A Broken Generation (Musically Speaking)

I have been working at a new job since December and it wasn't hard to notice that many of my co-workers are younger then me...That was never something that would bother me, because I've always felt younger then my age...And acted accordingly as well!  But the gap seems to be getting larger, and some of these kids are just dolts...Some are great, and it gives me a glimmer of hope...But my God the dolts really are trying to drag them down...These dolts are in the 18-25 age group...

This week, I had an encounter with one of these young-ins that I don't consider a dolt...The song "Born in the USA" came on, and she said, 'Can't go wrong with some Kid Rock!"  Shocked, I replied "WHAT!?!"  She said, "Isn't this Kid Rock?"  I had to inform her it was Bruce Springsteen, and recorded before she was born...

A day or so later another co-worker, closer to my age shared a story about one of the young dolts not knowing who Tom Petty was....Asking, "When was he popular?" and "When did he perform?"  I was baffled that those questions had to be answered...While I'm a hug music lover/fan, I've never been a huge Tom Petty fan...But I know who the fuck he is...I know a bunch of his tunes...And there are plenty that I like...Holy crap on a cracker...

But this story didn't end...No fucking way Johnny...It got worse...The dolt then informed my seasoned colleague that "Michael Buble is this generation's Frank Sinatra".........huh?  The fuck you say!?!

Sinatra only had countless hit songs...Starred in 64 movies...Was the co-lead with Marlon Brando in "Guys and Dolls"...He setup JFK with Marilyn Monroe...Buble doesn't have the music or movie resume, and last I checked (for comparisons sake) he hasn't gotten President Obama laid with Scarlett Johansson....

But it's still not over...With mother fucking, honest, straight face, this dope said, "One Direction is this generation's Beatles'....Well doll, then there is no fucking help for your damn generation! Do you have any idea what the Beatles did musically? Do you not understand how they changed the industry...I'll put up just George's demos against the entire auto-tuned One Direction catalog of shit, and I'll win hands down...WTF/OMFG/SMH...You name it...I thought it...Even, FYDB....(Fuck You Die Bitch)...I have heard some dumb shit in my 40 years on this Earth...Without a doubt, comparing One Direction to The Beatles has jumped to the top of the list...That people, is a chokable offense!


I know, not all 18-25 year-olds are dolts...And I know they all aren't so musically retarded...But from what I'm hearing and seeing, there are plenty....

There is hope coming down the road...My oldest daughter, some of her friends, and nieces are all listening to a large variety of music...My daughter for example is into some scream rock/punk/emo shit...But it's based in Rock...But she also likes classic rock...She has a bunch of Beatles and 'Stones songs on her iPhone...She likes some pop-rock stuff...And she's into Twenty One Pilots...(young kids music I was into a couple years before her)...She's a also a heck of a clarinet player with a bit of Jazz under her belt...Thankfully some of us raised our kids right...Hopefully they'll be able to turn the dolts around, or at least educate the dolts kids!


But in case we get some young ones reading this...I'll share a bit of music they should hear, just to get them on track....






















And since Siouxsie Medley is featured at the top of this post, why not some Dead Sara...





There is good music out there...Old and new...Spread it, before the dolts spread too much of their stupidity!

Happy New Year...I Guess!

I hope the holiday season has treated you all well...I hope many Merry Christmases were had and wonderful New Years celebrations as well...I hope your trees were trimmed as nicely as the one above...And I hope all you Santa's out there were treated the way we all should be....

I had a good Christmas, that was chaotic...Working third shift on at a new job...getting by on limited sleep...Running my Mother-in-law to visit my Father-in-law at the Nursing Home we had to put him in...Dealing with the day to day stuff with the household and eh kids...And all that craziness of being Santa...It barely felt like Christmas...it just felt hectic...But in the end, the family was happy and that's all that matters....

As for my writing and sports...I have been an absent as a writer and a site owner...I have watched no sports...I have zero fucks to give about sports lately...I have watched literally no college football bowl games...Zero, zip, none...I will however be sitting down shortly to watch Notre Dame and Ohio State play...I will be jumping of course to the NHL's "Winter Classic"...I don't know that I will be writing about these events...Hell, this is the first time I have opened my laptop to write in a couple weeks...It's only been used for Molly to play Club Penguin with big brother...

I heard about Peyton Manning, and I saw some people going off via facebook about how differently the media has covered his possible cheating as opposed to how they covered Brady and the Patriots...Anyone cheating or trying to cheat in sports does not surprise me...I've just come to except it...A large number of people in our society are always looking for an angle, and a way to get by or cheat the system...A large number of people are assholes!

Bill Cosby was finally rung up on charges for being a piece of shit...Possibly a rapist (allegedly)....He's done enough bits about Spanish Fly over his career, or the Cosby Show episode where his BBQ sauce made everyone horny, plus what he has said in depositions, that pretty much make it clear that he is all about drugging women to so he can do whatever freaky shit he wants to them...Another asshole working an angle!

Then we have our field of lying, cheating, self promoting, fear-mongering, gas-bag, criminal fucks who are running for President...What a sad state of affairs we are in when this steaming pile holds our options for the next President...

It might be a new year, but it's starting out looking like the same old shit...My suggestion for having a "Happy New Year"....Turn off all this noise...Don't watch political shows on TV...Watch shit that makes you laugh, and smile...Watch shows and movies that excite you or make you cry...Watch something that makes you think, as opposed certain agendas crammed down your throat via soundbites...

Watch sports and enjoy the purity of the games...Don't watch 2 hours of pre and post game coverage that muddle up the game with bullshit...Don't let some weasel tell you it's a real serious story because "Sources say"...Tell me the sources name and that they are real, or fuck off...

Listen to music...Listen to lots of music...All kinds...Good music...






Enjoy your family and friends...Sit down to a good dinner, and don't let any phones out at the table...Engage in real conversation...Texts and tweets are overrated and limit us all...Talk and listen...


That's my Happy New Year to you!

Is It Spring Yet?

It's official...I'm over this Winter shit...I have been thinking about how great it would be to move...Start a new adventure with my wife and kids...A fresh start, somewhere else...Take a chance...My wife and I have always wanted to go to the Pacific Northwest...Seattle, Portland, shit like that...The Mrs. and I joked about moving to Seattle...Thursday night, she came in from walking the dog...It was 4 degrees out...I had already had my fill earlier in the day shoveling the snow...She gave me a look...I pulled it my phone and looked at Seattle's weather...I said, "Honey, it's 57 degrees with a light rain in Seattle."  She replied, "Let's move!"  Unfortunately, there would be a serious pushback from our kids...Especially our oldest...

So for now, all I can do is look forward to Spring...I've always been a Fall and Winter guy, but as I get older, I can do without Winter...And with Spring comes Baseball...I miss Baseball...Not so much MLB...And not even Fantasy, which after winning two leagues  last year is surprising even to me...

Surprising to me, I miss coaching Baseball...This past Summer was the first time not coaching my son and a team in baseball, after 4 years of doing it...When I took my promotion at work, coaching was taken off the table...And my son decided not to play...I'm not sure how much of that had to do with me not coaching, but it bothered me that he didn't want to play...His attention deficit made it hard for him standing out in the field...But he was really good, without trying very hard...I was hoping to get him into the little details, but he just didn't want to do it...I wasn't going to push too hard...I never want to be the pushy sports dad...

I'll be honest, as I always try to do when I write...I've been finding myself getting depressed lately...Mostly late at night...There is a point that I should go to bed, but instead I stay up...I may watch a movie, or TV...But I slip off  into my head and just get into a funk...

One recent evening I started thinking about my days coaching...When I stopped, I had a feeling of relief, because my last season, there was a lot of bullshit with the rec department and the people running the league...It seemed the only people that gave a damn were about 6 of us coaches and a handful of parents per team...

But as I thought more, I really missed it...I was proud of how I coached...How I treated each kid the same...How they all got to play ever position...How if a kid on  my team made fun of a teammate or a kid on another team struggling, they ran a lap, and were warned not to do it again...And no parents gave me shit about it...They supported it...When I had a tiny girl, playing for the first time in her life, and learning everything from us, her teammates cheered for her when she was close to tears, and parents followed...They didn't bitch that I gave her extra time in the batter's box at practice, over their kid that had no problem hitting...They barked at the umps for calling a strike on a ball over her head...

I thought about a Saturday scrimmage another coach and I setup, because so many games got rained out the one year...We played 3 innings, then some kids had to go...We mixed up the remaining kids, along with some older siblings that were there and played another 3 innings just for fun...After that I had kids wanting to stay and have me throw them batting practice...kids from 8-12 years old, all taking turns, for almost 2 hours...My arm was shot...But we had a blast...

I was proud that parents asked to have their kid put on my team...I was surprised when at a high school football game this year with my oldest, multiple kids that had been on my teams, walked up and said "Hi coach!"

I'm not trying to toot my horn here...I'm not the best coach...I wasn't the best coach in the league...But kids on my teams got better each season, and they had fun...I learned more each year, about baseball, about kids, and myself...I'm proud of my time coaching, and I hope I can find a way back to it some day soon...

I miss practices...I  miss games...I don't miss saying, "Stop playing with the dirt!" (the t-ball days)....I miss a bit of the chaos...I miss getting on the Ump for a bad call...I miss coaching...I miss Baseball...


Now, I'm going to get a drink, and sit in the dark with my friends Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane...





The Beeze

Monday Moaning (20 Albums)

So it's Monday...Last week was busy...Tiring and busy...The household is healthier, and on the lookout for the next bug that spreads around...

 

I've got nothing for you sports-wise...What am I going to say building up for the "Super Bowl"?   SQUAT!  Yeah, I watched some college and outdoor NHL Hockey this weekend...Pretty impressive keeping a rink in great shape at Dodger Stadium...The Rangers played the Devils at Yankee Stadium Sunday, and they take on the NY Islanders Wednesday night there...That'll be a cold one...

 

The Pro-Bowl was Sunday...No interest...I watched the Grammy Awards...I'm not sure why I do that to myself each year...I guess I just want to see how far the Music world can slip...This got me thinking about the Music I love, and then one of the games people tag each other in on facebook...

 

 

Think of 20 albums, CDs, LPs, that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life....Dug into your soul...Music and or Lyrics that brought you to life when you heard it...That affected you, kicked you in the ass, and punched you in the gut...That damn good is what I'm talking about....So here are my 20 albums...

In no real order....

John Coltrane- Blue Train


Van Halen- 5150

Portishead- Dummy
 

Alice in Chains- Dirt

Pearl Jam- Ten

Glen Hansard- Once soundtrack

Our Lady Peace- Clumsy

Raine Maida- The Hunter's Lullaby
 

Deftones- White Pony

K's Choice- Cacoon Crash

Jimi Hendrix- Band of Gypsys
 

Led Zeppelin- Physical Graffiti

U2- Joshua Tree

Zakk Wylde- Book of Shadows 

 

 

Radiohead- The Bends
 

 

 

The Gaslight Anthem- Handwritten

 

 

Lorde- Pure Heroine

 

 

Paul Westerberg- Stereo

 

 

Damien Rice- O

 

 

Miles Davis- Kind of Blue

 

There's 20Albums...Do you have 20?


The Beeze.

Let's Talk Sax Players

I don't want to sound like a dick but, you know me...Clarence Clemons of The E Street Band died this weekend...I feel bad for his family and friends...But I also feel bad for music lovers...I feel bad for the youth who haven't heard the greats, but they hear that Clemons was "The Greatest", or "One of the greatest" sax players of all time...And I feel bad for the greats who don't get the credit they deserve...
Sorry Clarence, but I'll take that guy way ahead of you...John Coltrane people...The man was great! How about Charlie Parker...How about Ornette Coleman...Lester Young anyone...Seriously, I can come up with 50 guys before I get to Clemons...

It's not his fault...I'm not trying to bash a dead guy...I'm here bashing the media that covered his death, as if he was a Head of State...All kept saying how he was the Greatest...Christ this is what happens when you keep cutting Music and the Arts in schools...It's more proof of how lazy the media is...Do some research and you'll see there would have never been a Clarence Clemons had it not been for the greats that came before him...










This last one is from one of my favorite albums, and this one is great to calm the baby down late at night...




Sorry, to shit on you Clemons fans, but it is what it is...'

Later, The Beeze.