Tricky Kids

In 1996 Tricky released his third album, Pre-Millennium Tension. Then the whole Y2K bug hysteria blew over and we all lived happily ever after. Psyche! There are still bugs and glitches - maybe more than ever. And there are hackers, crackers, cracker-jackers, phreakers, sneakers ... sorry, I'm getting carried away. I know Tricky's better than me when it comes to spitting rhymes.

Anyhoo, the whole album is full of paranoia, discomfort, and doom - if you don't believe me you can check Wikipedia. If you don't trust Wikipedia, well, join the club ;) Or you can decide for yourself. Here's a taste:



I was fascinated when I first heard this line from "Tricky Kid": "everybody wants to be naked and famous." It's a popular ambition for kids to be famous someday, even if they don't care what they're famous for. Some would be happy to be infamous! And then there's the naked part. You can interpret that to mean anything from literally to figuratively naked, and it's the figurative that fascinates me. Naked can imply honesty, vulnerability, apathy - lotsa stuff, really. As far as the internet goes, I think people want to get to a point where they have countless friends (or "friends") and don't worry who they offend, who sees their nipples, or what information gets leaked or money gets stolen.

When I listen to "Tricky Kid," the desire to be "naked and famous" feels like an ugly disease. Isn't it better to be happy, or kind, or an asset to society? But too often I think we fantasize about fame, wealth, power, and/or comfort. I've written about it before, and I don't mean to beat a dying horse, but ... mo' money -> mo' problems? How do you count and measure problems? Why do rich and powerful people whine? Why do we let them? The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind ... (btw, I may be a bigger fan of Jay-Z than Bob Dylan.)



I don't really know how to wrap this up without trailing off again, but here goes: my advice to anyone who might be reading this is to give Pre-Millennium Tension a try, buy it if you like it, and then take a walk :)

no rest for the whiny

I've been having a really hard time getting enough sleep lately, and too often I wake up sweaty and sore and stiff. (no innuendo intended, but now the image is in your head. Ha!) If I had more perspective, I guess I wouldn't be so anxious, but I feel like I'm responsible for a lot of stuff, maybe more than I can handle. Pounding cheap vodka isn't doing the trick.

Just kidding, Mom! I'm not really a binge drinker.

Outside of my job, bills, chores, and babysitting my roommate's imaginary friend (or ghost?) I feel obligated to my friends and family, especially since they put up with so much bullshit from me - less than they've had to in the past, but still. This is what I fear people hear when I whine: "Work is hard! Things are expensive! Life is short! Nobody understands me! Where's my Nobel Prize?" I even whine about my whining.

But I obviously have lots of things and people I should be grateful for, and sometimes I AM grateful for them. I can afford to feed myself, I don't have to sleep outside in the cold, I can walk about 3 blocks for a pack of cigarettes and leap tall buildings in a single bound, I have people who care about me, I have donuts, I have time to relax. I can relax. I am relaxing. I am relaxed. I am...

...zzxzxxzzxzxxzzz...