Fogged In

The pressure zones high above Boise are still aligned against us. This air just isn't moving. We're getting brief, teasing glimpses of sunlight on most days, but it's not breaking up. This is the earliest and possibly longest inversion in my short time here. And it's starting to drive me nuts.

Even though the pollution is not a constant, as it has been at other times, it still does get a bit rank and brown down here on occasion. The temperatures have been cold though not brutal. But the ceiling is very low, and this morning while riding to work I think I had a visibility of about 30 feet through the fog.

In better news, I just found out that The Mooney Suzuki is playing the Paradiso Theater in Amsterdam on December 6, the last night of our stay there. A bona-fide rock show! Gerry, our man in Amsterdam, said he's gonna get tickets. So we have that to look forward to.

Hip Hop Ho Hum

Went and checked out Psyche Origami last night at the Neurolux. They're a hip hop group from Atlanta, 2 DJs and an MC. I don't claim any great knowledge of hip hop music--in fact, along with classical, I consider it one of my two greatest deficits in knowledge of music--but I can't help but think that live hip hop just isn't as good as recorded. There are exceptions, the most notable of which I think is The Roots, but for the most part the layers of sound and musical and sampling antics of the hip hop I most enjoy just don't come across as well in a club.

Last night's show was mostly so much scratching over a predictable and boring bass groove, covered over by the MC rapping frantically, seemingly trying his hardest just to keep up most of the time. No flow, no easy rhythm with the words, and the DJs were just making noise.

It was cool to see this show at Neurolux--any diversity of style in this town is a welcome thing--but I enjoyed it more for the novelty of it than for any musical value.

Again--I don't know hip hop. But I know good music when I hear it. This was fun, but it wasn't good music.