Creative Psychosis

1. I could tell you that everything will be alright. I could also tell you that slapping yourself with frozen steaks helps your wife’s libido.

2. Inversely, slapping grazing cows will NOT result in you getting a mistress for the weekend.

3. Why do people always wait for holidays to be excessive with food, drink and parties? If it helps de-stress you, have a holiday once a week.

4. I burned the roof of my mouth last night biting into a hot dog fresh from the grill. The stinging of key lime pie afterwards informed me so.

5. Best outfit ever: A Thursday dressed in Friday’s clothing.

6. You can’t hit a home run everyday. Some days you foul the ball off of your foot. But that’s better than running into the centerfield wall.

7. How in the hell did I not buy Portishead 3 last year? This album is almost as dark and twisted as a pseudo-devil tweeting about it. Almost.

8. I’ve been working for 11 yrs. Only 18 months of that was my commute less than an hour. I know, I could’ve been a work-at-home telemarketer.

9. This morning’s SomBlock is sponsored by the 3-day weekend, because it can always redeem an unproductive work week. And dammit, it shall!

*** Every weekday from 8-9am while traveling from Stamford to Manhattan, Mark Sahm writes a block of thoughts on his Twitter account (@Somrod) via his iPhone.***

1. Welcome my son. Welcome to… the machineeee!! Now that you’re here, do you know how to get this thing networked to my other machines?

2. Those Metro North delay emails are awfully nice to get in the AM. Of course, I have no other way to get into the city, but it’s nice anyway.

3. The first rule of SomBlock is that you do not tweet about SomBlock. Oh shit, I guess I’ve already fucked that up. Let me try that again.

4. REVISED: The first rule of SomBlock is that you tell everyone you know about it. Stamping it on people’s foreheads is perfectly acceptable.

5. The second rule of SomBlock is that anything is fair game, so rules are kind of unnecessary. Damn, I did it again. Nevermind.

6. A man left his iPod on while in his chest pocket. The light strangely resembles E.T’s heartlight. Then a HAZMAT team came and took him away.

7. I now call Wilco’s “I’ll Fight” the Cameron Song. In Ferris Bueller, remember Cameron’s in the car & he’s like “I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go.”

8. I once asked a doctor if Viagra would enhance my art career. He said maybe, but only if I was having a affair with a rich art gallery owner.

9. Should I ever get into a fist fight again, I hope Nine Inch Nails’ “Wish” starts playing in the background. Or that my opponent is a wimp.

10. Things I’d get in a fist fight over: to defend my wife, to protect my house, to earn money, and to win the All Valley Karate Tournament.

11. This morning’s SomBlock is sponsored by Wilco (The Song), because the love is always reciprocal baby. On my 3rd listen already, good stuff.

*** Every weekday from 8-9am while traveling from Stamford to Manhattan, Mark Sahm writes a block of thoughts on his Twitter account (@Somrod) via his iPhone.

1. I tried to download the new Wilco album this AM before leaving but our network was failing. It appears Monday is not done with me after all.

2. Last night, a cabbie recalled taking me home before. C: “You live at the end of a dead end street, right?” M: “That’s me, the dead end guy.”

3. I usually try to give people the benefit of the doubt, but often have to resort to giving them the detractor of all hope.

4. I know if I sit by a good looking lady in a 3-seater, some middle age guy will want to sit in the middle seat next to her. It’s always true.

5. Middle age could be defined as when your body starts feeling more like 52 than 25. On the other hand, I feel perfectly fine *cough cough*.

6. Reunited and it feels so good. Unless of course it’s with your overpacked morning train, in which case sarcasm is understood.

7. Did you know that smiling to yourself while on the NYC Subway increases your risk of insanity by over 30%? Just frown & you’ll feel better.

8. Is it considered a compliment if you tell someone they resemble a famous porn star? Not that I’d know any, because I don’t watch that stuff.

9. I considered the adult industry while I was searching for a career, but settled for being a corporate artist since it had better benefits.

10. This morning’s SomBlock is sponsored by yawning, because I expect to be doing a lot of that today.

*** Every weekday from 8-9am while traveling from Stamford to Manhattan, Mark Sahm writes a block of thoughts on his Twitter account (@Somrod) via his iPhone.

1. Happy Monday! It’s time to welcome the morning perspiration of summertime with open arms… Wait, on second thought, never mind.

2. I went 72 hours without tweeting. Of course, I make it sound like I just kicked cigarettes, and yet here I am again. Smoke em if you got em!

3. Actually, doctors have found that tweeting produces chemicals in the brain that aid in self-concept. These chemicals are called egomania.

4. Of course, egomania in a corporate artist’s mind is kind of like when Clark Griswold gets lost in the Bronx.

5. Some people spread rumors that being an artist is a glorifying & rewarding career. Yes, I’ve already sent out the ninjas for these people.

6. Twitter celebrities spend the AM replying to people’s tweets. I spend that time replying to my own tweets. This is the highlight of my day.

7. If my sarcasm gets any thicker, it’s going to form a gelatinous force field that starts answering phones for me. Maybe that won’t be so bad.

8. Eye headaches are usually a good indicator that you should stop looking at yourself in the mirror in hope that you’ll become good looking.

9. This morning’s SomBlock is sponsored by this past Friday morning’s SomBlock. It’s totally mocking us and it must be silenced!

*** Every weekday from 8-9am while traveling from Stamford to Manhattan, Mark Sahm writes a block of thoughts on his Twitter account (@Somrod) via his iPhone.

1. Oh where art thou iPhone that thou forget’st so long? Sing to thy ear some electronica and give thy Twitter finger both skill and argument.

2. Today I hope to absorb nuclear energy and transform into a Super Robeast so I can get split into two by Voltron. That would make my Friday.

3. The dog next door barked for 2 hrs straight last night. If you’re a dog, at what point do you give up on barking and start destroying shit?

4. Perhaps barking dogs are just nature’s answer to disgruntled office drones who bitch about Excel spreadsheets. What? I didn’t mean you, man.

5. When Michael Jackson’s secret base is found, the remains of several Alien-hybrid clones will be found. But one stasis tube is found empty…

6. She’s a queen. She’ll breed. You’ll die. Or you may just have to suffer through 9 million MJ tribute albums, boxed sets, and missing tracks.

7. In lighter news, another NBA Draft came and went & thousands of fans will now have to wait for free agency to have any hope for their team.

8. Is Gillette really “the best a man can get”? I always assumed Selma Hayek circa 1998 was the best a man could get, but maybe I was mislead.

9. There are no atheists in the foxholes of Politically Correct Land. They prefer to be called “Children of No God”. Oh those silly atheists.

10. They say that a house divided against itself cannot stand. But if my house has the ability to divide, I’ll buy it some built-in crutches.

11. Proof the oxymoron exists in nature: a young lady looks like Alan Rickman yet is simultaneously smokin’ hot. It’s Harry Potter’s nightmare!

12. Whatever you do, DON’T go listen to my podcast! Avoid magicjunkradio.com at ALL costs! (That’s reverse psychology. Aren’t I so cleverer?)

13. Sorry I’m contractually obligated by the ashes of my wasted life for a shameless plug every 200 tweets for my creative projects. It happens.

14. My wife calls me a “wagon before the horse” guy. But I prefer to think of myself as a “cyborg horsemobile with heat-seeking missiles” guy.

15. This morning’s SomBlock is sponsored by The Elephant Man’s skeleton, because it’s so relieved to never EVER be brought up in the news again.

*** Every weekday from 8-9am while traveling from Stamford to Manhattan, Mark Sahm writes a block of thoughts on his Twitter account (@Somrod) via his iPhone.

1. It’s absolutely beautiful this AM. A group of petite Latin fashion models are taking the train today. Oh, the weather’s not too bad either.

2. Whoops, sorry… I was standing on the wrong track. That’s what I get for starting the AM off with 3 screwdrivers.

3. A good marriage entails you be a motivational coach for your mate. This includes being sure they’re not motivated to kill you in your sleep.

4. I don’t know if I would kill for love. But I’d definitely use motivation tapes with subliminal messages to trick you into doing it for me.

5. I try to keep my mantras simple: Awaken. Consume. Persevere. Stop Being A Drone & Get The Fuck Off Your Ass And Make Something Creative.

6. It’s best to keep your mantras to yourself. This dude next to me keeps saying “a penitent man shall pass”. Hey, where’d this breeze come…

7. In lighter news, a Long Island BBQ restaurant is being fined for disturbing neighbors with an excessive odor that smells like smoked meats.

8. My wife and I once looked at a condo that was across from a Dunkin’ Donuts. My 400 lb alt reality self is pleased we didn’t like the place.

9. This morning’s SomBlock is sponsored by The Home Depot, because I have a list of items that I’ll be getting from them. Yes, all man stuff.

* Every weekday from 8-9am while traveling from Stamford to Manhattan, Mark Sahm writes a block of thoughts on his Twitter account (@Somrod) via his iPhone.

It’s always a difficult task waiting for a payoff on a big investment that you aren’t certain will come. But this time, it did and we couldn’t be happier.

As chronicled back in June, I knew the Mac Pro model I wanted to buy would eventually get discounted once they introduced newer models. Did I figure that it would take nine months for Apple to update? Hell no! (Although it did allow more time to save up.) But when Apple updated their Mac Pro line on Monday, the kicker suddenly became: Read on »

We’re driving away from that ol’ town called 2008 today… and flooring it like Hell is breaking loose!

So what if it wasn’t a banner year for us? We still got a lot of little things accomplished (updated our websites, finally finished our basement renovations, did 4 podcasts, and regenerated S.Rod’s spine!). It just was not the BIG things we’ve been planning for so long, those projects that we like to call “life-redeeming”.

But we will choose to be optimistic in our prognostication for 2009, because well, what the hell— what do we have to lose for trying? Nothing. But our adage is NOT to make resolutions. After all, resolutions are for people that give up in 40 days or less, because aerobics are actually kind of hard.

Instead, we’re going to make “Goals That Must Be Accomplished Immediately”. This is also known as the self-fulfilling prophecy, a cherished relic in the Somrod household, and something that we have in our targeting computer for 2009.

And thus, tonight we drink away that bad taste in our mouth that 2008 left (”That didn’t taste like chicken”) and tomorrow, we unwrap the clean slate and begin the plotting and scheming again… what? What’s that you say? Unwrapping was last week? Oh well. Cheers and enjoy!

People think I’m out of my mind to have a daily commute that balloons to as much as 4 hours. I agree that it’s crazy to do it, but I’m not out of my mind. The truth is, some of it is my fault, while most of it was imposed on me. Here was how it started:

The Original Commute: M. Sahm takes a 37 minute Metro-North train from Westchester to NYC. At the end of his work day, he takes another 37 minute trip, and is home by 7pm. With 20 minutes of walking included, total daily commute time is 1 hour and 34 minutes.

Alteration #1: Sahm and S.Rod cannot find a house within their budget in Westchester, or an affordable condo with enough space to grow and expand their home-based business. So they decide to buy a townhouse in Connecticut, 15 minutes north of where they lived in NY. Read on »

Yeah, it took me three weeks to get our Lollapalooza and Chicago photos online. So be it. Here they are, presented in chronological order (click for larger view, photo will open in new window):

And the cream of the crop is Chicago - South view from John Hancock Center

If ever there were a five day vacation that defined extreme highs and lows, we just lived it at Lollapalooza 2008 in Grant Park, Chicago. In the end, we came out ahead, because we are back home with our positive memories.

That being said, there was a lot of frustration in dealing with the crowds, the heat, the waiting, and all of the various forms of traveling it took just to get there. At times, it almost seemed like the whole trip could have been a huge mistake.

Yet when the evening headliners took the stage and played their sets, not only did I get my money’s worth, I got something greater than that. You see, all around us were several thousand teenagers and twentysomethings drinking crappy beers and smoking handrolled joints— all trying to mimic me, basking in the sensation in my head known as being naturally high. It was untouchable, my natural high was a sphere of solid metal charged with the electricity of a thunderstorm. It was something I had not felt in some time.

Sharing the natural high (since she was directly in front of me at every show) was the lovely Ms. S.Rod. Without her, the trip would have been incredibly lonely and not even a shred as fun. When asked for a comment about Lolla ‘08, she said simply, “It was fricking awesome.” Read on »

… If only it was always like this!

Yes, as you may or may not know, Magic Junk Radio 11: Slow Ahead debuted Monday evening after a couple of months of electronic tweaking and dabbling. The final podcast came out much better than we expected. In fact, it kicks ass from start to finish.

Then on Thursday, S.Rod and I fly off to Chicago for Lollapalooza 2008 to see Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, Wilco, and several other acts.

So this week is pretty damn good. The following week will most likely not be as good. But I am focusing on the present. So should you… go listen to the new MJR podcast!

Hopefully, I’ll do a little write-up when we get back. But I don’t know. It will be the following week after all.

As you may have read the other week, we will be seeing Wilco on the second night of Lollapalooza. While it pains me to have to miss Rage, I know that Wilco will put on a show that is more relevant to S.Rod and I in our present states. Eighteen year old Mark is turning in his grave though. So be it.

One trump card that Wilco has over Rage is that Wilco is one of those bands who are really ready to play anything at anytime. A lot of bands nowadays will have 10-15 songs, but Wilco has at least 60. To further exemplify this, Wilco has created a page on their site, where fans can dictate some of what gets played at each show. I chose “I’m The Man Who Loves You”. S.Rod chose “Shake It Off”. We are crossing our fingers that both get played . Cheers.

With less than a month to go until S.Rod and I journey to Chiacgo for the Lollapalooza music festival, we have been scouring the Somrod music archives for songs we expect to hear. Since I have seen Radiohead three times now, I’m not too worried about hearing songs and so on— I just know that they play a phenomenal live set, and even the songs that I am not always as fond of on the CDs (i.e. Sail to the Moon, Wolf At the Door, and Like Spinning Plates) were reworked for the live performance, and those fine British gents tear it up. It gets me psyched up just to think of how absolutely good they play, and some of the recent sets have been killer.

That being said, I do have my worries about some of the new material from In Rainbows that they have been playing, and shall play. On the whole, the new album is a great listen, definitely better than Pablo Honey or Amnesiac in terms of the RH canon. But, as with many albums, IR has a few songs that feel like filler— usually a non-existent thing with RH, since they spend so much time crafting their albums.

Of course, I have a theory of why this was done— at the same time that Radiohead was practically giving away In Rainbows online, they were also selling a limited edition box set version of the album, which had a second bonus disc of material, as well as some fancy non-essential packaging.

Naturally, I plunked down my dollars-to-pounds conversion, and found out that the 2nd disc had a lot of great “B-sides”. Or were they? To me, some of these songs were so good, it confused me why RH wouldn’t have included them on the main disc. Then I thought about the financial difference between giving away a disc for “pay what you like” and selling a box set for $80. Yes, money talks, even to those without a label taking 50% (or more). Were the 2nd disc on the box set to have sucked, then all of the fans who bought it would have not been given that limited edition treat.

All the same, this does not make sense for Radiohead to be playing ‘House of Cards’ or ‘Reckoner’ in a live set when they could be playing (A) some of the great material from the 2nd disc, or (B) anything else from their impressive catalog. I can only hope they get these songs out of their system by the time they get to Chicago on August 1. Please.

Thus, in my imaginary world, I will pretend that Radiohead decided to release only one album for In Rainbows (followed up months later by a limited edition six-song EP that was sold in the UK, Japan, and Amazon only).

Radiohead - In Rainbows (Sahm’s Non-Box Set Arrangement)

1. “15 Step” – 3:57
2. “Bodysnatchers” – 4:02
3. “Nude” – 4:15
4. “Down Is the New Up” – 4:59
5. “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” – 5:18
6. “Last Flowers To The Hospital” – 4:27
7. “All I Need” – 3:48
8. “Bangers + Mash” – 3:20
9. “Faust Arp” – 2:09
10.  ”Up on the Ladder” – 4:17
11. “Jigsaw Falling into Place” – 4:08
12. “Videotape” – 4:39

Limited Edition EP

1. “MK 1″ – 1:04
2. “Reckoner” – 4:50
3. “Go Slowly” – 3:48
4. “MK 2″ – 0:53
5. “House of Cards” – 5:28
6. “4 Minute Warning” – 4:06

All rearrangements aside, Radiohead is still the band that I have the most respect for, and even their worst songs are better than many bands’ best ones. So it’s all relative. But what would the Internet be without some alternate possibilities? Cheers.

When you must choose between two great bands—one from your past against one from your present—there is bound to be regret in your future.

I’m sure the line above is paraphrasing a famous quote from somewhere (even if Google is not showing me one), but it accurately describes my situation when I attend the 2008 Lollapalooza music festival. My wife and I will be making the journey from New York to Chicago to see the festival on August 1-3, in what would best be described as the culmination point of my favorite bands ever— Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against the Machine and Wilco.

The only problem is that Lollapalooza is three nights, not four. Thus, when the scheduling was released last week, I was distraught to discover that Wilco and Rage Against The Machine are playing on opposing stages at the same exact time.

Suddenly, my dream festival has hit a snag— I’m forced to choose between seeing only one of two of my favorite bands ever. I cannot stress enough what a terrible example this is of scheduling on the part of the Lollapalooza promoters. I mean, the following night has Nine Inch Nails playing at the same time as Kanye West, which makes sense since they have very different music.

But Wilco and Rage are both rock bands. Granted of course, they are totally different genres of rock, but rock nevertheless. I don’t think that they are polar opposites like Kanye and NIN are. I’m sure I am not the only person who is disappointed about this scheduling. Sure, the beauty of music festivals is that there is a plethora of music to see and experience, and much of it is going on at the same time. But to have two rock headliners on stage simultaneously seems to defy logic. Why can’t one of these bands be moved up to an earlier time slot in the day?

For me, the complications run deep, as both bands are known for their live performances: Wilco with their instrumentation and execution, and Rage with their sonic assault and raw energy. This likely will be a stellar performance by both bands as Rage is in the midst of a comeback, and Wilco will be playing in their hometown of Chicago, where the festival is being held this year.

A good tiebreaker would be to see the band I haven’t seen live before, but I have with both: Rage in 1997, Wilco in 2004. Both bands’ music served me well as the soundtrack at different junctures in my life, and it pains me to have to choose in what should be a momentous festival for me. So who do I go see?

Before I share my final decision below in the comments section, I want to see what all of you out there in the blogosphere think. If you were me on the evening of August 2, 2008, would you go see Rage Against The Machine or go see Wilco?

Thanks for reading and (hopefully) commenting. Cheers.

** M. Sahm **

As the more casual fan of the Somrod duo when it comes to R.E.M., I was not disappointed in the least bit by last night’s show. It was high octane for most of the show, and I only sat down for 2 of the 27 songs (Houston and Let Me In). With such a vast catalog, R.E.M. could have played any of 70 some odd songs in their current cue, so I accepted that they didn’t play a few of my own personal favs (Circus Envy, Walk Unafraid, and Finest Worksong) nor did they engage my blind hope of debuting ‘Sing For The Submarine’ on this tour. But I walked away very satisfied with the experience. The fact that S.Rod was ecstatic made me happier, but I’ll leave her to talk about that.

Overall though, of the three R.E.M. shows I have seen (’03, ‘04 and ‘08—all @ MSG), this was the best in my opinion. The new material from Accelerate meshed well with the old classics, much better than when they were debuting the Around The Sun songs. I think that’s the thing that show how solid a new album is— not only do the songs sound great live, but they accent the rest of the catalog well. Cheers.

The dynamic duo that is Somrod provided song-by-song tracklist information throughout the 27-song performance. After the show, S.Rod was unable to contain her excitement enough to form complete sentences. The curmudgeonly humanitarian in me grudgingly has to admit every human being on earth deserves to feel that good at least once in their life. I’m hoping I’m even 1/10 as excited at the end of my first R.E.M. show in Atlanta tomorrow night. - Josh Hathaway; Confessions of A Fanboy

** S.Rod **

Last night’s show was incredibly fantastic it totally ROCKED! I’m very pleased at how well the new album translates live. I’m so sad that its over but I’m so happy that I was there to see and experience this show. The crowd was totally into it.

We had a great setlist even though I didn’t get everything I wanted. There was a frenetic energy that carried through each of the first 10 songs which plateaued with Houston. I’m not a big fan of the song Houston but it was good and its surprisingly short. The set kicked back in with Electrolite which was a fan favorite which Stipe dedicated to Modest Mouse. Mike Mills then took center stage for Rockville…OMG the place went nuts. Everyone was singing the chorus… Roooockvillllllllle! Awesome! Driver 8 into Harborcoat and then The One I Love. I did get to hear Until the Day Is Done… which was just beautiful and then right into an acoustic version of Let Me In which was very intimate. I have changed my mind about Horse To Water; it is great live. Pretty Persuasion; so cool. Right into Orange Crush which I was dying to hear. And closing with I’m Gonna DJ, which just rocked.

Encore: Supernatural Superserious, Losing My Religion, Begin The Begin, Fall On Me, closing with Man on The Moon.

Wow, what a concert! I can’t remember being this psyched to see concert in a long time. R.E.M. put on a phenomenal show. For those of our friends seeing them in Atlanta on Saturday: I hope you get every song on your dream setlist. And even if only get one YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.

Seventeen days ago, I set a goal to find the Writer-Self.

Okay, well, I really set a goal to blog every day this month. But this was to shake off the rust in finding that self.

But you know, that self wasn’t as lost as I thought. I wasn’t as rusty as I expected to be. Experiment over. Now I have to start pushing the quota, and get this thing done.

Never give up, never ever give up. Cheers.