I loved loved loved Robert Lynn Asprin's MythAdventures series when I was a teen. And then his Thieves World series. And of course the comics both serials spawned (where I was first entranced by both Phil Foglio and Tim Sales' work. He died yesterday, and I'm sad that I'll never really know where Skeeve and Aahz will ultimately end up.
It's clever, and contains my favorite YouTube phenom (Betsy, you know who I'm talking about). The only thing that would have made it better would have been a guest appearance by OkGo ond their treadmills.
Gotta admit, the hugging the Brit Brit crybaby dude is pretty genius.
FACT: Betty the Beagle is in doggie daycare today.
FACT: Betty the Beagle left the building at approximately 7:30 a.m. today.
FACT: A friend of mine JUST leaving the building, hours after Betty's departure, just texted me that there are a number of dogs barking in a number of apartments!
CONCLUSION: While Betty certainly does bark, I am no longer buying the story that she barks all day long when I DO leave her at home. I DO believe that she used to, but I think she's gotten past that point, at least during daylight hours. At night I can't make the mistake of not sedating her. I didn't back at the beginning of the month and greeted my brand new neighbors with the sounds of her barking madly all through the night ... thus setting her up to be the future scapegoat for any other barking. Totally my bad.
In fact I left her at home yesterday, but stopped back in on my way to work after the gym, and there was silence. Betty is making progress! I still feel the need to bring her into daycare when I know I'll be out that night, but I think I can start transitioning back to leaving her home a couple days a week.
A Very Special Edition of Bomb Squad Thursday: Hos B4 Tankboy!
Tonight I'm back in the booth for Bomb Squad Thursday at Liar's Club, and this week I'm joined by the Hos Before Bros DJs. To be honest, I'm not even sure how many of the Hos Before Bros ladies I'm facing tonight. I know Lizz (Chicagoist / No Dessert For You / UR Chicago) and Marah (Touch & Go) will be there for sure, but there may be another couple DJs joining them.
Now you may ask yourself (in an oversized jacket marooned on a spartan stage) just how fair is this? Is it fair that a single man face 2-4 well versed ladies of the musical cognescetti? Both teams have deep wells from which to draw their selections, both have access to the very latest dance-inducing rock and/or roll, and both are smashingly charismatic, so is this a fair fight?
O.K., the title is a bit misleading. I love the Dandy Warhols -- even though I refuse to admit the existence of Odditorium -- and have bought just about everything they've ever put out right down to the self-released Black Album/Come On Feel The Dandy Warhols package. I've easily spent hundred of dollars collecting import singles for unreleased tracks and remixes. But that was back in the days when that was the only way to get those tunes ... now I wold just pay 99 cents for the song I didn't have and save the other nine bucks.
So I was excited to hear the band was releasing it's latest, ...Earth to The Dandy Warhols..., under a remarkably forward-thinking subscription model. For a set price you would get the album as an immediate download, a physical CD once it was released, a screen printed poster, and any b-sides released in the next year. That is all pretty cool, right? The only problem is that they want $34.99 a year for the whole package. For me, that's pretty steep, even when you include a healthy mark-up for materials and postage, though I'm sure plenty of folks would be more than happy to pay that. Good for them.
What I think would have been a better solution would be to offer the disc and music subscription for something closer to $15-$20, even allowing a lower tier for folks that wanted to go digital only. What do you think, am I being to stingy or am I right in thinking the band might have been better off offering a variety of packages to their fans?
Either way, I'm pleased to see them making a go of it without a Major label, and commend them for at least trying something new, even if it is out of my price range for disposable income these days.*
*Due to a certain added expense, I have to be very thoughtful of where I spend my American dollars these days.
A co-worker came by my desk yesterday looking for some new music. She had asked earlier if I had a few albums she was interested in, so she could give them a listen before buying them, and when she came by to borrow them she was a bit taken aback by the stacks of CDs on the shelves next to me. I bring a lot of music to work to play in the background so I can decide what to give a closer listen to later on, and what isn't really worth writing about.
There's a lot that's not worth writing about, trust me.
I process more music than is probably healthy. This is made even more impressive -- I think -- when you consider the fact that I give just about every single album that comes to me at least once. It's a holdover from when I used to be a talent buyer since I thought any band that took the time out to send me their disc deserved an honest appraisal.
The weird side effect of this is that when someone asks me what I'm listening to, or what's really rocking my boat at any given time, it's hard for me to answer. So much stuff goes through my ears sometimes it's hard for me to recall what exactly I listened to in the car home, even if it's an album I've been playing almost non-stop. I've always sort of had this failing, even in college it was hard for me to name my favorite band of the moment, but I still do have the big touchstones readily available for recall. Bowie, Pavement, The Who, Jane's Addiction, Public Enemy ... and so on.
And, like anyone else, I go through phases. Three months ago I was constantly playing Neon Neon. Two months ago it was Walter Meego and We Are Scientists. Two weeks ago it was lots of Yelle and Lykke Li. Right now it's My Morning Jacket and The Futureheads. As you can see, the stuff I listen to most isn't always the best of what's out there, but I think that's because I attack that stuff more critically, and while I enjoy processing it, it's not necessarily the music I want to play while driving home from work or taking the bus to a DJ gig.
Sometimes I think of my brain as a well-tuned computer adept at processing music. But when the current task is done, and the preview is written, or the show has been reviewed, the album is filed away in a storage server where it can be recalled when needed but is always present to provide context for the next review.
So next time you ask me what I'm listening to, remember that, and don't make fun of me when you see my eyes squinch up and the faint whir of an overworked processor can be faintly heard in the distance as it tries to gather up an answer for you.
Enough of that, here's a track from the Headlights, whose show I preview on Chicagoist today. (If the preceding link doesn't work yet, it's because the preview isn't scheduled to go live until 11:30, so try back around then.)
It was a tiring week. I feel like last night was the first time I had the chance to rev down my motor and take a break. Sometimes my social schedule stuns even me, and when you have 23-year-olds asking you "how you do it" without collapsing it sort of drives the point home.
Here are my primary secrets behind maintaining a healthy mix of the day- and night-time worlds:
Exercise regularly.
Drink lots of water.
Stay away from 4 a.m. bars.
The 9-to-5 job always comes first.
Keep a painting in you attic so it can take all the abuse for you.
See, pretty simple, huh?
In other news, the Chicagoist team waked away from the 2nd Annual Alternative Media Slam with the grand prize trophy after crushing both Red Eye and Time Out Chicago. (O.K., TOC actually had me worried since that was a pretty close match, but Red Eye proved once again that the MSM (they kept trying to use their affiliation with The Trib as some sort of defense) is largely clueless when it come to both new media and yo mama jokes.) afterwards I went on the town with most of my A&E writers whereupon they got introduced to whiskey-soaked Tankboy. The evening ended at Underbar, but keeping true to my rule about 4 a.m. bars, I went outside for a smoke and ended up hopping in a cab. The aftereffects? I'm quoting my writer Marcus here:
I'm typing this at Underbar courtesy of their fabulous WiFi connection since Ali and I are still here, wondering where the hell Jim went! He was here about 16 hours ago; the last we saw of him, he was walking outside to smoke, I guess, but never came back. Poor Ali's curled up on the floor in the fetal position, rocking back and forth, muttering, "Jim will be back, Jim will be back, Jim will be back..."
Anyway, thanks again, and as soon as Jim shows back up, we'll finish our drinks, hop in a cab and get home so I can do a post on Monday.
Funny kid, huh? So sad it's all true. In my defense I did see Ali the next night at the Air Traffic show -- wow, were they surprisingly good -- that supposedly counted Johnny Depp among its attendees. If only I could have confirmed that fact and hooked her up with him, all would have been forgiven. Oh well, at least I could confirm Ali was no longer in the fetal position.
All right, I'm rambling, so I'm out. As a parting question, how about all of you? Anyone else gifted with a healthy balance between two worlds?
Photo of the victorious Chicagoist team by Alicia Choi
Anyone that works in the corporate world will probably find this hilarious. Especially fitting after a recent conversation with a friend at another agency who couldn't believe they had meetings to discuss what meetings they should be having.
Other things to do this weekend, besides Keep: May 16 at Double Door: Textbook May 16 at Cubby Bear (where I will -- amazingly -- be): The Midnight Shows May 17 at Double Door: The Penthouse Sweets May 17 at Hideout (YES!): 2nd Alt Media Slam / Schadenfreude Rent Party May 18 at Double Door: DJ Schnitzel
And you know what? Since I was DJing the night they sort of had their first "date," I'm taking full credit for this. Also, I invented the internet. And hip-hop.
It's Friday. It's beautiful outside. No one wants to be indoors working today. We all know that. But here's a thought to get you through the day: after eight hours you're done for the next two days. Totally done. Relax don't do it time. But to help you get through the 8+ hours until then, enjoy this mixture of Jellyfish, Queen, and bombastic goodness from one of my new favorite groups, The Feeling.
Tonight at Liar's Club JB and I are joined by DJ Jazz Cunt, making her disc jockeying debut!
It's been a few weeks since I was in the Bomb Squad rotation so I'm really looking forward to tonight. The weather's nice, the vibe is strong, we've got fresh new DJ blood, I've got fresh new DJ tracks ... and between Timmy and Haggerty we'll all have fresh, never ending drinks.
When I saw the live taping of This American Life last year, by far my favorite part of the show was the opening anmation Ira Glass played for us that was done by Chris Ware. I love his style, and I think it fits this little story perfectly. I still haven't seen all of the Showtime episodes, but I'm pretty sure it pops up there as well.
No I'm not getting married or anything ... but that is the day I'm holding my birthday party at The Burlington! So don't go booking your band into any shows, yourself into any DJ gigs, or plan any other parties that night.
I reckon this is puh-lenty advance notice.
Also, if you are a friend who would like to jump into a 20-minute DJ slot that night, let me know now!
Tankboy resides in the body of some tall blonde guy and lives in Chicago with Pickle the Kitten, and a beagle named Betty who may actually be slightly more famous than most musicians out there. He's written about music for much longer than most bands you hear on the radio have even existed. He also swears that it wasn't him who did that and has learned that "deny everything" is a basic tenet of existence.
