What I'm...

...Reading
King Dork by Frank Portman- Here's another, "I'm not done with it but it's so good so far that I must recommend it now" recommendation. Portman who's part of the band The Mr. T Experience really captures teen angst in a post Judy Blume society. Hell I think he's captured the human experience more so then the teen one. The storytelling tells you there is a plot that will be intricate and complex but it's the observations about high school and growing up that make this book. It may be in the Young Adult section of your local bookstore but I promise it's worth it.

...Renting
Da Ali G Show: Season 1- I'm really excited about the Borat movie but that's been totally motivated by the incredible word of mouth and the great trailer. I actually had never seen Sasha Baron Cohen except for the occasional talk show or Madonna video so I figured before the movie I'd check out the show that started it all. Overall I think it's a bit of a mixed bag. The Borat segments are great and only further hyped me up for the movie but the Ali G stuff is rather hit or miss. Perhaps the surprise for me were the great segments of Cohen's 3rd alter ego Bruno the voice of Austrian youth TV. His trip to Alabama on the second disc of the season is worth renting alone.

...Listening To
Top 5 on My iPod
1. On the Radio- Regina Spektor (Here's another I'm behind the times deal as I've heard great things about this album for a while but it took a track popping up on the radio (coincidence?) for me to check it out. I figure any song that references November Rain by Axl and the boys can't be half bad.)

2. Sleeping In- The Postal Service (Yeah I know these guys can lull you to sleep but lyrically this song will grab you attention and hold it. Not bad for a band that's a side project of the Death Cab dude.)

3. The Kill- 30 Seconds to Mars (Ah yes I'm still loving the Jordan Catalono experience as Jared Leto gets all screamy on this track. Plus it fits one of my latest musical criteria in that it feels like you could write a movie around it. Speaking of which check out the video and it's Shinning references...or are they Shining references...no beer make Homer something something.

4. Welcome to the Black Parade- My Chemical Romance (I bought a couple of songs from these guys in the past. Sure they wear a lot of make up but they kind of rocked. Well now we've got this first single of their rock opera album The Black Parade and after seeing them play a couple tracks at the MTV Awards and SNL it's quickly becoming my most anticipated album of the year. It comes out tomorrow but in the meantime I'm happy with this track that has alot of Queen overtones.)

5. Ridiculous-Norm MacDonald (I've always loved Norm. I thought his Weekend Update was one of the best in the history of Saturday Night Live and I was devastated when he got shipped out because his boss played golf with OJ. Now, like David Hasselhoff, he's back in the public eye after a couple of failed TV shows. This new album is not standup but rather a series of audio sketches. My favorite track has to be The World's First Two Gay Guys which features Will Ferrell channeling his Harry Carrey voice even though he's not playing Harry Carrey. It may not be politically correct but you'll laugh.)