I don't have much of interest to report, either, but I'm going to write about it anyway. Work is still going well. It's almost a little strange to have a job where I don't feel completely stressed out every single day of my life. My supervisors are decent, understanding people, and the other co-workers are great. It does make for some dull blogging, though - I miss the days of rambling bathroom conversations with psycho bosses, or co-workers who have hideously giant Looney Tunes tattoos. At least I still have Wacky Hawaiian Shirt Guy, and Guy Who Feels the Need to Completely Drop His Pants When Using the Urinal. In other news, I purchased three tickets for the Slint reunion show at Metro, even though my desire to attend shows these days is virtually gone. I only went to two shows this year - Seam and Braid - and wasn't all that impressed (although the Braid show was fun - just not as great as the 10+ times I saw them in the past). Compare that to the three or more a month I would attend back in the Hesterman blog days. Am I getting too old or are the shows getting worse? I barely even recognize most of the names of bands playing at the Empty Bottle, and recently unsubscribed to the email shows list. I'm still buying tons of music, but don't care to see the bands in a live setting. At least I still have bowling in my life. I hit the Lincoln Square lanes every Sunday, pumping money into the jukebox (Meat Loaf's I'd Do Anything For Love is selection #3201) and offending all of those around me. We've actually made some enemies out of the other "regulars," although the staff loves my friends and I. Free High Life can always be counted on.

I guess it's late enough in the year for this...

Favorite Albums of 2004

I'm notorious for changing the order of my lists or completely forgetting terrific albums (and writing little album blurbs that tell you nothing about the music), but this is what comes to mind on December 11th, 2004...

Bark Psychosis' Codename: Dustsucker - The band that is credited with creating post-rock returns with their first album in 10 years. Unfortunately, it's still hard to find in stores, and most people don't even realize that it exists. Lee Harris of Talk Talk guests on a few tracks, much to my enjoyment. Fans of Tortoise and Brian Eno should slap themselves if they haven't heard this yet, because that last Tortoise album was crappy and Brian Eno hasn't put out any worthwhile material in ages (oh, and because Codename: Dustsucker sounds like those two at times).

Les Savy Fav's Inches - Although this is technically a compilation and not a studio album, none of these tracks have made it to CD before. Other than a pointless spoken word piece, most tracks range from very good to excellent - quite a feat for a release spanning 18 songs and several years. Although they often get lumped in the (often terrible) "dance-punk" category, their sound manages to transcend that label and become something at least somewhat unique. I can't say the same about Franz Ferdinand or Futureheads, but maybe you can. It's cool to hear their sound change/evolve from their beginnings as a four-piece to the current three-member roster. The Sweat Descends is arguably my favorite single of '04 - you can't not air guitar to it. The bonus DVD is short and inessential.

I'll finish my list later this week. I'm tired of typing.