Maybe I could be a fan of Built to Spill. I'm not, I just like this song a lot, but maybe my taste has changed so much since the time I initially listened to them that it would be beneficial to check them out now. (Update: I listened to their most popular songs on Last.FM and I have to say, nope, don't like them.)

Built to Spill is one of those bands I've always heard about from other people, spoken in hushed tones, reverence in their voices. I've always wanted to understand, kind of like how I want to understand Sonic Youth, but I'm too scared to just dive into it without some sort of personal guide tailored to my taste so I am most inclined to enjoy them. If I had entered XTC from The Big Express, I probably would have never discovered Apple Venus; if I had entered Tool at 10,000 Days, I would have thought they were giant piles of crap.

Maybe Built to Spill is one of those bands you need to hear when you're young and impressionable, one of those bands that forms you and influences you for your whole life, kind of like what Eels is for me. Out there in the world is some 24 year old dude just like me, but his number one band is Built to Spill. This song goes out to you, dude who is just like me but likes Built to Spill.

Next time you're driving down the freeway at leisurely 75 miles per hour, roll down all your windows a little bit and crank this song way up. Make sure there's sunlight and a cool breeze. I know I say this a lot, but some songs are just made to do things to, and I drive a lot, so that's what I associate music with.

Twitter Note: Twitter friend curlybap cornified this site to the max and posted a screenshot of it, which I will consider as our first official piece of fan art here at staires_!_

Site Note: Perceptive readers may have noticed that the site changed a bit. It should be a lot easier to navigate (with 'next' and 'previous' links) and (hopefully) more pleasing on the eyes. As usual some things look a bit wonky in Internet Explorer (nothing important), and because I decided to use tables to construct this design, it looks a little wonky on mobile browsers (or at least on my G1) but maybe I'll crank out some special mobile only design once Flash works on my G1 and I can actually test that sort of functionality.

If you have any recommendations or suggestions, let me know through a comment or an @staires on Twitter. The album art happened because of a twitterer's request!

Author's Note: Yay Friday Yay!