And Boriss, of course, did her magic within moments of kitteh pics going up:

There were gobs of cats at the shelter, but this one was perfect. He’s a year old, jet black with pretty green eyes. When he first got home, he was a little unsure of the situation and spent most of the evening napping safely behind an armchair. But soon enough he was racing around the place like a crazed jungle cat, and he has now declared himself lord and master of the manor. He freely distributes lots of lurves and made me very proud by showing me that he ain’t gonna take no crap from any feather toys. That’s mah brave jungle kitteh. I think we’ll get along.

If only I could think of just the right name . . .

But I did it!!!

It ain’t pretty. It don’t make a lot of sense. But dammit, I DID IT. Right now I hate this manuscript too much to do anything with it, but after I finish Star and Scribe I’ll come back to it.

For now, it’s time to play some celebratory Rock Band.

WAHOO!

Move faster, clock. Move faster. I need to get through my work day.

Part of what makes this band rock so hard is their unabashedly hybrid style. They draw from every corner of the music world and mix it all together with the sort of annoyingly casual ease that virtuoso musicians seem to be capable of. The style, as usual, is undefinable, but if I had to try I’d call it “baroque synth pop with a healthy dose of prog.” We’ve got Baroque, Romantic, Impressionist, Metal, Synth, Pop, Industrial, Retro and good old Glam in this musical stew, which I believe will hold up against Muse’s previous albums. Whether it can stand up to repeated listenings in quite the same way as Black Holes and Revelations remains to be seen, but that’s a tall order to fill. The song order was well thought out. Begin high energy, mellow it out, get introspective, punch it back up, and finish with a masterwork. Track by track, here’s my first impression.

Uprising: The catchiest tune on the album. This tune captures all the swagger of “Supermassive Black Hole” but plays it cooler with aggressive drumbeats and lyrics that make you want to put your fist in the air. If your head doesn’t start bobbing within the first three seconds of this track, don’t bother listening to the rest of the album.

Resistance: Introduces the first of many exquisite baroque piano riffs on the album. The awkward chorus feels out of character with the rest of the song, but Bellamy’s soaring vocals elsewhere make up for it.

Undisclosed Desires: This track really shows off the band’s ability to make the music tell the story even better than the words do. This song feels sneaky and dirty. Venturing as close as Muse will likely ever get to an R&B track and Except for the fact that the lyrics use words with four syllables and describes sex symbolically rather than explicitly, this song could easily be covered by any top 40 R&B artist.

United States of Eurasia: This proggy neoclassic masterpiece was probably composed after a lengthy seance channeling Freddie Mercury. Delicious melodramatic vocals, driving piano undercurrent, and explosive choral orgasms followed by tickling guitar riffs.

Guiding Light: With Edge-y guitar riffs and very Bono-ish vocals soaring over a steady, driving, but tranquil beat, this could have been a track off The Joshua Tree, which is absolutely a compliment.

Unnatural Selection: This well placed, histrionic retro-pop number perks the album back up ere it waxes too poetic. Very few bands have the chops or the presence of mind to treat the bass as a lead instrument, and this song is a great follow-up to the superb bass countermelodies in “Hysteria.”

MK Ultra: This might be the least interesting song on the album. There are some sick head-banging guitar riffs, but the song never quite builds anywhere in particular in between the high-energy portions. Rather, the good riffs will likely made good fodder for remixers.

I Belong to You: Wives everywhere could rekindle even the most blasé marriages by performing a strip-tease for their honey to this sexy hip-swayer. Where “Supermassive Black Hole” was desperate and swaggering, this strutting ditty is sassy and in control. Pair them back to back on your next iPod mix to help you prep for a hot date.

Exogenesis: The Exogenesis Symphony must be listened to as a companion piece to the Odyssey suite that Incubus contributed to the Halo 2 soundtrack. Both are masterworks of contemporary prog rock. If one artist can be credited most for influencing this composition, it’s undoubtedly Beethoven, although each movement is played as if some other artist were putting their particular twist on Beethoven. There is exquisite piano work throughout the album, but it really shines here. If anything could have been different, the vocals should have taken even more of a back seat.

• Symphony Part 1 (Overture)
  The first movement features strings that quiver like a theremin, and tension that builds like. Regal guitar work, distortion turned up all the way. This movement screams Bach from beginning to end with flowing, precise arpeggios with ethereal melodies floating above the action.
• Symphony Part 2 (Cross-Polination)
  Hints of Gershwin feed into Beethoven for a heartbreaking waltz that quickly breaks down into a tempestuous interlude before going back to the first theme. Pair this number with “Rhapsody in Blue,” “Sonata Pathétique” and “Clair de Lune.”
• Symphony Part 3 (Redemption)
  If Beethoven and Mozart met at the Glastonbury Festival and collaborated late at night over many pints and bitter tales of abandonment and love gone wrong, this is the song they would have written. This Moonlight Sonata meets Elvira Madigan meets Claire de Lune is a hypnotic lullaby. The only problem with the song is that when it ends you’re left with the feeling that there should have been more.

So there it is. I say buy the album. If you’re not a massive Muse fan and only want a couple of tracks, I’d recommend “Uprising,” “United States of Eurasia,” and “I Belong to You” in order of replay value. “Uprising” is a must-have song of the year and is the song that few people will tire of easily. The only question I’m left with is when are these guys announcing some tour dates in California??? Huh? HUH?

What a perfect night. Perfect weather. Cruising around L.A. loving the palm trees. The ribbon of asphalt under my tires. And a show at at the Hollywood Bowl, where you can look to the right and see the Griffith Observatory, look up to see the Hollywood sign, and look downward to see a gorgeous orchestra playing.

The annual Tchaikovsky show with fireworks is always a load of fun, but this year it was an extra privilege to get to hear Mihaela Ursuleasa play the Piano Concerto No.1. Her combination of playfulness and athleticism created the finest performance of that song I’ve ever heard. She came onto the stage with a physique that made me think more of a swimmer or tennis player than a pianist, and the nice slinky backless top she wore showed off rippling lats and buffed out arms. The performance was truly dazzling. Talk about a chick I’d like to have a conversation with!

It’s impossible to get sick of how the Bowl plays the 1812 Overture. Because they do it L.A. style. Somehow I think Tchaikovsky must have really been a Californian because homeboy wrote cannons into the percussion line. And when we play world class music in L.A., we don’t just perform it at a venue so perfect it was sculpted by Nature herself. We play world class music, light the frakkin’ roof on fire and blow stuff up. Yes, that’s right. Real cannons, fireworks, and just because you can never get enough brass, we throw in the Greatest Marching Band in the History of the Universe.

Have I mentioned I miss this town?