The Record Store

A few weeks ago, I had the itch to go to the record store.  That hadn't really happened in a while, because going to the record store requires having money to spend, something I really can't justify doing with bills and a child to take care of.  But on that day, I just felt like going.  So I grabbed a few old CDs to trade in and headed down to Grimey's.

I brought seven CDs with me but they would only accept three of them for trade in, which netted me a cool $9.50 in store credit.  I used the money to buy Balance and Composure's CD, Separation.  I ended up only paying like, a buck sixty out of my pocket for a brand new CD. This was the second new CD I have bought in at least 13 months.  I just don't buy (new) CDs anymore.  That's why I brought in some old discs to trade in, because I have so many CDs laying around, and a computer to hold all the songs on in iTunes, I don't need the physical copy of N.E.R.D's album Fly or Die anymore.  Might as well turn it into something I actually want, if they're willing to take it, right?

Anyway, what brought me here to Bloggerated today was not to tell you the story of selling off my CD collection, but to talk about a lie I spewed to the nice people working at Grimey's.  I remember the last time I went to Grimey's.  I went there with my brother when he visited us back in May.  When I walked in, I talked to Josh, a guy who works there, and I was happy to see he remembered me.  Anyway, I had little baby Evie with me, and of course, he asked about her.  I said to him, "yeah, I haven't been in for so long because of this little one."

Not true.

I hadn't been into Grimey's for 8 months because of Spotify.  I hadn't bought much music from anywhere because of Spotify.  Now I know that I've written at length before about the plight of the music industry and my desire to single-handedly keep it afloat as the way we know it.  Album sales create revenue for artists and bands to create more great albums and sustain a living.  It is no fault of these artists that people have decided to devalue their work by stealing it off of the internet, which drove album sales to the floor.  Sometimes I get frustrated when a musician is fatalistic about album sales, saying it doesn't matter because they don't make money off sales, they make money from touring and merchandise sales.  If no one buys your music, what's the point?  You need proper albums out so people can come to your show.  Without it, no one knows who you are or what you're singing about.  Make a great record, and people will be there at the shows.  So when it comes to not caring if people buy your music, no one is gonna hear it if you don't make it.  If no one buys it, no one will want to make it.

Anyway, I told Josh at Grimey's that I hadn't been in because I had a kid, which wasn't true.  All the great albums that came out last year were conveniently streaming on Spotify, that's really why I hadn't been in.  I didn't need to drop ten bucks on a CD at their store anymore.  It makes me feel guilty because these guys at Grimey's have one of the best places in the world right there, and they stay afloat when people go in and buy stuff.  If no one buys records, they go away.  Thankfully, people in the area have realized this without my help, because they were on the news a few weeks ago saying that 2011 was a banner year for them.  Okay, good.  Phew.  Don't need to worry about that then.

I'm conflicted about Spotify.  It's the only way I can listen to a lot of music I otherwise would just wonder if it was any good or not.  Now I know.  There are so many good albums, and they're all right here for my listening pleasure.  But when I think about owning some of it, I just think, "why bother anymore?"  I don't need the physical copy taking up space in my life.  But there is that collector in my bones that tells me that I need to own it.  I need to feel it and look at the real artwork on the cover.  I need to support these bands, financially, and I really can't go to the shows anymore, not with a kid at home.  Sure, Spotify pays artists on a per play basis, but from what I know, it's like, pennies.  Okay, so Spotify is better than stealing, but it's also damn near stealing.

Do I wish I could own every single one of these great albums in my Spotify bookmarks?  You bet.  How many have I actually went out and bought, whether physical or digital?  Three.  Only three.  And total actual dollars spent on them totals less than $10.  (One was a 3 song EP, one was the CD I mentioned above, and one was on sale or dirt cheap from AmazonMP3)

So I lied.  I hadn't not been into Grimey's because of the kid, I hadn't been in because of Spotify.  And part of me says that's okay, you spend money on more important things like food and clothes.  The other part of me misses the process of going in and buying stuff.  Spotify is great because it has allowed me to fall in love with some great music.  I hate Spotify because it has taken that great experience away from me.  I control my own actions here, but I can't say no to listening to something for free.  I'd rather listen to it and feel a little guilty afterwards.  In 2012, I'm going to try to find a balance.  If I truly love something, musically, I'm going to go buy it at Grimey's. Because I enjoy it.

Also, #firstworldproblems

The Movie Groundhog Day Was A Really Good Idea

This is probably the worst bit of writers block I've experienced as a blogger.  Well, this I guess this would be the worst bit of writers block I've ever had then, because I've never really written before the blog.  Well anyway, I don't know what to write.  I haven't known what to write for a while.  I feel like now that people are paying attention, this has to be good, and I just don't have any good ideas.  I could probably pound one out, like I'm currentlly doing, but I just don't have anything new or interesting to write about.

I figure now that it's February, I should get it together.  So that's why I came here, just to say that I'm sorry that I don't know how to write, I guess.  One thing I'll say, you need to ask yourself, January is over now, how was it?  You'll need to remember how it was at the end of the year when you ask yourself how 2012 went.  Remember the big things and write them down.  For me, January was marked by visitors.  We had people in the apartment for like, a total of a week and a half, which is always nice.  I'd chalk up January as a win.

Hey, here's a topic!  It's groundhog day!  Don't you think it's brilliant that the makers of the movie Groundhog day made their movie the way they did?  I mean, every year, we're talking about this movie.  It was funny, but there were a lot of funny movies throughout the years.  It's great! The Groundhog saw his shadow this morning so there's six more weeks of winter, which if it's like it's been, weather-wise, that's okay with me.  It's been super nice this winter, and I'll take more of it.

So yeah, that's all for today.  I'm happy I wrote something.  I hope you're happy having read it. 

Get Rich Quick Scheme

I've come up with a great idea.  Okay, so you know how it's nearly impossible to win the lottery?  I know it because my mom has bought a ticket for the lottery for every drawing for years and hasn't won anything yet.  I know that it only takes one time to be a winner, but the odds are pretty steep.  You can't win if you don't play, but playing can get discouraging.

So I've come up with a plan.  You see, I actually live on the same street as Tennessee's lottery office here in Nashville.  So this idea makes sense to me because the travel is minimal.  Anyway, here it is.

Okay, someone won a bunch of money by winning the lottery, they have to go to the lottery office in their state's capitol. (at least that's where the lottery office was in Michigan and that's where it is in Tennessee.) What's one thing you would do if you won the lottery?  Buy stuff, sure.  But I'm sure you would be generous in giving some of it away, don't you think?  You win the lottery, you go to the office, they give you your money and you couldn't be happier!  You want to do something good with your new found fortune.  As you exit the lottery office building, you see a homeless man, looking sad and disheveled, perhaps even holding a cute little baby.  He's just asking for some spare change from passers-by.  Well hey, you just won millions of dollars in the lottery, let's give this poor homeless man a fresh new start.  Here's a pile of dough, young man.  Spend it wisely.

Bam.

You need to increase your likelihood of actually coming across a fresh new multimillionaire and convince them to give you money without actually asking.  That's why you have to hang around the lottery office.  Everyone that wins the lottery in Tennessee has to go through those doors.  If you look sad enough, I'm sure those happy new rich folks will throw you a bone, right?

So that's my scheme to get rich quick.  Don't just beg from the regular folks on the street or your family members.  Beg from the lottery winners.  Duh! You might not have the millions you would have if you actually won the lottery, but you will have something. And people win the lottery all the time!  There are millions of people in Tennessee.  Someone is going to win some sort of lottery on a regular basis.  And as I said above, every single one of them has to walk through those doors.

Something tells me this isn't going to work, but if you need me, Evie and I are going off to rub some dirt on our clothes.

Freshly Grated Parmesan

Tell me when

Ever eat at an Italian restaurant?  I mean, c'mon, who hasn't?  Italian restaurants are great, in my opinion.  I love Italian food for it's butter and garlic and bread and pasta and all of that.  I'm sure I've been eating a rather Americanized Italian food experience most of my life, but I can't say for sure, I've never been to Italy.  Well anyway, one thing I've noticed at Italian restaurants that I've eaten at, is their offering of freshly grated Parmesan and that awkward moment of them doing the act for you.

Okay here's the situation, you've downed your appetizer, you drank a glass of wine or beer, perhaps you ate a salad, and now you got your delicious main course set in front of you.  The server turns to you and asks if you want freshly grated Parmesan on your food.  "Why, yes, that sounds great!" you exclaim.  So they whip out the white grater thingy and start a-turnin' the handle with the instruction "tell me when to stop."  They start and it throws down a little on top, and you feel like you should say "okay, that's enough."  But I don't want them to stop.  Heck, I'm paying for this meal, I want my moneys worth.  Keep going, Parmesan grinder.  After a few twists, I think they expect you to say stop so they sort of slow down, but you didn't tell them to, so they keep going on, wondering if it will ever end.  Is there a stopping point?  What amount of Parmesan is too much?  I love Parmesan cheese, I want a lot.  If you put the can of it in front of me, I'm going to use the hell out of it.  But when someone else is in control, you feel that you have to say "when" even when that's not as much as you would like.  Although, I must admit, I've never gone longer than just slightly longer than what you would consider normal, I always want to just let them keep on grinding just to see if they will pull the plug on the operation themselves.  They say they want you to tell them to stop, but everyone knows there is an unwritten amount you're supposed to accept, even if it's not enough.  I want my free cheese.

Know what I mean?  

Taco Bell. I Approve.

I held off writing this post for 24 hours because I didn't want to type this up on my iPhone. Well, I need to do something to keep me awake right now, so here I am, pounding away at the touchscreen.

Let's talk about Taco Bell. Man, I don't care what anyone says about that place, I love it. I know it's not the best quality food you can buy, I think everyone know that, but I really like it. Heck, even I refer to it as "Toxic Hell" most of the time. But I think it's delicious. One thing that makes it appealing to me is the variety of foods I can choose from, being vegetarian. Most places have very limited meatless options, but not Taco Bell. You can pretty much substitute the meat with beans or rice or both on the majority of the menu for no extra charge. And it's dirt cheap. You can get stuffed on a couple bucks. It's great.

When you order your food, they often ask of you want any sauce. Taco Bell offers three sauce packets to choose from: mild, hot and fire sauce. I like the heat of fire sauce but I prefer the hot sauce because it has a better flavor than the fire. My question is, who requests mild sauce anyway? I mean, sometimes they'll throw in all three, and you're like, "okay, I got this mild sauce, I guess I'll use it." But what's the point? It just tastes like cumin (even though cumin is not listed as an ingredient, which makes you wonder a bit.) I mean, it's okay, but with the other sauce choices, why mild? I guess that not everyone likes hot spicy stuff, and sometime you wanna add a little extra flavor to stuff without all the heat, but it doesn't taste very good. And if you don't like hot, spicy food, maybe you shouldn't be eating "Mexican" food to begin with? I try the mild sauce on my food every time I get a packet, and I am consistently disappointed. But at the same time, I don't want the mild sauce to go away, because it has this mystique about it to me. The weird mild sauce. If the mild sauce went away, I'd be as disappointed as I am in it's flavor.

I should utilize the fact that I live right around the corner from a Taco Bell more often. Then when I get my food, hope they throw a mild sauce in the bag, which I will use on my burrito, and then be disappointed for the 40th time. Taco Bell. I approve. So good.

(they a little mad at them right now though because they took my favorite item off the menu, the cheesy bean and rice burrito, but whatever. Still good stuff)

Vloggerated! The Trip Home!

2011 and on into 2012

I decided not to do a big series of posts talking about my favorite albums of 2011 this year, mainly because I didn't feel like there were many that qualified.  That's not to say that I didn't listen to some outstanding tunes last year, but I just didn't feel like going into detail how much I loved them here in this space.  I think it's because 2011 was such a different year in general, listening to music, while always a major part of my life, just sort of took a back seat in importance for the first time ever.

Obviously, 2011 will always be remembered as the year my daughter was born.  Nothing tops that, not only in 2011, but in my entire life.  But on top of that, there were a few other highlights throughout the year that stand out to me, clearer than ever before.

I want to give a lot of the credit to the Project 365 app for my iPhone.  With that app, I was able to write up a summary of every single day of this past year.  I believe I wrote about that before, but it's something that really helped me mentally chronicle what was 2011.  After going through the app (or apps, as I bought the pro version in mid April), reading up what I wrote everyday and looking at the picture I posted with it, I get the sense of what was important to me on a day to day basis.  Looking through it, what I learned is that I must have really liked it when Evie took a nap, since I pretty much mentioned it at least five times a week.  I also really enjoyed hanging out with my friend Sean.  He's pretty much the only real friend I have here, so it's always nice when he comes around, even if it's only for a few hours a couple times a month, and we really don't do anything special.  It's just nice to have a friend sometimes, even if you don't do anything.

Another obvious big event of 2011 was going home twice.  Once in February and once just last week.  I think going home the second time didn't have the same wallop effect on my brain and conscious that the first one had.  I mean, the first trip home was the first time I had been back to the place that was all I had ever known in two years.  The second time, it was only 10 months after the first visit, but it meant more in different ways.  My family got to meet/see Evie.  I mean, all of our families got to see her and spend time with her.  Both trips home were truly special in their own ways.

I'll forever look back on 2011 as that year where everything in my life changed, just like in 2009.  But I also hope I never forget just how much NHL 11 I played and how much time I spent emotionally invested in the Nashville Predators.  I think that's something, that mindset, would have been lost if it not for reviewing my Project365.

If you want to look through my year (at least since mid-late April) you can go there and check it out.  Some of the notes I left are really only meant to be understood by me, to jog my memory of the certain events.  The comments might not make much sense to you.  In fact, I bet somewhere in there, there will be some things written that you will interpret to mean something totally incorrect.  But, nonetheless, if you want to check it out, go here.  I also hope I didn't write mean things about people... If so, I was just being honest, alright?

I think I should also mention what a big impact Spotify and Google+ had on my daily life.  Spotify allowed me to discover so much new music, and all free and legal.  Well, legal, but perhaps not "fair."  That's a whole different blog post, however.  Also with Google+, the Hangout feature allowed me to see my friends and family a lot more often via video chat, which is a wonderful thing.

Oh, and as far as that top music/albums of 2011?  I guess I could list a few.  These are the best albums I heard this year, in no particular order.

The Swellers - Good For Me
Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math
Balance and Composure - Separation
Aficionado - s/t
blink-182 - Neighborhoods
City and Colour - Little Hell
Childish Gambino - Camp

And lastly, this blog.  During 2011, I transformed from bradperala.blogspot to bloggerated.com.  I tripled my views on my posts by embracing sharing what I wrote to my friends and family.  I used to want this to just be a place where I wrote stuff down and maybe 10 people would read it.  I wrote a post a few weeks ago that got 250 views in one day.  I'm actually getting paid to do this, albeit a very small amount, and I haven't even received a dime yet but it's accumulating.

Yes 2011 was a great year here at Bloggerated, but I want this space to grow even bigger in 2012.  I just have to really focus on doing that this year.  I hope to provide entertainment to everyone within this space, and I'm planning on working hard in the next 12 months to achieve that.  All I want is to share what I like and what I think about, and I hope you can dig that and come back for more.  If so, bookmark me, man.  I try not to overwhelm people with stuff, but I'd like to remain on your radar, if you know what I mean.

And lastly, but not leastly, I want to thank my lovely wife for always being there for me.  Without you, I am nothing but a walking sack.  I would be lost, and I would be a totally different person if it wasn't for you, and not in a good way.  You are the best person, and I'm thankful I get to spend everyday with you.  If there was ever a blessing, it's you.

But seriously, go listen to those albums, everybody.  At least the first six I listed there.  It's good stuff, I promise.  I wouldn't steer you wrong, my friends.  Here's to 2011, and hopefully a wonderful 2012 as well.

-Brad