capitalisthippie.net

So, lately I have been ranting about all that is wrong with the world, from work to politics and back again.  Tonight, I am instead paying homage to arguably the greatest band of all times - TOOL.

I have been listening to TOOL for about 15 years.  For those of you wondering why I spell their name with all capital letters, it’s because that’s how you spell the name of the greatest band of all time.   Similarly, it is spelled LED ZEPPELIN.

TOOL has figured out music and ruined it for all bands to follow.  Their rhythms are beyond sophisticated, their lyrics are unapologetic and hit every nail right on the head.  On top of that, they are perfect to listen to whether you are pissed off as a mother-fucker, depressed, really happy or just plain want to hear amazing music.  Their guitars scream and, yet, every single note by every musician in the band, is tasteful and purposely placed.

I have seen TOOL in concert 13 or more times.  More than a few times, I have paid stupid amounts of money to go to their shows, including airfare to multiple cities in one weekend (worth every cent).  The one single disappointment I have is that their last tour had almost the exact same setlist every performance.  However, last time I saw them at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles they played an extended, ridiculous verion of Flood, off of their album Undertow.  And, to top it off, invited a guest drummer out to solo battle with Danny Carey for an extended song off of Lateralus.

At any rate, if you know nothing of TOOL, this post will mean nothing to you.  But, I highly recommend you forge a relationship with this band.  They are The Shit.  And, if you are so inclined, with my band…who is also Cool As Shit.  Haha!

–Joey Flores

The Capitalist Hippie Complex
www.CapitalistHippie.com
http://www.myspace.com/thechc

I have been noticing a lot of paradox in politics and society lately and I have come up with the following new rules:

• You cannot claim to be Pro-Life and:
  • Yell, “Off with his head,” or, “Kill him” at political rallies.
  • Support the death penalty.
  • NOT BE a vegetarian.
  • Go hunting.
• You cannot disapprove of Bush after realizing what 7 years of leadership from a religious nut job with no clue about foreign policy can do to us and:
  • Support Sarah Palin.
  • Not support Obama because he is ”an intelligent elitist” and not religious enough.
• You can’t accuse Obama of pulling the race card and:
  • Complain about sexism when your highly unqualified VP is questioned.
• You are not allowed to complain about the cost of Democratic social programs and:
  • Support a $700 Billion bailout of companies who made terrible decisions.
  • Not be outraged about failure CEOs walking away with huge severance packages.
• You cannot support drilling in the ocean or wildlife preserves, poor fuel economy ratings and failure for the US to join the G8 Summit and:
  • Enjoy fishing
  • Go camping
  • Claim to care about the environment

Excerpt from Miseduation by The Capitalist Hippie Complex:

I’m sick of excuses, scapegoats and copouts
They’ve got an answer for everything, pulling all the stops out
It’s got me rich in education for a highschool dropout
Block out propaganda, get these questions knocked out

–Joey Flores

The Capitalist Hippie Complex
www.CapitalistHippie.com
http://www.myspace.com/thechc

I think back to four years ago - Middle America, oh, what were you thinking?  And, although I wish we could reverse your decision to re-elect the worst president of all times, I am grateful that, after four more years of the worst leadership and greatest corrpution this country has ever witnessed, at least 70+% of Americans have realized that W stands for Worthless.  However, the following only reminds me that, many Americans, particularly those who claim most to represent the core values of this country, are violent, bigoted people with no tolerance or acceptance, and no sense of decency.  And, furthermore, that Republicans would rather energize their base through anger than work to unite the country.

MSNBC,in regards to McCain and Sarah Palin rallies over the past week:

“They’re making it personal, against the Democrat. Shouts of “traitor,” “terrorist,” “treason,” “liar,” and even “off with his head” have rung from the crowd at McCain and Sarah Palin rallies, and gone unchallenged by them.”

On top of that, riding on the backs of Diebold machines and Supreme Court takeovers of our country, the following make me realize that many Americans do not care about corruption so long as it perpetuates their agenda.

MSNBC reporting on a “typo” on NY ballots:

“In an upstate New York county, hundreds of voters have been sent absentee ballots in which they could vote for “Barack Osama.”  The absentee ballots sent to voters in Rensselaer County identified the two presidential candidates as “Barack Osama” and “John McCain.””

Quite frankly, I am nauseous from the news I’ve read over the past week (and the Grey Goose, Beer and Wine I had tonight).  As will be the theme on this blog from now on, here is a quote from one of our songs…

Excerpt from Ignorance and Fear by The Capitalist Hippie Complex:

Murder rates on the rise, and there’s people tuning out the truth
Bombs bringing blackened skies, they don’t want to know we’re killing youth
Whole nations terrified, and they’re persecuting friendly groups
Won’t admit leaders lied, that won’t justify our fallen troops…

I am currently watching Zeitgeist: Addendum.  For those of you who don’t know, this is the sequel to the film Zeitgeist, both of which are about the control of society by major, multinational organizations, from religious institutions to corporations - most of them American.

According to the logic outlined by this film, it matters not who you vote for in November.  The country and world are controlled by corporations and other institutions.  Clearly, McCain and the Lipstick Pig will only accellerate the downward spiral into greed-based globalization.  Obama, whether part of this tyrannical system or not, will either bend at the will of these organizations or be taken out by groups supported and cultivated by them.

Excerpt from Brainwash for Profit by The Capitalist Hippie Complex:

Corporate America, the land of corruption,
Of forest destruction, of HUMMER combustion,
All about the dollar, not the town’s you’re crushin,
Never ’bout the nuclear waste your dumpin’,
Gotta beat the Germans, the Japs and Russians,
Gotta be the best, no interruptions
We live in the land of the NOTHING IS FREE
You and me?  Controlled by fear and TV
They gotta do research and see
How to make us brainwashed by three
From products made by GE, to the propagods at Disney…

–Joey Flores

The Capitalist Hippie Complex
www.CapitalistHippie.com
http://www.myspace.com/thechc

Work Sucks - A M-F Daily Diary

Today work sucks because…

Music Rocks - A “When I Get Time” Daily Diary

The Show Must Go On

I have always respected Led Zeppelin for ending their story with the loss of John Bonham.  Despite some solo albums and other projects (anyone remember Coverdale & Page?), and one or two reunion shows, they never pretended that they could be Led Zeppelin without the bricklayer on the drums, and they would be right.

That said, I saw the new Blind Melon a couple of months ago in Modesto.  And, despite this respect I have always had for LZ for not just replacing Bonham and moving on, I am glad that Blind Melon has made the decision to continue playing in the wake of losing its frontman Shannon Hoon.  First off, Blind Melon’s career was nowhere near complete.  Second, their new vocalist, Travis Warren, is very respectful of the band and the memory of Shannon, which makes it a nice experience for old school fans.  Lastly, the show was fucking phenomenal.  The new singer is as close as you can get to pulling off Hoon and magically entertaining.  The old songs were as fun as ever and the new stuff is great too.

At any rate…if I am ever to meet a tragic fate, I hope my band will find a suitable replacement and keep The Capitalist Hippie Complex going.  And, if they do, I hope they also burn in hell for it.

–Joey Flores

The Capitalist Hippie Complex
www.CapitalistHippie.com
http://www.myspace.com/thechc

Work Sucks - A M-F Daily Diary

Today work sucks because…

• Today is the same as every other work day.
• My stomach is killing me and symphathy is not one of our company benefits.
• Today I will have to go #2 at the office.  Not cool.

Music Rocks - A “When I Get Time” Daily Diary

A Dream

I don’t typically remember my dreams but, if I did, this is the dream I would have had last night:

• I wake up in The CHC-Mobile, the Official Tour Bus of The Capitalist Hippie Complex.  We are travelling at approximately 75 MPH on our way to Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver, CO.
• There are scattered beer bottles and the remnants of last night’s hummus tray strewn about, as well as the sleeping bodies of my bandmates.
• The radio is on in the front, and the DJ of the local radio station is having a contest to giveaway the last two tickets to our show.  There are an obscene number of callers.
• We stop at Dora’s Mexican Food in Aurora so that Robert can hit on Dora and we can eat lunch while sipping super-refreshing Caddilac Margaritas.
• We get back on the bus, which has now been tidied by our driver, whose name we don’t know because she’s mysterious like that.  She is also hot and often drives topless.
• We get to Red Rocks and watch their all-female staff load our equipment in and set us up.  They are all hot and two of them are topless.
• We wait backstage until they are ready to soundcheck us.  The engineer, who is hot, calls us out and we soundcheck with our Grammy winning song, Corporate America.  From the back of the amphitheatre, a lone man claps.  It is Zack de la Rocha from Rage Against the Machine.
• Night settles in and people pour into the theatre.  Stevie Wonder is opening for us and plays a great set.  The refreshment stands shut down to ensure nobody misses the show.
• “Candy and Cigarette” girls walk around but they do not sell candy or cigarettes.  They give away joints - big, fat, danky-ass joints, with our logo on them.
• We come out on stage and play a set that causes Jupiter to fall out of alignment with the Sun.  Planets spin out of control and stars fizzle out in the night sky.
• As the worlds collide and the entire galaxy is destroyed, Earth implodes but not before the audience gives us 15 standing ovations.

• I arrive in hell.  Satan is hot and she is topless.

–Joey Flores

The Capitalist Hippie Complex
www.CapitalistHippie.com
http://www.myspace.com/thechc

Work Sucks - A M-F Daily Diary

Today work sucks because…

• Today is the first day back after a three day weekend.
• 20% of our staff was at burning man and some of them only brought their bodies back.
• I have several meeting scheduled.  I hate meetings.
• My chair still appears to be bad for my back.
• All I can think about is wanting to be on the road recovering from last night’s sold out show.

Music Rocks - A “When I Get Time” Daily Diary

Led Zeppelin and More

For those of you who read the last post, which according to our stats was me and our marketing guru, Mark Davidson, you know that this weekend may have included a ride on the mushroom bus for me (for legal reasons, it may not have).  Here is what I learned:

1. Led Zeppelin is still the best band that ever walked the earth.
2. Ramble On is still one of the best songs of all times, hands down.
3. Robert Plant’s lyrics are mind blowing, especially when your mind is already being blown.
4. Very little music qualifies as good mood music when you’re on the bus but, if your objective is to appreciate music and craftsmanship of it, the bus is a great place to check out any feel-good music.
5. Dark Side of the Moon is not an album, it’s a spaceship.  If you can afford a ticket, you should definitely ride that ride.

Music rocks.  It cannot be said enough.

–Joey Flores

The Capitalist Hippie Complex
www.CapitalistHippie.com
http://www.myspace.com/thechc

Work Sucks - A M-F Daily Diary

Today work DOES NOT suck, because…

• Today is a holiday.

Music Rocks - A “When I Get Time” Daily Diary

The Mint - August 31st, 2008

Last night we played to a solid crowd at The Mint in Los Angeles.  Highlights:

1. A very successul surprise party for a friend that brought in an extra 50 people.
2. Two 45 minute sets, instead of our usual one.
3. Decent mailing list response.
4. Sold four t-shirts!
5. Marked the bathroom with one of our stickers.
6. Got shit-faced.

And, athough I won’t put it on the official list, let me just say that our new re-mixed version of Take What I Get sounds really fucking cool on shrooms.

–Joey Flores

The Capitalist Hippie Complex
www.CapitalistHippie.com
http://www.myspace.com/thechc