Thinking, That's All

Since I seem incapable of finishing my best albums of the year post (its coming someday, i swear) here are some random thoughts to tide me over

1. This is my new favorite website to waste time on
http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/

2. Elliott Smith writes some of the cleverest lyrics of all time, and they stick in my head. Stuff like
"The ghost in your smile's always looking for new bodies to haunt" in New Disaster or
"Cuz when I talk to you on the phone/well it's just like being alone" from Half Right...and those were his first songs or bootlegs. I mean c'mon. He is missed.

3. I watch too much Law and Order. Way too much.

4. Commercials I: I understand that Chuck Norris=Hilarious, but how can anyone who has had that much obvious plastic surgery be intimidating or tough?

5. Commercials II: I have a guilty soft spot in my heart for the Garmin commercials...especially the one where the guy is lost (you know, "look there's a moose/give me a noose...) the two scary bikers and the homeless guy singing in the backseat is priceless.

6. Everyone should read the avclub, see I'm Not There, listen to the Mountain Goats, and give me five dollars.

Naked and Famous

I am at least one of those things.

This is barely a list, but hey, my blog, my rules

List of videos on YouTube featuring me (this post should be called Bored and Self-Aggrandizing)


1. Avi plays Seatlle


2. Legend of Moosehead


3. This one is GOOD

Everything. Hits at Once.

For those of you out there who with limited attention spans or who found my charming song based anecdotes too onerous or banal to read through, here is my 100 favorite song list, all in one place, with no elaboration or annotation. Print it out and carry it in your wallet.

1. This Must be the Place (Naive Melody)- The Talking Heads
2. Duk Koo Kim- Sun Kil Moon
3. Motorcycle Driveby- Third Eye Blind
4. I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams- weezer w/ That Dog
5. Tonight, Tonight- the Smashing Pumpkins
6. Ooh La La- the Faces
7. Only in Dreams- weezer
8. I Didn't Understand- Elliott Smith
9. The City- the Dismemberment Plan
10. Lady Liberty- Okkervil River
11. For No One- the Beatles
12. Busby Berkeley Dreams- the Magnetic Fields
13. Jesus, Etc.- Wilco
14. I'll Catch You- the Get Up Kids
15. A Stone- Okkervil River
16. Leif Erickson- Interpol
17. The Fairest of the Seasons- Nico
18. Everlong- Foo Fighters
19. Wooly Muffler- Harvey Danger
20. New Slang- the Shins
21. On the Bus Mall- the Decemberists
22. For Meg- On the Might of Princes
23. The District Sleeps Alone Tonight- the Postal Service
24. Lemmings- Blink182
25. Idiot Wind- Bob Dylan
26. Catamaran- Bear vs. Shark
27. The High Party- Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
28. Jack-Ass- Beck
29. Brace and Break- the Thermals
30. I Spy- Guster
31. Twilight- Elliott Smith
32. 2Wicky- Hooverphonic
33. Always New Depths- Bloc Party
34. Pictures of Success- Rilo Kiley
35. Man and Wife, the Latter (Damaged Goods)- Desaparecidos
36. Smash- the Offspring
37. No Cars Go- Arcade Fire
38. Ashes to Ashes- David Bowie
39. Light Up my Room- Barenaked Ladies
40. Lullaby for the Sleeping Elephant- Mayday
41. If Winter Ends- Bright Eyes
42. Sparks- Coldplay
43. Promise- Pedro the Lion
44. Neverending Math Equation- Sun Kil Moon
45. Trying Your Luck- the Strokes
46. X-Static- Foo Fighters
47. Guess I'm Doing Fine- Beck
48. Epitaph- Badly Drawn Boy
49. I Want to Conquer the World- Bad Religion
50. Diamond Sea- Sonic Youth
51. Simple Things- Belle and Sebastian
52. Poison Oak- Bright Eyes
53. Dead of Winter- Eels
54. D.E.A.D.R.A.M.O.N.E.S- Modern Life is War
55. Waltz #2 (Xo)- Elliott Smith
56. The New Denail- The Good Life
57. End of the Line- Murder by Death
58. Icebox- Nada Surf
59. Rock Lobster- B-52's
60. A Picture Postcard- The Promise Ring
61. So Long- Rilo Kiley
62. Sweet Jane- Velvet Underground
63. Galapagos- The Smashing Pumpkins
64. Pool Shark- Sublime
65. Born of a Broken Man- Rage Against the Machnine
66. Via Chicago- Wilco
67. Bloodgiver- Bear vs. Shark
68. Mayonaise- the Smashing Pumpkins
69. Chapter 8- Seashore and Horizon- Cornelius
70. Sea Anemone- Jets to Brazil
71. Ben Folds Five- Missing the War
72. Only a Northern Song- the Beatles
73. Table for Glasses- Jimmy Eat World
74. Hey- Pixies
75. 80 Windows- Nada Surf
76. Idioteque- Radiohead
77. A Skeleton on Display- Now Its Overhead
78. Buses/No Buses- Bear vs. Shark
79. Don't Hate Me- the Get Up Kids
80. For the Enemy- Okkervil River
81. American Music- Violent Femmes
82. Alone Again Or- Love
83. Time and Time Again- Counting Crows
84. Anthems for a 17-Year-Old Girl- Broken Social Scene
85. La Cienaga Just Smiled- Ryan Adams
86. Excerpts From Various Notes Strewn Around the Bedroom of April Connolly- Cursive
87. Don't Think Twice It's Alright- Bob Dyaln
88. Scared Straight- The Long Winters
89. From the Trapeze- Mayday
90. Happiness is a Warm Gun- the Beatles
91. Problems and Bigger Ones- Harvey Danger
92. China Girl- David Bowie
93. Half a Person- the Smiths
94. Between the Bars- Elliott Smith
95. The Crystal ship- The Doors
96. Chinatown- Jets to Brazil
97. St. John the Divine- Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
98. B-13- Jump, Little Children
99. Plans- Bloc Party
100. Inmates- the Good Life
101. A Certain Cemetery- Pretty Girls Make Graves

You're the Best Around: Songs 20-1

And now, of course, the moment you've all been waiting for, oh imagined cyberspace masses, my favorite 20 songs of all time. I promise you a more comprehensive or reputable list doesn't exist anywhere. NASA has contacted me, hoping to send these 20 songs into space in case alien civilizations are seeking to find out what a music lover with impeccable taste on Earth listened to in 2007. Comments, as always, are appreciated.

20. "New Slang"- The Shins
In spite of its unfortunate name drop in Garden State, this song is almost life changing (thank you, weird little girl in doctors office). I remember the first time I actually listened to the words, and not just the haunting melody, being blown away that such a song could exist. It may have been knocked down a few slots because of overexposure (it was by far the most played song on my itunes for a long time, and, did i mention garden state?) but its no worse for that.
19. "Woolly Muffler"- Harvey Danger
Is the songs you loved first you love best an adage? Because long before I knew the words "emo" or "indie" or had realized that the pain I felt at being rejected by a girl the first time was probably the easiest I would have it in my young adult life, this song was my anthem. The year was 1998, the girl was Aly Post, andI first tasted the joy of reveling in my misery. This song was an integral part of my music education and maturation process, and it has aged just fine.
18. "Everlong"- The Foo Fighters
I guess I'm surprised how many of these songs are from middle schoolish times. Once upon a time, the Foo Fighters were my favorite band, I worshipped Dave Grohl, and while it wasn't my favorite, this is undoubtedly their best song, and sounds just as sweet now as it did in those halcyon days. I actually caught them on SNL last night, and I was trying to figure out whether their style has changed or whether just my tastes have. I think both are true, but probably more of the latter, and that makes me sort of sad, because I LOVED them back in the day. In five years will I feel the same way about Elliott Smith? And then what will I play for my kids? The fact that these questions keep me up at night gives you a pretty good indication why I take the time to do this stuff.
17. "The Fairest of the Seasons"- Nico
Like Don't Hate Me, every time I leave a place (which has happened a shocking amount the last three years or so) I can't escape this beautiful song. Its use in Wes Anderson films doesn't hurt either. but mostly its "I want to know/Do I stay or should I go/And do I have to do just one/And can I choose again if I should lose the reason". London, Chicago, LA, Portland...this song's for you.
16. "Leif Erickson"- Interpol
I don't really know why I like this song so much. Some of the lyrics are cool, but a lot don't make sense. Sonically its cool, but not particularly interesting or groundbreaking. But there's something about it, and some of the lines that have just stuck with me since i first heard it and reach down into something that I can't really explain and hold on (I know why I respond to Nico or to a GUPK song. this is shadier). But i still love it. It's like a four minute musical version of a great noir film. If that makes any sense.
15. "A Stone"- Okkervil River
There's no mystery here. Another song that when I bought an album I was anticipating to be great, grabbed me at first lesson and exceeded those expectations. Songs like this and catamaran are why I say Okkervil River and BvS are my favorite bands, even if their entire body of work isn't as grand in scale or brilliant as, say, elliott smith. overly melodramatic in the best way possible, the songs is great but kicks into another gear in the bridge/breakdown. I won't type the whole story about the stone and the prince, but its worth listening to if your tastes run anywhere near mine. And if you don't like it, don't tell me. This is the only band I hate sharing, because I can't bring myself to hear that anyone doesn't love them as much as I do.
14. "I'll Catch You"- the Get Up Kids
oh my true emo days. Life was so much simpler then. No politics, no nuance, just plain simple heartache and lots of argyle. And if one song represented that whole pouty time of my life, its this. And its still great. by the way, if jonathan (or any else who might know) is reading this, is the line "still remembering/jinx removing" which never made any sense to me, a reference to the Jawbreaker song? Inquiring minds want to know. This song is worth it just for the last sonic crash in between after "No need for reminding/You're still all that matters to me".
13. "Jesus, Etc."- Wilco
On of the most simply beautiful songs I've ever heard, period. Another one whose lyrics are somewhere between poetry and nonsense, but when those violins kick in, man, who cares what "Our love is all of god's money" means. Jeff Tweedy can sing whatever he wants, as long as sings it in songs that sound like this.
12. "Busby Berkeley Dreams"- the Magnetic Fields
Speaking of beautiful songs (am i the only one who has noticed that songs on this list tend to come in twos or threes? two songs from eighth grade, three punk songs, etc.? Probably). What a fantastic conceit from an expert song writer. This is one of those songs that whenever you meet another fan of the band, theres an immediate consensus as to the best songs.
11. "For No One"- the Beatles
Its always hard to pick a favorite beatles song for me. I love this one, but I love others, and have loved others. as my first favorite band (and still hands down the best band of all time period ever) we've been through a lot together, and while this is a great song, this spot probably represents more my love for the beatles as a band and what they meant to me and to the music i listen to than my fondness for this particular 2 and a half minutes of music.
10. "Lady Liberty"- Okkervil River
Originally, this song wasn't nearly this high, but that's just cause i hadn't listened to it in a while. The first OR song I ever heard, and everytime i hear it, its like that first time, and I love it even more. a great story, great music (horns!), just so so good. And this song, more than any other song on this album, lets Sheff's biggest strength (song writing aside) show through, his ability to contain emotion in his singing, and the ability to let that emotion seem real and natural and felt, not put upon. I know its number ten, but this would probably be in my top five desert island songs. Its short and sweet, but I can't see ever tiring of it.
9. "The City"- the Dismemberment Plan
This song was love at first listen. I remember like it was yesterday...our sound designer junior year for boomshaka was using some rock songs to test his levels, and all of a sudden this song came on, and i had never heard it, and was instantly obsessed, and haven't stopped being. sadly, though I listened to his later band more, this song was miles better (and more than fifty spots superior) to anything the Promise Ring ever wrote. Evokes such a strong picture for me, and is rocking on top of that. Just a great great song.
8. "I Didn't Understand"- Elliott Smith
The more I listen to Elliott Smith, the more I love him, and the sadder I am that he is gone, and the more appreciation I have for his work. One of those great rare artists where almost every CD has been my favorite at one time or another, and where half the songs on each album were my favorite. I didn't have much use for this song, once upon a time, but sparse as it is, its one of his most haunting and most powerful.
7. "Only in Dreams"- weezer
Ah, a sea change. Long long listed as my favorite song, I fear I've outgrown its usefulness, and while it still has a place in my heart, it lacks a spot in my playlist. The song that made me love long songs (and i do love long songs), the ulitimate emo song, the song i used to drive around listening to over and over again when i was down, the source of a screen name and goosebumps alike, listening to it now it brings me back to a time more than anything else. And while that is great and useful, its not enough to keep it up top.
6. "Ooh La La"- the Faces
Another wes anderson featured song. surprising, no? While this song was and is perfect for its spot in rushmore, its also great on its own. who knew Rod stewart could be so cool. Its always great for me when a song, amidst all my mopiness and melancholy and gloom, puts a smile on my face without making my pulse race (i love the thermals, but sometimes you want a nice, simple, happy song). And who doesn't wish they knew what they knew now, when they were younger?
5. "Tonight, Tonight"- the Smashing Pumpkins
Its rare for me to love a single this much, even a single from a CD that yielded five. And while I've never had the connection or relationship with Tonight, Tonight that I have had with many, many other pumpkins songs (mostly ones about loving girls and wanting to cry) I cannot deny that this is their best song. so epic and powerful but in half or a third of the time most of their powerful epic songs are, so musically sweeping, beautiful instrumentation, probably another desert island song that just never got old. Oh billy corgan, why hast thou forsaken me?
4. "I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams" weezer w/ That Dog
Where as most of the other songs in this top ten are big full meals (just wait for number two, which is like an eight course meal at Trio) this song is the best dessert I've ever had..filling, delightful, leaves you wanting more, but compact and short and sweet. So much emotion, so much heart, so much power and longing in the voices. A weezer song that isn't really a weezer song to me, but exists sort of on its own. A song I've always dreamed of performing live somewhere for some reason.
3. "Motorcycle Driveby"- Third Eye Blind
But Josh, you might ask, aren't you embarrassed to have a 3eB song in such a prestigious position on your list. No, and I'll tell you why. I can vividly remember the first time I heard this song. I remember KROQ playing it, though I can't imagine why since I wasn't a single, and being rooted to the spot in the middle of my room staring at the radio. I was in love. I rushed to my brothers room and dug around in his stuff til I found the CD (he owned it, I didn't) and promptly offered to trade him Less Than Jake's Losing Streak for it, which I managed to coerce him into doing. This has been one of my favorite songs since that day in middle school, and every time I think I'm over it, it comes on, and my love rekindles. And I'm not ashamed of it. I relish it.
2. "Duk Koo Kim"- Sun Kil Moon
Boy do I love long songs. I don't know why, I didn't use to. I used to skip them out of hand, decide they were too much work, and prefer my music in 3ish minute punk/classic rock doses. But I've changed as both the highest "long song" and, at 14:34, by far the longest song on this
list can attest to. A hauntingly beautiful song from first listen, but a little wikipedia research (Duk Koo Kim was a Korean boxer who was killed in the ring) and repeated listenings makes it the kind of song that reaches down into your soul and tries to pull desperate yearning out of you. Ive been rather obsessed with Mark Kozelek lately, and its largely because of his song writing, and this is the best example. After the weight of the lyrics (which come largely in the first 5 or 6 minutes) the soaring, crescendoing, crooning section that follows is not just right, its necessary.

Fanfare?

1. "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)"- Talking Heads
Okay, so, I must admit, I only found this song cause a girl I liked liked it. But some of my favorite things (The X-Files, Boondock Saints, the Barenaked Ladies, a Bright Room Called Day) were first invested in in an effort to impress/get closer to/understand a lady (it should be noted that with the exception of a couple of chaste dates, this effort netted me absolutely zero in the romance department. but i found some good stuff). So maybe my original intentions were not artistically pure, but that doesn't at all diminish my love for this song. Musically great ( i do love new wave) and lyrically simple yet complicated enough to make me feel both happy and lonesome and wistful at the same time (most songs I listen to just hit the latter two). Also the idea behind the lyric "hi oh/sing into my mouth". This, of course, is where I want to be.


So there you have it. You being me. probably.

Second Best oh Second Best: Songs 40-21

I could learn to live with that

anyway. you didn't think in the move I forgot my list did you? Of course not. In fact, day two of the Portland-LA drive (not to be confused with the LA-Chicago drive) was spent listening my way from top to bottom of this list. it sounds good, trust me.

without further ado...

40. "Lullaby for the Sleeping Elephant"- Mayday
is the overall metaphor heavy handed? sure. but is it a beautiful and angry protest song nonetheless? you betcha.
39. "Light Up My Room"- Barenaked Ladies
I may have outgrown BNL (they were my favorite band for the early part of high school, along with other unfortunate choices Dave Matthews and Blink 182. How far i've come) but I can't shake this song, my favorite of theirs then and one of my favorites now
38. "Ashes to Ashes"- David Bowie
37. "No Cars Go"- Arcade Fire
this was my favorite of their songs even before they re-recorded it for Neon Bible, and that version is even better.
36. "Smash"- the Offspring
this song is just plain awesome. remember when the Offspring were punk? that was great. way to fuck it up, offspring.
35. "Man and Wife, the Latter (Damaged Goods)"- Desaparecidos
more concept album fun. I always imagine this song as the climax in the worlds most awesome rock musical, with the two guitars representing the couple...maybe someday...
34. "Pictures of Success"- Rilo Kiley
simply for the bridge: "they say California/'s a recipe for a black hole/and I say I've got my best shoes on/I'm ready to go"
33. "Always New Depths"- Bloc Party
The song that got me into Bloc Party, although I am a little ashamed to say I first heard it on a target commercial. One of my favorite songs to blast with the windows down.
32. "2Wicky"- Hooverphonic
I can't really explain why I like this song so much, but its stuck with me since eighth grade (another KROQ special) so there must be a reason for it)
31. "Twilight"- Elliott Smith
30. "I Spy"- Guster
This was number two or three a couple years ago, another song from a band i don't listen to at all anymore that i used to love that just stands so far above the rest of their catalog it won't go away
29. "Brace and Break"- the Thermals
Offspring take note...this is how you sound awesome.
28. "Jackass"- Beck
27. "The High Party"- Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
26. "Catamaran"- Bear vs. Shark
I'm pretty sure I've praised this song and this band enough for now
25. "Idiot Wind"- Bob Dylan
Thanks dave, for pointing out how much better this song is than Don't Think Twice, Its Alright and any other dylan song I may have trotted out as my favorite. I was wrong. We are idiots babe/its a wonder that we still know how to breathe.
24. "Lemmings"- Blink182
This seems to be a theme of this section. But i don't care what anyone says about this band or the stuff they've released since, this song is great. There are plenty of songs we've been listening to the last few years by BTMI! and One Reason and stuff with the exact same sentiment, and its done just as well here. Its good enough to include in your aol screen name. if youre me.
23. "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight"- The Postal Service
Though the first time i professed my love for this song i was told that that was so last year, I still love it, even though at this point that would be so three or four years ago. So melancholy and heartfelt and beautiful and awesome and full of Jenny Lewis background.
22. "For Meg"- On the Might of Princes
For me, this is the unofficial GP anthem. I'll scream it til your ears bleed/you'll always have a friend in me. Damn straight
21. "On the Bus Mall"- The Decemberists
What a beautiful song. One of those precious few songs that still can give me goosebumps after a hundred listenings (and the four right chords can make me cry...oh wait, thats something else). even better once i learned what the bus mall was.

almost there!

j

Drove to Chicago

Hey you three...

sorry for the break. as you probably know, i moved. I no longer live in portland, nor am i at my parents house in the mb, but here i am, back in chicago. so if my posts focus less on the shins, the decemberists, and elliott smith and more on wilco and jazz, thats why.

j

Stuck in the Middle with You: Songs 60-41

Ah, the middle. Not quite the best, but better than the rest. What song has the prestigious honor of being exactly halfway between my favorite and the best of the rest? Read on, blogspot faithful, and find out...

60. "A Picture Postcard" by the Promise Ring
Ah, to be young and emo again. Those were the days, no?
59. "Rock Lobster" by the B-52's
58. "Icebox" by Nada Surf
Matthew Caws, if you're reading this, sorry about making an ass of myself backstage at the metro, but still, thank you for playing this song
57. "End of the Line" by Murder By Death
I still want to adapt this album into a screenplay, but this song could probably be a whole miniseries on its own
56. "New Denial" by the Good Life
55. "Waltz #2 (xo)" by Elliott Smith
54. "D.E.A.D.R.A.M.O.N.E.S" by Modern Life is War
Play this one as loud as you can stand
53. "Dead of Winter" by the Eels
This song sneaks up on you. If you've listened to it less than, oh, 53 times, it hasn't fully hit you yet. I remember exactly where I was when I cracked the (perhaps not too difficult) code of this song (a hotel parking lot in Oklahoma City, on my way to Chicago) and I nearly burst into tears
52. "Poison Oak" by Bright Eyes
51. "Simple Things" by Belle and Sebastian
This girl in my dorm sophomore year told me this was the best song on this incredible album, and i scoffed at her. While I do love others as well, I've come around. Sorry Brenna, you were probably right.
50. "Diamond Sea" by Sonic Youth
The centerpiece track on my "Songs They Played on KROQ When It Was the Best Radio Station on Earth" mix (alternately titled, "Hey! Remember Middle School?") Congrats Sonic Youth, we're halfway home.
49. "I Want to Conquer the World" by Bad Religion
Someday this will be the curtain call music for a show I direct. Mark my words.
48. "Epitaph" by Badly Drawn Boy
47. "Guess I'm Doing Fine" by Beck
46. "X-Static" by Foo Fighters
I listen to a lot of sad bastard music, but there are few that do it better than the way Dave Grohl sighs "Wish I could have felt I'd won/For once" at the end of this one
45. "Trying Your Luck" by the Strokes
44. "Neverending Math Equation" by Sun Kil Moon
This might be the only cover on here. I don't know. I do know that I am the same as I was when I was six years old.
43. "The Promise" by Pedro the Lion
Is this song about being Christian? Perhaps. Can I still relate? Absolutely.
42. "Sparks" by Coldplay
Say what you will about Chris Martin and Coldplay (and i've said a lot, just ask my old roommate) and how much they suck now (also a lot), theyre first album was pretty great, and this song is still fantastic
41. "If Winter Ends" by Bright Eyes
I couldn't have appreciated this song before I lasted through my first Chicago winter, and I plan on appreciating it during my next.

almost there kids! excited? i sure am.