For our second year in a row Courtney and I traveled to Mexico for the Christmas season. We were able to enjoy a few sunny days by the pool, a game of golf (in the midst of gale force winds), and beautiful surroundings. So while Bing Crosby may have been "dreaming of a white christmas" we are here to say that 75 and sunny is pretty sweet too. On Christmas day Courtney made abelskievers (a Danish/Jacobsen tradition) that were a smash hit. Courtney continues to try her hand at Charlotte Jacobsen standards, and thus far has succeeded with flying colors. i cant help but be impressed. But this trip was not just about flying (actually driving) south for the winter. While we were there we spent 5 days building houses for families in the Puerto Penasco area. We did this work through the organization Families Helping Families. The organization built 4 houses this year, and we were part of building two of them. It was a great experience, and a fantastic way to take part of the Christmas spirit.
I love music, and i listen to a lot of it, however i don't listen to enough of it to make a "BEST of..." list, with any real authority. So instead i will present to you a list of my top 10 favorite albums of 2007. The You may also like portion is not really to compare and contrast, but rather to suggest a few bands you might like as well. Feel free to agree, contest, replace, and/or edit with your input.
Honorable Mentions: Alison Krauss & Robert Plant - Raising Sand (MOST HONORABLE MENTION) Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild (soundtrack) Iron & Wine - The Shephards Dog Kanye West - Graduation Lyle Lovett and His Large Band - It's Not Big It's Large Okkervil River - The Stage Names Avett Brothers - Emotionalism Teddy Thompson -Up Front & Down Low The Shins - Wincing The Night Away Stars - In Our Bedroom After the War Great Lake Swimmers - Ongiara Beirut - The Flying Cup Linda Thompson - Versatile Heart
10. Radiohead - InRainbows: As I have already posted, this album could change music history with it's "you pick the price" release. But this album also has some great music. You may also like: Interpol, Low, Magic Numbers, Of Montreal, and the Weakerthans
9. The National - The Boxer: The song "Slow Show" ends with the line "You know I dreamed about you for twenty-nine years before I saw you You know I dreamed about you, I missed you, for twenty-nine years" I think if were John Cusack in the movie "Say Anything," and i had to choose one song from 2007 to play while holding a stereo above my head and standing out side the window of my high-school crush...it would be "slow show." By the way, the rest of the album is great too. You may also like: Bright Eyes, Death Cab For Cutie, and Fiona Apple
8. Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter: Clean crisp songwritting, His songs are simple and beautiful. If singer-songwritters are your thing, you will love Josh Ritter. "Rumors," "Edge of the World," and "Real Long Distance" are among my favorite tracks. You may also like: Paul Simon, Gillian Welch, Griffin House, and Josh Rouse
7.Minus Story - My Ion Truss: This has been my go to album since i bought it. Anytime i cant think of what to listen to, i put this on and i am satisfied everytime. The album has a great mix of energy and emotion. Favorite tracks include "Aaron" "Battle of Our Lives," and "Mamma Mamma" You may also like: The Mountain Goats, Aimee Mann, The Decemberists, and Broken Social Scene
6. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible: Although Canada has a long list of embarasingly bad artists such as; Alanis Morisette, Shania Twain, Crash Test Dummies, Celiene Dion, and the list goes on. Canada however, also has a few fantasic bands like; Neil Young, Ron Sexsmith, Rufus Wainwright, and Arcade Fire can also be added to the list. "Neon Bible," A great follow up to 2004's "Funeral." Tracks like "Keep the Car Running," "Intervension," and "No Cars Go," charge through the album as the Arcade Fire delivers another refreshing album. You may also like: See other good Canadian artists.
5. Band of Annuals - Let Me Live: Local Band from SLC, but this selection is not just about supporting local music. This album is solid all the way through. This is Alt-Country at it's best, simple melodies that ring, perfect harmonies, and a powerful pedal steel that just sounds lonely. Of all the albums on the top 10 i think i am most confident recomending this album to anyone with any music taste, it is hard to dislike such classic songwritting. You may also like: Ryan Adams (and Whiskytown), Neil Young, Atherton, Steve Earl
4. Joe Henry - Civilians: After a good round of tennis my brother Paul recomended Joe Henry to me. Technically speaking he was nausiated that i had yet to hear Joe Henry, and now after listening to "Civilians" i understand his dissappointment. You may also like: Band of Horses, Teddy Thompson, and Damien Jurado
3. Fiest - The Reminder: Despiste her song "1234" being drastically overplayed on iPod commercials, the radio etc, i still can't get enough of it, and that pretty much says it all. Further, "My Moon My Man" could get my vote for song of the year. You may also like: Beth Orton, Stars, HEM, and Damien Rice
2. Fionn Regan - The End of History: If i still used a CD player this album would be stuck in it. You may also like: Elliot Smith, Devotchka, Elvis Perkins, Iron & Wine, and Laura Gibson
1. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky: You have likely heard songs from this album on VW commercials, which is fitting. This album is great fo a car ride.I recently started collecting records which has gotten me into enjoy albums as a whole. Every couple of years a movie comes out that redeems my faith in movies for example A Beautiful Life. Similarly this album redeems my faith in albums. The Advent of CD's, and iPods has killed albums. Just ask yourself when was the last time you listened to a whole album from start to finish, or even bought a whole album? This album is comple album. I have listened to this album on my iPod, and on record, but never on shuffle. Buy the album, and enjoy.
For the Thanksgiving weekend Court and I went to Sky Valley Ranch (the artist formerly known as Bennion Teton Boys Ranch) to celebrate the season with my family. The ranch is in a magical place called....Victor Idaho (population 840). Victor is known for thier majestic view of the Tetons, delicious Huckleberry shakes @ the Emporium, skiing at Grand Targee, great fishing, and an overall great escape! I have spent 6 summers of my life at the Ranch, and it has been an integeral part of Jacobsen family lore, but this was Court's first trip. The ranch is pretty endearing, lots of little rustic cabins, gorgeous aspen and pine trees a pleanty of wide open space. The days were filled with classic country holiday activities such as: sledding, ice-skating, card games and....Guitar Hero (even my sister Sarah played!...which is historic). The meal(s) were fantastic. Thanksgiving dinner alone was a pleathora of goodness. Yams & Apples, Mashed Potatos, Stuffing, Red Cabbage (a Jacobsen family classic) and of course the Turkey. I should also mention that the Turkey was prepared and cooked with impressive quality by my stellar wife. This was her first Turkey attempt and she hit it out of the park. This adds to her "Stepping up to the Jacobsen Cullinary plate" list. Which includes aebleskivers at Christmas time (which were aon par with Charlottes for sure). We had a blast with all the nieces and nephews. My Nephew Soren (age 14) beat my 2 brothers (ben and Paul) and I at a game of 21 (basketball), although i regained my composure to beat Soren in the championship round of the Ping-Pong Tourney. We also played "Mafia" and various other games with them. I am certain that Courtney now has 10-12 more little members of the already enormus "Courtney Fanclub."
My most sincere regrets to those of you who missed out on what I have offically declared "the social event of the season." On Friday night last week Courtney and i hosted a party in honor of the much anticipated release of "Guitar Hero III: Ledgends of Rock." We invited friends and relatives to come and "keep on rocking in the free world." We also suggested that in order to get the full Guitar Hero experince that people should come dressed up in thier best rocker garb. Some (Matt & Kelly) went all out and we slaute you. They even schlepped thier baby Rachel along, Matt even rocked a song with her sitting on his knee. Impressive to say the least!
Recently my brother Paul (see Paul and Holly link and/or Paul's Music) and I were discussing if there is or ever will be a modern band that will be on par with the established classics such as Zepplin, the Beatles, etc. Paul is certain that, at least at the moment, the answer was a very clear NO, and i dare any of you to prove him wrong. BUT, in this discussion we agreed that Radiohead is one of the only bands that might even approach the everset-esque hights of awesomeness of the Beatles and others. Recently Radiohead has done something to further raise their status. Despite being worldwide superstars, and having the ability to get pretty much any recording contract they want.....they released an independant album. Not only that, they released it in "revolutionary" fashion. In a generation of musicians (Lars Ulrich) complaining about not making enough money. Radiohead released thier album (In Rainbows) through thier web-site (www.radiohead.com), and the cost...YOU TELL ME! Seriously. You decided how much you want to pay for the album. If you want it for free, go ahead take it. If you can't even pass by the beggar with the harmonica without dropping in some cahnge, go ahead pay $50.00. If you are an itunes consumer i am sure $9.99 is just fine as well. In other words the consumer pays what they declare the album is worth. The current average sale price is around $10. I I have bought the album, i love it. I hope you will too. Come join the revolution.
P.S. For any diehard Radiohead fans the band will also offer a special edition boxed set for $82 which will be available later and will include two vinyl albums, a CD version of the new album and a second CD with additional new songs, artwork and photographs of the band. This package is available for pre-order at radiohead.com.
Us, Nicole, Dan and A (not pictured Mush and Jared) The poolside view The view from the pool (looking at the Sea of Cortez) Eating at Lapa Lapa
This being my first post...I am not sure what other details to include. We ate lots of good food (especially lots of shrimp), read books, slept in, and relaxed. I went to the spa and Scott went golfing. It was lovely and well timed....it felt good to get away for a few days. A special thanks to Mushie and Papa for taking us. -Courtney
