You can't have a road trip without a soundtrack. I have taken plenty of day-long car rides with friends and by myself. A great soundtrack can make the difference between an adventure and torture. About a year ago, I headed up the coast to Ojai for the weekend. I brought over 100 different albums with me because you never know what mood you'll be in. Less than 15 minutes into the journey, we ran into horrible traffic. Living in LA, you get used to the parking lot-like freeways but when you go out of town, you
hope that's one of the main things you can escape. The problem is every Angeleno leaves LA for the exact same reason, creating the very same perfect storm you're escaping. My friend who came with me kept a clear head as we eased down the freeway at a steady 3 mph. My friend suggested we change up the music. From the east coast hip-hop we were playing my friend pushed for music with a country vibe. We settled in on the Delta Spirit. It was the smartest choice we could have made. From the first howl of Matthew Vasquez's raspy voice on
Empty House, the mood soften, and my outlook brightened. The insanely slow crawl became secondary to the atmosphere created by the music. The road trip once again became a place I wanted to be. My friend's suggestion was the right one because once we found the right music our journey became clear. Within minutes, traffic cleared up and we were on our way. That's the power of music.
Here are the 11 Best Songs By The Delta Spirit:
- Empty House (Delta Spirit)
- Streetwalker (I Think I've Found It)
- Bushwick Blues (History From Below)
- California (Delta Spirit)
- Idaho (Delta Spirit)
- Ode To Sunshine (Ode To Sunshine)
- Ballad of Vitaly (History From Below)
- Gimme Some Motivation (I Think I've Found It)
- Strange Vine (Ode To Sunshine)
- Golden State (History From Below)
- Tear It Up (Delta Spirit)
Buy Delta Spirit's new album,
Into The Wide...now!!
It's been four years since the last Weezer release and even though there's only one new album (and some random singles) to add to the list, any time there's a new Weezer, it's time to celebrate.
Here are the 111 Best Songs By Weezer:
Don't forget to check out our blog's awesome new book The 111 Best Lists of the 2000s. Available now! (featuring Weezer)
When it comes to weeks like this when there are a lot of good releases, I get torn between doing lists for the big artists like the Weezers and the Stevie Nicks...and the smaller lesser known artists like the Juan Macleans and the Caribous. The big artists draw the biggest audience...but the smaller artists add some diversity to the site. If you want to see Weezers best songs I've already done that multiple times. Just click on an old list and explore. If you want to know what Juan's best songs are, well...you can't. Until now.
We all have our favorites. We all have artists who we follow. We all have artists who we can listen to no matter the album, whether it's considered their best or their worst. For me that artist is Tom Petty. He has been one of my favorites for over 25 years. He also may be the only artist among my favorites I've never seen live. That changed this week. After going through a deeply frustrating personal set-back, one of my best friends came through out of the blue with a free ticket to his show in Anaheim. It could not have come at a better time, and it was exactly what I needed. Tom Petty...40 years a rock n roll star...put on one of the best rock shows I have ever seen. It was big, personal, and filled with every riff I ever wanted to hear out of Petty's mouth or Campbell's guitar. Today, I have gratitude that when we get knocked down that our friends are there to pick us up.
One of Petty's best rock friends is the one and only Stevie Nicks. Many people don't know that Nicks almost became a member of the Heartbreakers in the 80s. Nicks may have had a massive career in dysfunctional family of Fleetwood Mac but her solo outings were ripe with huge duets and guests that made her equally respected on her own. And with Mike Campbell sneaking into every one of her solo albums, it's safe to say that she might as well be a Heartbreaker.
I'm still in shock and I'm not sure I totally believe it...but the legendary, mythical punk rock band from the 00s, Death From Above 1979, has returned with a new album. This wasn't supposed to happen. It's been 10 years since their landmark debut in 2004. Like a bolt lightning when they appeared...they vanished just as suddenly without a trace. Sort of. DFA1979, the thundering duo of Sebastien Grainger and had gone their separate ways. There were rumors of infighting, creative differences, even Fleetwood Mac like jealousy of sorts. We knew as much as they wanted to tell us. The one thing that was certain...new music was not coming anytime soon. Us fans dealt with the shock of the news like a death. It was over and it was time to move on. Though the next album was a full decade away, the two songwriters of the band were still keeping busy making music. They formed new bands, bringing the undertones of that unique DFA1979 sound with them. This is a look at the decade between DFA1979's debut and their sophomore album, selecting the best tunes that came out of that era.
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate this artist known as Prince. There are very few artists who have been as prolific as Prince. This week, he just released his 33rd and 34th albums at the young age of 56. Surprisingly, the 2000s were the decade with the most Prince album releases, especially if you count two albums for the double release of Lotusflow3r and MPLsound. Even though the 90s were populated by more albums, it's the 80s that we are here to go crazy about. Let's go back to a time when people partied like the apocalypse, raspberrry was a color, and dance floors rained in purple.