Random Thoughts: January 6th, 2007 (A 2006 postmortem)

1st: December 31st, 2006, 2:13 AM
2nd: Hanging out with Neil Lee and Chris Pointon, December 31st.
3rd: Buck 65 after his New Year's DJ set.
4th: The sun at Fort Whyte Nature Centre.

Damn. The holiday season was nuts, but now it's over. However, things have started to get crazy again. On my plate:

• 3 posters: One for Mr. Nestor Wynrush, another for the upcoming Clash of the Titans soundclash, and third (and most importantly), a poster for my wedding social.
• adjusting to the night shift at Naylor, which starts Monday for me.
• I was chosen to do a card for the third gigposters.com playing card deck! I'm stoked!

I'm a little scared about it all (I really want all of those endeavors to turn out well), but this is really good. 2006 was the year I "got my hustle on", so it seems I'm carrying on the momentum I gained.
This first week of 2007 has been a bit dismal and lackadaisical, and the condition of my apartment has taken the brunt of my ennui. I'm looking to turn this around.
Let's do a bunch of fucking lists, shall we?

All The Stuff I Got For Christmas

• H2O Mega Luge
• Mastercraft Pivoting Cordless Screwdriver
• Winnipeg: Heart of the Continent
• Lindt Peanut Butter Chocolates
• The latest issue of Magnet
• Money from Mom
• A glue gun
• assorted chocolates
• WD-40 No-Mess Pen™
• a bungee cord set
• Heat Treat® hand warmers
• Wildly Delicious Bruchetta
• AVID 4 Shaving System
• A Rip Racer™
• Bula Face Guard
• a scarf
• Pine Pocky™
• Strawberry Pocky™
• Senjaku Ice Cream Candy
• A 7 pack of Marukawa Gum
• C.O. Bigelow Rosemary Mint Superb Body Cleanser
• a corkscrew
• HMV gift card
• double fudge hot chocolate
• Avalanche gift set

And my personal fave: an IKEA "Jerker"desk! I'm typing at it RIGHT NOW! If it weren't for the scuzzy condition of my apartment, I'd post a picture.

The Stuff I Bought on Boxing Day:

• J Dilla's The Shining
• Madlib's Vol. 1-2: Movie Scenes
• Tom Waits' Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards
• The Roots' Game Theory
• Samurai Champloo Vol. 7
  
• An Energetics jump rope
  
• Illustration: Issues 15 and 17
• An Orgy of Playboy's Eldon Dedini
• All Flee!
• Schizo No. 4
• Top Hats and Flappers: The Art of Russell Patterson
• The Comics Journal no. 279
• The Comics Journal Library: Harvey Kurtzman
• 2 Frederix canvases

Needless to say, I went nuts. And now...

The First Random Thoughts of the Year:

• In retrospect, my argument with John K. made me love rap music - and music in general - all over again. Buying rap albums during Boxing Day felt exhilarating not only because I had the money to get 'em (thank you new job), but because my personal passion for music was re-ignited. It bugs me when I hear folks at gigposters say "people still buy music?" I say yes, emphatically. Gotta have those liner notes, gotta get the artists their money. So there.
• No, I don't make resolutions anymore, I make guidelines. This year: 1. I'm gonna get healthier. 2. I'm gonna draw more. 3. I'm gonna try to live life a little fuller. Less bitching.

I think that's it.
Where's my best of 2006 albums list, you ask? Well, due to the fact that I had very little money during the year, I've had to change it up a little. Here's what I posted at gigposters a while back:

Al'z Top 3 Releases I Heard Via MySpace or Band Site:

1. The Hold Steady's Boys and Girls in America
2. The Clipse's Hell Hath No Fury
3. A tie: Cut Chemist's The Audience's Listening and Lupe Fiasco's Food and Liquor

I've been sitting at this desk typing this for way too long while listening to CBC Radio 3. Here are some more thoughts/observations before I go do some important shit, like eating:

• While listening to Talib Kweli and Madlib's Liberation, I thought of something: rap music is too fucking concerned about being "classic" instead of being just plain good, for fuck's sake. Rappers have been so hung up on how many fucking mics they get in The Source instead of writing good shit. Fuck that. C'mon...you know Tribe, Biggie, Dre, and a gang of others just wanted to drop shit that smashed everything else and got in your fucking ear. Stop it with that "instant classic" bullshit, too. That doesn't exist. A classic takes time and has to affect a population before it reaches that level. It's gotta get all up in your soul. Until then, it's only really good to you right then and there.
• With that being said, Liberation is a great way to start off the year. Talib is fierce on this, and Madlib brings it with the beats. Cop that shit NOW.
• And if you haven't grabbed this yet, do so: 800 tracks in 48 minutes.
• Lemme throw one more in there: Co-op and Hunnicutt's 98' Dodge Neon Mix.
  
• Okay, that's it. Y'all do your muhfuckin' thing in '07. F'real.