Stuff

Ok, it has been a while since I have posted. Here are some of the things I have done or have been doing with my mundane life:

• Went east for vacation to see my best friend and her family. Was a great trip... easily the best vacation I've had in- well, forever!
• Was very ill in the late winter/early spring. I was down for the count for nearly three weeks...lost a lot of weight and have subsequently gained it all back...just sucks...sigh.
• Joined Netflix. Missed the boat for a long time, but I have been averaging about ten movies a month since I joined. Not sure why I did not do this before.

Hmmm, what else can I say? My life is truly mundane, lonely and full of...well, emptiness. I hope to make up for it soon... I hope.

Maybe this post will satisfy all of my legion(s) of followers...wait, I don't have any...but please keep the pap's away from me. I could not stomach yet another photograph.

Watchmen = Big Yawn

One of the most over hyped movies in recent memory is coming out tomorrow. The build up over the past week in all forms of media is overwhelming. Badly drawn and poorly written, The Watchmen captures zero interest from me.

How the idiot critics at Time Magazine rated The Watchmen as one of the 100 best English language novels to be issued since 1923 is just beyond me when you consider the novels that were omitted (no Ayn Rand?! MORONS!).

I am not a huge graphic novel/comic book fan to begin with, but there are some that I like and have read and the rest I just ignore because they cannot capture my attention like a good novel can.

Now don't get me wrong, The Watchmen will make a ton of money this year for the movie industry (a shoe in for the top 5 grossing movies of the year), but the critics are panning it already and the fanboys are crying that you (Zack Snyder) cut too much or did not add their favorite part into the film. Maybe he should have paid some attention to what Peter Jackson did for the Lord of the Rings trilogy when the fans cried foul... it might have helped- but I doubt it.

I am a big movie fan. I have not gone as much during the last few years due to self-imposed financial constraints, but I do still see some flicks during the year.

I will not be seeing this one.

Post Oscar Thoughts

I did not change enough of my picks is the obvious thing to start with.

I did not believe the Slumdog hype at first- then I saw the movie earlier today...yet, I still did not ride the wave that was the Millionaire. As someone who has been to Bombay (still Bombay to me and not Mumbai) and traveled through part of that wonderfully complex country I am very happy that the world gets to see first hand- even if only on screen what it is like there.

Best line of the night: Dōmo arigatō, Mr. Roboto
by Kunio Kato for his winning Animated Short Film: Le Maison en Petits Cubes.

Finally, we got to see Kate Winslet win an award. It's about time!

I liked the show tonight. Hugh Jackman was good though they should have used him a bit more.

The "In Memoriam" section was nice, but the camera was either too far away or it moved too much. Simplicity is always best.

Please bring back a mini screening/snippet of each picture nominated for Best Film. Its always nice to see more screen time for the big award.

That's it!

Oscar Picks (a revision)

I was able to see Slumdog Millionaire this morning.

STUNNING!

Seeing the movie only changes two picks- but they are important ones. I am throwing the praise for Slumdog to win Best Picture and for Danny Boyle to get the Directing nod. I am even tempted to change all The Dark Knight picks (sans the one that Heath Ledger will get) over as well, but I think The Dark Knight was excellent in those categories so I will leave well enough alone.

Should be an interesting night.

Oscar Picks 2009

I have not seen all the Oscar nominated (and/or worthy) films as of yet. So far, I've seen four of the five nominees for best picture- which is pretty good considering how few movies I've seen over the course of the last twelve months. I was going to see Slumdog Millionaire today, but my damn schedule got changed... so it was like this for me today: Me= screwed.

Best Picture

Slumdog Millionaire has ridden such a wave of notoriety in the last few months that it would be hard to say it won't win. I don't think it will, but again I have not seen it so it is extremely difficult to judge. Milk, while a very good film is all about Sean Penn playing the legendary Harvey Milk. The Reader is Kate Winslet being as good as she's ever been (and she's been great many times) instead of a worthy best picture. Frost/Nixon is also about performances more than the picture. So, that leaves Benjamin Button and Slumdog. I give it to the Button.

Should Win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Might Win: Slumdog Millionaire
Will Win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button


Best Director

In the race for best director, it kind of comes down to which bad ass, do it your own way director could win. I am going to eliminate Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon) & Stephen Daldry (The Reader) right away. Both put out good films, but in different ways they have been out classed this year. Danny Boyle, David Fincher & Gus Van Sant are all visionaries who play by their own rules outside of the Hollywood/Big Studio mentality. The question is: do you follow the sort of unwritten rule that the Best Director also directs the Best Picture? If you follow recent history that means yes. In the last 20 years, only 5 times have the nominees for director failed to share in the best picture win (Producers usually are called on the stage for that one unless the director also produces the picture or at least share a credit). So, the odds look great for David Fincher and I am going to stick with him. Who cares if I think he ripped off Robert Zemeckis and Forrest Gump a bit/a lot. It was still a damn good film.

Should Win: David Fincher
Might Win: Gus Van Sant or Danny Boyle
Will Win: David Fincher


Best Actress

Please Please PLEASE let it be Kate Winslet. Her body of work is extraordinary! 33 years old. Has made just under 30 movies. Six nominations for Academy Awards. She just gets better and better.

Should win: Kate Winslet
Might Win: Meryl Streep (you can never count her out...EVER.)
Will Win: Kate Winslet


Best Actor

So, is it really Mickey Rourke vs. Sean Penn this year? That seems to be the scuttlebutt that I read out there. Poor Brad Pitt seems to have fallen by the wayside- even past a career spanning performance by Frank Langella and an out of nowhere yet impressive performance from Richard Jenkins (best known as the dead dad in Six Feet Under). I've seen both The Wrestler and Milk. I liked them both but it is hard to get these facts out of my head: Micky Rourke is really playing the car wreck that has been his life last these past twenty years which perfectly mirrors what the main theme of The Wrestler is about: Redemption and Glory of what was & could have been... or Sean Penn giving one more great performance that seemed so genuine and atypical of a Sean Penn role. The Wrestler is a career achievement for Rourke and I hope to see him get more roles that harken back to the promise he practically had dripping off him in the 80's. Sean Penn will probably win this award and it will be well deserved, but Richard Jenkins scares me because the Academy likes to sneak up on you with Adrian Brody or Roberto Benigni. Of course, they could give Langella a career achievement sympathy award, but that would really piss me off since Peter O'Toole has never won the Best Actor trophy and Frank Langella is nowhere near the caliber of actor.

Should Win: Sean Penn
Might Win: Richard Jenkins or Mickey Rourke
Will Win: Sean Penn


Best Supporting Actress

It seems that the world is salivating for Penelope Cruz to win this award...or, they are just salivating for her in general and I understand that too. Amy Adams is going to win an award one of these days. She's smart, understated and kicks you in the gut when you see her on screen. But, her curse this year is that she is up against a fellow actress from the same movie in the same category (Viola Davis...certainly no slouch given her volume of work in television and film over the last ten years). That leaves Marisa Tomei who gets better and better (check out her performance in 2007's Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) & Taraji P. Nelson as the adoptive mother of Benjamin Button. Most of the time, these are always toss ups- even when a nominee is supposed to be a sure thing. So of course I am going with Taraji P. Nelson.

Should Win: Taraji P. Nelson
Might Win: Penelpe Cruz or Marisa Tomei
Will Win: Taraji P. Nelson


Best Supporting Actor

Is there really any doubt?

Should Win: Heath Ledger
Might Win: The Academy should consider closing up shop if they screw this one up.
Will Win: Heath Ledger


The rest of my picks:

Animate Feature: WALL-E
Art Direction: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Cinematography: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Costume Design: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Documentary Feature: Man on Wire
Documentary Short: Smile Pinki
Film Editing: The Dark Knight
Foreign Language Film: Waltz with Bashir
Makeup: Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Original Score: Slumdog Millionaire
Original Song: O Saya (Slumdog Millionaire)
Short Film, Animated: Oktapodi
Short Film, Live Action: New Boy
Sound Editing: The Dark Knight
Sound Mixing: The Dark Knight
Visual Effects: Iron Man
Screenplay, Adapted: Doubt
Screenplay, Original: Happy-Go-Lucky

Overheard

Today, at a nationally known coffee place I heard the following snippet of conversation as a trendy, wannabe guy walked in:

..."I am so irritated, that I cannot even have caffeine right now".

He proceeds to hang up his cell phone and exclaim loudly at the woman behind the counter:

"Do you have any milkshakes?"

"We have frappuccino's"

"Is there any caffeine in it?"

"Yes, plus..." (and she lists what is in one)

"Well, can I just get a chocolate milkshake?"

At that point, I looked at my friend as we were both smirking and said to him that I had to get out of there before I laughed so hard and loud that it would be quite embarrassing. He agreed with me and as I turned to leave, I caught one of the other employees eyes as they just rolled back as if to say: Can you believe this idiot?

Laughing quietly, we left.

4 Days in January

So, the last few weeks have not been the most pleasant picnic that you could imagine. Stresses of work & the holidays in general have taken a heavy toll on me as one would expect, but it has been another reality that has hit me in the face harder than I wanted...but this was all under my control.

I had to make some decisions that I had never made before and while they hurt me terribly, they were the correct ones. Standing on solid ground feels good- especially when it is a foundation that you created. The pain is still there though and it will linger on for the foreseeable future.

I had a friend come to visit me this weekend. It has been the nicest number of days off that I can remember in a long time. It could not have been better. Getting me out of my house was easier than I thought. I experienced things and feelings that have been dormant and I wonder why I have sequestered myself for so long. I have also been able to talk about events of the past months or so with positive feedback for my actions given to me. Reinforcement of difficulties that I had a hand in creating, but ended on my own terms has been gratifying.

I am taking my friend to the airport later today. I am saddened that the trip was so short and our distance apart is so great, but I find my heart less heavy with new strength to continue on.

Books, Best of 2008

I read a lot last year- much more than I should have given the state of things personally & in the world. I read to get away but also for knowledge (personal & work related). Just like I said in my music list though... I would also read more if I could, but I think finishing a book every 3.07 days or so on average is not to bad. Yes, some of the things I read were small in the number of pages, but I more than made up for it with some of the absolute bricks that I read this year (2666 by Roberto Bolaño for one <--- challenging, frustrating- yet worthy).

As was my decision last year, I will put forth two top ten lists. One with books released in 2008 only and the second will be comprised of books released in years prior to that (because there are too many good books that I have not read yet).

My top ten from 2008:

1. Serena - Ron Rash
2. The Cellist of Sarajevo - Steven Galloway
3. Black Postcards - Dean Wareham
4. The Oxford Project - Stephen G. Bloom & Peter Feldstein
5. We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball - Kadir Nelson
6. Vunce Upon a Time - J. Otto Siebold & Siobhan Vivian
7. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Steig Larsson
8. The Black Tower - Louis Bayard
9. Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip- Confessions of a Cyncial Waiter - The Waiter
10. Duma Key - Stephen King

and the second list of books published prior to last year:

1. The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop: A Memoir, a History - Lewis Buzbee
2. Cathedral of the Sea - Ildefonso Falcones
3. South of the Border, West of the Sun - Haruki Murakami
4. The End of the Affair - Graham Greene
5. The Memory of Running - Ron McLarty
6. Oryx & Crake - Margaret Atwood
7. The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mohsin Hamid
8. The Devil in the Kitchen: Sex, Pain, Madness & the Making of a Great Chef - Marco Pierre White
9. The Black Path - Åsa Larsson
10. Then We Came to the End - Joshua Ferris

Notes on a few books:

It was hard to choose between Serena and The Cellist of Sarajevo. One was a novel of pure regional imagination set at the onset of the Great Depression in the mountains of western North Carolina & the other was a work of fiction based upon a real event mixed with the added pain, terror & horror of what humans will do to each other in the time of war and those moments in between. Either way, both are wonderful works that should not be over looked.

Dean Wareham's Black Postcards is my non-fiction book of the year by far. Dean was in the bands Galaxie 500 & Luna but it is his time spent in New York of the 1970's, 80's & 90's that grab your attention. He got to see it all explode & then participate as an indie Rock-God. A must read for any serious music lover.

I included two children's books in my top ten this year. We Are the Ship & Vunce Upon a Time are elegantly illustrated. One is wonderfully informative and the other is a sweetly told tale of misconceptions that we all have about others that we sometime shy away from. Of course, both books in a matter of fact way are just books about baseball and halloween, but really... they are much, much more.

Duma Key is possibly Stephen King's strongest work since his heyday of the '80's... and that is saying a lot. Folks, the literary world continues to take him for granted. He is much more than a writer who talks about things that scare you. He is our best story teller and while the literary elitists would scoff at that notion, how many Phillip Roth, Don DeLillo, Paul Auster, Joyce Carol Oates books can you name that are either super popular or that are movies? Certainly, a movie is not the be-all end-all success for a writer, but it says a lot about good stories. I re-read Hearts in Atlantis this year and forgot at how good it was & you should look into it yourself.

The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee was pure pleasure to read. If you love books, bookstores or have worked in one, then this is a book you must read. While it tails off a bit towards the end, Buzbee instills his passion for books & the printed word so well that it make you wistful for days long ago when you could stroll through book stacks for days on end because there were so many independent bookstores to choose from. Sadly, those days are no more. As I stated earlier: a pure pleasure to read.

The Memory of Running was the feel good book of the year for me. Smithy Ide is a man who realizes that second chances are often not noticed until they are gone and for once in his life, he is determined to make something happen. Ron McLarty's debut novel that almost didn't make it but did is as heart breaking as it is wonderful.

A few novels I am looking forward to reading in the coming weeks/months:

Wildwood: A Journey Through Trees - Roger Deakin
If I Could Write This in Fire - Michelle Cliff
Raging Sea - Ferenc Mate
Fool - Christopher Moore
Blackstrap Hawco - Kenneth J.Harvey
Blood Atonement - Dan Waddell
Party of One: The Loner Manifesto - Anneli Rufus

Looking back on my list, I noticed that this was the year that I returned to reading mysteries. The Hard-Boiled thriller was in big demand earlier this spring and summer. The summer also brought me into my Murakami phase where I finished reading the rest of his novels which I enjoyed a lot. I was disappointed with The Wind Up Bird Chronicle though. It is usually near the top of the list for Murakami critics/fans but it left me feeling flat- which is the first for one of his novels.

Below is a complete list of what I read in 2008 & when I finished each title (nerdy, I know).

Happy Reading!

1. Transit Maps of the World - Mark Ovenden 01/03/08
2. Granta 68: Love Stories - Ian Jack (Editor) 01/07/08
3. The Devil in the Kitchen: Sex, Pain, Madness & the Making of a Great Chef - Marco Pierre White 01/13/08
4. Duma Key - Stephen King 01/16/08
5. Go With Me - Castle Freeman Jr. 01/18/08
6. Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood 01/26/08
7. At the City's Edge - Marcus Sakey 01/29/08
8. Roasting in Hell's Kitchen - Gordon Ramsay 2/04/08
9. The Serpent's Tale - Ariana Franklin 02/10/08
10. The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop: A Memoir, a History - Lewis Buzbee 02/13/08
11. The Appeal - John Grisham 02/16/08
12. Granta 100: One Hundred - William Boyd (Editor) 02/21/08
13. Out Stealing Horses - Per Petterson 02/28/08
14. Backyard Giants - Susan Warren 03/01/08
15. Where the Wild Things Are - Maurice Sendak 03/06/08
16. The Giving Tree - Shel Silverstein 03/06/08
17. To Conquer Hell Edward G. Lengel 03/14/08
18. Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure - Smith Magazine, Editors 03/16/08
19. My French Life - Vicki Archer 03/17/08
20. No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach - Anthony Bourdain 03/17/08
21. The Truth About Chuck Norris: 400 Facts About the Worlds Most Amazing Human - Ian Spector 3/19/08
22. We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball - Kadir Nelson 03/22/08
23. A Moveable Feast - Ernest Hemingway 03/25/08
24. Barguments - Doug Hanks 03/28/08
25. Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing - Elmore Leonard 03/28/08
26. The Lost City - Henry Shukman 03/28/08
27. Black Postcards - Dean Wareham 04/01/08
28. How I Learned to Cook - K. Witherspoon & P. Meehan, Editors 04/04/08
29. Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett 04/08/08
30. The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mohsin Hamid 04/15/08
31. Pulp Fictions - Edited by Peter Haining 04/19/08
32. Granta 69: The Assassin - Ian Jack (Editor) 04/26/08
33. Killer Year: Stories to Die For… - Edited by Lee Child 04/28/08
34. Blood Kin - Ceridwen Dovey 05/04/08
35. Deadly Beloved - Max Allan Collins 05/06/08
36. Big City, Bad Blood - Sean Chercover 05/07/08
37. A Diet of Treacle - Lawrence Block 05/08/08
38. Dead Street - Mickey Spillane 05/09/08
39. Hit and Run - Lawrence Block 05/10/08
40. Gone, Baby, Gone - Dennis Lehane 05/13/08
41. The Great Derangement - Matt Taibbi 05/13/08
42. Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Food Critic in Disguise - Ruth Reichl 05/16/08
43. Odd Hours - Dean Koontz 05/19/08
44. House of Dark Shadows: Dreamhouse Kings Book 1 - Robert Liparulo 05/19/08
45. Merde Happens - Stephen Clarke 05/21/08
46. Watcher in the Woods: Dreamhouse Kings Book 2 - Robert Liparulo 05/25/08
47. Hit Parade - Lawrence Block 05/27/08
48. The Memory of Running - Ron McLarty 05/29/08
49. Granta 101: One Hundred and One - Jason Cowley (Editor) 05/31/08
50. Millions and Millions and Millions! - Louis Slobodkin 06/03/08
51. The End of the Affair - Graham Greene 06/06/08
52. The Polka-Dot Goat - Louis Slobodkin 06/06/08
53. The Year She Disappeared - Ann Harleman 06/11/08
54. Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami 06/13/08
55. Then We Came to the End - Joshua Ferris 06/18/08
56. Dance Dance Dance - Haruki Murakami 06/21/08
57. The Brass Verdict - Michael Connelly 06/22/08
58. When You Are Engulfed in Flames - David Sedaris 06/25/08
59. The Last Oracle - James Rollins 06/26/08
60. Traveler - Ron McLarty 06/30/08
61. A Wild Sheep Chase - Haruki Murakami 07/03/08
62. Chef's Story - Dorothy Hamilton & Patric Kuh, Editors 07/04/08
63. The Cellist of Sarajevo - Steven Galloway 07/07/08
64. Cathedral of the Sea - Ildefonso Falcones 07/11/08
65. Crime Beat - Michael Connelly 07/14/08
66. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling 07/14/08
67. Julie and Julia - Julie Powell 07/17/08
68. Of Song and Water - Joseph Coulson 07/20/08
69. Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World - Haruki Murakami 07/24/08
70. Supreme Courtship - Christopher Buckley 07/28/08
71. How the States Got Their Shapes - Mark Stein 07/28/08
72. The Gashlycrumb Tinies - Edward Gorey 07/31/08
73. Chez Moi - Agnes Desarthe 07/31/08
74. The Gargoyle - Andrew Davidson 08/04/08
75. The Black Path - Åsa Larsson 08/05/08
76. South of the Border, West of the Sun - Haruki Murakami 08/07/08
77. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami 08/14/08
78. Granta 102: The New Nature Writing - Jason Cowley (Editor) 08/20/08
79. Good People - Marcus Sakey 08/22/08
80. Vunce Upon a Time - J. Otto Seibold and Siobhan Vivian 08/23/08
81. My Last Supper - Melanie Dunea 08/25/08
82. The Black Tower - Louis Bayard 09/02/08
83. Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip- Confessions of a Cynical Waiter - The Waiter 09/03/08
84. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Steig Larsson 09/06/08
85. The Elephant Vanishes - Haruki Murakami 09/12/08
86. I Love Ranch Dressing - C.L. Freie 09/15/06
87. Indignation - Philip Roth 09/17/08
88. The Book of Fate - Brad Meltzer 09/23/08
89. The Blood Detective - Dan Waddell 09/26/08
90. The Angel Maker - Stefan Brijs 09/30/08
91. The Oxford Project - Peter Feldstein & Stephen G. Bloom 10/02/08
92. Hearts in Atlantis - Stephen King 10/06/08
93. Serena - Ron Rash 10/14/08
94. Beat the Reaper - Josh Bazell 10/16/08
95. Outliers - Malcom Gladwell 10/20/08
96. The World Made Straight - Ron Rash 10/21/08
97. Trigger City - Sean Chercover 10/22/08
98. A Most Wanted Man - John Le Carré 10/28/08
99. The Hobbit (or There and Back Again) - J.R.R. Tolkien 10/30/08
100. Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche - Haruki Murakami 11/05/08
101. Hardcore Hardboiled - Todd Robinson (Editor) 11/08/08
102. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien 11/09/08
103. These Guns for Hire - J.A. Konrath (Editor) 11/11/08
104. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - J.R.R. Tolkien 11/17/08
105. Chicago Blues - Libby Fischer Hellmann (Editor) 11/18/08
106. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - J.R.R. Tolkien 11/20/08
107. 2666 - Roberto Bolaño 12/03/08
108. The Charlemagne Pursuit - Steve Berry 12/07/08
109. Chuck Norris Vs. Mr. T: 400 Facts About the Baddest Dudes in the History of Ever - Ian Spector 12/09/08
110. Real World - Natsuo Kirino 12/12/08
111. Hellboy #1: Seed of Destruction - Mike Mignola and John Byrne 12/13/08
112. Hellboy #2: Wake the Devil - Mike Mignola 12/15/08
113. The Tales of Beedle the Bard - J.K. Rowling 12/16/08
114. Granta 70: Australia: The New World - Ian Jack (Editor) 12/19/08
115. Hellboy #3 The Chained Coffin & Others - Mike Mignola 12/21/08
116. Granta 103: The Rise of the British Jihad - Jason Cowley (Editor) 12/22/08
117. Hellyboy #4 The Right Hand of Doom - Mike Mignola 12/23/08
118. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born - Peter David & Robin Furth 12/27/08
119. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home - Peter David & Robin Furth 12/27/08

Music, Best of 2008

Hello music fans. Here are my top releases for 2008:

1. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
2. Bob Dylan - The Bootleg Series Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs
3. Black Kids - Partie Traumatic
4. Calexico - Carried to Dust
5. Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead
6. Black Mountain - In the Future
7. Grand Archives - Grand Archives
8. Kaiser Chiefs - Off With Their Heads
9. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
10. UNKLE - End Titles... Stories for Film
11. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cardinology
12. American Music Club - The Golden Age
13. Beck - Modern Guilt
14. Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Sunday at Devil Dirt
15. Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I-IV

A few notes on the top five:

I first heard Fleet Foxes from the Sub Pop website early in the year where they are very generous in letting you download free music. White Winter Hymnal was the selection available by Fleet Foxes. I was blown away & have been since the album was released in June. Their EP Sun Giant was released the month before & contains what I believe to be their best song: English House. While I have heard them more than I would like at work since the summer started, I have not grown sick of them...in fact, I like them even more.

Some will say it is not fair that I have included Bob Dylan in my top 15 albums of the year as these songs have all been previously released (from '89-06) & I will find no fault with that opinion- however, these songs did not make any of his official releases & further more, they are just as good if not better. It was like getting a brand new Dylan album that you were not expecting. My only disappointment is that the special 3 disc edition of the record was $100 dollars... kind of a rip off if you ask me.

Partie Traumatic is the party/dance record of the year. Black Kids simply got their synth/groove on with nary a track that did not make me tap my foot, bob my head or snap my fingers. Check out---> Hurricane Jane

Calexico's Carried to Dust is just beautiful. They sound like no other band & are tragically underrated. Check out---> Two Silver Trees

Keep You Eyes Ahead by Helio Sequence is another gem by the label of the year: Sub Pop. Strong all the way through & was in the running for a long time for the #2 spot on this list. Lately is heartbreakingly beautiful.

Other worthy releases this year:

1. Beach House - Devotion
2. Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
3. Flaming Lips - Christmas on Mars (movie as well)
4. Flight of the Conchords - Flight of the Conchords
5. Joe Jackson - Rain

Musical highlights of the year:

1. After waiting 17 years to see American Music Club in concert, I finally got to see them live. It was an 8 song set & while I wanted more, I was happy to get what I did. After the show, I was very fortunate to shake hands with Vudi & talk to him for a few minutes.
2. I got over my phobia to Robyn Hitchcock thanks to a co-worker- great stuff in his catalog.
3. Funky 16 Corners
4. I finally got a copy of Leftism by Leftfield
   

Disappointments of the year:

1. Nine Inch Nails did not come to my hometown on their recent tour.
2. Nine Inch Nails' album The Slip. It's still free, but only a handful of songs were keepers while the rest were fan only.
3. 4:13 Dream by The Cure was no where near as good as the single/ep's they released leading up to the album.
4. I only added 156 titles to my collection. I would love to triple that total...sigh.

Trend to go away:

Not really a trend, but I wish those whiny bastards from Coldplay would go the hell away.

Album I wish I purchased last year when it was out but missed it:

Band of Horses - Cease to Begin <---GREAT!

Albums from 2008 I still want to look into to:

1. Benji Hughes - A Love Extreme
2. Blitzen Trapper - Furr
3. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
4. David Byrne & Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
5. Erykah Badu - New Amerkyah, Pt. 1: 4th World War
6. Gary Louris - Vagabonds
7. Individuals - Fields/Aqua Marine (Reissue from the early 80's)
8. Lucinda Williams - Little Honey
9. Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping
10. Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line
11. School of Seven Bells - Alpinisms
12. Steve Jansen - Slope
13. TV on the Radio - Dear Science
14. Walkmen - You and Me

Feast or Famine

I was strolling through my local grocery store the other night and saw this amazing cart full of "clearance items". This photo opportunity was too good to pass up. Note the Ace wrist brace in the bottom left corner... heh heh. Maybe you need that after using all of those condoms?!