I'm so ambivalent about Yoko Ono. (That sounds like it should be the title of a Ramones song.) I was just listening to her freak out with Yo La Tengo on a cover of 'Hedwig's Lament/Exquisite Corpse', and when she does that stuff she's totally the coolest person on earth. She's nearly seventy years old and she rocks! But then you hear her talk and oh GOD she's annoying. SO annoying. I really wish she wasn't, because so much of her work rules. Artist/art, yeah, yeah, I know.

(Hey, Ira from Yo La Tengo once told me I sang well. Does this mean I'm two degrees of separation away from Yoko Ono? Cool!)

Update: Alex asks for more detail about the Ira compliment. I can't believe I never told you this story before. Who else have I failed to discuss this with? Anyway, here's the tale, such as it is. When we were living in Houston, Chris Knox came to town supporting Yo La Tengo. (Chris Knox is a legendary lofi DIY singer-songwriter on Flying Nun records in NZ. I'm trying to think of an appropriately analogous figure in the States, but it's difficult. He's been around for nearly thirty years, and not only regularly tours and releases records solo and with the Tall Dwarfs, but is also a cartoonist and media figure and sometime film and record reviewer and everyone knows him and he's basically the Godfather of our small but important indie scene.) Anyway, obviously we have to go and see this show, because it's Chris Knox! In Houston! Of all places! So we bowl on up there and at that point, a bit of Chris' schtick was to get two people up on stage for a song of his called 'The Joy of Sex', one to play the guitar and one to sing, while he runs around the audience freaking out. And I'm the only person in the audience who even knows the song, let alone the words, so I'm the person he hoists manfully up on stage to sing, and a lucky punter who knows three chords gets to play Chris' guitar. As the song is winding down, Chris leaps back up on stage, thanks us both very much (cue wild applause from the crowd at Fitzgeralds), and asks if anyone has a spare bed for him and his partner Barbara. Muggins, on her way off stage, says 'I have a futon!' and Chris exhorts the crowd to cheer for 'Danielle and her futon!', which they do, and off I go stage right and down the stairs back into the audience. Now, Ira comes into this because as we were waiting for Chris to finish signing albums and talking to his newly won-over fanbase so we could drive him home to Montrose and install he and Barbara on said futon, Ira came to talk to Chris and said 'hey, that was nice singing!' to me. So there you have it, Alex: how I was complimented on my singing by Ira from Yo La Tengo.

Postscript: Chris and Barbara hugged Brent goodbye as he went to work, and bought me breakfast at the House of Pies the next morning. Plus he drew me a 'to Danielle and her futon!' cartoon. Post-postscript: the next time we saw Chris and Barbara was at a Lambchop show last year and not only did they remember us even though I was too scared to say hello, I discovered I was on cheek-kissing terms with them both. They're really very sweet. :)