Words On Wednesday

I almost won a car from a contest recently. Almost. This story begins back on 29 June. It had been 8 weeks since I last donated blood, and I was once again eligible to donate. Because the donation centers are more spacious and typically less crowded than the mobile drives, I usually just go to the center on the day that I become eligible. Sure, I miss out on promotions, but I still get points and the occasional t-shirt. Besides, it’s not about getting rewarded; it’s about saving lives </sarcasm>. I pull up at the donation center and see a  Hot 98.1 van and tent set up in the parking lot. Huh, what do we have here? Curiosity got the better of me, and I step up to the table under the tent and inquire about what’s going on. It turns out they’re entering people to  win a brand new 2018 Honda Civic . That’s neat, but I’d never win it. They were also giving out free swag to anyone who entered, so I figured it was an easy way to get a free coffee mug. Per the detai...

When I say “rock music,” you say… Lorde? At least that’s what people said about “Royals” back in 2014 when it won the VMA for Best Rock Video . I understand that was 3 years ago, and people made plenty of jokes soon after, but it still stands as a shining example of how rock as a genre has had its lines blurred to the point that it doesn’t mean anything anymore. Even the other nominees for the rock category seem like a stretch. Imagine Dragons, Arctic Monkeys, and The Black Keys all fit into a weird area of… yeah, I guess I could maybe call it rock, but it’s more of like an indie sort of rock. The only nominee in 2014 that I would genuinely consider rock would have been Linkin Park, but I certainly wouldn’t have considered them the only rock band with a song in the running for “Best Rock Video” of that year. What is Rock Music? Suffice it to say, “rock music” doesn’t mean much anymore. I understand that with all the sub-genres and combinations within rock, it does encompass a rat...