+ = CRAZY DELICIOUS

I can't really believe this at all. It seems too good to be true, really. My all time favorite guitarist and top ten songwriter collaborating with and now a "full blown member" of Modest Mouse?

From NME.com:

Smiths star joins Modest Mouse
The band get extra special guitar help

Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr has collaborated with Modest Mouse on their seventh album.

Marr has helped to write and record material on the Seattle outfit's forthcoming LP 'We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank' reports Rolling Stone.

Speaking about the collaboration Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock said: "I took a long shot really. I was like, 'You know, I really like that guy's guitar playing. There's no chance in hell he's going to say yes, but why not give him a call?' So I did.

"Eventually it all came together, and it was a really good fit, which I think actually surprised all of us."

Marr has also signed up to go on tour with the band in support of their second LP.

Brock added: "He made a cautious commitment to write and record with us, and then the tighter we got, he was like, 'okay, let's tour too,'. Then he was pretty much a member of the band - not pretty much. He's a full blown member of the band. It's really fuckin' nice."

'We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank', which was recorded at Sweet Tea studios in Mississippi, is due for release later this year.

So it's currently 22:00 on a Tuesday. I'm staring at a flyer from The Greensboro Review on my desk, and I swear that this 8 1/2" x 11" green piece of paper is practically SCREAMING at me.



September 15 is in just over a month. Also just less than a month shy of my 30th birthday.

Not that I'm thinking about turning 30. Nah - doesn't bother me in the least.

Never mind that I've only written one complete poem since 2000. Never mind that creatively, the past four years of my life have been an utter wash. I am determined to submit to The Greensboro Review, even though it is the only journal I've ever been published in. Even though it is published by my alma mater. Maybe it's just out of appreciation that they even mailed me the thing. I just feel thankful. It woke me up.

I better get crackin' and create something.

OH - I finally updated the music bit to the right of this post. "Blankest Year" makes me jump out of my seat and dance around the room. That shit is poppy. I also like the simplicity and the sentiment of it all. Seems a bit timely for me. Take a listen and you'll know what I mean.