Laborious

I just got back to my place this morning after riding the TRE to downtown Fort Worth from Centreport. It was cool to have Amy drop me off in the Kiss 'n Ride area at the crack of dawn, almost like we lived together. Of course, after dropping me off she was going home to crawl back in bed for a while longer and I was actually going to go to my place and get ready for the day instead of both of us going straight to work.

The rest of the long weekend was pretty good, filled with lots of getting little things done and, among other things, finally watching my copy of "High Fidelity" on DVD. Amy had a clunky VHS copy that we had watched on previous occasions but this DVD is far superior. All of Jack Black's sarcastic record snob comments are that much more crystal clear. I really like this movie, though I'm not sure if it would crack my Top 5. For one thing, it made me aware of Stiff Little Fingers, one of the only pioneering 70s punk bands that is still around touring to this day. Often referred to as "the Irish Clash" and a big influence on the sound of Green Day, SLF are known for the rousing album "Inflammable Material" which contains the punk standards Alternative Ulster and Suspect Device. I saw SLF play at Trees in Dallas last fall and despite being well into middle age, they put on a smashing performance playing new material and tearing through their oldest classics as if it were the first time they were playing what have become anthemic to fans of punk. In an interview last year, a reporter asked them if they ever got tired of playing Ulster and Device at every show. The lead singer responded that yes, sometimes they don't feel like it, but they know that at every show, there is somebody who has never seen SLF before and is there to hear them crank out Ulster and Device with the wild abandon of old. Bands who refuse to play their standards or classics live in concert should take note.