At this moment...
03.31.10
Third time is a charm! This past weekend Sara and I went to NYC and it was wonderful. Up until this visit, I’ve never really had a great time in NYC. We left on Saturday morning and it was the smoothest trip to O’Hare ever. We made it from Lincoln Square to our gate at United in 35 minutes. Granted we left at 5 a.m., but still, awesome. And when we landed our luggage was pretty much just waiting for us at the baggage claim.
Things we did on Saturday:
- Ate bagels on Broadway
- Took a stroll in Central Park
- Went candy shopping at Dylan’s Candy Bar
- Had lunch at the Chelsea Market
- Went for dinner in Harlem at Dinosaur BBQ
- Had frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity 3
Things we did on Sunday:
- Ran 12 miles in Central Park
- Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge
- Ate a slice of non-descript NY style pizza (I get it and I understand the role it serves but I wasn’t won over)
- Walked around for a bit in Nolita and decided it was too cool for school
- Had some out of this world cocktails at The Spice Market
- Had a wonderful dinner at Scarpetta
On Sunday night a nor’easter decided to make an appearance, so lots of rain…
Things we did on Monday:
- Visited the Natural History Museum
- Ate fast food at the Shake Shack (highly recommend their concretes and fries!)
- Did a bit of shopping
- Went for pizza at Ovest Pizzoteco with a couple of Sara’s friends. We ate some fantastic brick oven pizza and drank a couple of bottles of Cantine Federiciane gragnano (a sparkling red that went really well with pizza, so good!)
Things we did on Tuesday:
- Got very wet and cold from the rain
- Went for breakfast at Clinton Street Baking Company. My friends, Callie and Robert, were in NYC as well, so we met up with them for breakfast. The blueberry pancakes at Clinton Street Bakery are the real deal. Best blueberry pancakes ever. We got there super early, so no wait (some people claim that the wait is up to two hours!)
- Bought shoes (I only packed two pairs of shoes, one pair to walk around in and one pair to run in. The rain drenched my walking shoes, so I bought a pair of cool Asics).
- Visited the MoMA and was baffled by the performance art of Marina Abramovic but was very happy to see Van Gogh’s Starry Night.
- Walked past Rockefeller Center but Tina Fey was nowhere to be seen
- Grabbed a simple lunch at Dean & DeLuca (was very disappointed in the Planet Donut chocolate donut)
- Stopped of at Levain Bakery for cookies (they were good, but I think I just prefer classic chocolate chip cookies)
- Caught our flight back to Chicago.
But more important than all of the above, I got to spend time with the girl that I love and adore, the girl that always knows how to make me laugh or feel less stressed about stupid things.
Central Park.
Near the MoMA.
Central Park and Times Square. Sara was reluctant to venture too far into Times Square. I could could only get her to walk up to a certain point.
Sara at Dylan's Candy Bar.
In Harlem after a few beers and some great BBQ at Dinosaur BBQ.
The subway.
79th Street subway stop.
From the Brooklyn Bridge.
Statue of Liberty from the Brooklyn Bridge.
At the Natural History Museum.
The Shake Shack has delicious concretes (frozen custard blended with some out of this world stuff) and some pretty damn tasty fries as well.
Frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity 3. While it was good, the concrete at the Shake Shack was far superior.
Sara shows her excitement at the MoMA. I believe she was viewing a record player.
Young NYC hispter reading Salinger's "Raise High the Roof Beam" on the subway.
View larger versions and some bonus photos here.
03.25.10
Some of the sights from my nightly drive home down Montrose.
Supposedly, Susie's has the best milkshake in Chicago, but I don't know... Sara and I stopped by there one night and we were both pretty disappointed.
I don't know why, but I love that this place is called Betty's & Nick's Haircut. According to yelp they do a pretty ok job. Still, I don't plan on going there anytime soon or ever.
She & Him's recent release, "Volume Two," is a first-rate collection of pop songs. Their first release, "Volume One," was one of my favorite albums in 2008. Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward have skillfully put together a love letter to a bygone era of classic pop. And while it may be rooted in the distant past, "Volume Two" never sounds like imitation or even theft. It's more like a long lost clasic found buried in an attic longing to be listened to until the needle on the record player wears out. A really fantastic album!
I'm starting to see more green.
03.22.10
First, on a really happy note, Sara and I celebrated a year together. This past year has been one of the most memorable years in a long long time. Each day I am thankful to have Sara in my life. I'm truly blessed.
Now, pardon my brief rant...
Call me stupid for upgrading to Snow Leopard. First, I foolishly upgraded to Aperture 3. Big mistake. Constant crashes. Big headache. Then, I upgraded my RAM to 4 gb (actually, that was smart). I thought that might help. Kind of, but not really. Then, I thought I'd upgrade my OS to Snow Leopard. Another mistake. It took me a day to get Aperture 2 to work (I'm not sure about reinstalling Aperture 3 at this point) but now I can't use Dreamweaver MX 2004, which is what I use to update specbebop.com. This sucks. In the meantime, I downloaded a trial version of Dreamweaver CS4. I have 30 days to make a decision. Or maybe I'll start using my old Powerbook to manage the site as Dreamweaver MX 2004 should still work on that machine. It would just mean I'd have to jump from one computer to another. Thank god Photoshop and Illustrator still work.
From early Friday evening... A photo shoot of a photo shoot.
03.18.10
I feel old. Not as primordial and learned as a Tu'i Malila, the Chinese tortoise who lived 226 years, and died in 1965. But old in the sense that new bands no longer impress me. After reading a review for the new album by The Morning Benders, I wandered over to iTunes to preview some songs. As I listened to the 30 second previews on my tiny MacBook Pro speakers, I couldn’t help but feel bored. I’d heard this band before. Not them specifically, but its sound. Is it possible that a guitar, or a snare drum, swimming in reverb no longer excites me? Could it be that I would rather listen to The Kinks or The Beach Boys because, quite frankly, they fathered the sound that so many of the current bands ape? Am I at a point in my life where I’m losing touch with youth culture? If so, why does this bug me?
Whenever people ask me about my favorite songs, I respond with the following: “Help!” by The Beatles, “London Calling” by The Clash and “Pink Moon” by Nick Drake. Shockingly, no David Bowie! None of the songs I picked were written in the past 30 years. I wasn’t alive when “Help!” was released, Nick Drake committed suicide eight months after I was born, and I was only five-years-old when “London Calling” debuted.
Just take a look at the lyrics to “Help!”:
When I was younger, so much younger than today,
I never needed anybody's help in any way.
But now these days are gone, I'm not so self assured,
Now I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors.
Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being round.
Help me, get my feet back on the ground,
Won't you please, please help me?
And now my life has changed in oh so many ways,
My independence seems to vanish in the haze.
But every now and then I feel so insecure,
I know that I just need you like I've never done before.
“Help!” is about economy – the perfect marriage of lyric to music. The melody and rhythm are as urgent as the lyric is anxiety ridden. Lennon was 25 when he penned “Help!” in 1965, the very same year that Tu'i Malila died. “Help!” was written following the meteoric rise of The Beatles. Two years earlier they had their first number one hit with “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” 45 years after being released, “Help!” still destroys.
While “Help!” deals with personal anxiety, “London Calling” deals with collective anxiety from a first person perspective. Being that I was only five in 1979, I don’t remember much, but the lyric paints an apocalyptic nuclear nightmare vision of impending doom:
London calling to the faraway towns
Now war is declared - and battle come down
London calling to the underworld
Come out of the cupboard, you boys and girls
London calling, now don't look to us
Phoney Beatlemania has bitten the dust
London calling, see we ain't got no swing
'Cept for the ring of that truncheon thing
The ice age is coming, the sun's zooming in
Meltdown expected, the wheat is growing thin
Engines stop running, but I have no fear
Cause London is drowning and I, live by the river
London calling to the imitation zone
Forget it, brother, you can go at it alone
London calling to the zombies of death
Quit holding out - and draw another breath
London calling - and I don't wanna shout
But while we were talking I saw you nodding out
London calling, see we ain't got no high
Except for that one with the yellowy eyes
The ice age is coming, the sun's zooming in
Engines stop running, the wheat is growing thin
A nuclear error, but I have no fear
Cause London is drowning and I, I live by the river
Now get this
London calling, yes, I was there, too
An' you know what they said? Well, some of it was true!
London calling at the top of the dial
And after all this, won't you give me a smile?
London Calling
And like “Help!,” “London Calling” is the perfect marriage of lyric to music. It’s a serious song with a serious message; a rousing call to action. The Clash make me think of Thoreau’s famous quote, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”
Where does “Pink Moon” fit within these two songs? “Help!” and “London Calling” are filled with anxiety and urgency, while “Pink Moon” is hushed and haunting, yet still apocalyptic.
I saw it written and I saw it say
Pink moon is on its way
And none of you stand so tall
Pink moon gonna get you all
It's a pink moon
Hey, it's a pink moon
It's a pink, pink, pink, pink, pink moon.
It's a pink, pink, pink, pink, pink moon.
I saw it written and I saw it say
Pink moon is on its way
And none of you stand so tall
Pink moon gonna get you all
It's a pink moon
Yeah, it's a pink moon
In the olden days, when people believed the earth to be flat and that dragons existed, a pink moon was believed to be a sign of the apocalypse or doom. I just happen to think that it’s a sublime song that represents Drake in a starkly honest and intimate way. “Pink Moon” is also the first song to make me cry.
On a sad note, Alex Chilton died yesterday of an apparent heart attack. Chilton is probably best known for his very first band, The Box Tops, who had a hit with “The Letter.” However, his second band, Big Star, is how I best remember Chilton. The first Big Star song I recall hearing was "Blue Moon" covered by His Name is Alive. I've also been known to serenade Sara with "I'm in Love with a Girl."
An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.
--H.D. Thoreau
03.15.10
03.14.09
On Monday I picked up the bottle of tequila. Tonight we picked up four bottles of white wine, two California and two French (red seems to kick our asses lately), a six pack of Two Brothers Monarch and two bottles of Two Brothers Bare Tree (which we drank while eating pizza).
03.13.10
A night of bowling at Lincoln Lanes...
03.12.10
The continuing project that I started in September...
A brief movie from Wacker Dr., Chicago. You'll need Quicktime to watch the below video. Or, you can download the video.
03.11.10
Chicago on a grey day...
There's a saying that the best camera is the one you have with you. I had my 5D with me today but my favorite shots of the day were taken with my iPhone. What's nice about the iPhone camera is that it isn't obvious when you're taking a photo. Perfect example is the photo the girl in the aviator glasses below.
03.10.10
Last night, Sara and I made mac & cheese. The secret ingredient, butternut squash. We also added some leftover chipotle cream sauce from the fish tacos we made the night before. It was super delicious and pretty healthy considering mac & cheese is usually loaded with fat. The recipe made enough for a family of eight. We'll be eating mac & cheese for leftovers.
Unrelated to food, I'm just now discovering the Yeah Yeah Yeah's 2009 release, It's Blitz. Sometimes I can be slow to getting around to albums. This one is quite good.
Oh, and before I forget, specbebop.com is seven years old! Even though the archives only go back as far as 2004, 2003 archives exist. I'm just too lazy to reformat them to this version.
03.09.10
You'll need Quicktime to watch the below video. Or, download the video.
Today I upgraded to Aperture 3. Big mistake. It constantly crashes and I've yet to isolate what causes it to crash. Very frustrating. I thought the crashes might have something to do with some of the presets but it crashes when I'm just doing simple color correction. Of course, the below isn't simple color correction.
03.07.10
On Friday, Sara took me to The Publican for my birthday dinner. We featsed on tuna, three different types of ham, a salad, a delcious chicken with frites, and some wonderful beers. Afterwards we went to Margie's on Western for an ice cream sundae. I'm so blessed to have Sara in my life.
Yesterday Jason, Dan, Matt and I got togther and played some of the old Holiday Costume songs. Afterwards, a bunch of us went to see Robyn Hitchcock at The Space in Evanston. After the show, Sara and I stopped off at McDonalds for a shamrock shake. Disgusting. We then decided that we should have a frosty from Wendy's. Much better.
The highlight of the show was hearing Robyn play Flavor on the Night.
03.04.10
Last night, Sara and I had Greek-style mahi mahi (feta, lemon, mint & dill) with tomatoes and quinoa. I handled the fish and Sara made the quinoa. Neither of us had ever eaten quinoa before so we weren't sure what to expect. Quinoa is considered a complete protein, as it includes all nine esspential amino acids. And while it sounds healthy, and it is, quinoa is delicious. Sara did a magnificent job (as she always does) in preparing it. She has a great taste for what is missing in a recipe and I always ask her to add her magical flavoring touch to what I make. Sara is also far more creative in the kitchen than I am and takes risks. I usually follow the recipe. We paired it with a nice inexpensive white wine.
I also made some homemade granola. The recipe is super easy and perfect for adding to yogurt. It has just enough sweetness.
Just like in the old days, below is a video of Jason and Matt performing Two of Us by The Beatles. In high school we would have little music sessions at Matt's house whenever we had a day off from school. Those were always crazy. And while things were a bit more sedate, it still felt really great to see Matt and Jason making music together after a long time of silence. You'll need Quicktime to watch the video. Or, download the video.
I didn't shoot a lot of photos is February or January. Or maybe I did but they haven't been developed yet. I go through periods where I want to shoot film and then I only want to shoot digital. Right now I only want to shoot digital. I'm trying to figure out what to bring to NYC. Just a digital body with a 24 - 70 and a film body with a 50mm? I could be crazy and only bring film, but that would be foolish. Maybe a digital body with three primes (14mm, 24mm and 50mm)? Too many choices. Shot over lunch...
03.03.10
In Jan. I started listening to the iPod in my car starting alphabetically by album title. Over a month later and I'm still listening to the A albums. Here's an updated list since my last posting:
All Mod Cons - The Jam
All My Friends - EP - LCD Soundsystem
All of This and Nothing - The Psychedelic Furs
All Rise - Inara George
All Saint - David Bowie
All Shook Up - The Replacements
All the Pleasures of the World - The Crayon Fields
All Things Shall Pass - George Harrison
All This Useless Beauty - Elvis Costello
All Your Summer Songs - Saturday Looks Good to Me
Alone at the Microphone - Royal City
Alpinisms (Bonus Track Version) - School of Seven Bells
Alright, Still - Lily Allen
Aluminum Tunes - Stereolab
The Amateur View - To Rococo Rot
Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror - Brian Eno and Harold Budd
Ambivalence Avenue - Bibio
American Fool - John Mellencamp
Amnesiac - Radiohead
Among My Swan - Mazzy Star
Ancient Melodies Of The Future - Built to Spill
And the Ass Saw the Angel - Nick Cave/Mick Harvey & Ed Clayton-Jones
And Their Refinement of the Decline - Stars of the Lid
And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out - Yo La Tengo
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
Andorra - Caribou
Angel Dust - Faith No More
Animamina - EP - Amina
Anniemal - Annie
Another Day On Earth - Brian Eno
Another Green World - Brian Eno
Another Setting - The Durrutti Column
Anthem For A New Tomorrow - Screeching Weasel
Antidotes - Foals
Apartment Life - Ivy
Apollo 18 - They Might Be Giants
Appearance And The Park (Mute USA Edition!) - Kreidler
Appetite For Destruction - Guns N' Roses
Apple O' - Deerhoof
April - Sun Kil Moon
Arches And Aisles - Spinanes
Architecture & Morality - OMD
Are The Village Green Preservation Society (Rarities) - Deluxe Edition - The Kinks
Are You the Sick Passenger? - King Radio
Ariadne - EP - The Clientle
Armchair Apocrypha - Andrew Bird
Armed Forces - Elvis Costello & the Attractions
Arrhythmia - Antipop Consortium
Arthur (Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire) - The Kinks
Ask Me No Questions - Bridget St John
Ask Me Tomorrow - Mojave 3
Asleep at the Wheel - Saint Etienne
Asleep in the Back - Elbow
Asobi Seksu - Asobi Seksu
At Action Park - Shellac
At My Age - Nick Lowe
At the BBC - The Pixies
Only 13 albums until I enter the letter B. Overall, this is fun, but it can make for a rather jarring experience. Case in point, Shellac's At Action Park followed by Nick Lowe's At My Age (and at 6:45 in the morning.)
In other news, Sara and I are heading to NYC later this month. I'm excited. We have our hotel booked and I made dinner reservations at Scarpetta. I'm investigating other places to go and am looking for suggestions, so if you have any recommendations, send me an email or use the contact button at the top of the page.
03.02.10
I thought about writing an essay called, "Why I Don't Own Any Kiss" but then realized it would be a brief essay. I don't own any Kiss because they stink.
03.01.10
After almost 10 years, Bermans & Arrival/The Holiday Costume reunited (the only person missing was Mark). Only a few were on hand to hear us play (a wife, four children, one of which was a baby, a cat and a dog). Not to sound like a sap, but I've missed them and the music we made together. In those nearly 10 years, Jason and I formed Zerostars, Dan toured the world with Kill Hannah and Matt found himself a wonderful family and moved out to the country. We're far too young for this to be a mid-life crisis... Either way, it felt great to be in the same room with the three people who taught me so much about working together as a collective to create some really great music (that nobody heard). Hopefully we'll be able to share more of these musical moments together in the near future.
Check out My Musical History to learn more...
