He's done.

It's seems as though when I become obsessed with something, say a band or musician, it feels like no one else cares about them. But it usually turns out that over in Britain everyone is all ready over it. Here's a meditation on why you can stick a fork in Alex Turner.

http://musosguide.com/whatever-people-say-i-am-thats-what-i-probably-am-maybe…/9476

And there you have it. According to this writer, not only was the first Arctic Monkeys album their best, but it changed the face of music. As you may have guessed, I wholeheartedly disagree since I'm in love with his "ridiculously pompous...side project" the Last Shadow Puppets.

LOVES IT!

Review of Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

My rating: 3 of 5 stars Although Levin was Tolstoy's hero, the double standard that Anna faced made it difficult for me not to sympathize with her. Anna was married to a man she didn't love, and he didn't love her. I think her mother bribed him to marry her or threatened him, so you end of feeling like it's not really the fault of her and her husband that they get divorced. She falls in love with someone else and follows her passion. She leaves her husband in an arrangement that he agrees to. Divorce is so taboo at the time though that they pretend they are still married for a while, but eventually Anna leaves her husband and son in order to become a nomad with Vronsky and their unborn child. This, of course, is shameful for everyone involved.  

Levin, on the other hand, is supposed to be the more sympathetic character. He pushes the envelope by questioning religion, but compared to Anna he walks the straight and narrow. He finds a woman he loves early on, who rejects him for Vronsky, but then goes on a retreat where she has what's possibly a lesbian crush, decides on the kind of person she wants to be as a result, and comes back to accept Levin's love. He's in his thirties and she's about eighteen, but back then that meant she was the perfect age to bear many children for an older, established man. They were really a match made in Heaven.  

Levin grapples with the big questions: Do I believe in organized religion or just a general connection in the universe? Could I hack it as a farm hand? Meanwhile Anna faces social death, while her own brother publicly carries on affairs with women who aren't his wife. Not only is he not banished from society but is an extremely well-liked and popular guy. He's not the brightest man, but he has friends in high places who have set him up with a good government job. Basically, he coasts through life, while others struggle. The people who are good have it much harder, because of their attempts to deal with morality, and the contrast that this presents to what was socially acceptable at the time.  

Definitely recommended. View all my reviews >>

My 10 Favorite Albums of 2009

I've finally decided on my 10 favorite albums of last year. It's so difficult to really put these things in order since there are good and mediocre or bad songs on any album, so I did my best. However, I'm not going to claim that one album is necessarily better than another, except of course for the latest from Camera Obscura. Not only is My Maudlin Career my favorite album of the year by far, but also my favorite album of theirs. Some songs are poppy, some are sad, and some are both, but they all took over my brain for a better part of the year. Sometimes I would go for days only listening to this album just because it made me feel better about life while commuting in and out of Manhattan and in and out of the unavoidable humdrum days that linger in between vacations, hanging out, and fun. I just love it and have not gotten sick of it yet. So without further ado, I present you with my list of the albums I found the most listenable and most enjoyable last year. 

1.      Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career
2.      Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
3.      The Sounds – Crossing the Rubicon
4.      Ben Kweller – Dark Horse
5.      The Arctic Monkeys – Humbug
6.      Franz Ferdinand – Tonight
7.      Julian Plenti – Julien Plenti is…Skyscraper
8.      The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love
9.      Doves – Kingdom of Rust
10.     Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Higher Than the Stars

My favorite books that I read last year

10. The Dart League King by Keith Lee Morris (2008)

9.  My Booky Wook by Russell Brand (2009)

8. All Shall Be Well; All Shall Be Well; And All Manner of Things Shall Be Well by Tod Wodicka (2008)

7. The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner (2008)

6. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (1873-1877)

5. ...And the Hippos Were Boiled in their Tanks by Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs (2008)

4. Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby (2009)

3. The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (2007)

2. 2666 by Roberto Bolano (2008)

1. The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney (2007)

And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks

And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks by Jack Kerouac

My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is an enjoyable read and slice New York City in the early '40's. Kerouac and Burroughs alternate chapters as two members of a group of friends, hanging out near Washington Square Park. As you may know, this is their interpretation of the murder that started the Beat Generation. One of their friends murdered another one and the manuscript was only sent to production, after the murderer's death. Because I was aware of this, I was waiting for the murder to happen the whole time. It doesn't until the end. I think if you know that, you won't be disappointed. It's full of fun lingo, late nights, morning beers, and philosophical conversation. View all my reviews >>

The Dart League King

The Dart League King: A Novel by Keith Lee Morris

My rating: 3 of 5 stars I believe I gave this one a C at book club. I liked it. You get to see one night from the point of view of five different characters. It's a fun and fast read, and I enjoyed analyzing the different people involved. There was a good thriller, but only in certain chapters. It sort of kept me going. There were some very interesting and likable characters and others that were just overdone. Some members of book club, disagreed though. Also, there was one main woman character, and she of course felt like her only way out of her dead end life was to latch onto some guy. Typical.