Wrap Up

Spent the day trying to tie up a lot of loose ends−literally and figuratively. On the eve of Christmas Eve, I naturally ran around a bit trying to figure out some last minute gift-giving ideas... never recommended. However, being as busy as I have in the last month (I pinpoint the craziness starting around the opening of the Alex Ross exhibit), I haven't had a lot of time or resources to devote to planning for the holidays. Anyway, I'm in good shape: presents are wrapped, tree is up, bills are paid, and I'm ready to spend a couple days on vacation with family and friends. 

I keep hearing more "best of 2012" lists. Even Chris Matthews' Sunday morning talk show listed the top news stories today. There were a few things I forgot about, and some I'd like to forget...

As I wrapped presents this afternoon, I looked for some music to play as motivation. It suddenly dawned on me that I forgot to add the Australian musician Gotye to my list of top 10 albums last week. At the beginning of the year, his song "Somebody That I Used To Know" was everywhere... rightfully so. A soulful, eerie, heart-felt song about relationships... the song seemed to touch a nerve (mine included). It sounded different than anything else out there, for sure. I ran out to buy Making Mirrors on the strength of that song... and even though none of the other tracks on the album really match the intensity of that single, it is an interesting work... including nods to several different styles, produced in an adventurous manner. I guess I'll consider it my #11 favorite album of the year.

I found this interview interesting on radio host Jian Ghomeshi's program, Q (particularly where Gotye talks about filtering traditional instruments through new technology to create new sounds):

Can you tell that I'm a music fan? To have a job like Ghomeshi's would be a true delight. Unfortunately, I still haven't found the time to finish up my own music interview programs that have collected over the years... it's just been too crazy this year. Now that I'm feeling more settled, maybe I'll be the "next big thing" in 2013.

Related Links:

http://gotye.com