Favorite Albums of the Decade

My son challenged me to come up with a list of my favorite albums from the past decade (2010-2019), so here is a list as it stands at this moment. I may have overlooked a couple of favorites that deserve to be here, so this list may undergo some renovation eventually. Also, it was a real tough decision between #1 and #2. Arcade Fire made one of the most brilliant concept albums in recent memory, but Bowie's swan song, which continues to move me every time I hear it, edged them out by a nose. Also, I seem to think that 2011 was the best year of the decade, because of the five albums I picked from that year, all of them ended up in the top 10 - it just shook out that way.

Favorite Albums of the Decade (2010-2019)

1. Blackstar - David Bowie (2016)

2. The Suburbs - Arcade Fire (2010)
3. build a rocket boys! - Elbow (2011)
4. Bottle It In - Kurt Vile (2018)
5. The Whole Love - Wilco (2011)
6. 21 - Adele (2011)
7. Slave Ambient - The War on Drugs (2011)
8. So Beautiful or So What - Paul Simon (2011)
9. Wrecking Ball - Bruce Springsteen (2012)
10. I Am Easy to Find - The National (2019)
11. Elements of Light - Pantha du Prince (2013)
12. The Takeoff and Landing of Everything - Elbow (2014)
13. Lost in the Dream - The War on Drugs (2014)
14. The Next Day - David Bowie (2013)
15. Sleep Well Beast - The National (2017)
16. St. Vincent - St. Vincent (2014)
17. Transference - Spoon (2010)
18. Whiteout Conditions - The New Pornographers (2017)
19. American Band - Drive-by Truckers (2016)
20. Random Access Memories - Daft Punk (2013)
21. Brill Bruisers - The New Pornographers (2014)
22. Sound and Color - Alabama Shakes (2015)
23. My Head is an Animal - Of Monsters and Men (2012)
24. American Love Song - Ryan Bingham (2019)
25. Wasteland, Baby! - Hozier (2019)
26. The Nashville Sound - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (2017)
27. This is Happening - LCD Soundsystem (2010)
28. Golden Hour - Kasey Musgraves (2018)
29. Hell On... Neko Case (2018)
30. Pure Comedy - Father John Misty (2017)

PAD Chapbook Challenge: A Recap

So I've finished another poem-a-day challenge with 33 poems in 30 days (including three haiku).  I find I'm usually not as inspired in November as I am in April, and I didn't write a lot of formal verse except for a triolet and some lighter quarains. I also didn't really stick to a theme, so there may not be enough new material for a thematic chapbook. But it was a good feeling to write regularly again, and maybe some of those 33 poems are close to worthwhile. I'll share my ten favorites here, just in case you don't feel like slogging through 30 days of poetry posts:

[Day 3]

Alpha-Bits and Omega 3

I don't care one iota

if you're never a knockout like Catherine Zeta Jones.

I'd settle for Delta Burke.

My gamma never had to worry about nutrition,

so why should you? If you eat another yogurt,

you may start to mu.

I guess there's nothing nu

about health-conscious diets,

but I won't tau you what to eat or not.

You love Greek food, for instance,

with lambda die for, or a good gy-rho.

I'd beta fortune you'll live a long life.

So phi upon all of those who shame you,

although with a heavy psi,

you may admit you eta pi.

[Day 11]

Babble

what

have we

created

this tower of words

building itself on itself

reaching beyond our reach, high into the clouds

till the air gets thin, and we climb stratospheric heights

only to find that we don't understand one another anymore

what's the use in trying to touch the stars when we can't even communicate

pull back from that darkness, look at the darkness in your neighbor's face and

say take my hand, it's all right, climb down with me, and we can

breathe again, we can find something in common

we love, help me take the bricks

apart, build a place

where all of

us can

live

[Day 12]

Dervish

You troubleshooter, in demand,

I want to know: Who fixes you?

A crying shoulder, helping hand,

a troubleshooter on demand,

a schedule most could not withstand.

Who picks you up when you are blue,

or troubled, shot from all demands?

I want to know: Who fixes you?

[Day 13]

Pocket Rainbow

All the way from the sun

through the atmosphere,

a concentrated riot of photons,

I've traveled whole, warm and energetic,

down to earth and into a neighborhood,

only to be broken apart as I stream

through a beveled window in someone's front door.

I split into many wavelengths

and  bang up against a gray-upholstered couch

in the living room as a multicolored stripe,

seven colors projected onto fabric.

I delight two little girls, who try to catch me

in their hands and stuff me in their pockets,

but in vain. I want to say, It's just refraction, kids,

it's really no big deal. But they're still too little

to understand the science of it,

and besides, their grandmother says,

You can still pretend, and sometime later today,

reach into your pockets, and pull out a rainbow

to help you smile, so that red, orange, yellow, green,

blue, indigo and violet will color your day,

like a paint box of light.

I'm just glad to be of help.

[Day 16]

Free as a Bird

"...it's the next best thing to be..."

                                - John Lennon

oh, how you can soar now

over the Liverpool rooftops

over your mates, still tramping

the worn-down streets

through the grime and fog

of the city

oh, how you miss her

but she gave them your song

on a tape, and they took it

into their hearts and brought

it out again with harmonies

and his weeping guitar

oh, how you can hear it

wafting through the trees

while you rise above them all

on an updraft to clouds

and if you could you'd say

well done, lads, well done

[Day 18]

Rona's Song

On a bright May morning she stands

on the overlook to a desert valley.

She adjusts her bandana

against the wind and sand.

So much trouble, she tells herself -

the centuries of war and struggles,

the walls and cannonballs,

now crumbling and rusted,

the recently-ruined temples,

which stood for thousands of years,

and newer forces pouring like mercury

over the already punished land.  

You can say, So beautiful, or so what, 

she thinks, as she shoulders her weapon

and starts off to rejoin her unit.

On the way, she composes a song in her head

about how peace someday may come.

[Day 21]

River Cruise

Our longship cuts a lazy wake

up the Danube and down the Rhine

with the help of dozens of locks

that fascinate us every time,

raising us up, dropping us down

as we navigate a cultural corridor.

Budapest, Vienna, Cologne -

all jewels on this watery necklace

for us to inspect and admire.

We go topside to watch the passing sights -

little towns with scenic buildings,

and once, the trifecta -        

a church, a lighthouse, a castle.

Vineyards carpet the steep hills,

and soon we pass the Lorelei,

 a looming rock on the right bank of the Rhine,

infamous for its hazardous curve

which brought many ships to their doom.

Legend has it that the murmuring sound

sailors once heard while passing through

was a forlorn lover, a beautiful woman

who enticed them to their demise.

We slip through the snaky strait unscathed,

and continue our journey, relaxed.

For once, we have let someone else

do the driving for us, and the cooking,

the laundry, the washing-up.

From the left bank this evening,

sunset cuts through the trees,

and over chateaubriand and red wine,

we watch the wine-colored clouds.

[Day 23]

When to Play Christmas Music

First of all: never, ever, before Halloween.

That should be illegal.

I don't care if you already have

Christmas trees up in your store.

Rudolph was never destined to be friends

with the Werewolf of London,

and you can't do the Monster Mash

with jingle bells.

The two holidays are not meant to mix -

the lone exception being

The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Once you're into November, it's a toss-up:

those soft-pop radio stations

have special dispensation

to play it nonstop from November first,

but you don't have to listen to it.

Thanksgiving is a good benchmark,

although if it snows where you are

before then, all bets are off.

As soon as you've digested your turkey,

you can have free rein -

play the sacred or the secular,

the sublime or the silly,

the Hallelujah Chorus or

Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.

Just promise you won't drive your musical sleigh

crammed with holiday cheer

over your long-suffering family.

[Day 25]

Hipster Grace

Oh Lord,

or whatever higher power I may subscribe to,

bless this cold-brew coffee,

this microbrew IPA,

this kombucha, this green juice in a Mason jar.

Bless these kimchi tacos and tapas,

these sautéed ramps with kale and bacon,

this cauliflower-crust pizza with pancetta and foraged basil.

Bless this artisanal ancient-grain bread,

these matcha green tea donuts,

this blood orange gluten-free birthday cake.

In the name of Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram,

(click)

Amen.

[Day 29]

Have Yourself a Merry Little Whatever

If "Merry Christmas" is your choice

I'm cool with that; go celebrate.

If you like "Happy Holidays"

you're not a person I'd berate.

There is no "War on Christmas", folks -

there's no one persecuting you.

But don't assume that everyone

must share your Gospel-centered view.

Good people come in many forms;

in fact, so do their holidays.

If peace and love is their intent

they may observe in different ways.

So understand the world has room

for Hanukkah and Kwanzaa joy,

and even Solstice if you wish;

it's more than just a baby boy.