If you ask how I got so bitter, I'll ask how you got so vain

I guess these are my Fridays now. I go home. I feed the cat. I watch the Tivo. I get up earlier than I want to on Saturday. Going out on Fridays is for kids!

My car is fixed again, but there is a constant chance that it may not start at any moment. I have a few ideas of how I might get it started in my glove compartment (thanks Google) but I think Benecio has turned from a loyal friend to and angry tiger. He's a ticking time bomb. I think a new car may be in my future.

If Benecio holds up, I'm going to see Bright Eyes up in Columbus on Sunday. If there's one thing that everyone in Cincinnati agrees on, it's the fact that the two hour drive from here to Columbus is one of the most boring on the planet. It makes the drive from Cincinnati to Indianapolis seem like a weekend at Disney World. (In fact, that's why my parents never took me to Disney World. I'd had the joy of the drive to Indy.)

Anyway, I am willing to put up with this interminable drive for my buddy Conor. I hope he appreciates it. I've heard Bright Eyes concerts can be spotty but I'm guessing Conor will bring his A game when he hears about the lengths I'm going to hear him sing.

**********

I've been listening to today's album for a couple days now and it probably isn't helping my mood. It's the sort of desperate anger that can only be summoned by guys from a place like Winnipeg, Canada.

Of course, I'm speaking of The Weakerthans.

I'm actually a huge Weakerthans fan and I constantly dream of being able to see them in concert (if they would only leave Canada). But Fallow is their first album from 1997, and while it contains hints of the brilliance they offer up in later works, I can't say it's very good all on its own. What makes a Weakerthan? I would describe it as acoustic pop punk layered under an array of metaphors and biting lyrics. Do I sound like a music writer now?

So if any of those words sound interesting, go out right now and buy Reconstruction Site (available at discerning record stores in Canada and amazon.com). You could also buy Left & Leaving, but I would save Fallow for until you're a superfan. Otherwise it's just not worth it.