Tuneage

"I'm just a crazy motherfucker, livin' it up, not giving a fuck, livin' life in the fast lane..."
Limp Bizkit - "Livin' it Up"

As you can probably guess, Limp Bizkit is my favorite band. I've really been into them for the last year, year and a half or so (new album in '07?). I'm the kind of guy who needs his music when he rides, ya know? And now, with the newer trucks (moving into the 21st century) that have CD players instead of just cassette players, I can bring my favorite CD's with and play them when I want. Some drivers prefer to drive in silence, or have their CB radios on so they can chatter (about nothing most of the time), others are content to listen to the regular radio (you can tell who's had the truck before you by turning on the radio - if it's an R&B station, chances are a black guy had it, etc.- not always). Still others, the lucky ones, have satellite radios
(maybe they're not so lucky, since they probably had to pay for it). But me, when I climb into my truck at midnite or 2:00 in the morning, I need something that's going to kick me right in the nuts, really get me going.
Yeah, I realize that my phone or my Nextel could be ringing, someone trying to reach me (why anyone would be calling in the middle of the night is beyond me), but I guess they'll just have to wait till the song is done. I remember when I used to drive to Grand Rapids in the old Volvos,
they only had cassette players, so I would bring my old classic rock tapes, which I had taped from the albums years ago. You know, Geneseis, Yes, Led Zeppelin, etc. I also had (and still have) several mix tapes, with some of my favorite tunes on them. It's funny, just within the past couple of years, I've moved away from the "classic rock" genre. Sure, I'll always stop and listen to a great Led Zeppelin song, or Pink Floyd, but I can't listen to those radio stations any more; I mean there's only so much Boston, or AC/DC that I can handle, no offense to anyone. So, I've
started getting more into "alternative" music, from the late '80's on. Bands like Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, STP, Soundgarden, et al. And I like some of the newer bands as well, like Nickleback, Crossfade, Three Doors Down, Blue October, etc.
Actually, my musical tastes run the whole gambit: my dad was really into classical, so I became a nut for Mozart during the mid '80's, around the time the movie Amadeus was released.
Because I played trombone in high school and college, I got into jazz and it's offshoots early on
as well. So I'll bend my ear when a tune from Chicago, Blood, Sweat & Tears, or Earth, Wind & Fire comes on the radio. I also really enjoy blues, R&B, even some country (although I prefer artists who are on the fringes of country, like Bonnie Raitt, Mindy Smith, even Shania Twain and
Faith Hill). I can handle just bits and pieces of rap (Cypress Hill, some Snoop Dogg, some Ice Cube, etc), but can't get into the really intense "gangsta" stuff.
I guess that's why I dig Limp Bizkit so much; they are multi-dimensional: mainly hard, "in your face" rock, but with some rap, some really sweet ballads, etc. thrown in there. I know other bands claim to be in the same genre (Korn, Linkin Park, etc.), but I think LB does it best - just my opinion. I'm no music critic, but I know what I like. To me, music falls into one of two categories: good or bad. But I remember my high school English teacher saying this: "All art is subjective." In other words, you can't say something is "good" or "bad" only that you like or don't like it. Some may not care for Mozart Symphonies, or Picasso paintings (they're morons),
while most of us love them. So "one man's trash is another man's treasure," I suppose.
It's funny - what's a 44 year-old doing listening to this kind of music? Am I trying to re-capture
my youth? Mid-age crisis? Maybe, I dunno. I just recently took my daughter to a concert in
Chicago, where the headlining band was Jack's Mannequin, with 3 (yes, I said three) opening
bands. I must have been one of about three people there over the age of, say 25. And we stood for 5 hours and, while all the bands were good (Jack's Mannequin is excellent), I was really feeling my age that night and a couple of days afterward. I mean, when there's a mosh pit going on twenty feet away from you, at my age, you know something just ain't right. My ears are still ringing, I think.
Despite all my other tastes, when it comes down "to it," I'm a rocker at heart. In fact, I love pulling into the truckstop, especially during the warmer months, so I can have my windows rolled down, just blasting "Gimme the Mic," or "Rollin" by Limp Bizkit, or some other kick-ass
tune, and watching the reaction I get from all the hillbillies ("That ain't no Hank Williams song!"
from The Blues Brothers) I laugh my ass off.
My other favorite CD these days is "Everything is Possible: The Very Best of Living Colour"
Awesome CD, awesome band - Vernon Reid is a fucking incredible guitar player. Being a frustrated guitarist myself, I really appreciate good guitarists, guys like Eddie Van Halen, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Alex Lifeson, the aforementioned Mr. Reid, et al. There are too many of them to list here, but I think you know what I mean. Jimi Hendrix probably influenced all of them, ya know? So, I'll bring my Limp Bizkit, Stain'd, Living Colour, Pearl Jam, etc. all with me on the road, and I play them usually at the same points in my route every week - I'm a strange cookie. Then I have to have my mellow stuff for the end of the day, when I need to relax (Bonnie Raitt, Mindy Smith, Blue October, etc.) Heck, I'll even listen to my Beatles (still my favorite band of all time) CD's when I'm in the mood. There you have it - a reformed classic rocker!

More soon,

Steve