100th Blog Post - Busy Season Soundtrack Gadget

Note: If you're viewing this post in Facebook, the Gadget probably won't work. You'll want to go straight to the blog to check it out:
cyclingpublicaccountant.blogspot.com


If my footing is mathematically accurate, this marks the 100th post since hitting cyberspace in November of 2008. To celebrate, I've added a Playlist.com gadget and populated a playlist with songs that I heard on the Current (89.3 FM) last year while my client's cleaning crews made their rounds. A public accountant's "busy season" typically lasts from early January to mid to late April, with mine being no exception. Listening to the Current has been a way to finish strong during those 10-12 hour days.

For many years of my life, the music I discovered and listened to served as better mile posts to mark my life's events than did birthday celebrations, or even new school years. Every time I hear a song from Weezer's blue album I remember myself sitting in my friend Jeff's Pontiac Bonneville, trekking to Des Moines the summer after we got our driver's licenses. For me, music is an effective portal to access the memory. However, somewhere in my college years the radio faded into the background, and it wasn't until we moved to Minneapolis that I started listening again.

For your listening pleasure, I've tried my best to follow Rob Gordon's (yes, THE Rob Gordon) philosophy for building a mix-tape to compile my top five (or 13) songs from the 2010 busy season, along with a little MD&A:

1) Song Away - Hockey. Probably a one-hit wonder band, but catchy

2) Fader - The Temper Trap. I still regret not grabbing $10 tickets to see them at the Varsity

3) O.N.E. - Yeasayer. I love the bizarre video for this one (see link below)

4) Little Lion Man - Mumford & Sons. These guys are good, I don't care how scraggly their beards are.

5) Strange Overtones - David Byrne & Brian Eno. That's fellow cyclist, David Byrne.

6) Flume - Bon Iver. It was the Peter Gabriel cover that I heard, but the original is better.

7) Stylo - Gorillaz. I know nothing about this band.

8) The Mystery Zone - Spoon. I was impressed by the live version, too.

9) Do-Wah-Doo - Kate Nash. Kate Nash has had a few during the years.

10) 40 Day Dream - Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes. Great song and band names.

11) Shark in the Water - V Brown. Could be another one-hit wonder.

12) Dominos - The Big Pink. Misogynists perhaps?

13) Girlfriend - Phoenix. I was so impressed by this band I bought the album.

There are several versions of the Yeasayer video, but here's the one I was talking about:
O.N.E. video

Any guesses as to what will be on the 2011 soundtrack?

The Streak Is Over

"What streak," you might ask. The streak of consecutive weeks without a post?  That, too.  But I meant my streak of 24 consecutive months logging at least one bicycle commute came to a halt without me realizing it was in jeopardy.  The snow came relatively early (and often) this year, and I dragged my feet preparing the winter bike.  So I guess I can empathize with old Graybeard, but at least I'll have the chance to start another one which is more than Fahv-ruh can say.

So here are the stats to bring the weekly summary up to speed:

Week 105 (Nov 22-26)
Mon-Tues: Carpool
Wed - Friday: No commute, Thanksgiving break

Week 106 (Nov 29-Dec 3)
Mon - Tues: Walk (in training in St. Louis)
Wed - Friday: Carpool

Week 107 (Dec 6 - 10)
Mon - Friday: Carpool

Week 108 (Dec 13 - 17)
Mon - Wed: Carpool
Thurs - Bicycle
Friday - Carpool

Week 109 (Dec 20 - 24)
Mon - Tues: Car
Wed - Friday: No Commute, Christmas break

Week 110 (Dec 27 - 31)
Mon - Friday: Christmas break.