Completely Random Thoughts from early April:
- Today, April 7th, is National Beer Day. Enjoy responsibly, of course! If you’re able to have one ( meaning no health or other issues with the consumption of beer), you should have one today. There are so many GREAT options for beer today. To think, a mere 30 years ago, there were 150 breweries in the United States. Today, over 5,300. Chances are, there’s something extremely good close by. Enjoy one with a close friend, have a great conversation, and be thankful you live in a world where some amazing creativity in various forms of water, malt, hops, and yeast ( and other stuff) can bring people together.
- If a drug company thought it was a good idea to research, develop, and heavily advertise a drug designed to help opioid drug users poop…. MAYBE it was a sign that there are far too many people being prescribed/using opioids. Movantik…etc.
- Tonight, one of my favorite bands of all time, will be inducted in the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. First, it seems a little odd to me that it’s been over 25 years since the release ( no pun intended) of their debut album “Ten”, which is one the criteria for nomination, and this makes me feel incredibly old. However, it’s pretty easy to see why Pearl Jam are first ballot Rock N Roll Hall of Famers. To say they’ve been a part of my life, is an understatement of epic proportion. ITunes says that I have 47 different recordings of theirs on my computer ( this doesn’t count physical copies like records, etc). I don’t even want to guess the absolute percentage of my life that I’ve spent just listening to their music… it’s probably obscenely high. Pearl Jam’s SIRIUS Radio Station, is my #1 pre-set in my car, and I drive long distances for work. We’ve spent A LOT of time together. I remember my Uncle Danny giving me the tape cassette for “Ten” back in the early 90’s. Myself, and droves and droves of fans know every. single. note. of that album. Since then, I know every. single. note. of all of their albums, and a good portion of their bootlegs ( One of my personal favorites is from Cleveland in 05/09/2010, where they open with “Wash”…damn this show is great). It propelled them to stardom, and rightfully so. This band also has deliberately and willingly pulled back from the public eye at times, without severing the relationship with their fans. If you’ve ever attended one of their live performances, you no doubt know what I’m talking about. They love their fans. You can see it, and you can even hear it. You can hear it through the speakers during a very quiet/reverent audience in Japan; you can hear it with an extremely raucous crowd in Brazil; they truly give to their fans every time they hit the stage. I could write a book about their music ( Hey, there’s an idea!), but in celebration of the best modern day rock band being inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of fame, I invite you to put on one of their records, and hope that we get another 25 years of Stone, Jeff, Mike, Matt, and Ed.
Andrew L Hamilton 