Last night was a rough one. JP woke up screaming with gas pain and anyone who has kids knows how awful it is to hear your child in pain. I think it's even worse when they can't tell you what's wrong and don't really know what is happening. It was rough, but we finally got it out of him and got him back to sleep at about 1am. By that point my mind was racing with various thoughts and I do not remember sleeping at all, though I am sure I dozed off for a few minutes here and there. What was I thinking about? Take a deep breathe and hold on because here we go!
I posted yesterday about my bike race, so I was thinking about things cyclists and bike racers should know:
1) Hold your line. That means don't swerve all over, if you do you are a danger to everyone around you.
2) Basic physics shows that an object trying to turn a corner at high speed will drift out after going through the curve. Thus you start the corner from the outside, take the apex at the inside and drift out as you come out of it. Anyone who has watched a car or a bike race can understand this concept. So why do people in races insist on going into a corner right on the inside line?!?!?!
3) Wear a helmet.You have a family, you have friends...they do not want you to die, think of others. You ride with people and we do not want to see your brain on the road. Insisting your kids wear helmets while you do not is stupid! Set a good example and do what you can to make sure you are there for them when they grow up.
4) When you are riding in a group do not make any sudden movements. If you have to bunny hop a pot hole or hit a bump rather then suddenly swerve, do it. You aren't the only one in the group.
5) Talk/signal. Even pro riders let the riders behind and in front of them know what is going on. If there is something in the road that is a danger, signal it and say something. if the person ahead of you or next to you is drifting give them a touch on the hip and say something. I could go on and on, but you get the point.
6) Practice looking behind you while riding by yourself in a safe place. There is nothing worse then a crash caused by a rider who looks back and swerves.
7) In most states bicycles are considered motor vehicles and must obey the rules of the road...do it. Don't run stop signs and lights, don't roll up past a line of cars to the front at a light or sign. Yes, a lot of drivers are jerks, but riding like a jerk certainly does not help the situation.
8) Bike lanes suck. Drivers see a bike lane and don't bother giving any extra room to get by a cyclist and, often, do not even think about who is in the bike lane or what they are doing.
I could go about cycling on but I did a lot of thinking last night.
Lying there in the dark listening to XM I started thinking about people and events based on what song came on the radio. Music is a very big part of my life and a line from a Clint Black song describes how I work very well "Ain't it funny how a melody can bring back a memory, take you to another place in time, even change your state of mind." As songs played I was reminded of people from my past who I have not seen in years, such as Kristen Murphy (the first girl I dated at UofL), Chris Sheppherd (one of my best friends at UofL who dropped off the face of the earth), Becky Bridges (the first girl I ever kissed), Chad Dannenfelser (a friend from USM), Ally (can't remember the last name, but she was one of the SJA girls I was friends with), Eric of Antioch ( one of my pledge class brothers whose last name escapes me, but I remember he was from Antioch, IL). I am sure their are a few more that popped into my head, but it was a long night.
I mentioned yesterday about potential jobs in Chicago and Florida. I have such mixed feelings about where I work. My parents saw JP for the first time since Thanksgiving last week and it about broke my heart that they had to wait so long. Moving to Florida would probably make it worse and add his other grandparents not seeing him as much. Moving to Chicago would be great because of my wife's family and getting to ride and hang out with the guys on my cycling team. Then there is St. Louis, where I have my family, my brother and a number of friends, plus I just love St. Louis. Then there is the fact that my wife has a great job and is very successful and nearly irreplaceable and that the daycare JP goes to is fantastic, maybe I should just suck it up and find something around here, working in a plant or a factory. It really shouldn't matter as I just need to get a real job, no matter where it is.
I'd say about once a day it enters my mind that my wife and son would be better off without me. Now don't get all freaked out, life is too damn good for me to even think about killing myself and I would never abandon them. It really stems from me feeling like I failed in my last coaching job and nobody, in multiple industries, has any interest in hiring me, and that maybe I am simply dead weight holding them back. Pretty dark, huh. Conversely at least once a day, when he in not around, I think of the wonderful peels of laughter and the big toothy smile of my son. I think of my wonderful wife, how she snorts when she laughs hard, how ticklish she is, how beautiful she is and how I love that I can stare at here just taking it all in and she won't even notice and how she love me for me, no matter how successful I am.
Sometimes I think about things that I would do differently if I could go back in time. I do regret things like flunking out of Drake and losing touch with my Sig Ep brothers,not paying attention to my grades in high school, risks I didn't take in games or races, girls I did not ask out, guys I didn't knock out. Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I had done things differently, but I would not want to change anything. If I changed these things I would not have met my wife, I wouldn't know most of my friends and I would have missed out on a lot of great things.
Looking at a soccer message board I saw a post about a college having scholarship money available and looking for certain positions. They didn't name the school, but the details they did give sounded very familiar. Interestingly I had people lined up for those positions, starters from state championship teams in two different states. It doesn't surprise me.
Well, that's about it, I am tired from a lack of sleep and it's the Alt. School teacher's lunch so I have to supervise those kids as well.
Have a great day!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Spring Break , Bike Racing, Being a fan
Apparently I have people who are actually reading this blog so I feel bad that I have not posted in over a week, but I did not take my laptop with me on spring break. Now it's time to catch up!
We went to St. Louis for spring break and it was a great week. JP got to see his grandparents for the first time since Thanksgiving and he had a great time. We got in saturday night and the spoiling began right away as he had new clothes and toys waiting for him. Of course he spent the whole trip showing off and flirting.
On sunday I did the Great Forest Park Bike Race. I knew my training was not up to snuff, so my goal was simply for a pack finish. I got a decent warm up in and the weather was good for mid March. There was a light wind, and I wore long sleeve jersey, light long sleeve base, cycling cap, long finger light gloves, bibs, leg warmers and show covers. I could have lost the shoe covers and leg warmers and probably had a short sleeve base layer. I did not get to preview the course so I line up in the third row on the outside. I figured I would rather be outside then get squeezed on a curve I know nothing about. The gun went and the four guys in front of me promptly took forever to get off the line and clip in. The guy in front and too the side could not clip and swerved towards me. My first thought was "great, I am going to crash at three miles an hour barely over the start line." I made it past the swerving guy but was already off the back...with about 20 of the 60+ riders in the race! Amazing how a few guys can screw up over a quarter of the field right at the start.
I got in a group that was riding hard and the main pack was only about 25 yards ahead, so I knew we would get back on if we worked together. You know how this went before I even write it. Sure enough one guy goes to the front and pulls for a full lap (about a mile) then drops off and barges in to the second position, the next guy does the same thing. This happens with the two of them for about four laps and the pack keeps moving away. Finally I start yelling instructions to get a good pace line going (not angry just trying to sort things out) and only one guy responds and he simply yells to me to go to the front, so I hammer to the front and take bout a quarter mile pull at nearly full gas. (according to my garmin I was going 27 for the full pull). I then flick my elbow, move over and...the whole line moves behind me. (They really should have all riders take a Bike Racing 101 course before racing) So I move over and wave my hand and the next guy comes through...alright, here we go! Unfortunately it turns into three of us working when the two guys from early in the pace line aren't trying to turn it into a two man, biggest package display. At that point I knew we were cooked and was simply riding hard trying to not get lapped. About five laps from the finish the pack was coming hard and we were working to stay ahead when I see a shadow inside me about 100 yards from a turn. Some young guy decided the smart move was to come up the inside near a corner. In m younger racing lives I would have squeezed him out letting him know to either slow down and get a good line or eat the curb. Now I am older and not bullet proof so I simply let him try to kill everyone else. (Bike racing 101 class for that idiot). One lap later we get caught by the pack. I decided to use the last three laps as a cool down but some guys in my group decided to latch on, one of whom decided the best move to stay on was to dive across my front wheel into the curve, missing me by about 6 inches. (Bike racing 101). I ended up finishing 52 out of 64, but did the last three laps talking with another racer. I was surprised by my fitness, but ticked that despite being at the front at the start I got screwed. All in all it was a well run race in a great venue.
After the race we went to the St. Louis Zoo. What a great zoo and it is free! JP loves the penguins, he can't get enough of them!
The rest of spring break was spent doing St. Louis food we love, relaxing and some more bike riding. I did a 40 mile ride through the hills around Chesterfield Valley and it hurt! Col spent that time working at Barnes & Noble while JP was having Grandma Donna day.
The week went pretty fast and the weather did as well. On tuesday I did the long ride in shorts sleeve jersey and bibshorts and on friday it was sleeting! At least we let a few hours before the snowstorm!
Thursday night we went to the Blues game. They dominated and won 4-0. The game had it all, great goals, great passing, great action, hitting, three fights and great saves. JP loved it and loved showing off for the women behind us. He has become a true hockey fan, saying "Go Blues" and getting mad when I change the channel from hockey...even to switch to another game. I took him to a hockey store while we were waiting to get his hair cut and he picked out some gloves and wore them until we left the store! He loved the goalie masks and squealed with delight when I put one on him. He also loved the goalie blockers, gloves and leg pads. I better get a good job because goalies are expensive! He cheered when the Blues scored and loved the goal horn. We are so lucky to have such a great son, who can travel anywhere and do anything with a smile on his face 98% of the time
It was nice to come home to our own bed, JP's own room and bed, not feeling like we have to think about anyone else when we decide what we want to do, eat or watch, but we love St. Louis and love our family and friends there. I would love to get a job there.
On the subject of jobs I got a very unexpected call about a job in Florida that sounds like it would be pretty cool and working for a very cool company. Cross your fingers, light candles, etc. that I get a call this week for an interview. I also think I will be hearing from a company about a sales job in Chicago this week. It's really weird thinking that in a few weeks I could be living just about anywhere in the US, doing one of a number of different careers. We were hoping to win Mega Millions or Power Ball and then none of that would matter, but I have to keep looking!
Well no music thoughts, just trying to catch you up on life's doings this past week and get ready to go back to school tomorrow.
We went to St. Louis for spring break and it was a great week. JP got to see his grandparents for the first time since Thanksgiving and he had a great time. We got in saturday night and the spoiling began right away as he had new clothes and toys waiting for him. Of course he spent the whole trip showing off and flirting.
On sunday I did the Great Forest Park Bike Race. I knew my training was not up to snuff, so my goal was simply for a pack finish. I got a decent warm up in and the weather was good for mid March. There was a light wind, and I wore long sleeve jersey, light long sleeve base, cycling cap, long finger light gloves, bibs, leg warmers and show covers. I could have lost the shoe covers and leg warmers and probably had a short sleeve base layer. I did not get to preview the course so I line up in the third row on the outside. I figured I would rather be outside then get squeezed on a curve I know nothing about. The gun went and the four guys in front of me promptly took forever to get off the line and clip in. The guy in front and too the side could not clip and swerved towards me. My first thought was "great, I am going to crash at three miles an hour barely over the start line." I made it past the swerving guy but was already off the back...with about 20 of the 60+ riders in the race! Amazing how a few guys can screw up over a quarter of the field right at the start.
I got in a group that was riding hard and the main pack was only about 25 yards ahead, so I knew we would get back on if we worked together. You know how this went before I even write it. Sure enough one guy goes to the front and pulls for a full lap (about a mile) then drops off and barges in to the second position, the next guy does the same thing. This happens with the two of them for about four laps and the pack keeps moving away. Finally I start yelling instructions to get a good pace line going (not angry just trying to sort things out) and only one guy responds and he simply yells to me to go to the front, so I hammer to the front and take bout a quarter mile pull at nearly full gas. (according to my garmin I was going 27 for the full pull). I then flick my elbow, move over and...the whole line moves behind me. (They really should have all riders take a Bike Racing 101 course before racing) So I move over and wave my hand and the next guy comes through...alright, here we go! Unfortunately it turns into three of us working when the two guys from early in the pace line aren't trying to turn it into a two man, biggest package display. At that point I knew we were cooked and was simply riding hard trying to not get lapped. About five laps from the finish the pack was coming hard and we were working to stay ahead when I see a shadow inside me about 100 yards from a turn. Some young guy decided the smart move was to come up the inside near a corner. In m younger racing lives I would have squeezed him out letting him know to either slow down and get a good line or eat the curb. Now I am older and not bullet proof so I simply let him try to kill everyone else. (Bike racing 101 class for that idiot). One lap later we get caught by the pack. I decided to use the last three laps as a cool down but some guys in my group decided to latch on, one of whom decided the best move to stay on was to dive across my front wheel into the curve, missing me by about 6 inches. (Bike racing 101). I ended up finishing 52 out of 64, but did the last three laps talking with another racer. I was surprised by my fitness, but ticked that despite being at the front at the start I got screwed. All in all it was a well run race in a great venue.
After the race we went to the St. Louis Zoo. What a great zoo and it is free! JP loves the penguins, he can't get enough of them!
The rest of spring break was spent doing St. Louis food we love, relaxing and some more bike riding. I did a 40 mile ride through the hills around Chesterfield Valley and it hurt! Col spent that time working at Barnes & Noble while JP was having Grandma Donna day.
The week went pretty fast and the weather did as well. On tuesday I did the long ride in shorts sleeve jersey and bibshorts and on friday it was sleeting! At least we let a few hours before the snowstorm!
Thursday night we went to the Blues game. They dominated and won 4-0. The game had it all, great goals, great passing, great action, hitting, three fights and great saves. JP loved it and loved showing off for the women behind us. He has become a true hockey fan, saying "Go Blues" and getting mad when I change the channel from hockey...even to switch to another game. I took him to a hockey store while we were waiting to get his hair cut and he picked out some gloves and wore them until we left the store! He loved the goalie masks and squealed with delight when I put one on him. He also loved the goalie blockers, gloves and leg pads. I better get a good job because goalies are expensive! He cheered when the Blues scored and loved the goal horn. We are so lucky to have such a great son, who can travel anywhere and do anything with a smile on his face 98% of the time
It was nice to come home to our own bed, JP's own room and bed, not feeling like we have to think about anyone else when we decide what we want to do, eat or watch, but we love St. Louis and love our family and friends there. I would love to get a job there.
On the subject of jobs I got a very unexpected call about a job in Florida that sounds like it would be pretty cool and working for a very cool company. Cross your fingers, light candles, etc. that I get a call this week for an interview. I also think I will be hearing from a company about a sales job in Chicago this week. It's really weird thinking that in a few weeks I could be living just about anywhere in the US, doing one of a number of different careers. We were hoping to win Mega Millions or Power Ball and then none of that would matter, but I have to keep looking!
Well no music thoughts, just trying to catch you up on life's doings this past week and get ready to go back to school tomorrow.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Stream of Consciousness.
If you are reading this then you are either intrigued by the title or are simply hoping I am going insane. To be honest it just sounded fun and I am just going to write about some stuff that popped into my head last night and this morning. Awaaaaay we go!
As a cyclist I think about the wind a lot. Why does it always seem to be at it's strongest on days I have an important ride scheduled? Why does the left strap of my helmet make a noise like my brake is rubbing when it is windy? Why does it seem like whenever I do an out and back ride, starting into a head wind, the wind shifts right as I am turning back, so I have a head wind the whole time? Why do I think it's cool on training rides when I wear my time trial helmet (usually my last ride before a TT or a triathlon) to turn my head and hear the wind noise change as it flows over the helmet?
I have been working at this school since Christmas break ended in January, in other words for just over three months. Yesterday after UofL lost in the NCAA tournament a teacher and the assistant principal came in to my room to "console" me. At the end of the day during the announcements they announced my tragic loss and for everyone to wish me the best. In the four years I as at Saint Joe I never felt as welcome as I do here. It's amazing what having supportive and nice co-workers and a boss who actually wants and helps you succeed, can do for a guys attitude. I really do like it at this school!
I am doing my first bike race of the year this Sunday in St. Louis. I am completely unprepared. My goal is simply to finish in the pack.
The Blues played what was possibly the most dominant game I have ever seen them play last night versus Los Angeles. It was impressive and makes me wonder what this team could have done this year without all of the injuries to key players. That being said I am sure they will be awful when we go to the game on Thursday.
I saw the video to "Allentown" by Billy Joel this morning...what an awful video. The acting only sort of goes along with the lyrics and then there is this homoerotic thing going on with the bare chested construction workers working in manner that seems to be all about showing their muscles flexing. What is that all about?!?!?!
Spring Break starts this afternoon and I get an actual break for the first time in a long time. As a college coach the kids were off campus but I was still in the office every day, so I find myself looking forward to this more then usual.
Mizzou and UofL...seriously?!?!?!?!
Their seems to be a lot of good 80's "alternative" bands touring this summer .The English Beat is back on tour and playing in St. Louis next week! Of course the show is on thursday night when we already have tickets to the Blues game. The Psychedelic Furs are on the west coast only, somehow they keep avoiding me by playing nowhere near me or on the same night I am out of town at another concert. Other good bands I would like to see who are touring include Gene Love Jezebel, Social Distortion (My first CD was "Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell." Holy crap their drummer just got arrested for doing heroin and Od'ing in front of his 12 year old son! What kind of idiot does something like that?!?!?! Who beats their kid? I just saw something about someone hitting their toddler in the head and then sticking them in the oven and killing them WTF?!?!?! As the line in the great movie "Parenthood" says: "You need a license to drive a car, a license to catch a fish, but any butt reaming asshole can be a parent." Ok, enough ranting, back to the topic), Morrissey, Elvis Costello (boy did I miss out on some great music by him in high school).
On another music note, while looking for bands touring I was reading a bio of Journey and had forgot how much turnover they had, even during their glory years. From the album "Infinity" to "Raised on Radio" (78-86) they went through three drummers, two keyboard players, two bassists (including the original being fired for "RoR" and replaced by Randy Jackson and then coming back)and three lead singers (though one was actually the keyboard player as well). Neal Schon is the only member of the band from day one until today, uninterrupted. Wow!
Ok, it's lunch time so I will just sign off now.
As a cyclist I think about the wind a lot. Why does it always seem to be at it's strongest on days I have an important ride scheduled? Why does the left strap of my helmet make a noise like my brake is rubbing when it is windy? Why does it seem like whenever I do an out and back ride, starting into a head wind, the wind shifts right as I am turning back, so I have a head wind the whole time? Why do I think it's cool on training rides when I wear my time trial helmet (usually my last ride before a TT or a triathlon) to turn my head and hear the wind noise change as it flows over the helmet?
I have been working at this school since Christmas break ended in January, in other words for just over three months. Yesterday after UofL lost in the NCAA tournament a teacher and the assistant principal came in to my room to "console" me. At the end of the day during the announcements they announced my tragic loss and for everyone to wish me the best. In the four years I as at Saint Joe I never felt as welcome as I do here. It's amazing what having supportive and nice co-workers and a boss who actually wants and helps you succeed, can do for a guys attitude. I really do like it at this school!
I am doing my first bike race of the year this Sunday in St. Louis. I am completely unprepared. My goal is simply to finish in the pack.
The Blues played what was possibly the most dominant game I have ever seen them play last night versus Los Angeles. It was impressive and makes me wonder what this team could have done this year without all of the injuries to key players. That being said I am sure they will be awful when we go to the game on Thursday.
I saw the video to "Allentown" by Billy Joel this morning...what an awful video. The acting only sort of goes along with the lyrics and then there is this homoerotic thing going on with the bare chested construction workers working in manner that seems to be all about showing their muscles flexing. What is that all about?!?!?!
Spring Break starts this afternoon and I get an actual break for the first time in a long time. As a college coach the kids were off campus but I was still in the office every day, so I find myself looking forward to this more then usual.
Mizzou and UofL...seriously?!?!?!?!
Their seems to be a lot of good 80's "alternative" bands touring this summer .The English Beat is back on tour and playing in St. Louis next week! Of course the show is on thursday night when we already have tickets to the Blues game. The Psychedelic Furs are on the west coast only, somehow they keep avoiding me by playing nowhere near me or on the same night I am out of town at another concert. Other good bands I would like to see who are touring include Gene Love Jezebel, Social Distortion (My first CD was "Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell." Holy crap their drummer just got arrested for doing heroin and Od'ing in front of his 12 year old son! What kind of idiot does something like that?!?!?! Who beats their kid? I just saw something about someone hitting their toddler in the head and then sticking them in the oven and killing them WTF?!?!?! As the line in the great movie "Parenthood" says: "You need a license to drive a car, a license to catch a fish, but any butt reaming asshole can be a parent." Ok, enough ranting, back to the topic), Morrissey, Elvis Costello (boy did I miss out on some great music by him in high school).
On another music note, while looking for bands touring I was reading a bio of Journey and had forgot how much turnover they had, even during their glory years. From the album "Infinity" to "Raised on Radio" (78-86) they went through three drummers, two keyboard players, two bassists (including the original being fired for "RoR" and replaced by Randy Jackson and then coming back)and three lead singers (though one was actually the keyboard player as well). Neal Schon is the only member of the band from day one until today, uninterrupted. Wow!
Ok, it's lunch time so I will just sign off now.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
A trip Down Amnesia Lane
No time to watch any videos this morning, but I had VH1 Classic on in the background as I got ready for work today. One thing I noticed was how many songs ended with the the title being repeated over and over and it reminded me of our music teacher at Shenandoah Valley Elementary School, Dr. Milak. I thought of her because she used to let us bring in records on Fridays and play songs we wanted to hear. One day someone brought in the soundtrack to the truly awful movie "Xanadu," the title track kept repeating the title over and over and Dr. Milak ranted about how bad music repeats over and over. It wasn't an angry rant, just a "professional" rant, like a music teacher complaining about the sorry state of modern music (which happens with every generation, trust me I know, I heard some of the stuff my players would listen too!) or a coach complaining about how the game is played today. I wonder where she is today. Thinking about this also reminded me of the time my brother let me take his album "Back In Black" by AC/DC for music class and after putting on the title track Dr. Milak busied herself with some work and let the record play. As the start of "You Shook Me All Night Long" started the whole class held their breathe knowing that the third line included the word "damn" which was a curse word in sixth grade and strictly forbidden in music class music, a ban on albums being the result of playing a song with cursing. The offending line passed, all heads turned to Dr. Milak and breathe was exhaled with smiles all around as she did not react, clearly too involved in her work to notice. We really felt like we pulled a fast one! Another music class memory was a day when we had to come up with as many words as possible using the letters of the musical scale and Scott Canty and I came up with "Abacab" (The album by Genesis) and nobody else knew what we were talking about...including Dr. Milak. On and on I could go with memories about elementary school like Cub Scouts, Dana Anspach (my first "girlfriend"), the undershirt gang , "Do You Believe In Miracles," football at the Vinings, The May/Gardiner class experiment, Mr. Lee, Dr. Borsa, the sixth grade world's fair (which I had to miss since I missed the last few days of school to go to Europe...what was my dad thinking?!?!?!), Mrs. Franklin (my favorite teacher), Dr. Brown humiliating me in front of everyone, hanging out at the Keesels before school etc. The odd thing is that I have no memory of what it was like at school after my mom died. I can remember vivid detail of her funeral, the "wake" and even dreams I had about her, but nothing about school. I guess that isn't very odd except you would think being with my friends would not be something subconsciously blocked out.
Well that's all I have today, except you know as soon as I post this I'll start thinking of other things I should have written about. "From this time 'till next time, so long." -Jack Buck
Well that's all I have today, except you know as soon as I post this I'll start thinking of other things I should have written about. "From this time 'till next time, so long." -Jack Buck
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Subdivisions!
Every morning when I wake up I put on the news and during the commercials I put on VH1 Classic. This morning one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands came on, Subdivisions by Rush. While I was grooving (do you groove to Rush? Rock out? Jam?) I started thinking about the video and what I thought of it and, jokingly, posted on facebook that I was going to talk about an old video every day. An old Sig Ep brother of mine said I should blog, so here goes!
Subdivisions was on the 1982 album (you remember record albums don't you?) Signals. The song is about growing up in the suburbs and the video was shot in and around Toronto and at a local high school. Part of the video is the band playing in the studio, part is in the halls of the high school and part around town and following some of the lyrics.
The Band:
My first impression was that Geddy was totally 80's with the mullet and sport jacket with the sleeves pushed up. Add some stubble and change the colors to white and pink and he would be totally Miami Vice...like, you know, totally. (Although this is about two years before Vice took America by storm!)
Alex has this floppy 80's hair thing going on, but then goes for the tux type collared shirt with a red bow tie! What the hell was he thinking?!?!?! Of course Rush admitted that they struggled with "wardrobe" throughout their career in their documentary "Beyond the Lighted Stage."
Neil has a short haircut and a collarless two tone shirt going on. If you didn't know what he looked like you would think the drummer couldn't make it that day, so some accountant or father of the makeup girl stood in for him!
The Video:
Holy crap did this one take me back to my youth. Tight jeans, bad hair, bad mustaches, big hair, tight shirts, jean jackets and Member's Only jackets. I always love videos that sort of tell the story of the song and this one does, showing the "basement bars," being cool or being cast out, etc. It really tells you about the song, while being a good snapshot of the time period.
Well that is about it for today, see you next time!
Subdivisions was on the 1982 album (you remember record albums don't you?) Signals. The song is about growing up in the suburbs and the video was shot in and around Toronto and at a local high school. Part of the video is the band playing in the studio, part is in the halls of the high school and part around town and following some of the lyrics.
The Band:
My first impression was that Geddy was totally 80's with the mullet and sport jacket with the sleeves pushed up. Add some stubble and change the colors to white and pink and he would be totally Miami Vice...like, you know, totally. (Although this is about two years before Vice took America by storm!)
Alex has this floppy 80's hair thing going on, but then goes for the tux type collared shirt with a red bow tie! What the hell was he thinking?!?!?! Of course Rush admitted that they struggled with "wardrobe" throughout their career in their documentary "Beyond the Lighted Stage."
Neil has a short haircut and a collarless two tone shirt going on. If you didn't know what he looked like you would think the drummer couldn't make it that day, so some accountant or father of the makeup girl stood in for him!
The Video:
Holy crap did this one take me back to my youth. Tight jeans, bad hair, bad mustaches, big hair, tight shirts, jean jackets and Member's Only jackets. I always love videos that sort of tell the story of the song and this one does, showing the "basement bars," being cool or being cast out, etc. It really tells you about the song, while being a good snapshot of the time period.
Well that is about it for today, see you next time!
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