The redesign is going slow, as expected, as I learn more about all this new software I got, and as I wait to be inspired for design. I am planning a ton of year-end lists soon, because everyone loves those and mine are always more correct than other peoples'.

I caught most of Ted Leo's set last Thursday. The guy is amazing. He has this unstoppable energy, and it totally feels like he is one of those people who were born with a guitar in their hands and with punk shows in their blood. Fantastic.
Unfortunately, I missed both Sea Ray and local "superstars" (according to City Pages) Monarques. Next time, kids.

The Shins show last Friday fell a little flat. I was going on about 3 and a half hours of sleep, and The Shins music does not lend itself to those conditions (unless you're already lying in bed). They sounded great, but they pretty much recreated the record. It was well-done, but not that exciting of a live show.

Plus, openers The Aisler Set's van got stuck somewhere, and that pissed me off, so we got to catch "punk" band The Soviettes, which pissed me off further. Also, the very first band was fronted by The Shins' bassist/guitarist, and they flat-out sucked. They were reminiscent of a shitty Foo Fighters, which was not a good thing.

I'm totally psyched to catch my FAVORITE BAND'S (debatable...) set this Saturday. Hopefully, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs will have a some new stuff to play. They are incredibly prolific for having so few releases, so they usually have new material to test on the road. I'll be the kid at the front, screaming his head off, trying to get Karen O to seduce me. And, as David Andrew Sitek instructed me two weeks ago, I will be chucking TV on the Radio pins at the players on stage.

Here's a rundown of what I've been listening to lately:

• British Sea Power - The Decline of British Sea Power (again)
  
• Muse - Absolution (again, check it out at Hard Glitter)
  
• PJ Harvey - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
  
• Liars - They Were Wrong So We Drowned (shhhh! and don't let me hear you say their name and "experimental" in the same sentence... if you ever expected Liars to stay the same, you never "got" the band)
  
• Phantom Planet - "Big Brat" (freaking awesome)
  
• The Strokes - Room on Fire (duh)
  
• The All-American Rejects - The All-American Rejects (love the poppy goodness)

And a few links that are worth mentioning:

• stereogum - Man is on top of his game
  
• Casa de Punk
  
• Ultragrrrl - She updates. A lot. And we love her, even if she's not really sober
  
• Videos: The Shins "So Says I", The Darkness "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", Missy Elliott "Pass That Dutch", Phantom Planet "Big Brat"
  
• slatch - Still one of my favorite blogs. Responsible for a lot of this linkage
  
• Information Leafblower's Top 40 Bands in America Today
  
• Fluxblog - Love free mp3s
  
• The War Against Silence - Still the best music criticism/writing on the web
  
• Mr. Clasp
  
• Lost in Translation DVD release info (from catchdubs)
  

Whew. Later kids