Where am I?

...mostly staring blankly at all the things I should be doing.

Get ready...brackets are coming.

Oh yes...brackets are coming.

This One is a Downer.

Susanna asked for an update. And since she may just be the only one reading my blog...here it is. Happy Birthday.

Unfortunately I don't have happy things to talk about today. (Yet...I will post something nicer later...perhaps about Jay-Z!)

This is a very sad day for Northern Illinois and I'm sure it also is a sad day at places like Virginia Tech and Columbine as each new incident sparks the old memories.

I'm sure in the coming days and weeks and months much will be made of the shooter and his motives and the warning signs and all of this. In the meantime I would prefer not to break down what his motives may have been. I'm more concerned with another issue. The Chicago Police Department reported 443 murders in 2007. 44 percent of these are
believed to be gang-related. While 443 sounds like an alarming number, it was actually a cause for celebration as this was the lowest murder total in over forty years in the city of Chicago. And what I am concerned about is who decides that these hundreds of murders, just as senseless as the school shootings, are of less importance. Why do our favorite television shows not break away every time somebody is killed in a gang war? Or over a domestic dispute? Or in a robbery attempt?

Education can surely play a role in reversing this trend (which, I suppose you could
argue, is already being reversed with the tally down to a mere 443 killings.) Most crime (but not usually the crime that gets the big news coverage) springs from a feeling of hopelessness. If we had better systems in place to alleviate this despair perhaps we could see more progress. And the best way to do this is through an improved education system.

But of course there are roadblocks...

ANYWAY...perhaps this is an inappropriate time to address this subject. I certainly don't mean to minimize the tragedy at Northern but it's just something that crosses my mind whenever a story like this one steals the headlines.

On a brighter note...Jay-Z, the United Center, April 26.

Random stuff...

I'm kind of sad that season two of The Boondocks is coming to a close. For one thing, there is hardly anything on tv right now. For another, this show has gotten better and better every week. Season one was great, but this season set it off to another level. Here is the season finale. It's a good representation of the hypermasculinity that pervades mainstream (and even underground) rap, and the underlying homoeroticism it attempts to conceal. And it's really funny. Enjoy.

There are just a ton of great shows coming to Chicago this spring. I've been trying to make a concert calendar along the side of this blog but I am having a tough time coming up with a convenient way to do so. Between that and figuring out how I'm going to afford all the shows I hope to attend I have a lot on my mind. But one that I'm sure I'll be at is the New Pornographers/Okkervil River show on April 20. Yes, I've seen the New Pornos several times, but I've never seen Okkervil River and it is time. And I always have room in my heart for another New Pornographers show so that is that.

And...coming soon...The Glow in the Dark tour...featuring Kanye West, Rihanna, N.E.R.D., and Lupe Fiasco.

For now...check out the Bonnaroo lineup.

HAHA...

What a great Super Bowl. 16-0 doesn't mean anything when you lose the Super Bowl.

Now that football is done we move into that part of the year where you really start to feel the winter. Yes, it's only ten days till pitcher and catchers report, but as exciting as that is it always turns out to be a bit antic-climactic once it sets in that Opening Day is still a month and a half away at that point. So in the meantime...here is a great concert from Iron and Wine and to help melt your cold hearts. It's from a website called FabChannel that has a whole bunch of these videos. I'm going to check out the De La show next.

Also, I think I'm going to try to make it to the Iron and Wine/Califone show in Kalamazoo in April.

The Vampire Weekend experience...

So my current financial woes have kept me from buying too many albums this year. Before tonight the only 2008 album I purchased was Magnetic Fields. But tonight I scrounged around in my sock drawer and under the seats of my car and found enough change to go buy me a new album...

But what to buy? My first choice was Black Mountain. They didn't have it. So I was stuck with this decision...Vampire Weekend or Drive-by Truckers? And this presented me with a philosophical dilemma. Vampire Weekend is the new, hip thing. Drive-by Truckers are an older, kick-ass band. I had listened to two or three Vampire Weekend songs previously and they didn't blow me away...but they sounded like songs I could grow to really enjoy. Still, my inclination is to go with the Drive-by Truckers because they are a band I've previously bought albums by and REALLY like them.

So why would I possibly buy the Vampire Weekend album? Because if I were to choose the Drive-by Truckers album it would make me feel old. That sounds kind of silly. It's not like Drive-by Truckers, or most other bands I listen to, are OLD people's music. The problem is this...it seems that more often than not lately, when I go to the store to purchase music, I end up going with an album by an artist I have previously bought music by. Nine of my top ten albums of 2007 were by artists who I had been a fan of before 2007. This isn't really a problem at the moment since all of these artists remain somewhat relevant. My fear is that as I grow older my list will continue to be composed of those same artists and I'll lose touch with what is new.

Of course I'm exaggerating all of this. I actually keep up with new music better than most people I know. Just something to think about. In the end my choice was easier due to the fact that the Vampire Weekend was three dollars cheaper than the Drive-by Truckers album. And on first listen I actually really like it. And eventually I will buy the Truckers album anyway. So what I'm getting at is...I've been rambling about nothing.

Concert Review: Girl Talk and Dan Deacon

I have been meaning to say a few words about last Saturday's Girl Talk/Dan Deacon show at the Metro and I am just now getting around to it. Sorry. But you know. School and work and laziness and all.

People like to say that Girl Talk isn't very good live. That is because these people are scared of having fun. No, Greg Gillis does not play a guitar or sing or do anything like that. For that matter, I don't think he does a whole lot with the laptop either. Fortunately, I am not one of those people who gets off on watching musicians playing instruments so I am able to enjoy the show anyway.

So the common complaint goes, "I could have just stayed at home and turned the album up really loud." Yes, you could. And the sound would probably be better. But you wouldn't have had a thousand people there all having a party together. That's the fun in it. It's a dance party. If you don't enjoy it for that you aren't going to enjoy it at all.

As for the music...he played a lot of new stuff. Apparently he has a double album's worth of material ready to go for the next release. He seems to have gotten deeper into the chopped-and-screwed sound. Other than that, same old same old. And that's just fine. UGK and Soulja Boy were among the stand outs. And of course lots of Clipse. I also really enjoyed the Grizzly Bear sing-along.

But I must say that this night was owned by Dan Deacon. He set up in the back of the Metro and from the opening sounds of "The Crystal Cat" the whole place started jumping. The highlight was probably when he led the crowd through a complex human tunnel/train routine. That's the best I can describe it. Oh wait...the best part was actually when he closed with a batshit "Wham City."

The only downside of Deacon's set is that I think it may have left the audience a little too beat to keep up the pace for Girl Talk's set. Also, just about every single girl was up on stage during Girl Talk which made for a good stage show but left quite a sausage fest in a crowd that was strangely heavy on Chads and Trixies. But still a great night.

Unfortunately, the ungodly line to get into the Metro prevented me from seeing opening act Lord of the Yum Yums. So it goes.