Fly Like an Eagle...

...into the past. My first visit to the Eagles Club in South Minneapolis happened last night in honor of my friend Jody's birthday. The Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie No. 34 has risen to local fame this past year, due largely in part to it being the new regular home of the Front Porch Swingin' Liquor Pigs. ("What is an aerie?", you might ask. So glad you asked.) We quickly learned that this is still an active club. The main area was filled with folks my parents' age, two-stepping and twirling to The Alphalfa Males. The wood paneling behind the bar held glass dioramas containing huge stuffed bald eagles. Jody and her friends rented the lovely little hall in the back corner. Our first discovery was the huge calendar sale hidden in the corner. 11-month calendars for only $1! December is too busy anyway. Who needs it? The selection's standout? Ferret Frenzy 2007, with photos of ferrets dressed as characters from all of your favorite sitcoms: Gilligan's Island, Baywatch, The Brady Bunch, Miami Vice... And I can't believe we were in the room for 2 hours before someone thought to peek behind the red velvet-curtained boxes on the walls and pull the chains: more eagle dioramas, spotlit. Oh yeah.

Oh the Irony!

So it's all over the music press, or at least the music blogosphere, that Koopa is the first unsigned band to break into the UK Top 40, debuting at #31 with Blag, Steal, & Borrow. The UK charts decided to acknowledge the ubiquity of independent music and digital distribution by changing the rules this year to allow digital single sales to count towards a chart position even if there is no physical version. ...and I decided to acknowledge the same by buying my first MP3 Player. No, I'm not a Luddite. I'm just cheap.

Yes! Yes! Yes!

I'm having a Shinsgasm! The Shins will be opening their Wincing the Night Away tour at First Ave on Feb. 8, and I will be there. (Thanks, Jon) I don't care if it's not cool to like them anymore- Garden State be damned. I suppose if I was a truly hardcore I would have downloaded all the tracks by now. But to me The Shins are such a whole-disc kind of band, so I'm waiting until the 23rd to buy the CD. But I have been listening to all the leaks and reading anything about the new release I can get my hands on.

Here are tidbits from the press junket thus far:

Don DeLillo's white Noise is "one of the best-written novels" James Mercer has ever read. Drowned in Sound, Jan. 15.

Part of the insomnia James Mercer writes about on the new disc was caused by living next door to a crack house. This is also where James Mercer is compared to Woody Allen. The Guardian, Jan. 5.

James Mercer will be singing backup on 3 of the new Modest Mouse tracks due out in March. Billboard, Jan. 5.

Eric Johnson from the Fruit Bats has joined the Shins. Pitchfork, Jan. 2

The cover art for Wincing the Night away, suggesting "diatoms," was designed by James Mercer's brother Robert. The Stranger, Dec. 5.

"Sea legs" uses the sounds of bottlecaps on the amp and a guitar pick on teeth. Officious Business: The Shins Go Hollywood with John Krasinski, Filter, Holiday 2006.

James Mercer writes the melody for a song first, then comes up with lyrics using "'some kind of imagery provoked by the music,'" usually from his personal life. He is living in the same house that Elliott Smith lived in when he recorderd Roman Candle. Great Expectations, Magnet, Nov/Dec. 2006.

The Kinks, 'Only You' by the Platters, 'Please Please Please' by James Brown and The Zombies and a Hawaiian band were all heard at James Mercer's wedding, Drowned in Sound, Nov. 22.

Other notable Shins press:
Shinning the Mainstream. The Sun, Jan. 12.
The Shins: Airy Pop Hits It Big NPR, Jan. 12

Headcase

Did you know that Pete Townsend is on record with at the O.E.D. as the earliest known user of the word headcase? Read all about it in Cyber-Neologoliferation.

Are you an amateur etymologist yourself? Well, here's your chance for fame and fortune...

My Year in Reading

Overall, this was not a particularly satisfying year for me in terms of reading. I read less than last year, thanks to acquisition of a computer, and what I chose to read didn't make me want to tell everyone about it. Before turning in for the evening, I found myself reading more about books (and music) on my computer than actually reading books. I still read every night before turning off my light, but was so tired that I was often only able to read a few pages before the head bobs began. Of course, last year was a particulary strong year and any other year would likely have been a let down. I had streaks of several books in a row last year that I just couldn't put down.

All that said, here is a list of the ten books I enjoyed the most in 2006, in order of when they were read. These were obviously not all published in 2006.

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Devil in the White City by Erik Larsen

Intuition by Allegra Goodman

The Velvet Underground and Nico (33 1/3 series) by Joe Harvard

The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo by Peter Orner

Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marissa Pessl
Random Family by Adrian LeBlanc
When Charlotte Comes Home by Maureen Millea Smith
Chicken with Plums by Marjane Satrapi
The Yacobian Building by Alaa al Aswani

Christmas with the Devil's Music

I know it's a little late, but since I'm not posting the MP3s for these songs it doesn't really matter anyway! I present to you Christmas with the Devil's Music. My selection criteria, to throw in a little goofy library lingo, were: no crooners, no meaningful songs or renditions, and no overplayed versions(well...forgive me for throwing in Bruce, but it's so good!) The likelihood of inclusion increased significantly if the song was funny, up-tempo, or, better yet, both.

1. Jingle Bells (Greetings from Esquivel)—Esquivel
2. The Little Drummer Boy—The Dandy Warhols
3. Christmas in Hollis—Run D.M.C
4. Step Into Christmas—Elton John
5. Christmas with the Devil—Spinal Tap
6. Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight)—The Ramones
7. Merry Xmas Everybody—Slade
8. Father Christmas—The Kinks
9. Christmas at the Zoo —The Flaming Lips
10. Christmas Smorgasbord—The Swedish Chef
11. The Christmas Song—The Raveonettes
12. Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town—Bruce
13. Christmas Reindeer—The Knife
14. Christmas Wrapping—The Waitresses

"You wouldn't believe what this guy..."

Everyday at the Information Desk, I am continually amazed at what people will ask of librarians. Does this shirt match these pants? I need the mailing address for the leader of Somalia so I can send him a Christmas card. And I am constantly appalled by the behavior of customers: they will answer their cell phone right as they are asking you a question or right as you are answering it; they will call and ask you to do the research for their son's final research paper and put everything on hold for them so they can pick it up in a few hours.

I complain vigorously about all of the above to my colleagues, making me wonder sometimes if I am in the right profession. But today I didn't have a shift out at the Information Desk, and I missed it. I do love learning something new every day and digging for information, but I've realized that I also truly enjoy complaining about demanding customers. I'm sure that the DSM-IV has a perfect way of describing this personality quirk, but there it is!