So I'm working late tonight, and I've got my iPod connected to the speaker guy and its set on random. I have exactly 4,326 songs on there, and a lot of its total garbage to be honest. But there is a lot of variety, and I've imported practically every CD I have, so there are some oldies and goodies on there.
After skipping some lame Jay-Z song that I couldn't remember ever listening to before, Crazy Life by Toad came on (the next song was Track 2 from Pimsleur's "Speak and Learn Italian" - I skipped it). At first I had a hard time placing it - I couldn't quite remember who it was. I first thought it was one of the songs from the Toad spin-off with the Ogre and the peg-leg guy, (Lapdog, that's it!), but then I remembered what it was. I remembered how awesome I thought that song was (and still do), and how it was such a gem. If I remember, it was released as a b-side or something, because you had to get it on that really hard to find Toad compilation that you could only get through the fan club or something. This was obviously before you could get every song from every band in the world online.
Matt and I spent hours trying to learn the intro. Matt got it down pretty good, but I never did. I probably got the first few changes down, but I always quit pretty early when it came to practicing the guitar (remember band practice Brandt? I wonder how many I actually attended). I usually ended up playing the rhythm portion while Matt played the solos he'd worked so hard on. Hard on! He probably got one from playing those solos. Meanwhile Brock's getting a stiffy from a big lifted jeep and Brandt from Mel. John had his cheese sandwiches. Ryan had his harem. Now the only thing that gives us stiffys is our wives. How far we've fallen.
Anyway, I'm sad that music doesn't play that same role in my life anymore. I probably listen more bands now than I did then, but my volume has decreased. I only listen late at night, or when I'm at the gym. I've switched to npr and sports talk radio in the car b/c I no longer have a massive CD case with me at all times and my car is not sophisicated enough to have a sweet iPod dock. But it probably wouldn't matter anyway. Music just isn't as important as it once was. I still play the guitar, but I don't have nearly enough time to put into to learn anything cool. I just got a new John Mayer guitar book, but I doubt I'll really be able to learn anything I'd feel comfortable playing anyone. I don't remember any of my old songs. Strange.
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1 comment:
That is a great song! I remember spending many sleepless nights lying on my bed, listening to that song and thinking of some girl who shall not be named. To fill in the gaps in your story, that song was first available on the "Empire Records" soundtrack, (which is an awesome soundtrack, btw), and was subsequently released on Toad's "In Light Syrup" album, which is a collection of B-sides that's about 100% better than most A-sides from all the lesser bands out there.
Also, I did work really hard on learning that song on guitar, and I even created a setting on my effects pedal that gave it just the right amount of distortion so that it sounded virtually identical to the real guitar track when I played it.
I also often lament the fact that, while music is still important to me and I love listening and finding good new bands, it just doesn't carry quite the same meaning as it used to for me. It used to be that playing the "August and Everything After" album by Counting Crows was enough to make me ball my eyes out in repressed feelings of teenage angst and frustration. However, there are a few songs and albums I can listen to that definitely still fill me with a tinge of sadness and nostalgia. High school was great, but I much prefer the even temperedness of my current life to the extreme ups and downs of high school
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