Sunless Suitcase

Goodbye

2010-01-02T15:48:00.002-05:00

Gotta say, I'm not much of a blogger nowadays. Not too much stuff motivating me to write for people right now. I mean, I have a ton of stuff going on in my life. Just not a lot that is too interesting for publication. Of course, if you know me then you know that I am intensely protective of my privacy. When Cory convinced me to start a blog over five years ago, it took a lot for me to actually do it. I'm glad I did because this has been fun.

This just isn't much of a part of my life right now. Also I'm on Facebook, and a lot of what I could do on here I can do there. Just in smaller segments. And with a lot less effort.

This blog very quickly became almost exclusively a music blog after I started it. Music is a huge part of my life, and I know that many people like to hear my opinions on what I'm digging. Of course, I'm always happy to share. So I'll share this: I have become very bored with new music. 2009 was a wonderful year for new music, but keeping up with all of it has become too exhausting. Plus expensive, and I have better stuff to spend my money on right now. Kids right now are way cooler than I am, and I don't want to keep up with new stuff right now. I'm getting too old to be young.

Of all the reasons to not be into new music (too trendy, too expensive, too exhausting, too boring), the biggest concession comes from picking Embryonic as my favorite album of 2009. There is something great about what is older. I have spent the last several years almost exclusively listening to new stuff and forgetting the old stuff. My financial stinginess of late has also helped me reconnect with my collection. Oh and the new Beatles remasters. They are fantastic!! Old stuff, man. Sometimes its better than the new stuff. Actually, especially right now, it's almost always better.

I'm rambling here. What I'm getting at is that I'm shutting the old bird down. Actually, I'm not shutting the blog down. It'll still be here. I just don't have any further plans to update it. Not that I have been lately, but I'm definitely not going to make any effort to keep up with it. If something so compels me, I'll throw it on the blog. Just don't expect much. Maybe someday I'll get inspired again and dust it off, but for right now it's goodbye to blogging.

Goodbye and long live Sunless Suitcase.

Sunless Shuffle (Take a Bow)

2009-12-31T13:16:00.003-05:00

New Year's Eve. I have been working evenings all week for the first time in years. Don't know if I'd love to do this full-time, but it's been a great little break. Combine this easy schedule with last week's cakewalk holiday week and it's almost like a vacation without the vacation. It'll suck tonight when I get off of work shortly before midnight. I should get home before 12 for the countdown and champagne. Then it'll be out the door again for party. Party!

I have about an hour before I have to head to work. I am well-rested and ready for one more...

Yeah, one more...

Current track count: 13,938

1. Weezer - "Don't Let Go" (s/t, The Green Album)
Kind of appropriate, I guess.

2. Electric Light Orchestra - "Down Home Town" (Face the Music)
Random memory tied to music. There was a Saturday when we were living in Virginia Beach when we took Molly's car in for an oil change. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon eating at Cheesecake Factory and shopping at Barnes & Noble. Nothing too atypical, but it was very nice and memorable. Perfect cool and cloudy weather. Oh and we were listening to Face the Music the whole time. So there you go.

3. Jim O'Rourke - "Seven Stars" (Tiny Mixtapes Vol. 1: Darfur)
And the abstract section of my collection makes its first appearance. I own too much abstract music.

4. Aimee Mann - "Invisible Ink" (Lost in Space)
Richmond's own Aimee Mann. Well technically Mechanicsville, but close enough. I really didn't care for Lost in Space, especially as a follow-up to the amazing Bachelor No. 2. Maybe I'll go back for another try.

5. Spoon - "Reservations" (A Series of Sneaks)
Great freaking song. New Spoon album coming out in a couple of weeks. Excited!

6. Guided By Voices - "Underwater Explosions" (Under the Bushes Under the Stars)
One of GBV's more under-appreciated albums. This song is the perfect example of why. This mix is transitioning perfectly so far.

7. Electric Light Orchestra - "Strange Magic" (Face the Music)
The hell?? What are the odds of this happening? I have almost 14,000 songs on this iPod and I get two ELO songs from the same album. Weird. Not that I mind because I am currently singing at the top of my lungs.

8. Lou Reed/John Cale - "Trouble With Classicists" (Songs for Drella)
One great forgotten album here. Half of the Velvet Underground's tribute to Andy Warhol. It's amazing. Go get it.

9. Pavement - "No More Kings" (Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition)
This is originally from that Schoolhouse Rock compilation that came out in the mid-'90s. It was a good comp, if I remember correctly. By the way, you hear that Pavement is back together? Who's excited?? Me!!!

10. Bonny 'Prince' Billy - "Wolf Among Wolves" (Master and Everyone)
Just wonderful stuff. Anybody that hasn't listened to BPB really needs to hurry up and do so.

11. Half-Handed Cloud - "You've Been Faithful to Us Clouds" (Halos & Lassos)
I got back into HHC this fall after the release of the massive Cut Me Down & Count My Rings compilation. I highly suggest everybody check it out. It's kinda weird, but constantly charming. It sounds like when somebody is trying to sing the Beach Boys in their head. This is how it'd really sound if those thoughts were out loud.

12. Guided By Voices - "Sons of Apollo" (Half Smiles of the Decomposed)
This is far less of a coincidence than the two ELO songs from earlier. I have quite a few ELO songs on my iPod, but nothing like my GBV collection. So this doesn't surprise me at all.

13. They Might Be Giants - "Rabid Child" (s/t)
Wow. Somehow this works right in. I don't know how, but it does.

14. Electric Light Orchestra - "Night in the City" (Out of the Blue)
All right, seriously. What the hell.

15. Danielson - "Rallying the Dominoes" (Fetch the Compass Kids)
Perfect!! This is the perfect ending to this excellent mix! Twas fun.

Sunless Shortlist: Albums 2009

2009-12-20T21:14:00.015-05:00

15. Fiery Furnaces - I'm Going Away

Another year, another great Fiery Furnaces album. Every single one of their albums since Rehearsing My Choir has been on this list. And the only reason Blueberry Boat wasn't was because I didn't do a list that year.

14. John Vanderslice - Romanian Names

Not exactly JV's most instantly enjoyable album, but I didn't give up on it. It is truly incredible. I still may not enjoy it as much as I could, but I understand more of it with every listen. JV is one of the most consistent songwriters out there right now.

13. St. Vincent - Actor

This was the year I finally fell for St. Vincent. I still don't think much about St. Vincent when not listening to her. But in those moments that I am listening to her, I love nothing more.

12. Most Serene Republic - ...and the Ever Expanding Universe

I have to say, and I don't care what anybody thinks about this, but I think The Most Serene Republic is one of the most underrated bands in the world. They aren't the best-reviewed band out there, and they certainly aren't the most popular. However, since they figured out their sound on Phages, they have become something remarkably great.

11. A.C. Newman - Get Guilty

This album is 2009's secret weapon. It was released on January 20th, the most important release date of 2009. It went by mostly unnoticed, but don't underestimate this album. It is subtly remarkable.

10. Mountain Goats - The Life of the World to Come

There is a pattern emerging with every Mountain Goats release. One release is instantly enjoyable (Tallahassee, The Sunset Tree, Heretic Pride). The next release is dense and difficult to understand immediately (We Shall All Be Healed, Get Lonely, and this one). Maybe that makes them even more rewarding in the end.

9. Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs

Yo La Tengo have always been at emulating their influences. This album might be their finest example. Huge year for Yo La Tengo with this album and the incredible Condo Fucks album.

8. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

With its first listen, you can just tell that this album was going to blow up this year. It was easy to see that this would be their year. Don't worry about a backlash though. These guys deserve the attention for putting together the most instantly gratifying album of the year.

7. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

Speaking of backlashes, if anybody is set up for a backlash right now it has to be Grizzly Bear. The hype machine was in full effect for this band. When they finally released Veckatimest, their most poppy album to date, the music certainly did live up to the hype. You must always expect a backlash when an art band releases something accessible. I hope that doesn't happen any more than it already has because they guys are just great.

6. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

The Dirty Projectors have certainly never been accused of being accessible. It's art rock to its fullest, and art rock should be difficult stuff (except to those that "get it"). What's so remarkable about this album is that they accomplished both. It's remarkable complex, but instantly enjoyable at the same time.

5. Andrew Bird - Noble Beast

This is one of the many great albums released on January 20th. I think it's taken me that long to love it as much as I should. I was immediately a little disappointed when I first heard it. But I kept coming back again and again. With every listen I was able to appreciate more and more of it. I listened to it one more time as I was compiling this list and am stunned that I was ever disappointed. This is amazing music.

4. Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle

Bill Callahan is definitely one of those "can-do-no-wrong" songwriters for me. When I picked up this album I expected to love it, but I couldn't predict that I'd love it as much as I do. It's full of some of his strongest writing to date.

3. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

Of course this album is on this list. Animal Collective has quickly become one of my (and everybody else in the world's) favorite bands. Every release solidifies that status even more. I guess the thing that makes this list a little different is that this album isn't at number one. I absolutely love this album, and it should be number one, but it's just not quite as good as...

2. Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer

I am obsessed with this album. I didn't realize how much I was obsessed for a long time though. It just took me completely off guard. I was listening to it constantly and didn't even notice just how much. That obsession is very worthy. This album is absolutely stunning. Everybody should be lucky to be obsessed with it.

1. Flaming Lips - Embryonic

I am still in disbelief that this album is number one. I loved this album the first time I listened to it, but I guess I didn't want to love it this much. My faith in some of my favorite bands has weakened in recent years with every weak release (Wilco, Weezer, Modest Mouse, etc.). I most definitely didn't have much faith in the Flaming Lips after the very tepid At War With the Mystics. I figured that either they had slipped into cookie-cutter commercial music, or they were just always lucky at making great music (or even frauds all along). Embryonic proves me wrong once and for all.

This is a very difficult album to hear, for sure. Especially as they had progressed (digressed?) further and further into pop music, listening to something this difficult is very jarring. But beyond the music, thematically it is even more difficult to hear. The Flaming Lips had always exemplified "the world is fucked but we'll be okay." It was a party. We'll be just fine. With Embryonic they now seem to have figured out that we won't be okay after all. It's very disturbing hearing them come to understand that. It's even more disturbing to understand it because you can't help but believe it as you hear it.

Because of all of this, and simply that the album just sounds great, my faith is completely restored in the Flaming Lips. They are truly giants in music, and now I understand that there isn't reason to be bitter about that. They deserve it. They know what they are doing. Hell, I even found out this year that all the money they got from Kraft for using "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song" in salad dressing commercials went to help animal shelters and children's charities. Holy shit, these guys are saints!! They deserve all the popularity, and the money, all the exposure that they have earned this decade. They closed out the last decade with their masterpiece (The Soft Bulletin). Now they close this decade with something that may be even better. Even if the world is ending, I can't wait to party with these guys. That is Embryonic.

Sunless Shortlist: Songs 2009

2009-12-19T16:41:00.003-05:00

Animal Collective - "Lion in a Coma"
So many songs to pick by Animal Collective this year. I chose the one that gets me the most excited.

Antony and the Johnsons - "Epilepsy is Dancing"
Antony sends us on a lyrical rollercoaster in less than three minutes. Sounds about par for the course.

Andrew Bird - "Masterswarm"
This was the toughest song to pick out for this year's list. My taste for individual songs on this album has changed with every listen. In fact, I had to go back and listen to this album again in order to find the song that best sums up this album for me. This is Andrew Bird's most difficult album to date. Even just picking one song that best exemplifies the album is a near-impossible task. I decided on this multi-tiered masterpiece, but couldn't go wrong with a number of songs.

Bill Callahan - "All Thoughts Are Prey to Some Beast"
Bill Callahan can transition between lighthearted and super intense like no one else. Moving into this song, he goes deep into some of the most intense territory of his career.

Camera Obscura - "Forest & Sands"
Often when Camera Obscura records a slow song, I find it mind-numbingly boring. Not on this song, however. This song is some of the most beautiful music they have ever performed.

Condo Fucks - "The Boy With the Replaceable Head"
Everything I wanted from this album is right here on this Richard Hell cover.

Decemberists - "The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid"
The Decemberists can do melodrama like nobody else. Now this album may not be as strong as their albums past, but this song is absolutely stunning.

Dirty Projectors - "Temecula Sunrise"
The most complicated toe-tapper of the year. It's catchy sure, but it is almost impossible to snap along. I love it.

Flaming Lips - "Silver Trembling Hands/Virgo Self-Esteem Broadcast"
Technically these are two songs, but one sounds best with the other. Wayne sings with unprecedented passion, and the songs end wholly disturbingly. It's primal and shakes me to the core every time I listen to these songs.

Grizzly Bear - "Two Weeks"
Yeah, it's sugary stuff. It's sweet and poppy. But I can't resist this song. Grizzly Bear isn't necessarily the most feel-good band, but this song is easily the most feel-good song of the year. Totally irresistible.

Handsome Furs - "Legal Tender"
Brutal synths. Just spine-tingling, stomach-punching, brutal, brutal synths. I loooove this song.

National - "So Far Around the Bend."
There is nothing innovative for the National on this song. However, it is the National's most prevalent new song of the year and it's great for that reason alone.

Phoenix - "1901"
The coolest song of the year. I can be sitting on my couch in sweatpants eating chips and listening to this song and still feel like the hippest guy in the world. And at that moment I am definitely not the hippest guy in the world.

Realpeople - "My Night With the Prostitute From Marseille
Sometimes the best electronic songs are the simplest.

Sunset Rubdown - "Nightingale/December Song"
I grew completely obsessed with this song for a few weeks this autumn. I was listening to it maybe three or four times a day. I eventually was able to take a break from this song. But even now when I come back, my obsession creeps right back in.

((Next post: Best Albums))

Sunless Shortlist: 2009 List & Disappointment

2009-12-18T17:15:00.006-05:00

I'm done buying new stuff for the year so I guess I can go ahead and compile my best of lists. Usually I wait until after New Year's, but I don't think I missed much this year. I never did get the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album and Karen O's Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack, but I'm in no rush. I feel pretty complete with my 2009 collection. So here are the candidates:

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
Antony and the Johnsons - The Crying Light
Apostle of Hustle - Eats Darkness
Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
Bonny 'Prince' Billy - Beware
Built to Spill - There is No Enemy
Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle
Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career
Circulatory System - Signal Morning
Jarvis Cocker - Further Complications
Condo Fucks - Fuckbook
Decemberists - The Hazards of Love
Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
Eels - Hombre Lobo
Fiery Furnaces - I'm Going Away
Flaming Lips - Embryonic
Franz Ferdinand - Tonight
God Help the Girl - s/t
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimist
Handsome Furs - Face Control
Islands - Vapours
Magnolia Electric Co. - Josephine
Most Serene Republic - ...and the Ever Expanding Universe
Mountain Goats - The Life of the World to Come
AC Newman - Get Guilty
Conor Oberst - Outer South
Jim O'Rourke - The Visitor
Osso - Run Rabbit Run
Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Phosphorescent - To Willie
Son Volt - American Central Dust
St. Vincent - Actor
Sufjan Stevens - The BQE
Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer
Swan Lake - Enemy Mine
John Vanderslice - Romanian Names
Viva Voce - Rose City
Volcano Choir - Unmap
White Rabbits - It's Frightening
Wilco - Wilco (The Album)
Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs

Last year I complained a little about the lack of great releases, but this year was certainly not disappointing at all. Tons of surprises all year long. Last year, I struggled to put together a good enough year-end list. This year I struggled again, but this time it was because I couldn't fit everything in. That's good!

Well, it wasn't all good...

Most Disappointing Album of 2009

Apostle of Hustle - Eats Darkness

Usually I like to use this spot to make fun of an artist that has just lost it. Somebody I formally loved and then suddenly don't. Their fault. You know... backlash. Backlashes are fun. Come on, it's fun to bash somebody that thinks that they are great. However, it absolutely pains me to put Apostle of Hustle in this spot because I absolutely LOVE Apostle of Hustle. When I saw Broken Social Scene last year, I was super excited to see that Andrew Whiteman was touring with the band. And he didn't disappoint. This album, however, defines disappointment. The constant sampling is annoying and distracts from the moments of actual music. And the music is pretty weak too. The poetry reading just make no sense. Why are they there? I did appreciate the William Burroughs sample, but it just sounds like his own Spare Ass Annie. Unnecessary.

((Next post: Best Songs))

Sunless Shortlist: Best of 2000's (recap)

2009-11-07T11:33:00.004-05:00

25. Guided By Voices - Isolation Drills (2001)
24. White Stripes - Elephant (2003)
23. Strokes - Is This It (2001)
22. Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism (2003)
21. Decemberists - The Crane Wife (2006)
20. Beulah - Yoko (2003)
19. James - Pleased to Meet You (2001)
18. The National - Boxer (2007)
17. Bright Eyes - Lifted... (2002)
16. Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer (2008)
15. Broken Social Scene - s/t (2005)
14. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! (2008)
13. Superchunk - Here's to Shutting Up (2001)
12. Spoon - Kill the Moonlight (2002)
11. Wilco - A Ghost is Born (2004)
10. Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002)
09. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha (2007)
08. Joanna Newsom - Ys (2006)
07. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam (2007)
06. Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004)
05. Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree (2005)
04. Destroyer - Rubies (2006)
03. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois (2005)
02. Radiohead - Kid A (2000)
01. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)

2000: 1
2001: 4
2002: 4
2003: 3
2004: 2
2005: 3
2006: 2
2007: 3
2008: 2
2009: 0

Sunless Shortlist: Best of 2000's (5-1)

2009-11-06T21:28:00.007-05:00

5. Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree (2005)

The Mountain Goats' fifth release (of nine) of the decade is surely their most anthem-worthy. "This Year" is the anthem for naive party-child. "Up the Wolves" is for the punched-in-the-gut. "Hast Thou Considered the Tetrapod" is for the lost child. "Pale Green Things" is for the redeemed. If none of these songs speak to you, then you have not experienced life.

4. Destroyer - Rubies (2006)

This is one very effortless album. At least that's how it sounds. However, the more you listen to these songs, the more complex it becomes. This is one of the wordiest albums I have ever heard. Years after first listen I still find myself surprised every time I hear it. Because of this, Rubies is probably the most rewarding album of the decade. I don't know how many times I have listened to Rubies, but I never get bored with it. It is an absolutely perfect album

3. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois (2005)

At first glance, this is one of the most daunting albums I have in my collection. 74 minutes of state history? However, I am actually sad when this album ends. It's not nearly long enough. Extremely complex and infinitely rewarding, this album is just as good now as it was when it was first released. I hadn't listened to this album in quite a while before this week, and I think I like it even better now. Now Sufjan, please release another!

2. Radiohead - Kid A (2000)

Endlessly bizarre. Just as meek as it is huge. This follow-up to OK Computer could very easily fail, but this may be Radiohead's greatest album. It is for me. It's like Radiohead's Sgt. Pepper. A band at the peak of their popularity releases a massively weird album, and knocks it out of the park. Nearly a decade later, it still holds up as a weird album, but also a masterpiece. I have always been disturbed by the content of this album, and it seriously impacted me at its release. Listening to it now, I find it just as impactful. The timeline I live in often seems slightly skewed from the modern world. I often feel out of touch with the speed of technology and the speed life in this world. That disjointed way of living is what I hear in Kid A. How do you live a life filled with ever-changing advancements and not feel disconnected? Life is non-linear now. Even modern social networking is life in a virtual world. It's disorienting. It's disconnected in a connected world. That is what Kid A is.

1. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)

So how could this not be my favorite album of the decade? I mean, Wilco is my favorite band. They were my favorite band for half of the previous decade too. I like for music to challenge me as a listener. I don’t like predictable things. I like music as art. All of this is displayed perfectly on this album. And the songs are just wonderfully constructed. And chaotic. The recording of this music is a landmark in studio usage. And beyond simply how strong the music is, this album is the most important album of the decade. It has shown how important the album as a package is, even if it did help usher in the music-as-download era. Albums still work. The album is not dead. Artists will not starve, even as their music is stolen. Everything will be just fine. It’s a defiant moment in music history. Any album that can define a generation of art, and still just be good to hear, will live on forever. This album is this decade. That’s all.

-----

Well that's all I got. As I have been working on this for the past month+, I have been re-listening to many of these albums. I also noticed that not all that were on my original list held up over time, so I have listened to a lot of music lately with a purpose. When I finished listening to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot today, I felt a little lost. It was weird to just find something random that sounded good and not focus on it like a project. (I ended up listening to Destroyer's Your Blues and am now listening to The Most Serene Republic's And the Ever Expanding Universe).

This decade saw me at my musical highest... at least listening to music. Now that the decade is almost over, I'm just buying music to buy it. It's my goal right now to slow down and just focus on music that I know I love. This project has helped me focus my attention inward. There's something far more satisfying to re-discover music I already own, rather than discover something I don't own. It's cheaper too, and that's nice.

That said, I'm very proud of my collection. And I'm very happy to have such a vast collection of music that allows me to rediscover stuff for a very long time. So while I close this project out, I want to throw out some of the albums I considered and for this list. So my apologies to Love Songs for Patriots, Noble Beast, Merriweather Post Pavillion, Person Pitch, I Am a Bird Now, National Anthem of Nowhere, You Forgot it in People, Let it Die, The Reminder, New Magnetic Wonder, Neon Bible, Sea Change, The Life Pursuit, Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle, The Letting Go, I'm Wide Awake It's Morning, Fevers & Mirrors, Smile, A Rush of Blood to the Head, Heartbreaker, Gold, Your Blues, Electric Version, Twin Cinema, Bitte Orca, Gorillaz, The Good The Bad & The Queen, Black Sheep Boy, The Stage Names, Return to the Sea, Night Falls Over Kortedala, the last Songs: Ohia (or is it the first Magnolia Electric Co.?), Dragonslayer, Apologies to the Queen Mary, Cellar Door, American III-V, Sound of Silver, Loose Fur, i, The Moon & Antarctica, Good News for People That Love Bad News, Population, Tallahassee, Alligator, Abatoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus, Hissing Fauna, Give Up, Amnesiac, In Rainbows, Wincing the Night Away, A River Ain't Much to Love, Dear Science, Our Endless Numbered Days, Michigan, Seven Swans, You & Me, any Spoon album not called Kill the Moonlight, and of course I Am Not Afraid of You and Will Beat Your Ass. I love you all and thanks for helping through my third decade.

Sunless Shortlist: Best of 2000's (10-6)

2009-10-27T17:49:00.008-04:00

10. Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002)

I really didn't care for the Flaming Lips suddenly crowd-pleasing tendencies this decade, and I should probably blame this album for that. However, there is way too much to love about this album that I can't help but love it. It's a perfect follow-up to their masterpiece, The Soft Bulletin. It's not at all understated or apologetic, and it's "the world is ending, but that's okay" themes make for the most melancholy party of the decade. It's brilliant, and the Flaming Lips are a brilliant band.

9. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha (2007)

This is the one I forgot. I still don't know how I forgot it because this album really overtook my life for a long period. And even now, it overtakes me when I hear it. It's a complete album. The first thing you'll take notice of is the great upbeat songs that dominate the first half of the album. However, with repeated listens, you'll notice just how remarkable the slower second half of the album is too. Musical perfection.

8. Joanna Newsom - Ys (2006)

As soft as this album is, it is probably the ballsiest album of the decade. Sure it's gorgeous. It's overwhelming at times in its sweeping beauty. However, realize that Joanna Newsom plays a harp, has an extremely unique voice, and wrote a massive album with five nine-plus minute songs (including one at seventeen minutes). That's ballsy.

7. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam (2007)

There have been plenty of freakout bands that broke out the latter half of the decade, but nobody has been a big as Animal Collective. This album (combined with Panda Bear's Person Pitch) helped usher this band in as the godfathers of the freakout scene. It wasn't their first popular album, but it was their most accessible. Sure it's still weird stuff, but it's a less difficult album to listen to every time you hear it.

6. Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004)

The Arcade Fire has been this decade’s most important band with only two albums. Impressive. They are like this decade’s Neutral Milk Hotel, but they don’t seem destined to prematurely dissolve. You can probably make the argument that the Arcade Fire did more for indie music than any other band. This decade might be the decade of the backlash, and the Arcade Fire is a major victim of backlash. It’s all very unfortunate however because the Arcade Fire is a near-perfect band.

((ALMOST THERE!!))

Sunless Shortlist: Best of 2000's (15-11)

2009-10-19T21:57:00.007-04:00

15. Broken Social Scene - s/t (2005)

While You Forgot it in People was a quiet and understated album, their self-titled follow-up was like an explosion. I guess that could count in more ways than one. The band was less of a secret after this album. Feist found huge success solo. Broken Social Scene became less of a band and more of a brand, but still have always kept their indie cred... because they are still an indie band after all.

14. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! (2008)

In this new world, everybody can be a guru. Some artists stand out from the bloggers (James Murphy?). But amongst the congestion we can still find the older-aged gurus like Tom Waits and Nick Cave going strong. The biggest difference between these two is that Tom Waits is fine as he is, and Nick Cave will never settle. On this album Nick Cave sounds like a reverend wanting to party as the world ends. Sounds fun.

13. Superchunk - Here's to Shutting Up (2001)

This album really stands out in the Superchunk discography for two reasons. First of all, it sounds completely different than any other release they have. The sound textures they had been toying with in the previous decade are much more prevalent here. It works beautifully too. And it’s mature. It’s the most mature Superchunk album. Secondly, this is the last proper Superchunk album. They are still together, and just started releasing new material, but this is the last album they put out. Hopefully they will put out a new album soon because this album left me wanting much, much more.

12. Spoon - Kill the Moonlight (2002)

When you talk about the most important bands of the decade, Spoon has to be considered. Album after album their allegance keeps growing. Everybody has a favorite Spoon album, and nobody would be wrong with their choice. This just happens to be my favorite Spoon album.

11. Wilco - A Ghost is Born (2004)

Jim O’Rourke’s partnership with Wilco was arguably the best and most important producer-artist relationship of the decade. While Yankee Hotel Foxtrot featured O’Rourke, that was a Wilco album. On A Ghost is Born, however, the partnership is much more prevalent. “Hell is Chrome” would be a perfect fit on any of O’Rourke’s Drag City releases. Okay, so this album is great. Everything about it is great. It’s a little pretentious at times, but it’s art. The songs are so strong that they are pure art on record, and some of the best music I heard live this year. In fact, it took hearing these songs live to truly understand this album.

((MORE SOON!!))

Sunless Shortlist: Best of 2000's (20-16)

2009-10-07T21:34:00.008-04:00

20. Beulah - Yoko (2003)

This is the last Beulah album. And listening to this album, you know that it's the last Beulah album. It's unfortunate that Beulah is no more, but at least they went out with the highest note they had as a band.

19. James - Pleased to Meet You (2001)

Ah memories. I don't know what else I can say about this album without just defending it. It's not like this album is well-known, even among James fans. But I just love this album, and that's all I can say. The return of Brian Eno is exactly what James needed, and they killed it on this album. It's may be James' most underrated album, and it deserves more attention than it has received.

18. The National - Boxer (2007)

The most cozy album of the decade. Something about this album just makes me very comfortable. Everything will be okay while you listen to this album. This is the sound of summer Friday nights. It's all romantic. It's all sweet. Just thinking about how beautiful this album is will change your day.

17. Bright Eyes - Lifted or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground (2002)

I know I give Conor Oberst plenty of shit, but I cannot deny how excellent he was in Bright Eyes' prime. This album is nearly perfect, and maybe that's why I can't stand Conor now. This was his peak. The self-destruction was so genuine on this album. It was beautiful to hear. So many bands this decade wanted to flaunt how self-destructive they were, but there was no flaunting on this album. It just was, and it was great.

16. Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer (2008)

Quite possibly the most underrated album of the decade. While their debut got plenty of attention in 2005, this album barely caused a blip last year. It's unfortunate because this is one truly amazing album. There is no way you cannot get into a song like "California Dreamer." And "Kissing the Beehive" closing the album is by and far one of the best songs in years. It's a crime that this album isn't defended more, and it gets better every time I listen to it.

((MORE SOON!!))

Sunless Shortlist: Best of 2000's (25, again)

2009-10-05T21:35:00.003-04:00

I made a very serious error while compiling this list. I completely forgot about one of my favorite albums. Not just any favorite albums, but like one of my favs ever! In fact, when I was just thinking about this list I was thinking about where to put this album. It's just that I completely didn't think when I was pulling albums out of my shelves to work on this.

Now because of this (and indecision), I've reordered things slightly. The only album so far this affects is Yo La Tengo's I Am Not Afraid of You and Will Beat Your Ass. That album now comes in at 26. So I guess I can make this my favorite 26 albums of the decade.

As I said before, this whole list was extremely difficult to put together. There were quite a few albums that were close, but not quite there (Gold, Twin Cinema, A Rush of Blood to the Head to name a few). Actually some of these were originally on this list but I was less thrilled listening to them for the first time in years.

So anyways, let me get things straightened out again for the last time. This album, by the way, was not the album I forgot...

25. Guided By Voices - Isolation Drills (2001)

GBV went through a very short-lived phase at the turn of the century while they were on TVT Records: They sounded like an actual band. It worked too. It's not necessarily the best era of their career, but it really sounded great. This phase also rang in the final era of GBV. Oh lord, not the end of Robert Pollard's songwriting career though. However, the last truly great thing he put together was this album. It's not necessarily a great GBV album, but it's just a great album.

Sunless Shortlist: Best of 2000's (25-21)

2009-09-29T22:21:00.009-04:00

This is a daunting list, but here we go. I just had to do this.

This list is for the most important decade of my life. It's my twentieth decade... no wait, my second decade. My twenties. I turned 20 this decade. And 21. And 29.

I also lived in four cities in three states. I got a nephew. And a niece. I went to Seattle. I totaled my car. Broke my neck. Then bought a couple more cars. I swam in the ocean for the first time. Touched a jellyfish... gross. Got a Playstation 2. Then got a Playstation 3. And a Wii. Got and lost Huxley. And Daniel. Still have Sophie and Mika, though. I also got really into running. Then I got really lazy again. Then again. Then again. I really broke down with technology, got a digital camera and an iPod. I went to DC for the first time. And went back a million more times. I got engaged. It's been pretty nice.

I also bought a shit ton of music this decade. Like a ridiculous amount of music. That's why this list was so daunting. I have changed this list a million times, so I figured I better go ahead and start posting and second guess myself later. Which I will. I'm going to post this in sections. As I go through this list, I've been listening to every album again. Being that I work a lot, and have a relationship at home, and there are only so many hours in the day, it's been a slow process. And it will be a slow process. But I think the list is set now. I think.

So I'll begin. This is the 2000s. Or was. Or the two-thousands. Or aughts, right? Or the oh-ohs. Whatever this decade was called. Or is, I guess...

25. Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass (2006)

Epic. Everything about this album is epic. Yo La Tengo is famous for their 10+ minute guitar shreiks, and this album starts with one of their best. As if that wasn't enough, the album ends with one that's even better. Epic. Even the intermission at the center of the album is almost 9 minutes. With the length of this album, it's amazing that it never gets boring. Every song skews a musical genre, and makes it a Yo La Tengo song.

24. The White Stripes - Elephant (2003)

There are plenty of bands that appeared this decade that had some flashes of brilliance, but now seem dismissible. Some of those bands appear on this list. The White Stripes do not fall into this category. Jack White's personality falls into this category. No matter what your thoughts on his celebrity, or Meg White's terrible drumming, you cannot deny this band's impact on this decade. This album is the best example of who the White Stripes are. There isn't much experimentation here, and the sound they use is best exemplified in these songs. Plus the best videos of the decade came from this album. So there.

23. The Strokes - Is This It (2001)

The Strokes were the first hype band of the decade. I tend to start the backlash against hype bands before they are even released. This is definitely the case with the Strokes. I really, really wanted to hate the Strokes. Thankfully, I took a chance with this album and loved it. The other problem with hype bands is their value over time. Well I listened to this album again as I was making this list and it still holds up just fine. I'd rather listen to the Velvet Underground, but still not bad for the present wannabe equivalent. That wasn't a burn, by the way. I don't think.

22. Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism (2003)

As I have been working on this list, I have been listening to many albums I know I once loved. Quite a few of these don't exactly hold up over time. Maybe it's my change in taste, and often it's just that the music wasn't as strong as I once thought. I didn't expect to appreciate this album as much as I once did, and I am stunned that I do. Death Cab is definitely not my thing anymore, but I'm glad I'm mature enough to understand good music when I hear it. This is really, really good music.

21. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife (2006)

This album took my life over during the fall of 2006. Even now this album reminds me of the fall. I guess it's hitting me perfectly all over again. I had worn this music out, and now it's like I'm hearing it again for the first time. And it still reminds me of the fall. And it's just great.

((MORE SOON!!))

Yes

2009-08-31T22:36:00.000-04:00

This is for in case you didn't hear. She said yes.

29 in DC

2009-07-31T20:14:00.007-04:00

(tourist)

I've been meaning to post this for a couple of weeks. I mean, we went to DC the day after my birthday. My birthday was two weeks ago. Still, it was a memorable trip. Therefore, I still remember it.

We went to the Natural History Museum.

That's an elephant's butt.

Got to see tons of dinosaurs, plus some giant sloths.

Also saw the Hope Diamond and a giant squid. I really wanted to see the giant squid.

We went to the Holocaust Museum and the American History Museum too. Everything was so packed. We didn't even get into the main displays at the Holocaust Museum. We did get to see the Star Spangled Banner flag at the American History Museum though, along with some cool Abraham Lincoln stuff too. Oh and the Stephen Colbert portrait.

Man everything was busy though. It was a Saturday in July. Also the weather was perfect.

As in, absolutely perfect. Not at all hot.

We finished everything off with a Nats game.

It was our first trip to the new stadium in DC. Pretty nice overall. Not a terribly unique stadium, but very comfortable.

Overall, a perfect day. Well actually not quite perfect. The Nats did lose to the stupid Cubs. That sucked. Everything else was great.

Wilco (The Album)

2009-07-14T20:52:00.002-04:00

Okay, I'm ready to review the new Wilco album. I've listened to it about five times now (and another half standing in line at Starbucks the other day).

I'll just say it. It's not that great. It's not terribly disappointing, or just terrible, but it's not that thrilling either.

Now I won't call it Sky Blue Sky. That album just didn't have a great feel too it. This album has a nice feel all-around. However, it just doesn't have many memorable moments. Wilco, man. This is my favorite band in the world. And I'm saying stuff like this. Is it them? Or is it me?

I'm thinking them.

Now there are a few really good songs on here. It starts off great. "Deeper Down" and "One Wing" are fantastic. "Bull Black Nova" reminds me of Spiders (Kidsmoke). That's great. "You and I" has a duet with Feist. Better on paper than in the song, but still sweet. That's when things take a turn for the bad.

There are two songs on this album I really don't like: "You Never Know" (the harmonies piss me off) and "Sonny Feeling" (it's called "Sonny Feeling"). Any momentum during the first half of this album comes crashing to a halt during "You Never Know." It takes several songs to recover. "Country Disappeared" is good enough. "Solitaire" is very nice. Then "I'll Fight" is fantastic. Then it's "Sonny Feeling." Again, terrible.

That's the story with this album, and really Wilco as a whole right now. If I compare this album with Wilco's highest points, it's very disappointing. As a stand alone album, it's pretty good. Above average. It just lacks the experimentation of previous albums. The writing has become very pedestrian. However, I still like this album okay. It's worth picking up. It is just very difficult to judge within the whole Wilco catalogue.

Five

2009-06-30T21:25:00.001-04:00

Sunday was this blog's fifth birthday. Yay.

Not always certain why I still write on this blog, but it's fun. Something to do. Hope everybody else still kind of enjoys it too.

Missouri / Iowa

2009-06-28T15:26:00.009-04:00

Spent last weekend back in Missouri. It'd been over two years since I'd been back home. Thought it'd be weird, but it was all fun.

Kirksville looked pretty good for the most part. We went touring past some of the buildings damaged by last month's tornado. That was pretty insane.

I've seen plenty of buildings damaged by tornados before, but seeing it in Kirksville made it more surreal to me. The majority of the damage is in a really nice neighborhood too. Pretty sad stuff.

The wedding itself was great. It was very nicely put together. The most worrisome part of everything was the rain. It had rained everyday I was there, and another line of storms was coming through at wedding time. We kept checking Zane's Blackberry and trying to stay positive, even though everything pointed towards disaster. Outdoor wedding.

Two small things got cut from the ceremony (a reading, or blessing, or whatever) to try to move things along. As we went outside to start the line on the radar was right on top of Kirksville. There were quite a few rumbles of thunder, and maybe a sprinkle or two, but it stayed dry. Afterwards everybody rushed to their cars when it suddenly really began to pour. Good timing.

Anyways, what else?

I think we did about everything we set out to do on our own. Visited KTVO. Ate a ridiculously unhealthy meal at the Shitty.

Delicious.

Went to Columbia. While touring Mizzou we happened to notice a gate open at Faurot Field. Not sure if it was exactly the right thing to do, but what the hell...

Also ate waaaay too much hummus at the International Cafe and picked a new Cardinals hat while in Columbia.

We spent a whole day on a whirlwind tour of Iowa.

Eldon looked great. Saw the Gothic House.

Yeah, that house. My parents bought a lot about couple of blocks away. They're going to build a house for when they retire.

Also went to Fairfield.

It'd been a long time since I'd been to Fairfield. It was much nicer than I had remembered it. I'd always known it to be just another cookie-cutter Midwestern town, but it was much more well put together than I'd ever noticed.

The Maharishi have a lot to do with that.

Vedic City was great. I'd only kind of been there. Not really toured it very extensively. I loved it though.

The houses were mostly nice.

Everybody was smiling and waving, even though we were invading their little commune. They were all blissed out and shit. It was nice...

...it was really nice. Like the way I wish I could be. Just all happy and thoughtful and worry-free. Like they only think about how to live...

...it was great...

...maybe I could...

...ah, probably not.

Anyhoo. Been back in Richmond since Monday night. Jonathan and wife were in town this weekend. The state of Virginia declared yesterday a celebration for his grandfather. So that was pretty sweet. It's been nice lately.

Sunless Shuffle (Home Sick)

2009-06-09T14:49:00.002-04:00

Home sick today [coughcoughsniffsniff] so I may as well do a little catching up. It's nice to have a moment in reality like this as I lose myself in a haze of Sims 3 and Left 4 Dead. It's all just so fun, I can't help it.

I did get up to go vote today. Big difference at the polls from November. Of course, this is just the Democratic primary for governor with a little sheriff's race sprinkled in. I went with Creigh Deeds. I don't like that he's pro-gun (lack of gun control is one of the biggest problems in Virginia), but I think he can beat Bob McDonnell. That's pretty much my only motivator.

Ah let's see, what else...

I'm going home here in two weeks for the bro's wedding. It'll be my first trip to Kirksville in over two years. It'll also be Molly's first trip. It's weird because I have like no friends left in KV. Everybody left after I did. It's going to be fun regardless.

There have been a ton of great music releases lately. Right now is like the eye of the storm (except for today's new Dirty Projectors album, but my pre-order hasn't arrived yet), so it's a perfect time for some...

Current track count: 12674

1. Tom Waits: "Coney Island Baby" (Blood Money)
(Not exactly summer music. Tom Waits always sounds best when it's freezing cold outside, or at least cloudy with no leaves on the trees. Still his sound is always welcome in my ears. Never noticed before how much this sounds like "Innocent When You Dream.")

2. Phosphorescent: "Pride" (Pride)
(Well that transition didn't work. I love this track, but it only counts with the prior track tacked on.)

3. John Vanderslice: "Forest Knolls" (Romanian Names)
(Good god, my iPod LOVES JV!!)

4. Johnny Cash: "Waiting For a Train" (Unearthed: Who's Gonna Cry)
(There's that Johnny Cash I was waiting for last time.)

5. Mark Eitzel: "Seeing Eye Dog" (The Invisible Man)
(The sythesized Eitzel album. Still sounds great, but it's weird to hear. I love Mark Eitzel. Quite possibly the most underrated songwriter alive.)

6. Jay Farrar: "Drain" (Sebastopol)
(That's a hell of a transition. Perfect. By the way, new Son Volt coming out in a month. Just thought I'd share for the few people that still care about Son Volt.)

7. Kevin Drew: "When It Begins" (Spirit If...)
(Another great transition. This is becoming a great playlist. So we have the slower acoustic center with a loud conclusion. Now we need something more exciting to keep it moving...)

8. Decemberists: "The Rake's Song" (The Hazards of Love)
(Yeah, I'd call that a success. Not my favorite Decemberists, but for the sake of this playlists it's works perfectly. Actually it might work better than in the original album.)

9. Half-Handed Cloud: "The Famine's Hard" (Thy is a Word & We Need Lamps)
(I'm laughing right now. Seriously, listen to the previous song and follow it up with this one. My iPod is on fire!!)

10. Johnny Cash: "I'm So Lonely I Could Cry" (Now, There Was a Song!)
(My iPod can read. I'm getting a little creeped out right now. In all seriousness, this song sounds best after dark. Not in the middle of the day.)

11. They Might Be Giants: "For Science" (Miscellaneous T)
(Fail.)

12. Beach Boys: "Wendy" (Endless Summer)
(I was looking for an appropriate closing track for this list. Beach Boys win! Seriously though, throw out the Phosphorescent and They Might Be Giants tracks and this playlist is great.)

Jay Bennett

2009-05-28T18:46:00.002-04:00

Jay Bennett's whole story is pretty sad, so the premature ending almost seems fitting. I definitely felt sorry for the poor guy. I met him twice during the Being There era of Wilco and he was incredibly nice.

Very sad.

re: Love For Destroyer

2009-05-23T13:31:00.004-04:00

So after I express my love for Destroyer, he lays this one on us.

A Destroyer disco EP? A disco about the Bay of Pigs??

You know what though? I'm going to get it. For sure, I'm totally going to get it.

Love For Destroyer

2009-05-10T17:16:00.010-04:00

So I was whining about how I don't seem to appreciate music like I once did. Maybe it's just the way I listen to music. I was typically only listening to music in the car. Not good.

A few weeks ago I decided to just completely surround myself in music. I started using my breaks at work taking walks around the Fan listening to my iPod. I have also been listening to music at work more. And also when I'm just sitting around on the computer. Listening more like I used to.

Of course, I buy so much music that I was listening almost exclusively to the new music in my collection. Last week I started on a project to get me back deeper than I had in a while. Just listen to everything by some of my favorite artists. Starting with somebody I absolutely love but might not appreciate the whole library, Destroyer is where I began. Overall, this was a completely successful project.

We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge

Destroyer's worst? Sure. It's his first though. As ridiculous as some of this music is, so much of it shows how great this music will become. It's more avant-garde than the more structured songs he'd be writing years later, but the lushness is still there under the noise.

City of Daughters

Lyrically this is Destroyer's first great album. As great as the music is, some of the sudden breakdowns into electronica or the synthesized horn instrumentals don't seem to make a lot of sense.

Thief

The perfect compliment to City of Daughters. Very similar musically, but still a step forward. "Mercy (We Had the Right)" has to be his best song up to this point in his career.

Streethawk: A Seduction

This is Destroyer's first masterpiece. This is why this project has some validity for me. When I bought this album, I didn't listen to it too much. Now after this listen, I realize just how amazing this album is. The most complete Destroyer album to date.

This Night

The Destroyer slacker album. It sounds like Destroyer backed by Pavement, or maybe Modest Mouse. Maybe his most underrated album. Or even his most overrated. It’s loved by some, and hated by some. I never really paid much attention to this album (too long), but with this listen I feel like I appreciate it for the first time. Further validation.

Your Blues

Oh, the midi album. How does one write an album full of songs with the melodrama turned to 10, then redo everything using mostly midi, and make it great? True genius.

Notorious Lightning and Other Works

Six songs from Your Blues re-recorded with Frog Eyes. Just unbelievably good. Like really, really good.

Rubies

Destroyer’s best. No comparison. This is simply one of the greatest albums I have ever heard. Years after I first heard it, it still sounds incredible. I wanted to make a list of my favorite Destroyer songs, but that’d be pointless since most of them are on Rubies. This should be an essential album for any good record collection. It’s a perfect album in every sense of the word.

Trouble in Dreams

It’s nearly impossible to follow up your masterpiece with another, but damn Destroyer comes close here. It took me quite some time to really get into this album, and I still don’t feel like I completely appreciate it. It is an amazing album though. Every song is very intricately layered, and the music sounds as emotional as anything Destroyer has released.

Destroyer is one of those musical experiences that many people will likely hate. Dan Bejar just sounds really weird. However if you get it… if you really understand how perfectly constructed his music is recorded, and how heart-wrenching his lyrics are, you can easily find yourself wrapped up in some of the greatest musical experiences you’ll ever have.

Favorite Destroyer Albums:
1. Rubies
2. Your Blues
3. Notorious Lightning and Other Works
4. Streethawk: A Seduction
5. This Night
6. Thief
7. Trouble in Dreams
8. City of Daughters
9. We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge

Buy them in this order:
1. Rubies
2. Streethawk: A Seduction
3. City of Daughters
4. Thief
5. Your Blues
6. Notorious Lightning and Other Works
7. This Night
8. We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge
9. Trouble in Dreams

Ghost

2009-05-08T15:24:00.000-04:00

From 1988 to 1993, five years when I was a kid I lived in a haunted house. Not just some “oh a noise I can’t explain” haunted house, but “oh shit why is there an old guy walking down the hallway in the middle of the night” haunted house. Legit stuff.

That’s a different story though.

A few weird things happened at our apartment in the last week. Eleven months we have lived here without anything weird happening. Then last Saturday after we got back from the bar, I was putting my glasses on the end table before laying down to sleep. As I did that, the fan on the table fell onto my arm then to the floor. I don’t think I touched the fan. Okay, granted, maybe I did touch it or hit the table causing it to fall. However, the fact that I specifically had to say “I didn’t cause that” made it a strange experience. Not too strange however. I did have a few drinks in me.

Then the next morning I was turning on my laptop on my coffee table. I reached for my wireless mouse under the table, when suddenly my checkbook came sliding out from under the table onto my foot. My checkbook close to the mouse, but not exactly right next to it. It was another of those “I didn’t cause that” moments. I really don’t think I touched that checkbook. It seemed to just come flying out from under the table. Again, maybe I did hit it or something.

Then Monday evening we were in our living room when we heard a big crash. We live in an apartment building, so that’s not uncommon. It really sounded like it came from our place though. We wandered around searching out the cause, when we came to the bedroom closet. Our humidifier that was on the top shelf was now on the ground, and water was spilled everywhere. Now I definitely didn’t touch that! Maybe somebody was jumping on the bed below us, or there was some kind of vibration that suddenly went through the building, or something.

It just seems really weird to have three weird experiences in three days. Am I nuts here? Or am I on to something?? I hope not. I think I’d rather be nuts.

Gaming

2009-05-07T01:29:00.003-04:00

1:30am and I'm off to work in an hour. Severe weather coming through and I have to go in early. I decided to just forgo my usual sleep (nap?) for tonight in place of a late evening of gaming.

I have been pretty intensely playing MLB 09: The Show for a few weeks now. It's an incredible looking game and a great simulation of the real game. But that's the catch. Some people are really bad at baseball, myself definitely included. As much as I love playing this game, I suck really hardcore at it. Actually my record is around .500 and I have the best team ERA and AVG in the league. I also have the least runs scored in the league. It's because I swing at EVERYTHING. I just can't help myself. Most of my games end up 1-0 or 2-1. Eh, it's still fun. Very, very frustrating but still fun.

I did also pick up (finally) Left 4 Dead this last weekend after months and months of pleading from Steve. As much as I wished he was wrong about this game, he definitely wasn't. It's awesome!! I'm still learning the ropes before I take my game online, but I'll get there... just to get ripped to shreds by zombies. So many zombies! Hmmm. I have about 45 minutes before work. I can get a game in.

Eagle

2009-04-30T19:29:00.004-04:00

I don't listen to music like I used to. I still spend WAY too much money on my music collection, but I definitely don't obsess over music like I did a few years ago. Don't know why exactly. I used to always have music on around the house, or in the car, or while working. Everywhere. Not so much now.

Maybe it's because I make more money now and getting new music is much easier than it was a couple of years ago. Back then, I really had to plan out how to buy new music. I wouldn't be able to get every new album right away

Now, however, I can just go get whatever whenever I want. When I was always broke, I had an instant emotional attachment to any new music I bought because I had to work for it. Now, not so much.

There's that, or maybe it's just as simple as a lack of great music over the last couple of years. It's true that the one album I really obsessed over last year ended up as my favorite. That's been the trend over the last two years. But again, there has been a lack of truly great music over the last two years. Who knows?

What I do know is that I've desperately been waiting for a new album to really obsess over. The new Animal Collective is really great, but I haven't been listening to it ad nauseum. I keep waiting and searching, but I think I may have something here...

Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle

I have been a fan of Bill Callahan/Smog for years, but I can't think of anything as good as his latest, Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle. What I love is how Callahan can make his music so effortlessly. He never sounds like he's trying too hard, but his music is always intense and disturbing and beautiful. I've never heard that method work as well as on this album. The music just swirls around his thoughless voice. He just sounds natural, all the time. It's not like he makes this sound easy, it just sounds like this is how he is.

This album is tremendous. It's the year's first truly required listen for everybody. I hope there are more albums like this for 2009, but combine this with the new Animal Collective and so far everything looks pretty good.

Hot

2009-04-26T15:20:00.002-04:00

Dear God it is way too hot right now. It's like in the mid 90's in April.

To make things even worse, our air conditioner wasn't blowing any cool air out until this afternoon. When we left for the bar last night, we cranked it up (it was 85 degrees inside). After a few hours we returned to find our apartment maybe even hotter than before. Thankfully it's working now.

Somehow spring just didn't exist this year. It was still pretty chilly a couple of weeks ago. Hell, last week I was still wearing sweaters to work. Now it feels like July. Usually I get all excited for the heat in the late winter, then hate it by July. Now I hate it in freaking April. Not a good sign for the summer.

Please spring, just exist.

Workworkwork

2009-04-18T19:39:00.002-04:00

This is my one moment of clarity sandwiched between two very busy weeks at work. This week was hell. Next week will be rough. And I have to go into work at 5:00am tomorrow to fill a shift. I'm very relaxed right now and don't want to think about anything except the Pulp album I'm listening to (and I guess my typing).

This week my co-director was on vacation so I was on double-duty. Of course this was also the week our morning shows were repackaged with many more elements. So basically I had to rethink my rundowns while dealing with twice the workload in half the time. Oh and all at 4:00am too.

Yesterday I had a 12+ hour day spread across the hours of 4:00am and 8:30pm. I directed a show from the Southern Women's Show. It was definitely one of those constant "what-the-hell-am-I-doing-here" life moments. I walked into the Nascar raceway complex (a place I never thought I'd go) to do a broadcast in the middle of a convention for middle-aged women. Man I really felt lame flashing my creds to get into the building. At least the hot firemen contest was cancelled allowing us to get set up sooner. Oh and preventing me from sitting through the hot firemen contest. Eh, the broadcast ended up looking pretty good I guess.

Next week my co-director will be back (thankfully?). But still Monday I have to survive the championship game of the quizbowl show I direct. One more 12+ hour day, then the rest of the week will be normal. I just don't like starting my week working that kind of day. With my weird sleep schedule, I'll be doomed until I can sleep in Saturday.

Later Cutler

2009-04-04T17:21:00.005-04:00

Ugh.

Man this whole episode made me sick. And I was totally on Cutler's side. I mean, this new coach comes in and starts immediately wants to get his old quarterback to follow with him? I'd be pissed too. Especially after a Pro Bowl season. And as a Broncos fan, and watching all the mediocre quarterbacks to follow Elway for nearly a decade, imagine my excitement when Denver finally finds a worthy player. And McDaniels want to mess this up??

Totally on Cutler's side.

...and then I saw what Denver got in the trade.

Two first round picks, a third, AND a starting quarterback?? Screw Cutler! That big baby. Screw him!!

I know Kyle Orton isn't exactly Jay Cutler, but I'm excited to see him throw to actual wide receivers rather than whoever they have in Chicago. And behind Denver's killer o-line, he's going to be just fine. I can't wait to see this happen.

Or maybe I'm just excited to see Hedges in a Denver jersey.

Or put some shitty glasses on him and you have Mark Borchardt.

Sunless Shuffle (iPod's Fixed)

2009-03-31T15:37:00.003-04:00

My iPod died on me. Not recently or anything. Like a year-and-a-half ago. I've been too lazy to fix it for way too long. Maybe lazy isn't right. More like cheap.

When I bought the thing I was too excited to load up its hard drive that I didn't actually think about backing up any of my music. That really killed me when it crapped out on me. I finally got around late last year to getting an external hard drive just for my music.

It took me MONTHS to rip all of my music onto the thing. No exaggeration. Months. When I finally finished about a month ago, it was time to format and reload the iPod. Now it works like new and every song is backed up. Every single song I own, minus a few bootlegs, is back in my pocket.

I'm home sick today, so what better time to do something I haven't done in some time. Random!

Current track count: 12249

1. Whiskeytown: "Not Home Anymore" (Strangers Almanac)
(Man, this reminds me of senior year of high school. That was when I thought music didn't get better than Strangers Almanac. Except this song. Didn't care for it. Guess what. Still don't care for it. Not terrible, just not the best song on this album... by a long shot.)

2. John Vanderslice: "Greyhound" (Life and Death of an American Fourtracker)
(Oh this reminds me. JV has a new album coming out in May. I keep forgetting about that.)

3. Islands: "Swans (Life After Death)" (Return to the Sea)
(Three songs in and I hit my first ten minute song. This song really reminds me how good this album is. And also how disappointing Arm's Way was.)

4. The Good Life: "Needy" (Album of the Year)
(Damn is Saddle Creek still around? I haven't listened to anything from them in forever. I'd even forgotten how whiny Tim Kasher sings. Actually this sounds a little better than I remember.)

5. John Vanderslice: "CRC 7173: Affectionately (Blistering Dose) [cut-up]" (Scott Solter Remixes Pixel Revolt in Analog)
(Over 12,000 songs set to random and I get two John Vanderslice songs. How does that happen? I wish I could play the lottery 'cause I like those odds!)

6. Superchunk "Unbelievable Things" (The Clambakes Series Vol. 3: When We Were 10)
(Indoor Living, best Superchunk album. Still gives me chills. Oh my god, by the way, we are exactly one week away from a new Superchunk EP!! Closest thing to a new album since 2001.)

7. Coldplay: "Politik" (A Rush of Blood to the Head)
(I don't think I've listened to anything from this album since Coldplay got really uninteresting (X&Y). I don't know if I'd still love it like I did when it was new. Hm, maybe we'll never know since Coldplay are so uninteresting.)

8. R.E.M.: "Lightnin' Hopkins" (Document)
(iPod thinks I'm in the mood for some unoffensive stuff right now. Come on, man!)

9. Mountain Goats: "Short Song About the 10 Freeway" (Bitter Melon Farm)
(That is one short song indeed. At least it's longer than Iron & Wine's contribution to Dark Was the Night.)

10. Big Star: "My Life is Right" (#1 Record)
(My life isn't really right because I feel like shit. My head has been pounding since 3am. At least the weather is nice and upbeat Big Star reminds me of nice weather. Slower Big Star reminds me of bitter cold.)

11. The Clash: "Lover's Rock" (London Calling)
(Don't know why, but the Clash sounds really good right now.)

12. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: "The Train Song" (B-Sides and Rarities)
(Sounds like a nice closing track. Thanks Nick!)

Wow, I forgot how much fun that is. I'll have to do that more often.

Highjacked

2009-03-22T19:59:00.003-04:00

A couple of months I railed against UPS because of a really slow delivery. Well now I'm ready to make a bit of a retraction because of something I never considered: Highjacking!!

Yesterday we had National Geographic's Air Emergency on in the afternoon. The emergency that really caught my eye was the story of FedEx Flight 705. Highjacking aren't usually all that cool, but this one was EPIC!

One of the flight employees went nuts and attempted to highjack the plane. He wanted to crash the plane into the FedEx headquarters. It was a kamakaze plan, but for whatever reason he wanted to conceal the highjacking. So he tried to highjack the plane using hammers and a speargun. Starting to get really badass.

Crazy guy started by cracking some heads with the hammer and held up the crew with the speargun. The pilot had a fractured skull, but still had it in him to for some movie tricks. He spun the plane completely upside-down, giving the two other crew members (also with fractured skulls) the upperhand. They attacked crazy guy and had themselves a crazy badass upside-down hammer fight.

Oh yeah, there was a speargun in the middle of things too.

By the end of it, they were able to take crazy guy down with another fractured skull. And the pilot was able to keep the DC-10 from destroying itself, even as he flew like he was Iceman. Oh yeah, he also only had control over one side of his body. A hammer to the head will do that to you.

Okay so after seeing that, maybe I can cut UPS some slack. I didn't consider that an upside-down hammer fight at 10,000 feet might cause some delays in package delivery. I do know that this was FedEx, rather than UPS. I can overlook that though. Dry-erase board guy might fuck some shit up too. You never know.

Fixed

2009-03-21T16:56:00.002-04:00

I mentioned my car problems/shit luck in January. I'm very happy to report that it's all done as of today.

Four trips in two months costing a total of $1539.41. My car is like brand new. Well at least mechanically. The interior still looks horrible. But still, it runs better than it has in years.

-New spark plugs/ignition wire set
-Belt/timing gasket set
-Fuel induction/decarb service
-Axle replacement

I have no idea what any of this means, but it's all terribly expensive. I spent so much money that the mechanic gave me a free tire rotation. That was nice.

The car honestly does seem to be running better. I'm really counting on to last me a long time now. Another 80,000 miles will be just fine.

The Big One

2009-03-07T20:12:00.007-05:00

It finally snowed! Hooray!!

And not any old pidly little snows that we tend to get in central Virginia. This was a huge storm. I think the final tally was around 7".

As excited as I was for it to finally snow like it does back home, it very quickly became a pretty shitty event. Like all-around shitty. First of all last Sunday as the snow was rapidly piling up, our power went out. I even saw the transformer blow from the bedroom. Kinda cool. But after a couple of hours in the dark, we started getting a little concerned. Especially as the temperature kept dropping inside, and the lightning picked up outside. Fucking lightning, man!!

Second shitty thing: work. Lots of work. It started when I went in Monday morning at 2am and didn't get home until 1pm without anything resembling a break. Also all without sleep. I had been up since 11am Sunday, and didn't get back to bed until around 2pm Monday.

And it's not like my sleep was very relaxing. The power was still out and it was freezing in the bedroom. I bundled up and hoped I wouldn't freeze to death. I woke up around 5:30pm feeling like I'd been sleeping outside. I'm sure I could see my breath if I dared to stick my head outside the covers. As I came to, I did notice the sound of our furnace. Thankfully the power came back 21 hours after it went out. The heater stayed on for around four hours regulating the heat inside again.

And that's probably how long it would've taken for my car to warm up Tuesday, one of two days this week we broke the low temperature. All of my car doors were frozen shut. I was finally able to pry open the rear passenger door and crawl through. When I got to the interstate, I barged through the driver side door to pay the toll. Then the door wouldn't shut. The latch was frozen. Just great. I was on the interstate holding my door shut and barely able to see through the small patch of unfrozen windshield. Good thing it was 3:30am and the interstate wasn't exactly bumper-to-bumper.

But we survived. It feels really weird writing about this now. The temperature was up near 80 today. Just a few days ago, it was near 10. All our windows are open and it's almost hot in the apartment. It was really weird driving around today with the windows down wearing short-sleeves and seeing piles of snow everywhere.

After everything, it was still nice to see the snow again. I hadn't seen snow like that since I moved away from Missouri. I'd forgotten how pretty it is when it's really coming down, and how everything seems to get very quiet. It was amazing, but I think I'm okay with not having snow like that for a couple more years.

Releases, Part II

2009-02-05T11:58:00.002-05:00

But I digress.

Great new music is being released faster than I can listen to it. I'm currently listening to the new Phosphorescent (Willie Nelson tribute) and love it. New Franz Ferdinand is pretty damn good too. It's either the best Franz Ferdinand album, or the worst Spoon album. Either way, pretty good.

Now I really have some catching up to do...

Antony and the Johnsons - The Crying Light

I gotta say, I have completely fallen for Antony and the Johnsons recently. This is one of those acts that I ignored for so long, even though I knew I had to get into them at some point. Glad I did too, because I am floored every time I hear this music. Antony Hegarty’s voice can shake anybody to the core. The Crying Light just continues what began on their self-titled debut. There isn’t anything groundbreaking for their music on this disc, but it’s a great reminder of how rare their music is. The content is, as always, deeply disturbing and truly beautiful at the same time. Kind of like facing up to something that frightens you. Every single song is something special and everybody should give it a listen. It may not be for everybody, but everybody should try it.

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

The most hyped album so far this year. It may end up being the most hyped album of 2009. Now I called Strawberry Jam the best album of 2007, so obviously I'm a believer in Animal Collective. I fell into the same spell as everybody else when this album was announced in October. Good thing it wasn't all hype. This album lives up to everything written about it.

The first thing that is surprising about Merriweather Post Pavilion is just how different it is from anything else they have recorded. Nothing sounds analog, but it still sounds very organic. There is definitely a lack of guitars here, but the persistant loops remain. It has taken me a while to truly appreciate this album, and I still don't think I'm all there yet. It took me a while to figure out Strawberry Jam too. I love it right now, but I still have a ways to go.

If you still haven't listened to Animal Collective, take note that everything you ever hear about them is absolutely true. This is one of those rare bands that gets better when that seems impossible. With four amazing albums in five years, plus Panda Bear's stunning Person Pitch, Animal Collective is quickly becoming one of the best bands on the planet. At least they are the most original band right now. This isn't necessarily the music of the future, but it isn't vintage either. They are just doing something that nobody has ever done before.

Super Mess

2009-02-02T21:58:00.001-05:00

Man did last night not go according to plan. First of all: the obvious. The Cardinals lost. That sucked. Secondly, simply watching the game turned into a challenge.

About twenty minutes before kickoff, just as Molly and I were starting on dinner, the power flickered off and on. Everything came back on, minus the internet and cable. Yeah, the cable. Kinda need that. Especially for the freaking Super Bowl!! We finished up dinner, hoping the cable would come back. No luck. Thankfully we live pretty close to Molly’s parents. So without hesitation, we booked it over to their house. Made it just in time for the coin toss. Very good.

At the end of the first half, we went back home to try our luck and it paid off. Cable was back. Internet was working. All good.

Turns out that there was an accident just around the corner from our apartment. Somebody drove into a utility pole and took everything out. Bad timing, just before kickoff of the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl!! There were apparently injuries, so I’ll be the big man and hope that everybody is okay. Besides, at least everything seemed okay for the second half.

Except that it wasn’t. Shortly after kickoff, everything went off. As in EVERYTHING. Pitch black. Maybe the cable was still working, I don’t know. But without electricity, I could care less. Once again, we packed up and went to Molly’s parents’ place. Good thing they live so close. Awesome game. Awesome finish. We got to see everything, minus some of the boredom of the third quarter.

After the game we went back home to still find pitch black. It was actually kind of nice. Right in the middle of the city and darkness as far as the eye could see. No street lights or anything. I was actually looking forward to living the rest of the night like this. I took a shower by candle light. Oooh, romantic! I couldn’t wait to crawl into bed, read a little by the light of a flashlight, and falling to sleep without a streetlight in my face. Except that the power came back just as I was heading to bed. Nothing went according to plan last night. Nothing!!

Releases, Part I

2009-01-29T20:12:00.006-05:00

I was terrible at posting about music last year. Don't know why. Maybe I was just uninspired about last year's music. Or maybe I was just lazy. (I was just lazy.) I'll be better this year, I promise.

Last week's releases are a good place to start. I mean, there were four new releases that I would've been excited about any release day, plus the new Bon Iver EP. I'll skip the Bon Iver because I don't really know him all that well. The EP is great though.

Okay, I'll start here and continue in the next post:

A.C. Newman - Get Guilty

As much as I love A.C. Newman, I have to admit I wasn’t too excited about this album. I was disappointed by the last New Pornographers album (Challengers) and thought that his other solo album (The Slow Wonder) sounded more like an outtake album. Plus Get Guilty came out a frenzied day of releases. This was the album to slip between the cracks. It hasn’t though. I absolutely love it. Newman has been relaxing a little since the pop explosion of Twin Cinema, but it sounds more mature and less forced than Challengers. Darker? Not quite. But definitely more serious. And it sounds fantastic. This album will definitely stick with me throughout the year.

Andrew Bird - Noble Beast

This, along with Merriweather Post Pavilion, was definitely the two albums I was most excited about. Andrew Bird’s previous album Armchair Apocrypha was one of my favorite albums of 2007, and I have grown even fonder of it since. It was instantly satisfying, impossible not to love after the opening of “Fiery Crash.”

Noble Beast however is much more difficult to understand. There are no pop songs here. It’s constantly complex. Most of the songs are more like suites. This album is the very definition of a grower. Even as I listened to it the first time, it took until the fifth song, “Tenuousness,” to begin to understand what was I was hearing. It’s difficult to put into words, but this is definitely not background music. It’s something that requires your undivided attention, because just a passing listen will leave you completely unsatisfied. It’s all great to hear as a package. There are a couple of songs that stand out, but they are much weaker without the surrounding songs. This album is a worthwhile experience, but not an easy experience.

Also if you pick up this album, go ahead and get the deluxe version with the instrumental bonus disc, Useless Creatures. It’s worth the extra money.

And I like the cover better.

My Luck

2009-01-27T20:25:00.001-05:00

Man I used to have just terrible luck when it came to finances. I always seemed to run into those “rains-it-pours” situations. The last couple of years have been pretty good to me though. It helps that I’ve been making quite a bit more money over the last year and a half. I also have been pretty frugal with my money too, saving up throughout the year and making one fairly big purchase a year. This time last year I picked up my sweet TV. This year I picked out a new laptop.

I ordered it on Sunday after weeks of self-debate. It was either that or a new car. My car is fine though. I also don’t have a car payment right now (I finished my loan off last year). I haven’t done my taxes yet, so I can parlay my return back into savings for the computer. It all makes sense.

This laptop is going to be sweet too. 4 gig of ram. It has a sweet ATI dedicated video card, not some cheap integrated junk. Everything is working for it. It’d better be since I spent nearly a grand on it. Again, the car is fine. No worries.

Well until yesterday when I took it in for a routine oil change. They found about eight problems worth around $1300. I had already ordered my laptop on Sunday. Sigh.

Now it’ll be okay. I can afford everything. I’m not cancelling my computer order. The problems with my car are not totally catastrophic and can be gradually fixed. It just really aggravates me that this has to happen at once. My luck is back.

No More Silver Jews

2009-01-23T14:40:00.001-05:00

Such sad news. One of my favorites is no more.

Please David, don't let this be true!!

Sunless Shortlist: Albums 2008

2009-01-17T17:23:00.016-05:00

15. Calexico - Carried to Dust

Not only one of the year's best, but definitely the year's most surprising album. Calexico puts on a hell of a show, but has never really been able to match that on record. They certainly do now. This is a great album.

14. Sigur Rós - Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust

This album definitely has a few slow spots, but the high points are some of the best this band has ever released. Also, this is probably their least melodramatic album to date. Because of this, it sounds very refreshing.

13. Department of Eagles - In Ear Park

If the Beach Boys were formed in the last couple of years, this is what they would sound like. It's weird. It's beautiful. It's what music sounds like right now. It's almost what it used to sound like. And it all works.

12. Silver Jews - Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea

One of the year's most underrated albums. This is definitely a grower, but David Berman's writing is absolutely spectacular on this album.

11. Black Keys - Attack & Release

Danger Mouse can do no wrong. Every time he touches an album, it works. Here he makes yet another great band even better. Best Black Keys album to date.

10. Fleet Foxes - s/t

Got to be honest, I'm definitely not as crazy about this album as everybody else on the planet. Great album? Definitely. It's just not as much of a masterpiece as it's made out to be. Just my opinion.

09. Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping

Of Montreal is a ridiculous band that records ridiculous music, but it is great to hear. Of Montreal is like the Monty Python of music.

08. Destroyer - Trouble in Dreams

Destroyer's previous album is one of my favorite albums in years. And while this album isn't the classic that one was, it is still amazing. And how is it that nobody has payed any attention to this album? Surely the most underrated album of the year.

07. James - Hey Ma

With James's ego, I was definitely expecting a reunion album full of "we're so awesome!" The liner notes helped with this assumption. However, the music itself is amazingly good and relevant. There is no rust from this James lineup that hasn't recorded together in fifteen years.

06. Okkervil River - The Stand Ins

Okkervil River's relevence is the fastest growing in the world right now. Within another album, this band will be what Wilco was three years ago. Even an add-on album like this is still remarkable.

05. Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride

The more polished the Mountain Goats get, the harder it is to listen to at first. However, the more you listen, the more you understand that everything is still the same. The writing is as funny and viscious and emotional as ever. Remarkable albums are routine for the Mountain Goats.

04. Beck - Modern Guilt

Beck's simplest, shortest, and possibly best album to date. It's just all so super-hip. Even if Beck is kind of a douchebag, his music is just so cool. Oh and take a look at who produced this album. It's Danger Mouse again!

03. The Walkmen - You & Me

2008 was definitely the year of the Walkmen for me. I’d never really paid much attention to them. Then I saw them play in Norfolk in the spring and have been obsessed since. However, this latest album isn’t just me riding the wave. It is just a great album.

02. Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer

2008’s most criminally ignored album. Where did all the love for Wolf Parade go? Four years ago, they could do no wrong. Now they release one of the best albums of the year and nobody pays attention? It’s a shame because this album rivals their previous release in every way possible.

01. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!

Nick Cave is the king of reinvention because it’s never insincere. Here’s the rundown of his career:
Pre-1983: The garage punk
1984-1990: The gothic lounge singer
1990-1994: The heroin casualty
1996: The sick balladeer
1997-2004: The redemption man
2007: The middle-aged garage punk
2008: The beat generation’s last emissary
Every single phase of Nick Cave ’s career has reflected exactly who he is. He’s the world’s most honest songwriter. He will write songs that nobody else would think about. Or maybe others will think of it, but would never be ballsy enough to release it. This latest album by Nick Cave is one of the most sincere releases I’ve heard in years. There is nothing phony here. It’s funny. It’s disturbing. It’s beautiful. It’s challenging. It’s just perfect.

-----

Gotta be honest here. 2008 was kind of a disappointing year in music. Usually it's difficult for me to fit just fifteen of my favorite albums on a list. This year, it was difficult to find fifteen albums to put on this list. Don't get me wrong, these albums I included are all great. It's just that this list lacks the classics I've included in the past few years. Except for Nick Cave's new album. That album blows my mind.

2009, however, is shaping up to be a great year. This upcoming Tuesday has four releases that can contend for album of the year (Animal Collective, Antony & The Johnsons, Andrew Bird, and A.C. Newman... that's a lot of A's). Then next week is the next Franz Ferdinand, which I am looking forward to.

Beyond that, March is looking great (new Decemberists, Handsome Furs, and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, plus that mysterious Condo Fucks album). Even further down the line are promises of a new Grizzly Bear album, two new albums by Phosphorescent (including next months Willie Nelson cover album), and (gulp!) a new album by Wilco sometime this spring. 2009 is looking great so far. Can't wait!

Sunless Shortlist: Songs 2008

2009-01-11T14:10:00.015-05:00

Here are my favorite songs of 2008. I was going to post these as a mixtape, but it's kind of a weird mix. Or maybe I'm just lazy. Anyhoo...

American Music Club - "I Know That’s Not Really You"
Surprisingly a disappointing album by one of my favorite bands. This song, however, would stand out on even their best albums.

Animal Collective - "Water Curses"
AC followed up a huge 2007 with a quiet 2008. They did find time to put out a nice little EP highlighted by this title track.

Beck - "Gamma Ray"
The ‘60’s hipster sound Beck and Danger Mouse strived for on this album is perfectly on display with this song.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - "We Call Upon the Author"
Viscious song. Nick Cave writes like nobody else.

Elvis Costello & The Imposters - "American Gangster Time"
EC’s best era is the This Years Model/Armed Forces/Get Happy! era. This song is his throwback to that era. Perfectly executed too. Not just for cheap applause.

Department of Eagles - "No One Does It Like You"
One of the year’s most exciting songs. The sound I love now is all right here.

Destroyer - "Dark Leaves Form a Thread"
Dan Bejar’s rowdy side is wonderful to hear, isn’t it?

DeVotchKa - "The Clockwise Witness"
This band is just so close to greatness. So close.

James - "Whiteboy"
“My ma says I look like Yul Brenner. Too old for Hamlet, too young for Lear.”

Mountain Goats - "How to Embrace a Swamp Creature"
Heretic Pride to me sounds a less like an album and more like a great collection of songs. This song just happens to be the best of them.

Okkervil River - "Lost Coastlines"
This song is exactly why Okkervil River is one of the most exciting bands in world.

Sigur Ros - "Gobbledigook"
Hippy drum circle? Doesn’t sound like something I’d enjoy, but song is perfect.

Silver Jews - "What is Not But Could Be If"
Certainly not one of David Berman’s most lyrically complex songs, but he is so good an setting the mood.

Walkmen - "On the Water"
Everybody’s freaking out about “In the New Year,” but this is my favorite Walkmen song of the year.

Wolf Parade - "Soldier's Grin"
Dan Boeckner described himself as the member of Wolf Parade that nobody likes. Whatver, dude. I love your songs so much!

The Saga of Guitar Hero: World Tour

2009-01-08T21:06:00.004-05:00

…or Why I Hate UPS

12/25/08: With some Christmas money I ordered the new Guitar Hero game when noticed that the guitar-pack was $75 on Amazon. I figured I could get the free shipping and save $25 over buying it in-store. The only problem is that I’d have to wait on the shipment, but that’s not a problem. Right?

12/30/08: Delivery failed. Every time I order from Amazon, they send it USPS. That’s never a problem. This time they sent it UPS. Now I have to sign for the package. That’s fine, I guess. The slip said it would be re-delivered the next day after 2pm.

12/31/08: I get home at 1pm to find another failed delivery. They tried at noon. That’s two hours before their estimate. Next delivery attempt would be Friday after 2pm. I called the phone number listed to get some confirmation. The automated message said next delivery would be on Monday. I tried to change it to Friday, like on the slip, but it wouldn’t let me. After screaming “fuck you” at the recording about fifteen times, it finally connected me to a person. I told them that I want the package delivered on Friday, like the slip said. They told me I shouldn’t have changed the date to Monday. What? Eventually the operator started listening to me and the delivery was changed to Friday.

1/2/09: No delivery. I called and am told that delivery wasn’t set up until Monday. Oh and that I was the one that set up the Monday delivery. I asked what time. He said between 12:30 and 1pm. *click* Did that fucker just hang up on me?? I called back and tell them what happened, but apparently didn’t believe me. Whatever. Just send it to me on Monday.

1/5/09: Apparently no delivery, but maybe it was delivered to the apartment office while I napped after work. I called UPS and am told that there was no delivery attempt. Dude, I freaking lost it at this point. I was screaming and yelling and making quite the scene. The operator just lost patience with me at this point. With me! She gave the local dudes a message to call me. They do within fifteen minutes. Now this guy was a straight-shooter. He told me exactly when it would be delivered.

1/6/09: Delivery made. Right at the time the local dude told me.

I have played the game a total of once since I got it. Yeah, pretty fun. Worth this headache with UPS? Oh hell no!!

This whole affair was almost as disappointing as the new R.E.M. album. Oh transitions!!

Most Disappointing Album of 2008

Now usually I try to reserve this spot for literally my most disappointing album of the year. However, it usually becomes a forum for me to bash a band that just got shitty. This album, though, really just made me sad.

R.E.M. - Accelerate

I love R.E.M. I really do. I am one of the few that has stuck with them through the years and love everything they do. I loved Reveal. It was reviewed pretty poorly, but I think it’s one of their finest works. The last thing by R.E.M. I absolutely loved was the song “Bad Day” from their compilation In Time. It’s that classic R.E.M. sound that I have been craving. When I started to hear some reviews of Accelerate and keep seeing the words “classic R.E.M. sound” I have to get excited. Then I got the album. And it’s just not good at all. Overproduced. Full of uninteresting songs. Just nothing to get excited about. Come on guys. I still love you though.

New Year (Working)

2008-12-31T14:06:00.002-05:00

I love New Year's Eve. This year might suck a tad though. Still don't know what exactly is going on tonight, as far as parties go. I do have to work until about 11:30pm. So basically I'll go in for a few hours (third time today), come home and spend midnight drinking champange with Molly, then head right back to the northside looking for a party. Oh well.

I guess since the year ends in less than ten hours, I have bought all of the 2008 albums I'm going to buy. Now I can start working on my best-of lists. Here are the candidates:

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cardinology
American Music Club - The Golden Age
Atlas Sound - Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
Beck - Modern Guilt
Black Keys - Attack & Release
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Lie Down in the Light
Calexico - Carried to Dust
Brendan Canning - Something for All of Us
Cat Power - Jukebox
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
Coldplay - Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
Elvis Costello & The Imposters - Momofuku
The Cure - 4:13 Dream
Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
Department of Eagles - In Ear Park
Destroyer - Trouble in Dreams
DeVotchKa - A Mad & Faithful Telling
Flaming Lips - Christmas on Mars [soundtrack]
Fleet Foxes - s/t
Islands - Arm's Way
James - Hey Ma
Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
Magnetic Fields - Distortion
Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride
Conor Oberst - s/t
Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping
Okkervil River - The Stand Ins
R.E.M. - Accelerate
Shearwater - Rook
Sigur Rós - Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust
Silver Jews - Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea
Son Ambulance - Someone Else's Déjà Vu
Supergrass - Diamond Hoo Ha
Travis - Ode to J. Smith
The Walkmen - You & Me
Weezer - s/t [The Red Album]
Brian Wilson - That Lucky Old Sun
Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer

Normally at this time of year, I have most of my lists done. Not this year though. I'm sure I can put something together fairly quickly, but I just haven't. Plus I went on a little shopping spree and picked up some last-minute albums. I think I bought most everything I wanted this year. The only two albums I still want from this year are Bon Iver's and Deerhunter's. Any other suggestions?

Anyhoo, I hope everybody enjoys their night. Have a good 2009!

Ex-Smoker, Day 77 (Done)

2008-12-30T14:34:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was my last day on the Commit lozenges, so I guess I'm officially nicotine-free. Yay for me!

I was getting pretty worried last week about a possible addiction to the lozenges. The cherry-flavored don't taste too bad, and I found myself looking forward to taking them. However, I got lucky when I went to pick up my last box at Target.

The box I bought had a bonus pack of cappuccino-flavored lozenges. And I am very happy to report that they taste even worse than I had imagined. God they are so gross! They don't taste like cappuccino at all!! They taste more like popcorn covered in maple syrup. Molly can't even stand to be around me when I take them because of the smell.

This is all good because I gave away any cherries I had left, so I am only stuck with cappuccino. I have no choice to either do nothing or eat popcorn covered in maple syrup. Perfect!

Okay, so now that this is over with, I really need to get into shape. I quit smoking and all I have to show for it is a bigger gut. Not good. I'm going to start running again. Join a gym or something. I can't waste my sudden healthiness. Before I moved to Richmond, I was running for twenty minutes four times a week. It was great, except that I ruined it by following up the workouts with a cigarette and some fast food. I already never eat fast food, and now I quit smoking. No more excuses, Taylor!!

Almost Christmas

2008-12-21T15:28:00.004-05:00

I went back to work on Wednesday after a week off for vacation. I only worked three days this week (then a few hours yesterday morning for some tapings), but it felt like twenty days. I hate going back to work after vacation... I guess everybody does.

Didn't really do much over vacation. I kept saying that it was my first vacation in around four years where I didn't have big plans. I could've gone home, but Molly only had two days off and I wanted to spend time with her. The only plans we had out-of-town were head up to DC for a museum run and go to my sister's place for the weekend. Neither really went as planned.

Mika got pretty sick right as our vacation started. She spent a day or so having bad sneezing fits, then her eyes got all swollen and pink. We skipped DC and took her to the vet. Seemed like she had some sort of pink-eye virus. She ended up with three different medications. I still went to my sister's over the weekend, but Molly stayed home with the cats. Mika ended up getting better just as my vacation ended (of course), but it was a little scary for a while. She seems like normal now, back to destroying the Christmas tree.

Monday and Tuesday were the days I had off while Molly went back to work. I spent my time getting caught up on some super-violent movies that, for some reason, Molly never really wanted to see: Rambo on Monday, and Shoot 'em Up on Tuesday. Lots of guns and blood and stuff, so good times.

Speaking of movies, we saw Slumdog Millionaire on Friday. Pretty good. Go see it. Danny Boyle is so awesome. I want to see a movie around Christmas but haven't decided between The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Valkrie, and The Spirit. Shit man, I want to see Marley and Me too. I loved the book.

Oh, one last thing of awesomeness. We got a Wii. I found a Toys 'r Us nearby selling them, and went ahead and picked one up. Holy crap, I love it.

Mii

Mollii

(That was stupid.)

(Plus Molly is going to kill me for posting that.)

So far the only games we have are Wii Sports (of course), Wii Play (kinda stupid, but I love the fishing game), and Mario Kart (awesome). This weekend I downloaded the old NES Super Mario games and have been playing them. It's funny how I still remember the old secrets and stuff after like fifteen years of not playing them. Just sweet.

Well, I hope everybody enjoys the holidays. I have Christmas day and New Year's Day both off. Christmas is all planned out, but New Year's is still a little up in the air. I went to Carytown's New Year's thingy a couple of years ago, but it's gotten even more nuts since. The idea of spending New Year's shoulder-to-shoulder with 50,000+ people and spending an hour in line getting a $7 beer doesn't sound like fun. Well there is that Gwar show downtown. Hmmm.

Anyhoo, have fun! I'm going to start working on my year-end music lists soon.

Mika

2008-12-11T15:18:00.004-05:00

This is Mika, our new kitten. We picked her up about two weeks ago from Richmond Animal League.

We figured now would be the right time to pick up a new cat. Sophie had been pretty rebelious lately, and we figured kinda lonely too. She definitely didn't take too kindly to having Mika around at first, but she has made huge strides over the past few days. The first week was filled with hisses and growls, but hardly any swats. We had Mika locked up in the spare bedroom for a while, but we figured we'd let her out to see what would happen. And Sophie got used to her very quickly. I wouldn't quite call them buds yet, but it's getting close.

Mika, by the way, is a very sweet kitten. That's why we got her. She loved being around people, and handled coming home like a champ.

She's become quite rowdy lately though.

In fact, we don't have many good pictures of her yet because she is constantly running around. Her new thing is climbing the Christmas tree almost to the top. She rarely naps, just crashes hard at night. We worry about her craziness because her wound from her spaying wasn't exactly healed when we got her. It popped open a couple of days later. I took her to the vet and she got three staples put in. She gets them out Monday, and we hope her rowdiness hasn't caused any further damage.

She's been great though. It's been nice to hear two cats running after each other again. I really look forward to coming home to see her, even though she is killing my sleeping by jumping on my head or scratching my legs. She'll calm down though. She just has a bunch of kitten energy right now. She's very personable and we love having her here.

Christmas Cat

2008-12-03T23:17:00.004-05:00

Don't let the thrilled look fool you, Sophie isn't exactly in the Christmas spirit. We got her (well, all of us) an early present, but I don't think she likes it. I'll post about it this weekend.

Now the tree, that's something to get excited about.

Ex-Smoker, Day 45

2008-11-27T15:53:00.002-05:00

I'm sitting here on Thanksgiving alone waiting for Molly to get home so we can start on our Thanksgiving dinner, listening to Sunset Rubdown (God bless them), finishing watching the Titans destroy the Lions (I felt embarrassed watching it), just being well-rested drinking coffee after a long nap after only a half day at work (didn't get the full day off, but half off is half as nice), and I'm trying to figure out what I should write about since it's been a while and thought I should do a quick catch-up post. And you know what? I still don't smoke. And I really had to think about it to remember.

It's been 45 days since I last had a cigarette, and it really isn't a big deal anymore. I'm still on the Commit lozenges (step 2 of 3), but I barely notice taking them (cherry is better than mint). In fact, I've only had two since 4am.

Occasionally I do get tempted, but that passes quickly. Now I actually notice getting bothered when I'm around smoke at bars or on the street. I notice that my clothes don't smell like anything. I don't cough as much. It's easier to wake up, not thinking about rushing out for a smoke. I like saying "non-smoking" in restaurants without following up with "no, no, it's okay." It's just all nice.

Maymont

2008-11-09T17:02:00.012-05:00

I had to work half the day yesterday so I haven't had the time to do much this weekend. Last weekend was great though. We went to Maymont Park because the weather was perfect, and I wanted to see the autumn leaves. It's literally down the road from our apartment, so it's definitely one of those places we take for granted. Thought I'd share some pictures we took...

The Japanese gardens were amazing.

The bears were not camera shy.

Neither was the little gray fox.

Rooster with a comb-over.

Monolith

2008-11-08T20:00:00.003-05:00

I mean, just look at that thing!!

I was out of room on my CD shelves and desperately needed something new. Good thing too because I never really liked the shelves I had. They were ugly and took up way more room than they needed.

So has anybody noticed how hard it is to find CD shelves at stores? Nobody sells them anymore! And if they do, they are not at all what I want. Got lucky at Circuit City though. Not only can this shelf hold all of my CDs, but it also has no wasted space. Now our library (or converted dining room) looks way more open. Even though it takes up much less space, it just looks more impressive that what I did have. I keep looking over at it all proud and stuff.

New World

2008-11-07T21:52:00.002-05:00

Another blog with a posting about the elections? Sure, what the hell? I'm just so excited! I am still dancing!!

Not only did I finally vote for the winning president after three tries, but I almost had a clean sweep. My senator, mayor, and even school board candidates all won (city council was unopposed, so I guess that counts as a win). The only one I lost was my U.S. representative candidate (screw you, Eric Cantor).

You know, I have a pretty good voting record since moving to Virginia. I helped vote both Tim Kaine in as governor and Jim Webb in as senator. I sucked in Missouri! I can't think of anybody that I voted in, except the late great Mel Carnahan (take that Ashcroft... hmm, that has me thinking...).

Now as far as the presidential election goes, don't you just feel like an eight year weight has been lifted from your back? Don't you feel just like everything is going to be okay afterall? Don't you just feel... good? Don't you feel like singing??

Take it Johnny!!

Ex-Smoker

2008-10-25T16:22:00.003-04:00

That's what I am now.

I had my last cigarette on October 13. That's the day Daniel died. I had promised to stop smoking the next day, and I decided to keep that promise.

I haven't done this without help. I'm using the Commit lozenge.

I swear by this stuff too. The last time I seriously tried to quit smoking was in 2001, and I used the patch. It didn't really work. I'm addicted to the habit, not the nicotine. The patch helped with the nicotine intake, but it did absolutely nothing for the habit of just having a cigarette when I can. These lozenges give me something think about when I get the urge.

They taste like butt though.

You get used to it after a while, but the mint only tastes like mint for a few minutes. Then it turns into chalk laced with chili pepper. They burn like hell. That burning travels down your throat and gives you heartburn. I did have one pack of cherry flavored, and it wasn't too bad. The flavor lasts longer than the mint. They also have cappucino flavored, but I'm a little scared to try it.

Surprisingly, quitting hasn't been too bad. I did prepare myself for a week or so before I started. The hardest cigarettes to kick are when I get up and when I drink. I kicked those cigarettes weeks ago. Now I only get tempted when I finish newscasts at work. Even those have been waning lately too. It hasn't been all easy, but I'm very surprised that I haven't struggled too badly. I have an emergency pack (mints, cough drops, vitamin c drops) I keep with me in case I get tempted.

It's been almost two weeks now since I quit, and I'm still holding strong. Don't get me wrong, I do miss smoking. However, I have the motivation now, and I'm telling you, these freaking mints work. Okay Commit, there's an ad. Pay me please.

Back on Track

2008-10-24T21:22:00.005-04:00

(I wrote this post on October 13th before I found out that Daniel had died. I figured I'd go ahead and post it anyways. I'll post it as is.)

2+ weeks of 10-12 hour days = bad blogger. Sorry. I can handle long days, but the whole going in at 4am thing kinda makes things worse. Actually by the end of this long string of long days, I got pretty used to it. I split my sleep, so I was expecting to really be hurting, but I ended up okay.

This is my normal schedule:
3:45am-1:30pm: awake
1:30pm-7pm: sleep
7pm-12am: awake
12am-3:45am: sleep

It’s messed up, but it works for me. It’s a little difficult to get up for work sometimes, but whatever. I deal.

Over the last couple of weeks, however, my afternoon sleep hasn’t started until 3:30-4:30pm. That’s two or three hours less sleep per day. Somehow, though, my body didn’t hate me too much and I survived. Now I can’t wait to get paid.

Not much to report lately. I did see Okkervil River in town last week (This was October 4). That was really nice. They put on a hell of a show. It was a triple bill clocking in around four hours (plus an extra hour pre-show of waiting), so my dogs were definitely barking by the end of the night. It was worth it though. The double whammy of “Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe” and “Unless It’s Kicks” got the crowd super hot. Great show all-in-all. It was nice to see them. I had a chance to see them earlier this year in Richmond when they played a set with the New Pornographers, but I missed that… and it hurt to miss that. All good now though.

Coming up in a week, Broken Social Scene at Toad’s Place. (This was on Tuesday, and it was awesome.) Then the first Saturday in November in Of Montreal at the National. Can’t wait for either.

Not much else going on. Actually, there is one more thing that I would consider pretty life-altering, but I’ll get to that later… maybe tomorrow. I’m trying not to make a big deal out of it, but, well, you’ll see…

Molly Loves Daniel

2008-10-22T13:21:00.013-04:00

(Molly wanted to write up something for Daniel. He was, afterall, more her cat than mine since he was a gift to her. I'm glad Molly is around because she takes a lot of pictures. Here are a few from her big collection of Daniel pictures.)

On Monday I lost a piece of my heart.

You and your sister turned my life upside down in the best possible way.

My family has had cats my whole life, but you two were my very own. Squirmy and sweet, curious and mischievous.

Sometimes it felt like more mischief than anything else...

I can't remember feeling more love in my life.

When Brock brought home you and Sophie, he carried you upstairs to surprise me. Your face appeared over my shoulder, reflected in the mirror. And I will never forget that moment.

We named you the first night, as you napped next to me on the futon. You slept through the whole movie, but woke up during one scene featuring two people named Daniel. There was no doubt.

You and your sister quickly took over the apartment. I hated leaving you every morning, and I couldn't wait to come home and see you.

I would have done anything for you.

If there was any way I could have known you wouldn't be with us in a year, I wouldn't have changed anything.

You made me laugh, you greeted me when I came home, you kept my toes warm. You were a comfort and a joy. I loved you very much. I hope your life was as happy as possible.

Sophie and Brock and I miss you very much.

I'm sorry you couldn't be with us longer, but you're free now to chase all the birds and eat all the tuna you want.

I'll always remember you, Daniel my love.

-Molly

Daniel

2008-10-20T16:44:00.005-04:00

This is our cat Daniel. Daniel was a Christmas gift for Molly. I really thought hard about what gift I should get her, finally settling on a kitten (or two). I found Daniel and his sister, Sophie, at a shelter in Virginia Beach and thought instantly that they were the ones. There were two weeks of visiting them before I was able to finally take them home. It was a long couple of weeks. When I surprised Molly with them, Daniel was the first one she saw.

Daniel's first birthday was about two weeks ago. He grew from a curious kitten to a loveable, if not a little shy, cat in what seemed like a flash. It's hard to imagine how tiny he was when I first met him, thinking about how giant he became.

Daniel died last Monday. I don't know what happened. I saw him that morning, just as any morning. When I came home, he was lying on his side. It look like he just fell over and died. Nothing was out of the ordinary. He just looked like he fell to sleep.

It's pretty difficult to have to write up something like this for the second time in a year. Losing Huxley was devistating enough, but at least I knew she was sick her whole life and I had prepared for it. Daniel seemed like any other normal kitty. The only thing I can come up with was enormous size. Not fat, just huge. He was less a cat and more a stegasaurus. Maybe his little heart just couldn't keep up with his growth. Regardless, it's pointless to think about. Sophie seems fine, so all I can think about is what he was.

Daniel wouldn't always go out of his way to get love. He was just satisfied to be near us. When we were in the living room, he was stretched out on the floor next to us. When we slept, we stayed on the nightstand at the foot of the bed (the perfect vantage point). He just wanted to be near us, though he never objected to getting some rubs. Don't let any of these characteristics fool you though. Daniel was completely dependent on us. He would cry and cry if he thought we weren't around. If we were in the living room and he wandered off, he would whine until we came to get him.

I'm going to miss Daniel so much. I already do. It's been difficult to go through our normal paces and know that he's not there to be with us. It's sad to give Sophie her tuna snack on Thursdays and Sundays and not hear Daniel going crazy to get his too. It's sad to wake up and not see him at the end of the bed, or in his own bed next to me. It's hard to come home since he was always the first to come running out to greet me. Daniel's favorite thing (aside from tuna) was drinking the water that collected on top of the shampoo bottle after a shower. It makes me sad to see that water untouched now. That poor cat. Only a year old.

The best thing for us now is knowing that we still have his great sister, Sophie. She's been great throughout everything. She can adapt to anything. It's been difficult. When I left for the first time after he died, it was the first time in her whole life that she was alone. She was definitely distant and a little confused for a couple of days, but now seems just like she always has been. My mom pointed out that it's probably best that things happened the way they did because Daniel would be completely lost without Sophie.

This has been extremely trying on us, but everyday seems to get easier. Right now we just want to give Sophie the attention she needs and remember everything we loved about Daniel. We will get another kitten someday, but not yet. Right now it's all about getting better.

I love you, buddy. I miss you.

Reading

2008-09-06T17:47:00.003-04:00

I can't believe how much I'm reading right now. I'm a pretty casual reader, usually about four or five books a year. I have been on an absolute tear right now, though. This is the most I've read in a year since high school. Of course, in high school I had to read books. I read quite a few on the side, too.

Let's see, here's my list as of three weeks ago:

In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
Breakfast at Tiffany's - Truman Capote
Hunting the Tiger - Christopher S. Stewart
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid - Bill Bryson
Ghost Wars - Steve Coll
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz

Okay, so that was through three weeks ago. Not a ton of reading for most people, but I'm proud of it. I really started reading this year while working in Norfolk. Molly got me In Cold Blood as a Christmas present. This was the first time in years I could actually take a lunch break, so I got into the habit of going to Starbucks and reading. It was nice, but that was all the reading I did.

After Oscar Wao I picked up Helter Skelter from Molly's bookshelf. I was really picking up my pace when I started this book. I figured it's 700 pages would slow me back down. But I pounded that book down. I finished it in seven days. Pretty much any little time I could find, I read.

Since then, I read Drown by Junot Diaz, and I'm now finishing up A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. I'm averaging a book a month now. My goal is to also read some Chuck Palahniuk (starting with Choke) and some Cormac McCarthy (The Road) next. Still need to read A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs. After that, who knows? I want to pick up The Prize by Daniel Yergin, but I'm a little intimidated by it. But if I can read Helter Skelter in a week, I'm sure I can handle it.

All the while too, I've been rediscovering comic books. I started reading some borrowed trades of Y: The Last Man last year, but stopped. I'm going to start all over now. Also thoroughly enjoying Ex Machina and just finished A History of Violence. Pride of Baghdad is sitting on my shelf too.

I need to maybe slow down a bit. I'm running out of things to read. Also, I'm all out of room on my bookshelf. I just bought it a few months ago. I don't have any more room for another shelf. Plus, books can be expensive. However, I'm really proud of myself suddenly and don't want my pace to slow down. Give me suggestions.

Birthday, Beach, Batman

2008-08-08T21:55:00.007-04:00

I know I've been a bad, bad blogger lately. I have been fairly busy lately though. Nah, that's a lie. Let's catch up.

First of all, a couple of weeks ago was my birthday. Molly and I met up with her family back at Oak Island for a few days of relaxing and swimming and horrible injuries.

Last year, I injured my ankle my first time in the water and followed that up with an unbelievable sunburn on my back. This time I did fairly well. I only kinda sunburned my legs (the above photo shows why). My biggest problem this time was a nasty case of shingles I caught the day before we left. Pretty painful, but a steady diet of Advil kept it in check.

Oh it was such a nice relaxing way to spend my birthday. Got plenty of rest and reading and swimming in. Also, we got out of town just in time to miss Cristobal. I think we hit the first wave of the storm as we were leaving town.

I miss Oak Island. It's such a comfortable little town. Plus they have many, many pelicans. I love pelicans.

Okay, let's see what else. I did see The Dark Knight last weekend. I loved it. It was incredibly intense and disturbing.

And can I say, oh my god??!.....

Holy smokes, I can't wait to see this. If you haven't had a chance to read Watchmen, you absolutely must. You have until this film is released next year. Get on that.

Well, that's all I can really think about right now. At the moment, I'm watching the Olympics opening ceremony. My favorite part is watching all of the cutaways of George Bush looking more and more uncomfortable as time passes. Nice stadium, but our president's ass is hurting.

Wilco at Wrigley

2008-08-06T20:21:00.003-04:00

With nothing else to do on Sunday, I found myself watching the sticking Cubs game. I turned in just in time to see this sight.....

You know, I've come to terms with the thought of Wilco now being a Chicago band, and a former St. Louis band. That's how everybody in the world sees Wilco. I'll admit though, it did sting a little bit to see a custom Tweedy Cubs jersey. Something tells me, however, that Tweedy isn't the biggest baseball fan in the world and probably doesn't get too worked up with the Cubs-Cardinals rivarly. (Fast forward to 4:10 though for a nice revelation from Jeff.)

Maybe I was expecting Jeff Tweedy to pull a Jack Buck....

Alive in Richmond

2008-07-06T12:52:00.004-04:00

Sorry about the total lack of posting since the move back to Richmond, but I've been having way too much fun. I've been drinking a bunch, and hardly sleeping at all. All the stuff that makes me happy.

Seriously, things have been great here. I made a pact with myself to not let anything bug me at work anymore. There have been plenty of things that could bug me, but it's all way better than what I was doing in Norfolk. All good.

First of all, my apartment is awesome. Tons of space. Tons of privacy. We live right across the lot from the pool, and we have taken advantage of it plenty. It's nice because we can see the pool from our bedroom. We stake it out until it's basically empty, then head out. The only bad thing about this place is the lack of kitchen storage, but for almost $500 less a month I think it's okay.

We've had three major highlights since the move:

1. Went to watch Richmond Lucha at Have a Nice Day Cafe (crappy venue, smelled way too much like vomit). Richmond Lucha now contains way more physical injury, which is kinda cool. Got to see one graphically broken arm, and Stephen sent one dude out on a stretcher with a concussion (even though it technically wasn't his fault).

2. The National at The National. The first National is one of my favorite bands. The second National is a new club in Richmond that opened after I moved away. Killer freaking show. Very loud. Very rowdy crowd. Got to hear my favorite songs ("Squalor Victoria" was amazing). Great time all around.

3. The next night we went to watch Daniel Johnston at the National. First of all, I was a little upset because I had preordered tickets through Ticketmaster, and spent a ton of money in "service charges" and shit. Then at the National (the band) show, they were handing out free tickets. Dammit. Great show though. Daniel is a little rough around the edges these days (not that he was ever really polished), but he still was quite entertaining. Highlights: "Walking the Cow," "True Love Will Find You in the End," and "Speeding Motorcycle" (the song that got me into Daniel Johnston in the first place about ten years ago). It was awesome seeing this legend as it was, but even cooler that we saw the guy we named one of our cats after.

Damn, I'm having a great time here. I missed Richmond a lot more than I thought I would when I left. Good times all around.

Sunshine

2008-06-09T20:54:00.001-04:00

Our last weekends in Virginia Beach were oh so very nice. Last weekend, Jonathan and his fiancé Sophia were in town for a weekend of fun. We ate too much and drank too much and slept too much and got way too much sun. We spent most of Saturday at Chick’s Beach. It was actually my first time swimming in Virginia Beach . We moved here in October… can’t really spend much time in the water throughout the winter. At least last Saturday it got hot... really freaking hot. Like 100 degrees hot. The temperature hasn’t gone down since. The water was still a little chilly since it hadn’t had time to cook.

This weekend Molly and I spent way more time in the blazing heat. Saturday we went to the Virginia Zoo for the first time. It reminded me of when I was a kid and would go to the St. Louis Zoo. It was always ridiculously hot and all the animals would be sleeping in the shade. It was the same here. Everybody was being lazy, but I don’t blame them. We did see a near fight with an ostrich and giraffe, which was pretty awesome.

Sunday we said, screw it, let’s go back to the beach. This time the water was perfect, but the sand was hot enough to boil our feet. I’m pretty amazed though that in all of this sunshine I got over the last two weeks, my pale skin never got burned. If I ever would spend that much time in the sun at any other point in my life, I would finish the day redder than a radish. Not this time. The only problem with all of this fun stuff we did, I forgot my camera everywhere we went.

Oh it was all nice and relaxing. We’ve been packing here and there throughout. This is going to be a very busy week. Wednesday is my last day of work, and Thursday and Friday are moving days. Please, just please let the weather cool off a bit by the end of the week.

Tail Between My Legs

2008-05-26T15:50:00.006-04:00

I have moved three times in less than three years. I'm about to make that four times. After debating about it for the last couple of months, I've decided to move back to Richmond. I called up my old news director a month ago and asked if he had anything for me. He did, and after a month of back-and-forth, I accepted. I won't be making as much money as I do here, but it's still a heck of a lot more than I was making before. Cost of living in Richmond is unbelievably cheaper than Virginia Beach, so let's call it a push.

Here's the faceoff that helped the decision:

Job:
Richmond: Less stress.
Here: More stress.
Winner: Richmond

Salary:
Richmond: Less money.
Here: More money.
Winner: Here, but cost of living makes this a push

City:
Richmond: Character everywhere.
Here: Stripmalls as far as the eyes can see.
Winner: Richmond

Food:
Richmond: Unique restaurants and freaking Chipotle.
Here: Chain restaurants and no Chipotle (the hell?).
Winner: Richmond

Commute:
Richmond: Ten minutes to anywhere.
Here: Thirty minutes minimum to anywhere.
Winner: Richmond

Friends:
Richmond: Tons of friends.
Here: Zero friends.
Winner: Richmond

I could keep going, but Richmond is far and away a better area than Hampton Roads. The only things this area has that's better are less crime and beaches. Still, when it comes to beaches, the best time to hit them up is when the tourists come flocking. Not cool. At least we can still swim in the James River in Richmond, not that I really want to.

It's an easy decision. I love Richmond. My job here sucks. At least I dominated my job in Richmond. I miss my friends. This city is boring. I miss actually having a kick-ass music store to go to every Tuesday. I miss Carytown, and the Fan, and Shockoe Bottom, and Stratford Hills, and Church Hill, and Manchester. Ukrops, Legend's Brewery, meatloaf at the Hill Cafe, PBR tallboys at the Triple, sushi and tator tots and more PBR tallboys at Sticky Rice. I even miss Baja Bean, even though the last time there I almost got into a fist-fight with the bartender and demolished their patio (it was his fault). I miss getting a buzz at one in the afternoon at BW3's, even though the food always makes me horribly ill. Fuck yeah, I miss Richmond Lucha, where I can watch one of my best friends there get horribly injured all summer long. It all sounds weird, but Richmond is a weird town. And I'm a weird guy. It's natural.

I do love my apartment here in Virginia Beach. Our new apartment in Richmond is pretty darn nice though. It's about the same amount of space. Here our apartment goes straight up, while the new apartment is a flat. Also it'll be nice to have a private balcony that faces the woods, rather than our balcony here that faces the rest of the neighborhood. All-in-all, our new apartment is almost half as expensive as this one. Richmond wins again.

By the way, this is definitely a mutual decision for both me and Molly. Richmond is her home. Really, Richmond feels more like home to me anymore than Kirksville does. I haven't been back to Kirksville in almost exactly a year, and there's nothing left there but mom and dad. No more friends back home even. Richmond is my home now.

My last day of work here is June 11. We move June 13. I start my new (old) job on June 18. Damn, I'm really excited.

My Car

2008-05-22T12:49:00.004-04:00

I love my car. It has always been reliable. Very rarely had too many problems with it. It was cheap when I bought it five years ago, and I've taken very good care of it. After five years the only problems I've had with it are routine things (had a fuel pump problem-cost $30 to fix, new tires, had to get a new battery twice, had to get a new rear window). I only have one more payment on it, then it's all mine. Now is the time to get paranoid.

About a month ago my check engine light came on. I immediately got a cold sweat. "Here it is." Went in and got it checked out. Just needed a new gas cap. Cost $20. Whew! Dodged another bullet.

But then a couple of weeks later before work it struggled to start. Eventually it did, but it did it again that afternoon. Took it in and the mechanics found absolutely nothing wrong with it. Nothing to worry about. Weird.

I happily drove it around for the last couple of weeks, confident that nothing was wrong. And I didn't have any problems. Well, until last night.

Molly and I made a stop at the Food Lion after I got home from work. As we were leaving, it wouldn't start. No problem, just wait a minute and it'll be fine. But it wasn't. Food Lion is basically in our backyard, so it wasn't a problem getting home. Later last night I walked back over to try again. No luck. Oh boy.

This morning I went again, but still wouldn't start. I called the mechanic to get it towed in and went home to wait..... and sweat. This is it. One more car payment and I'll own a dead car. My phone rang thirty minutes ago. Oh God!

Eh, just need a new starter. Will cost $250. No big deal. Actually this is probably the worst thing that's ever happened to this car. God I love this car!!

Spoon & Lou

2008-04-26T23:05:00.002-04:00

I have seen two very nice shows at the Norva over two weeks. Very nice shows.

First up was two weeks ago. Freaking sweet triple bill. The White Rabbits, the Walkman, and, holy crap, Spoon. All three bands were totally spot on.

Columbia, Missouri's own (okay, I guess that technically they are a NYC band now) White Rabbits started things off on an exciting note. Lots of jumping around and yelling and stuff. Totally fun.

Okay, next up the Walkmen. Never really got into them before. Never really tried. Their show helped change that for me. Even more jumping around and yelling. Very fun.

Finally, oh my god, it was Spoon's turn. Now, I have seen Spoon before. I saw them while supporting Kill the Moonlight. They were great, but they have blown up into something huge over the last two albums. The show really reflected that. Killer memory #1: "Stay Don't Go." That was the only song from Kill the Moonlight they didn't play the first time I saw them. That was the second song they played. Overall, a totally loaded set. They even pulled out the classic "The Government Darling." That was nice to hear. The whole deal was set when they closed with the Smiths' "Panic" (by far my favorite Smiths song). Yeah buddy.

Now, killer show #2. Last night at the Norva. Holy shit, I saw Lou Reed. Lou was pretty damn good too. He looked older than dirt, and he didn't move around very much, but there were still quite a few badass moments. Lots of tension for me, though, throughout the show.

-Second song, "Sweet Jane." Very nice. Classic. Sounds great.
-"Ecstasy" huh? Well, okay. I guess some later era stuff is okay.
-Oh yeah, "Satellite of Love." I'm loving it. Keep 'em coming.
-Sweet. "Walk on the Wild Side." God love it. Oh you don't say "colored" anymore? Okay, okay.
-"Halloween Parade" sure. Not my favorite, but nice.
-Wait. You're taking a bow and leaving? No! I need my song! If you come back and only play that one song, we can go home then! Please!!
-Ahhhh, all is right with the world. I finally get to hear "Perfect Day." My life is one more step towards satisfaction. I'm seeing Lou freaking Reed sing "Perfect Day." I feel good.

Seriously great show. Sure, there were a couple of cornball moments. I really wanted to punch one of the dudes in the band for excessive dancing. But Lou was just a-okay with me. Throw this show up there with Johnny Cash, Tom Waits, and Jandek I-can't-believe-I'm-seeing-this-live moments.

Sunless Shortlist: Best Covers

2008-03-17T21:24:00.010-04:00

Okay, here are the best covers I have in my collection. If the worst covers was difficult, this list was damn near impossible. I narrowed down this list from around thirty or so albums. Here goes:

American Music Club - Mercury

Oh so pretty and a perfect setting for this album. I don't know what it is. I assume it's a real location. Pretty cool though, whatever this place is.

Beulah - Yoko

Ah, symmetry. Like a still from a Wes Anderson movie.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Boatman's Call

I freaking love this cover. When I was a senior in high school, this picture of Nick Cave is exactly what I wanted to look like. Everybody else says he looks like a heroin addict. Well he was. I didn't care. I wanted to look like Nick Cave.

Serge Gainsbourg - Histoire de Melody Nelson

Yeah, so dirty. Okay so it's Jane Birkin, and she's 25 here. But the inference is that she's a very young girl. Lolita-ish. Pretty cool.

James - Pleased to Meet You

Looks normal. Upon further inspection, something weird is going on here. After looking at the similarly shot portraits of the band inside for a great long while, I figured it out. I'll let One of the Three explain it.

Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West

It look many months of urging from my friends to finally pick this album up. I kept picking it up at the store, but kept resisting. I don't know why. Judging from the cover, I assumed they were more like Spiritulized, or the Suede, or something.... stuff I was totally not into in 2001. Eventually I got it and loved it. Totally didn't expect the sound. It didn't fit the cover, so it kind of became iconic to me.

Pink Floyd - The Division Bell

Crappy album. Great cover. Storm Thorgerson is so cool. More than anything else about it, I love the mystery.

Rolling Stones - Exile on Main St.

I was obsessed with all of the pictures on this album for a long time. Even the pictures inside are fascinating and bizarre. Classic stuff.

Spoon - Gimme Fiction

Red Riding Hoods meets the Imperial Guards from The Empire Strikes Back. Yeah, it's all supposed to be a real look at Red Riding Hood, but it always reminds me of the Imperial Guards.

Wilco - Sky Blue Sky

Wilco's album covers just keep getting more and more fascinating. This picture just blows my mind. It's a simple black and white image, with a complicated image. It's the starkness of chaos, or something. Beautiful.

Sunless Shortlist: Worst Covers

2008-03-09T20:15:00.013-04:00

I had a pretty good purge of blog posts around New Year when I put together my year-end music lists. It was fun and a nice little challenge for myself. Since then, however, I've been pretty devoid of inspiration. I haven't been writing much because I have nothing to write about. Here's something.....

I am a pretty serious music collector. I collect the music, but I also love collecting the art that comes with the music. I don't do burned CDs. I'll burn them for you, but don't give them to me.

I was looking through my collection the other day and came up with the idea of finding my favorite covers, and my least favorite, out of every single album I own. It may have been the toughest couple of lists I've ever done. Let's start with my ten least favorite, ordered alphabetically.

Beck - Midnite Vultures

I really hate tight pleather pants. I really hate pink pleather pants. Here they are all up in my face. I actually skipped this Beck album when it was released. I don't think it was the cover that did it, but the cover didn't help. I finally got this album last year. Eh, it's actually pretty good.

Belle and Sebastian - Tigermilk

Oh I get it. It's a topless girl breast feeding a toy tiger. And it's called Tigermilk. How clever. Whatever.

Bright Eyes - Cassadaga

Hmmm, this seems vaguely familiar. I don't usually trust albums with gimmicky covers. My intuition is very acurate when it comes to Cassadaga. Dumb art gimmick. Uninspiring music contained within.

Eels - Beautiful Freak

Eels had everything driving them towards mid-'90's college rock one-hit purgatory. However, their sound had just enough character to make them last, even now. This cover really helped hold them back. If I just saw this cover in the record store without knowing the music is great, I'd throw it in that dollar bin with Seven Mary Three and Candlebox, just because. Oh God, the pictures inside are really awful too. E pretending he's crying while the rest of the band looks blankly away from the camera. Because you pose, you get no sympathy from me.

Flaming Lips - Oh My Gawd!!!

I know this cover pretty acurately represents the Flaming Lips sound of the time. Oh my, that does not make it good. This cover looks like something Robert Pollard put on his notebooks in high school.

John Wesley Harding - The Name Above the Title

There isn't a single thing good about this cover. When did John Wesley Harding join the cast of Martin?

New Pornographers - Challengers

I covered this one. Just so horrible!!

Supergrass - s/t

Supergrass is the ugliest band on the planet. Their x-rays make them even uglier. Seriously guys, love ya, but stay the hell away from my eyes.

Uncle Tupelo - Still Feel Gone

Yeah I feel bad about this one. Uncle Tupelo was one of my most influential bands. However, they really had some terrible album art. Seriously, woodgrain? I spent four years in a duplex with wood-panelled walls. Those same four years, I had an office with wood-panelling. It was enough to drive a man insane. This cover reminds me of those four years.

Tom Waits - Real Gone

Tom Waits really suffers here from having three killer covers in a row (Mule Variations, Blood Money, and Alice). He follows those great covers up with this one. Somebody got lazy, just like me trying to finish up this list.

All For February

2008-03-03T14:56:00.005-05:00

We've been averaging two worthwhile music releases per month so far in 2008. I skipped my reviews for January (Magnetic Fields, Cat Power). I could go ahead and review them, but I don't feel like it. Both are pretty darn good. There, that's my review. Now for February, a couple of much bigger albums, both released on the same day. Let's get to it before we get too deep into March.

American Music Club - The Golden Age

American Music Club's 2004 album was one of this decade's musical highlights for me. One of my favorite bands reunites after ten years and releases a killer album. Love Songs for Patriots was like kicking the door down. It was perfect..... maybe the best reunion album ever. Seriously. Now AMC waits another four years before releasing The Golden Age. It's much more secure in itself. It really sounds like AMC.... not as classic, but still sounds focused. Weird too, since only two original members made it through the reunion to now. It's not perfect. There are a couple of weak cheeseball moments and the writing is a little lazy at times ("Who You Are" I'm looking at you). Good album though. Won't be taking over my ears like Love Songs for Patriots did, but I like it.

Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride

Now this is something I couldn't wait for. I intentionally refused to read any previews of this album. I think with Get Lonely I got a little too excited and was stopped in my tracks when I heard it. Great album, but it definitely took a while to grow on me. With Heretic Pride, I went in with no expectations. It worked, but not right away. Still I really had to listen to it a few times to get it. By now, it all sounds fresh in my ears. One of the songs dangerously balance on Graceland-era Paul Simon ("New Zion"), but most of the songs are stunningly beautiful. Songs like "San Bernardino," "So Desperate," "How to Embrace a Swamp Creature," and "Marduk T-Shirt Men's Room Incident" are perfectly cinematic, which is why I fell in love with the Mountain Goats in the first place.

Okay, so that my February summary. March will be the same, only two albums I'm excited about, both out on the same day (Destroyer and DeVotchKa).

August

2008-02-21T19:58:00.002-05:00

First of all, chalk up the lack of posting recently to the evil of February sweeps. This book has probably been the most brutal of my career. When I actually get time at home, I typically spend it fighting back tears and questioning every career decision I’ve ever made. There is hope though. It’s almost over! It’s almost over!

Really there hasn’t been much of anything going on for me outside of work. There will be in August though.

I already had plans to go back to Oak Island early in the month for vacation. Late in the month I’m heading to Pittsburgh for a wedding. Then I got a call from Jonathan a couple of weeks ago.

He’s getting married in August. “Hooray! Congratulations!”
He’s wants me at his wedding. “Hell yeah! Of course!”
…….in Bulgaria . “Uhhhhhhh.”

I thought long and hard about it (for about five minutes) and decided I’m going. How many chances am I going to get in my lifetime for a Bulgarian vacation? I don’t have a passport. Gotta get on that. The most international I’ve ever been was a college road trip to Toronto. Didn’t need a passport for that.

Plane tickets are a tad pricey. $1200 is the cheapest I can find for a single ticket.

(Oh and by the way, try to figure this one out. Any flight I take will have a connection in Paris, Prague, Hamburg, or Munich. Just out of curiosity I checked out tickets to just those cities. They were all around $1500. How does that work? So I guess if I want a vacation in Paris, I book a flight to Bulgaria and “accidentally” miss my flight and spend a week in Paris. Weird.)

Fame

2008-01-21T18:15:00.000-05:00

Wow! Our kitties are on I Can Has Cheezburger.

The picture was taken in one of their get-into-as-much-trouble-as-possible moments. For the record, Daniel was not stuck.

This is kinda neat, just a couple of weeks after getting linked on Largehearted Boy.

(Completely different subject, but we saw Cloverfield. I was sooo expecting to be disappointed after being hyped up since early summer. Guess what. It was freaking awesome!! It gradually went from "oh crap this is so cool" intense to "oh crap this is uncomfortable" intense.)

Rivers

2008-01-19T20:29:00.000-05:00

I give Rivers Cuomo a lot of shit on this blog. However, his recently released set of demos.... well it ain't bad.

There are several reasons I give Rivers a lot of shit. First of all, I love the guy. I really do. But listening to his previous couple of albums, I just don't get that love flowing through me. The first couple of Weezer albums were great. They helped define who I am. At the time, it broadened my horizons to the underground (Pavement, Sonic Youth) that I never knew existed. Weezer really stood out in the crowd.

Recently, though, Weezer just blends into the crowd they helped influence. And I hate that they don't attempt to separate from it.

That being said, on with Alone.

The simple reason I like it is that it's full of tunes from Weezer's best era. And it helps re-establish my faith in this guy because that sound still sounds good. I never grew out of Weezer. They just got bad.... or lazy, or whatever. I can still listen to the '90's Weezer albums and get worked up. I listen to Make Believe and I want to throw up. Simple. It's not my fault. It's their fault.

I love finally hearing some of Songs from the Black Hole. They sound freaking great. The songs from the hiatus years are nice too. I love the "Buddy Holly" demo. It's all great!

Suddenly I'm excited for their new album. I'm pretty cautious with that excitement though. There is one song on Alone that was supposed to be on that new album. It's called "This is the Way." And it is AWFUL!! Seriously Rivers? You wrote a song that bad?? Don't blow this buddy. Some of us are still actually cheering for you.

TV

2008-01-13T15:43:00.000-05:00

Oh yeah!!

I bought that on Friday!

It's a 37" LCD. Actually, if you're really a nerd about it, it's this one.

Originally I wanted a 42" plasma, but this one blew me away. We did some shopping around at Target and Best Buy before settling on this one.

I'm glad I didn't go bigger. It fits perfectly in my living room. Also, it just barely fit in my car, leading to about ten minutes of panic in the Circuit City parking lot. It was right before closing time and something told me that the idiotic stock room workers wouldn't stay late while I rounded up a truck. Eventually we got it, with some severe squishing. When we got home it took fifteen or more minutes to get it out of my car.

Now I'm living it up in HD. So cool. I'm loving watching the NFL Playoffs in full HD. We picked up a couple of Blu-Ray discs for the PS3 (Pan's Labyrinth and Big Fish). I'm planning on ordering up a nice Korean fix too (Old Boy and The Host).

Dammit this is sweet!

Sunless Shortlist: Albums 2007

2008-01-06T18:26:00.001-05:00

I know I say this every year, but I really mean it this time. 2007 was an unbelievable year for music. Usually when I do this list, I struggle to put together a full list. Usually the last picks are filler.

This year I struggled to put everything I loved into this list. It's pretty amazing that Apostle of Hustle, Band of Horses, Bill Callahan, the New Pornographers, Of Montreal, Phosphorescent, and the White Stripes are not here. I loved their albums this year, but couldn't make room.

There are a couple of albums I wanted but didn't get (Sunset Rubdown, LCD Soundsystem, about fifty Robert Pollard albums). I guess that's a good thing for now.

This was also the year all my favorite bands sold out. You couldn't sit through any commercial breaks without hearing songs by Feist or Spoon or the New Pornographers or Wilco or Andrew Bird or Of Montreal, blah, blah, blah. That's fine. I like money too, so it's hard to blame them. Plus it's nice to hear my favorite bands at random moments throughout the day.

Anyhoo, on with the show:

Top 15 Albums of 2007

15. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away

The first great album of 2007. I always thought the Shins were a little overrated, but they killed it on this album. There are a couple of blah moments, but the rest of the songs are amazing. Their best album to date in my book.

14. The Apples in Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder

This is the Apples in Stereo’s masterpiece. It’s long (especially compared to their other releases) and at a couple times seems repetitive, but it is a wonderful album. A perfect summer album. It makes you feel great to listen to, but it’s moody and thoughtful as well.

13. The Fiery Furnaces - Widow City

The Fiery Furnaces keep getting more and more accessible with every release. Doesn’t matter to me, I love this band. I love the concept to this album: Make a modern-sounding album using only ‘70’s equipment. It works, and it is fierce.

12. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky

So the new Wilco isn’t the best album of the year? Their two previous albums were my favorites of 2002 and 2004. This is still a great album, just not my flavor in comparison. Like I said when this was released, this album isn’t a step forward or a step backward. It’s a step sideways. It turned off plenty of people, but these are my boys. Well at least Sky Blue Sky gets the coolest album cover of the year, hands down.

11. Panda Bear - Person Pitch

Okay so I’m not cool enough to make this the number one album of the year. I’m not even cool enough to put it in the top ten. Doesn’t matter, I love this album all the same. It drones, but it’s never boring. It’s very complex and can be difficult to understand, but this isn’t a car stereo album. It’s a headphones album.

10. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

Not as good as Funeral, but this album really grew on me over time. They sound like they are holding back a bit, but they don’t sound nervous. I didn’t get that at first. These guys are as confident as a band can be right now. Why not? They are superstars now. But they deserve it. They are that good.

09. The Good, the Bad, & the Queen - s/t

Maybe the most overlooked album of the year. I’ve said it a million times before here: Damon Albarn can do no wrong. There were moments that knocked me out when I first heard them, and the rest came with time. I love this album.

08. John Vanderslice - Emerald City

Oh JV. How do you keep making albums I love? When will you do something I hate? I don’t think it’s possible. Another stunning album from the perfect studio rat.

07. Okkervil River - The Stage Names

It took me quite a while to truly appreciate this album. I liked it at first. I really liked it a month later. Now I love it. It’s not overly complicated. It’s a little simple, but not a pop album. Just.... just go get it.

06. Radiohead - In Rainbows

Since getting this album on January 1st, it’s completely taken me over. I’ll be analyzing this album more than any of their others since Kid A. This album is simply stunning. It’s hard to listen to when I drive because I get so lost in its sound. It’s the perfect Radiohead album. You can’t compare it to any of their other albums, but you can at the same time. Confusing, but that’s the point right?

05. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

I don’t know what else to say about this album. I’ve been talking it up since I bought it and immediately put it in my stereo. It’s Spoon at their pinnacle, but I’m guessing they’ll keep getting better.

04. Feist - The Reminder

The moment I stopped comparing it to Let It Die was the moment I could truly appreciate it. It’s a rollercoaster listening to this album, and it’s a blast the whole way. It’s fun. It’s sad. It freaking rocks. It’s just beautiful all around. She became a little overplayed as the year progressed, but she is still as charming as ever. She also put on the best concert I saw all year. And it was before the iPod commercial, so the high school girls in attendance were minimal. That’s good!

03. The National - Boxer

This was the year this band took over my life. I can’t remember the last time a band has made me obsess this much in just a couple of months. I’ve sucked up their discography and studied it at length. They are just amazing, and will keep getting better. I’m telling you, the National is the next Wilco. Yeah, actually that’s a good comparison.

02. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha

Holy crap, this album shakes my bones. It’s so clever, I can’t help but laugh when I think about it. It’s so beautiful, I get goosebumps singing it to myself. In just a few years, Andrew Bird has flawlessly transformed himself from bit-player to headliner. This is the kind of mad scientist songwriter you write books about, except I think he’s a pretty normal guy. His concert I saw this summer was amazing too. It was almost dreamlike. Oh, you’re so cool.

01. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam

Okay, so I never thought I’d have an Animal Collective album at the top of my list. I never thought they’d ever be on one of these lists, period. I guess I was never cool enough to get them. Well I didn’t suddenly get cool this year, these guys just put out one amazing album. It’s weird and it’s sweet, all within a song. This was their year, with this album and Panda Bear’s solo album. They took over the world this year. They deserved to take over the world. To me, they transformed themselves from David Lynch-like (or overly pretentious) freakshows, to stunningly viable artists in a year’s span.

-----

So 2007 was killer for music. 2008 has me pretty fired up too. New stuff coming from Cat Power, REM, James, and Weezer. Look at February 19 (American Music Club and the Mountain Goats) and March 18 (Destroyer and DeVotchKa)! Hell yeah!!

Sunless Shortlist: Songs 2007

2008-01-03T20:07:00.000-05:00

Wow, that was a pretty mean-spirited way to end my first post of 2008. Let's make up for that.

I have now officially listened to In Rainbows 1.5 times now. And it is freaking great. But damn Radiohead is putting a cramp on my favorite album list. Now I have to find a way to squeeze this album in, but after I listen to it enough. Damn you Radiohead for being so damn good!

Let's kill the time with the addition of another shortlist. This one is not in any order but alphabetical:

Top 15 Songs of 2007

Animal Collective - "For Reverend Green"
Holy cow, what a perfect song. Avey is the full embodiment of chaos in this song. He sings so sweetly and breaks down into a stunning primal scream at seemingly random moments. After a hundred listens, this song still stuns me.

Apples in Stereo - "7 Stars"
Most Apples in Stereo songs are happy songs. This song sounds awfully happy, but there is some kind of weird mood here that grabs your attention. It’s beautiful. It’s not necessarily sad, but it’s unexpectedly moody. I love that.

Arcade Fire - "Intervention"
Up to “Intervention,” it sounds like Arcade Fire is holding back on Neon Bible. This song kicks the door down. That church organ sounds so badass coming out of my car. This is a song to scare the neighbors.

Andrew Bird - "Heretics"
I’m making this list choosing only one song per artist. Otherwise there would be a couple more Andrew Bird songs here. “Heretics” is one step above the other songs on his latest album. It’s remarkable. The moment the strings kick in still gives me chills after hearing this song a million times.

Feist - "I Feel It All"
Same as Andrew Bird, it was difficult to pick one song by Feist. I could’ve picked the most intense song, or the most beautiful song. I picked the most fun song on her latest album. This song is a freaking hit, man. The live version I saw in DC this summer was even better. This is one of those instantly-in-a-good-mood songs.

Fiery Furnaces - "Duplexes of the Dead"
The crescendo is predictable, but it’s still shocking. Really, can any Fiery Furnaces song be truly predictable? This may be the fiercest sound this band has ever recorded and it surrounds you and takes over your brain.

The Good, the Bad, & the Queen - "History Song"
Listen to this song on a stereo with the bass cranked. Paul Simonon plays with a nonchalant, but gut-busting force. It’s like getting punched in the stomach over and over again, but you asked for it so it feels great.

Jens Lekman - "Shirin"
The whole album is sweet like sugar, but this song stands out. The songs all sound like a confused sensitive boy lost in Motown, but this is the moment he finds himself. Even though he sounds like he’s still confused. Just beautiful.

Most Serene Republic - "Battle Hymn of the Republic"
The Most Serene Republic sometimes is a little much. There are always like a hundred people playing at once, but this method works perfectly on this song. Oh God, the drums just kill me on this song. It’s wonderful and it works getting you worked up.

National - "Fake Empire"
This song should win some sort of award for the being the perfect opening track. You are out of breath by the time the song ends. And just listening to the piano opening the song, you wouldn’t predict that in the slightest. The lyrics are simple, but you just get them. This song has everything anybody would want out of a song.

Of Montreal - "The Past is a Grotesque Animal"
Heavy, heavy duty stuff here. Twelve minutes of intensity. The music and fearsome lyrics never stop flying at you. “Let’s tear our fucking bodies apart!” I have chills thinking about this song.

Shins - "Australia"
This song is begging to be attached to a memory. It’s weird. It sounds like it reminds me of a key point in my life, but I don’t know what. Man, it’s a fun song though. You have to sing along. It forces you. Oh and I love James Mercer’s Robert Smith impression.

Spoon - "The Underdog"
The centerpiece of a great album. This is the quintessential Spoon song. Everything is just right on this song.

John Vanderslice - "Kookaburra"
There are three songs working at once here, and they blend beautifully. It’s sad, and it rocks. A flawless experiment in rhythm and melody. JV’s voice and the music are never on the same page, but they blend together perfectly. Not a cute song, but the kookaburra is a cute bird.

Wilco - "On and On and On"
What a stunning way to close an album. There are so many cheery moments leading up to this song, which tears them all apart. This is something to sing as your plane is crashing. Ooh, that’s morbid! Maybe the most emotion ever heard out of Jeff Tweedy.

Yay New Year!

2008-01-01T17:11:00.000-05:00

Hooray for my favorite holiday! I just love getting stupid and I love that whole drunk-but-sentimental feeling. I usually attend some sort of big bash for New Year's Eve, but this was the first one in around a decade that I had no plans.

It was fun though.

Molly and I had a nice dinner and martinis at Cheesecake Factory. Then came home to drink champaigne and play with the kittens and watch CNN's absolute TRAINWRECK of a show. (Seriously, it was very funny and uncomfortable to watch.) We went to bed around 3:30am, as opposed to after 7am the last couple of years.

Haven't done a thing today. I did pick up the new Radiohead and Rivers Cuomo's demo disc. Oh and watched Mizzou absolutely destroy Arkansas! Hell yeah!!

Well it may be several more days before I release my favorite albums list, so I'll separate the festivities:

Most Disappointing Album of 2007

Bright Eyes - Cassadaga

When everybody was calling Conor the next Dylan, I thought they meant Bob not Jakob. Ouch. Seriously, this album sucks. Oh and thanks for releasing the only descent song on this album as a single. God, there is nothing redeeming about this album! So disappointing.

Oh and the cover.... is it cool? No! It's only cool to subscribers of Highlights magazine.

Damn, what happened to this guy? I still go back and listen to his older stuff and love it. It's not like I outgrew him. He just got crappy. You are not Springsteen. Don't even try. You just sound corny.

Yay Christmas!

2007-12-30T18:57:00.001-05:00

Wow I am a lazy, lazy man. I feel like I've done nothing productive in weeks. I don't mind though. It's the holidays!

I hope Christmas was nice for all. 'Twas for me. This was my first Christmas away from home. Even during my many years away from home, I always found a way to get back home for Christmas. This year I just stayed here. Molly went to Richmond, but I passed not wanting to have lonely kittens destroying our place. It was nice and relaxing, spending the break playing with my new toys. I got some new clothes, puzzles, CDs, DVDs, and cash. I got to spend most of Christmas Eve with Hedges. He was in town with his girlfriend.

I was forced to take a break from buying music through much of December. Nobody wanted to risk buying me a gift I already bought. That's okay, I got pretty much everything I wanted this year.

Speaking of, I am mostly done with my best of 2007 list. Here are the candidates:

Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
Apostle of Hustle - National Anthem of Nowhere
Apples in Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
Autumn Defense - s/t
Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
Bright Eyes - Cassadega
Bill Callahan - Woke on a Whaleheart
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Some Loud Thunder
Kevin Drew - Spirit If...
Feist - The Reminder
Fiery Furnaces - Widow City
Golden Smog - Blood on the Slacks
The Good, the Bad, and the Queen - s/t
Iron and Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
Jimmy Eat World - Chase This Light
Jens Lekman - Night Falls on Kortedala
Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
Most Serene Republic - Population
National - Boxer
New Pornographers - Challengers
Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
Okkervil River - The Stage Names
Page France and the Family Telephone
Panda Bear - Person Pitch
Phosphorescent - Pride
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Shins - Wincing the Night Away
Son Volt - The Search
Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Stars - In Our Bedroom After the War
Travis - The Boy With No Name
John Vanderslice - Emerald City
White Stripes - Icky Thump
Wilco - Sky Blue Sky

I can pretty much release the list now, but with one major problem: The new Radiohead isn't officially released until January 1st. Since it's been available for a while, I decided to put it on this year's list. The big problem for me is that I still don't have it. I didn't partake in the download or the disc box, so I'm waiting until the official release on Tuesday.

This is going to be a killer list too. It was the most difficult one I've ever done. Most years I struggle to fill the top fifteen. This year however, there are plenty of albums I loved that aren't on the list. I'll release the list sometime later this week or next.

Early Presents

2007-12-23T00:03:00.000-05:00

Wanna see what I got Molly and I for Christmas?

The one on the left is Sophie. The one on the right is Daniel. They are ten weeks old and siblings.

Daniel actually went through several names today (Fritzy, Auggie, then Daniel). We settled on Daniel while we were watching Danielson: A Family Movie tonight. Both of them were sleeping, except when Daniel woke up and took interest in one scene featuring both Daniel Smith and Daniel Johnston. Well there you go.

It's been an eventful first day with them. Of course, they were both scared when they got here. It didn't take much time for the explorers to come out. Daniel is a lovebug, but Sophie has taken much longer to warm up to us. She's getting there, though.

It's so funny watching them together. They do everything together (explore, play, eat, sleep, bathe). Dammit I love kittens. I picked out a pair of winners too.

Old Men

2007-12-08T13:02:00.000-05:00

I finally got to see No Country for Old Men last weekend. I'd been dying to see this film for months. Was it worth the wait?

Oh dear lord, yes.

Every second of this film was truly engrossing. Every scene was fascinating. It was disturbing, funny, intense. Basically it was a Coen brothers film. I've been reading reviews saying it's their best since Fargo. Well, that's true.

The performances were all spot-on. Javier Bardem is so freaking good as the villain Chigurh. Everytime he popped up, you could see the audience squirming in their seats. In fact, at one point he popped up, the guy behind me whispered throughout the whole scene, "Oh my God. Holy crap." He really was terrifying. True embodiment of unstoppable insanity.

Oh, by the way, does it make me weird that I am a fan of Josh Brolin? He was incredible in this film. But before I saw this movie, I loved the guy.

Anyway, No Country for Old Men is by far the best film I've seen this year. Nothing was even close. Not Grindhouse. Not The Host. This is the best film in a long time.

Well at least until There Will Be Blood comes out here in a few weeks.

(Hey, speaking of awesome films.... I just finished watching They Live on Encore for like the millionth time. Shit, I love that film. John Carpenter's best..... better than The Thing, yes.)

For Sale

2007-12-07T21:35:00.000-05:00

Ok, so everybody knows I never like to blog about work or about the business I'm in at all. However, this is something I have to mention.

My first day in Richmond, Raycom announced they were selling off KTVO. After I left WTVR about a month ago or so, a couple of weeks later Raycom announced they are selling it off.

I really wish everybody in Richmond luck. Hopefully they'll be in better shape than KTVO is right now.

I have two ways of looking at this. Either I'm a station killer or Raycom sees no life after me. Either way, I just have to be involved right? I mean one little director can reshape a billion dollar company like Raycom, right?

The Break

2007-11-25T18:21:00.000-05:00

Since I started my new job late in the year, I don't get any vacation until January. So you better believe I took advantage of having a four day weekend for Thanksgiving. Twas so nice.

Spent half a day in western Virginia with my sister, then the last couple of days in Richmond. Man, I miss Richmond. Virginia Beach is nice, but I really miss the character Richmond has. All the restaurants are very unique. It's easy to commute around. All the music and art and shopping. Oh and Chipotle. God I wish Virginia Beach had a Chipotle. How does it not? It's way bigger than Richmond, and Richmond has a ton of them. How many in the whole Hampton Roads area? Zero.

Well I did get some Chipotle. Also went to Carytown Teas to load up on some tasty leaves. Got to see lots of friends. Got some drinks (with a '50's rockabilly singer rambling behind a mic for 90 minutes). Two loaded Thanksgiving meals. Also went to Plan 9.

Now it's funny, I still haven't found a good music store here. I've been going to Best Buy or buying online. I did check out this big place called Planet Music, which seemed like an old Tower Records (I'll stick to Best Buy). I was very excited to hit up Plan 9. I found a couple of Sigur Rós and Palace Brothers albums used. Very nice. But I didn't buy a single one. I don't know why exactly. I finally get a nice big indie music store again, and I don't get anything. Hm, oh well.

It's back to work tomorrow. Things are getting much better at work. I'm getting more relaxed and people are slowing down with their "this guy is nuts" stares I get. Was very nice getting out of town. I miss Richmond, but it's nice here too.

The End of the Earth

2007-11-10T11:24:00.000-05:00

....I did not fall off of it.

I've just been incredibly busy and haven't had much time for fun. I've been working a minimum of nine hours a day..... busy days too. Not a lot of sitting around. I took over a department without much structure recently. Also been training in pretty much every position in the department. It's been pretty tough lately, but I'm getting there.

Anyhoo, personally things are great. I haven't done too much since moving here, but I've been enjoying myself. I love living near the beach. Check this out....

That's a ten minute drive from my apartment. Pretty sweet. Of course, it's been pretty chilly lately, so it's not like I've been in that water. It's pretty cool to look at though.

I picked up Guitar Hero III last weekend. That's been a major thing in my life. I think my hand is now deformed into a claw-shape because of it. I found myself struggling to use a pen on Monday after a weekend full of shredding.

Also saw The Darjeeling Limited two weeks ago. Good stuff. Probably not Wes Anderson's best, but still enjoyable. To me, it lacked some of the humor and emotion of the rest of his films. Artistically, however, it may be his most beautiful film.

Well, that's about it. Just working and relaxing. I picked up a couple of new albums this week, Jens Lekman's Night Falls Over Kortedala and the Fiery Furnaces' Widow City. Both are fabulous. Go get them.

My family is getting into town this afternoon. I'm going to give them a tour of a city I don't know very well. I guess I could show them the nearest Target. That's been my most frequently visited place since I moved here. We'll figure out. Later.

Moved In

2007-10-21T11:24:00.000-04:00

Okay, I'm all moved in here at Virginia Beach. My apartment is totally badass. This area of town is killer. Life is all good right now.

Tomorrow is when I start the new job. I'm a little nervous, I'll admit. It'll be weird going in as a manager of people I don't know. At least I'll be well-rested. I've spent the last three days going to bed whenever I'm tired, and waking up whenever I'm awake. It's been very nice. Molly and I have just been exploring the neighborhood. Lots of shopping. That's good. Today we're planning on heading over to the beach. We're around ten minutes from the shore, may as well take advantage of it.

The problem I have right now is that I am broke. Moving is so ridiculously expensive. It'll take some time to refuel. We were planning on seeing the Shins last night at the Norva, but decided to keep the money. Sucks because that would've been a killer show. I did get the new Most Serene Republic my last day in Richmond. Funny, I think the last album I bought before I left Kirksville was their previous album.

Gotta get going. Got a lot of laying around to do today! Relax for one more day. Back to reality tomorrow.

Getting Closer

2007-10-10T21:13:00.000-04:00

A week from today is my last day in Richmond. I'm very excited, but mostly to get it over with. Next Friday is going to be awesome. I'll be all moved in and can just relax for the weekend.

In the meantime, this moving stuff really sucks. This is my third move in a little over two years. However, everything is coming together nicely. Everything is set up and ready to go. All that's left is packing, packing, packing. Friday we are heading over to Virginia Beach to get the new place. We're taking a load over that night, just so it's not all at once. We'll head back over on Monday with another load. I'm just excited to get the place. I still haven't seen it in person, just pictures online. Still it looks pretty badass.

The other thing that sucks about moving is that it is so ridiculously expensive. I just resigned my lease here this summer. Now I have to buy my way out of it. Plus there's the whole security deposit, paying a month's rent at two apartments, renter's insurance, blah, blah, blah. I'm happy I haven't had to dip into my saving account yet, but I'm about as close as it gets.

I've been penny-pinching hardcore this week. I want new music!! I already skipped last week's releases of the new Most Serene Republic and Cake's b-sides collection. I wrote about this week's awesome releases, all of which I've skipped out on so far. I think I may buy one new album this week, you know, as a soundtrack for moving, or something. I know what my first chore will be when I get to Virginia Beach..... find an indie music store.

Moving Again

2007-10-02T18:04:00.000-04:00

In case you hadn't heard, last week I accepted a new job as Production Manager in Norfolk, Va. It's a pretty big step.... back into management and a 17 market bump.

Now it's off to the whole moving thing, which I HATE!! The good thing is that Norfolk is only about 90 minutes from here. We spent all weekend apartment hunting. It's considerably more expensive in that part of Virginia, but I'll be making considerably more money so it'll balance out in my favor.

Today it looks like we've found our place. It's a nice place in central Virginia Beach, about 15 minutes from work and 10 minutes from the beach. It's way more expensive than my current place, but within my budget. It got killer reviews, so it should be nice.

Hopefully it'll just be a temporary move. Molly and I are planning on saving up a bunch over the next year then looking at buying a place. Big step, but this is the first time in my life I'll be able to buy something. It'd be pretty stupid to not look at buying. I know squat about buying a house, but I'll have a year to study.

I'm planning on steadily moving over there. I've got three trips on the schedule, so it should be cake to move little-by-little.

Sorry in advance if I'm a little out of touch over the next couple of weeks, but it shouldn't be too bad. My last day of work here is Oct. 17. My first day there is Oct. 22. I'm excited!!

Andrew Bird

2007-10-01T17:18:00.000-04:00

Molly and I saw Andrew Bird at the brand new Toad's Place in downtown Richmond.

First off, this was my first trip to Toad's Place since it opened in June. I was very impressed. The building is beautiful. It's just very Richmond..... old warehouse turned state-of-the-art. It was way bigger than I expected. Everything sounded great. Just a great experience.... a venue that Richmond was desperately needing.

Now for Andrew Bird, this was one tremendous show. I'd read for a while how impressive his shows are, and I was not disappointed. The use of live samples was just disorienting and beautiful. I didn't think a song like "Plasticities" could be improved, but he turned a killer song into a religious experience.

It was also nice to hear him play a bit of "Dr. Stringz" as an intro to "Fake Palindromes" (another of my favorites). In fact, he pretty much played all of my favorite songs. If he played "First Song," then that would seal the deal. Still, one unreal show.

Autumn

2007-09-24T13:43:00.001-04:00

Okay let's play catch-up before things get really nuts.

Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam

Just a stunning album. I'll admit, I never really understood Animal Collective. I liked them, but never loved them. This is their first truly pop record (at least pop for Animal Collective), and it works amazingly well. Avey Tare (the loud one) stands out more than Panda Bear (the sweet one) here, but it's not as abrasively as in the past. "For Reverend Green," what with all its screaming, still works as a powerful song. Still Panda Bear's "Chores" is just adorable, even with its dizzying sound. This album reminds me a lot of the Fiery Furnaces' Bitter Tea. Loud and disorienting, but powerful at the same time. Definitely one of this year's best releases.

Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew - Spirit If...

Okay, so it's actually a Kevin Drew solo album, but with a bunch of Broken Social Scene alum backing him up. It's funny, I'm not a fan of him tagging Broken Social Scene along with him here on the album title, but it's very accurate. It does just sound like a Kevin Drew-led Broken Social Scene album. It's not nearly as good as a BSS album, but it works. It's great filler leading up to another BSS album, whenever the hell that might be. It's inconsistancies help it along. It's soft, then it's loud, then soft again.... sometimes all in the same song. It's also very cocky, but that's why I love Broken Social Scene.

So when I say things are getting nuts, that referencing this autumn's killer release schedule. It starts tomorrow with new albums from both Iron & Wine and Stars to close out September. Then check out October's schedule:

Oct. 9: Band of Horses - Cease to Begin

Oct. 9: Fiery Furnaces - Widow City

Oct. 9: Jens Lekmen - Night Falls Over Kortedala

Oct. 9: Robert Pollard - Coast to Coast Carpet of Love

Oct. 9: Robert Pollard - Standard Gargoyle Decisions

Oct. 16: Jimmy Eat World - Chase the Light

Oct. 23: Phosphorescent - Pride

Whew!! I guess if I have to pick and choose, I'll have to pass up at first both Robert Pollards (it's not like there aren't enough of those) and Jimmy Eat World (I was very disappointed with their last release). At least I can save up some money in November because I only see Sigur Rós on the schedule. I'm going to be a hermit all autumn.

Flu

2007-09-18T13:20:00.000-04:00

After a lunchtime trip to BW3 on Sunday, I came down with a horrible illness. At first I figured it as just indigestion. The last few times I'd been there, I'd felt pretty awful afterwards. However, about five hours later or so I really felt terrible. Cold sweats, terrible nausea, the whole bit. Food poisoning?

Maybe not. Last week when my mom was in town she came down with a terrible flu. She got it from my nephew. It also branched to my sister and it followed my mom back home to my dad. I guess it only affects those with the Taylor gene because so far my sister's husband and Molly have been unaffected. A flaw in our family genes?

Maybe not that either. This illness was really terrible. It didn't last but a day or so, but it was really a different animal.... like from out of this world. I can't remember ever having a flu this awful. I kept describing it as a Martian flu, and like in the movies when a meteorite crashes and everybody gets sick.

Maybe not?? Well check out what I saw on Yahoo today!!

Crime Wave!!

2007-09-09T16:34:00.000-04:00

Really bad start to the weekend yesterday. I had to head to work in the afternoon. When I went outside, I was greeted with this:

My car wasn't the only one like that either. There were a couple of others on the same block with the same windows shattered. Some very productive neighborhood kids went around Friday night with a air rifle, having some good ol' fashioned fun. Nice work kids!

Naturally, I was furious. However, as we were cleaning up the mess, I started to calm down a bit. The shattered glass was awfully pretty in the sunlight.

Nah, forget that. I'm pissed. So pissed to the point of going Charles Bronson on the neighborhood.

Last Three

2007-09-03T16:20:00.001-04:00

It's been a bit since I last posted. Nothing really new going on here. I have been slacking on posting record reviews. It's been a couple of weeks since anything interesting has come out. Here's the last three I picked up:

John Vanderslice - Emerald City

My boy JV has released another stunner. This is a guy that can do absolutely nothing wrong. The reviews have been slightly mediocre for this release, but the only reason I see is because he references 9/11. He also referenced 9/11 on his last album, Pixel Revolt. Who cares? It's not the theme of the album. I think that theme of his last album was overblown too. If he references something on a song that he referenced on a song on his last album, I can see past that. This album is magnificent. JV is one of my favorite songwriters and he just keeps getting better. The best thing is that he seems like he still hasn't peaked.

Okkervil River - The Stage Names

Good stuff here from a band I'm still fairly new to. Their previous, Black Sheep Boy, is a masterpiece. The reviews for this one have been even better. I wouldn't go as far as to say it's better, but it's still just great. Catchy and happy at the same time as it's beautiful and sad. It's simple music, nothing overly complex, but just good little songs.

New Pornographers - Challengers

Okay, the New Pornographers, one of my favorite bands, you kinda lost me a bit with Challengers. Twin Cinema was one of the best albums of the last couple of years. It was just a huge 45 minute explosion of power pop gold. Challengers, a little boring. Not terrible, but far removed from what they are capable of. The worst thing about this album, though? The artwork is absolutely awful! It just screams "look for me in the dollar bin next to EMF." The best thing? My boy Dan Bejar once again provides evidence that's he's the coolest dude on the planet. Want more proof other than the few songs on every New Pornographers album? Check out last year's Destroyer's Rubies. Maybe one of my favorite albums.....ever! Gets better after every listen even a year later.

Well that's that. No interesting albums this week. Next week starts off a nice string of releases with the new Animal Collective album. Should be solid.

The only thing I'm interested in tomorrow is seasons 1&2 of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on DVD. I'd stand in line at midnight for that.

Oak Island

2007-08-24T02:45:00.000-04:00

I had a great weekend in Oak Island, North Carolina. We had a rented house. Here's the back of the house:

Pretty cool. Now turn around and this was the view:

Freaking awesome.

I basically spent three straight days in the ocean. Now remember, I'm from the Midwest. Therefore I don't have much experience with swimming in the ocean. It showed too. Within thirty minutes of arriving, I seriously sprained my ankle on a sand bar. I'd never heard of a sand bar!

Luckily there weren't many people around to exploit my embarrassment. This is basically as busy as the beach got:

It was a killer beach, and practically empty too.

By the end of the weekend, I started to get used to riding the waves without severe injury. I left with many injuries and a nasty sunburn on my back. Still this vacation was one of the best I've ever had.

Looking back, we really didn't do anything but sit around in the sand, swim, eat, and drink. However, that's all we needed to have a great time. The only non-beachy thing we did was complete a puzzle:

Seriously, that was an amazing vacation. Like nothing I'd ever done before. I miss it though, and I can't wait to go back someday.

Jonathan

2007-08-14T16:39:00.000-04:00

It's been pretty intense over the last month. However, things are getting much better and way more fun, starting this last weekend when Jonathan came down to Richmond from DC. You know it's going to be a nice weekend when it starts with Jonathan getting out of a car being co-piloted by Mena Suvari. (Seriously. I met Mena Suvari.)

I was working all weekend long, but it was a very light schedule allowing many tours of Richmond and many, many drinks. We were up drinking past 4am all weekend long. Here we are with Molly and about a dozen Tecates in our bellies:

It really was a great weekend. The weather was great. We went everywhere in town and I was exhausted when he left on Sunday. It was go, go, go all weekend, but next weekend I'll be all relaxed chilling on the beach. Outer Banks, ahoy!!

To Huxley, From Molly

2007-08-04T19:32:00.001-04:00

Been a pretty strange year so far. Plenty of ups and downs. This past week has been very much a downer, but it's reminded me of the biggest up of the year: getting together with Molly. Huxley was a huge factor in our relationship. Molly really loved Huxley and when she asked to write something for her, I couldn't say no. Here's what she wrote:

To Huxley,

Six months is nothing compared to six years. But it's long enough to win my heart, which you absolutely did.

I didn't know you until Christmas, and you charmed me easily. The first time I sat down you jumped into my lap. Your paws on my chest, your nose pressed into my chin, your purr rumbling as cat fur clung to my face. I loved you instantly.

I love the manic passion you reserved for playtime. I'm pleased that you accepted (most of) the toys I brought you. I love when I was standing on my tiptoes to see into the bathroom mirror, and I felt your wet nose and soft cheek rub against my heels. I love you in your little basket.

I love how you never gave up trying to escape out the front door when we came home. I love how determined you were to catch the birds that danced so close by outside. I love how you snuck into the kitchen cabinets while I was doing dishes; how you'd fetch my earrings and bring them to Brock if I didn't put them away properly; how you tried to eat your brush.

I love you because you kept me company all those nights when he worked the late shift. Because you never got mad when I forgot to feed you on time. Because you were such a good friend to both of us.

I love you because you took such good care of him.

He says you brought us together. I'm so grateful you did. I will do everything I can to make him as happy as you made him your whole life. That is my promise to you.

Huxley

2007-07-31T21:15:00.000-04:00

This is my beautiful cat Huxley.

Huxley's a special kitty. I've never met a cat so willing to play at the drop of a hat. She's a happy cat. Always wanting to be happy and make others happy.

Huxley's a tough kitty too. She's battled infections, a serious wound on her foot, and seizures. She's always beaten it. However, it was the disease she was born with that she could never beat.

Huxley died this evening. Her leukemia she was born with finally became too much to overcome. She was young, only six-years-old, but that's pretty old for a cat with leukemia. Huxley was an indoor kitty, but is now in a soon-to-be beautiful new garden. She finally able to be outdoors with the birds and blowing leaves she loved watching all day.

I remember first seeing Huxley. My mother picked her out from the pound as a gift for me. Huxley was very tiny, barely over a month old. She literally could sit in my hand. She was kind of a runt even all grown up, but I've never met a cat with as much personality as Huxley.

I'll miss so much about her. I loved the ways she slept. She could curl up into a basket much too small for her and somehow stay comfortable.

I'll miss the way she would lay on her back and show how happy and content she was with a big smile. Her "cocoon" pose, I'd call it.

Most of all, I'll miss the constant companionship Huxley gave me. She was always at the door to greet me when I came home. After work she would jump up on my lap and rub my chin with her face for what seemed to be forever..... always excited to just be near somebody that loved her back. Everybody loved her back too. I know countless people that say they're not "cat people" but love Huxley. She was something special.

Huxley was always a handful. She had more energy than I did, always. She could be destructive at times. She'd always find strange places to hide, usually somewhere just barely within her reach and way out of my reach. But for any headache she gave me, it was always worth it. She gave me much more than I could have ever given her.

When I first learned she had leukemia, I knew I'd have to prepare for this day. It's not easy though. That day, I decided to do everything I could to make her life the best any kitty could get. I think I did a pretty good job. She was happy and personable to the very end. I'm glad I could give her an ounce back for everything she gave me. Huxley was my kitty. My only kitty. And I loved her the best I could.

I love you Huxley. I always will. You made me happy to the very end and I will always be happy thinking about you. Thank you for everything you gave me. I'll miss you very much, and I will always love you.

Late Twenties

2007-07-22T16:56:00.000-04:00

Last Tuesday was my 27th birthday. That's officially late twenties, right? Well, it may have been my best birthday..... EVER!!

Well actually I didn't do too much, but it was pretty sweet.

It kinda started Monday. We all went out to a great dinner at the Hill Cafe. (I had the meatloaf.... delicious!!) Then we converged downtown at Sumo San for saki bombs. Late in the evening we met at Baja Bean to finish off the drinking (with plenty of Big Buck Hunter and skiball mixed in).

Tuesday was nice and relaxing and very surprising. Spent most of the day at my co-director's house by the pool. Molly and I exhausted ourselves by jumping on the big trampoline for way too long. The surprises came from the loot I got.

First I got a nice Plan 9 gift certificate from my co-director which I used to get:

Fiery Furnaces - Gallowsbird's Bark
The National - Boxer
Palace Brothers - Days in the Wake

Molly's parents really surprised me with a $50 Amazon.com gift certificate. They really didn't need to get me anything, but it was great. I picked up a ton of great music using my smart shopping skills:

Autumn Defense - s/t
Beck - Midnite Vultures
Broken Social Scene - Feel Good Lost
The Cure - Wish
Serge Gainsbourgh - Histoire de Melody Nelson
Serge Gainsbourgh - L'Homme a la Tete de Chou
Serge Gainsbourgh - Aux Armes et Caetera

That gift was surprise enough, but Molly's gift was a sure stunner. I emailed some suggestions to her earlier in the week, with some gags at the end of the list. Well she got me one of the gags. Imagine my surprise when I unwrapped my gift to find a Playstation 3 staring at me. I thought I was dreaming. Not because of the gift, but trying to figure out how I ended up with the coolest chick on the planet.

Thanks Molly!!

Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

2007-07-10T15:37:00.001-04:00

Huge release for me today. One of my favorite bands, Spoon, released Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.

This is one of those few releases that actually gets me out of bed early on my weekend. That way I can get to the store early enough to spend the whole day listening to it. Unfortunately I had a ton of errands to run in the process (well actually, since it's payday, that's not a bad thing). Still I made sure to go to the record store first so I could listen to it while I drove around. And I did. And I love this freaking album.

This might be Spoon's strongest album yet. I was immediately happy to hear a bit more Kill the Moonlight sound leaking through (that's my favorite Spoon album). More than their last album, Gimme Fiction, at least. As much as I loved Gimme Fiction, I guess I was a little disappointed compared to Kill the Moonlight. This latest album, however, sounds like a mix of the two albums. Plenty of piano, crumpled guitar sounds, and just sexiness all around. This band is just so freaking cool. It's the sound of David Bowie, if he was from Austin.

You must buy this album. Get it quickly too so you can pick up the bonus disc, Get Nice! It's quite different from Gimme Fiction's bonus disc. This one flows more like an extra album, coming in and out of tune. It's almost like walking down a street and a different version of Spoon is rehearsing in every building you walk past. Okay, so these songs are kind of throw-aways, but it still has twelve extra songs..... that's two more than the album itself. Also go to your local indie store to get the bonus 7'.

After just one listen, I can easily say Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is rushing right near the top of my favorite releases of the year. As great as Spoon is at their craft, they have definitely perfected their sound with this release. It's just perfect. Perfect length and no snoozers. It's just flat-out an incredible release.

SuSh 07.03.07

2007-07-03T16:35:00.001-04:00

It's Tuesday.... my Sunday. The laundry is done. I've played enough Word Mojo to numb my hands. My eyes are blurry from reading most of the day (halfway through Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone?). Nothing on TV. I'm currently working my way through all of the Sopranos DVDs with Netflix, but just finished season one this afternoon and have no more. Still waiting on my Cure album through Amazon. Nothing to do!

Well I guess I could....

Current track count: 8993

1. Weezer - "Pink Triangle [live]" (The Good Life [single])

(By the way, did you hear Weezer is finishing recording their new album?)

2. Feist - "Honey Honey" (The Reminder)

3. Incubus - "Mexico" (Morning View)

(I just had a conversation at the bar Sunday about Incubus. They topped my list of bands I really shouldn't like, but do.)

4. Todd Snider - "I Am Too" (Viva Satellite)

5. Ryan Adams - "English Girls Approximately" (Love is Hell)

(My iPod must be in a country mood.)

6. They Might Be Giants - "Counterfeit Fake" (Then: The Early Years)

(This was on my last Shuffle. Why? It's probably the most annoying song ever!)

7. Bruce Springsteen - "Dry Lightning" (The Ghost of Tom Joad)

(These last three songs..... worst transition ever!!)

8. The Police - "Truth Hits Everybody [live]" (Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings)

9. Superchunk - "Half a Life" (Superchunk)

10. Death Cab for Cutie - "I Was a Kaleidoscope" (The Photo Album)

11. Smog - "Puritan Work Ethic" (Sewn to the Sky)

12. Elliott Smith - "Strung Out Again" (From a Basement On the Hill)

Pause

2007-07-02T16:52:00.000-04:00

The spring's massive music splurge is over after the releases of new stuff from the White Stripes and Ryan Adams. However, there is only about a week for the summer schedule for kick into gear. I'm looking ahead all the way to October. Here's my shopping list:

July 10: Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
July 24: John Vanderslice - Emerald City
Aug. 7: Okkervil River - The Stage Names
Aug. 21: New Pornographers - Challengers
Aug. 21: Rilo Kiley - Under the Blacklight
Sept. 18: Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew - Spirit If...
Sept. 25: Iron & Wine - Sheperd's Dog
Sept. 25: Stars - In Our Bedroom After the War
Oct. 9: Fiery Furnaces - Widow City

From this list I'm definitely looking most forward for the new Spoon, John Vanderslice, New Pornographers, and Kevin Drew. Really only the new Rilo Kiley is the only one I may pass on at first. Should be a nice second-half of the year.

In the meantime, I'm catching up on a bunch of older stuff that I never bothered to get before. As much as a fan as I am, I'm embarrassed to say I'd never bought anything by the Cure. Over the last couple of years they've reissued everything through Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me with a bunch of bonus tracks. However, they are ridiculously expensive and all the bonus stuff is pretty unimpressive (live tracks and acoustic demos.... snore). After perusing their stuff on Amazon, I noticed that all of their un-reissued stuff is really cheap. I picked up their self-titled album from 2004 (pretty good stuff) and The Head on the Door (still waiting on that one) for less than $10, after shipping.

I've been in a real '80's mood lately. I want to pick up some more stuff I'd never bothered on. I want a more complete collection for the Smiths (I only have Meat is Murder). I also really have a nagging urge to start a The The collection. That all depends on the money situation, of course. It all may have to wait at least until after next week. Come on, a new Spoon album is coming out!!

Three

2007-06-28T22:28:00.000-04:00

Three years of Sunless Suitcase. Hooray!! Celebrate!

I'm very proud of myself. Especially for keeping this thing running and not caving into the whole Myspace peer pressure. I'm still against it, and will not be changing my mind any time soon. Never!!

Anyways, three years.... yay. Let's celebrate three years with reviews of my three latest albums.

Page France - Page France and the Family Telephone

I saw Page France open for John Vanderslice last year and loved it. I fell for their happy clap-alongs. Their albums, however, never really reflected the live experience completely. Still good, just not as good. This latest album, on the other hand, is quite good. It's just happy and fun and just drives. Like a 45-minute duet between Bob Dylan and Sufjan Stevens.

White Stripes - Icky Thump

Great stuff here. The more I listen to Get Behind Me, Satan, the more bored I am by it. In fact, much of it sounds like Jack is bored. Icky Thump is definitely more of the crazed and ridiculously loud side of the White Stripes I love. Not all perfect here, though. I'm not crazy about the Spanish warcry "Conquest." However, pretty much every other song is just loud and wild and killer. "Bone Broke" and "Little Cream Soda" are a couple of the heaviest songs they've done. Also while "Rag and Bone" might be one of the most gimmicky songs they've done, I love it. Like Van Halen meets ZZ Top, or something.

Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger

Ryan Adams can be pretty easy to pick on, and I've done my fare share here. I've felt that he's relied too heavily on quantity over quality for years. He's had some moments since Gold, but nothing that even compares to his first two solo albums. I was definitely scared when I heard Sheryl Crow's name as a guest singer on his latest album. Oh boy. However, Easy Tiger is for sure a back-to-basics approach. It's great. "Goodnight Rose," "Two," and "Pearls on a String" sound like they could fit in easily on Gold. Ditto for Heartbreaker with "Oh My God, Whatever, Etc.," "Tears of Gold," and "Rip Off." He definitely suffers a bit from some lazy songwriting on "Halloweenhead," but it's not a totally unlistenable song. If you've liked Ryan Adams in the past, you will be happy here. Great stuff.

Decade

2007-06-25T15:44:00.000-04:00

Ten years ago from yesterday I got my first job in television. Tape op. Pretty small fries. Just a few weeks before my 17th birthday.

Now I'm almost 27. I've since held about a million different positions at two different stations. Minus a couple of breaks for school, I've never really done much since. In fact, before I started at KTVO, I had only one other job. I worked the kitchen at a coffee shop, Gatsby's. It closed down in January, 1997. I finished off the rest of my school year before my sister got me in at KTVO (she was a teacher, but directed during the summers).

Thinking about everything as a whole, I've never really regretted my career path. However, I sometimes get a bit of an itch to try something else.... you know, like on payday. I don't really think much about other jobs, but I think it's healthy to try to think about other careers.

In fact, I'll do that now:

Real Estate Agent
Before I left KTVO, I worked my ass off making a 30 minute real estate show. You know, one of those shows where the clients send in some listings and we edit a slide show together with script. I hated working on that show. However, I really liked seeing all the houses. I love architecture. I occasionally pick up Architectural Record. Plus there's pretty descent money in this biz.
Plausibility: I know that I'd have to get certified, or something. How hard can that be? It's not like I'd have to get a doctorate. My biggest flaw would be that I'm a pretty honest guy, not a bullshitter. Still I'd say this is a possibility.

Giant Panda Caretaker
Since I saw the pandas in DC, I've been obsessed with them. I read all about pandas online. In the panda house, there was this glassed off room with some dudes watching the pandas on cameras. I could do that! I'm sure they'll have to write on charts and stuff, but it'd be great to watch them all day.
Plausibility: Not good. I'm guessing those guys are behavior scientists, or something. Probably have big fancy degrees in zoology. The closest education I have is when I spent 5th grade career day at the veterinarian's office.... and I threw up.

Bartender
I know my bars. I like bars. I'm a pretty personable guy. There are these commercials that air here in Richmond for a bartender school. It's like a four-week course. Can't be that hard.
Plausibility: Well, I smoke a bunch in bars. I plan on quitting next month (again). If I worked in a bar, I'd be dead by 30. Plus one of my friends here worked in a bar through college. All he talks about is cleaning the bathrooms. Not pretty.

Detective
Hell yeah! I'd love to be a detective. Anybody watch Zodiac? Yeah, like Mark Ruffalo in that movie. I get obsessed with things pretty easily (see: giant pandas). I could obsess over solving something while hanging out in diners all day. Plus I drink coffee. All detectives drink coffee.
Plausibility: Maybe not. I don't know anything about criminal justice that I didn't learn in movies. Plus I think detectives start off as cops. Well, a cop? Maybe!

Human Resources
Now this is something I can do! Sounds a little boring. However, when I was a production manager, I was really fascinated with the human resources elements of the job. I was very good at it too. I still have our companies policy book pretty much memorized.
Plausibility: Pretty good! I like office jobs. I like human resources. My resume is pretty descently loaded with credentials. I miss management.... sometimes. I definitely see myself getting back into management someday.

Something at a Record Label
Especially something at an indie label. I know my indie music. Drag City a while back was hiring a musician liason, of sorts. Basically somebody to be the go-between guy for musicians and the label. I could do that!
Plausibility: Not good. I don't smoke pot. I think indie labels drug test to make sure you are ON drugs. I'm not.

You know, I'm pretty happy in television. Maybe I'll stick it out a while longer. The hours suck. The pay sucks. However, I still find the job constantly entertaining. Plus I'm still really freaking good at what I do. I'm happy where I am. Won't be here forever, but things are great. Don't want to leave while things are great. I'll just need to know when to leave, you know, like before I go insane someday and go living in the woods alone.

Wait a minute... what about a forest ranger!?

2 Concerts, 2 Days

2007-06-18T15:18:00.000-04:00

Last Wednesday and Thursday I took in two separate concerts. Wednesday I was in DC to see Feist. On Thursday I saw Son Volt here in Richmond. First.... Wednesday:

My friends and I had this whole trip planned out for quite some time. We bought our Feist tickets a long time ago. Good thing too because the show sold out in around a week. Prior to the show we wanted something fun to do. Pretty simple decision: "Let's go to the zoo!"

The Smithsonian National Zoological Park, more accurately. I hadn't been to any zoo in many, many years. It's probably been at least twelve years. I was excited because I love zoos; but at the National Zoo, there was only one thing I wanted to see:

The Pandas!!

After a quick stop by the cheetahs, we went right to the pandas. I really started to get worried because it was thundering quite a bit and starting to rain. We circled the panda pits and saw nothing. I was scared they had put them up because of the weather. By the time we got to the panda building, it was pouring rain. Then, suddenly, there they were!

That's Tai Shan, the young panda. He was the first one we saw. It was obviously lunchtime. Tai Shan was munching on a huge bamboo stick. Mei Xian, the mom, was eating some apples and panda biscuits. Tian Tian, the dad, was going to town on a big apple-filled ice block.

We must have spent an hour inside hanging out with the pandas. It was raining the whole time. When we were ready to leave, it had finally stopped raining. The pandas were napping, except Tian Tian who was taking a poo.

Pretty incredible sites. It'd never thought I'd see pandas, and it was worth it. The rest of the zoo was great too. Saw some tigers, a lion, elephants, an SUV-sized hippo, orangutans, about a thousand tamarins (those I loved), and many other cool animals.

Okay, we went to DC for Feist. At the end of dinner, it started pouring again. I volunteered to hail a cab in the rain. The one I got was probably the creepiest cabbie in DC, but somehow he got us to the 9:30 Club alive.

It was pretty cool being at the 9:30. This is a place I'd heard about before moving out here was even a thought.

The opener was Grizzly Bear. This band has been giving hard-ons to indie kids this year, but I'm not thrilled with anything I'd heard. I was more impressed with them after the show, but still not a big fan.

Okay, so Feist....

I mentioned a while back that this lady is an absolute superstar. My biggest proof was this show. She was just amazing. She had the crowd eating out her hand. Every song was spot-on. I just have chills thinking about her live versions of "When I Was a Young Girl" and "Sealion." She even pulled out a killer version of Broken Social Scene's "Major Label Debut." Feist and her whole band seemed absolutely thrilled to be there. Tons a great crowd banter. Every song was timed brilliantly.

I really can't say much more praise about this show. Definitely one of the best shows I've ever seen. Leslie Feist is a superstar. If you are lucky to be near her on this tour, you absolutely must see her.

Okay, so that was Wednesday. The next day we saw Son Volt. They played outdoors at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. It was part of their Groovin' in the Garden series, providing mom-friendly rock all summer long.

I forgot my camera at home, so these lousy pictures are courtesy of Neeley's work cellphone camera.

Looks like a pretty rotten place to watch a concert, but it actually wasn't bad at all. Except for the old folks in front of us.

I know these alt-country kids are getting older, but jeez. (Sorry, that was inappropriate.)

Now I know it seems like I love shitting on Jay Farrar on this site, but I actually don't enjoy it at all. This is a guy that I absolutely idolized when I was younger. He was my favorite musician, bar none. Post-Uncle Tupelo, I thought Farrar was much better than Tweedy. Wilco looked like a flash in the pan. Son Volt was going to be a revolution.

....or not. I just can't get into Farrar anymore. Sure The Search isn't a bad album, but that's mostly in comparison with anything after Sebastopol, his last good album. It all sounds more like a parody of the alt-country scene. It's boring.

Sadly, the show was pretty much the same for me. Absolutely nothing memorable. Every single song sounded exactly the same to me. Even when he pulled out the classic "Tear Stained Eye," it sounded exactly like every other song on the set. We actually left early... and it was at my request.

Oh well. Maybe it would be hard for anybody to follow a night with Feist. Jay Farrar especially. The trip to DC was spectacular. I'll always have Feist and the pandas!

Wuss Rock

2007-06-05T14:11:00.001-04:00

I've spent the last few weeks on a pretty tight budget (minus a trip to a strip club on Saturday.... it was peer pressure, I swear). Wilco's new album was the last on a long string of my most anticipated albums. Now I'm spending my limited music budget catching up on some releases that I passed on at first. My latest purchase this week is the new Travis album, The Boy With No Name.

I kinda had to debate whether or not I should pick this one up. I used to be really into this super-sappy wussy Brit-pop. I knew the party was over when I picked up Coldplay's last album, X&Y, when it came out in 2005. I really didn't like it. It just felt played-out and boring..... like I had heard it a million times before.

That sentiment still holds true now a couple of years later. Most of my really good friends here are big metalheads. Come on, how would it look if I'm in a car full of dudes and put on Coldplay? Pretty lame. Now there is plenty of sad sappy stuff that I love, but it always seems a little sleazier now. I like that. Will Oldham, anybody?

Okay, so.... Travis.

Travis is definitely grouped in with this sappy stuff I'm mentioning. The only difference with Travis is a little more personal for me. All of their last three album release dates have coincided with some pivotal moments in my life (chronologically: left college, got dumped, got a new car). That's a big reason I still dig Travis. Little too early to tell if this new album will change my life, or something. Especially since I don't think I'll be too terribly obsessed with it.

The album is good. Very good is some parts. However, when the album isn't as good, it's just not good at all. The single "Closer" is a perfect example of the latter. When I mention wuss rock, "Closer" could be an anthem. Just needlessly whiney..... we'll subcatagorize it as "breakup-rock." Maybe I just don't have much to whine about nowadays (except maybe the fact that I'm on a budget).

Now when I mention that the album can be very good, I really mean it. "Colder" is one hell of a song. It's a great reminder of how stirring Fran Healy's voice can be. Also the bonus track "Sailing Away" is just amazing. The Boy With No Name definitely has more positives than negatives. I'm happy about that. Weird.... happy about sad music. You know what I mean.

By the way, here's the video for "Selfish Jean" starring the super-awesome Demetri Martin:

Everywhere

2007-06-04T14:37:00.000-04:00

Apologies for the lack of posting lately. These last few weeks have been pretty intense.

A couple of weeks ago I had to make an emergency trip back home for my grandmother's funeral. The whole situation was just terrible. She had been sick for several years and we were all prepared, including her. The way it happened is what makes everything so awful. She died from burns suffered in a house fire. My grandfather was able to pull her outside, but the house was a total loss. She survived for two weeks until finally passing.

The whole trip home was very surreal. I got to spend lots of good time with my extended family, seeing people I hadn't seen in years. Everybody was in pretty fair spirits. However, everybody had been dealing with this first-hand. I, on the other hand, was dealing with this a thousand miles away. It was really hard to grasp everything that was happening. I finally asked my cousin to take me to the house.

It was pretty shocking to see this house I had spent so much time in as a child in ruins. Really it wasn't the house that upset me as much as it was the stuff inside the house. My grandmother was a collector of just stuff.... random stuff from garage sales and flea markets. Seeing some of this stuff that had been in their house since before I was born destroyed just devastated me. There was a porcelain cat I used to sit on when I was a kid smashed. The mandolins my dad made when he was a kid were destroyed. The one thing I always remembered from that house was her cuckoo clock. I couldn't find it.

Everything back home is getting better now. My grandfather has an apartment now while he gets his insurance straightened out. He plans on rebuilding on the same property. Everybody is doing just fine, including me now. It was a pretty tough trip home, but there were many more positives about it than negative.

Wow, I planned on just a brief update and a promise to post more. Guess I had more on my mind than I thought! Thanks for reading that.

Sky Blue Sky

2007-05-19T21:01:00.000-04:00

Okay here it is. I'm finally getting around to talking about the new Wilco album, Sky Blue Sky. I've listened to it many times this week and think I can finally come up with an ideal review.

Okay first of all, if you have been reading any other reviews you have likely noticed a rather surprised reaction. It's definitely true that this album is not very typical for a Wilco album. However, there has never really been a typical Wilco album. (You know what I mean.) Every single one of their albums sound very different. I don't really care about negative reviews, but it does bother me when reviewers expect a band to become formulaic. This is very evident with Pitchfork's confused review. Wilco has never been very formulaic, but that's what fun about the band.

I will admit, I may not like this album as much as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or A Ghost is Born or even Being There, however there is something so pleasant and comforting about this album. Wilco's last two albums were extremely complex. At first listen Sky Blue Sky seems like a very simple listen. However, the more you listen to it, the more you will notice the subtle complexities that made Being There so remarkable. The complexity isn't as in-your-face as their last two albums.

The sound is so rustic here. I read the review in Entertainment Weekly that really cracked me up at first. It mentions Tweedy's voice as Don Henley-esque. As I listen to the album more, I can definitely hear what they mean. However, when they say it's the best album the Eagles never released, well that's just not true. It's hard to compare this album to anything but Wilco.

This album isn't a step backwards for them, and it's not a huge step forward either. It is just what it is. It's just a Wilco album. Enjoy it for what it is.

Plus it's got probably the most beautiful album cover I've ever seen:

So there you go.

SuSh 05.14.07 (Because I Can)

2007-05-14T10:41:00.000-04:00

It's early. I should just now be getting up. It's the start of my weekend. I've been up since 7:30. See, we had a meeting at work this morning. One of those "You're-doing-a-great-job-and-the-morning-shows'-audiences-are-always-growing-even-though-our's-aren't-but-keep-up-the-good-work" meetings. It literally lasted ten minutes. I dragged my ass out of bed early on my weekend and had to drive through morning rush-hour traffic just for a ten minute meeting.

I was planning on coming home and taking a nap. However, even though I was out drinking until 2am, I'm wide awake. Now I have nothing to do.

I only have one plan today.... go see 28 Weeks Later (zombie movies.... my fav). But that's not for another four hours. The last couple of weekends I've had trades of Y: The Last Man to read on. But I finished those last week. I don't know what to do.

Oh wait, here's something.....

Current track count: 8851

1. They Might Be Giants - "Counterfeit Fake" (Then: The Earlier Years)

2. Big Star - "You Can't Have Me" (Third/Sister Lovers)

3. Sorry About Dresden - "A Losing Season" (The Convenience of Indecision)

4. Neil Young - "Downtown" (Mirrorball)

(Sweet. One of my favorite Neil songs.)

5. Mountain Goats - "Song for John Davis" (Ghana)

6. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - "Five Easy Pieces" (Some Loud Thunder)

7. Belle & Sebastian - "Mayfly" (If You're Feeling Sinister)

(One of my least favorite songs from one of my favorite albums. Hm.)

8. R.E.M. - "Disappear" (Reveal)

9. Steve Earle - "Hurtin' Me, Hurtin' You" (I Feel Alright)

10. Superchunk - "Blending In" (Cup of Sand)

(Sweet. Finish this sucker up with a Government Issue cover. Fuck yeah, hardcore.)

Feist

2007-05-12T19:46:00.000-04:00

Been so ridiculously broke the last couple of weeks. It's my own stupidity that did me in too. I was ahead of myself on paychecks. Blew a bunch of money thinking the next day was payday. Well it wasn't and I haven't made up for it yet. Tuesday is payday and I have a buttload of overtime due to me, so I will be fine.

As much as the last couple of weeks have sucked, at least I've had Feist's The Reminder to keep me company.

Damn it is good too. Her last album, Let It Die, was fantastic so I was very excited about this one. It did not disappoint me at all. This is the type of album that will make Feist a star. She was a little indie darling before, but now she should be a superstar.

The Feist-mania doesn't end for me soon. I got my ticket to see her in DC on June 13th.

Well thanks to Ms. Feist for keeping my chin up the last couple of weeks. This Tuesday she will be taking a backseat, however. It's payday..... and it's new Wilco album day!!