Caught in the Carousel

Letter from the Editor - January 2009

Okay, two confessions.

The other night I was exhausted after editing the new issue, and I fell asleep with no advance warning. It was sort of a narcoleptic takedown—a kind of My Own Private Idaho collapse-and-slumber-where-you-once-stood kind of a thing.

I awoke several hours later, confused, disoriented and bleary, the TV blaring "That's So Raven." I've never seen the show before, but it was so hideous I remember being unable to look away or change the channel. I won't break the show down for you-I'll leave that to the historical fictionists, those tireless scribes who shall memorialize the half hour comedy in future texts that reference Marxism and Madonna on the same page, but I will say this: it's truly, truly horrible. It's cheer is overanxious, it's syrupy sentimentality makes Norman Rockwell's work look like the murderous scribbles in a goblin's cave and its lessons of morality are so bumptious, idealistic and sappy, they can only make one reach for the poison and douse their drink with it.

But I couldn't stop watching. It was a personal challenge, a kind of inner dare to see how long I'd last. Regrettably, it was a "That's So Raven" marathon and being a fifth-set kind of guy, I stayed transfixed and horrified for the next seven hours. I made 11 sandwiches that I didn't eat; I threw things across the room; I yelled into the night, but I didn't change the channel.

It was one of the worst things I've ever done to myself. It felt like getting one's head blown off in slow motion.

So that happened.

Confession #2:
I can't pick my top ten albums of the year. I promised myself that I could do it, but when I made my list, it numbered closer to 20. And so, dear readers, I've decided to give you the Director's Cut, the unexpurgated entirety of my favorites of 2008. I've also included a list of my favorite songs of the year and just to keep things cool between us, I added a few other categories as well.

But the CITC writers and guest musicians are the ones who really stepped up here.

2008 marks the first year we've done a Year-End feature. To help us out, we enlisted musicians Steve Wynn, Justin Currie, Yusuf Azak, Eric Corne, Matthew Edwards, Mark Geary and others to pitch in their own lists. We also have poet Graham Foust and several CITC staff writers logging in as well. Enjoy!

Welcome to 2009—we're stretching in the locker room because we have a feeling this is going to be our biggest, our best and our most physically exhausting year. We're up for it. We can't wait.

As always, we've got free MP3's for you, an expanded book review section, new album reviews and a Scouting Report (featuring brand new categories) from my new favorite band, The Bye Bye Blackbirds.

Thanks for reading and making CITC a part of your everyday life. We'd make you dinner if you lived closer.

Love and Rockets,
Alex Green
Editor, Caught In The Carousel
Alex670@earthlink.net