Thursday, February 19, 2009

The 11 Best Songs By ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead


With George Bush leaving office, it doesn't just mark the end of his Presidency but a decline of all things Texas. Over the past year, Texas sports have lost prestige (Dallas Cowboys went from a virtual lock halfway through the season to not even making the playoffs, Houston Rockets are mildly chugging along in the NBA, Not 1 Texas team is ranked in the Top 25 for NCAA basketball). Gas prices have cashed through the floor. And now the Texas music scene is on the serious decline. Country music sales are plummeting and Texas rock bands are no longer making waves. Eight years ago, the At The Drive-In family and its spin-off bands like Mars Volta, Sparta, and any side project featuring Jim Ward, would rule the college music "hip" scene. But now these bands have been downgraded from trendsetters to "yeah, I think I've heard of those guys." Only Spoon and Okkervil River continue to polish Texas' good name. But most people think Spoon is from the U.K. so that's not helping much. Trail of Dead is following a very similar course as George W. (or is George H.W....I've already forgotten) In 2002, at the peak of Bush's popularity, Trail broke through with the outstanding Source Tags and Codes. But in 2005, at the same time as Katrina, Trail's follow-up came out and their popularity took a nose dive. They return this week, but as excited I am that they are still making music...I just wonder if they still have anything left.

Here are The 11 Best Songs By ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead:

1. Will You Smile Again? (Worlds Apart)
2. It Was There That I Saw You (Source Tags & Codes)
3. Ounce of Prevention (AYWKUBTTOD)
4. Heart in the Hand of Mat (Source Tags & Codes)
5. Mach Schau (Elena's Tomb)
6. Half of What (AYWKUBTTOD)
7. Blight Takes All (Madonna)
8. Sunken Dreams (So Divided)
9. A Gargoyle Waiting (AYWKUBTTOD)
10. Another Morning Stoner (Source Tags & Codes)
11. Mistakes and Regrets (Madonna)

Buy the new album by AYWKUBTTOD: Century of Self

1 comment:

ody said...

"Mistakes and Regrets" rules! I haven't listened to the new album yet, but they are still awesome live.