yes, virginia, there is a santa claus

1. it is BLIZZARDING
2. i get to go to TWO of those special, fancy WILCO shows in february
3. i weathered a bruising "learning experience" at work, and came out the other side with good vibes all around
4. there is a NEW VERLAINES ALBUM.

as to #4, yes, it's finally real. typically . . .unique cover art, but i'm sure it portends typically fantastic music.

happy holidays!

i could give you anything but time

yep, this about sums it up:

Capricorn (Dec 22- Jan 19)
This can be a stressful day for you that begins with great hopes. Frustration builds if you realize you've promised more than you can deliver. Don't let up; you don't have the luxury of wasting time wallowing in despair. Rest assured that whatever you can accomplish now will be plenty.

(personal to God, re: the pissing rain during my walk to the office. nice touch! it added that perfect little hint of Dickensian bleakness. way to take it there!)

i may be out of it, but i'm still into you

riding high off of some eleven hours' sleep, we are feeling good (and lazy) enough to attempt some pre-work blogging. so if you are expecting some kind of coherence, i suggest you look elsewhere.

(speaking of work, one of the very first things i did at my new job involved a piece of paper that referenced one "janky technology co., ltd." no, really. i really have nothing to add here.)

first off:

(1) the most addictive website ever, but it's procrastination you can justify. win/win/win. (thanks, kamal.)

(2) andrew bird at daytrotter. how has this not happened before now? predictably amazing stuff, particularly the "kamera"-ed up version of "fiery crash." go, go and get the mp3s while they last!

less time-sensitive:

(1) i finally got to see john vanderslice. for lame, inconsequential reasons, i had not caught his live show before now. if you aren't familiar, JV's songs are very nuanced, but he and his band were so skillful that they were able to adapt the songs in surprising ways to better translate in a rock-club setting. plus his bass/violin player did a ridiculously spot-on michael mcdonald impersonation, which was worth the cost of admission right there. the set was so diverse both in terms of the songs and their presentation (full band, solo, white-stripish duo version of "pale horse".) he/they concluded their set playing a song in the crowd, on the floor of the empty bottle,
encouraging audience members to go on stage in kind, and announcing beforehand that there would be a lil' wayne/UGK dance party to follow. and there was. remarkable show.

(2) a gay guy wastes your time. it's not fully realized, and kind of overstays its welcome, but oh my fucking god is the basic idea so right on. this made me really happy.

(3) "bacon makes cannibalism acceptable." you really don't want to know how many times i've watched this. i blame my current lack of a tv. and my still-burning crush on conan o'brien. (related - still funny. so funny that my mom nearly snorted her chardonnay.)

just plain old:

for sure, the cultural moment for this has passed, but it is so fucking funny that i couldn't not post it. seriously, swift-like levels of satire. not for the easily offended.

finally:


there's a new hollAnd record? no, wait, there were two this year?? i am gobsmacked. kerfluffled even. it was enough to make me get out all my old albums of his, which all hold up pretty excellently. except for the stuff i never put away because it's fucking awesome. yeah, he has a pretentious/artsy side (see band name) but here the focus is on spare, deceptively catchy pop songs. hyper, sexy, and yet a little bit arch. (kind of like yours truly.) both albums are a little more guitary than expected, which surprised me at first. the old-old stuff excepted, i've loved hollAnd most when the casios buzz and whir - synths as guitar substitutes. but no complaints here whatsoever; it wasn't long before i was completely hooked. and FUCK the postal service comparisons, for a variety of reasons. this was a really exciting surprise.

also, happy belated 50th, bob pollard. i know you're kind of a fucked-up dude, and i've only listened to (one of) your new album(s) once in the last few weeks, but you have written far too many of my inspirational jammers for me not to acknowledge the occasion.

anticlimactic

i went to cvs today. when i got home, i discovered that the gal there put my tampons in a separate paper bag within the plastic one. why? did she think they were going to leak girl-cooties onto the other items? i am seriously baffled by this.

the question is how fast

basically a cut-and-paste of a recent email, sue me:

two big things to share: one good, one heartbreaking.

today i had my first day of work at my new job. it was good; it felt great. true to form, the morning commute was a clusterfuck/comedy of errors and i very nearly ran late, but the stress was soon forgotten. i mainly just had training/icebreaker stuff today, and lunch with an adviser. it was really good, not, like, some guy with a power point presentation droning on. in keeping with my previous experiences, everyone i dealt with was super-encouraging, down-to-earth, and funny. nothing sugarcoated but no needless psych-outs. it was good to hear, repeatedly, that: i'm not supposed to know anything right now, or for a while, really; i ought to focus on figuring out/actualizing what i want to get out of the job rather than just being a team player; that i shouldn't worry about hours for the rest of the year, and that i should make a point to take all the vacation time i get. i got along well with all the other new hires, and truly, would-have-a-beer-with-them-anyway liked a lot of them. lunch was great and i liked what i heard about the some of the work i may be doing. it's a little weird to suddenly have my own office and support staff (i.e. to be someone's boss)...but it's exciting.

then, the other stuff. as some of you know, my brother suffered a serious head injury a week ago and has been in the hospital ever since. that's the nutshell version; all i can say is it's actually way more complicated. physically, he's recovering well and more rapidly than expected. but he has a very long road ahead of him. it just really kills me, for the obvious reasons, because he's already been dealt more than his share of bad cards in the past, and because things tend to hit him harder emotionally than the rest of my family. though they have responded in a startlingly positive, pragmatic way, it's been really hard on my parents.

...and then, in a few days, there's moving.

hope your lives are more boring right now! seriously.

hey you guys

if you happen to pray or that sort of thing, could you send some of it in the direction of my family? someone that i'm close to is going through a really, really hard time.

no one uses the phone anymore

an excerpt from this week's email from marsha:

"Hey...forgot to tell you I love that bed in the Crate and Barrel photos. Watched the brand new season opener of Curb you E tonight...So funny. He and Cheryl adopted a black family from a poor area after a Katrina like storm. Their name is Black...so he said that is so funny...'Like I'm a Jew and my name is Jew!!'"

from furniture catalogs to larry david quotes in 5 seconds. and you wonder where i get it from.

break your own glass ceiling

Capricorn (Dec 22- Jan 19)

You cannot escape the stress now, for seeking the safety of stable structures is not an option. Things you have relied on in the past could be changing. Everything is different now. Fortunately, once you get past your fear of the unknown, you may find it quite exhilarating. This is a ride that you'll remember for a long time.


perhaps it's corny, but it's reassuring to read something like that when you just sold all your furniture, you're about to start a new job and move to a new place, and half your friends have moved away. whee!

(p.s. if the last entry did not already clue you in, i have decided to try out the well-worn blogging fallback of titling entries with song lyrics. i might as well put all of those verses in my head to SOME use, and maybe you will google your way to some new music that you enjoy. it's...fun?)

i'd stoop to that, sure i would

so last night, i set out to schuba's to see the band ida. they are a big big big favorite of mine, and they don't tour very often. gorgeous harmonies, hilarious banter, consummate musicians and music fans, radiant people. "the loudest quiet band i know," as one friend put it. being that i am a gyspy right now and had really not been in chicago in over a week, i only found out about the show that afternoon. and being that most of my friends are either unemployed and broke, or employed and busy, everyone i texted was either MIA or couldn't go. which is fine, it was an early show and i was just excited to hang out and hear the music.

i don't know how many of you are familiar with the music of ida. they are not easily pigeonholed, but the majority of their catalog could broadly fall into two categories: couple music, and sad bastard music. an ida concert is thus not a place to hit on chicks, at least not overtly. nevertheless, some poor bastard tried. relentlessly.

i will admit that i opened the door. it was dim, and i am chatty. the lead singer made some funny comment, and i looked over to whoever was next to me and said something like, "there's a kernel of truth to that." intended as acknowledgment/commentary and not macking, but whatever. regardless, this person did not say ANYTHING back, and said nothing at all for probably twenty-five minutes. then all of a sudden i'm getting offered a beer. (yeah, i took it. this is me we're talking about, here. and as the story will show, i earned it. (not that way, parish.))

immediately, this guy is peppering me with questions. i was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for showing some gumption, but at the same time, it's an IDA show and thus meant to be quiet most of the time. and he started gratuitously yapping about his band, and who they've toured with. (give me a FUCKING break. he even talked shit about ted leo!) so when the band started in on one of my favorite songs, i politely interrupted him and whispered, "sorry, i love this song." to which, out of the entire universe of words he could have used (not to mention, SILENCE), he chose to respond with, "you love it? do you wanna marry it?" Swear. To. God. that pretty much sealed his fate right there. what are we, in fourth grade?

mercifully, so mercifully, i spotted a friend of mine near the end of the show and, excusing myself, beelined over there, literally startling him due to my haste and palpable desperation. so in the end, it all worked out. i ditched the mongoloid, finagled a ride, and got home in time for the feist-fest on letterman.
but, lord.

i'd call it a win.

tonight i saw my perpetual crush object, andrew bird, at my favorite retail outlet, target. swiftly reaffirming the ruling status of both. clearly this proves that we are meant to be together. i mean, besides target, we have so much in common. we both went to northwestern, we both like his music. . .it's like we're the same person! if he bought a wine cube then we are soulmates. this on a day which already involved cookies, vietnamese food, and a massage. life can be good sometimes.

besides that. . .well, i guess there's a lot. exams and their aftermath, a new apartment and mulitple travels. it would be near-unreadable to catch up; i recommend you check the flickr, and maybe your inbox (sprawling emails are far easier to read than sprawling blog posts). the even money says i'll post some shit from youtube, though.

just thought you should know

the sky right now is amazing. luminous prussian blue with cottony clouds moving so fast and so low that as i stood on the street, the biggest one passed over me like a u.f.o. in the movies. and the stars, wow! they are big, middle of kansas big. seriously, it's like a bierstadt painting come alive, minus the mountains.

i heart chicago

i just got back from that 5k at the stadium formerly known as comiskey park. i SOOO wish i had brought a camera. it was perfect weather, and the race was objectively good; it was well-organized, i was happy with how i felt, and happy with my time. but mainly, it was just SOOOO cool to finish by sprinting into the actual park, like onto the field. then everybody got free beers and watched a surprisingly galvanized local h (yeah) play for an hour. they were undoubtedly hungover or at least sleep-deprived, and they phoned in part of it but were actually pretty cool and very high-energy. bonus points for doing a hard-charging chicago cover in the middle of their "hit" and also a well-executed version of brit-brit's "toxic." (yeah, i do mean chicago the BAND.) pretty funny dudes, too. surreal and fun and quintessentially chicagoan. i really hate that i have to go study now.

there is a shortage in the blood supply, there is no shortage of blood

it's ok. we are back. last couple weeks = low-level smoking habit, ipod trained exclusively on the mountain goats and ida. (i.e., Sad Bastard Music. specifically and especially Tallahassee, unsurprising as this stupid exam has made my brain as dysfunctional as the Alpha Couple.) but we can see the light at the end of the the tunnel. running our 5ks, doing our practice tests, looking ahead to the august we can enjoy, after we kill the bar dead and get drunk for several days. books, travel, friends, sleep--small miracles.

i'm not going crazy, just tired. and tired of seeing the negative effects this professional hazing ritual is having on my good friends.

things i think about in my cubicle:

1. new spoon album = characteristically consistent, an excellent soundtrack to the summer i'm not having. at this point now, they've honed their sound so much that they almost quote themselves. for better ("finer feelings" = wiser, looser, happier "me and the bean"), and for worse ("rhthm and soul" = poor man's "monsieur valentine.") jim eno deserves some kind of medal or something, though. my mind is also blown by the fact that the dude laying down those smoove bass lines was in the mothereffing get up kids. still wrapping my head around that nugget of information.

2. new stars album = i want to like it so much more, especially since this was totally classy and incredibly shrewd. i mean, i knew it wasn't going to match "set yourself on fire", an album i will unreservedly rank as one of the best of the last ten years. this one = too much of what i didn't like about "heart" and no "elevator love letter" to redeem it. it's mainly the piano ballands and the synths--employed more for 80s cheeze than modern atmospherics. and some good stuff to be sure. dude is pulling a full-on morrissey impersonation on a few tracks and it's actually a good look. but overall a little weaker than i expected.

3. target, killing it with their cute sundresses. the photo does NOT do justice. the pinks are pinker and the grey is really a robins-egg blue. i look forward to wearing this when i have a social life again.

4. i am a bad hipster, i haven't listened to lil' wayne, though i respect his constant repping for NOLA. but i saw an interview in which he kept referring to his peers and mentors as "ninjas." this is brilliant for two reasons: (1) it avoids the connotations and controversy of the "n-word" while still evoking it. (2) ninjas are inherently awesome.

5., but should be 1.....new pornos and MY FAVORITE FEMALE VOICE EVER. you know, i think i might go see that.

6. getting legitimately excited about my job, for a variety of reasons.

7. getting legitimately excited about the new caribou record. what i've heard is pretty, intricate and blissed out as ever. merge now = matador 15 years ago? probably better, in terms of both constistency and sheer diversity.

8. where should i move?

9. what should i do in san franciso when i'm there? (bonus points if your suggestion involves food.)

10. i need to study.

amazing

monica eng, you are my hero.

things and stuff

this looks like it may have been kind of awesome. (lzp, can you confirm or deny?) no complaints, though. one of the kansas city julies was in town yesterday and we actually had a really good talk. p.s. the drinks here are AMAZING, 'cause i'm a yuppie like that. p.p.s. i got a 58 percent on my practice multistate bar exam! no, seriously. that's actually a GOOD score. and you wonder why this fucks with my head?

grievances

dear cta,

next year can you, like, not pick the day of the us v. mexico soccer final, cubs/sox game, and gay pride parade to work on the tracks? k thx.

xoxo

c

-------

dear mayor daley,

i know we are a diverse city. and i guess that includes people who listen to boney james. but was it really necessary to host a THREE-DAY "smooth jazz" festival, like, six feet from my school? couldn't you have conjured a bullshit permit violation like you do for your opponents' fundraisers? you studied for the bar once, too.

your pal,

claire

ALSO

oh p.s., while i am still playing hooky from outlining secured transactions essays:

jennifer o'connor* is having a big summer sale! her latest album is still, months and months later, one of my absolute faves, and frankly, i can't think of anybody i know who wouldn't find something to love there. understated and affecting. RIYL, i don't know, elliott smith, "girls can tell"-era spoon, tom petty, ida.

(* no relation, not paying me)

i'll write about something other than music or bar exams again sometime, i'm sure.

survive and advance

i try not to be into nostalgia for nostalgia's sake (which is difficult to avoid lately) but WOW. if you had asked me, "claire, what would it take to rejuvenate you if you were four weeks into studying for the bar and four days into four hours' sleep?" OR alternatively, "claire, what would theoretically be the AWESOMEST superchunk set you could see?" i would direct you to this evening. while, on balance, i'm as much or more a portastatic fan these days, there is no denying the melody and propulsiveness--and generosity--of superchunk at their best. and they were, and they killed it, nailing every nuance of every ripping solo. stef and i were particularly happy to see my personal favorite record "foolish" get some love, BESIDES "driveway to driveway." i pogoed multiple times, until i thought better of it, and/or got a sideache. headbanging is just as cathartic anyway. and it's easier to text simultaneously.

also also there were the mountain goats. this time, there were no hugs, and it was more somber new songs/deep cuts than old "hits", but there was jon wurster on drums (weird/cool; it lent "this year" a "classic indie rock" feel, if i can adopt the term without sounding douchey). even still, i think the metro is a little cavernous for them but with some emotion and ingenuity they came through.

more to the point. i knew that that it was a cancer-awareness related benefit, and i knew it was directed towards the efforts of a particular fan/fighter, but i really didn't know the whole story. some of the family elaborated and it was both heartbreaking. and inspiring. (p.s. they played all three of those songs.)

on a related note, yet firmly in the 21st century (it's nice here!) it looks like SCRAWL is back together. this makes me extremely happy. it would be simplistic to characterize them by their gender (as the "foxcore, my ass" tour made clear)--their harrowing, ass-kicking songs address emotions and dysfunctions readily identifiable to anyone with a pulse and they rock really, really hard. yet it's hard not to ascribe a uniquely feminine perspective to the scope and emotional heft of their songwriting, more weary confessional than romanticized self-loathing. "your mother wants to know" is starker than a country song, and one of very few songs i can think of outside of that genre to really, candidly address--in the PRESENT tense--the unspoken fissures that can exist in the relationship between a parent and adult child. self-doubt and dependency, anger, passion and liberation, it's all there. the world kind of needs them right now. or at least i do.

what else? my brain is oatmeal from all this law stuff. OH: at dinner tonight, i looked up at the baseball game on the television behind us to discover that there is for reals a player named "COCO CRISP." i would not lie to you about something like that.

all i want is one more chance, to be young and wild and free

man. this sucks. sucks and blows. i always thought the students ahead of me were being melodramatic when they talked about studying for the bar, but perhaps not. i'm on day two of studying for this thing, and you know how i was telling everyone i wanted to treat it "like a 9-to-5"? um, try 9-to-9. i'm not going crazy and trying to do every little thing (and unlike a lot of my friends, i'm only taking one class instead of two), but even trying to be "reasonable" it's just very time-consuming. i mean, i have to learn 24 subjects in 7 or 8 weeks, maybe 3/4 of which i've previously taken a class on. i just did a practice test, on the one subject i've been studying for the last couple of days, and and i got 5 out of 17 right. that's not even 30%, holmes. to put it in some perspective, though, that's only a couple questions worse than my friends who have been doing said second class this spring.

shockingly, i really haven't been procrastinating, either! i have so many damn books to carry that i leave my laptop at home. i guess that's good though. it's kind of liberating to be forcibly removed from the internet and its sometimes shallow diversions. and i take some consolation in the fact that most of my friends are in the same suffocating little boat. i mean, my first-year BFF rachael, we've tried and failed to make plans since her graduation party--8 months ago--and i've now seen her twice in two days. sad commentary, eh?

i'll stop bitching now. it's just harsh because i've had a pretty good run of things. i had a fabulous time in dc, and then it was 4 days of being the center of attention, dressing up, eating steak every day, getting drunk every night. intense bro-down session with the brother, rewarding catch-ups with extended family. i uploaded approximately 9 billion photos this week so you can check it out for yourself. but yeah. you know that scene in almost famous? where the kid gets back from tour, beelines to his bed, and promptly passes out, backpack and all? that's pretty much what happened to me on monday after my parents dropped me off. i didn't even eat anything until, like, two in the afternoon, because i took a 4-hour nap. and i usually have, like, two lunches by eleven. still got up and got going to send off loren and ben, though. i miss those two already but i'm excited for their future. i should have talked about that instead of practice test percentages, shouldn't i?

because i said so

erica's comment reminded me that i have not mentioned how unsurprisingly awesome the new sea and cake album is. i have really been feeling one bedroom again lately, but this one's a departure in a good way. more stripped down; i hesitate to say that it's more "rocking", but there's even some actual guitar hooks again. all smoove, no snooze. the perfect soundtrack to early summer (i mean, there's even a song called "coconut"). it makes me want to drink a mojito, and i don't even like mojitos.

the new mary timony on the other hand. . .love that woman, and she is obviously one of the greatest living guitarists, but i'm really not feeling this one all the way. even the four-minute songs feel like they are seven. . . i would instead suggest either or both charlotte hatherley albums. it's like if ms. timony fronted a punked-up girl group. similarly unconventional tunings and inventive guitar work, but in a pop song context.

p.s. there may be trouble a-brewing at emusic, aka the reason why i've even listened to both these albums already. say it ain't so! it doesn't excuse underpaying any artists, if that's happening, but i would agree w/ mr. CEO that itunes = song buyers, emusic = album buyers. hopefully it can get sorted.

can you believe i got to school at 8:40 a.m. today? me neither. can you believe that i haven't started working yet? me too.

half-dozen

1. yesterday--long run, thinking hard about the people of greensburg, kansas. i've never been there, but i've passed through many towns like it. block after block, the question i couldn't shake: how do you rebuild a town that was probably already dying?
still, of course, people need help now even if that question can't yet be answered.

2. interesting barack article in the new yorker. the author kind of sucks, and the article focuses as much or more on his skills as a candidate as his potential to be an actual public servant, but i would still call it a must-read. there's still a lot more i need to know about obama, but this gave some insight as to where he may be coming from.

3. i'm not afraid to say this made me cry, even though it's not at all the first such story i've heard. all you people who prefer cats, i will just never fucking understand. i would have to take some seriously mind-altering drugs to even be able to imagine, hypothetically, a cat acting selfless. (sorry, various friends i've offended.)

4. bill clinton crossword.

5. yet another person agrees with me that grey's anatomy (and its progeny) sucks. the author's argument is a tad shrill/second wave but i generally agree. trust me, it can be difficult to be a woman in a high-pressure, traditionally male profession, and lord knows "confused and self-doubting" describes my personal life more often than not, AND i am obvs all for escapist entertainment (boston legal, and lately, mtv cribs), but when you turn on the tv and see a female professional barge in on a fucking surgery to confront someone about some sort of imagined relationship drama? worst. bonus points for the linkage to ally mcbeal, which disturbed me for the same reasons. she is too kind to sex and the city, though.

6. my love for dunkin donuts coffee is still fierce and bostonian. no coffee of any sort has passed my lips in at least six weeks, but this week, i can't help it. it's just the only appropriate beverage for finals.

freak scene

my apartment is really not the place to be right now. no one here is in a good mood. my roommate is sad because she has a mystery knee injury which has majorly effed up her compulsive running habit, her boyfriend is sad because he's a 1L, and i've just felt jittery and weird for the last 2 or 3 hours. and we're all bummed about finals. howevs, my anxiety is not even about my exam, more the half-dozen urgent things on my mind besides said exam, and all the changes happening in my life generally, buzzing around in my brain at an inopportune time. and probably too much caffeine. seriously, someone pass the klonopin.

although this makes me feel a little better. WOW.

and that said, most of the last several days, at least after saying sayonara to the BUP and turning in my paper, have been pretty laid back, considering. running and sleeping and drinking and laughing and seeing a breathtakingly cathartic ted leo show. and, uh, studying.

p.s. chicago-area readers. i was studying at the loop barnes and noble today and they had several copies of this, in hardback, for, like, seven dollars! do yourselves a favor.

nahmean?

am watching The NewsHour and attempting to study, pre ill-advised dollar-burgers sesh with my soon-to-be-ex-law school bff/recent running partner/perpetual life coach loren, and cotey/dustin/brian. lehrer is interviewing sens. patty murray and kay bailey hutchinson--AKA TWO LADIES--about the president's veto of the iraq spending bill. it is serious, it is rigorous, and JL is not asking patronizing questions or softballs (of course). somehow it feels almost revolutionary. i mean, i'm still pleasantly surprised when i see more than the token amount of female commentators, let alone actual (non-pelosi) elected legislators.

i LOVE you, big black lady with sleep apnea!

somehow, this came up in conversation yesterday and i was compelled to google the actual article--has it really been five years? travis morrison kind of dove into the deep end of quirk these last few years, but this reminds that the d-plan at their best were so humane, funny and irreverent. but regardless about whether you care about some old rock band (it's probably better if you don't), you should READ THIS. not all of it. scroll down to the mid-section. totally hilarious with a very wise conclusion.

the take-away show

oui, oui!

soulful birds and soulless hacks

parish and i saw andrew bird on friday. despite a bad hair day and awkward scarf, the wilsonian hotness was still intact. to be honest, his new one was a grower for me as compared to the mysterious production of eggs, and while he's a favorite, i don't keep all of his songs in heavy rotation. but live, though, the sound he makes is just overwhelmingly gorgeous, especially with the increased production values and augmented lineup that he now rocks. parish was won over by the line, "we'll get back at them all with epoxy and a pair of pliers," and really, can you blame him?

we were both a little non-plussed by the opener, apostle of hustle. the guy is talented, and i like certain of his songs, but he veered a little too far into patchouliville on this particular night. also a lot of lead-guitarist-sexface going on. hopefully none of this will influence the next broken social scene album. also, i think i may have inadvertently convinced one of my classmates that i'm a bigot. AWESOME.

anyway, it is worth noting that mr. bird stated that while he is not playing any summer festivals this year, he is HEADLINING THE HIDEOUT FEST. AT THE HIDEOUT. JAM OF THE YEAR? possibly. and i won't be working yet, so yeah. speaking of, these people clearly aren't on to me yet. on friday they sent me a finals care package (!?) of gourmet popcorn and cookies. um, you had me at "we'd like to offer you a position."

on a complete other note, JESUS FUCKING CHRIST. be sure to click on all the links, especially the "UPDATE: MORE". feel free to send this chick a vitriolic email on my behalf. she deserves it.

back to pop music.

p.s. i agree with this post all the way. ALL the way. if you are my myspace internet quasi-friend you will know that i dig this rihanna song. weird, because i had zero time for her before. but i am a sucker for blown-out fuzz bass, whether it's produced by robert schnieder or "c.tricky stewart." yeah, jay-z is on this track but i like it more in spite of than because. even though my expectations for hova are low at this point, it's superfluous, and aggravating: like, really, why the fuck is he on this? it's like he's eager to add grist to the rumor mill as long as def jam's PPS goes up. and dude is right about the "post-rock" thing...i mean, i remember a few years ago, when it seemed like every show i went to, someone was covering that kylie song: cursive, the flaming lips, you name it. which was fun, and sort of justified. but this song actually DOES sort of have that epic sweep that would lend itself well to heavier, guitar-centric artists. anyway, i likewise agree that the new amerie song is pretty decent too. so it's pretty darn similar to "one thing.' and also the horn riff from "hold on, i'm a comin'." but exactly how and why would that be a bad thing? and yeah, i even agree about the amy winehouse. i actually didn't hear the song until fairly recently, but i too am not immune to the charms of "rehab." even though i have to take a shower after even looking at that chick.

poster of a girl

today was not the greatest. one of those days where you feel both restless and sullen, that feels wasted even though you technically got things done. then you receive a photo like this and you feel a little bit better:




red wine, russell stover easter eggs, and multiple episodes of 'arrested development' also help out.

(p.s. that would be sadie grey murphy, the newest addition to the family of my cousin thomas and his wife julie, aka jack and lulu. and s & g are both family names, actually.)

humbling.

so i just got home from my regular thursday night drinking sesh to discover that i'd received a hand-written note from ben and char dykema, the wonderfully midwestern, retired couple that spearheaded the volunteer efforts in which i took part in new orleans in march (from the christian reformed world relief committee, if we're being exact, but whatevs. . . it was secular and i am down with the G-O-D if we're keeping track anyway). fuck, man. i can't even be bothered to put my laundry away.

eff a motion in limine, for reals.

um, holy shit. this happened, like, half a mile from my school.

still, i think i'm less scared of coyotes than i am the chicago police department right now.

on a happier note, jess has an interview next week for a job at GOOGLE! although they must get 999,999 resumes a week, i can't say that i'm surprised.

"it's obnoxiously great to be me week" continues

dudes. you know who you are. the flowers--so awesome. i will call or write you all personally tomorrow. right now i have to go eat korean bbq. (!!!!!)

and not forgetting the voice

i should have known better than to wear mascara to a neko case show. it goes without saying at this point, but she is epic. especially at park west, her voice just soared. and backed up by kelly hogan and nora o'connor (tied with jennifer for o'connors i wish i was related to), it was like the triumvirate of chicago-based sirens. trust me, that she made me cry is not at all as surprising as when...certain songs that reduced me to tears the first time i heard them ("star witness", "margaret vs. pauline") sounded surprisingly upbeat live, while "set out running," which initially struck me as well-crafted country pastiche, absolutely killed me. and then were there the songs that always had that effect, like "i wish i was the moon." and then, even though she gave us fair warning that it was "a sad one" there was "in california" (which some googling told me was written by her previous bandmate lisa marr) that turned my eyes from watery to flooded. (check the lyrics and tell me i'm wrong.) which is not at all incompatible with saying that i had the absolute best time. plus she and her ladies are just the funniest, even sans rachael flotard. and songs i previously wrote off, like "favorite," floored me. and in the hands of her capable band and my admirably silent fellow concertgoers, "dirty knife" was absolutely cinematic. the scary thing is, the shows tonight and tomorrow are probably going to be even better.

it was a good day.

have you ever had one of those days where you wake up and you're not rested and you're behind on your work and you're kind of cranky and you just sort of roll with it and you then score a second date with the cute architect and you then get a voicemail from the big firm that you talked to and you later find out that you got a job from the big firm and you then send some gratuitous emails and you then hear some pretty great things from close friends and also from people you thought might not notice at all and you then get a pretty incredible email from your father and you then get an even more incredible email from someone at the big firm and you then take a really, truly, horrible test but you go out after with your thursday night buddies and law school best friend and the horrible bar you usually go to is not that bad and the horrible waitress is replaced with someone really nice and the horrible dude that usually talks to you keeps to his friends and they play your favorite daft punk song and the train comes soon enough and you come home to find that even more people you thought might not notice did and your brother wrote something that makes you cry so you write something even more gratuitous on your goddamned blog? me too, before now. it's pretty heady, not gonna lie.

if there's been a way to build it. . .

what a LONG day. i left the house at 8:30 and got in about 20 minutes ago. today felt infinitely more like a monday than monday actually did. thank god i have leftovers that i actually want to eat. (that i cooked, even! it happens sometimes.) i have a feeling that i missed some sort of graduation-related deadline. whatevs, i'm not even trying to find out until i finish this glass of wine.

p.s. guess who has a date with a cute architect this weekend?

for someone who hasn't finished a book in months, i can sound pretty pretentious

so much to say, so little motivation to say it...i've been doing a lot of living lately, and my focus is elsewhere as i try to sort through all my obligations: little things, big things, little parts of big things, little things with big impact and vice versa. NOLA pictures are up on flickr, though they give no indication of the amazing people i met down there. hardworking, earnest, generous people who are trying to move forward from almost incomprehensible upheaval and turmoil, and with very little assistance from anyone. i have to write something for the school about the work i did; maybe i'll copy that here whenever that gets done.

the anti-war march today ended up being inspiring. i went down with people from my school, who were serving as legal observers for the nlg. i spaced on the training for that, so i just went down to march and help them out. the pre-march rally mostly annoyed me, frankly. it was primarily populated by career protesters, shrill and irrelevant ists (social-, neo-lenin-, etc., whatevs), apple-cheeked 19 year-olds shouting about the people's revolution, nutjobs in costumes. notable exception: the kid from iraq veterans against the war. jesus christ. and kathy kelly, who changed the name of her group now that the violence in iraq is more than economic. she brought up the plight of the many refugees of the war, which i'm ashamed to admit i haven't considered very much either.

the actual march, however, was a different story. and the fact that it was actually, finally on michigan again (no small victory, symbolic or otherwise, after the giant civil rights violation that was 4 years ago), made it feel like some sort of impact may have been made, for once. ugg-booted mothers and daughters, art-damaged college kids, church folks, old-timers and everyone in between (people of color, even! i sound snarky, and yes, that is a commentary on the (often-understandable) (non)appeal of liberal activism to minorities, but also on the super-scary presence of the chicago p.d., to be explained shortly) all marching down FUCKING MICHIGAN AVENUE at dinnertime. to a man, every cab driver honked in support. and you know, the cops were alright, as i have mostly found to be the case at these things. they joked with us, and each other, we joked with them and ourselves. they're on overtime, they're doing what they have to do. but the riot cops, of which there had to be two or three hundred, were just plain unnerving. not their conduct, which was totally hands-off, but the sheer presence, for blocks and blocks. the masks obscuring their faces, the big wooden canes. you don't see that in new york, even. i can't think of any recent march i've attended or been in the vicinity of that wasn't the same way (last year this time, the immigration rally)--or rather, any march since 4 years ago. it's an obvious message. daley doesn't like surprises. period. i'm glad i went. it's sick that this war has gone on so long that i can compare and contrast ANNUAL marches. it's sick that it ever began. i finally read the seymour hersh article from three new yorkers ago and it made me fired up. and sad. and really, really confused.

on another note, and apropos of nothing, ted leo and i have the same favorite stereolab song! i only listen to that album maybe once a year, if that, but i have that song in my head at least once a week. probably because something in my life feels out of control at least once a week. soothing and fortifying. in the context of the album as a whole, i guess it sounds like pop neo-marxism, but independent of that, the lyric is just, like, the best advice ever.

related to that: i was so busy crushing on andrew bird that i forgot dude's album came out today too! it was a pleasant surprise.

ok, i'm going to go try and fight the good fight against stress-induced insomnia now. laters.

typical

i'm sorry, i really hate to make this blog very law school-y, and i know the last couple entries totally were, but. . .man, i kind of screwed myself. i'm not really sure where today (before 6 p.m. class) went, other than ipod maintenance, nail painting, trying to get one of the neanderthals at IBABY on the phone, and running. i definitely didn't work much on my complaint which is due saturday a.m. but anyone who reads this, or who has known me for any period of time, well knows my self-sabotaging tendencies re: writing deadlines. and i guess i just kind of knew in my bones that i would be going out after class...my girl loren is one of my Top Best Friends Ever, and she's outta here in, like, a month and a half, so, carpe diem. i guess i didn't realize "a beer" would turn into such a long night. even knowing us. and i'm kind of underestimating how much stuff i have to do before NOLA. but it'll work itself out, though, right?

p.s. seems like lots of people lately have told me, in a roundabout, belated, way, that they read this thing. WELL YOU SHOULD COMMENT, THEN! i say this because i am superficial, but also, i want to know what you think and HOW YOU ARE DOING. ok? thx.

4 lists.

things i did today:
1. go to work.
2. attend a meeting for the new orleans trip.
3. present at a meeting for the new orleans trip.
4. make up a 90-minute exam for one of my classes.
5. go to class 1.
6. go to class 2.
7. take a 45-minute deposition at class 2.
8. learn that j. nicholas parish once punched a cow at the wisconsin state fair.
9. realize that i am not surprised by number 8.

bands/records i have been feeling again lately:
1. broadcast.
2. crooked fingers.
3. the dismemberment plan, "emergency and i." (before the reunion was announced, actually.)
4. pelican.
5. juliana hatfield, "made in china." (don't hate. maybe a few of the lyrics are ham-fisted, but this album rocks. kind of like what sleater-kinney may have been aiming for with "the woods," but with actual songs and less blooze.)
5. the verlaines. (of course.) (p.s. they are recording a new album! this is a great thing. you just don't know it. finding out about stuff like this is why, no matter how annoying and pervy and corporate myspace becomes, i cannot disavow it completely.)

places i ate hot dogs last saturday:
1. vienna beef hot dog factory.
2. jimmy's red hots.
3. gene and jude's.
4. superdawg.
5. wolfy's.
6. u lucky dawg.
7. byron's.*

cool things on the internet:
1. this. (courtesy of s/fj.)
2. and this.


* (a bite.)

wow.

i am so incredibly behind. on school stuff, work projects, everything. i meant to do stuff tonight, but ended up online window-shopping for dresses in a half-coma. but whatever. it's been eventful. best-friend visits and six-figure job interviews don't happen all that often, let alone in one week.

despite everything else going on, it was so great to have jess in town. as ever, she validates my opinions and ideas but also grounds me so much. laughter all around. it's funny how some things (for us, walking to white hen and watching conan) never change.

and the mega-interview was actually not that bad. i was a little stiff with the first guy, but became much more comfortable and really enjoyed talking to everyone i met. i met with three partners, then one associate; the last "interview" was just a very informal lunch with two more. if i actually got this job, it would be such a change..but i've been wanting one. i often do well when something unexpected just comes at me, like this certainly has, because i'm not always the best about seeking change out for myself and it keeps things interesting. i think i need my world shaken up a bit right now and certainly want more of a challenge.

and, well, yeah, the money. holy wu tang jesus, you can't ignore the money. the hours would be long, really long at times; it's almost too obvious to mention. but the kids i had lunch with (who were nice and funny and pretty cool) were able to actually use all their vacation time...and do some pretty awesome things with it. in contrast with, oh, pretty much every year since college, when i've worked a ton and still couldn't afford to travel anywhere. and most of my other issues with the big firm experience are specific to litigation, as opposed to the stuff i would be doing with this job. the female partner i met with seemed a lot like me, in some surprising ways. and she is on top of her game, in an area of the law where there are still very few female partners. we had such a candid conversation, which was extremely affirming and encouraging. so who knows? maybe i'll wind up in the last place i thought i'd ever be. can't say it'd be the first time.

i have one other story which deserves its own post but it'll have to wait. i have a hot dog tour to rest up for!

prescient horoscope

i have to interview with seven people in two hours. i just had to dial up the wikipedia for "private equity" to make sure i even know what those seven people will be saying to me. so i had to laugh at this:

"Capricorn: There is much to be learned from conflict and trial -- after all, high pressure is what creates diamonds, right? It might not please you to know that the next twenty-four hours may be a bit stressful, but after this day is over, you will be a better person. Not every day can be a breeze, and going through a rough patch will make you all the more appreciative when you encounter smooth sailing again -- and this will happen much sooner than you think."

the ice storm

i'm over it now, but this evening has been a real bummer. i lost my wallet AGAIN. it's fine, no cash was in there, and almost everything else can be replaced and has been cancelled. almost. i won't whine about the details, but it's a minor misfortune. i never learn. i'm only capable of being a responsible adult for maybe six hours of every day, tops.

and then there is the weather. NOT ZESTY. i love snow. i hate ice storms. the tv is currently advising that there is a "winter storm warning," a "blizzard warning," AND a "flood warning" all happening in the vicinity right now. what the fuck?

and then my itunes had a bit of a meltdown. which should not be important to me, but so totally is.

and then there's this. god help us all. (courtesy of goldenfiddle)

at least jess, my nearest and dearest, is in town. i fear that due to travel delays, my work, her work, and this stupid weather, i won't see her as much as i would like, but we've already gotten some eating and laughing in, and i'm not worried. but i was just so, like, lethargic and cranky for a couple of hours tonight. there's just a lot going on right now and i think the seams are starting to show.

you know what made me feel better? the arcade fire. i don't care if it sounds cheezy. i looked up and i saw them on the tv and i was transfixed. i didn't even feel bad about all the times i've missed seeing them for real. and i don't really have all that much allegiance to their first album, as accomplished and special as it was. but they were just so..passionate. not new-emo dramatics but real fervor. like everything could break down at any second. like neutral milk hotel.

you know what also makes me feel better? thinking about yesterday. i went running and i went further south and east than usual, which caused me to see homes and restaurants and schools that i hadn't before. part of why i went further south and east was to cut across on milwaukee at the end, which is when i came upon 826chi, the chicago outpost of dave eggers' young-person mind-expansion/confidence-building enterprise. right in-between stop smiling HQ and neighborhood housing services, where i worked last fall. i guess it just opened, and i didn't even know it was there. SOOO cute. i have only been to the nyc location, and like that one, 826chi is configured as a "secret agent supply store." (i.e. "the boring store. i.e. "not a secret agent supply store." GAAAH!) maybe it was the endorphins talking, but reading about all of the inventive and inclusive tutorials and presentations and sessions they've got going on, i started crying. i seriously did. it's just such an ambitious, hopeful undertaking. and i'm just another asshole with a law degree. to that point, the only reason why i even went down milwaukee in the first place was to check out the american apparel store, which, for a variety of reasons, is not what i need to be caring about.

anyway, various friends, thanks for your well-wishes over the past couple of days. re: the wallet-losing and also the big, confusing job interview i have next week. YOU ARE THE BEST.

breaking news.

WOW. i was checking voicemail after class and discovered that i had a call from this firm, from somebody who got my resume from this guy. who i've never spoken to in my life. the networking gods must be smiling on me. i'm really, really confused. but if my hunch is correct, i'm naming my first child kevin hull [last name here]. even if it's a girl.

i'm glad that we're friends.

wow, this snow is AMAZING! such big, gentle flakes. yesterday, the wind was harsh, but today, it's magical. i actually get to work out of a real "office" today since i forgot to bring my laptop charger, but i keep finding excuses to go look out the window.

also magical: the carnitas tacos at caminos de michoacan #2 (aka the joint by sheridan el). i hadn't been there since the Infamous July Third Lockout of '04, and i had no idea...i stopped in there on saturday night, to fortify myself for the journey home, and it was easily some of the best mexican food i've ever had. the carnitas were plump and tender, served with onions and lime and some sort of guacamole/salsa verde hybrid. holy mother of god. i wasn't drunk, either, so word is bond. (side note: in my quest to verify the name of the restaurant the next day, i stumbled upon this. WHOA. if it didn't exist, i would've had to invent it.)

that doesn't even scratch the surface of what was a very, very busy couple of weeks, and one in which i had to be "on" a lot of the time...but it's what's most important to me right now. clearly work isn't, so i'd better sign off.

3 thoughts on the cold + 1 quote on the thermals

1. man, there is cold and then there is right now. walking home from white hen, which is pretty much the same thing as walking home from the train, which is to say, not very far, my hands--in their gloves--actually became sort of numb. i mean, i have worse circulation than your nana's nana, but somehow i don't think that was the primary contributing factor today. makes me doubly thankful for my comfortable, centrally-heated apartment, and doubly worried about those without. say some extra prayers for the homeless, if you do that sort of thing. i know i will be.

2. on a less-serious note, i'm pretty sure i engaged in a similar rant about this time last year, or maybe the last couple of years, but seriously: WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH HIPSTER DOUCHEBAGS AND THEIR IRRATIONAL REFUSAL TO WEAR COATS, EVER? i was waiting for the bus this morning with this dude who was wearing this thin narrow jacket and no gloves whatsoever. i watched him fidget with his ipod*, trying to look nonchalant as he clenched in the face of the wind. i wanted to shake him and shout, "hey fucktard! this isn't quadrophenia, it's chicago. and it's three degrees out." meanwhile, i'm toasty in the columbia ski jacket i got at, like, jc penney's five years ago, that i was decidedly not too proud to wear. not that i haven't been known to place fashion ahead of function, even very recently, but today was just beyond the beyond and i can't imagine why anyone would voluntarily choose to wear any fewer than as many layers as they could stand.

3. the other side of the coin, straight-classic chicagoan sang-froid in the face of cold/heart disease/political correctness: the other night when i was running on western, when it was merely eight-ish degrees out, some dude passed me on a bicycle, smoking.

speaking of straight-classic:

Having mastered power trio pop-punk, they speed-read the bible, noting what's fucked and what isn't, why that is and why they give a shit. Spending more time than usual on the words, Hutch Harris abstracts them enough to avoid harangue but not so much that you miss the gist. I'm glad they've chosen thematic ambition over the musical kind, which would have defeated the point of mastering power trio pop-punk in the first place.

finally someone got it right and figured out how to encapsulate the unlikely genius of that great, great record. finally someone did it without stumbling around the "concept album" trope, which is not only inaccurate, but belies how much the album fucking rocks.

god. i feel like every night i have to study corporations is such a waste, because it takes me so damn long, because it's so, so boring. i actually really LIKE payment systems, which objectively sounds worse. (maybe? i guess they both sound pretty bad.) but seriously, i would rather be force-fed glass by paris hilton than read ten pages of this stuff. i will try and make this my last rant about that class, but i'm not promising anything.

* (not mockery, merely illustrative detail. you know i'd have mine, like, surgically implanted if i could.)

breathtaking.

this whole post is interesting, and relevant, if very sprawling, but really the only thing you need to read is the first few paragraphs. strike that, really the only thing you need to read is this:

"Didion frames it all another graph on, perceiving 'not just a vulgarity of diction' but:

When someone speaks...of the 'freedom fighter uniforms' in which the 'communist operatives'... disguise themselves, that person is not arguing a case, but counting instead on the willingness of the listener to enter what Hannah Arendt called, in a discussion of propaganda, 'the gruesome quiet of an entirely imaginary world.'"

remind you of any presidents you know?

this weekend has been fun, equal parts crazy and lazy. i have not managed my time entirely well given how busy the next week or ten days is shaping up to be (I WOKE UP AT 12:30 TODAY), but i think i knew that the leisureliness of this weekend was a foregone conclusion. and when you're being leisurely, you might as well fucking commit to it, or you're only going to be even more stressed out afterwards.

the sweat descends

so last night i went running. at, like, seven o'clock. the sign at the bank at chicago and ashland said 8 degrees, the ukranian credit union -10 C, 11 at roberto clemente high. but you know, it actually felt good. really good. the full moon was amazing and i was dressed appropriately. winter running is all about the 2 Ls: layering and les savy fav. although, objectively, it would have made sense to go on thursday, when it was relatively warm, when i did nothing except work on my pretrial practice assignment. and eat several bowls of cereal. and watch ween videos on youtube, until my six o'clock class. i chalk it up to fluctuating hormones, and the knowledge that i would probably be drunk for the better part of the subsequent 48 hours. a prediction which seems to be bearing itself out. yay for preemptive healthiness, birthdays, and super bowls.

threat-level yellow sunshine

ach. late-night television today (in which i am indulging unrepentantly--it has been a long day, and tomorrow will likely be longer. which sort of begs the question of why i am not sleeping right now, but whatevs.) has hit my nerd-comedian button. first bob saget, and now patton oswalt. i am now confident enough as a woman to admit that i have always sort of had a crush on that guy, even though he sort of looks like a troll with special needs. sort of. while he is such a sci-fi nerd, he is also extremely literate and bullshit-intolerant and it gets me sometimes. can't lie to you.

anyway:

1. today, while lunching on salmon and field greens, i saw this woman speak about this book at the union league club. pretty damn fascinating. co-sponsored by my board members/pals at the lawyers' committee for better housing. sidenote #1: she looks about 10 years younger than ALL those photos. four kids what? sidenote #2: i am shitty at "networking" even when i try. no one from the board was especially committing to a table, except for those who already had predetermined sidley/jenner seats. so i thought i'd be bold and just sit down somewhere. namely, at the one table--at a talk about the supreme court, about 20 feet away from the northern district courthouse--without any damn lawyers. GO ME. oh well, i had some interesting conversations, and who knows? six degrees, butterfly in thailand, etc. etc.

2. this weekend, i did go ahead and attend the cal robbins/j.robbins benefit concert. good times. the life and times = awesome. i always loved shiner, but TLAT is just so majestic. like, if there were some sort of indie rock venn diagram service, and if more people actually heard of them, i suspect there would be a relatively high degree of congruence between "shiner haters" and "TLAT fanatics." continuing a positive trend from when i saw them last fall, they did NOT fuck up "skateland" (it's like, i know you've played it a jillion times on tour, but when a song obviously wants to go a certain way, you should go with it). rapture + headbanging. in a nod to the reason for the concert, they covered "green glass"--flawlessly--and i teared up. on the floor of the empty bottle, swear to god. "for your own special sweetheart" ruled my high school years and it's on my ipod, three years later. (HA.) although i would submit that the full-length from robbins-and-fam's current project, channels, is among his best work. i listened to "little empires" maybe 4 times today. the songs are sharp, as are the lyrics. whereas the thermals (whose album is still rocking my world, and my running regimen) take our current governance not-as-far-as-i'd-be-comfortable-with to its logical endpoint with impressionistic, queasy (and brilliant) lyrics, the channels album is sublter, yet more immediate, all late-stage capitalism, halliburton contracts, and commuter trains. (ed. note--i just realized this is not the first time i have compared both bands side by side. i guess because they're both so relevant and deserving. as is jennifer o'c. still and forever.)

the rest of the bands (except red-eyed legends, who i'm sad i missed: chris thompson = punk rock por vida) i'd always meant to check out, but mostly never have; i now know i've been missing out. yay chicago. it was a random evening. in contrast to my experience at the union club, i somehow found the one cluster of lawyers at the fucking empty bottle. somehow i doubt that it helped my job search, though. also, i won a subscription to time out: chicago, which makes total sense since i get it for free anyway. and also some coffee mugs. and also some time out: london guides which are total travel porn, since i don't see myself getting there anytime in the near future. a guy standing next to me got the pretenders box set; guess i should have turned up the feminine wiles a notch.

3. also, be swift! there is new andrew bird music! on the internet! here and here (and there was also something on you ain't no picasso, which lapsed.) it's shaping up to be a good one. (the pitchfork link seems weird; just google the relevant terms if you're having trouble.)

otherwise, it's been busy yet uneventful. well, relatively busy: i've also seemed to require and devour way more sleep than usual. it's how i stay so beautiful.

and we'll collect the moments one by one

another thing i forgot to mention which added to the relative tranquillity of last tuesday (which is becoming more distant with each passing second--hi, school! hey there, work! job search, what's up?): on my way home, the busker at jackson blue line stop was playing "mushaboom." i didn't pick up on it straightaway, because of all the surrounding noise, and because that just wasn't a song i was expecting to hear from a lanky black guy at jackson el. but it clicked, and i smiled, and the busker smiled, and i got to enjoy his more languid, bluesy take on the song for about 45 seconds before my train came in. it was nice. no joke. guess that means it's already part of the pop canon; you'll get no argument from me.

and back in real time: i'm trying to read my assignment for my "corporations" class and i just can't hack it. truly the most boring thing i've ever read, and there have been many contenders. if you want to feel what i feel, revisit your least favorite textbook from high school or college. then punch yourself in the face.

happy january 17!

today was pretty good as far as first days of your last semester of law school go, i suppose. cold and sunny with snow on the ground (i.e., perfect). a run, a class (albeit one containing nearly every person i studiously try to avoid these days...), chicken with tomatoes and acorn squash, a glass of malbec. "boston legal." watched the genteel jim lehrer politely but relentlessly call out our commander in chief. who actually came off as fairly articulate for a while there. i mean, he was spewing nine kinds of bullshit, but it was fairly articulate. it's sad: i initially wasn't sure whether that gave me some small sense of relief, or just made me angrier. until he made the comment about the "cracked egg," which precipitated the inevitable spiral into his usual frat-boy, dry-drunk, pseudo-folksy nonsense. until he talked about sending "21,000 more kids" to iraq while flashing that goddamn smirk. until he conceded that he had "considered" bringing back the draft. until he admitted that there was "no timetable" for this whole fiasco. then my blood went cold.

recently returned from new orleans, which kind of blew my mind. rather than write here, i will email some of you about it, since it's important and i'm never exactly sure who reads this thing. in the meantime, there's flickr to tell the story.

thanks to everyone who made the birthday so lovely.

personal to poorani and trevor and lauren: the new sloan album is GOOD. i have been burned in recent years, but this is a total return to form. way better than a 30-song sloan album in 2007 has any right to be. they are using piano again!

hey, chicagoans: what are you doing on the 27th (other than an anti-surge protest, maybe?)? remember how i wrote about wee cal robbins? well, a fundraiser has been coordinated, involving some of the most interesting talent in chicago as well as good-hearted, stalwart kansas citians the life and times(!). peep the raffle items too. i am so gunning for the stop smiling subscription. i have become a fan in recent months, but the latest issue prefigures my slavish devotion from here on out. devoured it on my various flights last week. aside from the obligatory cat power feature (pretty interesting actually), there were interviews with: superwriter joan didion, the editor of the new yorker, the executive director of the iraq and afghanistan veterans of america, and the rza, addressing issues as disparate as bobby fischer (and why he was exiled), mythology, and oliver north:

"i ain't going to talk to you about politics, but look at oliver north. delivering drugs and guns and guerilla warfare material to other countries, right? comes back, steals the money--him and reagan split the cheese--and he gets busted for this shit. oliver north got busted, caught, gotcha. now this nigga's on tv every day. "war stories with oliver north" [on fox news]. he's a fucking criminal."

elemental perhaps, but you couldn't get an observation like that out of 95 percent of my law school peers. WU-TANG.

slow hello to 2007

wow, tonight was one of those lost nights, willful, almost forced, procrastination in the face of all the things i ought to do, people i should call. but work today was perpetual motion, and refreshingly un-ADD, so i guess every yin has its yang. thank god parish called, reminding me that i ought to get some sort of handle on whatever the fuck i will be doing in new orleans in, um, 4 days or so. of course, updating my damn blog at 1 am is probably the last thing i need to be doing, but it's already the 2nd (well, 3rd) and the geek in me just couldn't stand it any longer. i don't even have the tolerance to read that many year-end lists any more but i'll be damned if i can resist the urge to make them. i'm just wired that way.

so first, the records and stuff, based primarily on what i listened to the most.

varsity:
* jennifer o'connor, "over the mountain, across the valley..."--i defy anyone i know to dislike this record. no relation. i wish.
* mission of burma, "the obliterati."--more vital than ever. maybe even their best. clint conley is almost as old as my dad, but he can eat crackers in my bed any day. ahem.
* portastatic, "be still please"--a grower, but perhaps the best yet? touching, rocking, delicate, honest, and angry.
* neko case, "fox confessor brings the flood"--singular and gorgeous.
* the thermals, "the body, the blood, the machine"--i've always dug them, and felt that hutch harris's turns of phrase were overlooked (when he wasn't being totally dumb, of course), but it's like their first two records never existed. giant leap forward on every level. i know that a punk rock sorta-concept record about a future american theocracy sounds pretty bad on paper, but BELIEVE IT.

jv:
* the blow, "paper television"--club bangers for introverts. could almost have fallen prey to cloying twee navel-gazing, but doesn't. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT.
* the hold steady, "boys and girls in america"--i can understand why people don't like 'em, but well, i do.
* tv on the radio, "return to cookie mountain"--i know, how cliche, right? except that it really is that impressive. the first 6 or 7 songs at least. wounded and sharp.
* the plastic constellations, "crusades"--unlikely faves, perhaps, but i turn to this album all the time. it single-handedly got me through finals in may, and many a run since then. heavy as fuck, hooky as hell, and idealistic. that sounds horrible, but whatevs. trust me. even if you don't, you should still read their guitarist's blog, which has probably been the most consistently entertaining thing i've read all year: pureheartedwarriors.blogspot.com. you should start with the george wendt entry, but really, it's all pretty great. deftly uses irony without being "ironic."
* the phoenix, "it's never been like that"--another sort-of grower. different from their signature sound but somehow their strongest album in its consistency. i don't know what the fuck mr. sophia coppola is singing about, but the songs are so elegantly catchy. i agree with the last paragraph of what this guy says.
* girl talk, "night ripper"--fuck the backlashers, this is the funnest. any record that can sample x-ray spex, beyonce, elastica, biggie, sonic youth, the temptations and pavement in a coherent, danceable whole, has my heart. doesn't hurt that he's easy on the eyes, either.
* the pernice brothers, "live a little"--unlike most people, i liked the last record ok, and found this one a grower, teenage-fanclub-aping "somerville" aside. but i came around, and this might be their best. perfect melodies, literate lyrics that should be so pretentious but aren't. and even if they were, well, i think "grudge fuck (2006)" would equalize things.
* someone still loves you boris yeltsin, "broom"--under the radar fave, like a less jaded beulah. from columbia, missouri! fave song--"pangea"--continental drift as relationship metaphor? love it.

and not forgetting: tapes 'n' tapes, "the loon", camera obscura, "let's get out of this country" (minus the overly connie-francis-y songs), channels, "waiting for the next end of the world", sonic youth, "rather ripped", ghostface killah, "fishscale" (i know that comes off as "token hip-hop record for the white girl", but 1) i don't claim to be a hip-hop expert and 2) while i dig lupe and the clipse, et al., and while there is a great deal of art to be found therein, this one has had the most staying power), the evens, "get evens", the life and times, "the magician", 50 foot wave, "free music."

favorite songs/"singles":
* beyonce, "check on it"--is this from last year? whatevs, so loping and catchy. love the sputtering snare drum.
* ghostface killah--"shaky dog." whoa. so many narrative details, it's like an epic poem. i direct you to this guy, who actually managed to summarize it pretty well. (random side note: he's also done some hilariously snarky takedowns of this year's sadly sub-par season of "gilmore girls".)
* beck, "no complaints"--the album is more than uneven, but this might be his best song since "sea change." just basic.
* the blow, "parentheses"--if something in the deli aisle should make you cry, of course i'll put my arm around you and i'll walk you outside, through the sliding doors, why would i mind? see, it has me quoting lyrics like a 14-year old on livejournal, meaning it's a GOOD SONG.
* snow patrol, "eyes open"--i hate their ballads, like any self-respecting girl, but i can't hate this one. the riffage, the winsome, clever-enough, self-deprecating lyrics? i'm sold.
* neko case, "the needle has landed"--mournful and melodic, somewhere in-between girl-group and folk-rock. with heavenly background vocals. i'm a giant fan of visqueen, but, maybe "houston" aside, before this record, i would never have thought that rachel flotard could sound so spectral.
* tv on the radio, "i was a lover"--my nocturnal urban claustrophobic stress jam. you can imagine my suprise when i heard it on the radio in merriam, kansas. good on them.

best nostalgia records for indie fangirls--the lilys, flin flon, the delgados bbc sessions

album slept on last year that i am obsessed with now: the national, "alligator". seriously, we're all so inundated with data these days that great things get lost in the tide. i got this last year, but didn't "get it" until one day in november, at the coffee shop, when i should have been studying, when it hit me HARD. epic and bleak and funny and gorgeous.

band i am now embarrassed i had a boner for: human television

best shows:
* broken social scene at lollapallooza--magic. i won't say any more because it would just make you feel bad.
* the hold steady at the metro--i was happy, they were on, and sean na-na made ridiculous jokes and played "princess and the pony." what more could i ask?
* portastatic at schubas--electric. they played pretty much every song i would have wanted to hear, and that's a lot of songs. except "spying on the spies." fuck a john mayer. if somebody wrote a song like that about me, i would crumble.

non musically...

best meal: the all-day foodstravaganza in new york that began with dim sum (and a sesame/red bean ball, AND a scoop of almond cookie ice cream at "the chinatown ice cream factory,") and ended with korean food, and then failed to die with belgian pomme frites. i love you, jess. (in my defense, i had walked miles and was totally hormonal. and, um, it was all amazing.) close second (tie): vietmamese at the tank with christine; the funnel cakes at pitchforkfest

best store: target

best product at target: wine cube

best fruits: (tie) pluots and clementines

best evidence that america is going to hell: (tie) watching two girls in the space of five minutes take their fucking lap dogs into the bathroom while standing in line for the ladies' room at o'hare; my burrito-eating bet with schad

best times: NYC with lauren and jess (and loren and ben and tara and thomas and julie and ellis) , watching "curb your enthusiasm" with my tipsy mom, my KC friends' visit in may, any of the thursday night outings last spring, lollapalloza with kastrup and jen, any outing to piece with loren, the inexplicably successful three days of partying around halloween (EDIT: and at work after day two of said partying, when i was (again) inexplicably hyper and laughed more and harder then i ever have in my adult life, owing to schad and the incredibly crazy people i work with), south bend trip with the fam, getting hugged by john darnielle

i need to go to bed. i'm leaving out a ton of everything because, ultimately, despite some speed bumps, it was a GREAT YEAR.

but, oh! resolutions:

1. be more confrontational
2. psyche myself out less
3. procrastinate less
4. be a better friend
5. get my fucking refund from fucking united airlines

ha. that's it! happy new year, and i'd better see you on friday!