father to feckless son

When was the last time I attended a warm Free Cone Day? I think it must've been 2005. Seriously, I'm running my space heater right now; it's 37 degrees outside, and May is less than 24 hours away. Ohh, Chicago. I won't miss this.

But there's a lot I will miss in a city I've gotten to know so well these almost-three years. Like being able to hop up to Park West tonight from my apartment in under ten minutes to see Elbow/The Watson Twins. This may have been an inadvisable break from my federal jurisdiction studies, except that during the encore I realized maybe, if I'm not feeling prepared enough at the end of the day tomorrow to take the test Thursday, I could wait and take it next Wednesday, stopping Thurs night/Friday to start studying for Evidence... blerg. Having a scheduled exam next Monday morning really puts a damper on things.

Right, I was talking about a concert: well, I've only seen Elbow once before, almost two years ago exactly, and the two shows were diametrically opposed. Two years ago, we were sweating it up at the Double Door, surrounded by smokers and generally miserable. Tonight, I got to sit down, I had a great view, I was pleasantly chilly (see thirty-seven-degree weather comment, infra), I paid $6 for a beer (wait, that part's not preferable), and I got one hell of a show. They had horns, they had violinists/female harmony vocalists (the ladies did double duty), and they still had that fantastic live presence I remember from the previous show, no question. Guy Garvey is a charming frontman, with such a thick British accent that at times I legitimately could not understand him. "Leaders of the Free World" kicked major ass, and the song from their new album that I'm addicted to ("Mirrorball") was absolutely gorgeous, as was "Switching Off," an old favorite. During that song, I was suddenly reminded of driving in the rain to Cincinnati for one concert or another, listening to WOXY and probably en route to the Southgate House or something. I love that music provides a marker for moments in my life. I wish I had more time to just listen to music anymore. I think, once I'm done with law school/bar exam study, I'll get that wish.

Anyway, it was marvelous, the Watson Twins were great as well, and I need to go to bed.

Oh, and my Last.Fm is back. Only there's not going to be a lot to see there for awhile, because I deleted all my user data. A few too many law school musical backing tracks up there for my taste. Top player was R.E.M. at nearly 200 plays, followed by the Decemberists, Sufjan, and... Michael Penn? I don't actually remember the last time I listened to Michael Penn. Maybe I left it on repeat while I slept or something.

Off to bed. Time to kick some more fed jur ass tomorrow. Maybe an exam Thursday. Maybe not. I can't wait till I'm done. This is abysmal.

an American music anthology

A couple days ago I made reference to a mix cd I was making. It's not Exam Recovery; in fact, there were songs I explicitly did not include (though they may have been relevant) because I wanted to save them for BarExRec, when that happens--it will be a 2-CD set at least to make up for your patience, I promise.

Instead, it was for a mix cd exchange with some classmates on the theme of "The Future." Some people opted to make a mix explicitly for August 2008, post-bar exam; others of us took a longer view, and below is what I believe to be a musical allegory of my next year-and-a-half. If you want a copy, just let me know; if you want the more detailed accompanying literature describing my song choices, I can also provide that. However, I think enough of you know what my immediate plans are such that you can kind of figure it out yourself, and I like leaving a little to the imagination.

The Future, for Now track listing:

1. Oppenheimer – This Is Not a Test
2. Jim Noir – Don’t You Worry
3. Peter Mulvey – Charlie
4. Vampire Weekend – Oxford Comma
5. 1900s – See You at the Lights
6. Cake – Rock ‘n Roll Lifestyle
7. Sarah Harmer – New Enemy
8. John Vanderslice – Letter to the East Coast
9. Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers – 4th of July
10. The Long Winters – Scared Straight
11. Jude – I Will Not Die
12. I’m from Barcelona – Ola Kala
13. Nada Surf – Whose Authority
14. The Decemberists – Summersong
15. Counting Crows – Four Days
16. Rilo Kiley – Silver Lining
17. Over the Rhine – Ohio
18. Elbow – Leaders of the Free World
19. R.E.M. – Living Well Is the Best Revenge
20. The Submarines – You, Me, & the Bourgeoisie
21. The New Pornographers – Myriad Harbour
22. Cat Power – New York

you were always out

Holy crap. Am I really so jaded that when someone knocks on my door without prior notice, I get a burst of adrenaline as my first instinct is home invasion?

No, it's my across-the-hall neighbor looking for a screwdriver (which I don't have). And really, self, would a home invader knock first? Only if they're quite polite, I'm sure.

It's finals. That's what I'm blaming everything on. Final finals. Finally.

hardly underway

Tipsy on house wine from our end-of-year Journal dinner, listening to a mix cd playlist to make sure it flows ok (still room for 2-3 more songs if I'm so inclined--no, it's not exam recovery; that's gonna have to be bar exam recovery, I fear), skimming emails about a post-bar trip someplace sunny and warm...

...exams? What exams? Oh, those exams. Yeah, I'm on it.

Tomorrow.

so cold in this house

Sorry about the long time, no blog. I think I lead a dull life right now. Like, I'm reading journal student comments to figure out which ones we'll publish. Interesting to me, not so much to you. Or, like, I need a haircut, desperately. Or I need to register for PMBR before the end of the week, because my former prof recommended it as very useful and I trust her. You know, edge-of-your-seat, fascinating stuff like that.

But hey, this might be of interest: I think I ate some glass tonight at the Rock Bottom brewery! Awesome! I blame this on the Boy, because I was torn between the crème brulée and the pint glass sundae for dessert, and he wanted to share the sundae. I bet we wouldn't have mistaken the glass for ice in the crème brulée. So, anyhow, if you don't hear from me again, I'm probably suffering from massive internal hemmoraging, or whatever. Bonus: we got a free meal! Guess I should have had a second beer.

Anyway, I saw this video on SOMC today and LOVED it, so I'm sharing it with all of you. Enjoyable even for non-cat people, I promise.

flipped, turned upside down

Three years ago, I said to myself, "I want to do that."

And I did, three times. And this last time was magic, every minute, and I want so badly to do it again.

But now I don't know what to do with myself.

you don't even rate a footnote

So, R.E.M. fanclub presale tickets went onsale this morning. I didn't buy any.

Because--curse you, fate--the Chicago tourdate is the first day of my five-year college reunion. ARRRGH. And much as I fancy Michael Stipe and I are best buds, it's really not a choice at all--my friends come first, period. But it still breaks my heart.

I'm wearing my tour shirt from their magnificent '04 tour to show my solidarity both for the fanclub ticket sale and for the release of Accelerate today, which I'm about to listen to. I've heard lots of good things about the album, so I'm ready to be wowed. After all, music will provide the light we cannot resist, we cannot resist, we cannot resist.