This Week's Reviews: AA Bondy, Lights, Cub Country

Another decent week for music. I love this A.A. Bondy record. If you like the ultra-slow/quiet indie country stuff, you'll want to give it a listen.



Those hoping for a girl version of Owl City should check out Lights. She's from Canada. I'm sure you can guess how I feel about that.



And here are the links to my reviews:

A.A. Bondy - When the Devil's Loose
Lights - The Listening
Cub Country - Stretch That Skull Cover and Smile

Alkaline Trio Show Review / I am Not a Stripper

Alkaline Trio
In the Venue
February 24, 2010

I was not hired as a stripper for last night's Alkaline Trio show, despite what the band may have thought.

Going to concerts is infinitely more difficult once you have kids. Despite having to make some complicated babysitting arrangements, I thought I had everything worked out so I could check out Alkaline Trio, one of my long-time favorite bands. As it got closer to showtime, however, plans got disrupted a bit and I thought I might miss it. And the last thing I wanted was to drive to the club just to have to turn back around because it was already over. Then the light bulb turned on--though I had never met him, I had the tour manager's cell number!

I texted the following:

"Carlos, this is Spencer from In This Week. Has Alkaline gone on yet?"

This seemed like a pretty straightforward question. But I guess I was wrong.

"Are u the stripper?"

Whah?

I responded that fortunately, for everyone's sake, I was not.

With no further response from Carlos, I headed to In the Venue, hoping I hadn't missed the show. Though I tried to concentrate on just making it to the venue on time, I couldn't help but wonder what Alkaline Trio would be doing with the male stripper they were apparently expecting.

When I got to the club, I was happy to see that the band had just started. The boys were pounding through "Dine, Dine My Darling" from their new record, and though they were playing in front of their usual heart-and-skull backdrop, something didn't seem right. What was with all the balloons and party hats? It turns out, rock stars have birthdays, too.

Matt Skiba was happy to celebrate his 34th birthday with his Salt Lake City fans, especially because it meant plenty of birthday shots between songs. He handled the liquor just fine, but he really got thrown off his game when, five seconds after starting a new song, the house music came on (Bell Biv Devoe's "Poison," no less) and his band abandoned their instruments. His face lit up when the band's crew delivered him a Batman cake, with candles blazing. His joy turned to a bit of fear when he saw the male Hot Cop approaching him for a lap dance.

"I saw a cop on the stage out of the corner of my eye," Skiba said after the encounter, with a smile. "I thought I was getting arrested for swearing or something. I didn't realize it was Officer Sexy."

After the impromptu birthday celebration, the band returned its focus to music, rocking through eight albums of material. The largest chunk came from 2003's "Good Mourning," including "We've Had Enough," "One Hundred Stories," "Continental," and "Fatally Yours." But the definite highlight of the night was "Nose Over Tail" from the band's debut EP, when Matt Skiba shouted "I want to make it really," and the crowd enthusiastically responded in unison, "I'd love to rub your back."

Sounds like the end of a great birthday. Stripper or no.

At Family Band Practice

Curtis was playing drums and Paige said, clutching her microphone, "Nice beat, Curtis. Nice beat."

Fanfarlo 2.0 + This Week's Reviews

I'm now to the point where I've written for IN long enough that I'm interviewing bands for the second or third time. Last week, I did my second interview with British band Fanfarlo, who are playing here on Saturday.

I talked with the mandolin-playing girl wearing the superflous bowties. You can read the interview here. She gets bonus points for making reference to Dr. Tobias Funke.

If you like Arcade Fire, you should definitely check 'em out.

Also, here's this week's album reviews:

Phantogram - Eyelid Movies (Recommended, if you like Massive Attack)
Ke$ha - Animal (Recommended, if you like Bring it On)
Drew Danburry - Goodnight Gary (Recommended, if you like long beards)

Another One off The List: Matt Skiba

Last week, I was able to talk to another one of my favorite bands. I spent about 20 minutes on the phone with Alkaline Trio front man Matt Skiba. (This was actually my second interview with the band. I interviewed drummer Derek Grant last year.)

I've found that I am actually much less nervous to talk to my rock and roll heroes than bands I've never heard of. Since I own all the AK3 records and have seen them live a bunch of times, it's not hard to come up with a list of things I'd like to ask them from a fan's perspective. If it's a band that's new to me, I have to do a lot of research just to avoid sounding like an idiot.

Mr. Skiba, with his smoker's voice, was very cool and easy to talk to. He was the first rock star to ever start the conversation by asking me where I was and what the weather was like. A small guesture, but I found it very endearing.

We chatted about the band's punk rock beginnings, their recent gothic leanings, and the record label they just started. Very cool, very personable.

My article is here and if you want to listen to the full, 20-minute interview, I've included it below.

Matt Skiba Interview [WMA]

Like Looking in a Mirror

Thanks to an old VHS tape at my mom's house, Paige is now enamored with the Fisher Price Little People. (I couldn't find any clips of the show in English, but here it is, dubbed in Italian. I'm bummed. It still has the lame opening song, but not the super creepy, Aaron Neville version.)



It's not surprising that Paige's favorite character is Maggie, the girl with the curly hair. (Especially since she looks like a miniature version of the five-year-old Traci.) Every time Maggie comes on the screen Paige says, "There's Maggie. She looks a bit like me. She's got currrrrly hair."

She's said this so many times that I barely even notice it anymore. But it did throw me off when she told me who I look like.

"I think you look a bit like Michael."



Michael? Really? Huh.

7th Inning Stretch

This weekend, our family room turned into a baseball diamond (in addition to a mess). Paige found the baseball bat that I bought her last summer and decided it was time to play. After about 5,000 pitches, she was getting pretty good at hitting it--or rather, I was getting really good at throwing the ball the directly at the bat. Not surprisingly, she exclaimed with delight, "I'm really good at baseball!"

"You sure are," I responded.

"Do you know what's my favorite sport?"

"What?"

"Golf."

Hannah Montana on My iPod (And I Dont' Like It)

Paige's 15-year-old aunt has outgrown her Hannah Montana CD, but was kind enough to pass it on to Paige. Now Paige is singing and dancing right along. While this is certainly annoying, it has also reopened a recent wound.

I was so excited when I had finally saved up enough money to buy a copy of some recording software called Cubase. That means we would not only be able to finally finish the Johnny Tightlips album that we started three years ago, but it would actually sound good.

You see, the new version of the software comes an autotune feature. I had beautiful dreams of taking my crappy voice and electronically manipulating it into the angel voice I imagine it to be. (Or possible just goinging the T Pain autotune route.)

After spending several late night hours trying to figure out to use it, I realized the reason I couldn't get the auto to work was beacause I DIDN'T HAVE THE FEATURE!!

When I was researching my Cubase purchase, I quickly realized I'd only be able to afford the "Education Edition." But I compared it side by side with the full edition and it looked like it'd have everything I'd need. Apparently, I was wrong.

So, I sit with Paige, listening to Miley Cyrus's perfectly-pitched voice and just want to kill myself. Or Miley Cyrus. Or both of us.

New Reviews: Temper Trap, Story of the Year, Surfer Blood

The Temper Trap - Conditions (Highly recommended)
Story of the Year - The Constant
Surfer Blood - Astro Coast (Pretty good, worth checking out)

Stupid Manifesto, Ruining Bring it On

No more internet for me tonight. Apparently, I can't blog and watch Bring It On at the same time. I'm only 20 minutes in and I'm already lost. Which ones are the good cheerleaders? Why is the main girl falling in love with the guy from the other team? (Doesn't she understand that their could be disastrous consequences when the team goes to regionals?) Why are they saying things like "cheer-barrassment?"

I'm starting it over from the beginning.

Alright, Jay-Z, You Got Me

So, lately I've been questioning Jay-Z's claim of being the greatest rapper alive. I finally checked out his "On to the Next" video and, though I am still not a huge fan of the song itself, I definitely have to give some props for the video.

Tonight, Hova earns from me the coveted "rapper with the creepiest, unrap rap video" award. Congratulations.

I fear that I will have nightmares about my sneakers bleeding milk tonight.

Bring It On - It's Getting Soooo Broughten

Tonight is a special night. It's the fifth installment of Bring It On night. That's right, the fifth. Though episodes two and four were a bit disappointing, I have high hopes for this one. I think the only reason it went straight to DVD was because it was too awesome for the theater-going crowd to handle.

Review to follow...

Jay-Z vs. Napoleon Dynamite

Jay-Z's Unplugged album just popped up on my shuffle. Now, I like Jay-Z just fine. But the fact that he considers himself "the greatest rapper alive"--and more importantly, that this is so widely accepted--seems weird to me.What does that mean, exactly? What makes a person the greatest rapper alive?

Most records sold? That's Eminem. (Tupac's sold more than Shady, but he's, you know, "dead.")

Best storyteller? I choose Andre 3000.

Best hairdo? Kid 'n Play get my vote.

Most complex rhyme structures? I dunno. Me?

The rapper with the hottest wife? He definitely gets the title there.

I don't really think you can define these things. It reminds of the part in Napoleon Dynamite where Uncle Rico is showing Kip his homemade football movie:

Uncle Rico:"So what do you think?"
Kip: "It's pretty cool, I guess."
Uncle Rico: "Oh, man I wish I could go back in time. I'd take state."
Napoleon: "This is pretty much the worst video ever made."
Kip: "Napoleon, like anyone can even know that."
Uncle Rico: "You know what, Napoleon? You can leave."
Napoleon: "You guys are retarded!"

Nikola Sarcevic

For almost a year, I've been kicking around the idea of a music blog that only features albums that are good from start to finish. I still haven't gotten around to it. But if I had, this record would be on there.

Though there are a few lesser moments in the middle, Millencolin singer Nikola Sarcevic sure put out a great debut solo album in 2004, Lock-Sport-Krock. The bookends, "Lovetrap" and "Vila Rada" are the best moments.

LOCK SPORT KROCK - Nikola Sarc...

Vampire Weekend is for Smart Kids, Bouncing Souls is for Dummies

I just finished writing my record reviews for the week when I noticed something interesting. I was using Google Documents to the type the thing and I clicked the word count tool to make sure I had met my guidelines. Each of my reviews was about the same length, but the reading level was quite different.

My Bouncing Souls review--a punk rock record by a band that I absolutely love--is written at a 6th grade level.

The Vampire Weekend review--a good album by a band that sings about diplomats' sons and other WASP-y things, and who drives me a little bit crazy--is at an 11th grade level.

While I'm not bothered that I generally write like a 12-year-old (come on, it's rock 'n roll, not rocket science), it's weird that you have to write like a 16-year-old to talk about a snooty band that college kids like.

And now that you're so curious about these incredible reviews...



Bouncing Souls
Ghosts on the Boardwalk

In 2009, The Bouncing Souls celebrated two full decades as a band by releasing a new digital track each month. "Ghosts on the Boardwalk" serves as the proper album release, and also shows that the years have been kind to the New Jersey foursome. Songs about throwing toilets off the roof or falling in love with a buddy's mom have given way to more introspective tunes, but the invincible punk rock spirit remains. That's not to say they've lost all their immature ways. On the cleverly titled "Badass," they simply shout all of the things worthy of being deemed badass, including, among others, "Black eyes! Muscle cars! Metal!" More than just documenting the 20th year in their career, "Ghosts" is a solid reminder of what an amazing band The Bouncing Souls have become. And the great songs just keep coming.

For fans of: NOFX, Rise Against
Rating: 4 of 4



Vampire Weekend
Contra

Expectations have always been extremely high for Vampire Weekend--in 2008 they appeared on the cover of Spin Magazine, before they had even released a record. Fortunately, their debut was successful in both living up to the hype and delivering undeniably catchy tunes about yachts and ivy league colleges. Wisely, Vampire Weekend stay on the same course with "Contra." Afro-pop beats are plentiful and singer EzraKoenig's voice floats beautifully above his polo shirt and plaid shorts. The band pushes their boundaries a bit with the herky-jerky rhythms of "California English" and the electro and falsetto-infused "White Sky," without straying from its strengths. These college kids are smart.

For fans of:Ra Ra Riot, Ramona Falls
Rating: 3.5 of 4

This Week's Music

the xx - the xx (Recommended)
Reel Big Fish - Fame, Fortune and Fornication
Chuck Ragan - Gold Country (Recommended)

And an added bonus...

My interview with Reel Big Fish singer Aaron Barrett

Boom Boom Pow

Traci told me this story, so try to imagine Traci's librarian voice when you read it.

Curtis spent the morning walking around carrying an empty wrapping paper roll. I couldn't figure out why he kept calling it a "boom." Until he hit me with it and exclaimed, "Boom!"

The end.

This Week's Music

I'll save you the trouble of reading the reviews. Here's the lowdown:

As usual, there' s a couple of great tracks on Alicia Keys' record, Snoop Dogg doesn' t have much to say other than that he's a extraordinary lover, and Robbie William's album is a snooze fest.

Alicia Keys - The Element of Freedom (Recommended)
Snoop Dogg - Malice N Wonderland
Robbie Williams - Reality Killed the Video Star

Paige's Video Pics

Here are some of Paige's recent YouTube favs:



The Raveonettes - Last Dance



Weezer - If You're Wondering




Yo Gabba Gabba - Party in My Tummy

Best of the Decade: 27-55

I don't why this has taken me so long to post. Wait, I do. Laziness. Here are some more records I loved in the 2000s, in really no particular order:



27. The Hives - Veni Vedi Vicious (2002)]
28. Imogen Heap - Speak for Yourself (2005)
29. Evan Dando - Baby I'm Bored (2003)
30. The Kooks - Inside In Inside Out (2006)
31. Letting Up Despite Great Faults - Movement (2006)
32. Mike Doughty - Skittish/Rockity Roll (2004)
33. Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Like Bad News (2004)
34. Motion City Soundtrack - Even If It Kills Me (2007)
35. MXPX - Panic (2005)
36. New Found Glory - Coming Home (2006)
37. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009)
38. Postal Service - Give Up (2003)
39. RX Bandits - The Resignation (2003)
40. Say Hi to Your Mom - Impeccable Blahs (2006)
41. Styrofoam - Nothing's Lost (2004)
42. Taking Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends (2002)
43. The Thermals - The Body, The Blood, The Machine (2006)
44. Up, Up, Down, Down... - Girls' Names EP (2006)
45. Yellowcard - Underdog EP (2002)
46. Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell (2008)
47. Alkaline Trio - Maybe I'll Catch Fire (2000)
48. Bouncing Souls - How I Spent My Summer Vacation (2001)
49. Akon - Freedom (2008)
50. The Killers - Sam's Town (2006)
51. Brand New - The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me (2006)
52. Bruce Lee Band - Beautiful World (2005)
53. Does It Offend You, Yeah? You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into (2008)
54. The National – Boxer (2007)
55. Fanfarlo – Reservoir (2009)

Holland is Calling...Literally

I was busy shaping young minds this morning (at Jadee Talbot's second grade class), when my cell phone rang. I didn't answer it, but the caller left a voicemail.

"Hello, this message is for Andre Smith. This is Mr. Steenblik at the Netherlands Consulate."

I was excited that the Netherlands Consulate was calling me, but sad that I wasn't Andre Smith. I called back to let them know that they'd left the message on the wrong phone number. A secretary answered.

"Hi, I just received a call from Somebody Steenblik, but I think he had the wrong number."

"Oh, do you know which Steenblik called you? Everyone here is named Steenblik."

Apparently, "Steenblik" (which translates to either Stone Look or Stone Can. I choose Stone Can) is the "Smith" of the Lowlands.

"Um, I'm not sure. I guess I could listen to the message again and call you back."

"That would be great."

I listened again.

"Hi, I listened to message. It was Mr. Steenblik."

"Oh."

And that's when I should have said, "I'm looking for a job or internship in The Netherlands where I can live there for the summer with my family but have plenty of time to do sightseeing all around Europe."

But I didn't.

"Well, tell Mr. Steenblik I said 'Hi.'"

Click.

Recess was over. Back to shaping young minds.

Oh, Inverted World

This is what you have to go through just for your doctor to tell you your cough will go away on its own so stop being a baby.

Best of the Decade: 1-26

Taking on a whole decade wasn't easy, but here's a stab at my favorite albums of the 2000. I didn't have any real rules when I put this together, other than only selecting one album from any given artist. I didn't worry about choosing records that were the most important or critically-acclaimed or whatever. Mostly, their the albums I spent the most time listening to or that have additional meaning for me. Also, I didn't put a whole lot of time into the actual numerical rankings.

I wrote the little album descriptions for IN. I certainly would have written them differently had I only done this for my blog. But it took so long that I don't want to go through that again, especially since I'm not getting paid.

And, without further ado...

1. Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism (2003) Death Cab became the poster band for indie rock, thanks to this absolute masterpiece. From the opening rock of “The New Year” to the yearning closer “A Lack of Color,” every note is perfectly placed.
2. Nada Surf - Let Go (2003) Though they disappeared after their '90s novelty hit "Popular," Nada Surf quietly reemerged with a spectacular collection of understated songs about fruit flies, roller coasters, and Bob Dylan.
3. Daft Punk - Discovery (2001) With "Discovery," Daft Punk morphed from talented knob-turners to larger-than-life robots. The duo successfully blurred the line between human and extraterrestrial, and more importantly, made all life forms dance.
4. Samiam - Astray (2000) I didn't know that punk rock could song so sad, so utterly hopeless. Samiam was emo before emo, in a good way.
   
5. Kylie Minogue - Fever (2002) Every track here is a dancehall masterpiece. Perfect.
6. The Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004) The Arcade Fire proved two things with their debut album: A) With great songwriting, rock music can sound just as good with violins and accordions and B) Sad songs never go out of style.
7. Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American (2001) After perfecting meandering atmospherics on their first two records, Jimmy Eat World took a more direct approach on “Bleed American.” Every song was direct and finely crafted.
8. The Streets - A Grand Don't Come for Free (2004) Who would have thought that one of the decade’s best rap albums would come from a white British guy? Mike Skinner's concept album about losing and rediscovering love and his 1,000 British Pounds infinitely expanded hip hop's borders.
9. The Format - Dog Problems (2006) – When it comes to a breakup, there’s nothing worse than deciding who gets to keep the dog. This Arizona duo tries to mend broken hearts with pop rock songs that flirt with rock opera.
10. The Strokes - Is This It? (2001) With their leather pants and tight jeans, The Strokes were the antithesis to all things nu-metal. Though they seemed like they were from some indeterminable place in history, everyone knew that time was cooler than the now.
11. Bad Religion - The Process of Belief (2002) When co-founder Brett Gurewitz came back into the fold, Bad Religion found a renewed vitality, writing some of the best punk rock songs of their three-decade career.
12. Millencolin - Pennybridge Pioneers (2000) Swedish punks Millencolin took the art of California skate punk to the next level on their third LP, mixing in just enough rock ‘n roll to blaze new trails.
13. Streetlight Manifesto - Everything Goes Numb (2003) Former Catch 22 front man Thomas Kalnoky singlehandedly raised ska from the dead with incredibly catchy horn lines, speedy punk rock guitar, and his raspy, rapid-fire vocals.
14. Outkast - Speakerboxx/The Love Below (2003) "Hey Ya!" alone was enough to make this double disc great, but track after track of wonderful absurdity is what made it amazing.
15. Pedro the Lion - Control (2002) With this concept record about righteousness and infidelity, David Bazan solidified his spot as one of the best storytellers in indie rock.
16. Matt & Kim - Matt & Kim - (2006) Who needs guitars, anyway? Lovey dovey couple Matt & Kim make delightful dance punk with beat-up keyboards and a three-piece drum set.
17. Weezer - Green Album (2001) Though Rivers Cuomo hides his heart on this one, the hooks were just too huge to hide.
18. Kanye West - 808s and Heartbreak (2008) TAuto-tune was already played by the time Kanye put it on his record, but he found a way to use it not as a gimmick, but as a tool to turn his broken heart into robotic steel.
19. Dashboard Confessional - Swiss Army Romance (2003) Chris Carrabba may be responsible for spawning hundreds of lousy copycat bands, but it’s a small price to pay for this heart-on-sleeve emo-fest. This is the real deal
20. Saves The Day - Stay What You Are (2001) This is how an emo record is supposed to sound—soft, loud, nostalgic, slightly hateful, and more than anything, sincere.
21. Blind Pilot - 3 Rounds and a Sound (2008) The album rarely rises much beyond a whisper, giving it a hauntingly beautiful aura. Here’s hoping that the follow-up will be as impressive as this debut.
22. Bishop Allen - The Broken String (2007) For “The Broken String” no instrument was off limits, even if no one in the band really knew how to play them. The record’s simplicity and eagerness is matched only by its memorable tunes.
23. Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) He takes low-blow shots at his mother, dreams of killing his wife and shoving her body in the trunk, and inspires fans to do the same. In 2000, Eminem was both musically crazy and real-life crazy. The crazy ones always make the best music.
24. Silversun Pickups - Carnavas (2006) Silversun Pickups’ first LP picks up right where Smashing Pumpkins’ “Gish” left off, with nasally vocals and fuzzy guitars. The band skillfully gives each song the room to wander to its destination.
25. Iron & Wine - Woman King (2005) By this point, Sam Beam had already released plenty of gorgeous country tunes, but adding dirty Appalachian rock into the mix opened up an entirely new side of Iron & Wine.
26. Hot Hot Heat - Make Up the Breakdown (2002) At the turn of the century, indie bands were hell bent on making kids dance. Hot Hot Heat easily made the best dance-rock record of the decade.

Headstand

I'm feeling lousy today but still had to teach the Young Men. After my lesson I went into the nursery to get Curtis and take him home with me.

The kids were listening to a story, but when I scanned the chairs I couldn't see him anywhere. Then I looked at the front of the class and saw one kid standing on his head. "Come on, Curtis," I said as I shook my head. "Let's go."

You can tell Paige has boy cousins...

"Dad, Great Grandma gave me a treat!"

"What was it?"

"A light saber."

That seemed like a strange present for an 85 year old lady to give a little girl. Then I saw the candy on the counter.

"Do you mean a lifesaver?"

"Yeah, a light saber."

Top Nine of '09

Here are some of my fav discs from the last year of the decade:



1. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.The perfect mix of jangly guitars, fuzzy synths, and lo-fi grandeur. Just keeps getting better with repeated spins.

Phoenix - “1901″ [MP3]



2. Weezer - Raditude. Weezer's best record since The Green Album. Perfectly poppy, with just enough punch.

Weezer- If You're Wondering if I Want You To



3. Matt & Kim - Grand. Rock 'n roll's smiliest couple grins from ear to ear as they pound their drums and keyboards. All attempts to refuse dancing are futile.



4. David Bazan - Curse Your Branches. Former Pedro the Lion breaks up with God. Satan rewards him with the most compelling lyrics of his career.



5. Silversun Pickups - Swoon. Everyone compares them to early '90s Smashing Pumpkins. I don't see the problem. Who didn't love Smashing Pumpkins back then?



6. Teenage Bottlerocket - They Came from the Shadows. This Wyoming trio makes punk rock fun again, a la The Vandals, Screeching Weasel, or The Queers.



7. Telekinesis - Telekinesis! This is the kind of indie rock that car commercials can't get enough of--oft soft, oft rockin', always about to be heartbroken.

Telekinesis - "Coast Of Carolina" [MP3]



8. Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You. Ms. Allen is a spoiled brat celebrity, so much that's almost impossible to resist.



9. Dan Deacon- Bromst. This frenetic noise jumble may drive you batty, but if you can survive the insanity, it's a great ride.

And the Next Best Nine...

10. Say Hi - Oohs & Aahs
11. Strung Out - Agents of the Underground
12. Passion Pit - Manners
13. Left Alone - Left Alone
14. Iron & Wine - Around the Well
15. Bon Iver - Blood Bank
16. Banner Pilot - Collapser
17. Jimmy Eat World - Clarity Live
18. Prodigy - Invaders Must Die

Best of The Decade Coming Soon

I'm putting together a little Best of the 2000s list for IN. I figured I'd include 10 or maybe 20 of my favorite records of the decade. I wasn't too worried about choosing the "best" music, just the stuff that's meant the most to me. As I started browsing through my iTunes, the list quickly ballooned to over 50--and that was with me being picky. Anyhoo, I have to take a second to think through how I want to present it, but it should be ready soon. I think I'd forgotten how many albums I've fallen in love with in the past 10 years.

Nursery Blues

Why do I have the only kid in nursery who has to stand on his head during singing time and lead all the other kids to a head-standing revolution?

How I Saved Christmas. Again?!

So, last year I saved Christmas. Unfortunately, the Christmas spirit didn't stick and, other than the neighbors across the street, we were the only ones in our circle to put up Christmas lights this year. However, there is one Christmas miracle worth noting.

For whatever reason, my parents bought all of us matching snowmen this year. Paige was, of course, ecstatic about this and asked me every day when I was going to put it up. I procrastinated and procrastinated until I was hammering in the last peg while the blizzard was approaching.

It didn't seem like it should be so complicated, but as the temperature dropped I was still fumbling with the cords and cursing at the pegs as two of them broke during assembly. Paige, my valiant helper, stood next to me the whole time, incessantly asking, "Is it ready, Dad? No, what about now? How 'bout now?"

Finally, the big moment came. I turned on the fan and watched the old guy inflate. It was to be so magnificent. But something wasn't quite right.

He was more of a hunchback than a proud snowman. Then he was leaning over. And then he tipped over completely.

The snow came and our little friend was soon buried under six inches of snow.

"Where's our snowman, Dad?" Paige asked everyday.

"He's just sleeping. Face down. Under a pile of snow."

I was beaten.

Or so it seemed.

With just a week until Christmas, I found my resolve. I dug old Frosty back up. (Putting a hole in his back in the process. But that's what duct tape is for.) After more hammering and a bit more cursing, the snowman was standing tall and proud.

Paige was pleased.

I was vindicated.

I saved Christmas. Again.

What Child is This?

Paige and I have been musical buddies for some time now. But Curtis, that's a different story. Last night I turned on the Nirvana Live at Reading DVD. He looked at it for a second and I could tell he was getting a little uneasy. He looked at me, looked at the TV, and then back to me again.

"Elmo?"

It's hard to resist those big eyes and that little voice.

We said goodbye to Kurt, Dave, and Chris and turned on Elmo.

Curtis Loves Christmas

Curtis clearly loved meeting Santa for the first time.

Christmas Music for Those Who Hate Christmas

If you cringe at the thought of going out in public during the holidays -- not because you hate throngs of people, just the horrible Christmas music -- I have good news. There is some holiday music out there that doesn't suck. It truly is a Christmas miracle!

Christmas Remixed:1 and 2 - Various Artists. Old classics by crooners like Andy Williams, Bing Crosby, and Dean Martin get remix treatment from Dan The Automator and friends. It doesn't take long for these old tunes to get old-school funky.

The OC Mix 3: Have a Very Merry Chrismukkah. Not only does this record include the best Christmas song of the past decade--"The Christmas Song" by The Raveonettes--it also proves that Wham's "Last Christmas" stops sucking when it's performed by Jimmy Eat World.

Maybe This Christmas: Volumes 1 - 3. The biggest indie stars of the mid-2000s--Death Cab, Coldplay, Pedro the Lion, and more--share their take on both traditional and original Christmas tunes. The auto-tune on Copeland's "Do You Hear What I Hear" sounded absolutely groundbreaking in 2004.

Songs for Christmas - Sufjan Stevens. This five-disc box set began as a yearly mixtape for Stevens' friends. Filled with both classics and his own songs, Sufjan's acoustic guitar, banjo, and sometimes full orchestra, make this an indie Christmas classic.

Oi to The World - The Vandals. Don't worry, Christmas haters. With hits like "A Gun for Christmas" and "Hang Myself from a Tree," The Vandals make sure that everyone has something to sing about during the holidays.

Like Father Like Son

Curtis takes after his old man. He's standing in front of the sink with his toothbrush in one hand and a potato chip in the other.

I'm in Love with Rihanna + This Week's Album Reviews

I'm in love with Rihanna (though I don't really like the new bowl cut she's rockin'). Not only is she gorgeous, but I can't get enough of her voice. Her chorus on Jay-Z's Run This Town is the best part of his new album and I still want to stand under her umbrella-ella-ella-ay.

I checked out her new album this week. It's okay-good, but after getting beat up by Chris Brown, she's more interested in making fight music than mega hits. Can't say I blame her.

Rihanna - Rated R
Miike Snow - Miike Snow
NOFX - Cokie the Clown

Dag Sinterklaasje, Dag, Dag Zwarte Piet

Every year I say I'm going to celebrate Sinterklaas, but then I end up being too lazy to actually do anything about it. But not this year. Sinterklaas officially made his first trip to the Sutherland home.

Sinterklaas is the Dutch precursor to our beloved Santa Claus. (Note: all of these details are likely incorrect, as I don't really know what I'm talking about.) He comes on a boat to Holland from Spain in early December with his little helper Zwarte Piet and then on December 5 he visits everyone's house, bringing presents for good little boys and girls.

What makes Sinterklaas better than Santa Claus is that instead of just giving naughty kids a lump of coal, Zwarte Piet smacks the bad kids with his chimney brush, shoves them in a bag and takes them away to Spain. (Which doesn't seem like such a bad thing in the middle of the winter.)

Anyhoo, though our festivities were meager, we managed to cobble together a few Dutch traditions for the big day.

Oh, the Oliebol



On Friday night, Traci found a recipe for oliebollen (direct translation: oil balls), a Dutch treat that's only available during holiday season. It's just a giant hunk of dough, fried up and dipped in powdered sugar.

We were wise to do our Fry Daddy-ing in the garage, as it certainly stunk up the joint. It was well worth it. Dee-licious.

Our Wooden-less Shoes

Little Dutch boys and girls put their wooden shoes by the chimney before they go to bed. Sinterklaas then comes down said chimney and fills the shoes with treats.

We have neither chimney nor wooden shoes in our home, but we did stick our Vans by the front door. We left some carrots and celery in Paige's shoes as a gift for Sinterklaas's horse. Paige found this strange, but participated nevertheless. She also wrote a brief, but poignant letter to the Sint (kort maar krachtig, hoor).

"Dear Santa. Love Paige."

Succes! Het is Gelukt!

Though we certainly didn't adhere to strict Sinterklass protocol, the Big Guy found still managed to find us. Come morning time, he had taken the vegetables for his horse and left a poem (in our handwriting) and a chocolate letter for each of the kids.

Paige seemed pleased that Sinterklaas had been to our house. Curtis was happy to walk around the house with a giant letter "C" hanging out of his mouth. I was happy that we now have a new family tradition for the 5th of December.

Piep, piep, hoera!

My Streaming Heart is Broken

Stupid Myspace ruins everything. I headed over to my fav music streaming site imeem.com to post some tunes on the blog when I noticed something different. It wasn't there anymore. Instead, I was redirected to crappy Myspace. Apparently, Myspace has purchased imeem and is in the process of wrecking it.

So I'm now searching for a new streaming solution. Lala.com is okay but I like to listen by album. Any suggestions?

Johnny Tightlips Receives Rave Review

We had band practice tonight for the first time in at least a month. (While I waited for Danny and Aaron to arrive, Curtis happily pounded away at the drums. He was very upset when the dudes showed up and I had to kick him out of the band. )

It felt good to pound through the setlist again. And we didn't sound quite as rusty as we'd expected. After we finished up, I asked Paige for some unbiased feedback.

"Paige, how did band practice sound tonight?"

She looked at me and then paused as she thought for a second, choosing her words carefully.

"Pretty cool."

Best. Compliment. Ever.

More Record Reviews - Letting Up, Dashboard, Joshua James

Sooner or later I'll get back to blogging. Until then, here's this week's record reviews:

Letting Up Despite Great Faults - S/T (Highly recommended)
Dashboard Confessional - Alter the Ending
Joshua James - Build Me This

Letting Up - In Steps [MP3]

This Week's Music Reviews

Interview with New Found Glory
Raveonettes - In and Out of Control (Recommended)
Lady GaGa - The Fame Monster
Wyclef Jean - Toussaint St. Jean

The Charmer

We're watching our friends' two little girls. Curtis is impressing them with his fake burps. He's a real ladies' man.

Teaching the Law of Tithing to a Nine-Year-Old Girl

Missionary: So it says in this scripture that God will open up the windows of heavens to us. How many blessings do you think that is?
Kid: Uh, a crapload?
Missionary: That's right. A crapload.

Enter: Crap Bag

A few years ago, my sister always referred to her house as "crap bag." This was curious given that she has a nice house. Now I understand. Her kids were the same age then that mine are now. The constant cleaning that is instantly destroyed could not be more frustrating. It takes more than an hour to put things together before we go to bed and 5 minutes to destroy everything when they wake up. I live in crap bag.

Turkey Trot

While I'm waiting for the opportunity to get fat, Traci is running a 5k. You go, girl.