Time to dance

I'm all done for this term: last paper handed in, last revision to my book chapter submitted, christmas shopping done. I spent a good 5-10 minutes spontaneously after sending in my last assignment. Oh, it feels good to be free.

Of course, I've kind of been on holiday for the last few days already and it's been great fun seeing old friends and new and re-introducing myself to alcohol. Special mention to the Stars concert--the one I didn't quite see and the one I did. We also saw the band loading up their stuff, but unlike Andrew, we just waited around to avoid going out into the cold. Toronto--no good for the soul.

So speaking of Stars, it's time for me to foist my music on the world.
I think the best way to describe my music listening is to go back to the source--what was it that I was listening to exactly. Since September, I've been using iTunes and it helpfully keeps track of how many times I've listened to a song. So here are the tracks that I've listened to more than 20 times since I started using iTunes:

Song Band Times played

Rebellion (Lies) The Arcade Fire 43

Neighborhood #4 The Arcade Fire 39

Huddle Formation The Go! Team 33

Neighborhood #1 The Arcade Fire 30

Here She Comes B. Fleischmann 30

Fond Farewell Elliott Smith 29

Teenage Kicks The Undertones 26

Formed A Band Art Brut 24

Such Great Heights Iron and Wine 24

Fit but you know it The Streets 23

Wonderwall (live) Cat Power 22

The Drinking Song Akira The Don 21

Now, iTunes can be slightly idiosyncratic, and some of the selection (eg. Cat Power, B Fleishman) have to do with their inclusion on playlists I made, but it gets a couple of things right. The albums of the year for me are clearly the Arcade Fire and the Go! Team. Both albums have this amazing energy and unique sound that sounds nothing like anything else, but also clearly draws on the past. However, the list also misses a couple of bands that either arrived too late or too early: RJD2's soundscapes; Neko Case's live album; The Walkmen (solely for their brilliant song "The rat"); TV on the Radio's doo wop punk rock; Maxi Geil's Har Marish fun; Rilo Kiley's post-postal service work; the electronic but earthy work of Lali Puna; MIA, and Annie; the new folk of Joanna Newsome, Sufjan Stevens, and Devendra Banhart; Leslie Feist's solo album and of course, the latest from the Stars, which has grown on me substantially seeing it live.

Looking forward to seeing the Ottawa crew over Christmas, and for the rest of you have a good holiday!