This week's playlist, brought to you before the end of the show thanks to advance planning (ooh!):

* Joanna Newsom - Monkey & Bear
My Brightest Diamond - Dragonfly
Neko Case - Margaret vs. Pauline
* The Gothic Archies - This Abyss
Jens Lekman - The Wrong Hands
* Yo La Tengo - The Weakest Part
Voxtrot - Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives
* Beirut - Rhineland (Heartland)
Bright Eyes - The Calendar Hung Itself
Broken Social Scene - Fire Eye’d Boy
* Cat Power - I Don’t Blame You
Beth Orton - Couldn’t Cause Me Harm
Pedro the Lion - Bad Diary Days
Elliott Smith - Pictures of Me
* The Mountain Goats - New Monster Avenue

I think next week is my last show of the semester, but 5 (6 when this show gets put up) of my shows are up on the WSRN website in podcast form. Spiffy, huh?

I don't think I've ever been so happy to hear the clanging and gurgling of the pipes before. Still no actual heat, but it sounds promising.

It's cold outside. My radiator is also cold, meaning that I too am cold. For some reason, the heat is on the fritz, and I am not pleased. I'm huddled up in a sweatshirt, fleecy pants, thick socks, hand warmers (I finally finished knitting them!), and a blanket. And still, I am cold. Grr. And brr.

Good news: Vanya is over, and a received compliments on the costumes. Yay. Bad news: Now I get to write the papers I've been putting off. At least I have a firm thesis and decent outline for the Shakespeare one... It makes things slightly less bad.

Playlist:

Sigur Ros - Saeglopur
* The Gothic Archies - Dreary, Dreary
Bright Eyes - Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh
Wilco - How to Fight Loneliness
Low - Broadway (So Many People)
John Vanderslice - Trance Manual
Stars - Your Ex-Lover is Dead
Tori Amos - Cloud My Tongue
Sufjan Stevens - All the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands
* The Mountain Goats - Wild Sage
Iron and Wine - Cinder and Smoke
* M. Ward - Requiem
* Neko Case - Dirty Knife

Vanya costumes are done! I no longer have to live in the costume shop! I'll need to go back for some visits (I know there's a hem I need to fix, and socks to find), but the major work is complete, so there will be no more long hours and late nights in the shop. Whee!

I think I'm running solely on adrenaline and sugar right now. I have work to do, but I don't think I could actually focus on anything. I'm still trying to adjust to the fact that I'm not sewing, and it's harder than you might think.

This week's playlist:

* Neko Case - The Needle Has Landed
Belle & Sebastian - Judy and the Dream of Horses
* The Gothic Archies - Smile! No One Cares How You Feel
Cat Power - Speak For Me
Broken Social Scene - It’s All Gonna Break
John Vanderslice - Promising Actress
Low - Just Stand Back
The New Pornographers - The Body Says No
* The Futureheads - Skip to the End
Pretty Girls Make Graves - Parade
TV on the Radio - Dirtywhirl
* The Music Lovers - Alan Lake
* The Hold Steady - You Can Make Him Like You
The Unicorns - 2014
* Built to Spill - Goin’ Against Your Mind

The Gothic Archies include Stephin Merritt (the guy from Magnetic Fields) and Lemony Snicket (the author of A Series of Unfortunate Events). The album is actually based around the books, and apparently some of the songs are on the audio books. You have no idea how much this delights me. :)

I was in Target this evening, shopping with Allison, when we came across this: the FurReal Pony. It's kind of terrifying. It's over 3 feet tall, moves its tail and head (in a rather twitchy manner), and makes noise. In some ways, it's ingenious - lots of little girls ask for ponies, and this is significantly cheaper than buying, feeding, and boarding a real horse. At the same time, it's also very disturbing.

I went to the FurReal website and was looking at their other products, which include a variety of "newborn" animals - chimps, lions, tigers, bears (oh my!), puppies, kittens, and bunnies. By the way, what the heck are "baby bunny sounds"? Because apparently these bunnies make them, but the only noises I've heard out of any baby bunnies are squeaks of pain/fear when Katie finds a nest. And I highly doubt that those are the kind of noises they're talking about - otherwise, there are going to be a lot of little traumatized kids.

On a somewhat related note: I was watching cartoons on Saturday (Which, btw, are not as cool as the cartoons I remember as a kid - a sign of lower standards on the entertainment companies' part, or the beginnings of nostalgic longings on my part? You decide.), and a Barbie commercial played a few times. Featured in this commercial was the coolest version of the Barbie Dream House that I've seen in quite a while - 3 stories with a winding staircase, and spiffy furnishings.

Finally, as this post demonstrates, I am apparently dealing with my impending graduation by regressing back to childhood. Ah well.

This week's playlist:

Pretty Girls Make Graves - The Number
My Brightest Diamond - The Robin’s Jar
John Vanderslice - Pale Horse
* Built to Spill - Wherever You Go
Spoon - No You’re Not
OK Go - It’s a Disaster
* Pas/Cal - Little Red Radio
Sufjan Stevens - Super Sexy Woman
* Yo La Tengo - Mr. Tough
Mates of State - Think Long
The New Pornographers - Sing Me Spanish Techno
Broken Social Scene - Windsurfing Nation
Primal Scream - Rocks
TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me
* His Name Is Alive - Seven Minutes
Enon - Disposable Parts
* The Music Lovers - A Hell of a Kid
* Gertie Fox - Modern Love