Dear Friends,
Thursday was a nice day. I thought about Dave a lot, of course, but also settled into a nice relaxing day. We had dinner at Parkside & Main, which we love, and saw Hal and Leo. All was pretty well.
Then the debate started.
I don’t want to get into a long diatribe about it because it can basically be boiled down to a couple of things. Both men are old, but one didn’t seem to be nearly as old as the other. Both men are not always acquainted with the truth or reality, but one, while slow and doddering, is more acquainted with the truth than the other. And, both men, should not be President of the United States come next January.
The worst part about it, the part that made me want to puke, is that it was a very clear and stark realization that there really is no leader of the United States. This is unsettling. Has technology brought us to a point in world history where a human being cannot truly lead other human beings? This is a serious question.
It may be that we are so inundated with information and opportunity that we can’t focus on a person who is a guiding light for us as a collective. Perhaps we need to rethink the entire idea of government. Clearly, we need to rethink the idea of how we develop the leaders of tomorrow.
If men can get up there on TV and look so completely unreliable, albeit in different ways, and these men are the two main candidates for the toughest job in the world, then we are in big trouble with a capital alphabet.
Let that sink in. I know I have been trying for a day and a half now. The results haven’t been good. All I know is that things are going to be very interesting moving forward and it wasn’t just Doug and I that were watching. The whole world saw it.
*****
It also troubles me that this is the example that children will see. It’s been getting harder and harder to hold some children accountable and I get it. Why should they care about anything when clearly the people who they are supposed to look up to and follow can’t be trusted. Explaining concepts like trust and responsibility is hard enough, but with no real, clear-cut examples that everyone can grasp, it’s nearly impossible.
*****
Punk rock continues to give gifts to me, and I appreciate it. The small punk rock community in the world is full of sneaky snakes, but it is also full of great people, too. It’s a microcosm, I know, of what the entire world is…sneaky snakes and wonderful warriors, but I’m glad that I know a lot of wonderful warriors. I feel like I added a new friend yesterday, too, cementing what was more of an acquaintance. It feels good.
*****
I saw what the Suns did on the draft days. I hope they have added some usable pieces and I’m excited to see what the new coach can do. I have no real expectations, though, that joy will be back in Phoenix come basketball season. Part of me still hopes they make some big trades and just re-tool the whole thing. The time is now.
If it were up to me, I would trade Durant and Booker. I know that sounds harsh, but you’re not going to get more for them next year when both of them ask out if things don’t go well. You can’t trade Beal, so the Suns are stuck with him for the next three years. I also tend to think he’s going to play well for them in the coming years, too.
Booker needs to go to a bigger market to satisfy his ego. Durant just needs to go. As great as he is and as much as I was excited when the rumors started that he might come (and then did come) to town, I don’t like watching him play. I’d rather watch a young, scrappy team that might be able to improve and claw their way to a title than watch a bunch of guys who expect to win because of the name on the back of the jersey.
You could probably get some really good young players, a couple of bad but expiring contracts, and a ton of draft capital back for them both. The Suns might not win much this next year, but that’s okay. They aren’t realistic championship contenders right now or next year. This is the cold, hard truth.
*****
It’s funny to think that Frizzle Fry, which I wrote about yesterday, and today’s record came out in the same year. They seem like they come from completely different galaxies.
*****
Sometimes a band name catches your eye or ear, and you have to check them out. As I have mentioned, I used to frequent Eastside Records in Tempe, Arizona when I would wait for traffic to die down before I headed home after classes during the week. In the store, I would over hear the guys talking about different records and I would make mental notes about things that sounded good.
Usually, I would wait and ask Geoff about different things because I knew him the best, but Mike and Ben were cool, too. All the guys at Eastside knew their shit and it was a good place to kill some time, for sure. I think it was on one of these trips that I heard someone talking about a band called Eyehategod.
At first, I thought they must be “I Hate God.” This was bold, I thought, but when I did my research, I couldn’t find them in the “I” section. I was flummoxed, admittedly, and thought I had misheard the name. Maybe it was the name of the record, I thought, and I put it out of my mind. There were enough bands to be found at Eastside to not have to worry about just one with a great name.
A couple of years went by and Eyehategod came into my attention again. This time, I read something in a magazine about them and realized my mistake with their name. It wasn’t a new magazine, just something I was reading at a friend’s house, and I learned about their 1990 record, In The Name of Suffering. It sounded right up my alley.
The first thing that struck me about it when I found a copy at Zia was the heaviness of the CD. It was sludgy and heavy and sounded mean. I liked it immediately. The band sounded as if they were trying to meld the elements of hardcore punk and a Melvins-ish slow, burning power and I just sank my teeth right in.
I’ll also be very honest here and say that I’ve never felt the urge to learn much about the songs or their words or titles. I just put that sucker on and went for it. Over the years I owned the CD, it was a go to record for me to put one when I was in the mood to hear something heavy and evil. I shared it with people who I thought might like it.
I even shared it with my son, Ryan, when he told me he wanted to hear something that was heavy and mean. I hoped he liked it so much, but he gave it back to me. It wasn’t for him, I guess, and that’s okay.
At a party, though, in 2006 someone relieved me of the first CD I had picked up. I went to grab it off the shelf one day for the ride to or from work and it was gone. I wasn’t super surprised by this as it is a great record, and it wasn’t super easy to find in those days. I picked up another copy and all was well. I hope whoever decided they needed it more than I do is happy with their choice.
As I mentioned earlier, I really dig how the guitars work together. One of the guys, and I’m not going to pretend I know their names, plays the super heavy stuff and the other seems to be on a different trip. A lot of the time, the song will be marching along and then, underneath the main mix, there will be a guitar riff that brings in that early 80s hardcore punk element.
“Pigs” has an element of this that I like. I’m probably overstating it a bit. Eyehategod is not some jazzy band, but it’s something I have picked up on all along. It feels like the guitars want to go in different directions, to me, like one wants to go faster but doesn’t. Maybe it is the songs themselves. They are at war with themselves and what happens is beautifully heavy and rad.
I did see Eyehategod once in New Orleans and they were really fucked up. It was right before Halloween in 2000 and they were playing with High On Fire. Maybe it was following High On Fire or they were really wasted, but it was not their best evening. High On Fire blew them away. It was still fun, though.
A few years back, maybe six or seven, I interviewed Mike Williams, too, for a show they were supposed to play here. It ended up getting cancelled, so I don’t think the interview ever ran. I should dig that up and maybe follow it up. Maybe I should run it here.
*****
See you tomorrow.
In the name of suffering...AI style.