What came first, the music or the misery?

I love High Fidelity. Love it. It's one of Cusack's best, the soundtrack is sublime, and Rob Gordon is, in my estimation, one of the most realistic movie characters in the past few decades or so (and the book was even better). But what I love most about High Fidelity is how much I see my psyche played out on screen. I'm still young, and I'm happily married, but goddamn if I don't look at Rob Gordon and think, "Shit, that's me!" (sans the Cooooooooosby sweaters). It's the delivery, the dialogue, the man-childness and all. It's me on a visceral level, and I'll watch it anytime I get the chance.

Recently, I saw (500) Days of Summer. And once again, goddamn if I didn't look at Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Tom Hansen and think "Shit, that's me!" (sans the skinny ties). Something about these hopelessly romantic (but not really romantic) guys that I connect with. To them, life is nothing without a soundtrack in the mental background, and love and relationships just does something to them inside that torments and uplifts in crests and troughs that defy "normalcy". You feel all, you think all, you believe everything, and you seem to just want to leave yourself out there. We get our emotional bearings...some day.

Soundtrack for today, the EP version:
1. "No One's Gonna Love You," Band of Horses
2. "All I Need," Radiohead
3. "I'm On Fire," Bruce Springsteen
4. "Bold As Love," Jimi Hendrix
5. "In Repair," John Mayer
6. "Three Little Birds," Bob Marley & the Wailers

And yes, that really is Peter fuckin' Frampton.

Initializing...

An initial post, to those who care to listen...

I am a man, formed by experience and imagination, and a risk-taker, but only when I feel like taking risks. I believe that life is nothing without love, and that love is nothing without a life to share it with. I am "interesting" and "intellectual" and I'll probably be whatever you need, but probably not what you really want. I do believe in that which is bigger and greater than I could ever be, and I believe that hope will always triumph over despair. My glass will always be half-full, at least until I fill it up again.

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make. Amen.