Playing hooky today. Well, I told my boss. Is that still hooky?
No big plans, just a three-day weekend. Share yr list. I'll get to mine later.

Should I shut up about Lydia Loveless? OK, maybe I will, but here are two places you can download some live clips. Podcast with an interview and three songs performed. (Interesting info: first album was recorded when she was 16. That's some serious-ass songwriting from a teenager.) Mile Marker session, four songs.

Hope y'all are having a good week. Let us know what's on your player.

I'm off to Glenwood for Waterama weekend.

Ten Random music thoughts.
1. I finally got myself a new computer. So I can add and remove tracks from my iPod!
2. It had been more than two months. I can't believe I hadn't more cold sweats.
3. First things added? Lydia Loveless bootlegs (recorded by me).
4. So I've been able to listen to her new songs. I've counted four.
5. Plus, she's got a few good covers in her sets. Elvis Costello's "Allison", Conway Twitty's "Wedding Bells", and Gin Blossoms' "Hey Jealousy" (though my recorder failed me before that).
6. I don't know what I did to my recorder, but I missed recording her entire solo acoustic encore. She played "Things I Do"!
7. I go on a two-week Lydia Lull and then in concert I'm all excited about her stuff again.
8. Her set last Saturday night didn't start until 12:20 or so. I know they may do things like that in big cities on the coasts, but that's un-Minnesotan!
9. That's now her fourth show in town in 8 months. So by my calculations, she should be back in town in October and again in January.
T. I know I wrote up Lana Del Rey's first singles last year. I still like them. Her album impressed me less, but it's still good. But this cover of "Video Games" is weird. I think Boy George's vocals in it are great, with a touch of grit and rasp that makes me want to re-listen, but I really don't feel that there's a connection with the material, or something. Now maybe Lana can cover "Karma Chameleon".
B. Is there a chance that Boy George has been releasing good music lately, and I just can't be bothered to find out. Maybe he could cover some Conway Twitty.

Now, show us what you got!

So, who's coming to the Lydia Loveless show at Triple Rock tonight? Only $8, as much as you were gonna pay to see another movie about batty men and their spiders. Those batty men will still be at the theatre tomorrow night, but Lydia will only be in our fine metropolis for tonight. (Tomorrow night, she's in Grand Rapids, MN.)