Mom, I'm ALT!

Since I have daily discussions about ALT and being ALT with friends, co-workers and basically anyone I come into contact with, I figured what could possibly be more ALT than blogging about the things I do, think about, music I'm listening to, etc. This was all a though as my I was on my way to the MET after having just come from the Guggeheim. (ALT!)

In case this isn't completely clear, ALT is a shortened form of the word ALTERNATIVE. This term became popular with the rise of ALTERNATIVE music such as Pearl Jam, Nirvana and the Smashing Pumpkins. Along with ALTERNATIVE music came the popularity of an ALTERNATIVE way of living. This includes wearing certain clothes, liking certain ALT movies; the term ALT lent itself more to the way one acts and lives, and wasn't merely just a genre of music. Here is my journey into what is ALT, hope you enjoy the ride!

Here is how my day went, let's see if I was ALT today.

Woke up with a hangover (getting wasted is sometimes ALT, depends on what you were doing while getting wasted)
Finished the last episode of the Wire, which I got from Netflix (Netflix is definitely ALT)
Bought $20 shoes from Payless (Payless is almost the same as the Goodwill or Salvation Army...ALT!)
Got coffee from Starbucks (Coffee is ALT, but Starbucks is totally corporate, NOT ALT)
Went to the El Greco to Picasso exhibition at the Guggenheim (Do I even need to explain this? ALT)
Went to get coffee at the MET cafe, but it wasn't open yet cause they were getting ready for dinner. We were impatient, so we left. (So ALT!!)
Came back to Astoria (not ALT yet, but one day) went to our local Mom & Pop video store which carries Indie flicks and has a Gay and Lesbian section and a huge Foreign Section (ALTTTT!) Rented the following movies:
Hannibal (mainstream, but not really sure, lots of gore, possibly ALT)
Vanilla Sky (semi-ALT)
Legend (definitely ALT)
MEMENTO (come on!)
Went to the grocery store (this could be MAIN or ALT, but since we went on a Saturday, ALT)
Bought Soy protein fake meat (just call me Eddie Vedder!)
Cooked dinner, watched movies, drank alcohol and blogged about it (that takes the cake.)

It's official...I'm ALT!

While at the Guggenheim, I discovered a great artist, who I'm going to do some research on and learn more about. His name is Francisco de Zurbarán. The painting that I thought was his best was called Saint Francis of Assisi. In the painting a monk is holding a skull. And as we all know, skulls are ALT!! There were also some really great Dali and Picasso paintings, along with Miro. ALT, ALT ALT!

Check it out:



Here's what music I've been into lately:

Captain- This is Hazelville



You can't get this at Insound yet, but hopefully soon. These guys are great and totally came out of nowhere! They are definitely ALT! Click here for their Myspace page. Someone made a reference to Hum, but I don't really see that. The best comparision I can think of is a brit-poppy version of this band, The Information. The Information is a band from Boston. You can check them out here. Since most people don't know who the hell The Information are I guess my description sucks. Oh well, Enjoy!