2009

In 2009 I saw dredg twice. I saw Isis twice. I went to Disney, and hung out with one of my best friends in Florida for a week. I met new friends, and built a wiffle ball field in my dads backyard. I turned 21, made more money, and finally began band I've been dreaming of being in for years.

With all that, it's quite easy to say that for me 2009 was the worst year of my life and I can only hope that there isn't a worse overall 365 days for me to experience. I quite simply NEED 2010 to be better.

Throughout this year, due to several circumstances, I've learned a lot of things. A lot of unfortunate truths about life. This hopefully only helps me in the end. I learned that you can't trust the person you love, and that literally nothing happens for a reason. Even this passed week or so I am reminded that life fails to consider logic as one of its characteristics, and offer comfort to me in any sort of way. Things just happen and coincidentally, they're always negative toward me. Why should I be alone out of all of this? I wait and wait and wait for good things to happen yet I am consistently amazed at the misfortune I have. At this point I should just be used to it.

Lately, if I am to consider myself happy, it's because at that moment in time, I just don't care about anything. That's my happiness now. Not caring. This needs to change. Speaking of change...

The biggest thing I learned this year is to except change. I've changed, my life has changed, and things will never be the way they were, and I'm sure this won't be the first time I experience and go through drastic changes like this in my lifetime. At this point and time though, I am certain my perspective on life will not change, and that I'll remain faithless, hopeless, and be perpetually filled with fear.

Luckily, I can transfer all the negativity into acknowledgment and let this further build my character as a strong human being. That is one good thing to come out 2009. Growth.

So here is to looking forward and knowing that time will heal things. Here is to better luck, and better health to everyone. Here is to finding comfort, stability, and happiness. Here is to a new upcoming decade.

Here is to 2010.

Looking Ahead 2: Games in 2010

Not only are there some highly anticipated music releases coming out next year, but there are a slew of games that are making it hard for me to sleep at night. Check it:

Bayonetta - Jan 5th
Mass Effect 2 - Jan 26th
Bioshock 2 - Feb 9th
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction - Feb 23rd
Final Fantasy XIII - March 9th
Red Dead Redemption - April 27th

These are just some of the great games coming out next year. I'm sure there will be lots more that may deserve attention such as Dark Void, the new Prince of Persia, Ghost Recon, Max Pain 3, Fable III etc.

I know that i'm especially excited for Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 coming out sometime in 2010. Be on the lookout for more random posts about the games as I get them. In the meantime, go out and buy Assassins Creed 2. It's possibly my game of the year for 2009.

Looking Ahead: 2010

In the coming weeks Rabbit Hole Music will hold the top 10 albums of 2009 and on there you will see my write ups and thoughts of my top 10 records of the year and a list of other albums from 11-20 (which I'm still having a hard time ordering). A link will be provided when that time comes.

But I thought perhaps now was a good time before it is too late to take a look into the year 2010 and acknowledge the degree of combustion that will commence within my brain and upon my entire body.

In the year 2010 I am anticipating:

Rosetta
Circa Survive
Eluvium
The Unwinding Hours
Jonsi
Deftones
Alcest
Jakob
Burning Empires
Envy
Novembre
Moving Mountains
Agalloch
Intronaut
Explosions in the Sky

There are many more I am missing as it is late and I had maybe a bit too much wine tonight to fully develop within my mind the entire list of extraordinary anticipations coming out. I can always add more, BUT...

the possibility that Tool may release an album within those 12 months could easily confirm 2010 to be the greatest year in music.

We can only hope.

5th Fortnight

Head over to this link to read what readers and contributors of Rabbit Hole Music have been listening to lately!

If you're too lazy, here is my write up for Kaddisfly's Did You Know People Can Fly?.

As you may know, Kaddisfly, who remain one of my top 10 favorite bands, went on hiatus about a year ago and started another project which I'm still too angsty to even mention. Just recently, the band posted two demos of "new" songs on their MySpace. The songs are over a year old but they're new to any fans. This got me extremely excited for a possible return to their senses and that the band would get back together to release the final album for the trilogy. Although it seems as if this is unlikely, I decided to listen to their three full lengths back to back. I couldn't help but notice how much I forgot how awesome Kaddisfly's debut record Did You Know People Can Fly? is.

Chris Ruff is still to this day my favorite lyricist, as his words on all three albums are superb, as is his voice, but, while re-listening to DYKPCF?, I realized that I think his singing is the best on this record. The energy and vibrancy of his voice matches the aggressive nature to the songs so well. Some of the melodies on "Midnight in Shanghai" still bring me back to the very first time I heard that song in 2003, that being the first music I'd ever heard by Kaddisfly.

Although I think Kaddisfly as a whole have gotten better with each release (Set Sail The Prairie is in my top 10 albums of all time), I can't help but mention that the songs "Manhattan Loves You" and "Day Disappears With the Absence of Night" are possibly in the top 5 Kaddisfly tracks written.

Anticipated Release: Jonsi | Go

Sigur Ros are in my top list of bands, and vocalist Jonsi Birgisson is one of the most unique and inventive vocalists of the passed decade. Fresh off of his instrumental album with Alex Somers, Riceboy Sleeps (which is floating around in the top 20 albums of 2009), Jonsi is back at it with a new upcoming solo album titled Go.

From reading the multiple press releases, this seems to be more than just a typical solo album. The record was supposed to be just an acoustic CD that ended up expanding into something much bigger, and dare I say, something of the capacity and meaning of an actual Sigur Ros album. I had no idea about this solo project until literally today, and after hearing the single "Boy Lilikoi", I'm suddenly extremely excited about this album.

I couldn't describe just how vibrant and alive this song is, but i'll try. There's pummeling percussion, and synthetic beats, and schizophrenic string sections, all beneath Jonsi's surprisingly catchy and nearly mainstream vocal harmonies. And he's singing in English. You can hear the song by signing up for the mailing list at the website here.

Early this year I read about a probable new Sigur Ros album coming out in 2010, though now i'm unsure if that will be the case due to what this little solo project seems to have become. Jonsi has already scheduled a world tour for Go. Judging from this one song, I don't think we'll be too disappointed if Sigur Ros is on hold until 2011.

The album drops on March 22nd. Tracklisting is as follows:

1. Go Do
2. Animal Arithmetic
3. Tornado
4. Boy Lilikoi
5. Sinking Friendships
6. Kolnidur
7. Grow Till Tall
8. Around Us
9. Hengilas