jeffkao.net

Thank you Katy S. for use of the picture of me.

If you typed “jeff kao” in a search engine to get to jeffkao.net looking for treasure trove of goofy pictures of me then you probably been pretty disappointed. What can I say? I like to take photos, so I’m seldom on the receiving end of a camera lens. Well you all are in luck with today’s post.

When I was packing for my trip I carefully thought about each and every item before it was packed. Then I looked at that pile and I cut in half. Then I cut in half yet again. One of the first things to go was my razor and my more than 3 ounce can of shaving gel. So what happens when I don’t shave for 30 days? Hilarity.

I missed Half Acre’s cyclocross race in DeKalkb and from the pictures & reports it seems like it was a great success.  I skipped out on the race so I could go watch the Cubs lose to the Dodgers in game #3.  Despite the loss I had a great time hanging out with my sister & her husband in LA.  This week I’ll be at Hawthorn Woods.

Me listening to Chuck Ragan & Austin Lucas: Bristle Ridge.

In a recent post on her blog Carrie Brownstein (from the great Sleater-Kinney) talks about listening to new music.  It ends up we have more in common than just a love of both “Fast Car” & “Paradise City.” Here’s her process & mine too:

“With CDs or vinyl, the tearing off of the packaging and the opening of the booklet is part of the process. Often, the first track is playing and I’m still exploring the artwork, the lyrics, the production credits, and the “thank you” list. These distractions often force me to go back to the first few tracks again…With these formats, it becomes more than an aural experience, but a fully sensory one. I like to think that hearing a new album is like a first-time meeting: You try to have a mix of open-mindedness, curiosity, and a bit of healthy skepticism.

I’m often fidgety at first. Sitting, then standing, then pacing, noticing each time I’m drawn in or losing interest. Other times, the ritual involves doing something other than merely listening — for example, putting on the album and then cleaning the house, making dinner, or talking on the phone.”

There’s something special about all of this futzing around and I think it helps make me, to borrow from White Man Can’t Jump, to “hear” the music and not just “listen” to it. An extreme example of this is on the few occasions where I buy an album through iTunes* where I go through the same motions after burning the MP3’s to a disc.

* I’ve purchased the following albums on iTunes:
- Alkaline Trio “Agony & Irony”
- M.I.A. “Kala”
- Soundtrack to “I’m Not There”
- The Weakerthans “Civil Twilight”
- David Cross “It’s Not Funny”