i'm a pixel here, myself

The best part of only being an occasional consumer of Fall Out Boy is the ability to laugh at stuff like [this (not-quite-accurate) transcription of FOB lyrics and their illustrations] (stick figures, but NSFW) and simply laugh my ass off. I like how the luleelurah (you have to watch it and see!) gets more and more complex each time. And I still can't tell what Patrick Stump is saying 99% of the time.

The worst part is that I don't feel like the on-the-fly album analysis I did today at the gym is necessarily worth anything. For what it's worth to those FOB folks on my flist (um, okay, stopping with the alliteration now), From Under the Cork Tree *sounds* like a first album, or at least what we the pop music consumers have come to think of as a first album. What I've heard of Take This to Your Grave just feels... not tight enough to be an album. It doesn't have the same coherency that FUtCT has. Now you may say "blah blah blah commercial appealcakes" and I would agree. But I come to this as the consummate consumer, so I think I have maybe a less tainted fandom-colored picture. Infinity on High, however, backs up my position: it sounds like a sophomore album. It feels less commercial; it has moments that stray from the high-energy pop-punk of FUtCT; it has more distortion and production effects. It feels like the baby step toward something really experimental, but I suspect it was heavily influenced by visions of what, exactly, would sell. I have no illusions about knowing what goes on in their collective head, but from the viewpoint of a casual listener, fewer of the tracks scream "play me again and again!" like some of the tracks on FUtCT do. I suspect this will be a net negative for growing their listener base, but if they can aggressively market the songs that *do* have the hooks (and, apparently, wash out their collective mouth -- are you *really* not allowed to say "goddamn" on MTV? LAME.), they may be able to compensate for that.

...and this has been your overly-analytical discussion of Fall Out Boy for the evening. ::facepalm::

In other news, I got a call from the people I phone interviewed with on Friday; *this* Friday they want me to have another phone interview, this time with the VP of something or other, who would actually be making the hiring decision. I suspect the outcome of this call will determine whether or not I get to go in for an in-person interview (aya, the bureaucracy!), so I am being cautiously optimistic.

I have a thousand things on my to-do list and the desire to do maybe three of them. This week month is going to go SO well. Note to self: less time looking at porn surfing the internet; more time taking care of shit you ACTUALLY NEED TO DO.

This would be a GIP, except the post is not gratuitous, and contains actual content. I wish more people would remember what GIP originally stood for.

Linked by without_me, it seems svmadelyn has a [Valentine's Day Game] which has been going on for three years, and she's doing it again. It looks like an awesome way to gush about people without having to attach your name, if you're worried about that sort of thing. Also, from the perspective of everyone who loathes Valentine's Day (around my apartment, it's know as Mid-February Day, which should give you some idea of my opinion), this is something that takes the Hallmark out of the holiday.

Participate if you'd like, and pass it on!

I didn't watch the State of the Union address because I have a tendency to [shout at the screen] and generally get upset. Two years until he's gone. Two years. ::mantra::

Tomorrow and Thursday feel like filler days until my phone interview. Nevermind that a phone interview is not a job offer; I'm just ready to be done with my current job. Why do I have to work, again? If only I were less of an economist, I might play the lottery.

I think I'm going to go to bed early with my as-yet-unfinished copy of American Gods.