The 11 Best Mars Volta Songs

Why do we watch bad movies? You rent a bad movie thinking that there's something about it you like. Actress, Director, even just a cool title can tilt your decision to sacrifice a night in the favor of this cinematic entity. Getting sucked into watching a bad movie is one thing...but why do we keep watching? After 15-minutes, we pretty much know that the show is either good or a waste of our hard earned salaries. So why do we keep watching? We've already flushed the $4 down the toilet, not to mention canceling much better plans... so why do we stick with this cinematic road kill knowing that the time we spend watching will never be returned to us? It's like we think if we stick with the picture that it will somehow turn into the epic we hoped for. But deep down inside...we all know that will never ever happen. Never. Why throw away a perfectly good hour of our life? We all know it's the wrong choice. We all know if we click the "off" button, we'll all be much happier. But maybe it's in our nature to never give up. That if we stick with something that sucks, when we get the prize at the end of the tunnel, that the victory will be that much more glorious. Or maybe that's just what we tell ourselves.

Here are the 11 Best Mars Volta Songs:

1. Miranda This Ghost Isn't Holy Anymore: Pour Another Icepick (Frances the Mute)
2. Roulette Dares (De-Loused in the Comatorium)
3. Intertiatic E.S.P. (De-Loused in the Comatorium)
4. The Widow (Frances the Mute)
5. Meccamputechture (Amputechture)
6. Drunkship of Lanterns (De-Loused in the Comatorium)
7. Viscera Eyes (Amputechture)
8. Concertina (Tremulant)
9. This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed (De-Loused in the Comatorium)
10. Take The Veil Cerpin Taxt (De-Loused in the Comatorium)
11. A Plague Upon Your Hissing (B-Side)

Buy the absolutely ridiculously awesomely new Mars Volta - The Bedlam in Goliath (and get 2 bonus tracks).

The 11 Best Songs By The Drive-By Truckers

Growing up in a small town teaches you one thing. God and country music go hand in hand. It's like hot dogs and fat people. Friday Night Football and Sunday morning church. Elvis Presley and underage girls. Certain things are tied at the hip and truly one hundred percent American.

I was once at a high school party and someone was blasting the new Garth Brooks CD. Of course this was the early 90s...so it was probably the only Garth Brooks CD at the time. I made a comment that single-handedly offended every single person in the room. Not only did this comment offend them, it basically made me an outcast. See...the thing is, I came up with a comment that not only degraded country music...it also offended a group of upstanding Christians who were drinking beer and having sex. Here's what I said...

"If God existed, I don't even think He would listen to country music."

Believe it.

Over the years, I've found a better appreciation for country. I don't necessarily believe what I said before. Pop country is still garbage...and I hope there is a God who punishes anyone who makes or listens to it. Because, if that were true, then that is a God that I would worship.

Here are the 11 Best Drive-By Truckers songs:

1. My Sweet Annette (Decoration Day)
2. Boys From Alabama (The Dirty South)
3. Puttin' People on the Moon (The Dirty South)
4. The Sands of Iwo Jima (The Dirty South)
5. Margo and Harold (Pizza Deliverance)
6. Ronnie and Neil (Southern Rock Opera)
7. Three Great Alabama Icons (Southern Rock Opera)
8. Sink Hole (Decoration Day)
9. The Day John Henry Died (The Dirty South)
10. Where The Devil Don't Stay (The Dirty South)
11. Little Bonnie (A Blessing and A Curse)

Buy the new DBT CD (Brighter Than Creation's Dark) here...and get a free t-shirt!!!

11 of the Best of the Daytrotter Sessions

A few weeks ago, I Tivo'd the movie Guns of the Navarone. I just watched it this weekend. It's a great WW2 movie. One of those movies I always knew I should see but never actually made the effort to do so. But I've been burned before with movies. I can't tell you how many times I've rented a supposed classic only to be severly disappointed. So when you get the chance to watch something special and be blown away by it, it's a great feeling.

The same goes for the website, Daytrotter. This is one of those sites I should have been following years ago....well, 18 months to be exact. It's easily one of the best music websites on the internet. Yes, even better than mine. Every week or so, the website features an artist. The do a very verbose background on them and follow it up with a rather enjoyable interview. To top it all off, each feature comes with an exclusive MP3 studio session. Usually these are alternate takes of tracks from a recent album but other times, the artist will throw in a cover or an unreleased track.

Over the past 18 months, the site has accumulated about 70 or so features, focusing in on some of the hottest indie bands. Many I've never heard of...and now I'm a huge fan. I've spent the weekend digging through the website. It would take a good month to digest everything on here...so below is my first pass. I didn't include any of the MP3s...instead, every link will take to the artist page with the feature, interview and studio session.

Go explore and discover something new!!!

11 of the Best of the Daytrotter Sessions:

1. Cold War Kids
2. The National
3. Vampire Weekend
4. Menomena
5. William Elliott Whitmore
6. Annuals
7. Okkervil River
8. Tokyo Police Club
9. Of Montreal
10. Asobi Seksu
11. Elvis Perkins

The 11 Best Albums of 1958

A year when major musical careers were launched were all but lost on the music buying public of the day who were scooping up soundtracks for South Pacific and Gigi...completely ignoring the alternative music scene (jazz scene) that would be the backbone of all modern music.

1. Little Richard - Little Richard
2. Frank Sinatra - Come Fly With Me
3. Billie Holiday - Lady in Satin
4. The Everly Brothers - The Everly Brothers
5. Buddy Holly - Buddy Holly
6. Max Roach - Deeds Not Words
7. Miles Davis - Porgy and Bess
8. John Coltrane - Soultrane
9. Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Swings Lightly
10. Sam Cooke - Sam Cooke
11. Chuck Berry - One Dozen Berrys

The 11 Best albums of 1978

Further down the rabbit hole....

1. Van Halen - Van Halen
2. The Cars - The Cars
3. The Band - The Last Waltz
4. AC/DC - Powerage
5. Cheap Trick - Heaven Tonight
6. Blondie - Parrellel Lines
7. Funkadelic - One Nation Under A Groove
8. Grease Soundtrack
9. Willie Nelson - Stardust
10. Buzzcocks - Another Music Different Kitchen
11. Boston - Don't Look Back (yeah, that's right...Boston)

The 11 Best Albums of 1988

As we continue our journey back in time, the filter gets more interesting. Now we're looking at my high school years. Man, have my tastes changed....

Now:

1. Morrissey - Viva Hate (I Don't Mind If You Forget Me)
2. Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking (Ocean Size)
3. NWA - Straight Outta Compton (F**K the Police)
4. Pixies - Surfer Rosa
5. Public Enemy - A Nation of Millions
6. Guns N Roses - Lies
7. Metallica - ...And Justice For All
8. Eric B. and Rakim - Follow The Leader
9. The Traveling Wilburys - Volume 1
10. Soundgarden - Ultramga OK
11. U2 - Rattle and Hum

Then:

1. Roxette - Look Sharp! (Paint)
2. Eazy-E - Eazy Duz It (Eazy-Er Said Than Dunn)
3. Bon Jovi - New Jersey
4. Depeche Mode - 101
5. Van Halen - OU812
6. Living Colour - Vivid
7. Cinderella - Long Cold Winter
8. R.E.M. - Green
9. U2 - Rattle and Hum
10. Morrissey - Viva Hate
11. Guns N Roses - Lies

The 11 Best Albums of 1998

As we move away from 2007 and begin keeping track of the music being made in 2008 (I hear Sia is leading), it's fun to take a look back. Especially, now that music has progressed and changed, the years work as a filter changing opinions of albums from years past.

First up, the 11 Best album of 1998. There are two lists. The first list is my opinion of the 11 Best albums of 1998 as made in 2008. The second list is the 11 Best albums from 1998 from a list I made in 1998.

Now (2008):

1. Elliot Smith - XO
2. Billy Bragg and Wilco - Mermaid Ave.
3. Jeff Buckley - Sketches For My Sweetheart
4. Belle and Sebastian - The Boy With The Arab Strap
5. Outkast - Aqueimini
6. Beck - Mutations
7. At The Drive In - In Casino Out
8. Saint Etienne - Good Humor
9. Neutral Milk Hotel - In An Aeroplane Over the Sea
10. Beastie Boys - Hello Nasty
11. Garbage - Version 2.0

Then (1998):

1. Morcheeba - The Big Calm
2. Garbage - Version 2.0
3. Beastie Boys - Hello Nasty
4. Ozomatli - Ozomatli
5. Elliot Smith - XO
6. Massive Attack - Mezzanine
7. Quasi - Featuring Birds
8. Pearl Jam - Yield
9. Public Enemy - He Got Game
10. Mary Lou Lord - Got No Shadow
11. Smashing Pumpkins - Adore

The 111 Best Albums of 2007

This was a big slugfest between the top bands (Modest Mouse, Wilco, Radiohead, Spoon, White Stripes, and Bright Eyes). The Number One band changed with every new vote. Modest Mouse comes out on top (the second time in 4 years) by a last minute ballet.

Lots of really good music on this year's list. I've discovered some very quality albums all through-out the list, even at the very bottom.

Thanks to everyone who voted and start keeping track of those 2008 albums! (And remember, if you don't like the list...the only one you have to blame is yourself)

Enjoy the list and try to find something new you've never heard.

The 2007 Best CD Survey (as voted by you)

1. Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before The Ship Sank
   
2. Radiohead – In Rainbows
3. Wilco – Sky Blue Sky
4. Bright Eyes – Cassadega
5. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
6. The White Stripes – Icky Thump
7. LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver
8. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
9. Feist - The Reminder
10. Kings of Leon – Because of the Times
11. Interpol – Our Love To Admire
12. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
13. The National – Boxer
14. Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
    
15. Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero/Y34RZ3R0R3m1X3D
16. Foo Fighters – Echoes, Patience, Silence, Grace
17. M.I.A. – Kala
18. Bloc Party – A Weekend in the City/Another Weekend in the City
19. Justice - †
20. The Fratellis - Costello Music
21. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
22. Kanye West - Graduation
    
23. Queens of the Stone Age - Era Vulgaris
    
24. Jimmy Eat World - Chase This Light
    
25. Menomena – Friend and Foe
26. The Killers - Sawdust
27. Bruce Springsteen – Magic
28. Rilo Kiley – Under The Blacklight
29. The Hives - The Black & White Album
    
30. Lil Wayne – Da Drought 3
31. Against Me! - New Wave
32. The Klaxons – Myths of the Near Future
33. Okkervil River - Stage Names
    
34. Tegan and Sara – The Con
    
35. Elliott Smith - New Moon
36. Jay-Z – American Gangster
37. New Pornographers - Challengers
38. Bangers & Cash (SpankRock) – Bangers & Cash (EP)
39. Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
40. Explosions in the Sky – All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone
41. Battles - Mirrored
42. Björk – Volta )
43. Chris Cornell - Carry On
44. Dan Deacon – Spiderman of the Rings
45. The Once Soundtrack
46. Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full
47. Soulsavers - It's Not How Far You Fall, It's the Way You Land
48. Boys Noize - Oi Oi Oi
    
49. Dr. Dog - We All Belong
50. Gogol Bordello - Super Taranta! Super Taranta!
51. Magnolia Electric Co. - Sojourner
52. EL-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead
53. Elvis Perkins – Ash Wednesday
54. A Place to Bury Strangers - A Place to Bury Strangers
55. The Editors - An End Has A Start
56. Black Francis - Bluefinger
57. Amy Winehouse - Back To Black
    
58. Devendra Banhart - Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
59. Jose Gonzalez - In Our Nature
60. of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
61. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Baby 81
62. John Fogerty - Revival
    
63. Deerhunter - Cryptograms
64. Ben Lee - Ripe
65. The 1990s - Cookies
66. Jason Isbell - Sirens of the Ditch
67. Smashing Pumpkins - Zeitgeist
68. Blonde Redhead - 23
69. Chemical Brothers - We Are the Night
70. The Frames – The Cost
71. The Magic Numbers - Those The Brokes
72. The Whitest Boy Alive - Dreams
73. Jesse Malin - Glitter in the Gutter
74. The Avett Brothers - Emotionalism
75. Maximo Park - Our Earthly Pleasures
76. !!! – Myth Takes
    
77. The Polyphonic Spree- The Fragile Army
78. Mika - Life in Cartoon Motion
    
79. Sundowner - Four One Five Two
    
80. Kelly Jones - Only The Names Have Changed
81. Dan Wilson - Free Life
82. Art Brut - It's A Bit Complicated
83. Digitalism - Idealism
84. Liars - Liars
85. Beirut - The Flying Cup Club
    
86. Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead
87. The Dillinger Escape Plan - Ire Works
88. Ted Leo and The Pharmacists - Living With The Living
89. Dungen - Tio Bitar
90. Blitzen Trapper - Wild Mountain Nation
    
91. Paramore - Riot!
92. Across The Universe Sdtk.
93. Linkin Park - Minutes to Midnight
94. Deer Tick - War Elephant
95. Pinback - Autumn of the Seraphs
96. Bonnie Prince Billy - Ask Forgiveness
97. Love of Diagrams - Mosiac
    
98. Robert Wyatt - Comicopera
99. Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
100. Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - This is Somewhere
101. Dartz! - This Is My Ship
     
102. Ziggy Marley - Love is My Religion
     
103. Bill Callahan - Woke on a Whaleheart
     
104. Bad Religion - New Maps of Hell
105. GTS - White Horse
     
106. Tulsa - I Was Submerged
     
107. Fall Out Boy - Infinity On High
     
108. Streetlight Manifesto - Somewhere In The Between
     
109. Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass
     
110. I'm Not There Sdtk.
     
111. Eddie Vedder - Into The Wild Sdtk.

The 111 Best Albums of 2007 - Last Call

I hope everyone had a great holiday season and a very Happy New Year. We've had an overwhelming response to the Best Album Survey this year.

Monday will be the last day you can turn in your lists.

Remember, for all of you who haven't voted...just send over a list of your favorite albums of 2007...in the comment section or via email.

For everyone who has voted...thank you much! The results are shaping up to be quite interesting.

The 11 Most Anticipated Albums for 1st Quarter 2008

For everyone who thought 2007's music offerings were sucky...then it's time to start looking forward to 2008.

Here are the 11 Most Anticipated Albums for the 1st Quarter of 2008:
(in chronological order)

1. Liam Finn - I'll Be Lightning (January 22nd)
2. Cat Power - Jukebox (January 22nd)
3. Drive By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark (January 22nd)
4. The Mars Volta - Bedlam in Goliath (January 29th)
5. Jack Johnson - Sleep Through The Static (February 5th)
6. Hot Chip - Made in the Dark (February 5th)
7. The Black Crowes - Warpaint (March 4th)
8. Bauhaus - Gone Away White (March 4th)
9. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Real Emotional Trash (March 4th)
10. Lyrics Born - Everywhere At Once (March 18th)
11. We Are Scientists - TBD (March 25th)

Also be on the look-out for new albums from: Sia, Nada Surf, British Sea Power, Morcheeba, Goldfrapp, and The Raveonettes.


Free Metallic Concert - London 1995

The 11 Best "New" Songs

It's 2008! Crap.

Here are the 11 Best "New" Songs:

1. New Year's Day - U2
2. New Year - Death Cab For Cutie
3. New - No Doubt
4. New Year's Prayer - Jeff Buckley
5. New Year - The Living Things
6. New Life - Depeche Mode
7. New Life - Blind Melon
8. New Age - Velvet Underground
9. New World - Nas
10. New Day - The Cure
11. New Song - Howard Jones