Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Sweater Music's LiveJournal:

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Monday, January 28th, 2008
10:12 pm	HEY NOW!!!! Yes, I'm back from the proverbial Livejournal grave for one last post, to put a period on the end of this stupid, insanely long sentence. But I understand that people do check in every now and again, and I'm hoping that people have broken themselves of that bad habit months ago with my last entry. On the offchance they haven't, let me post an epilogue of sorts: I graduated, moved back to the Big City (missing the Windy one in a bad way, but what can you do when the majority of your world exists to the east?), and got a job on the Internets and a nice little apartment in a nice place called Greenpoint. I haven't seen any shows for a couple of months, although not for lack of trying (there was the Great Yo La Tengo Hanukkah Fiasco of 2007, but all we got to see was the opening act, and they weren't even very good--although, side bar, we got to see Wil Arnett and Amy Poehler sneaking in mid-act). I hope to change that very soon. I might even make it my resolution for year #25 (holy shit, I know). I plan on firing up a blog once I decide on a good concept. I'm looking for some umbrella under which I can discuss all of the following: 1) indie rock 2) quality television 3) Guitar Hero 4) the G train (or lack thereof) 5) the ridiculous things that hipsters wear 6) funny videos featuring former cast members of Arrested Development 7) the impending print media apocalypse 8) strange animals 9) how The Wire is like the best show on television, ever 10) what's up with Lindsay Lohan? etc. When I figure it out, I'm sure it'll be amazing. Until then, I'm told I'll be on the college music beat for the blog at the web site I'm working for, so I'll get to test on my wit on the 5s of people reading us daily. ENVY ME. I've enjoyed my time Live-blogging, really, I have, but these days I'm reading a lot of student blogs, and they're all so self-absorbed and self-enchanted, and yeah, that's who we are, but once we reach a certain age, it's nicer to keep it to yourself. So I might be back with a link. We'll see how it goes (Comment on this)
Friday, August 24th, 2007
4:33 pm	Well, for maybe the first time in my life I am in an official DISASTER ZONE.  And it has absolutely nothing to do with the massive collection of Diet Coke cans in my kitchen, either!  (hey, I'm moving, they just kind of turn up underneath things, on top of things, under things, etc.  I'm WORKING on it)   It has to do with the monster storms that went through yesterday and are allegedly heading back in for a second round of devastation 'n' destruction tonight.  http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070824weathermain-story,0,7994547.story This is quite a way to go out, huh?  Literally, all I have wanted to do for the last week was go up to the observatory tower at the top of the Hancock Tower, which is my favorite building ever, and there is no way I am going there during a severe weather warning.  I know, it's too well-built to fall over because of a little wind, and this I know from personal experience, because the first assignment in the bridges class I took at charm school was to calculate the wind loads on the Hancock Tower (because of its shape, it's so nice and symmetrical and just a little quirky but not so much to be hard for all of us English majors to figure out).  I believe collapse point is something like 130 kph or something.  I don't think we're there.  But if there were ever a time to be wary of the structural integrity of very tall, lightning-prone buildings, this would be it.  All the storm damage I've seen around E-ton today has consisted of a medium-sized tree branch (it would scratch your car, but it wouldn't smash it) down on Sherman and a gigantic, scary mantis on the hallway door handle in my apartment building.   Seriously, scary.  It was at least as long as the palm of my hand.  Gross! In other news, I think the 4.5 rating for Travis Morrison Hellfighters album is fairly unwarranted.  I mean, I'd give it at least a 5.5, because it's not nearly as bad as they make it out to be.  I've streamed it a couple of times off of travismorrison.com, and yeah, there are missteps, but there are some good moments.  I mean, jeez, P4k has gone from being sad about the D-Plan break-up however many years ago to angry at Travis Morrison for allowing them to disassemble whatsoever.  Let it go already!  The man has given me some of my very favorite albums (and yours, it's just a fact), all born out of that weird mid-20s angst and isolation and indecision, and if he's outgrown it, well, good for him.  Maybe the music coming from his new experiences aren't as conducive to indie rock genius the way that which came from the old stuff could, but isn't that kind of natural?  It's not ideal, no; it's different, but it doesn't suck (I don't think).  I advocate giving them a chance and then throwing in a bonus listen to "Change" and "Emergency & I," just 'cos it feels good. On the other hand, John Vanderslice is making some kind of comeback, and I wholeheartedly endorse it. (Comment on this)
Thursday, August 23rd, 2007
9:28 pm	Guess who can sign her name "MSJ" now? Oh, that's right.  ME!!! Well, technically, I should probably wait until I have a paper diploma to back up my claims, but it's being shipped to my parents' house, sans ceremony, this September.  I really think Dean Lavine should put on his academic robes and show up with, like, Janice Castro and his 2020 Mafia lieutenants at my doorstep to hand it to me.  4 quarters of caffeine, sweat, smoke, tears, and pure steel-nerved deadline GRIT, baby, and I've got three new letters to tack on top of my resume.  At least the weather sent me some fireworks, in the form of the STORM OF THE CENTURY--all lightning and hail and tree-breaking wind and rain that left puddles on the floor of my apartment for me to mop up when I got home.  This is a grand day, indeed. But here is one great final glory-days journalism story we got in parting today from the fantastic David Standish--apparently, when Hunter S. Thompson turned in the original manuscript of what would become the title essay of his collection "The Great Shark Hunt" to Playboy, there were 40 pages of crazy Thompson narrative.  And when David got to page 41, there was, in big block letters, the following: "SHARK HUNT TO COME." Oh, journalism!  How would I fill my days without you? (Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 21st, 2007
9:28 pm	Thanks to the miracle of Gmail, I rarely have to deal with either spam or having to delete e-mails.  My inbox is as big as the Internet! And my spam filter keeps all the weirdo porn and in-no-way-disguised pyramid schemes out of my way.  But I figured it doesn't hurt to shovel out the spam every now and then and check for anyone who, you know, might LEGITIMATELY be trying to send me money (I'm not sure who, but I'm sure I'd want to read their e-mail).  Anyway, this is a long way to say that I saw one that really caught my eye: From: feng mcbeal Subject: It was skinned and would soon being to swell WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?? And then there's one from what must be Mr. mcbeal's associate, Ference McGaw, subject: "The Cairhinens' banners bobbed as they dismounted slowly." I figure they must be with the same group, because here's the gist of both e-mails: "If it canno+t a.pply o n+e of t-hose rule-s, it pr*oc+esses t,h e req+uest a'n-d re-turns t h-e re_s_ponse to t.h e cl'ient. Of cou'rse, a m*ajor diffic ul-ty w-i't*h t_h_i.s sch+eme is t.h'a,t t-h,e n.umber of p_ossib le instr'ucti_ons is sever-el*y limit,ed by t+h'e numb er of socket's o*n'e c,ould phys-ical-ly p_lace on e'a+c h r+o w*. Of course+, s_h.e did'n't k,n*o+w h+i+s n.a'm*e*. H'e_r fing-ers w_e.r+e s-l+ender, t-.apered, v-e r,y w.hite agai_nst t*h+e p,ol'ished burgun.d-y na*ils." I'm not sure what any of this could even mean, seeing as there are no attachments, and no links.  The subject lines aren't even dirty!  They're just weird!  Does someone out there really just like sending bizarro e-mails from fake addresses?  Or is it like the e-mail version of that video from "The Ring," and now I'm going to have to deal with some angry Goth chick clawing at me from my laptop like I'm taking the last skull-and-crossbones hoodie in her size from the Hot Topic clearance rack?  However, I also learned something useful--if this job hunt doesn't pan out, there is apparently a way for me to get my medical license in, like, 6 weeks, over the Internet!  The opportunities are limitless, according to GSpam. (Comment on this)
4:06 pm	Yay? http://gawker.com/news/anecdotal-evidence/doc-martens-are-back-291728.php According to that link, Doc Martens are BACK!  I remember I blew $100 of my (?) hard-earned high-school graduation money to get my own pair of brown low-tops and then let them sit in the back of my closet for the last 6 years (here we go with the carbon-culture-dating again).  Now I'm just hoping they're still there, because, well, it would be kind of nice to tromp around in some solid shoe for once.  I've had it with the ballet flats and flip-flops and heels and fashion sneakers--I want to wear the kind of shoe where, when someone steps on my toes at shows, THEY will be sorry, not me.  Also, I bet they hold up beautifully in the snow.  I would not know, because I don't think I've ever worn them outside of my freshman year at P-ton.  Anyway, fingers crossed!  One class down, two to go, and I'm a MSJ for reals.  We got a job pep-talk from THE magazine guru of Medill, Abe Peck, in which he told us nothing new--although there was a great story about how he was driving Cameron Crowe to work one day and Crowe mooned Jann Wenner at the top of California Road in San Francisco in the early days of Rolling Stone.  Stories like that are pretty much the only reason I still go to class. (Comment on this)
Monday, August 20th, 2007
3:54 pm	OMG, yay! The Weakerthans' new album, "Reunion Tour," is slated for release in little more than one month--Sept. 25, to be exact.  It doesn't take much knowing me to know that I love a smart band with thoughtful lyrics that I want to scribble all over now-defunct notebooks and math homework.  And The Weakerthans were that band for me, for years and years, one of the very first indie crushes I ever developed, way back in the days of high school and before the Internet EVEN EXISTED.  Well, maybe not that long ago, but it certainly feels that way.  Circa '98, '99, right?  Dear God, it WAS a long time ago!  I'm going to go back to packing and contemplating my own mortality and listening to their new mp3, "Night Windows" now, because this post has clearly taken a sinister turn not even I saw coming. (Comment on this)
Saturday, August 18th, 2007
4:19 pm	I learned something interesting a few weeks ago--all the bands that played Lollapalooza were required to sign a contract saying they wouldn't play the Chicago area 30 days before or 60 days after Lolla without express permission from the wizarding council of which Perry Farrell is, presumably, Head Wizard and Musical Guru.  I believe that contract (plus, I'm assuming, any contracts signed by those playing something like P4k) has resulted in the recent dearth of good shows coming through Chi-town.  Even more tragically, when those 60 days are up, all the bands are swooping back into town, at which point I will hopefully be off to bigger things in an earlier time zone.  But, for now, it gives me a lot of time to drink with soon-to-be old NU friends and clean out my closet in the most literal sense of the phrase (my mother Gchatted me Friday to remind me to THROW AWAY EVERYTHING YOU DON'T NEED, rather than have to move it, which--true enough). It has also given me some time to bum around the recent release section on Pitchfork, and I have found three new albums that are improving the quality of my life: Okkervil River, "The Stage Names":  I was never a big OR fan, mostly because I never really heard anything of theirs that caught my ear.  But this album is really beautiful, folksy and young but mature, too, like The Mountain Goats meets The Hold Steady meets Wilco.  Minus the Bear, "Planet of Ice":  I might be the only person over the age of 21 and not a guitar-nerd math-major  who still really likes Minus the Bear.  But I do, and while their new album doesn't do anything radically different than Menos El Oso or better than Highly Refined Pirates, but I kind of dig the icy, "Moon and Antartica"-colored sheen over top their songwriting.  It's not incredibly exciting, but it's a very thoughtful listen, with some pretty good tracks that sound really good after a few Jack-and-diets and with the bass turned way up. Rogue Wave, "Asleep at Heaven's Gate":  Oh Rogue Wave, the ultimate makeout music--not in the sense that you should put it on while making out (I prefer something with a little more edge so it doesn't put me to sleep), but in that the feeling you get from listening to Rogue Wave is the same kind you get from a sweet makeout session with a cute guy while reasonably sober.  And "Asleep at Heaven's Gate," while not technically released yet, is doing just that for me.  Again, nothing radically different than "Out of the Shadows" or "Descended like Vultures," but inching forward musically, with slightly more sophisticated songwriting and arrangements.  So even though the best music-festival season is practically behind us, good drinking tunes to remind me of the good times are just as welcome.  2007, huh?  I mean, we could've guessed that it would be better than 2006 on strength of planned releases from bands like Spoon and Modest Mouse, but it has been overall a banner fucking year for great new albums all over the place.  And I am SO not complaining. (Comment on this)
Thursday, August 16th, 2007
10:03 am	Chicago is a fantastic city. As I drove back on Lake Shore Drive last night in the pouring rain, craning my neck to see if the lightning would hit the Hancock Tower, I realized that I'm really going to miss this city. Here is a song about Chicago, by a fantastic band called Rogue Wave, called "Chicago x 12": http://www.stereogum.com/archives/mp3/new-rogue-wave-chicago-x-12.html And here is a picture of my favorite building in the whole world, the Hancock Tower: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.public.iastate.edu/~wimmer/Chicago2006/chicago2006-Images/25.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.public.iastate.edu/~wimmer/Chicago2006/chicago2006-Pages/Image25.html&h=400&w=300&sz=205&hl=en&start=3&um=1&tbnid=A0hZ6LNldOGcJM:&tbnh=143&tbnw=107&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhancock%2Btower%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN And here is why, come one week from now, I will not at all be sad to pack my shit up and get the hell out of Dodge: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-web_miteaug16,1,7640210.story?coll=chi_tab01_layout ITCH MITES!! Like all 500 people who commented on the Trib site, I was completely baffled by the number of bug bites that have been turning up in odd places on my body (no visuals, sorry), and, even after changing clothes and showering several times a day and washing my sheets and everything, I kept getting them. AND NOW I KNOW WHY. From what I gather, it has something to do with trees, and they are small enough to come in through screens, and frankly, they terrify me. At least they're not bed bugs or fleas, because I have lived through a roommate's-devil-cat-spawned flea infestation, and that was a nightmare that only went away with heavy, heavy chemical intervention (like, set off the flea bombs and board up the house, we're going away for the weekend, kids, kind of intervention). Fortunately, I think by crossing the street every time I see a tree (all the time) and avoiding all natural plants, I've got them under control for now. But still. When the pests come, it is time for me to go. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, August 15th, 2007
1:20 am	I'm packing my purse now for a v., v. big job interview (and I will not be jinxing it here and now by saying any more about it, thank you very much!) in New York tomorrow, and it's so strange--like, what do you throw into your bag when your errands are taking you an entire time zone away and back in the course of a day?  And lip gloss is not an option.  Apparently, you can take certain liquids on planes now, but I've never been able to tell if lip gloss counts.  Plus, I'm all out of Ziploc baggies, and unless I want to throw it in one with the remains of last week's lunch, or possibly stop at the shadiest 7/11 in Chi-town on my way to the airport (at 3:30 a.m.), I'm out of options.  I'm thinking about calling Justin and telling him to bring some to brunch, but I'm pretty sure he'll bring some anyway.  Because that's why we're friends! I'm not sure if this will help, because in my life I've seen fit to befriend all manner of heathens, but cross your fingers, say a prayer, light a candle, have a beer--whatever it is you do to send luck my way, because I am in need.  (Comment on this)
Monday, August 13th, 2007
1:06 pm	OMG, I am absolutely dying with love for the series "Friday Night Lights."  Smack in the middle of a 5-day weekend with nothing to do but throw away nearly-empty bottles of hairspray and shoes I can't justify packing and hauling up and down dozens of flights of stairs to New York (again), I decided that the time was perfect to give the show a try.  I have heard that it is amazing, from several much-trusted TV sources.  I did not believe it until just a few minutes ago, when I finally got all the way to the season finale.  Pretty much every episode has made me cry, which--not even Veronica Mars could do that.  Not even OBITUARIES can make me do that.  I'm not a sports junkie, but this show makes sports interesting by only showing the exciting parts and then spending the rest of the time dealing with the town characters, all of whom are completely different but tied together by Texas and football.  You think you hate certain characters in the very first episode, but by the very last one, you're cheering for all of them and hoping they finally catch a break.  I wish I could be more eloquent about it, except I can't, because I liked it too much.  All I can say is: I want to be the Connie Britton character when I grow up, except with a better job (but EXACTLY the same hair, my God, the woman's hair alone makes me weep, it is FANTASTIC).  And for boy-candy, there is the entire range, from the town hottie fuck-up Tim to adorably tongue-tied sweetheart Matt and even old-enough-to-be-my-dad-but-still-HOT Coach.  And Southern accents always make me melt a little--the cumulative effect being that I just begin melting as soon as the characters open their mouths in the "previously on's" and don't stop until I'm a captivated little puddle halfway through. Also, yesterday it was too hot to even sit very still and very quiet in my apartment, so I went to see "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."  It was pretty good, but I feel like I would've been lost if I hadn't read the book.  The duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort was pretty sweet, especially since the books never (I feel) do the battles justice.  It's just, like, chaos chaos chaos Harry's scar someone falls screaming chaos, and then someone (usually Hermione) is waking up Harry Potter, who has once again passed out or fallen down some stairs and hit his head or something.  But on-screen...well, I've never been tempted by dark magic (seriously!), but I would really like to know just how Voldemort made the fiery dragon, because it looks AWESOME. (Comment on this)
Saturday, August 11th, 2007
11:06 am	Here's something exciting for the residents of Chi-town to look forward to in the next few days: R. Kelly's TRAPPED IN THE CLOSET Chapters 13-24 come out on IFC.com August 13, a.k.a. MONDAY. They're out on DVD a week after that, I think. Want to see what the awesomeness is all about? http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20048961,00.html That would be Chapter 12.5 (even the rules of mathematical logic don't apply to Kells' storytelling style--none of the other rules of logic do, why would that one?). I really hope IFC will be giving them away for free, because I would feel very weird doing anything to put money in R. Kelly's pocket. Normally, I'm all for finding ways to support bands who give away their music digitally, like buying tickets to shows, merch, full albums, etc. But R. Kelly is notorious 'round these parts for the fact that he will never, EVER go on trial for his pretty sick habit of sleeping with supremely underaged girls and videotaping the whole thing. Sure, he's got a court date. He's had a court date for YEARS. But Chicago justice has always been pretty capricious and easily influenced by celebrity and connections, and unfortch R. Kelly's got both. I personally think it's really messed up that he's allowed to keep on putting out albums and making money. At the same time, I can't deny that the first 12 chapters were nothing short of hilarious, and I'm pretty sure the next 12 chapters will only get more outlandishly funny. And it's true that my favorite Medill memory has nothing to do with journalism and everything to do with Trapped in the Closet: One day this spring, we were driving back from doing focus groups with our new site and paper in Zeelandia, and we ended up getting caught in some gnarly traffic on the Dan Ryan. So we decided to stop at one guy's apartment and just chill for a little bit. We ended up watching all 12 chapters of TITC and I don't think I stopped laughing the ENTIRE TIME. James called me at some point, and I think I was being a little spacey, because he kept thinking I was saying that I was trapped in a closet, that it was some kind of Oprah-suggested secret phrase to relay that I was in some kind of mortal peril. This was not the case. Anyway--memories! In the corner of my mind! (or whatever) I went to go see Foundry Field Recordings, one of my favorite makeout bands, Thursday night @ Schuba's. They seemed a little....out of sorts? I think the crowd kind of bummed them out--Chicago's a notoriously hard town to play to. And they're all about being shoegaze-y and sweet, and we are an audience that, on balance, prefers a good hair-raising shred. The crowd caught on, however, and by the end there were a couple of crazy drunk people dancing their crazy drunk feet off in the front of the room. It was, now that I think of it, a remarkably drunk crowd. I was standing next to a cute guy who I kept trying to make eye contact with, but then I realized in the span of an hour he'd managed to go back for 4 beers, and I was NOT going to be pushing that into my car at the end of the night, that's for sure. But FFR surprised me live--like I said, on the album, they're all swirly guitars and clouds of pretty pedals and harmonies. Live, they've still got the guitars, but so much of it is driven by the drumming, which had muscle and energy and life like none of the other instruments on stage did. The lady-bassist (everyone has one these days! It's totes the new lady-keyboardist) and gentleman second-guitarist looked like they were about to fall asleep on stage, the lead singer/guitarist looked like he was really afraid someone was going to chuck a PBR at him, but the drummer really brought it home. Good on you, cute drummer! It's so hot here. So, so hot. I've made it this far without having to buy an A/C, and weather.com says the heat will break on Monday, but I really don't know how I'm going to survive the next two days. I have a feeling I will be driving a lot and seeing a lot of movies, possibly even going to the library a lot. If they had a little hut with nothing but a/c, that's where I'd park myself for the next two days. And if I find one, I just might. (Comment on this)
Monday, August 6th, 2007
6:32 pm	LOLLAPALOOZA 2007 HOT AND NOT: HOT -Saturday (music) -Sunday (weather) -The Hold Steady (every time! every damn time!) -!!! (can't wait to see them live when it's not 95 degrees; as one girl in the audience said, "I never really understood what people meant by 'disco-punk' until I saw !!!." Except, as you might note, it's impossible to say !!!. She said "chik-chik-chik." Apparently, that is how you say !. Still, it was like a big sweaty dance party where no one cares if you look like a moron getting down on your own personal ass-shaking groove.) -My Morning Jacket (and their tiny little orchestra, adorable!) -Spoon (delightful, despite the rain) -sitting under the trees on the hill by the port-a-potties. -cheeseburgers and deep-dish pizza -boys with tattoos and lip rings (my eternal downfall) -the hipster-ista fashion parade of sundresses--every other girl that walked by, I wanted to grab her arm and demand to know where she got her dress, what the address of the store was, do they have a web site? NOT -Saturday (weather) -Cold War Kids (what happened, guys? Is your gout flaring up? Is that why you had to SIT DOWN for half the show?) -the rain at the end of Saturday -the prices -still...no REAL ice cream, just vegan ice cream. I understand, vegans are people, they need to eat, but, as I explained to James after eating an entire waffle cone of vegan chocolate-chip-cookie-dough ice cream at Pitchfork, what we non-vegans don't realize is that EVEN THE COOKIE DOUGH IS MADE OF TOFU. Even though I told him that, he ordered a cup of it (because it's just so hot, and there's only so much your fifth Bud Light can do to cool you off), and had to spend the next 20 minutes trying to trick me into trading my chocolate-covered strawberries for his too Nutra-sweet ice "cream." No way, dude! -walking around a lot (my feet are in need of, like, a MEDICAL pedicure) -frat boys who take off their shirts and walk around and letting the tops of their beer bellies get all sunburned and red. The only things half those guys were wearing were wearing was a pair of cargo shorts slouching juuuuust down to the point where they'd have to start shaving in uncomfortable places if they got any lower, and a backwards baseball cap. Gross, dudes! -it was so hot and so humid on Sunday that I couldn't even wear the pretty new dress I had been saving for this weekend. Now I have to come up with some other must-look-hot scenario to wear it for. Fabulous weekend. Altogether, James and I saw: Tokyo Police Club; that one song from I'm from Barcelona as we walked in; Tapes 'n Tapes (really pretty good, I thought); Cold War Kids (yawn); Matt & Kim standing in for CSS, who were stranded in JFK (sad face!); The Hold Steady (as good as always and forever); Silverchair; Spoon; Los Campesinos (the very end); Annuals; Kings of Leon; Aqueduct; !!!; My Morning Jacket; TV on the Radio; bits of Pearl Jam. I also saw the Heartless Bastards Friday Empty Bottle show (I had tix for me and James, but James' flight was delayed so that it didn't get in until 12:45 a.m., and so I thought, why let two tickets go to waste? So I caught the first half of their set), and White Rabbits and The Cribs at Empty Bottle Saturday night (with James this time--even though the sign on the door said SOLD OUT, the guy in front of us had a VIP wristband that let you get into all the after-shows, and he asked if we could get in, too. And we did!). So much music! So much walking around! But good times, all weekend. (Comment on this)
Friday, August 3rd, 2007
4:47 pm	blue room Polls Who are you most excited to see at Lollapalooza? Muse Interpol Amy Winehouse Pearl Jam LCD Soundsytem <input ... > I really wanted to vote in this poll.  Really, I did!  But the choices....nothing wrong with any of them, but the only ones on here I'll even care to see are Interpol and LCD Soundsystem, although I'm not going today (waiting for Holahan), and I'm actually secretly thinking I'll ditch Interpol for Muse (what?).  But out of 80 bands, those are the most exciting ones they can think of?  None of these bands are even in my top 5! What are those? you ask. -Spoon -The Hold Steady -My Morning Jacket OR Modest Mouse, whichever one I end up seeing (prob MMJ) -Yo La Tengo -TV on the Radio I could go on, but I can count, and I only said top 5.  You see?  We learn from our mistakes, after all. James' flight was delayed, so now I'm just hanging out until 10, when it's now arriving.  Then--the rock just won't stop, not until what I'm sure will be a very hazy Monday morning. (Comment on this)
Thursday, August 2nd, 2007
9:10 pm	"Questions of bridge safety have been raised everywhere" (re: the bridge collapse in Minnesota). YES.  AMEN.  Bridges!  Have I not been saying how dangerous they were for YEARS?  "The psychological toll on people who have to drive over bridges every day--up next" (Fox News, Chi-town) Finally, somebody is looking out for MY psychological needs.  News you can use! (Comment on this)
4:48 pm	This has nothing to do with anything, but...did anyone see the pictures of Nicole Richie with Good Charlotte twin Joel Madden announcing Nicole's pregnancy, which was a huge surprise that no one saw coming? Here are some: http://www.bestweekever.tv/2007/08/02/nicole-richie-and-joel-madden-having-a-boy/#more-14659 Notice: how NOT thrilled Madden is.  He looks like Nicole Richie just announced she was punching him in the face and running off with the other brother, except, like, yesterday, and the news has had time to sink in and he's been spending the last 24 hours contemplating how much his life is going to suck in the not-so-distant future. I was trying to figure out which Madden it was at first, without reading the caption (that wouldn't be as challenging!), and I thought to myself, ok, which one is the less-punk one?  Because there's always one who's more obnoxiously punked-out, and one who goes for the dapper-ska-punk button-down look.  And then I realized that they're both so not-punk I might have gone around thinking they were both the same dude.  As a twin, I feel it necessary to apologize, but dudes--either one of you get some street cred, or one of you just give up the dream altogether.  I suggest whichever one knocked up Nicole Richie, because you just KNOW somebody's going to have to sober up long enough to raise the thing. That's about it.  It's oppressively, soul-crushingly hot here.  Lollapalooza is this weekend, and James is coming for the shows.  It should be a blockbuster event. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, August 1st, 2007
12:59 pm	Somebody said to me recently: "that indie band from Chicago, the hot one--the Plain White T's."  And my mind boggled, because I'd only tangentially heard of them and had no idea that something hot and indie could be happening in MY TOWN without me knowing about it.  I mean, I had the idea, but I didn't like it.  And I remember something about them being on MySpace or sucking, so I just kind of wrinkled my nose and raised my right eyebrow and then went home and signed on to Myspace to  give them a chance (because I'm fair like that). So, the song: "Hey There Delilah."  Um, what?  You can hear the trace of the pop-punk sneer of something like MCR or Taking Back Sunday, but with way less sincerity and creativity.  "Hey There Delilah" is post-punk whining at its most bare, and by bare, I mean "without all those little embellishments that make it occasionally worth listening to"--like unexpected words, anger so livid you can feel it, or guitar chords that are big and fast and furious and make you want to jump around.  But I do like that one of their songs on Myspace is called "Hate is a Strong Word," because that reminds me of something funny I remember from high school: "Hate is a strong word." "Not strong enough!" So, in summary, I realize that I have very little idea what is actually going on in the world of mainstream music, and I'm pretty sure I'm not missing anything.  (Comment on this)
Sunday, July 29th, 2007
11:16 am	Deadlines are looming, which means it's time to write in my livejournal again. Well, that and go see shows and generally revel in the procrastination. Yesterday afternoon I was hemming and hawing over whether to see Thermals/Man Man at Wicker Park Fest or Blitzen Trapper later at Empty Bottle. It wasn't until I Google-mapped it all out that I realized everything I wanted to do was only a mile apart, so I was like--fuck it, I'll do both. Usually doubling up on shows means I'll miss something here or there, or spend 45 minute hyperventilating on the slow train, or only see half a set. But this actually worked out well, and I got to take a nice walk through that shady area between Wicker and Hyde Parks. Pretty much the only signs of civilization once you got off of North Ave. were the Old Style bar signs that everyone and their mother uses. Aaaaanyway, Man Man was good, but I had to stand way far back and spent pretty much the entire set shifting one step this way and that to avoid being trampled by swarms of drunk late-20, early-30somethings. Also, Man Man is really only good live if you can see and appreciate the circus-like spectacle of it all, and, being 5-foot-7 (ok, maybe not even) and in the back, there was not much seeing that could be done. But the Thermals were a completely different story, as half the crowd magically thinned out and I was able to stand close enough to see them really shred it. Chicago, for good reason, is totally into the Thermals, and always has been--I don't think I've ever seen a show of theirs here that hasn't sold out, and quickly. The crowd was digging it, the band seemed to be in a really good mood (the lead singer couldn't stop smiling), and they managed to tear through all of my favorites in under an hour. Then it was off to Blitzen Trapper at the place in Chicago I will almost definitely miss the most when I leave--Empty Bottle. I was surprised they could all fit on that tiny little stage (there were, like, six of them at any given point in time) and still flail around without accidentally smacking one another in the face with a maraca or something, but they did, and it was brilliant. Great energy, great songs, none of that hillbilly stuff you'd expect if you saw their press photos (which are seriously kind of mountain-man and NOT in the sexy way, in the gross way, like you're driving through West Virginia and stop at a Burger King and this is what's sitting in one of the greasy little corner booths). The audience wasn't really willing to let go of them at the end of the set, and they were all too happy to squeeze in one, two, four extra songs before Empty Bottle was ready to throw them all out in some big, plaid-clad heap of country-nerd rock. Overall, I give Saturday 8-and-a-half stars and can't wait for next weekend, although there is a mountain of work standing between me and all that. Fingers crossed! (Comment on this)
Thursday, July 26th, 2007
10:12 pm	It has been a long, long, long week. It started off well enough--I went to go see The Besnard Lakes and Handsome Furs at their Monday night Schuba's show. It was pretty fantastic. Apparently, Handsome Furs had shows in the U.S. lined up previously that had to be canceled when something about their visas, and the border (the CANADIAN border). But it all had a happy ending live Monday night, when they played their first U.S. show. I liked it, and I really liked Dan Boeckner and Mrs. Boeckner and all that, but I have to say--I've seen Wolf Parade in pretty much everything except Wolf Parade-form, and it's time for this madness to stop. Enough, boys! Also, Handsome Furs would greatly have benefited from some better sound on the drum machine mixes, because they got kind of overwhelming during the show. Also, Besnard Lakes were great. There was a smoke machine, and I'm always impressed by stage effects (I'm such a sucker, and an easy one). But then the rest of the week got kind of long, and there was a lot of work to do. But this weekend is the Wicker Park festival, which is a must-see for The Thermals and Man Man alone. The rest of it, eh, if I am unable or unwilling to do the homework that sorely needs doing. If not, I might want to rest up for the Lollapamarathon starting not so long from now. (Comment on this)
Sunday, July 22nd, 2007
3:32 pm	I just finished the final Harry Potter book. You know, it's strange, the books have come to mark time kind of like birthdays for me--I always remember where I was when these last four have been released (I started after the third was already out). When Goblet of Fire hit the shelves, I was driving back from Indiana with my mother, and I bought it at some gas station in deepest darkest Ohio. For Order of the Phoenix, I went to the midnight feeding-frenzy at the Wal-Mart in WashPA, which was not nearly so much of a feeding frenzy as, say, the Barnes & Noble in Park Slope. It was more like one of the elderly greeters dressed up like Dumbledore, about 20 kids in line, and me, hanging towards the back and waiting until it seemed cool for a 20-year-old to buy a kiddie book (answer: There WAS no cool time. Exercise in futility). And for Half-Blood Prince, I had just graduated from P-ton, and was spending the summer in NJ, a very sad and hot summer where all my friends were leaving, my relationship was going to hell, and I had no idea what to do with myself other than drink a lot of cheap red wine and lay around on the beach with Justin or James. I woke up at 6 a.m. that Saturday morning, drove to the Wal-Mart on Route 1, bought it and spent the whole day reading on the floor of my apartment. And now, here I am, ready to graduate from school AGAIN, and still waking up early Saturday morning to buy the last volume of Harry Potter and reading it straight through, top to bottom, in one day (eight hours, really). ONE DAY, EIGHT HUNDRED PAGES. That's right, I'm like the Olympic speed-reading gold medalist. And what do I think? I think it was great. The epilogue was completely unsatisfying, and it might have even been better to leave it out in the first place. And the chapter entitled "King's Cross" (I'm not going to say anything about what HAPPENS, so chill) confused the hell out of me, especially considering the fact that I spent the entire chapter immediately preceding it crying like a little girl. It was like, sad, sad, sad, wait what the fuck? And while the build-up to the climax was a bit long, it was all very compelling, a lot of little side-adventures that tied together pieces from the old books and set up the scene that sorts it all out eventually. But I loved the Snape chapter, and I think everyone, for the most part, came to the kind of end he or she was supposed to. It felt good; exhausting, but good. (Comment on this)
Thursday, July 19th, 2007
11:58 pm	So, dude, Pitchfork: -was awesome. Great weather, great set-up (minus that shitty little stage in the alley where you couldn't hear if you were further than 20 feet from the front), great crowd, great prices, great lineup. Couldn't have asked for a nicer festival. -the best bands I saw were, in no particular order: Grizzly Bear, Of Montreal, Menomena, Clipse, Battles, and The New Pornographers. I only heard two songs from Deerhunter and Twilight Sad (damn you, Red line!), but they were both pretty hot. And, for Girl Talk, I could only get close enough to hear for about 3 or 4 songs before I began to fear for my sanity, which is a shame. Fortunately, one of them was the song during which Ed Droste sang over GT's mash-up of "Knife", so, awesome. Also, I heard Dan Deacon was off the hook, but I missed that for something...I can't remember what now...oh, right, that was Clipse. Well, I figured I'll be more likely to see Dan Deacon in the future than Clipse, who don't tour as much. -the disappointments were few and far between--even if I didn't think the band was the best, I wasn't turned off by any one band. But I thought Iron & Wine was a snooze, and so was Stephen Malkmus, kind of. Not that they were playing poorly, but it was hot, it was late in the day, and I wanted something to keep the energy up. It was dinner music, more or less. And Voxtrot...well, I just didn't like their new album so much. And I was confused about why they were there in the first place, because Pitchfork didn't really like their new album...anyway, the lead singer's pretty cute and all, but too much new stuff. And I REALLY wish they'd had Girl Talk out on the lawn so everyone could hear and dance at will. The alley stage was a bad call. -the only mean people there were the dudes behind the vegan ice cream booth. I mean, WTF? It's hippie ice cream, chill on the uppers, man! You know you're going to be in a tight confined space with thousands of hipsters swarming you for tofu chocolate chip tofu cookie soy dough in cones, so why show up in the mood to scream "FUCK FUCK FUCK" to the line, PLUS devise the most confusing and stupid line formation EVER? Here's how it worked: You get in one line, and you pay your money and tell them what you want. Then, you go BACK to the end of the second line (directly to the right of the first line) and wait all the way again, at which point you have to tell them your order again, anyway, because there were, like, 45 people in front of you and no one's writing anything down. HOW DOES THIS BUSINESS PRACTICE MAKE SENSE? And it was the only real ice cream option on the festival grounds, except for this ice cream truck in the VIP section that we could see very clearly. We asked the guard if we could just go in and get ice cream from the truck and leave right away, but no deal. There was a little ice cream cart outside the gates, but by the time you got there it was the end of the day and you just wanted to go drink someplace cool and clean(er). -Flatstock, this really cool tent show, was going on in one corner, and we got obsessed with the posters and art. Maybe I have low tastes in art (no, definitely), or maybe I just like music a little too much, but I thought the graphic band-poster art was SO COOL. I ended up buying this poster print of The Hold Steady (duh) with this cute little boy and girl eying each other at a school dance, which was advertising the show I saw at Metro with them, Sean Na Na, and Catfish Haven. There was a typo (the show was 10/26, not 9/26), but whatevs. Here it is: http://thedecoderring.com/shop/posters/?id=2011&p=2 It goes with my primary color scheme, and I have literally no other artwork or posters on my wall. James got a really cool deck of playing cards, although, as I told him, buying those would've made me nervous as hell every time I played cards that I would lose one, because then the deck's shot. I'd be frisking guests on the way out, for sure. That's about it. I'm excited for the new Harry Potter book, but not in a creepy way or anything. I'm trying to figure out the best buying strategy, and also stay away from all spoilers. This is very hard for me. Well, not as hard as if the book had leaked a month away from the release instead of two days, because I can overcome my intense suspense for that long, maybe. See, it's not that I like the ending to be spoiled, I just really like to know how things end up. Think of it like watching the movie Memento...I really like figuring out how people are, then where they end up, and THEN figuring out how it got to that point. I also don't like to be fooled. I think this comes from years of reading Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes and that whole mystery genre, where I liked being able to pick up on all the pieces immediately, rather than having to wait for a second read. This might make me weird. I'm going to try to read as sequentially as possible when I get this new HP, but I can't make any promises. (Comment on this)