The year has become an increasingly difficult unit of measurement for me to rely on. Not only has my concept of time and the pace at which it consumes (think velociraptor) changed as I’ve aged, I’ve also embraced my recent, awkward tendency toward nostalgia that has me looking ever backward, searching for comfort and meaning in the music, images, and heroes of my past. I don’t want to relive those times - honestly, you couldn’t pay me enough – it comes down to the lens through which I’m viewing these these early influences. My adult mind has locked onto the afterimage of my high school treasures. Everything glows with new depth and a sort of classic sheen that makes it all seem visceral and relevant again.
While this ongoing retro-dive has a way of obscuring the here and now, I’m still inclined to ask:
In 2008, what impacted me creatively? What turned me on, what made me think, what made me move, what made me feel something vital?
Here are my answers, in no particular order.
The Wrestler
Simply put, Darren Aronofsky has created a masterpiece. On the surface, The Wrestler looks like a vehicle for Mickey Rourke to exercise his demons and get an Oscar in the process. Add Marisa Tomei and what you really have is a love story about two middle-aged 80′s performers who are past their prime, and still struggling to make it on nothing more than basic physical skills. One’s a pro wrestler, the other a stripper. Both are lost, alone, and suffering – in ways that only Aronofsky can illuminate in such a dreadful, disturbing, beautifully human way.
Whitesnake – Good to be Bad
I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, oh man, I’m not gonna even dignify this. Jeff is such a metal dork, and he doesn’t know when to let go. That may be true, but listen: before David Coverdale and Tawny Kitaen revolutionized the meaning of “hood ornament” on MTV, there was 70′s Whitesnake. And it was good. And thus the blues and metal were joined in a way that was sexy, heavy, sweaty, honest, mean, and…HEAVY. And that is what they’ve captured on Good to be Bad. Coverdale picked a winner in guitarist Doug Aldrich, who penned most of the album and tears everything up on guitar. Doug Aldrich is my hero for two reasons – not only does he write the Classic Rock Magazine Album of the Year (which has Coverdale in fine form, singing like a horny 20-something), his other gig has him playing wingman to Ronnie James Freakin Dio! If you love rock, buy this album!
Stephen King and Marvel Comics
Diehard King fans know how awesome and important The Dark Tower series of novels are. King wrote them over a twenty-two year period, and along the way managed to weave many of his other novels into the mystical, forgotten future age of the gunslinger Roland. The result is an unparalleled volume of exquisite storytelling with decades-long story arcs and unforgettable characters. This year, Marvel partnered with King to bring his magnum opus to life in spectacular form.The story adaptation is above-average (possibly due to King’s oversight, or in spite of it if you consider the film adaptations of his books), but the real heavy lifting comes from artist Jae Lee, who’s visionary interpretation of the characters and the stage is nothing short of jaw-dropping. To top it off, Marvel has also released several issues of The Stand, King’s other amazing epic. So far, I’ve very impressed – the TV movie was so awful I couldn’t look away. These books are so artfully adapted and lovingly written, they more than make up for the crapass movie.
David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs
I usually stick to fiction, but I was drawn in by these two hugely successful, memoir-writing homosexuals. So drawn in, I think I’ve read everything both have written, most of it in the last year. Both are equal parts hilarious and dramatic, perversely sardonic and heart-breakingly honest. It is their honesty, I think, that breaks the ice for me. They find the humor in their autobiographical stories, but neither of them skimp on the substance. Sedaris’s short, slightly manic vignettes jump out at you like James Brown’s horn section. Bwap! you’re laughing! Bwomp! You’re shocked! Burroughs takes his time, and has developed himself as a character – the delivery a little less urban sophisticate, and a little more backwoods nerd. Empathy comes easy in both cases, along with the laughs. Top choices: Me Talk Pretty One Day (Sedaris) and Possible Side Effects (Burroughs).
Van Halen Reunites with David Lee Roth
The haters can make light of this all they want – but those of us who know that score, we were delivered in 2008. Never mind that Michael Anthony was absent from the lineup. I was unhappy about it too, boo-fuckin-hoo. But this wasn’t about the original lineup. It was barely about Eddie! This was about the redemption of DIAMOND DAVE. All arguments and bets were settled on the 2008 Van Halen tour: David Lee Roth is the lifeblood of that band. I should know. I bought my tickets early. I paid dearly for them. My seats were premium, my heart aflutter when the lights went down. DLR hit the stage like an insane, sequined, Jedi ringmaster- and it was awesome. The rocking was incredible, and of course it was immensly satisfying to to Dave and Eddie together on stage, true rock soldiers on a mission to kick ass. Best part of the show? Dave’s solo acoustic intro to Ice Cream Man. Dave graced us with some storytelling – some authentic 1970′s rock and roll mythology, and everyone in that audience was transported to a more innocent, more imaginative, more vital time. Bonus: great pics from the tour!
Rolling Stone
This year, for no apparent reason at all, Rolling Stone started showing up in my mailbox. We subscribe to few periodicals in my house, and frankly I don’t know how any magazine keeps their doors open and their presses printing in a day and age where you can get almost any info you want online for free. Regardless, Their charity was my good fortune, because after years of ignoring RS, this was the year they drew me back in. Not with the redesign (more on that in a sec), but the content. The political coverage was engaging, the covers – my god the covers – really made it clear that RS was tailoring itself toward the all-important ME. Now, the redesign. This is a big deal, and like many people I don’t buy RS’s assertion that the magazine needed to “evolve” to meet the demands of a modern market. That’s bullshit, they needed to cut costs like everyone else and make room for more traditional ad space. The thing is, the new format is pretty excellent. It has a flow, and it has style. Designing to cut costs could easily compromise the experience for the reader – but in this case my hat’s off to the RS design team for making it work.
Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and The Dark Knight
I need superheroes. For me to exist as a happy human being I need them. I need to know that the world still has enough imagination – enough freedom to suspend disbelief – to embrace the fantastic, the ridiculous…the possibilities. If you ask me, escapism is a healthy response to a chaotic reality – and 2008 was a pretty chaotic year. Masters Stark, Banner, and Wayne were there for us in the 60′s, and they’re here for us now. I don’t care who’s making the money or who’s got product placement, I needed the boost these movies gave me. They were well-produced, well-acted, and fun – really, really, fun. Hollywood may not have an original bone left in its coked-out skeleton, but this year they did right by me.
Moving On…
There’s oh so much more I could go on about, but this is a blog not a novel. I’m not much for resolutions, but my resolve is pretty strong. I hope to write much more in the new year, and I hope to find an audience. I hope for my family to keep growing strong, and for my friends to prosper in good health. It’s December 31st, 2008, and it’s snowing hard in Boston. I hope my snowblower keeps on a-blowin’, and that whoever is out there reading finds happiness and inspiration in 2009.
