Filed under: madison, music | Tags: hold steady, july, madison, majestic theater
My birthday has now moved 9 days to July 10th because the Hold Steady are playing at the Majestic here in Madison. Friday + July + Majestic = perfect setting for that band in my mind.
I already have my pre-sale tickets. I’m sure that they’ll sell out.
A friend of mine from Chicago visited me the other weekend. I made him run hills with me -there happens to be a good one about mile from where I live over on Putnam Road. Sprinting bottom to top, it takes over a minute… so it’s a decent workout. We had done this about four times through when a lady gardening outside a house starts talking to us:
“Let me know if you guys want water!”
“That’s four times already that you’ve done that. You sure you guys don’t want some water?”
As we are running back home my friend says: “I love Wisconsin”
When I’m not traveling for work. I enjoy tuesday nights. We go out for some food and watch Arrested Development/Flight of the Concords/ 30 Rock.
Filed under: Running, life, madison, myself | Tags: cycling, grilling, madison, Wisconsin
I managed to do only a couple things, but I was very content with this past weekend.
I did get some grilling in now that the weather is getting nicer. I made chicken/veggie skewers with a honey marinade and ate it with a spinach, walnut, onion, and blue cheese salad. It went pretty well with a Pinot Grigio. The coals were still hot, so I grilled the rest of the chicken and vegetables that I had stocked away in the freezer. It makes a good quick dinner after work and my long runs.
On that note, I’m slowly trying to increase my distance even more. I’m doing multiple days of 12+ miles, interspersed with days of water polo, and shorter, faster runs. Sunday, it was too nice and my housemate had just purchased a bike, which inspired me to clean, oil, and prep my bike. I took it out for a two hour ride which was really lovely, it’s refreshing to A. have bike trails that take you through places you’ve never been before and B. see people out and about. It was a bit chilly when I rode by Lake Mendota -it still has a thin layer of ice, but at least no one still trying to ice fish.
We have gotten a ridiculous amount of snow and very cold temperatures. This past thursday night / friday morning we got like a full foot. Imagine a snow downpour.
This week went well with the assistance of RJD2.
His Breezeblock Mix 8-6-2004 is a great mashup of his songs with a couple oldies. It’s about 20 mins and is solid working music.
RJD2’s first two albums, Deadringer and Since We Last Spoke are very good. They are some of the best instrumental hip hop beats created from sampling a wide variety of music, including old jazz and soul. Where as DJ Shadow’s best songs are downbeat and contemplative, RJD2 should be played loudly, especially while driving. His latest, Third Hand is not my favorite. It trades the sampling and hip hop for his own written, played, and sung pop. I respect the urge to change one’s style and explore new areas, it just didn’t work out for him this time. This is not to say that he’s not talented, there is still potential for great upcoming albums.
The weather has been much warmer this weekend -in the low 30s, though a bit wet. It’s better than 14 degrees and icy.
Yesterday was a good day: I did 10 miles at a 7:18ish pace. Today I did about 6, but didn’t keep track of any pace.
Granted, today my legs and left foot felt like hell. I’m guessing that my running shoes are spent.
Filed under: Running, art, cars, life, madison, photos | Tags: madison, Running, snow
I was able to run 10 miles in the windy, blowing snow last Saturday and hold an 8:00/mile pace.
I haven’t run as much this week. The weather really hasn’t helped with that: between Monday and Tuesday we got a ridiculous amount of snow. Monday night it started out as ice, which I had to scrape through about a solid 1/8 inch covering my entire car. Tuesday, I was on the way to work when WPR tells me that officially we shouldn’t leave home unless necessary -it should have sunk in when I was the only non suv on the road and my car (which is decently heavy) felt like a sled.
So, I did some running and cross-training indoors, then I tried a longer run outdoors tonight. There is an insane amount of ice, especially on hills. My run was more dancing, balancing, hopping, and slipping than anything else.
I did manage to make it six miles.
Oh well. It is winter.
Tuesday morning:
Filed under: art, madison | Tags: george segal, madison, madison museum of contemporary art, MMoCA, street scenes
I’ve actually been to this exhibition 3 times now at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. First by myself, then with friends from Madison, then with a friend from school. I really enjoy this exhibit and think it’s extremely well put together. It helps that Segal is an excellent artist: he takes the time to painstakingly create these ghastly figures and then recreate the environments in which he sees them. The sparse backdrops in the gallery at the MMoCA really match the works’ color scheme and make them stand out.
I love comparing Segal’s Bread Line with Edward Hopper’s paintings of the great depression -it really illustrates the difference between installation and painting.
This one is my favorite:
The Diner
(The artist statement next to the work adds much, go see it.)
oldcar by Pat Jordan on Zooomr
An old car off the capitol square.
turkeys by Pat Jordan on Zooomr
An extended family of turkeys in the arboretum.
Filed under: madison, music | Tags: lawrence university, madison, the chairs, the chairs band, the frequency
I discovered last Friday that a fellow swimmer from Lawrence is in a band. Lawrence has extremely talented musicians, trained in classical performance and jazz; however, when it comes to contemporary popular music, it’s really not their thing. This friend is a percussionist in Lawrence’s Conservatory of Music and had a link to this new band’s website on his Facebook profile.
The band’s name is the Chairs, and their November EP (available for free on the site) is actually pretty good. Some of the lyrics and vocals are a bit rocky at times, but overall the sound is promising. The sonic texture is solid and I enjoy the harmonies. The key idea is potential. The lyrics will improve with a little editing. The vocals will mature with experience. Overall, I’m impressed -it’s a solid start for a bunch of kids in college.
Coincidentally, they’re playing tonight at The Frequency in Madison. They’re opening up for a band named Athens at 9:00pm. There is a $5 cover and the show is 21+.
P.S. I ran 10 miles yesterday in the snow. The extra slip that the snow gives you at the end of your step really takes it out of your legs. The sunlight didn’t help as much as I though it would, the wind was even worse than Thursday… but I finished at a solid 8ish minute pace. Not too bad considering the snow, hills, and wind.
