tiresome, with a smile

i never thought i was a person of strong habits. i still don't think i am-- but my appraisal has to incorporate the fact that, somehow, i have fallen into a few persistent habits. along with my other general proclivities, i'm sure this makes me a really tiresome person. i have been trying to convince certain people of this immutable fact for some time now (yet another tiresome quality of mine), and am somewhat disheartened by their reticence to see it my way (ditto).

however, in my occasional single-mindedness, or more properly my occasional obsessions, i come across some good shit which merits sharing. that's what blogs are for. so, while we're counting them down, here we go:

cappuccinos: every day. if i don't have at least two good ones, i get quite cranky. currently i am a visiting scholar of annoying the baristas at peregrine espresso; i have not decided whether i'll return to my tenure-track position at the new iteration of murky when it opens in chinatown, but in the meanwhile, this is great. it's sort of the exact opposite of murky, for better or worse: clean, friendly, small, new, tasteful, simple. honestly, each of those could be a strength or weakness, as i have discussed at length with various folks. (discussing things at length: tiresome).

songs: i frequently listen to the same songs over and over again when i'm really into them. i didn't used to do this, but i do now. i add in some filler (it's not 100 repetitions, more like 30 listens in one day), but still. recently it's been okkervil river, especially black sheep boy, especially when running. i think their recorded work is fantastic-- everything is very thoughtfully arranged. maybe it's the austin connection, but they remind me of spoon in that way, even though they're totally stylistically different (and spoon is actually good live). whatever it is, it's making me want to put a band together. also, they have perfect song lengths. if you can't run a mile in the time it takes you to listen to either black and song of our so-called friend or so come back, i am waiting, then just give up. (concept albums, drawing connections, knowing what cities bands are from, knowing which bands are good live, talking about my music, talking about running, unnecessary parentheses: tiresome).

the new yorker: there are so many good articles. i tell you about all of them. here's one that you should actually read, because it's about two movies that every single american person has seen: gone with the wind and the wizard of oz. fascinating! (posting new yorker articles, fawning about new yorker articles, new yorker articles, new yorker readers: tiresome)

the upshot of this is: 1) you should not read my blog; 2) you should not be my friend; 3) i hope i never get a job; 4) everything i do is annoying, even noticing that i am annoying.

in my experience i have found this to be true of all things

He tended to say, "It's very simple," and then after twenty minutes chuckle a bit as the threads unravelled and his narrative became "Tristam Shandy." It could be exhilirating to take on the welter of causation and consequence, but the clarity was fleeting, more of a mood than an all-encompassing grasp; there must be an endorphin that's triggered by the call-and-response recapitulation of a giant variegated clusterfuck. When it dissipates, you're left only with the conviction that our troubles are deep.

(emphasis mine, link [subscription only])

dept. of hero-worship

i've been waiting to read this article about rahm emanuel for almost a week now, like some sort of impossibly self-denying smack addict. it came out online on monday, and my hard-copy new yorker didn't come until yesterday. so, here i sit at murky coffee, full of love for my fellow man and woman, tremendously pleased with the greatest substances on earth (classic cappuchino, big glass of un-iced cold water, pistachios, everything bagel with cream cheese), and the first three pages are so fucking good.

that's right.

i haven't even finished it yet. i came back to the internet to tell you how much i love it. also, i came back to the internet, though i never fully left (life has been busy). so, deal with it!

other things, other things, before i get back to reading/basking:
1) happy birthday yesterday, steve; come to his house tomorrow for a fun show of covers
2) new song up on the myspaces; sent in macrock application; with absolutely unbelievable help from matt, i'll be putting together some tours (YES tourS) in april and the coming months, as well as record label demos and a band and that kind of thing. for actually real this time. i think anytime i play with a band it'll be called hello, babies so if you didn't know that was me before, you know now.
3) going to texas next week. yeehaw!
4) the same people who read this blog already know, but i'm obsessed with this song.
5) i'm fully committed to applying for phd programs this fall, so, phew. talk about life plan.

so much else, but i mean, i can't tell everyone everything individually, so, blog blog blog.