all the single ladies.

umm, so this weekend didn't exactly turn out the way i anticipated. what i envisioned my regular lazy boyfriend weekend in edgewater to be started off about right, a bike ride, greasy food from budackis, a quick hangout in the park, and random regularities. and then, post greasy food bloating session, laying down for what i thought would be a quick catnap wound up with a marriage proposal. and of course i said yes, duh. even though as my mom kept saying 'O-M-G, Jodi! You told me time and time again you would NEVER get married. And now look at you. You're like  a real grown up now!' Yup maw, O-M-G, indeed.

http://www.holyshit.com/beinginloveisawesome

yesteryears & other nostalgia.

today was one of those days. the grey, wet ones that most people have a tendency not to care for. i'll admit, i sure as hell wasn't eager to get out of my bed this thundery morning, especially with my napping snuggly partner in crime to my direct left (that's his side). but i did, staggering ten stubborn minutes late to the office or not. and as expected, it was a late one. but even with the the 180 window view on murky, lake michigan, i was more exhilerated than not with the mucky weather.

for whatever reason, i dilly-dallyed around the office longer than i needed to, munching like a peasant on the leftover pasta salad from lunch knowing it'd save me money and efforts in wrangling a dinner at home, and then when i finally shuffled down michigan avenue, feeling like a bloated school marm in my lesbo power suit, i had some sort of deja vu. or not really. maybe i thought i saw a ghost or something. but right by the bus stop by the stupid whatever store on my direct left, i swore i saw the cottony top of my grandmother's somehow still classy and blonde, yet never dyed, white crispy head of hair. and of course i knew it wasn't her, (having her passed on some 15 years ago), but yet, i paused.

realized it's been a long time since i was that jodi robin root. the one with grandparents. and i stopped for a minu-second, wondering what she would think of me now. would she be proud of me? all jaded and never-stop-just-go, shuffling along in the dirty city, bitch face 'dont-you-dare-ask-me-for-money-you-cracked-out-fake-homeless-man' permanently slapped on my freckly face? or would she see me as the weirdo tattooed loudmouth fast talker caffeine junky redhead i've become? or maybe, but i doubt it, i'd still be her stable, but good girl grand daughter. the one who got straight a's and never touched a drop of alcohol and swore to always do good no matter what.

whatever she'd think, it was a mixture of both sadness and bitter joy. or something. lately i've been distracted, apart from myself. finding my way. instead of doing the basics, i've been going on this gut kick to follow my heart (or some similar faggy something or another). i feel as if its finally time for the bitter, headstrong and hurtful j.root to retire and allow the kinder, live and let live, even if you fuck me up, kinda flourish. or something.

i miss being 26. thin and simultaneously selfless and selfish. my only responsibility being my nikes and sneezing cat. praising the goodness that be poster of kanye west. singing to tori amos' 'cornflake girl' at the top of my screechy lungs, and not thinking there was anything weird with hating showers. but even now, while i admit to still holding some of these tendencies (but really, mostly missing my smaller figure), i'm happier now than i've probably ever been in my entire life.

so why am i sitting here, squinting and rambling? well, because i have an album review due, of course. and writer's block for assignments ultimately trump writer's block for rambling seshes.

plus, this gives me an excuse to test out my new laptop and show off my mother's newest 'ohjodi, whydidyoudothat' body accessory.

ps - the handsome furs' new album is kewl and stuff, but i still would rather youtube classics such as this vs. write.

erg. (booty, booty, booty, booty backin' e'rywhere).

gagA.

hey you guys, the new lady gaga came out yesterday. my birthday's thursday. (hint, hint?)

i know, i'm a 15 year old gay boy. i don't care.

heart and soul.

huey lewis & the news are my ultimate happy cheer up oh my gawd life was once so easy anthem makers. like, 'heart & soul?' instant nostalgia. a time machine to 2009. tessa's car. cruising the express highway in the midst of minneapolis/st paul suburbia. hands in the air, hair in the wind through the moonroof. CRANKING huey Lu like tomorrow wasn't coming. screaming at the tops of our lungs. without a worry in the world. . . heart and soul, indeed.

verymuchonthefence to play this jam next week on chirp. let's see if the wind's in my air for the bike ride to north center. . .

re-offender.

ok, so this band makes super shitty music videos. that's no secret. but godDANG, if i'm not on an 'ohmygodimisstravis' kick lately. is it something in the air? am i super wimpy all of a sudden? i dunno. but between this and why does it always rain on me, i'm missing these scottish dudes big time. they's can re-offend me anytime they want. (as long as the whiney singer one isnt wearing another goddamn faux hawk like in his other vid). faux hawks are sick.

i have tiny eyes, you guys.

but god dang, if gettin' new glasses ain't the best. tiny eyes or not, i like looking like a geek.

summah, summah, summurr tyieeem

dudez, it's here. even though it's a 3 day work week for yers truly, that doesn't necessarily lessen the intensity or long hours playing corporate grownzup. but last night i made the best decision in forever when i drug my workerbees and sexted a few galpals to meet me at milennium park for what was the first rendition of downtown sounds.

yeah, sure, bonnie prince billy was kewl or whathaveyou. but really, drinking brews from walgreens, talking smack to little boys blowing  bubbles, watching some warlord play with his 'davidbowieball' (ashleymeekeristhebest), and squirm around in corporate wear while proudly letting my tattoos hang out was really what it was all about. beautiful evening. warm wine/budweiser buzz. relief of an extended upcoming weekend (with zero plans!).

tomorrow marks the end of the work week for me, and then 5 days of nada await. gonna pretend im unemployed again, and ride my birthday bike, like, everywhere. go grab some longoverdue drinks with whoever the hell is out and about, thinkin' rainbo with lisalisa on thurs where i'll proceed to request nonstop 50 cent bday shout outs and then my cookout/beachwood soiree on saturday. will just crawl around my apartment like one of those creepy cave dweller mole creatures before/after. eat cheetos and kiss molly. this is what i want for my birthday. (well, i mean other than introducing the beau to the maternal unit and hammering NUMEROUS shots of cuervo in a hottub, how the hell can you up that?)

but yeah.back to the music i was rambling about or whatever. this summer is going to kick ass. i just know it. work is shmerk, but at least i can afford to have some fun and i got a great dude to rock it with. i don't think there's a show on memorial day monday, but i know there's one the monday after. 6:30 every week, a whopping 2 blocks down michigan ave from my office. iron and wine, ted leo & pharmacists, a whole slew of other indie bands i kinda wanna see but not really as much as i wanna drink outside and roll around in the dirty grass and swear at toddlers.

god damn, summer in chicago is grand. here's to hoping i ain't too old for it.

i'm old.

it's officially may again. aka, christmas for the rootabega clan. my nephew just turned 13! (holycrap marbs is going thru puberty im dying). my mom, 60. sister, somewhere in her 40s. mothers day. and then, yers truly ages in 2 weeks or some shit. dang, 28 sounds old. i just wish i had balloons and kool-aid mustaches again, really. this getting old thang sucks without the help of cupcakes at school and mr. montgomery's 4th grade phys. ed 'spanking machine.'

i gotta admit, im long overdue for some family time. stress always gets thebest/worst/everything/of/me, so when i'm exhausted/overexerted, sometimes i just need to hide with my criminally insane pack of genes and pretend to hate every second of it. lately, im exhausted to the nines, and if it werent for my supersweet-but-spills-wine-on-me-in-my-sleep-and-pretends-to-wipe-it-off-me-and-says-nothing-until-i-confess-i-have-a-purple-'funguy'-rash-boyfriend, i'd be a mess times a million.

such is life.

got a couple big weekends ahead of me. time to lay low, relaxxx to the maxxx. have some brews, good food, good company, and hopefully turn off the smartphone and ignore the fact that my job consumes 95% of my existence.

one of these weekends is the celebration? (nah, more like, stubborn stance of declaration) of my birth. or something. but instead of getting krunk as hell before 60% of my guests show up and then one yanks my iPod party, ima grill out on that deck of mine and move that shit over to beachwood. memorial day wknd. shit will be bananas, ya'll. but really, i don't give two cahoots over my birthday. instead, i'm just stoked as all fucking hell to see A) my family and B) my friends and C) have 5 days without having to go to michigan avenue in a pencil skirt and heels with a fake ms. jodi root smile plastered on my face.

the one perk to bdays? early birthday presents. what can i say? i've got the best dude, ever.

musick.

omg you guys, i think i found a contender in my top 2011 releases. two super righteous female acoustic musicians ganged up together and dropped a long awaited debut album on kill rockstars, the one and only thao & mirah. dry, yet fluid, the combination of thao & mirah's soft, yet effective vocal work is undeniably a success. bursts of riot-inducing percussion, more clapping than you'd find at a pep rally in high school musical, keys, synth, girly goodness, it's all there.

this album is the fucking shit. opening up with 'eleven,' listeners are gripped instantaneously. this ain't yer every day girly album. although i'd be lying if it didn't make me want to jump around on my bed, swing molly around by her lil kitty paws and frolick in a field of lilies.

it's been a while since i've had even five minutes to listen to music outside of the radio station, so when i accidently make a discovery like this, it fuels me back to my roots and gets me to where i gotta be. while i'm trapped in my cubicle like a corporate wench, at least i now am supplied with an appropriate soundtrack.

additional 2011 albums that may make the cut released to date? interesting. . . how about?

sims - bad time zoo
lykke li - wounded rhymes
pj harvey - let england shake
panda bear - tomboy
(thao & mirah - self/titled)

maybe?
the go! team - rolling blackouts
shabazz palaces - black up
tyler, the creator - goblin

not making the cut (dang). . .
atmosphere - the family sign
tv on the radio - nine types of light

mission accomplished.

so, i like, kinda sorta radio dj sometimes, right? no big deal. only like, my creative passion or whatever. sometimes, the initial thrill of it all gets lost in the shuffle with the corporate 9-5 madness (or more like, 8-forever if we're counting the daily hours these days, who-em-i jokin'?) but tonite was one of those shifts where i get a real rise out of it.

forcing myself to prep more and get my rambly sweet self a bit more together, i like to think the past few weeks have been more cohesive and whatnot, but tonite i had a random listener live gchatting away with me for a good duration of my show. i, assumed it was my peer co-dj who is assigned for a show critique and will give me tips and 'jodi-don'ts', so willingly and enthusiastically engaged in miscellaneous music chit chat for a better part of an hour. it was only when 15 mins left of shift, i asked my mystery friend if he knew we had something in the library to which he responded 'how would i know?'

umm, woops. well, regardless, i gained a fan tonight. but more importantly than that, i turned the mystery fan into a fan of that dog. a group which, probably released the most underrated classic album of all time. their 1997 release, retreat from the sun, is a collection of pop hook goodness. sugary sweet female vox with solid upbeat keys, guitar, violins, whatever. it's the best ever. and they now have one more fan 14 years after the fact.

i consider that pretty much, mission accomplished.

oh, and i snuck some 'ye in the shuffle. so that's umm, pretty much always a win in my book.

school spirit, motha fuckaaaa.

setlists and molly hurr: http://chirpradio.org/schedule/94325/jodi-root