The Justin Bieber Fad

Using Justin Bieber in a short story for an English class was a slight miscalculation on my part. I don't know if I've been immune to the "Bieber-fever" all this time, or if I've become hyper-sensitive to anything that has to do with  him, but every time I turn around, he's there.

 I walk out to the cafeteria and girls talk about Justin Bieber. 

I click onto my Youtube home page, and oh, look - J. Biebs released a new, slightly creepy, CGI Christmas music video.

I go down to the local drug store and there's an ad for his new perfume next to his smiling face in the makeup section.

I can't escape him; he's like Santa Claus; when the Christmas season come around, you have to work really hard to avoid the "Ho-ho-ho's" and large men wearing red suits. Only Bieber is all year long.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not one of those haters who believes that he eats babies and should throw himself off a skyscraper. But I'm not exactly a fan either. Let's face it; he sounds like a 10 year old and sings about making a girl wearing extremely tiny shorts feel good. There's something wrong with this picture. 

You know who reminds me of him? Aaron Carter, that kid who sang "I Want Candy" in the late 90's, early 2000's. I remember when my friends swooned at the thought of Aaron. Now I have to explain Aaron to puzzled people when I make the comparison. 

I'm sure the Justin Bieber fad will eventually fade. He's starting to go through puberty finally, and his voice is dropping, kind of like Aaron Carter at the end of his career.

My only question is, "Who's next?"

Strange Encounters of the Odd Kind

Today I learned a very important lesson: Always  put the cover on your saxophone mouthpiece when you're not using it.

Now, most people say that the cover helps protect the reed. I agree, but I would also add that it keeps people from putting your reed into their mouths.

Here's an explanation: 

My school's jazz band played at a local high school as a promotional stint for the music program, and during one of the breaks, I was outside with my saxophone, trying to stay out of the way while everyone moved chairs and music stands.

A boy in a red shirt ran over to me, and I thought, "Okay, cool, maybe he has questions about the school, my saxophone, or why the sky is blue."

He actually did have an interest in my sax - he grabbed it, put the mouthpiece in his mouth, then handed the sax back to me before doing a weird shuffle dance and fleeing.

This picture summed up my reaction: 

To put it in layman's terms, imagine that you're carrying your toothbrush around. Then a stranger walks up and uses it to brush his or her teeth before handing it back and running away.

Disgusting, right? It makes you want to throw away the toothbrush. Or at least scald it thoroughly with boiling hot water.

I managed to run the reed and mouthpiece through hot soap and water before playing again.

Ironically, he'll probably regret using my mouthpiece. 

I have the stomach flu.

*Edit* After I finished writing this blog, I checked my soaking mouthpiece and realized that I just submerged it in anti-cavity fluoride rinse, not mouthwash. So apparently now my saxophone is in no danger of needing fillings or having bad breath.