I'M TAKING A DIVE

Increased my Classic Rock playlist by four songs last night, the first of which was Livin' Thing by ELO.

Now, the things that make ELO so absurd when considered in our dotage are the very livin' things that make them awesome when we're 10. The slipping and sliding vocals, the rhythmic strings, the echoes echoes echoes.

You know, the whole electric light orchestration of it all.

Well, you can bet that I sat straight back down in my seat when Livin' Thing came on over the credits to Boogie Nights. Wouldn't leave the damn theater until it was over...

BLACK CAT

I've been waiting forever for-ever-ever forever to see Broadcast in concert.

And now they're coming in October, with Atlas Sound no less, who was a superhero when he opened for Stereolab last year.

I left my browser on the Black Cat site for a week, waiting to buy tickets when they went on sale.

But in the interim I read that Broadcast were now a duo, and that the show would be "stripped down." Well dammit, I want my Broadcast stripped up.

I haven't bought tickets yet-- I think I'll wait to hear some reports when the tour starts...

TOUCH THE FLAME

If I ever get married, I want to make sure that the Pet Shop Boys medley of Where the Streets Have No Name/Can't Take My Eyes Off You is on the soundtrack.

And I want dry ice.

And lasers. Lasers that spell out "Happy Wedding" in elaborate script.

Plus I want to walk around the reception hall from table to table with a butane torch in my hand, lighting the candle in each centerpiece.

Then I want there to be a giant candle surrounded in a heart shape by smaller candles, which are connected by tissue paper. And I want to light one of the candles at the bottom of the heart and watch the flames travel up both sides until all of the smaller candles are lit.

And I want the giant candle to have a wick that burns all sparkly red when you first light it.

And then I want to hear someone talk about "the future world."

Kind of like these crazy kids...

ONE GIANT LEAP

OK, it's a day late for this, I know, but... THE MOON IS FREE, BITCHES!

BOY IN A BOX

Boombox collectors (for yes, there is such a thing) call this their Holy Grail:




Well, slap my ass and call me Jesus— that’s my teenage box!

I went to the Walt Whitman Mall with Nancy one day, and bought it for $200 at Crazy Eddie’s across Route 110. Didn’t have a dime left after that purchase, so we had to scrounge around for change to make two fares on the N-79 bus. We begged from strangers, and dipped into the fountain in front of Macy’s for nickels.

I can still feel the tiny yet perceptible clicks as you pushed the volume slider up:

No future (click) No future (click) No future for youuuuu…

TO BE A ROCK AND NOT TO ROLL

I created a Classic Rock playlist in iTunes the other day.

So far, there are just two residents: Stairway to Heaven and Roundabout.

I listened to Stairway last night. Probably the first time in 25 years or so that I’ve listened to it all the way through. Definitely the first time I’ve ever listened through headphones. So my ears were relatively fresh.

Well, let’s just say my mind wandered. All the mock pomp and mock circumstance left me for-real bored.

Roundabout fares better. You really believe these cosmic warriors are invested in the mountains coming out of the sky and standing there. The dipshits mean it man, and commitment is half the battle...

ALWAYS BE TOGETHER

I got an e-mail today from someone on our office services staff. The subject was “Electric fun.”

Now, do I like me some electric fun? Fucks yeah.

I nearly sprained my pointer clicking to open it. The text was simple: “The fun will be here tomorrow.”

Again-- fucks yeah.

In a couple of beats, I remembered that I had ordered a table fan for my office.

Darn. A typo.

Anyway, I'm still holding out for some electric fun. Here's hoping you get some too...

TIME SLIPS AWAY

When I really want me some Comsat Angels, though, I turn to this, one of my favo(u)rite pieces of early 80s synth pop....

CS ANGELS IN AMERICA

Have a safe and happy 4th, 'Mericans...

THE IMAGE BREAKS DOWN

Man, assholes buy all the bumper stickers, don't they?

I'm looking at you, "Nobama."

You too "Marriage = One Man + One Woman."

NIGHT FALLS

Quote of the day, from Jens Lekman, who's laid up with H1N1:

"Summer is always best through a window."

I kind of agree, and feel better soon Jens.

I WANT YOU BACK

A few months ago I mentioned Michael Jackson in passing conversation. Lana crinkled up her nose.

“Ew.”

I understood. But I was curious. What had she heard?

“He's just a weirdo.”

“Well, it's not that simple,” I said.

I called up YouTube and played her the Billie Jean video.

Lana was silent for 4:54, watching with full rapt attention. I didn't need to say anything more.

Rest in peace, Michael.

Ah, but of course, it's not that simple...

THE REAL ME

"How long are you going to hide behind that nom de blog, sliced tongue?" the good people ask.

Well, good people, herewith is a video of yours truly, wherein I endeavor to instruct you all, by dint of physical example, how to get your fucking ass down in da club.

TOUCHING BY UNDERGROUND WIRES

Have a safe trip, family.

They're only miles...

WE CAN'T EVEN THINK OF A WORD THAT RHYMES

Last day of school for the kids today, so I gathered them on Lana's floor this morning for some nice old-fashioned subversion. Furnier style...

D(U)MB

The Dave Matthews Band have a new album out, and boy howdy, it does not disappoint.

Well, fuck no-- of course I haven't heard it. I'm just referring to the singularly awful title: Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King.

“But dude,” the hemp-stained wretches would protest, “GrooGrux was the nickname of LeRoi Moore, Dave's fallen band bro. Or maybe it was just Groo. Or Grux. Whatever, dude. Wanna hackey?”

No, hemp-stained wretch-- I most certainly do not want to hackey.

Now turn that baseball cap around and throw out those ratty sandals already. You're 35 for god's sake.

We solid?

IF YOU LISTEN CLOSELY

You'd expect Olivia Newton-John's cover of John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Roads to be noxious. And by any reasonable measure it is.

But I'm sitting here listening to it right now. I actually paid 89 cents for the damn thing.

The song plays a central role in Whisper of the Heart, written by Miyazaki, and I defy you to watch the movie and be a hater without reserve.

Context is king, my friends...

LOTTO LOVE

OK, this is always funny. But it's extra funny on a Wednesday.

Definitely not safe for the work, kids...

I DON'T WANNA KNOW YOUR NAME

It's not too often that I'd like to take back a kindness.

But that clanky minivan I let cut in front of me today, the one that turned out to have the TALYO fox-hunting license plate, and a window sticker of a fox head?

I want that fucker back.

NEIGHBORHOOD

Started this week sitting in a wooden rocking chair, looking out at palm trees and feeling tiny fingers of humidity glide across my cheeks. For 5 minutes, I understood the allure of Florida.

Back in NOVA now, where it's been cold and rainy for two days straight.

Back to little obsessions as well, like that brief stretch in Wake Up (from about 1:23 to 1:27: “...colder/And I can...”) where the effects are suddenly removed from Win Butler's vocals.

I like it because it's weird and random, and I can't tell whether it is accident or design.

Kind of like my week, really...