A week and a half of having the new Modest Mouse, and I am officially declaring it a GREAT album. Yokatta. I'm so relieved. I personally really liked "The Moon and the Antarctica", but it was enough of a departure from their previous sound that there was the fear that their new aesthetic and maturity would find them careening down the slippery slope of corporate suckitude. But the new record keeps the sheen and maturity, while also harkening back to their earlier rawness, and even has some fresh, new Americana sounds for them. I give it 7 out of 5 stars.

SF Int'l Film Fest madness has started and following last night's opener, I saw the official first film of the festival, Vibrator, and it was also excellent! The description on the site is really good. I just read it. I generally don't read about films before seeing them. Highly recommended to Meghan and Cabiria if it comes round your way.