Yep, it’s gonna be one of those days and one of these entries.
1. They’ve been playing some butt-ass-awful music at work lately. Like worse than usual, and usual appears to be Adult-Contemporary Hits of the 1980s and ’90s. The recent streak of aural atrocities however, really has me scratching my head. Are they trying to break the spirit of the workers? Are they trying to drive away the customers? Does whoever runs the Satellite Radio channel just have no goddamn taste at all?
What they’re playing these days, is this channel that runs lounge-lizard covers of old swing music. Now swing music is something I like. Love me some Gershwin & Porter. I actually deliberately own a CD of Glenn Miller with the Army/Air-Force Band, and their rendition of String of Pearls is one of my top-notch favorite instrumentals of all time.
But I have to say that shitty covers are among my least favorite musical things. Whimsical covers, like the various takes on Baby Got Back but these…good god, it’s worse than the 1980s mania for Hair Metal covers of 1950s pop hits. For example, there was one particularly awful version of Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby,” on yesterday, and I swear to you that I didn’t even realize what song it was until the refrain came around. They sucked every bit of zip out of the song. It had none of that infectious, bouncy rhythm that ordinarily makes me adore this song. There was another fucking awful version of It Don’t Mean A Thing (If You Ain’t Got That Swing) that didn’t have no swing at all. It was a sorry, sorry thing, I’ve gotta say.
2. It’s a truth that I don’t like music as “background noise,” anyway. I don’t. I like music, but I really only like it when I actually want to hear it. And then it kind of needs to be what I am in the mood for, not what some focus group determined was sufficiently inoffensive and could be played for hours on end in a grocery store.
3. The only good thing that has come out of this drag-tail, lounge-lizard, smooth-ass ersatz “swing” station is that the other day, this station played Paul Anka’s cover of Wonderwall, which was just weird enough that I actually lost track of what I was doing.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx7XMOTbo20]
Wouldn’t you lose your general state of composure if this came across the Muzak at your workplace? I may have sporfled.
4. Man, I sleep like I was sedated after a really long, hard ride. If I could figure out how to fit in a century every week, I’d be the best sleeper in Kansas Cityl
I don’t know if this happens to anybody else, but after a really long, hard ride, when I sleep like I was drugged, I also sleep hard, and I can’t come up with a better way to describe it. As I wake up, I feel like I’m weighted down, and I am just plain drenched with sweat. I feel kind of zonked-out for a good 45 minutes after I actually get up. It’s awesome, but also kind of weird. I feel great, but also freakin’ drained.
5. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF1pIMgE8FA]
I watched this the other day, and I laughed so hard I think I hurt myself. Oh. My. God. The “persimmon diet,” is just raunch! Hilarious and so very gross.
I know not everybody appreciates Margaret Cho’s delivery, but seriously, this is so worth it, hollering and all. I mean, if you dig grossout humor, puerile stories, and really physical comedy.
6. I’m cranking up my brains around the idea of some new brews. I’m pondering the feasibility of doing some half or quarter batch brews so I can experiment a little, ’cause I have way more ideas than budget. I also want to get going on that experimental mead, which at this point is liable to be more financially-friendly than beer. I want to try the base recipe, then I have some modifications I want to play around with. It’s been a while since I got my booze (making) on…since before the wedding, in fact.
7. Joel and I are pondering out the specifics of our particular trashboats. It’s getting closer and closer to that time. I’m frankly nervous, but I reckon we’ll be okay. I just hope everybody else is taking their preparations reasonably seriously. Actually, I have a feeling that it’s only going to be Joel and me doing this idiotic thing. Just so long as plenty of people show to the after-party, it should be good, good times.