"Boy, that's your problem!"

Got it hand it to JoePa for a pretty quick comeback (especially for an 80-year old), who had an "incident" on the Penn State campus last week. For most people that age, an "incident" would probably mean that they soiled their undies. Not good old JoePa, who apparently has taken up a part-time job as a traffic cop.

For those who have no idea what I'm referring to, check out today's article in the Centre Daily Times. Even with the Nittany Lions way out of the National Championship picture, it's good to see that the fire still burns strong in JoePa. Mrs. JoePa must be a very satisfied woman.

This week's late night tv lineup

Late Show w/David Letterman

• Wednesday - Queens of the Stone Age

Late Late Show w/Craig Ferguson

• Monday - Shout Out Louds
• Wednesday - Modest Mouse
• Thursday - Tori Amos

Tonight Show w/Jay Leno

• Monday - The Shins

Late Night w/Conan O'Brien

• Tuesday - The Black Lips
• Thursday - Klaxons
• Friday - Fionn Regan

Last Call w/Carson Daly

• Monday - Mat Kearney
• Friday - Morrisey

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

• Monday - Modest Mouse
• Tuesday - Justice
• Wednesday - Datarock
• Thursday - Jose Gonzalez

Hooray Friday!

- An Aquarium Drunkard has My Morning Jacket covering Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" and a few Steve Earle tunes worth checking out.

- NPR continues to give me live music to stream while wasting the days away at work. The past week was a barn-burner with Josh Ritter, Jose Gonzalez, Okkervil River, Animal Collective and Iron and Wine getting some love on NPR's Live Concert Series. Looks like Spoon and the New Pornographers will be popping up in the next few weeks as well. Stay tuned...

- I've never been a Smashing Pumpkins fan, so their pseudo-reunion meant next to nothing to me. Reviews of their current tour are average at best and MOKB doesn't hold back either. I like the way they went about it though - they blasted the Pumpkins, but then gave some suggestions to improve the show. Not that Billy Corgan is reading, but still.

- The Flaming Lips are projecting a March release for their latest experiment, the film Christmas on Mars. If this is going to be anything like their concerts, you might want to start preparing your brain for sensory overload directly. Thanks to You Ain't No Picasso for the report.

- If you don't know what I'm talking about when I refer to the Flaming Lips concerts, check out the pics on MOKB from the Monolith Festival. The post also has a few tracks, to include their cover of Pink Floyd's "Lucifer Sam".

Mmmm beer...

While playing catch up on my magazine subscriptions, I came across information I wish I had at Max's last weekend. "The World's Best Beers" article in Men's Journal lists the top five beers in 6 categories/styles. This doesn't mean that you have to go out and try all 30 beers in one night... but if you decide to make a go at it, give me a shout and I'll belly up next to you at the bar.

In any event, rankings were determined by surveying beer industry gurus (I don't remember seeing that as an option to major in college). I've already copied this list and keep it in my back pocket - you never know when you're going to make a B-double E-double R-U-N, beerun.

Pale Ales

1. Firestone Walker Pale Ale
2. Sierra Nevada
3. Mirror Pond
4. Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA
5. Ridgeway Bitter
   

Stouts and Porters

1. Deschutes the Abyss
2. Guiness
3. Stone Smoked Porter
4. Bell's Kalamazoo Stout
5. Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
   

Belgians

1. Saison Dupont
2. Rochefort 10
3. Ommegang Three Philosophers
4. Russian River Damnation
5. St. Bernardus Triple

Wheat

1. Aventinus Doppel Weizen-bock
2. Ayinger Brau-weiss
3. Allagash White
4. Penn Weizen
5. Widmer Hefeweizen
   

Lagers and Pilsners

1. Lagunitas Pils
2. Victory Prima Pils
3. Stoudt's Pils
4. Trumer Pils
5. New Belgium Blue Paddle

Radiohead update - Oct 10th release??

In Rainbows is the title of the new album and it's coming out in 10 days... I think. I'm not going to try to explain it, because it's Monday and chances are I'll mess it up. So I'll pass you onto Brooklyn Vegan, Metro D and Pitchfork for the details.


*** UPDATE - In my travels through the blogosphere, I discovered that The Rawking Refuses to Stop! posted a bunch of new songs that Radiohead was testing out during last summer's tour all the way back in July. It looks like TRRTS! only missed 3 tracks that are in the album to be released on the 10th. Check them out if you want here... I'm going to try to wait 8 days for the studio version.

Weekend recap

Besides the Eagles not showing up for their Sunday night game against the Giants, this weekend was a good one. The Phightin' Phils finishing their blistering late season run to win the NL East probably tops it all. My friend's bachelor party is a close 2nd. We never made it to a nudey bar, which is probably a good thing because we experienced so much more in B-more...

• 2 rows of Yankees' fans that were directly behind us getting booted from the Yanks/O's game
• Max's - possibly the best all-around bar I've been to
• Magic Hat Celebration ??? (can't remember the last part) - A delicious beer that cleanses the palate while clearing the sinuses. You'd never know that 10% of that bad boy is alcohol until you're face-down on the floor
• The girl that pounded beers faster than guys... that was until she threw up in the bathroom
• A 3-way lady lip lock. I would have thought I was dreaming/drunk if I didn't see the pictures the next morning

This week's late night TV lineup

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

• Tuesday - Mark Ronson
• Wedesday - Nick Lowe

Tonight Show w/Jay Leno

• Monday - Tori Amos

Late Night w/Conan O'Brien

• Monday - VHS or Beta
• Thursday - Bloc Party
• Friday - Animal Collective

Last Call w/Carson Daly

• Tuesday - Paolo Nutini

Late Show w/David Letterman

• Monday - Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals
• Friday- Iron and Wine

Bachelor Party prep

I'll be honest, bachelor parties scare me a little bit... which was one of the reasons I didn't want one. Something about being with a group of guys drinking... I have a hard time turning down shots even when my liver and brain have thrown in the towel.

Anyway, I'm mentally preparing for tonight's activities. A stop to the bank for a wad of George Washington's and I'm off to B-more. Here's to hoping I don't feel like this lady tomorrow.

Horray Friday!

For the 3rd week in a row, posts have been fairly non-existent due to the house and office moves. I've also become fairly obsessed with the Phightin' Phils as they bum-rush the Mets at the top of the NL East. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything returns to normal next week, although I'm heading to B-more for a bachelor party this weekend so it may take me a bit to recover from the impending debauchery. Enough sniveling though, let's get after it...

- Of Montreal covers Neil Young's "Harvest Moon" in their upcoming digital only EP. Check it out on Aquarium Drunkard. I definitely favor the original, but I'll give them points for trying.

- Pink Floyd nuts take note before shelling out your greenbacks for the 40th anniversary release of The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. MOKB has a review of the rerelease and whether or not you really need it.

- I'm seriously digging Iron and Wine's The Shepard's Dog. A nudy bar is one of the few things that could keep me from their concert at the 9:30 Club this Saturday and it just so happens that's where I'll be instead of the concert. Oh well, maybe I'll ask the DJ to spin one of their tracks in between Beyonce's "Bootylicious" and the Divinyls' "I Touch Myself". Blogs are for Dogs has a couple of tracks posted here.

- The Austin City Limits TV schedule through next year has been released. There are definitely some dates that I'm marking on my calendar. Ultra8201 provides the nourishment.

- Does anyone else remember the actress Gina Gershon and did anyone else think she was hot? If you answered yes to both of those and don't want your image of her ruined, don't look at this from Brooklyn Vegan. I guess she finally realized that she's not the greatest actress and has taken up music. She has a handful of dates scheduled and dammit, not a one is in the DC area. A funny comment about the picture from BV, "they look like porn versions of the olsen twins!" Now my mind is sidetracked thinking about the Olsen twins doing porn...

This week's late night TV lineup

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

• Tuesday - Sea Wolf

Tonight Show w/Jay Leno

• Wednesday - Bright Eyes

Late Night w/Conan O'Brien

• Monday - Rilo Kiley
• Wednesday - Devendra Banhart
• Thursday - Bjork
• Friday - Jose Gonzalez

Late Late Show w/Craig Ferguson

• Wednesday - The National

This week's late night TV lineup

Late Show w/David Letterman

• Tuesday - Steve Earle
• Wednesday - Against Me
• Thursday - Gogol Bordello
• Friday - Velvet Revolver

Tonight Show w/Jay Leno

• Monday- Emmylou Harris
• Tuesday - Paolo Nutini
• Wednesday - LCD Soundsystem
• Thursday - Cold War Kids
• Friday - Editors

Late Night w/Conan O'Brien

• Tuesday - KT Tunstall
• Wednesday - Rogue Wave
• Friday - Ben Harper

Last Call w/Carson Daly

• Wednesday - A Fine Frenzy
• Thursday - Teddybears

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

• Wednesday - Mute Math
• Thursday - KT Tunstall

Hooray Friday! (a day early)

I apologize for my lack of communication this week. I'm in the process of moving houses and offices so things are a bit hectic. I'll make this short and sweet (but hopefully informative)...

- The Into the Wild soundtrack by Eddie Vedder is streaming on the WROV website. Official release is Sep 18th. Thanks to Metro D for the heads-up.

- The White Stripes cancelled their upcoming tour due to Meg White having acute anxiety. No rescheduling information was given.

- An Aquarium Drunkard has a pretty good review of the Spoon concert in LA this week. I may end up heading to Maryland to catch them and the Sins at Merriweather. I wish they didn't cancel their 9:30 Club dates though.

- A new Wu-Tang track has surfaced from their upcoming 8 Diagrams release. Check it out on Blogs are for Dogs.

This week's late night TV lineup

Late Show w/David Letterman

• Wednesday - Daughtry

Late Late Show w/Craid Ferguson

• Wednesday - Spoon

Tonight Show w/Jay Leno

• Tuesday - Spoon
• Wednesday - The Bravery

Last Call w/Carson Daly

• Thursday - Teddybears

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

• Monday - Joss Stone
• Wednesday - Modest Mouse
• Friday - Hot Hot Heat

On the Road turns 50

I remember RatBat Bear handing me his copy of Jack Kerouac's On the Road after I graduated college. Ironically enough, I was preparing for a road trip of my own from Philly to Oklahoma. I was never (and still really am not) a big reader. I mostly stick to magazine and newspaper articles - their lengths seem to work more with my ever-diminishing attention span. But On the Road was different. It just flowed... made reading not seem as much like work. It's amazing that Kerouac spent years "researching" for the novel and then cranked out such a gem in less than 3 weeks (good enough to be named by Time as one of the All-Time 100 Novels). Wouldn't we all like a shot of productivity like that?

Lisa Birman from Naropa University summed it up when she said, "On the Road is one of those books that every generation discovers without fail." I wholeheartedly agree with that statement. I'm convinced that On the Road will be kicking around forever. Hell, 100,000 copies are still purchased each year. I'm not one of them though - I have RatBat Bear's copy.

Check out some of the articles that have been popping up over the past week or so:

• Philadelphia Inquirer
• The Dallas Morning News
• Los Angeles Times
• Kansas City Star
• NPR.org
• ArtsBeat blog from The New York Times - this is pretty cool because 450 comments have been posted so far

This week's late night TV lineup

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

• Monday - El-P
• Wednesday - Rilo Kiley
• Thursday - Galactic w/Lyric Born

Tonight Show w/Jay Leno

• Thursday - Kings of Leon

Late Night w/Conan O'Brien

• Monday - Feist
• Wednesday - Dinosaur, Jr.
• Friday - Hot Hot Heat

Last Call w/Carson Daly

• Wednesday - Deerhoof

Late Show w/David Letterman

• Monday - Grinderman
• Thursday - Manchester Orchestra
• Friday - Arctic Monkeys

Late Late Show w/Craig Ferguson

• Monday - Lily Allen

Get your tour dates here

- Bob Dylan & Elvis Costello are teaming together for some dates this fall. I've saw Mr. Dylan and his band a few years ago and can't say I was too impressed. It instead made me wonder what it would have been like to be at one of his concerts back in the day. I've heard good and bad things about Elvis Costello, although I think he's playing solo during this tour.

- The Boss and the E Street band are heading out to support their upcoming release, Magic. I can wait to see what the ticket prices are for this. And I'm sure Ticketbastard isn't going to be shy with their service fees. Yeah that's right, I'm Mr. Brightside.

- Keeping with the ridiculously expensive tickets prices theme, Van Halen has kissed and made up with David Lee Roth and are planning mucho dates. I say planning, because you never know how long the love fest will last, especially with someone as annoying as DLR. Tickets have already gone on sale for some dates and some are already sold out.

- Okkervil River's new album, The Stage Names is getting mixed reviews. I'm still undecided, but am leaning towards some of their earlier efforts. Their tour starts tonight and runs till Dec.

- The Cure have postponed their tour till April/May 2008 because they haven't finished their new album. New dates TBA.

To protect and serve brownies?

I don't know which is funnier - the 911 call or the anchorwoman's reaction. Is that a snort I hear in the background?

NOTE - You can stop watching after about a minute. I couldn't find a shorter clip that was good quality.

Just give it a tappy tap tap

Earlier this week, a co-worker and I were discussing Senator Larry Craig's arrest in June for "lewd conduct" in the men's bathroom at the Minneapolis Airport. When we found out that he apparently was giving a "signal" to the gentlemen in the next stall (who turned out to be a cop) when he tapped his foot, we both had the same reaction - tapping your foot while on the crapper means that you want to have sex?? What if he was bored... just waiting for a highly anticipated (and long overdue) bowel movement? Then I wondered, have I ever tapped my foot while dropping a deuce?? If I have done so, let me assure you that it will cease... directly.

Apparently, this foot tapping in the bathroom thing is nothing new. According to a Washington Post article it's been going on since at least the 1960s. I wonder at what point it became enough of a problem that the police started setting up sting operations to catch these characters? Maybe it was to haze the new officers of the department. Can you imagine hanging out in a bathroom stall all day, just waiting for someone to tap their foot? Excuse the pun, but what a shitty assignment.

For any restroom-sex aficionados out there I apologize, but I just don't understand the excitement in this. I go into a bathroom stall for one reason... and you probably don't want to be anywhere around when I do.

This week's late night TV lineup

Late Show w/David Letterman

• Monday - Feist
• Wednesday - Against Me!

Late Late Show w/Craig Ferguson

• Thursday - Nellie McKay

Tonight Show w/Jay Leno

• Tuesday - Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
• Wednesday - Mat Kearney
• Thursday - Wilco

Late Night w/Conan O'Brien

• Tuesday - Okkervil River
• Thursday - Eisley
• Friday - Scarlett Johansson (yeah I know she has nothing to do with music, but she's hot as hell!)

Last Call w/Carson Daly

• Wednesday - Deerhoof

Is that pepperoni on your pizza or are you just happy to see me?

Next time you're in Canada, swing through Winnipeg and bring your appetite. Just make sure you don't get up from the table too fast. Last month, entrepreneur Corey Wildeman opened up Porno Pizza which serves up piping hot pies on top of piping hot pies. Don't get it? Read the CBC article.

Why can't I think of ideas like this? Damn you Corey Wildeman!!