By Land, By Sea, By Dirigible

I'm sitting in the library between classes and I decided to take this opportunity to update this sucker.

I haven't written in a while because I haven't really had anything to say. This has been a wild but rewarding year thus far and I feel that a lot of it is going smoothly because of a few key people in my life who are keeping me sane.

1) My roommates. The three of us have really hit it off as roommates mostly because we are all fairly relaxed individuals when it comes to living arrangements. The communal nature of our refrigerator has been an issue of contention, mostly when it comes to Miller Highlife. Ji Wei has the unfortunate position of being the only person who is 21, so we depend on him for our beer fix. Good thing he's a party animal.

Zach has been a great source of new music as always and has also served as a great voice of reason when I get stressed out about Aca stuff. Ji Wei is a source of constant entertainment, declaring his pimphood in loud outbursts at irregular intervals. Our fourth roommate, James, although he exists, is more of a ghost than a person so far. I haven't been in the apartment at the same time as him very often, so I haven't really gotten to know him as well as Ji Wei has. He certainly hasn't been a problem.

2) Amy. I couldn't have asked for a better co-director. We are accomplishing so much in Acappology right now that I'm somewhat dumbfounded by it. We have three new arrangements already and have auditioned soloists for them. Amy is as solid as a rock when it comes to organizational matters (a quality which I do not share), so we've been helping keep one another sane through the logistical tempest that is Aca. Also, the songs sound phenomenal. I hope the group continues to be as focused and willing to work as they have been thus far.

3) The cast of ManStrokeWoman. Go to www.tv-links.co.uk. Download. Watch. You will be glad you did.

4) Sam Adams. Thank you, Sam, for your glorious Octoberfest. If only it was cheaper.


As for the state of the world, I am simply weary of the Iraq debacle. I know that I have made my arguments time and time again about this war, but now I feel that even the Democrats have been failing me. I know that the situation is not easy to solve, but I am just so tired of it. I don't want to write about that. I want to write about music.

I dig The Decemberists. Their most recent album, The Crane Wife, is simply gorgeous. I have heard it so many times now that I can feel the next song coming in the silence between tracks. After seeing them perform most of it live, I can feel the live performance when I listen to it. There's a moment in the track "The Crane Wife 1 and 2" when I can remember the audience standing up for the first time. It just lifts you out of your contemplations, out of your solemnity, and out of your seat. Imagine white lights hitting you from the stage as the cymbals announce a new movement. The band has been on stage playing for half an hour, dressed like late 19th Century bankers on their Sunday stroll. But in the transition from the first verse to the second, as the acoustic sets a stepping beat, they light the spherical lanterns hanging from the rafters to proclaim that the night has just begun. It makes my hair stand on end.

New music: Stars. Zach introduced me to these Canadian baroque pop-rockers, and they are damn good. I have plans to go to their concert on October 26. I also have plans to listen to albums other than NightSongs.

Awesome old music: Franki Valli and the Four Seasons. I went through a few months where I listened to the Jersey Boys soundtrack a lot in my car (since it was the only CD I had), and I thought the guy who played Franki Valli was impossibly good. Now, I've listened to the original songs a few times over and Franki Valli himself was simply better. A message to Coldplay: listen to Franki Valli. That's how you use falsetto.

Now, it's time for me to go to class. Perhaps I will use this hour to update more often. We'll see.

(don't tell anyone, but the Yankees are only 2.5 games out of first place. Shhhhhh.)