So, I am well aware that I piss people off all the time. I piss off my mother, my stepfather, my sister, my daughter sometimes, random people on public transit.
Most times, people are not shy about letting me know.
“You are such a fucking asshole!” a friend of mine screamed at me over the phone last week.
“You’re a fairly consistent fuck-up,” my stepfather said to me a few days ago.
I’ve also heard, “You’ve got some nerve.”
And, “Who do you think you are?”
I typically take it with a grain of salt. Consider the source. Respond with something flippant.
This seems to piss people off more than anything else. I’m not sure why though. You piss someone off. They tell you that you pissed them off, in some decidedly unfriendly language. The “f” word and what have you.
Then, when you don’t give a shit, they get really pissed off.
It’s actually quite entertaining. You can watch them authoring an impromptu tell-off, their eyes moving about furiously, veins bulging and whatnot. And when you respond with a smile and a rather casual, “Sorry you feel that way”, there’s an inexplicable, sadistic ecstasy.
At least, that’s the way I see it.
But, occasionally, the tables are turned for me. I’m a fairly even-tempered guy, inexhaustible list of neuroses aside. People rarely piss me off. They annoy me. Wear out their welcomes. Give me the impression that they are of lower intelligence. Offend my sensibilities. But I rarely get pissed.
But when I do―“Whoa Nelly,” as they say.
That brings me to today’s episode. A co-worker of mine, good friend actually, approached me in the hallway and instructed me to begin offering services to some kid who was having trouble adjusting to high school. When I told her it was not my job to counsel freshman having trouble adjusting, she responded that it was indeed my job and insinuated that I did not know exactly what my job is.
Well.
Next thing I knew, we were screaming at each other at the top of our lungs in the middle of the hallway. “Have you ever taken a course in this?” she asked.
“No,” I replied. “But you’re still wrong. And fuck your bullshit class.”
This statement, I realize, retaliatory and immature as it was, is indicative of my general attitude towards everything. That is, if I am confident that I know what I’m doing, an overt suggestion to the contrary is infuriating. The sadness of all this is how fucking typical it is. I felt myself about to blurt out, “Are you trying to tell me how to do my job?!!”
How pathetic is that? I have somehow become someone who takes pride is his work or whatever. This nine-to-five of mine, this gig, this slave, has somehow taken root in my inner-self. So much so as to create feelings. Like a lover.
I’m not happy about this.
But fuck all that. Work is dumb. Back to the art.
As a treat and a bit of an incentive, I am posting my first solo album, “Sinnerman”, for free download. Or maybe it’s not a treat at all. But here goes.
It’s an enjoyable piece. Produced, recorded and engineered entirely by my good friend and Dirty Water cohort, Joe D. I got a couple of good reviews and actually made a small profit on this album. A very small one. It was recorded in 2005 over the course of a few months. It’s unique among my other efforts in that every song that was recorded for the album made it to the final cut. Joe and I usually leave a few songs on the proverbial cutting room floor for one reason or another. But this one was different. We got into a good creative space and everything we did came out great.
I really don’t look at it as a collection of songs, as a result. It’s more like one long song with a lot of movements. Like an opera, but with no narrative. I guess my favorite thing about it is the incredibly wide range of topics. I don’t think I could do anything like it now. Also, I think Joe was able to avoid the pitfalls of the project producer. That is, he was able to create a unique sound for each track. You’d think I had a cadre of beatsmiths working on this thing.
Enjoy. And make sure you remember where to be on Labor Day.
Thanks for reading.
GOBAMA/BIDEN!
“IGNORANCE & CONFIDENCE” AVAILABLE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD ON LABOR DAY AT
http://coolceebrown.blogspot.com/
Innocent Question: Am I the only one who gets the occasional pube snag? Doesn’t that shit sting?
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