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i've always loved the fourth. growing up, we of the schukar family embraced the holiday wholeheartedly. last night, i biked around my neighborhood and found mary kate, here, and her family who seemed to take the fourth with as much pomp and circumstance as we did as kids. it made me all kinds of nostalgic.
my fourth wasn't full of very much activity, but in the end, it was just right. you see, i had a lousy start to the evening. such a particular kind of lousy, in fact, that it's not even worth going into. at 730, however, my friend johnny perez managed to turn it all around. you see, he called me and left the following voicemail: if you click on these words, you'll be taken to an externally-hosted mp3 of awesomeness.
here's the transcription for those of you who don't want to follow the mp3 of awesomeness:
"hey, alyssa. this is wayne from the flaming lips, and johnny and a couple of his friends are holding me hostage in my dressing room and said that if i don't talk to you, they're going to beat the living sh*t out of me. so...i hope you're having a good day and slap him when you get a chance. ok. bye."
i can still remember the moment in the summer of 2000 when i heard the flaming lips for the first time. enthralled doesn't even begin to explain. the flaming lips' "the soft bulletin" is to this day one of my top ten albums. and what makes me giddy about the phone call doesn't even have to do with how much of a rock star wayne coyne is. it delights me because it reminds me of why i appreciate the flaming lips. their mantra seems to be one of happiness and positivity, which is rare and incredibly worth bearing in mind at all times.
for further awesomeness, please consider the following links:
flaming lips myspace
flaming lips documentary "fearless freaks"
"do you realize" music video
and purchase "the soft bulletin"