And Then There Was One

I have once again proven that water is an essential catalyst for most, if not all, interesting thoughts. While Stacey and I were washing the dishes and listening to the radio after dinner tonight, somehow our conversation wandered into the realm of solo artists. Specifically, the solo artists that were at one point in time in bands.

The song that sparked this discussion was "Plush" by Stone Temple Pilots. You remember them, right? Mid-nineties, top 40 rock stuff, along the same vein as Nirvana and Pearl Jam? The guys you don't hear about any more? Yea, those guys. Well, there's a reason you don't hear about them any more -- they have ceased to be. At least in that form. STP lead singer Scott Weiland stopped doing drugs, and from that moment on, in my humble opinion, STP started to go down-hill musically. The band split up, Robert and Dean DeLeo joined Richard Patrick (formerly of Nine Inch Nails and Filter) to form Army of Anyone, Scott did some solo stuff and sang for Velvet Revolver for a short time... but I digress. This isn't about the family tree of of the Seattle grunge scene . This is about folks who were in bands, then weren't. We came up with a handful. My request to you, faithful readers, is keep the list growing.

First off, there was every single Beatle. All of them. John, Paul, George, AND Ringo. Genesis had two solo branchers, Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins. Michael Jackson had a rediculously successful solo career post The Jackson Five, but we all know how THAT turned out. Beyoncé Knowles of Destiny's Child is still doing relatively well. Matchbox 20's Rob Thomas left the band and, fortunately, returned. I didn't like his solo work nearly as much. Pete Cetera (Yea, that's right, Pete. Not Peter. Pretentious douche.) did a handful of good things after his years with Chicago, but even so he's still more famous for his douets than his actual solo stuff I think.

That's all I have so far. Please, keep the list going. Include the artist, their former band, and which you like better.

Special thanks to Wikipedia for every single friggin' link. Even the self-referential one right there. w00t recursion!

The Fine Art of Procrastinatoring

One of my favorite singers, Jamie Cullum, has a wonderful song aptly titled "Why Do Today What You Can Do Tomorrow":

Heaven sent, are days like these
Here with you, snoozing in the breeze
Tomorrow leads, today won't interest me
Today I'll be procrastinatory

There's a lot to be said about wasting your time
I don't really care as long as someday you're mine
I don't know what I want
But I wish I knew about love

Why do today what you can do tomorrow
Why do today what you can do tomorrow

So come with me and we'll waste a day
Somewhere warm, somewhere far away
So vote for me, it really isn't that complex
My politics are of laziness

There's alot to be said about wasting your time
I don't really care as long as someday you're mine
I don't know what I want
But I wish I knew about love

Why do today what you can do tomorrow
Why do today what you can do tomorrow

So come with me and we'll waste a day
Somewhere warm and somewhere far away

Why is it that procrastinating is so appealing? I don't think it's necessarily because we are lazy. Perhaps it is due to today's overdriven, overscheduled, get-it-now kind of culture. Somehow, even with the aid of such powerful technology at our fingertips, we're all busier than ever. And we need some kind of release from that... just put it all off, if only for a little while. Hence, doing nothing but watching marathons of House Hunters, playing with the Wii, or perhaps just staring blankly out the window.

I don't think I need to mention that the reason I am even writing this post to begin with is because I am procrastinating.