Top Ten of 2013 by John Barrios
“I could write endlessly on the merits”
10. David Bowie's return after 10 years, The Next Day, woke me up from the first note and kept me entranced as I flipped sides over and over again. One of my most unexpected favorite records of the year.
9. Mary Ruefle's collection of poetry, Trance of the Blast. She is one of our finest writer's whose work never fails to inspire me. Also check out her book of essays, Madness, Rack, and Honey.
8. Paul Levy, a writer whose work has appeared on NAILED, published Dispelling Wetiko, a work which helped me through some difficult times this year. It helped me not only look at my, and society's, shadow, it helped give me the courage to face myself and grow. A true book of genius; one everybody should read.
7. Beck reimagined David Bowie's "Sound and Vision." It reminded me of how truly great an artist he is. It can be found here.
6. I love Instagram. Three of my favorites are @Ichabodpdx @arnold_daniel and @Instatone
5. Emily Wells reimagined her record Mama as a quiet acoustic record. It is lush in its sparseness, intimate, and deeply felt.
4. University of Hell published my other favorite collection of poetry last year, Leah Noble Davidson's beautifully imagined Poetica Scientifica. She wrote one poem, then wrote a poem for each word of the poem, to more fully illuminate the place where each word of the poem comes from in relation to her.
3. Summer of Salinger. Spawned by the mediocre, yet illuminating documentary Salinger, about the life of recluse writer, J.D. Salinger. I used to read Catcher In The Rye every five years, and read something different every time. It had been close to eight since my last reading, and I went ahead and reread the entire ouevre, culminating in my reading, and rereading of Catcher In The Rye. I read it 3 times fully this summer and I am stunned by a new line every time.
2. TV With Cheese is the name of a graffiti artist whose work I photograph by chance in Portland OR. I posted my shot of a giraffe head in a suit. I loved its placement near the street, low on a pole, and the color connected with the landscape in a subtle way which both stood out for me and quietly hid itself from your average pair of eyes. His work can be found at tvwithcheese.tumblr.com and on Instagram @tvwithcheese
1. Listening to record's at Aaron's house. I know you don't know Aaron, but you might know someone like him. He is a record snob, in the best of ways. He has spent years building a vintage stereo system and collecting records. I could write endlessly on the merits of listening to vinyl on equipment made for vinyl, but the truth is, listening to records with friends is the real deal. Musical highlights this year include Bob Dylan's Blonde On Blonde (Mobile Fidelity master at 45rpm); Neil Young's Massie Hall 1971 (you can hear him breathing, it feels like Neil is sitting in the room with you); Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique; and my personal favorite, and Aaron would say his best sounding record, Beck's Sea Change. Listening to masterpieces properly changed the way I experience music, and gave depth to songs I only thought I had known, but never really listened to.
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