A Quick One.

Here is a quick screenplay I scrawled out after class yesterday, I'm not quite sure what to do with it, so I figured I may as well put it up in the public forum for peopel to do with it what they will. It's kind of long, but give it a read anyway, you might appreciate it.

-"The" Nick

A QUICK ONE.


The screen is black, the scene fades in and we are near the ocean on a bright mid-summer day.

EXT. BEACH-MIDAFTERNOON
We are at a non-descript beach, there are people around, waves crash onto the shore, young kids run around half naked and high school meatheads toss a football to each other blissfully. Sitting in front of us on towels are PAUL COOPER, PETE L'HEUREUX, JACK WEINER, NICKNAME, CATIE, RYAN O'BRIEN, KELLY RODRIGUES, and LISA MEYER. There is an open cooler in the middle of them filled with beer, sandwiches, assorted fruits, and ice. The men are shirtless and in swimsuits and the women are in their bikinis. The group of eight are sitting in a circle around the cooler, KELLY and LISA are lying on their stomachs sunning their back, CATIE is making a sandwich and concerning herself with the open fashion magazine in front of her. PAUL is writing in what appears to be a notebook , NICKNAME is sitting with his arms crossed over his man-boobs and staring out into the ocean. RYAN O'BRIEN is sipping a beer and fiddling with seashells as he lays next to LISA. PETE is smoking a cigarette and kneading sand through his toes as JACK sits next to him. They are watching the meatheads throw the football around down near the water, one meathead calls the other a "fag" when he drops a pass.

PETE
You know, I never understood why everything that sucks is called gay.

JACK
What do you mean?

PETE
Like, look at those shit-heads down there. The blonde one dropped the ball and the 'roided out one called him a fag. How is dropping a pass even remotely homosexual?

JACK
I don't know, you'd think someone would be gay for catching balls.

PETE
Seriously though, like Mike Piazza--clearly gay--he was a catcher. Like, maybe if that blonde guy was wearing a shirt that said "I Love Penis." Then Hulk over there would have some grounds to say, "Hey dude, that shirt is gay." But, apparently having a poor aptitude for "sporting" immediately means you're gay.

JACK
Know what? You're right, I'd never really thought about that. The other day I told my buddy from work that I had to do the graveyard shift and he said, "Aw dude, that's so gay, that sucks."

PETE
Exactly! Why is that gay? It doesn't make sense.
We see a twenty-something year old girl with a tight body walk by in front of the meatheads.

JACK
Know what's not gay? That girl's ass.

PETE
You suck.

We switch over to PAUL who is writing intently in his notebook, NICKNAME taps him on the shoulder to get his attention. He turns around to look at NICKNAME who again crosses his arms over his man-boobs.

NICKNAME
Paul, what're you writing?

PAUL
Why are you holding your tits?

NICKNAME
I'm not!

PAUL
[interrupting]You look like that Janet Jackson picture from Rolling Stone.

NICKNAME starts to uncomfortably shift and tries retorting to PAUL, but PAUL gets distracted by KELLY who slaps him on the leg hard.

PAUL
[angry]What the fuck?

KELLY
Stop being an asshole.

PAUL
I'm not.

KELLY
Stop.

PAUL
How was I an asshole?

KELLY & CATIE
Stop.

PAUL
[under his breath]Jeez, fucking Nazis over here.

We see RYAN O'BRIEN who is laying down, propped up on one arm. He takes a handful of sand and pours it on LISA's back.

LISA
What are you doing?

RYAN
Not pouring sand on your back.[as he picks up another handful of sand and pours it on LISA's back]

LISA
You make no sense.

RYAN
Don't worry about it, I have my reasons.

LISA
Oh yeah, like what?

RYAN
Like reasons.

As RYAN says this, we see the football fly over to the group and smash NICKNAME in the nose. He cries out loudly and stands up as blood pours from it, KELLY and LISA move out of the way of the blood. Some of it falls onto PAUL's notebook as he rolls out of the way of the splatter. CATIE picks up and tries to throw it to NICKNAME so he can stop the bleeding but accidentally hits JACK in the head hard with it.

JACK
What the fuck?

CATIE
Sorry, give it to him. [referring to NICKNAME]

JACK
Couldn't you have just handed it to him?

CATIE
Give him the damn towel Jack.

JACK throws the towel at NICKNAME who puts it up to his nose and sits down, the girls come over to help him RYAN and JACK are getting some ice and packing it into the towel for NICKNAME as PETE and PAUL stand next to each other trying to assess what just happened.

PETE
Wow.

PAUL
Yeah, what a catch.

PETE
You think his nose is broken?

PAUL
Eh..--[he sees the football on the ground in front of him and picks it up] [referring to the meatheads, trying to get their attention]HEY ASSHOLES!!

PAUL cocks back and throws the football far into the opposite direction of the meatheads, presumably into the parking lot.

PAUL
[to the meatheads]NEXT TIME SAY HEADS UP!! Fucking dickheads. You alright SHORTSHIT?

NICKNAME
[grumbles incoherently through towels and ice]

PETE
Is his nose broken?

KELLY
No, he's fine, just a little blood.

LISA
A little blood?

KELLY
Fine, a lot of blood.

RYAN
Yo Paul, you got some blood on you.

We see PAUL's arm and NICKNAME's blood is all down the side of it. He reaches down to grab his towel to wipe it off and spots his notebook.

PAUL
Fuck, he got blood on my notebook too.

CATIE
As if it's his fault?

PAUL
Well it wasn't my fault.

CATIE
And it wasn't his.

PAUL
[sarcastically]Fine, it was those motherfucker's fault for sucking at throwing and hitting him in the face, transitively causing his face blood to end up on my notebook pages.

JACK
What the hell are you writing in there anyway? You've had your face in it all day.

PAUL
It's just some ideas I've had recently.

KELLY
About what?

PAUL
[apprehensive]Different things...

RYAN
Like?

PAUL
[downplaying]Just stupid shit I've been thinking about, no big deal.

PETE snatches the notebook out of PAUL's hand and starts to read the title of what PAUL has been writing.

PETE
[reading off PAUL's notebook]The Roots of Society's Discontent as Explained Through The Phenomena of Collective Individuality...

JACK
What the fuck?

PETE
[sarcastically]Sounds like some easy leisurely writing.

RYAN
[to PAUL]Society's Discontent...wha?--you sure you're alright Paul?

PAUL
Yeah, I'm fine.

CATIE
What is it about?

LISA
Yeah, are you like trying to explain why everyone is so mad all the time?

Said at the same time:

JACK
Because they don't have enough sex.
PETE
Because they don't smoke enough weed.
RYAN
Because people suck.

PAUL looks at the two of them, thinks about what they said and turns back to LISA.

PAUL
[ignoring what the other guys said]Sort of, I guess. Do you really want me to explain it? It's kind of heavy for like beach-time n' shit.

RYAN
[sarcastically]Please do oh wise one.

JACK
Nah, for real, I'm curious about this shit.

PETE
Yeah, go on.

The girls all agree that PAUL should go on, NICKNAME grumbles something which we cannot understand because his face is obstructed by the towel and ice.

PAUL
Alright then, I'll give it a try. Know how I always talk about the individual and how important it is to be unique, like to embrace what and who you are?

Everyone gives a round of nods telling PAUL to continue.

PAUL
Ok, well imagine this...
The screen starts to shake as if fading into an imagination sequence and we see a random person walking down a non-descript street. As PAUL is narrating, what we see will conform to what he says.

PAUL
...Imagine you're walking down the street and you're wearing these shoes, these like really awesome shoes that you worked hard to pay for and a random person comes up to you and says, "Know what, you're a fucking bastard." and you're like, "Why am I a fucking bastard?" and he's like, "Because of your shoes." Immediately, you're going to wonder what about your shoes says you're a bastard, right?
We come back from the imagination sequence and everyone nods their head, agreeing with what PAUL is saying.

PAUL
Wrong. The first thing you're going to wonder is, "Who the fuck is this asshole and why is he hating on my shoes?" You immediately resent what you don't understand.

KELLY
That's not true, I think that'd be a perfectly normal reaction.

LISA
Yeah, isn't he the resentful one?

PAUL
You didn't let me finish. What I was trying to say is that resentment breeds resentment. The reason he came up to you about your shoes is because he resents the fact that you can buy those sweet shoes and he can't, so immediately he assumes you are, like I said, a "fucking bastard."

RYAN
Oh, so our reaction is sort of a resentment of his initial resentment.

PETE
Yeah, kind of like the two wrongs don't make a right idea. Hate breeds hate, pain breeds pain, etc.

PAUL
Exactly.

NICKNAME
[grumbles incoherently, seems to be asking a question]

PAUL
I don't know what you said.

JACK
You sound like the grown-ups from Charlie Brown.

RYAN
So by that token, would you say that resentment is the root of society's "discontent" as you put it?

CATIE
No, that can't be the case, what about death, that's sad. Or poverty, aren't those reasons for unhappiness?

PAUL
Yeah. Death is a different kind of unhappiness though. But I guess poverty sort of subscribes to this idea. Imagine you're a homeless person and you see a guy wearing an Armani suit with a Rolex and he's carrying a bag of you know, like gold bars or something. He walks right by you and doesn't even acknowledge that you're sitting there helplessly covered in filth. How will you feel about that guy? I'm willing to guess you'll resent his greediness. You're not going to say to yourself, "Oh boy, I need to work hard so I can be like him!" You'll hate the fact that he's privileged and that you aren't. He's a part of the Have's and you are a Have-Not. It's just a simple part of life that some must fail and others must succeed, right?
We come back from the imagination sequence and see everyone nodding their heads in agreement with this assertion.

PAUL
Wrong again. No one is doomed to live a life of poverty and no one is destined to be the picture of excessive wealth. The problem lies within society's perceptions of happiness and the nature of our capitalistic system of economy.

RYAN
Yeah, I get that, but we can't be communists, communism doesn't work. Look at Russia or Vietnam.

JACK
Yeah dude, I don't want to live in Russia. They're scary.

PAUL
I'm not saying to be communist here though, I agree that Capitalism works the best, history proves that, but I am not willing to say that Capitalism is the best option. The best option may lie in something we haven't found yet, a way of life where we can have the incentive to work as a collective in order to support the individual and the individual's goals.

CATIE
So should people be assigned roles from birth?

PETE
Like Demolition Man? That couldn't happen, that would eliminate the individuality that the collective is trying to preserve.

PAUL
Right. What I'm saying is a system needs to be devised where people will be willing to sacrifice some of their own personal gain in order to create a collective society which can work as a whole to achieve greatness and once we reach that greatness, all of these personal goals, selfish wants, and individualistic passions will no longer benefit just the singular and will be easier and more socially acceptable to achieve.

JACK
So because we would have a society that celebrates the individual by creating an unselfish support system, our personal dreams would be more beneficial to everyone?

PAUL
Yeah, and those dreams could be realized, all of society would be willing to help because they know that whatever you achieve can only benefit the whole.

LISA
That could never happen though.

RYAN
Yeah dude, that's like a utopia, Brave New World? 1984? You know that shit can't happen.

PAUL
Yes it can...

PETE
[interrupting]But only if we were to abolish resentment.

PAUL
Right.

Everyone looks around at each other, they seem to agree with what PAUL is saying but are looking for some further explanation.

PAUL
This discontent stems from discomfort, and that discomfort is created by society and their focus on capitalistic ideals in every facet of life. It's like at school, we all know those kids who stay up all night long and pop smart pills like Adderall or Ritalin when they need to study for a test. Because if they don't get that A, then they are no longer legitimate. They define themselves by their grades.

CATIE
And like those jerks who hit The Little Guy in the face here with the football. If they didn't have their weight rooms and football fields, what would they be?

RYAN
[to PAUL]Are you saying that competition is bad though? You're an athlete, you're like the most competitive motherfucker I know.

CATIE
Yeah, you like to make bets about reeeeeeeeaaaaalllllly stupid shit too. Asshole.

PAUL
[to CATIE]Hey, that's in the past. [to RYAN]Am I saying to abolish competition? No. I'm saying to change the motivation behind it. If someone beats me, instead of saying, "I hate him for beating me." say, "He's damn good at this, let me put some more effort in to achieve that same level of skill." It's a matter of using competition to motivate instead of bringing the other person down.

LISA
Like that whole Tonya Harding thing?

JACK
The crazy bitch with the lead pipe?

LISA
Yeah.

PAUL
Yeah, sort of like that. If the motivation behind the competition wasn't resentment, then that other skater there, what's her name?

NICKNAME
[grumbles incoherently offering up the answer, no one understands it]

PAUL
Yeah, that one. She wouldn't have caught a pipe to the ankle or whatever it was that happened.

RYAN
So you're saying that the current system we have, the one that celebrates capitalistic ideals: essentially every man for himself, is cause for the condemning of the individual?

PAUL
Yes.

Said at the same time:

LISA
But that makes no sense cuz...
RYAN
But that makes no sense cuz...
Said at the same time:
LISA
Sorry.
RYAN
Sorry.

RYAN
It's ok, you go.

LISA
Ok. That makes no sense, because how can a system which promotes individualistic goals remove the individual from society?

RYAN
That's what I was going to say.

PETE
How cute.

PAUL
Because the method which we take to achieve those goals leaves us as empty shells, organic machines functioning solely to one-up each other, losing the beauty of human interaction, ignoring the complex and intricate methods by which we maintain who we are. We resort to copycatting and taking the easy way out in order to beat the other guy. By focusing so greatly on our selfish motivations, we in turn become our goals and lose what makes us so distinctly special, our humanity.

KELLY
And how do you propose we cope with this discontent?

PAUL
I have no idea.

PETE
That's why we drink and do drugs and have sex. That's why certain guys decide to throw trashcans down hallways when they've had a couple thirteen too many. That's why people shot dope into their arms when their Daddy leaves them. We don't know how to cope.

JACK
That might be the most depressing thing I've ever heard.

PAUL
Maybe on the surface it seems depressing, but think about it, by acknowledging the existence of these deep-rooted human flaws and admitting that we can become victims of the own societal system we created aren't we in a sense liberating ourselves?

RYAN
We're like the Luke Skywalkers of Generation Y.

LISA
What does that mean?

RYAN
Episode IV, A New Hope?

LISA
Never seen it.

RYAN
What?!

JACK
I'd rather be Han Solo. [referring to NICKNAME] Beef Tits can be Chewy.

NICKNAME
[mumbles incoherently, aggravated by the comment]

PAUL
[to NICKNAME]Are you still fucking bleeding? Thats amazing.

RYAN
So wait, Pete, are you saying that we drink and get stoned only to cope?

PETE
Oh, no no. I'm saying that they become excuses for us, something else to blame or resort to when we are too afraid or too ignorant to look inward. I on the other hand smoke weed because I fucking dig it.

PAUL
And I drink beer because it's delicious. But to some, it's a scapegoat, a quick fix to a never-ending existential problem. Can we fix this problem? Yes. How? By sacrificing some of yourself in order to achieve a collective, in turn gaining more of yourself back than you originally gave up.

CATIE
So, it's like an investment?

JACK
Yeah, think like make-up, as if you bought a really nice blush that...

LISA
[interrupting JACK] We aren't retarded Jack.

KELLY
Yeah, you don't need to explain existential crises in terms of eye shadow, we get it.

JACK
[under his breath]Alright, jeez, nazis.

PAUL
Anyway, that's it really.

CATIE
Are these the things you think about?

PAUL
Yeah. I'm doomed to it.

PETE
We are doomed to it.

RYAN & JACK
Truth.

LISA
So what do we do about this? It seems like such a large scale to address.

KELLY
How are we supposed to change it? No one can ever reach every person in the world, no matter how loud of a mouth they have.

PAUL reaches into the cooler and pulls out eight beers, he opens the tops of each one of them with a bottle opener and hands them out to his friends. He raises the bottle in the air to propose a toast.

RYAN
[referring to the toast]To what?

PAUL
To life.

They all take a sip and look around, there is a feeling of anticipation, no one is sure what to do next, such a deep conversation was not anticipated and everyone feels a motivation to make some kind of change. There is an awkward moment of uncomfortable silence.

CATIE
So what's next?

No one has an immediate answer, PAUL is in the middle of finishing his beer as this is asked. He swallows deeply and tosses the empty bottle onto his towel.

PAUL
What's next? We get drunk and fight the waves.

Everyone raises their bottles and takes deep sips, we start to pull away upward as we see the eight bodies run downward into the water, NICKNAME throwing the towel down and diving in last. The screen goes black. White words come across the middle of the screen, "The End."

Ten Thoughts...Well, Eleven I Guess.

Purgatory Chasm, Northbridge MA

Thoughts:


1. Let it ride.
2.Keep writing.
3.Stop trying.
4.Try harder.
5.Actually study.
6.Maintain.
7.Get a summer job.
8.Think more.
9.Think less.
10.Why you gotsta be so far away from me?



On another note- first draft of The Best and The Brightest is completed, in the process of editing/revising what we have, creating contacts for the summer, etc., etc. You should read it, it's funny.


One More Thought:


Why can't one sacrifice a little comfort and partake in some healthy introspection? Maybe this action could force people to be a little more honest with themselves, transitively causing more genuine interactions amongst peers. True, this is a theory in the widest sense, but the only way one can falsify this assertion is to attempt what it asks of you. I try, why not you too?

Grazi.

-Nick

A Musical Update

I've been doing a little songwriting. Three of these stemmed from some jams I had with my buddy D-Mac, and the other i wrote the other day when I was messing around with a capo. I intend to record these as well as a few older songs which were written way back when in the days of my old band, Bonaparte, with both D-Mac and D-Le (www.watermelonmakesitawesome.blogspot.com). I hope you enjoy the lyrics and I hope you will enjoy the tracks even more when the faculties become available to record them.


Picture in Mind
days pass, hours slip by
and i act like i'm fine
but still i cry,
got your picture in mind.

every time i look at you,
i see those things i wanted to do,
but i didn't
and now you're gone.

maybe i'd find someone new,
who wont tear my heart out
and rip it in two, just like you
just like you.

her pale green eyes,
fair freckled skin,
a smile so sweet,
it'll make you think it's a sin to feel this way
like i do.

New Years Eve
"another year."
"same place a different time."
"another song."
"same words, a different rhyme."
but then you saw the light in my eyes
and you knew it would be different this time.

oh, this time of year.

"another chance."
"get to try just one more time."
"old mistakes."
"how twenty years has just flown by."
but you don't need to ask how i feel,
just pass the bottle and we'll make something real.

oh, this time of year.

I Grew a Beard
if i could have my way,
each and every single day
the world would smile bright
and i'd be with you tonight

and we could do the things we want to.

i would take you by the hand and
we'd dance and dance and dance
and when i held you near, you'd say,
"baby, don't you fear...we'll get by doing the things we want to."

The Little Death
it doesn't keep my mind from wandering.
it doesn't tell me when we're through.
it's my companion, it helps me go to sleep.
oh little death, i love you.

just one more sip, tear the cork away,
i'll have a glass if you have one too.
crawl in bed and read our lives away,
oh lonely...shit to feel like you.

what's your name? sounds like a mystery.
i don't know much, but, i'm curious too.
the candle's burnt, so we light the night.
when our flame's out, do you go too?

Just for the record, these songs aren't necessarily about what you think they are. My focus in writing has changed as of late and I'm happy with the way these songs are coming about. Stay Tuned.

Peace

-Nick

Just Some Freewriting...

he went west to find his brothers.
en route stumbling across the icy shattered ground
his head spinning, brain battered by nights of excess
he met the wandering heart.

asking questions, he learned the wandering heart from the inside out.
a mystery, from lands afar. not like here. not like here.

they depart, he moves on, the heart rests deep in his gut, continues to trudge.
stumbling across an old fire he never started, wasted possibility, is now the time to flame?
can the flame begin?
will the flame succeed?

a painful pang in his gut. ulcer? no.
an unlikely pair digs away at his innards, death would come easier than
to see her with him. he hates it. the dirtiest tribute. every sip for her, every drag for her, every pain for her. they will still never feel as strong as he did. angry. angry. over it.

he meets his family, brothers in arms. imbibe, intake, imbibe, intake. celebrate the simplicity of life. words are beautiful, the connection is sweet, the wine is sweeter yet. cloud the mind to regain clarity. isn't that what they always say? a day in the life.

in the end, its just the wandering heart and the traveler. he keeps his brothers close, but the heart, though she wanders, won't leave his gut. she remains there, silent. he'll reach the heart with sound, he'll communicate without words. but will the heart stop wandering? does it beat for him?

i suppose only time will tell...the traveler has plenty of time, plenty of time.

so do his brothers.

Influential Albums 1/28/2009

So, I was sitting in my dorm room listening to some music and I thought about compiling a list of some of the albums that have really influenced me artistically/albums that I would have sex with if they were creatures capable of intercourse. Ive listed them as such, artist-title and I have written a small blurb under each of them. Here goes nothing:

Dinosaur Jr-Bug:
Firstly, the guitar work on this album will make you shit in your pants. I'm almost certain that both Lou Barlow and J. Mascis are Gods amongst men. I would pretty much put every single one of Dinosaur Jr.'s albums up here, but I have decided to restrict myself to listing one from each artist. The reason I choose Bug over the others is for one moment at exactly 2:00 in Track 3 entitled "They Always Come" where some ungodly guitar tone pierces through the mix and completely floors me everytime I hear it. It comes directly after a few seconds of slightly distorted chords, acting as a buffer between the beginning half of the song and what it is about to become (just listen to it and you'll hear what I mean). If I had to pick one sound that sums up everything that is beautiful about being alive, I would pick the sound of this single piercing note rising above the rest of the loud-ass mix of driving bass, heartbeat-like drum and layer upon layer of fuzzy guitar. I don't really expect anyone else to quite understand this feeling, but all I know is that this is the type of song that makes me glad to be a musician.

Beck-One Foot in the Grave:
A minimalistic effort for Beck Hansen that created some of the most beautiful and heartfelt songs I have ever heard. "Girl Dreams" has quite possibly the corniest lyrics of all time, but Goddamnit if I don't know exactly how he feels when he's singing and I'd be lying if I said I never felt the same. Amazing album, warm tones, detuned acoustic guitars. Pure beauty.

Queens of the Stone Age-Songs for the Deaf:
This album changed my life, plain and simple. I bought it on a whim after hearing "No One Knows" on the radio. This album represents everything that is great about Rock and Roll. Its got amazing production, awesome fucking riffs, perfect guitar tones, stellar drumming, churning guitar chords and vocals that sound like they were laid down in roughly 35 minutes with all care thrown to the wind. The backing "ooohs and aaahs" sound like theyre being sung by a choir of angel-voiced demons and Josh Homme has the Midas Touch with anything guitar. This is another one of those bands where I would like to list every album theyve ever done up here. Listen to this album if you haven't before. That is a command.

The Black Keys-Thickfreakness:
Firstly, The Black Keys are a two person band who sound like a four piece. Secondly, Dan Auerbach sings like he's an old Bluesman from Mississippi when in fact hes a dorky white dude from Ohio. Thirdly, the opening sounds of this album set the tone for what is easily the sweetest set of blues riffs compiled in the past 25 years.

The Bronx-Bronx I
Pure fucking rock and roll. If "Heart Attack American" doesn't make you want to get up and punch someone square in the face, then I am completely certain that you have no testicles. Listen to this album and go ragin'.

GZA-Liquid Swords:
I had a tough time deciding on whether I wanted to put Wu-Tang"s Enter the 36 Chambers or Liquid Swords up here, considering they are essentially the same artist, but I decided on Liquid Swords simply for the track "Four Chambers". This track is Wu-Tang at it's best, the production is brilliant and the verses sound like they lit the microphone on fire. Fuckin' hellified.

Sebadoh-Bubble and Scrape:
Another Lou Barlow effort here. Everything he wrote on this album is perfect. Anyone who has ever felt broken-hearted will be floored by "Soul and Fire". Each band member wrote a series of songs and recorded them with the other bandmates for the album, so in a way it's three albums in one. Each artist brought a very distinctive style to the table. Stay away from Eric Gaffney's songs if you don't like weird-ass sometimes dissonant psychedelic music, but both Jason Lowenstein and Lou Barlow's music is very easily accessible. If you get the chance, read Barlow's lyrics too. As I said, if you've ever experienced a real broken heart, you'll get it.

Kings of Leon-Aha Shake Heartbreak:
I've listened to this album so many times that I actually wore the CD out. I know every single lyric, note, lick, drum fill, bass run, whatever and I still love to listen to it. I will whole-heartedly say that this band will never ever come close to matching the awesomeness of this album again. Incredible album, "Milk" still sends chills down my spine every time I hear it.

Weezer-Blue Album/Pinkerton:
I simply couldn't choose between this two albums, also I can sort of justify having the both of them up here in the sense that I rarely listen to one without listening to the other right after it. In my opinion"Tired of Sex" is the best thing Weezer has ever written, and by far their most underrated song. To me, it is a perfect track in every sense of the word, guitar, drums, production value, lyrics, and pure fucking sweetness. Both of these albums are essential to anyone who appreciates Rock Music. If you haven't listened to them, you are doing a disservice to yourself and all of humanity.

Minutemen-Double Nickels on the Dime:
Awesome album, over 40 tracks, all short songs (hence the band name). I love D. Boone's style of guitar playing (possibly my biggest influence outside of J. Mascis) and pretty much every song on here is dope as hell. None of them can really sing, but it just doesnt matter, it's real jazzy punky weird rock but its sweet. MTV's Jackass made their song "Corona" famous, I in fact named my first full length after the last line of it.

So, that's ten albums that I find to be incredibly influential. I could listen to each and every one of these all day long and not get sick of them. I feel as if I'm committing a musical sin though by leaving out some of the other albums which I love, but I suppose that can be for another day. I hope you enjoyed my two cents and I really hope each and every one of you can get out there and give a listen to these albums, I doubt you'll regret it. Maybe someday in the future I'll do a follow-up with some more music but I suppose that is TBD.

Be Easy.

-Nick

Its Been A While...

Firstly, yes I did rip a Staind song title for the heading of this blog...sorry for that. Really.

Anyway, Since my last Pre-Halloween entry I've had quite the time. I'm back at Holy Cross, which has its pros and cons, clouds and silver linings, whatever you want to call it. I finished up my CD which I wrote incessantly about. I'm not quite sure what to do with it now that I've finished but oh well, at least it's done. I'm taking a break from music right now though and focusing much more on schoolwork and my writing (which I'll talk a little bit more about later).

So, I'm back at school, yep, I am, woohoo, yep, awesome, yep. Frankly, I'm not so sure how I feel about this whole thing. Granted, almost anything is better than being forced into an 8-4 workday situation where the majority of the workforce is uneducated and for the most part remarkably unhappy. But, now that I've been able to wet my feet in the so called "Real World's" waters, I have come to see how childish both the college life and its followers can be (I of course include myself in this assertion). Going to a college where the student population is noticeably smaller than your high school can lead to the occasional aggravation/existential crisis and I find that I've been experiencing a hearty helping of both of these since I've returned.

I've always known that Holy Cross is a cliquey elitist school and that my personality was never a perfect fit, but now that I've had some time away from this place, I can see the differences more clearly than ever. I enjoy being here the majority of the time and I would be making an obscenely unfair generalization if I claimed that I thought that most of my fellow students suck. But, sometimes I just can't stand it. Last night was a perfect example of this:

After partying for a while with some close friends, I decided to head
off campus with a team-mate to go check out a party we had been told
was "wicked sick." We headed off to the house and through a few drunken
interactions various wanderings we lost sight of each other. We weren't
able to reunite and my friend decided just to head back to campus. I,
being fairly loaded and ready to do something cool, took it upon myself
to explore the off-campus scene and try and make something out of this
bust of an evening. I wandered in and out of a few houses, mainly
interested in observing the scene/finding someone cool who I could talk to
and I ended up in some random smelly fire hazard of an apartment filled
with way too many people and way too few personalities. I listened to
conversations between people who just seem to take their lives too damn
seriously. The party seemed to be filled with people who were way too
concerned with who or what they could do. There was a serious lack of
interest in conversation if there is no gain associated with it. The social system here
seems to be that you only talk to someone if you're trying to hook up with them, get beer
from them, or if you want to find out about a new party from them. No one
seems to want to talk for the sake of human interaction, no real interest is
shown in trying to dig deeper and make some kind of a real connection, a connection
rooted in something deeper than the typical shallow niceties of Saturday evenings.
Maybe I just look too deeply into such trivial encounters. But, then again, maybe not. I just
like to think that most people have the same innate want to search for genuine
companions, people who like to have fun, talk, and aren't concerned with
putting up some heavy front in order to hide some stupid inadequacy. I want
to meet people who get The Joke (people who get it don't have to ask what it is)
and sometimes I feel as if that just is not an achievable goal here at the College
of the Holy Cross. So, after I dejectedly shuffled in and out of houses I decided it
was time to call it a night and walk back to my dorm alone and think about what
this night had really been about. I strolled down the streets leisurely and looked at
the stars and watched shallow drunken romances and faux inebriated camaraderies
form on either side of me. To make an even longer story somewhat less long, as
I was walking back feeling worse and worse by the minute I came across someone
who I had never met before and I decided to strike up conversation in some kind of
last ditch effort to maybe salvage the general downer theme of the evening. We
talked about where we're both from and we each mused for a while over the attitude of this College's general populous. It was nice to find someone else interested in talking for the
sake of talking. Made my bunk night just a little bit better.

After re-reading that story, I see that I somewhat deviated from the original purpose of it. Oh well, I suppose that is just the beauty in stream of consciousness online journal entries. The simple fact of the matter is that I have returned to my College as a much different individual than I was when I departed for an extended stay away and I'm not really sure how to handle it. I'm sure I'll be able to get a grip on that sometime soon but for the time being, it's just a strange period of transition.


On another note, two of my best friends and I have decided to actually follow through with something we've always sort of joked about. We are collaboratively writing a screenplay. With what goal in mind? Hopefully to have it be made. Why would we do it? Because we think we've got some pretty good stories to tell and also, we just fucking want to. The inception of this project is not easy. I've never written a screenplay, nor had I read one up until about three weeks ago. We'll see how it goes. Just before I sat down to write this I was making a few edits/changes on our current script. Right now it is at a whopping 31 pages. Exciting, eh? As the project progresses, I hopefully won't slack off as bad as I have been and keep this page somewhat in the now, hopefully updating more frequently.


I suppose that is all I really have to say for this evening, I'm pretty damn tired and I'd like to get some sleep. Stay tuned for updates as I intend to write a little more tomorrow and/or Tuesday.


Grazi.


-Nick