The Soundtrack of My Life Vol 2...

I know that I've been a shitty blogger lately. For those of you who still actually read this, I promise I'll try and post more regularly.

Anyway...

I feel as if I’ve stumbled a little lately. It’s as if my wings have been pinned down. I just can’t seem to find the motivation to write. I’ve been struggling with a few new bits, and I can’t seem to break the levy. Perhaps I’ve been trying too hard. Regardless, it’s driving me crazy.

I really need to be on stage more too. I’ve been trying to find a balance there, and so far, I haven’t had too much luck.

Perhaps I need an adventure of some sort. Something new to get those creative juices flowing again. Whatever I wind up doing, I hope I can scrape the rust off. Otherwise, this shitty sinking feeling is going to drive me mad.

Normally I’d strike up a conversation with my good friend “Scotch” but lately we
don’t seem to be on speaking terms. In addition, I’m having a hard time finding a good cup of coffee. Lately Tim’s just isn’t doing it for me. (God listen to me would ya… Could I bitch any more?)

And I kinda want to get into a fistfight. Lord knows where that comes from.

At the end of the month I’m off to Grande Prairie with Bobby Keele. It’s the first time I’ll have ever worked with him on the road. I like Bobby, so I hope that all goes well.

My friendships seem a little off kilter too. I feel like I’m outta the loop. I hate that.

Okay enough Neurosis…

I’ve been thinking about some other records that have had an impact on me… So I decided to do a part 2 to The Soundtrack of my life.

Again I present them in no particular order.



1)Dag Nasty – Wig Out At Denko’s

I love this fucking record. It’s an excellent example of good old-fashioned America Hardcore. This album reminds me so much of my friend Diz. We were both huge Dag fans; truly it was almost obscene in retrospect.

We used to play this record over and over again in his old Chev Cavalier. This was the soundtrack to much of my last summer in Newfoundland. It was one of the best times of my life. That was a pretty stress free time. Two carefree months of doing sweet fuck all. It was truly splendid. We did a lot of drinking, and pretty much anything else we wanted.

I wish I could revisit that summer, even if only for like 10 minutes. That was the same summer that Russell and I devised “The Audiotoon Theatre.” Little did I realize that would be the inspiration for me becoming a stand up comic.



2) Bad Brains – I Against I

This is a heck of a record too. This one reminds me of working at the record store. It was the only job where I spent more than I made. They really didn’t even really need to pay me. Every cent I made went right back to the store. By the time I had quit, I had quite the music collection.

I actually got to meet the Bad Brains. The store got me backstage passes to go and see them when they played at The Republic. (RIP) I still have the picture that the band’s manager took of me hanging out with them. It was a very cool night. (One of my absolute favorite nights of all time.)

From the very first chord of Intro, I was in punk rock heaven. The best stage diving in the world occurs at a Bad Brains show.



3)Ministry – The Mind is A Terrible Thing to Taste.

This band is more like the soundtrack to my nightmares. To me Ministry is a sonic traffic accident. I find them appealing because they scare the shit out of me. Breathe and Burning Inside are two stand outs for sure. It sounds like the battle cry of the all the things that go bump in the night.

I read somewhere that this record was mixed while Alien Jorgensen was wired on LSD that he washed down with a quart of Tequila. It sure sounds like it to me.

In their hay day, they made Marilyn Manson look more like Rick Astley.



4)Descendents – I Don’t Wanna Grow Up.

Another punk rock classic… Generally speaking, when Wig Out wasn’t in the CD player, this one was. This one’s a testament to acting like an idiot and having fun doing it.

It’s every underage beer, and every stuck bra clasp. I, like countless others, started a punk band shortly after hearing this disc. It was an inspiration. It still is. Whenever I start to take myself too seriously, I pop it in.



5)Talking Heads – Stop Making Sense.

I love this album because of the version of Psycho Killer. It’s fantastic. This was playing when I got to make out with Jessica Webb. She was every try hard pre pubescent punk’s dream girl. I was not exception. I was totally Koo Koo for Jessica.

We hit it off. She could have asked me to jump off a bridge and I would have. Happily she was as kind hearted, as she was beautiful. As with all things, it came to a screeching halt when her parents sent her away to private school.
For some reason, every now and then, I want to call her. Just to see how she’s doing. (It’s been nearly 20 years since the last time we talked…) She was a cool person, and I suspect she’s just as cool now.

Anyway, every time I hear that song, I think of her. Last summer I got to see David Byrne play live. The whole time I had a coy little smile on my face.



6)Bad Religion – Against the Grain.

The Christmas of 1991, my parents and sister went to Calgary. I had to stay in Newfoundland because of my job. I was trying to save money so I could go to school. Diz and Russ stayed with me, and we put up a tree, and had a nice Christmas with our friends.

My friend “Chicken” gave me this disc at our Christmas Eve party. I still have it. It’s the original vinyl and it’s in immaculate shape. It’s been played only twice. Once to make a cassette of it, and once to encode it to mp3.

Every time I listen to tracks from this album, I think back to that Christmas. It was a pretty killer time. It was the first time I ever threw a party, and I still think it was one of the best.



7)Radiohead – O.K. Computer.

I was introduced to this album by my friend Matthew. I miss him. He was loud, usually obnoxious, (yet strangely charming…) but always decent and true. He’s well on his way to becoming famous now. He’s just finished a movie with Harrison Ford, and was in the remake of “The Fog.”

When I met him, he was a struggling video store clerk. He and his wife (The well and truly lovely Shannon, of whom I was equally fond of…) were constant companions. Till recently, they were the only people I traveled a ridiculous distance to go and visit. (Excluding family…)

We used to drink red wine and lounge in a fairly bohemian fashion.

Anyway that’s it for this pile. Again there are more… and again they are for later.