http://mikelandweber.com Just another WordPress weblog Sun, 08 Jan 2012 01:56:00 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Well, it's that time of year again for my annual blog post.  This year was actually a slow one for me and music.  I just didn't find that much that I was interested in.  Looking back through my Ipod, I managed to come up with 7 albums that I bought ... http://mikelandweber.com/2012/01/10-favorite-new-albums-for-2011-well-really-more-like-7/ OK, so somehow I haven't added anything to this blog for a year.  Go figure.  Most of my blogging/pop culture energy in 2010 got sucked up by posts and reviews over at PopMatters.  So that'll be my excuse.  But I'm getting back on this horse with my second now annual ... http://mikelandweber.com/2010/12/10-favorite-new-albums-for-2010-actually-make-that-11-and-a-half/ I wouldn't say these are necessarily the ten best albums of the year. I didn't listen to enough music to make that claim. But these are ten albums I bought this year that are worth recommending. I stuck with music that was also released this year (which disqualified two albums ... http://mikelandweber.com/2009/12/10-favorite-new-albums-for-2009-actually-make-that-11/ OK, I'm capable of being melodramatic.  I'll admit that.  In high school and college, I would make mix tapes (and yes they were cassette tapes) that I titled Eclectic Mellow that I'd put on when I wanted to sit in the dark and contemplate the injustice of life.  This almost ... http://mikelandweber.com/2009/11/eclectic-mellow-or-25-melancholy-songs-that-get-me-every-time/ I'm going to say goodbye to Lost sometime around May next year.  I know the end  is coming.  They've told me so.  And unlike other shows (Hello, Scrubs) that claim to be exiting stage left and then come back in some lesser distorted form, I know that Lost is going ... http://mikelandweber.com/2009/11/flashforward-or-where-oh-where-has-my-mythology-show-gone/ If it is possible to win an Oscar for the first twenty minutes of a movie, then Where the Wild Things Are has this year's honor sewed up.  For twenty minutes, Spike Jonze has made the most painfully real portrait of a normal flawed relationship between a parent and a ... http://mikelandweber.com/2009/11/where-the-wild-things-are/ I'll just warn you up front.  I'm about to take a metaphor about dedication to TV shows and long-term romantic relationships way too far.  Deal with it. So, I've started seeing this show called Fringe.  I had heard about it for a while.  It has been on the air for a ... http://mikelandweber.com/2009/10/fringe-or-why-i-feel-like-im-cheating-on-the-x-files-even-though-it-broke-up-with-me-seven-years-ago/ My indie music extravaganza continues on Emusic.  Here are a couple more standouts. fun. Yes, that is the name of this band, complete with the period at the end and a lowercase f.  Nothing says indie band like punctuation in the name.  And nothing says 70's nostalgia throwback like a 7:51 minute ... http://mikelandweber.com/2009/09/vampire-weekend-and-fun/ Let's just get something out of the way.  I can't dance.  I'm not usually a big fan of watching people dance.  And I tend to get a little uncomfortable at functions where dancing might break out.  We've all got our things, and dancing most definitely is not my thing. Maybe I'm ... http://mikelandweber.com/2009/09/shall-we-dance-and-strictly-ballroom-and-a-brief-comment-on-how-i-like-phil-collins-cant-dance-2/ Flipping through channels last night, I ended up on Grosse Pointe Blank.  We own both of the soundtracks and the DVD for this flick, but I hadn't seen it in awhile.  So, having no reason not to, my wife and I watched it again.  If you haven't seen it, kick ... http://mikelandweber.com/2009/09/john-cusack-and-10-must-see-movies-according-to-me/