We'll be in MO visiting family over the holidays. Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season!
Friday, December 21, 2007
Merry Christmas!
We'll be in MO visiting family over the holidays. Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season!
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Top 5's of 2007--Part 2
Mon made some good picks in her comment to Part 1 that I wholeheartedly agree with. Here are my top five (or six) non-music moments of 2007, in no particular order.
Seeing old friends. We got to see Scott, Laura, Ludo twice and Brett (twice for me), and Tom moved back from Korea this year. Ludo's also planning a return visit in Jan. of next year. We've got a comfy bed all set up for visitors...
European Vacation. One of those times we saw Ludo was when we met him and Valerie in Florence in July. What a great trip.
Turning 30. We each got a surprise trip for our 30th birthdays this year. In Vegas for Mon's birthday I played poker for the first time at a casino and won $200! Maybe I should quit while I'm ahead. Brett and Kim surprised me in Chicago on a freezing day in April for my first pro basketball game. Apparently the taxi drivers were on strike.
Running. Speaking of 30, Mon dubbed this year the Year of Health. I got bit by the running bug. The highlight was the Golden Gate run on Labor Day weekend. But it's been fun to see my improvement with training.
Blogs. I'd like to add blogs to the Better Living Through Technology theme of 2007 (dvr, online shopping). Thank you Mon's insomnia. I'll link to yours if you link to mine.
Durham Love Yourself. Finally some of the anticipated upgrading of downtown durham is in the works. Three new restaraunts went in that are all top notch: Piedmont, Watts Grocery and Rue Cler. Plus a giant new performing arts theatre is under construction. The new farmer's market is finished and is a big improvement. Expensive new condos are going in just next to our neighborhood where a crappy old metal building used to be. We even have a new movie theatre within 5 min of our house. It's a good time to be Bullish on Durham. (They should get me to write slogans.)
Seeing old friends. We got to see Scott, Laura, Ludo twice and Brett (twice for me), and Tom moved back from Korea this year. Ludo's also planning a return visit in Jan. of next year. We've got a comfy bed all set up for visitors...
European Vacation. One of those times we saw Ludo was when we met him and Valerie in Florence in July. What a great trip.
Turning 30. We each got a surprise trip for our 30th birthdays this year. In Vegas for Mon's birthday I played poker for the first time at a casino and won $200! Maybe I should quit while I'm ahead. Brett and Kim surprised me in Chicago on a freezing day in April for my first pro basketball game. Apparently the taxi drivers were on strike.
Running. Speaking of 30, Mon dubbed this year the Year of Health. I got bit by the running bug. The highlight was the Golden Gate run on Labor Day weekend. But it's been fun to see my improvement with training.
Blogs. I'd like to add blogs to the Better Living Through Technology theme of 2007 (dvr, online shopping). Thank you Mon's insomnia. I'll link to yours if you link to mine.
Durham Love Yourself. Finally some of the anticipated upgrading of downtown durham is in the works. Three new restaraunts went in that are all top notch: Piedmont, Watts Grocery and Rue Cler. Plus a giant new performing arts theatre is under construction. The new farmer's market is finished and is a big improvement. Expensive new condos are going in just next to our neighborhood where a crappy old metal building used to be. We even have a new movie theatre within 5 min of our house. It's a good time to be Bullish on Durham. (They should get me to write slogans.)
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Top 5's of 2007--Part 1
I'm going to break my Top 5's into two parts. For those music lovers out there (who care about my opinion on the matter), this week is all music focused. Next week I'll get to the more important stuff.
Sorting my music by Date Added revealed that this has been a good year for music. One theme I noticed early in the year was that a lot of bands that I got into while I was in Australia had follow-ups this year. To kick things off, let's look at:
Top 5 New Albums by Old Favorites
1. Radiohead--In Rainbows. Very close to my overall Top 5, but just missed the cut. Still growing on me.
2. Okkervil River--The Stage Names. Good effort that did grow on me.
3. Wilco--Sky Blue Sky. Solid album, but not exceptional.
4. White Stripes--Icky Thump. Couple tracks I didn't like, but overall great as always.
5. Arcade Fire--Neon Bible. For those that like their rock passionate.
There were also several artists new to me this year that I'll probably start following regularly.
Top 5 New Bands
1. The Avett Brothers. Local guys that have a great mix of bluegrass and rock.
2. The Books. Caught up on their back catalog this year. Creative, cutting edge collages of found sound and electronics.
3. LCD Soundsystem. Tongue-in-cheek dance rock.
4. Bishop Allen. Good pop band.
5. The Broken West. Ditto.
I don't really buy singles, but here were a few of my favorite individual songs of the year.
Top 5 Songs
1. Fidelity--Regina Spektor. Happiest sad song of the year.
2. Stronger--Kanye West. Great use of samples.
3. What Light--Wilco. Loved this song in concert.
4. A Postcard to Nina--Jens Lekman. Funniest song of the year.
5. I Feel it All--Feist. The iPod add wasn't my favorite song on the album.
Mostly as an excuse to include some good albums that didn't quite make my top five, here are my favorite albums by bands that have a distinct "feel." All of the stuff by these bands is good, even if most of the albums by the band have similar overall sound.
Top 5 Vibe Albums
1. Iron and Wine--The Shepherd's Dog. My favorite vibe band of all. The perfect fit for a run on a cool fall day through falling leaves, banked by dying kudzu.
2. Band of Horses--Cease to Begin. Great voice. For fans of My Morning Jacket.
3. The National--Boxer. For those late nights when your mind's too active to sleep.
4. The New Pornographers--Challenger. These guys are starting to branch out, but still do the best power pop.
5. Bloc Party--A Weekend in the City. A lot like their last one, but that's not a bad thing here.
Finally (start the drum roll here), here are the
Top 5 Albums of 2007
5. The Dears--Gang of Losers. Big, earnest rock. I was a little surprised that it made it this high, but it was a fun album from start to finish. Try "Ticket to Immortality."
4. The Shins--Wincing the Night Away. I'm a huge fan of this band and this album had to grow on me. But seeing it performed live finally confirmed it as a great album for me.
3. Josh Ritter--The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter. I still think he's the best lyricist out there right now. This album is more rock than his previous ones. I'd highly recommend seeing him live if you get the chance. His smile is pure joy.
2. Jens Lekman--Night Falls Over Kortedala. Brilliantly orchestrated pop music with heartwarming and funny lyrics. I might be skewed by the fact that he's moving to Australia just for the heck of it, but the quality of the album supports my pick.
1. Spoon--Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. See my review from earlier this year. Never topped.
Sorting my music by Date Added revealed that this has been a good year for music. One theme I noticed early in the year was that a lot of bands that I got into while I was in Australia had follow-ups this year. To kick things off, let's look at:
Top 5 New Albums by Old Favorites
1. Radiohead--In Rainbows. Very close to my overall Top 5, but just missed the cut. Still growing on me.
2. Okkervil River--The Stage Names. Good effort that did grow on me.
3. Wilco--Sky Blue Sky. Solid album, but not exceptional.
4. White Stripes--Icky Thump. Couple tracks I didn't like, but overall great as always.
5. Arcade Fire--Neon Bible. For those that like their rock passionate.
There were also several artists new to me this year that I'll probably start following regularly.
Top 5 New Bands
1. The Avett Brothers. Local guys that have a great mix of bluegrass and rock.
2. The Books. Caught up on their back catalog this year. Creative, cutting edge collages of found sound and electronics.
3. LCD Soundsystem. Tongue-in-cheek dance rock.
4. Bishop Allen. Good pop band.
5. The Broken West. Ditto.
I don't really buy singles, but here were a few of my favorite individual songs of the year.
Top 5 Songs
1. Fidelity--Regina Spektor. Happiest sad song of the year.
2. Stronger--Kanye West. Great use of samples.
3. What Light--Wilco. Loved this song in concert.
4. A Postcard to Nina--Jens Lekman. Funniest song of the year.
5. I Feel it All--Feist. The iPod add wasn't my favorite song on the album.
Mostly as an excuse to include some good albums that didn't quite make my top five, here are my favorite albums by bands that have a distinct "feel." All of the stuff by these bands is good, even if most of the albums by the band have similar overall sound.
Top 5 Vibe Albums
1. Iron and Wine--The Shepherd's Dog. My favorite vibe band of all. The perfect fit for a run on a cool fall day through falling leaves, banked by dying kudzu.
2. Band of Horses--Cease to Begin. Great voice. For fans of My Morning Jacket.
3. The National--Boxer. For those late nights when your mind's too active to sleep.
4. The New Pornographers--Challenger. These guys are starting to branch out, but still do the best power pop.
5. Bloc Party--A Weekend in the City. A lot like their last one, but that's not a bad thing here.
Finally (start the drum roll here), here are the
Top 5 Albums of 2007
5. The Dears--Gang of Losers. Big, earnest rock. I was a little surprised that it made it this high, but it was a fun album from start to finish. Try "Ticket to Immortality."
4. The Shins--Wincing the Night Away. I'm a huge fan of this band and this album had to grow on me. But seeing it performed live finally confirmed it as a great album for me.
3. Josh Ritter--The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter. I still think he's the best lyricist out there right now. This album is more rock than his previous ones. I'd highly recommend seeing him live if you get the chance. His smile is pure joy.
2. Jens Lekman--Night Falls Over Kortedala. Brilliantly orchestrated pop music with heartwarming and funny lyrics. I might be skewed by the fact that he's moving to Australia just for the heck of it, but the quality of the album supports my pick.
1. Spoon--Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. See my review from earlier this year. Never topped.
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