This is what I experienced last night:

This is the view from about five houses down at the end of the street (yeah, they photoshopped the edges, but the fire is real). Our house is across from the fence where the fire is.

This is an email I sent to my folks - edited a bit - around 5:15am this morning . . .

I woke up this morning around 3am to some people screaming for their lives. I heard some popping noise and more screaming. Screaming that really freaks you out - like someone is definitely dying. And it was all coming from outside my door. Then I heard a bunch of running upstairs and I thought my friend and landlord who lives upstairs was involved in whatever it was - that really freaked me out. I couldn't really process it. I dialed 911 and told the lady something crazy was going on outside my house - like a fight maybe. She asked what part of Sires and when I told her she said there was a fire at 21 Sires. I grabbed my dog, put on some clothes - no shoes - and then heard banging on my door - it's my friend yelling "fire!" I actually couldn't find my keys at first to open the door, so my friend ran upstairs to get his - by the time he got back I found mine and we both ran out. It was like daylight outside. And even in my house it was bright. Just bright orange everywhere. And hot. So hot. My friend said his entire bedroom was just lit up. We ran outside and watched as the biggest fire I've ever seen totally engulfed the blue house across the street - or really diagonally across the street. The house next to it then caught fire - the one directly across from us. People were screaming - when we ran out of our house we saw people running out of the burning house. A bunch of college kids. Some of them were lying in the street crying. Then the fire trucks showed up and it was pretty much mayhem. Tons of trucks and firemen. Hoses stretched down the street. Firemen breaking out windows. People still crying. Neighbors all out of their houses. Live 5 news. Ambulances. Cops.

Only three kids were truly injured - and only one was burned - amazingly. One of them broke a leg jumping out of a window.

At 5am they let us back into our house. I showered b/c I think I walked in someone's blood in the street and I smelled like smoke - and now am heading back to bed. There are still firemen all on the street. All of Sires was taped off. Spring Street was blocked off and news people were around. My landlord gave an interview. I initially thought the fire was started by a cigarette outside of the house. Anyway, it was probably the most frightening thing I've ever seen - the screaming was probably the worst thing. The fire was so huge - just raging. The house is gutted now. And it burned in like 5 minutes tops - the majority of the house. All I really learned is you better have a fire detector that works because you pretty much have no time to get out. Seriously, it is crazy how intense a house fire is. I highly recommend you getting smoke detectors for your house - today. The house directly across the street was doused with water and was saved - with the exception of everything inside the place, which is now soaked in water, and the upstairs which was burned. Anyway, that was my night.

We learned some more about the fire today. Hopefully, I'll have some pictures of the house - or what remains of it - to upload. So, apparently, they think the fire was arson. Someone lit a couch on fire on the front porch of the house while everyone was sleeping.

I will say the firemen were quite impressive. They were asking repeatedly if anyone was left in the house - and they were ready to go in. And they were very organized. Fortunately, everyone managed to get out.

Coverage: Scroll down for a picture of the house after the fire was put out.

A possible arsonist?

So Tiny Mix Tapes had a lukewarm review of the new Girl Talk album a few days ago (3/5 dots or whatever). I was wondering where Pitchfork was on this one. They kinda slurped up Night Ripper - and rightly so. Well, there it is today on their front page - a "recommended" listen. But it doesn't matter what Pitchfork has to say about the album. You know it'll be unbelievably creative as far as the uncleared sample sources go. And you know it will demand the knob being turned to 11. Yes, 11. Anyway, there are a lot of classic rock clips on this new one, Feed The Animals, including Argent. Who doesn't love Argent? And plenty of guilty pleasures are on there too, including Prince's/Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U." Oh, and of course that ubiquitous Air Thin commercial ditty "New Soul" or whatever. God, and Soul 2 Soul? Love it. And is that Sufjan, Tom Petty, Air, The Cardigans, Big Country, Looking Glass, Nirvana? Yep. Anyway, you'll catch yourself playing that game for the entire 55 minutes - some being more obvious than others. And ultimately this is probably more accessible than Night Ripper if for no other reason than it isn't as stricken by ADD. But probably the best news out there - after the fact that the album is finally out - is that, like Radiohead before him, Gregg Gillis is letting you name your own price. For real? Hell maybe! Actually, hell yes.

Here ya go: It's worth at least a gallon of gas.

Addendum. Uh, Correction: That Sufjan like sample is actually Yo La Tengo's "Autumn Sweater." Don't know how I missed that at first.

You know what song I really like by The Bruce? Yep, "Streets of Philadelphia." If Forrest Gump hadn't played the lead role, I bet more people would like it. It's really uplifting. So why am I rummaging through old albums (um, digital files) of mine? Exactly. The radio in this town is abominable. And it's not even those new-fangled, dj-less stations that are popping up everywhere that has created the disaster that is Charleston radio. It blew long before The Chuck came to town. Yeah, right, The Chuck couldn't be much worse of a name. I think Atlanta has The Dave. I think I've also listened to The Steve somewhere. They're all the same. Some dude's name that is supposed to mask the fact each robot dude is pretty much playing today's version of Muzak (even though Muzak has apparently morphed into some sort of specialized music programming that isn't at all what you remember hearing in elevators back in the 80s). Come to think of it, I don't remember ever hearing elevator music - anywhere. Maybe it's because there isn't an elevator in SC that takes you up more than four floors. I guess it'd end up sounding more like a clip from that wonderfully boring old show "Name That Tune." But anyway that's what people call it: elevator music. My bet is that most people in Charleston don't mind The Chuck. And they might not even mind the agro-rock stations peppering the dial (which isn't really a dial anymore, obviously). That's because the majority of people wandering the streets in Charleston are helpless jackasses. The other day I was driving past a Gold's Gym that occupies an old windowless warehouse across the river. I commend them for reusing an existing eyesore, but at the same time I found it tremendously depressing. No windows. Probably just a ton of metal and mirrors. And probably one of those agro-rock stations blaring out of the drop ceiling. I wondered how that place stays in business. Then I went out for drinks later that night and it became fairly clear. There are a lot of guys who look like they could have played Division Three football or could possibly be in gay porn (or both) hanging out at most of the bars along King Street. The mating ritual is full effect at these bars. They're like those little Fiddler crabs raising their elephantiasis-stricken claws in unison. "Look at my biceps." "I belong to a gym." "I read Maxim on the john." "Wings aren't appetizers; they're dinner!" And they're just as indistinguishable: Lacoste shirt, tucked into khaki shorts or pants, and no socks between their tan feet and their boat shoes. Okay, I pretty much just described the uniform of my entire law school, but that's okay. Like I said earlier, I'm guilty of succumbing to the pressure of conformity. I belong to this large group of conforming non-conformists. You know, disheveled hair and beat-up sneakers. It's a very cool group to be in. First, it lets people know you don't give a fuck. Unless it comes to looking like you don't give a fuck, in which case, you do give a fuck. It's confusing, but it's calculated. Oh, and you should probably name Sonic Youth or Television as one of your major influences, even though you don't know who Thurston Moore or Tom Verlaine is. I know, I'm back to music again. That living accessory. I guess in the end we should just listen to what we like. And if you truly like Animal Collective then listen to them. And if you really dig Sweet Baby James then so be it. Or even Maroon Five or Creed or Nickelback or whoever they're playing right now on the majority of stations across the greater Charleston metropolitan area. I guess all I'm asking is that you not roll down your windows in that entry-level Acura coupe you leased. And maybe put the hardtop on your Wrangler. I don't want to hear that shit.

So they're halving the delegates.

"Shut up!" one woman shouted at another.
"You shut up!" the second woman shouted back.

Seriously. That's from the story. Awesome.