A Night Like This
So they say that the first sign of an addict is when they use their substance of choice by themselves. I say that that's a bunch of bullshit, and that said person just wants to chill out a bit without having anyone else bringing them down. That being said...
Last night was AMAZING. Now I'm sure that most of you have heard one of my random "The Smashing Pumpkins are such an amazing band" rants, but here goes another one. For those of you who don't know, the Pumpkins are the reason that I started to play guitar. I have every release, except Gish for some strange reason, but my collection includes all of their B-sides and the box set and everything. I digress.
Anyways, I know that some people don't like Billy Corgan's voice. It's kind of a love it or hate it kind of thing. But, if you are one of those people who really doesn't mind the whininess of his voice, you NEED to listen to some Pumpkins after smoking. What a lot of people don't realize is that their songs are very elaborate. I have music books for Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie, and on most of those songs there are several guitar parts recorded in the mix at some time. That fact isn't that impressive by itself, but what makes it all so amazing is the way that the parts intertwine in the songs. Unless it's solo time, none of the instruments are really in the spotlight, but they're usually doing some pretty cool stuff. They all play parts that sound great in their own rights, but when played together, they harmonize wonderfully. It makes a kind of tapestry of music, if you will. And some of the drumming is just mind-blowing.
Dammit, I keep ranting instead of getting to my point. That point is: If you have an ear for music (i.e., when someone is playing/singing and they hit a wrong note, it has a sound that resembles fingernails on a chalkboard - it actually hurts your ears), and you listen closely to the instruments in a Pumpkins song, you'll probably dig it. If you're stoned when you do this, the intricacies will jump right out at you and you'll be amazed. Last night, I was planning on getting out my guitar and writing some stuff... but by the time I was ready, I was so entranced by the CD I was listening to that I just stared at the computer screen and listened for about an hour.
Some of you may say, "But Brandon! I can't believe you did that! Are you okay?" The answer to this question is, "Yes, I'm actually doing very well." I know that some people, especially those that are anti-(fill in the blank) may be a little bothered by my behavior, or concerned that I am really hurting myself. To put these concerns to rest, here is a little tidbit: Yesterday, I got my Math 216 (That's Differential Equations, for you non-engineer types) exam back. The score? 74/75. I missed a point because of a minus sign. Most people that I know couldn't do that if they were sober all summer. This isn't me trying to brag, but I am just simply making a point: I'm not doing anything that could have a detrimental impact on my performance here at school. It's college, and not only is it college, but is the SUMMER at college. So I don't want to hear any flak from you.
There, I hope I satisfied all of the people who wanted to hear about my shenanigans, and those of you who feel like lecturing me on why said shenanigans are bad, harmful, and morally wrong. Personally, I believe that all of those things are a matter of opinion, anyway. And if it's not my opinion, I don't really care.
Alrighty, everyone. I'm off to make some chili. Yeah, you heard me. And it's gonna be DAMN good.
Last night was AMAZING. Now I'm sure that most of you have heard one of my random "The Smashing Pumpkins are such an amazing band" rants, but here goes another one. For those of you who don't know, the Pumpkins are the reason that I started to play guitar. I have every release, except Gish for some strange reason, but my collection includes all of their B-sides and the box set and everything. I digress.
Anyways, I know that some people don't like Billy Corgan's voice. It's kind of a love it or hate it kind of thing. But, if you are one of those people who really doesn't mind the whininess of his voice, you NEED to listen to some Pumpkins after smoking. What a lot of people don't realize is that their songs are very elaborate. I have music books for Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie, and on most of those songs there are several guitar parts recorded in the mix at some time. That fact isn't that impressive by itself, but what makes it all so amazing is the way that the parts intertwine in the songs. Unless it's solo time, none of the instruments are really in the spotlight, but they're usually doing some pretty cool stuff. They all play parts that sound great in their own rights, but when played together, they harmonize wonderfully. It makes a kind of tapestry of music, if you will. And some of the drumming is just mind-blowing.
Dammit, I keep ranting instead of getting to my point. That point is: If you have an ear for music (i.e., when someone is playing/singing and they hit a wrong note, it has a sound that resembles fingernails on a chalkboard - it actually hurts your ears), and you listen closely to the instruments in a Pumpkins song, you'll probably dig it. If you're stoned when you do this, the intricacies will jump right out at you and you'll be amazed. Last night, I was planning on getting out my guitar and writing some stuff... but by the time I was ready, I was so entranced by the CD I was listening to that I just stared at the computer screen and listened for about an hour.
Some of you may say, "But Brandon! I can't believe you did that! Are you okay?" The answer to this question is, "Yes, I'm actually doing very well." I know that some people, especially those that are anti-(fill in the blank) may be a little bothered by my behavior, or concerned that I am really hurting myself. To put these concerns to rest, here is a little tidbit: Yesterday, I got my Math 216 (That's Differential Equations, for you non-engineer types) exam back. The score? 74/75. I missed a point because of a minus sign. Most people that I know couldn't do that if they were sober all summer. This isn't me trying to brag, but I am just simply making a point: I'm not doing anything that could have a detrimental impact on my performance here at school. It's college, and not only is it college, but is the SUMMER at college. So I don't want to hear any flak from you.
There, I hope I satisfied all of the people who wanted to hear about my shenanigans, and those of you who feel like lecturing me on why said shenanigans are bad, harmful, and morally wrong. Personally, I believe that all of those things are a matter of opinion, anyway. And if it's not my opinion, I don't really care.
Alrighty, everyone. I'm off to make some chili. Yeah, you heard me. And it's gonna be DAMN good.