Blink-182 "Neighborhoods" Rocks My World

Here is a short, rushed review of Blink-182's new album Neighborhoods I just felt compelled to write after listening to it the whole way through.

Mark, Tom and Travis are at it again.

If you're anything like me, then you grew up listening to Blink-182. You pumped your fist to "Dammit", you laughed your brace-face off at the music video for "What's My Age Again?" and "Adam's Song" became your own personal anthem. And you were devastated when Blink broke up.

Blink-182 are back to doing what they do best. Their new album, just released on DGC Records, sounds incredible with the familiar riffs and insane drums, and the complimentary way Tom DeLong and Mark Hoppus' voices blend together. Though it sounds quintessentially Blink, it sounds totally fresh and new. A more mature sound for a more mature audience.

Mark Hoppus said he "couldn't write a happy song for this album," and it's true that the music is wrought with emotion and dark compared to some of their earlier stuff. But despite this, the boys are able to walk the line between angsty and jaded and deliver heartfelt, earnest music that is both believable and relate-able to the listener.

My favorite song so far is "After Midnight" - about two people always being there for each other no matter what. It has a strong hook and a great melody and will probably be some lucky pop-punk couple's song.

If you want to hear an awesome showcase of Travis Barker's mad drum skills (and I know you do) check out track 5 - "Heart's All Gone."

Look, if you have any doubt about whether you want to buy this album or not, just effing do it. The CD delivers all that Blink-182 greatness that you love. You will not be disappointed.

Loser Kids rejoice!

Muse

"If only I'd had an enemy greater than my apathy I would have won." - Mumford and Sons

It's no secret that the biggest roadblock standing in the way of my Path to Publication is myself. My own personal fears and doubts are like a 50 foot brick wall with razor wire at the top, covered in insulting graffiti. It's tough. And all these fears and doubts create a stunning lack of motivation.

So what do I do?

The only thing I can do is search for inspiration. Inspiration is the antidote for apathy.

I think everyone - not only writers - gets done in by boredom and jadedness in their job or life, and needs a little pick-me-up to get going again. That's why corporations cover their walls in stupid posters of people helping each other up a cliff. Motivational posters are great for rolling your eyes at, but I find it's quite beneficial to know what kinds of things inspire you and to surround yourself with them.

Here's what inspires me:

Music - specifically finding new music I become obsessed with
Great horror movies
Mood lighting
Solitary walks at night
Old wooden ships
Skulls
Tribal masks
Books
Antiques
Guitars
Stormy weather
Animals
Success stories

If I could wrap myself and my laptop in a cocoon of all those things I would feel unstoppable - like that second train movie Denzel did. I try to keep these kinds of things in my life to keep me going. It's amazing how quickly after seeing Fright Night and discovering a new band called I Am Dynamite the ideas came bubbling up into consciousness from who-knows-where. I feel elated. I feel like a badass.

So, what inspires you?

Music Is My Aeroplane

Nothing inspires me more than a summer rainstorm. I adore the rain - a product of my desert upbringing, I'm sure - and I especially love it in the summer when it comes in and cools everything down for a while. It's a nice break from the oppressive Texas heat.

As I mentioned in my post before last, I had been blocked and unable to work on revising my novel. So I'm quite relieved to have a) finally a free day of rest, b) rainstorms out my window, and c) new music to listen to - all of which are a recipe for writing.

Music is a huge source of inspiration for me too. I can't write without it. Whenever I listen to a song, I get all these images popping up in my head like my own personal music video, and oftentimes these images form together to create a story line or a very vivid scene. I would say that I came up with 90% of my story while using music.

I always make a playlist when I'm working on a project that captures the mood and theme of whatever I'm working on. Today, I thought I'd share part of my A Mouth Full of Teeth playlist with you...just because I feel like sharing!

A Mouth Full of Teeth Playlist:
"Above the Clouds" - Slightly Stoopid (I used this to come up with the first chapter. This song makes me feel like I'm up to no good.)
"Hang You From the Heavens" - The Dead Weather (This song is bad ass, used for action scenes and fighting.)
"Angel" - Massive Attack (Dark and dangerous, this song is great to use when building tension)
"Phenomena" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs (This song is just plain sexy...I think it speaks for itself)
"Put Your Dukes Up John" - Arctic Monkeys (good for a fist fight, used in Gabe's fight scenes)
"Running Up That Hill" - Placebo (this song seems to be about a person who wishes they were someone else, which describes Jade perfectly)
"Sweet Dreams Are Made of This" - Marilyn Manson cover (I used this for when shit hits the fan, the whole song is an epic crescendo - love it)
"Gaston Ave" - Astronautalis (Used to calm things down after shit hits the fan, and everyone needs to process what just happened)
"Howlin' For You" - The Black Keys (this song warms me up for stepping inside this world of werewolves I've created)
"Butterflies and Hurricanes" - Muse (Pretty much anything Muse does is good for writing a lot of action)

I just want to say that I know that last week I got off my posting schedule quite a bit, and I apologize for that - but last week was a very busy week for me. Sunday was the Railroad Revival Tour, Monday was the drive home, Wednesday I went to see Charlie Sheen's "Violent Torpedo of Truth" show (my friends won tickets at work), Friday I woke up at 4am to watch the Royal Wedding live (don't judge me) and then went to bed after dinner at 8pm and slept until 6:40am the next morning. I'm not used to that much action. But this week should be back to normal...unless David Beckham spots me in the crowd at the soccer game tonight and decides to leave Posh Spice for me.

Thanks for reading! =)

Marfa-lous Mumford and Jake G

This is an exceptionally late post, I know, but there is good reason for it.

Yesterday I spent all day driving through a dust storm. Sunday I spent all day in Marfa, Tx rocking out at the Railroad Revival Tour with Mumford & Sons.

Marfa is a dusty little town in far West Texas with one ATM and a Border Patrol station. It's definitely not the kind of place you'd expect a kick-ass tour with Mumford & Sons, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros to stop in. It's also the last place on Earth you'd expect to see Jake Gyllenhaal.

In the days leading up to the concert, Marfa's city councilman sent out an informational email to all the concert-goers just to let all us "hippies" know what to expect. I think this alone will illustrate the eccentricities of small town West Texas.

"As everyone is aware, our town's population will more than double during the weekend and public safety and regulatory agencies are taking steps to make sure rules are followed and people are safe... ATTENTION- visitors from Austin may not be aware that only in Austin are possession or smoking of marijuana laws not enforced. Out here drug enforcement is vigorous and it is arguably an industry. Do not expect to NOT be ticketed or go to jail for possession. Read these last two sentences twice- four times if you've been smoking pot...Lastly, if you are cited for a jailable offense and do go to jail, I have been informed that you will be processed for jail in Marfa, then you will be placed into a paddy wagon, when, once full, it will take you two hours away to the Hudspeth County Jail, where you will be held. That's in hellish Sierra Blanca, the last place you will want to be after spending a few great hours in beautiful Marfa."


Later, on the Marfa RRT Facebook page, we were all very nicely warned of the following: "You may want to bring your own food, as Marfa only has a few restaurants and they will probably be closed for Easter Sunday. You also probably want to get cash before you leave, because we only have one ATM and we might run out of money. And you'll want to fill up on gas before you get in to town, because we only have 2 gas stations and we might run out of gas."


I lined up to get into the show at 3:30pm - two hours before gates opened. As I waited, patiently being sand blasted, I saw the people approaching. The man in the middle was wearing a grey T-shirt, aviators and a black Pittsburgh Pirates cap just barely sitting on top of his head. That guy is hot! I thought to myself as I shamelessly checked him out. He walked up to the front gate, then double backed with his gorgeous blond lady-friend so she could get her ticket. It was at this point I thought to myself, He looks a lot like Jake Gyllenhaal. As I watched him walk back to the front gate, the guy behind me said. "Dude...I think that's Jake Gyllenhaal."


No way, thought I. A famous actor like that would not be in Marfa freaking Texas. I studied him closely as he showed his backstage pass to the guard at the gate and then went inside the camp ground. The cops standing inside the camp ground stared and turned a full circle to watch him pass, and then pointed at him and looked at each other like "Did you just see who that was?"


Thinking quickly, I sent a text to my best friend: 


Me: I'm 75% sure I just saw Jake Gylenhal (sp?)
Sarah: No way! Where?
Me: At the concert. Do you know if he has a shaved head right now?
Sarah: No, but I will google it. Holy shit! He totally does! Shaved so close he's almost bald.
Me: It was him! Almost bald!
Sarah: What the f*** are you doing? Get his photo!


The concert started promptly at 6:30, and kicked off with an African-American man dressed as an old-timey train attendant. He had with him a small Xylaphone and chimed out a few notes before introducing Old Crow Medicine Show. OCMS hitched up their britches and got the crowd dancing and kicking up dirt for an hour. Next was the main attraction for me, Mumford & Sons. 


Mumford & Sons were fantastic. They played perfectly and sounded great. After the first song (title track, "Sigh No More"), the bassist's stand up bass had lost a couple strings. "The West Texas sun melted my bass!" he shouted. A roadie brought out a Fender to replace it and the bassist said, "Luckily we have one of these new-fangled electric ones." But before he had time to put it over his shoulders, Old Crow Medicine Show kindly offered up their stand up bass, and the show continued. At the end of the second song, the roadie returned with the freshly stringed bass. "She's back!" cried the bassist, joyfully. "She's been resurrected." It was an Easter miracle!


"Marfa, your good reputation knows no bounds," said lead singer Marcus Mumford. "You have a marvelous town. Or should I say, Marfa-lous?" He's got jokes!


Mumford & Sons played two brand new songs for us also. The tentatively titled ballad "Lover's Eyes" and percussion heavy "Lover of the Light." Both songs were great, an indication that their next album will not be disappointing. "Lover of the Light" is a sure to be hit, I did not want this song to end.


After sunset, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros took the stage. Consequently, no one in the band is named Edward Sharpe. I had never heard of them before, but I did recognize a couple of their songs from commercials. Nevertheless, they put on a high energy show and lead singer Alex Ebert spent more time down with crowd than he did the stage which was very cool.


It was without a doubt the best Easter ever. I had so much fun, the music was terrific, the people of Marfa were super friendly (of course) and I got to see Jake Gyllenhaal. I didn't even mind being completely covered in dirt at the end of the night. 

Marcus Mumford with Old Crow Medicine Show

Jake Gyllenhaal hanging out backstage

Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros standing on the guard rail