In Which I Share Some Music, and Make Blanket Statements About Various Things

PART THE FIRST::

SO, every year I make a "Best of" mix. Most of the time, this mix ends up just staying on my hard-drive/Motherboxxx, occasionally to be burnt onto disc and given to someone. BUT THIS YEAR, I have decided to share with the world the SPECTACULARNESS of my music tastes. Sit/stand/lounge in awe of my ability to find good music and combine it into new forms and lists!

http://www.sendspace.com/file/28jkjq

But yeah, this is it. It's less a "These are the best songs" list, as it is a "These are songs I love the shit out of" list. I didn't duplicate any bands (because then it would've ended up being 75% Los Campesinos! tracks), but yes. It is awesome. Go ahead. Taste the freshness.

PART THE SECOND::

All your opinions are wrong.

This is a statement which will cause some ire, I understand. But make no mistake: here, I am the arbiter of all things that are fine and good, and as such, I am forced to play both liberator and captor of the opinions of those who visit. Thus, I am stating, unequivocally, that all your opinions are wrong. Unless they happen to agree with mine, or you have proof that yours are correct and mine are not. (Which begs why they'd be labeled "opinions", but stick around, there's a point here...)

Actually, no, there's no point. I just felt like putting that out there. Whether you realize or not, you are wrong and I am right.

By the way, there is no possible way that this is all tongue in cheek, so... put that right out of your head.



(cough)

Bests.

I am going to do, much like in previous years on both this blog and on my myspace one, a top list of various media. More than likely, at this time, Films, Albums, Songs, and Comics. (I can't in all honesty do books this year, as most of the books I've read are not "new" per se. Though they were new to ME. Also, I don't watch much television.)

AS IT STANDS, mine should be up in a week or so, but until then, I want to see some of your favorites in the comments. Doesn't matter how you categorize, or number, or even judge them. I just want to see what everyone else is watching/listening to/reading.

So yes. OPINIONS. Give them to me. And maybe I will stop the meteor.

In Which The Beginnings Of Things Are Discussed

The first line in a novel is what grabs you. A good one will immediately say to you "HEY, pay attention, fucker!" Or something. Maybe without the expletive. As a writer myself, I find the first line is often the hardest part to come up with (right up there with the last line.) So I can naturally appreciate a good opening line as well as anyone.

I've been re-reading Hunter S. Thompson's books recently (as I am wont to do often), and the opening line of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas strikes me as one of the best and most concise opening lines in recent memory. Right up there with Moby Dick's "Call me 'Ishmael'" and A Christmas Carol's "Marley was dead to begin with." Here, I will show you:

"We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold."

That one line tells you everything you need to know about the story's set-up. It is, of course, elaborated upon in short order, but from that one sentence you get:

1. The character(s) are traveling, as they are unsure of their exact location.
2. Near Las Vegas, as Barstow is a town in the surrounding area.
3. Obviously some sort of miscreants or vagabond-esque characters.

Now, this is borne out by what follows, but immediately, you are hooked into the story.

Hunter Thompson looked on writing as a form of music, often referring to his words as "lyrics" and making reference to the rhythm he needs to put his words to. He would often have visitors to his house read passages from his books, both published and unfinished, out loud, in order to hear the cadence and rhythm inherent in the sentences. It starts with the first line. Everything needs a beginning.

What are some of your favorite opening lines? I might add a couple more of mine later, but for now, leave yours in a comment.