February 20, 2007
I woke up around 8:40 AM and was too anxious to go back to bed. It was Friday morning, and the weekend I was slaving for all week was approaching. I got out of bed and took a shower, brushed my teeth, etc.
Class was more enjoyable than usual. I must have been on drugs or something. Everything seemed funny. We saw a clip from a movie; I forgot the name. I thought it was funny when the main character was having sex with his co-worker on the photocopy machine in his dream.
I had lunch at Sexton, the Reef was too full as usual. I decided to skip my 2:40 class. I had to make time to go down to the cities to pick up my band's equipment for our gig on Saturday at CSB. I kept receiving phone calls from Chakong about renting speakers for the performance. I left campus around 2:00 PM.
The drive home seemed longer than usual. It was such a struggle to stay awake.
I tried to look for my CD of Albert Hammond Jr tracks, I couldn't find them in my car.
3:15 PM I picked up Dave (my drummer) at the U of M Twin Cities campus. We then headed to my house to pick up my mom's SUV. My mom was apparently sick when I got home. My dad was fixing something for my mom to eat. We then headed to Dave's house to pack up the equipment. I bought some girl scout cookies from Dave's sister.
The drive back to CSB was very long. Snow was falling like ashes, and the sky was a deep purple. Dave and I would exchange words here and there about bands, music, girls, and life. The drive took around two and half hours.
We arrived at CSB and unloaded our equipment on the top floor of Gorecki. I exchanged a few words with friends on our way in. A girl named Anne was there, we looked at each other but never exchanged words. She must be shy or just cold.
When we finished unloading, rehearsals were still going on for the festival on Saturday. I was called over by the Japanese girls to say hello. "That girl" was there with 'that guy,' I decided not to say anything to her yet. I watched some of the rehearsals, the Japanese dance was the most interesting. I talked to "that girl" after she got off the stage. She seemed more in tune than usual with what I had to say, but I knew she was leaving with "that guy." Women are confusing, or I'm just clueless.
Dave and I finally set up our equipment. I was relieved when Dave and I found out how to work the P.A system. Dave and I decided to go to Wendy's to get something to eat. On our way back, the rest of the band members arrived at my sister's place in Saint Ben's.
Later on that night, we all gathered at Theo's place. Jak (the bassist) had an intense mohawk; I wasn't sure how I felt about it. Andy (the keyboardist/synthesizer) brought "Rock Band" for the Xbox 360. I found it ironic that a band was playing 'rock band.' Everyone had a good buzz going. I sucked at the quarter game; I can't seem to toss the quartar just right.
I sang Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer." I was chewing gum, and everyone buzzed on their beer bumped me. I accidently swallowed my gum, but when I said it out loud, it sounded like something dirty.
I went to bed around 2:40 AM.
The Dream
Most of my dream was set during night. The sky was a deep purple, but the lights along the streets and buildings were orange. There was a girl in my dream, around my age, who was someone I knew well. But in reality, I never knew this girl before. She told she wanted to do heroin; she wanted to see the world in new ways. My friends Theo and Jak also wanted to do heroin. I remember telling them not to do the drug, but they refused to listen. I gave them an ultimatum, to choose between the drug or our friendship. They chose to do heroin, and I remember deleting them from my contacts in my phone.
I remember walking fast outside, through some house parties. I missed the bus, so I decided to walk home. There were tents along side the road with lines of people waiting outside. I saw Gwen (from our class) waiting in line. I decided to wait in line as well.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
The 80s are back!!
I don't know if I'm the only one noticing this, but the 80s are coming back. Oh God, I have been listening to 80s tracks all day: "Africa" by Toto, "Everyone Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears, "Come On Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners, "Just What I Needed" by The Cars, "Just Like Heaven" by The Cure, and "Take On Me" by Ah-ha. Anyways, I have been noticing trends that are very similar to the 80s. Look around you: the puffball skirts, abstract and bright color designs, big chunky jewelry, the new hairdos (thank god we haven't seen the mullets), the use of synthesizers in music, and so on. Now, what does this mean? Well, I don't know really.
In the early 2000s, we saw an emergence of a the 60s-70s revival. At that time, bands like The Strokes, The Hives, The White Stripes, The Vines, The Killers, and Franz Ferdinand received some hype for their old-school attitude and style of music. Tight-ripped jeans were cool, even with the boot cuts so they look like "bell bottoms." Long wavy hair was cool for guys, almost like a Kelso (That 70s Show) imitation. Now, the 80s are coming back. It is a bold assumption, but I wouldn't be surprised.
Trends recycle themselves, even if they are just the smallest things. Where do these trends come from? Well, I'm not the one to make such a bold of a claim. But my hypothesis, which is a pretty obvious guess, is the involvement of the corporate businesses and marketing. Like Naomi Klein says in her book, No Logo, "street style and youth culture are infinitely marketable commodities" (80). The 80s trend could come from a group of kids who shop at second-rate stores for all we know. The point is that whatever trends the market is promoting, it will spread like wildfire. Marketers won't stop their advertising, and the next thing you know, 80s fashion are the only things available at the mall.
In No Logo, there are "Cool Hunters" who stalk youth culture everyday seeking the modern definition of "cool" in order to squeeze dollars out of it. These "cool hunters" could blend in easily, being young associates of large corporations, and notate the next big move of youth culture. In matter of fact, these "cool hunters" hype up brands and promotions using a 'peer-to-peer' distribution. It's almost as if they don't need to search for cool, they can create whatever trends they want with the corporations support and hype. These "cool hunters" make their way into private parties, gatherings, concerts, and other youth events, and whatever is put to spotlight ends up being called "sold out" by modern youth. Then, the search begins again in this cycle that goes on and on.
Now, I really don't know where the 80s trend is coming from. Somehow, the corporations have caught on to this trend, either by using their "cool hunters" or just because. Who knows what will happen. Perhaps the 80s fad will only last for a short period of time, or it may never come. Fads come and go, but the marketing machine never stops rolling. Anything has become marketable, and you take that any way you like. Now if you don't mind, I am going to continue to listen to "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul...Yeah, Paula...So what?
P.S:
Check out the picture and video below. These are recent; they look pretty 80s to me.
In the early 2000s, we saw an emergence of a the 60s-70s revival. At that time, bands like The Strokes, The Hives, The White Stripes, The Vines, The Killers, and Franz Ferdinand received some hype for their old-school attitude and style of music. Tight-ripped jeans were cool, even with the boot cuts so they look like "bell bottoms." Long wavy hair was cool for guys, almost like a Kelso (That 70s Show) imitation. Now, the 80s are coming back. It is a bold assumption, but I wouldn't be surprised.
Trends recycle themselves, even if they are just the smallest things. Where do these trends come from? Well, I'm not the one to make such a bold of a claim. But my hypothesis, which is a pretty obvious guess, is the involvement of the corporate businesses and marketing. Like Naomi Klein says in her book, No Logo, "street style and youth culture are infinitely marketable commodities" (80). The 80s trend could come from a group of kids who shop at second-rate stores for all we know. The point is that whatever trends the market is promoting, it will spread like wildfire. Marketers won't stop their advertising, and the next thing you know, 80s fashion are the only things available at the mall.
In No Logo, there are "Cool Hunters" who stalk youth culture everyday seeking the modern definition of "cool" in order to squeeze dollars out of it. These "cool hunters" could blend in easily, being young associates of large corporations, and notate the next big move of youth culture. In matter of fact, these "cool hunters" hype up brands and promotions using a 'peer-to-peer' distribution. It's almost as if they don't need to search for cool, they can create whatever trends they want with the corporations support and hype. These "cool hunters" make their way into private parties, gatherings, concerts, and other youth events, and whatever is put to spotlight ends up being called "sold out" by modern youth. Then, the search begins again in this cycle that goes on and on.
Now, I really don't know where the 80s trend is coming from. Somehow, the corporations have caught on to this trend, either by using their "cool hunters" or just because. Who knows what will happen. Perhaps the 80s fad will only last for a short period of time, or it may never come. Fads come and go, but the marketing machine never stops rolling. Anything has become marketable, and you take that any way you like. Now if you don't mind, I am going to continue to listen to "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul...Yeah, Paula...So what?
P.S:
Check out the picture and video below. These are recent; they look pretty 80s to me.
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