2007's Bests & Favorites

In my opinion:

Best New TV: Man vs. Wild (favorite episode is the one where Bear catches a salmon in a stream, and takes a raw bite while it's still wriggling in his hands -- now THAT's sushi!)
Best Reality TV: Survivor (it never gets old)
Best Drama TV: ER (ok, maybe it's old, but I still LOVE it)
Best Comedy TV: The Office (I've never been so delighted to cringe, and that Steve Carell is swoon-a-rific)

Best Movie(s): Once (heartbreaking romance and music); La Vie en Rose (I cried from how beautifully acted it was); Juno (refreshing and lovely and inspiring)
Best Netflix: Big Love, season 1 (Mormon fundamentalists on TV? Righteous!)

Most satisfying album: Raising Sand by Alison Kraus & Robert Palmer
(download "Gone Gone Gone")
Dirtiest single (in a good way): Icky Thump by The White Stripes
Coolest new discoveries: Dr. Dog (download "Worst Trip"); and Lily Allen (download "Smile")

Jewelry trend: huge rings (bigger is definitely better)

Favorite dessert: Tres Leches cake at Casona in Collingswood
Favorite entree: Pulled pork with peanut bbq sauce at Tortilla Press in Collingswood

Best concert: Soweto Gospel Choir in Verizon Hall (they come back next year, and I can't suggest strongly enough that you DON'T MISS IT)
Best theater: Wicked at the Academy of Music (gotta love a good prequel)

Musical memories

Someone asked me recently what my favorite concert memory was. Even though I've seen/heard some of the most amazing music in the world during my tenure at the Kimmel Center, here is was immediate came to mind:

Hands down, it was my first Billy Joel concert that will forever be my most memorable. It wasn't my first (that was Shawn Cassidy) ... but I was only about 13 years old. Dad got tickets through a family friend who had connections at the Spectrum. We had no idea where our seats would be.

When we went to will-call, they gave us a pass, not regular tickets (I still have it), and it didn't say where we should go. So we started with the first usher we saw, and his eyes got big. I tried not to get excited, but he said go to the floor. We went to the floor, and the usher in the middle sent us "up front" ... but we didn't know what that meant ... so we went to the guy in about the 4th row and he said, "front row, center." I almost threw up.

Our seats were about 5 feet from the stage and there was just open space between us and Billy. Once we were allowed to rush the stage, I was crunched against it. I had bruises across my chest afterward, and my arms were sore from pumping them in the air for hours.

I knew every word of every song the entire night, and it wasn't long before his sax and guitar players noticed. It was so cute because they kept playing to me -- and even made a point of waving goodbye to me at the end of the show!

I touched Billy's shoelace once. Major thrill. He was more energetic and focused than I could have ever imagined. The other guys in the band were real peeps, but Billy was a consummate professional, never tiring, never losing focus and constantly doing everything his body could do to entertain the crowd. It was incredibly impressive. And he sounded perfect.

I've never quite listened to music the same way since that night. And no matter what Billy does in his personal life, I'll always have total respect and love for him.

XPN in the afternoon

Do you remember WIOQ in the '80s? It was awesome. I heard artists like Elvis Costello, Joan Armatrading and Cheap Trick for the very first time on IOQ. David Dye was my hero even way back then.

Fast forward two decades to WXPN — where most of WIOQ's devotees migrated in the late '80s — and I still love radio, and David Dye, as much now as I did then. I don't even have a CD (or tape) player in my car. Just a radio.

For years now, I've loved listening to David during his "live" time in the afternoons on XPN from 4pm-7pm even more than his taped show World Cafe (probably because it feels more real to hear him live, plus you know it's local and just for us Philadelphians, not every listener from here to Seattle). So when they recently announced that he would be replaced 4 days a week by the guy who had been hosting the evening show Y-Rock, I was nervous. Very.

Turns out no need. Jim McGuinn, that Y-Rock guy, uh, rocks. He's by far the best new voice on XPN in years. The other newer DJs on XPN are alright ... but in my mind they are just fillers between David, Michaela Majoun and Helen Leicht. But Jim fits right in with the veterans.

He's natural and easy-going on the air. He doesn't have a put-on on-air voice, and he never talks down to the listeners, or tries too hard to be funny/smart/clever, or sounds self conscious. Talking into a mic seems as natural to him as talking to a friend over coffee or a beer. It's very refreshing!

Let's hope he sticks around. Tune in and check him out.

Dirty Rock

Bless their hearts, those White Stripes. Meg and Jack. Icky Thump? Yup, that's the name of their new record and single and it's as sick as it sounds. It's dirty, melodic rock that makes your nose scrunch up and your head bob (well, I can't speak for you, but it does those things to me at least). Damn I love them! Not sure when the new record comes out, but I can't wait.

Also, I heard an old track of theirs from before they were on a major label and realized I need to dig back into their older stuff too. Some of their songs are tough to listen to, but what's good is friggin' GREAT. Icky thump, indeed.

Channeling Stevie Wonder

I'm not an American Idol fan. Let's get that out of the way up front. That said, I can get swept up in the latest craze just like anyone. I haven't tuned in yet this season (though I love what they're saying in the press about Howard Stern's crusade to get the least talented contestant to win) ... but if you watched last season (when Taylor Hicks won), Elliot Yamin stood out from the beginning. Alas (or maybe thankfully) he came in 3rd. The boy has pipes for DAYS and can sing circles around any AI alum back to Kelly Clarkson (who I also adore, so consider that when considering this soliloquy)...

Anyhoo, his record just came out, and even though it's much too R&B for my taste, there are moments on it where he is literally channeling the young Stevie Wonder. It's amazing. There is a milky rasp to his voice that makes me melt.

So if that intrigues you in the least, check him out. Songs to download if you just want a taste: track 1 "Movin' On"; track 3 "Find a Way" and track 11 "A Song for You" (his gutsy, signature cover on AI).