not sure if i got lucky or unlucky — having gone to monday night’s cubs game at dodger stadium where they won, where maddux pitched an amazing game resulting in very few hits, but where i was standing in the concession line during the 5th inning when almost all of the cubs hitting and baserunning and scoring happened, not to mention it being the shortest ball game i’ve seen in ages clocking in at only 1:59. i mean, they won 4-1 and nothing much challenged that in the second half of the game. whereas last night’s game was a lot more hard-fought, zambrano was less consistent but made for a much more tense battle, and it went right down to the bottom of the 9th where unfortunately the dodgers pulled it out. would i rather be in the stands for a winning dull game or a losing nailbiter? tough call. i do know that it’s hard to appreciate a great pitching game from the top deck of dodger stadium though; it’s almost like watching from the blimp.

ah well let’s hope they pull out the series tonight so i can go back to gloating over my silly dodger-boosting friends tomorrow.

it’s new music month here, i picked up two albums a couple weeks ago and two more last week, so i’m swimming in good stuff. for now just the two i’ve had more time to digest…

the flaming lips – at war with the mystics – 3 stars
don’t get me wrong, i love the lips. i have maybe three quarters of their catalog and no regrets so far. but i’m afraid this album might be falling into the same trap as yoshimi did, in that there are three or four standout tracks, and i couldn’t remember the rest if you paid me. i wish i could give them a handicap for loving the flaming lips as an idea, which i do — watch wayne coyne in an interview, or their documentary fearless freaks, and i dare you to not to fall in love with him for his general demeanor and attitude toward life — but standing alone as an album i was just hoping for a little more meat to sink my teeth into, especially after what, four or five years since the last one? it’s good but not amazing, that’s all.

jens lekman – oh you’re so silent jens – 4 stars
this came out last year so there’s plenty more that’s already been said elsewhere, but i tend to agree with most of it so far. i’ll just summarize to save you the trouble: lots of swelling sweet pop songs and a beautiful voice that rings a bit of magnetic fields, but a little less writerly and a little more swooning. strings and horns and pianos make the album feel rich even if there are a few songs they probably could have left off, but what else is new? really good for singing along and it’s cute how all his “th” sounds turn into d’s. brother–>brudder; other–>udder; even the–>duh. adorably scandinavian.

don’t believe me? go to his site on secretly canadian and get ‘black cab’, or grab the new pay day song, maple leaves. great stuff.