Also note that most of these did not come out in 2011. I watch most of my movies through Netflix or rentals or the public library.

Here we go… (in no particular order)

Away We Go
The Social Network
Inception
Searching For Bobby Fischer
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Swedish version)
The Kids Are Alright
Casino
Super 8
The King’s Speech
Black Swan
Rushmore
Despicable Me
The Lovely Bones
Red
The Girl Who Played With Fire
Get Low
Coraline
Valkyrie
A Single Man
The Adjustment Bureau
X-Men: The First Class
Everything Must Go
Tangled
Hanna

Documentaries:
Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop
Still Bill
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Food, Inc.
The King of Kong
Freakonomics

TV Shows: Parks and Recreation (how was I not aware of this?), Numb3rs (entire series), Sports Night (entire series), Warehouse 13

This is what I wrote last year, and I still feel it to be true: Some people would say that watching that many movies is a waste of time. But as a writer, enveloping yourself in stories is vital to learning and being inspired. And once in a while you find yourself moved, or even changed, by the story created by someone else.

Tonight, Five Iron announced a new album and possible tour. This news didn’t make me happy. I kind of felt like I attended my best friend’s funeral – and then ten years later, he calls to tell me that he might want to get the boys back together.

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Before you send off a careless internet comment my way, know that I too was one of you. I went to every show that they played within a multi-state radius of where I live. I have all of their albums, even Cheeses of Nazareth, which should have come with a rebate for the purchase price. And yes, I still wear my Five Iron Frenzy shirt often. I was as stunned as anyone when I found out that they were quitting.

But on November 22, 2003 – I watched Five Iron Frenzy play a memorable show that would never be forgotten by those that were there. It was a moment of deserved recognition to a band who had given more to their fans then they would ever know. Everyone there, both the band and fans, sang until their voices quit and they were forced back into the Denver cold.

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Based on the initial response tonight, I am in the minority. At this moment, the band’s Kickstarter campaign is over $60,000 and rising steadily. The band’s webpages are filling with fans’ comments happy to see the band return. Many of them are probably pushing thirty, but they sound like teenage Bieber fans.

Maybe my feelings are tied to feeling like the memories we made on November 22, 2003 are being tarnished. Or maybe I am being realistic. A couple years ago, I went to see MXPX almost ten years after the first time I saw them. It was awkward watching grown men playing teenage anthems and sounding like they were still chasing unattainable dreams. It wasn’t nostalgic, but sad. Nostalgia only lasts so long and it is only great because we’ve chosen to remember the parts that satisfy our need to revisit those feelings and memories. If we actually got to go back to our high school days, we’d quickly remember all that we worked hard to forget.

What if this upcoming album isn’t very good? What if the band has changed as people (which they hopefully have) and their message doesn’t sound exactly like we want to remember? Or what if we’ve moved on and they are right back where they were? What if watching a 40-year-old Reese Roper dance and sweat until he pukes just isn’t the same? What if it is actually awkward and sad?

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I am not trying to be a pessimist. Five Iron Frenzy ranks in my top three favorite bands ever. But I am worried that our excitement about a return might be fueled more by our feelings about who they were, rather than the reality of what they might be. Their return is a high-risk endeavor that puts their legacy to the test. Will the next Five Iron chapter be remembered like a U2-late-career resurgence, or a “remember when Jordan tried baseball?” failure?

July Pages Read: 1111
August Pages Read: 1375
September Pages Read: 1743
2011 Total: 6810
Pages Behind: 2190 (3419)

Books Read Include: The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell, Ticket to Ride by Larry Kane, Charlatan by Pope Brock, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris, Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell, Zombie Spaceship Wasteland by Patton Oswald, Love Wins by Rob Bell, Wonderland by Michael Bamberger, I Sold My Soul on eBay by Hemant Mehta, Pure Scum by Mike Sares, Rumspringa by Tom Shachtman, Heaven is For Real by Todd Burpo, Churched by Matthew Paul Turner, Are You There Vodka? It’s Me Chelsea by Chelsea Handler, The War for Late Night by Bill Carter, Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me by Chelsea Handler, My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler, and The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne.

Highlights:

Love Wins by Rob Bell
Most of the stuff in this book was what I had already been thinking, it is just nice to hear someone else say it. I think the controversy around it is sad. Wish there could be more open dialogue instead of just random internet cowardliness. I applaud Bell for his honesty and not backing down – even if it means he has to stir the waters a bit.

Churched by Matthew Paul Turner
Great memoir of growing up in the church. I laughed several times specifically because his stories hit very close to home. Enjoyable if you grew up in the church or not.

The War for Late Night by Bill Carter
Very insightful coverage of what went on during the whole late night debacle last year. I side with Conan O’Brien in the end. A great read for anyone remotely interested into what all went down.

Yesterday I went to the store to buy the new album by Needtobreathe. This act of going to a store to buy an album on the first day it is available is not something that happens much with me anymore. Although I have a large CD collection, my CD buying habits have followed the trends of the rest of the world: I just can’t afford to buy a lot of new music. Plus, as a reviewer I tend to get so much music that I can’t even keep up with it.

And while I value the historical importance of an official record release day, I also see that digital sales have changed the experience. I used to get up early (whenever the store would open) or stay up late (depending on the coolness of the store), pull out my hard-earned cash money, and get my hands on a physical copy of the disc. Then I would go home and immediately rip off the cellophane wrapper and put the disc in, pouring over the lyrics and liner notes.

Now, you can just click a few buttons and the MP3 files are downloaded. No trip to the store. No cash money. No physical disc in your hands. The files can easily become lost among the limitless music on your Ipod.

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I have two vivid memories of specific release days:

The first was the day John Mayer’s Heavier Things album released. (Side note – I know it is cool to hate on Mr. Mayer now; he does come across as somewhat ridiculous in recent interviews. But there was a time when his music was my life soundtrack. Cue the sappy “aww” sound…)

I was in college and had made a late night trip to Walmart that night with my roommates at the time. We were doing what college students do in most Kansas college towns – hanging out at Walmart – and I decided to stop by the music department to see if they happened to have the new releases out since it was past midnight. Luckily, they did.

I didn’t have a chance to listen the album for the first time until the next morning walking to class. Now I am not yet 30, but this was still a time when I had a Sony Discman portable CD player. That morning there was a light rain, not enough to immediately be soaked, but substantial none the less. I strapped on my Discman, loaded up Heavier Things, and walked my way towards Kansas State University.

What occurred next was one of the many times that I have felt a surreal moment involving music: As I was walking and the first notes to “Clarity” started to play, I felt like the music I was listening to was created for that moment. I remember skipping class just to walk around in the rain and listen to the music.

To this day, when I listening to music on a rainy day, the first song on my playlist will be “Clarity” of John Mayer’s Heavier Things album.

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The second vivid memory of an album release day happened on September 11, 2001.

At the time, I was going to college in Oklahoma and had got up early to go buy a copy of the new POD album Satellite. I headed to the nearest retail outlet: K-mart. As I stepped inside, there was a eerie ghost town feeling. No cashiers could be found at the registers or customer service. No customers could be seen pushing carts around. I stepped back outside just to double check that the store was actually open.

As I reentered the store and made my way towards the electronics section, I began to notice a crowd gathered around the bank of TVs along the store’s back wall. The screens were filled with videos of a skyscraper that was on fire, but I continued on toward the music section. It was there in the aisle of the Bartlesville, OK K-Mart that I watched a plane fly into the South tower of the World Trade Center.

I honestly don’t recall when I purchased the POD album, but I know it was not that morning. I got back in my Jeep Cherokee and headed back to campus where classes were already being canceled and students were gathering around televisions to watch the news updates. I had made it back to my dorm to hear reports of an attack on the Pentagon and to see the two towers collapse.

I’ll also admit that the best part of being a music snob is being able to say, “I saw them back before they were big.” Usually these shows are at smaller, less publicized venues for dirt cheap prices. There are no fancy light shows or giant video screens to distract you -  you are able to focus on the music. And most of the time, there are only a few hundred other people who get to share in the experience.

This week the Low Anthem came through Kansas City, and based off the reviews the next day, I should have gone. I knew about it, I thought seriously about going, but didn’t go. The last time I had this feeling it was with a little band called Mumford & Sons. They played the Record Bar in Kansas City for a sold-out crowd – maybe a couple hundred. The day after the show, I already regretting having not gone; I knew I missed an opportunity. The next time they came through, it was in a much larger and less music-friendly venue for four times as much per ticket.

(Mumford and Sons at the Record Bar – taken by someone who actually went to the show)

This probably won’t be the last time I have this feeling. But it is worth it for those few times you follow your gut and get to see the next-big-thing while they are still just another band.

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Some of the bands I have seen before they were famous:
The Frames (the lead singer, Glen Hansard became half of The Swell Season), Josh Ritter, Grace Potter & the Nocturals, John Mayer, POD, and Beyoncé. That’s right, Mrs. Jay-Z.

Amy Winehouse died today.  Now Winehouse wasn’t my favorite artist, but I think she was a genuinely talented artist who sadly had the potential for even greater artistic success.

Her death is a sad commentary on popular culture. Regardless of one’s opinion of her music, it is hard to disagree that her legacy will be the tabloid caricature that she became. I don’t remember any tabloid information streams posting an address to send get-well cards when she entered rehab, but I do remember them leading with newly obtained scandalous video or photos of her.

But those details would not be news if no one was interested. That makes us all responsible.

I found it troubling that her death was greeted with little sadness, but rather treated as a deserved punishment. Where is our humanity when fellow human’s lives no longer hold any worth? Why do we so easily judge, but so slowly move towards providing assistance?

Now with all of that said, I admit that her death is not a surprising outcome. Many people who deal with severe drug addictions do end up dying as a result, but that does not relieve us of our compassion. I felt that singer Kevin Max summed up the situation well today when he said “we need to hold each other in accountability, even when going off the deep end.”

Tragedy is still tragedy, even when it is dulled by the glow of our televisions and the gloss of our magazines.

The Burnside Writers Collective published a piece today that I wrote about the last shuttle mission. It is called “Looking for the Next Frontier.” Here’s the link:

http://burnsidewriters.com/2011/07/21/looking-for-the-next-frontier/

Enjoy!

This is one of the issues one must deal with when being a frequent consumer of the local public library. You never know who else has checked out the same book. You don’t know if they wash their hands or if they have an incurable disease. You don’t know if they were reading this book in the bathroom or while traveling in a germ-infested airplane. The book might have been fondled by a drooling baby, or even a drooling geriatric. The book may have been set on a hotel bed containing bedbugs or a park bench home to the dirtiest of pigeons. You can never be safe.

Now I am not suggesting that you wear rubber gloves or disinfect all your books before reading. I’m just saying take appropriate precautions. 

Please do what you can to keep these ‘special surprises’ from infecting the books of your public library. The millions of public library patrons thank you.

April, May, June Pages Read: 1802
2011 Total: 2581
Pages Behind: 3419

Books Read Include: SuperFreakonomics by Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner, Take the Cannoli by Sarah Vowell, Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman, Killing Yourself to Live by Chuck Klosterman, Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell, Chuck Klosterman IV by Chuck Klosterman, The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell.

January, February, March Pages Read: 779
2011 Total: 779
Pages Behind: 2221

Books Read Include: Freakonomics by Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner, Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler, & Frank Lloyd Wright by Ada Louise Huxtable.