working on the weekend

Yesterday I bought tickets for Sarah and I to see Spoon at the Royal Oak Music Theatre on March 30th. I already took the day after off, and if there's any kind of lull in our schedule at RingSide, I am seriously considering taking that whole week off. So far, January has been my busiest month ever at RingSide (and it's not even over yet.) Just last week I worked 10 hours on Sunday, 12 on MLK Day, and 13 Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We're working on Saturday right now, and I might be working again tomorrow. On the bright side, this is going to amount to some awesome overtime pay.

A couple weeks ago Alex moved into the upstairs of my house. He had the great idea of tearing up the carpet to see what the hardwood floors underneath look like. I was afraid after the pain in the ass it was to refinish the floors downstairs, but fortunately upstairs the wood was in amazing shape, with a newer, better padding that came right off. I really enjoy having someone else in my house. Sarah has been spending the night and staying there as well after I leave for work. Since I've barely been at home, it's good that it's being lived in.

I've been overwhelming myself with new music recently. Alex gave me six albums that he got from his friend, I've downloaded almost the entire Guided By Voices discography, plus tons of stuff from Built To Spill, Pavement, Quasi, and Echo & The Bunnymen (all recommendations from Sarah.)

All in all, things are awesome right now.

I have no problem with the PBR can on my porch

I have no problem with the PBR can on my porch. It is perched on a window ledge staring out at the morning on my street; the neighbor's cars and the week old snow. Sarah must have left it there when she went onto the porch to smoke last night. I am now imagining her standing there, clutching her shoulders to keep warm as she drags on her cigarette before blowing out the screen door. As I stand next to the coffee pot hissing the day awake, I am lost in the thought of her comfortable and cold at 2:00 AM. My mind settles into a happiness that tells me nothing can bring me down today.

Ray's list for 2009

10. Engineers - Three Fact Fader

Heavily effected guitars give Engineers a very electronic-driven feel. Entrenching, wall-of-sound melodies and soft-sung poetic, vocals make for an album that is ambient and powerful at the same time.

9. Wilco - Wilco (The Album)

Compare and contrast this to Wilco's older work all you want, it's still pretty good. Solid pop rock songs with a little less spastic guitar than on previous albums - but it's still there. Some straight-forward sentimental messages seem to be a deviation from previous work (excluding "I'm the man who loves you", of course.) Although, maybe I'm not as diehard about Wilco's older work. I'm certainly not against where the band is going.

8. A.C. Newman - Get Guilty

When I heard this album was coming out, I expected it would end up very high on my list. I was a huge fan of the quiet energy on his first album "The Slow Wonder". "Get Guilty", however, seems too... loud. Maybe it's a sign of being booked at bigger venues, but the style of this album is very anthemic, and at home on a large stage. And if that's the case, then all the more power to Mr. Newman for doing what he wants to well - I'd rather he turned down the shouts and crashing symbols.

7. Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career

The ladies in Camera Obscura have always made glowing, enjoyable melodies. This album is solid from start to finish. I noticed more strings and horns than on previous works, and they only add to the warmth of their already cheery songs.

6. Junior Boys - Begone Dull Care

I have followed these guys ever since I saw them open for Caribou a couple years ago. Each of their albums seem to focus on different energies within the electronic music genre. On "Begone Dull Care" there is an 8-bit influence not present on their previous work that combines nicely with whispered vocals, but also draws out a new, more punctual singing style on some songs.

5. Au Revoir Simone - Still Night, Still Light

For as underwhelmed as I've been with Au Revoir Simone in the past, this album really surprised me. With drum machine rhythms and catchy keyboard chords, the wonderfully haunting vocals are able to soar. Another album that is consistent all the way through.

4. Asobi Seksu - Hush

For those who think shoegaze died with My Bloody Valentine, Asobi Seksu puts out an array of sounds on one exceptional album. From more straight-forward, muted indie rock to dreamy, radiant songs, the singer shines at all ranges, reaching to light and airy at times. This is the kind of album that you have to appreciate for all it's able to accomplish.

3. Reverie Sound Revue - Reverie Sound Revue

I waited for this album longer than I've ever waited for an album. After being blown away by their EP that I heard in 2006, I have been raving to my friends about the vocal talents of Lisa Lobsinger and RSR's amazingly catchy, simple rhythms. Now they have an LP under their belt, and what keeps this from being number one or two on my list is how they've slowed things down on a few songs. While it still nicely compliments Lisa's beautiful voice, I prefer when the band really rocks out (which they still do occasionally.)

2. Apostle Of Hustle - Eats Darkness

In my opinion, the champions of uniqueness in indie rock, Andrew Whiteman's Apostle of Hustle have turned out another gem of an album. Sure, when you take out the quirky interludes you're only left with seven real songs, but each one of them is fantastic. I am still enamored with the promotional write-up on AoH's MySpace. "swallowing poison usually leads to death, but not if the patient knows the art of transformation, not if they can "stomach" the bullshit & hell that is surrounding and tormenting them. this then is the process - one eats darkness & somehow is able to excrete out pure light!"

1. Halloween, Alaska - Champagne Downtown

One of the first albums I bought in a long time, for me this album was about realizing what I really loved in music. From the incredibly poetic (and even chilling) lyrics, to the moody, mellow parts, and even some experimentalism (self-censoring?). Not only that, but it cemented Halloween, Alaska as one of my all-time favorite bands.

January's stars

Happy Twenty-Ten everyone!

My holiday season was fantastic. I took my parent's to see a live production of A Christmas Carol at Meadowbrook Theatre. It was so great, I was touched emotionally... and it really put me in the Christmas spirit. Two nights before Christmas I was staying late on my last night of work for 2009 when James tweets @ me and it turns out he's in town for the holidays and hanging out in Ferndale with our friend Matt. I get home, pick up Sarah, and we all hang out at the Emory for a while. Afterward Sarah and I then went to Alana's house for Craft Night, and finally we stopped by Laura, JP, Aaron, and Rachel's new house down the street from me. Unfortunately we got there very late, and couldn't stay very long. Christmas Eve Sarah's Aunt and Uncle had an open house Christmas party at their house where Sarah and I exchanged gifts.

Christmas morning I woke up and watched Twin Peaks before my parents came over. I set up a playlist of indie bands covering Christmas songs, and once my Aunt and Uncle came over we played a game of Risk and later Sarah came over and we played some cards before having chicken noodle soup and sandwiches for dinner. That night I drove out to my parent's house where we had our gift exchange and so I could spend the night. The following morning we went to my other Aunt's house for my Mom's side of the family's Christmas. We had a delicious turkey lunch, my cousin and I exchanged gifts, and we had the traditional gift card exchange.

The next day, Sarah and I left on an unplanned roadtrip.

Our original rules were to take turns deciding whether to turn left or right at the next intersection. We also agreed that either of us could suggest a destination, and all turn-taking would cease until our destination was reached.

We started by driving through Detroit and taking pictures of funny signs (ie. "live human hair".) After a couple hours we decided to make it to Chicago. First we visited Sarah's friend Shannon and her girlfriend, and then checked into a hostel for the night. It was really cool to stay in a hostel... it had a very on-the-go, backpacker feel to it. After checking in we walked down the block to Galway Arms, a really cool Irish pub where we had dinner and then went across the street to a tiny little sports bar before crashing. The next morning we drove South through Indiana - getting lost on some dangerous country roads - and stayed the night in the picturesque town of Batesville.

Tuesday we drove through Cincinnati and continued South through Lexington before heading East. We drove the very scenic I-79, ran out of gas in the middle of the mountains, and stopped off in Burnsville before settling on a motel in Bridgeport. After checking in we went to the local mall and saw Sherlock Holmes. I really enjoyed it, and it made me want to read the books.

Wednesday we decided to make it to Baltimore, but first we visited the tiny suburb of... Ferndale! It was a lot different from the Ferndale we live in. We stopped at the Ferndale Tavern where there were half a dozen older guys drinking away. After our first drink, the owner bought everyone a round and the bartender gave us both drink tokens that say "Ferndale Tavern." I asked her kindly if we could pay for our next drinks and keep the tokens, and she let us keep them anyway. After that we drove into Baltimore itself and visited Edgar Allan Poe's original grave site. It was located in a cemetery around Westminster Hall, and though it was dark when we got there, the gate was open so we walked in. We went around to the back of the building where Poe's grave was, and when we came back to the entrance, the gate had been locked. Sarah called the Baltimore police and the officer who came was very apologetic about our being locked in. We then drove around and ended up on the South side of town, and randomly decided on Magerk's pub for dinner. We then stopped at Metropolitan for some coffee (it seemed like a really sweet place to go back to and have drinks) and got back on the road. I was feeling very energized so we ended up driving another three hours and made it almost to Pittsburgh.

Thursday morning we drove to Cleveland and stopped by Great Lakes Brewing Co. so I could add one of their growlers to my collection. We made it back home a little after dark, and we ended up celebrating New Year's at her Aunt and Uncle's.

I spent Sunday readjusting. I took down all of the Christmas decorations and cleaned up the upstairs room of my house because Alex is planning to move in with me sometime later this month. Now it's back to work as usual.