Showing posts with label Emo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Emo. Show all posts

Sunday, March 22, 2015

The Rose That Grew From Concrete

0 Thoughts Posted by Punk Rock Dad at 11:03 PM



While on the road for business, I’m routinely overwhelmed with emotion.  Especially when I’m on a plane to some location thousands of miles from my family.  It usually happens when I pick a movie on the inflight entertainment system during the flight.  My flights are long and lonely and are the perfect set up for being emotional.  I usually pick something thought provoking and deep which I wouldn’t pick while at home.  This isn’t because I’m some sort of shallow cesspool at home, it’s just that I have two kids, two dogs, a wife, and an unrelenting schedule that limits my amount of focus time.


That all changes on a plane to nowhere.

This last trip, which I’m still currently on, is no different.  Whether it was the movie or the music I was listening to, I have been intently focused on my core.

It spilled over during breakfast this morning.  Sitting on the 14th floor of a very westernized hotel in the middle of the sand box known as Dubai, I was struck.  It was a post on Facebook.  Anyone who knows me well knows that I detest Facebook and its ability for you to spy on me and others to whine about their existence.  But this time was different.  A dude I went to high school with posted a picture broadcasting a new campaign Powerade was running.  And while this doesn’t sound like the stuff to make me tip over emotionally, here me out.

I’ve known this dude a long time.  We went to elementary school, junior high school, and high school together.  We are from the same town and similar backgrounds.  I used to spend the night at his house tons when we were kids.  So when he posted something about our hometown, I knew it was legit.  The campaign from Powerade is called ‘Just a Kid.’  The concept is this; we’re all from somewhere.  And that ‘somewhere’ is important.  As trivial as it seems, it’s a thread in the fabric of our existence.  The campaign highlights that each one of us, popular or unpopular, famous or infamous, big or small, successful or unsuccessful, is from somewhere.  That somewhere matters.

So that made me incredibly introspective.  Every time I land in Seattle after coming back from a trip I listen two specific things; the first is anything from the northwest, usually Alice in Chains but even something like Macklemore is acceptable.  The second is Bon Jovi “Who Says You Can’t Go Home.”  I know, he ain’t from my town.  It reminds me to be grounded and not be afraid to represent where I’m from.  It’s part of me.  As a kid, I swore I’d move out of the God-forsaken town I grew up in.  I didn’t want to be there.  I felt I was bigger.  I felt I was better.  I judged people who stayed and thought they “couldn’t make it.”  Looking back on my misperception, I couldn’t be more wrong about it all.

I have the years of perspective now to call on.  Retrospect helps a ton.

After high school, I moved away to college.  After college, I got a job away from home at a large aerospace company north of Seattle.  I entered some unhealthy personal relationships during those years.  I left that company and moved to Southern California.  I made a big mark in the automotive aftermarket industry.  I helped create a paradigm-shifting trend in automotive aftermarket products.  I began to hate the job for what I concluded was ‘killing my soul.’  After yelling at the president of the company in an 'All Hands' meeting, I decided I should go.  Now to be fair, my brother had just died and my mother-in-law was terminally ill.  I might’ve had a few things on my plate.  I left that company and moved back to Washington with a pregnant wife.  I took a job at the same aerospace company I had left seven years earlier but in a different city.  I needed the healthcare benefits.  Colleagues from my last job in L.A. convinced me to launch my own business.  I had an industry reputation they felt would contribute to a successful entrepreneurial venture.  They were right.  But I got bored and burned out.  Staying with the aerospace giant took energy and effort.  Even more now as I try to not go crazy under the duress of piss poor planning and politics.  Now I’m on what leadership calls ‘the list.’  Apparently, that is a good thing.  Even though I don’t care about their lists.

Where I’m going with all of this unintended boasting is this:  All of these decisions.  All of these choices.  All of these successes and failures.  All of the disappointments.  And all of the surprises.  They’ve all led me right back to within 2.5 miles of the house where I grew up.  That same town I swore I’d never go back to.  That same town I was ‘too good’ to be from.  That same town is one of the threads in the fabric of my existence.  I’m no longer ashamed to be from here.  As a matter of fact, I’ve settled in rather well.  I’m the punk rock dad in your suburban neighborhood that you are afraid to talk to.  I’m the neighbor your kids want to play with.  I’m the angry engineer that never will understand or accept big company lifestyle, allegiances, and politics.  I’m the dedicated husband and father that checks in on the phone every 12 hours when on business travel.  I’m the son of two parents who have always been my lighthouse when I couldn’t see through the fog.  I’m the apple that didn’t fall far from the proverbial tree (thanks Dad).  And I’m an unknown hero to a local elementary school.

I did pretty damn good for myself.  And MUCH of it has to do with where I’m from.  That gets wired into you.  That’s your coding.  I’ve done so much in 41 years but I have so much more to do.  The hunger never dies.  And that’s a part of where I’m from; hardworking, family-oriented, persevering type people.  Everything I learned from this town, I’m passing on to my kids.  There’s no reason to be ashamed of where we are from.   Thank you Powerade for throwing me off balance today.  I encourage you all to represent where you’re from.  We’re all from somewhere, we’ve all had to overcome obstacles and adversity.

I’m just a kid from Puyallup.  And I’ll never stop shaking shit up.

#justakid
#rosefromconcrete

 

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Monday, February 28, 2011

So What Do You Want From Me? Another Song About Apathy?

0 Thoughts Posted by Punk Rock Dad at 7:22 AM

It’s been an uneventful musical month for me. Even though I’ve picked up a few albums by 'alternative' internet based means, nothing has really jumped out at me. So after feeling a little guilty for not feeding my musical needs for sustenance, I thought I’d peruse the internet and see what surfaced.

Because of my inextricable loyalty to Microsoft products, I find myself constantly looking for the next little games or app for my Windows Phone on Zune.net. And tonight was no different as I figured there was some useless free game I needed to download to entertain myself on mass transit to and from work. In that search, I sifted through the music to see what was compelling. On Zune.net, I found more commercially viable contributions to the music industry than I’m typically drawn to.

And tonight I’m surprised by a find in my drudging.

Bayside, an emo sort-of pop-punk, almost melodic hardcore band, released their fifth studio album. What does that have to with anything? Nothing much other than I’ve seen these guys perform before somewhere sometime when I lived in Southern California. And let me just say they were the opening band and they sucked balls. So why should this album even ripple the surface of the sea that is the music industry? Well it won’t but it’s worth a listen.


The new record, “Killing Time” is actually enjoyable to listen to. I’m sure I saw these dudes in the 2003 timeframe which would have made them relatively newly signed. This record comes after a label switch and some adversity. And apparently, this is the release that most critics were expecting from the beginning that just never came until almost 10 years later.

Since I really don’t know anything about them, I chose to do a little background check. Nothing relevant to write here that adds any value to this column. But I’ll say they’ve had their issues and that’s reflected in this album. It’s the typical ‘trying to find my place in the world while no one understands me’ release. And that’s OK at times. We all have that internal dialogue which pipes up at the most unpredictable times almost like it was a karmic sanity check the universe was providing.

“Killing Time” is actually a fairly tightly produced album which is musically stunning and very energetic. Is it original? Nope. But the guitar work is pretty cool. There are a ton of guitar slides and some sweet snare drum work. There’s definitely a maturity to the record even though a majority of the songs remain true to a calculated misery that comes with the emo genre.

Each song is not all that bad and has promise but there are a few that truly stand out.

“Already Gone” – Bayside couldn’t open with a better track; driving guitars and urgent lyrics. Sounds like the lead singer is tired of a dysfunctional relationship. It’s a dear john letter ending a toxic relationship. And oh yes, he’s angry, “I know it's cold but I will keep us warm with all the hate I radiate. We'll be walking hand in hand in hell.” Love it.

“Seeing Sound” – This is the best song on the record in my opinion. It has the bouncy aggressiveness and guitar of a Green Day song. Clearly an influence here. It’s a facetious song about the irony of life as the metaphor of a circus. The lyrics, “We'll go along thinking everything is wrong. Watch our lives from afar. But looking back is not so bad,” summarize it best.

“Killing Time” – Like the opener, Bayside couldn’t close with a better song. It’s heavy and unrelenting and the guitar is thick. I love the concept of the title track. Killing time is a metaphor for being sedentary in life. It’s kind of a carpe diem type anthem. The lyric, “I'm half way to happy now & I always mistake it for progress” typifies how we all feel when we downtrodden with emotion and setbacks.

If you took New Found Glory and Alkaline Trio and put them in a blender and added some Billie Joe Armstrong, put it on puree and blend away, you’d have Bayside. I do like the album but I should inform the reader here that I’ve only listened to it three times at the time of writing this. So maybe it would piss me off more and I’d get bored by its repetition with a few more listens. Overall, I think it’s a strong record with some catchy tunes. There is some great guitar work which is a blast to listen to. Additionally, the music is driving and the lyrics are delivered earnestly with an electronic violin type sounding voice.

Does Bayside have longevity? Well, it has taken a multitude of records to get to a mature sounding release. You’d like to think that their best music is in front of them. “Killing Time” is a decent product worth procurement by any means you feel are appropriate.

 

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Monday, December 28, 2009

It’s Strange to be Lost, Stranger Still to Belong

0 Thoughts Posted by Punk Rock Dad at 8:57 AM

It’s “New Music Monday” again. I once used to be on top of my game knowing when new releases of my favorite artists were going to drop. It seems as time passes in the hour glass of life, I’ve become more preoccupied by other details and obligations like children and employment. However, my unwavering hunger for new music hasn’t faded. Once again, I missed a vital piece of information that an old favorite, an old friend if you will, released a new album. But again, as fate would have it, I was alerted to its existence only days after the release by the wonders of the internet and all of its glowing informational fruitfulness.


The godfather of emo music, Chris Carrabba, and those ‘three other guys’ of Dashboard Confessional have released their latest studio album “Alter the Ending.” I have adamantly denied the value of mainstream emo in previous posts. Now that ‘emo’ is the whiney, mascara wearing, ‘my parents-don’t-understand-me’ variant. Dashboard Confessional is alternative rock but is absolutely soul-bearing and the pouring of heart felt emotion. And because I am an emotional train wreck, this resonates with me. I was looking for something deeper and wrenching rather than my typical ‘I hate the Man’ music.

Get it here at Lala.com

In a digressional moment, I owe thanks to my cousin and his family for the iTunes gift card which afforded the purchase of “Alter the Ending.” I’m pretty anti-Apple, specifically iTunes and its Gestapo-like DRM. It’s like visiting the Matrix. But with a gift card, I was all about taking advantage of economically risk free music. Unfortunately, iTunes had “Alter the Ending” for $12.49 when it was only $9.49 at my secret love, Lala.com. This further supports my stance against the evils of iTunes.

Onward. If I’m counting correctly, this is the sixth studio release from Carrabba as the front of Dashboard Confessional. In honesty, the record is a little more overproduced than past releases. Now, that could have killed the record, because what makes Dashboard Confessional truly intimate is Carrabba’s songwriting, earnest voice, and minimal acoustic guitar work. This record is almost a polar opposite of that. Lots of echoes, string arrangements and layering. But all of the production suits many of the songs. Let it be known that true purists will blast this level of ‘poppiness’ and yearn for the old days of Dashboard Confessional. In that case, I would recommend buying the Deluxe version which is two discs. The first disc is all of the material in glorious Technicolor and full production sound. The second disc is all of the same tunes in naked acoustic pleasantries. That bares Dashboard Confessional down to the underground emo-heartbreak phenomenon they once were.

“Alter the Ending” is a very deep record emotionally. For me, it is what I needed right now. Less about the music and more about the message. Less about destruction of the institutional constructs of the ‘Man’ and more of about the dive into feelings about the world around me and the struggles inside me. Okay, so I may be a little biased but I will say that the songwriting on this album is truly intimate, and beautiful. Carrabba is a master at capturing hurt and joy in an audible format that you ‘get.’ Despite my favoritism of the band and my connections to the messages swirling around from listening to the album, this is truly a special record of beautiful tunes. Typically, Dashboard Confessional albums were more about darker feelings and retrospective but “Alter the Ending” is much more upbeat and the lyrics lift and are hopeful.

All of the songs are near-epic on this album but there are three marquee songs which make it purchase-worthy:

Belle of the Boulevard – When I first heard this song, I had the vision of sitting in my garage with my sons reflecting on life and passing on advice about persevering through disappointments but knowing they both aren’t listening and would rather draw with sidewalk chalk. The beauty of the song is in the message and how it is delivered. Uplifting and lyrically soaring. In brief, it’s pretty much about rubbing dirt on your emotional wounds and moving on.

Hell on the Throat – If I had to pick one song that typified the sound of early Dashboard Confessional, this song is it. It’s delicate and intimately sung over an acoustic guitar and piano. The tale is an analogy of the harshness of the cold of winter being equated to the long road of life and roadblocks along the journey. This is Dashboard Confessional at its best.

Everybody Learns from Disaster – The title of this song is fairly self explanatory. Lyrically, it wonders through lessons learned through the years of growing up in a highly metaphorical story. It is very vivid and you can almost see the story visually playing out in your mind as you listen. It harkens back to the those long warm summers while you were in high school and felt indestructible but are now old enough the appreciate the lessons.



“Alter the Ending” is a lyrical adventure. The songwriting and musicianship are top shelf but the true beauty of the work is in its message and its delivery. This is what makes Dashboard Confessional a great group. It’s their ability to channel emotional feelings in a way that the listener can relate. Most of the songs are very metaphorical requiring the listener to digest what is being said. The cerebral nature of the lyrics creates a visualization that adds to the ambiance and the experience. Music that makes you see a vignette of a short story of life is what you will hear on “Alter the Ending.”

 

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