Wilco Wednesday

I went out and saw the Wilco documentary I am Trying to Break Your Heart with Mike and his friend Fiona last night. It was one of those outdoor movies-projected-on-a-big-inflatable-screen things.



I had seen the film before, but it was a nice reason to get out and see some more of DC. I'd never been in the NE before, and while it's certainly not as ritzy and polished as most of the NW is it was alright.

Unfortunately, Wilco (the band) was actually playing not far from my house the same night. Double-unfortunately, Sonic Youth was playing back to back shows in DC. Because of my ignorance, I had tickets to see neither act.

Looking around the crowd at the movie, we figured that these were all the people that couldn't get tickets to the Wilco show. Though some of them also probably fell into the category of considering themselves too old to go to concerts. I also heard rumblings of the relative benefits of Wilco v. Uncle Tupelo, but that's an argument for another day.

For the record, it's a good movie. I'd like to say that you don't have to care about Wilco to like it, but there's so much concert footage that you have already dig them to care. It does, however, chronicle an interesting time in the history of what would become a surprisingly significant and successful album.

But oh well, it was a nice night: the weather was great, the movie is still good, and sometimes it's just nice to sit on the grass and not have any responsibilities for a while.
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I'll be heading out for a quick stint in NY starting this weekend. On the docket is to box a male model, confess my undying love for former roommate Justin, see a play by other former roommate Hyatt, and lick the New Yorker offices. Long-time pal Kris will probably draw on my face with a permanent marker while I stare blankly at the Carnegie Deli, and mid-term pal Cathy will be cooler than me by interning for Conde Nast.

All this and more, in the future.

An Update On The Brink Of Stunning News

I had a great, great time in Philly with E.J.. We hung around, I hurt myself bowling, and I took the liberty of introducing her to the art of Robert Crumb -- via an exhibit of his work at UPenn.

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I wonder what's happening to those Pogo books that I donated to the UM library. Here's a collection of covers.

Swear that you'll vote this year, and get a free MP3 of Wilco and Fleet Foxes (whom, I gathered from his Twitters, John Hodgman enjoys) covering Bob Dylan (who should be on Twitter, but as yet is not). Do it here!

Very nice short by Bryan Lee O'mally, author of Scott Pilgrim.
Watch your step, she keeps goats.

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Big news in the next few days. Keep on the edge of your seat. If you do not have a seat, find one and sit in it until I make an announcement.

Two Things

1. I still need to talk about Wes Anderson. There's not much to say, really, but it was such a big deal that I need to wind it up.

2. I cannot say enough good things about tonight's Wilco show. It was fun, it was dead on. The band went all the way back to A.M. and hit every album in between (save for, oddly, either Mermaid album).

So there's a lot coming. I have some more reading to do, and a paper to work on, but I be sure to fill all of you in.

Thank you, Gentle Readers.

The Fact of the Matter

Been a long time since my last post. Didn't mean for it to be that long, but I did mean for it to stew for a while.

I have another, nearly completed and much longer post which answers many of the questions that I have been asked over the past few weeks. It'll still go up, but I woke up this morning with a lot of idealism so Im sidetracked on a few other things for a while.

Quick Update:

KRIS has moved into her new apartment and is getting wired for the internet today! She's started working for a real company, making real money and is eligible for real health benefits! Huzzah! She's even bought a cat, which terrifies her rats but is otherwise adorable.

CLAIRE left for Arizona last week. She'll be working at a Hopi excavation until mid-July. Contrary to popular belief, not all of archaeology is done with a pin and toothbrush. These guys have been known to use shovels, and even back-hoes! Though their primary tools are trowels and petiches...uh, sorta lost the point of this midway.
Ah, right. CLAIRE, however, is not digging. Instead she is in charge of the LAB, where recovered samples are washed and then subjected to weird tests that resemble the Salem Witch trials. 'Floatation' for instance separates two kinds of matter...some of which is usable...and...um...really you should just ask her.
This paragraph isn't going so well.
THE POINT IS THAT CLAIRE IS DOING THE PART OF ARCHAEOLOGY THAT SHE LIKES. The part with all the analysis. She's also working with pottery, which she really enjoys.
Today, the dig-crew is going on a field trip to see a Hopi dance, the Petrified Forest (I've been there!), and then to a Hopi home for dinner.

NATE, whom I retrieved from the Great White North, is now in Ann Arbor for the season! He's working for NOAA as some kind of computer slave/data analyst. He's got some really nifty graphs that too me look like something produced by a Jefferson Airplace/Jackson Polluck joint art initiative. Did I mention that said graphs are covered in arrows? They have arrows too. Nate is doing some kind of crazy physics with those underwater currents that you hear about. I've learned my lesson from Claire's paragraph, so I am just going to skip trying to explain it (since I don't understand it) and go right to telling you all to just ask him yourselves.
Me and him have been hangin' around a bit. I've been showin' him the town and teaching him the fine art of buying all your food from the corner liquor store.
The other day we played the demo for an upcoming game called "OVERLORD," which casts you as a Sauron-type entity bent on conquering and destroying. Basically, the game gives you minions. Its simple, its stupid, and its dang fun.
Soon, Nate will be out in a boat on Lake Erie servicing and placing temperature sensors. It'll be a lot like Deadliest Catch, but without the startling human drama, or the Disocvery Channel.

PHIL is moving into a very nice house with his lady friend SUSAN way down in Indiana. You can read more about it, and Mank Rage here. You really should, too.
Good luck, you two.

MAX has been working for over a month now! Actually, at the moment, he's not working. Instead, he's eating a pecan log. Which, however delicious, is not 'work' nor is it 'healthy.' Anyway, he's on the Diag crew working for the University's Grounds and Waste management. This is, quite literally, his work-place. Last week he trimmed a hedge down a foot! He also planted an oak! Yesterday, he and the other temps got to drive the ToolCat around! Its a piece of equipment that costs 7 times what he will make from the University this year - and its the most fun ever!
Max is also planning for his imminent birthday - which should arrive any day now. He'd really like this, but understands that its expensive. He hopes that two or more people won't get that for him, because then he'll have to sell one for-profit on eBay. He also need to go to another Wilco concert so he can get this, which combines two things he love. Try to guess which two!
While things are good for Max, he often finds himself feeling restless and very uneasy. This is not unusual, and seems to be just part of spending a summer in Ann Arbor. Its also probably related to his sleep schedule. Things seem to be improving, however.
He also recently attended a wedding, and looked fabulous. On the way back to Michigan, Claire snapped this photo out the window:


Back soon, kiddies.

Farewell, Atomsk

Atomsk, my dearly beloved laptop purchased such a short while ago in large part from my loving parents, is (effectively) dead. When taken to the Apple Store, he was declared to be at DAMAGE TIER LEVEL 4. That's apparently bad. As in, DEFCON 4 THE SOVIETS HAVE GONE TO CONDITION RED bad. The man at the desk tells me it will run at least 1300 to repair him.

Though his data is still intact, I figure it is too late for him. I am exploring some options, but Im not too hopeful.

Right now, Im preparing for the worst.

The king is dead. We must prepare for succession.

THE MACBOOK
A solid choice. Small, cute, cheap and high-powered. However, it lacks any kind of decent graphics card and has an admitably small screen. Since I use my computer as a kind of entertainment center, this could be problematic.

THE MACBOOK PRO
Highpowered and wide (not thick), this is the heavy hitter of Apple's portables. A faster chip, larger screen and a nifty graphics card are its highpoints. But its price tag brushes past the WAY WAY TOO MUCH level.

THE IMAC
Best of both worlds, but stuck to the ground. A huge screen, a graphics card with more RAM and a hard drive the size of greate Milwaukee are just some of its dandy features which come at an equally dandy price. But its not exactly going to fit into my backpack.

PS.
I become E-FAMOUS! Try to find me on this page!

PPS.
As you can tell from these pictures, all the other bands were not nearly rocking hard enough. You ain't got time for gentle melodies if you rock so hard you have to wear a tamborine on your head! Go buy Mason Proper's album, or better yet see them live.

PPPS.
Also, get the new Wilco album. And see them live too.

Free Wilco Trak!

For all those Wilco fans out there, the band is offering a free track off it's upcoming album Sky Blue Sky.

Dig it here.

The track listing for the album is also available in the 'NEWS' section of the site. Sadly, it looks like the amazing song 'Lets Not Get Carried Away,' didn't make the cut. That's really too bad, because there's nothing better than listening to Jeff Tweedy declare his intention to, "rock myself - today."

In other news, I have reached a new level of decadence. This morning I awoke and breakfasted on Orange Juice with Fillet MinJon(sic).

Travel Blogging

Im in Indiana! Hooray!

I got kind of a late start today. I woke up at eight, turned off my alarm and promptly slept for an additional two hours or so. Not too fantastic. But I made it to the bank, rented the apt., and grabbed lunch at Ahmos before hopping in my car and speeding off into the sunset.
I started traveling in earnest at around 12:40pm, and made it in at 5:30 which isn't too bad considering that I stopped for a while in Ft. Wayne. By that time I was pretty cheesed about not having my tunes in the truck. So after pooping and eating at Arby's, I stopped in real quick to buy a $20 FM transmitter for the iPod. The dang thing is completely ridiculous. It only broadcasts on four stations, all of which are very close to each other, but I suppose it works. The ridiculous thing is that it's about the size of a regulation hockey puck and plugs directly into the iPod. If I were them, I would not have included a picture of the device in action. But they did. And it did make me rather disheartened.
Buying the transmitter was pretty essential by that point, because about an hour after Ft. Wayne, all the decent radio disappears and you're on your own. For the return trip, I'll probably just run down the AAA batteries in the puck and take my chances once I can get in range of something not playing an eclectic mix of 70's crap-rock.

There is something very wrong with American radio. I believe earnestly that it has not changed an iota since 1975. With the exception of Christian stations and "ALTERNATIVE" (read: crappy) stations it's pretty much just Stevie Nix and Boston all the time (with a little Journey thrown in just to make sure you get every last bit of food out of your stomach).
Guess who now knows all the words to 'Jungle Love?' Ans: Me!

What's really weird is that the production of the shows still sounds awful. It's the same kind of "wacky" DJ voices, and all the ads sound like low-budget affairs recorded in mom's bathroom. Its especially sad because really interesting music radio, of the variety that used to be featured on WDET, is dead. Which is awful, because it was that station that introduced me to The Sonic Youth, Calexico, The Pixies, and my beloved fav-band Wilco.
NPR is pretty much setting the standard for quality radio production - and why it's not being followed is simply beyond me.

Enough about music - I am here in Indiana, so posting will officially be dubbed "IRREGULAR." Once I return to Ahn Ahba, with it's many fruits and WiFi,I'll get back on schedule.
Im going to try to make dinner tomorrow. Pray for my dear grandmother.

Holy Strauß, Batman!

In a split-second decision, Claire and I have decided to go to Chicago for the weekend. What could so distract these two 20 year olds from their lives of homework and split for a few days?
Easy: Opera! Claire and I will be attending the Lyric Opera's presentation of 'Die Fladdermaus' - 'The Bat.'
It's the story of a guy who gets drunk, and is then abandoned in the park still dressed as a bat from the fancy dress party the night before. According to Claire, revenge ensues.

We'll be back soon, and hopefully without incident.

ALSO: There is a new WILCO ALBUM in the upcoming future! According to the Tweedster himself, the album will be released on May 15 and is apparently entitled, 'sky blue sky.' I can't access my PROOF, but I do have some. More on that.