I’m still in recovery mode from Spiel/Parents’ 50th/Marakech/etc. So, sorry about the lack of updates. Jetlag hit this time worse than it has for a while, so I’m all kind of out of sorts.
Being away from home for almost three weeks was a bit tougher than I’d anticipated, especially with so much going on. At the moment, I totally feel for those folks who have to be away from home for far longer, be it for business or military or whatever. I’m a wimp, anymore. I love travel, but I adore being home, and behind the drawing table.
Fortunately, I’ve got plenty of busy work to do that doesn’t actually require too much thought. Right now, I’m drawing scissors. And realizing that drawing scissors is really, really kinda boring, believe it or not. But the game I’m drawing them for rocks.
One thing that’s getting me through the day is playing the Reivers’ “Saturday” at utmost volume, and realizing how grateful I am that music still does it for me like it used to, back in the day. And, by the way, if you enjoy college guitar alt country rock that kicks ass, I can’t recommend “Saturday” highly enough. And did I ever tell you my Kim Longacre story? I’m sure I must have.
The night before I flew out of Madison, the Brunettes were playing in town, and I just couldn’t justify going to see them. The night before I flew out of Heathrow, they were playing London. So there’s at least some kind of symmetry in the utter unjustness of it all.
But in the security line at Heathrow (by the way, is it just me, or is the airport just a pit anymore?), there were a couple of dudes with a guitar and a banjo behind us.
“You in a band?” I asked, despite the stunningly obvious fact that yes, they indeed were. “What are you called?”
“These United States.” They’d just finished a tour of England and parts of Europe, if I remember correctly (which I often don’t, especially under the influence of my travel drug of choice).
Nice guys, and, in a fit of Reivers-inspired musical appreciation, I finally looked ’em up on MySpace.
They’re found at http://www.myspace.com/theseunited. And guess what? They’re great.
Now, I may be a total doofus here, and everybody else on the planet but me may have heard of them. But if you dig cool, intelligent, hook-laden, quirky pop, definitely give these guys a shot.
Really, really great stuff. Now gotta find out if I can get their stuff on iTunes…
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Oh, yeah. Plus, a cartoon that should’ve run a couple of weeks ago. Coz, like, now that I’m home, there’s not a single leaf on a tree…
