Peace Sells... and I Rust in Peace
I discovered that when I fail to post for over 1 month, I get crazy emails that say things like, "Lock in-rates as low as 3.25%." This likely has nothing to do with my not posting, I understand, but I figured this can be useful information to anybody. Good luck with your finances you greedy scum face.
Now, I recently was gifted a copy of Dave Mustaine's autobiography. And, yes, this encouraged me to write a post. First of all, if nothing else, this, along with AHL hockey games, has allowed me to be distracted from depressing political, work, or Jersey Shore discussions. And, since I'm not having a baby, do not agree with conservative policy, and do not have the desire to purchase real estate, I'm eliminated from conversations with my peers in this culture. Fuck. Anyway, this was my first introduction to rock autobiographies, something that I have to admit I generally view as frivolous, self-centered promotional devices. And yes, it was that all that. But hell, would reading or seeing the biography of one of our country's forefathers be any more educational? I doubt it. Don't worry, this is not a political tangent, it's just a light face slap inflicted upon most pop culture figures. Believe it or not, and partially because many of them are promotional tools, most of these figures possess neither interesting or important biographical characteristics. I'm not being critical, it's just that most people are fairly banal, just like you and I, and I guess that's why we relate or why they're pop culture icons. Fine, but I don't need a polished book to read about that stuff, no matter who it is. I can find it spending time with people I know, which I would mostly rather do. The only benefit of a book as that I can put it down and never pick it up again, something that's more difficult to do with people like you.
I have to admit though, that book was interesting. I found myself wanting to hear about the self-centered, insecure junkie, and power driven Mustaine. That is America, and maybe the human condition one could argue. In summary, Mustaine suffers from a sick tendency to compare his success to Metallica's. In fact, it probably drove him to do great things, and really stupid things. He hates Lars Ulrich's smarmy little face, and once tried to punch through Hetfield's face. The latter was nearly a success. Every 20 or so pages seemed to be success story related to his fists of fury. He kicked the shit of approximately 30 other people, and really never lost. I think he had a feud with Vince Neil once, and maybe Axl Rose. No doubt he would have unleashed hell on them. Successfully. So, he fought a lot, then did a bunch of heroin at various times, and went to rehab a lot. His pinnacle of success, in my mind, is Rust in Peace, in his mind it's finding God and Jesus. In many passages he ridicules the twelve step programs he's forced into and suggests he was brainwashed. He feels superior to them. Then, it's not entirely clear if he feels like he was wrong all along, but finally he finds Jesus through them, and is saved. Okay. He won't even play a show with a black metal band these days.
So, like many others, he submitted to a higher power, or realized that's what he had to do as he hit bottom. So, in this lies a semi-important lesson for me: Mustaine explained to me the problem of most heavy metalers - the majority of them come from chaotic and broken lives and they seek acceptance, a power greater than them. Some of them find it in the music. Some, like Mustaine, search endlessly and frantically, destroying and creating along the way. Then, at the end, they find Jesus. Jesus. The crutch for man. I know Jesse Ventura said this, a little more scathingly, but in many ways he was right, and Mustaine is living proof. His insecurities, illustrated through rivalries of power and drug use, finally culminated in his discovery of a higher power. It was an introspective into the condition of man, an introspective that wasn't a surprise, but was comforting in some way that showed the commonality in the common man. So for that, you get an 'A' Mustaine. You've finally succeeded. Not in his being great (although he is, mainly due to his writing of the song Hangar 18) but in his painting a picture of human vulnerabilities and the eventual final solution. Jesus: God only knows my personal insecurities will eventually find an antidote in you.
Now, I recently was gifted a copy of Dave Mustaine's autobiography. And, yes, this encouraged me to write a post. First of all, if nothing else, this, along with AHL hockey games, has allowed me to be distracted from depressing political, work, or Jersey Shore discussions. And, since I'm not having a baby, do not agree with conservative policy, and do not have the desire to purchase real estate, I'm eliminated from conversations with my peers in this culture. Fuck. Anyway, this was my first introduction to rock autobiographies, something that I have to admit I generally view as frivolous, self-centered promotional devices. And yes, it was that all that. But hell, would reading or seeing the biography of one of our country's forefathers be any more educational? I doubt it. Don't worry, this is not a political tangent, it's just a light face slap inflicted upon most pop culture figures. Believe it or not, and partially because many of them are promotional tools, most of these figures possess neither interesting or important biographical characteristics. I'm not being critical, it's just that most people are fairly banal, just like you and I, and I guess that's why we relate or why they're pop culture icons. Fine, but I don't need a polished book to read about that stuff, no matter who it is. I can find it spending time with people I know, which I would mostly rather do. The only benefit of a book as that I can put it down and never pick it up again, something that's more difficult to do with people like you.
I have to admit though, that book was interesting. I found myself wanting to hear about the self-centered, insecure junkie, and power driven Mustaine. That is America, and maybe the human condition one could argue. In summary, Mustaine suffers from a sick tendency to compare his success to Metallica's. In fact, it probably drove him to do great things, and really stupid things. He hates Lars Ulrich's smarmy little face, and once tried to punch through Hetfield's face. The latter was nearly a success. Every 20 or so pages seemed to be success story related to his fists of fury. He kicked the shit of approximately 30 other people, and really never lost. I think he had a feud with Vince Neil once, and maybe Axl Rose. No doubt he would have unleashed hell on them. Successfully. So, he fought a lot, then did a bunch of heroin at various times, and went to rehab a lot. His pinnacle of success, in my mind, is Rust in Peace, in his mind it's finding God and Jesus. In many passages he ridicules the twelve step programs he's forced into and suggests he was brainwashed. He feels superior to them. Then, it's not entirely clear if he feels like he was wrong all along, but finally he finds Jesus through them, and is saved. Okay. He won't even play a show with a black metal band these days.
So, like many others, he submitted to a higher power, or realized that's what he had to do as he hit bottom. So, in this lies a semi-important lesson for me: Mustaine explained to me the problem of most heavy metalers - the majority of them come from chaotic and broken lives and they seek acceptance, a power greater than them. Some of them find it in the music. Some, like Mustaine, search endlessly and frantically, destroying and creating along the way. Then, at the end, they find Jesus. Jesus. The crutch for man. I know Jesse Ventura said this, a little more scathingly, but in many ways he was right, and Mustaine is living proof. His insecurities, illustrated through rivalries of power and drug use, finally culminated in his discovery of a higher power. It was an introspective into the condition of man, an introspective that wasn't a surprise, but was comforting in some way that showed the commonality in the common man. So for that, you get an 'A' Mustaine. You've finally succeeded. Not in his being great (although he is, mainly due to his writing of the song Hangar 18) but in his painting a picture of human vulnerabilities and the eventual final solution. Jesus: God only knows my personal insecurities will eventually find an antidote in you.
posted by fiestawizard at 8:03 PM
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