Now That's a Slump

Ohio U's football team may not be all that great, but our coach knows how to par-tay!

We'll cut Solich some slack for now, given that a 4-7 record for the Bobcats is like a 10-1 record for Ohio State.

Rainy Days and Anniversaries

Nov. 24 was my blog's one-year anniversary, and I missed it. Will it be mad at me? Should I buy it flowers?

Looking back on that first post -- no need to link to it, but if you're curious, click on the archives -- this is pretty prophetic: Problem is, I wonder if I'll ever have anything to say that's worth reading.

Some days, yes; most days, not really.

Thanksgiving was enjoyed in sunny, semi-hot Florida. It's always weird to spend Thanksgiving and/or Christmas down there, but coming back to cooler, rainy weather (today is miserable, for example) makes me appreciate it just a little bit.

Brighten the Corners of the End Zone

Jeff writes today about Pavement, certainly one of my favorite bands of all-time. I asked this question in his comments section, and I'll repeat it here: With which member of Pavement am I in a fantasy football league?*

*Jeff, since I told him, and JT, who's my connection to Mr. Pavement, are ineligible for this quiz.

Correct answer receives nothing.

Dig My Mood

Went to the Bob Pollard/Jim Greer book signing yesterday for Greer's GBV opus, Guided by Voices: A Brief History : Twenty-One Years of Hunting Accidents in the Forests of Rock and Roll. I've written about how I sort of know Pollard, so I was curious if he'd recognize me outside of the rock-club environment. Turns out he did, and it was a treat talking to him, as always. He gave me a nice shout-out to Greer by telling him I was responible for hooking him up with Tommy Keene for their upcoming projects (and for the shows Tommy did with GBV last year). Being modest (rightfully so), I have a difficult time taking credit for it, but it's cool to think that I played a small part in it all. If it turns out the tour sucks or their records sucks, I will, of course, disavow any involvement.

Later in the evening, I watched Dig!, the documentary about the Brian Jonestown Massacre's mercurial (putting it mildly) leader, Anton Newcombe, and his relationship with Courtney Taylor of the Dandy Warhols. While it was a good movie, humorous in spots -- and fascinating almost always -- I found it sad more than anything. (Not depressing; good art is never depressing.) Newcombe is clearly mentally unstable, and it's sad to think about the cycle of illness in his family. (His father committed suicide.) Newcombe is so screwed up, he's legally barred from seeing his son; there's a scene where he gets arrested for assaulting an audience member -- he's not jailed for assaulting band members onstage, however -- and he keeps going on about how he would die and never spend time with the boy. Painful to watch.

I do have to admit, the onstage fights were pretty amusing. It's funny, too, that the movie focused on this Dandys/BJM relationship, when there's probably an entire movie there just on Newcombe. I found some of the Dandys stuff almost extraneous, though a lot of it was interesting, too.

My My Gaffe Gaffe

As a practicing Rock Critic®, I get plenty of promo records sent my way. For better or worse, the vast majority of them get sold (shh, it'll be our little secret), given away or shoved in a closet without seeing the inside of a CD player. It's really a matter of time and, in some cases, lack of interest. But the downside is that you occasionally miss an enjoyable LP due to caring more about getting rid of it.

Which brings me to Sweden's Shout Out Louds. Prompted by the possibility of seeing them tomorrow night at the Double Door, I dragged up my promo copy of Howl Howl Gaff Gaff, the band's debut full-length, and loaded it into my iPod. Turns out it's a really good record. I'm not sure why, but I was expecting a Hives-like garage band, but the Shout Out Louds are more of a classic power pop combo: plenty of hooks, repetitive (in a good way) riffs and synth/keyboard flourishes. The lyrics lean toward the generic, lovlorn "don't leave me" variety, but this is a neat, catchy LP -- way more melodic and poppy than I figured -- that has a real shot at making my top 10, which, of course, is every band's dream.

I may not go see the show -- it's on a weeknight, and I'm old and lame -- but I'm glad to have finally heard these guys.