Better things, inane musings and what the fuck is the deal with the Green Bay Packers?
Let's start with some better things.
First, I've had the pleasure of doing an interview for Trainwreck'd Society. Over at Trainwreck'd, they have interviews, reviews and other features and musings on pop culture, from music to movies to comedy. I love the environment Ron has created with his writing and look forward to his forthcoming podcast. You can read the interview in its entirety HERE:
I talk about my last album "Burn What You Can, Bury the Rest..." and where "This Old House" comes from amongst other things. I always enjoy talking about music, especially my own, so this was a lot of fun for me. I cannot wait to kick off press for the new album so I get to talk about myself even more. But this is a great way to introduce yourself to my musical side a bit, if somehow, you don't already stalk me on the internet and revel in my every word.
Second, also in better news, it's ThanksFuckingGiving time! Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday and it's not particularly close. My favorite non-turkey Thanksgiving food: green bean casserole. It's the perfect dish for celebrating the beginning of the systematic removal of my people (I'm Native American, in case you didn't already know) from the earth in the name of white people feeling superior to people with skin pigment. Ahh, good times... At least I look white person-ish enough to partake in eating until I feel sick, watching football, then eating again, watching more football, then eating some desert, not because I'm hungry (I'm still sick from dinner #2) but because cake and pie is delicious and someone has to eat it. All joking aside, I do love Thanksgiving and all its leftovers. This year I am most thankful to live in a country, though it has its faults, that allows me to create and pursue my art with no repercussions. I would not live where I live, love the woman I love, know the people I know without music. It's been quite a journey from little 'ol Horicon, WI (Go Marshmen!), population 3000. Quite a fucking journey, indeed...
OK, how about some inane musings?
Ever wonder why Billy Joel's four best albums (The Stranger, Glass Houses, 52nd Street and An Innocent Man) save their worst song for last? I do. I think about that a lot. Now, to be fair, "Through the Long Night" off "Glass Houses" isn't actually a terrible song, like "Keeping the Faith," "52nd Street" and "Everybody Has a Dream" are, it's just the worst song on that album. And even those others aren't terrible songs, just not very good, especially compared to the rest of those particular albums. Those songs would be the second or third best songs on later Joel albums or the best songs Mumford and Sons ever wrote, but that's a whole other ball of wax.
I've been thinking about this a lot lately with the countdown officially on (I received test pressings for my album yesterday!) for the release of my long-awaited second album, "In My Youth, I'm Getting Old..." (apparently I like long, comma-separated titles with ellipsis' at the end... Damn, did it there again...). I've worked diligently on the tracklists of my albums as the order of the songs can greatly influence the feel, the flow and the ability of a group of songs to turn into an album, something greater than the sum of its parts; which is something that is severely lacking in modern musical releases. As an example of how to close a record the right way, my first album ended with this fucking behemoth:
I know, it's long but trust me, it's worth it (that's what she said). That song is journey and a story unto itself. It is, without a doubt, one of my favorite songs that I have ever written. It's hard to make eight minutes and fourteen seconds interesting and listen-worthy, but we actually had to work hard to cut it down to that final version. "Just Like Jon Fickes" tells the story of a girl who moves to New York City in the hopes of becoming a successful musician. Eventually it wears her down and she is killed by the weight of her struggles and her failures. I didn't say it was uplifting, I just said it was a hell of a way to wrap an album as opposed to, say:
(hopefully, they didn't make you watch the stupid Onerepublic ad I had to. God, they fucking suck and it's criminal to call that music...) At least Mr. Joel's video is stupidly entertaining.
Alright, now for the downright puzzling...
What is the deal with the Green Bay Packers? It's been a tough season to stay positive as a Packers fan, to say the least. At the outset, our offense was still shit but our defense was amazing. We won three of our first four before you needed to buy an abacus (can you rent an abacus? Something to think about) to count the number of injuries we had to our starters. Down our top three corners, our only three running backs, some lineman, our middle linebackers and, of course, Clay Matthews, who finally got to move back outside and was wreaking some good havoc the first few weeks. Then, our offense started to look like it might get back on track but has been so bipolar I've needed to take drugs just to watch it. Trust me, that's the best way to watch this Packers team: on drugs.
We've been so spoiled as Packers fans that it's hard to accept a non-playoff year but that's what we might be looking at. At the outset, I thought this team had the look of that 2014 team that should've went to and won the Super Bowl. Maybe this is the football gods punishing us for botching every single one of a dozen or so plays that, had we made even one, would've closed out the Seahawks in that Championship game. That was easily the toughest and most inexplicable loss I've witnessed in my life. But at least we had the playoffs that year. The Lions, of all fucking teams, are currently leading the NFC North and I can't understand how this happened. It just seems the injuries were just too much to overcome this year and Aaron wasn't able to drag us to ten wins and a playoff berth despite fielding a defense made up of special teamers and rookies. And, for anyone who thinks that Aaron Rodgers has lost it, uhh, just remember this play:
Or go back and watch this throw you probably missed or forgot:
He's still the most talented quarterback in the NFL, which is why it's so maddening to see him do those things then promptly miss a wide open Jordy Nelson or Randall Cobb or Davante Adams, who deserves a ton of praise while having this amazing bounceback year after all the shit he took while being injured and losing his confidence last season. I'm happy for Davante. I tried to tell everyone last year to cut him a break, now you see why.
Anyway, all we can do is watch and support our Green Bay Packers. They'll figure it out eventually. If not this season, then next. Of course, there might not be a next season (or a country where America used to be) depending on what future President Trump does in his first eight months...
Stay positive and always remember they can fire you, but they can't eat you...
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