Topic # 1: I completely forgot to discuss all of the things that I did for Sweetest Day last Saturday. (What? You forgot that Saturday was Sweetest Day? More specifically, your significant other forgot Sweetest Day? You have my complete blessing to make their lives a living hell.) So what did I do? The usual, you know, bitch and moan about my life and buy used copies of Cure CDs. Still, when Sweetest Day can be considered an official holiday my hope of increasing the recognition of National High Five Day doesn’t seem to be misplaced. I’m not kidding when I say that in high school Sweetest Day was treated like the biggest event of the fall. I’m still not sure if Hallmark invented it to sell more greeting cards or that they just take great pleasure in knowing that they can make a sixteen year old boy feel like the biggest loser on the planet for not having a girlfriend.
Topic # 2: One of the recurring topics of Battling the Current has been the decline and fall and death of the music industry to the point where I believe that I’ve spent posts counting the metaphorical maggots on the corpse of music row. But every once in a while I see something that gives me hope that maybe things aren’t as bleak as they appear. Like the headline on CNN today stating that Weird Al Yankovic has a top ten CD. How incredible is that, the guy gets a huge hit with a song called “White and Nerdy.” Look, even without hearing it I can guarantee that it is better than Justin Timberlake.
At some point someone (most likely me) will need to write a piece on Weird Al’s place in music history. The guy hits the Top 10 over 20 years after releasing Eat It and over 25 years since he broke on the scene with I Love Rocky Road. Do you know how few people can have a 25 year recording career? It’s a list of Dylan and Simon and Springsteen and that’s about it. Weird Al is now at the point where he has outlasted nearly every artist that he has parodied. You can’t really call him a one-hit wonder or a novelty act because they don’t last as long as he has. He may be the biggest genius in the smallest niche imaginable. And even more impressive is that he has somehow remained on top of every musical trend and stayed relevant in the mainstream. From Michael Jackson to Nirvana to Crash Test Dummies to Chamillionaire. I’m telling you, we might as well start reserving space in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for him.
(And don’t tell me it would ruin the sanctity of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. First of all, it’s in Cleveland. Second, it’s a sham to begin with as the inductees are friends of Rolling Stone so if it’s going to be a travesty let’s make it the best one possible.)
Topic # 3: Remember how I kept on mentioning last Spring how I was certain that a camera crew was following me and using my life as a basis for the show How I Met Your Mother? And how none of you believed me? Well, I watched my tape of last week’s episode and they showed Barney’s apartment and guess what he had in the living room of his place? A life sized stormtrooper costume. I am now officially freaked out.
I have to hand it to the show tonight for allowing Doogie Howser to hook up with Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. It’s television nostalgia synergy at its finest, plus it allowed for a full discussion of the cougar concept on national television. I also think I know how Robin and Ted will break up but I won’t spoil it for you. Just watch the show (and buy the first season DVD when it comes out in November). Because I really want to see how my life turns out.
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