Coffee and Bars

Arriving as angst-ridden teenager living in an all male dorm at a Catholic college, I was dealing with a lot of Dawson’s Creek emotions. It was tough to find an adequate outlet that befit my surroundings – it didn’t seem like the group I found myself in didn’t talk too much about personal things. I didn’t want to eat my feelings. Poetry was out. I can’t paint, draw or color within the lines. I don’t know what playing a sport actually feels like aside from the shame it tends to inflict on me. After some time with my new friends, I discovered that boys from the mid-west who play lacrosse (it’s not just a Buick) and vote the wrong way channel their feelings through bands like Bayside. “Trying to win approval from people that I don’t know. I look so strong when the weight of all the world don’t take its toll. I’d choose my side if I believed in what was right, but I’m all wrong.” Drinking Natty Light and playing Mario Kart with the guys while listening to Bayside, the Samples, and DMB helped me understand that they feel as vulnerable and insecure as the rest of us, they just work through it differently. If nothing else, Bayside saved me from obesity.
mp3 download:Bayside – They Looked Like Strong Hands (Acoustic Version)

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Spoon is generally either a utensil I use to eat cereal or an action to keep me warm post-coitus. But it can do so much more when it comes in the form of a band. “Don’t Make Me a Target” lends itself to bouncing up and down, drenched in sweat and whatever well drink has spilled on you in the middle of the 9:30 Club. It lets you merge with the crowd and go completely counter-culture: to be ok with not being an individual. There are times when you want to avoid interacting with people, places, and things with you at the center without hoping someone will notice you’re down and out. Don’t Make Me a Target: to blend out of the scene – without being considered uninterested, haughty, sullen or full of self-pity. No one is special all of the time.
mp3 download:Spoon – Don’t Make Me a Target

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When dancing, I am usually incapable of finding the beat or following the rhythm – which is too bad, because I love to dance. “The Longest Road” is one of those songs whose greatness lies in a steady beat, a feat most sailors long for (offensive). This dance number doesn’t get fancy (which is generally when I start to second guess myself and start dancing like an adderall-ridden ferret) but keeps the listener engaged in its simplicity. That simplicity offers me the chance to express myself without letting on that were another beat layered in, people might assume I were having a seizure on the dance floor.
mp3 download:Morgan Page – The Longest Road (Deadmou5 Remix Radio Edit)

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Lil Wayne is a lyrical genius. I’m serious. While this song isn’t the best example of his abilities as a wordsmith, it fits in with the theme of this post: how we express ourselves varies as much as Snookie’s tan. “I pick the world up and I’m a drop it on your fuckin’ head.” Don’t we all feel like that sometimes? It can be scary stuff when it’s coming from a guy whose entire body is covered in tattoos. Even his eyelids. While should never actually pick the world up (even a globe, most of those are made with very thick material) and bash it on someone, this is a great song to run to; it’s full bodied, it’s raw and, most of all, it’s angry.
mp3 download:Lil Wayne – Drop The World (feat. Eminem)

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Beck. Beck is the warden of a jail. He displays rectitude in his structured beats while managing chaos inside. It’s a gift people are learning is essential to daily life. “Time Bomb” has the cheery makings of a pop song but is more disturbing than Kate Gosselin’s hair (though nowhere near as offensive or disturbing). “I got a time bomb. I got a time bomb. na na na na” sounds like something your primary school gym teacher would chant while trying to get you to play dodgeball (also disturbing) without realizing what he’s singing. But what “Time Bomb” represents is that whether you harp melodically to acoustic, blend in without motive, shake it out or run it off – we’ve all got to find a way to work through our shit. Na na na na.
mp3 download:Beck – Time Bomb

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Thank you Mark for doing the C&B guest post this week…great songs! If anyone has some songs or a theme they’d like to share with the world let me know, guest posts are always welcome!

Tags: Bayside, Beck, Deadmou5, Eminem, Lil Wayne, Morgan Page, remix, Spoon