A glaring omission

I was thinking recently about my occasional, music-related blog entries and why they belong on the only iPod that remains between me and the Noodle. Then I noticed that there was a musician, not just a band or anything like that, but a musician who is conspicuously absent. Those of you that know me and my obsessions in my musical taste should have noticed by now the lack of any mention of the punk rock Kerouac, Blake Schwarzenbach.

The trouble is, it´s nearly impossible to pick just ONE record that features this musical genius. Almost as hard, though not really, is deciding which of his bands from which to choose in album.

For those of you that don´t know, he was the guitarist/vocalist/songwriter for two very amazing bands, the seminal emocore/pop punk band Jawbreaker, and the more mature yet still rocking indie rockers Jets to Brazil. Which band I prefer kind of depends on the mood but I still find both bands very influential on my playing, and an album from each has made it to the Emergency iPod.

So, let´s discuss both of those records today.

First and foremost, and my preferred of the two, is Jawbreaker´s major label debut and swansong, Dear You. Yes, they were on a major label, and in fact, they have the distinction of touring with both Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, and they were close friends with the boys in Green Day in the heyday of the Bay Area scene in the late 80s and early 90s.

Each Jawbreaker album was a bit different. Unfun, their first, was full of fast, screamy, bitter pop punk with occasional experimentation within the punk confines. Bivouac, their second, was more progressive and a lot of songs slowed down the tempo. Yet somehow they don´t degenerate into hippie cheese, and also managed to write one of the best punk rock love songs of all time "The Chesterfield King". 24 Hour Revenge Therapy saw the band chase a much more conventional, yet still unique, strain of pop punk, even including a bit of humor in the song "Boxcar," where Schwarzenbach sings "You´re not punk/and I´m telling everyone/Save your breath/I never was one!" Brilliant.



MOving on to Dear You and why I think it´s their best record. To me, this combines everything that was great about all of their previous albums. It has the catchy, no-frills punk energy of 24 Hour, the borderlined experimentation of Bivouac, and the cutting lyrics of Unfun, but Dear You takes all of those elements to the next level.



It´s on this album where I think Schwarzenbach wrote lyrics that weren´t just cutting but also some of the most intelligent he wrote with Jawbreaker. Not to mention this record found him grafting the unconventional riffs of Bivouac to the pop of 24 Hour, as I said before. Take, for example, one of my favorite tracks "Accident Prone." It starts off with a moody, minor key riff that did NOT exist in most punk rock beforehand, and features Blake singing in a smoke-scarred croon, or the closes to a croon he had up to this point. But there are times when the song breaks into an almost doomy chorus, segueing at one point into a long interlude that goes into the stinging chorus one more time before the song ends. The whole album is kind of a roller coaster. There are songs liek "Bad Scene" that rock up and down with fun, catchy lyrics about a party, the bitter "Fireman" which goes from the moody, dark verses to the super catchy melodies and abrasive lyrics to the chorus, the absolutely livid, bitter "Sluttering" which features some of his best written yet most bitter lyrics throughout Jawbreaker´s catalogue, and the morose, beautiful "Basilica." it´s an amazing record, and there was no better way that hte band could have gone out. It wound up being their swansong, but as is the case with so many bands, it´s often because there´s no way to follow up something so great.

I think one day of Schwarzenbach fanboying is enough for you, loyal readers. Maybe an other day I will talk about Jets to Brazil, but for now...ta ta!

News is getting better

So, after two straight updates of angry political vitriol inspired by coffee and Hunter S. Thompson, I feel it is time for an update of much better news.

The good news is that I´m starting my work with Habitat for Humanity this week. I´m really excited, despite the fact that it will keep me away from my friends and family for just a little bit longer. Sometimes the spirit is moved to stay away and do things I can´t do anywhere else, and it seems that now is that time.

Anyway, outside of that, I recently started working as an English teacher. I started out with one student, but since things are picking up with my work I can´t continue with him. I do, however, have students on the weekends- Today I gave a lesson to a young brother-sister combo, which went better than I ever could have expected, and yesterday I gave a lesson to a man who is, for all intents and purposes, fluent and just needs vocab help- he´s reading The Lost World, by the late Michael Crichton, and just wants some help with some of the words. I like teaching English- it´s a challenge I had yet to experience.

In addition, this week I´m starting work at a local hostel. It sounds pretty easy and I get hooked up in terms of food and drink and laundry and internet, which is pretty awesome. I also get tipped, so that may take my wages a little bit higher. Plus it sounds like a fun job, so w00t to that.

Anyway, my first visits for Habitat start this Wednesday, with a bunch of houses around Xela. In addition, I´m stil volunteering at the weaving collective doing random stuff there.

Things are going well for the most part, and I´m looking forward to whatever fate holds for me next.


Though, I´ll add one more thing, and one more item to the Desert Island Discs (WHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!)

I came to this conclusion, that it was necessary to add another disc, the other day. It was a weekday morning on a day I didn´t have to teach English, and I was scrolling through my backup iPod at what we had put on there just in case, and after selecting this particular disc, I was reminded why it was there.

While very verbose in title, Right Now, You´re in the Best of Hands, but if something is Wrong, Your Doctor Will Know in a Hurry by Bear vs. Shark is one of those records that, in my opinion, came out of nowhere and changed everything.

I have a friend, who, when we were seniors in High School discovering all subgenres of hardcore and post hardcore music, would get almost anything that came out on particular labels, such as Victory, Equal Vision, Ferrett, Trustkill, etc. He picked up a CD one day by a band with a weird ass name, and I heard a little bit of it and thought it was cool, but didn´t think much of it.

Fast-forward to freshman year of college when another friend (who unfortunately I haven´t been friends with in a few years) was raving about Bear vs. Shark. So I finally decided to check it out in earnest.

WOW. It starts out with "Ma Jolie," a loud, midtempo, triumphant introduction, that segues into a quiet, melodic verse that supports intelligent, if not off-kilter lyrics and clean guitars. IT builds and builds when the distorted guitar comes in, and explodes into what one expects to be a chorus, that sees the lead singer go from melodic singing to the best post-hardcore scream this side of Hot Water Music, a band that merely suggested at what Bear vs. Shark was capable of.

This album falls somewhere between the meaty, two-guitar punk/post-hardcore and gruff vocals of Hot Water Music and the brainy, no-boundaries but still aggressive rock of the legendary Fugazi. Songs like "Campfire," and "Buses/No Buses" push and pull in that in-between space where hardcore, indie, emo and pop-punk inexplicably intersect. Other songs come off as the unholy spawn of classic 90s emo like The Promise Ring and the harsh, gruff aggression of bands like At the Drive-In, while "Kylie" begins with a jazzy chord progression and a vocal delivery that falls between spoken and sung, yet still giving away that smoky, raspy punk rock edge. And, when you least expect it, the 2nd guitar comes in, merely hinting at its potential fury. when it can no longer be held back, the song explodes into what, thanks to the initial dynamic, seems to be the loudest ending of a song ever written.

There´s a diversity in this album that few punk bands (or hardcore bands) this side of the Clash or Candiria has ever been able to convey. Where Bear vs. Shark succeeds where others fail is that they were able to maintain their undeniably punk rock energy. In addition, there was a forward thinking, progressive mindset that kept them firmly ahead of any other mere "punk" band. This energy, volume, progressive mindset, and ability to write fantastically melodic, almost pop songs, put Bear vs. Shark ahead of the post-hardcore pack at a time where the term came to mean screamy bands who all sounded the same or overly technical bands that lost their energy in trying too hard to be Fugazi. This album is impossible to become boring, and was unfortunately followed by one other album and tour that was ended midway through. Sometimes there is a band that exists for such a short time and puts out such a small catalog, but in terms of quality, puts catalogs 4 times that particularly large to shame.

In closing...

Dear Bear vs. Shark,

Please reunite. Perhaps so called alternative, hardcore or independent rock bands will learn what it truly means to combine such disparate elements and still be undeniably punk, progressive, and independent. Please....the world needs you.

I am really, really upset that I had to write this, but unfortunately there are people in the US, in 2008, who force me to...

Whoever wrote this rant at the bottom, which I urge ALL of you to read, is a bigot. I feel sorry for the gross level of ignorance that still pervades so many people in this country, and am ashamed to call myself an American as long as people like this author call themselves Americans. Especially considering the gross jingoistic tendencies that would cause poor souls like this author to proclaim himself to be the only true American.


In response to this author, the reason that African Americans and Hispanics didn..t vote beforehand is the same reason that ignorant racists like this author don..t vote: if neither of the candidates who actually stand a chance of getting elected do not represent what you truly believe in and who you believe truly has your interests in mind, there is little to know reason to participate. I understand this, and I understand the anger and disilusionment that comes with having a 2 party system where both parties are more or less the same. Obviously this author is disillusioned; George Wallace (I hope to christ readers know who he is) is dead, and the KKK and the United States National Socialist Workers Party (once again if you have any grasp of history past an 8th grade level you should know what the National Socialist Workers Party is) do not run viable candidates, if they..ve gotten their heads out of their bigoted asses long enough to organize politically.


Mr. Author..s assertion that African Americans still feel they are owed somethign is more or less astute. They do still feel they are owed something from white Amerikkka, and in all honesty, I am with them. The fact that they were freed from slavery, given the right to vote, and released from de jure (state sponsored) segregation means little if the power structure is still firmly controlled by rich white men who put policies into place that serve only to reinforce their economic, social and political power. You can change the laws all you want, but as long as we still live in a society that favors being rich, white and male above all other possibilities, we have a long fucking way to go before you can even talk about equality in the US with a straight face. What we owe to ALL people, including ourselves, is a dismantling of such an unfair power structure, and the casting off of every ugly, hateful stereotype that exists in bigoted rants like the one below.


For those of you who care, look around your neighborhood and try to tell me that it is not segregated. There may be no laws saying that they are segregated, but this will be the reality until A) Banks stop denying loans to African Americans and Hispanics based on racial stereotypes and B) People stop moving out as soon as nonwhites move in. I am ashamed, and will be, as long as such blatant, immature, outdated bigotry exists.


If you want a society where such things are accepted, please, move to India. The bigotry based on skin color and blatant classism is codified into law. Or, invent a time machine and go back to Alabama pre-1960s or Germany in the 1930s. Since you are white and obviously superior, I..m sure you can figure out a way to invent one. Or, if not, just leave. And, since you didn..t vote, and didn..t try to stop it, your argument is about as backward as the ideals you espouse.


There is no place in this country that has the potential to be so great for a close-minded ingoramus like this author. More importantly, I hope someday this author realizes that people like him have been making the United States of America an international disgrace and embarass the good people of this country. Good bye, and I hope you enjoy wherever you wind up.




This is my opinion, and if you dont like it, fuck you, I dont care. After all, I have this right. The only reason why Obama is even close to winning, is because all the black people finally decided to use the right they were GIVEN, the right to vote. Why does it take a black man to run for president to get you black people off your asses and vote. Every fuckin channel has the news interviewing black people, who are SO EXCITED to vote finally...HELLO JACKASS, you could have been voting this whole time, but no, you decided to wait til a half breed black man runs to exercise that right you "have fought to get for years". I didnt vote, if I did vote I would vote for Mac, however, that is irrelevant. The theme of this bulletin is point out how blacks still feel society owes them something, get over this shit. Our society dont owe you anything, or your parents, you werent a slave, no one in your immediate family was a slave. So in the words of my main man Arnold, STOP WHINING! About god forsaken time you decided to vote, because the next time there are two white men running, Im sure you will stay your ass home, drink your gin n juice playing domino's.


And one last thing, what was with the Black Panther members outside a polling site, one of which was carrying a night stick? Are you for real? We all know that they didnt get arrested to save the police the shame of it being racial profiling, god forbid the KKK stood at a polling site with a night stick. Fuckin nigs.

Update from the Guatemala Gonzo...

The writing should be on the wall for the GOP at this point. As if eight years of an inbread bigoted ape wasn´t enough, we have witnessed the conviction of Ted Stevens, the defection of heavy GOP hitters like Colin Powell et. al., the beating of Democratic staffers by goons of a Virginia congressman, and the rise of a politician so psychotic and so god damn clueless that it makes me foam at the mouth just to think about her. Not to mention, we have witnessed the rise of a politician who challenges the status quo of politics as usual in most tangible ways. First of all, at this point, it has become almost novel to hear a presidential candidate who not only speaks English PROPERLY, but doesn´t sound like some limp-dick recorded version of a high school graduation speech, written and performed by someone too disgraced to show up at the ceremony. There´s that, but there´s also the idea that he wants to do something for the PEOPLE of the United States (for the most part) as opposed to the corporate snakes who´ve sucked it dry, and have engineered, intentionally or otherwise, this gross economic collapse that may keep me down here in Guatemala indefinately, or until the coup that will inevitably follow any victory of the far right bloodsuckers of our country. The (mostly) good guys also have a plan to not only end a war that has cost nearly 5000 lives more than it ever should have, but also do everything it can not to erase this from the memory of the rest of the world, but to engineer some degree of a new leaf in a story that has witnessed the United States of America fall from world power to world embarassment and disgrace, strangled by the fascist reins of the Christian Right.

John McCain, I feel, is too senile to realize that his ship should be sinking, and I fear that the shock of winning at this point in his campaign would immediately induce a fatal heart attack, and elevate this wretched brainless redneck to the highest position of power in the world.

I used to have little to any problems with John McCain, thinking he was one of the few Republicans who wasn´t a slave to the far right fascists that have come to dominate the Republican party. He appeared to have his head on straight, and despite my disagreement with his policies, I was able to respect him for his balls to call psychopaths like Pat Robertson and the late, un-lamented Jerry Falwell "agents of intolerance," as that is the best way to sum up their psychoses.

Alas, McCain has fallen victim to the caveat that sucks in and traps all politicians- Pandering to those with Influence. Unfortunately, those with influence in the Republican party are those who profess hatred and intolerance about anyoen who does not conform to what they view as the coming Christian empire, an empire which can only be achieved through governmental regulation bordering on moral fascism and a program of extermination of all those in the world through war and economic strangulation of those who will not satisfy the far right´s bloodlust.

John McCain has been forced to succumb to this, and it breaks my heart that a man who was once a uniter will continue to fuel the fissures of our ravaged political landscape if he is elected.

Even more frightening than John McCain in power is Sarah Palin, and the only thing more frightening than Sarah Palin herself is the extraordinarily real possibility that she will become President if McCain drops dead of a heart attack as I expect.

Sarah Palin is the essence of everything I hate in this world. She is the worst example of a feminist since Mattel unveiled the Barbi doll in the 1950s. Her religious brain damage is only rivaled by her sickening "nice" front, which is only rivaled by her sheer ignorance of literally everything in the world.

I have never, in my admittedly short career as a genuinely politically aware and intelligent being, witnessed someone as clueless and inexperienced and generally angering. I say this despite living through 8 years of George W. Bush. Why doesn´t he bother me as much? Mainly because we all KNOW that he always had Dick Cheney and Karl Rove´s hands up his ass, guiding his every move, calculating every serpentine syllable, crooked smile, and every psychotic, maddening thought. He was too dumb to speak for himself, yet vaguely smart enough to recognize this aphasia in his frontal lobe. Sarah Palin is not so smart. On top of that, the Republican party has been so taken over by these Reaganites on Crack that they seem to be directly in line with her outstanding level of retardation. Her level of ignorance of foreign policy and close-minded living is a gross affront to the globalised, localised world that is our reality. As far as I have seen and read in fantastically mindblowing interviews, there is no world outside of Alaska. I fear that the cold has gotten to her head, and issues as complex as alternative energy and global warming have become as simple as to sum it up as "Obama´s going to bankrupt all coal plants." It is far more complex than that; you know it, I know it and I hope to Rahoul Duke the rest of the American People know it.

She has managed to avoid and over simplify every issue that actually means something, and it outrages me that she has been able to get away with it by simply smiling and charming the somafied idiots of the world with her grating Minnesota Nice voice, to make a reference to Frances McDormand, who, in all honesty, I feel is smarter and more likely to make good decisions for the country.

I hope to whatever god is out there that the 10% of my gut instinct is wrong, in thinking that institutionalized, under the surface racism will overshadow the exhaustion, hilarity, and utter outrage that has been caused by the Bush administration. I want, more than anything in the world, that the people of These United States will say that it IS time for a black president, and will actually shed off the final shell of structural bigotry that still continues to dominate the country. I fear, unfortunately, that despite polls saying that people will vote for a black president, they only want to appear non-racist. This fear comprises only 10percent of my gut instincts, but it is such a fear that I have decided that such a turn of events will lead to one of two things.

Option 1 is that I remain here in Guatemala until the wolves have proceeded to devour the final survivors of those that fought the good fight for free speech, freedom from psychochristian oppression, overt institutionalized racism and setting the women´s movement back about 75 years. Not to mention the economic toilet that a McCain/Palin administration will ultimately flush us down.

Option 2 is I come back to the US immediately before inauguration day and take part in the final days of the human race, or the final days of a public that submits to this sort of psychostupidity.

Whoever wins decides once and for all in my mind what kind of god exists- is this god kind and loving, or at least benevolent to the human race, or is this god vengeful and wrathful as the Christian Right tells us, and that a totalitarian world theocracy is coming, and will only end with the Rapture?

I pray for the former. The religious Book of Revelations implications of this election demand nothing less than quaking, fearful prayer that the Forces of Evil mobilized by Falwell, Reagan, Gingrich and Limbaugh will be defeated by sanity and humanity. I pray that the good people of the US will rise up and beat back the bestial bloodsuckers we have seen ravage the world the past 8 years and prevent them for at the very least another 4.

For the love of all things good in this world, please let intelligence and reason beat back dimentia, hate, fundamentalism, ignorance, and superficiality, or we must all move to Canada....or actually make our Founding Fathers proud and do what they felt was right....