Chema profile picture

Chema

Steal back hope from the modern war!

About Me


"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them."
Holden Caulfield; "Catcher In The Rye"
Of obsessive personality, I'm a liberal who advocates pacifism, that happens to be extremely opinionated, paranoid, outspoken yet soft spoken, a rock n' roll geek, cocky, politically progressive, pro-choice, anti-guns, feminist, vegetarian, hopelessly romantic and filled with enough issues to make a shrink rich.
Stuff I'm passionate about:
Punk Rock
Intelligent music with a sense of purpose and transcendence.
Rock N' Roll History
Literature and Poetry
Vinyl Albums
DIY
Alternative Comedy
David Cross, Aziz Anzari, Patton Oswalt, Bob Odenkirk, Brian Posehn, Margaret Cho, Andy Samberg.
Basketball
I absolute despise organized religion (but I respect people's faith), ignorance, discrimination, soccer, right wingers, patriotism, meat consumption, creationism, mexican wrestling (Yeah, I know how it must look like the coolest thing to anyone not living in Mexico, but seriously, it sucks), watered down music and generic songwriting, nike, fashion, most electronic music, scene politics, pro-lifers and so on...
Recommend websites

Punknews
Art of the Mix
Bob and David
Anthology Recordings
The Onion
The Simpsons Archive
Bill Simmons: The Sports Guy
Lost Bands of the New Wave Era
If you are down with, like, admire or find the following persons even slightly likeable, PLEASE DON'T ADD ME:
George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Paris Hilton, Karl Rove, Vicente Fox, Felipe Calderon, Jose Maria Aznar, Jorge Serrano Limon, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Condoleeza Rice, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Charlton Heston and more to be added soon.
Thanks for the memories Mr. Watterson. You are a true inspiration.
AMERICA WILL BLOW UP THE MOON (Mr. Show): Funniest shit ever!

My Interests


Punk Rock, Songwriting, Writing, Rock n' Roll History, Green Day, Allen Ginsberg, William Blake,Vinyl Albums, DIY, Poetry, Art, Literature, Comedy, Basketball, Record Collecting, Wes Anderson Movies, Artifacts of Low Culture (Comic Books, Cartoons, TV Shows, Mainstream Movies, Urban Myths, Conspiracy Theories, Folk Art, Videogames, YouTube Clips), Vegetarianism, NBC's Heroes, Deconstruction, Calvin and Hobbes, Mitch Clem, Mr. Show, TUK Creepers, Modernism, Situationist International, New Wave, Eighties and Early Nineties Indie Rock, Art Deco, Impressionism, Dadaism, Fluxus, Berkeley, Adult Swim, Marvel Comics, New York, Chicago, Paris, Mexico City, Beat Poetry, Decadent Poetry, Surrealist Poetry, Paris '68, England '77, Los Angeles '80, Berkeley '93, Pop Art, Dischord Records, Stiff Records, Guitar Hero.

I'd like to meet:


*Smart, open minded, witty, well read, creative people. Liberals, poets, activists, real punk rockers, artists, vegan cooks, feminists. Good, honest people in general.
*David Cross, Blake Schwarzenbach, Matt Skiba, Kathleen Hanna and Chuck Klosterman.

Music:


Green Day, Jawbreaker, Alkaline Trio, Husker Du, The Smiths, The Clash, Against Me!, Elliott Smith, The Beatles, The Who, Bob Dylan, David Bowie and The Spiders from Mars, Samiam, The Replacements, Dead Kennedys, Elvis Costello and The Attractions, X, The Psychedelic Furs, The Jam, Fugazi, Ryan Adams, Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers, Crimpshrine, The Buzzcocks, Stiff Little Fingers, The Smoking Popes, Bruce Springsteen, Arcade Fire, The Gaslight Anthem, Weezer (Blue Album & Pinkerton era), Bikini Kill, Nomeansno, Devo, Johnny Cash, U2, The Stooges, Outkast, Black Sabbath, Operation Ivy, Common Rider, Black Flag, Hot Water Music, Naked Raygun, Lifetime, Queens Of The Stone Age, Dillinger Four, The Go-Go's, The Sex Pistols, The Rolling Stones, The Get Up Kids, The Germs, The Specials, The Hold Steady, Wilco, The Shins, Mew, The Decemberists, Ani DiFranco, The Matches, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Pogues,Rita Pavone, The Kinks, Generation X, Channels, Queen, R.E.M., MC5, The Cars, The Lawrence Arms, The Doughboys, Tegan and Sara, Whiskeytown, Tiger Army (Never die!!!), The Faint, Horace Pinker, Rocket from the Crypt, Woody Guthrie, The Draft, Sisters of Mercy, The B-52's, The Flamin' Groovies, The Influents, Lifter Puller, The Troggs, The Olivia Tremor Control, The Evens, Elvis Presley, Refused, Morrissey, The Weakerthans, Blondie, My Chemical Romance, Saves The Day, Social Distortion, Motion City Soundtrack, Sewer Trout, My Bloody Valentine, Minor Threat, Public Enemy, Superchunk, Government Issue, Daniel Johnston, Articles of Faith, The Housemartins, The Big Boys, Arcade Fire, Ben Folds Five (Ben Folds solo too), The Zombies, The Knack, Adam and the Ants, Conspiracion Alfa 5, Le Tigre, Sparks, The Electric Prunes, The Runaways, Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, The Explosion, American Steel, Missing Persons, De La Soul, High On Fire, Elton John, Tommy James And The Shondelles, The Seeds, The Remains, Franz Ferdinand, Iggy Pop, Paul Westerberg, Death in June, Sugarcult, The Beach Boys, The Cure, Fountains of Wayne, Cheap Trick, Stray Cats, Slayer, 7 Seconds, Bob Mould, The Undertones, Monsula, The Lemonheads, Strike Anywhere, The Soviettes, Richard Butler, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, Chuck Berry, Sugar, Flogging Molly, Bad Religion, Jets To Brazil, Guided by Voices, Joy Division, Low, Dover, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Crystals, Tom Jones, Alvin and The Chipmunks, Slapstick, Brian Wilson, Mark Mothersbaugh, Pinhead Gunpowder, Desa, Tom Waits, The Network, The Police, Tupac Shakur, Swervedriver, Bouncing Souls, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Fun People, Blatz!, !!!, Jimmy Eat World, D-Generation, Polysics, The Epoxies, Jesse Malin, Stone Roses, Kraftwerk, Uncle Tupelo, Bauhaus, Peter Murphy, Phil Spector, Camper Van Beethoven, Hot Hot Heat, The Damned, The Pretenders, Beastie Boys, Electronic, Moving Targets, Crime, The Avengers, Solea, Starvation Army, The Rentals, Neil Young, Fifteen, Tilt, The Muffs, Social Unrest, The Faith, Void, Seaweed, Rites of Spring, Anthrax, The Thumbs, J-Church, that dog, Nada Surf, The Locust, The Minutemen, Fang, The Byrds, Mr. T Experience, The Living End, Tenacious D, Diario en Llamas, Northern State, Gula, Sweet Baby, Rival Schools, Pansy Division, The Pattern, Millencolin, Public Image Limited, Ozomatli, Dag Nasty, The Subhumans (UK), One Man Army, Mission of Burma, Liz Phair (her early stuff only), Billy Bragg, Gang of Four, Solucion Mortal, Brand New, Archers of Loaf, Dead Prez, Van Halen (w/ David Lee Roth, otherwise they suck), Motley Crue, The Donnas, Suicide Machines, Against All Authority, Q and Not U, Bad Brains, Kris Kristofferson, Idlewild, The Alarm, John Lennon, Econochrist, AC/DC, Motorhead, Nation of Ulysses, The Misfits (The real ones, with Glenn Danzig, not the current fake ones), Kiss, Fuel (the East Bay ones), Joni Mitchell, Chixdiggit, Hank Williams, Sandie Shaw, The Promise Ring, Lucero, Agent Orange, Communique, Screw 32, Eastern Youth, These Arms Are Snakes, Boom Boom Kid, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Leonard Cohen, Roy Orbison, The Gits, Your Enemies Friends, Peter Paul and Mary, Potatomen, Travis, Jurassic 5, Willie Nelson, Leatherface, Yoko Ono, The Prodigy, T-Rex, The Knitters, Foo Fighters, Teen Idols, The Dickies, Neurosis, Superdrag, Buddy Holly, Beck, The Doors, NOFX, The Queers, Face to Face, The Crush, Anti-Flag, Black Cat Music, Deftones, Ozma, AFI, Siouxise and the Banshees, The Streets, Merle Haggard, Manic Street Preachers, Snoop Dogg, TSOL, Adolescents, Dead Boys, Gorillaz, Frank Sinatra, Ash, Ornette Coleman, Phil Ochs, Nick Drake, JFA (Jodie Foster's Army, gotta love that name!), Bone Thugs N' Harmony, Oasis, Thelonious Monster, Guns N' Roses, Thelonious Monk, Chemical People, Patsy Cline, Massive Attack, Blues Travelers, Mutato Musik Orchestra, John Cougar Mellencamp, Run-D.M.C., Cole Porter, Ella Fitzgerald, Rancid, Morphine, The New Pornographers, Circle Jerks, Isocracy, The Criminals, The Hi-Fives, Neko Case, Descartes-a-Kant, Division Minuscula, James, Miles Davis, Groovie Ghoulies, Modest Mouse, Coldplay, Midnight Oil, Yo La Tengo, The Dwarves, The Blood Brothers, TV on the Radio, Neutral Milk Hotel, Coldplay, Kanye West, Wu-Tang Clan, Blur, TheStart, Mudhoney, Lunachicks, Mastodon, Jose Jose, Chava Flores, Los Lobos, Los Tigres del Norte, Tragedy, Severed Head of State, Nina, mc chris, Richard O'Brien, MF Doom, Calle 13.

Movies:


The Royal Tenenbaums
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Rushmore
High Fidelity
Almost Famous
Big Fish
Adaptation
The Squid and The Whale
I Heart Huckabees
Good Will Hunting
Thumbsucker
The Darjeeling Limited
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
The Empire Strikes Back
Shawshank Redemption
Reservoir Dogs
Spider-Man 2
Juno
Pulp Fiction
El Angel Exterminador
Spirited Away
Swingers
Ratatouille
Knocked Up
The Devil And Daniel Johnston
The Incredibles
Toy Story
Toy Story 2
Le Ballon Rouge
A Bug's Life
The Iron Giant
24 Hour Party People
Being John Malkovich
Apocalypse Now
Basketball Diaries
The Aviator
Metropolis
The Corporation
This is Spinal Tap!
The Usual Suspects
Karate Kid
Darkman
Evil Dead
The Goonies
Papa Soltero
Elephant
Clerks
Nazarin
Tommy
Summer of Sam
Drugstore Cowboy
La Ilusion Viaja en Tranvia
The Wizard Of Oz
West Side Story
Wedding Crashers
Gremlins
The Departed
The Bourne Identity
2001: A Space Oddissey
Back To The Future II
Nueve Reinas.

Television:


Currently digging:

The Simpsons (Best TV show ever)
NBC's Heroes
30 Rock
King of the Hill
Entourage
Curb Your Enthusiasm
My Name is Earl
The Office
Adult Swim (i.e. - Venture Bros, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Robot Chicken)
NBA games

Gone, but not forgotten:

Mr. Show
Arrested Development
Freaks and Geeks
Seinfeld
Mission Hill
Futurama
Sports Night
The Wonder Years
Sealab 2021
Ducktales
Six Feet Under
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Sliders
Quantum Leap

Books:


"The Marriage of Heaven and Hell" by William Blake, "Howl and Other Poems" by Allen Ginsberg, "The Dharma Bums" by Jack Kerouac, "Naked Lunch" by William Burroughs, "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, "Despite Everything" by Aaron Cometbus, "The Catcher In The Rye" by JD Salinger, "Death and Fame: The Last Poems 1993-1997" by Ginsberg, "Nine Stories" by Salinger, "On The Road" by Kerouac,"The Unbereable Lightness of Being" by Milan Kundera, "The Castle" by Franz Kafka, "Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs" by Chuck Klosterman, "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" by Joseph Campbell, "Our band could be your life" by Michael Azerrad, *"Survivor" by Chuck Palahniuk, "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad, "Either/Or" by Soren Kierkegaard, "People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present (P.S.)" by Howard Zinn, "No Logo: No Space, No Choice, No Jobs" by Naomi Klein, "Marvel 1602", by Neil Gaiman.

Heroes:


Billie Joe Armstrong
Holden Caulfield
Allen Ginsberg
David Cross
Ian MacKaye
William Blake
Joe Strummer
Blake Schwarzenbach
Kathleen Hanna
Morrissey
Chuck D
Aaron Cometbus
Exene Cervenka
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Bruce Springsteen
Wes Anderson
Matt Groening
Chuck Klosterman
Bill Simmons
Brad Bird
John Cassavetes

And above them all, my own mother, Socorro Valdes.

My Blog

Cliché.

It is probably the biggest cliché out there, but ever since I was little, I have always felt like there's no one out there just like me.That the fact that I couldn't click with most people was because...
Posted by Chema on Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:51:00 PST

Youre so vain...

You probably think this blog post is about you.
Posted by Chema on Fri, 25 Apr 2008 10:33:00 PST

I just dont know

I was supposed to go to bed early, but as soon as I went to bed I felt this sudden urge to write.I'm supposed to deliver a column for this magazine I write on a monthly basis, but I have been running ...
Posted by Chema on Tue, 15 Apr 2008 11:01:00 PST

Buy the new edition of Alternative Press Magazine

Buy the May Edition (Actually it came out on April) of Alternative Press magazine.There you can find an article written by yours truly called "No Fences, No Borders: Mexican Punk Breaks Out".It gets m...
Posted by Chema on Tue, 08 Apr 2008 06:10:00 PST

The Cloverfield phenom at the punk rock show.

Last friday, my best friend Sam and me attended Motion City Soundtrack's first show in Mexico City.I've liked the band for, what? Four, five years top. I don't really care for the bands they're common...
Posted by Chema on Sun, 10 Feb 2008 01:19:00 PST

I heart David Cross

This is something I came across on Patton Oswalt's MySpace blog. Not only he comes across as one of the most eloquent and intelligent comedians around, but he also makes a terrific point.David Cross i...
Posted by Chema on Sun, 13 Jan 2008 06:11:00 PST

Just another 3 AM rant.

I'm about to take part on one of the most important decisions in my life. It is taken and there's no looking back. It is nothing to be afraid, honestly, but changes that stray us away from what's habi...
Posted by Chema on Mon, 07 Jan 2008 01:37:00 PST

Best Albums of 2007

ALBUM OF THE YEAR:Against MeNew WaveI just checked my previous "Best Of" year ender lists and realized that "Searching For A Former Clarity" was my favorite album of 2005. You can check out my review ...
Posted by Chema on Sat, 29 Dec 2007 06:06:00 PST

April is the cruellest of the months...

It's been a while since I last posted something here. Actually, it feels good to be back.So, what I've been up to? Mainly, I've been working my ass off and falling in love and falling out of love inte...
Posted by Chema on Tue, 03 Jul 2007 12:55:00 PST

Top ten albums of 2006

"Boys and Girls in America"  The Hold Steady (Reprinted from the post that originally appeared October 23rd on this same blog) I just wanted to share with the world that "Boys and Girls in America" t...
Posted by Chema on Mon, 11 Dec 2006 12:03:00 PST