The Contrarian

One Year of The Contrarian.

So this here blog is now one year old. (Our archives go back to 2005, but that's because we were under the Solidstate mantle until last May.) Since separating from our alternative newsweekly progenitor, The Contrarian has grown steadily, picking up readers and adding two fine contributors, Jebson Interlandi and James P. Caldwell.

I'm really proud of what we've accomplished in the last twelve months. We publish every day, and NEVER dumb anything down, despite conventional wisdom to the contrary. We continue to pick up unique (and returning) visitors, and we get more daily hits than the site from which we were spawned. Not bad for a completely unaffiliated personal blog that scribes on some pretty arcane subjects.

But enough of the self-aggrandizing. It's really all about you regular readers, stumble-upon-ers and lurkers. So I put the question to you: What would you like to see more or less of here at The Contrarian?

Leave your suggestions in the comments field. Who knows, we may even listen to them!

Happy Birthday!

Today is my co-worker Chhaya's birthday. She might not update her blog often enough, but she's still good people. We'll be celebrating her existence with a drink or two at this place later tonight.

Mountains 'n' Mormons.

I've been taking a lot of pictures of Utah sundry, and will post soon. We checked out the venue yesterday. Majestic. I'll upload some shots when I get a second. We play this afternoon at 2:30. I feel pretty good about our performance in rehearsals, but there are some lingering doubts about the technology. Fingers crossed. Our piece is being recorded, so there's a good chance I'll post it here for your consideration.

In the meantime, read about George Dvorsky's existential angst. I would rarely want anyone to speak for me, but I'm happy to point to this post as an example of my own intimate uncertainties.

Sick But Solid.

Got me a ferocious cold just in time for my trip to Utah tomorrow. Oh, well.

"Gypsy" is a decent late-period Fleetwood Mac song.

Talked to the incredibly brilliant (and indubitably British) Peter Jenner this morning. He was in Old Blighty; I was in my PJs. Early in his career, Peter organized the Hyde Park Free Concerts, which melted many a mind. He also managed a little act called Pink Floyd. These days, he works with Billy Bragg, while simultaneously trying to inject artist-oriented ethics into an industry not known for its moral responsibility. We recorded our conversation; it'll be over at the FMC blog once I get a chance to review and edit it.

Working at the intersection of music, technology, policy and law: fascinating. Talking to heroes and having them actually live up to your expectations: priceless.

Hi There.

Today is our anniversary proper. I worked from home, because I had to edit a Kronos Quartet podcast interview on net neutrality. Brooke soldiered into the office for another day of kicking ass for media access.

Next Thursday, Mark and I head to Salt Lake City to perform at the Society of Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States conference. I think I'm ready.

We're now in the negotiating phase of the home-buying process. The sellers seem somewhat ignorant of current market conditions, so we're giving them time to adjust to reality. I'm sure it isn't pleasant to discover (through comps) that your house's appraised worth is 20 grand less than your asking price. Hey, I didn't pop the real estate bubble.

What else? Candleblog has a link to a 1968 article in Mechanix Illustrated about what the world of 2008 would look like. Some stuff is close, other stuff is ridiculously off the mark.

Billy Bragg wrote an interesting Op Ed in the New York Times about how musicians need to be compensated in the brave new digital world. He uses the AOL acquisition of social network-based music service Bebo as his hook. But it's about so much more.

Speaking of mergers and acquisitions, it looks like XM and Sirius are finally allowed to consummate their extra-terrestrial relationship. I know I'm usually Mr. Competition in the Marketplace, but I really have no opinion either way about this. Maybe because there isn't much of a market for satellite radio. At least not at the moment.

Gotta remix one more track on my damn album. But I doubt I'll get to it this week.

Anyone seen Jebson? I think he's lost somewhere in Italy.

Making the Offer.

Brooke and I are celebrating our one-year anniversary! Yay!

What better time to make an offer on a house? (Actually a condo — at the end of the day, most of the single-family homes we looked at didn't have as much to offer).

The place is in Takoma Park, which is one of my favorite parts of DC. The building itself is completely done in Deco style, which we think is swell. And there's tons of room; frankly too much for the two of us. But when we finally adopt that kid, we'll be all set. For a while, anyway.

Here's couple of photos, which hardly do it justice:

Many of the door passages are arched, which I think is lovely.

There's a little porch off of the living room, so the cats will still be able to watch Bird TV.

I'll take better shots later. Cross your fingers that we get a reasonable counter-offer. And come visit us, dammit!

Back From Austin.

Got in yesterday at 4PM; spent the rest of the evening recovering.

Liveblogging from the back of our realtor's car as we drive to another house. She's got Lupe Fiasco on the stereo. What a cool mom!

More about SXSW later.

Gotta take this here iPhone in to the Apple store; it's got some dead spots on the touchscreen, and the battery life is getting shorter every day. Hopefully they just let me upgrade to the 16GB model. I'll be buying Brooke and me the next version in June.

Back in a bit.

Off to SXSW!

OK, guys and dolls. Short post this morning. Gotta get in the cab to Dulles airport. Will be in Austin by late afternoon. Then the madness truly begins (as Monday and Tuesday weren't mad enough!)

I'll be posting here and on the FMC blog over the next few days, so stay tuned.

Our House.

Here's the one we want:

We're moving on it. Unfortunately, everything hinges on whether we can get out of our apartment lease. We've got two months left, but there's a substantial penalty for breaking the agreement. But we might have some leverage, considering the fact that it rains in our bedroom from time to time.

Our first home. What a thrill. I'd love to post some pictures of the inside, but I forgot to take 'em. It's really nice. Three bedrooms, lots of light, all hardwood floors with dark varnish and a finished basement with a bar. What more could young marrieds want?

The only bummer is when you see what $340,000 gets you in other markets. Housing in DC is insanely expensive. I've started watching real estate shows on TV, and I've discovered that in, say, Dallas, this amount would get us a mansion. Oh, well. It's an investment. If we eventually decide to cash in our Washington chips, we'll likely have more than when we started. Wish us luck on this whole crazy process.

I forgot to mention that I reviewed the new Apes record for City Paper. Fine band, fine album.

Another interesting tidbit: I sometimes work alongside the ex-drummer for Faraquet, one of my favorite bands of the early aughts. They're broken up (although I hear rumblings of some local reunion shows), but Chad currently plays bass in Medications, another great DC act. He comes in to the office from time to time to take care of the odds and ends that us staffers don't always have time to get to. Neat.

We're currently prepping for Damian Kulash of OK Go's appearance before the House Judiciary Committee in support of net neutrality. I've messed around a bit with his testimony, and I'm waiting to hear what he thinks. That's on the 11th, then it's off to SXSW to. . . well, I'm still trying to figure out what the hell I'm going to be doing in Austin.

When I get back, it'll be just in time for me and Brooke's one year anniversary. Time has certainly flown by since our wedding. We'd planned on taking a honeymoon to celebrate, but there's just no time. Someday.

What We Did.

Brooke and I really shot the moon this weekend. Well, compared to what we usually do, which is stay in, watch stuff On Demand, play with the cats, read magazines and dick around online.

This weekend we saw two movies in the theater back-to-back: Be Kind Rewind and Persepolis. We ate every meal at a restaurant. and. . . AND. . . We cruised around select neighborhoods to see where we might want to buy our first house. That's right, we're looking into becoming homeowners. It seems like the right time. The unceremonious bursting of the real estate bubble has created a buyers market. Add to that the fact that most mortgages in our price range are less than what we pay in monthly rent, and we've got all the reason we need.

Today was all about scouting 'hoods, but we'll probably make an appointment with a realtor soon.

Say, let's talk about those movies. Be Kind Rewind is the new Michel Gondry flick starring Mos Def and Jack Black. It's so much better than I could've anticipated. Who cares if the plot arc resembles the Brady Bunch Movie? Mos Def is a fantastic straight man. His laconic delivery is earnest and droll, and helps temper Jack Black's manic bluster. This movie requires a considerable suspension of disbelief, but if you can accept it's odd-cute-goofy gimmick, you'll be rewarded by an effortlessly charming film. I really liked the fact that it had poor people in it. And they had dignity. In fact, that's kind of what the whole thing is about. Oh, and I still think Mia Farrow is hot.

Persepolis, the animated story of a young girl living in brutal and socially backwards post-revolutionary Iran, is more important than it is exhilarating, but that's OK.  Based on a celebrated graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, it's visually agreeable and tells its story well. But man, did it make me angry at repressive monotheistic religions. Required viewing. (Or at least pick up the comic.)

Watching the Oscars right now. I rarely make it through the first half-hour. Not expecting to beat this record tonight.

On Tuesday, I'll be bringing Low-Power FM advocates to the offices of Senators Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer and Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand. Hillary won't be there, of course, but we'll meet with her staffers. Schumer and Gillibrand might be kicking around, though. Wish me luck.