Read Some Stewf

Good for Thanksgiving

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This January The Arcade Fire Shall Keep Me Warm

...and if the snow buries my neighborhood, then I'll dig a tunnel from my window to yours.

When The Arcade Fire announced their December San Fran show, it sold out in a few days, despite being a band that's just barely getting noticed by even the undergroundest of the underground-dwelling hipsters. Perhaps it was their debut record’s 9.7 rating at Pitchfork. Or maybe it was this swooning review of a live show (dripping with hyperbole, but I believe it’s sincere).

I was bummed to miss their SF appearance. Funeral is pretty much the only thing that's seen any action in my iTunes this week and I have to admit I’m intrigued by their quiet nods to David Byrne and his much talleyhooed appearance in the crowd at one of their performances. I wanted to watch a rock concert side-by-side with David! Poo. Still, there was hope: word was they might return to the Bay in January.

I am pleased to announce that fifteen minutes ago, thanks to wonderful RSS technology, I snagged four tickets the moment the new show was announced. Oh, gee giddy, I can’t wait to Wake Up.

Music is Not a Loaf of Bread

Jeff Tweedy of Wilco isn't fooled by the record labels:

A piece of art is not a loaf of bread. When someone steals a loaf of bread from the store, that's it. The loaf of bread is gone. When someone downloads a piece of music, it's just data until the listener puts that music back together with their own ears, their mind, their subjective experience. How they perceive your work changes your work.

Treating your audience like thieves is absurd. Anyone who chooses to listen to our music becomes a collaborator.

New Pets

I support cloning, stem cell research, genetic modification, animal testing, or whatever it takes to make it possible to own very small bears that fit in the palm of your hand. Thanks to Zara for the notion.

New Maps, Part 2

The real election map of America (click to biggify):

And a map comparing Civil War-era free and slave states with the state-level election results.

New Maps

Sent by friends and gathered from the web (click any image to biggify):

Facial Hair × 5