Its been a breezy, overcast day here in Champaign with a temperature hovering right around 70. As much as I have loved being here over the summer, there's been a feeling of almost disbelief surrounding it. It's definitely not what I had expected from the summer, yet college hasn't really been what I thought it would be either.

Don't get me wrong, I've met some awesome people, had some pretty good experiences, some bad, yet it isn't what I was expecting and I don't feel like I've gotten what I'd wanted so far. Nothing really is what you expect though. It all just kinda hit me all of the sudden, just as Alfonso Soriano can attest (he just got drilled by a pitch in the top of the 6th out in Pittsburgh). Sometimes I guess it is good to have a little bit of a change of pace.

Instead of spending my summer back with my family or up at a summer house in Michigan, I'm sitting in a dark apartment by myself looking out at an empty, rundown parking lot, complete with a dumpster and beat up wooden box others would call a shed. I can't help but feeling there's something I'm missing. I almost feel like I've been living for a while with someone watching me and I am sufficiently succeeding in failing to impress.

Well whatever it is, hopefully it starts to change. Along with the amount I have been studying, working, or sleeping, it is really nice to finally be able to sit here and think and write. Sometimes that's all I can do, but maybe it will help out a little bit. Below is a song that I have been playing on repeat for a few days that resonates just how down I've been.

The Long Winters - The Sound of Coming Down

I Love Birthdays

Happy 20th to my very, very good friend/wife Elle. I might be 700ish (or 2000 along the scenic route) miles away but I can still wish you a Happy Birthday the best way I know... through some awesome songs!

The Bird and the Bee - Birthday

The Sugarcubes - Birthday

The Smiths - Unhappy Birthday

Sasha Does Dance

I came across this The Dance Party tune yesterday... ridiculously catchy. It sounds like a bunch of other poppy bands but I still can't stop listening to it. Its a bit warm to be jumping around my apartment but oh well. A new EP entitled Tigers (which "Sasha Don't Sleep" is off of) is out July 14th. She doesn't sleep, but you can bet she dances to this one. Oh and the lead singer, Mickey Weekend, is apparently a high school AP English teacher in the D.C. area... I thought that was interesting.

The Dance Party - Sasha Don't Sleep

Track of the Week 6/21

This week's track is one I simply cannot stop listening to. Its the latest from Dinosaur Jr. off their second album since reuniting the orginal 1980's lineup entitled Farm. Coincidentally, the new album hits stores today (although I have had it for a while; I love advance copies).

"Over It" immediately caught my attention. The prototypical reverb- and distortion-laden track is perhaps one of the more mainstream and upbeat on the album, but none-the-less is it good.

Check it out.

Dinosaur Jr. - Over It

The Love Shots EP

I have a new computer! Which means I can now post a couple of bands I've been wanting to write about

First up is a band from about 10 minutes away from my hometown: The Love Shots. A clever little pop-rock band currently comprised of just Rob Nelson and Daniel Craig, they have recently finished up recording an EP which was dumbfoundedly titled "2009 Demo" when I added it into iTunes (better programs out there? maybe but I don't really care). It is a nice refreshing little composition of 6 tunes, perfect to listen to right now as I'm sitting here in Champaign with a temperature of 91 and some very inefficient a/c.

The Love Shots recorded the demo with Brian Zieske at Gallery of Carpet. They say the process went pretty smooth, other than a minor problem with the solo on "Punctured Romance." If you have been following the Chicago music scene since the emergence of "those Fueled By Ramen" bands and other "emo" acts, The Love Shots were no doubt a welcome change of pace in the recording studio.

A multitude of influences from The Ramones, Sex Pistols, and The Smiths to others cited as broadly "random doo-wop artists" is very apparent. "Sunday's Vision" is playing as I type this and I can't help but note a strong Kooks sound. However, others tend to highlight a rougher, edgier rock sound, while the smooth vocals of "Banshee" coupled with jangly guitars makes for an evenly distributed set of songs. The Demo is hard to truly pinpoint as to what genre it should be in, perhaps why my copy doesn't show up as any specific one. Someone once called the band a "Death Wop" band, which is jokingly true with the amount the band admittedly talks about "dead stuff."

The band is currently working out a slight trend of bad luck with drummers. The band started with a friend named Johnny but due to conflicts with school can only play on a limited schedule. Another friend Steve, who lends his talents on the recordings for the Demo, is attending an out-of-state school this coming year, so the band is in need of a drummer. Pass the word on.

I would definetely give The Love Shots a listen, especially if you seek to enjoy joy, excitement, depression, axiety, ie all the great feelings in life.

The Love Shots on MySpace

The Love Shots - Cradle Robber

The Love Shots - Banshee

R.I.P. Computer

I no longer have a computer... it died at approximately 7 pm last night. I am writing from my friend's iMac and I might just have to make the switch to Apple products as PCs have never been very kind to me. I want to blog but it just isn't possible right now. I will be back up and ready to write this weekend though! Perhaps we shall even hear some Tiga up here...