Mark Lanagan - Hit the City: I actually never listened to Lanagan before the Gutter Twins release with Greg Dulli, but I really like the few albums I've purchased since then.

Deerhoof - Basket Ball Get Your Groove Back: Sometimes Deerhoof is a little silly.

Robyn Hitchcock - Egyptian Cream: I've heard so many live versions of this song that it is weird to here this studio track from Fegmania! Still, a very classic Hitchcock tune.

Bob Mould / New Age - New Day Rising: Recorded at the All Tomorrow's Parties event last year, Bob Mould turned twenty years younger playing beside New Age and ripped out a great set including this manic masterpiece.

Yo La Tengo - Attack on Love: A bit more of a transitional tune from my favorite album of the band, Electr-O-Pura.

Quasi - Seven Years Gone: A quick search shows that this would be the third time this song has appeared on the Random Eight. I'm okay with that.

Everly Brothers - Cuckoo Bird: Pretty standard Everly tune.

Ondar - Little Yurt on the Prairie: And, thanks to Google, I now know what a Yurt is (although I suppose I should have figured it out from the song title...but I couldn't get past thinking Yurt was slang for a goofy little kid).

I thought I had a baby skink a few weeks ago, but actually had a salamander. This time, I'm sure we have a skink.

Tom Waits - All Stripped Down: Manic song from the ever enjoyable Bone Machine album.

Boredoms - Anal Eater: Random attack of noise and screaming.

Flaming Lips - What a Wonderful World: Yep, it is that song, with a tad more feedback than the original, from the In a Priest Driven Ambulance album.

Boom Bip - Aplomb: Haunting instrumental track.

Sugar - Come Around: Opening song to the Bob Mould-led Beaster EP that was my favorite release in the early 90's.

Tom Waits - Shiny Things: I'm liking the resurgence of Tom Waits songs on the iPod.

Yoshinori Sunahara - Welcome to Japan: It sounds welcoming.

Curtis Mayfield - Freddie's Dead: Apparently Curtis didn't hear about the new Nightmare on Elm Street movie.

Tom Waits - Lie to Me: Tom regains control of the Random Eight with another tune this week.

Mike Watt - Friction: From a live show off archive.org, Mike Watt was one of my favorite acts to catch in the late 90's.

Six Organs of Admittance - Bless Your Blood: Low droning music from a low droning band.

R.E.M. - Gardening at Night: This should wake up a few ghosts of ancient indie music.

Hella - City Folk Sitting Sitting: Noise noise noise.

Beequeen - Blackbum: Ambient song that just drifted right by me this morning.

Tom Waits - Cold Cold Ground: Great song from the Franks Wild Years album.

Jay Reatard - See Saw: Fun punk tune from the sadly recently-deceased artist.

This guy came right up to the fence, hopped up on the stone wall that separated us, and spread its wings. Then it proceeded to groom itself in front of me.

I guess that's a friendly gesture...

I really enjoyed the bird area at the National Zoo last weekend.

A friendly fellow at the National Zoo.

Baby spiders, actually.

On the tail end of a walk tonight, I bent down to take a shot of what looked like some eggs wrapped in a cocoon-like webbing. But then, the eggs started crawling. Next thing I knew, I was snapping off shots of a hoard of baby spiders.

The Gutter Twins - All Misery / Flowers: The Dulli / Lanagan led band reaches back to the Afghan Whigs dismal view of the world with a great collection on Saturnalia.

Lou Barlow - Puffin': Guess what this song is about.

The Flaming Lips - Superhumans: From an even more crazy era of the Lips that most songs.

Boredoms - Noise Ramones: I was just thinking on the way into work today how, even for my tastes, unlistenable Pop Tatari can be. Play this 30 second tune and see for yourself.

Chainsaw Kittens - Hold: Early tune from Tyson Meade's band; a little poppy but still driven by Meade's compelling vocals.

Alex Chilton - D-I-V-O-R-C-E: After Chilton's recent death, a number of recordings turned up from his live shows over the years. None were probably as interesting as one where, after a power outage, he saw in a club with an acoustic guitar and played away for an hour, running through both his catalog and a number of goofy tracks gaining the laughter and enjoyment of the audience. This would be one of those tunes.

Mission of Burma - Progress: I think the iPod likes MOB...which is good, as I do also.

Clint Mansell - Death is the Road to Awe: Another remarkable, emotionally grabbing composition from The Fountain Soundtrack.

Although it is hard to see, two Macaws were grooming each other in the early morning at the National Zoo.

I visited the National Zoo this past weekend. The new elephant habitat is looking amazing as it closes within a year of opening. Ahead of the game are the local deer who have, by appearances, claimed the new area for themselves.

It is common to sneak up on deer early in the morning at the zoo. Like me, they also seem to like the bird house as a place to visit first thing after dawn.