I've basically lifted this from my livejournal, but figured it would be fun to put on two places. So, here it is:<p>
-Which brings me to my TV viewing today. Having MTV2 has given me great joy, not because of the music they play, but rather because of the specials they show. While I am not sure MTV2 should show a lot of non-video specials (MTV does a fine job of that already), MTV2 showed a documentary on Naughty By Nature last night and they showed the "20 Years of Rock" thing today. I only caught the last ten years of rock today, but was totally riveted by it. It really made me nostalgic because they showed a lot of grunge stuff, mainly focusing on Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains. I guess a lot of people don't understand this (excuse me for getting all "Joe's LJ entry about Smashing Pumpkins"), but, I was the perfect age for grunge when it came out. I was, like, 11, 12, 13, and just getting into music. I was that perfect age where I wasn't a total cynic, nor was I just listening to whatever was on the radio (read: pop and hip hop, which I listen to a lot of now for irony's sake). Grunge really came along at a time when I developed a love for music that turned into a desperate search for new music(which, by the way, has totally fallen out of my life). Without grunge, I would've never heard the Meat Puppets, Black Flag, Jesus Lizard or Shellac, which, in turn, I would've never heard of Touch and Go, and I would've never gotten into indie rock.
But, grunge...Grunge was so incredibly, sincere. "Rusty Cage" and "Smells like Teen Spirit" and "Evenflow" and fucking "Man in the Box" were all great, angry songs. It's amazing how far we've come from that. I wonder if there are 14-year-olds who are going to feel the same way about Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park in, like, seven years. You never know, I guess. What's the point of this? There is none, I think I just miss it.
-On a side not, Nine Inch Nails can be a damned fine metal band when Trent Reznor tries really hard. It's amazing how many great metal riffs they had.
-I went into an Army-Navy surplus store today for the first time since I was about 16. There used to be one around Belmont and Clark in Chicago, a neighborhood I hung out around a lot when I was 16. Anyway, I went to one today in Bethesda, Maryland. Bethesda is a rich community bordering D.C., and is a very wealthy (and pretty liberal) community. Well, I guess I had forgotten about what is in an Army-Navy, because it's weird. The clothing side of things was pretty standard; they had Dickies and Carhart, and general stuff that you would see at a Workwear-type store. However, they also had a lot of knives and used army helmets. Let me repeat that, with italics: used army helmets. What the fuck is that? Even weirderd, everyone who walked in (except me) called the middle-aged guy behind the counter "Sir," which creeped me out. As well, they sold bumper stickers there, including rebel flag ones (I still can't get over living in the quasi-South. Although, Maryland, I guess, is considered the Mid-Atlantic) and one which I found quite curious. It was one of those liberal bumper stickers about the military that says "join the Marines. Learn new cultures, travel to new lands, meet interesting people and kill them." I always though of that to be an insult to the Marines. Apparently, the Marines are very proud that they kill innocent, interesting people.
I probably have more to say, but I've got to make dinner, watch TV and generally do nothing.
-Which brings me to my TV viewing today. Having MTV2 has given me great joy, not because of the music they play, but rather because of the specials they show. While I am not sure MTV2 should show a lot of non-video specials (MTV does a fine job of that already), MTV2 showed a documentary on Naughty By Nature last night and they showed the "20 Years of Rock" thing today. I only caught the last ten years of rock today, but was totally riveted by it. It really made me nostalgic because they showed a lot of grunge stuff, mainly focusing on Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains. I guess a lot of people don't understand this (excuse me for getting all "Joe's LJ entry about Smashing Pumpkins"), but, I was the perfect age for grunge when it came out. I was, like, 11, 12, 13, and just getting into music. I was that perfect age where I wasn't a total cynic, nor was I just listening to whatever was on the radio (read: pop and hip hop, which I listen to a lot of now for irony's sake). Grunge really came along at a time when I developed a love for music that turned into a desperate search for new music(which, by the way, has totally fallen out of my life). Without grunge, I would've never heard the Meat Puppets, Black Flag, Jesus Lizard or Shellac, which, in turn, I would've never heard of Touch and Go, and I would've never gotten into indie rock.
But, grunge...Grunge was so incredibly, sincere. "Rusty Cage" and "Smells like Teen Spirit" and "Evenflow" and fucking "Man in the Box" were all great, angry songs. It's amazing how far we've come from that. I wonder if there are 14-year-olds who are going to feel the same way about Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park in, like, seven years. You never know, I guess. What's the point of this? There is none, I think I just miss it.
-On a side not, Nine Inch Nails can be a damned fine metal band when Trent Reznor tries really hard. It's amazing how many great metal riffs they had.
-I went into an Army-Navy surplus store today for the first time since I was about 16. There used to be one around Belmont and Clark in Chicago, a neighborhood I hung out around a lot when I was 16. Anyway, I went to one today in Bethesda, Maryland. Bethesda is a rich community bordering D.C., and is a very wealthy (and pretty liberal) community. Well, I guess I had forgotten about what is in an Army-Navy, because it's weird. The clothing side of things was pretty standard; they had Dickies and Carhart, and general stuff that you would see at a Workwear-type store. However, they also had a lot of knives and used army helmets. Let me repeat that, with italics: used army helmets. What the fuck is that? Even weirderd, everyone who walked in (except me) called the middle-aged guy behind the counter "Sir," which creeped me out. As well, they sold bumper stickers there, including rebel flag ones (I still can't get over living in the quasi-South. Although, Maryland, I guess, is considered the Mid-Atlantic) and one which I found quite curious. It was one of those liberal bumper stickers about the military that says "join the Marines. Learn new cultures, travel to new lands, meet interesting people and kill them." I always though of that to be an insult to the Marines. Apparently, the Marines are very proud that they kill innocent, interesting people.
I probably have more to say, but I've got to make dinner, watch TV and generally do nothing.