- I was thinking about a year-end list for favorite albums. Then, I realized that I didn't really have 10 good albums to list out that I could put on a year-end list and feel really good about. So, I'll do a top three:
3. kd lang & The Siss Boom Bang - Sing It Loud: I've never been a kd hater, but I'm not the biggest fan she has, either. However, there was something about this album and when it was released this year that really struck me. "Sorrow Nevermore" could be my second-favorite song of the year (favorite to be listed shortly). kd has always had a way to write a purely beautiful, and sometimes devastating song, and this album is no different. Also, she's always had a knack for doing a good cover song. Little River Band's "Reminiscing" is totally made her own on this record.
2. Radiohead - The King Of Limbs: It's no secret that I'm a Radiohead apologist. But I'm not blind, and they've released some stuff of which I've not been that fond (well, not that much, but still). TKOL contains my favorite song of the year, "Bloom." triplets over a 2/4 beat, lyrics that are so deep you spend months trying to figure out what they mean, and the typical recent Radiohead-weirdness rules the day on "Bloom." TKOL is also a compact album, the shortest of their career, and says what it needs to say and leaves you alone. Much like the rest of their catalogue since their 2000 release Kid A, it's not the most accessible album, but it's damn good.
1. Adele - 21. Duh. I mean, I've been singing the praises of this album since I started the blog, why stop now? This is an album that transcended generations, color lines, age, and attitude. Not too many people heard this album and said "meh." Sure, you may be sick of "Rolling In The Deep" by now, I'd understand if you are. But you can't deny the shear talent this young lady has, and you can't deny that she followed up a Grammy winning performance on 19 with an album that is going to beat the living daylights out of her competition this awards-season. And it's because she deserves it. This is an album that we'll be talking about for years to come. - Movies: look, I saw Moneyball and Bridesmaids, and that's really it. Maybe I saw something else on DVD I'm not recollecting, but obviously they're not worth it. I did enjoy those two films, btw. Let's move on.
- The Year In Chicago Sports: meh. Bears could've been special if they weren't made of Japanese art-paper. The White Sox disappointed (I'm okay with that), the Cubs were the Cubs, the Blackhawks had a hangover... the Bulls were the only game in town this past year, and it looks like they may be continuing this trend into 2012. At least the Cubs made a great front-office hire in Theo Epstein; maybe he can do something about Soriano's contract... maybe not. All I know is, it couldn't get much worse in 2012. "Much." Things I'm looking forward to this year are less Chicago-based. Will Novak Djokovic continue his torrid 2011 pace of 3 Grand Slam wins, will Nadal go back to #1, or will Federer have a swan-song year, just in time for the Olympics to be at Wimbledon (aka: Roger Federer's summer-home)? Can Tiger Woods use the momentum he had late in the season and finally start to put the Humpty Dumpty of his career back together again? Will this be the end of the Williams sisters as we know them? Can somebody PLEASE beat the Packers in the playoffs? Justin, I'm looking at your Saints, here... :)
- 2011 Politics: well, that was fun, wasn't it? Good luck to the GOP this election season. And by that, I mean... well, you know what I mean.
- As we head into a new year, I'd like to take time to babble a bit about having turned 40 just before Christmas. I was afraid. I know, silly, but I had the same aging fears everyone else does, I guess... or almost everyone else does. You know what I've been? Calm. Very calm. I don't understand it one bit, but it's true, and I'm riding it. All I know is, I turned 40 with the following truths: family that cares about me and assists me when I need it, a fabulous new place to live (see the first point), wonderful friends, a steady job from which I finally get insurance for the first time in a decade, and a wonderful guy in my life for whom I'd walk in front of a truck of explosives if necessary. Point is, my 40th was filled with a lot better news than, say, my 30th. Or even 37-39. If this is where life begins, I guess I could be getting off on a worse foot. Thanks to all of you who helped make my transition an easy one. Especially you, Riley.
- One final thought... This past weekend was the 10th anniversary of my father passing away. It never gets "easier" in the traditional sense, but it gets easier in the dealing with things sense, 'cause you learn more about that every day. I get sad about it from time to time, and I certainly did for a little while this weekend. But when I get down, I think about something dad used to say to me all the time, and that I've been sharing with others a lot in recent years. "Look, when things are their lowest, and you really don't know if you're going to make it through, just remember one thing: 500,000,000 people in China don't care. They just don't." Right now, I know that fact to be true. I do know one person that does care about you, dad: me. Wish you were here so we could joke about music and the Cubs together. I've wished that every single day for the last 3,654 days.
Happy New Year, everybody! Be safe.
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