After today's Red Sox trade the team may or may not get better, but it surely will be less interesting. I bet Jason Bay doesn't jog to first base, comically misplay fly balls, cut off throws from other outfielders, take leaks in the Monster during pitching changes or play whole innings with a water bottle in his back pocket. Hell, he probably uses toilet paper like regular people.
I know I will miss Manny Ramirez. But I bet the CHB will miss him more.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Three Chords, Harmonies and Handclaps
Since it was north of 90 degrees yesterday, I think we've reached the perfect time of the year to discuss the greatest power pop songs ever created. I won't be as reductive as the All Music Guide in deciding what's power pop and what's not. Like pornography I know it when I see it. Or hear it in this case.
So here are the 25 greatest power pop songs ever:
25: Take Me Out by Franz Ferdinand
Maybe not strictly power pop, but it sure as hell is catchy.
24: All Kindsa Girls by The Real Kids
A 70s Boston New Wave band that never went anywhere; they were still playing locally in 2003. Even if this is their one great song, it is great enough to deserve remembering.
23: My Head by Heretix
Like the previous entry, another local band that didn't go anywhere. It does offer a strong moral: if you're only going to have one great song, make it about finding your disembodied head by the side of the river. And make sure to ape Cheap Trick.
22: Strawberry Bullet by Underball
Finishing our trilogy of forgotten Boston bands is Underball, whose album Give Me Back my Ball! is chock-full of perfectly crafted songs about candy and toys. Listening to the disc at once is like eating about 37 pixie sticks in one sitting, too much of a good thing.
21: Golden Blunders by The Posies
The Posies were a Seattle band that evolved in the exact opposite way from every band. They went from playing mellow and sweet pop music to playing grunge. Because that was the fashion at the time. While this track is lovely harmonic power pop, other Posies tracks like Dream All Day are more rocking.
20: Waiting for Somebody by Paul Westerberg
Westerberg's solo career is filled with fantastic power pop tracks like Silent Film Star, AAA, Stain Yer Blood and Seein' Her. You may have heard this on the Singles soundtrack, where it outrocked everything except Touch Me I'm Dick.
19: This is Pop? by XTC
In John Wesley Harding's When The Beatles Hit America, he explains that his imagined new Beatles album sounds "like XTC, it sounded a lot like XTC." This is a case in point.
18: Hazy Shade of Winter by The Bangles
The Bangles had a few other possibilities, but this one rocks harder than Manic Monday or Going Down to Liverpool.
17: Southern Girls by Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick has quite a few worthy choices, not all of which were performed live at a certain Japanese venue. Southern Girls is a little less over the top, so I like it better.
16: Sick of Myself by Matthew Sweet
Rocking guitars, big chorus with harmonies and lyrics about girls, this is the power pop formula followed to the letter. Girlfriend would also be a great choice, but I find this one even more oppressively catchy.
15: Parklife by Blur
Smart-ass pop with a lovely chorus, the verses are spoken by him out of the movie Quadrophenia. It's okay to like this song since Ray Davies does.
14: I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man by Prince
When not wearing his wife's clothes, being enslaved by The Man or simulating bashing the bishop during the Superb Owl, Prince finds time to write kick-ass power pop like this tune. Just in case you don't think it's power pop, the Goo Goo Dolls, Replacements and Soul Asylum all covered it.
13: Shake Some Action by The Flamin' Groovies
The Flamin' Groovies were together for 17 years. This is the only song they recorded that is remembered at all and they had no hits as far as I can tell. There are worse legacies to have. Great White, I'm looking in your charred direction.
12: What I Like About You by The Romantics
These guys apparently signed the world's worst record contract, so this perfect little catchy tune is almost like a public domain track for beer advertising. When I first heard it in the late 80s I couldn't tell when it was recorded. It could have been from any time since the early 60s to today.
11: Golfshirt by Nerf Herder
The problem with Nerf Herder is that I could pick about a dozen other songs for this list like Van Halen or Sorry or Lamer Than Lame or Pantera Fans in Love. But I decided I should limit it to just one per artist, so this is probably the most representative of their themes: they want the girl, but they're too lame to ever get her.
10: I'm An Adult Now by The Pursuit of Happiness
While the lyrics border on novelty, their spirit is universal: "I can sleep in 'til noon anytime I want/but there's not many times that I do." Plus the requisite harmonies and rocking guitars are there.
9: Jilted John by Jilted John
If Nerf Herder wasn't so damn confident, they would be like Jilted John. Sample lyric: "I was so upset that I cried/ all the way to the chip shop/ when I came out there was Gordon/ standing at the bus stop/and guess who was with him? Yeah, Julie and they were both laughing at me."
8: Marie Provost by Nick Lowe
Based on a true story, this is the only song on the list to tackle the sad reality of dying alone with a hungry little dachshund. Being a Nick Lowe song, it is pure power pop.
7: Whole Wide World by Wreckless Eric
There's a story in the liner notes from the indispensable Rhino Collection DIY: UK Pop I that sums up many of these acts. Wreckless Eric was playing in a club and announced to the crowd "who wants to hear Whole Wide World?" The crowd went wild. Then he said "who wants to hear anything else?" Complete silence.
6: Bright Future in Sales by Fountains of Wayne
Sure Stacy's Mom got all the airplay, but this is the better song. Perhaps I'm biased because I like stories about salesmen and drinking (see Glen Ross, Glengarry.)
5: Another Girl, Another Planet by The Only Ones
This was covered by The Replacements, who know quite a bit about good power pop. Any song that begins "I always flirt with death" demands attention.
4: 20th Century Boy by Marc Bolan & T. Rex
The opening of this track is one distorted speaker-overwhelming chord, followed by a beat of silence, then Bolan faintly yelling "YOOOOW!" followed by another silent beat, then the riff. It just doesn't get more rock'n roll than that.
3. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding by Elvis Costello and The Attractions
Written and produced by Nick Lowe, this is the most overwhelmingly rocking Elvis Costello song. The emphasis here is on the power side of power pop. To beat out Pump It Up, Radio, Radio and Less Than Zero it has to be astounding.
2. Teenage Kicks by The Undertones
Long-time BBC DJ John Peel named this his all-time favorite (or favourite) song. After hearing it, you will understand why.
1. September Gurls by Big Star
This particular song may be why Westerberg sang in Alex Chilton that he never travels far without a little Big Star. Gorgeous harmonies, a simple melody and the requisite wistful lyrics, this is everything power pop should be.
So here are the 25 greatest power pop songs ever:
25: Take Me Out by Franz Ferdinand
Maybe not strictly power pop, but it sure as hell is catchy.
24: All Kindsa Girls by The Real Kids
A 70s Boston New Wave band that never went anywhere; they were still playing locally in 2003. Even if this is their one great song, it is great enough to deserve remembering.
23: My Head by Heretix
Like the previous entry, another local band that didn't go anywhere. It does offer a strong moral: if you're only going to have one great song, make it about finding your disembodied head by the side of the river. And make sure to ape Cheap Trick.
22: Strawberry Bullet by Underball
Finishing our trilogy of forgotten Boston bands is Underball, whose album Give Me Back my Ball! is chock-full of perfectly crafted songs about candy and toys. Listening to the disc at once is like eating about 37 pixie sticks in one sitting, too much of a good thing.
21: Golden Blunders by The Posies
The Posies were a Seattle band that evolved in the exact opposite way from every band. They went from playing mellow and sweet pop music to playing grunge. Because that was the fashion at the time. While this track is lovely harmonic power pop, other Posies tracks like Dream All Day are more rocking.
20: Waiting for Somebody by Paul Westerberg
Westerberg's solo career is filled with fantastic power pop tracks like Silent Film Star, AAA, Stain Yer Blood and Seein' Her. You may have heard this on the Singles soundtrack, where it outrocked everything except Touch Me I'm Dick.
19: This is Pop? by XTC
In John Wesley Harding's When The Beatles Hit America, he explains that his imagined new Beatles album sounds "like XTC, it sounded a lot like XTC." This is a case in point.
18: Hazy Shade of Winter by The Bangles
The Bangles had a few other possibilities, but this one rocks harder than Manic Monday or Going Down to Liverpool.
17: Southern Girls by Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick has quite a few worthy choices, not all of which were performed live at a certain Japanese venue. Southern Girls is a little less over the top, so I like it better.
16: Sick of Myself by Matthew Sweet
Rocking guitars, big chorus with harmonies and lyrics about girls, this is the power pop formula followed to the letter. Girlfriend would also be a great choice, but I find this one even more oppressively catchy.
15: Parklife by Blur
Smart-ass pop with a lovely chorus, the verses are spoken by him out of the movie Quadrophenia. It's okay to like this song since Ray Davies does.
14: I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man by Prince
When not wearing his wife's clothes, being enslaved by The Man or simulating bashing the bishop during the Superb Owl, Prince finds time to write kick-ass power pop like this tune. Just in case you don't think it's power pop, the Goo Goo Dolls, Replacements and Soul Asylum all covered it.
13: Shake Some Action by The Flamin' Groovies
The Flamin' Groovies were together for 17 years. This is the only song they recorded that is remembered at all and they had no hits as far as I can tell. There are worse legacies to have. Great White, I'm looking in your charred direction.
12: What I Like About You by The Romantics
These guys apparently signed the world's worst record contract, so this perfect little catchy tune is almost like a public domain track for beer advertising. When I first heard it in the late 80s I couldn't tell when it was recorded. It could have been from any time since the early 60s to today.
11: Golfshirt by Nerf Herder
The problem with Nerf Herder is that I could pick about a dozen other songs for this list like Van Halen or Sorry or Lamer Than Lame or Pantera Fans in Love. But I decided I should limit it to just one per artist, so this is probably the most representative of their themes: they want the girl, but they're too lame to ever get her.
10: I'm An Adult Now by The Pursuit of Happiness
While the lyrics border on novelty, their spirit is universal: "I can sleep in 'til noon anytime I want/but there's not many times that I do." Plus the requisite harmonies and rocking guitars are there.
9: Jilted John by Jilted John
If Nerf Herder wasn't so damn confident, they would be like Jilted John. Sample lyric: "I was so upset that I cried/ all the way to the chip shop/ when I came out there was Gordon/ standing at the bus stop/and guess who was with him? Yeah, Julie and they were both laughing at me."
8: Marie Provost by Nick Lowe
Based on a true story, this is the only song on the list to tackle the sad reality of dying alone with a hungry little dachshund. Being a Nick Lowe song, it is pure power pop.
7: Whole Wide World by Wreckless Eric
There's a story in the liner notes from the indispensable Rhino Collection DIY: UK Pop I that sums up many of these acts. Wreckless Eric was playing in a club and announced to the crowd "who wants to hear Whole Wide World?" The crowd went wild. Then he said "who wants to hear anything else?" Complete silence.
6: Bright Future in Sales by Fountains of Wayne
Sure Stacy's Mom got all the airplay, but this is the better song. Perhaps I'm biased because I like stories about salesmen and drinking (see Glen Ross, Glengarry.)
5: Another Girl, Another Planet by The Only Ones
This was covered by The Replacements, who know quite a bit about good power pop. Any song that begins "I always flirt with death" demands attention.
4: 20th Century Boy by Marc Bolan & T. Rex
The opening of this track is one distorted speaker-overwhelming chord, followed by a beat of silence, then Bolan faintly yelling "YOOOOW!" followed by another silent beat, then the riff. It just doesn't get more rock'n roll than that.
3. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding by Elvis Costello and The Attractions
Written and produced by Nick Lowe, this is the most overwhelmingly rocking Elvis Costello song. The emphasis here is on the power side of power pop. To beat out Pump It Up, Radio, Radio and Less Than Zero it has to be astounding.
2. Teenage Kicks by The Undertones
Long-time BBC DJ John Peel named this his all-time favorite (or favourite) song. After hearing it, you will understand why.
1. September Gurls by Big Star
This particular song may be why Westerberg sang in Alex Chilton that he never travels far without a little Big Star. Gorgeous harmonies, a simple melody and the requisite wistful lyrics, this is everything power pop should be.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Dr. Horrible is not
So I threatened you with a future post about musicals. Here it is.
Today the first episode of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog appears. Episodes 2 and 3 will be out on the 17th and 19th.
The official server at www.drhorrible.com has crashed and is not accessible as I write this, but I (yes, even cheap-ass mofo me) went to Itunes and bought the season pass for $3.99. Why?
Oh, why, indeed.
This is a Joss Whedon production. I like everything spawned from Joss - Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Serenity, the bat episode of The Office.
Plus it stars Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible and Nathan Fillion (Mal in Firefly/Serenity, evil preacher in Buffy Season 7) as his good-guy counterpart Captain Hammer. Dr. Horrible is trying to get into the Evil League of Evil led by Bad Horse ("The Thoroughbred of Sin" as we find out in song). Good music, good story, nice harmonies in the final piece.
Must see.
Today the first episode of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog appears. Episodes 2 and 3 will be out on the 17th and 19th.
The official server at www.drhorrible.com has crashed and is not accessible as I write this, but I (yes, even cheap-ass mofo me) went to Itunes and bought the season pass for $3.99. Why?
Oh, why, indeed.
This is a Joss Whedon production. I like everything spawned from Joss - Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Serenity, the bat episode of The Office.
Plus it stars Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible and Nathan Fillion (Mal in Firefly/Serenity, evil preacher in Buffy Season 7) as his good-guy counterpart Captain Hammer. Dr. Horrible is trying to get into the Evil League of Evil led by Bad Horse ("The Thoroughbred of Sin" as we find out in song). Good music, good story, nice harmonies in the final piece.
Must see.
Less talk, more rock
Suckit, bitches. Here is the definitive list. This should all come as no surprise.
1968 The Transformed Man, William Shatner
Hahaha just kidding. For reals:
At Folsom Prison, Johnny Cash. Or The Goddamn White Album (I am so old).
1969 Crosby, Stills & Nash - Crosby, Stills & Nash
Y que triste que no puedo vaya.
1970 Who's Next, The Who
They're all wasted!!
1971 Carpenters, The Carpenters
Am I fuckin with you? You think I'm fuckin with you.
1972 Exile on Main Street, The Rolling Stones
Like '61 Petrus: Made in France, 16% alcohol, great now, great 50 years from now.
1973 The Serpent is Rising, Styx
Early crunchy-guitar JY-driven material: Witch Wolf, Young Man. Who can you get to win the fight? Young Man. Who can you get to make love all night? Yo-oun-oun-oun-oung man. According to Wikipedia, "The band consider this to be their worst recording. Dennis DeYoung has gone far as saying it was 'one of the worst recorded and produced in the history of music.'"
1974 New Skin for the Old Ceremony, Leonard Cohen
He remembers her well, in the Chelsea Hotel.
1975 Between the Lines, Janis Ian
Ian defines "torch singer." This album is her best work: desperately sentimental, flawless, and all but forgotten.
1976 Frampton Comes Alive?
Hahaha no. Dirty Deeds it is.
1977 Animals, Pink Floyd
Cha-rade you are. Other charades: The Stranger, Billy Joel, and Bat out of Hell, Meat Loaf
1978 Pieces of Eight, Styx
It's not all Dennis DeYoung/Tommy Shaw -- James Young was the balls of this band.
1979 Rust Never Sleeps, Neil Young
Young and Crazy Horse end the '70s.
1980 Remain in Light, Talking Heads
And David Byrne begins the '80s.
1981 Faith, The Cure
A vast, empty, frozen fucking wasteland. Smith was almost taken down by Foreigner's 4, but that was the '70s trying to hang on past their time.
1982 Business as Usual, Men at Work and Rhythm of Youth, Men Without Hats
The Year of Two Men. And yeah, Nebraska.
1983 90125, Yes
Although these days I listen at least as much to Good For Your Soul, Oingo Boingo and U2's War.
1984 Steeltown, Big Country
Big Country never bigger. Close 2nd: Chess, Andersson, Rice & Ulvaeus. Welcome to the Pleasuredome would have made #3, if Frankie had left off the "Born to Run" cover.
1985 This is Big Audio Dynamite, Big Audio Dynamite
Mick Jones buys a drum machine.
1986 Please, Pet Shop Boys
They were better later, but "West End Girls" made them famous. Runner up: Texas Campfire Tapes, Michelle Shocked
1987 Substance, New Order
I built a crappy computer out of TTL chips and wire while listening to this disc. Though I gotta give it up to KP... Clutching at Straws was Marillion's second peak (Script/Fugazi the first, I suppose).
1988 Tie: If I Should Fall from Grace With God, The Pogues and Straight Outa Compton, NWA.
"Fairytale of New York," "Medley," "Bottle of Smoke," all MacGowan at his finest and drunkest. I discovered NWA (and Uncle Tupelo) on Henry Holtzman's bookshelf-o-discs in the Garden. Also a big shout out to Trinity Session, Cowboy Junkies
1989 No Control, Bad Religion
Greg Graffin schools The Minutemen on how to pack the maximum ass kicking into the shortest tracks. And speaking of ass kicking, "Crime in the City" on Neil Young's Freedom: epic.
1990 No Depression, Uncle Tupelo
Tupelo invents cowpunk and kicks off their astonishing four-year run.
1991 Still Feel Gone, Uncle Tupelo
1992 March 16-20, 1992, Uncle Tupelo
Nearly unseated by New Miserable Experience, Gin Blossoms, and Magic and Loss, Lou Reed, which somehow always reminds me of Pater Gabriel's Passion soundtrack.
1993 Anodyne, Uncle Tupelo
Rid of Me, P.J. Harvey
1994 Grace, Jeff Buckley
Un-fuckin-touchable Edith Piaf reincarnation.
1995 The Bends, Radiohead
Whoa, the "Creep" guys are a real band? Who knew?
1996 Hot, Squirrel Nut Zippers
Flash-in-the-pan Benny Goodman imitators cashing in on Gap-manufactured swing resurgence, or authentic innovators driving an almost lost art to new heights? I dunno, but "Hell" kicked ass, they toured with Neil Young, and helped launch Andrew Bird's career. Close second: Fashion Nugget, Cake. "The Distance" and three of the greatest. covers. evar.
1997 Barrel Chested, Slobberbone
Slobberbone was the highest point in post-Tupelo alt-country, and Barrel Chested was almost as good as their 1994 Crow Pot Pie. Critic's pick: Buena Vista Social Club, Croder, Gonzales, etc.
1998 Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, Lucinda Williams
"Greenville" kills me.
1999 The Battle of Los Angeles, Rage Against the Machine
Lights out.
2000 Swiss Army Romance, Dashboard Confessional
Hey, you asked what I listen to, so here it is. Oh wait, you didn't ask.
2001 Bleed American, Jimmy Eat World
Tasty pop. Mmmmm.
2002 Lifted, or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground, Bright Eyes
Don't go blaming your knowledge on some fruit you ate.
2003 Give Up, The Postal Service
Gibbard/DNTEL perfect boopy bleepy I/O Error music.
2004 Hot Fuss, The Killers
By, like, a fuckin mile.
2005 The Mysterious Production of Eggs, Andrew Bird
Despite his incredible fiddle playing skills, Bird proves his true strength is the songwriting. Runner-up: Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, Bright Eyes
2006 The Life Pursuit, Belle and Sebastian
2007 Life in Cartoon Motion, Mika
Freddie Mercury is back from the dead.
1968 The Transformed Man, William Shatner
Hahaha just kidding. For reals:
At Folsom Prison, Johnny Cash. Or The Goddamn White Album (I am so old).
1969 Crosby, Stills & Nash - Crosby, Stills & Nash
Y que triste que no puedo vaya.
1970 Who's Next, The Who
They're all wasted!!
1971 Carpenters, The Carpenters
Am I fuckin with you? You think I'm fuckin with you.
1972 Exile on Main Street, The Rolling Stones
Like '61 Petrus: Made in France, 16% alcohol, great now, great 50 years from now.
1973 The Serpent is Rising, Styx
Early crunchy-guitar JY-driven material: Witch Wolf, Young Man. Who can you get to win the fight? Young Man. Who can you get to make love all night? Yo-oun-oun-oun-oung man. According to Wikipedia, "The band consider this to be their worst recording. Dennis DeYoung has gone far as saying it was 'one of the worst recorded and produced in the history of music.'"
1974 New Skin for the Old Ceremony, Leonard Cohen
He remembers her well, in the Chelsea Hotel.
1975 Between the Lines, Janis Ian
Ian defines "torch singer." This album is her best work: desperately sentimental, flawless, and all but forgotten.
1976 Frampton Comes Alive?
Hahaha no. Dirty Deeds it is.
1977 Animals, Pink Floyd
Cha-rade you are. Other charades: The Stranger, Billy Joel, and Bat out of Hell, Meat Loaf
1978 Pieces of Eight, Styx
It's not all Dennis DeYoung/Tommy Shaw -- James Young was the balls of this band.
1979 Rust Never Sleeps, Neil Young
Young and Crazy Horse end the '70s.
1980 Remain in Light, Talking Heads
And David Byrne begins the '80s.
1981 Faith, The Cure
A vast, empty, frozen fucking wasteland. Smith was almost taken down by Foreigner's 4, but that was the '70s trying to hang on past their time.
1982 Business as Usual, Men at Work and Rhythm of Youth, Men Without Hats
The Year of Two Men. And yeah, Nebraska.
1983 90125, Yes
Although these days I listen at least as much to Good For Your Soul, Oingo Boingo and U2's War.
1984 Steeltown, Big Country
Big Country never bigger. Close 2nd: Chess, Andersson, Rice & Ulvaeus. Welcome to the Pleasuredome would have made #3, if Frankie had left off the "Born to Run" cover.
1985 This is Big Audio Dynamite, Big Audio Dynamite
Mick Jones buys a drum machine.
1986 Please, Pet Shop Boys
They were better later, but "West End Girls" made them famous. Runner up: Texas Campfire Tapes, Michelle Shocked
1987 Substance, New Order
I built a crappy computer out of TTL chips and wire while listening to this disc. Though I gotta give it up to KP... Clutching at Straws was Marillion's second peak (Script/Fugazi the first, I suppose).
1988 Tie: If I Should Fall from Grace With God, The Pogues and Straight Outa Compton, NWA.
"Fairytale of New York," "Medley," "Bottle of Smoke," all MacGowan at his finest and drunkest. I discovered NWA (and Uncle Tupelo) on Henry Holtzman's bookshelf-o-discs in the Garden. Also a big shout out to Trinity Session, Cowboy Junkies
1989 No Control, Bad Religion
Greg Graffin schools The Minutemen on how to pack the maximum ass kicking into the shortest tracks. And speaking of ass kicking, "Crime in the City" on Neil Young's Freedom: epic.
1990 No Depression, Uncle Tupelo
Tupelo invents cowpunk and kicks off their astonishing four-year run.
1991 Still Feel Gone, Uncle Tupelo
1992 March 16-20, 1992, Uncle Tupelo
Nearly unseated by New Miserable Experience, Gin Blossoms, and Magic and Loss, Lou Reed, which somehow always reminds me of Pater Gabriel's Passion soundtrack.
1993 Anodyne, Uncle Tupelo
Rid of Me, P.J. Harvey
1994 Grace, Jeff Buckley
Un-fuckin-touchable Edith Piaf reincarnation.
1995 The Bends, Radiohead
Whoa, the "Creep" guys are a real band? Who knew?
1996 Hot, Squirrel Nut Zippers
Flash-in-the-pan Benny Goodman imitators cashing in on Gap-manufactured swing resurgence, or authentic innovators driving an almost lost art to new heights? I dunno, but "Hell" kicked ass, they toured with Neil Young, and helped launch Andrew Bird's career. Close second: Fashion Nugget, Cake. "The Distance" and three of the greatest. covers. evar.
1997 Barrel Chested, Slobberbone
Slobberbone was the highest point in post-Tupelo alt-country, and Barrel Chested was almost as good as their 1994 Crow Pot Pie. Critic's pick: Buena Vista Social Club, Croder, Gonzales, etc.
1998 Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, Lucinda Williams
"Greenville" kills me.
1999 The Battle of Los Angeles, Rage Against the Machine
Lights out.
2000 Swiss Army Romance, Dashboard Confessional
Hey, you asked what I listen to, so here it is. Oh wait, you didn't ask.
2001 Bleed American, Jimmy Eat World
Tasty pop. Mmmmm.
2002 Lifted, or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground, Bright Eyes
Don't go blaming your knowledge on some fruit you ate.
2003 Give Up, The Postal Service
Gibbard/DNTEL perfect boopy bleepy I/O Error music.
2004 Hot Fuss, The Killers
By, like, a fuckin mile.
2005 The Mysterious Production of Eggs, Andrew Bird
Despite his incredible fiddle playing skills, Bird proves his true strength is the songwriting. Runner-up: Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, Bright Eyes
2006 The Life Pursuit, Belle and Sebastian
2007 Life in Cartoon Motion, Mika
Freddie Mercury is back from the dead.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Yet Another Music List - Part III (1996-2008)
After parts one and two went okay, this is where it goes to crap. Basically, I didn't keep up with new music in my younger years, let alone when I got older. I mean, if I didn't really get into Nirvana until after two years of being hammered upside the head with it, what are the chances I will listen to Arcade Fire and the Arctic Monkeys right away?
Moreover, it takes me a while to figure out if I like a band or if they just happen to have a flukey good single. Case in point, I love My Chemical Romance's "I'm Not Okay (I Promise.)" So I thought for a brief period that they were really cool. But subsequent songs proved me wrong. They suck.
1996: Nerf Herder by Nerf Herder
In an amazing upset, KP (or Kape as I think of him) and I agree on this one. This was mostly a dreadful year for albums, but Underball's Give Me Back My Ball and Wilco's Being There were good. Only the hilarious Murder Ballads by Nick Cave is close to being as fun as Nerf Herder though.
1997: Blur by Blur
You may have heard that one bit from Song #2 approximately 2,397,407 times by the time you read this sentence, but that doesn't mean it's not a good disc. Still, this may have been an even worse year for albums.
1998: Mermaid Avenue by Billy Bragg and Wilco
This was a difficult decision as I also like This Is Hardcore by Pulp and In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel. I also could have totally cheated and picked Dylan and the Band's The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert, which was actually recorded in 1966 and totally rocks. Anyway, Billy Bragg singing Woody Guthrie works way better than it should.
1999: Summerteeth by Wilco
I can't say I'm exactly pleased with my selections in the latter part of the 90s. Summerteeth is a good enough collection of pop songs, but it's probably my fourth favorite Wilco album. Even though it was a lot of fun at the time, after listening to the Bloodhound Gang for a whole weekend in Cleveland, I don't ever need to hear them again.
2000: The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem
I am covering my face in shame in choosing this album, because it's about 80% crap. However, it has Stan, which is the most impressive thing Eminem will ever achieve (and I love Lose Yourself as much as the next guy.) The rest of the sorry list does include Nerf Herder's solid second disc.
2001: Gorillaz by Gorillaz
It may have been because I heard it for a year straight at the Miracle, but I really like this album. Pulp's final disc and Tenacious D's debut are other strong choices for 2001.
2002: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco
Wilco's finest album was the perfect soundtrack for the post-9/11 malaise we still enjoy today. Paul Westerberg came back from the dead with the enjoyable Stereo/Mono two-CD set. Can't say anything else was that interesting.
2003: Welcome Interstate Managers by Fountains of Wayne
Easily the best top-to-bottom album of the year as competitor's like Outkast's Speakerboxx/The Love Below and Paul Westerberg's Come Feel Me Tremble featured strong songs surrounded with filler. Managers is just smartly-written and perfectly-produced power pop.
2004: Nouvelle Vague by Nouvelle Vague
So shoot me, I like French chicks singing bossa nova versions of post-punk New Wave songs. Danger Mouse's The Grey Album and Hot Fuss by The Killers were the other notable release from this year. As for the latter, I hope someday to make a big-budget music video just so I can get Eric Roberts in it.
2005: The Best Little Secrets Are Kept by Louis XIV
Louis XIV plays sleazy disgusting glam rock. They are TEH AWESOME!!!111. Also notable: Demon Days was a worthy follow-up by Gorillaz and I like the tracks I've heard from CSS's Cansei de Ser Sexy. In the iPod age, I cannot be arsed to get the whole album sometimes.
2006: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not by Arctic Monkeys
I was totally into the Arctic Monkeys after everybody else was. Gnarls Barkley's St. Elsewhere is also fantastic and not just because of the hit single. Dylan's Modern Times, The Fratellis' Costello Music, The Long Blondes' Someone to Drive You Home and Brazilian Girls' Talk to La Bomb are pretty solid too. And I'm still probably years away from discovering what else was good this year.
2007: Jarvis by Jarvis Cocker
It's difficult to decide which of Jarvis or the Arcade Fire's Neon Bible do a better job of capturing the deppressing spirit of the times. Today, I have to go with Mr. Cocker if only because Running The World gives the best explanation for our current state. Weaker follow-ups from Foutains of Wayne and Arctic Monkeys are other notables.
2008: Flight of the Conchords by Flight of the Conchords
I know it's only July, but I doubt there will be anything more inspired released this year. Any song that begins "It is the distant future, the year 2000" is cool with me. The fact that it is about robots destroying all human life just makes it beyond perfect.
Moreover, it takes me a while to figure out if I like a band or if they just happen to have a flukey good single. Case in point, I love My Chemical Romance's "I'm Not Okay (I Promise.)" So I thought for a brief period that they were really cool. But subsequent songs proved me wrong. They suck.
1996: Nerf Herder by Nerf Herder
In an amazing upset, KP (or Kape as I think of him) and I agree on this one. This was mostly a dreadful year for albums, but Underball's Give Me Back My Ball and Wilco's Being There were good. Only the hilarious Murder Ballads by Nick Cave is close to being as fun as Nerf Herder though.
1997: Blur by Blur
You may have heard that one bit from Song #2 approximately 2,397,407 times by the time you read this sentence, but that doesn't mean it's not a good disc. Still, this may have been an even worse year for albums.
1998: Mermaid Avenue by Billy Bragg and Wilco
This was a difficult decision as I also like This Is Hardcore by Pulp and In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel. I also could have totally cheated and picked Dylan and the Band's The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert, which was actually recorded in 1966 and totally rocks. Anyway, Billy Bragg singing Woody Guthrie works way better than it should.
1999: Summerteeth by Wilco
I can't say I'm exactly pleased with my selections in the latter part of the 90s. Summerteeth is a good enough collection of pop songs, but it's probably my fourth favorite Wilco album. Even though it was a lot of fun at the time, after listening to the Bloodhound Gang for a whole weekend in Cleveland, I don't ever need to hear them again.
2000: The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem
I am covering my face in shame in choosing this album, because it's about 80% crap. However, it has Stan, which is the most impressive thing Eminem will ever achieve (and I love Lose Yourself as much as the next guy.) The rest of the sorry list does include Nerf Herder's solid second disc.
2001: Gorillaz by Gorillaz
It may have been because I heard it for a year straight at the Miracle, but I really like this album. Pulp's final disc and Tenacious D's debut are other strong choices for 2001.
2002: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco
Wilco's finest album was the perfect soundtrack for the post-9/11 malaise we still enjoy today. Paul Westerberg came back from the dead with the enjoyable Stereo/Mono two-CD set. Can't say anything else was that interesting.
2003: Welcome Interstate Managers by Fountains of Wayne
Easily the best top-to-bottom album of the year as competitor's like Outkast's Speakerboxx/The Love Below and Paul Westerberg's Come Feel Me Tremble featured strong songs surrounded with filler. Managers is just smartly-written and perfectly-produced power pop.
2004: Nouvelle Vague by Nouvelle Vague
So shoot me, I like French chicks singing bossa nova versions of post-punk New Wave songs. Danger Mouse's The Grey Album and Hot Fuss by The Killers were the other notable release from this year. As for the latter, I hope someday to make a big-budget music video just so I can get Eric Roberts in it.
2005: The Best Little Secrets Are Kept by Louis XIV
Louis XIV plays sleazy disgusting glam rock. They are TEH AWESOME!!!111. Also notable: Demon Days was a worthy follow-up by Gorillaz and I like the tracks I've heard from CSS's Cansei de Ser Sexy. In the iPod age, I cannot be arsed to get the whole album sometimes.
2006: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not by Arctic Monkeys
I was totally into the Arctic Monkeys after everybody else was. Gnarls Barkley's St. Elsewhere is also fantastic and not just because of the hit single. Dylan's Modern Times, The Fratellis' Costello Music, The Long Blondes' Someone to Drive You Home and Brazilian Girls' Talk to La Bomb are pretty solid too. And I'm still probably years away from discovering what else was good this year.
2007: Jarvis by Jarvis Cocker
It's difficult to decide which of Jarvis or the Arcade Fire's Neon Bible do a better job of capturing the deppressing spirit of the times. Today, I have to go with Mr. Cocker if only because Running The World gives the best explanation for our current state. Weaker follow-ups from Foutains of Wayne and Arctic Monkeys are other notables.
2008: Flight of the Conchords by Flight of the Conchords
I know it's only July, but I doubt there will be anything more inspired released this year. Any song that begins "It is the distant future, the year 2000" is cool with me. The fact that it is about robots destroying all human life just makes it beyond perfect.
YAML3:KP (1996-2008)
Looking back at the first two sets of entries, it amazes me that El and I were in several band permutations together over the years given how divergent our musical tastes are.
1996: I had started listening to old-style '70's funk a few years earlier and was pleased by the the new (in 1996) George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars release T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M. [The Awesome Power Of A Fully Operational Mothership]. I liked the Wallflowers album Bringing Down the Horse. My maternal grandmother's name was Josephine. Locally, I liked the second album from Fuzzy called Electric Juices. The Cigar Store Indians had a self-titled album that was really good in a Supersuckers, Reverend Horton Heat rock-punk-country vein that I picked up at the late lamented Disc Diggers in Davis Square. That was also where I picked up the album I consider to be the best of 1996 - Nerf Herder by Nerf Herder. Geek-pop at its best. Like Rivers Cuomo with less confidence.
1997: That Laura Branigan-esque sensibility popped back up when I listened to Savage Garden by Savage Garden. I even went to a concert at Harborlights that summer where I was at least twice the age of the young girls sitting near me. I was 28 at the time. "OMG, they are the best ever!!!!!!!!" I didn't think mentioning Robert Johnson was at all productive. Left of the Middle by Natalie Imbruglia also fits that definition. Luckily for me, I can point out that my favorite album that year was not wuss music. The Colour and the Shape by the Foo Fighters is my choice despite the misspelling of the word color in a manner which should not be acceptable by Scrabulous.
1998: I started putting together my list for 1998 and realized that my musical choices had started to harden. I was listeneing to more live music, but my choices for buying music tended to be new albums from groups I already liked. Version 2.0 by Garbage, whitechocolatespaceegg by Liz Phair, Speak of the Devil by Chris Issak. I did branch out for my favorite album, though. There were a couple of radio singles on All the Pain Money Can Buy by Fastball, but the entire album is very likable. Though not my favorite of the year, I also went a little off course with Hellbilly Deluxe by Rob Zombie.
1999: This was the year I turned 30 and also, from the list of releases that seem totally foreign to me, the year I stopped buying new music. The only two albums I recognized, both of which I liked immensely, were Forget About It by Alison Kraus & Union Station and my favorite Hooray for Boobies by the Bloodhound Gang. A trip with three others to Cleveland (El and Limeyg included) for a trivia tournament was spent with The Bloodhound Gang as primary soundtrack. Made it in 9 hours 59 minutes. Yeah!
2000: Would there even be an album I liked this year. Back in my day (I warned you) we had great albums...not like this dreck today. New Nerf Herder (How to Meet Girls) - uneven. Decent debut album by promising country crooner (in the Roy Orbison/Chris Isaak vein) Steve Holy called Blue Moon. The only other album I purchased that year that was new and was good was American III: Solitary Man by Johnny Cash. It did have my favorite single - Johnny's cover of The Mercy Seat by Nick Cave. Not a great year for me in terms of choosing a best album. In later years, I did get to like the cartoon-pop of Aquarius by Aqua.
2001: I've always been mature for my age. By the age of 31, I had become downright crotchety. I did find a couple of new country acts - Trick Pony's self-titled debut (country-roadhouse), eponymous Blake Shelton (country crooner), but my favorite album of the year is very different from those. Tenacious D by Tenacious D. If only they had stopped there and not made Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, which was a funny 20 minutes wrapped in a 93 minute package.
2002: Realizing that I was getting old before my team, I tried some new music for me - The Eminem Show by Eminem (part brilliant, part whiny self-indulgent crap i.e. "Soldier"), Fallen by Evanescence and Let Go by Avril Lavigne (surprisingly strong). I also bought a couple of albums for one particular song I really liked and discarded the remainder - Wonder What's Next by Chevelle ("The Red") and Dirty Vegas by Dirty Vegas ("Days Go By"). My choices for best album came down to two. Runner up is Beautysleep by Tanya Donnelly. I had liked her voice when she was with Belly and still liked her work when she went solo. However, my favorite was Drunk Enough to Dance by Bowling for Soup.
2003: I liked Chicken-N-Beer by Ludacris and Speakerboxxx/The Love Below by Outkast, though both had misses. Neotraditional country singer Josh Turner's Long Black Train was good, too. My favorite album was Liz Phair by Liz Phair and I have a rant about this one.
This album was more "commercially accessible" than her previous albums and was panned by many critics as "selling out" and "getting away from her roots". This is a reason I dislike critics of any sort (excepting myself, obviously). In my opinion, critics follow a career path in which they go from loving what they do for a job to denigrating any infidels who do not like the obscure acts they like to hating everything and everyone. This album is not like LP's earlier albums. So what? The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith have made essentially the same music since the '80's, but people love them. Why does every album have to be judged with the entire weight of the artist's repertoire in the equation? I had the same screed in a comment attached to the 50 Bands, 50 States - Part II about Sam's Town by The Killers. I prefer it to Hot Fuss, which is one of the better albums of 2004. I think Liz Phair is an album that can and should be judged on its own merits. Using that criteria, it is a very good album and my choice for the best of 2003.
2004: Several albums with multiple good songs on them to choose from this year. Hot Fuss by The Killers (see above), Pawn Shoppe Heart by The Von Bondies (after listening to "C'mon, C'mon" as the opening theme to Rescue Me), A Hangover You Don't Deserve by Bowling for Soup and Eye to the Telescope by KT Tunstall. The one that stood out for me, though, is Finally Woken by Jem. Just a solid album all the way through.
2005: Something old (Bleed Like Me by Garbage, Hefty Fine by The Bloodhound Gang) and something new (From Under the Cork Tree by Fall Out Boy, Extreme Behavior by Hinder). Somebody's Miracle by Liz Phair was not as strong as Liz Phair, but the song "Table for One" is her best, I think. Liz doesn't capture another yearly title, though. To me, Anna Nalick's Wreck of the Day is better throughout than any other in 2005.
2006: The Dutchess by Fergie was a lot of fun. Your Man by Josh Turner was smooth. Every Second Counts by Plain White T's would have been the best album of 2007. Still, I have to go with an album I have defended before and like from front to back - Sam's Town by The Killers. 'Nuf said.
2007: Well, it finally happened. I only can talk intelligibly about three albums this year and none of them are strong enough for me to give them the green light - The Best Damn Thing by Avril Lavigne (absolutely not), The Reminder by Feist (some daring stuff, but no) and Drastic Fantastic by KT Tunstall (the best of the bunch). I am sure there are excellent albums out there in 2007, I just don't know what they are. I am declaring 2007 Vacant.
2008 (so far): Interested in hearing the new Breeders album Mountain Battles. Looking forward to new music by Plain White T's, Jem and The Killers. We'll see. After writing this, I plan to go back and try and listen to more music that came out in 2007. I 'll have to turn off the mp3 player and listen the the radio more. Sirius or Internet radio, of course. Can't stand the incessant commercials on most free radio.
I think what I gather from this leg of the triptych is that I moved farther away from mainstream radio as I grew older. The only pick in this set that made it to the top of popular lists was the Foo Fighters in 1997. The rest of my choices are ones that I like and damned be the rest of the world. I also like immature music from the likes of Nerf Herder, Tenacious D, The Bloodhound Gang and Bowling for Soup and chick music from Jem, Liz Phair, Anna Nalick, and various Tanya Donnelly bands. I like what I like and I haven't even mentioned the musicals, but that's for another post.
1996: I had started listening to old-style '70's funk a few years earlier and was pleased by the the new (in 1996) George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars release T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M. [The Awesome Power Of A Fully Operational Mothership]. I liked the Wallflowers album Bringing Down the Horse. My maternal grandmother's name was Josephine. Locally, I liked the second album from Fuzzy called Electric Juices. The Cigar Store Indians had a self-titled album that was really good in a Supersuckers, Reverend Horton Heat rock-punk-country vein that I picked up at the late lamented Disc Diggers in Davis Square. That was also where I picked up the album I consider to be the best of 1996 - Nerf Herder by Nerf Herder. Geek-pop at its best. Like Rivers Cuomo with less confidence.
1997: That Laura Branigan-esque sensibility popped back up when I listened to Savage Garden by Savage Garden. I even went to a concert at Harborlights that summer where I was at least twice the age of the young girls sitting near me. I was 28 at the time. "OMG, they are the best ever!!!!!!!!" I didn't think mentioning Robert Johnson was at all productive. Left of the Middle by Natalie Imbruglia also fits that definition. Luckily for me, I can point out that my favorite album that year was not wuss music. The Colour and the Shape by the Foo Fighters is my choice despite the misspelling of the word color in a manner which should not be acceptable by Scrabulous.
1998: I started putting together my list for 1998 and realized that my musical choices had started to harden. I was listeneing to more live music, but my choices for buying music tended to be new albums from groups I already liked. Version 2.0 by Garbage, whitechocolatespaceegg by Liz Phair, Speak of the Devil by Chris Issak. I did branch out for my favorite album, though. There were a couple of radio singles on All the Pain Money Can Buy by Fastball, but the entire album is very likable. Though not my favorite of the year, I also went a little off course with Hellbilly Deluxe by Rob Zombie.
1999: This was the year I turned 30 and also, from the list of releases that seem totally foreign to me, the year I stopped buying new music. The only two albums I recognized, both of which I liked immensely, were Forget About It by Alison Kraus & Union Station and my favorite Hooray for Boobies by the Bloodhound Gang. A trip with three others to Cleveland (El and Limeyg included) for a trivia tournament was spent with The Bloodhound Gang as primary soundtrack. Made it in 9 hours 59 minutes. Yeah!
2000: Would there even be an album I liked this year. Back in my day (I warned you) we had great albums...not like this dreck today. New Nerf Herder (How to Meet Girls) - uneven. Decent debut album by promising country crooner (in the Roy Orbison/Chris Isaak vein) Steve Holy called Blue Moon. The only other album I purchased that year that was new and was good was American III: Solitary Man by Johnny Cash. It did have my favorite single - Johnny's cover of The Mercy Seat by Nick Cave. Not a great year for me in terms of choosing a best album. In later years, I did get to like the cartoon-pop of Aquarius by Aqua.
2001: I've always been mature for my age. By the age of 31, I had become downright crotchety. I did find a couple of new country acts - Trick Pony's self-titled debut (country-roadhouse), eponymous Blake Shelton (country crooner), but my favorite album of the year is very different from those. Tenacious D by Tenacious D. If only they had stopped there and not made Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, which was a funny 20 minutes wrapped in a 93 minute package.
2002: Realizing that I was getting old before my team, I tried some new music for me - The Eminem Show by Eminem (part brilliant, part whiny self-indulgent crap i.e. "Soldier"), Fallen by Evanescence and Let Go by Avril Lavigne (surprisingly strong). I also bought a couple of albums for one particular song I really liked and discarded the remainder - Wonder What's Next by Chevelle ("The Red") and Dirty Vegas by Dirty Vegas ("Days Go By"). My choices for best album came down to two. Runner up is Beautysleep by Tanya Donnelly. I had liked her voice when she was with Belly and still liked her work when she went solo. However, my favorite was Drunk Enough to Dance by Bowling for Soup.
2003: I liked Chicken-N-Beer by Ludacris and Speakerboxxx/The Love Below by Outkast, though both had misses. Neotraditional country singer Josh Turner's Long Black Train was good, too. My favorite album was Liz Phair by Liz Phair and I have a rant about this one.
This album was more "commercially accessible" than her previous albums and was panned by many critics as "selling out" and "getting away from her roots". This is a reason I dislike critics of any sort (excepting myself, obviously). In my opinion, critics follow a career path in which they go from loving what they do for a job to denigrating any infidels who do not like the obscure acts they like to hating everything and everyone. This album is not like LP's earlier albums. So what? The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith have made essentially the same music since the '80's, but people love them. Why does every album have to be judged with the entire weight of the artist's repertoire in the equation? I had the same screed in a comment attached to the 50 Bands, 50 States - Part II about Sam's Town by The Killers. I prefer it to Hot Fuss, which is one of the better albums of 2004. I think Liz Phair is an album that can and should be judged on its own merits. Using that criteria, it is a very good album and my choice for the best of 2003.
2004: Several albums with multiple good songs on them to choose from this year. Hot Fuss by The Killers (see above), Pawn Shoppe Heart by The Von Bondies (after listening to "C'mon, C'mon" as the opening theme to Rescue Me), A Hangover You Don't Deserve by Bowling for Soup and Eye to the Telescope by KT Tunstall. The one that stood out for me, though, is Finally Woken by Jem. Just a solid album all the way through.
2005: Something old (Bleed Like Me by Garbage, Hefty Fine by The Bloodhound Gang) and something new (From Under the Cork Tree by Fall Out Boy, Extreme Behavior by Hinder). Somebody's Miracle by Liz Phair was not as strong as Liz Phair, but the song "Table for One" is her best, I think. Liz doesn't capture another yearly title, though. To me, Anna Nalick's Wreck of the Day is better throughout than any other in 2005.
2006: The Dutchess by Fergie was a lot of fun. Your Man by Josh Turner was smooth. Every Second Counts by Plain White T's would have been the best album of 2007. Still, I have to go with an album I have defended before and like from front to back - Sam's Town by The Killers. 'Nuf said.
2007: Well, it finally happened. I only can talk intelligibly about three albums this year and none of them are strong enough for me to give them the green light - The Best Damn Thing by Avril Lavigne (absolutely not), The Reminder by Feist (some daring stuff, but no) and Drastic Fantastic by KT Tunstall (the best of the bunch). I am sure there are excellent albums out there in 2007, I just don't know what they are. I am declaring 2007 Vacant.
2008 (so far): Interested in hearing the new Breeders album Mountain Battles. Looking forward to new music by Plain White T's, Jem and The Killers. We'll see. After writing this, I plan to go back and try and listen to more music that came out in 2007. I 'll have to turn off the mp3 player and listen the the radio more. Sirius or Internet radio, of course. Can't stand the incessant commercials on most free radio.
I think what I gather from this leg of the triptych is that I moved farther away from mainstream radio as I grew older. The only pick in this set that made it to the top of popular lists was the Foo Fighters in 1997. The rest of my choices are ones that I like and damned be the rest of the world. I also like immature music from the likes of Nerf Herder, Tenacious D, The Bloodhound Gang and Bowling for Soup and chick music from Jem, Liz Phair, Anna Nalick, and various Tanya Donnelly bands. I like what I like and I haven't even mentioned the musicals, but that's for another post.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Yet Another Music List Part II: 1983-1995 - The KP Tapes
OK, so El has come up with his 1983-1995 and first glance looks like we might agree on possibly 2 or 3. Let's look at the music covering my age 14-26 years.
1983: I was still in high school in North Dakota at the time, so none of the bands on El's list ever penetrated except for Culture Club on TBS "Friday Night Videos" (MTV had not come to my town, yet). Can't Slow Down by Lionel Richie got a lot of play on the radio and FNV. The Crossing by Big Country is an album that I really like now, but did not hear at the time. Bryan Adams' Cuts Like a Knife was huge in ND. Though I didn't know it at the time, the Steinman effect was the cause of my liking Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart. Script for a Jester's Tear by Marillion was an album that I came on year's later while tracking back the Marillion discography. Frontiers by Journey, Sports by Huey Lewis and the News, Texas Flood by Stevie Ray Vaughan - all have merits, but for music, cultural influence and all of the things that make a 14-year old boy sit up and take notice, nothing beats Eliminator by ZZ Top in 1983.
1984: No longer a nerdy freshman, now I was a nerdy sophomore. I think MTV came to town in the latter half of this year. I liked Martha Quinn, but not Nina Blackwood. Born in the USA by Bruce, Reckless by Bryan Adams, Chicago 17 by Chicago were good albums. My inner girl was satisfied with Self Control by Laura Branigan. Building the Perfect Beast by Don Henley had the best single with Boys of Summer and the best overall album for me. This was probably the last year in which I adhered closely to the top 40 for my favorites. I listened to Casey Kasem every week and had little opportunity to hear anything that wasn't fed to me. I started branching out in 1985.
1985: Silvertone by Chris Isaak was a strong debut as was Play Deep by The Outfield, but neither are close to my choice for best album of the year. In the summer of 1985, I heard a song that was so very different from most of the music I liked that I searched it out to find it. A British prog-rock band with a single charting in the upper 30's was not easy to find in North Dakota in 1985, but I eventually did find Misplaced Childhood by Marillion. This is the first concept album I ever remember hearing and definitely my introduction to progressive rock. A monumental album for me. No one else I knew liked it or wanted to hear it, so this was my album and the one I have listened to over and over since then.
1986: A Kind of Magic by Queen came to me as the soundtrack to the movie Highlander. Licensed to Ill by the Beastie Boys was the first intro of rap to North Dakota since they were white kids and it still holds up very well. Night Songs by Cinderella was the best pseudo-chick hair metal album that year, in my estimation. Guilty pleasures included Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi, The Final Countdown by Europe and The Ultimate Sin by Ozzy Osbourne. The album that best exemplified the dichotomy between my pop upbringing and a tendency towards prog rock was 1986's So by Peter Gabriel. It had the singles, but it also had something vaguely experimental, but non-threatening.
1987: A little more adventurous this year. I learned about Voivod from an Omni magazine article about their concept prog-rock featuring a space traveller as told through thrash metal. 1987 brought my favorite Voivod album Killing Technology. I also liked Trio by Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton, The Joshua Tree by U2, Hysteria by Def Leppard and Appetite for Destruction by Guns 'n Roses. However, my best album of 1987 was the follow up to Misplaced Childhood, Clutching at Straws by Marillion. Another concept album from the band and their last with lead singer Fish (Derek Dick) before he parted with the rest of the band over creative differences. More about "New Marillion" later.
1988: Some good chick hard rock this year from former Runaways - Lita by Lita Ford, Up Your Alley by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. The Land of Rape and Honey is a techno-industrial album by Ministry that hinted at their move towards hard industrial metal and away from techno dance of their earlier albums. Due to my longstanding fondness for anything Roy Orbison, it was inevitable that I would like Traveling Wilbury's Vol. 1 even with the other artists attached. My choice for the best album of 1988 is See the Light by the Jeff Healey Band. Blues-rock guitar at its finest.
1989: The first post-Fish Marillion album, Season's End, came out this year. It was not bad, but a little uneven due to having some of the old singer-lyricist (Fish) and the new singer (Steve Hogarth) and his songwriting partner. Storm Front by Billy Joel was a decent album and the basis for a surprisingly good concert at the Worcester Centrum. Likewise, Journeyman from Eric Clapton spawned a good Centrum concert, though it presaged his descent from rock-guitar god to wussy acoustic strummer. Two good industrial albums came out - Pretty Hate Machine by Nine Inch Nails and The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste by Ministry. I saw a really good concert at the Cyclorama in Boston with Nine Inch Nails and openers Fem2Fem, a lipstick lesbian band, and Marilyn Manson. Manson sucked then and never got any better. A new Orbison album, Mystery Girl, was a nice try, but too many misses. Thus, my best record of 1989 goes to the musical heir to Roy Orbison, Chris Isaak. His Heart-Shaped World was boosted by the half dozen people who saw (and liked) Wild at Heart, like me.
1990: Shake Your Money Maker by the Black Crowes, Damn Yankees by Damn Yankees, Violator by Depeche Mode (another album I did not appreciate until years later) are all decent choices. Traveling Wilbury's Vol. 3 was an abomination since Roy had passed in December of 1989 and the rest of the assclowns decided to record a second album without him. At the time, I would have said Damn Yankees, now I say Violator.
1991: Maybe I'm outside the mainstream, but Nirvana seemed OK to me, but not the best thing to ever hit music. The whole grunge thing kind of passed me by. Holidays in Eden was the first full-on Hogarth Marillion album and probably the last one I enjoyed. Trisha Yearwood by Trisha Yearwood is a good album, but check out the cover art. That's '80's hair at its finest. I think the clear cut best album of 1991 is Metallica by Metallica AKA the Black Album.
1992: Why We Fight by John Wesley Harding is my folk rock favorite. Mack Daddy by Sir Mix-A-Lot is my rap entry. Body Count by Body Count featuring Ice-T is the rap metal choice for the year. I agree that Automatic for the People is very good. My overall favorite album of the year is Psalm 69 (the one with the Greek letter title) by Ministry.
1993: 13 Above the Night is a good album by My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult as are Pablo Honey by Radiohead, Star by Belly and San Francisco Days by Chris Isaak. Exile in Guyville by Liz Phair is a very good album (though El does not agree), but is inherently flawed by its relationship to a Stones album I do not like. My pick for the top album of 1993 is Undertow by Tool.
1994: Dookie by Green Day was fun and Smash by The Offspring had a couple of really good songs. Weezer (the Blue Album) had several good songs. Whip-Smart is another decent outing by Liz Phair. I really liked The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails, but was dismayed by how many strippers used it for their music. Silly strippers...downer music means less dollars! (I don't do that anymore).
1995: Different Class by Pulp is really, really good. The Woman in Me by Shania Twain has one of my favorite country-pop singles, "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?" Pieces of You is a very good, pre-pretentious Jewel album. Saw her in a show upstairs at Mama Kin in Boston with maybe 7 other people. She was not pleased. Garbage by Garbage, ...And Out Come the Wolves by Rancid and even Hi(tm), How Are You Today? by Ashley MacIsaac (a pop-fiddle mostly instrumental album) all merit mention, but I'll take The Bends by Radiohead.
In only two years of this span does a choice of El's even show up on my list for consideration: REM in 1992 and Pulp in 1995. Makes sense since both bands were introduced to me by El.
I'll finish my list Monday, but I suspect I will lapse into "Back in my day..." reveries as I move into my 30's. Tune in tomorrow!
1983: I was still in high school in North Dakota at the time, so none of the bands on El's list ever penetrated except for Culture Club on TBS "Friday Night Videos" (MTV had not come to my town, yet). Can't Slow Down by Lionel Richie got a lot of play on the radio and FNV. The Crossing by Big Country is an album that I really like now, but did not hear at the time. Bryan Adams' Cuts Like a Knife was huge in ND. Though I didn't know it at the time, the Steinman effect was the cause of my liking Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart. Script for a Jester's Tear by Marillion was an album that I came on year's later while tracking back the Marillion discography. Frontiers by Journey, Sports by Huey Lewis and the News, Texas Flood by Stevie Ray Vaughan - all have merits, but for music, cultural influence and all of the things that make a 14-year old boy sit up and take notice, nothing beats Eliminator by ZZ Top in 1983.
1984: No longer a nerdy freshman, now I was a nerdy sophomore. I think MTV came to town in the latter half of this year. I liked Martha Quinn, but not Nina Blackwood. Born in the USA by Bruce, Reckless by Bryan Adams, Chicago 17 by Chicago were good albums. My inner girl was satisfied with Self Control by Laura Branigan. Building the Perfect Beast by Don Henley had the best single with Boys of Summer and the best overall album for me. This was probably the last year in which I adhered closely to the top 40 for my favorites. I listened to Casey Kasem every week and had little opportunity to hear anything that wasn't fed to me. I started branching out in 1985.
1985: Silvertone by Chris Isaak was a strong debut as was Play Deep by The Outfield, but neither are close to my choice for best album of the year. In the summer of 1985, I heard a song that was so very different from most of the music I liked that I searched it out to find it. A British prog-rock band with a single charting in the upper 30's was not easy to find in North Dakota in 1985, but I eventually did find Misplaced Childhood by Marillion. This is the first concept album I ever remember hearing and definitely my introduction to progressive rock. A monumental album for me. No one else I knew liked it or wanted to hear it, so this was my album and the one I have listened to over and over since then.
1986: A Kind of Magic by Queen came to me as the soundtrack to the movie Highlander. Licensed to Ill by the Beastie Boys was the first intro of rap to North Dakota since they were white kids and it still holds up very well. Night Songs by Cinderella was the best pseudo-chick hair metal album that year, in my estimation. Guilty pleasures included Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi, The Final Countdown by Europe and The Ultimate Sin by Ozzy Osbourne. The album that best exemplified the dichotomy between my pop upbringing and a tendency towards prog rock was 1986's So by Peter Gabriel. It had the singles, but it also had something vaguely experimental, but non-threatening.
1987: A little more adventurous this year. I learned about Voivod from an Omni magazine article about their concept prog-rock featuring a space traveller as told through thrash metal. 1987 brought my favorite Voivod album Killing Technology. I also liked Trio by Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton, The Joshua Tree by U2, Hysteria by Def Leppard and Appetite for Destruction by Guns 'n Roses. However, my best album of 1987 was the follow up to Misplaced Childhood, Clutching at Straws by Marillion. Another concept album from the band and their last with lead singer Fish (Derek Dick) before he parted with the rest of the band over creative differences. More about "New Marillion" later.
1988: Some good chick hard rock this year from former Runaways - Lita by Lita Ford, Up Your Alley by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. The Land of Rape and Honey is a techno-industrial album by Ministry that hinted at their move towards hard industrial metal and away from techno dance of their earlier albums. Due to my longstanding fondness for anything Roy Orbison, it was inevitable that I would like Traveling Wilbury's Vol. 1 even with the other artists attached. My choice for the best album of 1988 is See the Light by the Jeff Healey Band. Blues-rock guitar at its finest.
1989: The first post-Fish Marillion album, Season's End, came out this year. It was not bad, but a little uneven due to having some of the old singer-lyricist (Fish) and the new singer (Steve Hogarth) and his songwriting partner. Storm Front by Billy Joel was a decent album and the basis for a surprisingly good concert at the Worcester Centrum. Likewise, Journeyman from Eric Clapton spawned a good Centrum concert, though it presaged his descent from rock-guitar god to wussy acoustic strummer. Two good industrial albums came out - Pretty Hate Machine by Nine Inch Nails and The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste by Ministry. I saw a really good concert at the Cyclorama in Boston with Nine Inch Nails and openers Fem2Fem, a lipstick lesbian band, and Marilyn Manson. Manson sucked then and never got any better. A new Orbison album, Mystery Girl, was a nice try, but too many misses. Thus, my best record of 1989 goes to the musical heir to Roy Orbison, Chris Isaak. His Heart-Shaped World was boosted by the half dozen people who saw (and liked) Wild at Heart, like me.
1990: Shake Your Money Maker by the Black Crowes, Damn Yankees by Damn Yankees, Violator by Depeche Mode (another album I did not appreciate until years later) are all decent choices. Traveling Wilbury's Vol. 3 was an abomination since Roy had passed in December of 1989 and the rest of the assclowns decided to record a second album without him. At the time, I would have said Damn Yankees, now I say Violator.
1991: Maybe I'm outside the mainstream, but Nirvana seemed OK to me, but not the best thing to ever hit music. The whole grunge thing kind of passed me by. Holidays in Eden was the first full-on Hogarth Marillion album and probably the last one I enjoyed. Trisha Yearwood by Trisha Yearwood is a good album, but check out the cover art. That's '80's hair at its finest. I think the clear cut best album of 1991 is Metallica by Metallica AKA the Black Album.
1992: Why We Fight by John Wesley Harding is my folk rock favorite. Mack Daddy by Sir Mix-A-Lot is my rap entry. Body Count by Body Count featuring Ice-T is the rap metal choice for the year. I agree that Automatic for the People is very good. My overall favorite album of the year is Psalm 69 (the one with the Greek letter title) by Ministry.
1993: 13 Above the Night is a good album by My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult as are Pablo Honey by Radiohead, Star by Belly and San Francisco Days by Chris Isaak. Exile in Guyville by Liz Phair is a very good album (though El does not agree), but is inherently flawed by its relationship to a Stones album I do not like. My pick for the top album of 1993 is Undertow by Tool.
1994: Dookie by Green Day was fun and Smash by The Offspring had a couple of really good songs. Weezer (the Blue Album) had several good songs. Whip-Smart is another decent outing by Liz Phair. I really liked The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails, but was dismayed by how many strippers used it for their music. Silly strippers...downer music means less dollars! (I don't do that anymore).
1995: Different Class by Pulp is really, really good. The Woman in Me by Shania Twain has one of my favorite country-pop singles, "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?" Pieces of You is a very good, pre-pretentious Jewel album. Saw her in a show upstairs at Mama Kin in Boston with maybe 7 other people. She was not pleased. Garbage by Garbage, ...And Out Come the Wolves by Rancid and even Hi(tm), How Are You Today? by Ashley MacIsaac (a pop-fiddle mostly instrumental album) all merit mention, but I'll take The Bends by Radiohead.
In only two years of this span does a choice of El's even show up on my list for consideration: REM in 1992 and Pulp in 1995. Makes sense since both bands were introduced to me by El.
I'll finish my list Monday, but I suspect I will lapse into "Back in my day..." reveries as I move into my 30's. Tune in tomorrow!
Yet Another Music List - Part 1 (1969-1982): A Rebuttal
I was going to post this in a comment, but realized that I agree with almost none of the choices of my esteemed colleague even though we were born 14 days apart. Thus, this diatribe.
I never got into punk, don't like Dylan or the Stones, grew up listening to country music and hard rock and like the New Wave/Prog Rock genre. My list will be quite different. And away we go...(using Wikipedia's "Music in xx" pages).
1969: Agree that The Band's second album is a contender. Blind Faith by (duh!) Blind Faith also has two excellent songs. Not enough to rate as the best, though. Velvet Underground? No thanks. I am surprised that Kick Out The Jams by MC5 didn't rate a mention from El. Merle Haggard and the Strangers Okie from Muskogee is a strong choice, but I have to go with a live album - At San Quentin by Johnny Cash. The best of seemingly 15 or so albums put out by JC that year.
1970: Strong year. Abraxas by Santana, After the Gold Rush by Neil Young, Bitches Brew by Miles Davis, Deja Vu by CSNY, Moondance by Van Morrison (almost, for me). None, however, compare to Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek and the Dominoes. Still one of the albums I listen to regularly.
1971: Odd year for me. I know El is a bigger fan of The Doors and The Who than I, but my choice came down to L.A. Woman or Who's Next. The Who win out for consistent strength from beginning to end.
1972: Southern rock was a big staple of my childhood, so I have to go with Eat a Peach by The Allman Brothers. Never been a Stones fan.
1973: I'm not as anti-Floyd as El, so I'll rank Dark Side of the Moon as a great album from this year. Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield and Tres Hombres by ZZ Top are also very good, but my favorite is Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd by Lynyrd Skynrd.
1974: Agreed that this is a weak year. I'd have to go with 461 Ocean Boulevard by Eric Clapton.
1975: My pick for the year is Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd. Bruce is #2.
1976: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap by AC/DC ['76 in Australia, '81 in the US], Night Moves by Bob Seger, and Hotel California by The Eagles are good choices, but I go with Fly Like an Eagle by The Steve Miller Band.
1977: Bat Out of Hell by Meat Loaf over Aja by Steely Dan and The Stranger by Billy Joel. I'm a fan of operatic Steinman-rock.
1978: Jesus of Cool by Nick Lowe has some good songs. I guess the eponymous Van Halen album does, too, but I'm not a big VH fan of any permutation. My best album of 1978 was Stranger in Town by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band. Honorable mention to The Gambler by Kenny Rogers and the soundtrack to Once Upon a Time in the West by Ennio Morricone.
1979: The Long Run by the Eagles is strong all the way through. Live at Budokan by Cheap Trick and Breakfast in America by Supertramp were certainly popular, but when I looked at the albums releases, one stuck out for me - Rust Never Sleeps by Neil young and Crazy Horse. Massive guitar attacks that don't let up for the whole album. Just what a 10-year old boy from middle Amercia craves.
1980: Bob Seger's Against the Wind is a good album. I guess I didn't realize how much I liked Bob Seger during this time frame. AC/DC Back in Black, the soundtrack of Xanadu (don't look at me like that!), Arc of a Diver by Steve Winwood all made me stop and think, but this is when my favorite Bruce Springsteen album The River came out. As a double album, there was enough space for the rock songs ("Ramrod", "Sherry Darling"), the sad songs ("The River", "Stolen Car") and the monster single ("Hungry Heart").
1981: Foreigner 4 had 4 good singles. El Loco by ZZ Top was not one of the best albums of 1981, but you had to hand it the guys for their subtlety with songs like "Tube Snake Boogie" and "Pearl Necklace". Escape by Journey is forever tainted by the steaming shit pile that was The Sopranos final episode. Soft Cell's Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret only had one good song - "Tainted Love" - but it was a really, really good one. Wild Eyed Southern Boys by .38 Special loses out to my choice - the self-named album by Quarterflash. I still have 8 of the 9 tracks on my mp3 player.
1982: Ah, puberty. The wonders of being a 13-year old boy. I'd rather forget this time of my life, but I'll soldier on for you, dear reader. Thriller and 1999 deserve mention, but not more than that from me. I liked Lexicon of Love by ABC, Nebraska (which was introduced to me by El), Nylon Curtain by Billy Joel (good first half, weak second half). Some albums had one or two good songs - Friend or Foe by Adam Ant ("Goody Two-Shoes"), Branigan by Laura Branigan ("Gloria"), Business as Usual by Men At Work ("Down Under", "Who Can It Be Now?"), The Nightfly by Donald Fagen ("New Frontier"...loved the video), Too-Rye-Ay by Dexys Midnight Runners (name anything else...I dare you). Ya know, I think I have to agree with El on this one. Nebraska is undauntingly morose, but it is the best front to back album from 1982. Every other possibility has a couple of good songs and lots of filler. No wonder I am ready to forget this year.
Back to you, El.
I never got into punk, don't like Dylan or the Stones, grew up listening to country music and hard rock and like the New Wave/Prog Rock genre. My list will be quite different. And away we go...(using Wikipedia's "Music in xx" pages).
1969: Agree that The Band's second album is a contender. Blind Faith by (duh!) Blind Faith also has two excellent songs. Not enough to rate as the best, though. Velvet Underground? No thanks. I am surprised that Kick Out The Jams by MC5 didn't rate a mention from El. Merle Haggard and the Strangers Okie from Muskogee is a strong choice, but I have to go with a live album - At San Quentin by Johnny Cash. The best of seemingly 15 or so albums put out by JC that year.
1970: Strong year. Abraxas by Santana, After the Gold Rush by Neil Young, Bitches Brew by Miles Davis, Deja Vu by CSNY, Moondance by Van Morrison (almost, for me). None, however, compare to Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek and the Dominoes. Still one of the albums I listen to regularly.
1971: Odd year for me. I know El is a bigger fan of The Doors and The Who than I, but my choice came down to L.A. Woman or Who's Next. The Who win out for consistent strength from beginning to end.
1972: Southern rock was a big staple of my childhood, so I have to go with Eat a Peach by The Allman Brothers. Never been a Stones fan.
1973: I'm not as anti-Floyd as El, so I'll rank Dark Side of the Moon as a great album from this year. Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield and Tres Hombres by ZZ Top are also very good, but my favorite is Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd by Lynyrd Skynrd.
1974: Agreed that this is a weak year. I'd have to go with 461 Ocean Boulevard by Eric Clapton.
1975: My pick for the year is Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd. Bruce is #2.
1976: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap by AC/DC ['76 in Australia, '81 in the US], Night Moves by Bob Seger, and Hotel California by The Eagles are good choices, but I go with Fly Like an Eagle by The Steve Miller Band.
1977: Bat Out of Hell by Meat Loaf over Aja by Steely Dan and The Stranger by Billy Joel. I'm a fan of operatic Steinman-rock.
1978: Jesus of Cool by Nick Lowe has some good songs. I guess the eponymous Van Halen album does, too, but I'm not a big VH fan of any permutation. My best album of 1978 was Stranger in Town by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band. Honorable mention to The Gambler by Kenny Rogers and the soundtrack to Once Upon a Time in the West by Ennio Morricone.
1979: The Long Run by the Eagles is strong all the way through. Live at Budokan by Cheap Trick and Breakfast in America by Supertramp were certainly popular, but when I looked at the albums releases, one stuck out for me - Rust Never Sleeps by Neil young and Crazy Horse. Massive guitar attacks that don't let up for the whole album. Just what a 10-year old boy from middle Amercia craves.
1980: Bob Seger's Against the Wind is a good album. I guess I didn't realize how much I liked Bob Seger during this time frame. AC/DC Back in Black, the soundtrack of Xanadu (don't look at me like that!), Arc of a Diver by Steve Winwood all made me stop and think, but this is when my favorite Bruce Springsteen album The River came out. As a double album, there was enough space for the rock songs ("Ramrod", "Sherry Darling"), the sad songs ("The River", "Stolen Car") and the monster single ("Hungry Heart").
1981: Foreigner 4 had 4 good singles. El Loco by ZZ Top was not one of the best albums of 1981, but you had to hand it the guys for their subtlety with songs like "Tube Snake Boogie" and "Pearl Necklace". Escape by Journey is forever tainted by the steaming shit pile that was The Sopranos final episode. Soft Cell's Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret only had one good song - "Tainted Love" - but it was a really, really good one. Wild Eyed Southern Boys by .38 Special loses out to my choice - the self-named album by Quarterflash. I still have 8 of the 9 tracks on my mp3 player.
1982: Ah, puberty. The wonders of being a 13-year old boy. I'd rather forget this time of my life, but I'll soldier on for you, dear reader. Thriller and 1999 deserve mention, but not more than that from me. I liked Lexicon of Love by ABC, Nebraska (which was introduced to me by El), Nylon Curtain by Billy Joel (good first half, weak second half). Some albums had one or two good songs - Friend or Foe by Adam Ant ("Goody Two-Shoes"), Branigan by Laura Branigan ("Gloria"), Business as Usual by Men At Work ("Down Under", "Who Can It Be Now?"), The Nightfly by Donald Fagen ("New Frontier"...loved the video), Too-Rye-Ay by Dexys Midnight Runners (name anything else...I dare you). Ya know, I think I have to agree with El on this one. Nebraska is undauntingly morose, but it is the best front to back album from 1982. Every other possibility has a couple of good songs and lots of filler. No wonder I am ready to forget this year.
Back to you, El.
Yet Another Music List Part II (1983-1995)
In the previous installment I covered music that I pretty much learned about way after the fact, before I got MTV at home and started listening top the radio. This section will cover the timeframe where music taste is pretty much set, although in my case it was not always by stuff actually played on the airwaves.
1983: Violent Femmes by Violent Femmes
The Femmes were never this perfect again, while their main challengers R.E.M. (Murmur) had better albums later. Other notables include Swordfishtrombones by Tom Waits, Hootenanny by The Replacements and Colour by Numbers by Culture Club. And yes, the last one was the only one played on MTV at the time.
1984: Double Nickels on the Dime by The Minutemen
This is the toughest choice so far. Look at the other contenders: Born in the USA, Purple Rain, Let it Be, Reckoning, 1984, The Smiths, She's So Unusual. Any of these albums would have been the best choice for 1981. I selected The Minutemen's disc because it's 43 songs and I am still finding new things in it. Double Nickels is most famous today because the song Corona was used as the theme for Jackass.
1985: Tim by The Replacements
The field is not quite as strong this year, but Centerfield by John Fogerty, Rain Dogs by Tom Waits, Rum, Sodomy and the Lash by The Pogues and Telephone Free Landslide Victory by Camper Van Beethoven are all solid. Tim may be The Replacements best album, which means 7 of the 11 songs are great, much higher than their usual .500 average.
1986: Georgia Satellites by The Georgia Satellites
The Satellites and Replacements took different approaches to furthering the legacy of The Faces. While the Satellites replicated the subject matter (drinking and/or sex) and musical approach, the Replacements expanded on the drunken antics. There's sadly not enough smart-ass yet rocking songs like Keep Your Hands to Yourself. Honorable mentions include two compilations, the Springsteen live box set and Staring at the Sea by The Cure, as well as Lyle Lovett's debut and the Bangles Different Light.
1987: Solitude Standing by Suzanne Vega
While I love R.E.M.'s Document, the Replacements' Pleased to Meet Me and the Pixies' Come on Pilgrim, I don't love them enough to marry them. And I would have totally married Suzanne Vega circa 1987.
1983: Violent Femmes by Violent Femmes
The Femmes were never this perfect again, while their main challengers R.E.M. (Murmur) had better albums later. Other notables include Swordfishtrombones by Tom Waits, Hootenanny by The Replacements and Colour by Numbers by Culture Club. And yes, the last one was the only one played on MTV at the time.
1984: Double Nickels on the Dime by The Minutemen
This is the toughest choice so far. Look at the other contenders: Born in the USA, Purple Rain, Let it Be, Reckoning, 1984, The Smiths, She's So Unusual. Any of these albums would have been the best choice for 1981. I selected The Minutemen's disc because it's 43 songs and I am still finding new things in it. Double Nickels is most famous today because the song Corona was used as the theme for Jackass.
1985: Tim by The Replacements
The field is not quite as strong this year, but Centerfield by John Fogerty, Rain Dogs by Tom Waits, Rum, Sodomy and the Lash by The Pogues and Telephone Free Landslide Victory by Camper Van Beethoven are all solid. Tim may be The Replacements best album, which means 7 of the 11 songs are great, much higher than their usual .500 average.
1986: Georgia Satellites by The Georgia Satellites
The Satellites and Replacements took different approaches to furthering the legacy of The Faces. While the Satellites replicated the subject matter (drinking and/or sex) and musical approach, the Replacements expanded on the drunken antics. There's sadly not enough smart-ass yet rocking songs like Keep Your Hands to Yourself. Honorable mentions include two compilations, the Springsteen live box set and Staring at the Sea by The Cure, as well as Lyle Lovett's debut and the Bangles Different Light.
1987: Solitude Standing by Suzanne Vega
While I love R.E.M.'s Document, the Replacements' Pleased to Meet Me and the Pixies' Come on Pilgrim, I don't love them enough to marry them. And I would have totally married Suzanne Vega circa 1987.
1988: Pontiac by Lyle Lovett
This is a tough year to choose from because the choices are all over the place: N.W.A., R.E.M., Pixies, Public Enemy, Metallica and U2's best comedy album. Anyway, you can tell Lyle Lovett had arrived by the requisite Emmylou Harris harmonies included in this album. For my taste there are still not enough country songs about riding ponies on boats.
1989: Doolittle by Pixies
Another strong selection: Lou Reed's New York, Roy Orbison's Mystery Girl, Dylan's Oh Mercy and Lyle Lovett and His Large Band. While all of these choices were solid, Doolittle gets extra credit for including lyrical subjects like environmental catastrophe, the Bible, Un Chien Andalou and crazy Puerto Rican roommates.
1990: Fear of a Black Planet by Public Enemy
Choices were slimmer this year: All Shook Down by The Replacements, No Depression by Uncle Tupelo, Bossanova by Pixies and, of course, Un-Led-Ed by Dread Zeppelin. It's hard to imagine Flavor Flav was ever relevant today, but the year after Do The Right Thing, he seemed like part of the biggest thing in music. Instead, PE had one more good album left.
1991: Nevermind by Nirvana
An easy choice as this completely changed the course of pop music, killing every hair-metal band in existence. Otherwise there were a lot of good albums released this year: Out of Time, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Into the Great Wide Open, Ten and Trompe Le Monde.
1992: Automatic for the People by R.E.M.
The way I remembered the early 90s was like this: Nevermind was released and the next year there were all kinds of awesome albums until the record companies could sign the likes of Blind Melon and Stone Temple Pilots and it all went to crap. Actually, Nevermind came out within a year of the other two's debuts. It just seemed like a long time. Automatic is R.E.M.'s never-to-be-topped masterpiece. Soul Asylum's Grave Dancer's Union, the Gin Blossom's New Miserable Experience and Lyle Lovett's Joshua Judges Ruth are just about the only competition.
1993: In Utero by Nirvana
Other albums worthy of consideration include Uncle Tupelo's Anodyne, The Breeder's Last Splash and Paul Westerberg's 14 Songs. And before you ask, yes, I did consider Shaq Diesel in making my selection.
1994: Teenager of the Year by Frank Black
Other strong choices include Pulp's His 'n' Hers, Green Day's Dookie, Beck's Mellow Gold and Nirvana's Unplugged. Frank Black's best solo work could have also been called 22 Songs About Video Games, LA Architects, Vaudeville, Terraforming Mars and Thalassocracy.
1995: Different Class by Pulp
Blah, blah, other, blah, blah. Okay, here is a list of the greatest consumer products in the history of the world: 1. Different Class by Pulp, 2. sliced bread. I'm sorry, but I may be understating the case for the awesomeness that is this album.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Yet Another Music List - Part I (1969-1982)
The AV Club just mentioned yet another approach to making music lists: selecting your favorite album recorded every year you've been alive. So this list is just my favorites, feel free to mention what great taste I have.
1969: The Velvet Underground by The Velvet Underground
While there are other worthy candidates including The Stooges' first album, The Band's second disc and Tommy, I have to go with the one consistently listenable album made by The Velvet Underground. Bonus points because it features After Hours.
1970: Cosmo's Factory by Credence Clearwater Revival
Layla and Live at Leeds are the main competition. While years of having their hit songs peddled on TBS have made CCR seem lame, this is an honest-to-goodness great album.
1971: Every Picture Tells a Story by Rod Stewart
It's difficult not to pick Who's Next or even Led Zeppelin IV, but it's hard to overstate how awesome Rod Stewart was in 1971 as The Faces also released their best disc, A Nod is as Good as a Wink to a Blind Horse. I always imagine that he just switched lives with some other guy who looks and sounds just like him, then has devoted the rest of his time since to hanging out at his local pub.
1972: Exile on Main Street by The Rolling Stones
Honorable mention to Big Star's #1 Record and Sail Away by Randy Newman. This is the only Stones album I own and probably the only one I need.
1973: Raw Power by The Stooges
I think Quadrophenia is the only other real competition, since neither Pink nor Floyd do much for me these days. This album is a testament to David Bowie's ability to round up enough drugs to keep Iggy in one place for a whole week.
1974: Radio City by Big Star
This was a pretty bad year for music, it seems. This may be the one album I own from that year. It is a great one, though.
1975: The Basement Tapes by Bob Dylan & The Band
On the other hand, this was a good year. It also had Born to Run, Blood on the Tracks and Metal Machine Music, okay maybe not that one, not to mention Elvis's The Sun Collection. Still, even though it was recorded eight years earlier, The Basement Tapes is timeless.
1976: Modern Lovers by The Modern Lovers
Jonathan Richman's debut beats out Tom Petty's and Warren Zevon's. Basically because Roadrunner just edges out American Girl and Desperadoes Under The Eaves.
1977: Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols
It was easy picking this over a whole bunch of crap plus Elvis Costello's and Television's debuts.
1978: True Love Stories by Jilted John
I thought I would have to decide whether Darkness on the Edge of Town or Big Star's Third/Sister Lovers was the best and most depressing album of the year until I remembered Jilted John's one disc. True Love Stories is one of the great representations of awkward adolescence on record, which is pretty good for what is essentially a one-shot novelty.
1979: Metal Box by Public Image Ltd.
Depending on your tolerance for repetitive bass lines and un-melodic caterwauling --- mine is pretty high --- this is either a great album or unlistenable crap. Limeyg is in the latter camp. By the way, the other choices were not that strong.
1980: London Calling by The Clash
While this is definitely the best album of 1980, I'm disappointed to have to leave out the Dead Kennedy's and Jim Carrol's debuts as well as Back in Black. This was a better year for music.
1981: Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash by The Replacements
I was afraid that I'd end up having to pick the Replacement's sixth-best album one year because everything else sucked. Sound Affects by The Jam is okay: the amazing That's Entertainment plus filler.
1982: Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen
The jolly New Jersey funnyman sings about murder, cars, recession, dead dogs and more cars. This was a much better year to choose from.
1969: The Velvet Underground by The Velvet Underground
While there are other worthy candidates including The Stooges' first album, The Band's second disc and Tommy, I have to go with the one consistently listenable album made by The Velvet Underground. Bonus points because it features After Hours.
1970: Cosmo's Factory by Credence Clearwater Revival
Layla and Live at Leeds are the main competition. While years of having their hit songs peddled on TBS have made CCR seem lame, this is an honest-to-goodness great album.
1971: Every Picture Tells a Story by Rod Stewart
It's difficult not to pick Who's Next or even Led Zeppelin IV, but it's hard to overstate how awesome Rod Stewart was in 1971 as The Faces also released their best disc, A Nod is as Good as a Wink to a Blind Horse. I always imagine that he just switched lives with some other guy who looks and sounds just like him, then has devoted the rest of his time since to hanging out at his local pub.
1972: Exile on Main Street by The Rolling Stones
Honorable mention to Big Star's #1 Record and Sail Away by Randy Newman. This is the only Stones album I own and probably the only one I need.
1973: Raw Power by The Stooges
I think Quadrophenia is the only other real competition, since neither Pink nor Floyd do much for me these days. This album is a testament to David Bowie's ability to round up enough drugs to keep Iggy in one place for a whole week.
1974: Radio City by Big Star
This was a pretty bad year for music, it seems. This may be the one album I own from that year. It is a great one, though.
1975: The Basement Tapes by Bob Dylan & The Band
On the other hand, this was a good year. It also had Born to Run, Blood on the Tracks and Metal Machine Music, okay maybe not that one, not to mention Elvis's The Sun Collection. Still, even though it was recorded eight years earlier, The Basement Tapes is timeless.
1976: Modern Lovers by The Modern Lovers
Jonathan Richman's debut beats out Tom Petty's and Warren Zevon's. Basically because Roadrunner just edges out American Girl and Desperadoes Under The Eaves.
1977: Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols
It was easy picking this over a whole bunch of crap plus Elvis Costello's and Television's debuts.
1978: True Love Stories by Jilted John
I thought I would have to decide whether Darkness on the Edge of Town or Big Star's Third/Sister Lovers was the best and most depressing album of the year until I remembered Jilted John's one disc. True Love Stories is one of the great representations of awkward adolescence on record, which is pretty good for what is essentially a one-shot novelty.
1979: Metal Box by Public Image Ltd.
Depending on your tolerance for repetitive bass lines and un-melodic caterwauling --- mine is pretty high --- this is either a great album or unlistenable crap. Limeyg is in the latter camp. By the way, the other choices were not that strong.
1980: London Calling by The Clash
While this is definitely the best album of 1980, I'm disappointed to have to leave out the Dead Kennedy's and Jim Carrol's debuts as well as Back in Black. This was a better year for music.
1981: Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash by The Replacements
I was afraid that I'd end up having to pick the Replacement's sixth-best album one year because everything else sucked. Sound Affects by The Jam is okay: the amazing That's Entertainment plus filler.
1982: Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen
The jolly New Jersey funnyman sings about murder, cars, recession, dead dogs and more cars. This was a much better year to choose from.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Friday, July 4, 2008
One Less Vote for McCain
Friend to racists, homophobes and lung cancer Jesse Helms died on the Fourth of July, 2008. I was surprised to learn he was still alive.
50 Bands, 50 States - Part 2
This is the second part of my look at the Phoenix's 50 Bands, 50 States column. Part 1 is here.
Florida
Phoenix: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Tom Petty
El: Pitbull
Yes, in a state in which I could have chosen from Skynyrd, Petty, Miami Sound Machine and even Pat Freaking Boone, I chose a one-hit reggaeton flash in the pan. In my defense, his hit single Culo is one of the best odes to women's derrieres since Sir Mix-a-Lot (who was knighted for his efforts.)
Texas
Phoenix: 13th Floor Elevators, Roy Orbison
El: Supersuckers
Frankly, I'm not so sure the 13th Floor Elevators are better than the Supersuckers or the Geto Boys. Then again, I am not currently tripping like the Phoenix staff. Among the many, many other choices are Lyle Lovett, Buddy Holly and Willie Nelson.
Iowa
Phoenix: The Everly Brothers, William Elliott Whitmore
El: Glenn Miller
Aren't you glad that this 96% white state gets to vote first in the primaries? Look at those names. And the only other choice was Andy Williams. I don't even know who the hell the Phoenix picked for best solo artist even after they explained it.
Wisconsin
Phoenix: Violent Femmes, Brother Ali
El: Violent Femmes
That was extremely easy. Next.
California
Phoenix: The Beach Boys, Dr. Dre
El: Dead Kennedys
While the Byrds, CCR and the Beach Boys are obvious choices, I felt the reaction against the hippies was more interesting, which meant punk. While there were dozens of So. Cal. bands to choose from like Black Flag, Suicidal Tendencies and the Descendents, somehow an extremely sarcastic San Francisco band seemed like the right choice. In retrospect, I should have picked an NWA track. Damn, I forgot about Dre.
Minnesota
Phoenix: The Replacements, Prince/Bob Dylan
El: Prince
The Prince/Bob Dylan thing is another Phoenix call-in choice deal. Frankly, it should be a tie. I passed on the Replacements for my choice to get something more party-like after Jello Biafra got done yelling about rich kids or genocide or whatever.
Oregon
Phoenix: The Wipers, Tim Hardin
El: The Kingsmen
Two words. Actually, one word repeated twice and separated by a comma. Okay, one proper noun repeated twice and separated by a comma. Oh screw it.
Kansas
Phoenix: The Embarassment, Charlie Parker
El: Melissa Etheridge
I had never heard of The Embarassment. Forced with picking a female Springsteen impersonator or acknowledging the existence of jazz, the Phoenix editors go for the latter.
West Virginia
Phoenix: Karma to Burn, Hasil Adkins
El: Tom T. Hall
I've never heard of the Phoenix choices. We're reaching the parts of the country where little of consequence ever happens, so the choices get tough. I happened to already have a Tom T. Hall track in one of my freely acquired Time-Life compilations.
Nevada
Phoenix: 7 Seconds, Jenny Lewis
El: The Killers
I think the playlist was built before the Killers widely panned second disc came out. I still stand by my choice, since it required little research.
Nebraska
Phoenix:Bright Eyes, Elliott Smith
El: Bright Eyes
I would have bet anything that the Phoenix entry would read Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst.
Colorado
Phoenix: The Apples in Stereo, Jello Biafra
El: The Nails
Three guesses as to where in Colorado Jello Biafra grew up. (Hint: The name is a synonym for a large rock.) As to my choice, 88 Lines About 44 Women has to be better than anything by John Denver or Judy Collins.
North Dakota
Phoenix: The Pink Slips, Peggy Lee
El: Peggy Lee
The solo artist choice for North Dakistan is obvious: Peggy Lee over Lawrence Welk. By the way, the Phoenix's best new band for the state is called Vaz, who are presumably called Vazoo in England.
South Dakota
Phoenix: Indigenous, Bob Stewart
El: Shawn Colvin
I think the Phoenix is just making shit up at this point. Indigenous is supposedly a Nakota tribe group of siblings whose leader sounds like Stevie Ray Vaughn, while Bob Stewart plays jazz tuba. Right, those sound like they're real.
Montana
Phoenix: Silkworm, Colin Meloy
El: David Lynch
So I didn't know that the dude out of the Decembrists was from Helena. So all I could find was that David Lynch hails from Missoula. Since he did write "In Heaven" for the movie Eraserhead, I used the Pixies cover to represent the state of Montana. It was my biggest failure in building the playlist and I blame no one but Montana's feeble artistic output.
Washington
Phoenix: Nirvana, Jimi Hendrix
El: Mudhoney
The Phoenix choices are correct, of course. Still, few things represents Seattle's contribution to grunge culture more than Touch Me I'm Sick.
Idaho
Phoenix: Built to Spill, Josh Ritter
El: Built to Spill
How can a state have twice as many US Senators as bands that you can find on iTunes? Can't we get a constitutional amendment to deal with this?
Wyoming
Phoenix: The Dirty Dogs, Jeb Loy Nichols
El: Chris LeDoux
The best solo artist in Wyoming is named Jeb. Figures. No, I don't know a damned thing about the three artist listed above. Still, three names among 1,200 people and 750,000 cows is pretty good.
Utah
Phoenix: The Osmonds, Donny Osmond
El: The Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Christ, I still have five more to go. Frankly, only Marie gives a crap about these choices. Oddly, no jazz artists.
Oklahoma
Phoenix: Flaming Lips, Woody Guthrie
El: Woody Guthrie
This is the last great artist you will see on this list.
New Mexico
Phoenix: The Shins, Norman Petty
El: Lanaidista
Can we just merge this state with another one?
Arizona
Phoenix: Sun City Girls, Stevie Nicks
El: Alice Cooper
One of the few states in this part of the list with some choices as Linda Rondstadt and the Meat Puppets are also options. They aren't great choices, but still.
Alaska
Phoenix: The Long Winters, Agaffon Krukoff
El: Jewel
Sadly, if we were selecting best poet from each state, Jewel would be the pick as well.
Hawaii
Phoenix: Dambuilders, Don Ho
El: Don Ho
Don Ho's cover of Shock the Monkey is tits.
I learned two things from this exercise:
Florida
Phoenix: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Tom Petty
El: Pitbull
Yes, in a state in which I could have chosen from Skynyrd, Petty, Miami Sound Machine and even Pat Freaking Boone, I chose a one-hit reggaeton flash in the pan. In my defense, his hit single Culo is one of the best odes to women's derrieres since Sir Mix-a-Lot (who was knighted for his efforts.)
Texas
Phoenix: 13th Floor Elevators, Roy Orbison
El: Supersuckers
Frankly, I'm not so sure the 13th Floor Elevators are better than the Supersuckers or the Geto Boys. Then again, I am not currently tripping like the Phoenix staff. Among the many, many other choices are Lyle Lovett, Buddy Holly and Willie Nelson.
Iowa
Phoenix: The Everly Brothers, William Elliott Whitmore
El: Glenn Miller
Aren't you glad that this 96% white state gets to vote first in the primaries? Look at those names. And the only other choice was Andy Williams. I don't even know who the hell the Phoenix picked for best solo artist even after they explained it.
Wisconsin
Phoenix: Violent Femmes, Brother Ali
El: Violent Femmes
That was extremely easy. Next.
California
Phoenix: The Beach Boys, Dr. Dre
El: Dead Kennedys
While the Byrds, CCR and the Beach Boys are obvious choices, I felt the reaction against the hippies was more interesting, which meant punk. While there were dozens of So. Cal. bands to choose from like Black Flag, Suicidal Tendencies and the Descendents, somehow an extremely sarcastic San Francisco band seemed like the right choice. In retrospect, I should have picked an NWA track. Damn, I forgot about Dre.
Minnesota
Phoenix: The Replacements, Prince/Bob Dylan
El: Prince
The Prince/Bob Dylan thing is another Phoenix call-in choice deal. Frankly, it should be a tie. I passed on the Replacements for my choice to get something more party-like after Jello Biafra got done yelling about rich kids or genocide or whatever.
Oregon
Phoenix: The Wipers, Tim Hardin
El: The Kingsmen
Two words. Actually, one word repeated twice and separated by a comma. Okay, one proper noun repeated twice and separated by a comma. Oh screw it.
Kansas
Phoenix: The Embarassment, Charlie Parker
El: Melissa Etheridge
I had never heard of The Embarassment. Forced with picking a female Springsteen impersonator or acknowledging the existence of jazz, the Phoenix editors go for the latter.
West Virginia
Phoenix: Karma to Burn, Hasil Adkins
El: Tom T. Hall
I've never heard of the Phoenix choices. We're reaching the parts of the country where little of consequence ever happens, so the choices get tough. I happened to already have a Tom T. Hall track in one of my freely acquired Time-Life compilations.
Nevada
Phoenix: 7 Seconds, Jenny Lewis
El: The Killers
I think the playlist was built before the Killers widely panned second disc came out. I still stand by my choice, since it required little research.
Nebraska
Phoenix:Bright Eyes, Elliott Smith
El: Bright Eyes
I would have bet anything that the Phoenix entry would read Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst.
Colorado
Phoenix: The Apples in Stereo, Jello Biafra
El: The Nails
Three guesses as to where in Colorado Jello Biafra grew up. (Hint: The name is a synonym for a large rock.) As to my choice, 88 Lines About 44 Women has to be better than anything by John Denver or Judy Collins.
North Dakota
Phoenix: The Pink Slips, Peggy Lee
El: Peggy Lee
The solo artist choice for North Dakistan is obvious: Peggy Lee over Lawrence Welk. By the way, the Phoenix's best new band for the state is called Vaz, who are presumably called Vazoo in England.
South Dakota
Phoenix: Indigenous, Bob Stewart
El: Shawn Colvin
I think the Phoenix is just making shit up at this point. Indigenous is supposedly a Nakota tribe group of siblings whose leader sounds like Stevie Ray Vaughn, while Bob Stewart plays jazz tuba. Right, those sound like they're real.
Montana
Phoenix: Silkworm, Colin Meloy
El: David Lynch
So I didn't know that the dude out of the Decembrists was from Helena. So all I could find was that David Lynch hails from Missoula. Since he did write "In Heaven" for the movie Eraserhead, I used the Pixies cover to represent the state of Montana. It was my biggest failure in building the playlist and I blame no one but Montana's feeble artistic output.
Washington
Phoenix: Nirvana, Jimi Hendrix
El: Mudhoney
The Phoenix choices are correct, of course. Still, few things represents Seattle's contribution to grunge culture more than Touch Me I'm Sick.
Idaho
Phoenix: Built to Spill, Josh Ritter
El: Built to Spill
How can a state have twice as many US Senators as bands that you can find on iTunes? Can't we get a constitutional amendment to deal with this?
Wyoming
Phoenix: The Dirty Dogs, Jeb Loy Nichols
El: Chris LeDoux
The best solo artist in Wyoming is named Jeb. Figures. No, I don't know a damned thing about the three artist listed above. Still, three names among 1,200 people and 750,000 cows is pretty good.
Utah
Phoenix: The Osmonds, Donny Osmond
El: The Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Christ, I still have five more to go. Frankly, only Marie gives a crap about these choices. Oddly, no jazz artists.
Oklahoma
Phoenix: Flaming Lips, Woody Guthrie
El: Woody Guthrie
This is the last great artist you will see on this list.
New Mexico
Phoenix: The Shins, Norman Petty
El: Lanaidista
Can we just merge this state with another one?
Arizona
Phoenix: Sun City Girls, Stevie Nicks
El: Alice Cooper
One of the few states in this part of the list with some choices as Linda Rondstadt and the Meat Puppets are also options. They aren't great choices, but still.
Alaska
Phoenix: The Long Winters, Agaffon Krukoff
El: Jewel
Sadly, if we were selecting best poet from each state, Jewel would be the pick as well.
Hawaii
Phoenix: Dambuilders, Don Ho
El: Don Ho
Don Ho's cover of Shock the Monkey is tits.
I learned two things from this exercise:
- There are approximately zero good musicians in about half of the states, but there's about ten states that have dozens of worthwhile artists.
- If you want to accurately show the breadth of American music, don't choose music from each state. You're better off playing the Band's greatest hits. Even if 80% of the members are Canadian.
50 Bands, 50 States - Part 1
The cover story in this week's Boston Phoenix is their guide to the best band, best solo artist and best new band for each of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia. I took on a similar project a couple of years ago when LimeyG became a citizen: building a party playlist featuring music from all 50 states.
I will now compare my choices with theirs. In the interest of not giving a crap about new bands, I will only focus on the best band and solo artist choices. Unlike their lame alphabetical ordering system, I will go by order of entry into the union, which is how the playlist was organized.
Delaware
Phoenix:Television, George Thorogood
El's Playlist: George Thorogood
When you name your band the Delaware Destroyers, you make things pretty easy. Television is a much better band, but I always thought of them as a New York band.
Pennsylvania
Phoenix:The Roots, Trent Reznor
El's Playlist: Fred Waring
My other choices included Gene Kelly, Mario Lanza and Poison. Not a great selection. Trent Reznor would have been fine, but you have to go with the man with the eponymous blender.
New Jersey
Phoenix:Four Seasons/Misfits, Bruce Springsteen
El: Fountains of Wayne
The Phoenix couldn't decide between Frankie Vallie and Danzig, so they encouraged the readers to choose. Pretty dumb, since writing Bright Future in Sales and Hackensack make Fountains of Wayne a much better choice. That and I didn't feel like spending $0.99 on a Bon Jovi track.
Georgia
Phoenix: R.E.M., Ray Charles
El: James Brown
Methodology is a factor here as the Phoenix only counts solo artist by where they were born, not were they established themselves. You can't go wrong with any of the three really, plus Little Richard is also an option if going by birthplace.
Connecticut
Phoenix: The Carpenters, Liz Phair
El: Moby
What are the chances that the state with the highest GDP per capita in the nation would also have some of the crummiest music? Some of the other choices included John Mayer and Michael Bolton. So I used that one song from that one ad or something.
Massachusetts
Phoenix: Pixies, Jonathan Richman
El: Modern Lovers (Jonathan Richman's band)
This was a pretty easy one since both the Pixies and the first Modern Lover's album are pretty awesome. I chose Roadrunner by the Modern Lovers because driving around 128 with the RADIO ON seemed more representative.
Maryland
Phoenix: The Orioles, John Fahey
El: The Orioles
Frank Zappa and Billie Holiday were also choices, so I don't quite understand the John Fahey thing. Anyway, Crying in the Chapel is one of the greatest doo-wop songs ever.
South Carolina
Phoenix: Iron and Wine, James Brown
El: Eartha Kitt
By using James Brown in Georgia I was left with Eartha Kitt and Hootie. Yes, Hootie.
New Hampshire
Phoenix: Aerosmith, Jon Spencer/Ronnie James Dio
El: The Shaggs
Frankly, I feel much better knowing that Aerosmith hails from the cultural backwater that is New Hampshire. You can also vote on the Spencer/Dio decision, but that's dumb since only one of them could credibly appear in the Tenacious D movie. But seriously, what could serve as a better symbol of the Live Free and Die state that the amusingly incompetent Shaggs.
Virginia
Phoenix: The Neptunes, Patsy Cline
El: Ella Fitzgerald
Virginia is surprisingly thin in music, given their size, although Ella, Patsy, Roy Clark and Pharell Williams are all pretty influential. I think the Phoenix just ignored jazz altogether.
New York
Phoenix: Velvet Underground, Mary J. Blige
El: The Ramones
I respect the Velvet Underground as much as any other aging hipster should, but the Ramones are more suitable for a party playlist. Public Enemy and Sammy Davis, Jr also merit mention. The Goo Goo Dolls and Ethel Merman do not.
North Carolina
Phoenix: Superchunk, George Clinton
El: Mojo Nixon
I think I considered Clinton and the whole P-Funk group under Michigan. Excluding him made Mojo a silly choice on my part over a whole bunch of legendary figures (Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, Thelonious Monk) and Ben Folds.
Rhode Island
Phoenix: Talking Heads, Tanya Donelly
El: Talking Heads
Well, that one was easy.
Vermont
Phoenix: Phish, Rudy Vallee
El: Rudy Vallee
The Phoenix informs us that Rudy Vallee was the first megaphone crooner or as they called them back then, megaphone crooners. I would have had to spend weeks cleaning lice off the iPod had I loaded Phish on there.
Kentucky
Phoenix: Slint, Will Oldham
El: Bill Monroe
You can tell the Phoenix just ignores country if at all possible, since they passed on the Father of Bluegrass and on Loretta Lynn as well.
Tennessee
Phoenix: Big Star, Aretha Franklin
El: Aretha Franklin
When you can choose between Aretha, Dolly Parton, Tina Turner or Lester Flatt, it was difficult to justify choosing four Memphis guys trying to sound like a British Invasion group. Even if they were the greatest American power pop band.
Ohio
Phoenix: Pere Ubu, Screamin' Jay Hawkins
El: Dead Boys
The Dead Boys and Pere Ubu were both descended from Rocket from the Tombs and featured guys named Crocus Behemoth, Cheetah Chrome and Jimmy Zero. Sonic Reducer by the Dead Boys is the best song from that scene, so I went with the Dead Boys. Ohio also has Devo and the Cramps, not to mention Dean Martin and Doris Day. That still doesn't justify having the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame.
Phoenix: The Louvin Brothers, Hank Williams
El: Big Mama Thornton
Boy, nothing gets a party going like Hank Williams classics like I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive and I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry. Fun stuff.
Maine
Phoenix: Rustic Overtones, Juliana Hatfield
El: The Killing Moon
I apologize for referring to New Hampshire as a cultural backwater because finding one goddamn band from Maine took a lot of Google work. All I know about The Killing Moon is that they are from Maine and they have a cover of You Oughta Know available on iTunes. I'm not even sure if they know of Echo or the Bunnymen.
Missouri
Phoenix: Uncle Tupelo, Chuck Berry
El: Chuck Berry
It's very difficult not to choose Chuck Berry here, even if he now has competition from Nelly and Chingy.
Arkansas
Phoenix: Black Oak Arkansas, Johnny Cash
El: Louis Jordan
On Marshall Crenshaw's book Hollywood Rock the author states that "Louis Jordan is such a god of American culture that his face should be on the $50 bill." That is not hyperbole either. I love Johnny Cash as much as the next guy, but he never recorded anything as fun as Caldonia.
Michigan
Phoenix: The Stooges, Stevie Wonder
El: The Stooges
With apologies to John Lee Hooker, the MC5 and Eminem, these were pretty easy choices. While I could have used any number of Stevie Wonder tracks, somehow hearing Iggy Pop (born Ignatius Popovski to immigrant parents) howling seemed more representative of the current situation of Michigan.
I will now compare my choices with theirs. In the interest of not giving a crap about new bands, I will only focus on the best band and solo artist choices. Unlike their lame alphabetical ordering system, I will go by order of entry into the union, which is how the playlist was organized.
Delaware
Phoenix:Television, George Thorogood
El's Playlist: George Thorogood
When you name your band the Delaware Destroyers, you make things pretty easy. Television is a much better band, but I always thought of them as a New York band.
Pennsylvania
Phoenix:The Roots, Trent Reznor
El's Playlist: Fred Waring
My other choices included Gene Kelly, Mario Lanza and Poison. Not a great selection. Trent Reznor would have been fine, but you have to go with the man with the eponymous blender.
New Jersey
Phoenix:Four Seasons/Misfits, Bruce Springsteen
El: Fountains of Wayne
The Phoenix couldn't decide between Frankie Vallie and Danzig, so they encouraged the readers to choose. Pretty dumb, since writing Bright Future in Sales and Hackensack make Fountains of Wayne a much better choice. That and I didn't feel like spending $0.99 on a Bon Jovi track.
Georgia
Phoenix: R.E.M., Ray Charles
El: James Brown
Methodology is a factor here as the Phoenix only counts solo artist by where they were born, not were they established themselves. You can't go wrong with any of the three really, plus Little Richard is also an option if going by birthplace.
Connecticut
Phoenix: The Carpenters, Liz Phair
El: Moby
What are the chances that the state with the highest GDP per capita in the nation would also have some of the crummiest music? Some of the other choices included John Mayer and Michael Bolton. So I used that one song from that one ad or something.
Massachusetts
Phoenix: Pixies, Jonathan Richman
El: Modern Lovers (Jonathan Richman's band)
This was a pretty easy one since both the Pixies and the first Modern Lover's album are pretty awesome. I chose Roadrunner by the Modern Lovers because driving around 128 with the RADIO ON seemed more representative.
Maryland
Phoenix: The Orioles, John Fahey
El: The Orioles
Frank Zappa and Billie Holiday were also choices, so I don't quite understand the John Fahey thing. Anyway, Crying in the Chapel is one of the greatest doo-wop songs ever.
South Carolina
Phoenix: Iron and Wine, James Brown
El: Eartha Kitt
By using James Brown in Georgia I was left with Eartha Kitt and Hootie. Yes, Hootie.
New Hampshire
Phoenix: Aerosmith, Jon Spencer/Ronnie James Dio
El: The Shaggs
Frankly, I feel much better knowing that Aerosmith hails from the cultural backwater that is New Hampshire. You can also vote on the Spencer/Dio decision, but that's dumb since only one of them could credibly appear in the Tenacious D movie. But seriously, what could serve as a better symbol of the Live Free and Die state that the amusingly incompetent Shaggs.
Virginia
Phoenix: The Neptunes, Patsy Cline
El: Ella Fitzgerald
Virginia is surprisingly thin in music, given their size, although Ella, Patsy, Roy Clark and Pharell Williams are all pretty influential. I think the Phoenix just ignored jazz altogether.
New York
Phoenix: Velvet Underground, Mary J. Blige
El: The Ramones
I respect the Velvet Underground as much as any other aging hipster should, but the Ramones are more suitable for a party playlist. Public Enemy and Sammy Davis, Jr also merit mention. The Goo Goo Dolls and Ethel Merman do not.
North Carolina
Phoenix: Superchunk, George Clinton
El: Mojo Nixon
I think I considered Clinton and the whole P-Funk group under Michigan. Excluding him made Mojo a silly choice on my part over a whole bunch of legendary figures (Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, Thelonious Monk) and Ben Folds.
Rhode Island
Phoenix: Talking Heads, Tanya Donelly
El: Talking Heads
Well, that one was easy.
Vermont
Phoenix: Phish, Rudy Vallee
El: Rudy Vallee
The Phoenix informs us that Rudy Vallee was the first megaphone crooner or as they called them back then, megaphone crooners. I would have had to spend weeks cleaning lice off the iPod had I loaded Phish on there.
Kentucky
Phoenix: Slint, Will Oldham
El: Bill Monroe
You can tell the Phoenix just ignores country if at all possible, since they passed on the Father of Bluegrass and on Loretta Lynn as well.
Tennessee
Phoenix: Big Star, Aretha Franklin
El: Aretha Franklin
When you can choose between Aretha, Dolly Parton, Tina Turner or Lester Flatt, it was difficult to justify choosing four Memphis guys trying to sound like a British Invasion group. Even if they were the greatest American power pop band.
Ohio
Phoenix: Pere Ubu, Screamin' Jay Hawkins
El: Dead Boys
The Dead Boys and Pere Ubu were both descended from Rocket from the Tombs and featured guys named Crocus Behemoth, Cheetah Chrome and Jimmy Zero. Sonic Reducer by the Dead Boys is the best song from that scene, so I went with the Dead Boys. Ohio also has Devo and the Cramps, not to mention Dean Martin and Doris Day. That still doesn't justify having the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame.
Louisiana
Phoenix: The Meters, Jerry Lee Lewis
El: Fats Domino
You could spend weeks listing further options from this state: Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Prima, Allen Toussaint, Lee Dorsey. Fats seemed pretty representative, but the Phoenix choices are also excellent.
Indiana
Phoenix: Jackson 5, Michael Jackson
El: Jackson 5
Ironically, the Jackson 5 had a young black kid who sounded exactly like Michael Jackson. True story. Honorable mention to Cole Porter. Semi-honorable mention to John Cougar Mellencamp. Dishonorable mention to Axl Rose.
Mississippi
Phoenix: The Mississippi Sheiks, Robert Johnson
El: Muddy Waters
Some of the other choices include Bo Diddley, B.B. King and, you know, Elvis. I have no memory of why I didn't choose Elvis.
Illinois
Phoenix: Big Black, Miles Davis
El: Quincy Jones
In my defense this was just an excuse to use the theme to Sanford & Son in the playlist. Yes, you probably have it running through your head right now. That meant I passed up Wilco (no matter that the Phoenix claims they are from Missouri), Kanye and Cheap Trick.
Phoenix: The Louvin Brothers, Hank Williams
El: Big Mama Thornton
Boy, nothing gets a party going like Hank Williams classics like I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive and I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry. Fun stuff.
Maine
Phoenix: Rustic Overtones, Juliana Hatfield
El: The Killing Moon
I apologize for referring to New Hampshire as a cultural backwater because finding one goddamn band from Maine took a lot of Google work. All I know about The Killing Moon is that they are from Maine and they have a cover of You Oughta Know available on iTunes. I'm not even sure if they know of Echo or the Bunnymen.
Missouri
Phoenix: Uncle Tupelo, Chuck Berry
El: Chuck Berry
It's very difficult not to choose Chuck Berry here, even if he now has competition from Nelly and Chingy.
Arkansas
Phoenix: Black Oak Arkansas, Johnny Cash
El: Louis Jordan
On Marshall Crenshaw's book Hollywood Rock the author states that "Louis Jordan is such a god of American culture that his face should be on the $50 bill." That is not hyperbole either. I love Johnny Cash as much as the next guy, but he never recorded anything as fun as Caldonia.
Michigan
Phoenix: The Stooges, Stevie Wonder
El: The Stooges
With apologies to John Lee Hooker, the MC5 and Eminem, these were pretty easy choices. While I could have used any number of Stevie Wonder tracks, somehow hearing Iggy Pop (born Ignatius Popovski to immigrant parents) howling seemed more representative of the current situation of Michigan.
LIveblogging Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Competition
We've had updates on Kobayashi's jaw arthritis, a story on a competitor whose day job involves fixing diet food for a catering company (oh, the irony!), and a short bio of Joey Chestnut. And a big rule change: the timeframe has gone from 12 minutes to the original 10.
The crowd at Coney Island is huge, spilling out onto the street. There are a lot of fat people. A lot.
Okay, here we go.
Competitiors include:
A guy in a tux with a hot-dog-garnished martini;
Some douche from Boston;
"Crazy Legs Conti," the lumberjack-breakfast-eating champ;
Some other douche who claims winning the contest "would not change his life";
A big fat bald guy;
A Puerto Rican in a fur coat with a boombox made from a suitcase;
Douche #3, a jalapeno-eating champ;
Six-foot-five 400lbs Badlands Booker;
105 lbs Juliet Lee (a girl!);
A 65-year-old guy from Vegas;
A guy in a Cubs Mexican-wrestler mask who once ate 8.5 lbs of blueberry pie, hands-free
A "faith-based eater," known as the Billy Graham of Ham;
A vegetarian who only eats meat in sanctioned competition
Sonya "Black Widow" Thomas (last year's women's champ);
Eater X, who once ate 171 pieces of sushi in 6 minutes
And ... there he is! Takeru Kobayashi, looking to win back the title from:
Joey Chestnut, the Clay Aiken of bacon.
The dogs are cooked, the judges are primed, the excitement is palpable.
And they're off. The eating begins.
Kobayashi is cramming them down. Okay, this is gross. It looks like people vomiting in reverse. Kobayashi's at seven dogs, but Chestnut is at 12 at the end of the first minute. The fat guy is all like "nom nom nom."
Chestnut and Kobayashi are separating from the rest of the pack. A giant hotdog is applauding. Juliet Lee's mouth is stuffed with sausage.
Chestnut: 22; Kobayashi: 18
Chestnut is averaging 8 dogs a minute; at that pace, he could do 80 by the end. And/or die.
Kobayashi once ate 17.5lbs of cow brains. But he's slowing down.
At halftime, it's 35 to 33. Chestnut is slowing down also. He's sweating.
They're TIED! Chestnut is really really struggling. He looks pained.
Someone's gonna hurl; I can feel it.
The announcer just said "What I know is this: Kobayashi and Chestnut can eat, and they can eat very quickly." That, my friends, is insight.
They're still tied: 47 a piece.
And Kobayashi takes the lead with 2.5 minutes left. Also, his hair looks awesome dyed red and gold.
The beast Kobayashi is calmly putting away his 56th; Chestnut looks like he's almost done.
And the winner: IT'S A TIE! Fifty-nine dogs each!
Or is it? A representative from Major League Eating is checking into the results. Is this a first? Yes! Never before has this happened. History is being made today!
Oh lordy, they're gonna do penalties: a five-dog eat-off. This is going to be brutal.
How ridiculous is this thing? Kobayashi is trailing slightly.
And Chestnut wins. I'm sad; Kobayashi should have won. Chestnut claims the difference between the two passionate competitors was that Kobayashi wanted the win, "but I needed it more."
Really? You needed to win? At eating?
But at least no one threw up.
El's summary: Good God, that Joey Chestnut is not only a prodigious eater of pie, but also a fucker of same. The most incredible thing about the event was that Kobayashi ate 64 hot dogs without breaking a sweat or winning.
The crowd at Coney Island is huge, spilling out onto the street. There are a lot of fat people. A lot.
Okay, here we go.
Competitiors include:
A guy in a tux with a hot-dog-garnished martini;
Some douche from Boston;
"Crazy Legs Conti," the lumberjack-breakfast-eating champ;
Some other douche who claims winning the contest "would not change his life";
A big fat bald guy;
A Puerto Rican in a fur coat with a boombox made from a suitcase;
Douche #3, a jalapeno-eating champ;
Six-foot-five 400lbs Badlands Booker;
105 lbs Juliet Lee (a girl!);
A 65-year-old guy from Vegas;
A guy in a Cubs Mexican-wrestler mask who once ate 8.5 lbs of blueberry pie, hands-free
A "faith-based eater," known as the Billy Graham of Ham;
A vegetarian who only eats meat in sanctioned competition
Sonya "Black Widow" Thomas (last year's women's champ);
Eater X, who once ate 171 pieces of sushi in 6 minutes
And ... there he is! Takeru Kobayashi, looking to win back the title from:
Joey Chestnut, the Clay Aiken of bacon.
The dogs are cooked, the judges are primed, the excitement is palpable.
And they're off. The eating begins.
Kobayashi is cramming them down. Okay, this is gross. It looks like people vomiting in reverse. Kobayashi's at seven dogs, but Chestnut is at 12 at the end of the first minute. The fat guy is all like "nom nom nom."
Chestnut and Kobayashi are separating from the rest of the pack. A giant hotdog is applauding. Juliet Lee's mouth is stuffed with sausage.
Chestnut: 22; Kobayashi: 18
Chestnut is averaging 8 dogs a minute; at that pace, he could do 80 by the end. And/or die.
Kobayashi once ate 17.5lbs of cow brains. But he's slowing down.
At halftime, it's 35 to 33. Chestnut is slowing down also. He's sweating.
They're TIED! Chestnut is really really struggling. He looks pained.
Someone's gonna hurl; I can feel it.
The announcer just said "What I know is this: Kobayashi and Chestnut can eat, and they can eat very quickly." That, my friends, is insight.
They're still tied: 47 a piece.
And Kobayashi takes the lead with 2.5 minutes left. Also, his hair looks awesome dyed red and gold.
The beast Kobayashi is calmly putting away his 56th; Chestnut looks like he's almost done.
And the winner: IT'S A TIE! Fifty-nine dogs each!
Or is it? A representative from Major League Eating is checking into the results. Is this a first? Yes! Never before has this happened. History is being made today!
Oh lordy, they're gonna do penalties: a five-dog eat-off. This is going to be brutal.
How ridiculous is this thing? Kobayashi is trailing slightly.
And Chestnut wins. I'm sad; Kobayashi should have won. Chestnut claims the difference between the two passionate competitors was that Kobayashi wanted the win, "but I needed it more."
Really? You needed to win? At eating?
But at least no one threw up.
El's summary: Good God, that Joey Chestnut is not only a prodigious eater of pie, but also a fucker of same. The most incredible thing about the event was that Kobayashi ate 64 hot dogs without breaking a sweat or winning.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Google makes people angry
Sometimes the users on Google Image Labeler have precious little knowledge of the outside world. Or patience, for that matter.
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