It's probably too late to mention this, but if you live here in Omaha don't waste your time going to the Auto Show of the Midlands this weekend at the Qwest. It's a sad joke of what it used to be. $6 to park, $7 to get in (with the $1 off coupon, so $20 if it's date night) and what do you get? The EXACT SAME THING YOU CAN GET BY GOING TO THE DEALERSHIPS. No concepts this year, nothing noteworthy save for a Smart, promoting the new dealership opening up here in town, and a right-hand-drive Jeep Wrangler. I'm thinking about breaking out my poison pen and writing a scathing missive to the people that put on the show about how far quality has dropped off. Should I have to pay to sit in a Chevy Cobalt? Feh. They should pay me. Basically there was an outlay of cash to go look at a bunch of shitty base-model vehicles available everywhere. Thanks, Auto Show of the Midlands, for wasting my night, you suck!

The most interesting thing at the auto show. What the hell?

In other news, or, miscellaneous things of no import which I've been thinking about:
So I'm listnening to my XM Radio (whose service I love) on my laughable Delphi SkiFi3 (a total piece of shit**) and catch the last 2 bars of the new B-52's single! It was last July when they trotted the song out for the first time here in Omaha, priming the come-back pump. And this song was great live even though they were still working out the bugs. Here's a clip of 'em playing it live from a more recent show:

So their first studio album in 16 years, also titled "Funplex," comes out in a few weeks. All the available deets here. I am, in a word, thrilled.

(image stolen from some european site I won't be giving attribution to)

Sure, the gang is looking a little rough around the edges (even Keith is starting to age a bit), but hey, it's been a long time since 1979. And I can tell you first hand from seeing them last summer, in 1990 and concert footage from 1980, they haven't lost a thing. They still pound through Strobe Light and 52 Girls like they're rocking a smokey house party in rural Georgia.

Speaking of concerts, what the hell happened to Coachella this year? The line up is appalling. Early whispers of headliners like Radiohead and Outkast with supporting acts like the Breeders*, Beck and Broken Social Scene were smashed Monday when they released the actual roster. Jack Johnson? Roger Waters doing Dark Side of the Moon? LOVE AND ROCKETS?!? Two parts pot-fueled pop'n'album-rock to one part one-hit-wonder? What the fuh? Indio,California is a wonderful place to see a concert, particularly at night. It's warm, there's a light breeze, the stage set ups and art installations are impressive, etc. etc. Plus it's full of little surprises, like when we wandered into the "electronic dance dome" and caught the DJ set of Lady Miss Keir, as in "of Deee-Lite." She busted out a wicked set of year and genre spanning tunes while accompanied by her two tranny-dancers. It was blissful.

Lady Miss Kier busts out the funky beats at Coachella 2007

That's what makes this year that much more of a let down. Last year was a pleasant surprise after the parking hassles, the standing in line, the wafty pot clouds and the $4 bottles of water. So Why would they derail it this year with such a dull set. It's safe to say that I'll be looking for another venue to enjoy Chromeo sometime this year.

Oh, and in radio news, apparently I'm mean:

Notes:
John Gibson is a big piece of shit. But you already knew that.
The Prez is a delusional douche-nozzle. But you already knew that.
You can now buy pancake batter in a pressurized can, ready to make. Seriously. No joke. It's called the batter blaster, and I'm going to sue since that was my screen name once upon a time.

That's all for this week, kids.
Huzzah.

Oh, P.S. There have been updates all over docmarvy.com (megameme, BOTM, etc.) so feel free to look around.

**read the review from Broad Street Books that starts "Just an awful piece of junk..." It's hilarious.
(thanks to Hobronto for some of these fine links)