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.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)