Life moves pretty fast

Another category of music that I have been listening to nowadays is songs that would make excellent John Hughes films. I'm not saying songs in this category would work well in one of Hughes's movies. Rather, it simply means that Hughes could make these songs into a kick ass movie.  Also, I'm not knocking the soundtracks for Hughes movies, those songs are bomb. It's just that there are some songs that I feel perfectly convey all of the sentiments of the king of 80's film in a few minutes.

This song does it in four minutes and twenty five seconds.

The Replacements are one of my favourite bands of all time. They are simply fantastic. It's hard for me to talk about music that I love but I'll give it a shot.

I got into punk music way too late in my life. I first started listening to punk in the summer of '08. I had to depart the Twin Cities and return to Brainerd. My friends were all scattered. I had just gone through my first major breakup. I didn't have to a car. I was working at Cold Stone Creamery. I had to bike to work. I went from being tapped into the fantastic art scene of Minneapolis to being stuck in the cultural wasteland of Brainerd. Basically, I had become an angsty teenager again by simply moving up North. With these juvenile emotions I was able to finally start my obsession with punk music.

Punk is hard and fast and loud and simple. It's just kids playing what they want because they fucking can. They just gotta keep having energy and keep being loud. It's the most youthful genre. Most punk songs are able white kids problems living in the suburbs. Perfect for my time in Brainerd. Fuck school. Fuck work. Fuck family. Fuck love. They don't want any intricate musical patterns or fascinating chord progressions. Punks just wanted to voice their frustration. Loudly.

Or at least that's how the genre started. The Replacements helped to change all of that. They realized that you don't have to play hard and fast and loud and simple to be punk. You can be creative and innovative and make beautiful music. Punk is all in the attitude.

During my bike rides to and from work, I would listen to the Mats. I started with their harder earlier stuff and just kept listening to that while cars would yell at me to get off of the road. After a few weeks I discovered Let It Be. Their masterpiece.

In this album they drastically changed their sound. Sure, they were still the lovable and drunken band from Minneapolis, but they were maturing. They were no longer in High School (well, Tommy would have been in 11th grade but he dropped out). Paul's lyrics are tackling the issues of finding yourself when you're growing up. There is a lot I can say about this album but I'll save that for a later date.

Basically, "Sixteen Blue," is a John Hughes movie.

The song beautifully describes the state of being young. Just like the movies.

The music wouldn't probably fit into a cheesy but awesome Hughes flick. But there's no denying that the sentiment is the same.

So, in my summer of punk I found a little bit of my self and grew up a bit. I made money, ice cream and a beard. Those things come and go, but my deep appreciation of punk will always remain.

"Cameron has never been in love - at least, nobody's ever been in love with him. If things don't change for him, he's gonna marry the first girl he lays, and she's gonna treat him like shit, because she will have given him what he has built up in his mind as the end-all, be-all of human existence. She won't respect him, 'cause you can't respect somebody who kisses your ass. It just doesn't work."- Ferris Bueller


"Brag about things you don't understand"- Paul Westerberg