Copy Control?

I just got Dave Matthews' Some Devil. I love this guy. DMB is a fine example how to make music sound so simple when it is actually so complicated. It took my band ages to figure out Ants Marching and that was one of the easiest songs. It's quiet a feat as well to find Dave Matthews' solo album here, since it's always late and they usually only get like 5 copies for the whole country. Wow, I am one of the lucky five!!

Anyway, when I went back to my car I put the CD in my CD player. Guess what? Nothing came out of the speaker. I had the same problem with Muse's Absolution. What a shame. My car is from 2001, but the CD player must be from 1987 or something. It can't read some copy controlled CDs and no CDRs as well. Maybe I should get a new CD player. Or a new car. But then I have to fix my car first. Oh well, I can use my portable CD player and hook it up in my car. Just to listen to Dave Matthews. Consider the fact that I only drive about 10 minutes per days, this idea is absolute bonkers. Oh well, I'll just listen to it here at work. Not much to do anyway.

This whole aftermath of the US F1 GP is still going on. I try to point out that Schumi passed Panis after a yellow flag, although not the same yellow flag as seen on tv. Posted it on the F1 mailing list and what I get back is "Whatever dude. Schumi did pass Panis before the yellow flag". How does he know that? I got my information first hand from somebody who was actually there, sitting in the rain at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And this dude who saw it on telly and a couple of pics thinks he knows better. I know it's not gonna change the result, I'm just fed up with these inconsistencies.

"Can I have a cigarette?"

Some people are really prolific when it comes to writing their blogs. Me, I'm just lazy. Everytime I log on, I have thousands of ideas to write, but when it comes to the keyboard only three paragraphs come out. Or maybe I have problems turning those ideas into words. Maybe? Probably.

Michael Schumacher won the US GP yesterday. It was a great race, unfortunately Schumi won it. Had it been Raikkonen or Montoya or Alonso then it would've been a classic. But because it was Schumi, it is business as usual. It'll be his 6th world title in two weeks time. I'm so bored of him, a lot of people are so bored for him. He should retire. I wouldn't miss him. He's just like Manchester United (and both are sponsored by Vodafone). The people with a real passion for the sport will hate them, while normal w*nkers will support them because they always win.

Friday I went clubbing with some people who I don't really know well. But you won't say no if there's a hot Swedish blonde in the group. Saturday cemented Dazed and Confused as one of my Top 10 movies.

"I need a drink".

Identity

I watched Identity yesterday. Before, I never saw any trailers or read any reviews. All I knew was that John Cusack and Ray Liotta is in it and that it is supposed to be a good movie. Let me tell you that the best way to watch a movie is without knowing anything about the movie. The element of surprise you might get is just higher.

The story starts with a convicted killer getting a re-hearing before his execution because his shrink has evidence that he suffers from multiple personalities. The shrink thinks that he can kill the personality that made the murders thus saving the world from another execution. What he didn't know is which personality is the killer.

What we get to watch is how 11 strangers are locked in this motel in the middle of nowhere and suddenly one by one dies strangely. At first it's the typical whodunit/psycho thriller movie. But after two/thirds of the movie, we see what it is all about. It's a battle of identities, of personalities, within someone's mind. And as Darwin theory goes, only the strong will survive.

If you want to read an in-depth analysis of this movie, go to metaphilm. There is a good article about the meaning of this movie.

I need to do more on my social skills. Saturday a friend of mine had a birthday party at his place. I went there alone, knowing that there will be people that I know. But me being shy, it took me ages and a lot of alcohol before I started joining in or making up conversations. In the end we all went to this club and had great fun. However I can't stop thinking that if I was a bit more social, my life would be much more colourful. I need to build confidence in myself so that I can be better off. Maybe that is what's been wrong with my life...

31 Songs
Just finished reading 31 Songs by Nick Hornby. Man, I love this guy. He writes small and personal essays about 31 songs he likes. The list is different than mine of course, but the way he interacts with music is just like me. He goes deep and uses music as a way to express himself and really understands the music as a whole, as an opinion. And it makes me think, what song has the kind of effect as Thunder Road had on him? I probably don't have an anthem, but I do have some songs that reminds me of certain events/periods of my life.

Some examples:
Take On Me - A-ha. This song reminded me of my childhood. It was a catchy pop-tune with a cool video (where Morten Hackett jumps into a comic). I clearly remember this video clip on the telly when I was 9, on the last day before I moved from Netherlands to Indonesia. That move was a culture shock for a 9-year old and it took me a while to adjust. But everytime I would hear Take On Me, my mind goes back to Amsterdam, to my childhood.

Can't Fight This Feeling - REO Speedwagon. When you have a crush in your teenage years, there is always a soundtrack to it. For my crush, it was this song. This song seem to mean a lot for a 14-year old boy trying to do everything within his power to go up and ask this girl out. I must've been pretty mad back then, but then again I was 14.

Sweet Child O'Mine - Guns N Roses. The rock song of the 80s. The song that strengthen my mission to play music. The song I played for my first gig ever and the song that continues to get me grabbing for my guitar and start playing alongside it. Axl Rose was just the epitomy of coolness back in those days. If it wasn't for this song I wouldn't have been in a band and on stage.

Metarie - Brendan Benson. I haven't been in a relationship for a while and when I fumbled into this song (I bought the album when I was drunk, at the moment I didn't even know why I bought this album) I found the answer. "I like to see you everyday, but I'm afraid of what my friends might say/You need a bath and you're clothes are wrong/And I can tell that we wouldn't get along" was the answer by a girl who rejected him in the song. And although I'm sure that I don't need a bath, I somehow felt like the character Benson was describing.

See, songs do have a huge meaning in my life. And thanks to Nick Hornby, now I will try to attach a memory to certain songs that have an impact on me.

Johnny Cash

I just realized yesterday that Johnny Cash has left us for good. I was on vacation and didn't tune into the news at all. I only found out when watching CNN on sunday night, two days later.

I can only say what millions of people have said before. Johnny Cash is one of the most influential persons in the music business. You can hear his style even in nowadays pop music. His passing away is a sad loss for music in general. I've never been really exposed to his music so far, but I loved his cover of U2's One. And I can't find anybody who isn't moved by his version of Hurt. Even Trent Reznor must be trembling hearing Johnny Cash cover his song.

Anyway, it's a sad loss...

Spent the weekend in Amsterdam. Just for fun. Left at Thursday morning. The cab picked me up at 0525. Then it was sleeping until I got to my cousin's place in A'dam. Walked, hung out, drank, smoked up, etc etc.

Amsterdam is a nice city. Even though I'm on holidays, I can do a lot of stuff there. All my friends are there, I could go do some shopping, and the nightlife is much better than here. Friday night was a boys night out. Just me and my mate walking around looking at some good stuff.

Saturday we went to see Ajax. My cousin managed to get hold of Skyroom tickets, so there I was, watching my favourite team in the world from the skybox. The super VIP area. We had a small room for ourself, magnificent view and on top of that free drinks. I was just drinking and drinking. Ajax won 4-1 (against RKC) and they played superbly. Raffi is just amazing. He will be one of the best players in the world.

Later that night we all went to Fame at Sinners. Cool party. I was drunk but it was nice. The DJ was playing 80s/90s classic hiphop and it just couldn't get any better. I was having a blast and was drinking anything. At one point I was begging for someone to buy me a drink cause I had no money left.

Afterwards it was just quiet. Had dinner at friend's place and talked a bit. I guess someday I will realize that I am older. Not now though. I'm still enjoying myself.

Songs

I'm just wondering. Today's popsongs are instant songs. They become instant hits, but 3 months later nobody can remember that song. Compare that to the 80s popsongs, which are still around and even becomes the inspiration for nowadays songs. Is this a reflection of our society? An instant society, where people wants instant results and forget about it once they have fulfilled their needs. Quite scary innit?

Everyone who went through Michael Jackson's Thriller would still know the beat and words of Billie Jean, Beat It and Thriller. I wonder if the kids of today will remember Justin Timberlake's Justified. Hell, will they even remember Justin Timberlake at all? Same applies for Madonna vs Britney/Christina/Pink.

If it goes on like this, soon we'll only have one-hit wonders. And not even one-hit wonders like Frankie Goes To Hollywood, but one-hit wonders that only lasts 3 months. Just like now. A couple of months ago, Kelly Clarkson was the talk in the US. Two months from now, they'll all be "Kelly who?"

It's monday morning and I'm tired as hell. So what's new?

Last weekend I went for my first tournament. It's the 5th Bourg d'Oisan Open Tournament, hosted by Monkey Foo in Bourg d'Oisan, Grenoble. If you want to know what kind of tournament it is, just google it. We left home on friday evening and got there around 10.30. The welcome party has already started and I was up for some beers and bbq. Beer is always good!

Saturday morning was okay. I played my first official game and it was pretty good. Even though I've just started playing 2 monts ago, I didn't do that bad. Unfortunately we kept on losing, but it's more of learning the feeling of playing official games, not just practice. That day we didn't win anything. At all. Although I did score some points. Four games in a day is pretty knackering. But I forgot all about the tiredness when the party was on at night. Lots of booze (tons of vodka mixed with weird stuff), music, joints, etc etc. I was totally wasted, high, and tired, which made sleeping so easy.

Sunday morning, that was tough. I was woken up at 9.30, which is the time of our first game. Luckily I didn't have a huge hangover, but it still made the first game really bad. Everybody was sleepy and tired. I just wanted that game to finish so badly. It did, and we lost. Again. Two more games left and we lost both of them. There was a shortage of players as well, not enough subs. But the last game was a good game. During every game we have about 10 minutes where everything seems to work well, but the rest of the game it's just bad. If only we are able to play the whole game like those 10 minutes then I'm sure we could do much better. Oh well, not bad for a first tournament.

We did win something though. Spirit of the tournament. Because we partied like crazy, was involved with everyone, played with other teams and because they all won against us... I'll be doing tournaments like these again.

Went to see Pirates of the Carribean last friday. I can't recall being on the disney-ride, but the movie sure feels like a disney movie. And Johnny Depp played a pirate who was blatantly gay. I've always imagined pirates as butch/macho guys, but I guess I have to expand my imagination. It's nice to see a lot of British actors in the movie. Geoffrey Rush, the girl from Bend It Like Beckham who looks a lot like Natalie Portman, Gareth Keenan from The Office, the dude from Coupling, and of course Orlando Bloom.

Saturday was just a day of hanging out with friends. Started at 0940 in the morning, all the way until 0240 at night. Haven't had company for so long in a while.

The weather has chilled out a bit. There is still sun, but temperatures are around 20. Way more comfortable.

There is a reorg going in my office and I have to take care of it. I hope I won't be the victim and maybe actually am able to gain advantage for myself. Althought that is very unlikely.

I'm sleepy. I wish I could be like Robbie and be in it for the money and to get laid.