Author Archives: acompleteunknown

The 11 Best Songs By Jason Isbell

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Today I made my yearly pilgrimage to the kinetic annual event known as E3.  Every video game that is coming out next year…and then some…is on display for people to play and experience months before the general public.  It’s a peep show for the video game community.  The PS4, Xbox One, WiiU, and Steven Spielberg were all on display.  It’s a theme park for people with ADD designed by people with ADHD.   It’s Vegas on stimulants. There’s so much happening all at the same time…it’s hard to absorb anything at all.  All the new games are so creative and original, it’s hard to get a grasp on them.  I found myself playing games I already knew because they felt comfortable.  Diablo, Lego Marvel, Mario…were the games that I enjoyed the most.  I played a bunch of new games…but honestly, I couldn’t remember a single one to save my life.  That said, I can’t wait to go back next year.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By Jason Isbell:

  1. Go It Alone (Here We Rest)
  2. Stopping By (Here We Rest)
  3. Good (Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit)
  4. However Long (Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit)
  5. Shotgun Wedding (Sirens of the Ditch)
  6. Alabama Pines (Here We Rest)
  7. The Magician (Sirens of the Ditch)
  8. Chicago Promenade (Sirens of the Ditch)
  9. Seven Mile Island (Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit)
  10. Hurricanes and Hand Grenades (Sirens of the Ditch)
  11. Daisy Mae (Here We Rest)

Buy Jason Isbell’s new album, Southeastern, now!!!

 

The 11 Best Songs By Cansei De Ser Sexy

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Today I met two people who made me feel old.  One person told me she never heard of Fleetwood Mac and was shocked that the were popular since she had never heard of them.  Granted she was sixteen.  The other had never heard of Star Trek…because she doesn’t watch old movies.  She was 25.  I get that the younger generation doesn’t appreciate what has come before them.  Sometimes I blame it on parenting, other times, I know kids just need to mature to appreciate the finer things in life. Or, these people are just idiots.  I’ll give the 16-year-old a free pass for Fleetwood Mac  But not knowing Star Trek?  The reboot is a huge blockbuster…today!  Like literally today.  I know people only have the capacity to take in what is current but if you don’t have a grasp on what has come before you, you won’t be able to evolve when things change…then you’ll be a nothing more than an obscure pop culture reference yourself.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By CSS:

  1. Music Is My Hot Hot Sex (Cansei De Ser Sexy)
  2. City Grrrl (La Liberacion)
  3. How I Became Paranoid (Donkey)
  4. I Love You (La Liberacion)
  5. Hits Me Like A Rock (La Liberacion)
  6. Superafim (Donkey)
  7. Rat Is Dead (Donkey)
  8. Fuckoffs Is Not The Only Thing You Have to Show (Cansei De Ser Sexy)
  9. Let’s Make Love And Listen To Sex From Above (Cansei De Ser Sexy)
  10. Move (Donkey)
  11. Knife (Friend)

Buy Cansei De Ser Sexy’s new album, Planta, now!

The Unknown: Capital Cities

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If Lollapalooza ruled the 90s, and Coachella owned the 00s, the teens belong to EDC.  The influence of electronic music is everywhere.  If you’re a new rock band and you don’t know how to dance, you might as well pack it up and move to Alaska (that’s because Alaskans are not known for dancing).  Capital Cities smashes 2009 Phoenix together with Foster The People in a tasty sandwich that is as comforting as peanut butter and jelly but exciting because someone brought along a banana.  That banana comes in the form of Andre 3000 who makes his first alt. rock cameo.  The lead single “Safe and Sound” may be the cool hit of the summer but this album will be warming our hearts until winter.

Check out: Origami

Buy Capital Cities new album, In A Tidal Wave Of Mystery…now!!!

The 11 Best Songs By Rogue Wave

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I got the new Samsung Galaxy S4.  No, this is not an advertisement for the phone. It’s more of an observation of how far phones have come so fast.  This phone is so advanced, I don’t even have to touch the screen.  Just with a wave of my hand, I can sift through pictures.  If I hover my finger over links, I can see previews.  The phone even detects my eye movement and scrolls automatically or pauses media when I look away.  Yeah, it is a lot of fun.  Just looking at my phone from two years ago, I’m blown away by the advances in such a short period of time.  My kids are about ten years away from owning their own phones.  I can’t even imagine what theirs will be like.  Will they even exist in a physical space?  It’s hard to comprehend but the phones we’re using now will be ancient and archaic to our kids.  My kids already know more about my phone than I do…and are better at using it.  They can’t drive a car but they can decipher the computer language that programs it.  The challenge to me won’t be to adjust to the ever changing digital landscape but to teach my kids to appreciate the convenience that comes with it.  And the dark times that we had to go through to get there.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By Rogue Wave:

  1. Love’s Lost Guarantee (Descended Like Vultures) 
  2. Harmonium (At Heaven’s Gate)
  3. Eyes (B-Side)
  4. Publish My Love (Descended Like Vultures)
  5. We Will Make A Song Destroy (Permalight)
  6. Chicago x 12 (At Heaven’s Gate)
  7. Seconds (Descended Like Vultures Bonus Track)
  8. Fantasies (At Heaven’s Gate)
  9. Falcon Settles Me (Out of the Shadow)
  10. Wait For It (10:1)
  11. Kicking the Heart Out (Out of the Shadow)

 

Buy Rogue Wave’s new album, Nightingale Floors…now!!!

 

The 11 Best Songs By Tricky

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Tricky’s career has been more schizophrenic than Margo Kidder in a Martin Lawrence acid flashback.  After his epic debut solo album, Maxinquaye, he has never returned to that opium den sexuality that he perfected.  And it’s not like he’s trying and failing…it’s more like he’s purposely trying to do anything but that. You have to admire his creative ambition to shed one skin for another without any knowledge that he could succeed at it.  It’s like going into the woods blind, hoping to find the ranger station.  And he has failed.  He has fallen flat on his face with pants down and whipped cream on his face.  But he has also stood right back up and continued forward without flashing a single regret.  His triumph is that he has continued to make good music.  In the fog of experimentation, he has broken through with many tracks filled with that fiery sensuality than no one else can do better.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By Tricky of the 00s:

 

  1. Five Days (Blowback)
  2. What Is Wrong (Vulnerable)
  3. Car Crash (Vulnerable)
  4. Excess (Blowback)
  5. Bacative (Knowle West Boy)
  6. Cross To Bear (Knowle West Boy)
  7. Stay (Vulnerable)
  8. Past Mistake (Knowle West Boy)
  9. The Love Cats (Vulnerable)
  10. Antimatter (Vulnerable)
  11. Evolution Revolution Love (Blowback)
Buy Tricky’s new album, False Idols…now!!

The 11 Best Songs By Alice in Chains

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The angst toward the new incarnation of Alice in Chains has reached a fevered pitch on this latest album.  I am not one of those people who believes a band should break up if a lead singer passes away.  AC/DC proved that you can replace a singer and still embody the spirit of the band.  That said, replacing anyone is always a high hurdle to overcome.  No matter who AIC picked there would always be someone out there who booed the choice.  But was their choice of William DuVall as new lead singer a good fit?  There’s no doubt DuVall can sing.  That’s not my issue with him.  To me, he lacks the chemistry that Staley had.  While Staley’s voice fought the drudge of the droning guitars, screaming to be out in front, DuVall’s voice seems to be content to fade into the background and get lost in the chorus. But the new version of the band isn’t just missing Staley…it’s also missing Cantrell.  What happened to him?  Listen to the guitar on the first minute of the song “Grind.”  There’s nothing even close to that on either of the two reunion albums.  It’s like he’s phoning it in, when he should be the visionary of the band.  He has always been the lead song writer in the group…so why has that element faded?  Is it that DuVall doesn’t push him?  You can’t lay it all at Staley’s passing because Cantrell’s solo albums are better than the new Alice in Chains albums.  Alice in Chains was truly one of the greatest rock bands of the 90s.  I’ll keep listening to them hoping one day they find their way back.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By Alice in Chains:

  1. Would? (Singles Soundtrack)
  2. Down In A Hole (Dirt)
  3. A Little Bitter (Last Action Hero Soundtrack)
  4. Man in the Box (Facelift)
  5. Right Turn (Sap)
  6. Heaven Beside You (Alice In Chains)
  7. Junkhead (Dirt)
  8. Brother (Sap)
  9. Nutshell (Jar of Flies)
  10. Bleed the Freak (Facelift)
  11. No Excuses (Jar Of Flies)

Buy the new Alice in Chains, The Devil Put The Dinosaurs Here…now!!

 

The 11 Best Songs By Creedence Clearwater Revival

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Am I the only who doesn’t love Pandora?  I’ve been listening at work lately just because I’m not allowed to load Spotify onto my computer.  I’ve created a few stations but after weeks of thumbs up and downs…my stations still seem to go off the rails.  My 80s metal station plays everything from Tom Petty to the Eagles to Madonna.  My trip hop station plays Coldplay, Bon Iver and Depeche Mode.  And my 90s grunge station plays Snoop Dogg, Green Day, and The Cure.  This one is possibly the worst of them all.  The 90s grunge station plays almost everything but 90s grunge.  It’s like anything that came out in the 90s is fair game.  Actually it’s more like any singer who has ever listened to a 90s song is fair game.  Here’s what I don’t understand, why are there not more parameters?  Why can’t I designate a specific set of years to play only?  Why can’t I choose certain artists to never play?  And why is Pandora obsessed with live albums?  I don’t want live songs.  When I want to listen to CCR I don’t want to hear some grainy live version from a 1960s cassette recorder.  I want the original version.  99% of all live albums suck.  I don’t my station to become overloaded with them because then 99% of my station would suck.  I get that part of Pandora’s deal is to get other music exposure…but it becomes too much of a nuisance than what’s the point of listening.

I miss the radio.  DJs actually knew what they were doing and had a real understanding of what we really wanted to hear.

Here are the 11 Best Creedence Clearwater Revival songs:

  1. Have You Ever Seen The Rain? (Pendulum)
  2. Fortunate Son (Willy and The Poor Boys)
  3. Lodi (Green River)
  4. I Heard It Through The Grapevine (Cosmo’s Factory)
  5. Who’ll Stop the Rain (Cosmo’s Factory)
  6. Down On the Corner (Willy and The Poor Boys)
  7. Bad Moon Rising (Green River)
  8. Long As I Can See The Light (Cosmo’s Factory)
  9. Lookin’ Out My Back Door (Cosmo’s Factory)
  10. Up Around the Bend (Cosmo’s Factory)
  11. I Put A Spell On You (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
Buy John Fogerty’s new album Wrote A Song For Everyone…now!!!

 

 

The Unknown: Kisses

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First we had Kiss…now we have Kisses.  And even though it’s the plural form of the word, there’s actually half the amount of members in the band.  On their sophomore release Kids in L.A., the band has been heavily influenced by Bret Easton Ellis’ iconic novel, Less Than Zero.  The whole album plays like a tribute to the Ellis’ Bible of teenage malaise.  The lyrics follow the exploits of characters who were seemingly ripped from the parties where Ellis’ characters played, while the music feels caked in 80s syrup.  It’s a dark peppy ride toward a teenager’s rite to immaturity.  Fun but grim.

Check out a remix of their new song The Hardest Part.

Buy Kids in LA by Kisses now!!!

The 11 Best Songs By the National

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This week saw the announcements of two highly anticipated upcoming releases.  On SNL this weekend, Kanye West previewed two new tracks from his new album, while on Monday, Microsoft announced that their new console, Xbox One, was coming soon.  When Kanye first went solo, he was considered a better producer than a rapper.  It’s like he knew that.  Since then on every album he’s upped his rap game along with his studio production…as if his inferiority complex has compelled to be the best in the rap game.  At the same time, when Microsoft introduced their first game console, they were going up against major players with the Sony Playstation and the Nintendo.  Both consoles seemed unstoppable and Microsoft was predicted to be a nothing more than a novelty in a couple of years.  But Microsoft took up the gauntlet and took the Xbox from rookie hype to team leader.  Sometimes in order to be the best you have to start on the bottom and fight your way up.  There’s nothing like proving your the best in the game than beating out everyone in your path to get there.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By The National:

  1. Conversation 16 (High Violet)
  2. Mistaken For Strangers (Boxer)
  3. Slipping Husband (Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers)
  4. Anyone’s Ghost (High Violet)
  5. Bloodbuzz Ohio (High Violet)
  6. Brainy (Boxer)
  7. Think You Can Wait (Think You Can Wait)
  8. Available (Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers) 
  9. So Far Around The Bend (Dark Was The Night)
  10. Terrible Love (High Violet)
  11. John’s Star (The National)
Buy The National’s new album, Trouble Will Find Me…now!!!

 

The 11 Best Songs By Daft Punk

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For 15 years, Daft Punk has redefined dance music, setting the bar so high…it seems like they’re the only ones who can top themselves.  This weeks Daft Punk’s new album once again redefines their genre.  The style of the new album incorporates their signature sound along with guest stars from alternative rock, hip-hop and funk.  It’s a like a bouillabaisse of everything was great, thrown together to create something new.  As their new era dawns, their previous era comes to a dark close.  Their song “One More Time,” from 2001’s Discovery features a prominent house DJ, Romanthony from New Jersey.  This past week, he passed away from kidney failure.  This is considered by many to be one of the greatest EDM dance songs of all time.  If not the best.  (Yeah, I know it’s only number 2 on this list…but let’s not discuss that).   It’s certainly not the way the duo would want to open their guest-heavy return…but in a way, it helps remind us of the guests that helped them get here in the first place.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By Daft Punk:

  1. Something About Us (Discovery)
  2. One More Time (Discovery)
  3. Robot Rock (Human After All)
  4. Digital Love (Discovery)
  5. Human After All (Human After All)
  6. Da Funk (Homework)
  7. Face To Face (Discovery)
  8. Aerodynamic (Discovery)
  9. Television Rules the Nation (Human After All)
  10. Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Discovery)
  11. Around The World (Homework)
Buy Daft Punk’s new album, Random Access Memories…now!!