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

BS Awards - Album of the Year

Now that the Grammy's have finally come and gone, I can release the real awards for album of the year. No, there is no Beyonce, Taylor Swift or Lady Gaga on this list. In fact, in this "Year of the Woman" in the world of music, there is nary a lady-lead act on the whole list. This is not to say I dislike women singers. I have a nice itunes mix of British Birds that has is heavily weighted on Kate Nash and Lily Allen. When it came to bringing the pleasure to my ears, soul and heart in 2009, I relied on the fellas to get it done.


There are many, many songs throughout the year that moved me. But what makes an album special in not just the number of hits on the album, but the entire flow and feeling that listening the album in its entirity brings. Here's my top 10:



1. 21st Century Breakdown - Green Day - There was much pressure on the boys from Green Day to follow up one of the best albums of all time. While this album can't knock American Idiot off the top shelf, this is still an excellent album. Similar to American Idiot, 21st Century Breakdown really moved me from song to song even when I couldn't understand when Billie Joe was saying. It is full of anger and joy and frustration and release. I loved it. Any question to whether this would be on top was removed after seeing the excellent musical, American Idiot on stage in Berkeley (which featured several songs from 21st Century Breakdown) and seeing the best concert in the history of Arco Arena. Green Day puts on a monsterous live show!


2. Raditude - Weezer - I've previously mentioned that I'm a geek for the geek rock of Weezer. Rivers Cuomo sings to me from a place that a sometimes reside. There was a quite a number of songs from Raditude that I loved and even liked the remake of I Want You To that turned the song into a duet. What launched Raditude so high on the list was the nifty marketing of the album through itunes. I signed up for the Raditude Pass. The pass would send me a few songs or videos every week for the 4 or 5 weeks prior to the release of the album. Included were all sort of excellent covers and live videos. Adding live covers of Green Day, MGMT, Lady Gaga and The Clash to an already excellent album was almost enough to land this album in the top spot.


3. Backspacer - Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam has aged so well, right along with the Big Sexy! They come out and rock with songs as rocking as anything they have put out, including the BS Song of the Year. But at the same time, they bring it down in order to cool me out. There were a couple songs that would fit on the Into The Wild soundtrack. Sprinkled in were some good mid-tempo rockers. I'm glad the boys from PJ still have it. The only knock on the album was the odd mix. It never flowed as well as I would like an album to flow. Excellent album by a band I have loved for a long, long time.

4. Only By The Night - Kings of Leon - I just was turned onto KOL this year, by my brother in rock, Ted. I really liked this album. It has a very cool vibe. There is a tension just under the surface of many of the songs. Whichever Followill that sings, sounds like he has so much passion just about to burst out of his body. I love the feeling his singing evokes and driving rock music the rest of the Followill family brings to the album. I wish their live performance and/or videos would show the same passion and emotion that there songs evoke. This album is a bit more polished than their previous efforts. In some ways, that's good, but it seems a little more controlled overall and that is a bad thing. I worry about future albums never being as good as this or their previous albums. Great work though.


5. Art Brut vs. Satan - Art Brut - I've been a big fan of Art Brut for a few years know. Eddie Argos has very funny and clever lyrics that are laid over a rocking beat. Overall, this is their best album. It was produced by Frank Black and you can tell it is a little more professionally done. The music is really better and a little more complex. However, I think Eddie has written better (and funnier) lyrical content. There are certainly some great stories in there, but nothing as revolutionary as some of their earlier songs. I did finally get to check them out live and had a great time. He's the first singer of a band I have really liked that I have had a chance to hang out with with a bit.


6. The Hazards of Love - The Decemberists - This is the epitemy of what I am talking about regarding an album being a whole. The Hazards of Love is basically musical theater in an album. The album is very literate. It tells a crazy story that is basically girl meets a deer, girl gets pregnant, the deer's tree-mother forbids their union and hires someone named the Rake to kill her. Ghosts of dead children and a river team up to save them, but the river ultimately takes their lives. Hey, it's one of love's many hazards. If that isn't crazy enough. The lyrics are old school. Real old school, like 12th century. I honestly had to look up a website the translated the lyrics to what the heck was going on. But once I did, I was enthralled by this story. The music and the story are actually very emotionally moving and ends with my favorite Cool Out song of the year, Hazards of Love 4 in which the man-deer and the woman get married as they sink into their watery grave. The whole is so much greater than the sum of this album's parts.

7. Funny Electronic Dance Music

7a. Party Rock - LMFAO - These albums will share this number as they all had a similar theme of being funny, but included some pretty good music as well. Party Rock is just that. Well, maybe not that much rock. I can see a concert from these guys as being just one big x-rated party. These guys bring the funk. The lyrical content varies from girls/drinking/clubs to sex/Voka n Red Boo/dancing to "D's"/shots/bouncing. If there is anything these guys want to do that does not involve getting drunk and having sex in clubs, it is written elsewhere. I would love to dig out a glow stick and party with these guys.

7b. Incredibad - The Lonely Island - Yup, the guys behind the digital shorts on SNL brought it on a whole album. There were old classics like Lazy Sunday and Dick in a Box to new classics like I'm on a Boat. The songs were not only funny but were really good songs as well. I loved most of this album. When they miss, it's kinda ugly, but that's why the ipod has a skip button.

7c. I Told You I Was Freaky - Flight of the Conchords - This album corresponds to Season 2 of this excellent HBO show. They went a little more electronic this time than the first, but still had some kickin and funny songs. Like the show, season 2 was not as good as season 1, but it was still very good.


8. Kill - Electric Six - Electric Six never puts together a full album of great songs. They are more of a nugget band for me. Every album there are several songs that I love. The previous album, Flashy, may have been their most dissapointing. There were a couple good songs, but the album had me quite worried about one of my fave bands. E6 came back and killed it this year with Kill. There are a bunch of up-beat, liberal, party songs that restored my faith in Dick Valentine and the boys.


9. Them Crooked Vultures - This may end up higher when I look at this list at the end of 2010. I'm digging this album from Big Sexy Entertainer of the Decade #3, Josh Homme and BS EoD #1 Dave Grohl, along with some old guy from some 70's band. It sounds a lot like a Queens of the Stone album with a kickass drummer to me. As with a QOTSA album, there are a few throwaway songs. But overall, this album makes with want to rock some shades and be a bad ass.



10. Now I Can See - The Thermals - I liked this album, although a lot of the songs start to sound alike after a while. The Thermals are a poppy rock band from the Northwest. They seem very happy and make me smile listening to them. I'm pretty sure the lyrics aren't quite as happy as the music makes me feel.




During a typical year, I am usually turned onto bands that I didn't really know exist or at least they had not clicked as much with me. This year seemed to be exceptional in that regard. Here are my top 5 most influencial albums that I really hadn't listened to prior to this year.


1. Radiohead - Kid A & OK Computer - I heart Radiohead! I used to not like them at all and I now feel they are absolute genius. These albums are true albums from start to finish. There is something about them that just moves me. I almost never know what Radiohead songs are about, I just know how they make me feel. They are able to touch me sonically. Radiohead albums are nearly spiritual to me.



2. Lifter Puller - Soft Rock - Before there was The Hold Steady, Craig Finn created Lifter Puller along with future THS axeman, Tab Kubler. Lifter Puller is a lot like a Hold Steady. Craig spits out crazy awesome lyrics over music inspired more by The Clash than classic rock. His weird, spoken word delivery has to grow on you, but once it does, you'll love and appreciate it.


3. The National - Alligator & Boxer - I absolutely fell in love with this band. The fact that they are only number 3 on this list just goes to the strength of the list. In the vein of The Hold Steady, The National gets to me with their smart and clever lyrics that match perfectly with the mood that the music is conveying. They are a band that can dominate a whole hour of cool out music and a whole hour of workout music.


4. Kings of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak & Young and Young Manhood - KOL rocked when they started their crazy musical journey. I loved their Grammy nominated album this year, as you can see from it's number 4 spot on the BS album of the year. They are nearly a different band in these first two albums. Much more jangly rock. You can sense the much higher production of Only By the Night. There is something more organic about these two albums that allows you to feel a little closer to the band. Caleb's voice sounds a little less polished, but still like he's been drinking at the studio or the garage or wherever they are kicking out the jams.


5. The Pixies - Wave of Mutulation - This band has been around forever. The only song I could name from them was Here Comes My Man, and I disliked that song quite a bit. Guitar Hero opened my ears to them. I purchased their greatest hits album and dug most of it. The Pixies are another group that grows on you. Almost all of the music was new to me this year and it would not have sounded out of place it 2009 if it had been released this year even though most of the songs are over 20 years old. That is the sign of a band that was ahead of their time.

There it is! The albums that were most influential to my world in 2009. I can't wait to see what 2010 has to offer. I'm already looking forward to new albums from some of my favorite bands: Cake, The Hold Steady, OK Go and maybe even Radiohead. But the real fun is being exposed to bands I've never heard of that I can't stop listening to. Already this year, I am very much digging the spacey vibe of The XX. Very cool.

BS Awards - Beer of Year

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." So opined my favorite patriot of all, Benjamin Franklin. Few can argue that he may have been one of the most well rounded and internationally beloved Americans. I love that quote, but I will stop short of having it tattoed on my beer belly.

My second favorite patriot, Samuel Adams, has emerged from the past decade as a stable on the BS Beer of the Year list, the most hallowed of all of the BS Awards. I take this selection seriously and endeavor to sample as many different varieties as I can during the year and giving those of distinction the opportunity to prove their abilities in my mouth again and again and again.

For the 20th straight year, Beer has taken home the BS Award for Beverage of the Year. It has won the BSie every year since wresting the title from Bacardi Breezers oh so many years ago. It is the 56 game hitting streak, the back-to-back no-hitters and the 2,632 consecutive games played streak all rolled into one. Red wine did give Beer it's first serious challenge in years, but Beer was able to stave off the challenge.

As B-Frank said, " There has never been a good war or a bad peace." That's not relevant here, but true nonetheless.

1. Sam Adams Light - There I said it. Sammy Light takes beer of the year. It is remarkable in its unremarkability. It is a very good beer. There is nothing crazy about it. It isn't better with a lemon in it. It isn't better poured into a glass. I've never had it on tap. It is good no matter when I have it, where I have it and with whom I enjoy it. I will have it in a box. I will have it with a fox. I will have it on a train. I will have it in the rain. I will drink your light beer, Sam I Am, I will drink just the same.


2. Samuel Smith Nut Brown - Surprisingly moving ahead of Fuller's London Pride in my London beer category. The Nut Brown is kind of a kickass Newcastle. Smooth but with a little more of a bitch hand.

3. Alaskan Amber - How did I forget this on my original list? Must be too many Alaskan Ambers! I discovered this gem while cruising through the Inland Passage in 2008. Tilting one back now make me think of coasting by beautiful scenery, gorgeous conifers, maybe a mountain goat, floating hunks of iceberg, uniquely gorgeous green water... Tasty thoughts and a tasty visual.


4. Harvest Moon - I do like the Blue Moon variety of beers, especially on tap. My fave from this brewery, edging out old school Blue Moon and Spring-style Rising Moon, is their amber Fall beer, Harvest Moon. It is a pumpkin ale, and who couldn't use a little pumkin in their beer? I like many fall beers. Sam Adams Octoberfest is a long standing favorite and Pyramid's Broken Rake is hit or miss depending on the storage temperature.


5. Newcastle - I can't have a beer of the year list without bringing up the Queen Mother of all excellent beers. It is never the wrong choice when bellying up to the bar. It is good on a cold, damp night or on a nice summer day. Makes you feel alive and happy just having one in your hand. I am surprised Santa didn't bring me this smokin Newcastle inspired kicks .

5b. Pyramid Amber on Tap - The return of the Amber in the Pyramid Alehouse begat much rejoicing. Now if the service and food were even reasonable, I'd make many more trips by there even though it is not quite on the way home.

There are plenty other worthwhile beers that didn't make the top 5 this year and I look forward to enjoying many more as the new decade is poured out in front of me. Don't forget my second favorite beer is always one that a friend buys for me so don't be shy to step up to that plate. Cheers!