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We’re 7 days into 2009, so I better get this done before it becomes completely irrelevant.

Honestly, wasn’t all that thrilled with the albums of 2008. There were a few stellar winners, but I was pretty “meh” on the rest of it. Here’s my Top 10… and if I’m honest, #9 and #10 are stretching it.

#1. Coldplay – Viva la Vida
Finely executed, perfectly produced. A full album listen from start to finish, and in my opinion Coldplay’s best effort yet. I’m particularly fond of “Lovers In Japan” and “Death And All His Friends”. I pre-ordered this album on iTunes and received with it an acoustic version of “Lost” and “Lovers In Japan”. It’s rare that bonus tracks, when tacked on to the end of a record, flow seamlessly with the rest of the content, but with this one they did just that.

#2. Sigur Ros – med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust
My favorite Icelander’s. This album wasn’t necessarily a depature, but it was different than previous releases, starting with “Gobbledigook”, the opening song that sets the tone and pace for the album. It’s hard to describe Sigur Ros – anthemic, ethereal, epic, and moody are words I would use but don’t seem to capture it. For me Sigur Ros is like going on a evening hike across a glacier in the middle of winter, north of the Arctic Circle, with the wind to your back and the Northern Lights to your face.

#3. Radiohead – In Rainbows
I called out a friend for including In Rainbows on his ’08 list, but like I said, ’08 was a little lacking, and since mass release via retail did occur in January 2008… well, it’s on my list. This is another one of those great soundtrack-esque albums that sets a mood and demands to be listened from start to finish. “Reckoner” is a favorite of mine and reminds me of cloudy fall days, but I also have to mention the fantastic stereo guitar work on “Bodysnatchers” which must be listened to with headphones on.

#4. La Rocca – OK OKAY
Sophomore effort from La Rocca and it’s pretty decent. They’ve got a good Irish flair to themselves like U2 and others, but it’s not so in your face, and as much as I like soaring arena rock it’s nice to tone things down a little bit with something more along the lines of The Frames. That’s where La Rocca usually sits – more at ease in a pub than a stadium I’m sure.

#5. Low Vs. Diamond – Low Vs. Diamond
I’ve been waiting for this album for a while since Low vs. Diamond released a debut EP in 2007. I suppose it’s along the lines of La Rocca as above, but probably a little more brooding and moody… the sort of thing that you’d hear at the climax of an episode on the CW… oh wait, that’s where I heard them first.

#6. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals – Cardinology
Dang, this guy can crank out the songs, and somehow it doesn’t all just sound like same ol’ same ol’. “Magick” is probably one of the most different songs on the album, but I really like “Cobwebs” and “Fix It”. The only thing missing on this album is Adams randomly shouting out “guitar solo!!” That should have been worked into “Magick” at some point I think.

#7. Jon Foreman – Spring
It was fun to be involved on this project back at EMI, and Spring is just 1/4 of a great series of “seasons” EPs released over the last year. I think Spring is one of the more diverse EPs he released, and delves into some very Sufjan-esque styling, such as on “March”. As are all the tracks within the “seasons series”, Spring is aptly titled with a collection of brighter, more energetic tracks… much needed considering my propensity for darker moodier music.

#8. Eric Hutchinson – Sounds Like This
This was a bit of a late discovery for me in 2008, thanks in part to recent radio success with the single “Rock & Roll”. This album is just fun, with some great blues / funk / gospel / soul influences throughout. It’s a little Marc Broussard, a little Jason Mraz, a little Robert Randolph.

#9. Killers – Day & Age
I was really looking forward to this album, so it makes the list more as a result of anticipation than actual worth. I love the radio single – “Human” is a great track, pulsing and driving, with some sort of ’80s thing going on. Frankly the rest of the record was a little lacking. Maybe if Killers, Keane, and Snow Patrol just release a compilation together next time we’d be better off.

#10. Meiko – Meiko
I’m still listening to this album, not sure if it really should get the last spot on the Top 10 list or not… but honestly since I don’t like Fleetwood Foxes and Bon Jov Iver like everyone else did last year I’ve got nothing else to slip in. From the few times I’ve listened to Meiko I like it though – has that laid back, singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson thing going on, but without the images of Old Navy sweater commercials running through my head.

I just received the kindest, most genuine, most encouraging and uplifting email from one of the men I most admire and respect in this world.

I used to work with this particular guy. He is an executive within the company, well respected across the industry, and certainly at the top of his class in his particular field. He is brilliant, passionate and intimidating. You don’t want to sit across the table from him. Not necessarily the type of person you’d generally expect a kind, genuine, encouraging email from.

And yet in the last few years I’ve gotten to know this man, I’ve come to realize that at his core he is a person who cares deeply for other people. He is compassionate and wise. He speaks with truth into your life, directly and honestly. That’s not to say he is putting on an outward front in his professional life – he really is brilliant and intimidating, and that is the result of how much he loves his job.

But it’s been incredible to get to see this personal side of him the last few years. Humbling that I get to experience this side of him. And I think to myself, ‘I want to be like that’ – to exude such grace and encouragement and kindness to other people, and to do it without hesitation. Who am I but just a little guy in his eyes – he’s an important executive – but he doesn’t care… really don’t think he even sees that. I’m just a friend, a brother to him. Just amazing to me.

I’m uplifted by the fact that I am encouraged by other people like this. I observe these traits and I want to see them in my own life.

I think that takes practice.

OK, so I’m two and a half weeks into the new job at Word Records, and it’s been going well! Everyone I work with is great, it’s fun to work in a slightly larger team of people, and I’m looking forward to really digging into a lot of the new accounts and artists I have headed my way.

The commute downtown isn’t near as bad as I thought it would be, and so far the drive has been enjoyable. Music Row is surprisingly quiet – sign of the times, probably, and unfortunately – but it makes for uncrowded streets and isn’t anything like trying to navigate Maryland Way in Brentwood at noon-hour.

The first couple weeks has been a bit overwhelming though. There are a lot of expectations throughout the company (regarding what needs to happen with digital sales), and my head is trying to get adjusted to a new catalog, a new distribution process, and an entirely new set of relationships. But I’ve had some small accomplishments. I spent a good portion of last week crafting the official Word digital & mobile retail strategy. I’m quite happy with it and will give me some guidance as to what I need to focus on over the next year.

And that, my friends, is the word.

Today we got an extra hour of sleep, and by midnight last night I had already wasted it by staying up late reading a book (of all things).

I have mixed feelings about the ol’ daylight savings time thing. After a little Wikipedia research I now realize that summertime is actual daylight savings time, and now here in the fall / winter we’re on standard time.

I guess I wish we could be on daylight savings time all year long without this fall back in fall business. It’s in the wintertime that I wish we had more daylight in the afternoon (right when the sun is setting at 4:00 on a January afternoon). Of course I realize that by doing this, we’d be celebrating sunrise at 9:00 AM. Hmph.

The flip side of all this though is that falling back in fall is a nice signaling of the seasons for me. Beginning now – the next two months – is my favorite time of year, what with Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and all that goes with it. I can’t wait!!

So as it’s now 4:30 in the afternoon, and the sun is beginning to set, I’m thinking ahead to a giant roast turkey on our dining room table, and that somehow makes it worth it.

As you now know, I’ve gotten myself a new job. As such, the wonderful carpooling arrangement Steph and I have had for the last 3 years is being disrupted and we need to get a car so she can get to work. Unfortunately, the vast majority of my time off so far has been dedicated towards this end, and if I’m honest, this has been the most awful car buying experience I’ve ever had.

I’m now going to offer you a detailed case study on how not to buy a used car:

This is the story of how Steph and I purchased a lemon bomb of a terrible car and then blew $600 extra dollars on a car I never truly owned.

We started out two weeks ago with your typical internet searches and used car lot shopping. Our goal was something truly inexpensive – cash only – reliable enough to get Steph through for the next year, 10 miles of driving a day. We had some decent leads, but nothing remarkable. But then we stumbled upon a ’97 Infiniti i30.

The price was right: $2,500. The car looked good on the outside and according to the owner – a private seller – had been an extremely reliable car for the past two years. Now hear me through. Regardless of the debacle about to unfold, I still have no ill feelings toward the seller… he’s a good, honest guy and I think we both got sucker punched.

The Ill Fated Purchase
After a couple test drives we decided to buy the car. We were both comfortable with it, were aware of it’s known quirks, and were anxious to make a purchase because I was leaving town for the week.

Now it’s important to know that I, a fool from Minnesota, bought a car with the ‘check engine’ light on. Um, OOPS!! In my naivety I didn’t think that a ‘check engine’ light was a big deal, and in Minnesota it’s not. We don’t perform emissions tests in Minnesota and growing up it seems my family has always owned a car with that silly light on. It’s not a big deal – usually some obscure electrical fluke.

Well, in Davidson County, Tennessee they don’t treat the little orange light as obscure. As soon as we bought the car we took it to the testing facility where it promptly failed. The $10 test indicated that our Knock Sensor and Speed Sensor were failing.

Flailing Attempts To Fix Our Failing Car
We figured we should take it to the closest mechanic shop to see what was up, so off to Christian Brothers Auto. They charged us $85 for a diagnostics test – likely used a piece of equipment that cost little more than that – and told us our Knock Sensor and Speed Sensor were failing, and causing the ‘check engine’ indicator.

Estimated cost to replace both sensors: $938.

After gathering the bits of shattered bone lying on the floor from our jaws dropping, we hightailed it out of there.

May I Have A Second Opinion?
Since the car was in fair working condition I left town for my road trip, leaving Steph with the new Infiniti for the week. Miraculously it worked ok while I was gone.

Then on Friday when I got back we took the car to a local mechanic, recommended by a friend whom we knew could be trusted. He again charged us $75 for a diagnostics test and told us that the Knock Sensor and Speed Sensor were failing. Thank you for the insight.

But this particular mechanic did offer some helpful advice and cautioned us that these error codes we were seeing were likely the result of other hidden issues impossible to detect, most likely an imminent car computer failure ($800+ to fix). Our $2500 car was quickly becoming a $5000 money pit, just to pass the emissions test, and I guarantee this car was NOT worth $5000.

4th Down And 9: Punt
By this point we are quite angry and beyond frustrated. It’s clear we have to unload this worthless piece of junk – this ridiculous lemon of a car. So we went to CarMax to get a quote for dumping it.

$1200 is what they offered.

But that was before the alternator failed on our way out of the parking lot.

On A Search For Grace
Please understand the fury I am trying to restrain within myself at this point on a cold Friday night.

The long and short is I’ve got nearly $3000 sunk into a car that I’ve purchased and desperately need to get rid of. But I cannot even sell it!! I cannot sell the car because I technically don’t “own” it. I don’t own it because I can’t get a clean title. I can’t get a clean title because I can’t get it registered. I can’t get it registered because I can’t pass the emissions test. And I can’t pass the emissions test because total repairs will cost me well in excess of $2500. And this I can’t afford.

Reluctantly I call the previous owner who sold me this time bomb on wheels and explain my awful plight. I present a scenario where either he buys the car back from us at a reduced price, or he helps us sell it at CarMax (because we need his signature).

He requests some time to think about it. Steph and I go to bed stressed out of our ever-loving minds.

Meanwhile…
Meanwhile we begin shopping for another new car for Steph, knowing that one way or another the Infiniti is going bye-bye. We spend a better portion of Saturday traipsing all over Southern Tennessee used car dealerships.

And then somehow, in an act of charity I’m still trying to comprehend, the previous owner of the ill fated Infiniti calls and offers a full $2500 buyback of the car. Talk about dodging a bullet. In a moment of gracious weakness I offer to help him split the cost of fixing the alternator since it “happened on my watch”.

Adding Insult To Injury
My act of charity involves getting the car to an affordable mechanic to fix the alternator, so after some phone calls Monday morning I get the thing hauled to Firestone. $400 repair on the way.

I spend the rest of Monday and then Tuesday (today) shopping for cars (this time from dealers… no more private sellers). And I’ve learned my lesson here as well: demand that the car be taken to a mechanic for review.

Adding insult to injury, on my way back from a mechanic reviewing a car, I get pulled over by Nashville’s finest on Old Hickory Boulevard. This particular cop is unhappy that I am driving 50 in a 45, and is also curious if I can show the registration and proof of insurance for the car… which I explain that I cannot because it’s obviously a dealer’s car (hence dealer plates on the back). He is not all that amused and proceeds to cite me for all three offenses.

Total cost of the moving and non-moving violations: $162

Oh, then Firestone called and said the alternator on the Infiniti was fixed, but the battery is now dead.

New battery: $80.

Infiniti = Infinite Problems
I’m sure many people own Infiniti’s and don’t have a problem, but my two week experience was excruciatingly painful.

Finally this evening we made a purchase on a new car for Steph (an Acura), and we unloaded the Infiniti on the previous owner (which I feel bad about, but it was necessary).

Lessons Learned
I’ll leave you with these final tidbits of advice…

• Never buy a car with the check engine light on; it will fail emissions test
• Never buy a car without first having it checked out by a mechanic you trust
• Don’t speed while test driving a car
• Ask the dealer where they keep the registration and proof of insurance before you leave the lot
• Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds.com are your friend
• Make friends with a mechanic – I highly recommend Tom Chubb at American Tire (Antioch) or Blake Sellars at Firestone (Brentwood)
• Don’t buy a used ’97 Infiniti i30