Noooo!!!

So I guess I spoke too soon and jinxed myself because the Ani interview isn't happening anymore because it turns out she'd rather do it through e-mail. I am bummed. Someday it'll happen … but probably not any time soon. Argh.

Biggest news of my life

I'm doing a one-on-one phone interview with ANI DIFRANCO in a couple of weeks!!!

If you know me at all, you know that she's my favorite musician, so this is pretty exciting (to say the least).

The interview is for the "call & response" feature in the spring issue of Venus (where readers submit questions to a musician), so after the Venus staff picks the best questions, I get to conduct the actual interview! Aaand, there's a good chance that audio of the interview is going to run on venuszine.com. No pressure or anything … but yeah, if I look happier than usual, this is probably why.

If you want to submit questions, send an e-mail to feedback@venuszine.com.

An ode to the world's best teen drama

The day after Christmas I took my brother to Best Buy and came home with the complete series of "My So-Called Life," which was re-released on DVD in October for a more affordable price than the first run ($54.99) and includes all 19 episodes (some with commentary) on five DVDs, and a bonus DVD of special features. Instead of rushing to the special features that I really wanted to see, I decided to first watch the series from beginning to end, and re-watch the episodes with commentary. I completely immersed myself in the world of Angela Chase & co. and finished it all in four days.

MSCL ran for barely a season but it was long enough to give viewers a detailed peek into 15-year-old Angela Chase's life (Angela played by a 13- and 14-year-old Claire Danes). Trying to explain what the show is about can't do it justice, but basically it's based around Angela and her new best friends (the loopy and rebellious Rayanne Graff and Rickie Vasquez, who is gay and abused by his family); her obsession with dreamy Jordan Catalano, (Jaret Leto when he was young, gorgeous and not in a shitty band); her changing relationship with childhood best friend Sharon Chersky; her awkward, semi-nerdy and stalkerish (but adorable) neighbor Brian Krakow who's in love with her; her relationship with her family; and that doesn't even say anything.

Watching the series from beginning to end was exciting and depressing: exciting because there were episodes I hadn't seen before, and because I picked up new things from the ones I had seen, and depressing because there was nothing else after the last episode and I didn't want it to be over.

I remember seeing MSCL on TV when it was on MTV the late '90s, except that I was too young to remember anything about the show (it was first aired even before that, in 1994-95), so I really started watching it when it was shown on the N in 2004. It's incredible that even almost 15 years after it was filmed, the plots and characters in MSCL are still completely believable (minus some of the outrageous clothing).

All of the characters are so well-developed and realistic that it's impossible to not care about them. The stories in MSCL are powerful (I sobbed during the Christmas episode) because average people can relate to them, compared to today's teen dramas about snotty rich people who represent only a tiny part of the population. MSCL's characters and plots are edgy without being fake or exaggerated, the dialogue is clever, and the show's content really pushed the envelope when it was on air. I could go on and on and analyze every episode and rave about how amazing each one is, but it'd probably be more valuable to just watch it yourself.

When I finally got to the special effects (last night) they weren't as awesome as I hoped they would be, but I'm glad I watched the whole show before seeing them or I wouldn't have remembered a lot of the stuff mentioned on the bonus disc.

I really love the relationship between Angela and Brian — he's smart, a little dorky, very innocent, and is always around. He's completely in love with her (though she doesn't really know it, at least not to what extent, until the last episode), and she guiltily uses him for little things (like his bike) because she knows he'll do whatever she asks him — except here (hahaha):

Brian : You're in some kind of dream world, or something that revolves around you. You have like, no concept of anybody else's life —
Angela : I know.
Brian : You couldn't even begin to imagine the pressure I'm under. You think you're under pressure? You? That is so like, laughable.
Angela : Brian, you are completely right, OK, but could you just please explain geometry to me anyway?
Brian : Are you completely insane ?
Angela : Yes, I probably am.
Brian : You think I care? You could not possibly conceive of how much studying I have to do tonight! Have you ever even heard of calculus? Geometry is a paid vacation compared to calculus. Okay? I mean, do you, do you have any idea what it's like to be an accelerated? I mean, do you like realize the pressure on a person when it's like assumed that they will always get As? 'Hey, Brian, pull another A?' 'That Brian, he always gets an A.' You have the option of insanity. I do not. And that … makes me crazy!

And a lovely scene between Angela and Brian, talking about Angela's guy problems (if you're reading this as a Facebook note, click on "view original post" to see the YouTube video):

"Juno" was amazing, honest to blog

I'm not a big film person so usually I'll only go to a movie in a theater if it's something I really, really want to see, such was the case with "Juno." Amazing cast, hilarious script, and good soundtrack. It's true that the movie does try to be super indie (hence the good soundtrack), but there are only a couple of times I felt that it got a little annoying in that aspect.

Overall the story and characters seemed pretty realistic, except for a few lines ("That ain't no etch-a-sketch. This is one doodle that can't be un-did, homeskillet"), and the fact that Juno (Ellen Page) could spit out one-liners like it was nobody's business. One thing I didn't like was that Juno and Bleeker (Michael Cera) hardly talked while Juno was pregnant, even though they were "best friends." Clearly being best friends, having sex, and getting pregnant would make things awkward, but they pretty much went a whole season without talking. And it also was quite unrealistic that Bleeker's parents never found out. Believable or not though, Michael Cera was adorably awkward, and Ellen Page was incredible; reminded me of a mini Janeane Garafalo and someone else who I can't figure out yet.

On top of having a billion great lines that'll surely be quoted during all of 2008, the film was so freaking cute that I didn't know what to do with myself afterward. Seriously, watch this video and tell me you don't wish you could throw your acoustic guitar over your shoulder, bike to your significant other's house and together sing/play the Moldy Peaches' "Anyone Else But You":

for one night only: Laura comments on celeb gossip!

Most people who know me know that I hate celebrity gossip. I don't read Perez Hilton or the Superficial, I don't care who got a nose job or who's getting married, and I groan and roll my eyes when I'm at work and hear someone shrieking about the latest scandal. However, I do have entertainment news filtered into my RSS feeds, so I do see a lot of the headlines and occasionally read the actual story to see what's up.

Like most people, I was shocked when I read that Britney Spears' 16-year-old sister is pregnant — or should that be "preggers"? "prego"? — but after seeing story after story, my biggest issues have more to do with how the situation was covered than the fact that the "good" Spears daughter who always meets her curfew apparently is "not that innocent."

Every story focused only on Jamie Lynn Spears being 16 and pregnant, whether or not Nickelodeon will still air her TV show, and what other people think about it, with almost no mention of the father. Yes, we know who it is (longtime boyfriend 19-year-old Casey Aldridge), but it wasn't until today — two or three days after the story broke — that anyone cared to run a story about the legalities of the situation, since Jamie Lynn is a minor and the guy is 19.

Today I found this story, which essentially says the Spears family would have to press charges against Aldridge for anything to happen (very unlikely), but the point is that everything only focused on the girl and it makes it sound like it's all her fault. Sure, she's the famous one, but it bothers me that almost every news outlet practically ignored the fact that it takes two people to have a baby, other than mentioning the father-to-be's name.

In addition to that, I think it's sick that the Spears family allegedly sold the story to OK! magazine for $1 million, with a promise to have the baby and give the magazine rights to the exclusive first photos of the baby. Seriously?

I guess I should do a top 5 …

I probably should preface this by saying that there are a ton of albums that I've heard are amazing, but haven't listened to yet … including many that have topped best of lists, like The National's Boxer, for example. None of these should be too surprising, considering they're on most other lists too, but that's OK.

5. Beirut - The Flying Club Cup

To be completely honest, I didn't hear this album until less than two weeks ago, when it popped up on a bunch of end-of-year lists and Beirut was featured in the winter issue of Venus, but I've listened to it enough since then that I've become pretty much obsessed with it. Friends had played Beirut for me a couple of times and I didn't totally get into it, but it finally clicked this time.

Favorite songs: "Nantes," "The Flying Club Cup"

4. Feist - The Reminder

I'm really glad I don't watch much TV because if I saw the "1234" ads every four seconds I'm not sure The Reminder would still be on my list … but I loved this album more after seeing Feist live in June.

Favorite songs: "I Feel it All," "Brandy Alexander"

3. Radiohead - In Rainbows

I'm not an obsessive Radiohead fan, and they're definitely a band I sometimes forget I love as much as I do. I was psyched when they announced "hey, new album in 10 days," and I did download it right when I woke up that morning (for free, with a promise to myself that I'll buy it when it's out on CD). I'm not totally sure how I feel about the whole giving the CD away for free thing but regardless, it's been played over and over again in my shitty little MP3 player and I'm not sick of it yet. I like mellowed out Radiohead, but I love the more upbeat stuff the most.

Favorite songs: "15 Step," "Jigsaw Falling Into Place"

2. M.I.A. - Kala

I've gotten much more into dance-y music in the past few months, and all this album does is make me want to dance … and dance … and dance. And after listening to it enough times to decipher a lot of the lyrics, it's pretty amazing. Also, she puts on a great live show, although she was much better at Lollapalooza than when I saw her last month in Detroit (but that has at least a little bit to do with the obnoxious crowd).

Favorite songs: "World Town," "20 Dollar"

1. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver

I started listening to LCD Soundsystem in the summer after realizing that the song I heard at a party and always got stuck in my head was "Daft Punk is Playing At My House" (from LCD's self-titled album). "North American Scum" became my favorite song to listen to while walking to class, much because I like walking to the beat of whatever I'm listening to and that song is quite a workout. But overall it's an amazing album, and it only helps that James Murphy is awesome.

Favorite songs: "North American Scum," "Us V. Them," "Time To Get Away" (they're all great!!!)

And I think I'll have a real post soon.

How NOT to get a job …

OK, it's been three and a half months since I've posted in here. I guess my life hasn't been as exciting since I left Chicago … and by that I mean I've been too busy and stressed out to worry about a silly blog. It's been a crazy semester, mostly because of this whole features editor thing. It started out pretty rough (understatement of the year) but everything definitely got a lot better. At first I was kind of bummed that I'm not doing it again next semester, until I remembered that I need a break, and I'm excited to be writing again.

In other news, about a month ago I started as concert reviews editor for venuszine.com which I'm super excited about. Basically I'm recruiting writers and photographers around the country, getting them on the guest list for shows, then editing their reviews and posting them online. This summer I learned that I really, really love writing concert reviews, so hopefully by reading so many reviews it'll make my writing better.

In doing this, I've received quite a few e-mails from people looking to write for the site — some better than others. In case you were wondering, here's what NOT to do when applying for any kind of writing job (specifically when applying to write concert reviews for me):

- Label your .doc resume as "resume." I have a bunch of them, which means I have to open the file to figure out whose it is.

- Send a bunch of fashion clips and say you want to write music reviews. It asks for samples of music writing/criticism. If you want to write fashion, send clips to the fashion editor.

- Start your e-mail by saying "To Whom It May Concern" or "Attention Editor." It says my first and last name in the ad, so that means it's OK to use it.

However, despite the bad apps, there were a good number of competent people who I think will be great — it's good to know not everyone's an idiot.

So I'm learning a lot about what not to do, which will help me out when I apply for summer internships in a couple of months. Not that I would do any of those things, but I'm learning from the good applications. Really hoping I can get a good internship this summer … my top five are CMJ, Filter, SPIN, Paste and HARP, all kind of long shots I think, but definitely worth a try, along with about 10 other places.

AHHH I can almost smell winter break. Break = sitting around, seeing friends at home, and writing a billion stories for Venus (I think I have seven lined up right now … gotta do what I can in the three weeks I don't have to worry about a conflict-of-interest policy!). Bedtime!

here it goes …

I'll be home in less than two days. I remember my first week in Chicago went by really slowly, but after that it just kinda took off and I'm not quite sure what happened!

I won't recap the whole summer — if you've read this at all you kind of have an idea of what happened — but I guess it can be summed up by saying that I met some amazing people and learned a whole lot. I went to a ton of shows and learned that I really love writing concert reviews. I also wrote more album reviews, which still is not my forté, but I at least feel a little more confident. I learned how a magazine is run, and lots of other stuff. It's a hectic job, and I love it.

It really does feel like home here, in the sense that I know my way around pretty well (I'm proud of that).

A few things I'll miss:

- My roommates (OK, I already do miss them, since they're all gone)
- Everyone else I've met here
- Argo Tea Café - Amazing local café half a block away from me, where I know half the staff. My wallet, however, will be thrilled.
- Sunflower Market - A grocery store similar to Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, but local and usually less expensive
- Schubas Tavern - The concert venue I visited most this summer. It has a capacity of only about 200 people
- Clarke's - 24-hour diner with fantastic food
- Tempo Café - another 24/hour place; possibly my favorite restaurant in the city
- GOOD H&M stores (keyword: good)
- Not having to drive/pay for gas
- The huge couches in my apartment
- Venus. Venus Venus Venus Venus Venus. I never want to leave.


A few things I won't miss:

- 9 percent sales tax
- Waiting forever for buses and the El
- Cigarette smoke in the apartment
- Expensive groceries
- Expensive everything
- Our crazy-bitch landlady
- Sleeping on an air mattress (which really wasn't that bad)
- Hearing the train go by 237489 a day, and drowning out the TV

Honestly, it kind of feels like this summer didn't even happen, like it was some kind of fantasy. Is that weird?

After I leave here it'll be kind of a whirlwind of rushing to see friends and family at home, moving into my co-op house and starting back up at The State News. Work should be interesting, and probably not easy this semester, but I'm up for the challenge and I know it'll be a great experience.

Oh yeah, did I mention that I'm already thinking about next summer?

Yeah, it's time for bed.

Until next time, Chicago.

Lollapalooza 2007 …

… was awesome. The lineup wasn't quite up to par with last year's, but that made it easier to pick who to see, and I had fewer time conflicts.

Bands I saw (in order): The Fratellis, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, The Polyphonic Spree, M.I.A., LCD Soundsystem, Daft Punk, Matt & Kim, I'm From Barcelona, Silverchair, Cold War Kids, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Muse, acoustic Ben Harper, Lupe Fiasco, Annuals, Peter Bjorn and John, Modest Mouse, TV On The Radio and Pearl Jam, plus little clips from others here and there.

I had a media pass because I'm writing about it for Venus (my stuff will be online tomorrow afternoon), which meant being able to go in the little press area. It was an interesting experience: little tents lined up with radio stations set up in them, people from bands walking around, reporters working on deadline, etc.

My few random band/celebrity sightings:
- Kurt Loder from MTV (I think)
- Against Me!
- Perry Farrell
- Silversun Pickups
- Tim DeLaughter and someone else from the Polypohnic Spree
- Danny Masterson (I saw a guy I thought was him but figured it wasn't, then found out he did a DJ set at an afterparty, so I'm pretty positive I was 2 feet away from him)
- Juliette Lewis (she's so little!)
- And the best one … I walked past a radio tent and realized that SILVERCHAIR was getting interviewed! I usually don't get starstruck, but this was a big deal and I felt like I was 12. I stood behind them and tried to hear the interview (failed), and waited for them to get up in hopes of getting a photo with the band. It looked like they were rushing to another interview but I did at least introduce myself to Chris Joannou (bassist) because I talked to him on the phone, so it wasn't as weird.

I saw a bunch of other people with "Artist" wristbands, but I have no idea who they were …

Other random stuff that won't make it in my recap:

- I searched all weekend for my favorite blogger, Whitney Matheson (USA Today's Pop Candy), but didn't find her. Derek, however, did, and I was jealous.

- Laura is ridiculously awkward and clumsy, part 4,356: On Saturday the press area ran out of water and the only drink left was some kind of weird flavored milk. It looked gross, but I was really thirsty so I decided to try it anyway. The drink was in a plastic Capri Sun-like pouch, but with a weird twist-off cap. After I figured out how to open it, I looked down the hole and thought maybe there was still plastic that needed to be pulled out, so I squeezed the pouch a tiny bit and it all squirted up in my face, on my glasses, and down my tank top. SO EMBARRASSING! I'm sure people saw, but luckily I didn't hear any comments about it, and I had Kleenex in my bag so I got myself cleaned up quickly. And, as predicted, the milk was gross.

- Friday when I was waiting for M.I.A. I started talking to the kid next to me and it turns out he's from the city next to my hometown and knows a couple of my friends. I swear, Jews from Metro Detroit are everywhere.

- The group of friends I had staying at my apartment was awesome. Everyone had fun and there were a lot of bands that at least two of us wanted to see.

- I accidentally told a guy that I work for Spin magazine. I got a free Spin hat from the press area, which I wore all day Friday to keep the sun out of my eyes, and while I was waiting for the Polyphonic Spree, some kid asks me if I write for a magazine, because I had my notebook out, to which I said yes. Later that night, back at my apartment, I am informed by Derek and Anthony that no, he did not ask if I write for a magazine, but asked if I write for Spin magazine. Oops … maybe someday though.

- Muse was amazing Saturday night, but Anthony and I were pretty close to the front and the crowd was nuts (obviously). Luckily, I found a guy next to me who pretty much made sure I didn't die the whole show. Even with his help though, a pretty big guy landed right on me because I couldn't get my hands sturdy enough to hold him up. I've been to enough shows that I've had my share of crowd surfers hitting and kicking me, but this was tied for the worst I've ever gotten hit because he fell completely on my head and neck. I had to splash water on my face so it didn't look like I was crying. But, overall that guy helped me out quite a bit. And it didn't hurt that he was absolutely gorgeous.

- Top three (I think.): LCD Soundsystem, Polyphonic Spree, and Muse

I'm still pretty exhausted … time for some sleep. Then I have to get up early tomorrow to finish my recap.

deadline, shows, and more silverchair

It's been a while … things have been quite busy.

The rest of the week I was talking about in my last post actually went pretty smoothly, except for something that fell through for the fall issue (but it got fixed). I don't know how Amy does it, because so many little things came up in just a week, but I managed to get everything done that needed to be done, and I didn't screw up the whole magazine. Mission accomplished, right?

Today the fall issue goes out to print, which is very exciting. I ended up writing (err, re-writing) the Rilo Kiley story that I did the (horrendous) interview for. I don't feel like it's the best thing I've ever done, but the fact that most of it was written on deadline definitely has something to do with it. So that brings the byline count to five … RK, two CD reviews in the sounds section, one CD review in the penus section, and a blurb in UpFront. M.I.A. is on the cover and it looks awesome. It comes out Sept. 1 so check it out!

From Pitchfork on it's been constant concerts, and I'm not complaining:

Pitchfork (July 13-15) was awesome.
Friday - Sonic Youth was great, even though the only album of theirs I know really well is Daydream Nation … which is what they played …
Saturday - Not the best day of the weekend (which had much to do with all of us being up super late the night before), but I saw Grizzly Bear (a lot better outside than I expected!) and a little bit of Iron & Wine (before almost passing out from heat and/or exhaustion). I slept on the grass during Mastodon, saw a little bit of Girl Talk (worst stage setup ever … he was on the tiny stage, no one could move or see, and the sound was horrible), and ended the night with Yoko Ono. She was crazy and showed this nine-minute documentary before coming on stage.



Please watch it.

Sunday - Definitely the best day of the fest. Saw lots of bands I had never heard before (Junior Boys, Menomena, The Sea and Cake, Jamie Lidell, Stephen Malkmus), watched Of Montreal from really far away because I was on the barricade for the New Pornographers, who were great, as usual. I was bummed that Neko wasn't there (again), but Kathryn Calder is awesome too. They played stuff from the new album, including my least favorite song ("The Spirit of Giving In") and not my favorite song ("Myriad Harbour"). Ohhh well. My friend said he saw me on the big monitor because I was in the front … that's hilarious.

Tuesday I saw Mirah, who was fantastically quirky and adorable.

Wednesday was The Decemberists with the Grant Park Orchestra. My friend and I got there around 2:30 p.m. and roasted in the heat/humidity in Millennium Park so we could get seats in the pavilion. My roommate met us there, they let us in at 5 p.m., we sat down and eventually moved up to seats we weren't supposed to be in. The show was awesome. The band and the orchestra weren't always quite together, but I didn't care. It rained a bit during the performance, and it was funny seeing all of the old people with their umbrellas in the pavilion. After the show it poured … I've never been in such crazy rain before … but my friend, roommate and I walked to a restaurant after the show and by the time we got there it looked like we had jumped in a pool.

Then Friday an adventure because my friend and I took the megabus to St. Louis to see Ani DiFranco. It was amazing. I kind of got to talk to her (as explained in my review of the show). It pretty much made my life. Photos here.

Wednesday was Ben Kweller at Schubas, a really tiny venue … the show was amazing (review should be up today), but I felt horrible because his publicist told me I had a +1 so I was going to take my roommate, and we got there and I didn't have one … it was really shitty. But the show was great nonetheless, I was right in the front, directly in front of his microphone … we're talking close enough that I could have reached out and touched him, and close enough that I pulled his set list off of the stage. Photos here.

And about Silverchair, I interviewed bassist Chris Joannau a few days ago for a story for The State News that will run on Monday. It went well, except that he has an (amazing) Australian accent, so I couldn't understand everything. I recorded the conversation though and was able to pick out almost everything. Like I said in my last post, I love Silverchair, and I'm ridiculously excited to see them next weekend.

I'll probably update before this, but expect a sappy end-of-summer post in a couple of weeks.