Take a look at me now...

So after all of my big talk about the Bravery show that was last night, I totally didn't take my own advice. I didn't go to their show (which I knew would be outstanding and possibly my last chance to catch them not at some overpriced, packed venue). Nope, I shuffled home to watch the debates and the Yankees game instead. Even though I can't vote (I'm--ahem!--Canadian) and it mostly just makes me angry to watch Bush hem and haw and baldly lie on tv, I still had a sick need to watch the candidates in action. Especially after reading the new Rolling Stone. Say what you will about their music coverage (and believe me--I have!) but they actually do a great job of reporting on international politics and the upcoming election in a manner that speaks to me. Pick up the new issue if you haven't already--Jon Stewart, my hero, is on the cover. There is also an article about the media bias against Kerry (apparantly the press corp on his campaign trail hates him and so misreports on him), some incisive Daily Show commentary, and an article on Maureen Dowd (who I pretty much hate--she says things in the article like, "I stopped buying French wine because I'm a patriot."--but who I can't believe Rolling Stone actually interviewed. It seemed so incongruous yet kind of amazing.) and her anti-Bush book. Dowd and the article on Kerry seriously scared me into thinking that he might not win the election. I forget sometimes, surrounded by likeminded thinkers that there are people who like Bush and there are things about him that appeal to people. (Because, basically, to me everything he does is an embarassment.) I just can't handle the prospect of him being president for another four years. I realized last night, as the debate ended, that if that douchebag wins I'll be in my thirties before we're rid of him. THAT was a fucking scary thought.

Oh yeah, you read it right above when I said that I came home to watch the Yankee game. I know I don't seem like much of a sports enthusiast (and god knows I HATE playing them) but I always manage to get caught up in the excitement of the playoffs. Especially when my home team is involved. Now I know what you are thinking, "Rebecca, I thought you hated the Yankees. You always rail against them and like rooting for the underdog." This is true, while I find the Yankees to be the best dressed team in baseball (pinstripes are very flattering on all of those bubble-butted, barrel-chested, goateed gentlemen), I generally loathe that their money buys them a fancy team that never fucking looses. If they had a match up with the Mets or the Phillies, I'd be rooting against them. But here's the thing: I hate Boston. All Boston teams. I feel about Boston teams, the way I feel about LA teams. So I enjoy the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry. Plus, there is a part of me that feels very "New York" and hometown-y when I root for them. Yeah, its not the most daring or unconventional choice to root for them and I'm sure that the die-hard Yankee fans would be upset by my fair-weather friend-dom, but I don't care. There are lots of very "New York"-y things to do, like shop at Zabars or go to the Bronx Zoo, that I don't do. So, instead, a couple of times a year I get perverse pleasure watching the Yankees score on some Boston ass. That's my contribution to being a New Yorker.

It's funny, I was talking to one of my co-workers yesterday about last week's Rilo Kiley show and he said that he was dying to hear them because their new album has gotten such great press and that he felt really lame that he wasn't "in the know" about them. "I used to be really into music," he said. "And I just sort of stopped. Now I don't know anything that's going on." I told him that being into music was like being a sports fan; you have to make the effort to keep up. I don't know shit about batting averages or statistics and it just seems like a whole lot of effort to follow it all season long. So I just show up for the last 15 games of the season and root for the popular, oft-winning team of the city in which I live. You know, like the kids who only know the 5 songs that they play on the radio or on MTV because they don't have the time or don't care enough to explore music on their own. I think most people only have the time/energy/money for one obsessive diversion. So my co-worker has only missed 3 Yankees games all season and I haven't had a good night's sleep in two weeks because I've been out at shows. You know some people are counting the days to the Superbowl (don't look at me, I HATE football. I only know the Superbowl is in January because it has often fallen on my birthday.), I'm counting the days until next Tuesday when the final Elliott Smith album will be released. And until then, the pigskin fans have games every Sunday and I can just play the Postal Service's cover of "Against All Odds" 200 times a day.