Burst pipe = flooded apartment = me not having a good day.

Update : Christ, what a mess.

Stereogum has graciously compiled a list of things that are in and out for 2004. For the aspiring hipster.

We have really taken to Centro-Matic, who have a bunch of mp3s available for sampling on their music page.

Neatness – Adult Head is a book of poetry by Jeff Tweedy, due out in March. I’m not generally a big poetry guy, but I liked Joe Pernice’s Two Blind Pigeons a lot. I would imagine Jeff is in the same league, verse-wise, as Joe, so this should be a good read. Follow the link above for some sample poems. From Donewaiting.

The DVD for Kill Bill Vol 1 will be coming out the Tuesday (April 13) before Vol 2 hits theatres (April 16). You read that right – no longer a February release, it’s now April. I don’t think I’ll need to see it again to remind myself of the plot… Uma gets sword, kills lots of people. Yeah. Five will get you six that there’ll be a nice DVD package of both volumes in time for Christmas, so patience is recommended.

Speaking of swords – Who would win between a medieval knight and a feudal samurai? Someone finally tackles that age-old question.

np – various artists / Beyond Nashville: The Twisted Heart Of Country Music

Too.

Fucking.

Cold.

The Smoking Gun brings you the LA coroner’s report on Elliott Smith’s death.

Yay to Death Cab for releasing a new single for “The New Year”. Boo to Death Cab for b-siding it with a previously released track from You Can Play These Songs With Chords and a Photo Album demo. Giving completists something of value just too much trouble for you, is it?

I picked up the first season of The West Wing on DVD last night, so I can spend the weekend hibernating in my little hobbit-hole with my favorite fictional White House. Double-sided DVDs always confuse me – I never put it in right side up the first time.

Luckier than the average bear.

np – Portastatic / Autumn Was A Lark

Late update today, I was at a meeting out of the office all morning. Yeah, work is interfering with blogging. That’s gotta stop.

It’s been a while since I checked in on Conan O’Brien’s Celebrity Secrets. Pure gold – here’s a current favorite:

“Whenever I am considering a role I always ask two questions. Does the story contain a strong female character, and will my character at some point nail that ass.” – Patrick Stewart

Bryce Goggin, who has worked with Pavement, The Lemonheads and Dinosaur Jr, is producing the new Luna album, due this Spring. Could this herald a looser, fuzzier feel for Dean and co?

Considering I’ve only just decided that I want to own DVDs (like in the last 48 hours), the publication of NOW’s 50 essential DVDs is well-timed. Not that I’m trying to impress anyone with my movie collection… that’s what the CD collection is for!

The best in music criticism in 2003. From House Of Hotsauce.

np – Ride / Waves

Probably one of the worst-kept secrets in indie rock lately is that Matador will be releasing a new record from legends Mission Of Burma in May, 2004. Roger Miller, Clint Conley and Peter Prescott have been recording their first new record in 22 years in Boston with Bob Weston. Expect extensive touring to support. This is a GOOD thing, yes it is. Full news release from Matador here.

Glasgow’s Franz Ferdinand was brought to my attention by Sean from House Of Hotsauce. They’re pretty interesting in that de rigeur angular post-punk new-wave sort of way that the kids are all gonzo over these days. He’s got some live mp3s on offer on his website, about halfway down on the left, or grab “Darts of Pleasure” from their website here. Why is this relevant? They make their Toronto debut February 23rd at the Horseshoe, $10. That’s why.

Pitchfork’s review of The Essential Bruce Springsteen functions as much as an album-by-album capsule history of The Boss as it does album assessment. I definitely still qualify as a newbie to his work, and it’ll take me a while yet to absorb all the material. I too wish that “I’m On Fire” had made the cut. I had no idea he wrote “Hungry Heart”. I thought that was Loverboy for some reason.

24 is back from holiday hiatus! Huzzah! This is more like it. Eurotrash arms dealers, Jack pleading for his life (“I can’t die! I can’t die! Out here in the woods! Like a dumb animal! I can’t die! Look in your heart!”) and the return of everyone’s second-favorite femme fatale turncoat she-devil, Nina (Number one being that lesbian assassin near and dear to our hearts, Mandy Mandy Mandy). Methinks the producers felt the rumblings from the faithful about the relative lameness of recent storylines and decided to give the people what they want – namely, Nina. Otherwise, still not feeling the Palmer storyline – ooh, powerful wheelchair-bound shadow cabinet wants him to fire his brother! Yawn. Double yawn for marital strife between the first couple of CTU.

Trying to use a little mind over matter to fight off the cold weather, popping one of the summeriest albums of recent years in the discman. Doesn’t work.

np – Luna / Romantica