Snobfest 2010!

It is that time again kids! Actually it's a bit early, but patience is not something in which I excel. Anyway, here is Snobfest 2010! A collection of some of my favorite songs from 2010. There should be at least one song on here for someone. Except for the hip-hop fans. All my favorite hip-hop tracks were from artists on previous Snobfests or just too popular. Hit the link below for the zip file. You can also buy the songs on iTunes just search for Snobfest 2010. The iTunes playlist is short a few songs because they don't have the tracks. Either way, enjoy. If you would actually like a hard copy on disk with artwork rather than make your own let me know.

SNOBFEST 2010

Directions: Download and unzip file. Put file in music folder. In iTunes select "import playlist" and choose the Snobfest 2010 text file in folder. Print jpg cover if you want

Snobfest 2008: The Songs

Snobfest 2008: The Songs is available for download here. A more detailed description of the songs is forthcoming.


Track List:

Party Crashin'-Evangelicals- The Evening Descends
A-Punk- Vampire Weekend- Vampire Weekend
Cross the Fader- Poney Poney- Cross The Fader EP
First Taste of Trouble- the Sweet Serenades- First Taste
Sweet Darlin'- She & Him- Volume One
Moving- Pete And The Pirates- Little Death
Feedback in the Field- Plants and Animals- Parc Avenue
It's Over- Leatherbag- Love & Harm
Bright Side- The Muslims- The Muslims
Somebody, Somewhere- Cazals- Somebody, Somewhere
Dead Boys- The Fashion- Like Knives EP
Run To Your Grave- The Mae Shi- HLLLYL
Breaking It Up- Lykke Li- Youth Novels
Light Of Love- Music Go Music- Light Of Love
Fascination- Alphabeat- This is Alphabeat
I Like It, I Love It- Lyrics Born- I Like It, I Love It
Perfect Games- The Broken West- Now or Heaven?
If I Can See You (You're Too Close To Me)- Gentleman Jesse- Gentleman Jesse
I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked- Ida Maria- Fortress Round My Heart
I Need A Good Girl- Black and Whites- DMR 017
Set in Stone- Catfish Haven- Devastator
The '59 Sound- The Gaslight Anthem- The '59 Sound
Front Street- The Gutter Twins- Saturnalia

Snobfest 2007: The Songs

Finally, we are at the end. Here are my favorite songs of 2007. If you live in LA, you can as always ask for a copy. For those who don't, I've decided to do things a little different this year. I've embedded a flash player for the playlist if you simply want to listen. I've also compiled them all into a zip file to download here. Let me know if you have a problem opening the zip file.

Now on to the songs. It is a little bit dancey this year.

Justice: D.A.N.C.E. - Sure this song has been played to death, but can you blame them?

Whitey: Wrap it Up - I have to support the funky Ohioan even if he is from northern Ohio.

The Virgins: Rich Girls - Nice little Clash-lite ditty that just rolls along in a comfortable groove. My favorite moment is the "you don't have to be such a...asshole all the time" line.

The Wombats: Kill the Director - Post punk guitars, background "oooohs," shout along chorus = great guitar pop song.

Cheap Beat: Club Cheap Beat - It's like they made this song with me in mind. They knew I wanted a growing dance hook of jangly guitars and bouncing bass, and just when I'm to the point of tiring of the hook they throw in a chorus of background "bahs." That alone would've been enough for me, yet they then throw in some background "ohs." Sigh.

Vampire Weekend: Walcott - This seems to be everyone's favorite track from my blog this year, so I guess I don't need to say anything about it. Oh, their debut album comes out this Tuesday.

Matt & Kim: yeah yeah - This song lead to this post. I want to make songs like this in my little apartment.

Ghosthustler: Parking Lot Nights - Or maybe a song like this.

breakbot: happy rabbit - For some reason at the beginning of this song I'm always reminded of the Peanuts theme.

LCD Soundsystem: All My Friends - Probably should have made the album list of Snobfest this year.

White Williams: New Violence - Ok, the dance portion is almost over. I imagine those of you who like your intricate chord changes are a litt-Oooh hand claps.

Jens Lekman: The Opposite of Hallelujah -

I picked up a seashell
To illustrate my homelessness
But a crab crawled out of it
Making it useless

And all my metaphors fell flat
Down on the rocks where we sat
She asked where are you at?

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova: When Your Mind's Made Up - I love how this song builds.

Lucky Soul: Add Your Light to Mine - How I like those sweet bouncy horns.

Dusty Rhodes and The River Band: Dear Honey - I have no idea why I like this song. It's like a San Fran flower child country band wrote a song based on the 90's alterna rock quiet loud song structure.

Blitzen Trapper: Wild Mountain Nation - How many slide guitars does a song need?

Cheyenne: The Whale - It's like a midwest power pop band wanted to write a dance hit. It just chugs along like it should fit between LCD and breakbot, but is doesn't.

The Broken West: Down in the Valley - My LA theme song for the year.

Dinosaur Jr.: Almost Ready - J. Mascis! Barlow! Murph! I wish this song was in Guitar Hero or Rock Band.

Vincent Vincent and the Villains: I'm On My Own - This is exactly what you should expect from a band with this name.

Ida Maria: Oh My God - The angry sing along song of 2007. It just drives itself home till you think it can't build anywhere and then there's that one "Oh My God!" that busts through what you thought was the song's ceiling and you suddenly find you voice a little ragged.

Snobfest 2007: The Movies

Once - Is there a more tonally satisfying last shot than the one in this movie?

No Country for Old Men - If you had to be stalked by either Michael Myers or Anton, who would you choose? I think I'd go Myers.

Hot Fuzz - I really wish "By the power of Greyskull" would have caught on as a catch phrase for 2007.

The Lookout - ...

Juno - Went in expecting another Little Miss Sunshine, but was pleasantly surprised. I am getting awfully tired of these Mod/60's folk/ indie rock soundtracks. I thought Wes Anderson already called dibs on all the Kinks songs? The duet at the end though made it worth it. Is anyone else surprised that we haven't tired of Michael Cera's schtick? This sounds like I'm backhand complimenting the movie. I really enjoyed it. Loved the parents. Loved how it didn't stick with Garner's character being the "bad" one in the marriage. Very funny.

Ratatouille - With this gem, The Incredibles, and The Iron Giant, Brad Bird has his trifecta. I guess that's why he's moving on to direct live action.

3:10 to Yuma - Maybe I just sorely missed a good western, but I enjoyed this movie immensely.

Knocked Up - Apatow still needs an editor, but he's consistent.

Misc. Honors:

Best Efficient Action Movie with a Crappy Sucker Punch Message Ending: The Kingdom

Best I Shouldn't be Enjoying this Movie as Much as I am to the Extent that I'm Feeling a Little Guilty About it Movie: Shoot 'em Up

Best Beautiful Mess of a Movie: There Will Be Blood - I like that this movie has brought out A Reader's Manifesto type criticism. I think it fits. At times I was annoyed and at times bewildered and at times enamored. I fully support this movie and the experimentation of it, but I didn't love it.

Snobfest 2007: Albums

So here are my favorite albums of 2007. I will follow this up with movies and then finally songs. For your viewing pleasure, I've embedded videos from the albums selected. Enjoy. A little warning: the Okkervil River and Afghan Whigs videos are slightly risque.

Blitzen Trapper - Wild Mountain Nation + Cool Love #1 EP

Rarely do kitchen sinks album work, and work as well as Wild Mountain Nation. It's a mix of psychedelic, alt country, power pop, and even a little dash of The Dead. There's the swinging freak-out of the opener Devil's a Go-Go. The Dead like countrified jam of the title track. The Beckish pop of Sci-fi Kid that's hit a few TV shows. The most amazing things is that with all this mixture of different styles it actually holds together. There's a great exuberance and joy to the music. Then you add the EP which you should pick up simply for the title track, Cool Love #1. I just wish it included A Lover Loves too. Pick up these two records and dance the freak-out it will do you some good.



Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond

I hate to repeat myself, but rarely do reunion albums work. Actually, they never work. I can't think of one. At least I can't think of one that is close to being as good as this album. 19 years since the original trio put out Bug, they got back together and put out this album. And you know what nothing has changed. Maybe I am feeding my love for this album with a little nostalgia, but I don't care. It's a great rock and roll record.



Once Sountrack

This will be the only time I will ever put a soundtrack on Snobfest let alone a soundtrack to what is basically a musical. If you still haven't seen this movie, I don't know what you are waiting for. It recently came out on DVD. Borrow it from a friend. Netflix the damn thing. If you did see it and didn't like it, you know what? You have no soul. That's right only the souless could not like this movie.



Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala

Damn those Swedes and their ability to make irresistible pop music. Jens has once again created joyful melancholy music. I have always admitted a love for sweet pop songs with string and horns creating the catchy as hell melodies. On top of these melodies Jens recites his witty lyrics in a wonderful deadpan delivery that makes you smile to his relatable tales. This is perfect for those long weekend drives when you aren't in a rush to get where you are going.



Okkervil River - The Stage Names

With this album and their last album and appendix, Okkervil River has been given my "first day purchase" seal of approval. I will buy their next album the day it is released without thinking. With Stage Names it seems Okkervil River have taken everything and compressed it all into a dense nine song album. The opening and closing tracks are the two standouts of a great album. I will take Okkervil over Mr. Bright Eyes' whiny naive preaching any day.



Lucky Soul - The Great Unwanted

This could probably be a nice companion album to Lekman's previously mentioned one. There's a little Motown, Beach Boys, and 60's girls group wrapped up into a wonderful pop album.



The National - The Boxer

Another artist that has received the "first day purchase" seal of approval. Once again The National have created a genius album that you can't really appreciate with a few passing listens while you clean your apartment. There are no "rockers" like "Lit Up" or "Mr. November" on Alligator. These songs still pack a punch. I hate assigning numbers my Snobfest selections, but if forced this is the best album of the year.



The Afghan Whigs - Unbreakable

What? Don't look at me like that. I know it's a compilation album, but come on. I finally get to put an Afghan Whigs album in Snobfest. I had to do it.

Snobfest 2007: Video Games

Best "Forget the Story Let's Just Play" Game of the Year: There have been plenty of sandbox games: Grand Theft Auto, Saint's Row, Mercenaries, etc. The designers give you one big city or area to play around in and do what you want. The problem is it the games got a little boring if you ventured too far off the set story line. Sure there are side missions and other challenges you could try to accomplish, but it was all kind of eh. "Kind of Eh" I think is the new title of this blog. Anyway, earlier this year a game called Crackdown came along. A crap load of people bought it for one big reason: Halo 3 demo included! The thing is the game is a lot of fun, and it's not the story that is fun. It is just playing around in the world that really makes this game. Making it even better is playing online with a friend. There are gang members and their bosses you can have fun killing, but there are so many more satisfying things you can do as two super human cops. Play dodge ball with cars, rocket launcher tag, sucker kick your friend off a tall building (never ever gets old), play HORSE with jumps, and so on and so on. Finally a game that makes just playing in the sandbox fun. Now if it only allowed four players online.

Best "It's Like a Movie" Game of the Year: Call of Duty developers, Infinity Ward, did the smart thing on its fourth installment by taking it out of WWII and placing it in modern day because I don't think I could have played another WWII game. It would've been a shame if I hadn't have picked this game up because it is simply brilliant. It is still a finely tuned and expertly paced Call of Duty game. It still looks fantastic. The developers just seemed to have brought it all together in Call of Duty 4. From the chaotic assaults to manning massive gun from a gunship to working your way across an abandoned city to snipe a warlord it is all expertly told and laid out. It really is like a six hour movie that concludes in a fantastic set piece. Most of all I'm simply happy that bad guys can no longer hide behind doors and thin walls. The bullets pass through objects they should pass through. Is some militant hiding ducking behind a barrel? Unload into the barrel to take him out. My only real complaint is that there is no co-op, and no cover system like Rainbow Six: Vegas or Gears of War.

Best "End of an Era" Game of the Year: This year has basically seen Sony walk away from the Playstation 2. This year the system has mainly seen Guitar Hero bonus crap, sports games, and a slew of Japanese RPG's. There was though one huge last gasp made by the PS2, and that was God of War II. The developers squeezed every bit they could out of the decade old system to deliver a thrilling game worthy of its predecessor. The story may not be as compelling as the original, but that could be simply chalked up to the cliff hangerish ending. It still moves the story of Kratos forward with polished combat, the always appreciated frustration free puzzles, and great boss battles. If Metal Gear doesn't cause me to buy a PS3, I'm certain God of War 3 will.

Best Over Anticipated Game of the Year: What else but the final chapter in the game franchise that saved Xbox? If it wasn't for Halo would there even be an Xbox 360? Halo 3 was easily the biggest game of the year. It sold millions of copies. People all around the world either couldn't wait to see how it ended or couldn't wait to be cussed out by 10 year olds. Halo 2 made me swear off online gaming with strangers. Anyway, Halo 3 is actually a good game. I still get thrill when I take down a Scarab. It's like Luke taking out an AT-AT. The story came to a satisfying conclusion. I really like the meta-game in four player co-op. But my own personal glee comes from the Grunt Birthday Party skull. Seeing grunts heads explode in confetti when shot followed by children screaming "Yay!" never gets old...never.



Best Massive Game of the Year: I played only one RPG this year: Mass Effect. I'm not a huge RPG fan, but I will play any game that Bioware puts out. How can you go wrong with the team behind Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic? Well apparently a lot of people think they did go wrong. This game topped a lot of people's biggest disappointment list. To be honest I have a difficult time disagreeing with their issues with the game. The inventory system is overwhelming and at times confusing. It did take me awhile to get some kind of handle on the combat system. Even then I found myself sticking with what little I figured out. I too got sick of all the elevators you had to take. No I don't know why you can sprint only while in combat. And driving that tank around drove me up the wall. But you know what? I still couldn't stop playing. I debated every decision I had to make. I loved being the bad ass with a soft side. Sure I had my character be cold and unforgiving toward those who broke the law or crossed me, but I did my best to help the innocent. (Slight Spoiler) Near the end of the game you are forced to choose which of your teammates you have to send on a suicide mission. For about five minutes I debated the pros and cons of sending either teammate. The thing is once I made my peace with the decision, near the end of that mission you are asked again, "Are you sure you want this person to die." Ugh, that ate up another five minutes debating the fate of two video game characters. See, the story pulls you in, and it's a wonderfully told epic of a story. I did get sick of those elevators.

Best "I Can Rock & You Can Too" Game of the Year: I know I've gone all over this again, but bear with me. This year we saw the battle of the rock star simulator games. It was Guitar Hero 3 vs. Rock Band. I've gone over my pros and cons. Guitar Hero 3 is tough. I mean sneaky tough. You're just going along fine till you hit the brick wall that is "Live in Japan." Then the game makes you cry. Guitar Hero also has the better guitar in my opinion. Rock Band on the other hand is more accepting of new comers. This acceptance also means there wasn't a whole lot of challenge if you simply wanted to play guitar, or knew of nobody who wanted to be a in a video game band with you. Then something happened called "Downloadable content." Downloadable content has put Rock Band ahead of Guitar Hero for me. Harmonix, the developer of Rock Band, clearly knows what keeps a game like this going. Since their release, Guitar Hero 2 has had 20 tracks available for download. Three of those are the boss battles that were already in the game. One was We Three Kings for Christmas season, and there was the Halo theme. The last time they made new content available was Dec. 20th. Rock Band has 41 tracks available for download. From the Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville" to Radiohead's "My Iron Lung" and on through to Metallica's "Ride the Lightning." Every Tuesday since the game was released they have made at least three new tracks available for download. That alone is why I have played Rock Band every week since I've bought it, and why it gets my pick for rock simulator of the year. I should also admit that it has taken every ounce of self control not to buy the drums and microphone for the game. Once this strike is over, I'm starting a fake band!

Best "Game of the Year" Game of the Year: So we know what this is going to be. It's already been on the top of a number of Game of the Year lists. It is the creepy, noirish, Atlas Shrugged inspired Bioshock. It is almost as perfect as gaming can get. Everything from story to music to gameplay to design is superb. It is one of the few games that got me a little choked up at the end after saving all the "Little Sisters." I had to look away from the TV when I played it a second time and would harvest the "Little Sisters." I got the shivers hearing the clickety scrape of the Splicers crawling across the ceilings. I got that feeling of dread hearing the ominous moan followed by the heavy thumps of a Big Daddy. I even began to feel a little sad after killing a Big Daddy knowing he was only there to protect the "Little Sisters." My point is that the developers have created a world that you can completely get lost in. My only complaint is the pipe dreamish hacking you have to do on vending machines, cameras, turrets, etc. While they are fun for the first couple levels, they soon become an annoying chore no matter how much you up your hacking skills, but that's it. Everything else is perfect.

Best "Bang for Your Buck" Game of the Year: It has an awful name called "The Orange Box." But what comes inside this "box" is pure gold. For the price of one game you get the brilliant Half Life 2 along with the two following episodes. But that's not all...you also get the online multiplayer Team Fortress 2. All of these are A+ games. The real gem in this deal is a short first person puzzler called Portal. In Portal you are a test subject that has to make its way through 19 different levels. All you have is a portal gun that can pick up objects and create portals. For example you shoot the gun at a wall the entrance portal is created. You shoot again at another wall the exit portal is created. You use this along with gravity and a weighted companion cube to solve the nineteen levels where you will apparently be given cake as your reward. It should be mentioned though that graffiti written by previous test subjects warn that the cake is a lie. This alone makes for an ingenious game. What puts it over the top though is GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System). GlaDOS is who observes your progress and educates you through your tasks. She lets you know about the cake reward, and the physics of the portal gun. "Speedy thing goes in, speedy thing comes out." She also encourages you, "Fantastic! You remained resolute and resourceful in an atmosphere of extreme pessimism." GlaDOS turns out to be the funniest video game character since I don't know when. Here are some other GLaDOS quotes:

"The Enrichment Center promises to always provide safe testing environments. In dangerous testing environments, the Enrichment Center promises to always provide useful advice. For instance, the floor here will kill you. Try to avoid it."

"Well done, android. The Enrichment Center once again reminds you that android hell is a real place where you will be sent at the first sign of defiance."

"Wheeeeeeeee."

"Stop what you are doing and assume the party escort submission position, or you will miss the party."

"When I said 'deadly neurotoxin,' the deadly was in massive sarcasm quotes."

"You're not a good person. You know that, right? Good people don't end up here."

"That thing you burnt up isn't important to me. Not any more. It's the Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit; it makes shoes for orphans. Nice job breaking it, hero."

To wrap things up go buy The Orange Box just for this game. Just consider all the other games as really really good icing.

I leave you now with the Portal credits. This almost made the list of Snobfest 2007 Songs.

Snobfest 2007: Year in Review

Have you wondered where I've been? Did you think I went on a mission to rid the world of the SEC? Perhaps I became a professional fantasy football player after winning my championship even though I had Willie Parker as running back in the championship game? Some of you probably thought I started my own Celebrity Death handicapping business since I won my Celebrity Death Pool. (Special thanks to Brooke Astor, Lady Bird Johnson, and Dan Fogelberg for their help in making it happen.) Maybe I started touring with a rock band or a Rock Band band? Could I have given up all my worldly possessions and wandered the planet like the Hulk? Sadly, the answer to all of those is: No.

What I have been doing is working on the always loved and partially skimmed through Snobfest. Before we begin though let us look back, briefly, to what happened in 2007.

January:

My Xbox 360 caught the Red Ring of Death.

Ohio State got crushed by an SEC team.

I pulled off the movie trifecta with: Children of Men, Dreamgirls and Pan's Labyrinth.

I gave birth to this:

For a moment I would like to point out how disappointed I am with all these "strike" beards that talk show hosts and others are sporting like a badge of courage. There is no courage in growing a beard. Beards are easy. You can grow one just out of laziness. They cover half your face with no real embarrassment. A mustache takes real courage. You have to make a mustache happen.



And in a moment of complete boredom I made this:



February:

I had my wisdom teeth removed and was fine the next day.

That's all that happened.

March:

Larry "Bud" Melman and Brad Delp pass away. This made March a very sad month.

My readership triples with American Idol recaps.

I wrote the following on March 30, 2007:

"The Indians will beat the Yankees in the ALDS and then lose to the Red Sox in the ALCS. This will reinforce the Red Sox as the second most hated team in baseball."

April:

Lou Piniella loses it and a Cubs pitcher and catcher beat the crap out of each other. Surprisingly, the team improves.

Jennie and Inga visited!

I become addicted to playing a toy guitar.

May:

We learn that the American Idol producers have gotten lazy in trying to hide how rigged their show is.

Anne Marie graduates from college. I get to see how dirty hippies live.

Mandy and I learn that there are squirrels in Arizona that have the bubonic plague! People are apparently fine with this.

Mandy attends her first MLB game.

I began going to have my ass massaged legally through physical therapy.

June:

After months of taking Enbrel, 90% of the psoriasis is gone. I have no complications other than the expected baby arm. I stop wearing a hat. Cats and dogs start living together which is soon followed by mass hysteria.

Tony Soprano dies or doesn't. We will never know. Do you realize that? We will never know! Half of America rationalized themselves into believing this is OK.

The inaugural Movies That Suck Sunday is held.

July:

I become addicted to physical therapy.

The love between bobby and I is tested when we disagree about the movie, The Lookout.

The love is healed by the power of rock and roll and crappy movies when Movies that Suck Sunday II is held.

August:

Anne Marie moves to LA. There is much rejoicing.

My Xbox 360 contracts the Red Ring of Death, again, in the same year. There is much damning.

The Cubs are actually in a pennant race. I lose a year of my life for every game played from here on out.

September:

I join the Reading to Kids program.

The Cubs make the playoffs.

October:

The Cubs are swept out of the playoffs.

I quit smoking

Writers threaten to strike over new media residuals.

I tire of talking about the strike.

The Indians beat the Yankees in the ALDS and then lose to the Red Sox in the ALCS. The Red Sox become the second most hated team in baseball.

November:

Writers strike. Nobody outside of LA and NY really notices.

I rocked them all!

People outside of LA and NY think the writer's strike is over. It's not.

December:

I sit on my ass... a lot.

Christmas in Ohio.

Most of my family wakes up at 6:30 in the morning to go to an Irish Pub to see my Tottenham Hotspurs play Assenal on TV. Perhaps the greatest day of 2007 even though they lost.

January 2008:

Half of LA is still jobless.

Ohio State got crushed by an SEC team. Buckeyes are only halfway to becoming the collegiate Buffalo Bills.

Snobfest 2006: What Is Old Is New

Normally at this point I would throw out my Classic Song of 2006, and then a few other songs that I like and a few I hate. I started trying to decide on my classic song, and simply couldn't decide. Why limit it to just one? Why not just give a list of old songs I've discovered or rediscovered? Before that, let us get the tearing down part out of the way.

Most Annoying Song of the Year- The funny thing is that I haven't even heard this song all the way through. I haven't even heard this song on the radio. I don't know anyone that likes it, but you still can't escape it. Every Saturday and Sunday you are guaranteed to hear it about 10 times an hour during football games. Yes, I'm talking about the migraine inducing song, "Our Country" by John Mellancamp, that plays during every Chevy Silverado commercial. The commercials that air once every commercial break during sporting events. Here's the real problem. Songs on the radio have a life in heavy rotation for at the most a month. This song is planned to be apart of the Silverado campaign through at least 2007. At least! This is going to be a long year.

Guilty Pleasure Song of the Year - I'm really kind of embarrassed how much I enjoy this song. Especially since it's just her singing over a sample of Soft Cell's "Tainted Love." For some reason there was a time when I couldn't get enough of Rihanna's "S.O.S." I will also admit it probably had something to do with the fact that she's purty as well.

Now on to the songs.

Wait a Million Years - The Grass Roots Back in March I already labeled this group as having earned my classic song of 2006. Because of that I'm starting off with these guys. I narrowed my list of songs by this group down to four and then just blindly picked one. So, enjoy the horns and the "whoas" and that long intro build. I highly suggest picking up their greatest hits album for starters. You will not be disappointed.

Break it Loose - Onyx This comes from a compilation of Bay Area funk bands I bought a couple years back. It's one of those albums I just loaded onto my iPod and then waited to be pleasantly surprised while shuffling. This song has become my favorite from the comp. This group is not to be confused with the 90's rap group of the same name.

Too Far Gone To Turn Back Now - JR Bailey Just a great R&B song. A lost classic.

Baby, Now That I've Found You - The Foundations These Brits actually sang a lot of songs other than "Build Me Up Buttercup." This is their first hit.

Who Are You Gonna Love (Your Woman or Your Wife) - Rozetta Johnson Part anger and part sadness and I can't get enough of this song. I would like just one American Idol contestant who has a deep knowledge of R&B and start singing lost R&B classics. If someone sang this on Idol, I think it would do wonders for this song. A British label called ACE Records has done a wonderful job of making songs lost this available again to the public.

Go Now - Bessie Banks Yes, this is the Moody Blues song we all know. I think Bessie's version is actually better than the original. The Moody Blues had too quick of a pace when they wrote it. Here Bessie let's the song simmer along like it should.

Funny How Love Can Be - Ivy League Another Brit Pop one hit wonder. There's a little SoCal harmonies and a dash of Motown in this little ditty.

Something Here In My Heart- Paper Dolls Came across this while looking for girl groups. This song and the Foundations song were written by Tony Macaulay and John MacLeod.

Walking Out on Love - The Beat Was reminded of this song after hearing The Exploding Hearts cover. This is probably Paul Collins best song, but "Rock N Roll Girl," "Work-a-Day World," and others give it a run for the top slot.

Don't Let Her Know - Alter Ego Another power pop gem. This comes from the band's unreleased LP. Rave Up Records did a reprint of the LP on vinyl, but apparently this song was so messed up on the masters that it didn't make it on what turned out to be an EP. Teenline though came to the rescue and was able to save this song. People at Teenline and Rave Up deserve support for their efforts to make sure the fantastic music these forgotten bands have created is still available.

Understanding - The Rockers In case you can't tell we are in the power pop section of this post. Don't worry there are only three more after this. I completely lucked out in getting a hold of the EP that this song comes from. I was buying a couple albums by The Finders from a small record label. The Finders used to be The Rockers and due to a disagreement between the former bassist and the band the Rockers EP couldn't be sold. Turns out the guy running the label was a part of both bands. Because I was a fan and had already bought a couple albums he passed along the EP to me for free since he couldn't legally sell it. I think I actually did the hand claps of joy when I got it.

Holiday Fire - Marc Thor This is such an odd power pop song. His voice wavers from the pitch almost deliberately. The change from chorus to verse (?) is awkward. Actually the whole song structure is a little off, but I really like it.

Whole Wide World - Wreckless Eric Well anyone who saw the movie "Stranger Than Fiction" now knows this song. I'll be honest I was a little torn when Will Ferrell's character sat down and started strumming the song. My first thought was "Yeah, Wreckless Eric!" Then I realized a song on my list of 200 songs I want to get into a TV show or movie that I write was now taken. Also, did anyone believe that this could possibly be a song that the character knew? The one song he learned was this? Really?

Statue of Liberty - XTC Each year I come to appreciate XTC more and more. I don't think their early stuff gets enough credit.

Natural's Not In It - Gang of Four To all you kids out there who love Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, and the rest of the recent post-punk bands that have come out, this is one of the bands to whom they owe half their royalties.

I Am A Scientist - Guided by Voices For the first minute and a few second of this song you have a nice low-fi pop song. Then that odd slightly off kilter guitar part kicks in. It's almost like Pollard wanted to throw the listener off. One of Ohio's greatest bands.

Celebrated Summer - Husker Du Back in the day it was the Replacements or Husker Du. Kind of like how fanboys these days like the Xbox 360 but hate the Playstation 3. I was a Replacements fan, so it took me a little while longer to come around to Husker Du. I still like the Replacements more. I will admit Norton's mustache was the greatest in rock n roll at the time.

Care of Cell 44 - The Zombies Look The Zombies did more than the song "Time of the Season." In fact their album "Odessey and Oracle" is a brilliant album.

The Red Lantern - Jeff Klein This song actually came out in 2005. I've really come around to this kid. I like how this song literally seems to just chug along. My advice to him is that he really needs to start touring with a full band.

Got No Shame - Brother Cane Back in 1993 when hair metal was exhaling its last breath and bands began hitching onto grunge's shooting star, Brother Cane came out of nowhere with this pure rock song full of heavy cow bell and harmonica. Somehow this got played on MTV where I first heard the song. Case and I played the shit out of this song. Unfortunately, the band went the way of grunging up their sound, stopped rocking, and became boring.

That's it. I hope you enjoy at least one or two of these songs. Coming up is the TV and Movie Snobfest posts.

Snobfest 2006: The Songs

This part of Snobfest is probably my favorite and most difficult. It's not easy narrowing a song list down to a single CD's worth. There were three songs I'm still agonizing over that I cut from this list. Anyway, you can either download them or email me for a CD. Again no specific order has been given. Enjoy. Oh, and some of these songs have "bad" words.

Eagles of Death Metal-Don't Speak (I Came to Make a Bang!)-

This is a movie trailer song if there ever was one. I've tried numerous times this year to get this song on our show. I couldn't even get this song into our Christmas reel. Anyway this song fits into my "dirt rock" category. It's all sleazy and percussion heavy. How can this not make the teaser of one of our episodes?

Twilight Singers-Andiamo-

There are better songs on Powder Burns and the Stitch in Time EP. So why am I putting it up here? First of all, the only way you can get this song is through eMusic. Even the bonus track on iTunes made the EP. Second, Dulli hasn't rocked like this in awhile. It begins all simmering, and then builds into a wall of sound built with horns, guitars, drums, bass, and Dulli's cigarette stained howl. There might be better songs, but I love this song. The third reason is the line, "My belly's gettin' fat/but my thoughts are even heavier" makes me laugh. The horns make this song.

The Exploding Hearts-(Making) Teenage Faces-

How can you not love this band? Just one big fat hook that won't let go.

The Hold Steady-Stuck Between Stations-

It's the piano that really makes this song for me particularly during the coda. And that opening power chord. As with any Craig Finn written song you also have to enjoy the humorous touches in a story about a poet who commits suicide.

Stuck Between Stations

there are nights when i think that sal paradise was right. boys and girls in america have such a sad time together.
sucking off each other at the demonstrations.
making sure their makeup's straight.
crushing one another with colossal expectations.
dependent, undisciplined, sleeping late.

she was a really cool kisser and she wasn't all that strict of a christian.
she was a damn good dancer but she wasn't all that great of a girlfriend.
he likes the warm feeling but he's tired of all the dehydration.
most nights were crystal clear but tonite its like it's stuck between stations
on the radio.

the devil and john berryman took a walk together
they ended up on washington talking to the river
he said "I surrounded myself with doctors and deep thinkers
but big heads with soft bodies make for lousy lovers".
there was that night that we thought that john berryman could fly.
but he didnt so he died.
she said "you're pretty good with words but words won't save your life"
and they didn't so he died.

he was drunk and exhausted but he was critically acclaimed and respected.
he loved the golden gophers but he hated all the drawn out winters.
he likes the warm feeling but he's tired of all the dehydration.
most nights were kind of fuzzy but that last night he had total retention.


these twin city kisses.
sound like clicks and hisses.
and we all come down and drown in the mississippi river.

we drink
we dry up.
we crumble into dust.

we get wet we corrode
we get covered in rust.


Voxtrot-Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives-

Hmm. There are some big old late 80's Brit-pop jangly guitars in here. I really thought I'd given up this type of jangle. Here though Voxtrot balances the guitars with a solid hook and strong bass and drums. The way this song builds is nice that I clearly have come back to enjoy this jangle-pop song. With the EP of the same name and their Wolves EP, I'm looking forward to see what this Austin group can do with a full album.

Midlake-Roscoe-

I was completely hooked on this song the second I heard it. It's a twist on that Fleetwood Mac sound with CSN&Y harmonies. Plus the lyrics come across like a backwoods hippie version of Iron Maiden lyrics. Too bad none of the rest of the songs on the album come close to this.

Band of Horses-The Funeral-

Damn more jangley guitars. I swore I gave them up. The first thing that popped into my head when I heard this song was "Catherine Wheel made a new album?" Tell me this doesn't sound like their song "Black Metallic." I eventually got past this once the haunting "Ooohs" came in. This could be perhaps the saddest song of the year.

Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins-Rise Up with Fists!!!-

How ballsy is Jenny Lewis? She put not one, or two, but three exclamation points in this song title. Three!!! I still like the gospel sound the Watson Twins give this song. It helps me handle the first two versus of this song that come across like the Genesis song "Jesus He Knows Me."

Lucero-I Can Get Us Out Of Here-

I can't remember how I came across this song. I don't think I've heard the rest of this album, but this song has apparently stuck with me. Again, I think it's the keyboards that won me over to this song. It has a hint of Springsteen, a little dash of early Whiskeytown B-sides, and a bit of a vocalist trying to hard to sound hoarse. This is a really nice driving late at night song when you need to stay awake.

Destroyer-European Oils-

There are three things I love about this song. 1. The verses that seem to come from some hippie drug trip in a late sixties movie. 2. The la la la's. Fantastic la la la's. Some of the best la la la's ever in a song 3. I will admit I sometimes listen to the song simply for this line: "She needs to feel at peace with her father, the fucking maniac." The way he whisper yells "the fucking maniac."

The Blow-Parentheses-

This is the kind of song you would play in college if you wanted to hook up with that really cute feminist-to-the-point-of-being-confused-for-being-a-lesbian girl you met in your Intro to Arts class. Most of the class is annoyed when she goes on her rants in class, but you find it kind of cute. The way she juts her bottom lip out when the professor tells her to sit down. So cute. If only she bathed a little more often. Anyway, this is the kind of song she would really like. She would really like the part about the"deli isle." Too bad she likes the closet gay guy that won't give her the time of day and treats her like crap.

Phoenix-Long Distance Call-

Damn, Parisians. How do you pick a song when half their album is solid grade A pop songs? I narrowed it down to three and finally just picked this one. I think it's the "hmm" the singer utters before singing the chorus. It might be the line "Got little to tell, I don't say much but I might." I identify with that line. Actually it's just the jangly guitars and hook.

Peter, Bjorn & John-Young Folks-

Now it's easy to see why this song is great. It's the whistling, and the baseline. How can you not whistle along? Ok, ex-Concretes singer Victoria Bergsman adds a lot too.

TV on the Radio-I Was a Lover-

I almost went with "A Method" simply because I like the a cappella song. Then I decided on selecting "Wolf Like Me," but thought that was too obvious. I really love this song. The string sample rolls along with the drums, the noise, and the falsetto, then at the 2:24 the piano comes in and turn the song on its head, then goes right side up again. Great song.

Escort-Starlight-

Look, I don't care what you say. I swear this song was made in 2006. I swear.

The Coup-My Favorite Mutiny-

How this for a piano based funk call to arms anthem? Boots Riley and Pam the Funkstress bring on Black Thought and Talib Kweli to share the rhymes and create a song that rivals any so called activist song released today. The funk doesn't hide what they are saying, it just makes sure you hear what they want to say because you end up listening to it multiple times.

Ghostface Killah Feat. Raekwon-Kilo-

This song would fit on "The Wire." It paints a perfect picture of the paranoia, hierarchy, and how kids are used as gophers by selling them the dream of a better life. Ghostface could probably be a staff writer for "The Wire." He hits those details that other rappers don't. Did I mention the funky horns?

Gnarls Barkley-Smiley Faces-

The best R&B song released this year.

Rhymefest-All I Do-

The best hip-hop anthem for those who live in the slums and work hard and fight to make it out without giving into temptation.

Snobfest 2006: The Albums

Where going to go backward in comparison to last year, and start off with the albums. Again there is no specific order. I'll be honest and say I was a little concerned that this post could even reach a satisfactory number that it would be worth doing a list. I was gladly mistaken. Though the song list became much more difficult to narrow down so they could fit on one CD. Anyway, let us start off with the obvious ones I've mentioned before.

Twilight Singer - Powder Burns + Stitch in Time EP

Yes, I can hear you all groan from here, so I'll do my best to be short and sweet. I've had over eight months to absorb this album, and my final decision is that Powder Burns is Dulli's best album since Black Love. I still personally like Blackberry Belle more, but Powder Burns as a whole is the better album. The bonus Dulli fans received this year was the Stitch in Time EP which fits nicely with Powder Burns. First off it has the fantastic cover of Massive Attack's "Live With Me" with Mark Lanegan handling the lead vocals. What follows is just as good or at least comes really really close. There's the R&B groove "Sublime." The dark groove of "Flashback" which along with "They Ride" (co-written by Whigs guitarist Rick McCollum) would fit perfectly on any of the Afghan Whigs albums. The EP concludes with the haunting "The Lure Would Prove Too Much." Coming up this year I get not only the Afghan Whigs collection by Rhino, but hopefully the long anticipated Gutter Twins, which is an album Dulli and Lanegan have been working on together. It used to be years upon years between Afghan Whigs records. Now I've gotten something from Dulli once a year for the past three years.

The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America

I already covered the greatness of this album here. If someone I knew could just get past his voice.

The Exploding Hearts - Shattered

I still get sad about this band sometimes. I still remember listening to their debut album back in 2003, and knowing I would be sticking with this band for awhile. Then a van accident ends the band by taking three of the band members. What we have here is a collection of singles, alternate takes, and unreleased tracks. This is a band that rose above their influences and created one of those albums in Guitar Romantic that should grow in popularity as time goes on. This collection of songs is a nice gift, but also makes you wonder what more they could have given us. I suggest picking up Guitar Romantic. It's going to become one of those albums.

I'm From Barcelona - Let Me Introduce My Friends

Again, I wrote about these crazy Swedes here.

Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit

I never belonged to the Belle and Sebastian cult of followers. I have Tigermilk and Arab Strap, but never fell in love with them like so many have. After picking up this album, I feel like the high school quarterback who realizes the girl that's been tutoring him is really kind of hot. Just like in that teen flick scenario it's because they took off their glasses and put on some cool clothes. For, Belle and Sebastian they glammed themselves up some on songs like "The Blues are Still Blue," and "White Collar Boy." Some would call this album a reinvention. I'd disagree and say they just took some tips from T. Rex, and Motown and gussied themselves up some.

Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies

I've often considered Dan Bejar the weak member of The New Pornographers. Which is pretty ridiculous but I think the cause was because I've enjoyed his Destroyer albums so much. On Rubies, Bejar ditches the MIDI sounds of Your Blues and shows his improvement as a singer. This is probably my favorite album of his after Streethawk, and that could be just because of nostalgia.

TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain

Normally this isn't my type of record. In fact, I avoided it on purpose knowing I would probably appreciate it but not really like it. I'm not a big fan of the so called "art rock." That's why I like Radiohead's The Bends over Kid A. Well I gave in, and I love this album. It all begins with Tunde Adebimpe's fantastic voice. From the opening track, "I Was a Lover" through "Providence" with its odd piano chord progression through the a cappella "A Method" and ending with the drone of "Wash the Day Away." I guess there can still be very good art rock. How can you not like an album titled Return to Cookie Mountain?

Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere

Simply the best R&B/Soul album released this year.

Ghostface Killah- Fishscale

Veteran Ghostface is the best storyteller in hip-hop. While other rappers tell short stories of their neighborhood, Ghostface tells full novels. His stories include smells and sounds of his neighborhood. In songs "Kilo" and "R.A.G.U." Ghostface tells tales of the drug trade, but avoids lifting the pusher as the neighborhood king like so many other rappers do. Combine Ghostface's stories with deep soul samples and you have one of the best albums of the year. This is an album that shouldn't be limited to only those purists out there.

Rhymefest - Blue Collar

I wrote before that I was completely baffled how this album didn't become a hit. The line "Hot like hot sauce" should be right up there with bringing sexy back. As the title suggests, Rhymefest covers the life of the everyman. He uses refreshing self-deprecating humor in "Devil's Pie." In "Bullet" he tells the harrowing story of a young man joining the military to get out of the ghetto only to get shot while in Iraq. Rhymefest really shines when he uses humor in his stories. Even the song "Build Me Up" almost strays away from being a novelty song even with the ODB sung "Build Me Up Buttercup" sample. Rhymefest shouldn't be ignored.

Phoenix - It's Never Been Like That

This Parisian band have always excelled at crafting pop rock songs. On their latest they add a little scruff to hide the shine of their craftsmanship. The scruff comes in the form of Strokes like guitar. Normally this wouldn't work. Here though it doesn't hide the band's ability to write perfectly constructed songs but actually blends creating one their best albums. The songs are pop but they hang with you long after listening.

Ramblings

Let me explain a little bit about the TV writing business. I'm sure you all know that writers get paid for their script, and when it reruns. Did you know that when you create a character you get a small chunk of change every time that character appears in an episode? Yeah. Take for example a Mr. Black, who wrote exactly one awful episode during season one, and was then fired. In that episode he created the Frank Tripp character in our show. The Frank Tripp character has now become a series regular. So even though he was involved for a brief moment he is making money in nearly every episode. It's not a lot of money, but still...

Why do I not feel that nervous over the fact that Ohio State has to face Florida for the BCS championship? I hope I'm not jinxing us, but I'd be much more concerned playing Michigan again or USC. Wow, I hope the Ohio State players aren't thinking the same thing. It could turn out being a reverse of Ohio State vs. Miami. Let's forget I said anything. Moving on...

The Black Crowes album "The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion." Overrated, underrated, or why even rate? I don't think Eddie Money gets enough late credit as an artist of the 70's and 80's. Why must Boston, Journey, or REO get all the retro hate/love?

With a lot of research I've calculated what I would need to build the home theater set-up for my apartment. The total has come to only $3,125. That includes a 37" HDTV, hdmi switching amp, 7.1 speakers, and an HD tivo. That's completely reasonable. Who wants to donate?

Meet Greg Oden. He's why the Buckeyes could possibly when a championship in football and basketball. He's also why six to seven NBA teams will try to tank their last half of the season. Clearly, some teams are trying to get an early jump to their losing this season.

Am I the only one that can't resist pantomiming playing a trumpet during the chorus of Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline?" I know I'm not the only one. It's impossible not to do it. You know you can't resist. "Hands touching hands reaching out. Touching me! Touching you! Sweet Caroline!" Bomp Bomp Bah! See. I told you. It's irresistible.

Studio 60 might have saved itself tonight from my own personal chopping block. I really enjoyed it. Maybe this is finally the episode where they turn it around. Heroes tough once again ruled tonight. I'll feel sorry for those that either didn't get a jump on this when it began, or left after the first two rough episodes. Hiro: "I need to find that sword." It's geektastic.

With us just getting our toes wet in December, it's almost that time again kids. Yes, that means we are coming up on the 2006 version of Snobfest. For those who have come late to this blog, Snobfest is when the world finally learns what they should've been listening to, watching, or reading during the past year. Who could be that arrogant to think they could tell people such thing? Me, of course. I would like to say that this will happen before Christmas break, but who am I kidding. We are probably a month away. But that's a month head start I'm giving you to prepare. Here's Snobfest 2005.

Snobfest 2205: The Blog Posts

This is it. The last recap. I'm so sick of these. Snobfest has worn thin like a drunk date. Here are some of my favorite posts this past year.

What the World Sees: The Day of Papers

Not only did this bring back awful flashbacks, but the output of pages impressed me.

Krystal Ball: Gettin Presidential

I only wish I could apply it.

Tales from the Keymaster: Christmas Tradition

Often times I've heard friends talk about how crazy their family is. Often I've been disappointed by the level of craziness once I meet them. Somehow I think part of Keymaster's family would not disappoint.

Mol Jr.: 10/26/43-4/23/84

No explanation needed here.

3CT: To the Happy Couple (TS)

Classic Tim. I still go back and read this for a good laugh.

3CT: Skyr: Icelandic Yogurt / The 3rd Chair Trombone Interview (JD)

It raised the bar on 3CT.

3CT: Gilligan in Purgatory (BH)

And this one cleared the bar easily.

Now back to this blog's regularly scheduled boredom.

Snobfest 2005: The Albums

I was going to write something about each of these albums. Halfway through I realized I was simply repeating myself from my song list. So, I’ll just list them in order, and be done with this. If I’ve previously written about them, I attached a link.

1.The New Pornographers-Twin Cinema

1a.The Hold Steady-Separation Sunday

2.Greg Dulli-Amber Headlights

3.Clap Your Hands Say Yeah-Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

4.The National-Alligator
A noir album with a sense of humor.

5.Okkervil River-Black Sheep Boy/Black Sheep Boy Appendix
You should really buy the Appendix EP since it fills a few holes inthe story of the Black Sheep Boy.

6.The Magic Numbers-The Magic Numbers

7.Bloc Party-Silent Alarm

8.Danger Doom-The Mouse & The Mask
MF Doom + DJ Danger Mouse + Adult Swim should equal a mess. Instead it's the funniest rap
album in years.

9.Sufjan Stevens-Illinoise
Enough people have described the greatness of this album

10.The Decemberists-Picaresque
This album is another step up for these indie darlings.

Snobfest 2005: Boob Tube

A little warning: There are some spoilers below. So, if you are still catching up on episodes you may want to wait.

“I Wasted an Hour a Week for this Crap?” Award: Nip/Tuck

"What Don't You Like About Yourself?" How about the fact that I kept watching this season of Nip/Tuck? You know when you’re dating someone where their potential keeps you in the relationship? There are small little moments that keep you around, but then they do something frustrating that completely undercuts those moments. I haven’t, but I’ve heard people mention such things. That has been my relationship with Nip/Tuck. It’s always been a guilty pleasure. With its ridiculous story lines, and lack of decency I had become addicted to the show. This was the season where we finally discover who “The Carver” is. The thing is everyone already guessed who it was by the first episode of the season. I clearly gave the creators too much credit by arguing that the person was simply too obvious, and nobody would be stupid enough to be that obvious. To make it worse the rest of the show was just as frustrating. Nip/Tuck has always been “on the nose” and wildly over the top. Usually the over the top nature and twists fit in with the characters, and it made for highly entertaining TV. This season everything outlandish story device undercut the whole show, and the characters. Julie’s mother dies in a plane crash causing her to come to terms with her relationship with her mother. The problem is the mother never got on the plane! Those clever writers. So everything that Julie experienced is now mute. Way to go Nip/Tuck. That’s part of the problem with the show now. They keep trying to throw you with some clever twist, but the twist usually negates what we as a viewer have experienced. Just keep with the outlandish stories that push the characters to make decisions, and stop trying to fool us. I wash my hands of this show.

“Wake Me When Something Happens” Award: Lost

Eventually the teasing begins to bore. That’s what has happened to Lost. The first few episodes were pretty good, well except for the “let’s sit on a raft for an hour” episode. Then they got to wandering the jungle for 40 days and 40 nights. Here’s my problem. We don’t need the new people. They don’t progress the story in any way that our original castaways couldn’t. Don’t introduce new characters simply because you’re afraid you’ll run out of stories for your original stories. I feel like this is when sitcoms add the “cute adopted kid” to spice things up.

"Better Than I Thunk." Award: Invasion

The one reason I began watching this show was Shaun Cassidy. Yes, the one from the Hardy Boys Mysteries. That’s not the reason, though. The 1995 TV series “American Gothic” was one of my favorite shows back then even though it didn’t last a full season. Based on that show, created by Shaun Cassidy, I took a chance with Invasion. I have been pleasantly surprised. Sure the “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” premise has been bludgeoned to death, but keeping everything within a small Florida town was a smart move. The show has also been smart enough to give enough information to satisfy, but still leave us asking more questions. William Fichtner's Sheriff Tom Underlay is Cigarette Man creepy. When he had that fellow abductee chop off his newly grown arm to keep his abduction a secret...shivers.

“The Close the Blinds” Award: Beauty and the Geek

Screw it. I’ll fess up and admit that I really enjoyed this show even though there is no reason I should. Rather than go sensational with the beauties and make fun of the geeks, the show wisely just lets them go to see what happens in the competitions. You get your villains and heroes of both sexes and some actually seem to learn something. My one problem with the show is that they boot them out of the house too early. The competition almost doesn’t matter because watching the dynamic between these polar opposites is pretty entertaining.

“The Crossed Fingers” Award: Rescue Me

I’ve enjoyed this show so much that I have looked past its slight errors. Second season wasn’t quite as good as season one. There is constant feeling of doom on the show that has lead to predictablility. You always know that no matter how good things get that something worse is just around the corner. Usually these moments were countered with cynical sense of humor. They pushed the limits last season when Leary’s son was killed by a drunk driver. Suddenly, the bad thing wasn’t a result of their own negligence or faults. This made the efforts at lightening things up feeling forced and awkward. It’s a slight hiccup that put a damper in a solid season. I have my fingers crossed they can pick things up next season. For more on the show, read my previous post.

“Gone Too Soon” Award: Arrested Development

Once again the networks clearly have no idea what they are doing. AD gets canceled after winning an Emmy, but they keep other shows like Stacked that has gotten the same or worse ratings? Come on. If you haven’t experience the brilliance of AD, rent some DVD’s now.

“They Can’t Possibly Do Anything Else.”Award: 24

This is getting ridiculous. This is what happened is season 4. Terrorists kidnap the Secretary of Defense in order to distract from them causing nuclear power plants to melt down. They then shoot down Air Force One to steal nuclear launch codes of a warhead they stole. The warhead is launched, a Chinese Ambassador is killed, and Jack has to fake his death. Am I the only the one that hummed The Incredible Hulk end theme when Jack walked off into the sunset? Still I love the show, and am completely addicted. I have no clue what they have planned, but I’m certain it will be completely unbelievable. Lost and other serial television shows should take a cue from 24. They run their episodes non-stop. There are no reruns during the season. If this means I have to wait a little longer for Lost to start there season, that’s fine with me. I hate these hiatuses.

“Genius” Award: The Shield

Gritty, tough, compelling, and genius are all words that can describe the best show on TV right now. The fourth season of the Shield was all about rebuilding the Strike Team after deconstructing it in season three. Before the season began, I though the major coup was signing Glen Close on. I was wrong. Not that Close wasn’t outstanding. She was. Her struggle of needing Mackey to put her plan into action, but knowing he could also sink it was great to watch. The coup was having Anthony Anderson as the season’s bad guy. Who knew he could be this good? I mean it’s the guy from Kangaroo Jack! If he isn’t nominated for an Emmy it’s a shame. It’s one of those career changing performances that alters the way you view an actor. For him to be the most ruthless, smart, and evil bad guy from any season of the Shield is saying something. Then there is the rest of the stellar cast. Acevada’s turn from lackey Captain to asshole City Councilman was great. When he works with Anderson’s character to get what he wants, you see how far he’ll go to save his ass. Yes, they tend to write away peripheral characters with no explanation. It’s forgivable with the uncompromising and compelling television they turn out each season. Season five starts tomorrow night.

Snobfest 2005: The Songs

A few days late but here we go. Here's some of my favorite songs from 2005. I wanted to stop at around fifteen, but kept going. I've linked each of the songs to an mp3, so you can take a listen. Some of these have shown up previusly on the Bits O Music portion of this blog. If you don't know how to click "save link as...," or I surpass my bandwidth, or you are simply too lazy to click, I'll glady mail you a disc of these songs and any of the previuos Bits O Music that aren't on this list.


Cigarettes-Greg Dulli-Amber Headlights

I was going to say this was my theme song for 2005, but with such lyrics as

get the wheel let's go for a ride
if you're trouble then i'll follow you down

I thought I’d come across as a self-destructive fool. So let’s simply say that this is the pure rock song of 2005. The fact that it comes off an album that was shelved years ago makes it that much more remarkable.

The Bleeding Heart Show-The New Pornographers-Twin Cinema

This song is all about the coda. When I first listened to this song I was pleased with the slow build. Then the coda hits with a choir singing “Hey Na’s” and the Neko Case comes in singing “We have arrived too late to play the bleeding heart show” and I got the goose bumps and that smile of hearing a great song.

Like Eating Glass-Bloc Party-Silent Alarm

I’ve already posted this song before in the Bit’s O Music segment of this blog. I still love listening to this song. I still think it’s the best song on a fantastic album. I still point out the bass and drums when I introduce someone to this song.

The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth-Clap Your Hands Say Yeah-Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

First, the title is brilliant. Second, it’s catchy as hell. Third, it has the following lyrics:

Explaining that the sky holds the Wind
the sun rushes in
and a child With a shotgun
can shoot down Honeybees that sting
BUT THIS BOY COULD USE A LITTLE STING!

Beats me, but it makes my chuckle.

Mirror Kissers-The Cribs-The New Fellas

It’s all about the Woah’s.

Old School (feat. Talib Kweli)-Danger Doom-The Mouse and the Mask

I find it interesting that veteran Kweli brings one of his best performances on a track in which MF Doom name drops his favorite cartoons. As for DJ Danger Mouse’s production why aren’t main stream rappers swiping his beats up? Maybe he’s wisely staying out of that game?

Huddle Formation-The Go! Team-Thunder, Lightning, Strike

I know this album was technically first released in 2004. That was in the UK though. The US version wasn’t released till 2005. Taking advantage of that loop hole, I’m placing this joyous toy-hop song.

How a Resurrection Really Feels -The Hold Steady-Separation Sunday

she crashed into the easter mass with her hair done up in broken glass. she was limping left on broken heels. when she said father can i tell yr congregation how a resurrection really feels?

Mr. Finn has a way with telling sad stories with a hint of humor. Here he tells of Holly a Hoodrat’s return from a life of hell. It’s a sad song but the coda emphasizes the point that “today she finally came back.”

I See You, You See Me-The Magic Numbers-The Magic Numbers

This is one those songs that are perfect for that time between Friday night and Saturday morning when you’re driving and see that faint trace of sunlight on the horizon.

King-Rex Aquarium-The Back Of The Room

There’s a nice little Caribbean flair to this track. Sure it’s a “cheesy” love song, but sometimes that sweetness can do are cold hearts some good.

Na Na Na Na Naa-Kaiser Chiefs-Employment

Along with handclaps, cowbells, ooohs, and whoah’s, na na na’s make can help propel a song to the top of my favorite’s list. The fact that the song is actually titled “Na na na na naa” puts it over the top. Let me take this opportunity to say this about their album. It’s been awhile since I’ve come across an album that has such a stellar first half and then completely falls apart the rest of the way. They had a catchy brit-pop classic and then decided to bore us.

Power-Blackalicious-The Craft

New wave rap? A living and breathing backing band? Ass shaking bass line? Why didn’t this become a hit?

Autonomy-Heartless Bastards-Stairs and Elevators

Someday I'd like to play a part in the life I waited to start.

I’m really kind of cheating on this song. I stumbled across the demo for this song online about two years ago. Finally this year their debut album was released. When I first heard this song I thought for sure it was a guy singing. It’s not. Her voice is a sort of combination of Hynde and Robert Plant. It’s amazing a voice this strong comes out of a little Ohio girl like her. She also just lets her voice go warts and all. There is no holding back. Add the foot stomp rock n roll of the rest of the band and you have a fantastic grit of a rock song.

It’s All in My Mind-Teenage Fanclub-Man-Made

Did you really think I wouldn’t put a Teenage Fanclub song on the list? It’s like a requirement for me every time they release a new album. With their new album you don’t have to go very far to find that power-pop sugar rush. It’s All in My Mind has a classic TF hook, and the hook is huge. Throw in the backbeat and the trademark harmonies and you have musical bliss.

Emily Kane-Art Brut-Bang Bang Rock & Roll

Of the Brit bands (Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, Futureheads) that have gained an audience over here there’s always some that undeservedly fall through the cracks. Art Brut I believe will end up being one of those bands. There’s a hint of Pulp in their attitude and sound. Take this bouncy simple song about not being over his first love.

Lit Up-The National-Alligator

My bodyguard shows her revolver to anyone who asks
And yeah she comes to attention when you come up to me too fast.

In case it hasn’t become obvious but I like a little cynicism in my lyrics. The effortless almost lazy delivery of the lead singer’s Nick Cave like baritone voice contrasts well with the anthemic chorus. Perhaps this is the year of the anthemic chorus.

Black-Okkervil River-Black Sheep Boy

Or I’d call, some black midnight, fuck up his new life where they don’t know what he did, tell his brand-new wife and his second kid. Though I tell you, like before, that you should wreck his life the way that he wrecked yours, you want no part of his life anymore.

The year’s best song about exacting revenge.