One of my new year’s resolutions is to hear more live music. It’s usually too loud, though, and I want to keep my hearing to a ripe old age, thank you. Earlove plugs to the rescue! They lower volume and still let the music through.
I just ordered 3. If you want to show me how good a friend you are by taking me to a good concert, I might be persuaded to give you your own pair.
:-D
You knew it was coming. Even though I’ve blogged only sporadically this year. Here it is – my favorite album releases of 2008. Why? Because everyone else does? No. Because it forces me to winnow through everything that’s stacked up and toss the chaff, leaving an iTunes library chock full of pure luscious goodness.
I tried to cut down the list, really I did! But these are the ones I keep listening to. 57 albums, like the tomatoes in Heinz ketchup. No ranking here. And no linking—I’m way too lazy. If you want to hear an artist you’re not familiar with, probably the quickest way is to hop on over to last.fm.
One honorary mention: local Hammond organ trio 7 Come 11 haven’t released an album yet, though they just recorded for a DVD. I hope to hear them live next year.
On to the list. Please feel free to take issue with it in the comments…
1Don’t forget, the banjo was the American slaves’ recreation of African instruments they left behind. Otis Taylor has gathered black blues musicians for this collaboration. He also contributes to most of the tracks. The result is so good! It’s a crime that this kind of music has been ignored.
2Belizean musician and Garifuna cultural ambassador Andy Palacio passed away in January of 2008. A great loss. Fortunately this album keeps the momentum going. The women singing on this compilation are absolute treasures. If you’ve never heard the African/Caribbean flavors, rhythms and feeling that go into a Garifuna song, you owe it to yourself to check it out.
Whew! What a year of musical abundance. Many thanks to my work buddies who turned me on to the Bonnie Prince, Sun Kil Moon, and those sweet crazy tapdancers Tilly and the Wall.
Been a while, but howdy. I’m at my mom’s house in Seattle after barely making it into town on Alaska Airlines before the snow started really coming down. Thousands of people have had to sleep in the airport because the airlines ran out of de-icing fluid. I’ve had good timing so far, though.
First I made it in to the airport and to my sister’s house. Besides the happiness of a warm family hug, the big highlights have been sledding, making snow creatures, and hiking down to the snowy beach. A beach on the Puget Sound, not on the Pacific. Think quietly lapping lake shore, not roaring crashing waves. Beautiful nonetheless. Gulls congregating by the water, and sugar icing dropped over the tall conifers, the driftwood and everything else.
Amy discovered how easy it was to break off pieces of frozen ice crust and stand them up sideways in the snow. She made several Andy Goldsworthy-worthy sculptures and if she sends me a snapshot I’ll post it.
Snow doesn’t make you cold if you have the right base layer (long underwear for us less sophisticated types), waterproof boots, and if you keep moving. And the houses here are nice and warm thanks to central heating and insulation, amenities we don’t often experience in Santa Cruz, our town of summer cottages and garage studios.
I’m spending a little quality time with Mom before we rejoin the rest of the gang for Christmas proper. I hope to enjoy a bit more of my brother-in-law Greg’s scrumptious mostly-Italian cooking. Can’t wait to see my bro – it’s been years. And I hope we can help make nephew Lewis as happy as a twelve-year-old at Christmas should be.
Stay warm and merry, everyone!
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