2009 Singles of the Year

Top Singles of the Year

This is my favorite time of the year when all of the best of lists are bandied about. Of course, musical taste, or lack thereof, being subjective, it is interesting to me to see what others think of as good and/or bad. It also never fails to intrigue me how so much of the same music can appear on so many different lists. With that said, here is my list of my favorite tracks from the past year. I don't put together a finite list, I just kept listing them until I could list them no longer. Last year I typed up a little blurb about each single, however, due to time constraints, I have not done so this year, though it is quite possible I will get bored at some point over the holiday and revisit the list. So check back. I have included a video clip of each song though!

1. Fine For Now - Grizzly Bear



2. Mistake - Moby



3. Basic Space - The xx



4. Two Dancers - Wild Beasts



5. Don't Let Me Stop You - Kelly Clarkson



6. Dominos - The Big Pink



7. Made to Disappear - The Twilight Sad



8. Scarlet Fields - The Horrors



9. Lisbon Maru - Fuck Buttons



10. Stillness is the Move - Dirty Projectors



11. Songs Remind Me Of You - Annie



12. Two Planets - Bat For Lashes



13. While You Wait For The Others - Grizzly Bear



14. Repeaterbeater - Mew



15. I Don't Wanna Go There - Dinosaur Jr.



16. Soft Shock - Yeah Yeah Yeahs



17. Papillion - Editors



18. Sheila - Atlas Sound



19. Everglade - Antony & The Johnsons



20. Come Saturday - Pains of Being Pure of Heart



21. You've Got The Love - The xx featuring Florence + The Machine



22. The Girl and the Robot - Royksopp



23. Dry and Dusty - Fever Ray



24. Nothing to Worry About - Peter Bjorn and John



25. The Way It Used To Be - Pet Shop Boys



26. Collect Call - Metric



27. Percussion Gun - White Rabbits



28. The Party - St. Vincent



29. Surf Solar - Fuck Buttons



30. Hearing Damage - Thom Yorke



31. The Palm Of Your Wave - Bibio



32. We Still Got The Taste Dancin' On Our Tongues - Wild Beasts



33. Velvet - The Big Pink



34. Ready, Able - Grizzly Bear



35. See The Leaves - The Flaming Lips



36. Blinding - Florence + The Machine



37. Raindrops - Basement Jaxx



38. Lovesick Teenagers - Bear In Heaven



39. Refuse Angels - Crocodiles



40. Small Metal Gods - David Sylvian



41. Now's The Only Time I Know - Fever Ray



42. Morning Light - Girls



43. Undisclosed Desires - Muse



44. Change of Heart - El Perro Del Mar



45. My Girls - Animal Collective



46. Beach Comber - Real Estate



47. Kettering - The Antlers



48. Cover My Eyes - La Roux



49. Aidy's Girl's A Computer - Darkstar

You Have To Love Animals

This weekend Chris was fighting a bad cold but was a trooper and went out to some holiday parties with me. We came home Saturday night and he laid down on the couch before we headed to bed and his pets, the pug Shiloh and the cat Elwood, decided to take care of him for me.



Of course Elwood had to look up at the camera and flash us the Cylon eyes.



Shiloh was out for the count.



Shiloh, who has one eye and a very funny tongue, is a sweetheart and rarely leaves your side, and hates for the attention to be drawn away from her. So if you are sitting on the couch, you know you will be hers for the evening.

Videos of the Week

I think this is the first Videos of the Week I have actually posted on a Friday, so I am feeling pretty good about that. Here are the latest videos that are grabbing my attention.



Real Estate are a pleasant surprise I stumbled upon. Very low-key and shambling, they sound like a band you would run into at a dive bar that completely captivate you. Their self titled release is summery and warm and makes you feel wonderful. I highly recommend it.



Kid Sister sounds like a slightly ghetto Nenah Cherry. She lacks the social awareness and biting lyrics Neneh is known for, but makes up for it with lots of attitude. Plus I love the use of the Yaz sample.



My favorite song off the new Muse cd. Has almost a Depeche Mode meets Queen vibe. They are scheduled to play Coachella next year, so I am interested to see how they do in a festival setting.



Hallucinatory video from Yeasayer. Reminds me of the bizarre movies from Jodorowsky like The Holy Mountain and El Topo. NSFW though!



More fun, nu-rave music from Delphic. Really looking forward to the full length release.

Non Sequiturs

Waiting waiting waiting. The project I was on was put on immediate hold last week pending a "re-evaluation" by the client as to how they wanted to approach the remainder of the work. So we are basically in limbo with the firm until we find out because they won't assign us to new projects until this one is officially ended. Thus, I am watching morning television talk shows and not making a dime. I can't even apply for unemployment because the firm I am working for is on a bi-weekly pay schedule, so I am expecting to get two more paychecks for the month (albeit very small ones) that will negate the unemployment amounts. It is never fun to be in limbo during the holiday season. I will survive, but I thought it deserved a little grousing. Of course, now I find we won't know until "later this week" which in legal parlance means don't call us we'll call you.

Yesterday I had another kidney stone. It was by far the worst one I have had. Usually I have a little back pain beforehand and perhaps intense pain for an hour or so before passing them, but yesterday it kept going and going and did not seem to subside. After about 5 hours of the pain I called a urologist friend of mine who called in some pain meds for me. I almost went to the hospital because it didn't seem like the stone was passing. I was hesitant to go to the hospital mainly because I knew that once it passed there would be no need to go because it is instantaneously feels better once it passed. Also, because I am in health insurance limbo, I knew I would have to pay out of pocket and I couldn't necessarily afford the expense at this time seeing as my income stream has slowed up. Chris came over and helped me out and around 8 pm the pain seemed to subside. I woke this morning with no pain, so I am hoping everything is fine. I'm just going to drink lots of water and make sure I keep hydrated.

This video cracks me up. It is completely not safe for work, and is possibly offensive to Smurfs.



Lyrics Rattling Around My Brain

"After all that we've been through
I know we'll make it after the wait
the question is a truth
there is nothing we can't do
I'll see you along the way baby
the stillness is the move."

Dirty Projectors
"Stillness Is The Move"

"The seed grew up a boy
Turned to a man
Is this the world you wanted?
It seems under the soil
Over the sand
Not quite the seed I planted
I've seen you
And now I know better
I've been you
Now I'm someone else."

Echo And The Bunnymen
"History Chimes"

"Nightmare
We ride for miles and miles
Following the howling of our prey
Out there
Reload our yellow rigs
Scrambling for shelter
Dig a void, decay

1 for the flaming sun
2 for the location
3 for the martyrs and the stars
4 for the wind and sand
5 so you understand
6 for the slips 'twixt the cup and the lips"

The Church
"Numbers"

Appealing Things

Having a wonderful boyfriend to take care of you when you are sick.
The claymation Christmas specials.
Vicodin.
Glee.
Kindle.
Kevin Gillespie.
A Single Man.
Sleeping with a bad storm outside.
House of Eliott.
Cooking more at home.

Annoying Things

Kidney stones.
My favorite team not winning The Amazing Race.
Bad coffee.
Waiting for work.

Gay Marriage in New York

Sen. Diane Savino of New York speaks eloquently about the failure of the New York legislature to pass the bill allowing gay marriage in New York. Whenever I get down and start to lose hope, it is people like Sen. Savino that renew my faith in people. Everyone should hear what she has to say.

Getting Out The Vote

Today is the runoff elections for several major races in Atlanta, including the race for Mayor. The candidates are Mary Norwood and Kasim Reed. If Norwood is elected, she will be the first white mayor in Atlanta since 1974. It has been a contentious race and, unfortunately, the race card has been played more often than not. Putting aside that pretty pointless issue (in my opinion), I cast my vote for Norwood just to get away from the rampant cronyism and nepotism that has plagued our city government for decades. Do I believe Norwood is the second coming? No, but I am willing to give her the chance to prove otherwise. Reed seems like a nice man, but he did several things that annoyed me as a gay voter in a city with a huge gay population: (1) he was the only top mayoral candidate that did not personally march in the Pride Parade (he had a float, but he was nowhere to be seen); and (2) he has come out against gay marriage and for civil unions which to me is completely unacceptable. Norwood marched in the parade and is in favor of gay marriage, so I am willing to put my support behind her.

Voting itself was very easy, as there was no one else voting in my polling place when I went. It is sad that too few people seem to care about the direction of our city. I've heard several people say that Atlanta could easily become the next Detroit, and that scares me. I love living here and want our city to succeed. Here is hoping that whoever gets elected takes a strong approach and leads this city to more prosperous times.

Non Sequiturs

My friend Scott upgraded his Kindle this week to the new DX model and ended up selling me his Kindle 2 for $140. I am loving it so far. I am generally a paper loving book person, but my small place does not lend itself well for storage of books. The scale tipped in favor of the Kindle after I bought the new Stephen King novel, which weighs 4 lbs and is over 1200 pages. It looks like a small coffee table. The first book I downloaded was Await Your Reply by Don Chaon, and I also downloaded some classic books for free. These were books in the public domain, and were uploaded by a group of people wanting everyone to have access to these books. It's been a lot of fun playing with the Kindle, and I look forward to uploading more and more books. It doesn't hurt that bestsellers are $9.99. I am hoping I will not get into too much trouble.

It's been a very nice long holiday weekend, which I have really enjoyed and have really needed. I avoided shopping at the malls and basically anywhere that large crowds would gather. I think it was a pretty good decision. Hung out Thanksgiving day at my friend Steve's with Ken, Kurt, David, Rob, and Rob's friend Dan. The food was great and the company was very nice. We ate, drank, played Rock Band, and watched some football. I enjoyed everything but the football of course. The rest of the weekend was spent with Chris just relaxing. It is going to be difficult going back to work tomorrow, but I am definitely well rested.

Lyrics Rattling Around My Head

"Why should we feel bad for what we've done?
We still got the taste dancin' on our tongues.
Love the smash and grab of our goings on.
We still got the taste dancin' on our tongues."

Wild Beasts
"We Still Got The Taste Dancin' On Our Tongues"

"In darkness
Where my dreams are all too clear
Darkness, darkness
Filled with all the sounds of fear
I hear voices (don't turn out the light)
Calling far away
I see shadows (don't turn out the light)
Moving, changing shape"

The Human League
"Darkness"

"When I was checking vitals
I suggested a smile
you didn't talk for a while
you were freezing

You said you hated my tone
it made you feel so alone
so you told me I had to be leaving

But something kept me standing
by that hospital bed
I should have quit but instead
I took care of you

You made me sleep and uneven
and I didn't believe them
when they told me that there
was no saving you"

The Antlers
"Kettering"

Appealing Things

Chris
Chris
Chris
Thanksgiving with good friends and no drama
Kurt's puppy Tater (even with the whining)
Chipotle burritos
My Amazon Kindle
Books for $9.99
Having a work project during the holidays
Cooks Warehouse
Still fitting in my 28" jeans after not going to the gym for 8 weeks after surgery

Annoying Things

The job market
Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving