Dear Kevin Barnes

i really hate you.

stop being so fucking weird. you will never be ziggy stardust.

with no respect at all,

sarah

I'm Sorry

but this is fucking perfection. an lolcat bible? oh.em.gee.

ya know...i'm not really sure why i find those lolcats so hilarious, but i do. really, they make me laugh out loud. i get excited for new ones to be posted and i frequently send them to friends because they crack me up so much. i realize this makes me sound a bit like a cat enthusiast. or a crazy cat lady. be that as it may, i'm not really so sure it's the actual cats themselves, as it is the way the words are written.

so this project to get the bible translated into the "lol" language really makes me laugh.

here is an excerpt, from Genesis. apparently, that's the Old Testament...?. (btw, i know literally nothing about the bible, so this is perhaps all the more funny...).

"Oh hai. In teh beginnin Ceiling Cat maded teh skiez An da Urfs, but he did not eated dem.

Da Urfs no had shapez An haded dark face, An Ceiling Cat rode invisible bike over teh waterz.

At start, no has lyte. An Ceiling Cat sayz, i can haz lite? An lite wuz.4 An Ceiling Cat sawed teh lite, to seez stuffs, An splitted teh lite from dark but taht wuz ok cuz kittehs can see in teh dark An not tripz over nethin. An Ceiling Cat sayed light Day An dark no Day. It were FURST!!!

An Ceiling Cat sayed, im in ur waterz makin a ceiling. But he no yet make a ur. An he maded a hole in teh Ceiling. An Ceiling Cat doed teh skiez with waterz down An waterz up. It happen. An Ceiling Cat sayed, i can has teh firmmint wich iz funny bibel naim 4 ceiling, so wuz teh twoth day."

and just for shits and giggles, here is the lolcat that is currently cracking me up so much that i am snorting. at work. very professional.

i'm not even really sure why i find it so hilarious.

Super Awesome: The Black Keys, "Attack & Release"

as i'd mentioned in a previous post, i'm addicted to stealing music. meh, it's a flaw. what can i say? so last night, i stumbled upon an early leak of the new Black Keys album, Attack & Release. (not to be confused with Simian Mobile Disco's, Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release. really, quite different albums...)

anyhow, so, unable to resist the urge to snatch it up, i downloaded it and listened to it on my way to work this morning. i'm on my second listen right now.

i gotta admit, i hadn't really listened to Black Keys much before (always a little late to the party, i tell ya...). funny story actually. embarrassingly enough, i got confused as to what band i'm going to see on saturday (it's the Black Lips), and thought it was the Black Keys (coming in April, but i'll be back east when they're in town...)...anyhow, chaos ensues, marked by massive confusion on my part (fairly typical, i'd say) and i finish downloading this album only after realizing i'm seeing the Black Lips on saturday, not the Black Keys. (i have too many "Black" bands in my ipod and it's enormously confusing for a simple minded gal as myself)

so, a few things about this album:
1. It's really excellent. The sound is southern-rockish (at least to me), sort of haunting, sort of old-school (for lack of a better term). I wish I knew more about musical production and stuff because "Remember When (Side A)" has me sort of entranced at the moment. There's a weird echo-y sound going through the background and it's so beautiful. It's almost country in a way.

2. Interestingly enough, after "Remember When (Side A)" comes "Remember When (Side B)" which is the exact opposite in terms of sound and energy. It's rock'n'roll. That's all I can really say.

3. Perhaps most importantly (to me), is the fact that this album was produced by Danger Mouse. And like, I've sort of noticed a recurring theme with Danger Mouse. Everything he does is super. Seriously. The Grey Album, which isn't great in terms of the sound and listen-ability so much, but the fact that it was really one of the first (in my world, anyways) mainstream mash-ups that really got recognized. The juxtaposition of classic Beatles with a rapper who will probably end up being considered quite relevant as time progresses, Jay-Z, is interesting and kind of cleared the way for some other versions of this. Most recent, that I've heard is a Jay-Z/Led Zepplin mash-up by Dj Doc Rok, called American Zepplin. (not great, but i gave it a listen for kitsch's sake). So back to Danger Mouse. So there was The Grey Album, and then he did Gnarls Barkley with Cee-Lo. And I don't really care if it's not cool, I really liked that album a lot, and still give it a listen every now and again. Another album is in the works, I believe, so it'll be interesting to see if the energy and sound remain constant, or if Gnarls Barkley was a one-time fluke thing. Then there's the Gorillaz, Demon Days, which I really loved. And the creativity behind that is just ridiculous, you must admit. The whole concept is so fun. And new. And then he did work with Damon Albarn's project, The Good, The Bad, and The Queen. Another excellent work, in my opinion. (Side note: seeing them live was sort of surreal...I mean, it's Damon Albarn. and (sigh) Paul Simonon. and Tony Allen. and Simon Tong. truly a great show. Albarn and Simonon are rock stars in the purest sense of the word. Showmen...performers...totally swoon-worthy.) And something else I just found out was that he also did work on The Rapture's album as well. Again, I don't care how un-cool it may be to like The Rapture, I do. Even if they did fucking suck a big fat dick when they opened for Daft Punk this summer in Brooklyn. (Seriously guys? Like, you're musicians. Who cares if one of your keyboards isn't working the way it should. The show must go on.) And lets not forget about his work with MF Doom. God, I fucking love that album.

I guess what I'm slowly coming to realize is that everything Danger Mouse touches is gold in my book, no matter the "genre," and no matter who he actually works with. And really. Like, the man loves costumes. What's not to love?

with Cee-Lo as Pedro and Napoleon Dynamite.

with MF Doom as Freddie and Jason.

and by himself as the Tin Man (my personal fave.)

And this Black Keys album is really no different. It's rock 'n' roll with definite roots in southern rock and old style country. The whole album is easy to listen to. And the haunting sadness sorta thing has got me hooked. Especially the last track on the album, "Things Ain't Like They Used To Be." It's so fucking good...the slow twangy guitar, the lyrics. Everything is perfect. I'm obsessed with it right now.

Get this album.

Dear Common

I hate to say this, man, but like, you are not good anymore.

Like, you kinda irked me a little with the whole friends-with-Kanye business, but I got it: you're both from Chicago. Hometown roots go a long-ass way. I'm alright with that. And, I mean, I was sorta willing to look past the whole "Gap" thing, because, you know, ya gotta make money, but...

I'm just not sure I'm ever going to be able to get on board with this new "Light" business. Serious. It's really FUCKING AWFUL. And like, it's all for a promotion for Smirnoff or something...?

Yo, dude..."The Light" was one of the bestest love songs and you have put out some of the best albums! Seriously, Resurrection? Like Water for Chocolate? Excellent. My collection would not be the same without those. Be wasn't even all that bad. I admit, I listen to it every now and again...

But, seriously. WHY THE EFF DID YOU DICK WITH "THE LIGHT"?! I sorta gotta put it out there like this: I sorta hate you a little bit now.

Which I'm sure is straight with you because of the whole, like, me being white thing. But...

Really? REALLY?

Regretfully Yours,
Sarah

PS, I still liked you in Smokin Aces.

Cover Bliss: UPDATE

okay, so technically this doesn't qualify as a cover, but i just found a BMORE BREAKS version of "Safety Dance".

umm, there are splices of Little John saying, "Yeah!" "Okay!" in between...

this.is.the.greatest.day.of.my.life.

i'm about to jump up and make my booty bounce like it wrote a bad check. (heh, i had to use this line. i just heard it in my new anthem, "Jello," by The Pack.)

Covers, Glorious Covers

so, i admit: i'm a sucker for a cover. especially when it's slightly unexpected. for instance, when my little angelbaby friends in Earthtone once covered "Crazy in Love," by Beyonce, i thought that was really quite clever. they also did "Walk Like an Egyptian" once and i thought that was clever as well.

today i was trying to find something new to listen to, so i went to one of my favorite music blogs and ended up clicking around and stumbled upon the HypeMachine, which may or may not be the most wonderfullest thing to happen to my workday since OhMyRockness Radio. seriously, get a minute and go on the HypeMachine. it's pretty sweet.

anyhow, i was just kinda of perusing around the site, which, if i understand correctly, is like a humongous search engine for a whole bunch of music blogs all over the world. and it picks up all the MP3s that are posted or whatever and brings 'em to one spot and you can look through 'em. and like, for those of you who probably are dismissing this as some sort of dumb "hipster" "indie" thing that only looks at Brooklyn Vegan to find the next!best!thing!, you can rest easy: I just listened to a piece of college nostalgia in a certain Bruce Springsteen song...

anywho, whilst perusing, i noticed a blurb about MGMT, who, as you may or may not know, i adore a lot a lot, i looked through the tracks that are posted all over the internets.

and i found the greatest thing ever.

embarrassingly enough, i found that one of the hottest songs ever recorded, "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails (yes, i know, i've just skyrocketed downward in any semblance of coolness...) was covered by MGMT in '02. so i listened to it and it was wonderful.

and then i moved onto a song called "I'm Not in Love" by The Teenagers (who, again, i don't care what anyone says, they are fucking hilarious and a funfunfun dance party. stop taking music so seriously.) that was covered by some chick named SuKo...(?) or something like that. and that was great too!!!

and then i found The Hold Steady (super awesome live. see them if you can. i cannot wait to see them again. especially if it's at a tiny little venue like the Ottobar...). and they covered a song that always puts me in a happy mood, "American Music," originally by the Violent Femmes.

and then, to test this thing's search function, i typed in one of my all-time favorite covers EVER. in the whole entire world. "It's Okay" performed by Pearl Jam, originally recorded by Dead Moon. this song reminds me of perhaps, the ex-boyfriend who was most perfect for me...the college boyfriend...the one i look back on the most fondly... anyhow, this song, for some reason or another really stirs something in me. and i haven't listened to it in years. and now i'm on my 3rd listen.

ahhhh, sweet cover bliss...

i take that back

sarah silverman's video is even funnier.

Fucking Hilarious

okay, so i don't really watch late night television. but i do seem to remember hearing something a little while back about sarah silverman making a video for jimmy kimmel in which she declares that she's fucking matt damon. funny girl, that sarah silverman. anyhow, i was reading a music blog today and found this hilarity that jimmy kimmel created in response to the matt damon fucking. seriously, this may be one of the funniest things i've seen in a while. if only for all the random cameos. chkchkchk it out.

BOOKS! and stuff

so i mentioned i'm reading Against Happiness, that book by the Wake Forest Lit professor that...well, argues against happiness (crazy title for a book about that, eh?). and it's quite good, and i find myself underlining and making notations as if i were to be tested on it or something. but it is a tad heavy. and thinking about "melancholia" so much isn't always to best thing to do, especially if one has spent the majority of the day feeling kinda blah.

so last night i read some more of another book i'd been reading called The Namesake. it's not that good, so i'll spare the book report, but the part i read last night really resonated with me.

Gogol/Nikhil, the main character, has been shacking up with a wealthy Manhattanite, Maxine, and they end up going to spend 2 weeks with her parents at their lake house in New Hampshire one summer. i have a soft spot for lakes, as nearly every summer vacation my family ever went on when i was young was to a lake. Deep Creek (before it got really built up), in Western Maryland, Lake Saranac in the Adirondacks, and (closest to my heart) Keuka Lake, in the Finger Lakes region in Upstate New York.

Gogol has never vacationed like his girlfriend's family does--they own a lake house in a secluded spot in which one must drive down a long, gravel road, way off the beaten path to get to. the house has no driveway; Gogol observes the car in just parked on the grass. the main house is unremarkable--mismatched furniture, exposed pipes, rustic, etc. Gogol and Maxine sleep in a guest house, down a path from the main house, that is, in actuality, a shack that Maxine used to use as a play house when she was younger.

anyhow...Gogol keeps talking about the lake house, the lake itself--the blueness of the water, the enormous amount of stars in the sky, the way the temperature dips at night, the fullness and brightness of the moon... he talks about the lack of television, playing board games at night, going to bed sometimes by 10, the musty smell of the lake, the heat of the his shoulders in the afternoon sun, wading into the water and swimming out to the dock when it gets unbearable...

like i said, the book isn't all that great--i just found it on my book shelf and realized someone had let me borrow it after my last hospital stint and i never read it (you'd be surprised at how difficult it is to read anything when one is on a morphine drip and epidural...). i've been reading a few pages before bed every night, to sort of lull my eyes to close, but then i got the Happiness book, and shelved the other one.

i digress. this description last night just hit really close to home. the house sounded exactly like the house we used to go to at Saranac--a house that belonged to my mother's cousin's husband's family... everything sounded the same. and the way the experience is described--the delicious isolation--evoked every memory i have of Keuka. Keuka has been in my family for years and years and years; my great-grandparents spent their honeymoon there, and my grandmother and her three sisters spent every summer there growing up, and my mother and her three brothers spent every summer there growing up. and in my life, we don't go every summer--that's nearly impossible, but we went quite a bit with other members of the family--specifically, my uncle and his 3 boys--and most recently, that same uncle has actually bought a house of his own on the lake and my mom and i have managed to go for a few days for the past two summers.

i cannot begin to describe the lake to you; i cannot begin to describe the way it makes me feel. all i can say is that being there recharges me and brings me to a peaceful place within myself and carries this sort of romanticism that i cannot find anywhere else. perhaps it's the history of my family there; perhaps it's way the lake has not been ruined by tourism or the 21st century. perhaps it's the fact that no one else really knows about Keuka, so i feel like it's my secret or something... i don't know. whatever it is, i crave it constantly, and it saddens me tremendously to know that i probably will not be able to make it there this summer. (the drive from bmore to keuka is quite a bit shorter than the drive from chicago to keuka...)

and since things are a little mixed up right now, and the weather's a little less than desirable in the midwest right now, the only thing that i can think about is the lake. and how badly i want to go back...

this is more than likely a worthless blurb of information to anyone but myself, but the lake makes me want to write, and i've spent a large chunk of my free time today at work google imaging keuka. and sighing. and feeling near tears. and feeling like my heart is going to burst.

this is my Zen:

i cannot wait for summer. i need to find my Zen.

Dear Recording Industry,

I'm very sorry, but I have an uncontrollable compulsion to obtain free music. Really, I'm so sorry, I know it's like, wrong and shit, and I should really be supporting the artists whom make my day so much brighter, but when someone dangles free music in front of my face, I can't help but take it, put it in the pod and listen to it.

In my defense, I will say this--I've found out that I like a lot of music that I didn't know about this way. And since I'm sort of an audiophile, especially when it comes to live music, I usually end up putting money in the pockets of these artists at shows and such.

Really, I am so sorry, but I felt like I just had to get it off my chest. I felt guilty. Especially after a particularly active morning of illegally downloading...

Love and Respectful Admiration,
Sarah

Good for Them

I hope they win.

Brits Know What's Up

i don't care what anyone says, i love that damn rihanna "umbrella" song. and i love the klaxons. and they performed "umbrella" together at the Brit awards. it's super. great lights, if i do say so myself.

Music is My Hot Hot Sex

playboy does a "Sex and Music" issue apparently (one and the same if you ask me...) and in this year's issue are pics of Daft Punk, Hot Chip, Iggy, the Shins, Duran Duran and Gogol Bordello.

no one's naked, and apparently Iggy even kept his shirt on. whywhywhy?

also, a bunch of people have designed shirts with the bunny and whatnot. look at the Daft Punk shirt!!!

obviously, the bunny robot heads are Daft Punk's work; the other one is done by Hot Chip.

"That was the night everything changed..."

i don't think i'll ever stop loving Liquid Swords. i'm serious. i'm never not in the mood to listen to that album, especially the title song. it's the simplest beat, there's nothing fancy there, just the RZA and the GZA doin' it.

i remember when i was like 13 or 14 and worked with my brother at my dad's driving range and he'd drive me to work and he must've just gotten this album or something, because he played it constantly. and i remember thinking how bizarre all the spoken word intros to the songs were...and being mildly scared by the one that was on "Liquid Swords." it took a few more years for me to really appreciate the perfection of the album.

what i wouldn't do to have been able to see one of those shows where the entire album was performed.

siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.

wu-tang foreva, yo.

bee.tea.dubs., this is a still from my most favoritest vignette in Jim Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes. it's really great. youtube it. you'll be thankful.

Dear Rumplemintz,

we're over.

i mean it this time. yes, we've had some good times, but after a night with you, i generally wake up feeling dirty. and borderline suicidal.

it's not you, it's me. i just can't do this to myself anymore.

maybe someday, we can be friends again, but for now...i think it's best if we see other people.

respectfully yours,
sarah

Sometimes I Wonder

if i'm lame because i still really like Brothers Past.

i mean, my tommy hamilton obsesh aside (so over it. sort of.), i still really like the music. and listen to This Feelings Called Goodbye and a live show that i stole from marksparks of the illadelph a little while back. i'd really like to see them again, too, but that whole American Babies/BioDiesel (yay!!) situations seem to be what's what for now. and i don't even know if they stray from the east coast.

oh well. i suppose for now i'll just have to think about all the times i saw them at the 8x10...starting years and years ago. and starscape this year. and a bajillion other times, too...

but seriously, am i super lame?

Dear The Wire,

it's really no secret that i love you more than anything else in this whole wide world. i spout your praises everywhere i go, and really, you're the only thing i care to talk about. i get annoyed with people who aren't into you like i am, and i most certainly pass (negative) judgement on people who don't like you, or rather, have never even watched you. because really...who on earth would watch you and NOT like you? i'm bothered that the lady who sits next to me at work, of whom i urged to watch you (her husband does; at least someone knows good television in that family...), suggested i start watching The Shield when i lamented to her about you ending in two episodes. as if. how dare she compare you to that. you are without compare, and i'm offended that anyone would even attempt to do so.

anyhow, you're the shit. your writing is fucking stellar, your actors are the most amazing on any show, and despite the fact that you are set in perhaps one of the most downtrodden American cities, you somehow manage to portray her with some sort of grace...some respect. your stories may involve scandal and murder and drugs and such, but somehow Baltimore is never shat upon. in fact, watching you makes me miss my city.

you are the only television show that makes me cry. i still remember sobbing at the end of the first season, when Poot and Bodie killed Wallace. and when Stringer got got--jesus christ...i loved him. and i can't tell you how many times i found myself teary eyed during the fourth season either. and seriously...this season...?

i don't really know quite what to do once you're gone. shall i start all over from season 1 (which, btw, i've already watched 3 times)? shall i watch with a closer eye, and knowing how the story ends, will i notice details, characters, and themes that i didn't notice before?

i'm sort of in awe about how amazing you are. i think perhaps what it comes down to (besides the enthralling story, the amazing writing, and the characters that evoke emotion) is that despite the fact that you are specific in regards to setting and storyline, you really traverse the bounds of what modern storytelling is. especially that told through television. you somehow manage to hold every single literary theory, theme, and method in each episode and character, and have somehow managed to make Shakespeare relevant in the Baltimore drug game. you have translated the Byronic hero (my absolute favorite character in all of literature, fyi) to the modern streets, with Omar (my absolute favorite character ever. barack and i are so on the same wavelength). and you are perhaps the most tangible representation of Chekhov's Gun (umm, Bubbles' bad junk...? Sherrod's death...?) it really is quite amazing.

anyhow, i just wanted to let you know how much i love you.

love, always and foreva',
sarah

ps, i don't know if you're aware or not, but there's a really stellar column on the New York Times online about you every week. it's really quite good.

Dear Long Underwear,

i don't care how un-sexy you are. i love you. you are great, especially when it's -4 degrees and windy out and my train decides that it's not going to stop at my stop and i have to walk an extra 3 blocks, in addition to the 6 that i already must suffer through.

love always,
sarah

SHOES!

i'm a shoe s-l-u-t. it really doesn't matter what kind of shoes at all...shoes are shoes and i need them, i want them, i fantasize about them...i spend a good amount of time looking at shoes online--not necessarily with the intention to buy anything, per se, but more to ogle lasciviously...shoes are my porn.

anyhow, i've been even shoe hungrier lately, but i've been logical and thrifty with my purchases. i've been going for the shoes that will bring me happiness--long term--as opposed to springing for the sexy shoes that make me drool but with inevitably just hurt me in the end...

annnnnnyhow, i finally got rain boots this weekend. because it rains, snows, or otherwise precipitates almost on the constant out here in the city of wind. and i'm tired of showing up to work with my pant cuffs sopping wet and covered in snow, slush, or salt stains. the galoshes were also on sale, so that was even better. practical in every way. and then i ducked into this store called Untitled that carries stuff that i can not afford, nor can necessarily pull off, but it's fun to dream. and i've been searching for new sneakers because i'm pretty unhappy with my boring tan and brown dunks that i got last year. i need some color. i need some spice.

so i got some Nike Blazer mid-tops. i'm looking for a picture of them to show you, but i can't find them anywhere. let's just say they're pretty fucking tacky. but in a fun way. maybe.

anyhow, looking at ridiculous sneakers yesterday got my blood pumping for Nikes all over again (though, what i really, truly want are the regular old black and white checked Vans slip ons. seriously. why doesn't anywhere carry them anymore?). so i'm all revved up over sporty shoes again and spent some time today looking at sneaker blogs (seriously, there is a blog for everything these days...). and i found shoes i want even more than the ones i currently own. look how fabulous they are:

ahhh! like the composition books of yore...god i fucking want these so badly.

and then these, just because i bomb atomically:

Funny, But True

haven't written anything in a while. nothing really to say. well, not necessarily true, but nothing to broadcast over the internets.

my cute-as-a-button coworker sent me this link the other day and i've been laughing ever since. laughing because it's funny, and because well...it's oh-so very true.

go here if you want the truth.

It was Inevitable

it's the 14th of february, fyi. in case you were unaware. and though i'm not really so sprung on this holiday and never really have been (its kind of embarrassing in a way...), i'm commemorating it in this blog.

i went into my Yahoo email and there was a story on the front page of Yahoo about what flowers mean. so i clicked on it, for shits and giggles and found that my very favoritest flower ever, the Tiger Lily, is a symbol of wealth and pride.

i find this insanely apropos. except for that whole wealth thing.

just thought i'd share.

BOOKS!

NPR has an interesting little book blurb today. and i'm going to run out this weekend and get it. actually, i'll probably end up ordering it, because i'm pretty sure this isn't one of those books that i'll be able to just scoop up at Borders or something. not that i'd want to go downtown in the masses of tourists anyways this weekend. but whatever.

so this guy is a Lit professor at Wake and has written a book called Against Happiness, which, from what i ascertain, basically argues against everybody being happy all the goddamn time. like i said, i haven't read it--i'm going to--but apparently this guy makes the argument that all of these artists [Virginia Woolf, Dylan Thomas (who, i've ironically been re-reading a lot of lately), Hemingway, Van Gogh] were all quite depressed in every clinical sense of the word--most of which also, relatedly, were severe addicts of some sort or another--but the pain of their lives brings joy and beauty to the lives of some since. i for one, as awful as this sounds, couldn't be happier that Dylan Thomas was a manic-depressive alcoholic. without that, i wouldn't have "Clown in the Moon." (my 3rd favorite poem of all time. they just don't write 'em like they used to...).

the author also points out our society's eagerness to over-prescribe meds for even "mild" sadness. one wonders if this over prescription of psychotrophic drugs may carry any of the types of consequences that the medical community is now seeing as a result of the over-prescription of antibiotics (drug-resistent viruses, etc.)...

anyhow, this looks interesting. i'll let you know how it is.

I Can't Believe I'm Posting This.

when i first started watching this, i was sneering at the assholes in the crowd throwing up the DP pyramid. and as much as i hate Kanye West and wanted to turn this off, something told me not to. that outline of the pyramid was calling to me. i'm glad i didn't turn it off, because the ROBOTS WERE ON THE GRAMMY'S!!!! in their flashy new suits from the ALIVE tour and everything! i also was intrigued by the over-the-shoulder shots of their set-up...

i still hate Kanye though, especially after he broke into the god-fucking-awful song about his mom. i cannot begin to even express how much i hate him. and i'm not even really sure why. prolly because he jocks his own dick harder than anyone else ever would and he's a bitchy little cry-baby when he doesn't get his way. and i'm over the arrogance.

anyhow, the robots were on TV (their first appearance...?) and i love them still.

even though Keyspan Park was way fucking cooler...

i want to go back.

I Just Came in my Pants

seriously. i don't care what anyone says, this should be interesting, if not sorta awesome. i mean, she has sung before. and clearly she has good taste in music. she's covering tom waits. and she can't be all that bad, because one of my rock dieties, david bowie *sigh*, is doing the tom waits' cover with her. yes. WITH her.

you may notice that miss johansson pops up on this page a lot. it's mainly because i'm in love with her. and i would totally switch teams for her. there's just something about that husky voice of hers.

When

am i going to get paid for listening to music and writing?

that would be like, the awesomest thing ever. in the whole entire world. and i'm really good at it.

fuck. i gotta get on that lottery thing. or that rich old man thing. one or the other.

Super Awesome: MGMT

ahhh...it was only a matter of time before i waxed poetic on MGMT (pronounced The Management, for people like my darling Eric). i've been hearing the whispers, seeing things written places about 'em, and just hadn't really found the time/couldn't remember to check 'em out. i finally did. i'm not sure really what prompted me. it was sometime like 3 weeks ago or so...maybe...something like that...? whatever. and i am extremely late to this party. i know. whatevs though. music is music. and somehow, like cosmically or something, MGMT found its way into my ears at precisely the right moment in time.

you know, i don't know all that much about 'em [besides the fact the album cover for Oracular Spectaular (seriously? how fucking brilliant and wonderful is that title? i.love.it.) is sort of like, one of the hottest things i've laid my eyes upon...] and i'm not going to pretend that i do. you just really really really REALLY need to check them out.

mild electronic shit...instruments...i can't really put my finger directly on their sound (a good thing, i suppose), but i'm currently blown away by their lyrics. (what can i say? words get me.) thematically it seems as though MGMT is going through a quarter-life crisis/coming of age type situation. or maybe i feel that way because i think i am doing just that, and have magically and self-obsessively equated every utterance to myself and my life. i mean, like, it IS all about me, right? (btw, i stand firm in my belief that with music all that really does matter is what it means to the listener--trust me, zach and i have gotten into heated debates about this, mainly in regards to LCD's "All My Friends" versus "Someone Great." and, again, i don't care what anyone says, what critics say, or how trite and cliche "All My Friends" is; it is like, one of my defining songs of '07. it sort of epitomizes exactly the thoughts traveling through my head during this past year.)

alas. i digress.

MGMT makes songs that sound good, that i would dance to (well, some anyways...), and songs that, for some reason or another, have this incredibly apropos and profound way of affecting me right now. simply put: i'm so emo for MGMT. (we're talkin like, Smiths style emo here...it's real bad...).

i cannot name a favorite tune--all i know is that "Electric Feel" is kinda sexy and that "Destrokk" has me inexplicably entranced. do ya'self a favor: buy, borrow, or steal some MGMT soon. and then lock yourself in your room and write in journal.

The Mood Is Gone

...and i have Tucker Max to thank for it. (or, rather, Brkn for bringing this to my attention. seriously, what would i do without the MD/IL email chains that take place during Brkn, Zach and my monotonous 9-5 workdays...?)

let me preface what i'm about to write with the fact that as a female, i should not find Tucker Max even remotely hilarious, but i do. i can't help it. we'll just say that i appreciate his candid writing style, and his unabashed asshole-ness--something we can all relate to. (or, maybe that's just me. whatever.) and though as of late, it seems as though every "memoir" published has been countered with someone's declarations of the levels of "truthiness" (to borrow from Steven Colbert) of the contents of said memoir, i must say, i don't even care if Max's stories are true or false. they are disgustingly hilarious.

if you think you can stomach it, read this. WARNING: feces, vomit, and sex are involved. and grotesquely intertwined.

Because I'm in a Cunt of a Mood

sometimes, there are certain people in this office who's voices just make me want to throw myself from the window. i'm not even being remotely facetious.

currently, the discussion is about working out, valentine's days with their "men" (barf. i hatehatehate when chicks call their significant others their "man"), and the baked goods they whipped up last night!!! oooh!!

is their something wrong with me that i find this sort of domestic, Donna Reed chit chat completely vapid and slightly obnoxious...?

all that said, i'm in a cunty ass mood today. fyi.

If the People in My Office Could Hear My Ipod

...they'd think i was insane. seriously. i have my headphones in and am enjoying spankrock and benny blanco's dirty as hell EP and just sort of stopped for a moment and listened to lyrics. jesus christ. you know how sometimes you just kind of absentmindedly listen to stuff? without really paying attention...? yeah. wow.

it's so raunchy, that i had to switch to something a little more mild...i like, got paranoid that my earphones were too loud and my co-workers could hear what i was listening to...

regardless, this EP makes me want to get hot and sweaty. you should check it out. plus, the cover art for the vinyls are fucking amazing, not to mention the publicity shots on the spank's myspace...hilarious.

On Friday in Bmore, I was wearing short sleeves outside.

...it was a balmy -1 for my trek to work this morning.

I'm leaving on jet plane...

goodbye snow.

Despite my Aversion to Old People

i'm am very much looking forward to Young at Heart. i saw the previews for it when i went to see Juno earlier this year and it made me smile. read the background on these old people. it'll make you smile too. i promise.

Super Awesome: Hot Chip, "Made in the Dark"

so, thanks to my super awesome internets browsing skillz, last night i stocked up on new music. not neccessarily newly released, but new-to-me music. hurrah. however, one of the new-all-around albums i managed to get my greedy little paws on was the new Hot Chip.

this has been a highly anticipated release in my world; Ange brought Hot Chip into my life sometime last year and Tom, Leigh, Ange and I danced are asses off at the 930 Club show last spring. (Ange later got up close and personal with "Big" Al...and has photographic proof...but that's neither here nor there). I obsessively listen to Dj Kicks and The Warning and was so super duper stoked when I found out they were working on a new album. especially when i read a post on their myspace blog a while back that mentioned that wrestling was the main theme. (March 23, 2007 blog...).

so, i've been impatiently waiting...tapping my foot, drumming my fingers, scanning the web for accidentally leaked tracks, etc. bought my tickets to the show at the Vic in April, was pleased to see them on the Coachella lineup...and finally, finally, I have gotten my hands on the album.

i'd read contradicting reviews--some saying it was the ultimate dance party, others saying it was a more rock infused record than The Warning. and then i heard the "Made in the Dark" single and was slightly put off by its lullaby-ish sound...needless to say, i was chomping at the bit for its US release.

i got it last night and put it on for my trek to work. standing on the platform, listening to the first track, "Out At the Pictures" i was fighting every urge in my body to not just bust out and shake my ass. "Ready for the Floor" also brought this reaction. and i discovered that ALL of the reviews i'd read were correct. it is ultra dance-y (thank christ), and does has more rock elements. and there are a coupla slowish songs. (slow, not boring).

i'm currently on my second full listen of the album and i'm loving every second of it. so amped on the Vic show in April... gotta find good dancing shoes because lord knows it will be the dance party of the century. (besides, perhaps, the Week of Awesome, Part Deux in March: Simian Mobile Disco, Digitalism, Diplo AND Justice...all within 7 days of eachother. are you effing kidding me?!)

i'm also loving the clever lyrics on this album. i must say, i'm smitten over "Wrestlers", with lyrics like:

"Here we come, drop kick/Half nelson, full nelson, Willie Nelson, Willie Nelson/Body slam, suplex, Headlock, somer-slam/Elbow drop, jelly-flop/Cage match, grudge match"

i've also found my new motto. maybe. whatever, i love this line from "Hold On":

"I'm only going to heaven/If it feels like Hell/I'm only going to Heaven/If it tastes like caramel"

anyway, long story short: this album is fucking awesome. you really should get it and listen to it and dance to it. and buy tickets to see them when they tour. it's gonna be the sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet. best believe.

Snow Day!

since i wrote the last blog bitching and whining about snow, my company president has sent out an email saying we get an early dismissal today because of the shitty weather. FYI, since i last wrote, the sleet and freezing rain has turned into an all out blizzard-type situation. marghhh. i'm actually thinking about biting the financial bullet and cabbing it home as opposed to that train. the train would mean an extra 8 blocks. a whole 8 BLOCKS. sheesh.

anyhow, if i decide to be cheap (like i usually am), this will be me walking home:

In Case I Haven't Bitched To You Yet

the weather sucks in chicago right now. srsly. i'm over it. i want to go to sleep and wake up in May.

about 16 inches of snow last week, rain yesterday that turned into sleet and freezing rain overnight and this morning (pelting me in the face during my 6 block walk to my office from the train), and apparently we're supposed to get a foot of actual snow this afternoon and night.

i know people in the south had some shit happen yesterday, what with tornadoes and whatnot, but i am going insane with this weather.

and my hair is doing some really fucked up shit right now. apparently you can't cut crazy curls/weird waves out of your hair. ugh.

looking very forward to my weekend vacay in the mid-atlantic. to see my peoples, but mainly to get out of this shitstorm.

Proenza Schuler

so, okay. i'm fairly obsessed with all things Proenza Schuler. especially the lovely gentlemen behind the label, Jack McCullough and Lazaro Hernandez. i must admit though, i'm not totally in love with their entire collection though. in fact, there's not much i really like.

except of course, their color pallet. see?

i especially love that acid green/yellow and purple combo. and the navy blue and red one. and purple and orange. and the shoes are great. all of them.

ps, i'm very excited to see that colored tights aren't going anywhere.

also, just because--here is my favorite part of Proenza Schuler:

Dear Betsey

i love you. though i don't always love your clothes, i will always and forever love your spirit. and your cartwheels. you, my friend, are the bee's knees.

and i must say that i am even more enamored of you after i read that you had copies of On the Road for the front row at your show.

and while i'm not sure i could really pull off much of your collection (because i'm not rich and i'm not skinny and i'm not that hip at all...wompwompwommmmp), here are some things that i find fabulous:

in case you can't tell, that strapless red dress? the print is guns!!! how gangsta, but not at all. and i know that denim jumpsuits are usually not a good idea, but there is something so 70's chic and charming about that one there on the right. i can't help but like it. of course, this look should never be attempted unless one is at least 5'10" and 100 pounds.

last but not least, i'm ob.sess.ed. with this dress:

i mean, really...? bright blue?! off the shoulder?! sweater dress?!?!! there is nothing not to love about this. except maybe the red tights. i would not do that. unless it was the 4th of july. and it was unseasonably frigid.

in conclusion, i love you betsey. i wish we could be friends. i think you'd make a great friend. lots of fun. the kind of friend that would want to dress up in wacky clothes and have photo shoots on a saturday night instead of going out a getting drunk and not remembering anything the next day.

love,
sarah

Confessions

1. I finally understand what the fuss about M.I.A. was/is. (Sorta.) I cannot stop listening to that damn "Paper Planes" song. I especially like the remix with Rye Rye (a Bmore baby--literally, a baby; she's like 16 or something). I still refuse to go bat-shit crazy over her, but I will say this--she's going on the Pod and will probably enjoy heavy rotation.

2. I desperately want a Gucci bag. Let me clarify: I want a vintage Gucci bag. Does that make it better? After all this crap I've been spewing about logo bags--there's just something about that little bitty G print and that pretty red stripe. I'm currently in a war on ebay for a tote or the speedy bag...we shall see...

Super Awesome: The Virgins and Ra Ra Riot at Schubas

hi-yooo! it's sunday, it finally stopped snowing (after about a foot during the week), and it's fairly mild right now--28 degrees. (odd how my perception of what's cold and what's not has changed so quickly...)

on friday, after two straight days of snow, tommy and i ventured up to lakeview to go to one of the best venues i've been to in this city thus far.

anyhow, a while back, i happened upon the virgins myspace page and instantly loved them. when we went to brooklyn this summer for the Daft Punk show, i was bound and determind to find a Virgins show whilst there. and a Vampire Weekend show, for that matter. neither worked out. the Virgins were quite allusive during that period and Vampire Weekend was playing a free show at the same time we had other things scheduled (either the jazz show or the ted leo/thermals show @ McCarren...i can't remember), and they were also opening for Tokyo Polic Club in hoboken, but that show was sold the eff out. dang. anyhow, we managed to slip into the Bowery one night for TPC and the band that opened for them was Ra Ra Riot. we both really loved them immediately: 1) the name fucking rocks and 2) they have strings! glorious strings! not to mention they were just super great all around.

cut to a few weeks ago when both tom and i were feverishly attempting to locate tix to Cut Chemist and DJ Shadow, but had ZERO luck. (people on craiglist were offering $100 per ticket and still, no one was giving theirs up. dang. let's cross our fingers for a second date here, which is the rumor i read somewhere a few days ago.)

to appease the heart-broken tom, i asked him if he'd be interested in Ra Ra and the Virgins at Schubas. mehhhh...he wasn't feelin it, still holdin out for Cut Chemist (who IS super great...i saw him for free a few years back at Artscape in bmore). as the days grew nearer, tom came to terms with the fact that there was NO WAY IN HELL that we'd be able to get into that show, so finally he succumbed to my offering on Monday. and, because we've gotten BURNED several times before by not buying tix in advance for good shows that we think no one else will go to (seriously, chicago kids like good music way more than Bmore/DC kids--a sad fact, but oh so true), i dished out $10 per ticket on Tuesday to assure entry. (the cool things about Schubas is that even if you can't get into the music room, you can hear it from the bar. but really, that's sometimes worse...hearing the awesomeness but not getting to see it? plus dancing in the bar area can be a bit awkward...)

so we went and i'm amped i thought ahead to get tix because it was, as predicted, sold the eff out. sweet.

the Essex Channel, a local act, was playing the end of their set when we got there. didn't hear the whole thing, but what i did hear, i sorta got down with. (btw, i really want to provide you with a link to a web page or myspace page or something for them, but i can't find one. allusive little fellas.) they all were wearing fun suits and ties, which i like.

then the Virgins came on. i srsly love them. the lead singer reminds me of a young Ramone...joey, maybe...? anyway, they were super great. fun and total rock 'n roll, which i dig. and of course, they finished with "Rich Girls" which i swear, too many people know from its appearance on Gossip Girl. not hating, just a little weirded out by it. chalk it up to a music producer with awesome taste on the show...? whatevs. also, the bassist/guitar player on one sing, Nick...? he's my new faux boyfriend. look how cute he is:

anyhow, next up was Ra Ra Riot. as i mentioned previously they have a strings section. Arcade Fire-ish, but so not. i read recently on someone else's blog that they are Arcade Fire without the pretension. and i absolutely agree. not a speck of pretension here. just two hot chicks playing cello and violin, rocking the eff out. and four guys rocking out. seriously, tom and i were wondering how they'd all fit on the tiny stage at Schubas. they did, but as i'd predicted, Rebecca (violinist) definitely came close to poking out some eyes a coupla times with the frantic bow of hers. which only made it more super awesome.

i can't say enough good things about Ra Ra Riot. really, i can't. they are the band that seems like they geniuinely fucking LOVE what they're doing. they smile and dance and really, truly look they honestly are having a blast. and that's always a treat. because seriously, touring bands have the best jobs on the planet and i really get annoyed when a band gets onstage all sullen-like and doesn't look like they're enjoying themselves.

the other super cool thing was that they came back for TWO encores. and the lead singer (who also jams on the keys a bit!) made the comment that that was the first time they'd ever come back twice. i don't know if that's the truth, but either way, it's rare that a smallish "indie" band at a tiny venue does that. so that was even cooler, ya know? and despite the fact that it was ridiculously hot in there by the time they were done (rocking out under hothot lights is tuff, guys), they got right back onstage and just jammed.

this was one of the best shows i've been to in a while. even though i've been seeing some pretty kickass music lately.

the greatest thing is that Ra Ra is playing the Double Door (just one L stop away from me!!!) in march and i'm definitely getting tix. yay! hi, Ra Ra Riot, you're my band of the week (maybe month!) i love you.

oh yeah, and i have the most major girl crush on Rebecca (the violinist). she's super talented, super cute, and rocks out with that violin of hers. plus i like how she sings every song even though she doesn't have a mic. it's cute. look, she's super awesome:

PS, as you may or may not know, Vampire Weekend's full length was release this past tuesday. you should get it. also, do yourself a major favor and listen to Ra Ra Riot. trust me, you'll be amped. (and for those of you in the DC/Bmore area, they're playing the Black Cat soon. check.them.out.)

O.t.i.s. will Love This

what is this delightful knitted masterpiece, you ask?

why it's a bacon and egg ear warmer for your cat!!!

(ps, i will not take credit for finding this amazing piece of craft work. the chicagoist is a great website and i love it.)