Miscellaneous

5 Favorite Things 2023

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Racket Magazine asked their readers to list their 5 favorite things from the year. Any topic. There were a lot of cool lists so I thought we could do one as well. I'll start:

Freealonzo's five favorite songs performed live in 2023 (out of 60 plus live shows)

Young Til I Die - 7Seconds. Seeing 60-something punks singing this in front of a venue full of 50- and 60-something old punks was really cool. Talk about living the words of a song.

Precious - Pretenders. Seeing Chrissy Hynde sing this 5 feet in front of me at the 7th Street Entry will be long-held memory. I couldn't believe I was there seeing it.

All I Do - Bully. Great first song of the album. They led with this song at their show at First Avenue and started playing while the screen while the screen rolled up.

Where Were You - Mekons/Eleventh Dream Day. Two iconic bands playing an iconic punk song on a warm friday night at a streetfest in Chicago. I was appropriately buzzed.

Game of Pricks - Guided By Voices. This was at the GBV 40th anniversary celebration in Dayton, OH. I had never experienced such love between a crowd and band before. Every single person singing at the top of their lungs and then we gave each other bro hugs afterward.

What are 5 favorite things for your from this past year?

10 thoughts on “5 Favorite Things 2023”

  1. stream of consciousness:
    1. EV's are fun
    2. Frecciarossa across northern Italy at nearly 190mph is also pretty fun
    3. All signs are go for retiring on my planned retirement date. (~1½ yr)
    4. Twins can play competently in the postseason.
    5. We've got some of the best friends (online and "in real life") anyone could ask for.

    Happy 2024, Citizens

  2. 5 favorite drone/minimal/ambient albums

    1. Tim Hecker - No Highs
    2. Kali Malone - The Sacrificial Code
    3. Lia Kohl - The Ceiling Reposes
    4. Icelandic Symphony Orchestra - Atmospheriques
    5. Wild Up - Julius Eastman, Vol 2, Joy Boy

    2. It's wild that Hecker can live in a particular, very specific style and yet pull so much out of that style that all of his stuff feels fresh and vital.

      No Highs was fantastic.

  3. 1. Elder Daughter’s wedding.
    2. Anniversary trip to Madeline Island.
    3. Rock the Yacht concert with Firefall, Pablo Cruise, and Little River Band. Old farts partying like it was 1979.
    4. Getting our new dog, Will. He’s an angel with fur and a cold nose.
    5. Birthday trip to Colorado to visit friends and family.

    Not a singular event, but everything about the Twin’s season and every minute at the ballpark.

  4. Top 5 Events
    1. Son's wedding. There was a lot of work leading up to it, but the day of, I just sorta realized that everything's in motion, and just wanted to get on the dance floor and have fun with my family. It's been amazing to see the change in my son from just 2 years ago when he was dreading speaking as the best man at his best friend's wedding, to reading his heartfelt vows in his own wedding. It was truly just a great day.
    2. Geekway to the West. I love board game conventions, and attend them often. I got to go to 4 conventions this year, but this one topped them all. I brought two of my daughters with me and we all had such fun checking out many of the latest games and even dipping into some of our old favorites. Played about 4 Unlock (escape room games) scenarios. Joined a Spades Tournament at the last moment with my best friend and ended up winning (and getting tickets to Gen Con in the process). Plus, at the very end, we ended up winning one of our favorite games in the play and win.
    3. Nothing More Concert. One thing I will say about our relatively small town is that we have a fantastic venue for music that has just been killing it in terms of getting good acts to come to town. I got to see Nothing More in Chicago last October and they were every bit as great as I could've expected. So I was thrilled when I found out they were coming to our town for a headlining show. We got there early enough for front row pit (albeit to the far left), but the experience was just awesome.
    4. Kayaking to Lake Michigan. For our anniversary, my wife and I bought kayaks and headed up to what's become our annual spot up near Lake Michigan around the Indiana/Michigan border. We took our maiden voyage on a small creek that led to Lake Michigan. It was a long day and got a bit sunburnt, but it was just so cool to see the wildlife and spend some quality time outdoors.
    5. Tailgate and Tallboys. My oldest daughter convinced me to try out this 4 day country concert series in our town. Nickelback was the headliner, which, yeah, they get a lot of flack, but I'll say that I really enjoyed the show they put on. We got to check out a lot of lesser known acts and I really enjoyed the experience hanging out with my daughter. It was exhausting, but had a great time.

    Top 5 Songs
    1. Everything - Sevendust
    2. Spirits - Nothing More
    3. Chokehold - Sleep Token
    4. Hurt - Dead Poet Society
    5. Take a Bow - Mammoth WVH

    Top 5 board games
    1. Heat: Pedal to the Metal
    2. Distilled
    3. Age of Innovation
    4. Mille Fiori
    5. Expeditions
    (6. Cat in the Box)

  5. I may do a few more of these, but we'll start with this one:

    Top 5 Go-To Meals

    Things my family routinely makes, that I always look forward to, and will probably never leave my repetoir:
    1. Sunday brunch - Regularly french toast (on the griddle), sausage or pearl barley, scrambled eggs with cheese, hashbrowns. Toss some syrup, choula, and sour cream on the table and we're very happy.
    2. Perfect grilled cheese sandwiches. The cheese types almost don't even matter, Aquinas and I have mastered the cooking method to get beautifully golden, crispy toast with perfectly melty cheese. Often with various mustards or veggies tossed into the sandwiches too.
    3. Grilled BBQ porkchops. Sweet Baby Rays ftw. Perfect summer weekday meal.
    4. Slow-cooker Chilli. Hamburger, pinto and kidney beans, heavy on tomatoes, onions and roasted peppers.
    5. Veggie Quesedillas. Peppers and onions fried up (sometimes mushrooms too), black beans and corn. Good pepper jack cheese and whatever combination of salsa/sour cream/guac is available. I don't think I will ever be tired of this.

  6. Jess & I watch so much stuff on YouTube these days. So, here's my five favorite things I watched on YouTube this year:

    1. RM Brown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmVZsm4Luho

    It's kind of eerie with how aligned my interests, tastes, and political viiiiewwwwws are with RM. He's the salve that helps Jess & I get through how challenging life is. He mocks right wing scammers & weirdos relentlessly without ever punching down, and was clearly inspired by late 90s/early 00s alternative comedy. This is one of his videos that made me laugh the hardest.

    2. Scarface Tiny Desk Concert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajNYTJcF6rE

    One of the greatest MCs of all time gets to take a victory lap with some incredible players. If you like it and haven't listened to Face before, go pick up The Diary immediately.

    3. Car Colors - "Old Death": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcerraJjUjw

    I'm weird and basically never listen to the singles from albums... but when it's Charles from The Wrens, and I've been waiting 20 years to hear the follow up to my favorite album of all time, I'll make an exception. It's exactly what I wanted. If he tours this album, I have to go.

    4. GuraMarine - "SHINKIRO" MV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ehwhQJ50gs

    Houshou Marine collaborated on a City Pop-inspired single with Gawr Gura complete with an anime MV inspired by works from the same era (complete with 4:3 aspect ratio). None of those words are in the bible, but the song is incredible, and the video is just as good.

    5. Solo Solo Travel takes the Twilight Express Mizukaze: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwiHhgPjkR8

    The world is loud and oppressive, so Jess and I spend a lot of time watching "chill" videos. This guy's videos hit our feed as soon as he started posting a couple of years ago, and he blew up a lot last summer. He was able to take his mom on a super special luxury train excursion in Japan, and I love people getting to post their Ws.

    HM. Dead End Alliance - Screwed for Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUP0EiuymT0&list=PL6qepcaF1AidESpKdPOrCXtr_WX4JRohf

    Until this album was suddenly removed from all the digital music platforms, I was listening to this several times a day earlier in the year. One of the greatest hip hop albums of all time, thank goodness that this person put a YouTube playlist up so I can listen to it sometimes.

  7. Five cities I visited in 2023. (Chronological Order)

    Los Angeles
    Denver
    Chicago
    Las Vegas
    San Francisco

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