TAKE MY SHOES OFF

Long time, huh? Things have been hectic around here, proposal for Durkheim suicide paper, Psych Exam, 50438503482 pages to read.... but really, everything is good. All of that is over and now it's time for me to kick back.

and work on my paper for monday.

Anyway, I've been depriving you guys of a good CMJ wrap up and details of my concert exploits since, but anything I give you would be outdated anyway. The things to note are: The Cribs were great, I got to see Ryan bloody this time, I even had to crank my neck back 120 degrees to see (that's what standing right in front gets you). Complaints? Well, the sound could have been better.
Then... the Arcade Fire. Well, obviously amazing in just about every way. I thought it would suck because I had a pretty bad spot sight-wise, but it was just as good as it was in February (well.. almost). But then David Bowie showed up and that shot everything threw the roof. I called a bunch of people because I was so excited, and then I got back to campus and all of my friends wanted to strangle me. Then Regina, who was as enchanting as ever. Irving Plaza was PACKED and you could tell she was happy. Then I saw some the Arts & Crafts showcase (Apostle of Hustle, etc) which was pretty good and then I ran over to Rare, just in time to get denied for Saints + Lovers (it's a sad story.)

After that, over to S.O.B's for Cocorosie, Supersystem, and !!!. The crowd was insane. I've never heard Cocorosie before, but one of them really reminded me of Joanna Newsom... then Supersystem came on, were good, and I got stuck in a dancemosh pit filled with guys 4x my size. After being violated and violating everyone around me, headed to the back for !!!. They were great live, but I'm not such a huge fan of the recordings. Just about everyone there was insane and insanely nice... one of the best crowds of the weekend.

Then... hmm. Frenchkiss Showcase @ CBGBs. I was glad to make it to CBGBs before it gets inevitably bulldozed, and the show did not disappoint. High points specifically were Tangiers and the Turing Machine. I didn't think I would like the music that much, but I did. And I got to see a couple of my CMJ coworkers pretty drunk.... it was a great way to end the weekend.

I saw two movie screenings, Brick and Elizabethtown. Both were good in their own ways, and I would write about them but Brick is incredibly hard to explain and we were told specifically told not to write about Elizabethtown because we saw the extended Film Fest version.

and... that was my CMJ in a nut shell. Can't wait to do it again next year! (after working ahead in school, of course).

Last weekend was the White Stripes/ Shins/ M. Ward at Keyspan Park. I liked M.Ward less that I thought I would, the Shins were great as usual. The singer actually talked to the audience this time and of course, Marty stole some hearts with his "YEAH SPORTS" and other witty banter. The White Stripes were much better than I remember (from early 2004) and I really enjoyed myself. I was wayyy too far away to get a picture, but if you want some actual recapping and a setlist (not a real one, jack doesn't use them) go here.

That's been my week and when other interesting this arise, I will let you know! On the schedule for this weekend: Alias premiere, Little Manhattan premiere, and massive amounts of work. (I would much rather be going to the Interpol show this sunday, but alas... no such luck.)

hope you have a good weekend.

COLD ROSES

I was just over at ToTC browsing the newest Blue States Lose (a weekly entry where they make fun of pictures from hipster dance parties), when I came upon this (#7). It was taken at MisShapes and any Ryan Adams fan knows that this is a picture of album art from Cold Roses - only with one difference. It's on someone's leg. She's gotta be a big fan because she gave up a whole lot of room for that. It's pretty enormous.

WE ALL GET PAID

So New York magazine put this Salary list. I was just casually breezing through it, inserting the occasional "wow!" and such when I reached these:
Edward Lampert
$1.02 billion
Manager, ESL Investments hedge fund

James Simons
$670 million
Manager, Renaissance Technologies Corp. hedge fund

Bruce Kovner
$550 million
Manager, Caxton Associates hedge fund

and I said, "holy shit."
No, seriously. That is so much money.
How on earth does someone make that much money? How can a company afford to pay anyone that much money? Do Ed, Jim and Bruce realize how much money that is? They must not even count it anymore. I'm sure on the weekends they all get together in one of their many weekend homes and sit in a circle of ominous leather chairs, tapping their fingers like Mr.Burns and planning world domination.

"Hahaha! So Jim, Bruce, have you fellows realized that I could single-handedly solve all individual debt problems in the US and still maintain my current lifestyle? Haha! Haha! They wish..peons."

I'M IN THE WRONG DIRECTION

Hang in with me there, folks.
CMJ was a very busy four days of no sleep and no homework (even though I really didn't see that many shows), and now I'm recovering and trying to cover my behind enough to get to the weekend. If you've been out of school for a while, let me just remind you that homework sucks. If you haven't been to college yet, let me announce that College homework sucks. My buddy "skim" and I will be getting very close in the next couple of days...

So the final CMJ wrap-up (details saved for next entry)

Wednesday:
went to class
I worked Artist Registration at Lincoln Center from 1-8
Saw Pela, the Cribs @ Bowery Ballroom
slept.

Thursday:
went to class ....?
Worked artist registration from 10:30-2:45
Saw Belle Orchestre, Sound Team, the Arcade Fire@Summerstage and Regina Spektor@Irving Plaza

Friday:
Saw Brick (an indie movie)
Saw Apostle of Hustle, Jason Collett@ Hiro Ballroom
Saw CocoRosie, Supersystem, !!!@S.O.B's
slept in a dead way

Saturday:
Saw extended version of Elizabethtown (new Cameron Crowe movie)
Saw The Plastic Constellations, Tangiers, The Turing Machine, and the Hold Steady@ CBGBs

and holy crap, am I still tired.

CMJ

My Crappy Arcade Fire Video #1 (end of "In The Backseat").

My Crappy Arcade Fire Video #2 (Part of "Queen Bitch" ft. David Bowie).

(both are yousendit files)






Screw homework.

COLLEGE: HOORAY BEER!!

Someone was very irresponsible last night. Though I suppose I should be more supportive of Red Stripe considering it has helped white people dance for over 50 years. It's beer! Hooray beer!

(Don't get any ideas. I took this on my way to the library.)







In other beer related news, the skies of Columbia have been over taken:



by Heineken. I didn't notice the circle of sky writing around the campus until a little girl pointed it out to her brother. How wrong is that? Companies should keep in mind that college students aren't the only ones seeing this. Then again, they probably realized that when they first thought of sky writing. Marketing is disgusting.

THE WEIGHT OF MY WORDS

Because of this I am officially the seventh option listed if you search for "preteens fucking."

Thank you, MSN. All my dreams have come true.

IT ENDED ON A SODA FILLED STAGE

Finally! Orientation is over! The last NSOP event was today, thank god. I can finally go back to a normal schedule. But not before working the soda table at the Lerner Party.

My group and I had to refill all the little cups of soda as freshmen (and non freshmen) took them, but only after enduring the "is this diet pepsi? which ones diet? this is diet? okay!" inquisition from 98% of them. Evidently our system of putting the bottles (2 liters and clearly labeled with the name of the soda) in front of the cups was not obvious enough for them. The whole time I was there only one girl really got the system, but that was enough to restore my faith in the freshman class. After our shift was over (10:30) all I wanted to do was "GRR" really loudly and flip over the table. It would have been awesome. Grring, muscle flexing, table flipping, soda spilling. Everyone at the Lerner party would have remembered it, and it would've been at the least, empowering. Really, my whole group could have done it with me. It would have been a goodbye event since we won't be together anymore. Glorious table flipping and subsequent freshman covered in soda. We'd go grr and flex the guns, running away... maybe even ape style.

But really, that's ridiculous. Doing something like that would have incredibly bad consequences, including the cleaning of said soda from the floors.. from the freshman. Even if we didn't have to clean it up, I would feel awful making anyone else clean it up. Still, it's pretty great to think about. A moment to flip out, sheer ridiculous anti-rage. Running, awesomeness. Maybe even stomping on all the paper cups (King-Kong Style). I would've laughed a lot. I'd like to think the pure adrenaline from something like that would keep me going all night, but the truth is I'd probably feel really bad afterwards. Bad and ridiculous. But at least I'd be smiling.

BABY'S GONNA DIE TONIGHT

The annual "Concert on the Steps" was today at 2. The Dirty Projectors and Yo La Tengo. Despite the heat, I think it actually went pretty well.

Earlier in the day I went with people from Columbia Concerts and some fellow OLs and we bought all of the food on the "rider" (I use quotes because I'm sure it was a much tamer Columbia version of the rider) and got the bands some water, bread, mayo, chips, pretzels, m&ms, and mustard. The bread was fancy and smelled great, but come to think of it, I'm not sure there was anything to put on it except mayo or mustard.... or both. (ew?)

The other big event of today was registration, which was actually pretty exciting for me given that it is not really that exciting. I ended up getting basically all the classes that I wanted, but because I'm crazy and spent this summer planning the next 3 years according to my different perspective majors, pretty much all the classes I wanted means 19 credits, around $700 worth of books, and DEATH. I want to keep all six classes, but with the work study job and possibly doing nightline (a 24 hour helpline that requires a semester of training) is it really worth losing my mind? And even if I don't lose my mind, is it worth not having a social life?

NEW YORK CARES

Alright. No more slacking. It's technically September 2nd now and the hiatus is over.

For some reason my friends are really surprised when I say I don't want to go out a lot this year. They asked me why and I said "what's the point?" They thought it was a depressing answer, but really - what is the point? I'm not saying that I never want to hang out or see people; I just don't want to party and sleep late or be deprived all the time. Come to think of it, I can't remember ever having a really great time at a party. Every great feeling I've had with my friends has been something simple, like eating a great meal or taking a nice walk on the water and actually talking about something. And I don't mean pushing facts or opinions in people's faces, I mean talking honestly and openly without the tension of outside sources.

Maybe it's the only child in me, but I really don't mind being alone. Sometimes I think sitting and listening to music or something equally as relaxing can actually be more enjoyable than being with other people. Not that I don't like other people, but hanging out should be fun and not obligatory or forced. Is it so bad not to want to go to a party if all my friends are going? Is it so bad to want to sit for a little while, listen to Interpol and then fall asleep if I really am tired?

Some people might find it depressing or weird, but right now I feel pretty peaceful. I'm not being pushed and I like it.