I already talked about books from the past year, but what about music? And what about real life for that matter? Way back in January I didn't make a series of resolutions, but rather a list of hopes, forecasts and a look back at the year gone by. Some of my forecasts and hopes came to fruition while others did not. Above all else I had my fair share of adventure. I lived in Ecuador for two and a half months where I braved high altitudes, ancient Inca ruins, murky puddles, salty waves, stray dogs, and rain forests. I blogged about it and the best part was that people read it: family, friends, and acquaintances and that meant a lot to me. So thank you.
My cousin had a wedding out in Gettysburg, it was the first of the weddings for that side of the family and a happy occasion to be sure. We got to see the whole family make wonderful fools of themselves on the dance floor which included a conga line to "Call Me Maybe"(so much fun). We got temporary cousin tattoos to prove that we were cousins for life. We saw re-enactments of regiments long gone and took a tour of where the ghosts appear from time to time, though I didn't spot any. Maybe the ghosts were off for the night.
I learned this year that I am very much still afraid of haunted houses. I thought that was something that would fade with age, but it hasn't yet. This discovery came courtesy of a trip to Cedar Points's Halloweekends one cold grey Sunday in October. Apart from the terror it was a great time, we made it on almost every ride and I rode two roller coasters that I never had before which is always cool. The zoo had a summer party with open bars and cover bands and most of the usual animals. We went and it was a blast. Also during the summer I went night kite-flying with an emerald kite. It was spectacularly windy and a storm was coming on which meant that it was just a tad frightening and epic as well.
I learned this year that people honestly still do play spin the bottle at parties. And it is a lot of fun, but that is a story for another time. I continued to play Pokemon this year and I am not ashamed of that fact nor is there reason that I should be. Last winter I had a class on war that was equal parts saddening, eye-opening, and interesting. Every Monday evening we would gather in a mid-sized lecture hall to have heartfelt discussions that some weeks got a bit overheated, but were never mean spirited. I took a political science course that gave me insights into the international policy making process and further changed the way I see the world.
Hurricane Sandy struck in early November. We only caught the tail end of Sandy's wrath, but we survived nonetheless. It was scary at times and surreal and I cannot even begin to imagine what people on the East coast had to go through. I went through another notebook and a half this year and as many blogposts. Some days I struggle to get anything onto paper and other days I'm overflowing with crazy thoughts to put down.
With the end of school I rediscovered what loneliness truly means. At times it can be wonderful for peace or piece (I realized it could really be either way) of mind and productivity, but damn can it be painful too. Last winter I braved a town besieged by ice that covered every inch of ground to see some friends and now Ohio is hit not with quite as much ice but with a blizzard of white snow. Both winter snow storms were beautiful in their own way, but at least this time there's less ice to fall from.
It was a year full of anything and everything, just as most years are. It was full of city-bus rides, ice-cream, long walks, drunk nights, fire works, writing, reading, and too many movies. And there was music, but not nearly enough of it. There's never truly enough music, this year especially as I felt I didn't nearly listen to my quota of brilliant melodies. But perhaps that was good as I got to see how silence can be too. Either way here are some songs, artists, and albums that I enjoyed this year:
Lord Huron
Their music sounds like a spaghetti western turned to sound waves with heroes dragging their shadowy pasts into the future. Some songs sound like dreams, the type of dreams you might have at the seaside during an afternoon siesta. You can practically hear the soft crashing waves of that dreamscape in "Mighty" which starts soft, but grows quickly to a thrush of jubilation. On the whole the singer sounds urgent, like a man who has been away for a long time and is desperate to hear a familiar voice over the telephone line. The lyrics are both regretful and hopeful.
Lord Huron
Mighty
Alt-J
Electronic mixing with a bit of sparse guitar and drums thrown in, with a touch of piano at times. Even though I've listened to some of the songs from Alt-J dozens of times, the vocals are always slightly surprising to me or unexpected maybe. Sometimes the lyrics are spoken and sometimes he sings perfectly melodically, but almost always I find his voice haunting. If Lord Huron is a beautiful dream or spaghetti western then Alt-J might be a trip through an abandoned house where anything might be waiting in the apprehensive dark, but there's something reassuring about that darkness. Its a spooky sound without being quite scary, somehow Alt-J finds a balance there
Alt-J
Something Good
Bad Books
Not illiterate, cheap books, but maybe more the type of bad books that would smoke and drink under bleachers and talk about existential problems. The kind of bad books that have awesome beards and a few tattoos and are just a smidgen cooler than you'll ever be. The band is one of the side projects of Andy Hull of Manchester Orchestra along with Kevin Devine. They play simple indie rock with a few guitars and keyboards and a bit of heavy drums. Their songs are pretty catchy and one of them is called "Forest Whitaker" and although its not really about the actor at all I think that's pretty neat.
Bad Books
It Never Stops
Andrew Bird - Break it Yourself
Expert lyricism, whistling, and violins are everywhere on this album as per usual with Mr. Bird. After I picked up a copy of "Break it Yourself" it has had a heavy rotation in my car's CD player putting a certain toe-tapping, swaying ambiance to my drives. The album talks about the frustrations of breaking up, loneliness, and the bittersweet joy of a near death experience which leads to "dancing like cancer survivors/grateful simply to be alive". At times whimsical, playful and other times slightly dark, its a good trip.
Andrew Bird
Near Death Experience Experience
Youth Lagoon
Trevor Powers is billed under the name Youth Lagoon. His music is minimalist and hypnotic. Youth Lagoon reminds me of the band Beach House a bit, although I'm not sure how much they're actually similar. Both bands create music that I find to be quite soothing, so there's that. The lyrics from his debut album "The Year of Hibernation" evoke growing up, especially on 17 with "When I was 17/my mother said to me/don't stop imagining/the day that you do/is the day that you die". Youth Lagoon sounds like finding a younger version of yourself and telling him or her a few things.
Youth Lagoon
17
Hot Chip - In Our Heads
One of my favourite british electronic bands came out with a new album this year. It was called "In Our Heads". And it does sink into your head with complex beats that drive into your blood until you find yourself dancing to the multiple synths and bass flowing out of the speakers. The album feels BIG. That is partly because a few of the songs are over 7 minutes long and also because it feels at times as if you could sail a space-ship through the middle of the songs.
Hot Chip
These Chains
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