So Cruel; C'est la Vie

*Read while listening... it's kinda cool.

We crossed the line
Who pushed who over?

"Take my hand."

"No."

"You'll fall."

"I will if I take your hand."

It was then he learned that broken trust shall not be mended.

It doesn't matter to you
It matters to me

"On the right! Engage right!"

The squad shifts, trying to save what's left from the ambush. He's certain he issued the wrong orders.

It was then he learned that any action is better than none at all.

We're cut adrift
We're still floating

"I should've been there, you know?"

"You can't save the world, man."

"I don't want to save the world. I want my friends back."

"You can't save the world, man."

I'm only hanging on
To watch you go down
My love

"Do you even love me?"

"No."

"Did you ever?"

"Does it matter?"

I disappeared in you
You disappeared from me

"I can't see."

"Calm down, bro. Just some blood in your eyes."

"I can't see."

"Calm down. I'm right here."

It was then he learned the true value of a shoulder to lean on.

I gave you everything you ever wanted
It wasn't what you wanted

"Don't you just, you know, want to be happy?"

"Sure. Who doesn't?"

"Then why don't you smile?"

"I haven't earned it yet."

The men who love you, you hate the most
They pass right through you like a ghost

"Shit, dude. She's fucking beautiful."

"I know."

"Then what's the problem?"

"That's what bothers me."

It was then he learned when to walk away.

They look for you, but your spirit is in the air
Baby, you're nowhere

"I'm not saying you should. But I'm not saying you shouldn't."

"I don't play vague, yo."

"Neither do I."

"That's specific, then?"

You say in love there are no rules
Sweet heart, you're so cruel

"Stay on my six. Follow me out."

"I'm scared, Sergeant."

"It's cool. I've already shit my pants. On three, okay?"

"Yes, Sergeant."

Desperation is a tender trap
It gets you every time

"You've never seen a woman that just took your breath away?"

"Sure, I guess. That scares you?"

"Yeah, that scares me."

"Life ain't worth living if you're not afraid."

It was then he learned the value of a cliché.

You put your lips to her lips
To stop the lie

"I think you're a coward."

"Never said I wasn't."

"You're a walking contradiction."

"Never said I wasn't."

Her skin is pale like God's only dove
Screams like an angel for your love

"I'm not sure I'm cut out for this."

"None of us are. We just pretend to like it."

"Do you like it?"

"Fuck no, it's terrifying. But what a fucking rush."

It was then he learned he was meant to be a paratrooper.

Then she makes you watch her from above
And you need her like a drug

"If I leave, I'm not coming back."

"I'm counting on it."

"You never loved me, did you?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?"

You say in love there are no rules
Sweet heart, you're so cruel

"You're obsessed."

"I know, I know. I'll get over it."

"When?"

"When the time is right."

It was then he decided to shoot for the stars.

She wears my love like a see-through dress
Her lips say one thing
Her movements something else

"I was a dick to him the last time I saw him."

"He forgives you, man. Don't let it get to you."

"I know, but... fuck, dude."

"We've all been there."

Oh love, like a screaming flower
Love, dying every hour

"Why didn't you answer the phone?"

"Kinda tired of your shit."

"I needed you."

"No, you didn't."

You don't know if it's fear or desire
Danger the drug that takes you higher
Head in heaven, fingers in the mire

"You've fallen in love with an impression."

"That impression has been better for me than reality."

"You say that now, but you're gonna be disappointed."

"I'm already disappointed. Might as well enjoy the view."

Her heart is racing, you can't keep up
The night is bleeding like a cut

"What are you running from? Nobody's pushing you."

"I'm not running from anything."

"Bullshit. Bull-fucking-shit."

"I'm gonna go now."

It was then he realized he was running.

Between the horses of love and lust
We are trampled underfoot

"Help me. Please."

"I've got you. Hang on."

"I can't feel my legs."

"Hang on."

You say in love there are no rules
Sweet heart, you're so cruel

"I don't know what to do. I don't even care."

"Yeah, well, you'll never change."

"Scary, isn't it?"

"Not really. Just remember, it's all so fucking hilarious."

To stay with you I'd be a fool
Sweet heart, you're so cruel

"Wherever you go, there you are."

"That's my line."

"I'm stealing it. Don't be a stranger."

"I won't. I'll be back."

It was then he found his smile.

Organized Musings

Introduction

I have decided to organize my random musings. So there.

Television

NBC moving giving Leno their M-F 10 PM slot is going to be A) the end of NBC, or B) the end of network television. Option A will happen if the move is unsuccessful, forcing NBC to revert to "traditional" 10 PM shows, putting the network in a "catch up" position with ABC, CBS, and Fox. Option B will happen if the move is successful, and the rest of the Big Four nets follow suit, forcing audiences to cable channels in order to find quality scripted television.

Prison Break is going bye-bye, which is no surprise. Fox could've turned that show into something great, but instead decided to make it a reverse 24 of sorts, rather than the Kung Fu, The Fugitive, and The A-Team homage that it should've been.

Related to the NBC-Leno thing: Life and (likely) Chuck are screwed.

Battlestar Galactica is beginning its final run. Here's hoping that the nerd-critics finally realize what crap the show's been since part-way through its second season.

Sports

LaDanian Tomlinson is crying about taking a smaller role in the offense. Dude, I thought you were about "being classy." Support your team, take the role, extend your career, and shut the fuck up. All that stated, the mere fact that the Chargers are considering dumping him is ludicrous. That's the face of your team, you idiots.

The Padres allowed Trevor Hoffman to go to the Brewers. That was the face of your team, you idiots.

Speaking of the Brewers, will somebody PLEASE put them back in the American League? And get rid of interleague play while you're at it.

Politics

Obama's taking over soon. Meet the new boss, not much different than the old boss. Hah! Seriously, though, he's no fool... change will come slowly, yet steadily, but this overnight shit just ain't going to happen.

Supposedly the government has identified Mexico (along with Pakistan) as the state most likely to collapse within the next decade or so. I say we annex.

Music

Listen to Fascinoma (she's awesome).

U2's new album comes out shortly... here's hoping it's a great one.

Hollywood

Despite numbers showing otherwise, Hollywood is running around pretending it's in some sort of financial crisis, which is putting it in a financial crisis. How fucking stupid is that?

SAG is not going to strike. If it does, we will definitely see the ascension of AFTRA as the power actor's union in Hollywood. I'm going to assume that even SAG isn't dumb enough to let that happen, but nothing will surprise me.

Heath Ledger does not deserve an Academy Award. Yeah, it sucks he's dead, and I was certainly a fan, but his Joker (while excellent... outstandingly excellent) does not deserve an Academy Award.

Animals

One of my dogs has figured out how to circumvent an electric fence. I am very, very afraid.

So, the Bush Administration lifted some protections from certain groups of Grey Wolves. Almost immediately, Idaho and Montana started organizing wolf hunts. Does that seem ridiculous to anyone else?

MySpace

I'm glad to see that MySpace has finally fixed the blog clock. Seriously, why was that a problem in the first place?

Conclusion

'Til next time...

One-Hit Wonders, the Wave of the Future

I alluded to this in one of my pointless musings, but the current state of the music world is really starting to bother me. Due to numerous factors, many of which I'm admittedly not even familiar with, the quality of albums and singles in general seems to be declining. In fact, I'm finding myself tuning to classic rock stations more often in an attempt to get away from the audible crap that is being piped over our airwaves.

As I mentioned in my pointless musing, the great Bob Dylan even pointed out that modern music is mostly crap. Now, while he went so far as to say the last 20 years have been mostly crap, I'm only going to claim the last four or five. Mostly, since the turn of the century.

Before everyone starts jumping on me, I'm not claiming that all music is garbage... just a lot of it. A higher proportion of it than there used to be. Yes, we still have our superstars knocking out decent to great hits, we still have our "rookies of the year" blowing us away with startling debuts, and we still have our underground movements pushing the mainstream to the brink of experimentation. But... we also have a lot of crap. A lot of it. Usually it goes by the moniker "emo" or some such variation, but they're hardly the sole culprit, and some of it is even quite good.

Here are some of the problems my barely educated opinion has identified:

The proliferation of digital downloads. This is actually coming to a head with the recording industry, as various musical artists are arguing that the art of the album is disappearing from mainstream music. "Albums tell a story" is usually what is said, but again, this statement normally comes from established, "artistic" musicians. The digital era lets us buy music one song at a time, making the necessity of creating 10 to 12 solid tracks less necessary. A band can shoot to stardom with one solid single, and quite a bit of the time, newer bands seem to release "albums" with one absolutely kick-ass track, a couple of good to okay ones, and a ton of crap (OK Go comes to mind, and I'm actually a fan). And, because of the digital era bringing in digital distribution, more and more bands can pull a Kinks on us and just release a ton of stuff, hoping that a few of the songs catch on (sorry, Kinks, I love you, but it's true).

Here's the biggie... I have a lot of friends who are in bands at the moment, several of them signed, close to being signed, or otherwise on their way. Their main problem? They can't read music. Seriously. Now, I understand that talent and "ear" go a long way towards making a rockin' song, but not being able to read music? This is, most likely, the single most predominant reason that modern bands become one-hit wonders. They can knock out that one rockin' song, but lack the musical knowledge to create a distinctly different follow up.

See, how it normally works is that "jam bands" improvise their songs together. But after a while, their improv loses variety (as improv usually does) and everything starts sounding the same. Take my favorite band, U2. Early on, they weren't all that great at reading music, and most of their stuff sounded the same (the stuff that didn't benefited from having Steve Lillywhite onboard). By the Unforgettable Fire album, however, they took the time to learn formal music, and soon gave us The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby, two very different albums that benefited from studying music, not just emulating it.

Jazz and Blues fans know what I'm talking about. The stuff that's "jammed" usually sounds the same, and it takes performance and talent to give it that nuance that makes one Jazz/Blues song different from another. But... it still sounds quite a bit alike. However, for Jazz and Blues, this is usually the point, as John Fogerty has testified to. For modern pop and rock, this only leads to disaster. That one hit, followed by a slow fade into obscurity, playing local bars and colleges to your fans who are probably your drinking buddies anyway.

So, come on, people now, smile on your brother and learn how to read music. Learn how to properly write music. Study the shit... that's what will let you avoid being some flash in the pan. That's what will make you great.

Nothing But Pointless Musings

Voicemail menus are slow and complicated on purpose, so phone companies can squeeze every possible extra second out of your phone plan.

Bono and U2 definitely outshined Billie Joe and Green Day on Monday Night Football, despite what all those emo/screamo/wannabe-punk kids will tell you. But it was still cool to see them on stage together.

Why does Hollywood remake good movies? Shouldn't they remake the bad ones?

That brunette I'm hard-up for officially hates me. If anyone wants to ask a lonely, pathetic, self-righteous blogger out on a date, message me for my phone number. (seriously)

The San Diego Padres are now two games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kick ass.

I'm almost in agreement with Bob Dylan: modern music tends to suck. I don't really think it's the talent... it's more to do with all the emo/screamo/wannabe-punk bands that are full of "musicians" who can't read music.

MySpace is taking over the world. There's apparently a MySpace television show now. That's ridiculously frightening.

High school kids with MySpace quotes like "live every day like its your last" really annoy me. As do people with quotes from Will Farrell movies... especially Anchorman. People, you are not kind of a big deal. In fact, you're all idiots.

Anybody who feels like going to Croatia for a couple of weeks during summer of 2007, let me know. I'm planning a trip and, unlike many of my recent plans, I'd like to see this one NOT fall through.

American Dad is better than The Family Guy.

Goodyear blimps flying over domed stadiums during football games seems kind of pointless to me.

Soldiers should never feel guilty for being alive when someone they know is killed, but we do anyway.

If the world went through a Sudoku craze instead of a Karaoke craze, the world would be less annoying. Damn the Japanese. Damn them.

I wish I could cook. I wish I could dance. So much so, I will one day attend culinary school and enroll at a dance studio. Really.

Mitch Hedberg was right... life would be easier if we all just had one long curvy tooth.

My nephew won't date a cheerleader because he thinks they're "peppy" all of the time. Personally, I think my nephew is gay, but oh, well.

I read about two crimes this past week that officially make me sorry to be a human being. I won't go into detail here, but one involved a pregnant woman, her three kids, and a babysitter, and the other involved a man getting angry at his wife and daughter while driving.

Writing would be easier for me if I were better at it.

So would brain surgery.

I'm really pissed that not one person that counted answered the questions from my last blog.

Calgon, take me away. If you know what that means, you are officially too old.

This was very pointless... and not very musing.