Recently in music Category
At the culmination of last year's year in review, I told 2008 that I was 'glad to meet her acquaintance.' I take it back. What a jerk she turned out to be.
Music
Album sales continue to plummet while digital downloads continue to rise. iTunes reached one billion sales for the first time ever and vinyl records had its biggest year (1.88 million units) since the Nielsen SoundScan began tracking album sales in 1991.
Rage Against the Machine made waves at the 2008 Republican National Convention, solidifying them as the most prolific political band of my generation.
Chinese Democracy, the first Guns N' Roses album in 17 years, was finally released after years of speculation.
Britney Spears has seemed to turn it around, making us forget that she went completely psycho.
Columbia University graduates Vampire Weekend burst into the mainstream seemingly out of nowhere, and aren't going anywhere.
Politics
The United States of America made history this year by electing its first black President, Barack Obama.
Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich cast a dark cloud over his home state just as they were reveling in the victory of Barack Obama.
Politics and pop culture become one.
The GOP's choice of Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate proves that nobody in the Continental United States has any clue about what goes on in Alaska.
The Al Franken/Norm Coleman Senate race in Minnesota Senate race still isn't over.
Sports
Our hometown Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series this year, breaking a 25 year championship hiatus in Philadelphia. There were bigger sports stories this year, but not in my house.
Sports Illustrated named 2008 the Best Year Ever. I'll leave it at that.
Film
Like last year, I didn't get to the movies too much this year. I did see a few, however.
2008 marked the year that I saw my all-time favorite movie, In Bruges.
Heath Ledger's performance in The Dark Knight deserves an Oscar, regardless of what anyone says.
Wall-E will go down in history as the best animated film to ever grace the silver screen.
Television
AMC's Mad Men officially replaces The Sopranos as television's best show.
MSNBC's Rachel Maddow became cable television's new media darling.
Elvis Costello's new show on Sundance, Spectacle, proves that rock n' roll is intelligent.
The Office continues to be network television's best comedy, while The Colbert Report, in my view, surpassed The Daily Show.
Technology
Google continued its quest to take over the world in 2008, providing us with interesting yet frightening new technologies what seems like on a weekly basis.
Unique visitors to Facebook have skyrocketed since September 2007 (up 116%), making it the top social networking site and second to Blogger as the top social media site. With numbers like that, it won't last long.
Apple reached its goal of selling 10 million iPhones in 2008 by October while setting record profits. PC sales, especially Dells, continue to stall.
Books
Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series continued to dominate the market this year, claiming four of the top five spots in USA Today's top 150 best sellers for the final week of 2008. The other? J.K Rowling's Tales of the Beedle Bard.
The most interesting book I read this year was Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor's My Stroke of Insight.
Next on my list is Malcolm Gladwell's latest, Outliers: The Story of Success.
Business
Ouch. I don't even want to discuss it.
2009...can it actually be worse than 2008? Let's hope not.
The Waltz. 1-2-3. 1-2-3.
Something about the waltz has always intrigued me. It seems rarely do you find its presence in contemporary music. How rare? Well let's see.
In my iTunes I have a collection of songs from the 60's and 70's as part of the Time Life AM Gold Collection.
The waltzes I found in that collection are as follows, beginning with what is perhaps one of the most popular modern day pop waltzes there is.
The Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody
Sonny & Cher - I got you babe
Jackie DeShannon - What the world needs now
Tom Jones - What's new Pussycat
Dusty Springfield - You don't have to say you love me
Percy Sledge - When a man loves a woman
The Mamas and the Papas - Dedicated to the one I Love
Steve Winwood - How can I be sure
Aaron Neville - Tell it like it is
The Casinos - Then you can tell me Goodbye
The Vogues - Turn Around, Look at Me - (lyrically very creppy)
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Ooh Baby Baby
Beyond that though I was curious as to how many waltzes I came across in my music collection that is more contemporary (this does not necessarily mean new but anything not a part of the AM Gold Collection). Unfortunately I only have my iTunes at my current disposal so any CD's I have yet to burn will not be included at this time. So if you like the waltz you will probably enjoy most of the list below. I could only get through A-F as of yet (it's a tedious process). I'll update it as time passes.
Oh and I'm not a music major by any means so if I included some tunes I shouldn't have feel free to let me know and send some education my way. Thanks.
And in my small collection of Blind Melon I was somewhat surprised to not find a waltz. Any fan out there know of one they could send along?
Anyway, here you go.
List is in Artist - Album - Song order.
Album, as in the album its on in my collection at least.
AA Bondy - American Hearts - There's A Reason
AA Bondy - American Hearts - American Hearts
AA Bondy - American Hearts - Of the Sea
The Animals - Retrospective - House of the Rising Sun
The Arcade Fire - Funeral - Crown of Love
Badly Drawn Boy - The hour of The Bewilderbeast - Stone On the Water
Band of Horses - Cease to Begin - Marry Song
Band of Horses - Cease to Begin - Cigarettes, Wedding Bands
The Beatles - Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band - Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (verse)
The Beatles - Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band - She's Leaving Home
Billy Bragg & Wilco - Mermaid Avenue - One by One
Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake It's Morning - We are nowhere and it's Now
Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake It's Morning - Land Locked Blues
Cake - Comfort Eagle - World of Two
Cake - Fashion Nugget - Sad Songs and Waltzes
Cake - Prolonging the Magic - Mexico
Cake - Prolonging the Magic - Where would I Be?
Calexico - Feast Of Wire - Sunken Waltz
Calexico - Feast of Wire - Woven Birds
Calexico - Feast Of Wire - Across the Wire
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Some Loud Thunder - Upon Encountering the Crippled Elephant
Cold War Kids - Loyalty to Loyalty - Avalanche in B
Cold War Kids - Loyalty to Loyalty - On the Night My Love Broke Through
Cold War Kids - Loyalty to Loyalty - Cryptomnesia
Cold War Kids - Robbers & Cowards - Pregnant
Cold War Kids - Robbers & Cowards - Lord Have Mercy on Me (hidden track)
Coldplay - Parachutes - Shiver
Coldplay - Parachutes - Sparks
Coldplay - Parachutes - We Never Change
David Gray - White Ladder - This Year's Love
Death Cab for Cutie - The Photo Album - Styrofoam Plates
Death Cab for Cutie - Plans - Stable Song
Death Cab for Cutie - Something about Airplanes - Line of Best Fit
The Decemberists - The Crane Wife - After the Bombs
The Doors - Best of - Spanish Caravan
The Doves - Lost Souls - Sea Song
The Doves - Lost Souls - The Man Who Told Everything
The Doves - Lost Souls - Zither
The Doves - Some Cities - Someday Soon
Eliott Smith - Either/Or - Between the Bars
Feist - Let it Die - Let it Die
Feist - The Reminder - The Park
Fionna Apple - Tidal - Sullen Girl
Fionna Apple - Tidal - Shadowboxer
Fionna Apple - Tidal - Slow Like Honey
Fionna Apple - Tidal - The Child is Gone
On October 10, Brooke, her father and I went to see Grace Potter & the Nocturnals at the Theater of Living Arts in Philadelphia. It was the second time Brooke and I have seen Grace and her band perform and the first for Steve. It sounds cliché, but her recordings, as good as they are, don't even compare to the live performances. Grace Potter & the Nocturnals are on my short list of bands that I will see when they come to town no matter what is going on. If the video below isn't proof of that, then I don't know what is. And for a $17 price tag, you most certainly get your money's worth.
The little lady and I are saving to buy a house. Well, actually, we bought one two weeks ago, but it unfortunately fell through. So, we are back to building our nest egg in order to by a home that suits us. Anyway, in order to save money for anything, one must eliminate unnecessary purchases. We are both making a consistent effort to eliminate certain pleasures and luxuries in life.
The conversation turned to music, as it always does with Brooke. Instead of really focusing on the task at hand, we ventured off into creating lists of 10 records that we cannot live without. It's tougher than you think; it took me two weeks. And I couldn't even do it! Cutting one more record was too much of a chore, too heart-wrenching, so I kept it. Sure, the first seven or eight were easy, but then you start to think of records that you really like. You like them, but are they sponge worthy?
