10 ALBUMS I COULDN'T STOP LISTENING TO IN 2004

1. Telefon Tel Aviv-Map Of What Is Effortless

channeling a bit of Marvin Gaye like soul, mixing it with swirling soundtrack beats and some trip-hop to make a very fine album indeed.

2.Cure-The Cure

Finally the Cure make a Cure album! This was a return to the Cure's classic days in the 80's and to me sounds very much like songs that could have been on the album Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me.

3. P.J. Harvey-Uh Huh Her

This album travels back to P.J.'s earlier raw sound but she's also managed to keep some of the polished electronic aspects from Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea making what I thought to be a very fine P.J. Harvey album.

4. Charlotte Martin-On Your Shore

This is a woman who has taken many notes from the pages of Kate Bush's songbook. Unlike Tori Amos(too aloof at times) or Fiona Apple(too raw) she makes it look easy. Writing songs about mysticism and love hasn't sounded so good since Kate's Red Shoes Album.

5. Soviettes-LP 2

I've only been listening to the Soviettes since my friend Dave turned me on to them in December but they quickly became a favorite. What else can I say? These guys rock!

6. Zeromancer-ZZYZX

This is an industrial band that I liked instantly and although this album doesn't rock as much as their first two lp's, it does rock like a harder Depeche Mode. I listened to it a lot last year.

7. Pitty Sing-Demons, You Are The Stars In Cars 'til I Die(EP)

This band sounds like so many bands from the 80's that I couldn't name them all. Still, something captivated me. The song Radio is one hell of a song. This is an Ep and pretty cheap so you should give it a listen.

8. Har Mar Superstar-The Handler

Hey, you need to have a little fun right? Well for me Har Mar provides that. Not to be taken seriously so don't expect it. Stop being such a prude and "back that camel up to the hitching post..." Go out and buy this record.

9. Bloc Party-Bloc Party(EP)

In my humble opinion this Bloc Party Ep is better than anything Franz Ferdinand has put out. Get ready to shake your booty at the worldwide Bloc Party!

10. Social Distortion-Sex, Love & Rock 'N Roll

Welcome back! This is a wonderful return to form from Social D. I had some doubts about this album but all that was cleared up during the first listening. It's a very lyrically personal album and that adds quite a bit to it also.

So, that's it folks. This is my top 10 list for 2004. Not influenced by any outside hype. You won't agree with all of my choices but I really don't care. It's what I've been listening to all year and if you want you can check them out. If you do decide to pick up one of these lovely albums, drop me a line and let me know what you thought.

Incidently, this list was kinda hard to put together. There was a lot of crap released last year.
I really didn't care to put albums on here that were hyped by every frickin' magazine out there (you won't find any Bright Eyes on my 2005 list) or albums that sold 8 million copies(Usher). All year I looked for interesting bands and came face to face with a lot of disappointments. I really liked the TV on The Radio Ep but the full album I thought was week. Such as life. This year already looks promising with a strong Ani Difranco release(yes, I like her and this album is a lot like Little Plastic Castles and her earlier albums. I haven't liked her last few albums though.) and a very good Ep from Iron & wine on the way. I've got my fingers crossed. How about you?

GOOD GOD IT'S IRON & WINE!

Okay, I admit to not knowing much about Iron & Wine. In fact I haven't heard the two albums and two ep's that precede this latest effort called Woman King but it's great!! People have called him successor to Elliott Smith and Nick Drake's school of songwriting. His earlier efforts are apparently just him and his guitar. On Woman King he brings in piano, electric guitar, percussion, and violin. All this really means nothing to me so I don't expect it to mean much to you so I'll simply state that Iron & Wines latest ep, Woman King is a wonderful album and you should all give it a spin. It's release date it 2/22/05. Here's a link to the site. Enjoy!

THE ROAD TO RECOVERY

For those of you who were concerned about my wellbeing you may now rest easy. I'm better. I do have a residual cold but I can deal with that. I shuttered myself in and didn't talk too much throughout the whole weekend and have re-entered the world anew.

So, today a cute girl comes into the store that I've had a crush on for quite a while and once again I felt like I really want to get to know this person. I've said this before and even told her that I was going to give her a call which I never did. I chickened out. But I think I might actually give her a call now. It's probably way too late and she's probably seeing someone but that would only serve me right. I haven't dated for a very long time and I was never really good at it in the first place-too much pressure. I like to just hang out and let things take their course. Unfortunately, no action is not a good course of action.

In other news my dad who is pretty cool because he likes Social Distortion shocked me by saying that he didn't like the Jet album because it's too slow. Too slow?! So while he was in the store I popped in the latest Bad religion album and he liked it! What the hell happened? When I was a kid listening to Bad Religion he wouldn't have touched it with a ten foot pole but now he likes them? My dad liking Bad Religion kind of takes away the sting of earlier Bad Religion albums. Shit, if I play some NOFX or All for him is he gonna like them also? All in all, it's still pretty cool and in actuality I'm in full support of my dads new musical ventures. Rock on dad!

HATE BEING SICK

I can barely talk because my throat feels like it has throwing stars stuck in it. My head and ears are throbbing and my nose won't quit running. I hate being sick! Sick sucks!! Hopefully I'll be able to go home from work early. I probably shouldn't be here right now but since I'm the only one who could work it without having someone work all day and night, I felt obligated. So I've been drinking lots of tea and sucking on Ricola cough drops constantly. Nyquil here I come!

I wish I was back in elementary school. When I got sick back then my mom would make me chicken noodle soup and I would watch PBS all day long. Sesame Street, Mister Rodgers, 3,2,1 contact...Ah, those were the days. When you get older and you get sick nobody makes you anything, if you want to eat you've got to make it yourself. Man, kids don't take your mothers for granted!

THE MAN: ESQUIVEL

In the mid 90's Esquivel got popular again after being relatively unknown since the late 60's. His unearthing went along with the revitalization of 60's cocktail and lounge music. I like this genra of music but how in the hell did it become popular again? I'm trying to think back to the mid-90's and find out what social climate existed to where this style of music could enjoy a second life. Everything from clothing fashion to interior design and of course music was affected. If anyone has some thoughts please share them.

MY BIG FAT RESOLUTION LIST

My top movies and album list is still in the making so until then he's my New Years Resolutions

1. Lose 10 pounds
2. Go bike riding more often
3. Become handy(as in fixing things around the house)
4. Write at least 2 short stories or 1 novel or novella
5. make a short film
6. sell more items on Ebay(last year I almost made $100.00)
7. Save money and pay down on those dirty credit cards so I can visit Dave & Tanuel in London and all my other friends scattered across the Earth. It will be impossible to do it all but I can at least get a start on it.
8. Date more often
9. Make a pilgramige to Ralph's Corner Bar before they close
10. Spend more time at my family's lake cabin

So there you have it. My New Years Resolutions. I thought 10 was a good number. Let's see what I can get done. Let the games begin!

IMPRESS YOUR GIRL WITH...WAIT, WHAT!?

Lately I've been receiving emails like this:

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Have other people been getting these? I thought it was kind of funny at first but now I'm getting six emails a day from these people. Thank god SRT has a spam filter.

Truck Turner is arguably one of the best blaxploitation movies ever made. It is a fun watch and should be enjoyed by everyone.

See Isaac Hayes as Truck Turner!

There's a scene where Truck is looking for a shirt to wear and when he finds one his cat pissed on it but Truck's in a hurry and has no time to look for another shirt. Hilarious! It's a running joke through the movie.

FYI: I finally fixed the problem with the AMP link. It works now. Use It!!!

BEATING A DEAD HORSE

Okay, I know the subject of wal mart has come up a few times already on this site but damn it people are uninformed and I want to try to inform them. So I found this site called wal-mart watch. There is a lot of links to informative articles and other info throughout the site that if you're willing to take the time to read through some of it will really open your eyes. My beef with wal mart isn't because they are my competitor, in truth they really aren't. I just don't want to see Minot's down town dry up or worse they whole town dry up! And this has happened as a direct cause of fuckin wal mart. It's on the wal-mart watch site read it!

Man am I hung over today...Remind me not to go out celebrating until 3:30 in the morning.

FIRST POST OF THE NEW YEAR

First off I'd like to say thanks to everyone who reads this blog-even if they only stopped by once real quick, Thanks! I thought I'd start the new year's blogs off with a positive note.

Well, the Christmas crowd is dwindling away. In fact after tonight everyone I know who was back will be gone. So tonight Stevie and I will close the local watering hole known as the Dakota Lounge. Ladies beware! In a surprise turn of events Phil Hoff is paying Minot a visit and will be joining the shenanigans at the Dak.

In other news it's feakin' cold here!

Lists. After some careful thought I will put up lists of my favorite music and movies of 2004. This could take awhile to think about some things always get forgotten by the end of the year. I'm not sure if I should do a resolution list or not. I'm already being lame by doing the music and movie thing do I want to take it another step further?

A few years ago I purchased the novella Shop Girl by Steve Martin. I've just started to read it. I'm a Steve Martin fan and have always enjoyed his writing style in movies like Roxanne, Bowfinger and my favorite, L.A. Story. So I figured what the heck I'll check it out. I do enjoy it. At time it reminds me of L.A. Story but that's not a bad thing. I also thought I should read it before it is made into a movie which I heard is right around the corner. It's a good quick read check it out if you feel inclined.