Movies
Posted by Sarah in movies on Jan 30, 2011 | 0 commentsRED – This is one of those movies I knew would be awesome and then it proceeded to exceed my expectations. John Malkovich was fucking HILARIOUS. We loved it. LOVE.
The Descent II – I really liked the first one and this was kind of a great sequel, as sequels go.
Spread – I feel like Ashton Kutcher should pay ME for the 1.5 hours of my life I’ll never get back. Who was the costumer on this flick because despite the gigolo gig, he looks like he’s trying to pick up MEN. Who high cuffs their pants and wears sparkly belts with skinny suspenders ALL AT THE SAME TIME. And that’s not even mentioning the ridiculous scarves. I’m going to spoil you here and tell you halfway through the film, he and a female prossie fall in love. Up until then, there’s a lot of nekkid and Kutcher in bad clothes. After that, there’s less nekkid and more angst. I must have a masochistic streak for watching it all the way through.
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest – Did a great job of living up to the novel. A fantastic end to the trio of films.
Elsewhere – AWESOME. Small-town mystery with Anna Kendrick and it was excellent.
The Runaways- Joan Jett was my hero from like forever. This movie is just a rehash/reinforcement of precisely how fucking awesome she is.
Books, TV
Posted by Sarah in books, reviews, tv on Jan 23, 2011 | 2 commentsI’m trying to clean up my “reading” folder on the Kindle – books I’ve paid for but haven’t gotten to yet or, in several cases, books I started but haven’t finished for a bunch of reasons. This is separate, by the way, from the “to read” folder which is chock full of books I’ve gotten for free (107, to be exact) that I’m planning to read or will languish indefinitely because, yanno, FREE.
Yesterday I finished Laura Anne Gilman’s Hard Magic. I’ve had a hard time getting into Gilman’s other series books and this wasn’t much different. I’d started it on a couple of other occasions and then went away from it before I’d gotten more than a third through it (twice).
It was a metric asston of worldbuilding and some character work (at least on the main character) and the explanation of method and practice of magic was painstaking to the point of near-painful. Alas, that’s pretty much all it felt like. In comparison, the plot which was supposedly the jumpstarter for the book felt stalled through much of it and then was seemingly resolved in a couple of pages which left me ultimately unsatisfied. 3/5 stars
I actually waited a day to write the review on this because I thought maybe I was harshing the story unnecessarily. To me it just felt unfinished. Maybe that’s the goal of writing a series? For me, it doesn’t work (which is maybe why I’ve had trouble with her other books). This was thrown into sharp relief by the book I read next.
Spider’s Bite by Jennifer Estep. To preface, I read the third book in the series first. Venom was a Kindle freebie and sounded up my alley, and I could have SWORN I actually reviewed it somewhere but I can’t find evidence to support that hypothesis. Venom was great – a solid introduction to a world the author clearly inhabited, nice worldbuilding, great characters, great story. It was a full and satisfying read and I didn’t feel like I was missing anything by not having read the first two books. How often can you say THAT?
This week I decided to correct the timeline and go back to read the first book. THIS is what solidified my opinion about the Gilman book. It’s the same thing as the third book: full and satisfying read. It’s a fantastic introduction to the narrative – though after reading the third book without context, it was just as good – and the characters all have serious motivations, real problems and consequences for their actions. On top of that, it was a fantastic plot. It’s more than that, though – just like the third book, it felt like the author stretched out, pushed the plot to all the edges, so that even though it’s part of a series it’s a worthwhile standalone read. 4/5 stars to both books
If you’re looking for a new series that’s got plenty of action and lots of convoluted intrigue, Estep’s Elemental Assassin series is what you’re looking for. I’ve got the second book on deck already.
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Unrelated, this week marked the series finale of Medium.
Spouse hates the show – hated the show – so I recorded it and watched it while he was doing other things. First of all, I can’t believe it was 7 seasons already. While I wouldn’t claim the writing was stellar or especially groundbreaking, it was consistently entertaining. Even the more preposterous episodes did SOMETHING to redeem them (not the least, Maria Lark as Bridgette DuBois). It was a mishmash of urban fantasy, mystery and crime procedural but it managed to make every episode heartfelt and enjoyable. While some of the plotlines were predictable, they frequently employed very convincing herrings and kept each episode a fun puzzle to watch. The finale was no different and I’m not going to lie, I cried like a baby. I’ll miss that show. Well done, writers.
Movies
Posted by Sarah in movies, reviews on Jan 22, 2011 | 0 commentsOutlander. It was on cable and I recently picked up the free Kindle version of the book, so it was morbid curiosity to watch. It’s like Aliens lands in the middle ages, except in the middle ages they use modern lingo and the spacedude is a Mary Sue. I’m not so sure how I feel about reading the books now.
Movies
Posted by Sarah in movies, reviews on Jan 18, 2011 | 0 commentsDinner for Schmucks – I found this to be generally… meh. Not sure that it matters I’m a fan of the original but this had some funny and funny/awkward moments but was not the hilarious film billed by all the trailers. Feh.
Mistress of Spices – If I had to describe this film in one word it would be “languid.” Slow paced but a very nice film, romantic without being too heavy-handed and a kind of modern day fairy tale. Aishwarya Rai is gorgeous, obviously, and had good chemistry with Dylan McDermott. Due to her prominence in Bollywood, it’s also very PG but still has some depth. My husband’s review: “The spices are dicks!”
An Omnivore’s Dilemma
Posted by Sarah in random on Jan 10, 2011 | 0 commentsToday when I opened the Delicious Bookmarks app on my phone, the first thing I saw was “Spiced Pork and Apricot Stew”. Sounds amazing, right? I put together the shopping list and after work I picked up the ingredients.
The recipe calls for 2.5 lbs of boneless pork shoulder, excess fat removed, in 2 inch pieces. Living where I live, there’s no local butcher. I therefore trek to the grocery and find that my options are pork shoulder, bone in, the size of my head or larger. Improvise, adapt, overcome.
I lug the smallest shoulder – 7.75 lbs, for the record – to the checkout with the rest of my supplies. There’s an audible thunk when it hits the conveyor belt. Fast forward home, where I unpack the massive chunk of meat and the rest of the supplies are shuffled into appropriate locations.
This is where I tell you that I’m not a fan of pork. Never have been. In the last two years, thanks to some experimental recipes, I’ve declared a tenuous truce with pork (provided it does not include fried pork chops). It seems that recipes involving fruit work best for me, so the stew sounds PERFECT. I just have to figure out how to whittle down this massive slab of meat.
I start by hacking it in half. “Hacking” is not an exaggeration, by the way. I manage to cleave the beast and have to rope the spouse into putting the other half away before it begins taunting my weakness. I’m still not quite sure who won – me or the shoulder.
I spent TWO HOURS attempting to debone and unfattify that GD pork shoulder. TWO HOURS. My neck hurts, my hands are cramped and I’ve managed to mildly gross myself out by identifying the anatomical parts before chopping into them. Note to self: objectify your food. It’s okay. You can be thankful for the pig later, when you’re not admiring the striations of its subscapularis. THANKS ANAT AND PHYS. After all that work, and exhausting my most creative invectives, I’m left with a pile of meat and a pile of fat -which appear to be roughly the same size. The good news: I’m back in the stated goal range of 2.5 lbs.
At any rate, I now understand why they make this unforgiving section of meat into SPAM. I like SPAM. I especially like it fried. And from now on, I will eat SPAM like other people grudge-fuck. Payback for the two hours of my life I will NEVER GET BACK. And that stew had better be motherfucking delicious. Tomorrow. When I’m not too tired to make it after fighting a pig shoulder.
Weekend films
Posted by Sarah in movies, reviews on Jan 9, 2011 | 0 commentsShe’s Out of My League- Predictably crass, goofy and hilarious and therefore right in my wheelhouse. Many, many laugh out loud scenes. Many.
Clash of the Titans – No lie, I was kind of thinking this might suck. It actually turned out quite well – missing the classic cheese of the original but with a significantly better story than Avatar. I think that’s perhaps damning with fair praise.
Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro
Posted by Sarah in books, reviews on Jan 9, 2011 | 1 commentI’d wanted to read this book for some time (it came out in 2005) and finally got to it this year. Given that it’s more than 5 years old, there’s a film and a wiki entry talks about a major plot point – which also comes up quite early in the book – I don’t think it’s a spoiler to mention the book deals with the subject of cloning.
From a style standpoint, it’s a languid and conversational read – almost as though you’re browsing someone’s journal. It works well in this case because the point is for the entire story to be shifting and subjective.
During my med ethics class, we had really interesting and unresolved conversations about the Human Genome project and what its implications would be – including organ donation. This novel doesn’t talk about science at all, which is important to how the story unfolds. While their ‘purpose’ is not kept secret from the students, it’s also not widely discussed as they’re growing up. Their private school environment is sheltering and fostering and, as they age, their gradual shift to society seems no less so. As the end of the book unfolds, it prompts more questions rather than less as the students find out the true nature of their upbringing and the things that set them apart.
4 of 5 stars
Freedom, redux
Posted by Sarah in books, reviews on Jan 6, 2011 | 0 commentsA friend of mine bought me Freedom (latest Franzen novel) for Xmas and tonight I had a chance to talk with her about it. I basically reiterated what I’ve already said here, but something jelled for me while I was talking to her. This was his mid-life crisis novel. Bear with me:
The guy in the book is largely passive and, in fact, suffers a bit of a midlife crisis. The woman in the book – the only strong female character, by the way – is essentially a dude: a jock, few if any female friends, no ‘traditional’ female qualities save a desire to stay home with the kids, and that doesn’t really feel like her desire so much as a lack of other options. The son is the other strong character in the book – someone who has little to no interaction with his parents and no discernible family connect with the possible exception of his sister (who is barely in the book). The kid is absorbed in doing what he wants to do, thinks his parents don’t understand him (they don’t) and expects them to more or less support him while he takes advantage of people and lives up to no one’s expectations.
What finally registered for me when I talked to T tonight, though, was the point of view. For that matter, the point of view of all the reviewers who are convinced that Franzen, through this book, is the second coming of Christ. I’d imagine they’re mostly in Franzen’s age group. Franzen’s age group coincides roughly with my parents. My parents had a hard time understanding the internet. There are absolutely things my parents had a hard time understanding about me – it’s called a generational gap. Exacerbated by technology and pop culture. We all have them.
This is the book my PARENTS would identify with because, to me, Franzen’s talking about this technological divide from the other side of it. One of his characters says something about how it’s SO DIFFERENT that the older character in the book learned to use email in college while they, the younger person, learned to use it ON THEIR PHONE. One: it’s not that different except that Two: email is virtually obsolete in this reference. His characters don’t come across as genuine because, other than poor impulse control, their actions/processes don’t FEEL genuine. I think this is because his ‘parent’ characters are so far removed from my own experience (personally, as well as someone who is friends with their parents) and his younger characters don’t resonate because they’re a picture that he mashed up from Jersey Shore episodes and Republican rhetoric.
For those reasons, a lot of his ‘commentary’ didn’t ring true. It didn’t leave me thinking except to wonder about what the hoopla was all about. I maintain my original premise – we’re all fucked up, we all make decisions, we all live with the consequences. His overarching theme about compromise or how compromise fails didn’t jibe for me and still doesn’t. It’s like he wrote the book from opposing premises using the wife and the husband (albeit in EXACTLY THE SAME VOICE) and then just threw in the son as a foil to show how much none of them knew each other.
It’s not a bad book, it’s just not as good as everyone would have you believe. Now I’ll probably have to dig up some book conversation to see if someone can point out what I’m missing.
Sickbed films
Posted by Sarah in movies, reviews on Jan 4, 2011 | 0 commentsTrucker – I tried watching this movie about six months ago and stalled. Today I watched the whole thing. Great acting and the story was good right up until it sucked ass. WTF. It had SUCH potential and then pussied out right at the end with some bullshit device.
Paranormal Activity – Surprisingly boring. I’m not sure what all the excitement was about. Elsenet, Caitlin Kittredge called it Cinematic Ambien. I can’t disagree.
Gamer- Another film I started watching and couldn’t get into. Thanks to my severe headcold (that was SO CLOSE to being “severed headcold”) and Netflix streaming, I can say I was surprisingly entertained.
As it’s too early for my spouse to get home, I may tackle another film. Or maybe a book. Related: I can see that keeping track of the films I watch this year is going to be a BAD IDEA.
Sick day
Posted by Sarah in books, movies, music, tv on Jan 4, 2011 | 0 commentsI woke up feeling like crap more severe than the fending-off -cold kind that I’ve been battling. Since everyone and their cousin at work has strep throat (who gets strep when they’re an ADULT for cripes sake?) I’m going to go to the doctor today.
The lousy thing about sick days is crap tv. I mean, there are other things I’ll do besides crap tv, but then when you stumble across something good – as I just did – you’re halfway through it before you found it and there’s no way you’ll find a repeat precisely because you’re home for the day. I Capture The Castle is on, a lovely and tremendous film with a fantastic story and terrible decisions and brilliant acting. Alas, it’s halfway over already and I don’t own it on DVD. Probably I should read the book but given I’ve 20 books on the Kindle that I’ve actually bought but HAVEN’T read yet, that’s not in the works.It’s kind of surprising, actually, that I haven’t read the book.
When I enjoy a film based on a book and haven’t read it (rarity), I usually pick it up. I think maybe because I enjoy this film so much I don’t want another version of it in my head. Ditto The Princess Bride. Hrm. That’s probably a pretty short list if I put any more thought into it.
I did get to watch last night’s Castle which, as per usual, was great. Funny and sharp, plus a surprise with the actress playing Nikki Heat – not who’s playing her but the direction the episode took. The finale (finale? mid-season finale? when the F is it on regularly now anyhow?) of The Closer was good as well. I’m always impressed by Kyra Sedgwick and Jon Tenney. I was less impressed with Tenney (through no fault of his own) in Legion, which was dreadful.
Yesterday’s drive time was consumed by The Metropolis Symphony. I love it. It’s simultaneously engaging and comic- in the graphic sense, not humor – and energetic storytelling though music where lyrics are rendered obsolete. Fantastic. That’s another great find thanks to NPR.
Added a tumblr feed to the blog (in the right column) so there may be bits and snatches that appear there and nowhere else (of late, quotes).
For now, I think a nap is necessary before a call to the doc.
More new films
Posted by Sarah in movies, reviews on Jan 2, 2011 | 0 commentsWell, new to me.
Young Victoria – LOVELY.
Legion – chock full of suck
No, I really don’t have anything to elaborate.
Firsts of the Year
Posted by Sarah in books, movies, reviews on Jan 2, 2011 | 0 commentsFirst novel finished:
Freedom, Jonathan Franzen
(from my review at Goodreads) I’m not entirely sure why there was so much hype surrounding this particular book – maybe there are people who recognize characters in it. For me, it was a caricature of the American family – the kind of American family, in fact, that the Republicans would try to convince you we’re all becoming.
The problem with trying to make a sweeping commentary on our culture is that you’re invariably going to miss. In this case, it was an enjoyable read but nothing earth-shattering or shockingly profound. The moral of the story is that we’re all fucked up. We all make bad choices. We all live with the consequences. Plenty of writers have done better work with this in less pages.
Incidentally, I can see why the FranzenFreude started – Picoult and Weiner have both written more engaging and compelling works (If you haven’t read Good In Bed, you SHOULD) to much less acclaim.
*shrug*
First film:
Ondine
I’d read mixed reviews of this and while Spouse was wrapped up in Bowl games yesterday I watched it on Netflix streaming. 1. It’s odd to hear Colin Farrell with his native accent 2. This was a charming – but shouldn’t have been charming film.
It’s listed as sci-fi but it reminds me more of the work of Alice Hoffman – real but with fantastical elements that add to the story. No surprise, then, that I kind of loved it. A fisherman finds a woman in his net. She brings him luck by singing the fish into his boat and his sickly daughter concludes the woman is a Selkie and works to keep her.
It’s a lovely and delicate film with a satisfying conclusion. Highly recommended.
Amazing YJ deal
Posted by Sarah in links, reviews on Jan 2, 2011 | 0 commentsI don’t do this very often, but this price is INCREDIBLE.
Yoga Journal does a great job of breaking down the poses and providing routines in each issue. It’s one of the only subscriptions I actually have and for 59 cents an issue, it’s a STEAL.
(click Read More to make the link clickable)
Top 10 (Book Edition)
Posted by Sarah in books, reviews on Jan 1, 2011 | 0 commentsIn 2010 I read probably 70 books and some of them were utter crap. Plenty were good, but this is the list of books I recommended the most:
1. The City and The City, China Mieville
I got this first on audiobook and loved it so much I got it on my Kindle. While I can’t say I’m a huge Mieville fan, this book is super accessible – a sci-fi-ish conundrum wrapped in an old fashioned Cold War-ish hard-boiled detective fiction. I have literally recommended this book to everyone I know – sci fi fan or not.
2. Feed, Mira Grant
Yeah, this is the book I recommended second most to every single person who asked for book recommendations this year. It was a little slow to grab me in the beginning, but once it took hold it was a screaming, heart-pounding ride. I loved the (different) take on zombie apocalypse and the effects on US culture (pop or otherwise). I read World War Z after this and it paled in comparison. When I say heart-pounding, I’m not exaggerating. At the climax of the book, I actually noticed the fierce thumping in my chest. It’s that fucking good.
3. the Heart series, Chelsea Cain (Heart Sick, Sweetheart, Evil at Heart)
If you like mystery and crime fiction, you’ve probably gotten to these already. If you even have a passing interest in the genre, or didn’t like the Stieg Larsson books, READ THESE. This is an amazing series that features an awesome sociopathic villain and deals with the emotional fallout of the detective who caught her. That’s right, HER. And she’s incredible. Not only that, Archie is incredible. Intensely broken, aware of it and attempting to function (and not) in the only ways he can. As the series unfolds, it gets even more crazy/fantastic/awesome. The third book, Evil at Heart, BLEW MY MIND. Cain keeps finding depths and intensity you wouldn’t expect and I read all three books within 48 hours or something equally absurd.
4. The Lady Julia Grey Bundle, Deanna Raybourn
Another cheat (kinda) as it’s three books I got on my Kindle. I’m not a fan of regency or romance, especially. These books are more regency mystery with a dash of romance and they were FANTASTIC. The characters and stories were great, the mysteries weren’t hackneyed and they were a really fun read. Another batch that I read in rapid succession because I enjoyed them so damn much. Think Sarah Tolerance mysteries by Madeline Robins and you wouldn’t be far off the mark. (More Sarah Tolerance books, please!)
5. The Book Thief, Markus Zusak
Probably the most controversial book I read this year – see Cat Valente’s excellent dissection of problematic elements over on her livejournal. I’m going to preface this with the fact that I’d been working around picking this book up all year but the first three paragraphs of this post made me buy it and read it immediately. Read the book before you read her post. There are a lot of things she says that I agree with, but there is a commenter – way at the end of the list – I agreed with more. This is an interesting story told by Death during WWII. Death seems to focus on the experience of this one little girl – and its interactions with her – because it can’t focus on the vast horrors humanity was ravaging upon itself. To me it came across as a novel about life, about death and about how the little things we do change us in ways we don’t expect and the big things we do, while so much bigger than ourselves, are still sometimes not so much. It’s about how politics and fear change the way we look at our neighbors and ourselves and that we still have to live with ourselves at the end of the day. It’s worth a read, whether you hate it or not.
6. Mind Games, Carolyn Crane
This book (I gave it 4 of 5 stars) makes it on the list because it has a different take on urban fantasy than I’ve seen before. It w as a good read, not cookie cutter and created an interesting set of problems that aren’t easily solved. The hallmark of a great genre book, in my opinion.
7. East of Eden, John Steinbeck
I know there are plenty of people who love Steinbeck but I’m not one of them. I read this because it was part of a GoodReads reading group and I’m really glad I read it. You don’t hear the words ‘timeless’ accurately applied to a lot of things, but that is what this novel is. Set in a different – and not so different – time, the economic challenges will resonate with anyone who’s paying bills these days. The convoluted family dynamic is also nothing strange to anyone with complicated relations. Sweeping and expansive and surprisingly modern. If you’ve never read it – or if it’s been years – pick it up.
8. The Apprentice, Tess Gerritson
You may have seen the shockingly terrible Rizzoli and Isles TV show. The pilot and a couple of episodes were based on the first book in the series (which was really not good) and this book – a solid procedural with interesting characters. While some of it was a bit heavy handed, I really enjoyed this read. It may say something, however, that I haven’t picked up the next in the series.
9. World War Z, Max Brooks
This is a solid book. If I hadn’t read Feed first, I might have enjoyed it more. The interview-style writing and short vignettes were interesting and covered far more personal experience (as a self-billed Oral History should, I guess) but I was left with the sense that something was… lacking.
10. The Passage, Justin Cronin
Possibly the most overrated book of the year. Not that it wasn’t a good book, because it IS, but because if I’d known it was part of a series I’d never have picked it up. Actually, having read it, it’s a good book but I still won’t pick up the next in the series. It did a great job of creating a post-vampire-apocalypse culture and I think it succeeded where WWZ failed. On the other hand, GD some of it was SLOW GOING. There were pages where I was like REALLY? THIS IS WHAT WE’RE DOING? There are interesting characters and complicated challenges and slightly unrealistic cultural resets in a very short timeframe, but at the end it was a pretty satisfying read. There was some cryptic supposed cliffhanger that didn’t feel like much of a cliffhanger (though it’s cryptic enough that I still don’t know WTF it means, though I won’t buy the next book to find out) but it was a good book. I just reread this and realized it’s not the most glowing endorsement ever but I really did like it, I swear.
Books I wanted to read in 2010 that I’ll get to in 20eleventy:
The Windup Girl (already on my K3)
The Autobiography of Mark Twain
Never Let Me Go (already on my K3)
Matterhorn
Dreadnought (already started)
Kraken
Juliet, Naked
Territory
Freedom (hardcover gift for Xmas)
any of the 150 free books I have lingering on my Kindle
(edit: Anyone who wants to exchange email addresses for Kindle loaning purposes, let me know!)
Top 10 (Music)
Posted by Sarah in music, reviews on Dec 31, 2010 | 3 commentsI have to say that if I’m going to have a hard time with a top ten list, it’s music this year. I mean, do you list the singles or full albums? Radio or non radio?
I’ll start with albums and these are in no particular order:
1. Into the Trees, Zoe Keating
It’s hard to say how much I love this CD since I played the album A LOT at work (especially when I got aggravated) because it’s awesomely mellow, yet soaring and intense and covers such a huge range. I love the cello and it was made more awesome when I found that she loops her own music WHILE she’s playing. This is probably the single album I’ve recommended most to people this year. I also love the fact that I bought the album directly from Zoe online. Saweet. You can also find her on twitter @zoecello
2. The Adventures of Bobby Ray, B.o.B.
Dude. If there was a single hip hop album I recommended this year, Adventures of Bobby Ray was it. Accessible, nice hooks, surprising guests, great lyrics and a great voice. If you liked “Airplanes” (feat. that chick from Paramore) you’ll love the whole thing. This album got a LOT of repeat on my player.
3. Robyn, Robyn
Yeah, I know the album didn’t come out this year. For what it’s worth, I DID pick up Body Talk but on several occasions at work when people asked “What are you listening to that you’re dancing?” This album was the answer more often than it wasn’t. Konichiwa, bitches!
4. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kanye West
Okay, the album is weird but you’ve got to admit that it’s fucking AWESOME weird. Any album where a song has “douchebags” in a chorus is going to be on my top ten list fo sho. I love that he’s kind of taken all of his crazy, embraced it and then made an album about how if you’re not okay with his crazy you’re kind of an asshole. It’s a fantastic listen, all the way through and you’ve got to love it for the balls alone. Also, his twitter feed is amazing.
5. Oh Little Fire, Sarah Harmer
I’m a mad fan of You Were Here and was kind of disappointed by her hard turn to folk (much like I’m disappointed by Patty Griffin’s hard turn to wtfcountrygospel) but this album comes back to more of a pop sound. Same smart lyrics, lovely music, great album.
6. The Lady Killer, Cee Lo Green
Yeah, you heard Fuck You and thought it was amazing. It is. You’ll love the rest of it.
7. A Mad and Faithful Telling, DeVotchKa
DeVotchKa is not for everyone, but if you dig a soulful world-sounding beat you’ll like them. An array of instruments that you don’t typically hear on an album that will get radio play and a singer with a voice as distinctive as The Decemberists Colin Meloy. It is either the best or worst thing ever that they’re playing the same weekend in February in Denver.
8. Hazards of Love, The Decemberists
This is one of those albums that I’m kind of surprised by how much I enjoy it. While it’s far more linear (I really think it’s best listened straight through) than I normally like, I thoroughly enjoy this entire album. And yes, we’ve got tickets to this show in February. We’re still up in the air on the other one.
9. Kaleidoscope Heart, Sara Bareilles
It is a true story that I’d NEVER have purchased this album if it wasn’t for my friend Meghan. Meghan is something of a superfan and, in spite of my general loathing of Love Song (that single you COULDN’T GET AWAY FROM three years ago) I fell in love with King of Anything. The rest of the album is just as smart and catchy and heartfelt without veering into the Velveeta.
10. Lungs, Florence + the Machine
Yeah, they were everywhere this year. Even on Glee. You know why? THEY EARNED IT. This album kicks ass.
11. Belle Isle, MoZella
Holy shit. I love this album so much that I can’t even believe I forgot to put it on the list. In my defense, it was earlier in the year when I started listening to it but it’s probably the number 2 album I’ve recommended to everyone I know. Catchy, smart, upbeat and a PHENOMENAL voice. Definitely a top 3.
Honorable Mentions: (all got a lot of play but I wouldn’t recommend to just everyone for various reasons)
Wake up!, John Legend and The Roots
Here’s the thing, I love John Legend and I dig The Roots. The album is wicked listenable and appropriate for background music pretty much any time. On the other hand, it sounds a lot like John Legend. If you like him, this is a good thing. If you’re looking for more funk, not so much.
Hands all Over, Maroon 5
Not because the album is great – it’s not. In fact, I think Mutt Lange is out to ruin music as I know it. I was disappointed in this album but it still got decent play on my player. Probably because I like Levine’s voice. Definitely not for that shit ass duet with Lady Antebellum. Dear Maroon 5, If I wanted a fucking country album I’D BUY ONE. Dear Lady Antebellum, a steel guitar does NOT make you country. GACK.
Foundling, David Gray
I love David Gray. Your mileage may vary. This is why I do not talk about David Gray. David Gray is like Fight Club.
The Dresden Dolls, The Dresden Dolls
I love it. It came out ages ago. Talking to people about it makes me sound retarded. I realize “mentally challenged” is the appropriate term. I think that if you read my blog, you know I’m not using the word ‘retarded’ to be an asshole. If not, feel free to stop reading. Also, love Amanda Palmer on twitter.
The Story, Brandi Carlile
Also came out ages ago. Can’t say enough about her voice, except that if you haven’t seen her cover of Folsom Prison Blues on youtube, you are missing one of the best covers of all time.
I’m hoping to get many excellent music recs from everyone in the new year!
