Top 10 of 2010 (music)

I've decided to put together a top 10 list of my favorite releases in music and movies this year. Normally I like to wait until the year is over and do a little recap, but I looked and there's not much that I haven't already seen or heard that I'm excited about for 2010.

To be honest, this hasn't been my favorite year for music. Don't get me wrong, there were some great albums this year, but it was kind of hard to put together a list of 10. I actually found myself picking albums that most years would end up in the bottom 20. I like a lot of genres of music, but I'm really a pop punk kid at heart (the good kind...think early 90's Lookout Records, Midwest punk, The Gainesville sound etc.) and there wasn't a whole lot from that genre that I really liked this year. In more recent years there have been a lot of hardcore albums that I was excited about, but even hardcore had very few standouts this year.

Ok! Here we go.

Full Length albums (LP):

#10 AftertheFall-Eradication

http://www.myspace.com/afterthefall518

#9 The Effort-Wartime Citizens

http://www.myspace.com/xeffortx

#8 Julian Casablancas-Phrazes For the Young

http://www.myspace.com/juliancasablancas

#7 Tigers Jaw-Two Worlds

http://www.myspace.com/tigersjaw

#6 The Weakerthans-Live at the Burton Cummings Theatre

http://www.myspace.com/theweakerthans

#5 The Dopamines-Expect the Worst

http://www.myspace.com/thedopaminesohio

#4 The Riverdales-Tarantula

http://www.myspace.com/officialriverdales

#3 Iron Chic-Not Like This

http://www.myspace.com/ironchicsmyspace

#2 Grown Ups-More Songs

http://www.myspace.com/ihategrownups

#1 Hostage Calm-Hostage Calm

http://www.myspace.com/hostagecalmct

Top 10 EPs, Singles, and Splits:

#10 Castevet-The Echo and the Light

http://www.myspace.com/romancastevet

#9 Castevet/Into It. Over It.-Snack Town Split

http://www.myspace.com/romancastevet
http://www.myspace.com/intoitoverit

#8 Into It. Over It./Koji-Split

http://www.myspace.com/intoitoverit
http://www.myspace.com/kojisaysaloha

#7 Stay Ahead of the Weather-We Better Get Goin' if We're Gonna

http://www.myspace.com/stayaheadoftheweather

#6 John K. Samson-Provincial Road 222

http://www.myspace.com/theweakerthans

#5 Balance and Composure/Tigers Jaw-Split

http://www.myspace.com/balanceandcomposure
http://www.myspace.com/tigersjaw

#4 Betrayed-Suffering

http://www.myspace.com/bestatbetrayal

#3 Lemuria-Chautauqua County

http://www.myspace.com/lemuria

#2 Bane-3:58 Los Angeles

http://www.myspace.com/banecentral

#1 Bane-6:58 Boston

http://www.myspace.com/banecentral

Well, there you have it! That's my favorite music that came out this year. If you haven't heard some of this, check out their myspace pages for some music!

Stay tuned for my favorite movies of the year coming soon!

Christmas Party 2010!

Hey!

So, Friday night was the 4th annual Dierolf Christmas party. Interestingly enough, the party was not at the Dierolf home (our appartment). This year it was at Jeremy's house. I think it's a little easier to have the party in Grand Rapids as opposed to Grand Haven. Almost everyone that went lives in GR.

There was actually a pretty decent turnout this year. I was very happy with the night. I'd say everyone had a great time, even if they had to experience all kinds of drunken male nudity....(I was not involved).

Here are some photos from the evening:

(me!)

(everyone chilling and munching)

(Damian's facial expression for most of the evening)

(Good thing the little kids left before the testicles came out)

(the providers of testicles)

(drunk...)

(a real little kid and his father)

(lookin' sexy)

(black panther)

(redneck)

(hunter orange dickie)

So that was our friday night. It was a lot of fun. Everyone made this years party very memorable. Can't wait for next year!

P.S. I've been talking about Tieka and I adopting a new cat named Oliver. Well, we're not going to be able to anymore. We found out Friday that Oliver was diagnosed with feline AIDS. Seriously! WTF!?! The Humane Society lets us get attatched to this cat, but doesn't test him for diseases until it's about time for us to take him home? That's a bunch of bullshit! I'm seriously bummed about it. Now they're going to put him in a no kill shelter to wait for him to die...I guess somethings aren't meant to be.

Now Playing
Grown Ups-More Songs

(I can't stop playing this album!)

Cleaning Up Cat Pee

Today was eventful.

Work was normal (kind of sucked). The eventful part came after work. Tieka and I are hopefully adopting a new cat on Thursday, so in preparation I took our two current cats to the vet to get them up to date on some shots. The ride there was fine, and the check-up went very well. The only thing that really stood out was when the vet said both cats had very full bladders. I raised an eyebrow, but didn't think too much about it. I got the cats back in their carrier, paid the bill ($106...guh) and headed home. The cats slept most of the way home, but once we got into Grand Haven I noticed a little commotion in the "pet taxi." I just figured they were getting uncomfortable until I started to smell ammonia. I knew immediately that one of the cats had an accident. I wasn't mad. In fact, I felt really bad and just accepted the fact that there was going to be a bit of a clean-up once I got home. I sped the last few miles and sprinted up the stairs to our apartment. When i unlatched the cage, both cats leapt out; soaking wet. Both, covered head to toe in piss. "Fuck!" Each cat received a bath, the floors were mopped, the "pet taxi" scrubbed and I was showered. Now here I sit; damp cat next to me sleeping. I'm ready for tomorrow...

Now Playing
The Progress-Merit

Waiting for Tieka to wake up

Hey there!

I'm sitting here on a (so far) boring Sunday morning waiting for Tieka to finally drag herself out of bed. This is seriously the case almost every weekend. Actually yesterday I slept in till 11:00. That was crazy I don't remember the last time that happened. That's probably why I woke up at 7:00 this morning. Geez!

Well, yesterday Tieka made me go to the Humane Society. I hate going to that place! It's always so depressing! The animals really know how to sell themselves and I ended up wanting to adopt all of them. In fact, I think we might actually adopt a new cat! He's an orange tiger cat and his name is Oliver. He's a really laid back cat. I think he'll fit in well with the two we already have. I know...we're on the verge of becoming crazy cat people, but this is it! We'll never have more than 3 cats. One day I'm sure we'll add a dog to the mix, but we need to buy a house first.

Speaking of buying a house! We're in the very beginning stages of building a brand new house! We're not sure if it will happen yet, but we've met with a Realtor a few times and put down a little money to hold a lot. Now we just need to save some money for a down payment and get approved for a mortgage loan and in 6 months or so they'll start digging! That's all very exciting, but we're trying to not get our hopes up. I always do that and when things don't work out exactly as planned I get really bummed. So we're just taking this one as it comes and if it doesn't work out, it wasn't meant to be.

One last thing...What's with the serious lack of shows in West Michigan lately?!? There are a lot in mid/eastern Michigan and in Chicago, but I'm getting old and I'm married, and driving far for every show just doesn't work for me. I don't mind it once in a while, but not for every show. Someone needs to start booking some good shows! I dunno...maybe it's up to me. I have a few ideas up my sleeve to make that happen. Let's see what I can come up with. (Tieka's so annoyed reading this).

Anyways, Have good days!

-Brett

Now Playing
The Menzingers-Chamberlain Waits

(not really into this album)

Here I am again!

Well, I'm going to give the blogging thing another try. I've tried blogger a few times now, but gave up every time. We'll see how it goes this time.

I just finished up reading all of my old Xanga posts from years ago. It's so crazy looking back on that thing and seeing how much I've changed, but still managed to stay the same in so many ways. After reading through that entire thing I felt very inspired and nostalgic. I really missed having a place to come and rant and felt that I needed an outlet to write out what's going on in my life. I really like Xanga, but unfortunately no one uses it anymore. I think my favorite part of Xanga was the social aspect. So what's the point if no one is there to socialize with? Tieka (my beautiful wife) and Damian (my beautiful friend) both use blogger so at least I'll have a couple of people to socialize with right? Who knows, maybe I'll inspire some other people to start blogging again...

I've decided that this blog will not be about anything. This is just where I'm going to talk about my day, give my opinions on things, maybe piss people off? I did that with Xanga a lot so why not with my new blog? Most of all I just want to have something to look back on. Something to remind me of who I used to be and how I got to where I am now.

So I guess I should just take a minute to talk about who I am; what makes me an individual.
I'll do one of those surveys that were so popular back in the day. Let's see, where do I find one....?

Aha! I found one that I filled out in 2006. I'll just redo it now, 4 years later! This will be interesting.

50 Things You'd Like to Know About Me but Never Thought to Ask

1. Have you ever been searched by the cops?
Yes, I have a couple of times. Those buttholes even searched my car once.

2. Do you close your eyes on roller coasters?
Absolutely not! That would be against everything I believe in!

3. When's the last time you've been sleigh riding?
I have never ridden in a sleigh. What kind of question is that?

4.Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone?
Well, I do like it when I don't have a bed hog trying to push me out of bed all night, but I prefer her to be there. I love my wife and I'm always glad to have her around!

5. Do you believe in Ghosts?
Not at all. I'm not what you would call a spiritual person.

6. What's your 'Dirty Little Secret'?
I have a collection of shrunken heads that I use as masturbatory instruments. Well, of course that's not true, but why the hell would I tell you my dirty little secret? I want to keep it a secret!!!

7. Do you think O.J. killed his wife?
Of course I do! I'm white! haha! but seriously, yes I do. He even wrote a book about it.

8. Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie?
Jennifer Aniston

9. Can you honestly say you know ANYTHING about politics?
Yes I do. Probably not as much as I should, but I try to be knowledgeable.

10. Do you know how to play poker?
No. That seems like a terrible waste of time.

11. Have you ever stayed up for 48 hours?
No way! I like sleep way too much!

12. Do you kill bugs that are in the house?
No! I put them outside where they belong. They didn't hurt me!

13. Have you ever cheated on a test?
Yes I have. That's how I got through high school. ;)

14. If you're driving in the middle of the night, and no one is around..do you go through red lights?
No. I did that once and got a ticket. Who gets a ticket for that?

15. Do you have a secret that no one knows but you?
I wouldn't say no one. Tieka knows me better than I know myself

16. Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees?
Neither! I'm a Tiger!

17. Have you ever Ice Skated?
Yes! In fact, I need to do that sometime soon!

18. How often do you remember your dreams?
Quite often.

19. When was the last time you laughed so hard you were crying?
Probably the last Circle Maybe practice. (I'm in 3 bands: Tall Ships, Circle Maybe, The Family Line)

20. Can you name 5 songs by The Beatles?
I've always thought the Beatles were over rated. I'm not even gonna try.

22. Do you believe in love at first sight?
Yeah, I think it can happen.

23. Do you know who Ba-Ba-Booey is?
I've heard the name, but no, I can't say that I do.

24. Do you always wear your seat belt?
most of the time.

25. What talent do you wish you had?
I am a drummer, but I've never thought of myself as very good at the drums. I guess I'd like to be better at that.

26. Do you like Sushie?
I've never had it. I don't eat meat. Is there meat in all sushi?

27. Have you ever narrowly avoided a fatal accident?
Oh totally! I feel like everyone has.

28. What do you wear to bed?
Depends on the weather. Lately I've been wearing pajama pants and a t-shirt.

29. Have you ever been caught stealing?
Yeah, when I was a little kid I stole a pad of Bart Simpson Paper from k-mart. My mom caught me with it.

30. Does size matter?
I'm assuming penis size. I'm not a girl so it doesn't matter to me.

31. Do you truly hate anyone?
No. There ARE people that I truly dislike.

32. Rock and Roll or Rap?
I really don't like rap. I love music, but I feel like I can't just say "I like rock music" and leave it at that. I grew up listening to everything from punk, to indie, to hardcore etc. etc.

33. If you could sleep with one famous person, who would it be?
Jesus

34. Do you have a relative in prison?
Nope

35. Have you ever sang in front of the mirror like your favorite singer?
#thingsthatidowhenimalone

36. Do you know how to play chess?
I'm not smart enough for that.

37. What food do you find disgusting?
That would take all day to list.

38. Did you ever play, "I'll show you mine, if you show me yours?"
Yeah I think so.

39. Have you ever made fun of your friends behind their back?
Unfortunately I can be kind of a gossip.

40. Have you ever stood up for someone you hardly knew?
I can't think of a time right off hand, but let's hope I'd be that considerate if someone needed me.

41. Have you ever been punched in the face?
yeah, play fighting.

42. When is the last time you threw up from drinking too much?
I've never had any alcohol.

43. Have you ever walked out on a movie at the theater?
Yeah some cartoon movie. It was really bad. I can't remember the name though.

44. Do you ever sit through a bad movie, just to see how bad it was?
Yeah. That was high school for me. I loved renting old horror movies like "Slugs"

45. Would you consider yourself obsessed with anything/anyone?
Music. I really am. Listening to it, playing it, buying records...

46. Have you ever met someone famous that you really wanted to meet?
Nope. Tieka met Rainn Wilson once. I was pretty jealous.

47. Have you ever been stood up?
No. i don't think so.

48. When's the last time you screamed at the top of your lungs?
Last Tall Ships show.

49. Did you ever do something that you didn't want to, but did it just to fit in?
I try to be true to myself, but I'm sure this has happened. I'm only human.

50. Was this fun?
Yeah. It felt like old times.

Ok. I guess that will do it for the night. I'm gonna try to update this regularly. I hope this stays fun.

Have good days!