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Last night I had a dream about Fest 8. I’m waaaaaaaaay too excited. (I dreamed that it was being sponsored by Monsanto, and I was torn between my loathing for the corporation and my need to see Dillinger Four play live–How much art can you take? I awoke before my decision was revealed but I’m sure that I once again compromised my morals in the pursuit of punk rock.) Four months & I’m there.

So George Rebelo of Hot Water Music is the new drummer for Against Me! and I can’t help but be pretty stoked. I love Hot Water Music and I love Against Me! (Yes, even after the grave disappointment that was New Wave.) I’m a little concerned that this’ll prohibit Hot Water Music from getting back together in the future, but I think they could work it out by going on tour together and therefore making my life awesome. Actually, this kind of gives me hope for AM! Maybe their next record won’t SUCK SO EPICALLY.

I’m supposed to be packing all my stuff up right now, by the way.

You would not believe how much of a hold out I was on the Gogol Bordello bandwagon. All of a sudden, everyone was talking about this “gypsy punk” band and how amazing they were. These people were usually wearing head-to-toe American Apparel, so I dismissed the band as the new Animal Collective and rolled my eyes whenever anyone talked about them and never so much as looked them up on Wikipedia.

That was until I was hanging out with someone who asked if I liked them. I said I’d never listened to them, and from the look on his face, you’d think I said I liked to punch babies and old people. So he put a couple songs by the band on a truly epic CD. I listened, I liked it. I used my magic internet powers to find Gypsy Punks Underdog World Strike and Super Taranta! (File-sharing, yo. It’s a Godsend for music-obsessed weirdos).

There’s just something bizarrely appealing about a mix of punk, dub, and folk sung by a gloriously mustachioed, heavily-accented Ukranian, backed by a large array of musicians. I hear their stage shows are wild, I would really love to see one.

So here I am, sitting in my room listening to a band I’d previously scorned. It just goes to show you that a) I can be totally a jerk about music and b) people can change! But I will never, ever listen to Animal Collective.