Blogging Every Thought

Sometimes I feel like I should blog my every thought on the off chance that I can say "See I knew that the moment I saw it..." I wish I had done that with my thoughts regarding the current edition of Shark Week on the Discovery Channel and their movie about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis called Ocean of Fear.

I thought it was a horrible idea and I screamed something to the effect of "Richard Dreyfuss can go f**k himself" at the TV for exploiting the deaths of those people. This movie is going to be like watching a snuff film I thought. Although I probably would watch some of Shark Week this movie will not be apart of it...

Well today's article from Slate confirms my thoughts and makes me wish I wish I had a little less of a blockade between mind and blog...

If you really want to memorialize these vets, go here: The USS Indianapolis National Memorial

A Radiohead Song You May Not Know

Radiohead's blog has been quiet for a couple of weeks and I haven't really seen any news about Album 7 other than this piece from NME that says the album is being mastered in New York...I am getting a little nervy waiting...to tide you over here is a song from the third HELP compilation...

Radiohead -- I Want None Of This War

Buy Radiohead here.

Homicide & Morphine

I have always been obsessed with crime dramas on TV...I remember taping hours of Dragnet on Nick at Nite with my sister when we were younger...but when I was in high school I would always watch Homicide: Life on the Streets...This summer I have sort of rediscovered the series and have been watching the DVDs (currently in the middle of Season 4)...one of the things that is evident to me is that Homicide was the first series that utilized rock and alternative songs in the soundtrack rather than composed theme music...The Sopranos gets a lot of credit for this but Homicide did it years before...each episode is a little time capsule of "important" music at the time and it almost feels shocking to hear bands like Morphine have their music featured on show... Morphine -- Cure For The Pain Buy Morphine music here.

No Browsing!

Is it a person's right to check out materials from a library or is it enough that the library is open and you can come in and look at things? The Michigan Supreme Court says it's good enough to just look...

This reminds me of a story Laura told me about the Latvian library system...here is how it works there...you go to the card catalog and find your source, then you go to a main desk and tell a person what book you want and they get it for you...the main book shelves are not open to the public and there is no browsing...five decades of communist rule can mess things up...

The 1st Step

The FBI knocks on your door...Stevens has to be 2nd on my list of politicians who I wish poetic justice upon...right after John McCain.

Juris Doctor Roberts

Chief Justice Roberts took a tumble...but more interestingly, was this little side note from the article...I don't remember hearing about this during the confirmation process:

Sources close to the chief justice said Roberts suffered an unexplained seizure in 1993, soon after his first nomination to the D.C. circuit stalled in the Senate.

Friends blamed the seizure on stress from the confirmation fight, and Roberts limited certain activities such as driving after it happened. But after a few weeks, the problem went away, and he has since not suffered any health crises, the sources said.

UPDATE: Now they are reporting the Roberts had another seizure as in 1993...

The Return of the Von Bondies

The Von Bondies are coming back apparently...although with three new members...this news finally gives me the chance to post the most disturbing rock-related black eye in history, courtesy of Jack White of the White Stripes.

Whiskeytown

Although I have all of Ryan Adams solo albums, it is only recently that I have ventured into the work of his earlier band, Whiskeytown. "Midway Park" is the first song off their first album and is my favorite from Faithless Street.

The song takes its name from Midway Park, an area around Camp Lejeune in Adams' hometown of Jacksonville, North Carolina.

Whiskeytown -- Midway Park

Buy Whiskeytown music here.

Communist Chic

Now I've heard of some stupid things...like the guy at the Seattle Airport yesterday that made a bomb threat in the hopes of stopping the flight he missed...but the new Louis Vuitton add campaign is without a doubt the stupidest thing I have ever seen...

Who would look at this photo of Mikhail Gorbachev, former dictatorial leader of The Evil Empire, and think, "I want his bag?"

For future reference, communism is not fun, communisim is not chic, communism is not to be celebrated, and communism should be remembered for the horrible things it did.

UPDATE: Oh yeah, and P.S. when did Gorbachev start looking like Dick Cheney?

I Would Look At It As A Positive Thing

Woman Banned For Life From Wal-Mart.

Does Anybody Know What Time It Is?

Does anybody really care?

Polyp Fiction

On A Related Note

After all these years police are still trying to figure out the identity of four prostitutes murdered by The Green River Killer in the mid-80's.

Living In Seattle

The World Didn't End Yesterday

The world didn't end yesterday even though Washington homosexuals were allowed to "enter into civil relationships."

Do these two ladies really make God angry? I doubt it. He couldn't care less.

Napolean Dynamite Con

This weekend is the 2007 Napoleon Dynamite Festival held in Preston, Idaho. I seriously considered going as Idaho is only four hours away...well part of Idaho is four hours away...Preston is closer to 12 hours and right near the Utah/Idaho border. Maybe next year...

Iggy Pop -- Mr. Dynamite

Buy music from Iggy Pop.

Seattle Kwik-E-Mart

I finally made it to the Seattle 7-11 converted to a Kwik-E-Mart today in honor of The Simpsons Movie. I had heard that all of the converted stores were out of the special merchandise...like the below Buzz Cola but everything was in stock...here are two "Kwik" related songs...

Oasis -- A Kwik Peep
Travis -- Kwiksand

Buy music from Oasis.
Buy music from Travis.

I Went To A John Mayer Concert & All I Got Was Arrested

Next time you want to have a biker gang convention, don't have it at a John Mayer concert....The fuzz will be waiting.

John Mayer -- Kid A (Radiohead Cover)

Buy music from John Mayer & Radiohead.

Cheney Will Not Be President

Bush does not have cancer.

The Polyphonic Spree -- Running Away Video

ABC & Iraq

I don't generally write about the Iraq War but this clip from ABC news is pretty amazing as it follows troops around Iraq. You can draw your own conclusions from it.

Patton Oswalt -- How We Won The War

More Remains

The Remains on Ed Sullivan:

The Remains of the Day

The first Nuggets box set introduced me to this song and it is one of those oldies that will never be played on an oldies radio station. I have tried to track down The Remains albums on CD but they are rarer than a singable Of Montreal song (ordering it from Amazon kills the fun of the search by the way.)

The Remains -- Don't Look Back

Paste Covers

Paste magazine covers have been getting better and better with this past issue being one of the best yet:

Harry Potter Beat Me Down

Last night, we headed over to Barnes & Noble to see all the hubub about the new Harry Potter novel. We also needed to pick up a copy to send to a friend...I used to work at Borders back in Wisconsin and I always enjoyed these type of events...it is almost like a concert with all the fans dressed up and waiting for the main act to come to the stage...well last night was a window into potential concert disasters...someone yelling "fire" last night could have caused something pretty bad...at one point they asked everyone who wasn't personally purchasing a book to go to the 2nd level because it was too crowded on the bottom...it was about at that point that we begged off and decided we would get it tomorrow.

Okay, Okay, A Democrat Did Something Stupid

One of my personal favorites, Senator Robert Byrd, says something really stupid today about Michael Vick.

Harry Potter's Favorite Band

Details magazine reveals that Daniel Radcliffe's (a.k.a. Harry Potter) favorite (favourite in the UK) band is The Hold Steady.

The Hold Steady -- Chips Ahoy!

My Worst Nightmare

Cheney will be President for a few hours on Saturday.

Tegan & Sara -- Live at Easy Street Records

Yesterday, Laura and I got out of work early and headed down to Easy St. for a free in-store with everyone's favorite Canadian twins, Tegan & Sara. Their new album, The Con, arrives next Tuesday and half the songs they played were from the new album. By the sound of it, things have progressed nicely for them since So Jealous in 2004.

The concert was packed as you might expect but surprisingly arriving at 4:00pm exactly found us already late with the duo on stage with their band. They were surprisingly talkative (well Sara was at least) and it was almost a comedy show between songs.

Tracklisting:

1. Where Does the Good Go? (false start)
2. Where Does the Good Go? (Punk rock version)
3. Walking With A Ghost
4. Monday, Monday, Monday
5. Back on Your Head
6. Like O, Like H
7. (A Song from The Con...not sure which one until I hear the album)
8. Con

Tegan & Sara -- Live at Easy Street Records (49:06)

I'm Off...

I am off to the free in-store concert for Tegan and Sara at Easy St...pictures and songs (if they let us records) will come later...

Real Time Blogging: Shuffle

I deleted everything off my mp3 player yesterday and was putting things back on but only got through A-F before it was kippy's time...so my real time blogging today won't have much variation...

1:22pm -- Beck "Where's It's At" -- My favorite song from Odelay and the beginning of the Beck "comeback" following "Loser"...has there been a song like it since?...not that I've found...even Beck doesn't sound like this anymore.

1:26pm -- The Darkness "Stuck in a Rut" -- This is from their 1st album and of course the Boston influence is front and center. "Stuck in a rut / stuck in a rut for eternity" Both songs so far have what could best be described as audio clips in the background that have little to nothing to do with the song except for setting the mood.

1:30pm -- Fall Out Boy "A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More "Touch Me"" -- Giving your songs songs titles such as this sometimes fall into the trap of being better than the song itself. This is not the case.

1:32pm -- Blur "Theme From Retro" -- a largely instrumental track (minus the random Damon Albarn echos) from the Blur album...I will never forget my first introduction to Blur. I was 18 with my parent's on the last "family" vacation we would take together. We were in Wichita, Kansas and my sister and I were able to talk by Dad into tuning into the "alternative" station...which researching it today must have been FLY 92.7 and they played "Song 2." Years later and countless Blur EPs from eBay it is still one of my greatest musical "Ah Ha" moments.

1:36pm -- Doves "Last Broadcast" -- Not "The Doves" by the way, just "Doves"! I argue that "The Last Broadcast" is the greatest album of the 2000s thus far and that Doves taught Peter, Bjorn and John everything they know. Take that! I'm throwing seven different kinds of smoke!

What Would Indi Do?

Indiana Jones Says "Save Petra."

If Only This Was True

If only this was true:

"I’m not going to talk about my campaign anymore." --John McCain

Nuclear Option

Remember all that talk about the "nuclear option" when the Republicans held the majority and Democrats were the minority. Why aren't we exploring that now?

The Goonies

Last weekend Laura and I went to Astoria, OR which amongst other things is the setting of The Goonies. The city doesn't really do anything official about this fact which is unfortunate because as we stood around taking pictures of the famous house two other groups of people came to take photos. A Goonies museum could easily make the city a buck or two. We are fans of the movie but nothing compared to the good people at Goonies.org. On their site you can see shoots from the movie and the corresponding "real life" shoot.

None of the Above

I was with a group of my friends from graduate school earlier this year discussing the presidential candidates. They are all conservative and all support Mitt Romney. I was the lone "liberal" in the room and I remarked how situations have reversed this year as it has been typically Democrats who face the dilemma of having a candidate they aren't very excited about. Dukakis. Gore. Kerry.

But now things seemed to have reversed and Republicans are faced with making the decision between the "lesser of four evils." Recent polls have "none of the above" as the biggest vote getter among Republican candidates.

Have You Seen These Kids?

Have you seen these kids? If you have, the Smashing Pumpkins want to talk to you....

'08 Campaign Songs #1: Hillary Clinton

We here at YASR are interested in politics, music, and where those two wonderful vices come together...and what better example of that is there is political campaign songs? Until Election Day '08 we will examine the songs that the political campaigns from both party are using...

Let's start with Hillary Clinton and her ground breaking decision to allow her supporters (or not in some cases) to select her main campaign song for her. This is an astonishing bit of political theatre as a campaign giving up control of any aspect of their image is something rare.

The initial group included songs by The Temptations, Smash Mouth, U2, and the Dixie Chicks. When the votes were tabulated...the song that might sweep the first female American President into office is....a song by a Canadian. Celine Dion's "You and I," specifically.

The song itself is an unusual selection as it is not apart of Dion's standard cannon of greatest hits and I seriously doubt my sister (a devout Celine Dion fan who will serve as the standard by which I judge all Celine Dion songs) could sing this song. It is relatively new and appears only on a CD that honors her extended stay on the Las Vegas strip. Let's put it this way, this isn't "My Heart Will Go On."

Donations

I donated $10 to John Edwards in 2004 and am seriously considering another $10 this year. You can count on it John. $10, right here...I guarantee it.

Oh yeah, Barack...thanks for all those emails...I think I can squeeze out another $10 for you. Only if you're good.

But today's post from CNN's Political Ticker put things into sad perspective for me. Pauly Shore donated $1000 to the Hillary Clinton campaign. He must have really manged that Encino Man money.

I Am The Emperor

"I Am The Emperor."

Why Does Blogger Not Know How To Spell Radiohead?

Why does Blogger not know how to spell Radiohead?

Worst Thom Yorke Photo Ever?

This AP article talks about the popularity of "catalog titles"...that is greatest hits and releases that are over two years old from major musicians such as AC/DC, (which holds the most popular catalog title "Back in Black") Guns 'n' Roses, and...wait for it....Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

The accompanying picture of Thom Yorke from Radiohead is unfair, unfortunate, and disturbing...

Superdrag News...Whaaaaat?

Superdrag will always have a spot in my CD collection...right between Superchunk and Super Furry Animals...but I had thought Superdrag went to the Deceased Band cloud in Rock & Roll Heaven. Filter has some news about up-coming shows and rarities album.

Why I am their fan:

Brad Pitt + Albert Einstein = Dick Cheney

This is originally from Playboy but was referenced in an article today on Slate regarding New Corp's desire to purchase Dow Jones.

Groening (Simpsons creator, Matt Groening): Fox News gives me a headache and not even so much for its political content but the spinning logos and American flags and music designed to scare you shitless. Who needs it? We make fun of Fox News on the show. The most fun we had was putting a news crawl like theirs across the bottom of the screen. It said things like "Rupert Murdoch: terrific dancer," "Brad Pitt plus Albert Einstein equals Dick Cheney," "Study: 92 percent of Democrats are gay," "The Bible says Jesus favored capital gains cut."

Playboy: What was the reaction at the network?

Groening: We were forbidden ever to do it again. Fox said it would confuse viewers. I don't see how you would think it's real news on a cartoon show, but we'll see.

New Rilo Kiley Video

Here is the new video from Rilo Kiley for "The Moneymaker."

Claudia Alta Taylor Johnson

I haven't seen too much about the passing of Claudia Alta Taylor Johnson ...well let's put it this way, it is nothing compared to the weeks of morning the nation will go through when Nancy Reagan dies...a little unfair, don't you think?

I will not play the "Lady Bird" games either...any man (and I don't care if he was President) who re-names or names his wife and children (Linda Bird Johnson and Luci Baines Johnson) after his own initials is not to be respected...forget Vietnam.

That being said, in 25 or 30 years when Laura Bush passes away, I don't see the Crawford, TX ranch becoming public property.

Herman's Hermits

My sister called me from Wisconsin earlier in the week saying that she was going to see Johnnie Rivers at the local State Fair and I was pretty jealous as I have been going through a 60's revival this summer and Rivers is one of my favorites...She said her favorite was seeing Herman's Hermits a few years ago and I would have gone and sat there to hear just two songs, "No Milk Today" and "A Must To Avoid." I am not much of a fan of their other stuff but those two songs are close my ideal 60's pop.


Herman's Hermits -- No Milk Today
Herman's Hermits -- A Must To Avoid

It Is Only A Matter Of Time Until Death By Tater Mitts

I haven't seen this advert before tonight but it is a little disturbing...what would happen say if I took my Tater Mitts and scratched my nose?...or pet a dog? You might have something better than the FURminator.

Now I Understand

Now I understand why we need better border security...those damn attacking elephants romming the Canadian streets...their next stop, your local shopping center!

Real Time Blogging: Smashing Pumpkins -- Zeitgeist

10:12am -- Start "Doomsday Clock"...to be fair, I am listening to the Best Buy version of the album with the extra track "Death From Above"...and the Orange cover....not sure yet how the different color cover will effect the album yet...

10:14am -- We are half way through "Doomsday Clock" and Billy Corgan is singing (and not screaming) about the "Doomsday clock, ticking in my heart"...so we are back to familiar territory here...a mid-strength rocker I would call it...

10:16am -- "7 Shades of Black" -- it is a weird effect when Billy is singing and his voice can also be clearly heard in the backing vocals that overlap...I makes me wonder the point of doing effects that can't really be done live without computers or special equipment or some weird lip syncing...The song is another mid-level intensity song...

10:19am -- "Bleeding the Orchid" -- much softer than the first two songs...I was a little worried that this album was not really going to have any "1979" or "Thirty-Three" moments but we seem to have one here...

10:22am -- "That's the Way (My Love Is) -- The best song yet. It could be a single.

10:27am -- I loose focus as I am reading another article...this can't be good...I lasted only 15 minutes...we are now into the first single "Tarantula" which is fine but I have heard it a bunch on Seattle radio...maybe that' why I lost focus...

10:31am -- "Starz" -- misspellings to do not impress me. "We are, we are starz." I am wondering why this is a Smashing Pumpkins record and not just Billy Corgan as he plays everything else except the drums...just like in his previous solo album "TheFutureEmbrace." Or perhaps the question is why wasn't that album put out by Smashing Pumpkins?

10:35am -- "United States" -- I am a little scared here...things could go wrong if it's about Bush...we are nearly 2 minutes in, no lyrics yet...oh wait, here we go..."revolution, revolution, revolution blues, what will they do to me?"

10:40am -- "United States" con't. We are now into a minimalist guitar solo..."I want to fight, I want to fight, revolution tonight"...

10:42am --My mp3 player shuts down from running a 1/2 an hour without touching it...

10:43am -- We are back again to "United States"...8:35 minutes in...1:17 left...my argument is that they should have combined the first two minutes and last 1:30 and had a great instrumental track that would speak to the title "United States" nicely...and maybe get them a Grammy for instrumental performance...

10:45am -- "Neverlost" -- I can't tell if I am hearing a xylophone or what it is...much more low-key than earlier tracks...

10:49am -- "Death From Above" -- this is the Best Buy bonus track...a little odd to include it in the middle of the album and change the album sequence form the "standard" version...as Douglas Adams would say the song is "mostly harmless"...

10:54am -- "Bring the Light" -- the chorus: "Bring the light, bring the light, bring the liiiiiiight."

What was it you want me to bring again?...Oh yeah, the light...right."

10:57am -- "(Come On) Let's Go" -- now we are back to it...key words: skulls, anesthetized, hate, lord...

Although the chorus is...you guessed it..."Come on, let's go."

11:00am -- "For God and Country" -- it doesn't really mention Iraq directly but reading between the lines that is what you get...

11:05am -- "Pomp and Circumstances" -- almost a hard-core Rufus Wainwright track...or Polyphonic Spree maybe...it is not exactly how I thought the album would end...

11:09am -- The album is over...

The Smashing Pumpkins -- "Zeitgeist" Rating: James Monroe

In Summary: An okay work by a Founding Father of Grunge.

The Thomas Crown Affair Bellevue Style

Yesterday in Bellevue, a group of three people stole two Pablo Picasso sketches from a gallery in a mall. If the thieves were just trying to rescue Picasso's work away from a mall I wouldn't probably care too much...but their motives may not so noble.

The mall in question, Bellevue Square, claims it has "The Best of Everything"...except security apparently.

Here is one of the sketches they absconded with:

This One's For Mom

A quote from Senator Biden for my Mom, a Joe Biden fan for more ways than one.

"This progress report is like the guy who’s falling from a 100-story building and says half-way down that ‘everything’s fine."

I Do My Best Aliens Impersonation

I do my best Aliens impersonation on the 4th of July at the "Dardanelles" that connect Lake Union to Lake Washington:

Feeling Sorry For The Guy From C-SPAN

If you haven't heard what went down yesterday at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new press room in the White House, watch this. It is fun to watch just to see the poor guy from C-SPAN having to stand there and watch President Bush crack jokes.

Also, Think Progress has a photo and commentary that is pretty interesting...

Who the heck was Dexter Freebish?

A little video to remind us all of simpler times...the summer of 2000.

Now That's What I Call An Extension

Now that's what I call an extension...

Prince & The New Cash Gener-erators

So what is all the hullabaloo about Prince "giving" away his new CD with a newspaper all about? Well the easy answer is money. The better answer is Prince is trying something different...again.

Remember, this isn't the first time Prince has done something "new" with CD sales. Rolling Stone considered Prince's 2004 tour to be the top earner of the year. Every ticket for those concerts had a $10 fee built into the cost which gave the concertgoers a copy of his then-new album Musicology if they wanted one or not.

(By the way, the source of rage from music shop owners is strong because new CDs in England typically go for about 16.99 pounds which translates into $34.49 in America. HMV is selling Planet Earth at 8.99 pounds ($18.25) on their website currently. A price American's would rightfully laugh at.)

The same principle is now in play now on a smaller and less expensive scale. Whether you want it or not, you get a Prince CD with The Daily Mail on Sunday. This will allow Prince to reach a much larger audience than he could ever expect through "normal" CD purchase. And I would imagine, with the assumption that the new album is good, that his back catalogue might see a health jump. In the long run, this experiment may proof profitable by generating new CD sales and alerting the music media in America that there is a new Prince album coming, which in turn could lead to more record sales. We did enjoy his Super Bowl half time performance after all.

And please don't mention Prince's name being a musical philanthropist. It reminds me of a line from The Simpson's Mr. Burns, "I trade it all for just a little more."

New Shout Out Louds

Here is a new song from Swedish favorites the Shout Out Louds. Their new EP is out now, with the full-length album due September 11th.

Tonight I Have To Leave It

$20

It is always a happy day for me when there is a good John McCain story in the news and especially if it continues the campaign to bring the Straight Talk Express to an end:

Florida State Rep. Bob Allen (and co-chairman of McCain's campaign in Florida -- Matt) faces charges of solicitation for prostitution after he was arrested in a Titusville city park that had been under surveillance, police said. He allegedly offered an undercover police officer $20 for the unspecified act.

Reading some other articles on this "event" it really isn't clear if Mr. Allen wanted to be paid $20 for the unspecified act or whether he was going to pay $20 to do the unspecified act. Allegedly.

Either way, it sure is looking like a wonderful day out there.

Little difference

This story demonstrates how little difference there is between extreme conservatism in all denominations, be it in Islam or Christianity. Disgraceful.

Bride-zilla

Is there anything more low-class than putting a guarder belt on a rear view mirror of a car?...the answer is yes:

The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer (Wal-Mart for the geographically challenged -- Matt) recently hosted seven weddings in its stores as part of a promotion for July 7, 2007, considered by some brides to be an especially lucky day. The events included wedding cake, party food and other items from Wal-Mart. Raddohl said it was too early to say whether the 07/07/07 promotion would help boost sales of wedding items.

Skipping

You know, if I skipped a class in high school, my Mom got a phone call. If I skipped a meeting a work, I would get "spoken to." But I guess skipping testifying to Congress is just peachy.

The Best Thing Andrew Sullivan Ever Thought Up

The best thing Andrew Sullivan ever thought up (besides that the Iraq War is now a mistake) is "The View From Window" posts on his blog "Daily Dish." This is usually because it typically doesn't involve much commentary from Mr. Sullivan...Anyway, here is my view today of Lake Union...temperature 91:

Art 1, Life 0

This story is exactly the same as a story line in Season 4 of Curb Your Enthusiasm...Larry wants to get out of jury duty and so guess what bright idea he comes up with?...Although Larry doesn't get arrested he has to eventually reappear in front of the judge later in the same season and cosmic justice wins again!

How To Ruin Someone's Day: President Bush Style

At first I thought, "no way, this is exaturated" but then checking the source, The Washington Times, I have to believe it I guess...

The Future: Part 2

Well, maybe it doesn't look that bleak after all...

The Future Looks Bleak

Yippy Skippy

The Mariners are 13 games over .500 and only 2 1/2 games out of 1st place...and more good news is on the way. Ichiro is worth every penny of what they pay him and I am glad he seems to have realized what a unique opportunity he has here in Seattle. Roughly 15% of the Seattle population is of Asian decent (compared to 3.7% nationally) and next to Tiger Woods, I think Ichiro is the most popular Asian athlete in America...He is incredibly popular here and I think it would be hard to replicate in Chicago (4.35%), New York (6.27%), or wherever he would have ended up with free agency. That being said, I don't think he would have ever ended up in Atlanta (0.18%).

Bringing the Cutting Edge to Middle America

It is articles like this that make Wired the best magazine in the world (sorry Filter)...bringing the cutting edge to middle America.

UPDATE: Guess what? The Chicago Tribune agrees with me!

A Worried Tony Blair

Tony was worried that Oasis were going to do their best Sonic Youth impersonation:

Review: Avril Lavigne "The Best Damn Thing"

With a newish job and a return to decent paychecks, I have recently been able to pick up a lot of new and old music that had been cluttering my "Must Buy" list...the new Bees, the new Queens of the Stone Age, the new Bjork...you get the picture. But with the 4th of July and that aforementioned job, listening and reviewing that music has proven difficult...

Over the weekend however my girlfriend and I took a little trip and I said "bring along some of your music."

She looked at me in stunned silence. "Are you sure?" she asked as if I had just asked her to cut the green wire while defusing a car bomb.

"Yeah, sure" I said remembering the numerous times that we have jokingly said that she shares the same musical tastes as teenage girls and lesbians. She selected the new Avirl Lavigne CD "The Best Damn Thing" and we listened to it in its entirety while on the road.

Ms. Lavigne is facing some legal troubles currently with her hit single "Girlfriend" which is without the doubt the best pop song since Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone." Legal troubles aside, the album flow nicely from there and you might confuse these middle songs as something from other Avril records.

But things hit the apex (I say this with all sincerity) when Avril starts rapping on "I Don't Have To Try:"

I'm the one I'm the one who knows the dance
I'm the one I'm the one who's got the prance
I'm the one I'm the one who wears the pants
I wear the pants!

I'm the one who tells you what to do
You're the one you're the one if I let you
I'm the one I'm the one who wears the pants
I wear the pants!

Is "I Wear the Pants" to go down with "I'm The Decider" as another ridiculous thing said by a person of cultural power? I don't think so! I've taken to shout "I wear the pants" whenever Laura and I differ on anything from pizza toping to which movie to rent...let's just say it doesn't usually go as well as it should.

The concluding track is "Keep Holding On" from the Eragon movie soundtrack and is more singable than anything by Spoon, Slint, or Grizzly Bear.

Overall, however, I am left conflicted and I think I will forever be, based on this clip from The View:


How can I respect a woman who clearly hates education? It is one thing to leave school to get a job to support yourself or a family but to leave school and not continue an education because it gets in the way of your stardom is terribly disappointing.

Avril Lavigne -- The Best Damn Thing Review: Ronald Reagan
Avril Lavigne As A Person Review: Warren G. Harding

Hot Political Website: Dogs Against Romney

I am not sure if everyone is up to speed on this story but the original source for this story and now website was a "throw away" little anecdote in a larger newspaper piece about Mitt Romney...the devil's in the details I guess.

The Sanctity of Milk

Shopping at Wal-Mart is a thing I hate to do but can't say no to...it seems that Seattle and Western Washington in general has successfully stopped wide spread Wal-Mart expansion...or maybe everyone is just shopping at Washington-based Costco instead...

Anyway, shopping at Wal-Mart sometimes feels like a political act...like putting a candidate's bumper sticker on your car or donating to a campaign...this became even more clear this weekend when we visited Wal-Mart:

I can hear it now..."Homosexuals are destroying the sanctity of milk!"

"Taliban-like"

When I was watching Metallica's Live Earth performance this weekend I thought it looked suspicious...

Happyness

This is a Will Smith-level of "Happyness" here with this news about St. John McCain...

Wilco Impersonation at Lunch

I try to do my best Yankee Hotel Foxtrot impersonation during my wandering around downtown Seattle during my lunch break...

Adventures at Sea-Tac

Given the events over the weekend going to the airport of a major city has become a little more difficult...Late last night I was headed toward Sea-Tac and the line of of cars headed that way was much more than I thought would have been for Sunday night...now there is construction going on for some new light-rail tracks so that may have been part of the problem...but I was headed to the short term parking ramp so I didn't get a chance to see the "arrivals" drop off until parking and walking across the parking ramp sky bridge...the cars are backed up around the corner of the road...I have been the airport a lot recently and it seems that it was just busy and there wasn't anything different about the security...

Neptune Marquee #1: Sicko

The Neptune Theatre is just down the street from where I live and their billboards are always worth reading...I will try to update you on what say...sorry for the quality...camera phone.

Thanks, But No Thanks

This is huge news for people that have not bought into the Apple "delivery system" for music...I have never purchased music through iTunes and don't own an iPod obviously...I have been a member of emusic and I especially enjoy the fact that their music is compatible with every kind of mp3 player and not just one brand...Their selection is sometimes weak but that's the nature of what they are shooting for....when faced with the dilemma of emusic or Netflix though I had to go with movies (especially now that you can watch movies on netflix.com anytime you want...)