1twentyeight — Brad Hamilton

Despite what a friend said last year about 2010 being a bad year for music, I thought it was a good year. Maybe that’s because Mumford & Sons Sigh No More and Arcade Fire’s Suburbs are 2 of my favorite albums. In fact, I would argue that 2011 was no better than 2010, and in some respects, a little worse. I don’t think there was a stand out album this year. There were definitely some good ones, but nothing grabbed me quite like last years albums did.  There were several good albums that didn’t make my top five…my Honorable Mentions if you will. They include in no particular order: The Black Keys – El Camino, Sigur Rós – Inní, The Decemberists – The King is Dead, Radiohead – The King of Limbs, and The Poison Tree – The Poison Tree. One album, in particular, was good, but didn’t quite live up to expectations, Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto. And there was one album, that for the life of me I can’t quite figure out why it’s included in most everyone’s top 10 list – PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake. I thought it was a contrived, over sold, preachy, screeching mess. My top five this year leans toward the somber and sad, with one exception. My list is varied and very different from last years list. But like last year, I’m including an album that might incite a little ridicule by my friends. Oh well, I liked it.

#5 Adele – 21
Like Brandon Flowers last year, this choice might catch a little ridicule. But let’s be honest, Adele’s voice is second to none. The vocals on this album are simply amazing. I thought I would tire of this album after a few listens, but I keep coming back to it. Sad at times, empowering at others, well rounded, solid. Best song – Take It All

#4 Death Cab for Cutie – Codes and Keys
Probably the most upbeat of my five albums (Stay Young, Go Dancing), and Death Cab for Cutie’s best album to date. Driving bass, a saloon piano, and maybe a little bit too much hi-hat. But you’ll be tapping your foot, and singing along. Best Song – Portable Television

#3 Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
Wispy, airy, singing out in a wheat field kind of sound, but with amplification. The first three songs warm you up, almost like inside pitches in baseball, they get you ready – then Battery Kinzie is like a fastball right over the middle of the plate…a strong, sit up straight kind of song. Crisp guitars, tight vocals, a really nice album. Best song – Helplessness Blues

#2 Bon Iver – Bon Iver
Listen to the first song, Perth, and wait for the swell at the 2:35 mark – you’ll be hooked. The lead singer, Justin Vernon, sings a lot in falsetto and it works. The song titles are mainly geographical (Perth, Minnesota, Hinnom, Calgary, Lisbon), and the lyrics may not make the most sense. But the album works, and you’ll want to continue to listen. Best Song – Calgary

#1 Elbow – Build A Rocket Boys!
I am amazed at how this album has been left off list after list for top albums of the year. Maybe it’s because Elbow doesn’t get much play here in the States. I found Elbow, or maybe they found me, while living in the UK. Their previous album, The Seldom Seen Kid, was really good and was met with critical acclaim  – in the UK at least – but Build A Rocket Boys! is exponentially better in my opinion. It is melancholy and somber, yet inspiring and uplifting. With songs like Neat Little Rows it is anthemic, and it is reflective with The Night Will Always Win. The lyrics are tight, with each song telling a story. The music doesn’t get in the way, but is good enough to stand on it’s own. I simply love this album.

And let me say a few things about the album’s best song – Open Arms. There are very few songs that extend beyond themselves…that move you at your core…that touch your soul…that become part of the story of your life. Until Open Arms the only song that I would put in that special category was U2′s I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For. This song, this year, was for me. It is me. It is both the man I am, and the man I hope to be. In a year that was undeniably difficult for me this song brought me to tears, and face to face with God. Lyrically it captures the story of the prodigal son, found in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 15:11-32. It tells the story of a community that welcomes back with open arms the man that once left them. This community, in celebration, reminds the man of the boy he used to be, and says “It’s okay, you’re home, and you’re accepted.” I’m posting the lyrics below for you to read through, but if you have $5.00 go buy the album on Amazon, or just spend 99¢ on the song.

You’re a law unto yourself
And we don’t suffer dreamers
But neither should you walk the earth alone

So with finger rolls and folding chairs
And a volley of streamers
We can be there for tweaks and repairs
Should you come back home

We got open arms for broken hearts
Like yours my boy, come home again

Tables are for pounding here
And when we’ve got you surrounded
The man you are will know the boy you were

And you’re not the man who fell to earth
You’re the man of La Mancha
And we’ve love enough to light the street
‘Cause everybody’s here

We got open arms for broken hearts
Like yours my boy, come home again
We got open arms for broken hearts
Like yours my boy, come home again

Everyone’s here
Everyone’s here
The moon is out looking for trouble
And everyone’s here

Everyone’s here
Everyone’s here
The moon wants a scrap or a cuddle
And everyone’s here

We got open arms for broken hearts
Like yours my boy, come home again
We got open arms for broken hearts
Like yours my boy, come home again

Everyone’s here
Everyone’s here
Everyone’s here
Come home again

The moon is out looking for trouble
The moon wants a scrap or a cuddle
The moon is face down in a puddle
And everyone’s here

As always, I’d love to hear your opinion, and your favorites this year.

(Links are Amazon Affiliate links)

I’ll have my top 5 list up in a couple of days, but it won’t be nearly as thorough as Steve’s.

The search is over. The waiting has ended. And the celebration has begun.

Julie and I knew back in February of this year that our time in Cardiff, Wales was coming to an end and that we needed to move back to the US. In March of this year I came to Portland to decide if this was the city for us. It was, and we started planning towards the big move. I started searching for a job in earnest in May — and it has finally culminated in a new job as an Education Consultant with Ochin.

I start my new career on Monday, December 5th, and I couldn’t be more excited about it.

As you know, I’m looking for a job here in Portland. It’s a pretty discouraging process, yet there a times when you realize it could be worse. Let me introduce you to Joshua Longbrake. He’s funny. Even better, he’s real. Here’s the money quote from his recent post, but go read the whole thing. How could you not want to know what the rest of the story is about…

Matt and I were talking and I was putting money in the parking meter. Very suddenly, without any forewarning, I pooped my pants. That is the truth.

“Hey Matt, I gotta go. I just pooped my pants.”

I think I remember Matt saying OK.

This resonated with me. Read the entire article though, it’s good.

Generation X is tired.

It’s a parent now, and there’s always so damn much to do. Generation X wishes it had better health insurance and a deeper savings account. It wonders where its 30s went. It wonders if it still has time to catch up.

Add this site to your feed reader. It’s good good.

I’m growing increasingly tired — and maybe a little frustrated — with bad rhetoric that’s being used in relation to Christian missions. You’ll read it as Finish the Task, Finishing the Task, the Unfinished Task, or Finish the Mission.

Depending on who you ask there are between 6,600-6,800 unreached people groups in the world today. An unreached people group is a grouping of people with a common language and culture that have less than 2% professing Christians. Recently, missions organizations have decided to further break down the world’s population by tracking UUPG’s (Unengaged Unreached People Groups). UUPG’s are those groups that have no present Christian witness. Again, depending on who you ask there are between 1,000 and 3,600 UUPG’s.

Setting aside the argument that this is a terrible way of tracking “lostness”, it tends to give the impression that something can be done about it. Somewhere along the way we thought that God’s reconciliation with His creation was about us, and that if we try hard enough, and travel to the unreached places, we can usher in His return. What silly thinking.

I’d love to live long enough to see each UUPG “reached”. I wonder, the day that happens will the sky split open to see God’s Kingdom return?

Coming Next: A Better Way (in my opinion)

I love this site. A new favorite.

My apologies for the last two test posts. In redesigning and re-imagining my site I wanted to be more deliberate about posting links to things I find interesting. Sometimes I’ll comment in detail, but more often I’ll simply link to the site and tell you in one sentence why you should visit. This new format (my linked list) makes the title of my post the link to the website you should visit.

There are two ways you’ll be able to recognize this type of post. One, look over at the date. If there’s a little chain-link icon then you’ll know the title of my post is the link to the website I’m talking about. The other visual indicator is the star (★) at the end of my post. By clicking the star you’ll be taken to the permalink for my post. This is helpful is you’re trying to reblog, or post a link yourself to my post.

And lastly, the RSS feed has been updated to mimic what I’ve just described. If I post a linked list article, the title in your RSS feed should take you directly to the other website, while the star will bring you to my original post.

Hope that makes sense. If not, shoot me question. And if you find that it’s not working for you let me know.

My inspiration for this type of linked list comes from sites like Shawn Blanc and John Gruber.

Sorry, one more test.

Test post. Move along. Nothing to see here.

I really like Elliot’s latest redesign of his site. So clean and simple. I hope he keeps it for a while.

I’m ELLIOT JAY STOCKS and I’m a designer, illustrator, speaker, and author. I couldn’t stand my old site any longer, so I nuked it, and this little experiment is what arose in the aftermath. It’s (probably) not here to stay, but it’s designed to serve as a simple starting point that I’ll build upon in the months to come.