a little rant on rolling stone.

in the spring of 2008, i was one of the dozen or so interns trying to sneak their foot in the ever-slamming door of the editorial department of rolling stone magazine.  i had worked my way up to this since the summer before my sophomore year of college: hopelessly naive, i had sent my resume off to wenner media in a huge manila envelope along with a cover letter that probably read something like "i dig music and i am different hire me please."  needless to say, i didn't get the editorial internship then, but i did my time at a theatre trade paper, the [then] poor man's esquire for the bro set which has since morphed into a hip-hop publication with tarantino-esque photo spreads, and the now [sadly] folded men's vogue over at conde nast.  i applied for an editorial internship at rolling stone while still making photocopies and transcribing interviews at men's vogue [which i loved], went in for an interview that afternoon and scored the gig sometime in the middle of november.  i was ecstatic.  i've been reading rolling stone since childhood and "almost famous" solidified my desire to work in any capacity for the publication responsible for defining rock journalism.  the gist: i fucking love rolling stone for what it stands for, what it's accomplished as a pop culture force to be reckoned with and for the unapologetic editorial content that's remained consistent since the inception of the magazine.

WITH THAT SAID: i understand and often agree with the sentiments and gripes which seem to dominate any conversation regarding jann wenner's rock n' roll baby.  "it's irrelevant.  we get it, rolling stone, you got a major hard-on for bob dylan and bruce springsteen.  write about someone else who's, uh, releasing SOMEthing this year." "they put the girls from the hills on the cover. THE HILLS. are they fucking serious?" "whatever dude i just read pitchfork."  i've piped up in the defense of rolling stone in several of these interactions:  i was just as nauseated as the last person when i saw frilly panty-clad heidi montag and lauren conrad posing a pillow fight tableau on the cover of RS, but jason gay's story was a compelling commentary on american consumerism and entertainment and how definitions of fame, fortune, talent and the core of creativity have changed.  i don't agree with half of pitchfork's reviews and rarely read it, though i will concede that they trump RS with their incredible online presence and self-imposed authority on live acts and independent music in the united states.  you can bitch and moan and complain about how rolling stone has lost touch with its initial mission and how editorial judgement may or may not have determined the death sentence for the iconic magazine, but you can't deny that it's still there.   i maintain that jenny eliscu is one of the most talented writers to ever hit the masthead over there and i think that austin scaggs is capable of relating to musicians and fans from all walks of life and that vanessa grigoriadis works like a dog to get an expose out.  you can't deny that.  rolling stone is rolling fucking stone and that's just it, man.

where's this all going?  while i was still at RS the decision had been made that the magazine would shrink from its standard tabloid pages to a smaller more eco-friendly size.  kudos, RS, right?  i was kind of bummed about the size change, but i got it and applauded them for the change.  fast forward to this week, where i picked up the new issue with kings of leon on the cover and noticed this:

i don't know if you can see this from the picture, but it's FUCKING. TINY.  the latest issue clocks in at a measly 74 PAGES.  it's smaller than current issues of people magazine, for christ's sake.  and BOB DYLAN, AGAIN, gets the first headline on the cover.  there's good stuff in there, don't get me wrong, but rolling stone, 74 PAGES?!  you're a biweekly! is there some huge issue coming up in the near future that's required more editorial attention?  i don't get it. this is the magazine that discovered annie liebowitz, revolutionized the interview and transported readers from the couches in their living rooms to the dressing rooms, hotel lobbies and stage doors that were passed through by the most notable musical acts in modern american history.  it makes me really sad to think that this magazine that i've loved so much is slowly disintegrating before my very eyes. 

the happy list, "i f*cking love my life" edition.

1) i have a scorching sunburn and look like quite a lobster, but i spent hours lounging on harvard yard lunching on delicious food with a group of my absolute favorite people.  avocado bruschetta, mango salsa, red cabbage and raisin cole slaw, pavlovas, brie, sparkling cider and more tortilla chips than we knew what to do with? so. so. so. goooood.

2) i spent the majority of my weekend playing outside with my friends, be it romping around davis square on a tequila buzz or getting blisters on my hands from the monkey bars at the playground up the street.  this weekend felt like SUMMER.

3) i cannot stop listening to the shout out louds and the love language.  the love language are getting a post of their own because jessie took some amazing, amazing photographs at their show the other night, but in the meantime, i will blast their "lalita" along with the SOL's "very loud" on repeat and dance around my apartment while i clean up the remnants of weekend debauchery.

4) i found my sunglasses, my camera and my missing favorite earring.  scoooore.

5) my thao tickets came in the mail, along with the latest issue of paste magazine! so excited. i've been meaning to pick up paste for awhile.  this is going to be a pretty heavy week on the ear drums: i'm going to go to tt's tomorrow night for the sounds' show with jessie, the bodega girls are playing harper's ferry on friday, and i'm hopefully going to be writing some new reviews/features for chicks with guns in the near future.  

6) the city is in such an incredible mood.  the sox have trounced the yankees SO FAR in their three game series, but it's only the start of the seventh inning of the third game and i don't want to jinx it.  i love watching baseball on my couch.  my daddy would be so proud.  haha.

7) it's nice to finally recognize myself in the mirror again.  i was heartbroken in january, furious in february, bewildered in march and hopeful in april, and now i finally, FINALLY feel rested and refreshed and able to take control of my life again.  i wake up every day EXCITED, man.  i'm optimistic and  i'm no longer wasting time on wishful thinking and coulda-shoulda-wouldas.  i've tried to right my wrongs and it may be too late to salvage friendships and feelings and all that from previous offenses, but i would like to think that the universe'll get me back for that one.  it's cathartic, admitting you're wrong, and i swallowed my pride and apologized in the only way i could.  i don't know what to expect, but for the first time in four months i'm not dwelling on it and worrying about it.  what's done is done, you know?  my hurt and my heartbreak are no longer controlling my outlook and my feelings and that's something to be ecstatic about.  i feel like me again.  it took a little longer than i liked for me to get back here, but that's worth noting all the same.

i am truly happy.

for the past four years, the first sox vs. yankees game of the season has been the true start of spring for me and i've celebrated it with my best friends in new york who all happen to BLEED pinstripes.  with the exception of the spring of '07 when i was still living in spain, i've watched the game go down at a dive bar in yonkers with bren, ryan, billy, larz and a slew of my other ny favorites.  i got all nostalgic sitting on my couch with meg and later jessie last night watching the sox take it in an AWESOME game that stretched into the twelfth inning courtesy of jason bay and his 2-run homer in the bottom of the 9th with two outs.  i miss my boys down in yonkers and mel and jules very much, though it was kind of wonderful to just crack open a brew and feel the first drafts of summer passing through my open windows last night.

so, this is meg and goofing around during the game.  photobooth turns everyone into small children who are easily amused.

oh, and jessie and i got excited when they won.  here's the celebratory shot.

this is jessie's anime face.  this is just my scary face.

before the sox went all rockstar at fenway park last night, meg and i went for a feast at local indian food favorite punjabi dhaba followed by banana cinnamon/chocolate banana ice cream cones at christina's.  there is NO BETTER COMBINATION than a delicious, piping hot meal at p-dhabs followed by the best homemade ice cream in cambridge.  we were gonna stop at the thirsty scholar on the way home for a round/some sox action but opted to just drink the beers in my fridge and slouch on my couch for the game.  we ran up to the roof last night because meg's never seen it, and i could've done cartwheels when i realized that it's FINALLY that time of year for drinks and hookah on the roofdeck.

meg had to bust early due to her crazy athletic fitness loving ways (she's going hiking today, have fun meggg!), but jessie, christoph, mikey and matt all came bounding into my apartment shortly after her departure and within fifteen minutes we were smoking honey shisha on my roof while matt cat-called and howled at random pedestrians moseying up and down somerville ave.  (favorite quotation of the evening: "hey BOZO! you got a calzone? .... yeah ENJOY YA PEPPAHRONI CALZONE BOZO.")

after the hookah started to ash, we opted for an impromptu adventure and decided that heading to the nearest playground was definitely the way to go.  the one up the street from my house is an excellent choice for late-night playground debauchery as it's got good swings, monkey bars and a huge basketball court that slants at a pretty sharp angle, ha.  we must've been out there for at least an hour.  here are the best photos from one of the best nights of early spring.

it's gorgeous out in boston today, you guys.  jessie and i are bouncing over to harvard to go find maya in a little bit and i'm wearing the first sundress of the season.  GO SPEND TODAY OUTSIDE! :)

gooooood morning somerville.

the harmonious ear-splitting drilling of jackhammers on somerville ave woke me up about two hours ago but i was able to feign sleep until now.  grumpy, i shuffled out of bed, brushed my teeth, got a glass of water and plopped down in front of my computer to look for jobs, check my email and check facebook.  my mom sent me this video this morning.  grumpiness? gone.

impromptu springy wednesday to-do list.

SPRIIIIING.  these tulips were shot in the naschmarkt of vienna during slovak attak '07.  everyone should be looking at flowers in SOME capacity today.

+ eat something?  i have absolutely nothing to eat in this house except for fruit, easter candy and greek yogurt, so it looks like i'm going to have to go grocery shopping after the gym today.  i would rather be doing breakfast at the biscuit but i've been really lazy regarding my fitness, so strawberries, honey and greek yogurt it is.

+ gym gym gym gym gym.  i've been so good for the past month! i don't want to break my every-other-day streak TOO badly, even though it's been three full days since my last workout.  whatever. i walked to and from harvard yesterday and that's a full 40 minutes, that's something, right? haaa.

+ get on mah BIKE!!! i bought a u-lock yesterday! i'm in business!  i still have to borrow mikey's tire pump because mine are compleeetely flat, but after that i am a biking fiend.  (please keep your fingers crossed that i don't meet my demise on somerville ave/elm street/mass ave.  pleeease.)

+ clean. seriously.  i can't find my camera and i have a feeling that it's hiding in the mound of clothes that's accumulated atop my giant blue chair in my bedroom.  i have the charger and the battery, just not the camera.  wtf.  i'm hoooping that it's not lost because i can't afford to drop a couple hundred bucks on a point-and-shoot right now, and i really can't drop a few hundred bucks on a gorgeous beauty like jessie's new toy, as much as i want a sick ass camera of my very own.  so, long story short, today will be the day that i sweep, dust, fold, wipe down, brush up, and vacuum my apartment... until that little canon bastard is found. 

+ make some new playlists.  i've acquired some new tuneage as of late, including the shout out louds, lake street dive, the love language and a bunch of other bands that i've either seen lately or heard great things about.  i'm getting sick of my usual "sunny" and "springy" playlists and i'm getting tired of my longstanding iTunes favorites.  any recommendations, music-savvy friends?

+ do something green.  it's earth day, people!  go do something good for the environment!  chances are my green activities for the day will consist of choosing to walk everywhere as opposed to taking public transportation and i'll most likely bring my own bags to the grocery store, but for those of you heading out of town in the near future, check out andrea's list of green travel ideas over at the cheapflights.com blog.   give it a click and while you're there check out a few of my old travel guides, haha.  (i wrote a particularly riveting one on reykjavik, so check that out if you're still going through with that crazy icelandic weekend adventure, marc.)

+ cook dinner.  i've been eating out entirely too much lately.  for some reason i feel like experimenting with pork chops or something. we'll see.  i should be eating more brown rice instead of french bread.  that's just a sidenote.

what're you guys up to today?  anyone feel like drinkin' beers and playing guitar on my roof later?

HAHA more wine riot.

courtesy of the second glass' photobooth at wine riot: jessie, ryan and me.

in other news, my sinuses need to not exist or they need to back the fuck off.  stop ruining my life, nose.

NOOOOOOO

i am a very grumpy hil right now.

it's marathon monday, and instead of wearing my sweet new sweatband and tube socks and slapping runners high-fives along beacon street today, i am home, on my couch, wearing my sweet new sweatband and making tea and sippin' on chicken soup instead of cold brewskis and sulking while watching benson and stabler bust the bad guys on Law & Order: SVU.  i have a sunburn,  a runny nose and an awful sore throat.  long story short? hil is not joining the throngs of revelers and her friends in back bay/brookline today.  hil is moping and sniffling and chowing down tylenol and airborne and not enjoying herself.

these pictures from wine riot/mcalister drive/the mcalister drive afterparty extravaganza that jessie snapped with her gorgeous new camera the other night do make me feel better, however:

"wino forever" fake tatz at wine riot. yessss.

these mustachioed glasses will remain prized possessions in my apartment forever.  so ludicrous. hahaha.

our friends are like suuuuuuch dreamy rockstars.  here's christoph rockin' out.

and here's me and jessie after a round or two of beer pong.  if there was a "lolhipsterz" blog, i wouldn't be surprised if this made it with a big ol' "SWOOP BANGZ OM NOM NOM" on it.

so yeah.  go drink cheap beer and work on your fitness for me on marathon monday on my behalf, all you lucky bastards out there who don't have awful head colds.

"this one tastes more librarian-y."

wine riot gave me an adhesive mustache, four hours worth of wine sippage and a godawful hangover.  these are mine and jessie's glasses from the event last night which went over swimmingly (congrats to everyone over at the second glass!)  i think it's pretty goofy that i now have two stemless goblets rocking sweet facial hair.

i'll write up wine riot/gab's bday festivities/mcalister drive's splendid precinct show in more accurate detail later, as "the departed" is playing on FX for the gazillionth time this week and i have cookies in the oven.  what a productive sunday NAHT.

hil's social calendar.

i'm just a social lil' butterfly this weekend, aren't i?

friday:

+it was too gorgeous out to go to the gym.  i met up with los for a lovely lunch at crema cafe in harvard square and i had quite possibly the most delicious grilled chicken/cotija/avocado sandwich of my life.  we walked over to utrecht, where i picked up a few canvases and some more paint, because i have presents to make for a couple of boys.  we moseyed back to my place and i got my first sunburn of the season in the process, and then we spent the rest of the afternoon drinkin' beers and listening to lykke li with every single window in my apartment open.   love. ly.

+my mom came down for a visit to drop off my bike (!!!) and we had a nice dinner at the independent.  i just got a cheeseburger, nothin' fancy.  and of course the deviled eggs.  ohhhh the deviled eggs.

+i met up with james in coolidge corner last night and we went to the brookline booksmith, which is something i've been meaning to do for AGES.  a leisurely stroll through the bookshelves made me realize a few things: 1) i have entirely too many books in a stack on my bedside table that i've been meaning to read for ages, including infinite jest [still haven't started gah], crime and punishment, and el coronel no tiene quien le escriba [no one writes to the colonel 2) i have entirely too many books that i want to add to that list, including more stuff by chabon, brautigan and bukowski 3) i cannot be stopped around used books that have anything to do with picasso.  while poking through the booksmith's used section, i stumbled upon portrait of picasso as a young man by NORMAN MAILER.  i love norman mailer. i love picasso.  i had NO IDEA that this book existed until last night. so good.  other used books i've procured regarding pablo picasso are picasso's war by russel martin, picasso on art: a selection of views, edited by dore ashton, and life with picasso, which is a memoir written by francoise gilot, one of picasso's companions and the mother of his two youngest children.  here's a shot of my growing collection.

anyways, after the brookline booksmith, james and i moseyed up beacon street for beers at the publick house, only to shy away from the place because it was PAAACKED.  for a laugh, we continued on a beer at mary ann's, the infamous BC watering hole where my father and his best friend in college got into a massive fight that resulted in 23 paddy wagons hauling up outside the cleveland circle dive.  not much has changed: the place was chock full of BC underclassmen who probably got in with their older brother/sister's expired license so we booked it outta there fast.  eventually, we wound up meeting up with marcy and we settled for beers at the road house before calling it a night.  low key and pretty great evening out, if i do say so myself.

saturday:

+caught up on some reno 911 episodes while scarfing down a delicious breakfast of tomate frito, manchego and french bread.

+going to work on my fitness as soon as i finish this post.

+and, finally, getting all gussied up for the double-header i have in store tonight: wine riot takes place tonight, and after my very first wine tasting, i'm heading back over to my neck of the woods, where mcalister drive is headlining a show at precinct.  my smokin' date tonight is the one and only jessie and we've been counting down to this all week.  no pressure. haha.

sunday:

+brunch with los, jessie and maya at deep ellum

+BIKE RIIIIDES!

+and, duh, the sea monsters at precinct. 

i'm not even gonna touch on what's going down monday because iiiii am too excited.

MARATHON MONDAY: T-7 days. YES.

hey sports fans, guess what? MY FAVORITE HOLIDAY IS NEXT WEEK!  (and no, i'm not talking about it being christmas morning for stoners everywhere, aka 4/20).  i'm talking about MARATHON MONDAY!  my best friends from new york and i drove up for it last year because one of said best friends had a sister with an apartment on beacon street in brookline.  we could literally stumble out her front door with beer in hand and slap high-fives with runners before their last mile.  AWESOME.  

this year, best friend's sister sadly no longer resides in the same sweet digs, but jessie lives relatively close to the marathon route and we're going to chow down a spaghetti and meatball spread (runners need those carbs, man) and then mosey on over to beacon to cheer those athletically superior marathon runners on.... in STYLE.  our marathon monday party will only consist of those donning 80s track star/gym class get-ups inspired by the likes of these icons:

larry bird

bjorn borg

and the woman responsible for the creation of the most awkward music video in history...

olivia newton john.

today i was able to score some sweet tube socks, gym shorts and a sweatband/headband from american apparel on my way back from an afternoon screening of "adventureland".  (someone needs to tell jesse eisenberg that he was clearly the runner-up for michael cera's part, as the movie was clearly written for everyone's favorite fictional teenage father/awkward high school heart throb.  just sayin'.)  i'm wearing this beautiful red baby out to dinner tonight because i haven't been able to take it off since i bought it: 

whatever, at least i got the 'fro to go with it.  i plan on rockin' this until the last person crosses the finish line (which very well may be a full 24 hours after the whole shebang is "over".  see?! such excitement.  too bad it's only once a year.)