No, really: yours truly at the Spice Girls concert in Newark, NJ. (Photo: JGH)

I’ve seen so many shows lately — No Age, Spice Girls, Julienne Baird, Clockcleaner, Home Blitz, Lame Drivers, Gang, Robyn, The Apes, Br’er, Blood on the Wall, CaUSE Co-MOTION!, Make A Rising, etc – that I feel like I’m in my own little version of SXSW (SXMTS, perhaps?). Even crazier is that all my coursework is getting done. I win at life!

Recently, I wound up with a copy of the new Constantines album, Kensington Heights. Being such a huge fan of this band, you should probably take my review with a grain of salt…. Not that I don’t love Tournament of Hearts, but this definitely feels more like they record they intended to make post-Shine A Light. (Toby and I were chatting about this over the weekend, and I believe ToH sounds like a late-career record, rather than the follow-up to a record that defined them as a group.) It’s a strong record throughout, and maybe not as obviously fist-pumping anthemic as some would like, but I have found “Trans-Canada” and “Brother Run Them Down” creeping up into the back of my head numerous times as I traverse the icy tundra of unshoveled Philadelphia sidewalks. (Srsly, the lack of snow cleanup in this godforsaken town is embarrassing.) Why I really like it (and why I like any record, for that matter): KH invokes enough inverse presence to fit the particulars of my personal life.

I’m worming my way through the new Breeders album (Mountain Battles) at the moment. I’m not all the way at the end, but here are two quick observations: (a) sound deliciously muddy and thick; (b) the songs feel really short. If you are one of those types who dig the whole nu-lo-fi scene (HB, NA, etc), you’ll probably enjoy it, too — unless you have hang-ups about women who can out-scuzz any of these younguns in a heartbeat. Also: no one sings like Kim Deal. No one.

In other news, I’ve joined the 21st century with the acquisition of a LCD flat-panel TV. (It sits next to my whole stereo set-up, so I have dubbed it the “LCD Soundsystem.” Sigh, I know.) Kind of perfect timing, since I’m currently taking a class on telepresence, and the whole high-definition thing falls neatly into those studies. While I love television, I refuse to fork over my hard-earned money to an organization like Comcast. (Also: the more channels I get, the less I find actually interesting!) So I get by with a pair of rabbit ears, which does not have the World’s Greatest Reception, but hey, it’s free. With the new TV, I have access to digital reception and I gotta say it’s pretty fantastic. Can’t wait to see how this plays out in the future. Just a quick PSA: analog broadcast ends next year, so you might want to check out dtv.gov and get acquainted with how to make the switch. There are voucher programs to assist with the cost of upgrading, but read the site and see what you need to do.

Last but not least, I finally understand the whole bike-nerd culture. I saved up for a custom-built road bike and it feels like heaven. Or freedom. Wait, isn’t that the same thing?

» Closing note: can anyone put me in touch with John Sayles? Weird request, I know.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 25th, 2008 at 11:39 am and is filed under general, live performances, music.