Monthly Report: September Singles

Tuesday, September 29, 2009
1. Omarion f/ Lil Wayne - "I Get It In"
Back in January I thought a hyper R&B song with Lil Wayne, Jamie Foxx's "Number One," might be my favorite hit of the year, until it got steamrolled by the behemoth that "Blame It" turned out to be. Now, the same thing is kinda happening again, this time because Omarion apparently leaked the song early and pissed off Young Money enough to get dropped right after signing to the label. The song is now getting a second shot at life with a new version featuring Gucci Mane, and his verse is good, but it really can't compare to Wayne's "Ego" riff on the original. The fact that Omarion sounds absolutely ridiculous saying things like "hella toit" basically doesn't matter because it fits the weird vibe of the beat, which is like one of the first good post-"A Milli" beats I've heard to date.

2. Weezer - "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To"
I gave this a 6 on the Singles Jukebox a few weeks ago, but it has just grown and grown on me since then. In principle I'm a lifelong Weezer hater, but they have become a pretty decent singles band over the years, with the help of pop hired gun Butch Walker they've got one of their biggest hooks to date. I hope people don't sleep on this just because it doesn't have a stupid internet meme video (yet).

3. Kristinia DeBarge - "Sabotage"
I always thought her big debut hit, "Goodbye," would be a pretty decent pop R&B song if you just edited out that big obnoxious Steam interpolation that was basically the reason that it was a hit. So her kind of awesome second single is confirmation that she can do pretty good stuff and that essentially noone cares if she isn't jacking an obvious old song. This is kinda cheesy '90s techno pop, it's practically a Republica song. Also, goddamn she's hot.

4. All-American Rejects - "I Wanna"
I hated "Gives You Hell" at first, but it eventually became probably my favorite single of the year that I never put in one of these monthly things. This is really good, too, just a huge chorus, but for some reason it never took off.

5. Wale f/ Gucci Mane - "Pretty Girls"
So far Wale's released two official singles for his perpetually delayed major label debut, one appallingly shitty Lady Gaga feature, and one Jazmine Sullivan feature that is blander but not really actually any better as a song. In between, he released an incredibly fun Backyard Band jack that sums up the 2 things that Wale's got going for him that his skinny jeans peers don't: a regional sound like Go-Go that he can expose and put his own twist on, and the ability to do tracks with mainstream Southern rappers and actually sound more or less in his element. It's a shame it already appears to be getting lost in the shuffle when it sure as hell sounds like it could be the breakthrough radio hit he keeps trying for and failing to get. My apartment is a half hour from Wale's hood, Largo, but I'll always feel a little removed from the D.C. rap scene, but I still jam the good old Go-Go shit and a throwback like this beats the hell out of what WPGC and WKYS are playing these days.

Monday, September 28, 2009


Some live reviews I've had on the City Paper's Noise blog lately: Comp/Skarr Akbar/Huli Shallone/Dreko @ the Black Hole Rock Club, Lynee' Michelle @ 5 Seasons, the High Zero Festival's Saturday night concert, and Big In Japan @ the Windup Space.

TV Diary

Sunday, September 27, 2009
a) "Bored To Death"
It's probably a bad idea to give a show a name like this unless it's definitely going to be too entertaining for people to make the easy jokes, which this isn't. I'd probably like it more if just about anyone besides Jason Schwartzmann was the lead, for some reason that guy has been a big blank nothing in every performance since Rushmore pretty much. Plus "Andy Barker, P.I." did almost this exact same thing much much much better. Ted Danson is so hot right now, which is pretty bizarre to think about.

b) "Accidentally On Purpose"
CBS has enough consistently enjoyable sitcoms on the air right now than when they throw something really unappetizing like a Jenna Elfman vehicle between them I'll just go ahead and give it a shot. This is halfway decent, I could see the funnier members of the supporting cast slowly taking it over from the boring principals if it sticks around.

c) "Community"
Being a huge fan of "The Soup," I'm of two minds about Joel McHale getting bigger and better opportunities. On one hand, good for him, he deserves success, even if it means he might eventually Kinnear up out of the E! studios. On the other hand, after 5 years of ridiculing bad TV, he can't contribute to that mountain of lousy programming with anything less than a really great show. "Community" might be that, it's really too soon to tell, but I think it is promising, and is clever without being clever in the same way as everything else on the NBC Thursday night lineup. The pilot was really strong, the second episode a little less so, or maybe just more annoyingly meta.

d) "Entourage"
As something of an Aaron Sorkin stan, it was seriously demoralizing to watch the guy recite dialogue written for him by the producers of fucking "Entourage." Seriously, doesn't he have anything better to do?

e) "Jeopardy"
Andy Richter straight up stomping out Wolf Blitzer on "Celebrity Jeopardy" a couple weeks ago may have been my single most favorite TV moment of the whole year. Blitzer was in the red for pretty much the entire episode, screwing up the easiest categories.

Friday, September 25, 2009


On Monday voting begins for The Mobbies, the Baltimore Sun's new blog awards, and Government Names is nominated in the music/nightlife category. So vote for me! Or don't! There's a lot of great other sites nominated, it's all good!

Thursday, September 24, 2009
Some new blurbs on the Singles Jukebox:

Nicki Minaj ft. Lil Wayne – I Get Crazy [6/6.64]
Plies – Becky [3/5]
Alice in Chains – Check My Brain [5/5.67]
Michelle Branch – Sooner or Later [3/4.45]
Jason DeRulo – Whatcha Say [6/4.53]
Trey Songz ft. Gucci Mane and Soulja Boy – LOL :-) [6/5.42]
R Kelly ft. Keri Hilson – Number 1 [4/6.27]

Wednesday, September 23, 2009


I wrote about the new album by the awesome Karmella's Game on the reviews section of MobtownStudios.com this week.

Netflix Diary

Monday, September 21, 2009
a) Knowing
This may not be quite as infamous as his Wicker Man, but this will go down as a key film for Nic Cage's growing library of insanity. Not only does the big third act revelation kind of negate all the tension that had been built up by the rest of the film, but his character even pretty much points that out, and this is maybe a half hour before the end, the remainder of which contains no surprises or twists except in just how bizarre and over-the-top the final scene is. People spent years developing this and 50 million dollars making it, and apparently never thought twice about that. That is amazing to me.

b) I Love You, Man
I've written before about how I think Jason Segel has carved out an interesting, unique niche of lovelorn by lovable dorks, and I think this movie is probably the first time he's broken that streak with a straight up asshole character, which the movie tried unsuccessfully to make seem kind of whimsically eccentric. All in all not a terribly funny movie but in some ways more resonant than most flicks like this because I kinda do identify with the Paul Rudd character, even if the extreme version of his problem and the ways he dealt with it inevitably got pretty stupid and unrealistic.

c) War, Inc.
I wasn't really sure what to expect from this but it wasn't quite such a broad goofy satire. And even though I like Cusack and he was decent in this, I feel like he wasn't quite the right star for something this over the top, even though in many ways it was like a rehash of Grosse Point Blank (right down to the character dynamics between him, Joan Cusack and Dan Aykroyd), including a similarly climactic scene of the love interest catching him killing a guy.

d) "Slings & Arrows," Season 1
I would say Mark McKinney is my favorite Kid In The Hall, but he's definitely the one I've always thought had the most potential to actually thrive in a dramatic or less overtly comic context. I thought maybe "Studio 60" would be his opportunity for that, but it wasn't. Turns out he co-starred in and wrote for a pretty good Canadian series a few years back, though. I liked the twist of the pilot and it's interesting to see what direction they're taking it in, although some of the cheesy crazy-person-keeps-seeing-dead-friend stuff is kind of annoying and I hope they tone it down and just let the humor be more character-driven.

e) "The Dana Carvey Show"
Since I actually watched this show when it was originally on the air, and it was extremely short-lived and never rerun anywhere, it was fun to compare rewatching it with my memories of seeing those episodes once 13 years ago. Even though Carvey's really a pretty hit-and-miss talent and there were a lot of reasons making him the star of a sketch show instead of just an SNL cog in the machine was problematic, this was still pretty funny and had some great Carrell/Colbert/Smigel stuff. I've been quoting the the "Germans saying nice things" sketch for almost half my life now.

f) Mr. Mom
Since I watched She's Having A Baby recently, I thought I'd go to the other John Hughes movie that most resembles the vision of parenthood that's been flashing before my eyes recently. There's things about this that are pretty cheeseball '80s comedy, but also a few great parts and really Michael Keaton was the man back then.

In My Stereo

Friday, September 18, 2009
Pink - Try This
Gang Starr - Hard To Earn
Scarface - The World Is Yours
Jungle Brothers - J. Beez Wit The Remedy
Jason Urick - Husbands
The Dirty Marmaduke Flute Squad - Die Humpin!
Kadman - Kadman: A Mobtown Micro-Show
Double Dagger - More
Smash aka T-Mac - I Am King
Claire Hux - Black Is The New Wet

Thursday, September 17, 2009


This week on SpliceToday.com I have a Q&A with Austin Stahl.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009


The City Paper's big annual Best of Baltimore issue is out today. These are the winners that I wrote the blurbs for:

Best Club Music Producer: DJ Class
Best Club Music DJ: DJ Pierre
Best Hip-Hop DJ: DJ Jay Claxton
Best Beat Maker: Banga Bill
Best Male MC: Mullyman
Best Female MC: Ms. Stress
Best Solo Artist: The Bow-Legged Gorilla
Best Song: P-Shellz "Fingaz Down (The Hack Anthem)"
Best Summer Jam: Comp "Whole Lat"
Best Label: Mania Music Group
Best Music Promoter: Tay Tay of Tay-land Promotions
Best Place To Hear Hip-Hop: Sonar

Also allbmorehiphop and a lot of other worthy people got awards. The BOB party is tonight, and I didn't have any luck getting mailing addresses for some of the people above to send invitations, so maybe if any of those people e-mail me ASAP I can help them out or give them my extra ticket.

TV Diary

Tuesday, September 15, 2009
a) "Real Chance of Love 2: Back in the Saddle"
I know it's kind of old hat to point out how ridiculous these VH1 dating shows are now, especially the ones that are about competing for the love of someone who once competed for the love of someone who once competed for the love of someone famous. But this show is pretty entertaining, even though and perhaps partly because I still have very little idea who the fuck these guys are or why they're so weird. The episode where they made girls hunt for a yeti was amazing, because everyone was so totally invested in it.

b) "Cake Boss"
OK I have a certain hometeam loyalty to "Ace of Cakes," but really this show pales in comparison so much, much less interesting cakes and much less likeable cast.

c) "Hung"
I was cautiously optimistic back when this show started, and while the end of its first season didn't go down an unsatisfying rabbit hole as badly as "The Riches," it left me similarly annoyed, although I think this still has a lot of potential that could be realized in the second season. I mean, the season finale they telegraphed several episodes finally came to pass, and although I liked the way they handled the scene, it was just kinda there and I'm looking forward to them getting past it. They need to get Alexander Payne to direct more often, I'm not sure any episode since the pilot has been quite as good as that one.

d) "True Blood"
Man by the end of the 2nd season I pretty much lost any reservations about being hooked on this ridiculous show, so much sex and violence and camp and broad humor and occasionally some pretty sharp dialogue. Even though I'd never wanna read the books, I appreciate the fact that it has so much source material to work with, so they can just keep stringing along these labyrinthine plot twists and seemingly never running out. I feel like I should have some kind of defensive response for Brandon's "If you're not a broad and you're watching True Blood whats your deal," but I dunno, watching something with this much blood and tits doesn't seem like a huge challenge to my masculinity.

Sunday, September 13, 2009
Buncha new Singles Jukebox scores, most of them with blurbs:

Lisa Mitchell – Coin Laundry [2/3.2]
Wilco – You Never Know [5/4.87]
DJ Quik & Kurupt – Hey Playa! (Moroccan Blues) [8/8.25]
David Guetta ft. Akon – Sexy Bitch [4/4.82]
Chris Brown – Changed Man [0/1.88]
Panic At The Disco – New Perspective [5/4.1]
Dan Deacon – Paddling Ghost [6/5.22]
Weezer – (If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To [6/4.91]
Miley Cyrus – Party in the USA [4/6.69]
Whitney Houston – Million Dollar Bill [7/6.08]
Three 6 Mafia ft. Webbie – Lil Freak [4/5.31]
Jesse McCartney ft. T-Pain – Body Language (Remix) [4/5.27]
3OH!3 – Starstrukk [1/4]
Drake ft. Trey Songz – Successful [6/5.69]

I'm currently wishing I went lower for the Miley and higher for the Weezer.

The 2009 Remix Report Card, Vol. 9

Saturday, September 12, 2009
"All I Really Want (Remix)" by Rick Ross featuring Twista, Krayzie Bone and The-Dream
I was a happy to see this song got a remix since I felt like it should've been a bigger hit than it was, had a video and is probably The-Dream's only hook on a rap song that's actually on par with his solo stuff, but instead the kind of annoying "Maybach Music 2" was pushed to radio. Also a good look that they just took the random "do it more faster" line from the original as a jumping off point to get a couple classic speed rappers on the track instead of the usual suspects. Of course I like that's though, I'm a Twista stan.
Best Verse: Twista
Overall Grade: A-

"5 Star Bitch (Remix)" by Yo Gotti featuring Gucci Mane, Trina and Lil Boosie
It's weird that Yo Gotti has kind of come out of nowhere with the biggest single of his career, even moreso that the beat sounds like some Lil Jon track from 5 years ago. The hook also totally rips off Webbie's "Bad Bitch," which Trina was on the remix of, so it's appropriate that she's here, and she as usual she kinda goes beyond just being the token female on the track.
Best Verse: Lil Boosie
Overall Grade: B

"God In Me (Remix)" by Mary Mary featuring Ne-Yo
A couple years ago it would've been worth at least raising an eyebrow at an AutoTune gossip joint, but at this point it's just business as usual. After clubs started playing it like crazy and Malice from the Clipse did a version of it, I wondered if they would let any rappers on an official remix, but nah they played it safe, and Ne-Yo just smooths it out predictably but it's still not bad.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: C+

"Heard Em All (Remix)" by Amerie featuring Lil Wayne
David Drake's review of this song really did a good job of summing up what works but mostly doesn't work about this song and why it's kind of lame in the context of Amerie's career. And the remix with Wayne, along with the more recent news that the version with him will be the official single, aren't much more exciting, although at least the the track's manic scattered energy is a good fit for him. I don't think he's really been able to 'make' an R&B song a hit with his presence in a while, though, even "Turnin' Me On" probably didn't need him although it worked well with him.
Best Verse: n/a
Overall Grade: C

"Ice Cream Paint Job (Remix)" by Dorrough featuring Jermaine Dupri, Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, Jim Jones, Slim Thug, E-40 and Rich Boy
In the tradition of the "Get Silly" and "Krispy" remixes, here we have a humble mid-level hit by a relative unknown and for some reason they're totally going for broke with a 6-minute remix with half a dozen totally random guests, some of them hot but nobody really A list or even really B list. It's even got a lot of the same guys as those remixes, except this time there's nothing like an absurd British-accented Bubba Sparxxx at the end to make it halfway worthwhile. It still offends me to hear Jim Jones on this, though, aren't we done with him by now? Please? Soulja Boy turns in one of those occasional decent verses that make you suspect he might actually give a shit, and in a weird way that's enough for him to steal the track. Rich Boy is dope, too.
Best Verse:
Overall Grade: C+

2000 reconsidered

Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Albums:
1. Enon - Believo!
2. Faraquet - The View From This Tower
3. Reflection Eternal - Train of Thought
4. Lake Trout - Alone At Last: Live With DJ Who
5. The Boredoms - Vision Creation Newsun
6. Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele
7. Ludacris - Back For The First Time
8. Two Dollar Guitar - Weak Beats and Lame Ass Rhymes
9. Beanie Sigel - The Truth
10. 8Ball & MJG - Space Age 4 Eva
11. Radiohead - Kid A
12. Jay-Z - The Dynasty: Roc La Familia
13. The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic
14. D'Angelo - Voodoo
15. Limp Bizkit - Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water
16. Trick Daddy - Book Of Thugs: Chapter AK Verse 47
17. J Mascis And The Fog - More Light
18. Mystikal - Let's Get Ready
19. Outkast - Stankonia
20. Youngblood Brass Band - Unlearn
21. The Mercury Program - All The Suits Began To Fall Off EP
22. Common - Like Water For Chocolate
23. Aimee Mann - Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo
24. Green Day - Warning
25. Trans Am - The Red Line

So this is where I wind up the whole year-by-year thing I started back in February, at least for now (I'm gonna do the big decade list at some point in the next couple months, and probably somewhere down the line will start working my way back through the '90s, just because this whole exercise is pretty fun). 2000 was a big year for me, in that I turned 18, graduated high school, started college, and had my first little taste of being a music critic during my brief stint with Pitchfork. As much music from that year that I loved at the time, or came to love later, though, I was writing about very little of it at the time, and was mostly grinding through the promo pile; in fact, of the 30 albums I reviewed that year, exactly one of them is on the above list. I actually was kinda relieved when I was let go, because it meant I didn't have to cough up a top 20 albums at the end of the year. I'd only heard about half of the above albums at the time, but now I feel pretty good about this list, almost a decade later.

Singles:
1. Jay-Z f/ Pharrell - "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)"
2. Ludacris - "What's Your Fantasy?"
3. Method Man & Redman - "Da Rockwilder"
4. Dr. Dre f/ Snoop Dogg and Nate Dogg - "The Next Episode"
5. Ja Rule f/ Lil Mo and Vita - "Put It On Me"
6. M.O.P. - "Ante Up"
7. Mya - "Case of the Ex"
8. Outkast - "B.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad)"
9. Limp Bizkit - "Rollin'"
10. Janet Jackson - "Doesn't Really Matter"
11. Mya f/ Jay-Z - "Best of Me (Remix)"
12. Sisqo - "Thong Song"
13. D'Angelo - "Untitled (How Does It Feel)"
14. C Murder f/ Magic and Snoop Dogg - "Down for My N's"
15. Jay-Z f/ Beanie Sigel and Memphis Bleek - "Change The Game"
16. Trick Daddy f/ Trina, Co and Duece Poppito - "Shut Up"
17. Nelly Furtado - "I'm Like A Bird"
18. Three 6 Mafia - "Who Run It"
19. U2 - "Beautiful Day"
20. The Disturbed - "Stupify"
21. Jay-Z - "Hey Papi"
22. Cam'ron - "What Means The World To You"
23. Memphis Bleek f/ Jay-Z and Missy Elliott - "Is That Your Chick?"
24. Shade Sheist f/ Nate Dogg and Kurupt - "Where I Wanna Be"
25. Blink 182 - "Adam's Song"
26. Eminem - "The Real Slim Shady"
27. Carl Thomas - "I Wish"
28. Big Tymers - "Get Your Roll On"
29. N Sync - "Bye Bye Bye"
30. Ludacris - "Southern Hospitality"
31. Big Tymers - "#1 Stunna"
32. Common f/ Bilal - "The 6th Sense"
33. No Doubt - "Bathwater"
34. Big Punisher - "It's So Hard"
35. Jay-Z f/ UGK - "Big Pimpin'"
36. Outkast - "Ms. Jackson"
37. Destiny's Child - "Jumpin' Jumpin'"
38. 8Ball & MJG f/ DJ Quik - "Buck Bounce"
39. Limp Bizkit - "Break Stuff"
40. Nelly - "E.I."
41. Three 6 Mafia f/ UGK and Project Pat - "Sippin' On Some Syrup"
42. Beenie Man f/ Mya - "Girls Dem Sugar"
43. Ja Rule f/ Christina Milian - "Between Me And You"
44. Da Brat f/ Tyrese - "What Do You Like"
45. Da Brat - "That's What I'm Looking For"
46. Wu Tang Clan - "Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off)"
47. Nelly - "Country Grammar"
48. Lucy Pearl - "Dance Tonight"
49. R. Kelly - "I Wish"
50. Destiny's Child - "Say My Name"

I feel like I say this about almost every year's singles, but man this was such an awesome awesome time to listen to the radio or turn on MTV. One thing I will say is that if you ever have any doubt about what year represents Jay-Z's absolute peak as a hitmaker and singles artist, look at this list.

Monday, September 07, 2009


My latest Baltimore album review on MobtownStudios.com is of Needle Gun's Afternoon Computer Umbrage.

Movie Diary

Sunday, September 06, 2009
a) Quarantine
I suppose I should be more jaded and tired of these hand-held horror Blair Witch/Cloverfield-type movies by now, but I still like them. This one does a really good job of establishing the characters and setting a rhythm before anything amiss happens, possibly better than either of those movies, but unfortunately (SPOILER ETC) it ends pretty much the same way those movies did, which in a way feels as unimaginative at this point as a forced happy ending would be. Still, some pretty good scary scenes before it kinda becomes overkill.

b) The Nanny Diaries
The problem with Scarlett Johansson being a 'thinking man's sex symbol' (or indie man's, I guess) is that she gets put in movies that no other busty blonde who can't act would be asked to do, and is about as well equipped to carry a movie as Pam Anderson. Most of her movies are watchable in part because there's usually at least one other lead who can pick up the slack, but here she's the narrator and center of attention the whole time, and the effect is deadening. Watching ScarJo and Alicia Keys try to share scenes together as carefree best buddies is like staring into some kind of black hole of really attractive, well-meaning vapidity.

c) Feast
I think horror is a genre I just don't have much invested in, so anytime someone inverts the formula and/or injects some comedy into the premise, I enjoy it a little more than I would a straight genre exercise. And as a horror comedy, Feast is pretty fun, maybe paling in comparison to its most obvious influence, Dead Alive, but still entertaining and subverting expectations at every turn. Plus, Henry Rollins wears pink sweatpants in it. Until the credits rolled and I saw Affleck and Damon's names in the credits, I had no idea that this movie was made in a season of "Project Greenlight," I'm kind of impressed. I don't know if I should give into the temptation to see this movie's 2 straight-to-DVD sequels, though.

d) Billy Wilder Speaks
I've gotten big into Billy Wilder movies in recent years, still slowly working through his filmography, and enjoyed catching this documentary on cable recently. You forget sometimes that someone with such a great ear for dialogue for American actors was born in Austria and spoke English with a thick accent, but hearing him tell all these stories and anecdotes (sometimes in German with subtitles) is pretty entertaining.

e) The Jimmy Show
The weekend my brother moved into his new apartment, he turned on the TV before the cable was hooked up, and was able to pick up one channel, which was playing something called "The Jimmy Show." Thinking it was an actual series, I just started bullshitting about it like "this must be the third season, I've only gotten through the first two on Netflix" and "oh, that's the girl Jimmy rapes in season four" and "I heard about this, this is the episode where Jimmy tries to assassinate the president." I don't think anyone else thought it was that funny but I amused myself for a good five or ten minutes like that. Maybe one of these days I'll try to seriously watch the movie, though, I dunno.

In My Stereo

Friday, September 04, 2009
The Blood Brothers - ...Burn, Piano Island, Burn
Led Zeppelin - How The West Was Won
8Ball - Lost
Nels Cline and Devin Sarno - Rise Pumpkin Rise
Ani DiFranco - Not A Pretty Girl
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - Bad Reputation
The Rolling Stones - Exile On Main Street
The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis: Bold As Love
Karmella's Game - You'll Be Sorry
Rod Lee - Club Work Out 2009

Thursday, September 03, 2009


This week in the City Paper I have a feature on Brian McTernan of Salad Days Studio.

Tuesday, September 01, 2009


The Seldon Plan - "Ezra Jack Keats" (mp3)

Last Saturday I went to the Hexagon to see The Seldon Plan for the first time since my friend Mat joined as their drummer last year (and since I've got a lot of personal and business connections with a member of the band I'm just posting about it here and not on the City Paper site). I'd seen a previous lineup of the band when they played with labelmates Private Eleanor a few years ago and heard one of their old EPs, but I didn't really hear the band much until Mat started working with them and they released their new album, Lost And Found And Lost, in June. Their stuff is very warm and jangly, with songs that never wear out their welcome.

The Hexagon show was kind of the end of their little tour up and down the northeast, one last hometown show in Baltimore. Not having seen the other shows, I don't know if they had gotten more road-tested and confident or if they always seem to have that much fun onstage but it was a good vibe. My favorite songs from the album, "Fire In Day's Field" and "Ezra Jack Keats," both sounded good live, particularly the latter, which closed the show as it does the album, albeit without the big backup vocal choir on the studio version. After the Seldon Plan played, I helped them load out, and stuck around for a little bit to see the next band, D.C.'s Paperhaus, who were kind of twitchy and jumpy in a way that I wish more bands were these days, and then we all went out for some awesome Korean BBQ.