1. I’m looking for contributors for this site. If you feel you have something interesting and thought provoking, find me on Facebook or on Twitter. We’ll chat.

2. It’s most certainly the ‘uncool’ thing to like, but I’m anticipating the inaugural episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Jimmy has yet to prove he can prevent himself from laughing through a segment of SNL – let’s see if he can do it on his own show. For all intents and purposes, he’s taking this INCREDIBLY seriously. Click here to see a vlog about a gift from Conan to Jimmy.

3. I have a few new reviews up on Static Multimedia – a look at Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach’s Keep It Hid and an absolutely terrible EP by Dublin-based Fight Like Apes. There’ also a piece I wrote about Asobi Seksu here.

4. Word is that Andy Richter is on his way to The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien starting June 1. He’ll be announcing/participating in segments. I’m really excited for this. Despite the article stating he won’t be a ‘sidekick’, I still hope he’ll be the Ed McMahon to Conan’s Johnny Carson. Yes, I just made that comparison. Deal with it.

5. Add Dick Durbin to the list of people who are calling for Roland Burris’s resignation. I’m for it. After all of this Blagojevich mess, someone needs to hit the reset button. Special elections should determine Senate seats, not Governors. We learned our lesson already.

6. After President Obama’s address to Congress tonight, Republicans responded in the form of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. It’s no secret that the GOP is trying to position this guy as a rock star. The October 2008 profile piece in Esquire Magazine is an interesting read. I don’t agree with him on his policy stances, but he’s definitely a name that will be floating around come 2012.

7. I’m totally digging Heads Will Roll by the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, off the forthcoming It’s Blitz! due April 14.

8. Thumbs down to Fornello Trattoria. Bad service and stale bread. This review encapsulates it pretty well.

9. Since I’m hungry, I should mention we’re becoming huge fans of Sushi Station out here, which offers cheap (but pretty good) conveyer belt sushi. A ton of different varieties of rolls. Good stuff.

10. I’m waiting for my local library to get in the copy of Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. Has anyone dared to tackle it yet? I’ve bookmarked the Infinite Jest Vocabulary Glossary to prepare.

Live music has become one of the cornerstones of my life as I creep into my mid twenties. There’s been countless great shows I’ve been to over the years, and I could write several posts about how amazing they all were, but let’s be honest – that’s not always that fun. Instead, I’ll engage you with moments of my musical repentance.

Here’s some concert experiences that I’d want a do over.

February 20, 2003 – Phish. For the most part, these guys blow chunks. Before this current breakup and reformation, Phish was dormant from late 2000 to late 2002. This was their first tour back , and being a junior in high school, thinking that jam bands were totally where it was at for two months, I thought it would be cool to try and snap up GA tickets for their show at Allstate Arena. Somehow, I did, and managed to piss off all the hippies I went to school with. Example:

Like, come on mannn, I’ll totally give you a hundred bucks for those tickets. That version of “Chalkdust Torture” on A Live One is the best thing I’ve ever heard! Totally dude, like, I totally, like, love Puh-hish. I mean, come on man, do you even smoke?

I forgot to mention some of them were pissed of the mediocre review I gave Round Room in my high school’s newspaper earlier that winter.

My best friend Jordan, who probably got an even worse dressing-down than I did, was my companion for this gig. We spent the night making our way through a sea of patchouli, hemp necklaces with those cute little blown glass trinkets, and my personal favorite – fainting hippies. I was not impressed, but Jordan didn’t seem to mind. He was totally groovin’ his way through tried and true classics like “Gotta Jibboo”. Really?

May 16, 2005 – The Mars Volta at the Riveira Theater. The Riv is a shitty venue, with piss-poor sight lines. It didn’t help that I actually payed to see the kings of pretentious art-rock. What’s equally embarassing? This glowing review of Amputecture I wrote a year later. Humiliating. You want a new Floyd or King Crimson? Listen to these turds. I’ll pass. Thanks.

October 3, 2005 – Foozer tour at the Allstate Arena. It was a dream bill – two of my favorite bands at the time, Weezer and the Foo Fighters – playing together at one show at the premier suburban arena. If only I could remember it. Largely incapacitated due to some incredibly strong prescription medication, this is more just a collage of moments than what should have been one of the happiest moments of my life. I remember next to nothing of Weezer’s set, save for their cover of ‘Big Me’, and that the Foos opened with “In Your Honor” and “Cold Day In The Sun” was somewhere near the end of the set as I wandered around the arena. Also, if you ask the right person, apparently I wanted food at a a ‘sit down place’, despite not having any money. I do not recall this.

August 6, 2006 – Missing the entire 17-member lineup of Broken Social Scene at Lollapalooza 2006 for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Lolla ’06 was my inaugural festival experience, and I was still figuring out the ropes of how it all worked. I realized that you can’t see everyone you want, no matter how hard you try. So, I opted to see the Chilis, a group I had been “totally jamming to” since the summer of 2000. The show was alright, from what I remember, but because of the steel toe boot to the head from an errant crowdsurfer things are sort of fuzzy. According to my friend (and fellow obviate-er) Evan Thorne, who attended the show with me, he heard the THUD of when the boot kicked me in the head, and then turned around to see me down. I remember still feeling like i had control in my feet, but it was just easier to fall. I think I got pulled out of that one during the encore.

October 31, 2007 – Shouting “YEAH!” very loudly in a quiet room after Craig Finn explained before the live debut of “Lord, I’m Discouraged” that it was a “sad song”. Man, talk about a buzzkill. The dude next to me patted me on the shoulder and said “nice job” as I sunk my head into my shoulders. Ouch.

1. I saw The Wrestler tonight. Fantastic movie. Still wasn’t my top flick of 2008, That distinction goes to a little known Christopher Nolan flick. Still, excellent acting, Mickey Rourke deserves an Oscar nod. Ernest “The Cat” Miller even shows up! Dude’s packin’ a few pounds now, but still good to see quality former WCW jobber.

2. It’s 2009, which means the 90′s were over ten years ago. That also means we get farther and farther away from the unfortunate date of this picture.

3. I’ve rediscovered the Matador Pavement reissues. Obtaining them has been a Brendan Christmas tradition every even numbered year since 2002. So much stuff to sort through. Admittedly, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain and Wowee Zowee didn’t get too many spins from me. Now’s the time to change this. Did they ever have a bad album? They’re four for four (woo, that was fun!) so far. I can wait the two years for Terror Twilight to see if they go for the quintfecta. (That can’t possibly be a word, but I like it. I’m not looking it up, so deal with it.)

4. I got a ticket to see Animal Collective for Christmas. I was completely surprised. My mom rocks. I thought it was totally sold out (it is). It’s going to be a lot of fun.

5. Speaking of which, Merriweather Post Pavilion had it’s vinyl release on Domino today. I came very late to the Animal Collective game, like, Strawberry Jam late. That record went for the jugular. This one’s good, a bit too Panda Bear-y for my tastes, however. THAT ALBUM COVER IS COMPLETELY SCREWING WITH MY HEAD.

6. I’ve been on an epic sushi bender lately. There’s this sorta-chain place in the burbs I’ve been hitting called Sushi Station that has a conveyor belt and a large selection of rolls. Not terrible. My special someone and I also hit up Coast Sushi too, but it wasn’t too hot. If you’ve been following our Twitter feed, you’ll see that we were seated next to a minor celebrity. Yeah, I geeked out a bit.

7. The next time I’m in Madison, I want to check out Tex Tubb’s Taco Palace. The food looks pretty incredible, as well as the decor. Look at that menu and try to tell me it doesn’t look delicious.

8. The greatest rock and roll band in the world is playing the House of Blues in eight short days – headlining the Len and Bob Bash for the Cubs this year. Tom Morello is opening. I love this blurb from the Cubs website:

CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs broadcasters Len Kasper and Bob Brenly will team up outside the broadcast booth to host the third annual Len & Bob Bash on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2009, at the House of Blues in downtown Chicago.
This year’s Len & Bob Bash will feature the internationally known artist The Hold Steady. Created in 2004, Brooklyn-based The Hold Steady are known for their mixture of classic rock, folk and hip-hop, and have rapidly gained international acclaim.

Hip-hop?! Really? Nice work, PR person.

9. I am addicted to 30 Rock. Such a good show. NBC has good comedies, and still, their network is constantly being shit on. Why? I suppose, I don’t really watch any TV when it airs though, so I don’t really know.

10. Anyone have any good Inauguration Day plans?