"...when I was a kid, I had an imaginary friend ... the raggedy Doctor, my raggedy Doctor. But he wasn't imaginary. He was real. I remember you. I remember! I brought the others back, I can bring you home, too. Raggedy man, I remember you -- and you are late for my wedding!"
"I'm going to start by telling you a story about a young lad, a bit of a tearaway, a bit rebellious, a bit of a loose cannon. People were always telling him, 'Settle down. Do as you're told. Don't challenge authority. Don't rock the boat. Don't smash the system.' He didn't listen. He did his own thing. They said, 'He won't amount to anything!' You might be surprised to know that that man went on to become … Sid Vicious. And although he died at the tender age of 21 from a heroin overdose having possibly murdered his girlfriend, I don't think that detracts from the fact that ... you know, it shows that a certain amount of skepticism toward authority ... you know, can be beneficial ... you know, in small measures, obviously ..."
So you finally learn to stop caring whether the clerk at the record store is judging you. And then you start downloading all your music anyway. Favourite albums of 2010, in no particular order: The National, High Violet ** Sleigh Bells, Treats ** Spoon, Transference ** LCD Soundsystem, This Is Happening ** MIA, Maya ** The Fall, Your Future Our Clutter ** Arcade Fire, The Suburbs ** Surfer Blood, Astro Coast ** Titus Andronicus, The Monitor. Favourite songs of 2010: Kanye West, "Runaway" ** Elizabeth Cook, "Heroin Addict Sister" ** The National, "Bloodbuzz Ohio" ** Dessa, "Children's Work" ** The Hold Steady, "The Weekenders" & "We Can Get Together" ** Drive-By Truckers, "Birthday Boy" ** [List subject to change based on random whim, sudden mood changes and the possibility that new favourites are buried somewhere in the pile of stuff I haven't got round to listening to yet.]
