All in all, I believe that last year was a weak one for music. It had its moments, but there was a lot of crap that I tried to listen to in 2014. That said, I've finally made it through every song, and I think I've picked some real winners. I don't have strong feelings about the rank of these, so we'll just present a group of recommended songs by Brent.
GOOD SONGS:
Hi Five - Angel Olson - I sing the beginning of this song a lot while I'm doing stuff. I like the combination of Elvis and Roy Orbison delivery. But the whole thing is good.
Parade - The Antlers - Album is hard to get through. But this song is wonderful. Perfect drop of the F-bomb right off the bat.
Metallic Cloud - Damien Jurado made a really really long album. Probably a double album if it was an album. It has two versions of this song. Very dramatic.
So Blonde - EMA - For those of you who like to scream "So blonde" really loud.
The Body Electric - Hurray for the Riff Raff - This was my first favorite song of the year, and probably my ultimate favorite.
Just One of the Guys - Jenny Lewis - What a great song about being a woman. I'm not a woman, but I'm married to one, and I feel like this song captures what it's like to grow older as a female.
West Coast - Lana Del Rey - I just really like the line in it about how if you're not drinking, you're not playing. Nice twist on the cheating/trying line.
Easter Morning - Papercuts - It's always satisfying when you find an album that no one likes as much as you. I didn't read anything about Papercuts in the various Best of Music lists, but I thought this song was terrific. I also thought the album was good. I should have added that to my post about albums. Shoot.
Queen - Perfume Genius - Perfume Genius got a lot more sexy from it's last album to this one.
Every Time the Sun Comes Up - Sharon Van Etten - This album is just really depressing. Like the kind of depressing that only hits me when I have a lot of heartache. I don't really have a lot of heartache, but I will keep this song in mind should things with Chelsey and I go south.
Suffering You, Suffering Me - Slow Club - The Slow Club is one of the few bands that can regularly reinvent themselves without my getting annoyed. They started out all chamber poppy, and then they changed their sound for the last album to something more raw and stompy. This album is more polished sounding but with lots of energy. Slow Club fits in the category of bands I feel like I probably like better than most everyone else.
Inside Out - Spoon - Spoon made another Spoon album. Meaning that it's easy to bop your head with it, and there are a few good songs, but you won't be taking it to any deserted islands. This song is really great though.
The Promise - Sturgill Simpson - Yes, it's that The Promise. As a lover of the original, I give my full seal of approval on this version. Understated. Not trying to compete with the original. I'm glad is was able to include a cover on here.
I Love my DAD - Sun Kil Moon - I didn't get this album until the end. I never paid Sun Kil Moon much mind, but this album kept coming up on the Best of 2014 lists. I took to this immediately because I like songs about people loving their dads. Or apparently I do. I don't know.
Run From Me - Timber Timbre - Creepy creepy creepy. Timber Timbre does creepy really well. Also like the tip of the hat to Tom Dooley in this song.
Okay. That's all. So long 2014. You could have been better.
Before we delve into this, I should mention that one of my resolutions for 2015 is to not listen to music on shuffle anymore. I've abused the shuffle to such a large extent that I'm not sure that I can say I've listened to any album front-to-back. So this probably isn't the fairest assessment. But I do these every year, so I'm doing it again this year.
Hurray for the Riff Raff - Small Town Heroes - Okay, I've listened to this one beginning to end on multiple occasions. I just think it's great. Folk music with some New Orleans influences and other genres mixed in there too. Nothing new here. Just great songs all the way through. Perfect music for sitting outside and drinking. Or pretty much everything else.
Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence - I like what Lana Del Rey is selling. I know that many people don't. For those of us who like her, this was more of the same. For those who don't like her, I'm sure this didn't change any minds.
Conner Oberst - Upside Down Mountain - at this point I'm just listing albums I actually listened to more than once. I liked this. It was his best album since like 2005. It made me happy to no longer sing about spiritual stuff.
First Aid Kit - thus endeth the list of albums that I spent any amount of time with last year. This was good. Not great, but a few high points.
I can't pretend to recommend anything else. I liked a lot of songs off a few other albums, but I can't sit here an recommend anything else with any authority. Looking at this list, I'm not sure there's much point to it. But then I guess some people are aware of the Hurray for the Riff Raff album. So there you go.
Hey! I have a blog! I'm doing the same thing I do every year. I'm making a list of my favorite music, and realizing I'm maybe not qualified to make my list of favorite music, because I haven't listened to everything I want to listen to this year. Except this year, I just don't feel like I'm going to be able to cram like I ordinarily do. Or maybe I just don't feel like it. At any rate, here's the blog:
BEST ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City.
I liked this album the first time I listened to it. I like it now that it's the end of the year. I want to listen to it right now, instead of this Moonface album that I am trying to get through (I actually really like this Moonface album). MNotC is good for a lot of reasons, but my favorite parts are all the little moments. Like where all the music drops out in "Finger Back" and there's that little spoken word part about the girl at the falafel shop. And the part in Hannah Hannah hunt - well pretty much the whole Hannah Hunt song is this way - but the part at the end where he just kind of screams out the refrain of the song again for good measure. It's a careful nerdy album from a band that I always kind of only halfway liked because I thought they were too cool for that kind of thing.
ALBUM THAT WAS TOO LONG FOR ME TO EVALUATE PROPERLY:
Arcade Fire - Reflektor
There are too many songs here. And I think they knew it when they made it. This seems like it should have been a 10 song album, with "Reflektor" and "Joan of Arc" anchoring both sides. The extra songs aren't bad; they're just indiscernible.
ALBUM THAT HELPED ME EFFECTIVELY CLOSE THE BOOK ON A PARTICULAR ARTIST:
Bill Callahan - Dream River
Of all the things I don't understand about indie rock, Bill Callahan may be the most frustrating. I used to enjoy Smog records. Then he switched to mopey mumble music. I have tried and tried. I'm saying goodbye now.
ALBUM THAT MADE ME REOPEN MY BOOK ON A PARTICULAR ARTIST
Cold War Kids - Dear Miss Lonelyhearts
This is mostly on the strength of the first track. I put this album on, figuring I'd listen to it once or twice and put it away, but "Miracle Mile" is a really good song. Not breaking any ground, but it's good. The drawback here is that my favorite line in that song was "Little cold lie, where does it lead to?" I really liked that phrasing. However I just looked it up and it's actually "Miracle Mile, what does it lead to?" So not only have I misinterpreted my favorite part of the song, but I somehow failed to recognize the name of the song within the song's lyrics. Which probably makes me look a little dumb.
ALBUMS THAT SOUNDED JUST LIKE OTHER BANDS:
Virgins - Strike Gently - Sounded like Elvis Costello at one point - although listening to this again, I have no idea how I got that idea. Hmmm.
Savages - Silence Yourself - Sounds like Geddy Lee, if Geddy Lee sang New Order songs
White Denim - Corsica Lemonade - Sounds like Black Keys
Brass Bed - The Secret Will Keep You - Sounds like summerteerth-era Wilco
I Monster - People Soup - Sounds like The Pipettes
ALBUM THAT GREW ON ME THE MOST:
Camera Obscura - Desire Lines
I went from thinking this was a boner of an album, to putting it in my top ten - I think, I haven't made my top ten yet. The songs came on kind of slow, but once I could take in the lyrics, I came around to what was going on here. I like the way that her songs hit on that "I like you, but I'd rather stay home and watch reruns" motif.
SOLID EFFORT ALBUMS FOR BANDS WHO DIDN'T TRY ANYTHING NEW IN 2013:
The National - Trouble Will Find Me
I love The National. One of my favorite things about The National is that I can put their last three albums on shuffle, and the songs all go together effortlessly. But there's also a progression if you listen close. Growing old, to having kids, to losing your sense of worth. Happy stuff. I bet this was my second favorite album of the year, but there's nothing new going on.
Cults - Static
I like it when bands don't try new things. You have to be careful about that. You don't want to end up like Belle and Sebastian. The Cults just made a record just like their last one, without the hit single. Unless you count "Keep Your Head Up", which maybe you should. I don't know. It's certainly no "Go Outside". Good for you Cults. I'm okay with that.
Dr. Dog - B-Room
I haven't actually listened to this. I'm just assuming.
Sleigh Bells - Bitter Rivals
I like how Sleigh Bells just keeps making the same album, but louder. Keep doing that Sleigh Bells. The title track of this album was stuck in my head for like two weeks after it came out.
Yo La Tengo - Fade
What a perfect Yo La Tengo album. Their best since "I'm Not Afraid of You, and I Will Beat Your Ass." This seems to pick up right where something like "I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One" left off. Great music to have on while you are doing something else. Like making cookies. Or doing a crossword puzzle. Which is what they do best in my opinion.
ALBUMS I DIDN'T GET TO LISTEN TO PROPERLY:
Yuck - Glow & Behold - the fact that they lost their lead singer made me not want to listen. Widowspeak - The Swamps - Got it too late Volcano Choir - Repave - I thought I would like this. I did not like it. Summer Aviation - Elevator - Got it too late Surfer Blood - Pythons - I just couldn't bring myself to the idea that this band had more than one album in them. Mutual Benefit - Love's Crushing Diamond - kept forgetting that I had it. Mount Moriah - Miracle Temple - just saw this for the first time today. No idea what it is. Moonface - Julia with Blue Jeans - You just have to kind of set aside some time to listen to Moonface, and I haven't set that time aside yet. Mikal Cronin - MCII - never grabbed my attention Lucius - Wildewoman - got it too late Local Natives - Hummingbird - See: Surfer Blood Jackson Scott - Melbourne - got it too late Houndtooth - The Hills Below the City - I like Houndtooth for the name of a band. But I think I listened to this once. Front Bottoms - Talon of the Hawk - Listened to it once, and probably won't listen to it again. It's cute. Fidlar - Fidlar - I'm probably not going to listen to this. Why do I have this? Eleanor Friedburger - Personal Record - I like her albums, but I got this with a bunch of other stuff.
ALBUMS LOVED BY OTHERS AND NOT LOVED BY ME:
Bill Callahan - Dream River - (See Above)
Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
The way I could tell if songs from this album were coming up on my ipod was whenever I would hear a song and walk over to see what the hell it was - and then skip it. Daft Punk is not for me. I know that.
Blood Orange - Cupid Deluxe
I own this, but I've yet to see or read anything about it that makes me want to put it on. Tried listening to it once, and front-to-back is certainly not the correct entry point for me. I need a back door or something.
Haim - Days Are Gone
Days Are Gone - Chuck said something about the Vampire Weekend being an average album that is elevated by a crappy year in music. I think feel that way about Haim, except I think the world wants there to be an indie rock act that has more mass appeal than something like Best Coast. So they like the fact that Haim kind of fills that role. I think Haim is lousy. Sorry Haim.
Kanye West - Yeezus
I actually like this album, but it's too raunchy for me. Which may mean I'm getting too old. Or lame. Or all of the above. But I think I've always been prudish about that kind of stuff.
Neko Case - The Worse Things Get....
Again, not that I don't like it, but those people saying this is her finest album are out of their minds. Fox Confessor is the best Neko Case album, and that is final. This album is a little on the boring side at times, and the a capella moments just don't seem as inspired as they are supposed to be.
Rhye - Woman
I just don't like this kind of music.
ALBUM THAT I AM EMBARRASSED TO LIKE:
Yellow Red Sparks - Yellow Red Sparks
This is lame-o Of Monsters and Men style music. But I like it. And there's nothing I can do about it.
ALBUMS THAT I LIKED BECAUSE SOMETIMES I LIKE TO ACT LIKE I'M 21:
Joanna Gruesome - Weird Sister & The World is Beautiful Place, and I Am No Longer Afraid To Die - Whenever, If Ever
These are two lo-fi albums that won me over on enthusiasm and curse words. I liked them both about the same. I haven't looked this up, but it seems like each of these bands have like 10 people in them. So I like to imagine that they are a big group of friends who like to make music together. Like a more talented version of my friends from college.
ALBUMS FROM BANDS THAT I USED TO LIKE:
Flaming Lips - The Terror / Peace Sword EP
Peace Sword provided some hope that the Flaming Lips will eventually emerge from their newest acid rock phase. That's good. I'm so sick of the acid rock stuff. I wish I would have known about the acid rock phase in advance, so that I could have those minutes and hours back.
Iron & Wine - Ghost on Ghost
I haven't really liked this band since he decided to fill out his sound. So there's no surprise here. I barely listened to it. He did do a nice "Fairytale of New York" cover this year though. It's not on this album.
I am still prepared to like these bands, but not until they get some new ideas. Yeah Yeah Yeahs seem the less lost of the two, both of them seem like they are going through the motions until some inspiration surfaces. I don't think The Strokes will ever find it again. They seem to have one gear that they can make really good music in, and they refuse to use that gear anymore.
ALBUM THAT WAS ONLY GOOD FOR HALF THE TIME IT WAS ON:
MGMT - MGMT
The first 4-5 songs of this were actually pretty great! Then they go off the rails. MGMT seem like they are going out of their way to not make a solid album. Like they would view that as a form of selling out, now that they are on a major label. I can't help them with that. All I can say is that songs like "Alien Days" show that they could easily make another Oracle Spectacular anytime they wanted - if they wanted.
ALBUMS THAT I LIKED PRETTY GOOD:
Phosphorescent - Muchacho
For those of you who are actually reading this whole thing, you will note that Brent sometimes needs a different entry to an album than the front door. Such was the case with this album and its slow, chanty opener. Ugh. But once I started skipping that one, I found a really terrific album about hurt and loss and what fills in when your heard breaks. My favorite song of the year is Song for Zula.
Jason Isbell - Southeastern
I think this is the guy from the Drive By Truckers. I'm not sure. But I liked most of the songs on this album. Alt-country winners! Good, not great!
Okkervil River - The Silver Gymnasium
This is one of my favorite bands, and a concept album about growing up in the early 80's seemed like something I would like more than I did. But it was still pretty good. The production seemed to be referencing the pop of the early 80's, and I don't care how well you do that, Brent Koster is not going to love it. And I really loved their last album, so this didn't quite measure up.
Foxygen - We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic
I think I just realized for the first time what the name of this album was, and I'm rethinking everything about it. I just really liked the effortless way this album sounds. It seems like they have a million good ideas, and they don't really care about getting them right.
CHVRCHES - The Bones of What You Believe
Electronic pop. Really good hooks. Haven't really taken in the lyrics, but "The Mother We Share" is one of the few songs I think I could play for just about anyone, and they'd like it.
The Blow - The Blow
This could maybe fit into the "Bands who didn't try anything new" category, but it's been so long since their last album, and the personnel seems to have changed so there you go . I've always liked the way The Blow never quite made catchy poppy songs. And they kept that going on this album. Good work. They always have such herky jerky beats.
Waxahatchee - Cerulean Salt
I listened to this nonstop when it first came out, then I decided it was good, and moved on. Haven't listened to it in months, but from what I remember, she's made an album that Brent likes. Dense, weird lyrics. Straightforward production. Sad songs.
Best Coast - Fade Away EP
I just seem to get more out of Best Coast than I used to. There's not much going on here. But whatever it is, it seems like it's better than it was about three years ago. I think seeing them live this year helped me appreciate their whole thing.
LIST: 1) Vampire Weekend 2) The National 3) Camera Obscura 4) Phosphorescent 5) Yellow Red Sparks 6) Foxygen 7) Waxahatchee 8) The World Is a Beautiful Place and I Am Not Afraid to Die 9) Cults 10) MGMT
Let me start by saying that I had aspirations of ranking 25 songs, with no repeated artists. And then doing a list of 50 with repeated artists. But Kent was going to do this with me, and he's in the hospital getting his sinuses and blood pressure worked on. So my compromise is a Top 30 with repeated artists.
I know, I know.
No one cares.
Here's the mix:
And here's my brief rundown of the Top 10!
1) Andrew Bird - Something Biblical - This is my favorite of 2012 for two reasons. Number one, we heard it live, and it was a highlight of the year. Two, it's about a drought, and as a household that struggled to get through a very dry summer, it struck a chord. Not in a "we need rain to make a living way," but in a "The Lord Giveth, and the Lord Taketh Away" way.
2) Beth Jeans Houghton - This song has been on my best-of list all year. It has two distinct sections on in one three minute song. I love it when songs do that.
3) Stay Useless - Cloud Nothings - 1990's revivial. The Nirvana kind.
4) Dear Believer - Edward Sharp and the Magnetic.... - I could have picked like four songs by this band that I liked all the same. I picked this one. Interesting side note, in the last couple of weeks, I've tried to find this album on anyone's list of best albums - including individual DJ's on indie rock stations. I believe I am the only person the rank them at all - let along #1.
5) End of the Line - Sleigh Bells - This band is underrated because they make simple catchy music. History will be kind to them
6) Don't Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas) - Regina Spektor - Cutest song of the year. If you are ok with the affectations.
7) Hood - Perfume Genius - I put this on a mix for Chelsey at the beginning of the year. Now she loves it. And I'm the hero.
8) The House that Heaven Built - Japandroids - Liked this song the first time I put the album on. Finally Chuck and Brent have a song to rock out to. Ended two sentences with a preposition there.
9) Radiator Sister - The Mynabirds - If I would make any changes from my album rankings, I would put The Mynabirds higher. This is a good album.
10) Off To the Races - Lana Del Ray's album is full of songs just like this. And I love almost all of them.
So Kent and I make two lists. We make a list of 20 songs that doesn't allow us to repeat artists more than once. And we make a list of 50 songs where we can repeat artists as much as we please. Kent also has some weird weighting that he does, like if we list two songs from the same artist - even though they aren't the same song - they get a bonus since we both listed them. This is the composite list of our no-repeat lists.
I'm sure no one cares about this but Kent and I. But at least you can easily listen to them...
Brent's and Kents! Please submit yours to me, and I'll add them accordingly...
Brent's Top 10!
10) Slow Club:Paradise - I had a bunch of albums tied for 10th, at the end, it was either this, or Those Darlin’s. Slow Club won because the first song, Two Cousins, is so good. It gets me excited for the whole album. It never tops the opener. But especially as a sophomore effort, I really think they did a bang-up job
9) Allo Darlin’: Allo Darlin’ - This came out in 2010, and has the worst name I can think of for a band. So that was two strikes right there. But it’s sweet and clever in the way that Belle and Sebastian or Camera Obscura can be. Horrible name. It bears repeating.
8) Adele:21 - There are some lousy songs on this thing, but it also includes two songs that could be the song of the year for me. And several others that might be in that category if they were in the shadow of the Rolling in the Deep and Someone Like You. And I love the concept of Adele being a popstar who outsold like everyone else this year.
7) The Weeknd:House of Balloons - I am the last person that should be liking this album, and I’m sure I don’t get all its references, but it won me over. It sounds like 1990’s R&B to me, but I’m sure I have that wrong. Much more than the sum of its parts.
6) Hunx & His Punx:Too Young to Be in Love - Phil Spector girl-group songs sung by a gay! Where do I sign up? I loved this album. Pure joy. And then they whip out this raspy-voiced lady singer! Even better.
5) The Anlers:Burst Apart - Their last album, Hospice, was great, but sounded lousy. This album is good but it sounds great. The Antlers make great songs. Every Nigh My Teeth Are Falling Out. Come on.
4) Lykki Li:Wounded Rhymes - Any of these next three could be my number one album. Lykki Li is like 20 or something. It’s crazy how good these songs are when you consider how young she is. There seems to be a real trend of retreading Phil Spector. But her Sadness is a Blessing is the only take on it that expanded on it in any way. Love Out of Lust is going to be one of my favorite songs as long as I am in love. Rich Kid Blues and Get Some should be on the radio.
3) Cults:Cults - Okay, I take that back. I think the Cults reference the Spector sound and they do some good stuff with it indirectly. Go Outside is one of my favorite songs of the year, which is unfortunate because it was released last year. The album is 2011 however, and songs like You Know What I Mean and Bumper grew on me all year. Kent hit the head on the nail. This is next what seems to be a constant line of noise guy/girl singer bands (Sleigh Bells, Crystal Castles).
2) Generationals:Actor-Castor/Trust - I’m lopping together the EP and the album because both were excellent. I wanted like the dickens to put as my number one entry. But the only problem with this band - it’s fundamental to them and I don’t think they should change it - their lyrics don’t mean anything to me. So you have these unbelievably songs and pretty good production, but the words don’t take me anywhere. Which is a shame. It was by far the best tunes of the year in my opinion. Yes, I just said tunes.
1) Okkervil River:I Am Very Far/Mermaid - I love this band, and this is their best work since Black Sheep Boy. Also, as Kent pointed out to me last month, the Mermaid Single is a real piece of work too. Will Scheff is kind of a jerk, as I learned this year. But I will take his lyrics over almost anyone at this point. And they take enough left turns musically to make it an interesting album in that regard as well.
Okkervil River - I Am Very Far - After two less-than-memorable releases, Okkervil River pulls it together. They've finally got the "rock n roll" sound they were trying for on The Stage Names down, yet there is plenty of rambling woe is me Okkervil River songs as well. Pity that the best song, Mermaid, was only released as a single.
Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for My Halo - Brent thought it was odd that I would like this album so much, due to its lyrics of woe, and I thought it was odd that he would like it so much, due to its guitar virtuosity. Kurt Vile does both things really well. I like that the guy has such a terrible voice (All my favorite singers couldn't sing). I like the too lazy to be punk aesthetic. I like that just about every episode of my new favorite terrible TV show, Revenge, has a song off this album in it.
Tom Waits - Bad as Me - Like Okkervil River, Tom Waits has been putting out some crummy albums of late. I suppose I shouldn't say crummy, because Tom Waits and Okkervil River's crap is way better than most other bands best efforts. Anyway, this is Tom Waits' best work since Mule Variations. I like the way each song goes in it's own direction, rather than the unified sound of Real Gone.
Good Albums That Aren't As Good As The Legitimately Good Albums, But Are Still Pretty Good.
Generationals - Actor-Caster - Generationals make a strange kind of music. It's nostalgic pop, but with a synthesizer twinge. It's like they have taken samples of old music and stitched them together. The guitar sounds like it is straight out of the 60s. The production is great, and they have a great ear for adding odd instruments to the mix without overdoing it. I had 3 chances to go see them this year, and did not make a single one, and I regret that. I think their biggest accomplishment is being a New Orleans band that doesn't sound like a New Orleans band.
The Antlers - Burst Apart - Once you make a great concept album, I feel like you have to keep on making concept albums. It just seems weird to not over-analyze an Antlers album as a whole.
Other Lives - Tamer Animals - Apparently they have another album that sounds just like this one. I must have had it at some point, because Brent has it. Apparently it didn't survive the yearly purge of crappy music. The three song stretch of Tamer Animals, Bust Bowl III, and Weather is just fantastic reverb-y goodness.
Yellow Ostrich - The Mistress - I love a lo-fi sound. I love recorded loops. I love harmonies. Naturally, I really enjoy Yellow Ostrich's weirdo album. All the songs are pretty much the same, but the sound is fantastic.
Albums that have one or two really good songs on them, and a bunch of filler.
Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
EMA - Past Life of Martyred Saints
The War on Drugs - Slave Ambient
Albums with a great sound that don't have any great songs on them
Wu Lyf - Go Tell Fire to the Mountain
The Dodos - No Color
Album that would have been on this list had Kurt Vile not come around and said "This is how you do it"
King Edith - my compass spun when she came on the scene. I have no idea what was important to me before she showed up. Now every single decision I make starts with her. She is beautiful and I love her so.
Chelsey Erpelding - My beautiful wife who kept King Edith safe for nine months, and delivered a beautiful baby without any complications. I can't believe how someone who needs sleep so badly suddenly operated on like four hours a night without showing any ill effects. She made the most graceful transition to motherhood, and she will always be the love of my life.
Side Door - Chelsey's dad put a new door on the side of our house this year. It's so great. Not as great as the baby, but pretty darn great.
Weekend football - Every weekend I get to watch football with my brother while he holds Edith. It's a scene I never ever imagined we would participate in, but it's become a weekly ritual that makes me happy to have such a great brother.
Presents - So many people did such great things for us in advance of King Edith's arrival. Hand-made blankets, cute outfits, lots of Target gift cards. And then after we arrived, having in-laws help take care of her, or bring us sustenance when we were too tired to eat. Nice families. Nice friends. Amen.
New Tom Waits and Okkervil River albums - two of my favorite artists made two great albums this year. Hallelujah. Now I just need the Silver Jews to get back together.
Trip to Logansport with siblings - this should be way higher, but this trip to our old hometown was really special. Seeing stuff I barely remembered. Seeing stuff I remembered very well. Getting to spend time with my siblings again. Eating Noble Romans pizza. A wonderful trip that couldn't have come at a better time.
The two weeks of FMLA I got to spend with my mom and Edith - I don't normally get to hang out with my mom for that length of time. We were able to visit museums and malls and eat breakfast together. Obviously it would have been nicer if she wasn't going insane over grandma at the time, but realistically what would the likelihood of something like be?
My new computer at work - My old computer hated me, and then I hated it. And then we hated each other at the same time for a while. And then it would lock up. My new computer has two screens and hurts my neck, but it's still way better.
My dumb dog - Deuce has tested the limits of what is lovable this year. Acting like a dick, needing expensive surgery, getting up in the middle of the night. Sometimes that dog can be a real pile of garbage. Yet there is something unsinkable about him. He serves as a constant reminder that chaos rules in our house. He hates everything but us. And he loves us so much it's annoying. I don't know what we'd do without him.
All the people who reached out when Angelique died - I was blown away by how many people who did and said kind things when we lost Angelique. Amazing. Humbling.
The Superfriends Movie Club - I like watching and writing about movies. Finally there is a group for me.
The Cake Gallery - this year we found a bakery that makes the most delicious cakes. Giant, five-layer, knock you over, super-moist cakes. They are super expensive. I love them.
H&M opening in Kansas City. What great news this is. Now I can buy my dress shirts (the only ones I've found that fit me right) without having to go to Chicago.
Adele - I'm so happy that everyone likes Adele. I hope she gets her voice fixed. I hope she keeps making albums that everyone likes. I hope she keeps naming them by her age at the time she makes them. Conversely, I wish Katy Perry would stop doing whatever she's doing immediately. Are you aware that her album is now tied with Thriller for having the most #1 records. What god would allow this?
I Love Toy Trains - When we got Direct TV I was excited to watch two shows - I Love Toy Trains, and The In Crowd. One is about Toy Trains. The other is about high-society homosexuals. Predictably the trains proved to be more entertaining. This is the format of ILTT - in the 1990's this hobby store decided to shoot video of all these sweet toy train set-ups. That's it. They even have a camera that fits in the engine, so you can see these set-ups from the train's point of view. I watch it every week.
My sister's recent visit to Omaha - few and far between that I can hang out with my sister in Omaha without a 92-year-old grandma in-tow. This should also be ranked higher. This year I got to eat at the Radial Cafe with both my mom and sister. Talk about great!
Kent Woynowski and his ever-expanding music library - This should definitely be higher. Thank god for Kent, and his willingness to join me in wading through lots of crappy music each year, in the hopes of finding the good stuff. And then we talk about it. And get mad. It's the best.
Omaha - while I dream of leaving someday, it's pretty great living in a town that has the following: a) great farmers market b) cheap everything c) no traffic ever d) pretty old buildings e) nice people f) good bands coming through and g) lots of trees. If it had less hills and white trash, it would be perfect.
Tragedy and Elation - I walk around this world largely unconnected to the emotional overtures going on around me. Emotions embarrass me. They make me go in the other direction. I don't understand how to interact with them. Which is why the extremes appeal to me so much. I get them. It's obvious. So I'm thankful for the humanity I feel during both. They remind me that I can be a human, just like the rest of you.
Kent and I got into an argument about our favorite Tom Waits songs the other day. Neither of us is pleased with the other's choice. But it's stronger than that. Upon relating our favorite song to the eachother we both set about suggesting other songs for the other to pick instead. That led to a debate about whose song was more of a "classic" in the Tom Waits cannon. (I'm not sure if I'm using the word cannon correctly there).
Anyways, here are the two songs. I know none of you are huge Tom Waits fans, but from an outsiders perspective, which one sounds more like a Tom Waits classic?
So I have been doing this informal study of people who laugh at their own jokes. MY hypothesis going in was that I did not like people who laughed their own jokes. It makes me uncomfortable. I immediately look at the ground and wait for it to end.
I did this study so that I could have a quick litmus test as to whether I would like someone or not upon meeting them. But the results were surprising.
Once I started paying attention, I realized that many people I truly like laugh at their own jokes. Kent Woynowski laughs at his own jokes. This led me to my first conclusion:
I only dislike people who laugh at their own unfunny jokes.
Very interesting. I had no idea. But I dug a bit further, and discovered the following nuance.
The amount I don't like people who laugh at their own joke depends on how loudly they laugh at their own jokes and how much eye contact.
Eye contact is the worst part of this. I am incapable dealing with someone who is laughing at their own joke and looking at me while they do it. Unacceptable.
I also discovered:
Laughing as you tell a joke or funny story is no problem at all - it's just the post joke laughing I don't like.
Smiling while you tell a joke is fine
Laughing after a pun is fine. As long as you don't look at me.
Yesterday I was carrying a box downstairs and missed a step. I landed awkwardly on on the side of my foot and twisted my ankle around in a bad way. Then I fell down the stairs.
My first thought was "Oh, shit. We're having a baby, and I just broke my ankle." I let out a scream of frustration and pain. Chelsey came down to check on me. I was trying to not throw up. Then I threw the box at her on accident while I was trying to clear a path.
But I was able to put weight on it. And even though is swelled up like a grapefruit, I think it's just sprained. So I am now officially hobbled for the arrival of this baby.
But at least I didn't break my ankle. Right before I moved from Atlanta to New Orleans.
I'm IMing with Kent about this, so I thought I would throw it out to you people: Re-reading books - is it worth it? I say it's a big fat waste of time. Kent says otherwise.
This weekend I watched a movie about a man who threw his own wake. It had a sad poem at the end of it. This got me thinking I should start working on sad poems to be read at wakes and funerals. Something along the lines of "Oh Captain, My Captain" I think I am the perfect person to do this, as I never cry at funerals, and I have time to practice before someone actually kicks the bucket. Here is my first attempt. I wrote it about Kent.
Give me your notes.
Farewell my faithful comrade.
It's time to close the door.
The candle of your spirit fails.
And sadness evermore.
Farewell my faithful ally.
The the knower of mine mind.
From days of yore, 'til yesterday
My heart aches from our time.
Like falling soldiers left and right
I see us in the past.
Pursuing all our summer nights
And days that went too fast.
Romance and adventure both.
Balconies full of smoke.
Long evenings that grew into dawn.
Surrounded by our folk.
Farewell my faithful comrade.
Forever may you ride.
The blurry streets of howling joy.
Within my memory's tide.
From this day forth I am alone.
A stranger to mankind.
The world feels strange and draped in cold.
With no more sun to shine.
In case anyone is interested in seeing the post that Kent and I put together each year, giving our combined ranking of songs/albums, click here.
I think you will find that we pretty much only agreed on the Black Keys, The National, Vampire Weekend, and Sleigh Bells. Which is to say it was a pretty lame year for music. But whatever. We can always get out our Antlers album from last year when we feel blue about it.
