what i'm up to...

reading... a painfully accurate account of academia and family

listening to... still as fresh today as it was 20 years ago. Bono looks so young!

watching ... the book, especially its ending, was better, but I still enjoyed it. It's a frothy little fairy tale, much in the vein of The Princess Bride, and I have to say, I enjoyed the addition of Robert De Niro's character. Much better than the BBC adaptation of Neverwhere.

tivoing... Go Sun! You smack that Juliet bitch around some more!

wanting... my preordered Battlestar Galactica Season 3 DVDs to arrive already! And for April 4 to come so I can watch season 4. I'm on a bit of a BSG kick here. Then again, when am I not?

Words are flying out like endless rain into a paper cup

Zack and I just watched Across the Universe, and I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected. Zack did too, though maybe not as much as me. It's a musical love story set to Beatles songs during the Vietnam war movement. Lots of Beatles songs, and not much actual dialogue. Yes, it sounds cheesy, but it actually works. I would say that I would have liked to see this in the theater, as the visuals are stunning, but Zack and I kept singing along to the movie... it's pretty hard to resist doing so, and while our fellow movie patrons might appreciate the sentiment, they might not appreciate it being actualized. Purists may object to the films adulteration of the songs, but I found myself developing a new appreciation (if that's at all possible) for the construction of the songs. Paul's songs dominate, which is fitting since it's a love story and mostly balads are used, but the title and the ending belong to John. They threw George a couple bones, and well, there were a few more songs I can think of that could be used before they got to Ringo. I challenge anyone who ever liked a Beatles song to watch this without at least humming along.

Backlash is inevitable

I caved into the hype, and the bloggers are right: the new Vampire Weekend is pretty boss.

sometimes, insomnia pays off

How can I resist?

Cribbed from Jen, ten songs from the early 90's. I had to expand the allowance... this is pretty hard for me, because I consider this period of time to be my "formative years" in terms of musical tastes. I spent an awful lot of time driving around in Orange County and L.A., listening to KROQ and scouring record shops for rare vinyl singles, imports and bootlegs. I swear, I almost killed my parents when they dumped my vinyl collection while I was in college. To tighten the category, I'm just going to exclude grunge and the Seattle sound, and everything has to have been released between 1990 and mid 1993. And I'm not exactly going to call them "top" 'cause I'm sure this list will change completely next week, they're just ten that I loved and listened to a lot, and ten that I still love. So, in no particular order (to quote Jane's Addiction) "here we go!"

1. Kool Thing, Sonic Youth. I found the cassette tape for Goo on a really hot day (they were handing out Fruitopias - remember those?) at the Fairfax and Melrose flea market for 99 cents. Score! I think I still have it.

2. World in My Eyes. Depeche Mode. Remember when albums had like, at least 5 or 6 good songs?

3. P.J. Harvey - Sheela-Na-Gig. Peej could totally kick the ass of any Lilith Fair performer.

4. Right Here, Right Now - Jesus Jones. This song, along with Unbelievable (EMF) dominated the summer of 1990.

5. Rush - Big Audio Dynamite. Is it just me, or do PB&J sample the drum loop from this song for Young Folks?

6. Getting Away With It - Electronic. Like a Britpop wet dream. All that's needed is Damon Albarn.

7. Pixies - Head On. For a long time, I thought Jesus and Mary Chain were covering them. And I've actually seen Jesus and Mary Chain live.

8. Trapped in a Box - No Doubt. Back when they were still ska. Hey, I gotta give props - they're from the County of Orange. I actually owned this album at one time. On vinyl.

9. Stop Whispering - Radiohead. I actually saw these guys play at a downtown LA club while they were promoting Pablo Honey, and they were the opening act! For Belly. Yeesh. I'm old.

10. Even Better Than the Real Thing - U2. Saving the best for last. You've had to have seen these guys coming. I picked this song cause I don't hear it on the radio as much, but the guitar hook is such a radical departure from the Joshua Tree. Plus the video's cool. It's amazing that Achtung Baby was released over 15 years ago, and it still sounds fresh. Remember when albums had like, 12 great songs?

can I just say...

that I REALLY HATE that "Hey There Delilah" song that always seems to be playing whenever I flip the dial past Alice on the radio? It's right up there with that James Blunt "Beautiful" or Hoobastink "The Reason" song. Not only is it a lameass acoustic emo wannabe, but who the hell names their child "Delilah" anyways? It's like naming her Jezebel or Salome. Not that I'm all into the Bible beating, but really. Especially the stupid D.J. who's all "hey, I'd like to be Delilah!" What a tool.

La dee dah dee dah dee dah dee daaaaaah....

Just came back from the Decemberists show, and it rocked. I highly recommend checking them out live.

Reasons why:

1. There's a whale
2. There's stage diving and crowd surfing
3. You get to scream and tear your hair out and gnash your teeth
4. There was an opera singer tonight!
5. The drummer dances a hoedown-style jig
6. Imagine that you're a 16th century mason in Portugal, squatting in a dusty cul-de-sac, snacking on a jug of olives...

Audience participation is somewhat mandated. That is all.

Confession!

after months and months of denial and deliberation, i
downloaded j.t.'s latest album. i think this might be
the cheesiest music i've ever purchased! (in one
entire block, that is). almost immediately, i
purchased the new apples in stereo album, as if that
renewed my cred. yeah, right. i have no cred.