from 200Great to 200Fine.
So for the first time since i graduated from college - pretty much exactly 4 years ago - i did not have the worst year of my life. Personal employment is at an all time high, family troubles are at an all time low, and i can count on a couple of fingers the times when I wished i was dead. I did a hell of a lot of traveling, and while 2008 was literally one romantic dud after another, i did make many valiant efforts at winning myself a love interest.
So, basically, despite my income and professional successes being the best they ever were, despite my drug use being a thing of the past, and despite everyone telling me how much better i look now that i'm sober and well-fed, women seemed to like me a hell of a lot more when i was poor and eating barbituates for breakfast. Why is that not a surprise?
So anyway. This is my obligatory end of the year wrap-up. I've done it every year for probably as long as i've had a live journal. Ones in the past would be guesstimated statistics on how many beers i drank, frozen pizzas i ate, girls kissed, etc etc. Maybe I'm getting old, but all that kind of seems pretty juvenile and uninteresting. So, I'm now trying to think of a way to organize the highlights. maybe just bullet points or something? Or maybe a timeline. i have no idea.
The biggest deal is that i broke the cycle of working dead-end temp jobs. I decided it could be possible to work from home full time by working a number of small-paying part time jobs. And damn if it didn't work. I started working for Google while still writing for the Scene. and then making videos for VIMBY.com. That's what I'm still doing, even as we speak. Not ideal, of course. But i at least make half my living from the arts which is more than i can say for previous years.
umm...
geographical highlights: Austin and Los Angeles. never been to either, went to both this year. both were amazing.
books in 2006, i read about 36 books. Last year about 16. This year only about 6 or 7. However, That actually means i spent more time working than reading, which is ultimately a good thing. the only high lights i can speak of are:
Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson
Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Pastoralia by George Saunders
movies: i managed to score another badge for Nashville Film Festival where i saw some awesome stuff - the majority of which escapes me at the moment. I spent a hell of a lot of time in movie theaters this year. I'm estimating at least 75 hours. the best of which include:
Slumdog Millionaire
Milk
JCVD
Let the Right One In
Encounters at the End of the World
Man on Wire
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Son of Rambow (actually 2007 but didn't play here until well into 2008)
Happy-Go-Lucky
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
That's all i can think of at the moment, actually. Not surprising, most of those i saw in the last couple months. Unfortunately, The Wrestler, Wendy and Lucy, Fanboys and a couple others STILL haven't played here. So I'm waiting patiently on those. There's also movies like Towelhead and Billy the Kid that NEVER played here which i happen to be getting via Netflix today.
music: this is the year i officially became disillusioned with indie rock. i fought it for the longest cause it felt like a sign that i was getting old and losing touch with the trends. But fuck that. I realize now the trend is for different bands to make the same records over and over again. And maybe it was always that way, i dunno. but I'm done with it. I still like new music. but i'm much more discriminating now. anyway. here's ten albums i actually liked:
1. Kanye West - 808s and Heartbreak
2. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
3. Girl Talk - Feed the Animals
4. Ghostfinger - The Feeler
5. Santogold - Santogold
6. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III
7. Common - Universal Mind Control
8. Jay Reatard - Matador Singles '08
9. Jasmin Kaset - Jasmin Kaset
10. Cheap Time - Cheap Time
Beyonce's I Am... Sasha Fierce almost made the cut, same with Britney Spears Circus. But, as with most pop records, there was a lot of crap to skip through to get to the good songs. That's not me being "ironic" either. I actually found pop music to be a hell of a lot more interesting than "indie" this year.
oh. and good bands i saw this year: Crystal Castles, YACHT, Ghostland Observatory x 2, The Cool Kids, Matt & Kim x 3, Jay Reatard x 2, MIA, Chromeo, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (private show at Mercy Lounge with 200 Europeans), Squeeze, Girl Talk, NOFX, Sonic Youth, aaand. that's all i can remember right now. there were a lot. but it all kind of blurs together.
um... what else: Bonnaroo, as always was a highlight, or at least a major footnote. I had a press pass this year, which was probably the only reason i went, as the line up was pretty weak this year. I also don't know if i can ever go back as a paying (or non-paying) customer actually after having access to a/c and an open bar the whole time.
The funny thing is, i've always been a pretty competent scam artist when it comes to getting into shows and events for free, scoring free food, etc etc. And now i feel like i've taken it to a whole other level by pursuing a career where all this stuff is legitimately given to me for free. I only paid to see a handful of bands this year. I got into 3 major music festivals this year for nothing (only two of which were legitimate - i still scammed my way into SXSW). So here's to more free stuff in 2009.
Recap:I'm getting sick of writing this. So let's see, I made a ton of videos for VIMBY. I made a short film that won some awards at the 48 Hour Film Project. I sat on my ass at home and made a lot of money. My band recorded half an album that sounds awesome. I started a new band that's going to be a lot of fun in the next year or so. I'm healthier, more productive, and ultimately much happier than i've been in previous years. Which is saying a lot. 2005 - 2007 were the hardest years of my life so far. So this has been a nice break. I don't want to jinx it by saying the worst is behind me, but i hope this is a trend that continues.
I guess my only complaint is the whole women-not-finding-me-the-slightest-bit-interesting thing. I went on lots of dates this year. Multiple dates with the same girls, but ultimately, absolutely none of them were successful. Maybe sobering up has made me boring. I'm definitely not quite as adventurous as i once was. Maybe i'm too relaxed for my own good. I have no idea. I'll work on it as soon as i figure out what to work on. Too bad the whole dating thing doesn't come with a suggestion box. Too bad it's totally awkward and creepy to even think about asking a girl precisely why she decided you weren't acceptable. But whatever. I've got no choice but to hang in there.
So here's to sticking a fork in 200Great and popping the cork on 200Fine.
So, basically, despite my income and professional successes being the best they ever were, despite my drug use being a thing of the past, and despite everyone telling me how much better i look now that i'm sober and well-fed, women seemed to like me a hell of a lot more when i was poor and eating barbituates for breakfast. Why is that not a surprise?
So anyway. This is my obligatory end of the year wrap-up. I've done it every year for probably as long as i've had a live journal. Ones in the past would be guesstimated statistics on how many beers i drank, frozen pizzas i ate, girls kissed, etc etc. Maybe I'm getting old, but all that kind of seems pretty juvenile and uninteresting. So, I'm now trying to think of a way to organize the highlights. maybe just bullet points or something? Or maybe a timeline. i have no idea.
The biggest deal is that i broke the cycle of working dead-end temp jobs. I decided it could be possible to work from home full time by working a number of small-paying part time jobs. And damn if it didn't work. I started working for Google while still writing for the Scene. and then making videos for VIMBY.com. That's what I'm still doing, even as we speak. Not ideal, of course. But i at least make half my living from the arts which is more than i can say for previous years.
umm...
geographical highlights: Austin and Los Angeles. never been to either, went to both this year. both were amazing.
books in 2006, i read about 36 books. Last year about 16. This year only about 6 or 7. However, That actually means i spent more time working than reading, which is ultimately a good thing. the only high lights i can speak of are:
Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson
Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Pastoralia by George Saunders
movies: i managed to score another badge for Nashville Film Festival where i saw some awesome stuff - the majority of which escapes me at the moment. I spent a hell of a lot of time in movie theaters this year. I'm estimating at least 75 hours. the best of which include:
Slumdog Millionaire
Milk
JCVD
Let the Right One In
Encounters at the End of the World
Man on Wire
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Son of Rambow (actually 2007 but didn't play here until well into 2008)
Happy-Go-Lucky
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
That's all i can think of at the moment, actually. Not surprising, most of those i saw in the last couple months. Unfortunately, The Wrestler, Wendy and Lucy, Fanboys and a couple others STILL haven't played here. So I'm waiting patiently on those. There's also movies like Towelhead and Billy the Kid that NEVER played here which i happen to be getting via Netflix today.
music: this is the year i officially became disillusioned with indie rock. i fought it for the longest cause it felt like a sign that i was getting old and losing touch with the trends. But fuck that. I realize now the trend is for different bands to make the same records over and over again. And maybe it was always that way, i dunno. but I'm done with it. I still like new music. but i'm much more discriminating now. anyway. here's ten albums i actually liked:
1. Kanye West - 808s and Heartbreak
2. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
3. Girl Talk - Feed the Animals
4. Ghostfinger - The Feeler
5. Santogold - Santogold
6. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III
7. Common - Universal Mind Control
8. Jay Reatard - Matador Singles '08
9. Jasmin Kaset - Jasmin Kaset
10. Cheap Time - Cheap Time
Beyonce's I Am... Sasha Fierce almost made the cut, same with Britney Spears Circus. But, as with most pop records, there was a lot of crap to skip through to get to the good songs. That's not me being "ironic" either. I actually found pop music to be a hell of a lot more interesting than "indie" this year.
oh. and good bands i saw this year: Crystal Castles, YACHT, Ghostland Observatory x 2, The Cool Kids, Matt & Kim x 3, Jay Reatard x 2, MIA, Chromeo, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (private show at Mercy Lounge with 200 Europeans), Squeeze, Girl Talk, NOFX, Sonic Youth, aaand. that's all i can remember right now. there were a lot. but it all kind of blurs together.
um... what else: Bonnaroo, as always was a highlight, or at least a major footnote. I had a press pass this year, which was probably the only reason i went, as the line up was pretty weak this year. I also don't know if i can ever go back as a paying (or non-paying) customer actually after having access to a/c and an open bar the whole time.
The funny thing is, i've always been a pretty competent scam artist when it comes to getting into shows and events for free, scoring free food, etc etc. And now i feel like i've taken it to a whole other level by pursuing a career where all this stuff is legitimately given to me for free. I only paid to see a handful of bands this year. I got into 3 major music festivals this year for nothing (only two of which were legitimate - i still scammed my way into SXSW). So here's to more free stuff in 2009.
Recap:I'm getting sick of writing this. So let's see, I made a ton of videos for VIMBY. I made a short film that won some awards at the 48 Hour Film Project. I sat on my ass at home and made a lot of money. My band recorded half an album that sounds awesome. I started a new band that's going to be a lot of fun in the next year or so. I'm healthier, more productive, and ultimately much happier than i've been in previous years. Which is saying a lot. 2005 - 2007 were the hardest years of my life so far. So this has been a nice break. I don't want to jinx it by saying the worst is behind me, but i hope this is a trend that continues.
I guess my only complaint is the whole women-not-finding-me-the-slightest-bit-interesting thing. I went on lots of dates this year. Multiple dates with the same girls, but ultimately, absolutely none of them were successful. Maybe sobering up has made me boring. I'm definitely not quite as adventurous as i once was. Maybe i'm too relaxed for my own good. I have no idea. I'll work on it as soon as i figure out what to work on. Too bad the whole dating thing doesn't come with a suggestion box. Too bad it's totally awkward and creepy to even think about asking a girl precisely why she decided you weren't acceptable. But whatever. I've got no choice but to hang in there.
So here's to sticking a fork in 200Great and popping the cork on 200Fine.