This opinion piece appeared in my local paper on Sunday.  It made me so mad that I wrote a letter to the editor about it:

As a former community organizer and Democrat, I was deeply offended by Richard Impresa's opinion piece, "Obama's un-American mentors."  I'm not even going to touch on Mr. Impresa's tired and sad repetition of over-used anti-Obama rhetoric.  What really made me want to cancel our family's subscription to the paper was Mr. Impresa's slam on Barack Obama's roots in community organizing.  What is so un-American about community organizing, sir?  Community organizers dedicate their lives to energizing a base of people, mobilizing them to act positively in their neighborhoods and out across the country, and excite an otherwise disengaged electorate.  Our democracy fails without the participation of our citizens. If we are ill-informed on the issues, don't pay attention, and don't vote, things don't change and the status quo isn't very good.  Community organizers work tirelessly in the best interest of our country and for the change it needs to be the greatest country in the world.  If Mr. Impresa would like to find something un-American to harp on, I think he needs to point his fingers someplace else. 

I'm embarking on the ambitious task of tagging all of my entries. Today, I got through 2002. So that means three more years to dig through. Awesome.

I did it. Bill said it's a matter of principles. And he's right.

WOXY dropped the bomb yesterday that they can't keep up delivering the future of rock and roll anymore without going "listener supported." So for slightly less than $10 per month, you can become a member and have access to the highest quality stream and downloads, etc.

So I'm torn.

$10 per month doesn't seem like a lot of change when I do the math. I listen for about eight hours every workday, five days a week. And maybe a few hours every now and then on the weekends. For me, it works out to about 16 cents an hour. That's pretty cheap.

But, they will continue to offer the lo-stream for free. I always listen to the lo-stream at work anyway so I don't get in trouble by using too much bandwidth. So my ears are used to this quality. So paying now would mean paying for something new, not to keep what I usually consume.

On the other hand, I am a loyal listener who doesn't want to see WOXY sell out or disappear. I would like to support them.

So I don't know. I'm still milling it over. I could wait until next month, but there might not be a next month.

So sad!

And the world keeps on buying Nickleback albums...

-------

In other music-related news:

-Going to see Feist tomorrow. Yay!
-Could buy Death Cab tix, but the thought of spending $40 for them is a huge turn-off. Plus, I'm just not that into Franz Ferdinand, sorry.
-I have $50 to spend on iTunes. I need to get on that.
-And the new external hard drive I bought after Christmas? Still unopened. I need to get on that bitch, too.

( Molly Ivins/01.20.06/Not. Backing. Hillary./Equivocation in Democratic party has gone on far too long -- time for real leadership )

Dear John Kerry,

Please stop emailing me. For real. You're like the crazy ex who keeps emailing me about what a mistake I've made because you're such an awesome boyfriend. John Kerry, I've moved on. You need to do the healthy thing here and move on, too.

Your friend,

Erin

PS: Maybe you can hook up with the Move On kids. They like to send me a lot of emails, too.

[Credit Snopes via Wonkette]

I hate hipsters. Really. Like a lot.

So I keep up with reading Stereogum, which is a pretty cool indie rock/pop culture blog. Yesterday, there was a post about this unconfirmed rumour from some drunk hipster girl in Austin who claimed to know that the new Spoon album, Gimme Fiction, is really supposed to be played backwards or some shit. So there was a post today that someone had asked one of band members at a show if this was true and he said no. In the post, it mentioned someone was drinking a Stella Artois.

Suddenly, the comments thread (usually the best part of the blog) went up in flames between people arguing that Stella is awful and it's only cool to drink because they were drinking it in Austin or that whatever PBR is so much better and it only costs two dollars and Stella is sooooo 2003 we drink some Canadian shit so we're so much more indie than you.

Ugh.

Hipsters are against everything I stand for. Something is only cool until a lot of people like it. Or that it's so bad, it's ironic to like it. That's bullshit. Once a band gets famous (yes, sometimes their major label debut will suck, it's the way of the industry) why do hipsters automatically hate them? So cool, so cool, so so so cool, oh too bad, you go too cool, now you suck. How is that logical?

Is it like high school? The popular kids are automatically assholes?

It's all kind of this inverted geek ladder. The further off the radar you are and the geekier you are about all things indie, the more cool you become. Some people are just assholes about it.

I like music because it's good, not because it's sooooo indie. I also like beer because it's good. If you like PBR, drink your PBR because you like it, not because the bottle in your hand ups your indie street cred. If they play Death Cab on the O.C., be happy. That means a bunch of girls who up til then wanted to be Britney Spears now want to download all the Ben Gibbard mp3s they can find. And this is good!!!!

This is the best comment from the Stereogum thread:

"Interesting. I am convinced that there is some hipster illuminati that meets once a year to decide these things, because they certainly can't be that affected by clever advertising.

'So people, this year, it's Stella Artois, Fixed Gear bikes, the Go-Team, and Army hats. The council has spoken. Bring out the stone of triumph.'"

Anyway. My point is, I hate hipsters. Besides, I'm so much cooler than all of you, bitches. I've been drinking Stella since '02. AND IT IS DELICIOUS! ;o)

So I've been reading this new Pew report on average Americans and their view on the filibuster debate and it reminds me that I live in the DC bubble.

Nobody outside of the metro area is even paying attention while these guys are on the brink of a tyrannical majority. And nobody out there knows what's at stake here. It's like that quote from the end of "The Usual Suspects" right? The greatest trick the Devil ever played was convincing the world he didn't exist. I can only hope that we can make a deal with the Devil here to save a little rule of order that the minority can cling to. It sounds out there, but without this little bit of power we have with the filibuster, we're fucked.

I'm trying not to think of this as Democrats vs Republicans...but it's been framed as that...so I'm kind of forced to do it. It's just if you love Democracy so much, why are you trying to take what little power the other guy does have? I just can't see the good in that. I just see the partisanship. I just see the anger. The power hungry tyranny.

And this also makes me want to scream to everyone in America who is not paying attention. THIS IS YOUR FUTURE! IT MATTERS! (So does the high price of gasoline, but so do your civil rights and FREEDOMS!) This is important stuff, people.

Just had some thoughts in my head during my morning commute.

So last night I theived some Bright Eyes songs. I did this because I've only heard a few songs and I thought I owed it to myself to at least hear a few more before I can make an educated decision about him.

So I stole some songs from the newest record. And I like the songs. But I've decided that the whole Bob Dylan comparison is a cop out. It really is the go to metaphor when a lame music critic or previously amazing mainstream music magazine thinks "oh, this kid makes good music, i'd better come up with an insightful commentary about him, but i'm tired and the simple life is on tv and paris hilton is hot..." and so he tells America that Mr. Oberst is the next Dylan instead of coming up with something original or thoughtful or real. And this makes me sad.

Yes, the guy is a great singersongwriter. But is he the next best thing? Or have we been made so used to the crap the mainstream music industry spews out at us that next to Ashlee Simpson, anyone who actually plays a guitar and can sing without soundboard correction is the next Bob Dylan?

Most music critics suck. If the music makes you feel warm in your tummy and you can't stop listening to it and the lyrics or guitar riffs or harmonies make your eyes light up or cause you to take in more oxygen or the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, then it's good music.

And what's music to you may be trash to someone else. But the point is, it touches you.

Bob Dylan is Bob Dylan. Conor Oberst is Bright Eyes. And there is already be some kid with a guitar who is very talented, strumming tunes in his basement or on a street corner or in a coffee shop who will be the nextgreatestsingersongwriterofourgeneration. And Rolling Stone will deify him, too.