Sound Opinions Top 10

I love lists, especially end of the year lists. Anyhow Jim and Greg did their usual top albums of the year lately on Sound Opnions with links to their expanded lists. I took their top 20's and combined them to come up with a top 10 and these are the albums I'm listening to today. Here is their combined list.

10. BLK JKS, “After Robots”
9. Ida Maria, "Fortress 'Round My Heart"
8. Screaming Females, “Power Move”
7. Animal Collective, “Merriweather Post Pavilion”
6. Kid Cudi, “Man on the Moon: The End of Day”
5. Japandroids, “Post-Nothing”
4. St. Vincent, “Actor”
3. Kid Sister, “Ultraviolet”
2. Phoenix, “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix”
1. Neko Case, “Middle Cyclone”

Top 20 Songs of 2009

These aren't songs that were released in 2009, just my favorites to listen to this year.

20. Cartwheels - The Reindeer Section (Son of Evil Reindeer [2002])



19. Save Your Love - Sally Shapiro (My Guilty Pleasure [2009])



18. High Horses - The Swell Season (Strict Joy [2009])



17. The Sea Is So Quiet - Trembling Blue Stars (The Seven Autumn Flowers [2004])



16. Blue Lips - Regina Spektor (Far [2009])



15. Dying In Africa - Sally Shapiro (My Guilty Pleasure [2009])



14. Clarity - John Mayer (Heavier Things [2003])



13. Let It Snow - Sally Shapiro (My Guilty Pleasure [2009])

12. Moonlight Dance - Sally Shapiro (My Guilty Pleasure [2009])



11. Deceptacon - Robbie Williams (Reality Killed the Video Star [2009])



10. O Valencia! - The Decembrists (The Crane Wife [2006])



9. Volcano - Edie Brickell (Volcano [2003])

8. This Tornado Loves You - Neko Case (Middle Cyclone [2009])



7. Miracle - Sally Shapiro (My Guilty Pleasure [2009])



6. With Every Heartbeat - Robyn (Robyn [2008])



5. People - El Perro Del Mar (El Perro Del Mar [2006])



4. Gentle Storm - Hooverphonic (The President of the LSD Golf Club [2007])



3. Looking at the Stars - Sally Shapiro (My Guilty Pleasure [2009])



2. My Fantasy - Sally Shapiro (My Guilty Pleasure [2009])



1. Empty - Ray LaMontagne (Till the Sun Turns Black [2006])

Let's Run

My latest run mix

1. People - El Perro Del Mar
2. Sugar - The Concretes
3. The Holiday Song - Pixies
4. The World At Large - Modest Mouse
5. Dying Day - Brandi Carlile
6. Embrace - Low
7. Lay Your Head Down - Keren Ann
8. High Horses - The Swell Season
9. On Directing - Tegan and Sara
10. Handshakes - Metric
11. Everlong - Foo Fighters
12. Deceptacon - Robbie Williams
13. Chocolate - Snow Patrol
14. Set The Fire To The Third Bar featuring Martha Wainwright - Snow Patrol
15. Cartwheels - Reindeer Section
16. Run - Snow Patrol

Progressive Rock Update

OK so I've just listened to S.F. Sorrow by The Pretty Things and Autobahn by Kraftwerk. I had never heard of The Pretty Things until the piece on Sound Opinions. This was a pretty good album. We're talking 1968 so this is before progressive rock has even been labeled as such, but you can see they are stretching the boundaries of rock and still managing to construct an album full of interesting songs.

Kraftwerk on the other hand is a band I've heard of for a long time, but never listened to. I understand the importance of their influence, but I can't say I'll ever find myself putting on this album again. Unlike The Pretty Things who were constructing rock songs, this album is letting go of the short song rock premise and constructing electronic based music that can last for over 20 minutes. The surprising thing is it works because you find yourself drawn into the beat and the melody and time floats by. That said I would rather have the constructed rock song.

50 Most Important - O Brother, Where Art Thou?

I understand picking this album, though I have to say it seems the bluegrass craze was very short lived and the influences did not hold. I find it hard to believe there weren't more influential country or bluegrass albums that this album bumped out.

50 Most Important - College Dropout

Every decade seems to have its hip hop rejuvenators and certainly Kanye is the big one of this decade. Like others before him he turned hip hop in a new direction. Even if you don't like Kanye you would have to put this album in the 50 most important list. Now that we are getting ready to start a new decade we have to wonder who will be the next hip hop artist to renew the sound, and we have to assume that Kanye is past his prime peaking with his third album Graduation.

50 Most Important - White Blood Cells

Number 48 on this alphabetical list is The White Stripes' White Blood Cells. This is not my favorite band and this is not my favorite album of theirs. Personally I would have picked Elephant which I think is their most influential and was certainly their first major success getting down to number 6 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. Plus to me what makes Elephant so important is that it contains the song "Seven Nation Army". With this song Jack White was able to prove that he could write a solid pop song, which revolved around the Stripes basic sound. Experimentation is fun and being on the edge is fun, but writing a great pop song that doesn't compromise your musical vision is what it's all about.

50 Most Important - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Number 49 is Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I have a friend who was completely hooked on this album when it came out. Me I personally never understood the appeal. It's a solid album, but certainly not their best and a bit too experimental for me. I much prefer Wilco when they are hitting out the solid, well versed pop tunes. In the piece about this album the people that put this list together talk about how this album opened up a whole new sound for Wilco. I'm not sure how that qualifies it to be one of the top 50 albums of the decade.

50 Most Important - Back to Black

So number 50 on the NPR list is Amy Winehouse's Back to Black. This album is OK. For me it seems to hang in the air with no emotion. Her voice is great, the beats are great, but there is a soullessness to the music that keeps it flat. I think if I had been looking for soulful singing with trip hop beats I would have gone for Gnarls Barkley and St. Elsewhere.

The 50 Most Important Recordings of the Decade

I love lists. A friend of mine pointed me to this story at NPR. I'll be listening to as many of these as I can. I've already queued up the first five albums on Rhapsody. It should be noted that these albums are in alphabetical order and I'll be counting down from Z-A.

By the way I just want to note that I think it is very lame that they didn't actually make it a countdown from worst to best.

Progressive Rock

I've been thinking a lot about progressive rock lately and then Sound Opinions goes a does a show on it. In the show they made five recommendations for albums to listen to, so that's what I'm going to do. The albums are

Pretty Things, S.F. Sorrow, 1968
Kraftwerk, Autobahn, 1974
Yes, Close to the Edge, 1972
King Crimson, In the Court of the Crimson King, 1969
Yes, Going for the One, 1977

Luckily they have the first three on Rhapsody so I can listen to them there. Napster has Going for the One. I will probably try Grooveshark for the King Crimson album. If you don't know anything about Grooveshark it is essentially the YouTube of music.

Hopefully I'll be inspired to write about the albums. It's funny but I've never really thought of myself as a progressive rock person, but I was a huge Saga fan.

ConsumerSearch.com

Love this new web site I found. They take reviews from different sources and combine them to rank products. It's like Rotten Tomatoes for consumer goods a great idea.

Best Songs - In Another World - Watermelon Men

Like most of the "Best Songs" I write about this one is good no matter your mood. If you are down it's a downer song, if you are up it's an upbeat song. The key is it has a good melody, smart lyrics, and is pieced together very well. It's hard for me to imagine sometimes that these guys didn't make it big.

There is no lyrics sheet in the album and no one has written up lyrics for it out there so I'll try my hand at it.

Watermelon Men - In Another World

Have you ever been to Argentina
The burning sun will wake you up
Believe me

Will you find
I'm what you have
In another world

Three strangers on the way through
That's the plan
Like a child you see
But you don't understand

Will you find
I'm what you have
In another world

Open up the windows
Watch the clouds
Like dreams
They just pass you by

Listen to the wheels
As you are rolling
Thousands of miles
Left behind

Have you ever been to Argentina
The burning sun will wake you up
Believe me

Will you find
I'm what you have
In another world

Will you find
I'm what you have
In another world
In another world


In fact I couldn't even find a video for it on youtube.com so I made my own.

FPDF

Found this new class for PHP and really love it. I've been using it for work and it is very flexible and easy to use, and best of all free. A lot of good templates at their site.

http://www.fpdf.org/

Let's Run

Here's my latest run mix. I put the entire Sally Shapiro album on here.

1. My Propeller - Arctic Monkeys
2. Beetlebum - Blur
3. Hopeless Friend - Graham Coxon
4. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel
5. Bitter Taste - Three Days Grace
6. Swimming Through The Blue Lagoon - Sally Shapiro
7. Looking At The Stars - Sally Shapiro
8. Love In July - Sally Shapiro
9. My Fantasy - Sally Shapiro
10. Let It Show - Sally Shapiro
11. Moonlight Dance - Sally Shapiro
12. Save Your Love - Sally Shapiro
13. Dying In Africa - Sally Shapiro
14. Miracle - Sally Shapiro
15. Everybody But Me - Lykke Li
16. Lay Your Head Down - Keren Ann
17. Mushaboom (Postal Service Remix) - Feist
18. Energy Of Death - Apostle Of Hustle
19. Shade And Honey - Sparklehorse
20. Republic Of Two - Nedelle

Sally Shapiro - My Guilty Pleasure

OK this is my favorite album of the year so far. It's really the first album this year I've found that holds my interest all the way through and has made me stop other things to listen to it. I can't really say what it is that I like about the album but it has just the right blend of light pop and dance beats for me. It's a joy to listen to while running or walking, very escapist.

My Guilty Pleasure
1. Swimming Through the Blue Lagoon
2. Looking at the Stars
3. Love in July
4. My Fantasy
5. Let It Snow
6. Moonlight Dance
7. Save Your Love
8. Dying in Africa
9. Miracle

Best Albums - Meat is Murder / The Queen is Dead - The Smiths

It's hard for me to write about Meat is Murder. There is some music in life that holds such a personal grip on you that it's just hard to look at it objectively. There are many songs like that for me and very few albums, this is one such album. I think the thing that first struck me about this album was the sound. It has such a hollow and dirty sound to it. There isn't much pretty about this album, and that fits in perfectly with the first song and the first lyrics.

Belligerent ghouls
Run manchester schools
Spineless swines
Cemented minds

Sir leads the troops
Jealous of youth
Same old suit since 1962

He does the military two-step
Down the nape of my neck

From that opening salvo I was pretty much hooked and really the album never lets up. It has a few moments that don't fit the album, "How Soon is Now" and "Meat is Murder," but otherwise it is all just youthful frustration and anger a wonderful thing to listen to when you are an angry youthful 18 year old. I could go and on about the lyrics to this album. This is Morrissey at his blunt brilliance.

On the day that your mentality
Decides to try to catch up with your biology
Come round ...
  -from I Want the One I Can't Have

What she said :
"How come someone hasn't noticed
That I'm dead
And decided to bury me ?
God knows, I'm ready !"
  -from What She Said

I'd like to drop my trousers to the world
I am a man of means of slender means
  -from Nowhere Fast

The album is just bliss if you're an angry, frustrated 18 year old. Listening to the album now some 23 years later it can instantly take me back to how I felt the first time I heard this record. Like I said it's hard to look at this album objectively, but it is almost pure brilliance.

The Queen is Dead is no doubt their masterpiece. How they blended the rawness and anger of the second album with the smoothness and wit of their first album shows impressive growth. If you are ever going to listen to one Smiths album this should be it. They really brought out the rhythm section which gives the album a much denser sound and smooths out Morrissey's singing and allows the lyrics a different stage where they really stand out. Morrissey is still blunt but in a more poetic way and is much more reflective in his thoughts than simply angry. This new layered sound also allows them to create songs like "I Know It's Over." The song has a tenderness to it that could never have been achieved on their second album and a realness of emotion that could have never been achieved on their first album. Where Meat is Murder is youthful and angry, this album is that same person but a few years removed, now more reflective on his own anger and all the frustrations brought on by his life and the world around.


Meat is Murder
1. The Headmaster Ritual
2. Rusholme Ruffians
3. I Want the One I Can't Have
4. What She Said
5. That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore
6. How Soon Is Now?
7. Nowhere Fast
8. Well I Wonder
9. Barbarism Begins at Home
10. Meat is Murder




The Queen is Dead
1. The Queen is Dead
2. Frankly, Mr. Shankly
3. I Know It's Over
4. Never Had No One Ever
5. Cemetry Gates
6. Bigmouth Strikes Again
7. The Boy With the Thorn in His Side
8. Vicar In a Tutu
9. There is a Light That Never Goes Out
10. Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others

Chilean Music

I'm trying to learn a bit about Chilean music, here's who I'm listening to.

Sur Pacifico http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czBMWOVG3ns

Los Prisioneros http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbXVSavQ2LA

Los Tres http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdK3d_X_03I

Joe Vasconcellos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epKVC3YFwp0

Los Bunkers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rug6yH7Dccw

La Ley http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTGH0Hgc7_A

Bitman & Roban http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVSqqDe7fGA

Violeta Parra http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsEEwHBr2K4

Kudai http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EfBs7LbogA

Lesbos in Love http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGB0HLt1MdY

Los Miserables http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7l3OAAZHPps

Gepe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-ml4m7c-BI

Illapu http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pD1losD8yQ

Inti Illimani http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAY0_psa6Fk

Amango http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGEjIgh4qJ0

Gondwana http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf6JafXiDXI

Sinergia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBxllb_ZxfE

Scan2PDF

Found some great free software this weekend that scans and saves to PDF. Easy to use, compresses the files very nicely and best of all it's free. Check it out it's called Scan2PDF.

Let's Run

My latest run mix

1. Gold - Spandau Ballet
2. Save A Prayer (US Single Version) - Duran Duran
3. This Is Your Life - The Killers
4. Everything - A Cursive Memory
5. Size Of Your Life - The Promise Ring
6. Adia - Sarah McLachlan
7. 100 Round The Bends - Missy Higgins
8. A Thousand Miles - Vanessa Carlton
9. Ironic - Alanis Morissette
10. Don't Speak - No Doubt
11. Someday - Sugar Ray
12. Everything To Everyone - Everclear
13. Video Killed The Radio Star - Presidents of the United States of America
14. Break My Body - Pixies
15. In Bloom - Nirvana
16. Debaser - Pixies
17. This Is A Call - Foo Fighters
18. Everything I Need - The Wallflowers
19. Feels Like Summer Again - The Wallflowers

Best Songs - Into the Groove - Madonna

By far the greatest pop single ever made. I'm not kidding about this. I love this song. I can't hear it on the radio without smiling. Madonna went through multiple stages in her career, but this is the peak of her early sound and it captures the vibe and the beat of that stuff perfectly.

Like many of the songs I've listed as bests, this song is perfect no matter what your mood. Oddly there is a bit of sadness to this song if you're in the mood for it. You got to love feeling sad, the song grabbing those feelings, but still making you want to dance.


Madonna - Into the Groove
Lyrics from Lyricsfreak.com

And you can dance
For inspiration
Come on
Im waiting

Chorus:
Get into the groove
Boy youve got to prove
Your love to me, yeah
Get up on your feet, yeah
Step to the beat
Boy what will it be

Music can be such a revelation
Dancing around you feel the sweet sensation
We might be lovers if the rhythms right
I hope this feeling never ends tonight

Bridge:
Only when Im dancing can I feel this free
At night I lock the doors, where no one else can see
Im tired of dancing here all by myself
Tonight I wanna dance with someone else

(chorus)

Gonna get to know you in a special way
This doesnt happen to me every day
Dont try to hide it love wears no disguise
I see the fire burning in your eyes

(bridge)
(chorus)

Intermediate:
Live out your fantasy here with me
Just let the music set you free
Touch my body, and move in time
Now I now youre mine

Youve got to

(chorus lyrics)
(bridge)
(intermediate)

Now I know youre mine, now I know youre mine
Now I know youre mine, now I know youre mine
Youve got to

(chorus)
(chorus lyrics)
(repeat and fade)

Let's Run

It's been a while since I posted a run mix. But I'm trying to get back to exercising and I need some music to motivate me.

You can check out the play list on Rhapsody.

1. If I Was Your Girlfriend - Prince
2. Stand! - Sly & the Family Stone
3. Lovin' You - Minnie Riperton
4. It's Like That - Mariah Carey
5. That's The Way Love Goes - Janet Jackson
6. Music - Madonna
7. Sign Your Name - Terence Trent D'Arby
8. Waltzing Back - The Cranberries
9. Thank You - Dido
10. I Am Stretched Out On Your Grave - Sinead O'Connor
11. Help I'm Alive - Metric
12. Dirtywhirl - TV On The Radio
13. What Would Wolves Do? - Les Savy Fav
14. The City - The Dismemberment Plan
15. That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore - The Smiths
16. The Killing Moon - Echo and the Bunnymen
17. Clocks - Coldplay
18. One Stringed Harp - Bell X1
19. Nothing In My Way - Keane

Best Albums - The Lexicon of Love - ABC

Well thinking of Mantrap in the last post, got me to thinking of the The Lexicon of Love album and just how good it is. It's a brilliant album from start to finish and a true one of a kind. ABC would never even attempt this sound again, as the band almost immediately began to fall apart, and no one else ever came close to matching the flood of hooks, fun lyrics, and drum and bass beats. Probably no album better represents the best of the new wave sound of the early 80's for me. Each song is almost overly orchestrated and yet it all tightly fits together around Martin Fry's singing. This album is worth hearing if nothing else for the drum and bass work.

Of course for me the status of the album is lifted even higher because of the goofy movie Mantrap that was made to promote the album. An odd choice it seems to me for a band's first album, but it definitely worked to highlight the distinctiveness of the band.

ABC - The Lexicon of Love (1982)
1. Show Me
2. Poison Arrow
3. Many Happy Returns
4. Tears Are Not Enough
5. Valentine's Day
6. The Look of Love, Pt. 1
7. Date Stamp
8. All of My Heart
9. 4 Ever 2 Gether
10. The Look of Love, Pt. 4


I picked this video because it's a song that most people wouldn't necessarily know and it has everything that is great about this album. The driving beat is fantastic so turn it up. On top of that you get the fun lyrics and wonderful singing of Martin Fry, with this overly orchestrated sound that adds a richness. This album has aged extremely well I believe because these guys were able to blend all of these things together so incredibly well.

Love Stuff Like This

One of my favorite things about early MTV was how it brought out the idea of music and videos being used to tell a story. There was the great ABC Mantrap movie that was put together to support the Lexicon of Love album. I own this movie and still love watching it. Sure it's goofy and silly, but it's so much fun. I've always felt that without MTV you don't get Purple Rain, another favorite of mine.

Two of my favorite videos tell a two part story. They are "Sweetest Taboo" and "Is It a Crime" by Sade. I like the fact that they made the two videos to tell one story. Not sure what the story is except the guy she was with was a jerk, but still it's fun that the two videos are connected.

It's Raining Plums

When we moved into our house back in 2003 we inherited a plum tree in the front yard. It had a few plums but not too many. Every year since it's gotten a few more, but never a lot. That is until this year when the tree became completely overloaded with plums. I have filled around 8 plastic grocery bags full of plums and could have filled many more. The big question was, what to do with all of those plums. Well I went to MyRecipes.com and searched for plum recipes and had some great results.

1. Plum Buckle: I have never heard of a buckle, but it is essentially a pound cake with fresh fruit across the top. It is delicious. I have made two of these and they both came out great, very easy recipe, very delicious.

2. Fresh Plum Lattice Pie: Margaret made this one and it too is delicious. Our plums are very very juicy and so this made the pie a bit problematic as it never really setup. In fact what it made me realize is that our plums would probably be better in a cobbler.

3. Grilled Chicken Breasts with Plum Salsa: I'm not kidding when I say this may be the best meat dish I've ever made. The chicken is rubbed with a brown sugar, cumin rub and the cumin and plums match up perfectly. You will want the plums to not be too ripe as they need to have a little body.

4. Plum Jam: I had never made jam before and didn't cook this enough for it to setup properly. But what I made was a fantastic ice cream sauce. The tart, sweet combination is just wonderful.

We may make a plum cobbler as we still have a whole bag of plums left, but we may be plummed out at this point.

Best Songs - This Woman's Work - Kate Bush

Kate Bush is a brilliant songwriter and an amazing performer. This song matches these two talents very well and produces one of the saddest songs I've ever heard. The brilliance of the song in a lot of ways is in the simplicity of the lyrics. On top of that they made a great video to go with the song, it even has a happy ending.


Kate Bush - This Woman's Work
Lyrics from PureLyrics.com

Pray God you can cope.
I stand outside this woman's work,
This woman's world.
Ooh, it's hard on the man,
Now his part is over.
Now starts the craft of the father.

I know you have a little life in you yet.
I know you have a lot of strength left.
I know you have a little life in you yet.
I know you have a lot of strength left.

I should be crying, but I just can't let it show.
I should be hoping, but I can't stop thinking

Of all the things I should've said,
That I never said.
All the things we should've done,
That we never did.
All the things I should've given,
But I didn't.

Oh, darling, make it go,
Make it go away.

Give me these moments back.
Give them back to me.
Give me that little kiss.
Give me your hand.

(I know you have a little life in you yet.
I know you have a lot of strength left.
I know you have a little life in you yet.
I know you have a lot of strength left.)

I should be crying, but I just can't let it show.
I should be hoping, but I can't stop thinking

Of all the things we should've said,
That were never said.
All the things we should've done,
That we never did.
All the things that you needed from me.
All the things that you wanted for me.
All the things that I should've given,
But I didn't.

Oh, darling, make it go away.
Just make it go away now.

Best Songs - Sleeps With Butterflies - Tori Amos

I absolutely love this song. I find myself coming back to it over and over again. I'm not sure why exactly, but I will say the melody is enchanting as well as her singing. The first verse is absolutely brilliant as well. This is definitely a song I pull out only in certain moods, but when I'm in such a mood I can't get enough of this song. I have to say I don't even know what the mood is, maybe reflective not sure.

Tori Amos - Sleeps With Butterflies
Lyrics from LyricWiki

Airplanes
Take you away again
Are you flying
Above where we live
Then I look up, a glare in my eyes
Are you having regrets about last night
I'm not but I like rivers that rush in
So then I dove in
Is there trouble ahead
For you, the acrobat
I won't push you unless you have a net

You say the word
You know I will find you
Or if you need some time
I don't mind
I won't hold on to the tail of your kite
I'm not like the girls that you've known
But I believe I'm worth coming home to
Kiss away night
This girl only sleeps with butterflies
With butterflies
So go on and fly then, boy

Balloons
Look good from on the ground
I fear with pins and needles around
We may fall then stumble
Upon a carousel
It could take us anywhere

You say the word
You know I will find you
Or if you need some time
I don't mind
I won't hold on to the tail of your kite
I'm not like the girls that you've known
But I believe I'm worth coming home to
Kiss away night
This girl only sleeps with butterflies
With butterflies
With butterflies
So go on and fly boy

Best Songs - Punky's Dilemma - Simon & Garfunkel

Not sure why but I love this song. I bought a tape of this album, Bookends, one day as I was hitting the road to go home and just fell in love with this song. There is something so goofy and happy about it and it sounds pretty. Well anyhow by the time I got home I had to go out and by some english muffins and boysenberry jam. I think songs like this remind me that at the heart of music is just that music. The sound, the feel, the beat, and lyrics that are fun to sing along with. This song is so much fun to sing.

Best Albums - Love Deluxe - Sade

In 1992 when I threw this album on for the first time I immediately knew I was hearing one of my favorite albums of all time. Sade's vocals are wonderful and her song writing superb throughout. Her band, by this album, had cemented a sound that backs her perfectly and draws the listener in with smooth melodic hooks. This album is perfect to throw on for almost any occasion.

To me the real beauty of this album is that it builds on what she had done in her three previous albums. Each of those albums is distinct in their own way, and this album feels to me to have taken all the good components from those and pulled them together brilliantly.

I know a lot of people make fun of Sade, but I think they miss the real beauty of her music. It's not easy to write and perform music so consistently. To blend rock, pop, and jazz so perfectly. It reminds me of a critic I read once who was reviewing her concert. He said he went in to hate it, but couldn't help but get pulled in to the whole vibe of the performance. I think her band, her presence, her voice laying out these simple lyrics in such a poetic fashion make for great music.


Sade - Love Deluxe (1992)
1. No Ordinary Love
2. Feel No Pain
3. I Couldn't Love You More
4. Like a Tattoo
5. Kiss of Life
6. Cherish the Day
7. Pearls
8. Bullet Proof Soul
9. Mermaid

Best Albums - Tinderbox - Siouxsie and the Banshees

I have a thing for rhythm driven music, and this album is all about the drums. They drive every song with a power and a relentless pace that creates a consistency across the album that the Banshees never succeeded at either before or after. On top of these drums they created a layered dirty guitar sound that blends perfectly with Siouxsie's gruff and powerful voice. The sound of this album is brilliant. I know the Banshees came from a punk background, but there is very little punk left on this album. The lyrics are dark, the sound overall is dark, but because of the relentless beats, the tight production, and the strong hooks it has the feel of a dance/pop album.

Back in 1988 or so I made a list of my top 100 albums. This album was number two on that list, and if I were to make a list today, it may still be at number two. I personally feel that Siouxsie and in particular this album were very influential to a lot of sounds that followed. If you go back and listen to an album like Dummy by Portishead it has much of the same feel as Tinderbox. A beat based sound, with a dirty layered sound over it blended to fit with Beth Gibbons' vocals. The big shift is the pace. Where Siouxsie had kept the driving punk beat for Tinderbox, these guys shifted to the Jazz beat of Trip Hop. I think it's hard to not make a connection between these sounds.

Of course who knows how much Tinderbox was influenced by the Trip Hop scene. The Wild Bunch (the beginnings of Massive Attack) formed in 1983 blending punk, reggae, and R&B and were a huge hit on the dance scene in Britain. It could be that she was heavily influenced by what these guys were doing. The component that is so unique to this album is the atmospheric sound which is a very Massive Attack sort of thing. So who knows except to say that I feel this album was in important piece in the growth of this new sound being born in the mid 1980's.


Siouxsie and the Banshees - Tinderbox (1986)
1. Candyman
2. The Sweetest Chill
3. This Unrest
4. Cities in Dust
5. Cannons
6. Partys Fall
7. 92 Degrees
8. Lands End

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Best Songs - Valentine - The Replacements

When I think of great rock and roll songs, this one is right at the top. It has the hard guitar, the fast beat, the anguished singer, and one of the best lines ever in a chorus. I'm not a big Replacements fan, but this song is almost perfect.

Valentine - The Replacements
Lyrics from MTV

Well you wish upon a star
That turns into a plane
And I guess that's right on par
Who's left to blame?

If you were a pill, I'd take a handful at my will
And I'd knock you back with something sweet and strong
Plenty of times you wake up in February make-up
Like the moon and the morning star you're gone

Tonight makes love to all your kind
Tomorrow's makin' valentines

Hey you pop up in this old place
So sick and so refined
Are you strung out on some face?
Well I know it ain't mine

If you were a pill, I'd take a handful at my will
And I'd knock you back with something sweet and strong
Trouble keeping your head up when you're hungry and you're fed up
Like a moon and a lone star you're gone

Tonight makes love to all your kind
Tomorrow's makin' valentines

If you were a pill, I'd take a handful at my will
And I'd knock you back with something sweet as wine
Yesterday was theirs to say, this is their world and their time
Well if tonight belongs to you, tomorrow's mine

Tonight makes love to all your kind
Tomorrow's makin' valentines

Tonight makes love to all your kind
Tomorrow's makin' valentines

Valentines
Valentines
Valentines

Best Songs - The Sensual World - Kate Bush

Having been an English minor I guess I should have known this song was a rework of Molly Bloom's soliloquy from James Joyce's Ulysses, but I didn't. What I did know was how much I loved this song, from the first time I heard it until now. This song drips with sensuality both lyrically, Joyce was a genius after all, and musically.

Wikipedia of course has a nice piece about the soliloquy. It's interesting to read the original and then listen to how Kate Bush reworked it.

The Sensual World - Kate Bush
Lyrics from themodernworld.com

Mmh, yes,

Then I'd taken the kiss of seedcake back from his mouth
Going deep South, go down, mmh, yes,
Took six big wheels and rolled our bodies
Off of Howth Head and into the flesh, mmh, yes,
He said I was a flower of the mountain, yes,
But now I've powers o'er a woman's body - yes.
Stepping out of the page into the sensual world.
Stepping out.............
To where the water and the earth caress
And the down of a peach says mmh, yes.
Do I look for those millionaires
Like a Machiavellian girl would?
When I could wear a sunset, mmh, yes,
And how we'd wished to live in the sensual world.
You don't need words - just one kiss, then another.

Stepping out of the page into the sensual world.
Stepping out, off the page into the sensual world,
And then our arrows of desire rewrite the speech, mmh, yes,
And then he whispered would I, mmh, yes,
Be safe, mmh, yes, from mountain flowers?
And at first with the charm around him, mmh, yes,

He loosened it so if it slipped between my breasts
He'd rescue it, mmh, yes,
And his spark took life in my hand, mmh, yes,
I said, mmh, yes,
But not yet, mmh, yes,
Mmh, yes....

Best Albums - Green Mind - Dinosaur Jr

I forget what inspired me to buy this album, but I picked up the cassette sometime in the spring of 1992 and played it to death while pulling journals for researchers in the UK Chemistry library. The library was in storage while they renovated the library and my job, along with a couple of others, was to go pull journals from boxes for researches, then to re-box said journals. Trust me when I tell you that this album was perfect for that job. It's alternative noise pop at its best. It's loud, disgruntled, and tired sounding all at the same time. All of this sits atop great hooks. But this album makes this best albums list of mine because it has held up very well over time. I pull this album out it seems two or three times a year and I don't do that with very many albums that I was listening to some 17 years ago.

Dinosaur Jr - Green Mind (1991)
1. The Wagon
2. Puke and Cry
3. Blowing It
4. I Live For That Look
5. Flying Cloud
6. How'd You Pin That One On Me
7. Water
8. Muck
9. Thumb
10. Green Mind

Discover Dinosaur Jr!

Dinosaur Jr. - New Music - More Music Videos

Best Albums - Little Earthquakes- Tori Amos

When this album hit the shelves back in 1992 it was something quite unique. The first song I heard off the album was the single "Silent All These Years." I was hooked but I still think it's an odd choice for a single. Of course Tori Amos as we learned over time is a bit odd and so that introduction to her was quite right on the mark. This album is from start to finish nothing but solid songs. It's really Amos at her best. The lyrics tell the thoughts and stories of a confessional outcast. Her voice and piano play drive this album from one song to the next and the pop sensibility is fantastic for the type of music she's creating.

Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes (1992)
1. Crucify
2. Girl
3. Silent All These Years
4. Precious Things
5. Winter
6. Happy Phantom
7. China
8. Leather
9. Mother
10. Tear In Your Hand
11. Me and a Gun
12. Little Earthquakes

Discover Tori Amos!

Best Songs - 1979 - Smashing Pumpkins

I'm not sure I understand all the lyrics to this song, but I understand that the sound of the song captures the nostalgic feel of the lyrics perfectly. I was never a big Smashing Pumpkins fan, but this song is a great alternative pop tune.


1979 - Smashing Pumpkins
Lyrics from sing365.com

Shakedown 1979
Cool kids never have the time
On a live wire right up off the street
You and I should meet
Junebug skipping like a stone
With the headlights pointed at the dawn
We were sure we'd never see an end to it all

And I don't even care to shake these zipper blues
And we don't know
Just where our bones will rest
To dust I guess
Forgotten and absorbed into the earth below

Double cross the vacant and the bored
They're not sure just what we have in store
Morphine city slippin' dues down to see

That we don't even care as restless as we are
We feel the pull in the land of a thousand guilts
And poured cement, lamented and assured
To the lights and towns below
Faster than the speed of sound
Faster than we thought we'd go
Beneath the sound of hope

Justine never knew the rules,
Hung down with the freaks and the ghouls
No apologies ever need be made
I know you better than you fake it to see

That we don't even care to shake these zipper blues
And we don't know just where our bones will rest
To dust I guess
Forgotten and absorbed into the earth below
The street heats the urgency of now
As you see there's no one around

Best Albums - Fear of a Black Planet - Public Enemy

This record jumps out at the listener with an amazing amount of energy and soul. Musically and lyrically this is the best hip hop record ever made. It is 20 tracks of social commentary and sound experimentation. The pop grooves on this album are non stop as well which to me separates this album from It Takes a Nation of Millions which is labeled by many critics as their best album.



Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet (1990)
1. Contract on the World Love Jam
2. Brothers Gonna Work It Out
3. 911 is a Joke
4. Incident at 66.6FM
5. Welcome to the Terrordome
6. Meet the G That Killed Me
7. Pollywanacraka
8. Anti-Nigger Machine
9. Burn Hollywood Burn
10. Power to the People
11. Who Stole the Soul?
12. Fear of a Black Planet
13. Revolutionary Generation
14. Can't Do Nuttin' for Ya Man
15. Reggie Jax
16. Leave This Off Your Fu*kin Charts
17. B Side Wins Again
18. War at 33 1/3
19. Final Count of the Collision Between Us and the Damned
20. Fight the Power

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Best Albums - Beautifully Human - Jill Scott

The first time I heard this album I loved it. It's full of so much life and energy, it's just a joy to listen to. Lyrically this album is really smart, the sound is good, everything is there, but this album is all about Jill Scott. The album drips with her personality. As good as her voice is, it's her essence that sells these songs. I've heard a lot of neo-soul music, and to me this is the best album of the bunch.

Of course like I said it helps that she has good content to sell. She's all over the place with her songs. From sensual love songs, to political, to silly, to social. All along she's smart, witty, and reflective. If you want to pick up and listen to one of the best albums of the decade grab this one and you won't be sorry.

Jill Scott - Beautifully Human (2004)
1. Warm Up
2. I'm Not Afraid
3. Golden
4. The Fact Is
5. Spring Summer Feeling
6. Cross My Mind
7. Bedda At Home
8. Talk to Me
9. Family Reunion
10. Can't Explain
11. Whatever
12. Not Like Crazy
13. Nothing
14. Rasool
15. My Petition
16. I Keep/Still Here

Best Songs - Fascination - Everything But the Girl

To support their 1991 album Worldwide Everything But the Girl did an acoustic tour. Their set was made up of refreshed older songs and covers of some of their favorites. In 1992 they came out with an album called Acoustic based on this tour. One side of the album was covers, one side were their songs redone for this tour. A couple of the tracks on this album were taken from live recordings. The album is in essence soft and quiet and good background music. It is pretty much a mediocre album up to the very last song. It is a live version of "Fascination" and it is brilliant. "Fascination" comes off of EBTG's first album Eden which came out in 1984. The thing is the song was originally an acoustic song, so what really changed from album to performance to make me like it so much more.

First they slowed the song down. The album version of the song has a bit of a rushed feel to it, and the live version really steps the pace down and gives Tracey the opportunity to put a lot more emotion into the lyrics. Secondly her voice has never sounded better than it does on this live recording. You can really hear in this song, just how much better a singer she had become over those eight years. Thirdly they replace the sax with a flute and that makes a huge difference, softening the feel of the song and fitting in much better with the slower tempo.

I obviously have a romantic bone or two as this list is revealing. I can certainly understand people, like my wife, not being so keen on this song, but for me it's almost perfect. The lyrics are brilliant, the presentation is flawless, it's just a wonderful experience to hear this song. Throw it on while driving alone at night sometime and you can really get lost in the sound and the emotional feel of the song.


Lyrics

I won't try to stop you when you speak of the past
Doubt is over now, and I can join in when you laugh.
Fascination makes us ask for more than we'd like to know,
But I needn't explain, I bet you know.

Reassure me when my heart's not bold enough to bear her name.
If you were in my shoes and scared, I would do the same.
And though I may ask, there's no need for past details
for though I may laugh along,
My courage fails

Did you know?

See how I've changed now, how my head's so clear
Still there are some things that I don't want to hear
And there must be so much I know
That you cannot forget
And I musn't wish your life began
The day we met

Places we go remind you of when you were here before
So you talk and tell me you don't think about it any more
There is something I know that hasn't quite been left behind
So I'll ask you once again
To prove that I don't mind
To prove that I don't mind


I can't find a video of them doing this song, but here is a video someone made of the original album version.




Here is a video of them performing an acoustic set with a song off of their first album Eden and their brilliant eighth album Amplified Heart.

Best Albums - White Shoes & the Couples Company

This album was released in 2005, but didn't hit the US until 2007. I discovered it on Yahoo music and fell in love with it. It really takes me back to earlier sounds. The band I immediately thought of was The Weekend, but I've read where others compare them to early Everything But the Girl, another favorite of mine. The beauty of this album is that they have the same experimental jazz, minimalist sound, but with all the pop sensibility that those albums are missing. In one swoop this small band out of Jakarta accomplished what no one in the 80s trying to create this sound could do. If you want to put a smile on your face give a listen to this album and definitely check out the video below.


White Shoes & the Couples Company - White Shoes & the Couples Company (2005)
1. Simple Overture
2. Nothing to Fear
3. Tentang Cita
4. Windu & Defrina
5. Runaway Song
6. Sunday Memory Lane
7. Brother John
8. Senandung Maaf
9. Senja
10. Nothing to Fear (woodwind version)
11. Topstar
12. Kapiten Dan Gadis Desa
13. Sabda Alam

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Best Albums - Steeltown - Big Country

I was in a Kroger grocery store in Paducah KY some 24 years ago when I found this album in a $1 bin. From the opening track "Flame of the West" I was hooked on this album. I hear the album differently now than when I was younger. Now the album almost has a concept feel to it. The songs flow together telling a story. The story of a young man in a small town.

He sees the corruption of power, "It's just how it's always been, One man with a ruling dream, And everyone falls for him . . ."

He feels the trap of being stuck in a small town, "Some days will stay a thousand years, Some pass like the flash of spark, Who knows where all our days go ?"

He feels anger and loss at what he and his family have sacrificed for capitalism, "Here I stand with my own kin, At the end of everything, Finaly the dream has gone, I've nothing left to hang upon"

He feels the sacrifice of giving oneself for country, "i wait here in this hole, playing poker with my soul, i hold the rifle close to me, it lights the way to keep me free"

He feels the loss of someone he loves, "You never should have gone, I was so young and full of pride, And you were wild and strong, I never knew how weak I was"

He feels the loss of who he wanted to be when he was younger, "I hear your voice, And it keeps me from sleeping, Why must it always be dreams, When your voice comes to me"

He finds love, "I look at you and you will turn and smile, For a little while be happy, I want you with all that loving brings, Like a church bell rings for the morning"

He faces the adventure of sharing his life with another, "We are not dust we are not stone, Just as the wild seed is sown, No one knows how we bring it home, We only take as we have grown"

He discovers the important things in life, "And suddenly I find the truth…and all it is is sighs and youth"

He then reflects back on his life and what it's been, "Did we ever have it good, While we lived in Eldorado did we find the gold we should, If it really was the truth, Why are faces filled with anger that should only shine with youth"

Now I may be reading too much into these songs, but I don't think so. Some reviewers say the lyrics are pretentious, but I think it is what it is the voice of a 25 year old man growing up and beginning to look a the world with different eyes. His voice isn't quite a mature as his thoughts.

Their most critically acclaimed album would come out 15 years later called Driving to Damascus. It was also their last album sadly. I have listened to this album, but I miss the youthful energy that is so a part of Steeltown.


Big Country - Steeltown (1984)
1. Flame of the West
2. East of Eden
3. Steeltown
4. Where the Rose is Sown
5. Come Back to Me
6. Tall Ships Go
7. Girl With Grey Eyes
8. Rain Dance
9. Great Divide
10. Just a Shadow

Discover Big Country!

The Most Wanted Art

OK I heard this story on This American Life and thought it was really funny. These two artists hired a polling firm to find out what people wanted most in art. They did this for a number of countries and then made paintings for each country both the most wanted and the most unwanted. You can see the paintings and the poll results by visiting their web site.

This was followed by doing the same thing for music. Then they produced two songs, the most wanted and the most unwanted. You can read about it here. You can actually here the most unwanted song here, and the most wanted song here.

Best Songs - Here's Where the Story Ends - The Sundays

From the first moment I heard this song I loved it. Absolutely loved it. This song got me to purchase the album which I love, but nothing on their matches this song. It is such a straightforward song. The music is so simple and layered so perfectly over her singing in this very soft and effortless way. It's funny but the simplicity of the song is in some ways what makes it so complex and wonderful. I'm a big Smiths fan and this album and this song are built off of the pop sound made popular by The Smiths. But they never approached a song that reached this level. In fact I don't think many people have reached this level on a song. It is quite possibly in my top five songs of all time, it could even be number one.

Here are the lyrics from Lyricsfreak.com

People I know, places I go
Make me feel tongue-tied
I can see how people look down
They're on the inside
Here's where the story ends

People I see, weary of me
Showing my good side
I can see how people look down
I'm on the outside
Here's where the story ends
Ooh, here's where the story ends

It's that little souvenir of a terrible year
Which makes my eyes feel sore
Oh, I never should have said, the books that you read
Were all I loved you for

It's that little souvenir of a terrible year
Which makes me wonder why
And it's the memories of your shed that make me turn red
Surprise, surprise, surprise

Crazy I know, places I go
Make me feel so tired
I can see how people look down
I'm on the outside
Oh, here's where the story ends
Ooh, here's where the story ends

It's that little souvenir of a terrible year
Which makes my eyes feel sore
And who ever would've thought the books that you brought
Were all I loved you for

Oh, the devil in me said, go down to the shed
I know where I belong
But the only thing I ever really wanted to say
Was wrong, was wrong, was wrong

It's that little souvenir of a colorful year
Which makes me smile inside
So I cynically, cynically say, the world is that way
Surprise, surprise, surprise, surprise, surprise

Here's where the story ends
Ooh here's where the story ends

Best Albums - Reading, Writing and Arithmetic - The Sundays

Similar to the Cranberries these guys are basing a lot of their sound off of the jangle pop made so popular by The Smiths. But it's a stripped down approach with a much simpler sound. That all aside it's a brilliant album from start to finish with not a bad song out of the ten. On top of that you get probably the best jangle pop single ever produced in "Here's Where the Story Ends." It never hurts to have a great single and it's surrounded by catchy, fun songs that create an infectious vibe. It's hard not to put this album on and fall into a good mood.

Like so many other bands their first album was their best. Their other two albums were both successful and quite good, but did not approach the brilliance of their first effort. This could be in part because their record label collapsed and they had to go through a big transition for their second album and because Harriet Wheeler and David Gavurin both of the band married and had a child and lost interest in being musicians. They openly talked about their third album being the result of a contract requirement and not because they wanted to continue to be The Sundays.

The Sundays - Reading, Writing and Arithmetic (1990)
1. Skin & Bones
2. Here's Where the Story Ends
3. Can't Be Sure
4. I Won
5. Hideous Towns
6. You're Not the Only One I Know
7. A Certain Someone
8. I Kicked a Boy
9. My Finest Hour
10. Joy

Best Albums - Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? - The Cranberries

I stumbled back upon this album some time last year and was surprised that it had held up so well. I'm not saying this album would be in my top 100 all time, but I would think it would fit somewhere in the top 500. Like the Femmes did on their debut album these guys managed to create a unique sound. They are a bit Smiths, a bit Waterboys, a bit 10,000 Maniacs, a bit Church, a bit Echo and the Bunnymen, etc. The odd thing is that they pull it off so well on a debut record. This album has a softness that is missing in their later stuff, and that is I think the key to this record working so well. It creates a mood that lies across the entire album and so you never want the album to stop once you start it. That is one of the keys to a good album.

Unlike a lot of the other stuff coming out in the early 90's that was tearing down the music of the 80's, like Nirvana for instance, these guys were building a new sound off of the best components. It has in an odd way given this album a bit of a timeless feel.

The Cranberries - Everybody Else is Doing It, So Why Can't We? (1993)
1. I Still do
2. Dreams
3. Sunday
4. Pretty
5. Waltzing Back
6. Not Sorry
7. Linger
8. Wanted
9. Still Can't
10. I Will Always
11. How
12. Put Me Down

The Cranberries - New Music - More Music Videos

Best Songs - The Sweetest Taboo - Sade

Over 16 years Sade released five albums. With each album her lyrics and melodies and the band's sound and production got tighter. She is one of the few artist who's last work was much better than her first. But her best single came off of her second album Promise. "The Sweetest Taboo" is infectious with it's beat and rhythm and her smooth voice flows over this background with a hypnotic effect. I don't believe I have ever heard this song and not found myself moving to the sound and getting lost in her voice. That's saying a lot for a 23 year old song which sounds just as good today as it did back in 1985.

One other thing I love about this song is it works for any mood. If you're sad, the song is sad. If your happy the song is happy. If your angry, well you get it. There aren't many songs that work like that.


Here are the lyrics from Seeklyrics.com

If I tell you
If I tell you now
Will you keep on
Will you keep on loving me

If I tell you
If I tell you how I feel
Will you keep bringing out the best in me

You give me, you give me the sweetest taboo
You give me, you're giving me the sweetest taboo
Too good for me

There's a quiet storm
And it never felt like this before
There's a quiet storm
That is you

There's a quiet storm
And it never felt this hot before
Giving me something that's taboo
(Sometimes I think you're just too good for me)

You give me the sweetest taboo
That's why I'm in love with you (with you)
You give me the sweetest taboo
Too good for me
(Sometimes I think you're just too good for me)

I'd do anything for you, I'd stand out in the rain
Anything you want me to do, don't let it slip away

There's a quiet storm
And it never felt like this before
There's a quiet storm
I think it's you

There's a quiet storm
And I never felt this hot before
Giving me something that's taboo

You give me the (you give me, you give me the)
Sweetest taboo
That's why I'm in love with you (with you)
You give me, keep giving me the sweetest taboo
Too good for me

You've got the biggest heart
Sometimes I think you're just too good for me
Every day is Christmas, and every night is new year's Eve

Will you keep on loving me
Will you keep on, will you keep on
Bringing out the best in me

Sade - New Music - More Music Videos

Best Albums - Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes

It strikes me listening to this album now, some 22 years since I first heard it, that it has aged incredibly well. It sounds just as fresh and distinctive now as it did then. These guys hit on a formula that worked perfectly. Read the review on allmusic, I think this review gets it pretty right.

Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes (1983)
1. Blister in the Sun
2. Kiss Off
3. Please Do Not Go
4. Add It Up
5. Confessions
6. Prove My Love
7. Promise
8. To the Kill
9. Gone Daddy Gone
10. Good Feeling

Best Songs - Smile - Olive

I have a thing for catchy pop tunes and for trip hop. I also love sappy songs that you can throw on as a soundtrack to any sad moment in time. Well this song hits all of those points. It may not be the smartest song out there, but it is a very solid pop tune. It was my top song of 2008, and I think it deserves to be thought of as one of the best songs.

Here are the lyrics from VH1

Smile, you'll steal away my soul
Smile, I'll hide away and cry
My mind's made up
I will shudder to see your eyes
Smile, no doubt I'll keep my pride
But it may be hard to find

There's nothing left, handed down your legacy
But more regret painted on with empathy

Smile, don't complicate my time
Smile, don't ask me if I'm fine
My world blown down
There is nothing that words can say
Smile, no doubt I'll keep my pride
But it may be hard to find

There's nothing left, handed down your legacy
But more regret, painted on with empathy

There's nothing left, there's nothing left

Smile, you'll steal away my soul
Smile, I'll hide away and cry
There's nothing left handed down your legacy
Smile, no doubt I'll keep my pride
But it may be hard to find, if only you had tried
Gonna leave it far behind
It may be hard to find, if only you had tried
Gonna leave it far behind

Top 10 Songs of 2008

These were my favorite songs of the year. Again these are not songs released in 2008, just my favorites to listen to this past year. Three of the top 5 songs are very spiritual in nature. Between Baptism & Burial, Glory to the World, and I Heard it Sound are all odd little spiritual tunes. Not Christian spirituality, more of a modern earthly spirituality is present in all of these songs. Antarctica is one of the prettiest pop tunes I've heard. I hear it and I just want the sound to go on and on. Smile is simple electronic pop that is corny but wonderful. I have played this song to death this year.

10. Back to This - The Helio Sequence
9. Iceage Babeland - Natalie Portman's Shaved Head
8. Silver and Fire - M. Craft
7. Vienna - Matt Costa
6. Plus Profound - Hooverphonic
5. Between Baptism & Burial - Trips and Falls
4. Glory to the World - El Perro Del Mar
3. Antartica - The Weepies
2. I Heard it Sound - Bodies of Water
1. Smile - Olive


Of the albums released in 2008 I would say The Weepies' Hideaway was my favorite.

Best Songs - So Like Candy - Elvis Costello

I heard this song today and I thought to myself, you know I think this is one of the best songs of all time. It has great lyrics, it's very catchy, and he does a great job singing it. It also ahs a certain emotionally grab for me personally, and so I would put it down on my list of top songs of all time.

Here are the lyrics pulled off of Elvis Costello's web site.

Here lies the powder and perfume
The pretty clothes are scattered 'round the room
And it's so like Candy
Here lies the lipstick and the face
The coloured tablets keep it all in place
And it's so like Candy
So like Candy

CHORUS
What did I do to make her go
Why must she be the one
That I have to love
So like Candy

Here lies a picture of a girl
Her arms are tight around that lucky guy
And it's so like Candy
And in her eyes a certain look
I thought I'd seen the last of long ago
And it's so like Candy
So like Candy

CHORUS
I remember the day that picture was taken
We were so happy then
But that's so like Candy
She seemed so sweet to me I was mistaken
Oh no not that again
But that's so like Candy

She just can't face the day
So she turns and melts away
Here lie the records that she scratched
And on the sleeve I find a note attached
And it's so like Candy

"My Darling Dear it's such a waste"
She couldn't say "goodbye", but "I admire your taste"
And it's so like Candy
So like Candy

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