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 Your Hey Mercedes weblog. The Cast: Robert Nanna Damon Atkinson Todd Bell Michael Shumaker Dan Keehn Chris Bickert Norman Arenas Ryan Snyder 
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January 13, 2001
Robert: 353 Go Easy - The Farewell Bend You know what i can't wait for? The Steven Soderburgh DVD box set. So i can have Schizopolis. January 12, 2001
dan: How come every time I sit down to write, the only thing that comes to mind is beer and alcohol? Maybe it's because there's a Bar across the street from where I work (who's name will remain anonymous) that opens at 3 and has deli-style sandwiches on Saturday that serves ceeold sodas !? I dunno?..It is a real small-town bar, smoke free might I add. Take me home,..country road,..to the place,..i belong,..west virginia,..mountain mama,..take me home,..
dan: just threw the ball for my dawg gretta, she's Cher'man you know a Cher'man shepherd. I love her. But I don't want to get too close to her cause I heard when she has to go it'll be hard for the owners to take, so I gotta remain hard core! Gretta SIT. good girl. StaY.
Pumpkin: Yep. It's me. I know i'm well out of season, but i'm just chiming in to say that the word around the campfire is - i'm going to have a new b'boss very soon. Hopefully the whip won't crack on the old muffin's blogging. Keep your fingers crossed. Also here's an update on the Hey Mercedes tour: All of the shows from March 16-April 7 will be with dashboard confessional. Wait till m'new boss here's that! Har har....
Robert: The bad news is: it's still bleak as bleak can be.... The good news is: tonight, there is a plan on the table to go to Soul Vegetarian - my last hurdle in Chicago vegetarianistic delicacies. Just yesterday, I ventured to what i expected to be Udapi, an all vegetarian Indian restaurant... but it turned out to be Bukara, a mostly vegetarian Indian restaurant. Anyway, it was delicious and it has earned a spot on my top 20 best Chicago eateries. Speaking of countdowns and the bloody sort, I remember the exact moment i heard "Human Behaviour" for the first time. It was on the exit ramp for Roosevelt Rd off of I-355. I was heading home with two friends from our place of employment, which back then involved the glamorous maintenance of a retirement facility. I was already familiar with the Sugarcubes, but here it was, like a dream - the Sugarcubes minus that guy. You know that guy, i forgot his name. The guy who "raps" during all the songs, and i use that term "raps" very loosely. Anyway, the song was amazing, and so was Debut when i bought it. Ditto for the video. My college dorm roommates hated her, but I fell hardcore... I still want to go to Iceland.
Robert: What a dreary, dreary, bleak, bleak, dank, d'dank day. Even my paycheck didn't really brighten my mood. Stupid cabbie. Ruinin' my day. Why I oughta... There's a good chance now that i'll be keeping my present residence providing I can twist some arms, pull some teeth. I am certain that this will make things easier for most of the parties involved, because no one seemed to be interested in our classified chum. It's a dry period maybe. Who knows? What i do know is it costs $7.80 to mail a video to Venezuela and there is never ever not a line at the post office. I just went. It wasn't pleasant.
Robert: 354 Human Behaviour - Bjork Danger. And i saw it first hand. When i roll into Chicago mornings after practice in Milwaukee, I take a cab from Union Station to my place of employment. This morning, just like any other, i found a cab real fast... and this morning, just like any other, as soon as we started moving, the cabbie starts yakking on the phone. Happens every time. Except this time, he's starting to take a weird route. Before I can jump in with a suggestion, he blindly changes into the left lane with one hand on the cell and no less than a pinky on the wheel. Not looking. Just yakking... Slam. Right into the side of another cab. That cab screeches to a halt in front of us. My cabbie beeps at him, as in "what are you stopping for?" - an almost laughable action. The door opens on the cab ahead of us and out comes a furious driver. My driver gets out and i sit silent in the backseat... it was my cab's fault, why do i feel ashamed? The meter runs as they argue... No real damage so we press on. As we near my work, he starts to turn in some opposite direction! "What are you doing?" I inquire. "Oh," he says and cuts back. He gets no tip from me other than "be a better cab driver." 2 wrong turns and a collision. All in a 10 minute, $6 cab ride. And so starts my weekend. January 11, 2001
dan: ...I've just learned that someone, somewhere might be, "stalking" me.. hmm, why me? You obviously don't know who you're messin' with... Anyway, speaking of stalkers, I was in the shower today and I just realized that either we got discriminated against or arrived too early to stand in line and wait at TPisR (the price is right). I was watching a little of TPisR (the price is right) and noticed that they hardly ever shot the camera up in the corner we were sitting..They probably thought lets put those rock-n-roll trouble makers in the back corner so we don't have to shoot this whole thing over. I bet, and mark my word, today 1-11-01 that you will only see us probably 1-2 times if that and keep in mind it's gonna be a fast pan across our group no less. God help me if I have to draft a letter to Robert Barker explaining my dissatisfaction and his failure to enlighten our group. Sincerely,
Robert: I was just hanging out at the American Film Institute site, checking out their list of the best (american) movies of 2000, and while the list itself seems pretty warranted... their descriptions and rationales are pretty skimpy and lackluster. You'd think that all of the bigwigs (all 13 of them) who decided on these movies would have a little more to say about each than just quick throw-away one-liners. Perhaps, they're just skimping for the website, but i had planned on going there for some deep insight and instead i came up short. I could have written most of those rationales without even seeing the movie! Tonight, I travel up to Milwaukee. I will be reading Rabbit is Rich, but once i grow tired of that, i could be watching a movie or even bloggin'. But all in good time, my pretties...
Robert: It looks as though the RED HOUSE PAINTERS album "Old Ramon" will finally be released April 17 on Sub Pop. Thank heavens, because you must hear this beautiful, beautiful thing. It also means, that i can legitimately list two songs from the album which appear way at the end of this year's top 365 list. Yeah baby.... But what's this new fascination? A solo album of all AC/DC covers? Has he gone mad? Fill the void in me now....
Robert: Who here thinks it should be Friday? If anyone wants to buy this for me, I'll happily send you a Hey Mercedes sticker... I am also extremely intrigued by the TIME CODE dvd (as i was by the movie itself). A huge experiment on a grand scale that i appreciate so much and give deserved props to. I'm going to have to pick that one up very soon. It actually has two different versions of the movie (15 were filmed), the first and the fifteenth, both with commentary and both with the option of listening to the audio in whichever of the 4 quadrants you choose. Whoo boy. You basically get 8 different one-take movies! What a godsend for those long van rides.... Which brings me back to this.
Robert: 355 Don't Come Around Here No More - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers What a fitting song, given my new fear, yes, i said it, fear of the post office... At least the two that are nearest to my work. I have two big ol bags of junk to mail, so i decided to split it up today - one big ol bag in the morning and one big ol bag during lunch... but as luck would have it, there was a big ol line there at 8 AM, so i walked my big ol bag right out of there... It was probably a stupid move, given that these post offices are usually packed to the brim during lunch time ... but i don't care. I'm frightened of them and i'm concerned about the safety of my mail and the mail of others... January 10, 2001
Robert: I'd like to point out that nick's song of the day already has a nice warm spot on my 365 much later in the year... Speaking of songs, you know you called 867-5309 for real the first time you heard the song. You didn't even have to grow up in the 80's. I'm willing to bet that at least three times a day someone calls that number. In fact, i'm going to call it right now... ok.... ok... nope. Number not in service... You have to give props to a song that can make a bunch of numbers catchy. Perhaps this is truly the first math-rock song? I just admire the straight up rock-rock-rock-type-rock of the song and there's a special place in my heart for that short bit that goes "I got it, I got it, I got it." I still have the 45 of this song from when i was a kid... Remember that song 853-5937 by Squeeze? 853-5937, Angela can't make it... to the phone... Anybody? That was OK, but it would probably rank well in the 500's on my all time favorite song list... When I track down Tommy, I'll let him know how he can claim his prize.
Robert: I suppose there is a blog somewhere run by one of those postal workers, where they are referring to me as "the guy," and telling humorous anecdotes about me, sprinkled with movie and song reviews, and topped with an intense dislike for their present job. It doesn't seem so bad when i look at it that way. I ate lunch early, and now i got invited to lunch so, what the heck, right?
Robert: They hate me at the post office... First of all, sure, i've got a lot of things to mail. Yesterday I had about 35 padded envelopes, a few rolls and 2 boxes. Immediately when i walk in the place, they look at me with disdain, displeasure, hatred. There are three people at the counter helping customers. They're all eyeing me, trying to stall or hurry up so they don't have to serve me. I walk up to the unlucky teller. She's not happy. I am nothing but nice to her. I announce that most of these envelopes contain the same thing, and i put those to the side. As she's weighing them, I start to fill out a customs form for one of my boxes. She says,"You need to fill that out before you step up to the counter." I only state the obvious when i say, "I'll be done filling it out by the time you're through with all of those other items." Snottily, she retorts, "I doubt it." Now it literally becomes a bloody race. She's no longer picking up the items; she's now asking me to hand them to her, and she's trying to print out postage stickers at top speed. The packages are well within her reach - She just wants me to have to stop filling out the customs form. Luckily, she has to do redo something on the computer (only shoots out 10 stickers at a time), and i cut her off at the pass. My customs form is done with time to spare. I sneer. "Well, I'm done with that." When i leave, I'm sure some snide comments are made behind me... Now, what the hell is the problem? Why should they get pissed when all i'm doing is trying to MAIL stuff? I mean, isn't this where i'm supposed to go to mail things? Isn't this their job? Why are they so grizzled? Why do they take it out on me? It's not like there was a huge line or anything. I purposely got there early to avoid that... So i guess they hate me there. It makes me want to go back during a peak time with twice as much stuff. What can they do? This is important, right? The people need their videos!
Robert: 356 867-5309 / Jenny - Tommy Tutone Blogger, like a comet. Today, I'm going to update the HM news, complain about the post office, inquire about Tommy Tutone's whereabouts, and probably moan and groan about being at work for a change. January 9, 2001
Robert: Well, it looks as though the BRAID website has once again reared its ugly head. Phew! I was just horrified thinking i may have lost the list of all 537 shows we'd played! I was afraid i'd have to piece it together via old journal entries, scraps of paper behind my desk, and heiroglyphics on the walls of rock clubs in Prague. So once i get home and get settled, i'll be adding a bit of news there, along with updating the discography... Don't be surprised if it finds a new home soon, though.
Robert: You know how i was saying how amazing Ziyi Zhang was in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? Look at what she's doing next. This can't be good. So I saw O Brother Where Art Thou last Friday. First of all, I was a tad bit miffed that it was only playing at one stinking theater in all of Chicago. Secondly, said theater happens to be the most expensive. Ninthly, once we get in and pay, we stumble across a good friend who, unbeknowenst to us, works there. "Hey, I could have gotten you in for free..." So, the movie. It starts out great, like a Coen Brothers classic. The deep south, the chain gang, the singing, and then out pops the three fugitives amongst a sea of crops and then down again. Brilliant... Now, the problem arises when you constantly are aware that 1. it's a Coen Brothers movie and 2. it's George Clooney. Once you get past those two issues and let yourself get taken by the amazing imagery and snappy dialogue, the movie is a work of art. However, i have to say that it really took me awhile to get there. I read some review on the web that said something "even a bad Coen Brothers movie is still better than 90% of all the other movies that get released." Now I don't think this was a bad Coen Brothers movie. In fact, I liked it a lot. It's just that it didn't have that instant pizazz that drew me in to Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, and Fargo... It's as if we've seen all of their schtuff any times before. I think the Coens need to do a little bit of reinventing, something new and different, a twist on the old wit... That being said, the movie gets a big thumbs up. But what's next on the horizon?
Robert: 357 Mike, Who is Diary - Camden Now I know what you're thinking. Bob, how could you possibly put a Camden song over a Billy Joel song? Well, it could possibly be that when "Laura" was released, I was still bringing a lunchbox to school! Camden are my age and we're all pals - and seriously, if you tried to convince me that four goofy guys from Milwaukee could make such beautiful music, i'd say you were flippingmad. I always love a grand start to an album, and this song provides it. A synthetic build up, an explosion, and then that voice... People either love them or hate them, but they've got my vote for song 357. Congrats boys, your cookie will be in the mail shortly. Speaking of the mail... later today: why the u.s. post office hates me. o brother where art thou. various ramblings. January 8, 2001
Robert: Yet another batch of Ebay Braid videos done and another mass email sent out. Done and done. You can now only get em from the link at the top of the page or if you see me on the street, you could always tackle me... Actually, i don't recommend that. You should be able to get them at your local record store as well, assuming the big machine stays well-oiled. If not, as i say, i am here to serve. I am now off to buy some padded envelopes and look at some apartments. Hasta la manana.
Robert: My weekend was pretty adrenaline drenched. On Friday night, i saw O Brother Where Art Thou (more on this later). On Saturday, I trained up to Milwaukee for practice. 2 more songs in the bag. "Que Shiraz" and "Our Weekend Starts on Wednesday." I just like to keep you updated on this progress. I also picked up Braid videos and last night i was hard at work packaging them up. I got some good news about my possible new apartment, which turned out to be bad news, and some bad news which turned out to be good news, so that all equals out - now i'm at square one. But i'm happy. I will survive. You know why? Yellow curry soup. In about 20 minutes. What's in it? Coconut milk, yellow curry, potatoes, mushrooms, tofu... and i always like to add a little rice to cut a bit of the ol' spicy. I'll also be indulging in some spring rolls... Perhaps for dinner, I'll start off with a delicious appetizer of Tofurky Jerky. I bought a few packages this weekend. Yum.
Robert: 358 Laura - Billy Joel That's right, I said it. I used to like Billy Joel. And i think this song is one of his best, albeit an obvious John Lennon / Beatles thing going on. It's nestled right in between Allentown and Pressure on The Nylon Curtain, which i still proudly own on the ancient cassette format. I listened to this song over and over again loudly in my room at top volume, hoping that someone in my house would hear Billy snarl, "Here i am, feeling like a fucking fool..." - What is that honey? Oh nothing, just listening to Billy Joel.... January 7, 2001
Robert: 359 Cue Cards - Lync I just sent out a mass email to all of those who bid on the first round of BRAID "Killing a Camera" videos - note that if you have some Bulk Mail protector, it may have got shuttled off to it, so check that if you think you should be expecting an email! If you paypal me tonight, I'll send the video(s) out tomorrow morning. Don't forget, there are a whole new batch of videos up now, and tonight i'll formulate a page so that all non-Ebayers have an opportunity to pick up one of these puppies as well. Arf. |