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.)

So, Lofi dub-pop duo, former Sconnies, and married couple Peaking Lights had their first baby between last year's 936 and this year's Lucifer. They've really incoporated their baby boy into their music. Check out their new video for the song "Beautiful Son". It's definitely one of the most... interesting videos I've watched in a long time.

There are so many different thoughts I have when I watch this and a lot of them are jokes. The video isn't bad, but it does open itself up to thoughts like "so this is what a baby's acid trip would be like".

I'm sure there are many witty lines y'all can compose about this video, before or after you share your random ten.

I played Superunknown for HPR while driving to the fireworks on Wednesday. He approved. I knew he would: Kim Thayil's guitar is right in perfect center of HPR's musical tastes. Don't think I'll play Louder Than Love for HPR any time soon, though...

Was sick from work yesterday, heading to the in-laws in Glenwood today. Might not be around much: have a good weekend.

Thinking about the Spring Standards on Wednesday night at the 7th street. They opened for Ha Ha Tonka at the Varsity in 2011.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoLEvg9QrGg

What have you got on your player?

It's Friday already? Crud. Boss is back from a business trip on Monday and I estimate that I've got between 2000 lbs and 1000 kg of manure to work on before he's back. Wonder what my soundtrack will be... Wonder what your soundtrack will be. (Share it.)

"What about Ha Ha Tonka?"
"Yes."
"Lydia Loveless?"
"Yes."
"Scott. H. Biram?"
"Yes."
"Bobby Bare Jr. or the Bottle Rockets?"
"Dad! Those all come from the same label!"
"Yeah, right Lisa. A wonderful, magical label."

That's how I feel some days. Whenever Bloodshot announces a new artist on their label, I figure there's a 50/50 chance they're soon gonna be my new favorite band.

Anyways, share your lists below.