The waning hours of my 20's

Yes my friends, I have 7 hours left in my 20's ... and how will I spend it?
Working on a presentation for a class tomorrow ... damn you amphibole!

Really, though, good party last saturday. 30 is the new 20, right? Am I right people?!

(Enjoy this image ... the first hit when you type "30" into a Google Image search).

Back on Track ... sort of ...

I kind of lost track of things for the last few days between getting a new lab ready and playing with my new video iPod. So, no top 10 for a while - I need to actually listen to songs more than once before I can get a real top 10, eh?

However, I did get pointed to a live version of a song that spent a lot of time on my top 10. It was filmed at Bumbershoot 2006, and its super cool: the Blue Scholars - No Rest for the Weary. (Heck, any hip-hop group with an MC named Geologic gets my vote.)

And here is a new TIG review too: Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton - The Knives Don't Have Your Back.

Blog linking

OK, it might be lame, but I point you to the Tullycraft Blog yet again, mostly for the new post of Tullycraft's awesome cover of Magnetic Fields Yeah Oh Yeah from last year's TIG Valentine's Day show. Excellent stuff, makes me feel all warm. Now, if only I could get For Better or For Awesome's cover of "Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side". Sigh.

A long weekend ...

of being ill? I feel like I might be getting ill, and thats no fun.

Sometime soon, I'll start a little series of posts on the state of various MLB teams looking at their offseason roster moves. Maybe. We'll see if I can get my act together for that. Until then, I'm just counting the days until spring training begins (for the record, it would be 35 days until pitchers and catchers report.)

Now that would be innovation ... !

So last night I had a dream you could buy airline tickets from the takeout window of a local Mexican restaurant. "One large burrito. Where do you want to go?" "Philadelphia?" (walks into kitchen ... comes out a few moments later) "How does 2:10 on Monday work?"

Yeah, odd.

Anyway, here is my iPod top 10...

10 Shipwrecked - the Gothic Archies
9 Lay & Love - Bonnie "Prince" Billy
8 Wake Up (Live) - the Arcade Fire & David Bowie
7 Pull Shapes - the Pipettes
6 This Sentence Will Save/Ruin Your Life - Born Ruffians
5 The Funeral - Band of Horses
4 Blood - Klashnekoff
3 Between the Moon & the Ocean - Bon Savants
2 Parentheses - the Blow
1 True Affection - the Blow

Oh yeah, and 2 new TIG reviews:
The Gossip - Standing in the Way of Control
Jucifer - If Thine Enemy Hunger

Note to self

Check to make sure the switch is turned "on" before emailing the engineers.

Indeed!

Captain Jack, how we miss ye...

Now we must wait until 1/16 to enjoy Season 2 of Doctor Who. It still saddens me to know that Christopher Eccleston isn't back for Season 2. He was fabulous as the Doctor, and after watching Season 1 again, I think he might rank a close second to Tom Baker for me (sacrilege! Blasphemy!) That and I still love the Daleks (and others would agree). Apparently Season 3 of Doctor Who has an episode titled "Daleks in Manhattan" which sounds too cool for words.

And if anyone knows when the Captain Jack spinoff Torchwood gets released on DVD stateside, I'd love to know.

I hate these musical doldrums in the early part of the year after Christmas. Not much to talk about on that front beyond my new love for the band El Perro Del Mar. Good stuff ...

The Doctor

It's sunny and windy in California today - well, at least in the Central Valley.

Now, isn't that exciting. Almost as exciting as Season 2 of Doctor Who coming out in a few weeks. And I haven't even seen any of those episodes yet. Yeah. I am a little nervous because we've just started watching (well, re-watching for me) Season 1, I realize how much I like Chris Eccleston as the Doctor, only to have him last merely a season. I'm sure David Tennant will be great (heck, he changed his name for the stage as a tribute to the Pet Shop Boys), but still, I really like Eccleston.

That's all for today! Enjoy the weekend.

Something else new to read

Here is a new TIG review to enjoy ... its a double-duty review!
The Walkmen - A Hundred Miles Off and "Pussycats" starring the Walkmen.

I think thats all for now except for some reason I'd love to see Joel Piniero as the Red Sox closer, mostly because it makes no sense to me. Yes, let's have someone who has gotten worse for the last 5 years, has no stuff and had an ERA of 4.61 as a reliever last year as the closer. Hmmm. Maybe Bill James sees something I don't. Ah well.

Ah yes...

Alright, I'm trying to get my head back into gear now that the quarter has started ... Good luck. I'm horribly chipper though, thanks to my southern belle. *Sigh* (in a good way).

A new TIG review (for my #2 album of 2006): The Blow - Paper Television.

And here's my current iPod top 10 ...
10 Lay & Love - Bonnie "Prince" Billy
9 Wake Up (Live) - the Arcade Fire with David Bowie
8 Boy Soprano - Xiu Xiu
7 Shipwrecked - Gothic Archies
6 This Sentence Will Save/Ruin Your Life - Born Ruffians
5 The Funeral - Band of Horses
4 Blood - Klashnekoff
3 Between the Moon & the Ocean - Bon Savants
2 Parentheses - the Blow
1 True Affection - the Blow

Best of 2006 - Finally

So here it is, my best albums of 2006 ... enjoy!

----
Top 20 of 2006
(song of choice in italics)


1 – Islands: Return to the Sea
With what could be the only Islands record, these ex-Unicorns recorded the most diverse and enjoyable album of the year.
Where There’s a Will There’s a Whalebone
2 – The Blow: Paper Television
The dark horse candidate, an album that is the most infectious electro-pop gem since Give Up, but with less pain and more angst.
Parentheses
3 – Art Brut: Bang Bang Rock and Roll
Gives you faith that rock and roll still exists.
Emily Kane
4 – Xiu Xiu: The Air Force
A f&%ked-up, disconcerting and disturbing masterpiece of noise.
Boy Soprano
5 – Suburban Kids with Biblical Names: #3
Jens Lekman meets the Beta Band. Possibly the most fun with your clothes on all year.
Seems to be on My Mind

6 – The Knife: Silent Shout
The best Bjork album Bjork never recorded. Dark, sinister and truly disquieting – but in a good way.
We Share Our Mothers’ Health
7 – The Pipettes: We Are the Pipettes
Total throwback, but who can resist three British ladies with matching dresses singing about sex. No one, that’s who.
Pull Shapes
8 – TV on the Radio: Return to Cookie Mountain
The oddest major label debut of the year, with no compromises from moving up to the big leagues.
I Was a Lover
9 – The Strokes: First Impressions of Earth
Ok, I might be the only person who thinks that this is the best Strokes album, but it is. Honestly.
Razorblade

10 – Clipse: Hell Hath No Fury
For what seems to be 10 years in the making, the Clipse were well worth the wait. Minimalist hip-hop by the Neptunes at its best, dark and sneering.
Hello New World
11 – Mates of State: Bring It Back
Like U Crazy
12 – The Decemberists: The Crane Wife
The Shankill Butchers
13 – The Thermals: The Body, The Blood, The Machine
Here’s Your Future
14 – Jarvis Cocker: Jarvis
Baby’s Coming Back to Me

15 – Built to Spill: You in Reverse
Goin’ Against Your Mind
16 – Tilly & the Wall: Bottom of Barrels
Bad Education
17 – Bon Savants: Post Rock Defends the Nation
Between the Moon and the Ocean
18 – The Rakes: Capture/Release
Terror!
19 – Tapes ‘n Tapes: The Loon
Insistor
20 – Math & Physics Club: Math & Physics Club
April Showers

Honorable Mention
Johnny Cash: American V; Various: Dave Chapelle’s Block Party; Hot Chip: The Warning; Band of Horses: Everything All the Time; The Rapture: Pieces of The People We Love; Gothic Archies: Tragic Treasury; Jose Gonzalez: Veneer; Shake Some Action!: Shake Some Action!; Bonnie “Prince” Billy: The Letting Go; Various: Plague Songs

Back west

I made it back from the east coast the other day and know I'm just trying to relax a little before a quarter of labwork. I'll be posting my "Best of 2006" very soon ... it just needs a few more tweaks, but I thought I'd at least post my top 10 from my iPod. I probably got too many CDs when I was in Boston (gifts: XTC, Jarvis Cocker; purchase: Band of Horses, Bright Eyes, Bon Savants, Tortoise & Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Mittens) but ah well, what can you do. Today is dominated for me by a lot of nervous (good) anticipation about picking a certain someone up from the airport and heading to Big Lou's housewarming in Oakland (which will feature "Once More With Feeling"!)

Current iPod Top 10
10 Between the Moon & the Ocean - Bon Savants
9 Here's Your Future - the Thermals
8 Devil's Pie - Rhymefest
7 Pull Shapes - the Pipettes
6 Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Death Cab for Cutie
5 This Sentence Will Save/Ruin Your Life - Born Ruffians
4 The Funeral - Band of Horses
3 Parentheses - the Blow
2 Blood - Klashnekoff
1 True Affection - the Blow

Two things to watch when you get a chance:
- The video for the new Bloc Party song "The Prayer" is kind of messed up.
- Somehow I missed this live performance of "Wake Up" by David Bowie & the Arcade Fire.

Heading back east ...

I leave for Massachusetts this evening ... And really, what says fun like a red-eye with a 2 hour stopover in O'Hare from 5-7AM? Nothing, thats what!

So, I will be very sporadic again as I will be returning to the world of dial-up interweb. Oh boy! And bad mobile phone coverage! Double oh boy!

But hey, at least I get my Dunkin' Donuts coffee...

Recovering ...

I am in recovery mode from AGU and one of the more remarkable weekends ever. At this point, I don't care what I get for Christmas anymore b/c I got enough already. Now, I just have to survive my week and a half back in Massachusetts.

I might have more to say, but my brain is gone right now. It will be back later. Maybe.

So, here is my latest iPod Top 10
10 The Funeral - Band of Horses
9 Magick - the Klaxons
8 Where There's a Will There's a Whalebone - Islands
7 Hope There's Someone - Antony & the Johnsons
6 Here's Your Future - the Thermals
5 Devil's Pie - Rhymefest
4 Parentheses - the Blow
3 55566688833 - James Figurine
2 Blood - Klashnekoff
1 True Affection - the Blow

And thats a wrap folks ...

I will be at the American Geophysical Union meeting in lovely San Francisco next week, so updates will be very sporadic. We'll see ...

I've finished preparing my talk for the meeting, so thats a good feeling. Now I just need to get myself organized. I also have a pile of semi-interviews with the likes of ... Texas A&M! The Nuclear Regulatory Commission! Central Washington University! Woo! Heck, if I'm bored, I'm sure I can talk to Chevron too (how do you like that, Bloodfist?).

Look for the beginning of my top 20 albums of 2006 starting after the meeting ...

Anyway, here is a little iPod top 10 ... Enjoy!
10 Rut! - B for Brontosaurus
9 A Pillar of Salt - the Thermals
8 Here's Your Future - the Thermals
7 Devil's Pie - Rhymefest
6 Magick - the Klaxons
5 I Think We're Alone Now (live) - the Pipettes
4 Hope There's Someone - Antony & the Johnsons
3 55566688833 - James Figurine
2 Blood - Klashnekoff
1 True Affection - the Blow

yeah

can you get carpel-tunnel (sic?) syndrome in your shoulder? in your entire arm?

Underappreciated ...

Alright, I can't remember if I posted this back when I attempted to run the "Island of Lost Records" column here, but after spending the morning working on my talk and listening to the Afghan Whigs, I feel like I need to remind people that they might have been the most underappreciated band of the 1990s. If you missed them, I recommend three of their albums that are near-classics in my opinion (in order of preference): (1) 1993's Gentlemen; (2) 1991's Congregation and; (3) 1996's Black Love. (Oh yeah, and if you can find, their cover of TLC's "Creep" is amazing). All excellent listens, especially Gentlemen - an album everyone should have a copy of, especially if you're a guy. (Greg Dulli, former lead singer of the Whigs, has his new band, The Twilight Singers, which are good in their own right, especially their cover of Bjork's "Hyperballad" and the entire Blackberry Belle album.)

Back to work!

Yeah

Note to self: Stop being dumb.

Busy Monday

Ok, busy, so not much to say ... except ...

I guess the Mariners are in on the Manny talks, so here is my 'Ners package: Putz, Piniero & Adam Jones. Yeah, like that will happen.

And for those of you who enjoyed the Blow's "True Affection", the album is even better. Yow!

I should stop comparing things to baseball ...

So, Boston is all in a crazed mood over whether the Red Sox should trade Manny Ramirez. On one hand, he is possibly the best and most consistent right-handed hitter in all of baseball, on the other hand, he is likely crazy as a loon. What do you do with a player who can produce on the field, at least in an individual sense, but can be a hugh distraction and has questionable dedication to the team? Do you gamble and try to get a package of talent in return for a future Hall of Fame player? It is a tough question, and right now for the Red Sox, they have a lot to think about and assess as they do with talent issues. The teams that are in the mix are apparently the Dodgers, the Giants, the Rangers and possibly the Padres. People have mentioned the Orioles, but I doubt the Sox would trade Manny within the division.

My dream packages for Manny
Dodgers: James Loney or Andy LaRoche, Andre Ethier or Matt Kemp, Jonathan Broxton & B-level prospie (Sox might send cash & B level prospie)
Giants: Their cupboard is much barer, but maybe Jonathan Sanchez, Kevin Fransden, Merkin Valdez + 2 A-level prospies. But thats still rough.
Rangers: Michael Young, John Rheinecker, Kameron Loe & Nelson Cruz or Victor Diaz
Padres: Chris Young or Clay Hensley, Paul McAnulty, Scott Linebrink

I dunno.

Anyway, what does this have to do with my life?
I think I currently an semi-involved with my own Manny and am in the same throes as the Sox. Do I stick with it even if she might not be a team player focused on the championship knowing that she is an All-Star? Or do I take my chance on prospects hoping to get a good roll of the dice? Can Erik really deal with Gladys being Gladys? Ah well...

Alright, here is an iPod Top 10 update ... enjoy!
10 Magick - the Klaxons
9 Rut! - B for Brontosaurus
8 Here's Your Future - the Thermals
7 Devil's Pie - Rhymefest
6 My Slumbering Heart - Rilo Kiley
5 I Think We're Alone Now (Live) - the Pipettes
4 Blood - Klashnekoff
3 55566688833 - James Figurine
2 Hope There's Someone - Antony & the Johnsons
1 True Affection - The Blow