Favourite Albums of 2014 (so far)

With a little over two-thirds of the year behind us, I thought I'd run down my faves thus far. At this point there are less than ten I would list as real favourites--something I go back to repeatedly. Makes me wonder a bit if it's true that the album is dead...  Anyway, here they are in rough order, most favourite first.

1. Spoon – “They Want My Soul”  --  I've always liked Spoon, but this is a nearly perfect set of tunes.

2. Armand Margjeka – “Hummingbird”  --  This one caught me by surprise.  At first unfamiliar with him as an artist, I continue to be intrigued by several of the songs on this album. "If" and "Castles" are definite standouts.

3. Magic Man – “Before the Waves”  --  So far their single "Paris" is at the top of my favourite songs of 2014 list. They are alternapop and rely on synthesizers a fair amount. This album is a great debut.

4. Blondie – “Ghosts of Download”  --  This release surprised me perhaps the most. Blondie had my attention way back with "Heart of Glass" and then "The Tide Is High" and "Rapture."  This album is wide ranging, but there are truly enjoyable songs like "Euphoria," "Mile High," "A Rose By Any Name," and "Sugar on the Side."

5. Broken Bells  – “After the Disco” --  I will never not like Broken Bells and the Shins. Period.

6. Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s  --  “Sling Shot to Heaven” --  Finally a true return to form after a few albums of more experimental stuff.

7. Caught a Ghost – “Human Nature” --  Another surprisingly strong debut mixing rock, soul, and blues. I really love the songs "No Sugar in My Coffee" and "Time Go."

Retrospective Appreciation: "Technique" by New Order, 1989

So it's been 25 years since this album was released...and I still go back to it as one of my favorites. The first single, "Fine Time," at first was a head scratcher for me, but it grew to be one of my favorites. It was very different from what I had grown to expect from New Order, but, again, it really grew on me. "Run" was more true to form and another favorite. "Round and Round" was also more characteristic of their sound. "Vanishing Point" and "Dream Attack" are two other standouts. This has become a perennial go-to album for me. 

12 THINGS YOU (PROBABLY) DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT TECHNIQUE

Favorite/Favourite Albums of 2013

My top ten albums for 2013 are a mixed bag.

01. Bastille – “Bad Blood”
02. The National – “Trouble Will Find Me”
03. The Zolas – “Ancient Mars”
04. Franz Ferdinand – “Right Thoughts Right Words Right Action”
05. Django Django – “Django Django”
06. Vampire Weekend – “Modern Vampires of the City”
07. Father John Misty – “Fear Fun”
08. Foals – “Holy Fire”
09. Frightened Rabbit – “Pedestrian Verse”
10. eels – “Wonderful, Glorious”

Bastille took the top spot for me. This U.K. band is somewhat "poppy" I will admit, but in the best way possible. They also make use of very distinctive percussion on many of their songs. I can say it holds up for me still after multiple plays, and I have faves that rotate based on mood.

Standout tracks: my current fave "Things We Lost in the Fire," "Bad Blood," "Icarus," "Oblivion," "Flaws," "Laura Palmer," "Weight of Living, Pt. I," and the big hit "Pompeii"
(I should add, any album that contains four or more faves is relatively rare for me.)

Favorite/Favourite Songs of 2013

Here's my list of faves for 2013. Deal with it.

1. “Dead Now” – Frightened Rabbit
2. “Ancient Mars” – the Zolas  

3. “Lightning Tent” – Wildlife

4. “A Rose by Any Name” – Blondie featuring Beth Ditto

5. “Graceless” – the National
6. “Right Action” – Franz Ferdinand
7. “Archie, Marry Me” – Alvvays
8. “Flaws” - Bastille
9. “We Were Wolves” – the Farewell Circuit
10. “The Hunter” – On and On

11. “Inhaler” - Foals
12. “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings” – Father John Misty
13. “Default” – Django Django
14. “Diane Young” – Vampire Weekend
15. “Lean” – the National
16. “Best Day of My Life” – American Authors
17. “Ways to Go” - Grouplove
18. “We Are Golden” – Black Light Dinner Party
19. “Elastic Heart” - Sia
20. “Weirdo” – the Vaccines

21. “AOK” – Shark?
22. “Jet Black Crow” – Sons of the Sea
23. “Pompeii” – Bastille

24. “Ghost Lights” - Woodkid 
25. “Feels Like We Only Go Backward” – Tame Impala
26. “Firewater” – Django Django
27. “Sea of Love” – the National
28. “U&Me” - Earlimart
29. “Miracle Mile” – Cold War Kids
30. “Gold” – Wake Owl
31. “New Earth” – Zerbin
32. “Peach Blossom” - eels
33. “Sweater Weather” – the Neighbourhood

34. “Unbelievers” – Vampire Weekend
35. “Put Me to Work” - Papa
36. “Ever Loved Once” – Blitzen Trapper
37. “Brief Encounters” – Franz Ferdinand
38. “Tightrope (Reddfield Deep Radio Edit)” – Matt Alber
39. “Pumpin’ Blood” – NoNoNo
40. “I Love You” – Woodkid

41. “Shuggie” - Foxygen
42. “Radioactive” – Imagine Dragons
43. “Parade” – Three Blind Wolves
44. “Do I Wanna Know?” – Arctic Monkeys
45. “The Perfect Life” - Moby
46. “GMF” – John Grant 

47. “Black Chandelier” – Biffy Clyro
48. “Harbour Lights” – A Silent Film
49. “Weird Science” – Most Non Heinous
50. “Hearts Are Made for Beating” – Wax Fang
51. “Put a Light on” - Generationals
52. “This Is Sally Hatchet” – Father John Misty
53. “Animals” – Cultfever
54. “Knot in My Heart” – the Zolas
55. “I’m a Witch” - Ladyhawk
56. “Golden State” – City and Colour
57. “A Goodbye” – Earlimart
58. “Die in My Arms” – Marching Band
59. “Dust and Bones” – Night Terrors of 1927
60. “The Way I Tend to Be” – Frank Turner

61. “Cardiac Arrest” – Bad Suns
62. “Breakers” – Local Natives
63. “Frosted Tips (Watching the New World Die)” - Califone
64. “Bad Blood” - Bastille
65. “In Came the Flood” – Wintersleep
66. “Breezeblocks” – Alt J

67.  “Conquest of Spaces” – Woodkid

68. “America” – Laura Veirs
69. “Awkward” – San Cisco
70. “Live and Die” – the Avett Brothers
71. “Power Lines” - Telekinesis
72. “Feeling Good” – the Sheepdogs
73. “Timeless” – the Airborne Toxic Event
74. “The Woodpile” – Frightened Rabbit
75. “From Nowhere” – Dan Coll
76. “Wishes and Stars” – Harper SImon
77. “Home” – Phillip Phillips
78. “Hellbent” – New Order
79. “Laura Palmer” - Bastille
80. “Elephant” – Tame Impala

81. “I Love You” – Said the Whale  

82. “Hearts a Mess” - Gotye

83. “Good to See You” – Grapes of Wrath
84. “My Number” – Foals
85. “Bigger Than Love” – Benjamin Gibbard with Aimee Mann
86. “Nancy From Now On” – Father John Misty
87. “Kinda Fuzzy” - eels
88. “Fantasy” – MS MR
89. “Heart Attack” – Blitzen Trapper 

90. “Avalon” – Fiction Family
91. “Everlasting Arms” – Vampire Weekend
92. “Harlem” – New Politics
93. “The Walker” – Fitz and the Tantrums
94. “Heavy Feet” – Local Natives
95. “Believer” – American Authors
96. “Thirst” – City and Colour
97. “Awake” - Generationals
98. “Love Songs and Lullabyes” - Skittish
99. “Nothing Is Anything” - Wintersleep
100. “Born to Ruin” – Wildlife

101. “Just Make It Stop” – Low

102. “Cultured Man” – the Zolas
103. “Down Down the Deep River” – Okkervil River
104. “The Wire” – Haim
105. “Six Dead Tigers” – Yukon Blonde
106. “Don’t Swallow the Cap” – the National
107. “I’m Going Down” – Vampire Weekend
108. “Things We Lost in the Fire” - Bastille

109. “The Golden Age” – Woodkid
110. “Take It on Faith” – Matt Mays
111. “Now I’m Learning to Love the War” - Father John Misty
112. “Someday Our Love Will Sell Us Out” - Cracker
113. “Just My Luck” - Dawes
114. “I See You” – Caveman
115. “Overrated” – Soft Swells
116. “Bones” – MS MR
117. “Achille’s Desire” - Whitehorse
118. “Out of the Blue” – Prides
119. “Plastic Cup” - Low
120. “This Ladder Is Ours” – the Joy Formidable
121. “Up Against the Wall” – Fiction Family
122. “I’ve Got a Feeling” – New Order
123. “Wor” – Django Django

124. “Ghosts and Creatures” – Telekinesis
125. “Late Night” - Foals
126. “College” – Rogue Wave
127. “Welcome to My World” – Depeche Mode
128. “Shake It Off” – Soft Swells

Glitter Vomit!

"Fantasy" by MS MR is a relatively cool song, but the imagery that cannot be ignored is the colorful glitter vomit that begins at the 2-minute mark in the video. Well done! This is certainly no video cliché.

Franz Ferdinand Return with a Great New Single and Video

Love, love, love this new video and single. Gets me as excited as I used to be in the 80s when a new song and video came out for one of my then favorite bands. Thank you, Franz Ferdinand!

Blondie's New Single

Blondie was one of the first groups I ever got into as a teenager. Dating myself severely, I admit this was the early 1980s... "The Tide Is High," "Rapture," and the shamefully underrated follow up album "The Hunter." I've continued to keep up with them as they've regrouped and released things sporadically. Then, today, I came across this new song on YouTube: "A Rose By Any Name." Instantly liked it. Here Debbie Harry and co. team with Beth Ditto, lead singer for the Gossip, to create a slab of nifty new new wave dance... great bassline too! Win!

GMF

"Don't forget you could be laughing 65 percent more of the time...
You could be laughing 63 percent more of the time...
You could be lauging 25 percent more of the time..."
GMF by John Grant

No Fear of Father John Misty

Recently, I discovered "Fear Fun" by Father John Misty, and it's been a welcome discovery. It's a fusion of folk, rock, and the kind of music made in the early 1970s. Yet, it's its own animal, and it is thoroughly enthralling... A standout track is "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings," which is entirely enhanced by a nifty video featuring Aubrey Plaza from the TV show Parks and Recreation, one of my favorite shows...

I love the lyrics too...

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings
by Father John Misty

Jesus Christ, girl
What are people gonna think
When I show up to one of several funerals
I've attended for grandpa this week
With you
With me

Someone's got to help me dig
Someone's got to help me dig

Jesus Christ, girl
It hasn't been long so it seems
Since I was picking out an island and a tomb for you
At the Hollywood Cemetery
You kiss
On me

We should let this dead guy sleep
We should let this dead guy sleep

Jesus Christ, girl
I laid up for hours in a daze
Retracing the expanse of your American back
With Adderall and weed in my veins
You came
I think
Cause the marble made my cheeks look pink
But I'm unsure of so many things

Someone's got to help me dig
Someone's got to help me dig
Someone's got to help me dig

The latest from the Farewell Circuit

Minneapolis-based band the Farewell Circuit just released a new EP "We Were Wolves." I'm totally enamored of the title track. It's definitely got an indie sensibility with jangly guitars and such. But the lyrics make the song for me. Maybe it's a call to break out of our lives of quiet desperation as Thoreau said... The video certainly reinforces that theme. This song definitely deserves to be big on college radio at least. This is a band that created one of my favorite songs of 2010, "Christmas Bird" -- which was a b-side that really resonated with me at the time.

Songs of the Moment

Excellent songs stuck in my brain lately include (in no particular order):

"Inhaler" by Foals

"Black Chandelier" by Biffy Clyro

"Dead Now" by Frightened Rabbit

"Ancient Mars" by the Zolas

"Shuggie" by Foxygen

"Gold" by Wake Owl

Five Months of Winter

So, my last post was in January, when it is appropriate to have very cold temperatures. Here it is, March 18, and the current temp is 9°F (-8°F with wind chill). Yes, that cold on March 18... Calendar spring is only a few days away. I admit I've chosen to live here in the almost Arctic tundra of northern Minnesota, but geez, winter is getting on my nerves.

Relatively Warm...

i still find it somewhat odd that after a couple of weeks of temps ranging from -5°F to -20°F when we now find ourselves in temps slightly above zero we say that the weather is "warm" -- i cannot argue that it doesn't feel warm--because it does--but sheesh, is 3°F really "warm"?

A Gross (144) of Favourite Songs of 2012

(some may have been released earlier but I became aware of them in 2012)

1. “Beetle in the Box” – Admiral Fallow
2. “No Way Down” – the Shins
3. “Let Them Bleed” – Toggi
4. “Skyscrapers” – OK Go
5. “Safe and Sound” – Capital Cities
6. “All the Little Things” – Ben Cocks
7. “It’s Time” – Imagine Dragons
8. "Yer Spring” – Hey Rosetta!
9. “Sweeter” – Gavin Degraw
10. “Somebody That I Used to Know” – Gotye feat. Kimbra

11. “Dirty Paws” – Of Monsters and Men
12. “The Grand Optimist” – City and Colour
13. “Gold on the Ceiling” – the Black Keys
14. "Simple Song” – the Shins
15. “Trojans” – Atlas Genius
16. “Forest Whitaker” – Bad Books
17. “How’d You Like That?” – the Kooks
18. “The Stand” – Mother Mother
19. “Treading Water” – Alex Clare
20. “Ho Hey” – the Lumineers

21. “Where the Kids Are” – Blondfire
22. “Hold On When You Get Love, Let Go When You Give It” - Stars
23. "Kill Your Heroes” - AWOLnation
24. “We’re Far Enough From Heaven Now We Can Freak Out” – Deep Cotton
25. “Running Lights (Denial)” – Skittish
26. “Boredom and Joy” – Jets Overhead
27. “Madness” - Muse
28. “Blood for Poppies” – Garbage
29. “It’s Nice to Be Alive” – Ball Park Music
30. “Easy Way Out” - Gotye
31. “Don’t Stop Lovin’ Me” – Pomplamoose
32. “We Come Running” – Youngblood Hawke
33. “Girl in a Coat” – Blitzen Trapper
34. “Come Back Down” – Greg Laswell
35. “Burn It Down” – Linkin Park
36. “September” – the Shins
37. "Little Talks” – Of Monsters and Men
38. “N.Y.E.” – Dinosaur Bones
39. “Americanarama” - Hollerado
40. “Reagan’s Skeleton” - Yeasayer
41. “Female Robbery” – the Neighbourhood
42. “Houdini” – Foster the People
43. “Bright Whites” – Kishi Bashi
44. “Symptoms” – Atlas Genius
45. “Default” – Django Django
46. “Baby Don’t Dance” – Mother Mother
47. “Wolves” – Big Wreck
48. “Too Close” – Alex Clare
49. “Reunion” – M83
50. “Called Out in the Dark” – Snow Patrol

51. “Let’s Fall in Love” – Mother Mother
52. “Change” – Churchill
53. “Company” – Andy Burrows
54. "Days Are Forgotten” – Kasabian
55. “Cheerleader” – St. Vincent
56. “I’m the One Leaving You” – Bend Sinister
57. “It’s Only Life” – the Shins
58. “Living a Lie” – Aimee Mann and James Mercer
59. “Yet Again” – Grizzly Bear
60. “Lindsay” – Eliott Brood
61. “Three White Horses” – Andrew Bird
62. “It Gets Old To Be Alone” – the Wooden Sky
63. “Strange Attractor” – Animal Kingdom
64. “Wild Country” – Wake Owl
65. “Feed the Dada” – Dada Life
66. “Safer Than Love” – Bell X1
67. “Clone” – Metric
68. “Keep It for Your Own” – POP ETC
69. “Don’t Leave Me” – Regina Spektor
70. “Would That Not Be Nice?” – Divine Fits
71. “Work Around It” – Them Swoops
72. “Everybody Knows” – Jukebox the Ghost
73. “Here We Go” – the Spring Standards
74. “Fire Escape” – Civil Twilight
75. “Save Me” – Gotye
76. “I Might Drop By” – Greg Laswell
77. “Are You Gonna Waste My Time?” – Zeus
78. “Love Interruption” – Jack White
79. “On the Run” – Kaiser Chiefs
80. "Too Cold” – Current Swell
81. “Chained” – the xx
82. “Soon Enough” – Aimee Mann
83. “Go Ego” – Eight and a Half
84. “Easy Come Easy Go” – Great Lake Swimmers
85. "Apple Pie” – Nelson Can
86. “Simply Simple” – Mother Mother
87. “Eyeoneye” – Andrew Bird
88. “Rain” – the Gin Club
89. “On and On” – Noah and the MegaFauna
90. “Overwhelmed” – Tim McMorris
91. “The Theory of Relativity” - Stars
92. “Untouched and Arrived” – Ace Reporter
93. “Hey Joe” – Blitzen Trapper
94. “Broken Chair” – Chris and Thomas
95. “Sappho” – Tribes
96. “How It Starts” – the Features
97. “Hummingbird” – Alex Clare
98. “Being Alone” – Love on a Real Train
99. “Same Mistakes” – the Echo-Friendly
100. “Disappeared” – Aimee Mann

101. “Life Is a Bitch Slap” – My Radio
102. “Youth without Youth” – Metric
103. “California” – Delta Spirit
104. “Bait and Switch” – the Shins
105. “Rock and Roll Forever” – the Whigs
106. “Story of My Life” – Eat More Cake
107. “Gun-Shy” – Grizzly Bear
108. “Never Go Back” – Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
109. “Warrior” - Kimbra
110. “Welcome to Pittsburgh” – River City Extension
111. “Mountain Sound” – Of Monsters and Men
112. “We Are Young” – fun.
113. “Headlights” – Morning Parade
114. “All in Vain” – the Vaccines
115. “A Heavy Abacus” – the Joy Formidable
116. “Live to Rise” – Soundgarden
117. “Video Games” – Lana Del Ray
118. “Give It Back” – the Ting Tings
119. “Won’t Come Home” – Bad Breaks
120. “Killing Switch” – Last Lynx
121. “Days Go By” – the Offspring
122. “One More Night” – Maroon 5
123. “Stay Gold” – the Big Pink
124. “Paddling Out” – Miike Snow
125. “Sixteen Saltines” – Jack White
126. “Aftershave Ocean” – the Vaccines
127. “Happy” – Mother Mother
128. “Tides” – the xx
129. “At Transformation” – the Tragically Hip
130. “Octopus” – Bloc Party
131. “Hall of Mirrors” – the Helio Sequence
132. “Settle Down” – White Arrows
133. “Come to Life” – Lots of Love
134. “Built to Break (Anger)” - Skittish
135. “Give Me Love” – Ed Sheeran
136. “Do Your Own Time” – A.C. Newman
137. “Complications” – Philistines
138. “Champion” – the Chevin
139. “Become Someone Else’s” – Jens Lekman
140. “Pontoon” – Little Big Town
141. “Weirdo” – the Vaccines
142. “A Simple Answer” – Grizzly Bear
143. “Frank Left” – Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s
144. “American Horror Story Theme” – Murder House

Favorite TV Shows - 2012 Edition

Anyone who knows me knows I watch a lot of television. Well, let me rephrase that, the TV in my house is on a lot, and I watch certain shows... To be honest, the TV is on mostly for background noise. I will admit to this, however:  2012 had some truly interesting and worthy shows that captured my imagination moreso than recent years.  Here are 20 of my favorites in alphabetical order.  Those in bold were my top five faves.

Adventure Time (Cartoon Network)
American Horror Story: Asylum (FX)
Bob’s Burgers (FOX)
Breaking Bad (AMC)
Community (NBC)
The Daily Show (Comedy Central)
Futurama (Comedy Central)
Game of Thrones (HBO)
Girls (HBO)
Grimm (NBC)
Louie (FX)
Mad Men (AMC)
Parenthood (NBC)
Parks and Recreation (NBC)
Portlandia (IFC)
The Simpsons (FOX)
South Park (Comedy Central)
30 Rock (NBC)
The Walking Dead (AMC)
Weeds (Showtime)

It's been awhile...

...time flies, eh? Since it's been so long, I'll start off slowly.

 FAVOURITE SONGS of 2012 (so far)

1. “Beetle in the Box” – Admiral Fallow
2. “No Way Down” – the Shins
3. “Let Them Bleed” – Toggi
4. “Skyscrapers” – OK Go
5. “All the Little Things” – Ben Cocks
6. “Somebody That I Used to Know” – Gotye
7. “It’s Time” – Imagine Dragons
8. “Gold on the Ceiling” – the Black Keys
9. “Sweeter” – Gavin Degraw
10. "Little Talks” – Of Monsters and Men
11. “The Grand Optimist” – City and Colour
12. "Yer Spring” – Hey Rosetta!
13. "Simple Song” – the Shins
14. “Trojans” – Atlas Genius
15. “How’d You Like That?” – the Kooks
16. “The Stand” – Mother Mother
17. “Treading Water” – Alex Clare
18. “Ho Hey” – the Lumineers
19. “Houdini” – Foster the People
20. “Where the Kids Are” – Blondfire

21. “Forest Whitaker” – Bad Books
22. “Hold On When You Get Love, Let Go When You Give It” - Stars
23. “Boredom and Joy” – Jets Overhead
24. "Days Are Forgotten” – Kasabian
25. “We Are Young” – fun.
26. “Kill Your Heroes” - AWOLnation
27. “Blood for Poppies” – Garbage
28. “Madness” - Muse
29. “It’s Nice to Be Alive” – Ball Park Music
30. “Easy Way Out” - Gotye
31. “Don’t Stop Lovin’ Me” – Pomplamoose
32. “Girl in a Coat” – Blitzen Trapper
33. “Come Back Down” – Greg Laswell
34. “Burn It Down” – Linkin Park
35. “September” – the Shins
36. “Dirty Paws” – Of Monsters and Men
37. “N.Y.E.” – Dinosaur Bones
38. “Americanarama” - Hollerado
39. “Reagan’s Skeleton” - Yeasayer
40. “Called Out in the Dark” – Snow Patrol

FAVOURITE SONGS of 2011

1."Free The Pterodactyl 3" – Hot Club de Paris 

2.“Second Chance” – Peter, Bjorn and John 

3."Death of the Americas, Part 2” – Hello Dragon 

4."The Winter" – Cake 

5."On Your Own” – James Yuill 

6.“Colours” – Grouplove 

7."Devils” – Say Hi 

8.“Love Love” – Take That 

9.“Love the Way You Walk Away” – Blitzen Trapper 

10.“Überlin” – R.E.M. 

11."I Follow Rivers” – Lykke Li 

12.“Crystal Vases” – the Last Royals 

13.“Lions in Cages” – Wolf Gang 

14.“Pumped Up Kicks” – Foster the People 

15.“Feeding Line” – Boy & Bear 

16."Say for Certain” – Generationals 

17."Start It Up” – Little Eskimos 

18.“N/A OK” - USS 

19.“Jump Into the Fog” – the Wombats

20.“Post Break-Up Sex” – the Vaccines 

21.“Tongue Tied” – Grouplove 

22.“Changing” – the Airborne Toxic Event 

23.“Cost” – Folly and the Hunter 

24.“Darling Buds of May” – Viva Brother 

25.“Astronaut” – Blitzen Trapper 

26."History of Modern, Pt. 1” – Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark 

27."Love and Leave” – Scattered Trees 

28."Running With Insanity” – Alcoholic Faith Mission 

29.“Deep Oblivion” – David Lowery 

30."Who Knows, Who Cares?” – Local Natives 

31."The Only Exception” – Paramore* 

32.“The Fall” – Gary Numan 

33.“Paradise” - Coldplay 

34."Boots Electric Theme” – Boots Electric 

35."Wake and Be Fine” – Okkervil River 

36.“Civilian” – Wye Oak 

37."Mine Smell Like Honey” – R.E.M. 

38.“Say Goodbye” - Falcon 

39."Sick of You” – Cake 

 40.“Don’t Stop (Color on the Walls)” – Foster the People 

41.“For Everything a Reason” – Carina Round 

42.“Cats and Dogs” – the Head and the Heart 

43.“Promises, Promises” – Incubus 

44.“Diamonds in Her Eyes” – Pajama Club 

45.“Sail” - AWOLNation 

46.“The Internet Killed the Video Star” – Limousines 

47.“Aberdeen” – Cage the Elephant 

48.“Might Find It Cheap” – Blitzen Trapper 

49.“Midnight City” – M83 

50.“Cough Syrup” – Young the Giant 

51."The King and All of His Men” – Wolf Gang 

52."Weighty Ghost” – Wintersleep* 

53."Country and Western Song” – the Western States Motel 

54."Machu Picchu” – the Strokes 

55.“Simple Math” – Manchester Orchestra 

56.“Down Like Me” – Peter, Bjorn and John 

57.“I Know Places” – Lykke Li 

58."Young Blood” – the Naked and Famous 

59.“A Conversation About Death on New Year’s Eve” – Scattered Trees 

60."Trust” – Generationals 

61."Something’s Gotta Give” – the Kickdrums 

62."Please Ask for Help” – Telekinesis 

63."Please Be It” - Generationals 

64."Just Me Before We Met” – Noah and the Whale 

65.“Space Dust #2” – Gruff Rhys 

66.“Where I’m Going” – Cut/Copy 

67.“Finally Begin” – Cold War Kids 

68."Long Time” – Cake 

69."Wolves at the Door” – David Bazan 

70.“All I Ever Wanted” – the Airborne Toxic Event 

71."Down by the Water” – the Decemberists 

72.“Submarine” – David Lowery 

73.“Down There” – Bronze Radio Return 

74.“Oh My Heart” – R.E.M. 

75."New Low” – Middle Class Rut 

76."Morning Thought” – Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. 

77.“Call It What You Want” – Foster the People 

78.“Na Na Nothing” – Mike Doughty 

79."Shatter Your Lungs” – the Get Up Kids 

80.“Cool Vapors” – Jacuzzi Boys 

81.“You Are a Tourist” – Death Cab for Cutie 

82."When I’m Small” - Phantogram 

83."Taken for a Fool” – the Strokes 

84."The Others” – Dukes of Windsor* 

85."You’re the One” – Wyla 

86."You Hide” - Eulogies 

87."Apartment” – Young the Giant 

88.“Sara” - Chad VanGaalen 

89."Swimming” – Florence + the Machine 

90."The Struggle” – Liam Finn 

 91."Patron Saint Procrastinate” – Lonely Tourist 

92.“The Lady and the Tiger” – They Might Be Giants 

93.“Cold Comfort Flowers” – Fountains of Wayne 

94.“Go for the Throat” – the Elected 

95."Weekend” – Smith Westerns 

96.“Maybe Baby” – Blitzen Trapper 

97."Illumination” – Lindsey Buckingham 

98."L.O.V." – Fitz & the Tantrums 

99."Heartless Empire” – Broken Bells 

100."Let You Break” – William Fitzsimmons 

101.“Time Spent in Los Angeles” – Dawes 

102.“These Days” – Foo Fighters 

103.“If I Had a Gun” – Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 

104."Rox in the Box” – the Decemberists 

105.“You’re Too Weird” – Fruit Bats 

106.“Winter Rose” – the Bees 

107.“Wonder Why” – Vetiver 

108.“Punching in a Dream” – the Naked and Famous 

109."L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.” – Noah and the Whale 

110.“A Mirror Without” – Royal Wood* 

111.“Brooklyn Is Burning” – Head Automatica* 

112."Sympathy” – Scattered Trees 

113.“Wait and See” - Hagana

114."Contact High” – Architecture in Helsinki 

115."Tree by the River” – Iron & Wine 

116.“Out in the Way” – Beach Fossils 

117."Will Do” – TV on the Radio 

118.“Need You Now” – Cut/Copy 

119.“Evolve” – the Non-Commissioned Officers 

120.“Sew It Up” – Memory Map 

121.“Lion” – Peter Wolf Crier 

122.“Wake Up Your Saints” – the National 

123.“Like Fireworks” - Arches 

124."All in White” – the Vaccines 

125."Weekend” – Class Actress 

126.“Hammer Down” – the Relatives 

127.“Pyro” – Kings of Leon 

128."Big Burning Hand” – Iron & Wine 

129."AriseWatch” – Buffalo Tom 

130.“Tell Me What You Want” – Pajama Club 

131."Walk” – Foo Fighters

1995 Favorite Albums

Radiohead “The Bends”
Belly “King”
Garbage “Garbage”

In 1995 I was working in the Admissions Office for the U of M, Crookston. Traveling for the job let me listen to a lot of music. At the time I was buying CDs and still making mix cassette tapes of various songs. Radiohead's "The Bends" was not an album I loved immediately. Yet it still holds up nearly 20 years later, and I like it now more than ever. This was Radiohead when they had great melodic, fully formed songs like "Fake Plastic Trees" and "High and Dry" with more rock oriented tracks like "Just" and "Bones." By far it is my favorite album of 1995. Coming in a close second is Belly's "King." While it was considered a commercial disappointment, it had a bunch of fantastic songs "Silverfish," "Super-Connected," "Now They'll Sleep," and "Judas My Heart." Tanya Donelly was the driving force, and her distinctive singing style with the punk to new wave to rock to grunge to pop sound was something I fell for totally. Garbage's debut album was fresh and sinister. Scottish lead singer Shirley Manson had a sexy presence, and when she teamed up with producer Butch Vig (of Nirvana fame) sparks flew. The singles "Queer," "Only Happy When It Rains," and "Stupid Girl" were all standouts, but the whole album worked--and it's one of the better debut albums of the 90s in my humble opinion.

1986 Favorite Albums

R.E.M. “Lifes Rich Pageant”
Eurythmics “Revenge”
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark “The Pacific Age”

I turned 20 in the fall of 1986 and began my second year of college. My musical tastes were branching out, mainly because I was listening to KUMM, the college radio station at the U of M, Morris. By far my favorite album was "Lifes Rich Pageant" (yep, no apostrophe) by R.E.M. I think it might just possibly be my favorite album of all time. Every song still sounds great even today. "Begin the Begin," "Fall On Me," "Swan Swan H," "Cuyahoga," "Superman," and all the rest... Eurythmics' "Revenge" was their most pop/rock oriented album, and I believe it's highly underrated. "Missionary Man," their lead single, really rocked and was accompanyed by a very cool video. OMD's "The Pacific Age" was one I remember eagerly anticipating. I was not disappointed, even though some felt it was weak. "(Forever) Live and Die" is still a favorite song... These three were on heavy rotation on my turntable all year.

21st Century Ten Commandments

Well, unsurprisingly, it looks like the alleged rapture/end of the world has come and gone with nothing but a yawn (I am usually suspicious of people who say they know what God is thinking or wants). With that in mind, I was inspired to come up with a list of ten commandments for the 21st Century. (Note, many of the statements are borrowed generously from Richard Dawkins or Christopher Hitchens, who developed new sets of commandments themselves.) The following is a very humble suggestion for a set of statements I try to live up to on a daily basis...

1. Live life with a sense of joy and wonder, always seeking to understand new things.
2. In all things strive to cause no harm.
3. Think before you speak or act.
4. Treat your fellow human beings, fellow living things, and the world in general with love, honesty, fairness, and respect.
5. Be aware that you, too, are dependent on the web of nature. Try to think and act accordingly.
6. Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you.
7. Do not condemn others on the basis of their ethnicity, race, or inborn nature.
8. Do not tolerate those who use violence or deceit. Seek to help them learn new ways if you can.
9. Do not tolerate ignorance or fear mongering, especially in leaders.
10. Question everything and test all things, always checking your ideas against the facts, your own reason, and experience. Be ready to discard even a cherished belief if it does not conform to them.

(reference here)