January 2010
23 posts
Top 35 Country Singles, 2009 →
Facing the worst slump since the Great Depression, country responded with hard-eyed realism, producing great track after great track about booty, transvestites, and Saturday night blowouts. This is…
December 2009
24 posts
Another Year In America December 31, 2009 →
Miley’s “Party In The USA” jumps back into the top ten and Justin Bieber’s “One Time” jumps back into the Top 40, possibly for some current-events reasons I’m not up on. And while …
Albums '00s →
I have made a decision for the remainder of 2009 to listen to no more Albums I Haven’t Heard Yet. So, a trifle early, here is my decade’s end albums list: Top Ten Albums Of The ’00s 1. Ashlee…
It's the perfect ending to the bad day I was just... →
Kelly sings Sheryl and Taylor It’s the perfect ending to the bad day I was just beginning Oh what a shame, what a rainy ending given to a perfect day
A private dread of speaking in public →
Alison Macleod (Wisdom of Mobs: the feedback loop): Thought three: danah boyd’s unpleasant experience of presenting against an increasingly hostile Twitter backstream. danah boyd is a…
Conscious, deliberate effort →
Convo between J0hn D. and Weingarten over on the ILM US #1s thread after J0hn calls himself “out of the loop” for not recognizing any of the songs to hit #1 this year. Convo doesn’t go anywhere, of…
Another Year In America December 25, 2009 →
Ke$ha’s sober and subtle “TiK ToK” has risen to number one (sober and subtle compared to everything else I’ve heard by her, that is; I’m impressed by Ke$ha’s total commitment to cheesiness and…
My Pazz & Jop Ballot, 2009 →
Here’s my Pazz & Jop ballot. My opinion is that the year doesn’t actually end until December 31st, so that’s when I’ll start posting expanded lists, possibly with the order changed at the top. The…
Last-minute whistle stops →
Well, I’m a bit late on these, but here’s a guy whom I almost overlooked, though I’ve had his album for about eight months. The single, “ABC’s,” is on my extended year-end list; the album is on the…
Catching up on my letter writing →
Dear male dudes in the Black Eyed Peas, There is only one person in your group who can sing, and you are not she. Sincerely, A Fan Dear male singer dude in the xx, There may not be anyone in…
Another Year In America December 17, 2009 →
A couple of not quites and a just barely: Ludacris f. Shawna “How Low”: Bending with the times, this veers club and novelty, but doesn’t forgo Atlanta’s dark bass. Good timing and lots of variety,…
Jump off that sofa →
This is the first time I’ve paid attention to any of these lyrics other than “mazel tov”: watching this, I was wondering just how or if the person assigned to a particular segment connected to…
Music For Graduations →
I went to a high school graduation yesterday afternoon. The music was: During the processional: “Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1,” Sir Edward Elgar. During the slide show: “Little Wonders,” Rob…
Like a brick over troubled water →
Brief discussion of a Nelly Furtado lyric, including this from skyecaptain: Anyway, Frank was right to bring up Nelly Furtado — her lyrics are often a deal-breaker for me, and I…
How "indie" became a pejorative →
Interchange between me and Tal on the Jukebox; runs similar to my attempts to restate my “PBS” idea to Marc the other day. I’m curious if anyone has any thoughts on how to clarify and/or improve…
Another Year In America, Extravaganza Edition... →
America returns from vacation, anticipating the next vacation, and here we do three weeks as one, featuring Taylor Swift. John Mayer f. Taylor Swift “Half Of My Heart”: Used my most-relevant T….
Noted lj user gets pissy over on Tumblr →
In a shock to my many fans, I get pissy with nice-guy desnoise* over on Tom’s Tumblr, the subject being “PBS” and “Poptimists” and “Indie,” perhaps, if those are actual subjects. *I think that’s…
The Decade In Frank →
2000: Well-rehearsed lip-sync routine to Britney Spears’ “Lucky” by Jordana and Lia with their friend Audrey becomes basis for my impromptu review of Korean-American hip-hop CD. 2001: Film Criticism…
Choice made →
I had a choice between naming a mixtape “He Licked Me On The Shitter Then He Licked Me On The Pisser” or “It Rains When You’re Here And It Rains When You’re Gone.” I chickened out and chose the…
Winter haiku →
Window frozen stiff Need to push frame hard to shut [line deleted ‘cause would be too utterly gruesome for lovers of fingers]
Jukebox tourney commences →
The Singles Jukebox year-end tournament begins. I love Phil Liggett’s characterization of Shipley, though I also like Shipley’s write-up, even if he does use the “r” word. (Tournament procedures…
Combination Telephone and Autocar (Decade's End... →
In the years after the invention of the telephone, when phone ownership became ubiquitous, did people say different things on the telephone than they would have otherwise before the invention of the…
John Storm Roberts →
Luc writes: Sharing this with you-all because I don’t know anybody else who would appreciate it. I bought my local newspaper this morning (the Kingston Freeman, which I look at three or four times…
My dental floss is at Disney World →
I changed planes in Baltimore, but my bags chose to continue to Orlando.
Koganbot feeds on Tumblr and Twitter →
Right. Don’t get excited*, I’m not actually on Tumblr or Twitter, I’m merely linking my livejournal there (a link and first couple of lines on Tumblr, title and link on Twitter). …