Haven't mentioned this, but I picked up the new Green Day album American Idiot last week. Who knew when I picked up Dookie ten years ago I'd still be following and enjoying the band? I can't believe how much Green Day I own--all seven proper albums, the Greatest Hits disc, the B-Sides collection, a bootleg from early '94, and the Angus soundtrack because it had J.A.R. on it.

Anyway, American Idiot was touted as a Who-esque rock opera, with two songs over 9 minutes, which sounds terrifying, but actually it works out quite well. The story's about Jesus of Suburbia, and the story isn't super clear, but that's besides the point. The structure allows Green Day to take their songs in a more interesting (and dare I say, mature) direction while allowing them to still rock. There are a few extra flourishes here and there--an organ, some chimes--but mostly its straightahead rock n' roll. Even the 9 minute songs are palatable, since they're basically five songs broken down into a suite. Highly recommended.

Here's an interesting story about a baseball strike...in Japan. The fans aren't reacting quite how you'd figure. I'll talk more about American basball later in the week.