what i'm into right now

what is it about british accents that enhance indie pop rock so? i can’t stop listening to the kooks simply for the choruses where the word “i” sounds like oy (but not the australian kind). headlights is an above average indie band, but their song “put us back together” is so chilly-autumn-night-y that it’s gotten extended plays on my mind’s soundtrack, overtaking the kooks while i took out the trash in the midnight chill.

summary of saturday skipping lots

i met all kinds of characters saturday night. i was first at a nerd-themed party at a white and turquoise house. add a rabbit and carroll would have been quite at home. though most of the people were in costume i feel like the attractiveness level was sub-par and that reduced my happiness quotient. the punch was also made with vodka and not everclear, making my eye tear up for just a second. there was good nineties music, however, and microscopes and flashcards, the foundations of every good box social. the best part of the evening was when we left the house fifteen strong to drink at a bar. we may have looked like dorks with our glasses and brains and whatnot, but no one can deny we drank like hardcore geeks.

in writing

"it's been a while"

isn't that what you always say?

"nevertheless...it just feels different. where have you been?"

busy

"the others. they managed to participate"

i've changed my lifting routine

"really?"

it was time

"what were we talking out?"

my body

"before that"

how glad you are to have me back

"yes, that sounds about right"

anthems for a 26 year old boy

if you’ve never seen broken social scene in person then you are now officially not as cool as me. actually you never were, but at last i can say that i’ve experienced the bss magic. these canadian superheroes have the power to change my mood faster than any drug or single person. it was unfortunate that my friend rebecca couldn’t make it (she’s allergic to fun now), but it gave me a great sense of joy that i made a convert out of the person i did take. introducing persons to good music and having it stick gives me the feeling that evangelicals must get when they convert a sinner.

the show was opened by do make say think, an instrumental ambient/mood/indie band with a lot of wacky time signatures and tempo changes. they were good enough to make me annoyed with the people talking around me. but none of that happened when the eight-strong crew of bss began their set. the pin-drop silence reflected our deep reverence for this band’s songwriting (in my opinion their arranging is the best in the indie scene) and musicianship (they all played more than one instrument). while favoring the newer self-titled album, they played a few songs from you forgot it in people as well. one of the highlights was “anthems for a seventeen year-old girl” sung by feist herself. “fire-eyed boy” and “7/4 (shoreline)” were amazing as well. and throughout the set they kept claiming that mr smalls theater is one of their favorite places to play in the world, which is cool because it means they will come back some day.

explanation of the gap in posts

after a thoroughly enjoyable weekend spent in the state of pennsylvania (that’s not a typo) i am left with the slightly sweet taste of day-old bellini in my mouth. a surprisingly pleasant drive on friday through autumn-y tree-lined country brought me to the eastern portion of the state. crossing the proverbial railroad tracks into philly for the first time was fun, like the first time one walks into a new thrift store. i.a.n.v.w. and i went hopping from bar to bar downtown early in the evening, giving me a taste of the history of freedom in between sips of booze. they complemented each other like darryl hall and john oates. we stopped for a while at a nice restaurant with garish halloween décor, topped by a two foot spider among wisps of asbestos webs. the drinks were free and the conversation good, however, and after we ate we headed to see minus the bear at the trocadero theater. they always play well, but there seemed to be an excess of annoying teens in the area in front of the stage. there is never a reason to wear a backpack whose girth you can’t wrap your arms around to an indie rock show. overall drunken impressions of the show were positive, however, even though mtb did heavily favor the new album for their set list.

saturday was a true day off for me. we went to the art museum in the late morning, passing some sort of crew event on the river. i’m not sure when art is best viewed, but fall-like weather seems to be ideal. later we went to a small record store which i enjoyed mostly because it only carried music that we snobs consider good. thus we spent the better part of an hour perusing the small store, as every inch was interesting. next amstel light and playoff baseball and envelopes for the early evening, until we left for a small town for the night. a couple mutual friends were hanging out there and the timing was too good to pass up. so we went out hopping again. first was a wine bar where the belinis were not complimentary but flaming all the same. of course i had one. next on to a higher end restaurant slash bar where middle age people were dancing to pop music. after a few mixed drinks and meeting lauren’s local friends we went to a local dive-ish bar. i was challenged to an unnamed sporting event by a sober girl which i readily accepted but will probably never happen. i’m not sure what happened when we got back to lauren’s place but i think nachos were involved somehow.

this sort of thing needs to be repeated. yes, i think that’s a grand idea.

what makes a city

charles barkley, seventy sixers, brotherly love, g. love, i76, moses malone, a.i., liberty bell, east river drive, balboa, shootin’ b-ball outside the school, schuylkill, delaware, mike schmidt, len dykstra, phanatic, lindros, franklin, hancock, and t.price.

up curve

i am pretty excited about the next week. put yourself in my converse sneakers for a minute. now pretend you are more attractive. now assume that you are scheduled to see minus the bear live on friday, and then broken social scene the following wednesday. even though you’ve seen too many shows to count, you have never seen any of the bss lineups before and that makes you anxious. and though you’ve seen mtb many times, this show is in a city you haven’t yet visited. yes, you have reason to smile, don’t you, fake-t.price?

muse chaining

in my line of work there is a theory that nothing is impossible. in other words, progress is limited only by creativity. nevertheless i am stuck in a rut of circluar thinking. neither minus the bear nor broken social scene could help me break this ring. what is the next logical source for inspiration? i suppose tv on the radio.

foley's not as bad as he looks

this post from the poor man institute is the funniest thing i've seen since i videotaped myself doing the twist to chuck berry's "you never can tell" opposite a very uma-like kitchen broom. people should lay off mark foley for messaging a minor with impure words. because, like everything else besides religion, it has a logical explaination.

look

i am tired. there are leaves all over my back yard from a storm. i just met art last week, but it wasn’t summer. we acted like it was. i think what i really want is some confirmation. a hint from people i’ve almost forgotten. they remember the most detailed things of no consequence about me. i want to know what i used to be like and retread that ground. i think it involved a girl and a bottle. one thing is certain, however. i am tired. and the leaves are everywhere.

not quite canada

portland this week. but, not the maine version, which is probably nice this time of year. oregon is the niche state in the united states, hands down. the state is impossibly appealing to a very specific mind set, and undeniably invisible to the rest of the world. more accurately, like g.love or marathoning, it also suffers from a part-irony, part-vicious circle phenomenon. people like it because it's different, maybe a little new, definitely a chance to define themselves in. so album number one, race number two, visit number three, those key components are consistently present. fast forward to lemonade, to your fifth running of the albuquerque marathon, your twenty-fifth year of living in the woods. now you know for sure if it was worth it. now you know if you wanted different, or loved it for what it was.

when you continue to excel in a competition that nobody else is participating in, what level of accolades should you expect? it's nice here. i think we can all agree that we expected that.

loosly related facts

it appears the talented and handsome bret easton ellis has fractured his ankle in a decidedly lohan-esque move. this is what happens when you attend dinner parties. i, on the other hand, stubbed my toe on a coffe table this weekend. however, i was drinking hoegaarden semi-naked by myself. and that’s clearly the difference.

vinyl engagement ring

i have finally acquired a turntable. after a few years of hoping one would fall into my lap i just bought one. she’s very pretty and we talk a lot about things. i end up listening far more than i talk though. we hang out after work and on weekends, but i never take her out because her counter-weight and other settings are far too delicate. so far she’s only sung pop music from two to four decades ago because that’s all she knows. i’m in the process of getting her some more recent vinyl accessories, however, and that will only bring us closer. i need no promise ring, nor engagement ring, nor marriage certificate. just my turntable. and some whiskey.

informers minus the snow

ain’t it cool is reporting that bret easton ellis’ the informers has been optioned for a screenplay. the director will be nicholas jarecki. considering the seemingly infinite loop of delays for the glamorama movie i’m not holding my breath for this project. the informers is even more fragmented than the rules of attraction and while i was very happy with that screenplay i am wary of this new project. but perhaps that will work in this film's favor, as it will be kind of an underdog, without the atlas-like burden which weighed upon american psycho and rules.

memories

a music-buying binge revealed this clip, and i was instantly happy:

http://www.twogallants.com/video.html

underwhelmed

this is a relatively busy time of the year with regards to my non-professional interaction with the world wide web. the start of the football season sparks my interest on a number of levels. most notably, i have made it my personal goal to wager my way above the government-imposed poverty line, legitimate income notwithstanding. there is a philadelphia band, human television, whose latest l.p. continues to act as the soundtrack to my newly established goals. just coincidence, but in my mind they connect. i'm beginning to impulsively blend. everything. i debate wedding reception sites while purchasing music on my couch during the usc game, place nfl bets while perusing the mercedes lot, and develop new triceps routines while reviewing my firm's latest policy on the licensing of our proprietary software. all of this helps to give the impression that my life is moving, and in a way it is, though conflicting vectors routinely drop me off in painfully familiar territory. lack of progress can be achieved without stagnation...delusion works just as well.

save me jeebus

although evangelical jesus camps have been around for a while it is still frightening to think about. but while islamic radical training camps have been called "difficult" and "intense", we can take heart that the christians are "kinda being trained to be warriors, only in a funner way." one of the many reasons that religion x beats religion y.

emotional square wave

the crest: the bees' chicken payback video
the trough: jeff buckley's forget her video

these played in succession at the gym. it is very hard to work on abs when you are sad (vengeful is optimal, but happy is good), so i had to stop for the "forget her" video. things like this should be considered before a gym is built.

disgusting

i don’t care if this is “just for amusement”, it is disgusting like puking grain alcohol and marshmallows. why does the world keep doing this to me?

Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes confirmed that yes, it is indeed his song. "We were approached by Outback Steakhouse's ad agency asking about making their own cover version of 'Wraith Pinned to the Mist (And Other Games)' for one of their commercials. We thought it would be totally amusing to hear their take on one of our songs as a jingle."

the only thing that could have made this worse is if it were applebees, the "hitler" of mediocre restaurant regimes.

outrageous

The Madrid show is using the body mass index or BMI -- based on weight and height -- to measure models. It has turned away 30 percent of women who took part in the previous event. Medics will be on hand at the September 18-22 show to check models.

this is outrageous. i mean, i… can’t even… we may as well get ready for the four horsemen. first, i’ll concede that there is such a thing as “too thin”. but there is also such a thing as “too fat”. and i don’t see madrid banning “unhealthy” (and unattractive) high body mass indexes. i also find this ironic from a european country that could conceivably ban smoking in movies but chooses instead to persecute innocent goddesses. there is a line between government guidelines and government decisions made on citizens’ behalves. that line was just snorted by logic and she was subsequently banned from modeling in madrid.