« June 2005 | Main | February 2007 »

January 16, 2007

More of the Earth and Sea

I heard this poem on the radio tonight. "The very tint of inexperience" caught me; the last two stanzas blew me away.

A Color of the Sky

Windy today and I feel less than brilliant,
driving over the hills from work.
There are the dark parts on the road
when you pass through clumps of wood
and the bright spots where you have a view of the ocean,
but that doesn’t make the road an allegory.

I should call Marie and apologize
or being so boring at dinner last night,
but can I really promise not to be that way again?
And anyway, I’d rather watch the trees, tossing
in what certainly looks like sexual arousal.

Otherwise it’s spring, and everything looks frail;
the sky is baby blue, and the just-unfurling leaves
are full of infant chlorophyll,
the very tint of inexperience.

Last summer’s song is making a comeback on the radio,
and on the highway overpass,
the only metaphysical vandal in America has written
MEMORY LOVES TIME
in big black spraypaint letters,

which makes us wonder if Time loves Memory back.

Last night I dreamed of X again.
She’s like a stain on my subconscious sheets.
Years ago she penetrated me
but though I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed,
I never got her out,
but now I’m glad.

What I thought was an end turned out to be a middle.
What I thought was a brick wall turned out to be a tunnel.
What I thought was an injustice
turned out to be a color of the sky.

Outside the youth center, between the liquor store
and the police station,
a little dogwood tree is losing its mind;

overflowing with blossomfoam,
like a sudsy mug of beer;
like a bride ripping off her clothes,

dropping snow white petals to the ground in clouds,

so Nature’s wastefulness seems quietly obscene.
It’s been doing that all week:
making beauty,
and throwing it away,
and making more.

— Tony Hoagland

Posted in A/V Dorkout | 16 January 2007 at 09:22 PM | Comments (0) | | Link

January 01, 2007

Cinematic, Razor Sharp

That time has come yet again—the time when I subject the world to my top ten albums of the year. So, without further ado, my top ten of 2006, in semi-particular order:

01. Neko Case – Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
02. Morrissey – Ringleader of the Tormentors
03. Camera Obscura – Let's Get Out of This Country
04. Snow Patrol – Eyes Open
05. Silversun Pickups – Carnavas
06. Damien Rice – 9
07. Phoenix – It's Never Been Like That
08. Belle & Sebastian – The Life Pursuit
09. Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan – Ballad of the Broken Seas
10. Rocky Votolato – Makers

My ten favorite singles of the year:

01. TV on the Radio – "Wolf Like Me"
02. Damien Rice – "9 Crimes"
03. Bon Savants – "Between the Moon and the Ocean"
04. Camera Obscura – "If Looks Could Kill"
05. Phoenix – "Long Distance Call"
06. Neko Case – "Star Witness"
07. Jose González – "Heartbeats"
08. The Shins – "Phantom Limb"
09. Asobi Seksu – "New Years"
10. Calexico – "Cruel"

Biggest disappointment of the year:

The Stills – Without Feathers

The comments are now open for all snarky responses and competing lists...if you dare.

Posted in A/V Dorkout | 1 January 2007 at 10:18 PM | Comments (1) | | Link