I forget sometimes that I actually like indie-rock. One big reason for this: I never go to live shows anymore, so my experience is pretty much limited to records. Ted Leo doesn't jump out of the speakers like Triple-6 does, and I'm a busy man, you know? But indie-rock rules! Sometimes. I had a really good time going to see Travis Morrison, who I guess is sort of indie-rock-in-name-only, at the Talking Head Tuesday night. I saw Travis's first show with his new band there a couple of months ago, and the band has tightened up considerably since then. Travis's live show is so much better than his actually-pretty-bad-I-guess record that it isn't even funny. The percussionists build up a nice clatter and the keyboards space out, and this is exactly the way Travis's songs should be presented. They aren't amazing songs or anything, but that's how they should be presented. Bonus: two good opening acts! This is like striking indie-rock gold since lately I have no patience for wack openers (Beep Beep, stand up! Entrance, where you at?) . Karmella's Game, a local band I'd somehow managed to miss up till now, plays supper-amped ecstatic girly bubble-core new-wave emo, and they are total absolute dynamos live. (And most of the crowd seemed to be there to see them, since the place pretty much emptied out when they got done.) And the Beauty Pill is just great. Have I mentioned how much I love loose, mathy, pretty, expansive late-period Dischord stuff? Especially when it's being done by a group with almost Luna-level onstage chemistry? I don't think I have.

If someone wants to come over to my house and play all the hard levels on GTA: San Andreas so I can finally get past the fuckers, please let me know.

I'm reviewing the new Michael Jackson box set for P-Fork (sort of an intimidating assignment), and let me just say that holy shit the first disc kills it. Early-to-mid-period Jackson 5 shit is just like pure distilled joy in song form. The last disc is, of course, terrible.

Oh, and the new Snoop is pretty much butt. I'm reviewing that one too.