Cool. So life's been a little hectic lately. "Workin' for the man every night an' day", as the song says. I have basically become my employer's full-time accountant at one job...and the weird thing is, i'm good at it. I find this amusing, as I have tried to take accounting class three times and had to drop it all three times, not to mention it's the only class standing between me and a college degree/real job. Life's funny like that sometimes. All I know is I don't want to see anything 2002 for awhile. Other than that it's been the usual non-newsuals... hanging with my pals and concerts and the like. Anyway I'm hungry, so let's talk food. Because I like to torture myself.
Restaurant rave of the month: Rafaela's. Tasty Italian food, yes. But the real charm of Rafaela's is its outdoor seating area, complete with picnic-y tables, candles, and strands of twinkly lights. This and its location- a mostly residential area of PB, far enough from Garnet...well, just far enough- makes the place comfortably romantic. I tried the Margherita pizza (a slice of my friend's, really, since I was broke and along for the company that night, ha!) and can vouch for that, as well as the satisfaction evident on my and my fellow patron's faces. Two snaps up!
Live show rave of the month: Sonic Youth at SoMa. Maybe it's the fact that Sonic Youth have been making music together for twenty-odd years now, or maybe it's that their new album is a tighter package than any they've had out in years. Either way, this is the best I'd ever seen the Youth live. Leaving behind their usually excessive feedback while still paying homage to the noise-rock roots that made them one of the most inventive bands of the 80's and 90's, Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore and co. got it right on Tuesday night. A restless, epileptically lit set included such standouts as the radio hit "Bull in the Heather", the new track "Pattern Recognition", and the stellar ender "Drunken Butterfly." They put on a show worthy of the rock gods they are, proving that, after twenty years of making noise together, the Youth are still the keepers of the cool.
Album rave of the month: Coheed&Cambria- In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3. Blasting past their Warped Tour-mates with a feverish blend of emo and prog-rock, this is Coheed&Cambria's second album, and the one that brought them to the attention of the masses. CO&CA's influences are glaringly obvious- Rush and screamo bands like Thursday, along with shared sci-fi undertones with Mars Volta- but in this case that's not a bad thing. The resulting songs pop with energy and urgency, singer Sanchez sounds like an anemic Geddy Lee... and it works. This one will burn your gut.
What's in my CD player now: PJ Harvey- "Uh Huh Her", The Killers- "Hot Fuss", Eels- "Daisies of the Galaxy".
THE HOT LIST (according to me):
-Four o'clock Fridays. CHECK OUT THE SHOW LIST! Violent Femmes, Jet, and the Rugburns, to name a few. The racetrack hasn't been this fun since...it closed at the end of last season.
-Doorknocker earrings. ABsolutely FABulous. The trick is to find them "twenties-big", not "eighties-big."
-Heck, The Twenties in general. Flappers, fringe, and cute hats with gigantic flowers. Hot jazz!
-Movies in the park. Now that I live right across from them, summer movies in the park are extra fun. Bring on the picnic blanket, wine, and cheese!
-80's Night at Shooterz. All the hip kids come out to groove with Billie Jean and Amadeus. Wicked fun.
Quote(s) of the Month:
"Sir...sir! Please do not throw the Grounds For Your Garden bag at the ceiling, sir." -Markallen
"Working at this store has really made me thankful for my sanity. We don't really have... people like this in Pullman." -Lindy
© August 4, 2004 by me.