Another Steve Jobs post. I found this irresistible and worth sharing.

I might also note that I am amazed at the breadth of coverage today. Steve Jobs is not only on the front page of every major news website but also among the headlines on ESPN and Pitchfork. Truly global.

In memoriam.

As I drift daily from my iPhone to my MacBookPro to my iPad listening to music on iTunes that I often carry with me on one of my several iPods, I don’t often think of Steve Jobs. I will today. Thank you Steve for making all of this a little easier for so many of us.

(Thanks to Jeff Chui/AP for this brilliant photo. It was so good I couldn’t help but borrow it.)

We’re off but we’ll be back in a while (or maybe not). Either way, until then just try to enjoy yourself.

According the handy internet source for vaguely accurate information about all things important to its overwhelmingly male contributors, Valentine’s Day originated with a Pope or Chaucer. In all events, it apparently started long before Zales, Hallmark or FTD got involved. I imagine the love song is just as old.

There’s no matching the soul greats like Al Green for straight love songs, but the love song can be a little more complicated than that. For those with an ear for a less conventional love, check out Bloodshot Records latest sampler – Lonely Hearts Valentine’s Day Sampler
. It’s free at Amazon and features tracks by personal perennial favorites the Old 97′s and Alejandro Escovedo as well as some great songs from Robbie Fulks, Bobby Bare, Jr. and Ha Ha Tonka. Really it’s worth the download for “W-I-F-E” alone but I’m going to give you that one here, so go to Amazon and get the rest.

Old 97s – W-I-F-E

I wanted to name this post “ouch that hurts” on account of the growing pains we’ve been having recently but I decided it was out of sync with the season and all the cool stuff that’s been going on around us.

First, if you haven’t checked out the Atlanta Music Writer’s Roundtable yet, now is the time to do it. Don’t forget to follow it to the end, there is something for everybody in there and I promise you will discover something new.

Second, the growing pains I mentioned above are from switching servers – hopefully, your load times will improve and the site will be a little easier to access. We also have been hunting for a new “theme” for a while. We’ve settled on what you see here now but it still has several kinks to be worked out. I am pretty much a dummy when it comes to managing the interwebs, so please be patient.

Finally, since it is the season and all that I thought we should share a couple of holiday tracks from some folks around town. Here’s a little holiday cheer from Death on Two Wheels, Oryx and Crake, and Atlas Sound.

Merry Christmas, y’all.

Death On Two Wheels – Jingle Bell Rock
Oryx and Crake – Little Drummer Boy
Atlas Sound – Artificial Snow (Notown Version)

I wish I could go back in time to see some of the shows that I missed this year: Grinderman, Oryx & Crake’s CD Release, Yeasayer, Ted Leo, Wolf Parade, Sharon Jones, Attention System at DragonCon, Gaslight Anthem…

I wish Josh Ritter could put out a record every six months.

I wish a few more labels trusted a little blogger like me enough to send me advances and know that I wouldn’t leak them.

I wish I still had all those cassettes I gave away so long ago. I’d sell them to hipster kids who don’t realize what happens to consumer quality magnetic tape after twenty-five years of less than ideal temperate storage…or one Atlanta summer afternoon on the dash.

I wish Junot Diaz could publish a book every six months. Hell, I’d be happy with every year.

I wish people who sent me stuff wouldn’t try to chat with me on Facebook or Gmail to find out what I thought of it. Isn’t that called lurking or something? In either event, I wish they’d stop it.

I wish I got more comments that weren’t spam.

I wish somebody somewhere would stand up and challenge P4k for internet music opinion supremacy.

I wish I had more time to listen to music. I wish I had more time to read books. I wish I had more time to blog about both.

I wish wishes were horses…