PJ Harvey

One of the most remarkable musicians of the 1990's through today is PJ Harvey. Learn more about her here.

Listen to her here:

A Nation At Risk (1983)

This report came out just before I began middle school and it seemed to throw the country in a tizzy. Essentially it said "we're failing our children by not giving them the opportunity to succeed in a modern world economy". Yet, it seemed to have been interpreted by my elders as "the kids today just aren't as studious and bright as we were".


While it would be unfair to say all my teachers sucked, I remember many I had were bored housewives that had priorities that extended past me getting educated. Those that loved the profession were SHOUTING to increase their pay so that they may afford to remain teaching. Overall not much seemed to get done after 'A Nation at Risk' was published. Teachers' salaries caused the most qualified to seek a different profession and small budgets had us students learning from out of date books and programs like Music, Art and P.E. fell off the map (speaking of maps- the ones I had in middle-high school were way old with many countries no longer existing or new ones having sprung up). And the 'wise elders' continued to point their fingers at us 'dum' kids.

Straight Outta the Suburbs

I can't pretend to identify with the struggles of inner city life, but I more than identified with anger as a teenager.

Right before I was able to drive it seemed that all of my favorite Punk bands quit touring (Black Flag, The Germs, D.O.A.) and then I heard a group of dudes that were more Punk Rock than their genre indicated.

"It's time to play the music.."

Oh Jeebus...

Of all the crap music being recycled, is there really going to be venues that book a New Kids on the Block reunion tour??

A Word From Brother Chuck

"This was freedom. Losing all hope was freedom." ~Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club, Chapter 2

Michigan Fab Five

I want to thank these dudes for popularizing long shorts and rid the world of nut-huggers forevahhh!

Now They're 40 Somethings

From a Time magazine article in 1990.

They have trouble making decisions. They would rather hike in the Himalayas than climb a corporate ladder. They have few heroes, no anthems, no style to call their own. They crave entertainment, but their attention span is as short as one zap of a TV dial. They hate yuppies, hippies and druggies. They postpone marriage because they dread divorce. They sneer at Range Rovers, Rolexes and red suspenders. What they hold dear are family life, local activism, national parks, penny loafers and mountain bikes. They possess only a hazy sense of their own identity but a monumental preoccupation with all the problems the preceding generation will leave for them to fix.

This is, of course, pre-Nirvana when the media liked to tag all of us 'post boomers' as unshaven, plaid wearing nihilists.

Read the hole thing here.

Parachute Pants

I swear to God, Satan, whoever, I never owned a pair.

Gen X's twist on Jazz

The 1st Rap Song I Ever Heard

7th Grade Long Ago

Uggh...

..a girl with a locker next to me actually had this photo pinned up.