BS Awards: Top 10 Albums of 2010

There is a big difference determining the best album of the year and the best songs of the year. To really stand out as an album, the whole listening experience must be critiqued. The best albums will be able to transfix me for 35 to 55 minutes and earn the right to be listened all the way through and in the official track listing order. Here are my top albums of 2010.

1. The National – High Violet. I never did a review of this album when it first was released. The reason… I knew I would like it the more I heard it. Usually, it is wise to listen to an album at least 5 times before forming an opinion. With The National, that number is closer than 20.
High Violet is more of the same that produced the wonderful Alligator and Boxer albums from previous years. High Violet is full of clever metaphors and deep, melancholy stories sung with the rich baritone of Matt Berninger. The best way for me to enjoy The National is to read the lyrics and really try to put together what Matt is trying to tell me. Once I get an understanding for it, I can really feel the songs at a deeper level. Matt is now married with kids and many of his songs tell of his emotional struggles with his new life.

I don’t think I can put this album in quite the same class as those The National’s previous albums. On those albums, there are few up tempo songs and High Violet doesn’t quite have anything that you could consider a rocker. The closest would be Bloodbuzz Ohio, which barely scratched the Top 20 of 2010. This is still an excellent album that I have probably listened to three or four times a week all year long. It is and has been my go to album when I really feel like a need a solid, soul touching, listening experience. Hearing the first strum of Terrible Love makes my blood tingle and my heart slow. Any album that can make your body, soul and heart react in such a positive way has to take the top album award.

2 . The XX – XX. In April, this album was named album of the first quarter of the year here: http://bigsexyreviews.blogspot.com/2010/04/album-of-year-2010.html. Surprisingly, the album hung on to finish this high. I find myself still going to it, despite the fact that I first heard it at the start of the year. Not one song cracked the Top 20 songs of the year, but there were probably 5 in the top 50 and a couple in the top 10 cool out songs of 2010. There is just a really good feel about the whole album. Like any good album, I don’t like to shuffle the songs when I listen to it and I don’t skip to certain songs. I start with Intro and listen until my ipod stops. I feel better at the end then I do at the start. I don’t know what more you can ask for from an album.

3 . The Hold Steady – Heaven is Whenever The Hold Steady might be my favorite band. That’s hard for me to actually place. That’s like me trying to pick a favorite son or a favorite beer. It can’t really be done. THS is up there though. I really liked this album, but it didn’t quite hit as high with me as their previous albums did. Still, an excellent album that earns high praise. Here’s what I said when the album was released.
http://bigsexyreviews.blogspot.com/2010/05/cd-review-hold-steady-heaven-is.html

4. Kings of Leon – Come Around Sundown. Despite giving this album 4 stars in my initial review (found here http://bigsexyreviews.blogspot.com/2010/11/cd-review-kings-of-leon-come-around.htmlml), I feel I gave the KOL a bit of a rough ride in my prose. However, the more I have listened to this album, the more I have listened to it. It really is very good. I just needed to readjust my expectations. I also had to overcome one of the worst album covers of 2010. The worst part about it is how incongruous it is. Here’s the list of the 3 worst covers of albums I have in 2010.

1. Ok Go – Of the Blue Colour of the Sky. Not only a horrible cover but a horrible title. Seriously, WTF?
2 .KOL – Come Around Sundown. Stolen from Jack Johnson’s rejected covers.
3. Weezer – Hurley. A picture of the big guy from Lost? Really?

Of course, I need to keep it positive… here’s the top 3.
1. Gorillaz – Perfect for the band and album
2. Everyone Was in the French Resistance – Nice Casablanca reference
3. The XX – So simple, it’s beautiful

At the end of the year, as with all good albums, I like to listen to Come Around Sundown front to back without skipping songs.

5. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. This really shouldn’t even make this list as I didn’t own it until after the Big Sexy fiscal year ended. However, it is such a powerful and notable album, I couldn’t keep it off. See the review immediately below. This is number 1 on a lot of year end lists. Even with better fiscal year planning, I don’t think this would’ve finished any different than it does now on the BS List.

6. Gorillaz – Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach. The more time I spent on Plastic Beach the more I enjoyed it. The Gorillaz do not hook me with lyrical content. They hook me with hooks and fun phrases. Damon Albarn has lined up many guests on this album, especially on the standout tracks. On the title track, which opens up the album, Snoop Dogg lays down the vocals in his own way with genius lyrics such as "click clackin, crack-a-lackin, full packin, mo’ stackin, actin’ a fool when I teach. Welcome to the world of the Plastic Beach". Snoop has several other choice lyrical cuts. De La Soul spits out the jams on Superfast Jellyfish. Lou Reed brings his voice to Some Kind of Nature. Mick Jones and Paul Simonon from The Clash rock on Plastic Beach and I’ve seen them playing live with Damon Albarn during the Gorillaz tour.

The back half of the album misses a little more for me. It’s a little more of a sonic flow for me. I don’t skip the songs when listening to them, but I never come to attention. The first half does impress. Starting out with an orchestral intro into the Snoop song really sets the mood. I feel a little bit like I am traveling to a different crazy world while listening to the whole album. Each guest singer is someone I encounter along the way. When Damon sings, I feel like I’m back on our vessel heading to a new destination. Odd feeling for an album, but I like it.

7. The Black Keys – Brothers. You can find my original review here: http://bigsexyreviews.blogspot.com/2010/05/cd-reveiw-black-keys-brothers.html . As I previously stated, I love the start of this album. The first 5 or 6 cuts from this album are some of the best songs I have heard from the Keys. I never was able to embrace the second half of the album. A great album will grow on me and I will like it better 6 months after I first hear it then I did after the first 6 days. This album never did and I honestly haven’t fired it up lately.

8. Ok Go – Of The Blue Colour of the Sky. There were some very good songs from this album, but some very skippable ones, too. None of the songs were instant classics like Ok Go produced on previous albums. But they ran the spectrum (see what I did there?) of songs from very upbeat to mid tempo to ballad with success. Unfortunately, I could never get into a good rhythm on the album as a whole. There would be a couple good songs, then I’d have to skip one. They needed a better mix. Overall, there were enough very goods songs to crack the top albums of 2010 list. If Ok Go dropped the song count from 14, it might have made a better album. They promised to do one of their signature videos for every song of the album. So far, those have been like this album… some very good, so not so good.

9. Mountain Goats – The Sunset Tree and Tallahassee. This falls to this low as both albums were released years ago. Plus it is two different albums. They are new to me so they get recognition in 2010. The Mountains Goats are very much a lyrical band. I would call if folk music, but it rocks a little harder than that. What makes these albums stellar are the stories they tell. They are both heart wrenching albums that the vocals and the music emote wonderfully. The Sunset Tree is about growing up in a home with an abusive stepfather. Tallahassee is about the unraveling of a marriage. Thankfully, I never had to live with a stepfather and I am happily married, but John Darnielle weaves the stories so beautifully and tragically that it is very touching. At the same time, the music reflects the highs and lows of life.

10. Kate Nash – My Best Friend is You. This was just good enough to sneak onto the list above those below. As mentioned in the Top Songs of 2010 post, I don’t think I’d actually like her as much if I lived in London. But I don’t, so I do. Her songs paint her as the brainy but sad girl who stays home along on Saturday nights, which is highly unlikely. They are pop songs but I can feel the twinge of real heart in the songs. That must be why I elevate her above typical pop fluff. I like her accent and most of the songs are catchy.

Honorable Mention: Travie McCoy – Lazarus (Uneven, but good when good), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Best Soundtrack!), QOTSA – Rated R (Excellent re-release), Weezer – Hurley (too soon after a strong ‘09??) and Jack Johnson – To The Sea (More of the same: good beach tunes).

2010 was a bit of a musical downer overall. 2011 will likely produce a much bigger flow of excellent albums. I’m already excited for new albums from Cake, Modest Mouse, Radiohead, Foo Fighters and maybe even The White Stripes and Them Crooked Vultures. Most exciting is knowing that I will have new bands that I cannot imagine as I type this.

CD Review: Kanye West - My Dark Beautiful Twisted Fantasy

I don’t think when Kanye West sits down at his piano or computer or wherever he noodles out his songs, he’s thinking about a 43 year old, middle class white guy enjoying his product. If I cross his mind at all, it might be that he’s hoping I have a fly daughter for him. To be fair, when I sit down at my music store or computer or wherever I buy songs, I’m never thinking of him. I know of Kanye more for his name and as a pop culture reference more than I know of his music. Sure, I liked Gold Digger a couple years back, but when I heard Kanye had a new album out and that he was the musical guest on SNL, I really couldn’t care less.

A little later, I kept hearing positive reviews of My Dark Beautiful Twisted Fantasy capped by a 5 star review in Rolling Stone. More than any other publication, I respect Rolling Stone’s music reviews. 5 stars?? Rolling Stone usually reserves that only for re-issues of Lou Reed albums or the latest Bob Dylan album. I don’t know if I have ever actually heard an album they have given 5 stars to. I am usually pumped if they give an album by an artist I like 4 stars.

While diligently working on the Monday after Thanksgiving, I somehow found myself helping the American economy by surfing Amazon.com. I had typed "amazing real estate deals" into Google. What can I do? Amazon was offering the download of MDBTF for $3. I was being dared to give it a try. I was glad I did.

There are a large number of musical guests and a variety of samples on this album. Most of whom, I don’t know. One of the best is Rhianna, who I like best when she accompanies Shy Ronnie. In this album, she is excellent on All of the Lights. Perhaps the best guest appearance is the very profane Chris Rock monologue in the last 4 minutes of Blame Game. Rock is talking to Yeezy’s girl. She is seeing Rock, who plays the "neighborhood (n-word)" and is the beneficiary of all the things Yeezy has taught her. One of the only clean sentences he says is one of the best - "I gotta thank Yeezy. Ima buy his album. I’m gonna download that (MFer). Ima shoot a bootlegger! That’s how good I feel about that (n-word)". OK, so maybe that wasn’t even close to clean. Here's just the Chris Rock part of the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybK_HwHnIyE

The album is really put together well. The songs flow into each other and complement each other. The only thing that stops me from absolutely loving this album is Kanye. I didn’t think I liked him before. I liked the album right away and figured if I listen to the lyrics more closely, I will be able to uncover all his fronting and see a likable guy. Nope. He is self-referencial in every song. Even when it seems as if he is calling himself out on the wonderful slowed down jam, Runaway, he ends up being a prick. On the song it sounds like he is apologizing to his girl for having to put up with all of his crap. But in the end it is really more of a realization that he is a prick but what is she going to do?? Leave him? (N-word), please!

The other way Kayne’s over inflated ego hurts this album is many of the song’s lengths. Most of the songs would be better serves chopping off the last several minutes. There are a lot of people who love Kayne’s music, but Yeezy is Kayne’s biggest fan.

When it is all said and done, My Dark Beautiful Twisted Fantasy is a diverse and wonderful piece of music. It is likely my favorite rap/hip hop/whatever the kids are calling this type of music nowadays album of all time. It is really well done. If it weren’t for Yeezy, I’d probably like it even more. But if it weren’t for Yeezy, I’d probably not like it at all.

Here is the 35 minute video/mini-movie for the album. Great production value, but good-god, is he a bad actor. Did I mention he loves himself? You’d think he’d go blind for all of his self pleasuring. Actually, this cuts down a lot of the overlong extensions of songs that are not needed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg5wkZ-dJXA&feature=channel

Top 20 Songs of 2010

Fuck yeah! This year has more significant turns of the phrase "fuck" in my favorite songs than any other. As a long time fan of Green Day and Rage Against the Machine among other harder edge bands over the past 25 years, I’m not unaccustomed to hearing the stray swear word in my favorite songs. The best usage might be in Rage’s anti-establishment anthem Killing in the Name. The entire last minute of the song consists of Zach screaming at the height of passion "Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me" over and over again, until he finally punctuates it with a screamed "motherfucker!" at the end. Definitely fits the song perfectly.

I’m not really a big swearing type of guy. I prefer to keep my butchering of the Queens at a PG level. However, my top 20 in the Year of Fuck not only contains songs with said word in important parts of the song, but three actually have the word in the title of song.

Unprecedented.

As usual I will give you my favorite lyric of songs along with why I like them and a clip. This year I have added an "F Count". Here’s the list.

1. Fuck You – Cee Lo Green. This is one of those songs that is just a smash the first time you hear it. The melody is awesome. The significant amount of swearing is the charm of the song. Somehow all of the swearing doesn’t seem that dirty. You can totally feel for Cee Lo as he is weaving his story. I think my favorite lyric is how the song starts and continues as the chorus throughout "I see you driving round town with the girl I love and I’m like ‘Fuck you’". I am glad they released cleaner versions so it can have a broader appeal, but really the original version is the best.

F Count – 16 (plus plenty of S’s and N’s)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc0mxOXbWIU The is one of the best videos of the year as you watch chubby Cee Lo grow through the years and continue to get his heart broken by the same girl.

2. Hurricane J –The Hold Steady. I love The Hold Steady. They put excellent, clever lyrics to rocking beats with passion. That’s typically a home run for me. This song about breaking off a summer fling with a girl because the future isn’t there climaxes with the wonderful line "You’re a beautiful girl and you’re pretty good waitress, but Jessie, I don’t think I’m the guy."

F Count – 0 (Craig Finn keeps his songs about drugs and bars and hook-ups clean!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNBcDsL_gRkThe Hold Steady is a wonderful live band. Watching Craig on stage always makes me happy.

3. Yeah Yeah Yeah – New Politics. This song makes me want to run through a wall. It f’ing rocks! So much energy. So much passion. "Whatchu want from me. That’s just fucking killing me!" This song is an excellent example of proper swearing. Listen to the clean and then the original and tell me which one you feel is more passionate.

F Count - 9

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II0uqBUewD0 Here’s the edited, more produced version of the video to protect your influential ears.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTlWB0RlDj0&feature=channel I assume those walls are padded.

4. Next Girl – The Black Keys. Dig out the dark glasses... This is a great rocking blues song about a guy who is finally getting out of a bad relationship. He’s promising himself that it’s going to be better next time. Perfect material for a blues song. The Keys bring all I could want for a blues song to this one. Great pounding bass. Soulful lyrics surrounding heartbreak. Driving rhythm. "My next girl will be nothing like my ex-girl. I made mistakes back then. I won’t do it again."

F Count – 0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_PrT25o8Vs This video is awesome. I love the partying dinosaur. That Ty Rex can pull. What makes this video is the scrolling words on the bottom. Some of you might have missed the words. Please watch again.

5. No Money – Kings of Leon. My favorite song off an album that is growing and growing on me. This is easily the "rocker" on the album and one of the most passionate. I love the longing of "I’ve got no money but I want you so." But later in the song he talks about having so much he cannot handle it. I dunno. Great song though.

F Count - 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__8FCeZU26Y I couldn’t find a good cut of this song. What’s up internets? Here’s a live cut with OK sound. It is much better to hear the album cut.

6. Anything, Anything – Lucky Boys Confusion I cheated a little bit here. I actively looked for a remake to this 80’s song by Dramarama. That song was my favorite "under heard" song. I couldn’t have been happier with what I found from Lucky Boys Confusion. They did add the profanity of the year, but to pretty good use. I dare say this version is better than the original.

The song is wonderfully passionate and rocking. It boils an arch of a failed relationship down to 2 minutes plus. It takes the listener from the enamored passion of new love to the frustration of tired love to a bridge where it the singer breaks it all down and then takes you into the inevitable breakup and confrontation with the father in-law. I knew someone had to have touched this song again. "I’ll even let you watch the shows you want to see!"

F Count - 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVSvxOi_1U0 No video, but I could find the audio.

7. Dr. Feel Good – Travie McCoy. I had a big Gym Class Heroes phase a few years back. I figured that would be the end of them for me. The leader Travis seemed to like being a star and I didn’t think his musical integrity was strong. I assumed he would try to cross over to be a big pop star. I think to an extent he has. I figured I would like his solo album about as well as I liked him changing his name from Travis to Travie. I was wrong. Many of the songs hinted to what I loved about GCH. Clever and quick lyrics from Travis with a good hook. The hook here is sung by Cee Lo Green. This song was my favorite of several good songs off the disc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvNRyVzaSXU Why not a dancing Power Ranger?

8. Bang Bang Bang – Mark Ronson. My introduction to producer Mark Ronson was when he took a previously unknown to me Amy Winehouse and ruined an awesome song, Valerie by The Zutons. Ronson is a DJ that takes beats and brings in guest singers. Despite my dislike of Ronson, I was immediately enamored with this kickin’ number. The French girl singer mixed with the English rapper make a great combo. I love the "Un, Deux, Trois" countdown. This song hits my dueling Francophile and Anglophile sides it to one big European mashup.

F Count – 1 that I know of, my French isn’t that good

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM6TCGltfHM Weird video fits the weird song.

9. Barely Breathing – The Hold Steady. Usually a THS song hits with me because the wonderful lyrics add to the great music. This is one of the lesser songs lyrically. It’s a bit about The Hold Steady’s ascent as opposed to a story about some crazy hoodrat. I do like the name check of "They Almost Killed Me" as Almost Killed Me is the name of their first album.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwbtB7KVucw Another live performance from The Hold Steady. The album cut of the song sounds much better, but Craig Finn is one of the all-time best showmen.

10. Stylo – Gorillaz. I love the bass on this song. It took me a bit to like this song as much as I do. In typical Gorillaz fashion, there are guest artists. There’s a rap at the start. Damien Albarn, the main guy behind the Gorillaz actually sings the main part. But the headlining singer is some R & B legend that I should’ve heard of but haven’t. He picks up the song half-way in and does some soulful screaming. Who knows what they are even saying in this song. I do like the "Right now!" But throughout, the bass line repeats and repeats and repeats.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhPaWIeULKk The animated Gorillaz come to life (kinda). A visit from Bruce Willis. A surprise ending. I’d love to see a Gorillaz movie.

11. Do Wah Do – Kate Nash. I am a sucker for Kate Nash. I know it is her English accent. I like plenty of English birds that I would never give their American counterpart the time of day. I also like Regina Spector and Lily Allen. They are so spunky. I’m sure if I ever do follow through on my every 4 years threat to move to Europe, I will dismiss English pop females the way I dismiss American ones now. But in 2010, I really like Kate Nash and her girl-left-home-on-a-Saturday night troubles. The best bit is the end when she finally says "I think she’s a bitch"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iD3Qq8imDI Not sure what I think about the video.

12. This Year – The Mountain Goats The Mountain Goats were my musical "find" of the year. Two of my favoritist bands, The Hold Steady and Art Brut both listed The Mountain Goats as one of their favorite bands. I had never heard of them. Then, they (he?) was on The Colbert Report which rarely has a musical guest and when they do, it is usually someone special to my tastes. The Mountain Goats are really John Darnielle with his acoustic guitar. I’ll mention it more in the albums of year post, but his songs, while musically strong, are really borne of the stories told in the lyrics. This Year is about a 17 year old boy living with an abusive stepfather. It is ultimately a sad song, but it does show the kid’s optimistic spirit. He’s not going to give up, he’s going to make it to when he can finally move out. The song is about a day of rebellion where he forgets his troubles at home. Of course, at the end of the day, he comes home to further abuse, but he knows one day it will be alright.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYCzDhaRV60 I neither understand nor like the video. The Mountain Goats need to be listened to, not watched. They are actually such vivid stories, the video could show the story, but this doesn’t. Try not looking at the screen.

13. One Clap & Getcha Popcorn Ready – DJ Steve Porter. Having a connection between me and my boys always increasing a song’s standing. I have loved DJ Steve Porter ever since his "Press Hop" video a while ago skewered athlete interviews, especially Allen Iverson "talkin’ bout practice". Porter hit with a pretty good sequel to that earlier this year. I had introduced those clips to my sporty boys, who ate it up. For football season, Porter came out with Popcorn Ready which was a dance beat mixed under interviews from OchoCinco and Terrell Owens. It’s awesome. Porter topped himself when Randy Moss was traded to the Vikings with One Clap. We spent many a drives getting the family’s claps all synchronized while cruising in Olive the Other Highlander. This might be my favorite Steve Porter mix ever. "Straight cash homey!" So many good lines to pick just a couple.

F Count – 0 (But they were thinking it!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmJcUlrkMNg Love the hair!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEdjDpSdQtQ&NR=1 "Got to keep rollin’, man!" The video is really the thing on both of these. You can then hear the song and visualize the video.

14. This Fucking Job – The Drive By Truckers. I know part of this inclusion goes all the way back to seeing DBT in concert a couple years ago. The song is a little "Southern" for my typical tastes, but I can see Patterson Hood on the stage, singing this song and grinning like he just won Hillbilly Idol. He has so much fun up there. Bonus points for not swearing in the song despite the song’s title. "I thought this job sucked when I had it, but now that it’s gone I know what bad is". Preach on, brother.

F Count – 1 if you count the title

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-S1r0JNikQ Patterson’s not nearly as smiley here and he’s all dressed up. He must have been nervous. Sounds good though!

15. Move to the City – The Blakes. I love The Blakes’ first album. It came from nowhere to take one my top albums of 2008. I was pumped to see they had a new album out and it stunk. This cut was the only song I really liked. It almost seemed out of place for how much better it was than the rest of the album. I found out that this song is an older song that just didn’t make the previous album that I liked so much. Something happened to this band along the way. Change guitarists? Sobered up? Found Jesus? Whatever it is I wish they could go back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=533_86NFbXI This was the only cut I could find of the song to post here. It is from the legendary Crocodile Café in Seattle, their hometown. I like the studio version of the song much better. This just gives you an idea of the song, but doesn’t let the back beat haunt the melody as much as it should.

16. WTF? – Ok Go. This was a strong cut from a good album. I can’t understand much of the falsetto of Damian Kulash. But I do like the claps and the crunchy guitar. Ok Go always gives me a positive vibe. I like the cut of their jib. "There’s just this thing about ‘cha"

F Count – 1 (not counting acronym )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12zJw9varYE They promised to do a video for every song on the album. There have been some really good ones so far. This one isn’t one of the good ones. I love that Ok Go is so video aware.

17. Superfast Jelly Fish – Gorillaz. I don’t love the chorus of the song. It’s a little light for this fun song. I do love the Gorillaz and this was a hit with me and my boys in the spring and summer. "All hail King Neptune and his water-breathers".

F Count – 0 (but there is on "freakin")

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrPhtH2ZQJs As an animated group, I usually like to show the videos of the Gorillaz, but it’s cool to see them live. De La Soul spitting out the lyrics in front of a large band including a pair from the Clash.

18. Jesus Stole My Girlfriend – Violent Soho. This song borrows from the 90’s and I love it. Screaming passionately about how the Big Guy moved in on his lady. That’s kinda funny but it certainly sounds like it is tearing up the singer. Religion for the (cock)block!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzrAfkyq-xM Banging that long hair like its 1992!

19. Too Much Too Soon – Green Day? I loved the American Idiot musical when I saw in Berkeley last year. I haven’t been able to see it on Broadway and I’m more than a little disappointed. Yes… it sounds a bit like Green Day on Glee. I think it rocks more than that. I like the man/woman singing in the songs. It doesn’t sound like a bad cover that way. It is a re-imagining.

F Count - 2 (Come on, it’s a Green Day song)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs4a43pDaSI Unfortunately, I cannot find good quality footage of this in the show. Dang copyright law.

20. Bloodbuzz Ohio – The National. High Violet is not a singles album. It is very much something you listen to in its entirety and let the sonic experience rush over you. This was the most likely individual song on an album that I love. The music just touches my soul. I enjoy figuring out what The National’s songs are about. I’m saying this is about a guy who is going back home to live with his parents in Ohio.

The National’s songs are full of poetic imagery. This songs starts with "I stand up straight at the foot of your love. I lift my shirt up." In most rocks songs, you would be thinking, "Dude’s about to get some", but I contend that "standing up straight" is being respectful as your parents nag you to stand up straight and "lifting a shirt up" is a way to show you are vulnerable and not hiding anything. I think he has made mistakes, he’s broke and to an extent he realizes that he never appreciated the love of his family as much before. He’s getting a "buzz" from the love of his family "blood".

Or maybe dude’s about to get laid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfySK7CLEEg Might be the worst video in the history of music videos. The National’s music, much like The Mountain Goats really shouldn’t be set to a video. The music is the thing there, not a whole package. I truly believe Matt did this video as a protest to music videos. I mean, this video absolutely sucks. A good video makes me like the song more. This almost makes me like the song less.

2010 wasn’t the best year in music for me, but it certainly had it’s high points. Stay tuned for the top albums of the year. The song list does not necessarily translate to the album list.

Burrito Week Reviews: Tres Hermanas, Rubio's, Ernesto's

The rest of the Burrito Week reviews are a little condensed.

Next up was Tres Hermanas. I have never been to Tres Hermanas but my knowledge of the Spanish language acquired from Arrested Development allowed me to know the translaton. The recent Sacramento News & Review "Best of" edition had listed Tres Hermanas as the best Mexican restaurant in the city. As a stauch lover of Mexican food, it was an outrage that I had not sampled their wares.

I was surprised that the prices on the menu didn't quite match the humble interior of the place. The decor is actually perfect for what I like in a Mexican restaurant. It seemed hole-in-wallish enough to serve up excellent grub. But it is plenty nice inside.

Starting with warm, fresh chips and a cold, strong margarita, the lunch got off to an impressive start. Mrs. Sexy got an enchilada that looked like it should be in a magazine or hanging in a museum. My burrito choice for today was their Chile Colorado burrito with pork. The burrito plate was delivered with a modest sized burrito and excellent rice and beans. Perhaps the best mexican rice I have ever had. What the burrito lacked in size it made up for in flavor. The meat was very flavorful. The only ingredients in the burrito were ample amounts of pork with a spicy pico de gallo.

High marks for Tres Hermanas. 4 chilies out of 5 for the burrito. Very flavorful but its lack of complexity keeps it from taking a perfect score. If the prices were lower, I could see making the trek down there on the regular.


Rubio's was a surprise entrant in Burrito Week. I fondly remember getting the Beer Battered Fish Burrito when moms brought me one when I was convalesing after surgery. It was tasty enough to chase another soon after. I'm typically a Pescado Especial guy from Rubio's. Yummy and consistent. I was thinking of mixing a variety of meats during this week, so it was a good opportunity to stick in the fish. The capper was when Rubio's sent me an e-mail offering to buy me lunch. That's more than can be said for any of my friends. It's kinda sad to think that Rubio's might be my best friend. (It's not too late to offer, btw.)

The Fish Burrito is a generous enough portion of fried fish with cabbage, guacamole and a pretty tasty white sauce. It is tasty and gets the job done, but it isn't mind altering. I read during my entire lunch and never had to put my bookmark in and same a few thankful words to the burrito gods for providing the feast and allowing it's bounty to travel the Big Sexy digestive highway. It was good. I'm giving it 2 pescados out of 5.

My actual birthday coincided with the birthday of one of my favorite restaurants, Ernesto's. The wait staff had a big celebration planned for Ernesto's and me, complete with balloons and a giant cake lit with tall sparklers. Very nice touch! I love that Ernesto's complements their tasty chips, not only with a very good chunky salsa, but with a bean dip. That always sets my mood high.

I went for the Carnitas Burrito, expecting a sopping wet burrito filled with generous portions of Ernesto's delicious carnitas. Unfortunately, the cook has been watching too much Top Chef and wanted to get all cute. The enchilada sauce was artistically splashed on the ends of the burrito, keeping the creation rather dry. The first third of the burrito was very heavy on the rice. I excavated enough of the rice out to get to the carnitas and guacamole that was hiding inside. Once my burrito archaelogy was complete, I was able to savor the tasty burrito. It had a chance to be the winner of the week. The carnita meat was succulent, the guacamole was fresh and flavorful. However, the whole creation was not put together as well as I had hoped. It may be the unfulfilled potential that make me give this burrito 3 birthday sparklers out of 5.

There are plenty more burritos to be explored but not many days to do it. Will I sneak in a breakfast burrito? Will I go to my favorite chain restaurant of all time, Chipotle, and give them a chance to hit it big? Will I go to my current work hot spot for a huge super burrito? Will chicken ever make an appearance? Will I sneak in a dinner burrito? Stay tuned for the answers to all of those pressing burrito questions and more.

Burrito Week: Taco de Oro

Every year around the end of the Big Sexy fiscal year, I treat myself to a burrito each workday from my favorite burrito haunts. I’ve long believed that a burrito is always the right answer for lunch. Feeling sad? A burrito picks me up. Feeling happy? Celebrate with a burrito. Low self-esteem? A burrito always has my back. Feeling sleepy? A burrito will tuck me in for an afternoon nap.

This year I will provide a review of each of these holy-rolled concoctions sampled during Burrito Week as a public service. I don’t know anyone else, aside from Adam Richman, who I would trust with burrito knowledge more than the Big Sexy. My burrito palette is as refined and respected as my well-heeled beer palette. Here are my findings…

Taco de Oro, aka The Burrito Wagon. When I first starting working a Panattoni nearly 5 years ago, I walked down, to the local taco truck, against the advice of my new co-workers. I didn’t have a car that day and the truck was just around the corner from our offices. I figured if anyone can make a tasty burrito, it would be authentic Mexicans who’s only overhead is gas and an oil change every 6 months. I noticed there were good sized lines of landscapers every day. Worst case scenario, I get to catch up on some reading I’ve be meaning to get to in the afternoon. Thankfully, I couldn’t have been happier with my results! I had been blind to taco trucks for so long. I don’t even remember seeing one before. Now I recognize them everywhere and check to see if I have time to stop for a quick bite.

Sadly, one day the truck was gone. They had been always parked in a tire shop parking lot on Folsom Boulevard every day from 11-3. Maybe they were on vacation. Next week… still gone. I hadn’t even gotten a chance to say goodbye! If only someone could give me a sign that everything would be alright. When I was finally cried out over my loss, there was a sandwich board in the vacant lot. The sign I had been longing for. It gave the new address to Taco de Oro’s truck! They had moved a couple of miles down Florin-Perkins, just south of Fruitridge, in front of some deserted building. The Man had made them move over some permit thing. So maybe it wouldn’t be as quick as before, but I knew we could make it work. It’s now a 20-30 minute round trip to get my beloved burrito wagon burrito, but it is worth it.

Monday’s burrito came back to my desk with a couple of it’s taco friends. The more the merrier! The asada tacos are simply asada on corn torillas with a spicy homemade sauce and cilantro. They never fail to satisfy. After my appetizer, I was geared up to get this party started right. Unfortunately, the burrito was a bit of a let down. It is a good example of the problems with the truck. Today, there was not enough of that special red sauce on the burrito, making it dry and without the same dome-moistening heat that I am accustomed to. The asada in the burrito also seemed to have more of the tough/fatty pieces that I don’t eat. The only other ingredients, pinto beans and Mexican rice, were perfect. But I really needed more sauce. The consistency of the burritos at Taco de Oro is the only flaw. About 85% of the time, they are extremely good. That other 15%, makes me take my burrito eating talents away from South Watt.

Tough start to burrito week… Taco de Oro starts the week with 2 ½ dancing burritos out of 5.

CD Review: Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown

Based on the album cover and the level of rocking on this album, the title could be Jack Johnson's Blue Ridge Mountain Vacation. I get it. KOL has matured, not sold out. I'm not going down the path that many fans do with bands they have loved from the first or second album start to have commercial success. However, you cannot listen to this album next to Aha Shake Heartbreak or Young and Young Manhood and not tell a significant difference.

There was a lot of complaining coming from the Followill boys 6 months after their last release, Only By the Night. They were offended by Soccer Moms throwing their spanks on stage and frat boys who only stood up for Sex on Fire during their concerts. I personally like hot moms, but I get it. They are 25 year olds and date models while eating oysters in New York meatpacking district. Because of their discontentment with their growing fan base, I thought their next album would be a little more "garage" sounding and Caleb's vocals would be a little more raw. Maybe they don't mind their current scene as much as they protest.

I don't want this review to spin out of control. I do like Come Around Sundown. I like it the more I listen to it and I keep wanting to listen to it. I may have listened to it every day for the last couple of weeks. There are several of songs that standout and overall, the album is very listenable and enjoyable. No Money even rocks a bit. The lead single, Radioactive and Pyro are very good mid-tempo rockers. Mi Amigo even tips its hat at the down south naughtiness of Soft and Trani from the aforementioned "early" KOL albums. There just isn't anything there that makes me have a passion for it.

I have noodled about this dilema for quite a bit. I don't think my lack of enthusism for this record has to do with the toned down sound or the polished vocals. I finally figured out that I don't feel the passion from the songs that were so evident on their earlier efforts. I thought about what I really like in a song. Why do I consider songs like Everlong by Foo Fighters or Jesus of Suburbia by Green Day among my favorite songs or all time? Is it the style? Not specificially. Is it how cute the singer is? Rarely. (But Dave Grohl - rowwl!) I have concluded that these are my top five reasons for liking a song:

5. Song makes my feel sexy

4. It has a beat that makes my body move involuntarily

3. Clever lyrics that either make me smile or think

2. Being able to feel the artists' passion

1. Touches my soul (hard to quantify)

I think many of those tend to blend together, but that would the Big Sexy Institute of Music and Harmony Orientation. BS, IMHO for you internet nerds.

I've never seen a KOL concert and they have painted an unsavory picture as described above. But I have seen them perform live through the miracles of modern technology and they look boorrring. I very much like their music. Maybe that vision of seeing them singing every song while standing at their microphones without a change in facial expression has influenced my opinion of not feeling their passion in their music. I think that is what I am missing in Come Around Sundown. It is a very good album all the way through, that I will enjoy now. But will I be passionate about for the years to come?

I'll give Come Around Sundown 4 flip flops out of five.

Movie Review: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

>>> I went into this movie with pretty high expectations. The expectation came from the involvement of co-writer of the screenplay and director Edgar Wright and a pretty cool trailer I saw months ago.

>>> I love Wright's previous work with Simon Pegg in Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and the BBC show, Spaced. One of the special things with all of those is the unique directorial style of the films. I'm not detailed or observant enough to "get" subtle directorial touches that likely help me understand or enjoy the film better. Wright's direction involves some very quirky and in-your-face cuts that really add to my enjoyment. Scott Pilgrim is his first venture away from Simon Pegg and I was hoping he would still bring me happiness.

>>> Wright did not disappoint. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is every bit as quirky, fun, cool and rockin' as I had hoped it would be. Scott Pilgrim is a series of "graphic novels" and is based on a videogame culture. The series was adapted into this kick-ass movie by Wright and one of the lesser Basterds from last years BS top movie. The story is good, but what makes this movie to me is the directing. It is full of interesting visions from Batman style explamations to brief labels introducing the viewer to new characters. Each battle is choreographed like a video game complete with graphics and clearly fictional attacks.

>>> My one paragraph plot summary... Scott is a 23 year old slacker whose only thing in life is that he plays bass guitar in a nothing punk band, Sex Bob-Omb (love that name!). He finds the girl of his dreams (literally) and remarkably their interest is eventually mutual. Ramona (dream girl) says that in order to continue dating her he needs to defeat her 7 evil ex-boyfriends. As you would expect, the movie takes you through these battles as Scott also learns about himself.

>>> I am a sucker for a good soundtrack. This soundtrack is excellent for the movie. As Scott is a musician, the plot also follows along with his band. I love the quick punk numbers of Sex Bob-Omb. All of them were written by Beck, who also has songs in the movie. Another great song by Metric is performed the fictional band The Clash at Demonhead. The Clash at Demonhead's lead singer is Scott's ex-girlfriend. The band name is a geek-reference to an old Nintendo game of the same name. I bet if this movie is slowed down, there are a ton of these types of references.

>>> Overall, I was maybe a little tired of the battles by end. Because of that I can't give it top marks. It is my favorite movie theater experience of the year. I will give it 1,2,3,4!!!! Power Ups out of 5.

Viral Summer 2010

I spend way too much time surfing the internet at work. However, usually I am rewarded with the highlight of my workday in the form of a youtube video. I'm posting the links here of my fave 5 of the summer because I know you are way too busy during your work days to scout this out. Enjoy...

5. Presidential Reunion. All of the Saturday Night Live presidents over the years come back to haunt President Obama. This is an awful lot of star power for a political message.

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/f5a57185bd/funny-or-die-s-presidential-reunion

4. Press Hop 2. DJ Steve Porter is back with the follow-up to my favorite viral video of 2009. This doesn't quite grab me like the original. I feel he bounces around too much. But the more I listen to it, the more I get hooked. "Gonna take my talents to South Beach (Hollywood, Hollywood, Hollywood)".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffJvDgBrwMI

3. ChadMatt&Rob Interactive Adventures. There are four of these "choose your adventure" video stories to choose from. Excellent time killers. I don't know how they have mastered the youtube technology to pull this off. At the end of each episode, you choose what action the protagonists should do next by clicking the screen. It will link you to the next video where you will either be right and can continue or things will go horribly wrong and you can go back and choose again. This is funny, suspenseful , action-packed and completely different than anything I have seen before. But I don't get out much.

http://www.chadmattandrob.com/category/movies/interactive/

2. Caddyshack Trailer Remix. Deadspin just alerted me to this beauty. It is a Caddyshack trailer cut with the score to the Inception trailer. Dazzling. Looks like a completely different movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YmSylu72bA

1. They Rapin' Errabody Out Hyah. This is actually a horrible story about an attempted rape. Not usually the type of story that tickles me. However, somehow the news team decides to interview the victim's brother Antoine Dodson. Could they not have found a less flamboyent witness?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQDFCaubC7E

Ok, so that's somewhat amusing. But try to get the dance version out of your head. It's impossible. I don't like the end of the video, but the first half is gold. "Hide ya kids, hide ya wife".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dc2txXXI1k&feature=related

Honorable mentions:

I can't count it as this summer because I have loved the "Hitler finds out..." meme of youtube parodies for a while now. Taken from the climatic scene from very good German movie, Downfall, about the last days of Hitler. The captioning on the bottom gives a different English version of the German dialogue than what actually transpired. It had actually gone a little far discussing every pop culture item and some of it done very poorly. The good ones are good though. I had heard that the movie studio popped the world's funny balloon and ordered they all be removed from youtube. But I found this good one about people forgetting his birthday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKOwI55ypLQ

I Gotta Feeling song parody. This song was everywhere last year. No matter how much I tried to avoid it. However, this version is kind of amusing.

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1924835

I'm no Star Wars geek, but this is a pretty cool thing to have. This is the "Behind the Scenes" of the making of Darth Vader voicing a GPS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ljFfL-mL70&feature=channel

I'm no Harry Potter geek, but I would love to see this musical! You need to follow a bunch of parts to get it all in. This is very creative and funny. I'm sure it would even be better is I remembered the story better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmwM_AKeMCk

Now get back to work! Those papers are going to push themselves.

Guest Music Review: The Black Keys - Brothers

I can count the number of people who I respect for their musically taste on one hand, while holding a frosty Newcastle. Among that select company is my friend Ted. He has an excellent visual for how our musical tastes intersect. It's like a DNA strand, but it is more amusing to watch Ted pantomime it with his hands. For every band that we both adore, there is a band that one of likes and the other abhors. The Black Keys is one of our mutual bands. He has guest reviewed before and I asked him for this thoughts on Brothers, which I have reviewed earlier. Here is Ted's amusing and well written reflection of his first weekend with the Brothers CD.

So I went to Vegas with the wife, upgraded my lodging to the fancy "Venetian" to please her. Had a couple of beers at the airport ready to kick off my hour plane ride listening to the Keys. When I bought the new album at The Beat, (I think the world is better with them in business so I try to buy things from them even if it costs a few bucks more) I bought a Rolling Stone issue as well. I didn't think I could pass it up, it had a picture from 1972 of Mick on the cover. I picked it up and was ready to purchase it but the Rolling Stone underneath had a picture of 1972 Keith on it. Think about that, same magazine with different covers, forced to make a decision as to who was my favorite Rolling Stone during their greatest period. I went with Keith without thought. Then I had a thought - if they had one with a picture of Mick Taylor I would have chosen him. If I was the Key's I'm not sure if I would like to have my new album bought alongside a Rolling Stone magazine featuring the re-release of the greatest rock n roll album of all time. I made the purchase, got in the car, put the Keys on and made a vow that I would not open the magazine until I was on the plane going to Vegas. I'm not much of a fan of flying so keeping myself entertained carries a high priority.

Shelly knows not to F with me when I'm getting ready to fly so, like the good woman she has been to me for the past 20 something years, she immediately got me to the airport bar and made sure to order me the second tall bud right before they called us for boarding. She knew I wouldn't leave a drop and would therefore have to slam it. I don't think it's me she was looking out for.

So we get on the flight - Southwest group B. What is it with people having to sit in the front of the plane? I like the back, I'm more likely to have a vacant seat next to me, I can get my aisle seat in case I need to "leave" and it's closest to the beer lady. Shelly and I get our seats, someone came and sat in our aisle so Shelly gave her the window prompting the "why am I always the one elbow fighting the stranger" comment, I didn't hear it the first time because she whispered it and "Everlasting Light" was blaring through my iPod, fantastic song, great beat, Auerbach mixing his voice up, great back ground singers. That's how an album should start.

Looking at my Rolling Stone cover I was thinking more of the one with Mick on it and specifically how good Mick was at using his voice as an instrument, "Tops" off of Tattoo You is my favorite. Side note here: the back side (how do you say that in CD or iTune) of Tattoo You is unbelievable, possibly the most under appreciated stones album side ever. I was thinking how good the Stones were at bringing black, female background singers into their songs, Gimmie Shelter being the best which I think holds a strong argument for greatest Stones song ever, or at least the one I might choose if I could only listen to one more Stones song for the rest of my life. When I was growing up I wanted to be a black female background singer, actually I still do, or maybe I could settle for backing up Amy Winehouse, have you seen those guys?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eV5cUno6GSc&feature=related

I digress, we reach 10,000 feet and I can turn my iPod back on which is always a good feeling because it also means the engines are working properly and the pilots aren't going to have to turn around and make an emergency landing, or worse. I started the album over and re-listened to Everlasting Light, did I say it's a great opening song! "Love is the coal that makes this train roll", that will take your mind off a plane crash, or at least make it more palatable. I started reading my Rolling Stone, trying to go slow through the early pages but really just wanting to get to the Exile article. What a 1-2 punch Everlasting Light and Next Girl are, talk about great simple lyrics "that was a painful dance, now I got a second chance", reminds me of my all time favorite break up song "Dead Flowers" and the best line "I'll be in my basement room, with a needle and a spoon, and another girl to take my pain away." Hopefully I will just be able to dig the song and not need to pull emotional spirit out of it. On that note, I'm reading RS and Shelly see's the first page of the Exile article and grabs the magazine from me, I didn't get it back until we got off the plane. I did get another beer though and listened to more but not all of the album.

Here's where the problems start, I intended to run or do some type of workout while listening to the album, I told you how last years Vegas was "21st Century" Vegas and this years was going to be "Brothers" Vegas. I have traveled to FL, GA, SC, NC, MA and around CA in the past 12 months and without fail every single hotel room I was in had an iPod clock that recharges iPods, every single room. I made the conscious decision not to bring the iPod recharger because I was already carrying 50 pounds of shit for a 1 day 2 night trip, and I knew that a place as classy as the Venetian would have an iPod recgharger, they had to because every other F'ing hotel or dump for that matter had them, every single one. You guessed it. To make things worse, I think I left the iPod on so when I looked at it it was showing red in the charge area. Decided to save any charge for the plane ride home and to drink beer instead of working out.

Have you ever been to ICSC? It's basically 35,000 real estate guys in a convention hall that's the size of the grand canyon. Everyone has meetings all day long with people from the same town that they come from but for some reason you only feel the urgency to have a face to face meeting when you are in some other city. You end up standing on your feet on a concrete floor for 10 hours and for some reason it is absolutely exhausting.

After my day I decided to go back to the wonderful Venetian and have a beer. Shelly wasn't going to be done with her "treatment" until 6:30 so I set out to get a draft beer, I didn't think I was being too picky I wanted either Sierra Nevada or Anchor Steam, draft. I went to every single bar at the Venetian and some other behemoth hotel connected to it. I must have walked 2 more miles and seen 3 dozen places that served alcohol. Last chance was a Italian dinner type, white table cloth, uninviting restaurant. I was peaking around the maitre de, trying to see if I could see if they had any draft beer and the lady asks is she can help me. It's the end of a long day, I just want a F'ing Sierra or Anchor draft and I'm pissed about being holed up in this shithole of a place called the Venetian, in response I said "I'm sure you can't, nobody else can", in a way to sarcastic voice. I had become a dick. "I'm looking for a draft Sierra Nevada Pale Ale or an Anchor Steam, not a bottle, a draft", "yes sir, you can sit at the bar and drink all of the draft Sierra Nevada Pale Ale's you'd like, I however regret to inform you that we do not have Anchor Steam", the ten minutes sitting and watching the guy clean and dry his bar glasses right in front of me seemed like the right penance for my bad attitude and suddenly the world was right again. I thought you'd appreciate it and sent you a picture. It was a moment worth sharing.

Fast forward to the plane ride coming home, I have my RS ready to read and desperately little charge left on my iPod to listen to the Keys. Group B again, most guys let their wives walk in front of them when getting on a plane. I sit in the same spot. I'm on the aisle, stewardess comes on and says it's a full flight. I start hoping the fat guy walking down the aisle doesn't sit with us. He and his 4 other friends sit in the row in front of us. He must go 275, sits in the seat directly ahead of me and when he sits back I can basically massage his head with my hands in my lap.

The last 2 people on the plane are a skinny white girl dressed for Vegas with a pork pie hat (best song to have pork pie hat in the lyrics is Rudy Can't Fail on London Calling, top 3 album of all time) and her black boy friend. The stewardess says to the guy, your seat is in the back row and asks the girl to sit directly in front of Shelly, next to Mr. 275. Mr 275 has a friend who keeps making farting noises, it started when we were boarding and lasted through exiting the plane, I'm not making this shit up. So, the girl starts making sad faces at everyone in the rear of the plane because she just can't make it for an hour without siting next to her boyfriend, prompting the stewardess to say "Honey, you have the rest of your life to be next to him, I think you can make it an hour" classic, Southwest stuff.

I have my iPod on, waiting for it to shut down and am reading the Exile story, they go into who was actually drumming on a part of the song "Happy" and I couldn't help but change from the Keys, must have been the middle part of the record you didn't like, to Exile, . What a great album, best ever! What the Rolling Stones did while Mick Taylor was in the band was unbelievable, it will never be matched. Taylor should have been on the cover of Rolling Stone.

So my Vegas "Black Keys" trip didn't turn out to be. I have subsequently heard the album a few times and like it very much. I agree somewhat with your critique but if it takes a couple of mediocre songs to give me the ability to listen to the thumping beat and killer bass and awesome black female back up in Sinister Kid, "a drop dead sprint from the day he was born" or the classic Auerbach guitar in Unknown Brother or a great cover of the antithesis of decent music, Rick Astley, then I'm all for it. In the end, it may stray around a few decades of influence but in a day when no-one listens to albums any more, except me, why not give the people what they want?

Early Summer Movie Review: Winter's Bone

I've been able to get away to the movies a bit over the past month or so, but what I have noticed is that almost all of my movie theater watching involves bringing my boys (and sometimes a friend of theirs). I think I realized how many kids' movies I have seen recently because I have seen the same absolutely horrible trailer for a movie called Alpha & Omega enough times to want to make a rug out of cartoon wolf hide. Do not see that movie no matter how much your child begs. I'm telling you, you will hate yourself and your kid if you do it.

With this wealth of viewing I will be able to help you sift through all of the (kids) movies out there. First up, Winter's Bone. Ok, this is not a kid movie. Unless you want your kid to see squirrel skinning, drug use, teen pregnancy, teen's getting bloodied and dismemberment of a dead parent's hands. Winter's Bone was the big winner at Sundance. It stars absolutely nobody you have heard of and takes place in, obviously, the winter. The movie takes place in the poorest part of methamphetimine laden Missouri. It is the type of place I wouldn't even think exists. It certainly doesn't in the land of rainbows and lollipops that enchant my mind. Would these people even know a movie like Grown Ups even exists. I can't imagine they would laugh at anything ever, much less Rob Schneider acting like a buffoon. (Editors note: I have not, nor will I be seeing Grown Ups. I know, movie snob.)

The one paragraph plot summary is a teen girl is raising her young siblings because dad is missing and mom is a vegetable. Their shack and land is about to be taken by a bond company because while dad was missing, he was arrested and placed all of it as collateral for the bond. Now he skipped the court date. Teen girl sets out amongst the bad people dad hangs around to try to find him and make him go to court. Guess what. She's in for some trouble.

Winter's Bone is a well done movie that you will think about long after you leave the theater. This is a good movie to debate why one even goes to the movies. I know that I love movies for a variety of reasons. I like to visit a different world. I like my emotions to be pulled, whether it is joy, fear, compassion, sorrow or inspiration. On the one hand, this movie definitely has stuck with me and it definitely made me feel. So good movie, right? The problem is that the overpowering emotion I felt was depression after watching this. I didn't cry during the movie, but I felt like a huge wave of horrible crash down on me.

The other reason to watch a movie is to be entertained. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsqJFIJ5lLs&feature=related I'm not sure if I was entertained. There is certainly a somewhat slow movie story here, but there was never a moment of being uplifted. Just sorrow, desperation and misery. I think a good movie to me is one that, in the end, I was entertained by. That's not saying that this movie wasn't put together better, acted better, had a better story and was more meaningful than something like Iron Man 2, but I wasn't as entertained. I guess in a way, this movie was so good it was even able to tell me something about myself. That my movie enjoyment is shallow. Maybe I'm not a movie snob afterall. Nah, I'm still not seeing Grown Ups. I'm going to give this movie two severed hands (out of five). Those with more distinquished movie tastes may like it better.

CD Review: The Hold Steady - Heaven is Whenever

The Hold Steady have probably meant as much to me as any band over the past few years. I was able to discover their past albums and celebrate the wonderful Stay Positive release. I have even been able to enjoy the pre-THS band Lifter Puller or LFTR PLLR if you're into that kinda scene. When I first started listening to a Big Sexy-fashioned "greatest hits" of this critically acclaimed band, I thought it was ok, but nothing ground breaking. But then I listened more and more. I heard Craig Finn's lyrics and started to dig the stories about all of his hoodrat friends that inhabited each nugget of song. There is so much passion. The beats are well matched for the emotion of each song.

I already loved The Hold Steady before Mrs. Sexy took me to see them in concert in Portland. The band that encouraged Craig to start The Hold Steady opened for them that night, The Drive-By Truckers. DBT is a southern rock band. I've never thought of the South when listening to The Hold Steady. The settings for their songs float around the country from St. Paul to Ybor City to Cheyenne to Sacramento. That concert was amazing. I'm not a big fan of the Truckers music, but the lead singer seemed like he had won a contest. He was so thrilled to be on the stage and that joy was contagious. When The Hold Steady took the stage, they not only rocked the house with all of my favorite songs, but Craig Finn was the best showman of all time. He's smiling, he'd dancing and best of all he adds to the songs by talking to the audience of mic to further the "telling of the story" feel for each of the songs. My second favorite concert ever. He ends all of his concerts talking about the joy this gives him and despite some of the pretty dour subject matter in the songs, he wants everyone to Stay Positive.

Wait, is that an opening for a top 5 list?

Top 5 concerts I've seen:

Green Day at Arco

THS at Crystal Ballroom in Portland

Foo Fighters at Memorial

Presidents of the USA at Boardwalk

Cake at The Empire

Toadies at Boardwalk

Ok, that's 6 and I'm sure I'm missing something too. These bands have so completely spoiled me for concerts. I now require the front man to be a charismatic show man. I don't even want to see bands in concert unless I believe they will entertain me beyond just awesome music. Sorry, The National, Kings of Leon, Radiohead and Modest Mouse. I won't miss an album out of any of them, but I'm not going to see any of them in concert. Unless someone gives me a ticket... I'm easy that way.

Sometimes, I tangent. I know it, you know it and the American people know it. (Who knows that reference?)

With all of that background, I bring you the very highly anticipated (by me!) release of Heaven is Whenever. After my first listen, I was kinda underwhelmed. Not quite disappointed, but immediately thought this is nowhere as good as Stay Positive and not in the same ballpark as Boys and Girls in America. I knew this was the first release since the departure of charismatic keyboardist Franz Nicolay. I thought maybe that was the missing ingredient.

I can't believe that I had forgotten my THS history. They are not a one or two listen band. You need to let the music wash over you a few times to really polish the enjoyment. Now that this disc has burned through my headphones up to 20 times and I made one significant adjustment to the playlist, I love it! The adjustment is my omission of the rocking song, Rock Problems. I've never disliked a song by The Hold Steady as much as this. My dislike is solely on a repetitive guitar riff that overshadows a pretty good little story and killer guitar section by Tad Kubler. But the repetitive riff seems almost cliched. It is track 4. It's in a position of the album to be a tempo setter, but it just made me angry. Once I started skipping that song, I started liking the album more and more.

My other major criticism of the album is the positioning of the first song, The Sweet Part of the City. It's not a bad song, but it really makes me think they hung out with The Drive-By Truckers too long. It is a bit of a ballad and it's really not all that bad of a song, but as an album opener, it really left me flat. I'm not sure who mixed this album, but that duty should be handled by anyone else next album.

There are many excellent songs in this too short, 10 song set. It only gets shorter when I need to delete one. The Weekenders is a follow up of perhaps my fave THS song of all time, Chips Ahoy. I'm happy to say The Weekenders is a great song as well. However, the best section of the album is a three song arc that starts with song 7 and my fave track for now Hurricane J. I love the line where he dumps his girl "You're a beautiful girl and a pretty good waitress, but Jessie I don't think I'm the guy."

This clip makes me smile...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNBcDsL_gRk&feature=related

As with all The Hold Steady albums, there are wonderful phrases and lines throughout every song. I hope Craig never runs out of material in his imagination regarding this crazy lot of people. Thinking about and singing along with these excellent lines gives me chills and joy.

Overall, I love Heaven is Whenever, but with the missteps I have pointed out, I can only give it 4 PBR's out of a round of 5.

CD Review: The Black Keys - Brothers

I think every essay written about Akron, Ohio's The Black Keys includes a mention to The White Stripes. Sure, there are several similarities. Both are two piece, blues-rooted bands from the Midwest and the names sure do sound like they came from the same random band name generator.

When you really listen to the bands, they aren't very similar at all. I love The White Stripes. Jack White finished 6th on my top 5 entertainers of the '00s list. The White Stripes are a rock band with blues influences. The Black Keys are a blues band with rock leanings. The Black Keys appear to be getting a little more commercial and polished with each record. Fans of bands that grow over time often resent this growth as a sell-out. Brothers is proof that the change is all good for these bluesmen.

Brothers starts off with 5 excellent bluesy rock cuts that make me bob my head and reach for my shades. Then the album goes a little hit and miss with me. One of the members of the Keys recently went through a bitter divorce and nothing can fuel a blues record as a brutal heartbreak. However, it seems that in most of the songs, Dan Auerbach talks about his burning love while only a few talk about how an evil woman has done him wrong. Clearly, Dan was not the one with the broken heart. One that fits into the "done wrong" vein is found here in this funny video featuring a lead-singing dinosaur puppet. Make sure to read the scrolling message. I know some of you will not see the dinosaur or the words. Watch it again less closely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_PrT25o8Vs

My only criticism of the album is the length. I think they could have cut out several of the 15 songs, and made a tighter set. Past the halfway point, my neck gets a little tired from bobbing and I want to come out of the smokey bar of my mind and get back to sunshine, rainbows and unicorns that typically occupy it. There is a section right around the middle, that I'm not digging. However, The Keys end up strong with several good songs, including an unrecognizable Rick Astley cover. If people got Rick Rolled with this version, they would love it. An amazing re-imaging of Never Gonna Give You Up.

Brothers is easily one of the top albums of 2010 thus far and my favorite complete The Black Keys albums. 4 1/2 crumpled letters thrown to the floor out of 5!

Album of the Year: 2010

There are some very heavily anticipated (by me) releases coming out this year. Before those come out and (hopefully) obliterates the competition, I wanted to give some recognition to my favorites of the year so far. Maybe my favorite in April will go wire to wire. From the leaks for Heaven is Whenever by The Hold Steady, I doubt it.

My album of 2010 is the self-titled album from The XX! Maybe the album is titled "20". Sometimes I miss dry British humor. This isn't the typical hard driving release that occupies my top spot. But give the XX a listen or 20 and it will be your go-to album for chilling out. I've heard it described as "make out music for a new generation". It is definitely sexy.

There isn't a sexier musical sound than a perfectly played bass. I wish I could play the bass guitar. I started just wishing I could play guitar, but to really achieve musical ability in line with my well-placed moniker, I would need to strap on a sweet bass guitar with extra long straps so I can play with my arms fully extended. And I would need to not pronounce the name of my sweet axe the way a fisherman might pronounce the word bass. That's always been a struggle for me. I suppose I will have to continue on with my appreciation of excellent music as my lone musical talent.

The XX are very young twenty year olds from London. The lead singing is shared by a lassie and a bloke who trade lines as well as harmonize wonderfully. Their voices complement the very cool bass lines and atmospheric sounds that define the sound of the group. I've seen them perform on Youtube, and I like them better without video. They sound much better than they look. A wise man nearly thirty years ago said "Video killed the radio star". Luckily, this pair was born way after the MTV Moonman paraded across my basic cable. Love the band before you risk ruining it by taking a look at these two.

XX is a complete album that should be listened to with noise cancelling headphones and in its entirity. Perferably while receiving a message next to a crystal blue lagoon that is being feed by a graceful waterfall in preparation of a night full of passionate love making... Obviously, I'm listening to it right now. See how dreamy the music is!

It is very unlikely that you would immediately love The XX, but here is a sample from what could be considered there much accessible song. One of their songs was being played prominently below commericals featuring Apolo Anton Ohno during the Olympics. I believe that is what lead him to such continued success.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZzjHMfz4_E&feature=related

The other contenders early on in the year are:

2. American Idiot: Broadway - It is a combination of my favorite album of all-time and one of my favorite musical mediums. It's kind of like a real kick ass version of the cast of Glee got a hold of the last two Green Day albums. Man oh man, I want to see this on Broadway! I did see it is Berkeley and loved it. Not very good sound here, but worth a peek.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1eUuPkYu8Q&feature=related

3. Spoon - Transference - I was a little disappointed when I first starting listening to latest album by this long time indie band. The more I listen, the more I listen. It is really starting to dig a groove in the musical part of my brain. Some good jangly piano, some rockin' guitars I could see this moving up and not down as the year goes. This song was actually a pretty instant hit for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhS7OS1WcmU

4. Ok Go - Of the Blue Colour of the Sky - Winner of the worst album title of the year. I love Ok Go and their revolutionary video clips. I've linked the latest. This is a good album but not great. More misses than hits. Maybe it will grow on me too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w

5. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach - It keeps growing and growing on me. Perhaps if I sparked up with Snoop (who raps on the opening track) I would get the half of the songs that I don't quite dig yet. It's getting there. Plenty of guest rappers, but I'm really not a huge rap fan. I do like Gorillaz flavored rap. They are a bit hit or miss with me and always have been. Can't wait for the vid for this cut.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4UtbrbsrjY&feature=channel