The Voice Recap: SPOILER ALERT

Disclaimer: All thoughts, statements and proclamations contained within are the sole opinion of the writer. And they are opinions only. And I disagree with lots of people and most news articles I've read about the show so be forewarned... I despise Dia.

The Voice ended it's first season run last night and I certainly have some conflicting emotions. Ultimately, the show was a success for me because despite its many flaws, I kept coming back for each new episode because I was invested. I must say, I am very pleased with the winner. Javier obviously had the best technical voice of the whole crew, and while it might not have been the most unique voice, nobody deserved the title more than him. But let me back up a bit.

I've been unsure during the whole run of the show whether or not it seems like an effective structure. The whole coach votes and audience votes seemed confusing and ineffective, and especially since the voting system changed every week. It was hard to keep up with how things were actually getting tallied. And since each coach became emotionally invested in their particular team, they seemed to get less and less helpful as the show went on and offered less criticism. By the end, not a single coach said anything negative about any performance, other than "Didn't like the setting." Far too complimentary for a group of amateurish singers who all faced serious missteps in any given performance. I stopped caring what the coaches were going to say because they all basically said the same thing, "You have a fantastic voice, you're such a star, such great presence, I'm a fan of you!" Watered-down mumbo-jumbo if you ask me.

Which begs the question, how important is a contestant's actual vocal ability in this show? How soon does it become more about presence and spectacle than talent? Biggest case of this is with Team Cee Lo's final two members, Vicci vs. Nakia. Nakia's final performance was Whataya Want From Me (that's actually how the song title is spelled, and it makes me sick.) Nakia did a fine job with the tune, but forget it as soon as Vicci comes out and does a (vocally) average rendition of Dog Days Are Over, but who had an entire fleet of Japanese Taiko drummers to back up her own fiery drumming. Who sang better? Nakia. Who performed better? Vicci. Vicci wins. Of course you're going to win if you're the last performer and you have a grand show-stopping tune to cap off the night. So is it fair? Who the heck knows.

This also leads me to believe that the coaches stopped doing anything worthwhile except for choosing songs to sing. With one glaring exception (DIA), the finalists all had great voices. And they all faltered on certain songs because of poor song choice. But did the coaches EVER give them any real vocal critique past the semifinals? Of course not. When really, what could've been said were things like this:

"Javier, the original song you sang actually seemed a bit off for you. You didn't seem comfortable, you sounded out of breath the whole time, and your voice didn't ever seem to find its power through the song. Nerves maybe?"

"Vicci, rather than turning every song into a contest with yourself to see how much air you can push out of your mouth by hitting as high of a note as you can, try scaling back a little and showing some variety in your voice."

"Beverly, stop falling back on hitting that one wavery high note you hit in every single song when you're not sure where to go with a vocal run."

"Dia, you're awful in general. Go back to the anime cartoon you came from."

The last one is a little harsh, but you get the idea. Nobody was flawless all the way through, but the show just got so freakin' feel-good by the end.

In terms of the four finalists, I wasn't totally on board with all of them. My ideal final four would've been Xenia, Bev/Frenchie (didn't care, liked them both), Nakia, and Javier. There was no way Xenia was going to make it to the final four, and I'm surprised she even made it as far as she did. The girl had the voice most noticeably different than everyone else on the show, but gosh did she lack some stage presence. Her performance of Price Tag was clearly uncomfortable to watch, even if her voice was fun to hear. Nakia just had more flair for me than Vicci. Vicci has a decent voice, but I wasn't buying into her whole war-dance/primal scream persona. Who could seriously listen to an entire album of her taxing her lungs that way? It'd be exhausting. And Casey Weston's weak Dolly Parton impression was absolutely no match for Javier's range and technical skill.

And then there's Dia. Where do I begin? From the very beginning, she has played this show like a game. Granted, it is a reality show vocal contest game, but the fact that she is playing it so obviously makes me hate her. She is without a doubt the most disingenuous person on the show. Looking back, she started out harmless, singing some breezy song with her innocuous voice that got Cee Lo and Blake to turn their chairs. Whatever, not a big deal. She came across as this super shy girl with an interesting voice, but oh if only she could break out of her shell! said everyone. Fast forward to the battle round, still a bit stronger, but boy Dia you really need to break out of your shell if you're going to get further! And everytime she's on camera up to this point, she's blinking her little mousey eyelashes at everyone and giving off this "Are these big celebrities telling little ol' me that I have a good voice? It couldn't be!" vibe. Then comes her performance of an acousticey Heartless, which sorry, has already been done by another reality show singing competition. Go get a more original cover, Dia. But oh my gosh! Dia finally came out of her shell! Nobody saw that one coming! Where did this little on-stage firecracker come from?! And then in the coaches remarks, she's back to blinking at them like she didn't know what just happened and she's just so thankful for all their kind words, blah blah blah. Awful. This girl knew exactly what she was doing the entire show, and she apparently fooled Blake and all of voting America with her snake-like behaviors. So from then on, she just kept the strong performances coming, and not strong vocally, just strong in that everybody thinks she's doing so well by singing confidently when really she's had that in her the whole time. She played it so well, she started with a problem that was very easy to fix, no confidence/no stage presence, and when she did fix it, America freaked out and started buying her crappy Kanye cover on iTunes. Annoyed me to no end. How could you have released FOUR albums without any confidence in your vocal ability? Does not add up. If you look at her and you look at Xenia, obviously Xenia was being real because she actually did look uncomfortable and was not good on stage. She's sixteen! She wasn't faking anything. Dia was faking all the way.

And here's the worst part: her voice is not that great. Sure, she can carry a melody just fine, but her voice sounded basically like this to me. I can't really explain it much better than blaaaah-blaaaah, blaaah-blaaaah. Like she pushed her tongue out all the time and the sounds came from the back of her throat. Just awful to listen to.

Ironically, the only person that seemed to ever point out that she was playing the game well and putting up a front was the show's fakest asset, coach Christina. There were actually two or three times where Christina's comments were less than flattering and came just short of calling her out on her game-playing and Dia's little cat-like demeanor changed from this:

to this:

Kudos, Christina.

Here's the most frustrating part about Dia for me too, she nailed her duet with Blake. They chose the best possible song, it sounded great, Blake's country voice fit just perfectly into that Tom Petty song. If she had made her Voice debut with that song and not played her manipulative game, I would've liked her far more. I'm so glad she didn't win.

So overall, did the show succeed? Did it find The Voice? I'm saying definitely. Javier has a great voice, and deserves the accolades he's receiving. Should it be up to America to choose The Voice? Definitely not, as based on the finalists original song performance, Javier just barely beat out Dia. Neither of their originals were that great. Javier had a good song, he just did not deliver a good performance. Based strictly on original performance, you know who I thought was going to win? Beverly all the way. Yeah her original song was a little cheesy bland vanilla ("lovesick...lovesick...I'm sick of love!"), but gosh did she deliver a great performance, and not only spectacle and stage presence, but she nailed her vocal part. She had the best original performance without a doubt. Yet Javier still wins. Did America choose right? Yes, but I wouldn't trust them to do it again.

One last thing before I wrap; the show needs to ease off the product placement. Yes I know the finale needs to be exactly that, a finale, with grandiosity and flourish and big names, but I don't consider Pitbull and Ne-Yo to be big names. Stevie Nicks was a good draw with some legit credibility (even if she has the most nasal voice ever), but the Train singer? Even worse, the OneRepublic singer? American Idol alum Katherine McPhee? Do we need a Social Media Correspondent? Or a "chance" run in with Gym Class Heroes in the next door studio which allows Adam to perform their upcoming hit single on which he is featured? All this stuff seemed SO contrived and I'd love to see less of it and more actually performing by the contestants (and the coaches for that matter). And now a few favorites:

Favorite Voice: Probably Xenia. While she wasn't technically the best, nor certainly not the best on stage, she had a super unique tone for a 16 year old and was really fun to listen to.

Favorite Performance by a Contestant or Coach: Team Cee Lo's cover of Everyday People by Sly & The Family Stone. Cee Lo's afro wig was unforgettable.

Top 3 Season 1 Moments:

3. What song does Christina choose to duet with her protege? HER OWN SONG. This was the icing on the cake for how inflated her ego could actually get.

2. Brad Paisley asking Blake a question mid-song and Blake responding in kind by singing while sitting down then getting up and joining Brad on stage. So cheesy.

1. "If The Voice should be delayed for anyone, it should be...for the President. LET'S, GET, TOIT!" - Carson Daly, possibly the blandest and cheesiest human being alive. Can't wait for what gems he's got in store for us during Season 2.

-Jon

P.S. Was Cee Lo and Vicci's Pat Benetar cover inspired by Hook? Cee Lo made a great Rufio.

Battle Studies.

Well, that's an embarrassing way to start this review.

Quite an event last Tuesday. John Mayer finally released his fourth studio album, Battle Studies, and I got to experience hearing brand new, non-live, studio-made, John Mayer-written music for the first time in three years. Pretty exciting stuff for me. And admittedly, I was a bit nervous, as John's become quite the douche in the last three years, but it turns out my fears were unwarranted.

JM hasn't branched too far out here. If nothing else, he's taken a few steps backwards in regards to his other music. But this isn't a bad thing. His pre-Continuum music is great, so these new songs are really just a nice addition to his body of work. Most of them are anyway. As a whole, Battle Studies isn't as cohesive as Continuum, in terms of musical style and song quality. The only thing that really does bind most of the record together is a general (I use that term loosely, see Crossroads, Who Says, War Of My Life, none really pertain to the ->) theme of breaking up. Musically, he definitely dabbles in quite a few areas, but as a whole he's stepping back towards the pop scene. Continuum was just so soulful; soul emanated from every part of that album. Not so here. Overall it's much more of a pop music, radio-ready type of feel.

OK the songs. If I had my way, I would cut three songs off the record, completely retool one song, and leave the other seven exactly how they are. That's not the best percentage, but still alright. It's the middle stretch that is just plain bad. The triumvirate of Who Says, Perfectly Lonely, and War Of My Life really pains me, and Crossroads might be one of the most disappointing covers I've ever heard. Who Says sounds like an extension of his a-hole lifestyle set to a pretty little acoustic ditty, which is catchy enough that it's annoying how bad the song is. Sorry John, but very few of your fans relate to planning trips to Japan by themselves and canceling them at will. Perfectly Lonely is one of those empowerment songs that I find so inane. It'll be the one at concerts that all the lonely people pump their fists to and sing along too loudly with, trying to fool themselves and everybody around them that they're so happy they're alone. Annoying. I know this might seem like a dumb thing to say since I'm married but why can't he write one song about actually finding love or being in love where there aren't any negative little asides, or "this is great BUT..."? Just one John. I only want one.

Crossroads is a real bummer for me too. When I saw this on the track list I was psyched because of how great his Hendrix cover was on Continuum. This cover sounds like he pulled it directly from Guitar Hero. I seriously think Steve Jordan sat down to a drum kit with four parts, each a different color. And the guitar tone is so awful, which only makes the solo worse than it already is. This is just a really uninspired cover, which bums me out because usually JM does covers so well (see Free Fallin', Bold As Love, Kid A from the old days). He chooses awesome tunes, not always the most well-known, and makes them even better, injects them with something unique. This is just sonic mush. Wish you could have a re-do on this one John.

But if you listen to the good parts of this record, he really starts to shine again. The strongest element of this whole album is his voice, but only when it's bolstered by the melody lines he sings. He has seemed to hit on really quality melody lines, that are not only gorgeous, but fit his voice perfectly. Assassin and Heartbreak Warfare are the two I'm thinking of most here, but also listen to All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye, Edge Of Desire (anybody else think this song sounds like Jimmy Eat World circa 2004?). All beautiful melodies.

Assassin is shaping up to be my favorite song off the album, and thank goodness it's smack dab in the middle to break up all those crap tunes. This one really demonstrates the little things that put John Mayer above most pop artists recording today. Just like 95% of popular music, the first chorus of this tune is underlined by some pretty simple power chords. It's at 3:41 when the second chorus starts right after his guitar solo, holy cow he adds just the second note of each chord to each chord he plays and it elevates the foundation of the song to a whole new level. It's a subtle addition but it really distinguishes it from the humdrum music that we hear so often.

And I have to note the bass playing here. Bassist Pino Palladino is out of this world. To get the full effect of his playing, throw on some headphones, turn them up just a bit more than you normally would, and listen to the introduction up through the first chorus. Listen to the bass. Pino is the most controlled bass player I've ever heard. No matter how many notes he seems to bounce over, every single one fits within each chord and leads the listener along without them knowing where we're going. Listening to this song for the first few times, I could never predict what was coming next in the bass line. So great. Pino kills it here.

One quick note about Half Of My Heart, almost certainly coming to a radio near you very soon. The song is fine, nothing too special, but the back-up vocals are sung by freakin' Taylor Swift. Alright JM, I've got beef with this. She's got a fine voice, clear and pretty, but she's hardly even in this song, and the only reason I can really see that you added her in this is to grab a few new country music fans and tween fans who weren't at music-purchasing age when Mayer released Wonderland eight years ago. At the writing of this, Half Of My Heart was at #7 on the iTunes Singles chart. And I guarantee it's only because the title is followed by (with Taylor Swift). And with all of his clout, all of his street cred in the music community, he gets Taylor Swift to guest on his record? The man has worked with Billy Preston, B.B. King, John Scofield, Herbie Hancock, is friends with Buddy Guy and Eric Clapton, and he gets pop-tween-queen Taylor Swift to guest on his record. Just kind of a bummer to me.

Other random thoughts: War Of My Life wins the award for gayest John Mayer song title, while Friends, Lovers Or Nothing is definitely a great track and it will be a great show/encore closer. In very much the same vein as I'm Gonna Find Another You, just more Beatles-ish. Bold move too, leaving out that ol' oxford comma.

So I don't think it's not his best work, but overall it fits well into his canon. And now that I've had a week with it, I can say that it's worn well already. The first two days I gave the songs I didn't like five or six listens to give them a chance and then started skipping them, the last few days they've all definitely grown on me. So go buy it. Support good music, because the month of November will have seen album releases from Weezer, 50 Cent, Bon Jovi, Fall Out Boy (a greatest hits compilation, are you kidding me?), Lady GaGa, Adam Lambert, Rihanna, and Lil' Jon. When the music scene is that bleak, you've got to stand up for what's right and good in this world. John Mayer might not completely fit those two adjectives, but he's far better than all of the other stuff I just listed.

-Jon

old blog #2: i own a giga pet named "A".

i'm excited. november started, a huge test is finished, the next two weeks will keep me sufficiently busy but not crazy, and then thanksgiving break is going to rule. for three main reasons.
1. the wednesday before thanksgiving week, savion glover is performing at hancher auditorium at my university. most people probably wouldn't know savion glover by his name, but if you are anywhere near my age and grew up watching sesame street(one two three four five, six seven eight nine ten, eleven twelve-elve-elve-elve-elve-elve!)(pinball machine cartoon), savion was the black guy with dreds who tap danced all the time.

how could you not love this guy?

he will be performing with a live band, so...a killer tap dancer and a live band at hancher? it's gonna be a fantastic show. what makes it even better is that i have a midterm directly before the show so the show is like a huge treat. and my girlfriend is coming down for it so...how could it be better? if savion invited me on stage to dance with him? yes that would make it better. but that's the only way.
2. as i mentioned before, colleen is coming down for savion's show and then she and i are driving back to uni that night. i'm skipping the last two days of class that week and extending my break to eleven days. unbelieveable. the first five/six days will be spent at uni with friends, getting a feel for my new university. i'm psyched.
3. for actual thanksgiving, i'll be probably in kansas city. which is cool. i'm not ecstatic about going home, but it will be really nice to see my sisters again. thanksgiving day will rule. lots of food. lots of lazing around. post-thanksgiving cold turkey sandwiches are awesome.
so november is bringing good things. and i want you to know about these:

find this movie playing somewhere and watch it.

1. half nelson. i just saw it tonight and really liked it. still digesting it so i'm not even gonna say too much. other than ryan gosling is a phenomenal actor. saw it at iowa's indie theater, the bijou, which is a sweet place. one of the few things i'll really miss when i'm at uni. check this out, they are having a FREE pre-release showing of the tenacious d movie coming out, how sweet is that? i'm going.

"if you want to see the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain."

2. ricky gervais. funniest man on television? possibly. star of the office, which was originally a bbc show before it became popular here in america. and if you like the steve carell version on nbc, it's a hundred times funnier with this dude. and his new show on hbo, extras, is unbelieveably funny as well. i can't really communicate how much this guy makes me laugh through a facebook note so...just watch him if you ever get a chance.
i'm done. i've got lots of other stuff i'd love to tell you about but it's late. so happy november. i hope you'll enjoy it as much as i will. and i really need to figure out how to communicate ideas in some other way than a numbered list. that is so trite. and i'd like to know how to make my photos bigger. adam? anybody?

jon

p.s. i really hope somebody understood my pinball machine cartoon reference. if you did will you let me know? i have never, in my entire life, met anyone who knew what that meant other than my older sister hannah. so if you know what that is, tell me. i'll probably freak out.

thoughts from 2009 jon:

a. i wrote this on november 3, 2006.

b. savion glover is an INCREDIBLE dancer. that show was one of the coolest live performances i've ever seen.

c. half nelson is still a great movie. watch it if you haven't.

d. i'm going to write more in depth about ricky gervais' brilliance sometime in the future.

e. i needed to ease up on the list format. i used TWO numbered lists in this one post. confusing

f. the pinball sketch. number 11:

old blog #1: Web + Log = Blog

I used to think the whole concept of blogs was really arrogant, like it's just one person going on some rant thinking everybody else really wants to hear their thoughts and opinions about the world. and what do I know, maybe lots of people do want to hear the the writer's thoughts. it's just the whole idea that the writer thinks his thoughts should be read/heard by everyone. it just seemed high-handed to me. until lately. i recently read a fantastic review of FutureSex/LoveSounds in a friend's note, and it really convinced me that blogging is alright. not conceited, just a handy way to let people get into your mind a little if they want. ok enough of this intro. here are some things i've been into for the last week or two.

1. Most people know i'm not a huge sports buff, but even I was following the World Series. and while i don't have a tv, i spent game 5 clicking the refresh button on si.com every 30-60 seconds. it made for an exciting night. go cards.

2. organic chemistry...as much as that might be lame, it's actually really interesting to me. unfortunately i'm not smart enough to be a chem major. shame. it's cool now that we're actually getting into practical stuff, we can do all sorts of reactions and crap. actually not in real life, but on paper, i can do reactions involving alcohols and ethers and epoxides. pretty cool.

It's called 18-crown-6 because it has 18 total atoms in the ring and 6 total oxygen atoms...and it looks like a crown.

3. bob dylan. he's just really good. that's all.

4. this whole "my shares" deal on facebook is really cool. at least to me. it's weird, i really thought that this blog feature and now the shares would catch on really fast, but not many of my friends write many notes, and so far the shares thing hasn't gone over too well. which is really too bad, because it's a way cool thing. i've only put up a few things, but i'll add quite a bit as time goes on.

5. i read today that reese witherspoon and ryan phillippe separated? i'm pissed.

Come on. Seven years of gorgeous red carpet snapshots and you're calling it quits?

6. i'm transferring to uni.

so that's all. i have to look over some notes for a biology quiz tomorrow. my bio t.a. has such a big butt, it's really hard not to stare. and he's a dude...so it gets a little awkward. but it's just so big! later.

jon

p.s. Mathmatical equations - actual numbers = really annoying.

thoughts from 2009 jon:

a. this blog was written october 30, 2006.

b. the friend i was referring to who wrote the album review was adam. you can read that blog here on facebook and his actual blog is here. great stuff.

c. the thing about my shares on facebook was way back when facebook was intuitive and cool. remember, back when high school and college were separated? when "apps" didn't exist? when you actually had to be in school to get an account? anyway, the notes feature was brand new and it was an easy way for me to start blogging without having to sign up for an actual blogging site, which i thought was lame.

d. the post script was referring to when people write sentences like "britney spears + last few years = so white trash!" i think i had read a sentence like that before i wrote it and it annoyed me.

e. since the font from facebook carried over to this website, i think i'm just gonna leave it as it is. it's a little disfunctional it seems like but it'll have to do.

colleen's wall post.

follow-up:


























spitting image.

-jon

p.s. colleen wants credit for finding this picture.

gig #1: the hub.

ladies and gentlemen, i'd like to introduce you to the immortal string trio.


about two weeks ago, i played at the hub with these two guys. from left to right, it's me, eli, bruce. it was a ton of fun too. i was really nervous leading up to it, mainly cause the only other time i've ever played on stage was at church like three times, and these guys have been performing forever. the other reason i was nervous was that i was a little out of my element. the gig was originally gonna be at the hydrant, a small little bar that my roommate kevin works at, which i've spent a substantial amount of time at. i thought it was gonna be a really small crowd, nothing too big of a deal or anything, but then plans changed with the venue owners and we ended up playing the hub on a wednesday night. the hub is a quite bigger bar than the hydrant and i had an extra week to think about it so i got myself pretty worked up.

the day came and i got to the bar around nine, set up my guitar with eli and then just chilled out while people started trickling in. one cool thing though, eli took me down to the "green room" of the hub, i guess every venue's gotta have a place where the performers can chill out before/after the show away from the whole crowd. unfortunately the hub's green room is just the basement with a coffee table and like two crappy leather chairs and an old couch. all purchased from a thrift store most likely. so i went down with eli and bruce and another dude whose name i can't remember now and just hung out while they had a few cigg-butts. we talked through the set list a little bit but basically just decided to wing it. and we went up and played a few songs. i think our first set was about five or six songs, nothing too much. i think it was mainly to get my nerves out.

it worked too. basically the way the three of us play together is either eli or bruce takes lead vocals, the other sings harmony, eli plays the basic rhythm guitar part, bruce will dink around a little with that and i get to pretty much do whatever i want. which means adding what i can during verse chorus parts and then they usually give me a solo in songs that call for one. that was what i guess i was most nervous about; i can play chords on a stage in front of people all day and it wouldn't bother me, especially if there are two other people playing those same chords on stage with me. but soloing is a different story. when a solo happens, i'm trying express myself and the feeling of the song through strictly musical notes, and the spotlight is on me. yeesh. so the first couple songs featured a solo from me or just me playing along and it felt good to get the nerves out. especially once i realized that it was essentially like playing in my living room.

this is where i gotta give it up to my friends. all of my friends know i play guitar, and most know that i play a lot and that i'm better than the average shirtless college dude. so everybody was really supportive once they heard i was playing my first actual gig because playing with other people has always been something i've sort of wanted to do but never enough to actually pursue it aggressively. also, i've never really met anybody that has suited my musical sensibilities all that well either. i certainly hope that doesn't come off as i've never met anybody as good as me because that's not it at all, i'm not great and i've met people so much better than myself at guitar. what i mean is i haven't met anybody that's really matched what i enjoy listening to or playing to very well. eli and bruce fit that better than anybody i've ever really met.

so my friends knew i was excited and nervous about this, and they came out in droves to support me which felt great. and made me feel very much at home, literally, because with almost everybody who came, at one point or another in the last year, there have been one or two nights at least where i've played guitar in the jam shack (our garage) with all these folks around drinking. once i realized that the only difference between me playing at the hub for these people and me playing in my garage for these people was that i was standing two feet above them, i found my groove pretty quickly.

so i want to thank everybody that came out. there were new friends and old friends and super old friends, and it really meant a lot that everybody took so much out of their wednesday night to come and see us play. thanks.

so back to the actual thing. i played for about five or six songs, they let me take a break, eli and bruce duo-ed a few tunes, which is always fun to listen to them sing together, and then each of them did a solo set. so i had about an hour to hang out in the crowd and talk to friends and have a couple beers. it was great too, eli and bruce are both really great performers. they've got killer voices and they both have their own great style on guitar. and the songs they do are awesome. eli covers billy preston...enough said.

an hour goes by and eli invites bruce and i back up for another set. this is where it got fun for me. i had the jitters out and we just jammed and it was so great. set list (in no particular order):

soul scream (a bruce day original)
anywhere i go (slightly stoopid)
rivers of babylon (not sure)
wagon wheel (old crow medicine show)
2 drink minimum (chris cornell, written by john mayer)
omar bay (state radio)
arms of a woman (amos lee)
man in the hall (state radio)
always lift him up and never knock him down (old crow medicine show)
gulf coast highway (nanci griffith)
falling slowly (glen hansard)
what i got (sublime)
street corner preacher (amos lee)

that is the first list we made of songs we might potentially play. i think we did most of them, there were like maybe one or two we didn't do all together, and i know we did one or two of them twice. but you can kind of get the feeling of the music we played. folksy, acousticy, no distortion or anything like that. just music that is easy to play and fun to play well. here is the end of my solo in arms of a woman. this is nothing fantastic, and watching it again i notice how freakin' much i have to practice to get actually good or worth listening to. rather than fresh melody lines, my solos are normally just a glut of notes that fit in the chords being played cause i usually can't come up with new melody lines themselves. and from just a technical point of view, i mess up pretty obviously here and there. but again, this is my first time playing on stage ever so i was happy with how it went. and sorry about the video quality; the video function on blogger is nothing to write home about.



my favorite part of that is kevin yelling at the end, "i live with him! he's my roommate!" that's not his normal voice. devotees will remember kevin as the upside-down smile guy. anyway.

so that was it. i got to hang out with some friends and play guitar for like four hours. and on top of that, i got two free beers out of it, and on top of THAT, i got paid. like i was a legitimate working musician. this put me through the roof cause honestly, the thought of getting paid hadn't crossed my mind through these few weeks like once. i was just excited i was getting to tag along with two seasoned performers to play on a stage in front of people i liked. i felt like the kid brother who had just gotten lucky and got to hang out with the older kids. i hadn't thought once that i was gonna get compensated in any way. if anything, i was surprised i didn't have to pay the bar owner to let me up on stage with a guitar, but when the owner of the hub gave me money for the gig, forget about it. what a treat. a great way to end my night.

so right now, there has been a little talk between the three of us about playing another show soon. the next one will be at the hydrant on the 2nd (tomorrow), and it's actually just me and eli playing this one, bruce had a prior engagement. but i'm really excited because now that i have one gig under my belt, the next one will be a lot easier to be psyched for, and eli and i will have a fun time experimenting with what we can do on our own. he plays some great songs when he does solo shows and i'm excited to see what i can do with them. plus the hydrant is a super small and fun bar so i am already looking forward to it. we're going on about 10 pm. hope to see you out there.

-jon

i'm glad lotr made the list.

this is the side of the kansas city public library parking lot.



well done kansas city. you just sealed the deal with this. if i ever live in a big city, it's kc without a doubt. absolutely inspired. I LOVE LIBRARIES.

-jon

let's be done with this month already.

so today was halloween. i was a die. would've worked better had i had another die to make a pair, but it was alright. i wouldn't have dressed up at all but i was scheduled to work and i was told i had to. so i put this together in the last two days. pretty resourceful for zero dollars. unfortunately it was lost on some people; one guy said, "hey, a jack-in-the-box! nice!" and another old man said "what are you supposed to be, a computer?" yes, sir. a computer. come on people.

i hate halloween. it's such a messed up holiday. i don't even like calling it a holiday. there is no joy in halloween. it's a day based totally on fear and evil. and sugar. even from a kid standpoint, there is so little value to be found in such a terrible day.

kids dress up, go to people's houses and say "trick or treat." trick or treat! they are threatening all these people for their candy! it's just teaching kids greed, and that dressing up and being someone you aren't is ok. as far as older humans go, it's a day where it's ok to let that one little "weird" part of you show. this guy came into work tonight with make up all over his face, like he was crying blood slash got cut in his head, and he had painted his shirt so it looked like it was all bloody. and nobody bats an eye! how is that ok?

as far as college town goes, it's always just slut fest (insert current year). the short skirt and low tops are out in droves, like it's their last day on earth to show off some cleavage. go put some pants on girls, it's october 31st, probably too cold for anybody to be wearing what you're wearing.

and i do not understand what our society's obsession is with fear and gore in the movies. there is something to say about being excited, by like a roller coaster or something, but adrenaline from fear is completely different, and to me, it's a terrible feeling. but tons of our scary movies were rented tonight. sucks too, because this last month i have been getting so many people asking me "what's a good scary movie?" since i never watch them, ever, i have nothing to say. i always enjoy when people ask my opinion about films because i work at a movie place, and i pride myself on being able to answer 90% of the movie questions i get asked, but that question is the worst. and i've been getting it all month.

october in general is just a sucky month. it's right in the middle of nothing. right after my birthday and just before the best part of the year. and halloween caps it off. plus midterms. awful.

one good thing happened tonight though. this girl spent a while browsing around the store and then came up and said "what's a good movie?" not the easiest question to answer, since there is literally only one parameter to that question, it has to be good. so i asked her to specify a little bit, and she thought for a second and then said "one that will make me cry." holy cow am i the man for this job. i immediately took her to eternal sunshine of the spotless mind and then just for some extra icing threw in high fidelity. awesome. she was happy to cause she had wanted to see both for awhile. i was able to rent out two of my Top 5 Favorites to this poor girl looking for some non-halloween themed entertainment. plus they are both in our 2 for $1 section, which is totally free until november 17th because family video is celebrating their 30th anniversary. what a deal. another day, another satisfied customer.

i'm just happy halloween has now been over for an hour and a half, and i can start focusing on november. such a great month. i'd like to leave you with this, the funniest halloween-themed video i've ever seen. watch it like three times, and you will probably laugh a lot by the end.



-jon

p.s. shout out to ap for the awesome 'stume idea.

p.p.s. i just realized that my whole outlook is obviously biased since my family never celebrated halloween when i was growing up. so that's really why i don't like it. part product of my environment, part it's a crap holiday.