Seven 9s and 10s

The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter - The Anniversary
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Track:
The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter

Artist:
The Anniversary

Album:
Designing A Nervous Breakdown

150 plays

The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter - The Anniversary

This album was released over 10 years ago. I’m only 31, but goddamn this makes me feel old.  I listened to this a lot back then and saw them play three times within about a year. I was a sucker for any band with a girl and a synthesizer.

Angela’s post got me thinking about my last visit to the CN Tower and how did my best to take some non-traditional photos that day with my dinky 3.1MP Kodak DX4330 point and shoot.

The date was August 14, 2003. On first glance that doesn’t appear to be a special day, but look a little closer and you’ll recognize it as the date of the Northeast Blackout of 2003.  Myself and my girlfriend at the time were visiting Toronto that day.  We walked off the elevator at the base of the tower and drove away less than 15 minutes before the power went out.  I still sorta wish we had gotten stuck up top (at least until the backup generators kicked in), because I can think of few places I enjoy more than being up in the Skypod.

Out of Reach - The Get Up Kids
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

Track:
Out of Reach

Artist:
The Get Up Kids

Album:
Something To Write Home About

291 plays

The Get Up Kids - Out Of Reach

I’m not exactly what you could call a big fan of The Get Up Kids, but this particular song transports me right back to late summer of 2000. I had a huge crush on a girl that I met online (weezerfly mailing list) and she sent me a mixtape with this song. Good song; sad memories.

lazybaby:

thebluehoodie:

ok as a major weezer fan, this kinda sucks.

remember the rebel weezer alliance?

that sure was a long time ago.

i just don’t know what to think….

=rwa= and related fansites (weezerone, weezerfanclub, weerez) are the only reason the band stayed popular enough to even attempt a successful comeback in 2000.  Those were the good ol’ days.

I don’t know why anyone is shocked by how bad this new song is.  Did you people even listen to the crap on Raditude? Do you remember “Heart Songs” from the red album?  How about “We Are All On Drugs” from Make Believe?  Oh, and don’t forget about “Love Explosion” from Maladroit and “Crab” from the green album.

Each post-pinkerton record has had bullshit songs on it.  Stop expecting weezer to release something that sounds like it was written and performed by the 1997-pre-Matt-Sharp-departure-version of the band.  Rivers is FORTY.  Most of those songs you fell in love with… he wrote when he was TWENTY.

Nothing since their 1999 cover of Pixies Velouria has given the world any reason to expect more greatness.  That was the last time the band sounded great… and it wasn’t even their song.  Yet, year-in and year-out, people hold them to the same ridiculous standards, and these people never learn, and they’re subsequently disappointed, and then they act all surprised when it happens again the next year.

Perhaps it’s because I’m a Buffalo Bills fan that I’ve learned to keep my expectations low and hope for a positive surprise, rather than expect too much and be continually disappointed.  On Hurley: I expect to hear one great song, a few that are listenable, and a bunch that are embarrassing.  I’m just being realistic.

High-res GPOYW Today was pretty rough. A very busy day at work plus a favored co-worker’s last day. Also, not enough coffee.  So I stopped at my parents house on the way home to see my dad who had just returned from Florida after several months, and to pick up some old stuff to bring back to my house. One of those things is my prized ~1991 Double Vision skateboard.  It’s hard to believe that I used to know how to ride that thing.  I never really had much in the way of skills, but it was totally fun and a great way for an 11 year old to get around town.  I distinctly remember being the only kid in school to have a double-kick board (some googling seems to have confirmed my suspiscion that the Vision Double was the first DK deck ever mass-produced). 19 years later, it’s still a totally great-looking slab of wood.

GPOYW

Today was pretty rough. A very busy day at work plus a favored co-worker’s last day. Also, not enough coffee.  So I stopped at my parents house on the way home to see my dad who had just returned from Florida after several months, and to pick up some old stuff to bring back to my house.

One of those things is my prized ~1991 Double Vision skateboard.  It’s hard to believe that I used to know how to ride that thing.  I never really had much in the way of skills, but it was totally fun and a great way for an 11 year old to get around town.  I distinctly remember being the only kid in school to have a double-kick board (some googling seems to have confirmed my suspiscion that the Vision Double was the first DK deck ever mass-produced).

19 years later, it’s still a totally great-looking slab of wood.

My bonus addition to today’s GCPOYT action. Click through for the Flickr notes. My mom taught me the value of a dollar early in life. She’d go picking fresh strawberries at a local farm and bring back dozens of quarts.  Then we’d set up this table and chair at the end of our lawn where I would sit for hours and sell strawberries to anyone that happened to drive by.  We’d put signs up at the nearby street corners trying to direct traffic in our direction.  This was a surprisingly profitable venture.  I was never given an allowance in my youth, so I had to earn any money I could by selling strawberries.  No doubt it was a good lesson.  Nothing in life is free. (Gratuitous Childhood Picture Of Yourself Thursday, started by inthefade)

My bonus addition to today’s GCPOYT action. Click through for the Flickr notes.

My mom taught me the value of a dollar early in life.

She’d go picking fresh strawberries at a local farm and bring back dozens of quarts.  Then we’d set up this table and chair at the end of our lawn where I would sit for hours and sell strawberries to anyone that happened to drive by.  We’d put signs up at the nearby street corners trying to direct traffic in our direction.  This was a surprisingly profitable venture.  I was never given an allowance in my youth, so I had to earn any money I could by selling strawberries.  No doubt it was a good lesson.  Nothing in life is free.

(Gratuitous Childhood Picture Of Yourself Thursday, started by inthefade)