Goddamn Alzheimers

The title is a reference to my daddy, Mark the great who claims that as he gets older it gets harder and harder to remember even the simplest things. So, after discovering a little too late that there wasn't enough hot water for me to take a bath after doing the dishes, I bring you my recent mind-failings.

Well, there are only two, and they both relate to a singer my dad likes. (By the way (goddamnit!), [another Mark-ism] speaking of my dad (segues are for amateurs) [Mark-ism] I just got two cds in the mail from him - the new Strokes album and the first Kanye West album - there is no doubt that my dad is cooler than most dads but when did he become cooler than me? Thanks, dad!)

Anyway, what was I talking about? Oh yeah, I was walking out of work today and suddenly a song popped in my head. And I knew that I loved the song; I knew bits and pieces of the lyrics; I immediately identified it as someone my dad listened to; my first thought was The Replacements, but no, I have a lot of their stuff now (thanks, Pete) and I hadn't heard this song recently. Well, thanks to a google search of the lyrics, "seven years disappear...do you want me now" I discovered that it was Freedy Johnson's "Bad Reputation." How on earth did I not remember that? I only absolutely love the song. WTF? Needless to say, I downloaded and have listened to it eight times since 6:15pm.

Side Rant: Why is it when I type those lyrics in the first two links are to the Death Cab for Cutie cover of Johnson's song? When did Ben Gibbard take over the universe and how did I miss it? I mean, I like the guy, but why does everyone all of a sudden feel like he developed modern rock music? As I'm currently listening to Built to Spill, I can hear Death Cab ripping them off. Jesus, I hate to say it, but I've just about had all I can stomach (after of course, I listen to Plans, which Nate tells me is their best in years).

Um, back to my memory loss (is it any wonder I forget things with all these parenthesis and side rants?), so I'm on my 6th listen of "Bad Reputation" and I suddenly think "wait, haven't I seen him in concert before?" And that's when I realize that not only do I know and love his most popular song but I also paid to see it live with my dear friend, Shayna Vecchione. Even worse than this realization is that other than the fact that I saw him, with Shayna, and the fact that both our dads love him, I don't remember a damn thing about the concert. Oh, it was at Paradise Rock Club.

In another completely unrelated rant, I am pissed off that I may never see a concert again. I mean, it was bad enough when I moved to Utah and a band that I liked only came every 4 or so months, but hey, it was something to look forward to. Besides, I saw top bands like Badly Drawn Boy, The Decemberists (with Tom Heinl, who covered "Roll Out the Barrels"), Wilco, Calexico, Travis Morrison, Modest Mouse (where I almost got in my first ever fist fight, but was saved by Nate and his tall, intimidating-but-completely-harmless friend, Dave), Death Cab for Cutie (kind of ironic given my previous statements; in all fairness, even at that show I was telling Nate how crap they were), Elliott Smith (at his last ever live show before allegedly offing himself), and every weekend at Brewskis they had some blues band playing. (Oh, and there was that one time where we paid to see The Secret Machines double bill with Muse, but when we learned that the Machines were sick, we walked out and saw Team America instead. God, I love Nate. He's the best brother a sister could have.) Now, I would have to go to Minneapolis to see any of those bands. For those of you who don't know your Great Plains geography, that's like a 8-hour drive to see a band. And I'm warning you all now, I am soooooo not above driving that far to see any number of bands. That's how deprived I am of good music. Good lord, I just discovered Wolf Parade and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, just about 6 months after the rest of the world. Thank God for XM Radio too, because otherwise, I would have missed both of those. And Jesus, if it weren't for my dad, I probably still wouldn't know that The Strokes released a new album.

Anyway, if I ramble anymore, I might officially go insane. It's time to test the water again. If that fails it's comic book hysteria and an article in RS about the fall of the lead singer of Creed (oh hilarity will ensue with that one).