The 11 Best Songs of 2011

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

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

Here are the 11 Best Songs of 2011:

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

Buy these songs and their albums now!

The 11 Best Songs By Skrillex

Back in the 90s...the last couple weeks before Christmas were always a mad dash to the CD shelves.  Bands would throw out "best of" collections...holiday collections...etc.  Now all that stuff comes out in November...sometimes you see Christmas stuff way back in October...right Zooey?  After Christmas, we'd be hit with a dry spell for a few weeks...but things have changed in the digital era.  An album being released is no longer an event unto itself...now the date of the release can sometimes be bigger news than the release.  Last year, multiple bands put out album on New Year's Eve (MIA, Klaxons, JJ, Gorillaz) because it made the release more interesting.  This year, the rumors of more midnight New Year's Eve releases are already buzzing. A couple of artists have jumped the gun.  Last week, The Weeknd dropped his 3rd free album of the year. (how can you not like a guy who gives away three albums a year?)  Also, out this week is dubstep's hottest commodity, Skrillex.  Is he getting too big too fast?  Probably.  Not sure I've ever seen this much hype over an artist who still has yet to release a full length album.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By Skrillex:

1. Kill Everybody  (Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites)
2. Weekends!!! (My Name Is Skrillex)
3. First of the Year Equinox (More Monsters and Sprites)
4. Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites (Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites)
5. Rock N Roll Will Take You To The Mountain (Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites)
6. With You, Friends (My Name Is Skrillex)  
7. My Name Is Skrillex (My Name Is Skrillex)
8. Scatta (Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites)
9. The Disco Rangers Bus (YouTube Exclusive)
10. Ruffneck Full Flex (More Monsters and Sprites)
11. DnB Ting (Single)

Buy Skrillex's new EP, Bangarang now!!

The 55 Best Albums of 2011 (1-11)

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

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

Here are the 11 Best Albums of 2011:

1.       Yuck - Yuck (Holing Out)

2.       M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

3.       The Strokes - Angles

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

5.       Bon Iver - Bon Iver

6.       Wilco - The Whole Love

7.       Rural Alberta Advantage - Departing

8.       Foo Fighters - Wasting Light

9.       Wild Flag - Wild Flag

10.   Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

11.   The Black Keys - El Camino

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

The 55 Best Albums of 2011 (12-22)

No song was more infectious this year than Foster the People's Pumped up Kids.  What started as a catchy indie rock diddy took off and became an international hit rocketing up the Billboard charts and propelling rock album sales.  Most people still don't know the song is about a school shooting.  Maybe that why despite its popular success, it's still retained its indie cred.  Hopefully this is a sign that there's still a place for rock music on the charts...or maybe it's opening the floodgates for a rock music revival.  One can only hope.

Send in your BEST OF LISTS!!!  I want your top 20 albums of the year...or as many as you would like to send.  Just stick them in the comment section or email them to me.  I will compile a list by New Year's and share it with you all.

Here are the 55 Best Songs of 2011 (12-22):

12.       War on Drugs - Slave Ambient (Baby Missiles)

13.       Bright Eyes - The People's Key

14.       Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math

15.       Middle Brother - Middle Brother (Portland)

16.       Wye Oak - Civilian

17.       Jeff the Brotherhood - We Are Champions

18.       Foster The People - Torches

19.       Jay-Z & Kanye West - Watch The Throne

20.       Jason Isbell - Here We Rest

21.    VHS or Beta - Diamonds and Death

22.    Dawes - Nothing Is Wrong

Buy these albums and more from 2011...all for under $5...for a limited time!!!

The 55 Best Albums of 2011 (23-33)

It was the year of the reunion/comeback.  So many big artists came back together to put out one more album.  Maybe I'm just getting older and there are more bands under my belt who have the potential to reunite...but this honestly has to be the most reunions I can remember in awhile.  The strongest outing by far was by The Cars...and they seemed to have the most stacked against them.  Missing their key bassist/songwriter/singer, Benjamin Orr, no one thought they could really regenerate the magic the group possessed in the 80s.  But of all the reunions, The Cars seemed to embody the most honest energy of all the bands.  It's like they acknowledge off the bat that they couldn't do it properly without Orr...so they did everything in their power to do as good and respectable of a job as possible.  And it worked.  There were some good reunions this year...but The Cars came in the most low key and finished by far on top.

ATTENTION: I'm still collecting your TOP 20 LISTS.  If you don't have 20 albums...that's okay.  You can send as many as you want.  If it's just 5 or even 1 that's fine, too.  Send them in now and I'll compile an uber monster list to kick off 2012.

Here are the 55 Best Songs of 2011 (23-33):

23.       Deer Tick - Divine Province

24.       Washed Out - Within and Without

25.       Acrylics - Lives and Treasures (Nightwatch)

26.       Radical Dads - Radical Dads (Walking Wires)

27.       Death Cab For Cutie - Codes and Keys

28.       Feist - Metals

29.       The Decemberists - The King Is Dead

30.       Neon Indian - Era Extrana

31.       Justice - Audio, Video, Disco

32.   The Roots - undun

33.   The Cars - Move Like This

Buy these albums and many more best of 2011...now!!! (all for under $5)

The 55 Best Albums of 2011 (34-44)

Just the other night, I informed a rather astute music person that the Book of Mormon was written by Matt & Trey from South Park.  Even after I told them, they still didn't believe me.  It took a web search on a cell phone to confirm my piece of incredulous information.  It wasn't that it was impossible to think that Matt & Trey had the musical chops to write a musical...it was insane to think they had won best play...especially for a play whose signature song is "Fuck You God."  Another piece of this story is how much smaller our worlds became in 2011.  With music libraries popping up available on everyone's phone, we really saw the beginning of the future of how we will listen to music.  Apple had started it with the iphone...but the Android platform doubled the market overnight.  How far away are we from best playlists instead of best albums?  Sooner than we think...

AND....it's time for your lists!  Send me your list of your favorite albums of 2011.  I WANT YOUR TOP TWENTY.  I will compile all your votes into a master list.  Send it via emaill...or just post it in the comment box below.

Here are the Best Albums of 2011 (34-44):

34.       Fucked Up - David Comes To Life

35.       Mastodon - The Hunter

36.       The Cool Kids - When Fish Rides Bicycles

37.       Magnetic Man - Magnetic Man

38.       James Blake - James Blake (Unluck)

39.       sbtrkt - sbtrkt

40.       Cults - Cults

41.       St. Vincent - Strange Mercy

42.       Mr. Dream - Trash Hit

43.   Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto

44.   The Book of Mormon - Soundtrack

Buy these albums and more...now!!!  (all albums under $5 for a limited time)

The 55 Best Albums of 2011 (45-55)

For the week I will count down my favorite albums of 2011.  Like a holiday advent calendar I will only give you a little taste of the good stuff one day at a time.  There's no denying that this year dubstep broke through to the mainstream like a ADD little boy hopped up on food coloring.  For those of us listening to Burial years ago, this was an overwhelming "duh" moment.  But for the rest of the world, it was like a 100-yard dash to the marketing finish line.  Within a matter of weeks of Skrillex's creative video (and it was a great video) every marketing campaign chucked their pop songs hoping they could be the first to latch onto this hip young trend.  There was a dubstep version of the White Stripes in the new Battleship trailer.  Verzion has a little kid tweaking out to dubstep on his cellphone with his grandma.  What's next?...will Tim Tebow pray to a dubstep beat?  I wouldn't doubt it.

Now...I WANT YOUR HELP.  Send me your lists of your favorite albums of 2011.  Top twenty.  I will compile all your votes into one master list.  So send it via email...or just post it in the comment box.  Will post on Dec. 31st the final result.

Here are the 44-55 Best Albums of 2011:

45.       Cage The Elephant - Thank You Happy Birthday

46.       R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now

47.       Shabazz Palaces - Black Up

48.       Skrillex - More Monsters and Sprites EP

49.       Stevie Nicks - In Your Dreams

50.       Drake - Take Care

51.       Duran Duran - All You Need Is Now

52.       David Lowery - The Palace Guards

53.       Rival Sons - Pressure & Time 

54.     Jane's Addiction - The Great Escape Artist (End To the Lies)

55.     Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You

Buy these albums and more...now!!!  (all albums under $5 for a limited time)

Free Music Fridays (The Saturday Edition): The 11 Best Free Albums of the Year

It's that time of the year...the best of the year lists.  As every year...I ask for your help.  Starting next week, I'll reveal my favorites of the year.  But I want your help to make a master 111 Best Album of the year list.

Send me your favorite albums of the year.  Give me your top 20...if you can't think of the 20...then just 10, 5, or 1 is fine...whatever you liked.  I'll compile the list and make a master list just after Christmas.  It's very easy to do...either email me...or just put your list in the comment section below.

Until next week...here's a primer list...

The 11 Best Free Albums of 2011:

1.  The Weeknd - House of Balloons
2.  Wugazi - 13 Chambers
3.  Frank Ocean - Nostalgia
4.  Danny Brown - XXX 
5.  Stroked - A Tribute To The Strokes
6.  Tokyo Police Club - The Polaroid Album
7.  The Weeknd - Thursday
8.  Ondadrops Vol. 4 - One Way Ticket To Nowhere
9.  Gayngs - Remix EP
10.  True Blue - A Tribute to Madonna
11.  Newermind - A Tribute to Nirvana

The 111 Best Songs By the Cure

Since I did this about a year and a half ago...I figured I would just re-post instead of re-thinking something new.  I have been listening to the Cure's Bestival album.  It's their new live album with an insanely good track list   Musically it sounds solid and Smith's voice sound stellar...although I'm sure it's just pro-tools track at this point (I'm trying not to think about it too much).  But the most alarming thing about the album isn't the possible lip syncing...but the butchering of one of their most famous tracks.  Killing An Arab has been changed.  It's now called Killing Another.  And it's not just the title...Smith actually sings alternate lyrics!  This is PC gone too far.  First of all, this isn't a racial slur...it's a a reference to a philosophical novel by Albert Camus.  It's recalling the events that occurred in the book.  You can't change the lyrics because the events in the book are still the same.  If he sings about something else...then the song is referring to some other metaphysical book altogether.  Killing another?  What the hell does that mean?  That has no impact.  I know in the political climate that the song could have other implications...but it doesn't.  It has nothing to do with racism toward Arabs.  It's a literal analogy.  Literature is supposed to be challenging.  It's supposed to question pre-disposed views.  You can't question anything if your remove the question mark.  I'm disappointed in the Cure for this one.  I know you're trying to be politically correct...but you're better off not singing the song than altering it into some vanilla version.  Hey...31 out of 32 songs ain't bad.

Here are the 111 Best Cure Songs:

1. Lovesong (Disintegration)
2. Disintegration (Disintegration)
3. Just Like Heaven (Kiss Me)
4. A Night Like This (Head on the Door)
5. A Forest (Seventeen Seconds)
6. Pictures of You (Disintegration)
7. Primary (Faith)
8. Like Cockatoos (Kiss Me)
9. Homesick (Disintegration)
10. 10:15 Saturday Night (Three Imaginery Boys)
11. Kyoto Song (Head on the Door)
12. How Beautiful You Are (Kiss Me)
13. The Figurehead (Pornography)
14. In Your House (Seventeen Seconds)
15. Cut (Wish)
16. Last Dance (Disintegration)
17. Push (Head on the Door)
18. Same Deep Water As You (Disintegration) 
19. Jumping Someone Else's Train (Boys Don't Cry)
20. Prayers For Rain (Disintegration)
21. Trust (Wish)
22. Harold and Joe (Never Enough B-Side)
23. Charlotte Sometimes (Single)
24. From The Edge Of A Deep Green Sea (Wish)
25. Close To Me (Head on the Door)
26. A Strange Day (Pornography)
27. A Short Term Effect (Pornography)
28. Play For Today (Seventeen Seconds)
29. Plainsong (Disintegration)
30. Watching Me Fall (Bloodflowers)
31. A Chain of Flowers (Kiss Me B-Side)
32. Closedown (Disintegration)
33. The Walk (Japanese Whispers)
34. Let's Go To Bed (Japanese Whispers)
35. All I Want (Kiss Me)
36. Apart (Wish)
37. Siamese Twins (Pornography)
38. Fascination Street (Disintegration)
39. Babble (Disintegration B-Side)
40. All Cats Are Grey (Faith)
41. If Only Tonight We Could Sleep (Kiss Me)
42. Object (Three Imaginery Boys)
43. Plastic Passion (Boys Don't Cry)
44. Bloodflowers (Bloodflowers)
45. Scared As You (Wish B-side)
46. One Hundred Years (Pornography)
47. Doing the Unstuck (Wish)
48. Numb (Wild Mood Swings)
49. Killing An Arab (Boys Don't Cry) 
50. 39 (Bloodflowers)
51. Anniversary (The Cure)
52. Lullaby (Disintegration)
53. In Between Dreams (Head on the Door)
54. The Hanging Garden (Pornography)
55. A Japanese Dream (Kiss Me B-Side)
56. I'm Cold (Three Imaginery Boys B-Side)
57. Faded Smiles (Three Imaginery Boys Reissue)
58. Open (Wish)
59. Want (Wild Mood Swings)
60. Underneath The Stars (4:13 Dream)
61. Cold (Pornography)
62. The Baby Screams (Head on the Door)
63. Fear of Ghosts (Disintegration B-Side)
64. A Foolish Arrangement (Wish B-Side)
65. All Kinds of Stuff (Digital Single)
66. Doubt (Faith)
67. Fire in Cairo (Three Imaginery Boys)
68. Untitled (Disintegration)
69. It's Not You (Three Imaginery Boys)
70. The Empty World (The Top)
71. End (Wish)
72. Treasure (Wild Mood Swings)
73. Torture (Kiss Me)
74. Three Imaginary Boys (Three Imaginery Boys)
75. It Used To Be Me (Wild Mood Swings B-Side)
76. Play (Wish B-Side)
77. Snow In the Summer (Kiss Me B-Side)
78. Icing Sugar (Kiss Me)
79. Temptation Two (Pornography reissue)
80. Birdmad Girl (The Top)
81. Twilight Garden (Wish B-Side)
82. This Morning (The Cure B-Side)
83. Just One Kiss (Let's Go To Be B-Side)
84. Shiver And Shake (Kiss Me)
85. One More Time (Kiss Me)
86. Out of Mind (Disintegration B-Side)
87. The Exploding Boy (Head on the Door B-Side)
88. Shake Dog Shake (The Top)
89. Play With Me (Three Imaginery Boys Reissue)
90. Burn (The Crow)
91. The Promise (The Cure)
92. The Upstairs Room (The Walk B-Side)
93. Man Inside My Mouth (Head on the Door B-Side)
94. 2 Late (Disintegration B-Side)
95. The Big Hand (Wish B-Side)
96. Fight (Kiss Me)
97. Ocean (Wild Mood Swings B-Side)
98. Maybe Someday  (Bloodflowers)
99. Switch (4:13 Dream)
100. Taking Off (The Cure)
101. The Catepillar (The Top)
102. It's Over (4:13 Dream)
103. Last Day of Summer (Bloodflowers)
104. Why Can't I Be You? (Kiss Me)
105. M (Seventeen Seconds)
106. Your God Is Fear (The Cure - B-side)
107. Labyrinth (The Cure)
108. Six Different Ways (Head on the Door)
109. Freakshow (4:13 Dream)
110. Us or Them (The Cure)
111. Carnage Visors (The Soundtrack)

Buy the Cure's new live album, Bestival now!!

The 11 Best Song By The Roots of the 90s

Recently, the Roots got in trouble for playing Fishbone's "Lying Ass Bitch" as the entrance song for Michelle Bachman when she appeared on the Jimmy Fallon show.  Was is it a dick move?  Sure.  Did she deserve it?  Probably not.  Was it kinda funny?  Fortunately so.

Politicians have no sense of humor.  Musicians have no sense of politics.  Musicians are successful at what they do because they say what they feel without fear of repercussions or that they're polling numbers will dip.  They say whatever is on their minds no matter who it will offend or hurt.  They have outspoken opinions and utilize their vocal prowess to announce them to the world.  This is one of the reasons we fall in love with the music.  There's something honest about musicians and songs that connects to us on a personal level.  Politicians have no sense of truth.  They run a campaign to get elected...they don't run on their identity.  They tell you what they think we want to hear.  Instead, they don't realize that we'd rather just hear who they are and not the fabricated person they present.  This is why 20 years down the road, the Roots can make a political statement as much and still remain relevant while Bachman will wilt into obscurity.


Here are the 11 Best Songs By The Roots of the 90s:

1.  What You Want (The Roots Come Alive)
2.  I Remain Calm (Do You Want More)
3.  The Next Movement (Things Fall Apart)
4.  You Got Me (Things Fall Apart)
5.  Mellow My Man (Do You Want More)
6.  Adrenaline (Things Fall Apart)
7.  The Session (Organix)
8.  What They Do (Illadelph Halflife)
9.  Respond/React (Illadelph Halflife)
10.  Do You Want More?!!!??! (Do You Want More)
11.  Dynamite! (Things Fall Apart)

Buy the Roots new album, undun...now!!! (only $3.99 for a limited time)

The Unknown: The Black Keys - Surrender & Grab

I have to discuss my epic trip to the mini-Record Store Day last weekend because I wanted to wait to talk about it for a band that had a stronger association with the day and the people.  Nothing against the Smashing Pumpkins...but the Black Keys are one of the few current bands who are still bonding with the record buying audience.

Black Friday was awesome.  I honestly think there were more people at the store than there were for Record Store Day in April.  I was 90 minutes early and was about 15th in line.  I had my sights on 6 records:  the Ryan Adams 7-inch, the Wilco EP, Tom Petty - Kiss My Amps, Pinback 7-inch,  Iron & Wine - Morning Becomes Eclectic, The Byrds - 7-inch.  When I got there, I discovered that the Ryan Adams didn't get delivered...so I needed a replacement because.  Just because.  So I settled on the Janis Joplin 7-inch box set.  Also because I was caught up in the moment of the day...and was just happy to be buying music again.  Now, twice a year, Record Store Day brings the necessary importance to buying music.  It's brought back the fun.  Part of buying music came with the experience of going to a music store and searching the bins, while talking to other music fans.  It was a community feel that can't be replicated online.  The strongest online music communities online are ones who trade music for free.

I wish the music industry would concentrate more on the reasons why people want to buy music.  People who are coming out in droves to buy music are your target audience.  Why?...because they're actually giving you money!  Teenagers are the ones figuring out how to get around paying for the music.  They're also the ones who don't care as much about the sound or the quality of the artist.  They only like what is popular.  Though it's not their fault for being young and stupid and influenced by their peers, but why plant the musical seeds of mediocrity.  The fans buying records are people who grew up on some of the best music ever made.  That's why they keep coming back!  They like the best stuff.  When you serve vanilla music...people will never be satisfied and will always be looking for what's next instead of embracing the product.

The Black Keys get it.  Thankfully there are still great bands out there who give a shit.

Here is the Black Keys - Surrender & Grab:

1.  Chop and Change
2.  Ohio
3.  The Wicked Messenger
4.  Evil 
5.  Dearest
6.  Something On Your Mind
7.  Flash of Silver
8.  Here I Am
9.  Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles
10.  Summertime Blues
11.  Can't Find My Mind

Buy the new Black Keys album, El Camino...now!!!  It's great...btw...

The Unknown: Smashing Pumpkins - Adore Sessions

Adore came out when I was in college.  No other album in my collegiate career or for that foreseeable future caused more arguments than this album.  With Mellon Collie, the Pumpkins were the unstoppable force who had taken over rock music.  After they kicked out the best working drummer of the day, they turned their sound on its head and did the unthinkable...they rejected rock music and put out an electronic album.  Whether you were a Pumpkin fanatic or a Corgan hater (and there are plenty) no one knew why they chose to do this.  This was a big mystery.  And no matter how many discussions we had about the band, the question of why this choice was made was always left unresolved.  Some people thought Billy did it because he didn't want to become the next Cobain and blow his brains out...therefore he wanted to fail.  Others thought he did because he thought he was the next Cobain and could do anything he wanted and still succeed.  Corgan had also just lost his mother and one theory suggested he wanted to re-invent who he was.  Another theory had to do with ex-drummer Jimmy Chamberlain.  That theory suggested that Billy Corgan was so arrogant that he purposely made an electronic album just to show Jimmy how little they needed him.  Because of this, a rumor floated around that there was a version of Adore that existed with drums instead of a drum machine.  Though that album never actually surfaced (I guess we'll have to wait for the reissue for that), there is a demo session that exists that does have some of the Adore songs featuring drums...along with a couple cuts that didn't make the album.  It's not exactly the Holy Grail we were looking for in college but it's still a very solid listen.

Here are is the Smashing Pumpkins - Adore Sessions:

1. For Martha (instrumental)
2. Chewing Gum
3. The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete
4. Annie-Dog
5. Once in Awhile
6. Do You Close Your Eyes
7. My Mistake
8. Blissed and Gone
9. The End Is The Beginning Is the End
10. The Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning

Buy the Smashing Pumpkins reissues for Gish and Siamese Dream...now!!!

The 11 Best Smashing Pumpkins B-Sides

Here's a little Smashing Pumpkins story for you.  It's not enough that we're celebrating the 20th anniversary of these two albums when their releases really only seem like they happened yesterday.  But I was trying to explain to a co-worker who the Smashing Pumpkins were.  I named songs...which didn't help.  I even tried to hum a few of the bars but I'm a terrible singer and probably did more harm than good.  I tried to explain how popular they were in the 90s...from the epic double album to their electronic experimentation to the being first band to really use the internet to give an album away for free.  I finished giving the person one last point...they even headlined Lollapolooza.  The co-worker looked at me with a blank stare and said..."What's Lollapolooza?"  When do I sign up for social security?

Here are the 11 Best Smashing Pumpkins:

1.  Drown (Singles Soundtrack)

2.  Aeroplane Flies High (Thirty-Three)

3.  Said Sadly (Bullet With Butterfly Wings)

4.  Slunk (Peel Sessions)

5.  You're All I've Got Tonight (Aeroplane Flies High)

6.  Apathy's Last Kiss (Today)

7.  Marquis In Spades (Zero)

8.  A Night Like This (Aeroplane Flies High)

9.  Once In Awhile (Ava Adore)

10.  Dreaming (Aeroplane Flies High)

11.  The End Is The Beginning Is The End (Batman & Robin)

Buy the new Smashing Pumpkins reissues Gish & Siamese Dream...now!

The 11 Best Songs By Smashing Pumpkins (Post-Break-Up)

The post break-up years of the Pumpkins might as well be considered the dark years.  Billy has had to endure years of criticism for everything he put out.  Zeitgeist was criticized for sounding too much like the original Pumpkins (true story).  Teargarden was criticized for being given away for free.  I remember reading one review where the writer said that "A Song For A Son" was an excellent song but he hated it because it was made by Billy Corgan.  Billy just couldn't win.  But when you listen to the material with a unbias view...it's surprising how consitant the sound is to the 90s Pumpkins.  They may be the only band of their peers who has maintained such a solid hold on their rock roots.  Listening to the new reissues back-to-back with stuff like Zeitgeist and Teargarden...there's a definite kinship to the material...it's not like Pearl Jam or Stone Temple Pilots who have abandoned the sound that made them who they are.  Along those lines, the best thing about the reissues...the reason why we're here....is that they haven't done the same thing as the other recent reissues.  Billy has fought the loudness war.  He didn't make all the music levels blasted up.  The highs are still high and the lows are still low.  As criticized as he is for being musical pariah...he sure knows what the hell he is doing.

Here are the 11 Best Songs by Smashing Pumpkins (Post Break-Up):

1.  A Song For A Son (Teargarden By Kaleidyscope: Songs For A Sailor)

2.  Tarantula (Zeitgeist)

3.  Doomsday Clock (Zeitgeist)

4.  Freak (Teargarden By Kaleidyscope: The Solstice Bare)

5.  The Fellowship (Teargarden By Kaleidyscope: The Solstice Bare)

6.  FOL (FOL Single)

7.  That's The Way (Zeitgeist)

8.  Lightning Strikes (Teargarden By Kaleidyscope: Vol. 3)

9.  7 Shades of Black (Zeitgeist)

10.  G.L.O.W. (Guitar Hero Single)

11.  Pox (American Gothic)

Buy the Smashing Pumpkins new reissues Gish & Siamese Dream...now!!

The 11 Best Songs By The Smashing Pumpkins (Pre-Break-up)

Back in the 90s, Smashing Pumpkins were it.  Nirvana had faded since Nevermind and wouldn't perk up again until Kurt died.  Pearl Jam was big until No Code...then slipped away quickly.  But the Pumpkins kept going strong.  Through Mellon Collie in the late 90s, they were the biggest rock band out there.  Even when nu-metal rap-rock took over...the Pumpkins stayed relevant.  In hindsight, the Pumpkins have been kicked down in importance behind Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, and even Stone Temple Pilots...but during the 90s they were hands down the heavyweight champs.  Over the past couple of years, all the 90s bands have been re-releasing their epic albums with new mastering and bonus tracks.  Nevermind was mediocre with a bunch of song all freely available on the internet and in better quality...and apparently the remastering is blown out.  The new version of Ten was so cheesy, I didn't even bother to listen to the remastering of Vs. and Vitalogy.  But...the bonuses were decent...albeit only a handful of songs were released.  Both re-issues were a bit of a let down.  But the Pumpkins re-issues for some reason seem the most exciting.  Both come with a full DVD concert (winning!) and a full CD of bonus tracks...some have been leaked on the internet...but a lot still are still surprisingly unheard of.  It's like the Pumpkins took a lot of care in making a package that people would want...and not just one that they could sell.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By Smashing Pumpkins (Pre-Break-Up):

1. Siva (Gish)
2. Disarm (Siamese Dream)
3. Bullet With Butterfly Wings (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)
4. I Am One (Gish)
5. Soma (Siamese Dream)
6. Galapagos (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)
7. Starla (Pisces Iscariot)
8. Stand Inside Your Love (MACHINA)
9. Rhinoceros (Gish)
10. Tonight, Tonight (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)
11. Thru The Eyes of Ruby (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)

Buy the new Smashing Pumpkins Deluxe Re-Masters now!!  Gish & Siamese Dream

The 11 Best Chris Cornell Solo Songs

It's the last few minutes of Thanksgiving.  I hope you're all full of turkey and are ready to hit the mall.

Stay tuned for my Black Friday experience.

Here are the 11 Best Solo Songs By Chris Cornell:

1.  You Know My Name (Carry On)
2.  Sunshower (Great Expectations)
3.  Can't Change Me (Euphoria Morning)
4.  Seasons (Singles)
5.  Billie Jean (Carry On)
6.  Killing Birds (Carry On)
7.  Flutter Girl (Euphoria Morning)
8.  Never Far Away - Rock Version (Scream)
9.  Moonchild (Euphoria Morning)
10.  No Such Thing (Carry On)
11.  Enemy (Scream)

Buy Chris Cornell's Songbook...now!!

The 11 Best Black Friday Record Store Releases

Every April...us old dudes who still own record players crowd around record stores to pay a lot of money for limited edition colored vinyls with one extra track.  But Christmas has come early this year.  The wonderful folks at RSD have a new day for us...like a teaser trailer for spring's epic event.  Black Friday features a much smaller amount of releases but some exclusive and exciting ones none-the less.  Here's some of the most interesting releases...and click here for the the full list.


Here are 11 of the Best Releases for Black Friday:

1. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Kiss My Amps Live (No one has made a bigger effort to support vinyl than Tom Petty...so this live EP with songs from the Mojo tour promises to sound amazing.)
2. Wilco - Speak Into The Rose (a 4-song EP with two unreleased tracks from the Whole Love Sessions)
3. Janis Joplin - Move Over 7-inch box set (4 7-inch singles with unreleased tracks and versions)
4. Iron & Wine - Morning Becomes Eclectic (An collection of live tracks recorded for the show)
5. The Kings of Leon - The Early Vinyl (The first three albums on vinyl with a 4th album of unreleased material)
6. The Byrds - Eight Miles High & The Times They Are A-Changing (Two singles that were never released)
7. Ryan Adams - Do I Wait/Darkness (two songs from the Ashes & Fire sessions)
8. Silversun Pickups - Seasick (Unreleased Tracks from the Swoon Sessions)
9. The Civil Wars - Tracks in the Snow (Two new holiday tracks and two live tracks unavailable anywhere else)
10. Craig Finn - Honolulu Blues (The first single with solo material from the Hold Steady frontman)
11. Sea Wolf - Song of the Magpie (Two unreleased tracks produced by Mike Mogis)

Check out Black Friday here.

The 11 Best Moby Remixes of the Past Decade

Why does everyone think that Tim Tebow is such a douche?

What has the guy done really except be an uber outspoken Christian?  Sure you could fault him for being outspoken.  Or a Christian...but is anything that he's saying really that awful...or just annoying?  The guy goes to foreign countries and builds houses for poor people.  How does that make him a douche?  He plays his own style of football...wins games...yet we hate him.  Why? I have no idea...but the guy really is just a douche.  I think some people are just douches.  No matter what they do...they are just annoying.  Tebow will never escape being a douche...and I can say that cause I have to root for him every weekend as a Bronco fan.  So far...that's been pretty damn fun.

The 11 Best Moby Remixes of the Past Decade:

1.  Wait For Me (Laidback Luke Remix)
2.  Mistake (Funkagenda Remix)
3.  Walk With Me (Carl Cox Remix)
4.  Disco Lies (Freemasons Club Mix)
5.  Lift Me Up (Superdiscount Mix)
6.  One Time We Lived (Kap Bambino Remix)
7.  Ooh Yeah (Kris Menace Remix)
8.  Beautiful (Fuck Me I'm Famous Mix)
9.  Mistake (Yuksek Remix)
10.  I Love To Move In Here (Holy Ghost! Remix)
11.  Slipping Away (Focus People That Slip Remix)



Buy Moby's new deluxe edition of Destroyed...now!  Basically it's a whole new album!  Worth it.

The Unknown: Tegan & Sara - The Pro

There's some sort of adverse reaction I have to live albums. Maybe it's years of buying them and expecting great things...only to listen to them one time and cringe at the thought of ever listening to them again.  The only live albums that I have ever really found have repeat listening potential are acoustic albums.  Mainly, this is because the songs sound much different than their original produced counterparts.  That's why when I first heard about the new Tegan and Sara album my instant reaction was one of disappointment.  Then, when I learned that it was an acoustic performance, my interest was re-peaked.  Granted most of Tegan & Sara's songs are already riding the line between acoustic and produced, this definitely lured me in.  The new album is listenable to say the least.  I'm not as blown away as I hoped...but I am looking forward to giving it multiple spins.  Maybe it's because their identical twin sister lesbians...and in the back of my head, I think that if I listen to the album...maybe I have a chance.

Here is the Tegan & Sara - The Pro:

1.  Come On Kids
2.  Love Type Thing
3.  Man With Two Brains
4.  In Your Room
5.  Give Chase
6.  Sweetness Follows
7.  One Second
8.  I Take All the Blame
9.  Sheets
10.  Light Up
11.  Wrists
12.  It Was Midnight
13.  Suffer

Buy Tegan and Sara's new live album, Get Along, now!!!

The 11 Best Songs By Sigur Ros

I don't know what it is about Sigur Ros songs but they are always disappearing off my computer.  It's the strangest thing.  I've bought all the CDs, so I'm merely burning them into my computer.  But for some reason, every couple months when I check in to give them a listen...the complete song files are just missing from the computer.  The actual folder is missing as if it has been deleted.  This has happened with a couple of other artists but never as much as it has happened with Sigur Ros...at least a half dozen times.  The only thing I can guess is that it's happening because they're from Iceland.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By Sigur Ros:

1.      Hoppipolla (Takk...)

2.      Inni Mer Syngur Vitleysingur (Med Sud I Eyrum Spilum Ednalaust)

3.      Saeglopur (Takk...)

4.      Vid Spilum Endalaust (Med Sud I Eyrum Spilum Ednalaust)

5.      Svefn-G-Englar (Agaetis Byrjun)

6.      NjoSnaveLinin - Track 4 ( () )

7.      Agaestis Byrjun (Agaetis Byrjun)

8.      Gobbledigook (Med Sud I Eyrum Spilum Ednalaust)

9.      Ny Batteri (Agaetis Byrjun)

10.  Vaka - Track 1 ( () )

11.  Hljomalind (Hvaf - Heim)

Buy Sigur Ros' new live album, Inni...now!!!

The 11 Best Remixes By Justice

There's really only one news story that taken over this week and that's the horrid appall of the Penn State football program.  It's a story so vile that it wouldn't even be believable in a horror film.  But real life is always stranger than fiction.  It's a story so disgusting you want to blame anyone and everyone involved in the situation.  And I believe that's what happening. What bothers me most is the person who seemed to have the least part of the whole situation getting the worst of the media scorn and that's Joe Paterno.  I think the reason that he's getting the worst of it is because he is the most public figure in all of this.  And they're punishing him with the clear-sighted hindsight vision..  Obviously looking at the situation now, Paterno should have done more...but it's not like he didn't do anything.  Yet, he's received the most media attention...some for praises and others for damnation.  I'm not here to defend him or hang him...kind of the opposite.  I merely want to point out...that in this whole scandal...we need to focus on there real monster.  Sandusky, the coach who committed these vile crimes, should be the person hung out for public scorn.  If you read the list of charges against this horrible scum bag it will make your stomach churn.  We be should be  publicly hanging this demon.  We should be telling the world...this is what a monster looks like.  He should be the focal point of all the news casts...Paterno should be a footnote.  And if it's shown that he knew more than he's letting on than he should be punished.  But let's keep the real venom aimed at the one who is behind these heinous crimes.  Let justice be served.

Here are the 11 Best Remixes By Justice:

1.  Electric Feel - MGMT (Justice Remix)
2.  NY Excuse - Soulwax (Justice Remix)
3.  Get Your Boots On - U2 (Justice Remix)
4.  Human After All - Daft Punk (Justice Remix)
5.  She Wants To Move - N.E.R.D. (Justice Remix)
6.  The Fallen - Franz Ferdinand (Ruined By Justice)
7.  Let Love Rule - Lenny Kravitz (Justice Remix)
8.  Nazis - Mr. Oizo (Justice Remix)
9.  Love Stoned/I Think She Knows - Justin Timberlake (Justice Remix)
10.  As Above So Below - The Klaxons (Justice Remix)
11.  Blood on Our Hands - Death From Above 1979 (Justice Remix)

Buy Justice's new album, Audio, Video, Disco, now!!! (Only $4 for a limited time!!)

The 11 Best Songs By Mutemath

I'm continuing on with my catch-up week with the very underrated Mutemath...

This has been a busy week with sex scandals.  Between Herman Cain's sexual comments, to Bieber's sexual exploits, to the sheer ugliness of Penn State.  I mean how lucky are both Cain and Bieber to have their sex scandals break at the same time as Penn State.  You hear what Cain and Justin did and your instant reaction is that they are total pigs...then you hear about the coach at Penn State in the same breath and you can't even react.  The thought of a monster of that magnitude makes everything else seem so petty.  Will Cain be our next President?  Will Justin still be a teen heart throb as a daddy?  Will anyone ever want to go to Penn State ever again?  What I think is the most noteworthy aspect of this whole situation isn't the disgraceful actions as much as that they keep happening.  This isn't the first Presidential sex scandal (Clinton), a teen star getting pregnant (Jamie Lynn Spears), or a coach molesting boys (the list is too long).  Most sadly, none of these will not be the last.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By Mutemath:

1.  Chaos (Mutemath)
2.  Goodbye (Armistice)
3.  No Response (Armistice)
4.  Control (Mutemath)
5.  Break The Same (Mutemath)
6.  Stall Out (Mutemath)
7.  Burden (Armistice)
8.  You Are Mine (Mutemath)
9.  Spotlight (Armistice)
10.  Typical (Mutemath)
11.  The Nerve (Armistice)

Buy the new Mutemath, Odd Soul, now!!

The Unknown: Middle Brother - Live at the Paradise

With a slower music week, I decided to go back and hit a couple of releases from the past few weeks I may have missed.  First up is Deer Tick's new album out about two weeks ago.  When Middle Brother's new album came out a few weeks ago, I did a list for Deer Tick.  Now with a new Deer Tick album I figured it's only fair to do a Middle Brother post.  With only one album...can't do a best of...so I hope this concert is a decent substitute.

I am always intrigued by how bands with one album decide what songs to play in concert.  Why not just play their album from beginning to end?  What's the point of mixing it up in a different order?  Shouldn't the tracklist of songs on the album be the best order for the songs?  If not, then why put out the album with the songs in that order?  It's like watching a movie out of sequence on DVD versus the way it was shown in the theaters.  That would just be weird...yet with music that's normal.

Here is Middle Brother - Live at the Paradise March 3, 2011:

1.  Blue Eyes 
2.  Mom and Dad
3.  Thanks For Nothing
4.  Someday
5.  Daydreaming
6.  Blood and Guts
7.  Theater
8.  Me Me Me 
9.  Wilderness 
10.  Million Dollar Bill 
11.  Middle Brother
12.  Portland
13.  Twist and Shout

Buy Deer Tick's new album, Divine Providence, now!!

The 11 Best Songs By Florence + the Machine

For an artist who only has one official album, Florence has been a busy artist over the past couple of years.  She has four special deluxe versions of her album, each with 4 to 12 bonus tracks.  She has three full length live concert albums, plus two concert DVDs and a remix album.  She has two live EPs and one regular EP.  Plus, she has a song on a Twilight soundtrack.  That's a more impressive resume than most bands make in an entire 20-year career.  I usually never do lists for bands with one album...but Florence is one of those rare artists who can't even be contained by restraints of an album.  I wonder how long she'll be able to keep up this pace, is she purposely trying to be the female version of Ryan Adams?  So far her material has been solid so at this rate, anything she does put out regardless of the wait...will be worth seeking out for a listen.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By Florence + The Machine:

1.  Rabbit Heart (Lungs)
2.  Howl (Lungs)
3.  Blinding (Lungs)
4.  You've Got The Love (Lungs)
5.  Strangeness and Charm (Live at the Wiltern)
6.  Drumming Song (Lungs)
7.  Addicted To Love (You've Got The Love Single)
8.  Bird Song (Lungs: Deluxe Edition)
9.  Heavy in Your Arms (Twilight: Eclipse)
10.  Flakes (Remixes, Covers and Rarities)
11.  Halo (Radio 1's Live Lounge Volume 4)

Buy Florence + The Machine's new album Ceremonials...now!! (only $4.99 for a limited time)

The 111 Best Hair Metal Songs of All Time

Knowing this genre wasn't the most difficult part of making this list.  I know this music better than I know the names of the members of my family.  The difficult journey in making this list was figuring out what bands belonged.  There are some giants of the metal field that have been obviously excluded.  Metallica is too metal.  AC/DC was too hard rock.  Iron Maiden and Judas Priest didn't belong.  Queensryche is really a prog band with more in common with Pink Floyd than Pretty Boy Floyd. Van Halen and Kiss were a tough call.  Both bands laid the foundation for the glam/hair metal to come...and even flirted with very cheesy makeovers...but neither fully committed, which really left the two of them squarely rooted in 70s rock.  On the flip side, the Scorpions and Whitesnake both started in 70s rock but completely embraced the hair metal movement, committed to a full make over.

The 90s wrecked havoc on the hair metal scene...but there's been a small comeback.  Sure you could argue to include the Darkness but then maybe Queen should be considered, too. But the comeback is really all because of the heroics of Steel Panther...with their full-on tongue-in-cheek Spinal Tap homage they are single-handedly trying to resurrect the genre.  They've been a badass cover band for years...and are finally making their own music that is as good if not better than the music they're used to mimicking.


Here are the 111 Best Hair Metal Songs of All Time:

1. Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N Roses (Appetite For Destruction)
2. Livin On a Prayer - Bon Jovi (Slippery When Wet)
3. Paradise City - Guns N Roses (Appetite For Destruction)
4. Here I Go Again - Whitesnake (Whitesnake)
5. On With The Show - Motley Crue (Too Fast For Love)
6. Photograph - Def Leppard (Pyromania)
7. Rocket Queen - Guns N Roses (Appetite For Destruction)
8. No One Like You - Scorpions (Blackout)
9. Kiss Me Deadly - Lita Ford (Lita)
10. Is This Love? - Whitesnake (Whitesnake)
11. Mr. Brownstone - Guns N Roses (Appetite For Destruction)
12. Rock Me - Great White (Once Bitten)
13. Too Young To Fall In Love - Motley Crue (Shout At The Devil)
14. Armageddon It - Def Leppard (Hysteria)
15. Welcome to the Jungle - Guns N Roses (Appetite For Destruction)
16. Still Loving You - Scorpions (Love At First Sting)
17. Runaway - Bon Jovi (Bon Jovi)
18. Patience - Guns N Roses (Lies)
19. Live Wire - Motley Crue (Too Fast For Love)
20. Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leppard (Hysteria)
21. Rock You Like A Hurricane - Scorpions (Love At First Sting)
22. Cum On Feel The Noize - Quiet Riot (Metal Health)
23. Love Bites - Def Leppard (Hysteria)
24. Estranged - Guns N Roses (Use Your Illusion II)
25. Civil War - Guns N Roses (Use Your Illusion II)
26. Born To Be My Baby - Bon Jovi (New Jersey)
27. Gypsy Road - Cinderella (Long Cold Winter)
28. I Remember You - Skid Row (Skid Row)
29. Love Song - Tesla (The Great Radio Controversy)
30. Talk Dirty To Me - Poison (Look What The Cat Dragged In)
31. Round and Round - Ratt (Out of the Cellar)
32. Nobody's Fool - Cinderella (Night Songs)
33. In My Dreams - Dokken (Under Lock And Key)
34. You Give Love a Bad Name - Bon Jovi (Slippery When Wet)
35. You Could Be Mine - Guns N Roses (Use Your Illusion II)
36. Scared - Dangerous Toys (Dangerous Toys)
37. Fallen Angel  - Poison (Open Up and Say...Ahh!)
38. Uncle Tom's Cabin - Warrant (Cherry Pie)
39. House of Pain - Faster Pussycat (Wake Me When It's Over)
40. Someone Like You - Bang Tango (Psycho Cafe)
41. Give Me All Your Love - Whitesnake (Whitesnake)
42. Somebody Save Me - Cinderella (Night Songs)
43. Edge of A Broken Heart - Vixen (Vixen)
44. Alone Again - Dokken (Tooth and Nail)
45. Blaze of Glory - Jon Bon Jovi (Young Guns Soundtrack)
46. Wait - White Lion (Pride)
47. Kickstart My Heart - Motley Crue (Dr. Feelgood)
48. Lay your Hands On Me - Bon Jovi (New Jersey)
49. Shake Me - Cinderella (Night Songs)
50. Mirror Mirror - Don Dokken (Up From The Ashes)
51. Heaven - Warrant (Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich)
52. Never Enough - LA Guns (Cocked and Loaded)
53. Little Fighter - White Lion (Big Game)
54. Only Lonely - Bon Jovi (7800 Fahrenheit)
55. Don't Know What You Got - Cinderella (Long Cold Winter)
56. Nightrain - Guns N Roses (Appetite For Destruction)
57. Animal - Def Leppard (Hysteria)
58. Makin Magic - Tesla (The Great Radio Controversy)
59. Ride the Wind - Poison (Flesh & Blood)
60. Slave To The Grind - Skid Row (Slave to the Grind)
61. Breaking the Chains - Dokken (Breaking The Chains)
62. Shame Shame Shame - Ratt (Detonator)
63. Wicked Sensation - Lynch Mob (Wicked Sensation)
64. 18 and Life - Skid Row (Skid Row)
65. Love Ain't No Stranger - Whitesnake (Slide It In)
66. The Ballad of Jayne - LA Guns (Cocked And Loaded)
67. Babylon - Faster Pussycat (Faster Pussycat)
68. Crying in the Rain - Whitesnake (Whitesnake)
69. Too Fast For Love - Motley Crue (Too Fast For Love)
70. Lust of Love - Scorpions (Crazy World)
71. Mr. Rainmaker - Warrant (Cherry Pie)
72. Don't Cry - Guns N Roses (Use Your Illusion I)
73. Bringing On the Heartbreak - Def Leppard (High N Dry)
74. Youth Gone Wild - Skid Row (Skid Row)
75. Better - Guns N Roses (Chinese Democracy)
76. It Don't Matter - Def Leppard (On Through the Night)
77. Paradise - Tesla (The Great Radio Controversy)
78. Come Back - Bon Jovi (Bon Jovi)
79. Dream Warriors - Dokken (Back For The Attack)
80. Modern Day Cowboy - Tesla (Mechanical Resonance)
81. I'd Die For You - Bon Jovi (Slippery When Wet)
82. Signs - Tesla (Five Man Acoustical Jam)
83. A Little Too Much - Ratt (Infestation)
84. High Enough - Damn Yankees (Damn Yankees)
85. Tell Me - White Lion (Pride)
86. Dr. Feelgood - Motley Crue (Dr. Feelgood)
87. Blackout in the Red Room - Love/Hate (Blackout in the Red Room)
88. Coming Home - Cinderella (Long Cold Winter)
89. Satellite - Def Leppard (On Through the Night)
90. Magdalaine - LA Guns (Cocked and Loaded)
91. River of Love - Lynch Mob (Wicked Sensation)
92. Bathroom Wall - Faster Pussycat (Faster Pussycat)
93. The Deeper the Love - Whitesnake (Slip of the Tongue)
94. Looks that Kill - Motley Crue (Shout At The Devil)
95. The Zoo - Scorpions (Animal Magnetism)
96. Standing on the Outside - Dokken (Lightning Strikes Again)
97. Miles Away - Winger (In the Heart of the Young)
98. Spend My Life - Slaughter (Stick It To Ya)
99. Rock Queen - Love/Hate (Blackout in the Red Room)
100. Smoking in the Boys Room - Motley Crue (Theatre of Pain)
101. Holiday - Scorpions (Lovedrive)
102. The Final Countdown - Europe (The Final Countdown)
103. We're Not Gonna Take It - Twisted Sister (Stay Hungry)
104. Under the Gun - Danger Danger (Danger Danger)
105. When the Walls Come Tumbling Down - Def Leppard (On Through the Night)
106. Home Sweet Home - Motley Crue (Theatre of Pain)
107. November Rain - Guns N Roses (Use Your Illusion I)
108. Yesterdaze Gone - Tesla (The Great Radio Controversy)
109. Wanted Dead Or Alive - Bon Jovi (Slippery When Wet)
110. Still of the Night - Whitesnake (Whitesnake)
111. Turn Up the Radio - Autograph (Sign In Please)

Buy Steel Panther's new album, Balls Out...now!!