Year End build full of pseudo suspense...

Our propensity and obsession with making year end and even decade end lists is preposterous, but still, we continue to see it and do it ourselves. I am not sure what drives us to rank or list anything, but it seems such a part of our human nature to do so; the sad thing is, I totally am into these types of lists.

So far this year, I have top LPs, Top EPs, Top overall, Top CD packaging, Top record packaging, top debuts, top discoveries for 2009, Top Re-issues/ compilation releases, and Top Missed in 2008 that will all be hitting SPB. I have a few goodies hitting here; I am just hoping to complete some reviews before the end of the year for their inclusion.

2009...the year in review

I guess it is that time of year again. Time to review the year's scores and triumphs as well as the troughs of hopelessness. Seriously, 2009 has been an excellent year in many ways and hope that it continues that trend for the remainder of my years on this rock.

As always I will be posting a bunch of year end lists at Scene Point Blank. But the extras will be showing up here in the meantime, and will probably beat my SPB lists by a couple of weeks.

I heard a ton of great music this year...a ton. So hoping that 2010 is the same.

2009...so far...maybe.

This is surely shaping up to be one hell of a whirlwind year in the music department; maybe I am getting old (maybe I am just busier than normal), but I feel like it is getting hard to keep up with all of the records this year. My review writing is behind (I do have a bunch in backlog that are starting to be completed), and acquiring everything that is dropping.

Curse you Nadja (Aidan and Leah, I am looking at you)!

Curse you Hydra Head records (Chel, your list is breaking me)!

So far, it has been an excellent year for music, well, what I listen to anyway. Quite a few of the records which I was looking forward to have come out: the new Isis (pretty damn good), the Narrows album (pretty good as well), the Supermachiner discography, and the new Tombs album. Ones that I was not expecting but are awesome include several Nadja albums and splits and the last record from Khanate (just wasn't expecting a new one). 

In the next several weeks there is the new Coalesce album, the GREYMACHINE ep and album, several more Nadja records, and maybe the new Integrity...maybe. Good year so far...good year.

The Fine Art of Self Reflection and Other Nonsense

Maybe it comes with the territory of a new year turning the page; maybe it has to do with strange traditions around this time of year, but lately much of my energy has been turned to re-evaluating things that I have done, am working on currently, will be working on, should be working on, et cetera et cetera. My wife and I have spoken a couple of times about New Years Resolutions and such wondering if either of us were going to make any. Normally, I steer clear of these types of "traditions" because they feel so shallow or trivial to me. Still, the goals that I set for myself seem to actually be these types of resolutions (mine just are not lose x amount of pounds or go to the gym more often type of resolutions). 

Some of my goals for 2009 include, but are not limited to:

- Get tattooed by my wife

- Record the first Gholas full length and release it

- Graduate from Graduate school with my Master's

- Write my first novel

- Less Quantity, More Quality

- Write 100 reviews this coming year for SPB

- Write 12 articles for SPB

- Go on at least one vacation where I leave the tri-state area

- Write this blog regularly

- Get My brother to write his novel

Some of those look daunting, particularly getting my brother to write his novel as he is lazy. Even now, I look at that list and ask myself what the hell am I thinking trying to do all of this this year. But, that is why they are goals...things to shoot for completing. 

Are these ridiculous? Who knows? I would have these goals regardless of if it was a New Year or not so maybe they would not seem that way in this case.