The 55 Best Albums of 2014 (33-23)

There have been questions about this year's countdown...to answer the big one:  I did not do a poll this year.  Though I promised, I ran out of my time in my life, day job, and parenting duties.  So, this year, you're just going to have to live with my list and my list only.  Enjoy the kitty. Here are the 55 Best Albums of 2014 (23-33):

23. Johnny Cash - Out among the Stars
24. Movement - Movement EP
25. Ryan Adams - Ryan Adams
26. Jenny Lewis - The Voyager
27. Merchandise - After the End
28. Beck - Morning Phase
39. Y.G. - My Krazy Life
30. You Blew It! - Keep Doing What You're Doing
31. Cloud Nothings - Here And Nothing Else
32. The Black Keys - Turn Blue
33. Claire - The Great Escape

Buy these albums and more...now!!!    

The 11 Best Songs By Jenny Lewis

Coming up with a "best of" list for Jenny Lewis is more complicated than it seems.  Jenny has had such a rich, complex musical career, it's challenging to narrow it down to one specific aspect.  First you have her stint with Rilo Kiley, an amazing noughties band, which only cracked the surface for exposure.  You have her solo career, which is really only one album, since Rabbit Fur Coat is more of a collaboration album with the Watson Twins and Jenny and Johnny is a duet album with Jonathan Rice.  Then there are all her guest appearance for bands like Postal Service, Bright Eyes, and Elvis Costello. So where do I start?  Should I do an exhaustive list of all the best songs of Rilo Kiley or just a slice of her solo section?  What about her movies and TV shows?  I couldn't decide...so let's just do them all. The 11 Best Songs By Jenny Lewis:

1. More Adventurous (More Adventurous)
2. Love and War 11/11/46 (More Adventurous)
3. The Execution of All Things (The Execution of All Things)
4. Under The Blacklight (Under The Blacklight)\
5. My Slumbering Heart (The Execution of All Things)
6. Melt Your Heart (Rabbit Fur Coat)
7. Portions For Foxes (More Adventurous)
8. You Are What You Love (Rabbit Fur Coat)
9. With Arms Outstretched (The Execution of All Things)
10. Sing A Song For Them (Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue)
11. Straight Edge Of The Blade (Jenny and Johnny - I'm Having Fun Now)

Buy Jenny Lewis' new album, The Voyager...now!!!   Don't forget to check out our blog's awesome new book The 111 Best Lists of the 2000s.  Available now!  (featuring Rilo Kiley)

The 11 Best Little Boxes

Happy Jew year!

New season of TV coincides with the Jewish New Year. Coincindence? Showtime kicked it off early with the newest season of Weeds which has almost nothing to do with the show in the first season...but hey, what else are you going to watch...every thing good has been cancelled.

Here are the 11 Best Little Boxes:

1.  Elvis Costello
2.  Melvina Reynolds
3.  Man Man
4.  Jenny Lewis & Jonathan Rice
5.  Persephone's Bees
6.  The Decemberists
7.  Rise Against
8.  Angelique Kidjo
9.  The Shins
10.  The Individuals
11.  Randy Newman

Watch Weeds and buy Jenny Lewis and Jonathan Rice's new album, I'm Having Fun Now.

The 11 Best Songs By Jenny Lewis

Everybody loves free music. Even me.  I know a lot people read this blog just for the free tunes.  And that's okay.  Because I know there are some people who read the blog for the blog as well as the free tunes.  And, every once in awhile, I can alert people to new music...or a new band...or a new album that just got released.  In all fairness, I do think the bands deserve money...and the labels, begrudgingly. So, I do hope you go out and buy the albums now and again.  That said, I only leave the music up for a limited time.  Usually, one month.  I think it's fair, if you're going to get some free tunes then you should read the blog on a regular basis.  Lately, I've been getting a lot of requests for re-posts of old links that are 2-3 years past.  Sorry, guys...not going to happen.  When new albums come out...then maybe I'll re-post, but you have to pay attention.  You need tunes...I need readers..you scratch my back...I'll scratch yours and it'll all wash out in the end.

Here Are The 11 Best Solo Songs By Jenny Lewis:

1.  Handle With Care (Rabbit Fur Coat)
2.  You Are What You Love (Rabbit Fur Coat)
3.  Jack Killed Mom (Acid Tongue)
4.  Carpetbaggers (Acid Tongue)
5.  Paradise (Rise Up With Fists EP)
6.  Melt Your Heart (Rabbit Fur Coat)
7.  Bad Man's World (Acid Tongue)
8.  The Highs And Lows Of Being Number One (Acid Tongue Bonus Track)
9.  The Charging Sky (Rabbit Fur Coat)
10.  The Next Messiah (Acid Tongue)
11.  Go Away (Carpetbaggers EP)

Buy Jenny Lewis & Jonathan Rice's new album, I'm Having Fun Now...now!!

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 Jenny Lewis Songs

Years ago, a blogger, named Maddox, did a brilliant commentary about "your" kids being special. Basically, he said...your kids are not smart, your kids are not talented, and your kids are not special. They may be all these things to YOU...but to the rest of the world...they're just stupid kids.

I want to take this one step further and talk about the fact how many parents today don't think their kids are sick...and worst of all...that they're not contagious either. Yesterday, while I was waiting for my older daughter during her gym class, or as I like to call...glorified and expensive babysitting....another parent had her younger androgynous child running around with a nose dripping like leaky faucet. This kid would not leave my 10-week-old daughter alone. Every other minute, the kid was devising some master plan to put its mucus-coated little hands on my young one. And what did the mother do to try and stop this from happening? Nothing. She just smiled and told me with some sort of guilt-inducing smugness...her kid luuuuves touching babies...she's just obsessed! As if I'm going to put my daughter's life at risk so your disease bomb can grabble with her maternal inclinations. If you kid's that obsessed with babies that it can't find something else to do in a room full of toys except accost mine...then you need to buy this kid a freaking doll...fast! I finally, gave up trying to be nice and told the woman that I'm really trying to be conscious of trying to keep my kid from getting sick. The woman totally understood and responded..."don't worry, my kid's not contagious...I'm taking her to the doctor tomorrow."

The 11 Best Jenny Lewis Songs (minus Rilo Kiley)

1. You Are What You Love (Rabbit Fur Coat)

2. Handle With Care (Rabbit Fur Coat)

3. End of the Affair w/ Johnathan Rice (Further North)

4. The Charging Sky (Rabbit Fur Coat)

5. It Wasn't Me (Rabbit Fur Coat)

6. The District Sleeps Alone Tonite w/ the Postal Service (Give Up)

7. Rise Up With Fists!!! (Rabbit Fur Coat)
8. Roll On w/ Dntel

9. Melt Your Heart (Rabbit Fur Coat)

10. It Was Love w/ the Elected

11. Little Boxes w/ Johnathan Rice (Weeds Sdtk)

Savefile is down...so I'll try to post some new tracks soon. If anyone knows of a better free service than savefile...please let me know.

Buy Jenny Lewis' new album, Acid Tongue.