the internet should be an amazing tool for them. Sadly, they don’t all see it that way.
1 October, 2013
This is an ugly feeling. There was a coworker of mine who was recently let go. I suspect strongly that they feel that I was involved in, if not responsible for, the decision to let them go. I can understand why they would think that, but it isn’t accurate. I stuck my neck out for them for months and delayed the act as long as I was able given my limited influence. But…there’s no way I’m going to throw my teammates and employers under the bus to explain what really happened. There’s no possible good outcome there. So, I’ll just impotently recount the events as vaguely as I can and let myself be seen as the bad guy. I’ve done plenty of bad things, but this isn’t one of ’em. I know this wasn’t especially interesting, but I just needed to say it. I’ll try to get back to business tomorrow.
30 September, 2013
It’s been a bit of time since the last post and for that I apologize. I’ve been struggling with re-arranging my online pressence and wound up neglecting this space. I’ll aim to correct that, but no promises for the immediate future. Two of the last three night, I’ve been plagued by dreams involving my sister and her being lost or abducted. In each case, it was my fault. I don’t know why, but in the dream, I felt guilty about it. Both mornings, I woke up feeling nauseated, unrested, and generally terrible. I’m sure there’s a reason for it. I’ve no clue what it might be. I’m ready for this to stop.
9 September, 2013
Really, all I want is to live someplace nice, to be able to work at a job I don’t hate and can leave at the office when I go home, and to have Beautiful Girlfriend (in theory, by that time, Beautiful Wife) with me. That’s really it. Anything else is lily-gilding. This date used to carry a great deal of significance for me. Now? I can’t even remember what it felt like to be that person thirteen years ago. Funny old world, innit?
8 September, 2013
Lord I’m boring when I’m not feeling well. I can’t taste anything, I don’t have any energy, and I can’t think about more than one thing at a time (and that’s the best case scenario). It’s gray outside, the cashflow isn’t great, and I’m already dreading work. Great way to spend a weekend, huh? I need a vacation. It’s been…I don’t know how long. I went to Florida with Beautiful Girlfriend last year, and we did a quick trip to the beach. Neither of those were particularly relaxing. I guess, for the most part, vacations aren’t. I’m doing a quick inventory of all vacations going back to childhood and the moment they get stuck with expectations, it’s over. I need to sit down with a Calvin and Hobbes anthology for a few hours.