On stage names

A lot of artists I really like have stage names.  The Hives all have them (from Nicholaus Arson to Chris Dangerous), as do Electric Six (including Dick Valentine and The Colonel).  Even local synth-pop band Freezepop has lead singer Liz Excitement.  It's a good way to make the band seem more exciting, I guess, more like larger-than-life characters.  I can dig it.

Since I mentioned that I'd be trying to put together an act to do for that open mic night I found, I've started thinking about coming up with my own stage name.  It sounds silly, but I am putting together exactly what I said - an act.  My idea of a fun show pays attention to the fact that the whole thing is a performance.  As I've probably talked your ear off at one point or another, I love it when bands do interesting things when playing live, things that make the show different from just listening to an album.  Anyway, that's why I'm focusing on the showmanship of this thing, not just the music.

So, I need something that'll be unique and memorable, yet also "me" in some way.  Liz Excitement presumably brings just that to the stage, but when I think of what I'd bring, the only thing I can think of is "self-deprecation."  Not only is Jordan Self-Deprecation a bit of a mouthful, it's also a paradox; to call myself that would be to imply that I was good at self-deprecation, which would make me the opposite.  I'm better off finding something that relates to the kind of act I'm doing.

I'm not doing the standard singing-and-playing-acoustic-guitar type of show.  For one, I don't have an acoustic guitar, for another, I can't sing.  What I think I'm going to do is something that I can tie several of my interests into.  I'm hoping to create a few of my own songs in that chiptune genre, with electric guitar backed by pre-programmed 8-bit drums and synths.  It's not the most impressive thing when it comes to skill with playing live, but I'm trying to make it interesting and fun.  I'm also considering working my speakerhead into the act - its voice changer may help my lack of decent singing voice.  Or it may make it worse.  Who knows.  Either way, the whole thing has a very electronically-driven feel.

The name that I've been kicking around in my head is Super 8, as sort of a stage name and just a band name for my solo projects.  I like the retro sound it has, as well as the "8" that it shares with "8-bit."  On the other hand, it's derived from a film format, and the fact that this is an audio act rather than video makes it a little incongruous.  Still, a large part of the performance will be visual if I'm wearing my speakerhead...  I'm really not sure.  I'll keep thinking about it.

Today's song:  Continuing the electro/dance theme, here's one from a synthpop band I really like.  Again, great song, great video.

Royksopp - Happy Up Here

Today's thing:  I worked more on the song from yesterday, changing the drums in one part and recording more guitar, as well as arranging a little more bass.  I'm hoping to get lyrics together within the next few days, since it'd be really awesome to play that one for the open mic thing.  We'll see.

Prospective song names (just for fun, I swear):

First Blood First Blank

If Challenge Had a Taste, You'd be Quite Delicious

Ho-Tep's Revenge

Unknown as Usual, King Friday

Line In

Hung Over on Your Love

Not Today, Little Girl

Love in the Time of Nukes

Kind of All or Nothing

Today's song:  So, this is pretty cool.  Techno/dance song, but with lines from movies.  That rhyme with each other.

Ricardo Autobahn - The Golden Age of Video

Today's thing:  I came up with and recorded this.  It needs some arranging and vocals, but I'm pretty excited about it so far.

8-bit rock song

After more musicwork and watching an hour-long live webcam session that Andrew W.K. did, I walked over to an open-mic night at a place in Cambridge.  I found out about it this afternoon and figured I'd check it out.  It seemed like a good atmosphere - low pressure, some regulars, some newcomers, encouragement for all - so I figure I'll try to put a two-song set together for next week.  It'll give me a goal and deadline.

Oh, and when I was walking back, I ran into a dumpster diver.  Nice guy.  Gave me advice on where to look for discarded electronics to take apart.

Today's song:  Here's something that's a completely different genre than what I've posted so far.  It's drum'n'bass, which... well, it's not hip-hop, like this particular song sounds at first.  The drum'n'bass part kicks in at about 1:14.

High Contrast - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Today's thing:  I got some more of that 8-bit-style Party Hard cover put together.  The guitar's pretty damn fuzzy, though, so I may have to rerecord it or something.

8-bit Party Hard little more demo

I ended up working on various musical snippets for most of the day, then found out that a small music festival was going on at Fenway.  I headed over there and ended up catching Silversun Pickups' entire set from just behind the stage.  Which was cool, because they (along with Gogol Bordello) walked right past me, yet I didn't actually pay to get in.

Today's song:  These guys were at the event that I eavesdropped on, but behind closed doors.  What a shame.

Metric - Help I'm Alive

Today's thing:  I recorded the start of a new song.  Thinkin' I'm going to end up calling it Die or Dance.  We'll see.

B punkish test

Things I have witnessed in the city:

Fireworks.
An ice cream truck.
Hipsters.
Street sweepers.
Dumpster divers.
Young people makin' out.
Old people makin' out.
Runaway balloons.
Cop cars, fire trucks and ambulances.
Extremely bored anti-riot police.
Sports fans.
Drummers.
A sudden rainstorm on a balmy day that had everyone running for cover, united in one moment of "oh, shit."

Today's song:  I just ran across Guitar Wolf, a Japanese band that plays what they call "Jet Rock."  It's like punk mixed with rockabilly mixed with loads of distortion.  It's pretty neat.

Guitar Wolf - Jet Generation

Today's thing:  I started/continued a handful of music projects.  I'm trying to make a couple of the tunes from that set of mini theme songs into full-length songs, since I think they have promise.

Today, I saw my friend fall from the sky.  Finally.

Yes, Chris actually managed to go skydiving.  I got both his takeoff and landing on video.

The reason I didn't jump myself is because it costs about 200 dollars, which I didn't have (and which I doubt I'd be eager to part with if I did have).  However, I worry that that may just be a lucky excuse - I honestly don't know if I would have the balls to do it.  I'd like to think that I would, but I can't tell for sure.

Today's song:  Another guy I wish I could sing and play piano like.

Jamie Cullum - I'm All Over it

 Today's thing:  More footage for the video project.  Pretty much any day I can say "I got some good shots" I consider a success.

On a range of things

Summer in the city:  It's pretty much what you'd expect.  Brick, asphalt, heat.  A welcome breeze.  Sweat and a drink with ice.

Skydiving:  We're going to try for the third time tomorrow.  As someone who believes that his life is a narrative, I have faith in the Rule of three.

Vuvuzelas:  BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Red things in my room:  One wall and half of another.  My headphones.  My guitar.  The shirt I'm wearing.  My copy of "The Elephant Vanishes" and the screenwriting book beneath it.  A guitar pick.  The Sharpie on my keychain.

Music:  I will make more of it this weekend, so help me.

Today's song:  I'd love to be able to play piano like this guy.  I'd also love to be able to sing like him.

Ben Folds - All U Can Eat

Today's thing:  I put down the basis for a possible new song, I guess?  Also I took a day trip to RI and scraped together most of this coming month's rent, so that's pretty weighty, too.

Note to self:  Job interviews go from "good" to "bye" as soon as you mention that you're only here for the summer.

Today's song:  The pop-punk-dance band Datarock says that they're influenced by Talking Heads.  So much so, in fact, that they did a song with lyrics made entirely of Talking Heads song titles.

Datarock - True Stories

Today's thing:  Filled out and dropped off yet more job applications.  I also put together a little more of that song I mentioned yesterday.  I know I said I'd have something cool today, but hopefully I'll be able to deliver tomorrow.

Jobhunting for the umpteenth time.  This makes me kind of boring, sorry.

Today's song:  This is something I've tried (and, to some degree, succeeded) to replicate in a few songs, mostly in that live 8-bit cover of Heroes that Ian and I did.  Old-school Nintendo synths and drums with driving guitars make for some pretty fun stuff, especially when the whole thing's done by these guys.

Anamanaguchi - Helix Nebula

Today's thing:  Well, I put together a little bit of a song, but not enough to share.  I also submitted another job app, picked another one up, you get the drill.  I'm sure this is a pretty boring thing to hear by now.  Tomorrow I'll try to have something nifty (or even better, you know, A JOB).  Might as well link to that 8-bit cover of Heroes of ours that I mentioned.  Ian's on the left, I'm on the right.

Off the Balcony - Heroes

STILL no job luck.  I could always try being a damn chimney sweep.  Or, possibly, I could give selling "intimate apparel" a shot.


Today's song:  I only knew one song by this band because they had a song in Stranger than Fiction, which I'm pretty sure I've already mentioned that I love.  I saw this music video the other day and thought it and the song were pretty good, so I'm sharing it.

Maximo Park - Apply Some Pressure

Today's thing:  I got yet more footage involving my friend's foiled-for-the-second-time skydiving attempt.  Again, it counts.

Today, I:

Had teacher training at MIT.
Was asked "Are you Jordan?" by another teacher, then shown a text message from her brother instructing her to marry me.
Walked from Cambridge all the way back to Mission Hill.
Got caught in the rain on the way.
Stopped by the Sheraton to play their piano and ended up talking to a middle-aged guy about music for two hours.
Filled out more job applications.
Thought repeatedly that it was too damn hot.
Took this picture.

Today's song:  Great song, great video.

Harvey Danger - Moral Centralia

Today's thing:  The above picture, as well as another picture I took that I'll (hopefully) use as some kind of album art.

Writing more songs, filling out more apps.  It's a pretty damn balmy day out, so I walked down the block and took a few pictures.  They're kind of artsy-fartsy.

THAT's what I was hoping to get with the similar one I posted.  Like I predicted, I had to kneel right in the middle of the street when it was empty.  I've also been waiting for an opportunity to get this next one:

Then the next one's kind of the opposite.  NO TURNING BACK

Maybe I should have taken a few steps forward.  Oh well.

This one's just so I have an excuse to mention that the bells in this place ring pretty much every fifteen minutes.  There's the standard "Hear-the-bells-chime, what-is-the-hour" tune on the hour, but during the hour it's a weird variation that just kind of confuses me when I hear it.

Today's song:  No reason for this one other than that I really like it.

David Bowie - Afraid

Today's thing:  Here are those theme songs I promised!  I'd go on for a while about how terrible my voice is but you've heard me say that before so here you go.  If you're not in here and wanted to be, sorry.  If you're in here and didn't want to be, sorry part two.  If you're in here and wanted- ah, hell, here's the damn song.

Theme Songs

Screwing around at the speed of sound

Since arriving here, I can't actually tell if I've been productive or not.  On one hand, I haven't been able to find a job (which will soon pose a problem).  On the other, I'm making new music at a faster pace than ever.  More importantly, I'm making fleshed-out music - songs that are longer than the usual 30 seconds I can put together if I'm lucky.  It's kind of like the old simile of someone turning on a switch in my brain.  This is odd, because there's no actual reason for this to be happening.  I'm not doing drugs, I haven't learned any new theory, and I can't even say that I don't have distractions.  I've hung out with a handful of different friends already, and been all over the city.  Maybe I have fewer distractions, but there are still a decent number.

I guess I shouldn't question it.

Today's song:  OK Go released a new video the other day.  If you haven't watched it yet, you should.  It fits right into their collection of incredible videos.  One day, perhaps, they'll run out of ways to top themselves.  That day is not today.

OK Go - End Love

Today's thing:  I spent most of the afternoon and some of the evening working on this.  For some reason, I ended up having the idea to do mini theme songs for a handful of Hampshire people I know and make them all into one full song.  Each person's going to have two rhyming couplets (except for one so far) and a different guitar/bass riff based on something about them.  This is what I completed today - I still have several more segments to do.  The lyrics are written, but not recorded.

Listen

I'm hoping to finish it up tomorrow. 

Today, I dreamed I slept until half past three.

Then I woke up and it was 9:23.  Seven minutes later, my alarm went off.  I got up, got ready, and met a friend to watch (and film) him skydive.  We drove an hour and a half to the jump site, along with another Hampshire kid, the friend's parents and a two-year-old they were watching.  There, we were faced with a cloud cover that made it impossible to actually perform any jumps.  We waited for about two and a half hours, but the weather decided that nobody would be falling from the sky today.  Well, not on purpose, anyway.

The highlight of the trip was when the two-year-old turned to the Hampshire girl and said "What's cooking?  You are!" in his best bachelor voice.

Later, I saw Toy Story 3 with a couple of other friends (one of whom kindly got me in for free, since she worked at the theater).  It was FANTASTIC.  I was impressed with the movie right from the start.  It was definitely made for people my age, people who grew up with the first two movies.  All of the characters felt the same as ever, and all of the action, gags, bobs and weaves were perfect.  The plot... well, I won't spoil it, but it covers some really serious ground.  There's a climactic moment towards the end that, thematically, is the kind of thing you wouldn't expect from a G-rated movie. 

And tomorrow's back to jobhunting.

Today's song:  It's gotta be this.

Randy Newman - You've Got a Friend in Me

Today's thing:  I took a good amount of footage today for my eventual summer docu-narrative thing.  I'd say it works for today.

"Delicious and piping hot in only three microwave minutes!"

At a friend's suggestion down in the comments, I picked up a huge canister of oatmeal.  For four and a half dollars, it says that it'll get me through about 30 days of breakfasts.  The actual phrase is "30 DELICIOUS BOWLS!"  I think it'll be closer to 30 monotonous bowls, but if it saves me money that I could be out there going awesome places (or, you know, just paying the rent) with, that's cool with me.  Compared to eating a cheeseburger for breakfast each day, I'll be saving 25 bucks a month.  I'll also be a hell of a lot thinner.


As usual by now, I did more jobhunting.  I officially dropped off my Urban Outfitters application, then stopped into Best Buy to check up on an online app I submitted a while ago.  When they asked for my name and phone number so the hiring manager could get back to me, I smiled and whipped out my resume (complete with contact info).  I felt pretty slick, but probably just looked overeager.  I also picked up an app to iParty.  I plan on asking Andrew W.K., self-professed King of Partying, to give me a reference.  How can they not hire me with that kind of backup?


Another of the more notable apps I picked up today was this.  I did it on a whim, just for the sake of aiming laughably out of my league (for retail, anyway).





This one, ironically, is the least stylish app I've picked up so far.  It's for Louis Vuitton.


Today's song:  The source of this post's title.


Gorillaz - Superfast Jellyfish


Today's thing:  I wanted to record something with my pocket synth, so I started working on a chiptune-style cover of Party Hard.  Here's the intro.


Listen


Tomorrow looks busy as hell, but I'll try to update... at some point.  I mean REALLY busy.  But really awesome.  You'll see.

Finally, the sun!  I've been waiting to take this picture for a while now.  This park is a 30-second walk from my apartment.  I have a few other places that I'd like to take shots of - if it's sunny again tomorrow I'll try for some of them.

I'd like to set the shot up so the Prudential Center and John Hancock Tower are larger in the arch, but I'll have to stand in the middle of the street.  At some point, I'm sure that it'll happen.  I also took this one on my cell phone over in Cambridge, just as a reminder of a shot I want to get in that summer documentary I mentioned.  On screen, I think it'll be delicious.  I say "delicious" because good shots make my mouth water.  It's kind of weird.

One new job app submitted, two more taken in.  I've officially initiated my apply-to-silly-places plan.  See today's thing.

Today's song:  It's funny because I'm unemployed.  And it's Tuesday.

Loverboy - Everybody's Working For The Weekend

Today's thing:

(click for big)
(eating shit like it's chocolate)

I'm tempted to add "My screenwriting professor," "The guy in the apartment downstairs who gets his mail in boxers and a tie" and "Martin from QC" but I think that'd be overdoing it.

Another short post to counteract yesterday's wall of text.  Did I mention that I'm still searching for a job?  I aim to apply as a busboy (as well as a host of other things) tomorrow.  I also may start picking up applications to places where I'm ridiculously out of my element.  Like, say, Bloomingdale's.

Today's song:  So, after 20 years, Devo have a new album out.  It's pretty good, and it sure as hell sounds like them.  Seriously, listen to this thing.  Right from the beginning, it's DEVO O'CLOCK, SUCKERS yeah I really don't know.

Devo - Fresh

Today's thing:  I turned that 37-second bassline thing from the other day into a much fuller song.  I'm actually pretty happy with how it's sounding.  Now I need to write some lyrics, maybe throw in some "c'mon c'mon"s or "hey hey hey"s.

Bassline thing 2 fuller

The Importance of Being Cera

For a while now, I've been told that I look like Michael Cera. It started off a few years ago with a couple of friends here and there. That's funny, I thought the second or third time it happened. However, as Cera stars in more and more movies, the comparison comes more and more frequently. By now, I feel like I have to write something in order to keep from going off onto a rant every time someone brings it up.

Last night was a bit of a tipping point. I ran into a friend and we hung out, talking. As I made some ridiculously poor play on words ("you snooze, you... miss Dustin... being in Connecticut...?"), she turned to me and said "You remind me SO MUCH of Michael Cera!" This was the second time I'd heard those words in as many days. The friend, of course, didn't know that. Nor did the rain-slicked city street that my cry of "FUCK!" reverberated against, but it didn't care much either way.

I'll admit, there is a little bit of a resemblance. We're both about the same height, weight and build. We have similar hair color and haircuts (though I like to think that mine is more stylish). We're also kind of awkward. Alright, maybe there's a lot of a resemblance. Still, the thing that has brought this percieved likeness to a head is one particular Cera role, one that's not even in theaters for another few months.

Yup, it's Scott Pilgrim. I read the comic last year after hearing it was being made into a movie. I loved it and made my friends read it. How could I not? It's the tale of a 23-year old slacker bassist who, in order to win over a girl, has to defeat her evil exes, boss-battle style. I know that the "twenty-something slacker" character archetype is designed to be easy to identify with, but this one's pretty perfect for me. Videogame references? Check. Rock music? Check. Being the main character of the movie in your head? Shit yeah. And the thing is, my friends have started to see a connection, too. Now, for every person who says I look or act like Michael Cera, there are two who will jump in and say that I'm a living Scott Pilgrim.

This is a marked improvement. While Pilgrim is now played by Cera, the character is different from Cera's usual smile-awkwardly-when-he-should-be-making-conversation type. Scott is still a goofy guy, yes, but he's far more energetic, upbeat and sure of himself. He's an underdog character, but he still kicks a lot of ass. This is the kind of person that, several years ago, I might have fantasized about being. Instead, it's the kind of person that I'm turning into.

I say this with no lack of surprise. For a long time, I've wanted to have an interesting life, to go forth and be awesome. Suddenly, I'm doing just that. I'm being bolder, I'm living on my own in a huge city for the summer. I'm getting into sold-out rock concerts by convincing the lead guitarist to put me on the guest list. I'm making my own (mostly crummy) music and playing (mostly tiny) gigs. I'm not punching people so hard they turn into coins, but I'm doing the rest.

When Scott Pilgrim vs. The World comes out in August, I will doubtlessly be compared to Cera even more than ever. It probably doesn't help that I have two t-shirts that Pilgrim/Cera wears. However, as more people become familiar with the character, hopefully I can make the leap from the S.S. Cera as it passes Pilgrim Island. Maybe in a few years, I'll step out of a club, amp in hand after opening for Lord Knows Who, and someone'll say "Good show. Liked it. By the way, you kinda remind me of Scott Pilgrim. Ever get that?" And I'll grin.

You better believe it's going to rock ultimate.



Today's song: I've gotta have something upbeat here. I've been listening to a lot of these guys lately, they're Japanese and heavily inspired by Devo.

Polysics - Wild One

Today's thing: I just wrote a damn essay about being compared to Michael Cera, I'm counting that as a creation. I need to go outside.

Little to no post today.  As I was standing on a street corner in the rain texting a friend about the remarkable lack of parties compared to on-campus living (though, to be fair, I was looking for not parties but a brick to hold up my futonframe with), I was jumped by a different friend.  Then we hung out and ended up watching Garden State.  Weird how that works.

Today's song:  Well, it was the final song in Garden State and I want to get some sleep so it's-

Frou Frou - Let Go

Today's thing:  Ended up with a flowerpot-shaped hunk of plaster to take the place of the brick that I never found.  I didn't really create it but it's all I have for now.  I also worked on a crappy mashup that'll probably be tomorrow's thing.  Oh, and I wrote something else, if that counts, but you can't read it.  Sorry.

I spent today filling out those applications.  Sitting on the couch, checking addresses of previous employers, I almost felt like I was becoming a competent adult.  It wasn't until I glanced at the posters and headphones already littering my room that I realized that that isn’t happening anytime soon.  Luckily, it was a nice day out, which brightened my mood.  I even have a backyard of sorts that I stared at in between references.

I’m also slowly working on the bag of cheeseburgers that I have in the fridge.  Yesterday, I went to Burger King and got six of their dollar doubles.  I had one for breakfast this morning, along with some yogurt, as if that would make everything okay.  It’s kind of disgusting, but it’s at least two days of food for six bucks.  Being broke is such a good influence on me.


Today’s song:  Lately, I’ve been listening to this really great cover band.  They’re called The Baseballs, they’re from Germany and they do 50’s rock covers of modern pop songs while dressed like greasers.  It’s AWESOME.

The Baseballs – Love In This Club


Today’s thing:  The recording quality on this is horrible, since I did it with my laptop’s built-in mic.  I really need to get my external sound card set up.  Anyway, I’ve been playing around with the bassline for this for a while now, but it wasn’t until tonight that I came up with the simple guitar hook.  I think my favorite bit isn’t the hook itself, but the jangle in the background of the hook’s second measure.  Oh, and this one’s also 37 seconds. I’ll have to come up with more later.

Bassline Thing 2

Today marked the start of active jobhunting.   I stopped by Borders first, after having heard they were hiring.  Instead of getting an application, though, I was told to fill out a 45-minute online application and wait for their hiring manager to e-mail me.  Express was more friendly, giving me both an application and the name of the person to talk to when I turn it in.  A couple of other places also surrendered applications.  Looks like I’ve got a lot of app-filling to do tomorrow.

Today’s song:   It’s been sprinkling all day and I just put up my Stranger than Fiction poster.  This one’s good for a time like this.

Spoon – The Way We Get By

Today’s thing:  Well, I made a backing track to jam to on my keyboard or guitar.  It ain’t much and it’s definitely not worth posting.  I also made… er, headway on getting employed, so there’s that, too.

Today’s move went well.  John showed up and gallantly put my stuff in his car while I scrambled around making sure I had everything.  I burned him a CD full of Andrew W.K. for the ride and we took off, stopping for burgers along the way.  We got to the apartment, and as I started unloading, I ran into a Hampshire kid.  No joke, he was sitting on the steps of my new building, no doubt busy looking vaguely familiar.  After the initial “Don’t I…?” “Yeah… You look…” “Where do you…” exchange, he introduced me to the friends he was visiting, who live in the apartment downstairs and are two more Hampshire kids.  Sitcoms aren’t this coincidental.

Once everything was in the apartment, John and I noticed a Jeep that had become boxed in by other parked cars.  Its driver elegantly inched out of the predicament with a sixteen-point turn.  Meanwhile, the passenger left an angry note on the car behind them.  Once they’d left, we gleefully ran downstairs to see what she’d written.

Oh, and then John drove me to Stop & Shop because it was raining.  I figured I’d be a responsible adult and-

Nah, I’m just kidding, I actually got milk, cheese, bread and V8 juice instead.  John took off shortly after that, perhaps worried that I was now turning into The Man.

As I unpacked, I discovered the box of booze I’d brought back with me from school and left untouched during my two weeks or so at home.  It accumulated towards the end of the semester as people left early, giving away whatever spare alcohol they didn’t want to bring back to their families.  I had tried to invite people over to drink the stuff I was left with, but was thwarted when instead they brought their own booze (and refused to take it with them when they left).  So, I pawned some off on a friend, left some for my modmates (who later pawned that off on the same friend) and packed the rest away.

Completely forgetting about that, I wandered into a small liquor store down the street on Monday night with the sole intention of buying the cheapest bottle of wine they had.  I figured it was the thing to do.  After all, a small room, no money and half a liberal arts degree qualify me soundly as a “starvingartist.”   You can’t spell “starvingartist” without “cheapshit red wine,” I thought, and decided to embrace the stereotype.  Never mind that I wasn’t in the mood for a drink.  I would just save this for when I couldn’t stand being sober (or tasteful) any longer.

And now, I’m still not particularly in the mood.  As I stare at my five bottles, it occurs to me that I am in possession of fatal amounts of alcohol.  If I drank my entire collection, I would flat-out die.  It also occurs to me that this isn’t really a huge deal since you can also be in possession of fatal amounts of bleach pretty damn easily.  I’d say, instead, that this makes for a good rule of thumb:  If you don’t have enough booze to kill at least one man (or woman, but she has to be Russian), you don’t have enough booze to host a drinking party.

Since I don’t plan on offing myself or throwing a rager, though, that bottle of Pinot Noir is going to be around for a while.  According to its label, it is “made exclusively for restaurants and hotels throughout the world where wines of this quality are expected.”  Which is honest, since you know damn well that you won’t find any six-dollar bottles of wine at the Ritz.  I’d mix it with the V8 juice, but I’m not sure which would be helping the other go down.

And now I’ve written four paragraphs about my apathy towards my minibar.  Where do you go from there? “Oh also I don’t really care much about the t-shirts I folded earlier?”  I think I’ll call it a night.

Today’s song:  It pretty much has to be an Andrew W.K. song, given that I heard nearly an hour and a half of him in the car today.  They’re all ridiculously kick-the-world’s-ass-because-I-am-awesome in tone, but I think I’ll choose “This Is My World” for now because it seems fitting.  Well, aside from the brief verse about watching someone through their bedroom window, anyway.  Everyone across the street has their shades drawn.


Andrew W.K. – This Is My World

Today’s thing:  With John’s help, I fixed up the bedframe - er, futonframe - in here.  Later, I put together a keyboard stand.  It’s not really creating but it makes for a sweet setup.

I guess I created a nice living environment.  Shut up, it counts.  I’m tired and I want to go to futon.

Right!  Less exposition, more rock.

For starters, this is my room.  It’s tiny.

In order to get even this much in the frame, I had to stand in the closet.  It’s THAT small.  I’ve been living in dorms for most of the last two years, though, so I’m kind of used to it.  At least this has carpet.  Oh, and a nice view.

I’ll be moving my stuff in tomorrow, with the help of my friend John.  I’ll also take a few pictures of the surrounding neighborhood, which I haven’t quite passed judgment on yet.  It treads the line between sketchy and classy.  If I turn right off of my small street, I soon pass boarded-over houses and a mechanic’s lot full of junked cars before coming to the Orange Line.  If I turn left, I pass a medical research center and an upscale bar & grill before hitting the Green Line.  I turn left a lot.

I’ve picked up a CharlieCard for the T already.  Given how easy it turned out to be to get one (“Hi, how do I go about getting a CharlieCard?”  “How much do you want to put on it for now?”  “Uh, ten dollars.”  “Here you go.”  “Oh.”) I’m not sure why I didn’t get one years ago.  Still, the act of getting it felt good, as if I’d received a small badge that said Hello, I know what I’m doing.

Today’s song:  Jumping to the opposite end of the spectrum from yesterday, this one’s about NOT wanting to live somewhere.  I share frontman David Byrne’s sentiments – yes, the country’s nice, but it’s not the place for me.  Not at this point in my life, anyway.  Who knows, though, maybe someday I’ll want a lawn to tell kids to get off of.

Talking Heads – The Big Country

Today's thing:  I don't know if you can really call this a song, since it's a whopping 37 seconds, but it's a thing and I made it so that counts as my daily creating stuff.  It's all electronic except for the recorded guitar, but that's pretty easy to tell.

I don't even know what to call this

That’s it for now.  More tomorrow.

So, I'm in Boston.

For a lot of you, that shouldn't come as a surprise.  I end up hanging out in the city practically once a month, sometimes even more often.  What makes today different, though, is that now I live here.

See, I'm subletting a childhood friend's place for the summer.  He started trying to find a subletter just a week or so after I'd lackadaisically thought "Hey, wouldn't it be fun to live in Boston for the summer?"  It seemed like a great fit, so I figured I'd give it a shot.  Which was weird for me, because I haven't ever made such a Big Life Decision that quickly.  I take forever just to decide what card to play in Apples to Apples.

The fact that I now live somewhere I've always fantasized about living (since I was young, I've loved cities, Boston most of all) is still a little surreal.  It hasn't sunk in.  Granted, I haven't moved my stuff in yet (and he left a little of his), but I have the key, I'm here now and I've written this month's rent check.

Anyway, now that the backstory's out of the way, let me explain the point of this blog, since that's pretty much a first-post requirement.  It's partly a way for my friends and family to keep up with me, partly a way to make myself write more.  I have a few guidelines for this summer (besides the obvious find-a-job-pay-the-rent-be-able-to-survive).  One of them is "Keep up with this blog," the rest are:

* Have lots of adventures
     This is the big one.  It's pretty much the reason I'm here.
* Create something every day
     Music, a short film, a box that lights up.  Anything, really.
* Make a film of my summer here
     I'm a film student, I need all the practice I can get.
* When in doubt, go for it
     I've always wanted to be bolder.  Now seems like a good time.

Oh, and one other thing - I'll try to include a link to a song with every post.  It'll be fun to find things that match posts thematically.  It'll also be immensely self-satisfying to be like THIS MUSIC IS GOOD SO THERE.  Anyway, I definitely have to start with the song that inspired the name of this blog.

The Billy Nayer Show - Mars

Thank you, and good night.  I'll talk about the apartment itself tomorrow.