Smith-Bentley Blog

Best of the Decade?

Not sure what to call this. Here’s it was it isn’t:

 

• 25 songs
• My 25 favorite (as I didn’t use the same band twice)
• In order
• The best videos – I just pulled what I could find quickly

Band locations and dates were pulled from Wikipedia so you can argue with them if I got them wrong. Typos and bad links are my fault.

 

Mostly these are songs from the decade that I think were pretty great and inspired by Woxy.

 

1. Ash (Northern Ireland) – Shining Light – 2001
2. Grandaddy (Modesto, CA) – Now It’s On – 2003
3. McLusky (Cardiff, Wales) – She Will Only Bring You Happiness – 2004
4. Regina Spektor (NYC) – On the Radio – 2006
5. Stars (Toronto) – Elevator Love Letter – 2003
6. Ike Reilly Assassination (Libertyville, IL) – Garbage Day – 2005
7. Belle & Sebastian (Glasgow, Scotland) – If She Wants Me – 2003
8. Pela (Brooklyn) – Waiting on the Stairs – 2007
9. Beulah (San Francisco) – Landslide Baby – 2003
10. Johnny Cash (America) – Solitary Man – 2000
11. Ryan Adams (Jacksonville, NC) – Two – 2007
12. Flaming Lips (Oklahoma City) – Fight Test – 2002
13. Okkervil River (Austin, TX) – Black – 2005
14. Muse (Devon, England) – Time is Running Out – 2003
15. Roots (Philadelphia, PA) – The Seed 2.0 – 2002
16. Bobby Bare Jr. (Nashville, TN) – Visit Me in Music City – 2004
17. The National (Brooklyn) – Mistaken for Strangers – 2007
18. Shout Out Louds (Stockholm, Sweden) – Tonight I Have to Leave It – 2007
19. The Big Pink (London) – Velvet – 2009
20. Dirty on Purpose (Brooklyn) – Your Summer Dress – 2006
21. Mates of State (Lawrence, KS) – Along for the Ride – 2006
22. Notwist (Weilheim, Germany) – Pilot – 2002
23. Bruce Springsteen (America) – Waiting on a Sunny Day – 2002
24. The Stills (Montreal) – Lola Stars & Stripes – 2003
25. Say Hi (Seattle, WA) – Let’s Talk About Spaceships – 2004
26. The Long Winters (Seattle, WA) – The Commander Thinks Aloud – 2005
27. Metric (Toronto, CA) – Combat Baby – 2003
28. Mint Royale – (Manchester, England) – Show Me – 2001
29. Gomez (Southport, England) – Shot Shot – 2002
30. Guided by Voices (Dayton, OH) – The Best of Jill Hives – 2003
31. Liam Finn (New Zealand) – Second Chance – 2007
32. The Jayhawks (Minneapolis, MN) – Stumbling Through the Dark – 2003
33. Wussy (Cincinnati, OH) – Crooked – 2006
34. Arcade Fire (Montreal, Canada) – Intervention – 2007
35. The Strokes (NYC) – Reptilia – 2003
36. Eels (California) – Railroad Man – 2005
37. Tom Waits (America) – Long Way Home – 2006
38. The Elected (San Diego) – Fireflies in a Steel Mill – 2006
39. British Sea Power (Brighton, England) – Please Stand Up – 2005
40. Palomar (Brooklyn) – Our Haunt – 2007
41. Tilly & The Wall (Omaha, NE) – Bad Education – 2006
42. Rainer Maria (Madison, WI) – Catastrophe – 2006
43. The Airborne Toxic Event (Los Angeles) – Sometime Around Midnight – 2008
44. Outkast (Atlanta, GA) – Hey Ya – 2003
45. LCD Soundsystem (NYC) – Daft Punk is Playing at My House – 2005
46. Hold Steady (Brooklyn) – The Cattle and the Creeping Things – 2005
47. The Stratford 4 (San Francisco) – She Married the Birds – 2003
48. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (Brooklyn) – The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth – 2005
49. Sun Kil Moon (San Francisco) – Glenn Tipton – 2003
50. Crooked Fingers (Denver, CO) – Twilight Creeps – 2005
51. Coconut Records (Los Angeles) – West Coast – 2007
52. Twilight Singers (New Orleans) – Teenage Wristband – 2003
53. The Avett Brothers (Concord, NC) – Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise – 2009
54. Wilco (Chicago) – Jesus, etc. – 2002
55. The Low Anthem (Providence, RI) – To Ohio – 2009
56. Grand Archives (Seattle) – Torn Blue Foam Coach – 2008
57. Badly Drawn Boy (Manchester, England) – You Were Right – 2002
58. Sons & Daughters (Glasgow, Scotland) – Spit Lips – 2008
59. Death Cab for Cutie (Bellingham, WA) – Transanlaticism – 2003
60. Dinosaur Jr. (Amherest, MA) – Over It – 2009
61. Raveonettes (Copenhagen, Denmark) – That Great Love Sound – 2003
62. Stellstarr* (New York) – Jenny – 2003
63. Bob Dylan (Hibbing, MN) – Spirit on the Water – 2006
64. Lucinda Williams (Lakes Charles, LA) – Ventura – 2003
65. Libertines (London)  –  Up the Bracket – 2002
66. Sigur Ros (Iceland) – Glosoli – 2005
67. Band of Horses (South Carolina) – Great Salt Lake – 2006
68. Frightened Rabbit (Selkirk, Scotland) – Modern Leper – 2008
69. Lightspeed Champion (Essex, England) – No Surprise – 2008
70. New Pornographers (Vancouver, BC) – The Laws Have Changed – 2003
71. Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Brooklyn) – Maps – 2006
72. Scotland Yard Gospel Choir – Everything You Paid For – 2008
73. Spinto Band (Wilmington, DE) – Oh Mandy – 2005
74. Nada Surf (New York) – Always Love – 2005
75. Loretta Lynn (America) – Van Lear Rose – 2004

BS-B's Best of 2008 Mix Playlist

I assembled my Best Songs of 2008 Playlist (free stream from Rhapsody) last night. Here it is in random order. The songs link to videos on YouTube.

Hold Steady (Brooklyn) – Sequestered in Memphis
Lightspeed Champion (London) – No Surprise
MGMT (Brooklyn) – Kids
Liam Finn (New Zealand) – Second Chances
British Sea Power (Brighton, UK) – Atom
Grand Archives (Seattle) - Torn Blue Foam Coach
Noah and the Whale (London) – 5 Years Time
Hold Steady (Brooklyn) – Slapped Actress
Coldplay (London) – Lost!
Sons & Daughters (Glasgow, Scotland) – Split Lips
The Whigs (Athens, Georgia) – Right Hand on My Heart
Tapes N Tapes (Minneapolis) – Headshock
Ra Ra Riot (Syracuse, NY) - Each Year 
Blitzen Trapper (Portland) – Furr
Oppenhiemer (New York) – Look Up
Ting Tings (Manchester, UK) – That’s Not My Name
Say Hi (Seattle) – Northwestern Girls
Boston Spaceships (Dayton, Ohio) – You Satisfy Me
The Verve (Manchester, UK) – Love is Noise
The Walkmen (New York) – In the New Year
The Mae-Shi (Los Angeles) – Run to Your Grave
Delta Spirit (San Diego) – Children
Pete & the Pirates (Reading, UK) – Knots
The Stills (Montreal, Canada) – Being Here

 

More Harry

In 1997, Brendan and Mysti spent 6-weeks in South Africa with Harry & Mary. Here are a few snap-shots from our experience.

Harry & Mary - On the Garden Route outside of Plettenberg Bay - 1997 (Harry enjoyed raw oysters at this bar).

 

Christmas 1997

     

New Year's Prep - 1997

We went to different themed parties celebrate the New Year (1998) - obviously ours was more formal!

Harry shares a cigar with Brendan after his engagement to Mysti

 

Celebration for the Happy Couple's Engagement

Our Friend Harry

Our friend Harry died yesterday, and we are sad. We are oh so lucky to have known him and to have been a part of his family. Harry and Mary are two of the most special people that we have been fortunate to know in our lives.

Harry gave Brendan a German stein that you see in this picture. Harry brought it back from World War II, one of the few treasures that he took with him back to South Africa. It sat in their kitchen and Brendan asked about it a few times. The story goes that once Harry was liberated from the P.O.W. camp in Germany, they all headed to the local pub, which at that time was empty due to the state of the War. A lot of South Africans took a few trinkets, and the one thing that Harry took was a stein that was hanging on the wall. It's engraved with the name of the local gentleman who owned the stein - M. Altinger. When Brendan & Mysti went back to South Africa in 1999 the stein was still there. Brendan had Harry tell the story of the stein to Mysti. At the end of the story, Harry presented Brendan the stein and said "Take it home with you." Brendan has had it ever since.

Today - Brendan was very proud to pour a beer in it and drink to Harry and Mary. We will miss him tremendously. We regret that we waited too long to go back to Somerset West. However, we are looking forward to going there in February with Max so that he can meet Mary.

We'll miss you Harry.

The Mattie Scare

I returned from work as usual on Wednesday night, let Mattie Silks outside to go potty and went about the usual evening business. When I let Mattie back inside, I noticed that she had vomited on the back steps. When she came inside, she drank a big bunch of water and was a little “burpy” and “belchy”. After a few minutes, she threw up again. I confined her in an area so I could keep and eye on her. I also wanted to keep her away from Max in case it happened again. It did.

We waited a while before giving her more food or water. When we gave her more, it came back up most immediately. She wasn’t keeping anything down – and she was anxious.

After a while, we gave her dinner and she seemed OK – except that she was still gurgly and grunty. It sounded as if she had something in her throat.

Mattie had difficulty breathing the rest of the night. Overnight, it reminded us of having a newborn baby – as Brendan comforted (pet) her each time she awoke herself when gasping for air. By 3am we were quite concerned and started formulating a plan to get her to the vet in the morning. With each of us having important meetings on our calendars, it wasn’t as easy to think through as one would hope. For the rest of the night, Mattie woke herself every 15 – 20 minutes and Brendan was at her side each time to calm her through each breath-taking-gasping episode. It was exhausting to think that morning was approaching and we couldn’t stop it.

Luckily, the vet opened at 7:00am and was able to get Mattie in right away. I canceled a few morning meetings, and we were there by 7:20am. They evaluated Mattie but were unable to make a diagnosis at the time. To them – she seemed to be rendering typical English Bulldog behaviors with their snub nose breathing issues. Despite this, they offered/suggested that she receive a dose of steroids to decrease inflammation/improve breathing and that I leave Mattie for observation for the day. They would call me if issues arose during the day.

We were relieved to have Mattie under watch. At least we wouldn’t have to wonder how she was doing at home alone. She was a phone call away!

By 9:30am the vet called me at work to report that Mattie had another vomiting episode after they attempted to feed her breakfast. She also demonstrated the symptoms described in the initial consult. They believed she had severely irritated her airway, aspirated vomit and reported that she was “turning blue” from lack of oxygen. To get her breathing under control they wanted to sedate her, give her additional steroids, and start an IV as a back-up. They also wanted to do X-Rays to diagnose the problem. If Mattie didn’t stabilize soon, they recommended transferring her to a “medical unit” vet hospital for oxygen therapy.

My heart crumbled to a thousand pieces at the thought of losing Mattie Silks. And because she’s been driving me nutty the past several months (dog hair, neediness, stinkiness, dirtiness, poopiness etc), I suddenly felt overwhelming guilt. Just because she bugs me doesn’t mean I don’t love her.

By the end of the day, they were able to stabilize Mattie, and she came home. We are so grateful that she is OK. Having a furry friend is such a rewarding experience – and I often ponder that concept…wondering how it is that we allow such creatures into our homes. However, pets are capable of giving, receiving, and feeling love – and this adds fulfillment to our lives.

Brendan, Mysti and Max celebrated Mattie’s return home and exchanged lots of hugs and kisses. Mattie is still recovering from the debacle, but she’s already camping out under Maxwell’s high chair waiting for food to drop – and that means she’s back!

Mattie returns home - and zonks out after her long day at the "doggie hospital"

 

Turkey Trotters

Brendan, Mysti and Maxwell joined 6100 others to run the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning.

Breaking News

News of Bladders Reunion Leaks to Public

Dateline: Lake Tahoe, Nevada

Digital Recording Savant Warren K. Smith, renowned for pioneering the famed “Tequila Wall of Sound” confirmed today the imminent return of alterna-folk outfit The Bladders.

“The Tri-Fecta of rock comebacks is now complete,” said Smith, from his East Coast recording studios off Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn, commenting on the wave of reunions marking the 2007 summer. “First it was Sting, Andy and Stewart who buried the hatchet. Then Eddie and “Diamond” Dave JUMPed back into the fray. Now it’s The Bladders turn to re-Rock the world.”

The group will hole up in a cabin on the beautiful shores of Lake Tahoe, reminiscent of Bob Dylan and the Band’s famed Basement Tapes sessions recorded at Dylan’s Woodstock, NY home.

“Not even the sub prime mortgage crisis, nor the death Merv Griffin can stop the rock,” noted Smith. “Prepare to be Bladder infected.”

Fraturday

When a Holiday falls on a Wednesday, Tuesday night is "Fraturday".

Tuesday night before the Holiday is kind of like a Friday, except that Wednesday is like Sunday since Thursday is Monday again. So Tuesday is more like Saturday - but the day was probably spent working - which is not like a Saturday at all.

So Brendan coined it as "Fraturday".

Atomic Birthday

I never would have imagined what Brendan would request for his 31st birthday.

A trip to the park with his new son? Perhaps the dogpark to enjoy all family members (don't forget Mattie Silks)?

Or maybe a night out with his wife?

No?

Strippers?

Nope.

When we asked Brendan what he wanted for his birthday...it surprised us:

"I want to watch my wife eat the spiciest hot wings in San Jose."

Below are the rules:

• no napkin
• no beverage to wash it down
• no blue cheese or celery sticks
• must BEG for any of the above

This...all to take place at the new Wing Stop in San Jose.

Womb of Baby Smith-Bentley

It’s not everyday that you get a chance to see your life through someone else’s eyes.

We were fortunate to host our aunt and uncle, Barb and Warren, at our house in October. While they were visiting, Warren began a sketch of our back yard while sitting on our patio. Last week, he sent us a scanned version of the finished copy. Thanks Warren.

We look forward to this being the first piece of art we hang in our new studio.

And then I guess, according to Warren’s perspective, I might need to clean up the chaos that is our backyard…

Below is the finished sketch:

Warren's Notes:

"Here is a digital copy of a ballpoint drawing of your back yard, made from a sketch I did one morning when we were visiting, initially called "Backyard sunrise, 224 South Morrison, San Jose, California, 7 Oct 2006."

I've worked on it most every weekend for the past five months. Because the sketchbook is a little too big to fit in my backpack, I couldn't bring it along with me on workdays to work in it before reporting to the design studios (which is when I do most of my drawing), so it got relegated to those early morning drawing sessions on Saturdays and Sundays at either the Mule or Ozzie's coffeehouses.

This morning - at the Mule - I decided it is as finished as it is going to get.

I will be this first to admit it is a weird drawing - and that it has its problems as a visual statement. First off, it's way too dense. Very little "big" elements pop out of - and therefore it does not
transcend - the detail. There are certain stylistic elements that keep it from being a fully-integrated work - the most obvious one to me is the textural differences between the top right and left sides of the picture - that the rendering of the cypress trees on the right has a different stroke-feel than the smoother natural elements of the left. And even with all of the shadows I have added, the drawing remains extremely flat.

That said - my goal was never pure realism. When I make "landscape" drawings, usually I start from a sketch made on the spot, but then let it become an abstraction that plays with shape and line and texture and dimensionality until it becomes a mixture of fantasy and reality. Yet this piece, for all of the odd shapes and strange creatures that manifested while the drawing developed into a firm visual expression, resilently clung to its realistic roots ... and eventually acquired two new titles.

The second title is much more dramatic in a classical sense: "The Battle of the Sun and the Oranges." At times it felt like some Aesopian fable was taking place - which has more saturation, the oranges on the tree or the rising sun? The rays of the sun seemed to be crossing swords with the branches of the tree.

Then a third theme developed during a weird coincidence. I had noticed there was a fetus-like shape in the lower right portion of the drawing, which seemed appropriate given Mysti's pregnancy. Then you guys sent the 3-D ultrasound of BSB, and suddenly it became apparent that image was a perfect model to emulate - so a new title evolved, "Womb of Baby Smith-Bentley."

Hopefully, the drawing is all of these things - and more. I've attached a little pictorial guide pointing out the main visual features."