Last weekend I went to a farm in New Jersey and I watched two of my favorite people marry each other behind an old silo. A recurring theme of the toasts at the reception was how the two of them bring out the best in each other, and that's something you hear a lot in toasts like that. The difference was that in this case that old you complete me sentiment is absolutely 100% true. They turn a light on inside each other and you can see it happening. With a lot of other couples in my life —some married and some that will probably marry — I see the opposite, where being around their partner makes them a little duller and a bit less funny or fun, as if the other person has a tranquilizing effect on them. And maybe that's what some people need: someone that will make them more tranquil. I don't profess to know what's best but I know that's not what I want.
Two men have expressed the wish to marry me in my life. The first man later recanted his wish; it was ultimately the right decision and we parted with a lot of respect for each other. The second man proved to be so mentally unstable that I still half-believe he'll show up someday to turn my skin into a suit (for the record I never returned his sentiment). As for my own feelings toward marriage, I'm somewhere between indifference and skepticism. I'm not against the institution and if we all could have what Coach and Tami Taylor have then by all means sign me the fuck up. But between my lamentably short attention span and the impermanence that's characterized most of my life, I have a hard time believing I've got what it takes.
By "what it takes," I mean both the ability to maintain interest in one person for all of my days and the stones to jump in with both feet and believe with my whole heart that it will work. I went to dozens of weddings in my twenties and several of those marriages are over now. If I've learned anything it's that there's absolutely no rhyme or reason as to what lasts. A couple that dated for 6 months beforehand fared no worse than one that had been together for 7 years. When I was younger, hearing about a rash and probably ill-fated engagement would horrify me — I'd think they were making the mistake of their lives. Now I know so many divorced or remarried people that when I hear of two people getting engaged, somewhere inside I just do a standing ovation for their fucking bravery. Have I ever been so sure of anything in my life? These days I'm wondering what good things can possibly come out of caution and safe bets. I'm becoming increasingly averse to risk aversion. Good for them I say, good for all of them.
Little Dragon - Ritual Union
Ricky Nelson - Fools Rush In
Split Enz - History Never Repeats
Department of Eagles - While We're Young
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Boyfriend Rap
My friend Hanna and I totally took some time out of our busy prank-calling schedule to call that Vanilla Ice 900 line back in the day.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
I thought "Nicolas Cage awoken by naked man with Fudgesicle" was the best headline I would read all day, but apparently not. [via Gawker]
Soft Cell - Sex Dwarf
Monday, August 29, 2011
My mother died a year ago today. She loved David Bowie, and dancing, and driving so fast that it scared my high school friends. Her favorite Muppet was Animal and she was probably a lot like him before she quit drinking. She dyed her hair to match mine, she chain smoked and then she quit, I watched her make people laugh so hard they cried, she could go from sunny to squall to hurricane in no time at all, she could be meaner than most people couldn't be if they made twice the effort, she was beautiful, and she tried as hard as she could.
David Bowie - Golden Years
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Testament
by Connie Voisine
The cat wants to be a strong thing—a hand, a tree.
The girl wants to be a pirate, in a tree.
The tree wants to be the pond with its face of shining.
The pond wants to be the sun who dumps its sugar on the grass.
The grass wants to be the foot, its sole, its heel.
The foot wants to be the brain who always gets to choose.
The brain wants to be the feet dumb in their shoes.
The shoe wants to be the buckle that the girl shines with a cloth.
The buckle wants to be the magpie lifting what shines.
The magpie wants to be the egg in the nest touching its brother.
The egg wants to be the feather.
The feather wants to be the mite, devouring its plume.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
This song is dedicated to Natalee Holloway/I feel for her daddy so I wrote this on Father's Day
Is it insulting to say that I'm surprised by the level of female-positivity on this track? Well, except for the part where Game pronounces the women on "Basketball Wives" not cute enough.
Really? They're not cute enough? Nice face tattoo that covers up your old butterfly face tattoo, Game.
I love ya ass like Milhouse love Lisa, I love ya ass like the Ninja Turtles love pizza.
Game ft. Drake - Good Girls Go Bad
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Tiniest Lights from Randy Sterling Hunter on Vimeo.
I went to see Angel Olsen play last night at the behest of another talented Chicago-based singer, Angelina Lucero. Her performance was great and the music had a "ghost of an old country singer" vibe that this video captures really well. I was totally hypa-matized. If you get a chance to see her I highly recommend it.
Angel Olsen - If It's Alive, It Will by batheticrecords
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