Band Aid

          Though today was my quickest-passing day of work so far, it turned into Cut Yourself At Work Day when I opened up a fingertip on the edge of the belt sander. Later, I saw an improperly capped Sharpie and nearly screamed. Also, the radio station we listen to every day is beginning to grate on my mind despite my efforts to listen to my own iPod. Every day, they're guaranteed to play "Walk of Life," "Thunder Island" and "Reeling In the Years," plus at least one Eagles song. And the DJs keep plugging their "Rock the Boat Listener Cruise" to the point where I can recite the ad word for word. In the news: a friend of mine from elementary school was kicked out of college in Florida for possession or something related, and was then drafted to the Braves in the 10th round. A pretty considerable second chance, all things considered.
          Random topic of the day: Music! Here's a list of artists that you should like:
Alkaline Trio - Fast, aggressive punk with clean vocals and devilishly good lyricism.
American Football - Sadly short-lived emo band with subtle, melancholy instrumentals and vocals.
Army of the Pharaohs - No-holds-barred gangsta rap supergroup.
Balmorhea - An instrumental ensemble that sounds like the Old West in musical form. Truly calming.
Belle & Sebastian - Bookish, wimpy, beautiful indie pop. Also my favorite band.
Between the Buried and Me - An impressive progressive metal outfit. Rough, but also charming at times.
Bohren & der Club of Gore - Dark jazz. Imagine sitting in a detective's office in a black and white film, loading a revolver.
Bomb the Music Industry! - Ranting, imaginative punk/ska. Half funny, half depressing, all indie. You can get their music for free (legally) at quoteunquoterecords.com.
Brand New - Incredible emo band with a stylistically varied (but always great) career.
Canibus - Smooth rapper with the best rhymes in the genre. Check out "Poet Laureate II".
Cap'n Jazz - A heavily influential, delightful emo band with unrestrained exuberance.
Catch 22 - Ska punk, pretty much what you'd expect.
Cee Lo Green - Big, soaring vocals with catchy pop trappings.
Death Cab For Cutie - Quiet, plaintive emo/alternative rock.
Genesis - Theatrical, intellectual progressive/art rock (and later, nearly straight pop.) Also the first band I ever considered my favorite.
Iced Earth - Iron Maiden-esque power metal outfit with a long, consistently good career.
Norah Jones - Jazzy, smoky-voiced singer-songwriter. Bonus for being the most attractive musician.
Pet Shop Boys - Seamlessly packaged, danceable yet smart, synth-pop duo.
Rush - An example of dad rock done right: Canadian, eclectic, and musically complex.
Smashing Pumpkins - Sometimes hard, sometimes subtle, grandly unique alternative rock band.
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - The granddaddy of ska punk and one of the best bands to come out of Boston.
           Lastly, my favorite song is not by any of these. "Nightswimming," by R.E.M. The cover version by Dashboard Confessional is just as good.

          Quote of the day:
Father: "Who polished this one?"
Kevin: "Lindsay Lohan."