POINTERPOINT: It's True, Journey DOES Fucking Rule

well said, Lucas. to further your point, look around and ask yourself how many bands are rocking RIGHT NOW. really think about it. what type of rock is happening right now?

-stylized, repetitive, sharp, aloof Blazer-Rock (i mean that in a good way, as in Interpol--but not their derivatives)
-treble-heavy, energized, punk mutations are still kind of hanging on
-a kind of offshoot of Blazer-Rock with more makeup and more melody (The Killers)
-hella-rad orchestral, 20-person-band freakouts a la Arcade Fire and New Pornographers

i think those 4 broad categories pretty much sum up music being made right now in the genre of "rock." (i'm pretty oblivious to the radio so i could be totally wrong, but that's what i gather from the snippets of tv i see in public and the stuff my friends hand me.)

none of those genres--many of which describe bands i really like--NONE have anything on Journey in the way of pure, unadulterated rock & roll. as much as i like them, i guarantee you there will never be an Arcade Fire song to unite total strangers the way Don't Stop Believing does. the closest anyone's come to touching their legendary style is The Darkness, and even they couldn't squeeze out more than one hit song.

there's an arc most hits follow, wherein some will reach the height of their popularity long after radio play has ended. others will peak during radio saturation and then disappear into oblivion. the thing that continually amazes me about Journey is that they've consistently stayed at the top of that arc. Separate Ways will make you stop what you're doing and pump your fist the EXACT same way it made some chick in 1983 drop her cokestraw and pump her fist when it played on the local top 40's station.

Journey. hands-down greatest rock band of the 70's and 80's. POINT-POINTERPOINT.

POINT: Journey Fucking Rules.

Okay, I'll say it. I mean, somebody has to. I know who the best rock band of the 70's and 80's was.

I was listening to the radio the other day and "Wheel in the Sky" by Journey came on, and I thought to myself, Now this is a fucking great song. It's got this awesome hook and this powerful rhythm section thing going on, and vocals that sound like a majestic eagle swooping down onto the back of a fierce and mighty panther, and the two of them rushing off together to fight crime on the streets of Detroit to keep the citizens safe from worry.

And then I thought something else. This isn't even Journey's best song. Not even close. Not even by a long shot. I mean, there's "Open Arms," there's "Faithfully," there's "Any Way You Want It" and frat-house favorite "Don't Stop Believin'," not to mention my personal favorite, the explosive, profound "Separate Ways." There's a whole canon of material that rocks as hard today as it did the day it was recorded.

No. Even fucking harder.

What other band has a catalog that consistent and that intense? Is there another band whose fourth or fifth best song rivals the best from the other bands of their era? "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" puts to shame the best of Foreigner and Boston, and "Who's Crying Now" can hang with "Crazy Train" and "Here I Go Again" at the same time, not to mention pretty much anything written since.

This isn't to say that Journey could hang with Elvis Costello and Jackson Browne (they can't), or that if Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings were playing across the street from Journey I would go see Journey (I wouldn't), but if I had to pick only one rock band from the 70's and 80's to ever listen to again, well, let's just say I'd know exactly who it'd be.

I mean, see what I mean?

POINTERPOINT: I completely agree.

POINTERPOINT: Fuckin' A right, Erni!

Wow, Erni. Seriously. I could NOT have said that better myself. I mean, exactly.

I think lots of people just want to argue for the sake of hearing themselves talk, and that's childish. I say we just let those people go about thinking they're right, and we'll just take the high road and enjoy our own personal happiness.

Seriously, you're brilliant. You inspire me. That point was so eloquent and well-stated. I can't find a single flaw within it.

You should write a fucking book.

POINT: Sometimes it's better to be happy than right

POINT: Sometimes it's better to be happy than right

There comes a moment during an argument with a friend, loved one, family member, or homeless guy on the street where you realize that you're no longer arguing for the sake of truth. Our minds build up a resistance over the course of an argument which enforce a different priority than the one we started with: Being Right. Gaining an admission from our opposition that they are incorrect generally becomes the reason for persisting after it's become apparent to outside observers that the two people arguing will never truly agree.

That's when you should concede, give up, let go.

"But isn't that compromising, Erni? Isn't that the very thing you rail against to a point of stubborn idiocy?" Nope, and I'll tell ya why: Because you don't have to really believe the person's right to say they are. If you're not arguing about an issue that's going to cause irreparable damages to your relationship, it really doesn't matter in the long run.

Example 1: Say I'm a raging lunatic who believes that dogs should be allowed in every single place people are, and decide to take my dog into every establishment I enter, thus compromising the safety and hygeine of the general public. And let's say you are my significant other who spends hours on end getting thrown out of restaurants and waiting for me to finish protesting for my cause : IRREPARABLE DIFFERENCE. (For the record, deep down I'd love to protest for that cause, but I realize there's a 99% chance it's a losing battle.)

Example 2: Say, however, I'm a raging lunatic who believes that maybe, just maybe, being gay is not a sin against the great spirit in the sky, whereas you, my significant other, believe it's a serious offense. This could be a problem for 2 reasons: 1. one of us is gay. clearly not a problem (although ye who know my track record may beg to differ). 2. one of us is a violent activist, seeking out conservatives and smiting them. if neither of these is the case, it's kind of a moot point. get it?

so what am i saying? drop it. at some point it becomes inane to have anxiety attacks worrying about this difference of opinion. in most successful close relationships, there are no major issues (religion, lifestyle, football) about which two people have such major disagreements that they can't get along. every thing else just isn't worth your time and energy spent worrying. just let stuff go and be happy kids.

Welcome!

It sure is too bad that you're not Luke or Erni. Because we're the only ones here whose takes on life actually matter.

This is a neuvo-chic version of a classic Point-Counterpoint format. Here Luke or myself will attack an issue with voracion, and the other will immediately hype the shit out of that post while giving further evidence that we are both correct, and you will take it.

Why? Because this is Point-Pointerpoint. An experiment in social psychology as seen through the eyes of the two most correctest people alive.

Welcome, bitches.