I was a too restless for eight hours of sleep this morning (early evening for most of the U.S.) and started reading some album reviews on Sputnik in bed.  Another mistake probably.  They really were unforgiving with Smashing Pumpkins’ second act of Atum and also both of the new Skrillex’ albums.  I was just about to buy Don’t Get too Close by breakfast, but wanted to audition some of the tracks on YouTube to make sure I wasn’t on a kamikaze purchase.  I first checked out the video for “Ceremony” and then “Don’t Leave Me Like This”.  I was almost regretting not getting the album because it had a great new album setup.  Then Skrillex – QUEST FOR FIRE Basement Set auto-played.  He is mixing and somewhat dancing with lights.  What a great introduction to the other album that Skrillex recently released.  There are a few inspiring transitions and surprising tracks.  One big one that I’ve been craving with an updated Kid A or Amnesiac sound is “Supersonic (my existence)”.  Of course it’s best to see a live mix of the album in this case and it’s marked into chapters so you can see which track is which.  Then when purchasing the album, we have a great introduction about how these feel to the artist and can get into a different order with our own interpretations.  Sometimes with Skrillex I think he is just a few years ahead of what I envision doing and that is a tad frustrating when he capitalizes on the exact sound I may have wanted to achieve in my dreams.  I guess if I wasn’t a musician myself, I’d be ultra-grateful.  Regardless I have no means to record or even an instrument granted my voice, so I’m probably further away than I think with ever trying to catch up with him that way.  The other thing I see that I fear we share is a lack of confidence on the video when trying to relax in a less formal setting.  The dancing looks spiritual and I get uncomfortable if I pay too much attention.  If I ever were to get up on stage, it’s that modern modesty in awareness and experience that makes it hard to stay cool.  See if you notice though.

One more news item.  Wilco is playing at St. Augustine Ampitheater on April 19th.  There are lots of good tickets left, including floor spots.  I totally recommend this show, however I’m renting a car that day to drive to Jacksonville to see Jerry Seinfeld the next night.  So although tempting I really shouldn’t.