which is better?

Duh! Matadors all the way!

gaultier

I want this.

origins

How did I get this way? I am tracing my steps. Part One:

Madonna - First time I saw her was on American Bandstand, way back when. Before then, I thought she was black. I was totally infatuated and captivated by this girl. Dick Clark asked her what was next, she answered, To rule the world. I was sold.

Coldplay - Anthony Collins and I were sharing music that summer. I burnt him copies of Radiohead, and he burnt me a copy of Parachutes by this band called Coldplay. Anthony and I were both reading Vonnegut at the same time, by coincidence.

Haruki Murakami - Read in EW in 2007 that one of Ryan Gosling's favorite books was Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami. That started my journey down the rabbit hole. See, celebrity endorsement works!

Current Job - I was about to graduate from college without a job lined up. I was working part time, and one of the ladies there told me there was a job opening at this place I'd never heard of. I went in for interview, and Mr. Chinn, thank goodness, only talked to me about family and stuff and didn't grill me on my skill or knowledge.

Life in the Sunset - It was 97. We were desperate for a place to live. They had an open house on Saturday. Seller's market. House was open for a couple of hours and then bids would be accepted the following Tuesday. Place was packed; we filed in and filed out. It was a little more than we thought we could afford, but it was a nice street, and a gem compared to the dumps we were seeing. We threw caution to the wind and placed a bid. First winning bid eventually fell through and we lucked out. Been here since, and other than my fear of having to ride through earthquakes in a three-story building, I am glad this is my home.

John Virtue "London No. 709" postcard - Acquired at the gift shop at the National Gallery in London in 2005. It was my favorite discovery exploring the museum that day. I'd never heard of John Virtue before. I bought four postcards in all. This one is on my bulletin board hanging above my desk.

which is better?

Which is better?

idler no more

It's real. We now have album artwork, tracklisting and tour dates from Fiona Apple, so she can't back out now. Her new cd The Monkey Wrench is mightier than the Whipping Cord if you need to throw something at a Glass House up on the Hill but not as mighty as a Rope if you are going to hang yourself in said Glass House up on said Hill is coming. So excited - see you all at the Fox Theatre in Oakland!

Tracklisting:

1. Every Single Night
2. Daredevil
3. Valentine
4. Jonathan
5. Left Alone
6. Werewolf
7. Periphery
8. Regret
9. Anything We Want
10. Hot Knife

Tour Dates:

06-19 Ithaca, NY – State Theatre
06-20 Baltimore, MD – Lyric Opera House
06-22 Mashantucket, CT – MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods
06-23 Holyoke, MA – Mountain Park
06-24 New York, NY – Governors Ball, Randall’s Island
06-26 Washington, DC – Warner Theatre
06-27 Upper Darby, PA – Tower Theatre
06-29 Danbury, CT – Ives Concert Park
06-30 Boston, MA – Citi Performing Arts Center
07-01 Portland, ME – State Theatre
07-03 Montreal, Quebec – Olympia Theatre
07-04 Toronto, Ontario – The Sound Academy
07-06 Cleveland Heights, OH – Cain Park
07-07 Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit
07-10 Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre
07-11 Indianapolis, IN – Murat Theatre
07-13 Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
07-14 St. Louis, MO – Peabody Opera House
07-16 Minneapolis, MN – Orpheum Theatre
07-17 Kansas City, MO – The Midland by AMC
07-20 Denver, CO – Paramount Theatre
07-21 Salt Lake City, UT – Kingsbury Hall – University of Utah
07-24 Vancouver, British Columbia – Orpheum
07-25 Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre
07-26 Portland, OR – Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
07-28 Oakland, CA – Fox Theater
07-29 Hollywood, CA – Hollywood Palladium

dare or dare

As of today, here is how I rank the MDNA songs:

1. I'm Addicted
2. Falling Free
3. Love Spent
4. Gang Bang
5. I'm A Sinner
6. I Fucked Up
7. Beautiful Killer
8. Turn Up The Radio
9. Masterpiece
10. I Don't Give A
11. Superstar
12. Some Girls
13. Girl Gone Wild
14. Give Me All Your Luvin'
15. Best Friend
16. B-Day Song

It's really an ace collection. I pretty like everything except for maybe the first two singles and a couple of throwaways on the deluxe edition. What a shame that Girl Gone Wild and Give Me All Your Luvin' were chosen as lead-offs since they don't hint at the oddity and brilliance of the rest of the songs she put together. I mean, why make a crazy, dizzying album only to chicken out and release the most pedestrian, innocuous, inane tracks to the radio? When are the people around her going to get it that radio has no intention of playing Madonna anyway? So why not just go for broke and release something edgy and unexpected but so good that if it fails, you can blame it on people's ignorance? I think that's what Madonna needs to do - go for broke and stop pandering. Get rid of Nicki Minaj, MIA, cheerleader chants, pom poms, and raps. If you can make something as lovely and heartfelt as Falling Free or as subversive as I'm Addicted or as over-the-top mental as Gang Bang, you shouldn't waste your time on L-U-V, Madonna. You are too good for that shit. You are my superstar. That's what you are.

once again

More evidence of beauty - the Broadway cast of Once performs Falling Slowly (what a gorgeous song):