The 11 Best Songs By Cage The Elephant

With a rip and tear, CTE has brought some wild native enthusiasm back to rock music.  From the Cobain scratchy howl that bellows from larynx of lead singer Matthew Schultz to the thrust in gut from the raunchy romp of the guitars wielded by the one-two punch of Parish-Schultz (Brad), Cage embodies all the ferocity that ever rippled out of Seattle while serving it up in a rocket launched out of the heart of LA's sunset strip.  There's monstrous thumps and murky grumbles.  It's scarring and refreshing.  And their live show is packed with so much energy, they could power a small town in the midwest.  Let's be realistic, a very small town.  While the promise of the Arctic Monkeys faded while they matured, Cage The Elephant is accelerating at enjoying their immaturity.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By Cage The Elephant:

1. James Brown (Cage The Elephant)
2. In One Ear (Cage The Elephant)
3. Aberdeen (Thank You Happy Birthday)
4. Tiny Little Robots (Cage The Elephant)
5. Shake Me Down (Thank You Happy Birthday)
6. Soil To The Sun (Cage The Elephant)
7. Right Before My Eyes (Thank You Happy Birthday)
8. Ain't No Rest for The Wicked (Cage The Elephant)
9. Always Something (Thank You Happy Birthday)
10. Sabertooth Tiger (Thank You Happy Birthday)
11. Back Against The Wall (Cage The Elephant)

Buy Cage The Elephant's new album, Melophobia...now!!!

The 55 Best Albums of 2011 (45-55)

For the week I will count down my favorite albums of 2011.  Like a holiday advent calendar I will only give you a little taste of the good stuff one day at a time.  There's no denying that this year dubstep broke through to the mainstream like a ADD little boy hopped up on food coloring.  For those of us listening to Burial years ago, this was an overwhelming "duh" moment.  But for the rest of the world, it was like a 100-yard dash to the marketing finish line.  Within a matter of weeks of Skrillex's creative video (and it was a great video) every marketing campaign chucked their pop songs hoping they could be the first to latch onto this hip young trend.  There was a dubstep version of the White Stripes in the new Battleship trailer.  Verzion has a little kid tweaking out to dubstep on his cellphone with his grandma.  What's next?...will Tim Tebow pray to a dubstep beat?  I wouldn't doubt it.

Now...I WANT YOUR HELP.  Send me your lists of your favorite albums of 2011.  Top twenty.  I will compile all your votes into one master list.  So send it via email...or just post it in the comment box.  Will post on Dec. 31st the final result.

Here are the 44-55 Best Albums of 2011:

45.       Cage The Elephant - Thank You Happy Birthday

46.       R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now

47.       Shabazz Palaces - Black Up

48.       Skrillex - More Monsters and Sprites EP

49.       Stevie Nicks - In Your Dreams

50.       Drake - Take Care

51.       Duran Duran - All You Need Is Now

52.       David Lowery - The Palace Guards

53.       Rival Sons - Pressure & Time 

54.     Jane's Addiction - The Great Escape Artist (End To the Lies)

55.     Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You

Buy these albums and more...now!!!  (all albums under $5 for a limited time)

The Unknown: Cage The Elephant Daytrotter Session

Yesterday I promised proof that rock music is not dead.  It's alive and it's still kicking ass.


This is a break down of the top 200 best-selling albums of 2010 according to Billboard.  I have broken them down by genre.


1.  Rock - 57 albums (28.5%)
2.  Country - 35 albums (17.5%)
3.  Pop - 26 albums (13%)
4.  Rap - 23 albums (11.5%)
5.  R&B/Hip-Hop - 20 albums (10%)
6.  Soundtracks/Compilations - 20 albums (10%)
7.  Adult Contemporary - 14 albums (7%)
8.  Holiday - 5 albums (2.5%)


I knew that rock was popular...but this even surprised me.  Rock music is getting almost zero exposure for the record industry.  It's getting no promotion.  No one talks about it.  No one raves about it.  Yet...it's still dominating.  This isn't even a buzzer beater.  This is a blow-out.  Pop music which is supposedly king...sells less than half of what rock sells.  Less than half!


Imagine if the music industry actually started promoting rock music again.  


Here is the Daytrotter Session for Cage The Elephant:
(all tracks free - compliments of Daytrotter.com)


1.  Tiny Little Robots
2.  Judas
3.  Lotus
4.  Ain't No Rest For The Wicked


Buy Cage The Elephant's new album, Thank You Happy Birthday.

The 11 Best Albums of 2009: 23-33 (Part 3)

As each step of this list is being unveiled, I have to say...there was a lot of music this year I really enjoyed. Whether it was scrounging to find the unreleased Beck cover album...or the return of Franz Ferdninand...or the underrated ben gibbard/farrar duet, there was a bunch of music out there to get excited about. Two newcomers to watch...Cut Off Your Hands and Cage The Elephant...I have a feeling they will be on these lists for years to come.

Here are the 11 Best Albums of 2009: 23-33 (Part 3):

23. Cut Off Your Hands - You And I (Turn Cold)
24. JJ - JJ No 2
25. Wolfmother - Cosmic Egg
26. Franz Ferdinand - Tonight
27. Cage The Elephant - Cage the Elephant (Ain't No Rest)
28. M. Ward - Hold Time
29. Beck - Velvet Underground & Nico (I'll Be Your Mirror)
30. Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3.0
31. Steel Panther - Feel The Steel
32. Bruce Springsteen - Working On A Dream
33. Ben Gibbard & Jay Farrar - One Fast Move Or I'm Gone