informer

breaking news:

i just ate hot pockets for the first time in probably five years and they were good. they were some sort of quesadilla hot pockets and i ate them both. i think most people eat both of them. although, now that i'm done, my stomach is gurgling and i'm wondering where this is all going to end up.

are the sonic guys still funny? is the "hey bro" commercial considered a classic sonic guys commercial? i don't know. i like the "hey bro" but i don't think it's classic. there hasn't been a really good one for a while. i'm glad they're still trying though. keep working sonic guys. this country needs you.

i listened to the wilco album the other day, well most of it. i actually turned it off because i had other things to do and i was pretty disappointed too. there's some interesting stuff, like in bull black nova. it does somewhat sound like a television rip-off at some points, but speaking of rip-offs there is a total rip-off of george harrison's my sweet lord in one of the songs, i can't remember the name. you'll hear it. and the duet with feist, what is that about? i'm sure i'll come around and say i like it, but it's not classic and i feel it's a step-backwards in my opinion.

plus i've been having this conversation in my head about bands. it's like with most writers, there's a window. when that window is open, you come up with amazing stuff. but when it closes, you still come up with good stuff, but not like you did before. it doesn't come as easy and, if you're honest with yourself, it's not as good. now, take that theory and think about how few albums bands put out now-a-days. the beatles put out like an album a year. the beach boys, sometimes two. now, it takes bands two to three years to put out an album. therefore, the window is closing and because the band has put out so little product, we think the window should still be open. but it's not about product, it's about time. that time is passing and regardless of whether you've put out two albums or twelve albums, the window closes. my example is bob dylan. i love me some bob dylan. but look at his career. the real creamy stuff he did came from 1964 to 1966. that's it. two years! once he did blonde on blonde, that was it for that bob dylan. his music changed. his lyrics changed. he wasn't the same performer, he wasn't the same writer and he never was again. yes, blood on the tracks and desire have incredible moments, but you cannot for a second tell me that the lyrical imagery from those two albums compares with highway 61 and blonde on blonde. there's no way. so for dylan, his window was wide open until 1966 and then it started to close. that's peak production. it's hard to recognize when you're going through it. you really can only recognize it through hindsight.

wilco's put out, by my count, seven albums since 1993. and they've slowly built up an impressive catalog. but my thinking is that jeff's window is closing or has closed. he as a songwriter has peaked. i liked sky blue sky for what it was, but it was also a notice to me that things have changed. i really liked a ghost is born. some people didn't. it was weird and all over the place. but i can almost look back now and say, that was it. that was the point where wilco stopped making amazing, creative, perplexing, confusing records and started making records. and that's fine. the window was open for summerteeth, yankee hotel foxtrot and a ghost is born. i'll accept that. and i'll keep listening. but man, they used to be so good, they were sick.

by the way, argument number two, the band is better with jay bennett. it's not the same band. it doesn't have the same feel. i know he wasn't on a ghost is born, but look at the three albums since jay left and you have to notice the drop-off in melody, in production methods and varied instrumentation. i miss jay bennett.

any points?

that birdhouse (the song)

the new wilco album is available for streaming on their website. i haven't really had an opportunity to listen to it yet. i'm going to when i get home. i tried here at work, but everytime there's a computer message, like where a message screen pops up, there is a loud beep that is so loud it actually hurts my brain. so i decided for the health of my brain, to wait until i got home where i could control the beeps and not slowly crumble from the inside out.

does anyone remember the dana carvey show? well it's finally been released on DVD. i remember that show was a bizarre, mish-mosh of amazing comedy and amazing crap. some of my favorite sketches like skinheads from maine, and where tom brokaw has to pre-record all these wild scenarios before he goes on vacation like former president gerald ford being mauled by lions and how delicious he was. and then there were skits where bill clinton is nursing a pig and kitty kats tell you the news or something. but it was worth watching especially considering it came on in 1996 or something and it was after or before home improvement. remember that steaming pile of crap? yeah, well this show probably freaked out everyone who loved home improvement. check it out.

i keep hearing about underwriting and decided to stop being confused and read about it.

i haven't had any caffeine today and i'm starting to get a headache. but i'm almost done with work and it hasn't been too bad. plus i'll be home soon and i can workout tonight.

as most of you know, i have sbcglobal as my email carrier. today they're doing these advertisements for teeth cleaning. so everytime i go to check my mail i'm greeted with these horrible before and after pictures of people's teeth. some of them are pretty bad. and they're close-ups.

pork soda

i have finally figured it out! it's the soda. of course! the caffeine is killing me. not really killing me, but turning me into a zombie. how does caffeine turn you into a zombie you ask? oh you didn't ask? well then forget it. but if you're interested, here's how it does.

i don't really start to feel awake until i go to the gym usually around 7 or 8 in the evening. i feel tired and sleepy all day and then finally i get to sweat and burn some calories. this desk job is harder than i thought it would be. i keep thinking of ways to add a little exercise to it, like replace my chair with a workout ball or turn my desk into a standing post. i'm not sure those would fly in my office, but it's worth a shot. i think i'm sleeping too much too. you have to vidulent when you get older. if things start feeling different, you got to start using placebos and control techniques. i don't even know what i'm saying.

i was looking over the book i wrote like three/four years ago. it's actually pretty good. i'm re-typing it and adding some stuff here and there to make it better. i'm thinking about sending it to oprah once i'm done. i'm serious. i'm going to send it to oprah, she'll read it, then tell everyone to read it and they will because she said so and then i'll be a millionaire and i workout right away in the morning and feel awake all day. and eat oatmeal with blueberries. and toast. and pancakes. i'm thinking about starting a phrase that reads: "it's better than pancakes." i'll use it if something is really good. i think people will appreciate it if i tell them that they're better than pancakes.

monday

i'm referring to the wilco song "monday" from being there. speaking of wilco, has anyone seen their new album cover for the album coming out in june? it can be seen right here. what is that? i don't know what to do with that. i kind of laugh, but then my forehead crinkles a bit and i stop laughing and start really studying the picture. if this is any indication, this album is going to be wild. apparently this guy at billboard has already heard the album. he's a got a mini-review here.

did anyone watch SNL this saturday? usually i don't, but the wife was out of town and i had nothing to do and also justin timberlake was hosting. i know people are going to start making jokes, loud, inappropriate jokes, about me liking justin timberlake. but that dude is funny! and his music is actually really good, but more importantly, he's funny. he makes fun of himself and he's good at it. they had a parody song about mother's day. it was hilarious. check it out somewhere.

i have no political news today. i've been working non-stop since like 9a.m. so i've no time. i'm heading home to eat some cereal and watch the simpsons.