I usually offer some State of the Music Union thoughts when I share my favorite songs of the year lists. 2016 got off to a great start and then kind of cruised to the finish. Most of my favorite albums of the year came out during its first six months. There were some albums I was greatly looking forward to that I never connected with. To me, 2016 was a better year for singles than albums.
A special playlist this week. I think I finally got my Favorite Songs of the Year list hammered out yesterday. I’ll finish my write up over the weekend and share it early next week. When I used to do a semi-private podcast, each year before I shared my favorite songs, I would do a review show counting down the #1 songs of all the previous years. Seems like a good way for me to share some good tunes with you.
My counting may be off - I did make a chart to double-check my numbers - but I’m pretty sure that last night was the 15th, and next-to-last, Christmas program of our girls’ school lives. Every year since 2007 we’ve had at least one school program. 2013 was the sweetest spot in that stretch, with M performing in the St. P’s 3rd grade play, C in the first grade living nativity, and L in her St.
We had a nice weekend up in Chicago, the Mrs. and me. The occasion was for her to attend a conference for work, something we did for the first time a year ago when we went to Arizona. Amazingly, this was the first time I’ve been to Chicago in 15 years, since I ran the marathon in 2001. We’re three hours away! What’s wrong with us? This time around we road-tripped it, dropping the girls off at school right at 7:30 Friday then getting on I–65 for the trip north.
open.spotify.com/user/224a… A few weeks back, we got a new Japandroids single plus a 2017 release date for their next album. Over the past week, two more artists I’ve spent a lot of time listening to in recent years did the same thing. “Radio Kids” - Strand of Oaks. Someone said this sounded like Ryan Adams doing a Dinosaur Jr. song. I approve of that assessment. SoO’s last album, Heal, was a brutally honest account of both his and his wife’s failures in their marriage.
A few notes as I wrap up a short week in our home. Wade Davis Trade Wow, it was almost exactly four years ago that the Royals traded Wil Myers and others to Tampa for James Shields and Wade Davis, a trade I HATED. I guess everything worked out ok, didn’t it? It hurt a little when the Royals couldn’t re-sign Ben Zobrist or Johnny Cueto last year. But those were expected losses.
It seems like every day there is another piece of evidence that the Internet is a terrible place, and that far too many humans are loathsome people. And then there are things like this, which reaffirm my faith that the Internet is ultimately a good thing. I discovered it just after last Christmas, so I’ve been sitting on it for a while year. I’m glad I’m finally able to share Greg Maletic’s look back at the 1977 Sears Wish Book!
A couple NBA links this morning. First, another excellent link to a piece on The Ringer, who is NBA-heavy in content. In this one, Shea Serrano breaks down the five most disrespectful dunks of the young NBA season. Even if you don’t like the NBA, this is a fine article to read through. I hope he continues to do these through the year. The Disrespectful Dunk Index Next, and I only have a Twitter link here, the official NBA Twitter account offered up Shawn Kemp’s 47 best dunks in honor of the Reign Man’s 47th birthday last week.
youtu.be/WQylnGUCA… “Feel Right” - Esmé Patterson. This time of year can be frustrating for me, music-wise. I have the holiday tunes in high rotation. At the same time, I’m paring down the list of my favorite songs I’ve been building all year into its final form. And I’m reading other Best Of lists to make sure there’s nothing I’ve missed, which there always is. Yesterday I read through Frank Turner’s list of favorite albums of the year and gave most of the entries a brief listen.
Yesterday was a big day for our girls. There was a trip to the dentist for C and L, and you really can’t beat a trip to the dentist.[1] M went on a retreat with the rest of the sixth grade to visit a monastery in southern Indiana. They had to be at school at 6:30 AM and didn’t get home until around 6:00 in the evening. She was so tired when they returned that I have yet to hear how it went.
It wasn’t that long ago that I abandoned my Friday Links posts. I promised to share interesting links individually, hoping that I wouldn’t get so backed up with things to share and also post a little more often. I’ve kind of screwed that up. I need to rethink my workflow, obviously, because I keep forgetting about cool things I’ve read. Anyway, here’s one I meant to share a couple weeks back when the NBA and college basketball seasons began.
A mostly-good Thanksgiving weekend here. Hope you had a fine weekend as well. Our actual holiday went off quite well. We were not hosting this year, so only had to provide a couple dishes. I was doing the mashed potatoes and used a different recipe than I’ve used in the past. It became a little problematic as it took longer to get completed than I anticipated. But we were driving exactly two blocks, so we didn’t delay the family meal or anything.
I realized a few weeks back that this year is the 30th anniversary of my all-time favorite TV episode, Cheer’s “Thanksgiving Orphans,” which first aired on November 27, 1986. I taped the show that night and held onto that tape for years. Somewhere along the way the tape either gave out or I lost it. I recorded it again sometime in the late 90s or early 00s, and it became an integral part of my Thanksgiving celebration.
Saturday evening we were on our way to dinner and my phone kept chirping, notifying me of incoming text messages. A couple college friends and I had been texting about random life stuff before we left home, and that thread continued as we drove. My wife asked, “Is your team playing?” Usually if I’m getting a stream of texts that means a game is going on. I shook my head and answered, “No, they played last night…Well, they’re playing football right now, but that’s not what we’re texting about.
open.spotify.com/user/224a… “Blank Tapes” - From Indian Lakes. This song sounds like it could have landed on Bombay Bicycle Club’s most excellent, 2011 album A Different Kind of Fix. Remember when a pack of blank tapes was a must-purchase item on any trip to the mall? “Video Child” - Many Voices Speak. A melancholy song for melancholy times. “Come True” - Suburban Living.And now to bring you back up a bit, some lovely dream pop from Philly, USA.
Well, it’s been some start to the new college basketball season for the mighty Kansas Jayhawks. A highly enjoyable and entertaining overtime loss to Indiana in Hawaii on Friday night, and a less enjoying but equally thrilling last-shot win against #1 Duke in New York late last night. Even as an Indiana resident, if KU had to go 1–1 in these games, this is the split I would prefer. A quick aside about having these marquee matchups so early.
I’m woefully behind on sharing my most recent reads. As that has been my habit, I’m thinking about changing how I do my book summaries. I may go back to doing an individual post for each book. I’m getting ready to dive into the Harry Potter series, so doing the individual book posts may have to wait until 2017. For now, a quick run through the four books I read in October, then I’ll go ahead and knock out my first, pre-Potter, book of November.
Some week, last week. Not my favorite of the year, I’ll admit. But, to be fair, not the worst, either. Perspective. Monday got off to a fun start when C threw up in her bed at 3:00 AM. Just when you think you’ve changed pukey sheets in the middle of the night for the last time… So she and I hung out Monday. She was flipping through movies on Amazon to watch and picked A League Of Their Own.
youtu.be/s38ignmTq… “Carry On Wayward Son” - Kansas. Musician John Roderick Tweeted out a link to this video a couple nights ago, wondering how he had never seen it before. I had the same reaction. How on earth have I never witnessed the beauty and majesty of this performance in my 45 years on this planet?[1] The conga drums! The keyboards! The lead singer’s outfit! The backup singer! The tambourine! The hair!
A little early? Sure. But since over half of the nation could use a pick-me-up, I decided to go ahead and share this. Christmas TV Schedule New this year, he highlights what big, traditional shows are debuting each day. Helpful for making sure you don’t miss a show that is on just a handful of times, and early in the season.