(Editor’s Note:  It’s July 4th, the point in the summer when folks in the educational profession start turning their thoughts to the upcoming school year.  Teachers in the readership know what we’re talking about; After Independence Day, your summer seems (or maybe even is) half over.  You’ve got less unscheduled time in front of you than you do behind you.  August is knocking and, with it, come a whole new crop of minds to mold or whatever.  For me, July is a perfect time to ponder my position in the universe.  Look at the Corina Nebula, full of wonder and promise, implying, as it seems to, that there’s more out there than my petty concerns about having to get back to the grindstone.  Am I stoked that I’m going back to work soon?  Not at all, but it’s better to be on this side than the other.  For those of you with year round gigs, sneering at my juvenile discourse on the midpoint of two and a half months off: suckers!  On a slightly different note, Happy Birthday America!  Why is this an editor’s note?  Cause I felt like it.)

I spent the week crossing things off of my to-do list.  I got contacts, had a wart removed (long story, totally gross, key point = blistering beetle juice), got my car fixed, tried to re-finance my mortgage and got my dog his rabies shot.  This means that next week I get to do nothing. Good times.  I’ll have a more refined critical vision for you next Saturday, as I’ll have had six days to stare at my navel, but this week, I’ve just got tunes.  Enjoy.

We’re really excited for the upcoming new release from Magnolia Electric Co. (we’ve heard it and it is good); we’ll have a review on it sometime in the next couple of weeks.  In the meantime, to sate your appetite, we’ve got a killer live version of one of the highlights from 2006′s Fading Trails. As an added bonus, there’s some mildly amusing stage banter at the end.

“Memphis Moon” – Magnolia Electric Co. – Live – 2007

Last week’s discussion of covers, specifically covers that act as a warm blanket instead of a poke in the ribs, got us jonesing for a bit more presence from the Rolling Stones here at Citizen Dick.  Since we (probably) can’t post anything from the band proper without getting our pants sued off, we’re going to content ourselves with another sweet Stones cover.  (Ron Wood, if you’re reading, please talk to Keith and Mick for us.  Maybe an interview?  A special appearance in my backyard?  Whatever.  We’re open to your thoughts.)  You’re all hip, I’m sure, to the musical stylings of the incomprable Alejandro Escovedo.  His take on “Beast of Burden” is top-drawer.

“Beast of Burden” – Alejandro Escovedo – Live -2009

I’m not one for overt displays of patriotism.  I’m happy to be an Ohioan and, more broadly, and American, but I’m not so much about the flag-waving.  Nationalism is a pretty recent development in human cognition, so I’m going to stick with more archaic notions of loyalty to kith and kin.  That’s just how I roll.  That said, I’ve got one nod to the Fourth of July  to wrap things up this Saturday.  It might be a bit hacky.  I don’t care.  Explosions in the Sky.  Get it?

“The Birth and Death of the Day” – Explosions in the Sky – Live – 2008