All Time Favorite Songs, 20-11
Songs 20-11 of my 20 favorite songs of all-time below the jump. I changed my mind; part two will come out next Friday. 20 “Born to Run” – Bruce Springsteen, 1975. I have this theory, still in its infancy mind you, that all American rock groups must follow one of two models: Van Halen or Bruce Springsteen. They need to…
Favorite Songs Of 2007
This is hard work. How do I filter all the music I listened to this year, and I listened to a ton of music, into 20 songs to represent the entire 12 months? In the end, that’s exactly how I managed it: what songs most represented the past year to me? What songs will I always immediately think of in…
Fives: One Hit Wonders
As if you needed proof I’m a bit off, one of my favorite things is to check out </span><span style=”font-family:Helvetica Neue;”><em>The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits</em></span><span style=”font-family:Helvetica Neue;”> from the library and then just flip through the pages, soaking up the trivia. I recently checked it out again and figured I would put it to some kind of use.…
Top Five Albums: OK Computer
I must admit, this is a terrifically difficult album for me to write about. First, a ton has already been written about it, and I always fear that I’m simply regurgitating things I’ve read elsewhere. Second, I find myself attempting to “solve” the album each time I listen to it. It’s a bit like The Wall, in that sense. As…
Top Five Albums: It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
“You’re quite hostile.” “I got a right to be hostile, man, my people been persecuted.” I said in my initial list that this is the most influential album in my life. Before we get to that, first a quick review of how this album fit into the history of rap. When it was released in 1988, rap had already entered…
Fives: Five Best Movie Experiences
(This was supposed to be posted Friday. I made the list mentally Thursday, then when I sat down to put it together, had a total brain cramp on one entry in the list. Naturally I remembered it over the weekend, so here’s my delayed list.) Thursday I saw my first movie at a theater in over two years. I saw…
Top Five Albums: Revolver
No list of best albums is complete without a Beatles disk. I say that as someone who really didn’t like the Beatles for most of my life, finally learning about and appreciating their genius over the last five years or so. (My dislike for the Beatles was perhaps the first manifestation of my contrarian side. When I was little, my…
Top Five Albums: Achtung Baby
All great bands must have an album that changes all the rules, destroys all expectations, and challenges their fans to open their minds to something new and unexpected. Achtung Baby was exactly that for U2, marking a dramatic shift from the sound they perfected on 1987’s The Joshua Tree. While U2 could have kept cranking out the same sound, and…
Fives: Favorite Albums
Remember a while back when I mentioned a new gimmick of lists of five things I would be dropping on you? Haven’t seen list #2 yet, have you? Well, there is an explanation. This list is a biggie, and I’ve been struggling with how to properly roll it out to you. I’ve finally figured out how I want to do…
Top 20 Songs of 2006, 11-20
I listened to a lot of music this year. I made lists. I pared those lists down to 20 songs. Below is installment #1 of the best of 2006, all in my humble opinion, of course. Your results may vary. 20 – “Handle With Care” – Jenny Lewis With the Watson Twins. This would be higher if it weren’t A)…