#560 - "All Because Of You Days" - Echo And The Bunnymen - Siberia - The first of two Echo songs on the list, "All Because Of You Days" is the best song on the band's most recent album. It features a great chorus and great guitar work throughout.
#559 - "Pretend We're Dead" - L7 - Bricks Are Heavy - The first and only L7 song on the countdown is also the band's biggest hit and closest thing to a crossover as it has a great beat and a fantastic chorus.
#558 - "Atlantic City" - Bruce Springsteen - The River - The fifth of eleven Springsteen songs in the top 1000, "Atlantic City" highlights Bruce's great storytelling ability as his song paints almost as vivid a picture in less than 10 minutes as Robert Altman's film of the same name did in more than two hours.
#557 - "Live And Let Die" - Paul McCartney - Wings Over America - The second and highest-charting McCartney song on the list, "Live And Let Die" was easily the greatest James Bond theme ever created, featuring one of the great rock riffs of all time and Paul's best solo lyrics by far.
#556 - "Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long, Long Time)" - Elton John - Honky Chateau - The fourth of eight Elton John songs on the list, "Rocket Man" is sort of Elton's response to David Bowie's "Space Oddity" as it also tells a science fiction story from a very personal perspective.
#555 - "Strawberry Fields Forever" - The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour - The tenth of twenty-two Beatles songs on the countdown, "Strawberry Fields" was one of the band's first ventures into psychedelic music and with it's backward playback, the song was one of the most innovative and inspiring songs of the 60's.
#554 - "Walk On The Wild Side" - Lou Reed - Walk On The Wild Side - The first and only Lou Reed song in the top 1000, "Walk On The Wild Side" is far and away Reed's best and most popular song as a solo artist with it's clever lyrics and trendsetting beat.
#553 - "Sweet Jane" - The Velvet Underground - Loaded - The sixth of seven Velvet songs on the list, "Sweet Jane" is the Velvet's most popular song with it's radio-friendly chorus and sweeping vocals.
#552 - "Positively 4th Street" - Bob Dylan - Biograph - The sixth of fifteen Dylan songs on the countdown, "4th Street" is Dylan at his most angry and bitter (and that's saying something) as he viciously attacks an ex or his former fans or his enemies or anyone and everyone who has ever pissed him off or betrayed him. This is possibly the greatest "fuck you" song ever written.
#551 - "Whip It" - Devo - Freedom Of Choice - The fourth of five Devo songs on the list, "Whip It" is the band's most popular song (enough to get them labeled as a one-hit wonder rather than a no-hit band) and features one of the quirkiest hooks of the 80's.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Top 1000 Artists #560-#551
560 - Carole King - One of the greatest pop songwriters of all-time, Carole King scored a tremendous hit with her debut album, "Tapestry", which is among the best-reviewed and best-selling albums of all-time.
559 - Steve Earle - The left-wing answer to country music, Steve Earle has made a modest career out of being the voice of protest in a genre that is so far to the right that it can't even walk without falling over and starting a war in Iraq.
558 - Belly - A middle-of-the-road 90's alternative band that had a couple of solid songs and a few hits, but never hit it big.
557 - Cursive - A fantastic underground indie band from Omaha who have several great albums, but no crossover success as of yet.
556 - Little Richard - One of the founding artists of rock n roll, Little Richard opened the door for many of the great artists of the 50's who had more crossover success.
555 - Smash Mouth - A pop-rock group with some indie cred, Smash Mouth created one of the great songs of the 90's with "Walkin' On The Sun" and has continued to have about one hit per year for the better part of a decade.
554 - The Runaways - The 70's punk band that got Joan Jett her start, The Runaways didn't stay together too long, but the managed to make one of the great punk songs of all-time with "Cherry Bomb".
553 - John Cafferty And The Beaver Brown Band - John Cafferty was on the verge of becoming a huge star with his Springsteen-knockoff sound and the hit soundtrack to Eddie And The Cruisers when all of a sudden they just disappeared off the face of the Earth.
552 - Cowboy Mouth - An 80's alternative band that had a huge hit when they managed to improve on the Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane", the band has had a few less successful albums following their initial success, but they've still maintained a high level of quality.
551 - Janet Jackson - Michael's kid sister has become one of the biggest stars in pop music over the past 25 years. I'm not quite ready to expect her to be in the Hall Of Fame, but it really wouldn't be a surprise.
559 - Steve Earle - The left-wing answer to country music, Steve Earle has made a modest career out of being the voice of protest in a genre that is so far to the right that it can't even walk without falling over and starting a war in Iraq.
558 - Belly - A middle-of-the-road 90's alternative band that had a couple of solid songs and a few hits, but never hit it big.
557 - Cursive - A fantastic underground indie band from Omaha who have several great albums, but no crossover success as of yet.
556 - Little Richard - One of the founding artists of rock n roll, Little Richard opened the door for many of the great artists of the 50's who had more crossover success.
555 - Smash Mouth - A pop-rock group with some indie cred, Smash Mouth created one of the great songs of the 90's with "Walkin' On The Sun" and has continued to have about one hit per year for the better part of a decade.
554 - The Runaways - The 70's punk band that got Joan Jett her start, The Runaways didn't stay together too long, but the managed to make one of the great punk songs of all-time with "Cherry Bomb".
553 - John Cafferty And The Beaver Brown Band - John Cafferty was on the verge of becoming a huge star with his Springsteen-knockoff sound and the hit soundtrack to Eddie And The Cruisers when all of a sudden they just disappeared off the face of the Earth.
552 - Cowboy Mouth - An 80's alternative band that had a huge hit when they managed to improve on the Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane", the band has had a few less successful albums following their initial success, but they've still maintained a high level of quality.
551 - Janet Jackson - Michael's kid sister has become one of the biggest stars in pop music over the past 25 years. I'm not quite ready to expect her to be in the Hall Of Fame, but it really wouldn't be a surprise.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame Update
New Movies This Week
See It:
Run Fatboy Run - The film stars Simon Pegg of Shaun of the Dead fame, and while it's not from the same team as that movie or Hot Fuzz, but it's still worth a look.
Stop-Loss - An Iraq-themed movie with a great director and a great cast. The film's got decent reviews so far and I intend to see it as soon as I can.
21 - The reviews aren't great, but this looks like it could be a slick and passable film that's worth a couple hours of time.
Skip It:
Superhero Movie - Yet another mindless parody that lowers humor to the lowest common denominator. Is it May yet?
Run Fatboy Run - The film stars Simon Pegg of Shaun of the Dead fame, and while it's not from the same team as that movie or Hot Fuzz, but it's still worth a look.
Stop-Loss - An Iraq-themed movie with a great director and a great cast. The film's got decent reviews so far and I intend to see it as soon as I can.
21 - The reviews aren't great, but this looks like it could be a slick and passable film that's worth a couple hours of time.
Skip It:
Superhero Movie - Yet another mindless parody that lowers humor to the lowest common denominator. Is it May yet?
Modern Rock Update
Albums:
Gnarls Barkley debuted at #18 with their new album "The Odd Couple".
Modern / Mainstream Rock:
#1:
Modern: The Foo Fighters - "Long Road To Ruin"
Mainstream: Puddle Of Mudd - "Psycho"
Debuts:
Modern:
#17 Apocalypta - "I'm Not Jesus"
#19 10 Years - "Beautiful"
#20 Theory Of A Deadman - "So Happy"
Mainstream:
#19 Linkin Park - "Given Up"
Gnarls Barkley debuted at #18 with their new album "The Odd Couple".
Modern / Mainstream Rock:
#1:
Modern: The Foo Fighters - "Long Road To Ruin"
Mainstream: Puddle Of Mudd - "Psycho"
Debuts:
Modern:
#17 Apocalypta - "I'm Not Jesus"
#19 10 Years - "Beautiful"
#20 Theory Of A Deadman - "So Happy"
Mainstream:
#19 Linkin Park - "Given Up"
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #570-#561
#570 - "Wild Night" - Van Morrison - Into The Mystic - The first of two Van Morrison songs on the list, "Wild Night" was one of the few up-tempo songs that the artist ever produced and one of his best written.
#569 - "Orange Crush" - R.E.M. - Green - The sixth of twelve R.E.M. songs on the countdown, "Orange Crush" was one of the band's big breakthrough's prior to "Losing My Religion" and features the focused style that made the band the band to beat in the late 80's and early 90's.
#568 - "Misty Mountain Hop" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV - The seventh of twenty-four Zeppelin songs on the list, "Misty" is by far the most Hobbit-heavy Zeppelin song and there have been quite a few and is driven by a piledriver crunch of a guitar lick.
#567 - "Big Me" - The Foo Fighters - Foo Fighters - The third of ten Foo Fighters songs in the top 1000, "Big Me" was the band's first single and a huge departure from expectations from the former Nivana drummer Dave Grohl.
#566 - "Celebrity Skin" - Hole - Celebrity Skin - The second of three Hole songs on the list, "Celebrity Skin" was written with help from Billy Corgan and is far different from the music of the band's first few albums. It's also one of the most biting satirical songs ever written.
#565 - "Start Me Up" - The Rolling Stones - Tattoo You - The fifth of twenty Stones songs on the countdown, "Start Me Up" is possibly the band's last truly great song before they slipped into self-parody. The song features a great guitar riff driving it from start to finish.
#564 - "Hey Jude" - The Beatles - Past Masters - The ninth of twenty-two Beatles songs on the list, "Hey Jude" was one of the last great songs that the band recorded before breaking up and while I've never been a fan of the extended ending to the song, the first half is brilliant.
#563 - "Roadhouse Blues" - The Doors - Morrison Hotel - The sixth of ten Doors songs in the top 1000, "Roadhouse" is the band's best blues song and one of the best drinking songs around.
#562 - "I'll Stick Around" - The Foo Fighters - Foo Fighters - The fourth of ten Foo Fighters songs on the list, "I'll Stick Around" was written by Dave Grohl about Courtney Love... and what an absolute bitch she is. The "I Don't Owe You Anything" breakdown towards the end of the song is an early sign of the "Screamed Verse" future that the band had coming down the road.
#561 - "Betterman" - Pearl Jam - Vitalogy - The ninth of twenty-five Pearl Jam songs on the countdown, "Betterman" is a sad and deeply moving song from the band's third album.
#569 - "Orange Crush" - R.E.M. - Green - The sixth of twelve R.E.M. songs on the countdown, "Orange Crush" was one of the band's big breakthrough's prior to "Losing My Religion" and features the focused style that made the band the band to beat in the late 80's and early 90's.
#568 - "Misty Mountain Hop" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV - The seventh of twenty-four Zeppelin songs on the list, "Misty" is by far the most Hobbit-heavy Zeppelin song and there have been quite a few and is driven by a piledriver crunch of a guitar lick.
#567 - "Big Me" - The Foo Fighters - Foo Fighters - The third of ten Foo Fighters songs in the top 1000, "Big Me" was the band's first single and a huge departure from expectations from the former Nivana drummer Dave Grohl.
#566 - "Celebrity Skin" - Hole - Celebrity Skin - The second of three Hole songs on the list, "Celebrity Skin" was written with help from Billy Corgan and is far different from the music of the band's first few albums. It's also one of the most biting satirical songs ever written.
#565 - "Start Me Up" - The Rolling Stones - Tattoo You - The fifth of twenty Stones songs on the countdown, "Start Me Up" is possibly the band's last truly great song before they slipped into self-parody. The song features a great guitar riff driving it from start to finish.
#564 - "Hey Jude" - The Beatles - Past Masters - The ninth of twenty-two Beatles songs on the list, "Hey Jude" was one of the last great songs that the band recorded before breaking up and while I've never been a fan of the extended ending to the song, the first half is brilliant.
#563 - "Roadhouse Blues" - The Doors - Morrison Hotel - The sixth of ten Doors songs in the top 1000, "Roadhouse" is the band's best blues song and one of the best drinking songs around.
#562 - "I'll Stick Around" - The Foo Fighters - Foo Fighters - The fourth of ten Foo Fighters songs on the list, "I'll Stick Around" was written by Dave Grohl about Courtney Love... and what an absolute bitch she is. The "I Don't Owe You Anything" breakdown towards the end of the song is an early sign of the "Screamed Verse" future that the band had coming down the road.
#561 - "Betterman" - Pearl Jam - Vitalogy - The ninth of twenty-five Pearl Jam songs on the countdown, "Betterman" is a sad and deeply moving song from the band's third album.
Top 1000 Bands #570-#561
570 - Babes In Toyland - A forgotten grunge band of the 90's, Babes in Toyland had a great out-of-control sound to their music.
569 - Elf Power - An indie rock band with a couple of solid albums so far, but no breakthrough hits.
568 - The Sun - A solid indie band with a great debut album to their credit.
567 - Mark Lanegan - The former lead singer of The Screaming Trees, Lanegan has released several solo albums and while most are too slow and gloomy for me, some of his songs are outstanding.
566 - Ocean Colour Scene - A Brit-pop band with prog leanings, Ocean Colour Scene has made great atmospheric music for the better part of a decade and a half.
565 - Switchfoot - A Christian rock band that's always one step shy of creating a truly great song, though many of their songs have come close over the years.
564 - Superchunk - A modern rock band that keeps looking for their breakthrough hit, though they have made several solid albums to date.
563 - Soul Coughing - One of the most acclaimed indie bands of the 90's, Soul Coughing had a unique and unusual sound that set them apart from their grunge competition.
562 - Three Doors Down - They aren't shit these days, but Three Doors Down's debut album was one of the best mainstream rock albums of the past few years.
561 - Days Of The New - The Alice In Chains knockoff band that owned an entire year in the late 90's before the lead singer's massive ego tore the band apart after the first taste of success.
569 - Elf Power - An indie rock band with a couple of solid albums so far, but no breakthrough hits.
568 - The Sun - A solid indie band with a great debut album to their credit.
567 - Mark Lanegan - The former lead singer of The Screaming Trees, Lanegan has released several solo albums and while most are too slow and gloomy for me, some of his songs are outstanding.
566 - Ocean Colour Scene - A Brit-pop band with prog leanings, Ocean Colour Scene has made great atmospheric music for the better part of a decade and a half.
565 - Switchfoot - A Christian rock band that's always one step shy of creating a truly great song, though many of their songs have come close over the years.
564 - Superchunk - A modern rock band that keeps looking for their breakthrough hit, though they have made several solid albums to date.
563 - Soul Coughing - One of the most acclaimed indie bands of the 90's, Soul Coughing had a unique and unusual sound that set them apart from their grunge competition.
562 - Three Doors Down - They aren't shit these days, but Three Doors Down's debut album was one of the best mainstream rock albums of the past few years.
561 - Days Of The New - The Alice In Chains knockoff band that owned an entire year in the late 90's before the lead singer's massive ego tore the band apart after the first taste of success.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #580-#571
#580 - "Deer Dance" - System Of A Down - Toxicity - The fourth and highest-charting SOAD song on the list, "Deer Dance" is the band at it's anarchic peak, mixing equal parts punk with metal to create the best punk thrash since Rage called it quits.
#579 - "Shiny Happy People" - R.E.M. - Out Of Time - The fifth of twelve R.E.M. songs on the countdown, "Shiny" features guest vocals from members of the B-52's and by far the most accessible lyrics that the band ever put together for all audiences.
#578 - "Rock Lobster" - The B-52's - Planet Claire - The first and only B-52's song in the top 1000, "Rock Lobster" is a funny and quirky song, but it's simply too long to rank any higher.
#577 - "Let It Bleed" - The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed - The fourth of twenty Stones songs on the list, "Let It Bleed" is a clear example of the countrified mid-70's sound of the Stones, though the lyrics are as dark as they've ever been.
#576 - "Brain Damage" - Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon - The second of fourteen Pink Floyd songs on the countdown, "Brain Damage" is usually paired with "Eclipse", but on it's own it stands up pretty well as the climax of one of the greatest albums ever made.
#575 - "Blue On Black" - Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Trouble Is - The first and only KWS song on the list, "Blue On Black" was his first single and by far his biggest and best with clever lyrics and a lick worthy of SRV himself.
#574 - "Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again" - Bob Dylan - Blonde On Blonde - The fifth of fifteen Dylan tunes on the countdown, "Stuck Inside" is one of a multitude of rambling and brilliantly written songs by the greatest songwriter in all of rock n roll.
#573 - "Doll Parts" - Hole - Live Through This - The first of three Hole songs in the top 1000, "Doll Parts" is one of the all-time classic grunge songs. Allegedly co-written by Kurt Cobain, "Doll Parts" represented the pinnacle of Hole's success, though it wasn't their finest song.
#572 - "Bonzo Goes To Bitburg" - The Ramones - Ramones Mania - The third of five Ramones songs on the countdown, "Bonzo" was written in response to Ronald Reagan's appearance at a Nazi graveyard where he laid a wreathe on the grave of concentration camp guards, prompting even the far right Johnny (the "KKK" who took Joey's baby away) Ramone to protest.
#571 - "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)" - The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Rare As Love - The second of nine Hendrix songs on the list, "Voodoo Chile" features Hendrix's best guitar work and some of his most clever lyrics.
#579 - "Shiny Happy People" - R.E.M. - Out Of Time - The fifth of twelve R.E.M. songs on the countdown, "Shiny" features guest vocals from members of the B-52's and by far the most accessible lyrics that the band ever put together for all audiences.
#578 - "Rock Lobster" - The B-52's - Planet Claire - The first and only B-52's song in the top 1000, "Rock Lobster" is a funny and quirky song, but it's simply too long to rank any higher.
#577 - "Let It Bleed" - The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed - The fourth of twenty Stones songs on the list, "Let It Bleed" is a clear example of the countrified mid-70's sound of the Stones, though the lyrics are as dark as they've ever been.
#576 - "Brain Damage" - Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon - The second of fourteen Pink Floyd songs on the countdown, "Brain Damage" is usually paired with "Eclipse", but on it's own it stands up pretty well as the climax of one of the greatest albums ever made.
#575 - "Blue On Black" - Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Trouble Is - The first and only KWS song on the list, "Blue On Black" was his first single and by far his biggest and best with clever lyrics and a lick worthy of SRV himself.
#574 - "Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again" - Bob Dylan - Blonde On Blonde - The fifth of fifteen Dylan tunes on the countdown, "Stuck Inside" is one of a multitude of rambling and brilliantly written songs by the greatest songwriter in all of rock n roll.
#573 - "Doll Parts" - Hole - Live Through This - The first of three Hole songs in the top 1000, "Doll Parts" is one of the all-time classic grunge songs. Allegedly co-written by Kurt Cobain, "Doll Parts" represented the pinnacle of Hole's success, though it wasn't their finest song.
#572 - "Bonzo Goes To Bitburg" - The Ramones - Ramones Mania - The third of five Ramones songs on the countdown, "Bonzo" was written in response to Ronald Reagan's appearance at a Nazi graveyard where he laid a wreathe on the grave of concentration camp guards, prompting even the far right Johnny (the "KKK" who took Joey's baby away) Ramone to protest.
#571 - "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)" - The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Rare As Love - The second of nine Hendrix songs on the list, "Voodoo Chile" features Hendrix's best guitar work and some of his most clever lyrics.
Top 1000 Bands #580-#571
580 - Stone Sour - The side project of the lead singer of Slipknot, Stone Sour has only released two albums and has already far out-achieved the original band.
579 - The Lovin' Spoonful - One of the best hippie bands of the 60's, The Lovin' Spoonful created 2 all-time classics with "Do You Believe In Magic" and "Summer In The City".
578 - Whiskeytown - Ryan Adams' band before he went solo, Whiskeytown is one of the finest bands of the alt country genre.
577 - The Klaxons - A new modern rock band that has a glam sound and a couple of great albums thusfar.
576 - Emerson, Lake & Palmer - One of the top bands of the 70's prog rock genre, Emerson, Lake & Palmer could accurately be described as the band that inspired hundreds of other bands in the late 1970's... to rebel against it and create punk.
575 - The Spencer Davis Group - As a teenager Steve Winwood was in this band which had one of the all-time great songs of all rock n roll with "Gimmie Some Lovin'".
574 - Big Audio Dynamite - I'm not sure when exactly the Clash broke up but shortly after they did a former member formed this band, which basically filled the gap left by the band, but like most things in the 80's it wasn't nearly as good as it was in the 70's.
573 - Jonny Lang - A modern-day bluesman from North Dakota, Jonny Lang was everything Kenny Wayne Shepherd tried his entire career to be.
572 - 1990s - An indie dance rock band that is so similar to Franz Ferdinand that they're referred to one another constantly.
571 - Big Head Todd And The Monsters - They're just about at the exact midpoint of the modern rock spectrum in the 1990's. They've had more than a few all-time classic songs, but not so many to get any higher than this.
579 - The Lovin' Spoonful - One of the best hippie bands of the 60's, The Lovin' Spoonful created 2 all-time classics with "Do You Believe In Magic" and "Summer In The City".
578 - Whiskeytown - Ryan Adams' band before he went solo, Whiskeytown is one of the finest bands of the alt country genre.
577 - The Klaxons - A new modern rock band that has a glam sound and a couple of great albums thusfar.
576 - Emerson, Lake & Palmer - One of the top bands of the 70's prog rock genre, Emerson, Lake & Palmer could accurately be described as the band that inspired hundreds of other bands in the late 1970's... to rebel against it and create punk.
575 - The Spencer Davis Group - As a teenager Steve Winwood was in this band which had one of the all-time great songs of all rock n roll with "Gimmie Some Lovin'".
574 - Big Audio Dynamite - I'm not sure when exactly the Clash broke up but shortly after they did a former member formed this band, which basically filled the gap left by the band, but like most things in the 80's it wasn't nearly as good as it was in the 70's.
573 - Jonny Lang - A modern-day bluesman from North Dakota, Jonny Lang was everything Kenny Wayne Shepherd tried his entire career to be.
572 - 1990s - An indie dance rock band that is so similar to Franz Ferdinand that they're referred to one another constantly.
571 - Big Head Todd And The Monsters - They're just about at the exact midpoint of the modern rock spectrum in the 1990's. They've had more than a few all-time classic songs, but not so many to get any higher than this.
New Shit This Week
DVDs:
Rent:
The Mist - A surprisingly good adaptation of a classic Stephen King book with a wallup of an ending. This one is just barely short of being worth being.
The Kite Runner - A poorly reviewed Oscar contender that never materialized. It's probably worth a look, but not a purchase.
Wristcutters - And finally, an indie movie that never took off with it's poor reviews. It's still interesting enough to warrant a look, though.
CDs:
BUY:
The Raconteurs Consolers Of The Lonely - An album that was practically snuck into stores, The Raconteurs is the latest Jack White project to make it into my music collection. He's never let me down before, so I doubt he'll start now.
Gnarls Barkley The Odd Couple - I never thought that they'd have a sophomore album, but here it is. It should be worth the purchase.
BORROW:
We Are Scientists Brain Thrust Mastery - They're getting close to the point where I'm willing to purchase their music without hearing it first, but they aren't quite there.
The B-52s Funplex - It's been too long since they were last great to justify a purchase, but they should be worth a look.
The Counting Crows Saturday Nights And Sunday Mornings - Pretty much the same explanation as the B-52's, though the Crows have been far lower than the B's ever have.
Pennywise Reason To Believe - The super-busy punk vets release another album with next to no promotion, though it wasn't intentional like the Raconteurs.
SKIP:
Panic At The Disco Pretty. Odd - The crappy pop version of emo that is super-popular right now reaches for a new level of suckiness with the latest release from the emo equivalent of Nickelback.
Rent:
The Mist - A surprisingly good adaptation of a classic Stephen King book with a wallup of an ending. This one is just barely short of being worth being.
The Kite Runner - A poorly reviewed Oscar contender that never materialized. It's probably worth a look, but not a purchase.
Wristcutters - And finally, an indie movie that never took off with it's poor reviews. It's still interesting enough to warrant a look, though.
CDs:
BUY:
The Raconteurs Consolers Of The Lonely - An album that was practically snuck into stores, The Raconteurs is the latest Jack White project to make it into my music collection. He's never let me down before, so I doubt he'll start now.
Gnarls Barkley The Odd Couple - I never thought that they'd have a sophomore album, but here it is. It should be worth the purchase.
BORROW:
We Are Scientists Brain Thrust Mastery - They're getting close to the point where I'm willing to purchase their music without hearing it first, but they aren't quite there.
The B-52s Funplex - It's been too long since they were last great to justify a purchase, but they should be worth a look.
The Counting Crows Saturday Nights And Sunday Mornings - Pretty much the same explanation as the B-52's, though the Crows have been far lower than the B's ever have.
Pennywise Reason To Believe - The super-busy punk vets release another album with next to no promotion, though it wasn't intentional like the Raconteurs.
SKIP:
Panic At The Disco Pretty. Odd - The crappy pop version of emo that is super-popular right now reaches for a new level of suckiness with the latest release from the emo equivalent of Nickelback.
Modern Rock Update
Albums:
Nothing significant
Modern / Mainstream Rock:
#1:
Modern: The Foo Fighters - "Long Road To Ruin"
Mainstream: Puddle Of Mudd - "Psycho"
Debuts:
Mainstream:
#17 Saving Abel - "Addicted"
#19 Three Days Grace - "Riot"
Nothing significant
Modern / Mainstream Rock:
#1:
Modern: The Foo Fighters - "Long Road To Ruin"
Mainstream: Puddle Of Mudd - "Psycho"
Debuts:
Mainstream:
#17 Saving Abel - "Addicted"
#19 Three Days Grace - "Riot"
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #590-#581
#590 - "A Chip Off The Old Block" - Big Timber - Lean Down - The fourth and highest-charting song from Big Timber, "A Chip" is by far the best song that I've been introduced to via the punk rock scene in Pierre.
#589 - "Clampdown" - The Clash - London Calling - The fifth of eighteen Clash songs on the list, "Clampdown" is one of the band's loudest and boldest calls to arms.
#588 - "Dazed And Confused" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin I - The sixth of twenty-four Zeppelin songs on the countdown, "Dazed" was the turning point where rock met metal and the blues met psychedelia.
#587 - "Fight The Power" - Public Enemy - Fear Of A Dark Planet - The first and only Public Enemy song in the top 1000, "Fight The Power" is the best political rap song ever written and served as the entire soundtrack for Spike Lee's classic film Do The Right Thing.
#586 - "Monkey Man" - The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed - The third of twenty Rolling Stones songs on the list, "Monkey Man" isn't a very well-known Stones tune, though it didn't make it into the climax of Goodfellas, but it's among my favorites.
#585 - "God Is In The Radio" - Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf - The eighth of sixteen Queens songs on the list, "God Is" was yet another brilliant song from one of the best albums of the new millennium.
#584 - "Everlong" - The Foo Fighters - The Colour And The Shape - The second of ten Foo Fighters songs on the list, "Everlong" was one of the band's biggest hits and features one of the band's best choruses.
#583 - "Southern Man" - Neil Young - After The Gold Rush - The fourth of six Neil Young songs on the countdown, "Southern Man" was the first shot fired in the Neil Young - Lynyrd Skynyrd war of the mid-70's with this angry tirade against the South during Jim Crow.
#582 - "Falling To Pieces" - Faith No More - The Real Thing - The first of two Faith No More songs on the list, "Falling To Pieces" was one of the first great songs to combine rock and rap into something that doesn't kill both genres of music.
#581 - "Born On The Bayou" - Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bayou Country - The third of five CCR songs on the countdown, "Born On The Bayou" is the most disingenous of the band's songs, as they were from San Francisco and most definitely not born on a bayou. Nonetheless, it's among their best.
#589 - "Clampdown" - The Clash - London Calling - The fifth of eighteen Clash songs on the list, "Clampdown" is one of the band's loudest and boldest calls to arms.
#588 - "Dazed And Confused" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin I - The sixth of twenty-four Zeppelin songs on the countdown, "Dazed" was the turning point where rock met metal and the blues met psychedelia.
#587 - "Fight The Power" - Public Enemy - Fear Of A Dark Planet - The first and only Public Enemy song in the top 1000, "Fight The Power" is the best political rap song ever written and served as the entire soundtrack for Spike Lee's classic film Do The Right Thing.
#586 - "Monkey Man" - The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed - The third of twenty Rolling Stones songs on the list, "Monkey Man" isn't a very well-known Stones tune, though it didn't make it into the climax of Goodfellas, but it's among my favorites.
#585 - "God Is In The Radio" - Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf - The eighth of sixteen Queens songs on the list, "God Is" was yet another brilliant song from one of the best albums of the new millennium.
#584 - "Everlong" - The Foo Fighters - The Colour And The Shape - The second of ten Foo Fighters songs on the list, "Everlong" was one of the band's biggest hits and features one of the band's best choruses.
#583 - "Southern Man" - Neil Young - After The Gold Rush - The fourth of six Neil Young songs on the countdown, "Southern Man" was the first shot fired in the Neil Young - Lynyrd Skynyrd war of the mid-70's with this angry tirade against the South during Jim Crow.
#582 - "Falling To Pieces" - Faith No More - The Real Thing - The first of two Faith No More songs on the list, "Falling To Pieces" was one of the first great songs to combine rock and rap into something that doesn't kill both genres of music.
#581 - "Born On The Bayou" - Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bayou Country - The third of five CCR songs on the countdown, "Born On The Bayou" is the most disingenous of the band's songs, as they were from San Francisco and most definitely not born on a bayou. Nonetheless, it's among their best.
Top 1000 Bands #590-#581
590 - Blues Traveler - The blues rock revivalist owned at least an entire summer during the mid-90s when people suddenly wanted to hear harmonica driven rock for the very last time before giving up on it forever.
589 - Army Of Anyone - The band that features the rest of Stone Temple Pilots created an excellent debut album of mainstream rock with crossover potential.
588 - Powerman 5000 - One of the best metal bands of the late 90's, Powerman 5000 was pretty straight-forward and while it's nothing earth-shattering, it's still pretty fun to listen to.
587 - Elliott Smith - I've thought he was somewhat over-rated after his death as all artists are, but he was still a great singer-songwriter who was always on the verge of becoming something big.
586 - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - One of the latest bands to light the blogosphere ablaze, Clap Your Hands had a brilliant first album and a somewhat disappointing follow-up, though the second album was still good enough to promise a bright future for the band.
585 - Clint Black - One of the few respectable country artists in the 90's, Clint Black created a series of fun rock-flavored country songs that didn't pander to pop audiences.
584 - Sevendust - Their music has become redundant lately, but the first few albums they put out are among the best metal of the last 20 years.
583 - Mischief Brew - A folk punk band that visited Pierre a couple of years ago with rockin' acoustic protest ballads reminiscent of the Dropkick Murphys.
582 - Fuel - One of the bigger rock bands of the late 90's, Fuel had a series of huge hits on the Modern and Mainstream rock charts, though I haven't heard much from them lately.
581 - Jerry Cantrell - One of the two vocalists in Alice In Chains, Cantrell has released several solo albums of music slightly below the AIC level, but at a high level nonetheless.
589 - Army Of Anyone - The band that features the rest of Stone Temple Pilots created an excellent debut album of mainstream rock with crossover potential.
588 - Powerman 5000 - One of the best metal bands of the late 90's, Powerman 5000 was pretty straight-forward and while it's nothing earth-shattering, it's still pretty fun to listen to.
587 - Elliott Smith - I've thought he was somewhat over-rated after his death as all artists are, but he was still a great singer-songwriter who was always on the verge of becoming something big.
586 - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - One of the latest bands to light the blogosphere ablaze, Clap Your Hands had a brilliant first album and a somewhat disappointing follow-up, though the second album was still good enough to promise a bright future for the band.
585 - Clint Black - One of the few respectable country artists in the 90's, Clint Black created a series of fun rock-flavored country songs that didn't pander to pop audiences.
584 - Sevendust - Their music has become redundant lately, but the first few albums they put out are among the best metal of the last 20 years.
583 - Mischief Brew - A folk punk band that visited Pierre a couple of years ago with rockin' acoustic protest ballads reminiscent of the Dropkick Murphys.
582 - Fuel - One of the bigger rock bands of the late 90's, Fuel had a series of huge hits on the Modern and Mainstream rock charts, though I haven't heard much from them lately.
581 - Jerry Cantrell - One of the two vocalists in Alice In Chains, Cantrell has released several solo albums of music slightly below the AIC level, but at a high level nonetheless.
Monday, March 17, 2008
New Movies This Week
See It:
Run Fatboy Run - Simon Pegg has starred in two of the funniest movies of recent years, Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz. This one looks just as funny, so it gets top recommendation this week.
Drillbit Taylor - The latest from the Judd Apatow team, this one doesn't look like it's going to be as good as Knocked Up or Superbad, but it might still be worth a look.
Skip It:
Shutter - Another stupid horror film based on a Japanese original or designed to look like it. Eventually these will stop making money, right? Right?
Tyler Perry's Meet The Browns - Wasn't it only 2 months since the least Tyler Perry movie came out? How fucking many of these things are there? Did he write 100 plays before he started making the first film or something. What the fuck?
Run Fatboy Run - Simon Pegg has starred in two of the funniest movies of recent years, Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz. This one looks just as funny, so it gets top recommendation this week.
Drillbit Taylor - The latest from the Judd Apatow team, this one doesn't look like it's going to be as good as Knocked Up or Superbad, but it might still be worth a look.
Skip It:
Shutter - Another stupid horror film based on a Japanese original or designed to look like it. Eventually these will stop making money, right? Right?
Tyler Perry's Meet The Browns - Wasn't it only 2 months since the least Tyler Perry movie came out? How fucking many of these things are there? Did he write 100 plays before he started making the first film or something. What the fuck?
New Shit This Week
DVDs:
Buy:
I Am Legend - One of the smartest and most entertaining action films of recent years comes out on a DVD with a bunch of extras and an alternate ending. Not quite worth the buy in Blu-Ray, but definitely on DVD.
Rent:
Atonement - The fifth wheel of this year's Oscar Best Picture race, Atonement isn't a bad film, it's just not particularly outstanding.
Love In The Time Of Cholera - The Oscar contender that wasn't, this movie was killed by bad reviews and bad word of mouth because it was... bad.
Southland Tales - I know nothing of this film, but it was directed by Richard Kelly, his first film since Donnie Darko. So yeah, I'm in.
Enchanted - Disney's best movie of the year comes out on DVD, with no Oscars to show for it as even 3 nominations couldn't get it the Best Original Song award.
Revolver - It's the style of movie that I like, but the reviews indicate it's not very good.
Skip:
The Seeker - The kiddie fantasy movie that never got it's feet off the ground. There were literally days of a Harry Potter film that out-earned this stinker.
CDs:
Borrow:
Be Your Own Pet - Get Awkward - A punk band that's making their first big step towards the mainstream. They aren't great, but they're still fairly decent.
Destroyer - Trouble In Dreams - Their first album was pretty good, so hopefully this one will be solid as well.
The Kills - Midnight Boom - They're getting a lot of attention, so this could be the band's big breakthrough if it's really good.
She & Him - Volume One - An indie rock experiment starring a popular actress singing for the first time.
Buy:
I Am Legend - One of the smartest and most entertaining action films of recent years comes out on a DVD with a bunch of extras and an alternate ending. Not quite worth the buy in Blu-Ray, but definitely on DVD.
Rent:
Atonement - The fifth wheel of this year's Oscar Best Picture race, Atonement isn't a bad film, it's just not particularly outstanding.
Love In The Time Of Cholera - The Oscar contender that wasn't, this movie was killed by bad reviews and bad word of mouth because it was... bad.
Southland Tales - I know nothing of this film, but it was directed by Richard Kelly, his first film since Donnie Darko. So yeah, I'm in.
Enchanted - Disney's best movie of the year comes out on DVD, with no Oscars to show for it as even 3 nominations couldn't get it the Best Original Song award.
Revolver - It's the style of movie that I like, but the reviews indicate it's not very good.
Skip:
The Seeker - The kiddie fantasy movie that never got it's feet off the ground. There were literally days of a Harry Potter film that out-earned this stinker.
CDs:
Borrow:
Be Your Own Pet - Get Awkward - A punk band that's making their first big step towards the mainstream. They aren't great, but they're still fairly decent.
Destroyer - Trouble In Dreams - Their first album was pretty good, so hopefully this one will be solid as well.
The Kills - Midnight Boom - They're getting a lot of attention, so this could be the band's big breakthrough if it's really good.
She & Him - Volume One - An indie rock experiment starring a popular actress singing for the first time.
Modern Rock Update
Albums:
Flogging Molly debuted at #4.
The Black Crowes debuted at #5.
Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks debuted at #64 despite being the best album of the year so far.
Modern / Mainstream Rock:
#1:
Modern: "Long Road To Ruin" - The Foo Fighters
Mainstream: "Psycho" - Puddle Of Mudd
Debuts:
Modern: #20 - "It's Not My Time" - 3 Doors Down
Mainstream: None
Flogging Molly debuted at #4.
The Black Crowes debuted at #5.
Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks debuted at #64 despite being the best album of the year so far.
Modern / Mainstream Rock:
#1:
Modern: "Long Road To Ruin" - The Foo Fighters
Mainstream: "Psycho" - Puddle Of Mudd
Debuts:
Modern: #20 - "It's Not My Time" - 3 Doors Down
Mainstream: None
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #600-#591
#600 - "Same Old Song And Dance" - Aerosmith - Get Your Wings - The third of seven Aerosmith songs on the list, "Same Old" features the band at their coke fueled peak, with great lyrics and classic riffs.
#599 - "No Excuses" - Alice In Chains - Jar Of Flies - The second of eight AIC songs on the list, "No Excuses" is such a good acoustic song that some radio stations mis-labeled it as a Nirvana song. It's one of the best-written AIC songs as well.
#598 - "Highway To Hell" - AC/DC - Highway To Hell - The second of nine AC/DC songs on the countdown, "Highway To Hell" is the highpoint of the band's run with original lead singer Bon Scott and is one of the best metal songs of the 70's.
#597 - "In My Life" - The Beatles - Rubber Soul - The seventh of twenty-two songs in the top 1000 by the Beatles, "In My Life" was voted the best-written song of all-time by a critics organization, though I prefer a few other Beatles songs myself.
#596 - "Summertime Blues" - Eddie Cochran - Greatest Hits - The first and only Cochran song on the list, "Summertime Blues" is one of the all-time classics songs of the 50's and early 60's, featuring some of the early rebellious attitudes that would eventually lead to the British Invasion and punk.
#595 - "Going To California" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV - The fifth of twenty-four Zeppelin tunes on the countdown, "California" is the peak of Zeppelin's hippie phase and features fantastic lyrics and some of the best folk licks since Dylan went electric.
#594 - "Lady Madonna" - The Beatles - Past Masters, Vol. 2 - The eight of twenty-two songs on the list by the Beatles, I first discovered "Lady Madonna" as the theme song for the 90's show "Grace Under Fire". It features one of the best stories of any Beatles songs and a great chorus.
#593 - "Conservative Christian, Right Wing, Republican, Straight, White, American Males" - Todd Snider - East Nashville Skyline - The first and only Todd Snider song on the countdown, "Conservative" is one of the funniest protest songs ever written and a shot across the bow at the theory that all country singers are right wing republicans.
#592 - "Wild Horses" - The Rolling Stones - Made In The Shade - The second of twenty Rolling Stones songs in the top 1000, "Wild Horses" is the band's greatest ballad, as they ventured away from their bad-ass image to make a sweet country love song.
#591 - "Excitable Boy" - Warren Zevon - Excitable Boy - The first of two Zevon songs on the countdown, "Excitable Boy" is the exact opposite of a song like "Wild Horses", a grim but hilarious songs about an insane boy who does crazy things and murders people.
#599 - "No Excuses" - Alice In Chains - Jar Of Flies - The second of eight AIC songs on the list, "No Excuses" is such a good acoustic song that some radio stations mis-labeled it as a Nirvana song. It's one of the best-written AIC songs as well.
#598 - "Highway To Hell" - AC/DC - Highway To Hell - The second of nine AC/DC songs on the countdown, "Highway To Hell" is the highpoint of the band's run with original lead singer Bon Scott and is one of the best metal songs of the 70's.
#597 - "In My Life" - The Beatles - Rubber Soul - The seventh of twenty-two songs in the top 1000 by the Beatles, "In My Life" was voted the best-written song of all-time by a critics organization, though I prefer a few other Beatles songs myself.
#596 - "Summertime Blues" - Eddie Cochran - Greatest Hits - The first and only Cochran song on the list, "Summertime Blues" is one of the all-time classics songs of the 50's and early 60's, featuring some of the early rebellious attitudes that would eventually lead to the British Invasion and punk.
#595 - "Going To California" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV - The fifth of twenty-four Zeppelin tunes on the countdown, "California" is the peak of Zeppelin's hippie phase and features fantastic lyrics and some of the best folk licks since Dylan went electric.
#594 - "Lady Madonna" - The Beatles - Past Masters, Vol. 2 - The eight of twenty-two songs on the list by the Beatles, I first discovered "Lady Madonna" as the theme song for the 90's show "Grace Under Fire". It features one of the best stories of any Beatles songs and a great chorus.
#593 - "Conservative Christian, Right Wing, Republican, Straight, White, American Males" - Todd Snider - East Nashville Skyline - The first and only Todd Snider song on the countdown, "Conservative" is one of the funniest protest songs ever written and a shot across the bow at the theory that all country singers are right wing republicans.
#592 - "Wild Horses" - The Rolling Stones - Made In The Shade - The second of twenty Rolling Stones songs in the top 1000, "Wild Horses" is the band's greatest ballad, as they ventured away from their bad-ass image to make a sweet country love song.
#591 - "Excitable Boy" - Warren Zevon - Excitable Boy - The first of two Zevon songs on the countdown, "Excitable Boy" is the exact opposite of a song like "Wild Horses", a grim but hilarious songs about an insane boy who does crazy things and murders people.
Top 1000 Bands #600-#591
600 - Norah Jones - The artist for whom the Grammys were initially created for, though they had no idea at the time, I always thought her music was a little dull, though it's still worth a listen in my book.
599 - Sinead O'Connor - One of the big stars of indie rock in the late 80's and early 90's, Sinead tanked her career with her politics on Saturday Night Live and beyond. A lot of her music is too thick for my tastes, but her early 90's stuff is right on.
598 - The Charlie Daniels Band - One of the best bands in Southern Rock, the Charlie Daniels Band made their biggest splash with "The Devil Went Down To Georgia".
597 - Richard Hell And The Voidoids - One of the biggest names in early punk rock, Richard Hell left Television to form his own band and made the song that kicked off the punk genre "Blank Generation".
596 - Mudhoney - A band that I've always found more important than great, Mudhoney was the starter's pistol that kicked off grunge in the early 90's, opening the door for all the greats. Their music is pretty solid, but nothing Hall Of Fame worthy.
595 - Kyuss - The band that eventually became Queens Of The Stone Age, Kyuss released a lot of music that never quite boiled up to the surface, but a lot of their instrumental work is remarkable.
594 - Dio - The best of the metal artists that provided a transition between the great metal of the 70's and the atrocious hair metal of the 90's, lead singer Ronnie James Dio created some of the goofiest and most intense music of the genre.
593 - Sugarcult - A pop punk band that creates some of the most brilliant sugar shock songs of the new century.
592 - Chicago - A classic rock band that had a long series of hits but never really had any truly memorable songs. Their music in the 80's was absolutely awful.
591 - The Dresden Dolls - A My Chemical Romance type over the top goth rock band, The Dresden Dolls music could be best described as cabaret. Interesting stuff with a lot of potential.
599 - Sinead O'Connor - One of the big stars of indie rock in the late 80's and early 90's, Sinead tanked her career with her politics on Saturday Night Live and beyond. A lot of her music is too thick for my tastes, but her early 90's stuff is right on.
598 - The Charlie Daniels Band - One of the best bands in Southern Rock, the Charlie Daniels Band made their biggest splash with "The Devil Went Down To Georgia".
597 - Richard Hell And The Voidoids - One of the biggest names in early punk rock, Richard Hell left Television to form his own band and made the song that kicked off the punk genre "Blank Generation".
596 - Mudhoney - A band that I've always found more important than great, Mudhoney was the starter's pistol that kicked off grunge in the early 90's, opening the door for all the greats. Their music is pretty solid, but nothing Hall Of Fame worthy.
595 - Kyuss - The band that eventually became Queens Of The Stone Age, Kyuss released a lot of music that never quite boiled up to the surface, but a lot of their instrumental work is remarkable.
594 - Dio - The best of the metal artists that provided a transition between the great metal of the 70's and the atrocious hair metal of the 90's, lead singer Ronnie James Dio created some of the goofiest and most intense music of the genre.
593 - Sugarcult - A pop punk band that creates some of the most brilliant sugar shock songs of the new century.
592 - Chicago - A classic rock band that had a long series of hits but never really had any truly memorable songs. Their music in the 80's was absolutely awful.
591 - The Dresden Dolls - A My Chemical Romance type over the top goth rock band, The Dresden Dolls music could be best described as cabaret. Interesting stuff with a lot of potential.
Best Movies Of 2007 #10-#1
#10 - Zodiac - David Fincher's latest is a tense and frustrating masterpiece of what obsession can do to ordinary men.
#9 - The Bourne Ultimatum - One of the very few franchises that gets better with every entry, The Bourne Ultimatum features action sequences so fast that they're practically subliminal, great performances and sharp writing as always.
#8 - The Simpsons Movie - The movie that got screwed over by the Academy in favor of, umm, Surf's Up, The Simpsons Movie is like an extended version of a really great episode of the show with a great story and hilarious guest stars.
#7 - Gone Baby Gone - My pick for the movie that should have been nominated for Best Picture instead of Atonement, Gone Baby Gone is a whip-smart film with great performances and a brilliant story courtesy of the same author as Mystic River.
#6 - Knocked Up - The smartest comedy since The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up stars Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl as a couple that gets pregnant on a one-night stand and deals with the consequences of the necessary maturity that goes along with it.
#5 - Grindhouse - Not the best movie of the year, but by far the best movie-going experience of the year, Grindhouse features the latest films by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez as well as the most hilarious fake trailers ever made, featuring Nicholas Cage as Fu Manchu!
#4 - There Will Be Blood - A tour de force performance by Daniel Day Lewis who eats this movie alive and won Best Actor for his trouble, There Will Be Blood is a character study as a ruthless sociopath tangles with a false prophet in a war for land and resources.
#3 - Juno - A clever dramedy, Juno is a different take on the same type of story as Knocked Up and features a star-making turn from Ellen Page as well as great supporting work from the rest of the cast, including comedy's latest Woody Allen, Michael Cera.
#2 - No Country For Old Men - The Coen Brothers' greatest achievement in film, No Country has the best cast of the year and the greatest performance of the year from Javier Bardem as the most unnerving villian since Hannibal Lector. The ending is a bit confusing, but it's not like it's impossible to figure out if you try.
#1 - 300 - Not exactly an Oscar contender, in fact it wasn't nominated for anything because of when it was released in theaters, 300 is all about the spectacle, though it doesn't sacrifice performance or story in the process. It's easily the best experience at the movies I had all year.
#9 - The Bourne Ultimatum - One of the very few franchises that gets better with every entry, The Bourne Ultimatum features action sequences so fast that they're practically subliminal, great performances and sharp writing as always.
#8 - The Simpsons Movie - The movie that got screwed over by the Academy in favor of, umm, Surf's Up, The Simpsons Movie is like an extended version of a really great episode of the show with a great story and hilarious guest stars.
#7 - Gone Baby Gone - My pick for the movie that should have been nominated for Best Picture instead of Atonement, Gone Baby Gone is a whip-smart film with great performances and a brilliant story courtesy of the same author as Mystic River.
#6 - Knocked Up - The smartest comedy since The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up stars Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl as a couple that gets pregnant on a one-night stand and deals with the consequences of the necessary maturity that goes along with it.
#5 - Grindhouse - Not the best movie of the year, but by far the best movie-going experience of the year, Grindhouse features the latest films by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez as well as the most hilarious fake trailers ever made, featuring Nicholas Cage as Fu Manchu!
#4 - There Will Be Blood - A tour de force performance by Daniel Day Lewis who eats this movie alive and won Best Actor for his trouble, There Will Be Blood is a character study as a ruthless sociopath tangles with a false prophet in a war for land and resources.
#3 - Juno - A clever dramedy, Juno is a different take on the same type of story as Knocked Up and features a star-making turn from Ellen Page as well as great supporting work from the rest of the cast, including comedy's latest Woody Allen, Michael Cera.
#2 - No Country For Old Men - The Coen Brothers' greatest achievement in film, No Country has the best cast of the year and the greatest performance of the year from Javier Bardem as the most unnerving villian since Hannibal Lector. The ending is a bit confusing, but it's not like it's impossible to figure out if you try.
#1 - 300 - Not exactly an Oscar contender, in fact it wasn't nominated for anything because of when it was released in theaters, 300 is all about the spectacle, though it doesn't sacrifice performance or story in the process. It's easily the best experience at the movies I had all year.
New Movies This Week
See It:
The Bank Job - The latest Jason Statham action romp, this one has gotten great reviews, so it should be the top priority for the week.
10,000 BC - It's directed by Roland Emmerich and it's about as scientifically accurate as the Creation Museum, but it should be good for 2 hours worth of time-killing fun.
Horton Hears A Who - It stars Jim Carrey and Steve Carell among many other great comedians, but something about this tells me that it's not the greatest movie in the world.
Doomsday - I know nothing about this movie, but I'm almost certain it's going to suck. Then again, you never know. I'm sure if I saw a trailer for Escape From New York today I'd probably think the same thing.
Skip It:
College Road Trip - No connection whatsoever to Road Trip, of course, but what it is has nothing to do with anything I'd want to see. Not only does the film star quality poison Martin Lawrence, but it also features several stars of shows on Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel and such. Plus, I hear it's terrible.
Never Back Down - I don't know much about this movie, but I do know it's in that teen interest genre that is of no interest to me.
The Bank Job - The latest Jason Statham action romp, this one has gotten great reviews, so it should be the top priority for the week.
10,000 BC - It's directed by Roland Emmerich and it's about as scientifically accurate as the Creation Museum, but it should be good for 2 hours worth of time-killing fun.
Horton Hears A Who - It stars Jim Carrey and Steve Carell among many other great comedians, but something about this tells me that it's not the greatest movie in the world.
Doomsday - I know nothing about this movie, but I'm almost certain it's going to suck. Then again, you never know. I'm sure if I saw a trailer for Escape From New York today I'd probably think the same thing.
Skip It:
College Road Trip - No connection whatsoever to Road Trip, of course, but what it is has nothing to do with anything I'd want to see. Not only does the film star quality poison Martin Lawrence, but it also features several stars of shows on Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel and such. Plus, I hear it's terrible.
Never Back Down - I don't know much about this movie, but I do know it's in that teen interest genre that is of no interest to me.
New Shit This Week
DVDs:
Buy:
No Country For Old Men - One of the best films of 2007 and winner of the Best Picture award from the Academy Awards, No Country is also the best film from the Coen Bros., who are among the best filmmakers in America. It's filled with great writing, great performances and the type of amazing visual moments that will make sure the film lasts forever. Not only will I buy this film, I will be buying it on Blu-Ray as soon as possible.
Rent:
Into The Wild - Sean Penn's masterpiece is a bit too long to be worth a purchase (it's not the longest movie I would own, but it seems like it's much longer than it is). It's a near-great movie but the message is a bit muddled and some characters stay too long while others leave too soon.
Dan In Real Life - Yet another solid comedy from Steve Carell. This one isn't quite as wacky as his usual fare, but it's still a well-thought out and well-acted film.
Hitman - Supposedly this is the best movie ever to be me made based on a video game. I'll have to wait and see on that, but my friends rave about it.
Things We Lost In The Fire - The Oscar contender that disappeared off the face of the earth, this one should be worth a look.
Bee Movie - The most hyped cartoon of the 21st century, Bee Movie wasn't nearly as good as it's marketing campaign. It's still worth a look, but it's no classic.
August Rush - The buzz on this one is that it's a sappy mess of a musical and not worth a look. I'm still curious, though.
Skip It:
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium - A lame-ass kid's movie with a lot of great actor's trying to make the best of a junk story.
Awake - This is the type of movie aimed at my demographic, but I have no interest in seeing it. The main reason is the stars, as Hayden Christiansen and Jessica Alba are far and away the worst actor and actress of their generation and the reviews for the film were atrocious as well.
Nancy Drew - Not even close to being aimed at my demographic, I'm at least psyched that nepotism didn't carry the day and make Emma Roberts a star.
CDs:
Buy:
Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks - Real Emotional Trash - The best album of the year so far, though not by much. Malkmus weaves clever lyrics in between brilliant guitar solos and other instrumental slices.
The Gutter Twins - Saturnalia - The former lead singers of The Screaming Trees and The Afghan Whigs unite to create the third best album of the year so far (Vampire Weekend is #2), a gloomy but hooky alt rock monstrosity.
Buy:
No Country For Old Men - One of the best films of 2007 and winner of the Best Picture award from the Academy Awards, No Country is also the best film from the Coen Bros., who are among the best filmmakers in America. It's filled with great writing, great performances and the type of amazing visual moments that will make sure the film lasts forever. Not only will I buy this film, I will be buying it on Blu-Ray as soon as possible.
Rent:
Into The Wild - Sean Penn's masterpiece is a bit too long to be worth a purchase (it's not the longest movie I would own, but it seems like it's much longer than it is). It's a near-great movie but the message is a bit muddled and some characters stay too long while others leave too soon.
Dan In Real Life - Yet another solid comedy from Steve Carell. This one isn't quite as wacky as his usual fare, but it's still a well-thought out and well-acted film.
Hitman - Supposedly this is the best movie ever to be me made based on a video game. I'll have to wait and see on that, but my friends rave about it.
Things We Lost In The Fire - The Oscar contender that disappeared off the face of the earth, this one should be worth a look.
Bee Movie - The most hyped cartoon of the 21st century, Bee Movie wasn't nearly as good as it's marketing campaign. It's still worth a look, but it's no classic.
August Rush - The buzz on this one is that it's a sappy mess of a musical and not worth a look. I'm still curious, though.
Skip It:
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium - A lame-ass kid's movie with a lot of great actor's trying to make the best of a junk story.
Awake - This is the type of movie aimed at my demographic, but I have no interest in seeing it. The main reason is the stars, as Hayden Christiansen and Jessica Alba are far and away the worst actor and actress of their generation and the reviews for the film were atrocious as well.
Nancy Drew - Not even close to being aimed at my demographic, I'm at least psyched that nepotism didn't carry the day and make Emma Roberts a star.
CDs:
Buy:
Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks - Real Emotional Trash - The best album of the year so far, though not by much. Malkmus weaves clever lyrics in between brilliant guitar solos and other instrumental slices.
The Gutter Twins - Saturnalia - The former lead singers of The Screaming Trees and The Afghan Whigs unite to create the third best album of the year so far (Vampire Weekend is #2), a gloomy but hooky alt rock monstrosity.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Modern Rock Update
Albums:
Nothing significant
Modern / Mainstream Rock:
#1:
Modern: The Foo Fighters - "Long Road To Ruin"
Mainstream: Puddle Of Mudd - "Psycho"
Debuts:
Modern: Seether - "Rise Above This" - #20
Mainstream: Seether - "Rise Above This" - #17
Nothing significant
Modern / Mainstream Rock:
#1:
Modern: The Foo Fighters - "Long Road To Ruin"
Mainstream: Puddle Of Mudd - "Psycho"
Debuts:
Modern: Seether - "Rise Above This" - #20
Mainstream: Seether - "Rise Above This" - #17
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #610-#601
#610 - "Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman)" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II - The fourth of twenty-four Zeppelin songs on the list, "LLM" is usually paired with "Heartbreaker", but since the two songs weren't next to each other on their album, I'm judging them separately. "LLM" features a monster riff and tells the story of an aging groupie.
#609 - "Trouble Trouble" - The Ponys - Laced With Romance - The second and highest-charting Ponys song on the countdown, "Trouble Trouble" is a throwback to the garage rock days of the mid-60's and features a great tempo.
#608 - "I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down" - Elvis Costello - Get Happy - The third of eleven Elvis C. songs in the top 1000, "I Can't Stand" features one of his catchiest beats and a fantastic chorus.
#607 - "Plush" - Stone Temple Pilots - Core - The second of six STP songs on the list, "Plush" was the band's breakthrough hit, though at the time they were still in that "ripping off more popular bands" phase that haunted them until they broke up.
#606 - "Wishlist" - Pearl Jam - Yield - The seventh of twenty-five Pearl Jam songs on the countdown, "Wishlist" was the band's second single off of their last "huge" album, and features fantastic lyrics.
#605 - "Dashboard" - Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank - The first of four Modest Mouse songs in the top 1000, "Dashboard" was the first single released off of their most recent album and their hardest-driving single to date.
#604 - "L.A. Woman" - The Doors - L.A. Woman - The fifth of ten Doors songs on the list, "L.A. Woman" was one of the last songs that the band recorded before Jim Morrison died. The song is a classic, but it's widely regarded as excessive.
#603 - "3rd Planet" - Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctica - The second of four Modest Mouse songs on the countdown, "3rd Planet" was the band's big breakthrough, as it was featured in a car commerical and helped the band break through to the mainstream when the band released their next album.
#602 - "Spitting Games" - Snow Patrol - Final Straw - The second of three Snow Patrol songs on the list, "Spitting Games" features great lyrics and surprisingly wasn't a hit for the band who would really break through on their next album, thanks to Grey's Anatomy.
#601 - "Given To Fly" - Pearl Jam - Yield - The eighth of twenty-five Pearl Jam songs on the countdown, "Given To Fly" was the band's last huge hit before they turned in a more artistic and therefore less popular direction. The lyrics and the chorus are both highlights of this sweeping ballad.
#609 - "Trouble Trouble" - The Ponys - Laced With Romance - The second and highest-charting Ponys song on the countdown, "Trouble Trouble" is a throwback to the garage rock days of the mid-60's and features a great tempo.
#608 - "I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down" - Elvis Costello - Get Happy - The third of eleven Elvis C. songs in the top 1000, "I Can't Stand" features one of his catchiest beats and a fantastic chorus.
#607 - "Plush" - Stone Temple Pilots - Core - The second of six STP songs on the list, "Plush" was the band's breakthrough hit, though at the time they were still in that "ripping off more popular bands" phase that haunted them until they broke up.
#606 - "Wishlist" - Pearl Jam - Yield - The seventh of twenty-five Pearl Jam songs on the countdown, "Wishlist" was the band's second single off of their last "huge" album, and features fantastic lyrics.
#605 - "Dashboard" - Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank - The first of four Modest Mouse songs in the top 1000, "Dashboard" was the first single released off of their most recent album and their hardest-driving single to date.
#604 - "L.A. Woman" - The Doors - L.A. Woman - The fifth of ten Doors songs on the list, "L.A. Woman" was one of the last songs that the band recorded before Jim Morrison died. The song is a classic, but it's widely regarded as excessive.
#603 - "3rd Planet" - Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctica - The second of four Modest Mouse songs on the countdown, "3rd Planet" was the band's big breakthrough, as it was featured in a car commerical and helped the band break through to the mainstream when the band released their next album.
#602 - "Spitting Games" - Snow Patrol - Final Straw - The second of three Snow Patrol songs on the list, "Spitting Games" features great lyrics and surprisingly wasn't a hit for the band who would really break through on their next album, thanks to Grey's Anatomy.
#601 - "Given To Fly" - Pearl Jam - Yield - The eighth of twenty-five Pearl Jam songs on the countdown, "Given To Fly" was the band's last huge hit before they turned in a more artistic and therefore less popular direction. The lyrics and the chorus are both highlights of this sweeping ballad.
Top 1000 Artists #610-#601
610 - Sister Hazel - One of the more successful bands in mid-90's ska genre, Sister Hazel had a huge hit with "All For You".
609 - The Marvelous 3 - A late 90's modern rock band, The Marvelous 3 had their biggest successes with "Sugarbuzz" and "Freak Of The Week".
608 - Stevie Nicks - The former lead singer of Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks enjoyed a great deal of success in the 80's as a solo artist with songs such as "Edge Of Seventeen".
607 - Johanna Kunin - A great singer-songwriter who has played in Pierre a couple times. She has a great voice and several solid albums to her name.
606 - Augustana - An indie emo band that's gotten a few songs on the radio so far, especially their mid-level hit "Boston".
605 - Saves The Day - One of the biggest names in emo these days, Saves The Day has carved a niche for themselves, but despite a few good songs per album, they're not among my favorites.
604 - Ringo Starr - The least of the Beatles with the band and without the band, Ringo Starr had one of the great songs of all-time with "It Don't Come Easy", but not a whole lot more.
603 - Gavin DeGraw - A singer-songwriter who is a huge hit on the CW and on top 40 radio, Gavin DeGraw also provided American Idol with the song everyone sings when they want to prove how original they are, "I Don't Wanna Be".
602 - Robbie Williams - The former lead singer of Take That is a huge star in England, one of the biggest actually, but like many people who held that title, he hasn't crossed over very well in the United States, though many of his songs are quite brilliant.
601 - Def Leppard - One of the biggest bands in South Dakota *sigh*, Def Leppard was one of the bigger and best of the 80's hair bands and had a string of power ballads that will be played forever by the mullet crowd.
609 - The Marvelous 3 - A late 90's modern rock band, The Marvelous 3 had their biggest successes with "Sugarbuzz" and "Freak Of The Week".
608 - Stevie Nicks - The former lead singer of Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks enjoyed a great deal of success in the 80's as a solo artist with songs such as "Edge Of Seventeen".
607 - Johanna Kunin - A great singer-songwriter who has played in Pierre a couple times. She has a great voice and several solid albums to her name.
606 - Augustana - An indie emo band that's gotten a few songs on the radio so far, especially their mid-level hit "Boston".
605 - Saves The Day - One of the biggest names in emo these days, Saves The Day has carved a niche for themselves, but despite a few good songs per album, they're not among my favorites.
604 - Ringo Starr - The least of the Beatles with the band and without the band, Ringo Starr had one of the great songs of all-time with "It Don't Come Easy", but not a whole lot more.
603 - Gavin DeGraw - A singer-songwriter who is a huge hit on the CW and on top 40 radio, Gavin DeGraw also provided American Idol with the song everyone sings when they want to prove how original they are, "I Don't Wanna Be".
602 - Robbie Williams - The former lead singer of Take That is a huge star in England, one of the biggest actually, but like many people who held that title, he hasn't crossed over very well in the United States, though many of his songs are quite brilliant.
601 - Def Leppard - One of the biggest bands in South Dakota *sigh*, Def Leppard was one of the bigger and best of the 80's hair bands and had a string of power ballads that will be played forever by the mullet crowd.
Best Movies 2007 #20-#11
#20 - Waitress - Keri Russell gives a great performance in one of the nicest movies of the year, a sort of grown-up version of Juno.
#19 - 3:10 To Yuma - A re-make of a forgotten Western movie, 3:10 stars Russell Crowe and Christian Bale in one of the most intense cat and mouse games in recent memory.
#18 - American Gangster - This movie has gotten a lot of comparisons to Scarface, but I actually think it's much better. Russell Crowe stars in this one as well, along with Denzel Washington in Russell Crowe's take on Martin Scorcese's genre.
#17 - Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix - The Potter movies just keep getting better and better. How many times can you see a 2 plus hour movie that seems like it's too short and skips over too many details?
#16 - Shoot 'Em Up - The most intense and hilarious action movie in years takes a Tarantino sense of humor and smacks it into a Jason Statham type movie starring the always brilliant Clive Owen.
#15 - Superbad - The third (and remarkably least) of the Apatow pictures this year, Superbad features the brilliant Michael Cera and the reliable Jonah Hill in a quest movie to buy booze illegally in order to score some ass only to have real life get in the way of the plan.
#14 - I Am Legend - A quick and to the point action movie that tells a great story and doesn't drag it's feet doing it. Will Smith picks yet another great script and should give his agent a raise.
#13 - Charlie Wilson's War - Aaron Sorkin's screenplay cracks as some of the world's finest actors take on the sharpest dialogue of the year. Phillip Seymour Hoffman got an Oscar nod for his role in this movie and in a weaker year he would have easily won.
#12 - Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story - The best satire in years (not that this is saying much), walk Hard inserts it's lead Forrest Gump style into the history of rock n roll. John C Reilly is perfect as always and the music is gutbustingly awesome.
#11 - Stardust - Neil Gaiman provides the story for the best sci fi movie of the year, as this is also one of the funniest movies in the genre since The Princess Bride.
#19 - 3:10 To Yuma - A re-make of a forgotten Western movie, 3:10 stars Russell Crowe and Christian Bale in one of the most intense cat and mouse games in recent memory.
#18 - American Gangster - This movie has gotten a lot of comparisons to Scarface, but I actually think it's much better. Russell Crowe stars in this one as well, along with Denzel Washington in Russell Crowe's take on Martin Scorcese's genre.
#17 - Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix - The Potter movies just keep getting better and better. How many times can you see a 2 plus hour movie that seems like it's too short and skips over too many details?
#16 - Shoot 'Em Up - The most intense and hilarious action movie in years takes a Tarantino sense of humor and smacks it into a Jason Statham type movie starring the always brilliant Clive Owen.
#15 - Superbad - The third (and remarkably least) of the Apatow pictures this year, Superbad features the brilliant Michael Cera and the reliable Jonah Hill in a quest movie to buy booze illegally in order to score some ass only to have real life get in the way of the plan.
#14 - I Am Legend - A quick and to the point action movie that tells a great story and doesn't drag it's feet doing it. Will Smith picks yet another great script and should give his agent a raise.
#13 - Charlie Wilson's War - Aaron Sorkin's screenplay cracks as some of the world's finest actors take on the sharpest dialogue of the year. Phillip Seymour Hoffman got an Oscar nod for his role in this movie and in a weaker year he would have easily won.
#12 - Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story - The best satire in years (not that this is saying much), walk Hard inserts it's lead Forrest Gump style into the history of rock n roll. John C Reilly is perfect as always and the music is gutbustingly awesome.
#11 - Stardust - Neil Gaiman provides the story for the best sci fi movie of the year, as this is also one of the funniest movies in the genre since The Princess Bride.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Top 1000 Songs #620-#611
#620 - "Handle With Care" - The Traveling Wilburys - Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1 - The first and only Wilburys song on the list, "Handle With Care" is the biggest hit for the ultimate supergroup, combining the country rock styles of members Petty and Dylan with the vocals of Harrison and Orbison. Oh, and the lead singer of ELO is hanging out there too.
#619 - "Dimension" - Wolfmother - Wolfmother - The third and final Wolfmother song on the countdown, "Dimension" features a monster riff and that Sabbath/Zeppelin vocals that you just can't find anywhere else.
#618 - "Life In The Fast Lane" - The Eagles - Hotel California - The third of four Eagles songs in the top 1000, "Life In The Fast Lane" is the closest that the band came to a straight-up rock song with it's cutting lyrics and tremendous riff.
#617 - "Me And Bobby McGee" - Janis Joplin - Pearl - The first of three Joplin songs on the countdown, "Bobby McGee" is a cover of Kris Kristofferson's country classic and the only Janis song to hit #1.
#616 - "Man On The Moon" - R.E.M. - Automatic For The People - The fourth of twelve R.E.M. songs on the list, "Man" is one of the band's biggest hits and is about the legendary comic Andy Kaufman.
#615 - "Road To Joy" - Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning - The third of four Bright Eyes songs on the countdown, "Road To Joy" presents an indie folk emo hybrid performed to a sped-up version of the old classical music tune it stole it's name from.
#614 - "Kiss From A Rose" - Seal - One Night To Remember - The first and only song by seal on the list, "Kiss From A Rose" was one of the highlights of Batman Forever and definitely the peak of Seal's career.
#613 - "Even Flow" - Pearl Jam - Ten - The sixth of twenty-five Pearl Jam songs in the top 1000, "Even Flow" is one of the fastest songs in Pearl Jam's catalog and one of the first songs to solidify their reputation as a band with incomprehensible lyrics.
#612 - "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" - Elton John - Caribou - The third of eight Elton John songs on the countdown, "Don't Let" is one of Elton's greatest ballads with one of his best choruses.
#611 - "Lit Up" - Buckcherry - Buckcherry - The third and highest-charting Buckcherry song on the list, "Lit Up" is one of the last great Mainstream rock songs as the cocaine loving band carries the torch of Guns N Roses into the new millennium.
#619 - "Dimension" - Wolfmother - Wolfmother - The third and final Wolfmother song on the countdown, "Dimension" features a monster riff and that Sabbath/Zeppelin vocals that you just can't find anywhere else.
#618 - "Life In The Fast Lane" - The Eagles - Hotel California - The third of four Eagles songs in the top 1000, "Life In The Fast Lane" is the closest that the band came to a straight-up rock song with it's cutting lyrics and tremendous riff.
#617 - "Me And Bobby McGee" - Janis Joplin - Pearl - The first of three Joplin songs on the countdown, "Bobby McGee" is a cover of Kris Kristofferson's country classic and the only Janis song to hit #1.
#616 - "Man On The Moon" - R.E.M. - Automatic For The People - The fourth of twelve R.E.M. songs on the list, "Man" is one of the band's biggest hits and is about the legendary comic Andy Kaufman.
#615 - "Road To Joy" - Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning - The third of four Bright Eyes songs on the countdown, "Road To Joy" presents an indie folk emo hybrid performed to a sped-up version of the old classical music tune it stole it's name from.
#614 - "Kiss From A Rose" - Seal - One Night To Remember - The first and only song by seal on the list, "Kiss From A Rose" was one of the highlights of Batman Forever and definitely the peak of Seal's career.
#613 - "Even Flow" - Pearl Jam - Ten - The sixth of twenty-five Pearl Jam songs in the top 1000, "Even Flow" is one of the fastest songs in Pearl Jam's catalog and one of the first songs to solidify their reputation as a band with incomprehensible lyrics.
#612 - "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" - Elton John - Caribou - The third of eight Elton John songs on the countdown, "Don't Let" is one of Elton's greatest ballads with one of his best choruses.
#611 - "Lit Up" - Buckcherry - Buckcherry - The third and highest-charting Buckcherry song on the list, "Lit Up" is one of the last great Mainstream rock songs as the cocaine loving band carries the torch of Guns N Roses into the new millennium.
Top 1000 Bands #620-#611
#620 - Eddie Money - One of the great stars of 70's AOR, Eddie Money had a string of hits, but never created a truly great song.
#619 - Gomez - One of the most prominent bands in the second wave of Brit Pop, Gomez haven't had any big hits yet, but they've created several great albums.
#618 - The Pet Shop Boys - The least masculine of all New Wave bands, The Pet Shop Boys have a couple of big hits to their credit, but they didn't last very long.
#617 - Hank Williams - The grandfather of country music, Hank Williams laid the groundwork for every straight-up country singer who came after, leaving a trail of brilliant music nearly on par with Willie Nelson or Johnny Cash.
#616 - The Elected - An obscure indie rock band with a fantastic debut album and solid follow-up singles to date.
#615 - Linkin Park - For the most part, Linkin Park's music irritates me (especially the screaming idiot), but they've really improved over the years and they occasionally create a song that I really like.
#614 - The Verve Pipe - A late 90's band that had a huge hit with "Freshmen" and a series of smaller hits strewn across a few solid albums.
#613 - The Chemical Brothers - I don't generally like house music or techno, but the Chemical Brothers are pretty damn good at turning those genres into workable songs.
#612 - Johnny Thunders And The Heartbreakers - Johnny Thunders was an original member of the New York Dolls, one of the most important bands of all time if not quite one of the best. This is his project on his own, an important and outstanding '77 era punk band that created some of the most well-known songs of the genre.
#611 - Xibit - He doesn't really make albums anymore, but in the late 90's and early 21st century, Xibit was one of the best of the West Coast rappers.
#619 - Gomez - One of the most prominent bands in the second wave of Brit Pop, Gomez haven't had any big hits yet, but they've created several great albums.
#618 - The Pet Shop Boys - The least masculine of all New Wave bands, The Pet Shop Boys have a couple of big hits to their credit, but they didn't last very long.
#617 - Hank Williams - The grandfather of country music, Hank Williams laid the groundwork for every straight-up country singer who came after, leaving a trail of brilliant music nearly on par with Willie Nelson or Johnny Cash.
#616 - The Elected - An obscure indie rock band with a fantastic debut album and solid follow-up singles to date.
#615 - Linkin Park - For the most part, Linkin Park's music irritates me (especially the screaming idiot), but they've really improved over the years and they occasionally create a song that I really like.
#614 - The Verve Pipe - A late 90's band that had a huge hit with "Freshmen" and a series of smaller hits strewn across a few solid albums.
#613 - The Chemical Brothers - I don't generally like house music or techno, but the Chemical Brothers are pretty damn good at turning those genres into workable songs.
#612 - Johnny Thunders And The Heartbreakers - Johnny Thunders was an original member of the New York Dolls, one of the most important bands of all time if not quite one of the best. This is his project on his own, an important and outstanding '77 era punk band that created some of the most well-known songs of the genre.
#611 - Xibit - He doesn't really make albums anymore, but in the late 90's and early 21st century, Xibit was one of the best of the West Coast rappers.
Best Movies Of 2007 #30-#21
#30 - Eastern Promises - The latest screen pairing of David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises is a crackling mafia film with great performances and a scene set in a sauna that is among the most memorable of the year.
#29 - Once - If not for Juno and Walk Hard, this movie would run away with the Best Soundtrack award for the year. The movie's story isn't all that great, but the characters and especially the music make this film great.
#28 - Live Free Or Die Hard - After a lackluster third movie in the series, I had written the Die Hard movies off as done, but Live Free Or Die Hard is hilarious and has plenty of ridiculous action to satisfy the people who don't get the jokes.
#27 - Across The Universe - A trippy musical that envisions Beatles songs as telling a story of a group of friends living in the last 60's. Great visuals and great music throughout.
#26 - Hot Fuzz - I liked Shaun Of The Dead better, but Hot Fuzz is also hilarious, with great comedic moments sending up American action films.
#25 - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street - Easily the darkest musical ever made, Tim Burton teams up with his usual suspects Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter to make an incredibly entertaining bloodbath of a musical.
#24 - Ratatouille - Pixar and Brad Bird score yet another hit and yet another Academy Award win with this clever story of a rat in a gourmet resteraunt.
#23 - In The Valley Of Elah - Paul Haggis' follow-up to the vastly over-rated Crash, In The Valley Of Elah is a sharp and gut-churning drama that only barely lets it's foot off the gas at the end, keeping it from a higher score.
#22 - I'm Not There - Another weird movie from Todd Haynes, I'm Not There uses a series of actors and one actress to tell the life story of Bob Dylan, though Dylan is never actually named. Cate Blanchett plays Dylan for most of the movie and does the best job, remarkably.
#21 - Michael Clayton - Great performances permeate from every corner of the screen in this sharp and engrossing 70's throwback starring Tilda Swinton in an Academy Award winning performance and George Clooney and Tom Wilkinson in roles that could have won if this wasn't such an extraordinary year.
#29 - Once - If not for Juno and Walk Hard, this movie would run away with the Best Soundtrack award for the year. The movie's story isn't all that great, but the characters and especially the music make this film great.
#28 - Live Free Or Die Hard - After a lackluster third movie in the series, I had written the Die Hard movies off as done, but Live Free Or Die Hard is hilarious and has plenty of ridiculous action to satisfy the people who don't get the jokes.
#27 - Across The Universe - A trippy musical that envisions Beatles songs as telling a story of a group of friends living in the last 60's. Great visuals and great music throughout.
#26 - Hot Fuzz - I liked Shaun Of The Dead better, but Hot Fuzz is also hilarious, with great comedic moments sending up American action films.
#25 - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street - Easily the darkest musical ever made, Tim Burton teams up with his usual suspects Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter to make an incredibly entertaining bloodbath of a musical.
#24 - Ratatouille - Pixar and Brad Bird score yet another hit and yet another Academy Award win with this clever story of a rat in a gourmet resteraunt.
#23 - In The Valley Of Elah - Paul Haggis' follow-up to the vastly over-rated Crash, In The Valley Of Elah is a sharp and gut-churning drama that only barely lets it's foot off the gas at the end, keeping it from a higher score.
#22 - I'm Not There - Another weird movie from Todd Haynes, I'm Not There uses a series of actors and one actress to tell the life story of Bob Dylan, though Dylan is never actually named. Cate Blanchett plays Dylan for most of the movie and does the best job, remarkably.
#21 - Michael Clayton - Great performances permeate from every corner of the screen in this sharp and engrossing 70's throwback starring Tilda Swinton in an Academy Award winning performance and George Clooney and Tom Wilkinson in roles that could have won if this wasn't such an extraordinary year.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
New Shit This Week
DVDs:
BUY:
Beowulf - The visuals and the story in this movie are outstanding. I almost bought this one in Blu-Ray, but it's gonna look good enough on my upconvert DVD that it wasn't worth the extra money.
RENT:
30 Days Of Night - For a vampire movie, it's pretty good. For a movie, not so much.
The Darjeeling Limited - I damn near bought this one, but I figure there will be a Criterion Collection release at some point in the future, so I'm holding off for now.
Death At A Funeral - The indie farce that had a moderate amount of success, but never played in a theater near me. It should be worth a look.
Goya's Ghosts - I know nothing about this movie, but it's supposed to be fairly decent, so I'll give it a chance.
CDs:
Borrow It:
Rocket From The Crypt - R.I.P. - A cool band to be sure, but they don't really have a sure thing track record in my book.
BUY:
Beowulf - The visuals and the story in this movie are outstanding. I almost bought this one in Blu-Ray, but it's gonna look good enough on my upconvert DVD that it wasn't worth the extra money.
RENT:
30 Days Of Night - For a vampire movie, it's pretty good. For a movie, not so much.
The Darjeeling Limited - I damn near bought this one, but I figure there will be a Criterion Collection release at some point in the future, so I'm holding off for now.
Death At A Funeral - The indie farce that had a moderate amount of success, but never played in a theater near me. It should be worth a look.
Goya's Ghosts - I know nothing about this movie, but it's supposed to be fairly decent, so I'll give it a chance.
CDs:
Borrow It:
Rocket From The Crypt - R.I.P. - A cool band to be sure, but they don't really have a sure thing track record in my book.
New Movies This Week
SEE IT:
Semi-Pro: Will Ferrell in the 70's is almost always funny. This movie was a bit of a let-down, but it was still worth the viewing.
The Other Boleyn Girl: Granted, I've pretty much seen this movie on Showtime as The Tudors, but the film has one of the best casts of anything so far this year, so it's worth a look.
Penelope: It's been sitting on the shelf for a long time, but again, it features a lot of actors that I respect, so I'll probably check it out if I get an opportunity.
Semi-Pro: Will Ferrell in the 70's is almost always funny. This movie was a bit of a let-down, but it was still worth the viewing.
The Other Boleyn Girl: Granted, I've pretty much seen this movie on Showtime as The Tudors, but the film has one of the best casts of anything so far this year, so it's worth a look.
Penelope: It's been sitting on the shelf for a long time, but again, it features a lot of actors that I respect, so I'll probably check it out if I get an opportunity.
Modern Rock Update
Albums:
Nothing significant.
Modern and Mainstream Rock:
#1's:
Modern: The Foo Fighters - "Long Road To Ruin"
Mainstream: Puddle Of Mudd - "Psycho"
Debuts:
Modern: The Sick Puppies - "My World" - #20
Mainstream: 3 Doors Down - "It's Not My Time - #14
Apocalypta - "I'm Not Jesus" - #17
10 Years - "Beautiful" - #20
Nothing significant.
Modern and Mainstream Rock:
#1's:
Modern: The Foo Fighters - "Long Road To Ruin"
Mainstream: Puddle Of Mudd - "Psycho"
Debuts:
Modern: The Sick Puppies - "My World" - #20
Mainstream: 3 Doors Down - "It's Not My Time - #14
Apocalypta - "I'm Not Jesus" - #17
10 Years - "Beautiful" - #20
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