So I have Red Hot Chili Peppers on my mind. I remember when I first heard of them, friends kept telling me about "Fight Like a Brave", and said I had to check it out. I listened to it and shrugged. I forgot about them until their Mother's Milk album came out. "Higher Ground" came on the radio, and it was like a slap. That song always kicked off massive activity of chair slamming in the CAD department mosh pit. We all listened to the same station, and when a high energy song came on we would kick off from our desks, propelling our chairs outward until we slammed into someone else. Frenetic chair slamming activity would ensue until the song was over, then we rolled ourselves back to our lovely plines and arcs.

So the Red Hot Chili Peppers have continued to mature in their music style, and I'll point to their Californication album as proof. Today's song of the day is "Other Side."

"How long how long Will I slide?
Seperate my side I don't
I don't believe its bad
Slit my throat
it's all I ever

I heard your voice through a photograph
I thought it up it brought up the past
Once you know you can never go back
I've got to take it on the otherside

Centuries are what it meant to me
A cemetery where I marry the sea
Stranger things could never changed my mind
I gotta take it on the otherside
Take it on the otherside
Take it on
Take it on

Pour my life into a paper cup
The ashtray's full and I'm spilling my guts
She want's to know am I still a slut
I've got to take it on the otherside

Scarlet starlet and she's in my bed
A candidate for a soul mate bled
Push the trigger and pull the thread
I've got to take it on the otherside
Take it on the otherside
Take it on
Take it on

How long, how long Will I slide
Seperate my side I don't
I don't believe its bad
Slit my throat
it's all I ever

Turn me on take me for a hard ride
Burn me out leave me on the otherside
I yell and tell it that It's not my friend
I tear it down, I tear it down
And then it's born again"

: Permalink

Published: (2005-05-05 13:29:26.0)

Cue stream of consciousness:
So you walk out the door and head to your car, filled with the thoughts of the day and all the things you need to do. Your brain whirs, calculating possibilities, sifting through conversations and email, reviewing meetings and that endless list of things to do, do, do like a mentat. You don't notice the rain - because you're not really there. You fall into the routine, turn the key and flip in a CD that you really won't listen to. Your eyes fix on the horizon, and your thoughts drift, ebb, and even flatline. You're a busy man, with things to do. Things need to be done. There are emails to write, schedules to create, spreadsheets to update, and lists to publish. The data comes in a flood, and you merely react. You don't remember most of the drive home, because its part of the routine. You finally notice its raining. Traffic slows, but your thoughts are off again and you're not really paying attention. After awhile you return, and start to wonder at why the traffic has slowed. You see flashing lights, orange cones and burning flares. For a minute you become human again, and silently hope no one has been hurt. As you pass by the accident, you see the crushed metal, the broken glass, and a group of huddled people silently staring at a tarp covered pile. You start to wonder what is under the tarp - and then it hits you. It hits you hard. You snap back, sit up straight and break into a sweat. You are human again, and you are no longer thinking about work, but about your wife and daughter that wait for you at home. Dinner is waiting. You make it home, and stagger from the car up to the front door. You turn the key and open the door, and your daughter runs down the hallway screaming that you are home, and rushes you and wraps her arms around your legs. You smile, and try not to cry. You pick her up and hug her, and ask what she learned in school today. Soon its dinner time, and your listening to what they have to say. You're actually listening, and not just absently nodding. You are human again, and no longer a ghost. After a dinner, instead of heading into the office and logging in, you head to the playroom and build houses out of blocks. You have a meaningful conversation with your wife, and find out what's on her mind. Your human again, and realize that yes, things need to be done, there will aways be those things, but that your family comes first. Being human comes first. Tonight, there will be passion in your hugs and kisses, and you'll wonder what you have missed.

: Permalink

Published: (2005-05-05 12:52:06.0)