A reader/friend tip from Raliegh (thanks Andy Wood) led me to check out Michael Ford, Jr. & The Apache Relay and their first album, 1988. The band, which formed at the well-respected music school of Belmont Univeristy in Nashville, has a similar sound to the earlier The Avett Brothers albulms (when they were still playing bluegrass), but with stronger, more polished musical talent. Ford’s voice is much like that of Sam Quinn of the now defuct folk duo, the everybodyfields. I’m a fan.

Paste featured Ford & Apache in its “Best of What’s Next” column earlier this week, where Ford discussed how the band came together, the new album and how the band is trying to mesh before they hit the road.

1988, a record born of inspiration from Springsteen’s stripped-down solo effort, blossomed into something far more lush as Ford welcomed the Apache boys into the fold. It’s a spirited collection of songs that shine with hope like light under a doorway. “Sweet Louisianne,” Ford’s love letter to his hometown of New Orleans, brims with optimism as he consoles, “Remember who’s on our side,” over fiddle sighs and mandolin chirps. His songwriting is consistently earnest, kind and comforting, traits matched in the bright bluegrass accompaniment. “Seasons were meant to end / I will not try to start again,” he sings to an old friend on “Sisters, Brothers, Lovers.”

“A lot of the time, people and friends and things that happen are for seasons,” he says of the track. “And you have to move on and realize that and not get stuck.” He and his Apache Relay are taking this to heart, approaching each phase of their collaboration without looking back but taking every opportunity that crosses their path. Their summer of touring has lasted well into the fall, and they’ve got more shows in the works for the winter and spring. “This season’s almost like the calm before the storm,” says Ford. “One thing we’re really focused on is having right relationships within the band before we get on the road with each other. So right now, we’re just trying to love one another and be healthy as a band before we hit the road to tour.”

My favorite tracks are “Sweet Louisianne” and “Sugarcane.”

Paste Magazine: “Best of What’s Next: Michael Ford, Jr. & The Apache Relay”

1988 on lala

On a whim, because it had a very cool cover, I bought the latest issue of “Spin,” which promised to reveal to me the “Best of 2009.” It had a nice looking guy on the front, who the check-out person (Janet) believed to be Ashton Kutcher, but who was, in fact,  Kings of Leon’s lead singer Caleb Followill. After doing all of the dreary old Responsible Person things that I am obligated to do under the Geneva Convention (putting groceries away, making lunch, changing over the loads of laundry) I relaxed with my new magazine, hoping to find suggestions about bands that would make my pulse race, and my world expand. Instead, on page 4, I found a second picture of the handsome Followill behind a quote attributed to him: “[t]hat woman in mom jeans who’d never let me date her daughter likes my music? That’s f–king not cool.”

To say that I was stung would be an understatement. I had a brand new iPod Touch, I had just downloaded Sufjan Stevens’ “Illinois” on the recommendation of the considerably friendlier editorial staff at “Paste” magazine, and I was just hoping to find some more ideas about music to love. While I saw myself as an evolving, interested connoisseur of cutting edge pop culture, I had apparently been relegated Beyond the Pale, a mom-aged person doomed to listen to Billy Joel and Supertramp for all eternity, on 8-track tapes.

Here’s what I would like to say to the smug Mr. Followill (who, I will tell you without editorial comment, was photographed wearing a cross):

Dear Caleb,

If you are really an artist, I find it hard to believe that it matters whether or not your audience is “cool,” or what they’re wearing, or how old they are. Your self-conscious categorization of “cool us” and “not-cool them” makes it clear to me that while you may be talented (and I believe that you are) you are not really an artist, you are a complete and total sell-out and media whore. (No offense; us mom jean wearers just get really hot and pissed off sometimes, if you know what I mean). If I had a daughter, I would discourage her from dating you not because you are a pompous and self-proclaimed badass who gives interviews cherishing every bender, hangover and droppable name, but because I believe you to be narcissistic and immature.

If you are really an artist, Mr. Followill, you have something to say, you have a way of seeing the world, and you have a heart filled to bursting with the need to be heard. You write and sing not because it’s easy, or lucrative, or attracts groupies. (Those are all fun things, and I don’t begrudge you your perks, but that’s what they are. They are the collateral stuff that comes with recognition and popularity).  It is intellectually and artistically lazy to fall back on the cliché that Old People are shocked by everything new, from Elvis to the Beatles, and that the measure of success is the extent to which said Old People faint in shock and clap their withering hands over their hairy ears. You do not achieve success as an artist by excluding any potential listener, reader or viewer, although it may be part of achieving success as a commercially successful pop star to make your desired market segment feel like unique and special flowers. Do you want to be Britney Spears, or do you want to be an artist? It’s your business, really, but you should probably be honest about it.

It is a shock to me, a real shock, to learn that there is a caste system among listeners of alternative rock, or indeed any other kind of music. I am a person of the precise age and demographic you identify as “not cool” as a listener. Although I do not personally own a pair of mom jeans, I am old enough to be your mother, my hair is graying and my right knee hurts when it’s damp out. Inside, however, I am still very much alive. I have a full range of emotions, much as you do, and I also respond to music in the same way that a younger member of the species might respond. Lyrics move me, beats make my feet tap, and certain melodic lines and harmonies make me close my eyes or hit “replay” until I have gotten all the juice out of the experience. My point is that while you probably don’t want to date me, I am viable audience from the viewpoint of sharing an experience, a feeling or a message. If you cut me, do I not bleed? Does it really, seriously diminish your work if I like it? If so, that’s incredibly cold. Cold, short-sighted, reductivist and arrogant.

In closing, Caleb, I will acknowledge that artists have always had a person or group in mind when they created. There is nothing, absolutely nothing wrong with checking your work against the imagined response of a patron, an unattainable lover, or even a competitive colleague. I don’t know who you think about when you write songs, although I’m pretty sure we can rule out women in their 40s. There has to be more than that consciousness of a possible audience, though, there has to be a loss of yourself in the work. That loss of self-consciousness is the point at which you cease to be a skilled craftsman making a product, and become an artist who no longer has the power to shape the work to please anybody else. If you cross that threshold, it won’t matter if your message is received by a woman in mom jeans, her hot and debauched daughter, or the night janitor at Madison Square Garden. It won’t matter if your listeners are “cool,” it will only matter that you have the relief and delight of connecting with a kindred spirit, a human in the vast sea of humans who responds to your words, your voice, your message. It’s all up to you, though; frankly, now that I’ve said my piece, I really don’t care what you do.

One more thing, though, Mr. Followill. My mother was right: pretty is as pretty does.

Best regards,

annie

What can I say? I’m a sucker for end of the year lists that tell me what was the best (insert here) of 2009. Whether it’s movies, music, books, or MTV reality shows (just kidding on that last one… I mean really?), I love them. I guess I’m what they call a “ranker.” Most of my friends are “rankers.” I just really like to analyze and organize things. So, today I bring you the Top Music of ‘09. Today I will give you what several respected publications view as the top music of the year, and tomorrow I will give you my own. I’m getting giddy just thinking about it. Ok, here we go. The top 9 albums of ‘09 are…

Pitchfork

1. Animal Collective- Merriweather Post Pavillion

2. Dirty Projectors- Bitte Orca

3. The xx- The xx

4. The Flaming Lips- Embryonic

5. Raekwon- Only Built For Cuban Linx… Pt. II

6. Grizzly Bear- Veckatimest

7. Bat For Lashes- Two Suns

8. Phoenix- Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

9. Fever Ray- Fever Ray

Paste Magazine

1. The Avett Brothers- I And Love And You

2. Animal Collective- Merriweather Post Pavilion

3. Elvis Perkins in Dearland- Elvis Perkins in Dearland

4. The Low Anthem- Oh My God, Charlie Darwin

5. David Bazan- Curse Your Branches

6. Brandi Carlile- Give Up the Ghost

7. The Decemberists- Hazards of Love

8. Phoenix- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

9. Neko Case- Middle Cyclone

Rolling Stone

1. U2- No Line ON The Horizon

2. Bruce Springsteen- Working On A Dream

3. Phoenix- Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

4. Jay-Z- The Blueprint 3

5. Green Day- 21st Century Breakdown

6. Dirty Projectors- Bitte Orca

7. Neko Case- Middle Cyclone

8. The Dream- Love vs. Money

9. The xx- The xx

I’ve read so much crap about the industry buzz bands that it’s practically coming out of my ears.

Of course, some of my favorite aspects of the music industry get no love at all. I’m going to rectify that, at least in my mind, with this list. But I couldn’t just limit myself to bands…some things just need a little more/less love.

Most Overrated

1. Animal Collective

I don’t get it. It’s a bunch of noise. Correct me if I’m wrong, because I might be expecting too much, but I don’t hear anything special. I was told that when I listen to try not to hear God speaking to me or anything, but even with lowered expectations I didn’t get any great vibes from Merriweather Post Pavillion.

Their album has already made most end of the year lists and topped many. However, it will not make any lists of mine except the best album art list. Perhaps if I took drugs I might be more in to it, but for now I just think it’s over-hyped hipster crap.

2. Dirty Projectors

If you read my review of their album Bitte Orca you understand my animosity toward this band. I listened to this album quite a bit over the summer, I really tried to like it because everyone was commenting on how good it was. For me, however, it never took. The whole thing just came off sounding intentionally difficult and pretentious.

The song “Stillness is the Move” grew on me a little bit, but I like Solange Knowles version much more because it was a legitimate R & B song. The whole Brooklyn art-rock thing is a bit overcooked and I hope 2010 brings something better.

3. Wavves

I wish the Black Lips would have really beaten up Nathan Williams in Atlanta. Wavves is a gimmick and Williams is a whiny punk with a really loud amp. I can hear a few of the notes he’s trying to play underneath all of his distortion, but, if you ask me, his voice just sounds like a mess.

Wavves released their album early in the year, and ever since the enfant terrible has been a critical success. If only his Barcelona breakdown would have ended the band then I would have nothing to bitch about anymore.

4. Noise in general

Wavves certainly fits in to this overrated ’90s revival genre that has been at the forefront of indie music this year along with Japandroids, No Age, etc. I don’t find the music these bands make to be especially good in terms of technical skill or aural quality. I’m not a loud person, I don’t know that I have ever been one, so this type of music really does nothing for me.

I suppose this is the rebellion that comes from the quiet music that dominated 2008, but I really hope that it doesn’t stick around into 2010.

5. Girls

Girls album, Album, (besides having the most pretentious title ever) is another one of these albums this year that has blown up as a result of the insistence of the hype machine. Big surprise, I don’t buy it.

Every music Web site, blog, what have you, have all raved about Album and “Lust for Life” in particular, but I haven’t been able to get past Christopher Owens voice. The New York Times compared the band to Elvis Costello, Buddy Holly and the Beach Boys but I think that is nearly criminal (and those musical heroes might seriously get offended should they watch the video for “Lust for Life”). There might be something to this band, but it wasn’t enough to make me really care, and I think they’ve gotten too much credit.

Most Underrated

1. Fanfarlo

If you read my Breakout artists you probably already understand that I really like these Brits. Unfortunately, not as many people share my passion as I would have thought. Their debut album is great, truly great, their talent is so magnificent, and so unreal for such a young band.

I won’t give anything away, but Reservoir is one of my favorite albums of the year. I still can’t get over how good it is and that I was able to purchase it for only a dollar. Anyone who missed out on that sale should feel real sorry for themselves right about now.

2. Justin Townes Earle

I already stated my desire to not give away tomorrow’s top albums list, but it’s getting harder not to do. Justin Townes Earle’s 2009 contribution, Midnight at the Movies, is one of the finest country albums I have ever heard.

Earle is the best thing to happen to country in a long time, because what he does is real. He is bold and unwavering in his take on country, and for that I am unapologetic for my adoration. I really think that more people should be listening to this man’s music, because it is that good. I look forward to seeing him play sometime in 2010.

3. Pygmalion Music Festival

Yesterday’s list, my favorite shows from the past year, was completely dominated by Pygmalion. Though it has gone on in my backyard the past four years, I had never been out to more than a few of the shows. This year I was able to attend the entire weekend and my god was it worth it.

Seeing so many incredibly talented bands in such a short period of time made my year complete. The bands that I listed did not even scratch the surface of all the great bands I saw: BLK JKS, Maserati, The Hood Internet…the list goes on and on. In short, this festival should blow up; Champaign can handle it.

4. The Hazards of Love

Oh man, I’m showing my hand a bit too much. Sure, this might be The Decemberists weakest studio album, but it is still an incredible piece of art. I think that everyone should have a vinyl copy of the record and just sit down and read the lyrics as the needle digs the story out of the grooves. It can be a bit confusing in segments or without context, and for that reason it has taken a bit of a bad rap.

You know, seeing it live doesn’t hurt either. It really puts the whole album on an entirely different level, it makes it so special. Give this album another spin, unadulterated, and just listen. I don’t think anyone would regret that decision.

5. Paste Magazine

Earlier this year we almost lost one of the best magazines around. Paste is one of the best sources to find great new music from a wide variety of genres, but even more than that they are able to pick out and pick apart the best in music, comedy and art in general.

Pitchfork claims to be home of the meticulously crafted album review, but in my opinion Paste, and the people who work there, really have the best musical tastes. I don’t mean that as an insult to anyone else, especially P4K, but Paste really deserves some credit. Maybe you deserve a subscription?

Paste Magazine has released their Top 25 albums of 2009. Let’s just say they are copying me…well, maybe the Avett Brother’s are just that awesome. I still can’t believe they left off The Felice Brothers and Manchester Orchestra…although we both liked Brandi Carlile.

They liked Frank Turner and The Monsters of Folk who both came close to making my list. Their list should provide me with some listening for today as I try to figure out how the Felice Brothers got left off….still stuck on that one.  Here is why they ought to be on it:

In the November issue of Paste Magazine, journalist Kate Kiefer profiled the evolution of the Hipster over the past decade (2000-2009) and how the Hipster’s fashion has changed with the times. The above photo is a characterization of the 2008 Hipster: “He thoughtfully hangs shutter shades in the deep-V of his white tee, and he’s often seen walking his fixed-gear bike around town while texting with his iPhone.” We at Shutter Shades find this hilarious, but oh so true. Click here to see the full evolution of the Hipster.

Paste Magazine recently did an article on “The Evolution of the Hipster 2000-2009″. My favorite hipster years:

“2004, The Twee: He adores his rare-vinyl collection and tobacco pipe. Despite 20/20 vision, he wears Buddy Holly glasses.”

“2006, The Mountain Man: He seeks working-class authenticity, taking pride in his full beard and the fact that he’s often mistaken for a homeless person.”

“2009, The Meta-Nerd: By wearing the popular Three Wolf Moon T-shirt, today’s hipster makes a mockery of herself. She has finally completed the full-sleeve tattoo.”

I’ve liked Butterfly Boucher for quite some time now, starting with her first album “Flutterby” released in 2003.

One of the singles off this release:

She finally released a follow-up in 2009 called Scary Fragile. Check out her awsome acoustic performance hosted by PASTE Magazine. What I really enjoy about her is her voice has this really unique quality to it. The guitar sounds pretty different as well.

Here are two songs from the recent album culled from the same Boston show as the above clips:

Gun For a Tongue:

Scary Fragile:

Paste Magazine has a great website with a listen and watch section hosting audio and video for some very talented musicians.

Check out Colin Hay at their studios: http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/av/2009/10/watch-colin-hay-live-at-paste.html

Colin Hay is mostly infamous for the band he once was part of: Men At Work.

After the band went defunct, however, Hay continued on the solo path, releasing several well-received albums. His music has been featured in films and tv, but arguably one of my favorite songs and appearances of his was when he sang his song “overkill” in an early season of Scrubs:

His song ” I just don’t think I’ll ever get over you” was featured on the Garden State Soundtrack:

Paste Magazine has just released their list of the top 20 Gadgets of the Decade.  This is from the year 2000 until the present.  In the top 20 there are a number of different devices ranging from the iPod to Tivo.  All three major consoles are also represented, but the Wii takes the top gaming spot with the Wii Remote entering their list at #5.  This device has changed the way a number of people look at gaming.  It’s been seen everywhere from gamer’s homes to nursing homes to hospitals.  The Wii Remote controls robots that disarm bombs, PCs and even helps in rehab.

I think it’s safe to say that even Nintendo couldn’t have predicted all the uses for their little white remote.

Source: Paste Magazine

You’d be forgiven at the moment for thinking we were nearing the end of a decade. The interwebs have been awash of late with more countdowns, best ofs, top tens and general reminiscences of the 2000’s then you could poke a digital stick at. Suddenly everybody is a critic, and while some of the countdowns have been insightful and thought-provoking, others have been….well, like this one. For the nostalgic, these countdowns are practically memory-heaven. But for those who don’t buy into that sort of stuff, it gets a little tiring. So, what better than to list some of the best (and worst) ‘best-of’ lists currently clogging up cyber-space?

Pitchfork: P2K

Over the past months American music site Pitchfork have taken an in-depth look at the decade in music. Way back in the dark ages of 2001 the site barely existed, but since then has grown to be one of the most formidable online music news and reviews sites on the net. Not only does P2K count down the best albums, songs and music videos, it also features a series of essays detailing some of the more interesting developments in music over the past ten years. Of particular note is the ‘Decade in Indie’ and the social history of the mp3.

Highlights
Best Album: Radiohead- Kid A
Best Song: Outkast- B.O.B.

Paste Magazine: The 25 best Album Covers

Slightly more obscure is Paste magazine’s countdown of the best album covers. It has been argued that as digital sales boom and physical CD sales decline, the quality of modern album art is going steadily downhill (as this cover would seem to prove). Regardless, Paste have put together an interesting countdown, which includes the likes of The Flaming Lips, Animal Collective, Arcade Fire and Lil Wayne. Whoever decided to award Neko Case’s Middle Cyclone cover as number 1 though needs to go back and re-take primary school art classes.

Highlights
Number 1: Neko Case- Middle Cyclone
Number 2: Animal Collective- Merriweather Post Pavilion (and rightly so)

The A.V. Club: The 30 best TV Shows

The problem with critics is often that their views on what is ‘good’ differs from the majority of the viewing public. Which is a shame, but it’s also the reason why most of the shows on the A.V. Club’s list of best TV shows of the decade have either ended or been cancelled. Still, it’s a formidable list. The top 3 (The Wire, Arrested Development and the Sopranos) are undoubtedly some of the finest productions since television’s inception, let alone in this decade. Other notable shows include Mad Men, Lost and The West Wing, just scraping in at number 30. The best part of this countdown though is the shitfight in the comments as to what constitutes a ‘decade’. Hilarious.

Highlights
Number 1: The Wire
Number 15: Veronica Mars
Number 22: Six Feet Under

News.com.au: Moment of the Decade

Oh, News.com.au. Purveyor of fine, quality journalism. Not content with simply telling Middle Australia what the best bits of the noughties were, good old Rupert has gone and encouraged everyone to name their own favourites! For anyone that’s ever read the comments to any article on the site, that should be enough to click your way on over. In case you need any more incentive though, today’s category is ‘Killers, Haters, Tools: Choose the Villian of the decade’. Apparently Kyle Sandilands and John Mayer are in the same league as Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. Who would have thought? The fun doesn’t stop there. Oh no siree, it doesn’t. For you creative types, you can even have a go at naming what the next decade should be called! An issue of utmost importance, of course. Seriously, the sooner this site becomes paid-only, the better.

Lowlights
Pop Culture
Money
Sex & Life
…actually, just spend a good 15 minutes trawling through the site. It’ll make your day.

Times Online: The 100 Best Movies of the Noughties

Slightly more classy news outlet Times Online went all out and counted down the top 100 cinematic releases of the decade. With everything from political drama Milk to Roman-epic Gladiator to comedy Knocked Up, the list does well to cater for everyone…up until the odd choice of The Bourne Supremacy/Ultimatum at number 2 (So really it should have been the best 101 movies). And Team America World Police in the top 5? You must be joking.

In Brief
Number 1: Hidden
Number 16: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Number 34: Finding Nemo
Number 64: Anchorman

Well that’s about it. Some of the best (and worst) countdowns of the best (and worst) things to happen in the noughties. Of course, a quick google search will reveal thousands more best-ofs then the ones here. But really, is there much point? When it comes down to it, who gets to decide that Franz Ferdinand is better than Hot Chip? Or that Monsters, Inc. deserves to place ahead of Pan’s Labyrinth?

Perhaps the best countdown of the decade should go to Hungry Beast. They look at the ten best years of the 2000’s. You can check that out here.

]]> http://ejanemusique.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/pastes-10-best-movie-soundtracks/ Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:07:01 +0000 Emmy Jane http://ejanemusique.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/pastes-10-best-movie-soundtracks/

In case you missed it, Paste revealed their vote for the 10 Best Movie Soundtracks of the decade. And while I agree with some more than others, I am quite pleased. I might even hop on board to say that the Twilight Soundtrack is a major contender, although I have yet to see the movie. From the sounds of it, Chop Shop thought long and hard about the best indie bands for the soundtrack.

Number 9 (Vanilla Sky) and #2(Once) were off my own favorite soundtracks list, and some were a refreshing reminder of some gems I had forgotten but I am particularly surprised by Oh Brother Where Art Thou? at Number 1. I do recall the music playing a big role in the movie, so perhaps Ill take another listen.

Paste’s 10 Best Movie Soundtracks of the Decade

I really wish I had discovered this list of the 25 best breweries of the past decade through my own exploration of all things beer. Unfortunately I must extend credit to OrangeCoat for posting it on their blog and thus alerting me (and it is worth noting that the OC credits @davidburn with the initial discovery.  I don’t know this individual but good for him and his find).

So the question is, “Why bother posting a link to this list if others already have?”  Well because isn’t that the whole point of this crazy interconnected communicating tool we like to call the Internet?  And honestly, Paste Magazine (one of my favorite publications, which I had no clue was located not too far away in Georgia) has done a superb job with the list.  As far as I can tell every one of the breweries that they mention deserve the credit which they have received.

I have had the great fortune of drinking beers brewed by almost every one of those breweries on the list.  The few which I have not had the opportunity to try will definitely be added to my “must drink” list of beers.  Ironically (at least I think it is), the only brewery on the list which I have visited is Brewery Ommegang from Cooperstown, NY.  The irony of this is that when I visited it I was much too young to be drinking and thus have not actually had any of their beer (we stopped in when my family was on a trip to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame). 

Anyway, there is something great about reading the phrase “the U.S. is now the greatest nation on earth when it comes to beer.”  Sure it is a patriotic sentiment, but I have to think that it is fucking true.  Sure a lot of other good beer is produced all over the world, but it seems that only in the U.S. (and only in the past couple of decades) has the sheer variety of beer styles and flavors been whole heartedly pursued.  As a beer lover myself, this makes living in the U.S. a very enjoyable thing.

For those of you out there who might not be much into beer, or have maintained yourself predominantly on only the domestic side of beer, I strongly suggest looking into some of the brews produced by the breweries on the list.  And I have to agree with Bear, that there are “legitimate arguments that breweries are being left out.”  So go get yourself a cold one and enjoy the delight that is American Brewing.

Aside: While I am on the topic of beer, I feel that it is only appropriate to extend a warm congratulation to my friend and brewing buddy Brian Cendrowski, of Untamed Beer, for his inaugural blog post on RateBeer’s HopPress blog.  Brian will be a regular guest blogger on the HopPress, with pieces going up on Thursdays.  And while he humbles himself in saying that he is “more of a beer idiot than a connoisseur,” I will stick up for the dude in saying that there are few (if any) people whom I put more faith in to provide honest and insightful opinions and ideas when it comes to beer and brewing.  The guy is prolific, and he brews some amazing beers (see here and here for two of our Big Brew Days).  I should also extend an apology to Brian again, for having to leave him to his own devices for having to find his own way back from the Brewtopians meeting on Saturday.  Hope it didn’t give you any trouble buddy.

Damn, nothing better than a good beer post to start the week.  It’s only the morning and I could already go for a frosty brew.

A post on a Saturday! I feel like I’m taking crazy pills! Seriously though, I thought this was an important issue that needed to be addressed ASAP.

This post is pretty self-explanatory and came about from listening to several friends bemoan their skills at pouring beer into a glass or stein or mug or what have you. There was either too much head or too little head or overflow problems that were causing them to lose some of their beer. With this video, I hope I can eliminate any unnecessary waste so that readers won’t miss out on their favorite beverage.

Think of it as a public service.

And there you have it. I hope that was helpful.

BTW, while we’re on the subject of Dogfish Head, I thought it might be pertinent to bring to your attention this recent posting from Paste Magazine. Normally a music and film website/magazine, Paste has branched out by ranking the best breweries of the past decade. You should definitely check it out; hopefully we will be able to have reviews for some of the products of these breweries in the near future.

As always, thanks for visiting “Raging Against the Dying Light,” all dozen of you. ( : I have a lot of loose threads in this one, my main articles for November and December are in formation and so now’s the time to spew out what I refer to as a “Geek Diatribe” to touch on all the incomplete facets of interest I write about on this site. This time it’s all light too, no politics or religion!

First off, the 2009 Baseball season is over. I find it a very depressing of an end at that…I’m not a vehement Yankee hater, I have extreme love for the history of the team and readily admit the talents and watchability of most of the current Yank roster, but I always have a bit of anger over the unrestrained budget the team has to work with and the idea that they can “buy’ the championship…and the fact that A-Rod alone earns a higher salary than several combined teams. So, there’s always the hope that they will be shutdown and it will be proven that money can’t suppress the drive to overcome that thrives in the underdog teams; the Phillies would have been a much more satisfying win. But the whole thing got me thinking about the structure of the current season; it’s November, and Baseball is just now wrapping up. It’s cold, grey over much of the country and well on the way to winter. Now, I never thought I’d specify that the season should be shorter since Baseball is really the only sport for me, but the season should be shorter! It’s a spring and summer game, and the now extended season length drags it into competing too heavily with football broadcasts and ticket sales, and the game just doesn’t seem appropriate this time of year for whatever reasons. I say, start it in early spring as is done now, start the post-season in September and have the World Series the first week of October. Anyway, as many people thrive for the play-off season when things heat up, as fun as that can be I prefer two other key baseball phases—the opening game through the first two weeks of the season and the events of and games leading up to July’s all-star game and home-run derby. A lot of this ties in with many of the teams still having a shot, but just as much at factor is the time of the year and the way it perfectly fits with the game. I imagine football fanatics feel the same way about fall and February.

Item two on the geek docket is the best music of the 2000s. I’ve pretty much got the 50 picked out for albums and almost for songs, I just have to properly rank them which requires listening to them and making the call on order. It’s a compulsive geek trait for any type of list like this, but you can’t just arbitrarily throw them together. There’s a distinctive reason why item A is at 17 and item B is at 16…or at least there should be. As I was working on my list I noticed that “Paste” magazine already has their “50 albums of the 2000s” on their site. I really like “Paste” and they’ve turned me on to a lot of good music over the years, but their list was off (in my mind) on several accounts—for one thing, it’s early November, there’s still 2 months of music yet to be released. Related to that, their “Best of ‘09” list isn’t up yet—it seems fairly backward to sum up a decade before the last year of the decade. As to the selections, there’s the obvious nerd-centric private idols that the publication adores and will rank highly and mention continuously even if no one else does as highly—everyone does this, my lists are guilty of it as well. “Paste” is very noticeable for adoring a core 5 bands that can never do wrong, as is Rolling Stone and AMG and it’s interesting because these core 5 never overlap in the same regard between these publications. That’s a very signifying factor that when it comes to art and pop criticism, there is no great science. There may be general critical consensus that something new and groundbreaking is “excellent” but it often differs from group to group and certain styles and personalities latch on to certain sounds. I won’t ruin the article for you, but the #1 album of the decade for “Paste” sums up their stance and personality as a publication, and that’s not a bad thing. I’m pretty sure my “1 choice does the same thing for me, as will RS and AMG’s. Another observation on “Pastes” selections is that they was heavily eschewed towards music made by bands established in the ‘00s, with a few ‘90s bands new work thrown in but very little attention paid to career artists releasing very notable work in the decade. No mention of critically acclaimed and massively entertaining work by Dylan, Young, Springsteen, U2, etc. Jazz, Hip Hop and Blues were almost completely overlooked as well, and although Indie is a major focus for “Paste,” they’re an eclectic publication so I expected more variety. The 2000s, looking at them as a whole, may very well have produced the bulk of music that will stay with me the longest. I was a junior in High school at the beginning of the decade and as it draws to a close I’m a first year grad student working on a Masters. In between there was college, work, marriage. I’ve moved several times and grown a lot, and the music I’ve heard that’s stuck with me from each phase of this decade is formative and memorable. Granted, most of my all time favorite albums were made long before this time, but there’s something to be said for what was new and vibrant amidst the average, waiting just to be found.

On to the next one; I always cap up the year’s best in graphic art and prose– comics and graphic novels—with a top ten list at the end of each year as well. This year has been phenomenal with trend breaking literate work in Graphic Novels- – “Asterios Polyp” by David Mazuchelli, The illustrated book of Genesis by R. Crumb, pretty much the entire Vertigo monthly catalogue, creator owned and controlled titles by Jeff Smith and Terry Moore (“RASL” and “Echo,” respectively) and notable work from indie publishing houses IDW (“Locke and Keye“), Boom Studios (“The Unknown: The Devil Made Flesh“), etc. As far as mainstream work, generally meaning the “big two” (Marvel and DC), it’s become clear that despite cornering 65 percent of the market and being host to millions of loyal fans who refuse to read books published by anyone else, Marvel is far inferior to almost every other publishing company, especially DC. It just hasn’t been Marvel’s year. They sell out to Disney for a big paycheck. They opt for raising the majority of their titles to a higher price point– an entire dollar more, making most of their mainstream titles 3.99, a price DC reserves for special events and “important” stories. Unlike Marvel, when DC charges 3.99 they provide ten additional pages of story as well as better paper and ink quality. Marvel heads (here’s looking at you, Joe Quesada—by the way, stay retired from penciling, your art is atrocious) originally stated that this was the result of a tighter economy and to combat mounting paper costs but later Quesada admitted in an interview that it was really because “this is a business” and they wanted to see how much profit they could make if the cost of the titles continued to go up and sales didn’t dip accordingly. To make matters worse for Marvel, their output hasn’t been good enough to justify such tactics anyway. The only really smart move they’ve done recently is re-tool “Amazing Spider Man” last year, shedding the excess titles, hiring a great staff of rotating writers and artists for it, releasing it thrice monthly and generally making it the best popcorn, fun-for-everyone-over-13 book as possible. They have even (thus far) kept it price-pointed at 2.99 and the stories from it all year have been great escapist fun. Other than that, they’ve consistently dropped the ball. Big tie-in events and mini-series? DC’s “Blackest Night” is far better than Marvel’s “The List” or whatever they’re calling it now (since it’s an ever continuing fall-out tale from last summers “Secret Invasion” which was far inferior to DC’s “Final Crisis” at that). Thor? An Eisner-winning surprisingly smart book by Stracinzski is now moving on without Stracinzki and staying at 3.99 (without the extra ten pages). Then there’s the it-just-won’t-die slew of “Marvel Zombies” mini’s that get worse with each sequel. Or dumb ideas like “Marvel Apes” or “X-Babies.” There’s the never-reveal-the-ending-to-the-mystery compost-heap “Hulk,” which gets ever more ridiculous and stopped being fun half a year ago. They were building up steam with “Uncanny X Men” each issue after 500 then lost it having each issue be part of an asinine tie in to an asinine concept series. The only other worthwhile Marvel title right now is “Fantastic 4,” while DC has been on a run with their mainstream work as well. Geoff Johns and Gary Frank are producing the best Superman mini in years, “Secret Origin,” and their entire run on “Action Comics” was terrific last year. Since Batman’s death, every tie-in Bat title has been excellent., notably, “Batman and Robin,” with Grant Morrison and initially Frank Quietely but “Detective Comics” as well if only for J.H. Williams III’ impressionistic and unconventional art. “Green Lantern” and every “Blackest Night” tie in has been great sci-fi and “Wednesday Comics” was a truly original and successful idea. Of course, “JSA” has fallen off and “JLA” seems to never work, but the point is that much of their mainstream work is great and most of it is approachable and more affordable than their competitions. Most importantly, where DC has it’s “Vertigo” imprint which puts out a lot of great, intelligent adult-geared work and DC utilizes that imprint heavily, Marvel’s “Icon” imprint which allows creator funded work to be released doesn’t get nearly enough emphasis. “Criminal” by Brubaker and Phillips is back again with another miniseries, and it’s great. “Kick Ass,” is always fun whenever Mark Millar bothers to get it out (he’s late on everything lately), but what else does Icon have? And why no funding from Marvel? Why not more emphasis?

Okay, last up (and briefly) is “The Wire.” Harvard recently announced a college course that will utilize “The Wire” in its curriculum. If any show has ever been worthy of this, it’s this one. The smartest, most important and best produced television show of all time. Five seasons, so check them all out. That’s all for now.

I am having a hard time focusing on any of the songs I heard on this morning’s commute, because I spent last night listening to the new Avett Brothers record over and over again. (This is actually another example of siblingly music for me — thanks for the rec, Lil Sis!)

It’s a wonderful, wonderful album, all full of unexpected twists and turns and intense feelings. It’s a downer in the best of all possible ways. Highly recommend.

The song I did stop and listen to in the Starbucks drive-thru today was “St. Elmo’s Fire.” I can’t rightly say why, except that it sort of fits into my whole love of the soaring and the epic, and makes me sort of happy.

Here’s the question: Am I just a sucker? I mean, give me some strings and a belting chorus, and I am a happy girl. Easy-peasy, with a little cheesy on top. How lame is that? And is it the same in reverse, with the mopey music? A guitar gently strummed in a minor chord, some words of love lost sung in a forlorn, crackling voice — is that all it takes to render me a weeping mess? Should I be more discerning and immune to pop charms, both joyous and depressing?

I don’t know. I’m going to decide NAY. It’s too much fun letting my heart soar and sink along with whatever my radio or iPod feeds me.

PS Check out Paste’s list of the top 50 albums of the last decade. Not much that’s played on the radio, but some of my favorites. MamaKitt, maybe we need to have a “These Are a Few of My Favorite Things” week …

Paste Magazine has up their 20 Best books of the 2000’s. I would definitely agree with their 3 and 4 selections. The Road and Gilead are surely worthy. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius was smart and intense if a little insane…Blue Like Jazz is kind of the Christian version, definitely entertaining. I guess The Tipping Point should be on there, Gladwell is engaging for a business writer and the book changed the way people see the world. Harry Potter is a guilty pleasure.

What is missing from the list? Has anyone read any of the other books?

I would add Peace Like a River by Leif Enger. It’s one of the best books I’ve read in a long, long time. Other than that I can’t really say…I read mostly theology and guys who were dead long before the 00’s.

Sufjan Stevens’ Illinoise album tops Paste Magazine’s top albums of the decade.  See the entire list at  The 50 Best Albums of the Decade (2000-2009)

1. Sufjan Stevens: Illinois [Asthmatic Kitty] (2005)

He was off to a good start. 2 down and only 48 more to go. Michigan was first in 2003 followed by his break through album Illinois, then he got sidetracked. There were two more LP’s (not state related), a rather lengthy Christmas box set, a string quartet remix album and most recently the soundtrack to The BQE. By this point it was pretty obvious that Stevens had lost his motivation for the project and all he had left to do was officially announce that it was dead in the water, which he recently did with Paste Magazine.

The whole premise was such a joke and I think maybe I took it too seriously. I started to feel like I was becoming a cliché of myself.

Even if Stevens had continued on this journey it would have taken him years to finish. Most bands would find it difficult to release one album a year if they were forced into it. Suppose that Stevens is as much of a musical genius that I think he is. Two albums a year is a lot to ask a person, but let’s suppose that he could pull it off. If he started back at it again at the beginning of next year we would receive the last state sometime at the end of 2034. Stevens would be 58 years old.

In a sad kind of way it’s nice to have that elephant in the room shown the door.