Let's Run

My latest run mix.  This one goes from Selena Gomez to My Bloody Valentine, a bit eclectic. 

1. A Year Without Rain - Selena Gomez
2. Give A Little More - Maroon 5
3. DJ Made Me Do It featuring Asher Roth - Shontelle
4. I Kissed A Girl - Katy Perry
5. Build You Up - Nelly Furtado
6. All You Wanted - Michelle Branch
7. Bitch - Meredith Brooks
8. Zombie - The Cranberries
9. Homeward - The Sundays
10. Into Dust - Mazzy Star
11. You Are My Friend - Rain Parade
12. Dreams-Come-True-Girl (feat. Karen Black) - Cass McCombs
13. Under The Milky Way - The Church
14. Venus - Television
15. California (All The Way) - Luna
16. Carolyn's Fingers - Cocteau Twins
17. Thoughtforms - Lush
18. To Here Knows When - My Bloody Valentine
19. Berlin - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
20. What The World Is Waiting For - The Stone Roses

Sharebuilder

The idea is simple.  Let's say you want to invest in an individual stock, but you can only afford $20 a month or so.  Well Sharebuilder will let you do this.  The only thing that catches me off guard is that it cost $4 per automatic investment.  That would be 20% fee on a $20 investment.  They do offer some no transaction fee mutual funds that you can invest in, and those have no charge so obviously that's the way to go. 

Favorite Songs of the Year

It's been a while since I updated this list.  Here are four additions to my favorite songs of the year.

Home - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros




Cry For You - September




The Game Gets Old - Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings




Rocket - Goldfrapp

Let's Run

My latest run mix.

1. Cupid Boy - Kylie Minogue
2. Xxxo - M.I.A.
3. Tightrope [feat. Big Boi] - Janelle Monae (2)
4. Surprise - Gnarls Barkley
5. Teenage Dream - Katy Perry
6. Bubble Pop Electric - Gwen Stefani
7. Love Like This - Natasha Bedingfield
8. Ain't No Other Man - Christina Aguilera
9. Glamorous - Fergie
10. Stupid In Love - Rihanna
11. Hang With Me - Robyn
12. Why Does the Wind? - Tracey Thorn
13. Leaf House - Animal Collective
14. Rain Of Crystal Spires - Felt
15. How To Bring A Blush To The Snow - Cocteau Twins
16. What Do You Think? - The Sundays
17. Ridiculous Thoughts - The Cranberries
18. It's My Life - No Doubt
19. No Easy Love - Annie
20. Kiss You Off - Scissor Sisters

Baby Food

There was of course a part of me that always wanted to make Mabel's baby food, but I have to say I always felt a bit intimidated by the whole idea.  Luckily we stumbled onto a book called Baby Blender Foods and it has made all the difference.  It is so easy to make, just a couple hours every Sunday and we can make all the food we need for a week.  I bought 1/2 cup canning jars to store the food in, and we have all been very happy with the setup.  There have been a few recipes that bombed, but all in all it's been great.  I especially like the fact that they have sample menus for each month, that has encouraged us to mix things up a bit. 

This week Mabel is eating "Peach, Pear, Bananrama;" "Cherries;" and "Avocado, Mango, and Lime."  Here is the recipe for making the cherries.  Pit two cups of cherries and blend until smooth.  That's it.

 

Wordle

A cool web site that my wife introduced me to http://wordle.net.

Let's Run

My latest run mix.

1. Make My Heart - Toni Braxton
2. Faster - DJ Cutmaster Swiff
3. Tighten Up - Black Keys
4. Bloodbuzz Ohio - The National
5. Children's Work - Dessa
6. Dancehall Queen - Robyn
7. The Fight - Sia
8. This Mess We're In - (Featuring Thom Yorke) - P.J. Harvey
9. Uncle June And Aunt Kiyoti - Kristin Hersh
10. Une Annee Sans Lumiere - Arcade Fire
11. Horchata - Vampire Weekend
12. 11th Dimension - Julian Casablancas
13. Bright Young Thing - Albert Hammond Jr.
14. Stacy's Mom - Fountains of Wayne
15. Disappointed - Ivy
16. Great Mistake - Brookville
17. That You Know - Paula Frazer
18. Home - Sarah Cracknell
19. The Kindness Of Strangers - American Analog Set
20. Swingset Chain - Loquat

Anti Virus Software

After testing a bunch of different anti virus packages I have found Avast to be the least intrusive. 

My test was simple.  I had an older laptop running Windows XP.  I would start the laptop, open Firefox, browse to USAToday and let the page load.  Then close Firefox.  Open Word, enter text, then close Word, then open IE.  Here were my results.

No Protection took 5:18
Avast took 10:17
Microsoft Security Essentials took 14:10
AVG took 14:26
Symantec took 17:12

The History of Jazz

So I have a nephew who is 13 and a big jazz fan.  I started to put together a playlist for him of jazz music and it turned into this History of Jazz playlist instead.  You can check out the two parts on Rhapsody:  Part1, Part 2.

I got the heart of this list and most of the headers from Wikipedia. Hopefully whoever wrote those articles knows what they are talking about. 

Pre Jazz
Blues
Black Eye Blues - Ma Rainey
After You've Gone - Bessie Smith

Ragtime
Maple Leaf Rag - Scott Joplin
She's A Mean Job Blues - W.C. Handy

New Orleans Music
Original Jelly Roll Blues - Jelly Roll Morton
The Darktown Strutters' Ball - James Reese Europe

1920s and 1930s
The Jazz Age
Keep Off The Grass - James P. Johnson
Livery Stable Blues - Original Dixieland Jazz Band
Who Loves You? - Original Dixieland Jazz Band
Get Out Of Here - Kid Ory's Creole Jazz Band
Downhearted Blues - Bessie Smith
Mabels Dream - King Oliver
Some Day My Heart Will Awake - Bill Johnson
In A Mist - Bix Beiderbecke
Off To Buffalo - Fletcher Henderson & His Orchestra
Jazz Lips - Louis Armstrong
Heebie Jeebies - Louis Armstrong
Since We Fell Out Of Love - New Orleans Rhythm Kings
My Pretty Girl - Jean Goldkette & His Orchestra
Rhapsody In Blue - Paul Whiteman Orchestra
The Way You Look Tonight - Billie Holiday

Swing
Got Everything But You - Duke Ellington
St. Louis Blues - Earl Hines Quintet
Best Black - Eddie Lang
Li'l Darlin' - Count Basie
I Learned About Love From Her - Cab Calloway
Forty Second Street - The Dorsey Brothers
I've Got the World On a String - Duke Ellington
Love Never Went To College - Benny Goodman
You Go to My Head - Fletcher Henderson
Moonlight Serenade - Glenn Miller
Someday Sweet Heart - Artie Shaw
On The Sunny Side Of The Street - Lester Young
Stardust - Frank Sinatra
If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight) - Count Basie
I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart - Mildred Bailey
The White Cliffs Of Dover - Kate Smith
Georgia On My Mind - Clarissa
I Got Rhythm - Ethel Merman
My Melancholy Baby - Ella Fitzgerald
Moonlight Cocktail - Glenn Miller
You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me - Bing Crosby
The Loveliest Night Of The Year - Mario Lanza

Early European Jazz
Out Of Nowhere - Django Reinhardt

1940s and 1950s 
Dixieland Revival
Stumblin´ - Bob Crosby's Bobcats
Rose Room - Max Kaminsky
Nobody's Sweetheart - Eddie Condon
If I Had You - Wild Bill Davison
Temptation Rag - Lu Watters and the Yerba Buena Jazz Band
On the Sunny Side of the Street - Louis Armstrong

Bebop
All The Things You Are - Charlie Parker
Embraceable You - Bud Powell
Evonce - Thelonious Monk
A Night In Tunisia - Dizzy Gillespie
Minor Mood - Clifford Brown
I'm A Fool To Want You - Max Roach
In a Sentimental Mood - Oscar Peterson

Cool Jazz
Move - Miles Davis
Minority - DJ Swamp
But Not For Me - Chet Baker
Kathy's Waltz - Dave Brubeck
Jambangle - Joanna de Seyne
Cherokee - Shelly Manne
Versailles (Porte de Versailles) - The Modern Jazz Quartet
All The Things You Are - Lars Gullin
April Fool - Lennie Tristano

Hard Bop
Walkin' - Miles Davis
Along Came Betty - Art Blakey

Modal Jazz
Blue In Green - Miles Davis
Manhattan - George Russell
Autumn Leaves - DJ Swamp
Naima - John Coltrane
Watermelon Man - Herbie Hancock

Vocal Jazz Goes Solo 
I've Got You Under My Skin - Frank Sinatra
Blue Skies - Ella Fitzgerald
I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry - Sarah Vaughan
That Old Feeling - Mel Torme
One O'Clock Jump - Lambert, Hendricks and Ross
Stella By Starlight - Billy Eckstine
Every Day I Have The Blues - Joe Williams
What A Difference A Day Made - Dinah Washington
Once Upon A Time - Tony Bennett
Tenderly - Anita O'Day
The Night We Called It A Day (LP Version) - Chris Connor
That's All - June Christy
I'm A Fool To Want You (Edited Master) - Billie Holiday
Until The Real Thing Comes Along - Carmen McRae
Summertime - Nina Simone
Let Me Off Uptown - Dakota Staton

Free Jazz
Better Git It In Your Soul - Charles Mingus
Lonely Woman - Ornette Coleman
Wallering - The Cecil Taylor Quartet
Acknowledgement Part 1 - John Coltrane
Cousin Mary - Archie Shepp
Where Is Tomorrow - Sun Ra
Spirits - Albert Ayler
Colors - Pharoah Sanders
Air - Steve Lacy
Out There - Eric Dolphy
Smatter - Kenny Wheeler
Life Between The Exit Signs - Keith Jarrett

1960s and 1970s
Latin Jazz
Cuba Libre (Guracha) - Xavier Cugat
Oye mi guaguanco - Tito Puente
The Girl From Ipanema - Joao Gilberto
Batidinha - Antonio Carlos Jobim
Chega de Saudade - Elizete Cardoso
Aguas De Marco - Elis Regina

Post Bop
Infant Eyes - Wayne Shorter
Contemplation - Mccoy Tyner
The Eye Of The Hurricane - Herbie Hancock
The Joker - Lee Morgan
Channel 1 Suite - Buddy Rich

Soul Jazz
Song For My Father - Horace Silver
Keep Loose - Jimmy McGriff
Minor Chant - Jimmy Smith
That Good Feelin' - Johnny "Hammond" Smith
Epistrophy - Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
Let It Go - Stanley Turrentine

Jazz Fusion
Bitches Brew - Miles Davis
You Know You Know - The Mahavishnu Orchestra
Orange Lady - Weather Report
Sorceress - Return to Forever
Straight From The Gate - The Headhunters
We Got By - Al Jarreau
Boy From New York City - The Manhattan Transfer

1980s - Today
Traditionalists
Chambers Of Tain - Wynton Marsalis
Amsterdam - Brad Mehldau
Snake Stance - Jason Moran
Song for Midwood - Vijay Iyer
The Next Step - Kurt Rosenwinkel
Message to Mankind - Stefon Harris
I'm Not So Sure - Roy Hargrove
Simplemente Simon - Terence Blanchard
Blues In Concentric Circles - Chris Potter
Turnaround - Joshua Redman
Theme for Kareem - Christian McBride
On A Clear Day You Can See Forever - Maxine Sullivan
Dindi - Flora Purim
Isn't This A Lovely Day - Carol Sloane
Smack Dab in the Middle - New York Voices
You Taught My Heart To Sing - Dianne Reeves
Prelude To A Kiss - Diane Schuur
I Can't Stand The Rain - Cassandra Wilson
Resolution - Kurt Elling
Dance With Me To The End OF Love - Madeleine Peyroux

Experimentalists
Underwater And Trying To Find The Stars - Rob Mazurek
Up North - Ken Vandermark
McNeil Island / Pumpkin - Nels Cline
Cloud of Dust - Todd Sickafoose
Ritual - Craig Taborn
Eternal Interlude - John Hollenbeck
Time And Tide - John Scofield
Church Of Logic - Medeski Martin & Wood
Big Eater - The Bad Plus
The Chapel - E.S.T.
Something Beautiful - Acoustic Ladyland
Spring - Led Bib
Happy For You - Polar Bear
Blackbird - Bobby McFerrin
You Got Ti My Head - Jeanne Lee & Mal Waldron
You Thrill Me - Patty Waters

Smooth Jazz
7th Ave. - David Sanborn
Is It A Crime - Sade

Acid Jazz
Sure Thing - St. Germain

Jazz Rap
Conspiracy - Gag Starr
Excursions - A Tribe Called Quest

Punk Jazz & Jazzcore
Sharks - The Lounge Lizards
Chronology - John Zorn
Without Water - Candiria

Modern Creative
The Shell Game - Tim Berne
Home - Olu Dara
Into The Clearing - Jenny Scheinman
There It Is - Don Byron

Vocal Pop Jazz
Don't Get Around Much Anymore - Harry Connick, Jr.
Come Away With Me - Norah Jones
Singin' In The Rain - Jamie Cullum
Hit That Jive Jack - Diana Krall
Spread Love - Take 6
I've Found A New Baby - The Real Group

Let's Run

My latest run mix.

1. Rocket - Goldfrapp
2. MCs Can Kiss - Uffie
3. Bucky Done Gun - M.I.A.
4. Dy-Na-Mi-Tee (Album Version) - Ms. Dynamite
5. The World Should Revolve Around Me (Explicit) - Little Jackie
6. Two - The Antlers
7. Get The Party Started - Pink
8. Let Me Be - Britney Spears
9. With You - Jessica Simpson
10. Stupid In Love - Rihanna
11. Hurt - Christina Aguilera
12. Me, Myself And I - Beyonce
13. Hush Hush; Hush Hush (Main) - Pussycat Dolls
14. Moving In Stereo - The Cars
15. Friends Of P. - The Rentals
16. Breakaway - Kelly Clarkson
17. Hot - Avril Lavigne
18. How I Could Just Kill A Man - Charlotte Sometimes
19. We Will Not Grow Old - Lenka
20. Maybe - Ingrid Michaelson

Marine Girls and Vivian Girls

I heard the Vivian Girls on Sound Opinions recently and was surprised how much their set reminded me of the Marine Girls.

The Bird and the Bee

OK my favorite album of the year so far is "Interpreting the Masters Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates" by The Bird and the Bee.  I was never a huge Hall and Oates fan, but I find this a fun spring album. 

Let's Run

My latest run mix.

1. Fragile Heart - Jewel
2. Tangent - Beth Orton
3. Brooklyn's On Fire - Nicole Atkins
4. Flicks - Frou Frou
5. Amazing Life - Jem
6. Come To Me - Bjork
7. Distractions - Zero 7
8. Gun - Emiliana Torrini
9. Two Stones In My Pocket - Neil Halstead
10. Mrs. Cold - Kings Of Convenience
11. Rock N' Roll Singer - Mark Kozelek
12. Out Of Site - Built To Spill
13. White Shade - Lukestar
14. Break My Body - Pixies
15. Ocean Breathes Salty - Modest Mouse
16. The Moon - Microphones
17. No One Does It Like You - Department of Eagles
18. People Of The Sun - Rage Against the Machine
19. Other Side - (hed) pe
20. Waking Up (Digital Album Version) - 10 Years

Let's Run

Here is my latest running mix.

1. Monster - Lady Gaga
2. Ain't No Other Man - Christina Aguilera
3. Don't Cha - Pussycat Dolls
4. Hey Mami - Fannypack
5. Can't Tell Me Nothing - Kanye West
6. Welcome Back - Mase
7. Cracks In The Surface - The Flobots
8. Lost Cause - Beck
9. Gratitude - Beastie Boys
10. Fly - Luscious Jackson
11. Airplane - Pizzicato Five
12. I Don't Feel Like Dancin' (Album version) - Scissor Sisters
13. (A Style Called) Crying Chic - Pop Levi
14. L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever) - Kasabian
15. Somewhere Only We Know - Keane
16. Animal Nitrate - Suede
17. Supersonic - Oasis
18. Speed Of Sound - Coldplay
19. Why Does It Always Rain on Me? - Travis
20. Everything In Its Right Place - Radiohead

Let's Run

Here is the latest version of my run mix.

1. Home - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
2. We've Got Your Back - Los Campesinos!
3. Straight In At 101 - Los Campesinos!
4. Norway - Beach House
5. Let Me Think About It (Radio Edit) - Ida Corr
6. Cry For You - September
7. I Begin To Wonder - Dannii Minogue
8. Daniel - Bat For Lashes
9. Rebel Girl - Bikini Kill
10. All My Friends - LCD Soundsystem
11. Electric Bloom - Foals
12. Howard - Cub
13. Hey, Hey, Girl - Rocketship
14. Alley Cats - Hot Chip
15. I Remember - Yeasayer
16. Rome - Yeasayer
17. T.O.N.Y. - Solange Knowles
18. Who's Been Sleeping - Swing Out Sister
19. I'm Leavin' - Lisa Stansfield
20. Please Forgive Me - David Gray

Favorite Songs of the Year So Far

Two months have passed and I only have a handful of favorite songs so far. The sad part is some of them are pretty old songs. Anyhow here we go.

Kids - Mgmt
I started the year listening to a best of the decade list.  This song stood out to me, I think it was on the number 100 album on the list.  In fact I may have written about it on this blog not sure and too lazy to look it up.  Anyhow this was the one song that stood out to me on the album, really like it.




Dare - Gorillaz
These guys know how to make a good pop song. Again this was part of the best of the decade list, and I know I've talked about them on the blog.




We've Got Your Back - Los Campesinos!
OK a new release. These guys remind me of The Go! Team which I like quite a bit and though the album is hit and miss for me, I like a couple of tracks quite a bit.



Straight In at 101 - Los Campesinos!
A really fun song.




Norway - Beach House
OK this is a great mood song. In fact I recently blogged about this song. Best mood song of the year so far.




Daniel - Bat for Lashes
Not sure what I think of Bat for Lashes, but I like this song. It seems to hit the sound about right.





The Moon and the Sky - Sade
By far the best song off the new album by Sade. I've been waiting for this album for ten years and it didn't disappoint.

Best Albums - Ray of Light - Madonna

Who would have thought that 15 years after she broke into stardom with her first album, she would put out her best album.  I enjoyed Erotica and I enjoyed Bedtime Stories, but I never guessed the direction she would move in with Ray of Light and how good she would nail it first try. 

If you look at her albums her sound progresses over time.  Like a Virgin built on the sound of Madonna, Like a Prayer built on True Blue, and Bedtime Stories built on Erotica.  In each case the second album was an improvement or a refinement of the sound played with in the first.  This of course is the genius of good pop artist.  They adapt and change their sound with time.  One of my favorite bands Everything But the Girl is a brilliant example of this.  Anyhow to get to the point Ray of Light was a venture into a new sound for Madonna, and unlike her other work she nailed it first and only try.  Now looking back we can see that this was the peak of her career and her genius.  At age 40 she nailed it and now we can imagine she'll never be at this level again. 

Madonna - Ray of Light
1. Drowned World / Substitute for Love
2. Swim
3. Ray of Light
4. Candy Perfume Girl
5. Skin
6. Nothing Really Matters
7. Sky Fits Heaven
8. Shanti / Ashtangi
9. Frozen
10. The Power of Good-Bye
11. To Have and Not to Hold
12. Little Star
13. Mer Girl

Best Albums - Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me - The Cure

It's by far the best double album ever made and may be the best album ever made. I know I have said on here that Marvin Gaye's What's Going On is the best album and it is, but man this one really has something special. I can still remember the first time I put this album on the old Technics amp.

The Cure - Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
1. The Kiss
2. Catch
3. Torture
4. If Only Tonight We Could Sleep
5. Why Can't I Be You
6. How Beautiful You Are
7. The Snakepit
8. Hey You!
9. Just Like Heaven
10. All I Want
11. Hot Hot Hot!!
12. One More Time
13. Like Cockatoos
14. Icing Sugar
15. The Perfect Girl
16. A Thousand Hours
17. Shiver and Shake
18. Fight

Beach House

Just discovered this band and really like the song Norway off of their new album Teen Dream.

Allmusic.com | My Space | Band Webpage

Janis Ian

The debut album from Janis Ian blows my mind. Once in a blue moon I put it on and I'm always thrown off by the fact that this album was written and recorded by a 14-15 year old.

Here's a video of her performing Society's Child.




One of my favorite folk songs comes off this album "Pro-Girl."

Standing on the corner. waiting for who to come by
You laugh only to cry and aid the blind
Let’s go, girl
If mother only knew you lived through all the books she hid
Them that can’t do, teach, your pimp has said
and you’re a pro, girl
Now if flesh were the only thing you sold, might be all right
but for just five pounds, you also sell a smile
Mothers warn their kids Watch out for this
Red lights change slow

Pro-girl, you know girl
Sell your soul for a sum
and it’s taken by a john
Bargain well, girl

Now you want a life of loving, and it can be bought, although
some of the best things in life are free
Don’t blow it, girl
Mothers would but daren’t be you, keep it locked with guns
They say Something must be done! but send their sons
So show it, girl
The headlines scream about your life, and they pretend to see you
Make you lie about the why of what you are, don’t scream, girl
Serve them all, have a ball
Writers dream, but only you know

chorus

And you’re looking for a man who won’t want to buy your time
You’re searching down an alleyway, a garbage can
Forget it, babe
It hurts to say you work your way on through the streets of hell
only looking for yourself to put up on a shelf
Don’t let it, babe
You’ll find a guy, a God, and it must be love this time
Laying at your side, his shadow splits the night
then waken in the morning, God turns on his side
says How much do you get, girl?

Pro-girl, you know girl
Sell your soul for a sum
You’ve been taken by a john
You bargained well, girl
What more do you have to sell
Pro-girl

Dance Pop

I have a thing for dance pop and some of my favorite artists over the past 10 years were all born around the same time as me. I find that to be kind of neat in some way.

Peaches April 4, 1968




Kylie Minogue May 28, 1968




Vanessa Daou Sep 9, 1968




Cathy Dennis March 25, 1969




Gwen Stefani Oct 3, 1969

Cathy Dennis

I was a big fan of Cathy Dennis. I thought she wrote great pop tunes and I thought she was hot. A good combination for me at the age of 22. I'm apparently the only person who liked her second album, but I really did like it. I never knew she put out a third album because it never made it to my neck of the woods. Anyhow I found out recently that she went on to have a great career as a producer and songwriter. In fact she's written seven number one songs in the UK, four of those making the top 10 in the US. This makes me very happy. It's always good to know that people you like can go on to have a good career. The other great thing about this for me is that one of my top songs of the decade was a song she wrote for Kylie Minogue called "Can't Get You Out of My Head." I love that song, and now when I hear it I realize it does sound just like a Cathy Dennis song. Thanks to Wikipedia for all the info.

Here are videos for the songs she's written for others.

The Decade Double CD

You can check it out at Rhapsody.com

1. Wish I Didn't Miss You - Angie Stone
2. Can't Get You Out Of My Head - Kylie Minogue
3. Flashing Lights - Kanye West
4. Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
5. Feel Good Inc. - Gorillaz
6. Keys To The Kingdom (Featuring Gavin Clark) - UNKLE
7. Seven Nation Army - White Stripes
8. This Tornado Loves You - Neko Case
9. Elephant In The Room - The Noises 10
10. When It's Over - Sugar Ray
11. Sleeps with Butterflies - Tori Amos
12. Sunday Memory Lane - White Shoes & The Couples Company
13. Let Go - Frou Frou
14. Smile - Olive
15. Glory To The World - El Perro Del Mar
16. Empty - Ray LaMontagne
17. Ludlow Street - Suzanne Vega
18. On Your Side - Pete Yorn
19. Up With The Larks - The Pearlfishers
20. Looking At The Stars - Sally Shapiro
21. The Shining - Badly Drawn Boy
22. Casimir Pulaski Day - Sufjan Stevens
23. Wait Until Dark - Kelly Willis
24. Ghost World - Aimee Mann
25. Maps - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
26. Convict Colony - Saul Williams
27. Le Disko - Shiny Toy Guns
28. Say It Right - Nelly Furtado
29. Cross My Mind - Jill Scott
30. Crush - Kelly Sweet
31. Your Song - Kate Walsh
32. Snowy - Josh Rouse
33. Lovers Rock - Sade
34. Sunrise - Simply Red
35. Luxurious - Gwen Stefani
36. Glamorous - Fergie
37. Be With U - Atomic Kitten
38. Add Your Light To Mine, Baby - Lucky Soul
39. Antarctica - The Weepies
40. I Heard It Sound - Bodies Of Water
41. It's All True - Tracey Thorn

The Guild

Hard to believe I haven't blogged about this. This is by far my favorite show going right now. Not sure they'll get to do a fourth season, but the first three have been wonderful. You can check the show out at http://www.watchtheguild.com/.

To promote their 3rd season they made this music video.

Gorillaz

Number 98 on the NME best albums of the decade is Demon Days by the Gorillaz. I've always liked this album. I think it's pretty good, but I think the only reason it makes this list is the song Feel Good Inc. That song is so good it propels the entire album into another level. The more I go over lists and listen to albums from lists the more I'm convinced that one song can put an entire album into a top 100 list and two songs can propel it into the top 75. The Police are a great example of this. They never made a good album, but they put good songs on bad albums and those albums show up on all kind of greatest album lists.

NME Top 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade

As you know I love lists so here's a fun one from NME.

I'll try to listen to as many of these as I can. I have to say I'm liking the number 100 album by MGMT so far.