Oh yeah, this. I've been very busy: I'm changing jobs at the end of the month, and...uh, well, that's about it, really. Rest assured that I have several half-finished blog entries that I will foist upon an indifferent public in the months to come. Until then, here's 10 things that I am enjoying a great deal, Summer 2007 edition:
1. Working in downtown Bethesda. OK, Bethesda is a suburb, not a real city. But tons of lunch options within walking distance! Beats the living hell out of the exurbs I've spent working in over most of the past five years.
2. Black Moth Super Rainbow, Diamond Gum. I read reviews of this record describing it as "Animal Collective folk mixed with Boards of Canada electronic touches," which sounds like something custom designed for me to enjoy. It's the hazy, gauzy, tuneful, vaguely melancholy soundtrack every summer needs.
1. Working in downtown Bethesda. OK, Bethesda is a suburb, not a real city. But tons of lunch options within walking distance! Beats the living hell out of the exurbs I've spent working in over most of the past five years.
2. Black Moth Super Rainbow, Diamond Gum. I read reviews of this record describing it as "Animal Collective folk mixed with Boards of Canada electronic touches," which sounds like something custom designed for me to enjoy. It's the hazy, gauzy, tuneful, vaguely melancholy soundtrack every summer needs.
3. Marnie Stern live at the Rock and Roll Hotel, 7/24. Jawdroppingly precise guitar playing, plus the incredibly limber-limbed drumming of Zach Hill. I like inspired amateurism as much as the next person, but there's nothing quite like watching incredibly talented musicians lock into each other's playing.
4. Quizno's raspberry lemonade. I don't know why this is so refreshingly delicious, but it is. Sweet with more of a kick than you'd expect from a sub shop fountain drink. I can't get the exact formula right at home - it's always too tart. As for Quizno's actual subs...ennh.
5. The 7-11 Kwik-E-Mart promotion. I visited the one in Bladensburg (and of all the suburbs of DC, Bladensburg is one of the last you'd expect to go for this kind of thing) this month. Tons of gags that you'd have to be a nerd to appreciate.
6. Jodorowsky films finally coming out on DVD. I already loved the Western mythology-twisting El Topo and the hallucinatory satire of The Holy Mountain is some kind of genius.
5. The 7-11 Kwik-E-Mart promotion. I visited the one in Bladensburg (and of all the suburbs of DC, Bladensburg is one of the last you'd expect to go for this kind of thing) this month. Tons of gags that you'd have to be a nerd to appreciate.
6. Jodorowsky films finally coming out on DVD. I already loved the Western mythology-twisting El Topo and the hallucinatory satire of The Holy Mountain is some kind of genius.
7. The Dugout. Consistently hilarious. Every time I watch baseball now, I can't help but think of possible player IM names.
8. Flight of the Conchords. So deadpan that it's one of the few comedies that rewards repeated viewings.
9. Patton Oswalt - Werewolves and Lollipops. The KFC bowl bit, people. When I die, please transcribe this and put it on my tombstone. Thank you in advance.
10. Yoko Ono - Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band and Fly. Why I slept on these for so long, I dunno, but they're genius. The first two songs on Plastic Ono Band invented no wave and post-punk, respectively. Best Beatles solo career? That's not contrarianism, it's just the facts.