Music, guitar, bass, piano, drums, toy harmonica, percussion, reading, poetry, eating, travelling, dancing, the internet, astrology, chilling, thinking deeply, Basketball (Go Lakers!), Baseball (Go Yankees!), music, Tennis, Billiards, Bowling, Horse racing, checkers (although I haven't played in a while), kicking my drummers ass, getting my ass kicked by my drummer, television, erotic-oriented media, music, art, history, politics, going to concerts and live shows, preaching the gospel of racial and social unity, protesting the world's injustices, harrassing anyone wearing T-shirts of my favorite bands, old school video games, comics, exploring,....and did I mention music?
Friends, musicians (NOTE: unless I know you or will see or have seen your gig or I think your music is absolutely amazing, don't expect me to add you since I've recently put a stop to adding musicians.) Prince, Clash, Paul Weller, and Morrissey fans, left-of-center beings, Capricornian women as well as beautiful ones in general, funky and soulful folks, eccentric people, visitors from Pluto, afro-punks, 80's/New Wave lovers, deep thinkers, left-wing socialists, wealthy consultants, spiritual enthusiasts, anyone with an open mind and heart, etc.All racists, sexists, fascists, jingoists, conformists, religious fundamentalists, and close-minded people please leave now!
Ahh, yes, the one thing I cannot live without. Let me put it to you this way, my Mother once called me a "music library". Few can match my knowledge and appreciation of all music (and I can say this without any conceit or arrogance). The misconception about me from many folks is that I'm too "old school". Yes, I like old school music for the most part, but I'm not limited to that. It's just that I see very little quality in most of the popular music of today. They just don't make classic music like they did back in the day. Every now and then there are those few new acts that impress me as well as the ones that have always been great and will always be around. But I look to mainly old school artists for inspiration. The top 3 would consist of Prince/O+ (as well as his empire; he'll always top the list), The Clash (the greatest Punk band of all time and the one band that made me wanna play music), and Talking Heads (the band that made me proud to be an art school weirdo). The rest: The Beatles, The Smiths, Morrissey, Gang of Four, The Specials, The entire Jackson family (even the not-so-talented ones), The B-52's, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Cure, ABC, David Bowie, The Jam, Style Council, Paul Weller, Rolling Stones, Madonna, James Brown, Madness, Jimi Hendrix, U2, John Lennon, Bow Wow Wow, Big Audio Dynamite, The Pretenders, The English Beat, Depeche Mode, Split Enz, Adam and The Ants, The Police, Sting, Miles Davis, Earth Wind and Fire, The Bangles, Sly and The Family Stone, Duran Duran, Rick James, Duke Ellington, Pylon, Roxy Music, Public Enemy, Heatwave, INXS, Shuggie Otis, Wendy and Lisa, John Coltrane, Scritti Politti, Love, The Go-Go's, Joy Division, New Order, Lenny Kravitz, Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros, The Isley Bros., Level 42, Bob Marley and The Wailers, Maximum Joy, Love Tractor, Biff Bang Pow, Harco Pront, Imani Coppola, Outkast, Terence Trent D'arby, Beastie Boys, Zapp, Heaven 17, UB40, George Clinton, Parliament, Funkadelic, Howard Jones, The Pop Group, The Gap Band, Thelonious Monk, Green Day, DeBarge, Tears For Fears, Gil Scott-Heron, Def Leppard, Japan, The Waitresses, Sade, The Ramones, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Morris Day and The Time, Jeff Buckley, Anita Baker, R.E.M., Cameo, Suicide, A Tribe Called Quest, Q-Tip, George Michael, WHAM!, The Slits, Chuck Berry, Eminem, Ohio Players, Busta Rhymes, James Chance and the Contortions, Altered Images, Led Zeppelin, Sex Pistols, Erykah Badu, George Harrison, New Edition, Guadalcanal Diary, Imagination, Frank Zappa, The Minutemen, fiREHOSE, Tom Tom Club, Primus, They Might Be Giants, Robert Johnson, The Hives, Phyllis Hyman, Interpol, General Public, Run DMC, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Change, Luther Vandross, Paul McCartney, Wings, The Fever, At The Drive-In, The Mars Volta, Sparta, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, The Doors, Public Image Ltd., Stevie Wonder, Daft Punk, Sheila E., Operation Ivy, Rancid, Otis Redding, Q and Not U, Charlie Parker, David Sylvian, Nine Horses, Action Figure Party, Michael Franks, Anthony Hamilton, Cherry Poppin' Daddies, Jimmy Cliff, The Violent Femmes, The Stranglers, Charlie Christian, Beck, Adam Ant, Bootsy Collins, Rage Against The Machine (fuck Audioslave!), The Dears, A-Ha, Return To Forever, Van Halen (not Van Hagar), The Selecter, Jamie Lidell, Ian Dury and The Blockheads, De La Soul, System of a Down, Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd (not Dave's), Los Amigos Invisibles, Deee-Lite, Simple Minds, Teena Marie, Sublime, Guns-n-Roses, The Bodysnatchers, Human League, The Dismemberment Plan, Travis Morrison, Res, China Crisis, Gabe Dixon Band, The Rogers Sisters, Mary Jane Girls, Television, Fun Boy 3, Dead Kennedys, Gary Numan, Basement Jaxx, A Certain Ratio, Bloc Party, The Buzzcocks, Foo Fighters (back when Pat Smear was in the group), Let's Active, Incubus, Kajagoogoo, Jamiroquai, Pet Shop Boys, War, Devo, The Rapture, Spandau Ballet, The JB's, Blur, The Power Station, Dead Milkmen, Goapele, Ornette Coleman, APB, Living Color, The White Stripes, Peter Tosh, Fiona Apple, Marilyn Manson, Los Amigos Invisibles, Metallica (even though I don't like them anymore), Missing Persons, Kaskade, Bad Brains, Fine Young Cannibals, Zuco 103, The Dead 60's, Billy Idol, The Temptations, VHS or Beta, Bananarama, The Last Poets, Radio 4, Velvet Underground, Badly Drawn Boy, The Offspring, Kraftwerk, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Franz Ferdinand, A Flock Of Seagulls, Weather Report, Me'Shell Ndegeocello, Scissor Sisters, Chic, Fine Young Cannibals, Ani DiFranco, The Higsons, TV on the Radio, Kurtis Blow, The Damned, Little Richard, Dif Juz, "Weird" Al Yankovic, Muse, Arcadia, Thursday, Afrika Bambatta and the Soul Sonic Force, Brazilian Girls, The Big Boys, Django Reinhardt, High Fashion, Arrested Development, Erasure, X-Ray Spex, The Pixies, Dexy's Midnight Runners, George Benson, Digable Planets, The Cocteau Twins, Modest Mouse, The Alarm, Hole, Yaz, Soul Coughing, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Soft Cell, Whodini, The Bush Tetras, Crowded House, The Strokes, Culture Club, The Au Pairs, The Four Tops, Radiohead (I only liked a couple of singles and the Amenesiac album though), Mötley Crüe, The Roots, Echo and The Bunnymen, MC5, Spice Girls (not for the music, but because Mel B. and Ginger are the objects of my sexual desire), Magazine, Chanté Moore, The Suburbs, Rip Rig and Panic, Motorhead, The dB's, Skyy, John Mayer, Mozart, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Iggy Pop, The Stooges, Central Line, Mark Stewart and the Maffia, Beethoven, 52nd Street, Si*Se, Tina Turner (80's version), Orange Juice, Bad Manners, Delta 5, Shalamar, Thomas Dolby, Coldplay (some songs), Squeeze, Smokey Robinson, Endgames, Kate Bush, 2Pac (I'll take him over Biggie any day), Foals, The Bar-Kays, Craig Mack, Hot Chip, XTC, Tahiti 80, Beans, Shakatak, The Negro Problem, Classix Nouveau, The Pointer Sisters, Blink 182, Haircut 100, Bilal, Le Tigre, Men At Work, Huey Lewis and the News, Fishbone, Thompson Twins, John McLaughlin, Pigbag, Bjork (some of her songs), Kriss Kross, Bo Diddley, Talib Kweli, Portishead, Killer Pussy, Romeo Void, Cherelle, Mos Def, Hot Hot Heat, Jody Watley, Blue Six, John Frusciante, Madlib, Yesterday's New Quintet, L.L. Cool J, Nina Simone, Prefab Sprout, Linx, Gorillaz, Salt-n-Pepa, The Stills, !!!, Of Montreal, Klymaxx, Zhane, Suzanne Vega, Minor Threat, The SOS Band, Happy Mondays, Light of the World, RAMP, Squarepusher, Beggar and Co., Bobby Brown, Bell Biv Devoe, Bauhaus, Hi Tension, Essential Logic, Lora Logic, The Undertones, No Doubt, Josef K., D'Angelo, The Associates, Van Hunt.....and I'm only scratching the surface here. ;-)
All-time faves would have to be the entire James Bond/007 series. He's the coolest hero ever! The rest:The Warriors, The Breakfast Club, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan (arguably the funniest movie of 2006), Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Grease, The Batman series, Spiderman series, The Matrix series, X-Men series, Star Wars series (even though I didn't see all of them I'm still counting them), Superman series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle series (after all I was a child of the 90's), Purple Rain, Under The Cherry Moon, Sign O' The Times, Grafitti Bridge, Heathers, Blazing Saddles, Kill Bill series, The Cotton Club, Hairspray, Half-Baked, Ace Ventura series, Beetlejuice, The Crow, The Clash: Rude Boy(even though there was a lot about this film I didn't like), The Truman Show, Do The Right Thing, 200 Motels, Farhrenheit 9/11, House Party, Ocean's 11 and 12, Clerks, Absolute Beginners, Chasing Amy, The Incredibly True Adventures of 2 Girls In Love, CB4, Edward Scissorhands, Coming To America, The Crow, South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut, Earth Girls Are Easy, The Sting, Ali G. In Da House, A Hard Day's Night, HELP!, Dark City, A Huey P. Newton Story, The Sword in the Stone, Stop Making Sense, Less Than Zero, Top Secret, Hollywood Shuffle, Dance Craze: The Best of British Ska!, I Heart Huckabees, Eddie Murphy: Raw, Repo Man, Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory, Ghost World, Weird Science, 200 Motels, The Chinese Connection, The Outsiders, Threesome, Dick Tracy, 200 Cigarettes, Stir Crazy, Beat Street, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Lolita, To Sir With Love, Enter The Dragon, Yellow Submarine, Private School, Super Cop, Mission: Impossible, Almost Famous, Return of The Dragon, Let's Do It Again, Wayne's World series, She's Gotta Have It, The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash, PCU, 100 Girls, Home Alone, City of God, Sixteen Candles, Friday, True Romance, Aladdin, the Bill and Ted series, Revenge of the Nerds, Undercover Brother, Harrison Bergeron, Midnight Cowboy, Something Wild, Goodfellas, Richard Pryor Live In Concert, Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy, Polyester, The Mask, I'm Gonna Get You Sucka, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Black Orpheus, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Lock Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels, Clue, Soul Man, The Wiz, Rock and Roll High School Forever, Charlie Bartlett, Jackass: The Movie, Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Movie Film For Theaters, UHF, St. Elmo's Fire, Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie, Airheads, Krush Groove, Rumble Fish, True Stories, The Goonies, Gridlock'd, Just One of The Guys, Pootie Tang (moronic yet hysterical), The Pink Panther Strikes Again, Valley Girl, Road Trip, Trading Places, Serial Mom, The 40 Year-Old Virgin, Time Bandits, Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, Pretty In Pink, The Pianist, Brother From Another Planet, 24 Hour Party People, Madonna: Truth or Dare, SLC Punk, Desperado, Ernest Goes To Jail, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, etc.
Well, I do religiously watch old school music videos on VH1 Classic as well as VH1, MTV and MTV2 (even though, shamefully, videos aren't a top priority on those stations anymore). Otherwise, I like mostly comedy shows and cartoons: Family Guy, The Simpsons, Chappelle's Show, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Robot Chicken, 24, Da Ali G. Show, Seinfeld, Beavis and Butt-Head, Ren and Stimpy, Chris Rock's stand-up specials (Bring The Pain, Never Scared, etc.) as well as Dave Chapelle's, The Brak Show, 12 oz. Mouse, Perfect Hair Forever, Benny Hill, Flight of the Conchords, Lucky Louie, Saturday Night Live, America's Next Top Model (only because some of those girls are hot),The Young Ones, Freak Show, Full Metal Alchemist, The Steven Banks Show, Cowboy Bebop, Roc, Billy and Mandy, Late Night With Conan O'Brien, Doug, Small Wonder, Squidbillies, Free For All, Rocko's Modern Life, Jonny Quest, The Flavor Of Love (guilty pleasure), The Kids in the Hall, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, The Benny Hill Show, The Surreal Life, The Bridge, Video Music Box (well, back when they used to show old school videos), Roc, Diff'rent Strokes, The Adventures of Pete and Pete, Space Ghost Coast To Coast, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, The 'L' Word (another guilty pleasure), The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, In Treatment, Stroker and Hoop, Daria, classic episodes of Soul Train as well as American Bandstand, Jackass, Family Business, Eeek the Cat!, Small Wonder, Mystery Science Theater 3000, The Facts of Life, A Different World, Music Express, Martin, What's Happening, Real Time With Bill Maher, Rhoda, Metalocalypse, Beekman's World, Sifl and Olly, The Pick-Up Artist, In Living Color, Bill Nye The Science Guy, Stankervision, 3 South (one of the funniest cartoons I've ever seen; I miss it dearly), Drawn Together, The Tom Green Show (my favorite idiot), Music Express, Newsradio, The Boondocks, Wonder Showzen, The Real World, Californication, The Critic, New York Noise, The State, Inspector Gadget, Thundercats, Married: With Children, Girlfriends (only because I love Persia White), MTV2's Subterranean, etc.
Mostly music books, be it reference, instructional, biographical, periodical or otherwise. I'm into historical literature in general, but music is the main subject. I like reading about the different histories of the different kinds of music that I like. I also like learning about my favorite bands and various significant eras of music. But also there's the classics by Shakespeare, Baldwin, Kerouac, Vonnegut, etc.
Nichiren Daishonin, My Mother, Jesus, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Prince, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Morrissey, John Lennon, Joe Strummer, David Byrne, Paul Weller, David Bowie, Frederick Douglass, Andre 3000, James Spooner, Malcolm X, my ancestors who have fought for my freedom as well as those that stood up for justice and peace, and the working class who dedicate their time and effort to try and keep the world in balance, etc.