Wish Wednesday: My 2012 Pop Culture Goals

I know I’m 12 days late in posting this, but it is still January so it doesn’t matter. And while my life goals (I still refuse to use the word resolution although we all know it’s the same banana) are still under construction (the umbrella words being MOVE and WRITE more), at least these things I’ve already formulated

1. Write (not just microblog) what I consume – If you know me, you know I consume pop culture like I consume chocolate, and yet, after I eat them, then what? I should put down what these things have contributed to my life and how it can help (or not) other people’s pop culture education. This one also means BLOG MORE!

2. Don’t just amass, but actually consume – Again, if you know me, I hoard books, music, TV shows, movies, comic books, links to stuff, etc. But most of them, I actually don’t read/listen to/watch. So this 2012 I should be able to:
- Read at least 20 books from my backlog of 2 bookshelves
- Listen to at least half of the 100 gigs of music on my Mac
- Watch at least 1/4 of the 300+ movies I’ve “acquired”
- Read all the links I’ve favorited on Twitter or put on Instapaper and Read Later

3. Try things out of my comfort zone – I always tell my students to do this, but I seldom do it because I’ve been so used to my kind of pop culture. But for my personal growth and to maybe discover new things to love, I will try to
- listen to hiphop (not r&b, tried that never liked it)
- watch local shows (not soap operas, i dont think that can contribute to my growth)
- watch documentaries that are not mainstream
- read Christian fiction (apparently there are really good ones out there)
- go to gigs of local indie bands i know nothing about

4. Finish the two remaining books of A Song of Ice and Fire so i can move on to other things – I think I purposely read it slowly because I’m so Invested in the world of Westeros that I cannot imagine life without me reading it to and from work and while drinking coffee after a hard day’s work. But I do have to explore other worlds eventually, so I have to end my love affair with Jon Snow eventually. Well, until the next book that is.

5. Lend stuff to other people so i can share my passions with them – but only to people I trust will give them back coz I’ve lost countless books, comic books, dvds to friends who either end up not being friends anymore or have gotten temporary amnesia with regards to stuff they borrow

6. Start on that pop culture scrapbook/magazine I’ve been planning – and I do mean an actual honest to goodness scrapbook, not an app. Why? Coz I’m a geek like that

7. Get out more - My gadgets should not be my world. There are movie theaters to go to, stage plays to see, concerts to watch, libraries and museums to explore, yadda yadda yadda. And that means talking to actual people too right? Sigh

So what are your pop culture resol….I mean goals this year?

*This is my first ever blog post that I typed on Arya Stark aka the ipad2

 

Music Monday: My Albums of 2011

Okay, I’m probably a week too late to be posting best of lists, but I’ll still do it of course. Originally, I wanted to do songs of 2011, but everytime I tried to pick a song from each album, I ended up choosing 2 or 3 songs, hence, I’m just making an albums list. Some you can see on critics’ lists, some were widely panned. But my only criteria is that I could listen to the whole album over and over and over

21, Adele

Even if you got nauseous just hearing the songs covered over and over again (in varying degrees of success), you cannot deny that this was the year of Adele. And why shouldn’t it be, this album was just plain pop genius. Remove your disdain for the various covers and the ubiquitous playing in radio stations and you are left with heartfelt songs, catchy riffs and her bombastic voice. And you should most definitely watch her concert at Royal Albert Hall and you will fall even more in love with her. She cackles like a witch, curses like a beeyatch but you will just love her honesty, her passion and her eyelashes, I mean, her music.

Favorite Songs: Rolling in the Deep (of course), Set Fire to the Rain, Rumor Has It

 

Bon Iver, Bon Iver

This was the year that I fell in love with folk and they, particularly founder/singer/songwriter Justin Vernon, were half of the reason why. The NPR folks dubbed it as a Bruce Hornsby-ish record and for once, that is not such a bad thing. The melodies are soft, the lyrics are painfully earnest and the good vibes just seep through your veins with every listen of this album

Favorite Songs: Holocene, Calgary

 

Barton Hollow, The Civil Wars

This duo were the other reason why I fell in love with folk (well, the indie hipster kind of folk anyways). A lot of people are always surprised to find out that John Paul White (a Johnny Depp doppleganger) and Joy Williams (a former CCM pop artist) are actually not married to each other because the chemistry they have both in the album and in live performances is just unbelievable. I had their album on loop for almost a week and I never got tired of them, even until now. They’ve gotten a big break lately by being featured in The Hunger Games OST in a duet with Taylor Swift. So stoked more people will get to discover them.

Fave songs: Barton Hollow, 20 Years

 

Mylo Xyloto, Coldplay

Critics and even some long-time fans (and long time detractors) were not very happy with this album. But Coldplay is in my personal list of bands that can do no wrong in my ears. First listen it was not that bad, in fact it was more than okay. But as I listened to it more, I grew to love it to bits. They’ve perfected a sound that they know fans will love, and they stick to it. They may not be as adventurous as other bands, but why change what works for them right? The only track that I hate? The one with Rihanna. I always skip over that track.

Fave songs: Us Against the World, Don’t Let It Break Your Heart

 

King of Limbs, Radiohead

Another one of the bands that I will always listen to no matter what. Critics and fans were very divided in their opinion of this album. But, as with any of their previous albums, I get totally lost when listening to it. Their songs are all about atmosphere and the experience of listening, more than the actual lyrics or hooks. No particular track really stands out, not because they’re not good but because it’s one whole listen for me. But critics, even those that panned the album, had to agree that Lotus Flower was brilliant

Fave songs: Lotus Flower, Morning Mr. Magpie

 

Ceremonials, Florence and the Machine

No one does baroque pop like Florence. And in just her 2nd studio album, she has mastered the art of creating anthemic songs that you just want to burst out singing to, except that you don’t have her vocal chops to give the song justice. So you’ll just lip-synch and dance along to it. Oh wait, that might just be me Shake It Out is my official theme song for 2011

Fave songs: Of course Shake It Out, Breaking Down

 

Metals, Feist

I’m not as crazy about this album unlike her previous ones where I would just devour each and every song. Her latest one is a slow burn, where you just have to quietly listen to them to fully appreciate the whole album. I haven’t put it on loop which may be one of the reasons why I’m not as fond of it as The Reminder or Let It Die. But it still makes the list because after all, she is Feist.

Fave songs: How Come You Never Go There, Undiscovered First

 

Strange Mercy, St. Vincent

Annie Clark is my Zooey Deschenel/Jenny Lewis of 2011, meaning she is my indie girl crush for this year. And her new album doesn’t disappoint. In fact, this may be my favorite of her 3 albums too date. Her songs are so cheery and fun that even if she is singing about abuse or dark heartbreak, you still feel joyous and peaceful. She is also an awesome guitarist which adds to her coolness factor.

Fave songs: Cheerleader, Dilettante

 

Cults, Cults

Another genre that I fell in love with this year is the retro-sounding indie rock, or bands that would have been right at home in the 60s and 70s, like Real Estate, Best Coast, Phantogram, The Drums, but Cults makes my list. Just like St Vincent, there is such pep and cheer in their songs that you don’t notice that they’re actually singing about really dark things (which is sometimes bad actually). This is just their debut album and I look forward to hearing more from them

Fave songs: Abducted, Never Heal Myself

 

I Have a Dream, The City Harmonic 

Hands down, my worship album of the year. They describe their music as ”nostalgic Brit-pop meets campfire sing-along mix that features raucous gang vocals along with agile, soaring anthems crafted to include the listener”. “Be Still O My Soul” was the soundtrack to my faith journey of 2011

Fave songs: Be Still O My Soul, Manifesto

 

Other albums in my list but I’m just too lazy to write about

The Decemberists’ The King is Dead

Fleet Foxes’ Helplessness Blues

James Blake

Yuck (yes, it’s a band)

Low’s Cmon

Real Estate’s Day