First things first: I love music.
I love finding new music, hearing new sounds, discovering bands early in their careers and finding those hidden gems that may have been in front of me for years.
I love seeing how bands evolve their sounds over time from album to album, change themselves in mid-career or bring in new blood to freshen up their impact on my ears.
I love when musicians pour their blood, sweat and tears into their music and make you feel something while listening to the album or in concert. There are songs that make me nearly cry (Radiohead's "Fake Plastic Trees"), imagine myself on a beach (Jimmy Buffett's "Trying to Reason With Hurricane Season), induce memories of my youth (Four Non Blondes "What's Up?"envokes memories of college when me and my roommates would run up the stairwell to the 7th floor screaming "What's going on?" at the of our lungs) or inspire me to challenge the man and seek to destroy anything around me (anything by Trent Reznor or Tool).
I love live music.
I hate pop, top 40 shitty music. It sickens me that we'll look back at this year and people will remember it for Lady Gaga instead of the year Phoenix introduced us to Wolfgang Amadeus. Remember the year of Milli Vanilli? Yeah, instead of remembering the great music of that year, those douchebags are ingrained in our heads.
I can't stand pretentious, fake musicians and phonies. Lip sync once and you're might as well be dead to me.
It pisses me off when musicians or groups don't write their own lyrics. How can you feel intense about the song and really impact me when the words aren't yours?
I'm NOT a music snob.
I don't know every band on KEMP nor do I pretend to.
I don't own vinyl and honestly, don't like the raspy sound of records.
I buy and download digital music as its easy, green and I can take it with me anywhere.
I love Zune Pass as I can download all I want for about 14 bucks a month. However, once Apple comes out with the same model, I'll probably vacate Zune. If it's not on Zune, I used Amazon to download as it comes in the form of an MP3 and can play anywhere.
I wish I could play a musical instrument. Just a little bit. A few notes. Anything. But I can't. I'm not even good at Rock Band.
Bottom line: I just love music.
Now here's my list.
One of my favorite bands in the world that I've been lucky enough to see live in concert twice, released this album with 29 tracks this year spanning their entire career. Michael Stipes voice is as strong as ever on this live disc and proves they're still one of the best live rock bands out there.
I put this one here with mixed emotions. On one hand, this is a hell of a rock rock album, perfect for those long drives (to Sasquatch for example) where you can rock out with your.... well, you know what out. On the other hand, I think these guys are starting to move away from the rebel, anti-establishment aurora that made them who they are. They're making a Broadway musical of their last disc for crying out loud. Still, the album's got a roaring guitar and powerful drums and Billy Jo still makes you feel his emotions on the harder songs.
This is one of those bands that I for some reason didn't like from the get-go but now I'm madly in love with their sound. Trust me, I'm making up for lost time with them.
I was also late to these guys but not anymore. I love their hypnotic sound that blends swaying guitars with a haunting voice. I also saw them in concert for the first time this year and that definitely raised their stock in book.
Sweet beats. Solid bass. Clever lyrics. I'm a huge Franz fan and can't wait to see these guys live one day. Immediately, "Ulysses" get's you high and the album just carries you from there. Plus, any band that names a song "Backwards on My Face" deserves a spot on my top list.
I was thinking the other day, this band seems like they've been with me my whole life. Bono and the boys just continue to flood my ears with potent sounds and challenge me as a listener. They brought in components from all around the world for this one and made it theirs. I've never seen U2 in concert and I'm hoping to change that soon.
God damn do I love the blues and the way artists can take their voice and/or guitar to make me feel emotions. While I was late to the Black Keys phase (yes, I'm late to a lot of things), I downloaded this album the day it came out and it's been part of my rotation ever since. Please BK's, come to Sasquatch!
13. Shaka Rock - Jet
I almost didn't download this one. And boy, was I glad I ignored the urge not to. I really liked their debut disc years ago but did think they were trying too hard to be The Beatles. Their second disc was a huge disappointment for me and that brings me to this one. I really didn't want to give it a chance. Maybe it was the fact that it was Summer and I was looking for something new to blast in my ears but I immediately liked this one on first listen. I specifically remember watering the plants one night with the Zune up to 19, and air guitaring to "Seventeen".
Another great blues-ish band that captivates me as soon as I hit play. Not much more to say but if you haven't listened to the Eels, give them a spin today.
I remember my friend Jai Ferguson telling me about these guys prior to Sasquatch. Their sound is unlike anyone else out there and uniqueness scores huge points on my list. See #1 for proof of that. From the intensive buildup in "Jetstream" to the soothing sound in "Winter Hill", this is a perfect album for when there's not shit going on in your house and you just want good music to rock your world.
So there's 20 through 11. The top 10 is next.
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