Father to Son: A Discussion of Masculinity.

I chose the song "Father to Son" by Cat Steven to headline this post, because I wanted to tackle the theme of masculinity. I could not think of a better way to discuss this topic than to start with the father-son dynamic. I believe that the concerns of a man and his own masculinity materialize in the form of four basic questions: What kind of man is/was my father? What kind of man do I want to be? What kind of husband do I want to be? What kind of man do I want my son to be?

What kind of a man is/was my father? This is the first question because as a boy trying to understand what to do, we look to the men that raise us. My father and I have a complicated relationship. 

In "Father of Mine", Everclear vocalist Arthur Paul "Art" Alexakis, laments the relationship he shared with his father. He describes how his father named him, and spent time with him when he was young, but at age ten left the family behind.

My father did not abandon me in the form of leaving the family, but we did grow further and further apart as I got older. I think he had a vision for me to follow in his footsteps. I recall growing up on our farm playing with plastic animals and toy farm equipment, creating my own miniature farms in our yard when I was young. During this time, he taught me how to count, how to sort objects, and more importantly, he taught me how to work hard and how to make do with what I had. He was the financial provider for the family and probably the hardest working person aside from myself and my mother, that I have ever seen.

However, he also pushed me to far on multiple occasions, and became increasingly violent with me, and increasingly disrespectful of my mother.

My parents divorced when I was 11, and I while my mother worked her way through college, I was a scared young boy in a rougher neighborhood; a housing project in Hastings Nebraska. My father occasionally visited during those times, but rarely. Though I did usually get some kind of acknowledgment from him on my birthday. Eventually I didn't speak to him except to make pleasant at holidays and other major events. 

Today we are working on our relationship, but I still don't understand the man, and I will do a better job raising my own children. Don't get the wrong idea. My father was trying to raise me when he was younger than I am now. I know that I am not ready yet. He wasn't the best father, but he is responsible for my incredible drive to accomplish whatever I set my mind to, and my "never give up" resilient mentality.

What kind of man do I want to be? Some men grow up with a more positive father figure than I had, and choose to follow that route. However, I still think we all think that we all try to improve on our fathers or do something at least a little bit different. 

This is when we turn to outside influences. Though media influence on women is often spotlighted and in my opinion scapegoated. I believe men are just as much influenced by movie stars and musicians, and I believe the importance of that influence is criminally downplayed.

My father was a very big Clint Eastwood fan, and as you can seen in the video above, Eastwood usually played a gruff gunslinger character. My father farms, in part because I think when he is out in the fields, he feels a bit like Clint roaming the wild frontier. My father will also surprise you with a badass one-liner from time to time, and I'm told that as a younger man he knew a thing or two about saloon conduct. BTW the song is "Widowmaker" by WASP. I highly recommend THE LAST COMMAND album.

In contrast, I am more like Spencer Reid (Mathew Grey Gubler) from Criminal Minds. 

Behind a rather gawky appearance lies somebody who is extremely competent and confident. The underestimated cerebral assassin. The kind of man who has the ability to learn anything, and floor you out of nowhere with a creative and elegant solution to a complex problem.

What kind of husband do I want to be? Now that I think about it, this is the same thing as "what kind of boyfriend do I want to be?" This is wear I think masculinity is having a major breakdown right now. There seams to be this disturbing notion lately that a man should be hyper aware of a womans feelings, accept all of her faults unquestioningly, and at the same time repress such masculine desires like watching football on Sundays, expecting an occasional sandwich, and "acting like a brute." The list goes on and on, but you get the idea.

When this guy is a symbol of masculinity in mainstream culture:

Gentlemen, we have been castrated.

EXACTLY, it aint me babe.

Now that's more like it, and I'm going to copy the lyrics for you:

For you...I shall give

We laugh..but no-one's laughing
We kiss..and no-one cares
So we shout..but no-one's listening
So we live..like no-one dares

For you
Well I'll be your soldier
For you
I'll bury friends
For you
Well I'll be your saviour
For you
I'll play and pretend

So we laugh..but no-one's laughing
And we kiss..but no-one cares
So we shout..but no-one's listening
So we live..like no-one dares

For you
Well I'll be your soldier
For you
I'll bury friends
For you
Well I'll be your saviour
For you
I'll play and pretend

For you
Well I'll be your soldier
For you
I'll bury friends
For you
Well I'll be your saviour
For you
I'll play and pretend

So we cry..but now you're laughing
So we hate..but now who cares
So we shout..but now you're listening
So we'll die..and you won't care

For you
Well I'll be your soldier
For you
I'll bury friends
For you
Well I'll be your saviour
For you

In short, I will be the kind of guy who will do anything for my girl, but we are going to live life together. Laugh, cry, and die TOGETHER. I still think that's the all-time most sincere love song. I will give you everything that I have, but I will expect the same in return. That's what speaks to me.

What kind of man do I want my son to be? I was asked in a job interview last year, "what kind of father do you think you will be?" At the time I didn't really have an answer, because it wasn't something that I had really thought about. I tried to make something up at the time, but it wasn't well thought out, and probably cost me the job. Needless to say I thought about a lot afterwards.

I want to raise my son to be creative and curious about the world around him. I want him to understand where he comes from, to be proud of who he is, and to face the world like a warrior. Life is a battle, and the way the future looks right now, it will be more of a battle in the world he will face. I think inside every man is  a warrior of sorts. It is ingrained in a man to fight, protect, and provide for the people close to him.

Hand of Doom Dark Chocolate Chambord Mousse

So. I'm not entirely sure why this is the perfect dish to have alongside Black Sabbath's Paranoid, but it is, trust me.

I had a few drinks one night and proceeded to tell everyone that chocolate mousse is perfect dish for this music. Something about it being rich and heavy and creamy like the sounds in some of the songs. I don't think I made any sense then, and I'm not sure I do now, but in true rock star fashion I'm going with my intoxicated instinct.
Because I can, thats why.

Ingredients  
1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup Chambord (just one of those little bottles they have by the counters at liquor stores, or another kind of bourbon or liquor you think would be tasty with chocolate)

4 oz dark chocolate ( or a lighter one if you don't 'like' dark), chopped up

1 cup HEAVY whipping cream

2 egg whites

Directions
In a small saucepan, combine the liquor and the sugar to make a syrup. Just bring it to a boil so that the sugar dissolves, then remove from the heat and let cool.

Next step calls for a double boiler, you can make your own out of two pots you can stack (fancy like how I do it) Put water in the bottom pan to boil and then put the chocolate to melt in the top pan. Once melted, stir in 2 Tbsp of the cream, then slowly whisk in the bourbon mixture.
Set aside to let cool to room temp

Whisk the egg whites until they're stiff , then carefully fold them into the chocolate mix you've let cool (don't be a beast with it you don't want it to loose all volume)

Then, whip up the rest of the cream, yes, whipped cream, simple enough yes? good.  

Then, more folding, this time the whipped cream, into the chocolate/egg mix, folded gently (again don't whip it crazy, mousse is not mousse if its flat)

Then tah dah, done, spoon it into cups and chill it.
Go out and get a copy of Paranoid while its chilling and when you get back you will be ready to sit back, pop in the CD, and enjoy. Later headbangers!

Delicious Riffs

I suppose I'm the miscellaneous. Name's Robyn, or Kitty, depending on who's asking, and I'm here to give a different take on things. I'm about as passionate about food as Zero is about music and so I've been thinking up some combinations for such. Mood food for musical enjoyment. You may not be a chef but I hope at the least you'll be interested to see some of the pairings and perhaps, take away a new spin (get it ? eh...) on the music with it. With that, I'll be popping in from time to time to give my own take on things (feedback of course ALWAYS appreciated from readers as well). So here's to the good life, good food, and good music! \m/( *_*)\m/ Keep rockin my friends.

The Black Keys-Gold on the Ceiling (Song Review)

So I posted my first efforts up on a couple of websites, and got some feed back. Before I jump into the review, I'd like to address that feed back. I'm trying out a different text color today, some said it was hard on the eyes. Secondly, I've done away with the numbered rating system in favor of descriptions, because I agreed with someone who said the numbers don't matter without some benchmarks. Lastly, I'm reviewing something contemporary.



Reviewing contemporary music is a bit tricky for me. I'm more versed in historical music, and I don't really fit in with the Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne, and such of today. However, I do have a pandora account, and it introduced me to a nifty little song by a nifty little band the other day. So Ladies, and gentlemen....

The band, is Dan Auerbach (guitar, vocals) and Patrick Carney (drums). When they combine forces, they become The Black Keys, and as this is a review of a single song, not a band. I'll keep it short and sweet; these two guys from Akron Ohio, worked hard for everything they have, and they play kick ass bluesy rock music.

"Gold on the Ceiling" is lyrically cryptic, but from what I gather. This very catchy tune, is probably about Herion Addiction. Describing the struggle with drugs. I come to this conclusion from the lines:

"Down in the waves
She screams again
Roar at the door
My mind can't take much more"

and 

"Clouds cover love
Barbed wire snarl
Strung up, strung out
I just can't go without"

I interpret the chorus to be about other junkies coming around the home of the addict, and stealing from them. Gold on the Ceiling being a metaphore whatever the narrator values.

So a catchy tune with a dark undertone, or possibly I've grossly misinterpreted it, but the beauty of poetry and music is it means something different to everyone.

Sonically, it's straight forward blues rock, which to me sounds like what happens when ZZTop and The White Stripes influence two guys from Ohio.

Album Review: BLACK SABBATH-PARANOID

Black Sabbath is Bill Ward (drums), Geezer Butler (Bass), Toni Iommi (Guitar), and some guy named John Michael Osbourne (Vocal).

Of course I jest, John Michael Osbourne, would go onto become the iconic Prince of Darkness, OZZY OSBOURNE, and if your a seasoned metalhead you might be wandering, "Dude why are you bringing up Sabbath, everybody knows about Sabbath?"

I bring up Sabbath for a few reasons; not all of my readers may be metalheads, a lot of people think they know Sabbath, but don't, and most importantly because they are one of the most influential bands of all time. To the point that Rob Zombie once said "Every metal band rips off Black Sabbath, they play the riff backwards, slower, or faster, but Black Sabbath did it all first."

----"Yeah yeah, come on man, get to the music."

OK, to the music, to the review! What we have here is Black Sabbath's Paranoid from 1970. Making his Black Sabbath's Sophmore effort. It would become their most commercially successful album. 

The album kicks off with a short interlude called "Lukes Wall" which flows right into Geezer Butler's plodding, groovy bassline, and Iommi's Monstrous power chords. Then Ozzy opens brilliantly with "GENERALS GATHERED IN THEIR MASSES, JUST LIKE WITCHES AT BLACK MASSES." "War Pigs" was written, not so much as a protest of the Vietnam War, but more as an observation at a time where most music was focused on happier themes. Sabbath felt that someone needed to be mentioning the realities of the world.

Up next, Track 2 is the title track, and this was actually the last song written for the album. The band was near the end of recording, and needed to fill a few minutes of space. So they went and jammed, and Paranoid was born. Needless to say they liked it, and it became the single, a massive hit, and they named the album after it.

After the adrenaline rush that is "Paranoid", the listener is moved into the slow and trippy "Planet Caravan". This song is in SHARP contrast the rest of the album. It is slower, softer, and less distorted than the other songs. It's a prime example of a band stretching its wings. (YOU CAN EXPERIMENT ON A SONG, IT DOESN'T TAKE A WHOLE ALBUM... Talkin' to you Metallica).

Now imagine it is 1970, and you've never heard heavy metal before. Hopefully, "Planet Caravan" chilled you out, because Track 4 would be the scariest, heaviest, most apocalyptic riff you had ever heard. "Ironman" to this day is probably my all time favorite riff. I know that it is now a sports/pep rally standard, and I know riffs have since been played faster, and heavier and with more distortion, but nothing for me has ever topped Iommi's riff on this track.

The midway point is "Electric Funeral" which to be honest, just never caught on with me. I feel that it is the albums weak point. Mind you however, it isn't bad. It's just good and surrounded by GREATNESS. 

Greatness like Track 6 "Hand of Doom." I don't think that I need to say a whole lot. The groove created at the start of this track with Geezer and Bill Ward speaks for itself. Lyrically the song is about Vietnam veterans returning home and not coping well with what they had seen.

"Rat Salad", Track 8 is an instrumental with bits that I believe would be jacked by Golden Earing for their one hit wander "Radar Love."

The Grand Finale is "Faeries Wear Boots." A fantastic song, which is not about driving past gay bars at night. (Which it sometimes confused for). It was actually written by Ozzy to express his disdain for Skinheads he had seen gathered around Birmingham (ENGLAND NOT ALABAMA, YOU REDNECKS). 

And there we have PARANOID.

RATINGS:

GENRE: 10/10: It invented the genre, can't be more perfect than that.

MASS APPEAL: 8/10: By today's standards it is dated, and too slow for kids into extreme metal. People outside of metal may find it too heavy, however IRONMAN, WAR PIGS, and PARANOID are all staples on Classic Rock Radio.  It's a classic album that I feel people serious about music, especially serious about metal should own.

VOCALS: 8/10: Ozzy may not have the most range, or strongest voice, however he posses an X-Factor, nobody else has ever sounded like Ozzy.

GUITAR: 9/10: Iommi plays simple, but perfect riffs. Everything the man does is amazing, and attainable no matter what your skill level is.

BASS: 7/10: Geezer is tearing it up on the bass, however limitations of recording equipment of that time hadn't caught up to handling bass frequency very well. So Geezer is a bit buried in the mix. A great player, but if your a bassist trying to learn these lines, you will need headphones or opt for a live recording.

Drums: 8/10: Bill Ward is awesome. He isn't Neil Peart, Mike Portnoy, or John Bonham, but he is nonethless fantastic and talented.

AND WITH THAT I CALL IT A DAY. SEE YOU NEXT TIME.

It has to start somewhere It has to start sometime What better place than here, what better time than now?

Sunday July 22, 2012:

Welcome to my first post. For quite some time I have been wanting to do my own blog, however, as a person diagnosed with ADHD, organizing a blog didn't come easy. There were a lot of questions to answer before I delved into this project; Do I want to review bands, songs, or albums? How do I go about doing so? Do I want to say other things?

The answer to all of those questions was a screaming YES! However, the trouble came when laying it all out in a way other people could follow. 

I figured it would be best to start with an introduction, but I didn't want to bore my readers with my life story. So, what I have done here is tried to imagine what specific questions might readers have, and just answer them in a straight forward Q & A format:

Q: Who are you?

A: My name is Zachary, and I am, at the time of this posting, a 24year old guy. I am also a bassist, gamer, and passionate fan of music.

Q: What is the format of this blog?

A:  It will be different post to post, because I don't like being stuck in a box. I think that keeps things interesting. The only constant that I aim for is to be entertaining. However, each post will be titled in such a way that its contents will be obvious.

Enough talking, more rocking!