So, Bethany is awesome and got us tickets to go see Metallica when they come to Pittsburgh in October. We don’t have a whole lot of overlap in musical taste. We have been to a bunch of concerts together, ranging from Flogging Molly, Rancid, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, & the Dropkick Murphys, to Willie Nelson, The Devil Makes Three, Poison & even (Lord help me) Kenny Chesney. This doesn’t even count the dozens (hundreds?) of club shows we have attended for the local and national levels back when I was actively gigging… which was mostly punk or metal stuff on a more local-ish level like Omegalord and Peelander-Z. I think I have successfully sold Bethany on the awesomeness of punk rock. We haven’t really delved into metal past what I have played in the car. Even myself, I have gravitated more in the punk direction than metal listening over the years. Perhaps due to a shrinking attention span? Metallica stands as one of those influential bands for me as far as it being one of the earlier things I “got.” A kid in 6th grade lent me his cassette of …And Justice for All, and it was all-in from there. It led me to stuff like the Misfits, Danzig, Megadeth, Motörhead, & Black Sabbath. I wore out multiple copies of the Master of Puppets cassette. The black album is a hugely definitive and divisive album, but it hit right when I was headed into high school, metal ruled the airwaves and guitar magazines, and grunge hadn’t yet stomped all over the oft-mocked hair metal’s reign supreme. A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica and Live Shit: Binge & Purge made me want to be a rock star. My aunt & uncle took a me and a friend to the Guns N’ Roses & Metallica concert at Three Rivers Stadium. That was the first and only time I ever saw them live. It was my two favorite bands at the time. It was awesome. I’m anxious to go again.
If you were going to make a mix tape playlist as an introduction to Metallica, what would you include? Jokes about St. Anger or Load/Re-Load aside, what is the important stuff? Audio? Video? Live performances? Documentaries? Metallica covering their influences? Other bands covering Metallica? Related bands? Originals that Metallica has covered? What videos would you say are essential? MTV Icon? Behind the Music? When Metallica Ruled the World? I know “One” is up there in my all-time favorite songs. Do I start there, or go in chronological order? Which instrumentals?
The other day I plugged my crappy old Insignia Pilot into the truck stereo’s auxiliary input, & I started playing the songs on my trusty & hardly ever updated mp3 player in order by song title. I have no idea why I decided to take it off of “random”, but I did. (Sadly, my 500 GB hard drive has stopped working and unless it’s fixed I’ll lose a TON of music, so whatever this Best Buy generic brand mp3 player holds may be it for my collection for a while!)
I thought that “song titles that start with numbers” would be a pretty cool playlist. I’d thought I’d share some of my favorites.
So Ultimate Classic Rock came up with a Zombie Apocalypse 2012 Playlist(in “honor” of the face-eater in Florida). Great idea. OK list. Granted, the name of the site is Ultimate Classic Rock, but let’s add some more zombie songs.
So, I’ve been to many types of shows at many types of venues. From stadiums to bars and from backyards to amphitheaters. I’ve seen rock shows, rap shows, country shows, and even Weird Al. Most of the shows I’ve attended fall in the punk or metal categories. The crowds can get rowdy. It’s expected, perhaps even demanded. I’ve pogoed in a circle when commanded to by Joey Ramone, sat nearly motionless in a sea of silver hair at a Willie Nelson show, and lost my shoe once in a pit at a Misfits show (only monetarily, and it was the first & last pair of Airwalks I’ve ever owned). I’ve been rubbed up against the sweaty shirtless guy, been flogged by the windmill hardcore kid, and burned buy the a-hole with a lit cigarette in the pit. I chalk it all up to part of the experience. Hell, I even had my nose broken in a stage diving incident. I’m no stranger to the pit.
The people are revolting, pushing the sweaty shirtless smelly guy out of the group.
I’m not saying that it doesn’t have it’s place. I’m just tired of the people who don’t “get” it. It always devolves into 2 or 3 probably drunken buttholes flailing around like fish out of water trying to start some kind of fight or prove their manliness. Generally people have good manners. Most people in the pit are just out to have fun bouncing around to the music, until it gets ruined by the few flailers.
It’s a weird topic to discuss. Saying the word “mosh” makes it an instantly corny conversation. I hate to say the word out loud because I’m old and it’s a young man’s (or brave young woman’s) game. It’s just getting out of control. I don’t want to see it stop, I just want to see it not be ruined by the few, the proud, the imbeciles. This was all sparked by our recent adventures at the Flogging Molly show. (Which musically, is a rather tame band… but crowd-excitement is off of the charts with them.)
We all know the “unwritten rules”, right? The only one that I’ve ever seen obeyed consistently is: If someone falls down, pick them up. This proves to me that we’re mostly all just out to have a good time & not hurt anyone. As for the rest, I guess I’m going to have to write them for you.
The biggest one and my spark for writing this blog?
Fig. A
Obey the Zone. This is the biggest rule that you need to adhere to. You can see in figure A that there is a clearly defined acceptable zone for pogoing / slam-dancing / moshing activity. It’s in yellow and black… for caution. It can get a little bigger or even smaller depending on the ferocity of the act on stage. The blue area is the crowd in general. Generally, there’s a row or two of people up front really into the band or show and unwilling to move no matter how many goofballs are bouncing off of their backs. This spills out & around to people that are just trying to watch the band. Is this that difficult? Am I wrong here?
Please see my additional figures B & C to help drive my point home…
Fig. B
Fig. C
In figure B we see the big red ⃠ symbol recognized as “No”. This is where you’re not supposed to flail, push, agitate, or try to cajole others into moshing. The other night when we were safely in this zone, a chubby young ginger-headed frat boy was doing exactly that, and looking at all of us like we were crazy for not wanting to hardcore dance with him 1-on-1 when it was happening with willing participants mere feet away. Was this kid afraid of the real pit? I say put on your big boy pants & get in there, Skippy. Or better yet, move into the Idoit Zone as illustrated by figure C.
This unwritten rule is written for you.
The idiot zone is formed when the people who do know how to act at a show force out the people who don’t. This is where the “too metal for you”, “hardcore windmillers”, and “guy with Greek letters on his hoodie & daddy issues” go to play. They’re convinced that no one can have a good time unless you go home with bruises. They feel that they are integral to your having the correct concert experience by placing an elbow repeatedly in your ribs or fist in your eye. They’re irate when you don’t want to participate. They go to the idiot zone to act like a wind-up toy and get out their frustration. They just paid $30-60 for a ticket, $9+ per beer, and $10-$20 for parking to ignore the band on stage.
Weenies.
You have to understand that the whole floor has the potential turn into that zone, and accept your risk of taking a wild hit or someone landing on you if you’re going to get down there anywhere close to the action. You most likely dropped some serious cash to see this show, and you’re there to see and hopefully enjoy the band… not to get distracted or assaulted by some self-appointed chairman of the mosh commission.
Well, that’s the big rule. What’s your take on concert etiquette? I’ll list some others, you give me more in the comments.
No lit cigarettes (or other burning substances) in the pit. Most venues in Pittsburgh don’t allow you to smoke in the first place. Besides billowing toxic crap into my air, burning someone while thrashing around like a toolbag is not cool. If you need to get high, go do it in a dark corner.
Don’t scream off-key into your neighbor’s ear. I paid lots of money for the people on stage to scream into my ear, not you. Shut up unless it’s a sing-along rock anthem.
If you’re on the edge of the circle, keep it from spilling over. Push the lugheads back into the fold. Protect the people around you who don’t want in it, and watch out for that kid that’s way too young to be there. Might be good to not trample him to death before he can drive.
You are not a windmill. No one thinks this is cool. No one likes getting punched in the head. No one is more entertained by you dancing like Frankenstein than by the band on stage.
We’re there to see the band, not you. You are not that guy on the runway, a traffic cop, or a cheer-leading coach. Stop gesturing wildly at people trying to get them to go in a circle, spin you around, run into you, or do the safety dance.
Now it’s your turn. While you think/type, please enjoy the following…
Vodpod videos no longer available.
This is not a dance.
(Also, feel free to post other songs about moshing, slam-dancing, circle pits, pogoing, or any related ridiculousness.)
Also… to the people who drink in the parking lot through the opening acts, then come in during the headliner barely knowing where you are or that you’re alive. Just stay home & get drunk. It’s cheaper and safer, and you don’t have the potential to puke on my shoes.
Generally I blog about goofy stuff except for food allergies, and not much here takes a serious tone. If you’re reading this, I assume you already know that. A bunch has been going on with life lately, we’ve been through a whirlwind of ups & downs as things get increasingly hectic. I’ll spare you the details as my good friends & family probably already know all the stuff we have going on anyway. At any rate, that’s not the focus of this blog any way… it’s just the spark behind it.
The focus of this one is my wife, Bethany. Her Birthday is today, and with it approaching while we have many other things going on… I didn’t want it to get lost in the shuffle. I decided to make note and wish her a happy birthday here. (Someone might have to tell her about this… I don’t think she reads it much because she hears most of my ranting live without the added benefit of a filter.)
We’ve known each other for many many years and originally there was not even a remote spark of interest. We have a wide age gap, and I was a counselor when she was a camper at our church camp, Living Waters. I’m sure we talked, joked, and laughed… I even helped instruct her in Archery. Sadly for the reader, nothing creepy was going on.
Many years later we went to dinner at Ritter’s as old friends catching up (thanks to AIM of all things), and something sparked there. We generally don’t have much in common. We have wildly different personalities. We go together perfectly.
I’m glad I have found my other half. We like to laugh, and goof around with each other. We meet on common ground where things are important. Neither of us sleeps well when the other isn’t in the bed. We do enjoy cooking together, entertaining, road trips, Flogging Molly, the Ramones, Johnny Cash, & Willie Nelson. I got her quoting Star Wars, she has me inexplicably interested in Glee. We both like antiques, have an appreciation for the history of things.
We both have large & close extended families. We all fit in all around. That’s important to both of us. We’re both still actively involved with camp, it’s a very special place to us on many levels any more. We learn more about each other & ourselves with each passing year.
Bethany has brought out my sensitive side and I have given her a healthy dose of geekery & anarchy. I’m proud of her for going to school and advancing her career. I’m in awe of how she works with her special needs campers during recreation camp in the summer. It takes incredible amounts of patience and mental strength.
She supports my crazy punk rock band, guitar acquisition habit, Batman & Star Wars obsessions, and puts up with lots of the History Channel and Discovery Channel. She looks out for me with my crazy shellfish allergy, and takes care of me whenever I’m not feeling well or even if I’m just having a bad day. She has gotten over rolling her eyes at my skull coffee mug.
So to Bethany, my wife & best friend, I want to say Happy Birthday! I also want to tell you how much I love you and how glad I am that we are who we are. I am a better man for for knowing & marrying you. You are my favorite, and I’m glad we found each other.
“The” – So, what do you do about the word “the”? Say a band like the Misfits… Do you tag them Misfits, or The Misfits? The Ramones?The The? Name the file without the “the”, keep the “the” inside the ID3 tag? In the stuff I have currently, it’s mix & match.
Alternate Spellings? – The first band that comes to mind is $parechange? a.k.a. Sparechange00. You may have never heard of them. (Am I a hipster for that remark?) I have them on a few compilations and I have 2 of their albums. Different spelling. Same name. Same Band. Do I tag them all the way it appears on the album, then move them all to the same artist folder? I’m not sure if this will pop up with other bands, but it might!
Volume – How do you regulate volume? I have used MP3 Gain with varying results. They recommend a volume that’s lower than most commercially produced mp3’s. I’d like all the stuff to be somewhat level.
Hidden Tracks – Do you split/name them as separate files if they share one track? I plan to. No doubt. I just dunno if I want to number then the next number like 13 if it’s the 13th song… or 12-1 & 12-2. Decisions, decisions.
Tags? – Not ID3 tags, but is there any player out there with a way to tag a song with attributes… Say I have live songs, bootlegs, and acoustic or unplugged as tags. Say I want to hear live stuff, but not bootleg quality live stuff, or unplugged live stuff… or only bootleg stuff, including live & studio stuff. I’d like to be able to play via tags… because (to me anyway) one song could fall into multiple genres.
Strays – Dump ’em all in one folder? Bother tagging them correctly?
Various Artists – I have a ton of compilation albums (especially punk comps) & a good amount of soundtracks. Do you let your burning ripping program make folders for each artist with the album in it, or do you put all the tracks into one folder with the artist in the file name somewhere? I generally like to keep them all together, but I can see the benefits of breaking out per artist.
Any more tips/tricks advice on organizing, ripping, tagging, & playing your digital music. I have mp3 folders now that are somewhat organized… but I have a vast quantity of stray chaos that I need to get in order when I put everything all in the same place.
I’m thankful that I can tell my wife to get in the kitchen and make me a sandwich, and she laughs & knows I’m not sexist. It’s even better when I do something like this in the grocery store in front of elderly people.
I’m thankful that I’m not the person who bags giblets at the turkey factory, then shoves them in the turkey’s nether-regions. (My apologies to those who are that person.)
So, a while ago… I stated in “print” on Facebook that I’d like to start a band that covered Misfits and Ramones songs… as well as some from the various related bands. If this were something that I actually had the time to do, these are the songs I’d want to play:
I’d obviously like to play guitar, probably like to sing some. Maybe it can be a project that plays once or twice a year around Halloween or something. Maybe it’ll never happen. I’m sure there are some glaring omissions in my list. What songs do you like? What would you add to the list? What would you skip? Would you come see this? Would you want to be in the band?
There’s lots of free music out there on the internet. I decided to start pointing to some of it.
Sadly, bands disband. For whatever reason, a lot of ridiculously awesome bands just peter out or implode or flat-out fall apart. One such band is old time local rockers, The Satanic Bat. I guess they’d be classified as stoner metal in the most generic sense of trying to pin them down.
My old band (Gasoline Dion) shared a practice space and a band member with these dudes. (Regular readers will know I mention Dave all the time. If you have a band, check to see… Dave’s probably in it.) They even helped us record our album, but probably wouldn’t want their name attached to it. (Maybe I’ll put that up for free in a later installment.)
These cats could (and individually still can) rock, and they had a sense of humor. They were asked to play a Ramones tribute show… and they recorded an EP. The resulting songs sound like Black Sabbath covering the Ramones. Seriously. Since I’m a big fan of both, this is one of my absolute favorites.
Steve & Josh went on to form Rogue Vessel. Dave is in Dethlehem and Ernie and the Berts. Jon ended up quitting music for a while, but I hear he’s back? Anyone have any info on that band?
At any rate, enjoy the EP… I’d love to hear what you thought of it.
I like weird Christmas music. I’m not sure why. Halloween is my favorite holiday, and of course I dig the spooky sound/imagery with “scary” songs… but I listen to that all year long. I just listen to Christmas music when the holiday is approaching, then it’s locked safely away until next year. I’ve always had a thing for odd/goofy songs… and some of these are the goofiest ones yet. I’ll start with whole albums that I have lying around, then I’ll descend into random stuff that I’ve collected over the years.
Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus
Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus – Various Artists[Sympathy for the Record Industry] – This is one goofy 2-disc set. with 13 tracks on each CD. I mean, look at the cover. It looks like an LP from the 70’s… maybe 60’s. This is very punk and garage rock oriented… it’s a lot of sloppy dirty bands just rocking out some Christmas songs… some traditional, some original. One of my favorites is the opener “Christmas Is A Comin’ (May God Bless You)” by the Shitbirds. It starts out nice enough, then descends in to chaos. Claw Hammer’s “The Night Before Christmas” is unsettling, and The Phenobarbidols’ “O Holy Night Parts 1 & 2” is sure to win over a crowd until it gets to part 2 (The most awesome part).
Punk Rock Xmas
Punk Rock Xmas – Various Artists[Rhino] – Of course, any compilation with the Ramones’ “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Wanna Fight Tonight)” is a win in my book. This actually has a couple of the same songs as the previously mentioned CD. I guess if you’re putting out punk rock Christmas songs, you’ve only got so many to choose from. This disc is tight, allt he songs are winners in my book. D.I.’s “Mr. Grinch”, The Damned with “There Ain’t No Sanity Clause”, Sloppy Seconds, Pansy Division, The Humpers… all with great solid catchy tunes. This is a definite one that you need to own if you’re a punk rock fan and Christmas music fan.
The Flesh Eating Rollerskate Holiday Joyride
The Flesh Eating Rollerskate Holiday Joyride – Psychostick[Rock Ridge Music ] “Jingle bell. Jingle bell. Jingle bell. Metal!” is all you really need to know about this one. If you’re going to go out shopping on Christmas Eve, you’ll want to listen to this to prepare yourself for battle with those other maniacal consumers. This is all kinds of heavy and aggressive… and it’s Christmas music. These dudes are also hilarious, which there should be more of in metal. Some metal bands take themselves way too seriously. Psychostick does not… perhaps obvious from the title of the disc.
Oi to the World
Oi to the World – The Vandals[Kung Fu Records] – While there are a plethora of awesome holiday albums out there, I’ll stop here. Everyone has probably heard No Doubt’s cover of “Oi to the World”, not even knowing it’s a cover. The song is catchy, it’s got a good message, and it’s funny. This whole album is ridiculous. With tracks like “A Gun for Christmas”, “Grandpas Last Christmas”, “Christmas Time for My Penis”, and “My First Xmas, As a Woman” you know it’s got to be good. These guys are crazy, and their songs make you tap your feel and put you in a cheery mood. It’s all-in-all a great Christmas disc.
Now, I’d just like to pop up some of my favorite Christmas songs… and I’d love to hear some of yours in the comments section…
World (and Lunar) Domination 
