I've never done any of these 'favorite movies/music/books' lists before, and thought it might be fun (can you tell it's a slow day here at the office?). So...here's the list of my top 20 favorite albums.
For the record, musical taste is an area in which I deviate sharply from SMAG ideals, so the following is very atypical and should not be considered representative of SMAG's in general.
These rules apply:
- These are personal favorites, not necessarily what I'd consider to be 'the best'. The fact that there are probably a few musical misses here isn't nearly as important as the fact that they all still manage to evoke a visceral reaction in me, every time. I could pop any of these albums into my CD player right now and be as delighted to listen to it them as the first time I heard them.
- In addition to the nostalgia factor, every album was somehow significant in the development of my taste in music.
- I'm not including classical or hip hop here, and nothing that came out after 2005, with the exception of "Boxer," which is so amazing that I just had to break my own rule.
- These are roughly listed in the order in which I love them.
- I realize the content and format of this list makes me sound like a pretentious a-hole, and I really don't care.
Here goes...
Wire - "Pink Flag" (1977)
Television - "Marquee Moon" (1977)
The Replacements - "Let It Be" (1984)
The Pixies - "Come on Pilgrim"/"Surfer Rosa"/"Doolittle" (Ok, I cheated here, but whatever)
Pavement - "Slanted and Enchanted" (1992)
Husker Du - "Zen Arcade" (1984)
Fugazi - "13 Songs" (1989)
The National - "Boxer" (2007)
Gang of Four - "Entertainment!" (1979)
Mission of Burma - "Signals, Calls and Marches" (1981)
Minor Threat - "Complete Discography" (1989)
Minutemen - "Double Nickels on the Dime" (1984)
At the Drive-In - "Relationship of Command" (2000)
Nirvana - "Nevermind" (1991)
Sonic Youth - "Daydream Nation" (1988)
Uncle Tupelo - "Still Feel Gone" (1991)
The Strokes - "Is This It?" (2001)
Sleater-Kinney - "The Woods" (2005)
Frank Black - "Teenager of the Year" (1994)
Sunny Day Real Estate - "The Rising Tide" (2000)
Ok, Lydia...your turn.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Jay X-Y-Z
As a SMAG in the city, life can feel a bit New York-centered, and it can be all too easy to forget that the entire world doesn't revolve around this place we call home. In these instances, having non-NYC-based friends provides a much-needed breath of fresh air, especially when it leads to conversations like the following, with a friend in the UK:
Joe: I met a random British guy in a Yankee hat the other day
I was like, "what's up with that?"
and guess where he got the idea?
Alex: Friends?
Joe: good guess
people get 90% of their ideas about American culture from that show
anyway, this guy saw the Yankee hat in a Jay-Z video
Alex: oh, wow
I'm glad that British men are taking their fashion cues from Jay-X
*Z
(not sure who Jay-X is)
Joe: Jay-Z's long-lost cousin
Alex: the anti-Jay-Z
Joe: If they find Jay-Y they could have a whole coordinate system
As a big nerd, I'm still laughing about the coordinate system thing. But more importantly, this proves that it wasn't just an empty boast. He really did make the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can (at least in the minds of certain impressionable British men).
Joe: I met a random British guy in a Yankee hat the other day
I was like, "what's up with that?"
and guess where he got the idea?
Alex: Friends?
Joe: good guess
people get 90% of their ideas about American culture from that show
anyway, this guy saw the Yankee hat in a Jay-Z video
Alex: oh, wow
I'm glad that British men are taking their fashion cues from Jay-X
*Z
(not sure who Jay-X is)
Joe: Jay-Z's long-lost cousin
Alex: the anti-Jay-Z
Joe: If they find Jay-Y they could have a whole coordinate system
As a big nerd, I'm still laughing about the coordinate system thing. But more importantly, this proves that it wasn't just an empty boast. He really did make the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can (at least in the minds of certain impressionable British men).
Because 2010 is "The Year of the Concert"
Alex is pushing me to post, because she doesn't want to look like the only SMAG posting. Or at least, isn't the ONLY one procrastinating. It's part of being a SMAG - working reeeeeally hard and then going brain-dead for about 10 minutes while we recharge. Anyways...,
Now, I have been told numerous times that I have no taste in music. Sometimes, this wasn't said aloud, but I know it was at least thought. I am a quintessential Z100 listening pop-rock-hiphop mainstream music-loving person; I love The Fray and Alicia Keys, own a few Taylor Swift cds, can't stop singing the new Flo Rida song, and feel bad about still loving Chris Brown. My sister calls it being a "teenybopper" but I call it clubbing-preparation.
Anyways, since Jan 2010, Alex has purchased tickets for both of us to go to at least 10 concerts - all but one or two being bands or acts I'd never heard of. We've hit up most of the major NYC venues now: Radio City, Bowery Ballroom, Williamsburg Music Hall, Terminal 5... and probably another one that I've forgotten already. I find some interesting people enjoying these concerts: the normal hipster set, the whiter portion of the NYC SMAG set (the other half are staying with the bar/club scene), as well as the natural influx of younger generation peeps (<-- intentional) that now define "cool" as being "different" and being "different" means you have to like underground bands until they become "mainstream" and then it becomes "uncool" to support them anymore. (you know who you are.) Regardless of my non-affiliation with either group, I have loved the music at each of these concerts. But I think Alex and I both agree that the best part of these concerts in the people-watching! White-hipster-girl-dancing is the best thing to watch, second only to "Pearl the Landlord". It's entertaining and hilarious without being creepy or gross. They hop around like they're doing field hockey drills, flailing all limbs, not being self-concious, and having a great time. It doesn't matter if they're alone or in a small pack, it's all the same! If you haven't seen this genre of "dance" in person yet, you should go out and find some to watch. Recommendation: Brooklyn will be the area with the highest chance of a hipster sighting.
It's almost September, and Alex has something like 5 more concerts for us to go to this month. Plenty of opportunities to watch white-hipster-girl-dancing! On with 2010: The Year of the Concert!
Now, I have been told numerous times that I have no taste in music. Sometimes, this wasn't said aloud, but I know it was at least thought. I am a quintessential Z100 listening pop-rock-hiphop mainstream music-loving person; I love The Fray and Alicia Keys, own a few Taylor Swift cds, can't stop singing the new Flo Rida song, and feel bad about still loving Chris Brown. My sister calls it being a "teenybopper" but I call it clubbing-preparation.
Anyways, since Jan 2010, Alex has purchased tickets for both of us to go to at least 10 concerts - all but one or two being bands or acts I'd never heard of. We've hit up most of the major NYC venues now: Radio City, Bowery Ballroom, Williamsburg Music Hall, Terminal 5... and probably another one that I've forgotten already. I find some interesting people enjoying these concerts: the normal hipster set, the whiter portion of the NYC SMAG set (the other half are staying with the bar/club scene), as well as the natural influx of younger generation peeps (<-- intentional) that now define "cool" as being "different" and being "different" means you have to like underground bands until they become "mainstream" and then it becomes "uncool" to support them anymore. (you know who you are.) Regardless of my non-affiliation with either group, I have loved the music at each of these concerts. But I think Alex and I both agree that the best part of these concerts in the people-watching! White-hipster-girl-dancing is the best thing to watch, second only to "Pearl the Landlord". It's entertaining and hilarious without being creepy or gross. They hop around like they're doing field hockey drills, flailing all limbs, not being self-concious, and having a great time. It doesn't matter if they're alone or in a small pack, it's all the same! If you haven't seen this genre of "dance" in person yet, you should go out and find some to watch. Recommendation: Brooklyn will be the area with the highest chance of a hipster sighting.
It's almost September, and Alex has something like 5 more concerts for us to go to this month. Plenty of opportunities to watch white-hipster-girl-dancing! On with 2010: The Year of the Concert!
Classic Lydia moments
(I'll expand this later...)
- One thing we've realized after 4 years of living in NYC, is that drinking in any city other than New York always seems ridiculously cheap by comparison. After all 5 of us took advantage of an unbelievable 2-for-$4 beer special at a dive bar in Baltimore, and were on our way to check out other bars in Federal Hill:
Lydia: "How does that go again? 'Beer before liquor...' Oh, crap, I forget. No, wait...'Beer before liquor, we gon' be aite.' That's the new one!"
- The most efficient way for a SMAG to get from the city to the country/upstate for a weekend visit is to take Metro North. Being perpetually on Asian time, however, we have a lot of near-misses with train schedules. Whereas I'm more inclined to take my sweet time, make a half-hearted attempt to catch my train but eventually give up and just hop on the next one instead, Lydia will always hustle her ass off, which usually ends up paying dividends. Case in point, I got this text from her a few minutes after a successful but particularly close call:
"hahaha! Sucka! I JUST made the train. But a bunch of tourists musta thought that Usain Bolt shrank and turned Asian. I friggin' TORE through Grand Central!"
- Lydia's favorite be-all, end-all way to close down any sports argument and preclude further debate:
"Blackspeed ALWAYS wins."
- Alex: "Realistically, I have a better chance with Robinson Cano than you have with Joe Mauer, since at least Cano is in New York."
Lydia: "True, also since Cano is kinda a whore and Mauer would rather ride a lawnmower than anything else...Oooooh, I totally didn't mean 'ride' like thaaaat."
- One thing we've realized after 4 years of living in NYC, is that drinking in any city other than New York always seems ridiculously cheap by comparison. After all 5 of us took advantage of an unbelievable 2-for-$4 beer special at a dive bar in Baltimore, and were on our way to check out other bars in Federal Hill:
Lydia: "How does that go again? 'Beer before liquor...' Oh, crap, I forget. No, wait...'Beer before liquor, we gon' be aite.' That's the new one!"
- The most efficient way for a SMAG to get from the city to the country/upstate for a weekend visit is to take Metro North. Being perpetually on Asian time, however, we have a lot of near-misses with train schedules. Whereas I'm more inclined to take my sweet time, make a half-hearted attempt to catch my train but eventually give up and just hop on the next one instead, Lydia will always hustle her ass off, which usually ends up paying dividends. Case in point, I got this text from her a few minutes after a successful but particularly close call:
"hahaha! Sucka! I JUST made the train. But a bunch of tourists musta thought that Usain Bolt shrank and turned Asian. I friggin' TORE through Grand Central!"
- Lydia's favorite be-all, end-all way to close down any sports argument and preclude further debate:
"Blackspeed ALWAYS wins."
- Alex: "Realistically, I have a better chance with Robinson Cano than you have with Joe Mauer, since at least Cano is in New York."
Lydia: "True, also since Cano is kinda a whore and Mauer would rather ride a lawnmower than anything else...Oooooh, I totally didn't mean 'ride' like thaaaat."
Monday, August 30, 2010
Priceless workplace moments
It should be noted that save for one white male coworker, I am the only non-black employee out of the 14 in our program.
Psychiatrist's interview with a client:
Doc: "How old are you, Mr. X?"
Client: [thinks long and hard...pregnant pause] "I'm in my fifties..."
Doc: "Okaaay...Well then, can you tell me what's today's date?"
Client: "Nah, man. I don't keep up with that sh*t."
Male coworker: "Do you like African food?"
Female coworker: "Nah, I don't even like African men."
Female coworker discussing her racial preferences for dating: "Girl, right now I'm not feelin' those light-skinned guys. 'Tis the season to be findin' me a dark chocolate brotha."
One female coworker to another, trying to entice a client to come into the office for a mandatory face-to-face meeting: "You tell that n**** that I'm wearin' jean cut-off shorts and a tight t-shirt and a push-up bra."
Female coworker #1: "You like your steak medium-rare?"
Female coworker #2: "Nah, I don't like that sh*t vampire style."
Male coworker: "I like mine medium-rare."
Female coworker #1: "Well, that be the savage in you, with the blood all drippin' out and sh*t...Besides, the Old Testament say we shouldn't be eatin' the flesh of animals."
Male coworker: "I like my steak and that's my testament, and it may just be a motherf*cking revelation."
One of my female coworkers was singing terribly, more like warbling, and another woman says, "Ooh girl, you'd better not be singin' like that. Right now I'd be pullin' out my hair if it wasn't sewn into my head."
Discussion between my boss and a case worker, regarding a client:
Boss: "Do you think that he and that chick had a sexual relationship?"
Coworker: "Hell yeah, he's way too attached to her to NOT be hittin' that."
Boss: "Isn't she gay, though?"
Coworker: "Bi, apparently."
Boss: "And didn't she rob him of like $275.00?"
Coworker: "Well, you know...every relationship has its ups and downs."
Coworker: "I done locked myself out of the office when I came into work this Saturday. I left my damn keys right on my desk, and no one around to help me get back in."
Boss: "Dang. Wait, so how did you get back in?"
Coworker: "I done picked the lock."
Boss: "I guess our clients taught you well."
Psychiatrist's interview with a client:
Doc: "How old are you, Mr. X?"
Client: [thinks long and hard...pregnant pause] "I'm in my fifties..."
Doc: "Okaaay...Well then, can you tell me what's today's date?"
Client: "Nah, man. I don't keep up with that sh*t."
Male coworker: "Do you like African food?"
Female coworker: "Nah, I don't even like African men."
Female coworker discussing her racial preferences for dating: "Girl, right now I'm not feelin' those light-skinned guys. 'Tis the season to be findin' me a dark chocolate brotha."
One female coworker to another, trying to entice a client to come into the office for a mandatory face-to-face meeting: "You tell that n**** that I'm wearin' jean cut-off shorts and a tight t-shirt and a push-up bra."
Female coworker #1: "You like your steak medium-rare?"
Female coworker #2: "Nah, I don't like that sh*t vampire style."
Male coworker: "I like mine medium-rare."
Female coworker #1: "Well, that be the savage in you, with the blood all drippin' out and sh*t...Besides, the Old Testament say we shouldn't be eatin' the flesh of animals."
Male coworker: "I like my steak and that's my testament, and it may just be a motherf*cking revelation."
One of my female coworkers was singing terribly, more like warbling, and another woman says, "Ooh girl, you'd better not be singin' like that. Right now I'd be pullin' out my hair if it wasn't sewn into my head."
Discussion between my boss and a case worker, regarding a client:
Boss: "Do you think that he and that chick had a sexual relationship?"
Coworker: "Hell yeah, he's way too attached to her to NOT be hittin' that."
Boss: "Isn't she gay, though?"
Coworker: "Bi, apparently."
Boss: "And didn't she rob him of like $275.00?"
Coworker: "Well, you know...every relationship has its ups and downs."
Coworker: "I done locked myself out of the office when I came into work this Saturday. I left my damn keys right on my desk, and no one around to help me get back in."
Boss: "Dang. Wait, so how did you get back in?"
Coworker: "I done picked the lock."
Boss: "I guess our clients taught you well."
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