Wilco on Letterman’s stage
For a good hour. This made my morning happy, playing the in background. Hope it does something for you…
That “no plans” relaxing weekend…
…sure had a lot of plans. And wasn’t what I would call relaxing. Fun, but not relaxing. I hope yours went the same way (or differently, depending on what you were looking for.)
For no reason whatsoever, here’s Ted Leo at his Joe Jackson-ishy.
I hope you have a good week. Or a bad one. Again, whichever’s your preference.
(laying) Low
I’ve not been in complete hiding, but am enjoying the seasonal slow-down in Lawrence. Campus is a wonderful ghost town, for a couple weeks. We got into Free State last night (a Friday night!) without a wait. And, of course, it’s that time of year that adds hours of outside time each evening…until the heat really kicks in. Anyway, I hope everyone’s enjoying their spring as much as we are.
Have a fun, long weekend.
27 Days til 2011: My Favorites of 2010
My favorite holiday cover song I’ve heard so far this year. Posted just a few days ago…
The Walkmen covering “Holiday Road.”
The Walkmen cover “Holiday Road”
There are people who don’t like Christmas music. I’m not one of those people. You grinches can all spend your tune-less Decembers in silence. So sad. It’s worth checking out The Onion’s A.V. Club series of holiday cover songs that will run during the month. The first two have made me happy.
31 Days til 2011: My Favorites of 2010
One of my favorite albums of 2010
Album: Josh Ritter, “So Runs the World Away”
I’m sensitive to idea of a guy with an acoustic guitar. Especially when it’s the “songwriter” with the acoustic guitar. Well-constructed becomes contrived too often. Love songs turn corny. Live performances turn into sing-a-longs. The laziness of sentimentality rears its head.
So, it’s taken a while to become really comfortable with Ritter, who I should have simply embraced from the start. I had to take breaks from his albums, just to make sure I wasn’t falling for any tricks that I hate. (I know. I’m crazy. I’m sorry.)
Point is, Josh Ritter has been well-vetted to meet my “no-one-cares-Rinnert” standards. I don’t mention him lightly. While this album lacks the catchy anthems that have anchored previous releases, I enjoy the sum more than its parts. It’s a mature, literate collection of interesting songs. God, I’m getting old.
How nice a guy am I? Below is the whole album, if you’d like to preview before picking up your own copy. (Courtesy of joshritter.com… how nice a guy is he?) Stace and I are going to see him at Liberty Hall in Feb. You should join us. (And yes, this is how early I plan a date night in advance. Again, I’m an old man.)
