The 11 Best Albums of 2015 (so far)

It's too early in the year to really get a chance to digest which are the best albums, so right now it's more about which albums I find myself listening to on repeat. Here are the 11 Best albums of 2015 (so far):

1. Jamie XX - In Colour
2. Sleater-Kinney - No Cities To Love
3. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly
4. Hot Chip - Why Make Sense?
5. Natalie Prass - Natalie Prass
6. Title Fight - Hyperview
7. American Wrestlers - American Wrestlers
8. Faith No More - Sol Invictus
9. Susanne Sundfor - Ten Love Songs
10. Joey Bada$$ - B4.DA.$$
11. Modest Mouse - Stranger To Ourselves

     

The 11 Best Songs By Hot Chip

Having kids changes what you can listen to.  Even a band like Mars Volta might not swear as much as others but it gets hard to prog out in the car with a 3-year-old who is trying to comprehend Cedric's obtuse verbose with about as much success as a heroin addict trying to fill out a job application.  You can't really listen to pop radio because most of those songs are way more R-Rated than N.W.A.  They may not swear...but the subject material is about getting blackout drunk and having threesomes on Friday nights is far more offensive than Ice Cube giving the police the middle finger.  Somehow indie rock/pop has risen to the top.  Kids like to dance...so something with a beat is always preferable.  Then dorky lyrics that don't make a whole lot of sense except to be corny are always a hit.  I'm not saying that all artists should skew their music to the pre-school crowd...but it sure is appreciated so I don't have to listen to Tyrone, Austin, Pablo, Uniqua, Tasha one more time.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By Hot Chip:

1. And I Was A Boy From School (The Warning)
2. Ready For A Fall (Made In The Dark)
3. Touch Too Much (Made In The Dark)
4. No Fit State (The Warning)
5. Hand Me Down Your Love (One Life Stand)
6. One Pure Thought (Made In The Dark)
7. One Life Stand (One Life Stand)
8. My Piano (DJ-Kicks)
9. Over and Over (The Warning)
10. I Feel Better (One Life Stand)
11. Take It In (One Life Stand)

Buy Hot Chip's new album, In Our Heads...now!!!

The Unknown: Hot Chip - Hard Dance Night

I try to run everyday. I used to be up to five miles a day. But with sickness...sick kids...a concussion...and multiple work deadlines...I found myself taking a hiatus. Strangely...everyone I talked to (who wasn't a runner) thought that was a good idea. They all said running is really bad for your health. I always responded with..."compared to what?" Most didn't have an answer. Some would respond with something asinine like..."compared to anything." Yeah, right. But the one response that had the most frequency was..."compared to going to the gym." When I prodded further...to find out how they knew this tidbit of information...their response...which was all the exact same. They all said: "My trainer told me."

So...according to the trainer at the gym...where you pay monthly fees of about $50...running (which is free) is worse for your health than going to the gym. Interesting. Now, I know there is some truth that excessive running can have long term health issues (knees & ankles). But so can doing nothing. And I promise you...sitting on the couch eating fast food, watching the Bachelor and ridiculing runners is far worse from your health than going for a jog.

Hot Chip has a buttload of Bsides. Most of which can be purchased from one of three B-side EPs readily available everywhere. So here's everything else...

Here is Hot Chip - Hard Dance Night:

1. My Piano
2. Bubbles They Bounce
3. Wearing My Rolex
4. Transmission
5. Sexual Healing
6. Nothing Compares 2 U
7. My Brother Is Watching Me
8. Slow Death
9. So Deep
10. With Each New Day
11. No
12. I Can't Wake Up

Buy Hot Chip's new album, One Life Stand....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 3)

Maybe I'll just make this a trend...every day I'll screw up my list a little bit further adding another new entry to the list. Today finds Peasant (#24) slipping in after downloading the album off Emusic last night. Check out their session on Daytrotter...his bare bones style is quite mesmerizing.

The 11 Best Albums of 2008 (Part 3):

23. Kings of Leon - Only By the Night (Use Somebody - SNL)
24. Bloc Party - Intimacy

24. Peasant - On The Ground
25. Ezra Furman & The Harpoons - Inside The Human Body
26. Cold War Kids - Loyalty To Loyalty

27. Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
28. The Killers - Day & Age
29. Tapes N Tapes - Walk It Off (Hang Them All - Daytrotter)
30. Ryan Adams and the Cardinals - Cardinology
31. Hot Chip - Made in the Dark
32. Travis - Ode To J. Smith
33. Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark

Another reminder to visit my Amazon Store...I get a percentage...a very small one. but if I can make enough off it...I'll invest in a better archiving site than savefile...so we all benefit.

The 11 Best Hot Chip Songs

Today is Super Tuesday. And for all you idiots who ran around wearing your Superhero costumes...you've got the wrong day. What I don't understand about today's election is the shame that comes with voting for some people. I know a lot of friends who voted for Hilary but just won't admit it. Why? The race between Obama and Hilary is a race between two very similar candidates. It's not like it's a race between Hitler and Jesus.... It's a race between two Democrats who agree on almost everything. why won't people say they voted for Hilary?

Staying in theme with Hilary...why exactly do conservatives hate her so much? Many of my conservative-leaning friends think she's the devil. I asked one of them why...he said because she wants to raise taxes. I asked him how raising taxes to pay off Bush's massive debts makes her the devil....his response: "Because." Look, raising taxes doesn't make some the devil. Raping babies and eating puppies are things the devil does. Raising taxes to pay off a Bush's inability to be fiscally conscious doesn't make someone The Devil...it makes them responsible.

BTW, middle class taxes were lower under Clinton than they were under Bush.

The 11 Best Hot Chip Songs

1. I Was A Boy From School (The Warning)
2. Over and Over (The Warning)
3. From Drummer To Driver (Coming On Strong)
4. No Fit State (The Warning)
5. Baby Said (Coming On Strong)
6. Look After Me (The Warning)
7. A Glue Too Thick (Boy From School EP)
8. Colours (The Warning)
9. Keep Fallin' (Coming On Strong)
10. Sexual Healing (Over and Over)
11. Just Like We Breakdown (The Warning)

Buy The New Hot Chip - MADE IN THE DARK...with the very special Bonus DVD