2012 Favorites

So, I don’t think entertainment in 2012 was particularly great. Or at least not the stuff I was exposed to, which was mostly the mainstream stuff everyone else was exposed to. Not being a book, film, or music critic, I didn’t get to read, see, or listen to every book, film, and album/song put out this year. Also, because I’m not a critic, these are “favorites” not “bests.” Bold titles are my most favorite.

MOVIES
My film list includes two 2011 releases that I didn’t see until 2012.

Your Sister’s Sister by Lynn Shelton 
Hugo by Martin Scorsese
Young Adult by Jason Reitman
Moonrise Kingdom by Wes Anderson
Safety Not Guaranteed by Colin Trevorrow
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Skyfall by Sam Mendes
Lincoln by Steven Spielberg
Silver Linings Playbook by David O. Russell

Possible 10th Place (aka films still playing that I want to see)
Looper
Argo
Les Miserables
Anna Karenina

Thanks to Brewvies Film Buff Night and Tower Through Time I saw plenty of old(er) movies on the big screen. Here are five favorites:
Hedwig and the Angry Inch by John Cameron Mitchell
Harold and Maude by Hal Ashby
When Harry Met Sally by Rob Reiner
True Romance by Tony Scott
The Apartment by Billy Wilder

BOOKS
I read just over 30 books this year, slightly lower than my yearly average, but I still had a hard time scrounging up 10 of them to fill out this list. Mostly NOT from 2012.

Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller 
In One Person by John Irving
A Gay and Melancholy Sound (currently reading) by Merle Miller
American Fascists by Chris Hedges
Leaving the Saints by Martha Beck
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

MUSIC
Favorite Ten Nine Songs of 2012

Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men 
It’s Time by Imagine Dragons
Andrew in Drag by The Magnetic Fields
I Love It by Icona Pop
All the Rowboats by Regina Spektor
Miss Atomic Bomb by The Killers
Blow Me (One Last Kiss) by P!nk
Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepson
Lights by Ellie Goulding (so, yeah, it was released in 2010—whatever)

Little Earthquakes: 20 Years Later

Everybody who reads this blog knows that I LOVE Tori Amos—emotive, confessional singer-songwriter; kick-ass pianist; and musician extraordinaire. I was hanging out in Ellen's dorm room freshman year, and her roommate Jen was listening to something. I asked who it was, and she said Tori Amos. I don’t remember which song it was, but it was love at first listen. I have since bonded with my high school friend Kristen over Tori, and she is helping me blog today as we listen back to her solo debut album Little Earthquakes which came out 20 years ago last week or so (we both got a little behind).

In 1986 (back when I was born), Tori formed an ‘80s hair band Y Kant Tori Read which released a self-titled album in 1988. It was a commercial flop and the band disbanded. Tori reinvented herself as the girl with her piano, and Atlantic Records shipped her off to England where they hoped she would have more success as the English are more welcoming of eccentric performers. She is after all the musical daughter of Kate Bush, and there were some at Atlantic wanted her to be a female Elton John.

In 1992 Tori Amos released Little Earthquakes and helped usher in the wave of ‘90s alternative female singer-songwriters (though some like Ani DiFranco and Sarah McLachlan had already released albums by this time). It is an emotionally raw album exploring such issues as her religious upbringing, search for identity, sexuality, and rape—a series of little earthquakes. The album was a critical, artistic, and commercial breakthrough. Within a year it was certified gold, in 1995 it was certified platinum, and in 1999 double platinum. In 2002 Q Magazine named it the fourth greatest album by a female artist, right after Bush’s Hounds of Love. It remains one of her most revealing and accessible albums (and my "desert island" record). To celebrate its 20th Anniversary, Kristen and I are going to go through the album track by track (in a format shamelessly borrowed from The Critical Condition and Low Resolution), and while the music videos and outfits may be firmly stuck in the early '90s, I think the music itself has a more timeless quality.

Please keep in mind that neither of us are professional critics in any way, not to mention that music criticism is extremely difficult. Besides, we don’t have much objectivity when it comes to Tori Amos.

Crucify

Greg and Kristen’s Key Lyric: I know a cat named Easter / he says, will you ever learn / you’re just an empty cage girl / if you kill the bird

Greg: In the very first track Tori Amos takes on religion, one of her primary concerns throughout her career from “God” to “Past the Mission” to “Father Lucifer” to “Beulah Land” to . . . you get the idea. I actually wrote about Tori Amos and religion in my unofficial college dissertation “Unprodigal Daughters.” The lyric I chose is about the religious dichotomy between body and soul. Throughout the song, Amos infuses religious imagery, particularly that of the cross, in a song where Tori gets to play the victim, crucifying herself because she's never good enough, as defined by others. At the end, though, she decides she will no longer crucify herself.

This song really highlights the piano, Amos’s instrument of choice. Here the piano is lush and melodic with a driving drum beat. In the beginning, this was one of my all-time favorites, though it's not quite so high anymore. Still there’s a lot going on here; it’s not only a strong song, but as the first track it challenges and provokes the listener. From the beginning you know this is something special.

Kristen: It’s not surprising to me that Tori’s first solo album begins with such vivid religious imagery. As the daughter of a pastor, she no doubt knew how powerful this imagery can be. My personal opinion is that the song starts much stronger than it ends. The beginning sets up a specific instant and the piano is, as Greg noted, “driving.” As the song progresses however, the repetitive “crucify ourselves/myself” wears on me and the piano is all but lost. For me, this song opens the album not because it’s the strongest, but because it tells us what’s to come. Tori’s album continues unapologetically through a series of uncomfortable topics without due reverence (“Happy Phantom” comes immediately to mind). Why should she, after all, crucify or here, conform or censor herself on an album all her own?

Greg’s Rating: 8 Little Earthquakes (out of 10)
Kristen's Rating: 6 Little Earthquakes

Girl

Greg’s Key Lyric: well I’m not seventeen / but I’ve cuts on my knees / falling down as the winter / takes one more CHERRY TREE
Kristen’s Key Lyric: she’s been everybody else’s girl / maybe one day she’ll be her own

G: This feels like one of the more minor songs from the album, but I don’t think it’s filler. In fact, I almost never skip any of the songs when listening to the entire album. Lyrically, this may be one of the more obscure songs from LE. Why isn’t Amos singing in her usual first person? Who is this girl—who has been everybody else’s girl but not even her own person—what is her relationship to Tori? The percussion creates a hypnotic rhythm till things get musically interesting and lyrically surreal during the bridge—a brief surge of independence—and then it is subsumed again by the repetitive structure. But perhaps there’s hope, perhaps one day she’ll be her own girl.

K: The idea that you can exist as someone other than yourself “she’s been everybody else’s girl/ maybe one day she’ll be her own” is a universal ontological crisis. Who am I? and Am I the person I’m supposed to be? The idea that women should be obedient "'sit in the chair and be good now'/and become all that they’ve told you” resonates well as women were historically raised to be not their own selves, but their husbands’ property. Even post-suffrage & Title IX, this idea lingers, especially for those who choose a conventional path.

What I have always wondered is whether Tori is her own girl, calling out to a friend, or whether this song, although in third person and with lines to hint the girl spoken of is not Tori, e.g.“my image under her thumb” is another song like "Crucify," where Tori asks her listeners, but also herself, why do we conform?

At the end of the day, my favorite part is the bridge. I once made an MP3 loop of just the bridge and listened to it as part of my morning playlist.“Dreams with the flying pigs.” Excellent.

G's Rating: 6 Little Earthquakes
K's Rating: 7 Little Earthquakes

Silent All These Years

Kristen’s Key Lyric: so you found a girl who thinks really deep thoughts / what’s so amazing about really deep thoughts?
Greg’s Key Lyric: your MOTHER shows up in a nasty dress / it’s your turn now to stand where I stand / everybody looking at you / here take a hold of my hand

G: Back when Amos was playing in Marriott hotel lounges, she was trying to place songs with people. Tori originally wrote this song for Al Stewart, “and I went to Eric [Rosse], who I was with and who partly produced Little Earthquakes, and he didn’t produce this bit so he was totally objective. And he looked at me and said, ‘You’re out of your mind. That’s your life story.’ And I went, ‘Oh.’ So needless to say, Al Stewart didn’t get that song” (VH1 Storytellers). The song is about finally finding your voice and standing up for yourself. It begins with this minor key thing that repeats throughout the song, what Amos calls “the bumble bee piano tinkle.” But then we get to the bridge, and what a bridge it is! It gets me every time. It’s just gorgeous, especially with the layered vocals. This was the very first Tori Amos song I downloaded, and I burned it onto a CD and played it in my car. It’s still one of my favorites.

K: This is the song that creates Tori fans. It’s my favorite on the album, and one of my favorites of all time. How glad I am that Tori found her voice! (Even if, as I have only just learned from Greg’s comment, the song is not about her.) I think it’s also noteworthy that Tori works to help women who are victims of sexual abuse and rape find their voices again through RAINN.org.

Although the piano in the song is excellent, it’s the lyrics that get me every time. It’s amazing how perfectly absurd comments (e.g. “what if I’m a mermaid” and “been saved again by the garbage man” string together to infuse poignancy into the song.

And finally, just because I enjoy it so much, I love Tori’s jealous statements to those breaking her heart. It’s so different from the anger you’d expect from Alanis Morrisette or Fiona Apple. In this song it’s “so you found a girl who thinks really deep thoughts/what’s so amazing about really deep thoughts?”I also love “you're off to the mountain top/I say her skinny legs could use sun” from “Putting the Damage On.” Ah, Tori! How many times I thought these things when I was dating!

G’s Rating: 10 Little Earthquakes
K's Rating: 10 Little Earthquakes

Precious Things

Greg’s Key Lyric: I wanna smash the faces / of those beautiful BOYS / those Christian boys / so you can make me cum / that doesn’t make you Jesus
Kristen’s Key Lyric: no one cared / to tell me where the pretty girls are / those demigods / with their NINE-INCH nails / and little fascist panties / tucked inside the heart of every nice girl

G: Back in the heydays of MySpace, I once took a What-Tori-Amos-Song-Are-You? quiz, and this song was my result: “School, Sex, Religion. All disappointments. Let them bleed.” I thought that result was quite perfect. Here Amos attacks the piano keys with frenzied control. In the album version there’s a (keyboard?) effect that sounds like a rain stick which is perfect as this song is a storm of frightening intensity spinning from deep personal hurt and rage. When Tori shrieks “Iiiiiiiii” into the mike, I get chills.

K: This song holds the anger you expect from a female ‘90s alternative artist. Tori reflects back on what should have been precious things in her life: school, sex, religion, and particularly childhood friends, and, as Greg says, finds them disappointing. The song itself is powerful, but I dislike its placement. “Silent All These Years” leaves me on such a high, and “Precious Things” is so angry and depressive in comparison. I suppose this was done on purpose. Little Earthquakes gives no one rest, and does tend to disrupt the highs. [G's Note: I think LE is actually perfectly structured: it never gets bogged down in sentimentality, it never stays angry for too long, and it keeps you on your toes!]

Greg’s Rating: 9 Little Earthquakes
K's Rating: 6 Little Earthquakes

Winter

Greg’s Key Lyric: SKATING around the truth who I am / but I know Dad the ice is getting thin
Kristen’s Key Lyric: when you gonna make up your mind / when you gonna love you as much as I do?

G: This may be the best song from the album and one of the best songs of her entire catalog. The song is like a Russian music box. In this video, Tori says it’s for her dad, and it takes her back to the vulnerable child, her father, memories, the past becoming present. It reminds me a bit of this line from Eliot’s The Waste Land: “Winter kept us warm, covering / Earth in forgetful snow.” But the snow melts, memory and desire mix, children outgrow their fathers (but never fully), things change, and the horses forge on ahead.

K: Tori explicitly says this song is about her dad and her childhood. I think, though, it can be extrapolated to the trust we place in anyone we love, or even, to continue the religious themes Tori’s music suggests, in deity. It is interesting to me that in most imagery, we consider Winter as the end or death, whereas, here, it represents a suspension of time. Spring is coming and things “are gonna change so fast.” The little earthquakes theme might be getting old in my comments, now, but here is a peaceful moment where Tori prepares before another earthquake hits.

G’s Rating: 10 Little Earthquakes
K's Rating: 9 Little Earthquakes

Happy Phantom

Kristen’s Key Lyric: the HAPPY phantom has no right to bitch
Greg’s Key Lyric: they say Confucius does his crossword with a pen / I’m still the angel to a girl who hates to SIN

G: This is a jaunty, lilting song about—what else?—death! Tori joyously proclaims that the time is getting closer to become a ghost, one who will never need umbrellas and can haunt the school nuns of her youth. However, the rapture occasionally gives way to somber introspection: will her lover forget her once she’s dead? will she pay penance for who’s she been?

K: I laugh when I hear this song. I like to think Tori was having a good day when she wrote “And if I die today I’ll be the happy phantom.” As unrepentant as she is, I don’t know what to think when she asks “will I pay for who I’ve been?”

G's Rating: 7 Little Earthquakes
K's Rating: 6 Little Earthquakes

China

Greg and Kristen’s Key Lyric: china decorates our table / funny how the CRACKS don’t seem to show / pour the wine dear / you say we’ll take a holiday / but we can never agree on where to go

G: Of all the songs on Little Earthquakes this is the most straightforward ballad featuring gorgeous piano work and string orchestration. The tagline for the film The Painted Veil (which takes place in China!) is “Sometimes the greatest journey is the distance between two people.” Originally titled “Distance” and the first song completed for the record, this is the story of a couple who shares a bed but couldn’t be farther apart. Even if they travel from China to Mexico to New York, they will never bridge the gulf of everything that goes unsaid or breach the defensive walls they each build to rival the Great Wall.

K: I like this song, again, for its lyrics. The transition from the country China to the table china to the individual who has built the great wall around him/herself. Awesome. I also love the music. This is one of only a handful of songs where Tori’s piano is soothing and an added bit of percussion takes care to keep the song going.

G's Rating: 8 Little Earthquakes
K's Rating: 8 Little Earthquakes

Leather

Greg’s Key Lyric: look I’m standing naked before you / don’t you want more than my sex?
Kristen’s Key Lyric: I could just pretend that you love me

G: One of the minor cuts from the album—it’s the shortest and may be the most ambiguous--I’ve always felt this song has a certain cabaret/burlesque feel to it. A smoky little song about realizing the other person wants you only for your body (or is it?). So when you can’t blame the weather, when the love is gone, when nothing else matters, then it's time to “hand me my leather” and move on.

K: I admit that this is one of the songs on the album I’m prone to skip. Greg nails it with his cabaret/burlesque feel. You can just see the performer’s knees bob with each staccato note. In that limbo between realizing a relationship is over and actually ending it, you start to see the other person and the relationship you have with that person with a much more critical eye. I think that’s where Tori’s at here.

G's Rating: 6 Little Earthquakes
K's Rating: 4 Little Earthquakes

Mother

Kristen’s Key Lyric: somebody leave the light on / just in case I like the dancing / I can remember where I come from
Greg’s Key Lyric: I walked into your dream / and now I’ve forgotten / how to dream my own dream

G: This song, which features only the acoustic piano and Tori’s vocals, has always seemed to me to be about the complex and even fraught relationships that daughters and mothers sometimes have. It could also be about marriage and identity. Tori says it comes from the untold story of The Fall: “Mother changed me because I began to remember, where I believe, we come from” (Little Earthquakes Songbook).

K: To me, this song is about the risks we take as we age and venture away from our homes and the protection of our mothers. What if we forget where we’ve come from, or how to get back “bread crumbs lost under the snow.” Particularly if we get caught up in the new experiences “just in case I like the dancing.” I once or twice wondered if part of this might relate back to Tori as she started to find fame.

G's Rating: 7 Little Earthquakes
K's Rating: 9 Little Earthquakes


Tear in Your Hand

Kristen’s Key Lyric: maybe she’s just pieces of me / you’ve never seen
Greg’s Key Lyric: maybe it’s time to wave goodbye now / caught a ride with the moon / I know, I know you well / well better than I used to

G: This song is stunning, and one of my personal favorite songs of all time (only “Cooling” has more plays in my iTunes library). From the very first notes, I sigh and smile and feel happy of myself. The song is about the end of a relationship and all of the attendant and contradictory emotions surrounding that, yet the music is not dirge like or overly mournful. It goes from verse to chorus to the bridge or two and then loops back to the chorus. Tori says in the end you’re right back where you started, but by taking the loop you can see finally see where/what that place is: “some sadness, a whole lot of cornfield, and a puddle” (Little Earthquakes Songbook).

One of my favorite things about this song is the Neil Gaiman reference: “if you need me, me and Neil’ll be / hangin’ out with the DREAM KING / Neil says hi by the way.” Tori was deep into The Sandman comics at the time, and the story goes that she placed a demo tape of Little Earthquakes with him—tapes he usually rerecords over—but for whatever reason he listened to this one, loved it, didn’t even catch the Neil reference initially, and called her up. They felt a deep kinship and have been friends ever since. Dream’s sister, Delirium, is even based in part on Tori Amos. Anyway, I once saw Neil Gaiman and had him sign my copy of The Sandman with “Hi by the way,” and it just makes me indescribably happy.

K:I also love the Neil reference (though my personal favorite is from “Space Dog” on Under the Pink.) [G's Note: "Space Dog" 4 Evah!] Tori and her writer friend/confidant Neil sometimes mention each other in their works. (See the bottom of this page for a complete list: hereinmyhead.com/neil). If I ever write anything famous, I’m going to mention my friends, too!

This song doesn’t seem to hold the same power for me that it does for Greg. After “China” and “Leather”, and even to a lesser extent, “Mother”, it makes sense that there is a breakup song on the album. I do like its treatment, that it’s not a “Precious Things” remix, but instead full of the lame excuses “cause me and Charles Manson like the same ice cream” and “maybe she’s just pieces of me you’ve never seen.” Mostly though, it captures the sadness that comes in those first moments as you breakup “All the world is danglin’ dangling'...danglin' for me darling.”

G’s Rating: 10 Little Earthquakes
K's Rating: 8 Little Earthquakes

Me and a Gun

Kristen and Greg’s Key Lyric: you can laugh / it’s kind of funny / things you think times like these / like I haven’t seen BARBADOS / so I must get out of this

G: Perhaps the biggest seismic wave of the album, this a capella song is about Tori’s own rape after a show at a club, though it wasn't until after watching Thelma & Louise that she wrote it. If I ever skip a song, it’s usually this one, only because it’s such a difficult song to listen to. Here’s Amos’s quote, “the hardest part is performing it every night because, although I know I’m safe, a part of me has to go to that place to sing it. And what this whole process has taught me is, I’m not a victim. Although when I go in and sing it every night, there’s a certain energy I bring to make it very real and then after the performance is over I can go and have an ice cream and have a life and say, ‘this is over. I can talk about it and I have love in my life.’ And it’s really important to get to that stage” (hereinmyhead.com).

K: You know this is going to be different when the piano doesn’t join Tori in the first measure. This song seems to be the origin of some people’s belief that Tori’s music is “angry girl music.” I think the title is undeserved. That Tori included this song is testament to her desire to bring these issues to dialogue. It’s not one I like to listen to, but it’s one I’m glad is out there.

G's Rating: 8 Little Earthquakes
K's Rating: 5 Little Earthquakes

Little Earthquakes

Kristen’s Key Lyric: and I hate / and I hate / and I hate elevator music / the way we fight
Greg’s Key Lyric: here we go again / oh these little earthquakes / doesn’t take much to rip us into pieces

G: And that brings us to the final song, the title song: “Little Earthquakes.” It’s one of the longest songs on the album, and Tori says she wanted it to have three bridges, so it’s a bit ungainly. It is nothing more than the effective summation of the album, of everything that preceded it. It ends with the mantra “give me life / give me pain / give me myself again” repeated again and again with backing vocals by Tori, Eric, Steve Caton (guitarist), and best friend Beene.

K: At nearly 7 minutes, this song was never intended for the radio. That puts it in a different category than the other songs. I prefer to think of it more as an experiment than a summation, just as other ‘90s bands included instrumental or experimental songs at the ends of their albums (e.g. Smashing Pumpkins “17” on Adore). I like to think of this last song as being a little earthquake. So many of the other songs on the album represent big events. Sometimes, though, it’s the little things, an argument or a fight that “rips us to pieces” because, after all, “it doesn’t take much.” To me, this song is another love song about a relationship that is not working. I think it stands on its own, in its own right. And as a final thought, the reference to vampires is very vogue. Tori is truly timeless!

G's Rating: 5 Little Earthquakes
K's Rating: 7 Little Earthquakes

Down with Love

Now that it's February, and Valentine's Day approaches, I thought it was time for a new playlist. I should start by saying that I don't hate Valentine's Day, and I don't call it Singles Awareness Day (SAD). In fact, I often celebrate it with chocolates, a romantic movie, and maybe even some red wine if I'm not living with the parentals. This year, I thinking of checking out a trashy romance novel from the library. I never did finish the one I was reading for Nancy Pearl's genre class. I guess I'll have to see what kind of selection the library of conservative Davis county offers. Anyway, back to the playlist. This is not a selection of love songs, nor is it an offering of breakup songs, or even a list of Single & Fabulous (exclamation point!) songs (even if I am often, though not always, happily single). Instead, these are fifteen "love songs" for the the lonely and lovelorn, the emotionally damaged and the J. Alfred Prufrocks.

“Hounds of Love” by Kate Bush
And I’m ashamed of running away / From nothing real— / I just can’t deal with this / I’m still afraid to be there / Among your hounds of love

“Fidelity” by Regina Spektor
I never loved nobody fully / Always one foot on the ground / Suppose I kept on singing love songs / Just to break my own fall

“One Man Guy” by Rufus Wainwright (Loudon Wainwright III cover)
This is a gorgeously solipsistic song.
I don’t know why I’m a one man guy / Or why I’m a one man show / But these three cubic feet of bone and blood and meat are all I love and know

“So Unsexy” by Alanis Morissette
I can feel so unsexy for someone so beautiful / So unloved for someone so fine / I can feel so boring for someone so interesting / So ignorant for someone of sound mind

“Untouchable Face” by Ani DiFranco
Fuck you / For existing in the first place / And who am I / That I should be vying for you touch / Who am I? / I bet you can’t even tell me that much

“Creep” by Radiohead
“You’re so fucking special / I wish I was special / But I’m a creep, I’m a weirdo / What the hell am I doing here?

“Fear” by Sarah McLachlan
But I fear / I have nothing to give / I have so much to lose / Here in this lonely place

“Hallelujah” by Allison Crowe (Leonard Cohen cover)
I have several excellent covers of this song, but Crowe's is my favorite.
All I ever learned from love / Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you / Well it’s not a cry that you hear at night / It’s not somebody who’s seen the light / It’s a cold and it’s a broken hallelujah

“Coin-Operated Boy” by The Dresden Dolls
The first offering from the punk cabaret Dolls, Amanda Palmer is sort of the patron saint of this playlist. I was also considering her song "Ampersand."
Made of plastic and elastic / He is rugged and long-lasting / Who could ever, ever ask for more? / Love without complications galore

“How Soon Is Now?” by The Smiths
No one has Morrissey's melodramatic flair for turning teen angst and doomed relationships into catchy pop songs.
There’s a club if you’d like to go / You could meet somebody who really loves you / So you go and you stand on your own / And you leave on your own / And you go home and you cry / And you want to die

“Fuck and Run” by Liz Phair
I want a boyfriend / I want all that stupid old shit like letters and sodas / I can feel it in my bones / I’m gonna spend another year alone

“I Think I Need a New Heart” by The Magnetic Fields
But the words you want to hear / You will never hear from me / I’ll never say, “Happy Anniversary” / Never stay to say “Happy Anniversary” / So I think I need a new heart

“The Queen and the Soldier” by Suzanne Vega
In this haunting ballad, a soldier forces a queen to confront her innermost fears, and for that he is killed.
But the crown, it had fallen, and she thought she would break / And she stood there, ashamed of the way her heart ached / And while the queen went on strangling in the solitude she preferred / The battle continued on

“The Perfect Fit” by The Dresden Dolls
I’m not exceptionally shy, but I’ve never had a man / That I could look straight in the eye and tell my secret plans / I can take a vow and I can wear a ring / I can make you promises, but they won’t mean a thing

“Save Me” by Aimee Mann
Come on and save me / If you could save me / From the ranks of the freaks / Who suspect they could never love anyone

I'm the Hero of This Story

Hello friends,

It's a new year and time for a new post. Perhaps one of my resolutions should be to post more often. A weekly writing assignment would not be a bad idea for me. Besides, it might force me to lead a more interesting life just so I can write about it.

Other resolutions? A la Liz Lemon, I want to say yes to life, yes to love, yes to staying in more! I already stay in plenty, but I do want to be open to trying new things, and as I haven't had a date in a year, I should put myself out there more. As Luke Burbank would say, I want to get my health on. I've really let myself go in the last few years--this is a twofold problem of discovering alcohol and discovering how to cook. (How to cook with Grburbank: use butter. use salt. delicious. the end.) My family has a family pass to the local rec center which has elliptical machines and other such nonsense. So I should take part. Besides, I would get to buy gym outfits and create workout playlists. I want to be a better friend--I don't have a lot of friends. Much like Liz Lemon, I don't like a lot of people. So I want to be a better friend to those I do have. Perhaps my biggest resolution is to find that professional library job and start the next phase of my life.

Because being unemployed is lame. Sure it was fun at first--a bit of a break after getting my master's and before starting a professional career (for the rest of my life. or until all my student loans are paid off. same diff.). But I've done diddly-squat with my life in the last six months (see: this blog).

But really, what have I done recently? Well there was my third Thanksgiving dinner, or rather Friendsgiving at Elise's where I had an amateur moment. I hadn't eaten much that day in order to eat more turkey, and then when I got there I quickly drank liquor (g&t, whiskey and coke), high point beer, and wine. Thusly, I passed out on Elise's bed and missed dinner. Fortunately, I didn't throw up as there was no Champagne, Tequila, or Oreos.

Then it was December replete with awkward family parties and yuletide cheer provided by Amazon.com. On Christmas Eve my sister and brother-in-law came over and we all got r/c Hot Wheels. So on Monday, we had the first (and last) annual Burbank Grand Prix. (It did not go well.) Christmas morning we were up bright and early (with no coffee!) to eat Christmas breakfast and open presents. Then I took a nap while my family went to church. At Christmas dinner we had an middle-aged bachelor neighbor over, and it made me realize that when I'm single, childless, and older, I'll have to a find a neighbor family of my own with whom to celebrate Christmas.

I got some cool stuff like Habibi by Craig Thompson, movie tickets to the art house theater, the Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (which is mostly the same as The New Best Recipe cookbook just without all the lengthy explanations), the first season of Gilmore Girls, Burberry Touch parfum (I had asked for London, but Macy's lied to my parents and told them that London has been discontinued--not true, shop girl!--so they got Touch instead which is a lot less good), a French rolling pin for perfect pie crusts (along with the vodka pie dough recipe from Cook's Illustrated!), The Lexicon by William F. Buckley, Jr. (which means that many of the citations are from his conservative writings which pisses me off only just a little), Break, Blow, Burn by the provocative Camille Paglia, and Night of Hunters by Tori Amos.

Night of Hunters. What to say? For some it's her best album in the decade since Scarlet's Walk, for other fans it's another straw on the camel's back that started with The Beekeeper. I'm somewhere in the middle. Amos has lost a lot of the passion, rage, and sorrow that won her a large, dedicated fan base. This is probably largely due to marriage, motherhood, and growing older. And maybe she just had a golden decade from 1992 (Little Earthquakes) to 2002 (Scarlet), and now that's over. Anyway, NoH is another concept album, produced by Deutsche Grammophon, that's a 21st century song cycle based on classical music and Irish mythology as we chart the relationship between a couple over the course of a night and how the hunter and hunted exist within all of us. To which I say, "Oh, reallo? I meant to say 'really.' I misspoke. Continue." I have been listening to it a lot over the last week or so, and while I haven't sat down with the liner notes, the lyrics do not seem particularly strong, which is sad because her lyrics were always my favorite part. However, the music (instrumentation and musicianship) is amazing. So much so that I bought the "Sin Palabras" edition ($5 on amazon.com!) which is just the music. If you would like to listen to the original classical pieces that Tori based her variations on you can listen to the YouTube playlist I created here. Lovely.

Then it was Saturday, New Year's Eve. My sister is going on a mission to Anchorage, Alaska, and her farewell was on Sunday, the 1st (at 9:00 am! ugh.), so the Sorenson family party was Saturday. And since many family members were staying overnight, the party continued at our house. This made some of my friends (i.e., Ellen) upset so I swung by Ellen's house (party game, fireworks, cider) and then to Elise's where I actually rung in the New Year with some sort of terrible sparkling raspberry wine and a New Year's kiss. After I drove all the way home I got to sleep on the couch and wake up super early (again with no coffee!) and go to church. Then all sorts of people came to our house and ate and ate and ate.

In the first week of 2012, I've already been the cinema twice, though both movies were 2011 releases. On Monday, Dain and I went to see Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I hated the book and have mostly forgotten the Swedish film, but I thought the Fincher version was well done. I thought it stayed true to the book while streamlining it in the best way possible (the book needed to be streamlined). It's no Social Network despite Rooney Mara (as an excellent Lisbeth), computer hacking, and Trent Reznor, but it still makes for a dark, visually compelling, well-made film.

On Wednesday I saw Melancholia the cheery film from that most humane and loving of directors, Lars von Trier. While this nihilistic film does end with the utter and total destruction of the planet Earth (NOT a spoiler), I didn't feel it was quite as bleak and hateful as Dogville, the only other von Trier film I've seen. It's an operatic and stunningly visual ode/farewell to his battle with depression in the mode of German Romanticism, and is also indebted to Ingmar Bergman (a positively warm and fuzzy humanist next to von Trier). The next day I made meatloaf.

And if all goes well, I will see Young Adult today. It looks like a delightful dark comedy from Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody. And I love me some Charlize Theron. She's the best!

I've also finished two books this year already! First was Tina Fey's book Bossypants. While it was very funny, I actually liked Mindy Kaling's book better. Not that we have to compare the books, but I did, so whatever. Maybe it's because I'm more in Kaling's target demographic than Fey's. But it's okay, Tina, I still love you! I am basically Liz Lemon.

The other book was By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham. He is back to form after that weird conceptual detour of a novel, Specimen Days. It doesn't quite have the vigor and rough-hewn edges of his first two novels and it may be more polished and precious than The Hours, and possibly sadder than all of his previous books, but it's still a rather good novel and beautifully written. It is Cunningham, after all.

Anyway, that's what's been going on lately. Here's to a happy and more productive 2012!

Some of My Favorite Things

So it's the end of the year. I've been watching things like The Year with Katie Couric and looking at things like the 45 Most Powerful Images of 2011 on Buzzfeed. (Also on Buzzfeed the 30 Most Important Cats of 2011.) I got my Entertainment Weekly issue of the Best & Worst of 2011. Film critics everywhere are making their Top 10 lists. And some of my Seattle friends are making their Top 10 book lists. So I thought I would share some of my favorite things from this year.

Books
My book list features only two books published in 2011. It also features more nonfiction than usual.
Top Ten
Pictures at a Revolution: Five Books and the Birth of the New Hollywood by Mark Harris
Comfort Me with Apples by Ruth Reichl
The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Blood, Bones & Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton
Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman
Stuck Rubber Baby by Howard Cruse
Is Everyone Hanging Out without Me? by Mindy Kaling
Girl Meets Boy by Ali Smith
The Passage by Justin Cronin
Runners Up
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
Currently Reading
By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham
The Tale of Telsharu by Valerie Mechling and Samuel Stubbs
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
Excited For
Habibi by Craig Thompson
Bossypants by Tina Fey

Movies
I actually did not see that many movies in the theater this year, so I do not have a full top ten list.
Favorites
Midnight in Paris directed by Woody Allen
This (somewhat thin) fable was thoroughly enchantement as Owen Wilson realizes that the l'age d'or of the 1920s was not all it was cracked up to be. This movie hit all my buttons: Woody, nostalgia, modern Paris, 1920s Paris including such luminaries as Hemingway, Dali, the Fitzgeralds, Stein, and more. It was the most fun I had at the movies this year.

Drive directed by Nicolas Winding Refn
This neo-noir thriller with a boss synth soundtrack was my favorite movie I saw this year (so far). It's destined for cult classic-ville. And I wanted to climb Ryan Gosling like a tree.
Notables
The Descendants directed by Alexander Payne
I didn't love it as much as I loved Sideways way back in 2004. It's still a very good (and Paynesque) movie. Clooney is great, as always, and Shailene Woodley is a revelation.

Beginners directed by Mike Mills
This is a lovely little jewel of a film, as a father (Christopher Plummer), recently out of the closet, and son (Ewan McGregor) look for love. The father embraces his new lifestyle while his straight son is more trepidatious in embracing a new love--Melanie Laurent, who is refreshing and wonderful in what could have been just another manic pixie dream girl role.

The Help directed by Tate Taylor
This movie, a huge hit, is not without its problems, nevertheless it's notable for all its wonderful actressing. Viola Davis surely deserves an Oscar nomination.

Bridesmaids directed by Paul Feig
This was another smash success starring women who were very, very funny and (dare I say it?) ballsy. Kristen Wiig is wonderful as the lovable, pathetic loser whose life is falling apart as her best friend is getting married. Melissa McCarthy steals the show in a batshit crazy performance.

Crazy, Stupid, Love directed by Ficarra and Requa
I love and will watch anything with Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, and Steve Carell. Their plot lines were mostly great, however, I really didn't care for the son/babysitter plot line.
Excited For
Melancholia directed by Lars von Trier
Young Adult directed by Jason Reitman
Hugo directed by Martin Scorsese
Shame directed by Steve McQueen
The Artist directed by Michel Hazanavicius
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo directed by David Fincher
The Iron Lady (only for Her Streepness) directed by Phyllida Lloyd

Music
Favorite Albums
21 by Adele
What can I possibly say that hasn't been said? It's the number one record this year. Adele also has the number one single this year, "Rolling in the Deep;" number one video, Live at the Royal Albert Hall; and a boatload of Grammy nominations.

Ceremonials by Florence + the Machine
I've already discussed my love for this album. It's been playing on repeat in my car's CD player since it came out.
Excited For
Tori Amos
Tori released her twelfth solo studio album this year, Night of Hunters. I did not buy it because her last four albums have not been super great (especially the last two). However, this tour is apparently "amazeballs." I'm so upset that she's not coming to SLC this time. I did ask for the CD for Christmas. So I hope I get it and that I love it. What I really want for Christmas is Andreas Ottensamer, the impossibly hot Austrian clarinetist that accompanies her.
I love/hate him. You know, I used to play the clarinet, but I'm not the super hot, super talented one playing with Tori.


Television
Oh my god, I love TV. There were a lot of great shows this year. Here are five of my favorites:
Parks and Recreation on NBC
It's one of the best and funniest sitcoms on television and it has Amy Poehler, so you have to love it. I especially love the romance between Poehler and Adam Scott.

Downton Abbey on PBS
It's the most amazing Masterpiece period show EVER. The cast is superb, especially Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess Violet, and it's so elegantly plotted. I'm rewatching season one and SO excited for season two coming in January.

30 Rock on NBC
Tina Fey's brainchild is another awesome piece of comedy. The fifth season, which wrapped in the spring, had several standout episodes. I'm rewatching all five seasons to get ready for season six coming in January.

Revenge on ABC
It's this year's dishiest nighttime soap taking its cue from 80s titans like Dynasty and Dallas. It's a loose reworking of The Count of Monte Cristo. Watch it for Madeleine Stowe and its complex, episodic plotting.

Happy Endings on ABC
Ignore it's fairly horrible title. Happy Endings is about the lives, loves, and travails of six friends living in Chicago. Entertainment Weekly writes, "If you're not watching Happy Endings you're missing the sharpest, funniest, giddiest show about six friends since that other show about six friends." Not every episode is amahzing, but when it's on, it's on.

P.S. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
It's only came out in 1997, but I finally watched all seven seasons of this landmark television series this year. That was a helluva good time. Highly recommended.

Ten Things

Is it November already? When did this happen?! And what's all this white stuff on the ground? Now that I again live (for the meanwhile) where snow happens, I hope we all have a milder winter than last year.

1. Ceremonials, the sophomore album by Florence + the Machine is no slump. If you enjoyed Lungs, I think you'll like this. If, however, you're no fan of Florence, this is not for you as it's Flo in overdrive--dark, sonic anthems full of harps and unrelenting drums. The BBC's critique that it's "all grandeur without any grace" may be legitimate; it is relentless, but I find it more exhilarating than exhausting. And it's provided excellent opportunities for awesome kitchen dancing in front of god and everyone. My favorite review is from the A.V. Club: "Ceremonials is Welch barreling off a cliff on wings made of dear-diary sentiment, art-school theatrics, and pure-cut sincerity, and somehow, against all odds, she manages to soar." Some of my favorite tracks include the singles "Shake It Out," "What the Water Gave Me," "No Light, No Light" as well as "All This and Heaven Too."

(image source)

2. I am loving the nonfiction book Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood by one of my favorite critics Mark Harris (who is married to Tony Kushner--what a power couple!). The book traces the five Best Picture nominees of 1967--In the Heat of the Night, Bonnie and Clyde, Doctor Dolittle, The Graduate, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner--just as the old Hollywood studio system was crumbling along with the Production Code. It's a brilliant piece of cultural history with fascinating profiles of key players such as Warren Beatty, Mike Nichols, Dustin Hoffman, and Sidney Poitier.

3. With the Halloween jack-o-lanterns moldering and the advent of snow, Christmas commercials have already begun. Ugh. Two full months of soul-crushing consumerism run amok.

4. Speaking of Halloween, my group of friends went as old people. I did not choose this theme as I found it borderline offensive and being old is not really a costume--it's something that happens if one is lucky to live long enough. Anyway, I ended up looking a bit like my uncle Richard. So this is probably what I'll look like when I'm sixty, god willing that I live that long and keep all my hair. Yes, I am wearing a tracksuit.

5. Speaking of Christmas, I may be jumping the gun, but I'm looking forward to making this year's playlist. As much as I enjoy effervescent pop like Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You," I really love melancholy Christmas music--you know, like "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "River." So I'm kind of excited by the spare and bluesy sounds from A Very She & Him Christmas, the latest offering from Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward.

6. This mock vintage Inception poster. I want it.

(image source)

7. These applesauce oat bran muffins adapted from Martha Stewart Living. They're so moist, chewy, spicy, lightly sweetened, healthy, and delicious. A note: they are not very quick to whip up, plus you'll have to buy things like wheat bran, ground flax seed, and dried dates. Still, excellent. They keep well and they'll keep you regular.

8. If you were planning on reading Death Comes to Pemberley, yet another Austen sequel/reworking, you can just read this digested version from the Guardian. It's hilarious, so you should all read it, even if you're not an Austenhead. You're welcome.

9. The Occupy Wall Street movement has filled me with hope and on occasion tears (of joy). In my own small way I am in the middle of transferring my money out of the big bank Chase to the more regional Zions. One day--when I have a job and don't live with the parentals--I plan on using a credit union.

10. I wasn't really planning on seeing the upcoming film Immortals, but these two things have (mostly) changed my mind.
a) The truth in advertising of this commercial:

b) Henry Cavill naked and dirty:

(image source)

Fall Reflections

With the changing of the seasons, it's time for a new playlist. Summer is the time for loud, energetic anthems about the sun and surf. For fall, I enjoy softer, moodier, and darker songs of melancholy that allow for reflection. Here are the songs with an autumnal atmosphere, at least I think so.

New(ish) Additions:
Honey Come Home by The Head and the Heart
"oh god, I love my vices / but they've taken me to places / that I'd never thought I'd go / and I am ready to be home"
Fun fact: I saw The Head and the Heart open for Hey Marseilles. They were both awesome. Sometimes I miss Seattle.

Dead Hearts by Stars
"was there one you saw too clearly? / did they seem too real to you? / they were kids that I once knew / now they're all dead hearts to you"
Fun fact: I first heard this song on the Like Crazy trailer.

9 Crimes by Damien Rice (with Lisa Hannigan)
"it's the wrong kind of place to be thinking of you / it's the wrong time for somebody new / I give my gun away when it's loaded / is that all right, yeah? / if you don't shoot it how am I supposed to hold it?"

Blinding by Florence + the Machine
"no more calling like a crow for a boy, for a body in the garden / no more dreaming like a girl so in love with the wrong world"
Fun fact: While most of Lungs has disturbing imagery, especially of death, this is the track that I find most creepy. OK, so that was more of an opinion than a fact.

Quelqu'un m'a dit by Carla Bruni
"que tu m'amais encore, me l'a-t-on vraiment dit / que tu m'amais encore, serait-ce possible alors?"
Fun fact: Carla Bruni, First Lady of France, appeared in Midnight in Paris as the Musee Rodin guide.

Down in the Valley by The Head and the Heart
"Down in the valley with / whiskey rivers / these are the places you will find me hidin' / these are the places I will always go"
Fun fact: The Head and the Heart's self-titled album is awesome. If you like Mumford & Sons, check them out.

Monster (and monstrous) Love:
The Horror of Our Love by Ludo
"I want you stuffed into my mouth / hold you down and tear you open / live inside you / oh, love, I'd never hurt you"
Fun fact: Based on Salvador Dali's quote about his wife, "I love Gala so much, if she dies, I will eat her."

The Curse by Josh Ritter
"long ago on the ship, she asked, 'why pyramids?' / he said, 'think of them as an immense invitation' / she asked 'are you cursed?' he said, 'I think that I'm cured' / then he kissed her and hoped she'd forget that question"
Fun fact: After Tori Amos (268), I have more songs by Josh Ritter (55) than any other artist (excepting compositions by Chopin). Thanks for introducing him to me, Rae.

Howl by Florence + the Machine
"a man who's pure of heart and says his prayers by night / may still become a wolf when the autumn moon is bright / if you could only see the beast you made of me"
Fun Question: Have you heard the new singles What the Water Gave Me or Strangeness and Charm?

Possession by Sarah McLachlan
"oh, you speak to me in riddles / and you speak to me in rhymes / my body aches to breathe your breath / your words keep me alive"

Songs Not About Food:
Caramel by Suzanne Vega
"so goodbye / sweet appetite / no single bite / could satisfy"

Honey by Tori Amos
"he liked my shoes I kept them on / sometimes I can hold my tongue, sometimes not / when you just skip-to-loo, my darlin' "

Lullabies:
Be Here Now by Ray LaMontagne
"don't look for love in faces, places / it's in you, that's where you'll find kindness"

Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap
"spin me around again and rub my eyes / this can't be happening"

Change of Time by Josh Ritter
"I had a dream last night / and when I opened my eyes / your shoulder blade, your spine / were shorelines in the moon light"
Fun fact: Ritter just published his first novel back in June.

Somedays by Regina Spektor
"I've gone away, don't call me don't write / Somedays aren't yours at all / They come and go as if they're someone else's days"

Old Favorites:
Spark by Tori Amos
"if the divine master plan is perfection / maybe next I'll give Judas a try / trusting my soul to the ice cream assassin"

Poses by Rufus Wainwright
"I did go from wanting to be someone / now I'm drunk and wearing flip-flops on Fifth Avenue"

Sometime Around Midnight by The Airborne Toxic Event
"and the band plays some song / about forgetting yourself for a while / and the piano's this melancholy soundcheck / to her smile"
Fun fact: this band's semi-ridiculous name is taken from Don DeLillo's masterful postmodern novel, White Noise.

Northern Lad by Tori Amos
"I guess you go too far / when pianos try to be guitars / I feel the west in you / but I feel it falling apart too"

Blast from the Past

On this Monday, when I should be looking at library job postings, I am being endlessly diverted by Facebook, YouTube, blogs, emails, etc. Anyway, I don't really have anything to share lifewise, but I do have a couple of 90s songs stuck in my head, so I thought I'd share. Most of the 90s in my iTunes is devoted to the alt female songwriter ToriSarahAlanisLizAni. The songs I'm sharing are not those. These are the gloriously cheesy pop songs that I grew up listening to on my mom's soft rock radio station.

"I Don't Want to Wait" by Paula Cole

You're welcome! (I only recently found out this was the theme for Dawson's Creek, somehow as a gay teen in the late 90s/early 00s who watched a lot of The WB, I never watched the Creek.)

"Stay (I Missed You)" by Lisa Loeb

I'm not sure the lyrics make sense except in the contradictory senses of love, relationships, and loss. This song's left an indelible impression on my brain.

"Tonight and the Rest of My Life" by Nina Gordon

OK, so it came out in 2000. It haunts me.

One more: "Foolish Games" by Jewel. zomg! That was one of my most favoritest songs in high school.

If that wasn't enough, Garfunkel and Oates skewer these and other songs in their Worst Song Medley.

It's ok if you like some (or all) of these songs in spite of yourself.

Happy Monday.

Summer Playlist

A week after solstice (which is either the start or mid of summer) I'm almost kinda finally ready to post my summer playlist. Every year there are a lot of new "summer" songs that take over the airwaves and bbq playlists which means that tried and true summer favorites get edged out. Edged out only because I like to burn the playlist to a CD to listen to in the car for road trips or zipping around town--and a CD can only hold approximately 20 songs. So I think this year I might make two playlists: one for new stuff and one for my old favorites.

Let's begin with the new 2011 songs:
Where Not to Look for Freedom by The Belle Brigade
This was not one of my favorite early runners in the TBTL Song of the Summer contest, but it grew on my and is now possibly my favorite of the new songs. The Belle Brigade is an LA band fronted by a brother-sister duo, and this song is about the allure of the road.
Oh and is the only way to find a free feeling on the road / Where you go wherever you want whenever you want

Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People
I already wrote about this song. New twist--if you listen to the lyrics, which is hard because they are mumbly, you will learn that this is about an alienated kid going on a shooting spree. Huh. However, the music video is of the band on the beach and performing to a bunch of dancing hipsters.
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks / You'd better run, better run, outrun my gun

Rolling in the Deep by Adele
Adele is going to win the Grammy and the pennant and the cake. I love car dancing to this soulful song.
You had my heart inside your hands / And you played it / To the beat

Price Tag by Jessie J
I heard this playing in a mall when I was still in Seattle. It's a lot of fun. And this summer as I'm unemployed I would like to forget the effing price tag of my education.
We just wanna make the world dance / Forget about the price tag

You Are Not a Robot by Hoodie Allen
A pretty fun hip hop song, and I don't even like hip hop very much.
Sometimes I'm just feelin like a robot / Sittin round, hopin that you'll show up

MoneyGrabber by Fitz and the Tantrums
It's a pretty fun soul song, though it also sounds a little generic. Still they generate a lot of sound all without a guitar.
Don't come back anytime, you've already robbed me blind / This is your payback, money grabber

Turn Off This Song and Go Outside by The Lonely Forest
This is a Washington band from Anacortes and their album Arrows was produced by Death Cab's Chris Walla.
Turn off, turn off this song / Find someone to love

Nothing Ever Happens by Rachel Platten
Dain shared this song, and I really dig it. An excellent lighthearted pop song perfect for summer.
Nothing ever happens if you play it safe! / Make a little space / And get out of your own way!

Speaking of the TBTL Song of the Summer--it may have been hijacked by Bruno Mars fans as the winner was The Lazy Song. I don't really like the song, and neither did TBTL so they gave the honorable mention to Well OK Honey by Jenny O. and I don't really care for that song either. Lady Gaga's Edge of Glory had a lot of votes too, and while I do like that song, I don't know if I'm ready to own any Gaga.
...
OK, I'm ready and Edge is going on the playlist.

Other newish songs:
City with No Children by Arcade Fire
The Suburbs came out last summer, but I'm going to hold this song over for another year.
Do you think your righteousness / Can pay the interest on your debt? / I have my doubts about it

Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes
I loved this song so much last summer, I have to keep it.
Laugh until we think we'll die / Barefoot on a summer's night / Never could be sweeter than with you

Long Shadows by Josh Ritter
I really like this short and sweet song from his latest album So Runs the World Away.
I'm not afraid of the dark when the sun goes down / And the dreams grow teeth and the beasts come out

Fader by The Temper Trap
I just heard "Sweet Disposition" on the radio today, and while I do love that song, it's so overplayed. So how about this less famous song from the same album?
So hold a hand for cover / Hold a hand for cover from harm

Girls with Accents by Fences
This is an indie Seattle band that sounds a bit like The Decemberists and Rogue Wave (or so I've heard). The album was produced by Sara of Tegan & fame.
And now's my chance to finally kiss you / But I got drunk and I passed out / I'm fucking up, I'm fucking up, I'm fucking up everything

Florence + the Machine
I came to the Lungs party late, but I love that album SO much! Even though it came out in '08, it really blew up last year. I can't decide which song to put on the playlist: Hurricane Drunk, Heavy in Your Arms, Rabbit Heart, Kiss with a Fist, Swimming, Drumming Song, My Boy Builds Coffins? All of them? I don't know.

Mumford and Sons
I heard The Cave on the radio earlier today, but I also love Little Lion Man. Conundrum.

Blue Skies by Noah and the Whale
I heard this song about a month ago at a Great Harvest, and it made me realize how much I like this song which had been on my 2010 spring playlist. I don't know if it's the most summery of songs, but I'll take it. (Of course, their new album just came out, so maybe I should check that out too.)
I don't think that it's the end / But I know we can't keep going / But blue skies are coming

I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked by Ida Maria
This was a TBTL contender a couple of years ago. LOVE it!
What the hell do I do that for? / You're just some guy! / OK, you're kinda sexy, but you're not really special...

Rio by Hey Marseilles
This is a Seattle band that I've raved about before. I think this is a great, wanderlust-y kind of song.
Drink 'til tomorrow becomes yesterday / Think of the shorelines you have yet to see / Men who will hold you with eyes you believe

So What by P!nk
So what if it's a few years old, it's still awesome.
I'm still a rock star!

That's about it for new songs though I do have some free space left if you care to make any suggestions. Now we move onto The Ultimate Summer Playlist.

All I Really Want by Alanis Morissette
White Houses by Vanessa Carlton
Bouncing Off Clouds by Tori Amos
California by Rufus Wainwright
Daylight Robbery by Imogen Heap
That Time by Regina Spektor
Soak Up the Sun by Sheryl Crow
Boys of Summer by The Ataris
Los Angeles by Sugarcult
Mr. Brightside by The Killers
Vindicated by Dashboard Confessional
Sweet Darlin' by She & Him
Downtown by Petula Clark
5 Years Time by Noah and the Whale
1901 by Phoenix
Oxford Comma by Vampire Weekend
Dark Blue by Jack's Mannequin
Read My Mind by The Killers
If It Makes You Happy by Sheryl Crow
Summer in the City by Regina Spektor

Song of the Summer

zOMG! Second post in a week! I am starting to think about my summer playlist (a future post to look forward to!), but first we need to decide what the new 2011 summer songs are going to be. The ones blasting out of car stereos and barbecue mixes everywhere. There are the big summer mega-hits like Rihanna's "Umbrella," Beyonce's "Crazy in Love," Gnarls Barkely's "Crazy," Katy Perry's "California Gurls," etc. Then there are the slightly more alternative and indie songs that have great summer energy: Jack's Mannequin's Everything in Transit comes to mind. So what are people going to listen to this summer?

Since I don't listen to the radio or read Picthfork, I have to rely on TBTL which every year tries to answer that question with their TBT ella ella Song of Summer contest. The constant tension lies between predicting the true song of the summer which might end up being Katy Perry or Black Eyed Peas OR choosing the indie/alt song they actually want to listen to all summer. In 2008 listeners chose Little Jackie's "The Stoop" which wasn't actually released as a single, but small details right? In 2009 they chose "1901" by Phoenix, an excellent pick. In 2010 the listeners actually voted in "California Gurls" which was a tragedy for everyone. Currently, they are sifting through the nominees. Some of which are as follows:

Rolling in the Deep by ADELE
First of all, even though I came to the Adele party late, it's amazing! Second of all, it's already huge and probably will continue to be huge throughout the summer. Who can resist that sweet, sweet soul sound? You can't help but dance.


Money Grabber by Fitz and the Tantrums
Another indie-soul song. I like this one a lot too, but I'm not sure how memorable it is.


Price Tag by Jessie J.
This song, released as a single back in January, may still become one of the huge hits this summer.


Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People
This is an indie synthpop band, and this track is pretty chill, maybe too chill to be a summer jam, and slightly repetitive but still good. (Also, the drummer is kind of cute in a classic, all-American way.)



Turn Off This Song and Go Outside by The Lonely Forest
The Lonely Forest is a Washington band that sounds a lot like Death Cab, but this is still a pretty great jam for summer, as evidence by the 4th of July setting.


You Are Not a Robot by Hoodie Allen
I almost always enjoy some white rap (does that make me racist? probably). Anyway, it's a pretty fun song.


Nova by The Sound of Arrows
This is a Swedish pop duo working out of the UK bringing us some sugary 80s-style pop songs with a dose of gayness thrown in for good measure. Who could not love that?


Those seven songs will probably be on my playlist. Some other songs for consideration (that I myself don't quite love) include Lights by Ellie Goulding, Super Bass by Nicki Minaj, Where Not to Look for Freedom by The Belle Brigade, Well OK Honey by Jenny O., and Slippin' by Quadron.

I'd love to hear your thoughts. What music are you going to be listening to this summer?