#630 - "Walkin' On The Sun" - Smash Mouth - Fush Yu Mang - The first and only Smash Mouth song on the list, "Walkin' On The Sun" was featured prominently in the movie Wag The Dog and is one of best-written songs of the 90's.
#629 - "Maybe I'm Amazed" - Paul McCartney - McCartney - The first of two McCartney songs on the list, "Maybe I'm Amazed" is his best ballad and has one of the best choruses that any former Beatle ever produced.
#628 - "Beautiful World" - Devo - Greatest Hits - The third of five Devo songs on the countdown, "Beautiful World" was actually used in an ad for Target because they didn't realize what a sad and cynical song it really is. Of course, that cynicism is also what makes it one of Devo's best and one of the best punk songs of the materialistic 80's.
#627 - "The Ocean" - Led Zeppelin - Houses Of The Holy - The third of twenty-four Zeppelin tunes in the top 1000, "The Ocean" features the typically brilliant guitar riff and a fantastic chorus.
#626 - "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, Pt. 1" - The Flaming Lips - The first and only song on the countdown by The Flaming Lips, "Yoshimi" is the centerpiece of their brilliant concept album of the same name and features one of the weirdest and most entertaining stories in all of rock n roll history.
#625 - "Mosh" - Eminem - Encore - The third and highest-charting Eminem song on the list, "Mosh" was Slim Shady's first venture into the world of politics (beyond the usual complaints about how government censors are trying to shut him up), as "Mosh" is an angry call to arms against the Bush Administration that failed to make enough of an impact to stop his re-election.
#624 - "Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress)" - The Hollies - The Midas Touch - The first and only Hollies song on the countdown, "Long Cool Woman" is somewhat notorious as a CCR knock-off, but it is far and away the band's best song and features a great guitar riff.
#623 - "Get Back" - The Beatles - Let It Be - The sixth of twenty-two Beatles songs in the top 1000, "Get Back" was one of the last songs that the band recorded together before breaking up and features "fifth Beatle" Billy Preston on keyboards.
#622 - "First It Giveth" - Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf - The seventh of sixteen Queens songs on the countdown, "First It Giveth" features great verses and an outstanding chorus.
#621 - "Gold Dust Woman" - Fleetwood Mac - Rumours - The third of seven Fleetwood Mac songs on the list, "Gold Dust Woman" features one of Steve Nicks' finest vocals and great lyrics.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Top 1000 Bands #630-#621
630 - Nappy Roots - A hip hop band that makes great music but doesn't really fit into any of the usual genres (political, gangsta, Dirty South, etc.).
629 - The Hollies - One of the mid-range bands of the 60's, the band had a series of small hits and one huge one with "Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress".
628 - Seal - It's been awhile since he's had a hit, but songs "Crazy" and "Kissed By A Rose" are all-time soul classics.
627 - Al Green - One of the biggest and best R&B stars of all-time, Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" is among the greatest songs ever written.
626 - The J. Geils Band - A classic rock band from the 70's, the band had a tremendous amount of success on the pop charts with songs like "Love Stinks", "Centerfold" and "Freeze Frame".
625 - Steve Winwood - The former lead singer of Traffic had a couple of great albums in the 80's as a solo artist and produced classics songs like "Roll With It" and "Back In The High Life Again".
624 - Courtney Love - The lead singer of Hole went solo a few years ago, producing a great grunge album reminiscent of Hole at their best.
623 - The Circle Jerks - One of the foremost artists in the 80's punk scene, the Circle Jerks had a series of great albums but never broke through to any level of mainstream success.
622 - Grand Funk Railroad - Another slightly above average classic rock band from the 70's, GFR had their career high point with "We're An American Band".
621 - Rooney - One of the most successful and talented bands practicing the evil art of emo, Rooney is close to crossing over to the pop charts like Fall Out Boy or Panic At The Disco.
629 - The Hollies - One of the mid-range bands of the 60's, the band had a series of small hits and one huge one with "Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress".
628 - Seal - It's been awhile since he's had a hit, but songs "Crazy" and "Kissed By A Rose" are all-time soul classics.
627 - Al Green - One of the biggest and best R&B stars of all-time, Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" is among the greatest songs ever written.
626 - The J. Geils Band - A classic rock band from the 70's, the band had a tremendous amount of success on the pop charts with songs like "Love Stinks", "Centerfold" and "Freeze Frame".
625 - Steve Winwood - The former lead singer of Traffic had a couple of great albums in the 80's as a solo artist and produced classics songs like "Roll With It" and "Back In The High Life Again".
624 - Courtney Love - The lead singer of Hole went solo a few years ago, producing a great grunge album reminiscent of Hole at their best.
623 - The Circle Jerks - One of the foremost artists in the 80's punk scene, the Circle Jerks had a series of great albums but never broke through to any level of mainstream success.
622 - Grand Funk Railroad - Another slightly above average classic rock band from the 70's, GFR had their career high point with "We're An American Band".
621 - Rooney - One of the most successful and talented bands practicing the evil art of emo, Rooney is close to crossing over to the pop charts like Fall Out Boy or Panic At The Disco.
Best Movies Of 2007 #40-#31
#40 - No End In Sight - The best documentary to be made about the War In Iraq, No End In Sight avoids the usual pitfalls by staying objective and analyzing the facts to make it's case, you know, like a documentary is supposed to. It didn't win Best Picture and it didn't lose to Michael Moore's Sicko, which means that the winner "Taxi To The Dark Side", which I haven't seen, must be one HELL of a great movie. Can't wait.
#39 - The Namesake - Mira Nair's epic film about life and conflicting cultures among several generations of an Indian family that immigrated to the United States. Kal Penn turns in a great performance in a rare dramatic turn and the direction and cinematography is first-class.
#38 - Beowulf - The movie departs greatly from the book, but I prefer the storyline in the film anyway. The technology used to create the animation is light years ahead of it's previous use (the creepy inhuman monsters with the dead eyes from The Polar Express) and the action and humor is surprisingly sharp.
#37 - Before The Devil Knows You're Dead - A sharp and quickly paced film about a robbery gone horribly wrong, Before The Devil has great twists, fantastic story pacing and brilliant performances from leads Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Marisa Tomei and as always Philip Seymour Hoffman.
#36 - The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford - If this movie were, say, an hour shorter it would have been a serious Oscar contender. Brad Pitt turns in his usual excellent performance, but it's Casey Affleck who delivers the performance of a lifetime as Robert Ford, who wasn't really a coward, but did kill Jesse James.
#35 - Into The Wild - Another movie that slapped an extra hour in the middle and paid a big price for it (both in terms of awards and box office), though it was ridiculously nominated for Editing. That being said, the performances are great, the story is interesting and the direction and cinematography is outstanding.
#34 - Paris Je T'aime - An interesting collaborative film featuring more than ten of the world's greatest directors and just as many of it's finest actors in a series of short films that serve mainly as love letters to the city of Paris.
#33 - The Mist - A fascinating character study of what happens to a group of people under the most intensely stressful situation imaginable. Everyone bitches about the ending, but I thought it was brilliant and makes the film all the more moving.
#32 - The Golden Compass - The best of the Lord Of The Rings wannabes that have been prominent in recent years, this movie took a lot of flack from religious organizations for being "anti-Catholic" and "anti-religious". Of course, these complaints came long before the film was available for screening, but that goes without saying these days. The story leaves a lot to be desired and the movie tanked so there won't be any sequels, but it was a fun ride while it lasted.
#31 - Sicko - The year's highest-charting documentary, Sicko is the latest from Michael Moore and it's an improvement on Fahrenheit 9/11. As always, the facts are a bit iffy and there's no pretense of objectivity, but the case Moore makes is compelling nonetheless. If only he'd acknowledge that his movies were editorials and not documentaries.
#39 - The Namesake - Mira Nair's epic film about life and conflicting cultures among several generations of an Indian family that immigrated to the United States. Kal Penn turns in a great performance in a rare dramatic turn and the direction and cinematography is first-class.
#38 - Beowulf - The movie departs greatly from the book, but I prefer the storyline in the film anyway. The technology used to create the animation is light years ahead of it's previous use (the creepy inhuman monsters with the dead eyes from The Polar Express) and the action and humor is surprisingly sharp.
#37 - Before The Devil Knows You're Dead - A sharp and quickly paced film about a robbery gone horribly wrong, Before The Devil has great twists, fantastic story pacing and brilliant performances from leads Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Marisa Tomei and as always Philip Seymour Hoffman.
#36 - The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford - If this movie were, say, an hour shorter it would have been a serious Oscar contender. Brad Pitt turns in his usual excellent performance, but it's Casey Affleck who delivers the performance of a lifetime as Robert Ford, who wasn't really a coward, but did kill Jesse James.
#35 - Into The Wild - Another movie that slapped an extra hour in the middle and paid a big price for it (both in terms of awards and box office), though it was ridiculously nominated for Editing. That being said, the performances are great, the story is interesting and the direction and cinematography is outstanding.
#34 - Paris Je T'aime - An interesting collaborative film featuring more than ten of the world's greatest directors and just as many of it's finest actors in a series of short films that serve mainly as love letters to the city of Paris.
#33 - The Mist - A fascinating character study of what happens to a group of people under the most intensely stressful situation imaginable. Everyone bitches about the ending, but I thought it was brilliant and makes the film all the more moving.
#32 - The Golden Compass - The best of the Lord Of The Rings wannabes that have been prominent in recent years, this movie took a lot of flack from religious organizations for being "anti-Catholic" and "anti-religious". Of course, these complaints came long before the film was available for screening, but that goes without saying these days. The story leaves a lot to be desired and the movie tanked so there won't be any sequels, but it was a fun ride while it lasted.
#31 - Sicko - The year's highest-charting documentary, Sicko is the latest from Michael Moore and it's an improvement on Fahrenheit 9/11. As always, the facts are a bit iffy and there's no pretense of objectivity, but the case Moore makes is compelling nonetheless. If only he'd acknowledge that his movies were editorials and not documentaries.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #640-#631
#640 - "Give It Away" - The Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik - The second of five RHCP song on the list, "Give It Away" was the band's breakthrough hit and one of the best funk songs of the 80's.
#639 - "Surf Wax America" - Weezer - Weezer (The Blue Album) - The third of five Weezer songs on the countdown, "Surf Wax America" wasn't one of the band's biggest hits, but it's one of their best tracks from their brilliant debut album.
#638 - "Cocaine" - Eric Clapton - Slowhand - The second of four Clapton songs in the top 1000, "Cocaine" is a cover of an old blues song (a specialty of Clapton's) updated for the classic rock album.
#637 - "Taxman" - The Beatles - Revolver - The fifth of twenty-two Beatles songs on the list, "Taxman" was George Harrison's angry response to the British government keeping 95% of their income as taxes.
#636 - "Ace Of Spades" - Motorhead - Ace Of Spades - The first and only Motorhead song on the countdown, "Ace" is the greatest metal song to come between the Black Sabbath era and the Metallica era.
#635 - "Badlands" - Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On The Edge Of Town - The fourth of eleven Springsteen tunes on the list, "Badlands" is best known for the breakdown in the last minute and a half, which constitutes just about the best minute the Boss ever put together.
#634 - "You Don't Know How It Feels" - Tom Petty - Wildflowers - The sixth of seventeen Petty songs on the countdown, "You Don't Know How It Feels" is among the best songs on one of Petty's most brilliant albums and features a fantastic sing-along chorus.
#633 - "Bad, Wicked World" - Frank Black - Teenager Of The Year - The third and highest charting Frank Black song in the top 1000, "Bad" is among the best rockers that Frank ever wrote, even counting his years with the Pixies.
#632 - "Crucify" - Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes - The first of two Tori Amos songs on the list, "Crucify" is the artist's most radio-friendly song and was featured prominently on her best album, Little Earthquakes.
#631 - "Starseed" - Our Lady Peace - Naveed - The first of two OLP songs on the list, "Starseed" is one of the best rock songs that you or anyone else for that matter have never heard, as it was recorded before the band's "Superman's Dead" hayday.
#639 - "Surf Wax America" - Weezer - Weezer (The Blue Album) - The third of five Weezer songs on the countdown, "Surf Wax America" wasn't one of the band's biggest hits, but it's one of their best tracks from their brilliant debut album.
#638 - "Cocaine" - Eric Clapton - Slowhand - The second of four Clapton songs in the top 1000, "Cocaine" is a cover of an old blues song (a specialty of Clapton's) updated for the classic rock album.
#637 - "Taxman" - The Beatles - Revolver - The fifth of twenty-two Beatles songs on the list, "Taxman" was George Harrison's angry response to the British government keeping 95% of their income as taxes.
#636 - "Ace Of Spades" - Motorhead - Ace Of Spades - The first and only Motorhead song on the countdown, "Ace" is the greatest metal song to come between the Black Sabbath era and the Metallica era.
#635 - "Badlands" - Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On The Edge Of Town - The fourth of eleven Springsteen tunes on the list, "Badlands" is best known for the breakdown in the last minute and a half, which constitutes just about the best minute the Boss ever put together.
#634 - "You Don't Know How It Feels" - Tom Petty - Wildflowers - The sixth of seventeen Petty songs on the countdown, "You Don't Know How It Feels" is among the best songs on one of Petty's most brilliant albums and features a fantastic sing-along chorus.
#633 - "Bad, Wicked World" - Frank Black - Teenager Of The Year - The third and highest charting Frank Black song in the top 1000, "Bad" is among the best rockers that Frank ever wrote, even counting his years with the Pixies.
#632 - "Crucify" - Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes - The first of two Tori Amos songs on the list, "Crucify" is the artist's most radio-friendly song and was featured prominently on her best album, Little Earthquakes.
#631 - "Starseed" - Our Lady Peace - Naveed - The first of two OLP songs on the list, "Starseed" is one of the best rock songs that you or anyone else for that matter have never heard, as it was recorded before the band's "Superman's Dead" hayday.
Top 1000 Bands #640-#631
640 - Lit - A late-90's pop punk band that had a huge hit with "My Own Worst Enemy" as well as several smaller hits before they faded out.
639 - Zwan - Billy Corgan's one album side project earned a lot of praise because Billy apparently smiled in one of their videos. It's idiotic, but if that sort of stupidity gets people to listen to good music, I'll take it.
638 - Minor Threat - One of the original great hardcore punk bands, Minor Threat was only around for a short time before their lead singer split off to form Fugazi. Minor Threat is credited for popularizing the "straight-edge movement" of punks who rejected drugs, alcohol and sex.
637 - Son Volt - A roots rock band from the 90's that have a couple of solid albums to their credit.
636 - Patsy Cline - One of the early legends of country music, Patsy Cline had some of the biggest hits of the early days of rock n roll such as "Crazy" and "Walkin' After Midnight".
635 - Citizen Cope - Carrying the torch dropped by Everlast, Citizen Cope hasn't broken through to the mainstream yet but they have produced some of my favorite underground songs such as "Bullet And A Target" and "Son's Gonna Rise".
634 - Edgar Winter - One of the big names of 70's classic rock, The Edgar Winter Group had huge hits with "Frankenstein" and "Free Ride".
633 - Moby Grape - Their record label completely dropped the ball when it came to marketing their music, but Moby Grape was secretly one of the best hippie bands of the 60's.
632 - Stephen Malkmus - The former lead singer of Pavement has released a series of brilliant albums on his own since the band broke up a decade ago.
631 - Sunny Day Real Estate - One of the first and best artists to play emo before the genre had a name or a following, SDRE only managed to make a few albums, but they made a mark on music that is still felt today.
639 - Zwan - Billy Corgan's one album side project earned a lot of praise because Billy apparently smiled in one of their videos. It's idiotic, but if that sort of stupidity gets people to listen to good music, I'll take it.
638 - Minor Threat - One of the original great hardcore punk bands, Minor Threat was only around for a short time before their lead singer split off to form Fugazi. Minor Threat is credited for popularizing the "straight-edge movement" of punks who rejected drugs, alcohol and sex.
637 - Son Volt - A roots rock band from the 90's that have a couple of solid albums to their credit.
636 - Patsy Cline - One of the early legends of country music, Patsy Cline had some of the biggest hits of the early days of rock n roll such as "Crazy" and "Walkin' After Midnight".
635 - Citizen Cope - Carrying the torch dropped by Everlast, Citizen Cope hasn't broken through to the mainstream yet but they have produced some of my favorite underground songs such as "Bullet And A Target" and "Son's Gonna Rise".
634 - Edgar Winter - One of the big names of 70's classic rock, The Edgar Winter Group had huge hits with "Frankenstein" and "Free Ride".
633 - Moby Grape - Their record label completely dropped the ball when it came to marketing their music, but Moby Grape was secretly one of the best hippie bands of the 60's.
632 - Stephen Malkmus - The former lead singer of Pavement has released a series of brilliant albums on his own since the band broke up a decade ago.
631 - Sunny Day Real Estate - One of the first and best artists to play emo before the genre had a name or a following, SDRE only managed to make a few albums, but they made a mark on music that is still felt today.
Best Movies Of 2007 #50-#41
#50 - Reno 911: Miami - It's really nothing more than a 90 minute version of the show with nudity and swearing. So, yeah, it's pretty damn good.
#49 - Breach - A very underrated film that sadly sailed under the radar, this one has a great story and great performances by Ryan Phillippe and the always-brilliant Chris Cooper.
#48 - The Darjeeling Limited - This movie is lowly ranked because of the quality of films released in 2007, not as a judgment of the film itself. Darjeeling is better than The Life Aquatic, but it's nowhere in the same league as The Royal Tenenbaums.
#47 - Dan In Real Life - A smart and subtly funny movie that would have made a great TV pilot, but is instead a solid movie. Steve Carrell is great as always, but Dane Cook is surprisingly good as well.
#46 - Rescue Dawn - An intense prisoner of war movie with great performances from all of the leads.
#45 - Smokin' Aces - This movie is pure fluff, style over substance, but like snorting a pixie stick the rush that it gives you while it's immediately in your system is worth it.
#44 - Sunshine - It is so close to being a classic science fiction film, but unfortunately it fails to stick the landing as the ending is a complete mess.
#43 - Atonement - Yeah, it's good, but it's not Academy Award nominee good. I've seen many Brit-porn Oscar baiting films over the years and this one is more in the middle along those lines, still many voters took the bait, so it got the nod.
#42 - The Lookout - Joseph Gordon-Levitt turns in yet another brilliant film as he's transitioning nicely from tv kid star to indie movie superstar.
#41 - Spider-Man 3 - A light year behind either of the first two movies, Spider-Man 3 tries to jam too much story into one movie and misses out on important things like story and character development.
#49 - Breach - A very underrated film that sadly sailed under the radar, this one has a great story and great performances by Ryan Phillippe and the always-brilliant Chris Cooper.
#48 - The Darjeeling Limited - This movie is lowly ranked because of the quality of films released in 2007, not as a judgment of the film itself. Darjeeling is better than The Life Aquatic, but it's nowhere in the same league as The Royal Tenenbaums.
#47 - Dan In Real Life - A smart and subtly funny movie that would have made a great TV pilot, but is instead a solid movie. Steve Carrell is great as always, but Dane Cook is surprisingly good as well.
#46 - Rescue Dawn - An intense prisoner of war movie with great performances from all of the leads.
#45 - Smokin' Aces - This movie is pure fluff, style over substance, but like snorting a pixie stick the rush that it gives you while it's immediately in your system is worth it.
#44 - Sunshine - It is so close to being a classic science fiction film, but unfortunately it fails to stick the landing as the ending is a complete mess.
#43 - Atonement - Yeah, it's good, but it's not Academy Award nominee good. I've seen many Brit-porn Oscar baiting films over the years and this one is more in the middle along those lines, still many voters took the bait, so it got the nod.
#42 - The Lookout - Joseph Gordon-Levitt turns in yet another brilliant film as he's transitioning nicely from tv kid star to indie movie superstar.
#41 - Spider-Man 3 - A light year behind either of the first two movies, Spider-Man 3 tries to jam too much story into one movie and misses out on important things like story and character development.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #650-#641
#650 - "This Is A Call" - The Foo Fighters - The Foo Fighters - The first of ten Foo Fighters songs on the list, "This Is A Call" was never a big hit for the band, but it was one of the first to employ their take on the Pixies "quiet loud" dynamic.
#649 - "Black" - Pearl Jam - Ten - The fifth of twenty-five Pearl Jam songs on the countdown, "Black" was the band's first great ballad and such an important part of 90's culture that part of the guitar solo was featured in the final episode of Friends.
#648 - "Go With The Flow" - Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf - The sixth of sixteen QOTSA songs in the top 1000, "Go With The Flow" was the band's second release from their breakthrough album and features one of the great guitar riffs of the 21st century.
#647 - "Heresy" - Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral - The fourth of seven NIN songs on the countdown, "Heresy" was the second biggest hit off of the band's controversial but incredibly successful The Downward Spiral album.
#646 - "Red Vines" - Aimee Mann - Bachelor No. 2 - The seventh of eight Aimee Mann songs on the list, "Red Vines" features great verses and Aimee's finest chorus.
#645 - "Bitch" - Meredith Brooks - Blurring The Edges - The first and only Meredith Brooks song on the countdown, "Bitch" is far and away the best Alanis ripoff of all the Lillith Fair era songs. The song has a great chorus and a fantastic beat, but like many other songs with those qualities it was the only time that it's artist achieved success.
#644 - "Silent Lucidity" - Queensryche - Empire - The first and only Queensryche song on the list, "Silent Lucidity" was by far the band's biggest hit, though it's frequently knocked as a Pink Floyd ripoff.
#643 - "We Gotta Get Outta This Place" - The Animals - The second of three Animals songs on the countdown, "We Gotta" is a Vietnam-era protest song with a great chorus and is one of the most covered songs of the 60's.
#642 - "Crossroads" - Cream - Wheels Of Fire - The second of five Cream songs in the top 1000, "Crossroads" is a sort of a cover of an old Robert Johnson song and it features one of the first great guitar riffs of the classic rock era.
#641 - "Chocolate" - Snow Patrol - Final Straw - The first of three Snow Patrol songs on the list, "Chocolate" is one of the best second generation Brit Pop songs ever made and it helped to establish Snow Patrol as the second best band of the genre (behind Coldplay).
#649 - "Black" - Pearl Jam - Ten - The fifth of twenty-five Pearl Jam songs on the countdown, "Black" was the band's first great ballad and such an important part of 90's culture that part of the guitar solo was featured in the final episode of Friends.
#648 - "Go With The Flow" - Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf - The sixth of sixteen QOTSA songs in the top 1000, "Go With The Flow" was the band's second release from their breakthrough album and features one of the great guitar riffs of the 21st century.
#647 - "Heresy" - Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral - The fourth of seven NIN songs on the countdown, "Heresy" was the second biggest hit off of the band's controversial but incredibly successful The Downward Spiral album.
#646 - "Red Vines" - Aimee Mann - Bachelor No. 2 - The seventh of eight Aimee Mann songs on the list, "Red Vines" features great verses and Aimee's finest chorus.
#645 - "Bitch" - Meredith Brooks - Blurring The Edges - The first and only Meredith Brooks song on the countdown, "Bitch" is far and away the best Alanis ripoff of all the Lillith Fair era songs. The song has a great chorus and a fantastic beat, but like many other songs with those qualities it was the only time that it's artist achieved success.
#644 - "Silent Lucidity" - Queensryche - Empire - The first and only Queensryche song on the list, "Silent Lucidity" was by far the band's biggest hit, though it's frequently knocked as a Pink Floyd ripoff.
#643 - "We Gotta Get Outta This Place" - The Animals - The second of three Animals songs on the countdown, "We Gotta" is a Vietnam-era protest song with a great chorus and is one of the most covered songs of the 60's.
#642 - "Crossroads" - Cream - Wheels Of Fire - The second of five Cream songs in the top 1000, "Crossroads" is a sort of a cover of an old Robert Johnson song and it features one of the first great guitar riffs of the classic rock era.
#641 - "Chocolate" - Snow Patrol - Final Straw - The first of three Snow Patrol songs on the list, "Chocolate" is one of the best second generation Brit Pop songs ever made and it helped to establish Snow Patrol as the second best band of the genre (behind Coldplay).
Top 1000 Bands #650-#641
650 - Sugar Ray - A pop rock band that had a bunch of hits in the late 90's. They never took their work too seriously, but it was a lot of fun.
649 - The Afghan Whigs - One of the big names in 80's alternative rock, The Afghan Whigs had a lot of great albums and recently made a comeback album.
648 - Disturbed - They're pretty damn bad these days but the band had two solid albums at the start of their career and had nu-metal's best song with "Down With The Sickness".
647 - Poison - Yeah, they're a hair band, but some of their songs are good despite the band's unsightly genre and style.
646 - Cypress Hill - They had a lot of potential for greatness, but they got pigeonholed as the "pot rappers" after one too many great songs about weed.
645 - Clutch - Carrying the torch of Monster Magnet, Clutch is the over-the-top glam metal band of the moment, singing songs that would be ridiculous if they weren't so stylish.
644 - The Simple Minds - A New Wave band that hit it big with "Don't You Forget About Me" AKA That Song from The Breakfast Club and had several other solid albums, though never another big hit.
643 - The New Radicals - One of the best one-hit wonder bands of all-time., The New Radicals had a huge hit with the U2 / R.E.M.-esque "You Only Get What You Give", a great song that has a really lousy ending, an ending which probably ensured they'd never have another hit.
642 - Motion City Soundtrack - One of the best pop punk bands around these days, Motion City Soundtrack has released several solid albums in recent years and should make a move into mainstream view in the near future.
641 - Filter - One of the biggest mainstream rock bands of the late 90s, Filter had a handful of great hard rock songs but they achieved their greatest success with "Take A Picture", a miserable attempt at a pop crossover that pretty much betrayed everything else the band had ever achieved.
649 - The Afghan Whigs - One of the big names in 80's alternative rock, The Afghan Whigs had a lot of great albums and recently made a comeback album.
648 - Disturbed - They're pretty damn bad these days but the band had two solid albums at the start of their career and had nu-metal's best song with "Down With The Sickness".
647 - Poison - Yeah, they're a hair band, but some of their songs are good despite the band's unsightly genre and style.
646 - Cypress Hill - They had a lot of potential for greatness, but they got pigeonholed as the "pot rappers" after one too many great songs about weed.
645 - Clutch - Carrying the torch of Monster Magnet, Clutch is the over-the-top glam metal band of the moment, singing songs that would be ridiculous if they weren't so stylish.
644 - The Simple Minds - A New Wave band that hit it big with "Don't You Forget About Me" AKA That Song from The Breakfast Club and had several other solid albums, though never another big hit.
643 - The New Radicals - One of the best one-hit wonder bands of all-time., The New Radicals had a huge hit with the U2 / R.E.M.-esque "You Only Get What You Give", a great song that has a really lousy ending, an ending which probably ensured they'd never have another hit.
642 - Motion City Soundtrack - One of the best pop punk bands around these days, Motion City Soundtrack has released several solid albums in recent years and should make a move into mainstream view in the near future.
641 - Filter - One of the biggest mainstream rock bands of the late 90s, Filter had a handful of great hard rock songs but they achieved their greatest success with "Take A Picture", a miserable attempt at a pop crossover that pretty much betrayed everything else the band had ever achieved.
Best Movies 2007 #60-#51
#60 - Amazing Grace - A little-seen bio pic about the man who ended the slave trade in England and the main who wrote perhaps the most famous song ever written.
#59 - Enchanted - A fish out of water movie about a cartoon princess who gets banished to the real world with a great performance by Amy Adams.
#58 - Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End - The movie doesn't make a lick of sense but it is a fun ride while you're in the theaters. The obvious comparison would be the third Matrix movie and it's light years better than that.
#57 - The Lives Of Others - The 2006 winner for Best Foreign Language film at the Oscars, The Lives Of Others is a tense, but slow-moving look at life in East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
#56 - Talk To Me - Another year another great role for Don Cheadle, this time he plays a legendary disc jockey in a bio-pic that doesn't pull any punches.
#55 - Hairspray - A fun musical that improves on the original but doesn't inspire repeat viewings.
#54 - The Invisible - It looks like yet another stupid teen horror re-make, but it's actually a rather interesting and well-acted film, though it is in fact a teen horror re-make.
#53 - Death Sentence - A pure popcorn movie with a lot of violence, a fast pace and a great performance by Kevin Bacon.
#52 - 1408 - It's pretty much a one man play, but when that man is John Cusack and the "play" is based on a short story by Stephen King it can work out just fine.
#51 - A Mighty Heart - The fact that Angelina Jolie wasn't nominated for Best Actress and Cate Blanchett was for the horrifyingly poorly reviewed Elizabeth: The Golden Age just shows how how much unfair influence the Brit Bloc has on the Academy Awards. In this movie, she's incredibly intense and it's remarkable that the movie didn't do well at the box office.
#59 - Enchanted - A fish out of water movie about a cartoon princess who gets banished to the real world with a great performance by Amy Adams.
#58 - Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End - The movie doesn't make a lick of sense but it is a fun ride while you're in the theaters. The obvious comparison would be the third Matrix movie and it's light years better than that.
#57 - The Lives Of Others - The 2006 winner for Best Foreign Language film at the Oscars, The Lives Of Others is a tense, but slow-moving look at life in East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
#56 - Talk To Me - Another year another great role for Don Cheadle, this time he plays a legendary disc jockey in a bio-pic that doesn't pull any punches.
#55 - Hairspray - A fun musical that improves on the original but doesn't inspire repeat viewings.
#54 - The Invisible - It looks like yet another stupid teen horror re-make, but it's actually a rather interesting and well-acted film, though it is in fact a teen horror re-make.
#53 - Death Sentence - A pure popcorn movie with a lot of violence, a fast pace and a great performance by Kevin Bacon.
#52 - 1408 - It's pretty much a one man play, but when that man is John Cusack and the "play" is based on a short story by Stephen King it can work out just fine.
#51 - A Mighty Heart - The fact that Angelina Jolie wasn't nominated for Best Actress and Cate Blanchett was for the horrifyingly poorly reviewed Elizabeth: The Golden Age just shows how how much unfair influence the Brit Bloc has on the Academy Awards. In this movie, she's incredibly intense and it's remarkable that the movie didn't do well at the box office.
Modern Rock Update
Albums:
Nothing notable debuted this week.
Modern / Mainstream Rock:
The Foo Fighters took over the #1 spot on Modern with "Long Road To Ruin".
Puddle of Mudd stayed at #1 on mainstream with "Psycho."
Debuting this week:
Modern:
Atreyu - "Falling Down" - #19
Mainstream:
Bullet For My Valentine - "Scream Aim Fire" - #16
Atreyu - "Falling Down" - #17
Alter Bridge - "Watch Over You" - #19
Airbourne - "Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast" - #20
Nothing notable debuted this week.
Modern / Mainstream Rock:
The Foo Fighters took over the #1 spot on Modern with "Long Road To Ruin".
Puddle of Mudd stayed at #1 on mainstream with "Psycho."
Debuting this week:
Modern:
Atreyu - "Falling Down" - #19
Mainstream:
Bullet For My Valentine - "Scream Aim Fire" - #16
Atreyu - "Falling Down" - #17
Alter Bridge - "Watch Over You" - #19
Airbourne - "Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast" - #20
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #660-#651
#660 - "King Of Pain" - The Police - Synchronicity - The third of five Police songs on the countdown, "King Of Pain" is the one song by the Police that most closely reminds me of Sting's solo work as it's more personal than their songs usually are.
#659 - "Blue Monday" - New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies - The second and highest-charting New Order song on the list, "Blue Monday" is easily the band's crowning achievement, especially in it's original radio-unfriendly version with the long intro.
#658 - "Dead Souls" - Joy Division - Still - The first of two Joy Division songs in the top 1000, "Dead Souls" was released as a single though it ended up being one of the band's most famous songs, thanks in part to NIN's cover on the Crow Soundtrack. "Dead Souls" is one of the few songs by JD that invokes anger rather than sorrow.
#657 - "White Wedding" - Billy Idol - Billy Idol - The second and highest charting song by Billy Idol on the countdown, "White Wedding" is his one true 80's punk classic and one of the greatest goth rock songs ever written.
#656 - "Mad World" - Gary Jules - Donnie Darko Soundtrack - The first and only Gary Jules song on the list, "Mad World" is famous for it's presence as the centerpiece of the film Donnie Darko. I don't know anything else about Gary Jules, but I've heard more enough in this song to put him on the top 1000 artists list I'm counting down.
#655 - "The End" - The Doors - The Doors - The fourth of ten Doors songs on the countdown, "The End" is another film that features prominently in a great movie as it served as the backdrop for the climax of the all-time film great Apocalypse Now.
#654 - "Penny Lane" - The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour - The fourth of twenty-two Beatles songs on the list, "Penny Lane" is the most mainstream of all the songs on the acid-soaked Magical Mystery Tour album. It's not quite a throwback to their original pop sound, but it comes close.
#653 - "Up Around The Bend" - Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmo's Factory - The second of five CCR songs in the top 1000, "Up Around The Bend" is one of the heavier songs that the band produced in their brief time at the top and features one of their best choruses.
#652 - "Heart In The Hand Of The Matter" - And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Source Tags & Codes - The second of three Trail Of Dead songs on the list, "Heart" could have been a big hit if the band got better marketing support from their label, but that's been a common theme throughout the band's unfortunately obscure career.
#651 - "Every Day Is A Winding Road" - Sheryl Crow - Sheryl Crow - The second and highest-charting song for Sheryl Crow, "Every Day" is the pinnacle for Sheryl as it was the best song off of her second album, a follow-up to her brilliant debut, and her music has gotten progressively worse and worse ever since.
#659 - "Blue Monday" - New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies - The second and highest-charting New Order song on the list, "Blue Monday" is easily the band's crowning achievement, especially in it's original radio-unfriendly version with the long intro.
#658 - "Dead Souls" - Joy Division - Still - The first of two Joy Division songs in the top 1000, "Dead Souls" was released as a single though it ended up being one of the band's most famous songs, thanks in part to NIN's cover on the Crow Soundtrack. "Dead Souls" is one of the few songs by JD that invokes anger rather than sorrow.
#657 - "White Wedding" - Billy Idol - Billy Idol - The second and highest charting song by Billy Idol on the countdown, "White Wedding" is his one true 80's punk classic and one of the greatest goth rock songs ever written.
#656 - "Mad World" - Gary Jules - Donnie Darko Soundtrack - The first and only Gary Jules song on the list, "Mad World" is famous for it's presence as the centerpiece of the film Donnie Darko. I don't know anything else about Gary Jules, but I've heard more enough in this song to put him on the top 1000 artists list I'm counting down.
#655 - "The End" - The Doors - The Doors - The fourth of ten Doors songs on the countdown, "The End" is another film that features prominently in a great movie as it served as the backdrop for the climax of the all-time film great Apocalypse Now.
#654 - "Penny Lane" - The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour - The fourth of twenty-two Beatles songs on the list, "Penny Lane" is the most mainstream of all the songs on the acid-soaked Magical Mystery Tour album. It's not quite a throwback to their original pop sound, but it comes close.
#653 - "Up Around The Bend" - Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmo's Factory - The second of five CCR songs in the top 1000, "Up Around The Bend" is one of the heavier songs that the band produced in their brief time at the top and features one of their best choruses.
#652 - "Heart In The Hand Of The Matter" - And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Source Tags & Codes - The second of three Trail Of Dead songs on the list, "Heart" could have been a big hit if the band got better marketing support from their label, but that's been a common theme throughout the band's unfortunately obscure career.
#651 - "Every Day Is A Winding Road" - Sheryl Crow - Sheryl Crow - The second and highest-charting song for Sheryl Crow, "Every Day" is the pinnacle for Sheryl as it was the best song off of her second album, a follow-up to her brilliant debut, and her music has gotten progressively worse and worse ever since.
Top 1000 Artists #660-#651
660 - The Secret Machines - An indie rock band with a couple of solid albums to their credit.
659 - Okkervil River - An up-and-coming indie band that placed their most recent album at the top of Harp Magazine's best of 2007 list.
658 - The Scissor Sisters - An over-the-top indie disco band this is entirely hit or miss on a song-by-song basis with more than a few big hits along the way.
657 - Neutral Milk Hotel - One of many indie bands that the vast majority of rock fans have never heard of, NMH made a couple of great albums before calling it quits.
656 - Bryan Adams - As much as I hate the majority of his songs, Adams did create a few classic rock hits that I liked.
655 - Love Me Destroyer - An emo metal band that I've seen play in Pierre a couple of times, LMD has a good sound and a few great hooks to their credit.
654 - Rhett Miller - The lead singer of the Old 97's keeps cranking out great song after great song that no one has ever heard, sort of like an alt country version of Frank Black.
653 - The Eurythmics - Annie Lennox's first musical outfit was one of the biggest bands in New Wave in the early 80's and had a huge hit with "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of These)".
652 - The Mendoza Line - An indie pop duo who recently broke up leaving behind several albums worth of brilliant music.
651 - Eve 6 - A pop punk band that had a series of big hits on modern rock radio during the years after the fall of grunge and before the advent of garage.
659 - Okkervil River - An up-and-coming indie band that placed their most recent album at the top of Harp Magazine's best of 2007 list.
658 - The Scissor Sisters - An over-the-top indie disco band this is entirely hit or miss on a song-by-song basis with more than a few big hits along the way.
657 - Neutral Milk Hotel - One of many indie bands that the vast majority of rock fans have never heard of, NMH made a couple of great albums before calling it quits.
656 - Bryan Adams - As much as I hate the majority of his songs, Adams did create a few classic rock hits that I liked.
655 - Love Me Destroyer - An emo metal band that I've seen play in Pierre a couple of times, LMD has a good sound and a few great hooks to their credit.
654 - Rhett Miller - The lead singer of the Old 97's keeps cranking out great song after great song that no one has ever heard, sort of like an alt country version of Frank Black.
653 - The Eurythmics - Annie Lennox's first musical outfit was one of the biggest bands in New Wave in the early 80's and had a huge hit with "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of These)".
652 - The Mendoza Line - An indie pop duo who recently broke up leaving behind several albums worth of brilliant music.
651 - Eve 6 - A pop punk band that had a series of big hits on modern rock radio during the years after the fall of grunge and before the advent of garage.
Modern Rock Update
Albums:
Jack Johnson debuted at #1 this week. Sheryl Crow debuted at #2. Lenny Kravitz debuted at #4. KD Lang at #8.
A good week for adult contemporary artists.
Nada Surf debuted at #82, so at least it's not all elevator music.
Modern / Mainstream Rock:
Seether topped the Modern charts with "Fake It" while Puddle Of Mudd topped Mainstream with "Psycho". What I can deduce from this is that people really want to hear Nirvana on the radio but they're not the least bit particular about whose trying to pull it off or how awful they are.
Debuting this week:
Panic At The Disco - "Nine In The Afternoon" - Modern - #18
Ashes Divide - "The Stone" - Modern - #20
Chevelle - "The Fad" - Mainstream - #20
Jack Johnson debuted at #1 this week. Sheryl Crow debuted at #2. Lenny Kravitz debuted at #4. KD Lang at #8.
A good week for adult contemporary artists.
Nada Surf debuted at #82, so at least it's not all elevator music.
Modern / Mainstream Rock:
Seether topped the Modern charts with "Fake It" while Puddle Of Mudd topped Mainstream with "Psycho". What I can deduce from this is that people really want to hear Nirvana on the radio but they're not the least bit particular about whose trying to pull it off or how awful they are.
Debuting this week:
Panic At The Disco - "Nine In The Afternoon" - Modern - #18
Ashes Divide - "The Stone" - Modern - #20
Chevelle - "The Fad" - Mainstream - #20
New Movies This Week
SEE IT:
Be Kind Rewind - Michael Gondry's (Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, The Science Of Sleep) latest has one of the best trailers of all-time and a fantastic storyline that makes me want to see it the first chance I get. Granted, it will never play in Pierre and I don't know if I'll be able to see it in Sioux Falls while I'm there next, but it's one that I'll buy on DVD sight unseen, that's how much I want to see it.
Charlie Bartlett - The latest indie comedy to come down the pipeline, Charlie's been delayed for quite awhile, though I can't imagine why. It looks hilarious.
Vantage Point - An interesting thriller that might be a bit too by-the-numbers for my tastes, but we'll see.
SKIP IT:
Witless Protection - Hopefully this will be the last chance that Larry The Cable Guy gets to destroy comedy, but somehow I doubt it.
Be Kind Rewind - Michael Gondry's (Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, The Science Of Sleep) latest has one of the best trailers of all-time and a fantastic storyline that makes me want to see it the first chance I get. Granted, it will never play in Pierre and I don't know if I'll be able to see it in Sioux Falls while I'm there next, but it's one that I'll buy on DVD sight unseen, that's how much I want to see it.
Charlie Bartlett - The latest indie comedy to come down the pipeline, Charlie's been delayed for quite awhile, though I can't imagine why. It looks hilarious.
Vantage Point - An interesting thriller that might be a bit too by-the-numbers for my tastes, but we'll see.
SKIP IT:
Witless Protection - Hopefully this will be the last chance that Larry The Cable Guy gets to destroy comedy, but somehow I doubt it.
New Shit This Week
DVDs:
BUY:
Michael Clayton - The first of the Best Picture nominees to come out on DVD, Michael Clayton isn't likely to win for Picture but it might come home with a handful of it's seven nominations due to it's fantastic story and unbelievable cast.
American Gangster - The ending is a bit of a disappointment, but this modern day Scarface features great performances from it's Academy Award hoarding leads as well as it's supporting actors.
RENT:
In The Valley Of Elah - I really considered buying this one but at the end of the day it fell just short. The movie made zilch at the box office but earned Tommy Lee Jones an Oscar nod for Best Actor, though he's unlikely to win.
Rendition - A great cast populates this film but it got horrible reviews. It should still be worth a look though.
Margot At The Wedding - An indie film with a great trailer. I don't know much about this one but I want to see it first chance I get.
Lust / Caution - Ang Lee's latest from Asia, this one got great reviews but kind of disappeared before it did anything significant.
Redacted - I watched this one on HDNet. Frankly, I wasn't impressed. It's still worth a viewing though.
CDs:
Nothing worth mentioning.
BUY:
Michael Clayton - The first of the Best Picture nominees to come out on DVD, Michael Clayton isn't likely to win for Picture but it might come home with a handful of it's seven nominations due to it's fantastic story and unbelievable cast.
American Gangster - The ending is a bit of a disappointment, but this modern day Scarface features great performances from it's Academy Award hoarding leads as well as it's supporting actors.
RENT:
In The Valley Of Elah - I really considered buying this one but at the end of the day it fell just short. The movie made zilch at the box office but earned Tommy Lee Jones an Oscar nod for Best Actor, though he's unlikely to win.
Rendition - A great cast populates this film but it got horrible reviews. It should still be worth a look though.
Margot At The Wedding - An indie film with a great trailer. I don't know much about this one but I want to see it first chance I get.
Lust / Caution - Ang Lee's latest from Asia, this one got great reviews but kind of disappeared before it did anything significant.
Redacted - I watched this one on HDNet. Frankly, I wasn't impressed. It's still worth a viewing though.
CDs:
Nothing worth mentioning.
Best Movies 2007 #70-#61
#70 - Fracture - Two of the best actors in film, Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling square off in an interesting film that is more gloss than substance, though the performances make up for a weak story.
#69 - Disturbia - A surprisingly smart and well-paced teen thriller that set the stage for it's star Shia LeBeouf to become one of the hottest names in Young Hollywood.
#68 - The Bucket List - 100% pure Oscar bait (though the film got no nominations), though I've seen similar movies that were a lot less interesting than this one.
#67 - Ocean's Thirteen - Inferior to Eleven but light years better than Twelve, this one has a decent story but unlike the original, several cast members are essentially wasted in this one's plot.
#66 - 28 Weeks Later - It's nowhere near the league of the brilliant original, but the story does have it's moments and the acting and direction is still first rate.
#65 - Year Of The Dog - One of the most melancholy films ever made (what else would you expect from first-time director and frequent screenwriter Mike White), Year of the Dog features a first-rate performance from Molly Shannon (no, seriously, it does) as a single woman dealing with loneliness after her dog died.
#64 - Meet The Robinsons - A fun Disney cartoon that is solid throughout but really takes off at a couple of points where the jokes ricochet like a bullet in a concrete box.
#63 - Halloween - Rob Zombie's big studio debut is an above average horror re-make (way above average as the average horror re-make is only slightly better than oral surgery) with a lot of great moments, but in comparison to The Devil's Rejects or even House Of 1000 Corpses, the film is a bit of a let-down.
#62 - Mr. Brooks - A pair of actors who usually don't make films that are even passable (Dane Cook and Kevin Costner) turn in great performances in a movie with a lot of great twists and turns.
#61 - Away From Her - Julie Christie is the favorite for Best Actress for her performance in this movie. The movie itself is alright, but the acclaim that the film is getting is a bit of a stretch as it's a story we've all seen before and it lacks the memorable scenes that Oscar contenders usually have in spades.
#69 - Disturbia - A surprisingly smart and well-paced teen thriller that set the stage for it's star Shia LeBeouf to become one of the hottest names in Young Hollywood.
#68 - The Bucket List - 100% pure Oscar bait (though the film got no nominations), though I've seen similar movies that were a lot less interesting than this one.
#67 - Ocean's Thirteen - Inferior to Eleven but light years better than Twelve, this one has a decent story but unlike the original, several cast members are essentially wasted in this one's plot.
#66 - 28 Weeks Later - It's nowhere near the league of the brilliant original, but the story does have it's moments and the acting and direction is still first rate.
#65 - Year Of The Dog - One of the most melancholy films ever made (what else would you expect from first-time director and frequent screenwriter Mike White), Year of the Dog features a first-rate performance from Molly Shannon (no, seriously, it does) as a single woman dealing with loneliness after her dog died.
#64 - Meet The Robinsons - A fun Disney cartoon that is solid throughout but really takes off at a couple of points where the jokes ricochet like a bullet in a concrete box.
#63 - Halloween - Rob Zombie's big studio debut is an above average horror re-make (way above average as the average horror re-make is only slightly better than oral surgery) with a lot of great moments, but in comparison to The Devil's Rejects or even House Of 1000 Corpses, the film is a bit of a let-down.
#62 - Mr. Brooks - A pair of actors who usually don't make films that are even passable (Dane Cook and Kevin Costner) turn in great performances in a movie with a lot of great twists and turns.
#61 - Away From Her - Julie Christie is the favorite for Best Actress for her performance in this movie. The movie itself is alright, but the acclaim that the film is getting is a bit of a stretch as it's a story we've all seen before and it lacks the memorable scenes that Oscar contenders usually have in spades.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame Inductions - February 2008
New inductees this month:
Chuck Berry
Fleetwood Mac
The Dave Matthews Band
The Killers
The Black Crowes
The website has been updated recently for the last two months.
Chuck Berry
Fleetwood Mac
The Dave Matthews Band
The Killers
The Black Crowes
The website has been updated recently for the last two months.
Top 1000 Songs #670-#661
#670 - "Burn The Witch" - Queens Of The Stone Age - Lullabies To Paralyze - The fifth of sixteen Queens songs on the countdown, "Burn The Witch" is a trippy guitar-driven alt-rock classic from the band's best album.
#669 - "Power Tripping" - Monster Magnet - Powertrip - The second and highest-charting Monster Magnet song, "Power Tripping" is about as cool as heavy metal got in the 90's with an intense chorus and great guitar work.
#668 - "Red Right Hand" - Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Let Love In - The first and only Nick Cave song on the list, "Red Right Hand" is the go-to soundtrack song when a creepy ambiance is required.
#667 - "Bad To The Bone" - George Thorogood - Bad To The Bone - The first of two Thorogood songs on the countdown, "Bad To The Bone" is by far the most famous blues rock song of the 80's and features one of the all-time great guitar riffs.
#666 - "Close To Me" - The Cure - Close To Me - The third of six Cure songs in the top 1000, "Close To Me" is one of the band's most up-tempo songs and features a great chorus.
#665 - "Beginning To See The Light" - The Velvet Underground - The fifth of seven Velvet Underground songs on the countdown, "Beginning" is one of the band's later hits as they started to venture closer to mainstream rock than they had previously.
#664 - "Jesus Of Suburbia" - Green Day - American Idiot - The fifth of nine Green Day songs on the list, "Jesus Of Suburbia" is the centerpiece of the American Idiot album. It's really about 9 really short songs strung together into one really long epic, with each song a dramatic change from the previous and the whole being greater than the sum of it's parts.
#663 - "Fluorescent Adolescent" - The Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare - The second of three Arctic Monkeys songs on the countdown, "Fluorescent" is the best song on the band's second album and tells the story of an aging hipster coming to terms with maturity. It's kind of like a "Thrash Unreal" that you can dance to.
#662 - "Starlight" - Muse - Black Holes And Revelations - The fifth and highest-ranking song by Muse, "Starlight" is an intense and sweeping indie pop song that sounds like Radiohead cranked to 11, featuring a sweeping chorus and great drumwork throughout.
#661 - "Prison Song" - System Of A Down - Toxicity - The third of four SOAD songs on the list, "Prison Song" is the heaviest song that the band has ever recorded and one of many great songs off of their masterpiece Toxicity as it serves as the best indictment yet on America's drug policy.
#669 - "Power Tripping" - Monster Magnet - Powertrip - The second and highest-charting Monster Magnet song, "Power Tripping" is about as cool as heavy metal got in the 90's with an intense chorus and great guitar work.
#668 - "Red Right Hand" - Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Let Love In - The first and only Nick Cave song on the list, "Red Right Hand" is the go-to soundtrack song when a creepy ambiance is required.
#667 - "Bad To The Bone" - George Thorogood - Bad To The Bone - The first of two Thorogood songs on the countdown, "Bad To The Bone" is by far the most famous blues rock song of the 80's and features one of the all-time great guitar riffs.
#666 - "Close To Me" - The Cure - Close To Me - The third of six Cure songs in the top 1000, "Close To Me" is one of the band's most up-tempo songs and features a great chorus.
#665 - "Beginning To See The Light" - The Velvet Underground - The fifth of seven Velvet Underground songs on the countdown, "Beginning" is one of the band's later hits as they started to venture closer to mainstream rock than they had previously.
#664 - "Jesus Of Suburbia" - Green Day - American Idiot - The fifth of nine Green Day songs on the list, "Jesus Of Suburbia" is the centerpiece of the American Idiot album. It's really about 9 really short songs strung together into one really long epic, with each song a dramatic change from the previous and the whole being greater than the sum of it's parts.
#663 - "Fluorescent Adolescent" - The Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare - The second of three Arctic Monkeys songs on the countdown, "Fluorescent" is the best song on the band's second album and tells the story of an aging hipster coming to terms with maturity. It's kind of like a "Thrash Unreal" that you can dance to.
#662 - "Starlight" - Muse - Black Holes And Revelations - The fifth and highest-ranking song by Muse, "Starlight" is an intense and sweeping indie pop song that sounds like Radiohead cranked to 11, featuring a sweeping chorus and great drumwork throughout.
#661 - "Prison Song" - System Of A Down - Toxicity - The third of four SOAD songs on the list, "Prison Song" is the heaviest song that the band has ever recorded and one of many great songs off of their masterpiece Toxicity as it serves as the best indictment yet on America's drug policy.
Top 1000 Artists #670-#661
670 - Big Star - One of the first big indie rock bands, Big Star had a string of hits in the 70's before breaking up.
669 - Finch - A metal-tinged indie rock band that has a few good albums so far.
668 - Robbers On High Street - An indie rock band with two solid albums so far and a bright future.
667 - King Crimson - The kings of 70's prog-rock, King Crimson never had any mainstream hits, but they did create some of the most brilliant and innovative music of the classic rock era.
666 - The Rakes - An indie punk band with a few great albums to their credit.
665 - The Wu-Tang Clan - One of the great rap groups of all-time, Wu-Tang combined the world of gangsta rock with underground stylings.
664 - The Alarm - An obscure 80's New Wave band that had a ton of great songs, including the anthemic "Blaze Of Glory".
663 - The Teardrop Explodes - A New Wave band with a handful of great albums to their credit.
662 - The Spin Doctors - The biggest thing in music when their album came out, they faded rapidly into obscurity and never had another hit.
661 - Of Montreal - The latest great experimental indie band to come along in the tradition of Radiohead and The Arcade Fire.
669 - Finch - A metal-tinged indie rock band that has a few good albums so far.
668 - Robbers On High Street - An indie rock band with two solid albums so far and a bright future.
667 - King Crimson - The kings of 70's prog-rock, King Crimson never had any mainstream hits, but they did create some of the most brilliant and innovative music of the classic rock era.
666 - The Rakes - An indie punk band with a few great albums to their credit.
665 - The Wu-Tang Clan - One of the great rap groups of all-time, Wu-Tang combined the world of gangsta rock with underground stylings.
664 - The Alarm - An obscure 80's New Wave band that had a ton of great songs, including the anthemic "Blaze Of Glory".
663 - The Teardrop Explodes - A New Wave band with a handful of great albums to their credit.
662 - The Spin Doctors - The biggest thing in music when their album came out, they faded rapidly into obscurity and never had another hit.
661 - Of Montreal - The latest great experimental indie band to come along in the tradition of Radiohead and The Arcade Fire.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Best Movies Of 2007 #81-#71
I added Across The Universe to the list since the last update.
#81 - The Astronaut Farmer - About once a year this kind of uplifting but ultimately fluff film is released. This one was a pretty good story, but nothing spectacular.
#80 - Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer - A film that's worth seeing if only for it's story. The Silver Surfer is an outstanding character, but how did they manage to make Galactus more realistic and less interesting at the same time? As always the writing and the acting is passable at best.
#79 - You Kill Me - An indie film with an interesting premise, though the result is a little boring.
#78 - Bee Movie - The most overhyped film of the year, Bee Movie is passable and funny at times, though it's far from the best animated movie of the year.
#77 - Alpha Dog - An interesting story with some gritty performances, but it's obviously not very memorable.
#76 - Shooter - It's a junk picture, but the performances are above average and the story isn't half bad.
#75 - The Hoax - Richard Gere stars in a solid bio-pic about a complete fraud. It's got a few good performances, but the story has it's flaws.
#74 - Bella - The indiest of indie movies I've seen this year, Bella has a great story but suffers from too many cutesy moments.
#73 - Blades Of Glory - The type of movie that's a lot of fun while you're watching it but fades quickly with time. A far cry from Anchorman.
#72 - The Kingdom - All glitz and flash with questionable substance. Anyone surprised that it's directed by Tony Scott?
#71 - Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon The Movie Film For Theaters - If you like the show you'll like the movie. If not... you will hate this movie with a fiery passion that burns forever. Easily the most absurd movie of the year.
#81 - The Astronaut Farmer - About once a year this kind of uplifting but ultimately fluff film is released. This one was a pretty good story, but nothing spectacular.
#80 - Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer - A film that's worth seeing if only for it's story. The Silver Surfer is an outstanding character, but how did they manage to make Galactus more realistic and less interesting at the same time? As always the writing and the acting is passable at best.
#79 - You Kill Me - An indie film with an interesting premise, though the result is a little boring.
#78 - Bee Movie - The most overhyped film of the year, Bee Movie is passable and funny at times, though it's far from the best animated movie of the year.
#77 - Alpha Dog - An interesting story with some gritty performances, but it's obviously not very memorable.
#76 - Shooter - It's a junk picture, but the performances are above average and the story isn't half bad.
#75 - The Hoax - Richard Gere stars in a solid bio-pic about a complete fraud. It's got a few good performances, but the story has it's flaws.
#74 - Bella - The indiest of indie movies I've seen this year, Bella has a great story but suffers from too many cutesy moments.
#73 - Blades Of Glory - The type of movie that's a lot of fun while you're watching it but fades quickly with time. A far cry from Anchorman.
#72 - The Kingdom - All glitz and flash with questionable substance. Anyone surprised that it's directed by Tony Scott?
#71 - Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon The Movie Film For Theaters - If you like the show you'll like the movie. If not... you will hate this movie with a fiery passion that burns forever. Easily the most absurd movie of the year.
Modern Rock Update
Albums:
The Mars Volta debuted at #3, right behind Juno's Soundtrack at #2.
Vampire Weekend debuted at #17.
Mainstream / Modern
Seether stayed at #1 on both charts again. Damn you all.
Debuting this week were The Foxboro Hot Tubs "Mother Mary" at #18 on Modern, Theory Of A Deadman "So Happy" at #18 on Mainstream and Ashes Divide "The Stone" at #20 on Mainstream.
The Mars Volta debuted at #3, right behind Juno's Soundtrack at #2.
Vampire Weekend debuted at #17.
Mainstream / Modern
Seether stayed at #1 on both charts again. Damn you all.
Debuting this week were The Foxboro Hot Tubs "Mother Mary" at #18 on Modern, Theory Of A Deadman "So Happy" at #18 on Mainstream and Ashes Divide "The Stone" at #20 on Mainstream.
New Movies This Week
See It:
Jumper - Well, it looks interesting. That's about all I know about it so far.
Skip It:
Fool's Gold - A stupid chick flick that's released in film's dead zone for good reason.
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins - I despise Martin Lawrence and there doesn't seem to be anything in this movie to peak my interest.
Definitely, Maybe - A cutesy click flick. No thanks.
Step Up 2: The Streets - Yeah, if there's ever been a useless genre in recent years it would be the dance genre. I have no idea why people like this shit, but they do, as most of these movies make an absurd amount of money.
Jumper - Well, it looks interesting. That's about all I know about it so far.
Skip It:
Fool's Gold - A stupid chick flick that's released in film's dead zone for good reason.
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins - I despise Martin Lawrence and there doesn't seem to be anything in this movie to peak my interest.
Definitely, Maybe - A cutesy click flick. No thanks.
Step Up 2: The Streets - Yeah, if there's ever been a useless genre in recent years it would be the dance genre. I have no idea why people like this shit, but they do, as most of these movies make an absurd amount of money.
New Shit This Week
DVDs:
Buy It:
Gone Baby Gone - One of the great films of 2007 that was mostly overlooked by the Academy, "Gone Baby Gone" is a tense and twisting story with great performances.
Across The Universe - A sweeping musical featuring with Beatles tunes as it's theme. It's a lot of fun and full of great visuals.
Rent It:
We Own The Night - I wanted to see this one in theaters but I never got the chance. It looks good, but not good enough for a purchase.
Becoming Jane - I'm not a big fan of Jane Austen, but movies based on her work certainly could be worse.
No Reservations - It's not a bad little movie, but there's just not a lot happening in it.
The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford - A great story that runs a bit too long, this one is up for a few Oscars and deservedly so. When the price comes down a bit, it'll be worth a purchase.
Elizabeth: The Golden Years - I have yet to see the original, but word is that this one is pretty bad.
The Brave One - Jodie Foster kicks ass, takes names and gets a measure of revenge. And thats about it.
2 Days In Paris - The latest indie flick that Julie Delpy is involved in, this one is getting comparisons to Woody Allen in his prime.
Skip It:
The Jane Austen Book Club - AKA "That Click Flick That No One Went To See".
CDs:
Buy It:
The Mars Volta - The Bedlam In Goliath - The kings of prog bounce back after a mediocre outing last time to produce another swirling mass of unusual sound.
Borrow It:
British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music - The band has a solid reputation in indie rock so far and this might break them to the masses.
Sheryl Crow - Detours - I've heard promising things about this album, but I'm wary given past productions.
Hot Chip - Made In The Dark - I've never really listened to them, but I hear that they're good.
Jack Johnson - Sleep Through The Static - It should be good if you prefer your music to be safe and without edge.
Bob Mould - District Line - Like an early version of Frank Black, Bob has a new album out every year or so and it's usually pretty good.
Nada Surf - Lucky - A respectable indie rock group that has a few hits to their name, but nothing spectacular.
Sons And Daughters - This Gift - A solid album from an up and coming indie pop band.
Buy It:
Gone Baby Gone - One of the great films of 2007 that was mostly overlooked by the Academy, "Gone Baby Gone" is a tense and twisting story with great performances.
Across The Universe - A sweeping musical featuring with Beatles tunes as it's theme. It's a lot of fun and full of great visuals.
Rent It:
We Own The Night - I wanted to see this one in theaters but I never got the chance. It looks good, but not good enough for a purchase.
Becoming Jane - I'm not a big fan of Jane Austen, but movies based on her work certainly could be worse.
No Reservations - It's not a bad little movie, but there's just not a lot happening in it.
The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford - A great story that runs a bit too long, this one is up for a few Oscars and deservedly so. When the price comes down a bit, it'll be worth a purchase.
Elizabeth: The Golden Years - I have yet to see the original, but word is that this one is pretty bad.
The Brave One - Jodie Foster kicks ass, takes names and gets a measure of revenge. And thats about it.
2 Days In Paris - The latest indie flick that Julie Delpy is involved in, this one is getting comparisons to Woody Allen in his prime.
Skip It:
The Jane Austen Book Club - AKA "That Click Flick That No One Went To See".
CDs:
Buy It:
The Mars Volta - The Bedlam In Goliath - The kings of prog bounce back after a mediocre outing last time to produce another swirling mass of unusual sound.
Borrow It:
British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music - The band has a solid reputation in indie rock so far and this might break them to the masses.
Sheryl Crow - Detours - I've heard promising things about this album, but I'm wary given past productions.
Hot Chip - Made In The Dark - I've never really listened to them, but I hear that they're good.
Jack Johnson - Sleep Through The Static - It should be good if you prefer your music to be safe and without edge.
Bob Mould - District Line - Like an early version of Frank Black, Bob has a new album out every year or so and it's usually pretty good.
Nada Surf - Lucky - A respectable indie rock group that has a few hits to their name, but nothing spectacular.
Sons And Daughters - This Gift - A solid album from an up and coming indie pop band.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #680-#671
#680 - "Cinnamon Girl" - Neil Young - Arc-Weld - The third of six Neil Young songs on the countdown, "Cinnamon" is probably Neil's most radio-friendly song and has one of the best choruses in his catalog.
#679 - "Yer So Bad" - Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever - The fifth Petty song of seventeen on the list, "Yer So Bad" isn't one of the big hits off of Full Moon Fever, but it's still one of my personal favorites for it's great lyrics and solid chorus.
#678 - "Four Winds" - Bright Eyes - Cassadega - The second of four Bright Eyes songs in the top 1000, "Four Winds" is the band's most successful song to date and should help them cross over to the mainstream.
#677 - "Crosseyed And Painless" - The Talking Heads - Remain In Light - The second of ten Talking Heads songs on the list, "Crosseyed" is one of the great bizarre songs in all of New Wave.
#676 - "When Love Comes To Town" - U2 - Rattle And Hum - The second of sixteen U2 songs on the countdown, "When Love" features blues legend B.B. King trading verses with Bono.
#675 - "My Name Is Jonas" - Weezer - Weezer (The Blue Album) - The second of five Weezer songs on the list, "My Name Is Jonas" is a slow-burning rager from the band's first, best and most successful album.
#674 - "Yellow Ledbetter" - Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs - The fourth of twenty-five Pearl Jam song songs in the top 1000, "Ledbetter" was never on an actual Pearl Jam album, but still became a huge hit despite the completely indecipherable lyrics.
#673 - "Bawitdiba" - Kid Rock - Devil Without A Cause - The first and only Kid Rock song on the list, "Bawitdiba" was the first and last hit the man had before descending into complete parody after he had the first amount of success.
#672 - "It's Only Rock N Roll (But I Like It)" - The Rolling Stones - It's Only Rock N Roll - The first of twenty Stones songs on the countdown, "Only Rock" is one of the band's last great songs (it went downhill fast from here), but it did signal that the band was going to survive well into their second decade and beyond.
#671 - "Suspicious Minds" - Elvis Presley - Love Songs - The third and highest-charting Elvis Presley song on the list, "Suspicious Minds" is the most remarkable song from his comeback in the late-60's and 70's before his untimely death.
#679 - "Yer So Bad" - Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever - The fifth Petty song of seventeen on the list, "Yer So Bad" isn't one of the big hits off of Full Moon Fever, but it's still one of my personal favorites for it's great lyrics and solid chorus.
#678 - "Four Winds" - Bright Eyes - Cassadega - The second of four Bright Eyes songs in the top 1000, "Four Winds" is the band's most successful song to date and should help them cross over to the mainstream.
#677 - "Crosseyed And Painless" - The Talking Heads - Remain In Light - The second of ten Talking Heads songs on the list, "Crosseyed" is one of the great bizarre songs in all of New Wave.
#676 - "When Love Comes To Town" - U2 - Rattle And Hum - The second of sixteen U2 songs on the countdown, "When Love" features blues legend B.B. King trading verses with Bono.
#675 - "My Name Is Jonas" - Weezer - Weezer (The Blue Album) - The second of five Weezer songs on the list, "My Name Is Jonas" is a slow-burning rager from the band's first, best and most successful album.
#674 - "Yellow Ledbetter" - Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs - The fourth of twenty-five Pearl Jam song songs in the top 1000, "Ledbetter" was never on an actual Pearl Jam album, but still became a huge hit despite the completely indecipherable lyrics.
#673 - "Bawitdiba" - Kid Rock - Devil Without A Cause - The first and only Kid Rock song on the list, "Bawitdiba" was the first and last hit the man had before descending into complete parody after he had the first amount of success.
#672 - "It's Only Rock N Roll (But I Like It)" - The Rolling Stones - It's Only Rock N Roll - The first of twenty Stones songs on the countdown, "Only Rock" is one of the band's last great songs (it went downhill fast from here), but it did signal that the band was going to survive well into their second decade and beyond.
#671 - "Suspicious Minds" - Elvis Presley - Love Songs - The third and highest-charting Elvis Presley song on the list, "Suspicious Minds" is the most remarkable song from his comeback in the late-60's and 70's before his untimely death.
Top 1000 Bands #680-#671
680 - Kenny Loggins - The king of 80's movie soundtracks, Loggins has produced a handful of cheesy pop songs that are undeniably entertaining.
679 - Stars - An indie pop band with a couple solid albums to their credit.
678 - Anerexic Fat Kid - The best band to ever come out of Pierre, AFK was a ska punk band with a lot of catchy riffs and a great live show.
677 - The Shout Out Louds - One of the latest "next best things" to burn out on their second album, TSOL (not that TSOL though) does have a lot of great songs though.
676 - Camera Obscura - An indie pop band with a couple solid albums to their credit.
675 - Hard-Fi - A solid punk band with a few good albums so far.
674 - Jarvis Cocker - The former lead singer of Pulp has released a fantastic solo album and will hopefully do more in the future.
673 - David Dondero - An indie folk singer whose style and sound reminds me a lot of Bright Eyes.
672 - The Mooney Suzuki - An over the top throwback rock band with a series of solid albums to their credit.
671 - 7 Mary 3 - A copycat second wave grunge band that doesn't have a shred of originality but they do have a series of good songs.
679 - Stars - An indie pop band with a couple solid albums to their credit.
678 - Anerexic Fat Kid - The best band to ever come out of Pierre, AFK was a ska punk band with a lot of catchy riffs and a great live show.
677 - The Shout Out Louds - One of the latest "next best things" to burn out on their second album, TSOL (not that TSOL though) does have a lot of great songs though.
676 - Camera Obscura - An indie pop band with a couple solid albums to their credit.
675 - Hard-Fi - A solid punk band with a few good albums so far.
674 - Jarvis Cocker - The former lead singer of Pulp has released a fantastic solo album and will hopefully do more in the future.
673 - David Dondero - An indie folk singer whose style and sound reminds me a lot of Bright Eyes.
672 - The Mooney Suzuki - An over the top throwback rock band with a series of solid albums to their credit.
671 - 7 Mary 3 - A copycat second wave grunge band that doesn't have a shred of originality but they do have a series of good songs.
Best Movies of 2007 #90-#81
#90 - The Brave One - Jodie Foster stars in a sorta re-make of Death Wish. It's exactly what you think it is.
#89 - Catch And Release - A little sappy and melodramatic, but it tells a decent story and has good performances from start to finish.
#88 - Black Snake Moan - Sam Jackson needs to stop making overhyped movies with "Snake" in the title, it's not working out for him. It's not really a bad picture, but it's a little undercooked as a concept.
#87 - Bridge To Terabithia - A dumb little movie until the halfway point when one hell of a sucker-punch blindsides the viewer and changes everything about the film.
#86 - Fred Claus - It's a hell of a lot better than those damn Santa Clause movies, but that still doesn't mean it's any good.
#85 - The Comebacks - A surprisingly good parody of sports movies that actually has a lot of laughs in it as opposed to the usual assortment of lame-ass fart jokes and racial stupidity.
#84 - Shrek The Third - Talk about diminishing returns, the last two sequels should have went straight to DVD and this one is even worse than the second one.
#83 - The Host - A Korean horror movie that also serves as a good political satire.
#82 - Hostel: Part II - It's pretty much the same movie as the first one, though it does shit all over the ending of the first film, so if you liked it you'll like this one too.
#81 - Transformers - The year's biggest popcorn film looks great while you're watching it but the further you get away from it the dumber you realize it is. Basically, it's this year's Van Helsing.
#89 - Catch And Release - A little sappy and melodramatic, but it tells a decent story and has good performances from start to finish.
#88 - Black Snake Moan - Sam Jackson needs to stop making overhyped movies with "Snake" in the title, it's not working out for him. It's not really a bad picture, but it's a little undercooked as a concept.
#87 - Bridge To Terabithia - A dumb little movie until the halfway point when one hell of a sucker-punch blindsides the viewer and changes everything about the film.
#86 - Fred Claus - It's a hell of a lot better than those damn Santa Clause movies, but that still doesn't mean it's any good.
#85 - The Comebacks - A surprisingly good parody of sports movies that actually has a lot of laughs in it as opposed to the usual assortment of lame-ass fart jokes and racial stupidity.
#84 - Shrek The Third - Talk about diminishing returns, the last two sequels should have went straight to DVD and this one is even worse than the second one.
#83 - The Host - A Korean horror movie that also serves as a good political satire.
#82 - Hostel: Part II - It's pretty much the same movie as the first one, though it does shit all over the ending of the first film, so if you liked it you'll like this one too.
#81 - Transformers - The year's biggest popcorn film looks great while you're watching it but the further you get away from it the dumber you realize it is. Basically, it's this year's Van Helsing.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #690-#681
#690 - "Thrash Unreal" - Against Me! - New Wave - The first and only Against Me! song on the countdown, "Thrash Unreal" is the breakthrough song from one of the most exciting new bands to cross over to modern rock radio.
#689 - "Signs" - The Five Man Electrical Band - Good-byes And Butterflies - The first and only Five Man song on the list or in their career. The song has some interesting ideas, but it's definitely weighed down by it's hippie cultural icon status.
#688 - "Are We The Waiting" - Green Day - American Idiot - The fourth of nine Green Day songs in the top 1000, "Are We The Waiting" is far and away the best ballad that Green Day has ever made and is the cornerstone of the American Idiot album.
#687 - "Feelin' Alright" - Joe Cocker - Mad Dogs And Englishmen - The second of three Joe Cocker songs to make the list (all covers), "Feelin' Alright" is a vast improvement on Traffic's original.
#686 - "Cochise" - Audioslave - Audioslave - The third and highest ranking Audioslave song on the list, "Cochise" was the band's debut single and the perfect blending of the styles and abilities of the lead singer of Soundgarden and the rest of Rage Against The Machine.
#685 - "Low Rider" - War - Greatest Hits - The only song on the list for War, "Low Rider" is the best funk rock song of the 70's.
#684 - "Connection" - Elastica - Elastica - The only Elastica song on the countdown, "Connection" is a 90's Brit-pop classic with a great beat and an outstanding chorus.
#683 - "Bang Bang You're Dead" - Dirty Pretty Things - Waterloo To Anywhere - The first and only song on the list by the best band you've never heard of, "Bang" is the best song that Pete Doherty never wrote while he was in the Libertines.
#682 - "Hysteria (I Want It Now)" - Muse - Absolution - The fourth of five Muse songs on the countdown, "Hysteria" was the band's biggest hit off of their breakthrough album and features a sweeping chorus and the usual dose of Muse bombast.
#681 - "Here Comes The Sun" - The Beatles - Abbey Road - The third of twenty-two Beatles songs on the countdown, "Here Comes The Sun" is one of the few Beatles songs written by George Harrison, though almost all that he did write turned out to be classics.
#689 - "Signs" - The Five Man Electrical Band - Good-byes And Butterflies - The first and only Five Man song on the list or in their career. The song has some interesting ideas, but it's definitely weighed down by it's hippie cultural icon status.
#688 - "Are We The Waiting" - Green Day - American Idiot - The fourth of nine Green Day songs in the top 1000, "Are We The Waiting" is far and away the best ballad that Green Day has ever made and is the cornerstone of the American Idiot album.
#687 - "Feelin' Alright" - Joe Cocker - Mad Dogs And Englishmen - The second of three Joe Cocker songs to make the list (all covers), "Feelin' Alright" is a vast improvement on Traffic's original.
#686 - "Cochise" - Audioslave - Audioslave - The third and highest ranking Audioslave song on the list, "Cochise" was the band's debut single and the perfect blending of the styles and abilities of the lead singer of Soundgarden and the rest of Rage Against The Machine.
#685 - "Low Rider" - War - Greatest Hits - The only song on the list for War, "Low Rider" is the best funk rock song of the 70's.
#684 - "Connection" - Elastica - Elastica - The only Elastica song on the countdown, "Connection" is a 90's Brit-pop classic with a great beat and an outstanding chorus.
#683 - "Bang Bang You're Dead" - Dirty Pretty Things - Waterloo To Anywhere - The first and only song on the list by the best band you've never heard of, "Bang" is the best song that Pete Doherty never wrote while he was in the Libertines.
#682 - "Hysteria (I Want It Now)" - Muse - Absolution - The fourth of five Muse songs on the countdown, "Hysteria" was the band's biggest hit off of their breakthrough album and features a sweeping chorus and the usual dose of Muse bombast.
#681 - "Here Comes The Sun" - The Beatles - Abbey Road - The third of twenty-two Beatles songs on the countdown, "Here Comes The Sun" is one of the few Beatles songs written by George Harrison, though almost all that he did write turned out to be classics.
Top 1000 Bands #690-#681
690 - Off With Their Heads - A political punk band from Minneapolis that I saw in Pierre. Their sound is best described as "controlled chaos".
689 - The Pharcyde - One of the coolest rap groups of the 90's, The Pharcyde have a loyal underground following.
688 - Gary Jules - I've never heard any song by him except for his cover of Tears For Fears' "Mad World" from Donnie Darko, which is one of the most remarkable cover songs in recent years.
687 - Missy Elliot - It seems like on every album she has one song that re-invents hip hop. It's usually good, but when she was on SNL and she had people Riverdancing, I knew she was done.
686 - Suede - One of the biggest and best of the Brit-pop bands, Suede had a number of great albums and they will go up quite a ways when I next re-do my list.
685 - The Kooks - A recent indie blog sensation, The Kooks had a solid debut album and should only be going up from here.
684 - Oceansize - A brand new indie band with some prog leanings. They always create thick atmospheric music.
683 - The Amboy Dukes - The psychedelic garage band that launched Ted Nugent's career with the brilliant "Journey To The Center Of The Mind".
682 - Robert Pollard - The former lead singer of Guided By Voices has been just as prolific on his own, continuing to release an album with a few decent songs every 5 minutes or so.
681 - Harry Chapin - He'll be remembered forever for "Cats In The Cradle", but he also produced "Taxi" and a few other adult contemporary classics.
689 - The Pharcyde - One of the coolest rap groups of the 90's, The Pharcyde have a loyal underground following.
688 - Gary Jules - I've never heard any song by him except for his cover of Tears For Fears' "Mad World" from Donnie Darko, which is one of the most remarkable cover songs in recent years.
687 - Missy Elliot - It seems like on every album she has one song that re-invents hip hop. It's usually good, but when she was on SNL and she had people Riverdancing, I knew she was done.
686 - Suede - One of the biggest and best of the Brit-pop bands, Suede had a number of great albums and they will go up quite a ways when I next re-do my list.
685 - The Kooks - A recent indie blog sensation, The Kooks had a solid debut album and should only be going up from here.
684 - Oceansize - A brand new indie band with some prog leanings. They always create thick atmospheric music.
683 - The Amboy Dukes - The psychedelic garage band that launched Ted Nugent's career with the brilliant "Journey To The Center Of The Mind".
682 - Robert Pollard - The former lead singer of Guided By Voices has been just as prolific on his own, continuing to release an album with a few decent songs every 5 minutes or so.
681 - Harry Chapin - He'll be remembered forever for "Cats In The Cradle", but he also produced "Taxi" and a few other adult contemporary classics.
Best Movies of 2007 #102-#91
Note: I've added two movies to the list since the last update.
#102 - 30 Days Of Night - You can have all the style points that you want, but this is just another damn vampire movie, graphic novel basis or no.
#101 - Surf's Up - Mysteriously nominated for a Best Animated Film Oscar, this dull and unremarkable cartoon isn't really a bad film, but it's nothing special.
#100 - Balls Of Fury - Not as bad as most spoofs, this film has a handful of laughs, but they're spread out a little too thin for my liking.
#99 - The Last Mimzy - A decent children's film with a disappointing ending. It also borrows heavily from ET.
#98 - No Reservations - It would have been a decent made for TV movie or even a TV pilot, but the melodrama didn't make for a very good film.
#97 - Hot Rod - A lame Will Ferrell wannabe film that might have made a good SNL sketch but doesn't stretch to feature length.
#96 - Reign Over Me - It's too long and the tone of the movie is too mopey. It's not that Sandler can't act in a serious role, but every good actor needs a halfway decent script to get by.
#95 - The Number 23 - Joel Schumacher, the beast that destroys all art it touches takes a silly concept and turns it into an utter mess. Decent performances from the leads are all that saves this movie from the bottom of the list.
#94 - The Ex - A movie about a man who is faking paralysis in order to get sympathy and chicks. Did I mention that it's a comedy? No, seriously, it is. Talented actors struggle mightily to make a hit out of a movie that was mercilessly unseen.
#93 - Vacancy - For a slasher film it's surprisingly tolerable, though it goes off the deep end towards the climax.
#92 - Music & Lyrics - Hugh Grant does his best, but this rom com doesn't have enough going for it to merit a decent review.
#91 - National Treasure: Book Of Secrets - It's almost exactly the same film as the first movie and since even that one is a popcorn piece of fluff, this one has to rank even lower.
#102 - 30 Days Of Night - You can have all the style points that you want, but this is just another damn vampire movie, graphic novel basis or no.
#101 - Surf's Up - Mysteriously nominated for a Best Animated Film Oscar, this dull and unremarkable cartoon isn't really a bad film, but it's nothing special.
#100 - Balls Of Fury - Not as bad as most spoofs, this film has a handful of laughs, but they're spread out a little too thin for my liking.
#99 - The Last Mimzy - A decent children's film with a disappointing ending. It also borrows heavily from ET.
#98 - No Reservations - It would have been a decent made for TV movie or even a TV pilot, but the melodrama didn't make for a very good film.
#97 - Hot Rod - A lame Will Ferrell wannabe film that might have made a good SNL sketch but doesn't stretch to feature length.
#96 - Reign Over Me - It's too long and the tone of the movie is too mopey. It's not that Sandler can't act in a serious role, but every good actor needs a halfway decent script to get by.
#95 - The Number 23 - Joel Schumacher, the beast that destroys all art it touches takes a silly concept and turns it into an utter mess. Decent performances from the leads are all that saves this movie from the bottom of the list.
#94 - The Ex - A movie about a man who is faking paralysis in order to get sympathy and chicks. Did I mention that it's a comedy? No, seriously, it is. Talented actors struggle mightily to make a hit out of a movie that was mercilessly unseen.
#93 - Vacancy - For a slasher film it's surprisingly tolerable, though it goes off the deep end towards the climax.
#92 - Music & Lyrics - Hugh Grant does his best, but this rom com doesn't have enough going for it to merit a decent review.
#91 - National Treasure: Book Of Secrets - It's almost exactly the same film as the first movie and since even that one is a popcorn piece of fluff, this one has to rank even lower.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #700-#691
#700 - "Smoke On The Water" - Deep Purple - Machine Head - The first and only Deep Purple song features the guitar riff so great that it's step one in learning to play the damn instrument and a funny story about a concert gone wrong.
#699 - "You Really Got Me" - Van Halen - Van Halen - The first and only VH song on the countdown, "Got Me" was a cover of the Kinks classic complete with Eddie Van Halen's insane guitar skills.
#698 - "When You Were Young" - The Killers - Sam's Town - The first of two Killers songs on the list, "When You Were Young" is the best song from the band's Springsteen-esque second album.
#697 - "Crooked Teeth" - Death Cab For Cutie - Plans - The first of three Death Cab songs on the countdown, "Crooked Teeth" has a great chorus and incredibly well-constructed lyrics, making it easily one of the best songs in emo.
#696 - "Space Lord" - Monster Magnet - Powertrip - The first of two Monster Magnet songs on the top 1000, "Space Lord" is one of the best metal songs of the 90's, with an over-the-top sound and awesome lyrics.
#695 - "Mama, I'm Coming Home" - Ozzy Osbourne - The Ozzman Cometh - The second of three Ozzy songs on the list, "Mama" is Ozzy's best ballad and really one of the best metal ballads of all-time as well.
#694 - "Waiting" - Green Day - Warning - The third of nine Green Day songs on the top 1000, "Waiting" wasn't one of their big hits, but it was the song that led me to believe that they weren't winding down their career but instead had a whole new turn to take, which they would with their next album, American Idiot.
#693 - "Aerials" - System Of A Down - Toxicity - The second of four SOAD songs on the list, "Aerials" is as close as the band will ever come to a ballad, and it was one of their biggest hits.
#692 - "New York, New York" - Ryan Adams - Gold - The first and only Ryan Adams song on the list, "New York" came out shortly after 9/11, though it was recorded well before. Whether this was a coincidence or something much more sinister remains to be determined, but the bottom line is that the coincidence set the artist on a course where quality met success, rare enough in this century of music.
#691 - "Taking Back Control" - Sparta - Threes - The second of three Sparta songs on the countdown, "Taking Back Control" is the first single off of the band's most recent album and it signals that the band is moving towards more mainstream success without sacrificing the quality of their product.
#699 - "You Really Got Me" - Van Halen - Van Halen - The first and only VH song on the countdown, "Got Me" was a cover of the Kinks classic complete with Eddie Van Halen's insane guitar skills.
#698 - "When You Were Young" - The Killers - Sam's Town - The first of two Killers songs on the list, "When You Were Young" is the best song from the band's Springsteen-esque second album.
#697 - "Crooked Teeth" - Death Cab For Cutie - Plans - The first of three Death Cab songs on the countdown, "Crooked Teeth" has a great chorus and incredibly well-constructed lyrics, making it easily one of the best songs in emo.
#696 - "Space Lord" - Monster Magnet - Powertrip - The first of two Monster Magnet songs on the top 1000, "Space Lord" is one of the best metal songs of the 90's, with an over-the-top sound and awesome lyrics.
#695 - "Mama, I'm Coming Home" - Ozzy Osbourne - The Ozzman Cometh - The second of three Ozzy songs on the list, "Mama" is Ozzy's best ballad and really one of the best metal ballads of all-time as well.
#694 - "Waiting" - Green Day - Warning - The third of nine Green Day songs on the top 1000, "Waiting" wasn't one of their big hits, but it was the song that led me to believe that they weren't winding down their career but instead had a whole new turn to take, which they would with their next album, American Idiot.
#693 - "Aerials" - System Of A Down - Toxicity - The second of four SOAD songs on the list, "Aerials" is as close as the band will ever come to a ballad, and it was one of their biggest hits.
#692 - "New York, New York" - Ryan Adams - Gold - The first and only Ryan Adams song on the list, "New York" came out shortly after 9/11, though it was recorded well before. Whether this was a coincidence or something much more sinister remains to be determined, but the bottom line is that the coincidence set the artist on a course where quality met success, rare enough in this century of music.
#691 - "Taking Back Control" - Sparta - Threes - The second of three Sparta songs on the countdown, "Taking Back Control" is the first single off of the band's most recent album and it signals that the band is moving towards more mainstream success without sacrificing the quality of their product.
Top 1000 Bands #700-#691
700 - The Spill Canvas - The most successful rock group from South Dakota and they're only going up from there, in the industry and on my list.
699 - Garth Brooks - As much as I hate what he stood for, I can't deny that I like a couple of his songs.
698 - The Dropcic Mormons - A side project of two members of Pierre's best band, Anerexic Fat Kid, The Dropcic Mormons were more of a metal outfit than AFK. They were unrefined, but the drums and guitars were often amazing.
697 - Tom Cochrane - The former lead singer of Red Rider had one of my favorite songs of the early 90's with "Life Is A Highway".
696 - Youth Group - An indie rock band with a great debut album and a bright future.
695 - Semisonic - A late 90's modern rock band who had a few big hits, including "Secret Smile" and "Closing Time".
694 - Rock Kills Kid - A pop punk band from recent years who have put together a couple of solid albums.
693 - Paula Cole - She's had a lot of smaller hits, but nothing will ever top "I Don't Wanna Wait", the theme song from Dawson's Creek.
692 - Static-X - One of the few great metal bands to come out in recent years, Static-X is a speed metal band with remarkable consistency.
691 - The Psychedelic Furs - One of the biggest 80's new wave bands, the Furs had a series of solid albums, but I've never been a tremendous fan of their work. It's still good, but all-time good?
699 - Garth Brooks - As much as I hate what he stood for, I can't deny that I like a couple of his songs.
698 - The Dropcic Mormons - A side project of two members of Pierre's best band, Anerexic Fat Kid, The Dropcic Mormons were more of a metal outfit than AFK. They were unrefined, but the drums and guitars were often amazing.
697 - Tom Cochrane - The former lead singer of Red Rider had one of my favorite songs of the early 90's with "Life Is A Highway".
696 - Youth Group - An indie rock band with a great debut album and a bright future.
695 - Semisonic - A late 90's modern rock band who had a few big hits, including "Secret Smile" and "Closing Time".
694 - Rock Kills Kid - A pop punk band from recent years who have put together a couple of solid albums.
693 - Paula Cole - She's had a lot of smaller hits, but nothing will ever top "I Don't Wanna Wait", the theme song from Dawson's Creek.
692 - Static-X - One of the few great metal bands to come out in recent years, Static-X is a speed metal band with remarkable consistency.
691 - The Psychedelic Furs - One of the biggest 80's new wave bands, the Furs had a series of solid albums, but I've never been a tremendous fan of their work. It's still good, but all-time good?
Top Movies of 2007 #110-#101
#110 - Saw IV - Enough already, it's the same damn movie over and over again, only each time the story gets less plausible.
#109 - The Nanny Diaries - There's some interesting social commentary in this film, but the presentation is sloppy and fairly predictable.
#108 - The Hitcher - Yet another re-make of a classic horror movie. You know, like it's hard to come up with an original way to have someone run around and kill a bunch of people.
#107 - In The Land Of Women - A bit boring and way too whiny. It's like Garden State without the depth or the music.
#106 - Evan Almighty - A piss-poor sequel to the above average Bruce Almighty, this film has almost no connection to the original, worse jokes and less story development. Of course, the movie wasn't written to be a sequel to Bruce Almighty, which is probably why it doesn't fit worth a damn.
#105 - Ghost Rider - When Marvel gets a hit, they hit it out of the park, when they don't? They get this piece of shit, which featured an uninspiring hero, a lame story, bad acting and villains borrowed from the Underworld series.
#104 - The Reaping - There's a good twist at the end, I'll give them that, but for the most part this is a nasty and stupid movie. It reminds me of Silent Hill, actually, the movie not the games.
#103 - Resident Evil: Extinction - Better than the second, worse than the first, at least this one had credible acting and a semi-decent story. It's still trash, but at least it's not painful this time.
#102 - I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry - Just because you add a tolerant ending doesn't mean you haven't made the most homophobic movie of all time, Adam. Was David Duke your executive producer? Even if I could ignore the obvious bigotry, it's still a stupid movie with a sitcom plot.
#101 - License To Wed - Too much Robin Williams is a bad thing and this film has oodles.
#109 - The Nanny Diaries - There's some interesting social commentary in this film, but the presentation is sloppy and fairly predictable.
#108 - The Hitcher - Yet another re-make of a classic horror movie. You know, like it's hard to come up with an original way to have someone run around and kill a bunch of people.
#107 - In The Land Of Women - A bit boring and way too whiny. It's like Garden State without the depth or the music.
#106 - Evan Almighty - A piss-poor sequel to the above average Bruce Almighty, this film has almost no connection to the original, worse jokes and less story development. Of course, the movie wasn't written to be a sequel to Bruce Almighty, which is probably why it doesn't fit worth a damn.
#105 - Ghost Rider - When Marvel gets a hit, they hit it out of the park, when they don't? They get this piece of shit, which featured an uninspiring hero, a lame story, bad acting and villains borrowed from the Underworld series.
#104 - The Reaping - There's a good twist at the end, I'll give them that, but for the most part this is a nasty and stupid movie. It reminds me of Silent Hill, actually, the movie not the games.
#103 - Resident Evil: Extinction - Better than the second, worse than the first, at least this one had credible acting and a semi-decent story. It's still trash, but at least it's not painful this time.
#102 - I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry - Just because you add a tolerant ending doesn't mean you haven't made the most homophobic movie of all time, Adam. Was David Duke your executive producer? Even if I could ignore the obvious bigotry, it's still a stupid movie with a sitcom plot.
#101 - License To Wed - Too much Robin Williams is a bad thing and this film has oodles.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #710-#701
#710 - "Head On" - The Pixies - Trompe Le Monde - The first of eight Pixies songs on the countdown, "Head On" was actually written by the Pixies, though the Jesus and Mary Chain had the definitive version. I do prefer the JMC version, but this one, which is heavier is still excellent.
#709 - "Insane In The Brain" - Cypress Hill - Black Sunday - The first and only Cypress Hill song on the list, "Insane" is their biggest hit, though the success of the song did ruin the future of the band, as they got pigeonholed as the pro-pot band.
#708 - "Big Brat" - Phantom Planet - Phantom Planet - The second and highest-charting Phantom Planet song in the top 1000, "Big Brat" was one of the best post-punk songs of the 21st century with great lyrics and an excellent chorus.
#707 - "Bankrobber" - The Clash - The Clash On Broadway - The fourth of eighteen Clash songs on the list, "Bankrobber" is one of their best reggae-infused songs that the band ever created.
#706 - "Love Me Two Times" - The Doors - Strange Days - The third of ten Doors songs on the list, "Love Me Two Times" is one of the band's early, radio-friendly, not 9 minutes long hits from the mid-60's.
#705 - "Wake Me Up When September Ends" - Green Day - American Idiot - The second of nine Green Day songs on the list, "Wake Me Up" was the second-biggest hit off of the band's epic album American Idiot, and one of the band's best ballads.
#704 - "Heartbreaker" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II - The second of twenty-four Zeppelin songs on the countdown, "Heartbreaker" is usually paired with "Living Loving Maid", though the songs aren't together on the actual album. Here they're being judged separately and this is where it ranks as one of the best blues rock songs ever written.
#703 - "Nobody's Fault But My Own" - Beck - Mutations - The second of nine Beck songs in the top 1000, "Nobody's" is Beck's best ballad and a huge departure from his usual style.
#702 - "Love In A Void" - Siouxsie And The Banshees - The Peel Sessions - The second of four Siouxsie songs on the list, "Love In A Void" features the band's best chorus and a great beat throughout.
#701 - "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" - The Charlie Daniels Band - The first and only Charlie Daniels song on the countdown (what, you're surprised?), "Devil" is easily the best song to employ a fiddle prominently and one of the best in all of Southern Rock.
#709 - "Insane In The Brain" - Cypress Hill - Black Sunday - The first and only Cypress Hill song on the list, "Insane" is their biggest hit, though the success of the song did ruin the future of the band, as they got pigeonholed as the pro-pot band.
#708 - "Big Brat" - Phantom Planet - Phantom Planet - The second and highest-charting Phantom Planet song in the top 1000, "Big Brat" was one of the best post-punk songs of the 21st century with great lyrics and an excellent chorus.
#707 - "Bankrobber" - The Clash - The Clash On Broadway - The fourth of eighteen Clash songs on the list, "Bankrobber" is one of their best reggae-infused songs that the band ever created.
#706 - "Love Me Two Times" - The Doors - Strange Days - The third of ten Doors songs on the list, "Love Me Two Times" is one of the band's early, radio-friendly, not 9 minutes long hits from the mid-60's.
#705 - "Wake Me Up When September Ends" - Green Day - American Idiot - The second of nine Green Day songs on the list, "Wake Me Up" was the second-biggest hit off of the band's epic album American Idiot, and one of the band's best ballads.
#704 - "Heartbreaker" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II - The second of twenty-four Zeppelin songs on the countdown, "Heartbreaker" is usually paired with "Living Loving Maid", though the songs aren't together on the actual album. Here they're being judged separately and this is where it ranks as one of the best blues rock songs ever written.
#703 - "Nobody's Fault But My Own" - Beck - Mutations - The second of nine Beck songs in the top 1000, "Nobody's" is Beck's best ballad and a huge departure from his usual style.
#702 - "Love In A Void" - Siouxsie And The Banshees - The Peel Sessions - The second of four Siouxsie songs on the list, "Love In A Void" features the band's best chorus and a great beat throughout.
#701 - "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" - The Charlie Daniels Band - The first and only Charlie Daniels song on the countdown (what, you're surprised?), "Devil" is easily the best song to employ a fiddle prominently and one of the best in all of Southern Rock.
Top 1000 Bands #710-#701
710 - Modern English - An 80's New Wave band who had a big hit with "I Melt With You", one of the best songs of the genre.
709 - Avenged Sevenfold - They're one of the biggest bands in mainstream rock right now, but outside of one solid album, they haven't done much of note.
708 - Porno For Pyros - Perry Farrell's first post-Jane's Addiction band, PFP had big hits with "Pets" and "Tahitian Moon".
707 - Saliva - You wouldn't think that this band would be any good, but I've liked several of their songs for their Clutch / Monster Magnet over-the-top style.
706 - Ben E. King - He was pretty popular during the early days of rock n roll, but to me he'll always be best remembered for his all-time classic "Stand By Me".
705 - Elbow - An indie rock band that hasn't broken through yet but has made a couple of great albums so far.
704 - Manfred Mann - They're best known for their covers of "Blinded By The Light" and "The Mighty Quinn", but they were also responsible for that "Yellow Bikini" song.
703 - Madness - An 80's New Wave band that had a couple of solid albums before fading away.
702 - Natalie Merchant - The former lead singer of 10,000 Maniacs went solo in the early 80's and realeased a couple of great albums.
701 - The Silver Jews - Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus' side-project has produced a lot of great, but unappreciated songs over the years.
709 - Avenged Sevenfold - They're one of the biggest bands in mainstream rock right now, but outside of one solid album, they haven't done much of note.
708 - Porno For Pyros - Perry Farrell's first post-Jane's Addiction band, PFP had big hits with "Pets" and "Tahitian Moon".
707 - Saliva - You wouldn't think that this band would be any good, but I've liked several of their songs for their Clutch / Monster Magnet over-the-top style.
706 - Ben E. King - He was pretty popular during the early days of rock n roll, but to me he'll always be best remembered for his all-time classic "Stand By Me".
705 - Elbow - An indie rock band that hasn't broken through yet but has made a couple of great albums so far.
704 - Manfred Mann - They're best known for their covers of "Blinded By The Light" and "The Mighty Quinn", but they were also responsible for that "Yellow Bikini" song.
703 - Madness - An 80's New Wave band that had a couple of solid albums before fading away.
702 - Natalie Merchant - The former lead singer of 10,000 Maniacs went solo in the early 80's and realeased a couple of great albums.
701 - The Silver Jews - Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus' side-project has produced a lot of great, but unappreciated songs over the years.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Best Movies Of 2007 #120-#111
#120 - Next - This movie is confusing, stupid, poorly written and poorly acted. If Nick Cage wasn't involved, it probably would have went straight to the frickin' Sci Fi Channel.
#119 - Wild Hogs - One of the biggest hits of 2007, though I have no explanation why. What I saw was four people engaging in the same gay and fart jokes that have been in every bad comedy for decades. Dreadful and stupid.
#118 - Pathfinder: Legend Of The Ghost Warrior - A big-time disappointment, this movie had story elements that could have made for a great picture, but instead was a disjointed mess.
#117 - I Think I Love My Wife - Re-makes of European films rarely work and this one, which stars Chris Rock, didn't either. The sensibilities just don't translate well to American film-making.
#116 - Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium - Certainly there were worse movies aimed at children this year, but this is one of the few ones that I've actually seen. Bottom line is that the movie was BORING. I can't imagine that worked too well with children whose attention spans are just shorter than that of a ladybug.
#115 - Premonition - A dumb science fiction movie that I've absolutely seen before, Premonition also features one of the absolute worst endings of all-time. See, if Sandra Bullock didn't have her premonitions, her husband would have never been killed, but the important thing is that he got her pregnant before she accidently got him killed in a gruesome accident. After all, a man's life is worthless compared to a baby's, right? Right? You can almost hear the screenwriter getting dumped right when they put together that ending.
#114 - The Heartbreak Kid - Ugly, stupid and trite. Most of the jokes are complete whiffs and everyone involved with the film has done so much better throughout their careers.
#113 - Mr. Woodcock - Billy Bob Thornton has played this role too many times now, I think. It's a nasty little movie with no redemption at it's core.
#112 - Good Luck Chuck - A dumb little movie with two of Hollywood's least talented in the lead roles, this one has a horrible story, too many plot contrivances and more than a few scenes which are downright bad for society.
#111 - The Condemned - Rather than just making a straight-up fight to the death action flick this movie decides it needs to add social commentary and morals and shit when a pointless, but slick bloodbath would be best.
#119 - Wild Hogs - One of the biggest hits of 2007, though I have no explanation why. What I saw was four people engaging in the same gay and fart jokes that have been in every bad comedy for decades. Dreadful and stupid.
#118 - Pathfinder: Legend Of The Ghost Warrior - A big-time disappointment, this movie had story elements that could have made for a great picture, but instead was a disjointed mess.
#117 - I Think I Love My Wife - Re-makes of European films rarely work and this one, which stars Chris Rock, didn't either. The sensibilities just don't translate well to American film-making.
#116 - Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium - Certainly there were worse movies aimed at children this year, but this is one of the few ones that I've actually seen. Bottom line is that the movie was BORING. I can't imagine that worked too well with children whose attention spans are just shorter than that of a ladybug.
#115 - Premonition - A dumb science fiction movie that I've absolutely seen before, Premonition also features one of the absolute worst endings of all-time. See, if Sandra Bullock didn't have her premonitions, her husband would have never been killed, but the important thing is that he got her pregnant before she accidently got him killed in a gruesome accident. After all, a man's life is worthless compared to a baby's, right? Right? You can almost hear the screenwriter getting dumped right when they put together that ending.
#114 - The Heartbreak Kid - Ugly, stupid and trite. Most of the jokes are complete whiffs and everyone involved with the film has done so much better throughout their careers.
#113 - Mr. Woodcock - Billy Bob Thornton has played this role too many times now, I think. It's a nasty little movie with no redemption at it's core.
#112 - Good Luck Chuck - A dumb little movie with two of Hollywood's least talented in the lead roles, this one has a horrible story, too many plot contrivances and more than a few scenes which are downright bad for society.
#111 - The Condemned - Rather than just making a straight-up fight to the death action flick this movie decides it needs to add social commentary and morals and shit when a pointless, but slick bloodbath would be best.
New Shit This Week
DVDs:
Buy It:
None This Week
Rent It:
The Invasion - I couldn't tell you if the movie was any good, but audiences avoided it like the plague as it was one of the few blockbuster releases last summer that didn't make money.
Trade / The King Of California / Bordertown - Three indie movies that I don't know anything about, but they all look like they might be good.
The Comebacks - A spoof of sports movies. Not as good as Airplane, but much better than any of the Scary, Epic or Date Movies.
Skip It:
Daddy Day Camp - A completely unnecessary sequel to a lousy movie that was a hit for reasons beyond me. Oh and this one stars Cuba Gooding Jr. as well. Cuba, the Academy called. You need to give back your Oscar immediately.
CDs:
Buy It:
The Mars Volta - The Bedlam In Goliath - Their last album was a disappointment, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt this time around because previous albums were so damn good.
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend - The bloggers nailed it once again with this band, which has a unique and exciting new sound.
Borrow It:
Louis XIV - Slick Dogs And Ponies - They are an acquired taste to be sure, but if you like their first album, you'll like this one as well.
Buy It:
None This Week
Rent It:
The Invasion - I couldn't tell you if the movie was any good, but audiences avoided it like the plague as it was one of the few blockbuster releases last summer that didn't make money.
Trade / The King Of California / Bordertown - Three indie movies that I don't know anything about, but they all look like they might be good.
The Comebacks - A spoof of sports movies. Not as good as Airplane, but much better than any of the Scary, Epic or Date Movies.
Skip It:
Daddy Day Camp - A completely unnecessary sequel to a lousy movie that was a hit for reasons beyond me. Oh and this one stars Cuba Gooding Jr. as well. Cuba, the Academy called. You need to give back your Oscar immediately.
CDs:
Buy It:
The Mars Volta - The Bedlam In Goliath - Their last album was a disappointment, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt this time around because previous albums were so damn good.
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend - The bloggers nailed it once again with this band, which has a unique and exciting new sound.
Borrow It:
Louis XIV - Slick Dogs And Ponies - They are an acquired taste to be sure, but if you like their first album, you'll like this one as well.
New Movies This Week
Skip It:
Strange Wilderness - I like a lot of the members of the cast, but from what I've seen of this movie I think it looks stupid and pointless.
The Eye - Not that the J-Horror trend isn't dead and in the water, but the original version of this movie was one of my favorites and they go and re-make it starting Jessica Alba? Who really thinks that she can act? I mean, seriously, has there been any proof of this? Oh, and all of her movies flop too. Sure, she was in the Fantastic Four movies (both of which sucked) and Sin City, but she wasn't the reason they succeeded. Everything else has been a disaster with horrible reviews and lousy profit margins. I know she's hot as all hell, but why can't Hollywood figure out that she doesn't have what it takes?
Over Her Dead Body - Well this one certainly looks stupid. Why didn't this go straight to DVD? Eva Longoria does have acting ability, but it'll be wasted in this which appears to be a lowest common denominator type of movie.
Hannah Montana Concert Movie - This one is certain to be number one for this week for sure. Hopefully it will tail off and not become a 100 million dollar hit (I have seen and will continue to see every movie that makes it to that milestone... I REALLY don't want to see this movie). Apparently this Montana character is the hottest thing in tweener music, as if that's a genre that deserves to exist, and lots of unfortunate adults are going to get dragged by their kids to watch this crap, which signals new low water marks for both film and music.
Strange Wilderness - I like a lot of the members of the cast, but from what I've seen of this movie I think it looks stupid and pointless.
The Eye - Not that the J-Horror trend isn't dead and in the water, but the original version of this movie was one of my favorites and they go and re-make it starting Jessica Alba? Who really thinks that she can act? I mean, seriously, has there been any proof of this? Oh, and all of her movies flop too. Sure, she was in the Fantastic Four movies (both of which sucked) and Sin City, but she wasn't the reason they succeeded. Everything else has been a disaster with horrible reviews and lousy profit margins. I know she's hot as all hell, but why can't Hollywood figure out that she doesn't have what it takes?
Over Her Dead Body - Well this one certainly looks stupid. Why didn't this go straight to DVD? Eva Longoria does have acting ability, but it'll be wasted in this which appears to be a lowest common denominator type of movie.
Hannah Montana Concert Movie - This one is certain to be number one for this week for sure. Hopefully it will tail off and not become a 100 million dollar hit (I have seen and will continue to see every movie that makes it to that milestone... I REALLY don't want to see this movie). Apparently this Montana character is the hottest thing in tweener music, as if that's a genre that deserves to exist, and lots of unfortunate adults are going to get dragged by their kids to watch this crap, which signals new low water marks for both film and music.
Modern Rock Update
Albums:
The Juno Soundtrack is #1 this week. That's right, a soundtrack featuring Kimya Dawson, The Moldy Peaches and Antsy Pants is the best selling album of the week. How cool is that?
Debuting this week were Cat Power at #12 and The Drive-By Truckers at #37.
Modern / Mainstream Rock
Seether stayed at #1 on both charts again.
Debuting this week on Modern was the tepid Jimmy Eat World "Always Be" at #19 and The Killers Joy Division cover "Shadowplay", which isn't even the best single from the album currently out ("Tranquilize" is vastly superior).
Nothing debuting this week on Mainstream.
The Juno Soundtrack is #1 this week. That's right, a soundtrack featuring Kimya Dawson, The Moldy Peaches and Antsy Pants is the best selling album of the week. How cool is that?
Debuting this week were Cat Power at #12 and The Drive-By Truckers at #37.
Modern / Mainstream Rock
Seether stayed at #1 on both charts again.
Debuting this week on Modern was the tepid Jimmy Eat World "Always Be" at #19 and The Killers Joy Division cover "Shadowplay", which isn't even the best single from the album currently out ("Tranquilize" is vastly superior).
Nothing debuting this week on Mainstream.
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