THIS is a CLOSE-UP?

I was just too young for The Late Show with David Letterman . Although I caught some of Letterman's work before he left NBC, I missed out on the stellar early-to-mid-'80s material that made his reputation as a comedy game-changer (or at least someone who learned well from Steve Allen and Ernie Kovacs) and dyspeptic cynic who waded into deep waters of irony and glee. Kids and animals seem to bring the best out of Letterman, and it was never truer than in 1986, when Dave ran afoul of a pissed-off lady monkey.

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Mimi Leung is a kick-ass artist with plenty of prints available for purchase. This is my favorite of her many works -- it's a lovely summation of rock and roll -- and I wish it was one of those works I could buy. For now, I'll just look at it over and over.

Not a bad concert year, right? Interesting that the first thought I had when looking at this list was that I've spent a lot of time at concerts, feeling my back and my legs cramp up, listening to the mundane and banal conversations of those surrounding me, smelling a broad array of assaulting odors wafting up from unwashed and drugged-out fellow patrons, and generally wishing that the whole process could be refined and retailored to my aging ass. But that's pretty unlikely. And still, in spite of all the degradations, I keep going and going. Coachella Music & Arts Festival [Empire Polo Field, Indio, CA 4.27/4.28/4.29] -- once again, a hard-to-beat line-up featuring the reunited Rage Against The Machine, along with so many high points {Justice, LCD Soundsystem, Jarvis Cocker, Amy Winehouse, etc.} amid the oppressive heat and hipsters LCD Soundsystem [Majestic Theater, Detroit 5.7] -- so good at Coachella that I had to see them again, twice in two weeks, and they d...

Not sure how the fire got there. And shouldn't there be two of them? (Courtesy of Reddit . Please offer your own caption, too.)

Via: Term Life Insurance

2006 was the first full year that I'd been cut off from the music retail teat since 1990, but somehow I managed to go here and there, from one state to another, and see some shows. Some were magnificant, some fell into the "just a show" category, but here's how the year shook out: The National / The Cloud Room [Intersection, Grand Rapids 3.23] Electric Six [Magic Stick, Detroit 4.1 Editors / Stellastarr* [Magic Stick, Detroit 4.13] Coachella Music & Arts Festival [Empire Polo Field, Indio, CA 4.29/4.30] Secret Machines [Magic Bag, Ferndale 5.14] Movement: 06 [Hart Plaza, Detroit 5.29] Intonation Music Festival [Union Park, Chicago 6.24/6.25] Gnarls Barkley / Peeping Tom [State Theater, Detroit 8.7] Steely Dan / Michael McDonald [DET Energy Music Theater, Clarkston 9.2] Lindsey Buckingham [Emerald Theater, Mt. Clemens 10.22] Mobius Band / Baby Dayliner [Intersection, Grand Rapids 10.23] Electric Six [St. Andrew’s Hall, Detroit 11.4] Aside from the usual...