Shake the sheets

So I finally got a hold of the new Ted Leo and the Pharmacists album, "Shake the Sheets" which actually doesn't come out til later this week, though somehow a friend of mine got an advanced copy about 6 weeks ago and all my pals have been in awe ever since. I finally got my copy saturday.

I've been championing Ted Leo for more than a year now, and "Shake the Sheets" continues that noise. This is especially remarkable when you consider that over that same time period, I've purposely been avoiding music with lyrics, and have had a serious aversion to all things rock. Leo is the exception.. I guess cause he's so damn good, he's impossible to ignore.

If there is one guy who is about claim the king of rock throne, Leo is it. And "Shake the Sheets" is the album that should be his breakthrough. Couldn't imagine I'd say this, but I think I like it better than his last album - "Hearts of Oak", and that's my favorite rock album of the last 5 years or so... This album is less lyrically ponderous, a bit more poppy, but still hard... "Heart Problems" is the standout that I seem to remember as the highlight of his live performance at last summer's Randolph's Street Fest - it's the centerpiece of the album and hauls ass start to finish, as does "Criminal Piece" and "Walking To Do". Other tunes like "The One Who Got Us Out", "Counting Down the Hours" and the title cut are all great beyond description. There's not a bad song on the entire record...

He's on tour. I can't recommend him highly enough.

I also had the pleasure of seeing "Dirtly Old Town" - the hour long rockumentary on Leo that centers around a show he played at Coney Island in 2003. It's not as mind-bending as his music, but it's still a worthwhile watch... Besides the concert footage, there's a lot Ted talking about punk asthetics and crap...plus a lot of great camera work on the amusement park... And an "extra" of them playing some street fest during the NYC blackout of 2003, intercut with images of commuters walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, etc..

Sadly, there was no sheet shaking after my date on friday. I was hungover on sunday, but not becuase I drank too much on saturday, but because I mixed beer, wine and whiskey. Yeech. I've got to slow down, I've been drinkin too much lately...

More baseball news later this week, and I'm working on a Sox org depth chart covering all levels down to Great Falls, though that may take a little while...