Today's Reason To Drink

I hate drinking alone, but blogging alone is even worse. Where are all my faithful commenters? Am I talking to myself here? Don't you have anything to say? Bitches!

My Top 5 Albums of 2007

(Photo: Uh Huh Her. Photo by Clea Duvall)

1) Rilo Kiley: Under the Black Light — I was awestruck by this group’s fourth release. Pop music today is gross, I thought. Predictable. Over-produced. Robotic. Until … Rilo Kiley showed me what they discovered under a black light — fresh, appealing lyrics in bed with funky, raw beats and a naughty spanking from Amy Lewis’ mesmerizing, unrefined vocals. Turn off the radio and give your ears this much-needed respite from the same old, same old.

2) Uh Huh Her: I See Red — It’s a sad day when bands break up. It’s a happy day when disbanded band members find other disbanded band members and learn how to make sweet, sweet music once again. As is the case with this group, which formed when Camila Grey (of Mellowdrone) met up with … uh huh, her … Leisha Hailey (of The Murmurs). Although neither had frontman experience — Grey played bass and dabbled in production (Dr. Dre, Kelly Osbourne) and Hailey has been on a five-year music hiatus doing time on the boob tube (as Alice in “The L Word”) — both have effortlessly stepped up front and center with this electro-pop EP. It’s edgy without being loud. Surreal without being cryptic.

3) Ryan Adams: Easy Tiger — He’s an asshole, no doubt. But that doesn’t mean he can’t make great music. Adams defies music-industry rules, molds and etiquette. He always has. I’ve got friends who are still bitter over his overly short stint closing out this year’s Non-Comm. Of course they didn’t bother to fork over some dough for his make-up show a few months later, which was amazing, being that most of the playlist came from Easy Tiger.

4) The Fervor: Bleeder — I’m gonna put this out there: The Fervor is Louisville’s version of Rilo Kiley. Which is neither a knock nor a surprise that both are on my Top 5 list. Bold female vocals (courtesy of Natalie Felker), innovative melodies and solid subject matter make for a refreshing 10-song drag from an inhaler. Loosen it up. (BTW: LEO music editor Mat Herron plays the drums in this band, but that didn’t influence my pick, I swear. But the drumming is quite good.)

5) Bruce Springsteen: Magic — Remember when music was just music? No bling. No frontin’. No celebrity. Just music. Pure and simple music. Bruce Springsteen does.

My Top 5 Films of 2007

(Photo: Christina Ricci and Samuel L. Jackson in "Black Snake Moan")

1) Black Snake Moan — Forget church or therapy — one way to cure someone of their demons is to chain them to your radiator and play ’em the blues. Sam Jackson and Christina Ricci rise to the top in this raw, gritty, sweaty film.

2) Lars & the Real Girl — A moving but very weird story of human compassion at its finest. So what if our adorable Ryan Gosling totes around a blow-up doll and calls it his girlfriend? Are you going to ridicule or play along? The small town in this story chooses to play along … and they were better people for it.

3) Knocked Up — Izzy gots some comedy chops, who knew? Judd Apatow, apparently. Sex with strangers, accidental pregnancies, loser friends … we’ve all been there, right? Apatow took the most stressful situations in “Knocked Up” and magic-wanded them into complete comic genius. I wonder what would happen if he ever hooked up with Sarah Silverman. It’d be some crazy shit.

4) Year of the Dog — Molly Shannon puts aside her Catholic school girl antics and does a real fine job at bringing the lonesome, apethetic Peggy to life. You can’t help but feel sorry for her after she loses her dog Pencil, the only friend she had in her sorry life. This film proves that Molly is Rhoda no more. She’s got the Mary chops, indeed.

5) Waitress — The quirky characters and delightful, effortless storytelling by Adrienne Shelly made script-writing seem easy as pie. If only it was.

Today's Reason To Drink

I saw myself in the mirror today from the side angle. Holy chocolate balls! Who is that person? It can't be me ... can it?

It is you, you fat bastard. Now get to the gym and lay off the beer!

Gin & Soda, this is Sara.
Sara, this is Gin & Soda.

Today's Reason To Drink

Don't stop now! The holidays are still chugging along. Keep your liver in tip-top shape for New Year's Eve.

Today's Reason To Drink

Merry Christmas, you old Building & Loan!

Cheers!

Today's Reason To Drink

You're with your relatives ... do you really need a reason today?