A Dog's Eye: Gym Gaffs

Gyms are like different countries which many people choose never to visit. However, I have a passport and a permanent visa so I'm a regular visitor. I almost belong to the gym sub-culture. I say almost because I'm a Square Peg.

Here's a list of my pet peeves at the gym. I'm sure I'm not the only one bothered by them, but overall these things seem to be generally accepted as normal in the gym sub-culture.

1. The music. Selected by a handful of gym folk, it is a nice blend of jungle music (dance and hip hop), and...more jungle music. I need a metal and rock soundtrack. I could chose the music and share it with everyone else, except for the fact none of the songs I like are available on the "jukebox". My iPod shuffle saves me.

2. The dropping of weights. If people can't put the weight down, then I'd suggest it's too heavy. I'm sure this is not attention seeking behaviour but it does attract attention.

3.Water bottles. It is not far to walk to the bubbler for a drink between sets or exercises, but for many people it is apparently too far. Irony alert.

4. Sitting on equipment but not actually using it. I reckon it's possible to leave your phone in your bag for an hour. It's also possible to have a conversation with your friends whilst not sitting on a particular machine.

5. Excessive grunting. I know it's hard work and it's painful, but some gym folk are Maria Sharapovas. Not seeking attention, but getting it.

6. Racking weights. There are signs everywhere, but it's evidently too hard to put away the weights they use when they've finished.

7. The floor is better than the storage cubes. There are empty spaces for bags to be stowed off the floor, but it's a bit difficult to lift the bag and place it so people just dump them on the floor.

8. Share your conversations with everyone. People who talk really loudly; thus ensuring the whole gym can hear every word.

Two final thoughts: I wonder how many other people even notice these things, and secondly I wonder how many people have to fight to overcome the self consciousness I still feel when I'm working out. Maybe, it's just me. 

A Dog's Eye: Quiet please!

This post could have been a Snake Oil post, but it didn't quite fit. Having not written a Snake Oil post for some time, I wanted to, but if it doesn't fit, it doesn't fit. You can't put a square peg into a round hole...apparently.

Have you ever noticed sound discrepancies? You listen to a radio program and the announcer's voice comes through your speakers loud and clear. On the other hand, guests on the program or callers to the program, are soft and occasionally indecipherable. The ads which interrupt the shows you watch on television (and pay for them, btw) are much louder than the show. The action scenes in a movie deafen you, but the soft conversation scenes sound like mumbled babbling. Sometimes what you want to be loud is soft, and vice verca. 

Heavy metal music is better loud. Elevator music is better soft. Opera is better not heard at all. Cheering for your football team should be loud. Conversation is better soft. Verbal abuse better not heard at all. Singing praise and worship in God's house; loud. Comforting a heartbroken friend; soft. Inspiring words; loud. Romantic words: soft. Hateful words; better not spoken. 

Whether loud or soft there are many things I enjoy listening to, like a good sermon for example, and many things I do not, like barking dogs and motorcycles. Soft rain is nice. Heavy rain is annoying. Laughter is usually a pleasing sound except when it boils over into obnoxious or is an expression of ridicule.

Are you listening? There is a voice which has been speaking loudly and softly since the beginning of time. There are voices in your head which mirror this: a voice of truth and another voice. Turn the latter voice right down low. Switch it off if you can. Turn off all the the noise which distracts you, medicates you, even confuses you. Life can be a noisy beast. Find the quiet. Enjoy the soft silence. Listen to the the voice of truth, speaking in a whisper.

                                     

Celebrate the small things:Trivium and the cool

I love the space inside my car. I love the the look of my car too. Despite its flaws, it's a beautiful thing and it drives well, but it's the space inside that I really love. I love air conditioning, heavy metal music and privacy. These three loves of mine, which are not incidentally my only loves, unite in the space inside my car.

It's hot today, but not inside my car because the a/c is running. In Waves by Trivium is playing and it's the only sound inside my car. I'm alone so no one can tell me to turn it down. This a peaceful place, albeit a mobile one. I'm cool, comfortable and entertained. It's easy to make me happy.

The song is called Of All These Yesterdays, and it speaks of rage  burning the pages of the book of the past, and the ashes covering us. It's a sad, but beautiful song.



These are the little things I'm celebrating today.

Shine with me

Out on the road this morning with my iPod shuffle supplying tunes for my mind while my legs and lungs battled on, I found peace. I felt settled in my mind, my thoughts clear despite the lack of oxygen in my brain. The song which particularly struck me, resonating encouragement, was Shine With Me by POD. Just a song. Just a guy singing some words while his mates play instruments. How beautiful is the way music connects us to each other, and to the Almighty. How it touches us, moves us, inspires us.

It's actually not that hard to find peace, you just need to know where to look. The God of all peace is never far away, you just need to find a way to connect. Shine With Me is an invitation to a perfect relationship.

How and where do you find peace?

Move Me.

Most of my favourite books and films have entered into my esoteric elite by virtue of having entangled me emotionally. Last night I watched my niece perform, with her school, at Wakakirri. wakakirri Eight other schools shared dance stories with the audience. I'll have more to say about Wakakirri in Sunday's post, but there was one performance in particular which really moved me.

Unlike the others it was an essentially melancholic tale, and it told the story of the impact of war on a typical Australian family. The combination of music, lighting and dance was so powerful it actually made me cry. Whoever wrote and directed that wonderful piece of drama deserves great praise, and I will be writing to the school today to deliver it.

Birds of Pray

Rock band, Live released their 6th studio album in 2003. Called Birds of Pray, and featuring the hit single Heaven, it remains one of my favorite rock albums of all time.

With such clearly spiritual themes, I have wondered, and still do, about where exactly this band is on the faith spectrum. I'm very much a lyrics focused listener. The music is one thing but the deeper meaning of the words has always aroused my interest. Many artists have important things to say about themselves and the world around them. By reflecting and exploring issues and themes, they have the gift of being able to provide revelation and inspiration to others through their songs.

Live's song Heaven, is a stirring statement of faith which strikes exactly the right chord with me.

I don't need no one, to tell me 'bout Heaven.

I look at my daughter and I believe.

I don't need no proof,

when it comes to God and truth,

I can see the sunset.

People often talk about good things or experiences as being 'heaven on earth', or 'heavenly', and bad ones as 'hell on earth' or 'hellish' without really believing that either place actually exists. Earth is real while heaven and hell are fantasy places, invented by various religions to provide incentives to piety.

Earth is a mixture of heaven and hell. People who believe that this life is as good as it gets, are, in my opinion, deluded. I agree that there are wonderful things on earth, but there are some truly evil, horrible things as well. Things which make us despair and long for a better place.

Evidence is required for many to believe in Heaven, and it is true to say that  many who say they believe, make liars of themselves by their actions. What proof is needed? And what proof will be acceptable when the weight of evidence already before us is overwhelming? 

The second part of the the above chorus alludes to Paul's statement in the book of Romans, in the Bible. Creation itself continually testifies to the glory of God. I can see it everywhere, and my soul wants more; it cries out for an end to suffering, it yearns for peace.

The conception, birth and development of my children has always filled me with wonder and gratitude. Even now, as older teenagers, their lives still sing an amazing song about the beauty and glory of Heaven. I don't need any more proof. I look at my daughter and my son, and I can see the sunset...and I believe. Do you?

Headbanging with Wolves

The story of a Norwegian boy who frightened off a pack of wolves who were surrounding him by blasting them with a heavy metal track, made me think about the significant times in my life when music in general, or a particular song, has been inextricably linked.

Every time I hear 'I See Red' by Splitz Enz, I recall sitting next to my mum in the car when another car rear ended her as she waited to turn into the driveway of my uncle's house. Hearing Tears for Fears always makes me think of an old girlfriend. Songs by my boyhood bands, Australian legends, like Midnight Oil and The Angels, transport me back in time. I associate Stryper with my early years as a Christian when I abandoned all my heavy metal music, including giving away my 15 album strong KISS collection. It was time when I needed to hear 'To Hell with the Devil', by Stryper rather than 'we worship you Satan' by Possessed.

At different times and in different situations, the lyrics of particular songs can be remarkably poignant. "Wherever you Go" by Richard Marx is our song. The words were so appropriate as my wife and I spent most of our courtship separated by thousands of kilometres. In this song we heard our own voices, our emotions, our thoughts expressed better than we could have done ourselves.

This is the real power of music: to connect to the heart of the listener. Regardless of the style of music, (everyone knows metal rules anyway), the songs I love, speak to me. They provide words when I cannot find them. Have you ever listened to the lyric of a song and thought it was written for you, or to you, or about you?

Sometimes these kinds of high impact songs can be helpful, they provide happiness, empathy and even comfort, but sometimes they can be harmful. How many times can you listen to a song before you know the lyric, and at what point do you believe it? When does it become a part of you forever? When does it transform your mind? When does it convince you? When does it drag you into dark places and lock you up? When does it seditiously plant lies in your mind?

When wolves surround you, how will you scare them away? Are the songs in your head powerful enough to defeat your enemies, or are they eroding your will, weakening your resolve, leaving your vulnerable. Hugely popular heavy metal band, Disturbed, have called their current tour, Music as a Weapon. I rest my case.

Sell Out or Die

Byron Bay metalcore band, Parkway Drive, headlined a show at the Hordern Pavillion in Sydney back in September 2010. That gig was sold out. People wanting tickets on the night, at the door, couldn't buy any. Parkway Drive have been accused of selling out in another way. Some people say they make music to make money. (There's something wrong with that?)In other words, making more popular, commercially viable music in order to make more money.

This accusation is nothing new. Throughout the history of popular music, bands and solo artists have had their integrity questioned by alleged fans and music lovers whenever they have, in the artists' own words, "changed" musical direction.

Recently I watched Australian hard rock band Grinspoon perform. Grinspoon started their musical journey as a hardcore post grunge band but over the years they have developed into a more mainstream rock act. Some people don't like that they've changed. They are angered by the irony of Grinspoon performing a cover of INXS Don't Change. But what's wrong with a band growing, even changing their style? Writing and playing music requires creative force. Why should Grinspoon, for example, keep writing the same style of song about the same subject matter? People change and mature, so why wouldn't their music reflect that? What's wrong with a band trying to attract new fans to their music by writing a few radio friendly songs here and there? Or even all over the place?

Payable on Death is another band which began as a punk band in the early nineties and over time developed a style of their own with elements of reggae, hardcore, rock and rap all fused together. Some people say the old POD was better, and they wished they still rocked like they did back in the day.

Fans of groups like POD, Parkway Drive and Grinspoon (like me) love what they do. They have opinions about songs and albums they like better than other songs or albums, of course, but they follow the band. They grow with the band. If you start rocking with a band when you're a teenager, and they are a bunch of teenagers then the connection is solid, but you don't want your fave band singing about teenage angst and pimples when they, and you, are in their thirties or forties. Being a fan means liking the way the band does business. If your favourite band wants to go on writing new music and experimenting, or if they want to carry on producing the same beast in different clothes, then it's all good. If they want to start writing songs about the environment instead of songs about getting wasted at parties, then good luck to them. When interviewed about the band's last release, When Angels and Serpents Dance, Sonny Sandoval from POD admitted that they were no longer a bunch of kids playing punk in the garage. There's no selling out here. True fans know it. The critics can rack off and listen to something else.

What about bands who deliberately write songs to achieve, and then to maintain popularity? Nickleback comes to mind. They smashed into the mainstream with Silver Side Up and the modern classic single, How You Remind Me. They followed that CD with two more just like it, and fans lapped it up. Dark Horse was their last release and it was less popular than the previous three because it was different. Was Nickleback selling out with Dark Horse, or trying to return to their hard rock Metallica inspired roots? Speaking of Metallica, they are another band who have been accused of selling out and going soft, but they are rightly numbered among the great bands of all time, and Death Magnetic proves they are true masters of heavy metal.

What about stars who burn brightly for a short time? What would Jimi Hendrix have been playing had he survived the sixties? Would Nirvana have developed into the Foo Fighters even if Kurt Cobain had not killed himself? What might Jim Morrison have written songs about had he made it through the muddy swamp of drug addiction as Phil Jamieson of Grinspoon did? What do Hendrix, Cobain and Morrison have in common? They didn't grow up. They didn't live to go on writing great music. They killed themselves before they had time to mature as people and as artists. Maybe they had nothing left. Maybe they were afraid of being popular. Who knows?

Hate a particular band and their music if you must, but don't waste your breath on pathetic self righteous judgements about them "selling out". They don't care and neither do their fans.

Cultural Snobbery

There is something I don't understand, something that troubles, even annoys me. Why is it that people have to condemn as worthless the things they don't like. By all means, voice your opinion, and justify your view with criticism by why write it off altogether especially when you know full well that somebody else actually likes it.What am I on about? Read on.

I'm reading a book called "A World Without Heroes" written by George Roche. It's a book of philosophy, if you like that sort of thing, from a Christian point of view. I happen to agree with the author's world view for the most part until he comes up with stuff like this;

Talking about modern music, "...the jungle throb and infected themes of rock (music)..." So we know he doesn't like rock music and then this, "The simplest, most accurate statement of our arts is that we no longer have any. Virtually all of our best theatrical repertoire, our art, our music, our ballet, our architecture, our sculpture, our literature, is a century old and often far older...we make no art. We make daubs and junk and boxy buildings and screeches." I don't have time or space to quote more extensively, but how about this to finish, "the ghastly sounds which bombard us in this music starved age."

Let's focus on music. Many people think that the only good music is the music they like. A radio announcer I regularly listen to, always talks about how they don't make music like they used to in the 1960s and 70s. Nobody writes great songs anymore apparently. Some people enjoy listening to opera which is often sung in a foreign language and then bag heavy metal music because they say you can't understand what they are singing about. Other people criticize heavy metal because they say its monotonous but they get off on dance music. Can you tell I'm a heavy metal fan?

Bruce Dickinson is lead singer of the hugely successful heavy metal band, Iron Maiden. Bruce has arguably one of the finest voices in his genre. A classically trained opera singer who according to some cultural snobs probably crossed over to the dark side when he joined Iron Maiden. Some of the world's finest musicians, singers and songwriters have entertained us through heavy metal music.

Anyway, this was not intended to be a defense of heavy metal.

The high culture/low culture divide is an artificial distinction. Why should ballet be considered high culture and breakdancing low. Why should classical music be above rock music? Why should so called literary writing be deemed superior to so called pulp fiction? I do not accept Roche's assertion that good art, in all its forms is no longer being produced. That modern art, music and literature is rubbish. The question of what makes good art, is and always has been entirely subjective, and its not determined by popularity contests either.

Only God knows how much time we have left but I reckon Metallica's song Enter Sandman is a classic and perhaps in the future it will be recognized more widely as such. On par with Beethoven's 5th.

I guess the point of this rambling, disorganized babble is that I believe you don't have to like something to recognize that it is good, (in other words that someone else likes it.)

What is the best music genre?
	Pop
	Country
	Classical
	Rock
	hip hop/R & B
	Opera
	Heavy Metal
	None of the above. It's a matter of opnion.
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