BrewBlog

Best of 2006

It is that time of year once again when I reflect on my favorite music of 2006.  My picks are below.  Overall the year has been excellent.  I hope that doesn't mean that 2007 will be weak.  I'll be looking for my reliables that didn't release anything in 2006 to come through in 2007.  Of course I'd be equally happy with more new discoveries.  This year my new discoveries were Devin Townsend Band, Built to Spill and The Decemberists.  Devin Townsend has quickly become one of my favorite people in music right now.  So here it is for me this year!

Best of 2006:  Devin Townsend Band - Synchestra

1. Devin Townsend Band - Synchestra
2. Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and I will Beat Your Ass
3. Deftones - Saturday Night Wrists
4. The Mars Volta - Amputechture
5. Built to Spill - You in Reverse
6. Grandaddy - Just Like the Fambly Cat
7. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
8. Strapping Young Lad - The New Black
9. The Melvins - A Senile Animal
10. And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - So Divided

I'm pretty happy about having three new entries into my top ten because that just means that I'll have more good music to look forward to in the future.  Of course for every few new bands I get into, one or two fall and no longer produce.  Unfortunately we've heard the last of Grandaddy.  Also there's a decent chance that Trail of Dead will throw in the towel soon.  As usual I'm looking forward to a new year in music.  For fun I think I'll rack my brain and so some desert island scenarios (e.g. If you were stranded on a desert island, what ten CD's would you bring).  I'm also feeling in the mood to update my list of favorite people in music or maybe just favorites bands.  These are the types of things I like to think about when I have a little head space and want a break from important or serious matters.  Is there a web site where people can post their top tens?  There ought to be. 

Brainy Kids May Become Vegetarians

I'll take it...

From WebMD

Dec. 14, 2006 -- Ten-year-olds with higher IQ scores may be more likely to be vegetarians at age 30.

So say British researchers including Catharine Gale, PhD, a senior research fellow at England's University of Southampton.

They studied 8,170 men and women who were born in the U.K. in 1970.

Participants took an IQ test when they were 10 years old. Twenty years later, they were asked whether they were currently vegetarians.

The vast majority said they weren't vegetarians, but 366 said they were.

They included nine vegans (who eat no animal products, such as meat, dairy products, and eggs) and 123 people who called themselves vegetarians despite eating fish and chicken.

Workout Do's and Don'ts

Now that I'm spending more time in the gym I feel compelled to share some basic do's and don'ts.  These recommendations are purely based on observation and not to suggest that I am an athlete or fitness guru.  It's really just common sense.

1. Do wear proper attire.  In the Mothership facility and even once in a while at CFF there is some guy wearing his street clothes while working out.  It's always men doing this because women just inherently know better.  For one thing, if you are seriously going to do any exertion whatsoever, do you really want to sweat in the clothes that you're going to be wearing the rest of the day?  No, not unless you like to smell bad.  That said, why the hell bother going to the gym if you intend to not exert yourself at least a little.  Come on people.  Plus, it just looks out of place.  Maybe that's OK to some, but everybody knows your not serious if your sitting at a weight machine with your polo shirt tucked into your jeans, complete with belt and loafers.  Get the appropriate clothes.
2. Do pay attention to hygiene, even while working out.  Just because you are at the gym, working out hard and sweating, you should still be aware of your body smell.  Deodorant while your working out is as important as after.  Again, this seems to only apply to men.  I'll occasionally be doing cardio or something and some guy will be next to me, stinking up the joint.  B.O. is not cool, ever, no matter what.  Get deodorant. 
3. Don't yelp or grunt.  Once again, men are at fault here.  Guys, you should really try to keep a lid on it when your doing all your superhuman power-lifting.  Sure, your going to make a little noise when your working out and straining, particularly when your lifting to failure.  But some guys are just ridiculous with their grunting.  Hardcore's would say I'm being uptight and don't understand what it's like in the "zone" and to that I say, no, I don't understand.
4. Don't drop your free weights on the floor.  We all know your lifting hundreds of pounds and are super strong.  Set the weights on the floor like everybody else.  Dropping them so that they make a crashing sound on the floor does not make you any more a tough guy, stronger, bigger, etc.  Again, only guys are guilty of this.  Is there a pattern here?  Can you imagine some woman screeching and dropping heavy weights on the floor, dressed in her slacks and blouse?  No, you can't.
5. Don't stick your ass in my face.  My wife calls these people "butt in your face type".  We are all confined to a room full of workout equipment.  There is PLENTY OF ROOM to move around without sticking your ass two inches from my nose when I'm resting comfortably between reps. 
6. Don't walk around the locker room totally naked for no reason.  This may just be me but I don't get the guys that remain completely naked after their shower while they proceed to groom themselves in the mirror, blow-dry their hair, brush their teeth, etc.  It's fine to be naked in the dressing room but is it necessary to make putting some shorts on the very last thing you do while getting ready?  Do you need to be naked to brush your teeth and blow-dry your hair?  No, you don't.
7. Don't spit in the pool.  Come on.  Swimming will inevitably result in some water going in and out of body parts and that's just the way it goes.  But we've seen people spitting and that's disgusting.
8. Do wipe your sweat off stuff when you're done using it.  This, like many of these, are gym rules.  It's mandatory to bring a small towel for this reason.  People are mostly good about it as well.  However, some still leave their splotch of sweat on machines.  Gross.  Sweat is not gross but I don't want to lay in someone else's and I don't want to use my towel to clean it up either because I use it to wipe off my face.  I don't someone's butt-crack sweat on my face.  I know, I'm picky. 
9. Do bring your own music and headphones.  The music in whatever gym you work out at sucks.  I can almost guarantee it sucks unless you have crappy taste in music.  Also, you can avoid some annoyances if you wear headphones.  Good music really helps me workout and makes for a better experience overall.
10. Don't bring your f*#cking phone to the gym floor.  You don't need to talk to anyone for the small amount of time you devote to working out.  And you're not a doctor so you're not THAT important.  Fortunately their is a rule against mobile phones at CFF so I don't see it much these days.  Back when phones were taking off and everyone was getting one, I'd see it a lot at 24 Hour Fitness.  Someone would be on a cardio machine and they would be flapping their gums and yet again everyone else has to listen to them run their mouth unless they leave the area and cut their workout short.  This is another reason to bring headphones.  Leave the damn phone in the car or in your locker.

That about covers it.  Fortunately you can often expect to not see or experience some of these during any given workout.  Most people are good about these things.  Guys though, are clearly the biggest offenders on most these.  I hope this helps.

Deftones - Saturday Night Wrist

Sacramento's own Deftones have been threatening to be in top ten list for some time now and with "Saturday Night Wrist" I'm pretty sure they are there now.  Deftones have been consistently good from the beginning.  Unlike most, my least favorite release from them was "White Pony" whereas many consider that their best.  Deftones push the envelope and apply the right amount of experimentation to stay consistently good while changing their sound to keep things interesting.  I was fearing that at one point Deftones may soften up and attempt a mainstream insertion and was so glad to see their self-title follow up to "White Pony" go the opposite direction.  Thank you!

"Saturday Night Wrist" offers that best of Deftones in my opinion and I'm loving it.  I'm not suggesting it's a far and away best or anything but it covers all the bases.  Chino gives us the full range of vocals and I like them all.  I love the hard stuff.  Their ballad-ish entries are appropriate and don't feel obligatory by any means.  There is a lot of feeling throughout.  "Combat" is my favorite and will probably be a top song of the year for me.  It's almost the perfect song.  Unlike my last two reviews, Deftones is not for everyone and that's fine.  They will scare your mother.  One of the other things I appreciate at a higher level is that Deftones are a band I will grow older with.  They are maturing as I mature and that increases my likeliness that their future efforts will be in sync with my changing tastes.  Don't get me wrong, my musical taste changes very slowly and subtlety. 

Bottom line is that "Saturday Night Wrist" is great and I would recommend it to those that appreciate the edgier stuff. 

Beck - The Information

I like Beck but wouldn't consider myself a huge fan or ambassador of his music.  My first Beck purchase was "Sea Change", based on a friends recommendation, and loved it.  It was a period release in that he was messed up and produced a real heavy downer that differed quite a bit from his typical format.  "Format" is probably not fair because he does offer quite a difference release to release.  Anyway, since then I've been buying his new music and have been pretty happy with them overall.  Beck is slightly out of my usual realm of preference but his work is good enough and so listenable, I find myself gradually becoming a bigger fan. 

"The Information" is a really fun listen.  Again, and I always say this, the more I listen the more I like.  It's really groovy and fun to listen to.  It's the kind of music I'd play when entertaining.  It's easy to like right away yet you can gain a steady appreciation with subsequent listens.  That's about all I'll say about it.  I definitely recommend it and it will appeal to most, I'm confident.  One interesting thing of note is the packaging.  Beck is always innovating with the formats and media itself and with "The Information", the CD sleeve is more or less blank and included are a bunch of stickers you can use to create your own cover.  A gimmick, sure, but I think it's cool.  Now, being a control freak, I will not use my stickers.  That's just my own weird baggage, but I do appreciate the packaging.  If you look up this CD on Amazon, you'll see several different cover interpretations to get the idea.  Neat. 

The Decemberists - The Crane Wife

The Decemberists are highly critically acclaimed for last year's "Picaresque".  Well, they may have been acclaimed prior but I know "Picaresque" was album of the year for many.  For whatever reason I never checked it out.  Their latest, "The Crane Wife", was parked next to another CD I was going to pick up at the music store and I was compelled to pick it up.  It was cheap and I needed to know what the big deal was with this band.  I must admit that I was very pleasantly surprised  by what I heard. 

"The Crane Wife" is really good, without question one of my favorite this year.  I love a good surprise and even though I shouldn't have been I was.  I look forward to almost every song and I can't seem to get enough.  Unlike much of what I listen to, The Decemberists are a band I would recommend to just about anyone.  Their sound is palatable across most genres and I would thing settles well in most indy friendly ears.  It would be similar to a Death Cab for Cutie in that way (not to compare their music).  Go out and get it and I'm pretty sure you'll like it.  I'm now getting their older stuff and am looking forward to picking up "Picaresque".  I just know it will be good.