Yesterday I ironically wrote a post titled, "Preparing for the worst."
Just hours later we had "redundancies" at my office.
I was fortunately spared from the storm of layoffs, but many of my friends were not.
What's bittersweet is that I can call these people friends, not just colleagues.
So, I'm hoping the best for them and whatever their futures hold.
"Paranoia, paranoia. Everybody's trying to get me..." sung Harvey Danger in 1998. I was ending my freshman year of high school and I was pissed. Someone had just stolen my cell phone. Earlier in the school year someone had stolen my Nike gym shoes. Those punks weren't just jackin' my stuff, they were jackin' my swagger.
Fast-forward to today. I (fortunately) haven't had much else stolen since then except for that time when Wesley and I were robbed on a night train somewhere in Slovakia. Still, the same song plays in my head... "Paranoia, paranoia..." That's what being a homeowner does to you, I guess. It makes you I-need-pills paranoid.
When I was in high school, even in college, I didn't care much about the security of my possessions. That's probably because I didn't own much and what I owned was inexpensive and easily replaceable. How much could a Walkman cost? More importantly, I wasn't entirely responsible for my possessions. My parents were. They'd make sure the windows were shut and the doors were locked. They would make sure the garage door would close all the way. They would spot me the cash to replace what was lost or stolen. In college, I was sure that my possessions (like my health) were covered under my parents' insurance. I was carefree.
Now I'm in charge of/own just about everything, and that means I have to worry about everything. Are the cameras insured? Are the windows locked? Did the garage door shut?
My concerns were only reaffirmed by The Stranger's "Burglary Boom" article. If burglaries are up 49 percent year over year in West Seattle, Tacoma's got to be in the triple digits.
Lucky for me I have two Crime Stoppers for roommates. Amanda can hear sonar, I swear. Sergio undermines that whole scenario of "getting robbed while you're at work" because he only works out of the house about every two weeks.
Until we break the budget for an alarm system, we're about as safe as we can get, and I know that. I actually expect that we'll deal with some kind of theft no matter where we live because it happens to everyone and the state of the economy lends to increased crime.
For now, I'll just float in my paranoia and keep the doors locked.
Fabrizio.
And his girlfriend.
I feel like Amanda actually took both of these. I'm not sure about the top one, but I know she took the bottom picture. She's becoming a monster with the camera.
A lot of people have been asking me what I've been listening to lately. It's a valid question. Unless you're listening to Pandora or KEXP to find new music, you're probably in the dark. The commercial music industry has failed you and you're not alone. Until the industry figures out this whole Internet thing, it will keep recycling hit makers of a generation past until Green Day, Weezer and their kin fold due to collective arthritis. And you will be left singing"When I Come Around" and "Buddy Holly" via Rock Band.
So, back to the point, what's worth hearing today?
Jaydiohead: "Mash-ups" are taking the music of two or more artists and mixing them into new compositions (usually illegally). Before his Gnarls Barkley fame, DJ Danger Mouse famously mixed Jay Z's "Black Album" with The Beatles' classic "White Album" and turned out the classic mash-up "The Grey Album." Since then, DJ Minty Fresh Beats authored this fresh mash-up of Jay-Z over Radiohead. It rocks, and better yet it's free. Click that link and download!
Cloud Cult: Amanda and I saw this group in Coachella and they rock in that anthemic, we-have-strings-horns-and-an-interpretive-painter style. The closest band I can compare them to is The Arcade Fire. Cloud Cult is the love-child of folk music, classical and pop. It's fantastic.
Fences: I caught this band randomly at the Ballard Sonic Boom when they were playing an in-store show. The lead singer is all tatted up and you'd figure his music would be hardcore screamo. Quite the opposite. This is sublte, melancholy music that's picking up national attention.
The Jackson 5: "Who's Lovin' You" and "I'll Be There" are vocal masterpieces. If you're feeling nostalgic or just guilty that you never paid as much attention to MJ as you should have, this is where to start and end. Also, to see the real genius, check out on YouTube "Who's Lovin' You" live in 1968, "Dancin' Machine" on Merv Griffin in 1974, and a later version of "The Love You Save" live in 1977.
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix: I'm going mainstream here because this band played SNL recently. The band, usually referred to as Phoenix, rocks that hipster music that you either love or hate. So give it a listen and I guarantee this pop rock with either make you cringe or smile. "Lisztomania" is the cut.
Common Market: You know I got to plug the family. But here I recommend listening to the eclectic hiphop that is their least-known and most recent, The Winter's End EP. It's a departure in many ways musically, but also contains the hallmark track "Escaping Arkham," which is only second to The Black Patch War's "Bonanza" with regard to classic Ra Scion + Sabzi.
What do you think is worth adding to the list? Any recommendations? Everyone needs summer music, so let's help each other out!
I've been to the airport a few times in the last month (to Vegas, San Jose and San Jose). I'll fly again next month as Amanda and I head to Indiana for her 10 year class reunion (gasp!), but that's another story.
You can't help but people-watch at the airport. You can't. Most of the time you're at the airport you're stuck and have nothing better to do. You're in the security line. You people-watch. You're waiting at the gate. You people-watch.
I saw a few funny people at the airport today.
Lost Backpacker. I think he was European. Maybe German. He could have been from Colorado though. All I know was that this dude was dirty and looked lost. He'd been on the road for at least a month. You could tell by the lack of hygiene. Still, he looked like he was on an adventure. His backpack was practically ripping at the seam. I was jealous. I missed the thrill of diving into a foreign city and figuring it out. I need a backpacking trip, soon.
Old Man Grumpy. He was just ahead of me in the security line. He walked through the scanner and set off the alarm. Old Man Grumpy was at least twice as old as the 30-something guard who asked him to turn around, remove his belt and walk through the scanner again. Again he set off the alarm. He was escorted to the screening mat with wife and granddaughter in tow. The guard used the wand and found something on every limb. Old Man Grumpy couldn't understand why he had to take off a pin and why he couldn't wear a watch. His granddaughter spoke to him like a toddler as she explained why he had to remove his tie clip. He had reason to be grumpy. It was all too, unnecessarily complicated.
Tech Nerd. He jumped up to the security line and pulled out three bins. Why does one person need three bins? He put his shoes, wallet and phones (two!) in one of the bins with his backpack. He took out of the backpack a laptop, and then another. This guy was double-fisting phones and computers. He was careful handling the equipment, which contrasted the behavior of the security guards. He looked proudly at his array of gadgets, framed by the plastic bins, like they were his children. Who needs to carry all of this technology while traveling? Me.