Favorite albums of 2008 thus far, more or less in order (I tend to rank things, a holdover from junior high): Sloan, Parallel Play; the Weepies, Hideaway; Mates of State, Re-Arrange Us; the Jealous Girlfriends, The Jealous Girlfriends; Elbow, The Seldom Seen Kid; the Fratellis, Here We Stand; the Kills, Midnight Boom; Ida, Lovers Prayers; Kevin Devine, Put Your Ghost to Rest; the Submarines, Honeysuckle Weeks; Sam Phillips, Don't Do Anything; Juliana Hatfield, How to Walk Away; Santogold, Santogold; Kay Hanley, Weaponize; Winterpills, Central Chambers; Stereolab, Chemical Chords. Disappointments: Aimee Mann and Metallica.
Favorites of 2007: Girl in a Coma, Both Before I'm Gone; the New Pornographers, Challengers; the 1900s, Cold & Kind; Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga; Charlotte Hatherley, The Deep Blue; the White Stripes, Icky Thump; Amy Cooper, Mirrors; Interpol, Our Love to Admire; Winterpills, The Light Divides; Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Is Is; Emma Pollock, Watch the Fireworks; the Mendoza Line, 30 Year Low; Mono in VCF, Mono in VCF; the Comas, Spells; Jesca Hoop, Kismet; Elliott Smith, New Moon; the Clientele, God Save the Clientele; Over the Rhine, The Trumpet Child; the Trolleyvox, Your Secret Safe/Luzerne; Rob Crow, Living Well; the 1990s, Cookies; Chris Cornell, Carry On; Lyle Lovett, It's Not Big It's Large; Robert Pollard, Coast to Coast Carpet of Love, Sahara Hotnights, What If Leaving Is a Loving Thing. Disappointments: Fountains of Wayne, Arctic Monkeys, Patty Griffin, the Donnas, Jonatha Brooke, Okkervil River, Sondre Lerche, and especially Crowded House's Time on Earth -- what happened, Neil?
Top twenty, in order: Brazil, Miller's Crossing, The Best Years of Our Lives, Goodfellas, Husbands and Wives, Some Like It Hot, Rebecca, The Apartment, Howards End, Manhattan, Pulp Fiction, This Is Spinal Tap, The Royal Tenenbaums, All About Eve, Persuasion (1995), Rosemary's Baby, Pride and Prejudice (1995), Out of the Past, The Little Foxes.
Favorites of 2007, so far: No End in Sight, Sicko, and Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, plus Away From Her, No Country for Old Men, Knocked Up, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Live Free or Die Hard, Ratatouille, and There Will Be Blood. Disappointments: Eastern Promises and The Bourne Ultimatum.
Favorites of 2006: HBO's Elizabeth I miniseries, The Lives of Others, United 93, The Children of Men, Jesus Camp, The Prestige, The Last King of Scotland, Once in a Lifetime, An Inconvenient Truth, Once, Casino Royale, Quinceañera, Wordplay, Manufactured Landscapes, and, I guess, Pan's Labyrinth. Worst film I saw all year: The Devil Wears Prada.
Hi all! I'm a politics-obsessedmediajunkie who has surrounded himself with news and books and music and movies and has memorized far too much of it. What else? I wrote a book a couple of years ago, on book collecting, but it was a work-for-hire deal for Random House so I pledged not to even ask anyone to buy a copy, and have thus far held to that. It's my first book without the word
"idiot" in the title. Since my life goal is to be a successful faculty spouse, that's a definite positive. Apart from that, I'm a skeptic and rationalist, editor-in-chief of a business magazine in Manhattan (a proud member of the East Coast liberal media) and an occasional freelance book reviewer and editor, and have no memory of how I filled the hours of the evening before people began writing politicalblogs.
Let's see: At 19, i was a pretty good guitar player, but I haven't improved since. I try not to tell the same stories more than once to the same people. Friends often tell me I should write about music, but I've never been able to do it as well as I'd like. I've worn a beard since 1990. I answer the telephone with infectious enthusiasm. I'm genuinely sorry to have missed my twenty-year high-school reunion. I was hoping I'd be a naturally good poker player, but I'm not.
well well...happy birthday! not sure if i'm early or late...i never manage to show up exactly on time :) but have a great day today! and a great decade, in case I miss it the next few years ;) mwuah~lelia
In the mornings, when I'm usually wide awake, I love to take a walk through the gardens and down by the lake, where I often see a duck and a drake. And, I wonder, as I walk by, just what they'd say if they could speak - although, I know that's an absurd thought!
Just wanted to give you a heads up that I'll be playing out at the very swanky Crash Mansion this Wednesday March 26th at 8:00pm with my band, followed by Clara Lofaro's CD release party for her third studio album Perfekt World. I'll also be performing the next day March 27th at 8:00pm at Spike Hill in Williamsburg. Check out my profile for more info. Come out to get your drink on and listen to some great live music!!!
Boo-ya! I'm second on Matthew's list of Top Friends! That puts me above almost all of you other LOSERS! In your face, Obama! Suck it, Neil Finn! I am the champion! Woo-hoo!
You asked if you missed anything in your description. My opinion: You have quite the self-effacing sense of humor. I think that's what I remember most about you!
Hi - we have 3 gigs this months, two in philly/havertown and on in NYC this sat (19th). If so inclined, stop on by. Happy new year in the editing world and elsewhere one hopes. Gian
Oi oi Matt - good meeting you and Christina at W&J. Let's keep in touch. Gianluca (aka Isaak Neimov from DONT ASK). We also got more tunage at punkrockers.com/dontaskinpa.
Welcome to the club, kid. Be sure to pick up your walking stick, hearing aid, and bifocals at the 4:00 PM meeting tonight (the Early Bird Special at the Sizzler).
Your new head shot makes you look as though you're about to bring the smack down on the photographer. One of those "Get that stinkin' camera out of my face!" moments.
Hey Matther, Thanks for the add. I'm sorry to hear your guitar playing hasn't gotten any better after 20 years... but at least you seem to have pretty good taste in music. We appreciate the support on this end and hope all is well. Take care and keep spreading the love.
