"I can’t take the smell, I can’t take the noise. Got no money to move out, I guess I got no choice...Don’t push me, cause I’m close to the edge. I’m trying not to lose my head. It’s like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder how I keep from going under." ~u2

Our apartment smells. It's been smelling for over a week, but it seems to be getting worse. It's not a normal smell, and it's not going away. A facilities worker came today and confirmed the fact that it smells really bad, but he couldn't figure out why. So now he's calling in backup; housekeeping and the air conditioning/heating people have to come check it out. I'm almost getting used to it by now.

I was really looking forward to the movie Running with Scissors. I loved the book, and the trailer made the movie look pretty good. So I'm disappointed that it's getting bad reviews; now I don't think I want to see it. It has a 30% on RottenTomatoes, which is generally a very good, dependable barometer of a movie's quality. It's a shame that it's a bad movie, because it had so much potential. The source material (Augusten Burrough's memoir) is fantastic. The cast (Annette Bening, Gwyneth Paltrow, Evan Rachel Wood, Brian Cox, Joseph Fiennes, Jill Clayburgh, Alec Baldwin, Kristen Chenoweth, Patrick Wilson, Joseph Cross, I could keep going) is stellar. They could have done so much with this. Arg.

"No need to know what you're doing or waiting for: But if anyone should ask? Tell them I've been licking coconut skins and we've been hanging out. Tell them God just dropped by to forgive our sins and relieve us our doubt." ~Damien Rice

That quote is from a song on Damien Rice's new album, "9." This is another album that I've been anticipating for a loooong time. I've been listening to it all day. Now I'm trying to decide what I think. I don't like it as much as "O" right now (DR's first album). But "O" is so fantasmic that I would be floored if "9" were better. I really like "9," though. There are some really strong tracks on it. The highlights for me so far are "9 Crimes," "Me, My Yoke and I," and "Coconut Skins." I think my main issue is that "9" doesn't seem as intense as "O." It's not quite as creative overall. There are a few tracks that seem weak compared to the rest, whereas on "O" I feel like every single song is incredible. Still, there is no denying that Damien Rice is a genius, and his brilliance is evident on this album. I heard Damien play in Central Park this summer and he played a few songs from this album, which sounded great live. "9 Crimes" was definitely a highlight of the concert. So, in conclusion, go listen to Damien Rice. If you're a little late hopping on the DR bandwagon, start by buying "O" and then "9." If you have "O," check out "9." You won't be sorry.

"He doesn't look a thing like Jesus, but he talks like a gentleman, like you imagined when you were young." ~the killers

Right now I am listening to what has been, to me, the most anticipated album of the past 2 years. Sam's Town, by The Killers, has finally leaked. It's being released next week and I preordered it a long time ago, but I got my hands on it ahead of time and I'm trying to decide what I think. This is a huge deal to me; I'm obsessed with music and, in particular, with The Killers. And the release of their sophomore album is pretty important. Now everyone gets to see if Hot Fuss was just a fluke or if these guys are the real thing (which I know they are). I haven't finished listening to the whole thing and I need at least a few listens to solidify my thoughts, but my initial reaction is that it's good. It has a slightly different sound from Hot Fuss, which isn't necessarily a bad thing (I LOVE Hot Fuss, which means it's pretty hard to top, and I like that they're experimenting with new sounds). They're thinking big on this album (which is both good and bad). Everyone's been making the Bruce Springsteen comparisons, which are definitely valid (especially on When You Were Young), but I wouldn't put too much weight on them. I think The Killers are great at creating their own sound by drawing from a wide variety of inspirations (mostly from the 80s). Right now I'd say I like Hot Fuss better than Sam's Town, but the new album might grow on me, and it's definitely not bad.
Listening to the album makes me sad in a way because I've been looking forward to it for so long, and now that expectation is gone.
Sam's Town should make for some pretty good concerts (it's good concert music). Here's one of my favorite pictures that I've ever taken. It's Brandon Flowers, the soul of The Killers, in one of my favorite concerts ever.

"We were wanna be rebels who didn't have a clue, with our Rock n' roll T-shirts and our typically bad attitudes. Had no excuses for the things that we'd done, we were brave, we were crazy, we were mostly young." ~kenny chesney

I love live albums/bootlegs. In case you haven't picked up on that already. They're pretty much all I listen to. Kenny Chesney's new live album, Live Those Songs Again, is great. I've been listening to it a lot lately. My favorite song on it is "Anything but Mine;" it's such a beautiful song. Here's an example of why I love live recordings. During this song, at one point Kenny starts to sing the chorus. He manages to get out, "And in the morning I'm..." and then he stops singing, in the middle of the line, right after "I'm." Because the audience is singing so loudly that he's shocked and lets them sing it alone. So he sings "And in the morning I'm..." and the audience keeps going with, "leaving, making my way back to Cleveland, so tonight I hope I would do just fine." And then Kenny joins in again for, "And I don't see how you could ever be anything but mine." It's such a beautiful moment, because you know he wasn't expecting it. The audience was just feeling the song and they took over. And he stopped singing in the middle of a line and let them. Those moments are fantastic. That's why I love live music; it's so unexpected. Even if you know a song, you can hear so many different versions of it and each time you'll get something new and special out of it.
Counting Crows are, of course, the kings of live music and always will be. No one else can do what they can do live. But I still like listening to other people try. And Kenny Chesney does a decent job on his live record.

"Let the music take your mind, just release and you will find, you're gonna fly away, glad you're goin' my way. I love it when we're cruisin' together." ~smokey robinson

Tonight was Proclamation Night. For those non-UR students, that means that the senior women got to wear our graduation gowns, take a class picture, and go a ceremony where we received letters that we wrote to ourselves as freshmen. I wasn't expecting much from my letter, but I surprised myself. I was quite a talented, profound writer as a freshman. In fact, it's slightly disappointing that I'm so impressed with my freshman self; it makes me wonder how much I've grown. Of course there were some funny, freshmanesque instances in my letter; I expressed my desire to have found my future husband by the time I graduate. Heh.

I've been really busy lately. Last week was insane. As a writing fellow I had to meet with 25 Core students to discuss their essays. It made me frightened for Richmond's future. I've also started a pretty intense babysitting job; I babysit 8-10 hours a week for a 5-year old girl. She's a great kid, but it just takes up a lot of time, so I have to figure out how to balance that with my schoolwork and everything else. But I'll manage. I always do.