Apparently Microsoft has published the following fix for today’s mass freeze-up of Zune 30s: restart it tomorrow morning. Classic!

Yesterday was relatively subdued. Max and I woke up around 8:30 and proceeded to the living room where we goofed off on the computer and played Wii. Katy and Jenna’s dog, Finnegan, is adorable and painfully shy, so we haven’t been able to get close to him without him peeing and running out of the room. I plan to bribe him with treats at some point.

For lunch we went into downtown and met up with Katy who actually had to work in the morning. We also met up with her friend, Marika, who will probably be staying with me the night before the Inauguration. I had a delicious northwestern pretzel in some kind of cheeze and mustard dip, followed by an elk burger (had to try it) which was most excellent. I washed it all down with a glass of Oregon wine. Yum!

Next, we went to Portland State University and hopped on the trolley at Fareless Square (it’s free…get it? Fareless?). We spent the next 6 hours roaming city, shopping, taking photos and enjoying good coffee and conversation. I bought a t-shirt at an Urban Outfitters (apparently they stock their stores according to the styles popular in the cities in which a particular store lies) and a book at Powell’s City of Books (the largest bookstore in the country).

Powell’s is amazing. They have a rare book room with items like a bible from 1542 that is marked at $13,000. They had a copy of Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” on sale for $125.00 because it was printed in 1906 specifically for the Socialist Party (their logo adorns the cover). I was tempted to get it for Dave for Christmas, but he’s sort of the opposite of a socialist. They didn’t have any Ayn Rand originals for him, but perhaps one day I’ll find a first edition of “Atlas Shrugged” for him. They also had a signed limited edition copy of “The Little Prince” by Antoine de-Saint Exupery for $3,000.

For dinner, Jenna made some pesto pasta, imitation organic chicken, actual chicken, yummy veggies and awesome garlic bread. For dessert, we ate Boston Cream Pie. I went to bed around 1am and slept like a rock…again.

Yesterday morning, I hopped in a cab in front of my apartment building at 6:30 and made the 2-minute journey to Reagan airport. I checked my two bags ($44!) and headed inside. Security was pretty simple. Dave prepared me for it mentally, so I took off my belt, my jacket, and emptied my pockets into one basket and pulled my laptop out and gave it a separate basket. I was through security with no hassles and sitting at my gate by 6:45. My flight didn’t leave until 8:30.

We took off from Reagan heading north, so within seconds of lifting off the ground, I was looking straight down at the Pentagon. In order to get beyond my flyer’s anxiety, I was buried in 5 sudoku puzzles in a row while we taxied on the runway, then closed my eyes for part of the initial climb. Next time I fly out west from Reagan, I’ll be sure to bring an atlas to see what I’m flying over, but the captain said we went over West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada, with a few major cities on the way.

Farm country truly is a sight to behold. I’ve never been west of Birmingham, Alabama, so flying over so many new places was exciting for me, even through the turbulence. I watched the patchwork of urban sprawl fade to suburbia to the very low Appalachian mountains to more suburbia to an unceasing patchwork of partially-harvested farms. And then there was the real American west from above: some sporadic farms opening up to desert and mountains. Young mountains. Enormous, sometimes snowcapped mountains. From 34,000 feet, you really get a sense of how large something is when you can only see it and nothing else!

In the last hour of my first flight (stopping in Vegas), I was able to look down upon both the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam. Bucket list double-check! And I gambled away twenty bucks in the Las Vegas airport, right before my seat was bumped to first class for the final trip to Portland. You only live once, so why not do all the things you’ve ever wondered about?

I’ve now determined that, while I will almost never do it, first class is the only way to travel. In coach on my way to Vegas, I was in a window seat and the people next to me fell asleep, so after 2.5 hours, I had to wake them to pee. And I stepped on their feet and shoved my butt in their faces to get to the restroom. In first class on my way to Portland, I had complimentary Chardonnay and a pillow before we even finished loading the plane. My seat had a foot between myself and the other person in my row and tons of leg room. The lavatory near us was for first class passengers only (and there were only eight of us). And the Chardonnay flowed and the flight snacks refilled!

I will definitely have to do that again!

Portland is chilly and rainy so far, and a lot like Asheville, only bigger and cleaner. It was also nice falling asleep at 12:30pm EST, waking up at 8:30am PST and still being able to say “I got 11 hours of sleep!” So tired from all that flying…so tired. But it is great hanging out with Katy and Max again. I haven’t seen Katy in over three years and, as is always the case with just a select few in life, we picked up like we were just drinking wine on her porch in Asheville yesterday.

Production: West Side Story (pre-Broadway engagement)
Venue: National Theatre, Washington, DC
Ray’s Grade: A

The pre-Broadway engagement began this week in DC of the revival of “West Side Story” so I dragged Dave to the show on Friday night. The cast is the one intended to bring the show back to the Great White Way and for the most part, this show is set to make a huge impact.

First of all, the staging is incredible. The transitions are seamless and the set pieces are massive and nicely stylized. If you see the show, be ready for the lowering of the bridge overpass from above the stage–our audience was audibly amazed. The dancing is tight and strong. I thought my experience might be hindered by our second row seats (we were close enough to see the actors’ sweat dripping and spit flying when they shouted), but the choreography was so well-rehearsed I remained in awe throughout, without lasering in on individual mistakes or fourth wall realities.

The casting of the Broadway revival production is alright, though at some times a little strange. The guy who plays “Tony,” Matt Cavenaugh, is certainly a “pretty boy” (to quote “Bernardo”), but his singing voice has unusual moments of nasality–he also seems to sing like an actor noticeably older than his castmates, which belies the unpolished, streetwise kid “Tony” is supposed to be at the start of the show. Josefina Scaglione turns in a lovely “Maria” with soaring vocals and a dynamic emotional range.

For the most part, the Sharks are all quite excellent, with “Anita,” played by Karen Olivo, turning in the strongest single performance of any actor in the show of the entire night. She’s a real scene-stealer (in a good way)! On the other hand, several of the Jets come across as dancers trying their damnedest to be actors (though maybe it’s always been like that in every professional incarnation of this particular show). Cody Green as “Riff” feels like the physical and professional reincarnation of Christian Bale, for better or worse. His dialogue played stiffly early on in the production, but as the tension built, so did his comfort. Curtis Holbrook as “Action” sneered a bit too much for his character’s jokes to land with the audience, though he single-handedly made “Gee, Officer Krupke” work onstage last night.

A moment of note: early in the play, there were sirens before “Lt. Schrank” and “Officer Krupke” broke up a fight between the Jets and Sharks. When Act II started and the actors moved to the street set after the rumble, a slightly different alarm went off in the National Theatre. It wasn’t until the safety announcements began asking us all to exit the building that the audience (and the actors onstage) realized there was a fire in the building. See a photo below:

After 30 minutes in the cold, we filed back into the building and the play picked up right where it left off. And the actors seemed unfazed by the complete disruption of our suspension of disbelief. It was a great show overall, and I found myself tapping out the rhythms and lip-synching almost every word of the show. Having been in a VERY amateur production of the show in high school, I can tell you there is nothing in the world quite like the real thing. We sat in the second row of the orchestra seats, and could see right into the pit, so it was a full-bodied experience that I highly recommend.

Alright, here’s the last one, folks. The Record of the Year trophy at the Grammys is actually the most highly coveted, and the award goes to the artist and producer(s) of a single. Past winners of Record of the Year include Michael Jackson’s “Beat It,” Santana’s “Smooth,” and Frank Sinatra’s “Strangers in the Night.” So who’s got the goods to compete with those tunes?

“Chasing Pavements”
Adele
Eg White, producer; Tom Elmhirst & Steve Price, engineers/mixers
Track from: 19
[XL Recordings/Columbia]

A true gem, I want badly for her to win this award and she’s got a decent shot. However, the other nominees make it difficult for her.

“Bleeding Love”
Leona Lewis
Simon Cowell, Clive Davis & Ryan “Alias” Tedder, producers; Craig Durrance, Phil Tan & Ryan “Alias” Tedder, engineers/mixers
[J Records/SYCO Music]

I cannot describe in words how much I hate this song. There is something absolutely vapid about it, which may find its source in the fact that Simon Cowell is listed as a producer.

“Paper Planes”
M.I.A
Diplo, producer; Switch, engineer/mixer
Track from: Kala
[Interscope]

Too avant garde + purposely awful vocals + sound effect novelty song for the Academy to actually go there. In fact, I’m quite surprised it even got nominated. The AOL cash register sound alone should disqualify the producer for this award, and perhaps qualify him for a bludgeoning.

“Please Read The Letter”
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
T Bone Burnett, producer; Mike Piersante, engineer/mixer
Track from: Raising Sand
[Rounder]

Hopefully a pity nominee, since most of the last 50 Record of the Year winners have been rewarded for impacting the zeitgeist with their songs, and this one barely blipped the radar this year. This one gets a “who cares?” even though the Academy may choose it as a rejection of some of the tripe that hit the radio before the 4th Quarter of 2008. Was “Yes We Can” by will.i.am not commercially released?

“Viva La Vida”
Coldplay
Markus Dravs, Brian Eno & Rik Simpson, producers; Michael Brauer & Rik Simpson, engineers/mixers
Track from: Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
[Capitol Records]

The likely winner. I’ve already shown the clip for this song, but its eponymous album is the year’s best-seller and the song was everywhere back in September, including an iPod commercial. Loves it!

Up next is Album of the Year (not to be confused with Record of the Year, which goes to a single’s artist and producer, not to be confused with Song of the Year, which goes to the songwriter). Here’s what I have to say about these…

Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
Coldplay
Markus Dravs, Brian Eno & Rik Simpson, producers; Michael H. Brauer, Markus Dravs, John O’Mahoney, Rik Simpson & Andy Wallace, engineers/mixers; Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer
[Capitol Records]

Very good, but not a lot of singles. It’s their most ambitious to date, and the Academy likes to award artistic growth.

Tha Carter III
Lil Wayne
Babyface, Brisco, Fabolous, Jay-Z, Kidd Kidd, Busta Rhymes, Juelz Santana, D. Smith, Static Major, T-Pain & Bobby Valentino, featured artists; Alchemist, David Banner, Vaushaun “Maestro” Brooks, Cool & Dre, Andrews “Drew” Correa, Shondrae “Mr. Bangladesh” Crawford, Darius “Deezle” Harrison, Jim Jonsin, Mousa, Pro Jay, Rodnae, Skillz & Play, D. Smith, Swizz Beatz, Robin Thicke, T-Pain & Kanye West, producers; Angel Aponte, Joshua Berkman, Andrew Dawson, Joe G, Darius “Deezle” Harrison, Fabian Marasciullo, Miguel Scott, Robin Thicke, Julian Vasquez & Gina Victoria, engineers/mixers; Vlado Meller, mastering engineer
[Universal Motown/Cash Money]

Hardly! It’s a mixed bag project and these never go over well. The Academy sees mixed bags as incoherent and unfairly diverse.

Year Of The Gentleman
Ne-Yo
Chuck Harmony, Ne-Yo, Polow Da Don, StarGate, Stereotypes, Syience, Shea Taylor & Shomari “Sho” Wilson, producers; Kirven Arrington, Jeff Chestek, Kevin “KD” Davis, Mikkel Eriksen, Jaymz Hardy Martin, III, Geno Regist, Phil Tan & Tony Terrebonne, engineers/mixers; Herb Powers, Jr., mastering engineer
[Def Jam/Compound]

I LOVE this album. Ne-Yo deserves the nomination and his sound has dominated pop and R&B for the last couple of years. This nod is partly to reward him for his impact as a producer, but the album stands alone. Strong mid-tempo tracks, strong ballads, dark and light themes intertwined. I dig it.

Raising Sand
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
T Bone Burnett, producer; Mike Piersante, engineer/mixer; Gavin Lurssen, mastering engineer
[Rounder]

The non-commercial, obligatory “legend” choice. If this one wins, I’ll be pissed as always. But see: Herbie Hancock, Tony Bennett, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Ray Charles, etc. for examples of this happening anyways…

In Rainbows
Radiohead
Nigel Godrich, producer; Nigel Godrich, Dan Grech-Marguerat, Hugo Nicolson & Richard Woodcraft, engineers/mixers; Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer
[TBD Records]

Radiohead’s another one of those “so far out there, it’s always good” choices. Grammy may want to give them this one as penance for deferring awarding the group for past masterpieces. But I don’t feel like it’s their year, nor do I think the nomination guarantees they’ll even make an appearance on the telecast, which can sometimes be a factor.

I think these five nominees are a little too different from each other, so the winner will be a surprise as a result of the Academy vote-splitting. Coldplay or Ne-Yo gets this one and since I already gave Coldplay one of these trophies, I’m going to say my favorite wins here (even though I bet he won’t).

My pick gets the flick(s):

Since I enjoyed commenting on the Song of the Year nominees so much, I’ll keep this little show going.

Duffy

I had the incredibly good fortune of seeing Duffy perform live from the floor seats at Saturday Night Live on September 27 (Tina Fey opened the show with the Sarah Palin being interview by Katie Couric sketch). She put on a good number without a lot of strain and almost no backup, save for an incredible house band. (Funny note: one of her bandmates is kind of a total jerk. I heard him on his cell phone in the hallway right after meeting castmember Bill Hader and he was totally dogging Americans.) Anyways, Duffy’s great, but she’s already fizzling out here. Take the lessons of “Mercy” and cut a new album full of similar tracks immediately–that’s your niche, honey!

Jonas Brothers

Next!

Lady Antebellum

Hunky country-rockers. ‘Nuff said…

Jazmine Sullivan

A contender! “Bust Your Windows” is a vicious debut single, though I’m mad at the engineer for saturating the vocals with too tinny of a reverb patch. Nobody sounds their best singing into a metal box. Nonetheless, she’s got a strong album and a rich voice. I dig her Eastern phrasing too. But there’s not enough “there” there.

Which brings us to…

Adele

The Best New Artist this year (from this list anyways), without a doubt, is Adele. She, like Duffy, needs to work the sound of her big hit into her next album. Her current disc, 19, is a little too slow at times and lacking the textures of “Chasing Pavements” (also a Song of the Year nominee). Check out why I think this young lady will be around for a long time to come below.

My pick gets the flick:

Note: I have to admit that I don’t know for sure if Adele is the real best new artist of 2008. There were a couple of emerging talents that didn’t end up on this list. Where are Katy Perry, Sara Bareilles, Flight of the Conchords, Solange, or Estelle? My decision might be different if they took out the pitchy-ass Jonas Brothers and Lady Antebellum (whose name is rather misleading).

Alright, so I’ll do a few of these, but I don’t want to do them all at once or I’ll get exhausted. The nominees have been announced and there are a few shocks and surprises. First up on our discussion are the nominees for Song of the Year, which is given to the songwriters.

“American Boy”
William Adams, Keith Harris, Josh Lopez, Caleb Speir, John Stephens, Estelle Swaray & Kanye West, songwriters (Estelle Featuring Kanye West)
Track from: Shine
[Atlantic/Homeschool; Publishers: Will.I.Am Music/Cherry River Music/Chrysalis Publishing/John Legend Publishing/Cherry River Music/Please Gimme My Publishing/EMI Blackwood Music/Larry Leron Music/Speir Music/Broke, Spoke and Gone Publishing]

This is a good one. Estelle is an up-and-comer, but it’ll be hard for the Academy to give a songwriting award to a track with 7 authors. It shouldn’t take 7 people to write a 3 minute hip-hop track!

“Chasing Pavements”
Adele Adkins & Eg White, songwriters (Adele)
Track from: 19
[XL Recordings/Columbia; Publishers: Universal-Songs of Polygram Int.]

Brilliance! It’s a new metaphor (“chasing pavements” means, according to Adele, running after someone who’s just not going to stop or turn around…it’s giving chase for no reason). The singer co-wrote the track with only one other person. She’s not the usual Hollywood type either, as a full-figured British white girl with a smoky, beaten-down voice from a 1960s urban ghetto. Might have a shot, especially since Adele is up for Best New Artist. That being said, I think she gets the latter trophy, not the former.

“I’m Yours”
Jason Mraz, songwriter (Jason Mraz)
Track from: We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.
[Atlantic; Publisher: Goo Eyed Music]

Jason, how I love thee…let me count the ways. Mraz continues to churn out sincerity masked by arrogant confidence as a defense and it is unceasingly charming. This is a good one too, but not the best in the pack.

“Love Song”
Sara Bareilles, songwriter (Sara Bareilles)
Track from: Little Voice
[Epic; Publisher: Tiny Bear Music]

Infectious, nicely put together and succinct, Sara Bareilles’ track, “Love Song,” is anything but a love song. But this one is more compositional than poetic. Granted, the lyrics are punchy and rhythmic and seem to fit the tune like a glove, but I don’t think “Song of the Year” goes to the angry-chick-singing-pop these days.

“Viva La Vida”
Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion & Chris Martin, songwriters (Coldplay)
Track from: Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
[Capitol Records; Publishers: Universal Music-MGB Songs]

I frankly don’t see how they can lose. This is one of my favorite songs of the year, and perhaps all time. It oozes genius, the music is timeless (in 20 years, it’ll be hard for youngsters to place even the decade of its release) and I’m convinced the lyrics celebrate America’s triumphs and mourn its 21st Century stature as a worn out hero-tyrant. Perhaps the guys in the band didn’t think Obama had enough fight in him to win when they wrote this one late last year. I declare “Viva La Vida” the winner, though among a field of truly admirable contenders. “Aw, who would ever wanna be king?” P’shaw!

My pick gets the flick:

Forgive my absence, but I am in the midst of a personal Hell that is my own doing. I’m speaking, of course, about my first law school exam week. The semester has ended and the tests now begin. I have my first three-hour brain-rape tomorrow night. The next will come on Saturday morning. My last exam is next Tuesday. At this point, I am almost confident about tomorrow night’s test (almost), the only one of the three exams I have that is not an open-book, open-note test.

I’ll say this before returning to making flash cards: it has certainly paid to do all the reading when it’s assigned throughout the semester rather than trying to catch up at the end!