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Price's End of the Year Wrap Up

Howdy friends!

I hope YOU'VE had a great year and that this finds you happy and well. 2006 has been eventful for me. The whole story? Sure.

I started the year off in North Carolina, but very, very quickly discovered that it was not to my liking. And typical of me, when I find a situation to be not to my liking, I hit CTRL Z (that's "undo" to you Mac users). I was back in my Mount Pleasant apartment of 5+ years before sunset on January 6^th. No kidding. But I couldn't stay there either. Not for long. As you've no doubt heard, Michigan is dying. I knew by this point that I was going to have to leave. I'd already begun searching for teaching jobs all over the US, even interviewing in October of '05 for a job in Scottsdale, Arizona. But it was a small, rural school in Northwest Indiana that came through with a long-term sub job in late January. 250 miles away from home, this was an extremely tough commute. I loved the job, though, and it thankfully confirmed that I have it in me to actually be decent at my chosen professional (there was definitely some doubt). But still, I was happy when it ended early, and so I spent May casting off belongings, packing what I wanted to keep in storage, and driving back and forth to Chicago (and one trip to downstate Illinois) for completely fruitless job interviews. And while I wanted to be in or near Chicagoland (since a job in my home state of 30 years was a non-starter), I'd begun sending resumes to Florida, Arizona, and California. Well, it didn't take long to get a response from Arizona schools. I interviewed with a school outside of Tucson that sounded terrific, and within days I had a job offer and a destination. I hated to leave Mount Pleasant, my longtime home, and my awesome apartment, but Michigan felt, at this point, like death, so I was eager to get out alive. I packed up my car and made it to Phoenix by June 1^st. I stayed with an old, old friend (Scott Rusch, for you Cadillicans) for a few days, before heading down to Tucson to wait for my new life to start. I spent two weeks hiding out in the University of Arizona library, dawn to dusk, avoiding the punishing heat, and expecting to do this for the nine weeks until school started. But a chance discovery of a summer job advertisement that sounded PERFECT for me changed, well, everything. It was with the National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF) on Medicine, up in Phoenix, and I got the job and was heading up to Phoenix June 17^th. I'd spent exactly two weeks in Tucson, and it would turn out to be all the time that I would spend there. NYLF was amazing. There were so many wonderful experiences in that month at the Sheraton, that to detail them all would make me sound more than a bit cult-addled. So let me just say that I worked with a group of absolute superstars, made a few lifelong friends (and a few short-term ones, but that was great too), and got to help bring amazing educational and personal experiences to two groups of 20 high school kids (who were themselves superstars). During my month with NYLF, I decided that I preferred Phoenix to Tucson (and not JUST because I was seeing one of my fellow NYLF FAs, who was a local), and began emailing resumes to Phoenix schools. Well, it didn't take long before I had six interviews scheduled. The first to get to me was Arcadia High, in the Scottsdale district. They interviewed me during the break between NYLF's 1^st and 2^nd sessions. It turned out they were perfect for me, and apparently I was what they were looking for too, as I got the job four days into the second NYLF session. And then NYLF was over. And within a week so was my implausible fling with my local girl. Right on schedule, in retrospect, but I spent most of August living with Scott Rusch again, filling out Myspace surveys, and thinking my local girl would soon come around. 15 years younger than me, she did not come around. Surprised? Me neither. But the Scottsdale Unified School District set about keeping me busy with trainings and such until school started August 22^nd.

And now here I am. Or at least it feels that way. The last four months have blown by unbelievably fast. But let me tell you what I can remember.

I teach four classes of American Lit (11^th grade) and one class of 9^th grade English. I have terrific kids. I have almost zero discipline problems. And I like to say that the discipline trouble I DO have is students not kissing my ass to the degree that I'd like. I have a terrific department, and most of us eat lunch together every day. They are a great resource. I also make good money (for Arizona teachers anyway). And I live half a mile from school, in a pretty cool part of PHX called Arcadia (just like the school!). …That's all I can remember. …Oh, I think we read Huck Finn too.

In November I had a bite of interest from a school back in Michigan, but after my initial excitement subsided, I decided that I did not want to leave AHS in the middle of the school year. And, really, I like it here. I never liked the Michigan winters all that much. I'll never spend another summer here, ever, of course, but I am also okay with never spending another winter in Michigan again.

And that brings us up to now. I cancelled my travel plans to go back to Michigan & Chicago for winter break, and am now in the middle of two glorious weeks of watching DVDs of the Greatest American Hero, Invasion, American Gothic, and Grey's Anatomy, eating Pei Wei takeout every lunchtime, and not running (I think I have a stress fracture in my right foot). Oh, and I'm leisurely grading benchmark essay exams. And the best thing is I still have ten more days of break left!

And last but not least is my top ten CDs of 2006 (exactly one of which I own as an actual CD). But first a caveat: These are merely MY favorite CDs that came out this past year. This doesn't mean you should go out and buy ANY of them. I am not a rock critic. I am not a professional. I mean, my MP3 blog was last updated in June! In other words, your mileage may vary.

Price's Top Ten CDs of 2006

1. Drive-By Truckers - A Blessing and a Curse – Hands down, my favorite of the year. I had to take it off my iPod when the first coupler of songs hit 50 plays in less than six months. But I MUST see them live in 2007.
2. The Hidden Cameras – Awoo – The soundtrack to many late nights in my classroom during my first weeks of school. Brilliant from start to finish. When it was over I'd start it again. How is it you haven't heard of these guys?
3. Mew – And the Glass-Handed Kites – My initial response: "Holy shit! This is really good!" After school last week, right before break, I was playing it in my classroom, and some kids came in to say goodbye. Their initial response? It was the same as mine. "Who IS this?!"
4. Phoenix - It's Never Been Like That – Six years ago I thought Tahiti 80 would be THE French indie pop band. Ha.
5. Sloan - Never Hear the End of It – Listen, any year with a Sloan release will also see a Sloan release in my year-end top ten list. It's just a given. But I'm not sure how I feel about this one yet. It's a weird record. 40 songs. Almost 80 minutes. It's definitely not the crunchy riff-rock record they put out last time. But it might be a grower. Feels like it two months later. And, of course, I can't wait for the tour. SLOOOOAAANNN!!!
6. Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped – All the year-end reviews of this one seem to say the same thing: "These guys are making great music, 20+ years into their career." No shit, Sherlock. Where've you been? NYC Ghosts & Monsters excepted, they've been on a roll for THE PAST NINE YEARS.
7. Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther – Believe the hype. Seriously. Just listen to "Roscoe." Then believe the hype.
8. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones – The soundtrack to the highly plausible breakup of my highly implausible summer fling, I will probably always think of her when I listen to this. And as a result I will probably never listen to this. But we'll see.
9. The Charade- A Real Life Drama – Probably the most obscure thing on my list. So I'll just say that this is my favorite Scandinavian indie pop. Gotta thank the mp3 blogosphere for this discovery, BTW. The MP3 blogs are turning me on to LOTS of new stuff.
10. Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit – This is probably only so low on my list because I had an illicit copy in late 2005. But B&S are still going strong. The hype is long gone, and only terrific records remain.

And, finally, I am just now getting into 2006 releases from Regina Spektor, Lupe Fiasco, The Decemberists, and Sparklehorse. Not to mention that 2007 already promises new music from Deerhoof, The Apples in Stereo, and Of Montreal! Wow. I mean, I am pushing 40, man, and music is still a huge part of my life. Pretty cool.

Happy New Year!

AP

Bell & Sebastian - "Another Sunny Day"

Bell & Sebastian - "Another Sunny Day"

Speaking of summer soundtracks, here's a(nother) song for yours.

I actually got a copy of the latest Belle & Sebastian CD, The Life Pursuit, back in November or December (it came out, officially this past February). Which seemed somehow wrong. Belle & Sebastian are a summertime band. Particularly on this new record. In any memories I have of listening to them, or of buying their CDs and EPs, I can totally see the sun. But last winter I was listening to this while sitting at my desk, looking out my sliding glass door at snow, snow, snow. So I just plopped it back onto my iPod (plop!), and am enjoying it more than I did last winter.

BTW, look for lots of updates here over the coming weeks, as I freshen up my iPod to reflect my new life out here in blazingly hot and disturbingly dusty Tucson. Don't worry, though. It won't (all) be desert stoner rock. :)

Yo La Tengo - "Beanbag Chair"

Yo La Tengo - "Beanbag Chair"

I love these kids, Yo La Tengo. I still remember (seeing as I'm not quite old enough to be all senile and stuff) first discovering them opening up for Teenage Fanclub at NYC's Irving Plaza, on their 1994 Thirteen tour (the show, incidentally, now available on bootleg DVD, where you can see a young me bopping along in the front row).

Anyway, like the Fanclub (and me!), Yo La Tengo are still at it. And while I haven't been enjoyed any of their work quite as fully as that first taste (1993's Painful), this jaunty little number deserves to be part of the soundtrack of YOUR summer. It's already part of mine. Along with large helpings of, inexplicably, Wire. I am weird. Truly.

Oh, BTW, the name of the forthcoming Yo La Tengo CD, from which "Beanbag Chair" is taken, is I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass. No lie. Seriously. It comes out September 12, 2006.

Sonic Youth - "Incinerate"

Sonic Youth- "Incinerate"

Hey. I'm back. And so is Sonic Youth. Yeah. Their excuse for being away was that they lost fifth member Jim O'Rourke and, I suppose, that they were busy working on their new CD, Rather Ripped (out June 13, 2006). My excuse is that, since I last posted, I got a job at a high school in Tucson, Arizona. And then I decided "What the heck?" and moved out right away, rather than sit around Mount Pleasant, Michigan, waiting for the start of the 2006/2007 school year.

Anyway, back to SY, this is the second track from Rather Ripped. Great stuff. Enjoy it. :)

Mylo - "In My Arms"

Mylo - "In My Arms"

This song should be particularly appealing to thirtysomething geezers (like me). It's a mashup (look it up) of "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes (1981) and "Waiting for a Star to Fall " by Boy Meets Girl (1988). It's bloody brilliant.

In fact, I recommend the entire CD, Destroy Rock & Roll. Allmusic.com calls it warm, fuzzy bedroom electronica, and I'd say that's a pretty apt description.

BTW, you can check out the video here.

NOTE: This is a repost from last night after I posted OVER this posting with today's Built To Spill post. I am a douchebag. Seriously.

Built To Spill - "Conventional Wisdom"

Built To Spill - "Conventional Wisdom"

I don't care much for the music that comes out of the Pacific Northwest. Never have. And the latest from Built To Spill, You in Reverse, doesn't change that at all. I didn't expect it would. If Sleater-Kinney can't, no band will.

But this song (which in keeping with the overall bloat of these guys has three distinct movements), featuring magnificent J. Mascis-ian guitar swirls, gallops into your ears like the best Dinosaur Jr. song that Dinosaur Jr. forgot to write. And that's just the first 2:30. I say download it and pretend that it's a terrific 2:30 long song and not a 6:20 (over)long song.

Corey Dargel - "Gay Cowboys"

Corey Dargel - "Gay Cowboys"

For some reason this sounds completely mid-nineties to me, but maybe that's because it reminds me so much of Magnetic Fields, a band I was really into in the mid-nineties. Or because Corey describes the Boystown neighborhood of Chicago, where I lived in the mid-nineties. But either way, this is a charmer. Enjoy. :)

M - "Cry Myself to Sleep"

M - "Cry Myself to Sleep"

Late 1979. I was 10 years old. My favorite album was New York London Paris Munich by M. M? Well, odds are you know the album's first track, "Pop Muzik." Ringing any bells? Yeah. It's in the dictionary, alongside "Tainted Love," under "one-hit wonder."

But the entire album was (and still is!) terrific. I still remember the night that I bought this album with my paper route earnings. I played it endlessly (as was admittedly my tendency at this age). But in recent years it existed for me as a (rare) blissful childhood memory (and as a cassette tape of the album). I also think I might've gotten it again in lousy 128K MP3s during the Napster era, but lost it in the hard drive disaster of 2003. To make matters worse, I found that there was a bastardized CD version of the album floating around under the title of "Pop Muzik" that had a different running order and different versions of some of the songs. Blasphemy!

But a few years ago New York London Paris Munich was properly re-released on CD. This song, "Cry Myself to Sleep," is a previously unreleased bonus track, a reggae pop song four years before Culture Club would have the first reggae top 40 hit in the US. Dig on it, and by all means keep an ear out for the whole CD reissue. It's still great fun, and I am convinced that's not just nostalgia. There's a lot of music from my childhood that has NOT aged well. This has.

Billy Idol - "Sherri"

Billy Idol - "Sherri"

Billy Idol KNOWS that you farted.

At least that's what the expression on his face would seem to indicate. Or maybe he knows what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Oh come on. This song can't possibly be any good." Well guess what. You're wrong.

But I certainly understand why you'd think that. His latest CD, Devil's Playground, is over a year old, but I've only recently discovered that it actually has two really good songs on it. "Sherri" is one of them, and it's so good that I can't seem to tire of it. When it comes up on shuffle, I let it play every time.

If only he'd do a whole CD this good. Or even HALF a CD this good!

Goblin Cock - "Stumped"

Goblin Cock - "Stumped"

All signs point to Goblin Cock both being made by (one member is in the indie pop band Pinback) and for hipster indie folks who want to indulge in dungeons & dragons-y metal. Featuring geezers called Lord Phallus on guitar & vocals and Bane Ass-Pounder on guitar, I am pretty sure these guys are goofing on some sort of black metal subgenre. I bet my buddy Jason would know for sure. But despite the cloaks and pointy sharp guitars, I really like this song.

Nice name, BTW, huh? Yeah. You should see the cover.

The Go-Betweens - "The Streets of Your Town"

Grant McLennan of The Go-Betweens has died. He died in his sleep Saturday at the age of 48. So today's MP3 will be my favorite McLennan-penned Go-Betweens song, "The Streets of Your Town," from their 1988 release 16 Lovers Lane. Right click here and select the Save Link As option from the pop up menu.

Go, Andy, Go

You might have noted the subtitle in the name of this blog. Chicago rock critics Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis do a terrific show on Chicago Public Radio called Sound Opinions. I highly suggest, BTW, that you subscribe to their podcast by going here. I only discovered it six weeks ago, and it is now the podcast that I most look forward to finding when I start up iTunes. So when I decided to finally start MP3 blogging, it took me about three seconds to come up with a name for it. UNsound Opinions. In the spirit of the internet, it's a combination of heartfelt tribute and blatant ripoff. But before I go and buy the URL www.unsoundopinions.com, which is amazingly available, I figured I'd better check first with them first. So this morning I emailed Sound Opinions Producer Matt Speigel:

-----Original Message-----
From: Andy Price
Sent: Sunday, May 07, 2006 8:56 AM
To: Matt Spiegel
Subject: Unsound Opinions

Mr. Spiegel,

Will you guys come after me if I name my MP3 blog (http://www.ehhs.cmich.edu/~ajprice/blogger.html) Unsound Opinions? :)

Andy Price

His prompt (and hilarious) response:

From: Matt Spiegel
To: Andy Price
Sent: Sunday, May 7, 2006 8:20:18 PM
Subject: RE: Unsound Opinions

After checking with our extensive legal department, we see no reason you
should not move forward with your fiendish blog.

Go, Andy, Go.

Matt Spiegel
Producer
Sound Opinions TV and Radio

So that settles that. The name of this blog is about to be set in (virtual) stone. See ya tomorrow with a new MP3. :)

Jason Forrest - "My 36 Favorite Punk Songs"

You might remember this song from Jason Forrest's 2004 release The Unrelenting Songs Of The 1979 Post Disco Crash. I don't know quite how to describe this track, entitled "Spectacle To Refute All Judgments," except to say that if you listened to the radio in 1979, bits of it will sound VERY familiar. In 2005, he released Shamelessly Exciting, track #3 of which is "My 36 favorite Punk Songs." Talk about truth in labelling! If you grew up on classic punk, you will LOVE this! Right click here and select the Save Link As option from the pop up menu.

And do me a favor and comment any of the 36 punk songs that you recognize.

Flesh For Lulu - "Decline And Fall"

This one's for Wendy. :)

Flesh For Lulu played a supporting role in the beginning of our "college marriage." Our first date was a showing of Some Kind of Wonderful, which featured their song "I Go Crazy." It became one of our songs. Today Wendy told me that she hadn't been able to find their song "Decline and Fall." I found it. :) She (and you) can get it by right clicking right here and selecting the Save Link As option from the pop up menu.

Awesome. I haven't heard this in (I'm betting) a decade. It reminds me of 91 Rock FM. :)