Ironic Twist
seeking irony, because sarcasm clashes with my outfit
Friday, September 05, 2003 :::
Guess who saw Britney Spears live last night? I did! Sure, it was from about a 1/4 mile away, on a screen that was often blocked by tall people, but that's just one more pop culture fantasy I can check off on my "to-do" list. The NFL Kickoff Live music went as such:
- Good Charlotte, "The Anthem"
- Mary J. Blige, "[some song I didn't know]" + "Family Affair"
- Britney Spears, "Me Against the Music" + "...Baby One More Time" and "I'm a Slave 4 U" medley
- Aerosmith, "Walk This Way," "Dream On" + "Back In the Saddle"
We got there right before Good Charlotte, who only did one song, but did it well, and looked like they were happy to be there on top of it. The visibly good attitude is always a plus.
I'm not a Mary J. Blige fan or anything, but I like "Family Affair." That's right, we don't need no hateration.
You all know I was there for Britney. And I was not disappointed. Sure, she lip-synched and whored it up. But that's what I expected. When you set your expectations so low, how can you not be pleased? My only complaint was that when the pants were torn off (she had tiny little shiny shorts underneath) everyone rushed forward to get a better view of the screen, and I missed some of the whoring it up.
Aerosmith, Aerosmith, Aerosmith. Could they have looked any more bored? Could their performance have been much weaker? Here’s where I admit that I’m an avid Aerosmith fan. I have way too many Aerosmith CDs. I've even seen them live before last night. So I can only say that I hope this was just an off day and not a glimpse of things to come. Although I worry it's the latter.
Thursday, September 04, 2003 :::
A last-minute decision must be made, and you shall help. Do I want to mingle with about a million football/Britney Spears-obsessed Americans tonight and go to at least part of NFL Kickoff Live, or not?
Here’s the schedule:
5:30 p.m. - DJ Scribble and DJ Riz Perform Onstage
6 p.m. - Crowd Welcome - Mayor of D.C., Joe Theismann and Joe Namath
6:15 p.m. - Redskins Cheerleaders Performance
6:25 p.m. - Good Charlotte
7:20 p.m. - Mary J. Blige
7:45 p.m. - Britney Spears
8:15 p.m. - John Madden and Al Michaels from FedEx Field
8:25 p.m. - Aerosmith
8:55 p.m. - Aretha Franklin performs the National Anthem
9:08 p.m. - New York Jets vs. Washington Redskins broadcast from FedEx Field
I mean, I wanna be able to say I saw Britney Spears (and for free, too) but it’s going to be a huge mess, and getting home, or at least to the office to pick up my car, is going to be a major adventure. (By adventure, I mean a pain in the ass.) As much as I love Aerosmith, I can’t say that I’d go were it not for Britney. (Don't mock what you can't understand, ok, anti-pop culture people?)
Yesterday, I spent 8:30 a.m. through 5:30 p.m. in a large room with lots of middle-aged white men in ties. Today, I’m doing the same. Tomorrow? You guessed it. The same. These men wear glasses that are too big and laugh at things that are not at all funny. Today, a Fred Savage look-alike from Utah joined the group. He’s wearing khakis and a navy blazer with gold buttons. Gold buttons! I have to spend a portion of the day reminding myself that these are not my direct co-workers (they’re just my project team until, oh, April or so). No, my co-workers are young, diverse and have a variety of interests that we can share outside of the office. I have to keep repeating that so that I don’t have a mini-meltdown in the middle of yet another three-hour systems discussion. It’s not that I hate my job. It’s just so far removed from how I want to spend the majority of my life that I need to remember that this is something I’m doing now, not until I can say, “Back in 2003, when I was your age and doing this…” So, I’m not complaining. Just sharing. Stay tuned for more from White Men in Ties Land when I get another 15-minute break.
I accidentally hit publish before writing anything else besides the paragraph above, but here it goes: Hedwig was superb -- great music, costumes, story, acting and everything else. And it wasn't as campy as I expected, or as sad. Despite all of the weirdness, it felt like such a genuine story that it was extremely easy to get into it and believe that Hedwig's story could happen.
Bowling for Columbine was enjoyable as well, but it was too scattered, too dragged out and too smug. For a man who didn't even come across as sure about what point he was trying to make, Michael Moore sure came across as obnoxious about making it. I'd definitely recommend watching the movie, but the extras weren't so great --- some interviews, a speech he gave at Denver University, Moore sitting in what looks like his back yard talking about his Oscar acceptance speech (the Academy didn't give him the rights to the footage). There was no director's commentary; instead, interns and PAs did the voice-over. I tried watching the commentary, but it wasn't very exciting, Marilyn Manson video aside.
A highlight of Bowling for Columbine was all of the Lockheed Martin talk. Those welfare-to-work programs against which Moore rages? My office writes the proposals since my employer, XXX, purchased the IMS division of Lockheed. I've never worked on one, but plenty of people here have. Makes ya think.
Here are some upcoming Seeking Irony-endorsed activities: Whirlwind Heat w/Aquarium (I'm thinking this isn't the 1970s Soviet band of the same name) backstage at the Black Cat on Sept. 4 (sorry, fans o' The Kills, they cancelled), and The Raveonettes, stellastarr* and Kittens for Christian on the mainstage Sept. 6. If you haven't seen stellastarr* yet, what the hell is your problem? See them, dammit, and they will make all your John Hughes, 80s loving dreams come true. Also at the Black Cat on Sept. 6 is Wag, 60s and 70s garage and soul dance night on the backstage. It's like I wasn't meant to go to Wag...
01/05: Taint and Bliss present INFAMY, 9:30 Club
01/10: Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton, 9:30 Club
01/19: Benjy Ferree, Meredith Bragg and the Terminals, Greenland, Black Cat 01/24: Hej Hej, Cafe Saint-Ex
