Eric Arvin's Blog, page 102
December 29, 2010
December 28, 2010
Linnzi Zaorski - When I Get Low I Get High
I've been trying to find this song everywhere. Love her voice.
December 27, 2010
My Top 10 CDs of 2010
How sad is it that this post is one of the highlights of my year? I mean, I might not even post anything else the rest of the day just so's you can all soak this post in. I'm a crazy bitch!
Anyway, absorb, my lovelies! Absorb!
Best CD I Bought in 2010 Not Released in 2010:
Joshua James, Build Me This
A muddy, soul-stained voice are at odds with James' angelic features, but it's a beautiful dichotomy.
A few that almost made my Top 10:
I have a strange point system when I do these lists and these three CDs nearly made my Big 10. Laura Marling's fragile and angry I Speak Because I Can; Annie Lennox's transubstantiation of holiday classics on A Christmas Cornucopia; and Sade's smooth and sexy Soldier of Love.
And Now, The Top 10:
10. Kylie Minogue, Aphrodite. I know! I was surprised it made my list too. But it's a damn fun collection of dance music.
9. Brandon Flowers, Flamingo. The Killers front man got a lot of flack for this CD, but I'm among the few who really liked it, and it only grew on me the more I listened to it.
8. Broken Bells, Broken Bells. Everyone's favorite new band earlier in the year.
7. Patty Griffin, Downtown Church. I purchased this without knowing it was covers of old gospel tunes. That would normally have sent up a red flag. But Griffin makes these songs sound mighty secular. In an interview earlier in the year, she admitted to not being a religious person herself and having the same response to gospel music as many of us.
6. Johnny Flynn, Been Listening. Johnny's second full-length CD and the second one to make my Top 10. That voice kills. The {insert big timer songwriter of your choosing} of the nu-folk movement?
5. Frightened Rabbit, The Winter of Mixed Drinks. Some of the best rock from across the pond since U2.
4. Mary Chapin Carpenter, The Age of Miracles. A quiet spiritual experience that steals upon you and draws from history and recent social and worldly upheavals to demonstrate its point.
3. Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs, God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise. There are some songs here that will rip your heart out, even while you're mended by Ray's voice.
2. Various, Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows. A John Prine tribute album that kicks tribute album beeehind, with artists like Josh Ritter, My Morning Jacket, The Avett Brothers, and Justin Townes Earle.
1. Mumford & Sons, Sigh No More. Well, it's just amazing. Folkin' Roll. Again, the nu-folk movement shows the rest of the world how it's done. With harmonies that could fill a symphony hall and instrumentation that delves into genius, you should be ashamed of yourself if you don't get this CD. SHAME!
Anyway, absorb, my lovelies! Absorb!
Best CD I Bought in 2010 Not Released in 2010:
Joshua James, Build Me This
A muddy, soul-stained voice are at odds with James' angelic features, but it's a beautiful dichotomy.
A few that almost made my Top 10:
I have a strange point system when I do these lists and these three CDs nearly made my Big 10. Laura Marling's fragile and angry I Speak Because I Can; Annie Lennox's transubstantiation of holiday classics on A Christmas Cornucopia; and Sade's smooth and sexy Soldier of Love.
And Now, The Top 10:
10. Kylie Minogue, Aphrodite. I know! I was surprised it made my list too. But it's a damn fun collection of dance music.
9. Brandon Flowers, Flamingo. The Killers front man got a lot of flack for this CD, but I'm among the few who really liked it, and it only grew on me the more I listened to it.
8. Broken Bells, Broken Bells. Everyone's favorite new band earlier in the year.
7. Patty Griffin, Downtown Church. I purchased this without knowing it was covers of old gospel tunes. That would normally have sent up a red flag. But Griffin makes these songs sound mighty secular. In an interview earlier in the year, she admitted to not being a religious person herself and having the same response to gospel music as many of us.
6. Johnny Flynn, Been Listening. Johnny's second full-length CD and the second one to make my Top 10. That voice kills. The {insert big timer songwriter of your choosing} of the nu-folk movement?
5. Frightened Rabbit, The Winter of Mixed Drinks. Some of the best rock from across the pond since U2.
4. Mary Chapin Carpenter, The Age of Miracles. A quiet spiritual experience that steals upon you and draws from history and recent social and worldly upheavals to demonstrate its point.
3. Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs, God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise. There are some songs here that will rip your heart out, even while you're mended by Ray's voice.
2. Various, Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows. A John Prine tribute album that kicks tribute album beeehind, with artists like Josh Ritter, My Morning Jacket, The Avett Brothers, and Justin Townes Earle.
1. Mumford & Sons, Sigh No More. Well, it's just amazing. Folkin' Roll. Again, the nu-folk movement shows the rest of the world how it's done. With harmonies that could fill a symphony hall and instrumentation that delves into genius, you should be ashamed of yourself if you don't get this CD. SHAME!
Hot Shot: Charge of the Hot Brigade
I love the butt sex face he's wearing...
December 26, 2010
2010: In Summary, Part One
I started 2010 believing that it would be MY year. I would dominate it like I dominate Wii Frisbee Golf. I decided that things were on their way to getting better and things couldn't possibly get any worse than brain surgery a few years ago. 2010 would be my bitch.
I forgot one thing: I'm a magnet to challenge and there were more trials ahead.
Silly Eric!
The year started off fine. Rather good, actually. I finish Simple Men in January and sent it to Dreamspinner. I really didn't expect much from it. It's what I refer to as a "trifle." Something fun, but not too deep. It was just what I needed to write, though, since I had been dwelling on darker subject matter for so long.
February was all about the Olympics. I was glued to the television and was simultaneously moved and embarrassed at being so manipulated by sappy music over slo-mo replays of sporting events. During the second week of the Games I became really sick. Dizzyingly sick. Couldn't walk sick. But still, it was one of my favorite memories of the whole year. Me in bed, watching the Olympics, eating soup and drinking juice. The only problem my extreme illness caused had to do with my passport. I was supposed to get it renewed in February, but I kept procrastinating until I was too ill to do anything about.
In March, Simple Men was released and immediately became my best seller. It seems readers just wanted something sweet from me. I found the reception, the wonderful letters and emails, absurdly charming and utterly heartwarming.
April saw me sign with YOM for a reprint of my first book The Rest Is Illusion. It was published with a lovely new cover in May.
Also, during this time, I was on the hunt for a spray tan. I wanted to look pretty and golden for the coming summer. After I was told, however, that someone was supposed to stand there and spray me in my underwear (I was under the impression it was a booth), I decided against it. Whoever loves me must love my pale white ass as well...at least, until I get a personal spray tannng thingy. And by "thingy", I mean "hot pool boy."
Throughout the year I was able to help a few other writers in their quests to get their work out there. I think that's important. Artists and writers know struggle, and when you are in a position to help another artist or writer out...well, it's good karma. Plus, why wouldn't you want to help someone else? Give the world a drop of your good.
And then there's LOST. My favorite TV series ever in the history of the world ended on what I thought was a very high note. One that was true the enigmatic nature of the series, the center of the show being the characters, not the island.
June was a lull. Not much happened and I think that's a good place to end this entry. It was July that things started to spill out everywhere and my world began to crumble, bit by bit. God save us all.
I forgot one thing: I'm a magnet to challenge and there were more trials ahead.
Silly Eric!
The year started off fine. Rather good, actually. I finish Simple Men in January and sent it to Dreamspinner. I really didn't expect much from it. It's what I refer to as a "trifle." Something fun, but not too deep. It was just what I needed to write, though, since I had been dwelling on darker subject matter for so long.
February was all about the Olympics. I was glued to the television and was simultaneously moved and embarrassed at being so manipulated by sappy music over slo-mo replays of sporting events. During the second week of the Games I became really sick. Dizzyingly sick. Couldn't walk sick. But still, it was one of my favorite memories of the whole year. Me in bed, watching the Olympics, eating soup and drinking juice. The only problem my extreme illness caused had to do with my passport. I was supposed to get it renewed in February, but I kept procrastinating until I was too ill to do anything about.
In March, Simple Men was released and immediately became my best seller. It seems readers just wanted something sweet from me. I found the reception, the wonderful letters and emails, absurdly charming and utterly heartwarming.
April saw me sign with YOM for a reprint of my first book The Rest Is Illusion. It was published with a lovely new cover in May.
Also, during this time, I was on the hunt for a spray tan. I wanted to look pretty and golden for the coming summer. After I was told, however, that someone was supposed to stand there and spray me in my underwear (I was under the impression it was a booth), I decided against it. Whoever loves me must love my pale white ass as well...at least, until I get a personal spray tannng thingy. And by "thingy", I mean "hot pool boy."
Throughout the year I was able to help a few other writers in their quests to get their work out there. I think that's important. Artists and writers know struggle, and when you are in a position to help another artist or writer out...well, it's good karma. Plus, why wouldn't you want to help someone else? Give the world a drop of your good.
And then there's LOST. My favorite TV series ever in the history of the world ended on what I thought was a very high note. One that was true the enigmatic nature of the series, the center of the show being the characters, not the island.
June was a lull. Not much happened and I think that's a good place to end this entry. It was July that things started to spill out everywhere and my world began to crumble, bit by bit. God save us all.
BTW
BTW, if you want to see my character Kid Christmas in a nice little holiday greeting (read: complete filth involving Santa and a candy cane), then head on over to Absolutbleu's site. He did one special for this Christmas.
Flashback: My Father
On this day in 1993 my father died after having a stroke caused by cavernous himangiomas a week earlier. He was a kind and loving man, but had become increasingly religious in the last few years of his life, which made things hard on all of us. I remember getting ready to leave the house to visit him at the hospital in Louisville when they called and told us he had died. I remember the air felt as brittle as candy for days after that. I remember watching The Sting that night in a dazed stupor. I remember Mom sleeping on the couch in the living room instead of her bedroom for months. Below is a photograph of Mom and Dad in happier times when they were younger.
Hot Shot: Day After Christmas
Absolutbleu did this pour moi last year when "Kid Christmas Rides Again" was released from Dreamspinner. An elf's job is never done. Especially when all the new Santa wants to do is get nekkid.
December 25, 2010
15 Music Artists I Will Be Looking Into This Year
My sister Amy sent me a massive collection of songs for Christmas. Of the ones I had never heard of before, here are the artists who most caught my attention and whom I will be doing research on. I love being intro'd to new music! I've found a lot of it by simply following some of your comments on my posts here (Cloud Cult, for one. Thanks, Chris!).
The Perishers
Johnathan Rice
Bryn Christopher
Joe Purdy
Foy Vance
Neverending White Lights
The Slip
Greenskeepers
Royal Wood
Patick Watson
Laura Veirs
Powderfinger
Soulsavers
Sanders Bohlke
Shady Bard
The Perishers
Johnathan Rice
Bryn Christopher
Joe Purdy
Foy Vance
Neverending White Lights
The Slip
Greenskeepers
Royal Wood
Patick Watson
Laura Veirs
Powderfinger
Soulsavers
Sanders Bohlke
Shady Bard
Eric Arvin's Blog
- Eric Arvin's profile
- 564 followers
Eric Arvin isn't a Goodreads Author
(yet),
but they
do have a blog,
so here are some recent posts imported from
their feed.
