"Vote for me! Corky Booze!"

I shit you not. I see this guy's billboard when I'm driving through Richmond. Corky. Booze.

This jukebox abuse story reminds me of the time I spent about $5.00 at a bar in Albany to put the entire OK Computer album on. After it was over, we were still at the bar, and I hadn't annoyed my friends good enough, so I decided to put on Fitter Happier four times in a row. A drunk guy playing pool was challening whoever put those songs on to a parking lot brawl, and my friends had to get me out of there before he figured out it was me. I was giving myself away by laughing so hard.

This morning was the first foggy morning of the year. Hola, Mr. Cold.

The entire Amscray album is available for free via MP3 on our re-designed website.

Somehow, it doesn't quite seem like Halloween.

Dinner last night was, well, interesting. I tried to feign interest in Monday Night Football, but I don't think I was very convincing. I had a good time anyway, and finally showed my dad my newest tattoos. He was kind and actually said he liked him, so that weight has vanished from my shoulders. My mom cooked me a huge pot of turkey chili to take back to Oakland with me. For the first time in a long while, Solano county didn't feel like home, but wasn't scary either. Drove home fast in the dark rain and sang along with the new D-Plan album rather loudly.

I just noticed that the Dear 23 girl lives in Emeryville, right down the street from me. Small/strange world.

There's a photo from the Amscray tour up on slatch.com

So I've joined partners with the slatch.com family to help bring you 75 Or Less, a new kind of record review log where we take a look at new and old releases alike, and tell you all you need to know about them, in 75 words or less. I think we use the word "rock" altogether too much, but you get the idea. Take a look at what I think of the new Dismemberment Plan record.

Tonight I'm going to drive in the rain to my hometown and eat a steak dinner with my dad, at a bar. Yes, I will be hanging out with men much older than me in an environment where I am sure Monday Night Football will be the main topic of conversation. For some reason, this frightens me.

Chico this weekend was an absolute blast, however, I did learn a couple valuable lessons that will save me great deals of pain in the future. First of all, drinking Jim Beam and Rolling Rock in excess is a bad idea. Add in some caffeine pills late at night, and the next day you can feel like death itself. Other than that, all festivities were successful. Rally Boy not only rocked me on Friday, but rocked me even harded on Saturday. Great versions of Low E and my favorite of theirs, The Check-Out (a former MP3 of the week) to keep me humming the songs through the weekend. Hung with some of the S-friends at the cheesey college dance club where we got jiggy-all-with-it in the back 80's patio area and watched the bros try and pick up on anyone who moved. On the way over to another bar we found some porn on the ground, and I had a hoot handing it to people upon meeting them for the first time. For some reason, I found this activity to be hilarious. We heard about a party and took off in a huge group to find it.

It was a college party, with very young punk/indie kids hanging out everywhere. I played some chess standing in the kitchen and drank beer straight from the freezer. Someone put on The White Stripes and there was dancing, although I didn't participate. I did, however, climb down a ladder and drink beer in the basement, which was nothing more than a cement hole in the ground that this girl was living in. It was all punked out with spaypaint and a big Sweep The Leg Johnny poster in the corner. At some point in time I sat in the middle of the floor and played with a casio keyboard, probably annoying all those trying to listen to real music. It got later and later, and we finally chased down a cab and headed back to The Matador Motel, where, coincidentally, The Mother Hips were also staying, and somehow found a spot on a bed and fell asleep. All in all, Chico done gone showed me a good time. Huzzah for Northern California!

MP3 of the week: I'm convinced that I'm the only person in California who likes Spoon, I've yet to meet another living soul who owns any of their record or has enjoyed their live show. Perhaps I'm just insane. I saw them play at Noisepop '97 and have been a follower ever since. Their 2001 release, Girls Can Tell, is a superb collection of songs spanning styles and subject matter, and is probably their best album to date. Earlier this year while in their hometown of Austin, Texas, I was lucky enough to see Spoon singer/songwriter Britt Daniels play solo/acoustic. That version of Anything You Want broughts cheers of approval from the crowd, and proved to me the strength of his songs.