Halloween top 10 round up 2011!

It's the most magical time of the year.
No.. I'm not talking about Christmas (although I applaud any tubby guy with a beard who can make a career out of it) .
I am not talking about Easter (who really cares about this one anymore... honestly.)

I am of course talking about HALLOWEEN!
Yes,I am aware that is actually an old sacred holiday that Americans have U.S.AED the fuck out of.

I don't care. I love it.

So as most of you are too old to go trick or treating (they really need to change it so old fucks like me can do it I feel) and since you're not me and won't have the energy to go to various Halloween parties all week. ..what are you to do on dark, eerie October night in?

Watch movies of course!

So if you are at a loss as to what to watch, keep reading.

Cuddle up text to your ghoulfriend (see what I did there?) with plenty of theme appropriate snacks, something to drink (I prefer hobgoblin ale for times like these), light your jack-o-lantern and have at it!

Now this list is not in anyway my top scary movies EVER kind of deal. These are just movies I plan on watching this year.. I invite you to do the same. Let's do this...

10. Nightmare on Elm street



No big shock there. Yeah, it's cheesy and the dialogue makes certain porno films seem Hemingway but it works! No Halloween is complete without a visit from Freddy! I met Englund a few years back. Hell of a nice guy....sorry for the name-dropping. Name-dropping is bull shit. Bruce Dickinson told me that.

9. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre




There is something very unsettling about being chased by a hilbilly wearing a dead skin mask while wielding a chainsaw. F.Y.I loosely based on true story... in the same way Harry Potter is based on a actual book.

8. House On Haunted Hill





I remember seeing this one in the theatres with a cousin and being truly creeped out. That, outside of various MTV "reality" shows doesn't happen very often.
I haven't seen it since so I'm looking forward to revisiting it.

7. Nightmare Before Christmas




If you really need me to explain why this is on here, get out of here and go hit yourself in the head.
This one is also on my Christmas list btw.

6. Dawn of the Dead / DOTD 2004 version





You have to have zombies! I prefer Night Of the Living Dead over Dawn but I just saw that one on Saturday night so I reckon I need to wait a bit for that. The reason I picked both the original and the remake is I couldn't decide which one to go with. This still only counts as one entry though. No funny business now..

5. House Of 1000 Corpses.




Colourful, cartoony and wonderfully cheesy. Plus the man who made its last name is Zombie...and you don't mess around with someone called that.

4. Bram Stoker's Dracula



This list needed some vampires and I can't think of anyone better for the job than Gary Oldman.
No sparkling, daywalking "Sookeeeeeeeeeh" kind of vamps here.

3. The Frighteners



One of my all time favorite movies. In my opinion Peter Jackson's best. Ghosts, Michael J.Fox and lots of cemetery scenes. If you haven't seen it, you're an idiot...but an idiot that is indeed in for a treat.

2. Friday the 13th III




Too easy I here you say. Well.. yeah ..but this is still a must I feel.
The reason I picked the 3rd film is that it marks the first appearance of the hockey mask. A true classic.

And now... the number 1 on my list:


1. Halloween




The genre starting classic. Teenagers drinking and having sex unaware that a guy wearing a mask is coming to kill them all one at a time in very unlikely ways. Sound familiar? Of course it does. Countless of movies have been using this winning concept but this is where it all started.
Awesome soundtrack as well.


Well.. that's what I'm doing provided I can find some ghoul to join me.

Horror films when done right are truly a magic thing. I feel fairly confident that I have put together a cracking list for you guys. Hope you enjoy it as much as I know I will!


See ya next time and have a great Halloween!

/Beard.

To whom it may concern.

New times.
New layout.
Same... other stuff.

The other "N" word

All right then.
I've been writing on and off on this for a few days now.
Hopefully what you're reading now has gone thru some editing and quality control before you read it. Mostly since I'm not really sure where, if anywhere I'm going with this.

The annual Sci Fi convention is almost upon us here in Stockholm. I've been a regular attendee of this event since 02 or 03.
Back then it was pretty sparsely attended (I think there might have been a bit of a line when Andy Serkis was there though.) and very far removed from anything anyone would call "cool".
By anyone I of course mean "normal" non-Sci Fi convention attendees... so pretty much the majority of everyone I knew at that point.

Joe Flanigan from Stargate: Atlantis autograph. A VERY prized possession of mine.

Things sure have changed in the 8 years since then. In alot of ways.
For one, the term nerd used to be a very negative thing to call people. Geek was a slightly less harsh term.. but still not anything you wanted to classified as.

When I was growing up I recall having a hell of a time meeting girls.
I was a metal fan (very uncool during the mid to late 90's) and also a sci fi fan.
To utter the phrase Star Wars or even worse Star Trek was a sure way to get made fun of at length by pretty much everyone.
If you we're outed as a "Trekkie" you could feel secure in knowledge that you were not going to be getting laid in the foreseeable future.
Tough times for a glasses wearing Sci Fi fan who listened to heavy metal I must say.

I of course was not alone. There was about four of us.

I could tell tales of days gone by when we hid away doing whatever nerds like us used to do.. but I won't.
It wouldn't be very interesting and I'm sure you heard something pretty similar before.

It's funny how things change. Metal went from being something not to be taken seriously to for all intents and purposes the most dominant genre sales wise in just a few short years.
Rightfully so I say. It was about fucking time.
As for nerds in general.. something's changed there as well. The difference between this and metal is contrary to metal I can't really pin-point a single thing that happened that changed it all.
It just happened.

Nerd is now a banner people wear with pride. Not even limited admitting to a love of Sci Fi /computers/comics . The way people dress has also changed.
Take a look at this pic:


That kind of sums it up really.

And I'm not sure how to feel about this.
On one hand I love the fact that one bumps into Doctor Who fans (not just dudes.. GIRLS!) as soon as you leave the apartment,
On the other... like metal it was kind of nice when it was just a few of us..
A totally childish "NO IT'S MINE!" attitude to have of course. The upsides far outweigh the down.

I'm sure everyone has seen The Big Bang Theory at this point. I love it.
I don't think that show would have worked a few years ago in the same way it does today.

This like anything is just a phase of course. In a few years time nerds will nerds again. The weak will jump ship while the rest of us remain on board standing in line to get Brent Spiner or whoever it maybe to sign a dusty a DVD.
And even after that I'm sure there will come a time when nerds are cool yet again.
Like I said phases. Everything is a just phase. A pessimistic jerk like myself might even go so far as to point out that evolutionary wise, we as a species are also just a phase.

I will however leave you with this one last thought.

One HUGE upside to Sci Fi nerds and metal fans is that we are one of the few demographics left that still buy DVDs and actual CDs and thus keep the industry going so the rest of you can go out and buy The Hangover 2 on blu-ray or the latest Kent record in three different formats.

You're welcome.




NEXT TIME: 10 top movies to watch during Halloween weekend!

Bar Misfits

Coming soon to a dark, dank sweaty basement in Stockholm ...very soon.
More info as it unfolds.

The beginning is near.

Back from the dead?
You could call it that.
Personally I think it's too soon to say... we'll play it by ear.

First off, sorry about the lack of activity here.
I haven't had any stories tell, things to rant about or hidden musical gems to glorify.
I guess of course one can always find things to rant about if one looks.
Laziness on my part.

Harsh times we live in these days.
I just flicked thru the recent posts on twitter.
Not a piece of anything even close to good news as far the eye can see.
Economy problems seem to be the norm in most countries, intolerance is just a present if not even more so than ever, we are obsessed with surface and superficiality and a great portion of the world is burning in the flames of war started on ludicrous grounds.
And that's just some of the shit WE'VE fucked up for ourselves.

Mother earth sure as hell is doing a great job trying to hint that the party is over.. and we ain't invited to the afer-party.
On top of all that we have, if the Mayans are to be believed, about 1 year left until the shit really hits the fan.
So...
Economic crisis (Don't be fooled.. things can get ALOT worse)
War (See above)
Natural disasters ( No explanation needed I feel)
The Mayan thing (Don't have the details but it doesn't seem very fun)
Zombie uprise (Added for my own amusement. I'm totally ready for this when it goes down)
Alien invasion (Hopefully Close Encounter Of Third Kind aliens or E.T rather than..Alien or ID4) Nuclear holocaust (Trying to blow up the aliens)
Animals rising up and taking their turf back (I would love to see this one)
Iphones rising up and making us their slaves (They're half way there already...)

Seems we have alot of fun times ahead. Here comes my solution to the whole thing:

Ready?





Pay attention now.







Only gonna say this once.






RELAX!
Lighten up, have a beer or twelve., and breathe a little.

The world is always ending in one way or another.
It does seem like we are living in an age where things get shaken up a bit.
I have a few friends who truly believe we are racing towards some kind of big endgame scenario.
Maybe we are.
If so, I'm pretty sure a has-been musician /guitar-teacher/ bartender/DJ/professional whiner can't do anything about and I don't care what you do for a living because I know you can't either.

I don't believe the end is near, I do however believe we've reached some kind of breaking point and somethings got to change.

Change is not the end. It's just something new.
If anything the beginning is near.

So with that said, I will leave you for this time and hope I see you soon.

/Beard

Sorry for a lack of movement here.
On vacation from all of this.. should be back in about a week.
Til' then..
/Beard

A wee bit of revolution pt 1: SAVE THE HUMANS!

Here I was wondering what to write about tonight..

So here's the background:
Swedish Enterprise officials have been sitting in their lair thinking of new fun filled ways to make the world a slightly blander and darker place.
The latest scheme they have been cooking up is a plan that will reduce financial aids to students studying art and/or humanity related subjects.
The reason for this being that it is allegedly more difficult to gain proper employment after one has completed ones studies which would mean student loans and grants would take longer time to be repaid in full and thus would be..bluntly put a drain on society.
That is not their wording of course.. but that pretty much what the deal is.

Before I get into this, I should point out that I have never studied at a university level.
I am not a complete outsider though. I have in my years that I have been an active.. let's call it helper elf on campus picked some stuff and I am no idiot so I can deduce quite a bit from the little I have heard, seen and to some degree taken part of.

That said, there are people far more informed as far as this debate goes and it's mechanics. Everything beyond this point is my personal views and are in no way made in any official capacity.These are just my feelings on an attitude that I find offensive.
Just take it for what it is.


As a musician I know first hand how certain circles tend to look at my profession of choice.
It is viewed as a hobby. Something one does on weekends but eventually gives up to become part of the "real world".
I recall in high school the art students being mocked for being a bunch of lazy stoners who threw paint at bits of pieces of paper.
Same as anyone who had an ambition to live off music. It was seen as pipe dreams.
A thing as improbable and realistic as saying one hoped to get a job as a superhero or a knight.
Silly silly ideas for silly people not to be taken seriously.
I was a young, insecure kid back then. I truly believed them to be right.

Today, I know better.

I recently watched a Doctor Who episode that featured Van Gogh.
He is today seen as one of the greats ( and rightfully so I might add) but during his own lifetime he was mocked. He in fact did not have his "big break" until after his death.
Of course that was then and this was now. We in the west are a very enlightened bunch of people who understand the value, importance and long term impact that art can have on society and nurture it right? Well..

To be fare, not every person who picks up a paint brush is going to be a Van Gogh and not everyone who picks up a guitar is going to be a Bob Dylan.
But the thing is this: You never really know.

There is no way to tell what the long term impact that one person can have.
Do you think when John Lennon picked up a guitar for the first time his peers, family and teachers knew what was to come? Of course not!
I'm sure their he got some resistance along the way.. it's kind of part of the rock and roll thing isn't it?
One needs a machine to rage against.. but this new thing is something more.
The fact that someone who wishes to study art history for example not only has a rough road ahead of him or herself (like I said..not everyone makes it) just due to the nature of the field but now there a people who want to at an official capacity make things even more difficult to save a few bucks.
Jesus, I cannot believe I just wrote that in the year 2011..
It is mind boggling that this is even an idea that I'm sure more than a few people think is a good one.

If one gains proper employment in ANY field it has to do with one factor regardless to what field it is: How hard you want to work for it.

To claim that art and humanity students are less likely to make it due the subjects being "flakey" is just complete bullshit.
Why aren't they pulling funds for the people studying political science instead? Not to offend anyone if that is your true passion but from what I gather it kinda looks like this:

(Young Johnny has just completed his studies in political science and received his degree )

Johnny: Boo yah! I have my degree! What now?
His Professor: You can teach political science!
Johnny: To who?
The Prof: Some other guys
Johnny: Ok. What will they do?
The Prof: Teach it to some other guys!

They want to take money from us (you know what I mean) and pat the backs of the guys who pretty much received oodles of money and wasted years of their lives in a fucking pyramid scheme!

I am of course, taking this example to an extreme level.
I am sure that is not quite the case.. but I don't get that idea that they should be seen as more productive members of society than someone with an ambition go into the field of archaeology for example.

Let me tell you something, lazy fucking leeches come in all shapes and sizes.
Artists, scientists, historians whatever.. you name it. It is therefore horribly unfair to make an assumption that people with a passion for something creative are going to end up costing society more money.

Creativity is very important. The ability to make something real out of nothing is truly a force of nature and should not be underestimated.
Music has time and time again proved to have to have the ability to change things. Real and important things. During the Vietnam war the protest songs that we're born from the fury people felt in no small way changed the course of Americas involvement.
In a world like ours in times like these there is more than a few things wrong that could use some changing.
Where are all the songs that say no?
Where is art from sane minds that make people question what is being presented?
They simply aren't there.
I don't know if this exclusively has to due with the attitude I have been ranting about.. but I do feel the fucking last thing we want to do right now is make it more difficult for people with something to say to get a chance to say it.. whatever it might be!


I think this whole thing can reduced to this final thought:

Humanity studies.
It contains the word "human".
There is a reason for that.


/Beard

BEARD ON THE RUN

And I'm off the absolutely LOVELY city of Gothenburg to see THE band with a capital THE.

and am of course talking about IRON MAIDEN!

Expect a rather large post upon my return.


/Beard

Clash Of The Titans?

As I tend to do when not in a great mood, I am right now putting my focus on something that has little or no relevance at all to the rest of the world.

So I am watching TV, enjoying what one might call a failed whiskey sour and a thought occurs to me..
I do believe my moustache is cooler than Jason Lee's!

I never thought I would say that. Of course I can't even touch Selleck's.. he has and will always be the man.. but yeah.. I rather like my "stache".
I should have gotten one years ago.. still not sure why that never happened. Oh well.. nevermind that now.


Let's take a look at us shall we?





I think I hold my own in this.. this league of men with behaired faces don't you?


That's all for now. Next time I will get back to complaining about my usual stuff. Promise.

...

Karma is a funny thing..
Either that or Someone up there remembered the fact that he doesn't like me..

Fuck... and with that cryptic post.. I bid you good night.

You had to be there Pt.1

Hello folks.
I write to you, on this the eve of the 23rd of June in the year of our lord 2011, covered in cold sweat and with a back that is kicking my ass (don't take that too literally) yet perfectly content.
I have just witnessed my 7th Foo Fighters concert.
The band was great but rather than get into a blow by blow account of the show, I thought I would take a slightly different approach.

I think it's fair to say a good time was had by all myself included. 30 thousand people give or take in a an arena on a sunny day. Beer is flowing like water and all is well. Being the cynic I in many ways am I felt the need to compare this experience with my first time seeing them. This is way back in..1999!
Yes I can feel the shock and awe that you now feel realizing that I am indeed what George Carlin would call an "old fuck".

A very excited young man sets off to a magical place apparently called "Fryshuset" where the event in question according to rumour will take place that very night.

This place was in uncharted territory seeing as the young man had not ventured in this part of town before.
Clenching his precious ticket in his grubby sweaty hand, he has arrived at the tube station his slightly older friend has informed him is the closet to the arena.

Where are the legions of Foo Fighters fans? Surely this is the music event of like.. you know.. forever!
Eventually, he spots someone who in his mind looks kind of "grungey" and follows. Luckily his instincts were correct and they arrive at the venue.

Let's jump ahead about 2 hours....

The house lights go off.. he can see something going on up there.. but what is it?

YES! THERE HE IS!! IT'S DAVE GROHL AND HE'S ONLY 2 METERS AWAY!

What followed was 2 hours of pure joy. They played all his favourite songs a few of which he later found out aren't played that often. One of them was played that night for the second time in Foo history!
He later walks home, with the latest Foo record playing very loudly on his portable cd player.
This has truly been the best night of his life and he will live of that high for a long time to come.
"Dave Grohl threw a beer into the crowd and some of it got on me!" he would tell people.
A truly magical night. You had to be there I guess...

The thing is this:
The young lad was obviously me and even I wasn't really there. Not in the way I remember it at least.

Sure, seeing them in front of barely 1000 people in my mind is cooler than 30 thousand people in a huge arena and yes, admittedly the setlist was more to my liking that first time BUT... I am of course looking back at that first night thru goggles of nostalgia .
I am sure everything was great.. but not as great as I seem to recall it being.
Had tonight been the first time I would without a doubt feel the same way about tonight.
I'm not in any way trying to knock tonight's show.
Tonight was a hell of a fucking show to say the least. Wow!
Those guys have not lost a step since I saw them way back in 1999 that's for damn sure.

So this is not really me in anyway complaining. Quite the contrary. I just as of recently become very suspicious as far as memories go. Any time I think back on a event or a time in my life and think "yeah..those were the days" I try to be aware that they in fact were not "the days" when I was living them and in fact these days and this period of my life will at some point also be "the days".

I am not trying to knock nostalgia either.
I just feel nostalgia was a hell of lot better back in the day...good times, good times.


/Beard

It's the most magical time of the year..

... yes.. it is upon us again.
Graduation time in Sweden!
Loud, vomit flecked trains filled with drunk kids pretty much all 24 hours of the day.

In a way it's like our Groundhog Day. If the Groundhog comes out and sees it's shadow, one knows that..whatever it is that is that is supposed to happen is happening.
In Sweden, one truly knows summer is upon us when one hears drunk very Swedish 14 year old kids singing painfully off key that they want to go home to West Virginia.

Good times...

Back In The High Life Again.

So starting Monday, I will be getting in the ring again, dusting off ole monkey suit and once again attempting to make some kind of sonic sense out of my many weird ideas.

Obviously this is not my first attempt nor will it be my last.. I just don't seem to learn when to quit.

I hope I never do.

They say the difference between insane and eccentric is the presence or lack of money and success.

Time will tell I guess as far as I go.. but not today and most likely not Monday.

Let's just say "someday" and leave it at that.

...NOW IN 3-D!

Good evening.

I usually am a big fan of new and cool ideas. That's not true.. actually I am savagely pessimistic and suspicious about all things new and I don't believe in updating shit just for the sake of having newer more cutting edge.. shit.

My latest thing that really pisses me off is of course, this new 3-D trend.
Now, I should say that I really like this idea in some cases when it seems appropriate.
I just don't think EVERYTHING has to 3-D just for the sake of being in 3-D.


I recently saw Thor which even though it was not filmed for the 3-D format had extra stuff added on afterwards.
Among other things ( like two other things all in all) I got to.. hold on now.. I got to see it SNOW IN 3-D!
Thank God for that because living in Sweden that is something I had not experienced yet..you know.. that day.

Here's what I read this morning that really pissed me off:

They are planning to re-release The Lion King in 3-D...

FUCK.. people really, really are stupid creatures.

There is no reason that this is in anyway an ok idea. It's just dumb and unnecessary.

It appears however the planned Titanic 3-Difaction will not be happening so I guess that's something.

I know this is something I will have to live with until they start doing 4-D movies ( yes, I know this is impossible due to the fact that the fourth dimension is time) and just be thankful for the few times this new technology is used in an entertaining and tasteful way.

But this is Hollywood so we undoubtedly have the charming antics of Hugh Grant in Love Actually 3-D to look forward to.


/Beard

My Post-Apocalypse Party Playlist

So as most of you probably have noticed, an event which has become the Jehovahs Witnesses Chinese Democracy namely The End Of The World did in fact not happen last weekend.
The earth was not swallowed by the sun, a comet did not smash into us and I do not have to fight off armies of zombies on my way down to the pub.

There is new date now. I believe it was sometime in October. So don't make any big plans for Halloween just yet huh?

Being a sci-fi geek and pretty pessimistic guy I have made some plans on what to do when the big day comes.

First off, me and Spike will survive. Why? Because I'm fucking awesome and if you don't believe me ask your mother. While you're talking please apologize on my behalf for leaving so quickly last night.

So we have our location picked out (yeah.. like I'm gonna tell YOU guys where. Find your own damn hideout) and we are about to take off.
I do a quick run thru our checklist.

Tons of canned food? Check
Clothes? Check
Weapons? Check..ish
Beer? Double check
Music? Oops..

It would be a major downer to get to the place, crack open a beer and not have any tunes to enjoy during our End Of The World.. AND WE MADE IT party.

So I dash off to my shelf and select 10 very special records to bring with me.

Before we get to the goods I should out that a few of these records would be not on my list if you asked me a week later or earlier. It's a mood thing.
I should also point out that there is an obvious hole in my logic. If there was still electricity and electronics I could just bring one of my laptops and be able to bring pretty much all my music with me. For the sake of this thing working let's ignore that and move on shall we?


10.Hammock - Kenotic



I think it's fare to assume that I might be a little stressed out by the whole situation. This album will indeed come in handy.

9. Lucien - S/T



An awesome album that always is constant rotation at Casa de Beard. A no brainer for my soundtrack to fighting off zombies while on a beer run.

8. Rob Zombie - Hellbilly Deluxe



I'm drunk, there are actual zombies roaming around outside the house, and oh yeah if I didn't mention it, I'm drunk. Hence I'm gonna wanna listen Rob Zombie..REALLY LOUD.

7. Slayer - Seasons In The Abyss



It just seems like the right thing to do.

6.Tom Waits - Mule Variations



If you really need me to explain why this one needs to be on this list than I really hope you are among the first to be eaten.

5. Pearl Jam - Yield




It was hard to pick just one Pearl Jam album. At the end of the day (or in this case the world) this is still my favourite.


4. The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness





Loud and quiet. Happy and sad. Achingly beautiful and crushingly heavy. This one has it all.
I can picture myself having a big boy glass of whiskey listening to Tales Of A Scorched Earth
going "yeah.. good times".

3.Iron Maiden - Brave New World





Besides the fact that the album is brilliant it also seems to suit the mood as well.
Other than that I don't have or really need to add anything on this one.



2. Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti




Why I hear you ask? My answer: Why the hell not?
It is arguably their finest album and always puts me in great mood. A song like In My Time Of Dying might feel a bit on the nose at a time like that but hey.. lighten up.

1. Warren Zevon - I'l Sleep When I'm Dead




Mr. Zevon is always with me wherever I go. The hard thing was picking just one of his albums.
In the end I picked a double disc anthology. It's got pretty much everything and then some.
Whatever mood I'm in, have been in or will be in Warren has song that suits the moment.
A perfect travel buddy wherever I end up.



So that's my list and I'm sticking to it. I should point out that I am no way rooting for this to happen.. but if it does..don't you worry. I'll be fine.


Until next time I will leave you with quote from Mr. Zevon that feels appropriate.

Enjoy every sandwich.


/Beard

Something some of you might enjoy?

I always enjoy helping people find new bands and/or records that they otherwise might not have heard.
Awhile back, in a post called Midnight electric sugar I wrote a short piece about a group called Hammock.

I'm not sure if any of you ended up checking them out but I still enjoyed pretending that some of you did.

As I happen to be awake at this ungodly hour with nothing to do, I'm gonna do it again.

I via a somewhat unlikely source (and one that will remain secret) recently came across a great album by a Canadian band called Wintersleep.




The album in question Welcome To The Night Sky is a collection seriously awesome semi acoustic pop songs.
Perfect for late night moongazing/walks/that last good night cigarette/quiet evening on the sofa/whatever.

Well worth a listen.. and this is coming from the guy who has been called alot of things but never has one of these things been "Mr. Acoustic Pop".

Who killed all the real record stores?

On Friday the 8th of April I was reminded, not for the first time in recent weeks that I am indeed getting old(er).

Via a friend in the biz as we cool trendy people say, I was given an advance copy of the Foo Fighters record about a week before it's release on a very official looking USB thingy. It had the band logo on it and everything!
So I rushed home, turned the lights out and blasted at a very rude volume all the way thru.
It was great and I have since then listened thru it about 20 times all the way.
That first listen though.. it was missing something.

Follow me on a short jaunt down memory lane..
In late October 2002, a very weird looking excitable young lad wandered down a street in the old part of Stockholm with equally excited, but and times very clumsy steps.

He is deep thought and even deeper into whatever happens to be playing on portable cd player (yes, these actually existed kids! Try google if you want to learn more) at the time.
If a nuclear bomb were to go off right next to him he wouldn't notice unless his batteries happen to run out at the same time.

He arrives at his destination at last! Getting more excited by the second he reaches the counter.
The man behind the counter knows what he is there for since the boy had phoned in earlier to see if they indeed had what he wanted.
About a minute later he is on his way to the subway holding one of the first copies of the then new Foo Fighters record One By One. The temptation to just throw the thing into his cd player is horrible but he resists! He in fact, even after arriving home waits about an hour before even hearing a single note.
This is to make sure he can be left undisturbed during this very very important event.
Finally it is time.. the record is in the player, the very ugly looking headphones with very good sound quality are on... and he's off! An hour or so of pure magic comes and passes.
The young lad walks around the rest of the evening with a big smile on his face. He has just visited a very special parallel universe that he knows he will visit many times in the future.

And I still of course. Great album that I became the soundtrack to an winter filled with some of my most fond memories.

Now, doesn't that experience sound alot more fun than getting the damn thing on a fucking memory stick?
Ok, I'll admit I poetried up the story a bit for effect but I still think there is something special about doing it this way.

It has become hard to do so.. or at least harder than it used to be. Small indie record shops starting dropping like flies a few years back.
Alot has to do with the current trend in how people choose to acquire their music these days.



What a REAL record shop looks like.


What they look like these days...


The store I bought One by One has since then disappeared along with about 5-6 other places I used to hang out.
You like the movie High Fidelity right? Of course you do.. who doesn't?

Well thanks to various websites, programs and a need people have to not pay for anything these days, I'm pretty sure Rob, Dick and Barry are all out of jobs these days.

It sucks. Plain and simple. One could reduce all of this to "they don't make em like they used to"kind of ranting which can be silly, but I truly feel almost every true music lover will agree there is something magic about a proper, old fashioned record shop.

So what is the Gospel According To Beard tonight? GET OFF YOUR ASSES, TURN OFF YOUR FUCKING COMPUTER AND GO BUY A FUCKING REAL RECORD AT A REAL RECORD SHOP!

I'm off to watch High Fidelity and cry for a bit.

Thank you and goodnight.

Howling at the moon: The upside of insomia

'twas the night before tuesday and all thru house not creature was stirring..not even a mouse.

It was a well-known fact among most people who know me that I despite of my very stubborn insomnia, am not a user of any kind of sleeping pills.

Here's why:
My latest thing that I discovered about three weeks ago is, around 2 am (ish) make myself a cup of tea, put on my jacket head downstairs out to the backyard kind of thing we got going on here, put my headphones on and just enjoy the moon for about 30-40 minutes. It's very very relaxing and even though when I come inside again I more often than not still can't sleep,I feel less stressed and over all quite happy.

Had I been a popper of sleeping pills and passed out by midnight this wouldn't be possible.


So even though insomnia is a often a royal pain in the ass and really makes daytime activity hard like all annoyances it has it's upsides.

So if you haven't tried I strongly recommend you do...the moon thing I mean. Not the insomnia.


If you have a big wolf like dog to keep you company it makes it even better.






/Beard


Recomended listening:
Everlast - Love, War and The Ghost Of Whitey Ford

Musings of a guy in a canon.

Very much like my real (whatever the word "real" means in this context)life my updates here tend to be very scattered.
In a way that defeats the purpose of the blog since per defintion this kind of thing is supposed some sort of continous narative about whatever the writer feels the blog is about.

I don't really feel the need to update this every week or even every month unless I have something I think is worth saying.

That is not in any way a jab at friends or other people who write about their day to day lives at all.

I just don't think anything I do on a daily basis is very intreresting to anyone myself excluded.

Anyway, that is not really my point tonight.

I recentlly (like 5 minutes ago) stumbled onto the word "chaos" on a friends blog.

That word often has a fairly negative charge to it. I disagree.
In certain cases I would love to have more structure in what I do besides my wednesday thing in my life.
For the most part I love things the way they are. Comeplete chaos with just a little bit of structure poking around at the edges.
The feeling of not really knowing what one is going to be next night or even in a few hours is very liberating. The closest comparison I can think of is being the guy sitting the canon just waiting for it go off.
All he knows is that it will at some point go off. Beyond that it's a mystery.
I have my students, Gula Villan and Spike. Those are my three constants that keep me at least moderately sane.

This of course makes long term planning non existant but that is a draw back I'm willing to live with.
I will at some point get tired of this but for now I am very happy being the guy in the canon.


/Beard

Batman vs. Eddie Vedder

As I promised.... a battle to the death between Batman & Eddie Vedder.





Eddie Vedder, although being a talented musician and co-creator of some of my favorite records of all time has not shown any indication that he possesses formidable fighting skills.
The winner therefore would be Batman


So we solved that. Moving on...

They do not build them as they once did.

In my last post, I said I would try to write with less erratic intervals.
It's fairly clear now that statement was complete bullshit.
So let's forget that ever happened, say happy new years and get on with it.



They do not build them as they once did.

The first week of 2011 is coming to an end. So far, so good I must say.
Seems like me the rest of world is at least to some degree still on vacation and I feel alot like a guy in a canon waiting to be shot out into the whatever.

On Thursday night I was doing some random clicking about the internet and stumbled onto the website of the indeed very awesome band Pearl Jam.
I tend to drop in there now and then just to check whats going on and if there might be news of any kind of European tour in the works (there never is).

As it turns out, this time there was some news.
2011 marks the 20th year the band has been active.
My first thought was of a "hell yeah...well done!" nature.
My second thought was "Hold on... 20 years? When did this happen? The guys aren't more than late 20s early to mid 30s....or... hmm... yeah."
It took me by surprise because I have always seen them as young vital energetic band who makes young vital energetic music.
I recall seeing them on their Binaural tour. They must been in their mid 30s at that point... to think that there a band memebers of Pearl Jam closing in on 50 was a slightly odd thing to suddenly realize.
Pearl Jam shouldn't be in their 50s... isn't Eric Clapton like 50?


Back in the day



Nowish


This is of course a very silly way of looking that things. It is in the same vein of savage arguments I had as a kid about who would win a fight between Batman and insert name of some other random superhero ( FYI the answer of course is Batman. Always Batman).

There are literally armies of bands who are in their 20s who make tired music but at the same their are quite a few older bands who can make kick ass stuff well past the age of 50.

In spite of that it can sometimes feel odd to think that Eddie Vedder doesn't have as much time to jump around on stage 150 nights out of the year singing the fuck outta songs like "Ewen flow" because he is off doing...whatever men of a respectable age do.

I probably could have summed up this entire rant like this:

I was the kid standing in the front row jumping around like a maniac all those years ago who now is older than I thought they were first time I saw them. Hmm.
I'm sorry if this came off as whiny.. that was really not at all what I was going for.

Anyway, bye bye for now
/Beard


Next time on A Beard Too Far:
Batman vs. Eddie Vedder: Who would win?