chicago in september. i am setting it in stone and i am making it happen. you could say that i'm a few years overdue (ahem).

now i could truly make this a cross country trip, if, let's say the d-plan and q and not u decided to share a reunion bill in d.c by then. what? even sunny day real estate are doing it these days! sigh, it's probably a good thing that i am daydreaming because jesus lord, i don't even know what i'd do with myself if that were to happen.

but back to chicago... i was tempted to call pit er pat one of the oddest chicago bands out there but then this is the city that brought us the kinsellas and friends. this is of course a very good thing to me, kind of like awkwardness in human beings. i'd try to describe the band and evacuation days, but honestly i don't know that i can when it's this all over the place. in any case - chicago, months away still, but now i'm excited.

as much as i like eric bachman and crooked fingers, there's nothing quite like the younger and angrier version of him. what can i say? i like it when bitter men sing. i was looking at this picture a few days ago and thinking about the fatter around the thighs line when archers of loaf's fatshuffled up. it seemed so right. and now i'm convinced i can make things happen. ok i am off to figure out where and how i can buy myself a lottery ticket.

what? why has this video been hiding from me? i really like the bits with the chalky white lines, the strangeness of movement.

i'm a firm believer in sad songs for sad times. the sadder the better i say. you can have it all is slightly vintage yo la tengo, and even if the words sounds a little hopeful, i'm hard pressed to find a sadder sounding song stripped of strings. it's the sad song that makes me happy.

dear pixies, i'm sorry -i think i might have overused your line. [the fact that it works into my life so easily is a whole different issue]. i'll give it a rest, at least for now, and give where was my brain? a try. courtesy of ted leo and those crazy pharmacists.

because we all know how i feel about bob nanna and the words he writes. maybe too much. and because of the morrissey referencing. and because the boy-girl vocals sound charming. and because i listen to this and the guitars remind me oh-so-much of they hey mercedes ep. that should be enough. the four song ep with neverlasting, our lady of guadalupe, strongsuit and all you gotta do is show (neverlasting gets bolded for being extra-special) is up for grabs over at their website: certain people i know.

frustration by the whip. not my favorite song of theirs, not by a longshot. but it's a state of mind. no one deserves three flat tires in three months flat.

and by no one, yes, i mean me.

i've never been that into the raveonettes but i've been downloading some of their twittered (ugh...) demos and i have to say that i am very much enjoying the lo-fi-ness of it all. especially last dance but also boys who rape (they said it, i didn't) and in and out of control.

it's also true that i thought it'd be good to have another bit of scandinavia on here just to show i'm not all about swedes. considering i'm about to hop on an ariplane for yet another swedish invasion concert my timing might be off just a little bit.

this print (by an old high school friend and currently hanging in a very good friend's living room) calls for some hot snakes. the song is lovebirds and the reasoning here ought to be obvious. that the band broke up years ago is of no consequence to me.

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and yes...this post was meant for yesterday, on account of it being valentine's day and all, but there was the matter of a severe allergic reaction and, more importantly, of sleepy-time allergy pills. i say to hell with that. i make my own time.

try as i might to start expressions - and i do it all the time - they always fail to catch on. that doesn't mean i'm going to stop trying. this time i'm putting all my chips on faux-rench, which is, pretty self-explanatorily, fake french. see one of my very favorite 80s movie, better off dead, for a rough pronunciation guide.

the fact is there are just far too many bands out there posing french (canadians are eligible for a free pass).... le tigre, le loup, saint etienne, au revoir simone, les sans culottes, nous non plus, ou est le swimming pool. too many to list really. and this last one i'm pretty sure isn't just fake, but also bad at french. everyone ought to know that swimming pools are girls not boys. i'm certainly not hating though - those swimming pool loving londoners throw a pretty good dance party (i.e. dance the way i feel). and savoir adore? we talk like machines is just one of those songs that makes me smile... so charmingly upbeat. that song's on a free e.p. with two others over here.