bassboy7

Last week was miserable. I had a cold pretty much all week, which may have been the end effect of a long memorable weekend. Man, having a cold in the summer time sucks so bad. Having a cold at all kinda sucks, but to me hot, shitty weather is horrible by itself. Add sleep deprivation and a seemingly endless supply of nose spit and throat goblins to the aforementioned weather conditions and I start thinking about offing myself with a bottle of Nyquil and muscle-relaxers. More than anything else I needed sleep to get healthy again. The problem with that somewhat simple remedy is that sleep has eluded me a lot in the last few weeks. I'm so hot natured that I sweat while taking a cold shower, yet I have trouble sleeping without the comforting weight of blankets on top of me. During the summer this obviously becomes a problem. Also, Frick (my dog) has become a bit selfish in his bed manners on top of the fact that he is essentially a furry heater... my quest for slumber is more failure than fruition.

All that aside I have been having something of a musical awakening lately. In the past month I have come across several bands that I have grown very fond of. Morphine is a big favorite right now. They were so different, yet powerful and accessible. Mark Sandman, who died in 1999, was a great front man. He liked to tinker with instruments much like myself and had this great dark, brooding style about him. I finally got around to listening to Death Cab for Cutie. The few times I heard their music before it didn't outwardly appeal to me. However, they are one of those bands that you need to sit down and listen to a whole album to appreciate. It takes a few songs to get the whole picture, much like my own band. The new Spin Doctor album is great. Don't let their 90's-band status cause you to miss out on great music. It has always bothered me when a band gets the shaft because public perception is that they are old and out of style. Def Leppard has never quit making great music. Most people just quit listening.

The band that has had the biggest impact on me in the last few weeks is Alkaline Trio. I had heard of them a few times in passing, but that's about all. One day I was researching and ran across their name linked off a website. After a quick listen on I-tunes I downloaded an album and became totally obsessed with them for a whole week. Now I own three of their albums and have been studying their background and philosophical points of view. Great band with two great singers who write perfect punk/pop music about freezing to death or going bump in the night. Here's the chorus from one of my favorite songs called "Radio".


I've got a big fat fuckin' bone to pick with you my darling
In case you haven't heard I'm sick and tired of trying
I wish you would take my radio to bathe with you,
plugged in and ready to fall


You really have to hear the words with the melody to appreciate how good their songs are. Their music almost makes me wish I had an ex-girlfriend to pine over while listening, or a bottle of Merlot and someone to stalk. Here's a clip for your enjoyment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_pTs-LnCrE