Really, a cold… Now? Do we have to go there? And will there be snacks?

I guess a couple of week with minimal sleep and extra work coupled with the dust-raising carpet removal and floor sanding is finally kicking my butt. Working at home today, and this is the setup:



Somebody asked Neil Gaiman about his favorite music the other night, and he referenced his Last.fm page… which reminded me that I actually set one up a long time ago! I reactivated it, and while I’m sneezing into my china tea cup and listening to the iTouch, here’s what it says my most listened to artists have been for the last few days:

1. Andrew Bird
2. My Chemical Romance (Shut up, they’re Misfits fans from Jersey!)
3. The Kooks
4. Muse
5. The Mighty Boosh (Do I really play these that much? Hee-hee!)
6. The Cure
7. The Psychedelic Furs
8. Lyle Lovett
9. The Veils
10. Misfits

Amelia & I did head to NY to see Andrew Bird at the Hiro Ballroom Monday night. I did not lose any shoes on this trip. He played a completely different set from Friday night’s solo show, including oodles of new songs from Noble Beast (January 27th release date – must make a new desktop counter).

From Andrew Bird's Last.fm bio: Forget the violin. Forget the classical background. As troubadour Andrew Bird puts it, “At this point the violin just happens to be the instrument I have on hand to make the sounds that I hear. I like to abuse it and pull as many sounds out of it as I can.” Bird is a masterful and intuitive singer / songwriter, and what he does while performing—alternately plucking and bowing his violin, then immediately sampling the results, layering the sounds with guitar, whistling, glockenspiel and vocals—bears little resemblance to what most people might expect. It’s only one of several devices in his arsenal of instruments, melodies, and imaginative wordplay.

Yup, now I have to pass out for a bit.