Yesterday’s orgy of Boxing Day consumerism yielded the following, complete with brief one-listen impressions:

The Flaming Lips / Ego Tripping At The Gates Of Hell – A lot of new songs, though nothing immediately stands out. The Postal Service remix of “Do You Realize” is nice.

Bruce Springsteen / The Essential Bruce Springsteen – I had thought I knew more songs by The Boss, but I don’t.

Ryan Adams / Love Is Hell Pt 2 – Not as immediate as part 1, and the ode to Beth Orton is sorta weak. Will take some more listens.

Doves / Lost Sides – Sort of a gyp – of the dozen songs, seven are the bonus tracks on the domestic versions of Lost Souls and The Last Broadcast. Surely they had more b-sides they could have added?

Centro-Matic / Love You Just The Same – I took a flyer on this one – never heard a note by them, but the reviews make it sound like something I’d like. First impression is that that reasoning is correct.

Rilo Kiley / Take Offs And Landings – Not nearly as strong as Execution, but still tuneful and Jenny Lewis’ voice is always a treat.

Ride / Waves – A revelation. The BBC-recorded versions of the old Ride tunes are often drastically different from the album versions – fewer shoegazey effects, more thundering rock. In a good way. Essential pick-up for Ride fans.

Johnny Cash / The Essential Johnny Cash – Hardly complete, but far better than my other Cash comp. I will have to start tackling the American Recordings stuff soon.

Also got a couple Bone paperbacks and the Sandman: Endless Nights hardcover. Yay for discounted comic books.

And I finished Knights Of The Old Republic. Sigh. Damn fine game. Maybe I should play it again and go all Dark Side. That might be more fun.

Big-ass Brainwashed year-end poll. From Lonetreepoint.

np – The Flaming Lips / Ego Tripping At The Gates Of Hell

Bravo ran the Ralph Bakshi animated Lord Of The Rings movie last night – it was really interesting to watch, as ambitious as Peter Jackson’s version in its own way, but ultimately a failure, trying to compress the first two books into a single 2.5 hour feature. That’s right – the first two. Return Of The King didn’t make it in at all, the film ends at Helm’s Deep. Kinda makes you wonder what the point was, really. Still, I give Bakshi props for trying and producing a mostly reverent adaptation (though this guy disagrees – vehemently). It’s also worth noting that while the bulk of the film was animated, a lot of the scenes – including the battles – were Rotoscoped – meaning that they actually had actors in costume playing out the parts. It comes out more weird than epic, but still. Points for ambition. What was particularly interesting, though, was how many similarities there were between Bakshi and Jackson’s versions – particularly in the cinematography of several scenes and the vocal characterizations of the characters (Sam and Gollum in particular. Anyone who thinks Andy Serkis came up with his Gollum-ness on his own, sorry). I don’t think the Bakshi version is the abomination some do – it’s sort of like an Icarus version. It tries to reach for the sky and ends up a charred, waxy mess.

June 15, 2004 will see the release of Wilco: Learning How To Die, a book on Wilco by Chicago Tribune music critic Greg Kot. Naturally, I’m intrigued but I wonder how much of a book you can write about a band that is still on the upswing of their career? Usually the post-crash-and-burn periods offer richer source material.

Boxing Day today! Expect reports of excessive spending.

It may or may not come as a surprise to those who know me, but I’m actually pretty big on Christmas. Not any of the religious aspects of it – I’m about as secular as you get – but the general societal festiveness of it all. There’s an energy about this time of the year that I enjoy – beneath the frazzled nerves of haggard last-minute shoppers, I think there’s some genuine good feelings going on. Whether it’s the time off from work, seeing family and friends, giving and receiving gifts or maxing out the credit card on Boxing Day, there’s always stuff to look forward to and enjoy. I like the symbolic fresh start of the New Year, a chance to reflect on that which has been and put it behind you and look ahead to the future. Since I’ve moved back into a residential area, I get to see Christmas lights and decorations and whatnot on the houses – it’s cheery. It’s just a fun time of year. Of course, I am one of those who never gets his shopping done on time or has any idea what to get people, but that doesn’t really weigh on me. Christmas is as commercial, frustrating and exhausting as you let it be. Just sit back and enjoy. Ho ho ho.

Oh yeah – wanna know what I got for Christmas?

You wish you were me. Admit it.

np – Neko Case & Her Boyfriends / Furnace Room Lullabye

Because everyone else on the internet has posted it and I am but a sheep – Pictures of rock stars as children. Lars Ulrich looks like a GIRL!

Yet another Ypersound redesign, this one championing the much-maligned iframe tag. I think I’ve had this design for almost half a year now – maybe more. That’s some kind of record. I have a new design percolating in my brain, but it’s not ready to roll out yet.

Guaranteed NOT to be the top story on FOX News tonight – Saddam Hussein was captured by Kurds, drugged, and left for the US forces to find.

An unofficial Muppet field guide.

It’s pretty quiet in blog-land. Holiday lull or some such nonsense. However, it’s still pretty busy in work-land. Today, anyway. I’m still at work through tomorrow at noon. Then next week I’m in Monday, Tuesday and half-Wendesday.

np – The Shins / Chutes Too Narrow