Hold fast to the center

It's been awhile. I've not wanted to come back here after the accident. I can't really explain it. It's kind of like the time my backpack was stolen with my journal in it when I was in college. I stopped writing for years when that happened.

So maybe I'm trying this again or maybe this is a one time thing, I'm not that sure.

One of the last times I quit doing this was after I started going out with Phrank, at that point my sister commented "well now you have nothing to complain about so why do the blog?". Sadly, I think she may have been right.

I'm not that sure if I have that much to complain about any more though. Sure I could complain about how I'm single yet again (and eventually that story will come out), but that gets pretty boring after awhile. And I rarely deal with customers directly anymore, so there isn't that much to mine from that.

Perhaps the deal is now I just feel stagnant and I don't really have any idea where I'm at. So much for a spectacular re-entry into this (I hesitate to say blogging due to that stupid Twix commercial).

But earlier today someone asked for recommendations for emo and shoegazer music. I have no idea what is now considered emo. To me emo is still Texas is the Reason, The Getup Kids and the like. And the granddaddys of that are Fugazi, or at least the first two albums (of course this is all my opinion and I am leaving out quite a bit as far as old school emo). And then there is Hot Water Music which I would still classify as emo but what do I know. To me true emo died sometime in the mid to late nineties.

Shoegazer bands on the other hand are still recording. It started back in the UK with bands like Ride and Slowdive (I know I'm missing something here but I don't care, I grew up in the States and this is what I know). To me the first two Swervedriver albums (Raise and Mezcal Head) really define UK shoegazer music. But then the Scots perfected it when Mogwai hit the scene. And to a lesser extent The Twilight Sad (and yeah, I know I'm skipping a whole lot of UK shoegazer bands). But it gets tricky when you try to put American bands in the mix. I'd thow in Yo La Tengo but they go into so many other paths it's just not right to pigeonhole them as shoegazer. Built to Spill, yeah you could put them in there, and most of the side project like the Halo Benders and the like. Heck at times, Sonic Youth could be thrown in there, but I can hear the grumbles now.

I'm never good at classifying bands into certain genres, it seems most of them drift in or out of any slot they get put in. And it's not like I'm a music critic or anything. But it seems that what could be called shoegazer is what I seem to have the most of. And I still can figure out where to put Death Cab for Cutie. I think they could be both.

See, no whining about my status.