New Years Resolutions

Arcade Fire please play DC!

On New Years Day my buddy “Cousin” Jeffrey was talking about how he really wanted to fly to Manchester to see Oasis in the front row of a massive concert. This, sadly, is his dream. But I am not one to mock dreams…. just the dreamer. And to be honest, that does sound like it could be fun.

Anyway, this enlightening conversation made me think of my own New Years resolutions. Here are 7 things I want to accomplish in 2007 (music related of course):

1) See Radiohead play live again. Once again, I can’t wait for them to do a proper US tour this year and get a chance to see them. They don’t tour as much as I’d like and I’ve only gotten to see them two times. However, those are two of my favorite all-time shows. I just hope they don’t play the amphitheaters again and do smaller venues. I doubt it will happen though

2) Keep producing the award winning, internationally respected episodes of “All You Need Is Hops”, the greatest Hopscast on the Interweb. The gospel of Hops must be spread to the masses.

3) Check out more local bands. In DC we have a ton of venues like the Black Cat and Iota who put on good shows every night. I definitely want to see a few more local bands that I can see without forking up a ton of money or having to get there hours before the show just to get a spot where I can see.

4) See Arcade Fire again. I loved their last show at the 9:30 club and I’m eagerly awaiting their new album next month. Let’s hope they still play a venue that small. I’m guessing they’re going to be a tough ticket if they do.

5) Continue to dust off my old albums. If you’ve been reading my column “Dusting off the Disc” you know I’ve been revisiting CD’s in my collection that I haven’t listened to for over a year. I’m really enjoying the exercise of going through my collection and intentionally choosing the lesser traveled path. I encourage everyone to do the same.

6) Hit up a jazz club. DC has a ton of jazz clubs and for whatever reason I’ve always avoided going. Considering the strong historical connection to the city I should probably go at least once.

7) Create a binder of my shows. Mrs. Hops had a great idea: take all the ticket stubs from shows we’ve been to (assuming I saved them) and print out the set lists and potentially some photos. It would be a cool thing to have around, a little history off all the concerts I’ve ever seen. It will take some work, but I’d be excited to have that in my house.

What are you musical resolution for 2007? Feel free to comment below or email me at AllYouNeedIsHops@gmail.com