1. Best novel that I missed when it came out: Guus Kuijer’s The Book of Everything (Scholastic, 2006). Narrated by a nine-year-old, this is an all-ages book about love, faith, and growing up. It has a sense of humor, too. I devoted a post to this book earlier in the month. 2. Album of the Year:
According to iTunes, these are the songs released in 2010 that I played most in 2010. As such, the list is going to skew slightly towards the beginning of the year (since those songs have been in the playlist for a longer period of time).  The number at the far right is the number of
A holiday classic for misanthropes: “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.”
Film Score Monthly’s newly released 3-CD original motion picture soundtrack to The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (1953) is a must for fans of Dr. Seuss, composer Frederick Hollander, or the film itself. The rest of you might want to see the cult classic before purchasing. And, for the record, if you’ve any interest in
The Record: Contemporary ART and VINYL, edited by Trevor Schoonmaker (Duke University Press, 2010), is both beautifully produced and delightful to read. Meditate on the photographs of phonograph-inspired art, or on the dozen or so brief essays, which are – to a person – all interesting. No kidding. I often just skip around in a book like
As noted in my last Christmas music post, I’ve made a lot of these mixes, each one different. Last year, I decided to make a mix of downbeat – even somewhat depressing – holiday music. This is it. 1. Blue Christmas Bright Eyes (2002)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2:22 Elvis’s version has been so overplayed that it’s no longer
Happy St. Nicholas Day! Â For today’s treat, it’s the holiday tunes that no December should be without. Â Well, in my humble opinion, anyway. Â Over the past decade, I’ve assembled 9 or 10 different holiday mixes (all with completely different songs). Â The idea for this mix is to include favorites from all of those mixes. Â In
As promised, it’s the seventh and final Halloween mix! Â Ella Fitzgerald, the Doors, Talking Heads, Snob Scrilla, Flogging Molly, the National, and many others. Â Hope you’ve enjoyed these mixes. Â Happy Halloween! 1. Bewitched theme (1964) Â Â Â 1:02 The theme to the television sitcom (1964-1972) about a witch named Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery), her husband Darrin
Welcome to the sixth Halloween mix. Â Lambert, Hendricks & Ross; Curtis Mayfield; Charlie Daniels; Billy Bragg; Van Halen; Donovan; and, of course, many more…! 1. Halloween Spooks Lambert, Hendricks & Ross (1959) Â Â Â 2:17 The vocalese trio from their Hottest New Group in Jazz LP. Â If you like vocalese, then – well, then you
And… here’s the fifth of seven Halloween mixes. Â They Might Be Giants, Tom Jones, Undertones, Flaming Lips, the Archies, and more! Â It’s a very busy week, but I’m going to do my utmost to get these all up prior to the 31st. 1. Dr. Evil They Might Be Giants (1999) Â Â Â 1:50 From Austin