superflea

It is so hot out.

I don't mean warm or humid or uncomfortable. I mean it's can't sleep 2 in the morning 'holy shit i think i'm gonna die' 'i don't know how much water my body can physically hold' hot.

I love my car, but I dread getting into it. I have a suspicion I know what muffin batter feels like in those last dreadful moments when it hears the oven door open.

It's narsty.

I've had some really interesting developments at work that have made me extremely happy and have shot my job satisfaction through the roof. I can't really talk about them, and continue to hate the ridiculous lattice of non-disclosure cobwebs that enshroud this silly industry.

I've bought an assload of music in the last little while, most of which has bored me. (Dear Esthero - despite the fact that your first CD is probably on my "Top 10 Best Records of All Fucking Time" list, if you're gonna come out swinging about how We R In Need of a Musical Revolution, then you better not have an unbelievably dull second half of your new record. )

I finally got around to discovering the Twilight Singers (featuring Greg Dulli of Afhan Whigs fame), whose CD "Blackberry Belle" I had purchased after reading a veritable library full of glowing reviews, but never actually threw into the CD player. It's like Leonard Cohen starting a band with the Replacements, I think. Your mileage may vary. I can barely stop playing it.

I have also purchased the new White Stripes record. Let me tell you why this is significant. I do not like the White Stripes. I find the whole minimalist rawk aesthetic that they're part of to be dreadfully boring. I liked all of you bands much better thirty years ago when you were called the New York Dolls. BUT then along came Dogslife.

The Dog is a fan of the Stripes. And he has urged me on a couple of occasions to give 'em a shot. And so I did. If I take some music purchasing advice from you, that's a pretty hardcore gesture of respect. I'm putting my debit card and my delicate ears in your hand. If I take that advice on a band I don't like... well, suffice it to say that said Dog is on a very short list of people to whom I will listen when they say "I think you should give this band another chance."

I will say that the purchase was helped immensely by the strength of the first single, even though, as I have observed in the past, it doesn't really sound like the White Stripes. I thought it sounded like Prince fronting Death From Above 1979.

Indeed, the new record pushes a lot of boundaries (I think, based on my admittedly limited exposure) for the Stripes. Much of it is very good. But much of it left me cold, and I didn't find anything nearly as sublime as the first track.

I wonder if in experimenting with all these new styles and textures, if maybe the Stripes have put themselves in an unenviable position of not being accessible enough to fans of the new genres they're trying to incorporate, while simultaneously alienating a legion of fans hoping for another twelve takes on "The Hardest Button to Button."

I will give it another listen, at least, which isn't something I can say for a lot of the albums I've been grabbing. I bought the new Kaiser Chiefs record today on the strength of one of the singles I'd heard on the radio, and could not wait for the damned thing to be over. Fortunately I also picked up some Kraftwerk which should make the whole shopping trip worthwhile.

Anyways - the ex is coming over in a little while and we're gonna continue on our beautiful journey through the world of Angel Season 5. You kids have fun and play nice.

PS I'm actually taking some vacation time next week. Not to move, not to do stuff that needs to get done... but actual vacation. I'm using it to go and visit my parents and spend a week out on their deck drinking frosty beverages and playing with my dogs. I absolutely cannot wait.

PPS I think I may finally be kicking my World of Warcraft addiction. I'm looking forward to remember what real life is like.

PPPS Edited because I somehow managed to use the word "dreadful" three times.