On The List: 1980s

We are back and proud to announce our newest book.  On The List:1980s.  Out now!!! In this book, we explore that totally awesome decade:  the 1980s.  Neon clothes, big hair, cassettes, fast cars, MTV, and all the great music from pop to rock to metal to rap to every paisley jangle pub punk out there.  It's available now and perfect for under the tree for that audiophile in your life.  Available now on Amazon.

Here are the 11 best quotes from people who have read the book:

1. "Most Excellent!" - Two wild musicians at the Circle K
2. "The sportos, the motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, dweebies, dickheads - they all adore it." - High School Receptionist
3. "I feel the need...the need for this book!" - Naval Pilot
4. "Inconceivable!" - Some Guy who doesn't know what the word means
5. "It belongs in a museum." - An Archeologist
6. "Bitchin'" - kid hanging out back at the Gas N' Sip
7. "I came. I read. It kicks ass!" - Paranormal Expert
8. "If you read it, you will be happy." - Baseball player
9. "It's great.  Now you know...and knowing is half the battle." - Military Soldier
10. "I'll be back...to read this again and again." Robot from the future
11. "This goes to 11." - Metal guitarist

The 11 Best Songs By Guns N Roses (featuring Slash)

Being the third week of the NFL season, despite all the crazy parody in the games, all anyone can talk about is abuse.  Players in the NFL are no longer just being suspended for games but they are being kicked out of the NFL...indefinitely.  It's a bold move and draws a giant line in the sand.  The NFL is shouting out loud that they will no longer tolerate players in their league behaving like uncultured cavemen.  If you're going to play in this league, then you must have an image to uphold on and off the field.  These players only hit each other when they are wearing huge pads and helmets, any of them who thinks it's okay to hit an unprotected woman is a coward and a disgrace. But I have a problem with this.  My problem is that this has gone on way too long.  The NFL, NBA, MLB have all turned the other way.  I'm writing this while watching the Pittsburg Steelers play on Sunday night football, led by Ben Roethlisberger.  Why do his "legal" missteps get swept under the rug?  The guy was basically found guilty of rape.  Even the Oscars and Grammys have ignored some of the worst perpetrators.  With Chris Brown releasing a heralded album this week...have we all forgotten that he beat the living shit out Rihanna?  The Grammys did when they gave him the featured spot to perform on their telecast.  Just hope you all remember that when you do music shopping this week and you're looking for new tunes. Here are the 11 Best Songs By Guns N Roses (featuring Slash):

1. Civil War (Use Your Illusion II)
2. Rocket Queen (Appetite For Destruction)
3. Sweet Child O Mine (Appetite For Destruction)
4. Mr. Brownstone (Appetite For Destruction)
5. Estranged (Use Your Illusion II)
6. You Could Be Mine (Use Your Illusion II)
7. Paradise City (Appetite For Destruction)
8. Nightrain (Appetite For Destruction)
9. Coma (Use Your Illusion I)
10. Locomotive (Use Your Illusion II)
11. Patience (Lies)

Buy Slash's new solo album, World On Fire...now!!!

The 111 Best Hair Metal Songs of All Time

Knowing this genre wasn't the most difficult part of making this list.  I know this music better than I know the names of the members of my family.  The difficult journey in making this list was figuring out what bands belonged.  There are some giants of the metal field that have been obviously excluded.  Metallica is too metal.  AC/DC was too hard rock.  Iron Maiden and Judas Priest didn't belong.  Queensryche is really a prog band with more in common with Pink Floyd than Pretty Boy Floyd. Van Halen and Kiss were a tough call.  Both bands laid the foundation for the glam/hair metal to come...and even flirted with very cheesy makeovers...but neither fully committed, which really left the two of them squarely rooted in 70s rock.  On the flip side, the Scorpions and Whitesnake both started in 70s rock but completely embraced the hair metal movement, committed to a full make over.

The 90s wrecked havoc on the hair metal scene...but there's been a small comeback.  Sure you could argue to include the Darkness but then maybe Queen should be considered, too. But the comeback is really all because of the heroics of Steel Panther...with their full-on tongue-in-cheek Spinal Tap homage they are single-handedly trying to resurrect the genre.  They've been a badass cover band for years...and are finally making their own music that is as good if not better than the music they're used to mimicking.


Here are the 111 Best Hair Metal Songs of All Time:

1. Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N Roses (Appetite For Destruction)
2. Livin On a Prayer - Bon Jovi (Slippery When Wet)
3. Paradise City - Guns N Roses (Appetite For Destruction)
4. Here I Go Again - Whitesnake (Whitesnake)
5. On With The Show - Motley Crue (Too Fast For Love)
6. Photograph - Def Leppard (Pyromania)
7. Rocket Queen - Guns N Roses (Appetite For Destruction)
8. No One Like You - Scorpions (Blackout)
9. Kiss Me Deadly - Lita Ford (Lita)
10. Is This Love? - Whitesnake (Whitesnake)
11. Mr. Brownstone - Guns N Roses (Appetite For Destruction)
12. Rock Me - Great White (Once Bitten)
13. Too Young To Fall In Love - Motley Crue (Shout At The Devil)
14. Armageddon It - Def Leppard (Hysteria)
15. Welcome to the Jungle - Guns N Roses (Appetite For Destruction)
16. Still Loving You - Scorpions (Love At First Sting)
17. Runaway - Bon Jovi (Bon Jovi)
18. Patience - Guns N Roses (Lies)
19. Live Wire - Motley Crue (Too Fast For Love)
20. Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leppard (Hysteria)
21. Rock You Like A Hurricane - Scorpions (Love At First Sting)
22. Cum On Feel The Noize - Quiet Riot (Metal Health)
23. Love Bites - Def Leppard (Hysteria)
24. Estranged - Guns N Roses (Use Your Illusion II)
25. Civil War - Guns N Roses (Use Your Illusion II)
26. Born To Be My Baby - Bon Jovi (New Jersey)
27. Gypsy Road - Cinderella (Long Cold Winter)
28. I Remember You - Skid Row (Skid Row)
29. Love Song - Tesla (The Great Radio Controversy)
30. Talk Dirty To Me - Poison (Look What The Cat Dragged In)
31. Round and Round - Ratt (Out of the Cellar)
32. Nobody's Fool - Cinderella (Night Songs)
33. In My Dreams - Dokken (Under Lock And Key)
34. You Give Love a Bad Name - Bon Jovi (Slippery When Wet)
35. You Could Be Mine - Guns N Roses (Use Your Illusion II)
36. Scared - Dangerous Toys (Dangerous Toys)
37. Fallen Angel  - Poison (Open Up and Say...Ahh!)
38. Uncle Tom's Cabin - Warrant (Cherry Pie)
39. House of Pain - Faster Pussycat (Wake Me When It's Over)
40. Someone Like You - Bang Tango (Psycho Cafe)
41. Give Me All Your Love - Whitesnake (Whitesnake)
42. Somebody Save Me - Cinderella (Night Songs)
43. Edge of A Broken Heart - Vixen (Vixen)
44. Alone Again - Dokken (Tooth and Nail)
45. Blaze of Glory - Jon Bon Jovi (Young Guns Soundtrack)
46. Wait - White Lion (Pride)
47. Kickstart My Heart - Motley Crue (Dr. Feelgood)
48. Lay your Hands On Me - Bon Jovi (New Jersey)
49. Shake Me - Cinderella (Night Songs)
50. Mirror Mirror - Don Dokken (Up From The Ashes)
51. Heaven - Warrant (Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich)
52. Never Enough - LA Guns (Cocked and Loaded)
53. Little Fighter - White Lion (Big Game)
54. Only Lonely - Bon Jovi (7800 Fahrenheit)
55. Don't Know What You Got - Cinderella (Long Cold Winter)
56. Nightrain - Guns N Roses (Appetite For Destruction)
57. Animal - Def Leppard (Hysteria)
58. Makin Magic - Tesla (The Great Radio Controversy)
59. Ride the Wind - Poison (Flesh & Blood)
60. Slave To The Grind - Skid Row (Slave to the Grind)
61. Breaking the Chains - Dokken (Breaking The Chains)
62. Shame Shame Shame - Ratt (Detonator)
63. Wicked Sensation - Lynch Mob (Wicked Sensation)
64. 18 and Life - Skid Row (Skid Row)
65. Love Ain't No Stranger - Whitesnake (Slide It In)
66. The Ballad of Jayne - LA Guns (Cocked And Loaded)
67. Babylon - Faster Pussycat (Faster Pussycat)
68. Crying in the Rain - Whitesnake (Whitesnake)
69. Too Fast For Love - Motley Crue (Too Fast For Love)
70. Lust of Love - Scorpions (Crazy World)
71. Mr. Rainmaker - Warrant (Cherry Pie)
72. Don't Cry - Guns N Roses (Use Your Illusion I)
73. Bringing On the Heartbreak - Def Leppard (High N Dry)
74. Youth Gone Wild - Skid Row (Skid Row)
75. Better - Guns N Roses (Chinese Democracy)
76. It Don't Matter - Def Leppard (On Through the Night)
77. Paradise - Tesla (The Great Radio Controversy)
78. Come Back - Bon Jovi (Bon Jovi)
79. Dream Warriors - Dokken (Back For The Attack)
80. Modern Day Cowboy - Tesla (Mechanical Resonance)
81. I'd Die For You - Bon Jovi (Slippery When Wet)
82. Signs - Tesla (Five Man Acoustical Jam)
83. A Little Too Much - Ratt (Infestation)
84. High Enough - Damn Yankees (Damn Yankees)
85. Tell Me - White Lion (Pride)
86. Dr. Feelgood - Motley Crue (Dr. Feelgood)
87. Blackout in the Red Room - Love/Hate (Blackout in the Red Room)
88. Coming Home - Cinderella (Long Cold Winter)
89. Satellite - Def Leppard (On Through the Night)
90. Magdalaine - LA Guns (Cocked and Loaded)
91. River of Love - Lynch Mob (Wicked Sensation)
92. Bathroom Wall - Faster Pussycat (Faster Pussycat)
93. The Deeper the Love - Whitesnake (Slip of the Tongue)
94. Looks that Kill - Motley Crue (Shout At The Devil)
95. The Zoo - Scorpions (Animal Magnetism)
96. Standing on the Outside - Dokken (Lightning Strikes Again)
97. Miles Away - Winger (In the Heart of the Young)
98. Spend My Life - Slaughter (Stick It To Ya)
99. Rock Queen - Love/Hate (Blackout in the Red Room)
100. Smoking in the Boys Room - Motley Crue (Theatre of Pain)
101. Holiday - Scorpions (Lovedrive)
102. The Final Countdown - Europe (The Final Countdown)
103. We're Not Gonna Take It - Twisted Sister (Stay Hungry)
104. Under the Gun - Danger Danger (Danger Danger)
105. When the Walls Come Tumbling Down - Def Leppard (On Through the Night)
106. Home Sweet Home - Motley Crue (Theatre of Pain)
107. November Rain - Guns N Roses (Use Your Illusion I)
108. Yesterdaze Gone - Tesla (The Great Radio Controversy)
109. Wanted Dead Or Alive - Bon Jovi (Slippery When Wet)
110. Still of the Night - Whitesnake (Whitesnake)
111. Turn Up the Radio - Autograph (Sign In Please)

Buy Steel Panther's new album, Balls Out...now!!

The 111 Best Albums of the 2000s (45-55)

The 111 Best Albums of the 2000s (45-55):

45. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Sank (2007)
- Add one of the 80s greatest guitar forces (Johnny Marr) to one of the most exciting alternative rock bands of the decade...and what do you get? Pure rock brilliance. (Invisible)

46. The National - Boxer (2007)
- Like a 2000-ton steel train slowly rolling down the tracks. It may not move at record-breaking speeds...but it's a force to be reckoned with. (Start A War)

47. My Morning Jacket - It Still Moves (2003)
- A mammoth album when it comes to alternative country. I assume that this album so good, the band knew they would never top it...and decided to move in other directions. (Golden)

48. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky (2007)
- Tweedy & a bunch of other guys put together a record that sounds like someone created a radio that allows you to hear music from the 1970s. One of the perfect lazy afternoon records.

49. Girl Talk - Night Ripper (2006)
- If you don't think you can create your own music...just take all the best music of the past 30 years and mash them all together in one big remix. Greg Gillis takes mash-ups to a whole other level with this epic tour through the history of commercial radio. It takes talent to steal something this good.

50. Guns N Roses - Chinese Democracy (2008)
- I'm crazy to include this, right? And not just to include this in my list...but to make the top 50. Just say it. Say I'm crazy. Well...here's my reasoning: During this decade, no album has been talked about, written about, discussed, downloaded, leaked, speculated, even rumored more than this album. It was a tour de force before it even came out. And when it did come out...it had no chance. As many people who wanted to hear...just as many wanted to hate it. And many hadn't even listened to the record. But now, almost a year after its release, the record remains unique but solid effort. The album plays more like a movie score than a rock record. It challenges the concept that every song on a rock album should sound the same. It takes some gutsy chances, it pushes boundaries...sometimes with enormous payoff...sometimes not. But isn't that what great rock is supposed to be about? About challenging the norm? I honestly wish more albums sounded like this...I think rock would be alive and well if they did.

51. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular (2008)
- If GNR set the stage for the future, MGMT is that future. With an album that had more nooks and crannies than your grandmother's house, they rocketed on the scene with the uber catchy "Kids" even though the rest of the album sounded like something that might be featured on the next Nuggets box set.

52. Iron & Wine - The Creek Drank the Cradle (2002)
- If freak folk defined the indie scene this decade...I&W is the grandpappy. With the ultimate lo-fi production, it was like being transported back into time to a more peaceful era...where sitting on the porch drinking lemonade actually meant something.

53. Daft Punk - Discovery (2001)
- If you're looking for albums that weren't just great but helped shaped the decade...DP's album was the album that set the standard for club music. From the likes of Kanye West to Justice to Beck...this was the album that influenced anyone and everyone to bust a move.

54. Feist - The Reminder (2007)
- With a voice like Feist's...she could sing TV jingles and still be captivating. And with 1,2,3,4 as the perfect indie pop song...she had everyone...including pre-schoolers...singing along with her.

55. Hot Chip - The Missing (2006)
- It wasn't dance record...but it had more moves than most club albums could have dreamed for. Like the bastard offspring of Thom Yorke and Beck, it was tantilizing good time. (Colours)

Buy these albums now...right here!

The 11 Best Albums of 2008 (Part 5)

At the end of the day, my decision on this top 11 came down to one thing...listenability. Which albums held up to repeat listens... Which albums didn't get dated by the 3rd spin... Which albums still sounded fresh a month after the novelty wore off... Which albums I felt confident recommending to friends...

Bon Iver's album became that one album that stood above the others. It's the one album I kept going back to...the one album I could listen to on repeat...the one album that reminded me why I love music so much...

The 11 Best Albums of 2008:

1. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (Flume - Daytrotter)
2. Beck - Modern Guilt (only $5.00)
3. Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust
4. She and Him - Volume One (Get Free)
5. Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line (Dying Is Fine - Daytrotter)
6. Girl Talk - Feed The Animals
7. TV on the Radio - Dear Science (only $5.00)
8. Coldplay - Viva La Vida (only $5.00)
9. Guns N Roses - Chinese Democracy
10. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
11. Little Joy - Little Joy

The 11 Best Songs of 2008

I'm excited to try out this Amazon Widget a bit more...so I'm jumping the gun on the Best albums of the year and moving forward to the Best Songs of the year. I've installed all the songs on the widget...so take a listen. The widget is the app in the right side bar that says "Best Songs of 2008." Just click it to listen.

Here are the 11 Best Songs of 2008:

1. Kids - MGMT (Oracular Spectacular)
2. Dancing Choose - TV on The Radio (Dear Science)
3. Grapevine Fires - Death Cab For Cutie (Narrow Stairs)
4. I Stand Corrected - Vampire Weekend (Vampire Weekend)
5. Sex on Fire - Kings of Leon (Only By The Night)
6. Ghosts Under Rocks - Ra Ra Riot (The Rhumb Line)
7. Sequestered in Memphis - The Hold Steady (Stay Positive)
8. Discipline - Nine Inch Nails (The Slip)
9. That Was Just Your Life - Metallica (Death Magnetic)
10. Everybody Here Is A Cloud - Cloud Cult (Feel Good Ghosts)
11. Viva La Vida - Coldplay (Viva La Vida)

I never do this but...Honorable Mentions:

Chemtrails - Beck (Modern Guilt)
Wreck My Flow - the dirtbombs (We Have Your Surrounded)
Hearts on Fire - Cut Copy (In Ghost Colours)
Inni Mer Syngur Vitleysingur - Sigur Ros (Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust)
Prostitute - Guns N Roses (Chinese Democracy)

I've also created my own MP3 store on Amazon...so check it out. I should have the widget up shortly. Many of the albums are only $5.00 right now (like Beck, Ra Ra Riot, Death Cab, Vampire Weekend, TV on the Radio, Metallica, Killers, Fleet Foxes, Coldplay)

Open Letter To The Record Industry

Dear Industry:

I am a blogger. I have been a blogger for almost three years. I do this out of the love for music industry. I buy anywhere from 2-3 new albums a week. I believe in buying music. I believe in supporting the artists. And most importantly, I believe in the music business...the corporations, the suits, everyone pulling the strings behind the scenes. I believe in supporting them as much as I believe in supporting the artists, themselves. Without the suits...the industry would fall apart.

In the past few weeks, it has come to our attention that the music industry has gone on the offensive against the bloggers. Sending out Cease & Desist Letters, threatening to shut down the bloggers for posting tracks. Without a warning, bloggers are getting shot down for doing nothing more than promoting music.

Dear Industry...we are not the enemy...we are your biggest fans. We do not do this for money, trust me...there's no money to be made. We do this for the love of music. And not just the artists...like I said before...we do this for the love of the industry. The bloggers can't survive without you. We need the music industry as much as we need the artists. Therefore what we are doing isn't in an effort to undermine you...everything we are doing is to support you and ensure your survival. Like I said, there's no money in it for us...the only one who benefits from our posts is you.

You may disagree, but take time to read our blogs. All we are doing is promoting music. Your music. And we do this for free. FREE. We do not ask for a dime in return. What we ask is for our readers to go out and BUY your music. Since most of us do not get paid, we do not waste time writing about music we don't like. Therefore if we're spending our time writing about music, it's in an effort to encourage our readers to go out and buy it...to go out and BUY YOUR MUSIC.

Your issue with us is that we give away songs. But please, believe us when we say we only do this to convince our readers that the music we are praising is as good as we are claiming. We do not believe in giving away albums. That is not our goal. Our goal is to give our readers a taste of your product in order to get them to BUY the whole thing. The practice of giving away full albums or albums prior to their release is heavily frowned upon in our community.

Up until now, we have asked nothing of you except to put out good music for us to talk about. But today, I am asking for something. I am asking you to stop sending the Cease & Desist letters. When you do that...our posts are deleted...destroyed. It's not just the tracks that get taken down...our writing is taken away with it. And that's not fair.

Work with us...not against us. We are your biggest asset. Many artists encourage the bloggers to post their tracks so it is impossible for us to know who wants our assistance and who does not. Please, in the future, if one of us posts a track that you wish removed, email us and tell us (our emails are readily available on all our sites). We will take it down, immediately. Like I said, we are not your enemy and do not wish to hurt your stability. We want to work with you, not against you.

Why not even take it one step further? Why not provide us a list of artists you do not want promoted on our blogs? We will honor it, we promise. At least give us the chance to prove ourselves.

Sincerely,

Jason
The Good, The Bad, The Unknown