Wassup rockers!
And now, our annual recap of the prestigious winners of Timothy's Number One Album of Timmy's Top Ten Albums of the Year. This just gets more exciting (and lengthy!) every year.
1996: Pulp - Different Class1997: Radiohead - OK Computer1998: Belle and Sebastian - The Boy With The Arab Strap1999: Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs2000: Sleater-Kinney - All Hands on the Bad One2001: The White Stripes - White Blood Cells2002: Bright Eyes - Lifted, or The Story is in The Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground2003: Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism2004: Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous2005: Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake It's Morning2006: The Hold Steady - Boys And Girls In America
So here we are at the close of another year, schliemel, schliemazel, let's get that out of the way. All of these were released in the U.S. in 2007 (CHRIS), and all of them will make your eyes bug out more than "two girls one cup".
Maybe not. I mean, have you seen that? Wow. Not good times. At all. Anyway.
Honorable Mention: "Icky Thump" -White Stripes, "Magic" - Bruce Springsteen, "The Black and White Album" - The Hives, "Our Love To Admire" - Interpol
Biggest Disappointments: "Under The Blacklight" - Rilo Kiley, "Traffic and Weather" - Fountains of Wayne, "Calling The World" - Rooney
And the ten albums upon which all human creation will be judged, ca. 2007
10. "Cease to Begin" - Band of Horses. Snuck in at the last minute. I couldn't describe this band with a thesaurus and a bump of speed, other than to say they "sound good". And what else are we looking for, friends?
9. "Sky Blue Sky" - Wilco. In which Wilco almost do what other bands gone woefully experimental always threaten to do: go back to their roots. Wilco go almost a bit too far, to the point where the album drags, but the songcraft carries them through. Not as good as "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot", much better than "A Ghost Is Born". And the VW ads were great.
8. "Graduation" - Kanye West. Hello, token rap album! I'm trying to be a real rock critic here, people. (Though if I was, I'd have this 2 and some unknown mixtape artist 1, but let's all thank god I don't write for Pitchfork). That said there is no one in pop music, or probably pop culture, as entertaining as Mr. West these days. And he loves the gays! We all love the gays!
7. "Challengers" - The New Pornographers. As detailed in some TheAgingHipsters.com blogs this summer, I was nervous about this album. Early reports said that it was ballad heavy, and I look to the New Pornos for 3 to 4 minutes of power pop bursts. But then, wouldn't you know, my two favorite tracks ("Unguided" and "Go Places") are of the ballad persuasion. So I'm an asshole.
6. "Cassadaga" - Bright Eyes. The expectations are too lofty now. If I'd never heard of Bright Eyes, it's possible this would be a top five record for me, but it just doesn't have the peaks of "Wide Awake" or "Lifted". Starting off with a field tape of a psychic reading notwithstanding, it might must not be pretentious enough, y'know? This is one of those years where a Hall of Fame slugger hits .315 with 31 HRs and 115 RBI. Not an MVP season, but a solid campaign in the grand scheme of things.
5. "Because of the Times" - Kings of Leon. This wasn't on my Top Ten list until about six hours ago, when I gave it one last listen, and realized at least six of these songs had ended up on one mix or another. For some reason it never came together fully for me at the time. My fault, I'm sure. I underrate Kings of Leon continually. Even though they did help me clear out the dancefloor at my wedding. (How can you people not dance to "Molly's Chambers"? Are you dead inside?)
4. "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" - Spoon. The Cormac McCarthy of indie rock. Spare, spare, spare, spare, spare. Except this time. They actually put some background flourishes behind a couple of tunes ("Underdog" and "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb") and not only do those songs benefit, the rest of the more-Spoonish songs do as well. I stand behind my comment in the last blog that some rapper needs to find these guys.
3. "Costello Music" - The Fratellis. Because I like rock and roll with big hooks and big choruses, and because you should too.
2. "Neon Bible" - The Arcade Fire. If my number one album were my award for The Best Album of the Year, this would win it. I have no doubt that as far as songcraft, wordplay, and genuine tunefulness "Neon Bible" has all others beat. It's like one of the late 80's - early 90's U2 albums. But there was one album I found myself clicking on more in the waning days of the year. So in a surprise last minute upset, my number one album of 2007 is:
1. "The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter" - Josh Ritter. This album is getting ignored on the most of the critic's end of the year list, dissed by people who I respect (CHRIS), and I've never heard one of these songs on popular radio, but this is the first album in a long time that I'm threatening to learn word for word (for the record, the last one was "Alien Lanes". That's 12 years ago). I'm not doing it on purpose, but everytime I pick up my iPod, I seem to be choosing this album. And that's why intellectually this would probably be number 3 or 4, I had no choice but to name it Timothy's Number One Album of Timmy's Top Ten Albums of 2007.
It's the Pleasure Principle, my friends.
And did I mention how I love you in your underwear?
Monday, December 31, 2007
Top Twenty Songs of 2007
Wassup rockers!
And aren't we all excited about this time of year. A time to quantify enjoyment of the entertainment released the past twelve months. A time of hope, really.
Herewith! Timmy's Top Twenty Songs of 2007. Stay tuned for the Annual 3 Disc Track Listing, as well as Timmy's Top Ten Albums of 2007. You will be shot on sight if you do not stay tuned!
Achtung!
20. "Icky Thump" The White Stripes. Wolfmother has thrown down the gauntlet, and Jack White has answered with a parry of awesomeness. Plus Fake Meg White made a sex video. Anyway, wish that the rest of the album sounded like this.
19. "Mammoth" Interpol. "Like two fucking twins". Of course this was on here.
18. "All My Friends" LCD Soundsystem. No one hates techno more than old Timmy. But this actually has a melody and lyrics, poignaint ones at that. Probably a top five song if I still took drugs.
17. "Release The Stars" Rufus Wainwright. I miss L.A.
16. "Missed The Boat" Modest Mouse. I admit I was wrong about this band. They are still crazy overrated, but they can catch lightning in a bottle and create a perfect pop tune. This would play on the ending montage of a bizarro-world "Grey's Anatomy".
15. "Tonight I Have To Leave It" Shout Out Louds. If rock music were a fantasy draft, I'd take Shout Out Louds really early next year. They have a Spin cover by October 2008, mark my words.
14. "1234" Feist. I know, you're sick of it. But tell me this song doesn't make you 1% happier. Whoa, ho oh.
13. "Jarhand" Immaculate Machine. A classic nonsense pop song. Unless it's about universal healthcare or something and I just missed it. Let's just assume it's nonsense.
12. "Daughter" Loudon Wainwright. I lost every time I fought her. Yup. Time-out is a struggle.
11. "What Light" Wilco. Maybe the best song about creativity I've ever heard.
10. "Believe In Me" Rooney. Power-pop, sucka. This is what we were waiting for, Rooney.
9. "The Story" Brandi Carlile. Her voice does this THING near the end of this song. Starts off like an alt-country tune, goes to rock and roll, and then this THING happens. It makes me happy.
8. "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb" Spoon. How these guys aren't the biggest band in the world escapes me. Fuck Coldplay, rappers should be lining up to work with a band that understands rhythm, and no one knows that more than Spoon. When Timbaland calls, answer, friends.
7. "If The Brakeman Turns My Way" Bright Eyes. And not just because Conor namechecks New England.
6. "Oh Mandy" The Spinto Band. Songs with girls names in the title are 14% more awesome than non girl-name songs. I think this was proven by Enrico Fermi at some point.
5. "Life Is Beautiful" Vega4. A guilty pleasure, but what a guilty pleasure. Slow buildup, huge ending, good times all about.
4. "Chelsea Dagger" The Fratellis. For a time I thought this was "Sweet Child O Mine" for the Aughts. It isn't, and it isn't even close. I've done way too many drugs. It is a fantastic rock song, though.
3. "(Antichrist Television Blues)" Arcade Fire. You can listen to this song and enjoy it knowing that it wasn't originally titled "Joe Simpson". But it makes so much more sense when you that it was.
2. "To The Dogs Or Whoever" Josh Ritter. The only song in three years I've printed out the lyrics for, so that I can sing it in the shower. Still working on it. Did I mention how I love you in your underwear?
1. "Flourescent Adolescent" Arctic Monkeys. Did the fact that I had a lyric from this song on my page for six months give it away? Fuck all y'all THIS is the "Sweet Child O Mine" for the Aughts.
Ah hell, I don't even know what that means.
And aren't we all excited about this time of year. A time to quantify enjoyment of the entertainment released the past twelve months. A time of hope, really.
Herewith! Timmy's Top Twenty Songs of 2007. Stay tuned for the Annual 3 Disc Track Listing, as well as Timmy's Top Ten Albums of 2007. You will be shot on sight if you do not stay tuned!
Achtung!
20. "Icky Thump" The White Stripes. Wolfmother has thrown down the gauntlet, and Jack White has answered with a parry of awesomeness. Plus Fake Meg White made a sex video. Anyway, wish that the rest of the album sounded like this.
19. "Mammoth" Interpol. "Like two fucking twins". Of course this was on here.
18. "All My Friends" LCD Soundsystem. No one hates techno more than old Timmy. But this actually has a melody and lyrics, poignaint ones at that. Probably a top five song if I still took drugs.
17. "Release The Stars" Rufus Wainwright. I miss L.A.
16. "Missed The Boat" Modest Mouse. I admit I was wrong about this band. They are still crazy overrated, but they can catch lightning in a bottle and create a perfect pop tune. This would play on the ending montage of a bizarro-world "Grey's Anatomy".
15. "Tonight I Have To Leave It" Shout Out Louds. If rock music were a fantasy draft, I'd take Shout Out Louds really early next year. They have a Spin cover by October 2008, mark my words.
14. "1234" Feist. I know, you're sick of it. But tell me this song doesn't make you 1% happier. Whoa, ho oh.
13. "Jarhand" Immaculate Machine. A classic nonsense pop song. Unless it's about universal healthcare or something and I just missed it. Let's just assume it's nonsense.
12. "Daughter" Loudon Wainwright. I lost every time I fought her. Yup. Time-out is a struggle.
11. "What Light" Wilco. Maybe the best song about creativity I've ever heard.
10. "Believe In Me" Rooney. Power-pop, sucka. This is what we were waiting for, Rooney.
9. "The Story" Brandi Carlile. Her voice does this THING near the end of this song. Starts off like an alt-country tune, goes to rock and roll, and then this THING happens. It makes me happy.
8. "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb" Spoon. How these guys aren't the biggest band in the world escapes me. Fuck Coldplay, rappers should be lining up to work with a band that understands rhythm, and no one knows that more than Spoon. When Timbaland calls, answer, friends.
7. "If The Brakeman Turns My Way" Bright Eyes. And not just because Conor namechecks New England.
6. "Oh Mandy" The Spinto Band. Songs with girls names in the title are 14% more awesome than non girl-name songs. I think this was proven by Enrico Fermi at some point.
5. "Life Is Beautiful" Vega4. A guilty pleasure, but what a guilty pleasure. Slow buildup, huge ending, good times all about.
4. "Chelsea Dagger" The Fratellis. For a time I thought this was "Sweet Child O Mine" for the Aughts. It isn't, and it isn't even close. I've done way too many drugs. It is a fantastic rock song, though.
3. "(Antichrist Television Blues)" Arcade Fire. You can listen to this song and enjoy it knowing that it wasn't originally titled "Joe Simpson". But it makes so much more sense when you that it was.
2. "To The Dogs Or Whoever" Josh Ritter. The only song in three years I've printed out the lyrics for, so that I can sing it in the shower. Still working on it. Did I mention how I love you in your underwear?
1. "Flourescent Adolescent" Arctic Monkeys. Did the fact that I had a lyric from this song on my page for six months give it away? Fuck all y'all THIS is the "Sweet Child O Mine" for the Aughts.
Ah hell, I don't even know what that means.
Friday, January 5, 2007
Julie, Call My Lawyer
Wassup, rockers!
I've been on a bit on a "Law and Order" kick lately. Primarily "Criminal Intent", but also the slightly inferior original version and the somewhat more inferior "SVU". (I just sat through an episode of "SVU" last night with a twenty minute scene of that Merloni turd talking to his psychiatrist. She should have just said - "Everything that's bad in the world in bad because of people like you - now let's get back to a mystery of some sort." And don't tell me I'm wrong - idiot tough guys are the cause of 98.37% of the world's problems. Michael Jackson is responsible for the other 1. 63%.)
Anyway.
The thing I've never understood about "Law and Order" is how whenever they arrest someone, or threaten arresting someone, the person mentions their lawyer.
Now, I'm about to be celebrating the second anniversary of my 29th birthday, and I've had dealings with a lawyer (e.g. I got hit by a fucking truck), but if a police came to arrest me, I wouldn't be thinking, "I need to get my lawyer." Cuz, truth be told, he wasn't all that great of a personal injury lawyer, I can't imagine him trying to get me down to Man 1 on a murder charge, like they do on the TV.
So - what the fuck with people having lawyers on call? Should I get one? You know, just in case Jesse L. Martin busts in singing a song from "Rent" and telling me I need to man up, dawg?
TIMMY'S RETROACTIVE 100 BOOKS IN 1 YEAR LIST (NOW WITH GRADES!)
Begin: 10/30/2006
1. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (O+)
2. Fantasyland by Sam Walker (O)
3. The Commitments by Roddy Doyle (H +)
4. The Snapper by Roddy Doyle (O)
5. The Van by Roddy Doyle (H)
6. Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing by Ted Conover (O)
7. Wonderland: A Year in the Life of an American High School by Michael Bamberger (O)
8. Whiteout: Lost in Aspen by Ted Conover (H+)
9. The Ruins by Scott Smith (O)
10. The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth by Frank Rich (H)
11. The Ghost Writer by Philip Roth (H)
12. Zuckerman Unbound by Philip Roth (O)
13. The Worst Person in The World by Keith Olbermann (O-)
14. The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman (O+)
15. The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos (O)
16. Nature Girl by Carl Hiassen (current)
I've been on a bit on a "Law and Order" kick lately. Primarily "Criminal Intent", but also the slightly inferior original version and the somewhat more inferior "SVU". (I just sat through an episode of "SVU" last night with a twenty minute scene of that Merloni turd talking to his psychiatrist. She should have just said - "Everything that's bad in the world in bad because of people like you - now let's get back to a mystery of some sort." And don't tell me I'm wrong - idiot tough guys are the cause of 98.37% of the world's problems. Michael Jackson is responsible for the other 1. 63%.)
Anyway.
The thing I've never understood about "Law and Order" is how whenever they arrest someone, or threaten arresting someone, the person mentions their lawyer.
Now, I'm about to be celebrating the second anniversary of my 29th birthday, and I've had dealings with a lawyer (e.g. I got hit by a fucking truck), but if a police came to arrest me, I wouldn't be thinking, "I need to get my lawyer." Cuz, truth be told, he wasn't all that great of a personal injury lawyer, I can't imagine him trying to get me down to Man 1 on a murder charge, like they do on the TV.
So - what the fuck with people having lawyers on call? Should I get one? You know, just in case Jesse L. Martin busts in singing a song from "Rent" and telling me I need to man up, dawg?
TIMMY'S RETROACTIVE 100 BOOKS IN 1 YEAR LIST (NOW WITH GRADES!)
Begin: 10/30/2006
1. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (O+)
2. Fantasyland by Sam Walker (O)
3. The Commitments by Roddy Doyle (H +)
4. The Snapper by Roddy Doyle (O)
5. The Van by Roddy Doyle (H)
6. Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing by Ted Conover (O)
7. Wonderland: A Year in the Life of an American High School by Michael Bamberger (O)
8. Whiteout: Lost in Aspen by Ted Conover (H+)
9. The Ruins by Scott Smith (O)
10. The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth by Frank Rich (H)
11. The Ghost Writer by Philip Roth (H)
12. Zuckerman Unbound by Philip Roth (O)
13. The Worst Person in The World by Keith Olbermann (O-)
14. The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman (O+)
15. The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos (O)
16. Nature Girl by Carl Hiassen (current)
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Top Ten Albums of 2006
Wassup rockers!
OK, kiddos, here is my Top Ten Albums of 2006. A quick recap of my last few Number Ones:
1996: Pulp - Different Class
1997: Radiohead - OK Computer
1998: Belle and Sebastian - The Boy With The Arab Strap
1999: Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs
2000: Sleater-Kinney - All Hands on the Bad One
2001: The White Stripes - White Blood Cells
2002: Bright Eyes - Lifted, or The Story is in The Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground
2003: Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism
2004: Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous
2005: Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake It's Morning
So, as you can see, I come from a strictly hip-hop/ drum n bass background.
The first two picks were fairly evident this year, after that it was kind of a scramble. So, a few honourable mentions (fuck you, I like spelling it that way):
Insistor - Tapes N Tapes, At War With the Mystics - The Flaming Lips, You In Reverse - Built to Spill, Get Lonely - The Mountain Goats, The Seeger Sessions - Bruce Springsteen.
Now let's get this fucker started!
10. Fox Confessor Brings the Flood - Neko Case. One of those albums that I never really told people about, or thought about how great it was, but I still listen to it consistently after almost a year. Some really good, spooky shit on here. Best song: "Hold On, Hold On"
9. The Life Pursuit - Belle and Sebastian. Another underdog story - I can't think of a band I've currently loved for as long as Belle and Sebastian, even if they haven't made a consistently great record this millennium. This one is their most uptempo yet, which is good news for Timmy - I likes when these boys and girls get a groove on. Best song: "Another Sunny Day"
8. Wolfmother - Wolfmother. There's nothing I can write about this album that hasn't been written about elsewhere - Led Zep, Sabbath, etc. But this is what I put on when I play video games and get in touch with my inner 15 year old. I dunno, it just fucking rocks. Best song: "Joker and the Thief".
7. The Believer - Rhett Miller. As much as I loved Old 97's, I couldn't believe Rhett Miller's first solo album only had one good song (granted, it was a fucking awesome song - "Our Love"). His second effort ups the ante with a vengeance and shit. Bonus points for a duet with Rachael Yamagata where he keeps comparing her to his mother, and she gets pissed off. Best song: "Delicate".
6. The Greatest - Cat Power. My girlfriend Chan Marshall finally got her shit together and made her first top-to-bottom great record. I'm fairly certain at least four of these songs are about me. Best song (tie): "Lived in Bars", "The Greatest".
5. Rabbit Fur Coat - Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins. I gotta admit, this one took a while to grow on me. The cover of "Handle With Care" with Jenny (my other girlfriend), Conor Oberst and Ben Gibbard playing the Traveling Wilburys is obviously awesome x 1000, and it kept me coming back to this somewhat understated effort, and I'm a better person for it. Liz Phair should be making records like this now. Unfortunately, I don't think any of these songs are about me. Maybe "Born Secular". Best song: "Rise Up With Fists!!!"
4. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - Arctic Monkeys. Absurdly hyped young British bands with dumb names almost universally suck (see: Boy, Badly Drawn; Streets, The; and almost every band in the two years after Oasis broke), but this one announces its intent to kick yr ass and leave with yr girlfriend (Chan, Jenny, no!) from the get-go. Plus, this dude's voice is awesome, perfect for singing about being young, drunk, and stupid. Best song: "When the Sun Goes Down"
3. Show Your Bones - the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. This yr's winner of the 11th Annual Radiohead Award for a band that makes a big splash with their debut, then releases a second album that's miles better but gets mostly ignored. I have a feeling their next one will be a fucking classic. Best song: "Phenomena"
2. The Crane Wife - The Decemberists. People have derided this album as music for English majors. Well, I was an English major, so you can bite mine ass, Horatio. That doesn't mean it isn't entertaining on a number of levels, with a song ("O Valencia!") that would be a radio hit in a better world. Best song: "The Crane Wife 1 & 2"
1. Boys and Girls in America - The Hold Steady. They had me from "Sal Paradise was right". Any album that begins with a quote from On the Road, I'm probably going to digging. But then to follow that up with little mini-rock epics with loud guitars, tinkly piano, and lyrics about getting high and hooking up with girls from Bowdoin, not to mention a Dave fucking Pirner cameo, with not a wasted song in the bunch, ladies and jellyspoons, that has to be my favorite album of 2006. Best song (3 way tie): "Chips Ahoy", "Stuck Between Stations", or "Chill Out Tent"
OK, kiddos, here is my Top Ten Albums of 2006. A quick recap of my last few Number Ones:
1996: Pulp - Different Class
1997: Radiohead - OK Computer
1998: Belle and Sebastian - The Boy With The Arab Strap
1999: Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs
2000: Sleater-Kinney - All Hands on the Bad One
2001: The White Stripes - White Blood Cells
2002: Bright Eyes - Lifted, or The Story is in The Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground
2003: Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism
2004: Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous
2005: Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake It's Morning
So, as you can see, I come from a strictly hip-hop/ drum n bass background.
The first two picks were fairly evident this year, after that it was kind of a scramble. So, a few honourable mentions (fuck you, I like spelling it that way):
Insistor - Tapes N Tapes, At War With the Mystics - The Flaming Lips, You In Reverse - Built to Spill, Get Lonely - The Mountain Goats, The Seeger Sessions - Bruce Springsteen.
Now let's get this fucker started!
10. Fox Confessor Brings the Flood - Neko Case. One of those albums that I never really told people about, or thought about how great it was, but I still listen to it consistently after almost a year. Some really good, spooky shit on here. Best song: "Hold On, Hold On"
9. The Life Pursuit - Belle and Sebastian. Another underdog story - I can't think of a band I've currently loved for as long as Belle and Sebastian, even if they haven't made a consistently great record this millennium. This one is their most uptempo yet, which is good news for Timmy - I likes when these boys and girls get a groove on. Best song: "Another Sunny Day"
8. Wolfmother - Wolfmother. There's nothing I can write about this album that hasn't been written about elsewhere - Led Zep, Sabbath, etc. But this is what I put on when I play video games and get in touch with my inner 15 year old. I dunno, it just fucking rocks. Best song: "Joker and the Thief".
7. The Believer - Rhett Miller. As much as I loved Old 97's, I couldn't believe Rhett Miller's first solo album only had one good song (granted, it was a fucking awesome song - "Our Love"). His second effort ups the ante with a vengeance and shit. Bonus points for a duet with Rachael Yamagata where he keeps comparing her to his mother, and she gets pissed off. Best song: "Delicate".
6. The Greatest - Cat Power. My girlfriend Chan Marshall finally got her shit together and made her first top-to-bottom great record. I'm fairly certain at least four of these songs are about me. Best song (tie): "Lived in Bars", "The Greatest".
5. Rabbit Fur Coat - Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins. I gotta admit, this one took a while to grow on me. The cover of "Handle With Care" with Jenny (my other girlfriend), Conor Oberst and Ben Gibbard playing the Traveling Wilburys is obviously awesome x 1000, and it kept me coming back to this somewhat understated effort, and I'm a better person for it. Liz Phair should be making records like this now. Unfortunately, I don't think any of these songs are about me. Maybe "Born Secular". Best song: "Rise Up With Fists!!!"
4. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - Arctic Monkeys. Absurdly hyped young British bands with dumb names almost universally suck (see: Boy, Badly Drawn; Streets, The; and almost every band in the two years after Oasis broke), but this one announces its intent to kick yr ass and leave with yr girlfriend (Chan, Jenny, no!) from the get-go. Plus, this dude's voice is awesome, perfect for singing about being young, drunk, and stupid. Best song: "When the Sun Goes Down"
3. Show Your Bones - the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. This yr's winner of the 11th Annual Radiohead Award for a band that makes a big splash with their debut, then releases a second album that's miles better but gets mostly ignored. I have a feeling their next one will be a fucking classic. Best song: "Phenomena"
2. The Crane Wife - The Decemberists. People have derided this album as music for English majors. Well, I was an English major, so you can bite mine ass, Horatio. That doesn't mean it isn't entertaining on a number of levels, with a song ("O Valencia!") that would be a radio hit in a better world. Best song: "The Crane Wife 1 & 2"
1. Boys and Girls in America - The Hold Steady. They had me from "Sal Paradise was right". Any album that begins with a quote from On the Road, I'm probably going to digging. But then to follow that up with little mini-rock epics with loud guitars, tinkly piano, and lyrics about getting high and hooking up with girls from Bowdoin, not to mention a Dave fucking Pirner cameo, with not a wasted song in the bunch, ladies and jellyspoons, that has to be my favorite album of 2006. Best song (3 way tie): "Chips Ahoy", "Stuck Between Stations", or "Chill Out Tent"
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Top Ten Songs of 2006
Wassup rockers!
So this is the least important of my usual year-end-best-of lists, merely because it's so fluid. Sometimes I don't even do a Best Songs list, but this yr it was absolutely nesc., as there will be no Top Ten Movies of 2006 list. In fact, we may not see one again until, say, Top Ten Movies of 2024. Twin babies, and all that. In fact, here is my Top Movies of 2006 List, for posterity.
1. Borat
2. Little Miss Sunshine
That's all I saw.
SO! Songs! Shall we?
1. "The Crane Wife 1 & 2" - the Decemberists. If you can take an obscure Japanese folk tale, and turn it into an epic eleven minute folk-rock song that actually kind of rawks, well then I am there, my friend. You know me far too well.
2. "Mushaboom" - Feist. This song almost seems to sum up the last two yrs of my life into a catchy little acoustic ditty. Conor Oberst did a fantastic cover of this on the Bright Eyes live album.
3. "Trains to Brazil" - Guillemots. I know nothing about them, other than the fact that I listened to this song 15 times before I decided I liked it, and 15 times more before I realized I loved it. A strong candidate for #1 if I ever re-do this list in 2011 ("Best Songs of 5 Yrs Ago" - see, it's fluid!)
4. "The Greatest" - Cat Power. The countdown has begun to Chan Marshall being a Sarah Maclachlan-type star, beloved by 40 yr old secretaries and sorority chicks alike. As long as she busts out slow jams like this, we're cool.
5. "Steady, As She Goes" - the Raconteurs. My fucking theme song. A simple life in a quiet town.
6. "Stuck Between Stations" - The Hold Steady. Every song on this album is great, I chose this because it has my favorite lyric of the yr : "She was a really cool kisser and she wasn't all that strict of a Christian".
7. "Never Ever" - Shout Out Louds. This song cures hiccups.
8. "Phenomena" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs. First De La, then LL, now Karen O. "Something like a phenomonon" is the lyric that keeps on giving!
9. "Insistor" - Tapes 'n Tapes. This song cures full blown AIDS.
10. "Fake Believe" - They Might Be Giants. This is kind of an achievement award for TMBG, a band I hadn't listened to in probably 10 yrs. Not only did they provide music for some awesome Dunkin' Donuts commercials ("Doing Things Is What I Like To Do" and "Alarm Clock Catastrophe" stand up with anything off of Flood), but they made an ABC's album for kids a few yrs ago that doesn't make me want to blow my head off. "F is for fun, F is for fun, F is for Fake Believe!" is a rallying cry in our household now.
The more important one - Best Albums - is coming soon, as well as the track listing for the 2006 Box Set.
Be bold, rockers!
So this is the least important of my usual year-end-best-of lists, merely because it's so fluid. Sometimes I don't even do a Best Songs list, but this yr it was absolutely nesc., as there will be no Top Ten Movies of 2006 list. In fact, we may not see one again until, say, Top Ten Movies of 2024. Twin babies, and all that. In fact, here is my Top Movies of 2006 List, for posterity.
1. Borat
2. Little Miss Sunshine
That's all I saw.
SO! Songs! Shall we?
1. "The Crane Wife 1 & 2" - the Decemberists. If you can take an obscure Japanese folk tale, and turn it into an epic eleven minute folk-rock song that actually kind of rawks, well then I am there, my friend. You know me far too well.
2. "Mushaboom" - Feist. This song almost seems to sum up the last two yrs of my life into a catchy little acoustic ditty. Conor Oberst did a fantastic cover of this on the Bright Eyes live album.
3. "Trains to Brazil" - Guillemots. I know nothing about them, other than the fact that I listened to this song 15 times before I decided I liked it, and 15 times more before I realized I loved it. A strong candidate for #1 if I ever re-do this list in 2011 ("Best Songs of 5 Yrs Ago" - see, it's fluid!)
4. "The Greatest" - Cat Power. The countdown has begun to Chan Marshall being a Sarah Maclachlan-type star, beloved by 40 yr old secretaries and sorority chicks alike. As long as she busts out slow jams like this, we're cool.
5. "Steady, As She Goes" - the Raconteurs. My fucking theme song. A simple life in a quiet town.
6. "Stuck Between Stations" - The Hold Steady. Every song on this album is great, I chose this because it has my favorite lyric of the yr : "She was a really cool kisser and she wasn't all that strict of a Christian".
7. "Never Ever" - Shout Out Louds. This song cures hiccups.
8. "Phenomena" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs. First De La, then LL, now Karen O. "Something like a phenomonon" is the lyric that keeps on giving!
9. "Insistor" - Tapes 'n Tapes. This song cures full blown AIDS.
10. "Fake Believe" - They Might Be Giants. This is kind of an achievement award for TMBG, a band I hadn't listened to in probably 10 yrs. Not only did they provide music for some awesome Dunkin' Donuts commercials ("Doing Things Is What I Like To Do" and "Alarm Clock Catastrophe" stand up with anything off of Flood), but they made an ABC's album for kids a few yrs ago that doesn't make me want to blow my head off. "F is for fun, F is for fun, F is for Fake Believe!" is a rallying cry in our household now.
The more important one - Best Albums - is coming soon, as well as the track listing for the 2006 Box Set.
Be bold, rockers!
Every Book I've Ever Read is Pretty Good
Wassup rockers!
A quick one today - but then I always think they'll be quick ones.
L-Boogie wondered why I didn't put little reviews or blurbs or something about the books I'm reading on my "100 Books" quest. Apparently she feels I'm "opinionated" or something, but what would you expect from someone who likes that godamn-awful "You're Beautiful" song? But she actually had a good point, and I thought about it for a second.
But then I realized I've thought every book I've ever read cover-to-cover was, at worst, not bad. And there is a simple reason for this, rockers - if it sucks, I don't finish it*. I think that's why I still look so awesome, is this lack of stress from feeling I have to finish reading crappy books. Stay young looking, don't force yourself to read Thomas Pynchon if it isn't doing it for you, that's my motto.
Hence, the best criticism I can give any book is whether it's "memorable-good" or "Yeah, I read that, it was OK, but I don't remember anything about it" good. Or, of course, "I didn't finish that piece of shit", but I'm (obviously) not including those on my 100 Books List. (Not to say there haven't been any - 2 so far. That would be a funny list after I'm done - Shitty Books I Didn't Finish While I Was Reading 100 Books in One Year. I'll keep you posted.)
So here's the updated list, with my little critique appended - an "O" for "Oh yeah, that was really good!" or an "H" for "Huh? That's right, I did read that. Don't ask me anything that happens, I forget. It was pretty good though."
TIMMY'S RETROACTIVE 100 BOOKS IN 1 YEAR LIST (NOW WITH GRADES!)
Begin: 10/30/2006
1. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (O+)
2. Fantasyland by Sam Walker (O)
3. The Commitments by Roddy Doyle (H +)
4. The Snapper by Roddy Doyle (O)
5. The Van by Roddy Doyle (H)
6. Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing by Ted Conover (O)
7. Wonderland: A Year in the Life of an American High School by Michael Bamberger (O)
8. Whiteout: Lost in Aspen by Ted Conover (H+)
9. The Ruins by Scott Smith (O)
10. The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth by Frank Rich (H)
11. The Ghost Writer by Philip Roth (current)
*The exceptions are shitty crime novels that are too easy not to finish, and books that are so awful each sentence is a revelation, i.e. The Bridges of Madison County or that one fake book about the kid who said his mother put him a toaster or something (note: Google reveals it to be called A Child Called It).
A quick one today - but then I always think they'll be quick ones.
L-Boogie wondered why I didn't put little reviews or blurbs or something about the books I'm reading on my "100 Books" quest. Apparently she feels I'm "opinionated" or something, but what would you expect from someone who likes that godamn-awful "You're Beautiful" song? But she actually had a good point, and I thought about it for a second.
But then I realized I've thought every book I've ever read cover-to-cover was, at worst, not bad. And there is a simple reason for this, rockers - if it sucks, I don't finish it*. I think that's why I still look so awesome, is this lack of stress from feeling I have to finish reading crappy books. Stay young looking, don't force yourself to read Thomas Pynchon if it isn't doing it for you, that's my motto.
Hence, the best criticism I can give any book is whether it's "memorable-good" or "Yeah, I read that, it was OK, but I don't remember anything about it" good. Or, of course, "I didn't finish that piece of shit", but I'm (obviously) not including those on my 100 Books List. (Not to say there haven't been any - 2 so far. That would be a funny list after I'm done - Shitty Books I Didn't Finish While I Was Reading 100 Books in One Year. I'll keep you posted.)
So here's the updated list, with my little critique appended - an "O" for "Oh yeah, that was really good!" or an "H" for "Huh? That's right, I did read that. Don't ask me anything that happens, I forget. It was pretty good though."
TIMMY'S RETROACTIVE 100 BOOKS IN 1 YEAR LIST (NOW WITH GRADES!)
Begin: 10/30/2006
1. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (O+)
2. Fantasyland by Sam Walker (O)
3. The Commitments by Roddy Doyle (H +)
4. The Snapper by Roddy Doyle (O)
5. The Van by Roddy Doyle (H)
6. Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing by Ted Conover (O)
7. Wonderland: A Year in the Life of an American High School by Michael Bamberger (O)
8. Whiteout: Lost in Aspen by Ted Conover (H+)
9. The Ruins by Scott Smith (O)
10. The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth by Frank Rich (H)
11. The Ghost Writer by Philip Roth (current)
*The exceptions are shitty crime novels that are too easy not to finish, and books that are so awful each sentence is a revelation, i.e. The Bridges of Madison County or that one fake book about the kid who said his mother put him a toaster or something (note: Google reveals it to be called A Child Called It).
In Defense of Cheap Beer
Wassup rockers!
I have a confession, my friends - yr ole pally Timmy, he sometimes cares too much about keepin up with them Joneses. Cares too much about what others think of him. You got a iPod? I got an iPod with video. You got a nine piece Chicken McNugget? I got a twenty piece McNugget. You got a PS3? I got a PS4, motherfucker.
So I'm here to renounce all that noise. And I'm starting with malted beverages.
To wit: there is nothing wrong with cheap ass beer.
Now, first, a distinction - if you are in an upscale restaurant, enjoying a nice meal, by all means order the $8 beer. I will continue to do so myself - good beer makes good food taste better.
Also, if I'm at a bar and just having a beer or two, I will almost always order a Newcastle or Sierra Nevada over a Bud Light. In the realm of "a beer or two", there is a great divide between Newcastle and Bud Light. Bud Light is meant for enjoying in bunches (i.e, 4 or more.)
BUT, if you are planning on drinking in bunches (7 or more), save yr money rockers. You are going to get a hangover anyway, so do what I do - go cheapie cheap. Pabst Blue Ribbon, Black Label, Natty Light - tell the truth, after 5 beers, can you tell the difference?
No. No you can't.
And that's why anyone who buys a twelve pack of Heineken is an asshole.
PBR, motherfucker!
Anyways.
Quickly:
- Fantastic "Office" and "30 Rock" last night. Subpar "Scrubs" (the whole "seeing yrself in yr patients" thing made me gag a lil bit), and I might be slowly losing interest in "My Name is Earl".
- The tentative title for my Best of 2006 mixes is "Live a Simple Life in a Quiet Town". Don't laugh fuckers, it's probably yr Xmas present! (Thnx for the idea, young Padawan!)
TIMMY'S RETROACTIVE 100 BOOKS IN 1 YEAR LIST
Begin: 10/30/2006
1. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
2. Fantasyland by Sam Walker
3. The Commitments by Roddy Doyle
4. The Snapper by Roddy Doyle
5. The Van by Roddy Doyle
6. Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing by Ted Conover
7. Wonderland: A Year in the Life of an American High School by Michael Bamberger
8. Whiteout: Lost in Aspen by Ted Conover
9. The Ruins by Scott Smith
10. The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth by Frank Rich (current)
I have a confession, my friends - yr ole pally Timmy, he sometimes cares too much about keepin up with them Joneses. Cares too much about what others think of him. You got a iPod? I got an iPod with video. You got a nine piece Chicken McNugget? I got a twenty piece McNugget. You got a PS3? I got a PS4, motherfucker.
So I'm here to renounce all that noise. And I'm starting with malted beverages.
To wit: there is nothing wrong with cheap ass beer.
Now, first, a distinction - if you are in an upscale restaurant, enjoying a nice meal, by all means order the $8 beer. I will continue to do so myself - good beer makes good food taste better.
Also, if I'm at a bar and just having a beer or two, I will almost always order a Newcastle or Sierra Nevada over a Bud Light. In the realm of "a beer or two", there is a great divide between Newcastle and Bud Light. Bud Light is meant for enjoying in bunches (i.e, 4 or more.)
BUT, if you are planning on drinking in bunches (7 or more), save yr money rockers. You are going to get a hangover anyway, so do what I do - go cheapie cheap. Pabst Blue Ribbon, Black Label, Natty Light - tell the truth, after 5 beers, can you tell the difference?
No. No you can't.
And that's why anyone who buys a twelve pack of Heineken is an asshole.
PBR, motherfucker!
Anyways.
Quickly:
- Fantastic "Office" and "30 Rock" last night. Subpar "Scrubs" (the whole "seeing yrself in yr patients" thing made me gag a lil bit), and I might be slowly losing interest in "My Name is Earl".
- The tentative title for my Best of 2006 mixes is "Live a Simple Life in a Quiet Town". Don't laugh fuckers, it's probably yr Xmas present! (Thnx for the idea, young Padawan!)
TIMMY'S RETROACTIVE 100 BOOKS IN 1 YEAR LIST
Begin: 10/30/2006
1. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
2. Fantasyland by Sam Walker
3. The Commitments by Roddy Doyle
4. The Snapper by Roddy Doyle
5. The Van by Roddy Doyle
6. Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing by Ted Conover
7. Wonderland: A Year in the Life of an American High School by Michael Bamberger
8. Whiteout: Lost in Aspen by Ted Conover
9. The Ruins by Scott Smith
10. The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth by Frank Rich (current)
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