January 2012
1 post
Jan 8th
December 2011
15 posts
Dec 25th
1 note
1 tag
Dec 25th
2 notes
1 tag
Dec 25th
1 note
1 tag
Dec 24th
1 note
1 tag
Dec 24th
4 notes
Favorite albums of the year post!!
Dec 24th
Spent the day driving around L.A. with Common.  I also shared a prayer circle with him. We wasted half the interview, though, being all homesick about Chicago.
Dec 22nd
3 notes
In the spirit of giving . . .
There are 273 songs in my iTunes playlist labeled “2011.” That’s a running tally of my favorite songs of the year. I’ve narrowed that down to 18 — maybe 19, depending on some last-minute changes — for the year-end mix-CD.  I considered putting the playlist on Spotify or SoundCloud, but I’m a stickler for tradition and the songs that made the final cut are...
Dec 18th
6 notes
Dec 16th
WatchWatch
Band of the year.
Dec 12th
2 notes
Dec 9th
6 notes
Listen Lydia Loveless’ “More Like...
Dec 5th
Dec 3rd
Dec 3rd
3 notes
Three chords and the nudes
Back in April, I met three friends of mine who work at a local independent label for dinner. I was late, and when I arrived there was already a somewhat heated discussion taking place. “I cannot believe we bought ads on that site,” said the person essentially in charge of that label’s touring department.  The natural follow-up was to ask what site and why. “You...
Dec 2nd
November 2011
16 posts
Nov 27th
2 notes
Nov 25th
Nov 24th
Nov 24th
4 notes
Nov 19th
Nov 14th
I also write about beer, now professionally. 
Nov 11th
1 tag
Nov 10th
Nov 5th
Nov 5th
Nov 5th
Nov 5th
Nov 5th
Nov 5th
1 note
Nov 4th
4 notes
1 tag
Lotsa people are trying to tell you that the new Florence/Machine record is amazing. It’s not. Thoughts below: Florence Welch’s voice is an undeniable weapon. It brought concertgoers goers to a halt in 2010 at Southern California’s Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. Welch and her band, Florence & the Machine, were stationed at an outpost—a relatively small tent safely tucked...
Nov 3rd
October 2011
16 posts
Oct 30th
Oct 25th
1 tag
“To me, baseball is better with tradition,” Epstein said. “Baseball is better with history. Baseball is better with fans who care. Baseball is better in ballparks like this. Baseball is better during the day, and baseball is — best of all — when you win. And that, ultimately, is why I’m here today.”  Cue misguided hope, soon to be followed by inevitable...
Oct 25th
1 note
Oct 18th
Oct 17th
1 note
Oct 17th
1 note
Oct 17th
1 tag
Bunch of crap I wrote this week: Mannequin Men’s grown-up punk. Good Chicago band and their upcoming album is flirting with my year-end top-10. Soulful oddball Van Hunt finds beauty in the discarded. This record is quite stunning and totally nutso psychedelic soul. Most of the songs are about the recession and I’m a sucker for topical stuff. Anyway, he plays Sunday at the...
Oct 14th
1 tag
From the Chicago Trib: Once Epstein is installed, the ”Hire Ryne Sandberg” movement is bound to begin anew, and already may have begun. Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan, a noted Cubs fan, made a personal plea to Epstein Thursday on the “WGN Morning News.” “Please, please hire Ryne Sandberg,” Corgan said. “White Sox Nation followed Ozzie all those...
Oct 14th
1 note
WatchWatch
Watched this episode three times last night. No one was here — just Pfeiffer the Cat — but I sat here clapping at numerous scenes each viewing. 
Oct 13th
1 tag
Oct 13th
Oct 12th
Oct 12th
2 notes
Lisanti Quarterly: The Types Of People You Meet At... →
marklisanti: * Guy Wearing Shirt Of His Favorite Obscure Microbrewery (in California) * Guy Who Loves Beer So Much He Audibly Gasps At Malt Being Added To Giant Pot Of Boiling Water * Guy Wearing Shirt Of An Even More Obscure Microbrewery (in Portland) * Guy Feverishly Taking Notes On Everything *… I know all these folks well.
Oct 12th
56 notes
Dear L.A. subway takers, If you’re a solo rider, and you sit on the aisle, thereby leaving an open window seat that you are now blocking, you are an asshole. xoxoxoxo
Oct 11th
5 notes
Oct 3rd
September 2011
14 posts
Sep 29th
1 note
3 tags
Sep 23rd