The Walkmen… covering one of the few songs I look forward to hearing in December
Much to my chagrin… Christmas Eve 2012 is officially here and it arrived with an early phone call from my sister to my parents - to see what time we would be getting together for Dinner and gift exchange.
I opted to skip out on dinner and reluctantly attended the gift exchange, just so I could see the expression on my family’s face when they saw some of the awesome things I got them.
Of all the gifts that got dolled out today, my Mom was possibly the most delighted when she got her hands on a new Gen 4 iPad. She’s stoked by the screen and clarity of FaceTime. Both her and my dad will be using it a lot to keep tabs on their new granddaughter.
My niece made out with a number of goodies too. I got her a number of gifts but the one she seemed to take a liking to was a Wabanub (toy on a binky) thats in the shape of a Giraffe. I also got her a Giraffe that plays little songs and soothing sounds… much to my surprise, it knocked her the hell out.
How did I do? Well… lets just say that its better to give than to receive.
I’m glad this holiday is done. I know many people out there, really get into the spirit but as far as I’m concerned -
Santa was a hero to most, but he never meant shit to me.
Christmas 2012
2012 Top 10 Albums of the Year: #4) John K. Samson - “Provincial”
Let me quickly say that this is my favorite album of 2012. It’s not the best album of 2012… in my opinion its worthy of being in the Top 10… but this will be a record I will slip on 2, 5 and 10 years from now without any doubt.
Provincial, in many ways is a record that has helped me understand my mid 30’s… the same way that Four Corner Night helped me understand my early 30’s and No Code helped me understand my late 20’s.
There’s applicable lyrical content and the album seems to chart out my emotional mapping, like no other record has done in quite some time.
I selected the song “When I write my Master’s Thesis” - because it reminds me a lot of what my friend Chivo is currently doing with his PhD Thesis. He’s nearing completion of that monumental goal, but I happen to know that it’s killing him on the inside.
"no more citing sources" - John K. Samson
I’ve managed to misspend days before, due largely in part to really bad hangovers… but never in my lifetime have I ever managed to just squander a day away like I did today with my family.
It just occurred to me in the dark (as I play an iPad game) that I squandered a perfectly good day because I’m lazy…
2012 Top 10 Albums of the Year: #5) Frankie Rose - “Interstellar”
Hands down one of the best pop records I’ve listened to in recent memory. Highly recommended to those who still listen to Disintegration by the Cure with some regularity.
Also recommend it to those whom are fans of Dum Dum Girls and Vivian Girls.
2012 Top 10 Albums of the Year: #6) Perfume Genius - “Put Your Back N 2 It”
This is hands down the most disarming album I spun in 2012… to listen to “Put Your Back N 2 It, the listener must commit themselves to exploring feelings that one has suppressed.
The subject matter is incredibly raw, fearless and emotive…
With a little over a week left… I can’t begin to describe how much I’m looking forward to being done with this 365 Day Photo project.
After taking 12 or so photos that I could have used today… I found myself just feeling underwhelmed to explain any of them.
Writers block from hell…
2012 Top 10 Albums of the Year: #7) Cloud Nothings - “Attack on Memory”
Let me quickly sum up reasons to pick up Attack on Memory for those who’ve never heard of them… This record was produced by Steve Albini & this is the Sunny Day Real Estate album that could have been.
Weighing in at 8 songs… Cloud Nothings delivered one of the best concentrated efforts in 2012.
I’ve selected the song “Cut You” because of cryptic bad-boyfriend lyrics…
"I need something I can Hurt" - Cloud Nothings
On the evening that will go down as *the day the Mayans & History Channel got it wrong*… yours truly was at his apartment, pulling Uncle duties as my Sister and Mom ran some errands at the Forum.
The assignment was pretty easy… keep an eye on the kid as it sleeps. She just got fed and changed so she should be asleep for a few hours.
About 20 minutes after my sister left… a very describable scent came from her lower half and I was treated to a fucking cry fest.
Tried a number of things to calm her down… carrying her and feeding her some more milk seemed do the trick. My sister and mom cut their errands short to come home and dispose of the rowdy diaper about 10 minutes after I called them.
I’m clearly not cut out for this stuff… big ups to all the single parents who manage to do it all.
2012 Top 10 Albums of the Year: #9) #8) Felix Cartal - “Different Faces”
Different Faces by Felix Cartal, marked my returned interest in EDM… Discovered the album after catching up with a friend, very late one night over instant message.
It was one of those dorky music exchanges where we got to share records we’d been listening to over the Summer.
The album features a number of guest artists including The New Ivory, who perform the song “Higher” that I’ve chosen to share in this post.