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My 2009, Oh, Oh, Oh


So why is this forty-five days late?

Who cares?

My 2009

Reads


These to me are perfect, each one an absolute pleasure and a big influence on my own writing. I envy anyone who hasn't read them yet.

  • Answered Prayers (Capote)
  • A Single Man (Isherwood)
  • The Bear (Faulkner)
  • The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
  • The Hobbit (Tolkien)
  • I Am Legend (Matheson)
  • the Little Bear books (Minarik & Sendak)
  • The Loved One (Waugh)
  • Miss Lonelyhearts (West)
  • The Playboy Interviews With John Lennon And Yoko Ono (Sheff)
  • The Postman Always Rings Twice (Cain)
  • Post Office (Bukowski)
  • Shane (Schaefer)
  • Song Of Kali (Simmons)
  • V For Vendetta (Moore & Lloyd)
  • "Children Of The Kingdom" (Klein)
  • "The Forbidden" (Barker)
  • "In The Bag" (Campbell)
  • "The Jar" (Bradbury)
  • "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" (Lovecraft)
  • I could list twenty more.

    contact the author - 2010-02-04 - 20:36:38 PST
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    Joe, 2009


    2009, where did you go? God, I'm glad you're over.

    I was tested, I was burned, I fought back, I held steady, and I learned how to play barre chords. All in all, a strange year for a man like me, a man of integrity. Here's a rather unwieldy recap:

    Books I finally read

  • Siddhartha (Herman Hesse, 1922)
  • The Big Sleep (Raymond Chandler, 1939)
  • The Love Of The Last Tycoon (F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1941)
  • Casino Royale (Ian Fleming, 1953)
  • A Kiss Before Dying (and) Rosemary's Baby (Ira Levin, 1953, 1967)
  • Franny And Zooey (J.D. Salinger, 1961)
  • Raising Kane (Pauline Kael, 1971)
  • Our Lady Of Darkness (Fritz Leiber, 1977)
  • Tales Of The City (Armistead Mauphin, 1978)
  • The Hellbound Heart (Clive Barker, 1986)
  • High Fidelity (Nick Hornby, 1995)
  • 4 disappointments: an album, a book, a movie, and a song -- in chronological order

  • Nickelodeon (Peter Bogdanovich, 1976)
  • Snuff (Chuck Palahniuk, 2008)
  • Embryonic (The Flaming Lips, 2009)
  • just about any current U2
  • 4 favorites: an album, a book, a movie, and a song -- in chronological order

  • "Sweet Hitch-Hiker" (Creedence Clearwater Revival, 1972): One-dimensional, but one of the most kick-ass licks in Creedence history. Can't believe I didn't hear it until '09.
  • Inspiration Information (Shuggie Otis, 1974)
  • Cutter And Bone (Ivan Passer, 1981): A little-seen character study that bowled me over.
  • Red Dragon (Thomas Harris, 1981): The most disturbing thriller I've read in years. Beautifully written and plotted.
  • Careers

  • Truman Capote (Answered Prayers, Music For Chameleons)
  • Trevor Horn, the early years
  • Jean-Pierre Melville (Army Of Shadows, Le Cercle Rouge)
  • Stevie Wonder in the '70s
  • Instrumentals

  • "Hip Hug Her" (Booker T. & The M.G.s, 1967)
  • "Freedom Flight" (Shuggie Otis, 1971)
  • "Summer Madness" (Kool And The Gang, 1974)
  • "The Falls" (Ennio Morricone, 1986)
  • "Ecstasy Symphony" (Spacemen 3, 1987/2003)
  • Songs, turned up to 11

  • "Sky Pilot" (The Animals, 1968)
  • "The Soft Parade" (The Doors, 1969)
  • "Cock In My Pocket" (Stooges boot, 1973)
  • "She Creatures Of The Hollywood Hills" (Stooges boot, 1973)
  • "Love Is Coming Down" (The Who, 1978)
  • "Love Song" (Simple Minds, 1981)
  • "Mirrorball" (Everything But The Girl, 1996)
  • "What It Feels Like For A Girl" (Madonna, 2001 -- the Above & Beyond mix)
  • "Give It 2 Me" (Madonna, 2008)
  • "Also Frightened" (Animal Collective, 2009)
  • "Glass" (Julian Casablancas, 2009)
  • New movies
    Since movie-going has become a drag, I wait to rent most new films, which means I don't have a list of faves this year. Only two "mindless" entertainments grabbed me -- Inglorious Basterds and Star Trek. I still have to see Avatar, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and a few others. We'll see how it goes. In fact, I may update this paragraph later.

    New music
    Any major dude knows a ton of music is released each week. I can't keep up, nor do I care. Usually I don't go to the clubs or listen to FM radio, and (as a matter of capitalist principle) I try not to use P2P programs anymore. Where there's consensus, I do my due diligence and seek the sounds out, but I wait to form an opinion. Now that I have almost no discretionary income, it takes me longer. In 2009, ambition, money and time worked against me. Next year I'll do a best-of for the decade.

    "Duh"

  • All of us have addictions that are bad.
  • As crap as you think you have it, it's not even half as bad as what someone else is going through.
  • I compete only with myself.
  • It almost doesn't matter what side they're on. Politicians are politicians.
  • Not all fights are worth fighting; the choice to disengage is not necessarily a weak or stupid one.
  • Column
    Peggy Noonan in The Wall Street Journal.

    Event
    A toss between seeing the Pixies live or vacationing in Monterey.

    Web site
    http://www.filmref.com/index.html.

    contact the author - 2009-12-18 - 15:06:50 PST
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