5 Weeks in NYC

So I'm going into week six of being in New York City. Time is flying.

Quick recap of my life in case you don't know (or if you don't care you can skip this part): I'm currently "temping" at a PR agency in NYC, and while I'm temping I'm living in a studio with two of my best friends. 3 dudes, one studio. We call it The Brutal Tomb. I sleep on an aerobed that loses air overnight because either I'm too fat or it's broken. Could be a healthy combination of the two. If I sent you a picture of this place you would laugh. It's absurd. This temp period was supposed to last two weeks. It's week five. It could result in being hired or it could result in nothing. That's my life right now.

These are my thoughts on the city so far, but some of them combine with working full-time.

1) There aren't enough hours in the day. Seriously. If you work 9-6, that's 9 hours of your day, give a hour to travel, hour to get ready, that's 11 hours of your day. If you get your 8 hours of sleep per day, you've only got 5 hours left. 1 hour for the gym, down to four hours. That's brutal. There are so many things I would love to do if I had the time/money/energy for, but it doesn't work.

2) New York doesn't sleep. Original line, but it's so true. This city literally goes and goes and goes. You can be out at a club or bar until 6 am, and by then you can get breakfast from the diners opening up. It's absurd. There are those days where you go from work to dinner to bar/movies and you don't go home once. That's more of a general observation, and I was spoiled in college when I only had 12 hours of class a week.

3) You will see every type of human being here. This isn't a jab at any type of person, but you see all walks of life. I guess in a city with over 8.5 million, that's the result you get. I couldn't tell you how many times I'm on the subway and I see strange people doing strange things. That being said, it's also surprising how many times I feel like I see the same people - mainly on my commute to work. You would think that dividing between 8.5 million my chances of being on the same subway car at 6pm at night as another person every other night would be slim.

4) Gotta have thick skin or this city will spit you out. While the people here are a lot nicer than I expected/heard about, there's still people who will be an asshole to you for no reason, and you can either fight back or just let it go, but you can't let it get to you. Cab drivers have told me to go eff myself multiple times. I was kicked out of a bar the other night because "you're not drinking." Nothing that is all too serious, but if you can't handle it you won't make it.

5) Every corner seems exactly the same. There's a Starbucks/McDonald's/Subway/Dunkin/Random Pizza place/ATM everywhere. It all looks the same. I couldn't tell you the difference between one corner and the next.

6) Speaking of pizza, it's delicious here.

I'm sure I'll have some more once I start actually living here in a real apartment and start making more friends. Until then, don't stop believing.

My Obsession with Bruce Springsteen

This post has been a long time coming. I've written it a few times and then deleted it and re-wrote it and re-wrote. I think I'm finally comfortable with this version. I think. I've tightened it so it's not a rambling mess or me trying to academically break down his music (believe me that was brutal), but just a short honest answer. I don't know why I'm taking the time to tell you this.

I don't know if it's been established how Bruce Springsteen is probably my favorite artist. I know I've written a lot about Kanye and Green Day lately, but Bruce is the favorite. I spent most of today trying to figure out why I love Bruce's music so much. I listened to it him day. I think I figured it out. The song/stories are about what I/we/everyone is chasing: The American Dream.

Think about what the American Dream means: the opportunity to succeed. To do whatever you want. It's the promise of prosperity. It's Working On A Dream (Bruce Pun counter: 1).


More specifically for a man, to find a woman, fall in love, start a family, provide for that family, and so on. Isn't that the typical male instinct?

That's what Bruce Springsteen's music is. Very simple. I know, I know, I'm not the first person to come up with this idea. It's so true though. Songs about dreams, work, love, success, failure, a somewhat blind optimism, etc. The thing I love the most is that he has written songs that I feel like I could apply to every emotion or feeling in my life. I may not be unemployed (well, eh, okay, sort of), in love, have my own family, and so on, but I still feel like I relate, and will be able to relate all my life. I love his optimism. Every day is a new opportunity to grow.


What else is amazing about Bruce is his longevity. At 61 he's still writing new music, and his music written almost over 40 years ago now are still relevant today. He hasn't forgotten who he is - a Jersey boy. He just wanted to get out of Jersey - doesn't everybody? I (thank god) don't come from Jersey, but I spent a lot of my free time there with my friends and spent time down the shore. I get it, sort of. I'm not from it at all, since South Jersey is like a Philly suburb, but I understand the idea when you're from a nowhere town. Doesn't almost everyone feel like they've got to get out of their hometown? That's the whole premise of Born to Run. Get out of the swamps of Jersey. Yet he's still in Jersey. And he fell for a Jersey Girl (pun counter: 2) and is still kicking ass as much as he was 30 years ago, playing for 3 hour sets when most bands can barely stay on stage for 90 minutes.

Bruce Springsteen represents the American ideal that this country stands for. It's changed quite a bit since he took over the world, but at it's core, he expresses everything that our country talks about. Especially after 9/11, no other album seemed to capture a sense of the nation than The Rising. It was what we needed at the time. I was also 14 when that came out, so I might be biased. Okay I'm most likely biased.

If you asked me to pick a favorite Bruce song, I don't think I could. It depends on my mood. And since he only has about 300+ songs to choose from, every day is a different answer. That's part of the beauty of it. One day I could be in a Tunnel of Love mood, but the next it's Rosalita. Either way it's from the same artist/storyteller/writer/etc. I'll probably write a post one day counting down my favorite 100 Bruce songs - things to look forward to! The sound is also different - how many popular bands have a saxophone as one of the band's key sounds? Only ones I could think of are Dave and OAR. Regardless, the band wouldn't be the same without Big Man's horn.
To capture my obsession, let me put it in numbers: I've downloaded over 100 live concerts from his shows. That's over 3600 songs. Andddd most of them are the same song. That's over 100 versions of Born to Run. I literally cannot get enough. I've been to four shows, and if I had better planning/money/friends/transportation, could of easily gone to at least four more. Hands down my favorite show I've been to.

I've had the cursor blinking on this line now for 20 minutes. I can't think of a way to close this post. I typically like to do stupid cheesy lines that humor me, but I can't think of it. So I'll end with a lyric. And PS I could of picked any lyric here and I would of been satisfied.

Meet Me In A Land Of Hope And Dreams.

Social Network

I swear I have more things on my mind than what I watch on film/tv. That's just the only thing I have that's worth blogging about.

That being said, I saw Social Network last night. I was really looking forward to seeing it - the combination of Aaron Sorkin and David Fincher was TOO good to pass up. Add in the idea of the creation of Facebook and it's a home run. I think I wrote this exact same paragraph before about American Idiot. I'm losing my creativity and my brain.

I knew going in that the movie wasn't totally true. It was Hollywood-ified. There were parts added for the convenience of the story. It's my understanding that most of it is true though, based off what I read.

The movie was good. It was neurotic. It really kind of describes how college (and as we grow out of college, the "real world") is now. You friend a girl you meet and class, probably one you don't really know outside of some glances, and determine if you're interested in her or not by her pictures (while she's showing the pictures that show her in her self-perceived "best light" - while you do the exact same thing) and find out the relationship situation and see who she's friends with etc etc. That's Facebook. Maybe not always about girls, but about people. Most likely people you don't know well.

I don't know if me or my friends could imagine college without it. It's such a strange concept. Seriously. And I'm not even talking about "stalking" girls. Just communicating with friends - especially those who you haven't seen in a while. Seeing what others are up to. Sharing your crazy stories. Writing a happy birthday wall post. And so on. I'd go to parties and people would say "Facebook Me." It's just how we operate.

It's changed the generation. We can't socialize normally. I know more about some people thru Facebook then I learned from hearing them speak. We hide behind our phones and our iPods and blogs and don't actually communicate anymore. It's absurd. I can't say I'm not guilty either, it's just the truth of our generation.

The only thing that really killed the movie for me was Justin Timberlake. He sucks as an actor. It was such a joke putting him in. It was just to make some kind of a "celebrity buzz" since most people wouldn't of known who Jesse Eisenberg is. Stop acting JT. Just make some more music for girls to go crazy over. Don't say "Bong hit!" in the middle of a movie. Ever.

I loved Fincher's vision. It was shot so well. It had a "Fight Club" pacing without going Tyler Durden crazy and no fighting. I also love to reference Fight Club and Tyler Durden whenever possible, so maybe I'm stretching it. Sticking feathers up your butt doesn't make you a chicken.

Zuckerberg came across as too smart for his own good - which is probably true. He's brutally honest and unable to communicate the way normal people do. It's interesting. I have never actually seem him talk, but I could believe he's something like this. It's also interesting to see the way the site developed, how the lawsuits came through, among other things. Something so simple that changed everyone's life.

Overall, it was good, I just think there was so much hype. Too much hype kills everything. And too much hype is why Facebook succeeds.

4 Days in October

This post is triggered by my watching the ESPN 30for30 Documentary "4 Days in October," highlighting the four days of games 4-7 in the 2004 ALCS.

It's well established I'm a Red Sox fan. I think it's also been well established that my Red Sox obsession was borderline insane. The level that you've heard about but didn't believe those type of people existed unless you had seen it. Jimmy Fallon in Fever Pitch, without the girl. That was me.

I wrote over a month ago how I feel like I lost my interest in my teams; that I wasn't invested as much as I was. That's still true. You grow up, your life changes, you do things differently, whatever. I still think the best way I can describe it was that we accomplished what we intended - to win a championship. It's not like the relationships over, but it's not as special as it used to be. It's like when you're not trying to impress your job/girlfriend/baseball team (because I was trying to impress an baseball team). The comfort zone. Whatever. There was nothing I wanted more than to beat the Yankees and win a ring. I was also 16. Needless to say, I have a few other priorities. Beating the Yankees isn't as high as it used to be, but it still feels great.


2004 was the height of my obsession. I think we peaked. I remember every day of October. Every single day. How many days do you remember from six years ago?


There was so much built up into the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry that 2003-2004 was truly special. It may never happen again. The entire series of events took place so fast that you easily lose sight of how special/rare/unbelievable those four days were. It was a blur. Like a dream that never seemed it would ever come true.


It really hit me why I love sports; because it's real. It's uncontrollable, unpredictable, yet a perfect chaos. Most of the time it's nothing out of the ordinary. It feels good if it's your team. If it's not, it's just another let down. Take any movie or television show or novel. They aren't real. Real stories rarely have a happy ending. That's what makes the story of the 2004 ALCS real drama. Exciting drama. Once-in-a-lifetime drama. It's not just that the Sox beat the Yankees, it was the way they did it. No other team has ever come back from three games down to win (well until the Flyers did it in the 2010 ECF [what's up Flyers!]) The World Series didn't even matter because it was a boring sweep. Beating the Yankees was better than the World Series. The World Series was just the icing on the cake. And really, this story caught the entire nation. Red Sox Nation was the sportsman of the year for Sports Illustrated, and it was everyone's feel good story of 2004. Or my life.

I was glad to watch the 30for30 documentary. It was a little cheezy, but I loved it. The Simmons/Clarke part was stupid. Kevin Millar milked his 15 minutes. But the images and audio gave me 45 minutes of goosebumps. It reminded me of how happy I was for those 11 days. I would argue it's the happiest streak in my life. A natural high. Isn't that pathetic? Whatever, this was my past. I wouldn't of had it any other way.

Keep the Faith.

American Idiot on Broadway

Last night I saw American Idiot on Broadway. I'm not sure if I'm emphasized how important this album was in my life in 2004-2006. So let me reiterate.

Remember when you were 16 and just started driving by yourself? And you could blast the music as loud as you wanted, listening to whatever you wanted? I had too much fun with it. Literally I burned at least 30 CDs - mainly of music I had never heard of - and would just listen and listen and listen. That's probably why my iTunes is overflowing with music I'll never listen to.

American Idiot was really one of those albums in my car - although it got bumped to the front of the list because the title song was featured on Madden NFL 2005. I'm serious. You don't have to remind me how cool I am.

Anyways, this was the album that I'd listen to the most - mainly on the commute to and from school. It was a different album than what I'd really known - I'd consider myself a music novice back then - in that it was a narrative story through song. It was different than anything else I'd heard, except for Born To Run (obviously). It was a story I felt like I could somewhat relate with - a teenager growing up in uncertainty. I didn't have a broken family, girlfriend, or drug addiction, but I felt I connected with it. Smells like Teenage Spirit. I'm not funny.

I couldn't tell you how many times I listened to that album. It was the go-to album for me and my close friends. Anytime we were driving, relaxing, working out, whatever. That was it. I used to have my trips home measured in time based on the songs (I'd be in the middle of Are We The Waiting from South Jersey, and would hit I-76 in time for Holiday, when I could speed up. Did I mention I'm super cool?) I think at least 4 songs from that album are on my iTunes Top 25 (Blink-182 has a huge presence there too, I blame Colin for that). I've been to four Green Day shows in the past six years, and each one has just been phenomenal. I can't get enough of the American Idiot songs. I'm not into the politics of it, I just enjoy the story it tells.

So okay, did I establish that I love the album?

I've been wanting to see the show on as soon as I had heard about it. I'm also not the one who wants to see any plays (although I'm interested in the Spiderman one too since U2 is doing the music). Originally it was only going to be for a week in LA. Then it got the promotion to the big leagues. So it's been on my radar for a while. The mere fact that a rock ("punk") band would be able to create an album that could be adopted and be successful on Broadway is an unbelievable achievement. Add to it that the album is easily one of my Top 5 ever and it's like a slam dunk.

Are you ready for me to talk about the show yet?

I don't know why I keep typing like this. Does anyone like it or am I losing readership?

I didn't really know what to expect - and I tried to read as little as possible so it would all be new. This week only, Billie Joe Armstrong (lead singer of Green Day, wrote the album, some consider him a God) was filling in for an actor on leave, and that made my expectations even greater.



The show was great. I'm not artsy enough to comment on the acting itself, but I think I set my expectations to be too high. That's not taking away from the show at all. It was re-written a little bit, and while it certainly didn't "upset" me, I was surprised. It makes sense, but I just wasn't ready. They also incorporated songs from the latest Green Day album, 21st Century Breakdown, which is another concept album, but is not as tight as Idiot. I didn't think they would be able to combine the two, but it worked pretty well.

I think it's like reading a book and then seeing the movie based on the book. You have this image in your head of how you think the events would happen - and it makes perfect sense. Then you see someone's vision of the story, and it wasn't what you had in mind. It's not wrong - it's just not how you imagined it. Which is why everyone says the book is better than the movie. It's interpretative. That's how I would describe it.


I guess what I was expecting was it to be more like a concert, and it's not. It's a performance. It's a story. The music is the background to the acting. It still was an amazing interpretation, and I really enjoyed the entire experience. If you hadn't heard the album beforehand, you might not of connected the dots.

Having Billie Joe in the show was surreal. He did a fantastic job as St. Jimmy, the Tyler Durden-like alter ego of the show. I just find it great that a multi-millionaire rock star who's toured around the world over and over would take the time to perform in a Broadway show that he wrote. And not only did he perform - he killed it.

The other thing that me and my buddy were talking about was the "punkness" of Green Day, and the debate of is doing a show on Broadway punk or not. You could argue it either way, saying that it's not, or that it's punk because it's one of the last thing you expect a punk band to do. Honestly though, who cares? Just enjoy it for what it is - entertainment.

I'll close with this link - for the encore, the entire cast came out and performed "Time of Your Life" with an acoustic guitar. With Billie Joe, it's even more powerful. Check it out.

I hope you had the time of your life.