Ten for '10 - My Favorite Albums of 2010

Figured I'd dust of Ye Olde General Admission to do a rundown of my Top 10 Favorite Albums of 2010. I've effectively deluded myself into thinking people might actually care about my opinion, because nothing says Musical Authority™ quite like a person sitting at their computer in a basement who can neither sing nor play an instrument.

Anyhow, I've traditionally thought of myself as an Indie Rock Kid. But, ignoring the fact that I'm 35, the main thing that's surprising about this list is the near complete absence of indie rock. One or two albums made it on the list, but for the most part this was apparently a year of hip hop and dance music for me. Maybe this just wasn't a good year for rock music, but just as likely, this list reflects the fact that 2010 was sort of a downer of a year, and I was trying to shake off the aura of doom and gloom by listening to music that made me want to shake my proverbial money-maker. Regardless, not many fuzzed out guitars to be found here.

So, onward to the list...

(In alphabetical order)

Aloe Blacc Good Things - "Hey honey, I was just listening to NPR on the drive to the store and heard this really good sounding album..." I'm not sure what it means that I'm getting my music recommendations from Public Radio, but -regardless- this album is a revelation. Somehow he's managed to capture the sound of spirit of early 70's soul music while not sounding cliched or derivative. And, even when he's singing about being scorned by a lover or needing a dollar for some cheap wine, his album makes you feel like you are enjoy a lazy Sunday morning.



Arcade Fire The Suburbs - Unlike Funeral, this album didn't didn't have the "thrill of the new" to it. And, unlike Neon Bible, it didn't have the opportunity to be stuck in a car with Sarah and I as we drove around South Africa for a couple weeks. Still, even an unremarkable Arcade Fire album is better than 90% of what's out there in my book. And, like both previous albums, The Suburbs continues to grow on me even after months of listening.



Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse Dark Night of the Soul - While most of the albums on this list could be described a "feel good" this album is the antithesis of that. A fact that was only driven to home by Mark Linkous' suicide before the albums completion. But, that's not to say that the album is chore to get through, far from it. Instead, its an album for dark nights, rain and wine; an album for recognizing beauty in sorrow and tragedy. It doesn't hurt that, like several other entires on this list, this album features a veritable cornucopia of guest artists, with everyone from the Flaming Lips and James Mercer to Iggy Pop and even David Lynch making appearances.



David Byrne and Fatboy Slim Here Lies Love - Despite my love of all things David Byrne, I have to admit that even I didn't know quite what to make of this album when I first gave it a listen. A two-disk collection of disco and dance songs roughly chronicling the life of Emelda Marcos, that Byrne has been researching and organizing for years. To make matters more surreal, it features a laundry list of famous female singers (including Tori Amos, Cyndi Lauper and Natalie Merchant) plus Byrne and Steve Earl singing the various rolls. But, despite my initial reservations, repeat listening paid off and the album revealed itself to be not just unusual but also a lot of fun. "Solano Avenue" is easily my favorite track of the albums, but "Please Don't" (featuring Santigold) is the main single, and features a video of sorts...



Dessa Badly Broken Code - Oddly, another NPR recommendation. And, almost as surreal, a white, female rapper. Dessa's album inhabits a world where everyone is constantly racing into and trying to escape from self-destructive relationships, but thanks to her nimble rap skills and surprising singing voice, it was a world I found myself revisiting. This song isn't as good as others on the album like, say, "Matches to Paper Dolls" but its got a video, so here ya go...


Gorillaz Plastic Beach - A cartoon bands third album, featuring a not so subtle environmental theme.... yeah, that sounds like it should be a disaster. But, despite that conceit, and despite the fact that it lacks the big singles found on the Gorillaz first two albums, Plastic Beach is possibly the Gorillaz strongest album to date. Without a big name producer to help steer the ship, this Gorillaz outing is definitely Damon Albarn's baby. That said, like the previous two outings, the disk is overflowing with an eccentric array of guest artists: Mos Def, Bobby Womack, Snoop Dogg and Lou Reed amongst others). And, of course, there are the trademarked weird and amazing videos by Jamie Hewlett...



Janelle Monae The Archandroid - When I first heard this album, I was convinced it would be huge in the same way the first Gnarls Barkley CD was. But, while it does seem to have gotten its fair share of love on various critics Top 10 lists this year, it never reached that over-saturated and overplayed level other album did. Probably for the best, I suppose. While other albums on my list lean heavily on guest artists, Janelle takes another route, instead drawing from a huge spectrum of musical influences from the last 30 or so year (ranging from Bowie to Outkast), and somehow jams them together into one cohesive album that lives in a world somewhere halfway between Phillip K. Dick and Metropolis.

Sadly, you can't embed the video for "Tightrope" the featured single, so you'll just have to go here to see Janelle do her thing, in all its pompadoured glory.

Junip Fields - Have you ever been at a party late at night, when everyone's pretty much left, and heard the sound of rock music playing through the walls from some other distant location? Or, have you ever wondered what it would sound like if the Beta Band made 70's folk rock? If you can imagine either of those sounds, you get close to approximating the sound of this Swedish duo. As the parent of a 2-year-old, you grow to appreciate music that is quiet enough that it won't wake your child up from a nap, but upbeat enough to keep you awake yourself. And, while the end of the album flirts with being too jam band-y, one can't deny its hooks and appeal.



Kenye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - I thought I had this list all figured out in early December, but then Kanye had to go and release this album. Nominally a concept album in which the artist himself is the concept, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is an overstuffed, Baroque epic that should collapse under its own self-importance. It's self-indulgent, occasionally offensive, and abrasive ...and also pretty incredible and essential listening. In the main single, "Runaway," Kanye urges the listener to raise a toast to the douche bags, assholes and jerk-offs of the world while simultaneously acknowledges himself as one. Well, Kanye, I raise my glass to you.



Mark Ronson & the Business Intl. Record Collection - This is probably my guilty pleasure of the year. This is popcorn fluff of the highest caliber, but it's (I'd argue) also high quality fluff. Apparently Mark Ronson is a wealthy, privileged East Coast producer or something. I'm not too sure, but I do know the album brings a smile to my face and its mix of pop, dance and hip-hop makes me want to dance. Both timeless and soon-to-be-dated. In the album Mark confides that he just wants to be part of our record collection. Well, if I collected records, I would definitely consider it.



So, that's it. My list. I'm sure I'll regret it when I look back on it in a year. It's probably worth mentioning some of my other favorites that almost made the list:

Broken Social Scene Forgiveness Rock Record
Broken Bells Broken Bells
Cee Lo Green The Lady Killer
Charlotte Gainsbourg IRM
The Roots How I Got By
Vampire Weekend Contra

Also, the band (or individual) How To Dress Well was someone who I considered for this list. It sounds like late-80's R&B bounced off the moon and played over a crappy radio. It's an interesting one, and one that I can't help but think will gain some traction in the coming year but, ultimately, the album in its entirety was a little too esoteric. When it works though, it works...



Finally, I'll mention that while the above lists reflect my picks from the 2010 releases, there are a ton of older albums that have been getting a lot of play at the Hill-Stach Manor, including...

The XX The XX
Mos Def The Ecstatic
Basia Bulat Oh, My Darling (Stella's favorite of the year)
The National Boxer
Blue Scholars Hello From Oof

See you next year!

Om Box

Sorry for basically ditching this blog, but between personal life being busy, and the fact that I now tend to just post links to things that interest me on Facebook, I've been neglectful here.

That's not to say this blog will go away anytime soon. For one thing, Sarah and I use the blog roll on the right to keep up to date with our favorite blogs. And, for another, from time to time, it allows me to post things like this...



...I'm currently reading Monkey. And, I love Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn's work on Gorillaz, so I was fascinated to hear about the stage production version of Monkey they created. I like track 6.

Cheers.

I Aught to Know: Music

OK, Albums!

Not based on what was technically the best, but instead what I probably listened to the most. Also, some favoritism was given to the second half of the decade because even though Weezer's Green Album got a ton of playtime on my CD player in 2002, I can't bring myself to add it to the list.

In alphabetical order...

Arcade Fire
"Funeral"

I actually might like Neon Bible better and (thanks to mine and Sarah's road trip across South Africa) might have listened to it more). But, this was the album where I "discovered" Arcade Fire, so it will always leave the bigger impression. Plus, if I was doing a list of favorite singles from the aughts, "Backseat" would probably be on that list.




Beirut
"Gulag Orkestar"

Who knew that a 23-year-old kid from New Mexico playing what sounds like Eastern European gypsy folk music in the streets of Paris would be one of my favorites. But, from the time it was release in, like 2006 till now, it's been a favorite. Funky and ecclectic, while also accessible and poppy. His follow up Flying Club Cup is also excellent.





Broken Social Scene
"You Forgot It In People"

Along with their later self-titled album, this was basically the soundtrack to Sarah and I planning our big trip. Like Arcade Fire, this band somehow manages to capture something that reminds me of growing up in the suburbs... I'm not sure why, or why that would appeal to me, but it does. The sing-songy "Athems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl" will be stuck in your head for days.




David Byrne & Brian Eno
"Everything That Happens Will Happen Today"

As much as I love Byrne, most of his solo work hasn't connected the way his Talking Heads stuff did. That said, this is probably the best thing he's done ever, in my opinion. Period. Eno's music elevates Byrne's songs to the rank of "secular gospel" that they aspire to. The album of 2008 for me.




Gorillaz
"Gorillaz"

I remember stumbling across the video for their first single, "Clint Eastwood" months before the CD was released in the US, and watching it probably 18-hundred-dozen times. Then, I went to a Canadian CD website, bought the album there, and had it shipped to me here in the US for way too much money. Then, I spent the next year or two listening to it non-stop. Their follow up, Demon Days was excellent too.



Postal Service
"Give Up"

I'm pretty sure I put this album in my CD player sometime in 2003, and didn't take it out until Sarah and I left on our Round the World trip in 2007. Probably, if backed into a corner, this would be the album I'd admit most defined this decade for me.

(On a side note, I remember, when this album came out, I wished there were more albums like it. But, recently, when I discovered the band, Owl City, it actually mad me a little angry to here someone so obviously aping Postal Service's shtick.)

Ryan Adams
"Demolition"

Ryan came out with something like 84 albums this decade. And most of them got a lot of play time at the Hill-Stach residence. But, Demolition is probably my long-term favorite. Entertainingly, his never-released "Destroyer" session was probably our second most listened to Ryan Adams CD, and also contains mine and Sarah's wedding song.



The Shins
"Oh, Inverted World"

The song "New Slang" might be a indie-music-hipster cliche, but I still remember hearing it for the first time. In the movie Garden State, Natalie Portman's character shares that song with Zach Braft saying "You gotta hear this one song, it'll change your life I swear." And while that sounds a little hyperbolic, it was one of those songs that stuck me the very second I heard it.



White Stripes
"White Blood Cells"

I might have listened to Elephant just as much (and "Seven Nation Army" might be the song that springs most imediately to mind), but White Blood Cells started it off. In fact, this album sort of kicked off several years of listening to a lot of retro-garage rock bands, but the Stripes are one of the few that still holds up today.




Wilco
"Yankee Hotel Foxtrot"

One of those rare albums that was a critical darling, that I loved and that I listened to a ton. In fact, the song "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" was easily on the Top 10 for my most listened to individual songs. And, has some of my favorite, borderline nonsense lyrics.

Oh, and here are some runners up: The Streets A Grand Don't Come For Free, New Pornographers Mass Romantic, Vampire Weekend's self-titled release, Decemberists Crane Wife, Neko Case Blacklisted, PJ Harvey Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea, Death Cab For Cuties' Transatlantism, Andrew Byrd Andrew Byrd & the Mysterious Production of Eggs, Blue Scholars Bayani, Outkast Skankonia and, of course, Weezer the Green Album.

Like my previous Best of the 2000s entry, if there are any of these albums you are considering buying, why not buy them through my General Store. Thanks!




(EDIT: D'oh! I can't beleive that I forgot Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! ...Bad, Tyler! Bad!)

I'm not very good at singing songs...

Another video is making the round in YouTube-land that has caught my attention, and compelled me to watch it a half-dozen times in a row. It's one of those things that's just bizarre, campy, strange... yet affecting in a way that appeals to the little kid in me who used to leaf through books on space, and who still enjoys a star-filled night sky today. Enjoy!



..and something tells me that Carl Sagan might have enjoyed it himself.

A still more glorious dawn awaits
Not a sunrise, but a galaxy rise
A morning filled with 400 billion suns
The rising of the milky way...

Get Byrned!

"Wait! What's this?!" You ask yourself, "Tyler's actually posting on General Admission?! I thought he'd completely forgotten about this relic of a blog. What could have brought him out of quasi-retirement-slash-limbo?"

Well, to answer your question: My favorite 80's music-icon turned mid-life man-crush David Byrne has released a new album. Reuniting with Brain Eno (who worked with Byrne on both a number of Talking Heads albums, and the critically acclaimed My Life in the Bush with Ghosts...which I've never listen to because I'm the Worst Fan Ever™), Byrne's new album, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, is being released in the same manner as Radiohead's In Rainbows, with the online, downloadable release available now (for a fixed price, though), and a more conventional release available later this year.

...sheesh that sentence was a tangled mess but, y'know, I'm excited.

But, what's even more exiting is that they've made the entire album available for online streaming, so that you can listen to it before deciding whether or not to drop the dough. Let's take a listen now, shall we?



(If that embedded player doesn't work, just go to the official site.)

I've already listened to it a couple times today that think it's excellent! With each listen only compounding me infatuation with it. It's got a lot more sonic depth than some of Byrne's more recent offerings, thanks to Mr. Eno's contribution. And, it's got a lot more electronic influence, but with the usual warm organic tones that mark some of Byrnes best post-Heads work. If you just have time to check out one song, I'd recommend skipping straight to Strange Overtones, which is a good litmus test to determine whether or not you have a soul. If that song doesn't make you at least bob your head or tap your toe; then you are soul-free.

The album itself is available both as a digital download, or physical CD (with the downloads to keep you company until it arrives). In addition, there is a special limited edition version which includes a ton of extras... in case anyone wants to buy me an early Birthday present!

*Hint, hint. Wink, wink.*

Week in Review: Life ain't just Commuter Cam

The last couple weeks on this blog, I've pretty much been obsessing over the whole Commuter Cam thing, so you might be inclined to believe that I haven't been up to much else.

And, you'd be wrong, punk!

For example, just yesterday Sarah and I flexed our respective democratic muscles, and attended our very first caucus! And, it was hot. Literally. With all the people jammed into the Seattle Labor Temple, things got a bit stuffy. But, beyond that, it was a pretty interesting and impressive experience. Here's sort of a blow-by-blow summery of how things went:

Once there, we went into a large room where there were a number of tables with numbers for each district posted above them. We checked in at our districts table, and they have you declare whether you are for Obama, Hillary or uncommitted. We declared Obama, which we'd both been leaning to recently. After milling around for a bit, a woman got up on the stage, introduced herself to the crowd, had everyone do the Pledge of Allegiance, and explained how things would work.

Then each district got into a small group, with our district having somewhere around 40 people there. The district head (who, like Sarah, had apparently been fighting a cold all week) then had every one who was for Obama stand on one side of him, everyone for Hillary on the other, and uncommitteds stand in the middle.

There were about 30 Obama people, about 10 Hillary supporters, and a couple uncommitted. Then, each side got to pick one person to get up and give a one minute speech about why people should pick their candidate. After that, we had another 10 minutes to mingle... which basically turned into about half the people swarming the uncommitteds and trying to convince them to join their side. This was possibly the most interesting part, since from where I was standing on the Labor Temple stage, I could watch people jockey for position in front of the one or two undeclared people, the whole time declaring that the people representing the other side were full of crap.

After the 10 minutes were up, the district head asked if the uncommitted had decided, and if anyone wanted to switch sides. One went to Obama, one to Hillary, and one Hillary switched to Obama (I think, it was actually really chaotic).

Our district sends 9 delegates on to the next stage, the Legislative District Caucuses, which is in April. Based on the number of votes, our district is sending 7 pro-Obama delegates, and 2 pro-Hillary delegates.

I'm actually an Alternate Delegate... which is sort of like being Assistant (to the) District Manager.

Here I am, mentally preparing for my duties as Alternate Delegate of the 2795 District.

Anyhow, the whole was really cool actually. It was a lot more hands on than your typical voters booth or mail-in ballot. It was great to see "democracy in action" in sort of an old-fashioned way, and to see the motley crew that makes up Democratic votes in my district... for example the seven foot tall guy in a cowboy hat and duster that literally looked like the love-child of Blade and the Saint of Killers from Preacher.

I mean, imagine him...


...mixed with him.


But, it hasn't all be politics for me over the last couple weeks. I've also recently been diving back into music quite a bit recently too. As I mentioned in my last Week in Review, two weekends ago, Sarah and I went to Easy Street Records on lower Queen Anne to try to sell back some old CDs and get some new ones. In the end, we could only sell back one CD... but ended up picking up about a half dozen.

I've been listening to KEXP off an on at work, and kept noticing when they played music by the Seattle-based hip hop duo, Blue Scholars. I've always been a fan off good hip hop, but having neither grown up in the ghetto nor had an abnormal amount of bling, I often have difficulty finding stuff that I relate to. But, the Blue Scholars music instantly grabbed me with the regular name dropping of Seattle landmarks and locales. Their latest CD, Biyani, features a ton of smart and interesting rap songs, including a surprisingly effective song about the WTO riots.

(For a sample of their music, check out the remix of their song "Inkwell" where they rap over Modest Mouse's "Float On" on their website.)

In addition to picking up Biyani, we also got Vetiver's self-titled album. We actually initially bought a copy of this for my brother for Christmas, but after giving it a listen realized we wanted a copy for ourselves too. Vetiver falls into the rough catagory of "freak folk" that I generally have problems with. But, as a band they seem to have dialed back the weirdness and created something understanded and wonderful.

Also, we picked up Magnetic Fields latest, Distortion, and Chad VanGaalen's two CDs. We've been fixated on Magnetic Field's 69 Love Songs for some time now, so it's of little surprise that we've rapidly warmed to the feedback fuzz of the new album, and both of Chad's albums were ones I enjoyed when I had my Rhapsody subscription and which I'm happy to have finally gotten copies of four our CD rack.

Also, last week, we caught the Decemberists live at the Moore Theater. The Decemberist are a band that I've been slow in warming to. I think that there earlier music was just a little too, um, pirate sea chanty (if that's possible!) for my tastes. But, with their most recent album, Crane Wife, I've rally taken a shining to them (even putting Crane Wife on my http://generaladmission.blogspot.com/2006/12/top-20-of-2006.html>Top 20 of 2006 list). There live show was actually really entertaining and surprisingly funny, with the lead singer making wisecracks between each song (something few musicians can actually do well). Toward the end, the show got a little to jammy for my tastes, but still a great show and the best I've seen in over a year... though, then again, it was the only show I think I've seen in the last year or so.

The Decemberists: Making songs about double suicides fun for everyone!

Then, again, today we found ourselves at the West Seattle Easy Street, and buying a couple more CDs. The first of those, Vampire Weekend's self-titled debut, is the type of album that has so much internet buzz and such a cheap price ($7!) that I found myself buying it without ever really having listened to. And, I'm glad I did. Sonicly, it seems to live somewhere between New Pornographers and the Strokes. About halfway through the first listen, I found myself musing, that it's almost the musical equivalant of a Wes Anderson film: Whimsical and effortless seeming, with a quirky Eastcoast private school vibe, and a fair share of both effective and affected moments. Good stuff that proves how easy it should be for the music industry to produce pop music that isn't, well, stupid.

We also picked up Mano Chau's Clandestino. We mainly icked this up because of our experiences in Vietnam. While there, Sarah and I took a motorcycle tour of the central highlands. During our tour, my driver, Dao, was constantly playing Manu Chau's "Bongo Bong" on his cellphone. And, as a result, that song will be forever linked with our journeys there, so when Sarah noticed the CD in the store, we had to have it. It's probably a little affected to come back from travelling and suddenly start listening to something like Manu Chau, but it's a great song with wonderful memories attached, so we don't care.


Thanks Dao!

(OK, this entry has already run out of control, so I'm going to end it here. Hopefully, later this week, I can do another entry detailing everything from my recent comic purchases to our surrent obessesion with the 3rd Season of Lost... no one tell us what happens in the 4th Season!)

Once in a lifetime, twice in a week

When Sarah and I went to Texas for Christmas, the presents that her dad and step mom had ordered for me hadn't arrived yet. So, rather humorously, I ended up opening a bunch of boxes filled with printed out pictures of the presents I was supposed to be receiving. One of the upswings of this ended up manifesting itself earlier this week when my presents finally arrived at our place in Seattle.

Christmas 2.0!

So, a lot of this week ended up being dedicated to watching some of the many movies I they got me. First up, and as part of our Bond-A-Thon (still kinky!), we watched Casino Royale. Now, months and months ago, I rambled about Casino Royale, so I wont spend too much time on it now. But, I will mention that it's been interesting revisiting this movie, after having watched the better portion of the Bond library over the last year. The movie stands out almost more for its differences than its similarities to previous Bond films.

It really makes me interested in what the next film will be like. Especially since it been rumored to be a direct sequel spinning out of the events at the end of Casino Royale. Oh, and as a side note, they've announced the title of the new Bond film: Quantum of Solace. (Source)

The title apparently has people grousing because it's "too wordy" or something. But, I'm all for it, since it's apparently the title of a James Bond short written by Ian Flemming.

Oh, and this appears to be a poster for it.

Next up on our little film-fest was the Irish romantic-musical Once. Once was one of the first films we saw after getting back from our trip, and it was the film that convinced me that I'm becoming a big blubbering goof in my old age. Even though it’s technically a musical, it's the type of film where the music actually makes sense in the context of the story, as it follows two young musician/songwriters as they meet, record an album together and flirt with the idea of falling in love.

And, I almost burst into tears in the movie theater when I first saw it.

Truth be told, if I heard the music out of the context of the film, I'd probably consider it to earnest for my tastes. I tend to recoil at singer-songwriter types. But, early in the film, there is a scene in a piano shop where the two lead characters sit down and try playing a song together. This scene, in my opinion, is one of the most pitch-perfect scenes I've seen in a while. It's deceptively simple, but is such a great layered scene that hits all the right notes (pun partially intended). Plus, the ending is pretty perfect too. It could have been botched in so many ways, but it’s simple and effective.

"Hmmmm," the lead characters of Once ponder with Irish accents, "How can we make Tyler cry in public?"

After that, I needed a testosterone-fix. And, for that we put in 300 for two solid hours of Spartans chopping Persians up.

...actually, thinking about it more, watching a bunch of well-oiled, nearly naked men might not be the BEST way to reassert my manliness.

Sarah and I both saw this originally in Hobart, Tasmania during our trip. And, while it didn’t surprise me that I liked it because of its comic book roots, stylized action scenes and painterly scenery; I was surprised how much Sarah liked it. Usually she has a limit to the number of arms and legs she can stand seeing chopped off in slow motion before she throws in the towel on a movie. But, somehow this movie managed to wallow in its violence, macho-posturing, almost deliberately anti-PC morality AND still get Sarah's seal of approval.

In addition to those movies (and another I'll save to talk about after we get around to watching it), I also got Talking Head's Once in a Lifetime box set. Now, I've been obsessed with David Byrne and Talking Heads for a number of years now, and as a result, I already have most of their CDs, as well as a good share of Byrnes's solo releases. But, this package (which also contains a DVD of a number of their videos) is just a little too nice to pass up.

Aw! A baby with puppies. Actually, this cover to the box set is deceptively innocent.

Plus, it's another excuse for me to revisit their songs for the umpteenth time.

It is actually really interesting to hear the better part of their catalogue in just a sitting or two. The three CDs are arranged in a rough chronological order, so it's also allowed me to start an internal debate with myself about whether I like their early stuff, middle of their career stuff or later songs better. Hmmmmm.

Oh, and it was fun to throw the CDs in and dance around our apartment when I came home in a hyperactive mood on Friday night.

"Dance, Tyler! I command it!"

The night before my Talking Heads dance party, Sarah and I went to Zeitoon. Now, I have to confess a sympathy for underdog restaurants. Y'know, those restaurants that you can just tell are going to go out of business. And, Zeitoon definitely appears to be an underdog of the highest caliber.

For weeks now, Sarah and I have walked passed it on our way home from work. And every time it has been nearly entirely empty. Occasionally, it might have a one of two patrons, but never enough to it could possibly be paying the bills on its downtown Belltown location. But, finally, on Thursday night, Sarah and I decided to take pity on it, and give it a try.

And, honestly, it’s quite good. If I were to complain, it would be that the prices might be a tad high. And by a "tad" I mean that if they knock a dollar off their entrees, I would probably consider their prices to be "reasonable." Also, their menu doesn't do their dishes any favors. What are casually described as "wraps" are actually expertly stuff, light and crispy pitas filled perfectly with delicious ingredients. Good stuff, and the owner was almost friendly to a fault.

If you're in our neighborhood, and want some Middle Eastern cuisine, I'd recommend them without hesitation. Do a good thing! Support the underdog*!

Oh, and I discovered a magazine this weeks that seems to live up to its title: Good. Actually, the full title of Good magazine is "Good: Media for people who give a damn." I initially discovered Good through a design site where it received an award from AIGA for its design and layout, but it's fascinating forward thinking angle on politics, the environment and culture has proven to be interesting reading for my daily streetcar rides to work.

Finally, my weekly comic rundown:

X-men #207 - This issue brings the massive Messah CompleX crossover event to a heady and dramatic close. And, now that the storyline is over, I will say that I think it was possibly the strongest X-title related crossover event in years, if not ever. Sure, at points it was uneven. And honestly, the entire storyline basically boiled down to mutants beating the tar out of each other for 13 issues... but really, that's pretty much all it takes to keep me entertained apparently.

Good stuff, with long term ramifications for the series involved. And, while Sarah will no longer have to listen to me babble about "Messiah CompleX Messiah CompleX Messiah CompleX," she's now stuck listening to me speculate about what will happen in the various X-titles going forward.

Astonising X-men #24 - And, while X-men #207 proves how little it takes to keep me excited about the X-men, Astonishing proves how little it takes to loose my interest. At one point, Buffy creator Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-men seemed like the most exciting title in the line up. But, fast forward over three years, and less than two dozen issues, and this title has basically sidelined itself. I'm not one to generally complain about delays in a title's shipping schedule, but this is seriously struggling to seem relevant when it's so obviously lost all relationship to the rest of the titles. Taken on its own, the issue isn't bad, but I still find myself unable to truly care, and just looking forward to Ellis taking over the title.

The Umbrella Aademy #5 - If someone told me, before I left on my trip, that one of the best title's I would be reading when I came back would be written by the lead singer of My Chemical Romance, I wouldn't have believed it. But, honestly, he's Dark Horse miniseries about a dysfunctional family of superheroes is one of the most interesting and unique things I've read in a monthly format in some time now. It doesn't hurt that he's ably backed up by artist Gabriel Ba (of Casanova fame), and cover artist/mastermind James Jean. Consistently interesting and entertaining stuff.

A private academy of disfunctional superhero children! A man with a gorilla body and human head! The Eiffel Tower! Sing me up!

Finally, today Sarah and I made a run to the CD shop and ended up picking up a bunch of CDs. But, since I've barely given them more than one listen, and because this entry has turned into a rambling mammoth, I'll call it a night.

Talk to you in a couple of days, when I hopefully put up the results of my Commuter Cam Project.

*Side Note: Speaking of underdogs, Sarah and I went to Olympia on Saturday to visit a couple of friends. While we were down there, we caught the Evergreen College women’s Basketball team play. And while they sadly lost to Southern Oregon, and while I didn’t attend Evergreen, I still feel like I should say “Go Geoducks!”

And the winner of the phallic mascot award goes too....

Up in the air.

As regular readers (aka: my lovely wife) may remember, I deemed Gulag Orkestar by Beirut the "best album of 2007." So, it probably comes as little surprise that I also really love his new album: The Flying Club Cup

Honestly, I do have to admit that I was a little concerned that I wouldn't like it as much. As amazing as Gulag Orkestar was, I was concerned that what had seemed so novel on the first album would just seem strained and redundant on the second. Luckily, Zach Condon (who it, what, 12?) has changed his focus a bit (from Eastern Europe to Paris), brought in an eight-piece band and was apparently fortunate enough to record in the same church studio used by Arcade Fire's most recent album.

All in all, a great album. And, if you don't like it, well...

Just don't poop on my balloon!

See this balloon?

Happy looking, isn't it? Now, imagine if it had poop on it. Maybe seagull poop, though you can use your imagination and pick another sort of poop.

Doesn't the idea of a balloon with poop on it seem so sad. But, y'know, funny-sad. That's why I'm coining the phase: "Don't poo on my balloon." Or, alternately, "I don't mean to poop on your balloon, but..."

And, its going to be the Greatest Phrase ever!™ So, feel free to use it and spread the word!

Update: I just discovered this page which allows you to stream a new Beirut song, My Night With the Prostitute From Marseille, which will be appearing on some benefit compliation that Natalie Portman is releasing on iTunes. The track is an interesting one, because in some ways its more Postal Service sounding that Beirut.

Top 20 Albums of 2006

All the other Top 10 lists are wrong! Mine is the only correct list! In fact, I'm so sure about my list, that I've made it a Top 20 List! Some of you might think I made it a Top 20 List because I couldn't bring myself to cut most of the albums from the list but you are wrong too!

Ok, maybe there's a little truth to that.

Anyhow, I submit for your consideration, my list. Here's a few obligatory disclaimers:

Disclaimer 1: Because I do almost all my music listening at work, on my Rhapsody player, this list is made up pretty much entirely of albums available through Rhapsody. Therefore, since some labels aren't on Rhapsody (like Drag City Records), some critical favorites are missing from this list (sorry, Joanna Newsom).

Disclaimer 2: I spent a good portion of this year listening to Broken Social Scene's self-titled album. This album would easily be on my Top 20 list, except it came out last year.

Disclaimer 3: I spent a good portion of this year listening to Magnetic Field's "69 Love Songs". This album would easily be on my Top 20 list, except it came out like 10 years ago.

Now, on to the list!!


20. Girl Talk "Night Ripper"

My love affair with all things techno largely ran its course several years ago. But, still, this album deserves a nod. The entire album is effectively one long mash-up of over 160 different songs. From Notorious BIG to the Pixies, no one is safe. Imagine listening to all your favorite songs back-to-back and you begin to get an idea of what listening to "Night Ripper" sounds like.


19. The Streets "The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living"

Mike Skinner's third release is easily his weakest album so far, but it's still better than the majority of stuff I heard this year. With this release we find Mike addressing the the price of fame. In the hands of lesser acts this usually leads to disaster; but Mike's tales of trying to date famous pop-stars and avoiding people taking pictures of him doing coke with their cell phones almost makes it sound fresh.


18. Chad Vangaalen "Skelliconnection"

This album benefits from the fact that I discovered it at the same time as Chad's first release, "Infinitheart." Alone, both albums are a tad uneven. But, together they are great. I don't like all of his songs, but tracks like "Dead Ends" are damned near perfect.


(Ignore the "Dig This" blob.)
17. Mew "And The Glass Handed Kites"

Mew is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. I generally try to describe their sounds by saying they are somewhere between Sigur Ros and Queensryche, which is also a good way of pointing out who the effectively straddle the line between very cool and really dorky. I'm not a huge fan of their slower songs, but when they rock out in songs like "Apocalypso" its bliss.


16. Neko Case "Fox Confessor Brings The Flood"

Like the Street's album, this probably isn't my favorite Neko Case album. But still, come on! It's Neko Case, and she's still got one of my favorite voices in the business.


15. Viva Voce "Get Yr Blood Sucked Out"

You want some driving guitar? I got your driving guitar right here! This is another band that I sort of stumbled across this year and don't really know much about. What I do know is that this albums got some great music on it.


14. CSS "Cansei De Ser Sexy"

I was initially resistant to this album. I think I'm a little burnt out on the electropop sound. Plus, there is just something a little to "look at how clever and hip I am" about this band. But, at the end of the day, it is a kick-ass little party album with plenty of music to keep you dancing and singing along with.


13. Swan Lake "Beast Moans"

What do you get when you mix New Pornographers and Wolf Parade? You get a great album, that's what. What is it with Canadian musicians these days though? Not only are they all apparently super talented and prolific, but they all seem ready, willing and able to switch bands more frequently than I switch my socks.

Side Note: I probably could have and should included Destroyers' new album "Rubies." But, since Destroyers' Dan Bejar is also in Swan Lake, I decided to omit it, to keep the list to an even 20. Can't have Dan hogging all the spots.


(Again, ignore the "Dig This" blob.)
12. Cold War Kids "Robbers & Cowards"

Apparently, like the Strokes, Cold War Kids had a certain amount of pre-release buzz surrounding them, so that -by the time their album actually came out- they were hit with some backlash from the hipster community. Luckily, I managed to miss all that, so I just got to enjoy a great album, with a sound that fits somewhere between the White Stripes and (more accurately) the Walkmen.


(Again with the "Dig this" blob!)
11. Ratatat "Classics"

Ratatat's second album features the same winning formula as their self-titled debut, but with a filled out sound. This album deserves to be on the list for no other reason than the sampled panther roar on the track "Wildcat." Luckily, there is even more to it than that.


10. Band of Horses "Everything All The Time"

When I first listened to this album, I was expecting some alt-country along the lines of Uncle Tupelo. So, when it didn't deliver on that, I sort of dismissed it. Luckily I soon corrected my oversight and realized what an excellent, atmospheric album this was.


9. Dirty on Purpose "Hallelujah Sirens"

This album sort of sneaks up on you. Occasionally, I'll be listening to my MP3 player on random, and a song will come on that makes me think "this is good, but I forget who it is." And when I check, its inevitably Dirty on Purpose. In addition, when I listen to the album all the way through, I always start out thinking "why do I like these guys again?" But somewhere about halfway through the album (usually on the track "Always Looking"), I find myself going "this is such a great album!"


8. Ali Farka Toure "Savane"

This year's best Blues album was recorded by a 67 year old Malian man, who died of shortly after of bone cancer. Wonderful, high-spirited, soulful stuff.


7. Califone "Roots and Crowns"

Another band who I don't know much about, but who's album I love. I like picturing them wearing leather jackets, cowboy hats and not giving a damn what anyone thinks about it. Great stuff.


6. The Decemberists "The Crane Wife"

The Decemberists have always been one of those bands that I thought I should like... but never really did. That all changed with this album though. By the sounds of it, they must have kicked out a couple of the theater geeks and replaced them with some 70's rockers. And that change is just enough to win me over. If this album consisted only of the second track, it would make the Top 10 list. That track appears to be four separate songs fused together into one magnum opus that manages to be what many songs aspire to but few reach: Epic.


5. Asobi Seksu "Citrus"

I didn't discover My Bloody Valentine until their music was featured in Lost in Translation. But, since discovering them, I've officially overplayed their classic "Loveless" while at work. Since then, I've been searching for other bands with that same sound; and finally found what I was looking for with Asobi Seksu. Asobi Seksu's music is half English, half Japanese and all wall-of-sound, fuzzy-guitar joy for my little ears.


4. Gnarls Barkley "St. Elsewhere"

This was the one album that I listened to, and before I even got halfway through it, I thought to myself "oooh, this is good, it's going to be on my Top 10 list for 2006!" Few albums this year managed to have this much energy and fun, while still being smart and innovative. Retro-soul music for the future.


3. TV on the Radio "Return to Cookie Mountain"

I have to be honest, it took me a couple listens to really come to grips with this album. It's dense, occasionally challenging and sounds unlike anything else being produced this year. A little progressive rock and a little bit do-wop. Once it gets its hooks in you though, you don't want it to let go.


2. Tom Waits "Orphans: Bawlers, Brawlers and Bastards"

You know a artist is in top form when he releases a three album box set, and any single album in the set can stand up against any other album on this list. Amazing. As Waits says himself: "Shake your fist and your poo-poo part!"


1. Beirut "Gulag Orkestar"

If you'd told me when I was 19 that in 12 years my favorite album would be by a 19-year old kid who sings like David Byrne leading a gypsy orchestra through the streets of Paris, I would have said that you were crazy. But, you'd be right! Beirut is, hands down, my favorite album of the year. You could shuffle around any of the other albums on this list, and I'd probably be fine with it, but not this one. Amazing, wonderful, hopelessly romantic (in the best sense of the word) stuff that can't help but snatch you away to some distant Eastern European country.

Well, that's it. My Top 20 List. I'll probably feel different tomorrow, but until then...

Merry Octophrost!

Here's the card that I made for my wife and I to send out to friends and family this year. My guess is that -if you are reading this,- you quite possibly received one, but just in case, Happy Holidays!

Or, Merry Octophrost, as the case may be!



If the whole "War on Christmas/Happy Holidays" debate is getting you down, I recommend you do what I think I'm going to do: Ignore the whole thing, and instead focus on how cool Octophrost - Santa of the Sea is! These little guys are the creation of Futuregirl.com and are, well, awesome.

Now, if we can just get him placed on the State Capital lawn next to a Christmas tree and Menorah, everything will be right in the world.

And, speaking of everything being right in the world, I'm not entirely sure that I'm right in the head this Christmas season. Instead of my usual desire to hear Bing sing White Christmas, I've found myself obsessed with this song. And, thanks to the wonders of YouTube, we can all bask in the video’s 80's acid-and-eggnog glory ("God bless YouTube... everyone"). But, then again, I am simply having a wonderful Christmas time.

Hope you are all too.

Waits for Words

After reading my last blog entry, my Beautiful Wife pointed out that we saw even another movie last week while in Dallas: Wordplay. Wordplay is a documentary about crosswords and the people who do them. The movie hinged on a tournament for crossworders which is held annually to determine the world crossword champion. But, the "characters" in Wordplay weren't quite as colorful as those depicted in the slightly superior Scrabble movie, Word Wars, so the whole documentary came off as not quite as entertaining. Still, it was quite good at times and contained entertaining sequences with celebrity crossworders ranging from Jon Stewart to Bill Clinton. And, a very interesting sequence where they detail how crosswords get made.

Since being home, I've been catching up on new music that has been released on Rhapsody, and have found a couple a great new CDs. The first is Tom Waits' Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards.



I've been a fan of Tom Waits for some time, but have never been as fanatical as some of my friends. Still, listening to this three disk collections of rarities and B-sides makes me feel like a pig wallowing in Tom Waits’ slop... in all the best ways. Tom is still the only singer who can deliver a line like "shake your fist and your poo-poo part" and make it sounds completely bad-ass.

I've also been listening to Swan Lake's Beast Moans. Swan Lake is the new Canadian "super-group" made up of Dan Bejar (New Pornographers, Destroyer), Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown) and Carey Mercer (Frog Eyes... which, ok, I've never heard of before). Canada just seems to be loaded with talents musicians and bands these days (the previously mentioned bands, Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, etc). And, in addition, they seem to be fond of playing musical chairs, and forming new groups at the drop of a hat. I'm not complaining, though.

A couple of other quick notes: After my last Blog entry, my brother (the infamous Gypsy Rockstar) pointed out Max Berry's blog. Max Berry is the writer of the novel Jennifer Government, and while he tends to paint in broad brush strokes, his rants are pretty entertaining. For example, his comments on someone getting a corporate logo tattoo:

I offer into evidence the choice of Peter McBride, who is the proud new owner of a Polo pony logo just above his left nipple.

Now, I don’t want to come right out and say that Pete is the low point of human civilization—I mean, there was Hitler. But looking at that photo… gee, it’s a tough call.

Also fellow Tater Boarder, Because, pointed out this awe-some design blog: Coolhunter.net. Every entry is filled with something conceptually cool or visually compelling. Like this:



(Don't worry, that woman is actually a decal on the ground. It's an ad promoting CPR. Scary. But cool.)

Let the Kid Have a Beer.

Many moons ago, in this blog, I raved about a new album I had discovered by a band named Beirut. Well, last night, Beirut played a show at the Crocodile in Seattle, so my wife and some friends and I went and saw them play.


Beirut... but not the show we saw.

...and I thought they were excellent! Not only did they play their songs off their album well, but they also seemed to have quite a few songs that I had never heard, but which were just as good as what I was familiar with. In addition, I was personally glad that they just came out dressed in standard clothes and didn't feel obligated to dress up in period clothing, or something, to match their sound.

Their youthful age was also impressive, and was repeatedly driven home by the fact that the lead singer desperately wanted to have a beer, but wasn't allowed to because he was underage. But heck, since the kid had more talent than pretty much everyone else in the room... I thought he deserved one.

Stuff like this reminds me that not everyone younger than me is more inane than me. And I say that fully realizing how inane I can be.

This has actually been a good week for me and music, since I also got to see Mew play in the basement of my work. There’s nothing like skipping out of work for 30 minutes to go watch a band play to an audience of, like, five people.

Also, I just got done watching comic book writer, Grant Morrison, give a 45 minute talk on YouTube. Grant's one of those writers whos work is a bit hit or miss with me. A few of his comics, like the Filth, left me cold. But other titles, like We3, rank in my all time favorites. Anyhow, the speech he was giving in this clip was for some Disinformation Convention, and is basically outlining some of his thoughts on his personal philosophy. If you can get through his ramblings about aliens and magic, there is actually some interesting concepts scattered through his speech (if only for inspirations for Sci-Fi stories, or something).

One little bit, toward the end, that I found interesting involved him talking about security cameras. And how, effectively, having cameras on every corner causes more people to act like movie stars (read: crazy); and how, in turn, having more people act crazy makes people set up more cameras. It's a self perpetuating cycle.

Anyhow, it’s an equal mixture of interesting ideas and eye-rolling mystical rambling. But, if you have 45 free minutes and need something to listen to, it might be worth checking out.

Finally, a coworker sent me me this link, which points out that Fantagraphics comics is opening a "super-store" in Seattle. Especially since Confounded Books closed its doors earlier this year, a Fantagraphics story will be a much needed addition to the Seattle comic retail scene.

Good news, indeed!