Black Tie, Black T-Shirt Affair, and The Best Of 2008

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“Summer of Boats” – Local H

Talk about getting the new year started right. There I was, on New Years Eve, heading to Wicker Park to meet Christie before the Local H concert*, and we were both running late. Her because she’s Christie and she’s late for everything, and me because I knew she’d be late, so I didn’t worry about being on time. We had agreed to meet up at a joint called Aberdeen. It’s a nondescript, Wicker Park Yuppie/Hipster watering hole close to the bus line we needed to get to the show. I arrived first (of course) and was pleased to see that the place wasn’t too crowded for 9 o clock on New Years Eve night. I could see that they were getting ready to party, because they had cleared out the barstools, presumably to allow more people/movement, or even some dancing. Whothefuck knows. So, anyways, as I make a beeline to the bar, I notice that I’m a little underdressed for this joint, all of the ladies are wearing nice dresses, and the dudes are wearing club type stuff. Me? I’m wearing a Local H (fuck yeah) T-Shirt and cords. No big deal, we’re outta there as soon as Christie arrives, so I order a beer from the bartender lady, who makes with the beer and doesn’t ask me for any money. Figuring I’d just settle up when I leave, I park my carcass in one of the tables not marked “Reserved” (Must be a big party showing up tonight) and proceeded to wait for Christie, who miraculously actually showed up a scant few minutes later. I could see her coming in the door and….promptly being turned aside by the doorman. I could see her arguing with him but couldn’t hear what was said, but I started to get an inkling of what was going on. I went to the door and told the doorman she was with me, and he let her in, explaining that this was a private party, and everybody needed to check in. Apparently, I managed to slip in, underdressed, uninvited, and essentially unnoticed, but Christie got stopped at the door. Classic. I told the doorman that we were only staying long enough for me to finish my beer, which I had (not) paid for, thankyouverymuch, and he was, like, fine, whatever. And I was, like, fine, whatever, and Christie was, like, what the fuck? So I drank my (now) free beer and we went on our jolly way to have our faces rocked off by Local H, and that is the end of my story.
What did I learn from this experience? Never show up for an 8:30 meeting with Christie earlier than 9:30, and never dress up for parties because apparently nobody seems to notice the one guy not wearing fancy clothes, not even the doorman.

*Where was DCC, you ask? No, she was not at an appointment with her divorce attorney, She was at home with her friend SMT who had flown in from Jersey to visit her, and they were going to do girly stuff like watch Dick Clark and paint their toenails. So I didn’t, like, abandon her, I just wanted to go out and ROCK. And she was fine fine fine with it.

Okay folks, here it is, my half-assed attempt at a “Best of 2008” list. And by “Best Of” I mean “My Favorites” and if you don't agree, then I would say, no shit, because "My favorites" doesn't mean "Your favorites" , Einstein. If you have an opinion, feel free to write your own goddamn list here in the comments. Or don't, I don't give a fuck.

Movies, Best:

“In Bruges” – When people call something a “dark comedy” it usually means “A comedy that isn’t funny” but in this case, it really is a brilliant, darkly comic movie, and I absolutely loved it. Collin Farrell’s eyebrows should get their own billing though, because they are a character unto themselves.
“The Dark Knight” – Well, duh, its fucking Batman
“Son Of Rambow” – This is the movie that Michael Gondry was trying to make when he did that POS “Science of Sleep” flick and failed. This movie is what that movie was trying to be. Comedic, imaginative, whimsical, it captures the essence and the restlessness of youth.
“Iron Man” – Best popcorn flick of the year, hands down.
“Tropic Thunder” - BT and I had a good discussion about the shortcomings of this film, but since most of those shortcomings were Hollywood insider type stuff (And I am neither “Hollywood” or “Inside”) I was able to just watch this film, and laugh my ass off at the skewering of actors with inflated senses of self-worth (Played by actors who are notorious for their inflated sense of self-worth)
“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” – Okay, so it wasn’t released in 2008, but I didn’t see it until it came out on DVD in 2008. So sue me. Anyways. Wow. Fucking fantastic, and beautifully shot movie. Normally I would have a problem with the slow pacing, but in this instance, it worked very well. Casey Affleck deserves kudos for his performance here, I wasn’t sure if Robert Ford was a retard or just emotionally unbalanced (or maybe both) and I’m still not sure. Bravo! Mr. Affleck! Bravo!
“Hamlet 2” – A late addition here, but one worth mentioning. This one is along the lines of “Waiting For Guffman” but a little more compressed. Silly, musical, and moving all at once. Hamlet and Jesus in a time machine? Fuck yeah!

Movies, Worst:

“Wanted” – This movie couldn’t decide what the fuck it wanted to be, and ended up being a colossal, derivative, waste of fucking time. Also, one of the stupidest fucking endings. Ever.
“Burn After Reading” – Maybe this doesn’t belong on the “worst” list per se, because it wasn’t awful, per se, it just wasn’t the movie that they were advertising, which pisses me off.
“Revolver” – God, I hope now that he’s rid himself of Madge the Vadge, Guy Ritchie will go back to making movies that a) don’t suck and b) aren’t Kaballah infomercials.
“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” – Fuck you, George Lucas. Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you fuck you (And fuck New York too)
“Leatherheads” – I think George Clooney is a great comedic actor, so I had high hopes for this one. I tried three times to watch it and could never get out of the first 30 minutes without being bored out of my mind. Comedies that don’t make me laugh are not a good thing in my book.

Music:

What I listened to incessantly:

The 1900s – I bought their “Cold & Kind” CD at the end of 2007, but it didn’t really dig in with me until mid 2008, and then they probably became the most listened to thing on my iPod for the rest of the year.

The Innocence Mission – “Song From Holland” “Look For Me As You Go By” and “Into Brooklyn, Early In The Morning” in particular. Whenever I’m having a shitty stressful commute, I put these guys in and it calms me down..

Luna – My friend and musical collaborator, Royce, turned me on to these guys. He told me that my guitar playing reminded him of the guy from Luna, so I checked out a couple of songs at his recommendation to see if he was paying me a compliment or insulting me…Turns out he was paying me a compliment (“Malibu Love Nest” is fuckin’ great) Also, their Tour Documentary “Tell Me Do You Miss Me” could go on my “best of 2008” movies, except for the fact that it came out in 2006.

The 5 songs I listened to most in 2008 (only one of which was actually released in 2008):

Jet Black Sunrise – The Gin Blossoms
Malibu Love Nest - Luna
Song From Holland – Innocence Mission
Georgia – The 1900s
September: Simple Pleas – Local H

Best of 2008:

Kathleen Edwards – I have to call “Asking For Flowers” the best CD of 2008 kinda by default. I hate to say this, but despite the fact that its not a fucking fantastic disc from beginning to end, its still the best disc that I bought in 2008 that came out in 2008. (Keep in mind, I bought very few CDs in 2008, and only 2 or 3 of them actually came out in 2008) It has, like 6 great songs on it, and 5 that I just don’t give a shit about. Still, Kathleen Edwards could fart the National Anthem while killing a basket full of kittens and I would still ask her to marry me. For real.

I want to say Local H, because they came out with what is presumably an excellent album in 2008 but I only bought the songs I wanted off of it, and don’t really give a shit about the rest. The song “September: Simple Pleas” just fucking kills me (I always said you were to good/ And now you believe it/ I think I always knew that you’d go) I just saw them in concert and they fucking killed this song. Just awesome. “Summer Of Boats” is also totally kick ass.

Best Song I Had A Hand In Writing in 2008: “Dead To Me Now” – I don’t know. I think it’s the closest thing I’ve ever written to Power Pop. Brandon might disagree (with it even resembling Power Pop, that is) but since I didn’t write much else this year, it takes the crown by default. There is actually a much better version available, but I am too lazy to upload it, so email me if you want it and I will send it to you. All three of you.

Television:

(Network): “House” – Holy shit this show is good. A late discovery for me, but hey, when hockey is on, everything else goes out the window.

(Cable): “Metalocalypse” – This cartoon makes fun of everything that I love and hate about rock and roll, and people in general. Awesome. (I do cocaine!!)

Books:
I only read, like, 5 books in 2008 and none of them was written or released in 2008, so let’s just say, if you get the chance to read Slash’s biography, don’t. If you get the chance to read Jen Trynin’s autobiography “Everything I’m Cracked Up To Be” Sure, go on and do it.

Fine Dining and Night Life:

Best Bar: Hands down, it’s Piece. I go there every Saturday that I can and enjoy their fine beers that they brew on the premises. Also, they have the best pizza that I have yet to encounter in Chicago. I fuckin’ love this joint.

Best Restaurant: Now, my default is Rosebud Steakhouse, because it’s just fucking awesome. It’s also fucking expensive, so I probably can’t go back in 2009 without a third mortgage. Let’s just say for the purpose of restaurants that I can afford to frequent more than once every 2 years, I’d say Chaise Lounge. It feels really super fancy, but it doesn’t cost really super fancy prices (just semi super fancy prices) It’s really yummy. Go eat there.

Best Event of 2008: GOT 2008 – Toronto. Five days. My best friends. Hockey Hall Of Fame. ‘Nuff Said.

Worst “Best of 2008” List of 2008: This one. Hands down.

Let’s see what shuffle mode coughs up this morning, shall we?

“Too Far Apart” – Wilco (skip)
“East Of Us” – Eddi Reader
“Poundcake” – Van Halen
“What A Wonderful World” – Terence Trent D’arby
“Blank Generation” – Whiskeytown

Also, I want to officially announce that in 2009, I am switching my fictional character crush from Erin E-Surance to the chick who plays Flo in the Progressive ads. Sorry, Erin, you always put your career before romance and I just couldn’t handle it anymore.

Oh, Flo, you make my heart go pitter-patter!!