Heading to Denver...

...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

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 *****