We draw closer to the end of the weirdest year ever, so let's talk about the cool shit we saw, heard and read in 2009. All of this is subject to change as the year isn't over yet. This is the best shit...
ALBUM, the best album without a doubt this year was the fucking amazing Gustavo Cerati album, FUERZA NATURAL. The man took it to a whole new level. 70's inspired rock with some of the best production I have heard really made this not just my favourite album this year, but my fave in ages. I want nothing more than to see this album played live in 2010. Kasabian came close, but their third album suffered from one song too many. I did love the Bad LT, but I'm thinking Freebass is gonna have something to say shortly on this.
MOVIE: Tough one. I loved a lot this year: District 9, Taken, Basterds, 500 Days of Summer, hell even ORPHAN was a guilty pleasure. But I gotta go with STAR TREK mostly because it was awesome seeing a franchise I grew up loving finally join us in 21st Century. No more boring existential Next Gen shit, this is the real deal. Also, huge points for figuring out how to reboot a franchise without erasing the 40 year history behind it. Smart, clever, simple, fun.
GIG: Nothing was better than NIN at the Bowery. I mean, seriously. Trent owned it. Manics were great, Depeche were much better than expected.
TV: KENNY FUCKING POWERS. Bar none. CURB was fucking great though. I do cop to loving GLEE, but it's no Eastbound and Down. Maybe Kenny Powers can teach Glee Club?
COMICS: There was a lot to love about comics in 2009. While I loved BLACKEST NIGHT and all things Green Lantern, especially since nephew and I got really bond over it, my fave series was Grant Morrison's new BATMAN AND ROBIN series which I think is the best Bat related stuff in ages. Of course I am biased because it's Dick Grayson as Batman, but it's a fresh clever spin that will be remembered fondly for years to come, certainly much more so than BATMAN RIP, which I didn't love.
Weird shit happened this year. Oasis broke up, Gavin Friday showed up and the kidd left, Dickie is trying a solo career again, and of course poor Jerry died. But cool shit happened too: I met Dulli, I got married.
Anyway, this is quick, I know. See you soon
F
28.12.09
11.12.09
The BEST.
Brandt found this very rare outing of one of my favourite (if not THE fave) Cerati song's ARTEFACTO from the last tour. It's a revamped dance version of it, which is absolutely amazing. Watch.
9.12.09
The Depressing Sounding Catch Up.
I don't even know where to start. I have neglected this blog so badly and I apologize. Looking at where I left off, which honestly isn't THAT long ago, seems like a lifetime. Well, it seems like it. I don't know how to catch you up. I figure, I'll ramble, you'll listen, and let's hope we can keep this bad boy together.
I've said this before, but as we reach the end of the 09, I can truthfully say this has been the weirdest and most surreal year of my life. Incredible highs and some of the most horrible lows I have ever experienced. It's been a year of drastic change. Some for the better some for the worst, and while I'm usually that optimistic guy, which you know if you read this blog regularly, I know there are some more speed bumps ahead. It's just how it is now. There's been a loss of innocence I didn't even realize I still possessed and I'm still trying to hold on to some of the things that made me ME. I lost a bit this year, but I also reclaimed some. It's a struggle.
As some of you know, I've been spending a good 50% if not more of my time out west. That's what's really holding this blog up. I have good friends and family there, like Vik, and I often get to see Cramp or Dr. Fury, but it's left me feeling displaced and anxious, especially when I'm NOT on a plane somewhere. I need to be on the move. I don't know why. It just is what it is. We should have toured more. (Ironically, I type at you from Laval, outside of Montreal, where I am spending the week locked up in my sister in law's house, watching my 11 year old nephew, my pride and joy, while she is away in China.)
Anyhow, the last trip really fucked me up. I think everything that happened this year professionally just caught up to me and kicked me in the ass in one fell swoop. My traditional "year end illness" came early and after three weeks of living on a couch, being away from home, and dealing with a ton of bullshit in the last 12 months, starting with the collapse of The Spirit, my body decided to just quit on me. Coupled with this was the horrible tragedy that saw our musical hero, Jerry, taken from us. It fucking crushed me in a very real way, a way that I still haven't figured out how to properly deal with yet. The distance of being so far away from it, while the guys were there, in it, dealing with it together, compounded the pain I was feeling. Honestly, Brooklyn seems completely different to me because this has happened. I go to his memorial website, http://jerryfuchs.net/ every day hoping to find a new nugget of information. A photo. A video. Anything to bring me a little closer.
So besides this trip to Montreal, which is uncle duty (something I welcome) I've made it so that I'll stay in NY for a spell to recharge and rev up for 2010, which will hopefully be a better year. Who the hell knows...
I'll try go get a little more positive in the next one. Hey, I got some concert tickets today, to see MUSE and EDITORS in 2010. That's a good start.
F
I've said this before, but as we reach the end of the 09, I can truthfully say this has been the weirdest and most surreal year of my life. Incredible highs and some of the most horrible lows I have ever experienced. It's been a year of drastic change. Some for the better some for the worst, and while I'm usually that optimistic guy, which you know if you read this blog regularly, I know there are some more speed bumps ahead. It's just how it is now. There's been a loss of innocence I didn't even realize I still possessed and I'm still trying to hold on to some of the things that made me ME. I lost a bit this year, but I also reclaimed some. It's a struggle.
As some of you know, I've been spending a good 50% if not more of my time out west. That's what's really holding this blog up. I have good friends and family there, like Vik, and I often get to see Cramp or Dr. Fury, but it's left me feeling displaced and anxious, especially when I'm NOT on a plane somewhere. I need to be on the move. I don't know why. It just is what it is. We should have toured more. (Ironically, I type at you from Laval, outside of Montreal, where I am spending the week locked up in my sister in law's house, watching my 11 year old nephew, my pride and joy, while she is away in China.)
Anyhow, the last trip really fucked me up. I think everything that happened this year professionally just caught up to me and kicked me in the ass in one fell swoop. My traditional "year end illness" came early and after three weeks of living on a couch, being away from home, and dealing with a ton of bullshit in the last 12 months, starting with the collapse of The Spirit, my body decided to just quit on me. Coupled with this was the horrible tragedy that saw our musical hero, Jerry, taken from us. It fucking crushed me in a very real way, a way that I still haven't figured out how to properly deal with yet. The distance of being so far away from it, while the guys were there, in it, dealing with it together, compounded the pain I was feeling. Honestly, Brooklyn seems completely different to me because this has happened. I go to his memorial website, http://jerryfuchs.net/ every day hoping to find a new nugget of information. A photo. A video. Anything to bring me a little closer.
So besides this trip to Montreal, which is uncle duty (something I welcome) I've made it so that I'll stay in NY for a spell to recharge and rev up for 2010, which will hopefully be a better year. Who the hell knows...
I'll try go get a little more positive in the next one. Hey, I got some concert tickets today, to see MUSE and EDITORS in 2010. That's a good start.
F