Rubber Soul

Have you ever awoken in the mood to listen to a particular album? It happens to me frequently actually. Yesterday morning I woke up in the mood to listen to Rubber Soul by The Beatles. Rubber Soul is the sixth studio album released by The Beatles and was released in December of 1965.

I love Rubber Soul! It has been my favorite Beatles’ album for about ten years. It is actually quiet a landmark album in my opinion. It is on Rubber Soul where much of the musical experimentation that the Beatles would be known for later in their career is foreshadowed.

*Listen to Norwegian Wood and Nowhere Man

Yet Rubber Soul has an infectious pop sound to it that any general musical fan can greatly appreciate, and would not be scared away.

*Listen to Drive My Car and You Won’t See Me

Finally it has one of the greatest songs ever written in the history of music on it, In My Life. This song perfectly captures the universal human emotions of remembrance and love. If you are not a massive Beatles fan, and are looking to find a good “starter” Beatles album, I cannot recommend this album enough. Rubber Soul is the perfect combination of pop, rock, and experimental.



*Note: Yes I did write this blog while listening to Rubber Soul.

Religion Today

I am currently reading the book: Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life. The author of the book is the Reverend Father James Martin, SJ. Father Martin is a Jesuit Priest, editor at America Magazine, and Chaplin of The Colbert Report. In the book, Father Martin tries to discourage people from only viewing religion and spirituality as deadly serious and stoic institutions. He believes that we should view them as places that can provide us great joy and happiness. This book has been a wonderful breath of fresh air for me and has assisted in my own reflection of my spiritual life. I am beginning to view religion and spirituality with a much more joyous eye.

But as I am reading this book, a number of questions continue to pop into my head. The main question being: “Why does today’s society view religion and spirituality in a negative light?” 2011 was a turbulently year for me personally. A close friend of mine died early in the year, and there were some other things that happened that I will not get into here. But one of the main things that helped me get through the rough patches was my spiritual belief. When I tell this to other people, I sometimes get the look of “oh you’re one of those crazy religious people that hate everything that isn’t your religion.” I wish I would of responded back to these looks, but most of the time I did not.

I’m a religious person. So what. For me, it has been a great source of comfort, joy, and now laughter. Why view this as a negative. With the current state of the world, war, disease, hopelessness, major socioeconomic differences, etc. religion and spirituality can be a great social tool to help us improve the world. We religious people need to be brave enough to stand up for our beliefs and help put a stop to this stigma of, if you are religious you do not believe in science, or you think everyone is going to hell unless they are apart of your religion. At the heart of most major religions is love and peace. Now that is something that we should strive for.

Doomsday Clock Moves One Minute Closer

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Really Cool Artist

A person I work with introduced me to Henry Darger a few weeks ago. He was an artist that lived in Chicago from about 1890 till the mid 1970s. He is a great example of the "Outsider Art" genre. He also wrote a book entitled: The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What Is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion, which is over 15,000 pages long. That's right 15,000 pages!!!

Here's a link to some of his paintings, check them out he is a really interesting guy.

I also wonder if you can purchase his book. I can't find it on Amazon.com at all.

My Favorite Albums of 2011

With 2011 coming to an end and 2012 just around the corner, it is time for me to release my Top 10 Favorite albums list of 2011. Word of warning, this is not a best of list, because it is all-subjective in the end. Not only that, to actually determine whether an album is “truly a best of” I feel that you must allow sometime to pass, maybe a year or two, to properly determine the quality of the work. But that is another topic for another blog. Let us begin.

10. Los Campesinos! – Hello Sadness. If you are looking for a high octane, fast paced album, check out Hello Sadness. Los Campesinos! always deliver albums that sty true to the spirit of punk rock.



9. Tom Waits- Bad As Me. This is Tom Waits’ first album of new material in almost a decade. And it does not disappoint, it is a pretty standard Waits album. It just showcases how great of a songwriter Waits is. I highly recommend the first six songs.



8. Nirvana- Nevermind: The 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition. No it is not a new album, and I am usually not a fan of “remastered editions”, but this deluxe edition is well worth the money. In addition to the stand-alone album, you get a disc and a half of live tracks, b-sides, demos, and rarities. For me the real highlight is disc 2, which has an absolutely amazing live version of Something in the Way recorded at the BBC.



7. Moby- Destroyed. Over the past few years, I have really become a fan of Moby’s work. I find the music quite complex, but yet simplistic at the same time. Destroyed is no exception. It is a great album to listen to on headphones, in fact that is my preferred way of listening to it. It allows you to hear all of the sounds on the album.



6. The Weeknd- House of Balloons. Released as a free mix cd in the early part of the year, this was the first album I had heard from The Weeknd. And it blew me away. This album highlights the dark side of life such as sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll. And they pair these topics up with some of the dopest beats I have ever heard.



5. The Black Keys- El Camino. The Black Keys continue to blow me away. This is their second album in about 18 months. And it is straight up blues-rock. Heavy guitars and pounding drums, it will get your feet tapping within seconds of hitting the play button.



4. Middle Brother- Middle Brother. Just like El Camino, this album is a guitar heavy album. Pure southern rock/alt country sounds hit the stereo speakers on every track. It really reminds me of the Sun Records sound from the 1950s. Blue Eyes might be my song of the year.



3. Frank Turner- England Keep My Bones. HOLY CRAP!!! Is this a great album. Turner covers a wide range of topics on this album, from friendship to religion, and the power of rock n’ roll. And though I do not agree with everything Turner says on this album, I have nothing but respect for him as an artist. This is a brave album, and will be like a fine wine. As it ages, it will only get better.



2. NewVillager- NewVillager. Boy this is a cool sounding album. I mean it really sounds cool. Produced by a group of artists, the visuals play just as an important role in the music, as the music itself. I highly recommend watching as many of their videos as you possible can.



1. William Elliott Whitmore- Field Songs. I love this album. 9 songs that capture the feeling and struggle of the middle class/ working poor of the United States. The album is breath taking. It is poetic, yet simplistic. A celebration of nature and the human spirit. Whitmore continues to grow and develop as an artist. The way he is developing, I see him becoming the voice of a generation, much like Johnny Cash or Tom Waits. If there is one album you were going to buy this year, you should buy this one.

The Legend of Peter's Eve

It all began in the fall of 1993. I was in Mrs. Steinmetz’s 4th grade class. It was there that I learned insects were to be called insects not bugs, that my hands could create a Paper Mache Baltimore Oriole, no matter how hard I tried to sabotage my own creation, and finally that needle pointing was a lot more difficult then it looked. But all of this paled in comparison to the truly important event. My tenth birthday, a milestone of epic proportions. No longer a single digiter, I was going to enter double digits in age.

Legend had it that you were never really the same after you made the plunge. Food didn’t taste the same, you couldn’t watch cartoons anymore, you were expected to act like an adult? But it wasn’t all that bad. Since it was such a big milestone, it meant that you got more presents, better presents. That is why every child in the history of childom took the plunge. And I was no different.

As the calendar changed from November to December, my excitement level grew by leaps and bounds everyday. Each new day brought me a day closer to my destiny. The cake, the attention, and most importantly the presents. It was beginning to be too much for my young mind to handle. The pressure was beginning to get the best of me.

Then it came, December 15th. The day before my birthday. Now as any person can testify too, the day before something you have been really looking forward to, whether it is a family vacation, a break from school, or your birthday, is the LONGEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE! But for a kid, it is even worse. It felt like two whole days put together just to spite me. Was the universe playing some cruel joke on me?

The thought of this brought great fear into my young and impressionable mind. Because this was the longest day in recorded history, would my family and friends somehow forget that tomorrow was my birthday? Yes, yes they would. Panic began to come over me. I could not allow this to happen. I had to think of a way to gently and politely remind everyone that tomorrow was not just any ordinary day. It was a special day, it was my tenth birthday, and we were going to remember it whether they wanted to or not!

Then it happened. I do not remember who I said it too first, or the time of day, but at some point, I blurted it out. TODAY IS PETER’S EVE, I cried. There were blank stares all around. I needed to reason with them. I had to justify my inane rambling. If Christmas could have an eve, if New Year’s could have an eve, why couldn’t I have an eve too? Peter’s Eve, boy did it sound good, it just rolled off the tongue. I was onto something. So for the rest of the day, anyone I met, I had to inform him or her that it was Peter’s Eve.

Much to my surprise it began to catch on. People began wishing me a Happy Peter’s Eve. Friends, teachers, and finally my parents are bought into it. It worked; I had successful created a new Holiday to remind everyone of my birthday. And the rest as they say is history. To this day, I receive messages from people wishing me a Happy Peter’s Eve. So this December 15th, remember to wish you and yours a very Happy Peter’s Eve.

Pro-Wrestling & Me

1990 was a special year for me. It was the year I witnessed for the first time professional wrestling in all of its glory. I still remember it; a brand new wrestler by the name of The Undertaker had viciously attacked the Ultimate Warrior and placed in him a casket and locked it. WWF officials and other wrestlers worked against time to save the Ultimate Warrior from this dastardly deed. My love affair with pro-wrestling had begun.

Over time that love affair grew. I bought all of the action figures I could get my hands on, I watched WWF Superstars and WWF Challenge as if my life depended on it, and my family took me to live wrestling events. Growing up most kids were either a football, basketball, or baseball fan. I was neither. I was a pro-wrestling fan and damn proud of it. They were superheroes come to life.

Much to my mother’s dismay, I remained a wrestling fan throughout my teens and into my early twenties. One of the best parts was most of my friends were all pro-wrestling fans too! Ever time we would get together, the conversation would inevitable turn to wrestling, and we would talk about it for hours. I think I lost out on a lot of possible girlfriends because of this.

In 2006 while we were sitting around talking wrestling, an idea was discussed. We all worked at the same radio station, why not create a pro-wrestling talk show. That was the day Rumble Radio was born. Every Tuesday night from 7pm-9pm, the five of us would talk pro-wrestling on the radio in the 3rd largest market in the country. And the show was awesome. Lots of people listened, we worked well together, and we began interviewing some of our wrestling heroes. Names such as Mick Foley, Ted DiBiase, Chris Jericho, and Bret Hart all made their Rumble Radio débuts. It was “the good life”. Unfortunately for me, it was right around this time that my love affair began to sour.

I think back to this time period often, and wonder: “What caused my interest in pro-wresting to wane?” I think there are two reasons. 1) Rumble Radio itself. Yes for me, the Rumble Radio program was one of the causes for me to stop watching pro-wrestling. Our goal with Rumble Radio was to create the most professional and unique sounding pro-wrestling talk show ever. In order to accomplish this goal, we had to do a lot of show prep. Between the five hosts of Rumble Radio, each week each of us had to watch 5 hours of WWE programming (Monday Night Raw, Friday Night Smackdown, and ECW), 2 hours of TNA, 1 hour of Ring of Honors’ show, and since we covered local independent Chicago wrestling federations, attend a live Indy show each weekend, 3-4 hours. In addition we would stay current on the business/rumor side of the wrestling industry with Internet wrestling websites, and finally we would frantically try booking interviews with wrestlers for the program. On average I would guess I watched about 11-14 hours of wrestling per week. This lasted for about 3 years. You could almost say watching wrestling became my job.

Instead of watching wrestling purely for its entertainment factor, I was now a wrestling critic. The slightest mistake would ruin the show for me. If a story line did not unfold the way I thought it should, the show would be ruined for me. I would become upset over the littlest thing. The fun of the wrestling was gone. Instead of losing myself in the story line, I thought I was above the story line. You cannot have an attitude like that, and expect to be a fan for long. I had become my own worst enemy.

2) In 2008 the critically acclaimed film The Wrestler was released. The film stared Mickey Rourke as twenty years past his prime Randy “The Ram” Robinson who is hanging onto his past wrestling glories, because ultimately that is all he has. Early on in the film, Randy suffers a heart attack due to his drug abuse and other pro-wrestling injuries. Additionally he has an estranged daughter, and tries to kindle a love affair with an aging stripper played by the beautiful Marissa Tomei. Without giving the entire plot away it is safe for me to say that it is one of the best movies I have ever seen.

However the film does not showcase the wrestling industry in the most positive light. It brings all of the dangers and pitfalls of the pro-wrestling industry and shoves it right in your face. With the Benoit tragedy fresh in my mind, I found myself questioning the industry I had blindly loved since I was seven. The larger than live superheroes, who had filled my imagination as a child were now very human. In fact they were tragic figures. I found myself asking the question: “Is everyone in the industry doomed to the fate of Randy The Ram?”

Of course not, the movie is a work of fiction. But it did hit close to home. One of the benefits of hosting Rumble Radio was meeting so many wrestlers. Majority were some of the nicest individuals you could ever meet and had their heads screwed on right. But there were a few of them, who I interviewed, who had gone through some rough times, partly due to drugs, much like Randy The Ram. The Wrestler made me realize that even in my twenties, I was still naïve to certain aspects of the real world. Every industry has its own dark side, but somehow it seemed that pro-wrestling’s was a little bit darker. (Maybe it was because I idolized it so growing up.)

So because of this, I decided to take a break from watching pro-wrestling. I thought the time away would repair the relationship. So far, the jury is still out. I do not think I will completely stop watching it. I do catch it from time to time, and I do gather with friends once a year to watch the grand daddy of them all, Wrestlemania. But that childlike love of wrestling I had is gone. I am not sure if it will ever come back, but I am eternally grateful for the countless memories I have because of pro-wrestling.

There are still moments, when I watch wrestling in passing, that I remember the excitement that seven year old me had on that eventful Saturday morning. But maybe John Lennon was right when he said: “The Dream is Over”.