I can't believe it's time for another Jack Penate album already. This year has gone by so fast. I really fell in love with Jack Penate and his debut album from last year Matinee. It was one of those fun albums that just made me feel good when I listened to it. It was not my normal sort of album that I would become obsessed with, but I listened to it a lot and it really grew on me. It was one of those albums that most people didn't get around to listening to-- I feel like it was a bit forgotten among all the other releases from last year. I really recommend that you go back and discover it, or just listen to his new album Everything Is New. It is as good as the first album in many ways, but it also makes some improvements on that first record. It is for sure more produced and polished, so you may just end up liking the first record better, depending on you taste. The first record seemed more like a pub record -- an album you would listen to in your favorite pub or bar. But the new record is more of a club record; it is a bit more dancey than the first. I love them both, just for different reasons. They both serve their purpose and are both great albums on their own. I am a big fan of his voice and it is what keeps me coming back to these records. He is also a great songwriter. These are some catchy songs that will stay with you.

Here is a video for "Spit at Stars" from his first album Matinee...


and here is a video for "Be the One" from the new album Everything is New...

I spend most of my weeks looking for new albums to fall in love with. I try to listen to most albums at least once. This is a big quest since there are still a ton of albums out every week. I just wait and hope for those special little albums that get me excited and keep me looking for my new favorite. It keeps me going knowing that there are new fantastic albums out every month just waiting to be discovered. There are the obvious albums to get excited about. In a couple of weeks the Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack comes out. The movie looks amazingly fantastic. The trailer for the movie already made me cry. Spike Jonze is the perfect director to create a live action film out of this great children's book. And just when I didn't think it could get any better, I find out that Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs did the soundtrack. I mean, really! How could it possibly get any better? I am dying of anticipation to see the movie and hear the soundtrack! I have not even tried to listen to any tracks online. I just want to wait and hear the whole thing when it comes out. But I honestly think that I might just have to wait and experience the soundtrack for the first time while watching the movie. That is always the problem with getting a soundtrack before you see the movie. I think it is best to experience it in the theater for the first time. Then you can go back and relive it and listen to the soundtrack. I seriously can't wait!

I am also very excited about the new Place to Bury Strangers. The new album called Exploding Head is not out for a couple of months. I know it will be one of my favorites. And it really is hard to compete with their excellent, amazing debut a couple of years ago. It was my favorite of the year back in 2007. This new album will easily be in competition for the number one spot this year. It is easy to get excited about the new albums from your favorite bands. But even more exciting is the new bands that seem to come from nowhere to deilver you their fantastic debut albums. Or the bands and artists that have been working for years that finally make it into your life somehow.

My personal goal for about a year now has been to watch all the Harry Potter movies. I had resisted for a while and since I missed the first couple in the theater, I felt like I could never catch up in time. But when the Half-Blood Prince got delayed, I figured I finally had a chance to watch the first 5 so I could see the sixth one in the theater. Of course, the months went by and all of a sudden it was July and I only had a couple of weeks to watch them all -- still, I knew I could do it. I was not sure if I was going to become obsessed with the movies like everyone else had, but I figured I would at least enjoy them. I did probably have time to read all the books as well, but I have been reading about 5 books the last couple of months all at the same time, so I didn't think I could both read the books and see the movies. I also thought I might enjoy the movies more without reading the books. It has been very rare to actually end up liking a movie version of one of my favorite books. I get really attached to the characters in the book and how I feel they should be portrayed. And turning a long book into a 2 hour movie is always hard. You always have to cut stuff out, it is just impossible not to. So I ended up having the benefit of going into the films not really knowing much about them or having any interest in how the books or characters were portrayed. I knew Harry Potter was some sort of magical British wizard that went to some boarding school type school for young wizards. Other than that I really didn't know what to expect. I sort of have a weird dislike for British children in movies, and I wasn't really excited to see them flying around with capes and wands, which is part of the reason I had stayed away from the series...But I couldn't resist any longer. It was too big a piece of pop culture for me to miss out on. 

So I finally sat down and watched all 5 movies in about 7 days and ended the run by seeing the sixth movie in the theater last week. I watched them with a big fan of the books and the movies and I tried to find out what happened in the movies before it actually happened but he wouldn't tell me and left me in suspense. It was nice to have someone there to fill in the blanks when I tried to figure out what had just happened after the movies ended. The last couple of movies were my favorites. I like when they started to get darker and I loved the introduction of Helena Bonham Carter's character, Bellatrix. Almost every British actor seems to pop up in one of the movies, and there are a lot of my favorites. I love Gary Oldman, who plays Sirius Black, and Emma Thompson, who plays Sybil Trelawney.  Miranda Richardson is also brilliant as always, as Rita Skeeter. And of course, Maggie Smith is perfect as Minerva McGonagall. The best thing about these movies is really the cast. It really is a perfect cast in all the movies. Two of my favorites of the younger cast are Evanna Lynch, who plays Luna Lovegood, and Shirley Henderson, who plays Moaning Myrtle. I wouldn't say that I am now an obsessive Harry Potter fan, but I am for sure a fan. The movies are really fun for people of all ages. I wouldn't mind going back and reading all the books at some point. I have heard they are really fun to read. Maybe my goal can be to read all the books before the last 2 movies come out in 2010 and 2011. I think I can find the time.

Sometimes I think that I might throw the word love around too much... I do tend to fall in love with music and sometimes don't know how else to describe it. But I worry that it might take away some of the value of the word. How do I describe an album that I love more than any other if I have already claimed to love dozens of albums this year already? I might need to just start describing albums as pretty good. I do seem to use this phrase a lot when describing my feelings of certain situations, but I really actually mean pretty great when I say pretty good. So when I say love or great, I really do mean it. When an album like this new album by The Gossip comes around I really wish I had a new word to describe it. I do love it...but I really, really love it. I was a bit worried that I might just sort of like it. How could they follow up the brilliance of the last album Standing in the Way of Control? There was just no way. Their albums have been getting better and better but I was worried they had just gotten as good as they were going to get. This new album also marks their debut on a major label. They have gotten to be huge stars in England with the last album and were signed. I was worried they were maybe too busy playing big festival shows and doing big fancy photo shoots, too busy to concentrate on making another brilliant album. But I really had no reason to be worried. I had heard rumours that the new album was going to be great, and it most certainly is. Music for Men was released last week digitally and as an import. We will have to wait for the domestic CD and LP until later in the year, but I could not wait for this one. I had to pick up the import. I had to hold something in my hands. I wanted to look through the liner notes as I listened to the album for the first time. I wanted to own the album! You know, like we all used to do.

I am obsessed with two very different albums the last couple of weeks. There might be those of you out there obessed with the new Little Boots. And I know there are those of you obsessed with Mars Volta...But there might not be many people into both these groups. I assume most people who like The Mars Volta are probably not big fans of pop music, and most fans of pop music are not big fans of The Mars Volta. They are sort of extreme opposites -- but I love them both. It keeps my life interesting. I have never been into just one specific genre of music. I am sure you have all heard of Lady Gaga by now. She sort of took over the world this year. It was hard to stay away from "Just Dance" or "Poker Face." There was obviously a big hole before she came along. We obvioulsy needed her. Love her or hate her, she made an impressively catchy dance pop album. I don't know where we would be without her. However, she has been overplayed just a bit. I guess DJs just don't know what else to play. Every time I turn on the radio I can always find a Lady Gaga song. And I am not just talking about a couple of months ago -- this is still the case. Every time you go into a bar and most certainly a gay bar, you are bound to hear some Lady Gaga. Pop music needs stars like her. It would be nothing without her. I still sort of appreciate that she exists but I am done. I have had enough! So I was happy to first hear about Little Boots. She couldn't come to us at a better time. Her debut album Hands is out now as an import. It might not come out domestically until 2010, so you might have a couple of months to get into her before the rest of America does. I am sure she will take over the world quickly. If she could even get a fourth of the airtime that Lady Gaga got, I am sure she could become a star out here.