The 11 Best New England Bands

There are two teams playing in the Superbowl...let's not forget the east coast rival, the New England Patriots. Here are the 11 Best New England Bands:

1. Boston
2. Aerosmith
3. The Cars
4. The Pixies
5. J. Geils Band
6. Dinosaur Jr.
7. Dispatch
8. MGMT
9. Passion Pit
10. Deer Tick
11. Phish

 

The 11 Best Bands at Coachella by day...

Incredible line-up this year.  Impossible to do one list for the whole festival...so here's three lists! One for each day.  These are by no means the only good bands playing, just the ones that I'm most excited about.  And Saturday is easily the most packed day.

The 11 Best Bands at Coachella on Friday:

1. Outkast
2. Girl Talk
3. Broken Bells
4. The Replacements
5. HAIM
6. A$AP Ferg
7. Ellie Goulding
8. Waxahatchee
9. Bryan Ferry
10. Grouplove
11. Zedd

The 11 Best Bands at Coachella on Saturday:

1. Foster The People
2. Empire Of The Sun
3. Cage The Elephant
4. Nas
5. Muse
6. Pet Shop Boys
7. Skrillex
8. MGMT
9. CHVRCHES
10. Blood Orange
11. The Head and The Heart

The 11 Best Bands at Coachella on Sunday:

1. Arcade Fire
2. Neutral Milk Hotel
3. Beck
4. Superchunk
5. Lana Del Rey
6. STRFKR
7. Calvin Harris 
8. Disclosure
9. Preservation Hall Jazz Band
10. Chance The Rapper
11. Bad Manners

The 11 Best Songs By MGMT

When MGMT burst onto the scene a few years ago, it was like a meteor filled with chocolate covered cherries exploded in our ears.  The album was all over the map from sugary synthy dance mania to psychedelic-laced head trips.  It was chaotic sound storm but it was beautiful at that same time.   Though their sophomore album toned down the frequency it still managed to deliver a worthwhile effort.  But now it's time for album three and the early word is not good.  I know MGMT sounds like they're trying to be the next Flaming Lips...but they should really be following in the footsteps of The Offspring.  See, the Offspring was originally a straight up punk band in the style of Bad Religion.  Though they had some hardcore fans, they were not appeasing a bigger fan base.  They started adding one or two goofy radio songs per album for the pop radio fans while on the rest of the album they stuck to their typical aggressive rock.  Twenty years later, they're still trucking.  It was a compromise.  Do a couple songs or the labels and radio, and in return, you get to have a career making music you love.  Not a bad trade-off.  MGMT should have a 1-2 Kids-like songs per album.  It's what the fans want.  Learn from Dexter Holland, he's a very smart guy.  He may sing for a punk rock band...but he also has a doctorate in microbiology.  True story!

Here are the 11 Best Songs By MGMT:

1. Kids (Oracular Spectacular)
2. Electric Feel (Oracular Spectacular)
3. Time To Pretend (Oracular Spectacular)
4. Flash Delirium (Congratulations)
5. Weekend Wars (Oracular Spectacular)
6. Song For Dan Treacy (Congratulations)
7. Of Moons, Birds, & Monsters (Oracular Spectacular)
8. Brian Eno (Congratulations)
9. Indie Rokkers (Time To Pretend EP)
10. Love Always Remains (Time To Pretend EP)
11. Metanoia (Metanoia)

Buy MGMT's new album, MGMT...now!!

The 11 Best Rumored Albums of 2013

One of the best things about a new year is a whole set of new speculation about what albums could possibly be coming our way.  I've collected the best of them...let's see how many come true.

Here are the 11 Best Rumored Albums of 2013:

1. U2 (July) - Mercury Records announced the new album was coming in 2013...but no word yet from the band.
2. My Bloody Valentine - Album #3 (June) - Twenty-two years in the making, Kevin Shields claims the new album was completed on December 21st.  But will he let us hear it?
3. Arcade Fire (September) - The band's in the studio now with James Murphy, eyeing a late fourth quarter release.
4. Pearl Jam (October) - The band keeps saying they're working on a new album but no time line has been solidified.
5. Modest Mouse (August) - The mouse does everything at a glacial pace but they've been writing and recording for a couple years now.  Along with playing many new songs live...the time seems right.
6. MGMT - MGMT (June) - The band has been working on the album since 2011 and has said the release was imminent since then.
7. The National (September) - They've been playing new songs live and have stated they're looking at a 2013 release.
8. Portishead - Fourth (October) - Barrow claimed to start work on a new album in Sept 2011.  While two years is a normal pace for most bands...this is Portishead...it could mean ten years.  Here's to being optimistic.
9. Vampire Weekend (May) - They've been playing new songs and are claiming a new release this spring.  Looks promising.
10. Rilo Kiley (April) - With an obscure Facebook update...it could only mean one of two things.  New album or Coachella appearance.  Okay, three:  both.
11. Wolfmother - Gatherings (March) - The band claimed that a new album would be coming in March.  But they said this last year, too.

Bonus:  Dr. Dre - Detox (November) - Sometimes wishes are granted.

The 11 Most Anticipated Albums of 2013

I'll post the top 111 albums of 2012 on Friday.  So you still have time to get me your lists!!  Just send me your favorite albums of 2012 in the comment section.  Top 20...or whatever number of albums you liked.

With 2013 already .3% over, let's start looking ahead at what our year might look like musically...

This is a list of albums that have official release dates...or have been officially announced.  There might be a new Arcade Fire album, there might be a new Modest Mouse, there might be two new Beck albums...and we all know how long Kevin Shields takes to do anything so I'm not holding my breath about a new MBV album until 2015.  And honestly...why does everyone care so much about a new Cher album?

The 11 Most Anticipated Albums of 2013:

1. Phoenix (April)
2. Eminem (June)
3. Depeche Mode (March)
4. MGMT - MGMT (May)
5. Atoms for Peace - Amok (2/18)
6. Tegan & Sara - Heartthrob (1/29)
7. Kid Cudi - Indicud (March)
8. Natalie Maines - Mother (May)
9. Bad Religion - True North (1/22)
10. Ra Ra Riot - Beta Love (1/22)
11. Johnny Marr - The Messenger (1/26)

What albums did I leave off?  What are your most anticipated?

Buy the best of 2012 here!

The 11 Most Anticipated Summer Albums of 2012

As we move into a new year, one of the strangest pieces of news has been revealed.  Album sales in 2011 actually went up for the first time in almost a decade.  Granted it was mostly due to Adele's incredibly popular album...that still proves that the album as a musical format is still very viable.  And while all the news articles still like to pronounce the death of rock and how pop has taken over...there were still more rock albums in the Billboard 200 than any other genre.  This year, there were 47 rock albums on the list.  Second place went to country with 39 albums.  Pop comes up third with 35 albums.  (I still think Bruno Mars is really rock...but I put him in pop).  Hip-hop/rap is fourth with 26.  What's also interesting to note...rock music is comprised of a lot of different bands while the pop albums were all made by the same handful of artists (Bieber, Swift, Adele, Gaga, Kesha, Selena Gomez).  Good for those artists but you take them out of the equation...and pop doesn't have much going on.

Let's see what 2012 brings....

Here are the 11 most anticipate albums of summer 2012:

1.  Soundgarden - TBA (Sept)
2.  MGMT - MGMT (Sept.)
3.  Animal Collective - TBA (Sept)
4.  Grizzly Bear - TBA (August)
5.  Mumford and Sons - TBA (August)
6.  How To Destroy Angels - TBA (July)
7.  Sigur Ros - TBA (July)
8.  The Offspring - Apocalyptic Guides and Inferno Themes about Nothing (July)
9.  Public Enemy - Most of My Heros Don't Appear on Stamps/Evil Empire of Everything (August)
10.  Regina Spektor - What We Saw From the Cheap Seats (July)
11.  Skrillex - Voltage (July)

The 11 Best Songs of The Year (so far):

I'm a sucker for a request.  Had no intention of doing this...but if the fans want it...then...

Here are the 11 Best Songs of the Year (so far):

1.  I Was A Teenage Anarchist - Against Me! (White Crosses)
2.  25 To Life - Eminem (Recovery)
3.  Odessa - Caribou (Swim)
4.  Soft In The Center - The Hold Steady (Heaven Is Whenever)
5.  You Wanted A Hit - LCD Soundsystem (This Is Happening)
6.  Giving Up The Gun - Vampire Weekend (Contra)
7.  Valleys of Neptune - Jimi Hendrix (Valleys of Neptune)
8.  End Love - OKGo (Of The Blue Colour of The Sky)

9.  Can't Hear My Eyes - Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti (Before Today)
10.  Flash Delirium - MGMT (Congratulations)
11.  The Fourth Night of Drinking - The Drive-By Truckers (The Big To-Do)

Buy any of the great releases from 2010 and more!

The 11 Best Albums of the Year (so far):

Over halfway through the year and I am unimpressed.  Eminem's new album is pretty good and definitely a return to form.  But the best of the year?  It's not even the best Em album.  Maybe 3rd best.  And Massive Attack, Morcheeba, and MGMT have all made nice albums...but these are far from their best material.  So what gives?  Last year at this time, the Animal Collective, the xx, Grizzly Bear, and Phoenix had all released albums.  I've listened to Sleigh Bells (a reincarnation of Atari Teenage Riot), Best Coast (the new Raveonettes), Surfer Blood (a watered-down Pavement), Beach House (a more moody Joan As Police Woman), & Local Natives (a less innovative Elbow) and have been underwhelmed by all of them. Where's the good music people?!

This decade is really starting off with a whimper.

Here are the 11 Best Albums of 2010 (so far):

1.  Eminem - Recovery
2.  LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
3.  Massive Attack - Heliogoland
4.  Morcheeba - Blood Like Lemonade
5.  Jonsi - Go
6.  MGMT - Congratulations
7.  Tokyo Police Club - Champ
8.  Against Me! - White Crosses
9.  Free Energy - Stuck on Nothin'
10. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Mojo
11. Caribou - Swim

Buy these great 2010 albums and others now!

The Unknown: Beck's Record Club (featuring MGMT) - Songs Of Leonard Cohen

This weekend my wife got in a fight with her best friend over text message. What was the fight about?...one of them didn't understand what the other said in her text. Then she, misinterpreted it...and instead of calling and figuring it all out...they preceded to snap back-and-forth at each other in text over their cellphones, whipping each other into a frenzy. At one point, my wife said she would never talk to her friend ever again. All over a misread text. Things are better now...they are BFFs again...but it just goes to show...though technology has changed our lives...we still go through all the same shit.

Here is Beck's Record Club (featuring MGMT) - Songs of Leonard Cohen

1. Suzanne
2. Master Song
3. Winter Lady
4. Stranger Song
5. Sisters of Mercy
6. So Long Marianne
7. Hey That's No Way To Say Goodbye
8. Stories of the Street
9. Teachers
10. One of Us Cannot Be Wrong

Buy MGMT's new album, Congratulations...now!!!

The 11 Most Exciting Acts to see at Coachella 2010

The lineup for the 2010 Coachella show is out. And some strange headliners. Jay-z the first night...okay, I can see it. Muse the 2nd night...yeah, I guess...may be too commercial for the show...but okay. Gorillaz the 3rd night. Gorillaz? Headliner? Aren't they just a novelty act? Considering you have Thom Yorke (a previous headliner) and the Pavement reunion on the same night...you went with Gorillaz as the headliner...okay...

These aren't necessarily the best bands playing at the show. These aren't the bands who might put on the best performances. And these aren't even the bands that I think everyone else would be excited about seeing. These are the bands that I, personally, am excited to see at the show. Some big reunions (Pavement, FNM, PIL, and SDRE)...and some of 2009's breakout sensations (Phoenix, the XX, Grizzly Bear). Should be an awesome show...too bad I can't go.

The 11 Most Exciting Acts I'm Most Excited to see playing at Coachella 2010:

1. Pavement (April 18)
2. Faith No More (April 17)
3. Sunny Day Real Estate (April 18)
4. MGMT (April 17)
5. Phoenix (April 18)
6. the XX (April 17)
7. Grizzly Bear (April 16)
8. Sly and the Family Stone (April 18)
9. Vampire Weekend (April 16)
10. LCD Soundsystem (April 16)
11. Public Image Ltd. (April 16)

Check out the entire list for yourself.

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 4)

With Obama set to take office in a little over a month...it's like we can't get out of 2008 fast enough. But before we sprint to the finish...let's not forget what good stuff did come out along the way.

And DON'T FORGET...to send me your lists!!! Just through them in the comment section and I'll make a full tally of 111 albums.

Here are the 11 Best Albums of 2008 (Part 4):

12. The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
13. The Mars Volta - Bedlam in Goliath (Memories - bonus track)
14. Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst
15. Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak
16. The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement (My Mistakes - Jools Holland)
17. Metallica - Death Magnetic (Get album for $5.00)
18. Fucked Up - The Chemistry of Common Life (No Epiphany - Daytrotter)
19. Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
20. Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell
21. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
22. Q-Tip - The Renassaince (get album for $5.00)

Visit my amazon store.

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)