Not So Much...

Rilo Kiley @ Webster Hall

Marry me, Jenny Lewis.

To be honest, Under The Blacklight, Rilo Kiley's latest release, is already my least favorite album of theirs. Doesn't mean it's bad. Far from it. But I didn't feel attached to it instantly.

Anyway, to hear the songs performed live made me love songs I liked and like songs I didn't care for. My favorite songs from the night were "Dreamworld", "Portions For Foxes", "Silver Lining", "It's A Hit" (with Orenda Fink formerly of Azure Ray and now Art in Manila on trumpet), "Breakin' Up", "Does He Love You"...I'm going to stop because I'll probably end up listing them all.

I can watch Jenny Lewis on stage all night long.

I forget how short Blake Sennett. He really hasn't grown much from his Boy Meets World days

That said, Webster Hall is a weird venue for a rock show because you can hear the club music bumping down below. It's particularly awkward during slow, quiet songs. if your favorite band is playing here, double check to make sure they aren't playing anywhere else in the city.

Despite the venue, it was a great show.

All photos by Jenny Francois

Movie of the Week: 3:10 to Yuma

A good movie that could have been great.

Russell Crowe and Christian Bale were awesome and the best non-action scenes of the movie are when they are talking to one another, trying to make the other understand why he is the person that he is.

Ben Foster stole the movie as Wade's (Crowe) insane second-in-command, Charlie Prince. He hammed it up a bit during some scenes but he was still great. Did anyone else think he was gay for Wade?

The biggest problem with the movie is the padding in the middle. There is one scene with some railroad men who have a beef with Wade which was completely pointless and could have been done without. It really slowed down the movie and removed some of the great tension that had been building.

Hopefully, on the DVD, that part will be one whole section that can be skipped.

Pseudorandomness

Here's some stuff going on that didn't warrant it's own post...like anything I write warrants it's own post:

• I lost a little bit of weight over the past few months. The problem is my pants don't fit very well anymore. They all require that extra tug of the belt that causes them to bunch up which makes my work shirts look bad. Now, I can go out and buy new pants but am I sure that i can stick to this weight/size? What if I get depressed? Or become a binge eater? Or worse, get a girlfriend (the cause of my last two serious weight gains)? Sure I can get them tailored but that gets pricey. I don't know.
  
• So...I bought an 4GB iPhone recently. The way I rationalized it was the price drop made it the same price as all the phones I wanted to get (in some cases the iPhone was actually cheaper). I wasn't pressed to get the 8GB one because I already have an 80 GB iPod so I'll never use the phone as my primary listening device (although I do use it for video). The weird thing is I find myself embarrassed when i take it out in front of people because it always becomes a big deal. "Oh, you have an iPhone?! How is it?!? Blah Blah Blah" I was at a gathering at a bar with some coworkers and I got a text message and I purposely didn't look at it in front of them. I like cool things but I hate the attention.
• Halo 3 comes out on September 25th and I can't wait. I'd be more excited if I had the time to play it. I have 4-5 games at home just waiting for me to sit down and complete. With Fall TV coming up, I don't think I'll ever beat Halo or any of the games collecting dust at my house. I still have Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for PS2 and I barely gave it 5 hours play time.

Bye Fiddy

West's Graduation shifted 957,000 copies in its first week of sales while 50 Cent's album, Curtis, only sold 691,000, according to Billboard.

Before the albums went on sale 50 Cent vowed he would retire from making solo albums if he was outsold by West.

Maybe if he didn't leave the best song off his U.S. release, he might have had a chance.

Now the song is just prophetic (or he saw the writing on the wall).

50 Cent - "Smile (I'm Leaving)"

Don't Call Me During...: Fall 2007 Edition

Christine, one of my five semi-faithful readers, reminded me that haven't done this yet, let's begin:

New shows in yellow

Sunday: (4 hours)
8:00-8:30: The Simpsons (FOX)
9:00-10:00: Desperate Housewives (ABC) - I didn't watch this for most of last season but Nathan Fillon (Fox's Firefly) is joining the cast, I'll have to start watching again
9:00-10:00: Tell Me You Love Me (HBO) - If they were going to have unnecessarily explicit sex, couldn't they find a walk-on role for a porn star or two?
10:00-11:00: Brothers and Sisters (ABC)
10:00-10:30: Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)

Monday: (4 hours)
8:00-9:00: Prison Break (FOX) - Every year I say I'll stop watching this ridiculous show. Every year I come back.
8:00-8:30: How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - If this was on NBC, it would be a hit
8:30-9:00: Aliens in America (CW) - I keep hearing good things so i will check it out
9:00-10:00: Heroes (NBC) - They better redeem themselves from that craptastic finale
10:00-11:00: Journeyman (NBC) - I heard bad things about this but it stars Kevin McKidd (Vorenus from HBO's Rome) so I'll give it a chance

Tuesday: (4.5 hours)
8:00-9:00: Bones (FOX) - I think I'm the only person I know who watches this show. Pity.
8:30-9:00: Carpoolers (ABC) - If it lasts longer than Sons & Daughters, I'll be impressed.
9:00-10:00: House (FOX) - You win, Andrea.
9:00-10:00: Reaper (CW) - The pilot was cool but it will be interesting to see if the show is good or was it just that Kevin Smith (who directed the pilot) turned a piece of shit into a silent fart
10:00-11:00: Nip/Tuck (F/X) - Last season was really hit-or-miss (a lot of missing) but the new Hollywood setting should help. Christian's dick might fall off.

Wednesday: (5 hours)
8:00-9:00: Pushing Daisies (ABC) - If I could watch only one new show this season, this would be it. Please don't cancel it, ABC.
9:00-10:00: Private Practice (ABC) - I know what you're thinking and don't worry, I want it to get canceled to but I would hate for Tim Daly to have his third canceled show on ABC Wednesday nights (Eyes and The Nine, which were better than this shit)
9:00-10:00: Bionic Woman (NBC) - The pilot was okay but Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck from Sci-Fi's Battlestar Galactica) plays the villain. I love her. I'm allowed one guilty pleasure
10:00-11:00: Dirty Sexy Money (ABC) - Peter Krause is back on TV where he belongs.
10:00-10:30: South Park (COM)
10:30-11:00: The Sarah Silverman Program (COM)

Thursday: (5.5 hours)
8:00-8:30: My Name Is Earl (NBC) - Poison Ivy: The New Seduction to Emmy-winning actress. Way to go, Jaime Pressly.
8:00-9:00: Ugly Betty (ABC) - Sorry Smallville. You had a good run but you've been bumped.
8:30-9:00: The Office (NBC) - I hope the Jim/Pam thing doesn't ruin the show
9:00-9:30: 30 Rock (NBC) - Well deserved Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series. Now hopefully it goes the way of The Office and not the way of Arrested Development (the previous two poorly-rated winners of the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series)
9:00-10:00: Grey's Anatomy (ABC) - Please redeem this show, Shondra.
9:30-10:00: Scrubs (NBC) - Hopefully this is the last season (Sorry, Ang)
10:00-10:30: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (F/X) - The funniest show you are not watching
10:00-11:00: Big Shots (ABC) - Good idea, ABC. Put the show about guys who sleep with everything that walk and are cocky about after the two chick shows.

Friday: (1 hour)
9:00-10:00: Friday Night Lights (NBC) - Listen, you don't have to watch it live. DVR and watch it over the weekend. JUST WATCH IT!!!

Shows I'll Be Downloading: Weeds (SHOW), Dexter (SHOW), Chuck (NBC), Smallville (CW)

So not including shows I am going to download, that is 24 hours of television I have committed to watching.

Don't ever ask me again why I am single.

Well Played, Shelley Duncan

Griffin Whitman, a 10-year-old Red Sox fan from Swampscott, was excited to attend his first Yankees vs. Red Sox game Friday night. The young autograph -collector was even more thrilled to score Yankees outfielder Shelley Duncan’s signature before the game. That is, until Griffin read the message from the 27-year-old rookie: “Red Sox suck! Shelley Duncan.”

Leading Questions: Rilo Kiley

Do you like/love Rilo Kiley?

If so, what's your favorite song?

Do you live in New York?

What are you doing Sunday night?

Do I even know you?

I'm just asking.

Long Short Weekend

I have really got to plan my days better.

Without getting into the whole spiel, I decided that I could see Interpol at Madison Square Garden on Friday night and go to an 11:30 AM wedding in Atlanta on Saturday.

It actually went better than I thought.

After work, Tara and Reggie of the band-I-have-yet-to-see-or-hear Sankofa met up at House of Brews and had a couple of drinks. This was the only flaw in the plan because it almost had dire consequences later. We headed over to Madison Square Garden, just in time to see Cat Power open. She was kind of awful. Her set seemed rushed. I fell asleep towards the end.

Finally Interpol came on around 10:35 PM. They were great but the venue didn't do them any favors. The sound seemed off. I would have rather seen them in a smaller place like Bowery Ballroom. But that is not a knock on Interpol because they did every song I would have wanted them too and more.

So we got out of there around midnight. I rushed home and threw my suitcase on my bed. I shaved and showered, packed my bag and chilled to watch the Yankees-Red Sox highlights (Take that, Papelbon!) over and over until it was time to go.

I got on the subway and just caught 3:06 to Jamaica so I can catch the AirTrain to JFK. Unfortunately, this was what it commonly known as the Drunk Train because this is the train that all the Long Islanders who were out drinking their asses off catch before the 90 minute LIRR train break (Consequently, the first train after the break is called the Sleep Train because no one is awake on that having been forced to hang out in the city too long for missing the Drunk Train). As annoying as it was to have eight drunk girls screaming about how they this-that-and-the-other with guys in the club, it did prove useful. The drinks I had earlier were making me sleepy and passed out briefly. I was startled out of sleep when another group of drunk girls through a bag of McDonald's fries at the group of girls sitting behind me. A fight was about to break out when my stop arrived.

I checked in (after another nap), got some Burger King breakfast and waited for the plane to board. AGAIN, I fell asleep, this time waking up right before the last group of people were boarding the plane. I was actually the last one to get on the plane. I got another 90 minutes of sleep on the flight.

We got to Atlanta 20 minutes early, took a cab to the hotel, checked in and I was all set. I wouldn't sit down because if I fell asleep that would be it.

We got to the wedding which was really nice and brief (my favorite kind of weddings) an the reception was at th 755 Club at Turner Field. It was a little too baller for me. I feel like "Good Life" from Kanye West and T-Pain should have been playing as we were entering the reception. All and all, it was fun times.

We got back to the hotel, I changed back to my jeans and proceeded to sleep for an hour before we made a quick Chik-Fil-A run (there is no way I go to Atlanta and NOT get some Chik-Fil-A) then I headed back to the hotel and passed out until it was time to get up and catch my 10:45 AM flight.

All and all, it was fun times. Plus, I don't want to toot my horn but I looked pretty damn good in my suit.

Interpol photo by luhp

Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)

So I hate talking on the phone...

I don't know when this all started but I have gotten to the point that if you call me and you get my voicemail, don't assume I was too busy to answer the phone or away from my phone.

8 times out of 10, I looked at my cell phone, saw your name and decided that I'd rather keep watching TV or hanging out than take your call.

I know that sounds really mean but that's how I feel.

It's not you, it's me.

It's not that I don't like hearing from my friends and family but, with a few exceptions (my brother being one), I really don't have anything to say in return. I don't find my life that interesting to talk about. I don't like talking to people who I don't work with (and who don't know who I'm referring about) about what goes on at my job. I always find it amazing that people can draw so much conversation about their day at work. Some people can describe work with the same passion they would recounting an episode of Lost or Grey's Anatomy. I always say the same thing:

Someone: How's work?
Me: Same old, same old.

I don't have a girlfriend and if I did, I wouldn't talk about her. That's not my modus operandi. I don't ask for advice nor opinions about how to deal with romantic entanglements. The most I'll do is tell you what happened and what I did.

So without anything to talk about, a phone call for me becomes about "How much do I want to listen to you?" Most people don't call you wanting to talk about you. They want to talk about themselves and if you are lucky, you can interject some little tidbit about your life in there.

When I was in high school, I would stay on the phone for hours and hours. I had a friend who I would talk on the phone with from 8 PM until 1 AM in the morning. my mother had $300 phone bills because of my ass. I didn't mind listening then.

As I've gotten older, I have less tolerance for it. Actually I have little to no tolerance for it.

Now if someone is calling about a problem, of course I will be a good friend and listen and advise and console, etc. Those calls aren't the problem.

It's the calls that start out like this:

Me: Hello
Caller: Hey Sean
Me: Hey! What's up?
Caller: Nothing. Just chilling. What's up with you?

That's when I know I've walked into the Small Talk Zone. I despise small talk. I avoid calling my parents because I hate small talk. If I go to hell for all the small crimes against humanity I have committed, my hell would be me glued to a phone while someone drones on and on about their day.

There are some calls I enjoy:

• Calls about sports
• Calls about a TV that just finished airing (mainly 24 and Lost)
• Calls about the making of or confirmation of plans
• Calls catching up with someone who you haven't spoken to or seen in person in at least a month
• Calls making fun of or questioning the motives of other mutual acquaintances

Those calls are cool. I love those calls. Keep them coming.

But if you're at home and you're bored and you're wondering, "Hey, what's Sean up to?", let me settle it for you. I'm up to nothing. Don't interrupt.

Iron Man teaser trailer

Currently (Finally) Reading

I say "finally" because I've had this book since May 2006 (bought during the Blade gig) and I've never gotten around to reading it because it's a 780 page hardcover book that is less than desirable to lug around the subway. But I cracked it open yesterday and was wrapped up in it again. So I vow to finish it before I start anything else. Besides, I still have equally-large hardcover of Palomar that Tara got me for Christmas

Movie of the Week: The Bourne Ultimatum

Easily the best of the Bourne films and the smartest action/thriller in ages.

I can't decide which chase was my favorite - the one in Morocco by foot or the car chase through New York City - but both times I was at the edge of my seat because you didn't know what was going to happen next.

I really hope they don't make another Bourne movie.

Actually, let me rephrase that.

I hope they don't do another Boure movie without Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass