Project 365 - Day 29. Sunset in Minneapolis. Taken at a stop light as I drove to the Empires show at 7th St. Entry. The picture really doesn’t do the color justice - I nearly got into an accident on the highway staring at the skyline.

Interesting article about the changes in The Current’s format over the years and how they’ve risen in the local radio ratings over the last several years. Kinda fascinating, if you’re interested in the mechanics of how radio stations pick their playlists in this day and age. The program director seems to have the right idea - he knows he’s not competing with other stations, but with iTunes and Pandora and a host of other online options.

I enjoy The Current - I don’t always like the music they play, but I’ve found several artists through them (see: Dessa) that I might not have otherwise checked out. As much as I joke/bitch about “hipsters” (and really, as much as I enjoy listening to the station, I sorta refuse to go to any of their sponsored concerts because the crowds are invariably filled with douchebags), it’s really awesome to have a radio station in town that takes chances on things that don’t fit in any usual format. They get some of my money every month for that alone.

flyovercountry:

Summer evenings like this are why we Minnesotans put up with our winters.

stuffaboutminneapolis:

I made a meme.

stuffaboutminneapolis:

If there’s a characteristic shared by many great rock venues, it’s that they’re rarely about glitz, glamour, or Vegas-style flash. Oftentimes, the best venues have a raggedly dilapidated quality that feels part and parcel of rock music itself. Many great artists served apprenticeships and honed their crafts in such settings, performing on low-tiered rickety stages. With just a couple of exceptions, the legendary venues below prove that shifts in the direction of rock can sometimes occur in the unlikeliest of places.

First Avenue and 7th Street Entry (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
First Avenue’s main stage was memorialized forever as the place where Prince and the Revolution performed their searing music in the film, Purple Rain. Indeed, throughout the ’80s, the Purple One often tried out new material at the venue. Meanwhile, First Avenue’s sister venue, 7th Street Entry, served as a breeding ground for The Replacements, Husker Du, Soul Asylum and other Minneapolis-based bands. One wonders if the Midwest alternative explosion would have occurred at all were it not for this cornerstone venue.

Click the link for the rest of the list.

Best of 2009, day 2.  The prompt is for your favorite restaurant experience of the year, but I don’t have one specific memory.  I have, however, spent an inordinate amount of time at the Pizza Luce in Seward, before and after concerts at the Triple Rock and the Cabooze.  Luce is my favorite restaurant in the city, hands down, no matter what location I’m at.  Seward is feeling more and more like my home location, though, now that I’m not downtown as much!