The House of Hunt

As I write this, we stand upon the precipice of a new year. What will happen at the strike of midnight? Will the dawning of 01-01-07 signal the beginning of a takeover of secret agents, hellbent on swilling martinis and bedding every woman that crosses their path? Will we be subjected to the parading of new techo-gadgets and tomfoolery at every turn? Shall we have to submit to the lamest of story devices and implausible stunts and McGuffins?

This could prove to be the most dangerous year of living yet! Never say never again! Does this scenario scare the living daylights out of you? It should! Diamonds aren’t forever, but fear is! It’s going to take some pretty big thunderballs to weather the onslaught that is double aught seven.

Troubles at home and abroad, pressures, presents, deadlines, traffic jams, flight delays, family fights, frustrations, loneliness…the list goes on and on.

The reasons for being distracted from Christmas are numerous. Shoot, the reasons for being distracted from fully living through any day of the year could go on forever. I hate getting caught up in the cliched things that are often said during this time of year. I hate getting stuck in the rut of saying anything cliched, whether be “I’ll be sure to pray for you” when I know full well that my prayer life is not what it should be…or “Jesus is the reason for the season,” despite the fact that I myself have barely considered what His presence on this earth really means. I hate such things (and I seldom use the word “hate” for fear of overusing it and thus devaluing the true strength of the word) because they make me out to be a liar, and I guess I’d rather be honest in my failures than lie for the sake of faked success.

All this to say, with all the truth and sincerity that I can muster…Happy Christmas. To my friends and family who read these miniscule pieces of my thought-process, I love you dearly. Thank you for being in my life and making it worth living. Enjoy this day, with all the rest and the hope that I trust it brings you. Celebrate the Son who was given so many years ago. Rejoice that we can fully live through Him and Him alone. And go and share that joy with every single person you come in contact with. Thank you Yahweh…for everything.

After the phenomenal response to my top movies list (all seven of you who heard the podcast and criticized my picks), I have decided to put together my list of top albums from 2006. Even moreso than the film list, this one has been really tough to compile. I am a music freak. I love films, TV, and comics, but music runs through my veins. My first recollections of music include being struck with awe after hearing the double-LP soundtrack to Star Wars as a young child, even before seeing the film. I listened to those two records non-stop, the themes and movements getting seared into my brain. From then on, it was a constant diet of Gershwin, more John Williams, classical composers, The Beatles, and a steady stream of discovering the massive amount of musical creativity that was rock and roll in the 60’s and 70’s. From there I moved into modern rock, punk, hardcore…and the rest is history.

Given the new levels of accessibility to music online, it’s gotten pretty tough to buy albums that I don’t like. Whether it’s through mp3 leaks, streaming audio on MySpace or Purevolume, or song snippets on iTunes, it is incredibly easy to check out an album before buying, saving all of us money and frustration. That said, I still ended up getting 27 albums this year, with an additional 12 waiting in the wings until I have the funds to purchase them. Even in this day and age of digital song downloads, I remain a huge fan of the physical album. I like being able to take it with me, read the liner notes, look at the art…in my mind, it’s all part of the experience of listening to an album. All this simply to say, I enjoyed every single one of the albums I got this year. I’ll go out on a limb from time to time if I spot a great deal on a used album that I’m curious about…but the previously mentioned access to music online makes it so easy to test the waters before buying.

So this was, as I said before, a tough list to put together. I try to judge the music on a few levels: how it initially hit me, how it’s grown on me since getting it, and, somewhat tenuously, whether I think it’s got staying power long-term. Here we go…and with a tip of the hat to Spinal Tap, this list goes to 11:

11. Murder By Death - In Bocca Al Lupo

Murder By Death is something of an anomaly in the punk scene. They’re really an indie rock band with influences from Johnny Cash, barfights, and sea chantie. They’re the only rock band I’ve ever that had to cut their set short because their cellist was rocking too hard and broke one of her strings. This album is simply phenomenal. World-weary, downtrodden, and heavy-hearted. Redemption is possible, but it’s sometimes a hard road back.

10. Lupe Fiasco - Food & Liquor

I am not a hip-hop expert by any means, but I know what I like when it comes to the genre…and Lupe’s debut album is it. Tight rhymes, sweet instrumentation, and socially conscious. I dig it. I can’t wait to see where he goes from here.

9. The Mars Volta - Amputechture

The Mars Volta is one of those love/hate bands. You either get ‘em or you don’t. And by that I don’t mean there’s some sort of deep secret to understanding these guys…I just think that the music either speaks to you or it doesn’t. There’s not much middle ground. Obviously by their presence here, I love ‘em. This still doesn’t top their debut, De-Loused In The Comatorium, but it’s still an incredible piece of experimental rock. With influences far too numerous to list here, The Mars Volta pack a wallop each time they release an album.

8. Taking Back Sunday - Louder Now

A few albums on this list took a while to click with me. This was one. While I loved the first single, “Makedamnsure,” most of the record fell flat when I first got it. A few months later, I dug it out for a second try and now I love it. Fantastic punk-influenced rock, this is one solid album, from start to finish.

7. Johnny Cash - American V: A Hundred Highways

There’s not much, if anything at all, that I can say about Johnny Cash’s legacy that hasn’t already been said. I love his music and this posthumous album is no different. Even on the edge of stepping into eternity, Cash’s voice still retains power, conviction, and strength. What an incredible man, musician, and legend.

6. Far-Less - Everyone Is Out To Get Us

Here’s another one of the growers in this list. I picked up their EP, “Turn To The Bright,” before getting this and fell in love with their melodic rock chaos. This album didn’t hit me with the same immediacy as the EP, but now that I’ve had time to listen through it numerous times, I’m into it a ton. Far-Less is another band that I’m excited about watching as they grow and develop.

5. He Is Legend - Suck Out The Poison

Holy crap. Talk about musical boot to the ass. He Is Legend took the hardcore roots of their earlier roots and distilled them into a dirty southern rock album that’s easily a close (inbred?) cousin to the debut last year from Maylene and the Sons of Disaster. Heavy, dark, rockin’…this whole record riffs on the darker side of fairy tales and humanity. Freakin’ awesome.

4. mewithoutYou - Brother, Sister

mewithoutYou have managed to amaze and surprise me. While I loved their debut record, their second, “Catch For Us The Foxes,” left me somewhat cold. But when I heard about the appearance of Jeremy Enigk on two of the tracks here, my anticipatory excitement knew no bounds. Thankfully I wasn’t disappointed. This is a beautiful indie rock album, lyrically and musically. The pacing, the flow…everything works. Oh and those two songs with Jeremy Enigk? Top-notch.

3. Stavesacre - How To Live With A Curse

Stavesacre is a band that has meant so much to me over the past few years. Without a doubt, they are one of my favorite bands of all time. Mark Salomon’s voice moves me like few do and his lyrics are like mainlining inspiration. Their last full album was a big let-down and I was afraid that it might be the final word of their career. But then they released this puppy and my fears were completely destroyed. This is, pure and simple, an outstanding rock record. Buy it. Listen. Love it.

2. Jeremy Enigk - World Waits

These last two picks were tough. Jeremy Enigk is a god among men, as far as music is concerned. This album could have easily been number one. Whether it’s through Sunny Day Real Estate, The Fire Theft, or his solo stuff, the music he creates is on another level from most of the rest of us. Stunning, beautiful, and incredibly moving. I was finally able to see him live this year and it was an experience like none other. His voice alone puts him in a rare league and he’s got the song writing chops to back it up.

1. Underoath - Define The Great Line

Man, what a year it’s been for Underoath. They released this album to a huge amount of fanfare, appeared on and later left the Warped Tour with rumors of a break-up swirling, the record went gold, and they’ve since returned to the touring circuit…they’ve weathered it all and have come out intact. This album might as well be the soundtrack to the emotions and experiences they’ve faced all year. It’s brutal, heavy, compelling, complex, beautiful, and incredibly moving. I liked it okay the first few times I listened to it. Now that I’ve had more time to hear the layers and depth, I absolutely love it. What a triumph.

Whew. There you have it. My top eleven records of 2006. Enjoy it. Hate it. Listen for yourself and see what you think.

Here it is folks. The post you’ve been waiting for all year. In which I reveal my top ten movies of the year…in podcast form.

Yes. It’s true. The House of Hunt has entered the podcasting age. Of course, in true House of Hunt form, this was all accomplished on the back of someone else; in this case, my good buddy Matt Wiggins of mattwiggins.org. Matt has ventured boldly into the realm of self-recorded, self-produced, self-scripted podcasting and he invited me to join him for a review of our top films of 2006.

Here are the various links to listen in: the streaming player or the mp3 if you’re feeling brave and want to download it to your computer. I have to say it’s still utterly bizarre to hear my own voice recorded. I can’t stand the way I sound. At any rate, it was fun to make this and hopefully there will be more to come to inflict on an unsuspecting world. Merry Christmas!

UPDATE:
As a concession to my buddy Nathan, who’s way too much of a pansy to actually listen to the podcast, I’ve posted my top movies list below. I believe I mentioned this on the podcast, but there were a ton of films that I wanted to see this year that I ended up missing. In reflecting on this list over the past couple of days, I still stand by my overall enjoyment of these picks, but I have a feeling that, had I seen the other films I missed, only my first two movies would definitely remain on the list. The others are more negotiable, especially in the face of such films as The Proposition, Pan’s Labyrinth, Apocalypto, The Good Shepherd, Borat, Stranger Than Fiction, etc. At any rate, here they are:

1. The Fountain
2. Little Miss Sunshine
3. X-Men 3: The Last Stand
4. Superman Returns
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
6. Nacho Libre
7. 16 Blocks
8. Inside Man

Honorable mentions go to The Pursuit of Happyness, We Are Marshall, and Snakes On A Plane. There you have it Nate. This was all for you.

WOOHOO!!

Thanks Time Magazine! I’m so honored. Wow. I have so many people to thank.

Everyone who ever visited this amazing blog. You’re awesome. No seriously.

All the folks at WordPress. You did all the work and I took all the credit. Isn’t the American Way fantastic?

To all the schmucks, idiots, and bozos who make fools of themselves, thanks. You make my job of mockery a piece of cake.

Finally, to my friends and my dearest wife April: thanks for putting up with my own idiocy on this blog. Maybe next year I’ll actually get my picture on the cover of Time. Starring the handlebars.

I just came across this cool little article on CNN by Jay Bakker and Marc Brown (staff members of Revolution Church). While we’ve only hung out once (and talked on the phone several times), I consider Jay a good friend and I’m a big fan of the sort of ministry that he’s pursuing. I know, that sounds like shameless name-dropping…and it is!! ZING!

Anyway, I interviewed him for The Relevant Nation and I’ve been struck time and again at his genuine heart for sharing the grace and love of Jesus, pure and unadultered. There’s a simplicity to his message that is refreshing and I am thrilled that Jay’s ministry is getting more attention. In case you haven’t heard, the Sundance Channel started running a six-part series on Jay, entitled “One Punk Under God.” The first episode was/is available on iTunes for free, so check it out.

Rock on Jay. Rock on.

Jets suck, Yankees suck, Knicks suck. Krypton sucks.

After reading my thoughts on Kirk Douglas’ letter to the world, my buddy Matt pointed out an old commencement address at William and Mary from none other than The Daily Show’s John Stewart. What is it with these celebrities pawning off responsibility on the rest of us? Here’s a portion of his thoughts:

“Lets talk about the real world for a moment. We had been discussing it earlier, and I…I wanted to bring this up to you earlier about the real world, and this is I guess as good a time as any. I don’t really know to put this, so I’ll be blunt. We broke it.

Please don’t be mad. I know we were supposed to bequeath to the next generation a world better than the one we were handed. So, sorry.

I don’t know if you’ve been following the news lately, but it just kinda got away from us. Somewhere between the gold rush of easy internet profits and an arrogant sense of endless empire, we heard kind of a pinging noise, and uh, then the damn thing just died on us. So I apologize.

But here’s the good news. You fix this thing, you’re the next greatest generation, people.”

Again with the “we screwed up, our bad, you fix it” excuses…amazing. At least Douglas has the out that his days are numbered by age. What’s Stewart’s deal? Too busy making us laugh with political jokes that are like shooting fish in a barrel? How old are you John? 30? 40? You’ve got at least 20-30 years left to make a contribution. Don’t get me wrong. You are a hilarious man. I’m picking up what you’re putting down. But maybe your generation is struggling because you guys all give up at the age of 40!

Oh well, I’ll be 40 in about 13 years, so my time to shove off responsibility is quickly approaching. Woo hoo!!

At any rate, all this talk of the difficult times we’re in remind me of a great conversation between a very wise man and a young individual forced into a tough situation:

Frodo: I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.
Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.

Apparently Kirk Douglas is feeling a bit sheepish on his 90th birthday. According to this open letter to the world, the geriatric actor is just now realizing that the world is a pretty messed up place. Here’s a particularly inspiring quote:

“Let’s face it: THE WORLD IS IN A MESS and you are inheriting it. Generation Y, you are on the cusp. You are the group facing many problems: abject poverty, global warming, genocide, AIDS, and suicide bombers to name a few. These problems exist, and the world is silent. We have done very little to solve these problems. Now, we leave it to you. You have to fix it because the situation is intolerable.”

Wow. Senor Douglas, am I ever glad you’re here. All this time I’ve spent on earth, and I never had anyone put it so succintly. This place sucks and it’s your fault! Not only that, but you’re old and leaving it to us to solve! Out-freakin’-standing. What do you care about the world’s problems? You’ll be moving out soon!

And what if I don’t want to solve it? Huh? Did that thought ever cross your mind? In the midst of making movies and money, did you ever stop to think that maybe I don’t want to solve all the world’s problems? Besides, if you, a powerful and well-known man, can’t do a damn thing to fix this place, what hope is there for all of us peons? Touche, sir!!

And so to you, Mr. Kirk Douglas, I say, Thanks. Thanks for nothing.

You know those ubiquitous ads on the Internets for the “Classmate Finder” website/service? Have you ever wondered where they get the pictures of those poor frumpy and nerdy individuals featured in said ads? Who gives their permission for such a thing? Imagine with me, if you will, their side of that phone conversation…

“Hello? Yes, this is Hildegard Blucher…yes, I was in the Class of ‘84 at Woodmont High, why do you ask? Are you stalking me?”

“What? Oh, you have a website that’s trying to make money off of people’s strange undying need to live vicariously through the accomplishments of their more gifted classmates. And you want to feature me? Wow, I’m incredibly honored. My own auspicious career in animal husbandry is starting to take off and I…”

“What? Oh, you’re not interested in actually talking about my career? Then why are you contacting me?”

“That old photo??! Oh Lord no! Please don’t use that. Curse Jeffrey Fitzsimmons. He promised me he’d thrown that ugly mug shot away after we broke up!”

“And there’s nothing I can do to stop you? Well you and your site can burn in Hades!!”

“Hades is cold? Well then you can freeze your sweet tuchas off for all I care!!!”

And that, my friends, is the sad story of Hildegard Blucher, the besmirched face of Classmate Finder. The moral of today’s tale is to never take a bad photo. Wear a paper bag if necessary. And if that fails, tackle the photographer, beat him with his equipment and light the film on fire. You’ll not only protect yourself from years of exploitation on the Internets, you’ll also keep your soul from slowly being sucked away. It’s a win-win situation!!