I am 27, I am gay, I live in New York City, and I've a sneaking fondness for dinosaurs.
Oh come on, music journalists. These wankers say this every time they release an album. If another full album of U2 material comes out this year (criteria: there must be a minimum of eight original songs on it, not reworkings of other songs and that kind of nonsense), I will allow myself to be pied in the face and I will post the photograph here on this blog.
Officemate permitting, I will be listening to it at some point in the next couple hours. I may liveblog my initial reactions.
I’m in a very weird place with U2 — they’d always been a favorite band of mine, but in the last few years I feel like I’ve grown quite far away from where they’re at and have grown increasingly disappointed with them as artists. (Yes, I called them artists, whatever. I can either choose to be embarassed about the fact that I like U2 or choose to not be embarassed, and I’m gonna opt for the latter.) I actually really, really enjoyed their last record, but was dismayed by the sense that they were on cruise control, and that the songs studiously avoided the kind of fire and righteousness that Bono puts into his political work. I do think he’s done a lot of good in the world with that stuff, but it’s getting diminishing returns, and it is unquestionably hurting the quality of the band’s music. (My previous thoughts on the subject are here and here. I’m especially proud of that second post.)
Initial reactions I’ve read to this album don’t have me optimistic that I’m going to like it. But there’s only one way to find out.
Get On Your Boots, baby
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Hurm. First thought: Getty Images watermarks? Really? Second thought: I think they’re trying to conjure up the old Zoo TV magic, but they haven’t quite reckoned with the ways our culture visually represents information-overload nowadays. Ah well.
I Can Has Cheezburger On Teh Horizon?
This one should hit your sweet spot nicely, Caroline.
There are kind of a lot of albums coming out in the first few months of the year that I’m really looking forward to (or, in the case of the Morrissey album, already enjoying). I have all of these marked in my Google Calendar, because I am a nerd, but it’s such a noteworthy pile that I figured I’d list them here too for convenience’s sake:
Jan. 13: Fever Ray - Fever Ray (Solo project by Karin Dreijer from The Knife. Download-only date — physical album 3/24)
Jan. 27: Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
Feb. 10: Lily Allen - It’s Not Me, It’s You; Missy Elliott - Block Party
Feb. 17: Morrissey - Years Of Refusal
Mar. 3: U2 - No Line On The Horizon
Mar. 23: Pet Shop Boys - Yes (UK date; US release TBC)
April 20: Depeche Mode - [Title TBA]
There’s probably gonna be a Scissor Sisters record this year too. I may sniff with some interest at the Bruce Springsteen, Decemberists, and Royksopp records that are coming out in the next three months as well. Now I just need to decide if I’m going to bother buying a physical copy of any of these, or if I’m officially a digital-only purchaser in 2009. This is a much more intense decision than it probably sounds like.
List your favorite record from every year you’ve been alive.
You can do it based purely on hindsight, or you can do it by listing the answer you would’ve given in that year (assuming you were aware of pop music at the time). My list below is based on hindsight, but would have some awesomely hilarious and embarassing choices if you’d asked me at the time. When I remember what those are, I’ve indicated them in brackets.
So: nerd ahoy!
1982: Prince - 1999
1983: R.E.M. - MURMUR
1984: Prince - PURPLE RAIN
1985: The Replacements - TIM
1986: Pet Shop Boys - PLEASE
1987: Prince - SIGN O’ THE TIMES
1988: R.E.M. - GREEN
1989: Pixies - DOOLITTLE
1990: Pet Shop Boys - BEHAVIOUR
1991: U2 - ACHTUNG BABY
1992: Morrissey - YOUR ARSENAL
1993: U2 - ZOOROPA
1994: R.E.M. - MONSTER
1995: Smashing Pumpkins - MELLON COLLIE & THE INFINITE SADNESS
1996: R.E.M. - NEW ADVENTURES IN HI-FI
1997: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - THE BOATMAN’S CALL [U2 - POP]
1998: Afghan Whigs - 1965 [Garbage - VERSION 2.0]
1999: Magnetic Fields - 69 LOVE SONGS [Moby - PLAY]
2000: Radiohead - KID A [U2 - ALL THAT YOU CAN’T LEAVE BEHIND]
2001: Jay-Z - THE BLUEPRINT [Depeche Mode - EXCITER]
2002: Andrew W.K. - I GET WET
2003: Twilight Singers - BLACKBERRY BELLE [Blur - THINK TANK]
2004: Scissor Sisters - SCISSOR SISTERS
2005: M.I.A. - ARULAR
2006: The Knife - SILENT SHOUT
2007: LCD Soundsystem - SOUND OF SILVER
2008: Robyn - ROBYN (US EDITION)
I am including the Robyn album for this year, even though it’s really a 2005 record, because frankly 2008 has disappointed me so far and this (very different) version of the Robyn album is leagues better than anything else I’ve heard.
If you choose to do this silly thing you may find it useful to consult the Pazz & Jop archive to remember what even came out in each year.
