Photo by Debra Garcia
Like most of us in our generation, I was raised in an environment that emphasized the similarities between the sexes, not the differences. I thought we were all equal and the same and never really questioned it, until I had a kid. I now realize the folly of that belief. For it’s never been more clear to me that boys and girls are fundamentally wired differently. And there’s nothing like the raw impulses of children to hammer that home.
What’s most shocking to me is how the communication style and emotional needs between the sexes are so apparent, even at age 3. Take, for example, the scene above. That’s my little guy, Judah, and his Thai girlfriend, Monet. Every time they get together the same thing happens. She goes to the ends of the earth to vie for his attention and he pretty much ignores her. The more she tries, the more he pulls away. Because, you know, when you’re 3 years old, what can compete with smashing up cars and pretending to be Kung Fu Panda? Not girls anyway….yet.
Recently Monet spent the entire afternoon trying to hold Judah’s hand, much to his chagrin. After trying to escape this nonsense unsuccessfully, my little caveman threw his arms up in exasperation and hollered: “MONET! Just because I don’t hold your hand, doesn’t mean I don’t love you!!”
Oh…my….god.
Listen to ‘Foreign Girls‘ from the Foreign Girls EP by Joseph Arthur, one of my long-time favorite artists.
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This album blew me away from the first listen and put Bradford Cox into the genius category for me. I really and truly can’t stop listening to this album. It’s brilliant start to finish and much more melodic and song-oriented than other Deerhunter albums. A classic for sure.
I’m truly obsessed with this Austin-based band. I listen to this album, without fail, every single day. I start with the Let’s Talk About It EP followed by Exposion. It’s my go-to, late night, ‘gotta wake my ass up to get some work done’ combo. I just love their stripped down Stooges/White Stripes vibe. Feels really good. And seriously rocks! 
What a sexy album this is. And their collaboration with Danger Mouse on this album adds subtle layers of complexity to give it a more ethereal and eerie sound than their prior releases. Sooo good.
‘The Rockintours’ as my 3 year old son calls them, this album was most definitely on heavy rotation throughout 2008. To the point where he has developed an obsession with Jack White and tries to emulate his moves on his toy guitar. Could Jack White be the rock god of his generation? Very well could be. He made demi-rock god status in my book after seeing them play at Bimbos earlier this year, one of my concert highlights of the year. A relentless assault of rock and roll I haven’t seen the likes of in quite some time.
I’ve been a fan of The Duke Spirit since their first album, Cuts Across the Land, hit the US in 2005.
My biggest regret of the year? Having to miss Beach House play The Swedish American Music Hall. Grr. It’s such a lovely, lovely, album. I love their etherial, haunting, lovelorn music and Devotion was a late night favorite on my headphones all year long.
Have you heard the one about this girl who walks into a bar in Austin, TX and sees Fleet Foxes for the first time? Call it serendipity, call it love at first sight – er, listen – she’s smitten. And so is the rest of the indie rock world. With good reason. Another one of my top live performances of 2008
Are you a Pavement fan? If you are, you’re gonna like the latest release, Heavenly Bender, from the Brooklyn-based quartet,
Remember when this band was fresh on the scene and how great it was, for that brief moment, to have them all to yourself? Then suddenly they were everywhere and even your non-music friends started talking about them. ‘Have you heard of this band called Bon IVER?’ At least we had the satisfaction to smugly correct them on their mispronunciation. “It’s pronounced Bon Hiver – like good winter in French? Phht.” Okay, maybe that was just me. All kidding aside, this is such a beautiful album and truly one of my favorite live performances of the year. It gave me goosebumps.
The Portland-based duo, 
This stripped down, two-man San Francisco band consists of Meric Long on guitar and vocals and Logan Kroeber on percussion.
Welcome to the Night Sky is the third album for the Halifax-based 
Women
I adore this guy. He’s a wonderful and interesting artist, a virtual one-man band who’s notoriously very reclusive and apparently obsessed with death and other morbid topics. I find a stark beauty in the basement-recorded ‘Soft Airplane’ (as well as a nice cover of The Shins ‘City of Electric Light’). And while it’s true that the basement can be a dark and scary place at times, it can also be filled with wonder and surprise.
Tape ain’t gonna fix it/ Honey, it ain’t gonna stick/ Six kinds of glue/ Won’t hold you! / You’ve got to, you’ve got to, you’ve got to go straight ahead! 
This Chicago quartet has been around for quite a while and there’s a comfort in the familiarity and consistency of their music. Their latest release, Car Alarm, is no exception. One of their best albums in over a decade. I’ve been listening to their electronic grooves a lot. Mellow yet powerful at the same time, they are firmly rooted in Indie rock with a splash of that electronica sound I like so much. It’s smooth, well balanced, easy on the ears and layered with just enough complexity to keep it interesting listen after listen. Like a fine wine.
Last, but certainly not least, is Juana Molina’s, Un Dia. This Argentinean singer /songwriter is an amazing interpreter of sound. I discovered her by chance many years ago opening for a band I can’t even remember now because her performance was so compelling and mesmerizing I’ve forgotten everything else about that night. I’ve been an ardent fan of her dreamlike, hypnotic music ever since. Her fifth full length album, Un Dia, is her most adventurous, upbeat and rhythmic release to date. 
the OCMD 