Last Post of the Decade

Posted & filed under End of Year Round-up, Life, Music.

2009 is almost done, so here is my annual best of list. (see also: 2003, ’04, ’05, ’06 and ’07, ’08) I won’t bore you all with a best of the past decade list, but there will be some website statistics later on. Watch your fingers, and I’ll see you on the other side.

Music

  • Album of the year
    1. Jenny Owen Youngs — Transmitter Failure
    2. Delain — April Rain
    3. Daniël Lohues — Allennig III
    4. Muse — The Resistance
    5. Wende — No. 9
  • Song of the year
    1. Daniël Lohues — Geleuf allen’ nog in de maone (download .ogg *)
    2. Het Monica Da Silva Trio – Philip Freriks ik ben je bitch niet (download here)
    3. Yenny Owen Youngs — Transmitter Failure (download .ogg *)
    4. Carl Sagan – Glorious Dawn (feat. Stephen Hawking) (video)
    5. Henk Westbroek en Goddess of Desire — Satanklaas (previously?)
  • Cover of the year
    • Anneke van Giersbergen with Agua de Annique feat. Niels Geusebroek — What’s the Reason? (Silkstone cover) (video)
    • Nailpin — Fistful of Ideals (Heideroosjes cover) (video)
    • Dream Theater — Stargazer (Rainbow cover) (video)
  • Fist-pumping feel-good theme song of the year
    • Jenny Owen Youngs — Last Person (video)
    • Anneke van Giersbergen & Agua de Annique — Hey Okay (video)
    • Mika — We Are Golden (video)
  • The “I don’t understand why I didn’t check their stuff out earlier either” department
    • Grof Geschut
    • Melissa Etheridge
    • Joni Mitchell
  • Live performances (and other cultural events) I’ve attenended this year
    • 2009–01–21 — Wende, De Flint, Amersfoort
    • 2009–02–09 — BLØF (acoustic), Beatrix Theater, Utrecht
    • 2009–02–12 — Anneke van Giersbergen with Agua de Annique and special guests Niels Geusebroek, Marike Jager, Sharon den Adel and Kyteman, Melkweg, Amsterdam
    • 2009–02–14 — a balladeer + Charlie Dée, P60, Amstelveen
    • 2009–02–21 — Daniël Lohues, “Allennig III”, Kleine Komedie, Amsterdam
    • 2009–03–25 — Acda en De Munnik, “Acda en De Munnik Spelen”, De Flint, Amersfoort
    • 2009–04–10 — a balladeer + Charlie Dée, De Kelder, Amersfoort
    • 2009–04–18 — Lebbis, “Hoe laat begint het schieten?”, De Flint, Amersfoort
    • 2009–05–31 — Jon Oliva’s Pain + Masterstroke + Age of Evil, De Boerderij, Zoetermeer
    • 2009–06–05 — Stream of Passion + Autumn, 013 (kleine zaal), Tilburg
    • 2009–06–13 — Torenpop: De Staat + Heideroosjes, Amersfoort
    • 2009–06–27 — Krezip (afscheidsconcert) + Gem, Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam
    • 2009–07–11 — Making Strange Theatre Company, “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot”, The Space Upstairs at the Project Art Centre, Dublin, Ireland
    • 2009–07–12 — Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, RDS Arena, Dublin, Ireland
    • 2009–08–07 — Wende & JeugdOrkest Nederland, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam
    • 2009–08–27 — a balladeer, Lieve Vrouwekerkhof, Amersfoort
    • 2009–08–29 — Amersfoort in Vervoering: a balladeer (Marinus solo) + Markowski + Joosk, Burg. Brouwerplantsoen, Amersfoort
    • 2009–09–26 — Delain, Tivoli De Helling, Utrecht
    • 2009–10–09 — Roemer van der Steeg, “Ik ben geen kernfysicus” / Nina de la Croix, “Alles kan kapot”, Theater de Lieve Vrouw, Amersfoort
    • 2009–10–30 — Van Muiswinkel & Van Vleuten, “Heren, het allerbeste!”, De Flint, Amersfoort
    • 2009–11–13 — Wende, “No. 9 Clubtour”, Tivoli Oudegracht, Utrecht
    • 2009–12–05 — Charlie Dée, “A Tribute To Joni Mitchell”, Theater Bellevue (kleine zaal), Amsterdam
    • 2009–12–13 — “Tanz der Vampire”, Ronacher, Vienna, Austria
    • 2009–12–23 — The Bald & The Beautiful, Velvet Amersfoort (instore)
  • Concert of the year
    1. 2009–07–12 — Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, RDS Arena, Dublin, Ireland
      A glorious, joyous and life re-affirming celebration of rock and roll.
    2. 2009–11–13 — Wende, “No. 9 Clubtour”, Tivoli Oudegracht, Utrecht
    3. 2009–04–10 — a balladeer + Charlie Dée, De Kelder, Amersfoort
    4. 2009–12–05 — Charlie Dée, “A Tribute To Joni Mitchell”, Theater Bellevue (kleine zaal), Amsterdam
    5. 2009–12–13 — “Tanz der Vampire”, Ronacher, Vienna, Austria
  • Artists I listened to the most in the past 12 months, according to Last.FM
    1. Dusty Springfield
    2. Bløf
    3. Bruce Springsteen
    4. Daniël Lohues
    5. Acda en De Munnik
    6. Meat Loaf
    7. Dream Theater
    8. Charlie Dée
    9. a balladeer
    10. (tie) Porcupine Tree
    11. (tie) Rush
  • Tracks I listened to the most in the past 12 months, according to Last.FM
    1. Daniël Lohues – Geleuf allen’ nog in de maone (17×)
    2. (tie) Charlie Dée – Big Yellow Taxi (14×)
    3. (tie) Charlie Dée – A Case Of You
    4. (tie) Carole King – It’s Too Late
    5. (tie) Roosbeef – Te Heet Gewassen
    6. (tie) Charlie Dée – Little Green (13×)
    7. (tie) Jenny Owen Youngs – Led to the Sea
    8. (tie) Roosbeef – Onder Invloed
    9. Bruce Springsteen – The Wrestler (12×)
    10. (tie) Bløf – Vandaag (11×)
    11. (tie) Dream Theater – A Rite of Passage
    12. (tie) Melissa Etheridge – Like The Way I Do
    13. (tie) Grof Geschut – Moe
    14. (tie) Bruce Springsteen – Working on a Dream

Literature

  • Books I’ve read this year (in reversed chronological order)
    • John Green — Looking for Alaska
    • Stephen King — Under the Dome
    • Terry Pratchett — Nation
    • There’s Probably No God: The Atheist’s Guide to Christmas (edited by Ariane Sherine)
    • Richard Dawkins — The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution
    • Stephen King — Carrie
    • Kluun — God is gek: De dictatuur van het atheïsme
    • Michael Scott — The Sorceress (Book Three of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)
    • Kevin J. Anderson — The Edge of the World (Book One of Terra Incognita)
    • John Green — An Abundance of Katherines
    • Terry Pratchett — Pyramids
    • Carlos Ruiz Zafón — El Juego del Àngel (in English: The Angel’s Game)
    • Stephen King — Misery
    • Jonathan Stroud — Heroes of the Valley
    • Warren Zanes — Dusty in Memphis
    • Jonathan Stroud — The Leap
    • Noisy Outlaws, Unfriendly Blobs, and Some Other Things That Aren’t as Scary, Maybe, Depending on How You Feel About Lost Lands, Stray Cellphones, Creatures From the Sky, Parents Who Disappear in Peru, a Man Named Lars Farf, and One Other Story We Couldn’t Quite Finish So Maybe You Could Help Us Out (Edited by Ted Thompson, with Eli Horowitz)
    • Guus Kuijer — Het doden van een mens
    • Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves — InterWorld
    • H.P. Lovecraft — Dreams of Terror and Death: The Dream Cycle of H.P. Lovecraft
    • Mary Shelley — Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus
    • Daniël Lohues— Zes jaar vrijdagmiddag (columns)
    • Terry Pratchett — Equal Rites
    • Stephen King — Just After Sunset (Stories)
    • Neil Gaiman — Odd and the Frost Giants
    • Bas Haring — Kaas & de evolutietheorie
    • Charles Darwin — On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life
    • Michael Scott — The Magician (Book Two of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)
    • Neil Gaiman — Fragile Things
    • J.K. Rowling — The Tales of Beedle the Bard
  • Favorite books of the year
    1. Stephen King — Under the Dome
    2. Jonathan Stroud — Heroes of the Valley
    3. Terry Pratchett — Nation
    4. John Green — An Abundance of Katherines
    5. H.P. Lovecraft — Dreams of Terror and Death: The Dream Cycle of H.P. Lovecraft
  • Favorite non-fiction book of the year
  • The “This was the first and last time I read anything by this asshat” award

Odds and ends

  • Favorite website of the year
  • Favorite word of the year
    • Godverkutjes
  • Least favorite word of the year
    • Ontvrienden
  • Places I’ve spent the night this year
  • Reasons why, this year too, tall people rule harder than the short ones
    • It’s genetic.
  • Things I got a bit wound up about this year
    • Religious idiotery. Which includes Lying for the Lord™, religious figureheads acting like crybabies, discrimination because the supposedly holy book mandates it, condoning the rape of children, etc.
    • Geert Wilders, his single issue and complete lack of constructive ideas.
    • Internet Explorer
  • Things that, as fas as I’m concerned, may go extinct in 2010
  • Best photo I took this year
    • Prikkeldraad (by evil nickname) Prikkeldraad
  • Things I’m planing to do in 2010
    • Find a new job. Stat.
    • Cross off at least 6 items of my 100 things list.
    • For the past 27 months I’ve seen at least one concert or play or something each month. Let’s see if I can keep up with that schedule for another 12 months.
    • And still: don’t mess with perfection.

* You should be able to play Ogg Vorbis files in any decent media player like Foobar2000, Winamp or VLC.