Two Trips to Whistler

I was lucky enough to take two trips to Whistler, B.C. during January. Whistler is a ski resort north of Vancouver. It will host many events during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. I had a great time there, and I expect that the area will be perfect for the Olympics.

Here's a summary of my two trips....

First time to Whistler
Our college friend Mitch and his wife booked a condo for a weekend and invited their friends to join them. We were more than happy to take a trip to one of the best ski resorts in the world. Plus, we got to drive up with Mitch and catch up on old times.

Our plan for the weekend was both active and relaxing. The relaxing part consisted of hanging out in the condo, drinking lots of wine, enjoying the hot tub, reading by the fireplace, and making a great dinner with Jana.

But skiing was the highlight. After not skiing for many years, this was my second time on the trails for the winter. The trails at Whistler surround Lost Lake, and they're spectacular. We rented classical skis from the kind folks at Cross Country Connection. Their trail side rental hut is incredibly convenient, and rentals are reasonably priced.

We skied for a couple hours, took a lunch break, and then headed out for a second round. The trails are lit at night, so we stayed out until it was dark. I had a great time, thoroughly enjoying the scenery and the company on the trails. It felt wonderful to play in snow and experience real winter after all those years in California. I was in heaven.

On the drive back, we got to see just how beautiful the snow-covered, mountainous area is. (We couldn't see all the ocean and mountain views on the drive up because it was dark.) The road between Whistler and Vancouver follows the narrow space between the mountains and the water, and the views are spectacular. It is worth taking the drive, even if you don't want to ski.

Second time to Whistler
By coincidence, I was back at Whistler in less than a week for a fun work trip. We stayed in the Fairmont Chateau Whistler and had a couple days of events planned.

Almost immediately upon arrival, I ran down to the Cross Country Connection and rented myself some skis. I went for skate skis this time, because I wanted to see if I could still do it (hadn't since high school) and because I wanted to move fast.

It turned out that I also got a serious workout. I covered all but the hardest trails, and covered many of the trails repeatedly. I skied to the tops of some high hills, and got amazing mountain views. Because it was a weekday, I was almost alone on the more difficult trails. Just me, the trees, and the snow. I had such a great time that I decided I would take up cross country skiing more seriously. I'm in the market for some skis now.

After a tough day of skiing, I spent some time in the hotel hot tub and eventually made my way to the party. They had lots of food and drinks -- and lots of games. I played a hockey shooting game a few times (did better after a couple beers) and played a remote control car racing game repeatedly. I won only one race, but it was still fun.

The next day was all downhill skiing. I hadn't gone downhill skiing for about 10-15 years, and when I'd skied before it was on hills in safely flat Minnesota. This was my first time on a real mountain.

I hopped on the chairlift (very happy I didn't fall while boarding, a common occurrence when I was younger) and headed up the mountain. (I stuck to the Blackcomb side.) The chairlift ride looked like a small percentage of the mountain, and moved incredibly fast, but it still went really, really high up. I was intimidated, but pointed my skis down the easiest run that I could find. No problems!

After my first run I went higher up the mountain and stuck to the blue (medium difficulty) runs. I was able to handle the steeper in large part because of my skis. Skis have improved so much in the last 10 years; I found turning and stopping to be some much easier than when I skied before.

I skied for about 3-4 hours, but as the day wore on I realized that I was getting very chilled on the lift rides up the mountain. (I'd really rather cross country ski up a hill than ride a chairlift up.) I packed it in by early afternoon, grabbed a sandwich, and once again enjoyed that incredibly scenic ride south to Vancouver.

Hopefully I'll be able to make it back to Whistler in the future. I enjoyed the feel of the village and particularly enjoyed the cross country skiing. Maybe on a future trip I'll be able to try to Olympic Nordic Skiing venue, just a few miles away.

My Big Obama Weekend

On Friday I attended the Obama rally at Key Arena. It was an amazing event. The line to get in wrapped around most of Seattle Center; I barely got in, and ended up sitting near the top of the arena. People were sitting and standing in the aisles. Thousands of people were crowded outside the stadium just to hear the audio. Obama came on stage almost 2 hours after the scheduled start of the event, but people were still very much excited and loud. You could feel how badly people want to start over and save the country, and how confident they are that he can do it.

I talked with an older guy seated next to me. He was about our parents' age. I asked him how this campaign compared to the McGovern campaign for excitement. He said he was one of the true believers back then, but that in the back of everyone's heads was the reality that they couldn't win. He's more excited now because this movement is much bigger and will be much more successful. He also said that this campaign is tangibly "for" something, and not just against the war. Great perspective.

After a series of introductions and endorsements (mayor, congressman, governor), Obama took the stage to a deafening roar. The ovation could have gone for minutes, but he quieted the crowd and started into his talk. The amazing thing about him is that his words are big enough for the whole crowd, but it still felt like he was talking to me personally.

The very sad part of the event for me is that I had to leave early to get back to work. I ran out of the arena in the middle of his speech feeling regret and excitement. My bus was actually ahead of me, but it was stuck in traffic and I ran fast for a half mile to get ahead of it. I thought to myself, Yes We Can!

On Saturday afternoon, Jana and I headed to the local school to participate in the caucus. We expected a large turnout, and we got it. The gym was completely full of our neighbors. And almost all of them were there to support Obama. His victory was a foregone conclusion; the question was How big would his victory be?

When they told Obama supporters to go to one side of the room and Clinton supporters to go to the other, a mass of people rushed to the Obama side. We were packed in tight, while the Clinton side had empty chairs, lonely people, and maybe even some tumbleweeds. It turned out to be 3:1 or more for Obama, which was the case across much of Seattle. Statewide, the caucuses went about 2:1 for Obama, which made for a resounding victory.

Obama is gathering more and more momentum as a diverse set of supporters get behind him. At this point, if he doesn't get the party nomination, it will be a major upset. I certainly hope that doesn't happen. More than anything, this country needs to start over. And we need to start over by moving in the right direction. Obama is the candidate who can do just that. I can't wait until I get to vote for him in the general election -- and I really can't wait for January 20, 2009.

Top Albums 2007

25. Watch the Fireworks - Emma Pollock
More than just a consolation prize after the break-up of the Delgados, Emma Pollock's solo debut is a confident step forward. Her voice has always been stunning, and while I loved the Delgado's interplay between male and female vocals, I'm glad to hear her singing showcased for a full album. "Paper and Glue" best summarizes her solo success, but the whole album is uniformly appealing.

24. We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank - Modest Mouse
If Modest Mouse made an album and I listened to it and liked it but couldn't remember the songs, would that album exist? That's a flip way to describe a really quite good album, but Ship was the first Modest Mouse album for me that didn't leave an indelible mark. Still, it has the distinctively jittery and thumping rhythm of a Modest Mouse album and the satisfyingly yelpy growl of Isaac Brock's singing voice. Those strengths ensured that it eventually grew on me. You could say that I "Missed the Boat" (my favorite song on the album) at first.

23. Under the Blacklight - Rilo Kiley
Under the Blacklight is the sound of a potentially great indie band dying, but it is also lots of fun. It is my guilty pleasure for the year. Yeah, they sold out and produced a bunch of songs that I swear I've heard before, but Jenny Lewis' sultry an d seductive voice makes up for it. My favorite tracks are "Silver Lining," "The Angels Hung Around," "15," and the complete sell-out "Breakin' Up."

22. Once - Original Soundtrack
Once is an amazing and beautiful movie that would be almost nothing without the amazing and beautiful music of its stars. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova's voices soar together on songs like "Falling Slowly," "If You Want Me," and "When Your Mind's Made Up." Listening to the album brings their emotions and insecurities right into your ears and helps you re-live one of the best movies in years. Just like the movie scenes without the two stars together, though, the songs without both halves aren't quite as good as the ones with them together.

21. Sky Blue Sky - Wilco
It's mellow old-man Wilco, and I like it. Jeff Tweedy is off the drugs and getting older, so it makes sense that he's laid back. The obvious reaction from critics was to wonder why Wilco stopped experimenting and rocking. What isn't so obvious about this album is that it is full of classic guitar lines, welcoming piano and organ, and one of Tweedy's best singing performances in a while. It's time to grow up with one of my favorite bands, and this is a perfect album for a laid-back weekend afternoon at home.

20. Cassadaga - Bright Eyes
Cassadaga is uneven and moves a bit too close to country for my liking, but it still has some of the best songs in the Bright Eyes catalog -- and that's saying something. "Four Winds," "If the Brakeman Turns My Way," "Soul Singer in a Session Band," and "I Must Belong Somewhere" are all exceptional tracks. I searched the latter's lyrics for advice on where to live. Did I belong in California or Washington? Or back in Minnesota? It was a good enough song that I was willing to ask Conor for advice.

19. Wincing the Night Away - Shins
After a band changes your life, you don't want them to change. But that's exactly what the Shins did, following up the perfect Chutes Too Narrow with an imperfect but far more adventurous album -- the kind of album that promises more life-changing in the future. Sonic changes aside, Wincing is most certainly a Shins album. It just requires some adjustment, especially the second half. It starts out strong -- and without surprises -- with "Sleeping Lessons" and "Australia." But then "Pam Berry" interludes into the New Pornographers-inspired "Phantom Limb," and the Shins are off to the experimental races. The new sound grows on you; it just takes longer than you'd expect for a Shins album.

18. New Moon - Elliott Smith
Another beautiful posthumous release from the saddest man in indie rock. The quality of this double album, while not quite on par with Smith's best stuff, is a testament to his consistent brilliance. It is a particularly great gift for fans of either/or and his eponymous album, as most of the songs come from that era. Every time I listen to an Elliott Smith album, I thank my younger self to seeing him in concert while I still could. An amazing talent.

17. Reunion Tour - The Weakerthans
The Weakerthans treated me to the most surprisingly wonderful concert of the year, and they also released another first-rate album. Despite the recent infatuation with Canadian bands and quite possibly the best lyrics in rock and roll, the Weakerthans have flown a bit under the radar. Reunion Tour isn't quite the star-making album that Left and Leaving should have been, but boasts some of their best songs: "Tournament of Hearts" (the best curling song of all time), "Sun in an Empty Room," and "Civil Twilight."

16. Cease to Exist - Band of Horses
I never got to experience Band of Horses as a local band. They formed after I moved away from Seattle and took off for South Carolina before I could make it back. But I won't hold that against them as long as they keep making songs that prove that "the world is such a wonderful place." The first half of Cease to Exist does just that with its lush guitar and Ben Bridwell's distinctive voice. On some songs his singing makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. They've definitely found a distinctive and emotive sound that, which it evokes the southern classic rock of their new home, still sounds entirely fresh.

15. The Con - Tegan and Sara
Here's my Tegan and Sara equation:

Tegan's voice + Sara's voice + Strummy Guitars = Magic

The Con, which takes on an almost punk aesthetic with its short and energetic songs, often has only two-thirds of the equation. Fittingly, it has fewer highs than the full-equation So Jealous did for me, just because the sound isn't as immediate and personal. But it is a fuller and more complete album from start to finish. The Canadian sisters are increasingly solid songwriters, with an amazing sense of harmony. I particularly like "Relief Next to Me," "Like O, Like H," "Nineteen," "Back in Your Head," "Soil, Soil," the title track, and well, you get the idea.

14. Emerald City - John Vanderslice
John Vanderslice is almost as fixated on 9-11 as Rudy Guiliani, but with Vanderslice it isn't a manipulative political ploy; it is an honest reflection on the aftermath of that tragic day. Vanderslice's brooding yet comforting voice, the plunked-out minor-key piano, and the crunchy guitars all sound a warming and a lament for our nation. Flawlessly produced, Emerald City is the sound of a musician in his top form.

13. Shepherd's Dog - Iron and Wine
Fans usually lament their low-fi heroes' transitions from hushed and simple recordings to full-band hi-fi recordings. No one should shed tears for Shepard's Dog; it makes Sam Beam's considerable previous efforts sound like warmp-ups. This collection of songs is beautiful, fully-realized, and instantly classic. The songs feel so cinematic and so much of a place that I keep expecting an entire movie to feature Iron and Wine songs the way that Good Will Hunting featured Elliott Smith. It'd be a damn good movie.

12. Night Falls Over Kortedala - Jens Lekman
By all rights Jens Lekman should be a novelty act. He has such a throwback sound that it almost winks at you, and his lyrics can be so precious that you don't know whether to give him a hug or dismiss him. After Kortedala you definitely can't dismiss him -- Jens Lekman is a serious musician. "The Opposite of Hallelujah" is one of the best pure pop songs of the year, bouncing along with uncanny energy. "A Postcard to Nina" tells the story of being tricked into tricking someone else with such wit that it never gets old. I don't expect this album to ever get old, either.

11. Friend and Foe - Menomena
Portland, along with Brooklyn and Montreal, has become the center of indie rock world over the last few years. One of the best bands to emerge from the Rose City is Menomena. Friend and Foe, Menomena's second proper album, is by no means a collection of singles, or necessarily even songs; it is a sound collage filled with memorable bits and pieces that poke out as a full-bodied horn or a series of piano notes or a distant lyric ("Oh, to be a machine...") and stick in your head for months. Listening to how those pieces fit together -- and trying to understand how they constituted songs that sound like real rock songs from sounds on a computer -- makes each additional listen more and more rewarding. Hooray for Portland. Hooray for Barsuk records.

10. In Rainbows - Radiohead
Remember when a Radiohead release was a big deal without internet gimmicks? When every other band was the junior varsity team? I do. For me Radiohead will always be defined by The Bends and OK Computer, classic albums they released during my influential high school and college days. I can't quite get excited about a Radiohead album the way that I used to, but that's okay this time because the music stands up very well on its own. In Rainbows is one of their best releases, full of haunting pop songs and compelling soundscapes. The return to sound (just a bit different from return to form) is not just a rehash of old ideas, it is evidence of a vital band that figured out how to grow up. After the success of In Rainbows, the next release might just be a big event for me.

09. Neon Bible - Arcade Fire
For the first few months of the year, Neon Bible was by far my favorite album. As I listened more and more, I immersed myself in the album and the album rewarded me for repeated listens. Then I stopped listening. And I didn't really miss it. When I went back to the songs months later, most of them didn't work nearly as well for me. "Antichrist Television Blue" and "Keep the Car Running" were still great, some of the best songs of the year, but the others lost something when they weren't in the context of the entire album on repeat. Still, Neon Bible has an essence that can capture your imagination -- and, despite being a step down from Funeral, it is confirmation that The Arcade Fire will remain a force.

08. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Spoon
Spoon are so consistently good that Britt and his mates are almost getting boring. Their songs, however, are anything but boring. "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb" and "The Underdog" add horns to great effect, the latter taking up the Van Morrison's pop mantle. "Rhthm and Soul" and "Black Like Me" shimmer and shake with a confidence that flows in your ears and right to your feet and fingertips. They all pull together to make yet another great album. That Spoon aren't all over the radio is one of the great mysteries of our time.

07. Sound of Silver - LCD Soundsystem
Play and Give Up. That's the shortlist of electronically-derived albums that have captured my attention as much as the non-stop hit parade that is Sound of Silver, a tour de force that redefines the genre -- and makes it a hell of a lot better. James Murphy's album oozes personality and has a better indie pop sensibility than most indie pop. The two long tracks in the middle, "Someone Great" and "All My Friends" carry an already great album to a higher level. "Someone Great" confirms the weight of losing someone without forcing that weight on the listener, in a way that rivals John Darnielle. And "All My Friends" turns a few deceptively simple piano notes into more than 7 minutes of raucous good times. Why can't there be more albums like this one?

06. Boxer - The National
Boxer can't quite touch Alligator song for memorable song, but it might just be a better album than the one that made Matt Beringer and band into indie favorites. Like its predecessor, Boxer requires plenty of late-night listening to sink in. But when it does, it will sink deep into your soul as a constant, comforting thrum. Among other things, Boxer is an album about realizing that you've grown up and coming to grips with what that means. Themes of uneasiness with aging, maturity, and modernity emerge, especially on highlight track "Mistaken for Strangers." It is empathetic because you can hear in the timbre of Beringer's voice and the restrained passion of the guitars that the National know exactly how it feels.

05. Scotland Yard Gospel Choir - Scotland Yard Gospel Choir
I fell in love with this band while listening to their short but not slight second album over and over again. Offering by far the best Belle and Sebastian impression of the year, this Chicago band with boy-girl lyrics and twee storytelling sounds more like Jeepster-era Stuart Murdoch than today's Belle and Sebastian. "Never Thought I'd Feel This Way for a Boy" is a hand-clapping, singalong about coming out to yourself. "Then and not a Moment Before" has a riotous horn solo. And "Everything You Paid For" has a transcendent, dreamy float while name-checking Salinger and Steinbeck. I can't wait to hear what they do next.

04. Every Scene Needs a Center - Tullycraft
The absolute opposite of a "grower," this Seattle-produced hookfest is instantly memorable and lovable. It exudes energy and playful wit while skewering punks, emo boys, and scenesters. Although the lyrics and the oldies feel of the music are great, the most important key to the happy-fun-time success of the album is the back-and-forth interaction between Sean Tollefson and Jenny Mears' singing voices. Just try not to sing along. I've got a new favorite local band, and some back-catalog albums to buy.

03. Challengers - The New Pornographers
Why critics ignored this album is an absolute mystery to me. All three primary contributor were coming off exceptional solo albums: Slow Wonder, Destroyer's Rubies, and Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, so we new something great was coming. The surprise was that they saved their best for this album. Bejar and Newman are absolutely at the top of their game as songwriters as they convincingly complete the New Pornos' transition from the kitchen-sink exuberance of their debut to repeatedly cathartic grown-up pop. Mass Romantic might retain the buzz as their best album for years to come, but this will be the one that we listen to, repeatedly and happily, for years and years.

02. Stage Names - Okkervil River
When I heard Black Sheep Boy, I thought that Okkervil River would make a great album some day. I didn't know that they'd make it so soon. I can't listen to Stage Names without feeling overcome by the raw emotion, the honesty of Will Sheff's voice and the excitement of the guitar and horns. "Unless It's Kicks" and "A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene" are the most devastating back-to-back tracks since The Hold Steady led off with "Stuck Between Stations" and "Chips Ahoy." Just try to listen without singing along (yelling, really) and dancing. The second half slows to a more subtle, tender pace, but remains just as affecting. And the lyrics for "Plus Ones" are just too damn clever. A career making album.

01. Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? - Of Montreal
A synthetic indie-pop carnival for the ages. Kevin Barnes bared the insecurities of his soul, wrote amazingly catchy and complex songs, and in the process, made Of Montreal into one of the most essential bands of the decade. Hissing Fauna is a completely original blueprint for the next decade of indie pop. I expect that many bands will try to copy the sound and the aesthetic, but that none will succeed so completely. Bonus points for the nearly as wonderful EP: Icons, Abstract Thee. Extra bonus points for the best running song of the year: "The Past is a Grotesque Animal" is two miles of an incredible beat. This album just blows me away over and over again.