I went to a show at the Paradise last night, and the following haiku describe the second band's set. I won't mention them by name. Thanks to godsavegravy for pointing out the bass player, and for calling the lead singer a "fake Joey Ramone."

An epileptic
poured into his jeans, too loud:
the second band sucks.

The writhing is old.
Everything’s a parody,
fake Joey Ramone.

The bass player’s hair
seems to move as one unit,
coiffed asymmetry.

When awesome haircuts
are all you have going on,
the band’s in trouble.

Fake Joey twisting
his girl-hips makes me never
want…

I went to the final day of the Pitchfork Music Festival yesterday. Even though it was really freaking hot and I got bug bites all over my feet, it was a good time. I saw high places, Apples in Stereo, Les Savy Fav, M. Ward, and Bon Iver - and I enjoyed all the sets. A very good deal for $30. I was going to stay for Spoon, but I was tired and dirty, and ready to leave. Which meant I got on the el before everyone else. Score.

In Time Out Chicago magazine, and on…

I was helping my mom clean out her garage today and found a box full of VHS and mix tapes. One of them was a tape I consistently refer to as "the best mix tape ever." This is clearly not an objective measure, but I still love listening to it, and it really was perfect for the moment in time my friend Clare made it. It's called "Elizabeth is the big one eight," which makes its approximate date of creation April 19, 2001. Which you can probably tell from a lot of the songs. I totally forgot about that Lucy…

That line is not true this particular February 14, but it is in one of the songs on my (highly anticipated) Valentine's Day mix. It's subdivided into sections, because I'm pretentious. It also has the added bonus of containing a song written by someone I actually dated. (That's right…me and Elton John.) This is clearly not comprehensive, also.

Part I: There Is No Love, Only Sex
Fuck and Run - Liz Phair
The Taste of You - Erin McKeown
Sin Wagon - Dixie Chicks
I Don't Love Anyone - Belle & Sebastian
Hey Ya - Outkast
Mr. Right Now -…