Friday, December 31, 2010

Echoes from the past push us into the future.

Echoes from the past push us into the future.

Here's to you having an EPIC New Year's Eve. Stay safe and I'll see you in 2011.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Time to listen to my favorite tunes of 2010!

Time to listen to my favorite tunes of 2010!

As promised yesterday, here it is, my yearly musical gift of my favorite tracks of 2o10. You can see the full list of what's included at the end of this post. The biggest difference between this years list and last is that pop has dropped back behind guitars in most of the songs. I'm not exactly sure why, but I think it's because in the last few years pop and mainstream stuff was getting willfully weirder but in 2010 most artists seemed to coast on their past sounds without really trying anything new, thereby sucking a lot of energy from their output. Rock and/or roll, on the other hand, seemed to just kick out a larger percentage of tunes I just enjoyed listening to.

So anyway, if you want a broader treatise on my view of music in general in 2010, please do check out my proper "Best Of" post. Now feel free to download my top tracks, play them at a party, delete the ones you never want to come up on your shuffle setting ever again, buy the albums of the band's whose tunes interest you and please do let me know what you think of the whole thing!

DOWNLOAD: The Top Tunes of 2010: One Man's View

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Sooooo ... what music stuck with me in 2010?

Sooooo ... what music stuck with me in 2010?

Hey everyone, it's finally up! My list of my Top 20 Albums, Top Local Releases and Top 50 Songs is up! Check it out out and let me know what you think (or share your favorites)! And then check in here tomorrow when, and I do this every year for the loyal readers of this little corner of my internet real estate, you can download my fave tunes from the past 12 months and pretend you're in the tankPOD for a couple hours.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

The shadows are growing shorter.

The shadows are growing shorter.

I've written about this before, but when we hit this point of winter it gets tough. I notice GalPal sleeping later and going to bed earlier, simply because the elements are too much to bear and hibernation helps the time pass more quickly. I'm usually able to power though, though I do really hate the cold, but for some reason this year the chill is even affecting my mood and wearing me down. Maybe it's because we had a such a glorious summer this year and I just am so pissed it has to fade into memory, blurred by a frosted rear view. Maybe it's because I feel as if the cold grips my ankles to chain me to a radius of a couple of blocks because I simply don't want to venture to far from the warmth of my home unless absolutely necessary, thus triggering the early onset of cabin fever (which really shouldn't be hitting until January / February). Maybe Occam's Razor dictates I've simply grown sick of Chicago winters, period.

So I'm trying to put a positive spin on this. We're past the winter solstice so the days are growing longer, and the sun's reach is growing longer as it pulls us back towards the summer. And, oddly, I've found I actually enjoy shoveling our walks this winter, and not just because GalPal admits she finds it sexy when I do something so physical in the cold. I've discovered something therapeutic in clearing a way, creating a safe path throughout the snow and ice, and maybe that too is because I'm just trying to find a way to mentally navigate back towards warmer times.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Snowpocalypse? Please.

Snowpocalypse? Please.

You folks on the East Coast have no idea what you're talking about. I'm only in the office two days this week so I am SNOWED UNDER with work! The 9-to-5 in the daytime and Chicagoist at night. Whew. At least a bunch of you are getting a snow day or two (something, frankly, that never happens in Chicago).

Friday, December 24, 2010

Road weary.

Road weary.

"Uhhhh, you're taking up the whole bed," is what GalPal just said to me.

Anyway, happy holidays!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

How do we get away with it?

How do we get away with it?

So here's this; I look like I'm in my mid-twenties though I am in fact quite older. I'm not the only mutant (I'm looking at you, Gage) but we seem to be a rare breed. There's aging gracefully, where you wear your years well, and there's people like me, that still get regularly carded for cigarettes. Genes have something to do with it, my whole family ages incredibly well, but my brothers always get pegged as the "older" one even though I'm the eldest.

I'm not complaining but with each year I have to admit I'm terrified it will all crumble and I'll suddenly end up looking like I'm 63.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Don Van Vliet.

Don Van Vliet.

So am I the only music writer who, try as I might and believe me I've logged in plenty of time with the man's catalog, just does not connect with Captain Beefheart's music?

RELATED: I also am not a Zappa fan. Coincidence? I think not.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Adorable!

Adorable!

Can you resist this quiet moment of civility? I think not.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Meet The Beatles ... again.

Meet The Beatles ... again.

Going through a mini Beatles phase again. I always respect what they've done but I have to admit sometimes I just can't listen to the band. You would think what with all the media overkill around the band right now this would be one of those times I wouldn't be able to stand the Fab Four, but for some weird reason I'm finding myself willingly plugging them into the tankPOD (especially the latter albums) far more often again. I wonder why?

In a related note, I realize that whenever I get into The Beatles, The Rolling Stones or The Who, it's always singularly. I never find myself digging all three bands to the extreme at the same time. Again, I wonder why?

Friday, December 17, 2010

These things are true.

These things are true.


A brief list for you on a Friday.
  • Betty the Beagle is the cutest dog I own.
  • Pickle the Kitten and Sasha are the cutest cats I own.
  • I lead a mostly charmed life.
  • Coca-Cola Cherry Zero is mysteriously delicious.
  • I am extremely honored that any of you take time out of your day to read any of my various musings here or anywhere.
  • Tonight is The Burlington Holiday Party and I'll be DJing with the Burlington Collective, so stop by for some free egg nog or a $1 PBR!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Year end lists.

Year end lists.

Let me begin by saying most year-end “best of” lists are total bullshit. 99.9% of the time they reflect what a music writer / editorial staff THINKS should be perceived as “the best” instead of just having the balls to pick what they actually find enjoyment in. (That said, some people just have zero taste no matter what, so what’re you gonna do?)

So there’s that.

That said, I usually enjoy crafting my own year-end list. I like the fact I can look at past lists – for instance this one – and there is stuff on there I still like listening to years later. If something is on your “best of” list and you’re still not listening to it a year later that’s a pretty good indication your list was dishonest to begin with, crafted based on trying to attract cool points versus displaying an honest to god opinion.

This year, despite all the platitudes that this was “finally one of the best years for music after a long drought,” I am having difficulty crafting a list of truly outstanding music. I realized this last night as I listlessly scrolled through the tankPHONE at the bus stop, a device largely loaded with recent music I need to familiarize myself with or have recently written about, and I realized there was nothing on there I wanted to listen to. I finally settled on all the LCD Soundsystem albums on shuffle. And it made me realize that while, yes, a great deal of good music has been released this year I’m not so sure a good deal of great music has been released this year.

I am certain I will be able to fill out my top ten (possibly twenty) favorite albums, but it’s not going to involve great fretting over what gets bumped to make room for something else as might have happened in past years.

So what’s your take? Has there been a deluge of awesome music and I’ve just grown into such an old coot that I can’t appreciate it? Am I right that things continue to grow ever more broadly mediocre? Or, and here’s the age thing again, have I just gotten to the point that I’m secure liking what I like and can call out others who are more self conscious? Feel free to weigh in.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Shifting sands.

Shifting sands.

This time last year I think we were still unpacking from our move into the coach house, but now it feels like we've always been here. I'm experiencing a bit of historical vertigo though because it seems as if there's no way 2010 is almost at an end. Summer both feels like it ended last week and like it never happened. Perspective swims in and out of focus, though I think that's more a byproduct of my tendency to make sense of both recent and distant past by studying moments too minutely when I should be taking a step back to take in the canvas as a whole.

I've worked entire short stories off a particular sentence or fragment I thought was either particularly melodic and rather ingenious only to find that at the end it is the genesis phrase that gets cut in order to benefit the story as a whole. This is not something a younger writer is usually aware or capable of.

It's a good feeling, realizing I am capable of this.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Is this even legal?

Is this even legal?

The State of Illinois is trying to get residents to pay back taxes on all online purchases made over the last six years. Um, what?!

I know the state is in dire financial straits but is this even technically legal? I seem to remember other states trying a similar approach to bolstering revenue by targeting online businesses like Amazon but that's still an unresolved issue. So now it looks like Illinois (and New York) have just decided to go after the consumer instead? OK then, write a law to that effect and go ahead and do just that. But going after folks for past purchases seems at the least to be pretty dodgy and at its worst pretty damn close to extortion.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Thoughts on a Jamaican vacation.

Thoughts on a Jamaican vacation.

We're back! Actually we got back Saturday but spent all day Sunday recovering from a horrific return travel experience. Just the thing to cap off a relaxing vacation! Anyway, I thought I'd share a few things I learned over the past week.
  • Jamaican actually do say "Ya mon!" and "Irie!" Anybody from Jamaican should not say either because you will end up sounding very silly.
  • Bob Marley, and a dizzying array of Bob Marley covers in a multitude of musical genres, are played everywhere there are tourists. I suspect this is more for the benefit of the tourists than the residents. Sadly, we heard no Jimmy Cliff ... what's up with that?!
  • The beach in Montego Bay is awesome. And the views we had of the mountains surrounding the bay were just eye-poppingly lovely.
  • People told us to expect barrel loads of pot tempting us from every direction, I'm guessing this is one reason we went through two very thorough security checkpoints at the Montego Bay airport on our way out, but we didn't see (or even smell) so much as a single joint the whole time we were there.
  • When flying, you get what you pay for. We flew an Ultra Low Cost Carrier airline and while travel to Jamaica was OK the experience of getting home was a nightmare featuring breakdowns on every level of the airline's system. Next time we're spending the couple extra hundred to fly a more dependable airline.
  • Vacations never last long enough. One more day in Montego Bay would have really hit the spot, but overall it was a wonderful trip.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Vacation well wishers.

Vacation well wishers.

Yesterday GalPal was checking her email for the first time since she's been here and remarked that she found it tack y people would send her "I hate you because you're on vacation" messages. This sort of thing never bothered me, in fact it always kind of tickles me, but she had a point. We save money throughout the year to take a vacation, and everyone we know has the same capacity to do so. While I find "I hate you while you're on vacation" messages funny and take them as a badge of honor I can understand why she views that same message as some attempt to bite into her hard earned fun.

So the lesson here? Feel free to hate me and tell me how jealous you are of me soaking in the Jamaican sun, but try to send GalPal messages more along the "hope you're having fun" conversational path.

Thursday, December 09, 2010

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday!

Everybody please join me in wishing GalPal a very happy birthday! She is now an old lady. She should be happy our world didn't turn out like Logan's Run, otherwise this would be her last birthday!

Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Slipping into the routine.

Slipping into the routine.

This resort is much bigger than the one we stayed in last year, so it's taking me a little longer to unwind and relax. (Don't worry, I'm getting there.) Our balcony off the beach is helping though, so don't feel too bad for me...

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Don't hate me but...

Don't hate me but...

This is the view I'm looking at right now.

Monday, December 06, 2010

Vay-caaaaaaaay-shun!

Vay-caaaaaaaay-shun!

We leave for Jamaica tomorrow. (I feel OK telling you this since we have a friend house-sitting, so all you would be thieves should probably stay away because I'm reasonably sure our friend will be here 24-hours a day cheerfully soaking up our cable and WiFi ... one of the few perks for putting up with the tiny terror that is Betty the Beagle!*)

Anyway, what that means is that I shall still be writing regularly this week, but don't be surprised if most of the entries consist of photos of sunny beaches and GalPal in a bikini. If those sort of things upset you, you should probably stay away from here until next Monday.

Toodles!

*I kid. Betty loves our friend. So much so I think she's a little disappointed when we finally return home.

Friday, December 03, 2010

In an alternate universe...

In an alternate universe...

What if Betty the Beagle owned an iPhone?

How can you say no to a face like this?

How can you say no to a face like this?

Seriously!

Thursday, December 02, 2010

I was meant for a life of leisure as a man of letters.

I was meant for a life of leisure as a man of letters.

When I first started college the initial plan was to get a double major and a double minor and then proceed onward on either the path of a life as a fine artist or as a college professor. Of course I dripped my art major in my first year and a half, realizing I hated most other artists and thought they were just blowhards full of more crap than talent, and refocused my efforts on my writing, which was itself probably pretty pretentious and terrible. Obviously the life of the college professor was to be for me.

University life had its obvious perks – you get to read books all the time and write whenever you want to and chase down beautiful coeds and ravish them a la Rip Torn in The Man Who Fell To Earth – so you can see why I would have been attracted to it. When you’re younger and idealistic and still capable of arguing some idiotic philosophical tenet you truly believe to be fiercely personal (but is in fact being argued identically by some wet-nosed scamp on any campus around you in any given direction) it only makes sense you’d want to remain in that cozy shroud until the end of days.

I was meant to be an intellect. At least I thought I was. And then I realized that intellects accomplish very little if all they do is mull over personal theories. So I moved out of a college town and into the big city, got a job, and worked full time while pursuing my degree. I was still a man of letters but there was no longer a life of leisure for me. What I gave up in idealism, and I did sacrifice the ability to naively dream, I gained in balanced pragmatism. Don’t get me wrong, I was, and still very much am, a dreamer. I still believe in taking chances and launching into the unknown – life would be pointless without that and discovery would grow nonexistent. I still appreciate everything that is beautiful and wondrous around me, I’m just no longer stunned into submission by it.

In some alternate reality there’s a version of me that never stopped going to school. He has a doctorate and he hasn’t written a novel but he has been published in a few journals and his students think he’s pretty cool and, probably, he’s sleeping with a few of them each semester but he figures it’s OK if it’s only Juniors and Seniors since they’re more “grounded.” He probably smoked pot and grabs drinks after class with a crew of underclassmen and cool teachers and they end up arguing in some campus house until 3 a.m. over an editing point or who as a bigger asshole, Ayn Rand or Sartre. I bet he has a beard too, huh? And I’m sure he likes his life. In fact I’m sure it’s a good life. Maybe even a great one.

I’m just glad it’s not mine.

Photo: If I were still living in a University town, I bet I'd still be wearing that damn electric blue three-piece suit...

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Pink Floyd was, and I guess still is, one of my favorite bands of all time.

Pink Floyd was, and I guess still is, one of my favorite bands of all time.

I suspect these guys like them a lot too. And you know what? Everyone who has posted this video thus far has teased these musicians mercilessly but all I see is a couple dudes doing something that makes them happy and while they're kind of stumbling their way through it I think that's actually kind of touching.