left out of the loop

dear great god of music,

why do you hate me?

your humble servant,
albert

---

i guess this is what i get for not checking upcoming shows.

speaking of shows, here they are.

6/9 - bloc party - gypsy tea room
6/9 - of montreal - rubber gloves rehersal studio
6/11 - the roots - gypsy tea room
6/14 - kasabian - trees
6/14 - louis XIV - gypsy tea room
6/15 - aqualung - gypsy tea room
6/17 - ryan adams - gypsy tea room
6/21 - halifax - fat daddy's sound shack
6/24 - spoon - gypsy tea room (NOOOOOOOOOO!!!)
6/24 - vans warped tour - smirnoff
6/27 - mewithoutyou - galaxy club
7/11 - alkaline trio, rise against - gypsy tea room
8/20 - green day, jimmy eat world - AAC
8/17 - the killers - nokia live
9/22 - oasis, jet - smirnoff
9/23 - coldplay, rilo kiley - smirnoff
10/29 - U2 - AAC
11/20 - paul mccartney - AAC
11/29 - rolling stones - AAC

for you poor kids at UT summer school:

6/10 - of montreal - the parish room
6/14 - aqualung - the parish room
6/15 - louis XIV - stubb's bbq
6/16 - ryan adams - stubb's bbq
6/16 - kasabian - the parish room

i wonder if there will be any good shows in irvine?

manhattan transfer is playing at the eisemann on saturday, if anyone's interested in a lil' jazz.

stick a fork in it, it's done.

what is it with these mediocre follow-up albums? can't anyone come up with new ideas these days? take a look at recent examples:

weezer - make believe
not so hot, at times atrocious. where is the blue album when you need it? one reviewer called it "the phantom menace of emo albums". ouch.

oasis - don't believe the truth
i want to cry. i just want oasis to sound like oasis. is that too much to ask? maybe all that pot killed way too many brain cells.

coldplay - x&y
spin gave this record a B+. whoever reviewed it should be shot. all the hype about this album being U2-esque? rubbish.

the white stripes have a new album out, and death cab and ok go have albums on the way. please, oh please, just be good.

playlist

what i've been listening to. i should do this more often.

perhaps i'll start reviewing audio equipment too.

think of it as an alternative to the giant apple marketing machine.

cheers darling

damien rice - o

finally, i am actually inspired enough to write about music. this album is the reason headphones were invented. it is simply too good to be true. i could lock myself in a room with it and never come out again. of course, this is probably expected from rice, who was the frontman for what is now bell x1. this album, his first solo LP, won the shortlist award for 2003 and was called the 2nd best irish album ever, right behind U2's "joshua tree". rice incorporates his raspy voice (think chris martin, but better), acoustic depth (think elliott smith, but better), haunting lyrics, great backup vocals, and perfectly arranged orchestral score into a nearly flawless record. the songs have a world of depth and clarity, and every time you go back, you can find something new. "o" is definitely a sit-at-home, quiet time kind of album.

this album could make a grown man bury his head in his hands and weep. seriously. i could go on forever about it. it is simply that good. get it now.

boredom

high fidelity.

tale of a cynical music snob who doesn't get any action. story of my life.

yeah it's a bit old, but i was a little young when it came out.

anyways, good book, better movie (suprisingly), great soundtrack.

---

actually in kind of a lull right now... dunno what to listen to. had a little britpop obsession a couple days ago, so that involved lots of blur, oasis, travis, and the verve. now i'm on to dylan and the clash. there is no pattern to my madness. i have no motivation to go out and find new records. the beck album has sat untouched on my ipod for like a week now. death from above 1979 was on conan this week. cool beans.

---

edit: partial austin city limits lineup (sept. 23-25)

coldplay
oasis
wilco
arcade fire
thievery corporation
bloc party
death cab for cutie
franz ferdinand
the decemberists
the walkmen
spoon
the futureheads
rilo kiley
m83
rachel yamagata
the bravery
the secret machines
keane
kasabian
jet
doves
eisley
fiery furnaces
teagan and sara
the new amsterdams
ambulance ltd
aqualung
slightly stoopid

hooray! lets go lets go!