2007 Retrospective Survey!
01. What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before?
I did quite a few things which I suppose I'd never done 'properly' before - like, I flew in a commercial plane for the first time - my previous only times in the air were in a small Cessna with Rob... I also got a proper driving lesson, last time I drove a car was years ago, once again with Rob... I played my first gig in Wellington ever... I made and released a music video of my own stuff for the first time... Articles published in a daily newspaper... I asked a girl to marry me... That last one's probably the only true, proper uncontested first!

02. Did you keep your New Years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I'm not sure I even made any.

03. Did someone close to you give birth?
No one in my immediate circle, no.

04. Did anyone close to you die?
Scully, one of our cats was hit by a car and killed recently.

05. What countries did you visit?
Only Strongbadia.

06. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
Money! Haha!

07. What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Events, yes, but no date in particular, I don't think.

08. What was your biggest achievement(s) of the year?
tariqa saying yes... completing the grad dip with all As and Bs... and the band doing well enough over the year to finish it with gigs supporting the Mint Chicks and getting paid for it!

09. What was your biggest failure(s)?
It's the end of December and I'm still working for the CD & DVD Store part time! But I've had a taste of what it's like to be well paid (at Real Groove/Groove Guide), so I'm sure that'll sort itself out soon.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I got really sick for a few days when Tariqa was away, and hurt my back when packing before moving to Mt Albert.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My new bass guitar! Probably. Or Civilization IV.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Scully. He was a terror, then when we got Lando he became a really good big brother.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Scully prior to getting Lando!

14. Where did most of your money go?
Rent, bills, band, the Brooklyn.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Supporting the Mint Chicks... getting engaged... the Ryan Adams concert.

16. What songs will always remind you of 2007?
The Arcade Fire - No Cars Go (in particular) - always on just before I closed the store, or while doing cash up
LCD Soundsystem - Someone Great - the best New Order song in years
Battle Circus - Love In A Fallout Shelter - the best local stuff I heard all year
Amy Racecar - Satan - more local stuff, it was a good year for NZ music - I listened to this while doing housework often
Good, The Bad & The Queen - Herculean - slow burning classic of an album that just kept coming back to me
Rihanna - Umbrella - when this was at #1, I went on a field trip to Hamilton for a week, and it rained the whole time
Mint Chicks - Falling Off A Cliff Again - in 2007 I finally realised how awesome these guys actually are

17. Compared to this time last year, are you
i. happier or sadder? Happier
ii. thinner or fatter? Same
iii. richer or poorer? Poorer

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
More song writing. I did loads of recording, but not a lot of writing. I finished three entire albums, for jebus' sake. I probably wrote no more than five new songs - but admittedly did a lot of work completing older ones, so I suppose that counts!

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Sitting around doing nothing, as satisfying as it is at the time.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
I did already spend Xmas with my family then Tariqa's.

22. Did you fall in love in 2007?
Already there!

23. How many one-night stands?
Err, none?

24. What was your favorite TV program?
Mythbusters was still pretty dominant, until we moved and lost Sky. I fell deeper into Lost, and watched Flight of the Conchords whenever I remembered it was on and could get the reception. On my iPod on the bus each day I watched the entirety of I'm Alan Partridge and Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge, as well as American sitcom Titus. Next up I might find a torrent of Saxondale or all the South Park I've missed.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
The NZ Herald.

26. What was the best book you read?
I don't read too many books in their entirety any more, but one I read early in the year, or the end of last year that left a lasting impact was The Paradox Of Choice. It summed up pretty much one of the main things that's always driven me insane - too much choice!

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Discovering the Mint Chicks are actually pretty damn awesome was something, but as for artists which were either new or that I had no awareness/opinion of before, it'd have to LCD Soundsystem. But there were loads of surprises through the year - Norah Jones' album was great, as was Dolores O'Riordan's (heavier and spookier than it had any right to be). The Checks debut was an instant classic in my opinion, and Battle Circus have started with an EP/album that sounds like it should be their third at least.

28. What did you want and get?
A good band to be in, an engagement, a successful year at uni.

29. What did you want and not get?
The job at Netguide - though it's still a possibility in the new year.

30. Favorite films of this year?
Superbad, Knocked Up, Control, Children Of Men (if that wasn't last year).

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I think I picked up the new Smashing Pumpkins album, I can't remember!

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Finishing uni with an awesome jobto step right into (perhaps with a few weeks off first!)

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
Whatever doesn't make me look fat. I think I've finally shed all those lingering teenage desires to look cool and stuff. Maybe.

34. What kept you sane?
Not caring about too much.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
My workmates and I all agreed Norah Jones is way hotter than she lets on.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
The Herald's continuing idiocy and blatant partisanship. We had massive debates on the 'smacking' bill in class too, and it was interesting watching most people switch to supporting the bill once they understood what it meant.

37. Whom do you miss?
A few people from Htown I suppose, but they probably don't miss me so meh. Scully went too young.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
A lot of my classmates are really awesome people, so it'd be unfair to single any out! But Amy has an LJ and might actually read this, so I better say Amy or she'll kick my ass.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007:
Don't steal the Mint Chicks' beer. We didn't, but someone thought we had and we got a bollocking... followed by an apology!

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
After being at more shows than I have been in years, working at a record store and taking part in discussions on Fark's music tab, this pretty much sums up at least one aspect of my year... LCD Soundsystem's "Losing My Edge". At least this part, anyway.

I used to work in the record store.
I had everything before anyone.
I was there in the Paradise Garage DJ booth with Larry Levan.
I was there in Jamaica during the great sound clashes.
I woke up naked on the beach in Ibiza in 1988.

But I'm losing my edge to better-looking people with better ideas and more talent.
And they're actually really, really nice.

I'm losing my edge.

I heard you have a compilation of every good song ever done by anybody. Every great song by the Beach Boys. All the underground hits. All the Modern Lovers tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Niagra record on German import. I heard that you have a white label of every seminal Detroit techno hit - 1985, '86, '87. I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '70s.

I hear you're buying a synthesizer and an arpeggiator and are throwing your computer out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Yaz record.

I hear that you and your band have sold your guitars and bought turntables.
I hear that you and your band have sold your turntables and bought guitars.

I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.

But have you seen my records? This Heat, Pere Ubu, Outsiders, Nation of Ulysses, Mars, The Trojans, The Black Dice, Todd Terry, the Germs, Section 25, Althea and Donna, Sexual Harrassment, a-ha, Pere Ubu, Dorothy Ashby, PIL, the Fania All-Stars, the Bar-Kays, the Human League, the Normal, Lou Reed, Scott Walker, Monks, Niagra, Joy Division, Lower 48, the Association, Sun Ra, Scientists, Royal Trux, 10cc, Eric B. and Rakim, Index, Basic Channel, Soulsonic Force ("just hit me"!), Juan Atkins, David Axelrod, Electric Prunes, Gil! Scott! Heron!, the Slits, Faust, Mantronix, Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines, the Swans, the Soft Cell, the Sonics, the Sonics, the Sonics, the Sonics.

You don't know what you really want.

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And now... my last weekly/fortnightly/monthly/bimonthly top five/ten of the year... my next post, if it isn't the long overdue tale of the Mint Chicks gigs, will be my annual geek-fest calculation of the year's top albums in my charts... and I'll no doubt cut and paste the same spiel I've used the past couple of years...

1. Mint Chicks - Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No!
2. LCD Soundsystem - 45:33
3. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Baby 81
4. Radiohead - In Rainbows
5. Interpol - Our Love To Admire
6. The Checks - Hunting Whales
7. Stone Temple Pilots - Thankyou
8. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
9. The Killers - Sam's Town
10. Kora - Kora