"Sailors Sailin' Off In The Morning"

Michelle's came down ill this morning, feeling dizzy and faint and feverish with a sore throat and tightness in the chest. She went home immediately after reaching her office, and I came home after second period to take her to the doctor's office. Turns out she's got tonsillitis and bronchitis, which is loads of fun. So we both took the rest of the day off, her to rest and me to take care of her. Dunno how she'll be feeling tomorrow, but she's on antibiotics and is currently napping.

Our taking the day off meant we were home to watch the news about the shootings at Virginia Tech that took place today. It's just mind-blowing, thinking about the thirty-odd college kids who were killed today.

It's looking like the authorities in charge of the whole situation are under heavy fire from all sides for their handling of the murder investigations. The fact that there were two separate incidents--a double-homicide at 7.15 and the larger group massacre around 9.30--but that the administration did not lock down campus after the first incident is just bizarre. As the details of this case become clearer in the coming weeks, I hope it all starts to make sense...well, as much sense as something like this can make.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Charlie Sexton, "Regular Grind"

"Is There Just A Little Room?"

So the Great Music Exchange of '07 (pronounced "Aught Seven") was fantastic. We ended up with over 3700 new songs from Chad and Emily, which is a hell of a lot of music to now try to assimilate. We got everything from Morrissey and the Smiths to David Bowie, Jesse Malin, and everything in between. Sooo much music.

We also discovered I'd been charged for an extra month on eMusic, so I had 75 more downloads to use there. Burned through those in about five minutes this morning.

So yeah, lots of new music. Chuck a very happy monkey.

Yesterday we had a leak in the ceiling in the kitchen. Apparently the bathtub upstairs decided to leak into the kitchen after three of us took showers yesterday morning. They sent a guy out to fix it, so we'll have to see how that went.

Coincidentally, the ceiling of the breakfast nook at Michelle's parents' house apparently caved in this morning for similar reasons (though I think it was the toilet leaking there that did the deed). So that's rather odd timing.

Beyond that, it's a dreary gray day here in Northern Virginia. It started raining yesterday afternoon, but it's just continued virtually unabated since then. That's the thing about Virginia weather compared to Oklahoma weather: in Oklahoma, it comes bursts, beginning and ending so fast you hardly noticed it happened. Here in Virginia, weather hangs around, reads your newspaper, asks if there's any pie left that it could have. Things like that.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: The Clash, "Rudy Can't Fail"

"If You Wanna Ramble"

Yesterday was Soap Box Night, the annual school talent show. It went pretty well: there weren't any glaring technological issues, most of the acts went off without a hitch, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves pretty well. I did three acts: a song with my co-teacher, Jeremy, another song with a couple of students and a couple of teachers (the song was in Turkish; luckily for everyone involved, I was only playing rhythm guitar there), and a skit with a couple of other teachers. The second act I was in--the one with the students and teachers--went a little awry, mostly because the student playing drums got a little over-enthusiastic. You couldn't hear the rest of us very well. It wouldn't have been as much of a problem if he'd played the right beat, but he was playing something completely unrelated from the actual song, so I was off-tempo, the student playing lead was off-tempo, and the two teachers singing had no clue where they were. It was rather awkward, I'm afraid.

Tonight is the night of the Great Music Exchange. We've got Chad, Lauren, Emily, and Lauren's brother gathered here, ready to trade music back and forth across computers. It's very exciting.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: The Flaming Lips, "Knives Out (Live)"

Looking For A Black Cat...

Happy Friday the 13th, folks. It's pretty quiet here at school, despite the impending Soap Box Night tonight (our annual talent show). I'm participating in a couple of acts, mostly playing my guitar (once for myself, once for a fellow teacher). The students are excited, but it's still pretty low-key.

Weekend's gonna be full of stuff and goings-on. We're helping Michelle's father set up an awning thing on his deck tomorrow during the day, and we're doing the Great Music Exchange of '07 tomorrow night with Emily (the idea being that we've all got really great stuff that the others want to hear, so we're gonna do a little trading. Good times). Sunday is possibly given over to visiting with one of Michelle's friends who is in town this weekend from Boston.

Had a busy but rewarding Spring Break. Car ended up costing about $2100 overall for all the various repairs effected to it. Dad's visit went well, but it was exhausting. I saw a great concert--Sean Lennon--last Saturday and another great show--Jesse Malin--on Monday. Rock.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Camera Obscura, "If Looks Could Kill"

"'Cause I'm The Taxman"

So my federal income tax refund this year is going to be a little over $900.

This is, I should say, rather groovy.

And almost makes up for all the money I've had to spend on my car since last week.

Almost.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: The Traveling Wilburys, "Nobody's Child"

The Decemberists - The Crane Wife

I only started listening to the Decemberists a couple of months ago. I started with their first record, Castaways and Cutouts, I've started kinda working my way forward.

'Cept I kinda skipped ahead a bit and picked up their latest record, The Crane Wife, last week.

Sometime between that first record and the latest one, the Decemberists discovered a couple of things: 1) an electric guitar, and 2) the work of Styx circa "Lady."

This isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Their 1870s meets 1970s aesthetic actually works for the most part on this record. Thematically, it's a loose song cycle based on a Japanese folk tale involving a man who takes a crane woman as his wife. The album includes two lengthy multipart songs: "The Crane Wife," which is broken up into "Part 3" (which opens the album) and "Part 1 & 2" (which comes near the end of the record), and "The Island," a track that sounds something like a prog rock epic about immigration, class struggle, dueling, and drowning. "The Island" features a section that nicks the warblely synth line from "Band on the Run," with the twist that it's performed by a string quartet. Part of "Come and See," the first section of "The Island," sound like something out of Emerson, Lake, & Palmer or post-Tommy Shaw Styx.

But lest you think it's all epic-length story songs, fear not: the Decemberists can knock together a folky, poppy song in the 3-4 minute range with ease and poise. "Yankee Bayonet" is an effortless, sprightly tune about...well, a Civil War soldier and his lady love. "The Perfect Crime No. 2" races along breathlessly. "Shankill Butchers" is a creepy, old-fashioned "keep the kids in line" lullaby with a slow, stuttered rhythm. "Sons and Daughters" closes the record with a sweet, folky surge and a note of hope.

The album really holds together well as a whole, though "The Island" does drag after awhile and "The Crane Wife" could've been condensed to one part rather than three. But really, it's a solid collection. The songs are strong and evidence a growth and a great sense of songcraft. It's not for everyone--not everyone is gonna groove on subject matter mostly drawn from the 19th century--but for those that can dig into it, it's a very rewarding listen.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: The Decemberists, "The Perfect Crime No. 2"

"All Winterlong"

So apparently someone didn't get the memo that it's spring now, 'cause it was snowing in Kansas yesterday.

My car is once again in my possession. Let's see if we can't maybe keep it there and running for awhile now, shall we?

Time is fast running out on the remainder of my spring break. Seems like it used to last longer when I was a child.

Got the new Kings of Leon CD yesterday. Thoughts on that and the latest album by The Decemberists later.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Neil Young, "Tell Me Why (Live)"

Corporate Love Breakdown - The Radiohead Bluegrass Tribute

I'm wary of tribute albums, regardless of their nature or genre. I'm especially wary of the ones made in tribute to bands that've only been around for a few years or put out just a couple of albums. Seriously, do we need a Pickin' on John Mayer CD? Especially when it doesn't sound all that different from how he played anyway (the one advantage of that CD is that it does remove one of the most annoying aspect of John Mayer's music: his singing. Now if we could just remove the rest of the music and replace it with something interesting)?

I remember when the tribute album trend started. It began with symphonic tributes to 60s and 70s acts: the Beatles, Yes, the Moody Blues (distinctly lacking the spoken-word poem crap), etc. It was fairly tasteful if kinda bland. There didn't seem to be a point to it, unless you happened to own a grocery store and needed some new muzak.

But we've broadened our horizons since then. It's not all string quartets and philharmonic orchestral tributes (though those are still in ample evidence, I fear). No, now we're bending genres and styles even further.

Which is why when Michelle and I found a CD that referred to itself as a bluegrass tribute to Radiohead, the British-guitar-rock-turned-electronica-experimenters-turned-general-badasses, we were curious. Off-puttingly curious. "It can't possibly work," we said; and "we have to have it! Just for the kitsch value!"

And thus it came as a shock when, upon hearing the CD, it turns out this stuff is actually really good.

The album itself is actually a really interesting exercise in blending slight electronica touches to bluegrass instruments (guitar, fiddle, mandolin, and banjo). The results are definitely listenable and recognizable, but the musicians responsible for this record have made each song their own. incorporating the fuzzed-out bassline from "The National Anthem" into a bluegrass version of the song is unsettling at first, but it ultimately works. The folks playing this songs have not only a firm grasp of their instruments, but a real reverence and understanding of the source material. "2+2=5" comes across as just as sinister when the vocals are played by a fiddle as they do when Thom Yorke sings them. "Fake Plastic Trees" is touching and sad as the original. "Knives Out" comes across as a plaintive dirge rather than a sinister threat. "Myxomatosis" is just as bizarre and creepy as the Radiohead version, and the heavy exhalation thing that one of the musicians does ups the weirdness factor in just the right way.

This collection isn't for everyone or for listening to all the time. It is worth a listen, but it's probably not of interest to anyone except those who really like Radiohead and bluegrass and wondered what the two would sound like together. Despite being aimed at such a small niche population, it's an interesting and almost fun collection.

"Hello Cowgirl In The Sand"

Dad and Vivian left this morning to head back home. Their visit went well, despite a few setbacks:

(1) No parking available at the Springfield Metro Monday, so we couldn't go to DC then. We decided to head to Shenandoah National Park instead. Which led us to

(2) My car decided leaking all of the coolant out all over the pavement again would be a good idea. Turns out my car needs new radiator.

So we went to DC yesterday instead (Dad drove), my car is in the shop again getting repaired, and I'm going to be out another $500. Good thing Michelle's paycheck cleared overnight.

Dad's visit was good beyond that, though. We had dinner with Michelle's family last night, and her father and mine seemed to get along pretty well.

The presents Michelle bought for my birthday finally arrived in the mail yesterday. She got me some cool stuff: the first two volumes of Warren Eliis's Transmetropolitan, the two new Neil Young live archival releases (from Massey Hall and Fillmore East), and the bluegrass tribute to Radiohead (much cooler than you'd think). Dad got me a toolbox chock-full o' useful tools, such as wrenches and pliers and a hammer and screwdrivers and a cordless power drill (which is gonna be lots of fun). So that was pretty groovy.

Anyway, the day so far has been spent doing a whole lot of nothing. I think I'm going to work on organizing the bedroom this afternoon. We'll just have to see.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Neil Young, "Old Man (Live)"

"You are certainly doomed by my math!"

Getting ready to have a Meeting of the Parents (TM) dinner. It should be...interesting, to say the least, what with Michelle's very New York parents and my very Midwestern father and his girlfriend (whom I keep accidentally calling "Vicky" instead of "Vivian." She seems to find it funny, at least).

We spent the day in DC doing the tourist thing. Dad and Vivian seemed to enjoy themselves, and we walked a good 4 miles.

Bizarre moment of the day: explaining to my father how iTunes worked and why it was important to have almost 30 days' worth of music on my computer.

In case I, y'know, want to sit in a room for a month straight and never sleep and do nothing but listen to music. Yeah.

We're off! Wish me luck.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: White Stripes, "Hotel Yorba (Live)"

"Don't Know Much About History"

I'm in the middle of figuring my grades for the third quarter, which is technically supposed to be completed by midnight tonight (yeah, that ain't happening). I've got all the classes completed except Humanities, and then I have to write personal blurbs for all of the students. Wee.

Dad's coming in tomorrow. I'm excited to get to see him and nervous about he and Michelle finally meeting. I'm sure it'll go fine, but I'm a worrier (like my mother). Apartment still needs a lot of cleaning between now and then.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: The Decemberists, "Shiny"

Snakes On A Plane

Just finished watching Snakes on a Plane. It falls squarely into that category of movies called "Awesomely Bad." The plot is so patently ridiculous--I mean, c'mon, using snakes to do the dirty work?--that you can't help but sit back and enjoy the conceit of the film.

I think it really only works at all because of the awesomeness that is Samuel L. Jackson. Seriously, no one else could've pulled off that role. I think it's the power of his mustache.

Seriously, it's a groovy mustache that would've fit into a 1970s cop flick.

So yeah, Snakes on a Plane. What can you really say? There were snakes. They were on a plane. Samuel L. Jackson killed them with various weapons, including a depressurized cabin in the airplane. And he had some great one liners.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: totally not the stupid-ass song they played at the end of the movie. God, that song sucked.

"I'm In Love With My Car"

My car is fixed and back in my possession. Final damage: roughly $1660, which is rather less than I'd feared it would be. Considering they replaced a gasket in the engine, did a coolant system flush, replaced some leaking oil hoses, and patched the radiator, I think it wasn't too terribly bad.

I'm finally on Spring Break now. A week and a half of mostly relaxing. Dad's coming into town Sunday night to visit for a couple of days. Should be a good time.

Michelle and I are currently watching Snakes on a Plane. It's too early to see if this is as horribly funny a film as I think it can be. Time will tell.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: White Stripes, "Offend in Every Way"

Son Volt - The Search

I'm rather interested in the different paths the careers of Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy have taken. If, in 1994, you'd asked me to pick which of the two Uncle Tupelo musicians would have the most successful post-Tupelo career, I'd have said "wha? Who the hell are you talking about?" But, if you'd sat me down and played me some of their stuff, I'd have guessed that Jay Farrar was going to be more successful. He was the stronger writer of the two, had the better songs, and seemed like he could sing better.

The first albums by Son Volt and Wilco would seem to bear out this prediction: Trace is a much stronger collection that AM. Both pick up right where their leading songwriters left off on Uncle Tupelo's Anodyne, but Farrar's compositions are just stronger. More interesting. More literate, I guess you could say. There are more shades and variations to Trace than to AM.

The problem, if you can call it that, is the direction each musician took after that first post-Tupelo album. Farrar continued to mine the same mostly-acoustic alt-country vibe on Wide Swing Tremelo and Straightaways, while Tweedy veered off into new sonic territory with the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink Americana of Being There, the sunny pop of Summerteeth, and the experimentation of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost is Born. Farrar seemed to be working himself into a rut and a corner, digging further into his key themes (love lost, social decay, and cryptic who-knows-what) but not coming up with anything new or different to say about them. His lyrics got harder and harder to understand, his music sparser and more understated.

Then came Okemah and the Melody of Riot. A damn fine album, I say. Farrar plugged his electric guitar back in and cranked everything up. The new Son Volt was a tight, expert rock band with slight country feel to it (think Crazy Horse, but much tighter and more precise). Farrar also brought his best batch of songs to the table since Trace. The results were fantastic, even if he wasn't doing anything he hadn't done before in either Uncle Tupelo or Son Volt.

The Search picks up right where Okemah left off, but that's not a bad thing. Farrar kept the same roster of musicians from Okemah for The Search, and the band's had some time on the road to get even stronger and to really contribute some great stuff to the record. And it feels like more of a band effort rather than a Jay Farrar and some other guys record. Each musician has added a distinct flavor or style to the music, dispelling Farrar's tendency for monochromatic songscapes in favor of punchy guitars, pulsing bass, tub-thumping drums, and the occasional hint of slide guitar, piano, or even horns (!) to brighten things up and add extra flavor to the mix.

Farrar's songs are even better than on Okemah. "Slow Hearse" is a dirge-like opener that could've fit right alongside Farrar's work on the Gob Iron side project. "The Picture" is horn-driven country rock, which works significantly better than you'd think. "Satellite" rocks harder than anything Farrar's done since No Depression. This is an album where the ambition to expand the sonic palette meets an excellent clutch of songs, and the results are exceptional.

The Search is a great follow-up to the return to form that was Okemah. Farrar's managed to keep himself busy the past few years, both with Son Volt and side projects (like Gob Iron), and the activity has clearly done him a world of good. Let's hope he keeps up the streak and the level of production.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Son Volt, "The Picture"

"Beep Beep, Beep Beep, Yeah!"

So a conversation with the service department at the local GM dealership indicates that the problem with my car is probably not the head gasket. The guy says the intake gasket right above the head gasket seems to be our likely culprit: a repair that isn't quite as expensive as the head gasket, at least, but is still more than I'm really wanting to shell out for my car.

But it's good to know that whatever's wrong with this can be fixed. The guy is supposed to call me back and let me know exactly where we stand and give me an estimate this afternoon. We'll see how it goes from there.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Leonard Cohen, "Hallelujah"

"The Continuing Story Of Chuck's Damn Car"

So the drama becomes grander and the plot thicker: to fix the car is going to cost about $1800. Eighteen-hundred dollars we really don't have, I should add.

To say that this frightens and sickens me is to grossly understate the case.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: The Beatles, "I'm So Tired"

"Baby You Can't Drive My Car"

The never-ending saga of car troubles has a new chapter today. Last night, we discovered that my car was once again leaking coolant. In fact, we discovered that the car was completely empty of coolant last night, possibly because it'd all ended up in a puddle on my father-in-law's driveway earlier that afternoon. So we dumped some more coolant into the car and drove it to the service station, where I left it to be worked on today. My father-in-law loaned me his van, which I proceeded to drive without any sort of iPod or CD accompaniment. This, I thought to myself, is what primitive man must have felt like, driving back and forth between his home and work with nothing but the strains of Bad Company drifting across the AM/FM waves to comfort him. It was a sobering thought.

Today we discovered that the likely culprit in the coolant leak is probably the head gasket. In theory, this is a relatively straightforward part to replace. In theory. Unfortunately, due to some bizarre way the engine is designed and set up in a GMC Jimmy, the head gasket replacement is an involved, difficult procedure that takes about 18 hours of labor to accomplish (or so claims the dealership service department guy. I still have my doubts that it could take longer than a few hours to do). At about $100 per hour of labor, this is not a cheap part to replace.

So I face a dilemma: do I pay the large short-term cost and get my car repaired, that it might continue to serve me for another year or so? Or do I say "to hell with this," trade in the car for what little I can get, and purchase a new vehicle? Admittedly, I won't be able to get much for my car if it is a head gasket. The overall cost of the new car will be a strain. But the one-time cost of the head gasket replacement is rather steep. It'll put a much more immediate strain on finances.

I honestly don't know what the right answer here is (aside from, possibly, "learn how to replace a head gasket yourself"). This whole affair is frustrating as all hell, I can tell you that much.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: The Beatles, "Drive My Car"

The Autumn Defense - The Autumn Defense

I admit to a weakness for mellow, sunny pop of the lovelorn, strummy acoustic variety. I can’t help it. There’s something about the warmth, the harmonies, and the joy that seems to radiate from the music that’s just hard for me to ignore. The folky, singer-songwriter stuff is just about my bread and butter (and would be, if it weren’t for the fact that I dig a kick ass electric guitar solo every so often).

I also really like Wilco and any band or side project even remotely connected to them.

So it shouldn’t come as any surprise that I really like the new album by the Autumn Defense. I mean, sunny, folky pop with great harmonies and strummed acoustic guitars? Wilco musician John Stirratt? What’s not to like?

And really, the strength of the tunes here means this music would stand on its own even without those prior endorsements and caveats. The Autumn Defense has had three albums to perfect their craft, and perfect it they have. It seamlessly blends folk, pop, jazz, bossa nova, ‘70s singer-songwriter, and a little bit of whatever else was lying around to create a tasty blend of acoustic guitars, delicate piano, subtle percussion, a touch of slide guitar once in awhile, and a hint of strings, horns, and synthesized woodwinds.

This record is more up-tempo than the Autumn Defense’s previous effort, Circles. The jazz and world beat influences are also more obvious on this record. “Canyon Arrow” has an insistent groove that wouldn’t be out of place on an old-school Latin dance album from the 1970s. "Estate Remains" and "Simple Explanation" rock in a folksy, Byrds sort of way. "City Bells" is a gorgeous piano-led ballad that sits at the heart of the record, both literally and metaphorically.

The album is really all about harmony and interconnection, especially between the dual voices and guitars of John Stirratt and Pat Sansone. These two guys can harmonize like nobody's business, and their guitars (Sansone usually sports a 3/4-size classical guitar while Stirratt sticks to the more standard full-size acoustic) bounce off of each other, trading lines and leads and riffs as though the two men shared a brain. Their backing band seems to share the brainwave, too, because they follow Stirratt and Sansone down the garden path and discover some beautiful and melodic music there.

The Autumn Defense is easily one of the prettiest albums I've heard in ages and definitely worth picking up if you like mellow California pop. If you can find it (which is tricky; I had to attend one of their live shows to get my hands on it), grab it. You won't be disappointed.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: The Autumn Defense, "Simple Explanation"

"She's The Second-Best Killer That I've Ever Seen"

The household's conversion to Macs continues to please. This week, I got the scanner and printer set up on the network (so we can print from the laptops even if we're not directly connected to the printer). I tried doing some comics, but the programs I had on the Mac didn't work the way I wanted them to. I'm going to have to see what I can work out.

A good part of the weekend was given over to getting the cars cleaned up from all the nasty weather we've had in the past few weeks. I got my car washed on Saturday and Michelle's washed on Sunday. Both efforts took well over an hour each. I was not happy about sitting in a line for that long, but after all the snow storms and ice and all the sand and salt they put down to deal with that, we really needed to clean the cars.

Michelle spent a good part of yesterday afternoon cleaning the downstairs of the apartment. It looks fantastic down there now. Next stop: the office and the bedroom closet, both of which need a serious overhaul.

Next weekend, the plan is to get some furniture we're in need of (a futon for the office/guest room, possibly some more bookcases). This probably means another trip to Ikea, which is never a bad thing.

In other news, the new Arcade Fire CD, Neon Bible, is fantastic. I listened to it several times yesterday while running errands and waiting to get Michelle's car washed.

More stuff to talk about later, but it's time to earn my pay.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: The Arcade Fire, "Keep the Car Running"

The Great Mac/PC Switch Over

So we finally did it: we finally switched from PCs to Macs.

Michelle and I have been talking about it for awhile now. We were both rather dreading having to switch to Windows Vista, which I'm pretty sure is a craptastic operating system that isn't anywhere near as intuitive as previous iterations of Windows were. It was also trying too hard to be like a Mac. We figured, why settle for OS X lite when you can buy a Mac and get the real thing? So we did.

And God, did we go big.

We each grabbed a laptop--she got the 13" MacBook, I got the 15" MacBook Pro--and we got a Mac Mini to set up as our network hub and to have all of our stuff (scanner, printer, etc.) hooked up to it. Total damages are estimated around $4500. But hey, that's for three brand-new computers, all the software, and a couple of other odds and ends (laptop bag for Michelle, keyboard for the Mini, etc.).

So far, I'm really pleased with the new computers. the Mini is really easy to use, and once I figured out how to make the cable modem work with it, I haven't had any problems. Sometime tonight, I'll get the scanner up and running on this bad boy. There are also so many applications and programs on here that I want to try out, it's not even funny.

Anyway, I'm awfully happy with the whole setup. We've finally got the wireless network up and running the way we want it (which is something we never really accomplished with the PCs), we're selling our old computers to Michelle's sister for a pitance, and all is groovy in the land of Cottrell.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: XTC, "Scarecrow People"