You'll never guess what I've been doing today
Go on, guess. Nope, not that. It has to do with music. Close. Give up? I've been listening to Japanese rock bands! I like to poke around Slate everyday, and came upon this interesting article today. It talks about songs by foreign artists you can't buy from iTunes here in the States, and it highlights several Japanese bands. The article praises the Japanese rock scene, favorably comparing bands to well-known English and American acts. Well, I thought I'd check it out, and this is what I found:
1. They're all terribly derivative of American and English bands; and
2. It's hard to listen to rock in a foreign language and get into it.
I don't mean those findings to sound so negative. I heard lots of good music, but not my next great discovery (Rob Crow-led bands is my current one). One band that did impress me, though, is Straightener. These kids write some really good songs. Sure, you could name maybe 12 bands from the last 10 years whose sound they've borrowed from, but it works. They also make some pretty neat videos. Here's a YouTube page with several of their music videos and some concert footage. Check them out! (Especially you, Scarlet and JaG. Oh, and you two should check out a Scottish band called The Fratellis, if you haven't already.) And make sure you watch the video for "Berserker Tune". It's not on that page, but it should come up in the "Related Videos" list for other songs of theirs. It's a really cool video.
As for TV, I haven't been watching that much. I've got quite a DVR backlog since we started working out at nights. Last week's Office and 30 Rock were awesome. I suspect both Ed Helms' and Rashida Jones' characters will be leaving soon from the Scranton Office of Dunder Mifflin. I was able to sneak in Scrubs and 30 Rock because ABC rebroadcast Grey's on Friday. Except my local affiliate pre-empted that with some Billy Graham show, so we missed Grey's altogether! I'm going to try to watch it online, or download it from iTunes. Bummer. Loved the return of Heroes. Eagerly awaiting Lost (did you hear ABC and the producers are talking about setting an end date? That's good news, meaning they can lock down the plot and get things moving.) Haven't watched this week's 24, so don't say anything yet.
As for working out, it's going well. Last week, when I wrote about the Gym Douche of the Week, I totally forgot about who SHOULD have been given that title. Once you hear the story, I'm sure you'll understand how I blocked it from my mind:
I use the locker room at the gym, but only to store my things in a locker. I don't change, I don't shower. If only more men followed this practice. I routinely see naked men wandering around the locker room. Not scurrying for a towel, or quickly putting clothing on. They're just walking around, in no hurry to do anything. (Sadly, according to my wife, there's no similar activities happening in the women's locker room. Thanks for bursting that bubble, Sweetie.)
Most of these guys are a bit older and not in great shape, although I'm not saying it would be better if they were young studs. I mean by that comment that I'm guessing it's some sort of generational thing. The gym is not a means to an end for them, it's a hang out. They don't come to get buff. They have no qualms about standing around naked while having conversations. Maybe they're all gay and treating 24 Hour Fitness like a bath house, but I don't have enough evidence to support that hypothesis. As uncomfortable as this behavior makes me, it does not rise to the level of Douchocity. But one among them has elevated the practice of Douching to an unimaginable height. I walked into the locker room to see a naked man in his 50s drying himself. But he wasn't drying himself with a towel. He was using the hand-blower. Not for his hands, not for his arms, not for his face, not for his chest.
He was drying his taint.
Yes, his motherfucking grundle!! He had his foot raised on top of the blower, directing the air flow betwixt his legs. I rushed past to find a locker, and when I was leaving to go work out, he had switched legs, apparently so that the other, still wet side of his unmentionable connective tissue could be dried. What the hell is wrong with this guy?!?! Even if he only did it in the privacy of his own home, he's got issues I don't want to know about. But here he is, publicly airing out his naughty business (right by the entrance, mind you) for all to see. I don't know that this guy could be topped in the Douchebaggery department. I'll try to keep my eyes out for other candidates, but that would require opening them. ::shudder::
1. They're all terribly derivative of American and English bands; and
2. It's hard to listen to rock in a foreign language and get into it.
I don't mean those findings to sound so negative. I heard lots of good music, but not my next great discovery (Rob Crow-led bands is my current one). One band that did impress me, though, is Straightener. These kids write some really good songs. Sure, you could name maybe 12 bands from the last 10 years whose sound they've borrowed from, but it works. They also make some pretty neat videos. Here's a YouTube page with several of their music videos and some concert footage. Check them out! (Especially you, Scarlet and JaG. Oh, and you two should check out a Scottish band called The Fratellis, if you haven't already.) And make sure you watch the video for "Berserker Tune". It's not on that page, but it should come up in the "Related Videos" list for other songs of theirs. It's a really cool video.
As for TV, I haven't been watching that much. I've got quite a DVR backlog since we started working out at nights. Last week's Office and 30 Rock were awesome. I suspect both Ed Helms' and Rashida Jones' characters will be leaving soon from the Scranton Office of Dunder Mifflin. I was able to sneak in Scrubs and 30 Rock because ABC rebroadcast Grey's on Friday. Except my local affiliate pre-empted that with some Billy Graham show, so we missed Grey's altogether! I'm going to try to watch it online, or download it from iTunes. Bummer. Loved the return of Heroes. Eagerly awaiting Lost (did you hear ABC and the producers are talking about setting an end date? That's good news, meaning they can lock down the plot and get things moving.) Haven't watched this week's 24, so don't say anything yet.
As for working out, it's going well. Last week, when I wrote about the Gym Douche of the Week, I totally forgot about who SHOULD have been given that title. Once you hear the story, I'm sure you'll understand how I blocked it from my mind:
I use the locker room at the gym, but only to store my things in a locker. I don't change, I don't shower. If only more men followed this practice. I routinely see naked men wandering around the locker room. Not scurrying for a towel, or quickly putting clothing on. They're just walking around, in no hurry to do anything. (Sadly, according to my wife, there's no similar activities happening in the women's locker room. Thanks for bursting that bubble, Sweetie.)
Most of these guys are a bit older and not in great shape, although I'm not saying it would be better if they were young studs. I mean by that comment that I'm guessing it's some sort of generational thing. The gym is not a means to an end for them, it's a hang out. They don't come to get buff. They have no qualms about standing around naked while having conversations. Maybe they're all gay and treating 24 Hour Fitness like a bath house, but I don't have enough evidence to support that hypothesis. As uncomfortable as this behavior makes me, it does not rise to the level of Douchocity. But one among them has elevated the practice of Douching to an unimaginable height. I walked into the locker room to see a naked man in his 50s drying himself. But he wasn't drying himself with a towel. He was using the hand-blower. Not for his hands, not for his arms, not for his face, not for his chest.
He was drying his taint.
Yes, his motherfucking grundle!! He had his foot raised on top of the blower, directing the air flow betwixt his legs. I rushed past to find a locker, and when I was leaving to go work out, he had switched legs, apparently so that the other, still wet side of his unmentionable connective tissue could be dried. What the hell is wrong with this guy?!?! Even if he only did it in the privacy of his own home, he's got issues I don't want to know about. But here he is, publicly airing out his naughty business (right by the entrance, mind you) for all to see. I don't know that this guy could be topped in the Douchebaggery department. I'll try to keep my eyes out for other candidates, but that would require opening them. ::shudder::
posted by at 3:09 PM
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