...In which our heroine has two weeks.

I knew this was going to happen.

I knew that as soon as I got back from Lollapalooza, the reality of leaving for college would set in. It really struck me this morning as Cassie and I drove back from Clifton in the twilight of dawn today, the silence speaking volumes. Driving through the dawn past exits, all various paths leading to home that I've known for the past eighteen years that are soon to become not commonality, but simply a memory of "my hometown," I felt the shift. She knew, and I knew, that our times together were coming to an end. At least the times as we've known them for the past four years.

Mom knew when she started crying when we went to go buy jeans at the mall last week. She knew it was our last real time of back to school shopping, and that she'd never have to bitch again about going to the mall to buy clothes for the school year.

Dad knew when we stayed up having one of our epic father/daughter chats the night I got back from Lolla until 2 AM. It was us talking about music--me about the weekend, him as always showing me relics from a bygone time (Frank Zappa videos.) He told me he's worried about whose going to keep him cool once I leave.

Both grandmothers and an aunt and uncle knew this week as they offered to hang out--go to dinner or walk around, just to spend time.

...Now I'm sad. Reality has crept up on me as I washed my college linens or bought pasta in bulk for the dorm. Of course I'm excited but now the true gravity of my leaving has snuck up, seemingly overnight. It doesn't help that getting my wisdom teeth out will put a damper on the last week at home.

Of course music tells the truth about how I feel--"Every new beginning comes from some other new beginning's end." I wrote my last Odin's piece with that line in it but now as it becomes true, I am a little bummed that life as I've known it is indeed ending.

But then I look at the Weeks of Welcome events at Columbia, or think about how nice it'll be to not have to get up before eight for school ever again, and I feel better. I think about all the cool movies we're going to watch on Kathleen's (a roommate) projector or what posters are going up in my dorm room. I think about all the new beginnings on the way and I don't feel so bad.

At least not that bad.

...In which our heroine survived the rock n'roll bacchanal, yet again.

Lollapalooza 2008 has come and gone. All that's left now is my nasty sunburn and the dirt caked onto my Chucks.

We arrived in Chicago around noon on Friday and checked back into the Congress Plaza Hotel, which was quite the Lolla hotspot. It was relentlessly hot with temperatures in the nineties, so we didn't head out until around 2 to see the weekend's first band, Louis XIV. From then we were off, and when the weekend was done, had seen a total of eighteen bands.
In order:
Louis XIV
The Black Keys
Cat Power
The Raconteurs
Radiohead
The Gutter Twins
MGMT
Lupe Fiasco
Toadies
Rage Against the Machine
The Whigs
Nicole Atkins and the Sea
Black Kids
G. Love & Special Sauce
Flogging Molly
Love and Rockets
The National
Nine Inch Nails

First to talk about was the vibe of the weekend itself. I loved the hippie/bohemian feel of the festival and there's something totally liberating about screaming "I'D RATHER DIE THAN GIVE YOU CONTROL" along with 75,000 other sweaty, hungry, unwashed people. People watching at concerts is always fun, but Lolla amplifies it. In the daytime, its checking out tattoos (the best was Homer Simpson as Buddha) and t-shirts, and in the night, its watching drunk fools get dragged out of the crowd in various stages of consciousness.

I do have to say I was apprehensive about going with a big group (six people) after Cassie and I had so much fun by ourselves last year. It wasn't just logisitics of feeding and housing six people in a hotel room, but making sure everyone got along.

And unfortunately, by around five on Friday, it became apparent that my apprehension was well founded. The group was split into two groups: those who came to see the bands and those who came to party. I was really annoyed when people started falling asleep at shows after a long day of partying. The group left Nate and I alone at Radiohead after partying too much all day after just forty minutes of the show, and I was alone for Nine Inch Nails because my companions were tired. They paid too much money to leave early and fall asleep. Most of the weekend, I almost felt like I'd be having more fun on my own without the whims of five other people to follow. I was there for the music, and while I do like to have my cake and eat it too, everything else was second to the bands I wanted to see.

Even besides the excess partying, I just got fed up with people who did things like didn't bring water and then ask for mine. The whole weekend was meant as a last hurrah kind of trip for us and it really did make me realize how much I'm going to miss some people and how little I'm going to miss others.

BUT...as I said, the weekend was about the music so Katydid presents her Top 6 of Lollapalooza 2008:

1. Rage Against the Machine
Could the number one spot belong to anyone else but Rage? Of course not. Electricity was in the air from the moment we walked in the sold out fest. Would Obama show...would there be riots...how bad would the moshing be? We staked out a spot after Lupe Fiasco that we thought would be far enough from the stage to avoid the harcore moshers.
We were wrong. So wrong.
The crowd went nuts from the first notes of "Testify." Rage sounded so musically precise and Morello gets the most amazing sounds out of that guitar. The crowd was wild of course. "Bulls on Parade" was second and just when I was thinking we were on the edge of the madness, all hell broke loose.
I would guess 5,000 people all decided at once they needed to get out of the pit. Within a matter of seconds, we went from being fine to being swept up in the mob. I couldn't breathe, couldn't stand. I was falling and separated from my friends and holding onto a random guy behind me. I kept thinking about the Who and Pearl Jam tragedies as I looked at the only open place, the sky...and then in about two minutes it was over and I magically was able to pull myself to Aaron. The endorphin rush kicked in and I realized that I hadn't panicked too bad and I was all intact. Paige lost her shoes, but things could have been much worse. It was the most scared I've ever been in my life. We ended up about 100 feet from where we started and after we settled, Zack addressed the crowd to chill out...then after the fourth song, and the seventh. Things finally calmed down in our new spot and we were able to enjoy the rest of the show.
Musically, Rage was everything I could ever want them to be. The music was so angry but yet so technically efficient. I would've liked to heard "The Ghost of Tom Joad" but oh well. I especially enjoyed the chorus change in "Killing in the Name Of" to "Some of those who burn crosses/Are the same who hold office" and Zack's speech about how the Reps and Dems are both guilty of driving this country in a poor direction.
Rage did do just that--rage. They were political and loud and perfect.

The best photo I took, most of them are blurry because I was just glad to be alive:

2. Nine Inch Nails

This was my third time seeing NIN, so I was up for anything at all, having already seen every song I ever wanted to hear live in Cincinnati and Columbus. Nonetheless, Trent Reznor never disappoints me and I'm a bigger fan of NIN than anyone else that was at the fest. The LCD screen and light show was tremendous and perfectly synchronized, which you'll be able to see in some of the pictures and videos below. Trent told the audience he was having a rough time with his voice, but I thought he sounded fantastic, as did the overall clarity of music throughout the weekend. I'm not usually into such heavy music, but NIN has perfected the art of industrial music. As always, highlights included a rousing "March of the Pigs," "Terrible Lie," and "Closer." I actually really enjoyed the instrumental break that showcased stuff from Ghosts I-IV and I mean c'mon, Trent Reznor playing marimba? As far as pure enjoyment this show was number one, but I would've liked a few more songs from the early years. This show also provided me with my most profound moment of the weekend, during "Hurt." The tears have come every time I've seen it performed live, and Trent's speech beforehand ("I wrote this song in a very dark time in my life...then later, I gave it away to a friend") really amplified the emotion.

Trent Reznor, the angriest man to ever capture my affection:

And another, just because:

The whole group of ever-rotating musicians:


The only picture I took all weekend that's actually good:
3. The Raconteurs

We left this show early to stake out a place for Radiohead, which I now know was a mistake. I was really excited to see Jack White's virtuoso guitar skills again, and the man does not disappoint. Nate and I were hoping to hear some really cool cover like "Bang Bang My Baby Shot Me Down" but the regular setlist proved to be quite alright. Jack did this really cool improv thing during "Steady as She Goes" that sounded like Van Halen and that song was a massive sing-a-long and the highlight of the show. The whole band destroyed instruments and strings, which always makes me happy to know that there's energy going into the performance. Brendan Benson was some kind of intoxicated as he knocked his mic over and was bleary-eyed the whole show. As long as Jack White makes music, I'll be listening.

The man himself:

Brendan Benson, half alive:

4. Radiohead This was a close call for the #3 spot, but the first half of Radiohead was just too damn lethargic. That, coupled with the fact that I never actually saw any of the band made the experience less than perfect. BUT...the music itself sounded great. I wasn't expecting a hit parade of things like "Creep" "Karma Police" and "High and Dry" right in a row--that just isn't the kind of band Radiohead is. Nate and I were thrilled to hear lots of stuff from OK Computer, Kid A, and The Bends. As fireworks went off, you could've heard a pin drop for the final line of "Fake Plastic Trees," a song I don't really like, but in the context of the setting, was breathtaking. The only things I really really wanted to hear were "Optimistic" and "Idioteque," both of which they did, and also the whole of In Rainbows. Mostly, this show just made me want to see Radiohead again in a more sedate, compressed setting to let the complexity of their music stand out.

I'm short, my pictures aren't the best, deal:

Thom Yorke, being Jesus:


The split screen was actually pretty annoying for those of us who can't always see the stage:

5. The Black Keys

Before last year's Lolla, I had never listened to The Black Keys. After a stellar performance last year, I became a fan, and was eager to see them again this year. I love that two completely dorky white dudes from Akron can play such fierce blues rock. Highlights included "Girl is on My Mind" "Your Touch" and "Strange Times." The Black Keys were every bit as musically precise as NIN, but there was still a feeling that they could be making things up as they went along. Amongst all the aspiring hipster types (ahem) it was nice to hear some good ol' fashioned blues.

Patrick Carney broke like 20 pairs of drum sticks:

I get a crush on like every third rock star I see:

6. The Gutter Twins

I had to make a list of six just to include this band, a duo of ex-Afghan Whig Greg Dulli and ex-Screaming Tree Mark Lanegan. The Afghan Whigs were, in my humble opinion, the best band to ever come out of Cincinnati. Dulli wrote some outstanding, hateful, passionate music about love and relationships on the Whigs best two albums, Gentlemen and Black Love. He also DJ'd a bit for WOXY back in the day, so what a shock, I have a big rock star crush on him too. I was so very excited to see Mr. Dulli with Mr. Lanegan, being all angry and hateful, what they both do best. The sunny day and jubilant atmosphere was not the best place for the music of the Twins, but it was still lovely. If Satan took up residence in the Haight-Asbury in 1968 and started playing psychedelic rock, this is what it would sound like. Lanegan's gravelly growl and Dulli's high pitched whine go so well together with the heavy, trippy music. They even covered Massive Attack's "Live With Me," which wasn't suprising considering Dulli has covered everything from "When Doves Cry" to "Lost in the Supermarket."

Too many years and too many beers have not been kind to Greg Dulli (on the left):

Mark Lanegan was like Tom Waits Jr.:


And now the video portion of the program, beginning with Nate doing interpretive dance to "My Sweet Lord":

Radiohead doing "The National Anthem":

Nine Inch Nails, "Closer":

Lollapalooza 2008: I survived and have now seen over 70 bands live. I'm well on my way to Band-Aid status.

...In which our heroine makes a confession.

Yeah, I'm going to college for cinematography in about three weeks, and as close to a dream occupation as that is, there is still something I'd rather do more.

I want to be the person on a film who sits there and decides what songs go best with specific scenes. A fairly simple request, but they don't exactly have a college major for it. I'm sure a lot of that is up to directors and screenwriters, but I want to just be shown a scene and get to say, "Oh, I've got a song for that."

In the meantime while I keep dreaming, here are Katydid's ten favorite uses of music in film, in no order except for the final choice:

Goodfellas- "Layla" by Derek and the Dominoes
Scorsese generally annoys me as a person, but you cannot deny his filmmaking skills or his appreciation of American pop music. As much as I hated The Departed, the beginning as set to "Gimme Shelter" was amazing. Almost as amazing as this scene. Almost.




The Hunger- "Bela Lugosi's Dead" by Bauhaus
There exists within me a Goth that never got out. Occasionally, it rears its head and such is the reason that I love this scene. This isn't the exact version of the music moment I want, but it is the best Youtube has to offer. The Hunger is a pretty mediocre vampire movie, but it does save some face with the prescence of Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie, who both just reek cool in this clip. "Bela" is generally considered the first Goth song and this is an outstanding opening to a film.


The Last of the Mohicans- "Promontory" by Clannad
This would be Dad's absolute favorite music movie moment. A lovely instrumental that was recently used again in an NFL commercial. But the original is still the best. The look that Jodhi May gives will break your heart. This movie will always be one of my favorites just for this sequence alone.


Marie Antoinette- "Hong Kong Garden" by Siouxsie and the Banshees
Sofia Coppola is my favorite female director for her thoughtful films and stunning visuals. She like Scorese really gets how to use pop music. When I saw this in theatres, my jaw was wide open. Absolutely stunning.


Donnie Darko- "Mad World" by Gary Jules
The music starts at about three minutes in this video. A cover version that surpasses the original and a song that had the rare effect on me of being able to sing it after hearing it twice. This song really adds to the haunting atmosphere at the end.


Fight Club- "Goin' Out West" by Tom Waits
Although "Where is my Mind" at the end of this film is brilliant, I prefer this moment, with Waits' unmistakable gargle and the promise of trouble about to start.



The Indian Runner- "Comin' Back to Me" by Jefferson Airplane
The whole concept of this movie is based on the song "Highway Patrolman" by Springsteen, so it isn't too much of a stretch to think that director Sean Penn knew this obscure Jefferson Airplane song, sung not by Grace Slick but Marty Balin. I love how the tenderness of the song contrasts Viggo at his insane best.


American Psycho- "Hip to be Square" by Huey Lewis and the News
I hate this song and every other piece of crap song that Huey Lewis made. However, this lovely moment, based on the sickest, most depraved novel I've ever read, finally shows that there is one good use for the music of Huey Lewis.


Pretty in Pink- "Try a Little Tenderness" by Otis Redding
I couldn't make this list without including the genius of John Hughes. This movie is a romantic hot mess and super melodramatic, but I'll always love it. If there's ever been an arguement for Andie choosing Duckie over Blaine, this settles it. The use of New Order's music in the film really adds to the atmosphere, and Cassie and I listened to this soundtrack while we were getting ready for prom.


And finally, at number one, there is only one film I could pick as my favorite music movie moment...

Almost Famous- "Tiny Dancer" by Elton John
I could list a million moments from this film that give me the chills: Anita's leaving to Simon and Garfunkle's "America," Lester Bangs rocking out to the Stooges' "Search and Destroy," Penny and Russell meeting again to "River" by Joni Mitchell, William looking for Penny set to "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" by Elton John, exiting the plane to "Cortez the Killer" by Neil Young.
But this moment is the one everyone remembers, and for good reason. It shows the transcendent power of music, the way it elevates us from the depths and brings us together when we're pulling apart. It shows how music makes us feel infinite. But most of all, as Penny Lane says, it brings us home.


See you again on the flipside of Lollapalooza.

...In which our heroine needs Herbie the Dentist.

About a week ago, my stupid wisdom teeth started hurting. The top two are completely in, but the ones on the bottom, the ones that hurt, just started to peek through. The pain was unusual and started from my eye socket all the way down my jaw to the gum. I was not a happy camper.

I went to the dentist yesterday and found that not only are my bottom wisdom teeth completely sideways, meaning what should be the top is pressing into my back molars, but I have an infection with some long name that is causing pain. I feel better today, with the antibiotics and pain meds, but I have to get them out on August 14, barely a week before I leave for school. And apparently the recovery is going to suck due to the weird placement. What a fantastic last week before college I'm going to have! It is better at least that I'll be in college and not have to worry about them.

Not a lot else is going on. Financial aid is a big stress but I think (or hope at least) I'm finally done with it. Most of my stuff, besides clothes, is organized for the move and I bought some cool dishes and glasses at Target. I'll be stocked to the nines when it comes to kitchen wares.

The hard part is going to be deciding what books to take. Obviously, I can't take them all, but there are difficult choices to made. Does the entire Palahniuk canon need to accompany me? How about all the issues of The Sandman? Decisions, decisions.

Plans for Lollapalooza are shaping up well. I'm excited to go back to the Congress Hotel and be back in the city one last time before its for keeps. We've even got cars decided: Matt driving Paige and Aaron, Nate driving Bekky and I. Hopefully it won't dissolve into bloodshed with six people in a hotel room.

I'm off to Bob's which I only have to work at for 12 more days!!!

...In which our heroine is watching the Watchmen.

A few posts ago, I talked about how I was just as excited for the trailer for Watchmen with The Dark Knight. I was the only person in the theatre to cheer for the trailer because I knew it was coming.

Well the trailer was indeed very cool, but after the movie, Aaron asked me what the graphic novel was about. I hesitated. Watchmen, as it turns out is really hard to describe. "Um, its like an alternate future, and there are these superheroes, but they are kind of more like antiheroes," I told Aaron who was not impressed.

The conclusion from this was that I needed to re-read Watchmen. I'm currently about six issues in and I've realized that I retained absolutely nothing when I read it two summers ago. I was probably in deep with Jay Gatsby and Esther Greenwood and read it too fast and not sharply enough.

This re-read has really opened me up to the sheer brilliance of the book, which I reluctantly call a comic, because it's so damn deep. I'm much more into the characters, especially Dr. Manhattan and Rorschach. I'm actually paying attention to the excerpts at the end of each issue and the Tales of the Black Freighter. I can't believe I missed so much on the first read and am glad I picked it up again.

The supercool trailer:


In other news, The Dark Knight is officially the best movie ever, the new Kevin Smith movie, Zack and Miri Make a Porno is officially porno, and I officially have one month left before college :)

...In which our heroine has been sated.

Yeah. It was that good. Head 'sploding, teeth-clenching, seat-of-edge-sitting good. The stolen graphic on the right explains that.

The Dark Knight is the best comic book movie ever. Beyond that, it is simply a great film. If the MPAA had any sense, it would get a Best Picture nomination for sheer audacity being able to satisfy all the fanboys AND not just blowing shit up. Wait, you mean there are moral questions posed? The heroes and villains aren't clear cut? The very nature of man is discussed? No way...it's just a silly comic book movie.

Aside from being far and away the best film I've seen this year (sorry Wall-E), The Dark Knight was one of the best films I've seen in a verrrry long time.

I don't know what to say about Heath Ledger that hasn't already been said. Kevin Smith's early review had it right--he completely dissolves into the character. So gleefully creepy and sadistic. As Alfred says, "Some men just want to see the world burn." And Ledger's Joker does. No wonder he was having nightmares with that sneer, those mannerisms, the need for anarchy.

Spoiler time:

I was quite glad that definitive action was taken with killing off Rachel, the most boring character ever, although Maggie Gyllenhaal was miles better than Katie Holmes. Bruce Wayne can get play whenever, wherever, no worries.Aaron Eckhart worked charmability (is that a word?) that can be so easily skewed well, and I was kinda pissed they killed off Two-Face, who could have been a great villain for the series, but I understand why it was done for the sake of Bruce Wayne's characterization. I was also glad to see Gary Oldman, one of my favorite British actors, get his role beefed up and be more than just a convenience to move the script along. I did think the ending got a little too busy, with the clown-masked hostages, the boat hostages, Gordon's family, and Batman vs. Joker, but it's a minor complaint.

I loved every second. For me, there are few things better than sitting down in a dark theatre at midnight with the fellow truly devoted, fists clenched in anticipation that morphs into total joy when those credits role...

...In which our heroine wets her fangirl pants.

There's this movie coming out tonight at midnight. Something with a dude in a suit and some crap blowing up--I don't really know but the trailer looks freakin' sweet when they show that truck flip over. I like when crap blows up.

I kid, I kid. I've been excited for The Dark Knight ever since the Bat Man flipped over the Joker's calling card at the end of Batman Begins. I LOVE the direction Christopher Nolan has taken the whole Batman story in and cannot wait for what's in store this evening. Cassie and I will be at Rave with all the other geeks, salivating for 12:00:01. The reviews have been great, although I've acted totally out character and read none of them, nor have I watched any clips (besides trailers I've been subjected to) because we all know how pissed Katydid gets when she gets her fangirl joy spoiled (see Serenity, Dexter Season 2)

It will be weird watching Heath Ledger literally get the last laugh on his audience and I don't know how I'm going to react to seeing his performance. I'm sure the fanboys will hail it as the second coming but I also think it'll draw audiences who wouldn't normally go see the film in, a morbid fascination.

Oh, and there's also a trailer for Zack Snyder's Watchmen, which I might just be as excited about.

Gah, I'm such a geek.