2 + 2 = 5.

1) The autumnal weather.
Overcast, gray, rainy, chilly. It's never like this in LA, so I'm enjoying it while I can.

2) Da Capo's Best Music Writing of 2004.
I've only read a few of the essays thus far, but Michaelangelo Matos' "69 (Years of) Love Songs" and Roy Kasten's appreciation of Nina Simone are ace.

3) Watching John Carpenter's Halloween while kind of sick, on a cold and rainy night.
This week's dearth of postings is directly related to my horrible case of the blahs-- you know the story: headache, sore throat, queased-out stomach, etc. My case of the blahs took hold over the weekend (just as LA was getting its first rain since April). For some reason, I thought that a proper home-remedy would be a viewing of Halloween. While it didn't make me better, it was nice to catch up with Laurie and Michael and company. John Carpenter gets mad props for his creepy score and his mastery of shooting scope on a shoestring budget. Plus, it's always entertaining to watch the movie and have Tim add extra narration (almost always involving hermaphroditism or "that stubby penis next to [her] vagina") every time Jamie Lee Curtis is onscreen.

4) "Pretty (Ugly Before)" by Elliott Smith (from from a basement on the hill).
Elliott's final album is out now. I'm still fully digesting it, but after that initial listen I think I'm still partial to the first song I heard off of it. "Pretty (Ugly Before)" is all heartfelt-bombast Elliott-style: layers of vocals, jangle guitar (with Beatled-out solos), tack piano, Ringo-drumming, and backward guitar loops. Perfect.

5) The Christian Jihadists (as chronicled over at Fagistan).
While they will never eclipse Delilah as the best recurring Fagistani character(s), the Christian Jihadists are making their way to the top of the Fagistan Hit Parade. If you missed the saga of the Christian Jihadists and their quest to rule Oregon, read up m'ya and m'ya.