We did it! We’ve finally chosen our top 20 Albums of 2009…along with the top 7 inches of the year. And while we were at it, we included our favorite shows from ’09. If you have a “best of” list of your own, you should share it with us!
ALBUMS:
1. Box Elders – Alice & Friends (Goner Records)
2. King Tuff – Was Dead (Colonel Records)
3. Smith Westerns – Self Titled (Hozac Records)
4. Jail – There’s No Sky (Oh My My) (Self Released)
5. Fresh & Onlys – Debut (Castle Face)
6. Nobunny – Raw Romance – (Burger Records)
7. Goodnight Loving – Self Titled (Dusty Medical Records)
8. Girls – Album (True Panther Sounds)
9. Fresh & Onlys – Grey Eyed Girls (Woodsist)
10. Hunx & His Punx – Gay Singles (True Panther Sounds)
11. Thomas Function – In The Valley of Sickness (Fat Possum Records)
12. Thee Oh Sees – Dog Poison (Captured Tracks)
13. Jacuzzi Boys – No Season (Florida’s Dying)
14. The Strange Boys – And Girls Club (In The Red)
15. Pine Hill Haints – To Win Or To Lose (K Records)
16. The Dutchess & The Duke – Sunrise / Sunset (Hardly Art)
17. Harlem – Free Drugs (Female Fantasy Records)
18. So Cow – So Cow (Tic Tac Totally)
19. The Resonars – That Evil Drone (Burger Records)
20. Yussuf Jerusalem – A Heart Full of Sorrow (Florida’s Dying)
7 INCHES:
The Magic Kids – Hey Boy / Good To Be (Goner Records)
Girls – Lust for Life / Life in San Francisco (True Panther Sounds)
Smith Westerns / Magic Kids – Imagine Pt. 3 / Superball (Fat Possum)
Goodnight Loving – Nothing Conquers Us / Scary Bad (Dirtnap Records)
Diamond Rings – All Yr Songs (Hypelighter)
Dan Sartain – Hungry End / Perverted Justice (Big Legal Mess)
Ganglians – Blood On the Sand (Captured Tracks)
Fergus & Geronimo – Harder Than It’s Ever Been (Woodsist)
Fergus & Geronimo – Blind Muslim Girl (Tic Tac Totally)
The Oh Sees – Tidal Wave / Adult Acid (Woodsist)
SHOWS:
Nobunny & Rock N’ Roll Adventure Kids @ Vertical House Records
Magic Kids @ Gonerfest Memphis
Hunx & His Punx @ Gonerfest Memphis
Spellcaster Maritime Ball (Quintron & Ms. Pussycat, Thomas Function) @ Spellcaster Lounge New Orleans
Goodnight Loving @ Bamalama Huntsville
Box Elders @ Bamalama Huntsville
Thomas Function, Puppy Hearts, Geoff Geis @ Vertical House Records
Fresh & Onlys @ Gonerfest Memphis
Box Elders @ Gonerfest Memphis
Pine Hill Haints, Counterclock Wise, Revival Now @ Crossroads
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On December 23rd, we had a Christmas Party Potluck Showtime at Vertical House Records! There was so much food and friends and fun! Geoff Geis opened the show and Andy, Jennifer, and I played with him on a few songs again. Puppy Hearts went next and they stole the show, hands down. It’s a new band here in town and they are fantastic! We heard one song when Zach sent it to us for Eargasms 6, but all these new songs they have are so great. Thomas Function ended the evening with a high energy dance party before the eggnog effect wore off. While doing shows at our store is a lot of work, this was definitely worth it and we had several extra hands to help us clean up and lock up, and that always helps. After the show we went to the Bandito Christmas Party that was still going on, and it was also very fun! This time, an 80s music dance party…which you can never go wrong with! We left Bandito around 3:30am and finally hit the sheets at 4am. Because the night was pretty hectic, pictures were a minimum.
Geoff Geis
(No Puppy Hearts ::sad face sad face sad face::)
Thomas Function
can you spot the kitten?
And speaking of the store…guess who else has been a big hit? TINY! It’s so funny to watch customer’s faces when they see this tiny kitten running towards them…then all of a sudden start pouncing sideways at their shoe. omg I love it! She’s a hard little booger to photograph though. I know, I know…use flash! But I like the motion in the shots cause it’s a glimpse of how rambunctious she is!
I found this mini radio flyer and I knew it was perfect for Tiny! You will probably be sick of this kitten in this wagon…just a fore warning.
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Kitchen window before starting on the casings. While I loved being able to see the window weights, I wasn’t excited to stand in front of the window and feel the freezing winds seeping in.
Here’s a shot of the window weights. Before work started, we could only open a couple of windows in the kitchen, but now all of them are operable…both up and down. I didn’t even realize that we could open our windows top down, but it’s awesome!
I love how completed it makes the kitchen!
Maple (and Sadie, not pictured)) love the fact they can actually stand on a stoop! hehe I caught Maple mid meow
Amaryllis and Christmas Cactus blooms
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So, a few weeks ago godaddy was having a 99 cent domain sale and so I jumped at snagging therealverticalhouse.com and I mainly so I could start a blog on wordpress. I transferred all of my lj posts to the new blog. While some of the formatting is awry, I’m glad to have all of this in multiple places. I still adore lj, but he ads! OMG the ads! I didn’t really notice until I directed someone to my lj to show them an entry and I noticed how my page looks to folks who don’t have an account and BLECH! It was wretched! So, I caved and got myself a wordpress too. I’ll be copying all the entries I write here so it won’t be like I’m leaving lj just yet. I need to find a few pictures that are somehow got lost on therealverticalhouse and I REALLY need to update it. Now that the casings are done, this is definitely a big reason to update…along with everything else we’ve done since May 15, 2008 (lol).
Andy and I are watching Food, Inc. and while I think the entire movie is good information and important for people to know, the one thing that literally angers me to tears is the evil corporation that is Monsanto. Being one of the first companies to buy the patent on LIFE (wtf?!) they now have dominated the seed market and are preventing farmers from saving their own seeds. It’s absolutely appalling to know that they are making farmers destroy seeds that are generations old. Not to mention Monsanto people are saturated among our government and sitting in some of the highest positions regarding the FDA and other areas of health and safety. They are stopping us from knowing exactly what is in the foods on the grocery shelves and they restrict the stand-out against their products. This is not the first time I’ve heard this information about Monsanto, but it doesn’t make it any less easier to listen to. It makes me sick watching the lives of these farmers get destroyed all for the growth and control of Monsanto. I suggest you watch this film or The Future of Food or King Corn or any documentary that tries to remove this veil that is covering our face. Or at least read up on Monsanto and become aware of what they are trying to do to our food supply. /rant
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On December 26th we had a Purgatory Lounge and it was a lot of fun! We had a great crowd turn out and the audience seemed to really enjoy the show. There was a mishap with my song and Matt stopped me in the middle of the performance to try this one part again. In rehearsals, the band always got off at this point so I was nervous about it, and it wasn’t a huge surprise that it happened during the performance. I’m not sure exactly what happened, either the drums came in late or the guitar too early…or something along those lines…but I was kinda shocked that Matt stopped the show. I know he did it as a favor to me but it did throw me off a bit. Anyway, it was still a lot of fun and I’m always glad to participate in the shows.
I sang a cover of a cover, Military Madness. Originally, Graham Nash wrote the song, and Woods covered it on their new album. I think the song is so good and very fitting for the times we are in now. I’ll post the lyrics under the cut with the rest of the photos. My death was that my Five Star General father didn’t like my views on the war, and put me in front of the firing squad.
Corry took that first photo and I absolutely love it!
In an upstairs room in Blackpool
By the side of a northern sea
The army had my father
And my mother was having me
Military Madness was killing my country
Solitary Sadness comes over me
After the school was over and I moved
To the other side
I found another country but I never
Lost my pride
Military Madness was killing the country
Solitary sadness creeps over me
And after the wars are over
And the body count is finally filed
I hope that The Man discovers
What’s driving the people wild
Military madness is killing your country
So much sadness, between you and me
War, War, War, War, War, War
Robert Fitzpatrick sang “Lonesome Sundown” and did a fantastic job!
Anna sang an original song and mesmerized the audience as she normally does.
Kara, a new gal so I don’t know her last name, sang a cover of Lady Gaga’s “Speechless” (I think that’s the title). I’m not a GaGa fan, but Kara has an incredible voice so I think she could cover anyone’s song and it will sound amazing.
Corry did a funny skit after intermission and he got lots of laughs!
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The afternoon sun makes our living room glow and it’s one of my favorite things about the Northern Sun (winter). That sun flare is p e r f e c t.
I love these pictures so much 🙂
My family, minus Maple and another shot of the living room cause you can see the tree better!
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She loves to snuggle in my jacket…in fact, she’s napping in there as I type this.
Jimmy, a satisfied kitten customer!
Yes, I did this.
wikka wikka whaaa?
DJ FluffnStuff
Tiny helps Andy price records!
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‘Tis the season for Christmas parties, sales, food, friends, and fun! Join Vertical House Records on December 23rd for a potluck and an awesome show with Thomas Function, Puppy Hearts, and Geof Geiss (of Pizza and Big Whup)! Food starts at 7pm and if you bring a dish, the show is FREE! The show starts at 8pm and is $3 (without a dish).
I’m excited cause Jennifer, Andy and I are playing with Geoff again. Andy plays drums, I’m on xylophone and back up vocals, and Jen on keyboard. It was really fun last time, even though I was sooooo sick and I lost my voice after we played. Hopefully this time I’ll be fine and geared up to go!
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Tiny ate her first plate of mushy foods which is the first step to weaning. She has also successfully used the litter box. The first time we put her in there, she mewed and walked around in circles before peeing. I’m sure you are thrilled about her potty experiences 🙂
She LOVES cuddles! She prefers to fall asleep on my boobs or in my lap or on Andy’s belly. We can sometimes move her to her bed once she’s asleep, but if she wakes up, she’ll mew to cuddle again.
/kittenspan
Matt and I met up with J.D., Bill, and Will on Sunday to shoot a promo video for Kickstarter. The Dead Workers are trying to raise the funds needed to finish the special FX on the Counterclock Wise ‘Screaming Jenny’ music video. Several of our friends have used this site and raised well over what they were pledging for, so here’s hoping we can do the same!
Man, the Dead Workers’ studio is really coming together! They now have several rooms in and mini studios…not to mention the HUGE green screen. It’s so exciting to see it all coming together from my stand point, I can only imagine what it feels like for them!
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The first night with the new kitten (not yet named…but I’ll call her Tiny in this post cause that’s what I call her right now) went fabulous! WE moved our mattress out into the living room so we’d be by the heat and not high up in case she walked away while we were sleeping. However, she stayed snuggled up to me the entire night. I was the one that woke her when I had to switch sides and relocate her to a new nuzzle spot.
Sadie and Maple handled it really well too! Well, Sadie is a bit of a priss, but no one tried to eat her or anything. Maple watched her with huge eyes but ran off whenever Tiny mewed. We are taking her with us to the store every day until she’s too big, so hopefully that will give Sadie and Maple plenty of time to get used to her without her all of sudden invading their space.
I tell you what though…this is enough mothering for me for some time. It’s not that it’s hard or annoying or anything, but I have some weird anxiety complex. This happened when we brought Maple home too. I didn’t eat for two days, and the first night we had Maple I actually puked a couple of times. I’m really not sure why…maybe the “change” of things. lol even though there’s not much change with a kitty. But yeah, yesterday I only ate 4 bites of macaroni and cheese and today I ate half a grilled cheese. I’m doing much better this time, but I did get nauseous last night for a little bit.
Right now Tiny is sleeping on my chest, under my jacket…she loves it in here. She’s so adorable and I’m so glad we saved her. I still kinda feel bad if the mom came back to get her, but it’s just too cold to “wait and see.”
Corry snapped a couple of photos of Tiny last night so she and I officially have our first photo together!
Hopefully I’ll get a chance to take some more photos of her today…if she ever wants to come out of this cocoon she’s created.
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