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2004:06:29:15:07. Tuesday. MUSIC IN 2003: TOP 15 ALBUMS. The cycle never peaked. Last year I was expecting the theory of pop music's 12-year swing to pan out and bring a 2003 full of glorious new masterpieces. I listened to a lot of music this year, and while much was good and some was great, none broke the sort of ground that 1991, 1979, 1967 and 1955 dug up. In fact, as much as I like this music, I find it to be overall uninspiring. It took me half a year to realize that I was never going to finish writing about all of them, because I just didn't have that much to say. They're fun to listen to. Listen to them.
I Am the Movie is 2003's best record of 2002. Motion City Soundtrack self-released the original version of the record last year, hand-packaging each CD in an old, hollowed-out 5" floppy diskette. Thanks to constant touring and a network of indie rock websites, the band developed a dedicated following and landed a surprise deal with hardcore punk label Epitaph. What doesn't fit is that Motion City Soundtrack is one of the poppiest bands you're likely to hear on the indie circuit. If the Get Up Kids (circa 1999) and Ozma (circa 2000) collaborated on a side-project, etc. This is not your typical SoCal ska-punk-speed act. The opener, "Cambridge," is a little weak but it leads into a serious of rave-ups that have to be heard -- preferably live -- to be believed. "Shiver" and "The Future Freaks Me Out" are each among the best tracks of the year, lead single "My Favorite Accident" and "The Red Dress" give vocalist Joshua Cain a chance to stretch a little (and again, will get any crowd going), while "Capital H" puts to shame every use of keyboards in indie pop since the first Rentals album. I've been listening to this album for over a year and it's still as compelling as it was the time I played it. I saw the band live twice this year, and both shows were home runs, despite the terrible sound engineering the first time around. If they continue turning out top pop like I Am the Movie and touring as hard as they have been, this band still has a long rise ahead of them. 2004:06:29:12:42. HOW TO CALL PHONE SEX. Ever flip through the newpaper personal ads and see all those luscious women staring at you and wonder what it is like to talk to them? Don�t lie, I know you have. In case you ever give into temptation, here are a few tips: posted by 2004:06:28:14:07. Monday. THE JUNE SURPRISE. The "handover of power" took place today, two days ahead of schedule. Why?
The U.S.-led coalition in Iraq handed sovereignty to an interim government in an unannounced Baghdad ceremony called two days ahead of schedule to thwart terrorists amid a spate of bombings.
Yes, Paul Wolfowitz was right. Everything's going swimmingly, and those media cowards just won't leave Baghdad to find out the truth. That's why we had to do this ceremony under a shroud of subterfuge. Ignoring for the moment that no country can be considered sovereign if it cannot compel foreign armies to leave its territory, how can this be considered anything but a photo op if it's being rescheduled to confuse rebel fighters? Don't fret -- I'm sure our trusted media officials will find a way. Also, please don't expend any energy wondering how much this has to do with the Supreme Court's ruling that "enemy combatants" held at Camp X-Ray do, in fact, have rights.
2004:06:25:16:43. Friday. YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO LIZ PHAIR IS. Craziness done, back to regular updates. We went to see Spoon at the Annex on Wednesday night -- their "Believing Is Art" is "our" song. The show sold out, which kind of surprised me, since Cave In and Piebald couldn't put 50 people in the place last time I was there. Spoon don't tour as often as you'd think a band still trying to shake off majorlabelitis would, so I was really glad for the opportunity to see them. 2004:06:19:21:08. Saturday. SUPER MARIO. Local call. That means the longest it can last is 15 minutes and it can be explicit. These calls are weird, I wish I knew what the ad was that they are responding to. This guy sounded pretty young and wasn�t really giving me many clues to what he wanted so I was fishing like crazy. posted by 2004:06:17:08:56. Thursday. A LOVELY GARDEN PARTY.
posted by Aaron S. Veenstra 2004:06:17:08:31. I JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT THE GREATEST THING, TWO YEARS LATE. I got a DVD-RW drive on Monday. It's fantastic. I can't believe I didn't have one of these before. It's amazing enough that it burns entire CD's in under two minutes, but to also give me top-quality DVD copies in not much time? Awesome. Everybody get one.
posted by Aaron S. Veenstra 2004:06:16:11:57. Wednesday. FIVE THOUSAND WORDS.
posted by Aaron S. Veenstra 2004:06:14:12:33. Monday. OUR LOVE GOES CRAZY ALL THE TIME. Well, we did it. My scanner's on the fritz, so this is the only picture I have ready right now:
It's me eating the cherry from our cake. Hooray! More to come.
posted by Aaron S. Veenstra 2004:06:08:10:24. Tuesday. TWO RINGY-DINGY. We bought some rings yesterday at a couple stores on State Street. They are, shall we say, untraditional. I look forward to our mothers being annoyed.
During the rummage sale, we brought Lassie outside to play, since her wings are still clipped. She ran around in the yard a bit and sat in a tree, which she seemed to like. She also kind of freaked out a little girl from downstairs.
posted by Aaron S. Veenstra 2004:06:06:16:26. Sunday. MEN AMONG GODS. The conventional wisdom that we'll hear from Republicans this week is that Reagan was the most popular President ever, etc. Gallup says otherwise:
And in fact, he also didn't leave office with the highest-ever approval rating. His last three polls averaged almost nine points lower than Bill Clinton's last three.
2004:06:05:22:42. Saturday. WELL, YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY. Only the good die young.
posted by Aaron S. Veenstra 2004:06:04:14:08. Friday. BUY OUR CRAP!
Today's the first day of our two-day rummage sale -- with about two hours left, we've taken in almost $100, which adds up to about $70 profit once the classified ad is taken into account. I'm expecting at least as much tomorrow, since all the people with jobs will be out to shop. Also, I'm posting this from out in the lawn.
posted by Aaron S. Veenstra 2004:06:03:22:17. Thursday. YOU WIN THIS ROUND, THE MAN. I got rid of cable last summer. Now I'm trying to watch the fifth game of the Stanley Cup Finals, which has gone into overtime and suddenly become a really exciting series. So why is it that, just as the overtime puck drops, my ABC reception goes all to hell? Damn you, antennas!
posted by Aaron S. Veenstra 2004:06:03:12:26. VICTORY PARTY UNDER THE SLIDE! Fifty years from now, Al Gore is going to be regarded as a hero and one of the greatest American politicians never to park his ass behind the Oval Office desk. Seriously. Even if the United States never reverts to the mindset it once held -- that substance and policy matter -- it will be impossible to denigrate the man once he's out of the public realm the way people do it essentially to his face now. How is that Gore is so loathed by the nation's elite? I don't think "loathe" is too strong a word here -- it's obvious that the pundit class absolutely hates him. His personality is kind of boring, sure, but he is a moderately skilled politician. You don't get two terms in the U.S. Senate, two terms as Vice-President and a term as President-in-Exile without having some reasonable modicum of political acumen, and standing to Bill Clinton, the most skilled politician of his generation, for eight years will make anybody look not so great by comparison. 2004:06:03:08:47. ADJUSTING THE OBJECTIVES. George Bush says he was never mad at the French. George Bush says he never had "extensive conversations" with Ahmed Chalabi. And now, well, we're not failing in Iraq at all:
"There is no Plan B," a senior official said.
Still, fear that the US might be left alone to cope with conflict in Iraq has driven significant policy shifts. Washington has come to realise it must confer real authority on the new government on June 30. But officials believe that France, Germany and Russia, leading opponents of the war, have been slow to recognise this US swing towards pragmatism. Within the administration there is still a sense that the European detractors are not unhappy to see the US in trouble. "There's still a fair bit of satisfaction at seeing the US get its comeuppance in Iraq, especially among Europeans," the official said. "There is a failure to recognise that we are adjusting the objectives. We are far more willing to accept a degree of the unknown." Remember when early 2002 rolled around and suddenly capturing Osama bin Laden was no longer necessary for any of our various vague purposes in western and central Asia? I tell you, this bold new "sour grapes" style of military action is going places! Caught in a quagmire from which you can't possibly extract yourself without losing thousands of lives and billions of dollars? Adjust the objectives! Hey, we meant to turn the world's second-largest oil well into the shooting location for "Mad Max 4!" Think of all the tax cuts we'll be able to afford when Mel Gibson starts paying our outrageous location fees! You thought this was a failure? You defeatist, anti-American scum -- go back to old Europe!
2004:06:03:08:36. HEY.
Emily and I went up to Upper Michigan last weekend to, among other things, go through my grandparents' storage unit. I found a rain bonnet from Houghton National Bank that I thought was quite stylish.
Later we ate at Houghton's formerly best, and now worst, Chinese buffet. Emily took a private meeting with a stoic but fair Buddha. Our marriage ceremony will take place on June 12. It will consist of three people signing a piece of paper and four people watching them do it. On August 22, we will have a party in our new house, so don't worry about us not getting a ton of free stuff.
posted by Aaron S. Veenstra 2004:06:02:17:57. Wednesday. ARE YOU COMPLETELY FUCKING DERANGED? So I�m talking to this guy. He called the Fantasy X line, so we were chatting away about him fucking the shit out of me. I don�t really even remember the specifics of the first 30 minutes of the call, just that it was going well (ie. long). So at the 5 minutes left warning tone, I interrupted the �action� to tell him that we were going to get cut off soon and that I wanted to give him my extension number so he could call me back if we got disconnected. Most callers are very familiar with the extension number system and ask you for it if they like you and do call back. This guy told me he was outside but was going inside to get pen and paper. It sounded like he completely closed up shop to go do this task. That�s kind of weird, most times it sounds like the guy scribbles the number on the closest thing available. He tells me he is ready. posted by |
Motion City Soundtrack / I Am the Movie
