A Beautiful Disaster

Sidenote that probably distracts from my ever so deep writing: I have no idea how these GIF things work but they blow my mind. It's just like in Harry Potter!

    Why is it that we, or at least some of us, are so undeniably attracted to that which is bad for us? Why is there something so romantic about a beautiful disaster? The latest character to get me thinking about this topic is Cook from Skins (the UK version, not the shit American one). The beauty of Skins is that it depicts teen life without candy-coating it. People drink, do drugs, have bad parents, fall in and out of love, develop eating disorders and mental illnesses, and experience the simultaneous boredom and excitement that is being a teenager. Yes, it is angsty and dramatic, but isn't that how it feels as a teen?
    On Skins, the amazing Jack O'Connell (from This is England) plays Cook, who at the beginning of the series is a druggie and class clown who is the eternal life of the party. He's charismatic, handsome, and down right fucked up. From the first episode, which features him smoking in the boys room, drinking whisky from the bottle during lunch, setting fire to lockers, and showing teachers his tatted ass, you can't take your eyes off of him.
     When it comes to Cook, from the beginning you know he's destined for the gutter, and yet, somehow that adds to his charm. Throughout the series we see how bad his home life really is, and with it, realize that Cook believes that nothing good will ever stay with him. Why does this make him all the more attractive? He's a complete mess and still there are over five-hundred tumblrs dedicated solely to him (yes, I actually looked this up). Since Skins is so realistic, we all know what his future holds. Cook's eventual fate is revealed in Skins:Rise and, as anyone would predict, it's not exactly a happy ending. Don't we all know a Cook in real life? Someone you can't save from themselves? Why are we attracted to them? Do we want to fix them? Do we all have daddy issues? Are we all just plain fucked up? I  don't know the answer to this question but I do know that I've fallen for a lot of Cooks. Why is it that a physical embodiment of tragedy and disaster is also so impossibly beautiful. It makes me think that if there is a devil (personally think that's complete bullshit, but whatever) he must be absolutely stunning.

Come on, this should not be an attractive thing...

Sidenote #2: Skins features the hottest lesbian couple ever, Emily and Naomi, in a very deep, sweet, and realistic manor. Apart from the awesome way in which a somewhat controversial couple is depicted, they're, like, really attractive. I'm pretty sure they could turn anyone gay (just kidding... kind of!)

Happy Halloween!!

Workout Playlist

So I've been trying to work out more lately (Agh, the freshman fifteen!) and pretty much the only thing that I look forward to when going to the gym is a solid hour of music listening. I guess the endorphins don't suck either. When I work out, whether I'm running or doing the eliptical, I tend to make my steps match the beat of the song, so I try to find songs that have a good one. Here it is:

• Californication- The Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Hunger Strike- Temple of the Dog
• Bullet with Butterfly Wings- The Smashing Pumpkins
• London's Burning- The Clash
• The Tide is High- Blondie
• Romance- Wild Flag
• Bastards at the Gate- The Architects (This is a super cool band from my hometown that I love)
• Alive- Pearl Jam (This one is also cool because the lyrics in the chorus pick me up when I want to stop)
• All My Life- Foo Fighters
• Take me or leave me- Rent (Bustin' out the showtunes!)
• Sliver- Nirvana (Nirvana's Loud quiet Loud chorus' work well with intervals)
• Arlandria- Foo Fighters
• Touch Me, I'm Sick- Mudhoney
• Heaven on their Minds- Jesus Christ Superstar
• Mamma Mia- Abba (Yes it's kind of lame but in the middle of a workout I need something fun)
• Blister in the Sun- Violent Femmes (Side note: This is the most fun song to dance and jump on your bed too! Preferably when no one is watching though)
• Teen Age Riot- Sonic Youth
• Honey, We Can't Afford to Look this Cheap- The White Stripes
• Just Breathe- Pearl Jam (Haha, get it... Just BREATHE! but actually by the time I'm cooling off it's a nice reminder)

Movie Review: Bob and the Monster

Bob Forrest is best know for being the cool guy who dresses like Johnny Depp on Celebrity Rehab. This is somewhat tragic. Bob was the lead singer of an incredibly cool but somewhat cursed band, Thelonious Monster. Throughout the late 80s and early 90s Thelonious Monster put out a series of critically acclaimed albums. Forrest is a great songwriter who manages to make the mundane realities of life sound like an epic tale. He also has one of the most expressive voices I've ever heard. Not to mention, he was the first person to discover the amazing hendrixian talent of John Frusciante who was originally going to join Thelonious Monster before their untimely demise. Despite their talent and eventual major label contract, Thelonious Monster was doomed from the start. Bob Forrest developed an addiction to heroin around the same time the band was gaining momentum. Bob and the Monster tells the story of Bob's descent to rock bottom and his eventual rise from the ashes. The movie features interviews from some of the many musicians that Bob has helped including, Anthony Kiedis, John Frusciante, Courtney Love, Scott Weiland, Steven Adler, and Stephen Perkins. Bob and the Monster shows the dark side of sex, drugs, and rock n' roll but is also an inspiring story of how someone can bounce back after hitting rock bottom and become a beacon of hope for others. Plus, it's a biography of one of the coolest people to ever walk the streets of Hollywood. (In my opinion. But, really, come on just look at him, you know he's cool...)

Why Courtney Love Doesn't Suck

I’m an unapologetically huge fan of Courtney Love. Yes, that Courtney Love who has often been accused of being crazy, who some believe killed her husband, and who’s own daughter got a restraining order against her.  First of all, I personally don’t think that she killed Kurt. I think that is complete bullshit. He obviously had a volatile personality; he may have even been bipolar, he had a major drug problem, his lyrics are rather bleak. The hints are all there…he killed himself.

Back to Courtney, our world is filled with female musicians who maintain their perfect looks all the time. Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, even Kesha, too a certain extent, constantly look like Barbies. Courtney Love defies the standards of the female musician. Yes, both Janice and Stevie had their own unique looks but they stuck to them. Courtney isn’t afraid to smear her makeup, rip her tights, or mess up her hair. She doesn’t try to be the perfect woman.

Courtney Love is an outcast. She always has been and always will be. She writes about the girls who will never be prom queen and may not even get a date. She knows what its like to know you don’t fit in. She’s an authentic voice for the misfits. In “Miss World” she says,

I am the girl you know, can't look you in the eye

I am the girl you know, so sick I cannot try

And I am the one you want, can't look you in the eye

I am the girl, you know I lie, I lie and lie

She’s describing how much it can hurt knowing that you aren’t liked and feeling torn between lying about who you are and being someone on the outside of the clique. Sounds like high school to me.

            Lastly, Courtney Love is a survivor. She put up with being overshadowed by her husband’s career at the height of her own. She was then accused of killing said husband. Can you imagine, while in middle of the grieving process, being accused of killing the person you loved most? I can’t. Not only did her husband die, but he killed himself, leaving her to raise their one and a half year old daughter by herself. The pain that Courtney must have gone through is insane. Kurt couldn’t take the pain of life but Courtney has endured and coped through it all.

            Courtney Love isn’t perfect. That’s what makes her so amazing, In a world filled with role models that seem to be perfect robots, Courtney Love reminds us that it’s okay to be human. She’s entirely made up of flaws but she is who she is and she’s not afraid of that. I look up to Courtney because I want to be as strong, passionate, and badass as she is.  

The Art of Swagger

In the days of Justin Beiber running around with Swag as his catch phrase, I find myself asking is swagger dead? I’m not talking about skinny white boys in skinny jeans that hang of their butt who walk around saying dope all the time, I’m talking Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Stevie Nicks. What happened to people who don’t care what people thought about them, who lived by their own rules?

             In today’s age of social media and constant documentation, is it possible to not care what everyone else thinks about you? Are we living in a world where we all pretend to be someone else all the time? Keith Richards was an innovator, an individual, and above all, a badass.  Keith took the sixth string off of his guitars because he found it unnecessary. He wore his girlfriends’ clothes and rocked them like a bohemian 60s marauder. He ignored all the rules and lived his life the way he wanted to live it.
            Where are the Keiths of modern day rock? Yes, there are a few really talented musicians out there. For example, Dave Grohl, Jack White, Jeff Tweedy, and Carrie Brownstein just to name a few. All of these people are amazing in their own way but where’s the swagger. No one has moves like Mick, badassery like Keith, stage-presence like Jim, soul like Janis, or passion like Stevie.

A few months back I had the opportunity to see The Rolling Stones live. I was lucky enough to have seats close enough to see the sweat on Mick’s face. I don’t think that what I experienced at that concert will ever be duplicated. Mick’s stage prescience was insane, I literally could not take my eyes off of him. Keith and Ronnie’s guitars were hauntingly beautiful at times and intoxicatingly rough at others. Overall, they put on an insane show that wasn’t about backdrops, backup dancers, or gimmicks (for the most part, the stage was a bit gimmicky).

My hope for the future of rock n’ roll is that we get some real, badass rockstars soon.  In an ideal world I would love for at least half of them to be female also (equality, people!). Rockstars, and everyone else for that matter, need to stop playing it safe and just be themselves, the best, most rockin’ version of themselves. Screw what other people think.

***Here's a slightly blurry pic of a drawing of Mick and Keith I did after the concert