Oh yeah...

I did make a non-exhaustive list of things I liked; in no way does this reflect everything.

The Dudes – Brain Heart Guitar

The Cape May – Glass Mountain Roads

Wood Pigeon - Songbook

Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I Am Dreaming

Shearwater – Palo Santo

Agalloch – Ashes Against the Grain

Junior Boys – So This is Goodbye

Midlake – Trials of Van Occupanther

The Hold Steady – Boys and Girls in America

Ladyhawk – Ladyhawk

Jacob Kirkegaard – Four Rooms

M. Ward – Post-War

Misery Signals – Mirrors

Tussle – Telescope Mind

Supersystem – A Million Microscopes

Mastadon – Blood Mountain

I'll Show You Mine If You Show Me Yours

iPOD This!

I realize this is an incongruous title, but after spending some hours researching website design and eye-tracking statistics, I’m learning that the key to a good webpage, and invariably a good blog, is a good title and sub-heading.

So, in light of the fact I didn’t publish my favourite music from last year (not out of effort, but out of the sheer inability to remember everything I really liked this year, er, last year), I’ve decided to publish what I’m listening to and liking as I go for this year. That way, come this same time next January, I can recall all the audible delights.

So here goes:

Tim Hecker – Harmony in Ultraviolet

Droooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeee thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat iiiiisssssssss gooooooooooooood.

Converge – No Heroes

Somewhere between Noise, hardcore and metal sits Converge. I haven’t anything that delicately plays the balance between catchy and anarchy quite like this record, or their previous records actually.

The Golden Dogs – Big Eye Little Eye

Sort of in the same vein as Hold Steady with piano/guitar boogie rock with some decent lyrics. Not especially special, but still enjoyable.

Misery Signals - Mirros

A DNA splicing of hardcore and metal. It sounds like it would suck, but honestly, this record kicks my ass. Love it.

Insomnium – Above the Weaping World

Like Agalloch, it’s metal with a touch of class. Melodic, yet punishing. Like a fine bottle of Baby Duck drunk from a brown paper bag behind a convenience store.

Eminem Presents the Re-Up - Music Review

Various Artists

Eminem Presents: The Re-Up

Shady Records

The holiday season is truly a paradox. It’s the only time of year we embrace the most unwanted of things: drunken relatives or a seasonal filler album like Eminem Presents: The Re-Up. Surprisingly, the record isn’t as bad as its premise, as long as you discount the fact Eminem barely appears on it. Aside from a couple of singles and short verses, Eminem’s absent. It’s a good thing though since new Aftermath members Stat Quo, Cashis and Bobby Creek bring a hunger that’s been missing from the label’s bigger names. The standout here is the oft-forgotten Obie Trice who lays a vicious set of lines on the menacing “Pistol Pistol.” It more than makes up for the abysmal Eminem and 50 Cent duet “Jimmy Crack Corn,” which features the worst use of a nursery rhyme in a rap song ever, a true feat in itself. Only on the scathing closer “No Apologies” does Eminem redeem himself with a fiery rebuke to critics for blowing up his personal failures (drugs, divorce). The Re-Up is as inconsistent as mix tapes go, but oddly, it delivers just enough punch. Lower your expectations and you won’t be disappointed.

Upsell Working Draft

Upsell

privilege a kind of sieve,

gaps or sieges

score, in the exegesis.

it excises it,

daylight.

stultified

by broader fugues,

survivalist ethos

returns with don’t

egg them on.

hands across

America,

then gradually,

scissors.

married to the

revival,

whose Ohio

had ceased.

villainy can

plateau,

soften than

old rhubarb

all the oil in heaven

won't move me

Sketch Head

Another work-related sketch while waiting for a meeting to start. The notes at the top are my reminding myself to download Tom Wait's Nighthawks at the Dinner for my girlfriend.

Early Day Miners - Offshore - Music Review

Early Day Miners
Offshore
Secretly Canadian

Perfectly suited for winter’s bleak early nights, Early Day Miners’ moody soundscapes offer post-rock odes to the indeterminate grey of snow-covered cities. On their latest, the band re-imagines the previously released Offshore by adding it into a six-song cycle full of restrained melancholy devoid of highs or lows. Instead, the band opts for plaintive drums that plow through washes of pensive reverb white outs. While contemporaries like GSYBE or Mogwai eventually fall into cacophonous crescendos, Early Day Miners strive for a different payoff. Moving from the opening instrumental of Land of Pale Saints to the desolate Deserter and finally into the glowing Return of the Native, the band maintains a tight focus on tone, which underscores the subtle shifts in melody. This propulsive effect infuses Amber Webber’s lyrics “losing you to your desire, in rooms with ocean views” with aching vulnerability. On Offshore, don’t mistake subtle for slight. This brief song-cycle packs an emotional wallop.

You Am I - Convicts - Music Review

You Am I
Convicts
Yep Roc

While they’re a mystery stateside, You Am I are already rock legends in their homeland Australia and abroad. Convicts is the band’s seventh release and finds them searching for footing after a few years of label battles and a few too many public meltdowns by lead singer Tim Rogers. Out to prove they still have it, You Am I fire off Thank God I’ve Hit Rock Bottom with a squall of feedback and the line “I’ve got dime bags lined up like trophy wives.” The band keeps the throttle maxed across the album’s brief 36 minutes with Roger’s punchy verses on Nervous Kid or the chiming guitars and organ on Gunslingers. Yet, among all the hooks and verve, the band also exorcises four years worth of bitterness through slow-burners such as the patently ironic The Sweet Life. Convicts was recorded in 16 days and it bears this mark by being hardly perfect or consistent. Despite its flaws, or perhaps because of them, You Am I’s latest has plenty of thuggish charm though to make it memorable.

Paul’s Team – 1

It’s been a long haul for you this year; there wasn’t the same certainty emanating from this team as last year when you basically walked away with the crown a few weeks before season’s end. This year, your team was still strong; in fact, you’re in the top five for almost every category. Still, Lindsay had a good year too. While there’s one week left, it would take a total meltdown for things to change, so congratulations on a repeat. That’s no easy feat in the land of fantasy football.

Philosopher you most resemble:

Immanuel Kant – your team has nothing but positives to consider so it basically can be said that you are a living model of transcendental idealism. Your team appears to be great; thus, it is.

Lindsay’s Team – 2

I will give you credit because I had you ranked as number seven at the beginning of the year. Like a perennial underdog, your team Mighty V’d all over our fantasy football league (yes, that was a Mighty Ducks reference – Emilio Estevez at his true acting pinnacle). Your team is like the embodiment of a David Blaine street magic trick; we have an idea how you might have achieved number two, but it’s difficult linking the perception to the reality of actually doing it. I guess having a 1000-yard rushing quarterback helps. So does having a surging Vince Young and making a smart trade on Marvin Harrison to some pathetic loser who needed the picks (oh wait, that’s me!) Well, good job fighting for number two and doing it basically with the team you drafted.

Philosopher you most resemble:

Thucydides – you certainly are a pertinent example of how man produces the ordinary world (in your case fantasy football success) without the intervention of the gods. Or as he said it himself, “the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”

Larry’s Team – 3

Speaking of hard fought victories, Larry had to battle it out every week just to keep this spot. As I said weeks ago, it’s an unenviable position to be in. Not only are you fighting off at least three or four potential rivals, you’re doing it for Lindsay and Paul’s table scraps First things first, you should send a personal thank you note to Marc Bulger for deciding to drop a huge game when he did. Sure, he was inconsistent this year, but his performance last week has basically sealed you spot number three. At the beginning of the year, I asserted that you had a strong stable of running backs. What’s the lesson we’ve learned at the end of the year? I think it’s that I’m a poor judge of talent. This team made it on Bulger’s arm and some great performances by wide receivers. Next year though, it’ll be a rough ride if the backs don’t perform.

Philosopher you most resemble:

Leo Strauss – Why? Because it is your adherence to real politics that sealed your success. By acknowledging that Machiavellian tools are needed to function – you understood what lengths were needed to beat out the other competitors.

Brian’s Team – 4

In terms of our fantasy football league, it can be said that fourth place is the first loser. About the only thing you have as a positive to the season is some modicum of pride for beating out six other people. Unfortunately, those same people, who like you did not get any money, will have better picks than you next year. The sliver of a silver lining here is that you have a team with potential. Although they had to dunk Pennington into the Lazurus pool to revive him after every game, he did survive. Plus Bush and Rivers will be mainstays in the fantasy world, which means future success for you.

Philosopher you most resemble:

Saren Kirkegaard – your team truly embodies the existentialist duality between faith and doubt. On one hand, there is faith in your team to perform well. On the other, you could always end up in the same place next year.

Ian’s Team – 5

Well, at least Steven Jackson did what was expected of him. Otherwise, this is a team I had ranked pretty high (number two!) and it didn’t perform as expected. Perhaps it begins and ends with the quarterback play – both Big Ben and David Carr proved to be colossal busts this year, as did Clinton Portis and Stephen Alexander. Those two injuries alone probably cost you at least two spots in the league. Looking forward though, this team has potential once again; with new additions like Jones-Drew and Jay Cutler, you might have enough depth to make a little noise next year.

Philosopher you most resemble:

Ludwig Wittigenstein – if for the only reason that like him, your team attempts to defy the limits of logic by looking so good on paper, but completely was disappointing in the real world.

Dean’s Team – 6

I can’t even lose good. In terms of beating out expectations, my team is second only to Lindsay’s. What that means, I don’t know. My best running back is Rudi Johnson, who only appears to be getting worse. My second quarterback was Jon Kitna, who will soon be out of a job. This team is poised for a another run at the bottom, since I have only development projects for the future and my team’s performance sealed me with a less than stellar pick for next year. Who do I have to blame though? Somewhere in my profoundly absurd logic, telling myself that Musa Smith was a steal seemed to make sense. After a full season to look back on, I understand why I got all those looks on draft day.

Philosopher you most resemble:

Plato – For two reasons; my team only appears half-way decent because I somehow accrued points, but don’t believe it, this team is like the shadows on the cave wall. And the other reason is because my team is about as brutal as having to listen to the Philosopher Kings (I’m referring to that really bad neo-soul canadian band – yeah, I realize this analogy is about as bad as my team).

Derek’s Team – 7

Having Seneca Wallace on your team at any point during the season says a lot. In plain english it means, your team isn’t doing too well when you’re digging so far into the well you’re hitting dirt. On the upside, Drew Brees decided to revive the moribund franchise that is the Saints. And despite Larry’s continued insistence, the answer is no, New Orleans would not be where they are without Brees. Sean Payton coach of the year you say? If that’s the case, let’s make the Bronco’s the team of the year. This team is sitting somewhere in the middle and probably will be again next year – it’s hard to really put a finger on why – there just seems to be no momentum either way – either up or down. By the very least, hopefully Derek picks better defenses for next year (negative four points in week 16 – ouch!)

Philosopher you most resemble:

Jean Claude Van Damme – well, he’s not really a philosopher but he does churn out mean windmill kicks with the best of them. And really, isn’t that really what the world needs more of?

Dennis’ Team – 8

In an alternate universe, this team might have topped our fantasy league. Of course this alternate universe would have Drew Blendsoe and Jake Plummer setting the NFL on fire. Also, the Dallas Cowboys would win the Superbowl, so you know it’s totally the opposite of this world. This insane universe would also have Ron Dayne collect 44 fantasy points in one outing; wait, that really happened! Man that Colts defense is rougher than prison intensity beard-burn.

Philosopher you most resemble:

Jacques Derrida because he is french, and like the french, your team quit early. Also because his theories while interesting have little retail value in practical life. Same thing for your team.

Ryan’s Team – 9

It’s a long way to the top if you want to rock’n’roll. So says ACDC. It’s also a long way to the bottom for this team, which I had pegged at a much higher spot. Well, Frank Gore proved to be a quality pick. Others, like Charlie Frye and Aaron Brooks will be riding the short bus to unemployment. Perhaps they can star in a sitcom together ala Perfect Strangers, but instead of being cousins, they’ll just be crappy quarterbacks. You never know, perhaps Ryan, you could get a guest spot. Your receivers could certainly drop by for a cameo since they were equally terrible. Rough year for this team.

Philosopher you most resemble:

Boo boo from Yogi Bear - "I don't know Yogi, I don't think that's a good idea."

Wayne’s Team - 10

Here’s one team I had accurately pegged. Sorry Wayne, another year of promise, another year looking up. Where did it go wrong. Not sure, but I would guess around week five to six. Rex Grossman started being gross and almost all of your starters decided to watch the games rather than play them: Hurt Warner, Lamont Jordan, Mark Brunell, Kevan Barlow and Donte Stallworth. I’ll give you credit, you made a gamble. And, you lost. Just remember, the promise is all in next year’s pick. My recommendation: go for Musa Smith!

Philosopher you most resemble:

Denny Green: Your team is what we thought it is! Your team is what we thought it was! That man's shit, is deep.

Tales from the Box - Burning Ring of Fire

To name this segment more appropriately, it should be renamed Tales from the white plastic thing sitting on my coffee table that doesn’t work. Yes, I’ve now joined the unfortunate and growing subset of humanity known as an Xbox owner with a defective Xbox.

See, it was working fine prior to around the first week of December. And then, kaput. Aside from a couple of freeze-ups playing Dead Rising with Kevin, my Xbox had been free of issues. If anything, I was mightily pleased and surprised by the quality of Microsoft’s offering.

Not only was the Xbox easy to use and get into, but its features such as Live, were a dream. Where Sony and invariably on the PC, online gaming is a jungle of mind-boggling tasks not unlike a frat boy frosh test, Xbox made it clean and quick to hook up to online play.

So, was my experience too good to be true? From reading online, the answers is perhaps. There was a mighty cry into the empty night from many a nerd following Microsoft’s latest software update. Apparently, this update was something of a covert nature – intended to produce HD TV in the new downloaded televisions shows now offered in the Xbox Marketplace.

Alas, from the forums I’ve browsed, the updates had the unintended consequence of messing up a number of people’s consoles, maybe including mine. The problems after this supposed Dec. 6, 2006, update are various including visual problems (like my console) to bricked units where the little indicator light turns red (called the red ring of death).

So, after three phones calls to Microsoft and testing my console at a friend’s house (where his Xbox worked), Microsoft has agreed to replace/repair/hit with hammer my console for free since it’s under warranty for a year (I only got the system in September).

Hopefully, once I’ve packed away my little white friend and sent him away, I will in return receive either my same little friend, only repaired, or a cousin who is equally operational. The real stress of this situation is that the Xbox was a gift – an expensive gift – and I hate the feeling it gives to the person who bought me the gift in that the gift they got, is no longer working (say that last sentence five times fast – it’s almost as hard as “Scott Stapp sex tape.”).

Conversely, the universe did balance itself by rewarding me with a Wii; but more about that adventure in my next post.