Fillings and Shit

God fucking damn it! Today I had to get some fillings because my teeth are weak (or bad oral hygiene, but my oral hygiene is average at worst). Anyway, it took four syringes of Novocaine before the dentist was convinced that my mouth was fine. The result was drool all over my face, me speaking like someone with an extra Y-chromosome, and BLINDING FUCKING PAIN when the dentist put the drill in my tooth.

The pain was really intense. But the dentist said that it was partly mental. It wasn't. I'm something of a man of science, a scienced-ologist if you will, so I don't really believe in physical pain being mental. The pain was from the drill screeching into my tooth nerve. But her saying that got me thinking, maybe it wasn't the pain that made me want to kill everyone around me today. Maybe it's the searing boredom. Long Island offers me very little these days, and I just can't wait to be gone.

You know what, that's probably the SEARING PAIN talking.

RIP Steve Foley

I don't know how regularly I'll publish things like this, but I think this is an important guy to talk about.

Steve Foley passed away this weekend in Minneapolis.

Foley was the drummer for the Replacements after original drummer Chris Mars quit the band. His tenure with the band was brief, and produced no recorded output, but he was undeniably a part of one of the most important bands in modern rock history.

I'd imagine that most readers of this blog are already fairly familiar with the Replacements, but in the event that you aren't, get yourself familiar with them. Pretty much every band I listen to post-1984 owes a debt to the 'Mats.

Rest in peace Mr. Foley.

Janice Dickinson: What an Awful Thing for Everything

I may not be everyone's image of a feminist, but I like to think of myself as part of the solution when it comes to sexuality equality. Yeah, a bearded dude with a gut is one of many faces of feminism. Deal with that sexists! Anyway, two years at Emerson College has had one major impact on me, and that is that I view pretty much everything from the feminist stand point (in that I analyze most media in terms of sex and gender.)

This brings me to my next diatribe. What the fuck is the Oxygen Network (a network that, if I am not mistaken, is specifically geared towards women[which is a whole other sexual issue]) doing with The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency?

For those who are not as well-informed in the area of former stars sucking the last drops of fame juice from the fame tree as I am, Janice Dickinson was "The World's first super model." She as abused as a Child, and instead of rising above it, she went headlong into the world of fame; promiscuous, unprotected sex with multiple partners; and cocaine (I'm not sure on this, but we can assume it's true). She got herself knocked up, and had just assumed the father was Sylvester Stallone, but was proven wrong by a paternity test. But all of this is really just personal garbage that really isn't of any import to me or my women's equality.

What is important, is that she was a model. At some point in her life she realized that looks was where she had it. Okay, part of how this world works is getting paid for your assets, that is true for both men and women. No harm, no foul. But as a supermodel, she is at least partly responsible for the world we live in now where women (and to a lesser extent men) are forced to compare themselves on a daily basis to the most fantastic looking of their kind. At best, that shows a lack of real understanding of the impact of her decisions, at worst, she doesn't care (she probably doesn't care).

And then, there's her current face. The woman is pushing 60 years old and obviously fears it. Her lips are clearly enhanced, as are her breasts and most of the rest of her. Her face is expressionless and taut like a sail caught in a draft or some such thing, and she behaves like a prima donna. Her image and behavior resist the natural aging process, telling us that beauty is a trait more desirable than any other.

Is it fair of me to pick on one woman, perhaps not. Many women are guilty of similar behavior, but none of them have a TV show, which leads me to the next half of this screed.

Modeling is an industry that commodifies beauty, then uses beauty (which you either have or not) to convince other people to try and become more beautiful. It's a money thing, you're all smart enough to know it. The participants are reduced to hunks of beauty, and there is no doubt that this has a more serious (and dangerous) impact on women.

So why does Oxygen give this woman a platform to relay this message? This doubtlessly sets back any chance at sexual equality. Sure, there are male models involved, but that might just point to the fact that the idea of modeling should be reconsidered in its entirety. Anyway, Janice Dickinson's modeling agency seems anti-feminist. That and looking at that face makes me punchy.

Man, Fuck the Medical Industry

It's time for us to call out the world's biggest failures. The Medical industry has sat on their fat, impotent asses trying to make them thin and virile for far too long. People suffer every day, but fifty + year old men can get boners. That's totally fair.

But what makes their apparent priority issue worse is the overwhelming amount a fluid currently trying to work its way out of me. I'm only human, and therefore can only prevent these fluids from seeping out of two, maybe three orifices at a time.

And why must I suffer so? Because some dude's boner is more important than my cold. Whatever.

The common cold has plagued mankind for millenia, and these fuckers have let it slip by uncured. And why? Because the money's in the treatment! Don't give me your "The Common cold is a constantly shifting virus that never occurs the same way twice" because you're just part of the conspiracy to keep my head foggy and hurty. I recommend that all readers refuse to pay their copays, and steal any necessary medication (from dumpsters if neccessary) until the cure for the common cold is discovered. Refuse doctor's care if possible, because they must be held responsible.

Guess what this one's about

So the new Gaslight record is blowing up, and I'm a huge fanboy. They signed my CD and remembered me from the Cambridge show. Sweet

Anyway, I just want to throw this idea out there, and let people comment if they wish. Someone in an itunes review of the '59 Sound said that Gaslight is definitely not the next Clash, but are definitely the next Replacements.

I ask this: Who's to say that the Clash are better than the Replacements? I don't believe that. I'll take ANY replacements record over the best Clash records, and I'll take Gaslight over them both. But why do we hold these bands up so high? Why is it so offensive to call a band the new Clash? Isn't that what punk rock was against? Thoughts?

The '59 Sound

So yesterday, or possibly at this point two days ago, I posted that video of that nut-grabbingly amazing band, the Gaslight Anthem. Those dudes have a new record out that means more to me than words can really describe right now, but man am I gonna try.

For all my love of this band, it took a while for them to grow on me. I first remember hearing the songs from Sink or Swim streaming on their myspace page. They were all right, but a little too "throwback" for my tastes. Then there were rumors that the boys from New Brunswick were going to be opening for Hot Water Music at the New Jersey reunion show. That was a crock of shit, but I used it as an excuse to actively try and get into them. That attempt worked. After weeks of listening to the full album stream on Punknews.org, I decided that the record in question was definitely going to force me to redo my end of '07 albums list.

Then I saw them open for the Loved Ones. Essentially they were all over me because I was ballsy enough to wear a Giants hat to a concert in Boston a few weeks after the Superbowl. They had my undying fandom after that.

The Senor and the Queen came out in March, and as far as I'm concerned the songs beat the songs on Sink or Swim.

And so here we are. For the first time in my memory, I was there at a relatively early point in a band's development. They had a new record coming out, and they were going to be playing a couple of shows around my neck of the woods around its release.

The record leaked back in June, and like bazillions of others, I downloaded it illegally and was blown away immediately. By the chorus of the opening number, "Great Expectations", I had tears welling up in my eyes. The album struck a very poignant emotional chord. The music set a somber tone. Vocalist Brian Fallon's delivery was anthemic and beautiful and perfectly carried the emotional weight of the songs. The record warranted multiple purchases. To date I've purchased the record four times, and I will buy any further pressings on vinyl.

After four listens, I deleted the mp3s. I didn't want to ruin the record for myself. I waited until seeing them live to hear these songs again.

At the show, the songs had the same effect as on the record. I spent much of the show wiping tears from my eyes (which some people saw fit to make fun of me for, asshats). I picked up my black vinyl copy of the LP.

Since the show, I have listened to the record a great deal, and have started to figure out what it is about it that makes it mean so much to me. Brian Fallon writes songs about heartbreak and dreaming of something better. Gaslight's songs aren't self-righteous political screeds set to overly simplistic chord progressions. They aren't clichéd hate letters to the women who've done wrong. They are honest expressions of something that I know I have trouble expressing, but somehow this guy from Jersey can do it for me.

Never before has a record expressed something that, for me, is inexpressible. The songs on The '59 Sound force the emotions stuck inside of me out, and that is why, more than any record before, this record hasn't left my turntable for any extended period.

I strongly recommend that anyone who reads this get this if they haven't already. I doubt too many of you haven't unless more people are turned to this from not punknews than I think.

Well, that was self-indulgent of me, but I had to write this.

Oh, and the record comes out today.


EDIT: Guess who got coverage in the New York Times!

The Gaslight Anthem

No Words.