Top albums through the years...

Recently on the Northern Records message board someone posted a topic with the challenge to list our top albums for every year. The limitations were that we had to actually buy the album the year it was released, and it had to be the album we listened to most that year. If you read my blog, you know I love lists, so this is right up my alley. I have been working on top-10 lists for every year from 1991 until the present (and I am currently working on 1994), but I thought I'd post this in the meantime. My list is pretty funny at the start. I didn't discover music until fairly late (age 13) and it wasn't until 2 years later that I started listening to "good" music. 1990 was the first year I actually purchased music of my own, so I will start there.

1990- Michael W. Smith- Go West, Young Man
1991- Amy Grant- Heart In Motion
1992- Bride- Snakes in the Playground
1993- Dakoda Motor Co.- Into the Son (everything changed in 1993 for me musically)
1994- Poor Old Lu- Sin**
1995- Sixpence None the Richer- This Beautiful Mess
1996- Poor Old Lu- A Picture of the 8th Wonder
1997- Sixpence None the Richer- s/t**
1998- Sunny Day Real Estate- How It Feels to be Something On*
1999- The Juliana Theory- Understand this is a Dream
2000- Sunny Day Real Estate- The Rising Tide*
2001- Jimmy Eat World- Bleed American**
2002- The Gloria Record- Start Here*
2003- Fountains of Wayne- Welcome Interstate Managers
2004- Brandtson- Send Us a Signal
2005- Eisley- Room Noises**
2006- Fair- The Best Worst-Case Scenario
2007- Thrice- The Alchemy Index Vol. 1 & 2**
2008- Mates of State- Re-Arrange Us**

Looking through, about half of them are still my favorite album for their year of release. If you look at my other lists you can see the changes.

Nada Surf Vinyl Box Set

For the other vinyl fans out there, this is a must-have. I had been saving for it for months, and just placed my pre-order for the Nov. 25 release. I will quote Insound,
Barsuk spared no expense in assembling this amazing Nada Surf box set. It's weighty (over 5 lbs.) and impressive, containing five albums on six pieces of vinyl, a 7" single, plus ample additional goodies. Even the sturdy box itself (two separate pieces, the top NADA half fitting securely onto a collar on the bottom SURF half) is a substantial piece of collector's joy, designed by acclaimed NYC artists Kayrock and Wolfy. The box set includes all five full-length studio LPs, including Elektra debut High/Low (available on vinyl exclusively in this box set), The Proximity Effect, Let Go, The Weight Is a Gift, and Lucky. Also included is a repressing of the band's long out of print debut 7" single "The Plan/Telescope;" a 24-page full-color 12x12" booklet which includes lyrics for all the LPs, exclusive photos and tour poster reproductions; and single-use full album download codes for The Proximity Effect, Let Go, The Weight Is a Gift, and Lucky PLUS a very special bonus download folder with 16 b-sides and rarities. The box set is numbered and strictly limited to 1000 copies worldwide.

You can order it here (free shipping):
Barsuk
or here:
Insound

Listening to: The Bridges- Limits of the Sky

Argyle Park

Impressively detailed article about an amazing album:
Argyle Park- Misguided

Tess Rejoins Sixpence...

Well, sort of. Tess Wiley will be playing with Sixpence None the Richer next week for 3 or 4 shows in Europe. For any of you that know me well, this is a dream come true. Sixpence's best album is "This Beautiful Mess" which just happens to be the only album Tess contributed to (wrote "Disconnect", played guitar and sang background vocals). Hopefully they will play songs from this era with her in the line-up. As excited as I am about their reunion, their recent set lists have been rather pathetic with the exclusion of the new songs.

New Sixpence None the Richer EP out today

Sixpence None the Richer's new EP, "My Dear Machine", is available today, and it is FREE. You can pay some money if you would like, but you can also tell 3 friends and download it for free. The website is www.noisetrade.com, and they also have 26 other "free" albums including Derek Webb and Waterdeep.

Best of 2008 (half-way there)

We are at the midpoint of the year 2008, so I thought I'd post my favorite albums of the year thus far. I am providing links to artists' Myspace pages so you can listen to songs, and then links to the cheapest way to buy each album, either on vinyl or digitally.
1. Mates of State- Re-Arrange Us. (Buy vinyl. or Buy digital.) Nothing really comes close to this album this year for me. It is rare that a band I am so familiar with exceeds my expectations by leaps and bounds. A very fun summer pop-rock album.
2. Thrice- The Alchemy Index vols. III & IV: Earth & Air. (Buy digital. Vinyl is coming soon in the form of a 4 x 10".) Not as good as the first two volumes, but a great concept and very original. Air is the least successful of the four volumes, it is all over the place. But Earth is a terrific acoustic/organic EP.
3. Nada Surf- Lucky. (Buy vinyl. or Buy digital.) Took some growing on me, but another great album from these guys. I am super-excited about their vinyl box set coming out soon.
4. Colour Revolt- Plunder, Beg & Curse. (Buy vinyl. or Buy digital.) This, their first LP was long awaited, and it does not disappoint. A little more mellow than I expected, but it has great guitar work and dynamics.
5. Coldplay- Viva La Vida. (Buy vinyl. or Buy digital.) You've read about it everywhere, I really like it. I find it to be a completely new direction for the band, which is good because another album like X&Y would have been bad news.
6. R.E.M.- Accelerate. (Buy vinyl. or Buy digital.)The first good album R.E.M. has put out in a decade. A drastic and welcome change from their last album, the band attempted to recapture their energy from the 80's. Sounds like a cross between the 80's stuff and 'Monster.'
7. Thao- We Brave Bee Stings and All. (Buy digital.) One of my random, lucky emusic finds. A great upbeat folk album with very unique vocals.
8. The Weepies- Hideaway. (Buy digital.) I love this folk husband-wife group, but this is not their best work. Nice songs lyrically and vocally, but they all blend together.
9. Headlights- Some Racing, Some Stopping. (Buy vinyl. or Buy digital.) I greatly prefer their first LP, but I do really like this after seeing all the songs performed live.
10. Death Cab for Cutie- Narrow Stairs. (Buy vinyl. or Buy digital.) Very disappointing. I am only mentioning it because of how much I love the band. 'Plans' was a step backward, and they tried to right the ship and failed. I LOVE "I Will Possess Your Heart", but there are only 3 other songs on the album that do anything for me. Probably the first time in history that a single is my favorite song on an album.

Mates of State: Five Years Later

(First picture here I took in Paris in August 2003, the rest of the shots at the show a couple nights ago. Click on the pictures to see dozens more from the shows at my Flickr site.)



My wife and I saw Mates of State play Wednesday night at Mr. Small's Theater in Pittsburgh, PA. The show was spectacular, it reinforced how much I truly love the band Mates of State. Their new album, "Re-Arrange Us", which was released last month, is my early pick for album of the year. Even if it doesn't end up being the number one album of 2008, it is definitely the album of the summer. It is fun, catchy, poppy- the perfect album to listen to while driving around in the summer months.

Headlights opened the show, a band I have always enjoyed, but never really gotten that into. They released an album this year, "Some Racing, Some Stopping", that has gotten excellent reviews. It was actually a disappointment to me, I greatly prefer their first full-length, "Kill Them With Kindness." Headlights is a great live band, they enjoy themselves on stage and give great energy to their music. Seeing the songs performed in concert gave me a much greater appreciation for them.



I became a Mates of State fan in the summer of 2002 while living in Orlando. A friend referred their second album, "Our Constant Concern", to me, I had never heard anything like it. I mainly listen to guitar-driven rock, I had never heard a rock/pop band driven by an organ. I was then able to see Mates of State in Paris on my August 2003 Europe trip. Five years has passed since that show, and a lot has changed in my life and with Mates of State, so I thought I would do a comparison.



The Venue:
2003: Paris, France. Some small bar/restaurant. I want to say it was called "The American Club." Reminded me of a Chili's and I can remember eating an amazing burger.
2008: Mr. Small's Theater in Pittsburgh, PA. (Actually in Millvale.) Visiting relatives in PA, our first visit to the club. It is an old church that has been turned into a recording studio, skate park and concert hall.

Attendance:
2003: 20 to 30 people there to see the band probably. I am fairly certain I knew Mates of State's music better than anyone there, and I could have been the only other American in the audience.
2008: 200 to 300 people. Mates of State has grown in popularity tremendously over the last 5 years. Most everyone there was also singing along.

The discography:
2003: At the time of the show, Mates of State had two albums: "My Solo Project" (2000) and "Our Constant Concern" (2002). I bought "My Solo Project" at the show in Paris.
2008: Mates of State has just released their 5th LP, "Re-Arrange Us." Their 3rd album, "Team Boo" was released in Fall of 2003, and their 4th, "Bring it Back" was released in 2006.

The band:
2003: Mates of State is the married couple Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel. Until a few months ago, they had never played a show with more than two people on state. Kori plays organ and keyboards, Jason plays drums.
2008: Their current tour is their first with extra band members. They have two guys, the members of Judgment Day, playing a variety of instruments: violin, cello, guitar, trombone, percussion, etc. It adds a completely new dimension to their sound, new songs and old. Half the show was with the extra members, half the show was just Jason and Kori. They would typically alternate two songs with, two songs without. Kori also plays electric piano now, switching back and forth between the organ. Their new album is the first to feature piano on every song. On the final song of the night, "The Re-Arranger", all five members of Headlights also joined the Mates on stage.

Family:
2003: Jason and Kori were married. I was very single.
2008: Jason and Kori have two daughters, I now have a wife and a son. These are the biggest five year differences! Mates of State has a very popular baby blog: Band on the Diaper Run.



I don't remember the exact order of the setlist, but I remember the songs, I think. The opened with "Now" from the new album and ended their 2-song encore with "The Re-Arranger." Here is the full list of songs:

From "Re-Arrange Us" (2008):
Get Better
Now
My Only Offer
The Re-Arranger
Jigsaw
Blue and Gold Print
You are Free

From "Bring it Back (2006):
Think Long
Fraud in the 80's
Like U Crazy
Beautiful Dreamer
For the Actor

From the "All Day" EP (2004):
Goods

From "Team Boo" (2003):
Ha Ha
Fluke

From "Our Constant Concern" (2002):
10 Years Later

From "My Solo Project: (2000):
Proofs

Another reason to buy vinyl...

(Not that I can afford to buy it myself.)

LA to NYC: Road trip mix

I started working on making a road trip mix last summer, trying to find as many songs as I could about places and driving. My wife and I were about to embark on a summer road trip that would cover most of the Eastern United States. I made a mix, but it didn't flow well; I was not pleased with it.

Last year I came up with the idea of making CDs for the graduating seniors at the school I teach at. This year for the CD I decided I would try the road trip idea again, since they are all dispersing from Rome, GA to schools all over the country (if not world).

I started out with about 40 songs and deliberated for awhile, experimenting with different track orders. I am very pleased with 20 songs that made it and I think it flows really well.

LA to NYC

(First link is to band's Myspace site, second link is to a 'related' image.)

1. Elliott- Drive on to Me

2. Arcade Fire- Keep the Car Running

3. Mamas and the Papas- California Dreaming

4. Low- California

5. Death Cab for Cutie- Why'd You Want to Live Here?

6. Mates of State- California

7. Brandtson- Earthquakes & Sharks

8. Jimmy Eat World- Blister

9. Hem- Not California

10. The Weepies- Vegas Baby

11. Counting Crows- Omaha

12. Halo Friendlies- Milwaukee

13. The Anniversary- The D in Detroit

14. Sufjan Stevens- Chicago

15. Fountains of Wayne- No Better Place

16. Rosie Thomas- All the Way to New York City

17. Over the Rhine- Ohio

18. Mindy Smith- Tennessee

19. Patty Griffin- Florida

20. Gomez- Charley Patton Songs

Starflyer 59- Ghosts of the Future

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Originally uploaded by noseblanket

Another reason to buy vinyl.

I didn't take these pictures, but I have the set, and it is gorgeous. Last year, Burnt Toast Vinyl offered up a pre-order to get a set of 10 7-inches by Starflyer 59, "Ghosts of the Future." It was fairly expensive, $59.59, but I had just gotten a raise, and sounded like a good investment.

As of last week, the set is complete. 10 records, 20 songs, 10 different colors of vinyl, one wooden box, record-covers that create a puzzle, and autographed liner notes. It is far and away the coolest presentation out of all of the music I own.

Click on this picture to see a lot more of the set.