Guide to 2006

I wanted to get my two cents in on my greatest influences in music, film, and books during 2006 as it seemed a year of shifts and new experiences. You may or may not notice that many of these things were not new in 2006, rather they were new to me in 2006.

Music:

1. Alison Krauss and Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas- I posted about my discovery of this great singer and bluegrass band earlier in the year and my respect and love for the music, especially as egged on by Dave Bertoglio, has only grown. Alison Krauss and her band have been around forever, so they are nothing new, per se, but for some reason, their music just clicked for me this year. It’s funny, because there were inklings years ago that I might like this kind of music when Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? and their song “Man of Constant Sorrow” came out way back in 2000 (There exists a video tape of me and Nick singing this tune together at my parent’s house in Laramie). But it has taken me this long to jump on the horse (as it were). And while I really love Alison’s signature voice, it is really the other elements of the band that have grabbed me. I have to admit that I have become quite the bluegrass fan and can’t help but perk up whenever I hear a banjo and though I now know the instrument that Jerry Douglas plays is called a dobro, I didn’t know at first and thought that he was making a regular guitar sound that way. I have since also learned that he is considered the best dobro player in the world. I have enjoyed seeing him play with and sans Krauss on such programs as the wonderful James Taylor tribute concert that aired on PBS over the holidays and playing with Garrison Keillor’s band during his New Year’s Eve special. I look forward to seeing them in concert someday.
2. Sufjan Stevens- At the end of 2005, I had only just begun listening to the radio program All Songs Considered and was officially hooked on it after listening to their annual “best songs of the year” countdown. Sufjan’s 4^th album Illinois was consistently being ranked in the number one spot, so I knew that I better hop on the bus and see what the fuss was all about. It is safe to say, now, that Steven’s (a former creative writing major) sometimes pop, sometimes not music was very much the soundtrack of my year. I have listened to the songs on each of his albums (as well as all of the songs from his Christmas songs collection) hundreds and hundreds of times. I wonder if it will be hard for me in the future to listen to his music and not think about Norton Anthologies and the ASU shuttle. I am now (as well as every other kid in America) a life long fan and can only hope that he completes his 50 States album project. Check out this performance from Austin City Limits. This too.
   
3. Iron & Wine- One of the shifts that occurred for me this year was a shift toward more quiet, acoustic music. In addition to the five groups listed here, I have found myself listening to more classical and jazz music and spending much more time with my own acoustic guitar (I even bought a new one this year!). Iron & Wine is, essentially a guy named Sam Beam. And while he is in the same genre (maybe) as some of the other artists that I have mentioned here, I think that he is very different. His music is almost like a whisper when compared to these other groups. I love it. His collaboration with Tucson’s Calexico and the album that they produced (In the Reins) along with Beam’s 2004 album Endless Numbered Days got top spots in Ipod consumed tunage this year.
4. Jose Gonzales- Gonzales was a late entry for me, but he stuck fast. I don’t quite know what it is about his 2005 album Veneer that moves me—especially since I am usually not very complimentary towards overly short albums (his clocks in at just over 30 minutes). But it does—move me, I mean. The songs are short and soft, but they are intense. His guitar playing, which is entirely done on a classical guitar, is droning and full and his voice is melodic and has a comforting quality to it. Besides Alison Krauss, his music is the easiest for me to recommend and it has almost universal likability. I missed seeing him in concert at a very small venue in Tempe last autumn—mostly, I think, because I had only really head of him when he came through. I didn’t know!
5. James Taylor’s complete catalog (instead of just his ever-present Greatest Hits album) has come to be much more meaningful to me this year(especially songs like: “Don’t Be Sad ‘Cause Your Son is Down” and “Frozen Man” but with new respect for “Sweet Baby James”). I have always been a fan, but JT has now moved to everyday listening status.
6. The Decemberists- In a lot of ways, Collin Meloy is, for me, this year’s Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie/Postal Service). The dudes look like they could be brothers, but this added to the fact that they both sport high tenor voices and front post-Indie rock bands kind of seals the deal. The two artists’ music, though, is quite different. The Decemberists are to Irish seafaring folk music what the Postal Service are to the Pet Shop boys. My dad would be proud to know that with the help of bands like the Decemberists, the accordion is making a comeback.
7. John Mayer’s “Stop this Train” Off the 2006 album Continuum (also a big album for me last year), might just be my favorite song of the year. For some reason, the lyrics to this song got to me. I think it may have something to do with the fact that John Mayer and I are nearly the same age (he is only four months older), share the same first name (which he refers to in the third person in this song), and it is a song about getting older and not knowing what to make of it. Plus it is one of those songs that you can listen to over and over without getting tired of it. John Mayer is consistent—but he always manages to be innovative as well. I loved his Trio album—who can’t get behind a lyric like “Gravity is working against me; gravity always gets me down”?—and (maybe minus “Waiting on the World to Change”) really love Continuum. I also just found out that he was nominated for 5 Grammys this year.
8. Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy”- Is Gnarls Barkley a fad band? Probably. Was “Crazy” one of the best songs of 2006? Absolutely.

Movies & TV:

I don’t know that I can go to one or really even a group of movies as being stand out for me this year, but thought I should mention that due to the amazing Tivo ability to search and record any movie you may have ever wanted to watch in your entire life—ever. So, this year, I have tried to watch as many of the classics as I could find.

Tina and I have also enjoyed 24, Lost, Heroes, Scrubs, and only recently (technically not qualifying for this 2006 report) the Office.

Books:

While you might think that a Literature major would have read a lot of books in the past year…well you’d be right. I read like crazy last year. My favorites were: Moby Dick, Empire Grill, Cold Mountain, The Chosen, Life of Pi, and the Giver. I also discovered a love for American author Stephen Crane, English legend John Milton, and found out what the big whoop is about Mark Twain. I have also tried to start reading my Best Short Stories series and made it through 1989 and can’t wait to read the rest of them.

Websites: see my “Waste Your Time on My Dime” entries below.

Waste Your Time on My Dime (part one)

I was thinking today about some of the magical things on the web that serve to distract me from doing productive things. This will be the movie edition of two other such posts to follow.

IMDB- If you love movies and don’t know about this site, then you should be ashamed of yourself. IMDB is the ultimate. You can search for movies by actor, director, writer, you name it! My favorite thing about IMDB is the trivia section that gives, well, trivia about the filming, script and behind the scenes factoids that movie nerds may be interested in. Dave Bertoglio loves the “goofs” section. It has rewards for the close watcher: continuity problems, on-screen set pieces, missing or mis-robed costume pieces (For example: When the Millennium Falcon is inside the worm and a tremor makes Princess Leia fall on Han Solo she says, "Captain, being held by you isn't quite enough to get me excited", Han Solo is mouthing her line. The original trilogy is absolutely rife with mistakes.), etc.

Dark Horizons- A movie junkie’s haven. This site has information on new movies, deals, trailers, interviews, rumors, etc. The writing is clever and well done and the focus is on the art of film making rather than the “stars.” In other words, this isn’t Access Hollywood or ET.

Kids in Mind- For those of us fed up with the MPAA’s twisted and corrupt rating system, this site gives the reader a break down of the movies content in three categories: Sex, Violence and Language. Each of these categories receives a rating from zero to ten (zero for nothing, ten for a vast abundance of). Pirates of the Caribbean received a 3.7.2, for example, whereas Nacho Libre got a 3.4.3. Then, each and every potentially objectionable part of the movie is explained (sterilely) so that an educated decision can be made about the movies appropriateness for varying audiences.

Rotten Tomatoes- We love Rotten Tomatoes at our house! This is the end of the line when it comes to the movie critical mass. Basically, the idea here is the collection and distribution of professional critic’s opinions of a movie’s watchability. Is your time better spent, as my brother-in-law Brandon is known to say, staring at a blank wall? Each review is assigned a positive or a negative value and a percentage is tabulated based on those numbers. If the total percentage exceeds 60%, the movie is considered “fresh” if it is below that, the movie is, of course, “rotten.” Never waste your money on a crappy movie again!

Whaling in the 115 degree Desert

Its been a month or so since my last post and how I long for lazy summer days. Since my last post, I have finished my summer Shakespeare course (Merchant of Venice, King Lear, Measure for Measure, Henry VIII, and Much Ado for those of you keeping score), and make the trek up to my folk's house in American Fork. A few things about that first:

For the first time ever, I opened my eyes to that gorgeous drive. From the low desert of Phoenix to the forest environs of Flag to the high desert and strange reds, oranges and grays of Cameron and the gaping mouth of ole Grandy herself. Page, Glen Canyon, Kanab, Mount Carmel, oh my! I would imagine that living couched between Glen Canyon, Zion’s park and only hours away from the Grand Canyon would be every cliff junkie’s dream. I love how as you drive up the 89, between Mount Carmel and the 70 turn off, a creek (pronounced in my home town of Logan, UT as “crick”) accompanies you running north for miles and miles, not to mention the grassy mountain meadows and groves. Anyway—I am glad I finally noticed that.

My parents' house was lovely. It was so nice to relax and enjoy their company. Dad took us to see Nacho Libre--a highlight to be sure. "Choncho--when you are a man...sometimes you wear stretchy pants. It's for fun."

Tina and I did something different this trip. We listened to a book on CD. Chaim Potok’s The Chosen to be precise. It was a nice experience, an enjoyable novel and a great way to pass the time. Even better—I can count it as one of my Young Adult Fiction novels in this upcoming semester’s class. I also finished Richard Russo’s Empire Falls—-a great East of Eden-esque family epic. I really enjoyed it. I love books about regular people with regular problems. It takes a talented writer to make those regular things seem important and significant—-a lot like the way that we view our own lives: the significance is in the regularity. Anyway, I recommend it, oh thou thousands of my readership. Russo is the kind of author that inspires young wannabes like me to start writing that novel that they say everybody thinks that they have in them. I actually have what I think is a pretty good idea. Just like everybody else.

Another book I have finally been able to put a significant dent in because of the marvelous invention and never tiring vocal chords of the magnificent audiobook is Herman Melville’s Moby Dick (careful not to forget the ‘r’ in Herman, lest the old coot become He-man, which is actually not a bad nickname for someone with such magnanimous prose-power—“By the Power of Great-White-Skull!”). If you have never read, or never gotten past the first chapter of Ahab’s Monomaniacal Adventure here is a brief synopsis of what to expect: one chapter of excellent, steady moving plot between four chapters of another book titled Everything You Ever Cared To Know About Whaling’s Guide For Suckers Who Thought They Were Reading Moby Dick, One of America’s Treasures. It’s some heavy stuff--seriously, if you want to learn how to decapitate a sperm whale, Melville's your man. But—again, give me an hour in the car and I can knock off a good five chapters! Ahoy me hardies!

In other news, I am back to the grind of the grad school pursuit. I have narrowed my search to 10 or 12 schools and am feeling pretty good about my choices. The kicker becomes this whole GRE thing. I have good grades: a 4.0 over the last two years at ASU of my English and ed. studies, I think that I have a fairly decent writing sample and the ability to write decent personal statements—but that dang GRE! Why must it reveal my averageness when I have done so much to cover it up!? I bit the bullet and have been taking a $400 dollar prep course. As soon as I can actually talk myself out of my deranged osmosis-will-suffice study habits, I may actually make some good use of the money spent there.

Also of summer importance: the Rentals and Ozma—-two of the greatest summer bands of my youth have reunited and are touring the country together playing such favorites as Eponine (yeah, I know that is an ’03 clip, but such editing and sound quality!) and I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams (I know, not good editing OR sound quality—but that’s Rachel Haden and she is singing one of my favorite songs of all time with the heart and soul of Weezer, one Matt Sharp [parenthesis within a parenthesis—-yeah! See my "What Happened to Weezer" article--this blog's first post]). Ozma reminds me of being married with no kids which meant still being a kid which was fun but seems so long ago. For me they are the perfect punk-pop band--different from Weezer becasue when I first met them they were just kids. Plus, who wouldn't love a band who write songs about Back to the Future, Zelda, Natalie Portman and cover the Tetris theme? The Rentals remind me of being 18 and being a kid but feeling like an adult—-like I knew everything. Matt Sharp was always the funnest thing about seeing Weezer play. Both are great bands: if they come to your town you should go so you can tell me about it because they are coming here on a Sunday!