Saturday, March 5, 2011
We're Still Here...
Saturday, December 25, 2010
The Best Music of 2010
#2 - "Ghosts of Syllables"
#4 - "Lonesome Co."
#11 - "I Left U Cuz I Luft U"
Standout Tracks:
#3 - "The Mystery Zone"
#5 - "Written in Reverse"
#8 - "Goodnight Laura"
Standout Tracks:
#5 - "Memory Boy"
#6 - "Desire Lines"
Standout Tracks:
#4 - "I Walked"
#5 - "Now That I’m Older"
#8 - "Vesuvius"
#1 - "Somebody Else"
#2 - "Jerome, AZ"
#6 - "Red House Plea"
#10 - "Angels, Ghosts And Demons"
#2 - “Ready To Start”
#9 - “Suburban War”
#15 - "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)"
Standout Tracks:
#2 - “TAOS”
#3 - “Killemall”
#8 - “Oh Pretty Boy, You’re Such A Big Boy”
#9 - “Five Little Rooms”
#11 - “Intil”
Although this album is completely interesting and engaging throughout with not a weak track to be found, I can’t help but be slightly disappointed every time I listen to it. You see, half of this album is a complete masterpiece...the other half is merely great. When I listen I find myself wondering what could have been. Perhaps this super duo of Danger Mouse and James Mercer will eventually create this perfect gem of an album that is hinted at here. Until that time we must be content with mere greatness (with a heavy dose of brilliance).
Standout Tracks:
#1 - “The High Road”
#2 - “Vaporize”
#3 - “Your Head Is On Fire”
#4 - “The Ghost Inside”
#7 - “Citizen”
By comparison, High Violet never left any such doubts in my mind. From the first listen there was no question it was brilliant, it was just a matter of figuring out exactly HOW brilliant. Listening to this now at the end of the year I am realizing that it only keeps getting better the more time passes.
Standout Tracks:
#2 - “Sorrow”
#3 - “Anyone’s Ghost”
#5 - “Afraid of Everyone”
#10 - “England”
The title of this album gives it away, the key word being “dream”. “Teen” or otherwise, this album feels like a complete dream. There is not a single song that is not completely gorgeous...and yet if it has any fault, it’s that they are all so good that on initial listens, nothing really stands out. You keep waiting for it to falter and it never does. There are many songs that came out this year that I would consider better than anything on here, but there is no album that is as solid as this.
My first listen to Teen Dream was on a solitary road trip through the northwest corner of Nevada and into Oregon. It was a route I had never been on and it was amazingly desolate. At one point I think I drove over a hundred miles and only passed a handful of cars going the other direction. The cloud formations that day were otherworldly and that combined with the thrill that comes from seeing a new place for the first time provided the perfect atmosphere for this album. It truly felt like I had wandered into a dream. A Teen Dream apparently.
#4 - “Walk In the Park”
#5 - “Used to Be”
#7 - “Better Times”
#8 - “Ten Mile Stereo”
And there you have it. My 10 best of the year.
Friday, December 10, 2010
James Finished His 3rd Album! (Finally)
If you didn't know already, I have a little side hobby of writing and recording music. My 3rd album, Here Nor There, is finally finished and available as a "pay what you want" download or as a CD pre-order with a minimum cost of 4.99 (or higher if you choose to be generous).
Please go HERE and listen to and download the fruits of my labors.
Friday, October 29, 2010
MENOMENA!!
These videos don't do any justice to the actual performance, but here they are anyway.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
We're So Glad When Daddy Comes Home
Monday, October 25, 2010
Pumpkin Patch Redux
The best of many attempts at a group shot
For fun, check out this shot of Owen last year (click last year).
Love. These. Two
Monday, October 11, 2010
Staring at the Sun (not the only ones)
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Resistance is Futile!
Owen is awesome. He is still small - 1st percentile for weight! - but sturdy. He goes and goes and goes all day (except for his daily 3-hour nap) and is usually in a great mood. He loves Zoe and the kitty and playing outside. He talks all the time and is a great communicator. We love having him around.
He definitely has me wrapped around his finger and probably gets away with more than he should. But he's my baby. He loves giving hugs, kisses, high-fives, and fist bumps. He's a great eater and would drink his weight in juice every day if I let him. He loves nursery and playing with his friends. He is turning into such a big kid. We love you Owen!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Random Acts of Cuteness
Is there anything more precious in the world than this?
Zoe and her friends. We were watching a movie together and when we turned around she had them set up like this. Don't ask.
"Owen, are you excited?" Response:
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Skywalk
Monday, October 4, 2010
Back to the Grindstone
Friday, October 1, 2010
A Three-Park Day
The kids weren't loving Onion Days so we made our way over to Spanish Fork and the new park there. It was freaking awesome! There are tons of swings, a giant play structure, a climbing wall, and a huge fountain for the kids to play in. As per usual, I left the house unprepared for water play, but we improvised.
Next we grabbed lunch at Taco Bell and headed to another park in Spanish Fork (by the library). We found a quiet spot by a huge rose garden to eat and let the kids run around even more.
On Monday we headed back to the Way Awesome and Super Amazing Park (I think that's it's official name) and this time we were prepared for the water. So of course it was a little bit cold. The kids still had a blast but soon decided that they had had enough "playing" in the water (aka running around shivering) and we headed over to the non-water area of the park for some fun with our friends the Namannys. Do three-day weekends get any better than that?