Music therapy

Sean and Duncan Get A Lesson From The One-Armed Drummer

by Bill Brenner April 30, 2011 Children's issues

It started with Sean and Duncan doing what they usually do in the car — taunting each other. Sean told Duncan he has ADHD. Duncan didn’t like that. Mood music: The fact of the matter is that we don’t know what Duncan has yet. He’s too young for an accurate diagnosis. Like everyone else, he has his challenges to overcome, and we’re working with him on it. Clearly, one of my weekend tasks is to…  [Read More]

Lies Of The Not-So-Beautiful People

by Bill Brenner March 31, 2011 Communication Skills

I’ve been hooked this week on the new Sixx A.M. song “Lies of the Beautiful People.” The video includes a lot of the photography that inspired the upcoming album and book, “This is Gonna Hurt.” Note: The videos below, when you click on them, will direct you to watch on YouTube. Please do, since you have to see it to get the point of this post. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxMHtjQW6ZQ&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0] In interviews, Nikki Sixx describes his passion…  [Read More]

How I Can Be Happy Despite Myself

by Bill Brenner March 29, 2011 Addiction

I see a lot of moody people out there on Facebook and Twitter these days. Though I try not to put random complaints on my wall, my darker moods often come across in this blog. But in the big picture, I’ve found ways to be generally happy despite myself. Mood music: Allow me to share. But first, a couple acknowledgements: 1.) I stole this post’s title from somewhere. 2.) I readily admit that despite what…  [Read More]

Change Is Pain, But Not Impossible

by Bill Brenner March 28, 2011 Addiction

Last night’s 12-Step meeting reminded me of just how hard real change is. I used to measure change by who won the next election. I’ve realized that the only real change that matters is within myself. Naturally, it’s the hardest, most brutal kind of change to achieve. Mood music: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqkxDgCIsOw&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0] Last night’s AA Big Book reading focused on steps 8, 9 and 10: 8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and…  [Read More]

Sean and Duncan Discover The Pixies — And More

by Bill Brenner March 25, 2011 Children's issues

I’m in the long car line in front of the kids’ school this morning. Stuck in park, I put in The Pixies Greatest Hits. The intro to “The Bone Machine” fills the car and I start drumming on the steering wheel. Mood music: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJfCIQHwQT8&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0] “Dad, how did you get so good?” Sean asks. I’m not very good, but to an almost 10-year-old it doesn’t take much to impress. “I dunno. I guess it comes…  [Read More]

The Saugus, Mass. Crowd

by Bill Brenner March 25, 2011 Lessons from the past

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the circle of friends I used to hang out with in Saugus, Mass., the town next to my home turf of Revere. Mood music: I’ve recently been back in touch with some of the friends from those days, and it reminds me of a few regrets I’ve carried over the years. Saugus was as much a home to me as Revere for the simple reason that my father’s…  [Read More]

We Were Cool Kids

by Bill Brenner March 24, 2011 Coping tools

I’m not sure how it started. I guess I was just looking for some old background music while I worked. Next thing you know, I’m listening to this: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQMwY66HdLk&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0] That’s right. Kix. Those of you who are familiar with this band will think of songs like “Don’t Close Your Eyes” and “Blow My Fuse.” Those came off the one platinum album they were able to muster in the late 1980s. Once they went platinum,…  [Read More]

Boston Rock: A History of Survival

by Bill Brenner March 21, 2011 Coping tools

My friends from the local band Pop Gun have finally put some performance video online. Listening to it takes me to a happy place, when life was tough but Boston-based rock kept me sane and strong. Boston has always been fertile ground for rock n roll. The obvious comes in the form of Aerosmith, The Cars and Godsmack (the latter actually has roots in my home turf — the Merrimack Valley). But the lesser-known bands…  [Read More]

Tension Mounts, On With The Body Count

by Bill Brenner March 7, 2011 Addiction

My editing background noise this afternoon is the first album from Body Count, the metal band with Ice-T on vocals. Some of it is uncomfortable to listen to. But, truth be told, I absolutely adored this album back in 1992. Mood music: Listening to it now, I shake my head at the liberal use of the N-word. I hate that word. But because an African American was singing it, the 22-year-old me thought it was…  [Read More]

Crohn’s Disease and Metallica

by Bill Brenner March 4, 2011 Coping tools

Yesterday was the 25th anniversary of Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” album. Which reminds me: It’s nearly the 25th anniversary of my last major attack of Crohn’s Disease. Mood music: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQbPqINoSlc&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0] It might seem bat-shit crazy of me to intertwine these two things, but the fact is that the “Master of Puppets” album is probably what helped me get through that attack. That, and the book “Helter Skelter.” I read that book twice as I…  [Read More]

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