Resolutions (2010 playlist)

Dictionary.com shows 12 different definition for 'resolution', including 'reduction to a simpler form', 'the resulting state' and 'the progression of a voice part or of the harmony as a whole from a dissonance to a consonance', but I think the most relevant one for our purposes is ' a resolve or determination: to make a firm resolution to do something.' To do something. [insert Nike swoosh here.]


Presumably, the idea of yearly resolutions came about as a way to encourage people to reflect on the last year and move forward, set goals for the coming year. It's like an annual personal performance review. I've never been a fan of setting yearly resolutions, but I can appreciate the idea of a yearly ritual that forces people to reflect and reflection leads to contemplation, brain usage, focus and isn't there an app for that? You get the idea.


So, I resolve not to resolve. I'm having fun and I'll continue to do so. (That is not a resolution.)
As a 2010 send-off (and proof of just how much fun I had this year), I've done what I have the most fun doing... compiling a playlist, a yearly one, in this case:

1. Laundry Room - The Avett Brothers
2. Walk Alone (Feat. Truck North, P.O.R.N., Dice Raw) - The Roots
3. Hellhole Retrace - Girls
4. Stylo (feat. Mos Def & Bobby Womack) - Gorillaz
5. How Good You Are - Joe Pug
6. I Love You, But Goodbye - Langhorne Slim
7. Sleepyhead - Passion Pit
8. Drifters - Patrick Watson  
9. Tightrope (Feat. Big Boi) - Janelle Monáe
10. Surely - Black Dub
11. Mr. Pitiful - Otis Redding*
12. Horchata - Vampire Weekend
13. Tangle in This Trampled Wheat - The Tallest Man On Earth
14. Ghost Pressure  - Wolf Parade
15. Vaporize - Broken Bells
16. Meet Me In The Basement - Broken Social Scene
17. Swim Until You Can't See Land - Frightened Rabbit
18. Singing Softly To Me - Kings Of Convenience
19. World News - Local Natives
20. L.S.F. - Mark Ronson Feat. Kasabian
21. Congratulations - MGMT
22. Runaway - The National
23. Mama Don't Like My Man - Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
24. The Funeral - Band of Horses
25. Join The Dots - The Nextmen

*Not all of these songs were released in 2010, if it's not obvious by now. 

Advice for the newly minted (Brooke)

I wish that I remembered being in my mother's womb, or even better, exactly how it felt to be in the world  for the first minute or five or ten. I bet there are people who remember or have even a semblance of memory from those moments. Or at least those who claim to remember and mistakenly associate some other first-ever with the experience of being born (first bath?). The first in the next generation of my family was recently born--on my birthday, no less--and so I started thinking in this vein again. Childbirth, childhood, memories, advice, and most importantly, what it's like to be born in 2010.

This child has no idea what she's in for. I can barely guess, given how rapidly our culture has changed in the last ten, twenty years. Proud parents used to rent phones at the hospital and call relatives one-by-one in due time, and eventually they might circulate or mail a picture to those concerned. Lately, most babies have made an ultrasound debut on Facebook or Flickr before they come close to making an entrance to the world. Within minutes of birth, friends and family were already demanding my exhausted sister and her husband to post pictures, name, weight, likes, dislikes, hobbies, religious views, etc. Okay, I exaggerated those last few. Having said this, the younger you are, the quicker you adapt. Perhaps I feel, at times, burdened by technology because I was born in 1980. I didn't own a cell phone until the age of 23 and I have yet to fold to the smart phone phenomenon because you can't convince me that I need to be connected at all times. Oh yes, and I still listen to records.

Over the weekend, a friend of mine gave me a birthday card/1980 yearbook. It was about 10 pages filled with old references from the eighties. Most of us had a good laugh (anyone over 26) and mused about how things have changes, like a bunch of accomplished old people *satisfied sigh, far-off gaze*. We know we're not old, and we're not nearly satisfied enough to feign it, but honestly, a world without cell phones and everywhere internet seems a trillion light years ago, doesn't it?

With all of this in my head, I put my name on a list for an iPhone and bought an old, ratty version of a book written in 1915 (Of Human Bondage). And I devised a list of advice that I hope will transcend time (or at least provide time-machine-like laughter, as did my 80s card) and help ground my little niece when she needs it.

• Never forget the importance of reading a good book, in any medium. You will feel richer for it.
• Don't wait for occasions to buy gifts for people you love.
• Ensure you play outside of your comfort zone enough. Join a club. Travel alone. Write if you hate writing. Sing if you hate singing. You don't have to tell anyone.
• Learn how to cook for yourself.
• Make time for breakfast and staring out the window in the morning.
• Bundle up and enjoy winter. Make snowballs and forts, no matter your age.
• Find humour in something every day. Even if it's at your expense.
• Decide on an instrument and learn to play it. You don't have to master it to understand the importance of music in life and how it feels to make it.
• Stand back once a year and evaluate your life. What are you proud/not proud of?
• Don't be afraid to say you're happy or not happy.
• Determine how a genuine gut instinct feels and follow it. Accept that you are an ever-changing being and what you liked last year you may not like this year, or vice versa.
• (Relates to above) Don't be flaky. Nobody likes flaky.
• Quality, not quantity.

Easy, right? Good luck in life, baby Brooke.

Auntie Erin

My verbal ticks

I recently read something on verbal ticks: words or phrases unique to a person. I'll assume they are called ticks because these words/expressions are equally annoying and useless in conversation as they are in nature, not to mention the fact that they are small and generally go unnoticed by most unless they are persistent. The fact that they are persistent, useless, annoying is what makes them ticks.

I should add that verbal ticks are often much different than written ticks. There are most certainly "tick" words that I overuse (just by using them once) in my writing that I would nearly never say aloud, for whatever reason. The rising waters of social media and instant messaging will slowly weaken this disparity (have you noticed people using text-y acronyms like LOL and OMG in speech lately?), but for now, there remains a bit of a palace gate between verbal and written ticks.  Like "most certainly" or "undoubtedly", for example. I don't recall the last time I used this phrase verbally. It could be that it's a little redundant ("certainly" will do) and has a upturned nose, professorial air to it. Either way, it's not all that convincing. In fact, if you were so certain, you wouldn't need to tell anyone just how certain you were.

My most annoying (to me) verbal tick is "for sure", instead of a simple "I agree", which is likely how it would end up on paper. Or "hmmm"-ing aloud while I'm thinking, as though nobody is aware I'm thinking really hard until I let on with a loud hmm. (Also, it's more difficult to think clearly when you're humming.)

Hmmm, certainly I should watch and aim to rid my speech and writing of these undoubtedly useless ticks. For sure, I'll try.

That song would sound perfect in a closing montage!

http://theoatmeal.com/blog/awkward_movies

I laughed out loud (yes, I just wrote that out in full) at this comic. The expression on "you too!" dude's face is absolutely spot on. We all do this and sometimes even realize we did it and cringe. In a recent what-are-you-up-to-this-weekend sort of office conversation, a co-worker of mine solemnly noted that he would be attending a funeral over the weekend. I wished him well, and almost immediately afterwards, he attempted to end the conversation with "well, enjoy your weekend" and of course, I returned with the auto-response "you too!". I love comedy like this.

What I really want to talk about are soundtracks. My moods and thoughts have often been dictated by music. I've always thought that the best job in the world would be to choose music for films. I don't mean so much scoring films. My musical talent has never and will never stretch that far, sadly. I've always had an affinity to certain movies if not only for their soundtracks and perfect placement of pivotal music. Alternately, I love certain real-life moments when they are underscored by the right music, like the right tune in a grocery isle (Mellow Yellow - Donovan) or in the ears, under the snowboard helmet (Organ Donor - DJ Shadow) or while sharing your deepest secrets (Time Has Told Me - Nick Drake) or for waking up (White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes).

Artists are often stigmatized for selling their music to be included in a commercial or soundtrack. This is not a black-and-white argument. In fact, the decision to sell music can be a savvy move when it's done with care. For example, some artists may take issue with selling a tune to the next over-the-top Michael Bay production (of the Transformers empire), but not to, oh, say Wes Anderson's next venture or maybe anything starring Michael Cera. And undoubtedly, there will be those who feel quite the opposite.

Perhaps I just haven't done my proper research (and apologize if that's true), but why hasn't anyone used Radiohead's "Nude" in film? This song inspired this post. In fact, as a bit of an homage to this song, I think I'll start taking note of the names of films and particular moments when I think "Nude" should've been part of the score. Could you call that a hobby?

Kindred spirits and dreams

It's probably nothing more than a coincident that I happened to see the movie Inception shortly before I had an uncharacteristically vivid dream. I've always wished I was that person who remembered dreams in the same vein as useless sports trivia, but that's never been the case. It's like trying to wrestle open a door fastened with a bungee cord. Tiny bits half emerge seconds before the door slams shut again with ferocious authority. My mind teases me that way. I also admire the person who claims to keep a notebook bedside and despite the hour, awakes from a dream and immediately writes down the details (for what I assume will be a close analysis later). I'm neither a rememberer nor a dream note taker. I push the mental snooze when I awake from most dreams, hoping to fall right back in.

In this particular dream, I only recall one piece. I got the innate feeling there were many lost pieces and sometimes I felt as though I had one too many glasses of wine and my dream friends took advantage of me. Dreaming is, after all, the safest way to lose control. The piece that I remember involved me and a friend of mine. We told familiar stories as if we'd grown up next-door neighbours and been in the trenches of war together. It was obvious to me who this friend was, even though I don't remember seeing his face or any other telling signs. I do recall a hat, which is strange because I don't ever recall him wearing a hat like that. Before the dream ended, we both laughed uncontrollably at something. I don't remember what but that laugh felt better than any laugh I've ever had in my real life. I hate this omission from my memory.

Either way, I almost immediately awoke, unstoppable smile on my face, to realize that I don't and probably will never know that person so well in my waking life. Why was I so comfortable with said friend in my dream when that's almost never the case in reality? When I tired of this vein of thought, I began to wonder if anyone ever made major life decisions based on dreams. People make decisions all the time based on hunches. And personally, I find the "I had a dream" rationale much more difficult to argue than "I had a hunch". Nobody can argue with your dreams.