I happen to live in a bumper sticker happy town. I myself have fallen victim to the trend. Although most of mine are political or Pearl Jam-related, I recently purchased a sticker from a local eatery. It reads "Don't Postpone Joy," the establishment's motto of sorts. It is not with a little irony that I placed it prominently on my rear bumper. I would NEVER postpone joy, if only I could find it! If you are having trouble finding your happy place, sometimes it's just best to go with the flow for a little while. Here are some suggestions for your soundtrack while you muck around on a not-so-joyous day.

• Just about anything from Pearl Jam's debut album "Ten," although I defy you to find a better written song than "Black." Don't limit yourself there, check out "Garden" and "Why Go" for more angst-driven musical anti-bliss.
• "A Change Is Gonna Come" originally recorded by Sam Cooke in 1964 then covered by the Gits in the 90's. The lyrics are especially poignant if you know the history of the Gits and the tragic, era-ending murder of incredibly gifted lead singer Mia Zapata.
• The Smiths, especially Morrissey, cornered the market on sadness and pessimism back in the 80's. "Unloveable" says it all. My fave Morrissey lyric is from "How Soon Is Now?" It goes a little something like this: There's a club if you'd like to go/You could meet somebody/Who really loves you/So you go and you stand on your own/And you leave on your own/And you go home, and you cry/And you want to die. Classic.
• Another cover, but for my money an improvement on the original--Johnny Cash's version of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt." Certainly the video helped to hammer home the themes of isolation and loss. Coming from the Man In Black, the lyrics are heavy with the weight of a long, soon-to-be-over life.

That's a short list. Listen, cry, repeat. Then brush yourself off and go find some joy.

Welcome Black Clouds!

On a whim, I decided to begin blogging like thousands of other people. I didn't want to start until I had some idea for a theme. Inspiration struck, as it often does, at the height of drunkenness. In the light of day, the idea still seemed pretty sound, so here I go!

The purpose of my blog is to create a refuge for those who need shelter from the "Positivity Storm" that rages on the Internet, on bookshelves, and in the studios of a hundred TV talk shows. I'm a fan of positive thinking, I just don't believe happiness is every one's natural state. Some of us simply see the glass as half-empty. There are people out there telling us otherwise, selling their recipes for success and making millions doing it. They would have us believe we can think ourselves happy, wealthy, and prosperous. I believe accepting our natural penchant for pessimism is healthier than constantly comparing ourselves to our joyous counterparts.

That's it. The premise of this blog is to be okay with not being happy all the time. It's counter culture, baby.