RIP Lindsay Alice Lewis (1983 - 2011)

At the young age of 28, Lindsay Lewis passed from this life Friday, Sept. 23, 2011, in Frisco. Funeral: 10 a.m. Tuesday at The Heights in Richardson. Interment: Pecan Grove Cemetery in McKinney. Visitation: 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Tuesday prior to the service. Memorials: A trust fund has been set up on behalf the family through Bank of America, Account #488032686043, Routing #111000025. Online transfer can be made entering Lewis and 75071. Lindsay was born to Gregory Allen and Darcy Pettijohn Breault in Arlington on May 27, 1983. She was married to her high school sweetheart, Gabe Lewis. She became a loving mother of two when the Lord blessed them with Brody Journey Lewis, 2 1/2 years, and Cash Allen Lewis, 11 months. Lindsay was a teacher employed at Top of the World Daycare in McKinney. Survivors: She is survived by her husband, Gabe; her sons, Brody and Cash, all of McKinney; mother, Darcy Osborne and husband, Ron, of Frisco; father, Greg Breault and wife, Pat, of Arlington; sister, Devon Breault of Fort Worth; grandparents, George Breault of Arlington, Betty Rivers of San Antonio; and many other close family and friends.

Neighborhoods

After 8 long years, Blink 182 has finally released a new album and it is awesome. I know i am bias because I have been a fan since junior high.

I have alot of blink memories through out the years, one for example was when my neighbors had their extremely hot niece stay with them for a week during the summer. Another memory was driving in my 1992 GMC whit Austin while shooting of bottle rockets, fireworks, smoke bombs, and other illegal explosives that a kid at the ripe age of 16 or 17 can buy at a shady gas station in Burleson, TX. We had to stop once Austin threw a smoke bomb on a cop car's windshield and the cigarette lighter flew into my lap while driving.

I also gave a somewhat questionable first impression to my friend Katie's mom because I gave her the Enema of the State cd as a bday gift. Apparently, her mom thought I was giving her a porn movie as a gift and quickly took it away from her. For awhile I was known as that weird kid who gives porn to girls and then they thought I died for awhile because they didn't see me for a long period of time. Now they know me as that kid who gets in trouble with their son-in-law from time to time. Below is a picture of the Enema of the State album cover that was given to her.

It’s no secret that blink 182 grew up quite some time ago. 2003′s self-titled album had nary a dick or fart joke, the band’s trademark toilet humor replaced by New Wave murk and songs increasingly focused on alienation, broken homes, and relationships gone sour. And while the pop punk pioneers had never steered away from heavier subject matter (listen to “Cacophony” off of Cheshire Cat for early evidence of catchy mopery), it was always peppered between smart aleck-y sneers about Star Wars, masturbation, and grandparents shitting their pants on Labor Day.

The adolescent juxtaposition was a strength as much as a signature. So, given the epic dramatics of their last studio release, it’s not a surprise that Neighborhoods is even doomier and gloomier than its predecessor. The band has seen their fair share of obstacles over the past eight years, from typical grievances like divorce to the tragic plane crash that nearly took Travis Barker’s life and indirectly led to the death of the band’s good friend DJ AM. It only makes sense that they’d amp up the pessimism and plunge into darkness, and much like Blink-182, that’s both the weakness and the strength of Neighborhoods. The weighty aesthetic makes the punky bombast all that more effective and fascinating but also tends to swallow it up in an ocean of melodrama.

Fortunately, the tracks that work work well. Opener “Ghost on the Dance Floor” makes wonderful use of the band’s clashing energies, kicking off with ’80s keyboard ambiance soon invaded by Tom DeLonge’s furious buzz saw guitar. It fades in slowly, then bursts into familiar full throttle with Barker’s precise snare and Hoppus’ full bass, teetering back and forth between seeps of synthesizers and perfected three-chord bliss. The trend continues on “Natives”, its rapid-fire offbeat strategically derailed by ethereal guitar and Hoppus’s haunting chorus, rife with romantic yearning and imagery of Jekyll and Hyde.

The record’s first misstep comes with third track and (confusingly) first single, “Up All Night”, which combines the bloated production of Angels & Airwaves with the snot-packed nag of Boxcar Racer, abruptly switching between crunchy guitar and an unfocused keyboard riff. Hoppus has always possessed a clearer vocal quality that seems better suited for the more serious stuff (DeLonge often sounds like he’s whining), but on “Up All Night”, he’s limited to the chorus and a couple of trade-off lines in the verses. Although having two vocalists continues to serve the band well, it’d be nice to hear Hoppus featured a bit more on Neighborhoods. His stripped-down “Heart’s All Gone” ranks among the best tracks on the record, blending the bare bones of three-piece instrumentation with lyrics that are simple yet mature. “This seemed so sweet at the start, but the start’s all wrong/you say you speak from your heart, but your heart’s all gone,” he belts. It’s a track that blends the best elements of Blink’s younger years with the weathered wisdom of their late 30s.

“Mh 4.18.2011″ follows the same garage-hook formula with great success, as does DeLonge’s “Wishing Well”, making nice use of muted production flourishes interrupted by a popping chorus reminiscent of younger punkers Gaslight Anthem. Here, DeLonge’s lyrics rely on visuals instead of empty overstatements, crafting a sonic narrative of diving into a wishing well and eventually washing up on a jagged shore. It trumps overwrought sentiments such as, “All I hear are the many echoes of the darkest words you said,” found on earlier, sludgier cut “After Midnight”. The album closes in similar soap opera fashion with “Love Is Dangerous”. Saccharine keyboards float over a plodding chord progression and numbing echo effects, building nowhere to a chorus that does nothing but repeat the clunky title of the song.

The deluxe edition contains two additional tracks at the end: Barker’s cluttered soundscape “Fighting the Gravity” and DeLonge yawner “Even if She Falls”. Along with “Snakecharmer”, which sounds like it was produced by Linkin Park, and an unnecessary interlude that leads into “Heart’s All Gone” (nearly stripping the song of everything that makes it good), the bonus tracks do little but inflate an already inflated album. With the 10-song version, the moments of brilliance (and there are many) are still able to shine through, giving hope that Blink could one day put out a record that perfectly marries their catchy energy with their more adult impulses.

Essential Tracks: “Ghost on the Dance Floor”, “Heart’s All Gone”, and “Natives”.

The Dallas Derby Devils

Do you like roller skates? Do you like those girls in those said roller skates? Do you like to see those said girls in those said roller skates going around in a constant circle like in Nascar? Then you are in luck my friends because that is exactly what I witnessed Saturday night.

Amy, Stephanie, and I decided to go to a roller derby match since non of us have seen one before and we will see any sporting event where there is the slightest chance of blood being spilled on the floor.

Since three of us had never been to a match before, we really didn't know what to expect with the exception of what I could remember from the movie "Whip It".

The event started with a performance by the current World Champions of Jump Roping. Don't worry, you read that previous sentence correctly. World Champions of Jump Roping Performance. And I cant lie, they were pretty damn good. Kids were jumping up and down, then doing handstands, flips, and I am pretty sure I saw one kid prepare his parents' taxes all while jump roping.

After the 10 minute performance, it was time for the derby to begin. As the teams and players were being announced, the emcees were also giving a quick cliff notes version of what to look for during the game and how to score points. I didn't understand how any of it worked at first, but I was willing to give it a try mainly because I wanted to see people fall down alot.

If I learned one thing from this night at the derby, it is the fact that those girls can skate and they will try to knock each other on their asses. Girls formed lines to block to opposing side from advancing while one lone, crazy girl would be on her own trying to push, block, punch, or trample over anybody that she could.

The first game was pretty interesting, but not as fast paced as I thought it would be. It seemed like the skaters would skate around in a couple of circles and somehow score 20 points from doing that. The good part about this particular match was that one girl got injured pretty bad.

What happened was when a bunch of girls were rounding a corner, one girl fell down and it became a domino effect for the rest of the skaters. The girls only had to choices at this point. Either quickly jump out of the way or get tangled in the sea of girls on the floor. No one got hurt with the exception of the girl who feel first and she received a face full of roller skates.

She got hit hard enough where it knocked her out for a minute. After several attempts to stand up, she finally just laid on the floor until the medic could get to her and try to help her out. The game was paused and the coaches and medic eventually got her off the court and she seemed fine.

After that match ended, it was time to start with the halftime entertainment which was a band consisting of 4 elementary school aged girls covering 80s songs and a plastic duck throwing competition with the winner receiving a bottle of whiskey.

When the half time show ended, it was time for the main event, the title bout between the Slaughters and some other team. This match was much more fast paced and more exciting than the previous match. Girls were beating the hell out of each other, knock them down, throwing themselves into coaches, and even hitting one girl hard enough that she had to be taken out of the game in a wheel chair.

The game finally ended with, I think, the team other than the Slaughters winning. It was pretty fun and I would probably go again just to see people get hurt with potential bloodshed.

Austin City Limits 2011

Well, it is that time of the year again where I embark on a journey to Austin, Texas and attend a 3 day concert known as Austin City Limits.

I am particularly excited about this year because there are going to be some acts that will be at ACL, or what one of my musically challenged friends refers to as THE PUSSY ROCK FESTIVAL, that I would not normally get the chance to see.

Some of those acts were Kayne West, Stevie Wonder (who was bad ass by the way), Randy Newman, Jack Ingram, and Cee Lo Green. Another great aspect of this festival is that you can check out a band who may have one well known song on the radio at the time and see what the rest of their set is like. That is how I discovered bands like Grace Potter and the Nocturnals and Cut Copy.

One thing I experienced this year that I have yet to go through any of the previous ACL Festivals that I went to was the rain. It had a constant drizzle of rain on Friday and Saturday. It would have been great if it just down poured for a little bit instead of an all day constant drizzle because I got pretty damn tired of wiping the rain off of my glasses.

The highlights of the concert for me this year was seeing Arcade Fire close the festival, Randy Newman singing "You've Got A Friend In Me" from Toy Story, Coldplay, and Stevie Wonder singing everything that he sung.

Oh, and I cant forget all of the people at the concert. If you ever just want to enjoy a good weekend of people watching, then you should try this festival out. I saw all kinds of people dressed in all kinds of ways that will haunt my dreams. Some of the people were scarier than Pennywise, the killer clown from Stephen King's "It".

I almost didn't make the concert this year due to travel restraints and me being sick. My sickness, just my allergies acting up like a woman who has been scorned in any LifeTime man hater movie, actually saved me a ton of money. This is the first where I didn't drink because I was on medication and that was the main reason how I saved so much money. A couple of my friends would have at 4 beers a day (the concert was 12 hours each day) at $7 each which is $28 a day and $84 for the weekend. I ended up only spending a grand total of $60 for the whole weekend. I was pretty damn proud of myself.

Another great money saver plan that I put into action was that I only ate 1 kolache and 2 slices of shitty pizza every day I was in Austin with the exception of Sunday when I had some eggs with my kolache.

It was another good year at ACL and hopfully I can attend next years event as well.