This’ll Be My Year

I am off to Eleuthera in a few hours. I return late New Year’s Eve in time for the NYRRC Midnight Run. This is my last post of the year.

Because I have a tendency to occupy all of my time with activities, I am taking only a pair of trunks, shorts, running clothes, my mask and snorkel, and a toothbrush. I am leaving everything else behind. I will be offline all week, though I am taking my laptop to get back to work on my long-threatened piece of great American fiction, “33 1/3.” Despite the temptation to the contrary, I am leaving both of my guitars and all of my recording equipment at home in the hopes the I will refill with ideas and melodies.

A lot happened this year, some chronicled on these pages, and some not. Overall, I am happy to see ’04 go. I leave you a significantly changed man. And a man intent on significantly changing. As one pen pal put it, I “layed it all out” on “Love & Other Indoor Games” (“I practically blushed reading the liner notes,” she wrote), and I’ve tried to do so here as well. Honesty and vulnerability are the catch phrases of ’05, mark my words.

Meanwhile, though, I leave you with a few things. For one, if you haven’t already, please pick up a copy of the new record, “Love & Other Indoor Games.” It makes for great listening on those afternoons of mid-winter half-light.

Secondly, I leave you with these three top ten lists. They’re not ordered in terms of import: each song, film, and moments played a major role in the year that was. After this, though, no more looking back; only looking forward.

Top Ten Songs

1- Air, “Mike Mills”
2- REM, “The Outsiders”
3- Snow Patrol, “Chocolate”
4- Keane, “Untitled 1”
5- U2, “All Because Of You”
6- Rufus Wainwright, “Agnus Dei”
6- Rilo Kiley, “With Arms Outstretched”
7- Matt Pond PA, “New Hampshire”
8- Secret Machines, “First Wave Intact”
9- Switchfoot, “Dare You to Move”
10- The Killers, “Smile Like You Mean It”

Top Ten Movies

1- “Garden State”
2- “Lost In Translation”
3- “Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind”
4- “The Life Aquatic”
5- “In America”
6- “Love Me If You Dare”
7- “I Heart Huckabees”
8- “Napoleon Dynamite”
9- “The Station Agent”
10- “Fahrenheit 9/11” / “Control Room”

Top Ten Most Memorable Moments

1- The CD Release (November 23)
2- The Nantucket Vacation (September 4)
3- The Smith Family Tour (June 15)
4- The Malibu Triathlon (September 17)
5- The NYC Marathon (November 7)
6- The Lake: Nana’s Diamonds (July 3)
7- The Game: 18 Holes With Uncle Bill (May 13)
8- The Heavy Metal Drummer: Cockfight Debut (May 22)
9- The Break Up (February 11)
10- The Phone Call (November 4)

So tell yourself what you want to hear. But you have to believe … this will be my year.