The Thrill is Gone

I went to the first night of Thrill Jockey's 15th anniversary celebration, and must admit conceding to the stupefying tedium and heading home early (and skipping the second night entirely). The local label has produced many a fine record from the likes of Tortoise and the Sea and Cake, and licensed great records from Mouse On Mars and, most recently, School of Language. But by and large the discs released by TJ are cold and no fun, and the performances reflected that. Sure, the Sea and Cake have made a nice comeback, Bobby Conn is reliably nuts, and much of the rest of the stable is rife with potential. But I've seen the heck out of most of them, and 15 years later they've long stopped pushing boundaries. Instead they're just running in place.

Aimee Mann's Christmas show, btw, was also surprisingly staid, but it did feature a profane appearance by the rapping Hannukah Fairy.