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Shoujo Q wrote:I find I only get audible books if I like the voice of the person reading the book.

Agree the narrator(s) can make a huge difference in the enjoyment of the books. I experienced this recently when listening to "The Atlas Six," which is in multi-narrative format on the page, and the audiobook emulates that by using different narrators for each characters' section. Some of their voices were a joy to listen to, others were unengaging to the point where I eventually just skipped them and went back to the (e-)printed word for their sections.

Zunu wrote:About a year ago I listened to the (Audible) audiobook of the trilogy. So, not really all the way through, since it doesn't include the best part!

Indeed! Some of the Appendices wouldn't translate very well to audiobook format, even apart from the very visual family trees, Shire Calendar, and tabular arrangements of Tengwar and Angerthas. I challenge anyone to make a gripping audio presentation of something like "The raising of the stem indicated the opening of the consonant to a 'spirant': thus assuming the above values for Grade 1, Grade 3 (9–12)=th, f, ch, sh (or th, f, kh, khw/hw), and Grade 4 (13–16)=dh, v, zh, gh (or dh, v, gh, ghw/w)."

I've always enjoyed hearing Tolkien himself read from the books, especially "Riddles in the Dark". You haven't really heard Gollum's voice until you've heard it from Tolkien's mouth.

I have a very bad habit of never getting around to listening to audiobooks, though. I still haven't played my 8-CD set of the unabridged The Children of Húrin, read by Sir Christopher Lee, preface and introduction read by Christopher Tolkien, even though I can't imagine a better choice of people to read it.

In case anyone was wondering, my translations of the Study Abroad Channel videos have taken a break because I'm feeling low-energy these days. It is kind of normal for me to feel this way at this time of year... but also, yeah sh*t be crazy. Sorry for any disappointment. On a positive note I have started taking some photos again with my ancient dslr and maybe I'll share a few shots with you guys.

I went to see TsuShiMaMiRe in San Francisco last night (my eleventh time seeing them), and they were ON FIRE. It was one of the best shows I've seen from them, and that's saying something. I exercised enormous restraint at the merch table, but even so, I bought $85 worth of stuff. I'll have to post a photo of my haul later.

I find it difficult to comprehend why they're not hugely popular. After last night's show, my friends and I were talking to a woman who had just seen them for the first time, and she said it was the best show she'd EVER seen. When I saw ATARASHII GAKKO! last week, they had sold out the Regency Ballroom (capacity 1400), and they're scheduled to play Budōkan in January. Meanwhile, TsuShiMaMiRe are playing as an opening act at Bottom of the Hill (capacity 350). And it's not like they're newbies in the business: they've been active for 24 years and have played at least 11 shows in the Bay Area since 2004.

On the plus side, the fact that they still play at small clubs has the benefit of making it so much easier to interact with them. My friends and I are regulars at their Bay Area gigs (we've all seen them in Japan, too), and when they saw us before the show last night, all of them gave hugs to all of us. You think that would ever happen at an ATARASHII GAKKO! concert, even with a VIP ticket? Not. A. Chance. In. Hell.

They are great, and completely underrated!

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erilaz wrote:I exercised enormous restraint at the merch table, but even so, I bought $85 worth of stuff. I'll have to post a photo of my haul later.

USA TOUR 2023 NOV t-shirt
Five buttons (the three in the middle feature drawings of the band members by singer/guitarist Mari)
LIVE IN GERMANY 2022 Special Edition CD with autographed booklet
20TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW AT SPACE ODD DVD with autographed card
SHOT YOU 7-inch vinyl single with personalized autographs
Bassist Yayoi's handwritten set list (with incorrect date, should be 11/13)

It's been a busy month for me, as far as concerts are concerned. I saw the Linda Lindas last night, and they put on a great show. All of them are teenagers at this point, now that Mila has turned 13 and Bela is still 19.

The surprise guests were amazing. Local punk legend Penelope Houston joined on vocals on the song "Fine"; she's now the musical artist I've seen perform live the greatest number of times (until 12/30, when Exene Cervenka will be tied with her again). That wasn't a huge surprise, since three of the Linda Lindas joined Penelope's band, the Avengers, onstage for a couple of songs at Mosswood Meltdown back in July. The next surprise guest, though, was a real shock (or should I say "Schock"?), because for their cover of the Go-Go's song "Tonight", Mila relinquished her drum kit for Go-Go's drummer Gina Schock!

Thank you erilaz! So I googled Linda Linda’s because I was curious. Read their wiki page and then ended up on their homepage. From there I found their tour schedule and noticed that they were going to be playing with Green Day. And that Green Day would be in Boston at Fenway in August!

I’ve always wanted to see Green Day and I’ll get the added bonus of seeing the Linda perform as well as The Smashing Pumpkins.

Grabbed two tickets on the field too. Because f* those stand seats in Fenway, I’d rather stand. They suck so bad.

^ YAY! Happy to spread the word!

I haven't seen Green Day live since June 25, 1989, when they were fourth on the bill at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley (official capacity 300) and I described them in my journal as "O.K." Five bands for $6, with All headlining and Sweet Baby* second on the bill. Times have changed.

I did see Billie Joe once since then, though. When the Go-Go's played the Alice Now & Zen Fest in Golden Gate Park in 2000, he came out on stage during "Our Lips Are Sealed". Kinda pissed me off, though, because he deprived me of getting to hear Jane sing her solo "Hush, my darling" lines.

* Fun fact: Green Day had just changed their name from Sweet Children about 2½ months earlier, so that they wouldn't get confused with Sweet Baby, who were a bigger band at the time and were themselves originally called Sweet Baby Jesus.