I went out taking photos of different places in St. Louis. Different clubs, mainly. I also ate a bunch of stuff.

What did you eat, Eric?

Well...
From Blueberry Hill:
3 toasted ravioli
A piece of bread
7 oz. burger with approximately 7 additional oz. of cheddar spread
Cup of French onion soup
Another piece of bread
From Studio Cafe street vendor:
Italian salsiccia sandwich
From stand in front of La Onda:
Carne asada taco

I went to see a good amount of the open-mic at Genesis House, (finally) went to the Rocket Bar for the first time, hopped in Farrago, walked by the City Museum and took some pictures, and (finally) checked out La Onda for the first time, which seems like a blast. Becca, I'm getting you in on this. I kind of feel like I saw more of St. Louis in one night than most people at Wash. U. will see in four years.

I've also, 5 years later, recently picked up the Magnetic Fields' "69 Love Songs," a 3-CD box set of a concept album. To the uninitiated of you, the title may seem sophomoric, leading you to believe that this may just be some snot-nosed punk band of debatable quality, but this is not the case! Stephin Merritt, the songwriter for the Magnetic Fields and an endless number of other musical projects, writes some of the smartest, most intelligent pop music out there these days, and this album. Oh, this album. You will never make a better $40 purchase in your lifetime, or at least not as far as I know. This album renders every other love-themed album essentially pointless, as almost every angle of love itself is presented in several different musical styles, but not so different that it's not a unified work (and across 3 CDs!). Since it's not easy to get tired of an album's songs if it's over three hours' worth of songs, I've been listening to the album nonstop for the last week. I may say this too often, but if you never listen to me again, listen to me now: you need this album.
- posted by Eric @ 2:31 AM