Year End Wrap-Ups: Music

Okay, so Christmas is over. It was great. I had a blast with my family, and I got what I wanted. I hope everyone else had a happy, loving time. And, news flash, I'm not going to Odessa. My mom finally made her decision, listened to me, and said we'd go next year after I graduate. So, this time next year, I'll be hanging out in the big O-D.

So, tonight we watched The Dark Knight. We rented it from Blockbuster, because I'm stubborn and I refuse to buy it now, and miss out when some awesome Collector's Edition of the Trilogy comes out in three-four years from now. I missed out on LOTR, PotC, X-Files, and Millennium because I was impatient. Not this time, dammit. I will stick by my guns! (Although, damn... Tonight, I believe, was my 8th viewing of TDK and it's STILL a great movie, and Dudley loved it. It was his first time to see it. He liked it so much, in fact, that he said he's see it in theatres if the rumor that they're re-releasing it is true.)

Speaking of TDK, the Golden Globe nominees for this year have been released, and Ledger is up for Best Supporting Actor in a Dramatic Film. I think it's fantastic he got a nomination, and I hope he wins. Though, if he does, I hope it's for the right reason.

Back to Christmas for a second. I got a digital camera, and I love it so much. So much. So, if anyone wants any, there'll be pictur- Oh, wait, no one wants any? All right, rock on.

Since I'm not going to Odessa, tomorrow mom and Dudley and I are going to see The Day the Earth Stood Still. And, before I leave, Mom and I are gonna see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. And, when I go see Dad next week (Tuesday night), we're going to see Valkyrie, which, sadly, seems to be getting mediocre reviews so far. Oh, well.

And, while we're on the subject of reviews... I guess it's time for me to start weighing-in on 2008. Not from a personal standpoint, mind you, but from an entertainment stance. I mean, NOW is the time most people start making those 10 Best lists...

So, I'll finish this post with a truncated rant about music: Simply, I really didn't listen to all that much this year. Being in H-Ville, I'm cut-off from radio, which is my main source of music. MTV has sucked for years, and half the time that I'm up late enough to watch music videos on VH1, I'm finishing an assignment, or they're playing some lame singer-songwriter bullshit. On-line? I listen to Pandora, which I've sadly tailored to the point where I hear the same bands over and over.

So, what does all this boil down to? It means that I've been happily stuck in my musical corner this year, like I was last year. Like I'll be until I move back to H-Town permanently. In my corner, I just paid attention to what I'm used to, my normal bands. So... Here's what I loved and didn't quite love so much about this year in my music:

• First off, of course, is Goo Goo Dolls. Their Greatest Hits: Volume Two came out this Summer, and it was fantastic. My only slight beef was that it didn't have quite the video content that the band wanted on there, but that was probably due to legal issues, so it's not their fault, and not really a fault of the album. This issue of legality and copyright, somehow, is probably the reason why my favorite cover, Nothing Can Change You, wasn't included, either. Regardless, the collection is worth it for *any* fan, die-hard or casual.
• Keane had a new album, called Perfect Symmetry, and it was their Viva la Vida. It was the representation of a new musical direction for the band. Sadly, though, unlike Coldplay's VlV, I don't think it was well-received in the U.S. It may have been better-received in their native country, the U.K., and I hope it was, but I don't know. I liked it a lot. I'm not sure where'd I rank it in comparison to the rest of their catalogue, but I know I liked it. In fact, I'm still using it in my car.
• Since I've already used it in an analogy... Coldplay came out with Viva la Vida, or Death and All His Friends this year. As already alluded to, it was Coldplay's most adventurous and experimental album to date. I loved it. In fact, I think there's only one and half songs off of it that I didn't like, and that's good for me and them. I won't be surprised if they sweep the Grammys.
• Augustana had Can't Love, Can't Hurt this year. Overall, I'd say it's a solid sophomore effort. Probably, thought I'd have to listen to both to be sure, but... I think I'd say it's a better album than their first. Sweet and Low is a great song, and it should have done better, I think, as a single. (In personal news... I've had, like, three chances in the last two years to see them, and I've missed it each time... Grrrr.)
• Even though I've only heard the one single, Dancer, I'm sure The Killers' new album is amazing. They're always reliable for good music.
• Sarah McLachlan also released a Greatest Hits compilation this year. I got it, since I've lost all my albums of hers. I'm happy with the compilation. It's all her hits, so how could I not be? Well, I do wish she had made an excecutive decision and put Fear on it... Oh, and I can honestly say that, unless you're a die-hard McLachlan fan, the deluxe version isn't worth it. Sorry, Sarah.
• Even though it came out in 2007, I just got Emerson Hart's solo album, Cigarettes and Gasoline. He was the lead singer of Tonic, but they split up, and now he's doing his own thing. It's good, if a little on the country-side in places, but I would have to say that, overall, I think I prefer Tonic's work over his solo effort. Green Hills Race for California, however, is a damn good song.
• Supposed to have come out in 2007, but released this year was Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings by Counting Crows. To be Gooey for a second... This was the Crows' LLI. No, it wasn't filled to the brim with saccharine-sweet ballads, but it was under-whleming. However, compared to a lot of what comes out lately that falls into the same generalized category of pop-rock, BOTH ALBUMS are good. BUT!! Compared separately to the rest of their respective bands' catalogues... Meh, not anything amazing, on either account. However, two songs on SNaSM really stand out to me: 1492 and Cowboys. Give those a chance, and the rest of the dichotic album might grow on you, slowly.
• One last compilation, and this one's from my #2 band, Everclear. They released, back in April, their collection of covers, called The Vegas Years. The only one I didn't enjoy was their cover of Neil Young's Pocahontas. I just don't think it was a good song for them to cover. However, the Speed Racer theme and Tom Petty's American Girl were both fantastic. Plus, from a Gooey standpoint, it was interesting to hear another band, my #2 no less, cover American Girl. Apparently, and I wouldn't know this of course, EC's been using it to close their live-shows since, like, 2004. Anyways, it's a must-have for any die-hard EC fan. God knows I had mine when it came out.
• Last is my rave for Panic at the Disco's sophomore album, Pretty. Odd. It's absolutely amazing compared to their debut, and I loved their debut. This is just better, because it proves, in my opinion, that they're more than a flash-in-the-pan, that they have staying-power, and that's hard to come by in this day and age. Even if you didn't like their first album, I recommend this one, at least to listen to 30-second previews before you make your decision.

Looking ahead to 2009: Silversun Pickups is supposed to drop their sophomore effort, Wikipedia already has info up about a supposed April-release for Lifehouse, which I'm really not all that excited about (unless Bryce really is going to sing on this one...), rumor has it that Aerosmith will drop something, which means they'll tour; maybe EC will have an album of NEW material, since 2006 was their last release of original work; it's been confirmed that Starsailor's dropping their fourth album in March, and, last but certainly not least... Goo Goo Dolls are rumored to have a new album next year, which I think won't drop until 2010, but that's just my pessimism.

(Last-minute/final note: Amungus released an album, but I have not yet got it.)

that's what we learned about flyin'