Getting started

Hey, guys, it's Teej,

This is going to be looked down upon by some of my friends, which is fine. I know posting notes on facebook is laughed at, let alone blogs. I dunno, I just thought this was a great way to get things off my chest. As many of you know, I like to write. It's part of the reason I'm a history ed. major. This often results in me having very long away messages or facebook posts, consisting of thoughts I've had, descriptions of bands and songs, and fun facts. I figure by starting a blog, I can put all that stuff here, in one place that you don't read rather than a constant stream of things you don't read, haha. Additionally, I am much better at writing my words down than expressing them verbally, as I tend to stutter and lose my train of thought. Thus, you may find out things about me that I have never been able to really say before.


As most of you know I am essentially a straightedge. By that I mean I don't drink or do any form of drugs. I also don't swear. This comes with a large amount of challenges. I don't know how much I will get into this over time, but I might. I'll give you a brief synopsis here. A lot of people ask me why it is that I don't do any of these things, and I have a hard time answering, but I'll try to do my best. Basically, it's a personal decision based on how I was brought up, and at the point where I started thinking about these subjects on my own, as a result of peers participating in these activities, I came to the conclusion that I liked my life the way it was and adding these new aspects to my life was neither beneficial nor safe to myself, as I sometimes have an addictive personality. Over time, my views on these subjects have come looser as I have been exposed to them. As more people begin to paricipate in these activities, sometimes it is difficult to maintain relationships and relate to people without using them, especially at a university like Madison that has been ranked the number one party school in the country various times by various people. However, I have still stuck to it despite these handicaps, and I believe the friends that I am left with accept me the way I am. The irony of the situation is that the people that are involved in these activities are often intolerant of people that aren't involved in them, and as a result don't realize that I myself do not look down upon them because they partake in them. It is simply a personal decision that has nothing to do with a prejudice. Simply put, I would just feel bad if I went back on this commitment. I feel more of a lack of anyone who can relate to what I'm going through than an anger towards anyone who does drink or smoke. Like I said, I may go into this in more depth over time.


Anyway, moving past that, I am hugely into music, and without it I don't know what or where I'd be. I am sure with every post (including this one) I will give you a song I am enamored with, so without further ado, here are two. I will start with songs by my two favorite bands: Radiohead and the Velvet Teen (the picture below is of me and Judah Nagler, the singer). There is a stark contrast between their popularity. Radiohead is one of the most listened-to bands in the world. Their music influences half of the bands that exist today. I could go on for hours about the originality of Radiohead, but I won't. The main reason I love them is because, despite their fame, they continue to make the music they love despite what is being played on the mainstream airwaves, and have no qualms about how their music is rarely played on American radio. The Velvet Teen on the other hand, is a little indie band from Santa Rosa, CA. They are like Radiohead in the sense that they have continued to make whatever music they feel despite it's failure to bring them fame. This has resulted in every album being very different and very unorthodox. Elysium featured no guitars, yet it is some of the most mature music you will ever hear, and one of my two favorite albums with Radiohead's OK Computer. Thus, the two songs that I feature today will be from these two albums, one being Radiohead's Paranoid Android, my favorite song of all-time, and the other being the Velvet Teen's A Captive Audience. Enjoy.

Paranoid Android video
A Captive Audience at Last.fm
www.myspace.com/thevelvetteen