Music Up

Thanks to a sick day, the music section is finally up. Whew. There are no reviews yet, because I've been devoting all my poorly-written musical thoughts to my favorites of 2004. Since virtually no one visits my site, I decided to post some MP3s. This is only one of the many perks of being under the radar. They're not there to stay, however, so get 'em while you can. You'll also find a few of the mixtapes and CDs I've made and a song of the week that will change—you guessed it—weekly. Enjoy!

Winter Eyes

The possibility of seeing a reunited Slint in Chicago is...well, possible. Leigh called me last night with the idea of me flying out that weekend in March to visit her and go to the show. I'd been thinking the very same thing but had yet to bring it up. Anyway, turns out tickets are an outrageous $70, after pretty much selling out both nights, so I'm not too into that. There's a chance, though, if Leigh can work her scenester magic, that we might get a cheaper pair of tickets. We'll see.

Totally unrelated, but what the fuck is going on with this weather? It's January and like 65 degrees, for chrissake. I don't like it. For one, it just doesn't feel right—not while I'm stuck inside all day at work. Secondly, my winter wardrobe is far superior to my warm weather wardrobe. Sweaters and jeans, sweaters and jeans, man. I look good in sweaters, goddamn it. Today, I wore my coat but had it unzipped. Then, when I got to the office, I had to take my sweater off because of the ridiculous heat in our building. I'd go outside to smoke and it was just cold enough that I was chilly in my t-shirt. Dumb. And another reason to move. This bipolar swamp beast must die.

So while I'm rambling and everything, I guess I'll tell you about something I was thinkin' on early today. It's maybe kind of creepy in a way, but I don't care. See, I have this fantasy that I will someday meet a girl who is as lonely as I am. Maybe I'll meet her walking in my neighborhood or on the train on the way home from work. Yeah, on the train. Ok.

I notice her while waiting on the platform. She's cute, but relatively nondescript. She just got off work and, like me, is waiting to go home. The train arrives and we board. I sit down in an empty seat on left side of the car. The girl takes the seat next to me. The chimes sound, the doors close, and we're off. I'm reading the newspaper (light reading, the Style section) and she pulls out a printed document from one of those accordion-type legal folders and begins reading. After a few minutes, I notice she's put the papers away and is sitting with her head in her hands. I continue to act like I'm reading. We pass a few stops. She doesn't move. I get the sense that something is going wrong in this young lady's life. Finally, I say excuse me and ask her what's the matter. She turns and says “Oh, nothing. I just had a bad day at work. I'm fine.” I ask her if she's sure she's ok. She starts to speak but then pauses. We look at each other intensely for a moment as our eyes lock and then she smiles.

Funny thing is this actually happened the other day. Except when I finally said excuse me, and she turned to look at me, all I could say was “This is my stop.”

Your Friend,
The Coward

Wallace

I'd simply like to alert you to this exclusive photo posted by Leslie on her flickr account in order to test this feature.

See You This Year

I spent New Year's Eve at home with a small group of folks. It was pretty tame, but that's OK. Comfortable has a lot going for it. I enjoyed the time off, spending most of the time relaxing, reading, and playing my new video games. Housemate Jonathan's birthday dinner at Lebanese Taverna last week was a fun highlight. The food at that place is always awesome.

I've also been working more on the music section of this site. I almost have something presentable (including my favorite releases of 2004) and will probably post it sometime this week. Selected photos from the holidays are also forthcoming.

Here's to you, 2005. May you not suck so much.