Odds and ends, odds and ends. Lost time is not found again.

I could (and probably should) be writing all about Siren Fest and telling you how loud Mission of Burma were and how sweet the little crying indie teens were at the Death Cab show and how dance-tastic Electric Six were (even sans Jack White) but not only do I SO not feel like it..... but I'd be totally lying. I'd be lying cuz after a great, sweaty urgent punk-y set by the Thermals (as fronted by Hutch "father of Retown's 1000 babies" Harris) I got too hot and too drunk to really pay attention to anything else and, frankly, I only stuck around through the Constantines and TV on the Radio. Let's just say what followed were 13 straight hours of drinking and, while I had a fun night, there ain't much to recount. (Drank beer, went to a bar, played jukebox, drank beer, went into the city, drank beer, sat in park, drank beer, went to another bar, drank beer, ate pizza, drank beer, passed out.....) Though I'm pleased to report that I neither blacked out or puked so I'd consider it a winning day/night.

And I could write in detail here about the odds and ends of I Love the 90s that I've caught but frankly it mostly makes me angry. What? Have I lost my appetite for sickeningly un-fillilng, non-nutritious meals of nostalgic fluff? No, I still love that Alfenso Ribero can sing all the lyrics to Snow's Informer, but I can't help but be filled with rage watching second tier comedians all say the same thing about Joey Buttafuco's fat head and guido pants. PS: I say that with respect in my voice because I wish I could be one of those second tier comedians- call me, VH1!!)

Or I could write about how my ipod has died and won't turn on and just looks at me with a sad face depicting a file with an exclamation point on it. Worse yet I can't figure out how to register with Apple so I can send it back and get a new one. Worse still, I can tell it's gonna be til like winter til I get one back!

Or I could write about how jealous I am of Beth's blog since she has clearly mastered the fine blogging art of posting pictures which my blog rejects every time I try. For example I wanted to wow you, my loyal audience of 3, with pictures of Jonathan Jackson (but while my blog wouldn't comply it was no great loss cuz I read some article about his love for the Lord and how one of his favorite pasttimes is spreading His word so clearly my crush is over!) but alas, even cutting and pasting the html code was too complicated. I think Retown must be a place where troglodytes live.

In truth I've been so scattered lately that I don't think I have the attention span to write anything cohesive. But, since Shaya suggested that I rename this blog Listown and lists are easy even for the ADD-aflicted among us, here is a list. And since I've strayed in recent posts from what it is that I really love, it is a brief list of the mix that I'd be making to put on my ipod if old Retardo Montalban (as he's called-man, has he earned that nickname this week!) wasn't out of commission.

Disco Blackout- Controler.Controler (let's hear it for bands from Toronto! Especially post-punk bands from Toronto with chic singers that sound like the love child of Karen O and Siouxsie)
Remember Today- The Thermals (Yes Hutch is gonna be my baby daddy and the band's urgent, 3-chord, lo-fi punk can seem repetitive, but this song has really thoughtful lyrics like, "Anything you can break you can probably mend, Anything you can feel you can feel again.")
Disconnect The Dots- Of Montreal (I've been loving this album for a couple of months but I actually caught this video on MTV2 last night and it's so wonderfully weird- just like the band- that I was reminded why this was such a supremely fun song)
The Rat- The Walkman (Ok, despite the title of this song- and I think I've made my phobia of rats clear here before- I love this song. I can't believe I don't have the album yet. Dude, it came out in February!)
Michael- Franz Ferdinand (This song reminds me of my college years where I thought gay men were the sexiest. Living in London I always found myself- thanks to a certain gay boyfriend- dancing at GAY with all the pretty men feeling like that Margaret Cho joke about wishing as a little girl that she would be surrounded by beautiful men when she grew up and knowing now that she should've been more specific. I think Franz Ferdinand must've been at those clubs in London cuz they totally captured the feeling of that sultry, sexy queer dancefloor star. Rob Sheffield's article in last week's Voice pretty much summed up my feelings about this song)
Lover I Don't Have To Love- Bright Eyes (Usually I like Conor's wordy poetry when talking about politics or misery but what makes this song a favorite these days is that it is so fucking sexy! It really is the only song I can think of that really captures a one night stand- it's all about wanting and it's exciting but detached- and the best part is, he narrarates from the point of view of both of the characters. The Conor-like band guy: "It is 2 o'clock. The club is closed and we are up the block. Your hands are on me. I am pressing hard against your jeans. Your tounge is in my mouth, trying hard to keep the words from coming out. You didn't care to know who else may been you before. I want a lover I don't have to love. I want a girl that is too sad to give a fuck." His small-town, hipster groupie: "I want a lover I don't have to love. I want a boy who is so drunk he doesn't talk.... I need some meaning I can memorize. The kind I have always seem to slip my mind. But you write such pretty words. But life is no storybook. Love is an excuse to get hurt and to hurt." I F'N LOVE THIS SONG!)
Jenny Was a Friend of Mine- The Killers (It's my favorite Killers song of the moment. It's moody and dark- it's about murder- but it may have the catchiest chorus on the whole album)
Six Different Ways- The Cure (Because the Cure are always awesome and I'm getting amped up for Curiosa next weekend!)
Combat Baby- Metric (This was my favorite song on this album when I bought it in December and I was just browsing on the itunes music store and it was this week's featured video! I'm really excited for them. Plus their lead singer....also from Toronto!)
Watch This House- Natural History (They are playing this weekend at the East River Music Project for free. If you like Elvis Costello- and I'm planning on being his next wife- and his early punky stuff, you won't be sorry!)