What's the Deal?

I feel like Ted Leo's influences are pretty easy to spot. Dude is obviously really into The Jam and The Byrds, and The Flamin' Groovies and a bunch of power-pop groups that have that great, small-scale sense of heroism about them. They're made up of guys who make great poppy rock tunes and recognize that the implied popularity of that music (hence the name) is immaterial. I like Ted Leo's records fairly well and don't mind that some of his songs sound like songs from other bands. But his song "2nd Ave., 11 A.M." is such a strange, overtly piecemeal conglomeration of two songs that the end effect is distracting. This song is clearly the Rites of Spring song "By Design" combined with the Rembrandts' theme song for the show "Friends". It's a weird juxtaposition yet even if it combined two songs that ruled (I love RoS and am a sensible human and hate the "Friends" song accordingly) "2nd Ave." still wouldn't work. It's no fun to hear something whose construction is so transparent; consisting of clearly discernible parts, "2nd Ave." feels like a laboredmath equation. On an album with lots of rad tunes ("High Party", "Ballad of a Sin Eater", "Where Have All the Rudeboys Gone?"), this one is out of place.

What a Clutch Missed Connection.

Tanya from queensryche concert - m4w - 41 (Philly at the spectrum)

---

Date: 2011-05-04, 12:22AM EDT

---

We met while standing in line for t-shirts
you were with your friend millie
we had just snuck back in after being ejected for stage diving
we hooked up and had a brief love affair afterwards
i often find myself thinking about you and how you are
if u see this email me back

The Guy with the Hockey Mask from the St. Lunatics!

At first it seems like there are 10,000 people in the background for Nelly's "Country Grammar" video but then it seems like there only about 150, and most of them are really sassy daytime-hookers or dudes with awesome shit on their shoulder.

Judge the Book by Its Cover #2

Case #2

This man looks like a cigarette. Magico Gonzalez, mythical Salvadoran star for Cadiz in the 80s, has such an awesome weathered look, especially for an athlete. It's always great to see a sportsperson who clearly doesn't take care of themselves. You know that Magico is sipping Old Crow in some fake wood-paneled dive on the archipelago, face inches away from the bar in a lean while his teammates doze at home. He's got dirt and flecks of paint in his hair and beneath his fingernails. I'd imagine he'd like to put "When I Paint My Masterpiece" by the Band on the jukebox and become wistful at the string and saw of Arcadia. He'll shuffle out after being told by the barman that he may not fall asleep in his stool and when he wakes up on the couch, joints stiff and befuddled, his mouth will taste of vomit. In the previous century this picture would appear on Wanted posters, not bedroom walls. Seeing this faded outlaw makes me want to support Cadiz CF, now in Spain's third tier, and also hang with extremely weathered cult heroes from the 1980s who weren't in hair bands. I definitely want to buy the shirt.