NOSTALGIA IS A WEAPON

… one of which is disappointing. The other I’m currently not sure of.

I expected so much of Sarah Bettens’ first solo album. So much. K’s Choice was such an awesome band, and considering she was one of the two main parts (she and her brother), I thought her new venture, “Scream”, would be a sure bet. Sadly, it falls way short of my expectations. Her voice is amazing as usual, but her lyrics are… well, LESS than usual. She’s another artist that has an incredible way with words, but that feature is sorely lacking here. The lyrics are okay, but they seem contrived. And the music. Oh, how I mourn for the music. The guitar riffs are carbon-copied from modern alternative radio. It just seems so… mainstream. God, I want to cry. Maybe it’ll grow on me with time, but man, I really hope she and Bert reunite K’s Choice soon.

The other purchase is Martha Wainwright’s first “big” release, on Zoe/Rounder, which incidentally is the same label that carries Juliana Hatfield, an old favorite of mine. Not quite sure how I feel about this one yet. It’s definitely got some unique things to it. Her word placement is rather different, her lyrics open and honest. It’s just not quite what I expected, which is not at all a bad thing. I’m familiar with her famous family members’ music (Kate McGarrigle, Rufus Wainwright, Loudon Wainwright III), and while I can see hints of all of them in this, she is very much her own voice. I’ll have to update this later after repeat listens. Still, I can’t fault a girl who writes a song called “Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole” about her rather famous father.

3 posts in one day! Woo-hoo! I must be serious about this blogging thing!

*Time passes…*

Back to reality.

Switching from white wine to red wine in the same sitting can be a potentially disastrous situation. However, in this case it has worked out quite well. The result: I’m now semi-drunk. Not Really Drunk, but not Tipsy either (I like capitalizing certain words for emphasis, in case it wasn’t obvious). Just enough to make things interesting, and the music a little more amazing. In this case, it’s Aimee Mann, rock chick extraordinare, and occasionally my emotional support. I simply love how she can make the most incredible lyrical combinations. And of course her melodic and instrumental skills are nothing to scoff at. I love this woman.

So I have a date for my birthday. I’ve talked to this person online and on the phone, never met them in person before. I’m not quite sure how to feel about this. On the one hand, I’m incredibly excited. A date! With a nice person! On the other hand, do I really want to stage a potential failure on my 21st birthday, a day I shall surely remember forever? To quote Natalie Portman in Garden State: “Conundrum”. I have high hopes, but you never know.

As to why my pants are tight…. I don’t know. I just made that up.

Maybe I should get some more sleep.

I hate Ann Coulter.

I don’t normally use that word in any honest sense. Sure, I say I hate peas, but really I harbor them no ill will. They just leave a bad taste in my mouth. However, in this case, I could not be more serious. I HATE that woman.

The latest from the ignorant nazi is another ridiculous argument with no basis, other than her need to feel superior to all of us “crazy liberals”. Consider her list of arguments of whether something is or isn’t torture. According to the Ice Queen, it’s not torture if:

a) The same acts performed on a live stage have been favorably reviewed by Frank Rich of the New York Times;

b) Andrew Sullivan has ever solicited it from total strangers on the Internet;

c) You can pay someone in New York to do it to you;

d) Karen Finley ever got a federal grant to do it;

e) It’s comparable to the treatment U.S. troops received in basic training;

f) It’s no worse than the way airlines treat little girls in pigtails flying to see Grandma

Would somebody please tell me what this list has to do with ANYTHING?! It seems to me that Ms. Ann has nothing but a steady stream of bullshit flowing from that mouth of hers, and none of it substantiated. She has famously argued facts that she knew to be fictional (and has been shot down on public television because of it), made up hundreds if not thousands of pieces of “research” for her bestseller (dear god) books, and all in all proved herself to be nothing more than a vapid whore. She’s also racist, sexist (against women, no less), homophobic, xenophobic, delusional, and insane.

I really shouldn’t waste my time reading or listening or watching anything she does. I try to be informed about the other side of any argument, but it’s getting to the point where my IQ drops every time she appears. I also try to be above random name-calling, but seeing as how she isn’t, I’ll make an exception and end this post with an Ann Coulter-esque remark:

Stupid bitch.

Wow, two months since my last post.

I’m taking a temporary hiatus from school. That’s my nice way of saying they kicked me out a few weeks ago. The depression (the Effexor was useless) just finally killed my grades, and they refused to give me the second half of my financial aid. I’m not sure where to go from here. Obviously, I need to get back into school as soon as possible. I absolutely love what I do, and I don’t want to let this go. I’m just at a weird point. I’m down in Atlanta for a little while, trying to figure out my options. I’m also seeing some new doctors here. New medication, and the always fun therapy. I just think I’m more frustrated being bored and having to sit and think about the fact that I’m out of school for the time being. It’s another case of “we’ll see where things go”, and I hate feeling that I don’t have control of my future.

On the upside, I took a lovely trip to DC last week. Got to hang out with Vienna again, finally got to meet Jim (both a pleasure). Spent some time with Lisa and her family (I was the cool older cousin at 8 yr old Sebastien’s birthday party). All in all it was time well-spent.

My 21st is this Friday, and I currently have no plans. I really should do something to rectify that.