Since I've stopped updating my music blog...

Here's a blow-by-blow of last weekend, as told to my friend Paul in chat:

list of bands I saw at this year's ACL Fest:
?	Fri- tail end of What Made Milwaukee Famous (enh), Vampire Weekend (very disappointed), Gogol Bordello (so stupid that I took a nap), walked past Mates of State (which sounded cool), Hot Chip (awesome), The Swell Season (awesome!!!)	1:24:17 PM
Paul XXXXXX	yeah, I thought Vampire Weekend were lame...	1:24:49 PM
?	"uhh..this is a bunch of frat boys playing ironic pop...it's like they're mocking themselves.."	1:25:16 PM
lmcwil@us.ibm....	but i like the album	1:25:27 PM
?	i actually really like it	1:25:30 PM
?	their show sucked hardcore, though	1:25:35 PM
?	the album isn't like something great it's just very listenable summertime pop	1:26:12 PM
?	it's good driving music, or jogging music	1:26:20 PM
Paul XXXXXX	I could see that.	1:26:43 PM
?	though I don't have their album	1:26:50 PM
?	Hot Chip is awesome...The Warning is one of my favorite albums of the past few years	1:27:11 PM
?	Over and Over is sooo good live	1:27:21 PM
lmcwil@us.ibm....	Sat- Fleet Foxes (rad! super rad! have to buy their stuff now), The Fratellis (zzzzz only listened for like 10 mins and got super bored), part of Driveby Truckers (pretty decent, actually), Erykah Badu (pretty good), sort of listened to Spiritualized whilst taking a break in someone else's chair (was good, but not particularly inspiring), Iron and Wine (awesome! super awesome!), then most of Beck (pretty good but overhyped)	1:28:24 PM
?	agreed about "Over and Over"	1:28:33 PM
?	that was rad	1:28:34 PM
Paul XXXXXXXX	I like Iron and Wine alot...haven't seen em live yet	1:29:18 PM
lmcwil@us.ibm....	Sunday I had a VIP pass for part of the day, courtesy of the CL ppl	1:29:21 PM
?	i should have seen them at ACL in the past, but someone else trumped them	1:29:35 PM
Paul XXXXXXXX	I like Beck's recent albums, but I haven't seen him live in ~5 years	1:29:37 PM
lmcwil@us.ibm....	'was sure not to miss them this time	1:29:41 PM
?	his live show was decent but i was super far away and on the vid screen he looked OLD	1:29:53 PM
Paul XXXXXXX	did you check out Racontuers or Black Keys?	1:30:14 PM
lmcwil@us.ibm....	Sun- Octopus Proj (was right up against the rail, love them soooooo much i'm a totally fangirl, this was seriously one of their best shows ever, tho)	1:30:35 PM
?	i saw raconteurs last time	1:30:40 PM
?	didn't catch Black Keys due to Iron&Wine	1:30:48 PM
Paul XXXXX	ah, the conflicts of big fests...	1:31:21 PM
?	going to see Black keys in Asheville this weekend	1:32:09 PM
lmcwil@us.ibm....	(Sun, cont)- Tristan Prettyman (randomly went to it due to a friend, she was actually ok but i'm not going to get in line to buy the cd), then hung out awhile in VIP getting free booze, saw part of Colour Revolt (randomly, happened to be nearby and it sounded good), Heartless BAstards (awesome! super awesome!!!!), listened to Gnarls Barkely from a distance (was getting tired), then Band of Horses (good, but i was too tired to appreciate), stayed for like 15 mins of Foo Fighters then was like "I'm so done"	1:32:46 PM
?	i just wanted to hear "Everlong" but they didn't play it w/in the first 3 songs so i was like "screw it"	1:33:04 PM
?	i'm really not into them	1:33:14 PM
?	Asheville is a long ways for just a concert!	1:33:30 PM
?	then riding my bike home i almost bit it when i hit a speed bump in the pitch blackness of dark	1:34:26 PM
?	i jarred my left hand so hard i thought i almost dislocated a few fingers	1:34:44 PM
Paul XXXXXX	yeow..	1:35:44 PM

Why do i keep on generating this drama? i think i must seek it out somehow, without meaning to. i'm just tired. i thought i was over all that. maybe the world would be better off if i kept to myself. i'm over-committed. i should be committed. i'm over-reacting, most likely. but this is the kind of stuff that could have lasting repercussions. most things in life are reversible, but not everything. this time things are going to be different. this time i know what i want. oh, wait. oh, wait. oh...


*sigh*

More thoughts on Love


So, the other day I received a declaration of love in my email inbox. Alas, it was not for me. It was for some other Laura McWilliams, as was immediately apparent. I couldn't resist skimming over it. This guy was really sincere.

I receive quite a few emails in mistake, especially to this one particular email account. Evidently, my name is quite common. I usually try to reply to the person the first time it happens, just to let him/her know that the intended recipient never got the mail. If someone continually emails me (this happened for quite a while with emails from some school where some other Laura McWilliams is a teacher, I guess) despite having been informed of the mistake, then I simply block the sender.

At any rate, I figured this was an especially important email, so I mailed the guy back right away to let him know that the other Laura was still in the dark about his professed devotion. I couldn't resist dropping a few words of wisdom on him: "No matter what happens, true love always makes you a better person, so you're already better off than you would have been without her."

Perhaps that sounds unbelievably naive.

Aside: my cat just tore across the room to pounce on an invisible foe on the bed. Upon realizing the lack of actual prey, she looked quite disconcerted. (More proof that cats are inherently schitzophrenic.)

Anyways, so back to what I was talking about- I really believe it's true. At some point in the past had you asked me the age-old question of whether it is better to have loved and lost, I probably would have said it's better to have never loved at all. But I've changed my mind. True love does make you a better person. It motivates you to want to be a better person. And that can't be a bad thing.

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