This is 2008, the year that was, in...
...Kicks.
...Did I actually buy any shoes this year? Cutting down is the new splurging on once-a-months. I ain't even gonna lie, it was a LEAN year for my feet. A pair of the XI Lows for cheap, a clean black pair of Eras, and...that's about it! Oh, wait...
Favourite shoe purchased this year: ...My Clae Romares! Which lasted approximately one month before I made the mistake of wearing them to a drunken night out. NEVAH. EVAH. AGAIN. R.I.P. I hardly knew ye.
Final word: In an effort to save money, it's cutback time! Umm, even more so. I'll make up for it when I start working. Whenever that may be. HAHA.
...Music.
And the drill, as it's been done over the last couple of years, goes as follows: I go through my iTunes and pick out the albums that have managed to make their mark on my psyche over the past year, no matter when they were released. Then I leave out the albums that have potential, once I listen to them a couple more times. Got it? Good.
- Kanye West - 808s and Heartbreak
- C-San - The Birth
- Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
- Feist - The Reminder
- GZA - Liquid Swords
- The Hives - The Black and White Album
- Hot Hot Heat - Happiness Ltd.
- Kidz in the Hall - The In Crowd
- Lupe Fiasco - Lupe Fiasco's The Cool
- Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
- Q-Tip - The Renaissance
- Regina Spektor - Begin to Hope
Albums that I'll probably like given a couple more listens:
- The Cribs - The Cribs
- The Cribs - The New Fellas
- The Hives - Veni Vedi Vicious
- The Hives - Barely Legal
- Dogs Die in Hot Cars - Please Describe Yourself
- An Horse - Not Really Scared
- Lykke Li - Youth Novels
Personally, I think I lacked the patience for albums this year. I kinda gravitated towards more easily digestible portions (i.e. a couple of songs per artist), as kind of a taste test to see what they actually sound like.
Album of the year: 808s and Heartbreak. No doubt about it. I know people have their gripes with this album, and I've talked at length about why I personally love it (ahem). But honestly, the main point for me is the fact that it resonated SO well with my mindset throughout this year. Let's face it, this was Kanye's emo album. And with the year I had, there was no better album to fit my disposition. It was a perfect storm of Kanye's emotional heartstate, the newfound "walling up" mentality I had throughout Second Semester and the fact that I needed an escape. Sonically, at least, I found it in 808s.
Artist of the year: Kanye Omari West. From his guest verses, to the aforementioned album, to the greatest concert in the history of mankind...he ran the show, straight up and down.
Song of the year: Love Lockdown. As soon as I heard this song, it was dunzo. In the eternal words of Kenny Smith, "It's OVER! It's OVER, ladies and gentlemen! Let's go home!" But seriously, it's the single best piece of music I've heard all year. That, and it's a microcosm of my mental state. Like, if you ever wanted to encapsulate the thoughts that swirled through my head into 4 minutes and 31 seconds of music, then this would be the way to do it. Untouchable.
Runners-up: Young Jeezy feat. Kanye West - Put On (honestly, this was ALMOST Song of the Year, until Yeezy pulled out Lockdown); Kanye West - Amazing (see Put On); Kanye/Jigga/Weezy/Tip - S.L.U. (see Put On); Jason Mraz - I'm Yours; Brand New - The Archers' Bows Have Broken
Songs to remember 2008 by: ...Okay, I just tried my hand at this. A billion songs later, I've given up. It's too hard! I've got too many songs to list. I just know that whenever I need to flashback to a certain point in 2008, as I am loath to do, I won't be left wanting.
...Academics.
Oh, what's this? An invitation to do Honours for 2009? Well, looks like I got through 2008 just fine. I know, I know, my WAM dipped below 75 for the first time in three years. BUT! On the big, flashing neon sign of a PLUS side, my grades were still good enough. Hallelujah, indeed.
...Games.
- NBA 2K9
- Grand Theft Auto IV
- Metal Gear Solid 4
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
- WWE SmackDown! VS Raw 2009
Worst new trend: buying long (and in the case of ESIV, VERY, extremely, mind-bendingly long!) games, losing patience and then sticking to short sports games.
...General.
Welcome to Martin Lorenzo Pagdanganan, V2.0. He's exactly like he was before, but he's different in so many ways. In the past year, he's learned how to:
- Be a jerk
- Relish being a jerk (villainy's always fun, isn't it?)
- Avoid people-pleasing and focus on himself (not that he needed any more practice with that)
- Ruin a perfectly good thing
- Beat a dead horse way past its time of death
- Love isolation
- Handle failure
- Avoid alcohol, despite what peer pressures may dictate
- Let his head get the best of his heart (yet again)
- Avoid caving in
- Value his family! One of my favourite things from this year is having a closer relationship with my brother. Hands down!
The quote to sum up my year? Take it away, Mister West, with a couple of lines from Love Lockdown:
"I can't keep myself and still keep you, too."
"Where I wanna go, I don't need you. I've been down this road too many times before."
Done and done. So much for short and sweet! Anyways, here's hoping 2K9 beats the shit out of 2K8! Over and out.
- marty..
END COMMUNICATION,
0 comments:
Post a Comment