The 11 Best Record Store Day Successes

At 4:00 AM Saturday morning, I pulled up outside a record store in Sherman Oaks, armed with a few graphic novels, a half-read Malcolm Gladwell tome and 2-liter bottle of Pepsi Max.  I was not alone.  In fact, I was 9th.  In a line that would later that day stretch to over 150-people long, I was part of the core group of dedicated music purists.  The starting line-up.  The Breakfast Club of vinyl.  A tenth member showed up at 4:30, in hopes he was the first one to arrive looking for the Cake box set.  When he found out he was the third one to walk up desiring its glory (knowing the store only obtained one copy), he tossed his hand in the air, disgusted by the whole event and marched off cursing with a wicked lisp.  We were a united front and no one was going to break our tribe.

For the next 7 hours, we discussed our purchases.  Who was getting what?  We strategized with each other, plotting which albums we were sure to get, while at the same time conscious of the others' picks.  Like the crossing of the streams in Ghostbusters, there could be no overlap.  With three people in line only there to get the Paramore release (that's dedication...but it is a cool-looking record), our competition was minimal.  Once we had announced our choices, once we had determined our lists, we no longer allowed to make changes or additions that affected anyone else's lists.  That would be seen as treasonous...and there's no telling the severity of the scowl that would be emitted from a pissed off music nerd.  

Finally, the rest of the line showed up as the crack of six came around.  But we were the tribal council.  We had the power in the front of the line to determine who was getting what.  If the twelfth person in line came only for the Joy Division EP, and I was thinking about getting it, it meant I held all the power over their music-buying fate.  But even vinyl aficionados have morals. There were no cuts.  There was no buying for a friend.  There were also no assholes.  We respected each other's right to be there. At the end of the day, we're a community and we protect our own.

As massively successful that Record Store Day is for the fans and styluses everywhere, it is always amazing to watch what limited edition, colored-vinyl, filled with live demos of covers has the most sustainability outside of the store.  I'm not talking about which album you enjoy listening to the most, that's personal, and there's no list for that.  I'm talking about which albums garner the most online demand.  Some of the albums that were predicted to be draws like Outkast, the side by side series, and even the new Conor Oberst had very little online life.  Even the highly hyped Green Day Demos red vinyl was being outbid by the CD version of the same title.  But some titles...some titles exceeded expectations and will now live on in legend of the RSD history.

Here are the 11 Best Record Store Day Successes:

1. R.E.M. - Unplugged (307) - I've been waiting for this release for 23 years.  It does not disappoint.  Online it's selling for 350% over its list price and there seems to be no dip in the demand.  Despite its popularity it sounds fucking incredible. Only 1000 of these were made, which means it will be in demand for a long time.
2. Cake - Box Set ($330) - All of Cake's seven albums, plus an 8th never-released album, all printed on different colored vinyl.  Even though it sells for more than REM, it cost twice as much originally.  This thing was so popular it literally caused  a guy to cry in line because he didn't get it.
3. Ghostbusters ($100) - The surprise of the day.  Whoever thought a 30 year old movie theme song on glow in the dark vinyl would be wanted by everyone in line.
4. Garcia ($148) - Jerry's first solo album on white vinyl.  Dead fans who are not dead are fighting tooth and nail for this one.
5. The Liars - Mess On a Mission ($75) - This might edge out Paramore for the coolest looking record.  Clear vinyl with yarn inside.  A truly unique release.
6. Devo - Live at Max's Kansas City ($107) - From 1977, this is a great uncovered gem by a legendary band. 
7. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World ($96) - A cult classic soundtrack draws a cult classic crowd. 
8. Death Cab For Cutie ($95) - DCFC with an orchestra...this is the kind of release RSD is made for.
9. Childish Gambino ($80) - Donald Glover may be a funny guy, but he had the best packaging of the day.
10. Life Without Buildings ($102) - An obscure release by an obscure 80s band for the first time in America.  If you don't get this now, you'll never get it.
11. Jack White - Lazaretto ($475) - Even though this is selling for the most amount of money online, it's not really fair to compare it to the others since you could only purchase it at one location.  It's still cool as shit.  Looks like Jack just raised the bar for coolest RSD release.  Your turn Wayne Coyne.

Don't forget to check out our blog's awesome new book The 111 Best Lists of the 2000s.  Available now!

The 11 Best Songs From The Twilight Soundtracks

Harry Potter proved that a great franchise can make you a whole lot of money.  Twilight proved that a shitty franchise can do the exact same thing.  The one thing that Twilight did right was its soundtracks.  As crappy as the movies were, the soundtracks were some of the best movie soundtracks being made.  The Hunger Games franchise has arrived giving us the best of both worlds.  A great franchise and a great soundtrack.  Too bad Cameron Crowe never made Singles into a movie franchise.

Here are the 11 Best Songs From The Twilight Soundtracks:

1. Eclipse All Yours - Metric (Eclipse) 
2. Meet Me On The Equinox - Death Cab For Cutie (New Moon)
3. Spotlight - Mutemath (Twilight)
4. Ours - The Bravery (Eclipse)
5. Neutron Star Collision - Muse (Eclipse)
6. Flightless Bird, American Mouth - Iron & Wine (Twilight)
7. Let's Get Lost - Beck & Bat For Lashes (Eclipse)
8. No Sound But The Wind - Editors (New Moon)
9. What Part Of Forever - Cee-Lo Green (Eclipse)
10. From Now On - The Features (Breaking Dawn 1)
11. Where I Come From - Passion Pit (Breaking Dawn 2)

Buy the Catching Fire Soundtrack...now!

The 11 Best Solo Songs By Benjamin Gibbard

I know some troll is going to go all haywire because these songs are not all purely solo songs by Benjamin Gibbard.  It's amazing how loose the rules on the internet are for conduct...but how everyone out there holds websites up to extreme scrutiny.  And not just about facts...about whether our facts abide by their own personal opinions.  Like I'm supposed to make my lists a certain way because some yahoo in Nebraska doesn't like my list of Martin L. Gore songs includes covers.  Like really?  Why does that matter?  It's like the debate.  Binders full of women?  Who cares?  It's funny for like two seconds.  But I've had to spend all day reading stupid Facebook posts making jokes about it.  People need to get lives and obsessing over minutiae.  That said, I'm going to go play some Angry Birds. 

Here are the 11 Best Solo Songs By Benjamin Gibbard:

1. You Remind Me Of Home (Home with Andrew Kenny)
2. These Roads Don't Move (One Fast Move Or I'm Gone with Jay Farrar)
3. Where Our Desolation Lies (Arthur Soundtrack)
4. California Zephyr (One Fast Move Or I'm Gone with Jay Farrar)
5. Carolina (Home with Andrew Kenny)
6. One Fast Move Or I'm Gone (One Fast Move Or I'm Gone with Jay Farrar)
7. When The Sun Goes Down (Arthur Soundtrack)
8. All In One (One Fast Move Or I'm Gone with Jay Farrar)
9. Indian Summer (Kurt Cobain About A Son)
10. Farmer Chords (Home with Andrew Kenny)
11. Train Song with Feist (Dark Was The Night)

Buy Benjamin Gibbard's solo album, Former Lives...now!!

The 111 Best Albums of 2011

Here they are.  The 111 Best Albums of 2011 as voted on by you my readers.  If you don't like the results...then vote for something better next year.

I personally, always like the results of this list much better than most critic lists.  This list is always more honest to me.  While Adele dominated most lists...she only cracks the top 40 here.  Or the Decemberists who barely made it on many critic lists jumped up high here because the people just liked the album.

Here are the 111 Best Albums of 2011:

1. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
2. The Black Keys - El Camino
3. The Decemberists - King Is Dead
4. Yuck - Yuck
5. M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
6. Death Cab For Cutie - Codes and Keys
7. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
8. Radiohead - King of Limbs
9. Wilco - The Whole Love
10. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
11. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
12. The Weeknd - House of Balloons/Thursday/Echoes of Silence
13. Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math
14. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
15. Wye Oak - Civilian
16. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
17. Jay-Z & Kanye West - Watch The Throne
18. The Strokes - Angles
19. TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
20. R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now
21. Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
22. Bright Eyes - The People's Key
23. Florence + The Machine - Ceremonials
24. Middle Brother - Middle Brother
25. Telekinesis - 12 Desperate Straight Lines
26. Destroyer - Kaputt
27. War on Drugs - Slave Ambient
28. Wild Flag - Wild Flag
29. Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto
30. Tune-Yards - Who Kill
31. Foster The People - Torches
32. Fucked Up - David Comes To Life
33. Real Estate - Days
34. Beirut - Rip Tide
35. Ryan Adams – Ashes and Fire
36. Rural Alberta Advantage - Departing
37. Tom Waits - Bad As Me
38. Adele - 21
39. Gomez – Whatever’s On Your Mind
40. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Hysterical
41. Raveonettes - Raven in the Grave
42. James Blake - James Blake
43. Stephen Malkmus - Mirror Traffic
44. Alexander (Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros) - Alexander
45. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Belong
46. Tapes N Tapes - Outside
47. Paul Simon - So Beautiful or So What
48. Class Actress - Rapproacher
49. Dawes - Nothing Is Wrong
50. My Morning Jacket - Circuital
51. Dum Dum Girls - Only in Dreams
52. Ersatz G.B. - The Fall
53. Arctic Monkeys - Suck It And See
54. Atlas Sound - Paradox
55. Explosions in the Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
56. Rival Schools - Pedals
57. Sigur Ros - Inni
58. Battles - Gloss Drop
59. Dustin O Halloran - Lumiere
60. Sam Roberts Band – Collider 
61. Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part 2
62. Drake - Take Care
63. Washed Out - Within and Without
64. Feist - Metals
65. Jason Isbell - Here We Rest
66. Fountains of Wayne - Sky Full of Holes
67. Grouplove - Never Trust a Happy Song
68. Handsome Furs - Sound Kapital
69. Childish Gambino - Camp
70. Low - C’mon
71. Crooked Fingers - Breaks in the Armor
72. Blitzen Trapper - American Goldwing
73. Deer Tick - Divine Providence
74. EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints
75. Hey Rosetta! - Seeds
76. SBTRKT - SBTRKT
77. The Head and the Heart - The Head and the Heart
78. The Roots - undun
79. Noah and the Whale - Last Night On Earth
80. Mates of State - Mountaintops
81. New Found Glory - Radiosurgery
82. Gillian Welch - Harrow and Harvest
83. Anna Calvi - Anna Calvi 
84. Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears - Scandalous
85. Found - Factorycraft
86. Metronomy - The English Riviera
87. Library Voices - Summer of Lust
88. The Vaccines - What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?
89. The Kills - Blood Pressures
90. Juliana Barwick - The Magic Place
91. Cut Copy - Zonoscope
92. We Were Promised Jetpacks - In The Pit Of Our Stomachs
93. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo
94. Tennis - Cape Dory
95. Cults - Cults
96. The Antlers - Burst Apart
97. Friendly Fires - Pala
98. Bombay Bicycle Club - A Different Kind of Fix
99. J. Mascias - Several Shades of Why
100. Tyler the Creator - Goblin
101. Noah Gallagher - High Flying Birds
102. Ladytron - Gravity the Seducer
103. We Are Augustines - Rise Ye Sunken Ships
104. The Airborne Toxic Event - All At Once
105. And You Will Know us By The Trail of Dead - Tao of the Dead
106. The Felice Brothers - Celebration, Florida
107. The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar
108. Okkervil River - I Am Very Far
109. Glossary - Long Live Us All
110. Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
111. The Deep Dark Woods - The Place I Left Behind

Buy these albums and more here and here.

The 55 Best Albums of 2011 (23-33)

It was the year of the reunion/comeback.  So many big artists came back together to put out one more album.  Maybe I'm just getting older and there are more bands under my belt who have the potential to reunite...but this honestly has to be the most reunions I can remember in awhile.  The strongest outing by far was by The Cars...and they seemed to have the most stacked against them.  Missing their key bassist/songwriter/singer, Benjamin Orr, no one thought they could really regenerate the magic the group possessed in the 80s.  But of all the reunions, The Cars seemed to embody the most honest energy of all the bands.  It's like they acknowledge off the bat that they couldn't do it properly without Orr...so they did everything in their power to do as good and respectable of a job as possible.  And it worked.  There were some good reunions this year...but The Cars came in the most low key and finished by far on top.

ATTENTION: I'm still collecting your TOP 20 LISTS.  If you don't have 20 albums...that's okay.  You can send as many as you want.  If it's just 5 or even 1 that's fine, too.  Send them in now and I'll compile an uber monster list to kick off 2012.

Here are the 55 Best Songs of 2011 (23-33):

23.       Deer Tick - Divine Province

24.       Washed Out - Within and Without

25.       Acrylics - Lives and Treasures (Nightwatch)

26.       Radical Dads - Radical Dads (Walking Wires)

27.       Death Cab For Cutie - Codes and Keys

28.       Feist - Metals

29.       The Decemberists - The King Is Dead

30.       Neon Indian - Era Extrana

31.       Justice - Audio, Video, Disco

32.   The Roots - undun

33.   The Cars - Move Like This

Buy these albums and many more best of 2011...now!!! (all for under $5)

The 11 Best Death Cab For Cutie Songs of the 00s

The one harsh reality about illegal downloading is the songwriter really does get screwed.  I don't feel bad for the record labels that much.  They've ripped off the customers for years and fucked over the artists even more.  Labels are nothing more than bully distributors who charge a ridiculously large fee for use of their toll roads.  The internet killed the label's monopoly over the rivers of distribution.  Now any one can be bought and sold, and they don't need a poorly-structured contract to do that.  Bands really do deserve our money.  They spend months, even years, creating music for our pleasure and they ask for so little in return.  Especially now that two big releases this week are selling for a meager $5 (Death Cab & MMJ), that's really just some spare pocket change for two of the best albums of the year.

Here are the 11 Best Death Cab For Cutie Songs of the 00s:

1.  I Will Follow You Into the Dark (Plans)
2.  Title Track (We Have The Facts)
3.  Soul Meets Body (Plans)
4.  Title and Registration (Transatlanticism)
5.  405 (We Have The Facts)
6.  The Sound Of Settling (Transatlanticism)
7.  Someday You Will Be Loved (Plans)
8.  Grapevine Fires (Narrow Stairs)
9.  Why You'd Want To Live Here (The Photo Album)
10.  Marching Bands of Manhattan (Plans)
11.  Bixby Canyon Bridge (Narrow Stairs)

Buy Death Cab For Cutie's new album, Codes and Keys now.  (Only $5 for a limited time)

The 11 Best Songs By Ben Gibbard

I've started another site. It's the same post as this one...only it's my own server for when the music industry comes knocking and tries to takedown my posts. I've has some weird ones taken down. I had a Weezer post taken down...even though they were Weezer demos that had been given away for free. And an Eminem post taken down...and I didn't even have an MP3 link on that one. That's a little too much power...now they're editing content.

http://www.goodbadunknown.com/

So...I have my new site...only no one goes there except Russian spammers. Serieoulsy about 80% of my comments are for Russian sex sites. Which begs the question...does my site really bring in the clientele that would also be into Russian sex sites? I didn't know I had it in me.

Join my Twitter page, too...only no Russian porn there.

The 11 Best Songs By Ben Gibbard (excluding DCFC songs):

1. Such Great Heights - The Postal Service
2. Brand New Colony - The Postal Service
3. Handle With Care - Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins
4. Against All Odds - The Postal Service
5. You Remind Me of Home - Home V
6. Clark Gable - The Postal Service
7. Nothing Better - The Postal Service
8. Train Song - Feist and Ben Gibbard
9. Indian Summer - About a Boy
10. Farmer Chords - Home V
11. Slow and Steady Wins The Race - Pedro The Lion

Buy Ben Gibbard and Jay Farrar's new album "One Fast Move or I'm Gone."

The Next Best 111 Albums of the 00s:

I'm going to tease this out just a bit more before the reveal of the Top 11 of the decade. Until then, here are the runner-ups. Those who were good...but maybe...just not good enough.

The Next Best 111 Albums of the 00s:

1. ...And You Will Know Us - Source Tags & Codes
2. Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass
3. Against Me! - New Wave
4. Alicia Keyes - The Diary of Alicia Keyes
5. Animal Collective - Feels
6. Animal Collective - Sung Tongs
7. The Anniversary - Your Majesty
8. At The Drive-In - Relationship in Command
9. Band of Horses - Everything all the Time
10. Beck - Guero
11. Black Rebel Motorcycle - Black Rebel Motorcycle
12. Bob Dylan - Modern Times
13. Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake and It's Morning
14. Bright Eyes - Cassadega
15. Burial - Untrue
16. Cat Power - The Greatest
17. Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards (Hospital Beds)
18. Cursive - Happy Hollow
19. Cursive - The Ugly Organ (Sierra)
20. Damien Rice - O
21. Danger Mouse and Jemini - Ghetto Pop Life
22. Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse - Dark Night of the Soul
23. The Darkness - Permission To Land
24. Dashboard Confessional - The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most
25. Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism (The New Year)
26. Death Cab For Cutie - We Have The Facts and We Are Voting Yes
27. The Decemberists - Her Majesty
28. The Decemberists - Picaresque
29. Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies
30. DJ Shadow - The Private Press
31. Drive By Truckers - Dirty South
32. Elliott Smith - Basement on the Hill
33. Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
34. The Faint - Danse Macabre
35. FELT - A Tribute to Lisa Bonet
36. Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine
37. The Foo Fighters - There Is Something Left To Lose
38. Fugazi - The Argument
39. Girl Talk - Feed The Animals
40. Gogol Bordello - Gypsy Punks
41. Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown
42. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
43. The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
44. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
45. Iron and Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days
46. Iron and Wine/Calexico - In The Reins
47. Jack Johnson - In Between Dreams
48. Jay-Z - Blueprint 3.0
49. Jay-Z - MTV Unplugged
50. Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat
51. Joanna Newsom - Ys
52. John Legend - Get Lifted
53. Kayne West - 808s and Heartbreak
54. The Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future
55. The Knife - Silent Shout
56. The Libertines - The Libertines
57. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter II
58. Loretta Lynne - Van Leer Rose
59. Lupe Fiasco - Food & Liquor
60. M. Ward - Post War
61. Manu Chao - Proxima Estacion
62. Mastodon - Leviathon
63. Matisyahu - Live at Stubbs
64. The Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium
65. Metallica - Death Magnetic
66. M.I.A. - Arular
67. Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther
68. Missy Elliott - Miss E...So Addictive
69. Modest Mouse - The Moon And Antarctica
70. Monsters of Folk - Monsters of Folk
71. Morrissey - You Are The Quarry
72. Mr. Lif - I Phantom
73. Muse - Absolution
74. Nas - Hip Hop Is Dead
75. Neko Case - Fox Confesor Brings The Flood
76. The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
77. Okkervil River - Stage Names
78. Panda Bear - Person Pitch
79. Peter Bjorn and John - Writer's Block
80. The Polyphonic Spree - The Beginning Stages Of...
81. Q-Tip - Kamaal: the Abstract
82. Queens of the Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf
83. The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
84. Radiohead - Amnesiac
85. Rilo Kiley - The Execution of All Things
86. Rodrigo y Gabriela - Rodrigo y Gabriela
87. Ryan Adams - Rock N Roll
88. Ryan Adams - Love Is Hell
89. The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
90. The Shins - Wincing The Night Away
91. Santogold - Santogold
92. She and Him - Volume One
93. Sia - Colour The Small One
94. Sigur Ros - ()
95. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (The Ghost of You Lingers)
96. The Strokes - Room On Fire
97. The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth
98. Talib Kweli - Quality
99. Tapes and Tapes - The Loon
100. Tegan and Sara - The Con
101. Tool - 10,000 Days
102. Tool - Lateralus
103. Travis - The Invisible Band
104. TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
105. U2 - How To Build An Atomic Bomb
106. Usher - Confessions
107. The Walkmen - Bows and Arrows
108. Whiskeytown - Pneumonia
109. The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
110. The White Stripes - White Blood Cells
111. Wilco - The Album
     
     
     Buy The Best of the 2000s here.

The 111 Best Albums of the 00s (12-22)

The 111 Best Albums of the 00s (12-22):

12. Coldplay - A Rush of Blood To The Head (2002)
- If Viva La Vida is this generation's Joshua Tree...A Rush would be this generation's Unforgetable Fire.

13. Ryan Adams - Gold (2001)
- If charting was based on most material released...RA would win by a landslide. But Gold feels the most personal...that the most time went into crafting this one. (La Cienega Just Smiled)

14. Jay-Z - The Black Album (2003)
- Jay-Z turned the industry on its head when he allowed the public to freely remix and distribute his momentary swan song.

15. The Strokes - Is This It (2001)
- The Jam who? The Strokes tight and underplayed debut was a snub in the face of the loud and obnoxious music of the day. (Soma)

16. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am (2006)
- The Jam who? The AM's loud and obnoxious debut was a snub in the face of the quiet and mopey music of the day.

17. Bright Eyes - Lifted Or The Story is in the Soil (2002)
- This is the album that earned him the nickname: "the next Bob Dylan" or "the next Bob Dylan until the next Bob Dylan comes along." (You Will.)

18. Zero 7 - Simple Things (2001)
- If there was ever a soundtrack to this decade...Zero 7 did it first.

19. Interpol - Antics (2004)
- 20 years later...Ian Curtis is cool again.

20. Death Cab For Cutie - Plans (2005)
- The emo masterpiece from a band who has done everything in their power to be anything but... (Someday You Will Loved)

21. Bruce Springsteen - The Rising (2002)
- In the wake of 9/11, it was Bruce who came to the rescue to lead us out of the darkness. No album has ever said more about the strength and resolute nature of our country than the Rising.

22. Kings of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak (2004)
- The Kings emerged this decade as the last true patriots of American rock n roll. And no where is that more clear than on their second effort.

Buy these albums now.

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)

THE UNKNOWN: Death Cab For Cutie - Uncharted Territory

I don't know if I'm fascinated by this or disturbed by it. Today I was out with my daughter and we noticed a woman at the park. This was a larger woman...she was somewhere between being big-boned and Roseanne Barr. Needless to say, she had larger breasts. All of sudden the strangest thing happened...her breast started vibrating. Jiggling if you must. But it wasn't both breasts, it was just one. I'll have to say that was odd...but now I was intrigued. Why in the world was this woman's breast jiggling for no apparent reason? Well, I was about to get my answer. The woman grabbed her shirt and shoved her hand into her own cleavage like she was inseminating a bull. The next thing I know, she's removed a cellphone, which she promptly answers. I was shocked...was she actually storing her cellphone in her bra? Who is she...Inspector Gadget? Well, seconds later, I was to get my confirmation, when she returned her cellphone to her bra. This was no college acid flashback. This woman was using her bra like an extra pocket on a pair of parachute pants. Then I pondered, what else is she keeping in there? Money? Keys? Make-Up? Chewing Gum? An Ipod? Lunch? And do I really want to know?

Buy Death Cab's new album...Narrow Stairs. It's well worth the money...I guarantee it!


Death Cab For Cutie - Uncharted Territory

1. Jealousy Rides With Me
2. Earth Angel (The Penguins)
3. Love Song (The Cure)
4. Talking Like Turnstiles
5. World Shut Your Mouth (Julian Cope)
6. Fortunate Son (CCR)
7. Rocking Chair (The Band)
8. Army Corps of Architects
9. This Temporary Life
10. Dream Scream (Daniel Johnston)
11. Christmas Baby (Please Come Home)
12. Spring Break Broke
13. Little Boxes

Note: Thanks for the help with the files!!!

The 11 Best Death Cab For Cutie Songs

Being successful at anything means you need to know what you're doing. Take for instance this weekend at the box office. Two titans fought it out between the Wachowski brothers with Speed Racer and Robert Downey Jr. with Iron Man. Iron Man, in its second weekend, pounded Speed Racer by 30 million. Iron Man has grossed 177 million in 10 days...Speed Racer will be lucky to gross 77 million in its entire run. How is it that the directors who brought you the Matrix, flopped so hard in their first new enterprise in over ten years? One thing: Jon Favreau. Behind the helm of Iron Man, is the writer-director Jon Favreau. The Wachowskis have one hit...The Matrix...a great film. But Favreau also had an impressive film on his resume...Swingers. Made for 1/1000 of the price of the Matrix, Swingers is equally important to 90s cinema. Favreau wrote the script. He also did the highly successful Elf...and the quiet indie classic, Made. What else do the Wachowskis have on their resume from the past 10 years? Just bad Matrix sequels.

Iron Man is movie based out character...we grow with Tony Stark...we feel his plight. We want him to win. Speed Racer is based out of visual style...after 15 seconds, we get it and are ready to move on with our lives.

Favreau has made a career of making good films...they may not break Box office records (until now), but they are always respectable. The Wachowskis got lucky once...and lightning doesn't strike twice.

Buy the new Death Cab For Cutie Narrow Stairs.

Here are The 11 Best Death Cab For Cutie Songs:

1. I Will Follow You Into The Dark (Plans)
2. Title Track (We Have The Facts)
3. Soul Meets Body (Plans)
4. Title and Registration (Transatlanticism)
5. 405 (We Have The Facts)
6. The Sound of Settling (Transatlanticism)
7. Someday You Will Be Loved (Plans)
8. Why You'd Want to Live Here (The Photo Album)
9. Marching Bands of Manhattan (Plans)
10. We Looked Like Giants (Transatlanticism)
11. Photobooth (Forbidden Love)