That's A Record! My Favorite Albums of 2008 vol. 2

Due to personal commitments, work and playing futbol 2 nights a week, I'm doing this in 2 installments. As I said before, these are not in any order because the climate in 2008 seemed to honor the collective good rather than a prevailing trend. It seems a bit lazy to word it like that, but hey, I'm writing this and you're not. :)

Here's the next 10:

Hauschka - Ferndorf

In my life, a lot of things have seemingly chose me under whatever the circumstances were at a given point in time. Through music I was listening to at the time and an obsessive desire to beat my friend in FIFA (one the N64 iteration), Liverpool became the team I would grow to love. The same has often been true when walking through a record shop. I saw this album on a shelf at Borders (it could've been somewhere else too - I don't remember at this point). It was all by itself almost asking someone to look at it like a dog in a pet store. Of course, the album wasn't preview-able at the store which put a happy spin on things, but I was bound and determinted to listen to the music within its package. Whether I was duped or not, I was absolutely absorbed into the piano work on this beautiful album. I don't know much about Hauschka, but in trying to find out, I learned of his 'prepared piano technique' where objects are placed between the strings and hammers and such. I always did that to the piano that my sister played when I was a kid. All I can really say without further relating via anecdotes and stupid stories is that this album is sublime. That's all that matters really.



Hercules and Love Affair - Hercules and Love Affair

Remember those commercials in the early 90s with falsely amped up 30-40 somethings optimistically musing about how disco was making a comeback? More than a decade later, we can finally be glad those crappy advertisements might've actually been on to something. Is this the disco of Donna Summer, The Village People or KC and the Sunshine Band? Is this the soundtrack to debaucherous, coke-laced celebrity shenanigans on the floor at Studio 54? No. It's better. Oh so much better. Hercules and Love Affair saturate their stellar debut to the brim with an unavoidably danceable mix of R&B, Krautrock and funk for days. While the immediate standouts may be sung by Antony Hegarty ("Raise Me Up," "Blind," "Hercules' Theme," etc.), there is no missable moment within this album. If THIS is the disco that's back, long may it live.

Now, I'm going to simply cut my losses and just list the rest because a) I've taken too long and b) It's ridiculously late to be adding a best of 2008 to a blog. If anyone actually reads this, I apologize and will try to get better about this in the future. Here's the rest of what I thought was great about 2008 from a music standpoint.

Hot Chip - Made in the Dark
No Age - Nouns
Portishead - Third
Ruby Suns - The Sea Lion
Stereolab - Chemical Chords
Times New Viking - Rip it Off
TV on the Radio - Dear Science,
Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer

It's a shame that I failed to get in gear on this. The final 8 contained some great albums that I sincerely recomend to anyone who likes music. If you're reading this and haven't heard any of these, do yourself a favor and give 'em a shot. You won't regret it.

Now, if you want the story as to why this entry took so long. That's my next entry. Till then, peace.

That's A Record! My Favorite Albums of 2008

(Yes, I actually began this on December 19th. Then travel, moving, exhaustion and work got in the way. My apologies, but better late than never as the old adage goes)


It's Friday, December 19th and I've been in the final year of my 20s for a few weeks now. I still don't feel old, I don't care what anyone says. Moving is coming along, and we're on the cusp of getting a truck to move our big stuff to the new place. But that's not what I'm hear to talk about. I'm hear to shout into the vacuum that is the internet my opinions that, let's face it, don't really matter to anyone other than me. But hey, I'm going to do it anyway.

Now, the countdown begins. Much like my list in 2007, football was at the center of my thinking. I thought about actually numbering them and trying to pick the best album, or taking a note from a really great book I read this year - Brilliant Oranje: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football by David Winner - and putting the numbers in a random order like a team sheet for a football team, but I settled for saying these are my faves as they are and listing them alphabetically. The quality of music coming out in 2008 across the board was so consistently good that I see no other way to do this. If you read this, I hope you don't think it sucks. Here's the first 10.



Air France - No Way Down

Standing strong enough on its own as a 6-song EP, No Way Down has more beauty wall-to-wall than most albums that have come out this decade. Air France has released a second straight suite of brilliant dance music that can both provoke thought and shuffle feet. It almost makes me afraid what'll happen if a full album actually comes out from this artist. In an odd way, the cuts on this album seem to build on the sonic textures that the Chemical Brothers created with "Star Guitar" and augment them with a euphorically tropical sheen and whimsy. The opener, "Maundy Thursday" fades in with imagery of someone frenetically typing as baroque synths seem to wisk the listener away like a daydream. With "Windmill Wedding" waking said listener as it fades with distant church bells and a low, hissing scratch, they'll have no problem hitting play another time to dream again.



Atlas Sound - Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel

I'm a big fan of music that can absolutely haunt others. While, like most, I don't want to be scared whilst listening to music, I like music that can really etch itself in the walls of one's brain. Bradford Cox over Deerhunter's brilliant 2007 effort Cryptograms and this, his solo debut, has shown that ability in spades. Who ever thought that a child telling an innocently precious and cute ghost story could loom so darkly over an album? The opening cut, the aptly titled "A Ghost Story" comes of as something so simple, but maintains a monolithic presence throughout this warmly isolated and almost cerebral collection of songs that come off like the subject of R.E.M.'s "Life and How to Live It" putting his heart and soul to tape. Cox's vocals are nestled in ethereal synths and guitars in a mix that simultaneously huddles in a distant corner while reaching for the stars.



The Bug - London Zoo

This album would be perfect to listen to on vinyl (though it's probably long enough to spread over 2 LP's). While the production is completely controlled chaos and the songs are thunderously in your face over the first half. The second is more muted, sludgy, dubby and even trippy at parts. In a manner that's crazy off the chain, "Angry" kicks things off in a fury of reggaeton and modern dancehall as Tippa Irie sounds off on what pisses him off. No, he's not going to talk about stormy weather or the state of traffic on the highway, he rails against the ignorance of the American government to Katrina, the rape of Africa and terrorism amoung other things. "Fuckaz," just after the midway point in the album, features Spaceape sounding off against the inherent hipocricies in society today. On top of those, there's a wealth of replay value within this album for a long time to come.



Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours

Be it dance, rock, electro or something else, there's not really a match for a truly perfect pop record (as in a single, not an album). Often in music, albums full of great songs that stand on their own don't always match up to what the sum of their parts should be (it's a funny contradiction, but there's some truth there). In Ghost Colours is an album full of perfect pop songs from "Feel the Love," "Out There On the Ice," and "Lights and Music," all the way through its final cut, "Eternity One Night Only." As my friend Rob said, "They make the same leap from Bright Like Neon Love that New Order did from Brotherhood to Technique." Cut Copy, however, is doing it earlier in their career. While it wasn't them that made dance music cool again, I'd place money on them keeping things interesting for years to come.



David Byrne and Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

There's something about reconnecting with old friends even for a short time that's gratifying. Nearly 30 years ago, Brian Eno and David Byrne had the universe at their feet. After working on a string of brillian Talking Heads albums and Byrne's solo debut, they did an album, My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, together that was as far ahead of its time as it was brilliant. So, at the sound of rumblings of another Byrne/Eno effort, expectations easily went high. Not only were those expectations met, but exceeded as well and with only little glimpses at their past. This was clearly an album of songs rather than ideas that their work in the 80s tended to be. Lo and behold, David Byrne can still write and sing and Brian Eno is still a studio wizard. Byrne is clearly in sage mode on "Life is Long," "Home" and "Everything That Happens" imparting wisdom through pseudo gospel-toned lyrics. Let's just hope it's not another 30 years before they come together again.



Deerhunter - Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.

With Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel, it appeared that Bradford Cox himself was on a streak. With both the size and quality of this simultaneous release (Weird Era Cont. was released as a bonus disc for Microcastle), it's abundantly clear that the individuals in Deerhunter are just as ambitiously creative as he is. With this effort being the most accessible Deerhunter-related album to date, one can't help but notice the coinciding arrival of guitarist Whitney Petty with a double suite of songs that bring together the worlds of experimentation and pop song craft that the band has displayed to a possibly frustrating yet fascinating result thus far. Here everything coalesces into an ornate, widescreen, yet intimate and rewarding experience. Cox and company draw from a massive well of innocent 60s psyche-pop, krautrock, shoegaze and jangle to create trippy, beautiful soundscapes with a C-86 sort of intimacy. One can get lost in this album for days, weeks, maybe even months at a time and not get bored. Well, at least I did.



El Guincho - Alegranza

This is an album that helped warm my bones during the winter months in which it was released. There are so many sunny, inviting melodies here that it was almost impossible to be cold when this album was on. "Palmitos Park," "Antillas," and "Fata Morgana," with there seamless blend synth grooves, latin and calypso tempos and a stomping beat that's never out of place - although, "Fata Morgana" is the somber track of the 3 - form one of the most memorable opening trios of the year. "Kalise" propels things along in a joyous, canival-sque manner without ever feeling tacked on. Then there simply sublime, head-bobbing beats like "Cuando Maavilla Fui" and "Costa Paraiso" that may not quite get the feet moving as much as those previously mentioned, but they're still stellar. As almost a sonic grand finale, "Prez Lagarto" brings the thunder back to the party before "Polca Mazurca" closes things of in a "Happy Trails" sort of way. While the fact that it's all in Spanish may be considered a deterrant, if you're not worried about not understanding the words, the music is more than a sufficient reward for giving this album a shot.



Erykah Badu - New Amerykah, Part One

Erykah Badu was one of the hardest artist for me to actually give a fair shout to. I'm not going to go into why, but it was a pretty stupid reason that maybe only a few people may know or even remember. What finally did it was Worldwide Underground, with its modern, seemingly improvisational take on the 70s soul legends of Al Green, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. While there are sign posts in that album to those artists, she never once sounds derivative. With New Amerykah, she takes notes from the expansive masterpieces of Isaac Hayes, Parliament and Funkadelic. It's been a long time since a stone groove, Afro-toting funk masterpiece has been on the cards. Some have tried and come close (Outkast came close, really close), but Badu made astute choices in both style and sound, and has almost made it impossible to wait for Part Two.



Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

Who'd have thunk that appalachian mountain folk filtered through indie rock sensibilites and sprinkled with Phil Spector-esque production and reverb-laden vocals would work let alone be provide one of the most inviting and haunting listening experiences that came from 2008. What's more is how full of hope everything sounds. Much like Grizzly Bear's Yellow House in 2006, this album feels like it came from another time, but Robin Pecknold comes across as stronger, more confident and with more belief in his music. The most eerily alluring thing about Fleet Foxes is their choices in album art. As with their EP, Sun Giant, they have the most oddly fitting choice of painting for the cover of this effort. While Sun Giant's cover looks like something out of Brigadoon and Lawrence of Arabia, Fleet Foxes has a religious painting which portrays either the 10 commandments or the 7 deadly sins (Thank you Mike A.). While there is a deep spirituality eminating from the music, it's in feel alone. All the hype that's surrounded this band this year may be overbearing, but you can't say that the music doesn't deserve it.



Fucked Up - The Chemistry of Common Life

Punk and all of its factions hold on so steadfastly to traditions that they've almost reached the religious fanatic level hypocrisy. There were those at the time that reviled the ability of The Clash to look to a more expansive sonic palette, or said that The Jam weren't punk. We also shouldn't forget that everyone and their mother in the punk community criticized The Minutemen as well as Husker Du for incorporating 'outside-the-box thinking' and catchiness to their respective oeuvres. Heaven forbid those who formed a band without knowing how to play develop a sense of forward thinking, right? With The Chemistry of Common Life, the paths of pop and hardcore cross just as they did for Bob Mould and company 2 decades ago. However, Damian Abraham brings piss and vinegar by the bushel to the mix with a delivery like the cookie monster amped up on anger and red bull. Every song here from the epic "Son of the Father" to the closing title track like a siren from The Odyssey; the melodies bring you in while they pummel your eardrums with volume, speed and intensity.

The next 10 are coming soon...

The End of 2008 Has Arrived, I'm Pulling Out My Soap Box

It's a cold Thursday in the city of brotherly love and we're exactly 7 days from Christmas. While there's no real news to report, it's time to start the end of the year festivities while I have some time. Unfortunately, I'll only be doing a music list this year. I'm not sure what really happened, but 2008 saw me seeing little to no movies. I saw The Dark Night and that was outstanding, easily one of the best super hero movies ever made. I saw others as well, but trying to appraise the year's films wouldn't be fair because I just didn't see that many.

Musically though, 2008 was as my editor in chief would say, "A motherfucker man!" A lot came and went, but a lot stuck around as well. There were some comebacks both successful (Portishead, My Bloody Valentine) and failed (The Verve) and plenty of new faces that'll keep those who already love music talking (for those just coming to music, there's plenty of inspiration for further exploration). As with 2007, music that made it easy to move the feet was the predominant order of the day, but thinking man's art played a stellar role from where I stand. There were out and out rockers as well as socially conscious club bangers. The only genre for me that seemed not to have a huge presence at the party was hip hop. Sure, Kanye brought out another fantastic album in 808s & Heartbreak, but anyone who's made that journey knows it's not a hip hop album. The Roots brought out the equally awesome Rising Down, but that wasn't without its shortcomings. The only really long lasting hip hop impression for me came from an oldie but a goodie. You'll just have to wait and see.

Because I was seemingly drowned in good music to listen to this year, I've got a couple lists. First is a group of albums that really burned bright and made an impression that either didn't sustain for long or I just didn't have enough time with the album between when I heard it and now. In any other past year, these might've really been top contenders, but alas, 2008 just wasn't to be for them in my opinion (as if that ever mattered anyway). Here's my first grouping of 2008 talking points.

In No Particular Order:

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

This album has everything in its right place in such a manner that it should be criminal. Many critics seem to want to give this album more sophistication that it deserves. Then again, maybe I'm the only philistine in the room. There are plenty of great songs here from "Oxford Comma," "A-Punk," and "Mansard Roof" to "Walcott" and "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" that'll welcome repeat listens. As much as I hate to do it, I have to agree with what Popmatters said. They're an equally bouncy, just as indifferent New York replacement of The Strokes. Instead of channeling 60s era garage, they're aiming at Graceland-era Paul Simon and nailing it in a way that's nowhere near derivative and smacks the bullseye of astuteness. I must say that, if any of that is to be regarded as true then let's just hope they make better choices than the band they replaced. If possible, then long may it continue. Hopefully the next time around won't see the album's quality suffocate in the hype of the blogosphere.



Girl Talk - Feed the Animals

A mere minutes into this album, the phrase "You've got a face perfect for radio" came to mind. Switch a couple things around and it fits perfectly. This is an album made for music videos. Just check out some of the videos on YouTube and you'll see what I mean. Girl Talk is definitely not a bad mash-up man because this album is full of head-knodding, dancefloor filling tunes. This album does raise the question, "Where does creative sampling end and copyright infringement begin?" Not that I think this album shouldn't exist, but is this great music in itself or just the mixing and matching of music that was relatively great already? If one doesn't mind-fuck this one too much, it's really entertaining. However, I tend to do that a lot.



British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?

Since I started writing about music in 2005 (holy shit! has it really been 3 years?), I've fallen into the same trap several times. I guess it's easy when you're a fan of a band and try to forgive them a lot. While I thoroughly loved this album upon first few listens, by the time it came time for me to review it, all of its flaws really came to the fore. I really have to talk about it though because I still feel it's worth a shot for anyone who likes robust, arena-size guitars and has a penchant for huge, sweeping ideals. BSP really got their art-rock/stadium pop schizophrenia to sonically work together, but history repeated itself here. With The Decline of British Sea Power, convention got the shaft. With Open Season, many say it was their artistic integrity that got the boot. In gaining both of those back for Do You Like Rock Music?, I think it was the lyrics that were left at home.



The Hold Steady - Stay Positive

If there was ever an album more workman-like this year, I missed it completely. It seems constantly vogue for a band to really flash up, over-conceptualize and be as hyper-literate as possible for them to get any credit. I came really late to this album this year and completely missed their 06 effort Boys and Girls in America. This is the living, breathing article that proves it's okay to just be good at what you can do and not necessarily explore what you cannot. The Hold Steady embody there name with their muscular brand of alt-rock that uses straight talk rather than extended metaphors and euphemisms. Had I not only had a week with this album, it would've made the main list for sure.




Osborne - Osborne

This is another sad casualty of me arriving late at a party. Sadly, that tardiness cost another album entry into my final list for 2008. Osborne's self-titled debut would be another shoe-in if I'd come to it earlier. This one I've only had for a day. That's how good I think it is. What starts with a droning, minimalist, pseudo-Kraftwerk epic consistently grows and evolves over 15 tracks. The end result, in my opinion, plays like an after party for a Hercules and Love Affair show. Some may still want to dance and others may just want to chill and this is a solution that can satiate both of those needs with plenty to spare. The major striking point on this album is its construction. With its beginning in "16th Stage" described above, every additional cut seems to add something, creating the idea of watching an architect build or painter paint. While other album's are louder or more stylistically diverse, this disc plays like its at peace with itself and hopes you enjoy the sounds as well.



Fennesz - Black Sea

When someone has taken the kind of scholarly approach to listening to music that I have (many claim to have, but few can back it up), discovering something totally new doesn't nearly stack up against discovering something you've missed. Fennesz has been around for a long time and Black Sea is my first entry into his oeurve. It's also an album that makes me want to see what else he's done. Black Sea is not really a collection of songs so much, but more like a sonic collage that feels like transmissions or audible signals from either the far reaches of the universe or some post-apocalyptic future. While the melodies can create a sublimely contemplative atmosphere for the listener, I found myself getting lost in the static that often clutters or even buries them. It reminded me of waking after dream to find yourself in front of a snowy TV, not quite sure where I'm at but being able to still find my bed. I always wondered how that could sound musically, Fennesz provides a stunning answer.



DJ/Rupture - Uproot

Very much in the vein of Fennesz, I was completely unaware of DJ/Rupture before Uproot. I've not really expressed it within this blog, but I'm not a fan of modern reggae at all. It almost seems like it's been in a series of holding patterns since the 80s. However, this year brought a lot new entries for me into what's going on in the genre. Now, this is NOT a reggae album, but a suite of beats and melodies with true international feel. The dubstep and reggae vibes permeating this LP make the Jamaican musical pastime the most immediately identifiable sound, but not the only one. For me, this album is the natural evolution of the downtempo/chill-out electronica culture that painted itself into a corner a couple of years ago when the likes of Thievery Corporation and others seemingly ran out of ideas (but not quality). Uproot is a complete package with tranquil beauty and a bit of muscle perfectly balanced and coalesced into a thought-provoking package.



Wale - A Mixtape About Nothing

Throughout junior high and high school, Seinfeld seemed to catch hold of my peers in a weird way with each passing year. I took it upon myself, as I did many other aspects of those years in my life, to arbitrarily go against the grain and refuse to like it. In the age of DVR, I've come to see the error of my ways. Oddly enough, hearing Wale's Mixtape About Nothing was the strongest catalyst. While those who know me well will attest, I really do love hip hop as a way of life, an art form and a genre, I don't pretend to be a part of it nor does it hold too heavy of an influence over me. However, Wale's album struck a chord with me for its sheer artistry and style. The opener, which samples the Jonathan Wolff theme to the show, features the MC delivering smart rhymes in the manner of the titular character's "What's the deal with..." way of beginning a joke. While I can't say his flow is the most intricate on the market, he seems to have the Talib Kweli knowledge of self. He speaks about not being signed, racism and a myriad of intra personal topics and coalesces them into his own transformation of the sitcom that even has an appearance from Julia Louise Dreyfus (thank god she doesn't rap though).

So Little Time...

It's Monday December 15th. That means 10 days till Christmas and my first trip out west to see my parents in their new home for the first time, probably the only time too. I've never been to the west coast. So, I'll at least be able to say that I've been out there. I feel like I've been running since I returned from abroad in May. Now with the post-Black Friday Christmas rush in full force, I'm starting to find myself behind an 8-ball of sorts in terms of my holiday obligations. I just purchased my first Christmas presents for other people. That's not good.

I must say, that this has been a most eventful holiday season so far. Beginning with my birthday in mid-November (what I like to call the holiday season's Community Shield), I've seen old friends re-appear, current friends convince me into something new and even decide to relocate. That's right kids, we're moving into a house. No, we're not buying. I'm not ready for that kind of permanence. But, we're moving into half a duplex in Roxborough with 2 living floors, a finished attic, dry basement, 1.5 bathrooms, washer, dryer, deck, garage, shed and heat. We're currently halfway through moving all of our little things and plan to get all the furniture over a weekend in the very near future.

Now, with album/song of the year season in full force, guess what's coming before I leave for Chrismas? Keep an eye out.

Once again, I get going and work steps in. Take it easy.

I Ain't Dead Yet, Shit!

Well, I've been here for 29 years now. My life has seen the tail end of the 70s, the 80s, 90s and a new millennium. Like Lewis Black, I still feel a bit screwed - No flying cars. Frankly, I'm not all that sure what I'm supposed to feel about this. Am I to feel anything? Through movies and TV, I've been told that, if I'm a girl, I should feel old, ugly and decrepit. However, I don't have a vagina. The few instances in entertainment where a yarn has been unraveled about a dude in this age (though I usually think it's either nearing 40 or 50), there's been some completely manufactured reason for them to be something other than just apathetic.

Several have asked me today how I feel. I don't feel old, but I am rather tired and have been dealing with a persistent, uncooperative headache. I'm not complaining just stating an answer. I do have to say that I don't mind this. I'm very calm about what I've got and where I'm at. Though it's all-too-soon to take a look back, I've been doing it since high school and I don't really see a barren, empty abyss in which my life has merely disappeared. In fact, every year has, either through mistake or measured thought, seemed to liven up and enrich my view of the world we live in, for better or for worse.

I don't really want to end it like that, but I've got some work to do...

More to come on this. :)

Ok, it's 11/20 now and I'm back to finish, or at least add to yesterday's thoughts.

Oddly enough or maybe even typical for me, I can't bring the words to the page that would add to what I said yesterday. However, I would like to say thanks to all who gave me gifts and best wishes. While it wasn't the best gift I received, I was given a book called The Guitar Bible. This gift has really put some gas in the tank of my leaning toward actually buying one and learning how to play. Now, if only they didn't cost so damn much. :)

Sorry the additional sentences were so anti-climactic. Have a great day!

Mr. Obama Goes to the White House, and it Still Rains!

I'd grown so impatiently exhausted with the way our nations media handled this election that it gave me migrains to watch anything other than The Daily Show or The Colbert Report. Maybe the root cause there is that our media feels the need to appeal to the lowest common denominator or, in order to be the most frank, the stupidest people in the room. I'm not saying it's wrong to do that, but it's my firm belief that if you speak intelligently without pandering, your message will get across. The fact that there has to be shows that air with the ethos The No-Spin Zone or Cutting Through the Bull could actually speak to the size of the problem. Sure, for some, the message may come a bit slower than others, but that's natural selection, people. Then again, some folks in the republican camp of politics may not subscribe to that.


Before anyone decides to really sink their teeth into the fact that I'm not the first on this, save your breath and energy. Believe me, I know and every 4 years I get really sick of it. It's just a cycle that will probably continue every 4 years till I exit this mortal coil.


Back to what I originally wanted to say. I'll be the first to admit that The Daily Show and The Colbert Report aren't the best news sources for anyone to rely on because they miss so much. However, the fact that they zero in on how the news is presented and lampoon those responsible is what I find a vast amount of solace in. I'm just sayin', that's all.


So our 44th President is Barack Obama. I'm happy for 2 reasons. 1) The right man for the job got the job. I'm not going to go into why, that's just my belief and I will stand by it until he proves me wrong. If he does, I'll stand up and admit it. 2) This is more of a personal one for me. I remember a conversation that I had with my mother at either Christmas of '07 or another time I was seeing them. We were in the van and they said, "Who do you like for President?" I said, "You're not going to like it, but the next president will be Barack Obama. He's a guy this country needs." The ironic thing in all of this is the fact that both of my parents agreed with me. Of course this was at a time before primaries had begun and there was no credence to my thoughts and my parents could've just agreed with me to shut me up. That wouldn't be a first.


I will say this, for the first time (my 3rd election), I felt like it mattered when I walked into the voting booth and made my decision and I think that feeling will probably reside with me for some time. I don't know, maybe it's just because when I voted in other elections, there didn't seem to be anything that would affect me like the current calamity we face as a nation seems to. There's also the fact that I was genuinely apathetic back then. This time I really tried to pay attention. Plus, it's always good when the person you vote for gets elected, we might as well be real about that. Whether it's perceived as superficial or not, I feel that something seemed to matter when I voted this time. I didn't feel that before.


As for me, I'm fine. I find myself thinking about Brixton a lot more lately. It really sucks when I open the door and the apartment is still empty. I don't know...

Other than that, I've come to some realizations as of late. My interest in movies has almost completely vanished. Not sure why, either. I think that, since I started playing football (soccer) again, I just don't want to sit and watch a film anymore. This brings a paradox to the table in that, I will sit for 2 hours and watch Liverpool or Barcelona or Valencia. I won't even start on how much time I've spent lately playing video games.

Speaking of video games, I have to hand it to my wife. This is even weirder because she's been anti-video games for most of the time I've known her. I started talking about the possibility of a FIFA 09 tournament shortly before the game came out in October. Then she uttered some interesting words, "Would you teach me to play?" Absolutely flabbergasted, I said I would and that she'd have to work at it to get good. It lasted almost 2 full lessons before she gave up. That's when something even weirder happened. I wanted to get a wireless lan adapter for my Xbox 360. She, a friend and I went to Best Buy to do so. As I grabbed what I needed and started to walk out, I hear "Oh, and we're getting Rock Band as well."

This requires a bit of precursing, ever since I became aware of Guitar Hero I wasn't even close to interested in it. I took that pseudo-high road approach, subscribing to the belief that, if I wanted to play music, I'd learn to play the real thing. So, I was against that and Rock Band on a matter of what I thought was principle. Then again, marriage does funny things to dudes. As I tried to question her statement of intent on acquiring a video game, I had her, my friend and a vision of my father in the back of my head all looking at me like, "You know the outcome of this: You can either argue or go along quietly, but either way you're carrying that gigantic Rock Band box to the register and the car." So, I did what any self-respecting husband would do. I listened to my spouse.

The shitter is, she was right. She had to go help our sister-in-law that day, but my friend and I got home, we hooked everything up and proceeded to have an absolute blast playing that game. It was only a couple weeks before I'd unlocked all the songs and decided to purchase Rock Band 2. Now, I'm completely addicted. In fact, that game has gone a way to convincing me to finally give in to my thoughts of actually learning how to play guitar. Let's not mince words, here. I don't want folks to think that because I'm addicted to Rock Band that I think I'll be a natural at guitar or any other instrument for that matter. I'm completely grounded in real life here. I know it's going to be challenging and frustrating, but I think I'm ready to take that plunge.

Oh, and because I mentioned it earlier, FIFA 09 is amazing!

Campeones! Campeones! Ole, Ole, Ole!

Last night saw the end of a 4-team round robin soccer tournament put on by the Philadelphia Falcons soccer club with my team, Soylent Green, coming out on top. I don't really care what anyone would have to say about the tournament as a whole. Sure, it was a predominantly friendly atmosphere to jazz up the normalcy of Wednesday night pick-up. This little 6-week outing ended up bringing the competitiveness out of every team in it. There were games that were absolute grinds, there were absolute blow-outs and there were a couple of downright thrillers to participate in.

We may not have gotten a trophy at the end of it all, but I think I achieved some growth as a player, especially in the defensive department. I feel that my ability to see the progression of an attack coming at me grew exponentially, especially in the final game against the yellow team. Unfortunately, the only 2 wrong steps I made ended up being goals. There were a couple of moments where I was able to get on the ball and try a few things, which I'm also happy about. I hope another little tournament like this happens again. It really was good fun to play in it. I'd say that even if my team hadn't won it.

Credit to all members of Soylent Green. We ROCKED!