Get Outta Town May 21
I’ve got a lot to rant about today, so I’ll jump right in. This past week wasn’t one of my best – sometimes even a boring person like myself finds himself overwhelmed with drama.
Ok, nothing was really that bad…they were truthfully little more than annoyances. But everyday there seemed to be something new.
I’ll refrain from babbling about the work-related problems such as the reappearance of someone from my past at one of my stores, or the middle-aged spinster stirring up trouble at another. No, we’ll talk only about my sad, despressing life.
The misery started shortly after I left the KRRO studio last Wednesday morning when I received a message on my cell phone from my buddy Cade. It seems that some a certain little beauty queen wasn’t too happy with last week’s rant against stupid girls. For a brief time, I actually felt a little bad…maybe I had crossed the line when I sent the would-be television personality packing.
But then the emails started pouring in from people whose paths had crossed with the dark-haired diva-in-training. One that caught my interest was from an actor/writer/producer of a certain locally-produced late-night comedy. They had received a similar wrath without even mentioning her name. On one of their telecasts they had made a little crack about a crappy country video show, and she was not happy. She was going to get them fired; her clients were going to pull their ads; they were going to have their testicles tore off; etc. Ok, that last one was an exaggeration, but you get the idea.
So this week I’ll say to hell with her. Sorry, babe, but when you’re in the media not everyone is going to love you. You’re cute as hell, but prima donna attitudes don’t fly in a small city such as ours. Just ask a certain KSFY anchor with a well-known love of alcohol.
On to the next subject. I think everyone knows that I’m a collector…not just of music but movies, tv shows, and all other sorts of pop culture. I’ve got a pretty massive collection of CD’s, DVD’s, magazines, and video tapes. I’m such a fanatic that I truly believe that new release day, Tuesday, should be a national holiday for everyone but record and video store clerks.
I’m also very impatient. If I want something, I want it now. That’s where my downloading habits come into play. If something’s not available, I’ll download it. That’s how I came into owning a copy of every single concert of Paul Westerberg’s 2002 tour. That’s how I obtained the entire second season of the Osbournes. They’re not out yet and I have to have them. When and if they are released I’ll buy them.
In recent weeks, my computer has been running non-stop capturing copies of some of the current blockbuster movies. I found Rob Zombie’s movie a few weeks ago, and I also recently made copies of X-Men 2 and the Matrix Reloaded.
Now keep in mind that these copies are, at best, video-tape quality. And the theaters still get my hard-earned cash as either I or my son still go to see them on the big screen. I just can’t wait until Christmas to watch it in my home.
Last week, I made a stupid error. X-Men 2 had been a long-running topic on my message board (shudson.hyperboards2.com) so I offered burned copies of this flick to my friends. Thursday I was checking my email and found a threatening letter from the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America). Somehow they had found my messageboard and concluded that I was “offering unauthorized product”. Supposedly I am now being investigated and they claim they’re contacting my provider to shut my site down. Yes, Big Brother is watching!
Finally, I received a call from my son on Thursday night. Every summer we go to a couple of concerts. Usually, it’s one somewhat current act and the other is a legend. Two years ago the legend was Bob Dylan and the current acts were a REM/Wilco pairing. Last year it was Paul Westerberg and Green Day/Blink 182. Alec called me after discovering that the White Stripes were signed to play in St. Paul on July 3. After doing my own research, I discovered that there was an internet pre-sale on Friday at 10. Coincidently, there was also a Tom Petty pre-sale at the same time.
So I signed up to the Tom Petty fan club and got the presale password. Further investigation came up with the White Stripes password. On Friday morning, I sat down and first went after White Stripes tickets. But the tickets were general admission so I could have waited. I then went after Tom Petty and was sort of happy to receive 22nd row.
The next day tickets went on sale to the public for Petty. One of my employees somehow got first row tickets; another friend got second row. Although I’m happy for those people, and I’m not saying I deserve their seats, but a question immediately comes to mind. What is the purpose of fanclub presales? Isn’t the purpose of these programs to reward the hardcore fans with some of the best tickets?
One more quirk in the Petty saga. I have a friend who currently lives in Malaysia (seriously) and he’s the biggest Petty fan in the world. Scary, I know. He was planning on coming home for a visit this summer, and when it was announced that Petty’s tour was opening in Sioux Falls, he moved up his travel plans. He also jumped on the presale and came up with tickets similar to mine. As a lark, he started snooping around for better tickets. A ticket scalping company in Los Angeles had front row seats to our show! How the hell did they get those? Did the line at the Arena have some less than scrupulous purchasers? Are the promoters lining their pockets? Or is this another Clear Channel scam? Remember, they run the facility. Inquiring minds want to know.
So that’s three days in the boring life of Scott Hudson. No social life, no beautiful babes sharing my bed, but lots of rage against imaginary machines. But Johnny Rotten once sang, “anger is an energy”. I guess I’m a pretty energetic guy.

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