10. “Heretic Anthem” – Slipknot
I was introduced to Slipknot when they absolutely killed it on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. The performance was intense, insane and hilarious. Slipknot continues to be the only heavy metal band that fuses melody and crushing music successfully.
9. “Up to You” – Damone
A great quiet/loud song that erupts into my favorite guitar solo of the decade from Dave Pino. Solo at 2:24.
8. “99 Problems” – Jay-Z
Old-school storyteller rhymes over Rick Rubin’s industrial hip-rock beat. You need to watch the “Fade to Black” documentary to see Jigga Man laying down this song in the studio (below).
Network executives may be greedy and creatively bankrupt, but they aren’t stupid. As soon as Glee became the breakout hit of the Fall season, it was only a matter of time before one of the Big Three cranked out their own reality version of an a cappella singing show. The Sing-Off is actually better than expected–decent groups singing popular songs with a tolerable host and knowledgeable judges. NBC made the right call making it only a four-night event, but I’m sure if it’s successful, we’ll see it come back with more episodes.
The best part of the show has been Ben Folds. He’s the most refreshing TV judge since Simon Cowell first came to America. Folds is sweet, intelligent, and actually gives real, tangible musical criticism and advice to the contestants. Hopefully The Sing-Off serves as a great audition tape for when people grown tired of Ellen’s dancing.
Thoughts on the groups:
Beelzebubs: I never knew Frodo Baggins was such a good singer! They have too many members and the arrangements get too muddled. Need to tone down on the facial expressions. Anyone who sings “Sweet Caroline” is dead to me. Keep reading →
10. Almost Famous (2000)
Probably the best semi-fictional movie about a seventies band. Everyone loves the “Tiny Dancer” sequence or the “Golden God” scene but they’re way overrated. Best Scene: Anything with Lester Bangs.
9. No Country For Old Men (2008)
Would have been higher but I hated the ending. DON’T MAKE ME THINK! Best scene: Keep reading →
Everyone has a list. Rather than try to be cool and earn scene points by name dropping Radiohead and The Strokes, I’ve put together my personal favorite albums of the past ten years.
10. Thrice – The Artist in the Ambulance (2003)
Hands down, my all-time favorite sounding drums on a record. Riley Breckenridge recorded his parts at Bearsville Studio in upstate New York and the team of Matt Squire (Engineer), Andy Wallace (Mixer) and Brian McTernan (Producer) made the drums full, heavy and the crushing backbone to support Thrice’s major label debut. The rest of the band is pretty good too.
9. Amy Winehouse – Back to Black (2007)
It’s hard not to think of this album and the current state of Amy Winehouse. Back to Black, with it’s songs of heartbreak and internal struggle, brought Winehouse to the top, and ultimately sent her to rock bottom. Forgetting all of the personal issues, the album was a true breakthrough, reviving the Motown sound and updating it with hip-hop beats and vocal swagger. Much credit should go to producer Mark Ronson and backing band The Dap Kings, but without Winehouse’s pain, the album would have no integrity or soul.
The worst songs of the year were unfortunately the two that sat on top of the Billboard charts the longest. Of course I’m talking about “Boom Boom Pow” and “I Got a Feeling,” BOTH by the Black-Eyed Peas. I continue to believe that America’s taste in music has gone completely down the toilet and these two songs’ popularity does nothing to dispute that. There are no redeeming qualities about either of these tracks and if you purchased either on iTunes or call yourself a Black-Eyed Peas fan, we’re no longer friends. Here are my top five songs of the year:
5. Anything on Glee
Glee constantly makes me cringe. I hate everything Will Shuster sings and there is no excuse subjecting classics like “Poison” or “Gold Digger” to the show’s corny awkwardness. It’s campy and over-the-top and unapologetic. It’s also a pretty decent show that millions of people have fallen in love with. The biggest character in the show is the music. While they tend to rework classic hits, it’s hard to choose one single song from the show that has made an impact, but they all seem to have struck a chord with viewers. As I write this, two songs from the season finale are in the iTunes top ten and the albums rank number one and three. I guess everyone’s just a sucker for choirs and a capella arrangements. Below, my favorite track of the season, and it’s not even sung my the McKinley club!
4. “D.O.A (Death of Auto-Tune” – Jay-Z
The beat is sets the track off and is not your standard bass and keyboard monotony. Jigga’s rhyme’s are tight, but I love the sentiment of the song more. “D.O.A” hasn’t killed auto-tune completely yet, but it sure made rappers and singers think twice before employing the popular gimmick effect.
Last night’s game between UConn and Kentucky felt bigger than just some “SEC/Big East Challenge.” There was an electricity surrounding the game. Whether it was all the John Wall hype or simply because it was the fourth and twelfth ranked teams in the country or the overblown Jim Calhoun-John Callapari rivalry, it was probably the best college basketball game I’ve seen this year. I’m disappointed and frustrated that Connecticut lost but to put this behind and move on, a few things should be thrown out there.
John Wall
Leading up to this game I already had an impacted ass of hype with this kid. “Oh, he’s the best in the country, number one NBA pick, better than Derek Rose, off-the-chart talent, blah blah blah.” For the first three minutes of the game, he lived up to the praise. He was quick, made steals and finished in transition, leading the Wildcats to a 12-0 lead. But then UConn slowed the pace, got two fouls on him and he sat the rest of the half. UConn chips away to eventually lead by six at halftime. Keep reading →
10. Steel Panther – Feel the Steel
Easily the funniest album of the year. Yea, it’s a joke, completely disposable and insanely obscene, but most of the tracks are better musically than the material they’re satirizing.
9. Beatles Reissues
In 2009 we saw yet another Beatles revival. There was their Rockband game (awesome) and the reissuing of all of their albums in mono and stereo. Now I didn’t buy any of them, but they’re obviously better than pretty much everything else that came out this year.
