Today is the Super Bowl. The day when we celebrate what it means to be American. We eat, drink, watch sports and pass out. Here’s our pre-game warm-up for all you Seahawk fans.
Here are the 11 Best Bands from Seattle (or close by):
At the end of the day, the top albums came down to the ones I found myself listening to the most. There were albums I respected but I never had the urge to play, so they ended up lower on the list. These were the albums that kept finding themselves in my heavy rotation. These albums deserve top billing.
Probably the biggest surprise here is the U2 album. I have no idea why so many people criticized its delivery method. People have been complaining that the old system doesn’t work anymore; labels and bands need to try new things. U2 did. They gave the fans exactly what they asked for and the people still complained. People didn’t complain this much about Zooropa (which deserved it). My favorite criticism of the band is now they’re corporate. I hate to break it to you all, any band on a record label is corporate. U2 took a risk and I commend them for it. I’d rather a band take a risk and fail then play it safe and be ordinary. If people stopped complaining and listened, they might actually be surprised.
Here are the 55 Best Albums of 2014 (1-11):
1. Broken Bells - After the Disco 2. Antemasque - Antemasque 3. Eagulls - Eagulls 4. TV On The Radio - Seeds 5. White Sea - White Sea 6. Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues 7. Cheatahs - Cheatahs 8. Jack White - Lazaretto 9. James Vincent McMorrow - Post-Tropical 10. Run The Jewels - RTJ2 11. U2 - Songs of Innocence
Buy all of these albums and more…now!!
Lots of guilty pleasures on the list today. And I may be the only one on the planet who liked the Foster the People album.
Here are the 55 Best Albums of 2014 (12-22):
12. Foster The People - Supermodel 13. Conor Oberst - Upside Down Mountain 14. Klaxons - Love Frequency 15. Spoon - They Want My Soul 16. Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence 17. Gardens & Villas - Dunes 18. First Aid Kit - Stay Gold 19. Pure X - Angel 20. The War On Drugs - Lost In The Dream 21. The Sunshine Underground - The Sunshine Underground 22. FKA Twigs - LP1
Buy these albums and more now!!!
There have been questions about this year’s countdown…to answer the big one: I did not do a poll this year. Though I promised, I ran out of my time in my life, day job, and parenting duties. So, this year, you’re just going to have to live with my list and my list only. Enjoy the kitty.
Here are the 55 Best Albums of 2014 (23-33):
23. Johnny Cash - Out among the Stars 24. Movement - Movement EP 25. Ryan Adams - Ryan Adams 26. Jenny Lewis - The Voyager 27. Merchandise - After the End 28. Beck - Morning Phase 39. Y.G. - My Krazy Life 30. You Blew It! - Keep Doing What You're Doing 31. Cloud Nothings - Here And Nothing Else 32. The Black Keys - Turn Blue 33. Claire - The Great Escape
Buy these albums and more…now!!!
2014 was filled with 90s superstars, indie rap reinvention, 80s throwbacks, and some of the best EPs to come out in recent memory.
The 55 Best Albums of 2014 (34-44):
34. Nothing - Guilty of Everything 35. D'Angelo - Black Messiah 36. Protomartyr - Under Color of Official Right 37. Future Islands - Singles 38. LA Dispute - The Rooms of the House 39. Freddie Gibbs and Madlib - Pinata 40. Stevie Nicks - 24 Karat Gold 41. Smashing Pumpkins - Monuments To An Elegy 42. Schoolboy Q - Oxymoron 43. Ought - More Than Any Other Day 44. Small Black - Real People EP
Buy these albums and more…now!!!
Back from vacation and back on the horse. I will be attending Sundance next week and will keep on top of all the music shenanigans happening. Until then, let’s finish off 2014 the right way.
Here are the 55 Best Albums of 2014 (45-55):
45. Kele - Trick 46. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Only Run 47. Phantogram - Voices 48. Metronomy - Love Letters 49. The Faint - Doom Abuse 50. Death From Above 1979 - This Physical World 51. PS I Love You - For Those Who Stay 52. Sharon Van Etten - Are We There? 53. Tom Petty - Hypnotic Eye 54. Chris Robinson Brotherhood - Phosphorescent Harvest 55. Pixies - Indie Cindy
It’s December, which means it’s time for the onslaught of best of lists. They’ve been pouring on hot and heavy over the past few days. I will get to my annual best of list this week…including my massive 111 best of list with help from all you pretty people. But I like to wait a couple weeks and scour other “best of” lists in case there’s an album out there I’ve missed. You never know…the new Smashing Pumpkins and Charli XCX are supposedly pretty epic. Here’s the last of my catch-up list
My first introduction to TV on The Radio was on a bachelor party trip about 10 years ago. Strangely, that marriage is over but TVOTR is still rocking stronger than ever. When I first heard the feedback-laden caterwaul that would become TVOTR’s staple sound it made my skin crawl in the way a trailer for an exciting new movie can give you a rush. (think the Millenium Falcon racing onto the screen in the new Star wars trailer) Sadly, I was the only one on the trip who loved what we were listening to. After three songs from Desparate Youth, the guys in the car voted to remove the CD and move onto something more palpable like…Dave Matthews (yes, it was hell). All I wanted to do was get home so I could listen to the album…but I was stuck at the bachelor party enduring fancy dinners, drinking, and strip clubs. Even though Tom Petty may disagree, the waiting isn’t always the hardest part.
Here are the 11 Best Songs By TV On The Radio:
Buy TV On The Radio’s new album, Seeds!!!
Don’t forget to check out our blog’s awesome book The 111 Best Lists of the 2000s. Available now! (featuring TV On The Radio)
Twenty-five years down the road, the Pumpkins continue to kick ass.
Here are the 111 Best Smashing Pumpkins Songs:
Buy Smashing Pumpkins new album, Monuments To An Elegy…now!
This evening my kids attended a dance party at their elementary school. When you’re dealing with kids from as little as five up to the age of eleven, you want to be sure the music is as PG-rated as possible. I was blown away by the DJs and their lack of discretion in the music. It’s not the bad language that bothered me as much as the content. I’d rather my kids hear Eddie Vedder grumble a “harmless little fuck” than have them listen to “Blurred Lines.” But the content wasn’t a total back breaker as much as the lack of content was disappointing. Most of their selection was very narrow. A majority of the music fell purely in the rap sector and primarily focused on crunk. It’s fine for a few songs but when 4 out of 5 songs is the same narrow genre, it feels lazy. The most variety was a Meghan Trainer or Taylor Swift song. They played one Michael Jackson song which was the highlight of the night. It made me realize how difficult (and it’s shocking to say this) being a good DJ is. A great DJ can mix rap, pop, rock, and even country. A DJ who knows what their doing can mix Lil Wayne and Nirvana. A DJ is supposed to appeal to everyone in the crowd, even the back row. About half way through the dance, people started leaving. Part of it was bedtimes, the other part was a boredom in the music. That’s the opposite of what a good DJ should do. So tonight, go out, dance, and if there’s a good DJ playing, give them a big hug.
Here are the 11 Best Songs By David Guetta:
Buy David Guetta’s new album, Listen, now!!!
A couple weeks ago, I did a comprehensive break down of Wilco’s b-side collection and what were the best tracks from the package. Like Wilco, Soundgarden has released a collection pulling all their b-side and rare tracks from their epic career. Also like Wilco, 90% of these tracks were all previously released and have been readily available on CD singles, soundtracks, and compilations. So here’s a look at the best of the extra songs that Soundgarden has to offer that never made it to a proper album.
Here are the 11 Best B-Sides By Soundgarden:
Buy Soundgarden’s new B-Sides album, Echo of Miles…now!!!