Don't even think of suggesting Avril

So, I've been thinking off and on about something for a couple months now. I used to really love some female-fronted bands back in the day when I was more into ska -- No Doubt, Save Ferris, Tsunami Bomb.... There was just something about the music that appealed to me, and it's great to hear a little something different in the vocals. I really don't know how to say it, which is why I've been putting off writing about it.

But I've been bitten by the bug for some more lately. While I still have the old stuff, I long for something new. Thankfully, Paramore recently delivered a great new album. I just wish it was easier to find more prominent females in the genres I listen to. I mean, it's rare enough to find one even in the band, but for her to be the lead singer is a real shocker. In the past, I used MusicPlasma (now called LivePlasma) to refer me to bands I might like. But these days it seems LP always fails to even find the band I want to use as a starting point to compare to others. It always returns my searches with "Madonna (Tribute)." What the heck?!? I've turned to LastFM now, and it doesn't disappoint -- it has some really obscure bands, probably because it's easy for users to add them, and every music snob loves the chance to show off how many unheard-of bands he knows. But still, looking at their list of referrals is not as helpful as I thought it would be. I already listen to well over half of those bands, and of those, only one has a girl who sings in a few songs. Then you can use the tags to find female vocalists, but you can't seem to combine tags to find female vocalists in a given genre.

Maybe it's hard to find what I'm looking for because it's the guys that stereotypically take up instruments. They spend their teenage years learning the guitar and forming alternative rock bands thinking it will make chicks like them. Whereas the girls who get interested in music prefer to sing pop songs and dance scandalously to get attention from the guys. I know this is a horrible stereotype, and I'm going to hell for suggesting it. I just wish I could find more good, female-fronted bands to prove me wrong.

P.S. I secretly enjoyed the Josie and the Pussycats movie. Please don't tell anyone.

New kid on the block

Well, here it is. The inaugural post. I caved. I just couldn't face myself in the mirror any longer and call myself a computer engineer. How does a person in such a field get by with only living in the real world? (Especially given that people in the field don't do too well at that to begin with.) I'm almost ashamed to be so late to the blogosphere. Almost.

I'm always late to the game. Well, it seems I've been playing catch-up for as long as I can remember, anyway. I didn't get into Harry Potter until book five hit. I've spent the past 4 years reading old Tom Clancy novels. (And that's just his work, not the spin-off series...es he started, but didn't write. I don't think I'll be reading those.) I was late to The Mars Volta, and then had to discover the preceding band, At the Drive-In. Very late to 24. I got caught-up on that (five seasons' worth) just before this past season started. (And, well, I think I'm done with that show.) Now I'm working on The West Wing. Seven seasons -- three down, four to go. I could go on.

So I guess I (or anyone) shouldn't be surprised that I'm just now getting a blog. There are a few reasons I kept avoiding it. I'm lazy. I don't live an exciting life, unlike many I know (who already have blogs, so I can't steal their stories for my own, unfortunately). I don't know many (or even two) people who would be interested in what I might have to write about. But, as I said, I'm lazy, and, at least for this post, I'm avoiding a little work as I type. I just wish I had some clever idea, a unique way of blogging. A way to show what it's like being an awkward nerd like I am. But, alas, I am not the creative type. Darn right-brainers and their articulate...ness and ingenuity. (Thanks, m-w.com, I didn't want to use the word creative again, but couldn't come up with a synonym.)

I still don't know what this blog will be "about." I wonder if I ever will.