The 55 Best Albums of 2013 (1-11)

Here they are...my 11 best albums of 2013.  Up next will be your top 111.  Last chance to send in your favorite albums now.  I will compile everyone's picks and publish the super list next week.  Just in time to start our chronicling of 2014.  Have a happy and safe new year!

Here are the 55 Best Albums of 2013 (1-11):

1. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
2. Haim - Days Are Gone
3. Empire of the Sun - Ice on the Dune
4. Small Black - Limits of Desire
5. The Strokes - Comedown Machine
6. Ra Ra Riot - Beta Love
7. Kisses - Kids in LA
8. The Arcade Fire - Reflektor
9. Calexico - Spiritoso
10. The National - Trouble Will Find Me
11. Arctic Monkeys - AM

Buy these albums and more now!!

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

The 11 Best Reasons To Buy The 111 Best Lists of the 2000s

 It's been one week since the release of our first book and the reception has been incredibly unexpected.  I thank everyone who has purchased the book...and am giving the stink eye to everyone who has not.  If you haven't picked up a copy yet...here are some amazing points at why you should.

 The 11 Best Reasons to Buy The 111 Best Music Lists of the 2000s:

1. There are 111 lists - where most books go to 100 ours does them 11 better and goes to 111.
2. It features many good artists including: Arctic Monkeys, Beck, The National, Wilco, and Radiohead
3. It features many bad (ass) artists including:  The Black Keys, The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and the Foo Fighters
4. It features unknown artists including: The Dirtbombs, Jay Reatard, Assemblage 23, Mr. Lif, and the Great Lake Swimmers
5. It cost less money ($12.95) than a concert ticket and it lasts longer
6. Reading makes you smarter.  This book will make you 111 times smarter.
7. It makes for a great Christmas gift and a belated Hanukkah gift for all your Jewish friends
8. It is proven to kill flies if you hit them hard enough with it
9. It is a great conversation starter for a boring New Year's party (or any party for that matter)
10. It is the perfect guide for making a '00s playlist for a '00s-themed party.
11. There's a secret ending just like in the Marvel movies which hints at a bigger story.  Sorta.

Buy The 111 Best Music Lists of the 2000s...now!!!

The 11 Best Albums of 2013 (so far)

It's the 4th of July mid-way point of 2013.  Time to take a little look back at what music we are loving here.

Sorry, I've been out of touch...but with such limited releases at this time of year...I've taken some time off to finish my book (which is based on this blog) so it can be published this November.  More on that to come.

Here are the 11 Best Albums of 2013 (so far):

1. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
2. Empire of the Sun - Ice on the Dune
3. Capital Cities - In A Tidal Wave Of Mystery
4. Ra Ra Riot - Beta Love
5. The Strokes - Comedown Machine
6. Small Black - Limits of Desire
7. Pickwick - Can't Talk Medicine
8. Kisses - Kids in LA
9. Calexico - Spiritoso
10. The National - Trouble Will Find Me
11. Jim James - Regions of Light

Have a happy 4th!

The 11 Best Songs By The Strokes

It has happened...the best time of the year for music fans is upon us.  Record Store Day.  April 20th, 2013.  It's the day all us of audiophiles spend every last spare dime in our piggie banks on limited edition 7-inches in blue splatter paint or a see-through vinyl.  Where a $30 12-inch with one demo seems like a good deal.  Why?  Because Record Store Day is what listening to music is all about.  It's about owning a piece of the music.  About obtaining something that no one else has.  Today, getting an album is easy, whether you pay for it or it's free.  There's nothing special about owning music anymore.  Before digital, buying an album was part of the process.  It was about that journey.  That piece of music was representative of what you went through to get it and why you chose it.  Every time you held it in your hands it brought you back to that moment.  Record Store Day is about that feeling.  It's about a band's connection to its fans.  Well that...and the fact that splatter paint vinyl looks so freaking cool.

Check this year's release list here:  http://www.recordstoreday.com/SpecialReleases

The 11 Best Songs By The Strokes:

1. 12:51 (Room on Fire)
2. Heart in A Cage (First Impressions of Earth)
3. Under The Cover Of Darkness (Angles)
4. Hard To Explain (Is This It)
5. Reptilia (Room on Fire)
6. Someday (Is This It)
7. Last Nite  (Is This It)
8. Life is Simple in the Moonlight (Angles)
9. Electricityscape (First Impressions of Earth)
10. Taken For A Fool (Angles)
11. Ize of the World (First Impressions of Earth)

Buy The Strokes new album, Comedown Machine...now!

The 11 Best Songs of 2011

I usually don't like doing Top song lists of the year (ironic...huh?) but I wanted to give everyone a last chance to get your votes in for the top album of the year.

Just list your favorite albums of 2011 in the comment section below.  Monday is the final day to vote.

Here are the 11 Best Songs of 2011:

1.  Midnight City - M83 (Hurry Up We're Dreaming)
2.  Holocene - Bon Iver (Bon Iver)
3.  The Birds Part 1 - The Weeknd (Thursday)
4.  Shell Games - Bright Eyes (People's Key)
5.  Pumped Up Kicks - Foster The People (Torches)
6.  Under Cover of Darkness - The Strokes (Angles)
7.  First of the Year Equinox - Skrillex (also the best video)
8.  Get Away - Yuck (Yuck)
9.  Gold on the Ceiling - Black Keys (El Camino)
10.  No Church - Jay-Z & Kanye West (Watch the Throne)
11.  Hasa Diga Eebowaii  (The Book of Mormon)

Buy these songs and their albums now!

The 55 Best Albums of 2011 (1-11)

So here it is...my top 11.  My choices.  My opinion.  So, shut up.

SEND ME YOUR LISTS!  I'm still collecting your top 20 lists for a massive 111 Best albums of 2011.  It doesn't have to be 20...just all your favorites albums you can think of.

Here are the 11 Best Albums of 2011:

1.       Yuck - Yuck (Holing Out)

2.       M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

3.       The Strokes - Angles

4.       The Weeknd - House of Balloons/Thursday/Echoes of Silence (get all 3 for free!)

5.       Bon Iver - Bon Iver

6.       Wilco - The Whole Love

7.       Rural Alberta Advantage - Departing

8.       Foo Fighters - Wasting Light

9.       Wild Flag - Wild Flag

10.   Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

11.   The Black Keys - El Camino

Buy these albums and many more for under $5...for a limited time.

The 11 Best Songs By The Strokes

I'll have to say, I was pretty excited to see Dave Grohl rip the show Glee.  I'm not a Gleek...nor do I have a real problem with the show.  But I do have a problem with the show runner going around acting like it's a big privilege to have one of your songs selected for the show.  I don't watch Glee...but I have seen the show...and I have not been impressed.  The covers of the songs are mediocre at best.  I watched the big Michael Jackson "Thriller" episode and thought after seeing it..."meh...that's it?"  The songs sound like watered down versions of the originals.  They don't re-invent the songs...they do functional versions to fit within the context of the show...sometimes.  Sometimes they just cover the songs to cover the songs.  There's nothing unique about having your song covered by Glee except that it boost your songs sales for about a day.  Why would you want your song covered by the show?  What is it that show is going to do for you that you can't already do for yourself?  Exposure?  The Foo Fighters don't need it.  Madonna doesn't need it either...but maybe she likes the show and wants to be a part of it.  That's okay, too.  At the end of it all, Ryan Murphy, Glee's show runner, needs to be careful who he pisses off.  Bands don't need Glee...Glee needs the bands.  If the musicians think you're unappreciative of their involvement...then they won't be involved anymore.  Without the songs...there's no show.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By The Strokes:

1.  12:51 (Room on Fire)
2.  Heart In A Cage (First Impressions of Earth)
3.  Someday (Is This It)
4.  Hard To Explain (Is This It)
5.  Reptilia (Room on Fire)
6.  Last Nite (Is This It)
7.  What Ever Happened? (Room on Fire)
8.  You Only Live Once (First Impressions of Earth)
9.  Trying Your Luck (Is This It)
10.  The End Has No End (Room on Fire)
11.  Ize of the World (First Impressions of Earth)

Buy the Strokes new album, Angles, now!!  (only $3.99 limited time)

The 11 Best songs By Strokes Members

Last week, Julian Casablancas became the 4th strokes member (come on Valensi...show some hustle) to release a solo album in the hiatus between Strokes album #3 & #4. It's now official...the individual members of the Strokes have released more material on their own...then they have with the band as a whole.

But here's the big question? Is it any good? or should they get back to the studio and do what they do best? You decide!

Here are the 11 Best Songs by Members of the Strokes:

1. 101 (Albert Hammond, Jr. - Yours To Keep)
2. Brand New Start (Little Joy - Little Joy)
3. Brandy of the Damned (Nickel Eye - Time of the Assassins)
4. In Transit (Albert Hammond, Jr. - Yours To Keep)
5. How To Hang A Warhol (Little Joy - Little Joy)
6. Keep Me In Mind (Little Joy - Little Joy)
7. GFC (Albert Hammond, Jr. - Como Te Llama?)
8. You and Everyone (Nickel Eye - Time of the Assassins)
9. Don't Watch Me Dancing (Little Joy - Little Joy)
10. Victory At Monterrey (Albert Hammond, Jr. - Como Te Llama?)
11. Better (Regina Spektor featuring Nick Valensi on guitar)

Buy Julian Casablancas' new album, Phrazes For The Young. (right now only $5)

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 UNKNOWN: The Strokes: Live in London (Alexandra Palace 2003)

Today begins a new series here at GBU. Most of the time, I have been focusing in on lists. Best of...worst of... and mostly fun stuff. But what I have been completely ignoring is the "unknown" section of the site. So now, over the next few weeks, I am going to begin the "Unknown album" series. This will be a series that will be primarily focusing in on famous unreleased albums from some of our favorite artists. I will also be inventing new fictional albums from your favorite artists, filled with new songs. Confused...you'll get it when I post The White Stripes' "Giraffe" and Soundgarden's "Black Weather."

Today, I want to begin with The Strokes Live album "Live in London" that was supposed to be released on October 11, 2004. What happened? Well, it didn't get released. No one is really sure why the plug was pulled. All we know is instead of mastering the final album, the band went back into the studio to complete First Impressions. Unmastered and sitting on the shelf it remained...until today.

Recorded at London's Alexandra Palace in December 03, the show is a smash 'em volley of the Strokes at their finest. Though most live albums lack a little something...this one definitely is worth the listen. Don't believe me? Check NME's review of the live show (http://www.nme.com/reviews/the-strokes/7238)

Here is The Strokes - Live In London:

1. Reptilia
2. Under Control
3. Whatever Happened To...
4. Alone, Together
5. The Modern Age
6. 12:51
7. NYC Cops
8. You Talk Too Much
9. Someday
10. Hard To Explain
11. The End Has No End
12. Automatic Stop
13. Soma
14. Take or Leave It
15. I Can't Win

Buy the Strokes albums here.