Use all your well-earned politics

There are two kinds of people in this world: Beatles fans and Rolling Stones fans.  I like to think of myself as a Stones fan, Ya know… Just the whole rebel without a clue thing, but Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is one of my favorite albums.  I have some favorites that Mick and Keith wrote too.  One of them is “Sympathy for the Devil” from the Beggar’s Banquet album.

Jagger wrote this one as a first-person narrative from the viewpoint of Lucifer.  In it he recounts all the atrocious events in history that we, as humans, committed in his name.  Towards the end of the song he says, “If you meet me, have some courtesy, have some sympathy, and some taste.”  That all makes sense.  The next part is what I always had trouble with.  “Use all your well-earned politics?”  No, it’s “Use all your well-learned politesse.” Ohhhh… Be polite!  Got it.  All my life I had that one wrong.

See, the way my generation learned about music was hanging out at the record store, and listening to what the DJs said on the radio.  When we wanted to learn to play a song on an instrument, we had to learn it by ear.  Nowadays, you just google it and the lyrics, chords and sometimes even sheet music just pop up on the screen.  To learn about things besides music, we used to have to go to the library (it’s that building next to Starbucks with all the hipsters loitering behind their macbooks in it). Please!  Please research stuff first and know what you are talking about before you throw your ignorance out there for all the world to see!  Please!  78% of you have the whole =*(^!)* internet in your pocket … Use it!

Kanye West recently featured Paul McCartney on one of his tracks.  This prompted people to tweet things like “I don’t who @PaulMcCartney is, but Kanye is about to make him famous.”  Seriously?!  You took the time to figure out what his Twitter handle is, but you didn’t bother to click one more link to find out that Sir Paul McCartney is one of the most influential musical artists of our era? C’mon people!

Parents … Make your kid’s listen to your music when they are little (like when you have them tied down in those car seat things in the back of the car) and tell them everything you know about it while they listen.  I can’t guarantee that they will like it when they get older, but at least they will have heard it and know that it exists.

-BG

Randomness

With all the distractions I have created for myself, it is a wonder I get anything done at all.  Every time I get my phone out to do something, I end up doing something else.  What is the temperature outside?  Twitter does not know.  I need to e-mail that guy back at work about that project.  Instagram cannot do that.  I get distracted by all the notifications and other shiny things, and forget what I was doing.  It makes it hard for me to remember the important things.

In the midst of my usual Monday morning chaos, I found out that someone I was talking to just a few days ago died of a massive heart attack.  This person was about the same age as me.  It is the kind of thing that makes you take a step back and look at things from a different perspective, and think about what is really important.  I guess this is what John Lennon was talking about in 1980 when he said, “Life is what happens while you’re busy making plans.”  While John Lennon wasn’t the original author of this quote, he definitely realized the meaning of it later that year.  I am not going into details on that story.  Use the google machine if you don’t know what I am talking about.

I guess the point of my random ramblings, at least for today, is that it can always get worse and don’t let the shiny things distract you from what is really important.

-BG

It’s just a joke.

My name is Brandt Goldstein and this is my first blog post, so be gentle. I realize that my domain name seems a bit conceited, but it is just the punchline to a joke. I am a big fan of stand up comedy, and Steven Wright is one of my favorite comedians.

Mr. Wright does a bit about meeting a woman on a bus who is very upset. When He asks her what is wrong, she says that she can’t find a suitable man to “give herself to.” She then announces, “I am only attracted to Jewish Cowboys.”  Then she apologizes for bothering a complete stranger with her problems and asks his name.  To which he says, “Hi, I’m Bucky Goldstein.”  It is funnier when Steven Wright says it, of course.  That is probably why he is a professional comedian and I am not.  Thank God for YouTube.   http://youtu.be/sNzQEQjfYog

At any rate…A few of my friends saw this comedy routine and started calling me Bucky. The name just kind of stuck, and stayed with me all through high school.  I am not sure what this blog is going to be about (or why I am even starting a blog) but away we go!  What’s the worst that could happen?

-BG