Day 14, 15 and 16. Along with some other things.

Day 14- A picture of you and your family.
This is my family and I on our cruise to the Bahamas.
It was quite a fun time.
Also the first vacation we had been on together in 19 years, I believe.





Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play.
This is so something that you are not going to want to sit through...
Alright, here goes nothing:



1. Creep (Acoustic) - Radiohead
(Unfortunately this version is edited.)



2. Baby, I Got Your Money (Cover) - Say Anything



(This cracks me up)



3.Damn You Looks Good And I'm Drunk (Scandalous) - Cobra Starship


(And this is definitely the first time I've ever heard this song.)

4. Whole Day Off (Live) - Oingo Boingo



(If you didn't know, this is Danny Elfman's band.)

5. We Are The Gothic Archies - Gothic Archies


(Gothic Archies singer is also in a band called The Magnetic Fields. Some of their music can be found in the TV show Queer as Folk. They also did the soundtrack for one of my favorite movies: Pieces of April.

6. Screaming at the Wailing Wall - Flogging Molly



(Flogging Molly. Not a whole lot to say here. Just good ol' Flogging Molly. Though, I was listening to them yesterday, so it is kind of funny that they turned up here.)

7.Group Sex - Cirlce Jerks


(Never listened to this song, either, to be honest. Well, not that I remember, at least.)

8. The Age of Pamparius - Turbonegro



(Another one that I've never listened to before. As you can see, my ipod doesn't get much use anymore...)

9. Horror Beach - Horrorpops



(These guys are wonderful live. I highly recommend seeing them, if you ever get the chance.)

10. Dance in the Sand - Shwayze



(Shwayze is so chill....)


Day 16- Another picture of yourself

Finally:

Day13

Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you recently


Dear Friend,

I am writing because I am concerned.

Speaking honestly, I know you must feel lost. Lost, confused, upset, broken and most of all, out of control.

Do you realize that you feel like this, or do you think what you are doing is normal for everyone?

I don't know which would be worse, to tell you the truth.

Part of the reason I am writing this, is to express my concern for you. The other reason though, is to let you know that you are hurting me as much as you are hurting yourself.

I miss the old you.


Regardless of the fact that change is inevitable, you don't have to spiral downward.

Change can be a good thing, you know.

Not matter what, we are going to grow. No matter what, we will all transform into a more defined "us".

Please make sure that you are changing for the better.

As of right now, it seems as though you are doing the exact opposite.

You let other people ruin you as much as you ruin yourself.

I don't know if you just feel like being defiant, or if you are just oblivious to the fact that you are slowly falling into self destruction.

The fact that you keep me at arm's length now doesn't help.

Maybe if you would just spill your problems out instead of trying to cover them up with bad habits, things would be going a lot better.

Stop doing such detrimental things,
if not for your sake,
then at least for mine.


-Skelly.

Blogapella

Here for my 179th post, I would like to show my appreciation for a'capella music.
Now, I'm not talking about ONE chick that's trying to sing a Paramore song, nor am I referring to groups singing things like Stand By Me.
Usually I try to find a more modern song sung by a group. (preferably not on stage)
There are a few exceptions though.

Yes, a lot of times its pretty goofy sounding.
But good a'capella truly is...well...good.
(Just as bad a'capella is horrid.)
Rarely is there a middle ground, with the exception of comedic a'capella. (Run To The Hills by It's Super Effective, WHAT?)
Playing instruments truly takes a lot of skill, but I feel that orchestrating an a'capella piece takes a lot of coordination, since there are so many parts and voices involved.

My personal favorite would be the Bad Romance cover by the following group of gentlemen.


This newly discovered piece is another favorite.
(Along with a favorite song in general.)
Notice how he sounds almost EXACTLY like Sufjan.


Don't hate me for this one:


Despite the stupid bow on the one girl's head, and the even more stupid song selection, these girls really know how to pull it together.

*Disclaimer; I by no means support Justin Beiber or his fans.

Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah


This one took a lot of searching, as there were a lot of pretty bad covers of this song.



This one is pretty impressive also. Even though usually I don't go for male vocals sung by females


This was a toss-up between two:



and




This was a hard one to find a good version of.
Let me know if you find one that you feel is more impressive.
I liked this one.



If anyone can find an a'capella cover of a Flogging Molly song (that isn't a bunch of kids singing on cellphone quality in pirate costumes and stomping to the beat.), please send it to me.
(Though, the previously mentioned one was pretty cute.)

The Busy!

Mostly out of boredom I have been doing some online RPing. Just because I can. And that is all I have to say about that.

The other day a buddy of mine and I went to go see Protest the Hero in Albany. It was a 2(ish) hour long drive in the blistering heat, but it was definitely worth it.

A great show, I must say. The first three bands were not bad. One instrumental, the other two were just your standard hardcore/metalcore band. Protest did really well. Sang all the good songs too. I am very happy that I got to see them. One more left, then my list is complete. The Weakerthans.

I will most likely have to go to Canada to see them, but that isn't a problem at all! It actually sounds like a lot of fun.

I think that is all I have to say for now.
So until later, have some art.

Some are just anthromorphic creatures. Im working on a set of zodiac based ones.

The Cthulhu is probably my favorite.

"Don't be so humble - you are not that great."

I've come to realize that the people I admire most are complete assholes. For my writing class we have to write two papers on a person. One with good things about them, another with bad things. We had to pick three different people then narrow it down to the one that would be the best. My choices were:



Jimmy Urine
Marilyn Manson
Andy Warhol




Now, if those people aren't a couple of the biggest assholes you've ever heard of, then I am sorry that you have had to deal with more. Let us observe.



Jimmy Urine, who is known for kissing his fans for money, asking them for cash, and also for them to buy him things. Jimmy knows, and uses to his advantage, the fact that his fans will do just about anything. While I was at an MSI show, he took his microphone and claimed it to be magical because he could use it to make people do anything. And he proved his point by getting the entire audience to bark like several different sized dogs, meow like cats, and make buffalo noises, later says "Ah! So that's what those fuckers sound like!" He has admitted that his blatant disrespect for the crowd is simply for his own entertainment. Firing strings of insults into his screaming audience seems to get them more fired up. Perhaps "Mindless" really is a great word to used. He truly is an asshole and an amazing con artist. Though he seems to be lacking in intelligence, that is quite the misconception, considering that he has successfully gotten millions of people to practically bow at his feet, despite the distasteful things he does. And THAT is why I find him fantastic.

"Buy lots of our stuff. Give me some money, stop making more bands. Make an animated series I like to watch instead."

Marilyn Manson is an asshole on an entirely different level. Manson has an intimidating intelligence that give him the ability to put almost anyone in their place. His sense of humor is one that is undetectably sardonic. He tends to take the anti society route other than the anti-musician route. His way of going about things is incredibly offensive in a way that somehow manages to make the ones who are offended look bad. His words and actions reflect his dislike of society, the American way of thinking, and the general monotony of the public. He is an asshole, but for the right reasons.

"Anybody intelligent enough to realize what America is, is not going to sit
around and do nothing about it. They're going to be the same way that I am.
They're going to be the same way our fans are. They're going to be pissed."

Andy Warhol could almost be called an anti-artist. Though not part of Dada, Warhol had a way of showing people that everything could be bought, that money could fuel anything, and that to him, art was unnecessary while being completely necessary. No only could his painting be considered ridiculous and boring, but also his films. Warhol's film Eat is a 45 minute film that consists of nothing more than a man eating a mushroom.
Warhol took polar opposite things and made them equal. Two of his most famous paintings are a picture of Marilyn Monroe and a picture of a Campbell's soup can. Both vastly different, but both made equal. Andy Warhol considered money to be incredibly important. To him, making money was art and having a good business was the best kind of art. He admitted to being a 'deeply superficial person" and wanting to be "plastic". His vain love of money, his infatuation with the boring, and his ability to con people into eventually thinking that something as simple as a soup can could be art is really what made him an artist. And an asshole.

"I'd asked around 10 or 15 people for suggestions. Finally one lady friend asked
the right question, 'Well, what do you love most?' That's how I started painting
money. "

Now, these people are not the typical kind of asshole that just cut people off while driving or don't tip (though I wouldn't put it past some of them...), they're the kind of people that others see as assholes because of how they blatantly surface controversial and dist respectful viewpoints simply to stir other up. Each did it for his own separate reason, and each reason has a lot of truth behind it. Whether a pop artist, musical artist, or performance artist, each is a con artist and in the end, a brilliant, brilliant asshole.

To Feel Cozy, Surrounded By Cats

Let me just make a big huge fat musical recommendation and tell every person that ever takes a glance at this blog to listen to Dr. Manhattan.

I wore their shirt yesterday and was listening to them, and the more I listen to them, the more I like them. They really are the coolest band.

I saw them live over the summer and had the pleasure of meeting them all. And then I bought their album and a T-Shirt and they were kind enough to sign my shirt. So its pretty much my favorite shirt ever. AND its neon orange. Totally freakin sweet.

In their pit, their fans dance. Just dance. Like normal people. Okay, some of them wear backpacks and stuff. But that's okay. It's fantastic.

So everyone go listen to Dr. Manhattan. They're grand.

http://www.myspace.com/drmanhattan

Die, Die, Die, My Darling

I would like to quickly write about my moshing experiences.

I've been in quite a few pits. I've had my share of injuries, and I've inflicted quite a few also.

Now, this Misfits show was the first honest-to-blog punk show I've ever been to, with the exception of Warped Tour and Mindless Self Indulgence. (But MSI is a genre within itself, so they don't count.)

I must say that I really really hate punk shows.

Don't get me wrong. It was freaking amazing. It was the most fun I've had in a long time, and it was a spectacular show, but really, I hate those god damned dancers.

I can't stand those assholes that swing their arms around like baboons, charge around like rhinoceros, and act like animals. I can;t stand it. It seems like they go into a pit to hurt each other, not to have a good time. Hell, I'd rather be in a hardcore pit, because at least they just windmill and circle. They don't charge around like raging retards. In the metal pits, there is just a bunch of jumping and throwing and shoving. You generally don't have to worry about getting punched in the throat unless you're doing something stupid. These punk assholes just like to throw their fists around, I think.

Thankfully there wasn't too much of that for the Misfits, just a lot of crowd surfing and bouncing about. But my god. There was a band called You And What Army and my god, I just wanted to nuke the whole damn crowd because they were just being asses. Some dumb ass decided to wear a leather vest and the entire back of it was covered in metal spikes. He looked like a meat tenderizer. And he just charged around like he was after a matador and he looked like an ignorant douchbag.

Now, they were more on the hardcore side than on the punk side.

But holy shit. I doubt I will ever go into a punk pit. They're just pointless.

Though I will always love punk music more than anything else, I'm going to have to go toward the metal side when it comes to pits.

Jerry Be Praised

I will state that the Misfits concert was a success.

One of the best days of my life.

That is usually how it is when I go to concerts. I always have the best days of my life when I go to concerts. This was no exception. This, although not the best concert I've ever seen, may have been my best concert experience.

There were about nine different bands there. I saw...8 of them...7 of them, I think. Two stages. Not much running back and forth, which was good.

The Misfits went on at 11 PM. Last band to go. And oh was it worth it!

They played a ton of songs, I knew most of them. Unfortunately they did not play Saturday Night like I had hoped, but they did play Helena and Last Caress. Along with Astro Zombies and Forbidden Zone. So it was definitely exciting.

While they were on, I ended up literally throwing at least 7 different people. Some kids just don't know how to act. So I feel the need to teach them. They get a hands on learning experience. Which also means getting their face thrown into the ground. Then they learn.

Yay!

I understand that everyone goes just to see the band and everyone pays to go see them, but that does NOT mean that its okay for them to act like an asshole to other people, that paid the same amount of money to see them same band. That is a problem, to me.

I'm good at fixing problems.

BUT!
The plethora of assholes was well worth the end results.

As I stood in the crowd, not too far from the stage, I grinned like a fool and danced. No moshing for me. I go to see the band, not to get beat up. I only do that if I don't know the bands well, so its usually in the opening. There will be more on moshing later.

But I stood and I grinned and as I did, Mr. Jerry Only kept looking over at me. Throughout the entire show he pointed at me, gestured to me, tried to get me to sing (which I did), threw his water on me, and at one point even smiled when I did. this was good. Eye contact was held throughout most of the show.

After they played their last song, Jerry stayed on stage and walked around, shaking hands and signing things. I looked around to see that everything I had was black. Nothing to sign. This was a problem. After deciding it would be too trashy to have him sign my bra, I realized that my shirt was two layered. A white under layer. Of course I ripped off part of it with my teeth and scurried up to the front of the pit. I stood and smiled up at him. He noticed. I've gotten good at this. He then walked over to me and asked how I was doing. I said "fantastic". He then took my scrap of fabric and signed it. As I was getting ready to walk away, he said "wait!" I stopped and looked up again. He then reached up to his face and rubbed some of his black eye makeup off onto his finger. Without skipping a beat he then leaned forward and smeared it on my forehead.

I have been blessed by Jerry Only.

EEEEP! EEP! EEP! EEP!

Now I can die in peace.