Plainly Spoken

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rock & roll hotel washington, dc. by marvin joseph.

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title. manifestations of angst. or boredom... (part 1).

it was a relatively cool night for may in d.c. despite the metro's running as scheduled, i was late (mostly from battling the city's fare card slot machines, where, just like vegas, the house always wins). $10 bucks and 30 pulled-out hairs later, i was running down an escalator to meet the closing doors of my hitch to union station. waiting time? 9 minutes.

great. i sit down on a gummy bench to standby in solidarity with my fellow commutees, alike in our victimhood to public transit. 

finally, the rumbling of the 21st century's equivalent of a camel caravan produced from the belly of the labrynth my ride in not-so-shiny armor. but hey, what can you expect the only city in america forced to draw funds from the metaphorical coffee can tucked snugly under uncle sam's mattress? answer: not much.

let's face it, if wmata survives 24 hours without a fire, it's been a good day.

i find an empty richard nixon-orange seat, plop down, and flip on psych-up music for what will prove to be my best experience in the nation's capital thus far: singles 2007-2010, by ty segall.

and with that, i'm on my way to the rock & roll hotel to see twin peaks of chicago, il and eagulls of the u.k.

like i said, i'm late, but it was no worry. the show was late too apparently. so i took an eye-opening stroll down the (unbeknownst to me) infamous home of civil rights riots with its less-than desirable acclaim, famous for its extracurriculars, not its academics. 

a quick stop at cvs for some gum and cash-back and a quickstep through memorial square. martin luther king junior, duke ellington, rosa parks... and a few other black figureheads i failed to recognize stood iconocized in tile on the parks far retainment wall, staring out over homeless men, prostitutes and gangbangers, weeping into the fountain below their hanging heads.

the venue was much cooler than expected. i climbed its creaky stairs one flight one too many to walk-in on the bands pre-gaming for their upcoming performances. liquor, women and illicits, affirming once again that legendary rock-and-roll lifestyles very much exist.

slightly embarrassed, and yet sightly tempted to play myself as a roadie, I finally decided to head back down to where i belonged: standing akwardly across from twin peaks' merch man. 'take it easy pal,' i thought to myself. 'if your boys sound anything like they do in studio, i'll be back to buy post headbanging sesh.'

next step: evening drink. the cheapest beer on tap that wasn't pbr? yuengling. done deal. 

and just like that, i was ready for the show. the only question was, 'were they?'

tags. #twinpeaks #eagulls #rockandrollhotel #washington #dc #hstreet #tysegall #garagerock #angst #boredom

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wampire @ treefort music fest, by peter dervin.

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the hearse, by wampire. on curiosity. polyvinyl records.

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eagulls, live in the u.k.

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yellow eyes, by eagulls.

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tonstartssbandht. 

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my band to love vicariously through was out there all along. just took pitchfork to find it.

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radiohead. 1986 sessions.

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bloom, by radiohead.

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beat connection.

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title. one of those days

i'm having one of those days. and for whatever reason, people aren't the fix. all i feel i can turn to is the solace of these blaring headphones.

music.

sweet, deep, spacious music that makes me dream of a future where all is good... light... whole.

i may be an introvert, but this? it's more, it's... deeper, and more meaningful than a psychoanalyst's diagnosis for desiring loneliness. yes, i believe humans are naturally relational. in fact, i know i'm relational, somewhere, deep down. i know it because i can't deny the men of history were all, at one point or another, isolated. even Christ hung alone on His cross. its what drove them to greatness, whether that was great good, or great evil, or perhaps somewhere in between.

and i know it because i know my need for those i love. my family, my girlfriend, my closest of friends. they're my security. my vulnerability. they alone can provide for the needs to them alone i express, heal the wounds to them alone i reveal.

so, call this for what it is, a cry for help? an expression? a revelation? this is me feeling isolated, alone, feeling the push to greatness. great good or great evil i still don't know.

tags. #help

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jamie xx. house party.

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sleep sound. by jamie xx. check out my playlist, ethereal, here.

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steve jobs.

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title. internet paradiso

living away from your girlfriend can be a trying period of self-revelation. i've been forced to combat the schedulelessness of days alone in a new city with few friends and 'low social support.' over the course of the last few weeks i've learned to explore submerged interests of mine i suppose i've denied in the names of love and school.

but here i am, sitting at Kaldi's, two-finger touch-typing a blog post about the world of web and tech i've stumbled link after suggestion after link, deeper and deeper into. i feel like a virtual caped crusader drawing highs off encrypted texts, command line programming, and deep web penetrations. i've even taken to setting my internet forays to theme music (your welcome for the free playlist suggestion):

feel it all around — washed out

did you have to — jagwar ma

fall underneath — snakadaktal

reach lines — chad valley

so good at being in trouble — unknown mortal orchestra

colours to life — temples

dojo rising — cloud control

the other side of mt. heart attack — liars

dreamers — savoir adore

cannons — youth lagoon

palace garden, 4 am — beat connection

i've become obsessed by (yes, bloggers can use proper english, meaning 'obsessed by', not 'obsessed with') youtube vlogs, marathoning cnet reviews and lifehacker tutorials in a crazed resource research binge in preparation of the coming terabyte apocalypse.

i finally understand the consumer culture! from tablets to online subscriptions to snazzy retro skullcandy headphones, i've built up an insatiable desire to bankroll my paychecks straight to paypal for purchases on a web wednesday, or tech thursday, or free-shipping friday, or savvy saturday... you get the point. for everyday of the week i can concoct an excuse to make a purchase within my price-point after a good, long, and hard cyber search.

but i don't, and i can't, because i have to have priorities. whether its my copy of punch fear in the face, the latest convicting Bible verse i've stu,bles across, or my mint app, i thankfully have plenty to remind me that i'm just one of the 99%, that i'm saving to get married, and that i probably don't need a bluetooth speaker shower head, even if i want one really really badly!

even without burning a whole through my virtual wallet, its still a good life. stumbling pages, wish-listing gadgets and gizmos, and bookmarking fun freebies to fill time spent in a world not our own. sure, its probably the 21st century's version of escapism, but an afternoon dedicated to stumbleupon and sipping coffee while jacking that poor establishment's wifi has to be considered harmless relative to our parents ways of losing themselves: banging back beers, shooting up, and dosing down.

that's not to say the internet isn't a breeding ground of pass-time passivity and buffered apathy—it is. but, its also a place to come together, to connect, to share. its a free university, a limitless library card, and a concert hall hosting any and every artist, at any and every time, any and everywhere. its a place to practice civic activism, hacking for the common good, reviewing the world we live in and the products we consume for the benefit of all, and pedaling projects people care about.

and that's not mentioning the economic 'big bang' the online shopping cart spawned. internet-based companies are forming everyday, offering products and services at unbeatable prices, while employing real people and offering real benefits! whether its your warby parkers or latest amazon purchase, the internet's probably sitting in your closet, or on your desk—you may even be wearing it! 

the point remains, this world, the other world, a world for some of us, penetrates and shapes the world of all of us. its morphed our physical landscape with its inspiration for sophisticated design and diy how-to's. its created cultures of collaboration, intermixing music, art, and lit scenes the world over. its changed the very essence and meaning of time. and its shrunk the world to pocket-sized.

this is an amazing world, the virtual world. one i want to be a part of shaping, one i want to share with everyone: for the common good. and sure, that may be because i'm a product of the y-generation: a tech-based idealist who sees tomorrow as an unprecedented mix of retro traditionalism and futuristic progressivism. aren't we all products of our generation?

i say we are. and so this is me, wasting away a saturday in a cafe, surrounded by people i have no intention of talking to, preaching to the blog-choir about self-discovery and closet techiedom, boldly believing i can change the world with the click of a mouse over a cup of coffee in this internet paradiso.

tags. #internet #paradise #kaldi #spotify #codeschool #skullycandy #stumbleupon #codeforamerica #warbyparker #amazon #web

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jeremy riddle. for the sake of the world.