I heard a story that Groucho Marx wrote an entire book solely using the morsels of time he had while waiting for his wife to get ready. While I don't think I'll get a book started tonight (White Stripes bio stop haunting me!) I will utilize the time to eke out some thoughts.

While the past year seems to have gone by faster than any other of the previous twenty nine, certain things jump out. First off...finally buying a house. There is now a hovel where I can stash all my crap, tear down a wall if I want to, let raccoons live in the basement, and fret over the length of the grass. It's been a dream for quite some time and after the fourth consecutive day of moving, I must say I had the  most complete, refreshing and immediate sleep in my life.

I think my favorite live show of the year had to have been Quintron and Miss Pussycat live at Third Man. Complete with guest appearances by King Louie AND the Oblivians, the live LP is my absolute favorite thing to hear when I walk in or out of the store at Third Man. And dare I say the quality of the recording and mix is pretty top-notch.

Also...flexi-disc balloon launch? May be my favorite art project ever. The look of joy and excitement on people's faces that day was incalculably rewarding. I can't believe we pulled it off. Where do you go from there? And who knew helium was at an all-time high price?

Having started this year but not really showing itself until 2013, a lot of my work at Third Man has been focused on reissues. The stuff coming up has been rewarding and challenging and fulfilling all at once, spanning just about every genre and era of recorded music. Folks are already awaiting the reissue partnership with Document Records, but that is barely the tip of the iceberg.

Nothing beats:
-a new pair of zipper boots from DSW
-boutique record digging exclusive Detroit/Michigan 45's
-vintage Detroit high school phys-ed t-shirts
-Boardwalk Empire, and moreso, TALKING about Boardwalk Empire
-Saturday morning breakfast at Mas Tacos (cheesy truffle grits? oh.my.gawd)
-friendly neighbors
-Nashville weather in December
-all the quirks of Mold-a-Rama machines
-issue 5 of Bagazine
-spending New Year's Eve with old friends

Looks like she's just about ready to go...my work here is done.