Sorry Natasja – I know I told you do to this, but I have writer’s block and I needed to update my blog. Your post will be better, so never fear…
If you follow my Facebook page for the blog, you’ll see that I’m suffering from a bit of writer’s block today. I had a couple of ideas swirling in my head: a review of the movie Argo, a post about how October started off as a crummy month (but it’s not over and I don’t want to jinx myself by saying all is well yet) or a post about how my friends are like a second family. I have drafts of all of these saved on my dashboard but none of them were coming out the way I wanted them.
Instead, I thought I’d share some of the music that I listen to while I write my blog… What you will come to see is a) my taste is music can be described as eclectic and b) most of it is not from this century. With that said, here are five of the songs that help me write (but failed in their job tonight).
Karma Chameleon
I honestly don’t even know what the hell this song is about, but it’s damn catchy…
Barlights
This song doesn’t really make much sense either, but it’s amazing. It has trumpets and fanfare! Wünderbar!
Mamma Mia
No words are needed. (BTW – Lauren, I still want to find people so we can go as ABBA for Halloween one year. Just sayin’).
The Fighter
I like this song a lot. It’s a nice big old middle finger to the world – and sometimes, that’s what you want to give ’em.
Talking to the Moon
We all have that one sad song, that tugs at our heart and lays it out for us. This has been my song for October. Let’s hope November gets a more upbeat song!
“May the past be the sound of your feet upon the ground.”
-fun.
Yesterday was a bit of a nostalgia day for me. It was funny, strange and comforting all at the same time. I say this with the following thoughts in the back of my mind: I have friends getting married, friends having babies and friends buying houses. There are moments when, despite knowing its the furthest thing from the truth, I feel like I’m lagging behind: I’m single (with no prospect of that changing), just starting a new job again and admittedly, I’m focusing a lot on myself. But hey – I might get a dog, so there’s that…
After work yesterday, I got together with my friend Amy, who I’ve known since our days at Bowmanville Senior Public School. We did a lot together – we were in all the same bands, had a lot of classes together (we spent Grade 7 and Grade 8 together, plus a number of classes in high school) and went on all the same trips. By virtue of being together a lot during those days, we have a lot of the same friends. We went to dinner and it kind of hit me (and her too) that we’re growing up: we talked about my new job, we talked about her finishing up her placement as a student teacher and we talked about all of our friends who were doing what I already mentioned: having babies, getting married, buying houses, etc… We had a few laughs about how we were getting “old” and maturing. I don’t think either of us would have thought, all those years ago when we were in Ms. Bradford’s class, that this is where we would end up.
The evening became even more nostalgic when my roommate (whom I’ve known for nearly 20 years) and our friend reached the pub. Our server was a friend of ours who, again, we’ve known for nearly 20 years (and is technically my ex-wife, due to our playground marriage from years ago). While we spent a lot of time talking about what was new in our lives, there was a natural tendency to reminisce on the “days of yore.” We did a shot together – and that’s where the title from this blog post came from. Because, three of the four of us at the table did start our friendship in the kindergarten classroom: we quite literally went from playing house to doing shots together. While it was a bit of a surreal experience, it was also some bit of a comfort to know that, whatever happens in life, there are those friends in your life who are rocks.
In talking with a new friend regarding this blog post, he said that someone else had mentioned the same kind of feelings to him: about growing “old” and it being strange. For me, as I said to him, it’s a very cyclical thought process. Every so often, the feelings about getting older and moving in to the next phases of my life cross my mind and I get a bit nostalgic. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one that goes through something like this.
I also learned in my conversation with my friend, when telling him about the post I was writing, that there are little things we begin to notice that are signs we’re getting older: one of the funnier ones (but one that is totally true) is noticing that we can’t drink like we used to, yet we try and do it anyways. It’s the little things like that, which we do in an effort to hold on to the past and deny the fact that we’re maturing and entering the next stage of our lives.
My new goal is to embrace and tackle the changes that come with what happens to everybody: growing up. It’s not going to be easy and I can guarantee that I won’t handle it with grace all the time, but that’s just how life is. As that 70’s TV theme goes: “You take the good, you take the bad and there you have the facts of life.”
Sidebar
The video below is the song from which I pulled the quote to lead off this article. I’ve written about fun. before, but you MUST check out their new album.
From the outset, I told you that this blog would be a mish-mash of everything. I’ve covered TV and I’ve covered a book, so today I decided I would cover music. My reviews aren’t always going to be on “current” things (as in, the book and/or album may not have come out yesterday) but they will always be on things that I enjoy (I’m like Oprah – but not as famous or rich).
My roommate introduced me to the band fun. earlier this year and after watching one of their music videos on YouTube, I knew I had to buy their CD “Aim and Ignite.”
It’s a good mix of songs – from the catchy “All the Pretty Girls”, to the jaunty “Light a Roman Candle With Me”. There’s bound to be at least one (but I guarantee there will be more) song you will soon find stuck in your head.
The lead singer’s voice makes me think of Freddie Mercury in terms of how it sounds and I really can’t pick my favourite song from the album.
Now, I should have probably prefaced my first review by saying I’m not going to go too in-depth with these, mostly because I would rather people form their own opinions about the things I’m talking about (and hopefully share them with me). I highly recommend checking out fun.
You can check out their MySpace (it still exists!) page here and their official website here. You can also easily find them on YouTube. To make it even easier, I’ve embedded one of their music videos below.
Chronicles of a Gin and Tonic Drinker 