All Circuits Down

Worked a looong shift today: eight hours. Not too long, I guess, but an eternity if you work at a fast food restuarant. And today was especially busy, for some reason. They had me working up front taking orders, but I asked/told my manager that if I was going to be there for eight hourse dealing with people at a steady flow, I would kill myself. Or someone else.

Last night was fun. My best friend and I planned what was our usual intimate gathering: me (Rick), him (John), his little sister (Michelle, the coolest little sister ever), Ryan (played by Ryan) and Toby (played by... you get the point). Anyways, needless to say, I was a little surprised when I showed up and Jeneen (sp?) was there, along with another friend (who for shortness' sake we will simply refer to as "Taco"). So our cool little party then turned into a massive gathering (apparently, they invited lots of other people) that, while fun, wasn't nearly as cool as the other times. I know I was a little disappointed. No matter. The fireworks were cool, and my penchant for danger mixed with great amounts of stupidity was sated for a little while.

*Interesting side note: last night Taco was shooting fireworks at the phone lines, which he actually hit several times. I get home after the festivities only to discover the phone lines are down, for some mysterious reason. The repairman came out this morning and headed down to the trail (which was where we were setting the firworks off), where he found the problem. Hmmm.*

Anyway, decided to mix up my listening a little today. Pulled out some of the CD's I'm reviewing this month for 1340Mag. It's unusual to get CD's I actually like in a review packet. Most of the CD's I get are good, but not good enough to keep. I lucked out this time, though, coming up with two CD's I liked. One is from Ft. Lauderdale's The Remedy Session. Musically, it's kind of emo-y, I guess, but I detect some almost proggy pop tendencies in the way they use dissonances and harmonies in the guitar parts and vocals. Basically, they remind me of Rainer Maria, and how good they used to be. My favorite song on the album is called "All Circuits Down," and if the label hasn't already chosen it, it would make a fantastic single. Listen to it and some of their other material here.

The other CD I got was by a group called The Star Spangles (an absolutely dreadful band name) that hail from the illustrious Capitol Records, home of such luminaries as Radiohead. The Spangles play good 'ol fashioned rock 'n roll, something I haven't heard done really well since The Replacements hung it up and Wilco tried briefly to take over their niche (see "Being There", or "Summerteeth", at times). Really, this CD is good, blending punk and rock and rockabilly and sleazy power pop and dumb teenage anthems into something fresh and fun. I'm a sucker for that whiskey-abraded vocal yelp style that Paul Westerberg perfected, so this was right up my alley.

Whew. That's about it for now. Thank you and goodnight.

Been-Working-Too-Long Playlist:
The Star Spangles- Bazooka!!!
The Remedy Session- The Remedy Session
The Replacements- Tim
The New Pornographers- Electric Version
The Dandy Warhols- Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia
The Postal Service- Give Up