First Day of Winter Jam

麵包超人 (アンパンマン) "ANPANMAN" the Azuki-Bean-Jam Bun Superman thanks to Spitzgogo_CHEN

Chicago's all like, "Whoaaa, happy winter, suckers!" It's -4 degrees outside with a wind chill of something negative ridiculous and I don't know why I live here. I would very much like to wear my bathing suit around (totally ignoring my chubs, duh) and lie down on beaches and climb hills and ride bikes and stuff when I get trapped like this in my apartment.

Twice As Much & Vashti Bunyan - The Coldest Night of the Year

This is easily the coldest day of the year and I am glad I don't have to be outside. Happy winter, friends. I was saving this song until the first day of winter. Maybe I manifested this horrid weather. Guys, I'm sorry. Mostly, I'm sorry that I missed the Muppet Christmas Special. Bless you, internet.

Walking Music

Tonight's weather was perfect for walking. That is, if one's partial to rain and spritz and dry and spritz and oh hey rain, again. A scarf wrapped around mouth, chin, neck. Hat all snug. Gloves! Yes. Gloves. Black ones, simple.

Nico - These Days

When I'm aware that what I'm listening to reflects my life in a specific moment, it startles me. Sometimes, I put on something different. Sometimes, I keep it up.

Nina Simone - The Laziest Gal in Town

I bought a bottle of wine. Honestly? I'm pretty sure this is my first legal self-purchased bottle o' alcoholic grapes. I'm not a wino. More like a beer-o. My roommate pointed out that I am always drinking expensive beer. Not true. I buy the prettiest label with brand recognition and style preference at $10 or less. What class. But I mean, I drank Mickey's for the first time in years recently.

Wherein I write too much about myself and not enough about Joanna Newsom and the CSO

Relatively last minute, I was able to score amazing seats to see Joanna Newsom perform with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Roommate Tim and I sat on the main floor, center, second row after biking slowly (I was in a dress and shoes that clicked--yikes!) from the near-west side to downtown. I'd never seen the CSO nor I had ever been in the space and it's safe to assume that it was beautiful. The sound, the building, the hugeness of things. Everything was crisp and clear and I quickly drank a beer and sat down and had a throughly enjoyable time. Am I supposed to do anything other than gush? Her voice has gotten stronger and fuller and uuuhhhhh what else am I supposed to say other than it was so much better than I expected even though I expected total greatness? What does that become then? GREATNESS GREATNESS? Yes, let's settle on that.

The first half consisted of songs from Ys. And duh, of course it translated beautifully from record to stage because Van Dyke Parks is a genius and all of the musicians involved are terribly talented. Although there was no "danceploration" from the Drag City folks, it was particularly adorable when conductor Ryan Francesconi picked up an instrument part way through a song and kept his head bopping. Then intermission came, a break for fresh air, and more more more. I was and am still impressed by everyone. And have you seen Joanna Newsom live before? Talent. I mean, really, truly, even if you're not fond of her voice, it's a wonder that her hands move so and that she's still singing perfectly.

There was cute banter and overwhelming beautiful arrangements of songs that played a significant role in my life as Milk-Eyed Mender was one of the three most played albums during my stay in France (you know, one of those typical "coming-of-age" experiences because if I am anything at all, I am pretty normal).

My favorite song of the night? I don't know. I can't say. My favorite song from the second half? Maybe "Peach, Plum, Pear". Maybe not. Look, I can't choose! Here's a video from Brazil of a song that she also played on Friday night that's a contender for favorite:



If it's any indication to how the new album is shaping up, then gosh. Well, gosh. My goodness. I'm going to go melt somewhere now, thanks.

Oh my goodness, what have I been doing?

Well! Not updating my blog, obviously. For someone who sits in front of a computer all day at work and, you know, "writes", I'm pretty terrible at this. One thing I'm currently doing is a SECRET, but it's awesome and taking up loads of my time right now. It is a mildly musical endeavor. Mildly.

I've been busy! Busy eating. Jamie invited me to Minnie's with Jenn and Angela. Miniature food and good company is delightful. I was strangely social that night and promised to meet up with folks later on so I had to bail early. Pfffft, should've totally spent the rest of the night with the fabulous blog girls instead.

This isn't a food blog but a music blog so I will spare you the deets of how I spent the rest of my weekend at Veggie Bite. Basically. All weekend. Nom nom nom.

I did go to the CHIRP Record Fair this weekend. Formerly the WLUW Record Fair, it now benefits the Chicago Independent Radio Project, a much-needed endeavor. I was there for a while shifting through a surprising amount of Madness and Melanie. I should've made a list of stuff I wanted but came away with Leonard Cohen's Recent Songs, Talking Heads' 77 and More Songs About Buildings & Food, the soundtrack to Valley of the Dolls, and Television's Adventure. Nothing too exciting. I almost bought Harmonicats' Dolls Dolls Dolls just for sheer kitsch factor but even I refuse to pay $6 for kitsch. I wish I had the $$$ to pick up some of the amazing girl group, soul, and doo-wop 45s that were organized really, really well, but jeez louise, they were a bit on the pricey side. I want to be that dude when I grow up.

So that's that. Hi. Hello. I'll be back again. I had the day off today so I caught up on watching Top Chef, reading for fun, and indexing twenty years worth of poetry. Fun fun fun.

alcoholics like music, too.

Thanks, jasmined!


Smog - Drinking at the Dam

My favorite bar in Chicago is Danny's. This isn't groundbreaking or anything, potentially even embarrassing, but I've always had a good time and it's pretty close to my apartment. I particularly enjoy it for after-dinner drinks and conversation before it gets crowded and the music gets louder. I've kissed boys there and once, I swear, a DJ played The Clean.