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fheads3, originally uploaded by roxydynamite.

It's that time of year. My roundup of what I did this year to entertain myself. It's been quite a fun year.

The Concerts.....
1/15: The Features @ Northstar (Philadelphia, PA) - Razorlight cancelled
1/19: Detroit Cobras @ Asbury Lanes (Asbury Park, NJ)
1/21: Thee Shams @ Asbury Lanes
3/6: VHS or Beta, Ambulance Ltd, Robbers on High Street @ Northstar
4/9: Psychedelic Furs, The Shore @ The Trocadero (Philadelphia, PA)
5/18: Mondo Diao, The Sights @ Bowery Ballroom (NYC)
5/19: Glenn Tilbrook @ Ocean County Library (Toms River, NJ)
5/21: The Doves, Mercury Rev @ Theater of the Living Arts (Philadelphia, PA)
5/31: The Raveonettes, Autolux @ Maxwells (Hoboken, NJ)
6/4: Ryan Adams @ Starland Ballroom (Sayreville, NJ)
6/8: Pixies @ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Cleveland, OH) CMJ Rockfest show
6/8: Pixies, The Bellrays @ Scene Pavilion
(Cleveland, OH) CMJ Rockfest show
6/9: Brazilian Girls @ House of Blues (Cleveland, OH) CMJ Rockfest show
6/9: The Futureheads @ The Grog Shop (Cleveland, OH) CMJ Rockfest show
6/10: Spoon @ Beachland (Cleveland, OH) CMJ Rockfest show
6/10: Roosevelt @ House of Blues (Cleveland, OH) CMJ Rockfest show
6/11: Helio Sequence, Rogue Wave @ Beachland (Cleveland, OH) CMJ Rockfest show
7/31: Duran Duran @ PNC Arts Center (Holmdel, NJ)
8/2: Brian Jonestown Massacre @ Maxwells
9/15: Cloud Cult @ 169 Bar (NYC) CMJ Music Marathon show
9/16: Walking Songs: A benefit for Housing Works with Bright Eyes, Jesse Harris, Jesse Malin, John Wesley Harding, Kate Jacobs, Lene Lovich, Bob Neuwirth, Mike Viola, Richard Julian, Jeff Klein and Clare Burson @ Housing Works Used Book Cafe (NYC) CMJ Music Marathon show
9/23: The Greenhornes, Willowz, Ribeye Brothers @ Asbury Lanes

Photos of many of these shows are in my Rockumentary Set on Flickr.

My favorite show of the year was Glenn Tilbrook. Perhaps an odd choice, I know. What more can you ask for than a cool spring evening, a fleecy jacket, a lawn chair, your gal pals and Glenn Tilbrook so close to you he's practically sitting in your lap, singing any Squeeze song the crowd yells out to him? Laid back and fun.
Cyndemouse and I, the rabid rock n rollers that we are, journeyed to Cleveland for the first CMJ event held in conjunction with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Turnout for the festival was dismal but we had a good time nonetheless. One of the highlights of the trip was going to the rock poster show at the Hall of Fame and meeting the artists. The ledgendary Mark Arminski offered to give us a tour of Detroit when he finally get there because he was so impressed with our knowledge of the city that rocks the hardest. He told us, "you need the right person to show you around so you see the right things. Call me and I'll do it." Awesome!
We also kept bumping into Joe Parlett, a talented designer with Little Jacket. He's got mad, contemporary style that we hope to see for a long while. His style is softer, more delicate and smart. Mouse snapped up a copy of their posters for Spoon and Rouge Wave .
Spoon was my favorite show at CMJ Rockfest followed by the Futureheads. Brazilian Girls got on my nerves. I was ecstatic to see The Greenhornes at my home base, Asbury Lanes after begging Mel for almost a year to book them. They came right at the time their association with The White Stripes was getting lots of attention. Sweets liked the Raveonettes show quite a bit but I found it disappointing compared to others I'd seen in the past. Before the show, Sharon quietly watched Autolux's set taking ladylike sips of white wine. On stage, she seemed fucked up and out of it. The set didn't quite hit that 'great love sound' for me. Another disappointing show was the Brian Jonestown Massacre. I was so psyched to see them for the first time. The band went on really late and were tired after partying the night before. Some jackass kept heckling Anton and he kept threatening to have him thrown out and asking the guy to show himself etc. making comments like "I thought NJ was tough and all you can do is say fuck you to my back?" The show never gained any momentum as they took long breaks, Anton got off the stage once and started talking to people in the crowd, kept calling out for the bar to deliver him "two Stoli Greyhounds - doubles" and endlessly tuning his guitar. He fussed and fussed, telling us "It's destroyed. But she loves to be destroyed ... for me." I think that probably says quite alot about him. Despite the debacle, I still think he's a genius.

The Books....
Fat Girl by Judith Morris
Alphabet Sisters by Monica McInerney
Lucious Lemon by Heather Swain
Callgirl Confessions of an Ivy League Lady of Pleasure by Jeannette Angel
The Strange Fruit of Peter Paddington by Brian Francis
Cabaret by Lily Prior
Ship Sooner by Mary Sullivan
Misfortune by Wesley Stace
The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas by Davy Rothbart
Around the World in Eighty Dates by Jennifer Cox
The Heartbreak Lounge by Wallace Stroby
Confessions of a Nervous Shiksa by Tracy McArdle
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
Yes Man by Danny Wallace
The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll: The Search for Dare Wright by Jean Nathan

I discussed quite a few of these in my "The summer's almost over, read a book already, Slacker" Reading List .
I wanted to read Everything is Illuminated before seeing the movie. It took me so long to get through the book (I renewed it three times at the library) I missed the film in theaters. I thought it was really fantastic though and highly recommend it. I'm looking forward to the dvd of the film. The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll, however took me a few days to blaze through since it was intended as a Christmas gift for Cyndemouse. Once I started thumbing through it, I couldn't put it down. Bet you won't be able to either.

The Movies....

Movies seen in the theater
2/13: Tarnation
2/22: Hitch
3/7: Million Dollar Baby
3/31: The Aviator
4/1: Sin City
4/2: Ballad of Jack and Rose
4/8: Fever Pitch
4/30: Nightwatch (Tribeca Film Festival)
5/6: Kingdom of Heaven
5/17: Crash
6/3: Cinderella Man *
6/16: Batman Begins
Rize
My Summer of Love
7/15 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
7/27: Hustle and Flow *
8/14: Broken Flowers *
8/22: The 40 Year Old Virgin *
8/27: Aristocrats
9/10: The Constant Gardener *
9/17: Elizabethtown (CMJ Film Festival) *
9/30: Mutual Appreciation (Woodstock Film Festival)
9/30: Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic (Woodstock Film Festival)
10/1: Nine Lives (Woodstock Film Festival)
10/2: Transamerica (Woodstock Film Festival) *
10/8: In Her Shoes
10/23: The Squid and the Whale *
10/29: The Weather Man
11/1:Good Night, and Good Luck
11/6: Capote *
11/23: Walk the Line *
11/29: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang *
12/11: Syriana
12/14: King Kong
12/18: Brokeback Mountain *

Those with an asterick above are members of My Darling Dozen Films of 2005. Squid and the Whale takes the top honors.

Other 2005 releases via Netflix: Mad Hot Ballroom, Murderball, Me and You and Everyone We Know, Happy Endings, Ma Mere, Palindromes, Rock School, Old Boy, Kung Fu Hustle, Grizzly Man

Others notably seen for the first time:
Liked these alot: Word Wars, Spanglish, In the Heat of the Night, Casino, A Very Long Engagement, La Vie Promise, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, In Cold Blood, The Dreamers, Body Heat, The Muse

Not impressed with: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Wings of Desire. The Brown Bunny, Garden State, Donnie Darko, The Birds

Seen these before and still love them: His Girl Friday, Orpheus

Special mention for In Her Shoes. People looking for the text of the ee cummings poem Cameron Diaz recites at the end have been popping into the Magpie for months now. I hope they become return readers.

Hoping you all had loads of fun of your own in 2005. I'm already plotting my hijinks for the new year.