It's Kind of Strange

Now that Ryan and I finally have Seasons 1 and 2 of NewsRadio on DVD, Mike reminds me of another much-loved show I can now own: The Adventures of Pete and Pete. There's a great article about the show's proto-indie-ness over here with more Mike love. (And I mean Mike love, not Mike Love.)

That's the Anthem, Get'cha Damn Hands Up

Last night, Erica and I went out to see Spoon (btw, I had to sacrifice the Aloha/Ted Leo/Oranges Band show Saturday night so as to to save up my dwindling energy supply--so sad). A really weird thing happened when they played "The Way We Get By." Everyone at the Granada--and it was a sold-out show--sang along as if it was the song that defined our generation. I'm all for singing along, for feeling like lyrics have been written Expressly For You and You Alone. Hell, I could even deal with the cluster of people next to me raising their beer bottles high at the chorus. But "The Way We Get By" isn't a "Slack Motherfucker"-style fuck-you sort of song. It's catchy as all get out, but it's pretty sad. I mean, "We get high in backseats of cars/We break into mobile homes"? If anything, the song's about coping, about hiding your feelings behind drugs and sex. "You bought a new bag of pot/So let's make a new start/And that's the way to my heart to/Way to my heart."

I'll sing along, but I don't want it to be my song.