Work is For Suckers & My Soundtrack Posting

Hey Gang.

I hope all is well.

Oh month end reports…why do you interrupt my dreams and make my stomach hurt? Why do I travel so far and work so hard at a job that I don’t even want or like anymore? I like the people, but I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this…I guess it could always be worse…But that’s hardly comforting.

It’s weird how I can watch films like “Office Space” or “American Beauty” or “Fight Club”…where some working stiff suddenly decides he’s had enough. That’s it. He tells the boss to shove it and somehow manages to get away with it…(for the short term at least)…Wouldn’t it be nice to start again? What would you change? Some people say they have no regrets…I’ve heard (and often said) that a life without regrets is a life half lived…Learning from our mistakes so we’re not condemned to repeat them…blah, blah, blah…There’s that “Star Trek: The Next Generation” episode where Captain Picard wonders what his life might have been if he had done “what he was supposed to do”…(whatever that is)…Long story short, his life woulda been shit…small fish, large pond…etc…Sometimes I think I watch too much TV and too many movies and read too much...Maybe I should plan something that's not so passive and escapist...What about a real adventure!?! Oh wait..."Mars Attacks! " is on TV...I'll just post this...and then I'll do something exciting and/or meaningful...(I probably won't)...

It’s weird that going in to work and not having someone waiting to “pick my brain” or seeing my phone flashing because of countless messages that demand immediate attention puts me at ease somehow…Also it’s nice to open my work e-mail and to not have a bunch of stuff in there that…you guessed it…requires immediate action…Sometimes the little things help get you through the day…

But it's the weekend! Though most of it has already been planned, I have some time to rant here...

As for this Keeks’ soundtrack idea…I have been thinking about it a lot...Just for the record...I am not a rock. I am not an island. Isn't it weird how we can feel such a strong connection to lyrics written by some one else? Though most of us understand that some of these songs are written about universal truths and/or the human condition...there are still guys like that fellow in "Imagine" who was puzzled that John Lennon didn't write the songs "specifically for him"...Lennon invited him in for a meal anyway...

There are probably a lot more songs that could fit in here, but I'll try to keep it relatively brief...

When I was a kid…

Wouldn't It Be Nice ~ The Beach Boys

Wouldn't it be nice if we were older
Then we wouldn't have to wait so long
And wouldn't it be nice to live together
In the kind of world where we belong


Then, when testosterone and reason battled it out inside of me…

Going To Pasalcqua ~ Green Day

Here we go again, Infatuation touches me
just when I thought that it would end

Oh but then again
it seems much more than that
but I'm not sure exactly what you're thinking
Well I toss and turn all night
Thinking of your ways of affection
But to find that it's not different at all

Will I throw away my past mistakes
And contemplate my future?
That's when I say...
What the hey!
Would it last forever?
You and I together,
hand and hand
We run away
(far away)

I'm in for nasty weather
But I'll take whatever
you can give that comes my way
(far away)
…
(Repeat)

Some of the higher education years…

School Of Fish ~ Three Strange Days

For three strange days
I had no obligations
My mind was a blur
I did not know what to do
And I think I lost myself
When I lost my motivation
Now I'm walking 'round the city
Just waiting to come to For three strange

...

I've got to make it through
No matter what it takes
Oh I've got to make it through
These strange days

I lay down for a while
And I woke up on the ocean
Floating on my back
And staring at the gray
It was completely still
Except the pounding of my heart
Bringing me back to life
From three strange days …

I remember listening to the next record ("Breakfast in America") with my cousin in his parents' basement when we were little. I liked the song, but the lyrics didn’t really seem to matter at the time. Now they seem to sum things up so well…quite brilliantly, really.

The Logical Song ~ Supertramp

When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful,
a miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical.
And all the birds in the trees, well they'd be singing so happily,
joyfully, playfully watching me.

But then they send me away to teach me how to be sensible,
logical, responsible, practical.
And they showed me a world where I could be so dependable,
clinical, intellectual, cynical.

There are times when all the world's asleep,
the questions run too deep
for such a simple man.
Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned
I know it sounds absurd
but please tell me who I am.

Now watch what you say or they'll be calling you a radical,
liberal, fanatical, criminal.
Won't you sign up your name, we'd like to feel you're
acceptable, respectable, presentable, a vegetable!

At night, when all the world's asleep,
the questions run so deep
for such a simple man.
Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned
I know it sounds absurd
but please tell me who I am.


When I’m bummed out or angry (not Pantera angry, mind you), I tend to like listening to a sad song that explodes into the chorus…

F.O.D. ~ Green Day

(The part when it goes from calm to angry)
…

you're just a fuck
I can't explain it 'cause I think you suck
I’m taking pride
in telling you to fuck off and die

I've had this burning in my guts now for so long
my belly's aching now to say
I've taken pleasure in the masochistic youth
so listen up cause you might miss...

You're just…
a fuck…
I can't explain it 'cause I think you suck
I’m taking pride
in telling you to fuck off and die

good night…

Dead Horse ~ Guns N' Roses

Sick of this life
Not that you'd care
I'm not the only one
with whom these feelings I share

Nobody understands,
quite why we're here
We're searchin' for answers
That never appear

But maybe if I looked real hard I'd
I'd see you’re tryin' too
To understand this life,
That we're all goin' through

Then when she said she was gonna like wreck my car...I didn't know what to do

(Chorus:)
Sometimes I feel like I'm beatin' a dead horse
And I don't know why you'd be bringin' me down
I'd like to think that our love's worth a tad more
It may sound funny but you'd think by now
I'd be smilin'
I guess some things never change
Never change

I met an old cowboy
I saw the look in his eyes
Somethin' tells me he's been here before 'cause
experience makes you wise

I was only a small child
When the thought first came to me
That I'm a son of a gun
and the gun of a son that
brought back the devil in me

(Chorus)

It may sound funny but you'd think by now
I'd be smilin'
I guess some things never change
Never change

I ain't quite what you'd call an old soul
Still wet behind the ears
I been around this track a couple o' times
But now the dust is startin' to clear

Oh yeah!!!

(Chorus)

Sick of this life
Not that you'd care
I'm not the only one
With whom these feelings I share

Then there are those times when I feel like an old man with a misdirected sense of entitlement…(not impotent yet though)…

The Grouch ~ Green Day

I was a young boy that had big plans
Now I'm just another shitty old man
I don't have fun and I hate everything
This world owes me so fuck you

Glory days don't mean shit to me
I drank a six pack of apathy
Life's a bitch and so am I
The world owes me so fuck you

Wasted youth and a fistful of ideas
I had a young and optimistic point of view
Wasted youth and a fistful of ideas
I had a young and optimistic point of view

I've decomposed yet my gut's getting fat
Oh my God, I'm turning out like my Dad
I'm always rude, I've a bad attitude
The world owes me so fuck you

The wife's a nag and the kid’s fucking up
I don't have sex 'cause I can't get it up
I'm just a grouch sitting on the couch
The world owes me so fuck you

This is one of those song that reflects how you can see a guy who’s down on his luck and you wonder if that could be you one day…Great song. Great lyrics.

Android ~ Green Day

Hey old man in woman's shoes
I wonder if he knows I think he's crazy
When he was young did he have dreams
of wearing woman's shoes And being crazy

It's makes me wonder when
I grow to be that age
Will I be walking down the street
Begging for your spare change
Or will I grow that old?
Will I still be around?
The way I carry on
I'll end up six feet underground
And waste away...

When the old man was in school
Did the golden rule make him go crazy
Or did he hide away from hopes
Behind a smile and smoking dope
It's crazy

It seems so frightening
Time passes by like lightning
Before you know it you’re struck down

I always waste my time on
My chemical emotions
It keeps my head spinning around

Waste away.

I often try to start the day by listening to the next song…either before work (but Stern usually takes that slot…and now that his commercial breaks are shorter, there isn’t much time to sneak it in) or it’s the first song I play once I get to work…on my iPod mini…It's just a lovely song that can always pick up my spirits…

Here Comes The Sun ~ The Beatles

Here comes the sun,
here comes the sun,
And I say
it’s all right.

Little darling
it’s been a long cold lonely winter,
Little darling
it feels like years since it’s been here.

Here comes the sun,
here comes the sun,
And I say
it’s all right.

Little darling
the smiles returning to their faces,
Little darling
it seems like it’s years since it’s been here,

Here comes the sun,
here comes the sun,
And I say
it’s all right.

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes. (4 Times)

Little darling
I feel that ice is slowly melting,
Little darling
it seems like years since it’s been clear

Here comes the sun,
here comes the sun,
It’s all right,
it’s all right.

This next song is just great any old time. I think I could listen to it repeating all day…for about 3 days in a row maybe…

She Came In Through the Bathroom Window ~ The Beatles

Oh look out
She came in through the bathroom window,
Protected by a silver spoon
But now she sucks her thumb and wonders
By the banks of her own lagoon

Didn’t anybody tell her
Didn’t anybody see
Sunday’s on the phone to Monday
Tuesday’s on the phone to me.

She said she’d always been a dancer
She worked at fifteen clubs a day
And though she thought I knew the answer
Well I knew I could not say.
And so I quit the police department
And got myself a steady job
And though she tried her best to help me
She could steal but she could not rob.

This one also just kinda sums things up quite nicely…

In My Life ~ The Beatles

There are places I remember
All my life, though some have changed,
Some forever, not for better,
Some have gone and some remain.

All these places had their moments,
With lovers and friends I still can recall,
Some are dead and some are living,
In my life I’ve loved them all.

But of all these friends and lovers,
There is no one compares with you,
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new.

Though I know I’ll never lose affection
For people and things that went before,
I know I’ll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more.

This one’s like the updated equivalent…

Good Riddance (Time of your Life) ~ Green Day

Another turning point
A fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist
Directs you where to go
So make the best of this test
And don't ask why
It's not a question
But a lesson learned in time
It's something unpredictable
But in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life

So take the photographs
And still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf
of Good health and good time

Tattoos of memories
And dead skin on trial
For what it's worth
It was worth all the while
It's something unpredictable

But in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life
It's something unpredictable
But in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life
It's something unpredictable
But in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life

And this one for Lasagna…(except the remote control part)…

Grow Old With You ~ Adam Sandler

I wanna make you smile
whenever you're sad
Carry you around
when you're arthritis is bad

Oh all I wanna do
is grow old with you

I'll get you medicine
when your tummy aches
Build you a fire
if the furnace breaks

Oh, it could be so nice
growing old with you

I'll miss you
kiss you
Give you my coat when you are cold

Need you
Feed you
I'll even let you hold the remote control

So let me do the dishes
in our kitchen sink
Put you to bed
when you've had too much to drink

Oh, I could be the man
who grows old with you

I wanna grow old with you

As for my funeral, It could probably be

Another One Bites the Dust ~ Queen

...

Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
And another one gone
and another one gone
Another one bites the dust
Hey I'm gonna get you too
Another one bites the dust

...

Anyway, I hope that didn't suck too badly...I tried to think of songs that would capture the mood of the periods in my life (as I recall them)...To be honest, at this point in my life, I could have gone with all Beatles stuff or all Green Day and still formed a pretty good list...But this is as concise as I get...I was thinking of just using "The Logical Song"...It sums up life in a nutshell.

Future Posts:
I am also planning a big post on that James Frey guy...Oprah took him apart the other day and I'd like to comment on it a bit ...while it's still somewhat relevant...But that's another story for another time...

Take care out there.

Your Pal,

Zambo.

P.S.
I'm just looking in my iTunes Library and there are so many songs that could apply to the soundtrack of my life...Though I deviated from your format, I hope that was OK, Keeks.