It’s time for the end of the year wrap-up, which I haven’t really done with any consistency (see the Best Live Shows of 2004 and Top Ten Films of 2004), but I’m going to give it a shot.

2008 has been an extremely busy year for us, our second full year in Los Angeles, one in which we’ve traveled internationally and explored locally more than any other year. In the outside world, we’ll remember 2008 for the incredible presidential race, one that inspired more angst (the governor of my home state has been chosen to do what?!) and joy (people in every corner of the nation actually did the right thing?!) than any other, and one in which we invested more time, energy, and emotion (and cash) than any other.

I’m incredibly excited about the result, but Obama’s fate is so tied up in the economic crisis that I don’t have any idea what’s going to happen. He won in part because of the crisis, and the nation is fortunate that he’s the one who’s going to be handling it, but at the same time, I feel like dealing with the fallout is going to hamper any hope of getting accomplished all of the other things he wanted to do… Anyway, for the first time a very long time, I’m very happy about the results of the race, and optimistic about the future.

Technologically speaking, this was the year I started using Twitter, and completely stopped using del.icio.us, even though they’re not really the same thing. I started using Facebook more after signing up last year, and this Christmas, got my first Blu-ray DVD, WALL?E, even thought I don’t have a player. Just so we don’t assume everything has always been the way it is…

This is going to be more of a list of lists rather than a narrative run-down, so I’ll get started:

Travel

2008 was a big travel year for me, undoubtedly the biggest I’ve ever had. A confluence of happy events lead to three big summer trips for Aimee and me: first, a long-planned trip with Aimee’s family to Hawaii, to which we added the happy news of a family wedding in Italy, which was then topped off by an un-missable opportunity to stay in a manor in the Cotswolds with friends for a few days. Those trips were added on to an already busy year, in which I managed to fly somewhere every month but December, taking 15 trips in 11 months for a grand total of 74984 miles. The trip to Hawaii also marked my fiftieth state, which was a nice milestone. I enjoy traveling as much (or probably more) than the next guy, but even this year was a little much for me. Here’s a list of destinations with corresponding thoughts and photos (except for the Philly trip; maybe I was getting fatigued by that point):

1. Anchorage
2. San Francisco
3. Greeley, CO
4. Boston / New York
5. Charlottesville
6. Las Vegas
7. Rome / Florence / Udine
8. Maui
9. Anchorage
10. London / Churchill
11. Anchorage
12. Philadelphia
13. Anchorage
14. Boston
15. Savannah

We’ve got some plans for next year, big and exciting ones, but nothing on the scale of this year’s list, which will be a relief.

Concerts

(I haven’t been taking my camera to as many shows these days…)

1. Radiohead at the Hollywood Bowl August 25, 2008

One of the most memorable concert-going experiences of my life: Radiohead, touring for their best album in a decade, from the pit at the Hollywood Bowl on a warm summer night with a friend I’ve known for nearly 20 years.

2. R.E.M. at the Hollywood Bowl May 29, 2008

I’ve seen R.E.M. at some of the classic outdoor venues – Great Woods, Jones Beach, Red Rocks – and I was happy to add the Bowl to the list, especially from way down in front, where we had a great view from the Mike Mills side of the stage. It’s always great to see the band live, but to hear them perform songs from their new album, their best in a long, long time, was a real joy.

3. Wilco at the Moose’s Tooth July 26, 2008

Wilco was in fine form, but the venue was the real star: the parking lot of our favorite pizza and brewpub in Anchorage, in a torrential summer downpour. Seeing Wilco in Anchorage, and running into Nels in the airport as we both headed back to Los Angeles the next day, was a unique experience, something I never thought I’d see.

4. Zooey Deschanel at Largo February 16, 2008

We attended three 826 LA benefit shows at Largo (which I guess we have to call “the old Largo” or “the original Largo” now), and they were each pretty amazing, but this one topped them all. Zooey Deschanel had yet to release her critically-acclaimed album, and the show was one of the last we saw before Largo on Fairfax shut down and relocated. We were at the front table, as always, in the incredible, intimate space, and the militantly prescribed atmosphere – no talking, no electronic devices of any kind – created the perfect environment to listen to Deschanel’s delicate, soulful renditions of standards (and an occasional original tune).

5. Tony Bennett at the Greek Theater September 12, 2008

I’m really glad we got the opportunity to see Tony Bennett while he can still belt ’em out, which he certainly can. He performed an utterly charming show, with a great mix of standards, and had a wonderful energy as he mixed stories from his life with some of the greatest songs ever written.

6. Pigeon Detectives at Spaceland September 13, 2008

I’m not sure where I learned about the Pigeon Detectives, but I’d been listening to their music online for awhile (no US released album yet) and eventually picked up their debut album a few months before the show. I was desperate for some new music, and I really liked the album, so I was excited to se them. They were touring for their second album, which I’d gotten in the mail the day before the show. It had been awhile since I’d been to a show at a club like Spaceland, and I’d forgotten how long those shows are: there were three opening bands before the headliners went on, by which time I’d been there for three hours. But, the show was amazing, crazily energetic, and well worth it. I can’t tell if these guys are going to be successful over here, but I thought they were great.

7. Swell Season / Iron and Wine at the Greek Theater October 4, 2008

At the end of what must have seemed like an endless tour, we caught the Oscar-darlings Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova at the Greek for a late summer show. The whole evening was terrific, from Sam Beam’s opening set to the multiple Van Morrison covers t and Glen’s a cappella magic in the still, silent night.

8. Jon Brion and Nels Cline at Largo at the Coronet September 10, 2008

I’m always intrigued to see who knows whom and who plays with whom in a city’s music scene; I don’t think I would have imagined Brion, whom I’d seen a few times before at the old Largo, and Cline, whom I’d seen a bunch with Wilco over the past three years, as collaborators, but they fit together, and played off one another, in some remarkable ways. The show was less like a concert and more like an experiment (in the best way possible), with some Neil Young covers thrown in.

9. Sondre Lerche at the Troubadour August 23, 2008

This show marked my third time seeing Sondre Lerche at the Troubadour, and he always has a good time and puts on a great show. It was a good opportunity to introduce Brent, in town for the #1 show of the year, to Lerche’s music, and the show would be on this list if he only performed one song: his breathtaking cover of Jobim’s “Waters of March.”

10. James Walsh at the Hotel Caf? December 8, 2008

This night was a nice confluence of events: I won two free tickets on KCRW, we’d never been to the Hotel Cafe before, I’d seen James Walsh with his band Starsailor once many years ago, and it was the anniversary of John Lennon’s death, which led to two fine Beatles covers from Walsh.

Movies

Another banner year for movie-going, as I’m now working on my third film journal of 2008, and am in the middle of my Movie Week project. Overall, I saw 318 films in 2008, 37 of which were 2008 releases (counting the one I’ll be seeing tonight).

My Top Ten:

1. Wall-E
2. Milk
3. The Dark Knight
4. The Visitor
5. Frost/Nixon
6. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
7. Man on Wire
8. Slumdog Millionaire
9. Happy Go Lucky
10. Che

(note: after seeing The Wrester in early 2009, I have to put it in this list, probably at number two or three, and Che will slide off, I guess)

And My Bottom Five:

1. Australia
2. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
3. Seven Pounds
4. Get Smart
5. Step Brothers

It was a strange year for films, after the extremely strong year last year. I have no idea what’s going to do well in the awards races, as I didn’t really love any of the year-end prestige films this year.

Books

Last year, I made a resolution to try to read more; specifically, I wanted to read 25 books in 52 weeks. I didn’t make it; I’m halfway through number 18 right now – but I’m pretty sure I did better than last year, and our semi-regular QBT in the evenings after dinner has been good for both of us. The books I’ve read this year:

(list forthcoming)

1. Word Freaks
2. The New Kings of Non-Fiction
3. The Final Solution
4. Tintin and the Secret of Literature
5. The Invention of Hugo Cabret
6. Superbad (by Ben Greenman, not a movie novelization)
7. Invisible Man
8. The Film Club
9. The Book of Illusions
10. Pictures at a Revolution
11. When You Are Engulfed in Flames
12. Cartoon Modern
13. Chuck Dugan is AWOL
14. The Day of the Locust
15. Tintin: The Complete Companion
16. The Best Music Writing of 2002
17. Everything That Rises

Not bad, but not great. Nine non-fiction, eight fiction, an even split. Five out of seventeen were related to film, and three of seventeen about childhood obsessions (Tintin and Sherlock Holmes), which I apparently have yet to let go.

Walks and Hikes

We powered through our Walking L.A. book in 2008, completing 21 walks. We’re nearly done with the book – just a half dozen or so more to go – and have enjoyed the experience. Check out the blog entries here and photos here.

We also started going on hikes found in a guidebook Aimee gave me last Christmas, 60 Hikes within 60 Miles of Los Angeles. We started on January first of this year with a walk in Silver Lake (sometimes the hikes are more like walks, and the walks in Walking L.A. can be more like hikes). So far we’ve done 11: blog entries and photos here.

Number of Times We Moved: 0

The happiest statistic of all…