Exiled in Guyville

Best Albums of the Decade - an 'off the top of my head list'

2009-09-16T23:30:00.000-07:00

This is nowhere near complete, but since it's late in the night and I have insomnia, I might as well start throwing these out for my pick for 'albums of the decade' - I'm giving myself ten minutes to come up with as many entries as I can think of that will land in the Top 100 in no particular order. The other rule - don't think, just keep writing. Here goes...

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Outkast-Stankonia
Radiohead - Kid A
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Neko Case - Blacklisted
Beck - Sea Change
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
YeahYeahYeahs - Fever to Tell
Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake It's Morning
The White Stripes - White Blood Cells
Jay-Z - The Blueprint
Sleater-Kinney-The Woods
Kanye West - The College Dropout
Arcade Fire - Funeral
LCD Soundsystem-Sound of Silver
The Strokes-Is This It?
Tool - Lateralus
My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade
Yo La Tengo-And Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out
A.C. Newman-Get Guilty
Pulp - We Love Life
The New Pornographers-Twin Cinema
Drive-By-Truckers - The Dirty South
The Hold Steady - Separation Sunday
Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow
Lucinda Williams - World Without Tears
PJ Harvey - Stories From The City Stories From The Sea
Gorillaz-Demon Days
Eagle*Seagull - s/t
Bob Dylan - Love and Theft

Editor's note - 1:39 a.m. - wow...this is harder than I thought...

Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP
TV On the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Spoon - Kill the Moonlight
Tori Amos - Scarlet's Walk
Spoon - Gimmie Fiction
Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
Sigur Ros - ( )
The Shins - Oh Inverted World

Okay...that's all I could think of - I know there are tons more out there, but that's what I could think of at the top of my head on an early Thursday morning

Unemployment - 2 weeks in

2009-09-09T12:26:00.000-07:00

I'm listening to Titus Andronicus' The Airing of Grievances and nursing a coffee while searching for any company that will have me. I took a bit of time to work out yesterday and realized the wreckage a job can have on you. I'm not blaming the company, but it certainly fe...

Just got a call from a company - awesome! They're sending my information to the hiring manager. One step, but at least it's momentum.

Anyway -
I'm not blaming the company for my softness, but it certainly didn't help. Long hours at a desk with chairs not designed for sitting in for long hours does a major number on your back. Long hours also makes you more likely to want to sprawl in front of a couch and veg instead of doing some laps in the pool. The stress of wondering if you have a job or not does wonders on your diet as well - as I went from a 'cauliflower and broccoli-eating' unit to a 'organic sea salt and vinegar chips with a vodka tonic before bed' unit.

It didn't take me overnight to go from 225 to 165. Now I know it's going to take me awhile to go from 200 to about 175. A lot has happened though since that 225 weight. I was just out of college, filled with energy, vigor and even desperation. Now, settled into early middle-age, it takes a lot more to energize - and when you're energized, such as when I saw Neko Case in concert a few weeks ago, that euphoric momentum you left the concert with has a much shorter shelf life. And that euphoric momentum is so critical to drive you to blog, to write a cover letter that doesn't sound like the other 70 cover letters you've written and to track down any freelance writing chances you can get.

Can you be a catch and still be unemployed?

2009-08-24T07:40:00.001-07:00

I'm listening to Mos Def's The Ecstatic right now on my first day of unemployment. I know an earlier blog post said 'whack' - but I was actually moved to corporate and I did some administrative work for about two months. But yeah, it's official - this is my first day of unemployment.

The day so far: Got up about a half-hour later than my typical workday. Scheduled a dentist appointment before insurance goes. Curse at Nebraska Workforce's Web Site - an hour of registration only to be met with an 'Error' message after you click 'Submit' - apparently the site has been up since last Friday and is still going through some glitches.

Plans of the day - I have a few freelance projects to work on that I didn't get a chance to work on when I was working 60-hour weeks at the old job. Clean up my place and clean out my box of stuff from my desk. Take my dog on a few more walks than usual. Update my Netflix queue and go to Nebraska Workforce and register in person.

Two years ago, I read a gay-themed comic where one of the characters just wanted a "nice guy with a steady job and who isn't a psychotic." Unemployment is a definite turn-off. The only exception (for guys and girls) are those hot musicians who are great in the sack and are great philosophizers like Ethan Hawke's character in Reality Bites. Otherwise, it's a definite strike against you. But in this economy, are people cutting people a bit more slack?

I haven't been unemployed in 19 years. I'm 35 now. But still, the fact I'm 35 in the gay community is probably far more of a strike against me than the loss of a job. I'm not saying that's a sign to give up on the dating community, but it's definitely the norm.

Whack

2009-06-04T12:09:00.000-07:00

Well - at least I have something to write about.

I'm at the Blue Line Coffee House, drinking an espresso and eating a baguette with butter and jam, listening to Animal Collective Feels. Yesterday, I would have been at work, but I was let go. I now share the same pain as millions of Americans and tens of millions throughout the world. I've never been laid off before.

The speech I was given and the manner I was disposed of was sharp and quick. I was given less than four minutes to clean out my cube and I was told not to make a scene. There were signs. By chance, the last book I read was And Then We Came to the End. I was too stunned to make a scene. It was like the feeling you experience when you wake up after minor surgery.

Now comes this great, vast unknown. I have a condo that I can't sell in this market. I could rent it and move to an area in the country that's more accommodating, but if it doesn't get rented, I'm sunk. I'm envisioning myself in my PJs, searching out job tip sites and forming a greater appreciation of Matlock.

The biggest obstacle is 'the fear.' I see homeless people in my neighborhood and I keep thinking how close many are to that level of despair. I think 'a few months of missed condo payments and that could be you...' I think this is a great time to really focus on freelancing, but then I hear that the average professional freelancer makes $6,000 a year. That's awesome if I lived in Egypt. I think of the areas I would like to move to - this is the perfect excuse to get out of Omaha. Then I think of the money it's going to cost for just such an act. And not having a job in a strange area is never a good thing.

But all I can think about right now is how routines change when you don't have a job. I'm at the coffee house right now and I see students enjoying their summer off. I see people who drop in for a quick pick me up before their work shift begins. And on a few discussion boards, I never thought the phrase "anyway - gotta get back to work" would elicit such a response of longing and even jealousy from me.

I have some savings. I have plenty of CDs and food in the fridge to last a while. Here begins a new chapter in my life. There are things that every adult usually goes through...their first car crash, their first divorce and, of course, their first layoff. I'm hoping this is a brief journey of discovery.

Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out

2009-01-19T18:33:00.001-08:00

First off, happy MLK day all. It's fitting that on the same day we honor our greatest civil rights leader, the worst president in US history has his last day in office. I'm headed to Brothers to have a scotch for this occasion. I'm a tad disappointed I haven't seen too many (actually, none) 'Bush's last day' parties in Omaha.

I woke up to KFacistAB last week and I heard Jim "brown nose" Rose boasted that no one watches MSNBC and it sickened him how the media treated Bush as the spawn of Satan. What the hell did these people do with Clinton during his eight years in office? The hosts tried to say that Iraq was his only mistake and it may not be a mistake a few years down the road. So, in essence, we may see a bit of Truman with Rush...err - Bush.

The only thing is those 'other' mistakes:
Katrina
The economy (no, the President didn't cause the recession, but much of the regulation he was against could have prevented some of this disaster)
The desecration of our stance in the world
The pissing on the Constitution
The hiring of two major ideologues on the Supreme Court that favors big business over individual rights

Yet, like a drunk, loser brother or uncle, you want to cut the guy some slack. Maybe he'll come around... but then he turns around and gives another dickish reason why this guy's absense from the world state can't be soon enough.

Is Children of Men better than Blade Runner?

2008-11-16T20:47:00.001-08:00

First off - a special thanks to the Dundee theater for putting Children of Men on its midnight movie screening. I caught it Saturday/early Sunday with about 20 other patrons. I definitely put this movie in a different perspective than I did a few years ago - given the administration change. Still, virtually all of this movie takes place in the UK, not the U.S.

A few months ago, I caught the re-remastered Blade Runner at the Film Streams. I fell in love with the film in 1992 when I saw the director's cut at a discount theater in Lincoln, NE. But more than 15 years later, I saw a film that was basically a film noir mystery in the backdrop of a sci-fi world. But what a world it was.

Still, even with a greater sense of hope for our world, Children of Men still packs an emotional whallop on the big screen that still shakes me to my core.

In 15 years, who knows what people will say of Children of Men. Will it be regarded as well as Blade Runner? I can truly say it's better acted and written than Ridley Scott's film. But it will no doubt be less influential than Scott's film. Still, Alfonso Cuaron's film leaves me shaken like few other films this decade. The film wasn't nominated for best picture. That award went to The Departed. And though I celebrated that film's win, it goes without saying that in 15 years, that film's impact will not approach the impact of Children of Men. Kudos to the Dundee theater for bringing this moving back to the big screen for two nights.

What the hell is my blog about anymore?

2008-10-04T22:18:00.001-07:00

If I were a freelance blogger - I would be baffled about what exactly this blog has turned into. The original title was and still is 'Exiled in Guyville.' It still is about feeling like an exile in the gay AND straight community in the midwest. But like many reclusive, geeky bisexuals - I'm not a fan of talking about sex - even in the comfortable world of anonymity. It's not like it freaks me out. Hell, I just saw Choke last night and didn't flinch. It was worse than vulgar. It was boring.

But I got tired of writing about near dating experiences - about griping about the gay community in Omaha. I wanted to blog more about stuff I truly cared about - like music, books, politics - life in general. Which is I guess sort of the whole point of the bisexual thing - I really don't want that to be the focal thing that defines me to people.

Hence - the infrequency of the posts. I'm just trying to figure out where to go next. Us bisexuals are a restless bunch. Many of us (myself included) may be intensely monogamous - but restless in the sense of not being satisfied with their current position in life.

One thing I would like to write about is what happened during the debates. I was watching it at one of the bars in Omaha. I struck up a conversation with a guy. An immensely cute, 30-ish, intelligent, somewhat guarded transplant from Denver. It was one of those great conversations where after the debate, both of us instinctively opted to go to a quieter place and continue our conversation for another hour and a half.

There were lots of "can I ask you a question..." "I don't say this to everyone..." type of segways. And absolutely no scripting - e.g. ice breakers you use - you know they are lines - but you almost have to use them if absolutely no conversation is flowing but you want to get to know this person better - so you're forced to use them - just to keep the conversation flowing and keep him/her interested (see "so...what are you studying?" "where do you work?" "how long have you lived in Omaha?").

I couldn't stop looking into his eyes - it was then I knew I was in trouble. I've been single for about a year and have gone on about 3 dates in that year. Now I find someone I've clicked with - to me - almost on a magnetic level. We're having coffee tomorrow. I know he got to me when certain songs - both edgy and corny started to run through my head and take on another meaning entirely (such as Bonnie Raitt's "Feeling of Falling" and The Replacements' "Valentine" - from Rhino's reissue of Pleased to Meet Me). I praise this development in my life because it comes at a time where music - no matter how good - just wasn't having an impact for me. It was just background material to the soundtrack of a guy who was frustrated at gaining 30 pounds over the year partly due to a back injury, partly due to overwork. Then, suddenly - you have certain feelings reawakened - and music starts to actually have an impact again. You start to relate to the artist - what Jarvis Cocker was thinking when he wrote "Sylvia" or what Lucinda Williams was going through when she wrote "Essence."

But the guarded part of me is starting to appear - just in time. I keep reminding myself I haven't even gone out on a date with this guy. I still have to go through the coffee meeting - the preseason of dating. Having coffee is a cheap way of determining whether or not a person is worthy of an actual date - where dressing up and money is invested in a person. I keep thinking of PJ Harvey. Will the next week put me in the Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea mood, where a person known for singing about heartbreak finds love in a new setting, but doesn't sacrifice much of what made her PJ Harvey? Or will a series of "I don't want to tie myself down" and "Well, you have my email..." put me in a Rid of Me or To Bring You My Love mood?

Gay, straight, bisexual - every single folk out there will hopefully have that one initial spark with someone - who within 30 minutes of conversation - you could just see yourself with them - maybe not your entire life - but definitely for a long time. And at the same time, knowing the terrible fear of plunging off the deep end to someone who may not be recripocating those feelings. But you have to find out. So - here goes the biggest challenge - putting all of that shit aside and getting that exact person to have dinner with you.

If I was to select a doctor the way the Right tells me how I should select a president

2008-09-01T12:20:00.000-07:00

First and foremost, I would want a doctor who was not an 'elitist.' Before I look at things like "credentials" - I would want to make sure I could have a beer with this doctor after my procedure.

I would also want the doctor to be devoutly religious. Preferably born-again. And despite my doctor's constant exposure to "science" - I would want to make sure he or she believed in Creationism.

OK - those two big things are out of the way. Let's keep going.

I would want a doctor who would not waver. If a new study comes out, saying a certain drug is known to have harmful side effects, I would want my doctor to be steadfast in his or her belief that the drug prescribed to me will help me. Regardless of the adverse effects. Any second-guessing of his prescriptions is a sign of weakness. No flip-flopping on diagnosis either - even if new tests come out.

Speaking of come out. No homos. That should go without saying. I'd be afraid of what would happen to me when I'm unconscious during surgery.

Finally, I want a doctor who has pride in the hospital he or she works. You say another hospital can do a certain task better? Nonsense. I hate doctors who do not have pride in their own hospital. Their hospital is the best at everything. From the cafeteria to burn treatment to cancer screenings - the hospital I go to is the best. End of story.

Barack Obama - This is what you have to deal withd

2008-08-26T19:08:00.000-07:00

August sucked for Obama. And McCain hasn't even really hit that hard. He doesn't need to. There's all this talk about how Obama is beating McCain in fundraising, but who needs fundraising when one party (the Republican party) has pretty much an entire AM radio format for free advertising. You can flood radio with 30-second ads for Obama - but you still have to deal with three hour blocks of Limbaugh, Hannity, Ingram, O'Reilly and Savage.

In addition, anti-Obama books are flooding the New York Times bestseller list. Even if they are preaching to the choir, where the hell are the anti-McCain books?

I'm watching the Democratic convention right now and Michelle Obama is saying Americans are tired of "red meat" and they want something more substantive. I wish I could believe that. Face it, negative sells. No matter how positive a campaign's message is, when it comes down to the last few weeks and the race is tight, it always resorts to negative.

It must work because currently, Obama and McCain are tied in polls conducted by CNN. By now, due to Bush's popularity ratings, Obama should have an easy road to the White House. The reality shows another story entirely. Ads linking Obama to terrorists, constantly questioning his patriotism and even his food choices (since when the fuck did liking arugula become a crime?) are being attacked - and the "news" of these attacks are landing on CBS, NBC and ABC - which equates to even more free air time for the anti-Obama attack machine. Who cares if most of the attacks are hyperbole? The moment it lands on the news, you're guilty in the eyes of most of the public.

Rolling Stone had a decent article about how Bush ruined the Republican Party in its latest issue. I won't believe that statement until Election Night. A McCain win pretty much right now equates to an American endorsement of Bush's last eight years in office.

2008 - The Summer Where My Cinematic Cynicism Melted

2008-07-28T18:44:00.000-07:00

Your age is most likely going to affect your judgment of the crop of summer movies. I'm 34 - and for a good portion of this decade, I thought the crop of summer movies were absolute crap with the exception of one or two decent crowd pleasers (see Spiderman 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). For me, each crop of summer movies had to measure up against two years in summer movie yore: 1984 and 1989. 1984 gave us Ghostbusters, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Gremlins. 1989 gave us Batman (which nearly all summer blockbusters since then have attempted to replicate in terms of crass marketing), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Lethal Weapon 2. OK, Temple of Doom sucked, but as a fourth grader, the heart-ripping scene was totally badass.

Years change, tastes become more refined and cynicism serves as a great bullshit detector when the big blockbusters come rolling out and asking you for $8.50 plus another $10 for a small soda and a small popcorn. But this year is different. It's like what 1967 or 1977 was for music. Folks - we are currently experiencing the greatest crop of summer movies...ever. And audiences deserve nearly as much praise as the filmmakers and actors.

It started off with Iron Man - a hugely entertaining movie where the director went for talent rather than popularity or "big name draw" for a leading role.

Then came Wall-E. Even if you didn't care for the not so subtle "big business bad - sincerely Pixar - partially owned by Disney" message, it was a marvel to look at and in a time where everyone is saying kids are suffering from rampant ADD - having a movie that was virtually dialogue free for nearly 45 minutes is a feat worth celebrating.

Then Batman came - and Jesus - did it come with a vengeance. It looks like it's going to breeze by the ghastly Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and the just as bad Shrek 2 for box office gross.

So, we have three great movies, but even the lesser ones have been great. Hellboy 2 was stellar. And regardless of what your opinions of the series are, Sex in the City was no better or worse than an average episode, which is usually funnier than most comedies out there.

The only real piece of cinematic trash that cleaned up was Indiana Jones, proving that you can still market a movie that absolutely no one likes to $300 mill.

Audiences have more to look forward to. Barring a major disappointment, Pineapple Express looks like a sure lock for best comedy of the summer. And if it's written as well as previous Apatow projects, it'll mean four blockbusters that didn't stoop to the usual dumbness (e.g. fart jokes and gay jokes) of most comedies.

Just as surprising as the quality, audiences have stepped up as well, kicking well deserved turkeys like The Love Guru and Speed Racer to the curb.

Most summers, you'd be lucky to get a film with the quality of an Iron Man or definitely one Dark Knight. This year, we've had about four. Enjoy this year folks - chances are you won't see another crop like this for a good 20 or so odd years.

Jesse Jackson - Dumbass of the week

2008-07-10T18:01:00.000-07:00

I'm still trying to wrap my head around this.
You were one of the instrumental movers in the Civil Rights movement. You were a presidential contender.

And someone - you thought if you were utter that you'd like to cut Barack Obama's nuts off on FOX NEWS - even with the mike off - the people at FOX would not hear that and jump all over that statement.

Brilliant -

Jesse Helms

2008-07-07T17:53:00.001-07:00

I guess I abide to that typical adage that you shouldn't speak ill of the dead. So...Jesse Helms is dead. That's it -

No, wait -
I guess I should credit Helms for at least alerting me of my sexuality. I remember watching his rants against Robert Mapplethorpe and "sick homosexuals" "when I was a teenager. Of course, I scoffed at the images of a cross soaked in urine and a bullwhip up someone's ass - but when Helms made his remarks about gays - it cut. I winced, not knowing really why as I was still trying to get girls to go out with me.

But it's not just gays that Helms targeted. Throughout much of his career, his deftly dodged his bigotedness. Running an ad where a pair of white hands crumple a rejection letter because he lost his job to "a minority." He joked that he was going to make Carol Mosley Braun, the first African American woman elected to the Senate "I'm going to sing 'Dixie' until she cries."

Republican reaction has been mixed. Senator McCain had probably the best response of the high-profile lot: "At this time, let us remember a life dedicated to serving this nation."

The further right on the Republican spectrum, the more glowing the obits. George W. Bush said "Throughout his long public career, Senator Jesse Helms was a tireless advocate for the people of North Carolina, a stalwart defender of limited government and free enterprise, a fearless defender of a culture of life, and an unwavering champion of those struggling for liberty." Well...excluding those pinko Communist civil rights advocates of the '60s.

Right-wing gasbag Rush Limbaugh, high off of his own cover story in the New York Times magazine, had the stones to compare Helms to Lincoln and Adams. Why? Because he spoke his mind and didn't back down from what he believed was true. If you're a bigoted homophobe, should that trait of stubbornness really be celebrated? I've been to enough funerals for people who just plain weren't good people. Some abused their kids. Some were racists. Some were simply assholes. All shared the same phrase at the funeral: "At least you know where you stood with ." I would put Helms in that category.

Omaha Pride recap 2008

2008-06-22T17:18:00.000-07:00

So, another Pride has come to an end. And so far, I've heard no positive things about the event. Because it was held at Lewis and Clark landing, people complained about the lack of parking. Other people, single people, hate it because they call it a total meat market.

For years, I was in that boat. But no more.
I already know what the night Pride festivities are like. Overpriced beer, entertainment that's not my cup of tea and lots of people looking for the hookup. So I opted to go in the afternoon. It's free - and I had a chance to catch the action going on at the booths.

I stopped by the Human Rights Campaign booth, the Obama campaign booth (I'm a sucker for politically active gay geek boys) and Front Runners (a group that runs/walks together twice a week). I kept thinking about how I badmouth Pride for so many years while these volunteers pretty much gave up their Saturday and a few other days to set up their booths). A lot of these booths are great sources of information and add some substance to what many see as a day "where the homos parade down the street in leather chaps, waving rainbow flags." So...for those who read this - and who volunteer - thanks for doing what you do.

Second item -
I adopted a ten-year-old weimaraner. He's at home on my couch, he digs Pulp and is an all-around cool-ass pup. I don't expect this dog to cause me 'to break out of my shell and find a mate' or become a better person. He needed a place to retire - I needed a low-key dog who is as comfortable on the couch as he is running in the park.

Sonofabitch

2008-05-31T23:46:00.000-07:00

I'm in Vallejo California right now for a convetion. I was hoping to go to San Francisco this evening and go to the beach, grab some decent sushi and roam Chinatown for a bit. I got in and I decided that a nap would be most beneficial because I could barely keep awake driving from the airport. I set my alarm to 6:15 p.m. - apparently, I hit 'off' and not snooze because four-and-a-half hours later at 11:01 p.m. I woke up.

So, my evening went from doing that in San Francisco to bumming around in the hotel room in my pajamas and reading the last chapter of Frank Rich's The Greatest Story Ever Sold.

Fucking brilliant...

Drive-by post - New York Dispatch No. 3

2008-04-30T14:21:00.000-07:00

I went to St. Paul's Church yesterday as well as World Trade Center 3.
Going to catch Chris Rock tonight.
Eating sushi at Ruby Foo's.
Wishing I could find a record store around here.

Review - The Verve at WaMu (Madison Sq. Garden)

2008-04-29T14:15:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up, I used to mock any band that reunited. Most of these bands were baby boomer types and the reunions were either Spinal Tap-like or soulless exercises in extreme marketing (see The Who, Rolling Stones). Now, some of the bands that gave me the soundtrack of my life are doing the same - right down to doing promos with 50 Cent for Monday Night Football.

So, when The Verve announced that they were reuniting and coming out with a new album, I kept wondering if they were still relevant. I know some people HAVE to get back together to pay the bills, but dammit, other bands like The Clash and Sleater-Kinney have packed it in and kept their reputation intact (well, the Clash made the abysmal Cut the Crap - so one could argue they stayed around at least one album too late).

To cut bands that reunite some slack, we are not nearly as critical for writers and actors who do their craft well into their '60s and '70s. Could it be that rock will forever be thought of as a young person's game? Or is it simply that other actors and writers opt not to fall into the trap of saying "this is my last movie" or "this is the final book I'm writing" - and then when he or she gives it another go - the scrutiny spotlight is that much more intense.

So, at 9 p.m. at the WaMu Theater in Madison Square Garden, the reunited Verve took the stage and opened with "A New Decade." The audience roared in approval. Ashcroft, sporting a tightly-cropped haircut oftentimes gestured like a rapper, reaching his hands out to the audience, making stabbing gestures at each important lyric.

And then the band settled into its groove. "Sonnet" came on and by the fifth song, it looked like The Verve had never left judging by some of the audience behavior - some were going to get more beers, some were text messaging the event to friends. One person who was next to me even gave a 'so so' motion in response to one of the songs.

If the show was a bit on the predictable side, Richard Ashcroft can still sing like a wounded angel. And Nick McCabe's guitar work proves that while Ashcroft is a capable solo performer, McCabe gives him the psychedelic energy he so needs to give his songs additional heft.

The band closed with "Come On" before coming back with a three-song encore: "History," "Bittersweet Symphony" and "Love is Pain." Ashcroft, in his modest way, gave a brief introduction to the last two songs: "The first one's a classic and the next one's going to be a classic."

Time will tell. While it was great to say you were one of the folks who saw the Verve live, I'm still kicking myself that I didn't do more to scope out this band in their 1997 heyday. They put on a good show, but it was strictly by the numbers. For many in the audience, that was enough.

New York City Saga - Day 1

2008-04-28T08:21:00.000-07:00

I don't think there's a sweeter word right now than 'Free Wireless Connectivity!'
I'm staying at a hotel around West 77th st. and the bastards are charging $10 a day for Wireless. Fortunately, I found out about Ruby Foo's - at 2182 Broadway. In addition to a decent selection of Japanese-style cuisine, they also have free Wireless and a decent glass of wine to boot.

I arrived and I was still tired and a bit hung over from the night before. One of my good friends got married and against my better judgment, I went out with them after the reception at around 11 p.m. - even though my flight was 8:30. A London Porter, a vodka tonic, a Jager bomb (not my idea, but two loud ladies were insistent) and two vodka tonics later, I managed to fall asleep around 2 a.m. - and I woke up around 6:15 for the 7 a.m. shuttle. I knew I was in trouble when I didn't have a headache. The hangover hadn't even started yet.

Anyway - I tried my best to sleep on the flights and I arrived in New York City around 8 p.m. I got to my hotel, got my Metro card and tried to find a Wireless spot, but to no avail. I ate an unagi rice bowl at some sushi spot and went to The Boiler Room. I was at home. First, the reality of $8.50 beers has so far escaped me. All drinks were around $3 and no covers. And the jukebox was playing The Velvet Underground and The Sex Pistols. And it's a gay bar.

Today, I was going to see Ground Zero, but the deluge of rain may keep me from doing that. After I finish a bit of blogging, and this glass of wine, I'm headed to MOMA then a few hours later, I'm going to catch The Verve.

New York Bound

2008-04-25T21:02:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a few days off to go to New York.
To see The Verve. To see Chris Rock.
And hopefully to have lunch with a former New York Times writer.

I haven't posted for awhile because I don't really know where to take this Blog. I still love writing it. I still love commenting on music, politics and what not. But the basic point of it - expressing it from a bisexual point of view, has been somewhat neutered because I haven't really brought up the topic.

But I can still deliver content. Such as the new Aimee Mann song - '31 Today' - easily my frontrunner for 'song of the year.' Although the lyrics hit a bit too close to home.

Aimee Mann: 31 Today
http://download.stereogum.com/mp3/Aimee%20Mann%20-%20Thirty%20One%20Today.mp3

Exile in Guyville getting the deluxe treatment

2008-03-31T08:35:00.000-07:00

It looks like Liz Phair's seminal Exile in Guyville album is getting the deluxe treatment. Here's the link to the Pitchfork article about the rereleased album, which is supposed to hit the streets

The rerelease will feature interviews by Ira Glass, John Cusak and Steve Albani. The album will also feature some unreleased tracks. Right now, I'll take any Liz Phair rerelease (up to Whitechocolatespaceegg) than any new album of her more suburban-friendly "mom rock."

Each time I see these rereleases, I think how much of a sucker I am for these in-depth, filled-to-the-gills "deluxe editions." I bought the double-CD rerelease of Pulp's This is Hardcore, His and Hers and Different Class. I restrained myself from buying Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation and DJ Shadow's Endtroducing. But I will likely cave for Exile in Guyville. It is the inspiration for this site. It's still has my vote for "best album of the '90s" and it's mercifully hasn't aged much since its release. Plus, my CD copy is scratched to hell. A new purchase of it was long overdue.

Henry Rollins - Provoked

2008-03-13T09:04:00.000-07:00

I'm groggy as hell today - I got back to Omaha around 1:30 a.m. after seeing Henry Rollins at the Rococo. He was touring for his "Provoked" stand-up tour. I've seen Rollins live with the Rollins Band as well as his spoken word. Both are well worth seeing, but I tend to like his spoken word stuff more than his hard rock stuff.

One thought about stand up before I get into my review. I saw Bobcat Goldwait at the Funny Bone a few weeks ago. He was on stage for about 90 minutes. That's typically what I expect for stand up. Chris Rock's best specials have run 90 minutes. George Carlin's so-so latest HBO special ran over an hour. You're talking - no band is supporting you - so it seems that 90 minutes is just the right length.

Henry Rollins was about 20 minutes short from hitting the three hour mark. Yup - take your favorite stand up performance you've seen - be it a Richard Pryor, Robin Williams (please say vintage) or Chris Rock routine - and double it. And Rollins pretty much had me riveted for most of the set (despite the fact that my ass was killing toward the end of the show).

So, what does one talk about for three hours? If you're Rollins, you talk about politics, his life touring and a very extended, but still engaging, story about his anxiety about having to be the lead vocalist for the Ruts for a benefit show. Three hours and not a single mention about male/female relationships or a "didya ever notice..." type of setup. That has to be a record.

Some of his stuff was a tad dated. I could have done without his referring to the Internet as "the Internets" for the 30th time in the show. Rollins playfully used that term because he insisted on using the same language the President uses when it comes to the Web. He kept his Bush bashing to a minimum, mainly because, to paraphrase Rollins, making fun of George W. Bush is sort of like punching an 8-year-old.

Some highlights...
- Retelling a deadbeat dad story in which one kid used the condom his friend was using (when he was 'finished') on his girlfriend because he forgot his condom.
- Rollins pouring over his anxiety of being the lead vocalist of the Ruts, a band he idolized as a kid. Few artists nail male anxiety like Rollins. The YouTube video was the performance he was talking about.
- Rollins on guilty pleasure listening. His story about breaking his Steve Miller Band and Boston records after he discovered punk, only to later buy them later on in life struck a bit too close to home (substitute U2's Rattle and Hum for Boston's self-titled).

The negatives -
Well, it was three hours. I don't care who you are, three hours on stage, you're going to get repetitive. He could have easily trimmed a half hour from the show and it still would have been great. But then he wouldn't be Henry Rollins. His tangents may be long, rambling and sometimes unnecessary, but they are almost always worth following.

I have one day to recover before Bruce Springsteen - another artist who's notorious about going on for hours at a time. And like Rollins, it'll be worth the sore butt and leg numbness.

Goodbye, Brett

2008-03-04T07:59:00.000-08:00

The news is out. Brett Favre is retiring from the game. I won't even bother you to send a link to any news sites because it's all over the Internet. However, if you want to get a good analysis of Favre, check out ESPN's Page 2 - I'm sure they'll eventually have something.

Coming from a die hard Packer fan, I have to say this is a sad day. But he went out as close to the top of his game as anyone could have imagined. Ok, a Super Bowl ring was imaginable, but still, during his last few games, I was on the edge of my couch, hoping Favre wouldn't have a career-capping game like Dan Marino - face down after one too many sacks and a 62-7 drubbing on the scoreboard.

Favre's gameplaying was maddeningly inconsistent. For half of last year's comeback, I opted not to watch any Packer games because whenever I watched, they were losing. Favre was throwing interceptions and making bad decisions on the field. But when he was on...wow. The game he played after his father died will go down in football lore.

Watching Favre play wasn't like watching Manning or Brady play. No matter how flawless his performance was, you always had the uneasy feeling in the back of your mind ... "don't throw an interception...don't throw an interception." It was sort of like watching the Red Sox win their first championship in 2004 - when even with a commanding lead in the World Series, you kept thinking "they're going to implode...this is where it starts - with a stupid error that results in a base run" - even up to the ninth inning.

I'll miss his interviews on Jim Rome (although he'll no doubt return, just not as a current quarterback), I'll miss his elated fist-pumping on the field and I'll miss the presence of one of the few players left in the NFL who truely seems like he would be doing this for free because he loves the game so much.

Thanks, Brett -

Way Down in the Hole

2008-03-03T12:52:00.000-08:00

I watched the second to the last episode of The Wire last night and I couldn't help but feel a bit bummed after watching it. Not bummed in that it was depressing, bummed as in watching Sleater-Kinney perform in one of their last shows before they disbanded.

It's so rare that there comes a show that's as fiercely intelligent, poignant and well-written and acted as The Wire. It's even more rare that a show goes out at the top of its game. Critics may say season 4 was The Wire's best season, but as a journalist, I have a soft spot for this season. And even if this isn't The Wire's best season, it's certainly the best series on television right now.

Whether you're a cop, student, politician, dock worker, teacher or copy editor, David Simon blurred the lines of good and bad in The Wire. Instead of the "good guys vs. bad guys" setup, Simon went for a "system vs. individual" approach. And no matter the person in that show, the system wound up chewing up and spitting out its victims.

**Much Delayed Spoiler Alert**
One character that exemplified The Wire was Omar Little, played flawlessly and courageously by Micahel Kenneth Williams. A fearless stickup man, Little robbed from drug dealers, adhered to a strict moral code and even took his grandmother to church once a month. However, his brutal actions resulted in the deaths of his mentor, his friends and his lover. He was gay, was not ashamed of his sexuality, but it did not define his character. In the most dangerous areas of Baltimore, Omar brazenly walked through the streets in his pajamas, carrying a shotgun - and people scattered.

On many planes, Omar's character was the direct opposite of Marlo Stanfield, also played to perfection by Jamie Hector. Marlo is as calculating and cautious as he is ruthless and unfeeling. It seemed to be a perfect "High Noon" - style showdown between Omar and Marlo (The Wire did a sort of "High Noon" style showdown between Omar and Brother Mouzone). It would have been an appropriate end to one of these characters, and even with its contrived showdown setting, I'm sure Simon could have done the scene justice with few grumbles from fans.

But like most of The Wire, there are few things that would lead up to such a definitive resolution. So in pure Simon fashion, Omar was unceremoniously shown the exit for the show by a head shot courtesy of a kid who isn't even a teenager. With this exit, Simon shows how the random violence of the streets affects even the most "untouchable" characters of the series.

Another exit was in yesterday's (March 2) episode. Snoop was dispatched in similar fashion (but she at least was able to face her killer). Snoop's character, played by Felician Pearson, seemed to be a typical "thug" character at first glance. It actually took two episodes before I found out that Snoop was female. It took almost an entire season to decipher what she was saying. But her swagger and her gallows humor won me over. And now, it's a bummer to see that she won't be part of the finale.

I'm looking forward to Sunday's finale. Mercifully, it's not on HBO On Demand, because I'm pretty sure I and every other Wire fan out there would be spending Monday night watching now it ends.

Finally, A Fundamentalist That's Fun

2008-02-24T16:59:00.000-08:00

First off, since this site is partially Transformered-themed (due to email addy), I suppose I need to drop a Transformers reference. Just going to say that if I hear "And the Oscar goes to Transformers, " I'm sure that there will be a rip in the universe's fiber because I just can't see that phrase being uttered in reality. But we'll see.

Other topics - I saw this on the Web this weekend and had to post it. First off, there's no way I can vote for a guy who doesn't believe in evolution, but damned if Mike Huckabee isn't a hilarious cat when he has to be. Unlike other fundamentalists out there (read James Dobson, Pat Robertson), Huckabee actually has a true Christian humbleness about him that actually enables him to have a 'humor' trait due to his ability to not take himself too seriously. I will miss this guy when the race is finally over. Plus, as a dude who himself lost 60 pounds due to running and diet, I have a soft spot for a dude who dropped 100 pounds by sheer will.

SNL Battle Royale

2008-02-21T12:48:00.000-08:00

The Chicago Tribune is doing an interesting bracket match up, pitting the best SNL performers against one another.

I can't help but think of basketball when I'm looking at this, so I'm thinking more along the lines of SNL MVPs than ones that may have been great with a great cast (e.g. Belushi, Phil Hartman). Such as Eddie Murphy, who almost singlehandedly carried SNL through its leanest years of talent or Tina Fey, whose sharp writing help revitalize SNL after they lost Will Ferrell.

By the way - the voting process sucks all ass on the Chicago Tribune site.

Me Angry White Man Too

2008-02-19T11:04:00.000-08:00

I was listening to my daily two-minute blast of Rush Limbaugh (know thy enemy) today when he read the following column from Gary Hubbell from the Aspen Times:
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/2008198091324

The article states how the angry white man will be the deciding factor in the 2008 election. Much like the angry white man helped bring the Republicans back in control of the Senate and House in 1994.

Only problem is that it looks like there's some gaps in the logic...

He’s a man’s man, the kind of guy who likes to play poker, watch football, hunt white-tailed deer, call turkeys, play golf, spend a few bucks at a strip club once in a blue moon, change his own oil and build things. He coaches baseball, soccer and football teams and doesn’t ask for a penny. He’s the kind of guy who can put an addition on his house with a couple of friends, drill an oil well, weld a new bumper for his truck, design a factory and publish books. He can fill a train with 100,000 tons of coal and get it to the power plant on time so that you keep the lights on and never know what it took to flip that light switch.

Woah - He quickly went from summing up 99 percent of the guy population to summing up about .09 percent of the population. Play poker, watch football, hunt - check, check check. Put an addition on his house with a few friends, drill an oil well, fill a train with 100,000 tons of coal? That's not an average angry white male, that's Paul Bunyan.

The Angry White Man is not a metrosexual, a homosexual or a victim. Nobody like him drowned in Hurricane Katrina — he got his people together and got the hell out, then went back in to rescue those too helpless and stupid to help themselves, often as a police officer, a National Guard soldier or a volunteer firefighter.

Heyah! Though I've had fulfilling relationships with BOTH sexes, I guess I'll say I'm gay for this response. Are you ABSOLUTELY sure not one person who was killed in Katrina wasn't an angry white man? What about those who HAD to stay (be it those rugged guys and gals who had to stay behind to do damage control like EMTs or people who worked at hospitals? Not a metrosexual or a homosexual? So, those are bad things? Bill Maher said it best when he said metrosexuals were just guys who liked to look good. You don't have to drag your knuckles and smell like shit to prove you're a guy. If you look at old photos of the "rugged" men of the '40s - many of them have more creme in their hair than Mitt Romney and wore heavy perfume, they would shame many-a-metrosexuals of today.

And as a gay guy (though I'm more into ladies so far this year), I do get angry as well. Not "Lipstick Jungle is going to be in reruns" angry. I mean angry when I see bullshit columns like this desperately try to generalize swaths of the population. Angry when I see people vote against their economic interests because the candidate is more of a person of God than his opponent. Angry when he sees another murder victim in a city get chalked up as another stat if their death is in the wrong area of town, but if the area is in a prominent area of the city, the death gets continuous coverage in the paper and on radio. A true person of anger would get pissed off when they hear the news that the richest 1 percent in the U.S. desperately needs another tax cut when they see their wages stagnate for the fifth straight year.

He also votes, and the Angry White Man loathes Hillary Clinton. Her voice reminds him of a shovel scraping a rock. He recoils at the mere sight of her on television. Her very image disgusts him, and he cannot fathom why anyone would want her as their leader.

For a column that prides itself on these angry white men not being victims, it sure sounds like these guys are the some of the whiniest victims in our society. A true, intelligent angry person (I think anger doesn't subscribe to a specific race) would not lay the blame for their anger at the feet of Hillary Clinton. They would look at her voting record and realize that her record is very similar to a lot of Republicans. A true, intelligent angry person would not be swayed to loath the very sight of Hillary just because Beck, Limbaugh and Hannity tell them that's what they should feel when they see Hillary on the tele.

There Goes The Siren That Warns of the Air Raid...

2008-02-18T10:59:00.001-08:00

No doubt I'll be heading to Best Buy tomorrow to pick this one up. I think I wore out my copy of Live After Death in junior high (this was when music was commonly purchased and traded with a means called a cassette and listened to on a device known as a walkman).

PopMatters gave a great review of this concert - a '9' out of '10. However, a line like this won't convince critics of Maiden's music: blasts of pyro and fire accentuating the music..

Weekend Report

2008-02-11T17:39:00.000-08:00

I do have to admit that I'm happy to see Obama sweep states where non-Midwesterners feel are some of the most hickish states in the union.

I watched Real Time With Bill Maher and there was a ton of great stuff in last week's episode. Such as...
- Ever notice that ever since Bush was reelected, those terror alerts have dropped down considerably?
- There's a huge need for the rush to feel that Roger Clemens is guilty. Most notably, it bookends a sports scandal. Our generation's greatest hitter vs. our generation's greatest pitcher. One's black, one's white.
- Also, I may be looking too much into this, but doesn't O'Rourke look like he's had a few before coming to the forum?
- The brewhaha over human growth hormone. Everyone does it - in the form of eating genetically modified products.

Why is this Man Throwing Up? (A Requium for Romney)

2008-02-07T18:53:00.000-08:00

Mitt Romney dropped out of the race today. This actually stunned me - he has more money than Huckabee and the Republican machine supports Romney more than Huckabee.

Romney's most memorable quote:

"If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror."

Wait...if that's the case, didn't you just surrender to the terrorists then? To me, a true patriot would keep fighting. Unless, that was a pure statement of political bullshit.

After his announcement, I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel more hope in the universe. With that announcement, I also felt a bit of a "whooshing" feeling. It was the implosion of the far Right media. Mitt Romey, despite Laura Ingram, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh's nearly year-long span of free, glowing publicity, folded, leaving Huckabee and John McCain.

I thought: "Wow...for at least four years, I won't have to hear Rush Limbaugh's cock-sucking interviews with a Vice President. He was in with the Bush administration, now he's on his way out. In addition, another fellow douchebag is also getting beat up: Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family. Check out this exerpt from Glenn Beck's Web site:

DR. DOBSON: Well, I'm kind of disappointed this morning but that's the way it is.

GLENN: I'm thinking about putting my car in the garage and pulling the garage door down and letting the engine run. You're just slightly disappointed?

DR. DOBSON: That's an understatement obviously but the Republicans have spoken and so sobeit.

GLENN: So are you a Republican? You are a conservative. You are not a Republican. You are a conservative first, right?

DR. DOBSON: I am a decided conservative. The party doesn't mean a lot to me and I tend to vote my conscience and that's certainly going to be the case this time.

GLENN: Okay. So --

DR. DOBSON: I'm so disappointed in the outcome because John McCain is not a conservative. You know, he has gone out of his way to say that he can hardly stand us. You know, his major legislation has really represented the views of Kennedy and Lieberman and Feingold and others and so I just do not believe he will make a good President, and I just regret what happened last night.

So...making financial contributions transparent to Americans and putting reasonable restrictions on what you can donate to a candidate is a free speech violation. But these are the same assholes who wanted the Dixie Chicks off the air?

It would be naive to believe this is the death keel of the Glenn Beck's and Rush Limbaugh's of the world. Everyone will find their audience, especially when they are the voice of the opposition. But right now, I think I'm going to savor this for what it is: a total rejection of what these fucknuts stand for by the American voter.

Let the party begin...

2008-01-20T20:08:00.000-08:00

First off - I'm writing this with fairly drained spirits. I just saw the Packers play a very, very ugly game against the Giants. It was frigid. It was in Lambeau. And still - the Packers couldn't do it. Their defense was always a half step behind. Their penalties cost them big. And Favre, when they needed him the most - gave up the INT that lead to the Packers losing.

I'm a Packers fan - always will be. But this loss stung. All due credit to the Giants. The Packers had about 25 yards of offense in the second quarter - and somehow, the game still went into overtime.

Anyway - better news...

Today marks one year until Bush is out of office. And as for Obama - I have to admit, I am a bit worried. It looks like Florida and New York are going for Clinton. And if she gets California, it looks like she pretty much has the nomination tied up.

There are reasons to vote for Hillary. But I have to be alarmed at some of the reasons I've been hearing, just overhearing from people at some coffee houses (Blue Line and 13th St. Coffee) or even talking with my mom.

"Bill cheated on her - she deserves the presidency just for that."

Uh - no. She deserves the house whenever she decides to cut him loose, but the job of presidency?

I have the same baffled expression for some conservatives. Mike Huckabee is a flippin' minister, he doesn't believe in evolution, he's adamantly pro-life and he isn't tolerant of gays. The worst thing he's done is say we have a biblical obligation to care for the poor and defenseless. In fact, the only major difference (right now) between him and Mitt Romney is that Romney favors the one percent of the population that holds a good portion of the wealth in this country. Are you really going to vote for him just because Rush Limbaugh tells you to? You're about to enter a fucking recession. Don't you at least want someone on your side when you lose your job and suddenly you start to tone down your rants against those who leach off unemployment checks?

Something for the readers

2008-01-01T13:27:00.000-08:00

...since my last post was basically a huge rant about my life, I thought I'd use this blog as a reward for those who slogged through the last entry.

First...
http://www.nbc.com/30_Rock/video/episodes.shtml
Episode 204 - Rosemary's Baby - fast forward to 13:56 - that's where you need to forward to once you endure a commercial to see the sole performance that should lock Alec Baldwin in for every 'Best Supporting Actor' in a sitcom award for 2007 for 30 Rock. I'm waiting for Rush Limbaugh to whine "If I did this it would be racist, but when Alec Baldwin does it, it's perfectly fine."

Secondly - Nebraska and Iowa readers who want something to do later today (New Year's Day) - head to Iowa School for the Deaf. Conor Oberst opening for...Barack Obama.
http://iowa.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/meeting/4vp88

That's it - have a great New Years, all!

My '07 Year in Review

2007-12-31T07:23:00.001-08:00

I guess 2007 wasn't eventful enough - so something had to happen to put the final kick in what was a memorable year, both good and bad. On December 24, knowing I was going to eat a 4000 plus calorie steak dinner at the 360 steak house in Harrah's (spending Christmas Eve at a casino just seemed appropriate), I decided to work out. The result...six hours later, it took me 20 minutes to climb the stairs to my apartment. I couldn't go to dinner and the day after Christmas, I had to have a STAT MRI. The result...a protruding disk (basically a slipped disk). Physical therapy right now seems like the best option, but the doctor hasn't ruled out lumbar fusion surgery. I know people have had disk operations before, much younger than me, but I hope to avoid it. I used to work with doctors, and most doctors told me to avoid surgery on three specific areas: the knee, the back and the sinuses.

If I had surgery, I could be out for almost three months. My friend, Tracy, who had a far more catastrophic 2007, just lost her job because of an auto accident. In this time of job insecurity, it's almost terrifying to think that you're one auto accident, one bad lift from a stupid gym machine away from losing everything. My mom told me I probably shouldn't have purchased a condo on the third floor with no elevators. I should have purchased a ranch house. First off, the condo was the only thing I can afford. Secondly, while yes, these insecurities are terrifying, you can't let fear map out your life.

Before I get to the real important stuff (my favorite albums of the year) - here are my top five personal events in 2007:
5. Got a chance to see a few amazing concerts this year. TV on the Radio in Kansas City. The Hold Steady and the Heartless Bastards at Sokol. Wilco and Andrew Bird at the Orpheum. The Arcade Fire and St. Vincent in Chicago. The Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem in Red Rocks. And finally, Neko Case at the Rococo in Lincoln.
4. Back goes out on Christmas Eve with a looming possibility of surgery. I wanted to switch to another job, but know, a comfy wage and a boring job with health insurance seems more appealing than an exciting job as a lowly reporter with a preexisting condition that wouldn't be covered by insurance.
3. Hospitalized twice for an anxiety attack. My first. Haven't had one since, but Jesus, talk about a scare. I was in the heart of downtown Chicago and for about sixty minutes, I could feel my heart beating just by placing a hand on my back. My dad died of a heart attack when he was 43, and that's all I could think about.
2. Condo purchase. I took the plunge. After all the bitching I've done about Omaha, I knew I wanted to stay at this job at least through '08. And with a looming recession and a dead housing market, it was only about $40 more expensive than my rent. I don't know if this is me being too complacent (not opting to pack up everything and move to Seattle or Albuquerque) or me just realizing Omaha isn't a bad place to live in. It also didn't help that a few friends of mine, one from New York, one from Birmingham, came back to Omaha.
1. My friend Tracy had a one-vehicle accident that may cost her a foot. She's been in a nursing home since July. She goes home today and with no job now, it seriously makes me question the stupidity of not having universal health care coverage. She may have to have an amputation and she doesn't have insurance. Sure, people are saying "get disability" - but to do so, she has to rustle up doctors testimonies, physical therapist testimonies, get a lawyer and sign god knows how much paperwork. The fact that you need to do this much shit when you have a life-threatening condition sums up the priorities in congress. The Rush Limbaughs of the world decry how much welfare is costing taxpayers. He's right, to an extent. But if he were to publicly acknowledge that corporate welfare dwarfs individual welfare, his nation of dittoheads would be screaming at their elected officials.

Personal note - Tracy's accident was a great wake up call for me. Three times a week I went over to the nursing home to check in on her. She's given me checks to go out and do her errands. I've helped her walk and a few days ago, I took her to see Juno. I can't tell you how becoming at least a partial caregiver changes you. I would like to say "I'm far less selfish than I was." But it's a different experience for everyone. I do have to admit, since she's been in the hospital, I haven't had an anxiety attack since. All the shit that I almost severed my friendship with her - her incessant calling over menial things - then getting pissed when I didn't pick up the phone, the bawling on my couch about her life when all I really wanted to do is be alone and read the New York Times, now are reduced to the trivial shit that they always were.

Ok - onto my Top Music Picks of the Year:
10 - Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
It may not grab you as strongly as Kill The Moonlight, but then again, what does? The music is as scaled back as always, but nothing on Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga sounds like a retread. Britt Daniel sounds like he’s perpetually battling a sinus infection, but his trademark "awwwww!" howl, such as on “Japanese Cigarette Case” are quickly becoming as recognizable as Cobain’s scream or Tori Amos’ wail.

9 - The National - Boxer
The show at Slowdown was so underwhelming that it didn't even make my top ten concerts of the year.
Album-wise, If Interpol sounded like a Joy Division rip off, then more than a few Joy Division fans may find The National to be an Interpol rip off. Their loss. Boxer, The National’s third album, is brooding without ever wallowing in self-pity. Matt Berninger’s sinister baritone voice may not be the most threatening in rock, but combined with Bryce Dessner’s guitar and Bryan Devendorf’s drums, the combination is chilling in songs like “Mistaken For Strangers” and “Start a War,” a sonic equivalent of a dying relationship.
8. Panda Bear - Person Pitch
Noah Lennox’s band Animal Collective released a mess of an album with Strawberry Jam this year. For those put off by the disjointed, sludgy murk of Strawberry Jam, Person Pitch was as welcome as a spring day in the dead of winter. It’s nearly impossible not to think of the Beach Boys, especially with the opening track “Comfy in Nautica,” but instead of aping Pet Sounds, Lennox opts to take the best elements of The Beach Boys, mainly their intense, layered harmonies, and provide a fresh take on psychedelia.
7. Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
“Here comes that shit again…” Ryan Adams sings (or threatens?) on “Halloweenhead,” a frontrunner for the award for “Dumbest Song Title of the Decade.” For a while, Adams’ prolific nature has generated almost an equal amount of genius and groan-inducing awfulness on his last 54 albums. But with Easy Tiger, Adams gets somewhat sober and more importantly, an editor. “Everybody Knows” and “Rip Off” manage to be heartfelt without a hint of corn. Even “Halloweenhead” manages to charm the ears after a few listens.
6. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
It’s not challenging. It plays it safe. Indeed, once you hear the final track, “On And On And On,” chances are you’re not going to be blown away. But to take the advice from one of the tracks “Please Be Patient With Me,” Sky Blue Sky may eventually be mentioned in the same sentence as Summerteeth and Being There as fan favorites. Guitarist Nels Cline walks away with the M.V.P. on this album, creating guitar riffs so rich you don’t mind giving songs a sixth or seventh listen to fully appreciate.
5. M.I.A. - Kala
The opposite of Sky Blue Sky. M.I.A. seemed to be channeling the early ‘90s, from the outrageous day-glo outfits to the incendiary politics of Ice Cube and Public Enemy in their prime. U.S. immigration may have forced M.I.A. to go international to record Kala, but the result was a total reflection of M.I.A.’s sound, a mix that has no international boundaries. Bollywood, The Clash’s “Straight to Hell” and Aborigine rappers are only a part of the chaos that is Kala. It may not be the most cohesive album of the year, but damned if it wasn’t the most exciting.
4. The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Neon Bible peters out toward the end. But that’s only because the band storms on with four amazingly epic tracks. Few bands could make Funeral, yet alone create a respectable follow-up, but The Arcade Fire succeed on their sophomore album. The church organs are still intact, as is Win Butler’s overdramatic wails, but Neon Bible manages to stand out due to its Springsteen-like combination of stadium-worthy anthems and vivid first-person narratives.
3. Jarvis Cocker - Jarvis
Okay, this came out last year, but it wasn’t released in the States until this year. “Running The World,” which was my award for “Song of the Year” last year, may be buried 25 minutes after the final track has ended, but Jarvis has enough material to tide you over until that last hidden track. The album harkens back to the modest solo albums released by artists in the ‘60s. Cocker manages to continue to find new ways of expressing sexual frustration and romantic longing in “Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time” and “I Will Kill Again.” And just when you think you can predict his pattern of pessimism, he makes a song like “Loss Adjuster” where he reassures you “everything is gonna be all right.” With Jarvis, he makes you believe in that statement.

2. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
Hard to believe people still make albums with only nine songs on them. Thank God. Each song on Sound Of Silver seemed like a track that you couldn’t skip over, no matter how much you wanted to hear “North American Scum” or “All My Friends.” More so than any album released this year, Sound Of Silver was an album that genuinely felt like the soundtrack of a quarter life or midlife crisis – from the euphoric highs “Watch The Tapes” to the bummed-out disintegration of relationships (“Something Great”).

1. Radiohead - In Rainbows
Hail To The Thief may have been a return to guitar-oriented rock for Radiohead, but In Rainbows marks the return of the band’s ability to make an album that floors you in terms of its quality. If the opening track “15 Step” sounded too much like Amnesiac-era Radiohead, “Bodysnatchers” was the track that sucked you in and kept you riveted to the low-key finale of “Videotape.” What we got in the middle was Thom Yorke’s latest infatuation of Marvin Gaye-like soul (“All I Need”) and lyrics that were mercifully free of abstraction (the “I don’t want to be your friend, I just want to be your lover” opening to “House Of Cards”). The fact that the songs on In Rainbows have managed to eclipse the hype surrounded the way the album was marketed is a testament to the quality of the album, easily their best since Kid A.

Disappointments: More just because they were overrated than genuinely bad. But the White Stripes Icky Thump didn't bowl me over. I like it, but midway through, all it does is want me to listen to a better White Stripes album or throw on Led Zeppelin III.

***whorish promotion note: if you want to check out my full list of the year, check out www.dailyvault.com. ***
And Feist...
Pitchfork media always perplexes me. If this album had Cowboy Junkies or Lucinda Williams on it, they would give it a 2.7 and say something like "such trite lyrics like 'the wings are wide' are the stuff of a freshman lit class at your community college." But for some reason, they gave this album a sick rating. I liked Let it Die, but this one, and it's not just because of the iPod commercial, but all I can think about are people driving in their waxed SUV's, straight from Starbucks, drinking a caramel latte, taking to their fellow hip housewife about this amazing 'Feist' CD they just picked up from Starbucks. I dunno, maybe it's the peacock-preening album cover...

Ok, that's it. For those who read this far, thanks and have a raging and safe New Years.

Benazir Bhutto Assassinated in Pakistan

2007-12-27T07:17:00.000-08:00

I'm watching BBC America's coverage of Bhutto's assassinated. I tried to see the coverage on other channels, such as ABC or NBC, but it's business as usual over at those stations...how to get the best 'after Christmas' buys, tips to get in shape for '08.

Reza Aslan, author of No God But God, said in an interview that Bhutto was risking her life in October when a bomb detonated near her barricade - thousands of people were swarming Bhutto and the motorcade was inching forward, making her an easy target. Stupidly, I thought Bhutto's camp would make adjustments and increased security measures would be taken.

Bhutto was not perfect by any means. She was charged with corruption, but the charges were later withdrawn. She was the first woman elected in a Muslim state. Her faher was hanged in 1979. In an interview, Bhutto said as she stood at her father's grave, she said "I would not rest until democracy had returned to Pakistan."

Chefs and journalists

2007-11-18T22:12:00.000-08:00

I never have stated I wanted to be a food writer. I love to cook. I love reading about food as much as I love reading about music. I've hung around chefs a ton. My best friend is a chef.

But I can't pretend to "know" their world. When I see my best friend cook for a catered party and a West Omaha housewife moons "It would just be so wonderful to be a chef, the things you can create, the different types of people you'd meet..." My friend smiles politely, but in an unguarded moment, I can see him shoot daggers through his eyes at the unsuspecting target.

I've tried to reconcile why these two professions, though vastly different, are strangely similar. And I've finally come to some sort of conclusion...

First, both professions pay for shit, generally.

Second, by nature, both jobs surround you by undesirables. Be it coked up incompetent managers who only treat their business as a vanity project (though the same could be said for some newspaper owners) or interview subjects who, sometimes rightfully, most times wrongfully, treat a reporter with the same disdain as they would ambulance-chasing lawyers.

The chefs get to deal with pathetic working conditions. The journalists have to deal with the fact that the general population hates them.

Which brings me to the similarity... despite all of this negativity, the professions still attract their followers. And many of them do it for no other reason for the love of their craft. That said, each individual in these professions have to display at least some sort of psychological imbalance to put up with the shit they put up with.

Weekend

2007-10-26T14:03:00.000-07:00

Not looking forward to having to head down to Lincoln to do manual labor for my sister and
brother-in-law. Hopefully I'll be done to catch Game 3 of the World Series.
I haven't posted in a while and I thought I'd keep things light with a series that I'm rediscovering - Sifl and Olly. God, I miss this show. Add this to the list of shows that needs to come out on DVD. If King of Queens can get their seasons on DVD, I sure as hell want Sifl and Olly. If you're not familiar with the show, just fast forward to 4:44 to see one of the best covers of a Blondie song you'll ever see involving puppets.

iPod list for the day:
"Feel Good Inc." Gorillaz ***** (Whitey loves the hits)
"In the Springtime of His Voodoo" -Tori Amos **** ("got an angry s*atch, girl you know what I mean" - wow...thanks for that visual, Tori)
"Fashion Awards" - Eels **
"Bring Me Down" - Kanye West ****
"Doncha Bother Me" - The Rolling Stones ****
"Little Baird" - Charlie Parker ****
"Tymps (The Sick in the Head Song)" - Fiona Apple ****
"The Day the World Went Away" - NIN ****
"I Ain't Gone Under Yet" - Neneh Cherry ***
"Here Comes the Sun" - The Beatles *** (maybe **** - just not one of my faves)
"Your Little Hoodrat Friend" - The Hold Steady *****
"No More Kings" - Pavement ***
"Neon Bible" - The Arcade Fire ***
"The Electric Version" - The New Pornographers ****
"I Hung My Head" - Johnny Cash ****
"Bring The Boys Back Home" - Pink Floyd ***
"Parades Go By" - The Magnetic Fields ***
"Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp(live)" - Led Zeppelin *****
"Ngiculela - Es Una Historia - I am Singing" - Stevie Wonder ****
"Wish Fulfillment" - Sonic Youth ****
"Send His Love to Me" - PJ Harvey *****
"Outside the Wall" - Pink Floyd **
"I Don't Care (demo)" - The Ramones ***
"A Warm Place" - NIN ****
"Down on the Riverbed" - Los Lobos ****
"Ghost World" - Aimee Mann ***
"Whole Lotta Love" - Led Zep ****
"Something in the Way Of Things (In Town)" - The Roots *****
"Folsolm Prison Blues(live)" - Johnny Cash *****
"Thank You" - Tori Amos *****
"Bad Head" - Blur ****
"It Was Supposed to Be So Easy" - The streets ***
"I'm Always in Love" - Wilco *****
"Half Day Closing" - Portishead ****
"The Hammer" - Motorhead *****

"Feel Good Inc." Gorillaz ***** (Whitey loves the hits)
"In the Springtime of His Voodoo" -Tori Amos **** ("got an angry s*atch, girl you know what I mean" - wow...thanks for that visual, Tori)
"Fashion Awards" - Eels **
"Bring Me Down" - Kanye West ****
"Doncha Bother Me" - The Rolling Stones ****
"Little Baird" - Charlie Parker ****
"Tymps (The Sick in the Head Song)" - Fiona Apple ****
"The Day the World Went Away" - NIN ****
"I Ain't Gone Under Yet" - Neneh Cherry ***
"Here Comes the Sun" - The Beatles *** (maybe **** - just not one of my faves)
"Your Little Hoodrat Friend" - The Hold Steady *****
"No More Kings" - Pavement ***
"Neon Bible" - The Arcade Fire ***
"The Electric Version" - The New Pornographers ****
"I Hung My Head" - Johnny Cash ****
"Bring The Boys Back Home" - Pink Floyd ***
"Parades Go By" - The Magnetic Fields ***
"Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp(live)" - Led Zeppelin *****
"Ngiculela - Es Una Historia - I am Singing" - Stevie Wonder ****
"Wish Fulfillment" - Sonic Youth ****
"Send His Love to Me" - PJ Harvey *****
"Outside the Wall" - Pink Floyd **
"I Don't Care (demo)" - The Ramones ***
"A Warm Place" - NIN ****
"Down on the Riverbed" - Los Lobos ****
"Ghost World" - Aimee Mann ***
"Whole Lotta Love" - Led Zep ****
"Something in the Way Of Things (In Town)" - The Roots *****
"Folsolm Prison Blues(live)" - Johnny Cash *****
"Thank You" - Tori Amos *****
"Bad Head" - Blur ****
"It Was Supposed to Be So Easy" - The streets ***
"I'm Always in Love" - Wilco *****
"Half Day Closing" - Portishead ****
"The Hammer" - Motorhead *****

Concert review - Wilco and Andrew Bird Oct. 11, 2007

2007-10-12T08:06:00.000-07:00

I'm still a bit groggy from last night's Wilco show. I saw them a few years ago in Red Rocks when The Roots opened for them. This time, it was Andrew Bird. And unlike the Sokol show earlier this year - it was just Andrew performing - no backing band. Bird was his usual stellar self - my only complaint was the brevity of his set. But thankfully, a good number of the audience knew who he was and what a treat it was that he was opening.

Wilco's performance was like their music catalog: some of it threatens to derail into arty pretensiousness while some of it threatens to careen into jam-heavy "dad rock" as Pitchfork summed up Wilco's last album. But heard in a live setting - everything makes sense. The alienating white noise of A Ghost is Born actually sounds warm and inviting in a live setting. And listening to Sky Blue Sky, you can tell this was an album that seemed to be born from the road and not in the studio. The songs off of Sky Blue Sky seemed as familiar and worn to the band as the tracks off of Being There.

Holding everything together was Jeff Tweedy. Wearing a cowboy hat and some nice, grizzled facial hair, he looked like Eddie Vedder's wiser older brother from my Orchestra 3 seats. His sardonic humor kept a few idiots in the audience in check. "Sometimes you need to stand up, sometimes you need to sit and take it all in" he quipped, noticing the abrupt moment when most of the audience on the main floor decided to sit down during one of their slower numbers. There were a few times when Wilco went full on country, making me wonder if the band genuinely loves playing their songs with a country edge, or if it was their way of wryly mocking some of the audience's hooting and hollering.

The entire band was damn-near flawless, but guitarist Nels Cline and drummer Glenn Kotche were in spectacular form Thursday night. Kotche didn't miss a single beat as he was flashing a grin throughout most of their set. As for Cline - his fretwork could be vicious (see "A Shot in the Arm," "I Got You (At the End of the Century)," the encore of "Spiders") or delicate ("Sky Blue Sky," "Impossible Germany").

The encores were a heavy smattering of Being There favorites such as "I Got You (At the End of the Century)," "Red-Eyed and Blue" and the final song "Outtasite (Outta Mind)." My friend, who has never seen Wilco play live before, said "I was wondering why they went all Van Morrisson at the second half of the set, but at the end, it made perfect sense."

The thing that stuck with me was how stellar Wilco's songs are when you look at their setlist. In two hours, the audience heard "Red-Eyed and Blue," "Handshake Drugs," "Hate it Here," "I am Trying to Break Your Heart," "Heavy Metal Drummer," "Impossible Germany," "Via Chicago" and "The Late Greats" to name a few. And that is without such favorites as "At Least That's What You Said," "Hell is Chrome," "Reservations" and "Misunderstood." Any songwriter would be lucky to have an output half as productive as Tweedy.

Different topic - Radiohead's In Rainbows
I have to say that I think it's probably their best work since Kid A. While I liked Hail to the Thief, I thought it was sort of a forced effort to return to their guitar heavy sound of The Bends. I think "House of Cards" may be one of the most beautiful songs the band has ever recorded. And while OK Computer will probably be this band's high water mark, it would be a shame if fans were to judge the band on just these two albums. Can you imagine trying to judge Dylan on two of his albums, or the Beatles on just two of their albums? Album of the year? I think LCD Soundsystem's Sound of Silver still is the frontrunner, but like Sky Blue Sky, In Rainbows will find a place in your headphones if you give it some time and if you judge the album on its own merit.

Coming to the Defense of Funky

2007-10-03T13:54:00.000-07:00

Tom Batiuk has been taking lumps recently from fans for opting to end the life of one of the main characters in his strip Funky Winkerbean. True - this has to be one of the most depressing comic strip since the last Bloom County strip (but for an entirely different reason):

I'll come to his defense on this. First, because it shows the other side of the cancer battle. In the comic medium, and in the majority of the books we read and television shows we watch- we hear the triumphant stories of those who have conquered cancer. But for every story of triumph, there are countless other stories of people who have lost the battle. Second reason I'll come to his defense ... a lot of his critics want him to go back to when the strip was funny. Unfortunately, I can't remember when this strip was ever funny - so dude might as well try his luck on the dramatic end of things.

Finally - I never knew the messenger of death had a formal dress attire and wore a mask. Dude looks like one of the party attendees for that sex party in the movie Eyes Wide Shut.

H O U S E

2007-10-01T12:14:00.000-07:00

So - I put down an offer on a house a few weeks ago. And the reaction has been split down the middle. My family and the friends that I have who have warmed to the idea of suburbia - a nice back yard, weekend trips to the Home Depot for the latest house project, changing the lawn mower blade in the garage, playing KISS covers, beautiful and stoned - all welcomed the move as a sign of maturity. The friends that are more of the nomadic nature are not as receptive. Especially when I got a call from a newspaper I applied for in Oregon.

It also didn't help that I viewed this on CBS News. First off - yes - the cynic in me sees this lecture as another 'how to live your life' lecture. But we can't be cynics all the time - and this is one time I let my guard down - I actually listened to the entire lecture after this report:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/28/assignment_america/main3309721.shtml?source=mostpop_story

Different topic - new albums come out tomorrow. Top pic so far: PJ Harvey's White Chalk

Heading to Denver...

2007-09-15T10:51:00.001-07:00

...to see The Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem. For various reasons:
1. It's an awesome lineup
2. It's Red Rocks
3. Last time I saw the Arcade Fire, the next day, I was in the ER with an anxiety attack. My first. I've had to sort of re-conquer a lot of social phobias I've had since that attack and I consider driving eight hours to see the exact same band that, though didn't trigger the attack, sent forth in motion the events leading up to that attack.

Packing a lot of music for the trip - aside from the two Arcade Fire albums and two LCD Soundsystem albums, I also plan on giving a few more listens to Kanye West's Graduation and Animal Collective's Strawberry Jam.

A few random thoughts before I take off:

If you have HBO - check out this week's Real Time With Bill Maher. Easily one of his best shows - including the best stuff he did with Politically Incorrect. Chuck Hagel was on and he sent out an epic blast to the Republican Party. Basically saying the Republican Party he joined decades ago has betrayed almost all of their bedrock principles.
With Hagel out, I can soon look forward to either rejoining the Democratic party or going Independent in my voter registration card.
Fuck the Emmy's for not giving The Wire its due credit as being the best show on TV.

iPod list for the day

"Asleep and Dreaming" - The Magnetic Fields ***
"I Got Money" - James Brown ***
"Wild Flowers" - Ryan Adams *****
"Bad Luck" - Social Distortion ****
"Femme Fatale" - The Velvet Underground ****
"Diggin'" - Seatbelts ***
"Second Hand News" - Fleetwood Mac *****
"Cocaine Socialism (Proper Version)" - Pulp ****
"She's My Baby" - Mazzy Star *****
"Orange Wedge" - The chemical Brothers ****
"Knockin' Em Back" - Paul Westerberg ***
"Let's Get it On" - Marvin Gaye *****
"The Great Below" - NIN *****
"Oh, Bury Me Not" - Johnny Cash ****
"Jealous Dream" - Mark Sandman ***
"Laura" - Charlie Parker ***
"Hooker with a Penis" - Tool *****
"Life's a B*tch" - Nas ***** (up from ****)
"Fake Empire" - The National ***
"I Love Perth(live)" - Pavement ***
"Letter From an Occupant" - The New Pornographers *****
"Ghost Deini" - Ghostface Killah ***
"Concerto of the Desperado" - The Roots ***
"I Want You (She's So Heavy)" - The Beatles ***

Love Sick

2007-08-31T12:51:00.000-07:00

Well, serves me right for trying to ask someone out on a date ten years my junior. I asked this guy out - we went to Borders. Had an awesome conversation for two hours. We browsed the music magazine aisle, the graphic novel section of the store. The evening left on a "Yeah, let's definitely hang out again" note. Not a word since that meeting. I left a voice mail, I left an email. And to be on the safe side, I want to leave with my dignity - so I'll move on - leaving a weekend fairly open.

Plenty to occupy my time though - I got the Wire - Season 3 in the mail - looking forward to starting that series. In addition, I'm saving cash for one of two concerts: LCD Soundsystem and the Arcade Fire at Red Rocks or the New Pornographers in Tucson. Both occur in late September. I'm more familiar with Tucson and it would give me a few days to look for any employment opportunities, but on the other hand, LCD Soundsystem is supposed to be flippin' amazing live.

iPod list of this shortened work day...
"Tymps (The Sick in the Head Song)" - Fiona Apple ****
"Da Art of Storytellin' - pt. 2" - OutKast ***
"Tightly" - Neko Case *****
"Bulletproof" - Radiohead *****
"Swing on This" - Alice in Chains ****
"Rouge" - Miles Davis ****
"Entering White Cecilia" - The New Pornographers **
"Revolution 1" - The Beatles ****
"I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" - Prince *****
"Carry the Zero" - Built to Spill *****
"Optimistic" - Radiohead *****
"Bankrupt on Selling" - Modest Mouse ***** (wow, Whitey's on a roll)
"Jesus Christ Was an Only Child" - Modest Mouse ****
"Two Kinds of People" - The Magnetic Fields ** (eh)
"Immature" - Bjork ****
"Metropolitain Glide" - Tom Waits ****
"Wayfaring Stranger" - Neko Case ****
"You Make it Easy" - Air ***
"Ladyfingers (Remixed by Camara Kambon)" - Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass Band ***
"The Drama You've Been Craving" - Sleater-Kinney ****
"Talisman" - Air ****
"Make You Feel My Love" - Bob Dylan *****
"Watch the Tapes" - LCD Soundsytem ****
'When the Roll is Called Up Yonder" - Johnny Cash ****
"B.I.G. (Interlude)" - The Notorious B.I.G. **
"Humpty Dumpty" - Tori Amos **
"Xylophone" - The Magnetic Fields ***
"Can't Wait" - Bob Dylan *****
"Goddess" _ Mark Sandman ****
"Our Singer" - Pavement ****
"We Both Go Down Together" - The Decemberists ****
"Big Man With a Gun" - NIN **** (used to love listening to this playing N64's 'Goldeneye' on multiplayer)
"Something's Got to Give" - The Beastie Boys ****
"Graveyard Shift" - Uncle Tupelo *****
"Israel" - Miles Davis ****
"Heroin (live)" - The Velvet Underground *****
"Light Pollution" - Bright Eyes ***
"Turn Me Around" - Mavis Staples ***
"Holiday" - Green Day *** (way too burned out from this song)
"I'm a Man" - Pulp *****
"Abandoned" - Lucinda Williams *****
"Play With Fire" - The Rolling Stones *****

It's been a while...

2007-08-17T14:05:00.000-07:00

...since I updated my blog. One of my best friends was injured in a car accident a month ago, so I've been going back-and-forth to the rehab center, getting her anything from specific deodorant from Wild Oats to her newly-recharged iPod. Still, I can't blame her for my lack of writing inspiration. It may be the summer heat, it may be the week off I took to read Harry Potter, it may have been those weeks where I focused more on exercise to help alleviate my anxiety. Or it could be that I've had absolutely nothing to write about for the past month.

iPod list for the day...
"Medley: Gambler's Blues/Sweet Little Angel (live)" - luther Allison ****
"Dead Leaves And the Dirty Ground" - The White stripes *****
"2+5=5 (the Lukewarm)" - Radiohead *****
"Dividing Island" - Lansing-Dreiden *** (very, very 70ish)
"8 Million Stories" - A Tribe Called Quest *****
"I Taught Myself How to Grow Old" - Ryan Adams ****
"Painted Soldiers" - Pavement ****
"Blue Line Swinger" - Yo La Tengo **
"The Story of Jazz" - Yo La Tengo ***
"Rollercoaster" - Sleater-Kinney *****
"Big Decision" - Elliott Smith ***
"I Don't Love You" - My Chemical Romance ***
"Bad Liver and a Broken Heart" - Tom Waits ****
"Parting of the Sensory" - Modest Mouse ****
"Stop Breaking Down" - The Rolling Stones ******
"Say You Miss Me" - Wilco ****
"Intro" - Ghostface Killah **
"The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders" - Sufjan Stevens ***
"What a Day (For a Night)" - Paul Westerberg ***
"The Late Ones (live)" - Wilco ****
"Dumb" - Garbage ***
"A Scale, A Mirror and those Indifferent Clocks" - Bright Eyes ***

On 7/7/07...

2007-07-07T06:24:00.000-07:00

Whenever these dates comes up, I always get a bit nostalgic for Morphine (the band, not the drug).

The reason? Just his lyrics to "French Fries With Pepper," off their album Like Swimming:

On 6-6-66 I was little I didn't know shit

on 7-7-77 eleven years later still don't know any better

by 8-8-88 it's way too late for me to change

and by 9-9-99 I hope I'm sittin' on the back porch drinkin' red

wine singin' Ohhhhhh French Fries with Pepper! 

Ohhhhh French Fries with Pepper!

This photo was part of the Boston Phoenix's memorial to Sandman. Check it out at:
http://bostonphoenix.com/archive/music/99/07/08/MARK_SANDMAN.html

Autobot Asphyxiation

2007-07-03T06:48:00.000-07:00

If you have this, seek help immediately (from PopMatters):

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/columns/article/43366/transformers-autobotic-asphyxiation/

Summer of 1997

2007-07-02T07:14:00.000-07:00

Maybe I'm sick of reading about the nostalgia of "The Summer of '67" from Rollingstone.com, but it looks like I'm not the only one. The New York Times ran a similar story in Sunday's July 1 story - saying that 1997 deserves some celebration was well for its tunes http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/01/weekinreview/01browne.html?_r=1&oref=slogin.

True, 1967, we had a lot of upheaval.
Civil rights struggles
An unpopular war (oh wait, we have that now)
Counterculture eruptions

But 1997 may turn out to be Gen X's so called "summer of love" - though an argument can be made with 1991 (with the rise with Nirvana and rap pretty much putting a nail in the coffin of detractors who kept calling it a "fad"). But just take a look at the Village Voice's list of best material released that year and you've got an amazing list...
http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/pazznjop/02/search_return.php?poll_year=1997&type=A&keyword=

Not one, not two, but basically three landmark releases:

OK Computer - for being OK Computer - pretty much the standard bearer for all albums that strive for greatness. While folks in the 60s and 70s were saying "We're trying to make our Sergent Peppers", kids nowadays are saying "We're trying to make our OK Computer."
We saw an artist who may had written off as a "has been" turn out one of his best works with Time Out of Mind and as a result, continue to ride a wave of momentum that has resulted in nearly a full decade of critical acclaim, with his next two albums topping The Village Voice's Pazz and Jop poll (though something can be said that last year's Modern Times was more out of sentimental reasons than having that album be a stone-cold classic).
The hip-hop community struggled to come to grips with the tragic loss of Biggie Smalls, who then ruled the summer airwaves with his Life After Death CD.
So what if electronica never made it in the US - that year, The Chemical Brothers gave us a jaw-dropping, genre-defining album with Dig Your Own Hole -
And the indie/alternative community could rejoice by seeing the release of these three albums:
Yo La Tengo's I Can Feel The Heart Beating as One

Bjork's Homogenic

Sleater-Kinney's Dig Me Out

In their own way, all of these albums could have bragging rights for "album of the year" (still, OK Computer wins out).

But while the baby boomers are rightly reveling in their nostalgia for 1967 (I can't get totally bitter since that's the same year that The Velvet Underground and Nico came out), I think Gen X (and at that point, very early Gen Y) deserve a collective pat on the back for 1997.

Something actually Transformers-related

2007-06-29T09:10:00.000-07:00

Since my blog name is TransformersGeek, I thought I needed to add something about the upcoming movie. Without a doubt, the best review I've read so far comes from the Montreal Film Journal:

Imagine you're on a date with a breathtakingly hot babe whom you can't wait to get out of her clothes and have fun with... But first, you have to listen to her as she talks about really boring crap and makes a lot of lame jokes, as the girl is as dumb as she's hot. Still, after a couple of hours of this, you do get her in bed, she finally shows you all of her "special effects" and they're as spectacular as you imagined. Then you have, well, not meaningful lovemaking, obviously, but some pretty intense meaningless sex. "Transformers" is basically that attractive but mindless chick and in reviewing it, I find myself in the same position as Jerry in the "Seinfeld" episode where his brain and his penis are playing chess.

Here's the rest of the review...http://www.montrealfilmjournal.com/review.asp?R=R0001116

Cool Jarvis interview

2007-06-26T07:23:00.000-07:00

If you have some time to kill, NPR's Fresh Air has a great interview with the indispensable Jarvis Cocker.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11354709

Musical food groups

2007-06-22T14:18:00.000-07:00

After my iPod wheel was stuck and I could not cycle through any songs, I had to take advantage of my warranty and get it serviced. Now, 30GB of free space, I used to fuss about what to eliminate to make room for the new The National CD. Now...clean slate.

For music geeks who actually wonder if 30GB isn't enough, what to put on the iPod or MP3 becomes a somewhat amusing task. I've broken mine down into a process similar to food groups.

1. The immediate music group
- This is the stuff that's automatically on your iTunes. It's right there. It's the reason that Bright Eyes' Cassadaga and the Cameo song "Word Up" are one of the first things on the newly-cleared iPod and not The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds and Radiohead's The Bends.

2. The "stuff that you're listening to RIGHT NOW" group
- Yeah, you should probably have 'the classics' like It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back and Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska on the iPod, but for those who grew up the task of having to carry every cassette or CD you were listening to during your day, the iPod is still a big ol' Walkman. So, the stuff that I've been listening to relatively heavily gets the next placement (see LCD Soundsystem's Sound of Silver).

3. The 'big ones' group
- These are the artists that I have several CDs from - since most of my stuff is on external hard drive, it's easiest just to start with one of them and pull their entire collection onto iTunes and then onto the iPod (see Tom Waits, James Brown (boxed set), Bob Dylan and Pulp).

4. The 'stuff to fill in the gaps' group
- With LCD Soundsystem, Bright Eyes, Cameo, Tom Waits, there's a lot lacking in terms of jazz, metal and just straightforward rock. Randomly search around for some Tool, Charlie Parker and T. Rex to even out the mix when you put it on shuffle.

Speaking of shuffle... first shuffle in the very early stages of refilling my iPod:

"Fiery Crash" - Andrew Bird ****
"Stormy Clouds" - The Verve *****
"Target" - Fugazi **** (expect a lot of **** and ***** since I'm uploading a lot of A-list stuff first)
"P.T.A." - Pulp ***
"The Pontiac" - Tom Waits ***
"Watch the Tapes" - LCD Soundsystem ****
"Help the Aged (live)" - Pulp ***
"Nirvana" - Tom Waits ***
"Sea of Love" - Tom Waits ***** (great cover)
"The Ocean Doesn't Want Me" - Tom Waits **** (three in a row!)
"Intro" - Dungen ***
"Bob Lind (The Only Way is Down)" - Pulp **
"Chocolate Jesus" - Tom Waits *****
"Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine" - The White Stripes *****
"There's No Home For You" - The White Stripes ***
"(Nice Dream)" - Radiohead *****
"F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E." - Pulp ****
"Maybe Sparrow" - Neko Case *****
"Soul Singer in a Session Band" - Bright Eyes ****
"Diamonds & Gold" - Tom Waits ****
"A Boy's Best Friend" - The White Stripes ****
"I Can't Wait" - The White Stripes ****
"If I Have to Go" - Tom Waits ****
"Superfly (Single Mix)" - Curtis Mayfield ***** (still thought this was going to be 'egg man' from The Beastie Boys)
"Catcliffe Shakedown (demo)" - Pulp ***
"C Visar Vagen" - Dungen ***
"Shambala" - The Beastie Boys ***
"Gates of Eden" - Bob Dylan *****
"99 and 1/2" - Mavis Staples *****
"Books of Moses" - Tom Waits ****
"Beautiful Mind" - The Verve ****

Who knew Hillary had this keen of a sense of humor

2007-06-21T13:18:00.001-07:00

...or her advisers -

Regardless - good job to the usually bland, over-calculating Hillary in...
- choosing an ad that may ... MAY go over some people's heads (e.g. those who don't own cable, don't care about The Sopranos or have never heard of the show - yes, there are folks like that out there)
- Yeah, virtually every comic show has done a parody of the ending - and there are scores of YouTube parodies, but good job for at least getting in on the joke in a relatively quick manner. For Hillary's camp, I was honestly expecting a parody of Titanic.

Maybe it's just Dane Cook...

2007-06-19T13:55:00.001-07:00

First off, I'm looking at the pre-sale for The White Stripes at Pershing Auditorium in Lincoln - $40 range...
I'll shell - but I feel dirty about it. For the band - I think I paid almost the same price when I was seeing Bob Dylan. I was expecting something more like $28. I did pick up their new album today and it seems to be getting some great reviews, but I have yet to encounter a White Stripes album that received shitty reviews upon its release.

Dream show coming up in September: Arcade Fire with LCD Soundsystem opening.

And now for the main point of the post - if this cover was made by folks from Family Guy or South Park, I would shrug this off as just being their attempt to shock. But the fact that it's Dane Cook and Jessica Alba - just makes me pissed. It would sort of be like ex. Creed singer Scott Stapp posing standing in front of imposing tanks ala Tianamen Square.

How much longer do I have to be a Republican?

2007-06-11T06:38:00.000-07:00

I've ranted and railed against the Republican establishment since I was in the eighth grade and saw Jesse Jackson speak at my high school. But two years ago, under general threat of Tom Osborne unseating Dave Heineman - a Republican, a pro-lifer, but in general, a guy who was amicable, focused more on legislation for business than legislation for morality and honestly - probably more qualified as governor. So - I switched ranks.

I've been kind of lazy - so I haven't switched my rank back to Independent, but it looks like the Republican establishment will have to have me in its ranks for another few months as it seems like a lot of the right (especially 1110 K-Facist-AB) have been drumming up support to oust senator Chuck Hagel from a Senate run. So, come primary time, it looks like I'll have to keep my Republican rank to throw my support for senator Hagel.

http://www.kfab.com/pages/goodmorningshow.html

Look - a lot of his policies I can do without. I think the gay marriage issue is total pandering. But to be honest, Iraq is probably THE most important issue facing Americans at this point. And - like it or not...any time Hagel has said anything about Iraq, be it today, or two years ago, he's had a helluva track record for being dead-on accurate. To top it off, unlike the majority of the planners of Iraq (oh yeah, and Afghanistan - keep forgetting that one) - he's actually had military experience.

For the pro-business folk out there - I'll break it down into this way - sometimes, that pain in the ass co-worker, that cynic, that constant critic - is one of your best employees because some are not trying to undermine the company, they're trying to give you the consequences of your actions so you can plan accordingly. President Lincoln surrounded himself with these people. You surround yourself with a bunch of yes-men (and women) - and you typically get clocked by reality.

Hagel criticizing Bush does not make him a bad senator. And if Nebraska is too dumb to toss one of the most knowledgeable people about the Iraq war in favor of someone who will be sure to weave the term "my faith tells me..." into every one of their speeches, maybe we don't deserve him, but the U.S. sure as hell does.

Waiting For My Man...

2007-06-07T18:26:00.000-07:00

Cool to see our local boy holding his own against a legend -

Frustrations

2007-06-07T14:05:00.000-07:00

I'm frustrated that for some reason, I can't import Bright Eyes' and Lou Reed's performance of "Waiting for My Man" on this site.

I'm frustrated that this is my second full week without caffeine. The anxiety has leveled off - but now I get to go through the "finding the source" of the stress and an abrupt change in diet. Limited sugars - fine - no biggie. Limited alcohol - uh... ok. I suppose. I never had a rock star "consume a bottle of Jack every night", but I do enjoy a gin and tonic or a few fingers of Johnny Walker while I'm reading.

But caffeine. Switch to decaf at 33. Just don't sound right. I never was a pot a day consumer, but dang if I didn't relish that first two awesome cups a day - especially if it's coming from somewhere like Blue Line. Hoping this is temporary...

Anyway - my afternoon mix:

"All For Swinging You Around" - The New Pornographers *****
"Patience" - Mark Sandman *****
"Strongman" - Luscious Jackson ***
"The Black Hawk War, Or, How To Demolish An Entire Civilization And Still Feel Good About Yourself in the Morning, Or, We Apologize For The Inconvenience But You're Going To Have to Leave Now, Or ..." *** (*$%# you, Sufjan for making me type this)
"I Can't Stand It" - The Velvet Underground ****
"Heaven is a Truck (live in Australia)" - Pavement ****
"Talula" - Tori Amos *****
"The Foundation" - Thievery Corporation ***
"Mood to Burn Bridges" - Neko Case ****
"Then She Did" - Janes Addiction *****
"Unhappy" - Big Boi ***
"Candy" - Morphine (e.g. the token 'chick' song in Morphine's catalog)
"Born of a Broken Man" - Rage Against The Machine ****
"Hot Pink" - Meat Puppets ***
"My Downfall" - The Notorious B.I.G. ****
"The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory" - Guided by Voices ***
"Real Live Bleeding Fingers and Broken Guitar Strings (live)" - Lucinda Williams ***
"Brown Sugar" - The Rolling Stones ****
"Tell Him" - Lauryn Hill ****
"Come On Up to the House" - Tom Waits *****
"Friction" - Television ****
"Sweat" - Tool *****
"The Update" - The Beastie Boys ****
"Diedre vs. Dice" - The Roots **
"What's Going On in My Home? (live)" - Luther Allison *****
"Police On My Back" - The Clash *****
"Bongo Beep" - Charlie Parker ****
"Barfruit Blues" - The Hold Steady ***** (so much better than anything on 'Boys and Girls')
"Egg Man" - The Beastie Boys *****
"FM" - Junior Boys ***

Dammit...

2007-06-01T15:14:00.001-07:00

Props to LastFM for making hopefully a huge profit, I'm just kind of bummed a company like CBS gobbled it up...
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cbs30may30,1,3380181.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Heavy on the Tom Waits today

2007-06-01T15:01:00.000-07:00

iPod shuffle list o' the day:

"The Martyr" - Cursive ****
"Snowstorm" - Galaxie 500 ****
"Straight to Hell" - The Clash ****
"A Northern Soul" - The Verve ****
"Good Good Lovin'" - James Brown ****
"Since I've Been Loving You" - Led Zep *****
"Look Away" - Deerhoof ** (Pitchfork says I suck for not liking this)
"Wrong Bobby" - Eels ***
"M.O.R. (live)" - Blur ***
"Pretty Mary K (other version)" - Elliott Smith ****
"Take 5, D." - Minutemen ****
"Riffs and Variations on a Single Note For Jelly Roll, Early Hines Louis Armstrong, Baby Dodds, And The King of Swing, To Name A Few" - Sufjan Stevens ** (barely got the name done before the song expired
"Common People (Vocoda Mix)" - Pulp **
"Peace in Mind" - Neneh Cherry ****
"Lullaby in Rhythm, pt. 2" - Charlie Parker ***
"Strugglin'" - Tricky ****
"Superfly" - Curtis Mayfield ***** (thought this was going to be 'Egg Man' by the Beastie Boys)
"Hearthearted (Ode to Thoreau)" - Amy Millan ****
"(-) Ions" - Tool **
"Child's Play" - Ghostface Killah *****
"Wu-Banga 101" - Ghostface Killah ***** (two classics - same album)
"Dashboard" - Modest Mouse *****
"Hot Soft Light" - The Hold Steady ***
"Napoleon Says" - Phoenix ****
"Stop the World" - The Clash **
"Flip Flop Rock" - Big Boi Feat Killer Mike & Jay-Z ***
"Light Rail Coyote" - Sleater-Kinney *****
"Mr. Harris" - Aimee Mann" ****
"Lilah" - Morphine ***
"Blood Roses" - Tori Amos ****
"The Center of the World" - Bright Eyes ***
"Ten Crack Commandments" - The Notorious B.I.G. ****
"Rebel Rebel" - David Bowie ****
"It's a Crime" - The Magnetic Fields ****
"God Only Knows" - The Beach Boys *****
"John Saw That Number" - Neko Case *****
"In the Colosseum" - Tom Waits *****
"Blind Love" - Tom Waits ****
"Hoochie Koochie Man" - Jimi Hendrix *****
"Home I'll Never Be" - Tom Waits *** (iPod's lovin' some Tom Waits today)

Medicate vs. non-medicate

2007-06-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

Ok, this is my last blog about my recent experiences in the hospital before I move on to more important topics, such as Micahel Moore's movie Sicko, the beauty that is Beertopia on 38th and Farnam and whether Rolling Stone was right in saying the Guliani WAS worse than our current president.

Both hospitalizations did not end up like a scene in a My Chemical Romance video, with me strapped down to a bed, drugged and locked in isolation. Both times, I was hooked up to a monitor, had sticky tape that was a bitch to peel off and occasionally, a bit of oxygen. After finally getting to my doctor - the diagnosis was clear: panic attacks. Something I've never experienced before.

Ala Tony Soprano, I was referred to a psychiatrist, who prescribed me two meds. I called my doc before embarking on either one (names of med withheld for no other reason in that I don't feel like divulging). My doc, who pretty much prescribes a home remedy before any med, gave the green light to both.

I was still hoping to somehow find some sort of all-powerful combination of chamomile tea, intense journaling, solid friend support, yoga and whatever. But two nights ago, I woke up in the same state. Heart racing "the fear" gripping. I was to a point where I actually started to think of a late-era U2 song: "Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own" - true, the person who is offering to help is a person and not a med, but the chorus stuck. Like any other medication, I don't plan on being on it any longer than I have to be - but if I had an ear infection, a sprained ankle, bronchitis, I, along with a vast majority of the population would be on board to get their necessary meds to fix these ailments. But whenever a problem deals with any sort of anxiety/depression or other mental issue, a stigma still remains in seeking out treatment. It probably doesn't help matters when that field is one of the most frequent targets of abuse by patients and a vast number the under-$30,000 a year crowd who may need such care do not have proper access.

1,000 Profile Views!

2007-05-27T09:44:00.000-07:00

To whoever viewed my profile - thanks for bringing it to 1,000 hits.

I got my test results back - and actually wound up going to the emergency room again yesterday because I felt like I was having an anxiety attack, but my chest felt like it was collapsing and the doctor said it may be a heart attack.

Once again, anxiety.

This is nuts. I'm a bit stressed at work, but nothing that's par for the course. I did get it after having two cups of coffee at the Blue Line and then grabbing bloody mary at one of the neighborhood dive bars. The doctors said my heart enzymes were a bit on the high side, but they came back normal. Other stuff was fine across the board: heart beat in the low 90s, EEG fine and blood pressure at 120 over 79. I went home and watched a few episodes of The Wire and felt the occasional "fear" come on every now and then.

So, I start today on a clean slate. My usual routine of eating breakfast at the Radial, reading the New York Times at The Meeting Place, browsing books at the Antiquarium has been replaced by a weird series of baby steps:
Make breakfast at home: check
Take a bag of garbage to the dumpster: check
Get in the car and get some fuel: check

Hopefully work my way back up to catching a show at The Meeting Room this week (for some reason, going to loud, rambunctious shows doesn't seem to trigger any anxiety-related attacks).

Holiday list

2007-05-25T13:36:00.001-07:00

At least a good part of the weekend is going to be spent at work, maybe hit up a bbq on Sunday.
I'm sure a lot of you probably know about this Web site, but it never hurts to pass it along:
www.spinner.com - if for the only reason, the site is great at alerting which sites are streaming upcoming releases for no charge. The latest offerings included the Battles and the National's latest. Have a good weekend -

Daily iPod list:
"Graduation Day" - Kanye West **
"Heartbeat" - Wire ****
"50 Ft. Queenie" - PJ Harvey ****
"Our Last Night" - Los Lobos ***
"Halo" - Depressed Mode ****
"Low" - Cracker ****
"If You Could Read My Mind" - Johnny Cash ****
"Hunter" - Bjork *****
"Ramble On" - Led Zep *****
"Think About Me (single version)" - Fleetwood Mac ***
"Happy" - Rolling Stones *****
"B4U" - Mercy Rule ****
"Sugar Babe" - Bob Dylan *****
"Me and a Gun" - Tori Amos *****
"Dark City" - ELO **
"Solitary Man" - Johnny Cash ****

From the 'Fire to the Ambulance

2007-05-22T08:46:00.000-07:00

Any weekend that begins with The Arcade Fire at the Chicago Theatre, takes a detour to the emergency room via ambulance the next day and ends with The Hold Steady at the Sokol Underground has to rank up with one of the most memorable weekends in my life.

First off - The Arcade Fire at the Chicago Theatre - Friday, May 18
The theatre itself is amazing. For local readers, I would only describe it as The Rococo Theatre in a far more lush setting. Two-ton chandeliers, renaissance-style paintings on the ceiling. The band loves playing in churches, but there was plenty of religion going on. Starting with a grainy photo of a salt of the Earth preacher (it looked like it was taken from the film Jesus Camp), the band went into the title track of their excellent follow-up to Funeral, Neon Bible. Highlights are too numerous to count, but seeing Richard Reed Parry furiously bang a drum at the front of the stage in perfect synchronicity with drummer Jeremy Gara and seeing virtually the entire theater go into a jumping fit with the rousing set closer "Rebellion" were well worth the eight-hour trip.

The next day I grabbed a steak at this decent steakhouse in downtown Chicago. After nibbling on a decent cut of rib eye, my heart started racing. I only had two cups of coffee during the day while I was record store browsing with a few friends. No big deal. I went outside, saying I had to take a call - and used a few deep breathing techniques I picked up when I enrolled in this super cheap yoga class. Still didn't help. I wasn't agitated or anything, but when you're in that situation, stuff goes through your head. I kept thinking of Chris Ayers' repeated hypochondriac visits to his doctor in his book War Reporting for Cowards and the Flaming Lips' song "Mr. Ambulance Driver" kept running through my head. I thought of my dad dying of a heart attack at the age of 43. I got back to the hotel - after a one-hour ride, and my heart was still racing. We were outside of the city limits of Chicago and had no idea where a hospital was. Finally, I told my friend to call an ambulance. I'm dreading the bill for this - but at that point, I could think of no other option. There was no way to stop my heart from racing. After a few hours in the ER and an IV drip, I was sent home.

I came back to Omaha - thinking "all of my relocation money has evaporated faster than John McCain's credibility." I was still lightheaded from the experience, the hellishly boring drive through Iowa and general lack of sleep. But there was still one more show to see: The Hold Steady.

Summoning up my reserves, I went and was treated to an equally life-affirming set from the Minneapolis-turned New York pilsner poets. The Heartless Bastards performed a great, solid, bluesy opening set that made me want to check them out if they ever get to The Waiting Room. The show itself took on the feel of a baseball game: lots of jerseys, kids tailgating from their cars and a whole lot of screaming. Craig Finn was in full rock star mode, waving his hands around, spilling fables that would make Mike Skinner of the Streets envious. The band played most of Boys and Girls in America, but my personal favorites came from "Cattle and the Creeping Things" and "Your Little Hoodrat Friend" from their near-flawless Separation Sunday. The band closed with "Killer Parties." Surrounded with 300 or so-odd folks (with the gray haired population proudly representin' even though Monday was a workday), I kept thinking of another incident where my heart would start racing uncontrollably again. But if I was to drop at the concert, I could proudly say "The Hold Steady almost killed me."

Early weekend

2007-05-16T13:55:00.000-07:00

Getting all my stuff ready before I catch The Arcade Fire in Chicago. Then gun it back to Omaha to catch The Hold Steady at Sokol. I'm still not enthused at The Hold Steady's last album, but I'm excited to see them.

iPod shuffle list for the day (haven't had one of these in ages)

"Bucky Done Gun" - M.I.A. *****
"Four Leaf Clover" - Old 97's ****
"Loss Adjuster (Exerpt pt. 2)" - Jarvis Cocker ** (basically an intro song)
"Muzzle" - Smashing Pumpkins ****
"You Don't" - Tricky ***
"Natural Blues" - Moby *****
"Stay Up Late" - Talking Heads ****
"(Just Like We) Breakdown" - Hot Chip ***
"Hateful" - The Clash *****
"The Levee's Gonna Break" - Bob Dylan ****
"The First Time" - u2 ****
"Reaction" - The Appleseed Cast ***
"Bullet Proof" - Moorcheeba ****
"Kreuzberg" - Bloc Party ***
"N.W.O." - Ministry *****
"Feelin' It" - Jay-Z feat. Mecca ****
"Dreams" - TV on the Radio ****
"You, Baby" - The Mamas and the Papas ***
"Give My Love to Rose" - Johnny Cash ***
"Tremor Christ" - Pearl Jam ***
"Melt Your Heart" - Jenny Lewis ***
"F**k Up Beats" - The Chemical Brothers ***
"Motorolla Scalatron" - Stereolab ***
"My Weakness" - Moby ***
"Tribulations" - LCD Soundsystem ***
"One Tree Hill" - u2 *****
"Trouble (Eve of Destruction)" - Blackalicious ***
"Say Anything" - Aimee Mann ****
"Black Cowboys" - Bruce Springsteen ***
"Hallowed Be Thy Name" - Iron Maiden ****
"Superman" - Eminem ***
"Priest's Knees" - Destroyer ****

"Hard People Shatter" - RIP Kate Webb

2007-05-15T18:45:00.000-07:00

Sadly, I didn't hear a thing about Kate Webb until I heard a segment on "As it Happens" as I was driving home today. Virtually all of her life in journalism was the stuff of legend.

First off - as anyone who has been on journalismjobs.com can attest - it's nearly impossible to find a journalism job without a journalism degree. Webb started out with a philosophy degree and ended up taking a reporter job - despite not knowing shorthand. She dove into the job and ended up cleaning out her savings (or damn near close to clearing it out) to pay to go to Saigon to cover the war.

She was captured by North Vietnamese soldiers during the war and was assumed to be killed during combat. There even was a bullet-ridden body that was close enough to resemble her to merit a funeral and an obit in the New York Times.

When she was released, she continued covering world events, up to the first Gulf War.

Interesting Discovery Saturday...

2007-05-15T07:44:00.000-07:00

I was at the Dundee Cork and Bottle to grab an early afternoon beer when I saw the following book resting near the wine selections...

I'm fairly sure that book has since been lifted from that establishment. May not be my favorite album from Pearl Jam, but it does have some gems - and I know there are some fans who think the album is the band at their creative peak.

Am I Missing Something?

2007-04-18T20:00:00.000-07:00

So, when the crushingly awful With Teeth came out, I got sick of hearing the "return to form" and "the best since The Downward Spiral" talk. The album was a horrible stab at trying to be relevant for the new batch of incoming, morose college freshmen.

What pissed me off most was most critics tossed away The Fragile. Not only was it a great album, a good argument can be made that it's Nine Inch Nails' best album and - front to back - probably the best double-CD album released by a major rock artist in the past 20 years (exceptions to Jack Logan's Bulk, Tom Waits' Orphans and The Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs). I remember my first full introduction to the album: it was at Pride Kansas City of all places in 2000. I quickly grew bored with the scene and the bad music and I opted to drive back to Lincoln a day early in my then-new/used Toyota Camry. I thought the drive to Lincoln from Kansas City was the perfect chance to a) break in the stereo and b) listen to The Fragile from front-to-back. Until then, I listened to the album in bits and pieces, but that was my first opportunity to fully digest the album in its entirety. With full volume, it absolutely floored me.

When I streamed Year Zero, I was immediately disappointed. It could have been I was listening to it at work, but none of the tracks, with the exception of the last track, evoked any reaction. With a lack of hooks and a lack of incisive lyrics, what's left? (see for yourself at http://yearzero.nin.com/). When the reviews came back, I was thinking critics were going to savage NIN for two reasons:
a. the album was mediocre
b. he's an aging Gen-Xer - and critics love to attack aging scenesters (hell, Bright Eyes is already getting some press for his 'aging' status at the ripe age of 27).

I was ready for a nice ol' 1.5 rating from Pitchfork.
Much to my surprise, Pitchfork gave it a 6.7 - a huge leap above Bright Eyes' latest (6.0) and just a notch below the Yeah Yeah Yeah's Show Your Bones.
Then Rolling Stone gave it a four-star rating (not too surprising)
Then the show Sound Opinions raved about the album, saying it will be revisited many years down the road and new discoveries will be mined.
Then a general consensus of critics gave Year Zero a favorable rating at MetaCritic.

I'm still scratching my head at this. Personally, I think the critics are jumping the gun on this album and time won't be kind to this album. I remember how people initially said Weezer's Pinkerton was a stinker and now it's a classic and that U2's All That You Can't Leave Behind was a classic when it came out - and time hasn't been kind to that album. So - who knows.
But I've given this album three listens - and I'm still perplexed why this is rated above The Fragile (true, when The Fragile came out, it received raves, winning album of the year honors in Spin).

I guess one of the things that bugs me most about the album (since the music can't really bug me since it didn't leave an impression) is its generic dystopian premise. A few years into the future. We're a police state. Iraq is still going on. *Yawn*
It's sort of like going from watching a truly moving and utterly plausible dystopian film (Children of Men) and then seeing something like the cartoony-distopianism of a film like Ray Liota's No Escape or the Stallone/Snipes film ...oh, you know - the one about the cop that's frozen and then thawed out in a totally PC world to nab Snipes' character...

RIP

2007-04-18T19:49:00.000-07:00

Much like the BCS in college football, American Idol escapes a near disaster near the end of its season as Sanjaya is voted off. The integrity and honor of American Idol is preserved for another year.

Chuck Klosterman dissects a newsroom

2007-04-17T20:27:00.000-07:00

Went to Chuck Klosterman's talk tonight at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. First off, thank you UPC for putting this together. Klosterman's talk was like reading one of his essays: funny, a few nuggets of brilliant, analytical thinking and some Tesla references thrown in. I'll just focus on his basic breakdown of the personalities of a newsroom...

The Sports Reporters
When asked about his experiences working with different beats and the personalities of the reporters that cover those beats, Klosterman said that regardless of the beat, the personality of a dedicated reporter is fairly similar. That said, sports reporters tend to be a bit more self-righteous than usual. When the Duke lacrosse scandal broke, sports commentators were all over writing pieces moralizing about how this is a symbol of society's decay. Despite this moralizing, they're fairly laid back, much like...

Music Reporters
A laid back bunch as well - but probably the most obsessive lot of reporters you'll encounter. They will put as much importance behind an argument about the best Beach Boys song as historians will argue over what military battle had the most significant impact in American history.

Business Reporters
Probably the most bitter bunch of reporters you'll encounter. And why not? Klosterman said when he was writing arts and entertainment stories, his desk right next to the business reporters. While Klosterman was interviewing people who were trying their best to come off as authentic, business reporters spend day after numbing day dealing with a brick wall called public relations for companies. In essence, they spend their days fighting to get the truth and having to go through a department that will only spill their version of the truth to the reporter.

Copy Editors
Extremely intelligent. Extremely lonely. They come in at around 2 p.m. Leave at around midnight. In between, reporters are out trying to get people's life experiences and put them in the paper while copy editors sit in an enclosed environment, sealed off from that life, fact-checking and obsessing over layouts and two-column decks. When they get off work, they're naturally too wired to go to bed, so they either close a bar down or go home and chat with a girlfriend from Sweden online. The rest of the night is spent on the couch, watching bad TV, 'cause if you're in a relatively small town, what else is there to do at 4 in the morning when most of your friends are asleep? They get to bed around 9 a.m. - wake up about a half-hour before work and repeat that cycle again.

A night at the airport

2007-04-15T18:34:00.000-07:00

I arrived at Dallas International Airport about two hours after my flight was supposed to arrive. In case you haven't searched the news sites, weather has been killing air travel the past few days. Much to my relief, I saw my plane to Omaha was LEAVING at 9:58. I looked at my watch: 9:45 as I ran out of the gate. And the gate for Omaha was only two gates down. But the doors were locked. The plane hadn't even left the terminal. The folks at American actually were cool, practically begging the crew to open the door, but no go. I started to curse the two slow-ass folks who were in front of me in my flight that took about three minutes to wiggle their fat-ass storage luggage out of its bin.

So, at 11 - and no bars open, I opted for a cot. I could have driven to Albuquerque from Tucson to see Neko Case, but I already spent too much cash in Tucson. So, I grabbed a cot and read. With no one around, I was pissed that the volume on every set in every gate was amped up so an audience of 50 could hear. Trying to get some sleep, I drifted in and out of counsciousness, dreaming of flooding and Imus (the TV was on CNN).

I got into Omaha this morning, smelling quite funky and slightly agitated. I skipped my usual breakfast at the Radial to nap for a few hours. Even though this was a damn-near flawless day, I opted to waste a few hours and catch the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie.

A slight disclaimer: I know it was basically a long ep. of Aqua Teen Hunger Force. But to be honest, it just wasn't funny. I chuckled a few times at the shock value of hearing unchained vulgarity of the show that always seems to want to break out in a "motherfucker" now and then. But aside from that, it just wasn't...funny.

Imus ditched

2007-04-13T10:08:00.000-07:00

Imus fired from CBS.
Wow...now THAT's how you get results.

Of course, it didn't take long for FOX to spin this. Any remaining person who thinks that FOX has no bias need only to hear a few snippets of last night's broadcast where one of the anchors wondered why it took Obama so long to publically state his opinion on the Imus matter and have his opinion stated after everything was pretty much resolved. The famous 'question mark' subhead read something like "Has the Imus controversy hurt Obama?"

Imus...
Imus, Imus, Imus... yeah, the producer's "jigaboo" remark is far more offensive - as well as many of the blatantly unfunny and racist skits throughout the years. About as offensive as Limbaugh's "Halfrican American" remark. And this is what public outrage does. Are you trying to tell me that the public can't get organized enough to bring up companies who do business with organizations (private and public) in Sudan who are sponsoring genocide - but we can get an almost immediate dismissal of a radio personality who uttered "hos" - a term that has been uttered in almost EVERY sitcom by both white and black actors?! I watched a bit of the '700 Club' yesterday morning and Robertson was sympathetic toward Imus, but he was salivating - basically asking folks to use this momentum to go after rap music and other things ungodly. If Imus was this easy, it's going to be only easier to go after another personality - but this time, it could very well be because a few very visible public advocates do not like the ideas the person is spouting - even if that person is not using course language.

This is where my liberatrian gene kicks in. Limbaugh's TV show was cancelled. Dr. Laura's show was cancelled. Why? Yeah, a few very public figures attacked both - but their untilmate demise came from a straight ol' public ass-kicking. Low ratings (e.g. the market) did them in. Not because a public figure tried to fan the flames for their own opportunistic means - but because the public simply decided to turn it off. That totally stripped Rush and Laura from any sense of martyrdom - something that Imus can proudly declare himself. I will be the first one to pop a champagne bottle if Rush's or Sean Hannity's shows gets cancelled - but it g*ddamn better not be because a single person, but because the public generally got fed up and ditched their sorry asses.

Kurt Vollegut - 1922-2007

2007-04-12T06:44:00.000-07:00

Tucson Bound

2007-04-10T19:52:00.000-07:00

Why the hell did I book a flight for 6:20 a.m.?
Oh yeah - the flight was only $110 round-trip.

Two job interviews. Though I'm kicking myself for not looking at the schedule a bit closer - Neko Case is playing Monday - I'm coming back Saturday night.

Grindhouse, Sopranos and 24

2007-04-08T20:21:00.000-07:00

From USA Today about the underperforming box-office of Grindhouse:
And Weinstein says that because the movies will be released separately on DVD, "we need to change strategy and educate audiences that the Grindhouse experience will only be in theaters. It's too early to call the fate of this movie."

Here's the link to the story.

Uh - actually, Weinstein, it's a safe bet to say that movie is done. I've never heard of a speaking engagement at a few midwestern cities raise the box office revenues by say - 100 percent for a major motion picture.

Hell with it - it's the public's loss. I remember a few years ago, Michael Savage was saying our society was at its collapse because Sin City was the number one movie around Easter. I saw Grindhouse in a fairly crowded theater and the crowd totally ate up the movie. The grindhouse phenomena was before my time, but I do remember all of the shitty c-grade monster/slasher/detective/disease movies on KPTM (a Fox affiliate, but in its early days, it was a local station that had to find hours of cheap entertainment to fill their schedule since they had no sports coverage and only a few shows on Fox at the time - think pre-Simpsons). I squirmed at the grotesqueness of Planet Terror and nearly doubled-over in laughter at the picture-perfect ending of Death Proof.

The next day, a friend of mine called and said she thought Ghost Rider was actually really fun and she had a great time at the theater. She knew what she was getting herself into (her nephew wanted to see it) - and she was genuinely surprised at how fun the movie was. I could only shake my head. But then I thought to myself "If that was a Tarantino movie, would I have been more lenient?" Maybe. But truth be told, Tarantino is still able to command attention and make you feel like you've gotten yourself drunk off of cinema like few directors of today. Ghost Rider, like Death Proof, may be intentionally cheesy, but without seeing the movie, I can assume Ghost Rider didn't have a spec of the dialogue that Death Proof had that gave viewers a reason to care for the characters.

Topic 2...

As my profile states, I'm a geek.
Geek to the point where I've been the weekly host for - to quote Mr. Rollins - a TV Party. During the X-Files heyday, people would come over to my roommate and my self's apartment. But then something happened. The show started to lose its novelty. When it looked like it was "the end" (e.g. most of the shrouded conspiracy architects getting pretty much toasted by aliens) - the Sopranos started up. With David Chase's gift for dialog and rich character development, soon my roommate and I started migrating to another friends' house to watch The Sopranos (they had HBO, we didn't). Soon, the Sopranos was so good, we subscribed to HBO. And soon I started cooking ziti for the occasion.

Then the Sopranos started waning. Then I graduated college, got an apartment on my own and realized I couldn't afforded HBO, so suddenly, 24 started to become the excuse for friends to come over and geek out. But this season has made me look at my watch and count the hours until this show ends and the trashy, but goddamn it's good trash Hell's Kitchen comes on the air. It's not the right-wing slant of the show. The show's creator's have teetered to the right for quite some time. Though it's surprising because most of Season 2 revolved around a president who stubbornly insisted on following every lead before attacking a country for an alleged tie to a terrorist organization who was set to detonate a bomb in LA. This season, we've pretty much seen a retread of Season 2 - and lacking several great cast members (mainly Xander Berkeley, who played George Mason, who could almost be described as a precursor to House).

So, without 24, what's left to pick up the slack? First off, I'm not really stressing. I usually allow myself the luxury of one or two television shows to follow during the year. An hour freed up will usually go to reading or searching for a better job. I'm obviously not going to be one of those people sporting a "Kill Your Television" shirt at a concert. Statistically, I believe almost every medium produces an equal amount of greatness (not much in each medium) and trash (usually a helluva lot more). I've sat through many-a-shitty one-act plays with dialog as bad as anything on - say The O.C. at its creative sunset (just using it as an example, I've never watched the show). And I've seen episodes of Twin Peaks, Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, The Office (primarily the BBC version) and House that rivaled some of the best moments in cinema that year.

Elvis, Neko and Tucson

2007-04-05T10:23:00.000-07:00

Got my trip mapped out. Just going to run my suit to the cleaners over lunch for my job recruiting trip to Tucson next week.

A bit sleepy today after catching Elvis Perkins (who has a nice write-up in USA Today) and Let's Go Sailing at the Waiting Room last night. The night before, I caught Neko Case at the Rococo. I've seen Neko play at the Sokol Underground as well as with the New Pornographers in Lawrence, KS. She put on a great show, as usual. The crowd wasn't nearly as obnoxious as the last concert I attended at the Rococo (Jeff Tweedy). I think Neko Case, at least right now, has achieved this level of untouchability in my ears. In terms of songwriting and music, I can't see her releasing a weak album, but I know it will eventually happen if an artist is in it for the long haul. I can imagine PJ Harvey releasing a weak album (though people have already said it has happened - though I liked Uh Huh Her and Is This Desire?), many say Lucinda Williams' West isn't on par with her usual output. But Neko - I dunno, it's going to be really hard to imagine her releasing a weak album.

Elvis Perkins was great, though I opted to hang back at the bar near a tabletop videogame machine and admire the show from there, nursing a few vodka tonics. Let's Go Sailing put on a great show as well. It was one of those performances that could make you purchase a CD after the show even if you didn't know anything about the band before coming into the venue. Looking forward to listening to it today.

This was my first time in the Waiting Room Lounge. I talked to one of the bartenders, who was also a drummer. I asked him if the place was open on Sunday and he responded with an enthusiastic "Yup." Awesome - ever since Brother's Lounge decided to close on Sunday, I've been looking for a decent watering hole to have a pint or two and play a game of pool on that occasional Sunday afternoon that justifies such an action. In addition to being a generally great venue to catch a live act, the place is incredibly laid back - vintage pinball games (from the '90s-vintage), a pool table, I'm assuming a decent juke box.

CDs and Baseball

2007-04-02T10:34:00.000-07:00

No matter how bad work is today, the fact that baseball season is kicking off has put me in a good mood. Wish I would have known about the Boston/Kansas City Royals game - I would have taken off work in a second to see that - but my vacation days are already thinning - I booked a trip to Tucson to check out some job leads.

It looks like I'll be saving on average of about $40 a month now that CD Warehouse has closed it doors. I know it's a chain, but the closing did leave a slight lump in my throat. About a third of my 600-plus collection of CDs came from that place over the past six years. There would always be a brand-new release that you could find used on a Wednesday or Thursday from a disgruntled fan. Some of my proudest purchases...

Luscious Jackson - In Search of Manny ($3.99)
PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love ($3.99 - my third copy of that CD)
Neneh Cherry - Homebrew ($2.99)
Beck - Mutations ($7.99)

Hornets! Hornets!

2007-03-29T19:41:00.000-07:00

Had to start this off with a Hold Steady reference because - joy of joys - The Hold Steady is coming to Sokol. Thanks again One Percent Productions.

DVD talk...

Holy crap - a few weeks ago, I was blogging about seeing this in the theater. Now, it's available on DVD. It's amazing that the majority of the films at the cheap theater are out on DVD. I do have to admit, I was a bit puzzled at the choice of cover for Children of Men on DVD. The original poster is one of the better movie posters I've seen. It's one of those posters like Silence of the Lambs, American Beauty or Alien - a memorable poster that forms an immediate association with the movie. Whereas the DVD cover sort of reeks of the cliched "person hiding" type of cover I've seen from countless b-grade action movies.

(original cover)

Also, though the DVD contains some decent added material, it sort of reeks of the "this is the DVD for the folks who love the movie and will scamper out and buy it the day it comes out." The "definitive DVD" will no doubt follow in a few months. And most likely, I'll throw down cash for that one as well...

Live review - TV on the Radio on St. Patty's Day

2007-03-18T19:16:00.000-07:00

Any St. Patrick's Day that starts out eating corned beef and cabbage at the comfy Dundee Cork and Bottle and ending with TV on the Radio's stunning closer "Staring at the Sun" at the Voodoo Lounge in Kansas City has to be a damn good St. Patrick's day.

Seeing TV on the Radio at a casino sort of cheapened the experience of seeing this band for the first time. I sort of wished I could have seen them play somewhere like Liberty Hall in Lawrence, Kansas or Sokol Auditorium. But knowing full and well that I was lucky enough to have the band come anywhere within eight hours of Omaha made any discomfort of the venue quickly disappear.

Subtle quickly won me over. My friend who I went to the show with said Doseone, lead singer of Subtle, could have been a bastard combination of George Michael and Les Claypool. I was more than a tad concerned how Subtle's performing arts theatrics would go over in a place where people were blitzed on green beer, occasionally watching the NCAA scores and the occasional yell of "Wolf Like Me!" from a few drunk twits. Fortunately, the crowd mellowed and for the most part, gave Subtle the warm reception they so deserved. I plan to buy For Hero:For Fool on Tuesday when I pick up Modest Mouse's new one.

Moving on to TV on the Radio. The band expertly tossed out "Wolf Like Me" in the first third of their set - I was praying a few of the undesirables would then leave to gamble once they heard the song they heard on the radio. Once they got that song out of the way, TVOTR played "Young Liars" - a song so energetic in its live environment that the audience energy level barely dropped, even though most of the audience probably had heard the song for the first time that night.

Tunde Adebimpe repeatedly flailed his arms, pumped his fist and did tag-team duty with the two microphones set up. For a band who is on the short list for "THE" band of the moment, Adebimpe remained ever humble and modest, thanking the audience repeatedly throughout the set. David Andrew Sitek repeatedly draped chimes over the neck of his guitar, nicely mixing with his buzzsaw guitar style. Jaleel Bunton didn't miss a beat on the drums - though he occasionally got up to do guitar duty. Throughout all of this, Kyp Malone was fairly stoic in his playing, occasionally giving the audience a slight appealing nod - which the audience ate up - the mark of ultimate stage presence.

TVOTR brought Subtle back on stage to play various percussion on a tribal-jam rendition of "A Method." "Staring at the Sun" closed out the set. I left, smelling the BBQ I ate at Arthur Bryant's slowly sweating out of me. For adrenaline - TVOTR's performance was enough to get me back to Omaha without feeling the fatigue that comes with being up for about 20 hours.

iPod shuffle list from Friday...
"Me Against The World" - 2-Pac Feat. Dramacy *****
"Girl of My Dreams" - Charles Mingus *****
"Mr. Self Destruct" - NIN *****
"Save Me" - Queen ***
"Welcome to the Terrordome" - Public Enemy *****
"Help Me" - Johnny Cash ****
"Fast Car" - Tracy Chapman ****
"Ex Factor" - Lauryn Hill *****
"Sailin' On" - Bad Brains ****
"My Friend Goo" - Sonic Youth ****
"Outro With Bees" - Neko Case **** (short, but oohhhh so sweet)
"Total Eclipse" - Iron Maiden ****
"Somebody to Love" - Queen ***
"Fifty Years After the Fair" - Aimme Mann ** (compared to her other stuff)
"Refugee" - Tom Petty *** (never understood why this was on 'Chipmunk Punk'...)

You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Kills you - R.I.P. Captain America

2007-03-13T20:49:00.000-07:00

Well, this past week, Captain America joined Charles Xavier, Superman, Optimus Prime and Robin in the "childhood heroes to die" club. I remember having to read the Transformers comic book about who survived the "fight to the death" battle of Optimus Prime vs. Megatron because I was in sixth grade at the time - and going to a movie like that - alone (since most of my friends had grown out of the Transformers/GI Joe stage and into the Bon Jovi-worshipping MTV stage of adolescence) wasn't an option. Still, when I read about Prime's death, I remember laughing it off with a few friends "good - he was a lame character anyway." Still, the death gnawed at me - it was like Prime's death gave him his own version of "indie credibility" - he was mortal - he had a belief and he paid a price for it.

Fast forward about a decade and I read that the main (not saying 'Prime' to avoid the obvious pun) reason Hasbro killed him off was to make room for a new toy line. One of my first experiences with the cold hard slap of capitalist cynicism. Then, as a limp way of appeasing fans - the creators resurrected the character. As a result, it's hard to look at any of that character's actions and sacrifices and not think "even if he dies, they'll bring him back" - just like hitting the RESET button. When he returned to the comics and TV show, I half-wished they kept him six underground since it added a tremendous depth to an otherwise cheesy "good vs. evil" storyline.

This Jesus-like resurrection of superheroes like Optimus Prime and Superman has to loom over the death of Captain America. Especially in today's world, a character like Captain America would have been almost impossible to sell. Sure, the Captain America scholars say he's just as layered and complex as Bruce Wayne and Peter Parker. But just the premise - the outfit, the name of the character - it just seems like there isn't really a demand for such a character anymore. The Left and Right are clamoring to claim the departed Captain America as their own - but like any other superhero who no longer captures mainstream imaginations - they are only claiming him after he has died. Now, I just wonder what route the "owners" of the Captain America franchise are going to take: let the icon of yesteryear pass into history - or cheaply use this tactic as a way to launch a new Captain America series.

iPod mix of the day...
"I Wanna Be Like You (The Monkey Song)" - Los Lobos ** (groan)
"No Complains" - Beck *** (the Information is sort of a grower)
"Utopia Parkway" - Fountains of Wayne ****
"It Coulda Been Me" - Social Distortion ***
"Extraordinary Machine" - Fiona Apple *** (leaked version)
"Sabotage" - The Beastie Boys ***** (nice bit o' nostalgia)
"E-Mac (interlude)" - Big Boi ** (not much to it)
"Thank You For Sending Me an Angel" - Talking Heads ****
"That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!" - Sufjan Stevens ****
"An Ode to No One" - Smashing Pumpkins ***
"Sieve-Fisted Find" - Fugazi ****
"I Am Superman" - R.E.M. ****
"Wear You Out" - TV on the Radio ****
"Titanium Exposure" - Sonic Youth ****
"Death or Glory" - The Clash **** (so sick of this album though)
"Lost Cause" - Beck ***** (not the case with this album...)
"Leather" - Tori Amos ***** (he he...)
"Neif + Girly" - Asobi Seksu ****
"Lilah" - Morphine ***
"Charlemagne in Sweatpants" - The Hold Steady **** (close to *****)
"Gimmie Shelter" - The Rolling Stones *****
"Another One Bites the Dust" - Queen *****
"Via Chicago" - Wilco ****
"Spill the Blood" - Slayer ***
"Better Version of Me (leaked version)" - Fiona Apple *****

Kurt Andersen on...

2007-03-11T19:56:00.000-07:00

After a blizzard blanketed Omaha about a week ago, today was as close to pre-summer perfection as one could imagine. I wanted to reintroduce my beloved mountain bike back into the wonderful world of single track trails. Still, I couldn't resist going to hear Kurt Andersen speak about his latest book, Heyday and do some readings from said book at Omaha's W. Dale Clark library. In addition to Omaha being the first stop for his book tour, the reading came the same day as Andersen's book was the featured book in the New York Times book review. While I would not call the review a rave, it was definitely a solid endorsement of Heyday.

As per the usual routine, Andersen allowed about 30 minutes for Q&A. Among some of the topics he discussed...

Whether he misses the hustle and bustle of working at a magazine like Spy:
No. "I like not having employees," Andersen said. He also said he believed Spy ended about the right time - just about the same time as the Internet was introducing itself to a mass audience.

The parallels between the years 1848-50 and today:
As railroads and the telegraph were becoming a fixture of contemporary life, the concept of time was undergoing a reinvention. Tasks that used to take days and months to accomplish (e.g. a correspondence) was now taking place in 'real-time.' During this time, political parties were so paralyzed by their own self-interest that they were basically impotent in handling the critical issues that were affecting the general population. Finally, the time was a time of new media and with the widespread practice of yellow journalism in full effect, newspapers were turning into slander machines against those whose views the writers/editors/managers disagreed with.

An Omaha cultural renaissance:
Andersen wrote about what he described as a "cultural Renaissance" in the upcoming March 25 edition of the New York Times magazine. He cites not only the music scene in Omaha, but the expansion of downtown Omaha's Old Market and the emergence of the Bemis Center.

So, with $30 liberated from my wallet, I left with a signed copy of Heyday. The historical novel doesn't occupy a big section in my book collection. Still, Andersen's enthusiasm for the subject as well as his previous literary accomplishments are enough to make me believe it will be a worthy purchase and a good addition to my collection. To those who weren't able to make it, Andersen is appearing at The Bookworm (87th and Pacific) Monday, March 12 at 6 p.m.

Editor's note: One of this site's readers was kind enough to email me that I misspelled Kurt Andersen's name - thanks for the catch.

Letter to Ann Coulter

2007-03-05T19:54:00.001-08:00

What better person to respond to Ann Coulter's latest bit of publicity whoredom than Mr. Henry Rollins.

My Omaha Friend Base is Hemorrhaging

2007-02-20T18:07:00.000-08:00

A guy I used to date caught up with me on AOL messenger. He said he was in New York now. He sent his resume to a recruiting firm. A few weeks later, a company hired him to manage a few high-profile Web sites. He had to pretty much pack whatever he could into his car - and the rest was gone. I couldn't be more proud of him - after a few rough weeks of brutal commutes and long-ass hours, he's settling into his routine.

A year ago, my roommate - a brilliant, sullen, intense, introverted chef took a job at a resort in Alaska. He's considering moving back to Nebraska to go to school at UNL and possibly earn a degree in chemistry to combine with his food expertise. Still, if he can help it, he's not coming back.

This afternoon, I was CD shopping and I bumped into another good friend of mine. She told me she was packing up and moving to Austin. She has family there and she said she would stay with family for awhile and then take any job - Starbucks if need be.

My roommate and ex had jobs to go to - and that was a big factor in their move. My other friend has been talking for ages about getting out of Omaha. She just got tired of talking and decided to do something about it. Me...I'm still looking. I've tried to keep my bitching about Omaha to a minimum until I can actually find a better option. Still, as more and more of my friends are falling into the 'outside of Omaha' column, the more restless I am to do the same.

Britney/Madonna debate closed

2007-02-20T18:05:00.001-08:00

I remember when Chris Rock asked the audience if the remembered that "whose the better artist, Prince or Michael Jackson?" debate. "Prince won!" Rock declared.

I think the same thing can be said about the fleeting hope that Britney Spears was Generation Y's heir to Madonna. I realize some critics have given due props to some of Spears' singles, but it's been almost a decade since "Hit Me Baby One More Time" and Spears has, what - five or so singles that are memorable?

I realize that before you can say "The Emancipation of Mimi," Spears will emerge from her rehab haze, hire a hot producer and begin her third comeback run. Still, when Madonna tanks, she releases a bad movie, comes out with a tasteless book and releases something like "American Life." Still, she almost immediately turns it around keeps herself MUSICALLY relevant by smartly choosing the producers that can play to her strengths.

Side note - news media - doing a story about how the media is obsessing over Britney Spears and using You Tube footage to show people's fascination - is cheap pandering at its best. Bravo -

Fox's stab at the Daily Show

2007-02-15T20:21:00.001-08:00

Humor just doesn't work without self-depricating humor. The Daily Show has it. Johnny Carson had it. Richard Pryor had it. Bob Hope had it. Chris Rock has it.

I see about as much prosperity for this show as Dr. Laura had with her televised show and Rush Limbaugh had with his.

Village Voice Pazz and Jop

2007-02-14T18:27:00.000-08:00

So, the Village Voice Pazz and Jop poll came out - here's the link:
http://www.villagevoice.com/pazzandjop06/

But if you want a quick view - here's the top 10:

1. Bob Dylan - Modern Times
2. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
3. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
4. The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
5. Gnarles Barkley - St. Elsewhere
6. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I am
7. Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury
8. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
9. Joanna Newsom - Ys
10. Tom Waits - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards

A few choice, awesome comments from commentators and fans...
Garrett Kamps:
My Chemical Romance: It ain't Dickens, but at least it ain't Sam's Town. Notably produced by American Idiot's Rob Cavallo—who, notably, also produced the Rent soundtrack—The Black Parade is playful and brash, with a solid pair of hairy nuts on it. Concerning "The Patient," his premature death via cancer, and the "Black Parade" that escorts him six feet under, the record is absurdly big and theatrical; if Rodgers and Hammerstein were alive today and into tattoos, they might've written "Welcome to the Black Parade." (A single that, also notably, pollsters preferred to the whole album, though not with such a Killers-esque disparity.) But here's the point: If all these new rock bands are gonna wear costumes and eyeliner, they may as well put on a damn show. Thanks, MCR! You're douchebags, but you're our douchebags.

---------------------------------------

Like most sequels, Love & Theft II: Modern Times recycled the old thrills but wasn't as good or fresh as the original. Sometimes, though, old thrills are better than new nothings. The Joanna Newsom album reminds me why I never dug the pretentious artsy kids in my high school: The stuff they liked sucked, and the cutesy alternative universes they created for themselves seemed even more torturous than the mainstream jock-hells the rest of us were stuck in.
Tim Grierson
Los Angeles, California

My gut reaction: Dylan's Modern Times got it out of namesake and namesake alone. I sincerely hope in a few years, this one grows on me, but compared to his previous two triumphs, this felt like Love and Theft 2.0.

The Hold Steady's Boys and Girls in America's high rank was overcompensation for folks who felt guilty for not putting Separation Sunday closer to the Top 5 last year.

Bloc Party

2007-02-06T15:19:00.000-08:00

I bought Bloc Party's A Weekend in the City today - but I have yet to even open the annoying plastic wrapping. I haven't been too impressed with what I've heard so far - but if the band can hold together, I think their next album will be absolutely incredible.

Of course, some of the criticism I've heard has nothing to do with the music. It seems that for the music press, any band that at least tries to use their music for political purposes is asking for ridicule. Caring about something is one of the least cool things to do because it shows a form of vulnerability. U2, Midnight Oil, Coldplay, Sting - I think with the exception of The Clash, bands that wear their political beliefs on their sleeves have taken their share of potshots. It sort of brings to question whether or not an artist can retain their hipster or indie credibility and still be active on the political front. 'course, the coolest artists out there say "fuck your indie labels, I'm doing whatever the hell I feel like."

Like Bob Mould before him, Kele Okerke is making some press not for his band's perceived sophomore slump, but his sexuality. http://music.guardian.co.uk/rock/story/0,,1984350,00.html

The song "I Still Remember," as Okerke said in the Guardian interview, is partially autobiographical (but seriously, isn't almost any song written by an artist, no matter the subject, partially autobiographical since the artist almost has to draw on his/her own experiences for the lyrics?). Okerke has said he has struggled with his sexual identity. Kudos for him for publicly revealing this and refusing to "take one side of the fence." I keep telling folks that bisexuality doesn't mean a black check for promiscuous behavior - it's just the way some folks are wired.

Moving on ... I'm in a serious Brit pop/rock phase right now. I just picked up Pulp's We Love Life used and last night, I was combing through the lyrics to This is Hardcore. The lyrics to "Like a Friend" sum up a good cross-section of my friends: ones who you pretty much know don't value your friendship as much as you do theirs, but they remain the mates that challenge you and excite you more than anyone else in your circle...

Don't bother saying you're sorry.
Why don't you come in?
Smoke all my cigarettes - againe.
Every time I get no further.
How long has it been?
Come on in now,
Wipe your feet on my dreams.

You take up my time,
Like some cheap magazine,
When I could have been learning something.
Oh well, you know what I mean.

I've done this before.
And I will do it again.
Come on and kill me baby,
while you smile like a friend.
And I'll come running,
Just to do it again.

You are the last drink I never should drunk.
You are the body hidden in the trunk.
You are the habit I can't seem to kick.
You are my secrets on the front page every week.
You are the car I never should have bought.
You are the train I never should have caught.
You are the cut that makes me hide my face.
You are the party that makes me feel my age.

Like a car crash I can see but I just can't avoid.
Like a plane I've been told I never should board.
Like a film that's so bad but I've gotta stay til the end.
Let me tell you now,
It's lucky for you that we're friends.

Children, Connections and List

2007-02-04T19:44:00.000-08:00

I can cross Children of Men off my 'Must See' list.
Note - spoilers below this picture...

Caine, Alfonso Cuaron" align="middle">

So many ideas and themes in this movie - and for pretty much most of the movie, the big ideas and themes didn't derail the film. From the harrowing last few minutes where the cameras move seamlessly from building to building as tanks were blasting so called "terrorists" out of hiding. A few people I've talked to say they were disappointed the way the movie ended, but given the other hour-and-a-half, I will say it's a petty gripe.

One of the petty bitches that I heard was the building-to-building fighting stopped once Kee emerged with her baby. The basic premise - a human birth is witnessed for the first time in more than 20 years - yeah, I would that would turn anyone's head - even during combat since the event would be so shattering. And, of course, the fighting resumed. Yeah, the execution was a tad clumsy, but honestly, I couldn't do better, so I'll shut the hell up.

It's a dystopian film, but it's a reality that can easily be envisioned. We had the Princess Di-like mourning of the death of the youngest person on Earth, the shelled cars that look like daily car bombing reports from Baghdad and the crackdown on terrorism and immigrants - taken to some extremes, but totally plausible if you take the stance that this is what would happen if for every terrorist event, there came more laws that chipped away at personal freedoms. It quickly moved to my top two or three movies of the year (United 93, Pan's Labrinth and Children of Men).

Moving on...this morning -
I was at The Radial Cafe - eggs, sourdough toast, hash browns, coffee and paper. A girl sat next to me and I overheard her conversation. I felt an odd connection for some reason, but I ruled it out breaking the ice since she was talking to a guy. I soon later heard her say "I have a journalism degree" and knew why I felt the connection. The guy left for church and I asked what she was doing with the degree.

It was a story I've become all too familiar with: doing insurance work for a company. She gave newspapers a try, but the $7 an hour wage just wasn't paying the rent and student loans. She lamented that she wants to get back into the field and ditch the "responsible" job. I'm in the same boat. I just applied for a job in central Oregon as well as Prague. Both promise a vow of poverty just as my car is approaching its twilight years. Soon, I found myself encouraging her to look into freelancing. I told her about how computer savvy reporting (being able to not only report, but post your stuff on the Internet, take photos and even video) is the way to survive. I told her to seriously think about freelancing. Basically, I was encouraging her to play it safe. The exact thing that I'm trying not to do.

There are others out there - in Omaha. There's enough to start a freelance support group: a place where all of us can trade stories, pointers and encourage one another. Just like Omaha's rock/indie music scene is supposed to be super supportive, the same ethos should apply to writing. Except for a few things: first - writing is a solitary activity. Second - though I'm not speaking for writers in general, I would say that if I was in this group, I would encourage writers to apply for certain magazines and give certain pitches...but only after I was rejected by that magazine.

Long iPod list since I had to work Saturday...

"Broken Chairs" - Built to Spill ****
"A Chance of a Lifetime" - The Rapture ***
"Ars Moriendi" - Mr. Bungle ****
"A Boy Named Sue (live)" - Johnny Cash *****
"Centre For Holy Wars" - The New Pornographers ****
"Instinct Blues" - The White Stripes ***
"On the Road" - Tom Waits ****
"Take to the Sky" - Tori Amos ***
"Lighten Up" - The Beastie Boys ****
"As Wicked" - Rancid ****
"My Finest Hour" - The Sundays ***
"Sweet as the Night" - ELO ***
"Yard of Blonde Girls" - Jeff Buckley **
"For We Are the King of the Boudoir" - The Magnetic Fields ***
"I Am a Pilgrim" - Johnny Cash ***
"Murder for the Money" - Morphine ***
"They're Red Hot" - Robert Johnson ****
"Big Day Coming" - Yo La Tengo ***** (Whitey's daily dose of Yo La Tengo, along with Tom Waits and Johnny Cash)
"Chillout Tent" - The Hold Steady *** (Way too many folks jumped onto this band with this album)
"Approaching Pavonis Mons By Baloon (Utopia Planitia)" - The Flaming Lips ***
"The Fly" - u2 *****
"Leif Erikson" - Interpol ****
"Solitary Man" - Johnny Cash ****
"Blackbird" - Beatles *****
"Creeque Alley" - The Mamas & the Papas *****
"Hat and Feet" - Fountains of Wayne ****
"3rd Act: ? Vs. Scratch 2... Electric Boogaloo" - The Roots ** (not much to it)
"Back in the U.S.S.R." - The Beatles **** (though not a fave - still better than a ***)
"Artistic Roll Call" - Bill Hicks ****
"Peas Porridge Hot" - De La Soul ****
"Please" - NIN ***
"To Have and Not to Hold" - Madonnna ***

Molly Ivins 1944-2007

2007-01-31T20:49:00.000-08:00

Probably the best link to go to is the NY Times so far...
I can say that any time I saw a column by her, I read it. A truly authentic voice in journalism

Lone Wolves

2007-01-28T18:46:00.000-08:00

I'm saving up for a slew of new releases coming up: Bloc Party, Lucinda Williams, Deerhoof (already out) and The Arcade Fire. So, it was a lean weekend. I saw Last King of Scotland - Forrest Whitaker gave one of the most chilling performances I have ever seen on film. Unfortunately, the friend I went with emailed me afterward, harping about the relationship between Amin and his doctor (a composite made up of about three real characters). She complained that gay writers were trying to use the movie to prove that Amin had homosexual tendencies. She basically said that gays were "ruining it" for the rest of the viewers - telling the audience that Amin was gay. A few things raised my internal alarms:
First one: Where the hell did she get her information? I GOOGLED 'Amin' and 'gay' and didn't find any major articles. She was basically saying that this was a mainstream belief. From what I researched, it amounted to a few stray bloggers. Hardly a mainstream belief.
Second: True, I feel a bit alienated from the gay community, but last time I checked, the gay folks I know who know who Idi Amin even is - aren't exactly chomping at the bits to claim him as "one of their own."

On to another subject - I had coffee today and my favorite coffee slinger in Omaha was moving. She had five or six guys and gals helping her move. It was hellishly cold today - so that's a huge statement. I remember when I moved: five people volunteered - and I had to struggle to get that number. Two eventually showed up.

The more I try to be sociable, the more desperate I appear. I've had this struggle all my life. But as I was reading the paper, sort of jealous of the outpouring of support this coffee slinger was getting on a Sunday, I thought of my circle of friends: and all of them tend to be on the 'loner' side. Not the "creepy 'he always kept to himself'" loner - more like the quirkyalone syle of loner.

One of my friends intentionally spent New Year's Eve alone - listening to LastFM. A few other of my friends take an almost Hurculean effort to get them out to see a show on a weeknight. As I turn 32 (I need to update my blog bio) - and a new move comes up hopefully to either Austin or Portland - I seriously think about the growing difficulty of forming a new circle of friends at this age. Most folks this age are settled (though more and more are not getting married), and you're at that age where you're too old to hang out with the scenesters (those early 20-somethings).

Workouts postponed due to 24, Zelda

2007-01-16T19:04:00.001-08:00

So the first four hours of 24 are in the can - and I've seen folks on both the right and the left claim the show as their own. Rush Limbaugh, a professed fan of 24, has hosted roundtable discussions about the show - and actors and producers have appeared. The producers have been on his show and he says the show is needed to remind people we are at war (funny, I thought that gaping hole in the Manhattan skyline was enough of a reminder, but that may just be me).

The folks on the left point to Season 2 - where President David Palmer refused to go to war with a corrupt nation because he was not completely sure that nation was behind a plot to detonate a nuclear device on U.S. soil - it was a cautionary tale of jumping to war without exhausting all other means - and as the show was coming out in 2002 - it was chilling to watch.

The right point to Season 4 to justify torture. And true, 24 did have a shift to the right during this season as Jack stripped the wiring off a lamp and proceeded to get friendly with his girlfriend's ex. An innocent person was tortured at CTU, but within a few hours, she was back at her post - a bit shaken, but otherwise fine. Sort of like being in a fender bender.

It's a great show as far as escapism goes. And it will be interesting to see how both sides try to fit the show into their own political agenda.

Now, on to the other topic for the blog - Legend of Zelda - The Twilight Princess. I know the PS3 will improve. I know XBox 360 is great, but right now, I'm totally fine with my GameCube. Legend of Zelda - The Twilight Princess is fun as hell and has proven to be a swashbuckling bloody good time to stave off cabin fever during a weekend of winter weather advisories and -20 wind chills. The graphics may not be Gears of War-quality, but the characters (two geek icons have gotten hottie makeovers these past months - first Chloe in 24 and now a grown-up Link in Zelda), general gameplay, bosses (great design, though almost too easy to beat) and jaw-dropping castles have made this a game that you almost don't want to beat to prolong the gaming experience. Fan f**king tastic.

Snow

2007-01-13T20:04:00.000-08:00

I'm watching the Saints/Eagles game right now with three minutes left in the game and a catastrophic turnover may have cost the Saints their storybook season.

I'm waiting for snow to blanket Omaha. Tomorrow is the return of 24. Needless to say, things are a bit slow now. One thing I love about winter is the music associated with snowstorms. I was at the Blue Line Coffee House this morning with headphones donned - working a New York Times crossword puzzle and thinking about the perfect soundtrack to a snowstorm that pretty much confides you to your apartment:

Bjork - Homogenic
Sigur Ros - ( )
Bob Dylan - Time Out of Mind
The Arcade Fire - Funeral

Job opportunity (with costs)

2007-01-09T17:49:00.000-08:00

I saw a reporting job in Oregon that I stand a good chance of getting. The only problem is that it pays about 2/3 of what I get paid now. That's bad. But, because I'm in a wee higher tax bracket, I'll probably not miss the paycheck as much with a lower tax bracket. I'm concerned about moving somewhere where I'll know one or two people by general association, but absolutely no one (immediately) in the "help, my car just broke down, can I bum a ride?" help.

I've been out of the game for so long, except for here and there freelance jobs. I have four more months on my lease. Still, when I was checking out in Whole Foods (a luxury I will NOT have at this job), I saw two magazines - one said "Life's too Short!" one said "the Dream Issue!" I know I'm looking for a sign - so that may have been a stretch. Still, it was right in front of me.

Oscar (talk) and Lucinda

2007-01-08T14:09:00.000-08:00

Saw Little Children Friday. Kate Winslet is on my short list for best actress, though I have yet to see The Queen. For females, 2006 was a pretty thin year for roles. It seems for the past few years, many critics have lamented about how hard it was to pick five Best Actor noms while it was a struggle to come up with five noms for the Best Actress category (though this is not the case for Supporting Actress). Anyway - Little Children was like an uneasy marriage between Happiness and American Beauty.

Lost Highway is posting a few songs from Lucinda Williams' upcoming album, West
http://main.losthighwayrecords.com/product.aspx?ob=disc&src=art&pid=1715

I managed to drag my tired butt out of bed at 5:30 a.m. to make it to what I thought was a pilates/yoga class at the gym. I was wrong, it was an aerobics class. After biking a few hours on Sunday, I was in no shape for the 'butts and glutes' class. At 6 a.m. I also wasn't in the mood to get yelled at by an aerobics instructor over loud, pulsating bad 80s music (think Whitney Houston's "I Want to Dance With Somebody"). I have no problems with a stern teacher, hell, one of the things I miss most about the newspaper is the psychotic editors and copy desk chiefs. But I'm going to get pushed, I'd much rather have it be by someone who doesn't follow every statement with a cherry "ohhhhhhh, can you feel that burn! C'mon!"

Speaking of harsh teachers, just after I sent my resume to a magazine for consideration, I turned on TBS to catch Pai Mai's brutal teachings in Kill Bill Vol. 2. One of the few movies that, I can easily watch again and again and not get bored. Despite a weak ending (compared to the other hour-and-a-half), it still a cinematic blast to watch. Uma Thurman does NOT deserve the roles she's been getting.

Free Association Friday

2007-01-05T13:06:00.000-08:00

I'm fairly anxious to catch Little Children tonight. I'm fairly accustomed to dark suburbian satires ala American Beauty and the Ice Storm, but I've heard Kate Winslet is amazing in this.

Free association 1: The departure of For Better or Worse from the comic strip world in '07

I'll be the first to say that this isn't on par with some of the better comic strips out there. But sometimes, you have to drop your smug armor and admit that in terms of consistency, Lynn has written a strip that is one of five strips that's flagged on my Yahoo comics. Come late '07, it looks like my list will narrow to four. I don't know if this comic ever reached a creative 'peak', but it hasn't had a marked dropoff in overall 'good' quality in decades. So, if you're going to retire, may as well do it while you're still producing a decent product.

Free association 2: The Go-Gos "Head Over Heels" came on either Pandora or LastFM a few days ago. My love for that song hasn't wavered since I heard it in the '80s. But much like "She Bop" - the song now takes on an entirely new meaning once I actually read the lyrics. At first, the chorus of the song, sung by a peppy Belinda Carlisle, sounds like a tale of puppy love. But if memory serves me correctly, I think I remember Carlisle said the song was an autobiographical tale of being in the throws of a cocaine addiction.

Ok, I spent this blog lauding the Go-Gos and For Better or Worse. Before I start sounding like a West Omahan, here's my list of the day - a fairly moody selection...

Last FM mix:
"Cowgirl" - Underworld ****
"The Walk" - Imogen Heap ***
"The New Pollution" - Beck ****
"Daylight" - Coldplay *****
"Commissioning" - CAKE ***
"The 59th Street Bridge Song" - Simon un Garfunkle ****
"Sweet Leaf" - Black Sabbath ****
"Damage" - Dirty Vegas ** (must...go...clubbing...)
"Anxiety" - Bad Religion ***
"My Mother Was a Chinese Trapeze Artist" - The Decemberists ****
"PDA" - Interpol *****
"Atoms for Peace" - Thom Yorke ****
"Prayer" - Miles Davis *****
"Longwall" - Early Day Miners ****

My iPod (Whitey) list
"Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" - De La Soul *****
"Outdoor Miner" - Wire ***
"The Valley of Malls" - Fountains of Wayne ***
"Lucinda" - Tom Waits ****
"State Trooper" - Bruce Springsteen *****
"Here For You" - Neil Young ***
"It's the Life" - Grant Lee Buffalo *****
"Epic Problem" - Fugazi ****
"Clap Your Hands!" - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah ** (good album, tho)
"Monster in the Parasol" - Queens of the Stone Age ****
"Good Old-Fashined Lover Boy" - Queen *** (feel free to withhold any snickering)
"Lightness" - Death Cab For Cutie ***
"How Beautiful You Are" - The Cure ****
"Candy Perfume Girl" - Madonna ****
"Provisional" - Fugazi ****
"Even Flow" - Pearl Jam **** (docked for the overplayed to death aspect of it)
"Tired Hippo" - Yo La Tengo ****
"Black Man" - Stevie Wonder ****
"Shiny Things" - Tom Waits ****
"Love Potion #9 (produced by anthony Marinelli)" - Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass Band **"Coffee & TV" - Blur ****
"What Comes Around" - The Beastie Boys ****
"Ghetto Musick" - Big Boi ***

Great live performance from Pulp

2007-01-04T21:21:00.001-08:00

I've been on a serious Pulp kick as of late. Most likely from picking up Jarvis Cocker's latest. Good stuff...

Where Do I Start Where Do I Begin?

2007-01-03T18:23:00.000-08:00

I don't consider myself an Omaha hater. To be honest, virtually every band I've wanted to see in the past four years has rolled into Omaha: Neko Case, Yo La Tengo, Ghostface Killah, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (twice!) and Modest Mouse to name a few. But at work today, all I did was stare at a computer screen and think about my upcoming 33rd birthday. A third of my thirties will be gone in a year.

One of my friends just moved to New York. He actually was lucky enough to get a job so he does not fall in the category of the romantic who moves to New York to either become a writer or an actor. He wants me to move up there. And to be honest, it sounds nice. But I'm juggling between two hard-core desires: the desire to up and move and start anew in a new location of my choosing or going where the market takes me. But what market? Technical writing (boring as hell, but I sure love knocking out that rent) or journalism (wonderful profession - can't wait to get back - until you start getting fed assignments like covering city council meetings and getting a paycheck that's *just* above what you were making full-time during your 'summer' jobs).

I have a few months to figure this out. First off - I was going to toss out the locations...

Albuquerque: Don't laugh. It's actually a fairly up-and-coming town. Great tech hub, OK music scene and a good mix of the blue collar and the quirky and artistic. Decent weather as well.

Tucson: Yes you have to don oven mitts to drive to work if you leave your car out. Still, nothing beats the city's freaky energy like being there in the summer when all the students and snowbirds retreat. Bonus - the University of Arizona for a possible graduate program.

Lakehurst: New Jersey. New York City's not too far away. I have some friends there. It could work...

Olympia: Portland became the refuge for those who couldn't afford Seattle. Now Olympia has become the refuge for those who can't afford Portland. Great tech hub. Awesome scenery. An OK drive to the coast.

Still, I need to get my finances in order. I need to get in better shape. And so far, I'm not off to a good start: I blew off working out to play the new Zelda game on the GameCube.

My Boys

2006-12-27T13:31:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a good holiday. I spent last night writing up a eulogy to James Brown. I can imagine what rock would have been like without Elvis or even Bob Dylan, but I could never imagine what rock would have been like without James Brown.

While I was writing, I had TBS's series My Boys playing in the background. I'm not a big fan of voice-over narration and the narration for this show is a definite momentum killer. Still, I laughed out loud at a conversation the characters had about the "What are you doing this weekend?" question.

The characters lamented that the "What are you doing this weekend?" question is a loaded question because if you respond "nothing" - you inevitably back yourself into whatever the person who asked you the question wants you to do - from helping them move to seeing a movie you may not want to see or go to a party you may not want to go to. But, at the same time, you really can't take that question out of discourse.

I guess the topic, for me, came up in regards to New Years Eve. I make it a policy not to make plans until about 4 p.m. that evening. The result will either be a laid back meeting at home or an impromptu gathering - which is usually more fun than a structured "days in the making" party. My sister already asked me the "what are you doing New Years Eve" question and I mistakenly said "I'm not too sure yet." As a result, I now am dogsitting two hyperactive dogs - putting a nice six-hour window to any of my plans.

I've seen the desperation of some people as this prom-like holiday approaches. "I have to find a date before New Year's - otherwise I'm going to have to spend it alone." That puts a ton of pressure on both the person and the 'date to be' to not make New Year's Eve a bust.

God, I hate New Year's Eve...

Last Whitey (iPod name) list for awhile...

2006-12-22T11:37:00.000-08:00

Have a great holiday folks!
"Kimberly" - Patti Smith ****
"Eraser" - NIN **** (nearly *****)
"Shake Your Rump" - The Beastie Boys *****
"Blue Mattie" - R.L. Burnside (R.I.P.) ****
"Peace in Mind" - Neneh Cherry ****
"Blazing Arrow" - Blackalicious *****
"We'll Meet Again" - Johnny Cash ***
"Pictures of Me" - Elliott Smith *****
"Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head" - Gorillaz ****
"On Your Own" - Blur **** (appropriate transition) ****
"Afro Connections at a Hi 5 (In the Eyes of the Hoodlum)" - De La Soul ****
"Just One of those Things (Brazilian Girls Remix)" ***
"The Nurse" - The White Stripes ****
"What Goes On (live)" - The Velvet Underground *****
"Helicopter (Whitey Version)" - Bloc Party ***
"Roots Radicals" - Rancid ****
"My Heart and the Real World" - Minutemen ****
"The Stars are Projectors" - Modest Mouse *****
"Bad Luck City" - R.L. Burnside ****
"Beginning to See the Light" - The Velvet Underground ****
"Spare Parts" - Bruce Springsteen ****

Last list - Best albums of 2006

2006-12-21T19:47:00.000-08:00

Saw Chris Mundy at the Omaha Press Club. He currently writes for CBS's Criminal Minds, but he used to be writer for Rolling Stone, interviewing everyone from the likes of Sean Penn to Liz Phair. It was a great conversation. I sat next to a guy I went to college with. He was an intimidator when it came to writing. Not that he meant it, it was just he was that good and he was a person whose presence pushed you to be a better writer. He's out of the journalism game now. He looked at me and shrugged "I have absolutely no desire to go back." He writes 300-word summaries of company profiles. He makes a comfortable living. I look at Mundy - a person who moved to New York from Omaha . He got an internship, 'stumbled' into a Rolling Stone job. And as glad and energized as I was, I can't help but think of his situation as the rarity and other situations as the norm. I'm not making excuses, but currently, I like paying rent and possibly making a car payment eventually. With an entry level reporting job at 33...I'm not too sure if that's the route for me. But I have the first few months of next year to figure that out. Anyway - on to the really important issue...

The best albums of '06...

10. Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards – Tom Waits

Some of the music on this disc was even too weird to land on an actual Tom Waits CD. Still, this is not a ‘cleaning out the cupboard’ CD collection. Instead, listeners get a remarkably solid collection of three CDs worth of seedy bar ballads, lovelorn howlers and even some corn thrown in for good measure.

9. Welcome to the Black Parade – My Chemical Romance

My “If you were to tell me this band would have landed on my top ten this year, I would have either said this entire year had to have sucked all ass or asked that person when I had the lobotomy” award for 2006. Taking some pointers from touring with Green Day, MCR recruited producer Rob Cavallo to create a miserably fun album about death, cancer and vampires. Darken your clothes and dust off those Queen albums, Welcome to the Black Parade brought a much-needed pomp to the music world this year.

8. Rather Ripped – Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth’s discography of could fill up half a CD tower (including compilations) – and the godfathers (and godmother) of modern alternative music have yet to settle into complacency. Rather Ripped comes just about a year before their near-certain induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the curious, Rather Ripped may be the best CD to introduce yourself to Sonic Youth. For die-hard fans, it’s a perfect companion to their late-era classic Murray Street.

7. The Greatest – Cat Power

Released the same say as Jenny Lewis’s Rabbit Fur Coat, January 24, 2006 was arguably one of the best days for music releases, kicking 2006 off on a very good note. Chan Marshall hunkered down in Memphis to record an album that won her a ton of new fans (an probably a few thousand more once “Could We” gets national exposure via a movie or TV plug) and probably a few hundred calls of “sellout” from her dedicated fan base. When you are in the middle of listening to “Living Proof,” you swear you are listening to an album at its creative climax, and then you realize you are only on the second song.

6. Game Theory – The Roots

Yes, recall notices should be mailed out to everyone who purchased The Tipping Point, the much-maligned last full-length album from The Roots. But Jay-Z saw a band that deserved the freedom to take a few creative falls. For from those falls can come greatness, which is exactly what Game Theory is. The album starts off shaky with “False Media,” which is basically Public Enemy’s “Don’t Believe The Hype” on repeat, but after that, the band is unstoppable. Each angry indictment of social injustice is followed by some of the catchiest, head-bobbing melodies The Roots has ever created. Don’t let the subject matter and cover fool you, Game Theory is as fun as it is provocative.

5. Destroyer’s Rubies - Destroyer

It’s about 50 minutes in length, but Destroyer’s Rubies is so dense, it feels like you’ve listened to a Tool album by the end. It doesn’t help that the first song clocks in at about ten minutes. Dan Bejar’s vocals may take some getting used to, but his rapid-fire lyrics and layered guitar work will have you revisiting Destroyer’s Rubies to catch what you missed on the first listen. After an additional 30 listens, you’ll still think you’ve only absorbed a little less than half the album.

4. Modern Times – Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan is cool enough to sing about being a horny old man and not come off as creepy. Some thought Modern Times was Dylan’s third straight masterpiece or even the best of an unprecedented winning streak began by 1997’s Time Out of Mind. Others thought it was Dylan doing a victory lap for his Love and Theft triumph. I was in the latter category. Still, listen to the album front to back and you’ll hear at least five or six songs that stand toe-to-toe with the best of Time or Theft. “Some young lazy slut has charmed away my brains” may not exactly be “The answer my friends is blowing in the wind,” but songs like “Rollin’ and Tumblin’” and “Someday Baby” capture Dylan at his cantankerous best. “The Levee’s Gonna Break” may be an obvious nod to Hurricane Katrina, but Dylan’s cover is mercifully devoid of exploitation. It may not be a classic, but it continues one of the most enduring comebacks in pop music history.

3. Fishscale – Ghostface Killah

If Game Theory wasn’t enough, Def Jam added a second classic to their collection this year with Ghostface Killah’s Fishscale. With age wrecking havoc on Public Enemy and even Eminem’s output, it seemed like rap was a young person’s game. Many critics have even overpraised De La Soul’s last few albums just on the basis that they didn’t suck. But Fishscale proved detractors dead wrong with perhaps the best concept album ever written about … cocaine. Like most albums with skits, Fishscale could have cut out a few skits, but the storytelling on Fishscale will have you going to a printer to print off the lyrics. Anyone who was too young to catch the Wu Tang Clan during their first go around need only to listen to “9 Milli Bros.” to find out what all the hype was about.

2. Fox Confessor Brings the Flood - Neko Case

It could have been 70 minutes and still felt too short of a listen. Fox Confessor Brings the Flood has Neko Case singing about animal mythology, losing faith and packing up and leaving everything. The first half of the album contains some stunning highlights, such as the “you are there” descriptions on “Star Witness,” a song about an auto wreck whose victims are so unnoticed that the cops don’t even turn on the siren or the opening class divide song “Margaret vs. Pauline.” But the album truly gains momentum smack in the middle with the title track. Out of all the CDs released this year, this has yet to leave my CD player.

1. Return to Cookie Mountain - TV on the Radio

Even with the quality and diversity of the crop of music in 2006, TV on the Radio’s Return to Cookie Mountain was one of the only albums that could make a listener say “I have never heard anything like this before.” That said, there was plenty of stuff on Return to Cookie Mountain to lure in shy listeners (namely a cameo by David Bowie in “Province”). Tunde Adebimpe’s vocals seem like a cross between Prince and Corey Glover of Living Colour. His vocals, along with Dave Sitek’s guitar work created slow burners like “A Method” and “I Was a Lover,” but could also unleash a hurricane-like fury on tracks like “Wolf Like Me” and “Province.” Return to Cookie Mountain was a fiercely original as it was instantly appealing.

Honorable mentions - a ton of them...

The Crane Wife - The Decemberists

Boys and Girls in America - The Hold Steady

Rabbit Fur Coat - Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins

We Shall Overcome - The Seeger Sessions - Bruce Springsteen

I Am Not Afraid of You And I Will Beat Your Ass - Yo La Tengo

Post-War - M. Ward

List IV - The Movies

2006-12-21T05:58:00.000-08:00

Going to see Chris Mundy deliver a talk at the Omaha Press Club tonight. He worked at Rolling Stone during most of the '90s, doing anything from reviewing Uncle Tupelo albums to interviewing Conan O'Brien in 1996 (when people were still speculating whether Conan was too obscure to flourish in Letterman's absence). I'm hoping to talk to him one-on-one - talk about some of his work, but not seem whorish (imagining him nodding politely and thinking "that's nice, now when are you going to say "can I give you my resume?).

Movies...
Not much changed from my summer list. But before I'll kick off this list, here's a few movies that I have not seen that I'm absolutely positive will bump off a few entries on my list:
The Queen, Inside Man, Letters From Iwo Jima, Babel and Pan Labyrnth.

10. A Prairie Home Companion - Based almost entirely on sentimental reasons. Still, Robert Altman deserves to be recognized for his mastery.

9. Stranger Than Fiction- It seems that the newer SNL grads have their beloved 'indie' films. For Adam Sandler, it was Punch Drunk Love. For Will Ferrell, it's going to be this movie. Emma Thompson has shown she could do comedy, but this movie has her at her prickly best. Top notch soundtrack by Spoon to boot.

8. V For Vendetta - The past few years have supplied a much-needed blast of escapism in of all places, the dumping ground for movies: the spring. Last year, it was Sin City. Next year it's probably going to be 300.

7. Wordplay - A great, warm movie not necessarily about Will Shortz, but about the communities that form around the solitude practice of the crossword puzzle. Not a crossword fan myself, I picked up three crossword puzzle books after I saw this movie and have since made the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle a Sunday ritual.

6. Casino Royale - Hear that hush? It's the sound of Daniel Craig's critics from the James Bond fandom community. A no-bulls*it, exhilarating return to form for Bond. I left the theater with an almost addict-like jonesin' for a sequel.

5. Shortbus - One of my friends and I go back and forth on this movie. She absolutely hates it. She said it was shallow and poorly acted. That said, she still keeps talking about it and about how she loved the depressed lover and how she identified with the conflicted emotions of the dominatrix. Not a word was said about the rampant sex (those first five minutes...yowza), however. A few months after the movie ended its run, the clusters of people I know who have seen it still talk about the characters. If that isn't the mark of good moviemaking, I don't know what is.

4. Borat - A bit down on my list because I didn't think it was nearly as funny as some of his HBO skits. Still, it was a glorious blast of thought-provoking vulgarity.

3. Little Miss Sunshine - Alan Arkin gave a performance that will hopefully be remembered come Academy Award season. I thought no director could mine something new out of the dysfunctional family road trip movie. I was wrong.

2. The Departed - After Gangs of New York and The Avaitor, I was worried about Scorsese. The Departed may not be Goodfellas, but it was at least better than Casino. Leonardo DiCaprio officially buries his pretty boy image in his portrayal of a cop that has no chance of promotion within the ranks didn't have an inauthentic moment in the entire movie. The only thing that slightly tarnished this movie was Jack Nicholson's inexplicable turn from compelling villain to Joker-like hamminess toward the end of the movie. Still, it looks like Scorsese is back on track.

1. United 93 - A flawed choice for my number one. Script? Well, it's sort of non-existent because much of it was taken from phone transcripts from the victims. But Paul Greengrass's gave this defining moment in American history the only treatment that could make it rise above exploitation: a journalistic "you are there" account of what probably happened on that doomed flight. Using a cast of mainly unknowns as well as some people who were playing themselves (air traffic controllers), Greengrass's movie was a great tribute to the victims as well as a study of the definition of courage. No movie moved me more this year, or any year since The Sweet Hereafter came out.

Disappointments of the year...

Pirates of the Carribbean 2 was ... long. Fun? Occasionally. But like Shrek 2, I just shake my head now, thinking this is one of the highest grossing movies of all-time. Titanic, Star Wars and E.T. may have had their detractors, but at least they were memorable. Pirates... I remember a fight on a big wheel, toes on Sparrow's neck and that's about it. And Bryan Singer's Superman Returns may have been a noble nod to Christopher Reeve, but at two and a half hours, I was nodding off. I get it, Singer, Superman is alone. 90 minutes would have been plenty.

The Wire

2006-12-20T07:05:00.001-08:00

My best pick for '06

The Wire

2006-12-20T06:40:00.001-08:00

First off, thought I'd kick this off with the FARK headline of the day yesterday for our dearly departed animation icon Joseph Barbera:

"Joseph Barbera dies. Funeral procession to pass same three buildings every two seconds."

On to my Top TV shows of the year. This was hard as hell because I barely had a top ten since I stopped subscribing to cable. Some of my picks are quality, some are stuff that qualify as really good popcorn entertainment material. That said...

My Top Picks of '06:

9. Moral Orel (Cartoon Network)

8. Heroes (NBC): I'll buy into the hype, but sometimes the dialogue strays into comic book corn. Still, if I was 15 or 16, this show would be one of those "shows that defined my youth" shows.

7. Hell's Kitchen (FOX)- Because the show actually had at least two or three talented people. Because it was great watching it after cooking a meal and kicking back with a few friends and doing vodka shots every time Gordon Ramsay yelled "Move your arse!" But seriously, those who decry reality TV over the scripted shows should take a good look at shows like "The War at Home" and "According to Jim" before generalizing this genre.

6. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (NBC) - The hoopla surrounding this show was over the top. Then the backlash came - and it unfairly panned this show for being too 'preachy.' It's one of the few ambitious shows on mainstream TV and the backlash it produced seems to have ruled this show out of several critics "Top 10" list. Each week, I try to limit myself to two TV shows to follow and that's it. This is one of the two.

5. The Daily Show With Jon Stewart (Comedy Central) - It's been heralded yearly for doing a better job than most news stations. Its been praised for its writing. It's won Peabody Awards. But for some reason, I rarely see this on critics' 'best of' list. It could be because the standards are set so high for this show, many critics take the show for granted. They shouldn't.

4. House (FOX)- A bit of a slip-up in quality this year. Yes, it has the predictability of a Quincy episode on Quaaludes. But I can't think of a better casting ensemble on the major networks. Hugh Laurie deserves all the praise he gets, but his supporting cast should be recognized come the next Emmy nominations.

3. 24 (FOX) - Talk about a rebound from Season 4. Jean Smart and Gregory Itzin did a great job balancing against each other's neurosis and paranoia in a season that managed to stay on the rails and not jump the shark.

2. The Colbert Report (Comedy Central) - What was once a nice follow-up to the main event with Jon Stewart has come into its own this year. "The Word" is now the new "Top 10" for this decade.

1. The Wire (HBO) - Though I've only seen one episode this season, I seriously could not put this any lower. In terms of quality, acting, writing - The Wire has eclipsed The Sopranos in terms of sustained excellance. I just hope it finds half of The Sopraons audience.

My best pic for '06.

List 2 of 2006 - The Books

2006-12-19T13:20:00.000-08:00

2006 was more productive than other years in terms of book reading. In addition to Harry Potter V and VI, I read Fast Food Nation, a few Eugene O'Neill plays, A Scanner Darkly and What's the Matter With Kansas? But since this list pertains to the books of 2006, here's my top - based ENTIRELY on what I read - not books I haven't read but think they should be at the top of the 'best of' list (see Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, Douglas Brinkley's The Great Deluge and Richard Ford's The Lay of the Land) ...

4. jPod - Douglas Coupland
As a summer diversion while recovering from surgery, it did the trick. But then I picked up Microserfs, and it paled in comparison in terms of both heart and craft. Still, for bubblegum, you could hardly do worse. And hell, who doesn't get an ego boost when they can say they blew through 50 pages in less than two minutes? (the notorious reprinting of the strands of Pi)

3. Cobra II - Michael Gordon and Bernard Trainor
Oh Jesus, this was an exhaustive read. Tons of military alphabet soup going on. But I would also say that this was one of the most balanced books you will probably ever read about Iraq War II.
2. The Quitter - Harvey Pekar
Stunningly illustrated by Dean Haspiel, Harvey Pekar's "story of my life" captured unplaced teen angst/anger/class resentment in just a few panels what other books may take chapters to accomplish. Pekar's love of jazz comes through this book and the love is infectious. I dare anyone who reads this book to restrain themselves from wanting to spin a few John Coltrane albums while buzzing through this quick, but sharply-written read.

1. Everyman - Philip Roth
Short - yes. But Philip Roth doesn't waste a word, detailing the slow decline of an everyman. His usual muses of sex, religion and family are all there. His The Plot Against America may have overshadowed this one, but for anyone wanting to get a sample of Roth's genius, give Everyman a quick three-day read.

"Small Stakes" - Spoon *****
"You've Been a Friend" - The Jesus and Mary Chain ***
"Blowin' in the Wind (live)" - Bob Dylan ***
"Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt" - The Mars Volta ***
"Back in the Village" - Iron Maiden *** (up the Irons!)
"Iron Of it All" - The Streets *****
"Wish I Could" - The Jesus and Mary Chain ****
"Time For Livin'" - The Beastie Boys ****
"All For Swinging You Around" - The New Pornographers *****
"Is it Live" - Run D.M.C. ****
"Misti Blu" - Amillonsons **
"Clang Boom Steam" - Tom Waits ***
"Modern Girl" - Sleater-Kinney *****
"9th & Hennepin" - Tom Waits ****
"Bigmouth Strikes Again" - The Smiths ****
"Underwear" - The Magnetic Fields *****
"When Your Number Isn't Up" - Mark Lanegan ***
"The Union Forever" - The White Stripes ****
"I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" - Prince *****

Year End List - Part 1 - my life

2006-12-17T19:08:00.000-08:00

I thought I would kick off my 'year end' list with the most uneventful part - meaning my life.
The important stuff - the 'best flicks of 2006' and the obvious 'best music' will come later in the week. That said...

Top 5 Personal Events of 2006

5. Foot surgery. Finally the persistent ingrown toenail problem is gone. Was nice to finally put on a sock again without doubling over in agony if I nudged my big toe against my shoe.
4. Got a freelance job - which is good. But the general nature of the job (another desk job) put me away from the gym and as a result, I've gotten soft. Now with that freelance job gone, I'm trying to get back into triathlon shape (I mean, half-triathlon).
3. Adjusted to my roommate/best friend moving away to another country. Going from seeing each other on an almost annoyingly daily basis to no contact at all.
2. The weimaraner situation. Got him from a pound. Fell in love. Tried to make things work in an apartment. He had to be kenneled. He hated kenneling. He woke up the entire complex whenever I had to go to work. I called the rescue services to see what could be done. Rescue service helped, but then told me about a family who has a stay at home mom, a ranch and three kids. I forced myself to shed a tear at my grandmother's funeral (she had Alzheimer's for more than a decade, so, to me, it was a relief to see her finally be relieved of the pain) - but I pretty much was a wreck for a solid two weeks after I surrendered him. Jesus, I still miss him. But I know he's in a loving family and tearing after squirrels.
1. Left my post-college job for a far better job with a far better staff with a far better company for a few grand less. I'm praying my car makes it another two years, but for the peace of mind, it's worth it.

Happyness and Bright Eyes

2006-12-15T13:58:00.000-08:00

Someone just gave me their tickets to go see Bright Eyes and Simon Joyner. He's playing a sold-out show tonight at Sokol. I've seen him about five times, but I'm not about to turn down a free concert ticket, especially for a benefit concert for the Bemis Center. I'm seeing The Pursuit of Happyness before catching the concert. I know exactly what I'm getting in to when I'm seeing this movie. That said, I am sort of in need of seeing an inspirational movie about following my dreams. CokeMachineGlow rejected my resume.

I came up with my 'best of' last night and in a haze, I totally forgot about Johnny Cash's American V and Sonic Youth's Rather Ripped, so I absolutely have to send a revised copy out. Can't believe I forgot those two...

Last FM mix for 12/15/06...
"The One You Really Love" - The Magnetic Fields ****
"Stars Go Blue" - Ryan Adams ***
"The Sound of Failure" - The Flaming Lips ** (you want the sound of failure, listen to your latest album, guys)
"Twenty Four" - Switchfoot **
"The Sun Still Shines" - Michael Lewis ** (think I stumbled upon a 'Jesus' channel...)
"I'm Not Coming Home Anymore" - Hank Williams *** (that's better)
"Next Exit" - Interpol ****
"Okkervil River" - Black Sheep Boy **
"Suck My Left One" - Bikini Kill ***
"Heavy Metal" - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah ****
"Going For One" - Yes ***
"Pull the Curtains" - Grandaddy ****

Whitey (my iPod) mix for 12/15/06...
"Living Proof" - Cat Power ***** (sooooooooooo good)
"The End of Medicine" - The New Pornographers ****
"Unhappy" - Big Boi ***"School Spirit - Skit 1" - Kanye West ***
"Life in a Glass House" - Radiohead ****
"Drunkship of Lanterns" - The Mars Volta ***
"Hat and Feet" - Fountains of Wayne ****
"November Has Come" - Gorillaz ***
"Upon Still Waters" - Cowboy Junkies ****
"Jayne's Blue Wish" - Tom Waits ****
"Ugly Truth" - Soundgarden *****
"No Wonder" - Neil Young ***
"The Fourth Man in the Fire" - Johnny Cash ***
"One Of Us Must Know" - Bob Dylan *****
"Highway Patrolman" - Bruce Springsteen *****

Let's Take Rush Limbaugh Down a Few Notches

2006-12-13T20:49:00.000-08:00

This is myth - but like all good myths, it has enough elements of truth in it: People who love Howard Stern listen to him for 15 minutes. People who hate Howard Stern listen to him for 45 minutes.

Right now, I think Rush Limbaugh has about 20 million listeners on an average week. That's huge. As an elected official, you can imagine how intimidating this would be: if you come out with anything that doesn't fit Limbaugh's ideal of conservatism (pay no mind to his ass-kissing of Wal-Mart, yet he is decidedly against giving illegal entrants citizenship - even though companies like Wal-Mart and McDonald's have directly or indirectly done more to encourage illegal immigration than any governmental action) - this elected official (especially presidential) will have to contend with at least 20 million politically active "Dittoheads."

But...how many listeners are like me, who treat Limbaugh like an early-morning episode of Saved By The Bell: a small hate fix to get the blood boiling? I'm not suggesting a boycott - he has every right to be on the air, but just as a curious experiment, I'm wondering what would happen if only the listeners who hated the bile he spews were to stop listening...for a month. That would distill his audience numbers down to the ones who swear by the gospel of Rush. I'm willing to bet that about a quarter to a third of his audience would disappear. It would be interesting to me and I'm sure a few others. It would be REALLY interesting to advertisers who have lost about five million listeners.

That is one thing that Rush has on Air America. That station may not be accessible to the majority of listeners, but even in markets airing Air America, none of the talent is incendiary enough to get a large amount of conservatives to listen to get their blood boiling. Al Franken is just too nice to elicit a "Ohhh...god, I'm so pissed off - did you hear what that a-hole said today?!" reaction. Most conservatives just shrug and turn it back to the "preaching to the choir" sermons of Dr. Laura and Sean Hannity.