Filed under: books, cold blooded old times, concerts, music, rest & relaxation, the act of blogging, things at home, work
1. Miike Snow’s “Animal” is sooooooooooo good. This is my new summer anthem. I wonder if the rest of his stuff is as good?
2. I’ve been listening to a lot of Blip.fm at work. I like queuing up songs the night before and then letting it rip during the workday. Check out my blip for the above song.
3. I’m getting a new roof put on the house today … FINALLY. It only took the ‘lords a couple years to get around to doing it. Soon my records room will no longer leak and I will hopefully spend a lot more time in there. It’s been a kind of depressing place to be over the last few months as my stereo and records have been perpetually covered in towels to keep the rainwater away. And it’s been raining a LOT.
4. I went to Night 1 of the Pitchfork fest this year: Yo La Tengo, Tortoise, and Built to Spill all sounded fine but were BORING to watch. Ten years ago I believe I would have had a much different reaction. I used to LOVE watching Tortoise live, and Yo La blew me away when I saw them on the Electr-o-Pura tour. The Jesus Lizard also blew me away when I saw them in 1995, and they were the lone band on the bill that did it for me this time around, too. I’m not sure what I’m looking for anymore when I see a band perform live. I guess, in large part, it’s the newness that increases the WOW factor. So maybe the fact that this music (Yo La et al.) is so ingrained in my DNA lessens its impact? That doesn’t explain the Lizard, though. David Yow was still every bit your creepy uncle. He crowdsurfed and made snarky comments and just looked like he was having FUN. I’m seriously considering seeing them perform when they reunite again in November.
5. DJ’ing my niece’s wedding was a blast. As someone who typically spins r’n'r in bars for hipsters, it’s relatively rare to see people dance during my sets (unless very drunk). The bars I spin at — people don’t go there to dance. They go there to converse. That doesn’t mean they aren’t appreciative of the music or that they fail to acknowledge the DJ. But they just do it with subtler nods and fist pumps. But at this wedding reception I had the dance floor filled the entire time. Kids, adults, everyone. Playing some stupid dance music (Lady Gaga + Beyonce + Gnarls) was fun, but the crowd really went bonkers for the Michael Jackson/Jackson 5 block in addition to the medley I created for the bride/groom. The latter was an 8-minute block of stuff I mixed together, from the Chiffon’s “He’s So Fine” (from the woman’s perspective) to The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” (from the man’s perspective) to a climatic UB40 cover of “I Got You, Babe” (requested by the bridal party), with Chrissie Hynde playing the part of Cher. Oh, and some old dude requested Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London.” Out of left field? Sure, but I gladly played it.
6. The new job sucks. I’m trying to just accept this.
7. Bike riding. I’m improving a lot. I’ve done 325 miles in a little more than a month, including my first back-to-back 30-mile rides.
8. In late spring I made a commitment to R&B, reading and biking. The biking is working out nicely, but the reading (of books) is lagging behind, unfortunately. Attention span, lengthen please. I think I’m going to tackle Let the Right One In, which everyone says is spectacular. (I enjoyed the movie.)
9. I’ve been riding the bus to work on days that I don’t ride the bike. It’s a 30-minute commute, which I enjoy as it allows me time to knock out a long magazine article. I’ve made it through the previous four issues of Wired, but I need to find something new to read. Speaking of …
10. Does anyone have any reccomendations for site’s they check out on a daily/regular basis that have interesting long-form journalism? The subject matter doesn’t matter all that much. I’m not looking for “newsy” articles, per say. Rather, engaging subjects handled in relative depth. I need some ideas for content to pour over during lunch breaks — things I can simply print off and take with me to the cafe.
Filed under: books
Writing about books, and reading about books (and on some days even reading books), makes me sad, for obvious reasons. But this is worth the pain. Jake posted a link to the New York Times’ best books of ‘08, which is a byproduct of their 100 best books of ‘08. The only book on the paper’s top 10 list that I want to read is Roberto Bolaño’s 2666, which speaks more to my taste than the strength of the list. But I found the list a bit perplexing, for another reason: Bolaño’s book is the only one on the list that wasn’t published by a Random House subsidiary. Moreover, seven of books on the list were released by Alfred A. Knopf, to which I can only reply … WTF?
This past weekend I traveled to Chicago with M to meet her aunt and grandma, who were in town for the weekend. We took them to see some of the sights and climb the heights.
I had never been to the top of the Sears Tower. Upstairs, I got a chance to pay my respects to this guy …
… while M got to say hello to a personal fave.
When not looking out the observatory, one can look inward and find a Who’s Who of Chicagoans. I found the displays a little odd; I certainly wasn’t expecting to bump into Studs Terkel atop the tallest building in the States. But I guess there are a lot of tourists who don’t have the time to see much of the city or learn a lot about its heritage, so they go to the Sears Tower and get a crash course in Chicago as a bonus.
By the way, if you’re looking for a good book to tide you over before bedtime, Terkel’s Working is an excellent read.
1) Watch it — Jesus’ Son — probably about four years ago.
2) Try to read Denis Johnson’s Tree of Smoke. Fail miserably. Stop after about 110 pages.
3) Feel guilty about stopping. Remember that you’ve never read Johnson’s other acclaimed book, Jesus’ Son.
4) Decide that maybe you should read it. Look at the pile of books on the nightstand. Instead decide to watch the film.
5) Bump the movie to the top of your Netflix queue.
6) Go the mailbox, find the movie waiting for you, let it sit on the coffee table for 7 days while you “get in the mood to watch it,” then stick it in the DVD player during a desperate moment when cable TV is not an option because Comcast is rebooting your cable box thanks to its shitty service.
7) Five minutes in, say to yourself, “Hey, haven’t I seen this before?”
And there you have it.
“I get the feeling that a lot of us, privileged Americans, as we enter our early 30s, have to find a way to put away childish things and confront stuff about spirituality and values.” —David Foster Wallace
Just this week, prior to Wallace’s death, I had a long conversation with my sister about this subject. Considering that I have long conversations with my family about once a decade, the conversation (and its subject) stood out for me, just as Wallace’s quote did while reading the 1996 interview with him that Salon has reposted. It’s a good read.
UPDATE: Chris chimes in with an obit for Wallace. So does Jason.
Filed under: books, things at home, work | Tags: books, sophie the cat, work
For those of you who don’t know, I was laid off in late July (along with pretty much all of my co-workers) as my company is in the process of going bankrupt, while at the same time being “sold” to a new owner. Well, I was out of work for two weeks, which actually turned out to be a blessing as I mostly relaxed while sending out a few résumés. Luckily, my bankrupt company has, over the past month, paid me the three weeks of vacation pay I was due. And more relevant to my current situation, I was rehired after the two-week layoff by the new ownership/management group. That’s made for an awkward situation as I head to the old office to work. First of all, there are only three of us employed, and the other two are technically still working for the old company, even though they are being paid by the new company. I’m contractually working for the new company (and of course being paid by them), doing my old job, and attempting to avoid my old boss. (The Prez is being let go as soon as the transition to the new company is complete, once the old company has its day in court.)
Upon being laid off, I moved five-and-a-half year’s worth of crap out of my office. I haven’t moved it back yet, and likely won’t because in all likelihood the new company will be relocating to Chicago soon and I’ll be working for them — from home — until at least the end of the calendar year. This means I’ve had to find a somewhat permanent place for that crap I moved out of my office, which is largely a whole bunch of sports non-fiction books. So, voilá, my new bookshelf packed with books.
This doesn’t include the books I’ve worked on for the old company; those are still boxed up, where they will likely stay. The “records room” is quickly becoming a multi-media room, so to speak. Sophie doesn’t seem to mind, as long as the bookshelf isn’t blocking her view of the backyard. This cat has some serious “I gots to get myself outta this house” blues going on right now. The squirrels that play tag on the deck probably aren’t helping matters.
