Ken Jennings v. god (Michael Stipe) and REM (and football!)
The Answer: Cary Grant and James Bond.
The Question: Who are people Ken Jennings is NOT mistaken for.
"You know, nobody thinks I'm Cary Grant, nobody thinks I'm James Bond, you know. You got to embrace your nerdhood, I think." -Ken Jennings
REM!
And lest Curtis once again accuse me of somehow liking Ken Jennings more than REM and Michael Stipe (which is, by the way, ridiculous and bordering on libelous. Michael Stipe has, for like 13 years, inspired me to learn all the words to It's The End Of The World, (and my friends will testify I drove them nuts in this little project of mine) to purchase a t-shirt from Hard Rock Cafe beause he designed it in the mid 1990s, to purchase tickets any time REM comes to Ohio, to purchase concert t-shirts (only REM and Buffet inspire such devotion). When I see Ken Jennings on tv, I am obsessed about a water cooler pop culture fad, but I am not struck to purchase anything or learn anything.)
But anyway, has anyone heard the new REM single Leaving New York? (It can be purchased via ITunes, which I am not intelligent enough to master, or can be listened to on command on their website. It starts out as a slow, ballody song, ala Automatic For The People's Nightswimming or Find the River, but gets a bit mid-tempo-y. It's been called a love song by god, ahh, I mean Michael, but I'm not 100% sure if he means it as a love song to someONE or a love song actually TO New York City. It might actually BE the city, as it's kinda wistful. This link might take you to the song, but I'm not sure.
The lyrics to REM's Leaving New York
It's quiet now
and what it brings
is everything
comes calling back
a brilliant night
I'm still awake
I looked ahead
I'm sure I saw you there.
You don't need me
to tell you now
that nothing can compare
You might have laughed if I told you,
You might have hidden a frown.
You might have succeeded in changing me
I might have been turned around.
It's easier to leavethan to be left behind,
Leaving was never my proud,
Leaving New York never easy,
I saw the light fading out.
Now life is sweet
and what it brings
I try to take.
But loneliness
it wears me out
it lies in wake.
And all not lost
still in my eye,
the shadow of necklace
across your thigh, I might've lived my life in
a dream but i swear it.
This is real.
Memory fuses
and shatters like glass
Mercurial future, forget the past.
It's you,
it's what I feel
You might have laughed if I told you,
You might have hidden a frown.
You might have succeeded in changing me
I might have been turned around.
It's easier to leave
than to be left behind,
Leaving was never my proud,
Leaving New York never easy,
I saw the light fading out.
Find it in your heart,
it's pulling me apart,
Find it in your heart, Change.
[Repeating "I told you, forever, I love you, forever " several times during "Its pulling me apart. Find it in your heart." several times. Then "you never, you never. You told me forever."]
You might have laughed if I told you
You might have hidden your frown.
You might have succeeded in changing me.
I might have been turned around.
It's easier to leave than to be left behind,
Leaving was never my proud,
Leaving New York never easy,
I saw the light fading out.
Leaving New York never easy,
I saw the light fading out.
For the record, the greatest invention ever was the internet, because now I have REM at my disposal 24/7 via their website (includes videos and live performances, including TWO performances of It's The End Of The World As We Know It - and some of these are old enough that Michael has HAIR, people! Actually, when he shaved me head, that was the first time I realized I thought that intentionally shaved heads could be really hot.) Oh, and videos at my disposal via Launch. Yes, at times the lyrics push a bit towards melodramatic cheese, but (1) it's a really wistful sound, just the tone in Michael's voice as he is singing, and (2) it's sing-alongy (I know because I have been, the song is STUCK in my head) and (3) the lyrics are just...something//that is so reflective (I think even aside from his wistfulness) . It grows on you, it really does.
Anyway, the Vote for Change concert is in less than three weeks - October 2. I'm slightly bitter b/c the person I was SUPPOSED to go see the concert with bailed on me, but I'll go even if I have to sit there myself like a loser! I am REALLY hoping they play some older stuff (cough: It's The End Of The World As We Know It) and not stuff from Around the Sun, their new album (which doesn't come out until October 5th (October 4 in other countries, what bullshit is that??) so I won't know the songs yet) because they are coming BACK the 27th of October which is the tour for Around the Sun -- assuming I can get tickets after the interview fiasco prevented me from getting the pre-sale tickets for fan club members.
The songs on Around the Sun:
1. Leaving New York
2. Electron Blue
3. The Outsiders
4. Make It All Okay
5. Final Straw
6. I Wanted To Be Wrong
7. Wanderlust
8. Boy In The Well
9. Aftermath
10. High Speed Train
11. The Worst Joke Ever
12. The Ascent Of Man
13. Around The Sun
FOOTBALL
Finally, in the last several months, I forgot how much I LOVE football. I mean love it. I mean, happiness. I mean, lose me weekends (a weekend where I need to work) to football. So a few things that rock in the world: (1) Michigan lost to (UNRANKED!) Notre Dame. Now granted, it's not exactly as if Ohio State rocked against unranked Marshall, needing a last second field goal to win (and a 55 yard field goal at that. Does Nugent really have to graduate this year?? :( That was SUCH a tight ending. The got the ball on their own 45 with about 25 second left. And Zwick, who hasn't exactly inspired Krenzel like faith in me for last second victories yet, though he played pretty good yesterday. If you missed the game, or even just the thirty seconds of the game, I am truly sorry.) So like I said, it's not exactly like Ohio State rocked and looked great, while Michigan looked bad. But at the end of the day, Ohio State is 2-0 and ranked #7 in the ESPN Poll, and Michigan is 1-1 and ranked #17 in the Coaches Poll (AP poll not out yet). (Kansas State got their asses kicked too, and Oregon lost, if you wanted to know more upsets.) (2) The NFL is back once again. Happy Sundays. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate Baltimore?? I mean, there are team that you LOVE to HATE, like Pittsburgh, and there are teams that you just hate. Pittsburgh is the former, Baltimore is the latter. There is nothing positive about Baltimore, nothing good, nothing fun. Nothing redeeming. Nothing period. Ugh. I just hate Baltimore. Clevelanders still have tattoos that say "Art Modell can go to hell." That was in 1996. Yes, we are still holding grudges. (Actually, doubly insulting, the Cleveland Indians were 99-62 that year, the best team in baseball, and lost in the Division Series to Baltimore when Robby Alomar hit a home run in the 4th game. I think (and I swear, I don't think I'm making this up for the dramatic element, it's actually how I remember it) it was even in extra innings. Maybe the 12 or 13th inning. Off (of course) Jose Mesa (for those who remember 1997. Ugh. I *still* get emotional talking about that so, I won't.) And this was just a few weeks after Robby spit on the umpire, so he was already disliked lots. And then even more irritating, when he played for us and we went to the playoffs, he sucked. Especially against Seattle. I mean, sucked like he wasn't even trying. But I completely digress. This is a tribue to football. But 1996 was a bad year and you have to understand that to understand why I hate Baltimore. I actually had tickets to this game, and traded them in for the Pittsburgh game. But anyway, football is back, and happy days are here again. Anyway, I'm going to pretend to work while I'm watching football. (Let's get real, I can't *really* work when football is on. So I sit with my work next to me, and my beer on the papers. Ahh....I love Sundays during football season...
The Question: Who are people Ken Jennings is NOT mistaken for.
"You know, nobody thinks I'm Cary Grant, nobody thinks I'm James Bond, you know. You got to embrace your nerdhood, I think." -Ken Jennings
REM!
And lest Curtis once again accuse me of somehow liking Ken Jennings more than REM and Michael Stipe (which is, by the way, ridiculous and bordering on libelous. Michael Stipe has, for like 13 years, inspired me to learn all the words to It's The End Of The World, (and my friends will testify I drove them nuts in this little project of mine) to purchase a t-shirt from Hard Rock Cafe beause he designed it in the mid 1990s, to purchase tickets any time REM comes to Ohio, to purchase concert t-shirts (only REM and Buffet inspire such devotion). When I see Ken Jennings on tv, I am obsessed about a water cooler pop culture fad, but I am not struck to purchase anything or learn anything.)
But anyway, has anyone heard the new REM single Leaving New York? (It can be purchased via ITunes, which I am not intelligent enough to master, or can be listened to on command on their website. It starts out as a slow, ballody song, ala Automatic For The People's Nightswimming or Find the River, but gets a bit mid-tempo-y. It's been called a love song by god, ahh, I mean Michael, but I'm not 100% sure if he means it as a love song to someONE or a love song actually TO New York City. It might actually BE the city, as it's kinda wistful. This link might take you to the song, but I'm not sure.
The lyrics to REM's Leaving New York
It's quiet now
and what it brings
is everything
comes calling back
a brilliant night
I'm still awake
I looked ahead
I'm sure I saw you there.
You don't need me
to tell you now
that nothing can compare
You might have laughed if I told you,
You might have hidden a frown.
You might have succeeded in changing me
I might have been turned around.
It's easier to leavethan to be left behind,
Leaving was never my proud,
Leaving New York never easy,
I saw the light fading out.
Now life is sweet
and what it brings
I try to take.
But loneliness
it wears me out
it lies in wake.
And all not lost
still in my eye,
the shadow of necklace
across your thigh, I might've lived my life in
a dream but i swear it.
This is real.
Memory fuses
and shatters like glass
Mercurial future, forget the past.
It's you,
it's what I feel
You might have laughed if I told you,
You might have hidden a frown.
You might have succeeded in changing me
I might have been turned around.
It's easier to leave
than to be left behind,
Leaving was never my proud,
Leaving New York never easy,
I saw the light fading out.
Find it in your heart,
it's pulling me apart,
Find it in your heart, Change.
[Repeating "I told you, forever, I love you, forever " several times during "Its pulling me apart. Find it in your heart." several times. Then "you never, you never. You told me forever."]
You might have laughed if I told you
You might have hidden your frown.
You might have succeeded in changing me.
I might have been turned around.
It's easier to leave than to be left behind,
Leaving was never my proud,
Leaving New York never easy,
I saw the light fading out.
Leaving New York never easy,
I saw the light fading out.
For the record, the greatest invention ever was the internet, because now I have REM at my disposal 24/7 via their website (includes videos and live performances, including TWO performances of It's The End Of The World As We Know It - and some of these are old enough that Michael has HAIR, people! Actually, when he shaved me head, that was the first time I realized I thought that intentionally shaved heads could be really hot.) Oh, and videos at my disposal via Launch. Yes, at times the lyrics push a bit towards melodramatic cheese, but (1) it's a really wistful sound, just the tone in Michael's voice as he is singing, and (2) it's sing-alongy (I know because I have been, the song is STUCK in my head) and (3) the lyrics are just...something//that is so reflective (I think even aside from his wistfulness) . It grows on you, it really does.
Anyway, the Vote for Change concert is in less than three weeks - October 2. I'm slightly bitter b/c the person I was SUPPOSED to go see the concert with bailed on me, but I'll go even if I have to sit there myself like a loser! I am REALLY hoping they play some older stuff (cough: It's The End Of The World As We Know It) and not stuff from Around the Sun, their new album (which doesn't come out until October 5th (October 4 in other countries, what bullshit is that??) so I won't know the songs yet) because they are coming BACK the 27th of October which is the tour for Around the Sun -- assuming I can get tickets after the interview fiasco prevented me from getting the pre-sale tickets for fan club members.
The songs on Around the Sun:
1. Leaving New York
2. Electron Blue
3. The Outsiders
4. Make It All Okay
5. Final Straw
6. I Wanted To Be Wrong
7. Wanderlust
8. Boy In The Well
9. Aftermath
10. High Speed Train
11. The Worst Joke Ever
12. The Ascent Of Man
13. Around The Sun
FOOTBALL
Finally, in the last several months, I forgot how much I LOVE football. I mean love it. I mean, happiness. I mean, lose me weekends (a weekend where I need to work) to football. So a few things that rock in the world: (1) Michigan lost to (UNRANKED!) Notre Dame. Now granted, it's not exactly as if Ohio State rocked against unranked Marshall, needing a last second field goal to win (and a 55 yard field goal at that. Does Nugent really have to graduate this year?? :( That was SUCH a tight ending. The got the ball on their own 45 with about 25 second left. And Zwick, who hasn't exactly inspired Krenzel like faith in me for last second victories yet, though he played pretty good yesterday. If you missed the game, or even just the thirty seconds of the game, I am truly sorry.) So like I said, it's not exactly like Ohio State rocked and looked great, while Michigan looked bad. But at the end of the day, Ohio State is 2-0 and ranked #7 in the ESPN Poll, and Michigan is 1-1 and ranked #17 in the Coaches Poll (AP poll not out yet). (Kansas State got their asses kicked too, and Oregon lost, if you wanted to know more upsets.) (2) The NFL is back once again. Happy Sundays. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate Baltimore?? I mean, there are team that you LOVE to HATE, like Pittsburgh, and there are teams that you just hate. Pittsburgh is the former, Baltimore is the latter. There is nothing positive about Baltimore, nothing good, nothing fun. Nothing redeeming. Nothing period. Ugh. I just hate Baltimore. Clevelanders still have tattoos that say "Art Modell can go to hell." That was in 1996. Yes, we are still holding grudges. (Actually, doubly insulting, the Cleveland Indians were 99-62 that year, the best team in baseball, and lost in the Division Series to Baltimore when Robby Alomar hit a home run in the 4th game. I think (and I swear, I don't think I'm making this up for the dramatic element, it's actually how I remember it) it was even in extra innings. Maybe the 12 or 13th inning. Off (of course) Jose Mesa (for those who remember 1997. Ugh. I *still* get emotional talking about that so, I won't.) And this was just a few weeks after Robby spit on the umpire, so he was already disliked lots. And then even more irritating, when he played for us and we went to the playoffs, he sucked. Especially against Seattle. I mean, sucked like he wasn't even trying. But I completely digress. This is a tribue to football. But 1996 was a bad year and you have to understand that to understand why I hate Baltimore. I actually had tickets to this game, and traded them in for the Pittsburgh game. But anyway, football is back, and happy days are here again. Anyway, I'm going to pretend to work while I'm watching football. (Let's get real, I can't *really* work when football is on. So I sit with my work next to me, and my beer on the papers. Ahh....I love Sundays during football season...
posted by -Me @ 9/12/2004 01:03:00 PM
1 Comments:
At 4:03 PM,
Curtis said…
I think that you would enjoy my college friend Andy, because of an REM bond. He also knows all the words to It's the End of the World. Not only that but he seems to know all the words to EVERY REM song. That is all he would listen to in his car -- REM. He has every album and single and import released. I thought it was a tad bit obsessive to only listen to REM in your car, but that's what he enjoyed. I'm guessing he still does the same thing.
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