Destination Host Unreachable » Tim Barry

Oh Noes! Someone Is Being Mean On The Intertubes!

Romeo Sid Vicious — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:13:13 +0000

Watch, at least, Tim’s intro in the video above before reading further…

So I have been an observer to some drama as of late. Yes it is drama on FB but it is people going off about things that happened in real life that had real consequences and not petty crap. I have known the people involved, and I won’t be mentioning any names here, for better than two decades. In this incident I didn’t take sides. Hell I didn’t even comment until it was all over. In the end I unfriended one of the people involved for reasons totally unrelated to the drama. In fact the drama isn’t even related to this post other than to suggest that some of the people involved examine their relationships through the lens of how complicated other people make their lives. Let me expound.

The person I unfriended hadn’t made a positive or even neutral comment on FB in over a year. Every single thing they said was complaining about how their life sucked and then explaining how it was someone else’s fault. I didn’t bother commenting on the posts or trying to point out how things like being behind on your electric bill and getting your lights shut off was not likely the fault of the company providing you electricity. I have known them for years after all and wanted, at the very least, not to be mean. Even without responding to the drama this person created for themselves their posts still showed up in my stream and no matter what when someone is negative all the time it brings down those around them. I thought about it long and hard and while I don’t hate this person, as Tim suggests in the video above, they did add complexity to my life. They added drama even if it was through observation only. You can’t know someone that long and not react in some manner to their words and suffering even if it is self-inflicted. Further thought on the matter makes me think this person has issues that I cannot ever help them with. The need to always be a victim is one that is draining for everyone around the person with that need. I won’t speculate as to the cause of the problems but I know that I have my own issues to work on and I can’t help this person with theirs. In further thinking on it I realized this person has been like this for most of the time I have known them and when we were hanging out in real life it was very draining.

If we were hanging out in real life today I would have to cut off those ties but since it was FB I could just unfriend them. I know that may sound harsh but I am a grown-ass-man and don’t need the teenage drama this person exudes. I do honestly hope they get the help they need and come out the other side a better person but when a person won’t take responsibility for their own failings and the situations they cause then I can’t have them around me. I spent enough of my life doing exactly that and I have no time for someone so self-centered that they can’t admit their own mistakes. Sure I still complain from time to time and even do a little of that over on FB but the difference is I know that 99% of the time the reason something in my life is fucked up is because I fucked it up or allowed it to get fucked up.

Once someone begins to take responsibility for their own life then they are usually worth helping. I will no longer bother trying to help anyone whose first reaction to any problem is to figure out how it’s not their fault. In fact those people who would rather cry about their problems than actually work on fixing them will get told, just like the video above: “Speed on before you get peed on!”

I don’t feel that this little piece is technically “mean” but some will likely deride it as such. This is about self-preservation and making sure that I have enough emotional stamina to help people who want help and deal with my own shit. If I am forced to constantly deal with other people’s shit and they ain’t working on it then I don’t have the energy left to deal with fixing my own shit. It’s really that simple.

Raisin’ Hell and Livin’ Cheap – Suburban Home Record Mixtape Vol. 1

Romeo Sid Vicious — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:19:44 +0000

Back in December Suburban Home Records put out a mixtape. When you ordered it, paying only shipping and handling, you got five copies of the damn thing! Virgil’s idea was for you to give them out to your friends and it was a great idea. Well the gang over there has just released Volume 2 of the mixtape series with the same deal. I went with Priority Mail and spent $5.01 to get five copies of the CD. Not only does Suburban Home put out great music they are really promoting their artists. You can stream most of their released on the site so you aren’t buy site unseen, so to speak, and they give away music to get their artists noticed. Couple all that with cool stuff like shot glasses, coozies, and maybe even oven mitts (who knows, maybe Virgil will like the idea) and you have what think is the coolest label around.

So with the released of the second installment in their mixtape series SBHR has asked us blogger type folks to help get the word out about the mixtapes, offer the first one for download, and pretty much pimp this all we can. Since they give us so much, even on top of my Suburban Home For Life membership, I thought it would be cool to offer the Raisin’ Hell and Livin’ Cheap (Volume 1) for you all to listen to and download. So here it is, without further ado…

Track Archive

Enjoy…and go order the second volume right now. You won’t regret it. And while you are there make sure to shell out the jack and get Tim Barry‘s new release 28th and Stonewall.

And more Tim Barry

Romeo Sid Vicious — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:56:02 +0000

That bastard is making us wait until next year for this album but at least we got this:

Thing of the Past from kitchentablelegs on Vimeo.

This is one of the tracks off his new album and has only caused me to be totally annoyed that I can’t have it now.

Shoulda Oughta X2

Romeo Sid Vicious — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:49:02 +0000

You may have heard me rant about how much I like Tim Barry or listened to Please Consider Where I’ve Been – An Intro To Tim Barry but if you don’t own Live At Munford Elementary then you should be flogged, drawn and quartered and maybe flogged again. I offer the following as proof:

The first track is his version of “Shoulda Oughta” for the kids at Munford Elementary and the second is the album version. So use these links, from Tim’s site and get the album:

A/V Club Post

Romeo Sid Vicious — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:16:29 +0000

Some of my favorite bands have new videos out so while I am writing my Friday life management post, which is looking like a bear of a post, I’d toss up some videos for you to enjoy…

Lucero, possibly my favorite band in the world, has commissioned fans to create videos for each track on the new album 1372 Overton Park and so far two have been posted. As a side note I received e-mail notification that my copy of the new album has shipped, got a tracking number, and am waiting less than patiently for it to arrive along with the hoodie…

Lucero – Darken My Door

Darken My Door from Lucero on Vimeo.

Lucero – Johnny Davis

Johnny Davis from Lucero on Vimeo.

While I don’t watch the show if you are a Lucero fan you might want to catch the premier of the CW’s One Tree Hill this Monday because Mom off of 1372 Overton Park is being featured in the show. It’s my favorite song off the new album and I will be recording the show so I can support the boys by watching it. Who knows it may add a new show to my list…

Apart from Lucero my second highest played artist recently would be Tim Barry and he has a video out for his new song Prosser’s Gabriel. Autopsy IV over at Nine Bullets, which I write for as well, explains that Gabriel Prosser was a slave blacksmith who led a rebellion in VA around the summer of 1800. Montclair State University has a great piece on the rebellion. While I am not as cool as AIV and didn’t get to go the Suburban Home Records anniversary party and hear Tim sing this live the video is awesome.

Tim Barry – Prosser’s Gabriel

Tim Barry – “Prosser’s Gabriel” from TCSG on Vimeo.

And last but certainly not least is Two Cow Garage which is another of my top five artists with a video for a new song called American Static.

Two Cow Garage – American Static

Two Cow Garage – “American Static” from TCSG on Vimeo.

That’s all for the videos. Now I am off to work on my Friday life management post and hope I can get it done today, unlike my Wednesday political post which ended up on Thursday…

Please Consider Where I’ve Been (an intro to Tim Barry)

Romeo Sid Vicious — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:47:51 +0000

Stepping out of the legendary punk band Avail and into bare feet and the occasional tour bus Tim Barry has carved his name in the hearts of alt country fans everywhere. From the opening strains of Laurel Street Demos’ Idle Idylist to his presence on the Revival Tour he is a powerhouse. His songs evoke the kind of emotion that Southerners grasp on a level not available to the rest of the world. From train songs to heartbreaks Tim covers the range. His influences range from punk to vintage country and his songwriting shows it. While I refer to his music as alt country it really transcends the genre. There is an honesty to this music that is rare in any genre. You can listen to a few of these songs and say “Mr. Barry your punk is showing” and not be off the mark and still on others you can hear the haunting melodies of the country greats. I don’t think any music fan won’t find something to like in Tim’s catalog.

I have missed him the last couple of times he has been through Houston and it is much to my dismay. I don’t have a single cool story to tell about this man. In fact I am pretty much a new fan. I had heard his name floating around amongst my musical peers but I had never listened to his solo music. I had been an Avail fan for a long while but for some reason I had skipped Tim’s solo career. Last year I got a copy of the Revival Tour’s stop in Denver and Dog Bumped was the first time I had ever heard Tim Barry. Since then I have procured all of his released music and it’s been in heavy rotation since I first bought Laurel Street Demos last year. Much like most of the other intros I have put up Tim is a Suburban Home Records Artist and that’s, at least around these parts, a mark in his favor. While his solo catalog is small compared to bands like Drag The River there is so much ground covered in the few LPs he has released that it never ceases to amaze. Choosing these tracks was no easy task and I did sit and ponder which tracks to include. I hope that I have done Mr. Barry justice in my choices.

(I did things a little differently on this set of tapes and included the albums in the ID3 tags so there isn’t a track to album list for each tape. You’ll just have to buy them all!)

Tape 1 Track Archive

Tape 2 is two tracks off of each of Avail’s full length albums. Tim’s method of delivery may have changed but these tracks will show you that from his humble punk rock beginnings to his quieter method these days the intensity hasn’t gone anywhere. I couldn’t choose a favorite part of Tim’s career if I tried. Although Pink Houses holds a special place in my heart. I probably listen to more of his solo stuff nowadays but that’s just where I am at. Also I’m old…and GET OFF MY LAWN!

Tape 2 Track Archive

Tim has a new album in the works so be sure to keep your eyes on Suburban Home Records for more details…

Linkage:
Tim Barry’s Website
Tim Barry on Suburban Home
Tim Barry on MySpace

Skinned Knees & Broken Hearts

Romeo Sid Vicious — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:00:57 +0000

Here is your Monday Mixtape folks…

This one is sort of a broken hearts with a youthful outlook rather than the cynical outlook I tend to have. I couldn’t pull off the whole thing with youthful optimism on loss and broken heart thing but it’ll do for now and it’s still better than most of my cynicism. I did get to pull out some of my favorite artists that I have been ignoring lately and that makes me pretty happy. Although I think I see a theme in the compilations that could go away. I promise I am not as depressed as these make me out to be. Next week I’ll shoot for a happy tape…Maybe not…

As an aside: I am running out of ideas for the covers so I have resorted to cool pics of the kids for the moment. Maybe I’ll come up something inspired for next weeks compilation.

Track Archive

Always Trust Your Cape – An RSV Joint

Romeo Sid Vicious — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 16:15:42 +0000

This is one of those mixes where I heard a song and wanted to build around it. It ended up being pretty short but good listening nonetheless. It’s also one of three that I am moving here instead of having it’s own subdomain…

Track Archive

Scared Of The Dark

Romeo Sid Vicious — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 20:23:10 +0000

Well I didn’t get any sort of inspiration to write about any of my attempts at life management. I will mention I am re-reading How To Win Friends And Influence People which is a must read for just about anyone regardless of your profession. But that’s all I’ve got on that so I decided to make up for Monday’s lack of music. I thought about this one long and hard and almost came up with a theme. I think everything flows on this one pretty well. I even managed to normalize them so nothing blows your eardrums out if you listen to it on your iPod. That’s about enough outta me…

I think we all have fears that we won’t own up to and sometimes that we don’t even admit to ourselves. I tried to grab some of those themes and bring that in the songs on this mix. I guess I did alright for the most part. Hope you enjoyed this one.

Track Archive

AN-G (One For My Best Friend)

Romeo Sid Vicious — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:24:45 +0000

This one is brand new and is a tribute to my best friend. I ain’t always been there for her like I shoulda been but we’ve made it through the rough patches and come out the other side. There are some who might say a guy can’t have a chick for a best friend and not want to sleep with her and for some guys that might be true but I’ll tell you honest that those bastards are missing out. Enough of an introduction. Click play already…

You see I met An-g quite by accident. She didn’t hang out with my crowd, didn’t go to the same shows, and didn’t really know the same people. She was still in high and I was a drop out who was almost old enough to drink. I had this friend, who shall remain nameless, whose boss wanted him to take her daughter out. My boy was a little bit nervous about this whole boss’s daughter thing so he set it up as a double date with me as the second guy and an ex of his that I thought was cute as my date. I talked him into going to this little joint where a friend’s band was playing for the date since he had told me a little bit about the girl he was picking up. Understand this was not an acoustic singer/songwriter show this was Bleachbath and Excess Lettuce playing a dive where anyone could drink as long as you acted cool. This was not a yuppie show by any stretch. So we pick up my date who comes out in what appears to be a prom dress. I look down at my jeans with holes in them, my white t-shirt, and doc martens and decide this likely won’t go all that well…Next we pick his date, the boss’s daughter, a waif of a thing comes bounding out the front door in a white shirt, jeans, combat boot, and a green mohawk. I think my boy and I were convinced we had the wrong dates at this point but we stood where we stood. An-g jumps in the car, explains the faded green mohawk was due to Manic Panic sweating out at the Bouffant Jellyfish show the night before and it had looked better. While I didn’t see it I am willing to bet my boy rolled his eyes right about there.

Well we get to Pik ‘n’ Pak early enough to chat with Vince (singer for Bleachbath) and the owner Ralph, eat a couple empenadas, and grab some beer. The show was bad ass to say the least, and IIRC it was Bleachbath’s last show as Bleachbath, and my boy got along quite well with my date which didn’t bother me at all as I hit it off with An-g. I guess I was attracted to her that night and maybe over the next couple of years but it wasn’t long before she was one of the guys. She could drink with the best of us and would throw down at the drop of a hat. Not a single dude we ever hung out would have wanted to lay hands on her!

There’s a lot of history between An-g and me, maybe enough for a book, but I think that’s enough of the story to explain why my Monday compilation is a tribute to my best friend. She’s pretty bad ass and it’s a damn shame most of you will never get a chance to meet her.

Track Archive