Blowin' in the Wind

Sister is sick. Not sickly, though. Her face is freakishly swollen on one side along the jaw. She went to the doctor, and they said she had the symptoms of mumps. Really?! So they took blood but we won't know for a couple of days. She's had her shots & whatnot...Very weird. I am thinking it's not mumps, but they didn't even have a single other suggestion...We shall see.

So yesterday was Fat Tuesday (not to be confused with Tisha Tuesday). Of course, when you're me, every Tuesday is Fat Tuesday. :-p ANYWAY... We went to Sherrisa's for a night of "Wii and drinking"...Only somehow there was not a single second of Wii play. A raucous round of Fuck the Dealer, then J Howell & I played Rock the Clock, and then...karaoke. I remember a particularly ridiculous rendition of Me & Bobby McGee, courtesy of Angie...And a LOT of Dixie Chicks with Brandi. Really, I should never be allowed to karaoke. ...But it's so fun!

It's wino night!! ...Don't say you weren't warned.

Morning's phone just died, which makes me sad, but before it did I asked him my default question, which I use to immediately judge people & decide whether or not I like them: You're stranded on a desert island, which 5 albums do you have to have?

The rules: It can't be a mix CD or any of that BS. It CAN be a greatest hits album, or even a multi-disc set, as long as that is how it was released by the recording company. Basically it has to be all one artist per album.

That being said, his answers were: Queens of the Stone Age: self-titled, Eagles of Death Metal, Beatles - Abbey Road or 1...Incubus - either Make Yourself or Morning View...And I can not remember the last one for the life of me. But moral of the story is his answers were legit. And I asked AMS23 hers, which were also spectacular.

Here's the thing, though - I ask people the question all the time, and honestly if they were to ask me mine I would tell each of them a different 5 albums. I am trying to lock it down, but I just can't. So for today, here are my Desert Island Albums:

*Annie Lennox - Medusa

*Band of Horses - Cease to Begin

*Crosby Stills Nash & Young - So Far

*Stevie Wonder - Songs In The Key of Life

*O.A.R. - Stories of A Stranger

And because I have a really really hard time narrowing this down, I am allowing myself 3...make that 4...err, 56... runners-up, which are:

John Butler Trio - Grand National

Supertramp - Breakfast in America

Rusted Root - When I Woke

Citizen Cope - The Clarence Greenwood Recordings

Sublime - self-titled

Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense

....Who am I kidding?! I want to turn this into a list of Angie's 100 favorite albums because they are great from start to finish! But alas, that would be ridiculous. So for now, I shall go boost mi amigo's ego & finish my wine.

What are yours??

One more thing, though, today Sister's friend J decided he could beat me at some sort of music knowledge competition. I was almost insulted by this thought. Is that wrong of me?! Regardless I feel like I might have put the little punk in his place, for now. ;)

And to be ironic (in the Alanis Morissette sense of the word) I am including a song that is in no way, shape, or form on this list:

I don't know who or why, but someone who controls the fates does not like me. Yesterday was a mediocre day, as today seems to be shaping up to be. I spent most of the day working on a cymbal-related project that I should be completely done with this week finally. After that MC & I went to pick up my fridge. Uneventful...Somehow we got it safely to its new home. Then I alphabetized my DVDs (how's that for a mundane detail!) and Dad came to pick me up & take me to the house. Somewhere in all of those things, Morning & I made plans for him to come up and watch a movie, presumably Star Wars.

I was convinced he was going to arrive before us, so I made Father turn the boogie up. Shortly after exiting the interstate, we were truckin' along at somewhere between 50 & 55 mph's, when a GIANT (and I mean GIANT) raccoon came from nowhere and we obliterated it. It was huge - I feel like we might have actually high-centered the Saturn on the raccoon. At this point, hideous sounds start coming from underneath the vehicle; we're dragging something. I'm not sure what, but I'm convinced it's the raccoon, and I have this unearthly horrible mental picture of this. My phone rings. Morning is lost. I try to give him directions, and then one of our phones drops service. Hideous noises still occuring.

Now it starts to sound like small things are falling off of the car, but the dragging sound is still going on. Umm....tiny pieces of raccoon? Ew. Finally the noise stops. Whatever we were dragging (the raccoon) falls off. All is well. Except....Morning calls again. More lost than before, and sounding none too pleased. I think I get him back on track, and then lost reception again. Turning onto the gravel...Okay, the rocks don't usually hit the bottom of the car this loudly. We get home, and the front license plate is missing, part of the grill is busted, and a whole piece of plastic that goes up under the front end is dragging the ground. Nothing to be done but bungee it up and wait for tomorrow to further assess this damage. At this point I call Morning...

I can't get him to answer, but it's not going straight to voicemail. I try a couple more times; eventually he ends up calling me. He is frustrated and going back home. So much for that.

Like any good fat girl, I stress-ate a corn dog & some cheese toast, made myself a Bloody Mary, and passed out. Please, tonight, don't suck. I'm begging you.

The game of phone tag ended last night, and it ended with a bang. I had a 3 1/2 hour long phone conversation with Morning, and I enjoyed at least 3 hours of it. :D The last 30 minutes I was pretty much half asleep.

I was informed that my blasphemous ways (I've never seen a Star Wars movie) must soon be remedied, so besides the dive bar crawl I think we have tentative plans to hang out. That shall be the ultimate test. I will say that there are very few people I can talk to on the phone for that long, so maybe that's a good sign. At the least I feel like we could be extremely good friends. We talked a bit about coworker dating, and I feel like he was all over the map with that, so I don't know his stance for sure. I guess I'll find out!

Ultimately, I have decided that those numbers mean nothing to me. It's a conclusion I was pretty sure I would draw anyway, but it's official now.

He has decided that I need to watch Star Wars, several Star Wars spoofs/remakes, Harlem Nights, and Smallville.

I have decided that he needs to watch Pi, Requiem for a Dream, Planet Earth, and I'm trying to think of more... Suggestions?

"Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."
- Mark Twain

You hear it all the time: age ain't nothin' but a number, age is a state of mind, you're only as old as you feel, and so on & so forth. While I agree with this to a point, I'm beginning to wonder - what of age differences in relationships? If you're 80 but you 'feel' 18, should you date an 18 year old? I'd lean toward no...

Until recently I've been a firm believer in the "half your age plus seven" rule. It was basically the gospel in Rolla, and was so concrete in my mind that I didn't even look twice at people outside it. Well, as you might know, the last person I had a 'thing' with was outside this comfort zone. Just barely, though, so I could justify it if I needed.

Now, that is over, and I've started talking to someone who I think I may like to pursue further. Of course, "further" just means talk to him outside of work, so far. It could end up that there is some thing that I find out that just destroys this before it happens, but assuming there's not.... how old is too old?

I believe it should somehow be percentage-based, and ultimately I think most people are of that same mindset (the half-plus-seven is sort of based on this same logic...But when you get past a certain age it gets sort of creepy - a 90 year old and a 52 year old? I guess Hugh Hefner is still kicking even that in the ass). For instance, 6 years between 28 & 34 - not a big deal. 6 years between 21 & 15 - totally creepy. Right? But where....what....is this magic percent? Is it 80% of your age? So if you're 50, you can date a 40 year old by this rule, but all the way down to 32 with the half plus 7 rule....

This particular guy (we'll call him Morning) is 15 years my senior. And when I look at that number, 15, I see many things: He graduated high school when I was 2 or 3. He could legally drink when I was 6. 15 years is 65% of my life so far, and less than 40 of his. However, when I don't look at that number, I also see many things. Different things. I find him adorable. He seems to be a genuinely nice person. We have a similar outlook on life. We have a lot in common & overlapping interests. These things are the important things...right?

Let's see....80% of 38 is...over 30...Damn. And Morning's half + 7 age = 26.

I'm not worried about what other people think, as long as I'm happy. But then I wonder about things like the variance in sexual peak: Males reach this peak between 18-25, whereas females reach it between 25-40. This means that by the time I am in this peak age range, he will be at least 40 but anywhere up to 55. That's pushin' the Viagra years!! However, considering that I won't be having sex in my peak with a man who is in his peak unless he's 10 or more years younger than me, do I factor that in at all? It's not fair to women that mentally they mature faster than males but sexually it's so much later. Uggg put this on the list of reasons I hate being a chick. :/



According to this made-up chart I found on a random blog, I am right smack dab in the middle of the sugar daddy age group. Hmmm...

What are your guys' thoughts on this? Is there something I'm not thinking of that should sway me one way or the other??

This Valentine's Day, I had the pleasure of floor seats to see B.B. King & Buddy Guy, arguably the 2 biggest names in the more recent history of the blues. I was even more excited because it was at Midland Theatre, which was just recently reopened, and used to be a killer venue.

We got there about 4 minutes into Guy's set, after a desperate move to beat the Valentine's Day dinner crowds (We ate at Stack's). Buddy Guy was just here in December but I missed him then and I didn't even know he was opening for King when I bought the tickets, but was hella stoked when I found that out. And he did not disappoint! At the age of 72, Buddy is still rockin' it out hard. I'd say my favorite was a gorgeous rendition of "Feels Like Rain", but I'd be crazy to not mention his 10-minute voyage through the crowd. He stepped offstage, walked up one aisle, popped behind the bar for a quick drink, and then walked up the other side back to the stage, greeting people and playing guitar the entire time. Freaking awesome. I have a Blair Witch-esque video of this, which I will post later. He talked a bit in between songs, and was hilarious. He also did a 3 minute long medley of other peoples' blues, in which he made fun of "Clapton blues". As much as I love Clapton, it was hard not to enjoy Guy's skeptical version of white boy blues.

After an hour opening set, and 20 minutes or so of stage change, BB King's band came out and played. Musically one of the tightest groups I'd seen, and I now have a newfound love for Melvin Jackson, the sax player. But you all know I have a soft spot for those sax men! So anyway, after what I would guess to be 10-15 minutes of them playing, BB came out to stage & explained that he plays seated because of diabetes & age, which I think we all knew already. He talked some, played some, talked some more, played some, talked more, and then closed with his anthem "The Thrill Is Gone". It's impossible for me to give him a bad review for a number of reasons...the main one being he's BB King. And when he played and sang, it was apparent that he's still "got it". The problem was there was not enough playing nor singing. There was much storytelling and such, which I'm totally okay with for the most part. He is a great storyteller, and has seen a lot and is funny. But when there's more talking than singing, at $100 or so a seat, the masses get restless. Overall, the show kicked ass, and I'm glad I got to see these blues legends before they stop touring. Plus I paid more than that to see Tim McGraw & Faith Hill a couple of years back, and comparison-wise, I would rather have listened to BB King talk for a solid 3 hours than see that show again. :-p

...are basically the main reason for life. I love them, and there are lots I want to go to, and lots I think people should know about. Maybe you're thinking of taking a roadtrip to one or something! ....I'm compiling a list now, and publishing it here so I can look back when I need to (and maybe it will also help others find them), of every music festival I would like to attend at some point in time, and a few I already have:

Bonnaroo mid-June, Manchester TN....Hoping to go this year to see PHISH!!! Always a killer lineup!
Past performers: Kanye West, Death Cab, Iron & Wine, Vampire Weekend, Pearl Jam, Widespread Panic, O.A.R., BB King, Ben Folds, Les Claypool, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Metallica, Tool, The Police, Radiohead...the list goes on!


Southside & Hurricane - simultaneous, late June, Germany...They love their 2 at once festivals apparently!
Past performers: Arcade Fire, Beastie Boys, Incubus, Bright Eyes, Modest Mouse, Kings of Leon

Summer Meltdown - early August, Darrington WA
Past performers: Tea Leaf Green, Buckethead

Meltdown Festival - London England....Directed by a different musician/celebrity each year, so has really varying lineups year-to-year
Past performers: Jeff Buckley, Cornershop, Cat Power, Iggy & the Stooges, Nancy Sinatra, Polyphonic Spree, Dandy Warhols, Elvis Costello, Smog

Popped! - late June, Philadelphia PA
Past performers: Vampire Weekend, The Ting Tings, Gogol Bordello, Mates of State, Crystal Castles

North by Northeast - mid/late June, Toronto Canada.... Canada's SXSW!
Past performers: People in Planes, My Morning Jacket, Ted Leo & Pharmacists, Hercules & Love Affair

Isle of Wight - mid-June, Isle of Wight England
Past performers: The Police, The Kooks, Sex Pistols, Kaiser Chiefs, Prodigy, Coldplay, The Who, David Bowie, Jefferson Airplane, Bob Dylan, Jethro Tull, Jimi Hendrix

Coachella Mid-April, Indio CA

Lollapalooza - First weekend in August (Perfect birthday present to self! Chicago, IL

Wakarusa - Ozark, AR

Joshua Tree Roots Fest


Strawberry Music Festival (summer) - Memorial Weekend

Rothbury Festival - 1st weekend of July

CMJ Music Marathon - I could party with all of the promoters I used to talk to! :)

Mile High Music Festival - Mid-July, CO

Pemberton Festival - Woo Canada!...July

Harvest of Hope Festival - 1st weekend of March, St. Augustine FL

Summerfest - 8 days long!, Super cheap, end of June/early July, Milwaukee WI


High Sierra Music Festival - 1st July weekend, Quincy CA

Beale St. Music Festival - 1st weekend in May, wide variety of artists, Memphis TN (Going there this year!)

Midpoint Music Festival - Cincinnati, late march/Early April

Musikfest - Bethlehem PA, 10 days, late July/early August

Monolith Festival - wanted to go to that this past year, but was another thing that got screwed up by the townhome. Band of Horses was there, and we all know how much I heart them. Anyway, also at Red Rocks, which is just amazing. September, Morrison CO

South by Southwest - Austin, TX, mid-March. Never went because it was during Pat's. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif Awesome & huge. Another place to party with promoters! AND Devo will be there this year which makes me badly wish I could go.


10KLF (10,000 Lakes Festival) - July, Detroit Lakes MN

Green Apple - 4/20 (I know right!) at several venues, FREE, I want to go to them all (But DC has the best bands) - Washington DC, New York, Miami, Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco

Fun Fun Fun Fest - November, Austin TX; fucking great indie music

Outside Lands - end of August, SF CA - pretty much BA

Musicfest NW - 1st weekend of September, Portland OR

Summer Camp - Memorial Weekend, Chillicothe IL... Have heard Ben & Pat talk about it so much but somehow still never made it there! But I shall.
Past performers: moe., Keller Williams, Umphrey's McGee, Flaming Lips, P-Funk, the Roots

Sasquatch Music Festival - Memorial Weekend, The Gorge in George WA... GREAT lineups!!
Past performers: REM, Flaming Lips, The Cure, Modest Mouse, POTUSA, Michael Franti & Spearhead, MIA, Fleet Foxes, Built to Spill, Matt Costa, Flight of the Conchords (ALL IN ONE YEAR, PLUS A TON OF OTHER AWESOME ACTS! MUST GO!)

Liverpool Sound City - late May, Liverpool England
Past performers: Lightspeed Champion, Santogold, Laura Marling, The Wombats

Villette Sonique - early June, Paris France
Past performers: Sunset Rubdown, Deerhunter, Devo, The Go! Team, Mission of Burma

Rock Am Ring & Rock im Park - early June, Germany...2 simultaneous badass rock festivals in Germany
Past performers: Metallica, Bedouin Soundclash, CSS, Hot Chip, Justice, HIM, Motorhead, Nightwish, Bad Religion, Incubus, Rage Against the Machine

Primavera Sound - late May/early June, Barcelona Spain
Past performers: Smashing Pumpkins, White Stripes, Animal Collective, Cat Power, Built to Spill, Wilco, Of Montreal

Do-Division Street Fest - late May/early June, Chicago IL...a sidewalk sale/free concert. Loving this.
Past performers: Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, The 1900s, Frightened Rabbit

Rock in Rio - May, Lisbon Portugal...long-running, biggest rock festival in the world
Past performers: Metallica, Amy Winehouse, Muse, Neil Young, RHCP, Ben Harper, Paul McCartney, Queen, Yes

Badd Bonn Kilbi - Dudingen Switzerland
Past performers: Cat Power, The Notwist, Beach House, Blonde Redhead

Jam on the River - Memorial Weekend, Philadelphia PA
Past performers: Flaming Lips, Disco Biscuits, Avett Brothers

Memorial Weekend Festival - actually 3 separate concerts, but all super good & relatively cheap. Memorial Weekend (duh), Bend OR
Past performers: Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, Michael Franti & Spearhead, The National

Taos Solar Music Festival - late June, Taos NM

Bumbershoot - early September, Seattle WA

Norman Music Festival - FREE!, late April, Norman OK

All Good Music Festival - early-mid July, Masontown WV

Siren Music Festival - Excellent indie bands, on Coney Island, FREE! I know, you're thinking "That sounds too good to be true!"....It does, I'm skeptical too.

Virgin Festival Calgary - late June, Calgary Alberta
Past performers: Flaming Lips, Stone Temple Pilots, Fratellis, New Pornographers, Tragically Hip

Hove Festival - late June, Arendal Norway
Past performers: 1990s, Amy Winehouse, Bright Eyes, CSS, Hatebreed, Interpol, Klaxons, Nellie McKay, Slayer, Stephen Marley, The Hold Steady, Animal Collective, Band of Horses, Beck, In Flames, Jay Z, Vampire Weekend


Glastonbury Festival - late June, Glastonbury England
Past performers: Holy cow, more than I can mention!... We Are Scientists, Editors, Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, MGMT, Pete Doherty, Jimmy Cliff, Estell, Ozomatli, The Rascals, Kings of Leon, Massive Attack, Simian Mobile Disco, Band of Horses, Vampire Weekened, Buddy Guy, Hot Chip, Los Campesinos, Amy Winehouse, Jay Z, The Verve, Brian Jonestown massacre, Leonard Cohen, Goldfrapp, Manu Chao, Joan Baez, My Morning Jacket, The National.....That's all in the same year!!!!! Plus like a million more!!

80/35 - first weekend of July, Des Moines IA...Pretty close to home & pretty awesome!
Past performers: Flaming Lips, Roots, Yonder Mtn String Band, Andrew Bird


Rock Werchter - late June/early July, Werchter Belgium
Past performers: The Ramones, Pixies, Ben Harper, DMB, Jeff Buckley, David Bowie, Bjork, The Cure, Muse, Metallica, REM, Foo Fighters

Roskilde Festival - first weekend of July, Roskilde Denmark...Going strong since 1971, with a brief hiccup when 9 people were killed during a Pearl Jam performance
Past performers: The Kinks, Canned Heat, Bob Marley, U2, Metallica, Eric Clapton, REM, Sex Pistols, Bob Dylan, Radiohead, The Who, Korn, Iggy Pop, Morrissey


Comerica Cityfest - 4th of July weekend, Detroit MI
Past performers: The Zombies, Broken Social Scene, Calexico, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, George Clinton & P-Funk

Pitchfork Music Festival - mid-July, Chicago

Virgin Mobile Festival - I know the name makes me throw up a little too...The music, however, makes up for it! early August, Baltimore MD

Austin City Limits - October, Austin TX...Pretty much always has the most bands I want to see. SO GOOD!

Treasure Island Music Festival - mid September, San Francisco CA

I am completely bummed that Langerado was cancelled this year, and SO hope that it's back next year. Damn economy.

Also I have mixed feelings about the Wakarusa move. I'm really hoping that it ends up back in Lawrence after this year but don't see that happening....

Lastly, I would like to spend a summer in one of those cities that has free outdoor concerts every weekend with bands that don't suck.

This entry will officially remain under construction for...ever. I hear every day about another amazing lineup that I MUST see, so...yeah.

So, I'm a month late with this, but that's kind of how I roll. :) Here are my personal top 10 albums of 2008. It's just my opinion, yours might be totally different! Feel free to share any I didn't include, good or bad!!

10. Hot Chip - Made in the Dark: It's Astralwerks, so of course it's good! Hot Chip's 3rd album, and I would venture to say best so far. Takes more risks than their first 2, and those risks pay off. The Warning was a great album, but a little too poppy sometimes...This one learns from its overly popped predecessors & gets a little darker, which should also broaden the band's appeal to fans of just about any genre. Made in the Dark basically lives in my CD player.

9. Steve Winwood - Nine Lives: Not what I was expecting from Winwood's new release but perhaps that's part of the reason I love it so. Now I think this man could release an album of children's songs and somehow make it kick tall ass; he's just that awesome. At 60 years old, Winwood puts out this album that somehow manages to revisit all of the music he's already released, while still keeping it entirely different than anything he's come out with in the psat 45 years. I saw him with Petty in concert last year, and he was phenomenal. I love him so.

8. O.A.R. - All Sides: Upon first listen, I was not convinced. O.A.R. has been one of my favorite bands for ages, and originally was because of the jam band feel their music had. It seems with each new album they come out with a bit of that is lost. Seeing them live, they still rock it hard & improv some extended solos and such...but the albums just don't do that anymore. Nonetheless, once I came to terms with that and listened to All Sides for what it was, with its big name producers and terribly boring cover, it's actually a pretty solid album despite my first thoughts. There are no songs that I feel like I must skip, and while there is definitely a lack of Jerry DePizzo that saddens me, when he is playing he is kicking ass. That's what he does best.

7. Cloud Cult - Feel Good Ghosts: I can't say I've ever disliked anything Cloud Cult has released, which is pretty impressive considering they've released 6 albums in 5 years...You'd think they would be subpar, but pretty much they're not. The album name is actually Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying through Tornadoes), and that pretty much sums it up. The album is about being happy despite what pitfalls you encounter on your journey through life, and when you listen to it, it's hard to be unhappy! The songs are beautiful and full, with such a wide variety of instrumentation happening that you feel like you have to really pay attention or you'll miss something. The orchestration is at times reminiscent of Sufjan Stevens, with the vocals sounding a bit like Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse), minus his jaded world view (which, don't get me wrong, I love). It's gotten me hooked.

6. The Black Keys - Attack & Release: Every time I hear The Black Keys, I find it extremely difficult to believe that 2 people can do so much (I get this same feeling when I listen to Viva Voce). Attack & Release isn't for me quite what Thickfreakness was, with the stripped down old blues feeling. But it's exactly what I'd expect when you take that and combine it with executive producer Danger Mouse at the helm. A great album, but I wonder what could have been had Ike Turner not died & gotten to collaborate on the project as planned! No use dwelling, though - the fact of the matter is, another success for The Keys.

5. Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line: Debut album for a band that's been together since (I think) 2006. Their founding member/drummer John Pike died in the summer of 2007, but the remaining member persevered & came out with this KICKASS album! Great new material, and even as strongly opposed to covers as I generally am, their cover of Kate Bush's "Suspended in Gaffa" is wicked awesome! Two thumbs up!

4. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend: Most would probably call this THE debut of the year. While I'm not entirely of that mindset, this gets you from the beginning and keeps you hooked until it ends, which few records do anymore! Really great & catchy, but doesn't offer a lot musically. Perhaps its beauty lies in its simplicity. All I know is I love it. I am reluctant, however, to put it so high on my list. I saw them live and was wholly unimpressed... Anyway, get the record! Step aside, Weezer, our new nerd-rock heroes have arrived.

3. Metallica - Death Magnetic: Thank you God. Or Lars, or whoever needs to be thanked. I hate Lars so maybe I won't give him the credit...James, you can take it. ;) From the ashes of the unfortunate St. Anger rises Metallica's proverbial phoenix, Death Magnetic. Long songs, tasty guitar riffs - this album is what a Metallica album is supposed to sound like! Almost as good as Black....almost!

2. Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping: This album has kind of an unfair advantage. I first acquired a digital copy of it (legally, mind you!), and listened to it on my work computer NONSTOP. I learned all the words & loved all the songs. Then I decided to put the songs on my mp3 player & something very strange happened - all the songs were completely unfamiliar. Yes, the words were the same, but where did all this crazy dance background music come from? As it turns out, my work computer is in mono, and I got to rediscover the whole album. I'd thought it was a bit strange for Of Montreal to come out with something so bare, but I was okay with it... Now I'm way more than okay with it!!

1. David Byrne & Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today: There are just no words to describe David Byrne, and the magic that happens when he & Eno collaborate on a project. I can't tell you how many times I've listened to this album in the roughly 3 months since it's been released...but I can tell you that I'm nowhere near sick of it. David Byrne is amazing as always, and the lyrics on this album are much simpler & straightforward than a lot of his previous material but that's part of what makes it what it is. I got to catch him on tour in October, and so I was familiar with some of the songs before it came out, and getting that little taste made me desperate for the full album. I'm not disappointed. Not at all.

Honorable Mentions:
Kings of Leon - Only by the Night
Flight of the Conchords - Flight of the Conchords
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
Amos Lee - Last Days at the Lodge
Tech N9ne - Killer
The Dodos - Visiter
Ben Folds - Way to Normal
The Kooks - Konk
Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
French Kicks - Swimming
TV On the Radio - Dear Science
Lightspeed Champion - Falling Off The Lavender Bridge
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
Matt Costa - Unfamiliar Faces
City and Colour - Bring Me Your Love
Beach House - Devotion
Sia - Some People Have Real Problems
Sun Kil Moon - April


...And my personal 10 biggest disappointments of the year

10. Beck - Modern Guilt: Maybe this is blasphemous...But that's never stopped me before! The thing is, when you set the bar as high as Beck has in the past, it's just hard to live up to. I would be inclined to think that getting Danger Mouse on board would be an easy way to help that along, but for me this just didn't work. The album is not bad, but it's just not great. There are just a few standout tracks... I get the impression I'm in the minority here, but I just felt a general disappointment after listening to this one.

9. Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Cardinology: Let me preface this by saying that Ryan Adams has never, for whatever reason, been my cup of tea. Perhaps it's due to the buildup that surrounded him before I heard it. Because my general reaction was "That's it?!" Then there was this album, that got the same buildup - people telling me it was his best yet, etc. So I gave it a try. Same reaction. I guess I just don't get it. I do know that people making claims that he's the next Neil Young make me angry. THAT is blasphemy.

8. AC/DC - Black Ice: Can I call this a disappointment when my expectations weren't all that high to begin with?! As a matter of fact, this album might have even exceeded my expectations...sadly enough. The good news - it sounds like old AC/DC...The bad - it sounds like old AC/DC. There is, predictably, nothing unique about it. Even more irritating than the album itself is the fact that it was released as a 'Wal-Mart Exclusive'. Um....

7. Counting Crows - Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings: Simply put, this album broke my Counting Crows-loving heart. It's good, there's no denying that, but it's not spectacular. When I hear a Crows album I expect nothing short of spectacular. It felt a little overproduced or something...just not the raw emotional Counting Crows that I know and love. :(

6. ZOX - Line in the Sand: I just like bands more when they're still under the radar, I guess. This is their first album to really attract much attention, and I'm happy for them as far as that goes...but what I loved about ZOX was their ska/reggae vibe, and that's went from being their main vein to a nearly ignored background influence. Sad face for that.

5. Flogging Molly - Float: Sorry Side One Dummy, you're 0 for 2 with me... And apparently all of my disappointments were bands changing up what they usually do. Maybe it's because I'm a crochety old man, but I say if it ain't broke don't fix it. I'm all for experimenting I suppose, but not for leaving behind everything that you once were or stood for! So anyway....focus Angie....Lyrically, I think Float is a great album. They've grown past just being a bunch of Irish drunks, and while I doubt I will ever cross that threshold personally I can appreciate that they have. I, however, can not appreciate the fact that musically I find this album boring. For Flogging Molly.

4. Jack's Mannequin - The Glass Passenger: Yeah, we get it. You have cancer. You have one testicle. But you shall overcome. This album....well, it's no Everything in Transit. And it doesn't even have going for it that the band's transcended some lyrical boundaries...nothing like that. It's just not that good. While Andrew McMahon is undoubtedly a talented musician who has seen more of life than he should have ever had to, I don't feel like there's anything on this album that hasn't already been done.

3. Weezer - 'The Red Album': Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is their third self-titled album? And the second one to not do their name justice. I hate to be one of those people, but I just feel like Weezer has completely sold out. Once upon a time, if you would have asked me who I wanted to some day marry, I would have answered Rivers Cuomo without a start. Now he's higher on my list of people I want to punch. Weezer has continually let their rockin' awesomeness go by the wayside & instead settled for catchy radio-friendly music. I understand that's what makes the money, and I won't hate them for that. I won't even really hate the album. I'll just be disappointed in it.

2. R.E.M. - Accelerate: I am genuinely surprised at how well-received this album was. I didn't like it. At all, really. The lyrics are good, of course. Stipe wouldn't be Stipe if the lyrics weren't good...and also political & relevant. I particularly liked "Living Well is the Best Revenge"...It is a rockin' album, which is a welcome change after Around the Sun, but it's just all been done. AND it's only 35 minutes long! Did someone say gyp?!

1. Mudcrutch - Mudcrutch: I remember vividly when I was told that Tom Petty was doing an album with Mudcrutch, his band prior to the Heartbreakers. I was so stoked! I love the Heartbreakers, but felt like it would be awesome for Tom Petty to revisit those days. Well, this sounded nothing like the original Mudcrutch, which was disappointing, even when you consider that they basically sounded like the Heartbreakers. I like the style of music they're going for here, and I like how each band member has a chance to stand out. But I think all in all the musicians on this album are overqualified for what the album is...mediocre.

Dishonorable Mentions:
Guns N Roses - Chinese Democracy
Lykke Li - Youth Novels
CSS - Donkey

It's not often that I do this...

I enjoy having the door held open for me, but I won't stay at home vacuuming in pearls. I think the man should make the first move, but not that a girl should set her life aside for someone. So basically, I'm pretty middle of the road when it comes to women's lib & such. I believe women have to work harder than men for the same thing, and sure that pisses me off, but I'm not about to go off and burn my bras (I pretty much need those.).

So here's what happened to get under my skin:

I went to the Water District building to pay the deposit and schedule a connection fee. I had to fill out a bunch of paperwork, and I'm filling out this yellow carbon copy slip with my name and address - all that junk. I get to a line for employer, and write down my work's name and phone number, and then the next line says "Wife's employer"...

Me: "So I guess only men are homeowners?"
Lady: "What do you mean?"
Me: "I can't believe this actually SAYS 'wife's employer'! Shouldn't it just already be filled in with homemaker too?!"
Lady: laughs "Oh, nobody's ever mentioned that before...wow. Those must be old."
Me: "Well, it's carbon copy paper, so I'm thinking it's not THAT old!"
Lady: obviously uncomfortable "Good for you, though. Breaking the norm."

As for me buying a house, I don't think it's special because I'm a woman, or because I'm single; it's only special because it's a big life event.

People stare at me like I'm a leper already, I feel like this is quite the opposite of any form of women's rights. It's like I get ridiculed because I don't want what I'm "supposed to" want..."You'll change your mind when you meet someone", "I remember when I used to say that", "How could you not want kids?!"
No. I won't change my mind. Do I want to love and be loved? Absolutely. Does that have to come with marriage and children? I certainly hope not. I'll take the single life if those are my options.

Well, when you're divorced and have shared custody of your 4 children, we'll see who's laughing then. We'll just see.

Srrsly. I am about sick of this house nonsense. As you know, yesterday was "the closing date". As you've probably guessed by the time you get to this, the 4th sentence, I in fact did not close yesterday. Rather filed for an extension to set the closing date as "4 days after receipt of the seller-signed documents". Gee that's helpful. So basically I will have 4 days' notice. Saxon Homes SUCKS - if you can avoid it, do not buy from them. They're impossible to get a hold of and even more difficult to get results from. I'll be so glad when this is over! I feel like I've been ran over by a truck, between all of this and the original townhome bullshiz.

Boys will be boys, and as far as that goes I have no real news. Things are the same as they have been.

Since it's February now, I'll give you a little progress update on my Resolutions:
Lose 30 pounds - I've lost...*drumroll*... TWO pounds. Ugh. I barely eat & I work out at least 2 nights a week (try to do it more, but juggling a million things makes that difficult), and a lot of good it's done.

Finish online classes - I did 2 homework assignments so far (2 must be the magic number!). I am applying for an extension with LSU & setting up my midterm for MechEMat. Not progressing as well as hoped, but progress is progress.

Open myself up to dating - I actually did ask someone out for drinks...But it was open-ended, since I can't make real plans considering I have no free weekends until April!! Part of me is glad I did this, but another part is not. Right now I don't really want to date, and I guess that's what I was trying to "overcome", but why do I have to want that? I enjoy what I have for now, even if it makes no sense and can't be named.

Stick up for myself when I should - I haven't really been in too many situations yet where this applies. I did get pretty self-righteous in a text message Friday when I was drunk, if that counts. I suppose really this still needs work. There's that one person who just walks all over me, and it's because I allow it. But what will happen if I don't? That scares me more than dealing with it...

They didn't have my song that I wanted for today on imeem, so here's a youtube video. Bah.