sureshot

I ride a fixie, and I'm about as far as you can get from a hipster. I ride it with a brake. The advantages for me are that it's really light, I can go as fast as I want, and I love the added control over snow and ice; brakes don't work as well in slushy weather, the last thing I want to do is need to stop with brakes while coasting over a patch of ice.

 

I bought it off a hipster who thought his bike was stolen (turns out he left it in a friend's garage when he was drunk one night). He built a neat-o replacement bike he didn't need, and sold it to me for cost. I love nerding it up on some cool kid's ride, but mostly I find it to be a bike that does everything I need and nothing more.

Yea, plus a lot of fixies allow you the ability to flip the rear hub and turn it into a coaster if you dont feel like riding "fixed"

What's to understand? You turn the pedals, the bike goes. You stop turning the pedals, the bike stops.

LOL. pretty much. I dont ride fixie, but I can understand the appeal (at least until your knees give out from braking). Theres virtually nothing that can break on it, so the only maintenance is keeping the chain clean. They're cheap. They're super quiet. You dont have the added weight of lugging around 20 gears you dont use (In a city like Chicago, theres no reason you need a ton of gears...). It helps you establish a proper cadence. A lot of people like the minimalist look. And it greatly increases your strength and endurance..thats why a lot of cyclists use them as training bikes.

Its obviously not something you would use for cross-country treks, but for hopping around the city it makes a lot of sense.

I have seen this in my small town up north. I find it funny how the hipsterization has even grabbed hold of the youths. I find so many (at least to my eyes) 10-14ish young lads dressed in obnoxiously bright colors, all listening to Vampire Weekend and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and most importantly, visiting pitchfork.com

God are people still bitching about Pitchfork? Its been around since 1995. Get over it.

I was at Permanent Records in Chicago. Saw Marissa Nadler give an enchanting performance

http://www.myspace.com/songsoftheend

Picked up:

Used:

Gary Numan- The Pleasure Principle

Jimmy Witherspoon- Mean Old Frisco

New:

Condo Fucks- Fuckbook

Mr Bungle- Disco Volante

Ellen Allien- Sool

Sunn 0))) & Boris- Altar

Smog- Red Apple Falls

I am assuming the building/laying of these dedicated tracks are part of the package. At least in Illinois, I believe the new track will run along I55 corridor.

l doubt it. Grade seperation would require WAY more money than whats being talked about here. $8 billion is table scraps when you're talking about this kind of thing.

http://www.standard.net/live/news/168348

The only rail service that qualifies under America's lower high-speed standard is Amtrak's 9-year-old Acela Express route connecting Boston to Washington, D.C.

 

The trains are built to reach speeds up to 150 mph, but only average about 80 mph because of curving tracks and slower-moving freight and passenger trains that share the route. On the densely traveled line from New York City to the nation's capital, the Acela arrives just about 20 minutes earlier than standard service, at more than twice the cost during peak travel times.

 

For instance, a one-way Acela fare leaving New York at 11 a.m. is $155. The same departure on a regular train costs $72.

One of my favorite scenes in cinema:

Stalker

This is a bending of the definition of "high speed rail", which is typically understood to be 200 mph+, and dedicated, totally grade separated trackage. If you're picturing Japanese bullet trains in your head, forget it. This is nothing like that.

The speeds we are looking at under this proposal are 100mph. Essentially the same speeds we already had in the 1930's with the Zephyr. And in most urban areas, the speeds will still be less than that (go ahead, I challenge you to take a train through the Chicago yards at 100mph..and see if the equipment and tracks can handle it).

Its undoubtedly good to see the attention on this subject. However, nothing will be solved until passenger trains have dedicated trackage...they'll still be held up by freight and have their schedules dictated by the actual owners of the tracks, the freight train operators.

It's bizarre that the music industry evolved in such a way that you had been forced to purchase an LP of a band without the benefit of actually getting to hear it to see if you'd like it. Sure, maybe you'd hear a song on the radio. But I can't think of many other things (certainly not in the art realm) where you don't get an opportunity to experience the art in some form before deciding whether you wanted to buy it.

 

I dont say this to defend illegal downloading. But it would be nice (and I think fair) if there was a way to allow people to download music for free and maybe have it automatically expire in a certain amount of time (say, 48 hours?), with an option to buy. I'd think this would benefit everyone -- the consumers would be happy to buy more because they'd be more confident in their purchases. And I think that artists would benefit by having more people take a chance on their music (for free) and maybe more people ending up buying.

 

Hey Payroll Peter - it sounds like you've been burned by illegal downloaders. What do you think?

Well, you can sample stuff on Myspace (which most bands have), or via their own individual websites. Also, Pitchfork now allows you to stream in entirety every album they review

I pretty much buy vinyl exclusively. I don’t see the point to CDs. Most new vinyl these days allows you a free digital download, which should satisfy any portability desire you might have (either burn it to a blank CD, or more likely just upload it to your MP3 player). Meanwhile, you still get the physical medium in audiophile format for when you choose to listen to it properly, along with large/intricate artwork, all while supporting your local record store. Not to mention the inherent collectibility that exists in vinyl (limited pressings, etc), which allows your purchase to potentially increase in value over time (if that’s something that matters to you).

Obviously vinyl will remain a niche market and will never be anywhere close to the primary format as it once was. But theres clearly a demand and a renewed interest among a certain segment, as many production facilities can't even keep up.

Flaming Lips are confirmed as the Sunday headliner. Best part? Their set will be determined by voting as well. This could be epic.

For some reason I got Blender in the mail last week. The thing said I have a subscription through 2012. I had never heard of the magazine prior to then and have no idea how the subscription showed up. The same thing is happening with Spin also. Spin sucks though, so there is no way I would have subscribed.

Whoa, thats weird. My dad has Spin showing up in his mail too, and I can assure you he definitely didnt subscribe. I wonder whats going on....

This review sums up my feelings on the show more eloquently than I ever could:

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/article/a-fon...o-hbos-the-wire

When

painful is my favorite !!!!!

Ditto. I just found a used copy on vinyl..its my precious

I honestly almost cried.

I think Cramer almost cried.

/end thread

didn't they try something like this a couple years ago?

The original vote got delayed due to an outpouring of opposition. At that point they went back and rewrote some portions. This is the latest iteration, which still is incredibly detrimental to independent promoters, clubs, and musicians. The venues which are now exempt include venues over 500 seats...the types of places that could incur such a cost in the first place.

Please visit this link, give them your name and address, and help to save the underground music community.

http://www.4themusic.org

Basically, the city is telling all small venues, DIY spaces, and promoters that they will need $300,000 in liability insurance costing $10,000 fines for each infraction. This Reader article breaks down how detrimental this will be to the local scene.

http://blogs.chicagoreader.com/politics/20...ht-or-watch-out

I believe there is a city council vote on the 13th, so any voice of opposition you can lend is truly important.

Come on people, how can you not be excited (and Im far from an aging hipster)? This Fri night lineup is EPIC.

the almighty Jesus Lizard (!!)

Yo La Tengo

Tortoise

Built to Spill

All the sets are determined via online voting

I dont even care about Sat/Sun at this point, as I dont see them coming anywhere close.

I've got a gnarly Trek hybrid that I want to give away (so far as I can tell, it's a hybrid of slow, ugly and heavy).

Whats the model? When I was shopping I looked at some by Trek hybrids that were pretty awful (it was whatever line had shocks...they're discontinued those). But like I said, Im pretty happy with the FX, although I can see myself upgrading to something lighter/faster in a year or two

My bike: Trek 7.3 FX

I like it, its a good all around fitness bike and handles trails/city streets quite well.

brilliant? If only my mumbling and disinterest were labelled as such.

 

At least Borat and Colbert are entertaining...

The fact that people think its real makes it amusing in my eyes. This is obviously one small segment of something much bigger he is working on.

More evidence this is probably a joke and that Letterman is in on it, from Wiki:

Dave was clearly in on it.

Oh yea, and then theres this:

http://gawker.com/5140949/joaquin-phoenixs...performance-art

But now two people are telling E Dubs that it's all an Andy Kaufman-ish bugaboo. One anonymous source tells them: "[Phoenix] said, 'It's a put-on. I'm going to pretend to have a meltdown and change careers, and Casey is going to film it." A second confirms:

 

It's an art project for him. He's going full out. He probably has told his reps that he's quit acting. Joaquin is very smart. This is very conscious. He has a huge degree of control.

The fact that people actually think this "real" (the interview, quitting acting, starting a rap career) makes it all the more brilliant. In the age of Borats and Colberts, one would think everyone would be in on the take by now. And yet . . .

Really enjoying this album..I dare say they are 3 for 3. Lots of those great late-night percolating beats, woozy synths, and warm fuzzy production.

Hazel will undoubtedly be one of my top songs for the year...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7_Bhg_w2KE

Shitty video and sound, but you get the idea.