It’s About the Hook

I’m sitting here still suspended from work for something I really did not do. I’m being “iced” by HR right now as they are not communicating with me regarding my current role with the company at all. So, I need to keep myself busy.

Or go crazy.

This is a rant based on conversations I’ve had repeatedly with people everywhere.

See, there’s always this conversations which people have with me regarding music. People will tell me about some band they listen to. And I listen or have listened to these bands already.

Not my cup of tea.

And the response is, didn’t you hear that solo?

That guy is so fast.

Or this guy who told me about a drummer from the 80’s or 90’s or sometime and this guy would speed rope in a metal shed for 30 minutes to become the fastest drummer. He said, it was so impressive. Sounds like a machine gun.

Why?

I can appreciate all the talent. There are some really impressive musical artists out there.

But the music is boring and I don’t want to listen.

I might reply with some of my favorite bands. Rich with layers. Heavy, heavy sounds.

Sounds I can nod my head to.

I get it’s not fast. It’s something people can learn to play.

But can they write?

I was so bored of the music I grew up with. The constant need for solos which sounded like it was spawned from a different creator than the song itself. Fast fingers playing for nothing in particular. Every single song laced with boring lyrics about women and rock n’ roll belted from a vocalist who the band chose from Led Zeppelin night at the local dive bar.

It all has its place, but let’s be real. It was boring.

Another song like the last one.

What people don’t realize is that sometimes it’s about the feel.

I compare it to cooking.

I can’t play a musical instrument. I can’t cook. But I know what sounds good and I know what tastes good.

When I cook, I make very basic foods. A couple chords marinated with the right amount of seasoning to give the bridge between bites anticipation.

Pop music is frozen food. Prefabricated little tunes you think sound good but are really just the flavor of the day put away so you can have that hot pocket five times a day if you like. No prep work and you always know what you are getting.

I explained to somebody once about my empanadas I make. He looked at me and said, you mean a hot pocket?

No. Hot Pockets where made for easy digestion, but are ultimately bad for you.

My empanadas taste slightly different each time because I measure absolutely nothing.

Sometimes I blend a few flavors together. Think of taco pizzas- the fusion of food. Still has that hook you like and love, but I did make my own dough and added a Latin flavor.

I have nothing against these musicians who are extremely talented. It’s impressive, but I’ve never taken any cooking classes. I’m self taught.

I just need a good hook.

I’ve watched shows where the chef will do some complicated method to make food. And that long piano solo just gets old after a while. All I want is a drop D chord to break up the monotony.

I do not sit well.

I can let the dough rise while I do other things.

I can slow cook some chili.

Marinade some chicken for some tacos.

I’m not claiming I’m making Stairway to Heaven at any one point. This isn’t any part of Tool’s Lateralus.

But it just may feel like Deftone’s Bored. Nice hook and will take care of my need.

I guess my point is that everything doesn’t have to be Pink Floyd to appreciate. Even Eddie Van Halen wrote a simple hook.

I can appreciate much of what Steely Dan did, but they were flat out exhausted by the time Gaucho came out. Always having people over to help you make dinner? How tiring.

My puppy has asked to go out twice this afternoon. Some asshole is cranking their country music. She scrambles back in quickly.

Keep your fucking boring ass steak and potatoes to yourself. We don’t need to know. And get one of those necklaces so you can get emergency services called if nobody is around when you have your heart attack.

Keep rocking.

Because it’s about the hook. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.

Now, here’s something simple, textured and good like that that bass line from If You Want Me to Stay by Sly and the Family Stone.

Word of the Month Club

If Trump has not done a single other good thing, at least he has expanded the vocabulary of the citizens in his country.

This past four years have been like that kid who got a “Word of the Day” calendar in sixth grade and has to tell everybody what today’s word is. And use it over and over and over.

This month, for instance, the country seemingly learned the word “sedition”.

The only reason I believe this is because I hear the word every single day since January 6, 2021 on every single media outlet and from people who never used the word before.

I get it. It’s valid. It’s what happened.

Sedition.

But this word wasn’t used before that day in any form.

For the sake of argument, here’s the definition:

formal : the crime of saying, writing, or doing something that encourages people to disobey their government

formal the crime of saying, writing, or doing something that encourages people to disobey their government

And now:

Synonyms & Near Synonyms for sedition

misprision, treachery, treason
insurgence, insurgency, insurrection, mutiny, outbreak, rebellion, revolt, revolution, rising, uprising
coup, coup d’état (or coup d’etat), overthrow
sabotage, subversion

All good words and all been used before in some way or another regarding the president of this union. However, we have a new word. We love it. We rarely get to use it.

Remember when everybody, including the president, was running around saying quid pro quo?

We all became experts in the matter. Everybody giving their opinion on whether or not there was quid pro quo. Taking sides and speaking as if they are experts as to what is an allowable amount of quid and quo.

The president sounding like a complete dipshit every single time he said that phrase. He definitely just learned that term.

Fast forward to sedition. Let’s use it every time the camera is on.
Let’s use it in a sentence.
Let’s use it when it isn’t appropriate.
Let’s use it because we think that it proves our point more than all other points we could make.

The actions are criminal from the people taking over Congress. No question it was an inside job.

No question this was the summation of a very corrupt presidency from a very corrupt president who never hesitated to brag about just how corrupt his is.

The acts on January 6 were bad and the more that is revealed the worse it gets.

Because it was funded.
It was organized.
It happened.

But why was this worse than all the other events which will follow this president to his grave?

Because by Donald Trump challenging the elections, he challenged the money spent by corporations to bring Joe Biden to the American people. The cardinal sin of American politics in the 21st century.

Everything these politicians do is criminal because they do not work in the best interest of the people who put them in office.

There is no question we elect people who are not interested in helping one single citizen who makes under $500,000/year.

The protests which took place over the summer were reported as bad because they damaged property. And property shouldn’t be touched. Corporate property especially.

Corporate property > Government > Fair Elections in America.

Trump put his ego above corporations. We love to talk about how he put ego above the fair elections or democracy or freedom.

I got my definitions above from Merriam-Webster online. A pop up just advertised subscribing to their word of the day email. I’ll pass.

I’ll pass.

Because sedition as a word will go away soon. But there will always be treason.

Insurgence.
Rebellion.
Sabotage.
Subversion.

One day we may even see it when it isn’t just to help privileged people.

And that is the ultimate takeaway.

Privileged people demanding more and willing to commit crime and murder for it.

More at 11:00.

A new word at 11:01.

A Tale of Three 2020s

Seems when people reflect upon the past year, they focus on the quarantine. They focus on going stir crazy. Of course the only people who get to go on television and discuss this are celebrities.

Life in quarantine for the wealthy just must be so traumatic.

It’s not lost on me who the super wealthy continued to grow their wealth while small businesses and the poor were marginalized and sacrificed.

But somebody had to do the work. Put into a position of keeping the job in potentially dangerous conditions so that I will have work tomorrow or do what so many other Americans did and stay home.

The opportunities were there for those who worked through this. So many people who once worked for me were offered promotions and had money thrown at them to jump ship.

Meanwhile, my company refused to offer merit increases or change the starting wage to attract talent. We stepped backward, relatively, to the rest of the job market. And all this left me was in a position where I was working more for less than ever before.

Nobody was applying for positions. People did not want to work. They wanted to sit at home and collect for as long as they could while spending and spending.

We all floated through 2020 without any sort of direction. Just waiting or Trump’s next tweet. Trapped by others’ opinions of what is happening in the world or what the collective next step should be.

Much of the world experienced themselves as a series of islands only letting in and out what mattered to them at the moment. If we want to be divisive, we should not engage each other as humans ever again.

Pawns set out to get only what is ours, we set society on a tale of three 2020s.

The part that profited greatly from others’ misery.

The part that stayed home and acted as if they could not get a haircut.

The part which pushed through.

This country won’t. There’s a difference. It does not care. It won’t change in favor of the people. It turns its back on them.

And we refuse to accept what somebody else sees. Isolate and divide.

I’m not trying to make this sound like the last thing I wrote.

I am trying to point out that while the media likes to focus on a very specific issue which drove people crazy over the past 12 months, we need to even the playing field at some point and recognize all the issues which face this nation.

Mark Cuban missed a point. We are not interested in delivering any sort of mental health care to anybody.

After spending months trying to push forward and being turned down for promotions, I have accepted a demotion. It’s a strange move which I never thought I would willingly accept.

But here I am.

Because the ghost of Ronald Reagan joined forces with Nancy Pelosi and has shot the American Dream in the back. Working hard does not get us anywhere.

Not anymore.