Am I official yet?

I have 8 followers and one guy I don't even know. He follows Brendan Kelly and Tom Gabel, though, so he must be a cool guy. You can't go wrong with Brendan and Tom. I also turned on comment moderation so that I have to approve your comments first and that way, I'll be able to keep track on when I'm getting comments and on what posts. I've gotten comments on old posts and not found them for weeks later before. Anyway, glad I've gotten that cleared up.

I am officially going to see Paramore and No Doubt. This is where my 8th subscriber unsubscribes because I've proven myself to be not as cool as he thought. It's true, I'm a little more concerned about making a certain girl happy by taking her to see her precious Paramore than I am the fact of attending a Paramore show. No Doubt is playing, though, it's in DC on the same day as the gay pride parade, and we payed $30 for two tickets including shipping and bull shit convenience charges. Convenience charges are fucking bullshit. "Since you support the music and concert so much that you're going to buy your ticket in advance, we're going to charge you a fee!" What a kick to the teeth. If anything, I think they should charge more at the door. What a crock of shit. Anyway, to make this official as possible, Kyle Wagoner is taking Kathryn Mullan to see No Doubt and Paramore in Washington, D.C. on June 14th.

Anyway, I'm sure you want an explaination to how this came about. Well, it's not a great one, but this is how it happened. Well it just so happens that I was very fond of Kathyrn Mullan over the course of time she lived in Fort Ashby this past winter and was quite upset when she moved back to Williamsport (see: every blog I've written before this one) and I felt like being an ass and texting her the other day. I started singing "Two Tickets to Paradise" in my head, so I had this great line to lay on her. I texted her saying, "I wrote a new song just now. It goes 'I got...two tickets to Paramore!" (I later added the line "The music's not what I'm going for.") She says, "No way!" I said something to the effect of, "No, you're right. I don't. But you'd like that, wouldn't you? Maybe I'll look into it." So I did. Paramore was still on tour with No Doubt, so that let me classify it as doable. I checked the dates when they were around and checked with my aunt and June 14th just happened to work out perfectly. That's how it happened. Now it's on.

And if that didn't get rid of the guy that subscribed to me, then get this. I like the new Green Day album. You know what isn't cool anymore? Telling everyone how much you hate Green Day. At one point, that was like rebelling against the rebels, but now you're part of the "I listen to too much radio and MTV for my own good" mob. Serves you right, you media-consumed dipshit. You'll never convince me that mainstream music is meant to be listened to for more than 2 hours a month. Anyway, Green Day were on The Colbert Report last night and I watched the full episode today (since I was doing homework while it was on last night). I still believe they are keeping it real and I hope that they one day leave their label. That'd be great, eh? Of course, why should they leave their label? They can do whatever the hell they want period. They don't give a shit how "punk" they look to everyone down at punknews.org. We all know All Time Low is a much more serious epidemic than the latest Green Day release. Green Day is just being Green Day; the same Green Day that put out Dookie in 1994. They've just got more experience and fame now, that's all. I really don't see the huge deal about that as long as they aren't selling their sound to the label like Rise Against did. Makes me cringe...

Anyway, now that I'm done trying to justify why listening to Green Day isn't the 8th deadly sin, I'll say that 21st Century Breakdown is a fine mix between Warning, American Idiot, classic rock, and Nimrod in that particular order. TONS of Warning traces. I'll go so far as to say they rip themselves off frequently. Is that better than ripping Dillinger Four off for their title track as they did on American Idiot (hear "doublewhiskeycokenoice")? It's arguable, but it's good. I really can't complain. It's Green Day and no one's going to take Green Day away from me. It's also a lot less "un-punk" than everyone was making it out to be. I'd say it's at least 80% punk or very punk-influenced/punk-based and is definitely 100% Green Day. They're the band that got me where I am today. They changed my life and that is no overstatement. I think anyone trying to find punk in the '90s/early '00s can see where I'm coming from.

So to all of you Green Day haters: find a new hobby. Pick on a band that really has never done anything positive for music (i.e. every band I put down). I put down a lot of fucking bands because I'm a self-proclaimed music Nazi. Girls and music. That's all I'm about. What else is there to think about? The elections are over. Obama is doing mediocre work as all presidents are supposed to do, I think. I don't know; I haven't really been following him. School, recording an album with I Forget, and trying to get girl situations sorted out have been consuming all of my efforts and time.

We had a jazz and concert band concert at school last night. I played drums well, but would have played my drum set a lot better if there were a rug under it and I didn't have to chase my bassdrum across the floor while playing. Sum'bitch. I probably should have actually written something for my 16-bar drum solo. I'm so mediocre sometimes. I'll work myself when I feel like it.

Alex determined that I'm a lot like Holden Caulfield. I have no problem with that. Holden is very real. I'm a less drunk, more movie-appreciative Holden with musical capabilities. I can totally live with that. Oh, and I'm not a virgin like Holden and I go to a real school. Okay, so lifestyle-wise, I'm nothing like Holden, but we think and talk alike. If you want to know the truth, that's totally cool with me.

Blink-182 aren't having Weezer with them when they come near us! Goddammit! I really want to see Weezer!!!! I want to see them both, but I don't think I'll go pay for blink-182 without my Weezer. I'm not THAT prepared to go put up with teenie fans. Plus, I'm sure I could stand to be with blink-182/Weezer fans way before I could blink-182/Fall Out Boy fans. You know what I'm gettin' at, eh? I feel like I have to background check myself for this guy that subscribed to me. I should be keeping my cool! Kyle, he's jsut some random guy you don't know that you have to impress; be cool, don't give him your history on bands. He can read it himself. Okay, for the record, my three favorite bands are Propagandhi, Dillinger Four, and Alkaline Trio. You got that, guy? Good. I've no shame at all for loving the shit out of those three bands. Toys That Kill is probably fourth.

Okay, but on a more serious note, I have to get to bed because I'm thinking about working for my mom tomorrow so I can make a few bucks. Gotta have money for these shows I love to attend and these CDs I still buy. I Forget will be recording on Sunday and all. fucking. day. on Monday, apparently. Stoked.

love,
Kyle