Back At School (And It Feels So Good)

I got a cold on Wednesday, have errant ants wandering around my room (though those are mostly gone thank God), spent most of yesterday recovering from said cold, and spent all of today lounging around watching TV. Right now I'm wallowing in self-pity over my lack of social skills and in doing so ate a small pepperoni pizza. It hasn't been exactly the best three days of my life but there has been one small consolation. Last year my enthusiasm for Doctor Who convinced a friend of mine that he should rethink watching the series. He did. And now he's a complete fanboy now. He even set-up a Facebook group for UMW DW fans. Now all I need is for classes to start and my world will be fine. And if this DW group goes anywhere, maybe my year will be good.
My colds nearly gone though and Kathy moves in tomorrow. :prays for school to start:

Commercial/Corporate

I like to make villains of certain musical artists, mainly because it's fun but also because certain musical artists open themselves up to snide remarks. Oasis is one of those bands I tend to vilify and my reasoning behind that is because they open themselves up to being called idiots and twats. Anyway, I just wanted to put that in the open before I call Noel Gallagher an idiot once again. Because honestly, who doesn't play a venue because of nachos? Now I've read the article (because the whole nacho thing seemed too ridiculous) but Gallagher's complaint about O2 being "too corporate" makes me question the last time he's been to an arena gig (that he didn't perform at). I ask this because the last time I went to that kind of a gig, there were lots of people, during the headlining act, leaving to get more beer. Besides, not performing in a venue because it's too commercial/corporate is just a little too precious coming from the lead guitarist of Oasis. Can't call them a commercial flop, now can ya?

Summer/Beach Achievements

I'm currently waiting for an episode of Bones I haven't seen to download (oh yeah, totally love Bones) so I've decided to list the accomplishments of my summer/time at the beach. The beach part will be small since I've only been here two days, but that's not really the point. I mostly just want to write about my accomplishments from the summer. So onward and upwards!

• Write half of a novel aka The archives I worked on this summer totalled 133 pages, which, if a normal novel is about 350 pages, is about half the size of a normal novel.
• Managed to look like a human aka My skin is not the colour of neon white, which considering how that's what it has looked like since the summer before 9th grade, is quite an accomplishment.
• Gotten obsessed with a new show aka I've started watching Bones and by the time school starts I will have seen all three seasons.
• Gotten into an "argument" over the correct pronunciation of a snake cake aka Is it "jaffer cake" or "jaffa cake?"
• Continued my walking regimen aka The walk from my metro station to WPFW was twenty minutes for a total of forty minutes of walking a day. I've continued doing that even though I'm at the beach. Yay exercise!

That's it for my summer achievements. I have non-neon white skin and wrote half a novel worth of show summaries. All in all not bad.
In other music news, Keane and Kaiser Chiefs are competing for my attention by releasing their third albums on the same day. Hopefully my radio show this year will still be on Mondays and Wednesdays so that on the Monday before the releases (aka October 13th) I can concentrate on playing non-KC/Keane music and then on the Wednesday after the releases (aka October 15) I'll just switch between the two albums. Also I would like to apologize to KC and Keane for anything mean I might have said about when their albums might have been coming out. Obviously I was really wrong (World release for both: October 13; American release for both:October 14th). Now we just have to wait and see what Franz Ferdinand do. (By the by Franzie poo are streaming a new song on their site and you should really listen to it. It's quite good and I'm quite excited for the new album. Can't really say that for KC though. There is rapping involved, but it's not quarky 80's rap. It's the real kind. :shivers:)

Killing Me Slowly With Their Press

I know I said I wouldn't be updating that much during the next few weeks, but I'm having a "bad" day and need to vent. That's what blogs are for right?
My main complaint about today, other than the impending doom of rain, is my arch-nemesis, fanaticism. Namely fanaticism for a certain band. I think we all know which band I'm talking about (think Leeds) so I'm not going to write their name for the entire entry. Anyway, they are inadvertently ruining my day. See, back in 2007 when I decided I wouldn't allow a band to rule my life (yeah, that worked well), I unsubscribed from their email listing, because I figured unsubscribing from that and not bookmarking their website would mean I could ween myself from that particular obsession. It worked (sort of) and then I got addicted to Doctor Who. Anyway, I haven't been getting the band's newsletter's for some time, a fact that I enjoy because their updates usually just infuriated me. Until today.
I've figured out how the band got a hold of my email, but let me tell you seeing their name in my inbox just about stopped my heart. And then NME.com had some articles about them. And then NME.com said the band is planning some sort of mini-American tour. I didn't read the email and I haven't read any of the stories on NME.com, Drowned in Sound or This Is Fake DIY (which has a splashy new website.) However all of this press is killing me. Not knowing everything is killing me. However, I'm at work and if I were to read any of the above (except the email because I deleted it) I'd probably go insane. I can't go insane because I have my exit interview at 3:30. So, to summarize, a certain band from Leeds is killing me.
The only bright spot in my day has been the fact that I've totally turned a friend of mine into a DW freak, like me, without working too hard. It makes me happy on the inside.

The Plan

So this is my plan for the next few weeks:
This Week
This is my last week at WPFW which means I'm going to indulge at the Diner. Not much else really, I just won't be updating that much, unless of course something really fantastic or major happens. In which case I will.

Next Week
Next week I will be at the beach and occasionally having to endure my Mum's side of the family (all of them, grandparents, sisters, uncles, and cousins) without screaming. We leave Sunday and I'll be coming back the next Sunday. And then...

Two Weeks from Now
I'll be going back to school. I've been asked to be a "mentor" for the Disabilities Services' "Step Ahead" program, which I did last year. That and the fact that I didn't fail out of school means I'll be telling a bunch of freshmen not to be scared of their classes and profs. The rest of the week will be spent finding things to do and possibly harassing the Linguistics department.

So those are my plans for the next few weeks. I don't know how much I'll be updating, but just know I'm not dead. At least not right now.

Also, the new Keane song makes me laugh. It's very dancy, but there's a bit toward the end that makes me laugh. Tom sounds like David Byrne during the not-singing bits of "Once in a Lifetime." Which makes me laugh. 0_0

Signatures

I wasn't really that excited about seeing We Are Scientists again. Their second album leaves much to be desired and with the departure of Tapper, my respect for the band had taken a serious hit. But Sophie had purchased the tickets before either of us really understood how disappointing Brain Thrust Mastery is, so there was nothing to be done. Suck it up and enjoy the concert as much as possible. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as all that.

"So the merch guy left the band as well?" - Sophie (in a hypothetical question to Keith Murray)

At the last concert Sophie and I went to at the Black Cat, various members of the bands had somehow been put in charged of selling their own merchandise. The person who been selling for the White Rabbits had seemed somewhat disgruntled about the whole thing, which is why I ended up with a shirt a size too small, but it had been cool nonetheless. However, I thought that the whole thing had been because of the relative fame of the bands involved. So you can imagine my surprise when I see Keith Murray fronting the merch table.
Needless to say I flapped around a lot, was completely indecisive about which shirt I wanted and forgot what size shirt I wanted when it was my turn. Gorgeousness does that to me.

Nore: "Could you sign this?"
Keith: [swats card]
Nore: [makes small pouty face]
Keith: [signs card]

The first opening act was thoroughly unimpressive (I decided, after maybe three songs that "they [were] trying too hard"). In the lull between them (Apache Beat) and the second opening act (Oxford Collapse) I posited various actions I should take given that Keith was still manning the merch stand. None of them actually made sense and some involved taunting him about Tapper's departure from the band. This line of conversation was ended when I needed to use the loo (three diet cokes at dinner and two glasses of water, plus another diet coke at the club). Which was when I saw Chris Caine, bassist for the band, nonchalantly standing and talking to someone. When I came back from the loo I posited that I should get the two's signatures, since they were so readily available to the audience. Sophie concurred and we agreed that I would get Keith's signature and Sophie would get Chris'. After much hemming and hawing and general nervousness about the whole business I finally got the signature (hence the above little bit of dialogue).
(A very big version of the actual signature)

Sophie then tried to renig on her deal, but I wimped out from getting Chris' signature so Sophie agreed to get it for me. She missed the first two songs of Oxford Collapses' set, but she got the signature.
(Also a very big version of the actual signature)

The actual show was lack luster, but much of that opinion is due to the fact that I didn't care for the first opener, was coming down from an adrenaline rush during the second, and was completely un-enthused for the head liners. I'm sure actual fans of the band really had a fantastic time.

We Are Scientists

1. Nobody Move
2. Chick Lit
3. This Scene is Dead
4. Inaction
5. Impatience
6. Let's See It
7. Cash Cow
8. Can't Lose
9. Callbacks
10. That's What Counts
11. After Hours
12. Textbook
13. Tonight
14. Dinosaurs
15. It's a hit

Encore

• Lethal Enforcer
• Great Escape

My Eyes, They Burn

So it's been awhile since I lasted posted something here and I don't have a good reason other than that I'm lazy. However, today's entry is brought about by the horror that was this past Sunday's Mary Worth comic strip. I only saw it this morning, thanks to The Comics Curmudgeon (which by the way is really hard to spell, and I always get it wrong), but my eyes will be bleeding for the next three days at least. If you go to this entry Mary Worth is the first thing you'll see. The horror is in the last panel.
:waits:
Yeah, that's right, the writers of Mary Worth have somehow found out about Glenny and Mar and are trying to destroy their credibility. Or something. All I know is that it's an abomination and my soul is dead. Forever.
In other news, Gloria is away this week and the person filling in has left for the day. I don't know what the fuck I'm going to do, but whatever it is, I'll be doing it here at WPFW. Hurrah.

Elitism

There are times that I like to pretend that I'm not a cultural elitist. That somehow my mainstream tendencies, especially in cinema, and utter disdain for the culture of elitism creates means that I've somehow avoided being an elitist. That because I like Law and Order as much as I like Evelyn Waugh I'm not a bad person who looks down on others for their tastes in music, tv, and movies. I like to imagine that I don't judge people entirely on their choice of music or not knowing anything about the Kinks and Fred Astaire. I like to pretend that I'm not that kind of person.
However, I pride myself on my knowledge of musicals and the Kinks alongside my love of America's Next Top Model while looking down on people who like rap and can't appreciate a good black and white movie. I know that in most cases I'm a hypocrite through and through and willingly acknowledge that part of my personality. I just can't bare the fact that, despite not owning a single pair of drain pipe jeans, I've grown into the kind of person I never thought I would be. I was so sure that by not enjoying the majority of the films the rest of my family love and religiously watching ANTM and catching episodes of Law and Order whenever possible that I could somehow avoid being culturally elitist. That by not excelling in school for the most part and not going to a fancy uni I could avoid that stamp. I was wrong.
I'm a cultural elitist. I'm also a hypocrite. I take no pride in the former and acknowledge the latter because I know I must. Whether either label makes me a worse person, I can't say. It's just who I am.

A Statement Responding to CNN

This will only make sense if you're watching CNN right now but I need to get it out of my system so I can finish reading this article at the AV Club. So, my statement: You can't have it both ways. You can't say that the n-word is some sort of term of endearment when it's said by a black person but is racist when said by a white person. The world just doesn't work that way, especially the world of politics. And granted I'm saying this a white girl, so my statement may not mean anything because of that, I may be incredibly naive, but it's my opinion. You can't have it both ways. Not in politics at least.
:sigh: Now, onto Britney Spears. Yeah that's how CNN works.

KC Bandwagon, All Aboard

So it seems that since DW is out for the count until December (hurrah Christmas special!) my obsessive nature has decided to latch back onto the KC bandwagon. I haven't decided whether this is a good thing or not, but I haven't re-joined any LJ communities so that's a good thing. Anyway, the point of all of this, is that this past weekend was T in the Park/Oxygen Festival. Much like Reading and Leeds Festivals the two work kind of in conjunction with each other, namely if you're playing T in all likelihood you're going to playing Oxygen. Unlike Reading and Leeds the two festivals don't share headliners, or at least that's my belief. Anyway, the ultimate point is that KC played both this weekend, ending with Oxygen. Another band, Rage Against the Machine, also ended with Oxygen. Because of a policy at Oxygen trying to control the number of injuries due to way too many people moshing at the front (my guess based on the language used in the NME article this is based on), Rage fans had to show up a set early to get those key spots. Let's think for a second. Rage Against the Machine compared to Kaiser Chiefs. Chances are, their fan bases don't really, at all, overlap. And this is the bit that makes me happy. Kaiser Chiefs won. Well, when I say won, I'm using the word as a means of showing that KC somehow managed to get hardcore (and trust me these guys had to be hardcore) Rage fans moshing. That would be a bit like getting me to like rap in a little less than an hour. So yeah, booya.
Because Hulu gives me House I'm now 4/5 of the way through Firefly. Don't ask me how the two correspond, just trust that they do and it's all because of Hulu.
Finally, sorry for any incoherence in this entry. My brain doesn't seem to be working properly today.

Those Boring Days and Giddy Nights

Some days are meant for rewatching episodes of NMTB that you've seen fifty million times because Mark Ronson is gorgeous. Some days are also meant to check KC's website out of shear boredom and vain hope. Today happened to be one of those days and now I'm giddy from chocolate, diet coke, the comedic stylings of NMTB and two brand spanking new songs (to me anyway) from KC. One is quite nice and the other is horrible, but only because the lyrics are horrible. The music itself is quite nice. In any event, if these songs are any indication of what the new album is like (a quick note from the band's website: "Our new album is almost complete. We're still working on the finer details, artwork, title, mixing and website." Yeah, that's my definition of almost complete too) I'll be happy. Then again they could play dirges and I'd probably be happy though. I'm not exactly an unbiased source. So yeah, despite the boredom that filled most of my day, the end's been quite nice I have to say.
Finally, I would just like to say this: Dip. God musicians can be idiots (present party included.)

Edit: This picture, by the brilliant mimi-na of deviantART is utterly brilliant and completely spoilerish for the last episode of season 4 DW. It also makes me super-duper wonderful if in a strange way. Click the link at your own expense, oh un-spoiled DW fans.

Before Bed

This is almost too sad to mention, but I'm going to anyway. The Last Bus Home has gone green. Before the layout was red and I go to check it tonight and BOOM the layout is green! I must say I'm ridiculously excited. Yay for green!
Also, everyone works with Mark Ronson. It's no longer a unique thing to work with Ronson. He's the syphilis of the music world; he just keeps getting passed around. And if we carry this analogy forward, it's really not that surprising he's gotten to Carl Barat. I mean the man did work with Pete Doherty. However I'm still excited about the upcoming album (late spring 2009 people. That's my guess anyway) and still think Mr. Ronson is incredibly talented. Incredibly talented musical syphilis.
...
Yeah, I'm a horrible person.


And yay for green!

Something To Do

Item 1:
1988 - Past Masters Volumes One and Two, The Beatles
1989 - All That Jazz, Ella Fitzgerald
1990 - Flood, We Are Giants
1991 - Achtung Baby, U2
1992 - Kerplunk, Green Day
1993 - In Utero, Nirvana
1994 - Parklife, Blur
1995 - Tragic Kingdom, No Doubt
1996 - Susanna Hoffs, Susanna Hoffs
1997 - Blurring the Edges, Meredith Brooks
1998* - Version 2.0, Garbage
1999 - Title of Record, Filter
2000* - Thirteen Tales of Urban Bohemia, The Dandy Warhols
2001 - Beautiful Garbage, Garbage
2002** - The All-American Rejects, The All-American Rejects
2003** - Folklore, Nelly Furtado
2004** - Hot Fuss, the Killers
2005* - Employment, Kaiser Chiefs
2006* - The Life Pursuit, Belle and Sebastian
2007* - Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever, The Cribs
2008 - A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation The Wombats (thus far anyway)

* These entries had runner ups too numerous to list
** These were the years I was deeply entrenched in the Beatles and so for the most part they weren't listened to during the year of their release (especially 2004)

Item 2:
Oh shut up Alex. You did not almost headline Glasto you dumb twit. Also, I doubt Damon Albarn's mother actually nixed the idea. For Christ's sake. You don't deserve Rossini.

Item 3:
Oooh, I'm a Bloc Party fan and therefore I get to complain about stupid countdowns and be taken seriously. Cor, if I complained every time a band's website made me unhappy I wouldn't have time to do anything else. I mean, KC had a stupid countdown to the "release" of a new website design. At least you got real information Bloc Party fans. All I got was a new website that told me nothing.

Sit Back In Your Old Rocking Chair...

Because sometimes lyrics need to be re-posted.

Shangri-la [The Kinks]
Now that you've found your paradise
This is your Kingdom to command
You can go outside and polish your car
Or sit by the fire in your Shangri-la
Here is your reward for working so hard
Gone are the lavatories in the back yard
Gone are the days when you dreamed of that car
You just want to sit in your Shangri-la

Put on your slippers and sit by the fire
You've reached your top and you just can't get any higher
You're in your place and you know where you are
In your Shangri-la
Sit back in your old rocking chair
You need not worry, you need not care
You can't go anywhere
Shangri-la, Shangri-la, Shangri-la

The little man who gets the train
Got a mortgage hanging over his head
But he's too scared to complain
'Cos he's conditioned that way
Time goes by and he pays off his debts
Got a TV set and a radio
For seven shillings a week
Shangri-la, Shangri-la, Shangri-la, Shangri-la, Shangri-la, Shangri-la

And all the houses in the street have got a name
'Cos all the houses in the street they look the same
Same chimney pots, same little cars, same window panes
The neighbors call to tell you things that you should know
They say their lines, they drink their tea, and then they go
They tell your business in another Shangri-la
The gas bills and the water rates, and payments on the car
Too scared to think about how insecure you are
Life ain't so happy in your little Shangri-la
Shangri-la, Shangri-la la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la

Put on your slippers and sit by the fire
You've reached your top and you just can't get any higher
You're in your place and you know where you are
In your Shangri-la
Sit back in your old rocking chair
You need not worry, you need not care
You can't go anywhere
Shangri-la, Shangri-la, Shangri-la, Shangri-la, Shangri-la, Shangri-la

Emotional Attachment

The mark of something brilliant is when someone involved (either by watching, reading, or listening) in that something gains an emotional attachment to the something. The emotional attachment a person gains can show itself in a hundred different ways but, since we're talking about emotions, the most obvious form is through a show of emotions.
I don't cry often. I think that is because when I was younger I cried quite a lot and so now it takes something truly horrible to make me cry. However, I am prone to becoming hyper-involved in fantasy mainly because I prefer fantasy to the real world much of the time. Also I spent a lot of my youth living in what essentially comes down to a fantasy world. So, when I become involved in something brilliant and create an emotional attachment to that thing, if it provokes me, I will cry. However, this doesn't happen all that often. Most of the things I become emotionally attached to don't do things that make me cry, usually they just annoy me. Except in two cases.
House got split into basically two halves because of the writer's strike. This is why I can say I don't really like feel attached to any of the new interns, because I never really got the chance, or continuity, to get to "know" them. However, I spent a huge chunk of my down time at school either repeatedly watching NMTB or House and so I did gain a kind of emotional attachment to the characters that have been in the show since its inception, namely House and Wilson. Therefore, when the season finale came around, the brilliance of the writers and my emotional attachment to those two characters provoked me into sniffling, if not outright bawling, when the character of Amber/Cut Throat Bitch died. This is because I sympathized with the pain that both House and Wilson felt and also because the writers wrote the episode in such a way as to tug at the heart strings of anyone who cares about House and Wilson. So I cried, if only for a short while.
The character of Donna Noble was not originally written as someone very lovable. In "The Runaway Bride" she comes off as very...yelly. When it was announced that the character was coming back for season four of Doctor Who, no one was looking forward to watching her again. But, thanks in large part to the amazing acting abilities of Catherine Tate, the character became someone almost everyone loved. I spent most of this season falling madly in love with the character of Donna Noble and defending her existence on the show to my father. This constant defending, plus the brilliance of Catherine Tate, plus the excellent writers, plus my involvement in the Doctor Who LiveJournal community all equal a very strong emotional attachment to the character of Donna Noble and the show itself. [Editor's Note: If you have not seen "Journey's End" and wish to remain unspoiled, do not read] Last night was the season finale of Doctor Who. For the last 15 minutes or so, I cried my eyes out due to my emotional attachment to the character of Donna Noble. I cried and swatted at my computer screen with my blanket, yelling at the Doctor and telling him he was a horrible bastard. After the episode was over, I cried myself to sleep. In four weeks time, when I'm watching the finale again, I know I will cry just as much as I did last night.
Some people cried when the character of Sirius Black died in the Harry Potter series. Others cried when Dumbledore died. People cry at the end of movies like The Little Princess and Steel Magnolias. I didn't cry when Sirius died or when Dumbledore died. However, I did cry when the Donna Noble I had grown to love died. And I still hate Russell T. Davies for giving the Ten/Rose shippers what they wanted, but killing off a character so much more important to many of us. Also, the Christmas special looks really stupid.

An Addendum from Behind the Sofa written by Iain M. Hepburn (who puts into words my feelings after "Journey's End" better than I could have, along with all the reviewers at BTS):
And then there was Donna. Oh, Russell T Davies, why? Why did you do this to us? What was this, an exercise in point scoring? A reminder to us plebs that ultimately you’re in charge? Because that’s what it felt like. It felt like Russell saying a big up yours to the naysayers. Perhaps this was his punishment for all the criticism of Catherine at the start. ‘Oh, they think she can’t act then? They think Donna’s a horrible character? I’ll show them. I’ll write her into being one of the best companions the show’s ever had, and give Catherine every opportunity to showcase her skills as an actress, to the point where you really, really care about her. That you forget the criticism you had of Donna and of Catherine from The Runaway Bride.

‘Then BANG! Fuck you for falling for my manipulative writing. Fuck you for your emotional investment. Now you’ve learned your lesson. Never doubt me again.’

Because this was the most ignominious exit Donna could have. It wasn’t dark, it wasn’t heart-wrenching, it was brutally, cynically manipulative. Even just killing her, melting her brain under the sheer weight of Time Lord knowledge, would have been a more noble exit for Noble.

Russell’s self-proclaimed desire to never kill off a companion, even allowing for his ever-more-pompous attempts to work the DWM audience, has effectively forced him to do something worse. After managing to imbue Donna Noble with a sense of dignity lacking in The Runaway Bride, he denies her a dignified end. We're supposed to feel sorry for Donna's loss, and sorry for the Doctor's. But ultimately, his mindwipe solution just left me feeling hollow.

Random Thingies to Pass the Time

An article about KC's third album was posted this morning on NME.com. It seems Mr. Ronson is calling Talking Heads and ELO "bizarre" but more importantly; how is the album like ELO and Talking? Are we talking about Little Creatures and Stop Making Sense Talking Heads or crap Talking Heads? Does Ronson mean the first Tom-Tom Club album and in what way does the album sound like the Tom-Tom Club? Do I finally get to hear Ricky rap!? I mean, you give these influences but with no explanation, how are we to know what the heck you mean? Honestly, a few pointers would be nice.
Meanwhile, my family has gone all sentimentally about Rescue Dawn and cinema history. As you can see, I'm blogging and watching the movie at the same time, so you can probably guess my emotionally involvement in all of this. Besides, I'm not what you would call a cinemaphile. Audiophile yes, cinemaphile no.
Side effect of changing one of my meds to another med: Nausea. Benefit: chocolate craving will finally be fulfilled. However nausea still sucks monkey balls.

VIENNA --- 5 MIN

This is going to be a bit random. I've just got things to say with no particular rhyme or reason to the order. And yes, I'm still alive.
This past weekend was the Glastonbury festival. I spent most of the weekend not really caring what was going on and continually expecting NME.com to report that Kaiser Chiefs were playing a surprise gig. I don't know why I was expecting that, but for some reason I was. However, they didn't and I continued to not care that this past weekend was the Glastonbury Festival.
So NME.com announced that the Arctic Monkeys start work on their third album this month and according to Filter the new Franz Ferdinand album is suppose to hit stores in January. So that means Arctic Monkeys sometime around January and Franz Ferdinand March 2009. I hope.
I am now a card carrying member of the ACLU. Damn you random person from Richmond making eye contact with me!! Damn you!! Yeah, I thought I was just going to sign a petition or something when she asked me if I wanted to end torture and bring back the Bill of Rights. Oh how naive I was. Now I have a membership card and a sticker declaring that I have a membership card.
The Last Bus Home had an interesting post today. The reason it was interesting was because it had to do with commuting and train countdowns. Kind of like the one that constitutes the title for this entry. Anyway, according to Mr. Bus his train station countdown use to be complete rubbish. And the way he described it makes me believe him. I don't know what I would do if I didn't know how many minutes were left until such and such train was showing up. Granted, none of the trains I take are ever so full that I would think about waiting around for another, but not knowing the approximate time arrivals for the next three trains is invaluable in my neurotic little mind. And yes, I really do obsess over the approximate time of my commute and the time it takes to get from stop A to stop B. It's either that or sleep and miss my stop altogether.
Don't talk to me about Doctor Who or might explode at you. RTD better have some legitimate and really fucking brilliant cards up his sleeve or the entire fandom will kill him. We don't care if he's leaving the show, if he fucks this up, we will kill. 0_0
Ta now. I've got a kitchen to clean!
PS - I rescind everything I said about the character of Donna in this entry. Catherine Tate is an amazing actress and Donna is made of so much win it hurts. Also, almost done with archiving. So excited.

Proof of Existence

Read. Rejoice in the entry "Being Extremely Egotistical" and the picture of Noel Gallagher. Have a lovely weekend/week.
By the way, I really wish Muse were touring. They're so much fun.

Wombatties

Go and find the Wombats' "Let's Dance to Joy Division" and enjoy the blissful irony of life. That is all.

Random Shite

When I'm not archiving or answering the phone (and confusing people), I goof off by looking at the more respectable websites that are book-marked here at home. These are two informative/hilarious tid-bits that I found whilst at work and didn't want to forget:

Your final score was 99/180
Birthday Party DJ (73-108 points)
You are a rabid consumer of music. You get a rush every time you hear something new but remain faithful to those artists you love. Your music collection represents who you are and what you care about and your home may even bear the tell-tale signs of your affections – posters, old band t-shirts and the odd music biography. But you aren't a completest, you know what you like and make sure you have it. Simple as that. To expand your repertoire, perhaps there are some genres that you'd benefit from giving a little more attention to – perhaps now is the time to hear something new or get hold of that missing album from your collection. [Music IQ quiz, taken from an article at Drowned In Sound]

Jakob Dylan will be playing at the Admiral Benbow in Wichita, Kansas next week to promote this album. His father will not be paying attention. [A comment by Haden in response to this article {second comment down if you won't the full comment}]

In other news, The Fratellis have perfected the medium-tempo song on their new album. All of which means, there's a better chance of understanding them the first time 'round. Not a guarantee since the lead singer has a thick accent (somewhere between Kate Nash's over-annunciated cockney and Ryan Jarman's under-annunciated Yorkshire), but a much better chance.

An Honest-to-God Review

I know, as shocking as this, it's a real review of the White Rabbits show last night. Brace yourself.

It's not often a band can fool you into thinking their penultimate night of touring is actually their first night of touring. But given the amount of energy the White Rabbits had last night (about the same amount as 20 unmedicated ADHD kids) you wouldn't be faulted for thinking just that. Although the audience seemed almost incapable of moving the band more than made up for the lack of energy emanating from that part of the room. The set, which seemed particularly short for a headlining act, was fast paced with only a handful of slow song to change the pace for the stagnant audience. The band, made up of two drummers, three guitarists, and one keyboardist, seemed to be having a ball though which in the end is all that matters sometimes.
Openers Greenland, a local DC and, kept a fast pace more akin to the White Rabbits than Miles..., who wouldn't maybe been more at home opening for the Walkmen. All in all the gig was good, no matter how apathetic the audience seemed.

White Rabbits

1. Standford Town/Sea of Rum
2. While We Go Dancing
3. Dinner Party
4. Navy Wives
5. Fox Hunting
6. ?
7. Fort Nightly
8. I Use To Complain Now I Don't
9. The Plot [with three tambourines]

Encore

• Take A Walk Around the Table
• Maggie's Farm [a Bob Dylan cover]

There Are Things I Should Be Doing

The world, as I see and experience it, has no love for me. Yesterday there was the horrible weather that left me with soaking feet and standing at the train station for two hours waiting for my sister to pick me up. Today, there's a Lily Allen/Kaiser Chiefs collaboration. Some might question my response to this fact, but then again those same people may question why I think dying your hair pink is a bad idea too. Of course dying your hair pink and getting shit-faced isn't exactly a guarantee of horribleness, the only female singer-songwriter/Kaiser Chiefs collabo I want to see is Kate Nash/Kaiser Chiefs. I guess I just don't see the LA/KC styles meshing very well, no matter how much Mark Ronson magic is added. I guess I'll just have to wait until next year :crosses fingers: to see.
Also, White Rabbits concert tonight. I won't be able to function at all tomorrow, but I'll still be working.

Your So Vain

There are times when I miss my days of insane fanaticism, at least for Kaiser Chiefs. Lord knows I'm still insanely fanatical about DW. But yeah, there are days when I miss being insane, not just because things were simpler then, but also because I could laugh when members of the band said ridiculous things. Like, "Oasis have disappeared up their own arse." I could enjoy that sentiment so much more if I wasn't a semi-rational human being. Granted I can still enjoy the quote because I think the Gallagher brothers have long since taken up residence in their own arses, but that's a different thing all together. Because, you have to understand, the reason I dislike the Gallagher brothers so much is the same reason why, when I read the rest of the article, I wished so desperately that I could be a bubble headed fangirl. Back then, I could swallow the inherit shallowness of the rest of what Rick says, because...I wouldn't have seen it that way. I would have agreed wholeheartedly. Now though, it's just rubbish. Vain, pompous, rubbish. Nevertheless, I trust their manager more than I trust Rick, so I'm very excited about getting the album next year ;D

A Quick Note to Potential Parents

Here's just a little piece of advice from me to you: For the love of God do not let your child play a string instrument, such as a violin, unless you are completely and utterly certain that they will be good. Qualities such a child might possess is a good sense of tonality and well developed motor skills. If your child doesn't possess one of these qualities (preferably a good sense of tonality) do not let them near a violin, viola, or cello. Please. My ears don't like bleeding. 0_0

Alright, back to work. I've finally gotten to last week in the archives. Tis exciting.

Suit

So today was a rather big gig for le Kaiser Chiefs and NME, in their typically hypocritical way, covered it like it was the biggest fucking gig of the year. I think it's because the band is working with Mark Ronson, but I'm paranoid about NME giving any band too much exposure. Anywho, in their exuberant coverage, they decided to include a couple of pics in their weekly round-up of music news. Per usual, I immediately freaked out when I sited said picture, because I'm not right in the head. However, once I got over myself, I noticed what Monsieur Ricky was wearing. A suit. Sadly, the two pictures posted at the NME site are basically shite for facial expressions, but still. A suit avec tie. My fevered fangirl brain went positively berserk. So yeah, I just wanted to point that out. Have fun dissecting my insane psyche.

Work

Imagine getting lost on your way to an interview. In a skirt. Now imagine developing blisters because you've been walking for twenty or so minutes in the wrong direction in poorly chosen shoes. Add all of this with a heaping dose of nerves and you've got my Wednesday morning. Okay, now we're going to fast forward to the offices of WPFW. I'm sweaty, nervous, and a minute late for my interview. My feet are also killing me I can't wait to get home. I've basically got the job bagged because the station is that desperate for help. Everything is going nice and smoothly. I figure, a half hour and I'll be on a train back to my bed and my last of "Law and Order" binging.
Around 3:45 that same afternoon I leave the offices of WPFW, after all the shows from about mid-January of this year to the end of February. I'm exhausted, both physically and mentally, and my feet are still killing, only a lot worse because I had to walk around some more to find some place to eat for lunch. However, I did find out that I like falafel. I'll be going back to the station tomorrow, and this time I will be wearing sneakers instead of unbroken-in mary jane's. Despite everything, life is good.
So that's basically been the major events of this last week. I started my first "real" job archiving Gloria Minott's shows from this year and starting this week I'll also be shadowing her producer during the show, which should be fun. Life is indeed good.
Other interesting things:

• The House season finale made me cry. It was both heart-wrenching and very embarrassing.
• Fox was incredibly stupid in cancelling Firefly. It's the best damn show I've seen in ages, at least on this side of the pond.

Well that's it pretties. I'll write sometime in the future.

Official Set Lists From the Past Month (Literally)

Kate Nash, 9:30, 4/17/2008

1. Pumpkin Soup
2. Shit Song
3. Stitching Leggings
4. We Get On
5. Birds
6. Nicest Thing
7. I Hate Seagulls
8. Dickhead
9. Pickpocket
10. Paris
11. Skeleton Song
12. Mariella
13. Mouthwash
14. Foundations

Encore:

• Dont You Want to Share the Guilt
• Model Behaviour
• Merry Happy

General Summary: Started strong and then began introducing her more acoustic side and a shitload of new songs, thus loosing all momentum. Not brilliant, but not horrible.


Flight of the Conchords, Lisner Auditorium, 5/9/08

1. Robots
2. ? [My Name's Tim?]
3. The Most Beautiful Girl (In the Room)
4. Thing About It
5. Bowie
6. ? (new)
7. Bus Driver's Song [From BBC radio series]
8. Bret, You Got It Going On
9. Mutha'uckas
10. Bret, You Got It Going On
11. If You're Into It
12. Business Time
13. Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros
14. Albie the Racist Dragon

Encore:

• Inner City Pressure
• There Are Angels [new]

General Summary: You know how funny the TV show is? You know how great the songs are? Well, add improv and you've got the gig. Very funny, horrible seats.


The Swell Season, Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 5/17/08

1. Say It To Me Now
2. Lies
3. This Low
4. Moon
5. When Your Mind's Made Up
6. Love Makes Me Cheerful [new]{Your Love Makes Me Cheerful}
7. I Have Joy [new]{I Have Loved You Wrong}
8. Falling Slowly
9. Leave
10. What Happens When the Heart Just Stops?
11. ? {Astral Weeks - Van Morrison cover}
12. ? {Your Face}
13. If You Have to Go, Go With Happiness {Go With Happiness}
14. Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy
15. Once

Encore:

• If You Want Me
• Blue Shoes [Colm Mac Con Iomaire]
• Fitzcarraldo
• Star Star**

General Summary: See previous entry. {Edits with thanks to PlayedLastNight.com, which allowed me to download this magnificent performance}


What's Next: May 28th will see the fifth (or fourth, I can't remember) time I've seen Ben Folds live, June 5th will see a welcome return of the White Rabbits at the Black Cat and in August I'll be seeing We Are Scientists, despite the fact that their new album pretty much sucks. It's going to be a busy summer for me :D

Thank You So Much

When Glen Hansard was twelve he somehow wondered across the National Concert Hall in Dublin. Young Glenny (as I affectionately called him all last night) wondered in and seeing no one but a cleaning lady, after asking said cleaning lady, went up on the stage with his guitar and played a song. At this point in Mr. Hansard's story I was grinning like a mad fool because playing on a concert hall stage is something one never forgets and I can only imagine what it would be like for an aspiring musician/twelve year old. In any event, Glenny was amazed and also determined to play such a venue again. Well, last night, along with the rest of the members that make up the Swell Season, he did and in my ever so humble opinion, it was amazing. Last night's show is the reason I go to see live rock concerts, no matter the venue (except of course the Sonar.) Without a doubt last night's show was the single best performance I have ever seen. And that's all I can say. Best gig ever.

Update on Things to Come

It's my dad's birthday today so I have to be nice to him. :sigh: Anywho, some happy updates on my list of upcoming things:

• Volunteer! Hopefully I'll be doing some volunteer work for the public affairs division of WPFW, but that means an interview which scares the shit out of me. At least I've got my travel route all planned.
• Set list postings! I'll be doing that whole thing shortly after this Saturday's Swell Season show. I'm quite excited.
• Grades! Well, they turned out about where I thought they would, and I'm in good academic standing in terms of my major and in an overall sense. I'm not thrilled, but I'm not failing, even by my fucked up terms.
• Duffy! Which I'm getting today, goddamit.
• No more rain! My hopes came true and we've been rain free for two days! Hurrah!
• [new item] Firefly marathon! If all parties can their collective shit together there will be a marathon of potential awesomeness. And possible brainwashing. Mwhahahahahahahaha

Well that's it. I'm currently rating my entire music library and I'm only at the Beatles. And there's a shitload of Beatles. Ta.
P.S. My dad hated Juno but for some reason doesn't think Belle & Sebastian could possibly be twee. I'm thinking of getting him to listen to some of their earlier stuff, just to prove the point that he's very wrong.

Things to Come

Some things that might be (or, in certain cases, will be) happening this week:

• A massive post of set lists! But no reviews sadly.
• Volunteering! At WPFW if the stars are lined up correctly
• Grades! I just want to know for fucks sake, I just want to know!
• Duffy! Yes her name is ridiculous (what's wrong with Amie?) but she's awesome!
• No more rain! This one's mostly just wishful thinking, but it has to stop raining eventually right?

And that's about it. Look forward to writing here again sometime in the far, far future.

Maturity

In case any of you were wondering how I might react to a Macca*/KC union, here's a little picture:

Oh yeah, I'm mature.
In other news Amy Winehouse has been arrested on suspicion of drug possession and I turn twenty in two days. Yay.


*For those who don't get the reference

And In the End

I move out tomorrow. Next semester I'll be living with a girl named Kathy in Arrington which means I'll have a five minute walk to Pollard instead of a 15 minute walk and A/C during those first two months of hell. There was some choas getting to that point, but I think it will be well worth it. I'm ending the semester not so much on a bang but on a puff, if that, but at least I've got lots of electives and my good grades from last semester to cushion the fall. All in all I've made it through this only slightly scarred and learned quite a lot in the process. It's been a good year.

Exam Week Interruption

:Minor brain explosion: (See here for reason)
I haven't actually read the article (don't have time don't ya know) but just the headline causes my brain to explode ever so slightly. That and the photo, but really that's to be expected.
I'll be off then. Cheers.

Three Weeks

The following is three weeks of Friday Fives. I'm bored and stressed and need something to take my mind off of my stress and boredom. That and Dr. Baker scares me and I need to focus on something other than that.

1. Whats harder to live without, chocolate or alchohol?
Chocolate, since I don't really like alcohol to begin with.

2. Does the colour yellow remind you of anything?
PEO? My Kaiser Chiefs tour shirts? The Yellow Pages?

3. Who most annoyed you last week?
You mean besides my roommate? And my relatives? (Yes I am answering everything in question format because it's fun)

4. Do you have a cutesy romantic nickname for your partner (or previous partners)?
No. -_-

5. What is your favourite Stephen King movie?
I don't have one! Ha ha!

1. Love at First Sight: Fact or Fiction?
I want it to be fact, I really, really do!

2. Fortune Telling: Fact or Fiction?
Fiction, unless you're in a movie in which case it's fact.

3. Other Life: Fact or Fiction?
Other life? What the hell does that mean? Parallel universe kind of stuff? If so, then in between the two.

4. Afterlife: Fact or Fiction?
Gah. Dunno.

5. Bigfoot: Fact or Fiction?
FACT!! Because that would be awesome.


1. If you had the ability to legally change your name, would you? To what?
Yes and I would change it to Trillion or Fenchurch, just for shits and giggles.

2. What do you with with change that you receive from banks/purchases/find on the ground?
Well most of the time I use it to buy junk food and soda, but yesterday I divided up my spare change between by two roommates because I was feeling particularly nice.

3. If you could travel back in time to change the course of one historical event, what event would it be?
I wouldn't because then Reapers would come and destroy the world.

4. Would you rather live a safe, stable, moderately interesting life or one where every day was dangerous, volatile, and different?
Can I have a mix?

5. What do you think you'll be remembered for when you die and, if you could, would you change it to something else?
Being an absolute looney and no I wouldn't change that. I like being known as an absolute looney.

Mercurial

Well things have improved dramatically since last night, at least in terms of my "home" situation. It's amazing how mercurial she is.
In other news, Last Bus Home wrote an interesting entry that oddly enough reflects many of the entries I've written over the past four years. Namely, the pointless entry for the showing off of X. Or this entry actually. Anyway, I would have something else to write about if NME.com would load. But it's not, so I have nothing. Sorry.
Ta until laters.

Lord Get Me Through This

So, I've been having a bad time of it lately, mainly because it's the last week of classes and don't handle the end of the year/semester that well. I never have and I suspect I never will, but nonetheless it is a very stressful time of the year. What doesn't help, however, is the fact that my New England roommate has turned into an iceberg around me. She barely acknowledges me presence and when she does her tone is just slightly above civil. So I'm being made to feel like a piece of shit by one of my roommates which only compounds the stress I'm feeling from finals. Last night I went in my stocking feet down to the basement and when I found that place had people in it, I speed walked my over to the practice rooms at Pollard. In my bare feet without my key-card. Granted I did feel a lot less stressed when I was done, and didn't have to wait at all for someone to show up to let me in, but I don't think I should be in such a desperate state as to walk out of my dorm in my barefeet, just so I can get away from my roommate(s). Sadly, there is nothing to be done about it. B**ch roommate handles stress one way and I handle it in a very different and opposing way and ne'er shall the twain betwixt. Or something like that. I just wish my life wasn't such in such a shitty place right now. Thankfully I have my classes and my time away from my room to counteract the horribleness of my "home" life. I just wish I never had to "home."

My Lyrics are Bottomless

I have said this before, but I will say it again: Ain't no party like my nana's tea party! Hey! Ho!
God I love Flight of the Conchords sometimes.
Edit: There is something to be said for either an artist or a band that insist on being fair to their fans. Case on point, Alex Turner side project The Last Shadow Puppets have released their single "The Age of the Understatement" in the US through someone other than iTunes. It makes me happy, what can I say. Also, I miss Muse. I really want to see them again. 0_0 They're so much fun!

A Rather Silly Update

This update will be done in the form of headlines with links, because I'm lazy and a little busy. Enjoy

British Kaiser Chiefs fans bitch about warm-up gigs not being "close enough." American fans blow raspberries at them for complaining at all.

The Pipettes lose two members and no one cares.

The Washington Post live reviewers get something right. Nore is shocked. (Second review after, the Mortensen trio)

That's it. Nikki is currently making it impossible to type with both hands, so I'll bid you all adieu until I have some more time. So hopefully the next time I write I'll be posting the Kate Nash set list avec comments. Till then, adieu

Quiet

I'm currently sitting in the study room at Trinkle putting off writing a complete thought in my history paper. I've been at this since 6 and so far I've gotten three pages, based mostly on the fact that I have somewhat lengthy footnotes. The paper is only suppose to be four pages, so the fact that I have three is a good thing, but it also means that the majority of it is crap and quotes from my primary resources. However, from past experience, all this means is that I'll get an okay grade on the paper and comments similar to the ones I had on my first paper. However, it is nice to be some place quiet, especially considering how hectic today has been. I actually thought it was Thursday based solely on how stressed out I was.
In the little spare time that I did have today I cut my bangs. According to Prof. Tavenier it makes me look Irish, but in my opinion I cut them too short. Thankfully my bangs grow quickly and will soon be covering my eyebrows again. Also I'm fairly certain they are in no way even, but what can you expect from someone who has no training in haircutting?
I'm going home tomorrow to see Kate Nash, so a play list will be up probably on Friday. Saturday is Mums birthday and then Sunday I have a chorus concert. Monday is my final recital and the beginning of my last week of classes. I'm in utter shock that it's the end of the year, but given the amount of stress I'm currently under, I really shouldn't be.
On a final note, Dr. Long is an absolute sweetheart and complete looney. I'm really glad I get to have him as a teacher again next year. And the semester after that. Oh, and I got a bear from the University of Westminster. His name is Richard Kent. ;)

Cute

Summer season has started (as the weather in this town can prove) and in the vain hope that my favourite band might be venturing out into the wide world (they are, just not here) I checked their site for any updates. First thing I see is a petition to give Leeds United 15 points back. I've absolutely no clue what they're talking about or how Leeds United lost 15 points over the past football season, but there you have it. A petition to get those damned points back. On the front page of the Kaiser Chiefs website. So cute.

Music Critics

Music critics are some of the most pretentious pricks known to man. Here is my reasoning:
In effort to broaden my horizons while also following the rules of the radio station, I've decided to feature one new album a week. For this week I was thinking of featuring Los Campesinos! who are a Welsh band that have gotten much attention and an A from the AV Club. However, I was also hoping to shed some light on the album/band I'm featuring and so I was gathering reviews from other outlets such as the NME, Drowned in Sound, and Fake DIY. This was obviously a bad idea because now I'm not going to be featuring Los Campesinos! and I think music critics are pretentious pricks with sticks up there asses and a God complex to beat the bands.
First we have Drowned in Sound. The reviewer, Dom Passantino, starts the review by bashing the demise of Britpop and then goes on to bash the Kinks. Now, I know I'm prejudice against anyone who bashes the Kinks, but I'm willing to accept such a bashing if it makes sense. And yes, I also understand the most people in Wales identify themselves first and foremost as Welsh and then British, but this does not mean they are somehow immune to what's happening on the rest of the island. Making Wales out to be France is idiotic and claiming that someone from Wales could never be influenced by one the of the biggest names in rock (not just British rock) is even more idiotic. Culture permeates and can not be avoided, no matter how much wish it weren't so. In making a claim otherwise you are showing cultural ignorance of the top order. So that's Drowned in Sound.
The NME spends the first paragraph of it's review talking about how good music goes beyond genre and how "indie" music is "more a mindset than a musical style, and one that values ideas, imagination and anti-sexist, anti-racist ideologies above record sales and profit margins." The reviewer then goes on to say that musically the album is boring but lyrical provocative in that it sticks to the above mentioned epitaphs. Los Campesinos! are, as they say "a band to believe." Just like every other indie band.
Thus far I've got pretentious culturally ignorant prick and bollocking grandiose prick. Let's see what Fake DIY and the AV Club have to say about it.
AV Club: Twee!! But the good kind like Belle and Sebastian twee. Also, those lyrics, oh they are to die for.
Fake DIY: Lyrics!! And happiness!!! Hurrah!!!
So two pretentious and two taking the thing at face value and not reading into the album or bending it around to fit the reviewer's views. As you can see music critics come in two forms: Pretentious dicks and people who actually enjoy music. Yes I analyse the Kinks and Kaiser Chiefs to death, but hypocrisy is my middle name and the Kinks were born to analyse. Kaiser Chiefs are another matter.

Frazzled

I'm beyond frazzled right now (band set-up gone awry, dealing with little kids and my inability to make small talk, life in general) and so I'm listening to the Cribs. They're cynical "I hate everyone" attitude makes me feel better about hating everyone at the moment. So in honour of my mood and the Cribs, here are the lyrics to one of my favourite songs by them. Hopefully I'll give a real update sometime in the future. Or not, we'll see.

"Things Aren't Going to Change" --- The Cribs

Well I've been drinking for days and I'm happy to say
That we've been leading you on so you'd do it our way
You've had a little success but you're too hard to impress
So raise your standards, change your number
It's for the best
And though I don't want you to stay
There's something about the way that
You say the words that you've rehearsed, now
I think I should explain
Things aren't gonna change
And last October when it took over
The boy was grabbed by his new controller
I'm shifting all the blame
But I still I feel the same

I didn't know what to say when I saw you alone
You say you do what you want but you do what you're told
I fell in love with you gaze, I fell in love with your name
We need to know what to say if we're playing your games

And though I don't want you to stay
There's something about the way that
You say the words that you've rehearsed, now
I think I should explain
Things aren't going to change
And last October when it took over
The boy was grabbed by his new controller
I'm shifting all the blame
But still I feel the same, yeah

And although it makes no difference I still know that
It's got nothing to do with the way I'm without you

Panic (!) at the Disco

This past summer I giddily read that Panic! at the Disco was no more. Of course the writer's at Drowned in Sound were just playing with my mind and the band had merely gotten rid of the exclamation point and had not, as I thought, disbanded. Little less than six months later here I am, listening to them. It's odd how the world works.
Panic at the Disco's new album Pretty. Odd. is a complete rip off. It seems that the band listened to everything the Beatles ever recorded and decided that they were going to do the same thing. In one album. Add to the mix an orchestral arrangement to every track and you have Pretty. Odd. Now the last three sentences might sound like I'm going to rip the album to shreds, but I generally don't listen to things I don't like and so I'm just as shocked as you when I say, completely ripping off late-era Beatles with orchestral arrangements works for this group. This is not to say that the album is brilliant (the Beatles did it better) or terribly original (the Beatles did it better) but Pretty. Odd. is peformed by a band whose last tour was a circus. Literally. So over the top theatrics and vocal harmonies work incredibly well and make for an album that's fun and completely radio friendly.
I know nearly zilch about Panic! at the Disco nor do I know much of anything about Panic at the Disco. The only thing I know about the band is that they got bottled two years in a row at the festival(s) formerly known as Carling Weekend and that in 2006 they lost their original bassist. I've never listened to more than a snippet of their first album and so have no idea whether Pretty. Odd. is an improvement, complete departure, or typical sophomore album. However, I do know that the band seems to employ nonsensical lyrics to make a point about typical rock band song topics. They have catchy hooks and choruses that lure in the listener like a fish to bait. Vocal harmonies are in heavy use and can be heard in every single song on the album, save "I Have Friends in Holy Spaces" which instead pretends that it's from the late 1920's/early 1930's. All in all it is what I've said before: A radio-friendly singles-laden album that hipsters in NYC won't feel too bad saying they own. It is neither brilliant nor horrible, merely passable in a good way.

Firsties

First: Ain't no party like my nanna's tea party. Hey! Ho!
Second: I almost died at Border's on Saturday because, I found out, there was a time when Glen Hansard had long hair.
(Directions for the above pictures: First one he's on the right hand side. Second one he's on the bottom left side, the one with the really long curly hair.)
Third: I spent basically my whole weekend either at the radio station, Central Park, or my room. It was brilliant.
Fourth: I'm taking a history of jazz, social issue, and music theory as of right now. I also broke it to my voice teacher that I'm not going to be a voice major. All is right with the world.
Fifth: Finished my first Washington Post crossword on Friday and my second one today. Very proud.
Ta until much later.

Jump Up, Jump Down

Shocking fact: I don't have a good picture of R jumping. I was trying to show Clark a good picture of the man's signature and I couldn't find one on my hard drive. As Allison pointed out, I could have just googled for a picture, but the point, in my mind, is I don't have one. On the other hand, Clark is my best buddy and tried to show me the difference between different kinds of guns. It was almost sweet in a way.

Insanity is Fun

My English paper has changed again. The topic hasn't changed, but the formatting has, but the formatting change allows me to do what I've always wanted to do: Beat people over the head with the idea that the Kinks are gods by comparing Kinks songs to other bands songs and going "See?? See?? Told you they were the same." In essence, I've lost my mind. I'm now going to go through and edit what I have for basic readability and then watch an episode of Buzzcocks to calm down. Which doesn't actually make sense, but will be done anyway. Just a quick update to prove I'm alive. Ta

Love

I'm in love.






Not really, I'm just super excited about something I just read on the AV Club site. According to their Newswire the Raconteurs are releasing their new album next week. That's right folks, no publicity, no singles, no videos, nothing, just a release. And, to top it off, here's a quote from their press release:

The band have done no interviews or advertisements for this record before this announcement. The purpose: to get the album to the fans as soon as possible and as we promised. We wanted to get this record to fans, the press, radio, etc., all at the EXACT SAME TIME so that no one has an upper hand on anyone else regarding it’s availability, reception or perception

Thus, I'm in love.
Meanwhile We Are Scientists have announced the American release date for their new album which is May 13th. Almost exactly two months later the UK release (which is today by the by.) Not in love with them. On the other hand, Rilo Kiley is coming to the 9:30 club in June and on a weekend, so their high up on my love list.
Finally, I got into a good dorm and got a really, really, really good grade on my Western Civ midterm. Overall, life is good.

These Days

The past 24 hours have been exceedingly stressful/weird for me. The English paper I had due yesterday changed topics on me yesterday, so I was up until midnight writing about why the Kinks are rock gods and then I spent another half hour sending off the not completed draft to my English prof and getting ready for bed. I decided that despite the fact that I wasn't done, it would best to stop were I did because I couldn't create coherent sentences. It was Allison's idea to send off this incomplete thing, which I thought was a good enough idea to do. (All apologies for the incoherence that just transpired. I may be awake, but my brain hasn't started working yet.)
I also met my roommate for next year. She's a nice enough person, a bit excentric, but I suppose social graces aren't something I should be the judge of. My main concern is that we both are the type to go to bed early and that she has a really good lottery number. Everything else is irrelevant, especially if she ends up transferring to another school like she thinks she might. Honestly I'm just glad I have someone to room with for next year.
My brain is mush. I can't wait for this week to be over.
Well now that I've checked in, I'll be off.

Reality Shows Make Me Happy (Along With Some Other Things)

After being forced to walk the dogs an hour earlier than I wanted to (I know it's incredibly petty, but it's the principle dammit!) by my father (who I plan to avoid eye contact with until Sunday) I watched the season finale of Project Runway. I've always (read: since this summer) been a fan of Bravo produced reality shows (the hair cutting one was amazing, love Top Chef and am super excited about the new one about dancing) and since I really haven't had much to do this break (other than write a five to seven page paper, history reading, and study for a math test) I got wrapped up in the show (damn you marathons!). I recorded the season finale and watched after my forced march. It was brilliant and Victoria Beckham was a guest judge and obviously grew up in London. (Actually she grew up in Hertfordshire which is a county incredibly close to London, so basically the same thing.) The point of this whole thing though is the following quote from the AV Club's review of the episode:

"Even though we've all heard her before, it's still very unsettling to hear Victoria Beckham speak. Honestly, high-pitched croaking sounds would be more reasonable coming from her than an actual human voice"

It's sad and made me laugh so hard because in it's own mean way is true, though Project Runway had this amazing way of making her look human, I was impressed.
So I'm going to link you to a couple other things that are making me happy at the moment as well as some really obvious information. All in a neat little list.

• Alex Turner and Miles Kane's collabo. Watch the video and listen to that beautiful orchestration. According to previous articles I've read the whole album they've recorded is orchestrated, so we all know I'm going to buy it. But yeah, absolutely brilliant and set in Russia thus making it that much better. That and the fact that they look like Help! era Beatles
• Useless information time: Going to a concert can make you deaf. I don't need research to tell me that. I don't need no fucking survey telling me I might go deaf if I go to clubs a lot. I know I'll be deaf before I'm thirty if I do that. I also already knew that from the loud ringing in my ears after going to concerts and not being able to hear people. :shakes head in a disgust:

Burger night! Real home made burger night! I'll be off now...

How Wonderful It Is to be Bored

1. How long ago did you join LJ?
I joined in 2004 but didn't start "participating" until 2005.

2. How did you find out about LJ?
Umm...the internet?

3. If someone introduced you to LJ, is s/he still on your friends list?
I joined because of someone, but they are no longer on my friends list

4. Have you introduced anyone to LJ?
No

5. Is your LJ public or friends only, and why?
Public, unless it's very, very private in which case it's friends only, but that's a rare occurrence

Name five...
1. ... things you can't live without.
Music, food, internet, water, and music

2. ... of the best moments in your life.
Five? I don't think I have five best moments. Let's see...first Kaiser Chiefs concert, Killers concert, getting into UMW, seeing Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova at the 9:30 club, and...any time I watch NMTB (that last ones bollocks by the by)

3. ... celebrities you can't stand.
Pete Wentz, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Preston, and Pete Doherty (that was a lot easier than the previous question, which scares me)

4. ... books you enjoy(ed) reading.
HHGG (all five of them, but only counting as one), Discworld series (again, counting as one entity), Vile Bodies, Metroland, and Thank You For Smoking

5. ... items in your purse/backpack/on your desk.
My wallet, pens, pencils, chapstick, and throat lozenages

1. What smell reminds you of your childhood?
Ummm...exhaust fumes? Dunno really

2. Would you ever consider getting laser eye surgery?
Yes, but only if I could afford it and the doctor could assure me that my eyes wouldn't get worse after the procedure

3. What food do you love now, that took you a long time to develop a taste for?
Huh. Dunno.

4. Do you have sensitive skin? Is there any material that you don't like touching your skin?
Yes and no. My mom thinks I have sensitive skin because I did when I was little, but I'm not entirely convinced that I do now. Then again I hate the smell of strong perfumes so I'll never know. As for any materials I don't like touch my skin, I would say wool because it's so itchy

5. Whose speaking voice is your favourite to listen to?
David Tennant, Ricky, anyone with a British/Australian accent :drools:

Cancellation

In the past few months I've rarely concerned myself with the deeds and don'ts of the music industry. I've had more important things to deal with, mainly doing well in my classes and trying not to have a melt down. In fact it would take something pretty horrendous (or KC doing anything) for me to get worked up enough to write about. Well, Vampire Weekend has done just that.
As frequent readers of the blog will know, my big thing (besides CDs being released at the same time on both sides of the Atlantic) is how frequently a band tours the States. Most of the bands I focus on mainly tour Europe and Europe. They make few and infrequent excursions to the American continent (and I do mean the whole thing) and make very little effort to build up any kind of fan base over here (and then they complain about it.) This is true even with certain American bands who feel that building up a fan base in Europe is more important than building one in their home country. So when bands cancel American tours (even if said tours are really just three dates) to work on their next album it annoys me a little. As I've stated before I can deal with "fake" medical reasons for cancelling tours, but the example I'm about to present to you just makes my blood boil.
Vampire Weekend has cancelled three gigs so they can play on SNL. Some might argue that it's an excellent idea, that playing on a nationally broadcasted show is a brilliant way to get their music across to everyone, that I'm just being a stick in the mud. Yeah, explain that to the people who thought they were going to get to see the band live and in person. Seeing a band on a crap TV show were they perform two songs does not make up for a live performance were they might play, oh, maybe all of their songs and you don't have to pretend to enjoy the comedic stylings of the SNL troupe. Sure, they've rescheduled for June, which means that the money those fans spent on tickets hasn't gone to waste, but cancelling three tour dates for a cumulative eight or ten minutes on a show that a relatively small number of people watch. (I can't actually substantiate that last statement because I've no clue how to find viewer numbers. If somebody can point me in the right direction, that would be very much appreciated.)
So what's the bottom line folks? Tour before television. Tour, tour, tour, tour, tour. And then tour some more, preferably in the US/North America.
On a lighter and more vain note NME will be launching an American version of it's "highly influential" (there exact words are "the world's most influential") awards show this April. The article goes on to say that the show has helped launch the careers of many important acts such as The Killers, Pete Doherty, Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Chiefs and My Chemical Romance (yeah, they really said MCR.) The whole thing is just so obscenely vain it's actually funny in a way. Sadly I don't know enough about popular or current musical acts to help skew the voting, but god I wish I did.
Finally, the Young Knives recently bit off the hand that feeds them as well as everyone who reads DiS and makes comments. Also Take That won best single at the NME awards and the Kaiser Chiefs came away with nought to show for their existence this year. The world continues to turn on its axis and I continue to hoard episodes of NMTB in my secret lair.
Ta!

More Fangirling

So I'm home for a week, which means that if I'm not really careful, I'll use up all my means of entertainment today and be bored the rest of the week. Hence why I'm updating my journal.
One of the things that I like about LiveJournal, other than the easy access to DW fanfiction/smut, the ability to show off my insane side through little pictures called avatars or icons. I currently have 270, of which I can only use 15 at any given time. Granted most of the icons are just taking up space on my hard drive, but some things are just to hard to get rid of. (Note to self: Icon folder needs pruning.) Today I added two more of which I'm going to show you one. The one I'm going to show you is related to this post and more specifically the bits that come after the capslock section. Now onto the icon:

For niceness and fear of retaliation the icon that I posted was created by mediocrechick over at LJ.
Of course the downside of making that particular icon my default over at LJ means that I might spend more time smiling at staring at the upper left hand corner of my screen than is really necessary. Oh well.
That's it for me. Toodles.

Ramblings in the Media Lab

What would happen if you add trumpets to a Kaiser Chiefs album? Other than my head exploding, God only knows, but according to "rumours" that exact thing is going to be happening. Yes my friends, my favourite producer (otherwise known as the gorgeous Mark Ronson) and my favourite band may be joining forces to explode my mind sometime in the future. I'm both giddy and terrified.
In other music related news I'm going to be writing an essay in my English class about why a 1960's style British Invasion will never/can never happen again. So that means my pop obsession has made it's way over into English. Somehow I doubt it will make it's way to history, but British history can cover that subject. Now all I need to do is convince everyone in the music department that pop is a valid form of music and my take over will be complete. Mwhahahahaha.
I scanned something today for my voice lesson. Now Prof. Tavenier can't complain about how she doesn't have a copy of my English art song. Granted she can feel free to complain about everything else, but I have a copy dammit.

Etymology

I was listening to the Proclaimers "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" and I heard a word that I didn't recognize. I assumed I had misheard the word and so I looked up the lyrics. Here's the verse and more specifically the couplet I'm referring to:
And if I haver yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who's havering to you
Thoroughly confused I headed over to dictionary.com to find out what haver means. The first definition says that haver means to equivocate or to vacillate. Given the context of the song the definition didn't make sense, so I scrolled down. After the Hebrew definition (friend; comrade; companion) which I knew couldn't be the correct one, I found the definition of haver, according to Scottish slang. (You see, the Proclaimers are two Scottish brothers, so it would make sense that they would use Scottish slang.)
Haver: To maunder; to talk foolishly; to chatter
So there you have it. This is what I do when I'm bored; look up strange words in songs that I'm listening to.

On a completely different note, in English class today we were discussing our research topics. Of course mine center around British culture and I happen to know that the Brits are absolute nutters for soccer and so one of my classmates asked me if I was British. I politely replied no, just somewhat obsessed. :)

More Oscar Nonsense

Unabashedly ripped from Filter Magazine's online blog

Score one for indie rockers. At last night's Academy Awards presentation, the stars of Once - The Frames' Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova - brought tears with their symphony-backed performance of the film's central song "Falling Slowly" and were awarded the film industry's highest honor: an Oscar for Best Song.

If you want to see the acceptance speeches given by Mr. Hansard and Ms. Irglova (not Ms. Marketa as I called her last night), head on over to Filter Blog.

I'm So Sorry About This

ONCE WON BEST SONG, ONCE WON BEST SONG, ONCE WON BEST SONG, ONCE WON BEST SONG, ONCE WON BEST SONG, ONCE WON BEST SONG, ONCE WON BEST SONG, ONCE WON BEST SONG, ONCE WON BEST SONG, ONCE WON BEST SONG, ONCE WON BEST SONG, ONCE WON BEST SONG, HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ONCE WON BEST SONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Beat that Enchanted.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just this in, a little quote from Mr. Hansard and Ms. Marketa (and further proving that somethings going on between them):
Glen: Let's have them kiss (the statuettes)
Marketa: But they're both guys
Glen: It's Hollywood!

Brotherly Love

In case you needed any evidence that a) I like the Kinks a bit too much and b) the Brothers Davies originated the brotherly hatred and are still the best, look no further than this article as reported by Billboard. Gotta love that brotherly love.

It's Not Fair

Everyday, usually in the morning, I check NME.com for news. Usually there isn't anything too interesting and I move on quickly. The format to NME.com is something like this: Left hand column is the highlights of the news from the last 24 hours and anything new that's particularly interesting. The right hand column is devoted to pictures from the magazine, awards, and other various things involving music. It's a fairly good set-up, nothing to complain about. Except of course when they feature pictures like this. Then I have to cover up half the screen with my hand and somehow make it seem like I'm not the biggest weirdo roaming the earth. When I saw that picture this morning I took one look and hit the back button on my browser it was that sexy traumatic. I guess there are just some things I can't handle. Like pictures of Ricky Wilson.
On a completely different subject, I've finished the first season of Torchwood and just rewatched the eleventh episode of season 3 Doctor Who. Essentially what this means is that a) I have to find a more productive way to waste my time or b) find a new show to watch on YouTube. Or c) rewatch NMTB and The IT Crowd. I suspect I will be going with option c. Also, on a Torchwood related note, as much as I didn't want Owen to die, I didn't want him to come back and be a complete jackass. So yeah, I want Owen to die this week.
Well that's it for me kiddies. I think I'm going to watch some IT Crowd.

Brits, A Proper Nash Review, and Why Colds Suck Ass

The Brit Awards (also referred to as the British version of the Grammys) are tomorrow (or Thursday, I can't remember which) and it seems that whoever runs the ceremony has decided to shorten the list in the category of best single. As some readers might remember, the Kaiser Chiefs were one of the groups originally nominated for this award. As of today, that is no longer true. So what does the band do in reaction? Have their lead singer open his big mouth. "I am just a bit annoyed" is the least offensive part of the quotes used from Mr. Wilson's interview with BBC 6Music earlier today. Bashing the singles that did get nominated was something else he did. Now it's been a long time since I've criticized a group or individual, but there are time when keeping one's gob shut, especially when one is being interviewed, would be a very good idea. If one doesn't do that, then one will be ridiculed in this blog, it's practically my job. On the other hand the only good song on the now shortened list is "Valerie" by Mark Ronson. The other songs, as far as I know or can tell, are shite. Still, it's just not good manners to bash. So remember that next time Richard. >_<
I'm going to admit something. I've been trying to write a review of Made of Bricks for hours and I can't do it. Let's just say my main issue with the album is that, much like Mel Brooks, Miss Nash doesn't know how to end things. Mel Brooks can't end a movie well and Kate Nash doesn't know when to end a song. Otherwise the album is pure gold.
You know why cold suck ass? They suck ass because they suck all the life out of you and make playing the clarinet harder than it already is when you don't practice as often as you should. It also makes life generally difficult because the instinct to stay curled up in ball is often overridden by the need for food, which is hard to get because it's far away and you just want to stay curled up in a ball. Colds also suck because they make your nose all congested and so you have to blow your nose all the time which is, in and of itself, a pain in the ass. Generally colds just suck a big one and should go away. Stupid rhinovirus.

A Kinky Update

I wrote this in my seminar blog, in response to the fact that I got to grill the new class and got my seminar blog praised to high heaven
Crap it's been a long time since I wrote in this blog. I guess since I'm not taking the class anymore there's really no need, but I feel inspired. This past week I got the chance to peek in on this semesters Rock/Soul/Prog class and there have been a plethora (well I say plethora) of articles having to do with my Rock gods, the Kinks, so I felt I should write. Besides I'm incredibly bored and can't find this episode of Torchwood I've been looking for. So, onto the Kinks!
As I've previously mentioned in this blog, I blame the Kinks for the present state of British rock music. When I say blame, I don't mean in a bad way. I mean, they're the reason Brit-pop existed and hence the reason my favourite band exists. And a whole bunch of other bands as well, including anyone who can claim Blur, Oasis, the Pretenders, the Jam, Pulp, Supergrass, or the Madness as an influence. Well, my view was all but confirmed in a book that recently read called The Kinks: A Very English Band. As you can guess it's a biography of the band from their very beginnings till around 2002. (Technically the band is still together, despite the fact that the Brothers Davies all but hate each other and none of the other band members know what the hell is going on.) My thesis that you can connect the Kinks to Kaiser Chiefs through Blur and the Jam can now commence!
Another one of my postulates, that Ray Davies is an incredibly bitter man, was also confirmed in none too certain terms. Not only is Mr. Davies incredibly bitter over everything ever, he's also slightly paranoid, something of a nutter, obsessed with concept albums (see the Kinks back catalogue starting with The Village Green Preservation Society), and is very controlling of all of his artistic output. If you've every wanted to read a biography of Ray Davies couched in a history of the Kinks, I would highly recommend The Kinks: A Very English Band by Neville Marten and Jeff Hudson. Heck, if you've ever wanted the full back story on the Kinks, I would suggest that book.
Now onto the articles I was talking about earlier. Both we written by Jason Heller who is a staff writer at the AV Club. The first article is Mr. Heller's perspective on the Kinks and what they mean to him. When I read it, I was absolutely thrilled to finally know that there was someone else out there who thought as highly of the band as I did. The second article is a "primer" on the Kinks and includes most of the vital tracks that anyone new to the band should listen to before diving into the full back catalogue. My only addendum would be "Dandy," "Dedicated Follower of Fashion," "Mr. Pleasant," "Starstruck," "Apeman," and "Better Things." (I had to keep adding songs as I looked at the best of albums I have. I only meant to add three originally.) Of course most intro courses focus on the band's earlier material because it's the most accessible in the Kink's back catalogue. As mentioned before, after Village Preservation Society Ray got rather obsessed with writing concept albums and rock operas and really started hating the idea of writing "hits" or "singles." If you like what you here, then maybe you can venture into the more obscure albums.
So there you have it. My update on all things Kinks. I'll be keeping an eye on the new R/S/P class and might update based on my inspiration level. Until then feel alright.

Sad (and not so Sad) Facts For 11 at Night

• I've watched 18-3 of NMTB way too many times. No one should be able to say what someone is going to say before they say it. Unless of course they're naturally psychic in which case it's fine
• I made Dean's List and have been asked to join the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. I feel I should snub the latter, just because I can
• My internet has been mostly shit all day. I really wish it wasn't
• I had one of the freakist experiences yesterday. I went to turn in my English paper and bumped into Prof. Campbell. I asked him were the seminar was in the course and basically, my blog from last semester was stumped by Prof. Campbell in front of the entire class. It was really scary
• I have one class tomorrow :)

Off to bed now. Ta

I'm Such A Nerdy Emo

So this past week has been shit for the most part. Friday night was fantabulous before I got back to my room, but was otherwise quite fantastiche. I had dinner with a bunch of upper class band geeks and tried a little rum, which is fruity good. Then I went back to my room and it all went to shit because I had to wake up at 8 the next morning thus meaning I needed to go to bed at 11, yadda yadda. My relationship with Allison has now stagnated at putting up with each other, just barely. Saturday was cool. My white sneakers broke this past week, so I went to Journeys to get another pair, which coincidentaly I spilled Diet Coke on later the same night. I ended up spending around a hour in the mall and bought two shirts and bra that doesn't fit because I couldn't remember my bra size. One of the shirts has Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty on it which is neato since she's kind of made of awesome. The other shirt has "Music is My Boyfriend" written across it, in bright yellow, and, quite coincidentally, is made by the same company that the Kaiser Chiefs use to print their shirts. I basically had the room to myself though and gourged on pizza, cheese sticks, and Dr. Pepper. It was a great night all in all, if only because I discovered how much I really love Torchwood despite it's rather obvious flaws (at least during the first season.) Had it out with Allison, which means jack-shit, but at least some of the stuff I've been thinking about this past week is off my chest. Today was uneventful except for the fact that I watched more Torchwood and found out my paper deadline has been extended till Wednesday which means I have tomorrow to write it. Very exciting. Spent most of the day in the library procrastinating and am now back in my room trying vainly to work on my NPR internship resume and cover letter. I have most of the resume done and really, really wish I didn't have to write a cover letter. Really. Currently thinking about ordering dinner and listening to Amy Winehouse. So, ta.

Fan Girl SCREAMS!!!!

I must warn you this will all sound crazy in the morning, but it will be worth it. Mind the capslock.
(The following two explosions relate to Torchwood characters, with season 2 in mind)
I LOVE IANTO JONES!!!!! He's a snarky wonder boy.
I LOVE OWEN!!!!!!!! He's a medical snarky wonder boy.
(This next bit only makes sense if you've seen Hogsfather and Love and Monsters {from DW season 2}) You know why Elton? Because you're eeeevil and crazy in the head.
And now, bon nuit.

Life? Don't Talk To Me About Life!

You know what sucks? The world. You know what makes it slightly better? Wonderfully cheesey TV shows, specifically Torchwood. True, Auntie Beeb makes it incredibly hard to find on YouTube, but if you're clever you can find it and realize how wonderfully silly the whole thing is. Kate Nash also makes the world slightly better but not as much as Torchwood.
So yesterday, in a fit of boredom, I was checking all my "shopping" sites and I found the best shirt ever. Instead of trying to describe, I'm just going to post the picture. Long time readers will instantly understand why the shirt is so awesome. However I will explain after the break.

The reason why this shirt is so awesome is because I love cheese. So a shirt that says "Sweet Dreams are Made of Cheese" not only my other love of 80's rock hits will my previously mentioned love of cheese. All on one shirt! I've decided that I must have that shirt, one way or another. So yeah, that's the best shirt ever.
Last night I also decided to be a complete bitch to Allison because she ruins everything in my life and makes me feel like a horrible piece of second hand shit. It was both wonderful and horrible because now she's acting like the complete bitch she is and I'm at the wrong end of her bitchiness. It's at times like this I wish I had a point-of-view gun. Either that or a different roommate.
Well I'm off. Time to eat and watch something distracting.

Doctor Who Update

And for a minute I was excited and happy. Then life hit me and I was depressed again. Anyway, here's the skinny: The SciFi channel will start airing DW in April. How fantastiche is that? No wait really which means I won't have to download the episodes. Not that will somehow stop me, but I won't have to. So yay.

Apologies All Arounduh

Sorry for the lack of updates both past and future. I'm in a piss poor mood and will be (probably) for the rest of the week. To make up for this I'm going to post the set list from the OK Go concert I went to on Saturday. No review, yet again, but I've got a four page personal essay due tomorrow and I've only written a little bit more than a page, so you can see where my priorities are. In any event, here's the set list and I'll see you when I don't want to machete certain New Englanders.

Set List: OK Go, 9:30 Club, 2/2/08

1. So Damn Hot
2. Television, Television
3. No Sign of Life
4. Don't Ask Me
5. The Fix Is In
6. Oh Lately It's so Quiet
7. Get Over It
8. Rock 'n' Roll Suicide (w/Bonerama, Bowie cover)
9. It's a Disaster (w/Bonerama)
10. A Million Ways (w/Bonerama)
11. A Good Idea at the Time (w/Bonerama)
12. Here Come the Girls (full ensemble, Ernie K. Doe cover)
13. Invincible
14. Here It Goes Again

Encore

1. Bye Bye Baby
2. Do What You Want