I get high with a little help from my friends (420)

It’s April 20th, 4-20 (in English you say the month 1st as opposed 2 Spanish, when you’d say 20 de Abril, 20-4), sooo official Marijuana day. In the US they just say “Happy 420” though. Dunno where else it’s “celebrated”. Perhaps mostly English speaking countries? Wikipedia cites the US, Canada & New Zealand.

Synonyms for marijuana
- The ones I’ve heard most are: Weed, Pot, Reefer, Dope, Ganja, Herb, Doobie, Bud, Mary Jane, grass, Cannabis, Cheeba, Chronic, Joint, Spliff, Roach, Bong, Bowl
- List contains some interesting terms though, such as: Buddha, Alaskan Thunderfuck & Canamo Indio (I’m guessing these are varieties) Rainy Day Woman (a nod 2 the Bob Dylan song of the same title, see below : ); Texas Tea, Hocus Pocus, Whacktabacky, Sweet Lucy…
- My additions: snoochie boochies (did Kevin Smith’s “Jay & Silent Bob” make this up? Think I only heard it from them, green yuckies & shois (coined by a friend who shall remain nameless).

I use “weed”. There are also various adjectives used to describe someone who has smoked. I use “stoned”.

Anyways a lot of people like weed, a lot of artists like weed, & artists make art about things they like. So there are a lot of songs about weed. Here are some.

- “Marijuana”, Cibo Matto
- “Marihuana boogie”, Manu Chao
- “Mary Jane”, The Vines Nice dreamy tune for going to sleep
- “Cannabis”, Cornelius
- “Cannabis”, Serge Gainsbourg
- “Lou Weed”, Dandy Warhols ** one of my fav songs by one of my fav bands
- “Smokin the herb again”, Incubus
- “Smoke”, Blend
- "Smoke it", Dandy Warhols
- “Hashpipe”, Weezer
- “Let's get stoned”, Children of Judah ** fucking ace. Came to know it via Down to the bone
- “Stoned”, Silverchair from the "Mallrats" (Kevin Smith) OST
- “Fly guy trap (The perfect high)”, The Fly Guys
- “High times”, Jamiroquai **
- “Because I got high”, Afroman (although I hate this song & wish it didn’t exist)

But I would not feel so all alone
Everybody must get stoned
- “Rainy day woman” #12 & 25, Bob Dylan (epic)

The police chief & I got soul to soul
The police chief & I got slowly stoned
- “God’s cop”, Happy Mondays

Deep inside I’m on my own & I can’t see straight
Deep inside I’m so stoned I can’t see straight
- “Deep inside”, Incubus (Also one of my fav songs by one of my fav bands. I even put it on the mix CD I mailed to Daniel Johns when I was 17...LOL)

All the faces I love their skin as soft as leprosy
I'm bored out of my mind & I'm too stoned lazy to see
- “Bored outta my mind”, Manic Street Preachers (leprosy huh? Typical MSP mentioning awful things...loves it :P)

It's 1969 in my head
I just wanna have no place to go
I'm livin' through the sound of the dead
I'm gonna get stoned look round at my soul
- “1969”, The Vines (they are such st0nerz)

I get by with a little help from my friends
I get high with a little help from my friends
- “With a little help from my friends”, The Beatles (legendary)

Say at the speed of Cheeba, oh you & I go deeper
Maybe I'll have to get high to get by, hey
- “Space cowboy”, Jamiroquai (another famous toker)

Well, I really think you should quit smoking
- (audio sample @ the end of) “How does it make you feel?”, Air

Of course there are 1000 others. The Dandy Warhols & Happy Mondays alone have tons more I’m certain. & I didn't put anything en Español. But I’m too ~st0ned~ to finish this post. Just kidding. To be honest: I wish I wasn’t, though : P

Movies: Dazed & Confused, Dude where’s my car, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, 24 hr party people, DiG!, Half Baked
TV: Weeds, That 70s Show, 21 Dias Fumando Porros (documentary from Spain where a young female journalist smokes 21 days 2 see what happens. I downloaded but haven't watched yet. She's done 21 days with a bunch of other experiences such as living on the street or without money or something & not eating. I'm under the impression she's one of those media personalities you either love or h8...in Spain anyways. Btw ppl who speak Spanish: yes, they say porroS en España, ja)
Bonus: Did you know Alanis Morrissette is a huge stoner? I totally didn’t see that one coming. She did an interview with THC (or was it High Times?) magazine going on about how important it is to talk to your plants & stuff. Bc she grows & everything.

1st impressions of music

Sometimes with the internet you find out what someone is doing/listening 2/etc. The other day I learnt Paco was listening to “Turn on, tune in, cop out” by Freak Power. OMG. I had forgotten that existed. Brings back memories. Of when I was 1st getting in2 music, or something. When I was 9-10 I watched MTV a lot, both b4 & after moving from the US 2 Argentina. I remember the huge difference. American MTV was full of vids by black artists. @ the moment there was TLC, Boys II Men, Brandy, Mary J Blige. Here, little 2 no black ppl
so 0 black artists on MTV.

So yeah. Maybe I wanted 2 be cool, older, different or something. I watched MTV all the time during 1995. None of my classmates did, as far as I can recall. & I’ve always had good memory so my mind registered many songs & artists. I can name things that were on rotation then. “Tomorrow”, by Silverchair, whose lead singer I totally fancied : ) & he was only sixteen! The “Runaway train” (Soul Asylum) boy was cute as well. “Seether” by Veruca Salt. “Everything gel” by Collective Soul. “When I come around”, Green day. “White lines” by Duran Duran. Azul Violeta. Los Tres. Los Rodriguez. Café Tacuba. Aterciopelados. Van Halen. BON JOVI (Cali & I had a crush on him, how did we find out?) “High & dry” by Radiohead. “Stupid girl” by Garbage, “Army of me”, Bjork. Dione Faris. Dave Matthews Band. Hootie & the Blowfish. Natalie Merchant. I could go on : ) Ruth Infarinato was a VJ then. & this song by Freak Power was also playing @ the time. I would watch The Top 20 Countdown every Friday night & 4 a while adopted the habit of writing down the songs & their positions. I recall my brother once asking me “What are you doing that 4?” & I was like “Dunno”.

In 1996 I stopped watching MTV completely & got in2 children’s TV shows such as Chiquititas & then some of the music that was called commercial bubblegum pop such as the Spice Girls & Hanson. & I only listened 2 that 4 a several years. It was only when I started watching MTV again in 1999 & happened 2 hear the VJ announce that the Australian rock trio Silverchair had just released their 1st single in a really long time. I was like “NO WAY”. I am dead srs when I say that a few days earlier I had been wondering what had become of the Australian kids in the video w/ the the blonde long-haired cutie & the pig boy.



Subsequently the “Anthem for the year 2000” video was aremiered. I became a Silverchair fan. They were my gateway 2 everything else, I think. & that’s how I got in2 good music. Or perhaps just picked up where I had left off a few years earlier.

This is how we feel

- “If I ever feel better”, Phoenix. Reminds me of Ezequiel bc he was the 1st to recommend the band/album
- “Ringo (I feel like…)”, Custard ***** Check this, it’s very fun & you probably haven’t heard. Nyssa
- “Dr Feelgood”, Motley Crue. Reminds me of Madison bc they covered it a few times I saw them live
- “Dolor + miedo”, Lucas Marti (Dolor más miedo combinan lo que siento) BTW: video directed by Ezequiel
- “I feel a little spaced out (Ando meio desligado)”, Os Mutantes. But the original version in Portuguese is better, I think
- “Once & never again”, Long Blondes (I know how it feels to be your age & feel the world is caving in). Reminds me of Andrew bc we saw them live in Paris XXème
- “The Couples”, Long Blondes (I used to come here to have a good time, but I could feel like this at home). Andrew bc we saw them live in Paris XXème
- “Stellar”, Incubus (How do you do it? Make me feel like you do). Reminds me of Dani
- “I feel fine”, Beatles. Nyssa
- “Feel good inc”, Gorillaz. Tegan
- “Do you feel the same?”, silverchair. Jazzin
- “The way you make me feel”, Michael Jackson. Kelley
- “Electric feel”, MGMT. Agus de Llano
- “Head on”, Pixies (Makes you wanna feel, makes you wanna try, makes you wanna blow the stars from the sky). Esteban

- “How could anybody possibly know how I feel?”, Morrissey
- “No surface all feeling”, Manic Street Preachers (inspired by Richey? Bc he was ; )
- “Feels just like it should”, Jamiroquai
- “Feelin’ so good”, Jennifer Lopez ; )
- “I feel just like a child”, Devendra Banhart
- “Cum on feel the noize", Slade
- “I feel good”, James Brown
- “Me haces sentir”, Turf. Kata
- “La rambla”, Los Perros Salvajes or Los Abuelos de la Nada, dunno (Me siento solo, sin un amor, me siento solo, bajo la rambla estoy)
- “Feeling so strange again”, the Wolfhounds. Richey
- “I feel so”, Boxcar racer
- “Feelings”, Caetano Veloso
- “It feels alright”, Grouper. Eliot
- “Feel it all around”, Washed out. Eliot

Alsooo
- “Joga”, Björk (You don’t have to speak, I feel emotional landscapes)
- “Smells like teen spirit”, Nirvana (I’m worst at what I do best & for this gift I feel blessed)
- “Deeper”, Madonna (All is fair in love she said, think with your heart not with your head). Cali & Tegan, but this song's going to get it’s own post, bc there is a ~story~
- “Comforting lie”, No Doubt (Admission’s so embarrassing, I’m on the verge of tears again). Alyssa Spencer - I wonder where/how she is nowadays
- “President of what?”, Death cab for cutie (Nothing hurts like nothing @ all). Rafael Cosme

Album: “Feels”, Animal Collective
Band: The Feels
Genre: Emo

&&&
“Emotional rescue”, “Mixed emotions”, Rolling stones
“Sweet emotion”, Aerosmith
“Emotion sickness”, silverchair
“Emotion”, Daft punk
“Private emotion”, Ricky Martin ; )
“19th nervous breakdown”, Rolling Stones



Img1: from Nyssa. Img2: Richey's writing, think it came from here

I could be... (Sombras y Jueves Jodido)

Both of these me hacen doler el esternón, as Paco would say. That means they make my sternum hurt, & it's a good thing. I think only music can do it. I've been meaning to write about this feeling. Among sooo much other stuff.

"Shadows" is one of my fav tunes everrr by Rufus Wainwright, from my fav album of his: "Poses" (his 2nd). I read somewhere that the song has a funky feel, but I wouldn't know since I'm shit when it comes 2 classifications. This is also one of my fav Rufus pix.

"Las sombras han ganado" is one of my 2 fav tracks from Banda de Turistas' debut "Mágico corazón radiofónico". A young (very young, like super early 20s) indie sensation, they were the next big thing in 2008 or so. Their 2nd album came out last year but I prefer the 1st.

On another note, my Thursday was Full of Fail. Jueves Jodido. I felt kinda "Tuna in the brine" by Silverchair. But essentially I need to cut the "Just" by Radiohead crap ASAP. It's, like, soOoOo passé.

Oh wait, I had this dream where I got on the 95 bus. MM (who is really pretty & has nice, long hair) was there & she got offended bc I didn't say hello. Then she patted me on the head & was like "I intimidate you, don't I? Awww, that's so cute". Then AR was on the bus too & I thought "O FUX" bc I used 2 like him but nowadays he's pretty annoying & unfriendly 2 run in2. I guess seeing him made me nervous bc I dropped this cardboard box I was holding. The dream also involved a swamp, Pool, Cande Muro & a birthday. Today was Silvana Moreno's btw XD HAPPY HAPPY!!!

Who will keep
Keep me in this evening
Even though
They are not here with me

I could be a great star
Still I'm far from happy

Finally
Feel the world around me
Fighting through
Fighting through the whiskey

Out of these shadows
Comes the light
Shadows comes the light

You will keep
Keep me in this evening
Even though
You are not here with me

I could be...
- "Shadows", Rufus Wainwright



Con el despertar amargo
vuelvo a sentir el piso
siempre busqué el aire
y nunca encontré
a nadie

Dada tu inquietud amable
pensé en algo brillante:
que puedas ser rentable
y que nadie te acompañe
hasta mí

Tanto tiempo ahí sentado
pensando que podría estar
pasando

Mejor me hubiese dedicado
a las sombras o a al
ganado
Y el ganado preferí
- "Las sombras han ganado", Banda de Turistas

It's true I'm drowning in a jar of vinegar; Miss Europa Disco Dancer & iPod shuffle love

@ my house word has it that vinegar helps burn fat. So some ppl are putting it on everything. I used to put vinegar -regular or balsamic- on salad but right now I’m not digging either one. My favorite condiments of the moment, what I put on everything, are ginger & curry. I guess you could say soy sauce & sweetener too, but I’ve always liked those.

-

On another note, isn’t it the best when iPod shuffle picks the best songs? Either the best 1st song to start with right after you turn it on & start whatever you’re gonna do, or an excellent succession in general. It makes me feel like life is smiling @ me. I guess it’s not the same 4 this 2 happen when you have 180gb of memory as it is when you only have 2gb. I’ve got 8gb –btw I don’t know what possessed me 2 think that was enough- & I feel especially lucky when it happens. Once I was talking 2 this girl & I said part of my good day had been that iPod had picked a rly awesome song selection 4 me while @ the gym. She was like “You can choose the songs you wanna listen 2, you know?” I should have replied “You are dull & clearly have no magic in your life, you know?” LOSER. Jesus!

Well, today I stepped out the front door into the sunshine & the first song iPod Shuffle picked for me was “Miss Europa Disco Dancer” by MSP which admittedly is quite LOLZ-y but my song of the moment. ♫ It's poetry, sheer poetry, the way you destroy your beauty... ♫

It makes me think of Nicky Wire in a tiara. There are many photos of that but I’m too lazy to look. I started wishing I had MSP fan friends in real life to make a video of us dancing in tiaras, twirling around holding tulles, with a disco ball overhead & this song playing in the background.

Next to come on was “Miss you love” by silverchair & then “Rock classics Vol I” by Rinocerose. Not bad @ all. & thenI arrived where I was going.

The image in this post was made by Nyssa’s boyfriend-bestfriend Dan, who I used to talk to sometimes too, & who was a stone fox as well.

Jam your brain with broken heroes

Find your faith in your security
All broken up at seventeen
Jam your brain with broken heroes
Love your masks & adore your failures
- "Stay beautiful", Manic Street Preachers

Progressive rock: Yes, etc

So a while ago I downloaded a few albums from the 1st Progressive Rock post on Romo's Taringa page.



- "Trilogy", Emerson, Lake & Palmer -- bc I like the name of the band
- "Thick As A Brick", Jethro Tull -- bc I'd only heard the LP Aqualung & wanted 2 hear more
- "Red", King Crimson -- bc the band worked with producer David Bottril who did Silverchair's "Diorama"
- "The Sky Moves Sideways", Porcupine Tree -- bc Jazzin & Tute were often listening 2 this group
- "Close To The Edge", Yes -- bc I'd heard a bunch of loose songs by them & really dug

Gotta admit I'm pretty shit when it comes to musical genres/classifications so I wasn't/am still not quite sure what Progressive rock is. Alas my favorite songs out of the lot are

- "The sheriff", Emerson, Lake & Palmer
- "One more red nightmare", King Crimson -- makes a nice combination w/ "Red sleeping beauty" by Mccarthy, imo : )
- "Close to the edge", Yes

Speaking of which...often when reading books I underline stuff that I like then copy it somewhere or type it up, especially if it's something I've borrowed. Well, a couple of years LokarX had lent me this book about punk rock, I think more specifically about the Clash, & among other stuff I copied these

"...post-hippie teenagers still sitting cross-legged on the floor as though they were watching Yes..."

"A declining post-colonial nation in a state of terminal identity confusion"

So when Yes is concerned, I always recall that 1st quote, & think of long haired kids sitting indian style wearing bell-bottoms, headbands & stuff like that. It's a nice image : )

This is how we feel

- Daniel Johns circa 1997

How to disappear completely & never be found again

15 years ago today, Richey Edwards of the Manic Street Preachers vanished without leaving a trace. So, another post in his honor.

Recently I spent nearly a month in Germany. During this time my “interest” in MSP/Richey didn’t decline, it actually remained quite strong despite being permanently exposed to alternate sources of stimuli. I was pondering this (while listening to MSP) when a question arose in my head: “AM I BECOMING COR?” COR = (a member of the) Cult Of Richey. You can probably figure out that means a MSP fan obsessed w/ Richey. It must be noted that CORs have a bad reputation (& are often ridiculed) for doing things to copy their idol, who had some pretty dangerous habits.

Anyways, some things that happened while abroad.

* I listened to MSP all the time & had some of their songs/lyrics in my head constantly. But in 95% of the cases, they were Richey songs/lyrics. From when he was around (albums Generation terrorists & Gold against the soul. Not The holy bible, I’d had my THB phase before) or written w/ his lyrics (album Journal for plague lovers). & when the songs weren’t his, they were about him (such as “Cardiff afterlife”).

* @ the ashram, I thought about how back when Richey was last around (94-95), yoga/meditation/breathing techniques were nowhere nearly as widespread as nowadays. What if he had come into contact w/ them? In short: would they have made any difference @ all? Independently, what would he have thought of all that stuff?

* A photo of Richey (thx Kelley) stuck in my journal as can be seen in this snap taken on the Berlin Ring-Bahn @ like 1am after drinks w/ Eva, Olivier & Ahmed.



* Someone bought me vodka orange @ Kaffe Burger. They offered me a drink, I said “Sure, what r u having?” They said vodka orange, I said I’d have the same. But I was all “RICHEY!!!!!!!!!11” Didn’t say it aloud but I thought it & drank in his honor. Bc that was his favorite.

* @ Mysliwska in Kreuzberg, I saw this

& thought UM, LOOKS LIKE RICHEY. Does he rly resemble Richey, or am I tripping? I went 2 ask the bartenders who this dude was. I heard: Zbigniew Cybulski (wrote it in my ~notebook~, of course I cannot remember that spelling), Polish actor. [Polski friends, do u know him?] L8r I googled & found out he was like the Polish James Dean & that he died @ 40, run over by a train on the way home from a shoot : ( Also, he looked nothing like Richey, it’s just that one picture (& in my opinion). You need to have seen certain photos/vids of Richey to observe a similarity, as well. What I mean is, for instance, this Cybulski looks nothing like the image in my notebook. Get it?

* One night I went out w/ Viktor Dragon, my friend Cali’s sister, who was also in Berlin. I had never spent time w/ her one-on-one but we were getting along. Anyways, we drank & I ended up talking about MSP & Richey (among many other things)…for…a…long…time. Believe me folks, I can talk. I’m a Gemini! Especially after some drinkz. Especially about musicians, boys & some other thingz. Part of my discourse probably went something like this: “Have u heard ART BITCH by Cansei de ser sexy? Maybe Richey was a little like that. Studied History in college, graduated @ the top of the class, super intellectual, spent all the time reading, l8r named authors in his lyrics (Miller, Mailer, Plath, Pinter, Chomsky, etc), knew all about politics & also discussed them in his songs, etc (*)”. SRY VIK, I hope you didn’t die of boredom.

* I heard these guys talking in a hostel lobby & was like SRY BUT R U FROM WALEZ?! (MSP are Welsh) & they were from Australia. But…I srsly thought they were Welsh. How was this mistake possible? I am (somewhat?) familiar w/ the Aussie accent. I was obsessed w/ silverchair (Australian band) for years! I have met, befriended & interacted w/ Aussies for months on end. I watched every episode of every season of Australia's Next Top Model, dammit!!!11 I srsly thought this was Welsh! Like...I listened hard & it sounded sooo much 2 me like Richey when he spoke in the vids I'd seen on YouTube. O well.

So: obsessed or not? The line between the two is always a thin one, hm? Enough for now though. Happy February all.

(*) James Dean Bradfield, vocalist of MSP: "I would think I was being intelligent just by reading a novel that none of my friends had read before, but sometimes (Richey) was just, reading like, the teachings of the 8th Pope." THAT'S FIERCE.