Riding the el everyday affords me a lot of interesting opportunities other than power naps, watching couples fight, laughing silently about the wacky clothes people dare to wear in public, people watching, and power naps: displays of unadulterated Irony.
Take no offense if you’re reading this and you are one of the people I mention, I simply find some of the following things laughable; they’re things that I quickly forget about until I feel the need to blog about them just to point out the hilarity.
For example: Today I got on the el absurdly late for work. I believe the train arrived at my stop at 9:51 and I had to be in work at 10:00am, roughly 12 stops/6.6 miles away. Regardless, it was still well before noon, and keep that in mind because it will all come full circle in just a few minutes.
So I sit in my usual seat and swing my leg up onto the one next to me so no one can sit next to me, or touch the merchandise, so to speak, when I see a well-dressed business man (probably mid-to-late 30’s) come strolling thru the door from the car behind mine. I write him off as just another business-like-person going to coalesce into the sea of other business-like-people in the hearth of the city. He happens to sit down across the aisle from me and one row up, so I can keep an eye on this guy with a Jason Bourne-esque attention to detail. He pulls out a pair of, no surprise here, white earbuds followed by his iPod. Nothing at this point is setting off sirens or any kind of weirdness thus far. I see him scrolling around his playlists as I take in the people shuffling around to finding their seats and the urban sprawl passing by the windows at 60mph.
Bingo! Guy must’ve found what he was looking for all along since the iPod is going back into the pocket now. It just so happens that what the guy found was Metallica… and not good Metallica like Ride the Lightning or Master of Puppets. We’re talking St. Anger. Yeah, I know, right! The not-so-good-but-better-than-riding-on-the-wake-of-shitty-ReLoad-Napster-era Metallica. How did I know this? Because I could hear the song pretty clearly over the hum of the ventilation system, the chatting of people around me, and last but certainly not least: the fucking loud sound the el tends to make simply by staying in motion!
So here’s this business man. Hair slicked back, black suit, leather courier-type bag, shiny shoes, the whole nine. Could be a lawyer on his way to court. Could be an employee at City Hall. Could very well work in a bank or something. Rocking out, pretty much publicly, to Metallica. He was tapping his toes and hands (though I could tell he wasn’t a drummer… takes one to know one I s’pose), nodding his head up and down, and mouthing the words at key points… namely the choruses.
I don’t care that you listen to Metallica. If you’re the age I guessed you are, you were probably headbanging to Damage Inc at a Metallica concert as a teen as opposed to headbanging a gay guy at a Flock of Seagulls show. Who wouldn’t want to relive the music of your youth every now and then? Especially if it’s as good as old Metallica. I get it, but man… Do it in the privacy of your own home or at least be discrete about it. For God sakes, it was before noon! No metal should be listened to before noon… It’s just not a healthy way to start your day. It is, however, a great way to unwind if you had a particularly tough day or you have an especially long drive home.
I try not to talk too much shit on people, because I’m sure someone out there hates me for the fact that I consistently take up two seats on the el, but then again I look like an asshole in the mornings, mainly due to my hostility towards everyone who gets to sleep late, so I’m sure people don’t expect too much from me. There’s our keyword for this blog: Expectation.
I don’t expect Joe Businessman to be rocking out to Vivaldi (if that’s even possible), but Metallica on the el loud enough for everyone to hear seems like a cry for help. If he was wearing jeans and a hoodie, no prob. In the comfort of his own car or home, no prob. But if you have an image to maintain, which you clearly do, try to play the part. Unless you’re just such an individual that you can’t be contained by the strictures of society… Then I guess it’s cool to listen to Metallica in a business suit, but for God’s sake, at least pick a decent Metallica album!
So little to say and so much time… Here goes something….
My name is Andrew to everyone who knows me and nothing to the people who don’t. I rarely feel inclined to write about myself and this small text blurb is no exception. I’m a film maker, of sorts. A designer, of sorts. A musician, of sorts. A photographer, of sorts. An armada of etceteras march behind these four generals.
The point I’m trying to make is that I enjoy art in all of it’s forms, and try my best to creatively express myself in every medium I take a liking towards. As always, things like life get in the way of being a non-stop idea factory, but that life is something that I’m thoroughly enjoying at the moment.
It consists of my beautiful girlfriend who I am very much in love with, a job that pays me well to do work that I would otherwise be doing for free, and a family and friends that I wouldn’t trade the world for. It’s safe to assume that I’m walking on air/over water/atop mountain peaks (pick one… hell, pick all three).
March 23rd, 2008 at 1:16 pm
It just occurred to me, this entry could be a “part 2″ of the
March 23rd, 2008 at 1:17 pm
(I should have finished the comment before hitting enter..)
….of the previous post, as it surrounds people lame choice in music and its ethics.
heh. THAT’S what I was trying to say.