jonathanhickman.com

Spoiled by Pandora

I’m spoiled by Pandora; whenever I hear a song I don’t like, I reach for the thumbs down button.

It turns out there is no thumbs down button on the radio.

Tom Waits recommendations?

I just found out that I may be going to the Tom Waits show on Sunday (cross your fingers that the world’s awesomest sis-in-law really can watch the Bug in addition to her three kids).

I’ve always like Tom Waits when he comes on the radio, but I’ve never made the leap to buying any of his stuff. Maybe that means I don’t deserve to see him live, but my good excuse has always been that he’s just recorded too much and I don’t know where to start (I’m the same way with Elvis Costello).

So … can anybody tell me where to start? I’m thinking maybe “Real Gone?” Or maybe one of the albums for which he won a grammy?

Probably not a good thing

Since having the baby, Katie and I haven’t been able to make it out to many (read: any) shows. Back in the day, we’d see bands whenever we could, which usually amounted to three or four evenings a month.

Nowadays, I rarely even notice cool show posters (warning: pdf). There’s just no way we could get childcare for a show ending after midnight.

I know it’s just going to be this way for a while, until the Bug is old enough for a sleepover, but it’s still hard. And I miss being able to go out with Katie and make everyone jealous of my hot date.

The Mad Tea Party

I spend most of my work days listening to wncw on my roku, and I’ve found more than a few artists because of that station. One group that I’ve always wanted to love but just can’t seem to love enough to spend money on is the Mad Tea Party. They’re playing in town next weekend for a humane society benefit (”Bark in the Park After Dark”), but I was bummed when I remembered that I already have plans for that day.

Unless I can change my plans….

Currently listening to

I can’t get the pictures or Amazon links to work today for some reason, so you’ll have to take my word for it. I’m currently listening to the new Aimee Mann album, which is just as good as I’d expected it to be. And I found this really cool cd by Emergency Music. Apparently they had some time on their hands, so they put out this album as a completely free download … they’re not even asking for donations. It’s pretty dern good, too.

Currently wish I were listening to

I’ve bought too much music lately, otherwise I’d “run out” and buy this album:

Here is their myspace page, although the sound quality is poor. There are two free mp3s here on their homepage.

Currently listening to

Every time I buy music, I have to restrain myself from breaking the bank. But it’s sooo much fun to get new music. And I’m looking forward to buying some new books soon, too.

The song that’s been stuck in my head all day

link

Currently listening to

They Might Be Giants. And I like it.

One downside of having a baby

Katie and I were so very saddened to have to miss this show on Saturday night. And now I’ll have to find the time to swing by the disc exchange to buy the cd.

On buying music

There are some months when I can’t find new music to save my life, and there are other months when I don’t make enough money to buy all the cool albums I’m finding.

This month is the latter, and I’m struggling with this whole “delaying gratification” thing.