Three dollars and 63 cents

Now there's something we should be afraid of

They were playing in Columbus the day I was driving back from St. Louis. I seriously considered stopping to see them, but I decided to do the last seven hours of the drive instead. I do hope I get to see them at some point, though.

Apparently Urban Outfitters or American Apparel was selling them at one point. Muslims were outraged that the store was selling something that closely resembled a kiffiyeh as a fashion accessory; others immediately made the boneheaded Muslim = terrorist connection and complained. Something that pisses off everybody equally--now that's American.

I grind my own beans at home. When I'm away from home, I usually go with Starbucks, but not because I drink any of that froofy stuff. I just like my coffee dark and strong, and theirs suits my tastes best. I try to patronize local shops when I can, though.

That's almost exactly what I just thought without even hearing the song. I often like what Kanye does with sampling, so I might've been okay with him vs. Wilco, but the Super Bowl Shuffle? Yikes...

I finally got around to starting Dylan's Chronicles yesterday. I'm about 50 pages into it, and so far I'm really enjoying it.

I used to listen to WXPN when I was in high school and college. If I adjusted my radio antenna just right, I could pick it up very vaguely. I don't listen to the radio much online now, but when I do, I always tune in to XPN. That's the first place I ever heard a Wilco song, in fact. Hi hazel If I can find a ticket, I'm going to try to come down for the Wilmington show.

As a longtime U2 fan, I'm really disappointed with how difficult they've made it over the last few years for longtime fans to buy just their new material. Have all the U2 albums? How about you plunk down $150 anyway to get just a handful of unreleased and rare material from the Complete U2? The only songs not available for individual purchase from U2 18 (the third U2 greatest hits collection, mind you) were the new songs. Now they're releasing the "super deluxe" remasters for $50 apiece. Granted, the Joshua Tree set is lovely, but at that price, I'm not in any hurry to get the others. The on

It will be eventually. I'm glad U2 is releasing these remasters (Boy especially sounds lousy on CD), but I'd hoped they would spread them out a bit more. By the time they go into retirement or semi-retirement (or are cryogenically frozen in order to allow them to make a comeback 500 years from now), there's not going to be much of anything left to rerelease. I've loved U2 the band for a long time, but increasingly I find myself bugged by U2 the business. Of course all bands are out to make money, but U2 just seems to be so obvious about it anymore. I was only hoping for Under A Blood Red Sky o

Further proof I live on the wrong coast...

Does anybody know who else is in the septet besides Nels and Scott Amendola? I only know Scott is because these shows are listed on his website. That is an excellent name for a group

I read Rob Sheffield's Love Is A Mix Tape on Friday and loved it. It's the best book I've read in a long time. It's not that artistically written, but there's such a genuine, honest style to it, and I could really relate to his idea of certain songs capturing certain times in our lives. It was poignant without being sentimental, and I was sorry to finish it so quickly. I'm now reading I'm a few essays into it, and so far I'm enjoying the style.

They did that one night in St. Louis, too. It was the first time I'd ever heard Poor Places > Reservations. What a beautiful pairing.

I just paid $3.75 in Harrisburg, PA, which was a 10 cent savings over the cheapest station in my parents' town 25 miles away. I'm glad I didn't fill up before I went up there today

For anybody who's interested, the Scott Amendola Band's set from the April 25 show at Jazz Standard is available to buy on Scott's website. The band featured Charlie Hunter, Jenny Scheinman, Nels, and Scott. It was an excellent set, and the recording sounds great. Remember that the Singers hit the road a week from tomorrow, playing in Minneapolis June 1, Madison June 2, Chicago June 3, Indianapolis June 4, Ann Arbor June 5, Charlottesville (VA) June 6, and Montreal June 8. Aside from about ten days in Europe, these could very well be the Singers' only shows outside of California this year, s

By the third time I saw them, they were tolerable. In a different situation, I might've enjoyed them. I thought John Doe was a great opener and would've loved getting to see him for three more nights. As things stand now, Andrew Bird will be my next opener

I'd be thrilled to teach there--they're home to one of my favorite literary journals, The Mid-American Review. Honestly, with the way the job market is these days, I'll be thrilled to get a tenure track job anywhere.

I finished Chuck Klosterman's Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs last night. The first few essays were a little slow, but after I got into it, I read most of it in a day. I'm really interested in pop culture and cultural studies, especially the intersection between serious criticism and what Klosterman dubs as "low culture," and I definitely think there are a few essays in here I'd use as assigned reading in a class. This book was a bit more serious than IV, but I was really impressed by some of the realizations he reaches by the end of some of the essays. Next up for me is Rob Sheffield's Love Is

I always hated summer session when I was in grad school. My students had the attention span of gnats, and my professors always thought they could cram a semester's worth of work into six weeks of a class that met twice a week for three hours. I still can't believe I got an A- in literary theory, because after about two weeks of hell, I just stopped reading. I guess it was to my advantage that I sat in the professor's blind spot. He apparently forgot about me. Good luck, beesman! (BTW, I was the one in line ahead of you Thursday and Saturday)

Be careful what you wish for And for the record, Nels and I are not practically engaged. I just really, really like his music, and he's inexplicably decided he wants to be my new best friend.

poppy, you know Nels will come dot you with calamine between shows. He's nice that way. Sorry if I came off as antisocial. By day 3 I was worn out. I swear I really do like people. Especially VCers!

Martyr's is sounding more fun by the minute. I'll even make it a point to talk more this time.

I read this and immediately thought of: I'm surprised I made it through the whole trip without doing a shot with someone. I usually stick with beer, but I enjoy a shot once in awhile.

I must've taken mine right around the time you took yours

My sleep cycle is still screwed up. Last night around 12:15 I was suddenly wide awake, and after a little while I finally realized it was because I was waiting for an encore.