38% 30% 29%... If you haven't read the paper yet, or you weren't watching last night, or if you weren't in a 5 block radius of my apartment and didn't hear my screams of joy, those are the Iowa Democratic Caucus numbers for Barack Obama, John Edwards and Hillary "In it for myself" Clinton, respectively.

I probably should have blogged about this last night as it was happening, but that actually wasn't possible. Back when I was a kid (probably up to about the age of 10 or 11), whenever my parents would take the family to Disneyworld, I would race into the hotel room when we checked in, jump up and down on the bed and flap my arms like a bird in sheer excitement. The scene was pretty similar last night after seeing Barack not only win Iowa, but win it by a wide margin.

The picture above, jenkily ripped off and resized cause I'm not paying $50 for a digital photo of four people, is from the Obama Iowa headquarters as the results started rolling in. That same feeling of joy, mixed with shock (because the way politics has gone the last few years, any good win is a shock) is how I felt. I know exactly what they're feeling, and I love that picture.

So instead of writing about this last night, I'm writing about it this morning with a cup of Dunkin in my hand (a warmed up cup of Dunkin, but it's Dunkin nonetheless). The contrast between those awful mornings in 2000 and 2004 when Bush won (or had at least not lost in 2000) and this morning is stark. In fact, it's on the opposite end of the spectrum. I'm still floating in this happy daze and nothing can stop that. It's no secret that for the last 3+ years I've wanted Obama to become president, and for the first time in a long time, a meaningful election actually went for someone I am passionate about (the Dems retaking Congress in 2006 was exciting, but I can't really claim to be passionate about Harry Reid taking over the Senate).

The momentum is clearly in the Obama camp, and this bodes well for next week in New Hampshire. The huge turnout in the caucuses only reinforces the idea that Obama could be that candidate that ushers in renewed belief and optimism about government. That has always been what has drawn me to Obama. Not only do I agree with his Democratic policies, but I genuinely feel like he can utilize our system of government to make the entire world a better place.

A cynic could just dismiss this as another campaign speech. But if you're not a cynic, can you honestly watch Barack's victory speech in Iowa and not think that this guy has the "it" factor to actually bring this country and the world together?



I wonder if Bush watched that speech since taking an interest in the first step in replacing him is obviously too tedious or in a Fred Thompson-esque way, on too late for him to watch. And yes, I know that the White House now reports that he did watch it, but the dig at the end of that USA Today article about the Virginia Tech game is too funny not to post around the net. Anyway, whether Bush watched or not isn't important, because as they said in Dazed And Confused, "It doesn't matter, he's out of there this Fall anyway." (I think that may be my favorite thing about 2008... the year the worst leader in the history of mankind has to hand over the reins of power).

Anyway, I can't really say that I have any new thoughts or insight than the fact that I'm thrilled by last night. I'll just leave it at that, polish off my now lukewarm Dunkin and take myself to work.

Random Happy Song


This song has nothing at all to do with the election, Obama, or anything else going on in my life at the second. In fact, I just looked for an upbeat song. Because the election turned out so fantastically last night, and the weather is going to turn 55 degrees (!!!!!) this weekend, and my cold is finally dissipating, I am in an incredible mood with an extra spring in my step and nothing can stop that. I figure I'll be listening to lots of 2 Step this weekend, and Mr. MJ Cole is the king of that genre (if you ask me). So without further ado, some MJ Cole for everyone to bounce around to:

Dido - Hunter (MJ Cole Remix)

2008 is here and let me tell you, it has been quite the suck thus far. I spent NYE laying in bed, coughing and wincing in pain whenever I tried to swallow because of a sore throat. The Illini got trounced (although that is of little concern to me) and work has returned far too quickly. I don't really have much to add in terms of thoughts right now, but I'm trying to get this blog off on the right foot in 2008.

And for the record, my MacBook is everything I hoped it would be. Fantastic machine.

End of the Year Album

If I had done a better job of keeping up with music from month to month, I could do a much better job of a year end wrap up. As it stands, my charts were sporadic at best. If I'm going to make a music-related resolution, it is going to be better prepared for the 2008 wrap up.

Anyway, the more I've thought about my musical journey in 2007, I've realized that the album that impacted me the most profoundly was an old one. Released in 1996, DJ Shadow's Endtroducing received heaps of critical praise, changed the way people thought about hip hop and downtempo albums, and has been included in best of lists from '96 until now. I will admit that I didn't discover this album until about 2000. However, to be fully honest, I didn't fully digest this album until this year.

Working on the Chilled Beats show this year made me take my downtempo collection far more seriously than just "songs that I think sound good." And the more I returned to it, the more I realized the masterful nature of Endtroducing. While it always gets hype about being created solely from samples, what really makes it special is Shadow's production skills. The way his drums hit, the way notes gently bend, the occasional vocal sample... all of it and more adds up
to a downtempo album that more than stands the test of time. It has, in my opinion, remained the bar that all downtempo albums must rise to.

I'm posting up the track that sits squarely in the middle of the album, "Stem/Long Stem" which not only shows off how hard and full Shadow's drums are, but his ability to find a morose melody, and includes small snippets of the two biggest tracks from the album, "Organ Donor" and "Midnight In A Perfect World." Enjoy it, and then go buy a copy of Endtroducing if you don't have one already.

DJ Shadow - Stem / Long Stem