Holiday Gift Guide #1: Tee Shirts
Posted on 18 November 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Product Reviews
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With the economy slumping mightily, this holiday season isn’t so much about what you want (but rather) it’s about what you need. You (and everyone else) needs tee shirts, so why not get the ones you love some tee shirts with style.
The Ryde makes super soft & comfy surf inspired tees.
Get huge type looks sweet and other great tees from Turn Nocturnal.
Check out Electric Zombie and their gruesomely awesome shirts.
These shirts ain’t minty fresh, they’re Linty Fresh.
Heartcore Clothing makes some amazing shirts.
For design inspired tees check out Artefacture.
Maybe you go ape shit for Go Ape Shirts? We do.
One, two, three, P Is For Panda has great shirts and great records.
Threadless has officially released a zillion different shirts. I’m not kidding.
Hit the mark and get some tees from Sharp Shirter.
A recipe for brined & roasted turkey with musical accompaniment
Posted on 15 November 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
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Yes, this is a recipe for brined and roasted turkey with a musical accompaniment, but I’d rather call it Can You Eat the Turkey From the Southside? Seriously folks, Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away.
So I’ve had deep-fried turkey (good), smoked turkey (even better), but my favorite way to cook a turkey for Thanksgiving (or even Christmas) is brined and roasted. Yes, I’ll admit that I ganked the original recipe from the amazing Alton Brown a few years ago, but I’ve made some minor (and delicious) changes. Here’s the recipe:
Can You Eat the Turkey From the Southside?
Start with a 14 to 16 pound turkey, mkay. You can use a smaller bird or a turkey breast, but be sure to reduce the other ingredients proportionally. You’ll also need a 5 gallon bucket.
Brine stuff:
1 cup of salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
1/2 tbsp allspice berries
1/2 tablespoon candied ginger
1/2 cup cognac
1 gallon iced H20
Aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 sage leaves
canola oil
So what you want to do is combine all the brine stuff (except the iced water) in a pot and bring it to a boil. Stir until the solids are dissolved, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until chilled. It is generally best to do this the night before. Save a little bit of the cognac for yourself and have a drink while you’re at it.
Early on the day of cooking, combine the brine (what you made above) and ice water in the clean 5 gallon bucket. Mix it up and place the thawed turkey (breast side down) in the bucket, cover, and refrigerate or set it in a cool place for 6 hours. It is generally pretty chilly here around Thanksgiving so on the back porch works for me.
Just before you are ready to roast, heat your oven to 500 degrees. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water and microwave on high for about 5 minutes. Once you get the aromatics nuking, remove the bird from the brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.
Place your turkey on a roasting rack inside a wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add the aromatics you just microwaved to the cavity of the bird along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck back the wings and coat the bird liberally with canola oil.
Roast that fucker on the lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Remove the turkey from the oven and cover breast with a double layer of aluminum foil and return it to the oven, reducing temperature to 350 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound turkey should require 2 to 2-1/2 hours of roasting. Use a probe thermometer if you’ve got one and set it for 161 degrees. Let your bird rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.
The Bird Cookin’ Soundtrack
MP3 | Broke String Band – Turkey In The Straw
MP3 | The Broadways – Everything I Ever Wanted To Know About Genocide I learned In The Third Grade
MP3 | This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb – Beans, Taters, & Gravy
MP3 | Revrend Horton Heat – Turkey Gotta Gobble
MP3 | George Winston – Thanksgiving
MP3 | Julie Doiron – Falls In November
MP3 | The Cranberries – Linger
MP3 | Left Lane Cruiser – Amy’s In The Kitchen
MP3 | David Grisman – Albuquerque Turkey
MP3 | The Pogues – Streams Of Whiskey
MP3 | Bob Seger – Night Moves
MP3 | King David’s Jug Band – What’s That Tastes Like Gravy
MP3 | The Ohio Players – Jive Turkey
MP3 | The Jim Yoshii Pile-Up – Thanksgiving Grey
MP3 | Daniel Littleton – Thanksgiving Day Parade
MP3 | Ben Weasel & His Iron String Quartet – Only In November
MP3 | Guns ‘n Roses – November Rain
MP3 | The Ergs – Stinking Of Whiskey Blues
MP3 | Sia – Sweet Potato
MP3 | Black Eyed Snakes – Cornbread
MP3 | Bill Monroe – Turkey In The Straw
Jimmy Eat World's Clarity x 10 Tour
Posted on 10 November 2008 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Live
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Just last week I had a little back-and-forth with Kevin from So Much Silence about just how great Clarity is after listening to the album from start to finish for the first time in awhile. How fitting then that Jimmy Eat World will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of Clarity by performing the album in its entirety at ten shows beginning in February of 2009. Now I’ve seen the band live three times (I think) but not since before their breakthrough hit Bleed American was released. Man this is gonna be fun!
Pre-sale for the Clarity x 10 Tour will begin this Thursday, Nov. 13. For details, see jimmyeatworld.com. General on sales begin Saturday, Nov. 15, with the exception of San Francisco, which goes on sale Sunday, Nov. 16, and Boston, which will go on sale at a later date to be announced.
Feb 23: Terminal 5, New York, NY
Feb 24: 930 Club, Washington, DC
Feb 25: Trocadero Theater, Philadelphia, PA
Feb 26: House of Blues, Boston, MA
Feb 28: Metro, Chicago, IL
Mar 2: Ogden Theatre, Denver, CO
Mar 4: The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
Mar 5: Club Nokia, Los Angeles, CA
Mar 6: House of Blues, San Diego, CA
Mar 7: Marquee Theatre, Tempe, AZ
Vote
Posted on 4 November 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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No matter if you endorse John “Johnny Mac” McCain and the McCainiacs, or Barack “B-Rock” Obama and his posse, do your part and vote. If you don’t vote I don’t wanna hear you complain. At this point in the evening it appears that Obama has won both Illinois and Pennsylvania and may have a shot in Indiana and Florida. Time will tell though, right? If you want regular updates about the election and other silliness from me tonight and every night, you can follow me on Twitter.
MP3 | Team America: World Police – America, Fuck Yeah!
Happy Birthday Hailey
Posted on 22 October 2008 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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Yep. I don’t really know how it happened, but my daughter turns three years old today and all I can think about is how time flies by. I vividly remember the day she was born and when she came home from the NICU. I remember the sleepless nights and when she was really sick. I remember her first birthday and how she started repeating things shortly after that. We dressed her up as Urlacher, took her to see the Terrible Twos (four times), and had even more sleepless nights. I remember when she turned two years old and sang a Weakerthans song. I remember her first day of daycare from earlier this year. If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, you’ve read about some of these things too.
Being a father is an exhausting but extremely rewarding challenge. Even now, when Hailey is still newly three years old, I think about how every moment passes by so fast. Sure I get to spend weekends with her, but I see her for 2 or maybe 3 hours every weeknight. She’s so young but I think about how I need to cherish every little bit of time we have together because sooner than I realize she’ll no longer be interested in hanging out and playing games with her dad. I’m already thinking that I only have 15 years until she is out of the house and off to college.
Until those days come, Hailey is still my little girl and she is my pride and joy. Happy Birthday Hailey.
Wordless Sunday
Posted on 19 October 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
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Revival Road
Posted on 16 October 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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Hey Bitches! What’s goin’ on? Both Hailey and I have been sick ffor most of the week and wifey’s coming down with it too. That’s how things work around here I guess. Oh well, only one more day to suffer through this week before the weekend comes and the wifey and I head out to The Revival Tour. Yeah, that one. You know, Chuck Ragan, Ben Nichols, Tim Barry, Chris McCaughan, and possibly more. Should be fucking amazing.
And since I’m pretty slow on the draw, I just now realized that Ben has a solo album available now. Thanks to Ryan from Muzzle Of Bees for posting about that damn near a month ago. I told you I’m slow at times, but hey. I basically only have from sometime after 8PM until I decide to go to bed to do any sort of blogging, writing, reading, listening, etc… yep. Oh yeah, the guys on the tour also have a split LP called Revival Road and just four days ago (that’s October 12th) all recorded a new song called “Revival Road,” which you can hear below.
MP3 | Chuck, Ben, Tim, etc… – Revival Road
Little Birds Say Tweet
Posted on 11 October 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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Alright folks, here’s the deal. I’m finally (according to my wife) getting hip to this whole social media thing so I’ve actually started regularly updating my Twitter account. If you want less structured updates along with some stream-of-consciousness rambling and just a whole lotta fun information (and pirate jokes) you should check it out and follow me.
A disappointing first day with iPhone
Posted on 30 September 2008 | 7 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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Sorry for the lack of posts around here the past few days. I got an iPhone 3G yesterday and have been trying to figure out exactly what is wrong with it since. I stopped off at the closest AT&T store yesterday on my way home from work and picked up an iPhone 3G and called my wife as I was walking out the door and that was that.
I got the thing home, plugged it in to my computer and added a few albums, downloaded an app (Last.fm), and added some contacts, and went to bed thinking I was well on my way to a fully functional iPhone 3G. Boy, was I wrong.
I turned on the phone on my way to work this morning and where it should show the signal bars and/or the 3G connection it just flashed “no service.” Then the phone restarted itself for some unknown reason (and has done so about a dozen times or more since) and when the phone finally came to after 5 minutes of that white apple staring me down, the phone indicated that it could only make emergency calls. WTF?
So I take it back to the AT&T store where I bought it and they were totally useless. Evidently none of the people in the store are certified to do anything other than sell you an expensive paperweight. They said I needed to restore the phone. So I took it home and did just that… twice. I called Apple support and verified that the SIM card works in another AT&T capable phone and now I’m stuck taking this piece of shit back to an Apple store tomorrow. Urgh…
I’m hoping that they’ll just give me a new phone and that all my problems will be solved, but I’m not too optimistic. So that’s where I’ve been and what I’ve been busy with. Music posts coming soon.
Hey Chicago what do you say?
Posted on 21 September 2008 | 4 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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Yesterday afternoon the Cubs clinched the NL Central and a trip to the postseason for the second consecutive year. It is the first time they’ve done that in the last 100 years and for me to say that I’m excited would be a bit of an understatement. As the Cubs advance through the postseason and eventually win the World Series you’ll be sure to find more coverage of it right here along with more great Cubs songs.
MP3 | Eddie Vedder – Someday We’ll Go All The Way
A puddle splashing rainy day mix
Posted on 13 September 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog, Mixes
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I just spent half an hour this morning splashing around in some puddles with Hailey and it was certainly a ton of fun. We made it out between bursts of rain and it’s currently pouring down in buckets. We’ve gotten about 5 inches of rain since yesterday, but it ain’t nothin’ compared to what Texas is getting. Hopefully Grubbs, Laura, and all our pals in the vicinity of Ike are OK.
So in addition to the pictures one post before, here are a few songs to (hopefully) brighten your rainy (or otherwise) day. We’re heading out into the downpour in a little while to check out rock music for kids courtesy of The Terrible Twos for the third time. We think they’re great and Hailey loves ‘em too.
MP3 | Jenny Lewis – Acid Tongue
MP3 | MGMT – Kids
MP3 | Birdmonster – Iditarod
MP3 | Liz Durrett – Wild As Them
MP3 | Chad Van Gaalen – Willow Tree
MP3 | TV On The Radio – Golden Age
MP3 | The Broken West – Auctioneer
MP3 | Bloc Party – Talons
MP3 | Jamie Lidell – Hurricane
Wordless Saturday
Posted on 13 September 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
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What the other blogs are saying
Posted on 7 September 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
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I can’t really believe that today is the first Sunday of the NFL season already. The weather has really cooled down here in Chicago so it’s becoming more believable with every passing day. Friday night I headed down to Metro to see Bloomington, IL roots rockers Backyard Tire Fire. They were pretty good, but were (IMHO) outdone by openers Joe Pug and (especially) Ha Ha Tonka, who truly brought the goods. I really like the new BTF record The Places We Lived, but the songs just didn’t really translate to the stage as well as I’d hoped they would. Now on to what everyone else is saying.
Switchblade Comb posted a great little documentary about No Idea Records. Easily one of the best labels around.
Do you like Lucero or anything like that? Well, Nine Bullets posted a few songs and the tracklisting from this month’s Lucero message board comp.
Hard To find A Friend posted an outtake from the new David Bazan documentary. Good shit.
Muzzle of Bees posted a video of Jeff Tweedy performing a great new and as-of-yet unnamed song.
RCRDLBL has got a new song frm Matt & Kim.
Did you know that Birdmonster has a new album? I found out via Speed of Dark who’s got pictures of the band live at The Troubadour in LA.
Moka (as always) has got some great new playlists.
The Fest 7: Gainesville or bust
Posted on 6 September 2008 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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By now you all must have heard or read about the ridiculously insane lineup at The Fest in Gainesville, FL. In case you missed it, there are over 250 bands playing over Halloween weekend including: The Bouncing Souls, Dillinger Four, Strike Anywhere, Lawrence Arms, Coalesce, Drag The River, Lemuria, Able Baker Fox, Nothington, Broadway Calls, Two Cow Garage, Polar Bear Club, Algernon Cadwallader, and that isn’t even scraping the surface of just how great the lineup is this year. Seriously.
But that brings me to one question, “How can I get my ass to Gainesville for The Fest?” As of today, there are 55 days until The Fest begins and I either need to scrape together the cash to fly to Gainesville or pack up the car and start driving. Decisions, decisions.
Chicago to Gainesville is about a 16 hour drive and depending on gas mileage and prices, the fuel would cost in the neighborhood of $350 round trip. Flying would save a ton of time and a round trip fare would be almost the same price. Tickets for The Fest are going for the bargain price of $55 for the three days. That’s a lotta bang for your buck but with hotels costing $75-150 a night it all evens out, right?
In total, going to Gainesville for The Fest over Halloween weekend would cost at least $600 not including drinks or food. It’s a lotta punk rock but that’s a lotta green. If anyone else out there is planning on heading down, I’d love to hear what your travel and lodging suggestions/arrangements are.
Win tickets for Backyard Tire Fire @ Metro this Friday
Posted on 3 September 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog, Giveaways, Live
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Do you want to win a pair of tickets to see roots-rockers Backyard Tire Fire @ Metro in Chicago this Friday, September 5th? Just leave a comment with your name and email address. Oh yeah, I also shaved off my beard.
The winner will be chosen randomly tomorrow (Thursday) at midnight.
Beard today or gone tomorrow
Posted on 2 September 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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Yeah, I’m in the midst of full-on beard growth here. It hasn’t really been that long (3 weeks at most) but it’s looking pretty solid already. I know that the wife isn’t a huge beard fan but hey, when you feel like a beard you just gotta let it grow, right? Right on. So hopefully all y’all had a great and relaxing Labor Day weekend cuz it means that the summer (for all intents and purposes) is basically over. The days here in Chicago are getting noticeably shorter and the foliage is starting to change. And with that Hailey has been frequently asking, “Is the fall coming down? From the sky?” All I can answer is, “Yes, from the sky.”
We headed out to Naperville’s Last Fling over the weekend for some shitty overpriced festival food and got exactly that. We did manage to miss Styx and The Doobie Brothers but with the added bonus of heat, humidity, and crowds of suburbanites, perhaps the festival’s name should be changed to the “Lame Fling.”
Anyhow, my daughter spent the whole time wanting to play any/all of the fountains scattered throughout downtown Naperville and it was all we could do to keep only her feet in the water. We kept her out with the promise of lemonade and ice cream (but note the promise only and not the actual items themselves). Have I also mentioned that one of Hailey’s favorite jams lately has been Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds?” It is. She doesn’t (however) seem to like Iron Maiden, William Elliott Whitmore, Banner Pilot, Motorhead, and Inquisition very much, but that’s what I’ve been listening to lately. Oh well, someday.
The dog days of summer
Posted on 25 August 2008 | 5 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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Oh that dog. They say that a dog is a man’s best friend and I think it may just be true. Perhaps that is why I cry like a little baby every time I see My Dog Skip or Old Yeller and why I’m crying now. That dumb dog. That dog is the dog you see with my daughter Hailey 4 posts before this. That dog was Kleo and now she’s gone. My parents got Kleo as a tiny little German shepherd puppy in 1996 during the summer before us kids went to college. I remember her giant ears and giant paws that were five sizes too big for her body. I remember when she crapped in the hall of a Cornell University dorm the week we took my sister to school. I remember when she terrorized the pizza guy and ripped up Aaron’s shirt at the front door. I remember so much about that stupid, rowdy, and rambunctious dog. Mostly I remember how sweet she was, especially as she got long on dog years. She was as gentle as could be but ultra-protective of her pack; her family. She was one of the family. Kleo was a wonderful dog but just this week couldn’t really move or get up to go outside anymore. She will be missed tremendously. For all my fond memories of that dog, the hardest part will be explaining to Hailey where her buddy Kleo is when she just isn’t there.
Almost Wordless Friday
Posted on 22 August 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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Well, not really. So we’re heading down to Indianapolis this weekend to visit family. Hailey will be super stoked because she’ll have 5 girl cousins ranging in age from 16 to 6 months to hang out with. That is a whole lotta cousins and probably more than I can handle. I might just have to spend my time with my brothers-in-law watching baseball and/or drinking Budweiser.
I haven’t made a playlist for the three-and-a-half hour trip and I don’t think I will. Maybe some Inquisition, Matt Pryor, Lowlights, and Ra Ra Riot or perhaps just silly kids songs. Hell yeah either way. Which brings us to the question/statement, “Weston was so much better with Chuck in the band, weren’t they?” Amy and I were watching old Weston videos on You Tube last night and it totally brought the memories flooding back.
And in way more important news, have you seen the lineup for The Fest 7? I’m not sure how official this is, but if it is even remotely close, I’ll see you in Gainesville for Halloween!
Wordless Thursday
Posted on 21 August 2008 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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Sonic Drive-In has invaded Chicagoland
Posted on 19 August 2008 | 5 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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Chicagoland’s first Sonic Drive-In officially opened for business today in Aurora and I was there. It is conveniently located a mere 5 minutes from my office and also along my route to and from work so when I saw the “NOW OPEN” signs and the long line of cars, I knew it was game time. Now before today, everything I knew about Sonic was due to their goofy TV commercials that have been airing here for years. Luckily two co-workers (let’s call them Jeremy and Clay) grew up in Sonic territory and had been anxiously awaiting this opening since we first heard about it a few months back so I tagged along. As I expected, it was a total clusterfuck of an operation going on there.
We left the office about 11:15 AM and on our way there I asked the guys, “What’s so great about Sonic anyways?” My question was answered with tales of killer cheeseburgers, breakfast toasters, and a million different drink combinations that Sonic (your ultimate drinkstop) boasts. I was told of chili cheese dogs, tots, Ocean Water, and cherry limeades. It was obvious these two guys were excited.
When we arrived at Sonic were greeted by employees directing traffic this way and that. They were looping cars every which way and didn’t seem to even slightly understand how to most efficiently move people through the line. I was hoping for a little more organization and planning for Sonic’s entrance into the 3rd largest market in the US (especially considering that according to one of the guys supposedly directing traffic, Sonic snagged a bunch of their employees at this location from Portillo’s. Even so, for all my complaining we did get back to the office by 12:30 PM and I had my first taste of a sonic cherry limeade.
Ida - Live @ Schubas
Posted on 17 August 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Live
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Amy and I went to go see Ida (one of our favorites) at Schubas on Saturday night and they were simply amazing. Chicago’s own Track A Tiger opened the show and were pretty enjoyable but one-dimensional. I chalk it up to me being old, cranky, and tired last night so I think I may owe Track A Tiger a second chance.
Ida took to the stage a little after 11:30 as a trio of Elizabeth Mitchell, Dan Littleton, and Jean Cook and proceeded to coax amazing songs from their instruments for almost the next two hours. There were times it was so quiet that you could literally hear a the cars on Belmont outside between hushed vocal phrases. But Ida has this incredible knack for making quiet incredibly intense so we both left Schubas after the show incredibly happy. The video below features “Don’t Wreck It” from Ida’s new EP My Fair, My Dark that just came out on Polyvinyl Records.
Ida – Don’t Wreck It
Then this afternoon we headed back to Schubas with Hailey in tow to see Elizabeth Mitchell (with both Dan & Jean so I guess it was basically Ida) perform songs from her three children’s albums. It was (again) a ton of fun despite a crabby and teary-eyed Hailey. We saw them at Ravinia last year so we sorta knew what to expect but when Hailey saw Elizabeth & Dan’s daughter Storey up on stage playing a little harmonica solo, she remarked, “I have a harmonica at home. It’s my turn to go up.” Hailey wanted to go up on stage a perform. Totally cute and totally awesome.
Headaches and heroics
Posted on 15 August 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
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So yesterday I left work early due to a killer migraine. at first I thought, “Just another headache,” and I popped a few pills. Then the migraine just laughed at me and twisted the vice a little tighter. I couldn’t even think straight and ultimately yacked (yep, I just said yacked) because my headache was so bad. Exactly what you wanted to hear, right? So I then buried my head under a pillow until it was well past dark outside and (thus) no bloggy blog for me.
Tomorrow night Amy and I are headed out to see the one and only Ida and then on Sunday we are taking Hailey back to Schubas to see Elizabeth Mitchell (of Ida) play songs for the kids and (perhaps) take in a little of the Chicago Air & Water Show. The amazing thing about Elizabeth Mitchell is that the kids show is sold out while there are still tickets available for the Ida show. Priorities folks. Priorities. That being said, I expect to see you on Saturday night.
But for now, here we are on a Friday night and I’m just sitting on the living room couch with a mug of green tea and Fugazi’s Repeater playing as I revel in the glory of the amazing Michael Phelps and the miraculous heroics of one Daryle Ward. Speaking of the Cubs, Hailey will now sing the “Go Cubs Go” song when prompted and it is fucking adorable!
One night of freedom
Posted on 9 August 2008 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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Yesterday evening right after I got home from work we took our little Hailey over to her Grandpa & Nana’s house, waved goodbye, and then shut the front door. We got in the car and both immediately exclaimed, “Freedom!” Well, it wasn’t exactly like that but Hailey spent the night away from home because Amy and I were going to head into the city to see a show, but opted (instead) for drinking a few Fat Tires at home and watching Transformers. I know, we’re lame.
Anyhow, no calls from Grandpa or Nana yet saying, “Come get your devil child,” or anything like that so I can only assume things are going well. Amy is still sleeping and I’m just about to make a pot of Coffee and put on the new Catfish Haven record for the first time. Again, not very exciting but coffee is coffee and coffee is good.
Tattoos, Skulls, & Little Girls
Posted on 4 August 2008 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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When I first opened the door to Hailey’s room yesterday morning I was greeted by a smiling kid who blurted out, “I have a tattoo…and it matches your tattoos!” She was so excited about the temporary tattoo she got at Kidzapalooza on Saturday. I’m sure she was dreaming about tats. Sometimes I do too. She then proceeded to tell me that the hat hanging on her wall had skulls on it and that they matched the skull on my Wilco shirt even though it is only abstractly a skull. Again she was correct. She loves making these connections between objects and how they “match.” I love it too.
What I did at the Vans Warped Tour (Part 2)
Posted on 2 August 2008 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Live, Punk
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Dear punk kids at the Chicago Warped Tour, I’m totally fucking disappointed with you. The best band at this year’s stop on the Warped Tour had one of the smallest crowds I saw all day and few people were even singing along. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Let me give you the facts: Broadway Calls fucking rocks and are the main reason that I decided to come to the Warped Tour this year. You should have seen ‘em. And when Broadway Calls covered “Boxcar” y’all didn’t even know what song it was. I’m embarrassed for you.
But in your defense (however) the Warped Tour really isn’t punk at all. It is more about fashion, pseudo-pop-core-bullshit, and merchandising than it is about punk rock anymore. I’m actually surprised (but glad) that Broadway Calls has made it this far on the tour. After their comments about it I guess I just assumed that they would have been Lawrence Armed already.
And not only is Broadway Calls an amazing band, they are also super nice guys. So all you kids that were at the Warped Tour here in Chicago (and across the country… I know about you too) you can make things right by picking up a copy of the Broadway Calls record and coming out in full force the next time this band comes to your town. Only kids though. If you are old and jaded like me and can’t find a sitter for your kid, I understand. Just play the record at home.
Kids, I also noticed that the crowd for Against Me! wasn’t all that huge either. What’s wrong with all of you?
Sincerely,
Eric
What I did at the Vans Warped Tour (Part 1)
Posted on 2 August 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Live
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Oddly (and coincidentally) enough about 10 minutes before I left the house this morning, my wife exclaimed, “I might be taking Hailey to Lollapalooza today.” WTF? Well, her friend Ashlee had extra passes for today so Amy and Hailey met Ashlee and her son for a little Kidzapalooza action (and to see the Terrible Twos) and some of the “grown up” bands. And this luck is exactly why I should quit blogging and leave it all to the wifey.
So I ended up going to the Vans Warped Tour today (I’ll have the pictures up soon) and quite a lovely day it was. Blue skies and a nice breeze make everything better. Too bad the lineup at the tour wasn’t better. Beat Union (very good and from England) played at noon so I caught a little of their set and then saw bits and pieces of The Color Fred (ex-Taking Back Sunday) and The A.K.A.‘s on my way to see Every Time I Die who were (by the way) pretty damn good. Gnarly too. Next up on my list of bands to see was All That Remains but I had some time (and disk space) to kill and Anberlin was playing on a stage nearby so… I watched ‘em for a spell and took a few pictures but had to leave because they really just weren’t very good.
Walking back to the Highway 1 stage for ATR, I stumbled into Shanti’s sparsely attended set on the Kevin Says stage. She played guitar and sang while Greg (of Bouncing Souls) backed her on drums. She was cute and very good but I’m a little bummed I didn’t get to talk to them at all. So after a few songs I made my way to see All That Remains who proclaimed themselves to be “the most metal band to ever play Warped Tour.” They were metal and they were awesome.
Instead of seeing Four Year Strong next like I had initially planned, I bummed around in the sun and watched the hilarity that was the Mayday Parade live experience. What’s with their curly haired guitar player? He was wearing a red handkerchief around his neck and an orange one around his calf. He was also wearing a black suit coat with no shirt underneath and some nut-crushing-too-tight pants. You’ll have to see these pictures when they are posted. But I then saw Shanti & Greg do a little acoustic thing (also good) before the main event (or at least the only band I really really really wanted to see at VWT. That (however) needs it’s own post.
Lolla-pa-losing
Posted on 1 August 2008 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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For the second year in a row I’m not at Lollapalooza. So fuckin’ what though, right? Yeah, Radiohead is prolly playing as I type this and that is a little bit of a bummer. I also wanted to see Wilco, The Weakerthans, and a few others, but overall, there’s a lot of shit to wade through. I’m also not doing any of the cool “hipster” blogger after parties or any of that shit. Oddly enough, even though I’ve met a few other music bloggers in the “real world” I just don’t feel connected to that whole scene at all. Those folks just don’t understand shitty punk rock basement shows; cheers to those who do. I need more tattoos.
So since I didn’t get press access to Lollapalooza this year (boo fuckin’ hoo for me), I’m headed to Vans Warped Tour tomorrow even though this is easily the worst lineup in the history of VWT. Seriously. Of the 60 or 70 bands that will be at the Chicago Warped Tour tomorrow, there are exact four (4) bands that I really want to see. Are you fucking kidding me? I want to see what the “new” Against Me! sounds like. I’m soooo excited to see Broadway Calls. I also want to see Every Time I Die, Four Year Strong and Beat Union. That’s about it. Sure, All That Remains, Set Your Goals, and Evergreen Terrace would be cool to see, but really I’m only really excited to see four bands.
Maybe it’s the red wine talking, but do I even want to venture out and fight the kids and the heat tomorrow? It makes me sound hella old and jaded, but I just don’t get all the over-produced melodic-post-whatever bands that are all over this year’s Warped Tour. I just don’t get it. I’m old and tired, but I’ll see you there tomorrow.
Day Nine Without Mommy (the last one)
Posted on 25 July 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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I just want to tell you that I’m sorta addicted to Twitter now even though it really has nothing to do with our last day without Amy at home. What is relevant (however) is that Hailey was a bit on the edgy/irritable side today; a sure sign that she is really missing her mommy. We played it cool by going for a jog, playing at the park, and reading a few books. Has anyone else seen this show? Cute, but that damn song is stuck in my head now. You know:
“The phone, the phone is ringing! There’s an animal in trouble… There’s an animal in twouble…”
So it’s 10PM on a Friday night and in about an hour I’m going to go upstairs to wake Hailey up so we can go pick mommy up from the airport. Both of us can’t wait for her to be home. In the meantime, I’m making coffee and listening to Law of the Land from Vancouver’s Carpenter. It is really good but Last.fm thinks I’m listening to The Carpenters. Seriously!
Day Eight Without Mommy (A Mix)
Posted on 24 July 2008 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Mixes
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Eight days already? Has it really been that long? It is a bit hard to believe that me and Hails have been “on our own” for this long. Let’s just say that if we said we wanted mommy to come home, that would be a huge understatement. Huge.
Earlier this week while I was giving Hailey a bath, I could tell that she didn’t want to go to bed. She just wanted to play and play and play some more. Hailey even went so far as to ask me, “Can we watch baseball?” I was actually a bit surprised by her question so I said, “What?” She clarified, “Watch the Cubs.” She is a smart little cookie that knows exactly what to say to get her way; and she ain’t even three.
We were watching the earlier innings of tonight’s Cubs game and I was attempting to explain the rules of baseball to her. No luck. Hailey just kept asking who everyone was with questions and statements like:
“Is dat D Lee with the bat?”
“Where’s Zambrano? I like Zambrano.”
“Is dat Theriot?”
As a father, I couldn’t be prouder of that little girl even if she is now doomed to a lifetime of agony as a Cubs fan.
Here are a few songs that have come into my mailbox recently including from Caithlin De Marrais (ex-Rainer Maria), from the upcoming Calexico album, from the new Neil Halstead (ex-Mojave 3) album, and from the highly anticipated upcoming Parts & Labor album due out this fall.
Additionally, I’ve included the new Bloc Party single “Mercury” and did you know that John Lydon (of The Sex Pistols & PIL) is accused of a racist attack on Bloc Party’s singer Kele Okereke? You can read the whole story here.
MP3 | Emiliana Torrini – Me And Armeni
MP3 | Parts & Labor – Nowheres Nigh
MP3 | Caithlin De Marrais – The Fire
MP3 | Calexico – Two Silver Trees
MP3 | Bloc Party – Mercury
MP3 | Neil Halstead – Paint A Face
Day Six Without Mommy
Posted on 22 July 2008 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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For the first night in the past few, Hailey went to bed really easily tonight but ten minutes after putting Hailey to bed she started crying and calling out, “Daddy! Daddy!” It broke my heart to just let her cry but I know that she is just weirded out because Amy has been gone almost a week now and she just really misses her mommy. So do I. Anyhow, Hailey then starts saying, “I’m bleeding,” which always gets my attention because of her frequent nosebleeds.
When I got upstairs there was no bleeding. Just a fussy, crying child that said the wind outside her room and the big tree were bothering her. She wanted me to hold her. She wanted me to sing to her. She wanted anything but to sleep in her bed and only wanted to sleep in our bed instead of her own. An easy request but when she told me “NO!” a few times and wasn’t listening to me, I got stern and a bit loud with her. She started crying and screeching louder than I was being.
It was a fucking mess and now it is after 10PM. The long and the short of it is that Hailey is sleeping peacefully and contentedly in our bed as I’m downstairs typing this. I gave in. Parent: 0, Child: 1.
It ain’t as easy as it looks.
Day Five Without Mommy (the big three oh)
Posted on 21 July 2008 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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Yes. Today is my birthday and I’m 30. I’m not taking the day off nor am I doing anything particularly special. It’s just another day. I’ll even post some reviews this evening. Hailey and I will go for a jog (she’ll just ride though) when I pick her up after work. I’ll put her to bed and then probably watch the late Cubs game. I have no worldly observations about growing up and getting older to share with any of you. I don’t even have any real remarks about this one. Just another day.
So Amy got into Albuquerque late last night and shortly after I watched (again) the Sigur Ros live performance/documentary film Heima. It is incredible. Anyhow, she got in NM shortly before Hailey woke up with a bloody nose. She was dripping everywhere and crying but I finally got her calmed down and (again) into our bed. It is always something with this one.
Urgh… Amy is going to celebrate my birthday by going to see Rocky Votolato, and Dameon Lee (of Lowlights) tonight. Should be fun. Really, it is actually strange that I spent my 21st birthday in Albuquerque and Amy is spending my 30th there. Very strange indeed.
What the other blogs are saying
Posted on 20 July 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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During a week that I much preferred drinking to posting, here’s what some of the other kids in the blogosphere have been saying.
The ladies from Speed Of Dark interview J. Tillman who just happens to be the newest member of Fleet Foxes.
Muzzle Of Bees has a great recap of the Pitchfork festival so far. Makes me wish I could be there.
I Am Fuel, You Are Friends posted a great video of Feist performing on Sesame Street. My daughter is gonna love this.
Late Night Wallflower has got a video of The Hold Steady rockin’ “Sequestered In Memphis” (from one of my favorites of ’08 so far) on Letterman.
Day Four Without Mommy (A Mix)
Posted on 20 July 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog, Mixes
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Last night after Hailey was tucked into bed I sat down with a few beers and watched Murderball. We don’t have anything specific planned for today, but I’m sure we’ll find something productive to do. As for the songs below, welcome to a few songs to help Amy cope with sitting in an airport for a few hours today.
MP3 | Fujiya & Miyagi – Collarbone
MP3 | The Clash – Should I Stay Or Should I Go
MP3 | Dag Nasty – Million Days
MP3 | Sigur Ros – Gobbledigook
MP3 | Beck – Peaches & Cream
MP3 | Black Kids – I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You
MP3 | The Beach Boys – Do It Again
MP3 | Sufjan Stevens – Chicago
MP3 | Gwen Stefani – Hollaback Girl
MP3 | Bishop Allen – Rain
Day Three Without Mommy
Posted on 19 July 2008 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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My mom picked up Hailey (my daughter) on Wednesday night and I dropped Amy (my wife) off at the airport on Thursday morning so that she could hop on a plane and have herself a time at the BlogHer ’08 conference in San Fransisco. That gave me two days/nights without either of my two girls around and lemme tell you the house was quiet. Until I started blasting Feed The Animals of course.
Anyhow, work was crazy so both nights I just basically came home, made something to eat and then watched baseball until I fell asleep. Pretty glamorous huh? More like pretty boring. So I picked the little one up from my moms house this morning and she is contentedly napping right now. The wife is in San Fransisco and I’m at home. Even on P4K festival weekend, I’m at home. Blogging. I guess I’ll just have to listen to Stay Positive and get my drink on this afternoon.
Oh yeah, I’m on my own with the toddler for another whole week. Wish me luck!
Back from the Northwoods
Posted on 9 July 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
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Yeah, we’re back from a holiday trip to Wisconsin’s famed Northwoods where there was plenty of fishin’, swimmin’, and wakeboardin’ goin’ on. There was also plenty of beer and other mixed drinks flowin’ too including some of my soon-to-be brother-in-law’s homebrew White Flag Wheat Ale. Good times.
There was also no shortage of music playin’ up in the Northwoods either. Since we were up at my uncle Craig’s place, it was generally his iPod that was spittin’ out tunes from the likes of The Shins, New Order, Talking Heads, Fleetwood Mac, and Gorillaz. The few times I managed to get my iPod into the rotation, it was quickly displaced due to the inclusion of Rick Springfield and REO Speedwagon on my summer playlist. Oh well. Just wait until I have a cabin in the woods…
A recap of the Smoking Popes show last night
Posted on 8 June 2008 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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Okay. So why in the world was the Smoking Popes show last night not sold out? It was their record release show for Stay Down and the first time I had a chance to see them with new drummer Neil Hennessy. You might be familiar with Neil as the drummer for The Lawrence Arms, The Falcon, and (formerly) Colossal and his playing is 100% perfect for the Smoking Popes. They sounded sooooooo good last night. Sundowner (Chris from The Lawrence Arms) opened, but the crowd wasn’t into it and none of the subtleties from his record made it to the stage. I enjoyed Sundowner’s set, but they would be so much better at (say) Schubas.
As for the new Smoking Popes album, Stay Down, well, it sounds like the Smoking Popes, so if you like them, you’ll like the record. A full review and a song or two will be coming soon.
Ben Weasel @ Reggie's
Posted on 27 May 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog, Live
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How was your weekend? Yeah, I know it’s Tuesday, but yesterday was a holiday ya know. So Amy and I headed down to Reggie’s on Sunday night for the once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity to see the one and only Mr. Ben Weasel take to the stage and let me tell you he did not disappoint.
Both Amy and I are huge Screeching Weasel fans, but Amy (who looks much younger than her years) has been (according to her) waiting over 15 years to see Mr. Weasel perform. In fact, when our relationship first became serious she told me that the only guy she would ever leave me for was Ben Weasel. Nuff said.
Anyhow, what do I need to say about the show? The Guts, The Leftovers, and Shot Baker opened but when Ben and his band took to the stage it was pandemonium. They played stuff from Ben’s newest solo album These Ones Are Bitter as well as classic tunes like “Dingbat,” “Science Of Myth,” “I Wanna Strangle You,” and so many more. He played a bunch of Riverdales songs too before ending with “Cool Kids” from Bark Like A Dog. It was amazing. (I didn’t bring a camera so I’ll get a few of Amy’s pictures up shortly).
And (as expected) the usual suspects were all there: Tim, Chris, Brian, Curley, and soon-to-be Mrs. Curley. But noticeably absent was Swanny. “Swanny where were you? I know you read this here blog on a regular basis so leave a comment and let us all know where you were on Sunday night? What could have possibly been more important than Ben Weasel?”
Ghost In My House vs. Phone Dance
Posted on 10 May 2008 | 6 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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Having a kid can be the most trying and exhausting thing in the world, but then there are those little moments that just blow your mind and make you realize just how wonderful it really is. Let me explain:
My two-and-a-half year old daughter was being just about as crabby and disagreeable as she possibly could have been today. She had two timeouts, no TV, and plenty of little conversations that went like this:
Hailey: Please…
Mom & Dad: No. Maybe if you stop whining.
Hailey: NOOO!
Mom & Dad: Exactly.
Hailey: PLEEEAASSE!!
Mom & Dad: No.
Hailey: Why?
Mom & Dad: Because we said so.
Hailey: NOOO! Why?
…and on and on and on. But then we went to pick up a gallon of milk from the grocery store before bedtime.
I put the iPod on shuffle instead of the usual kids fare we listen to when Hailey is in the car (one can only take so much “Boom De-Ray”) and Lucero came on first. Something off That Much Further West I think and then Band Of Horses “Cigarettes, Wedding Bands.”
Nothing out of the ordinary until we hear Hailey (from the back seat) say, “I want the ghost in my house song.” Amy asked her again since we weren’t sure and she repeated, “I want ghost in my house.” I could not believe what I was hearing. WTF?
For those who might not know, the song Hailey was asking for was “Is There A Ghost?” also by Band Of Horses. (This is in addition to requesting “phone dance” last weekend, which is “Young Folks” from Peter, Bjorn, and John since I’ve got the intro set as my ringtone.) She is two-and-a-half.
I’m not sure if kids Hailey’s age are supposed to be able to make these sort of connections, but she did. Holy shit she’s growing up fast.
MP3 | Ghost In My House Song
MP3 | Phone Dance
Just say no to Chicago's proposed Promoter Ordinance
Posted on 10 May 2008 | 4 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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PLEASE STOP TO READ THIS
Next Wednesday, the Chicago City Council with vote to approve an ordinance that will (if passed) severely and irreparably damage Chicago’s culturally diverse and unparalleled music scene. Image a Chicago without music at Double Door, Schuba’s, Metro or any other small venue. It’s a scary (but very real) possibility with the the proposal already approved by the City Council Committee and on the fast track to be pushed into law.
“So what is detailed in the proposed ordinance,” you ask. Well, in short, the “Event Promoters” ordinance requires any event promoter (DIY or otherwise) to have a license from the city of Chicago and liability insurance of $300,000, but that’s just the beginning:
For the more details and the complete ordinance, check out Chicago music critic Jim DeRogatis’ blog here.
I can only assume that this proposed ordinance stems from the E2 nightclub disaster some five years ago and is the City’s overdone attempt at policing small clubs and venues. Problem is that it would ruin the diverse and thriving musical and cultural landscape here in Chicago. Independent promoters are the lifeblood for getting bands into smaller venues like Uncommon Ground, Beat Kitchen, and The Empty Bottle and (without a doubt) many small promoters that book those venues would no longer be able to afford to book shows anymore. And then what? Would the music disappear?
It is a bunch of bullshit. As someone who has been going to “DIY” shows in Chicago for going on 15 years, all I can say to the Chicago City Council is, “Don’t do it!” I’ve played on stages at places like The Fireside Bowl and Metro and have attended thousands of shows at dozens of venues here in Chicago and don’t see the point of all this. I just don’t.
Bleeding Cubbie Blue
Posted on 1 May 2008 | 4 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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So last night I was at Wrigley Field to witness my beloved Cubs blast the Brewers by a final score of 19-5. Great game and sure, the Cubbies hit a few home runs, but this ain’t your grandpa’s Cubs team.
These “new look” Cubs of 2008 play baseball the way that I’ve been hoping they would for years. They take pitches, they take walks, and they aren’t constantly swinging for the fences. All that leads to a hella high team OBP and a lotta runs scored. But then came this afternoon’s game and the return of Alphonso “The Selfish One” Soriano.
Why is Soriano batting in the lead off spot? Especially when you’ve got Reed Johnson, Ryan Theriot, or even Ronny Cedeno who could do that job better than Soriano. Lou doesn’t have a good answer for that one.
I know I’m rambling here, but I’ve got baseball on the brain. Kerry Wood blew it this afternoon and it drives me crazy. Carlos Marmol needs to be the closer. Ok. Here are some Cubs tunes.
MP3 | Steve Goodman – Go Cubs Go
MP3 | The Mountain Goats – Cubs In Five
MP3 | The Brothers Defino – WGN Radio Cubs Theme
MP3 | John Fogerty – Centerfield
MP3 | Steve Goodman – A Dying Cubs Fan’s Last Wish
MP3 | Cubs Singers – Hey Hey Holy Mackeral
MP3 | Harry Caray – Take Me Out To The Ball Game
Tonight! The Forms & Cloud Cult @ Schubas
Posted on 25 April 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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Hey there fellow denizens of Chicago it is raining pretty fiercely here in the Western ‘burbs right now, but have no fear. You should go check out The Forms and Cloud Cult tonight at Schubas. The show starts at 10:30PM and I’ll be headed out after I play some moon sand with Hailey and jog on the treadmill for a little while. I’ll see you there.
Bloggy McBloggerson (or) A Florida Mix
Posted on 19 April 2008 | Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Mixes
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So Amy is in Florida for some special Disney event where they’ve invited a bunch of mom bloggers from around the country to check out Disney World. Yeah, she’s pretty much the shit when it comes to mom bloggers. I (on the other hand) am here in Chicago with Hailey on a gray (but slightly warm) day. Bet you didn’t know we were a family of bloggers did you? Well, Amy didn’t have time to make a playlist for her flight to Orlando yesterday, so here is my crack at it.
MP3 | Jack Johnson – Better Together
MP3 | Modest Mouse – Florida
MP3 | Yael Naim – New Soul
MP3 | Sufjan Stevens – To Be Alone With You (Pocketknife’s Considerate Eagle Scout Remix)
MP3 | Old 97’s – Big Brown Eyes
MP3 | The Firebird Band – Beautiful
MP3 | Say Hi – Before We Were Brittle
MP3 | Reggie And The Full Effect – What’s Wrong
MP3 | Peter Bjorn And John – Start To Melt
MP3 | Alkaline Trio – Fire Down Below
Go f&%k yourself Baidu!
Posted on 12 April 2008 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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Hi kids. You may notice that none of the MP3 download links are working right now. That’s because my excellent hosting provider (Dreamhost has shut down my …/music directory where all the files are hosted. I can’t say that I blame them.
From what I can tell, sometime in the last two days the super-giant Chinese search engine www.baidu.com and their sub-site mp3.baidu.com have been hotlinking to many of the files I have hosted which is straining the Dreamhost server they are located on. Which (as you can probably tell) is not really cool.
So here’s a big fuck you to Baidu and all its patrons! It seems that the Chinese really like my series of 1990’s posts, so I’m going to take down (at least for now) all the 1990’s related MP3’s. Fuck those fucking fuckers.
I’ll let you know when things are back up and good to go.
Three months and a little effort
Posted on 11 April 2008 | 4 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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Howdy friends and strangers? How are you tonight? I just rattled off a little over 4 miles on the treadmill we keep in our basement and thought that I should share a few of the tunes that I routinely listen to when I’m jogging. I usually go for something fast and/or something powerfully inspirational to keep my pace fast and my spirits high.
I’ve certainly found those “go to” songs and albums over the past few months as I’ve increased both the intensity and duration of my workouts. Why have I been running so much? Well, because I was getting really fuckin’ fat and, as someone who ran the Chicago Marathon only 4 short years ago, I needed to get back into shape.
It seems to be working since I’ve lost just over 31 pounds since January 14th of this year and feel better than I have in some time. So here are two of the songs I like to listen to on my way back to a sub 20:00 5K. I’m nowhere near there yet, but ya gotta have goals, right? What do you like to listen to when you run?
MP3 | A Wilhelm Scream – 5 To 9 Career Suicide
MP3 | Rise Against – The First Drop Siren Song Of The Counter Culture
Hiatus
Posted on 7 April 2008 | 19 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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This is easily the most personal post I’ve written to date. I know this is a music site and most of you don’t give a fuck about who I am, but this will also most likely be the last post around here for the foreseeable future. I am taking a bit of a hiatus to focus on the things that really matter. Sure, posting MP3’s and reviewing albums is fun, but it doesn’t pay the bills.
So what does all this mean and why I am telling you? Well, it means that I probably won’t be posting here for awhile, and if I do it will be only intermittently. Yeah I’ve got a decent middle management job at a good company, but instead of spending my time blogging I need to focus on finding a better job that will help pay a few more of our bills. I’m telling you because I can and because I should. Remember that there are people and families behind each and every one of these blogs you visit. Most of you are probably doing okay, but at certain points in almost all of our lives, we will be struggling in some manner. We are all human.
As we struggle to make ends meet we are pretty typical (I think) of many American families who have over-extended themselves. Maybe we’re not typical of the blogging crowd but, let’s be honest here, this country’s economic problems are not going away anytime soon. I feel like a failure because even though we live fairly comfortably, we just can’t get ahead. This is not a sob story and I’m not asking for any sympathy. These are simply the facts of the story. And if you are near Chicago and might be interested in a copy of my resume, send me an email..
Me in Chicago, Her in New York City
Posted on 4 April 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
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What did I do this evening while my wife was hobnobbing with some blogger friends of hers in New York City this evening? After I tucked Hailey into bed with her 13 million stuffed Care Bears, I cleaned up around the house and then jogged 5.5 miles. Really exciting, huh?
I’m finally sitting down to relax a little; just me, some good music, and a glass full of Two Brothers’ Cane & Ebel Rye Ale. Good shit. “And the music?,” you ask. Well, some Paul Duncan (whose latest album Above The Trees is amazing), The Weight, and Lucero with Save The Day’s Through Being Cool on the treadmill. On that note, does anyone know where I can buy a copy of The Weight’s newest album? It just came out but the band’s site has zero useful information. Oh well.
Cheers.
Ta-Ra-Ra Boom De-Ray
Posted on 1 April 2008 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
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Yesterday was my daughter’s first (ok, just a half day) of day care and my wife and I are struggling a bit with it. She’s only two-and-a-half and we have been lucky enough (or stupid enough) that Amy has been able to stay home with her for the majority of that time but now that Amy is going back to work it is off to day care for little Hailey. I plainly realize that Hailey has grown very attached to both of us and counts on us to always be there, but it is still very hard to watch her cry and beg for us to not leave her. Are we wrong to be so protective of our little girl? Are we doing more harm than good by trying to keep her within her comfort zone? Of course she cries when she is disciplined at home and doesn’t get what she wants, but that (IMHO