Music Year in Review

First let me explain myself. I don’t assume that anyone actually cares about what my favorite movies or music of 2007 are; however that being said Mandy has “asked” that I “contribute” to our blog and since I listen to a lot of music I thought this would be fun.
One of my favorite things about the New Year is all of the “Best Of” and better yet “Worst Of” lists that come out in the magazines and newspapers. I have a thing for lists. I keep track of every book I read, movie I watch, CD I listen to etc. Its fun, you should try it. For the purposes of this list I have narrowed the music section down to the 72 albums I have heard that were released in 2007. Since I don’t believe you can call something the “best” if you haven’t heard everything, I have compiled my favorite albums of 2007, based on what I have heard… so far.
It would be fun to hear others opinions, leave a comment of your top ten if you are as weird as I am.

1. Arcade Fire “Neon Bible”: It may not come as a shock to people who don’t know me that Bruce Springsteen’s fantastic album “Magic” isn’t number one on my list. However if you know me then you are aware of my unhealthy man crush on” The Boss” and this ranking of Arcade Fires second studio album will carry some weight. This album has grown on me in a way that none other has this year. The music has a haunting quality to it that elicits all of the great artists I love. While it can be a little heavy at times I can’t deny that it’s worth its weight.

2. Bruce Springsteen “Magic”: To call myself a “life time” Bruce Springsteen fan would be inaccurate. While I own everything he has released (and I mean EVERYTHING), I have only been listening to him since the mid nineties. It has been a long road for a fan of the arena style pop/rock of Bruce Springsteen and the E street Band of old. I have lived through two “folk-like” albums, one full blown folk album, and a 9/11 concept album. As much as I have enjoyed every moment of our relationship there was always a part of me that wished I was born in the early sixties. That way I would be a teenager during Springsteen’s heyday. “Magic” was a welcomed treat it is nice to hear him singing about love, cars, and Americana again. While I understand that there are still important messages infused in the lyrics about the state of the country, this is the first new Springsteen album in a while that I can rock out and clean the house to.

3. Kanye West “Graduation”: If this list was made based on how many times I’ve listened to an album, this CD would be number one. I don’t know how or why it happened but I have listened to “Graduation” at least 53 times. It could have something to do with the fact that I always listen to it while at the gym, but I know I haven’t been to the gym 53 times this year. I never knew Steely Dan and hip-hop went so well together, until now.

4. Amy Winehouse “Back to Black”: Try to forget what Miss. Winehouse has become as the year progressed and remember back to the spring and how cool it was to hear a “throwback” album that was as current as it was retro. From the first moment I heard it I was hooked.

5. Ryan Adams “Easy Tiger”: Sitting through a less than stellar performance this July at the Moore, couldn’t keep this album off my list. I think he is often his own worst enemy, but this is the first album of his in awhile that didn’t seem held back by a concept. Loved it! (I will be giving him another chance on Jan 26th at the Paramount. Mandy, however, is not so kind, I’ll be going solo.)

6. Brandi Carlile “The Story”: My favorite female troubadour has released an album that sounds right out of the Neil Young 1970s handbook and I can’t get enough.
7. Explosions in the Sky “All of the Sudden I Miss Everyone”: This instrumental rock group from Austin, Texas can say so much in their music, even though none of their songs have lyrics.
8. Paul McCartney “Memory Almost Full”: After 25 solo studio records Paul McCartney can still write a catchy pop song and find interesting things to sing about (and NONE of it has to do with Heather Mills).
9. Feist “The Reminder”: Aside from the pesky iPhone commercials continuously playing her song “1234” I have yet to tire of “The Reminder”. This album is the equalizer of the year, it is one of the few CD’s in recent memory that Mandy and I agree on and can listen to together.
10. Josh Rouse “Country Mouse, City House”: Josh Rouse has steadily been putting out quality, low key folk/alt country music for the past ten years and this CD is no exception. While Kanye West’s album is one I listen to in order to get “worked up” this is the CD I listen to while I’m falling asleep. And for an insomniac like me, this album is the perfect companion.
11. Roony “Calling the World”: The best “Electric Light Orchestra” cover band that doesn’t play any ELO songs.
12. Imperial Teen “The Hair, the TV, the Baby, and the Band": Infectiously catchy, it’s what The Beach Boys would be playing if they were still recording.
13. Elliott Yamin “Elliot Yamin”: As cool as I want to sound I can’t deny the fact that I am very fond of this guy. I’m almost convinced that his longevity on “American Idol” was due to Mandy and me calling in votes all night back in 2006.
14. Kaiser Chiefs “Yours Truly, Angry Mob”: I listen to this album every time I feel like getting my “Leeds, England on.” Mandy knows that I secretly wish I was English and since there is nothing I can do about being born in Utah, sometimes I daydream.
15. Arctic Monkeys “Favourite Worst Nightmare”: See # 14.
16. Neil Young “Chrome Dreams II”
17. The Shins “Wincing The Night Away”
18. Josh Ritter “The Historical Conquest of Josh Ritter”
19. Alicia Keyes “As I Am”*
20. Various Artist “Enchanted (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture)”: Since this is our blog and not just mine I’m including Mandy’s favorite album EVER. Not only has she been listening to it non-stop since we saw the movie, she SINGS it everywhere we go. She has even taught it to the kids she nannies for.

* If I made a list of favorite songs of the year “No One” would without question be #1. I cannot get that song out of my head.

Go Huskies!

We have yet to officially announce on our BLOG that Ben was accepted to the University of Washington. He started last Monday, January 7th, and is loving it! He's working toward a Communication Degree currently enrolled in COM202 with 450 other students! Unbelievable!

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas

On January 5th, all of the Treusch's were finally home and could celebrate Christmas! We managed to make it within the 12 Days of Christmas! Mandy had a blast playing with Lydia's Princess Karaoke Machine. John & George were screaming at the TV when the Seahawks managed to pull out win against the Redskins. We went to see the Broadway musical Jersey Boys and Eileen was dancing in her seat. It was a fun weekend and a great way to stretch out the holidays!
Next time you see Lydia she just might ask you to marry her... I was asked if I would marry her, when I said yes I had to put on a beautiful dress and dance around singing Cinderella's song "so this is love, do do do do, so this is love, this is the miracle that I've been dreaming of, so this is love."

2008

We rang in the New Year with our friends Tom and Shannon, and their son Andrew. We are lame though, because we celebrated the New York New Year at 9:00pm before Andrew had to go to bed. However, we in bed before Seattle officially struck midnight! We didn't miss out on much because the Space Needle fireworks had a big malfunction and didn't really work. HA!

Just for fun!

A friend of mind has a personality test on her blog, it had been a while since I'd taken one so I thought I'd give it a whirl. Here are my results...

You Are An INFJ The Protector

You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity.
Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is.
You are an excellent listener, with almost infinite patience.
You have complex, deep feelings, and you take great care to express them.

In love, you truly see relationships as an opportunity to connect and grow.
You enjoy relationships as long as they are improving and changing. You can't stand stagnation.

At work, you stay motivated and happy... as long as you are working toward a dream you support.
You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher.

How you see yourself: Hardworking, ethical, and helpful

When other people don't get you, they see you as: Manipulative, weak, and unstable

I thought it was pretty accurate especially when it said, "you would make a great photographer!" I'm not sure about the Alternative Medicine Guru? I can hear my parents laughing right now! Here's the link if you want to take the test. Let me know if you come across any funny results!

Personality Quiz

More from our visit in SLC

Ben and I had a great time with his family and wished we had a few more days with them! We absolutely fell in love with his sister's baby, Mikey! Look at his blue eyes, and those cheeks!

We got to catch up with a some really good friends while we were in town too! We met our friend's CJ & Haylee's baby, Max.

And we got meet Curt's cute girlfriend, Carrie!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Christmas morning Ben and I jetted off to spend the holiday's with his family in Salt Lake City. We were blessed with a beautiful white Christmas. I saw the biggest icicles I've ever seen, very rarely do we have snow in the Northwest so I was like a kid in a candy store! It snowed almost everyday we were there, it was so cold I just had to buy a new coat... :) We braved the cold weather one night and went downtown to look at the lights they have throughout Temple Square. It is quite the sight! The rest of the time we stayed cozy and warm watching lots of movies, we saw "It's a Wonderful Life", (for the first time) "Dream Girls", "Miss Potter", "A Christmas Wish", and "Enchanted." We loved, loved, loved "Enchanted", and highly recommend it!