OCCUPIED HEADSPACE

I've been busy with a few projects this week, trying to fit them in around work and such. I finished Vellum on Wed. night. Yes, I decided to give it one more chance and while it tried my patience at times I did enjoy it on the whole (more in a book review...maybe). I got four comic books this week and read through those (yay to all of them - 52, Batman, Action Comics, and Astro City: Samaritan Special) and then started on T.C. Boyle's Talk Talk last night. My plan is to finish it by Monday, which means I would then have 5 months to read 20 books in order to reach my goal for the year. It'll be a real challenge but I'll do what I can. The first book in August will definitely be Jasper Fforde's The Big Over Easy...after that, who knows.

I've also been taking some time to process a few new albums, purchased the old-fashioned way. Last week saw the release of the first Golden Smog record in 8 years, Another Fine Day. It's no surprise that I've been a fan of the Smog ever since I learned about their existence (Jeff Tweedy and Gary Louris in a band together!). This record is a real collaborative effort and has a bunch of great songs, including some in a power pop mode. I love it. The new Long Winters, Putting the Days to Bed, really has a hold of me too. Highly recommended. And then there's Highway Companion, the new Tom Petty solo album. It's solid but it also feels like a reworked greatest hits album or career overview.

I've also been trying to come up with lyrics for a new song we were working on the other night. I'd come up with a simple rhythmic chord progression on Monday morning and played it for the guys at practice that night. They like the space in it and we worked out a great instrumental version with Tom going nuts on the drums and Graham really funking things out on the bass. So, my homework was to come up with something with thoughts of playing it at our next show (this coming Thursday). It's starting to work itself out in my head and I believe it will be called "T.V. Crush."