Best of 2010: Music

1. Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
2. Daft Punk - Tron Legacy
3. Spoon - Transference
4. The Black Keys - Brothers
5. Cage The Elephant (2009)
6. The Golden Hits of Louis Prima
7. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
8. She & Him - Volume Two
9. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009)
10. Weezer - Hurley

I didn't buy a ton of music in 2010, and didn't find a lot that I loved. I bought two Weezer albums (Hurley & Death to False Metal) which were, respectively, disappointing and *really* disappointing. Likewise, the She & Him follow-up, while solid, wasn't as good as their first album.

However, Mumford & Sons was a revelation, and the Tron Legacy soundtrack was as good as the movie was bad. Spoon's latest was a solid offering, and the Black Keys' new album was a good listen as well.

Best Of 2008 - Music

It's time for Best Of lists, and while I'm not quite as on top of these kinds of things as I usually am, I was reading the picks by Alex Robinson and I was surprised to see that he had a few of my picks on there, and it reminded me that I've gotten a fair amount of music that I liked this year.

I don't listen to the radio ever, I don't watch MTV, so most of my music comes from a sort of weird osmosis of stuff I see on TV shows, picks by friends, folks I read online, freebies from iTunes or Amazon or occasionally Rock Band or similar games. I don't tend to pick up full albums, and I've always been more of a singles guy than an album guy, so I'm picking by song rather than by album or band. So here are my favorite new songs of the year, in no particular order:

Borneo - Firewater (I believe this was an Amazon free download. Nice little poppy, big band-ish song with a bit of political commentary on the Iraq War thrown in)

Loose Lips - Kimya Dawson (and the entire Juno soundtrack, actually. I'm not sure if this actually came out in 2008 or 2007, but I was really pleased with this music. Recommendation courtesy of my friend Jamie... thanks, Jamie!)

Handlebars - Flobots (Loved this whole album as well. I know Handlebars is the single that most will know, and it's probably cooler to pick a more obscure track, but this one is still my favorite track off the whole album. Anne Braiden is a close second. Recommendation from my friend and customer at the store Ray Brister. Thanks, Ray!)

Lake Pontchartrain - Ludo (Great little horror story in song form, has a Cthulhu type vibe to it. Got this one from a mix CD by my friend Jason Murphy. Thanks, Jason! This album also has Go Getter Greg, a funny little stalker song. These guys do great lyrics.)

Your California - Parker Brothers (Another Amazon free download, this is an upbeat song that reminds me a bit of the Presidents of the United States)

More Bad Times - Presidents of the United States (Speaking of... I've always liked these guys, but aside from "Cleveland Rocks" from Drew Carey, never had any of their stuff. Rock Band 2 spurred an interest in them, so I picked up a few singles and the new album, and this was my favorite song off the new album, which I generally liked)

Shut Up And Let Me Go - Ting Tings (This one was a recommendation by Cameron Stewart on his blog... thanks, Cameron! I like the whole album, but this one is a favorite, and my daughter loves it too... she sings along, which is adorable)

The Greatest Man That Ever Lived - Weezer (I know a lot of folks were down on this album, just like they were on the last one, but I liked about half of it quite a bit, and find most of the rest listenable, at least. This is my favorite of the bunch. This was also the only album I found with no help from anyone. New Weezer or Foo Fighters will always be on my radar.)

I also bought the new Fratellis album, and while it was OK, it was a disappointment compared to the consistent greatness of their debut. And I bought a bunch of stuff spurred on by Rock Band 2 that has been out forever, including Joan Jett, Journey, Rage Against the Machine and The Clash.

New Video From Lauren

Cool Video

I'm increasingly worried that this (or DMZ) is what our future might look like, if the government continues on its present course.

Then there's this acoustic cover, which is also just kind of awesome:

EMusic "Trial" Subscription

Edited to add: Well, that was unexpected. After I posted my rant, which was basically blowing off steam, I was contacted by email by someone from eMusic who refunded my money and explained that I had canceled my music account, but must have accidentally signed up for an Audiobooks account. I didn't think that there were two separate accounts, which was my mistake.

So essentially, in terms of customer service, I take it all back. Getting back to one guy blowing off steam on a blog is really going above and beyond, especially when I'd basically said I probably wasn't going to be an eMusic customer anyway. So instead I'll say that if, unlike me, you're more interested in a wider selection of less well-known bands and trying a bunch of stuff out rather than ala carte buying a handful of music each year, you might give eMusic a try. Because that's pretty good customer service right there.

Original post below:
Netflix, which I love, has advertising on their disc sleeves for various products and services. One of those, back in November, was for a free trial of EMusic. I'm pretty happy with iTunes, but these were DRM-free MP3s, and it had an interesting subscription/price structure that still allowed you to own your music, so I figured I'd give it a try.

I wound up picking up albums from Spoon, Gogol Bordello and Pain and an audiobook from James Ellroy, but I couldn't find most of what I was looking for, and I decided that the service just wasn't for me. I don't have time to discover new bands and new sounds while I'm paying for the time, which seems more like the focus of eMusic.

No harm, no foul. I was a member for about 20 minutes, I went and canceled the account. Wasn't really looking for the music I downloaded, but it was good, and it was free.

Then I go through my VISA statement today and discover that I was charged the $9.99, despite having canceled immediately. Not only that, I was charged $9.99 again a month later. Clearly, my "trial" subscription was still active. After being unable to find a customer service phone number (which you can find here, I guess I didn't look carefully enough) I went over and canceled my subscription again, and this time I saved the email with my cancellation. If I don't get charged again, I'll call it a learning experience, and I've still paid $20 for three albums, which is fair, even if I would rather have spent those $20 on iTunes for albums and audiobooks I really wanted.

Best of 2007 - Music

My Top 10 Favorite Albums of 2007
The Fratellis - Costello Music - I'm pretty sure this album was released in 2006, but I hadn't really heard of The Fratellis before this year, and now they're one of my favorite bands. I can't remember the last time I bought an album and loved every song on it. Certainly none of the other albums on this list can make that claim, even though there were some very good albums this year. Hoping we'll see more Fratellis in 2008.

Hot Hot Heat - Elevator - Another band I've heard of, but never sampled before 2007. Hot Hot Heat has the same sort of poppy up-tempo style that many of my favorites on this list have, and I dug quite a few songs off this album.

Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare - Love the Arctic Monkeys, and although this wasn't as great as their last album, there are still a half-dozen really good songs, and not really a stinker in the mix.

Hot Fuzz - The Soundtrack - Nice weird mixture of music, from '60s standards to (you guessed it) a couple Fratellis tunes. First place I heard the band, actually. Also has a great song by The Eels.

Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Austin based band that I really should have checked out earlier. There are a few songs I really like on here, but I'm even more impressed with Girls Can Tell, their older album that I picked up off eMusic. But this one was released this year, so it goes on the 2007 list.

Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace - Solid, although not spectacular. The Foo Fighters never fail to deliver at least good music, but this didn't have the killer hooks in me the way their last few albums have. A couple really good singles, though, and overall I dug the album.

Fountains of Wayne - Traffic and Weather - I'm about 50-50 on this album, but the songs I like, I really like, and I find all of them listenable, even if most of them didn't wind up on regular rotation.

The Killers - Sam's Town - It's weird, I like The Killers when I hear them on other people's iPods, but it usually takes me a while to realize that before buying the album. That was the case with Sam's Town, which I bought a few months after release, at least.

Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank - I liked this better than Modest Mouse's first album. The lead single they released was my favorite song on it, though.

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible - This one took a few listens to decide I liked it, but then I wound up actually loving one of the songs on it so much it made my Top Favorite songs of 2007.

My Top 10 Favorite Songs of 2007
Flathead - The Fratellis - Close call, but it's my favorite track from the album - great video, too - Chelsea Dagger is a close second, and another great video


Theme From Andrex - Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra (Picked up on it from the Ocean's 13 trailer)


Fluorescent Adolescent - Arctic Monkeys - One of my three favorite songs off Arctic Monkeys, I also really love "Do The Bad Thing" and "Balaclava"


Don't Make Me A Target - Spoon - My favorite song off the Spoon album, which became a favorite after I saw it used perfectly on "Chuck," and it's in close competition with "The Underdog"


Souljacker Part 1 - The Eels


The Well and the Lighthouse - Arcade Fire - Favorite song off this album


Radio Nowhere - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - iTunes freebie, and one of my favorite Springsteen tunes ever - But then, I'm not a huge Springsteen fan


New Routine - Fountains of Wayne - My favorite song off the new Fountains of Wayne, although "Someone to Love" is close... and the video embedded below, since I can't find New Routine on Youtube. Also, this video features Demetri Martin from The Daily Show, which is cool.


Dreaming of You - The Coral - From The Scrubs Volume 2 soundtrack - occasionally sappy, but they pick good music for these


Chick Habit - April March - Perfect ending to Tarantino's Death Proof - in the theatre, at least - I hear the DVD version is interminable, and I can believe that, because Grindhouse was perfect as one movie, but didn't seem like a good idea as two longer ones.

I Love The Fratellis

It's been a stressful week, and I'm in for at least a couple more stressful ones in September. Busy time of year, lots of stuff going on, etc., etc.

But on the other hand, I finally went and bought The Fratellis album and I'll be damned... every song on it is good. Most are great. I can't remember the last time I had that reaction to an album. And then there's this video, which is all kinds of awesome:



Not just because the girls are hawt, but also because I have a fondness for the '40s pinup girl style cheesecake and also, the song is great. Oh, and since my good friend Nate Southard brought it up, I also like Los Lonely Boys. Didn't know they were from Austin, though. And I've only heard one of their songs (the one they were using on promos for Jeff Goldblum's short-lived show), so it's possible the rest of it is crap.

Tagged

Nate Southard, even knowing full well that my music tastes are nowhere near as defined as my tastes in comics, movies and TV, has tagged me with this meme, wherein I list my "my top 5 side 1, track 1 songs." Since I last had vinyl when I was about 14 (I won 6 albums from a radio station, including ZZ Top's Afterburner, Tears for Fears and some other stuff, none of it great), and I am strictly digital music now, what you've got is me searching my iTunes for Track 1 songs, organizing them by my star rating, and guessing around from there. Weep in shared shame at my utter lack of music sophistication!

1. American Idiot - Green Day, American Idiot
2. Sure Shot - Beastie Boys, Ill Communication
3. Beverly Hills - Weezer, Make Believe
4. All My Life - Foo Fighters, One by One
5. The Comeback - Shout Out Louds, Howl Howl Gaff Gaff

And just for fun, here's all the stuff I came up with that didn't make the Top 5:
Let's Go Crazy - Prince, Purple Rain
Helter Skelter - U2, Rattle and Hum
Beers, Steers & Queers - Revolting Cocks, Beers, Steers & Queers
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen, Greatest Hits
Mess Around - Ray Charles, Ultimate Hits Collection
Invincible - OK Go, Oh No
Lapdance - N.E.R.D., In Search Of
Loser - Beck, Mellow Gold
Are You Gonna Be My Girl - Jet, Jet
Stitched Up (Featuring John Mayer) - Herbie Hancock, Possibilities
Smack My Bitch Up - Prodigy, Fat of the Land
Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison
Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin III
Hells Bells - AC/DC, Back in Black
Someone to Love - Fountains of Wayne, Traffic and Weather
Angry Anthem - The Forces of Evil, Friend or Foe?
I Feel You - Depeche Mode, Songs of Faith & Devotion
Satan is my Motor - Cake, Prolonging the Magic
Who Was In My Room Last Night? - Butthole Surfers, Independent Worm Saloon

Now I guess I'm supposed to tag people... people with blogs. But I don't know that many people with blogs, so I'm wussing out on that part. How about this... any of you out there who are reading and have blogs, tag yourself, email me a link and then I can later edit this and claim that I tagged you. :)

Pandora Internet Radio

My buddy Dave showed me this new site, which is just too cool for words. Basically, it's Internet radio, but you program it by putting in songs and/or artists you like and it plays songs from them as well as songs similar to those, and you can thumbs up/thumbs down to help it narrow things down.

Very, very cool and totally addictive. My station is HERE, although it's very much a work in progress.

Top 10 Most Played in 2006

I'm not real good at the Top 10 music thing, because I just don't buy enough music to really put together much of a list. But Entertainment Weekly's online Popwatch recently featured the Top 10 most listened to in 2006 feature. That I can do. I don't think I've even *heard* more than one or two of the most-played in 2006 overall, but I have a "Play Count" on iTunes that will tell me how many times I've listened to a song. Now, technically this is for as long as I've had iTunes, but it's the same general idea. So, my current Top 10 Most Played List:

1. Funny Little Feeling - Rock 'n' Roll Soldiers
2. Pistolero - Juno Reactor
3. Jerk It Out - Caesars
4. We Used to Be Friends - The Dandy Warhols
5. Struggle - Ringside Rock
6. Everyday I Love You Less and Less - Kaiser Chiefs
7. Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand
8. Are You Gonna Be My Girl - Jet
9. What I Got - Michael Franti & Spearhead With Gift of Gab
10. Such Great Heights - The Postal Service

This probably means little to anything, given that it's based on random plays as well as playlists, but all 10 are favorite songs for me.