The Goods

So, since basically all I have written about for the last couple weeks has nothing to do with what I've actually been doing, I figured I could dedicate one boring entry to my goingsons. And since I leave for Dublin in 18 hours, I thought I could leave you all with some pleasant thoughts as you think of me touring the Guiness factory and not you. You'll have to forgive me if I sound a little disheveled this evening. It's 1 a.m., I just finished transcribing a 6000+ word interview between my boss and Gary Cooper's daughter, and I paid about 25 quid for fajitas at Planet Hollywood for dinner. They were good, though. The memorabilia sucked.

Let me update everyone on what I've been doing, and what I will be doing in the upcoming days. Mom and dad, this is for you, since you have forgotten about me and don't call. I have been spending hour upon hour dealing with the incredibly inept forces of the London public libraries for the last few weeks. It's not that they don't know what they're doing, they just stare at me as if they'd never had anyone ask them a question before. And then it takes them a half hour to write me a receipt for the 11 photocopies I just made. But thank goodness their online catologue is accurate...For those of you who don't know, I am working for a woman who is currently finishing up her biography of Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco. I have a list of about 100 books I need to locate, find any information dealing with Grace, photocopy the pages, and report back to the boss. It's dull. Or at least I thought it was until I transcribed this interview. Although being at the library is nice for one reason: I have perfected the Elliot Esch Memorial Library Nap. Let's see, I was "working" at the library for 4 hours today, Wendy...I was awake for one and a half. Tee hee. I've visited various museums, the best of which being the Imperial War Museum. So when you finally decide to come to Europe when you're 57, remember this post on my blog and go to that one. Who knows, by then we'll probably have many more wars to commemorate.

I've seen three theater productions: one musical and two plays. All decent, none of them stellar. I have realised that the letter "z" is nonexistant in Britain. I'm really struggling to come to grips with the fact that Kentucky Fried Chicken is HUGE here, yet they have no Mexican fast food. In fact, they hardly have any Mexican food at all, and the places that advertise it really mean "chili in a tortilla." That made tonight's fajitas extra satisfying.

I couldn't take it any longer--I'm re-growing the soul patch. For those of you who missed it, it's back. By January it should be fully operational, just like the death star. Speaking of death star, I found a theater that plays movies for 1 pound, so I went to see The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I've read all the books, and now wish I had been here before I read them, because the movie was much funnier and made much more sense to me than I remember the books making. I'm catching on to British humour. I've seen two other movies in my time here--the 40-Year Old Virgin, which was about a tenth as funny to the locals, and Crash, which was interesting to watch with a group of Euros, being the only Americans in the theater. I strongly recommend Crash, it is at least stimulating, and was one of the most gut-wrenching movies I've seen. Probably my favorite of the year thusfar.

I'm going to my first football match Monday night, so I have a few days to learn all the naughty chants.

I must stress to you all how unbelievably important it has been to have an iPod while I'm here. I take it everywhere. I listen to it in the tube, in the library, when I'm eating, to put me to sleep, in the shower, in class, while I'm writing this, while I'm talking on the phone, while I'm eating, while I'm watching TV, you get the idea. The only frustrating thing is not having any new music to add. Basically, since I've been here I've been rotating four 2005 albums, with bits of Neil Diamond and others here and there. Those of you over 24 can stop reading now if you'd like, it might be boring. So here are my thoughts on some of this year's best music (In my opinion

"Be," Common. Making a resurgance since I've been here even though it's a few months old. On pure rapping ability--tempo, cadence and style, I would say Common is the best there is right now. The songs are simple and tight, and there isn't much there that doesn't need to be. Good stuff, although I begin to lose interest near the end of the record. Best songs in my opinion: "Testify," which has a tight narrative and ends right when it should, and "Faithful," which has a well-constructed and harmonized choir ending.

"Late Registration," Kanye West. Let's face it: this album is very much borderline pop music. Even Kanye sings (if I'm hearing what I think I'm hearing). The production is absolutely fabulous, the rhymes not quite at Common's level. For me, the pinnacle of the album comes near the end of "We Major," when all music stops and Kanye re-enters, asking "Can I talk my sh*t again?" That is an almost orgasmic point of the disc. And he's right, he will have to figure out what he's going to wear when he collects those half-dozen or so grammys in February. I'm not a real fan of the first half of this CD, and I don't care for the interludes at all, but the second ten or so songs really bring the pain. My favorite has to be "Roses," which I think is the most well-put-together song on the album. Closely following that is the Jay-Z remix of "Diamonds From Sierra Leone," which is brilliantly layered. I think Kanye may be stepping a little out of his league by trying to be political, however. Stick to mixing and producing. "We Major" is terrific--I love the idea of introducing a hook halfway through the song, it's a pleasant surprise. And the sort of free-form glissando/archipeggio vibes is almost majestic. That sort of accompaniment can't be written down or transcribed. "Hey Mama" is lovely, "Celebration" is just that, and "Gone" is a good meld of retro blues and modern rap. All in all, a terrific CD, especially good to listen to while walking the streets of London.

"Twin Cinema," The New Pornographers. This all-star band from Canada's effort is probably the most fun album I've heard all year. Not a bad tune on the record, and most are head-noddable, even if it means making yourself blatantly obvious as a tourist on the tube. Led by A.C. (Carl) Newman, these pop songs are catchy, easy to follow yet somehow different and better than any other indie pop out there. With an almost Nintendo-like synthesizer, combined with electric and/or acoustic guitar and three of the most uniquely-recognizable voices in my collection the New Pornographers have quite an original sound. I am in love with Neko Case's voice as well, which doesn't hurt. If you are in the mood for some fun pop music, this is your album. I especially like "Use It," with it's tight harmonies and steady, heavy beat. Also good are "The Bleeding Heart Show," "Stacked Crooked," and "These Are the Fables," which showcases Case's voice and has a really sweetass funk ending. Actually, it's hard to pick my favorite tracks on this disc, which is always nice. Until I try to do a ranking, which I will get to at some point on this trip.

"Illinois," Sufjan Stevens. While "Twin Cinema" is the most fun of 2005, this is without a doubt the best. Playing every instrument on the album (Including guitar, piano, flute, all sorts of brass, violin...) Stevens is possibly the best thing going on the folk-indie circuit right now. The orchestrations and arrangements are absolutely mind-boggling, while the titles are utter and complete gibberish. He has a beautiful, soft voice that just feels good to listen to, and the songs are so elaborate that each one feels like a three-movement sonata. You don't mind that the songs may eclipse seven minutes, by that point you are so entranced that you have completely forgotton the opening theme. I would write titles of my favorite songs down here, but they are literally 20+ word titles, and my hands and back are sore. Read some reviews online. They are the most universally-positive reviews I may have ever seen. This man is a genius and this album is a masterpiece from beginning to end. Do yourself a favor, get over the fact that he's "folk," and listen to "Illinois." If you have any appreciation for musical creativity, composition, arrangement or the power of music as a drug, you will know so after listening to this record.

So, I think we've had enough for tonight, yes? I've been writing for an hour, and that doesn't include that 19-page transcript. Keep your fingers crossed for me, Carpel Tunnel is the last thing I need. By the way, this post is 1600 words long, so use that as a frame of reference. Understand now?