Hot Inner Child In the City

It's going to reach temperatures of over 100 degrees today here in the City of Trees. My spouse of many years usually mows the back yard (the neighbor kids mow our front yard as part of their chores. Yes, we have very good neighbors) but was busy loading a hundred cans of old paint for a trip to the hazardous waste section of the dump. Some of that paint was here when we bought our house 10 years ago. Ugh. I decided the least I could do was get one of his usual unglamorous domestic tasks out of the way for him, so, do-rag on my forehead and mp3 player on my arm, I started up semi-self-propelled gas mower and got to sweaty task of cutting the grass.
Turns out my life sort of does have a soundtrack. My job includes writing about music--interviews, profiles, previews, reviews--which is really lucky for me, because I'm always listening to something.
My playlist today included Keane, Helio Sequence (one of the Sub Pop label's most brilliant moves) and a little Earth, Wind and Fire. If you can listen to EWF's "September" and not move, you're in a coma or dead. Two of our neighboring houses (including the home of the aforementioned kids who give teens a good name) are two-story abodes, so if anyone was on a second floor looking out over our backyard this morning, they probably got an eyeful of my lawnmower dance. But I figure, if you can't groove to a little disco in your own backyard, whilst slogging through what would have been a terribly dreary domestic task otherwise, for fear that someone might be watching, then your inner child needs a swift kick in the keister to bring him or her a little closer to the surface.

She works hard for the money

OK, I work hard for the money. But sometimes it doesn't feel like work.
We had a freelancer party at BW today; a little food, a little drink; just a little way of saying thanks for all the hard work they do. While we wish we could do stuff like this more often, we make sure we do it at least once a year. If it weren't for those freelancers, the paper just wouldn't get out. It just wouldn't. They are an amazing bunch of people and the energy when they're all in a room together is palpable. They're bright, funny, clever, nutty...everything a good journalist should be.

A couple of our regular columnists came by as well. I'm always so pleased to see Bill Cope, who has been writing a weekly column for the paper for around 16 years. So many people--including other writers--read him regularly, and I get the sense that it's a pleasure for them to meet him; put a face to the name. Dr. Ed Rabin writes a bi-weekly column called "The Antidote" and he hung out for awhile as well. His column is one of the funniest bits of writing I've read, but what's so brilliant is that it's always funny. Getting to know and working with those two is not something afforded to just anyone and I'm honored to work with them both.


Right at this moment, I'm watching a new HBO show called Flight of the Conchords. It's a show about two working New Zealand musicians/best friends, Bret and Jermaine, trying to make the big time in New York. They and their music are weird and freaking funny and really pretty damn good. A review in Wired magazine wasn't the most favorable so I was a little hesitant, but I think it's hysterical and well worth checking out. One of the songs I heard on tonight's show made me think of the Style Council. "My Ever Changing Moods" is one of my all-time favorite songs (used to be on every mix tape I ever made). Thank god for YouTube. I just clicked over, did a search and suddenly, it was 1984 again.

Just another busy day

Because I work at an alt-weekly that hits stands on Wednesdays, Mondays and Tuesdays are tough. We (the rest of the editorial team and I) put in a lot of hours on those two days, working hard to get a good product out. Which means I usually have little time for anything other than writing, editing and getting the pages ready for the printer. However, because a lot of what I'm doing is reading, I usually have my headphones plugged in to my work Mac, my very cool new IBM Thinkpad laptop, my Sandisk 1GB mp3 player (with its cool armband) or my 20GB iRiver mp3 player. If I'm plugged into my work Mac or my Thinkpad, I'm probably listening to 3wk internet radio. They offer two options: indie rock or classic rock and indie rock is my station of choice.

I've been listening to my new obsession Brightblack Morning Light, but I've also been listening to the new release by Matt Hopper and the Roman Candles, Reverse Odyssey. If indie flavored singer-songwriter music appeals to your tastes, this is definitely one to hear.

In busting my ass this week, I had the chance to interview two very cool men: animator Bill Plympton (I'm a BIG fan), who's new film Hair High will be playing at our local arthouse theater, and String Cheese Incident percussionist Jason Hann who, with SCI drummer, Michael Travis, will be performing in Boise with their side project, EOTO on Tuesday the 31st. Both very cool, very smart men. Read the interviews at www.boiseweekly.com.

If my life had a soundtrack ...

I'm currently a bit obsessed with the music of Brightblack Morning Light and, more recently, Augie March. Brightblack's self-titled album on Matador is slow, deliberate LSD-drizzled guitarscapes that drift around like a rainbow-colored storm cloud dropping right through the gray of a melancholy day. It's soft, it's serious, it's sweet and I just can't get enough.
I'm a new initiate to Augie March and, I must admit I'm a bit angry that I could have been listening to them lo these many years. "Overcrowded Hour" is delightful and devastating and gives me a just-kissed-my-friend's-boyfriend-who-I've-secretly been-in-love-with-for-a-long-time feeling in the pit of my stomach. Thanks to stereogum.com for the introduction.
Speaking (writing) of stereogum, some genius (seriously, an effing genius) over there decided to pay tribute to the 10 year anniversary of Radiohead's OK Computer: OKX. I haven't had a chance to listen to it myself, but anything OKC related is always tops with me. Personally, I think "Paranoid Android" is one of the most brilliant pieces of music ever written.