some music for drunken fools such as i... aka come on a musical journey with me

Hello, friends. Fuck off, douches. And let's play some fucking music! I know I've been kind of a downer lately on here, so I'd like to rectify that by giving you the greatest gift of all, music. Maybe you know all these tunes, maybe you'll find something new, but either way let's go on this journey together. Literally, gonna just pull what I'm listening to in order as I write this. Here we go... (see Spotify playlist at bottom if you'd like to play along)

1. "TV Party" - Black Flag

I know, a drinking playlist and I opted for "TV Party" over "Six Pack," what the fuck? Well, honestly it's because I'm literally going to have a one-man TV Party later tonight. AS I MENTIONED RECENTLY, NewsRadio is online for the first time I've ever seen so I'm plowing through them all again in rapid succession. What a fucking joy to experience these for the, oh, I don't know, maybe 20th time but still. I'm loving every minute of it! But for now I have some pent up energy and need something to rock out to.

2. "Wish upon the Weather" - Altameda

This band is growing on me, hard. Just like my penis while watching Charlize Theron in "2 Days in the Valley." Someone recommended them like a year ago and I was tepid at best with my reaction. Like, look, we get it. Ryan Adams' "Gold" was a great album. But some of the lines in here "Maybe I lost the map, maybe I'm better off without it. Maybe everything I had, well, maybe I'm better off without that." Lord knows there's large parts of my life that I'd be better off without. Or would I? That's where music comes from, so I guess I'm better off with them. But they are why I drink too much and can't sleep some nights, so... But they allow me to continually write new music which brings me more joy than anything, so... Maybe... I don't know, but this is too deep for being only two bourbons in. Maybe I'm back to fuck you Altameda... Nah, this tune is too much fun. But these guys to remind me of another band that I can't quite think of...

3. "Woman in Rust" - Silver Torches

Just kidding, just remembered. These guys. It's a similar vibe I guess, I'm not sure why these two bands seem similar in my brain but they do. I think it's the way they make me feel. But this song is a perfect road trip song if you've got one coming up. Just smooth and pretty and gets you into another world for two and a half minutes.

4. "Tokyo Sunrise" - LP

Speaking of road trip songs. I once listened to this song for four hours straight on a trip coming back from Spokane, WA. It blew my mind and I couldn't get enough. The vocal is fucking insane. Just fucking insane. I had friends who claimed it had to be fake or "studio-ed" until they saw a live video and their minds blew. That voice coming from a tall, female, Bob Dylan-looking muthafucker? Unreal.

5. "The Professor & La Fille Danse - Live" - Damien Rice

While we're on the topic of great singers. All three times I've seen Damien are in my top 10 live shows of all-time. He's my favorite performer, outside of Bruce Springsteen, of course and whenever he is touring (rarely), I drop everything to go see him. I once rescheduled one of my own shows to go see him. He's that good.

6. "Brandy Alexander" - Feist

Since we're on the topic of great live performers, goddamn, what a talented woman. I can't help but play this song whenever I'm getting drunk. And being three or four bourbons in, it's time.

7. "I am a Scientist" - Guided by Voices

OK, it's officially time to get all existential and wonder how someone else wrote this song when it's so clearly about me. Robert Pollard and I may have more in common than I thought. When he says "I am a lost soul, I shoot myself with Rock N' Roll. The hole I dig is bottomless but nothing else can set me free..." Fuck.

8. "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue - Live" - Bob Dylan, duh

It's officially time to get transported back in time. Every time I hear this live version, I'm immediately back to being 16 and listening to this on repeat trying to figure out what the fuck is going on and how that harmonica part works so fucking well with this version of this song. I love everything about this song and this performance. It's everything I love about Bob in a nutshell. The 25 going on 60 voice, the elaborate, extended harmonica solos, the vague, poetic lyrics that really don't mean much apart from creating such a vivid world we get to live in for nearly six minutes, the bravado of the performance, especially considering he knew he was about to be booed soon during his electric set, but also the tenderness of the performance, which outshines anything that could be recorded in a studio. Mmm. It's such a delicious recipe. Thank you, Bob.

(dictated but not read)

New commitment to this blog and y'all. aka I'm gonna do this shit for real...

You deserve better and I'm gonna give it to you.  Hot.  Wait, no, I just mean.  Ah, fuck.  I mean give it to you, sexually, or emotionally...

Sitting here in the Marriott Fairfield Inn in (ha!) Moses Lake, WA watching THE HIGHLIGHTS FROM GREEN BAY'S INCREDIBLE WIN OVER THE DALLAS COWBOYS one more time, drinking some Jim Beam Double Oak (not as good as the Jim Beam Black, but better than the White Label for sure.  We'll know definitively based on how I feel tomorrow morning), OK, well, drinking quite a bit of Jim Beam Double Oak, I can't help but feel lonesome; so I decided to write to y'all.  This Packers win reminds me of THIS WIN and THIS WIN, the second of which I WROTE ABOUT HERE.  Today is good day.  So why am I still so depressed?

I remember when I first starting traveling a lot, both I and the people I knew thought it was so cool to be in different cities, staying in different hotels (and often shitty motels) and seeing more of the country all the time.  But, it turns out, like anything, it was both exciting and extremely dull.  It turns out you don't get to see much.  I wish I could spend more time in each place.  The ones I visit often, I find I have more fun in.  I get to see and understand the local landscape, where all the cool bars and restaurants are and it helps me find the places I want to play at next time I'm around.  Some of those cities and towns turn out to be amazing, and some not so much.  I remember seeing Moses Lake, WA on HGTV (yes, I watch a lot of HGTV.  Yes, I like it.  No, I don't feel bad about it.  Chip Gaines and Jonathon Scott = thumbs up, Joanna Gaines and Drew Scott and pretty much everything else on HGTV = thumbs down, but I still watch because I'm too tired and too much a germaphobe to grab the remote and change it.  Also, I'm usually too fucking drunk to care.) and thinking it looks so beautiful, until I realized I've been there many times and I know better.  Yes, there are beautiful parts but I would never move there.  It's where my good friend Jon Fickes grew up, who would go on to make MUSIC LIKE THIS.  But, I love shitty TV.  I need the noise because I'm terrified of the silence and darkness.

True story:  I'm fucking petrified of the dark.  I cannot sleep in total darkness.  I lined my apartment with nightlights (read:  I bought two.  I have a small, shitty apartment).  But, it's probably not for the reason you may think; unless you also have Asperger's and are a depressed alcoholic with more issues than Sports Illustrated (remember when you would wait all week for the latest issue and when it came, you would sit in your room and read every word so that you could spend the next week discussing it in depth with all your friends?  Yeah, now that's a tweeter or whatever the kids call it and it's discussed for like fifteen minutes until the next one comes along.  Sad..).  No, it's for a different reason.  You know the movie "Inception?"  Well, that's how I dream; every fucking night.  No joke, it's fucking awful.  It's always a dream within a dream within a dream.  I can't tell you how many times I "wake up" only to find I'm just in another dream.  And they're always fucking terrible dreams that only end with me dying in some horrific fashion, only to start back at the beginning like "Groundhog Day" from hell.  Some nights it gets so bad that I intentionally try to kill myself in the dream, just to get out.  Never helps.  But, just like in "Inception" I always try to find something that is just a bit off, so I can tell if I'm still dreaming.  Sometimes it's the time when I check my phone.  Sometimes it's the coloring of the lights when I flip them on.  Sometimes it's the toilet when I get up to take a piss.  But something usually tips me off and I'm back into the darkness and back into the hellish nature of my dream, until I die and get to start back at the beginning; so I can live it all over again.  When it's completely dark in the house, I can never tell if I'm awake or not and I panic.  I know, alcohol probably doesn't help.  But neither does lying awake all night because you're terrified of the dreams you'll have after you fall asleep.  Is it something a therapist could fix?  God, I hope so.  I need one, but it turns out it's hard to find someone on my shitty insurance who understands Asperger's, which, it turns out, is a whole fucking challenge on its own.  Wait, why did I start writing this?

Oh yeah, I wanted to let you know that I'll FINALLY be writing these on a consistent basis.  I know, I know, I've said that before.  BUT, I will be posting one of these every Monday, rain or shine, depression or not (like that is ever a "not"), drunk or sober, full of ideas or just rambling.  I'll probably just want to talk about the latest Packers game and my week.  What was good, or more likely, what was bad.

Well, this week it's pretty fucking good, for once.  I saw Feist this weekend.  If you haven't seen her live, she's far more badass, more fucking Rock N' Roll, more guitar Goddess-y, more fucking genre-exploding-ly awesome than you can imagine.  JUST CHECK THIS SHIT OUT.  She's every bit the singer you would fathom from the records, doing shit that others wish they could only think of with her voice but she's an amazingly awesome guitar player and performer as well.  I'll probably always remember her for THIS, but I know I'm wrong and just a stubborn Asperger's asshole.  Which, sounds funny and I should probably trademark.  "Asperger's Asshole" sounds like a fucking hipster band who doesn't understand how debilitating it can be for a person (or, more accurately, the person who loves a person with Asperger's and has to deal with that bullshit).  Or, my Feist is also defined by THIS.  And, of course, it only matters what I think.  God, sometimes it sucks to have Asperger's as I actually believe that.  Just ask my poor girlfriend.  Or, any of the past ones.  Not fun; for them especially.  I've now been asked by every single girlfriend of longer than a month or so if I'd rather be the lonely singer-songwriter and have that story than them.  It's nothing I can do, it just seems that way.  Of course I wouldn't.  I haven't wanted that any of the many times, it just seems that way as I cannot express my level of Catholic guilt/Asperger's not wanting to change anything in a way that doesn't include me being angry and resentful towards people who accuse me of things.  I wish it didn't have to be this way.  I wish I didn't seem like such as asshole, because I'm not, in my heart, but, alas, it certainly seems so, and the more I am pushed, the more I dig in.  Not fun for either of us...

Also, I'm feeling like a failure as I don't think I did enough to promote my record release.  Now, for sure, it didn't go poorly and we've been getting good press and initial sales.  But, since I was in a car accident and concussed a month and a half before and up to and through the release, I missed some critical time.  I wasn't right til after the release.  I feel guilty about it and wish I could've done more, but when you can't see, hear or think straight, it's hard.  Concussions suck fucking ass, but I know two things for sure:

1.  I wouldn't have not played sports knowing the consequences.  I loved every minute, including the four previous times (that I remember, could be more) that I got my "bell rung" (two in football, one in basketball, which included a torn achilles, and one in baseball, which included a broken nose).

2.  I'm predisposed to head and brain injuries as when I was a baby I had a chunk of my skull removed and then re-connected due to a bone growth deficiency.  Imagine my poor mother trying to keep a two year old from hitting his head on shit, as it could cause permanent brain damage.  Not fun.  Two year olds fucking run into everything.  My mom had to turn our whole house into a padded, blanketed wonderland so I didn't turn out mentally retarded or worse.  God bless her.  Seriously.  I could never imagine the stress she was under as her child had no skull protecting part of his brain for like a year.  I owe her my life and everything.  She's a saint...

The guilt I feel over not giving this release my all is intense and I'll probably never forgive myself for getting into a car accident that was 100% not my fault (I was rear-ended at a red light).  But it'll help motivate me over the next year or so to work harder.  I hate feeling guilty, which is why I don't go to Catholic church anymore.  That and the fact that if God wanted us to go to church, He wouldn't have invented Football and Nascar.  Yes, I'm a Nascar fan.  No, it's not just fucking turning left, as people assume.  And I love Bill Elliott's kid, Chase Elliott.  And Ricky Stenhouse Jr. as I've met him a few times and totally got my ass kicked by him go-kart racing.  True story.

OK, with half the bottle of Jim Beam Double Oak gone, I should probably wrap this up.  I'd like to claim that THIS WAS ME but, apparently, there's another Brad Wik.  Fucking dick.  Stealing my thunder as being the awesome-est Bradley Wik.  Well, let's be honest, I still am the awesome-est and maybe that is me (the video is inconclusive and I don't really remember high school, so maybe!).  Well, for sure THIS IS ME and I'll leave you with young Bradley Wik singing folk songs in open-D tuning for some reason, while playing at the venerable Cafe Wha?.  Still can't remember why I decided open-D was the best decision since I never played those songs in that key before or after that show, but so be it, it turned out alright.  I love y'all, and I'll see y'all Friday, October 13th (spooky, I know) at 9pm EST/6pm PST for my next live Periscope show.  Search "Bradley Wik" (@bradleywik) on the Periscope app or CLICK HERE to follow on your computer.  Good night y'all. See you on Friday and talk more next Monday...

Lyrics, huh, good God y'all, what are they good for??? Absolutely nothin'... Friday Night Playlist and shit...

One of the hardest things for me to accept and reconcile in the vast expanse of wasted space, dilapidated memories and deserted brain cells in this dang ol' cranium of mine (that sounds like a science-themed country song, if such a thing were to exist) is the fact that most people JUST DON'T GIVE A FUCK about song lyrics.  Now, to be sure, I sort of get it.  Some people's relationship with music is an arm's length affair, at best.  Some might have even had a few run-ins, called the cops and got a restraining order against poor ol' music.  Music has definitely stolen dearly from me on many occasions.  I can't count how many times I've put on "Airbag" only to lose the next 53 minutes of my life to "OK Computer," AGAIN...  But shit, son, it's Friday Night.  Let's forgive and forget and be friends with the words so thoughtfully and carefully put together, in which to create a memorable story, lived-in and full of Love and Hope and Faith and Fear.  And, if it's a Bradley Wik (or Bruce Springsteen) joint, it'll be about the four pillars of Rock N' Roll:  Cars, Girls, Drinking and Rock N' Roll...  (Some) Artists (not me) struggle to tell tales from the heart, relating to us simpletons (well, not me since I'm part of them, but you fuckers) the vastness of human-ness that is our experiences on this short-go-round-on-the-spinning-blue-orb.  The very stories that make us feel less alone and more a part of this fucked up world; as always, spinning in infinity, amen, hallelujah.  If Paul Simon and Chevy Chase can't bring a smile to your face, then fuck you.  You don't deserve this limited view of God's creations, however imperfect, yet beautiful.  And, you definitely don't deserve this fucking list of awesome shit, as curated by the man himself:  Me.  The best bringer of the fucking shit since Jay-Z and Kanye decided to explode our meager minds by teaming up to become the real Masters of the Universe.  Who dare fuck with them and their musical prowess??  Not I, said the lowly maestro who carves out a simple existence in the realm of the living, not attempting to understand the unknowable brilliance that reigns down upon him, should he live to be so lucky.  I pity those who perished before enjoying "Niggas in Paris," though I'm sure that's the muthafucking song Peter plays to determine your worthiness of entry into the kingdom of Heaven.  Hell plays a mix of the Eagles, Grouplove, the Head and the Heart, Rick Astley (although personally I'm against his inclusion on the "soundtrack from Hell," literally), James Taylor, Josh Groban, Jackson Browne, Fun., and finally, the devils themselves, Mumford and Sons.  Wow, if that list ain't enough to restore your faith then I don't know what is.  Paul Simon and Kanye OR James Taylor and Fun.?  Fuck, their stupid fucking name fucks up my fucking punctuation.  Fuck them. They're so fucking stupid.  Seriously, FUCK FUN.!  But most importantly of all, fuck THIS.  Their reign as Indie Rock elites lasted about as long as a bout of untreated AIDS.  So mostly, we're just happy it's dead and it can't infect anyone else and ruin their respective lives, and their loved ones, as well.  So, with a Fun./AIDS joke sufficiently in hand, let's move on to the goddamn list...

1.  Fifth Harmony - "Worth It"

Look, if you started the night off with two martinis, you'd want to fuckin' rock that shit right off that bat too; and this song definitely hooks that shit up.  Gotta love a song that is just as much at home in my headphones, the club, the stripclub, the car, and pretty much any-fucking-where music plays.  I would have still loved this song if it came out a hundred years ago and I had to play it on a fuckin' gramophone I had to wind myself.  Still would get the party jumpin'.  Might've pre-empted the Civil War, George W. style.

2.  Kenna - "Freetime"

As a white kid growing up in Wisconsin, most of my childhood was spent listening to classic rock music.  Synths and shit made no fucking sense to me.  This was a hella-fun song for an 18 year old to drink and do white people dances to.

3.  Nena - "99 Red Balloons (Luftballons)"

So, full disclosure, this song is the real reason for the rant about people not listening to lyrics.  I asked a small focus group about this song, and not one knew it wasn't in English.  Fuckin' seriously.  That's how much people give a fuck.  100% knew the song and 100% didn't know it was in German.  Which, of course, also proves that 100% of my focus group hasn't watched THIS.

4.  Clipse - "When the Last Time"

So, what??!!  This shit was quite ahead of it's time.  Pharrell knows how to make two things:  Music and Money, and has a fuckload of both.  "Happy" might have been better as a PARODY, but no one can touch some of his earlier shit.  Like this next one...

5.  N.E.R.D - "Truth or Dare"

I wasn't sure what the fuck was happening to my 16 year old mind and body but I liked it.  If I could travel back in time to hear this song for the first time, I would in a second.  It's the equivalent of hearing "Visions of Johanna" for the first time.  In other words, FUCKING LIFE-CHANGING.  Hip-hop, Rock N' Roll, Pop, all sorts of shit colliding in the most beautiful way.  I still don't understand this album and relish it among my most valuable things.

6.  Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - "Let the Cool Goddess Rust Away"

Talk about hipster nonsense.  This shit was real, real fucking good.  They tapped into something with this record and I still love it to this day.  Hipster shit doesn't suck because it's fucking hipster shit, it sucks because it sucks.  This lands on the opposite end of that spectrum, proving that what's good is good, despite its inclinations.

7.  Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - "A King at Night"

 I'm sensing an early 2000's theme to tonight.  Seriously, I don't plan these things.  You're literally drinking and listening to music with me, in real time.  The line "She's a fine lookin' lady and she likes to go down on me.  And I like to go down on her, too," is like, wait, what?  This is a sad song that is funny and silly and Will has the balls to be all those things at once.  Genius.

8.  Britney Spears - "Email My Heart"

Drinking often leads to bad decisions but this isn't one.  I've owned, loved and listened to "...Baby, One More Time" since 1999.  I probably should be ashamed of this fact, but I'm not.  In fact, I'm quite proud of my fandom of Britney.  Young love always leaves the strongest impressions...

9.  Firehouse - "Love of a Lifetime"

When I was younger man (read:  a teenager), my buddy's dad had a music room we were strictly, and explicitly, forbidden to enter.  It was probably mostly the result of my buddy who was the consummate klutz and broke nearly everything he touched.  Or, it might have been the roughly $10,000 he invested in his stereo equipment and speakers that he didn't want young kids to fuck up.  Nevertheless, we would sneak in there when he was gone and go through his thousands of CD's, fire up his vintage Klipsch's and revel in the majesty that is Winger and, of course, Firehouse.  It's a very strange thing when a random album grabs my attention so hard and for so long, but that's exactly what happened with the self-titled Firehouse album.  I still listen to it, front to back, on a regular basis, nearly 18 years later.  If you haven't heard it, this song is the place to start.

10.  Cinderella - "Coming Home"

Speaking of 80's hair metal...  This might be the cheesiest of them all.  Which, of course, I love as I am from Wisconsin, after all.

11.  Feist - "Brandy Alexander"

This song is the reason I own Creme de Cacao.  Also, the reason I get sad sometimes.  And the remedy for sadness at other times.  Songs that can do that to me are rare and I love them for it.  More than they'll ever love me back...

12.  Adam Sandler - "At a Medium Pace"

As I mentioned previously, drinking always unleashes the sentimentality bug.  Who hasn't felt like "Shave off my pubes and punch me in the face" at times??

13.  Beck - "Debra"

The "Just... What the fuck?!" song of the week.  Not sure what the record is for consecutive listens of this song is, but I'm sure I'm getting close...

14.  Elliott Smith - "Say Yes"

Can't end on 13, so here's the last one.  That sentimentality bug is goddamn persistent and finally landed a bite.  Fuck him or her.  Does the sentimentality bug have a gender?  Not sure, but not sure if it matters unless they're fucking on, as well as with, me.  Fuck those little fuckers.  Either/Or this is the end.  Remember, you're only as old as you feel when you're drinking...  'Til next time, assholes!