What the hell happened to Kings of Leon?

Really, guys? "your sex is on fire"? That's what you've got? Thanks... i guess.

Honestly, i feel like these guys used to be raw and interesting, but their sound has steadily homogenized. i suppose i should be fair and actually listen to the entire album in question (Only by the Night), but based on this single i am not feeling too hopeful. It's worse than having to listen to "Bodysnatchers" by Radiohead over and over and over and fucking over again on the radio when In Rainbows came out. That was a rough month and half for me.

These two songs are just a couple of examples of an industry poisoned with the obsession of "hits" and brand identity, among other things. But let's look at some simple facts:

a) there are often better songs on the album.
b) there are certainly other songs you could play from the album. (crazy concept, i know!)
c) look, can radio stations just stop playing out the singles, already? Especially once the entire album has been released?

Cool. Glad we've resolved this issue.

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In other news:

Taxes are finally done. See you next year, incredibly frustrating forms and "instructions". Can't wait. Breath is fucking bated.

Had to kick out a guy from the shop late in the afternoon yesterday. He insisted that i "open [my] heart to Jesus", even after i repeatedly said no, i had other (/better) things to do. This was exacerbated by an earlier exchange we'd had, where he tried to call me a "princess", albeit not in a snide way. i asked if he was sure that it wasn't he who was the royal heiress in question, which of course i intended purely as a light-hearted (and stupid) joke. Well, Mr. Self-Righteous didn't like that one bit. He became angry with me and insisted that i'd said that on purpose, to hurt him. "[He was] a man! [He couldn't] be a princess! 'Prince' is more like it!". And all this was because, according to him, i was "angry inside". Hmmmm. Yep, i sure am, guy, and can you guess why? For one thing, why is it okay to trot out ridiculous gender stereotypes and tell me i'm a princess (with the motivation of getting me to smile and preen), but for me to even joke that we're all princesses inside, i'm suddenly a bad, mean, angry person? For that matter, how is one moment of feeling and expressing an honest emotion (such as anger or frustration) worse than, say, living a life filled with limits and definitions and stereotypes and being constantly suspicious of other people's motives when they don't fit into your preset categories? Get over your homophobic insecurities already, dude. Set yourself free. i promise you'll feel better if you do. Oh– and stop asking people if they've "met Jesus". The guy lived more than 2,000 years ago, so, no. i don't believe any of us has had the pleasure.

It rained last night for about twenty minutes, during which time i left work and rode my bike through the rain, grinning like a fool, to meet Nat at a café. We walked home with the smell of wet concrete. It was splendiferous. Is that so wrong? Note to all you sun-worshipers out there: you're not the only ones who can bask in the glory of weather.

There was a crippled wood-dove on the corner near the flower shop the other day. April called animal control seeking to rescue the poor creature, who was sitting amicably enough on the curb. i guess it could have been a lot worse; we could have been dealing with a rabid Tasmanian devil instead. Whew! Anyway, the guy gets there with his towel at the ready and his latex gloves snapped on tight. He was small and had a very friendly face, but the bird would have none of it. The minute dude got near him, our little feathered friend mustered up some hidden reserves and flew quickly but pitifully towards us, landing on one of the wooden display tables. The bird seemed as surprised by this feat as we were. Animal Control crept up for Attack #2, but his stealth was not quiet enough. The wood dove sensed his imminent incarceration (what a horrible fate for a bird, truly?) and summoned Extra Super Deep Primal Hidden Emergency Reserves, flapping furiously but elegantly up and over the rooftops across the street, away to some fate we may never know. i smiled inwardly, and outwardly. April looked stunned and amazed. It's a miracle! she proclaimed. Animal Control just shook his head and told us that sometimes he has that effect on certain creatures. He left to help another animal in need, power not lessened in the least.