My Year in Music (2007)

It's been a pretty good year for music, though I have not gotten out to see live music as much as I have in past years. Here's to hitting the road more in 2008, and learning about new music as readily as I have in '07.

Favorite Albums of 2007:
1. Wilco-Sky Blue Sky
Glad that they went back to the more alt-country side of things, though I DO like the noise jam/spacey stuff as well.

2. Radiohead- In Rainbows (for the music and the marketing)
Just genius from conception. I remember when their guitarist, Jonny Greenwood announced "We're finished recording the album, now we have to figure out what to do with it." They had no label at the time, and I thought-"Wow, what a position to be in (if you are Radiohead)." What a marketing move, and what an album to back it up. Arguably their best, but can't really beat out OK Computer, for me, due to nostalgia.

3. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss- Raising Sand
Some really smooth, soothing stuff. Plant in a relaxed setting along with one of the most beautiful voices around. A great pairing.

4. Feist- The Reminder
Solid album, sharp voice, interesting sounds.

5. Editors- The Back Room (released in 2005, but found it this year.)
These guys really bring it on this album. I can't tell you how many times I've listened to it this year-one of those "from beginning to end" albums.

Favorite Shows of 2007:
1. Tea Leaf Green | 8/17/07 | Malibu Inn | Malibu, CA
Last show w/ Ben. Ben's custom mike stand. Invasion>POGL (for the last time w/ Ben for me) & the Reservoir I called for. My whole family was there as well, and they had a great time (as they always do, but this was all of their first FULL TLG show!)

2. Rose Hill Drive | 4/19/07 | Smith's Old Bar | Atlanta, GA
Rock 'n' fucking Roll. These guys put on a hell of a show.

3. Dave Matthews Band/Allman Brothers | 9/8/07 | Piedmont Park | Atlanta, GA
Say what you want about DMB, but the Allman Bros. w/ Warren and good friends & girlfriend in the Park for some beers and good times! DMB put on a great show as well I thought.

4. The Trainwreks | 8/3/07 | Rafters | St. Simon's Island, GA
size=9]Was in town for a wedding, and we all went out after the rehearsal dinner. Great band, lap steel guitar, good times.

5. Tea Leaf Green | 1/13/07 | The Social | Orlando, FL
This was a one set opening gig for a reggae band that was booked last minute after the Galactic cancellation. The boys played one of the most high-energy sets I had seen in a while and really got the unexpecting crowd into it.

Some Favorite Songs in 2007:
Band of Horses-Is There a Ghost?
Amy Winehouse- You Know I'm No Good
Spoon-Cherry Bomb (Alternate Version)
Ray LaMontagne- How Come
Radiohead- 15 Steps
Wilco- Impossible Germany
Editors- Lights
Tea Leaf Green- Forgiven, Doin' It Over and Over Again, Slept Through Sunday
Trevor Garrod- Where the Forest Was

Tampa Ranked Last in Study of Walkable Cities

Picture a place where you can step out of your home and walk to work, the movies or a restaurant. Just don't picture Tampa. A new survey ranks the city dead last for walkability among 30 major metro areas. The top three: Washington, D.C., Boston and San Francisco. Miami ranked eighth, and Atlanta 14th. It's not the first time Tampa has been rapped for its mean streets. A 2004 survey determined pedestrians in the Tampa Bay area take their lives in their hands more than in any other metro area in the country except Orlando.

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With places like Ybor City, Channelside, and other historic neighborhoods in Tampa, what is keeping the city from bringing the densities needed to harness important walkable places?

Make It Right-Pitt's Call for Action in NoLa

In 2006 Brad Pitt announced a partnership with Global Green USA, a non-profit focused on stemming climate change through sustainable green buildings and cities, eliminating WMDs, and securing safe drinking water for all people, with an architectural competition for firms to bring green designs to the ravaged Big Easy. This week, in a more drastic move in the right direction, Pitt announced his "Make It Right" Initiative, and it's Pink Project:

"While filming a movie in New Orleans, Brad Pitt noticed a pink fabric house that was being used as part of the set. He perceived the visual potency of pink houses as a metaphor. Working together with GRAFT, the idea was born to merge film and architecture into an installation that would bring immediate global attention to a pervasive local issue."


The project hopes to promises to bring innovative, affordable, homes designed (passively and actively) to reduce the structure's impact on the environment-and surely the inhabitants operational costs.

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Originally, I couldn't help but think of the loss of historic architectural features on the Lower 9th Ward after these 150 homes are built (so long as the money is donated). I soon realized, after looking at the designs accepted by the chosen architectural firms, that the home styles all incorporate a "shotgun" style, but offer contemporary, artistic, and, yes, innovative, design elements that bring color, life, and thought back to a place that needs all of those things.



One of the more envelope pushing designs by the Dutch firm MVRDV followed by my favorite by Billes Architecture: