i think its time to discuss the dance party...

last night, a handful of us rolled to a local joint known as the rock and roll hotel. the last time i spent a significant amount of time there, i was at a parachute concert with then almost totally unheard of band called the script. that night went very badly for me... and the morning, which involved getting on a 6am cross country flight the wasnt much better. ANYWAYS, so last night, we all rolled to "the hotel on h" and we were welcomed by strobe lights, a dj and a wide open dance floor. that could only mean one thing...

and in that instant...

a dance party was born.

when birthing a dance party, there are several things to keep in mind to make sure it is successful.

1. its ok to spend a few solid minutes at the bar loading up on some liquid courage.

2. number one is important because its a dance party! the most important thing is that you dance. good or bad. so get out there! no wallflowers allowed!

3. no judgment. nothing kills a good dance party like a dance snob. my experience with dance snobs is that half the time, they suck at dancing and take to ridicule as a form of getting out of being judged themselves. the other half may good dancers but they are over-compensating aggressively for something whether it be lack of personality, lack of self-confidence or they are just aggressively insecure. either way, ignore them. you may suck at dancing, but they suck at life.

4. no one is an island. dance parties are at their best when you play off each other. it could be a hook up, a best friend, a stranger, an inanimate object etc... going solo is cool but at some point, you gotta make it a team sport

5. take breaks. god knows you are sweating, have a cramp, feel the red bull vodkas coming back up... just wait for a song you dont LOVE and you can do without dancing to and just take a breather. dance parties are marathons, not sprints. take your time and enjoy the ride.

6. bad songs will happen so you just have to make the most of them. its everyone's responsibility to keep the party alive. make up a silly dance to go along with the awkward beat. do you know the words?! pretend you are the lead singer and just own it. in 3 minutes and 25 seconds, another song will begin and it will most likely be sweet... be patient and in the meantime, keep the dream alive.

7. dont be afraid to take the dance party on the road. just because the bar closed, doesnt mean the dance party ends. hells no. you have a floor. you have music. get home asap and pump up the jams! dance parties that go til the sunrise are some of my fondest memories, granted i usually get most details from third party sources.

8. protect each other. no dance party is a true dance party without at least one creeper. the guy/girl no one knows that just starts grinding on people. dont panic. just use some creative maneuvers to make it not worth their while to continue. i personally like the "night at the roxbury" move where you save someone by getting at least 2 other people, surround the friend and begin friend-grinding relentlessly until the creeper gets so confused, they have no recourse but to slowly walk away.

9. dont drop your drink!!! it happens. so does shards of glass through the foot. if you think you are at risk, kill the drink, place the glass somewhere stable and rejoin the party.

10. dont be afraid to sing along. we both know anything top 40 you have on lock down. so sing it. its totally cool to sing during a dance party. they put vocals to the song for a reason... so get in there hannah montana and sing your head off.


ok thats all i got. just 10 quick points i thought about last night while we broke. it. down. so next time you are about to begin tearing up the floor boards, try and remember a few of those. they will definitely make your dance party a positively groovadelic experience!

woo, what an insane night. more to come tonight i hope...

RBVs all around!!

friday's random music video vol. XXXI

anberlin - "impossible"

this movie makes a little more sense...

special thanks to lauren from prague who brought this piece of work to my attention! well... not directly to my attention, i stole it from the person she ACTUALLY sent it to...

a simple truth

and the most emo post of the week goes to...

recently, i enjoyed an activity that i had not done in a long, long time. its very innocent in nature and yet is an incredible way of both expressing yourself and learning a lot about someone else. before i allow people's imaginations to run wild, i will just go ahead and kill the suspense. im talking about sitting down with someone and going back and forth sharing songs, one at a time, and learning not only about bands and genres you didnt know before but also about that other person.

now sure, i have played a song or two for someone and vice versa but very seldom is a lengthy chunk of time set aside for such an activity. its usually one that ebbs and flows between overly emotional and air guitars... and lasts for a minimum of 3 hours.

i did this once in college. my friend and i walked to the amphitheatre that sits on a lake on the outskirts of the campus and each toting our laptops, spent several hours playing songs that either rocked, had some kind of importance to us or sometimes both! it was a lot of fun and one of the more memorable experiences from college. (i had others but any time it involved the fraternity, sororities or my job as a bouncer at a bar, seldom could i honestly call things memorable on account of lacking those specific memories...)

recently, i did this again but this time it was in the comfort of my own home, to the dismay of the horrific mosquitoes flying around DC these days. it was just interesting to grab a couple bottles of wine, get drunk and get exposed to a musical genre i am very unfamiliar with. not surprisingly, i loved talking about songs that i love and showing off my expansive knowledge of all things emo/pop punk. but the coolest part was learning about someone else through the songs they selected to play me. story-telling became a constant after the first 30 seconds of each song, sometimes leading to having to replay the song a second time because "the best part" was missed do to conversation about a memory associated with it. all of sudden, several hours have passed. such a good time.

anyways, something to think about next time youre having a low key night. whether its someone you know really well or a new friend, just grab some wine/beer/booze/candy and just devote a solid chunk of time to learning more about their music tastes. music has a funny way of attaching to people's soul and creating a soundtrack, of sorts, to their own experience. i promise, you will get much more than an expanded musical library from those few hours.




"this jigglespoof is sooooo emo"

YA DAMN RIGHT!

wow... i live in a scary, scary town.

so there was an article in the DCist about the upcoming tea party rally coming up on the 28th. below is some advice that the tea party of maine posted on their website as tea party members travel to dc... i think its always good to know what other americans think when they travel to dc.


"DC's population includes refugees from every country, as the families of embassy staffs of third world countries tend to stay in DC whenever a revolution in their homeland means that anyone in their family would be in danger if they went back. Most taxi drivers and many waiters/waitresses (especially in local coffee shops like the Bread and Chocolate chain) are immigrants, frequently from east Africa or Arab countries. As a rule, African immigrants do not like for you to assume they are African Americans and especially do not like for you to guess they are from a neighboring country (e.g. Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia) with whom they may have political or military tensions. It's rare to meet anyone who gets really offended, but you can still be aware of the issue.

Many parts of DC are safe beyond the areas I will list here, but why chance it if you don't know where you are?

If you are on the subway stay on the Red line between Union Station and Shady Grove, Maryland. If you are on the Blue or Orange line do not go past Eastern Market (Capitol Hill) toward the Potomac Avenue stop and beyond; stay in NW DC and points in Virginia. Do not use the Green line or the Yellow line. These rules are even more important at night. There is of course nothing wrong with many other areas; but you don't know where you are, so you should not explore them.

If on foot or in a cab or bus, stay in Bethesda, Arlington (preferably north Arlington), Crystal City, Falls Church, Annandale, or Alexandria, or in DC only in northwest DC west (i.e. larger street numbers) of 14th or 16th streets, or if on Capitol Hill only in SE Capitol Hill (zip 20003) between 1st and 8th Streets, not farther out than 8th (e.g. 9th, 10th etc). (Or stay on the Mall and at the various monuments.) Again there are many other lovely places, from the Catholic University of America to Silver Spring, Maryland. But you don't know where you are so you cannot go, especially at night, unless you take me with you."

At the time the DCist posted this article, there was only one comment... this is that sole comment that someone posted.

"While I was there [in 1998] I stayed in a cheap hotel and had the window open. I was on the third floor. I called home and while I was on the phone there was a burst of 9MM automatic weapons fire in the street. My wife said it was pretty loud and was that the TV? I told her it wasn't the TV. It was live in the street in Washington, DC, which is more dangerous than Baghdad."



more dangerous than baghdad, eh? apparently, fox news is still claiming the first "mission accomplished" i guess...

but you know, if i ever go to maine, i will have some serious street cred.

happy 29 years mom and dad

yesterday was my parents' 29th wedding anniversary! so awesome. congratulations on the first 29 and i look forward to the next 29 and then some!

love you both.

terrible day... but this brought a much-needed smile to my face

**DISCLAIMER: Song is the un-edited version and they drop the F-word about 30 times as well as write it out... so if you are in a place that watching MIGHT get you in trouble, then dont.**



ceelo... thank you for gracing my ears with this catchy gem of a song. hilarious.