Seat 20A

Seat 20A.
Joe is right behind me, 21A.
To my left is the wing of the plane, and below it, the Atlantic Ocean.
There are a few clouds, like clumps of dog hair on a rarely-cleaned carpet. Only much prettier than that.
I’m watching what is perhaps the best film I have seen all year, Lovers of the Arctic Circle (thanks to Mikey for recommending it.)
I say Perhaps because there are still 20 minutes left, but I looked out the window and had to start writing.
It’s 9am in London. 4am in New York. At my house in California, it’s 1am. I don’t know what time it is here.
But I do know that the sun is rising over the Ocean, and in an hour or so I will be able to look down on the United Kingdom for the first time in my life. I’ll have a pretty good angle, too.
Things can get really good sometimes.

2007-6

Recently, I received an email from our publicist, asking for my Top 5 albums of 2007. As a neurotic list-maker, and uber-fan of the film High Fidelity, I was of course up to the challenge. However, as I scrolled through my iTunes, looking for my favorite current records, I realized that almost all of them were actually RELEASED in 2006, but only became favorites of mine in 2007.

After a small amount of reflection, I came to realize that this is indicative of my musical personality -- i generally will wait until enough people have told me some band or album is really good before actually taking a listen myself. Then, if the first couple listens catch my attention (not necessarily to the whole album; maybe just a song or two), I will slowly invest a little more at a time, like someone who is afraid of the heat might slide into a jacuzzi one inch at a time.

So, here I present my Top 5 of 2007 list, but, more importantly I think, my In-Retrospect 2006 Classics Top 10 List, which is not only a better indication of what I was listening to this year, but also shows which records have stood the test of (some) time, for me at least.

Top 5 of 2007:
1. LCD Soundsystem - "Sound of Silver"
2. The National - "The Boxer"
3. Against Me! - "New Wave"
4. Tegan & Sara - "The Con"
5. Oh, Sleeper - "When I Am God"

2007 Honorable Mention/Recent Loves:
Manchester Orchestra - "I'm Like A Virgin Losing A Child"
Radiohead - "In Rainbows"
Bloc Party - "A Weekend In the City"
Motion CIty Soundtrack - "Even If It Kills Me"

Top 10 of 2006:
1. Regina Spektor - "Begin To Hop"
2. The Format - "Dog Problems"
3. The Knife - "Silent Shout"
4. The Sounds - "Dying To Say This To You"
5. The Killers - "Sam's Town"
6. Copeland - "Eat, Sleep, Repeat"
7. Justin Timberlake - "Future Love/Sex Sounds"
8. mewithoutYou - "Brother, Sister"
9. My Chemical Romance - "The Black Parade"
10. Midlake - "The Trials of Van Occupanther"

color

My Love wears a Purple scarf
if she thinks that it might rain.
And a pair of Rainbow gloves
if she hopes she might be happy again.
And she sees me: Yellow teeth
wrapped in a Pinkish smile for her.
And we bleed like a finger painting,
made by some happy preschooler.

autumn?

I feel like we have missed Fall altogether. Where were we? Florida. Texas. The RV?

Here, in Connecticut, it is already past Intermission, and the guests are starting to leave. Soon the trees will be bare. Today, one of my last-ditch efforts, I managed to glimpse some of the brightest reds and yellows I thought imaginable, but it all leaves me wanting more. More color. More sunsets. More soft, padded earth to walk on.

Next year, I guess.

MB20

So, when I was in junior high/high school, i used to scorn bands like Matchbox 20. (I only listened to Ska and Punk). But now that I am older, and oh so much wiser, I realize that Matchbox Twenty was actually a really good band. Listening to "3 AM" with fresh ears is indeed a pleasure. And their new single, "How Far We've Come", is one of my favorite songs these days. Worth a listen, iTunes buy, and definitely an illegal download.

My toes are wet and glistening from the time my foot has spent in my mouth.

i take some photos

at the request of my lovely better half, i have created a flickr account. you can see the bad pictures i take on my travels here:

http://flickr.com/photos/danieljordankoch