As cheesy as it gets..
I was talking to my friend Steve the other day. We were reminiscing about cheesy movies and shows that we saw as a kid. One of Steve's favorites was the movie Flash Gordon. I unfortunately (or maybe I should say "fortunately") haven't seen this thriller in it's entitety. He had been watching it recently and found it quite amusing. For myself, I would say the show that sticks out in my mind the most is Buck Rogers. I watched a whole lot of other cheesy shows as a child, but this one I think wins the prize. This is mostly because I had the opportunity of catching this show sometime recently on cable and seeing the show in a whole new light. Between the tight spandex (worn by the men AND women), the robot that looks like an overgrown trashcan, the hawk man, and the campy one liners I was totally floored that I had once been in love with the show. I guess when you are young you are entertained by anything. Hmmm, maybe this can explain Barney..

"The Office" experience...
Anyway, for those of you who happen to work in Corporate America, you will undoubtedly recognize the humor in Dilbert or “The Office”. I am unfortunately a part of the whole system now… The best way to keep your self entertained at work is to find the humor in the things around you. I thought I’d point out a few types of people or activities you may see in the average office that I have expreienced:

• Food vultures: These are the people who meticulously know where and when food is available in the conference rooms after a meeting is over. They will scour the conference rooms in search of food even though they may not be part of a given meeting. The best vultures have receptionist informants who tell them when food is available before the general population knows.
  
  
• Prariedogging: This invariably happens in a cube farm environment. If a loud noise or disruption happens across the floor everyone pops up from their seat to see what that was. The effect of people popping up out of their “hole” gives the effect it’s name.

• The long talker: You know who these people are. They love to chat with you so much about their life or recent vacation, but have no concept of time or that you actually have some work to do. The best solution to the long talker is to have a “wingman” who assists the victim coworker in calling them from adjacent phone in a conference room. The call invariably breaks off the conversation with the long talker and restores order. In extreme cases the long talker will try to wait out the conversation. If so you are stuck.

• The loud talker: In the cube farm the loud talker is the person who has no concept of voice volume or privacy. They will share the most intimate details of their life and have no problem with those around knowing. Most people don’t want to know about why you have to go to the doctor or other details of your life.

I know there are many others to add... but I'll stop here before I start rambling. Now while on the topic this begs the age old question- which "Office" is better - the British or American version?

Currently playing in my ipod: Voxtrot
I heard about this band called Voxtrot first on a podcast... I can't remember specifically which one since I listen to a lot of them. I do recall hearing their song and instantly loving their sound. They are probably not one of "newest" bands around considering they received a lot of buzz last year from the SXSW music festival in Austin. Anyway, since I have recently discovered them I thought I'd tell you a little bit about them (assuming you haven't heard of them). Voxtrot is a 5-piece indie rock band based out of Austin, TX. It is the brainchild of the lead singer and songwriter Ramesh Srivastava. He is a native of Austin, TX, but lived in Glasgow, Scotland for a period of time to pursue a degree. The British/Scottish influences are very evident (think Belle & Sebastian) as you listen to their songs. The band crafts wonderful melodic pop songs while retaining a classic vibe that I have heard compared to the Smiths, or the Stone Roses. Voxtrot have 2 EP's currently out: a self-titled EP and the second is Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, & Wives (just released about 2 months ago). Both were released on their own label Cult Hero Records. I had the privilege of seeing them live in NYC. They were great. If you are interested in checking out more about them here is their website: http://www.voxtrot.net Their website has some great links to their myspace page, Ramesh's blog, band pictures, and a site that has video's some of their recent performances in Minneapolis. I know you will enjoy them as they are quickly becoming one of my favorite bands....

Grass-Roots Music...
So, I know that for you music fans out there you are probably wondering how soon I will discuss music... Well, I thought I’d start with discussing my view of the music industry as it stands now. Pretty good starting point, I think. Music has always been a craft, but it seems that nowadays it has gotten intertwined with business a bit too much. Most music is determined as "successful" by it's popularity. And how is "popular" defined? By what a major label corporate executive thinks the "kids will love". Corporations have destroyed the old outlet of music... the radio station. There used to be great independent or college radio type stations around, but now Clear Channel seems to own every radio station and makes them sound like a cookie cutter American Idol episode. So where does one go to find good music? I think true music has now mostly resurfaced in podcasts and satellite radio. Don't get me wrong. I am not totally discounting college radio, because there are some good non-corporate radio stations still around. Hopefully they survive without being swallowed up by the corporations. I consider finding good music something worth telling my friend about. That grass roots movement is a great way to pass along info. I hope to pass along some good bands I have heard during my posts here. I'd love to hear your thoughts or input.

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
Quick quote of the day by Dan : “Beefsteak tomatoes make me happy” I think his enthusiasm for the vegetable that is actually a fruit is a nice intro to some further incoherent ramblings of the day. I think when his late night statement was made it just made me laugh. For those of you don’t agree with his statement this website might be for you: http://www.tomatoesareevil.com Somehow this website reminds me of a really bad B movie that I saw as a child called "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes". Anyone else remember it? Someone has even bothered to have a website for the movie and it's sequels: (http://www.killertomatoes.com) Amazing huh?

Let the Craze begin
This is my first blog... so I want to make it memorable. So I have included an introspective shot of myself to the right. The "exciting shot" depicts my cool and reserved approach the world. Anyway, I kinda feel like I am a bit behind the rest of the world starting the blogging thing so late. Perhaps, one might say I am arriving fashionably late? I have been thinking about doing something like this for a while, but I am a total procrastinator. So I find myself here finally following through. I have been somewhat inspired by seeing other friends recently start blogging. It will be fun and little weird having such an open forum for my thoughts, ramblings, opinions, etc. for all to see!
Well for starters you all are probably wondering where I came up with the name? I guess the thought is that the name embodies the underground spirit and passion that I have. It also has a sense of adventure, excitement, and intrigue. I guess it is a bit of an oxymoron because how often is a craze underground? Anyway, that is enough overanalyzing my decision. So what does this mean for content, you might ask? For the most part I will post a lot of music discussion items as well as discussions about life. Hopefully, you're as big a fan of underground music as I am. Well if you are, then awesome.. if not I will discuss other interesting stuff too - not to worry. So bear with me as I get this up and running. It may not look spectacular to begin with, but I hope to make it a great place to visit and interact. I plan to do reviews, new artists, concert discussions, as well as other fun topics not necessarily music related.
So let the underground craze begin.... And bring on the comments if you dare!