Coming Up For Air

This is what we call a good day.

Got my Chameleons tickets. Soundscapes was selling a bunch of back issues of TapeOp I didn’t have (but now do). Found Elf Power’s ‘The Winter Is Coming’ used. And best of all… my Ride EP came. The final (?) release from my boys is in my hot little hands – 3 tracks culled from their one-off reunion for a television program on Sonic Youth. I have an mp3 of one of the tracks, it sounds like what it is – Ride jamming for ages, but it’s the noisy, psychadelic Ride circa Nowhere/Going Blank Again. In other words, one of the best bands ever. A full-bore reunion is probably too much to ask for what with Andy Bell collecting paycheques from the Brothers Gallagher, but between the Ride boxset, this little limited-edition (1000 only) jewel and that Magnet cover, at least I can feel they’re getting some long-overdue recognition.

Viva Ride.

Is This A Donut I See Before Me?

I am eyeing a Krispy Kreme donut, sitting innoccuously on my desk, a concentrated doughy mass of lard and flour. I am simultaneously drawn to and repelled by it.

Mark likens the experience to eating a harp seal.

I think it’s looking at me with its single greasy, unblinking, unfeeling eye.

Scott@Novo is now engaged. Congrats to him and Paola.

Television (in reference to the band or the SDRE song, your pick)

So I got to watch the first episode of season 4 of the Sopranos this weekend whilst in Cleveland. Seeing as how season 3 won’t air on regular TV in Canada till next March and I watched season 2 over a year ago, I had no idea what was going on. But it was nice to watch it commercial-free.

Didn’t get home last night in time to tape the second episode of Band Of Brothers and I doubt it’ll go into reruns. Still haven’t watched the first episode. I suspect I’ll have to rent the DVDs if I want to see the whole thing, and those don’t come out till November. Less TV to watch is never a bad thing though.

Season premieres of Buffy and West Wing this week. Yee-haw.

The Winter Of Our Discotheque

Interview with Joe Pernice at Pitchfork. The man is brilliant.

np – The Soft Boys / Underwater Moonlight

*NOT* Going to Title This One ‘Cleveland Rocks’

Give me some credit.

Back from Cleveland, am exhausted. So only a few brief comments…

1) I watched the Drew Carey Show AND Major League in Cleveland. If life gets better than that, I don’t want to know about it.

2) Downtown Cleveland is really very pretty. And vacant. Saturday morning, 11 am and there’s fewer people on the streets than Toronto, Saturday mornings at 7 am. Very odd. No shops, either.

3) The Cuyahoga River was once on fire. But not recently.

4) My 3-year old cousins are ridiculously cute.

And I am too tired to continue this right now.