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January 21, 2004

By Way of Explanation

I don't really have a good explanation for the recent hiatus. It began with the flu and then got exacerbated by the holidays and then I started a site redesign that I've never finished then things got crazy at work with special projects I can't talk about and in the middle of all this I remembered that I really enjoy laying in bed reading novels (which is suddenly possible again because the radiator in the bedroom got fixed a couple weeks ago) more than I enjoy futzing with Movable Type templates.

Anyway, the are two reasons why I'm posting today.

1. Apparently the lack of activity here on Ten Reasons Why is quite distressing to my officemate. That, in and of itself, is kinda strange for two reasons:
   1. It's clearly not a concern for my safety. She sees me five days a week and knows that I am healthy -- or relatively so if you don't count a sort of lingering low-grade sniffle and the limp from last week's curbside backflip precipitated by . . . well . . . the precipitation. Of course, for all that the rest of you dear readers know I could still be lying in that gutter on Massachusetts Ave. slowly starving to death. Thanks for staying in touch, you uncaring toads. :P
   2. It's clearly not for lack of witty banter. A full thirty percent of my job responsibility is entertaining my officemate with witty banter. And sixty percent is annoying her with an assortment of muttered curses, grunts, sighs, and other exhortations induced by crappy software or our totally opaque and impenetrable phone system. The remaining ten percent has something to do with educational technology, I believe. ;-)
   Anyway, I think she just wants a shout-out. Attention hound. Witty banter for thirty percent of an eight-hour day isn't enough for you?!?
2. Bob Mould has started a weblog, which I can't let pass without acknowledgement, not so much for the quality of the blog but for the quality of the Bob.

   For those of you not in the know, Mould was the frontman for the seminal 80's punk trio, Hüsker Dü, then went on to release several solo albums, and found another band called Sugar. He dropped out of sight for few years to become a scriptwriter for the World Wrestling Federation (no joke) before re-emerging here in the District, of all places, with an album of electronica and a regular DJ gig at, first, the Velvet Lounge, and now the 9:30 Club.

   Mould's 1990 album, Black Sheets of Rain, has been in high rotation on my CD player for over a decade now. It's about as tight of a punk-pop recording as you'll find, but its high profile in my playlist probably has something to do with seeing Mould solo -- literally solo; just Mould and a twelve-string guitar -- at Gabe's Oasis in Iowa City, Iowa, on the '90-'91 tour to support Black Sheets. That still ranks as the the best club show I've ever seen; that one guy sitting in a chair with a guitar blew me away thoroughly with the heart he put into playing for us.

   Fast forward six years past that show, and I've just moved to DC and am trying desperately to find a place to live. I respond to an ad in CityPaper for two guys looking for a third housemate. As I'm looking at the house, I notice they have a Hüsker Dü poster on the wall. We get talking about Mould and the conversation reveals one of them was at that same Gabe's Oasis show in Iowa City six years earlier. Kismet is declared, I'm accepted as a housemate, and 7+ years later those two guys are still two of my best friends. So thanks, Bob -- for the music and the friendships that arose from it. :-)

Anyway, I'll be back blogging when I feel like I have something I want to say again. I doubt I'm gone for good; I'm way too opinionated for that. ;-)

Posted January 21, 2004 07:59 AM

Comments

Comments by evan . Posted January 21, 2004 09:37 AM

Comments by evan . Posted January 21, 2004 09:37 AM

Comments by Alan Levine . Posted January 21, 2004 07:02 PM