As of right now I’ve bought 722 songs from the iTMS (well, bought or grabbed as freebies). That’s roughly 50 albums-worth. It seems like a scarily large amount, until I visualise that in jewel cases, and realise it’s all of about four cubes on my dad’s CD stand.
Still, it represents approximately $600 of my moolah gone to Big Evil Music Labels. And much of it is DRM’d, which peeves me… it does affect me occasionally, even though I don’t even actually try to use my music creatively; just for listening. Case in point, my perpetual desire to burn some backup MP3 CDs for my car (for when I don’t have my iPod, or I’m too lazy/rushed to connect it all up), which was sadly foiled by the fact that most of the music I wanted to put on said CDs – i.e. the stuff I’ve bought, my favourites – ain’t savvy with that idea. Grrr.
Anyway… I also have forty or fifty songs off eMusic, but iTunes doesn’t have an automatic playlist for those, strangely ;), so I can’t be bothered counting them. :)
I’ve been looking at LiveNation and upcoming.org and a few other such sites recently, trying to find some good live stuff to check out. The trick is finding things I like, wouldn’t have to wear a disguise to – sorry, John Mayer – and are also liked by others here, so I don’t have to go alone. And also relatively affordable – $60 for general admin is a wee bit pricey… yes, I’m looking at you Matchbox 20…
There’s an all-female cover band called AC/DShe, reasonably famous, performing in S.F. on March 1st. That looks tempting, a bit… the youtube of them was actually reasonable; the lead singer does a pretty good impression of Bon Scott; as well as a girl can, really. Still… that very video also showed exactly the kind of rundown, grungy bar venue that I find so frustrating about S.F… and in March they’re playing at Slim’s, which from photos online looks exactly the same. Would it kill people here to make a bar that has actually been cleaned since the hippies hid from the draft in it?!?
Anyway, that aside, I’ve been otherwise reasonably sociable lately… been to a movie or two – watched ‘The Brothers Solomon’ last night with F2 & Emily, which was that cringey comedy style, but just light enough that I could still enjoy it… it was actually pretty good, all in all. Last weekend, Saturday night, I wound up at F1 & Ross’ place, where we whiled away a few hours via iConquer and Starcraft. It was good to see they’re still alive; no symptoms of scurvy as yet. Tom has also moved in.
Hypothetically tonight I’m also going to go see Cloverfield, at the ridiculously late hour mandated by Cori, Matt’s girlfriend, whom apparently has to sneak out for such things… I’m ambivalent about being an accessory to such teenage shenanigans… on the one hand, it seems assumedly bad, but then on the other, it’s ostensibly harmless, and I kinda figure better she be with boring, safe me than only friends her own age, which I can’t imagine being a particular restrained environment… sigh… them crazy kids… ;)
It does remind me, though, of a hilarious happenstance that occurred last time Matt & I went to a movie. The story goes, a girl a few doors down from Matt’s place had her boyfriend round, secretly, and her mother walked in on them in bed together. And she called the cops. Seriously. And they sent out a squad car. Who does that, really? You only see that kind of stuff on the silver screen, not in reality… I mean, that’s going to be an awesome story for him to retell over the years – he wasn’t charged, so there were no legal repercussions – … seriously, if it were me, it’d only be encouragement to do it again. :P
As paranoid as Sarah’s mum was – or, as I’ve long suspected, pretended to be – I can never imagine her calling the cops. Beating the living snot out of me, for sure, but… luckily we were sufficiently sneaky… so I suppose it’s fair to say if this random dude and his girlfriend can’t keep their antics a secret, well, they deserve to be punished for their laxity. ;)
That really made my night, though, that story… and as icing by the time we got the movie theatre – this all happened a while before I go to Matt’s – said random dude had clocked on for his shift at the box office. He seemed unfazed and unbeaten. :)
