It's that time of year again. Due to scheduling weirdness at TheWife™'s place of employment, we're taking our yearly two week vacation early. Hey, it works for me. I've been putting in all sorts of hours on various & sundry software madness and I'm overdue for a serious unplug. So unplug I will. Heck, I may not even have a (gasp!) Internet connection. So uncivilized! So quiet!! Maybe I can improve on my totally pathetic ratio of books purchased to books read.
It's funny. Every time a break like this comes around, I exhale for a moment and think, "What the hell have I been doing for the past year?!" This leads to, "What the hell did I do last week?!" Then there's a sort of infinite regression — year to week to yesterday to .... — and I end up sitting there staring off into space with my jaw aslack. It seems a shame that so many of us allow our time to be swallowed like this. On a personal level, I'm trying very hard to do something about it. So far there's been some movement in the right direction, along with a few nights wasted sitting around staring a hole into some American Chopper reruns.
Uh, anyway... one of my favorite pre-vacation records has always been The Ramones' Rocket To Russia. This time around, something with a little more harsh-quotient was in order. Babes In Toyland fit the bill. I need that angst...and the scabrous guitars, jagged rhythms, and whisper-to-a-bleed vocals. It's all very cathartic. Great for rolling those windows down on the way home too! (Though I'd be willing to bet that the Ramones come out in the afternoon).
Produced by Lee Ronaldo (Sonic Youth), Fontanelle is an acidic bath of sound. Mmmm....all of that brutal intensity. It might not seem so appropriate for hanging out on the coast of Maine, but it'll help strip away the crust of work life.
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