January 2012
3 posts
“For some reason, I continue to opt for honesty, despite mounting evidence that...”
– Daria (this should conclude the 10-year-old cartoon quotes)
“I don’t want to talk about it. I wanted to go to a real camp where you run...”
– Link (from the Daria movie, “Is it Fall Yet?”)
The type of interaction I will miss
Niece: I'm going to take the train and come visit you.
Me: You're going to visit me?
Niece: Yeah, I just need to put on my shoes first.
December 2011
2 posts
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-12-25) →
The Weakerthans (27)
Cat Power (20)
Jay Farrar (19)
Wilco (19)
Sufjan Stevens (16)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-12-18) →
Elliott Smith (16)
The Magnetic Fields (10)
Radiohead (7)
Hum (1)
Bright Eyes (1)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
November 2011
10 posts
Old, but good, article on introverts →
A little taste of what’s to come if you click through:
“The worst of it is that extroverts have no idea of the torment they put us through. Sometimes, as we gasp for air amid the fog of their 98-percent-content-free talk, we wonder if extroverts even bother to listen to themselves. Still, we endure stoically, because the etiquette books—written, no doubt, by extroverts—regard...
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-11-20) →
The National (13)
Wilco (11)
The Decemberists (10)
Jeremy Messersmith (7)
Elliott Smith (7)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
Russian short waves →
Read this in Wired about a month ago—it doesn’t have as many answers as it does questions, but it’s a pretty interesting story. If you have like 15-20 minutes, go for it.
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-11-13) →
Jenny Lewis (12)
A Weather (11)
The Flaming Lips (11)
Bright Eyes (9)
Randy Newman (8)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
“When they say, ‘You’re always unhappy, Daria,’ what they mean...”
– Jane Lane
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-11-6) →
Wilco (25)
The Weakerthans (6)
Bright Eyes (6)
Randy Newman (3)
Jeremy Messersmith (3)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
Murder, They Texted... →
This story is crazy but well told. (By David Kushner in Vanity Fair.)
Boy, oh boy →
Some girl at BU was doing a story for the school newspaper about the program I’m in down here. Knowing how much it can suck when people don’t respond to interview requests, I turned in some typed out answers to her surface-level questions. I then found out that they also needed a picture. So one of the girls who’s down here got out her DSLR and told me and a couple others to...
Branding nothing →
The link has Gene Weingarten putting somewhat considered words to an idea that inspires a visceral response in me: “building a brand” out of one’s self and work. All I’ve been able to say about it so far is: “It’s depressing, and it makes my stomach turn.”
Of course, it must be noted, Gene Weingarten got to be a “hungry young reporter” in the...
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-10-30) →
Rilo Kiley (15)
Fleet Foxes (12)
Chris and Thomas (12)
Sufjan Stevens (12)
The Shins (11)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
October 2011
14 posts
“I shook my head and tried to laugh it off. The implications were ugly—a...”
– Hunter S. Thompson, The Rum Diary (Yes I’m reading it because the movie has come out, but I will say it’s nice to have some real absurdity back in my life, even if it’s only vicarious.)
My modesty on loan to some undisclosed person... →
So, I’m not much for being “proud” of my “accomplishments,” but I actually spent a decent amount of time on this thing yesterday and it seems like it maybe paid off. Plus, I think most of the people who read this might have some student loans and you should know about what’s going on on that front if you haven’t heard already. It may affect you.
Anyway,...
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-10-23) →
Arcade Fire (16)
Bon Iver (11)
Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew (9)
Jeremy Messersmith (8)
Sharon Van Etten (7)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-10-9) →
The Lemonheads (36)
Wilco (16)
Feist (14)
The Mountain Goats (12)
Wye Oak (10)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
The Sox Slide →
“Why is Boston ultimately doomed? Who knows? We’ve been down this road before, Jonah, you and me. I recognize that I probably put too much stock in chemistry and not enough in biology and physics. But John Lackey has more friends in that clubhouse than Jacoby Ellsbury does. I don’t care which of the sciences you believe in: That’s a bad sign.”
(I try not to care much about...
6 tags
Never been too good with names, but I remember... →
Painted Curbstones is back, this time to a familiar topic, rock music!
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-10-2) →
Rilo Kiley (11)
Jeremy Messersmith (9)
The Magnetic Fields (1)
The Weakerthans (1)
Band Of Horses (1)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
“The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you.”
– DFW
“Everything I write, I tinker with up to the last moment, until the editor calls...”
– Michael Winerip, New York Times reporter/columnist (and an unexpected Quincy, Mass. native), from a charming little column about his mother, written in 2006 (worth reading if you want a quick tug at your heart-strings)
Solid Headline... →
September 2011
6 posts
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-9-18) →
The National (13)
The Mountain Goats (13)
The Weakerthans (13)
Beach House (12)
The Magnetic Fields (12)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
Man... →
What a good idea. I knew I went to Australia for a reason—those guys have it down: work hard, play hard, and make checking in on your friends a national event.
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-9-11) →
Eels (15)
Elliott Smith (12)
The Weakerthans (12)
Iron & Wine (12)
Wilco (11)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
Going Semi-Pro (Again) →
Hello everybody. I took another step toward maintaining my semi-pro status in journalism last night (well, really early this morning). You can click through to see a story I wrote for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, whom I will write for the next few months.
I promise I won’t post every story, because that would be tiresome, but I figured since this was the first I may as well....
1 tag
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-8-28) →
Sebadoh (19)
Bob Dylan (16)
Sharon Van Etten (7)
Tom Rush (2)
Uncle Tupelo (1)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
6 tags
August 2011
11 posts
“I shudder to think what this cold will do to me, yesterday I was nearly killed...”
– Futurama
Fault Lines →
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but apparently there was an earthquake today. Well, guess what? I was there! And it ruined my lunch. Actually, no it didn’t…click through on my title and read all about it. Then tell your friends how cool I am, and how awesome it is that Painted Curbstones is back yet again, on such a momentous day.
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-8-21) →
The Weakerthans (41)
Amanda Shires (25)
Gillian Welch (13)
Heartless Bastards (12)
The Flaming Lips (12)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-8-14) →
Wilco (25)
The Weakerthans (24)
Radiohead (22)
Elliott Smith (15)
Amanda Shires (13)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
He Would Never Use One Word Where None Would Do
If you said “Nice day,” he would look up at the three clouds riding overhead, nod at each, and go back to doing what- ever he was doing or not doing. If you asked for a smoke or a light, he’d hand you whatever he found in his pockets: a jackknife, a hankie — usually unsoiled — a dollar bill, a subway token. Once...
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-8-7) →
The Weakerthans (44)
Kings Of Convenience (12)
Radiohead (11)
The Magnetic Fields (10)
Ride (10)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
I’ve spent the last ten minutes trying to say the word “grasped” without screwing up, and I don’t think I’ve achieved it yet.
The reason for this? Well, it’s that I’m obsessed with the first sentence of this quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, some sort of 1930s French aviator/writer (man, aside from the “French” part of his title,...
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-7-31) →
Bright Eyes (11)
Fleet Foxes (11)
Feist (11)
Smog (10)
Bill Callahan (9)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
July 2011
12 posts
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-7-24) →
The Weakerthans (20)
Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy (14)
Elliott Smith (12)
Mumford & Sons (12)
Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins (11)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
