this will also be the last post on strangerelationship.wordpress.com.  i feel really confined by this blog, perhaps choosing a name such as strange relationship (the title of which is a song, a song that has very deep, very complex memories/meanings for me) wasn’t such a good thing.  i haven’t given up on blogging, far from it, in the new year – i plan to do a lot more of it.  i hope that most of you will follow me (hint, click the pic) - but if not, c’est la vie… thanks for staying on the train as long as you did.

with that in mind – and with the instructions as a guide, some closing thoughts:

• love yourself.  everyday.  or try your damnedest.
• realize that you have value, and people love you – doing self-damaging things, well that just validates whatever issue you may be trying to circumvent (trust me, i know)
• find joy/bliss/nirvana in the small things.
• try to learn one new thing every day.  that’s a huge thing for me, something i will be working on in the new year.
• turn off your t.v. for 1 full day every week & go for a walk.
• you know those moments where you don’t know what to say, or what to do?  just say something!  just do something! anything.
• enjoy the people that love you.  even if they’re a little challenging to enjoy (hi mom!).
• oh, and that whole thing about ‘no regrets’?  i don’t buy it.  regrets can teach you tons.  just listen to your gut.

see ya’ll in 2009 (somewhere)

]]> http://strangerelationship.wordpress.com/2008/12/30/life-instructions/feed/ 8 madhouse6 stolen-from-the-bob-blog1 http://strangerelationship.wordpress.com/2008/12/27/1092/ http://strangerelationship.wordpress.com/2008/12/27/1092/#comments Sat, 27 Dec 2008 20:17:45 +0000 madhouse6 http://strangerelationship.wordpress.com/?p=1092 ]]>

as a special present to you – please take a listen to my favorite modern holiday tune, wendy & lisa’s ‘the closing of the year’ the theme song to the movie toys.  it’s a beautiful song that always makes me happy for the season:

If i cannot bring you comfort,
then at least i bring you home
for nothing is more precious
than the time we haven’t sold

We all must learn from small misfortunes
count the blessings that are real
Let the bells ring out for Christmas
at the closing of the year

Let the bells ring out for Christmas
at the closing of the year

If i cannot bring you comfort,
then at least i bring you home

At the closing of the year
at the closing of the year
at the closing of the year

Now all the winter bells are ringing
hear them echo through the snow
and the children’s voices singing
on the streets so far below

This is a time to be together
and the truth is somewhere here
within our love for people
at the closing of the year

happy eve of the birth of the big j to all (and to all a good night).  stay safe this holiday season.

for starters he got me an ice cream scoop – hey, i needed one. 

then he got me a remote control docking unit for my ipods (score #1!)

then he got me this:

ok, thing 1; i needed an oven mitt – i didn’t have one after i moved and cb has been making fun of me ever since when i use a towel or something else inappropriate to get stuff out of the oven, but really, leave it to cb to find the most disturbing oven mitt ever created.  and in pink no less!  i didn’t think it was possible to have something look like a penis, a vagina and an alien all at the same time (it is important to note, one of the selling points [as described on the packaging] for the mitt is that is ribbed [it does not however say if it's for his or her pleasure]).  oh, and yea, i know i look huge in this pic.  you don’t need to tell me.  ugg.  perhaps the ice cream scoop was a bad idea.

but the creme del a creme was this:

he replaced my garmin gps that was stolen last week.  how fuckin’ cool is that?!

thanks cb – helluva good start to the holliday’s.

surely the only holiday special to utter the lines: “you also have a rubbish can up to your nether regions“, “they replaced his brains with tator tots“, “excuse me, is this crossdressing cockroaches in crisis?” and “you’re going to steal my clothes and leave me naked outside albuquerque.”  brilliant i say.

and featuring cameos by robin williams (the kiwi) and dustin hoffman (the aforementioned cockroach) – this is the one holiday special i look forward to watching every year, and the one that puts a perpetual smile on my face the entire time i’m watching….

enjoy perfection:

part 1:

part 2:

part 3:

band aid  – do they know it’s christmas

holly cole – christmas blues

white christmas – movie

you’re a mean one mr. grinch – i had too (hehehe)

love him or loath him, you have to give it to prince – he’s nearly always interesting.  yesterday 5 brand new tracks  made their debut, 4 of ‘em on steve jones (ex-sex pistols) radio show in los angeles.  click the above drawing to go to the website to check out the new tunes.  for my money, the best is the song ‘colonized mind’ – bluesy and rockin’.

enjoy.

 well, 2008 certainly is wrapping up quite quick in’it?  shocking how fast this year has gone by. 

my friend greg challenged me list out my top albums of the year.  this in and of itself is not an unusual task for me, however, i just have not been too impressed with a lot of music this year (or truth be told, I just haven’t paid much attention).  so my list isn’t complete by any stretch of the imagination, but its what I dug in 2008.  (the links will take you to amazon.com)

in no particular order (sorta):

grace jones.  hurricane.  yes, yes, i’ve written ad nauseum about my love of this album.  simply put, a great return to form and a damn fine listen.  her growl is still shiver inducing.

duffy.  rockferry.  wow, what a voice and what a debut.  a modern dusty springfield and a great modern blue-eyed soul record.  in constant rotation for me.

the duke spirit.  neptune.  apparently, i’m on some sort of vintage-tip lately… this one rounds out that groove with a modern twist on velvet undergound + nico mixed with a bit of sonic youth.  great heavy grooves that rock.  great live show too!

the gutter twins.  saturnalia.  dubbed the satanic everly brothers, the gutter twins are greg dulli + mark lanegran.  two leading figures from 90’s grunge (pitchfork called them “two of the alt-rock era’s greatest front men”) join forces on this amazingly dark, raw album. 

big blue ball.  peter gabriel + crew make a world beat album that is truly worldly.  its reflective of the entire globe and beautifully done with melodies that will stay with you for days and days. 

goldfrapp.  seventh tree.  a completely unexpected, radical departure from the band’s previous effort ‘supernature’, seventh tree finds them in a quiet almost reflective space.  songs about overdoses, amnesia and oddly enough ‘happiness’, evoke a warmer, more organic tone.  no doubt this is the morning after to supernature’s disco overload.

nine inch nails.  the slip.  another departure so to speak, the slip finds trent reznor + nin focused in a way that we haven’t seen for some time.  the album is equal parts his tradmarked tecno-metal and industrial noise (with some ambient ballads thrown in for good measure) – but, and here’s the surprise, a there is actual melody here and there.  closer than he’s been in ages to pretty hate machine and the downward spiral, the slip reminds you what a tremendously good song-writer reznor is. 

heloise & the savoir faire.  trash, rats & microphones.  the debut of the year for me.  the sweet sweet pop/punk/electro disco of heloise + crew make me smile and dance about the apartment.   brilliant fun.

coldplay.  viva la vida or death and all his friends.   also known as the album that finds coldplay discovering distorted guitars, chris martin’s lower singing register and brian eno.  until this album, i would be what you would call a casual coldplay fan.  this album however is the shit.  political. meditative.  beautiful.   and ‘violet hill’ kills me. 

atmosphere.  when live gives you lemons, you paint that shit gold.  continuing the “it’s a departure theme”, the 5^th disk from the minneapolis based hip-hop duo, features more live instrumentation than sampling and less autobiographical tunes, the album is a supurb effort and the stories will stick with you. 

portishead.  third.  first record in a decade, thrid is darker (who knew that was possible) and grittier.  less turn table scratching and more guitars and vintage electronics.  the standout here is beth gibbons cold, but stunning vocals over geoff barrow and adrian utley’s sparse machine gun arrangements.  a tremendous return, but well worth the almost 11 year wait.

and my vote for most overrated album of the year (and yea, a realize i’m in the minority here) – vampire weekend.  self-titled.  yea, yea, yea – we’ve all read how great vampire weekend is supposed to be, how they’re the next big thing.  but here’s the deal – they’re not that great.  there, i said it.  the haters will be out in force.   is the album ok, yea, but that’s just it.  just ok.  nothing to write home about.  and on top of that, it has absolutely nothing to do with vampires.  they don’t even dress up all goth-y which at least would be fun.   the band is way to intellectual for their own good – yes, we know ya’ll met while at Columbia university & your smart & all, but get over yourselves.  i love smart rock and roll, when it’s done right – nothin’ is better.  rock music is about passion, and heart and sex.  all of which is missing from this album.  ignore the best of lists that trip over themselves talking about how great it is. 

some other thoughts:

best “almost there, but slightly missing the boat-a-bit pop record” of the year:

• madonna.  hard candy.  a solid, fun album from the queen of pop.  not as great as confessions or ray of light, but good fun just the same.
• britney.  circus.  good, solid pop princess performance.  a record for the ages?  no, but fun to sing along with in the car.

too soon to tell, but i’m diggin’ what i’m hearing:

• wendy & lisa.  white flags of winter chimneys

 singles I dug this year:

• johnette napolitano & will crewdson – beds are burning
• melody gardot – worrisome heart
• sam sparro -black & gold
• estelle & kanye – american boy
• the killers – spacemen
• the ting tings – shut up & let me go
• kevin rudolf feat. lil’ wayne – let it rock.
• pink – so what