so my friends and i are music nerds, mostly, and concert enthusiasts for sure. way back last summer jessica and i had a great idea and now we have put it into action. hopefully for profit for one of us, otherwise this was just a noble act to benefit whoever wins instead…
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and until we figure out who’s actually playing, we can spend the time arguing amongst ourselves who had the best ideas and who is a total idiot. fun, eh?
oooooh man, getting older is awfully fun when you throw birthday parties like we do. our place was packed to the gills on friday night, people were still around til 5am that morning (i only wish i hadn’t passed out at 3), and the apartment was a disaster the next day. we must have thrown out 10 bags of assorted empty drink containers, and a nice array of at least 15 completely empty bottles of liquor. somehow we managed to clean up and realize we had half a keg left too, which lead to me losing several games of beer pong at a barbeque on sunday after recuperating by doing essentially nothing all of saturday.
the only downers for the weekend were that i drank so much i got sick that night, and that jess couldn’t be there for any of the fun — although it might have been best that the former happened without the latter around. on the other hand though, i might have back a little more if i knew i wasn’t passing out alone that night no matter what i did anyway. ah well, i’m better now and she’s back and at least i’ll have someone to have a special dinner with on tuesday for the actual D.O.B.
plus i got a new drivers’ license that looks just like the old soon-to-be-expired one. i think the weight is off by like 30 pounds though; how embarrassing. hooray aging! 25 is gonna be a good year.
oh yeah, i haven’t changed the pay day song in forever either, so how about another cop-out? just in case you didn’t visit james’ blog (which you should, regularly) back over the holiday when i guest posted (how could you not?), here is a morrissey cover, done by the year-owning decemberists’ lead singer at a solo acoustic show. and he’s playing another solo gig this saturday at the el rey, incidentally, which i hope i get to go to real real bad.
this track gives me a tingly sensation.
ps: if you have any suggestions of movies, albums or books that you can’t believe aren’t on my lists below, please share. especially with fiction… i have lots of film nerd and music geek friends, but not as many bookworms.
you can tell the difference between a professional who takes their website really seriously (e.g. sets and sticks to deadlines for pieces they want to write) and someone like me who occasionally finds himself only going through the motions for posterity’s sake. just look at every other site who did a ‘best of’ list, then look at a calendar and see how long it took me to get around to it.
even though looking back, i always seem to be about a month late, this time i’m totally phoning it in. no fancy popups or album covers/movie posters/etc., partially because i feel like i didn’t buy enough albums or see enough movies this year to be a proper judge. my social life cost lots of time and money in ’05, and what can i say other than it was totally worth it. not that i’m saying i always phone it in, just that i’ve seen plenty of other places that did a totally adequate job of telling you what you should have spent your time consuming this year entertainment-wise, and this is only really for my own personal records at this point, with no commentary. a shame, i know, but nonetheless…
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10. the informers – bret easton ellis
9. the fountainhead – ayn rand
8. the last samurai – helen dewitt
7. hocus pocus – kurt vonnegut
6. emporium – adam johnson
5. broom of the system – david foster wallace
4. still life with woodpecker – tom robbins
3. the moviegoer – walker percy
2. how we are hungry – dave eggers
1. sex, drugs, and cocoa puffs – chuck klosterman
also:
— best comic: batman: year one – frank miller
— biggest letdowns: ellis’ lunar park made me think he should keep writing like himself and not try to write like stephen king, and klosterman’s killing yourself to live made me think he works much better in essay/article format since he’s so tangential anyway, the narrative really just gets in the way.
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10. sarah silverman’s jesus is magic
9. wedding crashers
8. the animation show 2005
7. ong bak: the thai warrior
6. star wars: revenge of the sith (i know, shut up)
5. 40-year-old virgin
4. crash
3. batman begins (as much as it hurts not to put at #1)
2. sin city
1. good night, and good luck
also:
— purposefully absent: i’m sorry, but the ending to war of the worlds sucked, king kong was long and kinda boring, i probably don’t need to see walk the line more than once in my life where i’d watch all the above again in a second, and well, i missed a lot of other big ones this year.
— best netflix rentals of the year: the first two seasons of six feet under, which is amazing, and probably vertigo, which was so good i should have seen it ages ago. also shaun of the dead and primer, which both blew my mind.
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best albums:
5. get behind me, satan – the white stripes
4. a certain trigger – maximo park
3. silent alarm – bloc party
2. the sunset tree – the mountain goats
1. picaresque – the decemberists
best shows:
5. david byrne/arcade fire @ the hollywood bowl jun 26
4. lcd soundsystem @ the avalon, oct 15
3. mountain goats @ the echo, feb 10
2. decemberists @ henry fonda theatre, sep 13
1. arcade fire @ the troubadour, jan 16 (faux pas to have them twice but they’re rad live and i didn’t see enough bands this year)
also:
— best song that gets played too often on kroq: ‘jesus of suburbia’ by green day. that song rules even if the album came out last year.
— best song i shouldn’t like: ‘since u been gone’ by kelly clarkson. i know, me and everyone else, right?
— best non-rock album i listened to lots: the mouse and the mask – dangerdoom. sorry kanye, you lose this one.
oh man, holy crap, what a week, what a week. i mean, it’s sorta exciting to be headed into a three day weekend (beer pong?), but that’s nothing. yesterday i actually PLAYed a certain STATION that is generation 3 and not coming out for months. i was told we, in that room, were the first people anywhere outside the company to even see it in action much less use it. ho man.
also, it became official today that i will be taking a vacation this spring. IN BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA. i think i will go attempt a backflip now.
oh my god this was too good. from an ny times article on the AVN awards:
Saturday night, though, was an unapologetic, hearty celebration, with a flashbulb-drenched red carpet entrance and awards presented in 104 categories, including best performances in a wide range of explicit acts and sexual positions. The more conventional were for best director, supporting actor and actress, screenplay and the most anticipated award of the evening: best feature.
That went to “Pirates,” a relatively high-budget story of a group of ragtag sailors who go searching for a crew of evil pirates who have a plan for world domination. Also, many of the characters in the movie have sex with one another.
that last line is INGENIUS.
so sunday i finally got around to buying a new car stereo with some serious help from the holiday gift card action (thanks to my overly generous parents), and now i’m dying to go on a long car ride and just soak in several hours of crisply reproduced music while driving down a freeway. i mean, it’s got an auxillary input for top-notch ipod hookups and even a remote control for some reason! who wants to go on an adventure? if nothing else it’ll be great for the vegas trip we’re planning for the beginning of next month. you better believe i am driving.
driving back from lunch today, i passed a bus stop poster for a new harrison ford vehicle entitled firewall. i immediately thought to myself: have we reached the point of desperation where hollywood writers are basing suspense thrillers on the premise of spyware-blocking software? certainly this must be about firefighting or volcanos instead. i was wrong.
speaking of which, top fives coming for all media next week. luckily, none are based on computer security (this year!!!).
the only way to get over the immediate depression that fell over the house full of trojan fans, once those final minutes of last night’s rose bowl winded down, was to try our best with beer and laughter to put it out of our heads as quickly as possible. if you’re one of the few who haven’t yet seen thelazy sunday short from SNL where they rap about going to see the chronicles of narnia (not the movie itself, just the process of going to see it), check it out and you’ll see why we felt better pretty quickly after watching it twice more in our time of need. the clip of letterman smacking down bill o’reilly the other night was great too for a little boost this morning. ahh, web video, my comforting friend.
but how about those new years resolutions, then? let’s make 2006 as great as 2005 in 7 easy steps:
–be smart
read at least as many books as last year, do more and better writing, renew my subscription to harpers at some point, keep notes on all the crap i read and the ideas it’s (supposed to be) inspiring. dig deeper.
–be social
get outside of my comfortable circle of friends more, but not at the expense of spending time with the people i love. talk more to people i don’t know already. stay in better touch with the ones i’ve known for ages.
–be active
keep playing lots of volleyball when it’s nice at the beach. ride my bike to work once a week. stay trim.
–be adventurous
go to some new restuarants. switch apartments. go on spontaneous outings. use those frequent flier miles to go somewhere i’ve never been. take a road trip in a new direction.
–be better
move up in the ranks at work because i’m doing great and deserve it, not just because another year’s gone by. push myself to contribute more at this place i spend five days a week.
–be romantic
the girl i like is not just a female buddy that spends the night. more surprises and special moments this year, i say!
–TOP PRIORITY: DON’T SLOW DOWN.
continue going out a lot. keep having parties. have the most fun possible. make every night count, not just weekends. stay up late. crack lots of jokes. 25 is not even close to time to settle down, so don’t.
man, if i can fully do all those things it ought to be another great year, huh?
well folks, we done finished aught five real good now, didn’t we? i’m back from a stupendous christmas with family and old friends in the midwest. if you’re ever hurting for something to do in chicago, by the way, check out kingston mines on halsted for an unbelievable live blues bar; i enjoyed that place more than any club-going experience i’ve had in ages… sitting around drinking beers and listening to old black guys wail on guitars and harmonicas. man, that was a night.
matched only, of course, by our fabulous new years excursion to SF for a little popscene new years with almost every good friend i have in california, and most importantly my lovely girl as well. the drinks were plenty and the dancing was continuous and i couldn’t have been happier transitioning into this year.
of course now we’re back to work, back to LA, and back to the blog, so let’s get down to the year in review, shall we? just humor me, it’s tradition. today it’s time to go over last year’s resolutions and see how i did, which ones to renew for this year, and hopefully tomorrow lay down some new ones for aught six.
— read more and talk more about it; i.e. don’t get dumber
this i think i’ve done for sure, if only because of my new job title which is very “research” heavy (translation: i read a lot of magazines and look at the web hours per day). number of books read this year is about the same as last, so at least i’m not dropping the ball there. could probably stand a little more discussion still, so i’ll have to keep pushing that one. it’s sort of a lifelong goal though, so it’s not like i could say, “okay, i’m complete now”.
— write more and better; i.e. don’t get lazy
well, this one i’m hoping i’ve done to some degree but not so sure. may need more work this year, cause i know there were some stagnant periods in there… and that other site section i put up died awfully quickly. still deciding on whether to take it back up or let it go.
— start more conversations; i.e. don’t get boring
definitely getting somewhere on this one, although it’s funny how this one changes once you’re not single any more. would love to get even better at talking to and learning interesting things from strangers though, since i at least have the girl situation well sorted out at the moment.
— get a raise, promotion, or just feel like i’m doing a better job at advancing my career; i.e. don’t get complacent
TOTALLY done. probably the accomplishment of the year, my late-spring horizontal job move has made my life much cooler, and should lead to further advancement too. in this area, i definitely believe i ruled in ’05.
— stay informed and participate somehow in the progressive political arena; i.e. don’t get apathetic
umm, does listening to more NPR count? yeah, haven’t done much here other than click on a larger number of online petitions by moveon, but i’m waiting for inspiration to strike on this one.
— go at least one place i’ve never been; i.e. don’t get settled
well, i went to tahoe snowboarding, and to sequoia national forest and death valley on camping trips, but those are all california places. this year i have to push it a little past the golden state i think.
— maintain or increase level of fitness; i.e. don’t get fat
i weighed myself for the first time in ages over thanksgiving and was surprised i could possibly weigh that much. i’m at an all time high but still looking totally hot (obviously), so i’m hoping it’s a bit muscle gain and a bit just not being as skinny. it’s mostly a matter of staying healthy and trim at this point, then, and so far, so good.
— enjoy, enjoy, enjoy; i.e. don’t get old
oh man, this was the most important one and easily the most fully followed through on this year. i started the year in vegas, ended it in san francisco, and in between had more barbeques, road trips, drinking parties, dance parties, bar-hopping, beach-vollyeballing, beer-ponging, football-watching, cigarrette-smoking, gambling, laughing, making out and other general fun-having than probably any year so far. i’d like to think we really hit our post-college stride this year in terms of making good times for ourselves, and my only wish is for it to continue.
happy new year, collapsing, let’s come back tomorrow and outline how we’ll continue to kick ass in ’06.