New Sounds

Here's a special thanks to Dorian and Dave O. for cluing me in on some really good bands. Respectively they have introduced me to Surfjan Stevens and The Decemberists, and I can't stop listening to Illinois and The Crane Wife. Hopefully I can someday fill them in on some similarly talented bands.

Also, as a follow up to something from a couple of posts ago, I remembered to whom else I needed to give dap, Stephen K., better known as Mr. "I don't want to mess up your last name." None of us know what's so difficult about his name, but that's neither here nor there. Anyway, why he deserves dap. He gave me a fairly funny line one of the first nights we hung out together, which may explain why I didn't remember it. It goes, "There are two things you want when you are drunk at 3 A.M., and one of them is food." It spawned from a discussion regarding Taco Bell and turned into a discussion about something all together different. So, here's your dap Stephen, for whatever it's worth.

As a parting suggestion, everyone should go see The Departed, the latest Martin Scorcese flick. I saw it alone on a total impulse, and I'm very glad I did. I respect Scorcese's work, but he's neve been one of my top directors, and even after this movie, I still wouldn't put him up there with Woody Allen and Steven Soderbergh. Nonetheless, this movie is excellently shot and paced along with some terrific acting. The story has a couple of holes, but they are minor at worst. There are a bunch of good movies coming out, and I suspect by the end of the season this will be one of the best.