Best of 2009 Part the First

oh yeah! It's that time of the year, when I tell you what music I liked best! Well, this year I am sure it is no surprise that what most appealed to me most was music about fucking things up with someone and then missing them when they leave... what you may be surprised about, is that that someone is not who you might think... it's actually a few someones.. none of whom are bald...

In no particular order:

Brooklyn (acoustic version)
Wakey! Wakey!



One of the the things, maybe the only thing, I like about the show One Tree Hill, is the fantastic music they feature on the program. One of the background characters in this bartender who knows everyone's drink order before they ask him. Well, at the end of the last episode of 2009 the bartender plays this song when no one is looking.

Why is it so great?:

Now, granted, his piano style is not anything to write home about. I think he needs to make friends with a pedal or two or at least back off a little. But, key banging aside, this song is sensitive. It is an admission that hey, I'm not perfect, but I like you and I hope I can see you again at some point, but until then.. I'll miss you. There is no "I want you back" statement and there is no "I'm sorry"... and he shouldn't be sorry... people fuck up when it comes to relationships... I know I do.. and someone once told me that I should never apologize for who I am... neither should this guy!

Best lyrics:
"I guess it's safe to say, we both can use this fire escape, cause I've been breathing ashes and waiting for something to carry you away..."


People Got A Lotta Nerve
Neko Case


Neko Case, makes alt country super sexy, if you ask me... I mean, shit... she's fucking hot, she's irreverent, and she's 39 years old! She doesn't have to explain herself to anyone. She seems to be that sort of love me or leave me woman, the kind I am always jealous of.


Why is it so great?:

It's catchy. It's happy. and it has to piss at least one guy off... one guy out there who thinks they are god's gift, only to get stomped on by a woman that is clearly out of their league. As if they can be the player but can't deal with being played. somebody call the waaaambulance!


Best lyrics:
"It will end again in bullets, friend"

Ras Trent
Andy Samberg


Andy Samberg is funny... Jewish... and has a good job. All he needs to do is gain a few pounds and grow a beard and he would be A-OK in my book.

Why is it so great?:

Ok, so I go to a a few shows here and there and I have to say, douche bags like this are all over the place. Trustafarians... it's about time someone paid them homage, huh, Dave Matthews?

Best Lyrics:
"Me toil part time at Ja Cold Stone Creamery"


Sweet Disposition
The Temper Trap


Like so many bands who find success through catchy songs that work so well in numerous soundtracks, The Temper Trap will most likely find that they are a mere, one... maybe two hit wonder. Well, in the US anyway...

Why is it so great?:

If you knew me a few years ago, you would remember me as an optimist... and I think that deep down I still am. This song brings that happy Renee out that is so rare these days. But all that aside, this song is an example of spectacular musicianship. Their drummer is amazing and the vocals are phenomenal. I am interested to hear more, but I am pretty sure this will be the last we will be hearing from these peeps...

Best Lyrics:
"songs of desperation...I played them for you"


... more soon... I promise!

Art Imitates Life Imitates Art

A few years ago, in my second year of graduate school I met a boy. He was tall, built like a swimmer, with a beautiful smile, and perfect blue eyes. It's funny, because I didn't notice any of these features at first... in fact... I didn't really notice them for a long time. He and I connected quickly because we were, in my estimation, intellectual equals. We had classes together, and ended up spending a lot of time together. He had a girlfriend back home, but... well, you know how that goes. and as wrong as it was, I believe we were happy and in, what I like to call, "mad friend love", even if it wen way too far.

I remember, one morning, I walked with him to the train station by my house on what would be one of the last times I would see him. I decided not to walk all the way to the station, instead, I stopped on a tree lined block, covered in pink flowers and let him go the rest of his way on his own. I turned around to make my way home, and turned on my ipod. John Coltrane's In a Sentimental Mood came on in the shuffle and I smiled. I knew him so well, that I felt him leaving me forever and when I should have been crushed, the warm breeze shaking the pink petals from the trees, and the sun light breaking through the branches mixed so perfectly with the tenor sax and "scrambled eggs" brushes on the drums completely transformed that moment from one of my trademark overly-dramatic sadness to a warm sweet memory.

and maybe it's because of my tendency to associate the men in my life with music, but now, when I smell the same warmth in the air, or In a Sentimental Mood id playing, like a lite motif, he is brought back to me and I smile. His picture is still hanging on my wall and it doesn't make me sad like the thought of someone I once cared about that walked away normally would. Instead I feel good, better for the time with him, and confident in the fact I wouldn't change a moment of our time together.

Now, of course not every guy I encounter in my life will be as important as others, and of course not every guy will be as great as others, but I hope that I can have more sweet memories, more positive experiences... and I think I am on my way. I have too often tried to hold the men in my life up on a pedistool and when they turn out not to be the people I want them to be, I get upset. Now, I am focusing on how much I like talking to someone or how they make me laugh based on who they are... not who I want them to be. Maybe that's where I went wrong with the last one, the one I still miss, the one whose voice I havent heard in weeks... but I know that I don't want to go down that road again...

so, as much as I miss my friend from Grad School, and as much as I miss the last one, and as much as I am sure I am going to miss the next one... who ever they may be... I can look back and feel warm and feel good and remember them.

but what does this have to do with music you ask?

That's simple...

Push play, close your eyes, and think about a bittersweet memory of someone you miss... and see that it has everything to do with it.