2010 Faves

I know we're still pretty early in the year, but there's been some damned good music released so far, and I need something to get me back into writing/blogging mode. So I figured I'd share some of my favorite 2010 releases with y'all. In alphabetical order:

Honorable Mentions:  Broken Bells - Broken Bells (Shins + Danger Mouse = good), Cold War Kids - Behave Yourself [EP] (if only for the song "Audience of One"), Four Year Strong - Enemy of the World (good, balls-out pop-punk), MGMT - Congratulations (need to spend a little more time with this one, but I like what I hear), Brendan Kelly/Joe McMahon - Wasted Potential (my second favorite Larry Arms singer goes acoustic... and so does some other guy).

Against Me! - White Crosses
Produced by: Butch Vig
Standout tracks: "White Crosses," "High Pressure Low," "Spanish Moss," "Rapid Decompression"

Tom Gabel has always reminded me of Tom Petty a little bit.  They're both named Tom, they're both from Gainesville, and they both have the same utter disdain for the music industry. But whereas Petty railed against record prices and recording contracts, Gabel gripes about the corporatization of rebellion ("Unprotected Sex with Multiple Partners" from Searching for a Former Clarity), grapples with questions about the digital age of music ("Up the Cuts" from New Wave), and, now, grumbles about the hypocrisy of the "scene" that he came from on "I Was a Teenage Anarchist," the lead single from White Crosses. Yes, Gabel seems to be leaving his anarcho-punk roots behind, both philosophically and musically.  On their second tour of duty with Garbage-man producer Butch Vig, the band explores a much more polished sound than even New Wave hinted at. There's keyboards, bouncy hooks, anthemic choruses -- I mean, listen to the opening riff of "High Pressure Low" and tell me it doesn't sound like a Cheap Trick outtake.  There's this whole '70s glam/punk thing going on with this album that I just love.  Those expecting a balls-out punk record will be disappointed, but they clearly didn't listen to New Wave.  It's a huge step away from their roots, but a welcome one.  This album isn't officially released until June, but, somehow, I doubt that Tom Gabel cares that it's been leaked.

Here's the video for "Rapid Decompression":

Motion City Soundtrack - My Dinosaur Life
Produced by: Mark Hoppus
Standout tracks: "Disappear," "Stand Too Close," "Pulp Fiction"

If I wasn't exactly expecting a pop-tinged masterpiece from a Butch Vig-produced Against Me! album, I would've been disappointed with anything less from a Mark Hoppus-produced MCS album.  And disappointed I was not.  From the first few tracks that leaked -- "Disappear," "Her Words Destroyed My Planet" -- I knew I was in for more pop than a bunch of Midwesterners in a soda shop. (Get it?? ...because they call soda "pop.")  While I enjoy the work of The Cars and Fountains of Wayne, the band made the right decision bringing blink-182 frontman Hoppus back into the studio rather than another go-'round with Ric Ocasek and Adam Schlesinger.  In many ways, My Dinosaur Life feels like a sequel to the last Hoppus-produced MCS record, Commit This to Memory -- it has the same combination of lively synth lines, pop culture-junkie lyrics, and just enough earnestness to keep the record grounded.  Definitely an impressive major-label debut, if only because they've been making music worth of wider release for years.

"Her Words Destroyed My Planet":

She & Him - Volume Two
Produced by: M. Ward
Standout tracks: "In the Sun," ""Ridin' in My Car," "Over It Over Again"

I'll be honest -- I didn't listen to the first She & Him record (Volume One, obviously).  I dunno... it just seemed like a novelty act or something.  You know, like Scarlet Johanssen's singing "career" or Britney Spears's acting "career."  Little did I know that Zooey Deschanel -- long a favorite actress of mine (and I'm going all the way back to Big Trouble here) -- can actually carry a tune.  And write a song.  And play a keyboard.  She's actually a talented musician!  I had no idea.  So, long story short, after I fell in love with this album, I acquired Volume One and fell in love with it as well.  The song that got me hooked was "In the Sun" -- a strong early contender for song of the year (Against Me!'s "Spanish Moss" is the main competition right now).  I think that song -- and this album -- was written to be played in a convertible on California State Route 1 on a beautiful summer day.  Or maybe it's the other way around -- they bottled that shit up and distilled it into music.  I tend to think the former is easier.  So yeah.  Summer road trip music for sure.  California, here I come! (At some point.)

"In the Sun":

Streetlight Manifesto - 99 Songs of Revolution: Volume 1
Produced by: Streetlight Manifesto
Standout tracks: "Just," "Skyscraper," "Punk Rock Girl," "Such Great Heights"

If some of those song titles look familiar... it's a coincidence.  No, I'm just kidding -- 99 Songs is a cover album.  Or, rather, the first in a series of eight planned cover albums.  Whatever, Tomas (Kalnoky, lead singer/songwriter/guitarist/procrastinator) -- I'll believe it when I see it.  (Or, like I said about Somewhere in the Between, "I'll believe it after I've listened to it ten times.")  Anyway, Streetlight does the whole upstrokes-and-horns thing on eleven tracks, ranging from Radiohead to Bad Religion to the Squirrel Nut Zippers (remember them? Didn't think so) to Paul Simon.  Their bombastic horn section is disappointingly restrained this time around, as the band opts for a more straight-ahead style of cover. They make up for it with some inspired selections (definitely didn't see the Radiohead cover coming) and the fact that this actually came out.  Now, if we could just get that BOTAR album, or the 99 Songs project finished before 2050, I'd be a little less bitter at Tomas for the ill-advised (and even iller-executed) Keasbey Knights rerecording.  (Ska rant/namedropfest over.)

"Such Great Heights" (no video):

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks
Produced by:
Standout tracks: "Mourning in America," "Even Heroes Have to Die," "Bottled in Cork," "Gimme the Wire"

I haven't listened to the album closely enough to figure out why it's called what it's called, but it's the perfect title -- The Brutalist Bricks.  What else to call a record built from the ground up with perfect 3-4 minute guitar rock gems?  Ted Leo's latest spends a brisk 41 minutes pummeling the listener with riff after riff, punctuated with Leo's trademark vitriol.  Just try to keep up with tracks like "Mourning," "Wire," "The Stick" or "Where Was My Brain?"  All in all, Bricks is a much more taut effort than 2007's sprawling, loosey-goosey (but still excellent) Living with the Living.  He doesn't explore much new musical territory here, but, like Buster Bluth's cartography classes, "It never hurts to double-check," and Leo treads the same tracks with vim and vigor (I apparently have a thing for alliteration tonight... just go with it).  Compact, concise, and other c-words (yup, another AD reference), The Brutalist Bricks is built like a brick shithouse (never understood that saying, but I'm using it anyway).  Also, it's got a bee on the cover, and bees are badass.

Ted covering Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Maps" :

Tim Barry - 28th and Stonewall
Produced by:
Standout tracks: "Thing of the Past," "Prosser's Gabriel," "With Ease I Leave," "(Memento Mori)"

I know next to nothing about Tim Barry.  Apparently, he was the singer for a punk band called Avail that I've vaguely heard of but never heard.  His first album was recommended to me by last.fm, I was bored, so I checked it out.  It was pretty good, so I downloaded his next record.  It was even better.  So I downloaded this.  It was excellent.  Sometimes, it's just that simple, people.  I've always liked the "punk rocker goes folk" angle (see: Kensrue, Dustin and Ragan, Chuck and Kelly, Brendan).  Mr. Barry does it with just as much aplomb as any of those guys, if not a fuckton more irony.  His songs range from the serious ("Gabriel," "With Ease") to the silly ("Bus Driver") to a bit of both ("Thing of the Past"), which is when he's at his best.  Probably my favorite line of the year (from "Thing of the Past"): "Money is a thing of the past / You spend it once and it don't come back."  That sort of devil-may-care, DIY spirit permeates all his records and makes me feel less bad about stealing his music.  Don't worry, Mr. Barry, I'll see you when you come to Tempe!

"Thing of the Past":

Various Artists - Crazy Heart soundtrack
Produced by: T-Bone Burnett
Standout tracks: "Somebody Else," "Fallin' and Flyin'," "Gone, Gone, Gone," "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?"

I know, it surprised me too -- a country album.  But this one has a few things going for it: 1) The film's star, Oscar-winner Jeff Bridges, can actually sing (and so can co-star Colin Farrell -- I'm sensing a theme here...); 2) The record (and film) is more focused on older country music, rather than the pop-masquerading-as-country crap that everyone is referring to when they say "I like everything except country" on their facebook profile; and 3) It's produced by T-Bone Burnett.  I mean, the dude's name is T-Bone Burnett.  That, and he's probably the preeminent authority on film soundtracks (remember a little film called O Brother, Where Art Thou? -- same guy).  The standouts here are definitely the Bridges songs, especially "Fallin' and Flyin'" -- I really thought the wrong song was nominated (and won) at the Oscars.  However, a lot of the non-originals are excellent as well -- see the Waylon Jennings track ("Are You Sure...") and the Townes Van Zandt track.  Just a well put-together album, and one that is making me rethink my stance on "country."  So if any of y'all have any suggestions, feel free to let me know!

"Fallin' and Flyin'" (no video):



Well, there's still most of 2010 left, and a lot more good music to come.  Here are a few that I'm looking forward to just around the corner (physical release date in parentheses):
The Hold Steady - Heaven Is Whenever (5/4)
Minus the Bear - Omni (5/4)
Josh Ritter - So Runs the World Away (5/4)
The New Pornographers - Together (5/4 -- a big day, apparently)
The Black Keys - Brothers (5/18)
The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang (6/14)

That's all she wrote.  Except I'm a he.  Anyway.  If anyone likes what they see/read/hear/etc., just let me know -- I can get you a link for any of these albums. But remember -- support live music if you're gonna steal the recorded stuff! Or at least buy a t-shirt or whatever. Thanks for reading, and until next time... whenever that may be.

Oscar Predix

I'll keep this brief. I'll list the nominees and asterisk the predicted winners. A caveat: Of the major category nominees, I have yet to see The Last Station and Nine. But, they aren't expected to win much (if anything) so I'm not worried about it. Here we go:

BEST PICTURE
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker*
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air

BEST ACTOR
Jeff Bridges*
George Clooney
Colin Firth
Morgan Freeman
Jeremy Renner

BEST ACTRESS
Sandra Bullock*
Helen Mirren
Carey Mulligan
Gabourey Sidibe
Meryl Streep

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Matt Damon
Woody Harrelson
Christopher Plummer
Stanley Tucci
Cristoph Waltz*

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penélope Cruz
Vera Farmiga
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Anna Kendrick
Mo'Nique*

BEST DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow*
James Cameron
Lee Daniels
Jason Reitman
Quentin Tarantino

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Hurt Locker - Mark Boal
Inglourious Basterds - Quentin Tarantino*
The Messenger - Alessandro Camon, Oren Moverman
A Serious Man - Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Up - Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Thomas McCarthy

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
District 9 - Nel Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
An Education - Nick Hornby
In the Loop - Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
Precious - Geoffrey Fletcher
Up in the Air - Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner*

Note: For the non-major categories, I'm just going to list the winner:

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Avatar - Mauro Fiore*

BEST EDITING
The Hurt Locker - Bob Murawski, Chris Innis*

BEST ART DIRECTION
The Young Victoria - Patrice Vermette, Maggie Grey*

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Bright Star - Janet Patterson*

BEST MAKEUP
Star Trek - Barney Burman, Mindy Hall, Joel Harlow*

BEST SCORE
Up - Michael Giacchino*

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Crazy Heart - "The Weary Kind" - T-Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham*

BEST SOUND MIXING
The Hurt Locker - Paul N.J. Ottosson, Ray Beckett*

BEST SOUND EDITING
Avatar - Christopher Boyes, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle*

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Avatar - Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, Andy Jones*

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Up - Pete Docter*

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Un prophète (France)*

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Cove (nominees TBD)*

BEST DOCUMENTARY, SHORT SUBJECTS
Music by Prudence - Roger Ross Williams, Elinor Burkett*

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Logorama - Nicolas Schmerkin*

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
Kavi - Gregg Helvey*
 
I'm really pulling for Kavi... nah, I haven't seen it. That and doc short were total guesses. Everything else I feel confident about. I'll tell you what though: I'll take a drink of wine for each wrong pick. Sound good? Good. I'll probably post a short reactions piece after the ceremony. T-minus 45 minutes! Better suit up. Thanks for reading!

2002 Playlist

Again, here are my favorite tracks from 2002. This one was hard because there's so many long songs. Still, it would probably make a pretty sweet road mix. Just sayin'. As always, alphabetically:

The All-American Rejects - "Swing, Swing"
Authority Zero - "Mesa Town"
Bad Religion - "Sorrow"
Ben Folds - "Army" (Live)
Big D & the Kids Table - "Scenester"
The Decemberists - "Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect"
dredg - "The Canyon Behind Her"
Foo Fighters - "All My Life"
John Murphy - "In a House - In a Heartbeat" (28 Days Later soundtrack)
Johnny Cash - "The Man Comes Around"
Minus the Bear - "Get Me Naked 2: Electric Boogaloo"
New Found Glory - "Sonny"
Queens of the Stone Age - "Go with the Flow"
Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Can't Stop" (or "Venice Queen")
Reel Big Fish - "What Are Friends For"
Rilo Kiley - "The Good that Won't Come Out"
Something Corporate - "Punk Rock Princess"
Unwritten Law - "Sound Siren"
Vanessa Carlton - "A Thousand Miles"
The Vines - "Get Free"
Weezer - "Keep Fishin'"

Top 10 Albums: 2002

Bless me, blogosphere, for I have sinned. It has been over two weeks since my last blog entry. The days have been filled with work, sleep, drinking, San Diego trips, and more procrastination than a cohort of second-year freshmen. These are not excuses, and I ask not for atonement (awesome book/film combo, by the way). I merely ask that you bear with me as I, slowly and somewhat un-surely, make my way through this backlog of entries. After all, it's not like I'm getting paid for this... ha!

Moving on, today we're talking about the year 2002 and my favorite albums thereof. It was a good year, 2002 -- I began my second year at ASU, I moved into an off-campus apartment, went on an epic trip to San Diego with high school friends, and spent the summer working at a bar on an Indian reservation in New Mexico. It was also a good year for driving -- which means it was a good year for music. Many of these albums (the ones I actually bought and listened to in 2002) were on regular rotation in my pre-boat Corolla (if you don't know, you don't) as I crisscrossed between California to New Mexico and everywhere in between. I remember cruising I-8 back from SD blasting RBF and screaming down Route 666 with dredg as my soundtrack. There's nothing like getting to know an album like scorched rubber and cracked asphalt under an unrelenting sun.

Here's my list of some stuff I was into in that road-weary summer, some stuff I found out about much later, and some stuff that's just timeless. As always, we begin with some Honorable Mentions:

Ben Folds - Ben Folds Live (probably my favorite live album ever, if only for "Army"), Millencolin - Home From Home (doesn't hold up as well as Pennybridge, but it was one of my favorites back in the day), Minus the Bear - Highly Refined Pirates (plenty raw but awesome), Phantom Planet - The Guest (actually pretty decent, if you can get past "Californiaaaaaaaaa..."), Vanessa Carlton - Be Not Nobody (Damn right... "Makin' my way downtown, walkin' fast, faces pass...), and I'll be honest -- I've never really listened to Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. If you have a lawyer, go ahead and sue me).

Now the top 10:

10) Unwritten Law - Elva
Produced by: Unwritten Law and three other dudes
Standout tracks: "Up All Night," "Sound Siren," "Seein' Red"

One of my favorite all time "punk" (so it's more like pop-punk, but still) albums is Unwritten Law's self-titled album. It was my entire JAM junior year of high school and it got me cred with the "punks" at my high school, who in turn introduced me to some pretty awesome bands that I still listen to (Bad Religion, All, Strung Out, etc.). Now, as "punk" as that album was (or wasn't), its follow-up removes all pretense of "punk." It's more like pop-rock with just enough edge/brashness to keep it from being mainstream. I think this album was actually pretty big on MTV2 if that gives you any idea. Anyway, this is the last good album by what was once one of my favorite bands, and I still give it fairly regular airplay, so I figured I'd throw it on here at #10 over the Millencolin album Home From Home, which I don't really give much airplay to anymore. It's the kind of anthemic chorus and hook-laden album that smacks of blink-182 meets Jimmy Eat world (and I mean that as a compliment). Tom DeLonge even gives a shout out after the last track -- SoCal "punk" at its finest.

9) Foo Fighters - One By One
Produced by: Foo Fighters and two other dudes
Standout tracks: "All My Life," "Times Like These," "Come Back"

Dave Grohl once told Rolling Stone that he didn't much care for this album. Something about it being rushed. What's funny is that it later won a Grammy for Best Rock Album. I'm not sure if that says more to the badassitude (it's a real word, trust me) of the Foos that they can basically shit an album out and take home hardware, or to the general crapitude (again, a real word) that is the Grammys. Either way, I respect both points of view -- I can see where the album pales in comparison to some other efforts by the Foos (although it's not my least favorite Foo record), but I can also see how it's better than probably 90% of the other stuff out there (I'd rather listen to a recording of Dave Grohl taking a shit than, say, the last 3-4 U2 records). The singles are right up there with anything Grohl and Co. have ever released (the opening to "All My Life" is aurgasmic (see what I did there?)), and the album cuts aren't half bad either, especially the slow burners like "Disenchanted Lullaby," "Burn Away," and "Come Back." Not exactly live show staples, sure, but perfect for the sunshine-and-shrubs monotony of the I-40 East.

8) Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf
Produced by: Josh Homme, Adam Kasper, Eric Valentine
Standout tracks: "You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar...," "No One Knows," "Go with the Flow," "Another Love Song"

Speaking of driving through the desert, Songs for the Deaf is a concept album about just that. That's right, a concept album about driving through the desert. In any other hands, this would probably be a complete disaster, but it turned into a minor masterpiece in the confident hands of Josh Homme, Nick Oliveri, Mark Lanegan, and, you know it, Dave Grohl. This is probably one of the most badass collections of musicians this decade has seen. Key word: "badass." No wonder it only lasted one album -- too much testosterone for one recording studio. If only they got "THE" Bruce Dickinson to produce... Regardless, their one foray into the studio is as rockin' as some bands' entire discographies. I'm also a sucker for concept albums -- all the songs are linked together by random snippets of Mojave Desert radio stations -- from hippy deejays to Spanish stations to what sounds like some guy broadcasting out of his trailer. It makes a stark counterpoint to the blistering rhythms, screaming guitars, and triumvirate vocals that mark the songs themselves. The resulting record is as complicated and varied as the desert itself -- alternately rugged, challenging, spare, and even tranquil. It's a trip, man -- too bad this experiment couldn't have lasted longer.

7) Reel Big Fish - Cheer Up!
Produced by: Reel Big Fish, Val Garay
Standout tracks: "Ban the Tube Top," "What Are Friends For," "Valerie," "New York, New York," "Boss D.J.," "Drunk Again"

This is probably the best -- but not my favorite, I don't think -- Reel Big Fish album. It's a ska record, so take that how you will. Can there even be such a thing as a "good" ska record? Tomas Kalnoky sure thinks so. But whatever your stance on ska, this is just an awesome record that contains a lot of staples of their always fun live shows -- "Tube Top," "Where Have You Been?" and the title track come to mind. It also continues their tradition of upbeat, vibrant covers (remember "Take On Me"?) -- their mostly a capella rendition of Ol' Blue Eye's "New York, New York" and the positively pop-tastic cover of Sublime's "Boss D.J." are both fantastic. The standout, however, might be album-capper "Drunk Again" where trumpeter/sidekick Scott Klopfenstein takes center stage for a Burt Bacharach-esque ballad about, what else, drinking your troubles away. It's not exactly a "cheery" track (or album), but RBF never really did shy away from irony.

6) New Found Glory - Sticks and Stones
Produced by: Neal Avron
Standout tracks: "Understatement," "Sonny," "It's Been A Summer," "The Story So Far"

A quick note before we begin: I recently saw NFG perform their self-titled album in its entirety. It made me realize that I probably ranked it too low in a previous entry. My bad, and I apologize to all involved.

That said, while this album isn't as good as that one, I'm still probably ranking it too low. But how do you rank an album (band) that has such obvious aesthetic flaws (it's unclear if they know you can have more than three chords in a song) and very limited subject matter (read: all the songs are about girls... literally, all of them)? It's tough, especially since it's so easy to relate to the material. Relationships, breakups, casual hook-ups, the one who got away, the one you're chasing -- there isn't a song in the band's catalog that I haven't been able to relate to personally at some point. I have memories attached to just about all of these songs like so many post-it notes. There's not many bands out there -- at least for me -- that I can say that about. I know they're just silly pop-punk songs about girls, but I'd like to think they mean something, dammit! Or maybe I'm just a sucker for three-chord love songs with breakdowns.

5) Rilo Kiley - The Execution of All Things
Produced by: Mike Mogis
Standout tracks: "The Good That Won't Come Out," "Paint's Peeling," "With Arms Outstretched," "Spectacular Views"

Another moment of honesty: I've never really been into the whole "Omaha Sound"/Saddle Creek thing. I'm only really into Cursive's later stuff, Bright Eyes bores the fuck out of me, and I've never heard The Faint. All that Midwest scene shit is slow, morose, and with a predilection toward quiet -- hey, kinda like life in the Midwest must be! All kidding aside, yes it can be intricate and moving at times, but what on this list so far would make you think I'd be into that scene? That said, I absolutely love this record. Maybe it's the L.A. connection or the random flourishes of electronica (probably the same thing anyway), but Rilo Kiley hits all the right buttons on this one. The songs all seem like little short stories, with full-fledged characters and arcs, all sung/narrated by my indie crush Jenny Lewis. Yes, guitarist Blake Sennett makes an occasional appearance, but who really listens to Rilo Kiley for his vocals? I mean, really? As a whole, the album dips from country to electronica to indie rock all with a kind of playful, self-aware vibe that only makes sense from a band featuring two former child actors (Lewis and Sennett). To sum the album up in four words: As Lewis says in the phenomenal final track "Spectacular Views": "It's so fucking beautiful."

4) dredg - El Cielo
Produced by: dredge and a bunch of guys
Standout tracks: "Same Ol' Road," "Whoa Is Me," "The Canyon Behind Her"

"It's so fucking beautiful" might be an even better descriptor for this album -- to date, dredg's finest work. This one is another concept album based on -- wait for it -- a painting by Salvador Dali. It's about as mindblowing as you'd expect. I've taken the liberty of embedding the painting below. Let this marinate for a minute:

Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bumblebee around a Pomegranate One Second Before Awakening

It's got it all: fish, tigers, fish eating tigers, flying elephants, a naked chick, bees, cliffs. The album's got it all too, traipsing around from hard rock to metal to jazz to prog, all with excellent musicianship and featuring vocals by one of my favorite singers, Gavin Hayes. The guy seriously has one of the best voices around -- and it totally translates live as well. And, to keep with the theme of amazing album closers, "The Canyon Behind Her" is probably one of the most beautiful songs of the decade.

3) The Decemberists - Castaways and Cutouts

Produced by: The Decemberists

Standout tracks: "Leslie Anne Levine," "Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect," "July, July," "California One"

This was the first Decemberists record I ever heard... and I didn't really like it. I think I was still firmly entrenched in my third-wave ska phase, and this record was too slow, too acoustic, too... accordion-y. I definitely missed the boat there (get it... there's a boat on the album cover!), but it's a good thing I came back to this record after hearing -- and falling in love with -- Picaresque and The Crane Wife. I would have missed the macabre amazingness of the aborted baby-POV "Leslie Anne Levine." I would have missed the hypnotic melancholy of "Here I Dreamt..." (one of my favorite all-time Decemberists songs). I would have missed the sunny, twisted shout out to my birth month, "July, July!" And I would have missed "California One / Youth and Beauty Brigade," perhaps the best tribute to the two-faced nature of my home away from home, California. And I would have missed all the Gothic-folk-indie gems in between, peppered with accordion and sarcastic barbs and sailors and literary references and star-crossed lovers and dark humor and a distinct fascination with the morbid. And that would have been a damn shame. This was the first Decemberists record I ever heard -- and it just might be my favorite.

2) Johnny Cash - American IV: The Man Comes Around

Produced by: Rick Rubin, John Carter Cash

Standout tracks: "The Man Comes Around," "Hurt," "In My Life," "Sam Hall"

Honestly, I'm not sure which is the greater achievement: the use of "The Man Comes Around" over the opening credits of the 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake or how Cash absolutely crushes NIN's "Hurt" (and the accompanying video). Either of them -- an appearance in a zombie movie and the Grammy the "Hurt" video picked up -- is a feat, marking Cash as a cultural force in his 70th year. I mean, the man was DYING as he made this record. As if you couldn't tell, with cover choices like "In My Life" and "Desperado" -- not to mention "I Won't Back Down" off the previous American Recordings record. There's just something abso-fucking-lutely profound about a man confronting his fate with nothing more than a gravely, world-weary voice and a guitar. There's an added earnestness, an urgency, when he sings a line like, "You better let somebody love you, before it's too late." Whether it's an old country standard or a contemporary industrial song, to hear Cash cover it here is to hear the song again for the first time. Here, here, ya hear? It was the last album released in Cash's lifetime, and it has to be considered one of his best.

1) Red Hot Chili Peppers - By the Way

Produced by: Rick Rubin

Standout tracks: "By the Way," "Can't Stop," "Midnight," "Minor Thing," "Venice Queen"

The Keidis/Frusciante/Flea/Smith incarnation of the Chili Peppers (everything from Mother's Milk through Stadium Arcadium, with the exception of One Hot Minute) is one of the most ridiculously talented collections of musicians of this generation. I'm not even kidding. Say what you will of Keidis's lyrics, but I've always thought they were more of a compliment to the group's sound than the driving force behind the music, and there's no denying the superior talent of the Flea/Smith rhythm battery. But the star of the Chili Peppers (or, if you're cool like me, RCHP -- and yes, I know that's not the correct abbreviation), to me, has always been lead guitarist/backup vocalist extraordinaire John Frusciante. Just think about it: the opening riff to "Under the Bridge" or "Soul to Squeeze." The slide guitar solos in "Scar Tissue." The haunting backing vox that permeate By the Way. All Frusciante. Without Frusciante, they're a bunch of funk-rock wannabes with socks on their dicks that hang out with Dave Navarro. With Frusciante, they're one of the defining mainstream rock bands of the last 20 years. All of which makes me nervous about the future of the band without Frusciante. That said, this album is Frusciante's finest hour. His guitar sound throughout is... incendiary. Incendiary. And his pitch-perfect backing vocals add a layer of depth to an already-deep album. Just listen to the song "Venice Queen" (quite possibly a) the best song the Chili Peppers have recorded or will ever record and b) one of the best songs of the decade). The song -- a heartbreaking tribute to Keidis's late drug counselor, Gloria (or G-L-O-R-I-A) -- is a veritable playground for Frusciante's many talents. From the delicate fingerpicking of the first half of the song to the frenetic acoustic strumming of the second half to the melodic backing vox throughout, it's all a stunning display of talent. It's a shame his solo stuff -- what he ostensibly left RCHP to pursue -- isn't as good as his stuff with the Peppers. But enough talking. I'll let the song speak for itself:

Done at last. Lemme know what you think. As always, thanks for reading. Until next time, whenever it may be...

Oscar Nominations Ramble

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has just announced that next year's Super Bowl will feature a whopping FOUR entrants and will be played as a free-for-all/melee, Braveheart-style battle. But with a football instead of swords. Okay, not really (although the Pro Bowl actually did have over 100 players involved -- ridiculous). But a Super Bowl with four teams is about as good an idea as having TEN Best Picture nominees. I know, I know, that's how they used to do it back in the day, but if we did everything like they did 70 years ago, we'd be in the midst of an economic depression and deposing foreign dictators. Oh wait. Whatever. If I wasn't so sure it was just a marketing ploy by the studios to slap the 'Best Picture Nominee' tag on DVDs and get a theatrical re-release, I'd be more open to it. But it just seems like a money grab. Either way, there will probably be one or two nominees that flat-out don't deserve it, and one or two that were rightly rewarded.  Sounds like a wash to me -- why bother? Oh well. I sound like a crotchety old man. All I know is that the Oscars with 20 Best Picture nominees would be a more legitimate awards ceremony than the Grammys...

Moving on, we're a few scant hours away from the nomination announcements. True to form as a legendary procrastinator, I've waited until now to offer up my predictions. I'm sticking to the main eight categories (Picture, Director, all the acting awards, and both screenplay awards), because a) I'm lazy, b) I don't care about documentaries, c) the red tape for foreign films is just retarded, and d) the tech categories would be a crapshoot anyway. The lists are roughly in order or likelihood of a nomination. I'll even offer a waaaaay too early winner prediction in each category as well. You can also probably look forward to (or dread) a reactions piece and final predictions closer to the ceremony. Enjoy. Or not.

BEST PICTURE
The Hurt Locker*
Avatar
Inglourious Basterds
Up in the Air
Precious
An Education
A Serious Man
Up
Invictus
Nine

Also in the running: District 9, A Single Man, Star Trek, (500) Days of Summer
Possible WTF? nomination: The Last Station
Haven't seen: Nine, The Last Station

I think there's really only one spot that's still up for debate -- everything from Hurt Locker to Invictus seems fairly well locked in to me. Hurt Locker and Avatar are the clear front runners at this point, while Up in the Air, Basterds, and Precious (I refuse to type out the whole title) have plenty of precursor awards and momentum themselves. One-time contender Education leads the pack of also-rans, along with the now probably automatic Coen nom (I can't imagine they won't get nominated in any given year with TEN spots) Serious Man, Eastwood award-bait Invictus and Pixar's Up (it'll be good to finally have them get a nomination in the big boys category though, I'll admit). I really didn't want to pick Nine for the last spot, but I really couldn't see any of the other films in the running snagging the spot. District 9 and Star Trek are both sci-fi (NOT SyFy), and we've already got Avatar. A Single Man is too small (like Crazy Heart and The Messenger), while Summer probably skews too young for most of the Academy. Nine, critical raping aside, still has pedigree and a lot of Academy-friendly talent behind it. I think it gets a pity nom. I would say it's undeserving, but I haven't seen it. So I'll just say that it's probably undeserving. I wouldn't actually mind that and Invictus being dropped from two of the other ones in the running. As for the WTF? nom, I don't think The Hangover has a shot, but The Last Station seems like the kind of hoity-toity picture that, carried by strong veteran performances (from what I hear), could get the Merchant-Ivory Memorial nomination.

As for the eventual winner, I'd say The Hurt Locker has got its statue signed, sealed, and delivered. Or whatever the actual logistics for getting a statue are. Avatar is a threat, but Cameron has already been rewarded for directing the highest-grossing movie of all time, No need to do it twice (plus, I don't think the movie has much support in the acting or writing branches). Basterds is the real dark horse here (and I'd love to see it win), but I don't see it happening. The Globes snub killed Up in the Air's chances, and Precious never really had a chance but would seem to be the final contender. Hey -- that's five movies! Weird! Anyway, the rest are filler nominations with varying degrees of worthiness, from Education (very) to Nine (not at all). The Hurt Locker is just the right movie for the right time. I'll be keeping tabs on what will probably either be an Avatar backlash or groundswell of support. For now though, it's Locker.

BEST DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow* - The Hurt Locker
James Cameron - Avatar
Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds
Jason Reitman - Up in the Air
Lee Daniels - Precious

Also in the running: Nobody really, but Clint Eastwood (Invictus) and the Coens (A Serious Man) are probably next in line
Possible WTF? nominations: Lone Scherfig (An Education), Michael Haneke (The White Ribbon)
Haven't seen: The White Ribbon

This one's easy -- one through five seem pretty locked in to me. I don't see any of them getting bumped. Coincidentally (or not...), these are the same films that are the probable top five front runners for Best Picture. Bigelow's mastery of tension and explosions (how cool is it that one of the best action directors of all time is a woman?) made Hurt Locker one of the most engrossing films of the year; Cameron is a shoo-in (and, again, NOT a shoe-in) for Avatar -- I just hope he wears a suit made of $100 bills to the ceremony; Tarantino delivered the goods after a lengthy wait with Basterds and is probably a bigger contender than Cameron (did you see his Golden Globe acceptance speech? smug, smug, smug); Reitman will be happy with his second nomination (although, for the life of me, I don't see what's so special about his fairly lackadaisical pacing, "more indie than thou" soundtracks, and lazy endings -- he's like a more polished Zach Braff, although he does get great performances from his actors); finally, Daniels is actually probably the true dark horse in this category -- Precious is raw and hard to watch at times, but there is an undeniable energy and soul about the film that speaks to Daniels's abilities behind the camera.

As you can tell by my strategic placement of the asterisk next to Bigelow's name, I think Locker pulls the double whammy and wins both Picture and Director. The time is ripe for a lady director to take home the top prize, and the veteran Bigelow is as worthy as any -- I mean, come on, surely you've seen POINT BREAK. If she wins, AMPAS should just call it like it is and make it retroactive for what is probably the best action movie of all time. On another serious note, The Hurt Locker was fantastic and I think being shut out at the Globes actually helped its -- and Bigelow's -- cause (by getting them more #1 votes). I think Tarantino and Daniels are the only other interesting candidates here -- I don't think Cameron or Reitman have much of a shot. As for the WTF? noms, the Academy could go overboard with two female nominees, and Scherfig would be a very deserving one for Education. Haneke's Ribbon, meanwhile, won the Palme d'Or, which, while not necessarily a very good prognosticator of Oscar success, brings a certain amount of prestige to the table for an already-well-respected vet. At the end of the day (well, it'll actually be night), expect to see Bigelow at the podium. (Yes, I know Bigelow and Cameron used to be married and, no, I don't think it's worth discussing.)

BEST ACTOR
Jeff Bridges* - Crazy Heart
George Clooney - Up in the Air
Colin Firth - A Single Man
Morgan Freeman - Invictus
Michael Stuhlbarg - A Serious Man

Also in the running: Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), Viggo Mortensen (The Road), Tobey Maguire (Brothers)
Possible WTF? nomination: Nicolas Cage (Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans)
Haven't seen: The Road, Brothers

While I think Jeff Lebowski... er, Bridges has this wrapped up tighter than Jesus Quintana's pants, the rest of the category is more loose than Bunny Lebowski herself. Extended Big Lebowski analogy for the win. Moving on, Clooney and, to a lesser extent, Firth are both basically locks, but all bets are off after that. Freeman would seem to be a sure thing, but the movie was mediocre at best and received barely more than a smattering of applause from critics. I'm counting him in for now, but it wouldn't shock me not to hear his name called in the morning (I might even be up to watch). As for the fifth spot, I really have no idea. Renner would seem to be a good bet, as Locker figures to get a lot of love, but there are other, more established, names on his heels -- Maguire has the Globe nod and Mortensen is probably the best actor of the last 10 years. My money's on Stuhlbarg though. He's got a couple things going for him -- 1) he's a theatre vet and has paid his dues, and 2) he's in a Coen brothers movie. That might be enough for some voters. Or, you know, his excellent performance.

Whoever the other nominees wind up being, this is Bridges's time to shine. I can't think of many actors that are more due for a statue than him. While Crazy Heart as a film isn't exactly a revelation, Bridges as Bad Blake is exactly that -- a revelation. The film is a quiet character study of a broken man putting himself back together again and Bridges puts his all into it. His win will be more or less a lifetime achievement award, but that doesn't take anything away from this performance. Clooney was good as Michael Clayton again, and Firth was even better as a gay college professor in 1960's L.A. who has just lost his partner and must fend off the advances of a drunken Julianne Moore. Freeman was perfunctory as Nelson Mandela in a role that he could have sleepwalked through and picked up a nom (and perhaps he did). WTF?-wise, Nic Cage as a drug-addled, post-Katrina Nawlins detective was truly something to behold, if only for the line, "Shoot him again... his soul is still dancing." Amazing stuff. I haven't seen The Road or Brothers, but I'm sure Viggo is excellent, and I have a hard time believing that Tobey Maguire turned in an Oscar-caliber performance. If he sneaks into the field of five, I'll have to check it out. I'll leave you with this: Jeff Bridges performing "Fallin' and Flyin'" from Crazy Heart. No video, but well worth listening to:

     

       Jeff Bridges Fallin and Flying - Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

BEST ACTRESS
Meryl Streep* - Julie and Julia
Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side
Carey Mulligan - An Education
Gabourey Sidibe - Precious
Helen Mirren - The Last Station

Also in the running: Emily Blunt (The Young Victoria), Saoirse Ronan (The Lovely Bones)
Possible WTF? nomination: Abbie Cornish (Bright Star)
Haven't seen: Julie and Julia, The Blind Side, The Last Station, The Young Victoria, Bright Star

As you can probably tell from the lengthy 'Haven't seen' list, this category is not my forte. I've got Julie and Julia in my Netflix cue, and I'll probably see The Blind Side this week, but the other ones are less likely. I'll *try* to see all the nominated performances though -- it looks like all of these movies are either out on DVD or still playing at Camelview. Anyway, the performances I *have* seen -- Mulligan's and Sidibe's -- were both fine work. Mulligan is probably the best female performance I've seen this year and would be a contender if she was a bigger name. Sidibe showed equal parts bravery and spunk in Precious, but the nomination was her win. Those two are locks. The fifth spot is wide open -- I'm giving it to Mirren for now based on her track record and less-than-stellar reviews for Victoria and Bones. Blunt is thisclose though. I've heard very good things about Cornish's performance in Star, so that's my Melissa Leo in Frozen River Memorial left field performance.

The only two contenders are Streep and Bullock though. The cagey veteran vs. the fan favorite. It's kind of like Kobe vs. LeBron (yes, now TWO sports analogies in an Oscar blog!), except with strappy dresses and sequins instead of puppets (I hate those commercials). I've seen a lot of bloggers and entertainment writers predicting gold for Bullock, but I don't buy it. The Globes were her moment in the sun -- Streep will pick up a long-deserved third statue. Respected comedienne Bullock has to settle for the Bill Murray/Lost in Translation treatment, watching the veteran Actress win the award she thought was hers.

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz* - Inglourious Basterds
Woody Harrelson - The Messenger
Stanley Tucci - The Lovely Bones
Christopher Plummer - The Last Station
Christian McKay - Me & Orson Welles

Also in the running: Matt Damon (Invictus), Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker)
Possible WTF? nomination: Alfred Molina (An Education)
Haven't seen: The Last Station, Me & Orson Welles

The supporting categories are so locked in, it's barely worth talking about. Christoph "Don't Call Me Christopher" Waltz will win this award -- and deservingly so. SS Colonel Hans Landa is one of the year's truly memorable characters, along with Alan from The Hangover, Up's Dug the talking dog, the aforementioned Bad Blake from Crazy Heart, probably Nic Cage's character from Bad Lieutenant, and in a very different way, Claireece Precious Jones from, you guessed it, Precious. So yeah. He's winning. The other nominees are tricky -- I can really see the Academy taking some chances here. I think Harrelson, Tucci and Plummer are more or less locks, but the fifth spot is there for the taking. Matty Damon has the name brand and the Eastwood factor, but I just don't think the performance was that great (although he could get support from those that don't want to vote for him in lead for The Informant! but want to see him nominated). I think he'll get his later. Mackie could swoop in, but I'm just not seeing much love for the actors of The Hurt Locker. McKay was initially my WTF? nom, but, in this category, I'm actually thinking the Academy does pull one out of their asses. McKay -- an unknown playing Orson freaking Welles -- would seem to fit the bill. I still need to see this one, but I think enough AMPAS members will have McKay high enough on their ballots for him to sneak in. He -- and everyone else -- is just fodder for Waltz though.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Mo'Nique* - Precious
Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air
Vera Farmiga - Up in the Air
Julianne Moore - A Single Man
Penélope Cruz - Nine

Also in the running: Marion Cotillard (Nine), Samantha Morton (The Messenger), Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart)
Possible WTF? nomination: none, really, since this is so wide open, but Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds) is the closest thing
Haven't seen: Nine

Again, this statue is Mo'Nique's to lose, although I don't think the performance is worthy of the prohibitive favorite status it so obviously has. Acts I & II -- yell and curse a lot, throw things. Act III -- channel Viola Davis in Doubt. Yeah, I just don't see it. Oh well. She's winning, so what are you gonna do? I'd love to see either of the Up in the Air girls win (they were the strongest part of the movie for me), but the Mo'Nique train and possible vote-splitting means it's not happening. Moore is the next closest thing to a lock, but in reality, the last two spots are... wait for it... up in the air. Moore gets one because she's Julianne Moore. I think someone from Nine could easily nab the last spot and Cruz is the best bet because she won here last year and was also excellent in Broken Embraces. Cotillard is another former winner with another fine performance under her belt this year (Public Enemies -- which was once thought of as a Best Picture contender, believe it or not, but then the movie actually came out...) and could get the spot as well. Morton is yet *another* vet with past nominations and probably has even odds with the two Nine ladies. Gyllenhaal will probably get in if Crazy Heart picks up a Picture nom, and Kruger (who was excellent) is a dark horse. Like, if she was a horse, you wouldn't be able to see her very well at night. I wonder where that term comes from, anyway. A name that's missing here is Mélanie Laurent, also from Basterds, and also excellent. From what I understand, however, she was campaigned as a lead actress, which she probably won't get and probably crippled her chances here. Again though, it doesn't matter as Mo'Nique is winning this.

NOTE: Emily Blunt's performance in the largely forgotten Sunshine Cleaning is as good or better than anything listed here. Too early in the year, I guess.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Quentin Tarantino* - Inglourious Basterds
Mark Boal - The Hurt Locker
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen - A Serious Man
Bob Petersen & Pete Docter - Up
Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber - (500) Days of Summer

Also in the running: James Cameron (Avatar), Pedro Almodóvar (Broken Embraces), Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman (The Messenger), Michael Haneke (The White Ribbon)
Possible WTF? nominations: Nancy Meyers (It's Complicated), Dave Eggers & Vendela Vida (Away We Go)
Haven't seen: The White Ribbon

One thing about nomination morning is that you NEVER know what's going to happen in the screenplay categories, especially Original. In Bruges, Lars and the Real Girl, Happy-Go-Lucky and numerous other smaller films have been nominated here in recent years -- it's practically its own WTF? category. Hence the lengthy 'also in the running' and WTF? lists. I wouldn't be surprised if any or all of those were nominated. (Well, maybe if *all* of them were). I think the top five are pretty solid though. There's no way Tarantino doesn't get nominated, and I have him winning right now more because I'm a fan and it's so wide open than any real inkling of AMPAS's intentions. Boal and the Coens are also incredibly likely, but the other two spots could go to two of any number of films. I just picked the two most likely. If you were about to shoot me in the face and asked me to tell you the best script of the bunch, I might just say it is Up's. Just a great story, and Pixar usually does well here. Summer also had great script, but, again, I wonder about demographics here. I wouldn't think Cameron would be able to get a nomination for ripping off Pocahontas and Dances with Wolves, but stranger things have happened (and the script, while the film's weak point, wasn't actually bad, in my opinion). Almodóvar is a past winner and always gets consideration. The Messenger could get the Frozen River treatment, and I just have a feeling that we'll be seeing The White Ribbon outside the foreign category somewhere. The WTF? noms both skew comedically, but that shouldn't hurt their chances in this category. I'd be willing to wager that I get the most wrong here.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner* - Up in the Air
Nick Hornby - An Education
Geoffrey Fletcher - Precious
Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell - District 9
Scott Cooper - Crazy Heart

Also in the running: Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach (Fantastic Mr. Fox), Nora Ephron (Julie & Julia), Anthony Peckham (Invictus)
Possible WTF? nomination: A bunch of guys (In the Loop)
Haven't seen: Fantastic Mr. Fox, Julie & Julia, In the Loop

This one's a bit easier to call since AMPAS doesn't take as many chances in Adapted, but there's still a couple spots... wait for it... up in the air (yes! twice!). Speaking of which, Up in the Air appears to be the favorite after the Globes win, although support for the rest of the movie is clearly starting to dry up, so I could see Hornby sneaking in for the win. The Precious and District 9 scripts are both solid bets, but no sure things. Cooper's Crazy Heart script is even less of a sure thing, but the words behind Bridges's performance is surely worth a nom (although it must be said that the story is fairly weak, if not entirely derivative). I may be making a mistake by not putting a script written by two former nominees in my top five, but then I remembered the script was about a talking fox. Still, it's got a great shot at a nomination. Ephron's and Peckham's scripts are buoyed by strong performances, so they merit consideration as well. While I haven't seen it, I've heard In the Loop is the kind of crazy genius script that could propel it to the top of voter's ballots (those who have seen it anyway), making a surprise nomination a distinct possibility. However the field turns out, I expect it to be Reitman and Turner against Hornby. The former has the edge right now, but there's plenty of time for a late charge from Hornby (or someone from the field).

Egads, that was close to 4000 words. Well, we'll see how I did in about four hours -- when the actual nominations are announced. I did fairly well last year -- hoping for a repeat performance. Thanks for reading. Must sleep now.

Top 10 Movies: 2002

How fitting that the second year of the millennium (but, again, not the decade) was dominated by sequels -- three of the top four grossers were follow-ups: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (what's with the long titles?). All made over $200M. None of them were particularly excellent (although one did crack my top 10 -- guess which one!). The rest of the box-office list is littered with sequels (or the soon-to-be-coined "threequels"): Austin Powers in Goldmember (secretly kinda awesome and probably my favorite of the three), Men in Black II (abjectly dogshit), Die Another Day (crappy). Even the top-grosser, Spider-Man, spawned two sequels of GREATLY varying quality (and an upcoming reboot -- already? seriously? -- that better not have the douchefag from High School Musical or the douchefag from Twilight), further propagating the sequel syndrome that we're still suffering from today. Critically-speaking, 2002 featured the sequel to one of the worst Oscars in recent memory. It was another snoozefest as the big winners (Chicago, The Pianist, and The Hours) beat out more-deserving candidates (Gangs of New York, Adaptation., and Road to Perdition) in nearly every category. Brody over Day-Lewis? Somebody named Ronald Harwood over Charlie Kaufman? For real? This actually happened? I can't wait until they reboot the Oscars and start handing out retroactive awards.

Moving right along, my top-10 list is sequel-free (with one notable exception) and awards-bait free (with one notable exception). There's some good genre films, some under-appreciated work by major directors, multiple sword fights, and two controversial "adaptations." The only thing that's missing is zombies. Apparently. Here are my ten favorites:

Honorable mentions: Bowling for Columbine (Michael Moore's last -- only? -- good film), Ghost Ship (so not kidding), Orange County (the best Farrelly brothers movie they never made), Resident Evil (again, not kidding -- Paul W.S. Anderson knows a thing or two about atmosphere (Event Horizon), The Ring (still the scariest movie I've seen in theaters).

Never saw it: City of God. I should probably rectify this soon.

10) Minority Report
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Written by: Scott Frank and Jon Cohen
Starring: Tom Cruise, Samantha Morton, Colin Farrell, Max von Sydow

I'm going to try to keep these write-ups a bit shorter, at least this far down the list. Anyway, Steve Spielberg doing a science fiction neo-noir? Based on a Phil Dick story? With Tommy Cruise? Sign me up! I understand the hate for Cruise the celebrity, what with the Scientology and couch-jumping, but he's still a badass movie star (until recently anyway). Also solid here are a pre-coke Colin Farrell and That Guy Hall-of-Famer Neal McDonough (so creepy). The film is a technical marvel (photographed by the Oscar-winning Janusz Kamiński and also won the Sound Editing Oscar), if not exactly a narrative masterpiece. A final note: This film is about 10 to 150,000 times better than the next Cruise/Spielberg collaboration, War of the Worlds.

9) The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Directed by: Peter Jackson
Written by: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Elijah Woods, Sean Astin, Andy Serkis

"Oooh, look at me, I'm Aragorn, watch me fall off this cliff!" I'm not usually picky about adaptations -- I understand that things sometimes have to change when going to a different medium -- but that particular plot invention did not sit very well with me. It took what was largely an action-oriented picture and brought it to a screeching halt, not to mention the fact that we had to sit through more of Liv Tyler's miserable impression of an elf (one of my only casting issues with the film). I also took great issue with the seizure-inducing editing in the Helm's Deep battle sequence. I think it was a Transformers-esque case of technology not up to par with the director's vision. Those two major flaws aside, the weakest entry in the Rings trilogy still has a lot going for it -- beautiful landscapes (it could be argued that New Zealand is the real star here), top-notch performances from Astin and Serkis (how cool would it have been for him to get some Oscar love?), some iconic scenes (Sméagol/Gollum's moonlit monologue/dialogue comes to mind), and, of course, this gem:



8) Road to Perdition
Directed by: Sam Mendes
Written by: David Self
Starring: Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Daniel Craig

I actually only saw this for the first time very recently, but it made quite an impression on me. I think it just might be Sam Mendes's best film. It's easily my favorite anyway. American Beauty is excellent, but it doesn't hold up quite as well 10 years later; Jarhead is probably my second favorite (although Deakins is the real star); Revolutionary Road was mediocre at best (and tedious at worst); and Away We Go, while a welcome foray into a more comedic direction, was too simplistic. Road to Perdition packs serious dramatic weight, boasts a plethora of great performances, deconstructs the gangster genre, and features the last work of the late, great Conrad Hall. I'm quite curious to see what direction Mendes takes in his reunion with Craig -- the next Bond film.

7) Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Directed by: George Clooney
Written by: Charlie Kaufman
Starring: Sam Rockwell, George Clooney, Drew Barrymore, Julia Roberts

My friends and I have this totally straight thing where certain actors, directors, and (rarely) writers achieve "boy status." We'll say things like, "Brad Pitt's my boy" or "Mark Strong is almost at boy status." This probably comes from Old School and Will Ferrell's iconic "You're my boy, Blue!" The exact ins and outs (there's gotta be a better way to say that...) of boy status are unknown; it's kind of a "you know it when you see it" thing. Anyway, I bring that up because George Clooney is my boy (he might even be my #1 boy, but that's a whole other debate). Sam Rockwell is my boy. And, sure as shit, Charlie Kaufman is my boy. He might even be the only writer that has yet achieved boy status (although Bill Monahan might be up there if not for a certain misfire... we'll call it... how about... Sum of Untruths). So yeah. Three boys in one movie, encompassing the director-writer-lead actor triumvirate? I'm not sure this has happened before or since. Add to that Chuck Barris's batshit crazy "autobiography" of which this is an "adaptation" and cool stylized visuals, and you've got yourself one helluva motion picture.

6) Catch Me If You Can
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Written by: Jeff Nanthanson
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken

Very much a modern-day (well, it mostly takes place during the '60s) picaresque, full of whimsy and humor, Catch Me If You Can is very much in the Indiana Jones/Hook vein of Spielberg's oeuvre (I do love that word). The movie just oozes charm, from Tom Hank's funnily-accented FBI agent to Leo's "Do you concur?" to the locale-hopping montages. Christopher Walken is excellent as Leo's father in a role that has always reminded me of his character in Pulp Fiction, minus the whole watch thing. The film also looks pretty interesting next to Confessions on this list -- what with all the forgeries and lies and double lives and government agents. I give this one the higher ranking because it's probably the "better" film of the two. And it doesn't have Julia Roberts.

5) Gangs of New York
Directed by: Martin Scorcese
Written by: Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, and Kenneth Lonergan
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz, John C. Reilly, Brendan Gleeson, Liam Neeson

...and here's the previously-mentioned awards bait. This was very nearly the apex of the "Please Give Me an Oscar" stage of Scorcese's career, although not nearly as egregious as 2004's The Aviator. That said, it's a damn fine film that, while probably a little (a lot?) long, could have -- and perhaps should have -- won some major awards. Scorcese himself was a near miss, and I still say that D-Day was robbed -- robbed, I say! -- for his iconic performance as Bill the Butcher, easily one of my favorite performances of the decade. And look at that supporting cast! Gleeson was incredible, Reilly showed a menacing side that we might not get to see again now that he's in the Ferrell/McKay stable, and Neeson and Jim Broadbent showed why they're some of the best in the business. Oh, and something about Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz (the movie is not good because of them, although Leo is pretty decent here). And what's with that U2 song on the end credits? Yuck. Final point: This film wouldn't be on this list if it weren't for Day-Lewis.

4) Hero
Directed by: Zhang Yimou
Written by: Feng Li, Ben Wang, and Zhang Yimou
Starring: Jet Li, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi

Okay, Hero didn't actually get released in the U.S. until 2004, when it was released under the ridiculous moniker Quentin Tarantino Presents Hero. I actually saw this sometime in 2003 because my girlfriend at the time got some sort of pirated copy or something (she was Chinese). I was immediately blown away -- I still hadn't seen much Asian cinema at the time (although the movie is even better now that I have). Leung and Cheung steal the show (as they are wont to do), as Chris Doyle's (one of the only boy status DPs) absolutely GORGEOUS cinematography. Pure spectacle. The political ideology the film espouses my be controversial (ditto 2007's similar The Curse of the Golden Flower), but anyone that watches this for politics is watching for the wrong reasons.

3) Adaptation.
Directed by: Spike Jonze
Written by: Charlie Kaufman & Donald Kaufman
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Chris Cooper, Meryl Streep, Brian Cox

When I was thinking about what to say about this movie, it occurred to me that I might have actually seen this movie at the now-defunct Harkins Poca Fiesta 4. MAN, that place was a dump. Some of my friends probably have TVs bigger than the screens there. Wow. Anyway, that place was beat-up, run-down, pretty much all around crappy... but not without a certain charm. Kind of like Chris Cooper's character in this movie. (Yeah, I know that segue was tenuous... very Matt Berry-esque of me.) Regardless, Cooper won an Oscar for his portrayal of orchid thief John Laroche, the main character of Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief, the book of which this film is supposedly an adaptation. Meryl Streep probably should have won an Oscar for her portrayal of Orlean herself. Nic Cage was up for an Oscar for his portrayal of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman and his fictitious brother Donald. And Charlie Kaufman himself DEFINITELY should have won him an Oscar for his completely bonkers -- yet funny, touching, and smart -- script about how hard it is to adapt a book about flowers. Genius stuff, really. Final note: Brian Cox almost steals the entire movie in his scenes as screenwriting guru Robert McKee. It's a good thing he didn't succeed, or no one would have seen this brilliant movie. And Cox would probably be on the run from the law, which would suck, because he's awesome.

2) Punch-Drunk Love
Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
Written by: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Luis Guzman

Gotta love it when comedic actors go dramatic. Some of my favorite movies of the decade -- this, Lost in Translation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind -- feature noted funny men in more serious roles.  I wonder, though, if we think these movies -- I probably actually more mean the performances -- are so good because there's an element of novelty to seeing, for example, a man who once fought a penguin for nudey magazines showing a powerful range of emotion. Or a man who once tried to blow up gophers with dynamite looking forlorn and world-weary. Or Ace Ven-fucking-tura himself conveying real, painful heartbreak. I don't think it's a case of novelty. I think it's rather *because* these men debase themselves so thoroughly on a regular basis that they're able to tap so deeply into those emotional veins. Whatever the case, Happy Gilmore showed himself capable of someday winning an Oscar in this film (and in Reign Over Me, and in Spanglish) if the right role comes along. Someday it might -- it nearly did for Murray, although it may already have for Carrey. The last thing I want to mention (although there are many more that I could have) is Jon Brion's absolutely berserk score. It compliments Sandler's emotional turbulence so well it's scary.

1) 28 Days Later
Directed by: Danny Boyle
Written by: Alex Garland
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Christopher Eccleston

No offense (which means I can say anything I want) Danny Boyle, but FUCK YOU. Claim what you want, but this is a zombie movie. You can call them infected all you want, but this is a fucking zombie movie. Yes, you use the controversial "zoombie" in lieu of the traditional, shambling Romero zombie, and *I guess* technically they're still alive, but they run around en masse trying to bite (eat?) humans. THAT'S A ZOMBIE.

Rant over. Regardless of nomenclature, calling this a zombie movie might even be a misnomer, since it's more about social commentary than blood and guts (although it does not hold back in that department). Maybe this is one of the best post-apocalyptic movies of all time (although, this time around, the apocalypse is localized to Britain). Whatever genre you decide to peg this movie into, it's one of my favorites of the decade. The sheer amount of talent involved is ridiculous -- Boyle (no stranger to crossing genre lines) speaks for himself, but Garland is an amazing novelist (The Beach is totally, unappreciatedly genius) and screenwriter (this, Sunshine), and John Murphy is easily one of my favorite film composers (along with the aforementioned Brion, Clint Mansell, and Phillip Glass), and Murphy is definitely boy status. This is just a perfectly-made film; I'm not sure there is a way this film could have been better. It's rare to come across a film like that. From the haunting shots at the beginning of a deserted London to the frantic chase sequences to the climactic escape from the military compound, the film is shot, scripted, acted, and scored perfectly. That's why it's #1 here.

That, and because it's a zombie movie.

Well, I only mildly succeeded in the whole "shorter" thing -- this was closer to 2500 words than 3000. So that's good. Well, whether you found it controversial or conformist, I hope you enjoyed reading. I'll tackle the albums of '02 in due time. Until then...

Movies of 2009

Now, it's movie time. No, not the seminal video rental store in the Village of Oak Creek where pretty much all my high school friends worked at, but time to bust out my top movie list. I'll keep this simple -- ten that missed the cut (alphabetized), then top 10 proper (ranked). Again, no times for write ups now (probably when I finish this damn thing). Enjoy.

Near Misses
(500) Days of Summer
The Brothers Bloom
Drag Me to Hell
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Moon
A Perfect Getaway
A Serious Man
Star Trek
Up
Up in the Air


My Top 10 Movies of 2009
10) Adventureland
9) District 9
8) Pandorum
7) Watchmen
6) An Education
5) The Hangover
4) Zombieland
3) The Hurt Locker
2) Avatar
1) Inglourious Basterds





Finally, and because I can't make this point clear enough, The Single Worst Film of 2009, Bar None:

Where the Wild Things Are

I had no expectations -- literally, none -- and I was floored at how godawful it was. I spent much of the last 35-40 minutes staring at the ceiling and waiting for it to be over. Just completely uninvested. The technical achievements were notable, and I think no worse of the (considerable) talent behind it, but let this be a lesson in hubris to filmmakers -- some things are unfilmable... and first and foremost among these things is a children's book with less than 15 sentences TOTAL between its pages. Just not enough story. It would've been better to go avant-garde and abandon any pretense of narrative (and you know Jonze could pull it off). Instead, 100 minutes of temper tantrums of the quality you can find at any toy store in America. They should've just called it Angst: The Movie or The Invention of Emo. Rant over.

Again, thanks for reading!

Music of 2009

I don't have the time to do write-ups now, but I wanted to post my Best of 2009 lists. First up is music. I've listed 25 albums, but only the top 10 are ranked (the rest are alphabetical). I've also listed my list of favorite songs that would fit onto one of those silly compact discs. Again, should be a pretty good mix of critically acclaimed and ignored, elitist and populist, and maybe even a little wizard rock. I've also included a list of albums I was underwhelmed with. Feel free to weigh in:

Top 25 Albums (Or, My Favorite 25 Albums), 25-11:
Bob Dylan - Together Through Life
Brand New - Daisy
The Bravery - Stir the Blood
Dredg - The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion
Four Year Strong - Explains It All
Fun. - Aim and Ignite
Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3
The Lawrence Arms - Buttsweat and Tears [EP]
The Lonely Island - Incredibad
Muse - The Resistance
New Found Glory - Not Without a Fight
Paramore - Brand New Eyes
The Parselmouths - Spattergroit
Passion Pit - Manners
Thrice - Beggars
Top 10:
10) Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
9) Set Your Goals - This Will Be the Death of Us
8) Franz Nicolay - Major General
7) The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love
6) Metric - Fantasies
5) Brendan Benson - My Old, Familar Friend
4) Tegan and Sara - Sainthood
3) Meg and Dia - Here, Here and Here
2) Lucero - 1372 Overton Park
1) Big D and the Kids Table - Fluent in Stroll



The following is a list of albums that, for whatever reason (well, I'll actually give you the reasons), I was underwhelmed by this year. Some probably just require more listening, but I was let down initially. Here's my "All-Meh" Albums of the Year:

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion (I just don't get this band - Zzzzzzzzz)
Arctic Monkeys - Humbug (Album title captures all too well its mood)
The Dead Weather - Horehound (A few standouts, but a LOT of filler)
Eminem - Relapse (Just... not good. At all... lost his edge)
Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown (Can you go back to writing good pop-punk songs, please?)
Manchester Orchestra - Mean Everything to Nothing (I tried... and tried, but this record doesn't do much for me)
Silversun Pickups - Swoon (The band is a one-trick pony... with one leg)
Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures (definitely need to listen to this one more... but it just seems like another QotSA record)
Weezer - Raditude (Fun enough, but Rivers has spent his cachet by now)

Finally, the songs. Rather than trying to rank them (harder than albums), I've just included my 'Best of 2009' playlist. Fits on a CD or an iPod! Here it be:

Big D and the Kids Table - "Not Fucking Around"*
The Bravery - "I Have Seen the Future"
Brendan Benson - "A Whole Lot Better"
Chuck Ragan - "Glory"
Death Cab For Cutie - "Little Bribes"
The Decemberists - "The Rake's Song"
Dredg - "Saviour"
Foo Fighters - "Wheels"
Franz Nicolay - "Nightratsong"
Fun. - "All the Pretty Girls"
Jay-Z (et al.) - "Run This Town"
The Lawrence Song - "The Slowest Drink At The Saddest Bar On The Snowiest Day In The Greatest City"*
The Lonely Island - "Like a Boss"*
Lucero - "What Are You Willing to Lose"
Meg & Dia - "Black Wedding"
Metric - "Gold Guns Girls"
New Found Glory - "Listen to Your Friends"
Paramore - "Playing God"
The Parselmouths - "Being a Veela Is Easy"
Passion Pit - "Little Secrets"
Phoenix - "1901"
Tegan & Sara - "The Cure"
Thrice - "The Weight"

*One of these is the best song of the year. For the life of me, I can't decide right now. Thanks for reading!

2001 playlist

Here are some of my favorite jams from 2001 that you could hypothetically burn onto a compact disc. If, you know, people still actually listened to those things. Listed alphabetically (according to iTunes anyway):

Alien Ant Farm - "Smooth Criminal"
Ben Folds - "Annie Waits"
blink-182 - "Anthem, Pt. 2"
Bob Dylan - "Mississippi"
Brand New - "Jude Law and a Semester Abroad"
Gorillaz - "Clint Eastwood"
Green Day - "Poprocks and Coke"
Incubus - "Wish You Were Here"
Jimmy Eat World - "A Praise Chorus"
Lostprophets - "The Fake Sound of Progress"
Rx Bandits - "VCG3"
Saves the Day - "At Your Funeral"
The Shins - "New Slang"
The Strokes - "Last Nite"
System of a Down - "Chop Suey"
Tenacious D - "Tribute"
Tool - "Schism"
Weezer - "Island in the Sun"
The White Stripes - "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground"
311 - Amber

Top 10 Albums: 2001

Before I get started, I need someone to explain something to me:  What is the deal with The Strokes?  I mean, I've heard The Strokes. I enjoy The Strokes (to an extent). I understand that they are the prototypical "New York" band that paved the way for many a hipster act. What I don't understand is how they are widely considered one of -- if not the -- best bands of the decade. I find their 2001 breakout album, Is This It to be ironically-titled... because that's exactly what I thought when I first listened to the record. "Okay... is this it?" I didn't get it, and I still don't, even though I've since softened my stance on the band. But still... pleasant-enough tunes, monotone vocals, and an excess of style a transcendental band do not make.  Good jukebox fodder? Yes. Better than most of the stuff around in the late '90s/early 2000s? Absolutely. But a best-of-decade, generation-defining band? Sorry, but no. Oh, and I'm not too crazy about the Radiohead or Shins albums released this year either. Sorry.

Moving on, 2001 was an interesting year -- this list features an eclectic list of solid releases from '90s stalwarts and early stuff from some of the new decade's finest. This is also the year I graduated from high school and started at ASU, so it was interesting to see how my taste in music started to diverge. Here's my top 10:

Honorable mentions: blink-182 - Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (I actually really like blink... a late scratch from the top 10 though), Green Day - International Superhits! (still my favorite Green Day album, if only for the inclusion of J.A.R.), Lostprophets - The Fake Sound of Progress (ah, remember nu metal?... this record is actually pretty good though), Lucky Boys Confusion - Throwing the Game (a pop-punk gem), 311 - From Chaos (this band is better than they get credit for), Weezer - Green Album (another late scratch from the top 10... "hip, hip").

10) The Strokes - Is This It
Produced by: Gordon Raphael
Standout tracks: "Someday," "Last Night," "Hard to Explain"

I know, I know. I just spent the entire intro to this entry trashing The Strokes. But what can I say, Is This It is a hard record not to like. It's actually a pretty excellent collection of toe-tappers and bar jams. The mood lifts when any of its singles come on the juke, and it's even kind of dance-y, so it's not entirely out of place in trendier uptown joints. It's even good driving music. It's just a fun, versatile record. They even throw a little Tom Petty homage in there. Okay, so they actually pretty much lifted the riff from "American Girl," but Mr. Petty is on record as saying he doesn't mind, so it's all water under the bridge. This *is* a good record... just don't try to tell me it's capital-g Great.


9) The White Stripes - White Blood Cells
Produced by: Jack White
Standout tracks: "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground," "Fell in Love With a Girl," "I Can't Wait"

One of the great, underrated things about 2001 is the influx of "The" bands. The Strokes. The White Stripes. The Vines. The Hives. It seemed like every new, catchy, vaguely-garage rock band that came out was a "The" band. Lazy band-naming or homage to the British Invasion bands of the '60s (Beatles, Kinks, Byrds, Who, et al.)? You decide.

At any rate, The White Stripes were easily the best of the bunch, and a band that has a legitimate claim to being Band of the Decade -- and this was the record that introduced most people to them. While it's not their most accomplished record (that would be 2003's Elephant), White Blood Cells is definitely a highlight in their oeuvre. It's loud, raw, full of big, Zeppelin-esque riffs and concussive rhythms. "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" is easily the best album opener of the year, announcing an album that's proudly, aggressively lo-fi -- simple, unfettered rock 'n' roll.

8) Rx Bandits - Progress
Produced by: Chris Fudurich
Standout tracks: "VCG3," "Analog Boy," "Babylon," "Who Would've Thought"

 The Bandits' 1999 release Halfway Between Here and There was a fairly stereotypical (although pretty darn good) third-wave ska record, full of bouncy horn lines and songs about girls. Their very next release two years later, Progress, however, was a complex, genre-bending mini-masterpiece full of songs about technology, social injustice, and politics. Say what? In two years, the band went from an unremarkable Drive-Thru records band to a socially-conscious, indie-ska-jam band (I still don't know what to make of their live show). To put this into another context, it would be like The Beatles releasing Sgt. Pepper's immediately after Please Please Me. Rarely has a band transformed so drastically from one album to the next. Whatever the cause, I'm glad they did it. My iTunes is full of unremarkable third-wave ska acts, but there's hardly anything in it like Progress.

7) Incubus - Morning View
Produced by: Incubus and Scott Litt
Standout tracks: "Circles," "Wish You Were Here," "Are You In?"

There was a time (probably most of the early part of the decade) when Incubus was my favorite band. I'm not sure how I got into them (I just spent about 10 minutes trying to remember how I even heard of them... couldn't do it), but S.C.I.E.N.C.E. was the first record of theirs I got a hold of. I just loved its electro-funk-rap/rock craziness. This record was about as far from that vibe as I could have imagined when I played it for the first time. I didn't care though -- one of the things I've always loved about Incubus is their refusal to stick to one particular sound (although I think their newest effort, Light Grenades, is largely derivative of earlier material... namely, this record). Morning View, then, is their "mellow" record. It's full of deliberate, textured jams that play to the band's strengths -- Mike Eizinger's crafty guitarwork, DJ Kilmore's wonderfully subtle work on the turntable, and, of course, Brandon Boyd's unparalleled ability to not wear a shirt. Kidding... (not really, that guy can not wear the shit out of a shirt) but he's actually one of my favorite rock vocalists. Although it's not my favorite, or even the best, Incubus record, Morning View is still damn fine listening. "Wish You Were Here" (yeah, yeah, not nearly as good as the seminal Pink Floyd track) is one of my favorite songs of this year and one of many excellent love songs the band has written.

6) Tool - Lateralus
Produced by: Tool and David Bottrill
Standout tracks: "Schism," "Parabola," "Lateralus"

A couple months back, I had one of those legendary, 4:00 a.m. drunk conversations about music with a couple friends after a party had died down. These are always a tricky proposition -- tempers flare, the line between opinion and fact becomes skewed, and outrageous assertions are made. Sometimes, the police become involved (this seriously happened once). Fortunately, police involvement was not necessary on this occasion -- we all managed to agree that Tool would go down as one of the best, most important bands of our generation. Years down the line, they'll probably be remembered as one of the defining rock bands of all time. They'll probably be inducted into the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame (whether or not they care is another question entirely). This record is a large reason why -- tribally powerful and artfully complex at the same time. It has everything from cat-squeezing ("Mantra") to the Fibonacci sequence ("Lateralus"). It also has some of the best drumming of all time, courtesy of Danny Carey. A true classic album. Does it get any more epic than "I know the pieces fit" over and over? The only reason it's not higher on the list is because, to me, it's just not something I can throw on any old time. I have to be in a specific mood to listen to Tool... that's not the case with the rest of the albums on this list.

5) Tenacious D - Tenacious D
Produced by: The Dust Brothers
Standout tracks: "Kielbasa," "Tribute," "Fuck Her Gently"

"Inward Singing." "Cock Push-Ups." "Drive-Thru." All classics.... and those are just the skits! It's not often that the so-called "filler" tracks on an album can be described as classics. But c'mon: "One is all you need." "A JUNIOR Western Bacon Chee. I'm trying to watch my figure." Eminently quotable and hilarious. And then there are the songs! Show me someone who doesn't know all the words to "Fuck Her Gently" and I'll show you a dirty, dirty liar. And do I even need to mention the genius of the line "Dianetics, your buttcheeks is warm"? Finally, there's "Tribute," which might actually be my favorite song of this year. A perfect blend of homage and hilarity. (There always seems to be one word that pops up too many times in a given entry... "homage" is it this time.) This album is just the perfect hybrid of laugh out loud comedy and balls-out rock. Literally.

4) Brand New - Your Favorite Weapon
Produced by: Mike Sapone and Brand New
Standout tracks: "Jude Law and a Semester Abroad," "Failure by Design," "Last Chance to Lose Your Keys," "Magazines," "Soco Amaretto Lime"

The last four albums on this list are all important records to me for various reasons. They'd all be in serious contention for Top 25 of the Decade consideration. First up is Brand New's debut record, Your Favorite Weapon. I was introduced to Brand New by a girl in an English class my junior year of ASU, and the record she showed me at Hoodlums in the M.U. (R.I.P.) was Deja Entendu (which immediately blew my mind). What I'm trying to say is that I didn't hear YFW until after the fact. I was sort of leery, to be honest. From what I had understood, YFW was basically a pop-punk record, whereas Deja was (is) probably one of the most accomplished albums of the decade (sort of like the leap between the Rx Bandits albums). What I didn't know, and what I found out, was that YFW is one of the best pop-punk records of all time. Sure, it's mostly three chords of angst and songs about girls, but it has a certain panache and underlying current of genius that just isn't there is most (or any) pop-punk records. "Last Chance to Lose Your Keys" is probably the best, most authentic song about girl problems ever ("It's girls like you that make me think I'm better off / home on a Saturday night / With all my doors locked up tight / I won't be thinking about you, baby"). "Soco Amaretto Lime" is one of the best slow-jam, singalong album closers around. I could go on (I haven't even mentioned "Jude Law"), but I'll stop here. A *remarkable* pop-punk record that definitely anticipates Deja if you listen close enough.

3) Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American
Produced by: Mark Trombino and Jimmy Eat World
Standout tracks: "A Praise Chorus," "Your House," "Sweetness," "If You Don't, Don't"

Jimmy Eat World is one of my favorite bands of this decade. (I know, they've been around for a while, but they are definitely a product of the 2000s.) That much I know. What I don't know is what my favorite Jimmy record is. Clarity is their most iconic and perhaps most influential. Futures is their most musically accomplished. Chase This Light is their catchiest. What, then, does that make this record? Their biggest? That's obvious, but it doesn't really say anything about the songs not named "The Middle." Their best? That's a question you could ask four (or five) different people and get four (or five) different answers to. Too subjective. Honestly, I'm not sure how this record fits into the band's catalog or how it will be remembered, but it settles in on this list nicely at #3. The singles (you know them all, and know them well) are uniformly excellent, perfect pop rock masterpieces. The album tracks are the ones that make this album worth listening to again and again though. "Your House" is one of the most heart-rending songs I've heard... "I had you once / Oh, I can't forget that / Sometimes I wish / I could lose you again." Yikes. "If You Don't, Don't" is probably one of their most underrated songs -- so, so great, yet I never hear anyone talk about it. All I know is that it's gone on more than a few mixes I've made. "Hear You Me," "The Authority Song"... I could go on, but, again, I won't. Like I said, I don't know how this record will be remembered, but I know it will.

2) Saves the Day - Stay What You Are
Produced by: Rob Schnapf
Standout tracks: "At Your Funeral," "Jukebox Breakdown," "As Your Ghost Takes Flight," "All I'm Losing Is Me"

I'll be honest with you: I have probably four other Saves the Day albums on my iTunes. I'll also tell you that I've can count on my fingers and toes the amount of times I've listened to them all *combined*. Why? Because I know, with complete, utter certainty, that they aren't -- can't be -- as good as this record. Again, why? Because none of them contain the song "At Your Funeral." Here's another Hoodlums story: My freshman year at ASU, I spent most of my time in my dorm, playing Madden 2002 or Final Fantasy X, drinking Pepsi by the 12 pack, masturbating to dial-up porn, having awkward roommate moments, and watching whatever college-oriented music video channel ASU had access to. Anyway, the video for "At Your Funeral" came on one afternoon. I was blown away. Hoodlums had one less copy of Stay What You Are by dinner time is what I'm trying to say. *That's* how good this song is. If you don't believe me, I've included the video below. Watch it. Love it. The rest of the album is almost as amazing as that song, full of quirky little three-minute gems about teenage tragedy, awkward silences, and obsessive (and perhaps murderous) ex-lovers. In short, there's something everyone can relate to. Now, watch this video:



I really do miss the old days sometimes.

1) Ben Folds - Rockin' the Suburbs
Produced by: Ben Folds and Ben Grosse
Standout tracks: "Annie Waits," "Zak and Sara," "Rockin' the Suburbs," "The Luckiest"

Ben Folds is solely responsible for me being the person I am today. Okay, that's not exactly true, but if you buy into the whole hyperbolic "music is central to my being" shit that people post in their facebook interests, then the statement is pretty close to the truth. That is to say, Ben Folds is pretty much the reason that I'm not still listening to shitty nu metal and power pop. I somehow stumbled into a little record called Whatever and Ever Amen (I think I saw the video for "Brick" on this weird show on MTV2 where a bunch of parents would watch videos and decide if they would let their kids watch... I don't think "Brick" passed the test... too depressing) and I was not the same after that (get it??). I very much doubt there's a more influential record to me. At any rate, this is about Rockin' the Suburbs, Mr. Folds's first record after he dropped the Five (actually just two other dudes) responsible for Whatever et al. It's also the second best record in his catalog, after... oh, that should be obvious. Here, Folds shows the same combination of rollicking smart-aleck tracks (the eponymous track, "Zak," "Fired") and emotional, introspective compositions ("Still Fighting It," "Fred Jones, Part 2," "Luckiest") that endears him to his many legions of fans and irritates his many critics.  He may never release a record as good as Whatever again, but I love him for trying (and this one comes close). This (along with many of the other records on this list) was the soundtrack to many a drive to and from Sedona. Oh, nostalgia. Mr. Folds has a lyric on one of his later records goes a little something like this: "[Kids today] get nostalgic about the last ten years / before the last ten years have passed." So true. Thank you, Mr. Folds, for the memories, and for saving me from nu metal.

Wow, I managed to keep this one under 3000 words... huzzah! Maybe some of these albums spark a memory or two for you as well... good ones, I hope! Good night, all... until next time.