Ten Things I Learned in 2008

Jun 16 2009 Published by under Film/TV, Humor, Literature, Music, Politics, Sports

  1. That I can support a winning candidate for President. With one exception, before this year, the person I supported and voted for in the primary either wasn’t nominated or lost in the general election [the one exception? 1996 when Clinton was the only choice.] I decided to support Obama back in 2007, and I stuck with him all the way, and somehow he won. It was a great year, but it was an election grounded in my support of sports teams that always go to the brink before crashing and burning (Angels, Seahawks). Hence, I never took anything for granted–up to 7:59 (my time) on election night, just before the results of California and Washington put Obama over the top. The elation that I felt at that moment, when the victory was confirmed, equaled anything that has ever happened in my life. Right now, it can’t be January 20th fast enough. Continue Reading »

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In Praise of Aeroplane (In Search of Lost Sound Part III)

Jun 16 2009 Published by under Music

I bought Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea years ago and have enjoyed it for most of those years (took a few listens to get it, but I got it fairly quickly).  Still, I never really LISTENED to it until about two months ago.

By LISTEN, I mean actually sitting down, not doing anything else, just LISTENING to it listening, the kind of listening I reserve only for the absolutely greatest music I’ve ever heard in my entire life.  Now, I love music and have for a very long time, but albums I will drop everything to LISTEN to are rare.  There was Bob Dylan’s Biograph, a few Stones albums (definitely Exile, possibly Beggar’s Banquet), the first Tricky album, Richard and Linda Thompson’s Shoot Out the Lights, Arvo Part’s Tabula Rasa, most everything by Boards of Canada and Sigur Ros and William Basinski, The Conet Project, and Joanna Newsom’s Ys.  And now Aeroplane. Continue Reading »

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Boxed Sets and Year-End Lists

Jun 16 2009 Published by under Music

I enjoy year-end lists, if for no other reason than they highlight movies or albums I missed over the course of the year.  My favorite year-end list is at Brainwashed, with the key section (for me) being the reissues of the year and the boxed sets of the year.  From the Reissue list, I found out about the Nico Frozen Borderline: 1968-70 set, which includes two of Nico’s late 60s collaborations with John Cale, The Marble Index and Desertshore, with additional unreleased demos and alternate takes included for good measure.  From the boxed set list, I found out about Robyn Hitchcock’s I Wanna Go Backwards, which combines Hitchcock’s first two solo albums (Black Snake Diamond Role and I Often Dream of Trains), his later work Eye, and a two-disk set of unreleased, b-side, demo, and live tracks.  Continue Reading »

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