2004-12-31 - 7:27 p.m.
So the hours are ticking closer to the new year and I am sitting back in my apartment in Brooklyn, listening to the Go-Go’s and reminding myself that it is best to go out tonight like I said I would and not take up Lauren on her offer of staying in with (soy) hot coco and watching her DVDs of 21 Jump Street... tempting. Hard to believe that last year at this time I was up in the Sierra Escambray mountains in Cuba, in a tiny town called Topes, worn out and excited and overwhelmed by it all.
I got a book about learning German today and spent my time on the subway home trying to comprehend how to pronounce vowels and consonants and say things like “I go to University by subway” (Ich fahre mit der U-Bahn an die Universitat). From my desk I was greeted by a pile of mail picked up from the PO Box and it was the kind of mail that reminded me why I write letters and why I am so happy to be involved in this weird subculture where we find it important to communicate via the post. I got one of those letters that makes my spine tingle from Travis F. in Florida and a whole package of comics, fliers and articles from Shawn Granton out in Portland (thanks Shawn!), and a letter from a new pen pal, Jackson in Boise, telling that the advice I gave about applying to college really helped. So as I think back on this year that has been up and down and difficult like all the others I am reminded me of these small but significant things that push me along, remind me why I am doing what I do...
Back when I used to run a little DIY cassette and record label (back in the day right, when people actually listened to cassettes and cared about 7” records) I used to send out my yearly “top ten” records over the list serve and other people would send theirs. I always kind of enjoyed this, finding out what the soundtrack of people near and far’s lives were that following year. So I thought I would compile a list here for those of you who care about where my inane indie rock tastes have been heading lately.
1. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists “Shake the Sheets”
2. Coco Rosie “La Maison de Mon Reve”
3. White Magic “Through the Sun Door”
4. The Casual Dots s/t
5. Julie Dorion “Goodnight Nobody” (the inside says “for anyone who has loved and lost and loved again, sighh...)
6. Dear Nora “Mountain Rock”
7. The Thermals “Fuckin’ A”
8. The Culottes “One Cursive Word”
9. Plow the Fourth One Under s/t
10. Elliot Smith “From a basement on the hill”
Obviously, I’ve been listening to a lot more than that ( and sometimes I feel like I haven’t been listening to music at all and am completely over buying records, which for the most part is true) and I realize those edgy postpunk reissues I usually recommend are suspiciously absent from this list, but I think I just can’t keep up anymore and am satisfied with my T Rex, Gang of Four and Wake reissues for now.
But what about moments? Or books that I’ve read? Or do I just want to redeem myself and not seem so much like a shallow jerk... Those will have to wait, but I hope all have a safe and fun new years.
