Work week dragging? Feel like there's a hundred miles of country highway between you and your weekend? Here's a tip. Publicly announce that you'll post something on a blog every Monday. Sunday afternoon will show up like it was riding on the Bullet Train.
I had a nice weekend. I used to be in a band with some guys and for the second time this year, we got together to play. Before this past September, we hadn't played together in twenty years (checking my math because that's impossible aaaand, yep... checks out). There was a lot of 'what do you want to play' and 'I don't know, what do you want to play' the last time we met. I thought I had come up with a brilliant plan to get around that. I sent them this text:
I had a nice weekend. I used to be in a band with some guys and for the second time this year, we got together to play. Before this past September, we hadn't played together in twenty years (checking my math because that's impossible aaaand, yep... checks out). There was a lot of 'what do you want to play' and 'I don't know, what do you want to play' the last time we met. I thought I had come up with a brilliant plan to get around that. I sent them this text:
I think we should do this for at least thirty minutes:
Each band member should bring whatever device holds most of his music collection. Don't prune it down to a playlist of things you think we should play. Bring everything.
Said device should be placed in "shuffle" mode.
In turn, each guy plays whatever song comes up next on his device. The band votes on whether or not to play it. Tied voting (2-2) means we play it. We need a majority vote to skip it.
I think there will be recordings that fall outside of pop/rock that we will instinctively know to exclude as we come across them. Old country music (pre-1984) should, I think, be included. New country music is grounds for immediate ball-kicking.
If we skip four songs in a row, we are REQUIRED play whatever comes next. Barry Manilow? Play it. "Billy Don't Be a Hero"? Play it. Play it at least once through, with or without the recording.
The obvious advantages are:
A) More playing, less debating.
B) Making fun of each other's music.
I was prepared to go full Nazi enforcing the mandatory playing thing. After all, you can spend three minutes playing any dumb thing. It's not going to kill you. And a couple of the guys showed up completely prepared and willing to play 'Billy Don't Be a Hero'. Everyone was on board.
As it turns out, I was the weak link. The only time the group rejected four songs in a row, the mandatory song fell on my turn. And my phone served up 'Lay Your Hands' by the Thompson Twins. Bluh.
I caved. We didn't play it. Sometimes, when the days aren't getting shorter and the nights aren't quite as cold, forcing yourself to do something that's not fun is actually fun.
As it turns out, I was the weak link. The only time the group rejected four songs in a row, the mandatory song fell on my turn. And my phone served up 'Lay Your Hands' by the Thompson Twins. Bluh.
I caved. We didn't play it. Sometimes, when the days aren't getting shorter and the nights aren't quite as cold, forcing yourself to do something that's not fun is actually fun.
But sometimes it just reminds you that life is too short.
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