I rarely try and debate politics. This is for a few reasons. The first of which, people are way too assholish (making up words here) when it comes to their particular beliefs. Secondly, I find that people that lean left or right are nearly impossible to sway (I might be one of those people--but I'm not sure).
I also never try and put my political opinions of Facebook. The same is said about a few other very socially touchy subjects (religion to name another). So if you're reading this, and you got the link from Facebook, I'm opening this up to debate if you want...although, I don't want anything to get too serious that you walk away hating me, or I hating you.
With that said...why are so many people having a stroke over building an Islamic Mosque near Ground Zero in New York City? I suppose an argument could be made if the Mosque was being built on the land where the World Trade Centers used to stand. That argument would work (in my opinion) if you were only going to allow a World Trade Center monument to be built in it's place (which I think is the plan). But the idea that people are angry that a Mosque is going up two blocks away seems odd.
I'm not sure why people are so angry about this, quite frankly, it seems irrational. The Islamic religion is based on the belief that the key to happiness is through love and knowledge through personal experiences. Yet, I wonder why it seems that people feel that this is such a terrible thing to have happen in New York City? It seems like an American thing to do...freedom of religion right?
Michael Bloomberg had a great quote today, "In rushing into those burning buildings, not one asked, 'What god do you pray to? What beliefs do you hold? We do not honor their lives by denying the very constitutional rights they died protecting."
Am I really supposed to believe that if this were going to be a synagogue or church, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, and everyone else that opposes this would be OK?
Sorry, had the thought, wanted to type it out. That's about all the political debate I can muster.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Blockbuster Summer
My first thoughts when thinking about summer time always involve sweating, baseball, and movies. Supposed blockbusters spawn like fungus on the locker room floor every year. During the summer of 2003, my dad and I went to a movie every week. We would usually go to the Brooklyn Center Regal 20 theaters and get the 2 Large sodas and Large popcorn combo (and by large popcorn, I mean fucking water tower sized bucket). The theater would give you free refills on all Large sized products and we never had a problem finishing our sodas, but the popcorn--that was our white whale. Well, that was the goal heading into "Bad Boys 2" towards the end of July. Our goal was to try and finish the tub of popcorn and get a refill--note, eating any of the refill was not part of our plan, but we wanted the refill on general principal.
Well, we picked one hell of a movie to try this feat during. "Bad Boys 2" clocked in at roughly two and a half hours and we finished that popcorn and I proudly walked to the counter with my head held high. I expected the person at the snack counter to maybe throw some confetti in the air and blow a noisemaker...after all...big tub of popcorn. Alas, there was no great congratulations. The kid filled the tub up and didn't give two shits.
Anyhow, as far as summer movies go, that's a memory that will be hard to top. My dad and I never went to a lot of ball games growing up (we're both Cubs fans and neither of us found the Metrodome to enticing), but we hit the theaters a ton back in the day...in a way, it was out ballpark.
Another summer that comes to mind was the Summer of 2007, when my future wife and I attended a midnight screening of "The Simpsons Movie" and seemed to go to a new movie every other week. To me, this is an important part of the summer tradition. This summer however, has been about as ugly looking as possible. It has however, been the summer of the free movie. I have come into free passes to three movies over the last six weeks and truth be told, two out of the three movies have been pretty much "meh" ("Solitary Man" and "Cyrus"). This all changed a few days ago when the lady and I received passes to an advanced screening of "Inception".
For those of you who are unaware of "Inception", allow me to post a trailer of the movie before you continue on...
I'm worried about getting carried away with my opinion of the film but I'm having trouble finding the words to explain how great of an experience this film is. I haven't gone to enough advanced screenings to know if it's standard practice for the entire theater to applaud at the film's conclusion or not, or if everyone was as blown away as I was. Either way, there was a giddy vibe among the people in the lobby as the movie let out. I've begun reading reviews online and "Inception" seems to be getting nearly flawless reviews.
I've always been a sucker for movies that can successfully pull off one of three things: dreams, Armageddon (surprisingly "Armageddon" failed wildly at this) and afterlife. I find that theses are three of the most difficult aspects to portray on the big screen. It was one of the reasons I was so interested in seeing "The Lovely Bones"--a large portion of the film is a young girl walking around Peter Jackson's idea of the afterlife and "Cloverfield" (because you really felt like you were in the middle of a shit-storm that was going to kill everyone) . Well, Christopher Nolen's portrayal of dreams is one of the more impressive cinematic achievements I have ever witnessed. I loved this film about as much as I possibly could love a movie. The special effects gave me that "holy shit" reaction that I haven't had since I saw "The Matrix" in 1999.
In a summer of mediocre "blockbusters", "Inception" finally brought back that excitement that was missing in theaters this summer. There was nothing inherently exciting about "The A-Team", "Iron Man 2", or "Knight and Day"--there is no sense of originality.
"Moving pictures got us through to September."
Well, we picked one hell of a movie to try this feat during. "Bad Boys 2" clocked in at roughly two and a half hours and we finished that popcorn and I proudly walked to the counter with my head held high. I expected the person at the snack counter to maybe throw some confetti in the air and blow a noisemaker...after all...big tub of popcorn. Alas, there was no great congratulations. The kid filled the tub up and didn't give two shits.
Anyhow, as far as summer movies go, that's a memory that will be hard to top. My dad and I never went to a lot of ball games growing up (we're both Cubs fans and neither of us found the Metrodome to enticing), but we hit the theaters a ton back in the day...in a way, it was out ballpark.
Another summer that comes to mind was the Summer of 2007, when my future wife and I attended a midnight screening of "The Simpsons Movie" and seemed to go to a new movie every other week. To me, this is an important part of the summer tradition. This summer however, has been about as ugly looking as possible. It has however, been the summer of the free movie. I have come into free passes to three movies over the last six weeks and truth be told, two out of the three movies have been pretty much "meh" ("Solitary Man" and "Cyrus"). This all changed a few days ago when the lady and I received passes to an advanced screening of "Inception".
For those of you who are unaware of "Inception", allow me to post a trailer of the movie before you continue on...
I'm worried about getting carried away with my opinion of the film but I'm having trouble finding the words to explain how great of an experience this film is. I haven't gone to enough advanced screenings to know if it's standard practice for the entire theater to applaud at the film's conclusion or not, or if everyone was as blown away as I was. Either way, there was a giddy vibe among the people in the lobby as the movie let out. I've begun reading reviews online and "Inception" seems to be getting nearly flawless reviews.
I've always been a sucker for movies that can successfully pull off one of three things: dreams, Armageddon (surprisingly "Armageddon" failed wildly at this) and afterlife. I find that theses are three of the most difficult aspects to portray on the big screen. It was one of the reasons I was so interested in seeing "The Lovely Bones"--a large portion of the film is a young girl walking around Peter Jackson's idea of the afterlife and "Cloverfield" (because you really felt like you were in the middle of a shit-storm that was going to kill everyone) . Well, Christopher Nolen's portrayal of dreams is one of the more impressive cinematic achievements I have ever witnessed. I loved this film about as much as I possibly could love a movie. The special effects gave me that "holy shit" reaction that I haven't had since I saw "The Matrix" in 1999.
In a summer of mediocre "blockbusters", "Inception" finally brought back that excitement that was missing in theaters this summer. There was nothing inherently exciting about "The A-Team", "Iron Man 2", or "Knight and Day"--there is no sense of originality.
"Moving pictures got us through to September."
Starting Again
I haven't written on this site in seven months and I'm ok with that. The fact that I don't have a massive following shows me that the rest of the world is, indeed, ok with that as well.
Overall, life has been moving pretty fast since 2010 began. To start, I find myself just over two months away from my wedding, an event that seemed so far in the future when I proposed in March of 2009. I've also begun and completed my second full semester in my return to the University of Minnesota. I started out the school year on academic probation thanks to three unspectacular semesters that culminated in the same five month span that saw planes fly into the World Trade Centers, Michael Jordan's return to the NBA with Washington, and the last time I stepped foot in a fraternity house (so yes, I had been out of school for a long fucking time). So, I worked my ass off for the last year or so and now find myself pulling down grades that seemed improbable back in 2001. Needless to say, this is a good thing.
Anyhow, school is back in session in just over a month and a half and who knows if I'll have the time to write on this site every day, but I'm really going to try and make an effort to do it. Be it sports, movies, music, and life...here's to another run and effort at blogging.
Overall, life has been moving pretty fast since 2010 began. To start, I find myself just over two months away from my wedding, an event that seemed so far in the future when I proposed in March of 2009. I've also begun and completed my second full semester in my return to the University of Minnesota. I started out the school year on academic probation thanks to three unspectacular semesters that culminated in the same five month span that saw planes fly into the World Trade Centers, Michael Jordan's return to the NBA with Washington, and the last time I stepped foot in a fraternity house (so yes, I had been out of school for a long fucking time). So, I worked my ass off for the last year or so and now find myself pulling down grades that seemed improbable back in 2001. Needless to say, this is a good thing.
Anyhow, school is back in session in just over a month and a half and who knows if I'll have the time to write on this site every day, but I'm really going to try and make an effort to do it. Be it sports, movies, music, and life...here's to another run and effort at blogging.
Friday, December 4, 2009
End of the Decade: Is This It?
I really have a tough time believing that we're at the end of the decade already. It's been ten years since the Y2k scare, which, blows my mind. So, I feel as though I need to do something to celebrate the end of my first full decade as an adult.
I started thinking about the soundtrack to my life over the last ten years and decided I needed to get some thoughts on paper (well, words on a computer screen, I suppose). Anyhow, over the next month, and potentially into 2010, although that might defeat the purpous, I am going to pick indivdual albums, ideas, movies, TV shows, and whatever the hell else strikes me that (for me) defined this decade.
The Strokes "Is This It?":
I bought this album on July 4th, 2002 after spending the previous night scouring websites for videos from the album (ah, the days before You Tube) and reading a post on RollingStone.com that lumped The Strokes with Guns n' Roses and Aerosmith as the greatest American rock and roll bands of all time, a claim that at the time (and even today) I find to be quite a stretch.
Regardless, after getting off of work (waiter at Chili's) without getting a single table during my shift (remember, this is the 4th of July there wasn’t a market for fajitas), I proceeded to get into my 1991 baby blue Plymouth Voyager and drive to Best Buy where I to purchase the album. With a few hours to kill before heading to a barbeque with my roommates, I proceeded to spend the next three hours driving around the Twin Cities with the album on repeat.
What struck me about the album then, and this still holds true today, was the simplicity of the record. I've heard a story from my fiancé (it's a "friend of a friend" story), where someone saw The Strokes playing in New York back around 1998-1999 and said they were awful and barely able to play their instruments. Now, I can't verify that this story is true, but it seems very probable when you listen to "Is This It?". The record sounds like musicians who just figured out how to play their instruments. There is nothing complex about the album (with the possible exception of the Casio drum loop on "Hard to Believe" because I would imaging it's tough to program that stuff when you're on coke, which I assume The Strokes were on when they made "Is This It?"--and pretty much every other album during their careers).
Although "Hard to Explain" was the first single released from the album, it was "Last Nite" that vaulted The Strokes into the mainstream. Originally, the band wanted to avoid making music videos, but the promise of a live, low budget video for "Last Nite" changed their minds. The end result was a music video that summed up the band better than any other music video I can remember (although I’m very much open to debate on this topic). The video was a simple, no frills, bells, or whistles display of rock and roll (if you don’t count the “Press Your Luck” influenced background), very much like the band itself—their only “rock star” moment of the video is Julian Casablancas doing a javelin toss with the microphone stand.
My personal favorite song on the album is “Someday”. I suppose there are a few reasons for this. The first being that I could listen to the entire song in the amount of time it took me to drive to Chili’s from home back in 2002 (assuming I didn’t hit every red light along the way). I don’t think it would be a stretch to say that from July of 2002 until sometime during the Spring of 2003, I listened to “Someday” on my way to work 90-95% of the time, easy.
The video for “Someday” was quite a bit different from “Last Nite”. Upping the budget quite a bit, the “Someday” clip featured the band hanging out at an empty Los Angeles bar where they sit around and drink with Slash, Matt Sorem, and Duff McKagan (and from what I can tell, Julian teaches Slash the merits of pinball), play Family Feud against Guided by Voices. This video seemed like a tactical move by the record company to me. It gave the casual MTV viewer the perception that The Strokes were “metal” enough to get the stamp of approval from Guns n’ Roses (sans Axl) and “indie” enough to kick it with Guided by Voices. Did RCA’s gamble work? Well, “Is This It?” went Platinum.
The Strokes - Someday (Official Music Video) - Funny video clips are a click away
I started thinking about the soundtrack to my life over the last ten years and decided I needed to get some thoughts on paper (well, words on a computer screen, I suppose). Anyhow, over the next month, and potentially into 2010, although that might defeat the purpous, I am going to pick indivdual albums, ideas, movies, TV shows, and whatever the hell else strikes me that (for me) defined this decade.
The Strokes "Is This It?":
I bought this album on July 4th, 2002 after spending the previous night scouring websites for videos from the album (ah, the days before You Tube) and reading a post on RollingStone.com that lumped The Strokes with Guns n' Roses and Aerosmith as the greatest American rock and roll bands of all time, a claim that at the time (and even today) I find to be quite a stretch.
Regardless, after getting off of work (waiter at Chili's) without getting a single table during my shift (remember, this is the 4th of July there wasn’t a market for fajitas), I proceeded to get into my 1991 baby blue Plymouth Voyager and drive to Best Buy where I to purchase the album. With a few hours to kill before heading to a barbeque with my roommates, I proceeded to spend the next three hours driving around the Twin Cities with the album on repeat.
What struck me about the album then, and this still holds true today, was the simplicity of the record. I've heard a story from my fiancé (it's a "friend of a friend" story), where someone saw The Strokes playing in New York back around 1998-1999 and said they were awful and barely able to play their instruments. Now, I can't verify that this story is true, but it seems very probable when you listen to "Is This It?". The record sounds like musicians who just figured out how to play their instruments. There is nothing complex about the album (with the possible exception of the Casio drum loop on "Hard to Believe" because I would imaging it's tough to program that stuff when you're on coke, which I assume The Strokes were on when they made "Is This It?"--and pretty much every other album during their careers).
Although "Hard to Explain" was the first single released from the album, it was "Last Nite" that vaulted The Strokes into the mainstream. Originally, the band wanted to avoid making music videos, but the promise of a live, low budget video for "Last Nite" changed their minds. The end result was a music video that summed up the band better than any other music video I can remember (although I’m very much open to debate on this topic). The video was a simple, no frills, bells, or whistles display of rock and roll (if you don’t count the “Press Your Luck” influenced background), very much like the band itself—their only “rock star” moment of the video is Julian Casablancas doing a javelin toss with the microphone stand.
My personal favorite song on the album is “Someday”. I suppose there are a few reasons for this. The first being that I could listen to the entire song in the amount of time it took me to drive to Chili’s from home back in 2002 (assuming I didn’t hit every red light along the way). I don’t think it would be a stretch to say that from July of 2002 until sometime during the Spring of 2003, I listened to “Someday” on my way to work 90-95% of the time, easy.
The video for “Someday” was quite a bit different from “Last Nite”. Upping the budget quite a bit, the “Someday” clip featured the band hanging out at an empty Los Angeles bar where they sit around and drink with Slash, Matt Sorem, and Duff McKagan (and from what I can tell, Julian teaches Slash the merits of pinball), play Family Feud against Guided by Voices. This video seemed like a tactical move by the record company to me. It gave the casual MTV viewer the perception that The Strokes were “metal” enough to get the stamp of approval from Guns n’ Roses (sans Axl) and “indie” enough to kick it with Guided by Voices. Did RCA’s gamble work? Well, “Is This It?” went Platinum.
The Strokes - Someday (Official Music Video) - Funny video clips are a click away
Thursday, September 10, 2009
NFL Preview (Even "Pardon My Reach" has one)
For those of you who followed any of my writing over the previous years, you might remember my NFL preview from last year. All in all, I didn't do so well. I DID pick the correct champion (in a revised post-Tom Brady injury pick). Other than that, I don't believe I correctly picked anything else correct (correction, I believe the only teams whose records I correctly picked were the Chicago Bears at 9-7 and Pittsburgh at 12-4). So, with less than nine hours until Tennessee and Pittsburgh kick off the regular season*, I figure it's time to grace you with my picks for 2009.
*we need to do away with this Thursday night game. It doesn't feel like the start of the season. Can't we just have the season begin on Sunday? Too much to ask for? Really?
AFC EAST ---------------------NFC EAST
1. New England 12-4 ------------1. Dallas 12-4
2. Miami 9-7 --------------------2. New York 11-5
3. New York 7-9 ----------------3. Philadelphia 9-7
4. Buffalo 5-11 ------------------4. Washington 8-8
AFC SOUTH------------------- NFC SOUTH
1. Indinapolis 12-4 --------------1. Atlanta 11-5
2. Houston 10-6 ----------------2. New Orleans 9-7
3. Tennessee 7-9 ---------------3. Carolina 7-9
4. Jacksonville 6-10 ------------4. Tampa Bay 3-13
AFC NORTH------------------ NFC NORTH
1. Pittsburgh 13-3 --------------1. Chicago 11-5
2. Baltimore 11-5--------------- 2. Minnesota 11-5
3. Cincinnati 4-12 -------------- 3. Green Bay 8-8
4. Cleveland 3-13 ---------------4. Detroit 3-13
AFC WEST --------------------NFC WEST
1. San Diego 11-5--------------- 1. Arizona 11-5
2. Oakland 7-9 -----------------2. Seattle 9-7
3. Kansas City 5-11------------- 3. San Francisco 6-10
4. Denver 2-14 -----------------4. St. Louis 5-11
MVP- Philip Rivers, Chargers
NFL Offensive Player- Adrien Petersen, Vikings
NFL Defensive Player- Mario Williams, Texans
Offensive ROY- Chris Wells, Cardinals
Defensive ROY- Aaron Curry, Seahawks
Coach of the year- Mike Tomlin, Steelers
NFC Championship- Steelers over Patriots
AFC Championship- Giants over Bears
Super Bowl- Steelers over Giants
*we need to do away with this Thursday night game. It doesn't feel like the start of the season. Can't we just have the season begin on Sunday? Too much to ask for? Really?
AFC EAST ---------------------NFC EAST
1. New England 12-4 ------------1. Dallas 12-4
2. Miami 9-7 --------------------2. New York 11-5
3. New York 7-9 ----------------3. Philadelphia 9-7
4. Buffalo 5-11 ------------------4. Washington 8-8
AFC SOUTH------------------- NFC SOUTH
1. Indinapolis 12-4 --------------1. Atlanta 11-5
2. Houston 10-6 ----------------2. New Orleans 9-7
3. Tennessee 7-9 ---------------3. Carolina 7-9
4. Jacksonville 6-10 ------------4. Tampa Bay 3-13
AFC NORTH------------------ NFC NORTH
1. Pittsburgh 13-3 --------------1. Chicago 11-5
2. Baltimore 11-5--------------- 2. Minnesota 11-5
3. Cincinnati 4-12 -------------- 3. Green Bay 8-8
4. Cleveland 3-13 ---------------4. Detroit 3-13
AFC WEST --------------------NFC WEST
1. San Diego 11-5--------------- 1. Arizona 11-5
2. Oakland 7-9 -----------------2. Seattle 9-7
3. Kansas City 5-11------------- 3. San Francisco 6-10
4. Denver 2-14 -----------------4. St. Louis 5-11
MVP- Philip Rivers, Chargers
NFL Offensive Player- Adrien Petersen, Vikings
NFL Defensive Player- Mario Williams, Texans
Offensive ROY- Chris Wells, Cardinals
Defensive ROY- Aaron Curry, Seahawks
Coach of the year- Mike Tomlin, Steelers
NFC Championship- Steelers over Patriots
AFC Championship- Giants over Bears
Super Bowl- Steelers over Giants
Sunday, July 5, 2009
The Wrigleyville Chronicles, Chapter 1
I'm sitting in my car at a Wendy's just outside of the Wisconsin Dells. My chicken nuggets are quite delicious but I appear to be forced into eating them on the road while driving. You see, I'm racing the sunset. As I mentioned before, I'm in Wisconsin. Since I don't follow every traffic rule to a T, the prospect of driving while it's dark in the Dairy State is less than appealing since their traffic tickets cost somewhere in the range of $126, 234. So I forge on. I-94 is my reality.
The destination? Chicago. Specifically, Wrigley Field for three days of baseball. I'm joined in my car with two other guys. The first oneis Damon, someone that I've been very good friends with for several years. This isn't the first time I've gone on a sports related vacation with this man. We've been to Las Vegas together and traveled to Milwaukee for a Cubs-Brewers series. In fact, just four years ago we sat courtside for a Chicago Bulls-Washington Wizards playoff game (in fact, if you ask Damon, he'll insist that he's the reason Kwame Brown fell apart as a basketball player--but, I'll touch on that later).
The second passenger in my car is pretty much a stranger to me. We were introduced to each other only a few hours ago and although I was a little put off that he asked me to call him by his softball number.
"Call me one-eight," the guy says to me, "everyone who knows me, knows me by that name." Now, as I type this, I am having a problem thinking of any athletes who are known simply by their number. Let alone softball players. Still, I oblige.
Like I said, up until a few hours ago, I had not met One-Eight. He is an old friend of my friend, the other passenger. He is, without question, the wild card of the trip. Unless our plans change, I'll be sharing a queen size bed with One-Eight...which I don't know how to react to since he seems to talk quite extensively about his sexual escapades. I suppose I'll consider it a victory if I am not deterred from my hotel room at night because one of my roommates decides to bring a girl back to the room (something that we've all discussed and agreed on as being "against the rules").
As we pull back onto the highway, I start to make my way through a Junior Bacon Cheeseburger. I begin to contemplate the next few days in my head. Little do I know that in the next three days, someone in our group will nearly be arrested--twice, three of us will find a home away from home at a gay bar, we will panhandle for hot dogs, and I will race through the street of Wrigleyville trying to varify the idenitity of a potential stalker. Then, of course, there are the three baseball games we plan on attending. But we'll get to that later...
The destination? Chicago. Specifically, Wrigley Field for three days of baseball. I'm joined in my car with two other guys. The first oneis Damon, someone that I've been very good friends with for several years. This isn't the first time I've gone on a sports related vacation with this man. We've been to Las Vegas together and traveled to Milwaukee for a Cubs-Brewers series. In fact, just four years ago we sat courtside for a Chicago Bulls-Washington Wizards playoff game (in fact, if you ask Damon, he'll insist that he's the reason Kwame Brown fell apart as a basketball player--but, I'll touch on that later).
The second passenger in my car is pretty much a stranger to me. We were introduced to each other only a few hours ago and although I was a little put off that he asked me to call him by his softball number.
"Call me one-eight," the guy says to me, "everyone who knows me, knows me by that name." Now, as I type this, I am having a problem thinking of any athletes who are known simply by their number. Let alone softball players. Still, I oblige.
Like I said, up until a few hours ago, I had not met One-Eight. He is an old friend of my friend, the other passenger. He is, without question, the wild card of the trip. Unless our plans change, I'll be sharing a queen size bed with One-Eight...which I don't know how to react to since he seems to talk quite extensively about his sexual escapades. I suppose I'll consider it a victory if I am not deterred from my hotel room at night because one of my roommates decides to bring a girl back to the room (something that we've all discussed and agreed on as being "against the rules").
As we pull back onto the highway, I start to make my way through a Junior Bacon Cheeseburger. I begin to contemplate the next few days in my head. Little do I know that in the next three days, someone in our group will nearly be arrested--twice, three of us will find a home away from home at a gay bar, we will panhandle for hot dogs, and I will race through the street of Wrigleyville trying to varify the idenitity of a potential stalker. Then, of course, there are the three baseball games we plan on attending. But we'll get to that later...
Friday, May 15, 2009
A Very Green Day
NOTE: I had to rush this post because...well, I fell asleep at the computer after work today and only left myself with 20 minutes to write. Damnit.As I type this, I have a copy of Green Day's newest album "21st Century Breakdown" sitting in front of me. It remains unopen and will probaby stay that way for another five or six hours...maybe longer.
You see, I write this as a recently engaged 26 year old. My musical love affair with Green Day goes back to the summer of 1994 when I saw the music video for Green Day's first single "Longview". At the time, my musical tastes were strictly top 40 pop (Ace of Base, Janet Jackson, DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince...you get the idea, hell, the first CD I ever bought was "Shaq Desiel").
Needless to say, my original taste in self discovered music was pretty awful. So when I saw the "Longview" clip on MTV, I can honestly say without being overdramatic, that my lifelong (hopefully) passion with music would be changed (as well as ignigted) forever.
My parents allowed me to order the pay per view package of "Woodstock '94" a few months later. The only set I cared to see was the Berkley trio's. What ensued took my interest in Green Day further. I saw three guys running around with dyed hair chucking mud back and forth with fans. I cannot stress how strange of a sight this was to an 11 year old.
During the ensuing years, Green Day released a few more albums before 2000's "Warning", which became the soundtrack of my freshman year of college. During the summer before I left for the University of Minnesota, I was given a free ticket to the Warped Tour a the Metrodome parking lot where I was able to see Green Day in the flesh for the first time (since then I have seen them 8 more times in person).
The highwater mark of Green Day's career was without question 2004's "American Idiot". An album that to this day probably holds the title of "Mike's Favorite Album".
Looking back on the summer of 2004 and the couple of years that followed, "American Idiot" seemed to make sense to me...as it did to many people between the ages of 15-25 (quite a range, I know). I felt that as a 22 year old with no real plan in life, I could relate to the characters in the story within the album.
Alas, to be compleatly honest, I haven't listened to "American Idiot" from start to finish in nearly two years. For the most part, Green Day has stayed out of the CD player during the last three. I moved on from one part of my life to another and the soundtrack changed. Perhaps I was irritated by the massive fame that Green Day achieved thanks to "American Idiot". It might have been the nine year olds with jet black spiked hair that I saw sporting Green Day shirts at the mall that disenchanted me. But hey, at least they're not listening to Ace of Base, right?
So, I sit here with an unopened copy of "21st Century Breakdown". A new Green Day album at my fingertips. Like a visit from a friend I haven't seen in years, I'm worried that I've outgrown my relationship with said friend. I'm a tad scared that I won't be able to relate to them after three years. I know it sounds hokey but it's true. Worst case scenario? I listen to the new music and can't understand why I connected with the band for so long. Honestly, it's unlikely. As my friend put it, "Sure, sometimes you see a friend you haven't seen in years and it's awkward at first...but then you see them again the next day and it's like old times."
Well, here's to new times with old friends.
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