Maybe Don't Celebrate This One

The three men in the picture to the left are former NHL player and analyst Jeremy Roenick, current New York Rangers forward Brendan Lemieux, and Brett Roenick, Jeremy's son. While Jeremy has come under fire for his comments on a popular podcast that led to his dismissal from NBC Sports and Brendan Lemieux's attachment to the MAGA crowd has raised eyebrows for fans across the continent, Brett Roenick hasn't really been on anyone's radars. He played hockey for the University of San Diego where he was the captain before moving into the General Manager role for the ACHA Division-II team, but he's kept his name out of the news for the most part.

Today, however, Brett Roenick's name surfaced on a rather questionable website for what he's been doing during quarantine. Breitbart, the far-right news outlet that was formerly headed by Steve Bannon and often referenced by the current President of the United States, ran the story on Brett Roenick today on how he's trying to start up a music career while he's been at home with ongoing pandemic. We'll talk about his music in a second, but I'm not certain that agreeing to do this story for this site was a good idea by any means when one considers exactly what is happening in the United States of America right now. I know I criticized Jeremy Roenick for not thinking, but it seems that gene has been passed on in the genetic code that makes up his son as well.

I've heard the adage that "the worst part about talked about is not being talked about", but seeing both Jeremy and Brett celebrate this publication publicly on social media makes me wonder if either of them can read the room at all. We're seeing protests against the systemic injustices that have and are happening in the United States while right-wing pundits are calling for further incarcerations and arrests of those who are protesting, and we have a prominent white hockey player celebrating that his son was featured in a right-wing news publication.

Maybe just let this one fly under the radar for a while?

The medium is one thing, but there are some rather interesting statements made in the article that I forced myself to read. For example, as per Kevin Scholla, "[s]omething to do during quarantine has turned into something to be proud of" according to the writer, and I guess that if it's kept him busy that's a good thing since it seems that he's not going to follow in dad's footsteps.

"'I will be a men's leaguer for life,' Roenick told Breitbart Sports."

According to the article, Roenick goes by the name "B. Roe" as a musician, and he just released his first album on Friday under the title "Coasting". All the songs on the album were written by Roenick, citing current musicians Justin Bieber, Mac Miller, and J. Cole as his inspirations for his music. In knowing that, maybe I should cut him a little slack, right?

You can hear a bunch of his work over on his Soundcloud page, and I have to admit that while he has some talent, I'm not a fan. I'm no music critic, but I know what I like. And, if I'm being completely objective, there's not a lot that I like here. I did go in with an open mind in the hopes that I'd find something I like, but I can't say that I did.

For those who want to write music versus producing music, I'm not sure how much "writing" goes into finding an electronic beat and a pre-produced melody and fusing them together, but there isn't much to write home about when it comes to the music on his Soundcloud page. Lyrically, he does a fine job in working within the music and none of the rhymes come off as awkward or forced, but if you weren't listening to the lyrics specifically it's a monotone track that has nothing that catches your ear musically. Of all the tracks, "Serenity" might be the best of what's been uploaded, and it would get lost on most playlists because of its cookie-cutter sound.

What made me laugh is that the article explicitly states that "Roenick insists this isn't his bread and butter" which makes me wonder why this article was even published in the first place. As Roenick told Scholla, "I am currently planning to go work for a branding company" and "I have no intention on doing this for a career", so why spend the time talking about his music when he's not even pursuing this as a career? If this is to just fill space on the website, congrats on a job... done.

I wish Brett success in whatever field he finds, but getting his hobby highlighted on a right-wing website seems like the dumbest thing that one can do in these rather explosive times. If he was trying to make a name for himself in the music industry, I get that having anything published about him is better than nothing, but he admittedly is not trying to make a name for himself nor is he even considering this as a career. If this appearance on the site is somehow related to Brett Roenick's politics, this will be the last time I'll talk about him. Guaranteed.

I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree when it comes to using one's head.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!