Oh my God do I have bad news. Guess who was chosen over the Flaming Lips for the all-campus party.

3 Doors Down.

Please control your hysteria.

In other bad news, the Unicorns bailed on us for Union south April 3. I'm working on getting the Natural History for that weekend instead.

Business sense suggestions to Nicole for the use of her 15$ gift certificate:

First, don't buy anything you can burn. Second, don't buy anything you can download. Third, don't buy anything local, because you can use the spot at the station to receive whatever CD you want. This pretty much covers everything except extremely rare bootlegs which are probably on vinyl. Put your money to one of these.

Single Frame news on tinymixtapes today by yours truly!

And I finally got the new John Vanderslice, Cellar Door, I like it a lot. The first two songs are especially wonderful, and the third song is about the Philippines or something, ha. He just has such a great voice. Highly recommended by me.

We just had an Emmie meeting, the first since we put out the latest issue. Apparently, due to the fact that I turned in all my pieces in well before the deadlines in an issue that went out way past deadline, I was Emmie's "Writer of the Issue." I got a 15$ gift certificate to B-Side Records! What cd should I buy? Any suggestions?

Woohoo! We have an official project team of 8 members in my operations class that is going to work with WSUM all semester. This class is actually going to be cool now.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs at the Barrymore, Wednesday March 3!!!!

I'M IN THE TIMETABLE!!!!

Updates:

Webcasting: Webcasting is close to happening. Next Wednesday we will be voting as a station whether or not we will resume webcasting, as long as we follow a few small rules. Official word will come then.

I haven't gotten to burn the new JV yet, I'll be burning it at the station tomorrow. The song we played on our show, "Pale Horse," was indeed, quite good, as was the review. Gosh I just love his voice. I'll report on it tomorrow!

is the new john vanderslice any good?

Looks like I might actually get to do a semester-long project on WSUM for my operations class! It's in the works with our General Manager and my professor. That would make school like, 300 times better.

For those of you who missed yesterday's show: Andrew W. K. has been banned from the Perfect Face For Radio.

YES!!!! We have the new John Vanderslice in the station. It's supposed to be awesome. I was going to buy it today, but now I can burn it!!!

I like Club Majestic. It has a dance floor and Tuesday thru Thursday they have all you can drink for a mere 10 bucks. That's right it's like Old Country Buffet… with alcohol. Did I mention I saw a fight there on Thursday too? Awesome.

The Emmie is finally out! And I'm all over it. You can find it at the Union, coffeehouses and record shops up and down state street, in the Grainger Deli and in my cubicle.

Speaking of, feel free to stop on by my cubicle any time to hang out! It's in room 1200I of Grainger Hall, and my office hours are Tuesday 3-4 PM and Wednesday 9:30-10:30 AM, but I'm there all the freakin' time.

I think I just spent more time making a Perfect Face for Radio sign to put up in my cubicle than I did preparing for my next class. I've also recruited two other TAs to put up transparencies for cool shows on the weekends (first up: Single Frame), supplied by yours truly.

yawn. i am falling asleep in criminal procedure - probably shouldn't call me if you find yourself thrown in jail sometime...but it would be entertaining for me...

A WHAM travesty.

The WSUM date auction is a go- tentatively the weekend of Feb. 20, just before our Anniversary Party (which just happens to be the site of the "date"). Please bid on me. It's gonna be cool. More details soon.

Bush is dumb

Another potential Union show (Rathskellar) that I'm going to try to get booked next week: Natural History, April 2nd. This would be so cool.

Back from an utterly exhausting day. My first day of teaching was SCARY, but not necessarily in a bad way. They just kept staring at me, a shocking development since I am their teacher, standingin the front of the room. The only reaction I think I got from them the entire time was when I flashed the radio show info up on the overhead, which elicited some comforting laughs. Meanwhile, the Radiohead and Flaming Lips fans get an A, the Outkast lover gets an A/B, the Something Corporate, Saves the Day and Lucky Boys Confusion fans get a B for at least liking music outside of the typical Business School realm, the Dave Matthews and fan (only 1!) and country girl get an F, and the 20 or so students who claimed "they don't have a favorite band" or "they like lots of different stuff" get an incomplete. Tomorrow I'm going to take pictures of them with my digital camera to learn their names, probably creeping them out in the process. Though one girl said when she was describing herself that she was glad that I "wasn't a freak" like some other teacher she had. Thanks, girl whose name and probably face I won't remember unless she sits in the same seat tomorrow.

Great news from the Union Music Committee: Single Frame is now a complete show with openers! Specifically, Life at Sea, a Chicago band featuring ex-members of Braid, and Up Up Down Down, a New Jersey band named after a Nintendo move of some sort that has played with Single Frame in the past. Looks to be a great show- again, mark your calendars, Feb. 28, as I will continually and obnoxiously remind everyone until then. Another Committee coup- the booking of the Unicorns for April 3 at Union South!!!!!!!!!!! I'm looking into Candyland Riots as repeat openers for them since they fit so well together on Saturday. So all you Madison folk who were totally jealous of me seeing them (ok, probably no one) will get the chance to see them in Madison rock you with their pink pants and crazy Canadian ways.

looking for something to do tonight? but still want to learn about our nation's state of the union?
play THE STATE OF THE UNION DRINKING GAME!! rules found here

I have my first day of teaching tomorrow!!! I'm so excited, and a little nervous, even though I won't actually be teaching yet, just going over the syllabus and trying to learn everyone's names. I'm going to have every student say their favorite band; that will definitely separate the top performers from the problem students. If I have 42 students say Dave Matthews Band, everyone's getting an F.

well, i was planning on getting married...and then getting that annulled. but only if i can find someone ugly.

indeed i do...the drunken message that would not end (in the best way possible)! so glad to hear the unicorns were everything you hoped they would be - and more.

spring break update: have just purchased tickets to las vegas - we are staying at the MGM Grand! Huzzah!

Last night fucking ROCKED. Here's a brief overview of the night, with full reviews to be posted to the review page tonight or tomorrow and eventually on TMT.

7 PM: The Wrens at Schubas. Man, these guys are old, and they like to make fun of how old they are. But they were still totally awesome, full of energy, and the song "Happy" was so unbelievably amazing I almost peed my pants.

10 PM: The Candyland Riots opening for the Unicorns at the Empty Bottle. I did not know the Candyland Riots, but I'm sure glad I do now because they were SO COOL. The singer is like 8 feet tall has the coolest voice and the bassist made the weirdest faces I've ever seen from a band, and their songs were totally quirky and fun. I LOVED them. I talked to the bassist afterwards about possibly having them come up to open for Single Frame, we'll see if that works out because Madison NEEDS to know these guys. They have a great band name too.

Then the Unicorns, who looked like they were about 15 years old and came out in PINK SUITS and I just about died of laughter. They were fantastic too- one of the lead singers was surely on crack and had so much hair in his eyes he could not possibly see the audience, and they did a killer cover of Kylie's "Can't Get You Out of My Head." Then a weird bum came on stage asking for change as the singer just kept saying, "uh, ok?", and Ben gave the singer some Canadian coins to give the bum in honor of the Unicorns' Candian heritage. They also had these really cute girly shirts for sale that were black and pink with clouds, and I asked if they even bothered making boy shirts and they said the boy shirts were exactly the same design and had actually sold out. So there are tons of indie boys running around wearing pink shirts that say "the Unicorns" on it. That's so wonderful to know. What a great night of music. And Liz has the drunken phone message to prove it.

lappy + toppy = true love

Here is the strangest concert pairing I've ever seen: Grandaddy opening for Saves the Day at the Rave April 5?
Also very amusing at the Rave: The Food Network Presents Dweezil Zappa and Lisa Loeb. How do they relate to the Food Network?

Becky: here's the link to the story I told about re: further investigation into Elliott Smith's death.

We've been told that webcasting will hopefully be available when school starts next week. I'll post the link if and when it does.

What was supposed to have been the Nov/Dec issue of the Emmie will finally be on the stands next week, just in time for the students to return. Meanwhile, I'm about to write up a feature on Tinymixtapes for the next issue, along with a WSUM article I'll start early next month. Ah, shameless self-promotion. And don't think I won't be using Tinymixtapes news blurbs to my full advantage when Party in the Park starts rolling around.

oh, sweet sweet new laptop "lappy." wireless tech is amazing.

Want a good laugh today? Listen to this angry message left by Ryan Adams on the answering machine of Jim DeRogatis, a music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times. It's hysterical.

are studios ready to see jake gyllenhaal and heath ledger get it on? i don't know...all i know is that i am ready to see jake gyllenhaal.

i can personally back up nicole's cd swap mail plan, as i am part of the extensive operation. i am still waiting for my music nicole. and i have to still give you norfolk and western!

I've begun a new music swap via snail mail with a few friends around the country, where I send them new music they haven't heard and they send me new music I haven't heard in return. Getting new cds in the mail is such a good feeling that should definitely be spread around. If anyone wants to get in on this as well, let me know!

DJ Lazer's Comic Book Story Hour of Power: Round 2 is Tomorrow at 6PM! Expect exciting stories about Superman, amnesia, and the 30th century!

Praise for Round 1:

"Rockey, when you impersonated the girls' voices... it was priceless"

So much for His & Her Vanities at Party in the Park. Oh well, we got 2 (Heavenly States & German Art Students) out of the 3 bands I wanted to see. Too bad Kylie isn't touring right now.

Crazy local music news . . . the His and Her Vanities bassist (married to H&HV guitarist) is preggers!!!! So once their new record is out, looks like no live shows until next fall :( .

I just reviewed the new Phantom Planet album for WSUM. Sadly, drummer Jason Schwartzmann (aka Rushmore's Max Fischer) is no longer in the band. He didn't think it was fun playing lesbians anymore either. Ok, only kidding, but I have to say this album is a bit uninspired. Unlike the new UNICORNS album, which totally rules!

Priceless quote:

“We are very tired of each other, and it’s not fun playing lesbians any more."
— Lena Katina on the breakup of her Sapphic dance duo Tatu.

Andrew Bird was, indeed, pretty damn sexy. It was just him and his violin; he sang and played violin over a loop of violin plucks, and it was way cool. Becky resisted my moves though.

Check out the first annual Madison Music Awards at www.madisonareamusicawards.com; vote for your favorite Madison artists and best albums of the year!

Wooohooo- New Modest Mouse album out March 30!!! Just after their massive tour of . . . Florida??? Hopefully they'll be coming to the midwest again soon, since I missed them last time.

Now off to see Andrew Bird and Janet Bean in Chicago! I've been told Andrew Bird's music is "damn sexy." It may make me want to make some moves on Becky tonight.

stupid portland with their "freezin rain" and their "closed airports."
I JUST WANT TO GO HOME! PLEASE! bumming around the house all day in my pjs makes me insane...

Hour of Canadian music completed! I was a little worried, but I managed to fit all the music I had exactly into one hour, without any repeats of bands. Tomorrow: the Dance Party.

YES!!! We booked the Heavenly States for Party in the Park!!!!!! Apparently, they are ending their Australian tour early just to play for us :) . More bands are being booked as we speak, stay tuned!

Check out the Shins on late-night TV:

January 13- Late Night with David Letterman
February 15- Late Night with Conan O-Brien

Now, I'm back in Madison too. There's less snow here then there was in Chicago. Here are the times I have signed up for:

Saturday, 6 PM: DJ Lazer's Comic Book Story Hour of Power Part 1
Tuesday, 6 PM: DJ Lazer's Comic Book Story Hour of Power Part 2

That's right, I'll be reading comic books live on the air. First up, a classic Batman strip from 1944. After that I've got some others in minds, but I'm always open for suggestions...

Finally, after a month and a half, I have received the Unicorns Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone? Let me tell you, it was well worth the wait. I'm only on song three and it's just fabulous. Like extremely fucked-up Weezer or something. Now I have to listen to it non-stop for two weeks before I catch them at the Empty Bottle in Chicago next Saturday.

ALSO: I have signed up for two winter break time slots (so far) at WSUM this week:

Wednesday, 5-6 PM: An entire hour of Canadian indie-rock and electronic
Thursday, 3-4 PM: Nicole's WSUM dance party

More winter break shows to come in the next two weeks, including a possible tribute to my favorite band. I'm not sure what times DJ Lazer has taken in the next two weeks for comic book reading and such, but I'm sure he can update us.

I have returned to Madison, and I'm crying frozen tears because it is about 60 degrees colder here than it was in Maryland. So let's all go out drinking to warm ourselves up.

I very much want to, but lack of a ride is causing a problem . . . who wants to go to Minneapolis with me on Tuesday? Anyone? Yes?

JEN!!! America's Next Top Model returns . . . January 13! Maybe if we're lucky, one of these new models will also have an indie-rock boyfriend as cool as Marty from the Shins.

t-minus four days until my return to the west coast!. all that snow had better melt before then...
nicole...i think you should come and visit me in minneapolis...i really really do.

really



really

Another massive update of the upcoming concert page has occured, now that holidays are wrapping up and bands are starting to get their winter tours in order. I'm especially excited for this show:
Friday, January 30: Linkin Park w/ POD, Hoobastank, and Story of the Year at the Alliant Energy Center
God, that sounds SOOOOOO good. I just love Linkin Park.

Low of -3 on Monday in Madison? I don't think so. Maybe I'll just stay here another . . . 4 months or so, skip Wisconsin winter altogether.

Important upcoming television premieres:
Sunday, January 4 - Sex and the City final season begins
Monday, January 5 - Average Joe II: Hawaii
Wednesday, January 14 - The Bachelorette starring Meredith

Becky and I have just about recovered from New Year's Eve craziness. I'm very proud that I only spent 10$ the entire night. Another highlight: meeting an avid Creed fan at the bar. Blecch.