Dead iPods, Black Swans, and Assorted Holiday Miscellany

I remember my sister got me my first iPod for Christmas back in 2006. Four years later, tens of thousands of songs later, and 3 computers later, I think it's safe to say that it has finally gone on to digital heaven. It was crashing an awful lot the past month or so, so I guess you could say I saw this coming. iPods do not last forever, and I know people who have had iPods shit out on them after less than 2 years, so I was pretty fortunate to have mine last as long as it did. It still sucks though. Now I'm going to have to deal with the shitty radio (or just endure a silent trip) when I'm in the car, and I'll just have to grit my teeth when I hear that shitty Katy Perry song in the gym, in addition to the other saccharine garbage they play. But hopefully I'll have enough dough for a new one soon enough... one that has more memory. Right now, I have it plugged into my computer and it just says "Please wait, very low battery," but nothing's happening. I think this sort of digital life support is failing. Well, the last song that was played on it was "Gimme Danger" by the Stooges.



Amelia and I saw Black Swan a couple of nights ago. Definitely the most intense film I've seen this year. Natalie Portman gave such a haunting and flawless performance that if she is snubbed for an Oscar this year, then the people at the Oscars are stupid (I mean, they're stupid anyway. When your list of Best Pictures includes Crash and Titanic, there's something wrong). Mila Kunis was also incredible in the film, a departure from any of her previous work: I caught myself saying "Shut up, Meg" during a few of her lines of dialogue, a nod to her role in Family Guy. It was your typical Darron Aronofsky flick; The story was of a tortured soul striving for some form of perfection or euphoria and having that person experience a tremendous pitfall, with grotesque detail of physical or mental trauma. Nonetheless, Black Swan was perhaps the most captivating of all of his movies, and Nina (Portman's character) was certainly one of the most sympathetic characters in any Aronofsky flick (topped by possibly lonely, old Sarah Goldfarb in Requiem for a Dream). Black Swan definitely deserved the critical hype it got, and if it weren't for Scott Pilgrim v. the World, it'd be my pick for best picture of 2010!



Captain Beefheart died over the weekend due to complications of multiple sclerosis. It was weird because before he died, I was listening to him a lot. Just last week I found an old copy of Safe As Milk for $6 at a local record store. One of rock's most uncompromising visionaries who was light years ahead of his time.

I have a busy week ahead of me before Christmas. Today I meet with an academic advisor for Southern. I have laundry to do. I have work tonight. I have to put more shit up on eBay, and I have to schedule a physical so Southern can have an updated health record of me, I guess to make sure I don't have tuberculosis or the bubonic plague. Not like I have money for a physical (I'm still uninsured. Thanks Obama for caving in on public option!), and the cheapest doctor I know of is in Bridgeport, and that's $100. $100 I do not have at present.

I'm compiling my list of the best albums of the year. It's gonna be harder now that I don't have an iPod, but I have a list that I've narrowed it down to.

Something I Don't Talk About Often...

The week of Thanksgiving is always a bittersweet week for me. I always enjoyed the shortened school week, and the general feeling that the holidays are upon us. I don't like the bombardment of Black Friday ads on radio, TV and the internet, though, but that shouldn't take away from me eating like a pig on Thanksgiving and otherwise not having to do anything (though I do have to work on Black Friday, but luckily for me, I don't work in retail).

Thanksgiving has also become kind of a sad time for me, as a very tragic event happened to my family 5 years ago. About twenty minutes after midnight on Thanksgiving Morning 2005, my cousin Tyler was killed by a drunk driver. He was just four days shy of his 19th birthday, and his passing has opened up a floodgate of emotions for me that took a long time for me to deal with (and I still have not fully made sense of this tragedy, nor do I accept it).

I would have been devastated by Tyler's death anyway, as he and I were the closest in age out of all my cousins and when we were younger we were close. But at the time of his death, he and I had not spoken in over 5 years. I don't want to get too much into the details about why, but basically when I was 13, in early 1999, my parents divorced. My dad had a pretty bad alcohol problem and my mother had attempted suicide shortly beforehand. I'm not going to sit here and say who did what and what was said and all that, but as a result of this, I pretty much lost contact with my dad's side of the family There was a schism in our family, if you will. My mother was an only child and by the time her and my dad had divorced, both her parents were dead. My dad was one of four children, and they all had kids of their own. My dad's older brother, Robert, was Tyler's father. For the most part, my uncle Robert stayed out of our family mess, and he did have the advantage of living 300 miles away from us (he lives in Northern Virginia, literally a hop a skip and a jump away from Washington D.C.).

After that, the only time I ever saw Tyler again was in October 2000. I had been asked to help my grandparents move to their new house, I guess as a way of them extending an olive branch, and I agreed to it despite my reservations. My uncle Robert, my Aunt Nancy and Tyler had come up from Virginia to help out as well, and before that, it had been at least 2 or 3 years since I had seen any of them. For obvious reasons (distance and jobs and all that), they didn't come up too often, maybe twice a year, and since the rest of my family lives in Connecticut, we didn't make it down to Virginia too often either. But it was like no time had passed when it came to Tyler. The first thing he did when he saw me was throw a football at me, and we played catch for a while. I don't remember the rest of the day too well, but I also had no fucking idea that that would be the last time I would ever see him. I always think of that scene in Forrest Gump where he was talking to his friend Bubba, who had been mortally wounded in Vietnam, and Gump (while narrating) said "If I had known that this would be the last time me and Bubba was gonna talk, I would have thought of something better to say." Well, that's true for me and Tyler.

Fast forward to five years later, on Thanksgiving night 2005, my girlfirned and I went out to dinner and we were at my house watching a movie. The phone rang. It was my Aunt Diane. Out of everyone in my extended family, she had always kept in touch with me and my sister. She was (and still is) probably the only one in my family who could be flat out open about our family's history of alcohol abuse (my dad is an alcoholic, so is my grandfather, and so was his father), so I thought that she was naturally just checking in on us (which I'm sure she was); the rest of my family tends to keep their problems to themselves, which I guess I can't fault them for. So it started off like your nomal "Hi, how are you? Happy Thanksgiving!" type phone call you would expect from a relative or friend. And then she broke the news that Tyler had been killed, which, as probably expected, she burst into tears after trying to keep her composure for the first minute or so into our phone conversation. And I just went cold. I did the whole "WHAT?!?!?!" thing, and I think I started cursing for like a minute straight trying to take in the news that my cousin was dead. It was hard. I did not take the news of it well at all. For the rest of that week, I hardly spoke and I was really depressed about it. I didn't cry about it; I couldn't, for if I did, my tears would never stop.

It had already been a shitty week to begin with. I had lost my job at some restaurant I was working at, and that year in general was just a shitstorm and a half. The part that really bothered me (and still bothers me to this day) was that the night before Thanksgiving, around 11:30 PM or so, I was driving hme from my friend's house, and out of nowhere I had this pang of nervousness and instability. I had some starnge feeling that something was wrong somewhere to someone I knew. Tyler didn't come to mind; In fact, NO ONE IN PARTICULAR came to mind. It could have been my mother, my sister, my girlfriend, or some guy I used to be friends with. This feeling wore off by 1 AM, but upon hearing of Tyler's death (which happened at 12:18 AM that morning, probaby as I was pacing around my house listening to music), I knew that I had felt that for a reason. Good ol' intuition. It never fails.

Three people I knew died in 2005, all of them around the same age as me. The first one was in April, this guy Brian, who was a friend of my girlfriend's brother. He was no angel; basically spent his teenage years rebelling against his overly Christian family by doing drugs and all that, and ended up overdosing. Less than a month later, this guy I went to school with, Jon, was killed by a drunk-and-high-on-pills driver. I wasn't close to any of them, but still. They were the same age as me, and it instilled the truth in me that I could die tomorrow too.

One of the most tragic elements about this story is all my cousin had to persevere against throughout his short life. He was born with some birth defects involving his back, and had to endure 5 operations before his 2nd birthday. These setbacks never stopped him from anything, and judging from what I know about his life up until it ended, he was well on his way to becoming an incredible person. He was studying Criminal Justice at a community college at the time of the crash, had legions of friends from all corners of the nation, and was just your typical American male teenager. And honestly one of the kindest people I've ever known in my life.

In October, I went down to Virginia for the first time since 1997; I couldn't make it to Tyler's funeral in 2005, even if I desperately wanted to. My Uncle Bob and Aunt Nancy seem to be doing OK, meaning that they're able to smile and laugh and leave the house and all that, but they're still mourning (and they probably will for the rest of their lives). They're able to talk about Tyler, filling me in on details that didn't make the newspapers or that I kind of avoided to delve into, but there is that element of insurmountable sadness there. Nancy is more outwardly stronger in talking about it, as I always thought that she was very much a strong-willed person, yet Bob still appears as if he could start crying at any time (and I don't blame him). It was creepy being there though. The last time I was at their house, Tyler was still here obviously. They redid their house, which looked fantastic, but they showed me Tyler's bedroom; his possessions untouched, supposedly in the same place they were when he left his house for the very last time. In the guest room Amelia and I stayed in (which I swear was Tyler's childhood bedroom; he must have switched rooms as he got older), there was this wreath on the wall, surrounded by some of his old toys. I had fun on that trip, but it was also very emotional for me as well. I held back a lot. I guess at the end of the day, I just don't know how to tell my aunt and uncle how sorry I am that it happened and the tremendous amount of guilt I felt towards it, even if I had nothing to do with it. I guess there's a part of me that felt like if I had stayed in touch with him, somehow his life would be spared, like if I had emailed him that day or called or whatever, he would have left his house a few minutes later than he had planned, and the pickup truck that crashed into him would have passed him. I was always encouraged to keep in touch with him from my mother, and she was right that I should have. I also had no clue in the world that he would be dead before he was 20. I always kind of envisioned that we'd meet up for a beer one day as I travelled across the nation and I stopped in Virginia or something like that, but obviously that can never happen. And that's one of the biggest regrets of my entire life.

BTW, the guy who did it (who was actually an illegal immigrant from Mexico, which is my only argument AGAINST illegal immigration) got 10 years in jail for vehicular manslaughter. He also attempted to flee the scene. But once he gets out, he'll be sent back to Mexico. Glad he didn't get off.

Well, have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Be safe and happy, and if you do drink, I urge you to make the right decision when it comes to driving.

R.I.P. Jonathan Tyler Bentley (November 28, 1986 - November 24, 2005)

In Memoriam: Greg Giraldo (1965-2010)

Last Saturday, comedian Greg Giraldo overdosed on prescription medication leaving him in critical condition in a hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey. On Wednesday the 29th, he died after five days in a coma. He was 44. Again, we've had to endure the loss of a brilliant comic, especially in a world where many mediocre comics run amok. Greg Giraldo was probably best known for his razor-sharp barbs he used in many Comedy Central Roasts, and every single one of them he gave a killer performance, telling oft-offensive jokes about the person being roasted and fellow dais members, but he did it in a way that sounded good-natured. In many Comedy Central Roasts, he usually was the first guy up to lash into Bob Saget or Larry the Cable Guy, but a couple of months ago, they had a roast of David Hasselhoff, which was brilliant (considering the roast for Joan Rivers was a dud), Giraldo was the last person to perform on the show, which now seems eerily prophetic. And I think that performance was the best one out of all the roasts he had done previously, although it would be very hard to choose just one.

I never know why whenever a comedian dies, it's always a good one. I don't wish death on Dane Cook, or Larry the Cable Guy, or Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias, or Carlos Mencia, but I find it unjust that we've lost Bill Hicks, George Carlin, Richard Jeni, and now Greg Giraldo. Giraldo never achieved the level of popularity he deserved, which is unfortunate because even his regular stand-up bits were very acute and observational, but I'll always remember him fondly. And he seemed like a cool guy too.

True to roasting fashion, Gilbert Gottfried, another fairly frequent presence on the Comedy Central Roasts tweeted, "If Greg Giraldo is cremated, will that be the 'Greg Giraldo Roast'?" which had a lot of people crying "too soon!" However, I think that he would have gotten a hoot out of that joke, since he always took whatever insults were hurled at him at roasts in life, so why not in death?

Roast In Peace.

The Roast of David Hasselhoff
Uncensored - Greg Giraldo - No Talent Success
www.comedycentral.com
New Whitney Cummings Special South Park Nick Swardson's Pretend Time

The First Week of Autumn

Happy Second Equinox, everybody! Fall officially begun a couple of days ago (and it still was 85 degrees outside!), and fall has always been my favorite season. I've always been lucky to have been a resident of New England for all my life, where the foliage has always been absolutely stunning to look at. I always enjoyed taking long walks or drives and absorbing the beauty of the landscape during autumn. The leaves are kind of changing color here, but not a lot, which is typical for September; the true change in weather usually comes around October. And October is easily one of the best months of the year for me.

Even better, my girlfriend and I are taking a trip down to the Washington D.C. area in the middle of October. She's never been there before, and I haven't been there since I was 11. My uncle lives down there, so we have a place to stay. We need a vacation; this summer was especially stressful, and we're still incredibly busy now that we're back in school and trying to form a new music project. So 4 days in D.C./Northern Virginia/more of Virginia if we're feeling ambitious just may revitalize us and give a sense of relaxation that vacations usually do. I heard that fall in D.C. is absolutely gorgeous, and I've actually never been down there during that time. I am going to be bummed because we're going two weeks before Jon Stewart's Restoring Sanity Rally/Stephen Colbert's Keep Fear Alive Rally). I did some research on record stores in that area, and there's a ton of 'em, including one literally 5 minutes away from my uncle's house!

I've had the soundtrack to Scott Pilgrim vs. the World on repeat the past couple of hours. It's a brilliant soundtrack to an even more brilliant movie. It contains music by Beck (he even wrote the music for the fictional band in the film, Sex Bob-Omb, which sounds like a hybrid of The Stooges and Death From Above 1979), Broken Social Scene, T-Rex and Metric. I also got acquainted with some now-defunct bands; Plumtree, an all-girl Canadian band who actually had a song called "Scott Pilgrim," whom the character was named after, and Beachwood Sparks, a country-influenced rock band who did a gorgeous cover of Sade's "By Your Side," which perfectly complimented one of the more romantic scenes in the movie. Usually, soundtracks serve as a way for a filmmaker to shoot off his/her favorite tunes, but very few these days see a film soundtrack as an art form: this one does, surely.

And fuck the Senate for blocking the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell! Proof that the GOP is still living in the '50s (1950s? Or 1850s? Can't decide which).

I'm Not Dead

I know it's been an eternity since I have written anything on this, or anywhere else for that matter. I tend to drop off the face of the blogosphere and go Nick Drake on everybody's ass, but up until now I feel like I have had nothing to say. I have started drafts on blog entries and other shit, but hit a creative dead end after a few paragraphs and it all ends up in the digital trashbin. I started an entry about Obama standing up in favor of the Ground Zero Mosque (more like a Muslim version of the YMCA a few blocks away) and railing on how he just might have a set of testicles after all, but then I got distracted by the carnival that has been my head for the past few months. Apart from turning 25, (finally) getting my first taste at waiting tables (far more lucrative than ice cream whore), moving in with my girlfriend, listening to a shit ton of new music, having my band break up, trying to eat healthy, trying to get an exercise regiment going, and a lot more other stuff, it has been hard to finish writing a sentence, let alone upkeep a blog. And such distractions and errors actually cost me a freelancing gig that didn't pay me a lot, but I was able to put some away (until I needed new shelves, a new dresser, and a master brake system for my trusty ol' Lumina). But I'll find others I'm sure

Last time I blogged, back in July, I had supposedly begun work on a project to name the Top 125 albums since 1985 as a way to say "fuck you" to SPIN magazine, who had done a similar list (factoid: both me and SPIN were birthed in 1985). I compiled a list of 125 albums out of a possible 600 or so contenders, got writing and stopped. Because it's bullshit, no one really cares, and I was checking out a whole slew of new albums that I had never heard before from all different genres and eras, and I thought the list was predictable. What was my #1 choice? You guessed it: Nirvana's Nevermind. That's right. The album I've listened to more than any other album ever. How original. And yes, I was on a major Nirvana kick this entire summer. I was also gonna do a commentary piece on VH1's latest "Greatest" list where they did the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time (which they did in 1998, when VH1 cared more about music than reality shows starring Bret Michaels), and for what? To show how culturally bankrupt VH1 has gotten in the past decade? To opine about who should be on and who shouldn't, consdering I think the artists in my Top 100 would be people VH1 and their "panel" would never consider in a million years? Who cares? It's a waste of goddamn time.

My band A Slanderous Choir, disbanded in August. The split, overall, was amicable, but it was awkward since I was the one who pretty much decided to quit. Basically, we played about 10 shows (including a radio spot on my friend Malcolm Tent's radio show on WNHU, a local college station), and I just didn't feel like we were clicking. Amelia and I wanted one sound, and our drummer wanted another. Practices usually lead to squabbles and arguments, and it was damaging our friendship. So it got to a level if we wanted to stay friends, the band would have to go. We played our last show on July 23, although we didn't know it at the time, and it was a bad final show. The bar PA was shitty, Amelia blew her voice out after 3 songs, and we cut our set short by 4 songs just to get the fuck outta there. We practiced one more time and then I decided that I had had enough. I actually felt like a hypocrite for a while because our drummer wanted to quit after our very first gig for pretty much the same reasons (wanting a different sound, not feeling like we clicked musically, general depression and dissatisfaction), and Amelia and I had to talk her into staying and giving it another go, which she reluctantly did. Even then, she had wanted to form another band. And I had entertained a similar idea secretly. It took me until that last show to confront the feeling that I wasn't behind our music 110%; Truth be told, I hated a couple of our songs. But we all decided that splitting up would be for the best; Our ex-drummer is forming another band, and Amelia and I are in the process of starting another band. I'm not too worried right now. I'm still young, and I'm focusing on work and school also. But I took away a lot of lessons and positive experiences from being in A Slanderous Choir. I got a taste of doing gigs, meeting other bands, networking and all that fun stuff.

I'm kind of glad I'm not doing music right now because I've come to the conclusion that I know nothing. I've been doing nothing but checking out new artists/bands/albums/7"/EPs for the past couple of months. I try to check out a few a day. I've also been cleaning out my vinyl collection and the stuff on my iPod. Seeing what I really like, what I never want to hear again (Led Zeppelin, here's looking at you!), and what I just don't care for. I'm also taking a music history and appreciation class (my final class at Housatonic, then off to Southern; I gotta get the ball rolling on transferring and all that shit), and I'm finally developing a taste for classical music and minimalism.

Politically speaking.... You know what? Fuck it. I'm a socialist. Happy, Hannity?!?!?! The right these days is making Bush and his pals look like hippies passing out free condoms and pamphlets on fighting homelessness at a Hendrix show! The new superstar in the Tea Party is Christine O'Donnell from Delaware, who beat out Mike Castle, probably the most center-leaning Republican in the House of Representatives, in the Delaware Senate primary. Things are looking kind of bleak for the Democrats, not that, in a way they don't deserve it. After wussing out on public option and passing a watered-down health bill that catered to insurance companies and lobbyists perhaps wasn't the best way to keep their base excited and their grip on power intact, but when you have a 24-hour news cycle up your ass all the time, it's hard to have any integrity. Still, when you consider the alternative, the Tea Party..... The GOP is probably gonna win in November, there will be a stranglehold in Congress from now on, things will get worse when people realize that the Tea Party candidates only want limited government when the Democrats are in power, people will realize that the GOP got us to where we are now in many aspects,and the sane people in this nation will be wagging their fingers going "See? I told you so."

I'm gonna focus this blog more on myself, and less on the world. I'll still write about music, politics, films, books, etc, but I'll be more personal. I know not to turn this into a bitchfest, and view this blog as a work of art and a vehicle to keep my writing up.

And now for my current theme song. A little tune from Paul Weller and co. from 1980. The Jam's "Going Underground."

25 So Far...

Last week, on June 28th, I've turned 25. Up until my birthday, I was depressed about it. My ever existential self kept thinking that if by chance I live to be 100, I'm a quarter way at best from kicking the bucket. I would hate to think that my life is even that much over, but I also have to think that I could die tomorrow, so just carpe diem and shut the fuck up. I moved out of my mom's house, for once NOT under acrimonious circumstances, and I moved in with my girlfriend's family. I'm still adjusting and I haven't moved all of my shit over here yet, but so far it's not bad. Of course, the past few days the weather has been creeping near 100 degrees and hella humid. It doesn't help that work's been really busy too.

So what happened with Music Spiel (the blog I was paid to write for)? Well, the guy who ran it, Dave, said that he was putting it on the back burner for now and he'd get in touch with me. So I've come back here. I'm gonna post the Top 125 albums of the last 25 years, because SPIN Magazine did something like that and I wasn't too happy with it. I'll tell you why when I start the list, which will be in the next couple of days. And right now, I'm just gonna blog on here. And politically speaking, I just don't care anymore.

"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!"

I realize that I haven't been all that personal on my blog. It has been basically a plethora of political rants, music stuff, social commentary, and general critiques of the state of the world. My personal whining was reserved for my LiveJournal, which I stopped writing in.... 2007? So I'm gonna do that a lot more because when all is said and done, I guess I'm worth knowing... sorta.

"Miss Me Yet?" Not In a Million Years

If you were to go driving on Interstate 35 near Wyoming, Minnesota, you would see this billboard. It shows a picture of former President George W. Bush waving, and it says "Miss Me Yet?" Who knows? Michelle Bachmann probably funded it.

Alright... Bush looks like a jackass in this picture, number one. Number 2, Bush left office with the lowest approval rating since they kept track during the Eisenhower Administration. Number 3, who could you trace a good chunk of the mess we're in back to?

Well, Bush-in-a-Billboard, to answer your corporate-funded question: NO!!!!!!!!!!! The Republicans got their ass handed to them in 2006 and 2008 for a reason, and the answer lies no further than the goofy man waving in the ad. For all of his faults, President Obama is nowhere near as bad as George W. Bush; he's broken a lot of campaign promises, and hasn't lived up to his potential, sure, but Bush he is not.

And anyone who misses Bush must be swiggin' some serious moonshine!

Irony and Contradiction

Here are some great ironies and contractions in American policies:

- Thomas Jefferson writing "all men are created equal" in the Declaration of Independence, while being a slave owner (and knocking one up)

- Ronald Reagan having an airport named after him after firing all the air traffic controllers (Yes, I stole this from a stand up comic; can't remember her name, otherwise I'd give her credit)

- Herbert Hoover supporting Prohibition, yet sneaking off to the Belgian embassy to enjoy a frosty cool Belgian ale

- Any GOP politician speaking out against homosexuality only to be caught in homosexual tryst (and getting busted for it)

- Al Gore using a private jet, and having a home that leaves a massive carbon footprint, while going on & on about energy conservation.

Well, the Teabaggers have managed to give irony a whole new definition this past weekend. Their summit in Tennessee had a pretty hefty pricetag of $549 (or $349 just to hear Sarah Palin open her mouth), all while protesting "reckless spending." Yes, they were spending their own money, and the government is pulling it out of thin air, and we'll have to pay it all back, blah blah blah. Still, it's not consistent with their message (other than "We have a darky in the White House, we're tools, and we listen to every word Glenn Beck says"). Most grassroots political summits such as this one should not cost much of anything; $20 and a cookout maybe. Summits with a big pricetag are for those "Washington elitists." Dinners of steak and lobster are for the assholes in charge of things, right? Imagine if Martin Luther King did that during the Civil Rights Movement.

The keynote speaker at the Tea Party Convention was the Queen of Irony and Contradiction herself, Miss Alaska. Sarah Palin took the stage to an adoring crowd, and managed to go on about slamming Obama, and dissing the "lamestream media," which she is now a part of, I might add. Recently, she has become a contributor for Fox News, which has more viewers than any other news network (I dunno why). In fact, one of Bill O'Reilly's key talking points when combating the "loony, leftist media" (which does not exist; I guess no one mentions that Joe Scarborough and Pat Buchanan are conservatives and are on MSNBC) is that Fox News owns NBC & CNN in ratings.

She did make some talking points on how people are fed up with Democratic leadership. I hate to give her even the slightest bit of credit, since I absolutely despise her, but the Democrats are sucking right now. The Democrats losing Massachusetts was a sure sign of that. Palin irked that the Democrats blamed their candidate, but let's face it; Martha Coakley was an awful candidate. The campaign was run on complacency, and they took Massachusetts' mostly liberal demographic for granted. Scott Brown had more charisma, and won people over simply by running to be the 41st vote to attain a filibuster for a bad health care bill. It's not some great referendum on the "Obama agenda" (and polls show that neither were the gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia; more New Jersey). It's a sign of frustration amongst voters, and Scott Brown may be conservative, but he's more centrist and he's not some great Republican hero either. Sarah, you're putting way too much hope into a minor election. What she doesn't seem to get is that the Republicans are in trouble too.

She also went on about "nothing but talk, talk, talk" from Washington, and I do agree. Obama has been all about a lot of talk. A lot of talk and not a lot of follow through. I don't need to go over that again. However, most politicians are all talk, and I can bet you dimes to dollars that Palin is the same way.

However, most of her speech was just cheap shots to entice the crowd. She chastised him for his use of teleprompters, even if she used one during her RNC speech back in 2008, and politicans have been using them since Jah knows when. Also, she had points of her speech WRITTEN ON THE PALM OF HER HAND!!!!! She also said that this nation needs a commander-in-chief and not a law professor. And what qualifies as a commander-in-chief, ex-Governor Palin? Making decisions that are 'from the gut' and because YOU think that they are in your best interest? Unless I slept through Civics class one too many times, the President is supposed to interpret laws and follow the Constitution. Laws are always subject for debate. I think if Bush had acted less from his gut and maybe thought about things, we would have saved a trillion dollars and at least 4,000 people would still be alive.

And what better keynote speaker during their ironic conquest than Sarah Palin! She is a walking contradiction if there ever was one. Apparently it's OK for Rush Limbaugh to call someone a retard, but not Rahm Emanuel. Add that to the Book of Palintology!

The thing that irks me about Sarah Palin is that she can dish it out but she can't take it. Whenever she comes under fire by anyone in the media, whether it be MSNBC, Katie Couric, Dave Letterman, Elmo, Snoopy, SpongeBob, the girls from Jersey Shore, etc, she curls up and plays victim. She can spout hateful rhetoric about socialism, and Real America vs. Fake America, Obama is evil, and all that, but when someone attacks her, she whimpers in the corner. She demonizes the media for victimizing her, but she sets herself up for it. Once you go into politics, especially on a national stage, everything you do is up for grabs. Every shit you take has someone willing to inspect it. If you don't like that, ex-Governor Palin, become a private citizen, stop charging $100K per speech and SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!! If you don't like being dragged through the mud, stay away from the mud pit.

What else really grinds my gears about Palin is that she uses her family as a political football. Dave Letterman made a crack about her daughter, she calls for him to get fired. Rahm Emanuel makes a comment about liberal Democrats being retards, and she uses her Down's syndrome afflicted baby as a political crutch to get him fired. She whores her family out for her political gain, and she also whores them out to pursue action against others who may have offended her? Is nothing sacred to Sarah Palin?

Back to the Tea Party Movement, who are protesting raising taxes even if 95% of them will get tax cuts when they fill out their W-2s, I'm hoping that this is another third party that peters out in a few years, like most of them do. However, them gaining traction in the political field is actually a little unnerving. This party was started when people took reasonable concerns about Obama's administration, such as jobs, the economy, spending, and turned it into a right wing version of Paranoid Time, only some of the people in this movement are indeed Minutemen who support border control, and not the 80s punk band (or fans for that matter); and at the helm were people like Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin.

Alanis Morissette should remake her song "Ironic" and put some of these contradictions in. It would add some truth to the song, since the original lyrics weren't ironic at all.

UPDATE: 2/9/2010 11:17 PM

And another thing... She got $100,000 for speaking in Nashville, as she does wherever she goes. She says that she is donating it to "the cause." Why charge at all, then? I'm sure "Going Rogue" has generated its share of revenue. It was #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List. She must have made at least a few million off of it at this point. If she felt so strongly about this cause, why not donate more money to it? Why charge "the cause" $100K to speak, only to donate it back to them, pretty much leaving them no better or no worse financially than before their giant convention in Nashville?

Updates Amid Snowpocalypse (well, not here, but not far from here either)

Ahoy mateys!

I've come to you all with some news. I have accepted a pretty low-paying job as a music blogger on another website. It is located at www.musicspiel.co.uk. As a result, any music-related blog entries I do will be on there... because I'm getting paid for it. tee hee.

However, I still will be updating Nothing to Fear, Nothing to Doubt to discuss current events, my boring life and its many self-discoveries, political crap, and other shit. I will keep all 3 of you who read this happy!

Till then, check out my new blog.

Justice in Kansas

Earlier today, Scott Roeder was convicted of first-degree murder. Prosecutors are calling for a "Hard 50" sentence, which basically means that he should get a life sentence and do at least 50 years before even being considered for parole. Roeder was convicted of the murder of Dr. George Tiller, a late-term abortion provider in Wichita, Kansas. For the pro-choice movement, a man getting life in prison for killing an abortion doctor in the state of Kansas, a pretty conservative state at that, I would consider it a victory.

George Tiller was controversial, to say the very least. I, for one, do not condone late-term abortions, unless you have a really good reason. The way I see it, and I could very well be wrong, by the time you've reached 21 weeks of pregnancy and you fully know it, a decision on whether an abortion should be had or not should have been made at this stage. However, in the case of George Tiller, many of the women who sought his services found out late in their pregnancies that the fetus had severe or fatal birth defects, or healthy fetuses were aborted when it was discovered by two or more doctors that the effects of the pregnancy would cause the mother "substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function," or even death. I'm guessing pro-lifers would be more concerned with the damaged fetus' life than the mother's.

However, most pro-lifers spoke out against the murder of George Tiller, with most wanting to work out their differences legally, and non-violently. Yet there are those whackjobs who call Roeder a hero to the movement and a martyr, and those people miss the point entirely: One of them being Pastor Wiley Drake, the same guy who supposedly engage in an imprecatory prayer for God to kill President Obama, a human being, for his views on abortion, the termination of UNBORN FETUSES. They totally miss the point.

People should care about the people that are already here. I'm glad that jury in Kansas saw things that way, and took less than 40 minutes to come back with a guilty verdict. No matter what side of the fence you are with abortion, killing a person is not right. And I'm glad to feel like me and 12 jurors from the Wichita area are on the same page about something. It's one of those few moments that make me feel that the world is in perfect harmony, and that there are universal opinions on right and wrong, and all of that idealistic hippy-dippy crap I normally don't buy into.

Then, I see Bill O'Reilly on the next channel, and that notion goes straight to hell.

Enjoy prison, Scott Roeder!

Long May You Run: Conan O'Brien

Last night, after only 7 months on the air, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien came to a sudden end. I'm guessing his ratings weren't that great, but I also remember the days where they gave shows a chance before pulling the plug. If TV had the same approach it does now back in the late 80s, Married With Children would have only lasted one season. However, Conan certainly knew how to pull off a fantastic show, pulling no punches, making no secret of his disappointment with NBC. For the past couple of weeks there had been a war of words between him, Jay Leno and NBC. And for good reason. Leno was going to retire and give him the Tonight Show, however when Jay's bid into doing a prime time show didn't pan out, the network and Leno wanted to put him back to the 11:35 time slot and basically demote O'Brien back to late night programming. Only after Conan moved his entire family, staff, and life from New York to Los Angeles did they decide this. Nonetheless, Conan did walk out with a settlement deal in the range of 30-45 million dollars, so at least they didn't entirely screw him.

I've been a fan of Conan O'Brien since about 2002, partially thanks to Comedy Central playing reruns of his show in the daytime. I loved his sense of humor; quixotic, yet very dry at times. His show was very entertaining, especially Triumph the Insult Dog, his mock interviews, and he had a good ear for music; I got into bands such as the Black Keys because of him, and he had on Regina Spektor on several occasions. To me, he seemed to be the perfect candidate to replace Leno on the Tonight Show. Leno's really not that funny, in my opinion, and in the events following Conan's departure from the Tonight Show, Leno has proven to be a greedy fuckface. It sucks that Bill Hicks is dead, because he could do "Artistic Roll Call Redux." Well, it took a lot of doing, but he got his show back!

The most poignant part of last night's broadcast was that the musical guest was none other than Neil Young, who first called Conan to be on the final night. He did a very beautiful rendition of "Long May You Run," which seemed fitting. After the performance, Neil and Conan shook hands and Neil said "Thank you for all you've done for new music!" Despite the acrimony between him and NBC, he did say some very nice things about the network, having been employed by them for a good quarter of a century. You could tell that Conan was very emotional during this show, but was able to maintain his feelings and make everyone laugh. However, the closing bit was brilliant as well. Will Ferrell came on stage dressed as Ronnie Van Zandt from Lynyrd Skynyrd (complete with a Neil Young t-shirt), and lead him and the Tonight Show band in a rendition of Freebird that I actually enjoyed (me being a hater of all things Skynyrd). Conan also joined them on guitar, where he proved to be quite a good axeman himself! Beck and one of the guys from ZZ Top also joined in on the fun. It's really a damn shame that it was his final show, but goddamn he nailed it! He went out with a resounding bang that couldn't quite possibly be topped.

Starting March 1, the Tonight Show with Jay Leno will be back on the air (whopee), with the chin that won't shut up basking in his victory. I really hope it gets canceled. Most everyone I know who may have liked Leno at one point will no longer watch his show as a result of this bullshit, and those who hated him now hate him even more. Nonetheless, I hope that Conan will persevere through this mess, get another talk show and blow the lid off of Leno!!!

And, for your viewing pleasure: Bill Hicks' rant against Jay Leno (1993)




Neil Young on Conan:

One Year "Progress" Report

Last night, the voters in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, arguably the most liberal state out of all of them, accomplished the near impossible task of replacing Ted Kennedy with a right-leaning Republican. Senate-elect Scott Brown's campaign was energized by the Tea Party crowd, as well as people generally disenfranchised with Democratic leadership, or lack thereof, the opposition to the healthcare bill (which has a snowflake's chance in hell in getting passed now), and the fact that unemployment is in the double digits. While Brown may not be a complete blowhard conservative amongst the likes of Bobby Jindal or Sarah Palin (he supports Roe v. Wade, and while personally opposed to gay marriage, he had no interest in reversing Massachusetts' legalization of gay marriage; he also supports the exploration of alternative renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power), the Democratic supermajority has taken a crucial hit with the election of Opposing Health Care Bill Senator #41.

There has been a lot of finger-pointing amongst Democrats on why this happened. And they need to look no further. Obviously they have not learned ANYTHING since the Clinton years. Time and time again, instead of being leaders, the Democrats have become dealmakers. President Obama, especially, has softened his approach towards governing. During his campaign, which was nothing short of electrifying, he vowed to end the War in Iraq, close Guantanamo Bay, create health care reform, and not resort to "business as usual" politics. His term as president got off to a pretty good start, with approval ratings hovering around 70%, and his reversal of the ban on stem cell research. He also signed legislation to have Guantanamo Bay closed by 2010. His nomination of Sonia Sotomayor marked a shift on the Supreme Court bench for the better, and honestly, for the first few months, I was relieved not to see Bush on TV anymore. However, we're still in Iraq, even if the war has significantly shifted its attention to Afghanistan (which we should have done ages ago), Guantanamo's still open, and so-called health care reform resulted in a bill that would benefit insurance companies more than anyone else, and basically all because the Democrats let Joe Lieberman win and have his way by permanently axing public option from the bill.

I probably have said this before, but I generally have a rule of thumb when it comes to presidents or politicians before I start having any criticisms or praises, and I give them one year. One year to get their feet wet, and to adjust to the hard tasks they face (especially during these hard times). Yes, I did not have this approach for George W. Bush when he first became president, probably because he usurped the election, but I was also 15, and not as politically aware as I am now; when I was 15, I was hung up on homosexual rights, abortion rights, and being virulently anti-religious. However, having voted for Obama, I gave him one year. Well, Mr. President, it has been one year to the day since you placed your hand on the Bible taking the oath, and your grace period with me is over. Consider yourself fortunate, Mr. President. There are many who never gave you a chance at all, and there are supporters who jumped off the Change Express before it hit the Nobel Peace Prize landmark in Norway. And right now, I'm in the bar car getting hammered!

Regarding the economy, I understand everybody's frustration. Many people are unemployed, underemployed, or not making enough money. I am one of them. Before the great economic collapse, I was making decent money for a guy still in college and still figuring life out (even if I squandered a lot of it in the name of being young and financially irresponsible). Now, if I get 20 hours a week, enough money to pay my bills, and have some money leftover to have some semblance of a life, I consider myself to be very fortunate. That said, I understand that people are mad that the economy has not gotten better. I do not fault President Obama for that. A collapse that was a good 25 years in the making, especially when our economy under Bill Clinton in the 1990s was at its definite zenith, is determined to hit hard and to linger for years. I didn't shit a brick when Obama passed the surplus bill, high price tag and all. You have to spend money to make money. It created jobs, probably saved a few jobs, and let's face it, some highways desperately needed to be repaved! I'm not an economist, and I probably could use a course in economics, but I do know that the economy is a human creation. It's an illusion. However, I am critical on the bailouts, particularly the bailouts that were given to the Wall Street assholes. They were able to get people scared that if they didn't get billions in taxpayer money, the effects would be traumatizing. In good faith, they got their bailouts under the premise that they would not use them for huge bonuses. Well, they did. I knew that they would. Remember when Obama said that the "trickle-down" approach to the economy doesn't work and hadn't worked for years during his campaign? Just because we changed presidents doesn't mean that the trickle-down approach will magically work, especially since Johnny Bourgeois Fuckface of Citibank got a 1.3 billion dollar bonus come Christmastime courtesy of the taxpayers' dime!

Considering the national debt is high anyway, although it was higher under Reagan in 1982-83 (of course, FOX News will never admit to that), what Obama should have done was give Americans a few thousand dollars apiece to spend however they want. He always said that the economy is built from the bottom up, so what better way to prove that point than to send a guy about to lose his house a check to possibly save his house from foreclosure? When people have extra money in their pockets, they are a lot more eager to spend it. This could give someone working in a store more hours, or quite possibly save their job from extinction. This is the touchstone of our economy, not the assholes on Wall Street who rob us of our money, buy 6 houses, and say "oh well" when the people who trust them become homeless after their hard-earned dollars are squandered. Despite my criticisms of the bailout, I am happy that Obama is asking for a good chunk of that money back. Whether he'll get it or not remains to be seen, but he has learned a good lesson, and has 3 years still of financial decisions to make, so perhaps his judgment will be better. Of course, this is my argument for government regulations on pretty much everything, but more on that later.

While I do keep in mind that Obama really walked into a terrible situation, the "blame Bush" record is starting to get warped due to repeated playing, and my needle is getting worn down to the nub (can my record player get a bailout?). Different people cite when the bubble started to form; some date it back to Carter. Others blame it solely on Bush fucking up. That said, the economy rode high for at least two decades before collapsing significantly. This leaves for a lot of mess, already adding to the mess endured over the last decade. What Obama needs to do is stop playing the blame game. Time, simply, does not stand still because there's a new guy in the Oval Office, and the blame game does not work for very long. People need to make money. People have bills to pay and lives to lead. I think Obama knows this, and I think Obama is fully smelling the coffee.

Unfortunately, Obama no longer has a supermajority of Democrats in the Senate. Election Day came early this year. If this doesn't serve as a catalyst to both Obama and the Democrats to serve the people, and, you know, do stuff, the results come November could be even more cataclysmic. I'm with Barney Frank on working with the Republicans (or at least the few rational ones) and not rushing to pass a bill that sucks anyway.

The election of Scott Brown is a disappointment, especially he ran for Ted Kennedy's seat, leaving me to feel that Ted Kennedy is rolling around in his grave right now since his life's work may be heading down the toilet. Sure, there are ultra-conservative nutjobs in Massachusetts, and the people voted for Brown mostly because the Democrats piddled around in dealing with Wall Street effectively, but it could be a hell of a lot worse. Massachusetts hasn't had a Republican in the Senate since 1972, and just how conservative can one guy from Massachusetts be?

The Top 100 (+20) of the 2000s Part Five: 20-1

Here we are. The final stretch. The final 20. Again delayed. My band's show was a success, for a first show anyway. A lot of our friends showed up, and we got a good response from those from other bands and other people there. We didn't make any $$$ but that's OK. Pics, audio, and video and a blog entry will soon follow.

Anyway, the final 20.... in my opinion. Again, I am not a music critic, even if I did consider journalism as a major when I first started college.

20. The Microphones - The Glow pt.2 (2001):



Thank God that my Journalism teacher in high school was into good music. He turned me on to a lot of awesome shit (wazzup Mr. Cass, in case you're reading). The Microphones was one of the many bands he got me into, and I listened to this album so much, I wore out my CD-R copy of it.... and immediately made another one. Challenging as hell, sure, but Phil Elverum perfectly mixes noise, and lo-fi acoustic weird- folk nonchalantly.
Key Tracks: "The Moon," "Map," "You'll Be In the Air," "Headless Horseman"

19. M83 - Saturdays = Youth (2008):



This album was on repeat back when I delivered newspapers. "Kim & Jessie" perfectly encapsulates the feeling of being young on a spring day after a cold winter.
Key Tracks: "Kim & Jessie," "Coleurs," "Dark Moves of Love"

18. Beirut - Gulag Orkestar (2006):



Heavily influenced by Balkan folk music, Zach Condon created one of the most appealing albums I've heard this decade. He probably took a few cues from Devotchka, but he's very much an original voice in music these days. His voice also sounds like an old Italian singer, and he's from Albuquerque!
Key Tracks: "Rhineland (Heartland)," "Postcards from Italy," "Mount Wroclai (Idle Days)"

17. Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass (2007):



If Aesop Rock isn't the decade's most captivating rapper, then I must be deaf. Fewer rap records can create such an atmosphere as this one. This is some pretty serious shit!
Key Tracks: "None Shall Pass," "Fumes," "Bring Back Pluto"

16. Isis - In the Absence of Truth (2006):



This is the album that made me a true fan of the band. From the first listen of this album, I can say without hesitation that this is what music should sound like, especially in the metal genre. Aaron Turner and co. don't create songs: they create atmospheres that only a few other bands are capable of.
Key Tracks: "Holy Tears," "1000 Shards," "Garden of Light," "Wrists of Kings"

15. The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree (2005):



The second Mountain Goats album to contain a biological theme, John Darnielle focuses his angst and craft towards an abusive stepfather. "Pale Green Things" is one of his most moving songs.
Key Tracks: "This Year," "Dilaudid," "Love Love Love," "Dinu Lupatti's Bones"

14. Portishead - Third (2008):



Eleven years since their last album, Portishead definitely made up for lost time. Darker and completely detached from the trip-hop they helped perfect, Third sounds so vital that I have a hard time listening to Dummy these days.
Key Tracks: "Machine Gun," "Plastic," "The Rip," "Small"

13. Joanna Newsom - Ys (2006):



The Milk-Eyed Mender is easily one of the best debut albums of all the time. Miss Newsom, not content with releasing the same album twice, switched gears by creating epic-length songs woven in intricacy, laden with elaborate orchestration, and containing nothing short of a maelstrom of emotion. No joke: during performances of "Only Skin," people were seen openly weeping.
Key Tracks: Well, there are only 5...

12. Beck - Sea Change (2002):



His own Blood on the Tracks for sure. Written in the aftermath of a dissolution of a relationship that lasted 8 years, Beck's sadness on this album is apparent from the first chord on. He dabbled in acoustic music before, but Sea Change proves that he's just as capable of making effective music without samplers. Sea Change also revitalized his creativity,
Key Tracks: "The Golden Age," "Guess I'm Doing Fine," "Lonesome Tears," "Round the Bend"

11. Feist - The Reminder (2007):



My sister sent me the leak to this album two or three months before its release (naughty, naughty). Upon first listen, Feist had me at "I'm sorry." Sure, it's more rock-oriented with a few ballads, and the bossa-nova influence is absent on this album, but I don't mind. I also don't mind that iPod commercial either.
Key Tracks: "I Feel It All," "The Water," "Honey Honey," "My Moon My Man."

10. Radiohead - In Rainbows (2007):



Pay your own price! I did! Five bucks! Best damn 5 buck I've ever spent! I didn't like this album at first. That didn't stop me from listening to it six more times in the course of a Wednesday evening while working on an English paper. By the third time around, this album's magic finally set in with me.
Key Tracks: "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi," "Videotape," "House of Cards," "Al I Need"

9. Deerhunter - Microcastle (2008):



More song-oriented than Cryptograms, Deerhunter made one of the best albums this decade (I mean, duh! I did put it at #9). it's hard to describe the beauty of this album, but albums this great are usually hard to put into words.
Key Tracks: "Agoraphobia," "Little Kids," "Saved By Old Times," "Green Jacket"

8. Regina Spektor - Soviet Kitsch (2004):



Regina Spektor has always had a problem with making cohesive albums. Her albums, before or since Soviet Kitsch, have always been incredibly choppy. She gets it right on this album. It builds a perfect bridge between her more raw and jazzy early albums and her more straightforward recent work. I saw her open for the Dresden Dolls in 2005 back when they were nobodies, and her set blew them away.
Key Tracks: "The Flowers," "Ode to Divorce," "Us," "Somedays"

7. Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped (2006):



Their last album for Geffen Records may have contained shorter songs, but Rather Ripped just may be one of their best albums, and is a good starting point for any new Sonic Youth fan along with Daydream Nation, Sister, or even Goo.
Key Tracks: "Reena," "Light Out," "Incinerate," "Jams Run Free"

6. Joanna Newsom - The Milk Eyed Mender (2004):



The average first impression of Joanna Newsom's music is, typically, "What the fuck is this?!?!?!?!?" Her sound either wins people over or completely alineates them. I first heard this album in a friend's car, and thought that Yeardley Smith (the voice of Lisa Simpson) made an album. Nope. It was by a harpist from Northern California. I had to listen to this album again and again, and I eventually fell in love with it (and her).
Side note: New Joanna album on February 23rd??? Awesome! It better not disappoint! And I'm going to see her in Philadelphia on March 20!!!!!
Key Tracks: "Sadie," "Sprout and the Bean," "Cassiopeia," "Peach, Plum, Pear"

5. Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctica (2000):



Some albums come to you during the right moments in your life. For me, it was when I was 19, confused, depressed, misguided. This album got me through all of that. If existentialism had an album to define it, this would be it.
Key Tracks: "Alone Down There," "A Different City," "Lives," "Gravity Rides Everything"

4. The Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004):



It has always compelled me that the Arcade Fire's debut album was called Funeral, which usually is associated with closure and endings. Yes, every critic has kissed this album's ass to no end, but it deserves it unequivocably.
Key Tracks: "Neighborhood #2 (Laika)," "Rebellion (Lies)," "Une Annee Sans Lumiere," "Crown of Love"

3. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002):



Wilco's first few records didn't do much for me. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, as much as I tried avoiding all the critical hype surrounding it, made me a Wilco fan. Often called an OK Computer doused in Americana, this album is chock full of guilt, heartbreak and reflection.
Key Tracks: "Reservations," "Radio Cure," "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," "War on War"

2. Sigur Ros - ( ) (2002):



The songs on this album don't have titles, and aren't even sung in a real language (they're sung in Hopelandic, which is soley an invention of singer Jonsi, and even lacks words or definitions). Who knew that nothingness could say so much?
BTW: People are wondering "Where is Agætis Byrjun on this list?!?!?!?!" Answer: Not on this list. Agætis Byrjun was recorded in 1998-99, and released in its native Iceland in 1999. It might not have seen a proper American release until 2000, true, but I have to go by technicality here. Since it originally saw the light of day in 1999, regardless of where, Agætis Byrjun is a NINETIES RECORD!!!!!! And if I were to make a list of the best albums of the 90s, this would certainly be up there.

1. Radiohead - Kid A (2000):



Not an original choice for the top spot because everyone else pretty much picked it. But what do you want? I was hoping that Radiohead could follow up OK Computer without it sucking, and I thought they couldn't. I also didn't know that they were influenced by Sigur Ros and German music at the time (probably because when I was 15, I hadn't delved into muisc THAT much). The first notes of "Everything In its Right Place" were like a vacuum, and throughout the album, it sucked you in with no warning and hardly any tracks that even remotely resembled their earlier work ("Optimistic" and "How To Disappear Completely" come somewhat close, but even they have more of a darker and abstract atmosphere than anything on OK Computer). Radiohead surpassed all expectations by making something completely different than their 90s work and having it be completely original.
Key Tracks: All of it.... This is an album you can't skip around, otherwise you'd be depriving yourself of the full experience.

Well, there you have it. A pretty good list, I must say. Hopefully, you think so, too. Sure, I'm probably missing some albums on this list. There are other albums that may appear on other critics' "Best of" lists that I just don't give a damn about (Flaming Lips, Kanye West, Jay-Z and Animal Collective come to mind, although the jury's still deliberating on the latter-most). I always check out new shit, and I'll kick my own ass for not including a few other albums as I keep listening, but whatever. Hopefully, the 2010s will provide my eardrums with some good music.

The Top 100 (+20) of the 2000s Part Four: 40-21

Again, yes, I've been slacking. Actually, I've been busy. My band's first gig is tomorrow night and we've been working our asses off, fine tuning our songs, arguing, arguing, arguing, jamming, some more arguing, perfecting our songs, arguing... you get the idea. In case anyone reads this and is in the CT area, we're playing tomorrow at the Space in Hamden. Doors at 6, and we're expected to play from 6:45-7:15. Any support would be greatly appreciated, this being our first show. We have a Myspace (we're so 2006): www.myspace.com/clarkandthekents for some bad quality demos (that really need to be re-recorded).

Enough self-promotion. Let's get back to this list-a-roo!

40. Atlas Sound - Logos (2009):



Bradford Cox is definitely one of this decade's most vital musicians. Between Deerhunter and Atlas Sound, his solo project, he's released some great shit. Noah Lennox from Animal Collective and Laetitia Sadier from Stereolab collaborate with him on a few tracks on this album, and Cox is capable of making very compelling soundscapes.
Key Tracks: "Attic Lights," "Shelia," "Washington School"

39. Crystal Castles (2008):



I'm not really into electronica/electro/whatever the fuck you wanna call it, but I was very impressed by Crystal Castles. I was mesmerized by the fact that Ethan Kath used a keyboard with an Atari 5200 sound chip as an oscillator, and vocalist Alice Glass' caustic vocals give Lydia Lunch a run for her money.
Key Tracks: "Untrust Us," "Reckless," "Courtship Dating," "xxzcuzx me"

38. Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy (2005):



Their best album so far, Black Sheep Boy may not be as melancholy as Don't Fall In Love With Everyone You See, but it's still moving as anything they've ever released.
Key Tracks: "A Glow," "So Come Back, I Am Waiting," "In a Radio Song"

37. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (2006):



In a perfect world, Shania Twain and Taylor Swift would not be considered country and people would not listen to them. Unfortunately, the world's far from perfect, but at least Neko Case is around. Even if she's not 100% country, she gives its influence a damn good name.
Key Tracks: "Hold On, Hold On," "The Needle Has Landed," "Dirty Knife," "That Teenage Feeling"

36. Mission of Burma - The Obliterati (2006):



Heavier than their first post-breakup record, ONoffON, the best band ever to come out of Boston rock harder in their 50s than most people do in their 20s. It's also probably their most resonant album, or at least up there with Vs.
Key Tracks: "13," "Is This Where," "Nancy Reagan's Head," "Spider's Web."

35. Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights (2002):



Paul Banks does kind of sound like Ian Curtis, but this album sounds like they took Unknown Pleasures and added a huge shot of New York energy.
Key Tracks: "Obstacle 1," "Hands Away," "PDA," "NYC"

34. The Mountain Goats - Get Lonely (2006):



John Darnielle once said something along the lines of the only way you can understand this album is if your girlfriend (or boyfriend, spouse, what-have-you) left you. Hopefully I won't experience a breakup anytime soon, but I reckon that along with The Meadowlands by the Wrens (see #61), and Beck's Sea Change (on this list somwhere) this is one of the decade's best breakup albums.
Key Tracks: "In the Hidden Places," "Wild Sage," "If You See Light"

33. Sleep - Dopesmoker (2003):



It took three years to make, and the label would not take it, so they released it as Jerusalem in 1999, shortly before the band broke up, but as nine seperate tracks, and with some parts slightly done over. This 2003 release puts the track "Dopesmoker" as the band wanted it; as one solid track over an hour long, no frills, no bullshit.
Key Tracks: Well, there are only two; the title epic and a live track called "Sonic Titan," and out of the 2, the first one's better.

32. Sun Kil Moon - Ghosts of the Great Highway (2003):



Mark Kozelek, formerly of the Red House Painters, forms a new band that doesn't sound that much unlike his former band, but Kozelek proves himself still capable of making some incredibly moving music. Focal point: "Duk Koo Kim," a 14 minute track which refers to the late Korean boxer.
Key Tracks: "Carry me Ohio," "Duk Koo Kim," "Gentle Moon"

31. Cat Power - You Are Free (2003):



Other than an album of covers, Chan Marshall hadn't released an album of material since 1998's sublime Moon Pix. You Are Free boasts better production, and I suppose Marshall was more stable, but there are some very emotionally draining moments on this album. I hope "Names" isn't autobiographical.
Key Tracks: "He War," "Free," "Shaking Paper," "Names"

30. Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond (2007):



After 19 years, the original Dinosaur Jr. lineup released the band's best album since they were last together. I'm certainly glad that J. Mascis and Lou Barlow resolved their differences because their music had gotten pretty medicore by the end of the 90s.
Key Tracks: "Pick Me Up," "Almost Ready," "We're Not Alone"

29. The Decemberists - Castaways and Cutouts (2002):



Out of all the Decemberists' albums, this one resonated with me the most. I remember picking this up on vinyl, and hearing "Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect" and felt that it was one of the most beautiful songs ever.
Key Tracks: "Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect," "Odalisque," "Coccoon"

28. The Microphones - Mount Eerie (2003):



The last record under the Microphones moniker is definitely a strange one. Consisting of five tracks, Phil Elverum made some of the atrangest music of his career on this album, and "Universe" ends the album with perhaps the most unsettling feeling ever: uncertainty.
Key Tracks: Only five songs on this album, all amazing. Not picking favorites.

27. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz! (2009):



They changed gears for sure on this album. They sound almost like a completely different band on It's Blitz, with guitars for the most part forsaken in favor of synthesizers, but one thing remains constant: Karen O's reputation as one of the premier women in rock music in the 2000s.
Key Tracks: "Zero," "Head Will Roll," "Dull Life"

26. Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out (2000):



My personal favorite Yo La Tengo album, some of the band's most heartfelt songs are on this album. Just as long as your average latter-day YLT album, but not nearly as much of a hodgepodge as other albums.
Key Tracks: "Night Falls on Hoboken," "Our Way To Fall," "You Can Have It All," "Let's Save Tony Orlando's House"

25. Japandroids - Post-Nothing (2009):



Another two person band making it without a bass player. However, they manage to do it by creating awesome riffs and utilizing amazing songcraft that anything else added to their mix would be overkill.

24. Tom Waits - Alice (2002):



Released on the same day as Blood Money (see #81), this may be Waits at his most delicate (which really isn't that delicate). A theater production before making the album, it's theatric in a way only Tom Waits can make it.
Key Tracks: "Lost in the Harbor," "Everything You Can Think," "Reeperbahn," "Flower's Grave"

23. Songs: Ohia - Ghost Tropic (2000):



Few albums have the capacity to be visualized, in my opinion, and Ghost Tropic is probably a near-perfect soundtrack to a quiet walk alone on a September night, about 50 degrees out, after a breakup or a fight with a significant other, and having it wind down a desolate beach, watching the waves and wanting to work your problems out.
Key tracks: "No Limits on the Words," "Incantation," "The Ocean's Nerves"

22. Sonic Youth - Sonic Nurse (2004):



Yet another amazing album by Sonic Youth, it's definitely less jam-oriented than Murray Street, but continues in a similar style as their late 80s-early 90s records. If radio didn't suck, "Unmade Bed" could have been a big modern rock single.
Key Tracks: "Stones," "I Love You Golden Blue," "Dripping Dream," "Unmade Bed"

21. Godspeed You Black Emperor! - Life Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven (2000):



Two discs, 4 songs, and unlike a similar album that has the same format (Yes' "Tales From Topographic Oceans," I'm looking directly at you!), these compositions go somewhere.
Key Tracks: Yeah....


And for the last 5 that didn't make it in the final 100....

105. Mogwai - Rock Action (2001):



Rock Action may not be as spellbinding as Young Team, though I don't think they'll make another album as good as that. That said, "Take Me Somewhere Nice" is their best song ever, and it'll be even harder to make a song that good.
Key Tracks: "Take Me Somehwere Nice," "Secret Pint," "Dial: Revenge"

104. The Mountain Goats - We Shall All Be Healed (2004):



The first Mountain Goats album to be at least biographical, Darnielle's songwriting rose to a newer plateau with this album. Darnielle's tales of people he knew as a teenager "who are probably dead or in jail by now" make me look back on my own teenage years a bit more fondly. At least I didn't know any meth addicts!
Key Tracks: "Cotton," "All Up The Seething Coast," "Palmcorder Yajna"

103. OutKast - Stankonia (2000):



I don't love this album as much as everyone else in the music press does. It's still a great album, and I always gave OutKast credit for being the most intelelctually quixotic of all the hip-hops groups out there.
Key Tracks: "B.O.B." "I'll Call Before I Come," "Red Velvet," "Miss Jackson"

102. The xx (2009):



I usually say "Consumer Beware!" when it comes to bands both Rolling Stone and every "hip" music blog/publication out there love, and I was skeptical about The xx. One listen and I was hooked. Reminds me a bit of early Cure, but not as.... Cure-ish.
Key Tracks: "Stars," "Infinity," "Crystalised"

101. Tool - Lateralus (2001):



Very much like Ænima but on a bit of a darker trance, Tool loses the mock-industrial tracks sung in German about a recipe, but they still follow in the tracks of Bill Hicks of following their own vision and playing from their hearts. A bit more melodic, most likely due to Maynard James Keenan's tenure in A Perfect Circle, but just as heavy and epic, Lateralus was Tool's last great album.
Key Tracks: "The Patient," "Lateralis," "Reflection"

The Top 100 (+20) of the 2000s Part Three: 60-41

Sorry for the delay. I've been a bit lazy the past few days. But there are blog entries on the way, and I will finish this damn thing.

60. Sonic Youth - Murray Street (2002):



NYC Ghosts & Flowers was a tremendous disappointment, for they had been on a wave of overly consistent (and some absolutely fantastic) material for a good 15 years. However, few bands have the longevity and creativity that Sonic Youth has, so they are allowed one or two missteps here and there. Murray Street certainly makes up for any mediocrity, and contains some of their most enduring material.
Key Tracks: "Rain on Tin," "Disconnection Notice," "The Empty Page."

59. Electric Wizard - Dopethrone (2000):



Proof that metal can be good when it's slowed down to Melvins speed (particularly "Boris" or "Hag Me"). The thematic elements of this album are a bit silly, but who cares?
Key Tracks: "Vinum Sabbathi," "Weird Tales," "Barbarian"

58. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale (2006):




A hip-hop album so good, the Wu-Tanger had to release another album of pretty good shit that didn't make it onto this album.
Key Tracks: "Whip You With a Strap," "The Champ," "Be Easy," "Back Like That"

57. Swallow the Sun - The Morning Never Came (2003):



I first heard this album at a friend's house while I was high, and it moved me in a way that few metal albums have. When I sobered up, I downloaded it at home and felt just as moved by it. It's one of those metal albums that I listened to a lot even as my interest in my genre as a whole was dwindling, and the more mainstream metal was getting more dumb.
Key Tracks: "Deadly Nightshade," "The Morning Never Came," "Hold This Woe"

56. Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass (2006):



Ridiculous album title aside, Yo La Tengo managed to create another excellent album 20+ into their career. Perhaps their most experimental album probably ever, the band focuses less on their traditional fuzzy shoegazing inspired minimalist music and add in piano ballads, and other genres of music.
Key Tracks: "Sometimes I Don't Get You," "Beanbag Chair," "The Race Is On Again"

55. Andrew Bird - Armchair Aprochrypa (2007):



A slight departure from the more acoustic The Mysterious Production of Eggs, Andrew Bird plugs in more on this record and puts down the violin a little bit on this record, and creates some of his most instantly enjoyable material, whereas his other albums took me a while to get into. Few albums have ending songs as beautiful as "Yawny and the Apocalypse"
Key Tracks: "Heretics," "Armchairs,” “Imitosis,” “Plasticities”

54. Feist - Let it Die (2004):



A flawless combination of indie rock, bossa nova and jazz, Feist made one of the most appealing albums of the decade. Half covers and half originals, even the songs that weren’t hers to begin with she makes her own.
Key Tracks: “Mushaboom,” “One Evening,” “When I Was a Young Girl”

53. Explosions in the Sky - All of the Sudden I Miss Everyone (2007):



I was in Boston at a friend's, and they had on a college radio station that played the Minutemen, Sigur Ros and Feist all in a row (among others). They also "premiered" "Welcome, Ghosts," by far one of the band's most intriguing songs. I wanted more. And I got more.
Key Tracks: "Welcome Ghosts," "What Do You Go Home To," "Catastrophe and the Cure"

52. Bear in Heaven - Beast Rest Forth Mouth (2009):



Few other bands that I know of can mix Krautrock, psychedelia, and electronic music as nonchalantly as Bear in Heaven. "Teenagers In Love" was probably the most hypnotic single of 2009.
Key Tracks: "Teenagers In Love," "You Do You," 'Casual Goodbye"

51. Neko Case - Blacklisted (2002):



Back during my Starbucks days, they played many of the tracks off this album in the store. During shitty days, Neko Case helps me get through it. Blacklisted may be the perfect soundtrack to the 9 AM Starbucks rush with people screaming at you for not making their quad-venti-skim-2 pump vanilla-latte 182 degrees instead of 183.
Key Tracks: "Deep Red Bells," "I Wish I Was the Moon," "Things That Scare Me"

50. Tom Waits - Real Gone (2004):



If you take a piano away from Tom Waits, except it to get ugly. Real Gone is, by far, Waits' ugliest album. Scratchier than an irritated cat, sludgier than a mudslide, Waits' voice has rarely been as hoarse and demonic as it is on this album. That's not to say that "Trampled Rose" and "Day After Tomorrow" are two of his most beautiful and poignant songs.
Key Tracks: "Hoist That Rag," "Trampled Rose," "Shake It," "Baby Gonna Leave Me"

49. The White Stripes - De Stijl (2000):



The White Stripes' second album, definitely one of their rawest (although all of their albums are pretty raw) and very moving in some parts. After this album, the Stripes expanded their sound a little and made maybe some better material, but their music never was as direct and real as De Stijl.
Key Tracks: "Why Can't You Be Nicer To Me?" "Sister Do You Know My Name," "Truth Doesn't Make a Noise"

48. Radiohead - Amnesiac (2001):



Recorded during the same sessions as Kid A, but this album was not Kid B. This kid was an Amnesiac. Slightly more straightforward and less cold and clinical than Kid A, Amnesiac was just as barren as its predecessor, like feeling as if you're in an emotional wasteland.
Key Tracks: "Pyramid Song," "Knives Out," "Like Spinning Plates," "I Might Be Wrong"

47. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones (2006):




Rejecting their loud, abrasive, No-Wave influenced beginnings, Yeah Yeah Yeahs may have turned it down a bit on Show Your Bones by incorporating (*gasps*) acoustic guitar and more vulnerability than on "Maps," which lead to a derision of this album. Screw those who didn't get it though. Karen O. can be just as primal and just as much of a rock goddess by wearing her emotions on her sleeve.
Key Tracks: "Way Out," "Warrior," "Cheated Hearts"

46. PJ Harvey - White Chalk (2007):



By far her most beautiful album, White Chalk retreads the rather stark territory she visited on Is This Desire? but on a different level. Her vocals have never been better, and on some songs, she never sounded so broken and vulnerable.
Key Tracks: "When Under Ether," "The Piano," "White Chalk"

45. The Mountain Goats - Tallahassee (2002):



The first Mountain Goats albums to be 100% non-lo-fi, the transition from a cassette recorder to more developed arrangements and higher-quality recordings seemed to serve John Darnielle's often-brilliant storytelling very well.
Key Tracks: "First few Desperate Hours," "See America Right," "No Children"

44. Sufjan Stevens - Greetings from Michigan, The Great Lakes State (2003):



Sufjan Stevens first installment of the now-aborted 50 States Project, and about a state now ravaged in unemployment, Michigan is full of intricate yet sublime arrangements, and it makes me want to go to Michigan.
Key Tracks: "All Good Naysayers Sepak Up! Or Forever Hold Your Peace!" "Romulus,"
"Vito's Ordination Song," "

43. Isis - Panopticon (2004):



Another brilliant record by Isis, and often at times overlooked in favor of Oceanic, some of the band's most capitvating moments are on this album.
Key Tracks: "So Did We," "Wills Dissolve," "Grinning Mouths"

42. Elliott Smith - From a Basement on the Hill (2004):



Elliott Smith's untimely death was one of the decade's biggest tragedies in music. Released two days before the first anniversary of his death, From a Basement on the Hill contains some pretty harrowing lyrics that probably was a sign of events to come, but is also done so beautifully that it's like he was saying goodbye.
Key Tracks: "Let's Get Lost," "Twilight," "The Last Hour," "A Fond Farewell"

41. Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine (2005):



Fiona Apple's lone album of the decade, finally released six years after her last one and amid struggles with her label, Extraordinary Machine shows a slightly less somber Apple and a lot more mature. Then again, some of the stuff in this album is pretty bizarre.
Key Tracks: "Not About Love," "O Sailor," "Get Him Back"

And now for 5 more just outside of the Top 100

110. At The Drive-In - Relationship of Command (2000):



It had been swirling around in the media around the time of this album's release that these guys would be the next Nirvana. I'm not sure if I feel the same way, but "One-Armed Scissor" was one of the freshest and visceral songs to have a hit on modern rock radio. Considering that the Mars Volta, for the ost part, is an overindulgent, turgid mess, and Sparta's just mediocre... Supposedly these guys may reunite soon.
Key Tracks: "Invalid Litter Dept." "One-Armed Scissor," "Arcarsenal," "Quarantined"

109. Tori Amos - Scarlet's Walk (2002):



Before she spent the rest of the decade churning out pure turgidity (I really like that word!), Myra Ellen Amos could still write some very compelling material. An 18-song snapshot of traveling through America, and defining it post-9/11, Scarlet's Walk contains some of Tori's best stuff. "Messiahs needs people dying in their names" should be posted in philosophy books everywhere.
Key Tracks: "Pancake," "Carbon," "Sweet Sangria," "I Can't See New York"

108. Foo Fighters - One By One (2002):



I don't care if the band hates this album, because I think, after their debut, it's their best one! After this album, I kind of stepped off the Foomobile. They recorded this album quickly, and some of their most aggressive moments are on this record.
Key Tracks: "Low," "Come Back," "All My Life," "Disenchanted Lullaby"

107. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible (2007):




I kind of expected Win Butler & Friends to hit the classic sophmore slump with Neon Bible. While it is not as immediately captivating as Funeral, repeated listens warmed me up to this album, and is just as resonant as Funeral, but on a different level.
Key Tracks: "Ocean of Noise," "My Body is a Cage," "No Cars Go"

106. Sleater-Kinney - One Beat (2002):



Their first album post-September 11, the riot-grrl trio is at their most political on this record, critical of the Bush administration and draped in personal angst. Tracks like "Hollywood Ending" also take on preconceived notions of beauty in modern day America. One Beat may be even more powerful than Dig Me Out.
Key Tracks: "Light Rail Coyote ," "Combat Rock," "Oh!"