You guys are a bunch of comedians.

We had the Chicagoist reader meet-up last night at The Owl and it went incredibly well. So many people came out and I actually do love meeting the readers, even the ones who leave the snarkiest of comments. Listen, if you write for a widely read site you should never lose sight of the fact that the readers are the ones making you widely read. So I always try and give them my best and don't take it personally when they don't like what I write.

Anyway, it was loads of fun.  mean, look!

Good times, people. Good times.

My knight in shining armor.

Thank god for our tamale guy!

What's another name for pirate treasure?

I had intended to get you up on the right overly sampled old school spliced together with tape and a razor blade foot by sharing a download of Paul's Boutique: The Instrumentals, but the site I originally stumbled across the finest version of that never-released collection seems to no longer exist.

Dang.

It does appear as if the link to the actual collection DOES still exist though! However I'm not going to run the risk of sharing it with you because, well, copyright is a weird thing -- and it gets even weirder when you're talking about a collection of music cobbled together by a few dudes in the shadowy years before sample clearances became codified and set in unwieldy legal stone -- and I certainly don't want to do anything considered shadowy by the Internets Police. I will however share with you the fact that the site I originally found this collection housed upon was fittingly called The Unheard Music and that enterprising sleuths may find a way to track down this bountiful booty of twenty-five most excellent beats.

And let's all hope the next reissue of this album, because you just know the label's gonna find an excuse to reissue this album any chance they can, let's hope this stuff finds it's way into the world via bonus tracks (or even better a bonus disc or EVEN BETTER bonus vinyl!).

Been a week. Wait, it ain't over yet?!

My life has been even more go go GO GO lately than usual. There's a whole bunch of reasons for this, all of them positive ones, but that still doesn't mean it's 100% fun for me. Let's call it 89% fun, 10% stress and a 1% mixture of coffee and endorphins triggered by trips to the gym.

Anyway, we're mere hours from the Chicagoist meet-up (tomorrow, Thursday November 17) so prepare for my excitement /anticipation of that glorious event to throw the percentages above into serious flux because I'm 100% excited to meet readers, enjoy complimentary booze and give away a complete Pink Floyd catalog at The Owl from 8 p.m. onward!

Some days...

...a picture will have to do!

Weird coincidence?

I'm currently revisiting the entire Pink Floyd catalog for a longer piece I'm going to write about the current reissue series. I can't decide if it'll run on Chicagoist or Donewaiting yet, but I'm leaning towards the latter just because I have a feeling it may be kind of lengthy.

As I'm going through them I'm being reminded of so many things because this catalog is such a part of my musical DNA. Many folks fall into either being fans of early Pink Floyd or late Pink Floyd (and I don't think much of anyone counts themselves as fans of post-Waters Pink Floyd so let's just not even consider that) but I've always found I liked it all. One of my favorite albums in the band's soundtrack to La Vallée, Obscured By Clouds. It's got a few rockers, some pop and some nice weird atmospheric stuff. It's kind of the perfect bridge between the group's more experimental tendencies and the more structured approach they would adopt for the remainder of the '70s.

Only the weird thing is for some reason, in my internal history, Obscured By Clouds always felt like an album from the late '60s so I never quite realized that it was actually released in June, 1972. The month and year I was born. What are the chances that the Pink Floyd album that would have the weirdest grip on me would come out at that exact point in time? I mean, it's not my absolute favorite of the band's catalog, but considering it's definitely one of their more overlooked works it's one that I've felt myself gravitating to over and over again throughout the years.

Weird, huh? I wonder if it means anything. Probably not, but maybe...

Party people say YEAH!

Seems about right...

Crystal clear.

Some days you write tons and other days you don't wanna write at all but one thing remains certain through it all.

You gotta write.

Boy, someone sure has been busy!

It's that time of year when everything seems to get crazy -- I think folks all around are trying to get "responsibilities" taken care of before the holiday season -- so I can understand if you've missed a few of the things I've written about or aren't in the loop with everything I have going on. Hell, I can barely follow me all the places I'm active in. So, let's sum it up!

• Google Reader killed it's awesome share function, forcing everyone through a narrow corral into the Google+ zone. So if you want to keep up with articles I share it appears the Shared Items Pages no longer update at all (though my final post it's displaying is hilarious), so you'll have to subscribe to me on Google+. All stuff I would have shared from Google Reader I mark as public so you can see it all.
• I wrote a nice piece for the Edelman Digital blog. If you're interested in reading something I have tosay that has to do with creativity and big ideas and markety-ish stuff please head over and read it then tell me what you think. I'm going to try and write more stuff along those lines on that site and I'd like to know if any of you find it helpful!
• Chicagoist is having a reader meet-up on November 17. RSVP for it here. But also enter our contest for your chance to win one of two sets of the ENTIRE REMASTERED REISSUED PINK FLOYD CATALOG we're giving away. Awesome, huh?
• Speaking of making plans, keep November 19 open on your calendar since I'll be the opening DJ for the '80s night that'll be going on at Beauty Bar. And there's free champagne if you RSVP! Baller! I assume since I'm so early I'll get to spin more the indie side of the '80s, but I'm totally sneaking in some Huey Lewis, INXS and Jane's Addiction!

OK, that's enough for now. Who wants some coffee?

Photo by Joe Lukey

Soft Speaker are currently one of my favorite local bands. I've been following them for a while now and have quite enjoyed watching them grow past my initial expectations and develop into something that has surprised me as each of their releases makes the sorts of subtle shifts only evident in a band that's honestly trying to discover its true self. I say it a lot better on Chicagoist in my review of their latest album Vortrobos, so read that. And then read the band's bio to see that while their music is seriously good, they know how to not take themselves to seriously. Then go to your calendar and pen in your plans to attend their album release show at Beat Kitchen on November 19.

STREAM: Soft Speaker "Ask The Guild"

Where does one person's hair end and the other's begin?

Ah, college.

After looking through a bunch of a friend's photos from my college days I am officially feeling old. And nostalgic. And realizing what a great crew I ran with in the early '90s. But mostly old.

I'm the one of the left, by the way.

Happy birthday dad.

Some days it feels like you've been gone forever and other it feels like you're still around and I've just forgotten to call you for too long. Either way I still miss you.

Oh the irony.

Someone should tell the new Google Reader layout that its "Tips and tricks" tips and tricks no longer exist...

It's down there in the lower right. Oh, you can't see that? Here, let me blow it up for you.

Awesome, huh? Idiots.

Further insight.

In addition to seasonal malaise it's now growing more obvious another driver of my current discontent might be the fact that I am ill but too stubborn to take time off work for a variety of reasons, the primary one being I'm not contagious as far as I know so I may as well just tough it out.

It's this thinking that has led me to accumulate a virtual war chest of sick days that were I to trade them in for money could fund my overthrow of the early Roman empire. It's also led me to stay in yet another evening and self medicate with sugar free nighttime TheraFlu yet again.

Need a jolt.

These days I'm bouncing back and forth between feeling inspired and feeling beaten down. Not beaten down by anyone in particular mind you, just sort of like I'm slogging through things in general. Part of the problem -- probably most of the problem actually -- is just the change in weather. That always gets to me this time of year. So the way I dealt with that the last few years was b scheduling a nice winter vacation to look forward to. Sadly, this year due to timing and such there is no winter vacation in my foreseeable future. So that's adding to the general feeling of that whole "no end in sight" feeling that accompanies a Chicago winter. And we haven't even hit winter yet!

So yeah, that's cheery, huh?

I kid you not, this is terrible music.

What do you get when you imitate Kate Bush with none of the artistry? Florence + the Machine! Seriously, we don't know how histrionic warbling like hers became so mainstream but we're obviously in the minority when it comes to hating on this band. So could someone please tell us what you see in this uninspired, overly dramatic dreck? Is it her flowing costumes? Is it because you feel Tori Amos is too serious? Is it because what this world needs is another mediocre songstress with average pipes making it safe for yuppies to get a little of their pop-goth on?

To give you an idea just how terrible this band is, I present to you the evidence below. If The Weeknd can't make a song better than there's obviously something rotten at the foundation. And a funny aside, this MP3 is sanctioned by the band yet it's not of the actual song but of a radio rip (witness the DJ's dulcet tones just before the end).

MP3: Florence + the Machine "Shake it Out (The Weeknd Remix)"

Posting about the lack of time to post today.

Some days it's just too busy for you to even spare a thought outside the arena of what is demanding your attentions in order to survive (job, relationship, Brian Williams news magazine debut) so I regret to inform you that while I maintain my habit of posting every single weekday, this particular weekday's entry is more apology than revelation.

Also, the new Google Reader layout blows. Never mind that I really dislike the blanket dismissal of a community I've grown to love and depend on for excellent content sharing, the layout is just butt-ugly. Maybe they're working through some formatting issues, but as it stands it's a really unpleasant reading experience. If I quit it'll be the general UX and not the removal of the GReader community that drives me away.

Oh, I guess I snuck in a substantive thought after all. Huh.

My relay isn't jammed, it never existed.

I am, and have always been, a reasonably decent athlete. I've played almost every sport an average guy could play. I know how rules work.

This may come as a surprise to many, especially since I am not into any sport. And doubly as a surprise to students at either high school attended since I pulled the nifty feat of getting two football teams half a nation apart both want my head on a pike in front of the school.* But I grew up in the '70s and '80s and collected baseball cards and played football and did everything I could do to fit in because that's what a guy growing up in the '70s and '80s did. I wet to the library to watch video tapes on monstrous old video tape players rehashing both the NFL's greatest moments and hilarious bloopers. I attended baseball games and waited outside the park to get players' autographs, back in the day when you could still get a players' autograph by waiting by the exit. I played motherfucking lacrosse (though this was the one sport I encountered I had no natural acumen for).

So you can't blame me for not trying to like sports.

Honestly I wish I did. I feel incredibly left out since sports is the connective thread that allows so many folks to socialize using a common language that's driven by passion. I can talk the talk but it's obvious within a few seconds that I absolutely don't care and I become ostracized. When I'm in a bar and a room grows electric with tension just before an amazing play I feel that electricity, but it's kind of as if I'm holding a live wire within a heavily insulated glove. The buzz is not immediate and doesn't penetrate into me like it does everything else.

But last night, through a conduit, I got a taste of what you all must experience. GalPal offered me a window to see into the interior world of a true sports fan, and the only reason I could even make sense of it is because I love her and what makes her happy makes me happy, and what makes her sad makes me sad, and what she wants I want for her. And she wants the St. Louis Cardinals to win the World Series. And last night the team gave such an amazing performance at the last second it sort of blew open my own fuse box long enough for me to feel an iota of what GalPal was feeling. And it was pretty amazing.

So I get why you all like sports. I still can't rationalize it, and it will never have the effect on me that it does on 99.99% of the population and, admittedly, I'm a little sad about that since it seems like such an easy and immediate rush that' available to so many people day after day. I'll try and hold onto and remember this experience in a real way, and by writing it down I hope it will trigger that memory in the future, but the electricity is already dimming and what I thought was so crystalline last night ha already faded into a blur. And I'm even more certain that I just wasn't wired to get into sports. And I feel a little cheated by that. Even more so now.

*Freshman year, in Maryland, I don't even remember what set it off but I spent the good portion of the semester running from the football team to avoid getting the crap beat out of me. It's hazy but it might have been one of those Dazed And Confused situations where, had i just let them catch me at the outset, I would've passed the hazing phase and been accepted. But at the time I just didn't want to get my head stuck in a toilet. Also, I was the weirdest kid in school so I have a hard time believing the hazing would've ended. The second instance, when I was a senior in Illinois, was triggered by what I thought was a satirical take on football but was received as if I had burned a flag while beating a baby seal to death. The day the paper came out classes literally began with teachers talking about how fucking evil I was. To this day I don't totally get it but in hindsight I realized the editorial staff of the paper knew exactly what was going to happen and were willing to put my neck on the line to get students "talkin' about the school paper!"

Are you ready for some "Sweet Salvation?"

Photo & Visual Direction by Matt Bologna and Jesse Mann

I wrote about The Stepkids in general here a while ago and reviewed their debut yesterday, but if you missed both of those (or if I've already convinced you to check 'em out and you dug 'em) you are in for a real treat! I like the trio's album but after seeing them live felt it lacked a little of the oomph they bring to a room when they're on stage. Luckily one of their CMJ shows this year was recorded and it sounds TERRIFIC.

If you dig '60 soul / funk / psych / pop / groove / kitchen sink / awesome harmonies / falsetto then download the below EP (which is basically their whole album performed live plus one awesome new tune) RIGHT NOW.

I know, I know. When am I this overly effusive? Shouldn't that be enough reason to check it out? It's free!

DOWNLOAD: The Stepkids - The Stepkids Live At Rubber Tracks

Feline similarities.

It's funny how much like our pets we can be. One of my favorite quotes from GalPal was when she summed up my cat perfectly by saying "Pickle wants to love, she just doesn't know how."

I'll let you take from that what you will.

Ha! No, I'm not leaving that there. I know how to love! Jeez, how emo did you think I was gonna be there?! However I like to equate Pickle's difficulty with showing her love in a way other than swiping at your nose with her paw full of razorblades with my own in still trying to figure out how to "fit in" in average social situations. When I was younger I struggled with what I considered normal or mainstream social situations. I judged people, as only a self-centered snob could. But as I've gotten older I've grown to discover I actually do like people. And I have for quite a while. This must be another positive side effect of that whole maturity thing, huh?

Add to that the fact that I've spent many, many years surrounded by folks who are all vying to be the center of attention so that's certainly honed my sharp wit and conversational ability but it's also dulled my ability to just chill out with folks.

And now I'm getting older, and most folks, honestly, just want to "chill out," and while I've certainly learned the art of conversation I am much, much less fluent in the language of small talk. Isn't there a book or something out there that can help me out? Should I just Google that?