Another Weakerthans Post

I've blogged about them before and I assure you this won't be the last time. The Weakerthans are one of my favorite bands around and not only do they have a new website, but they have a new album -- Reunion Tour -- to boot.

In a handful of words: subtle, indie alt-punk'try quirk-pop.

Keep in mind, this is a band who've released only 4 albums in their 10+ years of existence. It's hard to fret over it too much though cos what some may consider a lack prolifcacy is actually the wonderful virtue behind the Weakerthans. Reunion Tour has left me with a very similar feeling as their last effort, Reconstruction Site did. It's no challenge to initially fall in love with the tunes. What's unexpected is how much each song grows on you. They always say the best albums are the ones that keep presenting elements you may've never noticed prior. This is that type album.

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HEAR for yourself:

the Weakerthans - sun in an empty room [highly recc'd]
the Weakerthans - night windows

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SEE for yourself:

the Weakerthans - diagnosis [1998]

the Weakerthans - psalm for the elks lodge last call [2003]

the Weakerthans - the reasons [2003]

"You Win Some, You Lose Alot..."

Sorry for the lack of posts. The past week has been far from awesome but I've managed to scrounge a few reasons to stay amped.

The first one being this Table Tennis [Pong] arcade machine I got. Who would've thought two lines and a dot could produce so much excitement? This sucker's a real treasure and I'm happy to have found it a wicked basement to hang out in. Welcome bud...

Yeah, as it turns out, the fun didn't stop there. Found another steal of a deal on this World Series - The Season baseball arcade game. Oh man, this one is mega sweet. Spring-loaded control panels really add to the wicked-fun gameplay. Soooo boss.

Aside from that, I guess I should pick up where the last post left off: The Cardinals fell on their face and it's really a disappointment for citizens of Cardinal Nation. Whatev's. We've had an amazing run [i.e. playing in 2 out of the last 3 World Series]. This just wasn't our year - didn't have the team.

The big question is whether or not Tony LaRussa will skip town. Honestly, I consider myself as loyal as they get to T-La. Always have been. But I wouldn't be bummed if he left. I'd still back any team he took over and I'd be happy to see a fresh face in the Redbird's dugout. As weird as it may sound, I'm excited to see how this awful season shapes next year's team.

Also, I'd love to hear some predictions on who the next manager will be in the event T-La leaves St. Louis. The most obvious guess would be The Secret Weapon, Jose Oquendo. My pick would be Joe Girardi. The dude proved he could coach last season by winning manager of the year... only to be canned by the Florida Marlins. Seriously Florida, do you really hate winning that much?!?

Have some tunes...
[can you see the sunset... put me on a punk rock trip. can you tell?]

American Steel - shrapnel
Propagandhi - anchorless [via sunset]
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - me and mia
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - leavin' on a jet plane
the Oranges Band - ok apartment
the Weakerthans - plea from a cat named virtue

Reunion Tour

Aw man -- I'm sorry about that. Shit got hectic for a couple months on account of relocating roughly 900 miles, moving into the new crib, and preparing for some little quiz I took a couple weeks ago. Rest assured, I'm back now thanks to a little nudging and poking from some righteous folks.


Another good reason to clear out the cobwebs here on the backporch is to hype up easily my most anticipated album of 2007: The Weakerthans - Reunion Tour. The folks at Stereogum have been kind enough to post a tune off the album and you can snag it below--I definitely would if I were you. A laid back number with a toe-tapping backbeat featuring Sampson's eerie croon that makes you feel lost but complacent. I cannot wait to get my hands on this album. I guess there's something to be said for delivering only 3 albums in about 10 years as a band; it's quality not quantity...

The Weakerthans - night windows [new one!!!]
The Weakerthans - plea from a cat named virtue
The Weakerthans - aside
The Weakerthans - the last last one

Also, be very afraid: 'seems that slack-jawed-yokel of a prez we got runnin' this ship has taken another firm stand against that obscure, ancient document known as the constitution. Long and short of it: if you're calling your homegirl in Budapest, China (or ANYWHERE outside of the U.S.) Big Brother don't need no warrant to peep your conversation. It's that easy. Essentially, the legislation legalizes that wack-ass N.S.A. program. So we got that going for us....

Thanks for hangin' in there folks,
XXOO - BPB