Today was the first day it’s really felt like autumn. 70 degrees. Sunshine. Breeze. Absolutely gorgeous. I’ve been blaring the Divine Comedy’s Casanova. It’s such a perfect record for those fall afternoons when you feel a bit… oh, I don’t know… I would say “wistful” but that sounds too fancified so maybe I’ll just say “full of yearning or desire tinged with melancholy” or “musingly sad.” Anyway, Divine Comedy is great for that feeling. My version of Casanova came with a bonus CD with some older tracks so I’ve been rotating them heavily– “Tonight We Fly,” “When the Lights Go Out All Over Europe” and a live version of “Johnny Mathis’s Feet” by American Music Club.

Then I got home and plugged in Turbonegro’s Apocalypse Dudes and that felt almost as good.

I had a full schedule today but I didn’t really get much work done. It was a day of prepping work to get done later. Like tomorrow. Obviously, I re-did this site. I hope it’s nicely readable. That’s always my main concern with sites. My last layout was simple and easy to read but I felt like it lacked some crucial info.

Then there’s the NashvilleZine issue. Nothing’s getting written up. The comments are fun for the five people who seem to participate in them. Traffic isn’t slowing down but I think it’s time to shake things up a bit. It’s not that interesting to read, frankly. I’ve just been so busy that I haven’t been able to add items and seemingly everyone else is too. Anyway, if I have a break between the paying jobs, I’ll work on it. Til then, it’s sucking.

Also, I think I’m having a feud with Girls & Boys because of what I said here about them not needing another singer and instrumentalist. I think this is because one faction of the band who agreed with my sentiment may have presented my opinion to the other faction as though I supported the first faction’s opinion when in fact I had formed said opinion before I knew of faction one’s shared opinion. Make sense? In any case, you don’t drag a “journalist” (however loose the quotations marks) into a band squabble unless you want to lose the argument. I don’t know how to remove myself from the feud without saying “I think they should keep looking for a third girl” and frankly, I really don’t believe that. Although it sounds like a great plot for an American Pie sequel.

This demonstrates one of the hazards of running a blog that sometimes covers my opinion of local music while simultaneously interacting with local musicians socially. It’s funny because we wrestle (at least I do) with this problem at NashvilleZine: where’s the line between support and good criticism? I mean sometimes I think a band really sucks and I won’t mention their name because I know I’ll run into them. But on the other hand, doesn’t the news that they suck need to get out there?

Anyway, I still think G&B’s three songs are delicious and I wish they’d record more soon. “Big Ben” has grown on me considerably since seeing them perform it last. I look forward to watching them play again soon, provided none of the septet wants to rumble with me.

So, I recently read Hold My Gold: A White Girl’s Guide to the Hip-Hop World. The mere fact that someone felt I should read it makes my question my masculinity. (continue reading…)

[This piece appeared in All the Rage]

Raleigh, NC’s The Rosebuds have been perfecting their dour pop songs since 2001 when the duo of Ivan Howard and Kelly Crisp got married. They met in college after Ivan broke both his arms, ending his basketball career. After nuturing their relationship with rock shows and literature, the couple married and set off to pursue music together. Their music is sown with their affection for each other and they infuse their melancholy tones with hopefulness. (continue reading…)

The K and I ponged yesterday and it was sweaty. Really sweaty. Todd won the first game. Then I won the next two for the series. Then I won the next one, giving me three games in a row. Then K turned it on and destroyed me for the next four games, giving him the next two series. That gave K the win for the day, tying us in the lame quest for “Mr. September.” We don’t know if we’ll be able to compete again before October, so there may be a “championship” match on Saturday, the 1st. (continue reading…)

I could tell you about the weekend, but I like you too much. There were ups and downs, highlights and lowlights. I will inform you that a trip to the Hustler Hollywood store was made in the wee hours of Friday/Saturday. It was not nearly as sleazy as I’d expected (hoped?). I liked how their DVDs were sorted into their own Blockbuster-esque categories: Gonzo, Artcore, etc. (continue reading…)

I am an idiot. I mean, I know I could say that lots of ways, but really, I’m an idiot. For the past few years I’ve had a storage space. I knew it was full of crap that I didn’t want or need but couldn’t part with, but I figured most of it was essential. I went out there today to clean everything out so I could shut down the space and stop paying rent. I figured it would take a while, but I should probably be able to get everything in my car. Provided, of course, that I threw plenty away. (continue reading…)

So I went to see The Walkmen the other night. It was not my first choice of a show but it was looking like I might be standing in line hoping Blackalicious wasn’t sold out, so plans were changed. I listened to Bows & Arrows back when it came out but it never grabbed me. Too droney. No melodies. Kinda boring. (continue reading…)

Ha ha ha ha…

Did I ever blog about this? Forget Me Not panties. It’s like a lojack for your ladies underthingies–GPS in her panties. (continue reading…)

So I got to attend a private party at the Mercy Lounge last night for winners of a contest sponsored by Jack Daniels. The winners were all British and flown to Nashville for a tour of the JD distillery in Lynchburg and a concert with The Features, The Editors and Maximo Park. My friend Tracy was kind enough to pass along the info to get me on the guest list (thanks, Tracy). Though as it turned out neither she nor I was listed. They let us in anyway. (continue reading…)