Okay, for real...

I know I talk about Boyz II Men often enough, and people will laugh at that, and I'm fine with that. I am nothing if not understanding about peoples' different tastes in music. I get it, really. And I don't ever want to make it seem like I'm shoving my opinion on any topic or artist down anyone's throat.

That said...(ahem)...

Cut Boyz II Men some slack.

Now, I'm not saying you have to go out and buy all their albums (although...). I'm just saying they deserve so much more respect than they get. These guys practically invented new jack swing, and even if they didn't, they certainly took it to the mainstream. Ever found yourself singing Motown Philly?

"Boyz II Men, ABC, BBD."


End of the Road? On Bended Knee? I'll Make Love to You?

These men are living legends. Yeah, I said that. Legends. And I mean it quite seriously. When you think of other male R&B groups, you think of New Edition (now defunct), Jodeci (ditto). Color Me Badd, Blackstreet, All-4-One? Come on. None of those groups even holds a candle to Boyz II Men, based on longevity alone. These guys have been in the business for 20 years in an era where hardly anyone is in the business for 20 years.

I had the privilege of seeing these guys live about five years ago. I drove an hour and a half because almost as long as I can remember, I have loved them. The show was amazing. Pure vocal skill. Pure, natural skill. Nowadays vocal acrobatics are just so overdone. Anyone who goes on a show like American Idol and sings a few runs can be looked at as some kind of god. These guys' runs are well placed and tasteful. Yes, tasteful. And there is, in my opinion, such a thing as a distasteful run (see; Christina Aguilera, 70% of the time). Wanye Morris is one of the generation's best vocalists. No exaggeration.

And the thing is? Boyz II Men don't get a lot of press. They quietly fly under the radar and keep making records and selling out shows with very little recognition for how they consistently release great music. It's a shame, really, that they don't get the respect they so badly deserve.

The first cassette tape I ever bought was Boyz II Men, II. I was in the fourth grade. On Bended Knee was the first song I ever heard and called my favourite. And it is still on that list.

Speaking of lists, if you were persuaded by any of this to check out some more of their collection, I'll throw out a few of my faves.

1- On Bended Knee. Just a must listen.
2- Can You Stand The Rain. A capella cover of a New Edition song that blows the original out of the water. I cannot listen to this song and not get goose bumps.
3- 4 Seasons of Loneliness. Beautiful concept, beautiful harmonies (as always).
4- The Tracks of My Tears. Another great cover. One of the best songs ever written, but that's a rant for another blog.
5- Water Run Dry. Just...Just listen to it. The melody is enviable. This might not be the best version ever, but I am a sucker for stripped down versions of songs.

And this, off the new album, just blows me away. I Can't Make You Love Me is one of those songs that should just never, ever be touched unless it's certain the artist can do it justice. Needless to say, this cover gets my stamp of approval.

Annnnd end rant.

A very cool idea....I think

So I got this idea today...And I think it is awesome. But then again, I'm biased.

I have this dream image in my head of my future home office. I have always wanted a home office. I don't have one now, and it seriously bums me out. The office will be decorated in black, white and chocolate brown. It'll have a mahogany coloured desk and a full wall of mahogany coloured bookshelves. And for art, I'll have black and white prints of some of my favourite musicians. I have SRV, Hendrix, Ella, Coltrane already. They are about the size of a record cover, and all are really obscure (as in, you can't find the images just by Googling). I've picked them up over the years at flea markets and crazy yard sales.

I've put a lot of thought into this.

And so what is the idea, you ask?

The idea is to create a mosaic using all the covers of the albums I own. I will use a program not unlike this one. It'll take a while, and I'll need to figure out what I want the mosaic to look like when it's done. Maybe a set of headphones? A record player? That would be pretty cool. And it'll be a really cool representation of this stage of my life (or whatever stage I'm in), because I'll obviously continue to compile albums after the mosaic is made.

I wouldn't choose a jukebox, but here's an idea. The mosaic is made up entirely of album covers. Very cool.

Love What You Love

I'd like to think that it's implied that most of the time, I know that what I say won't apply to everyone. I'm no great authority on anything, really, other than how I feel at any given moment.

But I've got a thought that I want to share.

I think that the moment you realize, in any given area, with any given task, that there are expectations on you to perform a certain way or achieve a certain result, that's the moment the fun starts getting sucked out of it.

It's simple math. I know very little about math (really not my strong suit), but I imagine that the equation would look something like this. (Again, the key here is 'imagine'. I'm sure it'd be far more complicated than this.)

X= The Task
Y= The Expectations
Z= The Diminished Desire to Perform the Task

So:

X + Y=Z

And yes, that is ridiculous and unnecessary, and if I were more of a math person I'd actually work it out so it makes sense, but let's just talk about this for a second (I'm better with words, you see).

You find something you like to do - ideally, something you love to do. And one day, someone comes along and says, "Hey, you're really great at that!" Then you work and work and work to be your best at the thing you love, and it feels amazing, because you feel like this, this thing right now, is what you're supposed to be doing. There's no better feeling than that.

And so maybe that person, that first person, comes back to you and starts laying expectations on you, deadlines or whatnot, or starts throwing in their opinions on what you're doing, suggestions on what to change. And you think, okay, this isn't so bad. I'll just work it out. Because after all, the audience is right. Right?

Here's the thing, though. The moment you change your initial way of doing things, that thing that made that person take notice in the first place, you're changing everything. The process, how you think, how you work. And there is no way, absolutely no way, that won't change the end result too. And when the end result changes into something that doesn't feel like you want it to, you start to wonder if you want to do it anymore.

So really, you've twisted the thing you love into something that it never really was, initially. And there's something really tragic about that if you think about it. You love what you love for reasons you don't have to justify or explain to anyone. It's yours.

I don't really know what I'm trying to say here. Maybe it's just as simple as this: Find the thing you love, and don't change a damn thing. The process is usually more fun than the finished product anyway, so don't alter it. Because at the end of the day, people can tell when you love what you do. It shows in your work and on your face.

It'd be a shame if no one could ever experience what you love, the way you love it.

Or maybe I'm just rambling and this only makes sense in my head.

I have been a music geek my whole life.

And I say that with as much affection as humanly possible.

I remember playing Nintendo with my brother, both of us more interested in humming or whistling the theme to SMB (Super Mario Brothers, of course) than getting power ups or beating the dragon. We were obsessed with this game, mostly because it was about one of four that we had. I got my brother a tee shirt a few years ago with a picture of a Gumba on it and the words "YOU LOSE" in block letters.

Yeah. We are awesome.

So when the commercial for the new SMB Wii game came on last night and the theme was playing, I kind of lost my mind a little bit. Then, random, but a friend of mine texted me "Google image search Music and see the crazy shit that comes up!" (that is verbatim.) So of course, I Google image search Music.

And look what came up!
Yes, that is the score for the SMB theme. And yes, I fully intend on learning to play this. And yes, I have already emailed it to my brother, and his response was merely "YES!"

I've talked about it before, these little musical coincidences that happen. They come up when you need a reminder, I believe. Apparently, I needed to be reminded of how it felt to be 8 years old, sitting in a bright pink beanbag chair, humming along to this song.

And you know what? It's a good kind of nostalgia.

All in my head

Every now and again, a song comes along that grabs you by the heart and holds onto you. You realize that the song is, somehow, written like a song you would have written. Does that make sense? I just mean that it feels in some strange way like it came from your own head and heart and not someone else's.

I've talked about it before, the idea of an artist growing with you, or you growing with an artist, as the case may be. I guess there's no real difference; both those things are the same, ultimately connecting you in some way with someone you have never and probably will never meet. I think most people know that John Mayer is this artist for me. I feel like John at 24-25 was me at 18-19. John at 29 was me at 22-23. John at 32 is me at 25.

It's so weird that sometimes I think I'm making it up, but it feels like he writes exactly what I need to hear, exactly what I'm feeling but just can't (or won't) express.

His new album comes out next week, and it was leaked (of course). I told myself I wasn't going to listen until I get the album, but I had to listen to Half of My Heart, a song he blogged/posted a video of when he was in the process of writing/recording it. I loved it even then, when all he was showcasing was guitar and some cool harmonies on the chorus. Taylor Swift sings BGs on the final cut.

This song is killer. I have a feeling this album is going to represent the best of all three of his prior albums. Acoustic rhythm, blues riffs, and rock undertones. I think he's taking all those incarnations of who he is as a musician and melding them all together into something really, really special.

And what's more, his lyrics slay me. Absolutely slay me. For instance:

I was born in the arms of imaginary friends
Free to roam made a home out of everywhere I've been
Half of my heart has a real good imagination
Half of my heart's got you
Half of my heart's got a right mind to tell you that
Half of my heart won't do
Half of my heart in a shotgun wedding
To a bride with a paper ring
But half of my heart is the part of a man
Who's never truly loved anything

Read the following.

Looking For Alaska is probably - nay, definitely is - the most incredible book I have read in years. (For the record, since The Way The Crow Flies by Anne Marie MacDonald).

It's captivating, entertaining, insightful, beautiful, heartbreaking, morbid, funny, and somehow uplifting. How the author so wonderfully portrays all those things in one story without seeming overeager or leaving any one thought malformed, I'm not entirely sure. But he does it. And he does it with a style that is enviable.

The book is reminiscent of The Catcher In The Rye, which, I am sad to say, I didn't enjoy nearly as much as I felt I was supposed to. Alaska has the same feeling, but...more of it, somehow. I don't know how to describe it any better than to say that I wanted to relate to Holden, but I genuinely did relate to Miles.

There aren't words to describe how wonderful I found this book. I suggest anyone who enjoys reading, read it.


Now I am reading this (and it his hilarious, and I love it):


And after that, I will read this:

It's safe to say I have a new favourite author.

I once read that writers shouldn't read others' work while trying to write their own. To this, I say 'bullocks'. Reading inspires me. Reading a really good book is to a writer what listening to Hendrix is to a guitar player. You read the words and study the structure and try to figure out a way to emulate it, all while using your own voice. You want to keep your own style and your own spirit, but somehow take away bits and pieces of what you love from other people.

I think all art forms are driven at least a little bit by the act of imitation.

The Word 'Just'

So here's a little rant that'll probably mean nothing to anyone, since in all likelihood I won't be able to explain my point properly.

It's not just a game.

It's not just a song.

It's not just a book.

It's not just a feeling.

If it is something, it's not just something. It's never just something.

It's a slap in the face when someone takes something you love and puts the word 'just' in front of it. It's patronizing and offensive, and people should learn not to do it. Think about it. You love your dog? If someone were to say to you, "it's just a pet," you'd probably be pretty upset, because that dog is a hell of a lot more than a pet to you.

This is not the intended use of this word, if you ask me.

And that's not just semantics.