bye bye beckham

England lost. I'm really sorry, Mr. David Beckham, that you never had the chance to win the World Cup. Its especially frustrating because its all because the apeman decided to be an idiot and step on a guy's crotch with the ref watching. However, you played great. I do not blame you for anything other than coming up with stupid baby names (yes, Brooklyn and Romeo have a lot to live up to). I really hope one of them plays cricket and the other joins a rock band; it would really be too much expected of them if either played soccer or sang in a boyband.

In honor of my trip yesterday to the city and England's "early" exit - I mean, excellent play in this world cup - here is another extremely overly hyped jem from the British Isles: The Arctic Monkey's "Fake Tales of San Francisco". Yes, this song is the stereotype for a hit! Its a British rock band (see The Beatles), its got a great baseline (see Red Hot Chili Peppers), it genereated a lot of hype on the blogosphere (see The Arctic Monkeys, what?), its poppy (see the Beatles), the words are easy to sing along with (see Beatles)...starting to see a trend? Its a great song yes, but they aren't the next Beatles. I like them, they just didn't live up to everyone's expectations. Whatevs, just like England was entertaining, so too is "Fake Tales of San Francisco". Hopefully, it'll cheer up the English as they watch Wimbleton. Tallyho! (buy Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I Am Not)

BONUS - Because its July and I really want to be ironic, today's bonus is Bright Eye's "June on the West Coast." Conor Oberst, everyone's favorite depressed child-star, has seemed to have faded off the radar. Now, I don't live anywhere near Winnetka, CA, but I know its near Burbank and Simi Valley. Anyway, this song is literally about seasonal depression. I also believe its about leaving stuff behing and moving to a place to start anew. California is so different from New Hampshire, and I although I love both places, there are things I long for that you can't have in each place. The people at Dartmouth can't be here with me now, and all my friends can't be in Hanover when I'm there. I miss taco truck when I'm in New England and I want snow when I live in Turlock. There is the exchange of college life for a family and the ability to be more mobile.

This song is so much lighter than most of Bright Eyes' others. It seems as though everyone familiiar with this song has a different favorite part. My personal favorite is the downward picking in the first couple seocnds of the song. I know people really like the lines "I went to San Diego, the birthplace of the summer, and watched the ocean dance under the moon." There is beautiful imagery in this perfect song for a summer mood. (buy Letting Off of Happiness)