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…
More On The Brainwashing Of My Kids
As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been working hard to get the music of the Beatles deeply ingrained in my daughters’ heads. I figure if they get a solid base of Beatles, even with whatever regrettable music they listen to in their teen years (Hey, I’m just as guilty as the next person), they’ll eventually gravitate towards good music and be better…
Where’s A Camera When You Need One?
We braved the grocery store with both girls today. Normally I do the shopping while S. stays home with them. It was a typical day with two kids: C. was fussy the first 15 minutes we were in the store; as soon as her mood improved, M. started acting up. Loads of fun. While I was in line to check…
Smart Kid
On our last trip to the library, we picked up a CD of Beatles songs sung by kids. A lot of them are completely intolerable to adults, but hey, I had to start indoctrinating the girls with good music. Each time we hop into the family truckster for a journey somewhere, M. asks, “Are we listening to Beatles music, daddy?”…
Music
It’s been a fantastic music year, so far. The Shins’ new album is excellent, as are those from The Broken West, Feist, and Son Volt. Leaked tracks from new albums by Modest Mouse, Wilco, and Maximo Park all show tremendous promise. Lurking in the distance is a new Radiohead album. However, so far this year it’s been all about the…
Top Songs of 2006, 5-1
Finishing up this year’s business. The five songs that when I think of 2006, I will think of most. Happy New Year to all. 5 – “Unemployable” – Pearl Jam. Yeah, I’m a fan. Sue me. A damn fine song regardless. Pearl Jam’s greatest hook ever? It might well be. This song summed up what most of their self-titled album…
Top Songs Of 2006, 10-6
The countdown continues… 10 – “Steady As She Goes” – The Raconteurs. The lead single off of the much-hyped collaboration between Jack White and Brendan Benson. It hints at the dirty sound of the rest of the album, while maintaining an accessibility that makes it radio-friendly. 9 – “Stuck Between Stations” – The Hold Steady. You can’t have a great…
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)…
Notable Albums Of 2006
Since the explosion of the on-line music world in the late ’90s, I, like many, have moved away from being a consumer of entire albums towards collecting individual tracks by artists I enjoy. I’d rather buy through iTunes, or obtain via other means, the four or five best songs off of an album instead of dropping $16 to get those…