PRETTY GOOD YEAR 2007

PRETTY GOOD YEAR 2007-

I will actually post this on-time this year, and in 4 magical places – people might see it!


BEST (NEW) CD(s): Amy Winehouse- Back to Black was the soundtrack to my final semester in college, for some strange reason, I was listening to it months before it hit US shores, and of course, singing along to every slurred drunken word… meanwhile; Roisin Murphy- Overpowered infused disco-day-glo anthems to the white marble facades of the DC area.  Feist- The Reminder- and Patrick Wolf’s The Magic Position made the summer worth surviving in Utah.  MIA-Kala and the Noisettes-What’s the Time Mr. Wolf brought new noises to keep me awake. And Where would I be without Mark Ronson’s Version to keep all of my impromptu DJ sessions going?

Honorable Mention: PJ Harvey- White Chalk and Tori Amos- American Doll Posse- A return to form for Ms. Amos (after the debacle that was the Beekeeper) and a strange new dark-chapter for Ms. Harvey, which will fit in best in the colder January weather. 

BEST SINGLES: Clearly Rihanna- Umbrella has to be the best (and most addictive and catchy) single of 2007, so it stays here (the rest of the album…. It’s ok!)  Robyn’s With Every Heartbeat- Euro-disco-tacular and you won’t hear it in the states!  Amy Winehouse’s Rehab is so good, that I tipped a Drag queen just for having the balls to perform it.  Feist- My Moon My Man was one of the greatest jams that no one escaped, nor did they know who it was.  Kanye West- Stronger- anyone who samples Daft Punk has to have some serious balls. 


BEST DISCOVERIES: Lily Allen- Took me far too long to really get into her, but once I did, there was no going back.  Feist- Thanks to my time in Utah, I had plenty of time to really explore the wonder of her first album.  Patrick Wolf- Bizzare Kate-Bush in male form.  Rolo Kiley- again, thanks to Carissa’s computer…
HONORABLE MENTION: MIA, Robyn, Bat for Lashes, St. Vincent, Joanna Newsome… all rocked my world.

BEST MUSIC VIDEOS: MIA- Jimmy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9_Dk_F98cU

Rilo Kiley- Silver Lining http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6-W3fCUok8

Simian Mobile Disco- Hustler- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6-anJ5bGrY

Roisin Murphy- Let Me Know-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_vCOOW_BsE

BEST CONCERT: I suppose if I had gone to a concert this year… I would have one. 

WORST CD's: Yeah Yeah Yeahs- IsIs- I just never caught myself wanting to listen to it, which is odd for the YYYs… Rufus Wainwright- Release the Stars, for all the bravado about being poppier than ever, it was not nearly as catchy as I expected it to be.  Nine Inch Nails- Year Zero- so boring and so bland I listened to it once to completion, wasn’t worth the time it took to download.  The Chemical Brothers- We Are the Night- not nearly as catchy as most all of their other CDs



MIXED FEELINGS: St.Vincent- Marry Me, a bit twee at times, but still good, this doesn’t necessarily belong in this category, but I guess it does. Rihanna- Good Girl Gone Bad- first 5 songs are awesome, the it gets ballady for someone who has a 5 note range… Bjork’s Volta was never as amazing as I hoped for, but there are moments of brilliance.I just didn’t listen to some tracks…


WORST SINGLES: **(Basically I criticize whatever is high on Itunes download charts)

If Fergie’s Big Girls Don’t Cry was the most popular song of the year then clearly something is wrong with america’s youth.  Hey Deliah was one of the worst pieces of shit, made worse by the fact that it was destined to be a one hit wonder type of song,… since there is nothing else like it on the record.  Rockstar by Nickleback is a a tragedy of oedipal proportions, because after hearing it, I want to stab my eardrums out. 

RECORDS TO LOOK FORWARD TOO: Portishead, Goldfrapp, Yeah Yeah Yeahs (or Karen O’s solo project), Massive Attack (maybe), Patrick Wolf, Amy Winehouse (if she survives), Lily Allen (plus Baby!), Antony and the Johnsons, Cat Power, the Faint, Hot Chip… Kate Bush?

BEST BOOKS: V for Vendetta- Alan Moore- darker than the movie, plenty more of that Gallows Humor I like so very much, Hero by Perry Moore- about a gay-teen-superhero.  The Good Faeries of New York- Funny and fun… and Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman- fucking brilliant!
WORST BOOK: Chuck Klosterman IV—only because 1/3 of the book I had already read in the pages of Spin… It was still very good…

BEST MOVIE: I liked um… The Simpsons Movie and Ratatouille.

WORST MOVIES: … Transformers, the newest Harry Potter Movie wasn’t amazing. 

BEST DAY(s): Arriving in DC with nothing, Being in the River Hills Mall before Christmas, Staying Up all night in Salt Lake City with Bach, The Harman Opening Gala, Graduation Day. 

WORST DAY(s): Truck Breaking down in Wyoming, Working on the Chandelier till 2am…

BEST TV /DVD:  Oh, Heroes was really good, and I like House and Bones and Project Runway, Hurrah!

BEST PLAY(s): One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s nest was a breeze, and Angels in American was one where I learned a lot.  Taming of the Shrew was a blast, and I loved the director- but-

WORST PLAY: I never should have worked on Gypsy. 

BEST REVIVAL: Starting at the very bottom of the totem pole all over again.  

BEST CLASS: Life.

WORST CLASS:. Life (tie)

PERSON OF THE YEAR: (2006 Winner: Allen Shannon Wright) Bach Polakowski-

For more than half of the year, I was separated from him due to school, work and everything else, and somehow he has stuck it out and stayed with me, through what have probably been some of the hardest things in my life.  And he always has a smile and the perpetual desire to cuddle with me no matter how un-appealing I may be.  I couldn’t be happier to be dating him and can’t wait to see what the future brings.

BEST RESTURANT: California Tortilla?  (inside joke)


WORST FADs and FASHION: Britney Spears…. Spending too much money, …. Evangelical Christians…. Primary Colors… car troubles… being uninsured.  Not having electronic equiptment function properly. 

AS ALWAYS- I have available a BEST OF 2007 CD- the track listing was posted earlier (a few hours ago) with my traditional commentary… as always, I have been working on this list for months and months…. (Well what else are you going to do in Utah?) And as always, I believe it is utterly divine. So if you are interested, drop me a message or somehow get a hold of me… Facebook, Myspace, Xanga, Livejournal… it don’t matter.

Currently Listening When The Pawn... By Fiona Apple see related

End of Year- Best of 2007

END OF THE YEAR MIX CD 2007

1. Roisin Murphy- Let Me Know- Based around an old disco sample and an easy chord progression, simple and understated, and a boatload of fun. 
2. Calvin Harris- The Girls- Dirty, Filthy, and infectious, with an ego that this Scotsman doesn’t really deserve to have. 
3. LCD Soundsystem- Get Innocuous- Like David Bowie crossed with a celestial force of nature, insanely catchy. 
4. Patrick Wolf- The Magic Position- double entendre makes this a sweet love song about being in the same key of life and about finding the right spot to make effective love-making possible.
5. Lily Allen- LDN- sunny, dark and funny, and positively mood brightening. 
6. Bjork- Earth Intruders- Her Best and most connected song in quite sometime, feel the trample of human beings and her transformation from loving Ocean Goddess into Volcanic Mountain.
7. the Noisettes- Sister Rosetta- Like Billy Holiday and Whitney Houston having an orgy with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.  Brilliant and energetic.  From 0 to 11.
8. Feist- Sealion (Chromeo Mix)- An old nursery Rhyme gets two extreme makeovers from indie jam into dance floor funk.
9. Junior Boys- In the Morning- Glacial Electro-pop with social issues, (the video is about melting into the sidewalk)
10. MIA- Jimmy- Bollywood, Disco, Hip Hop and off-key singing- it sparkles and swoons in all of the right places.
11. Rilo Kiley- Silver Lining- California-indie-pop, with a voice of an angel and wit of the Marquis de Sade.
12. Arcade Fire- Black Mirror- Using a fairy tale convention to stab innocently at the current societal and religious movements going on with grand bombast and menace.
13. Bat for Lashes- Horse and I- Harpsichord and weirdness, telling about a new mythology. 
14. Tori Amos- Body and Soul- Rocking harder than she has in years, it’s clear that the Lioness has returned to a new level of theatrics, so much for maternity cooling her bloodlust.
15. Rufus Wainwright- Tulsa- more similar to most of his back-catalogue, bitchy and raises questions about everyone’s favorite Momon New-Wave Pop Vocalist…
16. Robyn- Be Mine!- Melodramatic Pop song with a spoken word bridge about wearing a scarf. 
17. Kylie Minogue- Wow- Samples or Steals “Holiday” but is still brilliantly gay and fun.
18. PJ Harvey- Piano- Dark, beautiful and probably more accessable song about abuse. 
19. Mark Ronson feat Amy Winehosue- Valerie- If you haven’t discovered it yet, it’s brilliant.

Currently Listening Capitol Collectors Series By Kay Starr I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm see related

Christmas Update

I suppose that this is well overdue, a formal letter/note/post to let all those who might be interested in how I am doing know how things are going.  Many have contacted me and few have been responded to (formally).  I have been busy since graduation, first Utah, and then the flight from Utah, which has been documented, and reported on… but I have thus far been mum on how things have been going here in Washington DC.  (for those of you who haven’t been keeping track, I’m living and working in Washington DC for the Shakespeare Theatre Company as a properties intern) … Well, we opened a brand new space (the Sidney Harman Hall) and we opened three shows (Taming of the Shrew, Tamberlaine, and Edward II) and that has indeed taken up an amazing amount of time.  I’ve learned a lot about doing props for a multi-million-dollar operating budget theatre… including gold leafing and spending thousands of dollars in a day on roses (for flower arrangements) and lamps (for chandeliers) For those who are theatrically inclined: I work chiefly with people who were trained in fine arts—fabric artist- a sculptor- and the rest are props people to the core- true artisans concerned with craft and making props that aren’t just simulated, but more often than not, if we need a prop, we do “the real thing” it is often just easier.  Amazing amounts of detail and my bosses are really cool to work for and work with.  I drive around in the Prop Shop Van (which has died or gotten towed or a flat tire while I’ve been driving it… continuing my vehicular-related bad-luck streak) I’ve gotten to know the DC area quite well, and the retail around here.

DC as a whole is quickly becoming my new adopted home.  I thoroughly enjoy living here in DC, I live incredibly close to the US Capitol, and I get to stumble home from the bars on occasion and wander through the same streets that the drug addled politicians and their call boys (and occasionally girls) stumble through during their late night “meetings”.  I really like the entire DC area, the transportation system has opened lots of doors to me (I can metro to and from work… both of them-  I work at the Props Shop which is located in Mount Rainier, Maryland, and I also work at the Bath and Body Works in Pentagon City Mall (in Virginia).  I like the fact that I have worked at 3 different B&BWorks locations (different states) and that it’s been consistently easy to get a job wherever I am, this makes the fact that I have not been paid a lot… ($150 a week from the theatre)  therefore to make those all important and impending student loan payments, (plus the idea of eating).  I stay busy, I work a whole heck of a lot 80+ hour weeks (mostly during Tech) and then 60 hour weeks during the regular non-tech/load in/preview weeks.   It’s a challenge, but that’s kind of the appeal. 

 I think one of the more recent conversations I had with  someone back home put it into perspective for me; this is my new challenge, it’s the new danger, and it’s the new drama.  It’s the Aries in me that needs this sort of thing and the Pisces is satisfied by the amount of art and research and culture that is present in a metropolitan area… such as here.  I love it here.  I am fairly certain that I would be okay with having a job and living here.  I probably will too…

So there is one thing I should mention, I will be back in Minnesota (Mankato and Minneapolis mostly) Starting Friday December 21^st at around 8:30am (my flight gets in)  and then I’ll be wanting to go dancing that night as a re-enactment of Bach’s 21^st Birthday- it’s likely we shall be going to the 90’s that night… so be 21… further details to come. (oh, if you didn’t already know, he’s living with me here in DC—we still are dating, duh… but this isn’t about him, it’s about me.) I will be in Mankato starting the next day, and then I leave from MPLS on December 26^th--  at 6:30pm… bound back for DC.  I would probably like to see you, and perhaps you would like to see me.  If you are interested in such a meeting, call me, e-mail me or message me. 

MICK

Currently Listening Let It Die By Feist see related

Fuel My Fire

I had a double performance- which means i had to work two shows, those being Showboat and Most Happy Fella.  First and foremost, I am good at running shows, once i determine i know what the hell i am doing, i usually am pretty damn rock and roll about memorizing the flow of the show... Showboat (which is 3 hours long) is a prime example, i got into the groove of running it (and Most Happy Fella) because they are consistently performed (except for Captain Crazy's appearances)  I don't ever have to get out of rhythm.  It's kind of nice.  The orchestra keeps things nice and consistent. 

But I still hate running shows.  

I will be done in 3 more performances of Showboat, and 2 more performances of Most Happy Fella.  Then Strike, and then, done.  I can't wait. 

Last night, around 5:00 I went to drive down to the show, and low and behold, the mountain was on fire.  Smoke Billowed up from the Canyon which i live on the crest of, and more smoke poured from an area just to the south and East.  I drove to work, with an eye to the sky, as the smoked billowed dramatically from behind the temple.  Where the richest people in town live.  I caught glimpses of flames through the buildings in downtownLogan.  When I arrived at the theatre, i went and set up for the show, and after i finished, the entire props crew (Megan, Steve and I) ventured up to the roof of the building to see it.  It was massive clowds of smoke billowing up from the mountainside.  Helicopters and Airplanes dropped crimson and yellow dust on the fires.  Flames poked through the fire and they looked like Candles on a birthday cake.  It was deadly, terrifying, and beautiful.  I called my parents to tell them, and it was increible.  we took pictures and marveled at the burning mountain before us.  It was then that i learned of the bridge collapse in Minneapolis. 

It felt apocolyptic. 

MICK

Currently Listening Back to Black By Amy Winehouse see related

Back to Brown

I dyed my hair.  And I went back to Brown.... thus, continuing the cycle, Black, Brown, Black, Brown.... This particular shade is a little more "red" than i would have perhaps liked, but as always, i still look like sex on toast. 

I'm trying to not spend money.  I'm really trying not to spend money, but i'm really frustratingly bored.  I am Reading Neil Gaiman's "Fragile Things" which is great, but i don't want to finish it, because then i'll be done with it, and i still have another week left here.  I also have no Movies to watch, because i don't want to spend money... so i bike, and i work on my portfolio, and i read, but not too much.   I have 5 days off this week.  The girls are gone, and i don't know where they are... i am going to start going a bit crazy. 

Why the fuck am i watching E ?   I don't understand. 

Brown Brown Brown

I need to leave, and I need to get away from this state.  I need things to do. 

MICK