My cousin, who runs the popular website Reuters, has employed his peeps to come out with a report destined to SHOCK THE WORLD:
"U.S. popular music is awash with lyrics about drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Medical researchers have reviewed the words of the 279 top songs of 2005 to estimate just how common they are.
Their report on Monday showed a third of the songs had explicit references to substance abuse. And two-thirds of these references placed drugs, alcohol and tobacco in a positive light by associating them with sex, partying and humor, according to the team led by Dr. Brian Primack of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
They calculated that with Americans aged 15 to 18 listening to 2.4 hours of music daily, they hear 84 musical references to substance use a day and more than 30,000 a year."
Frankly, I am shocked. I mean...drug AND alcohol reference in my music? When DID this start? iThe outrage goes on...
"While we have not had the opportunity to thoroughly assess the study, it's important to note that music is generally a reflection of society," said Jonathan Lamy, a spokesman for the Recording Industry Association of America, the trade group for the U.S. recording business."
Oh, so now I AM a pothead? Because I listen to pot-headish music?
Honestly, I feel that much like this blog posting, this article was written merely to kill time and fill space. Nothing was gained from reading this except for maybe getting some concrete numbers to support future agurments for parents against their angst-ridden teens.
You can read the rest of this titilating report here.
Fresh off our posting of his picture below, His Royale' Puffness sent a decree out to all the land in response to what he must have taken as "mockery" from our end. We beefin' holmes?
Mad props for standing in front of an old picture of himself, so at least I could tell who was yelling at me. Keep rockin' the Proactive.
And then it came. From what seemed to be ages above the high-cresting mountains came a voice. A voice that spoke of great things happening and a chance for even greater still to come. But these things were not to come easy. They would be with cost and great sacrifice. They would be for those with conviction and unwavering support in the face of adversity. These treasures which promised great joy and blessings beyond expections would be availiable to all that seeked out and asked for them. And on that great day, which happended to be a Tuesday, a congregation of voices, often ignored in the cluttered landscape, rose up and pronouced their solidarity to the movement, to the message, to THE MAN.
As I sit and watch Tom Petty's Supberbowl Half time show (and I can't tell you how happy I am that he's playing "Free Falling" right now, which was THE very first song I learned how to play on the guitar when I was 14), I can't help but notice how awesometastic this hippie-bearded-rocker's set looks. The throbbing heart, the guitar that floated over and pierced it (how did they do that?), and all the other crazy cool light/visual stuff that we've pretty much come to expect from stadium shows lately (fireworks indoors, is always a nice touch).
All of this makes me start to think about myself (I'm a narcissist), and in the spirit of self promotion, I thought I'd post a semi-official half assed anouncement that we have a new layout for the site (and there was much rejoicing). Of course, if you have ever been here before, you would already know that--but repetition helps the memory (I learned that in marketing).
But here's the thing, as cool as [I think] rockworms looks, Grandpa Petty has reminded me that it could look way more cooler(er). So I'm throwing it out to the masses (there were approximately 227 hits last month) and asking for your opinion.
What do you think? How does the site look/feel/function/smell? We really want to know your honest thoughts, and by the time we all agree on something it will probably be outdated (oh wait, it already is). Remember, this site was created for YOU to be the author, the creator, the "Editor-in-Chief" (ok, Adam has that title). So we want it to function the way YOU like.
So as a rule, every post on Rockworms.com must be music-related. I am all for that. I support that. That is why I am going to start this off by saying: "do you think that concert ticket prices will continue to rise with the success of online song distribution?"
OK, now that I got that out of the way, the REAL reason I wanted to post was THIS photo I ganked right off of the MAIN PAGE at CNN.com following the debates last night. I haven't seen any politco blogs pick this up yet.
Well, CNN has never been one to enbrace the subtle aspect of culture.
That is why Rockworms.com is your #1 source for mediocre music reviews AND cutting-edge political commentary.
Look, I am as big of a Beatles fan as the next guy, actually probably more than him. He is more of a Ramones fan. But despite my love for Paul, John, George and Ringo, I can't help but feel that this is kind of "lame". And wasteful. And just plain stupid.
NASA announced today (or yesterday, I have been really sleepy) that on Monday, February 4th, they would blast the song "Across the Universe"...umm, across...the universe. According to the press release, (btw NASA, who do I need to fellate to get a press release sent to my fax? I am a member of the press!!!) the song, celebrating it's 40th anniversery, will be aimed at the fabled "North Star" aka "Polaris" which is currently located 431 light years away from Earth. The song will travel at an expected 186,000 miles per second.
"Amazing! Well done, NASA! Send my love to the aliens. All the best, Paul," said a noticably disinterested McCartney.
Everyones favorite widow, Yoko One chimmed in: "I see this as the beginning of the new age in which we will communicate with billions of planets across the universe." Mrs. Ono's spacial-scientific credentials are currently under investigation.
I truely believe that when our children's children look back at our generation, they will divide us into two, unequal groups: those who did and those who did not attend this tour.
Dates and Locations for the US and Canadian legs of this tour have yet to be announced. Keep checking Rockworms.com for more information.
So the last few months, I have become an aimless shifter when it comes to selecting tracks off my precious iPod. What I once used as a medium to broaden and diversify my musical taste (the ever-popular "shuffle" mode), I have become a victim of habits that go back to my old days as a lowly CD-buyer. I listen to about five artists over and over again.
Right now my rotation is The Long Winters, Lupe Fiasco, Genesis, Oasis and Ghostface Killah. A little spread out, but that's what I like. Wanna fight about it? Anyway, I feel like I am wasting my iPod. I have almost 3,000 songs (small, I know) stored up on my device (which I named "Chocolate Thunder) and I get hung up on about 25 of them! What the heck is the matter with me?
My problem with Pitchfork boils down to this: Its contributors don't
seem to like music very much. Rather, they revel in the role of
tastemaker, sternly lecturing the audience as to why Band X is
cooler/more worthy of an opening slot on that super-awesome Band of
Horses/Cass McCombs double bill than Band Y, and why anyone who only
recently happened upon "Neon Bible" (raising hand) is a mainstream
poser who totally doesn't get what Arcade Fire is all about, man.
This is why Rockworms
is proudly "The #1 source for Mediocre Music Reviews on the web!" Sure,
we could run a site full if semi-intelligent insights (I must admit,
Kyle's discussion on the overuse of compression in modern music is getting dangerously close to smart), but who wants that? Really???
Blog 
As I sit and watch Tom Petty's Supberbowl Half time show (and I can't tell you how happy I am that he's playing "Free Falling" right now, which was THE very first song I learned how to play on the guitar when I was 14), I can't help but notice how awesometastic this hippie-bearded-rocker's set looks. The throbbing heart, the guitar that floated over and pierced it (how did they do that?), and all the other crazy cool light/visual stuff that we've pretty much come to expect from stadium shows lately (fireworks indoors, is always a nice touch).
