2008: The Year in Review, Part 1

I was without internet for a little over a week, so I’m a bit behind on my blogging.  But I didn’t want 2008 to go un-documented, so here is part 1 of my month-by-month account of my life’s activities.   Luckily, I have this handy little blog to help me remember what I did!!

January started with New Year’s eve in Tuscola.

Then it was Cops & Robbers Bunco at Kim’s

And a wine tasting at my house:

February, of course, is my birthday month, what more do you need??

March–  I started blogging, albeit covertly.

We had Bunco at Tonyas:

I went to Vegas with my family:

And Cooper Philip Pollard was born:

April– I got a new car, saw a baby left alone in a car seat; and Backyard Tire Fire at Highdive; there was an earthquake and Lost came back on the air after a much-too-long writers strike.

I also went to New Orleans for work (yes, there are better pix of this trip, but I’ll just post this one to spare the, uh, innocent!!)

May--  We celebrated Lisa’s birthday with a happy hour, I went to  Atlanta for work, and took in a stray dog.

My dog had surgery:

I saw Chicago in Peoria with Jen:

And went to St. Louis to celebrate Jeff’s 30th birthday:

June- Can you believe the only thing on my calendar is that I started boot camp? I’m sure there were other things going on, but I didn’t write it down.

So, there you have it– the first 6 months of 2008 as told through photos and blog posts.  I’m sure there are plenty of things that I’m missing, but those are some of the high points.

Stay tuned for part 2 and a New Year’s Resolution post.  Then, it will be back to your regularly scheduled programming :)

Music Monday: Discovering New Music

I’ve been really bored with my music lately.  A lot of my library is old and dated and I honestly only listen to about 1/3 of it.  But even my favorite third is getting kinda old.  Updating my iPod really made me think about how hard it is for me to “discover” music on my own.  I really need other people (and-to a lesser extent–the Internet) to introduce me to new bands.  My musical tastes have mostly been shaped by:

• Family– There’s no way I’d have such an affinity for old school country music if it wasn’t for my family.  I grew up on Don Williams, Kenny Rogers, Emmylou Harris, Ricky Skaggs, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard and, yes– The Oak Ridge Boys.  My mom also liked Air Supply and James Taylor and The Commodores, so I have a bit of a soft spot for these artists as well. 

My biggest influence, however, is my brother.  Growing up, he’d “discover” some new band and force me to listen to it.   His latest musical obsession was always thrust upon me until it became my latest musical obsession.  It didn’t always work out that way (I’ll never quite get Pink Floyd, for example) but my brother introduced me to some of my very favorite artists including Black Sabbath, Green Day, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Prine, They Might Be Giants, and The Who as well as recent additions Cross Canadian Ragweed, Old Crow Medicine Show, Todd Snider, and Backyard Tire Fire. (It’s also the reason I still know all the words to Weird Al Yankovic’s Fat album, but we won’t go there.)
   
• Friends–  A quick glance through my iTunes reveals a number of different genres of music, and I can pinpoint with a great deal of accuracy who I was hanging out with or dating at the time.   There’s Nirvana and Dr. Dre from high school, the Lilith Fair-esq girl power from my early college days (Jewel, Sarah McLachlan,  Tori Amos, Tracy Chapman), the “hippie” music from a guy I dated in college (Widespread Panic, Phish, Dave Matthews Band), college rock favorites from when I worked at the campus radio station (Stroke 9, Ani DiFranco), a bunch of blues and heavy metal from a former boyfriend (Eric Clapton’s From the Cradle is an amazing album of blues covers and Zakk Wylde’s Book of Shadows is one of the deepest heavy metal records I’ve ever heard), some R&B (R.Kelly, Brian McKnight) and a TON of *really cheesy shit* I like to listen to with my girlfriends.  
   
• The Internet– To be honest, I don’t listen to the radio much.  And I stopped watching MTV when they stopped showing videos, so I’m usually a bit behind when it comes to new music.  I rely mostly on iTunes and mySpace to tell me what’s “hot” as far as Top 40/Pop music is concerned (yeah, I like it… and I’m not ashamed to admit it!).  But when I’m looking for something out of the ordinary it’s a bit harder. I might hear a band on someone’s mySpace page and listen to their other tracks, or I might read about a band on a blog and check them out.

Lately, I’ve been listening to the Pop Candy podcasts for new music.  They’re usually about 20 minutes long, which just happens to be the length of my commute.  Although I’ve found some great artists (Hays Carll, Okkervil River, The Whigs), some of Whitney’s suggestions are a little too “modern rock” for me.  That is, they sound like bad rip offs of The Beatles/The Rolling Stones/The Who.  And all the “new” punk music sounds like a watered-down version of the Sex Pistols.

So, how do you  discover new music?  And who are some bands I should check out?  I’m really in need of an iPod overhaul.

Mostly Music Monday: Drinking songs

I was looking for new bands to add to my iPod this weekend and came across Hayes Carll.  He’s a country/folk singer-songwriter who reminds me a little of John Prine, Todd Snider and Johnny Cash all rolled into one.  

I heard his cover of Tom Waits’ “I Don’t Want to Grow Up” and immediately had to hop over to his mySpace to hear more.  I found “Drunken Poets Dream” and the following lyrics:

Wine bottles scattered like last night’s clothes
Cigarettes, papers, and dominoes
She laughs for a minute about the shape I’m in
Says, “You be the sinner honey, I’ll be the sin.”

And these from “Bad Liver and a Broken Heart”
(which is the second best song title on the album, right after “She Left Me for Jesus”)

Arkansas
My head hurts
I’d love to stick around
And maybe make it worse 

These lyrics made me realize that some of the most memorable lines come from songs about drinking.  Here are a few other faves:

Gettin’ Started

Sippin on Coke and Rum
I’m like: “So what? I’m drunk!”
It’s the freakin’ weekend, baby
’bout to have me some fun 

– from “Ignition” (Remix) by R.Kelly

The Location

I’ve seen short skirts, we got high-techs
Blue-collar boys and rednecks
And we got lovers, lots of lookers
And I’ve even seen dancing girls and hookers
And we like to drink our beer from a mason jar

– from “I Love This Bar” by Toby Keith

On Leaving the Bar:

It’s time to go when you’re hitting on the bartender
It’s time to go when you take your 10th piss
It’s time to go when you’re hittin on your friend’s girl
It’s time to go when you start requesting KISS

–from “It’s Time to Go” by Backyard Tire Fire

On hangovers: 

Yeah, I’m feeling like I usually feel after I feel alright
I don’t wanna hear another word about morning
I can’t take the light
Could you try to keep it down?
I was up kinda late last night

– from “Late Last Night” by Cross Canadian Ragweed

One thing that seems always true
When I’m hung over the sky is blue
A rough night for me makes a hell of a day

– from “Proud Souls” by Cross Canadian Ragweed

——–

(Note: I can’t guarantee this will be a regular feature. It’s hard enough to come up with Website Wednesday and Foto Friday, so I’ll add “mostly” so you don’t expect it every Monday, K?)

Freewriting, part 2

Well, I guess we’ll try this again. I had two ideas for blogs yesterday. One was my theory on Tuesdays, which is no longer timely (but look for it next week!) and the other I can’t remember… I’ve been racking my brains to try to come up with it. No luck.

So, today is my vacation day and I’ve been up since 5. Woke up with horrible stomach pains and can’t get back to sleep. I have a mile-long list of things to do today. I’m thinking “take a nap” might be one of them. It’s supposed to be super nice so hopefully I can take advantage of it.

Last night was the Backyard Tire Fire show.

The show was good. I was annoyed ‘cuz my friend was already drunk when I got there and I was ridiculously tired, so I had some catching up to do. Strangely enough, I actually had fun with his brother. We generally don’t get along but he was a lot more fun, talkative, energetic than my friend. I really, really, really hate babysitting. And moodiness. Unless it’s my own moodiness!

As usual, Backyard Tire Fire was awesome. I love that they’re a local. I need to download some of their new stuff. I love live music. When its good, it’s REALLY good. Maybe I should try to see some shows during my yet-to-be-determined road trip.

I got a lil drunk, but not too bad. We left the show during the headlining act, got some McDonalds (thus the stomach problems) and came home.

What else? Oh, I’m grossed out by how much smoking I’ve done lately. My lungs need a break and I’m afraid I smell.

This has to be the lamest freewrite in the history of the world. Seriously. I generally have four thousand thoughts streaming through my head. Maybe it’s because I’ve been up too long and my emotions have been effectively repressed. Or maybe I’m just tired.

Oh, wait. I just remembered my other post…. time to write it. I guarantee this isn’t gonna do much for my hit count–ahaha!!