The Genius of Robert Zimmerman

Subterranean Homesick Blues

Johnny's in the basement
Mixing up the medicine
I'm on the pavement
Thinking about the government
The man in the trench coat
Badge out, laid off
Says he's got a bad cough
Wants to get it paid off
Look out kid
It's somethin' you did
God knows when
But you're doin' it again
You better duck down the alley way
Lookin' for a new friend
The man in the coon-skin cap
In the big pen
Wants eleven dollar bills
You only got ten

Maggie comes fleet foot
Face full of black soot
Talkin' that the heat put
Plants in the bed but
The phone's tapped anyway
Maggie says that many say
They must bust in early May
Orders from the D. A.
Look out kid
Don't matter what you did
Walk on your tip toes
Don't try "No Doz"
Better stay away from those
That carry around a fire hose
Keep a clean nose
Watch the plain clothes
You don't need a weather man
To know which way the wind blows

Get sick, get well
Hang around a ink well
Ring bell, hard to tell
If anything is goin' to sell
Try hard, get barred
Get back, write braille
Get jailed, jump bail
Join the army, if you fail
Look out kid
You're gonna get hit
But users, cheaters
Six-time losers
Hang around the theaters
Girl by the whirlpool
Lookin' for a new fool
Don't follow leaders
Watch the parkin' meters

Ah get born, keep warm
Short pants, romance, learn to dance
Get dressed, get blessed
Try to be a success
Please her, please him, buy gifts
Don't steal, don't lift
Twenty years of schoolin'
And they put you on the day shift
Look out kid
They keep it all hid
Better jump down a manhole
Light yourself a candle
Don't wear sandals
Try to avoid the scandals
Don't wanna be a bum
You better chew gum
The pump don't work
'Cause the vandals took the handles

Everything is Illuminated

I just finished reading the most amazing book by Jonathan Safran Foer called Everything Is Illuminated. After reading the final few pages on Wednesday I was in shock. This book is a mess, like life, but a gorgeous, enlightening, symphony of a mess. It's like an enormous puzzle, thousands of pieces, with the directions written in Ukrainian.

Question: Why isn't this book required reading?
Answer: It's too human, too real. The characters are too flawed. The story is pain coupled with humor, which is really the only way to deal with pain, by laughing through it, at it, and all around it. It is too grey in a world people want you to believe is black and white. The characters have done both good and bad things in their lives, and continue to make these mistakes. It is revealed that what makes you a good person is not always doing good, but understanding the evil that you do as well as the good. In the end, the connection between the characters, between the human race, is the pain, guilt, love, and humor that we share, our humanity, which is both tears and laughter.

Everything is Illuminated

ZOX!

Zox was amazing last night! Spencer, Eli, Dan, and John are so much fun. The place where they had the show was pretty small, and before they played they just hung out and talked to people and ate food. It was really intimate and fun.

The Brakes from Philly played first, and they were really good. Their show made me want to buy their EP's, because they really rock live.

Gina (I don't know her last name) played after The Brakes. She had a really good voice, but her music was kind of bland.

ZOX ROCKED THE HOUSE! They were so cool. They played Fallen, from their new album, as well as a ton of other songs from their new album (Thirsty, Carolyn, A Little More Time, Anything But Fine, Better if It's Worse, Can't Look Down, Spades, I Am Only Waiting) and a few from their old album (The Squid, Delicious, Starry Night, Homebody.) It seemed like it went by so fast, and then they were done, but they came back for an encore where they did a cover of the Pixies Where Is My Mind? and their original song Ode To the Mountain Pirates. Spencer Swain also did his own little song, switching from violin to guitar. They're all amazing!!!

Thanks Zox for putting on a wicked awesome show!

Zox & Update

I haven't really blogged for a bit, because I've been too busy with work, music, school, etc.

I've been writing a lot of songs (Well more poetry than songs just yet.) It's really hard to write a song with only a bass guitar. In the next several years I'm going to try to learn more instruments, namely: guitar, violin, piano, percussion & drums, and maybe even some brass or wood-wind instruments.

Tonight I'm going to see ZOX! I'm pretty excited because they're not only my favorite local band, but they're also known for putting on insane live shows. Spencer Swain (violin) has been compared to Eddie Van Halen.

Their new album is excellent. They've really grown as musicians, and it shows on The Wait. It's a very clean album compared to Take Me Home. Take Me Home was amazing, kind of ska with soaring violin solos and fast up-beat songs, great to listen to during the summer. The Wait is more quiet with the violin infused in the music. Sometimes it even sounds Celtic like Irish fiddle music, an album for the quieter months of the year. I can't decide which one I like better musically, because they're both excellent and very different, but lyrically the band has grown on The Wait.

GREEN DAY!!!

Green Day at Gillette Stadium was amazing! The fireworks, fire, waterguns, Billy Joe's ass (twice), drunk rabbit, "let's make a band!", SHOUT!, Stand by Me, We Are the Champions, American Idiot, the wizard puppet, little kids onstage, etc. Everything was awesome! Their music rings true to me in so many ways, but I feel like they are overlooked or completely dismissed as being "too pop" or not "politically correct" by critics and music snobs alike. They deserve more credit! What does it matter if they're insanely popular right now? They make some damn fine music in my opinion.

Jimmy Eat World was an awesome opener. I totally love their newest album Futures, and their last album is amazing. They put on an excellent show too.

Against Me! was good, but they were either unsure of how to work the crowd or just didn't care. I also think they were having trouble with their equipment in the stadium. Sometimes, during their performance their songs sounded very distorted. I really like their music though. Cliche Guevara is classic!

"...Things fall apart
the center cannot hold
mere anarchy is loosed upon the world..."

- W.B. Yeats

Neruda and Sin City

Pablo Neruda is amazing. I've been reading a book of his translated poetry, and it's gorgeous. My favorite poems are Ode With A Lament, The Great Ocean, and Love Sonnet XVII. Yet again I wish I could speak and read Spanish fluently.

"...Unfortunately, I've nothing to give you but fingernails,
or eyelashes, or melted pianos,
or dreams that bubble up from my heart,
dusty dreams that gallop like black riders,
dreams full of hurry and disfortune..."

- Pablo Neruda

Amid the many things I did yesterday (fleamarket, driving, etc.) I watched Sin City, a movie based on the comic books (graphic novels?) of Frank Miller. It was disturbingly violent, and creepy, including pedophiles and cannibals, but despite this, I enjoyed it. I don't believe I will ever feel the same way about Elijah Wood again though.

The Katie Todd Band

I love this band!!!

Listen to them here: Katie Todd Band

Other people feel this way?

“During most of that time I was absolutely at sea so far as any moral purpose was concerned, clinging only to the desire to live in a really living world and refusing to be content with a shadowy intellectual or aesthetic reflection of it.”

-Jane Addams "Twenty Years at Hull-House"

The Click Five

Why do the Click Five annoy me so much? I can usually deal with boy bands. When I was little I was a Backstreet Boys fan. N'Sync wasn't talentless. 98 Degrees was fine. Now the Backstreet Boys can be annoying, but I understand the interest.

Maybe my dislike comes from a Boston Globe article I read last Sunday. It was all about the Click Five. The main idea was that the Click Five (I believe four went to Berklee) are a manufactured band, who are in the music business for the money. I already guessed that before reading the article. How many pop bands come together of their own accord for the betterment of the musical community? Not many. Most of those bands are manufactured. Very few started in their garage. No, this "revelation" didn't throw me. My problem comes from a comment made by their manager that the Click Five could be the next Beatles. What the fuck? Do I need to get my ears checked?

The Beatles are classic. They took chances with pop music that had never been taken. They did insane stuff musically, and they wrote politically challenging lyrics. I apologize if I sound like a cynic, but I highly doubt the Click Five will ever be on the same page with the Beatles.

Waltham

I've got another new band for you guys. Last night on New England Product I heard this cool, local, new (ish) band called Waltham. I really like their music, which you can stream off of their website: Waltham Band

You can also check out their Myspace here: Waltham Myspace

Lost In Translation

I'm reading a translation of My Invented Country by Isabel Allende. It's about Chile and the Chilean people. The story is interesting, especially the descriptions of Chile. It sounds like a gorgeous country! The mountains, the sea, the vegetation. It makes me want to live there.

Yet, I cannot help feeling that I'm missing something in the book. A certain level of poignancy that cannot be expressed in English. It's times like these I wish I could speak and read Spanish well.

Jello Biafra

Jello Biafra is hosting a protest and concert in D.C. September 24th. I totally want to go!!! I MEAN JELLO BIAFRA PEOPLE!!! Le Tigre is also playing. Now I just have to convince my parents to let me go to a rally and anti-war march...therein lies the problem. Find out more here: United For Peace Rally

Wake Me Up When September Ends

I'm not sure whether I like the video for this song or not. I love the song, but the video kind of deviates from the meaning of the song. Billy Joe Armstrong has always said that the song is about his father dying (my understanding is that his father was diagnosed with cancer the September Billy was 10.) The video is a story of two lovers separated by war. I think maybe Green Day had to make the video political so that it fit with the American Idiot storyline, but I'm not sure whether it will go over well with their longtime fans who pay close attention to the meaning of their music. If you haven't seen the video you can watch it here: AOL Music

"I am an antichrist, I am an anarchist..."

You scored as Anarchism. <'Imunimaginative's Deviantart Page'> Anarchism 100% Democrat 92% Green 75% Socialist 67% Communism 58% Republican 8% Nazi 0% Fascism 0% What Political Party Do Your Beliefs Put You In? created with QuizFarm.com

ZOX and Dredg

Okay if you haven't heard of Dredg and ZOX before you should go to their websites, and then buy their music. Believe me they rock!!!!

ZOX: ZOX

Dredg: Dredg

Both of these bands are amazing and unclassifiable!!!