Your to-do list this week: Live Lupe Fiasco, Nina Nastasia, investing worthy attention into the lives of teenage skater kids

Let’s face it, Music-Lovin’ Reader Baby. You’re working hard. You’ve got a tight schedule. Look at you, busy as a bee, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed…Reading, writing, learning…You’re a regular wiz kid! I think we can both agree that after all your hard work, you deserve a week o’ kickin’ back. Life is about fun, isn’t it?

Things to do (this week) while you’re not busy tossing around the old pigskin; belittling Eli Manning (hopefully…Go Patriots?); enjoying some frothy brewskies, X-Box, and, um, homework:

• Get crafty. Find some way to score tickets to hip-hop smarty Lupe Fiasco’s sold-out gig at the 9:30 Club this Wednesday, Jan 30. (Be prepared: http://www.myspace.com/lupefiasco).
• Get hip. Head to the Black Cat this Thursday, Jan. 31 to feast your ears on New York’s soulful crooner/guitarist Nina Nastasia, who is warranting some buzz among, you know, music people like yo’self. (Don’t take my word for it, let the lady’s work speak for itself: http://www.myspace.com/ninanastasia).
• Get real. Watch MTV skater dude Ryan Sheckler ruin yet another potential teenage love affair. (Is it too much Red Bull? Sigh. Those teenage Cali kids seem so particular…) Catch “Life of Ryan” this Tuesday at 10 p.m. for some MTV home cooking. Mmmmmm, spicy-salty-good teen drama.
• Get cultured. Catch Stephen Colbert’s portrait in Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, on its special six-week display by the bathrooms. Seriously.
• Call me, for a good time.