I will rise up early and dress myself up nice

Hey y'all (after-effects of the trip down South), I'm writing to you shortly after a spectacular bonk at the hotel gym. We're talking of belly-flop magnitudes. We're talking did someone replace my lungs with those of a 65-year old smoker? bonkety bonk. Exponentially pathetic.

I blame it on two possible issues. The first was about two miles of walking around that I had to do today, being shown around a behemoth. The second was that extra, jumbo sugar cookie at lunch. Sadly, it is most likely the latter that caused the poor showing this evening. Sugar crash is much more likely a culprit than a two mile stroll, though it is certainly more tempting to attribute it to the walking.

Anyway, I am settling in for the evening. I am not stir crazy. In fact, as much as I whined and moaned and groaned (oh, so novel for me) about leaving San Francisco again, the self-containment is treating me fine. When I get back, I am going to have to stop with all the inward navel-gazing, because time will pass by too quickly. I know that, but right now, being away from home, life seems suspended temporarily. And instead of getting that unsteady feeling of being too high without a net, I feel like I can take a breath.

In other news, RR and I got into an argument about music the other day. He thinks The Shins are shamelessly ripping off The Beach Boys. I think that every band for as long as I can remember has shamelessly ripped someone off. But that wasn't the interesting part of the argument. When he was railing, I asked him if there were any current bands that he thinks are not derivative. And he said, "I don't really listen to bands these days." That confused me, since I know he listens to music.

His point, though, was that he listens to the occasional song here and there, which are strong, but that the bands that put out a tight album from start to finish are few and far between. That's something I have been hearing lately, and it has given me pause. Given the way I scrounge up music these days, picking up a song here and there, latching onto a catchy tune, maybe purchasing something from iTunes from time to time, I have to admit that I am hard-pressed to buy an album in its entirety these days. So, this makes me wonder if the age of the LP is really over? Are there really any albums that were released last year that will stand up over time the way that Nevermind does?