(50) Sundays of Music: #48

*Please remember this is a list of my favorite albums, not the greatest. If it was, this choice would be much much higher. But there is a reason it is so early in the countdown. Read on...

#48: Muse - Absolution

I have to admit that I am kind of cheating with this pick in the countdown, but I mean... it's my countdown, right? It should be ok since it's mine, but I still need to explain. I feel it's cheating because most of these posts will come with stories of how I came across the cd and how it impacted me, but this isn't one of those stories (technically, I "cheat" a few more times). When thinking of this countdown, I sort of realized that this cd was one of my favorites.

If any of that didn't make any sense, let me explain. I learned of almost every track individually. "Hysteria" was the first one that I heard when my friend/roommate at the time Hedman put it on a mix cd. "Time Is Running Out" came next when I heard him play it in his room one night. "Stockholm Syndrome" I played as a bonus track on Guitar Hero III. "Butterflies and Hurricanes" I came to appreciate after Lola hyped it up for me. And "Blackout" was featured in a movie called "Southland Tales" that had The Rock in it (pretty much the only reason I watched it).

I did play the cd a few times, trying to get into it during my downloading days, and "Apocalypse Please" and "Thoughts of a Dying Atheist" also became my favorites. Then, some breakups came and "Time Is Running Out" became, and has stayed, one of my favorite songs of all time. So after thinking of it again while reading jeanette's post about the Top 5 Albums of the Decade (spoiler alert: one other album on that list will show up here later in the countdown) I went back to it and realized that it did rank among the favorites.

So for the very few of you that haven't heard this cd, here are some songs to check out:









BONUS

This is the first time that a band that has more than album I like only had one of them make the cut. So that means this is the first artist honorable mention. While I am just now getting into the older stuff, I have to give the nod to "The Resistance." I got the album the day it came out through iTunes so I got all the cool little stuff that goes with it. My favorite tracks have to be the last three, but you can tell the cd as a whole was put together really well. Enjoy the title track off of the latest release from Muse

7 Signs of Love Makin

Spoiler alert: this post has nothing to do with love making, though I may touch on that later (that's what she said). It does have to do with the #7 and I wanted to do a witty title and for some reason this song by Tyrese popped into my head.


*Things you need to know before reading this post:

1) I am extremely tired and I have no idea why. But when I am tired, sometimes my speech gets sort of random. I just left a comment that I feel was kind of random and I was about to go to sleep, but I figured this could be a fun blog if I don't make much sense.

2) I try to pride myself on leaving comments and I have been slacking these past few days. I plan to go on a spree tomorrow and do the damn thing.

Now we proceed.

I was given another award, THIS ONE:


I received it from Smart Ass Sara and apparently I didn't need to do much to get it except give her an award earlier, but I'm going to take this self-esteem boost anyways. I think maybe she just wanted to know seven things about me, as those are the rules (I feel like I just quoted the first Saw). So even though I feel like I am going to disappoint her, I will do as I am told and post the seven things and then pass it on.

*Ok, one more warning. I have done these in the past and have probably mentioned a few of before, but I have gotten some new readers since then so hopefully these are still informative.

1. The following shows receive DVR treatment on my cable box: WWE Raw, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Tosh.0, Scrubs, The Office, Community and whenever they are on: Important Things w/ Demetri Martin, The Real World/Road Rules Challenge and Fantasy Factory. I would DVR Heroes, but we watch that on Netflix.

2. If you noticed above, I put WWE Raw. I am still a wrestling fan and will probably be till the day my heart no longer beats. In fact, I will be in Atlanta on Sunday attending an event. Why do I still watch? I feel like I was born with it. It's something my Grandpa started in me and I will probably never be able to shake it.

3. I am thinking over a decision that will change where my life is headed. As of typing this, I haven't talked to anyone about it because in a self-conscious way I feel they would laugh? I'm not sure why, but for right now it's the only thing I'm keeping to my self.

4. I had quite a few girlfriends from late middle school to early high school. That is meant to be more funny than it is to brag because think about it: at the time, you feel they are the love of your life but when you look back on it you realize how much of a kid you were. Anyway, my first "real" relationship was between the end of my freshman year and end of my junior year of high school. We still "saw each other" for a while after our break up and I did just about everything with her. But it wasn't until I started my most serious relationship so far that I went all the way. That relationship altogether lasted from a few days before I graduated high school to just before my fourth year of college. I remember every detail about that night. We were coming back from a football game in Troy and it was really late. I was sleeping in the backseat of my own car I was so tired. When we got home, it just kind of happened. A couple years later she tells me that what she remembers is afterward I got up and made a sandwich. Whoops. In my defense, I had too many emotions going through my head. One of them was hunger and I needed to take care of that. So there is my only TMI tidbit, I guess I should have put a warning or something but eff it.

5. I change my mind quite a bit and I am man enough to say that I once hated something when I now like it. First example: Lil Wayne. There was a time when I COULD NOT STAND hearing anything by him or about him. The dude was just everywhere and got really annoying. Then one day, out of nowhere, I heard a song with him and Jay Z and my opinion started to turn around. I wouldn't call myself a fan, but I am eagerly awaiting the release of Rebirth, his rock album (I already have the leaked copy, but they said a new one is coming out this year). Second example: Twitter. I used to say "There is NO WAY I will get on Twitter. That is just stupid." And now I am addicted. Feed my addiction HERE

6. Summer of 2009 will go down as the greatest summer ever. Which is a good sign considering it was the last one and maybe it will get better. But I went on a road trip that people are probably getting sick of hearing about, but it changed my life. I want to explore more now, as we went from Alabama to California and back and seeing a lot of cool stuff in between. Also, I got in a lot of good time with my friends and family. I went to two concerts with Jme (No Doubt w/ Paramore and The Sounds; Taking Back Sunday w/ Anberlin and Envy on the Coast) one with Hedman (Warped Tour) and one with my roommate (Incubus). I also had my first and only hangover at my sister's, which was an experience -- one I don't plan on duplicating. And I had two easy summer classes. Life was good last summer.

7. I am terrible at meeting goals I set for myself. For years, I have said that I want to learn the piano, get a tattoo and become fluent in Spanish. The first two I have talked about a lot more. I even got a piano for Christmas 08 and touched it for like a random week. I really need to get back on that...

So, there are my seven things and now I have to pass this on. And what I am going to do is give a shoutout to my best friend, the one who got me started on this awesome blogging journey, the one who joined me on those concerts, the one whose new dog is going to call me an uncle and the one who I will hopefully see this weekend: ____j @ this is me; consequently

Now, my brother-in-law just called and said "Let's do the damn thing" in reference to Heroes. So it looks like I'm not going to bed just yet...

Random lyric of the day:

How could this be done
Your such a smiling sweetheart
Oh and your sweet and pretty face
In such an ugly way
Something so beautiful

(50) Sundays of Music: #49

#49: Cage the Elephant - Cage the Elephant


For the record, I hate self-titled cds. I just feel a band can be a little more clever than to name a cd after themselves, though some of my favorites have done it. Also, it just looks confusing when you are trying to do a countdown.

It's funny, over the years i've forgotten a few things. But I remember the exact street I was driving on when "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" came on the radio. I was immediately interested. The sound was pretty cool, but it's rare that songs tell a story these days. And I don't mean a deep philosophical story with lyrics and everything, I mean a beginning, middle and end. And that's what their first single was. Add to the fact that the song began to be seen in commercials for a video game called Borderlands and you had a hit on your hands.

A few weeks after that, a friend of mine picked up the cd and said it was great. I had checked it out myself and really started to like the first two tracks "In One Ear" and "James Brown." I began to notice it's one of those cds that just flows really well. I had actually downloaded the cd to listen to it, but this became one of those cases where it was so good, I saw it on sale at Best Buy for 7 dollars and decided to pick up the actual copy.

Other tracks like the latest single, "Back Against the Wall," help push the albums unique sound. I'm not really sure how to describe it, to me it just sounds like some great Jam Rock, if I could call it that. And I just did. But you can see for yourself.

A Lifeless Ordinary

*Title is from a track on the new cd by Motion City Soundtrack. Got that cd on a whim the other day and so far have been really impressed.

First off, thanks to everybody who saw the countdown, both the days leading up to it and the actual start. I knew I flooded your reader last week, so I tried to calm it down. I will probably be a little more quiet on this blog in the coming week or so, checking in every once and a while (and of course on Sundays). But I want to focus on my side blog, Mr O at the Movies. I just talked about Terminator and I have seen about 5-7 movies since then, including ones that have been around for a while, one I have seen a few times already and one that I saw in theatres. So please, check that out.

Big news: I received an award! I got it from Cassie at Southern Domestic Goddess. It was the following...


Pretty self-explanatory, but I need to pass it on to five other people. The first two are damn near veterans to this page (ok, one doesn't exist anymore but I have to pay homage) and the second two are newcomers but awesome people. The last is someone who just left a comment, but it was a GREAT one, so there's that. Those who should receive this:

The Girl With The Pink Teacup

Lola Lakely

Smart Ass Sara

JerseySJov

- kimmy -

Now, I would normally update all the craziness going on in my life, but that can wait. Right now, I want to share a little story that i was reminded of today in public speaking class. (Jme, I think you will appreciate this)

In my senior year, I was in government class and we had to recite the Gettysburg Address. My friend Shedrick didn't really do a good job of studying for it, which wasn't surprising, as he wasn't what you would have called a straight A student. His plan of studying was to tape himself giving the speech and listen to it over and over. We both sat in the back of the classroom and at times we would get in slight trouble, not for talking, but for laughing as Shedrick used to say the craziest stuff. Well, on the day of the speech we had one of our classic "What if?" scenario conversations and I couldn't keep myself from laughing at the prospect. I urged him to do it and when he got up there, our teacher looked at me and saw that I was trying to hold my laughing in and he knew something was up.

What Shedrick did was put the tape recorder in his pocket and pressed play and began to mouth the speech. I swear, it was one of the funniest things I have ever seen as the entire class couldn't stop laughing. The greatest thing about it? The teacher was one of the ones laughing the hardest. After a full day of hearing the same speech recited over and over, he said he needed something like that to happen.

Needless to say, he had to do it again and I believe he at least got a B on it. But that was one of those "never forget" kind of days.

*Tune in Sunday!

**More regular blog posts coming next week

Random lyric of the day:

I always knew I had the answer
But I never understood the question

(50) Sundays of Music: #50

Like what I decided to call this lil countdown thingy? I do. If it was my own facebook status, I would click on that like button. For everybody who has seen their reader clutter with my posts this week, thank you and sorry. Whichever you prefer. But now, just look forward to it happening on Sundays. Regular posting during the week. Let's get to it.

#50 - Spider-Man 2 Soundtrack

I'm 90% sure every boy had a favorite superhero growing up. Mine was always Spider-Man. I just thought he was the coolest with being able to swing away and shoot the web at people. I remember being little running around the house holding my hands like he is in the above image. I also remember at 14 years old doing the same thing when the first movie came out. Critically, the movies aren't that great. But they produced something else that was great: the soundtracks.

I remember liking the first one and the third one had a good selection of bands, but the soundtrack for the second Spider-Man movie is the one that will always stick with me. This is for a couple reasons: One, I bought it for a friend of mine because of the bands listed and Two, it came at a time when I was starting to really discover music. And this is one of those great soundtracks where it hit the pulse of bands that were hitting their stride or were about to: Dashboard Confessional, Train, Hoobastank, Jet, Yellowcard, Maroon 5, Taking Back Sunday, Midtown, Lostprophets, Smile Empty Soul and The Ataris. Plus a few tracks from the incredible Danny Elfman and this was one soundtrack that received quite a few rotations in my cd player (Trivia: only one other soundtrack is on this countdown).

Some songs were album exclusives, such as Jet, DC and Yellowcard whose song you could tell was clearly made for the soundtrack. Some, like the track from TBS, was already featured on a cd, but it still helped me take notice of a band that would become my absolute favorite.

If you have never heard these songs by these bands, I invite you to give them a try. If not, just enjoy the classic Dashboard Confessional track.

Music Saturday: Red Hot Chili Peppers

Today is the LAST DAY in this week-long set of artists that produced some of my favorite albums -- they just didn't make it into my top 50 for various reasons. Tomorrow starts to the official countdown of my top 50. And that's only on Sundays, so after this post it's back to regular blogging :)

For the longest time, I had the Red Hot Chili Peppers as my favorite band. The only reason they have lost that spot is because as I grew up, I started discovering all different styles of music. However, they still hold a stop in my favorites, top ten for sure.

I was a kid when "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" came out, so I don't really remember much about it. For a while, RHCP was "that band." They were very distinct. But then one summer we were watching MTV and we heard that they had a new video set to come out called "Scar Tissue." I watched it and immediately liked it, as well as "The Other Side." But the song, and video, that captured my love for them was the title track off of "Californication." That video still remains my favorite music video of all time.

A few years later they came out with "By The Way." This was still in my early years of discovering music for the quality, but I really liked it. They had, and still to this day have, a unique sound. They can jam out with the best of them but also know how to slow it down.

When I came to college, two things happened in my Chili Pepper world. "Stadium Arcadium" was released and I got into downloading. I picked up everything by the band, but to be honest, I didn't really feel their early stuff, where they sounded like cracked out rappers. I mean some of it was good, but as a whole, I would say my appreciation began at "Blood Sugar Sex Magik."

For a while, "Stadium Arcadium" was my favorite cd. But then, like I said, I got into different forms of music. However, if this countdown was a top 60, I'm positive RHCP would be in there. I have missed out on opportunities to see them live, but I still hope that I haven't missed out completely.

*Editor's Note: It's a damn shame, but for some reason most of RHCP's videos, the real ones, are embed disabled. So though I would like to break it down by album with videos, I went with this playlist instead. Enjoy.

Music Friday: Incubus

There are only two days left in this week-long set of artists that produced some of my favorite albums -- they just didn't make it into my top 50 for various reasons. Then you wont' be seeing this thing pop up EVERY day anymore :)

Today and tomorrow's artist have one thing in common: It honestly hurt to leave them out of my top 50. I have to once again explain that these are my top 50 favorite cds -- not THE top 50 cds. For whatever reason, the 50 I chose just had a bigger impact on me personally. But Incubus, as a band, has had a pretty big impact and that's why they deserve their own day.

I've kind of come in and out of being a major fan of Brandon Boyd and company. I remember when the video for "Drive" came out, I was amazed. I think, like I did with Paramore, I went out and bought both "Make Yourself" and "Morning View" at the same time. I liked them at first, but didn't really get into it. Then "A Crow Left of the Murder" was released and I got it for my girlfriend at the time, but to this day that is my least favorite Incubus cd. Ironically, it contains my favorite Incubus song, "Sick Sad Little World." Their last studio album to date, "Light Grenades" has been their biggest radio hit, produces like four top singles. It was also one of the first Incubus albums that I liked all the way through and it was after this release that my appreciation grew.

I was in Hastings one day (a movie/music/game/book store) and saw that they had "S.C.I.E.N.C.E." on sale for really cheap so I picked it up. After listening to it, I smacked myself for being out of the loop for so long. (If any Incubus cd were to have made it in the top 50, it would have been that one). It was around this time my brothers started getting heavily into them. Not sure if that was because they started smoking weed as well, dumb kids, but it probably helped.

So after that purchase, I ate up everything I could download. Some of my favorite tracks have been the "bonus" tracks that are either acoustic, live or rare. I saw them live and I developed, what I feel is a very healthy, man crush on Mr. Boyd. I'm glad I got to see them live, because I have heard rumors that they may not be doing this much longer. But they seem to a band that only gets better with age, as a few songs on their "Monuments and Melodies" release showed. I will still look forward to the next release and hopefully (crosses fingers) my next show.

S.C.I.E.N.C.E





Make Yourself





Morning View







A Crow Left of the Murder





Light Grenades





Monuments and Melodies