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Sunday, December 31, 2006

The Best Albums of 2006.

1. The Decemberists – The Crane Wife

I’ve been a fan of The Decemberists for a while now, and I totally dig this new prog-y direction they taken. I’ve enjoyed it more with each listen, so I’m thinking my love for it while continue to grow in 2007.

Favorite tracks: Crane Wife 1 and 2, Sons and Daughters, The Island – Come and See

2. Band of Horses – Everything All the Time

Another strong contender for my favorite album of the year. Initially I had dismissed this band as a My Morning Jacket rip-off, but that’s way off base. I love every song off this album, and I can’t say that about many bands…

Favorite tracks: Monster, Weed Party, I Go To The Barn Cause I Like The

3. Belle and Sebastian – The Life Pursuit

An album of feel-good tracks by my one of my favorite bands. Remember how maudlin Boy with an Arab Strap was? While I love that version of Belle and Sebastian, I’m quite happy with this fun, poppy direction they taken with the last couple albums.

Favorite tracks: White Collar Boy, The Blues are Still Blue, Funny Little Frog

4. Neko Case – Fox Confessor Brings the Flood

There were quite a few good female albums this year (Jenny Lewis, Catpower), but no one beats Neko in my open. I love her dark side the most.

Favorite tracks: That Teenage Feeling, Star Witness, Hold on, Hold on

5. Tapes ‘n Tapes – The Loon

Tied with Band of Horses for best new band of the year, in my opinon.

Favorite tracks: Omaha, Manitoba, Insistor

6. Tilly and the Wall - Bottoms of Barrels

I keep saying it: They’re a band designed for me. Bright Eyes + tap dancing + 2 girl singers = good.

Favorite tracks: Lost Girls, Bad Education, Sing Songs Along

7. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain

I didn’t dig TVOTR that much before this album, but it’s impossible to deny how good this album is.

Favorite tracks: Wolf Like Me (duh), Tonight, Dirty Whirl

8. The Thermals – The Body, The Blood, The Machine

Political and punky and smart but still fun. Another great Northwest band on my list.

Favorite tracks: Pillar of Salt, An Ear for Baby, St. Rosa and the Swallows

9. Lily Allen – Alright, Still

A pleasant early summer surprise for me. Allen has some awesome and weird beats and a quirkiness that I just love.

Favorite tracks: LDN, Alfie, Everything’s Just Wonderful, Knock ‘Em Out

10. Mates of State - Bring it Back

Some of these songs are so good that I’m impressed that there are just two people in this band. Great harmonies and catchy hooks – it’s a great album to sing along to (badly in my case).

Favorite tracks: Fraud in the ‘80’s, Beautiful Dreamer, For the Actor


Best Live Album: My Morning Jacket – Okonokos – This album shows just how awesome my current favorite band is live.

Best Album Title: Yo La Tengo – I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass – I wish I thought of it.

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

Carrie at 12/31/2006

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Friday, December 29, 2006

Five Things You Don't Know About Me.

Ok, so I've been doubly tagged by both Maggie and Steve to do this. I've been mulling this over for a few days now, and am afraid I don't have too many sordid secrets, but I think I managed to come up with a few things.

1. I am constantly choreographing dances in my head- I listen to a lot of music, and I often choreograph dances in my head while I’m doing so. This can manifest itself in a number of ways: tap dancing with my fingers, zoning out in the car when music’s on and ignoring Paul. It’s my favorite way to pass time when on the treadmill at the gym, and therefore I have to be careful that I don’t accidentally break out into dance or fall off the treadmill. Current favorite songs to dance to? Fidelity and My Love.

2. I wanted to be a writer when I grew up – For most of high school I had the intentions of being an English professor eventually, which is slightly ironic, considering that practically everyone I hang out with are writers or English instructors. I excelled in English in school always, and my sisters were working on their PhDs at that time, so I thought that I’d do the same thing but with English or poetry when I grew up. I took a summer long creative writing course after my sophomore year in high school, and my junior year in high school I won the third place Lit Mag prize for a dream poem I wrote about vampires in that writing class. I still have journals filled with poems in boxes deep in closets, and when we’re cleaning or moving and Paul starts reading them, I wonder why I never burned them long ago.

3. I am horribly versed in film – I’ve never seen the Godfather; I only saw all of the Star Wars films in the last 3 years; the first Kubrick film I saw was Eyes Wide Shut (and only, if you don’t count AI); I’ve never seen Citizen Kane, Casablanca, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Apocalypse Now, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, , The Deer Hunter, Clockwork Orange- the list goes on. I keep meaning to rectify this, and have slowly been working on it, but lately I’ve been having a hard time keeping up with current movies. So go ahead- point and laugh…

4. I was scared of dogs for most of my life – My most terrifying moment was when I was around 4 or 5, playing in my turtle sandbox, and I turn around unassumingly and my neighbor’s giant dog was standing right behind me, excited and slobbering and jumpy. I believe I screamed bloody murder and cried for my mom. This event was highly traumatizing and I was never really comfortable around dogs, especially big dogs, until my adult life. I don’t remember exactly when the turning point when, but eventually I got over it.

5. I used to be a thumb sucker- I sucked my thumb a lot when I was young, and it went on much longer than it should have. I look back on this now and figure it can be explained by my having a bit of an oral fixation growing up. I recall sucking my thumb when I was reading or watching TV, but eventually I phased it out until only sucking my thumb when I was falling asleep. I eventually quit due to fear of ridicule during sleepovers or school camp. And now you know my secret shame…

So, that's it. There's not many people left for me to tag, but I say any of my sisters or Miss Abigail should do this.

Carrie at 12/29/2006

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Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Notes from home.

So, I think that my cat may be developing an above average intelligence, at least in regards to satisfying his unnatural hunger. Last night, during Hribar family game time, Monty disappeared (which is unusual given his oppurtunity to be the center of attention). Paul discovered that he had been busying himself tearing open his treat bag and eating all his treats. Today we made certain to tightly secure his food and the rest of his treats in the bag we packed for him. When my mom returned home today, she discovered that he had somehow broken into his bag where we keep his treats and food, and again torn open his other treat bags and eaten all his treats. We were pretty certain that we had completely closed his bag to make sure he wouldn't get into his treats again, so I'm thinking my cat knows how to work a zipper now. That little sneaky devil...

Speaking of Monty, my little niece Elizabeth just loves him. She follows him around the house and yells cute things at him. "Hi Monty!" "Monty's upstairs. Isabel's downstairs." "Monty, you have white on your head." She also tells him how to act sometimes. "Monty, don't kick your ears." when he's scratching, or "Monty, don't eat your hair." when he's taking a bath. Also, "Monty, no running!" or "Monty, no jumping!". Too cute!!!

File under creepy coincidences: During the aforementioned Hribar family game night, we were playing Time's Up, where you give several different types of clues to get your team to guess famous people. Kevin was trying to get the boys to guess Gerald Ford by falling down and mocking his more clumsy aspects. There was a whole discussion about it b/c I didn't really get the clue- I guess my knowledge of Ford is limited. When we were finished with the game (and the girls kicked the boys asses twice) we got on the internet and discovered Gerald Ford had died. Yikes! Sorry dude. Weird, right?

Anyway, in case you were wondering, the novelty of the new laptop has not worn off yet, not even close. Paul's also quite enamored with his new iPod Nano. We've gotten a lot more gadget-rich over this Christmas break. It's no Wii, but we're still catching up...

(Sidenote: Is the new Blogger being a jerk for anyone else? Paul and I are having converting troubles. I've been trying to post for days...)

Carrie at 12/27/2006

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Monday, December 25, 2006

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm currently sitting on my parents-in-law's couch, blogging on my new HP laptop that my mother-in-law (and other family members) waited outside all Thanksgiving night at Best Buy to purchase for us. Holeeeeey Crap. To say we're shocked is an huge understatement.

I also look forward to using my laptop outisde next to our new outdoor fire pit. :)

I hope Santa was good to all of you!!!!!!!

Carrie at 12/25/2006

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Friday, December 22, 2006

Quote of the Day.

Paul, while in Toys 'R Us shopping for our niece: "These dolls are all sluts."

Word. I hate Bratz.

Carrie at 12/22/2006

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Back home for the holidays.


Back home for the holidays.
Originally uploaded by hribarca.
Paul and I have headed back to the Detroit area for the holidays, which just a year ago was snow covered and quite pretty. Not so much this year. Maybe it's the warm weather, or the way Christmas falls on a Monday so it's kind of snuck up on me, or the fact that my poor dad's hobbling around,but I've been a little ba humbug this year. That is, until last night and today- now that I'm done with work and getting ready to see family, I'm getting quite excited!!! (Watching Rudolf last night also helped get me in the Christmas spirit.) Anyway, I hope everyone's traveling goes smoothly, and that no flights are late or canceled or whatever. (Especially you, MB!!! Ahhh!! See you soon!!!)

Carrie at 12/22/2006

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Intervention.

Ok, they keep playing the hell out of this song on KEXP, and every time I stop what I'm doing and just listen to it- I just love it. I know, I know, I mentioned it here the other day, but I thought I'd put this for you people to lazy to right click. I know you're out there.

Carrie at 12/22/2006

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Wednesday, December 20, 2006

A post that probably only my sisters will care about, or anyone else who's worn saddle shoes in their life.

For some strange (i.e. bored) reason, i decided to search on "Regina High School" on YouTube and see what it came up with. Anyway, I found this endearing video diary of a young girl lamenting her new uniform and how much it sucks, and from the comments on the video, it looks like Regina's made some interesting uniform changes in the last couple years. To the untrained eye, it's still all white shirts, plaid skirts and saddle shoes, but I think it's kinda crazy. A quick visit to Regina's website in face confirms said changes. So, girls no longer wear white oxford blouses, but instead wear ugly oversized polo shirts. Why? What was wrong with white blouses? I don't get it- they're classic! And wraparound skirts? That's definitely delving into the less modest area, with the way I use to sprawl on the floor in front on my locker.

Silly nuns, why are you trying to fix what wasn't broken in the first place? You could ask me, "Carrie, why do you care; it's been almost 10 years since you've been there?" But I'm forever going to have a soft spot in my heart for those blue-plaid-skirted girls. So, buck up little YouTuber- pretty soon you'll learn how to roll your skirt up and your saddle shoes will get appropriately beat up and you'll stop wearing them outside of school anyway.

Carrie at 12/20/2006

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Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Fact: Baby elephants are cute.


Fact: Baby elephants are cute.
Originally uploaded by hribarca.

Carrie at 12/19/2006

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Paul + faux horses.


Paul + faux horses.
Originally uploaded by hribarca.

Carrie at 12/19/2006

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An open letter to clementines.


Dear clementines,

I'm just writing to thank you for being awesome, as I am currently obsessed with you. Right now you have me convinced that you may be the perfect fruit. Your small size makes you easily portable, you're easy to peel, you're so sweet and juicy. You're also chock full of Vitamin C, and you're probably fending off for me any pre-Chrstmas bugs that are being passed around. I love you more than regular oranges, and you kick the tangerine's ass hands down. Right now I'm only allowing myself to bring four of you to work a day, and I ration myself two in the morning and two in the afternoon. I can't just eat one of you at a time. Your sweet smell draws all my coworkers to my office, commenting on how good it you smell and how hungry you make them. You're always the perfect snack, whether at breakfast or when I have a sweet tooth late at night. I'm going to appreciate this short time I have with you, because I know in a month or two I'll be stuck with boring apples and bananas again.

With affection,
Carrie.

Carrie at 12/19/2006

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Monday, December 18, 2006

Complaint of the day.

So, one night like two weeks ago when I was at the gym, I was minding my own business, zoning out on the treadmill as I tend to do when I work out. All of the sudden, I notice this dude (who kinda looks like Bubbles from The Wire, but with less hair and less cracked out), walking on the treadmill next to me, STARING and SMILING. Like holding onto the the hand rail, walking at a weirldly slow pace, and just staring at me as if he had been staring at me for 5 minutes before I even noticed. When I looked at him, he didn't even act like he'd been caught staring, but eventually he stopped looking at me when he noticed what must have been a look of alarm on my face. I wasn't exactly sure what to do, my instinct was to bail, but I stuck on the treadmill for a couple more minutes before moving to an elliptical machine because I'm determined not to let creepy dude ruin my workout.

I've seen the dude a couple more times since then, and each time I've avidly tried to avoid eye contact, like actively looking in the opposite direction whenever I walk past him. Today he ends up on a treadmill behind me as I'm nearing the end of my workout, but he's still there when I leave. I go to the locker room to collect my belongings and almost walk right into him when I leave. He's slightly ahead of me as I make my way out of the gym, and he's headed to his car as I head to mine. All of the sudden, as I near my car, he shouts something to me then runs over. He asks my name, and I tell him b/c I'm really no good at lying under pressure, and he tells me he's Alex and then shakes my hand. He then asks if he can have my phone number. I tell him no and that I"m married, to which he looks both crestfallen and disbelieving, so I hold up my left hand as evidence. He then mutters "Sorry" and walks back to his car and I hightail it the hell out of there.

So, Alex, let's count all the things you did wrong here: A) Hitting on girls at the gym is not cool. Most of the time they are there to work out only. B) If you do want to try to pick up girls, check to see if they might be taken. I mean, people wear rings for a reason. C) If you do decide to hit on a girl at the gym, don't do it by staring at her for so long she begins to wonder if you may be an ax murderer or something. D) If you continue to stare at a girl, but she doesn't make eye contact with you, take that as a sign that maybe you should stop staring. E) Just generally stop being so darn creepy. F) If you do try to pick up a girl, maybe you want to try some small talk before going right in for the phone number. G) Finally, if you do want to approach a girl, don't do it in a dark parking lot at night and scare her half to death. Really, there are better ways to go about this.

I told Paul that he seemed to have some type of accent and so he's probably not American and not familiar with the do's and don'ts of hitting on people. Let's hope to god he's taken a hint! Gah! Like I need anymore reasons to hate the gym right now! Anyway, back to your business- excuse my complaining...

Carrie at 12/18/2006

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Friday, December 15, 2006

Happy Birthday Dad!!!


My dad has a semi-landmark birthday on Sunday (I'll refrain from saying how old for his sake...) We're headed back to the Detroit area tomorrow morning to help celebrate, which I'm quite excited about! (And hence the early post.) Anyway, my dad's had some real crap luck lately, so I'm sure he'll especially appreciate any and all birthday wishes.

Dad - you truly are the greatest. I'm so lucky! I know I take after you a ton, so thanks! I swear, you get hipper with each birthday. ;) I love you tons!!!

Carrie at 12/15/2006

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Geek alert.


Ok, things that have me greatly excited this Friday:

1. Stereogum has posted a new Arcade Fire song. This is the first I've heard anything off the new album and boy oh boy, I think it's good. Christ, when does this come out? I'm saying this now, I will move hell and high water and travel long distances to see them live when they tour this next year. Get flexible, people.

2. A) I adore pretty much every show that Tim Minear has produced (Angel, Firefly, Wonderfalls, The Inside) and ever since I heard the premise for Drive, I've been anxiously awaiting it's debut. B) My love for Nathan Fillion has already been documented here, but let me remind you - I adore him. This love has recently been amplified by his charming MySpace blog posts. So, C) when I read a rumor this week that Nathan Fillion may be the new lead for Drive, I was cautiously estatic. When I read confirmation today, I was overjoyed! Seriously, I cannot wait. Yippee!!!

3. How funny was The Office last night? We had to rewind so much while watching b/c we were laughing through the next joke. "I'm not feeling well. Iv'e got a lot of work to do here. I've got an MSG allergy. I've got a peanut allergy. I just ate there last night." Hee hee!

Below is a picture of a note my coworker stuck under my door moments ago notifying me of my top-secret CIA mission. Ah, funny! (Can you tell it's a slooooooow Friday?)

Carrie at 12/15/2006

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Wednesday, December 13, 2006

My favorite tv moments from 2006.

I am unfortunately addicted to end of the year lists, so I thought I'd throw another one out into the universe. I could just do my favorite tv shows, but you all could probably guess them anyway. So instead I decided to rate my top 10 tv moments of 2006. This was a harder undertaking than I originally thought it would be, so I'm probably leaving something out. Anyway, here goes...

1. Jim tells Pam he loves her - The Office - There are so many great Office moments, but this one takes the cake. I loooove them, and this whole scene just made me melt. Poor Jim...

2. Jack's Death - Series Finale - Alias - Jack Bristow is a pimp, and what a way to go out. He blows himself up to trap Sloane's immortal ass in an underground cave for all enternity. Seriously, such a badass...

3. The settlement and occupation of New Caprica - Battlestar Galactica - You think you know where a show's going, but then all of the sudden Batar's president and jump ahead one year later to find people left the fleet to settle on the craphole of New Caprica, Starbuck's married (?) and has long hair (???) and the Chief and Cally are having a baby after he just kicked her ass in the last episode. I thought this show was supposed to take place on space ships? And then all of the sudden the Cylons reappear, Adama and Galactica kinda abandon everyone and New Caprica is pretty much now enslaved. What???? This was a Alias-style reset of epic proportions, but only much more satisfyingly done. Luckily I had just started watching this show in the late summer/early fall or else the wait to find out what happens would've been tortorous. Gotta love Starbuck's last line - "Fight 'em til we can't".

4. Future Hiro visits Peter Petrelli - Heroes - Ok, so somone's clearly stopped time, but Peter's not affected, and suddenly Future Hiro waltzes out with long hair, a soul patch, no accent, and a samuri sword? And tells Peter he looks different "without the scar"? My jaw hit the floor. That's when my love for this show was sealed.

5. Charlie Goes American All Over Everybody's Ass - It's Always Sunny in Philadelpha - Another hard show to pick just one scene from, but Charlie's little impromptu Go America! song had me laughing my ass off for most of the summer. Rock, Flag and Eagle!!!

6. Edgar's death - 24- Who doesn't love Edgar? And what a tragic way to die- in front of all your coworkers, who now feel really bad for being bitchy with you so much in the office. Edgar was awesome and totally deserving of the silent clock.

7. Eko confronts the Smoke Monster - Lost - Eko's first flashback episode probably ranks as one of my all-time favorite Lost episodes. You see more of the Smoke Monster, and there's images floating in there or something, and Eko totally holds his ground. You knew right then and there that Eko was a badass, and you were sure there were big things in store for him in future episodes. Of course, they ruined all this with the way they killed him, but it was still awesome at the time.

8. Trixie shoots Hearst - Deadwood - So Hearst is killing people and bullying the whole town of Deadwood, and no one does anything until Trixie unbuttons her blouse, hitches up her skirt, and knocks on the door and shoots Hearst. She doesn't kill him, but you've got to give Trixie an A for effort and creativity and being proactive. I love Trixie. (I miss her!!)

9. Logan and Veronica at the Alterna-Prom - Veronica Mars - Another confessional love scene that just gave me goosebumps. I have such a little crush on Logan (which is probably weird, since he was playing a high school student at the time, but everyone acts like they're 30 on VM). Troubled bad boy on the outside, tortured, senstive romantic on the inside - how could you not melt when a guy tells you you have an "epic love", one that spans continents and involves lives lost and bloodshed? A little dramatic, sure, but definitely drives the point home! I just wish these two would figure their crap out...

10. Slap Bet - How I Met Your Mother - This episode was just on a couple weeks ago, but it's already a classic. I want to incorporate slap bets into my daily life. And I would totally take the 10 at once, rather than the 5 slaps spread over time, unlike most people. :)

Special Honorable Mention: Family Ties - Arrested Development - Gotta give it up for this show since it ended early this year. It's hard to pick just one scene from an episode of AD, especially in the last season, b/c it's so full of great one-liners. This was probably my favorite episode of the last season, mostly because I liked the dynamic of Justine and Jason Bateman together. "It's like we finish each others..." "Sandwiches?" "Sentences. Why would I say..." "Sandwiches?" "That time I was going to say sandwiches."

So, that's it. Any glaring omissions? I watched A LOT of tv this past year, so it's hard to remember everything!

Sidenote: I really hope Sacha Baron Cohen and Masi Oka win Golden Globes.

Carrie at 12/13/2006

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Funny Sitcom + Classic Christmas Special = Several Minutes of Amusement

paul at 12/13/2006

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Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Click your heels and make a wish...

Last night, we started to watch Sci-fi's new miniseries The Lost Room. Basically, the premise is that Peter Krause is given a magic key by a dying kid. This key, when put into any lock in any door, turns that door into an entrance to a magical hotel room. If you enter said "lost room", you can exit to any location you think of, making the room a kind of portal to places worldwide. Anyway, it seems like there's a lot more to it than all that, including magical objects and crap, but we only made it through an hour of the show before I fell asleep on the couch. Anyway, the show got me thinking- if I could instantly transport myself to any location on earth, where would I go? Two dudes in the show chose to go see Penn State play, which is cool in some regards, but kinda lame in others, given the possibilities. So, what would I pick?

So that's my list, today at least, and I thought I'd share it with you all. Where would you guys pick to visit with a hypothetical magical key?

Carrie at 12/12/2006

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Friday, December 08, 2006

Best Songs of 2006

(AKA songs that have been my MySpace profile song at one time or another.)

(AKA songs Paul would probably be glad to never hear again.)

So here goes my attempt to document my favorite songs of 2006. I couldn’t narrow it down to only 10, so you get 15 songs. When possible most links go to YouTube videos of varying quality in case you aren’t familiar with the songs.

Wolf Like Me – TV On The Radio – A clear favorite of everyone’s this year; I think this is clearly the best single of the year. It rocks hard (especially on that Letterman appearance) and sounds like nothing else out there. Plus, it’s kinda kinky and about werewolves, which is just plain interesting.

Band of Horses – Monsters - I’m pretty sure no one gets why this is my favorite Band of Horses song, and I can’t really explain it either. Paul says I’m too sucked in by the banjo on the album version, but I don’t think it’s just that. I adore the way Ben’s voice sounds on this song, and the whole song just gives me chills. Something about the way he sings “If I am lost it’s only for a little while…” over and over again just sounds so desperate yet hopeful, I can’t get enough.

The Decemberists – The Crane Wife 1 and 2 - It’s hard to pick one song off this album, but this is definitely the one I’ve listened to the most. I love how it starts out pretty and quiet, with Colin just finger-picking, and it gradually builds to this crescendo with organs and stings, and then just completely changes in the middle. I used to only love the first part of this song and I wished that he made these separate tracks, but in this iPod era, I love that he forces me to listen to the whole thing.

Tilly and the Wall – Lost Girls – The vocals are the most prominent thing on this song, so I guess that’s the biggest reason I like it so much. It’s just so purty… Plus, I read that this song is about the artwork of Henry Darger and his Vivian Girls. He did Junebug-like crazy outsider art, and I just find all that pretty fascinating, so it’s definitely given me a new appreciation for this song.

Belle and Sebastian – White Collar Boy – This song is so catchy and fun. I remember the first time I heard it, I loved it instantly. Most fun sing-a-long song of the year, in my opinion.

Lilly Allen – LDN – The perfect summer song. End of story.

Voxtrot – Mothers, Daughters, Sisters and Wives – This isn’t my most favorite Voxtrot song, but it’s my favorite that came out this year. Ramesh just writes the best little melodies, and I really love his voice. I absolutely cannot wait for them to put out a full-length album. Thanks to Mags for getting me on board.

The Thermals – A Pillar of Salt – This song just simply rocks. I love how it’s unapologetically punk rock in a time when that’s more associated with high school and Hot Topic and MTV and cheesiness. This song gets sung at full-volume in my car.

Neko Case – That Teenage Feeling – Sigh. I just love this song- I think it’s so darn romantic. It gives me goose bumps. I love the guitar at the beginning, and the slightly fuzzy, retro sound it has- it sounds like something you’d make out to in the back of someone’s Chevy in like the ‘50s or something. If that even makes sense.

Mates of State – Fraud in the ‘80s - You want the magical formula to write a song I’m sure to love? Catchy hooks and overlapping vocals and interesting harmonies. This song has all that. Fun, fun!!!

Tapes ‘n Tapes – Omaha – Another album that’s hard to pick a favorite from, but I think this is it. It’s got an eerie, kind of dream-like quality I dig. I think that there are a lot of interesting different layers to this song, from the drums to the bass, to the piano and I love the restrained way he sings this song. It seems that people on the internet are a little divided on this song, they either love it or hate it. Count me in the love category.

Pretty Girls Make Graves – Parade - This song sounds completely different than anything else they’ve written, which is probably why I love it. I’m not the hugest fan of this band anymore, but this is such a standout song, I have to note it. I love the military sound it has, plus it’s about organizing laborers, and how can you not love a song about unions?

The Streets – Never Went to Church – There’s going to be an unfortunate lack of hip-hop on my best albums list, so forgive me and let me try to rectify that here. I used to hate The Streets, but now I very much don’t, and this is the song that won me over. I’m a sucker for his sensitive side, I guess, and can identify with all that Catholic guilt.

The Gossip – Standing in the Way of Control – Probably my favorite dance song of the year. I adore Beth Ditto; she’s fierce as hell.

Crooked Fingers – Valerie – This song is another happy, feel-good song, but is interesting because it has some slightly stalker-ish, creepy undertones. I still have a hard time believing that this is the same guy from Archers of Loaf. Paul turned me onto this song at the beginning of the summer, and I’ve dug it ever since.

So, that's it. Disagreements? Oversights? Lavishing Praise? Then comment away...

Carrie at 12/08/2006

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Thursday, December 07, 2006

Xmas presents.

So, I've been gathering links to Christmas mp3s in my email for future downloading, so I figure why not share them here in case anyone else is looking for a little holiday cheer?

First of all, I was reminded of all my Christmas music by this Pop Candy post. Last Christmas is probably my 2nd favorite holiday song (#1 being Happy Xmas (War is Over) ). Go here and download Pas/Cal's version. Good stuff.

I'm also a fan of Bright Eyes' Blue Christmas found here. I downloaded several tracks from Sarah McLachlan's Wintersong from The Late Greats. They also have a great whopping post full o' tracks here, many of which have made me very happy- especially the Feist and Death Cab tracks. And this is a whole music blog which is dedicated to Christmas music, some of which interests me.

Finally, I will share with you My Morning Jacket's version of Xmas Time is Here Again, in honor of their fabulous concert this Monday (and it's just flat-out quite pretty). Anyway, I uploaded it to YouSendIt, so consider this my first personal mp3 contribution to the blog world. Don't say I never did anything for you.

If no one actually cares about Christmas music, then have fun with your ba humbugs, you curmudgeons.

Elsewhere, Klosterman takes on The Greatest here. Interesting stuff.

And look, 3 polar bear cubs have been born at the Toledo Zoo recently! Awwwwwwww! I can't wait 'til spring when I can go check them out. Yay for baby animals!

Carrie at 12/07/2006

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Tuesday, December 05, 2006

The Real Deal.

So Steve already typed up a wonderfully thorough review of last night's My Morning Jacket concert, but I thought I'd give it a try too. Honestly, it was just freaking awesome- such rock and roll goodness! The Slip opened up, and for once, I actually really enjoyed an opening band and I look forward to getting to know their music better. They were a good compliment to and warm-up for MMJ. The only downfall was the odd twitchy Slip fan who was in front of me and kept dancing/convulsing. Dude wigged me out.

Anyway, MMJ didn't start out with a rocking version of One Big Holiday as I had hoped, but it was still awesome nonetheless. The great thing about seeing a band live is appreciating songs you never really dug before- like What a Wonderful Man for me, which they played second, I believe. By the time they got around to One Big Holiday, I was so excited, I screamed my head off. That may be my favorite song to see live ever. I love it so fricking much- it rips the roof off the place before the lyrics even starts, and then rocks it out so hard after. The crowd goes fricking nuts the second you hear that guitar start, and then everyone just screams. "Waaaaaaking up feeling, gooood and liiiiimber".... This was definitely the highlight of the show for me.

They played more older stuff than I expected, lots of stuff off of It Still Moves, and a song or two off of At Dawn and The Tennessee Fire. As Steve mentioned, we got to hear Phone Went West, which is classic MMJ (if there is such a thing) and pretty unexpected, so that was badass. Other awesome songs included Off the Record, Wordless Chorus, Golden, Lay Low, and well, everything. They played Mahgeetah second to last, and that was my second favorite song of the night I think. You hear a song so many times you almost become numb to it, and that damn song sounded sooooo good last night. Totally reminded me why I love it. The whole show was so darn good. There was honestly a point last night, during the wicked Lay Low solo I think, where I dorkily thought "Life doesn't get much better than this". Jim James is a truly amazing preformer. You definitely get the impression that he's quiet and shy and smart and pensive, but when he's on stage, he just commands the crowd and rocks it so much. I honstly don't know ho he does it every night - it looks exhausting! Anyway, I don't get to go to concerts as often as I'd like anymore, so I'm beyond glad we went last night. So beyond worth the price of admission, the drive to Cleveland and back, my tiredness today. :)

I know there aren't that many My Morning Jacket fans out there, which of course I think is too bad. I think I may need to give out copies of Z for Christmas to everyone! So let me make the plea one more time: I really think there aren't that many "Important" bands out there now. So much music lately is all hype and blogs and the new "it" band (not criticising at all- I get into that too), but here's a band that's been out there producing consistently good albums for many years now. They tour their ass off, they're so earnest and they seem like genuinely good guys. Embrace the long guitars solos, the howling, the slide guitar, the trippy keyboards, the thumping bass and drums. Other people can explain why they're so good and important much better than me, but basicaly MMJ is going to keep putting out mind-blowing albums, so you might as well just get on board now.

Plus, the wooly mammoth? If that's not enough to convice you of their awesomeness right there, then I don't know what is.

Another funny part of the evening- Paul finding out he beat Maggie in fantasy football this week on the way home. He was all, "I'm more than 30 points behind- my dude would have to explode and Maggie's break his ankle to even win." When Steve checked his phone and saw the score, Paul was in disbelief. When asked if he was happy, Paul replied "Why, because while I was at an awesome rock concert seeing one of my favorite bands play, my recently acquired running back scored more than 30 points while Maggie's scored none and my team came from behind to win, vaulting me to first place in our league? Yeah, I'm happy." A good day for us all, indeed.

Carrie at 12/05/2006

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Why I love Jim James: Reason #46.

Two words: Moon Boots.

Carrie at 12/05/2006

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Why I love Jim James: Reason #139.

The way he howls at the moon (as Paul puts it).

Carrie at 12/05/2006

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Why I love Jim James: Reason #87.

Jim earnestly holds a small stuffed woolly mammoth to his chest whenever he's singing and not playing guitar.

Carrie at 12/05/2006

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Monday, December 04, 2006

The day in which my ass gets rocked off.

So, a group of us are going to see My Morning Jacket in Cleveland tonight, and I don't think I could be more excited. Seriously, if that video is how they open the show, then I expect my mind to be completely blown. I ask you all objectively, what have you seen recently that's rocked that hard? What's that? Nothing? Exactly. If you need me tonight, I'll be at the House of Blues, fists pumping, jumping up and down and singing/screaming loudly. Rock.

In house news, after 2 Sundays with no heat, we got our furnace fixed this morning. Some ingition box got replaced, and the guy assures me it should work much better now and we shouldn't worry about how old our furnace is b/c it's very highly efficient, unlike more modern furnaces. Heat is good. It was damn cold this morning.

Carrie at 12/04/2006

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Friday, December 01, 2006

The Confrontation.

Ok, so this video has made my day. A) I love everything about How I Met Your Mother, and B) I used to be obsessed with Les Miserables between the ages of 10 and 14. I was laughing out loud at work watching this. It's hilarious b/c it's so damn dead-on. If you're not familiar with Les Miz I can see how you may be like 'Huh?", but trust me, it's awesome. (Thank you, Pop Candy.)

I was going to write this whole impassioned World AIDS Day post today, but I just don't have it in me. I think I'm a little World-AIDS-Day-ed-out. You guys all probably know the drill anyway. Maybe I'll do it next week.

Carrie at 12/01/2006

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