Top 10 Records of 2007

Sorry for the delay in this. I wanted to have it done sooner but I just didn't. This year there were several albums that I did not purchase that might have made it to the top 10. Money has been tight needless to say. Plus last year I said that I would try not buy as many records (even though the number was the same 51)! This year it is in no particular order because after more time goes by the order changes! I look at last years list and think shit that one should have been higher! Anyways on with the list! 

Battles - Mirrored
Explosions - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
Pelican - City of Echoes
Torche - In Return
Baroness - Red Album
Minus the Bear - Planet of Ice
NIN - Year Zero
Zozobra - Harmonic Tremors
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Jesu - Conqueror / Lifeline / Pale Sketches

Eulogy

Since my look back at 2007 post I’ve wanted to write something about the loss of my cat. Just writing that feels silly. My cat. Even though that is what she undoubtably was, I don’t see her that way. Maybe when I was a kid I did, but not anymore. I’m going to try and describe why.

Fuzzy arrived at my house back in 1991. At least that’s when I think it was. I was probably in the 2nd grade. We had a cat in the house named Mallomar after the cookie that my sister loved. Mallomar belonged to my sister. He was a birthday or Christmas gift. I was never jealous or anything. In my eyes the cat belonged to the whole family. The year after we got Mallomar my older brother brought Fuzzy home for me. So I could have a cat of my own. She was the runt of the litter he said. Covered in fleas. He basically rescued her.

Over the next few years the I remember a few things about her. She was always friendly. Some cats are very picky and moody. They only want attention when it is convenient to them. Fuzzy was never this way. She spent most of her time on the living room couch. That way whenever there was someone at the house she would get some attention. I remember my grandmother and my great-grandmother both loved her. She would come right up to people when they sat down. When you stopped petting her she would lick your hand. I’m not sure if it was a thank you or if she wanted you to help clean her. I’ve never met another cat who was affectionate like that though. I remember when she used to come into my bed when I went to sleep. So long as you didn’t pet her she would lay there with you nice and still. The minute you did pet her she would get up and walk back and forth over you looking for more attention. I remember laying there wanting to pet her so bad but I didn’t want her to get up. I remember saying to my mom if she ever died I would have to take a whole week off of school to recover. I couldn’t imagine ever being the same.

I don’t remember when she started doing it, but she would come when I snapped my fingers. Another thing I had never seen another cat do. Maybe a dog would come when you called, maybe a cat would come if you tried to get it’s attention, but Fuzzy would come from the other side of the house when I snapped. She had this loyalty that still affects me.

Throughout my adolescence and early teen years I don’t remember a ton of specific things. She was just always there. Every hard time, every good time she was there. I used to pretend I could talk to her. Just have a normal conversation like she was my best friend. I could tell her everything and she would never judge. She would always be waiting for me when I got home.

When we did the move to New Jersey of course she was right by my side. She was there in the hotel with us for that month. She was there when the house was first built. The move was so hard on me I retreated to myself. I hated everyone for bringing me there. During those high school years I loved her but wasn’t as close to her as I had been. When graduation finally came I left New Jersey and didn’t look back. Naively thinking things would be the same as before I left. They weren’t.

After I left Northeastern and the family moved to New Hampshire I redeveloped my closeness with her. She was more loyal than ever. It was the first time I ever really realized how special she was. As time went on we became more and more attached. The summer Lark lived with us was a really tough time for me. Our relationship was going through all sorts of ups and downs. I spent the whole summer sleeping on the couch, but I knew every night when I went to sleep on that couch Fuzzy would come running. Almost as if she waited for me to go to bed. It was every night without fail. It felt like I had someone who really understood me in a tough time.

When Lindsey moved out and I took her room it became our room. Fuzzy and me. She barely left it! After Luna started to get incredibly obese we even fed Fuzzy in my room. Every night when I got home she was waiting for me on my bed. If I spent a night out of the house I felt bad and missed her. Every time I saw her she was excited to see me. I think it was during this time she started to lose her hearing. She no longer noticed if I snapped. I didn’t need to though. She was always where I needed her. It was us against the world. As she got older she started to pee on the furniture. The doctor said it was from early kidney failure and urinary tract infections. We were told that even with this problem cats can still live for a long time. I didn’t worry. I knew she would be okay. I knew she was getting old but I told people I hoped that I died first. I wouldn’t be able to handle the loss.

Starting work at HSG gave me the money I needed to actually move out. This time though Fuzzy was coming with me. After I got all settled in to the new place, I drove the car up, packed her stuff, put her in the carrier and brought her to her new home. She did some exploring and I know how moves can be hard on a cat, but I was confident she would like it with us better. I could come home to her every night and I knew she would get the love and attention she needed as often as possible. In my blind love I didn’t notice she had started to lose weight. She stopped eating. When Lark brought it up I dismissed it saying she’s fine. After a few days I came to the realization she wasn’t 100% anymore. I knew she had kidney problems, but I wasn’t terribly worried. I was going to go first remember? We were told to give her fluid under the skin, give her appetite stimulant if she didn’t eat, and put potassium in her food. “Anything for her”, I would say. I was going to keep her happy and healthy forever.

2 months went by and she took a turn for the worse. She stopped eating and I noticed blood in her pee. She only had a week left at that point...

At times I feel guilty. Like I could have done more to save her. When she died it felt like my life was over. I was supposed to go first. What am I still doing here? What is the point of it all. We just live our pointless lives to die alone. I still feel that way sometimes. I am always missing her. If I’m out I think to myself “gotta get home soon, don’t want to leave her alone for too long.” I open the door to my apartment and think I should look out, I don’t want her to go outside. For the first several nights I could barely sleep. She was supposed to be there with me.

I know I will never see her again, but I will always carry my memory of her in my heart. She was the best companion I could ever ask for. I considered her one of the most important women in my life. She will be missed.

2007 Revisited

I think I've sufficiently ignored this blog enough to be sure that no one will read it.

Like every year before it 2007 had it's share of twists and turns and ups and downs. I've decided to sit down for a bit and reflect on as many of the events of the year that I can remember. I'm not sure what it is about the end of the year that makes people want to do things like this. It's just an arbitrary date that we set. There is no celestial or universal meaning to December 31st. It's completely random. Enough rambling! On with 2007!

January
After having spent an excellent weekend with Lark for the Holidays early January was pretty low key. As far as I can remember nothing significant happened this month. I'm sure lots of stuff happened but at this point looking back it's a blur. Maybe it's my selective memory...

February

I know that Lark and I went to a nice dinner on Valentine's Day. Looking back on the blog it seems I was deep into House of Leaves, The Prisoner, and the Bush Administration. Not much has changed it seems. At the end of the month Ryan Traynor and I took a trip to New York to see Explosions in the Sky for their CD release shows. The show they played as part of the wordless music series is easily in the top shows I've ever been to. 

March

Call me selfish but when March comes to mind so does my birthday. Just the word "March" makes me think BIRTHDAY! There were some other excellent happenings in March too. ISIS played 2 nights at the Middle East Downstairs. It was over St. Patrick's Day weekend and also during the only snow we had last winter. Easily 2 of the most kick ass shows I've been to. The first night with Torche and Blacktail was just Joey and I. At this point I had liked Torche for a while, but after seeing them I totally fell in love. Just a phenomenal band and Juan, the guitarist, is the nicest guy. ISIS didn't disappoint per usual. On the way home, driving north on route 93, I lost control of the van. Apparently Joey and I are the most calm people during a crisis. As the van spun in circles admits a ton of snow, I looked at Joe and said "Hold on." That was it. After I had regained control of the van we took it slow for the rest of the ride. Definitely had a good laugh about it too. The next night was with Zozobra and Jesu. Zozobra was fantastic, but hasn't played since that tour. Looks like it didn't work out for Caleb Scofield's new band. He should just get Cave In back together. Being one of Jesu's first US shows I was a bit nervous for them but optimistic. Live they don't have the power their records do. It was still very cool to see Justin up close and personal though. ISIS again played an awesome set. It bothered Joey that they played a very similar set list but they made it okay by closing with Celestial. This time I had more friends with me. Lark, Ryan Traynor, and Erik all joined me. I was also lucky enough to see Explosions in the Sky again this month. Just a mind blowing live band. From whisper quiet to deafening loud. I love that band. On to birthday. My birthday was low key just like I like it. No crazy parties or anything. The family came by, I spent time with Lark, got some great gifts. All in all a good time. I even got the Macbook that I am writing this on right now! Not to mention The Prisoner and many other great things. 

April

By April my band Dipthong had decided we were going to call it quits. Things had been going well jamming with Joey in Sound Film although ultimately that never worked out. Dipthong tried and tried to book a final show. Something all ages and local so that everyone in the area who had ever wanted to see us play could do so one last time. It never came to pass though. Easily one of the biggest disappointments of the year. Although towards the end I was very disenfranchised with the music, I still love playing with those guys. We had some great times and will be sorely missed. By me at least. In April the Smashing Pumpkins also announced the track listing for their reunion album Zeitgeist. More on that later.

May

Ahhh May. Mother's Day. Linzie's birthday. Mom's birthday. The Smashing Pumpkins played their first show since the break-up in Paris, France. I spent the full day at work reading about the show as it happened. It was also the first official announcement that the reunion would only be Billy and Jimmy. The hired guns they got are fine musicians but it's not quite the same band I feel in love with at 15. At the end of May, Lark and I flew out to San Francisco. We had a great time visiting her family and seeing all the sites. We pretty much did everything San Francisco has to offer. I'm glad that I went. 

June

The beginning of Summer and the halfway point of the year. I can remember several notable occurrences this month. Number one being I started to interview for the job I currently have. Having the job gave me the financial security I need to make other big things happen later in the year. Even though I hate this job. Actually let me rephrase that. I hate my boss and the computer system we use. The job and all the people are actually pretty darn good. Stupid bosses. I know that it was somewhere around this time of the year when I finally had the strength to really rekindle my friendship with Kirimi. I've known her since 7th grade. She had been my best friend for a long time. Somewhere along the line we had just lost it. Our friendship was gone. When we finally started talking again it was very sporadically. Mostly acquaintance type stuff. It really bothered me. Side note I'm currently listening to my favorite song of the year. Far from Fields by Pelican. More on that later. Sometime around June we were finally able to forget all about that crap and really be friends again. I'm really glad that we are. She is a very special person. June 29th I got an iPhone. It rules. Nothing else I can say about that. The other biggest event in June was my trip to North Carolina. The Smashing Pumpkins played their first US shows in almost 7 years. I was lucky enough to attend 2 of them. They played each night for 3 hours and played songs from almost every point in there career. Sure I miss James and D'Arcy but it was great to see Billy playing those songs I grew up with again. 

July

Zeitgeist was released in early July. Honestly a huge disappointment. Only a handful of stand out tracks. The B-Sides were great though. This will be the first time Billy has released a record and it doesn't make my top 10 of the year. Crazy. I also started work at the new job at the end of this month. Harman Specialty Group. We'll see how long it lasts is all I can say. The final Harry Potter was released in July. Lark, Erik, and I went to Harvard Square which had been turned into Hogwarts Square for the event. I got the book at midnight and was finished with it the next day. Not a disappointment at all. A fitting end to an amazing story. Loved it! Pelican played with Clouds soon after that. Great bands. Pelican's new record is definitely in the top of my favorite albums this year. The end of July was the first one year anniversary that I've spent with Lark. After all the years of on and off we made it past the one year. We even got to see Bill Cosby! I'm obviously a huge fan and the guy was hilarious. Funniest guy ever.

August

Hottest month of the year. For the life of me I can't remember a damned thing I did this month. Sorry folks move along, nothing to see here. 

September

One of the biggest events of the year. I moved in with Lark. After working the new job I finally could afford to pay rent. Although it broke my mother's heart it was time for me to go. Lark had wanted me to move in a year before, but it just wasn't feasible. I was even able to take my cat Fuzzy. I knew that I would miss her way too much if I left her alone in Salem. After my move I decided that I wanted to become vegan. After being vegetarian for a year, I felt like I was ready for the next step. Unfortunately it has been more difficult than I thought. My will power isn't quite up to task but I've been working on it. It is hard to pass up people's hospitality too! "Hey Matt have some chocolate chip cookies, is a hard sentence to reply with no thanks! Lark also started Grad School this month. I'm so proud of her. Such an intelligent woman. I'm lucky to have her in my life. At the same time Kirimi moved to Washington DC. She is going to school there and I miss her a ton. She is a great friend and I hope to see her when she visits!

October

Lark's birthday month! We had a small party and I even baked her a cake. Also the month of a thousand shows! Torche twice, Smashing Pumpkins with Explosions in the Sky four times, Jesu, and I'm sure a bunch more I'm forgetting. Halloween was fun, I dressed up as Superman again. At the end of the month Fuzzy got sick. Her kidneys were getting worse and she wasn't eating. We started to give her fluid under the skin, which I will tell you now is not pleasant. I still had hope for her. She started to get better and seemed to be happy living with Lark and I in Cambridge.

November

After months of not having anyone to really play music with Erik's dream project Jack Burton Vs. David Lo Pan got together. I'm having a ton of fun playing with Erik, Jim (also from SBC), and Joey. It might not be 100% the music that I dream of making but I do enjoy it. I am also going to be making music on my own with the computer. That way I can play live with a great heavy band and at the same time make the music that I want to make at home. ISIS played 2 nights in Cambridge again for their 10th anniversary shows. Love that band. Kyle and I hung out and went and saw the amazing Battles. Another band that will be on the top 10 this year. After trying to see them 2 other times during the year and it being sold out, I smartened up and bought tickets! Great musicians and fantastic forward thinking music. Thankfully this Thanksgiving was much better than the last. I'm not a big Thanksgiving person. Thanksgiving weekend I went down to New York and saw Snapcase play a reunion show. I've loved that band for a long time and never got a chance to see them. Even though Matt D. wasn't into it I'm glad he came along. The tri-state area just isn't the same without him! Lark and I also decided that we would be moving into the apartment downstairs so we started to make our preparations. Including buying a big screen TV on Black Friday. We were looking forward to having an apartment to ourselves with no roommates. Just the two of us and Fuzzy. 

December

December started with the move. We still aren't 100% settled, we need some things framed and new couches, but it has started to feel like home. Very cozy with plenty of space. I'm glad we made the move. We've also seen a ton of snow. More snow this December than we got all last year! Makes it feel like Christmas. Unfortunately December hasn't been all roses. Fuzzy took a turn for the worse and on December 15th I decided that it was time to put her to sleep. She was in a considerable amount of pain and there was nothing I could do about it. She was more than a pet to me and the loss will be felt for a long long time. I think I will write another post about her this weekend. Lark spent a week in San Diego with her sister. In fact she is there right now as I write this. I am going to spend Christmas with my family in New Hampshire. This week has been very lonely and I'll be glad when Lark is home.

Overview

The sadness of Fuzzy's death puts a damper on the whole year, even though several great things happened. I know that with time I will be okay but as of right now it still sucks. Towards the second half of the year I've slipped in my no Made in China purchases which is disappointing. I have made a concerned effort to reduce my ecological footprint. Recycling, reusing, reducing. The full 9. I'm sure I've forgotten a bunch of great shows I went to and other important events. I wrote this in one quick burst so I'm also sure the grammar is terrible and the paragraphs are messy bits of my rambling. I hope you'll forgive me. For images of many of the shows I went to check out my web gallery! Look for a future post on the top 10 albums of the year. Maybe even one on the movies...

I hope that next year I can increase my environmental awareness, go fully vegan, and reaffirm my commitment to not purchasing sweat shop made goods. I am going to continue reconnecting with friends that I've lost (Josh Taylor, Dave Urbina), hopefully play more video games now that I've got a PS3 haha, and make more music. Music, music, music. Here's to 2008!

Lark's brother was in a porn in California.

haha blog.

Shit. It's been forever. I've actually written some blogs but never posted them. I had some great ideas but I never had the time nor interest to really write anything.

So, what has made me post now? A shit ton of things. Dipthong is breaking up. We are planning our last show.I got a mac and I'm writing this on it now! Joey and I have been writing songs more. Michael left Hour-Past and has started a new band. He wants me to play bass. I'm not sure how I feel about it. So yeah all that stuff.

Shit a pang of lazy just hit me. Looks like this blog ends here.

The Influence of Fiction.

Here is a blog i wrote back in Feb but it looks like it was never published. I think I was gonna make it better. Oh well. PUBLISH POST.

Fiction has this incredible influence on the world around us. I'm currently knee deep in three different works that have inspired and irrevocably changed me.

The first is House of Leaves. I'm not going to into detail on the plot except to say it is about darkness. There is a story within a story within a story and I feel like I'm a part of it. I feel like I have to read it in the dark. This particular book has inspired one of my favorite bands and it has inspired me. I feel like including the themes and characters in my music with whatever band I end up in!

The second is The Prisoner. It is a television show from the late 60's. The main character is known only as No. 6. He was some kind of government agent that resigned from his post. He was then taken to The Village. They try to extract information from him and at the same time make him conform to the "sameness" of The Village. The whole idea of him fighting for his freedom and his own individuality give me this charge! "I am not a number! I am a free man!"

The third is The Bush Administration. As evidenced by the events of 1.31.2007 we live in constant fear. This fear is completely fictional. It is a tool used by those in power to stay in power. Vote for us or you will be bombed. There was a bomb scare over some "lite brite style" advertisements! The whole city of Boston was shut down.

Top 10 of 2006

2006 was (in my humble opinion) a great year for music. As you can see from my previous post there were more than 30 albums all vying for a spot on the top 10. So, without further adieu: Matt V's top 10


Converge - No Heroes
After their last, relatively disappointing, album "You Fail Me" I had thought Converge was all done making incredible records. In my mind they couldn't possibly follow up the masterpiece that is "Jane Doe". Well this new fucking record blew me away. It has everything I love about this band and things I never thought they would do. I love this album and will surely listen to it for years to come.


Jesu - Silver
I discovered Jesu with their debut full length probably at the end of last year. When Hydra Head announced this EP I jumped! I ran to the record store and bought it at midnight. When I got home Hydra Head posted a preorder package! So I did what any true fan would do and bought it again. The limited edition American Apparel T-Shirt was just too cool to pass up. This album is heavy, sludgy, dense, dark, and hopeful. Silver is just another gold. I definitely can't wait for 2007's Conqueror and seeing them open for ISIS.


Young Widows - Settle Down City
I was at the Middle East Upstairs a few months ago to see Mouth of the Architect and These Arms Are Snakes. Luckily I had gotten their nice and early and got to see this incredible band. The sound coming off this stage totally blew me away. I can barely describe it. I bought the album immediately and I like it more each time I listen. The production is lo-fi while still sounding amazing. I totally love this band!


Russian Circles - Enter
This was a band I randomly discovered on Myspace. I spend a bunch of time going to band's sites and listening to bands that they are friends with. I really enjoyed the song on their site so I picked up the disc. After listening to it once I kicked myself in the ass for not going to see them play with Minus the Bear. This is instrumental rock at it's finest. Great memorable songs, great production, great performances. I can't get that first riff out of my head!


Cult of Luna - Somewhere Along the Highway
I had heard of this band a while back but never bought anything by them. When I started to do this top 10 I did a quick look around to see if there were any albums that I didn't get. This one stood out. After a little research I found that this album came with a limited 7" single with a Smashing Pumpkins cover on it. I decided right away that I needed to own this. The music is very "NeurIsis" which I totally love. It's heavy, it's progressive, it's awesome. Reminds me of Panopticon without clean vocals.


ISIS - In The Absence of Truth
ISIS' anticipated new album certainly did not disappoint. Although it isn't my favorite ISIS record (Oceanic owns that title) it is an excellent record and certainly worthy of this list. ISIS has quickly become one of my favorite bands and this album is excellent proof why.


The Sword - Age of Winters
Do you like Black Sabbath? Do you like awesome, sludgy, 70's style rock? Well this band is all that and more. I first saw this album and I thought "wow, that's probably terrible" I couldn't have been more wrong. I can't get enough of it!


Battle of Mice - Day of Nights
Front-woman Julie Christmas put out albums with 2 bands this year. This one and the also very amazing Made out of Babies' Coward. I discovered both bands on a Red Sparowes split and was immediately blown away by her voice. I prefer this to Made Out of Babies mostly for the guitar work (the guy from Red Sparowes and Neurosis' visual artist is awesome!)


Mouth of the Architect - The Ties That Bind
I read a review on The PRP for this record and was intrigued. It described it as being very heavily influenced by Neurosis. I thought that sounded bad-ass so I picked it up. The more I listen to this record the more I hear. There is so much going on in each song and it gets better every time. They also put on an excellent live show (even though they only had enough time to play 3 songs!)


Versoma - Life During Wartime
Rounding out the top 10 is a band that I've seen twice this year. They've lucked out and opened for both ISIS and Red Sparowes. The first time I saw them they were a little sloppy but the heavy use of delay and the good songs made me want to buy their record. ISIS describes it best : "noise and melody never sounded so sweet" This last spot was the hardest to pick with great albums from Mono, Red Sparowes, Tides, Mastodon, Making it Right, Pearl Jam, Switchblade, Grails, Disappearer, Jeremy Enigk, and 5ive all fighting for the spot. I just think that this one will last a bit longer in the old CD player or on my Zombie iPodito.


If you don't own any of these releases I urge you to go and listen! There is something for everyone I think! Well maybe not everyone.