1,440 minutes

While I was busy writing about how my friend Jeff reminded me to go to the Virgin Megastore, Jeff himself was off doing something much more impressive. Yesterday he ran the Columbus marathon and managed to get a time below 3 hours and 10 minutes which qualifies him for the Boston marathon. As I will be attempting to merely run a 5k later this month, this whole marathon thing is a little beyond my comprehension. All I can say is bravo, Jeff, bravo!

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Declan's selection today is the soundtrack to 24 Hour Party People (it will be a minor victory when I get through all the album titles that begin with numbers). I rented the DVD of the movie awhile back and I found the soundtrack at the library earlier this year. I've had it in my iTunes for awhile now but I hadn't really listened to it all the way through until today.

First, let me say that I loved the movie and you should go out and get the DVD immediately. I was relatively unfamiliar with British new wave music in the late 70s and early 80s and this movie is a great way to get into the mood of the era. I am too young to have been listening to music back then but it isn't so far back to be considered proper "history." I think punk and new wave get overlooked too often anyway, so consider 24 Hour Party People an entertaining primer.

The soundtrack is mostly a mix of Joy Division and New Order songs with some Happy Mondays thrown in. Many of the songs were new to me with the exception of the excellent "Love Will Tear Us Apart" by Joy Division. I don't think I'm going to rush out and buy anything else by these guys but I'm glad I have this album. It nicely fills a gap in my musical education. All the little synthetic drums and mechanical beeps get to me after awhile but it's a good document of an era that is too often easily forgotten.

Favorite Song of the Week:
"Independent Woman" by Elbow - Here's what I know about Elbow. Carrie made a mix CD and she put their cover of this Destiny's Child song on it. It is awesome! As far as I can tell, the band has never officially released the song. You can find the mp3 here, though. Don't let the foreign language put you off (I think it might be Icelandic).