I Can Tell That We Are Gonna Be Friends

This is a music post, but I have to share this gem with you first. I recently went to the Asian market to get some hijaki for (tunaless) tuna surprise and it was a feast for the eyes. I'll be back with my camera soon.

Let's start with the bad news first.
It might sound silly - for me to think childish thoughts like these....
But I guess maybe I was the last to know (accept) that the White Stripes are done. In memoriam:

Loves you Jack.
I was discussing this at a party a couple nights ago and everyone was saying yeah they'll get back together in a few years and be charging $100 a ticket for their reunion tour. I will be gladly paying it.
Now on to cheerier subjects.
The Ween Show was epic. I had gotten a message from a friend that morning who said something like "Hope it's not a repeat of Vancouver" which was puzzling at the time but I decided to ignore. My man picked me up as soon as my Econ class was out and we hightailed it up to Portland to try to eat at a new place, which was fantastic. I kinda felt like I was cheating on the Blossoming Lotus. And I hate to admit it, but it wasn't a one time thing that didn't mean anything to me. Full on affair. It was delicious. The bartender couldn't give us directions to the Crystal Ballroom because she doesn't drive.

"I don't have a driver's license - I don't need it!"
My stepbrother is an avid Portland biker. He loves biking as his main transport, but he hates the hipsters who cruise down the middle of the street, no helmets, with their ipods and their hands crossed behind their heads.

(Not my pic)

How the french toast do you get on and off those bikes? For real. I bet you have to stand up on top of a car. I heart Portland.

Fortunately for us automobile drivers, there were some hipsters who admitted to car travel sitting next to us and I have to tell you, there was some serious jealousy when they realized we were on our way to the WEEN show. We were so lucky to get the tickets. I had an appointment the day the tickets went on sale and I had my dad order them for us. What a dad. I heard they sold out in 7 minutes. We did an all Ween show the Saturday before to get in the mood and never have we had so many calls and requests and just thanks from listeners it was a blast.
So anyway, the show was amazing. Because I did some things that were very out of character, like not writing down the set list and not bringing my camera, I can't recap as throughly as usual....
Golden Eel for the second song was BROWN.

(Not the best sound, but you get the idea)
They played a bunch of covers. The previously enjoyed Let's Dance (Bowie), Old Man (Neil Young) of which I am not a fan. I couldn't see much at the Crystal and my man told me that Deaner left the stage for this one - can't say I blame him. Ha. They closed with Heart-Shaped Box.
Also, there was some Stallion, lots of stuff from the Mollusk. The second encore was a super slowed down polka dot tale -> spinal meningitis...  It was great. Of course, I told myself, as long as we go back to the hotel right after the show, I'll be fine to teach the next day. I completely lost my voice and there wasn't much arm twisting necessary (or actually I might have even been the twister) to grab another beer and play a game or two of pool.... Long, fun night. And I guess that the show in Vancouver two nights earlier was a "trainwreck" where Gener couldn't even handle the show and the rest of the band walked off after about an hour. People were apparently leaving, booing etc. I hate to say it, and I am TOTALLY glad that we saw the awesome show we did, but was this so-called meltdown kind of awesome in a sick, sad, strange way? You be the judge.

Also, the record convention was all I dreamed it would be. You know how I was afraid I would get overwhelmed and buy nothing? well - let's just say that didn't happen. And you know how I set a limit for myself. well - they had an atm so that didn't really happen either. My shoulder hurt after my THREE HOURS in there because my bag was so heavy. I didn't get much on my list - except for this one:

Some of you might know that my first job was at a record shop and I got paid in store credit. It was the best job I have ever had. So it was kind of embarrassing that I didn't have this one in my collection yet. When I left for college my parents let me take their record player and whatever albums I wanted, except this one. I think mama bird was too attached to it and I totally understood. 

Same record player I still have. It went down for the count last winter and I decided to have it repaired rather than replaced. For about six months the motor was so weak that we had to give the records a little spin by hand to get em going, but then finally that didn't even work. The guy who fixed it told me that I would be mortified to hear the sound on a new record player after having this one and I was making the right choice. That's his job I guess, but I believe him. Anyway - look at what was inside!

My man is going to frame em up for me. I need a new record storage area - 

Check out these gems from the $1-$2 bins:

I got some old Van Morrison, Simon & G, Let the Circle be Unbroken (!), Woody Guthrie, some compilations. I even got my man, who sadly had to work and couldn't be there to reign me in, a Pink Floyd album (wish you were here - how perfect!).
Also, been on the hunt for some Cramps vinyl since I heard how hard it is to get your hands on. Check it!

This one is a 45 and I just was listening to it on 33 and thinking, this sounds really weird and slow... but on the right speed it sounds fantastic. Do you think this is "ok to play" ?
I didn't get my Townes Van Zandt. Who leaves 3+ hours at a record convention and goes straight to eBay? This girl. I'll keep you posted.