Johnny Rockstar

Has anyone out there seen Black Snake Moan? The movie is good, damn good, but the soundtrack is absolutely brilliant—mostly hard pounding, soulful blues. I’d say, more than any movie I’ve ever seen, the soundtrack in Black Snake Moan is a character in its own right, and obviously made to be so. It’s not in the background; it’s in the foreground, punctuating scenes and driving the movie forward. I’ll even say it’s probably the best soundtrack I’ve heard since Garden State.

Of course, a big part of the reason I liked it so much is that I enjoy good blues music. A man who knows more about music than I do once said that blues is about a good man living a bad life. I tend to agree with that, and I’d add that because of this, more than other genres, the blues is an extension of the heart and the soul. It’s this visceral quality that appeals to me. Go to a heavy metal concert, or a Phish concert, or a rap concert and you’ll find everyone looks, more or less, the same. But find yourself a good blues bar and you will literally see people from all walks of life coming together for a few hours. But, I digress, the point of this post is just to tell everyone to go rent Black Snake Moan and pay special attention to the soundtrack.

Posted by Johnny Rockstar at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Wedding pictures are up. Because I'm still not sure what I'm doing with pictures here, I put them up over at www.jamros.net. Enjoy.

Posted by Johnny Rockstar at 01:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

According to the AFI, I’ve seen the four greatest movies ever made. Citizen Kane, The Godfather, Casablanca and Raging Bull. I missed 5, 6 and 7 but picked up again on #8 Schindler’s List. In all, I’ve watched 39 of the 100. Curiously, The Erotic Adventures of Hercules seems to have been omitted. Let's all remember to vote for it next year.

If you have the time, it's interesting to compare the top 100 with the original 400 compiled for voting. But then again, if you have the time for that, why not spend it doing something more productive than sitting in front of the computer.

I took the time, and I printed off the list with a new goal in life to watch them all before the next list comes out. All that is except It’s a Wonderful Life. I have a 26-year streak of not watching that movie at Christmas time, and I don’t plan on breaking it now. The first chance to cross one off comes tomorrow night with Kathryn and it’s down to Lawrence of Arabia, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest or The Wild Bunch. What do you think?

Posted by Johnny Rockstar at 04:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

It’s always a bit unnerving to be handed a folder with the word “original” written on the cover.

“Do you want me to make copies?” She asked.
“No, I’ll just be careful,” I said, mostly because I didn’t want to bother her.

Now I’m stuck with the original 21 pieces of glossy, printed paper, full of neat columns that contain words I’d have to go to med-school to understand. I’d rather not even touch them for fear the oil on my fingertips will leave nasty smudge marks. Oh well, I guess I’ll just refill the cup of coffee sitting perilously on the edge of my desk, and then get to work reading.

Posted by Johnny Rockstar at 04:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the very wee hours of the morning, I finally made it back to my apartment. I took the morning off so I could recover from the trip before coming in to work, but I think I actually slept in just a little too long. I have that annoying groggy feeling that comes from sleeping too much. But that will pass soon enough the half day is nice.

It was a fun trip, though I’m sorry I couldn’t see more of you. Time constraints and a busy schedule kept me pretty busy. Hopefully I’ll have more free time next time I come home. I managed to take some decent pictures and will put them up over at www.jamros.net this weekend.

Posted by Johnny Rockstar at 03:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I can’t tell if I’m legitimately sore, out of shape or getting old. We went camping this weekend and today I’m sore and stiff all over. A regular camping trip doesn’t usually leave me this sore, but I don’t think this was a regular trip. We went on a 2-hour cave tour that involved over 700 stair steps, took a few walks wading through the creek and went swimming twice. The second swim also involved climbing up the side of a small cliff numerous times to jump down into the water below. It was certainly more exercise than I’m used to, which was good because there was certainly more food than I’m used to too. Venison stew, brats, cheeseburgers, pancakes, breakfast scrambles, chips and dip, peanuts, Cajun fries, cheese fries, fried green tomatoes and ravioli. And of course, plenty of booze.

Posted by Johnny Rockstar at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

An old man in a tailored suit that probably used to fit, but now hangs loosely around his body stands at the door and takes your money when you come in. He smiles a lot but doesn’t say much. It’s his bar and in his twilight years he is content to simply watch people dance and enjoy the music. Postgraduate students sit and drink with high school dropouts, while the eloquently dressed dance with their friends who can wear nothing but hand-me-downs. For a few hours late at night, under dim lights and blaring blues music everyone is equal. This is my new favorite bar.

My new favorite bar is set up a lot like a very small VFW hall. It has three rows of long tables covered with cigarette-burned, plastic tablecloths. It has bulletin boards on the walls that are decorated in the same style as the ones we used to have in school. And it only serves four kinds of beer: Bud, Busch, Miller and Heineken. Miller only comes in 32 oz bottles, Busch and Bud in 40s and Heineken in the normal 12 oz variety. Want hard liquor? Bring it yourself and order a can of pop and a bucket of ice. Food? The entire menu consists of burgers, fries and chicken wings (order the fries, they’re divine). But the live Blues band was amazing and the tiny dance floor packed with people of all ages and ethnicities. Everyone in the place was friendly. A man spilled his drink so I gave him my napkins. To thank me he bought me a 40. As if that wasn’t enough he later asked me if I needed another. At that point the world was already tinged with the fuzzy filter of a good buzz so I declined. But I did shake his hand on the way out. Good times.

Posted by Johnny Rockstar at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)