amber miller and her website - 2003 in a nutshell; a financial retrospective

as heard on today's show - fueled by preppermint radio prep

2003 in a nutshell; a financial retrospective

Wednesday, 31 December 2003

the recorded tunes

i want my money back

radiohead, hail to the thief

blur, think tank

two of the albums i was most excited about this year, and they were by far two of the most disappointing. they were totally non-relevant. both of them. crazy beat? no thanks! i need something. just a little something. i was willing to open up and try something new. but this was just crap. and i splurged on both of these and got the limited edition, fancy packaging. what a waste. i want my money back.

worth every penny

the strokes, room on fire (virgin)

my music of choice at the gym the other day, the album didn’t last as long as my 40 minutes on the stationary bike. but every one of the 30 and some odd minutes of it is as good or better than their first album. way to avoid that sophomore bomb boys!

death cab for cutie, transatlanticism (barsuk)

i love ben gibbard. i love this album. hands down my favorite of the year. it is everything blur and radiohead were lacking. honesty. something to grab on to. lyrics you want to sing along with. longing and heartache and conjuring up feelings, real feelings. something to be excited about. wanting to go back and listen again and again. perfect. thank you.

highlights: the new year, transatlanticism, passenger seat, we looked like giants

the postal service, give up (sub pop)

its not just ben gibbards voice that makes this worthwhile (though it helps)

great little poppy songs. with the keyboards and the bee-boops and computer noises galore, you cant help but want to listen again and again.

the white stripes, elephant (third man/v2)

in the beginning, i didn’t like the white stripes. i didn’t want to like the white stripes. over the past two years they had to go and win me over. this album is what really did it. i was told by a friend not to pick them apart. its evil voodoo rock at its best, and i wont be picking apart. not today, not ever.

spiritualized, amazing grace (sanctuary)

i like spiritualized. i like the rock and the gospel singer feel and all. i like the standoffishness of a lead singer every now and again. this album isn’t perfect, and it doesn’t move mountains, but it’s a good listen start to finish, and that’s more than can be said for a lot of other stuff, and sometimes that’s good enough.

elbow, cast of thousands (v2)

oh how i love the pretty brit pop/rock. though the album wasn’t released in the us until the 27^th of january 2004, i ordered the import months ago and it was definitely worth paying almost double for. i liked it immediately, whereas the last album (asleep in the back) took a little longer to grow on me. they steal a little bit of the spiritualized gospel choir feel for some of the songs, but manage to not go completely overboard with it.

highlights: ribcage, fugitive motel

elefant, sunlight makes me paranoid (kemado records)

love songs that are meant to be danced to that would have fit right in in 1984. its very good. i didn’t hear this album talked about too much this year, but that doesn’t make it sound any less good.

stellastarr*, s/t (rca)

if the pixies ever got together with the cure and the stone roses and new order….well…you’d have stellastarr*. its interpol gone mad. how could i not like it.

gordon downie, battle of the nudes (zoe records)

the hip front man doesn’t disappoint. it’s a little on the short side, but songs like pascals submarine and steeplechase make it totally worthwhile.

so far i like what ive stolen

arab strap, monday at the hug and pint

theres something very sexy about the accents and the anger.

r.e.m in time: the best of r.e.m.

i might actually buy the deluxe version for the extra goodness

damien rice, o

its singer/songwriter without being annoying. hard to do. im holding out to find a used copy of this to buy.

worth downloading the singles only

hot hot heat, make up the break down

head over to itunes and download bandages and talk to me, dance with me and be done with it. the rest of the songs are crap. i paid 9.99 and that was at least 7.99 too much.

things im still saving up for

fountains of wayne, welcome interstate managers

jet, get born

granddaddy, sumday

sun kil moon, ghosts of the great highway

yo la tengo, summer sun

twilight singers, blackberry belle

outkast, speakerboxxx/the love below (based on the singles, im pretty sure id be better off just sticking with andre’s half)

the live tunes

i want my money back

third eye blind, may 24, fredom hill amphitheater, sterling heights, got the tickets for free

its kinda hard to ask for your money back when you didn’t actually pay any to see the show…but i want my time back at least then. i would have been better off left with my memories of 3eb in 1999. ill be doing my best to forget this most recent showing.

tori amos/ben folds, aug 15^th, meadowbrook music festtival, rochester hills 10.00

the only reason i went in the first place is because it was just 10 bucks. still too much. ben folds was enjoyable, but the longer tori’s set went on, the more i regretted being there. the lesbians frolicking on the lawn at meadowbrook became too much for me to take.

the vines/ the music, april 8^th, st. andrews hall, detroit

the vines were drunk and the songs were yelled instead of sung. annoying rockers being annoying. but at least there were no frolicking lesbians.

worth every penny

white stripes/flaming lips/blanche, new years eve, aragon ballroom, chicago

at 80 plus dollars per ticket it was the most expensive show i saw all year, but it was also hands down the best. i cant say enough about the fun that is had at a flaming lips show, and a new years eve flaming lips show cant be topped. adults aren’t normally allowed to have that much fun. the white stripes were amazing. a once in a lifetime event.

white stripes/paybacks, nov 29, masonic temple theatre, detroit

though i could have done without the paybacks, the white stripes knocked my socks off. we waited for forever to see these guys, getting screwed out of tickets by clear channel their first time in town, we jumped on tickets for the august 10^th show, and then he had to go and get into that car accident, postponing the show another 3 and a half months. it ended up being well worth the wait. with 11^th row tickets, we were in perfect position to get the full sock-knocking off effect. i love jack and his guitar. i love their evil voodoo rock.

the strokes/kings of leon, oct 16, state theatre, detroit

the strokes aren’t the most personable of bands, and their not the most outgoing band, but juilan was piss-ass drunk and having a good time, the new songs sounded great and we even got an encore. apparently, they don’t normally do encores. it wasn’t the all time best show in the universe, but it was a great night of short little rock songs that, well, rocked.

death cab for cutie, oct 15, majestic theatre, detroit

being the first time seeing them live, didn’t quite know what to expect. but the new stuff sounded great live, they played for forever, and it was pure bliss. a great time was had by all.

rem, sept 28, palace, auburn hills

this was another pricey ticket, 65 when all was said and done, but we had great seats and got to see one of the best live bands that ever was. i have a somewhat large-ish crush on michael stipe, and have been listening to up almost nonstop for the last year, and was really looking forward to this show. there is nothing better than watching michael stipe dance. (except hearing him sing and watching him dance simultaneously) its like nothing else. and that’s a really good thing.

interpol, jan 11, st. andrews hall, detroit

interpol, sept 18, state theatre, detroit

the january show was good enough to make me want to go to the september show, and the september show left me wanting more. my only complaint, the september show lasted just under an hour. i don’t care who you are, if you’re headlining, you owe it to your audience to come out and put on at least 61 minutes worth of show. but in the end, it was still worth every penny.

coldplay/the music, mar 3, fox theatre, detroit

sometimes its better to see a band in front of a large crowd. this was one of those times. as much as i like smoky little bar type shows, it was a really great atmosphere in this medium/large venue.

gordon downie and the country of miracles, july 11, st. andrews hall, detroit

a band at its best, improvising and having a genuinely good time on stage. its nice to see them not taking themselves too seriously. wearing baseball hats and jeans with holes in the knees. it made for a fun show for them and for us.

brmc, sept 26^th, majestic theatre, detroit

even better than i expected. louder and catchier and more entertaining. cant ask for much more than that.

wishing i had invested in

the only show i agonized over not going to was spiritualized. though there are many shows i would have liked to have seen, this is the only one that caused me significant pain. i didn’t have a date and couldn’t bring myself to go it alone. i hope to be a little more brave in the 04 so as not to end up with these sorts of regrets.

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