awesome

creighton posted about the new tegan & sara album. the tracks that i’ve heard are fantastic. it makes me want to drive to the beach in a convertible. and i don’t even like convertibles.

now hopefully i can see them live, even though the philly show is sold out :(

nobody knows

Just as no one on the internet knows your a dog, when you’re out in public, nobody knows that you’re listening to Sting on your iPod.

Whew!

a little mood music, please

I’ve got several blog posts in me but as I’m not really up to typing (I’ll get to that later). Hopefully I can touch upon everything and get into detail if and when I’m feeling up to it.

Besides nice meals with friends (thanks all!), and nice long walks which wear me out but are lovely, I’ve had two big excursions. One was to Jammin Java to see Toshi Reagon for the second time. The first time I saw her was at the same location but without her band. In all honesty I wasn’t expecting to really enjoy myself, not because she’s not an amazing musician, but because I just wasn’t into her style of music, but she really blew me away. So much so, that I was almost disappointed that she’d have her band with her because she’s so amazing solo, but again, I was far from disappointed. She played the early show so it was kind of short and I was not ready for her to get off stage when it was her time. She even commented near the end of her set that she felt like she was just getting going. With my limited mental capacities at the moment it’s difficult for me to describe her music, let alone her performance , but I’ll point you in the direction of some reviews that are more articulate than I can be at the moment. I will say that I’ve rarely seen a performer work a room without feeling like things were being a bit forced, but Toshi does none of that. Her music is spiritual, and deep, and bittersweet, and her lyrics capture the complexity of human relationship and experience without being preachy. I highly suggest seeing her if you get the chance. For the way that I’ve been feeling both physically and emotionally, it was the perfect first post-op show.

Friday night I got the opportunity to see Athens Boys Choir which again was far more enjoyable and I had way more fun that I expected too, especially two days post-op, even though I was sitting behind a speaker which blocked my view a bit. The work is spoken word, usually with a backbeat. He works with what looks like a version of my computer (smart man) and performs over tracks loaded into iTunes. I love to see how differently this medium is used by DJs, singers, rappers, spoken word artists, etc. Admittedly it doesn’t always work but for the Athens Boys Choir it certainly does. He is an an amazing writer and an engaging performer. Again if you can catch him live – I highly suggest it.

WaPo is chuffed about Chuffed

Chuffed!

Originally uploaded by p373.
Pete’s monthly party, Chuffed, held on the fourth Saturday of each month, has gotten some well deserved love from Fritz Hahn at the Washington Post in an article which talks about the unlikely new-ish DJ scene at Selam:

Selam Restaurant sits on a heavily trafficked stretch of U Street NW, midway between Adams Morgan and the 14th Street corridor, but unless you’re a fan of Eritrean food, you’ve probably buzzed by the place without a second thought.In the past year, though, Selam has been growing under the radar, luring DJs from some of the city’s better-known clubs and dance parties to spin in the intimate basement space, whether for one night or for a monthly residency.

Sam “The Man” Burns, dean of Washington’s deep house scene after long runs at Red and Dragonfly, worked the decks in March. DJ Meistro, known for dropping hip-hop bombs at the acclaimed Oh Snap! parties at Wonderland, took a regular turn at a night called Solid Gold. Neil Payne, formerly of the house-rocking PartyDC crew, joined Pete Welsch, once a resident at Baltimore’s Sonar nightclub, and Eighteenth Street Lounge alumna Christine Moritz for Chuffed, which melds funk and down-tempo with Deee-Lite and old-school rap…

random interestingness

round up by topic:

cancer

• Too Young for This: Facing Cancer Under 40- great article on issues facing cancer patients under 20.
• “Hot” patients setting off radiation alarms- patients undergoing radiation therapy sometimes set off dirty bomb or radiation detectors. what fun.
• Merck lobbies states over cancer vaccine- big pharma does something right. it has to happen every once in a while
• Wyeth loses Prempro trial, to pay $1.5 million- a Philadelphia court found drug maker Wyeth negligent in not providing adequate information regarding a potential connection between hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and breast cancer. shit.
• Conservation: Not Just for the Forest Anymore - skin and nipple sparing surgery for DCIS
• Top of the Heap- “2007 Global Breast Cancer Pathfinders Named – American Society Of Breast Disease”

I <3 Hillary – and so does Ohio

• Salem-News
• Cincinnati Post
• Columbus Dispatch

music

• ben points out this mix from Lovegrove, one of my favorite all time Baltimore DJs. It’s all kinds of warm and danceable. It makes you want a mojito even though it’s 36 degrees outside.
• the very first chuffed was a blast. the next is on february 24th