An Embearrassing Admission: "Royals" by Lordes

Soooooo.....there are many points in life where we stand humbled.  Humiliated.  These are not times to be reveled in.  We would like to ignore them.  Bury them away when they occur as we believe we have done with past humiliations.   I could give you a load of examples ranging from my discoveries that I had no athletic gifts, to my total and continuing lack of understanding of women and on to numerous mistakes academically and professionally.

But you always think when these untoward events and self realizations occur that it will be the last one. That you have suffered through the last embarrassing event or self realization. That certainly by now you are comfortable in your own skin.  Certainly at 51 you have a reasonable idea who you are, what your tastes are and personal limitations. I am self proud, obnoxious music snob. I am disdainful of the taste makers but even more disdainful of the unwashed masses. I have recently attempted to grab on to something in EDM (Eectronic Dance Music) but no matter what I listened to I found that I could simply not "get there from here". That is ok. I tried. I know EDM is cool and that is where most of the young geniuses are working but... I cannot do it. I had the same experience with Rap and Hip-Hop years ago. Shit happens and it allows me to be critical of what is current. What is hip. Tre music I listen to is not hip. It is just good.  Generally in the new music would this attitude has served me well. It has never been easier for talent to put to music out and make it available. The hard part is figuring out what is good.  

There are things we know are not good. Whatever is on the billboard top ten chart is not good. These  are farts in the musical windstorm. Pap for the masses. They are to be endured when one finds oneself for some sad reason in a mall, at a GAP or Old Navy Store.  They don't even play this crap in the Starbucks (leave your gun at home).  Right now perched on top in the one and two spots are Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry.  Nuffield said. I too proudly did not know what "twerking" is or was and now sadly I do. Madonna arguably mattered. These chicks don't. They are produced and managed to be famous, not to make lasting music. Watching a girl who can't dance dress in pedophile chic and engage in simulated sex (and someone needs to tell her she can dance) is not music and Katy Perry is not much more talented but at least understands her dance limitations. This is the natural extension of Brittany. Ex Disney kids, pretty and well managed stoking up the machine. Here today, rehab tomorrow, gone the next day. I hate this shit.

Put Katy and Miley at 1 and 2 are not the problem.  The problem is number 3.  I blame Bob Lefsetz...lefsetz.com for telling me about this track.  Lefsetz os one of those filters that allows me to find some good music.  He writes on the industry and has different tastes than me but is age appropriate and seems like a smart little guy.  So several weeks ago  he does a post comparing Katy Perry, Paul Mc Cartneys new single and…”Royals” by… Lorde.

http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/2013/09/03/roar/

Which made me listen to it on you tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFasFq4GJYM

I immediately dismissed it.  All loops.  No guitar.  All production.  Then he sent me again there last week and I listened again, and I couldn’t stop.  This  gal can really sing and she rights tight and hooky.  Any I have listened to it probably 100 times over the last three or four days and I am shamed and embarrassed but it is that good.  And it is number 3 on Billboard which is just… just the worst thing in the world.  Then through the miracle of Spottify I can listen to the rest of the limited catalogue on youtube and Spottify.  Check out the video for “Tennis”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8Ymd-OCucs&list=RD02LFasFq4GJYM

There is something about the lyrics.  There is something about her.  I don’t picture her  getting naked and humping her ass on stage for a few more clicks.  I don’t sense the production machine.  Great lyrics, humable hooks and a totally embarrassed music snob but this great and you have probably heard it a 100 times.  I am slow to get to this prom.

But everybody's like:

Crystal

Maybach

Diamonds on your timepiece

Jet planes

Islands

Tigers on a gold leash

We don't care, we aren't caught up in your love affair

And we'll never be royals (royals)

It don't run in our blood

That kind of lux just ain't for us, we crave a different kind of buzz

Let me be your ruler (ruler)

You can call me queen bee

And baby I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule

Let me live that fantasy

The Break n Egg Diner: The Review

Cream GravySoooo.... I know I promised that the Diner Review was dead but... I lied.  What are you going to do.  Due to my disabling, heinous, life threatening (well very inconveniencing) Celiac disease my dining career, or at least my diner , dining in diners, career.  Over.  Or at least side tracked.  I mean I can eat there but... I cannot eat...
Pancakes
Biscuits
Toast
A Slinger
Chili Mac
Basically anything I really liked to eat other than meat and potatoes.  So, I eat a lot of breakfasts at home.  I eat a lot of lunches at home.  I eat at home... a lot.

But my family has been on a church hunt.  A new place to gather on Sunday and our daughter was in town from college and we went to church in Clayton.  As you might or might not know, my family hates me.  Not just my wife but my children as well and because they hate me they decided to take me to First Watch.  I dislike First Watch.  I would just as soon eat at Dennys but everyone likes First Watch.  It seems painfully generic to me and the cheerful, well groomed young people they hire they make me tired.

The good news is that at 11 on a Sunday morning they had at least a 30 minute wait.  My wife explained to me that "you always wait at First Watch".  Not this guy.  I remembered a place I had gone with Mogerman some time ago also in Clayton and right on Forsythe called the "Break n Egg Diner"  There was a table for 6 open and unguessed.  We appeared to be at the end of the mornign rush and there were several unbussed tables (unlike First Watch where breakfast Nazis clear your table before you could sop up what was left of that runny egg) and it was pretty clear there were two waitresses and one guy in the kitchen. Perfect.  The place was packed.

We got our table after a short and much apologized about wait.  While our waitress was helping other people we were able to peruse the menu and we were ready to order.  They have the whole variety of breakfast products specializing in Omlettes.  I have personally, in a past life, sampled their biscuits and gravy which were very solid and well represented the genre though otherwise unremarkable.    Our wiatress could not have been more pleasant and kept water and tea filled up.  I would have to give her the dining review highest rating of CHARMING.

Everyone got bacon and eggs.  I had ordered crisp bacon and hashbrowns with my eggs.  They give you a plate full of foodMy scrambled eggs were a little over done (it is hard to screw up scrambled eggs and they were fine) and my wife's eggs were too runny.  My daughter in laws french toast looked good and the hash browns (shredded as God intended) were still not really brown enough though the portions were plenty.

Break n Egg is just what it should be.  Not a destination diner but a clearly reliable place where you can grab a little solid, rib sticking food when needed.  I did not originally think it would last (with the former chili mac diner still open as something right around the corner on Central) but the Break n Egg is clean, the food is hot, the service is respectful and it serves a need when you just CANT go to First Watch.  6 1/2 Slingers on the Ten Scale