Goodbye 2009 (and a decade)

Well, it’s now 2010 and this is the first blog of 2010 (although late). It’s hard for me to believe that not only is 2009 over, but it’s the start of a new decade. It just doesn’t seem that long ago that Matchbox 20, Three Doors Down, and N Sync were blowing up. Ok, I am glad that we did move past those horrible bands in 2000 to take Nickelback in with open arms. (That last statement was meant to be sarcastic.) Thinking about 2000, I was finally making my parents happy, and deciding that I had put off adulthood long enough and graduated college.

The other thing I am very glad we can put behind us is the horrible president that ruled during that time. How did he get elected twice? Yes I know that is blasphemy with me living in Texas, but wow, twice, really? 2000 and 2001 was the last time I would call Oklahoma home. I did move on to bigger and better things, not to mention meeting Kristen, and becoming a father, and finally finding what I wanted to do with my life. Man, looking down the top songs of 2001, we did not as a nation want to give up our hold of Lady Marmalade, or the soft spot in our hearts with Matchbox 20. Not to mention it was our first glimpse of the juggernaut of a band called Nickleback. (Ok, ok I will not make fun of them anymore.)

On to 2002, this is the year I met Kristen and we started our adventure together. Just thinking about how we started out all the way to now, how did we not kill each other?! Better yet, how did she not kill me while listening to her favorite song Hot in Here by Nelly? I almost forgot another horrible band from the early 2000’s, and that would be Creed. Like I have always said, we already have one Pearl Jam and let’s leave it at that.

Now onto 2003, and the year that Sloan was born. Not only did we set up our daughter for one heck of a 21st birthday on St. Patrick’s Day, we also set her up with the best song to do it to from 2003. That would be In Da Club by my boy 50 Cent. This was another year that Kristen and I can look back and laugh at our situation at the time in Utah. That was a strange place for us to live, and the lady that owned the team solidified all of it. That is a whole other blog for another time. Looking at the charts, man the longevity of 3 Doors Down amazes me, how did they make it that long?

On to 2004 and our stint in Tennessee, this was a fun time for us. Kristen got to be a stay home mom for a little while. I was amazed at how the business of baseball is just that, and when things don’t go right you move the team, and if you can’t do that, you lay people off. That is when I woke up to the business of sports and how harsh things can be. We did meet some great friends and still try to keep in touch with them to this day in Tennessee. This was the nations first glimpse of Kanye West, still amazed that 3 Doors Down was still there, I think at this point everyone finally forgot the rap/metal phase (Thank god), but for some reason we got traded the Black Eyed Peas, I did not ok this trade and I am still waiting for the “band to be named later” to give me back some good music that the Black Eyed Peas stole from me.

2005 and 2006 living in California, a state I have always wanted to live in, and I am glad I got too. I do love California and always will, that is a state that has great weather almost year round. I do have to say the summers in Visalia were horrible at times, but over all, a state where I can wear a jacket or long sleeve shirt in the winter you can’t go wrong. I believe that Sloan will always have California on her mind just for the beach. The girl loves the beach. Finally we got blessed with some good music with bands like The Killers, John Mayer, Weezer and Green Day. This was the first time I met a young (old) man named Les Kissick that forever changed my outlook on life. (I love that man) I made some great friends in California, and will be visiting them in June and I can’t wait.

2007 to now, and we live in Texas. We are closer to home for me, although I don’t get back as much as I would like due to our busy lives. I am getting back in touch with friends from school that I should have never lost touch with. Kristen has made Sloan and I so unbelievably proud that I can’t put it in words. Sloan is so big now, that when I look at pictures of our travels I can’t believe she was that small (and with less attitude back then). So far looking back on the decade, it was a great adventure. We traveled from Colorado Springs, to Oklahoma, to Texas, to Utah, to Tennessee, to California, and back to Texas. It has been one strange trip, but a good strange. Looking back, I am now even more excited to think about what is next for us. Looking at music, I am thankful we finally lost the boy bands, 3 doors down, but we can’t shake Nickelback (I feel they made a deal with the devil or something). I guess the best music is the music you have to look for. Just like it took Kristen, Sloan, and I to travel this much to find out what we are suppose to be doing. Let’s see what this decade brings.

Music for this week:
Ok, so getting back into the swing of things after a week and a half off is a little hard. I did however make the most of the break and got some great music. I am going to start throwing out some old albums to listen to as well. Almost a reissue for old albums. So with that said here is the music.

Bad Veins-Bad Veins
I heard about this band a while ago and just took way too much time getting the album. This was the first album I got from my beautiful wife for Christmas. (yes, she is that cool, just don’t let her know) This duo started out in 2006 and took their time after opening up for bands on the road to make their debut album. This should have made my top 10 list, this is a great album and I suggest you go get it. From what I have heard they are suppose to be amazing live, and I hope to see them live myself.

We Were Promised Jet Packs-These Four Walls
Another band from Ireland, and this band will be big in 2010. Their first single “Quiet Little Voices” is already getting some major air play on the alternative stations. They formed in 2003 at school and quickly moved to Glasgow and started playing around the city. If there was a band that I highly recommend it would be this one, they have a great new sound.

Reissue:
The Rolling Stones- Let It Bleed
I started reading a book over spring break called “Hammer of the Gods” about Led Zeppelin. While reading the book (still not done with it yet) the author brings up albums that were being released during that time. I am a Rolling Stones fan and he brought up Let It Bleed once. So I decided to get it and listen to it. This album is suppose to be one of their greatest album artistically. This was also the last album that Brian Jones played on with the Stones. You get all time classic hits like “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and “Gimme Shelter”. A classic Stones album that everyone should own.