Every now and then my life amazes me

Sometimes I can't believe how cool my life can be. I guess I need to remember these things when it seems like things are overwhelming and sucky. So, it began as a good, ego-boosting week with the whole Oohlas review, Ultragrrrl liking my review, getting quoted on the Oohlas website etc.

Hard to believe, but it actually got even better.

I went to Detroit last night to cover the Nintendo Fusion tour with Hawthorne Heights, Relient K, Emery, and the Plain White T's. In addition to writing a review on the show, I'm going to be interviewing the Plain White T's in a week or so for a feature for Revolt, so I definitely wanted to see what their live show was like.

The State Theater was crazy-packed, and of course there were zillions of teenagers, for all I know, some of my students were there (though I didn't actually see any of them). I got there just as the Plain White T's were getting on stage, so I didn't fight my way to the front of the crowd (which was considerable) for any photos. While they were breaking down their gear, I tried to get up close to the stage for Emery's set. I got all the way up front, but I was so far over on the side, I couldn't really see a whole lot and my photos were crap. So, about three songs into their set, this photographer leaving the photo pit pushes his way through the crowd, sees me crammed in my corner with my notepad and asks me who I'm writing for. I tell him, he gives me his card, asks for mine (don't have any! Eek! Must do something about this!) and then continues on his way off the main floor.

After Emery's set is over, I get out of the crowd for a few minutes too and run into this photographer again. We start chatting, he introduces me to another photographer (who is actually a student at U of M) and we talk "shop talk" for a while. Then they say that thay need to get back inside and ready for Relient K and tell me to come along with them, saying, "you're with us now!" So, we make our way through the huge crowd to the stage and the security guys don't even bat an eye at me going into the photo pit with them. One of the photographers (Harry) told security that I was on his photo pass. We got to watch the techies checking all the instruments, see the set list before the show began, and all that kind of stuff which was very cool. And then the show started. Let me tell you, it is AMAZING to be that close at a show of that size. To have space around you to actually write, to take photos without some guy's armpit in the picture, to be close enough to actually get some good photos on a little digi cam! We could only stay up there for three songs, but still, three songs at the front of the stage with the photographers... SO cool, and they were just one of the opening bands!

Harry and Mike (the other photographer) got me into the pit again for Hawthorne Heights (the headliners) and that was just off the map...JT Woodruff (lead singer) was literally two feet away from me, maybe less. I actually almost got hit by one of the guitarists as he was running up to the front of the stage, six inches (at most) away from me. The hardest part about HH's set was the fact that there was a lot of crowd surfing and you had to watch so you didn't get hit by one of those kids as the security guards caught them at the barriers. Holy. Shit. I was in the photo pit for Hawthorne Heights! Last time I saw them I was in the nosebleed section at the Palace, and this time, I'm up with the photographers. How crazy!

I think I got some really good pictures. Sure, they won't be anywhere as good as Harry and Mike's, it would be a lot easier to shoot something like that with a SLR instead of a point and shoot, but I'm not gonna complain:) A little photoshop and I think I should have some decent photos. My editor will flip out when I tell her about this:)

Sorry to gush, but the whole thing was just so freaking cool and unreal at the same time. I mean, yesterday morning I was running writing workshops on All Quiet on the Western Front and then last night I'm up at the front of the stage with a bunch of photographers covering Hawthorne Heights. Sometimes the dichotomy is almost too much to comprehend:) I love it. It would be hilarious if some of my students were there and saw me up front...guess we'll find out on Monday.

Also, I think some students might feel I'm either ever-so-slightly cool or a total pushover. I had two students, neither of which I have in any of my classes, come up to me after school to ask me if I'd be moderator of the snowboarding club. Apparently, word had gotten round that I would be a good person to ask because I might be "into that kind of thing" (snowboarding, that is). The two students definitely had their plans all laid out and things organized, so I said sure, I'd do it. It should be fun:)

What a weird, weird day. I wouldn't have it ANY different for a million dollars!!
Photos will be posted as soon as I've done a little photoshop work.
Woot!

It keeps getting better:)

Well, as if the news last night about Sarah Lewitinn liking my review wasn't fun enough, I got another email from my editor today telling me that I've been quoted on The Oohlas webpage (along with other reviewers, I'm not the only one) which is kinda sweet. They've put my writing up along with the likes of reviews from Nylon Magazine and Alternative Press:) Yay!
Ben asked for clarification on who Ultragrrrl is...well, in a nutshell, she's this very cool DJ in New York City who wrote for Spin Magazine for a few years, has started her own record label, gets to meet all sorts of cool bands, gets interviewed as someone ahead of the scene and used to be Mikey Way's girlfriend. Basically, I want her life;) I'm a big nerd. I'm ok with it.

So, MCR's new album comes out October 24! I'm very excited about it (to say the least). When I saw them play "Welcome to the Black Parade" on the VMA's, I wasn't entirely sure about it since it sounded quite different from their other stuff. But, like both of their other albums, the song has grown on me immensely and just one listen doesn't do it justice. Anyways, they just released their first video for the new album yesterday and it's pretty damn sweet. It isn't anything like the videos for "Ghost of You" or "Helena," but I like it what they did and how they did it. I particularly like how the whole thing is black and white except for the occasional dash of red. If the link will work, I bring you (courtesy of MCR), The Black Parade.

I love this job

(Hah, you thought I was talking about teaching:)
No, the coolest thing that happened today was getting an email from my editor at Revolt telling me that none other than Sarah Lewitinn (aka Ultragrrrl) emailed her and said that my review of The Oohlas' album was her favorite review so far.
As if the pure awesomeness of Best Stop Pop wasn't enough, I got kudos from Ultragrrrl.
Woot!

Ooh la la!

Well, let's think all the way back to the beginning of the year when I told you to check out the Oohlas. If you listened to me then, you're probably smug because you knew how awesome Best Stop Pop would be even before it came out. If you didn't listen to me then, for the love of God, listen now. The Oohlas album came out today and it is SO worth getting.

Read my review of The Oohlas' album on Revolt.

And can I just take this moment to revel in my smugness that I was onto the Oohlas back in early March and it took until about now (September, mind you, almost 6 months later) for the folks over at Nylon, Penthouse, Rolling Stone etc. to figure out the pure loveliness of this band.
Nyeah, nyeah, nyeah:) Ok, all better now.

What are you waiting for? Stop reading my dumb blog and go buy the album!

Listening to: The Oohlas, Best Stop Pop (of course!!!)

Aaaaah, I totally forgot...

The Oohlas' album comes out on Tuesday! Go to iTunes and get it, it's gonna be amazing. Dude, I have been waiting since March to hear the whole thing and I can not WAIT for Tuesday. It'll be on iTunes, so you have no excuse.
The Oohlas rock. End of story. You can thank me later for turning you onto their awesomeness.

More Reviews

Word,
I totally forgot to post links to the lastest reviews.
Read about the Bank Robbers and Revolution Mother at Revolt.
Read about Bullets and Octane at Static.

It's weird, I was thinking about it and it has now been a year since what I'm calling "my epiphany" happened. I blame the Green Day and My Chem shows back in September of last year for getting this whole music mania of mine back in action. I think it was a very good thing though. I hadn't realized how stagnant my interests had become while I was in DC. Maybe it was the change in season, maybe it was realizing I wasn't going to have a teaching job, who knows, but looking back, I think I grew a lot in the last year. I also realized it's been almost a year since I started playing the guitar. I still love it, I'm still SO glad I did it. I'm not great by any means, but I enjoy it and it's a stress reliever, so I guess that's all that really matters.

Ended up not going out last night, but that was probably not a bad thing. It was defintiely one of those nights where it was nice to be all snuggly in bed with the window open listening to the rain.

Man, I hate Sunday nights. I wish the weekend wasn't over :( Back to the grind tomorrow. Ugh.
~S

Listening to: Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, My Chemical Romance

Concert MADNESS!!!

I'm ridculously psyched about this Ok Go show:) There have been some inquiries about it. Here's what I know:

When: 10/7/06 at 2:45 p.m.
Where: The Pioneer High School parking lot (deemed the "Pontiac Garage" stage on Ok Go's webpage).
Cost: FREE!
I know it's a bit weird to have the show at Pi High's parking lot, but I don't freaking care! It's Ok Go, I missed seeing them last time they were in A2 and I refuse to miss them this time.

In related news, this is gonna be a busy, busy few months for concerts. Here's my sched:

Sept 29: Hawthorne Heights @ The State Theater
Oct 7: Ok Go @ Pi High
Oct 10: Good Charlotte @ Clutch Cargo's
Oct 13: We Are Scientists @ The Magic Stick
Oct 21: Trey Anastasio @ The Michigan Theater
Oct 22: 30 Seconds to Mars @ The State Theater
Nov 3: Lady Sovereign @ St. Andrew's
Nov 16: Heavens @ The Shelter

And of course reviews will need to be written for all of them for Revolt...aargh. I love it:)

Not too much else of interest going on really. Had a lot of fun at happy hour with Elana, Jim etc. last night. Generally, TGI Friday's is not the first place I'd pick to go for a drink, but we had fun so I guess that's all that matters. I definitely drank a bit more than was necessary (or, to use our new favorite euphamism, I was overserved, as if it was my waitress' fault I drank too much:) There was some discussion of heading out tonight, but I haven't heard from anyone if that's actually going to happen. Part of me wants to go out and part of me doesn't mind the idea of just staying home. It's clammy and rainy and there's something appealing about getting into bed early and reading...God I'm lame! Er, no, just storing up energy for the barrage of concerts a-comin' at me.

A few quick music recs:

• "Candyman" by Christina Aguilera: I never, never in my wildest dreams thought I'd recommend an Xtina song, but this is essentially really smutty Andrews' Sisters type stuff. I can't help but like it, and let's face it, Christina is pretty damn hot right now.
• "Dead End Girl" by Heavens. I know I've raved about Matt Skiba's latest project, but the album as a whole rocks and this song is particularly very good. Calmer than most Alkaline Trio but still kinda dark and twisty at the same time. Good stuff.
• Oh No by Ok Go. Of course I love them. If you like "A Million Ways" or "Here it Goes Again" do yourself a favor and instead of buying just those two songs on iTunes, splurge and get the whole album. You won't regret it.
• "A Beautiful Lie" by 30 Seconds to Mars. Ok, so I feel a bit guilty pleasure-ish admitting I rather like Jared Leto's band. But, Jordan Catalano aside (how many of my students would even know who Jordan Catalano was??), its really a pretty decent album. Maybe not the sort of thing we'll still listen to in 10 years, but I like it and I'm stupidly psyched to see them live at the State.
  

Right. That's it for now. Peace out, Starving Nachos:)
(Yes, Husband, that one was just for you)

Listening to: A Beautiful Lie, 30 Seconds to Mars

Ok Go!!!

Woot! I just saw that Ok Go is finally coming back to Ann Arbor! They're playing a free show in by Pioneer High School on October 7. I am SO there. Anyone else wanna go?? Did I mention it's FREE and Ok Go totally rocks??
Check out their website & let me know if you want to come too!

Slim pickins

So, is it just me or is it bizarrely wrong for a 10th grade boy to still be a nose-picker? I have one student who spends a rather high percentage of our 50 minute class with his finger up his nose. At first I thought I imagined it, I mean, wouldn't you think that by the time you're in high school you've eliminated some of those social faux pas? Apparently not. It's horribly distracting because he sits in the center of the classroom and I keep finding myself alternately staring at him in horrified fascination and trying to avoid looking at him out of total disgust as he mines for gold.

I'm sorry, but it is SO gross. Here's the question though, should I say something to him? Do you think he does it unconsciously? Why haven't any of his friends said something to him? I've never run into this sort of problem before and I'm pretty stumped on how to deal with it.

Weirdness, eh?

Reviews, reviews, reviews...

Ok, so the latest reviews and such are up:
Read my feature on Gatsby's American Dream at Revolt.
Read reviews for Death Before Dancing and Fernando at Static Multimedia.

I can't believe it's only Monday. I'm already exhausted. Ugh, ugh, ugh. However, I did go see The Last Kiss yesterday and it was quite good. Not as funny/weird as Garden State and it's a little disturbing to watch so many almost-30 year old guys go through various crises, but it was still a good movie. In some ways I can sympethize with Zach Braff's character and his feeling of "everything is planned out/no more surprises." Good flick though, I recommend it. It isn't terribly happy though, so if you're looking for typical romantic comedy, this won't be the movie for you.

I also went to Godiko for the first time yesterday. It was so, so good! Man, I think I could really develop a taste for sushi...It's all about the new things (the best freaking New Year's resolution I've ever made!)
Right, time for bed. I'm so lame!
Ciao,
S
Listening to: Hawthorne Heights, If Only You Were Lonely

I am the queen of playlists! Woot!

So, if you recall, absolute yonks ago (back in November, actually) I mentioned the Pocket DJ contest that was being hosted by Spin Magazine. Well, it turns out I actually won the contest. I never win anything so the fact that I won the Pocket DJ contest was pretty insane. To make an extremely long story short, it took ages for Spin to actually send my prize. I was notified back in January that I won and only got my prize yesterday which was a little annoying...

However,

I was willing to wait nine months for my brand new, shiny, beautiful, black 30 gig video iPod! It's gooooorrrrgeous and that extra 10 gigs makes me extremely happy in a very nerdy way:) They also sent me another copy of Ultragrrrl's book The Pocket DJ which is just a generally fun book to browse through as well as the October issue of the magazine which I don't think is quite out yet. Needless to say, I've already put all my music on the new iPod (which took forever since it isn't firewire compatable, boo hiss) and got a new FM transmitter for the car since the first one I got was crap and never worked (the new one does, so I'm PSYCHED to be able to use my iPod in my car! Woo hoo!) Isn't my new toy purdy?? I lurrrvvvve it....
So, winning meant that Ultragrrrl felt the playlist I'd created was the best of all those submitted, so that's kinda sweet. Here's the award-winning list for your perusal:

Music to Magnify Your Criminal Impulses
1. "You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison" My Chemical Romance
2. "Back to Hell" Alkaline Trio
3. "I Predict a Riot" Kaiser Chiefs
4. "I Fought the Law" The Clash
5. "Are You With Me" Vaux
6. "Thank You For the Venom" My Chemical Romance
7. "I Want a Warning" Idlewild
8. "Club Foot" Kasabian
9. "Lyla" Oasis
10. "This Could Be Love" Alkaline Trio
11. "A Decade Under the Influence" Taking Back Sunday
12. "Oh My God" Kaiser Chiefs
13. "Expiry Dates" Joydrop
14. "Bloody Romance" Senses Fail
15. "Dethbed" Alkaline Trio
16. "Our Lady of Sorrows" My Chemical Romance
17. "C'mon C'mon" The Von Bondies

Um, let's see, what else has been going on...We had Meet the Teachers night last night and it went really well. I actually had a number of parents come up to me and tell me their child loves my class, which is really nice to hear. I'm also kicking around the idea of starting a guitar club with one of the other teachers. He's been playing for 10 years, so he's a lot better than I am, but it could be a lot of fun and there are some really good musicians at school. I hope we can get it off the ground (of course I'd need to get over my crippling self-consciousness about playing in front of anyone but my guitar teacher...)

Righty-o, peace out, Starving Nachos:)
~Sasha
Listening To: A Beautiful Lie, 30 Seconds to Mars

Welcome to the Black Parade

Oh. My. God. I am so freaking exhausted from the whirlwind that my life has become, I don't even know how I'll make it through two more days this week. Here's the rundown on things since I have become CRAP at posting now that I actually have a job that requires a brain.

My students are still amusing me though there are a few that are so squirrley (sp?) they make me a bit nuts. One student asked me to homecoming (cute, flattering, but of course I said no); I caught four cheating on homework, I already had a meeting with a parent and tomorrow is back to school night. The grading is piling up and I remembered that is the bit I hate about teaching. Ugh. I can't say I like this whole, getting up at 5:30 am thing either, but I'm nuts and like to get to school an hour early. Guess that bit is my own damn fault:)

As for the social side of things...last Friday I met up with Jim, Elana and a few other folks at Conor's for happy hour. Seeing as all I ate that day was a muffin, it didn't take long for the buzz to get going... Anywho, Jim and I then headed over to The Brown Jug for Shosh's b-day gathering. The Brown Jug on a Friday night during the first weeks of school (for U of M) was completely insane. I don't remember the last time I actually saw a line outside that place and, in a weird way, it made me feel old. Maybe I should just hang at places on the other side of State Street. It ended up being a Fleetwood kinda night and I got home around 2am which was a lot later than I'd planned on...

The next morning I had to be up at 6:30am so I could get ready and hit the road for my jaunt out to London, ON for Lodina's wedding. I made it there without any problems other than a blinding headache which, unfortunately, I had for about six hours since I was retarded and didn't throw any Tylenol in my overnight bag and it took that long before I could get to a pharmacy. The wedding was very nice, Lo looked gorgeous and it was so fun to finally meet her family and Gene's family. I nipped over to the drug store between the wedding and the reception and found the best medicine ever. I've never seen it here, but it's Tylenol with caffiene in it just for headaches. I've never had a headache disappear so fast! Wonder drug indeed!

So, the reception was at the Inn I was staying at (an adorable Victorian mansion that was converted into a B & B) and it was a hoot. Lo had asked me to say a prayer at the beginning of dinner and though I was a little nervous, I was really honored that she asked me. The reception was on this patio outside the inn and the decorations were simple but beautiful. It was a small reception but, honestly, I thought it was a perfect size. I was actually able to hang with Lo quite a bit and we caught up on a lot, got pretty drunk, danced and generally had a really good time. I love her family, Gene is awesome and I can't wait to see them again:) It was such a fun party! I did come to the conclusion that if I ever get married, I'd want my reception to be like hers. It was awesome, fun, beautiful and simple. Perfect. Oh yeah, I was totally in love with the dress I got for the wedding too:) It was just one of those dresses that makes you feel good. I need more opportunities to wear it...

Needless to say, my weekend was shot, I got nothing done Sunday night by the time I got back from London and was exhausted and crabby on Monday, especially since I had to drive out to MSU for class that night. I'm feeling a bit better now, but still pretty damn tired. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the papers to grade, lessons to write, homework to do and reviews to write, but I think things will be ok. (My feature on Gatsby's American Dream should be up on Revolt sometime this week-I'll keep you posted. I got really great feedback from my editor on it, so I'm quite proud). Even though I should stay home this weekend, I'm hoping Jim and will be able to hang out, we've got lots of musical adventures coming up too (Heavens, Hawthorne Heights, Trey Anastasio, maybe Lady Sovereign...) which I'm very pscyhed about. I love having someone to go see music with!

Really quickly, in music news:

• MCR's first single for their new album is up on iTunes. Go get "Welcome to the Black Parade" and be happy:)
• Heaven's debut album came out yesterday (Heavens is Matt Skiba from Alkaline Trio's latest side project). It rocks. Go buy it.
• The Oohlas album is coming out soon...keep your eyes and ears peeled. There's some good buzz going on about that one.

Right, I'm going to bed. Peace out, starving nachos!
Sasha
Listening to: Heavens, Patent Pending

A few loose ends...

Wife posted a fabulous pic of the TNTinis along with a video of Husband drinking said concoction. Here is my contribution to the fun. I adore the shot glasses, they rock beyond all sense:)

Also, a few quotes from our night o' TNTinis and VMAs...

• I wonder how much black eyeliner was killed in the making of the VMAs...(in reference to multiple shots of Pete Wentz, 30 Seconds to Mars, My Chem and The Killers)-Me
• I wish I could get paid to dress that dumb.-Husband
• What the hell is this garbage?-Husband sounding very much like a grumpy old man;)
• "Why do people think she's hot?" "Because she's wearing hot pants and a bra." "A bra with sleeves" (Husband, Me, Wife in reference to Fergie)

As always, they were probably funnier to us, but oh well. It's my blog, I'll post what I want:)
One more thing about the VMA's. My Chem performed "Welcome to the Black Parade" for the first time. I wasn't entirely sure about the song the first time I heard it, but I've since heard it a bunch of times and come to this conclusion. Yes, it's totally different from their stuff on Three Cheers and I Brought You My Bullets, but I still like it a lot. Definitely a bit more glam-rock, I can feel the whole Queen/David Bowie thing going on, but I like it. And I still, of course, adore them all beyond sense. However, the VMA's also got me a bit curious about 30 Seconds to Mars (I really like the song "The Kill") and, I never thought I'd say this, but I give Christina Aguilera a hell of a lot of credit. That girl has an amazing voice, she looks totally hot and even though she's married, she hasn't exactly gone the Britney and K-Fed route. The whole blonde bombshell thing is really working for her.


One other quick photo, here's my old tattoo and my new one. This one definitely feels like it's healed faster than the first one, which is a good thing:) I'm extremely happy with how it came out! Heh, we're coming up on it being 10 years since I graduated from high school...I bet some people I went to school with would be rather shocked since, if there was such a category, I'd probably have been voted least likely to ever get a tattoo. Just kinda amusing.

Well, guess the long weekend is over:( Back to school tomorrow, but that's ok. It should be a busy week or two...a few reviews coming up for Revolt and Static, teaching, driving to MSU for class, a b-day party at the Jug on Friday, Canada over the weekend for Lodina and Gene's wedding...Looks like I'll be pretty busy. 'Tis ok, I don't mind being busy:)
Ciao,
S
Listening to: "The Kill" 30 Seconds to Mars

We are headed for strangeness...

Well, it's been a whirlwind of a week. School is going really well and my students are great for the msot part. I did have to lay down the law with a few of my 10th grade boys on Thursday and I'm sure they thought I was being a bitch, but too bad. My other three 10th grade classes are awesome and the kids are great, so that's good. It's been totally exhausting though, especially with driving out to MSU for class on Monday and Wednesday nights, but I'll manage, I always do.

However, it was fabulous to have yesterday off but it was a totally weird day. I got up, went to ERC to grade some papers and then met Wife to get my second tattoo:) It wasn't nearly as scary as the first time around and I think Mike Emmett did every bit as awesome a job this time as he did the first time. I think Wife was pretty intrigued by the whole process and, who knows, maybe before long I'll be the one sitting there watching while she gets tattooed;) Mike is a totally cool guy and actually reminds me a lot of this friend of ours, Thomas. It kinda hurts a bit today, but not too bad. The best way I can describe it is that it feels like a bad scrape or like when you skin your knee pretty badly, but it really doesn't hurt that much at all.

Anyways, so after the tattoo I ran home to bake some chocolate chip cookies (weirdly domestic after spending the last three hours getting a tattoo) and then went over to Husband and Wife's house for dinner and to watch the VMA's. It was a hoot, as always and we christened their new shot classes (totally cool with little skulls & crossbones, they crack me up). We watched most of the VMA's which they'd kindly recorded for me since I don't have cable and made wise-ass remarks about a lot of the performers. I've decided I reallly like "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley. It's totally grown on me and the video is really cool. However, I think my favorite bit of the awards was seeing Ok Go perform their treadmill routine to "Here it Goes Again." If you didn't see it on the VMA's, I highly recommend you check it out on Ok Go's website. It's fabulous.

Anywho, it was a lot of fun and a great if not slightly bizarre day:) Now I just have a pile of papers to grade and a few reviews to write. Ah, no rest for the weary, eh?

Peace out, starving nachos-
S

Listening to: Fernando Enter to Exit