NP: Frank Zappa, Jazz From Hell (CD)

It's amazing how much of a difference good water pressure can make in your day and overall outlook. The roomie had been bringing it up for a while, but we finally got Ed to take care of it right after New Year's, and now it's drastically better.

So that's helping the mood. Yesterday was one of those good, busy days. Interview went well, I think, rehearsal maybe not so much. I swear, if I get another massive burst of feedback piercing through my skull, I'm going to quit this project. It's this stupid hip-hop posing where you drop the mic down to your knees or so while you're singing/rapping, and some of these guys have a nasty tendency to do this right on top of the monitors. Not a good idea. Eric had the very, very good idea to unplug the drum wedge after the second time last night, so I probably owe him a beer for that.

Vaughan's was sparse, which should be expected given single-digit temperatures. I opted for the all-hard rock set -- no Outkast this time -- and may have finally found a Soundgarden tune that suits me ("The Day I Tried To Live"). I was going to try an all-recent-news set, but had to just go with Rush's "Closer To The Heart," as I don't know any Kinks tunes yet. Or Britney tunes, I guess. It would be funny if there was a backlash against her mockery of the institution of marriage, 'cause she's such a role model to begin with. Suddenly I have that image of Maggie dancing to "Oops, I Did It Again" on The Simpsons. And get well soon, Ray.

Then I come home to find I've been dissed by a Limp Bizkit fan. I feel properly chastened. Durst is clearly both a gentleman and a modern-day poet nitwit and apparently a hypnotist, both on a grand scale. Come on, a thug wannabe from suburban Florida? And didn't he used to be a breakdancer or something (or was that Vanilla Ice)? How is that even possible, let alone admirable?

All totaled, probably more human interaction in one day than I typically get in a month, and in the Peter Gabriel "I Have The Touch" sense, that probably has more to do with the postive outlook than the water pressure.

Now I just need to figure out what the heck to write about for the latest Fire website column. I'm trying to avoid the two elephants in the room, namely the recently published player salaries and Fire legend Peter Nowak becoming coach of D.C. United, but that resolve may not last. Damn these arbitrary deadlines for a non-paying gig!