Me thinks it's the latter.

I don't know if you've had a chance to take a peek at the Oscar noms for this year, but here's the list for Best Picture:

Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night and Good Luck
Munich

While reading these earlier, it came to me that I haven't seen a single one of these films. This either means one of two things: 1) the Academy is starting to pick films that don't always bring in the dough or make it to the big theatres (i.e. "indie" flicks), or 2) I've been slacking off. Lord knows I've been waiting to see Capote, Good Night and Good Luck, and Munich since forever, and well... I definitely slacked when it came to seeing Brokeback. Anyone see Crash yet? Any good?

After many, many attempts at trying to pick up the first volume of Scott Pilgrim (it keeps selling out, dammit!), I just went ahead and got it off of Oni Press' site. I've been waiting to read this for a while, or at least since I first discovered it at SPX this year. I wished I picked it up then. Fun stuff.

If anyone hasn't heard yet, the Smoking Popes are reunited and on tour once again. No DC date, though. They've got a few dates while they're on the East Coast that don't have any shows scheduled yet, so maybe that will all change.

Lastly, here's an interview with Stuart Murdoch of Belle & Sebastian that I read a while ago that I thought was really well done and informative. (Found via Chromewaves.net.)

Laters!

Thee Albums of 2005, or Better Late than Never

Here are, as of today, what I consider to be the best 20 albums from 2005. Who knows? -- perhaps in a week or so, I might actually listen to the entirety of M83's Before the Dawn Heals Us, pick up (or burn, teehee) the new White Stripes album and like it, or forgive Bloc Party for being the most lackluster of the new wave of post-punk bands (albeit "Banquet" and "This Modern Love" are pretty damn good.) Either way, here they are, in all their Jefe-approved glory.

01. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
This one was kind of predictable. I mean, really, this album is AMAZING. I've been swooning over this album since I first heard the leak of "Come On! Feel the Illinoise!", the unbelievable (and epic!) third track of this album. I really can't think of enough nice things to say about this album, so i'll just point you in the direction of the real standouts. (Also, I will admit to some bias based on that fact that the album is about Illinois.)
Standout tracks: "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us!", "Casimir Pulaski Day", "Decatur"


02. Spoon - Gimme Fiction
In my opinion, Spoon's best album to date. It takes the swagger of Girls Can Tell and mixes it with the experimental minimalism of Kill the Moonlight. This one was damn close to being my Number 1.
Standout tracks: "The Beast and Dragon, Adored", "Sister Jack", "They Never Got You"


03. Broken Social Scene - s/t
Loved them with You Forgot It In People, and I love them even more because of this record. The layers upon layers make for one of the most interesting (but still very rocking) albums of 2005. It also helps that BSS put on what I thought was the best concert of the year back in October at the 9:30 Club.
Standout tracks: "Ibi Dreams of Pavement (A Better Day)", "7/4 (Shoreline)", "Major Label Debut"


04. The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
Definitely, the NP's best to date. A little harder to swallow then their other two releases, but that shouldn't be taken as a bad thing. The more time you spend with this record, the more you appreciate the little bits and pieces of it (i.e. "The Jessica Numbers" gets better after every listen.) Also, the last half of "The Bleeding Heart Show" gives me shivers every time.
Standout tracks: "Sing Me Spanish Techno", "Use It", "The Bleeding Heart Show"


05. The National - Alligator
For my birthday, Phil sent me a mix CD with the National's "Abel" on it. I immediately fell in love with the song and even bought the album just based on the strength of that one single. So many great non sequiturs are muttered during this disc, it's insane.
Standout tracks: "Abel", "Mr. Novemeber"



06. The Decemberists - Picaresque
While perhaps not my favorite Decemberists record (that honor belongs to Her Majesty...), this one still contains some of Colin Meloy's best work AND my all-time favorite Decemberists track, "The Engine Driver". I'm curious to know how (or if) they'll sound will change when they make the switch to Capitol Records for their next album.
Standout tracks: "The Engine Driver", "16 Military Wives", "On the Bus Mall"


07. LCD Soundsystem - s/t
"The guy behind the mixing boards for the Rapture put out an album?! It's gotta be good!" Well, it is. Very much so. Nevermind all the Gang of Four knockoffs that came out this year -- get this one and start dancing, dammit!
Standout tracks: "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House", "Tribulations", "Losing My Edge"



08. The Go! Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike
This album is like the soundtrack to the ultimate pool party. Kids are splashing in the pool, hordes of girls are playing hopscotch and jumping rope, and of course, no adult swim. Loaded with samples that prevented this 2004 UK release from appearing in the U.S. until late this year, this is summer fun personified. 'Cause truly, it's very hard to describe it any other way.
Standout tracks: "Ladyflash", "We Just Won't Be Defeated", "Everyone's a V.I.P. to Someone"


09. Stephen Malkmus - Face the Truth
Once again, another personal best, and this time by ex-Pavement singer/songwriter Stephen Malkmus. Some of his best stuff is on this album, and probably his most straightforward rock record since his days in Pavement.
Standout tracks: "Freeze the Saints", "Mama", "Baby C'mon"


10. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - s/t
If you can make it past the weird and quasi-vaudevillian first track, you'll enter the wonderful world of the Talking Heads... I mean, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Delightfully poppy, fantastic (if not, mumbled) lyrics, and incredibly catchy. The soundtrack to my Summer of '05.
Standout tracks: "The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth", "Details of the War", "Let the Cool Goddess Rust Away"

Rounding out the top 20 are:

The Clientele - Strange Geometry
Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary
Antony and the Johnsons - I Am a Bird Now
Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock & Roll
Kaiser Chiefs - Employment
Shout Out Louds - Howl Howl Gaff Gaff
Heartless Bastards - Stairs and Elevators
The Fiery Furnaces - EP
Wilco - Kicking Television: Live in Chicago
The Radio Dept. - This Past Week EP

Singing in an August sky.

I don't know about you, but it's been kind of a slow week for me. I still have yet to hear back from the chief of staff I interviewed with in Jan Schakowsky's office, even though I followed-up two different times. Hmmm.

One thing I have been up to is catching up on whatever 2005 releases I missed out on. I swear, I've probably spent over a hundred bucks on CDs and DVDs in just the last week, but it was worth it. One of the discoveries I'm most happy with is a London-based band called The Clientele. Funny thing is, I've been listening to one of their songs for about three years now, but only this past week found out they wrote it!

Let's go back to around Christmas 2002. Zach and I are hanging out, and as a gift, gives me a "best of" mix of Belle & Sebastian, my first real taste of the band's music (and the start of a rather unhealthy obsession.) Anywho, one of the songs near the end of the mix, a short minute-long dreamy pop song that's really more like a sample than a whole song, really caught my attention. I could tell it wasn't really by Belle & Sebastian, as it had this whole feel to it that just wasn't them, and when I asked Zach about it, he didn't think it was them either (even though the mp3 was labeled as such.) Any research I did on it completely fell through, and so I forgot about it... until about a week ago. I pulled out the old mix, blew the dust off of it, and played the song once more. Thanks to a little effort and the wonders of Google, I finally found out that the song is called "An Hour Before the Light" by The Clientele. Check out the their media site at Merge Records to stream it -- it's fucking fantastic!

Also, while you're there, be sure to stream "Since K Got Over Me", the first single off of Strange Geometry. It's in the running for my top songs of 2005.

Speaking of which, expect my top whatevers of 2005 sometime this week. I'll supply links to mp3s and whatnot as best as I can. Now, time to go climb into bed and watch some FLCL ('cause I'm a dork.)

Banging my head against a table never felt so good.

I just woke up to find that BOTH nights Belle & Sebastian are playing the 9:30 Club are SOLD OUT. They sold out in like 40 minutes!!! I will never forgive myself for this.

Also, let it be known, the first one to make a wisecrack about "sleeping the clock around" will get a punch in the face.

[Update: My friend Matt, one of my "preferred customers" at the Pour House and all-around good guy, saved me from a life of regret and sold me his extra ticket. I practically owe the dude my soul. To see just how cool he is, check out his music blog, The Wonderful World of Starr.]

"He's back...in blog form."

Hiya, everybody. After what has amounted to a three-month hiatus from livejournaling, AIMing, and other internet-related means of communication, I have decided to take another stab at the life of a blogger. (It's okay, you can take bets on how long I'll last with this one.)

As you can see, I've decided to ditch the LiveJournal. Nothing against LJ, it's just that I'm looking to start fresh... a clean slate to craft my ideas, rants, and general musings on life. Also, if I so decide, I might just turn this into some sort of music-related blog, similar to a couple of the ones in my "links" section over on the right, there. And we all know, unless I want to look like an total emo kid (*cough*Phil*cough*), LiveJournal just won't cut it. It's time to grow up, dammit.

Seeing as how I've rarely talked to many of you in the last couple of months, I should probably let you know my current status. Since October, I've been working as a server at a sports bar/Irish pub (think Legend's on top of a Murphy's) called the Pour House. Quite frankly, I'm absolutely loving it. Both my coworkers and the customers kick ass... I've even hung out with a few of my favorite customers outside of the bar. Also, from September until right before I left to go home for the holidays, I worked as an intern in Congresswoman Shelley Berkley's (D-NV) office. I learned a lot, but I really only got along with anyone older than 30. Everyone under 30 acted like complete dicks. The good news, however, is that I recently had an interview with the Chief of Staff from Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky's (D-IL) office on Monday for the Staff Assistant position, and I think it went really well. It also helped that I had about four recommendations from people from my former office, including the Congresswoman. Here's hoping I have a job soon. *crosses fingers*

Besides that, not a whole lot to report. More to come as I think of it, of course. If you do have any questions, like "why are you such a reclusive bastard?", go ahead and post them in the comments section, and I'll try my best to answer them in the next couple of posts. Also, expect a Best Albums(/Songs?) of 2005 post at some point soon. I failed to do one last year, and didn't want to go 0-for-2.

I'm happy to be doing something like this again. And sorry I'm such a reclusive bastard.