Modern Minstrels

Dog Problems

Summer's here! Or it might as well be, because Dog Problems by The Format is available in digital form right here (it hits stores July 11). Dog Problems is that one album that can just carry you through a summer. Whether you need an album to blast in your car, or to listen to on your iPod while you're taking a walk, or just need some background music while you're sitting on your porch sipping a nice cold beverage: Dog Problems is your album.

Every single song on the album is catchy in its own way. You've got the opening track Matches in 3/4 time, and horns in the title title track and Inches and Failing, and just plain catchy riffs in Time Bomb and The Compromise and of course the simply irresistible song Snails. And with all these catchy beats you also get wonderful lyrics:

Snails see the benefits, the beauty in every inch
- Snails

Love is speaking in code
it's an inside joke
Love is coming home
- If Work Permits

I can feel your feet touching mine
If you can't dance, there's someone else in line
So meet me in the middle
Well come on let's make up a dance
and we'll agree to call it the compromise
- The Compromise

I love love, I love being in love, I don't care what it does to me
- Inches and Failing

I'm standing in a room,
It's filled with older folks pleading "baby listen"
And I scream as loud as anyone,
but when asked to make a point I tend to whisper
- If Work Permits

After my first few listens my initial favorite tracks are Snails, Dog Problems, The Compromise, If Work Permits, and Time Bomb. Hmm, I better stop with just 5 songs, lest I just end up listing every song on the album.

My fanboy ramblings cannot do the album justice, but lucky for you, there are several tracks available for free download. You can grab The Compromise over on AP.net and She Doesn't Get It on the band's MySpace page. I also recommend you go stream some of their older stuff on Pure Volume (specificallly The First Single and the acoustic version of Snails). Then when you're hooked go ahead and purchase the full album here. Your summer won't be complete until you do. While you're at it I also highly recommend you pickup their 2003 debut full length Interventions and Lullabies.

Wanted: CD Recommendations

Plane rides are a great time to listen to new CDs and just take in take in the music. I've got a cross country flight to Cleveland coming this Saturday and then Jeff and I fly to Japan on Monday, so I'm looking to stock up on a couple new CDs.

To get myself started, I just purchased Joshua Radin's new album We Were Here on iTunes and I'm loving it. Nice, mellow music.

Know of something I ought to be listening to? Drop me a line.

Listen-Watch TV

I've discovered a handful of great songs this week from TV shows and TV show DVDs and figured I'd share:

• Disarm by The Smashing Pumpkins is the closing song on The Shield Episode 5x10
• Hold on Hope by Guided by Voices is used towards the end of Scrubs Episode 1x22
• Beautiful World by Colin Hay is the closing song on Scrubs Episode 1x24
• Overkill by Colin Hay was used as the opening for Scrubs episode 2x01

Disarm was the perfect accompaniment, both lyrically and musically, to the end of that episode of The Shield. The bells in the song are particularly haunting.

Disarm you with a smile
And leave you like they left me here
To wither in denial
The bitterness of one who’s left alone
Ooh, the years burn
Ooh, the years burn, burn, burn

Hold on Hope has a catchy chorus and fit the montage perfectly: "Everybody's gotta hold on hope, it's the last thing, that's holding me".

I first heard Colin Hay on the Garden State soundtrack (I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You), but apparently he was in the 80's band, Men at Work. At any rate, his solo acoustic stuff is pretty good.

The Adventure

Angels and Airwaves (Tom Delong's and other Box Car Racer members new band) have posted their first song, The Adventure, on PureVolume. Go download it now! It's a totally different sound from Box Car Racer, and in my opinion is way better than anything on that album. Actually, this song could almost fit onto the last Blink-182 album (musically it reminds me a bit of All of This), though its instrumentals are a lot deeper than anything on the Blink album.

Tom has been hyping this band like crazy, and I have to admit I was worried they wouldn't live up to it. But after hearing The Adventure, I can't wait for the rest of the album. In fact after finally hearing something from them, I'm going to contribute to the hype and guarantee this album will make my Top 5 albums of 2006.

More 2005 Music

Mike posted his 2005 music write up today, so you should go read it (it's much more nicely formatted than mine). We had 6 of the same albums in the Top 10, though in different orderings.

The crazy thing is his number one album wasn't mentioned anywhere in my entire post. That's just insane. I listened to What to Do When You are Dead maybe a couple times, but I got the mp3s in a huge downloading binge, and so it sort of got lost in the mix. And at some point I apparently removed it from iTunes. At any rate, after reading Mike's review of it, I'm definitely going to break that album out again.

I was also happy to see someone else loving Anberlin as much as I do.

Some things I forgot in my post, but remembered after reading Mike's:

• The Quiet Screaming (Brand New/Dashboard Confessional mashup) by The Legion of Doom is great
• The Get Up Kids will be missed, their Live CD was great, but we all still want that DVD
• Looking Back at 2004 post: Midtown's Forget What You Know should have been album of the year

Music of 2005

Hey there. Look at that. The calendar says 2006. I had all intentions of getting this thing posted before the end of 2005, but things were pretty busy at the end of the year, and there was just so much to write. Ok, enough excuses. But before we get started, since I was too lazy to create links to everything, I suggest you go ahead and fire up the iTunes Music Store so you can search for things and listen to stuff (and perhaps even purchase) as you read. Now hold on to your hats kids, this is a massive post. Let's get started!

2005 was definitely the year of story albums. Examples that come to mind are The Everglow by Mae, Picaresque by The Decemberists, Volcano by Gatsby's American Dream, and Everything in Transit by Jack's Mannequin. And to a slightly lesser extent From Under the Cork Tree by Fall Out Boy, Based on a True Story by The Starting Line, and Phantoms by Acceptance fit into this category as they all had play or movie themed artwork. I can't help but wonder if this large number of story albums is related to the huge success of Green Day's American Idiot, but I'm guessing in most cases it's just a coincidence. I imagine a lot of these albums were well under way by the time American Idiot came out last year. Regardless of why it happened, I was thrilled to have so many albums in this style released in a single year.

Once December rolled around, I knew it was time to start thinking about getting my Music of 2005 blog post underway. So I created a smart playist in iTunes for "Year is 2005" and started looking through it (702 songs, 1.8 days worth of music) and just simply said, "Wow". I knew this was a good year for music, but it didn't really hit me how good until I started to try and compile a Top 5 list. I quickly knew the Top 3 albums, without question. However, I was having a hard time deciding how to fill the last two spots because there were way too many deserving albums, so I decided to expand the list to a Top 10. I naievely thought I'd end up having to pick a mediocore album or two to fill the 9 and 10 spots. But soon the list was filled up, and there were still a couple albums I wanted to fit onto the list (most notably Phantoms by Acceptance). And when I say the list was filled with good albums, I really do mean albums, as in you want to hear these things from beginning to end every time. I promise you won't find filler tracks in any of the albums that made the list. The simple fact that 2005 gave us 10+ albums that I listen to all the way through on a regular basis just shows how great a year it was for music. (Compare with last year where I only wrote semi-extensively about 3 albums, though admittedly I should have written more about American Idiot and Forget What You Know).

But just compiling the list isn't enough. Each of these albums has something really special about it, so I've tried to convey what makes each album so great. Though in some cases what I say here can not possibly do the album justice and you really should just get the album and listen to it yourself. I also list a handful of my favorite tracks for each album (with my absolute favorite for each in bold) . But don't be fooled by my listing of favorite tracks, I pretty much always listen to these albums from beginning to end. They are simply all that good. And because I'm a huge lyrics dork, I've included a few favorite lyrics from each album. The last thing I'll say is the ordering of the list is in no way definitive. I've juggled the order of things around countless times. Heck, even after being pretty happy with the ordering for several days and just about ready to publish this post, I suddenly got addicted to Anberlin's album and it jumped up two spots in the list, making it a Top 5 album. So really this ordering really just reflects my taste on one particular instance in time.

So with that longwinded introduction out of the way, I give you my Top 10 Albums of 2005.

Top 10 Albums of 2005

10. Everything in Transit by Jack's Mannequin
Andrew McMahon flat out knows how to write pop songs that you want to listen to over and over again. If you like Something Corporate, you'll love this CD. This album also seems a lot more personal than any of the SoCo albums. You can hear and feel the raw emotion in Andrew's voice on almost every song, and it just makes the songs all the more powerful. The fact that Andrew blogged about this album's release from his hospital bed, goes to show just how much the album means to him. Andrew is a truly awesome guy, and I'm so glad he made it through the chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant. He kept fans informed of his progress on his blog and he truly seemed to remain exteremly positive throughout the whole ordeal. That's just a testament to the kind of guy Andrew is. He's already gone out and played one show in LA and I've got a feeling it won't be too long before we start seeing him hit the road. You can be sure I'll be at that show.

Favorite Tracks: Holiday From Real, The Mixed Tape, I'm Ready, and Rescued

Favorite Lyrics:

Oh, California in the summer
Ah, and my hair is growing long
Fuck yeah, we can live like this

But if you left it up to me
Everyday would be a holiday from real
- Holiday from Real

(Spoken)
I wake up to find it's another four aspirin morning, and I dive in
I put on the same clothes I wore yesterday.
When did society decide that we had to change
And wash a tee shirt after every individual use:
If it's not dirty, I'm gonna wear it.

I take the stairs to the car
And there's fog on the windows.
(As I'm finding the words...)
I need caffeine in my blood stream,
I take caffeine in the blood stream.
I grip the wheel and all at once I realize:
(And you're getting away...)
My life has become a boring pop song
And everyone's singing along.
- I'm Ready

As I'm swimming through the stereo
I'm writing you a symphony of sound

And this is my mixed tape for her
It's like I wrote every note
With my own fingers
- The Mixed Tape by Jack's Mannequin

Have you ever been alone in a crowded room?
- Dark Blue

I don't spend my nights
Searching for earthquakes
Though it's biblical
How fucked my sleep can be
But she won't sleep with me
- Miss Delaney by Jack's Mannequin

9. Picaresque by The Decemberists
These guys have been around for a few years, but I only just discovered them this past year. They definitely have a unique sound and not everyone is going to like them. That said, I totally got into this album and even saw them live in September. Almost all of the songs are entire stories in and of themselves and in fact the liner notes are set up to look like the program for a play. Among the stories is an 8+ minute sea shanty sounding ballad about 2 people stuck in the body of a whale. You've got to love that.

Favorite Tracks: We Both Go Down Together, The Sporting Life, 16 Military Wives, On the Bus Mall, The Mariner's Revenge Song

Favorite Lyrics:

We're kings among runaways
- On the Bus Mall by The Decemberists

If you don't love me, let me go
- The Engine Driver by The Decemberists

8. Based on a True Story by The Starting Line
This album was a huge step forward for The Starting Line, almost as big as Deja Entendu for Brand New and Forget What You Know for Midtown. Kenny and the rest of the guys are getting all grown up and it shows in their songs. In general you'll find much more mature song content on this album compared to their previous releases, though we do get the ever amusing Bedroom Talk. They also nail some acoustic songs on the album with Photography and Ready. Does anyone else besides me really, really want an acoustic full length from these guys?

Favorite Tracks: Photography, Autography, The World, Ready, Cut! Print It

Favorite Lyrics:

I've got big, big plans
And they've got to mean
something more
than just once
I just don't know what I want
- Bedroom Talk

An amazing illusion was made
With trick photography
It seems like you're really, you're really
It seems like you're really here
- Photography

Though it seems like every time I get a little bit closer to what I want
I land further away from where and when I was a little bit younger
- Autography

Cause this is closure once and for all
Oh, this has to stop right now
Cause I've been running for my life
And you could never catch me now
- Cut! Print It

7. Phantoms by Acceptance
When I originally made this list, Phantoms didn't quite make it into the Top 10. It was killing me not to include it because it is such a great album. On my flight back to CA after Christmas break, I listened to a lot of these albums so I could gather my thoughts on what I wanted to write about each one, and I ended up deciding to boot One Fell Swoop by The Spill Canvas (which was originally number 6) from the list. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed One Fell Swoop quite a bit, but as I was listening to it there were too many tracks I just skipped.

So with that, Phantoms could make it into the Top 10. Phantoms is a stellar debut, full length album from the guys in Acceptance. The songs are just beautiful and make great use of the piano. I have a feeling these guys are going to get pretty big. The lyrical content of the album is actually pretty similar to that of One Fell Swoop, lots of songs about girls and relationships. The difference is Acceptance does it in a much less whiny, emo way. I highly recommend this album to anyone.

Favorite Tracks: So Contagious, Different, Glory/Us

Favorite Lyrics:

Could this be out of line? (Could this be out of line)
To say you're the only one breaking me down like this
You're the only one I would take a shot on
Keep me hanging on so contagiously

Oohhh, when I'm around you I'm predictable
Cause I believe in loving you at first sight
I know it's crazy but I'm hoping to..
To take a hold of you
- So Contagious by Acceptance


Can't stop feeling
Does it matter who you are?
- In Too Far by Acceptance


All tied in one
Honesty waits here forever
I've been undone
Glory and us come together
- Glory/Us by Acceptance

6. From Under the Cork Tree by Fall Out Boy
When I was first making this list, I wasn't sure where Fall Out Boy was going to fit in, if at all. But then I was looking at my iTunes play counts and noticed the first few songs on the album had play counts just over 50 and the last couple songs had a play count of around 30. And that doesn't count all the times I've listened to the physical CD in my car, or the numerous listens at work. And this is exactly the same thing that happened with their previous release, Take This to Your Grave. You never think of the album as amazing, but the thing is just so damn catchy, that you end up playing it over and over again. I may not be able to tell you the names of the songs, but damn if I can't sing along with every single one of them. I love Pete's lyrics, a great mixture of angsty and cryptic and always blatantly honest.

Favorite Tracks: Sugar We're Going Down, Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner, A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More "Touch Me", 7 Minutes in Heaven (Atavan Halen)

Favorite Lyrics:

Turn off the lights and turn off the shyness
All of the moves make up for the silence
- Of All the Gin Joins in All the World

I'll be your best kept secret and your biggest mistake
The hand behind this pen relives a failure every day
- Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner

I'm hopelessly hopeful you're just hopeless enough
But we never had it at all
- I've Got a Dark Alley and a Bad Idea That Says You Should Shut Your Mouth (Summer Song)

The only thing worse than not knowing
Is you thinking that I don't know
- 7 Minutes in Heaven (Atavan Halen)

I don't blame you for being you
But you can't blame me for hating it
- A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More "Touch Me"

Why put the same address on the same old loneliness?
- Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying

5. Plans by Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab is back with yet another solid album (and their major label debut). Though I know a lot of long time Death Cab fans were a bit apprehensive about this album, I really loved it from the first time I heard it. The sound is certainly different from the days of We Have the Facts, but it's still damn good music and that's all that matters. I will say Soul Meets Body sticks out a bit as the obvious radio single, as it's more poppy and upbeat than the rest of the album(and contains the obligatory ba ba bas). Though it does fit nicely on the album between Marching Bands and Summer Skin. Speaking of which, the drums in Summer Skin totally rock. Ben Gibbard also managed to write one of the saddest songs I have ever heard, What Sarah Said.

Favorite Tracks: Marching Bands of Manhattan, Your Heart is an Empty Room, What Sarah Said, and Brothers on a Hotel Bed

Favorite Lyrics:

I wish we could open our eyes
To see in all directions at the same time
Oh, what a beautiful view
If you were never aware of what was around you
- Marching Bands of Manhattan


Home's face: how it ages when you're away
Spring blooms and you find the love that's true
But you don't know what now to do
Cause the chase is all you know
And she stopped running months ago

And all you see is where else you could be
When you're at home out on the street
Are so many possibilities to not be alone
- Your Heart is an Empty Room


Because there’s no comfort in the waiting room
Just nervous pacers bracing for bad news
And then the nurse comes ‘round and everyone lift their heads
But I’m thinking of what Sarah said
That love is watching someone die

So who’s gonna watch you die?
- What Sarah Said

4. Never Take Friendship Personal by Anberlin
This is one of those albums I kept hearing good things about, and every time I went to Best Buy, I'd be tempted to get the album. Well eventually one day it was on sale for $9 and I snatched it up. Wow, how did I let myself wait so long to get this album? Every song on this album gets me singing along. It's just full of fun lyrics. I've really gotten into this album in the last few days. For some reason the lyrical content of the songs has really resonanted with me all of a sudden (and the songs themselves are sooo catchy). I knew it was a good album before, but now I'm just totally addicted to it. It made it's way into my car stereo earlier this week and somehow I think it's going to be there for quite some time. For the most part the songs are fast paced and driven by simple guitar riffs. Perfect driving CD. However, Anberlin definitely has their own unique sound that I'm not quite sure how to describe. You'll just have to listen to them for yourself, which I highly, highly recommend you do.

Favorite Tracks: Stationary Stationery, Audrey! Start the Revolution, A Day Late

Favorite Lyrics:

If this isn't love, this is the closest I've ever been
- Audrey, Start the Revolution! by Anberlin


Do they not have pen or paper where you are?
Because I haven't heard from you in ages.
...
I thought you said that you'd come find me
I thought you said you'd be home by now
I heard you sang that you'd come back here
So I wrote to remind you to somehow

Dance by yourself and think of me when you do
- Stationary Stationery by Anberlin


But dreams are so intoxicating
when you're doing this alone
- Never Take Friendship Personal by Anberlin


You never know what temporal days may bring
So laugh, love, live, free and sing
When life is in dischord, "Praise ye the Lord"
- Paperthin hymn by Anberlin


I remember so long ago, see I felt the same way
Now we both have separate lives and lovers
Insignificantly enough we both have significant others
...
Could have been lovers
but at least you're still my day late friend
...
But thoughts they change and minds they rearrange
I don't know who you are anymore
Loves come and go and this I know
I'm not who you recall anymore
But I must confess, you're so much more than I remember
Can't help but entertain these thoughts
Thoughts of us together
- Day Late Friend by Anberlin


Distance is the thief in which you conspire
...
Silence reveals where you really are
- the Runaways by Anberlin

3. The Everglow by Mae
Everything about this album is absolutely beautiful, from the music, to the lyrics, to the album artwork. The album is set up as a storybook, in fact the liner notes have illustrations for each of the songs. The Prologue track is a spoken word track much like you would find in one of those old record/storybook combos, including a "you will know it's time to turn the page when you hear this sound" in which they play a bit of the intro/outro of each song. Brilliant. This is just one of those albums that you put on and you have to let it play the whole way through.

Favorite Tracks: Someone Else's Arms, Suspension, The Ocean, The Everglow, Anything

Favorite Lyrics:

Every now and again sometimes
I get lost on the wind of a dream
The air gets clean and the seas get wide
and I can do anything
- Anything

Say anything
But say what you mean
Cause I'm caught in suspension
- Suspension

You come over unannounced.
Silence broken by your voice in the dark.
I need you here tonight,
Just like the ocean needs the waves.
- The Ocean

2. Catch Without Arms - Dredg
I'm still not exactly sure how to describe Dredg's style. The ID3 tags say metal, but that's not right. Guitar driven, melodic rock? That sounds as good as anything. This is Dredg's third album, but the first one I've heard. The songs are all beautiful and fun to sing along with. I keep this album in my car, and play it often. This is another album full of great lyrics, and is quickly becoming one of my all time favorites.

Favorite Tracks: Ode to the Sun, Catch Without Arms, Not That Simple, Sang Real, Matroshka (The Ornament)

Favorite Lyrics:

I'm the addict on the corner
I'm the lawyer in the tower
I'm the body with the coroner
No, the leader with all the power
You're the pillow, the cool side
The sand during high tide
The cocktail, poolside
The water when clouds collide
- Sang Real

Look another year went by
They keep passing by
But damn I didn't even die
- Matroshka (The Ornament)

So sing about love
Sing about lust
So they will care
It's the same difference
- Catch Without Arms

Look at what I have found
A seashell in a sea of shells
- Planting Seeds

You spit-shined my corroded halo
Then packaged it away
You spit-shined my corroded halo,
Then left it to decay.
- Spitshine

Album of the Year: Vheissu by Thrice
So much great music came out this year, I thought it was going to be really hard to pick the album of the year. But all I had to do was start listening to Vheissu again, and I knew the decision was already made. Nothing else comes close to touching this album.

Have you ever experienced something so completely amazing, that you desperately want to tell everyone you know about it but you can't because nothing you say can capture the amazingness of the experience itself? And you're afraid anything you say will just sound trite? Well that's exactly how I feel about Vheissu. I feel I really need to say something (a lot of somethings) about this album, but honestly the best thing you can do is just go out and buy the thing and experience Vheissu for yourself. You'll be glad you did.

Perhaps the best thing I can do is give you a taste of the things you'll experience on your journey through Vheissu, because it contains a little something for everyone. You've got your anthem in the opening track, Image of the Invisible, your love song in Atlantic, your loud screaming song in Hold Fast Hope (which just happens to reference Moby Dick as well as the story of Jonah and the whale), prison chain gang chanting in The Earth Will Shake, a music box sample of a Japanese folk tune in Music Box, references to Dune in Of Dust and Nations, and lots of Christian imagery. Okay, so the Christian imagery may not be for everyone (though I totally love it), but don't worry it's not done in a preachy way.

If I had to pick a favorite song from the album, it would be Music Box. It opens with a 15 second sample of an actual music box and then BOOM! they hit you with a heavy guitar riff of the same tune. The transition from the first verse to the chorus is flawless. The verse is fairly slow and the lyrics a bit depressing, then you are quickly transported into an incredibly passionate and uplifting chorus:

(last line of verse) this hollow in my chest is filled with reasons not to sing but I found one, I know

we are not alone, we feel an unseen love
we are sons and heirs of grace
we are children of a light that never dims
a love that never dies, keep your chin up child
and wipe the tears from your eyes

The passion in Dustin's voice as he sings the chorus is what really makes the song. So incredibly powerful.

Another favorite song is Like Moths to Flame, which tells the story of the Last Supper and Peter's ensuing denial of being a follower of Jesus. The song is just really well written. It starts off with really heavy guitars, which then fade away while Dustin sings the first verse (they are sitting down at the table, Peter is affirming his belief that Jesus is the Son of God). Then the guitars hit again for the louder, but not screamed, chorus (more affirmation from Peter about his faith in Jesus). Then things are quiet again for the second verse (The disciples take communion, but something is different. Jesus tells Peter that Peter will deny him. Peter says he would never be ashamed of Jesus.) Then we get the heavy chorus once more and fade to near silence. Then we get some quiet guitar before being hit by the really heavy bridge, which continues while Dustin screams the final verse (Peter betrays Jesus, hears the rooster crow, and realizes what he has done). Regardless of whether or not you are a Christian, just from a straight story telling perpsective the song is incredibly powerful.

This album just gets better and better with every listen. I can not even hope to have conveyed how truly amazing this album is. So please, just go out and get this album (specifically the "deluxe" edition with the 30 page booklet where the band writes about each of the songs in detail, if you can find it), then give it a few listens and be amazed.

Favorite Tracks: The Earth Will Shake, Atlantic, Music Box, Like Moths to Flame

Favorite Lyrics:

The above Music Box lyrics.

We're more than carbon and chemicals
Free will is ours and we can't let go
- Image of the Invisible

It's been so long, and tin cans and string for years
Is all that we've known, could it be you're really here
- Atlantic

And as long as we live, every scar is a bridge to someone's broken heart
And there's no greater love, than that one that shed his blood for his friends
We must see that every scar is a bridge, and as long as we live
We must open up these wounds
When someone stands in your shoes and will shed his own blood
There's no greater love, we must open up our wounds
- For Miles

So there you have it, my 10 favorite albums of 2005. If you haven't heard any of these before, I highly recommend you check them out. If you've maybe heard a song or two from some of the bands, what are you waiting for? Go get the entire album. You won't be disappointed with any of them.

Top Songs of 2005 (alphabetical by artist)
If you're only going to listen to 10 songs from 2005, it should be these.

Stationary, Stationery from Never Take Friendship Personal by Anberlin
I was hooked on this song from the opening lyrics, "Do they not have pen or paper where you are? Cause I haven't heard from you in ages". It's a great relationship song. Two people are separated by a physical distance, and the girl seems to be involved with another guy. The singer thinks they could have a great relationship if they had the chance. The singer says the girl at one point indicated they might get that chance, "I thought you said that you'd come find me". So the singer keeps waiting but the girl is keeping her distance, both physically and emotionally. The great thing about the song is the singer conveys his feelings for the girl and his dislike of her current actions without being whiny or sounding like an ass.

The Minstrel's Prayer from Chroma by Cartel
Given that the name of my music blog was inspired by this song, you knew it was going to make this list. It's just a really clever and well written song.

On The Bus Mall from Picaresque by The Decemberists
This is the song that got me into the band. It's a story of young love and running away.

Your Heart is an Empty Room from Plans by Death Cab for Cutie
Easily the song I most relate to on Plans.

Sang Real from Catch Without Arms by Dredg
Love the piano break down. Love the lyrics.

Sixteen, Maybe Less from In the Reins by Iron and Wine with Calexico
A song of someone in an unhappy marriage and that has a poor relationship with his son, reminiscing about a young love and what could have been. A very beautiful, if sad, song.

Anything from The Everglow by Mae
A very catchy, and uplifting song. If you ever feeling down, this song is a quick pick-me-up.

Lust A Prima Vista from One Fell Swoop by The Spill Canvas
A very poignant song about a relationship gone bad, but the two are still sleeping together out of lust and out of spite. I love the guitar in this song.

Music Box from Vheissu by Thrice
A "hardcore" band that samples a music box of a Japanese music box. That takes both guts and skills. And Thrice has a lot of both. You can't help but rock out on the air guitar during the chorus, and at the same time sing the powerfully uplifting lyrics.

Save Me from Good Mourning by Unwritten Law
I got addicted to this song early in the year when it's music video was on Fuse very frequently. It's also my favorite radio single of 2005, see below.

But this wasn't the only good music of 2005. Click here for a whole bunch more artist and song recommendations, as well as a few other obligatory music lists (best singles, worst single, best live show, most anticipated albums of 2006).

Most Underrated Artists/Albums
Every year you'll find a few relatively unknown bands that release really amazing albums. In 2005 it was Anberlin, Waking Ashland and Over It.

Anberlin - Never Take Friendship Personal
This album made the number 4 spot in my Top 10 albums list and is really a great bit of music. I was looking through the AP.net lists and didn't see it on very many (though it did get the top spot on one). So I just needed to mention again how awesome this band is.

Waking Ashland - Composure
This is just a gorgeous album, with most songs being driven by a piano. The lyrics are great, and the songs are very easy to get into. Way more people need to hear these guys.

Favorite Tracks: Shades of Gray, Rumors, Edinger, Hands on Deck

Favorite Lyrics:

Was it fate that brought us here
My mistakes I made in fear
Is it too late to change my mind?
Who have I been?
- Edinger

All hands on deck don’t abandon the ship
You’ll never know what it could have been
- Hands On Deck

I'm in love with things you can't define,
And I'm in love with things you cannot buy.
- Rumors

And I, I send you my best.
I try to lay this to rest,
When you were my everything.
- Shades of Grey

Over It - Silverstrand
This is a really fun pop punk album, but with deeper lyrical content than just songs about girls. Lots of catchy songs. As more people hear this band, word is going to spread and they are going to get huge.

Favorite Tracks: Siren on the 101, Waiting, Shine, We Are the Ordinary

Favorite Lyrics:

Locked out, waiting forever and a day,
To find out you're afraid to make this life a tale worth telling.
Locked out, waiting forever and a day,
No safe bet, no telling:
No safe bet, no telling how long you'll take,
But I'll wait.
- Waiting

Let’s paint the town.
a thousand conversations, so many names to know.
Drift through the crowd and take my hand to go now I’ve got to let you know.
A thousand lights shine in the valley below,
Still we’re my brightest star.

Don’t you love the way a little quiet solves everything
When you can’t help wondering how’s it gonna be?
- Shine

Cause it's the ordinary that makes you extraordinary,
- We are the Ordinary

Other Noteworthy Albums of 2005
As I said before, there was a boatload of good music in 2005. Not all of these albums were hits all the way through, but they all have a few must listen to songs.

Almost Here - The Academy Is
Saw these guys open a few shows I went to this year. Incredibly catchy tunes. I have no doubt you'll be hearing a lot from them soon.
Favorite Tracks: Attention, Season

Crimson - Alkaline Trio
This album is classic Alkaline Trio. Plenty of dark lyrics.
Favorite Tracks: Time to Waste, Burn, and Sadie

Before the Blackout - Allister
I've been waiting a long time for a new Allister album. Sadly I haven't really gotten into this one anywhere near as much as Last Stop Suburbia. Maybe it will grow on me with a few more listens.
Favorite Tracks - D2, A Study in Economics, The Legend of Pegleg Sullivan

The Possibility and the Promise - Amber Pacific
Straight up pop-punk. An excellent debut album. Some of the lyrics can be a bit cheesy though.
Favorite Tracks: Poetically Pathetic, The Right to Write Me Off

Songs for Silverman - Ben Folds
Took several listens for me to really get into this album. Once I did though, it was getting almost daily plays for at least a month.
Favorite Tracks: Bastard, Landed, Sentimental Guy

Chroma - Cartel
I know this album has been near the top of many people's lists, but I just haven't gotten into it. Except for The Minstrel's Prayer, which is one of the best songs of the year. I'll have to give this album a few more listens before I write it off.
Favorite Tracks: Say Anything (Else), The Minstrel's Prayer

Good Appollo I'm Burning Star IV - Coheed and Cambria
To be honest, I haven't taken time to listen to this all the way through more than once or twice. However, Welcome Home and Wake Up are two great songs.

X&Y - Coldplay
Loved Swallowed in the Sea. The rest of the album was just ok.

Say Hello to Sunshine - Finch
I was really anticipating this release after loving their debut album What it is to Burn. But with such a long wait, my expectations were not very high. The album turned out alright, but I never really got into it as a whole. It does have a few good tracks though. And does anyone else think the opening guitar riff sound like a fuller, faster version of the riff in Death Cab's We Laugh Indoors?
Favorite Tracks: Ink, Fireflies, A Man Alone, Bitemarks and Bloodstains

Volcano - Gatsby's American Dream
I bought this album on a bit of a whim the other day after seeing it on so many people's lists. I've already listened to it several times, and it gets better and better with each one. Based on the liner notes, the album appears to be one long story, but I'll need to look more closely at the lyrics to figure it out.
Favorite Tracks: Theatre, The Guilt Engine, Your Only Escape

Sleepwalker - JamisonParker
The debut (and apparently last) release. Very emo lyrics, but I totally dig it.
Favorite Tracks: Best Mistake, Paper Rock Scissors, Slow Suicide

Several Arrows Later - Matt Pond PA
I've only recently discovered this album, but in that short time, I like it enough that I'm going to see them in March. It's a nice little collection of poppy songs.
Favorite Tracks: Halloween, City Song

Commit This to Memory - Motion City Soundtrack
Excellent followup to I am the Movie. Looks like MCS is going to be touring up a storm in 2006. You should definitely see them live.
Favorite Tracks: Attractive Today, Feel Like Rain, L.G.F.U.A.D

Menos El Oso - Minus the Bear
This is an album I definitely overlooked this year. There are some great songs on here and I expect to be spending more time with this album throughout the next year.
Favorite Tracks: Drilling, The Fix, The Pig War

Nightmare of You - NIghtmare of You
Former members of The Movielife. Lyrical content reminds me a lot of Say Anything (lots of commentary on "the scene", and songs of sexual escapades).
Favorite Tracks: The Days Go By Oh So Slow, Dear Scene I Wish I Were Deaf, Thumbelina, My Name is Trouble

Oh No - Ok Go
Catchy and as fun as anything you listened to this year.
Favorite Tracks: Invincible, A Million Ways, Let It Rain

A Fever You Can't Sweat Out - Panic! At the Disco
These guys came out of nowhere towards the end of the year. Sound a whole hell of a lot like Fall Out Boy, though with a bit more of a techno sound. I defy you to listen to this album and not want to just start dancing.
Favorite Tracks: The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage, Camisado, Time to Dance, Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off

One Fell Swoop - The Spill Canvas
This album has some really great songs on it, even if it is incredibly emo (with sometimes really over the top lyrics, see Staplegunned for isntance). In other words, if you can't stand Dashboard Confesisonal, you won't like The Spill Canvas. That said, the opening track, Lust A Prima Vista, is one of my favorite songs of the year. The final track, Self-Conclusion, is also really powerful ballad about a girl that is about to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge and the man she meets just before she jumps.
Favorite Tracks: Lust A Prima Vista, Polygraph Right Now, Self-Conclusion

Illinois - Sufjan Stevens
Very unique, folksy album. I don't know anyone that heard this and didn't enjoy it.
Favorite Tracks: Come On! Feel the Illinoise!, Decatur, Chicago

My Most Played Songs of 2005 (according to iTunes)
Save Me - Unwritten Law (60)
Of All The Gin Joints In The World - Fall Out Boy (53)
Lust A Prima Vista (53)
Our Lawyers Made Us Change The Name of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued - Fall Out Boy (49)
Sang Real (48)

Best Album Art
Everything in Transit by Jack's Mannequin
The Everglow by Mae
Prepare To Be Wrong by Straylight Run
Vheissu by Thrice

Best EPs

Prepare to be Wrong by Straylight Run
A couple unreleased songs, a couple new songs, and a cover. All beautifully done. Hands in the Sky (Big Shot) is the standout track, but the rest of the songs shouldn't be looked over.

Snails by The Format
I'm dying for a new full length from The Format, but this acoustic EP did help to tide me over. Janet and Snails are great new songs and the totally acoustic version of On Your Porch was a nice touch.

Was a Real Boy by Say Anything
A great set of new songs from Say Anything. They are really just an extension of the Is a Real Boy album.

Best Compilation

Punk Goes 80's
This is one of the most fun albums of the year. Stand out tracks for me were Your Love (Midtown), Pop Song 89 (Motion City Soundtrack), and Power of Love (The Early November).

Favorite Newly Discovered Artists

American Analog Set
I saw these guys at Bottom of the Hill in October and loved their set. Nice mellow, easy listening music. I highly recommend their slightly older album Know by Heart.

The Decemberists
Nick introduced me to their songs earlier in the year, and I ended up seeing them in concert and getting their new CD, Picaresque. They have a unique sound and clever lyrics.

Dredg
Catch Without Arms would have easily been my favorite album of the year, if it hadn't been for the bomb Thrice dropped on us. I still need to give Dredg's older stuff a listen.

Bands That Blew Up

Fall Out Boy
No band has earned their success more than Fall Out Boy. They've been touring almost non stop for years building a huge fan base. I saw them many times at shows in Cleveland opening for other bands and everyone at the show was always excited to see them. So to Fall Out Boy, I say congratulations.

Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab has been around forever, but it seems like they've suddenly gotten huge thanks to numerous name drops on The O.C. and other TV shows. I'm sad I won't ever get to see them in a small club, but they certainly deserve their success. And it's nice to see real music getting some mainstream attention.

Best Single

Save Me - Unwritten Law
Super catchy chorus, which lead to 60 plays in iTunes. Also used this as the opening song in my April mix CD. The animated music video was really well done. You have to love the line "went to the doctor and I asked her to make this stop / got medication, a new addiction, fucking thanks a lot".

A Million Ways - OK Go
Can OK Go write a song that isn't catchy? I don't think so. And this was perhaps the funniest music video of year.

Sugar We're Going Down - Fall Out Boy
This is just a really catchy song and made a great single. I'm sure it got way overplayed, but that's not Fall Out Boy's fault.

Worst Single

Beverly Hills - Weezer
The whole Weezer album was pretty forgettable, but Beverly Hills was truly annoying, which of course means it got played on the radio and music video channels all the freakin' time.

Best Live Shows

Matt Nathanson
This man knows how to interact with a crowd like on one else. When your at one of his shows, you have as much fun in between songs as you do singing along and rocking out while he's playing.

Fall Out Boy
Even though they've gotten huge, they still put on the same super high energy show that I remember them having when they'd open for bands in Cleveland. I saw them headline two shows this year, and both shows were great. The pit at Fall Out Boy shows is crazy, but fun.

Best Music Videos

Mixed Tape
The video for this song was made while Andrew was still in the hospital fighting cancer, which is why they went for an animated video. It turned out really, really well. How inspirational is that?
Watch it here.

A Million Ways by OK Go
You've just got to love the dancing.
Watch it here.

Save Me by Unwritten Law
Another video made with a spiffy animation style.
Watch it here.

Most Anticipated Albums for 2006

Brand New
Thought they were going to release in 2005, but they didn't. On one hand I can't wait for this album, because Deja Entendu was so amazing. On the other hand, will this new album be able to meet such high expectations? The anticipation is killing me! Brand New also needs to freaking hit the road again. I have yet to see them live.

The Format
This will likely be the catchiest album of 2006.

Angels and Airwaves
New band fronted by Tom Delong and some former Box Car Racer members. Tom has been hyping it a lot. Hopefully the music lives up to the hype. I'm expecting it will.

Thursday
War All the Time was a great album, and i've been thirsting for more material from Thursday ever since.

New Found Glory
NFG are my boys. You can always count on them for some fun, catchy songs.

The Early November
They're releasing a triple disk(?!) package this spring.

Matchbook Romance
From what I've been reading, this album could be a huge step for the band. I'm anxious to hear it.

Ataris
These guys have been around forever. The sound and lyrical content of the new album is supposed to be pretty different from their previous albums. So we'll have to see what that means.

Yellowcard
I'm not sure what to think about these guys anymore. Anytime I see them on TV or read anything about them, I just get pissed about the whole Ben Harper situation. I didn't even listen to single, Lights and Sounds, until very recently (after I saw Mike had put it on his December Mix CD. I also ended up seeing them perform the song on the Comedy Central 2005 Special. And wouldn't they just go and release a catchy song like that. I definitely like the sound of it a lot better than the songs Ocean Ave (really the only two songs I listen to from that CD anymore are the acoustic songs Empty Apartment and Back Home). It's a a lot more in the style of Gifts and Curses (from Spiderman 2), which is another of their newer songs I still listen to. I'm usually not one to let band drama stop me from enjoying an album (Taking Back Sunday comes to mind). So I have a feeling I'm going end up liking this album, despite my current disrespect for the band.

Other Favorite Lyrics of 2005
I'll end this post with a slew of my favorite lyrics from this past year.

If I said your smile's all that mattered,
would you save my life?
- Best Mistake by JamisonParker

It’s the night life
That gets them off
So desperately they wait for
The excuse of love

We live like vampires
And we, we, we love like killers
- Slow Suicide by JamisonParker

Oooh, did I mention when I see you it stings like hell?
To the fact that we could have something, that'll never happen
- Attention by The Academy Is

Old man lonliness is a son of a bitch
- A Man Alone by Finch

I guess we only settle in to what we know
I guess we always settle in
- Settle for Satin by Alkaline Trio

Reference to a song you love,
Spell confusion with a "K"
- Poetically Pathetic by Amber Pacific

If time could stop, how could I make this more poetic?
When there's nothing more pathetic to be said
- Poetically Pathetic by Amber Pacific

In a phrase to cut these lips, I love you
The morning will come
In the press of every kiss
With your head upon my chest
Where I will annoy you
With every waking breath
Until you decide to wake up
- Wake Up by Coheed and Cambria

All the streets you're walking on
A thousand houses long
Well that's where I belong
And you belong with me
Not swallowed in the sea
- Swallowed in the Sea by Coldplay

Hey you, over there
Is gravity getting you down?
- Gravity by Days Away

I'm falling in love with you
Balloons or no balloons
So it's time I forget the past
And just learn to love what I have
And I love waking up to your laugh
- Janet by The Format

Snails see the benefits
The beauty in every inch
- Snails by The Format

Beyond the ridge to the left
You asked me what I want
Between the trees and cicadas singing 'round the pond
I spent an hour with you
should I want anything else
- 16 Maybe Less by Iron and Wine, Calexico

It's Christmas in California
It's hard to ignore that it feels like summer all the time
But I'll take a west coast winter to remove my splinters
- Lights and Buzz by Jack's Mannequin

Let's get fucked up and die
I'm speaking figuratively of course
Like the last time I committed suicide, social suicide
- LGFUAD by Motion City Soundtrack

We love that game but we never play
'cause we will lose and we wanna stay
the way we are
the way we've been for far too long.
- Feels Like Rain by Motion City Soundtrack

I play the game and I can't really say that I like it
Can't really say that I hate it
Can't really say that I paid attention
- Grey Skies Turn Blue by MxPx

To make a mountain of
Your life is just a choice
But i never learned enough
To listen to the voice that told me
Always love
Hate will get you every time
Always love
Don't wait til the finish line
- Always Love by Nada Surf

And I thought, be still my heart
This could be a brand new start, with you.
And it will be clear
If I wake up and you're still here with me in the morning.
- Be Still My Heart by The Postal Service

In one fell swoop it became clear to me,
that I despise you entirely,
but the good news is I'm gonna keep you around
And so your lust is just convenient now

Crack open a bottle of red
Let's toast to this here bed
Offer up your hand
My one night, two month, three year stand

And all at once it became clear to me,
that you're allergic to honesty
And you don't even have a friend around
And so my lust is just convenient now
- Lust A Prima Vista by The Spill Canvas

Fate is an elegant, cold-hearted whore
She loves salting my wounds
Yes, she enjoys nothing more
- Polygraph Right Now by The Spill Canvas

Went to the doctor and I asked her to make this stop
Got medication, a new addiction, fucking thanks a lot
- Save Me by Unwritten Law

Can't take the kid from the fight
Take the fight from the kid
- Camisado by Panic! At the Disco

So there you have it, pretty much everything I could possibly say about the music of 2005. One last thing for scrolling all the way to the bottom, a photo of all the albums I purchased in 2005. If you actually read through this, congratuations, I'm quite impressed. I certainly don't expect everyone to read all (or even most of this), but if even just a few people discover some new music they enjoy, then writing every word was worth it.

The Lights and Buzz

Jack's Mannequin have their awesome Christmas song, Lights and Buzz available in the iTunes Music Store. You've gotta love the church-bells in the beginning followed by the slightly trippy vocals. Lyrics for the song are below.

The Lights and Buzz by Jack's Mannequin

I'm coming home from my hardest year
I'm making plans not to make plans while I'm here
And this life has been no holiday,
A complicated situation
I'm fine with all my memories
Still I could use a vacation

It's Christmas in California
It's hard to ignore that it feels like summer all the time
But I'll take a west coast winter to remove my splinters

It's good to be alive
It's good to be alive

I'm coming home to the lights and buzz
Streets look the same
Still nothing's as it was
This place is paradise I'm sure,
Here's my reservation
I've gotten lost here once before
Inside a good vibration

And time, time it stops for no one
The seasons come and go and that's just time
Yeah time it stops for no one
The seasons keep on going
Whether or not we're blind

Amusing Covers

I recently discovered a few amusing cover songs that I've been meaning to share. The first is a folksy cover of the ever entertaining Baby Got Back by Sir Mix A Lot. The cover is very well done, so I recommend you download it and shake that healthy butt!

Next up is an entire CD of covers done by singer/songwriter Paul Anka. It's called Rock Swings and features swing/lounge versions of a variety of songs from the 80's and 90's. I'm personally a fan of Smells Like Teen Spirit, Wonderwall, and Eye of the Tiger.

Indie Pop Rocks

I recently discovered the awesome internet radio station SomaFM and specifically the Indie Pop Rocks station (the station is run by a girl named Elise who lives in the Bay Area). You can find the station in iTunes if you go to the Radio item and look under Alt/Modern Rock. They play a great selection of indie music and I highly recommend you check it out.

I've been using Indie Pop Rocks to discover new music, but it's not always convenient to take time out to take note of the current artist and song, especially when I'm listening at work. I need to write a quick little app that will let me type a global hot key and append the artist and song title of the currently playing song to a text file.

October Recommendations

I'll kick off the new site with an updated list of recommendations in the sidebar.

Thrice's latest effort, Vheissu, is knock-you-on-your-ass good. It was getting lots of hype on AP.net, which always makes me a bit worried that it's not going to live up to my expectations. And indeed, the first listen or two I didn't think it was anything too special. But then, it just hits you and you can't stop listening. I was talking to Mike about it, and he felt the same way. I know the screaming/hardcore music isn't for everyone, but you will find songs you'll love on the this album regardless of that. The album deserves a fuller review which I plan to do in the near future. For now I'll just highly recommend picking up the Deluxe Edition of Vheissu with the 32 page booklet where the band talks about each song and the spiffy 7" vinyl for Image of the Invisible and The Weight of Glory.

I got the re-release of Say Anything's ...is a Real Boy in the mail today. I posted about the initial release of this album here and here. This is one of those album's I've been meaning to buy for a while, but hadn't gotten around to yet. However, being able to get the 2 disc re-release for $10 was all the reason I needed. ...is a Real Boy is simply a fun album to listen to, and was lyrically one of the most entertaining albums of 2004. The songs on the bonus disk, ...was a Real Boy were originally recorded for an AIDS charity record, thus (from the CD insert) "the songs focus on a period of exploration and confusion every young man and woman goes through where they struggle to find what satisfies them sexually and emotionally." Of course the same thing could easily be said about half the songs on ...is a Real Boy. At any rate both discs are a lot of fun and you should definitely give them a listen.

Last up for CD recommendations is the new Straylight Run EP, Prepare to be Wrong which I picked up earlier this month. It's got a couple new songs, a couple proper recordings of previously released demos, and their cover of Bob Dylan's With God On Our Side which they've been playing at live shows for a while. The stand out track for me is without a doubt Hands in the Sky (Big Shot). The gradual build up from the slow, somber beginning to loud, stomping and desperate sounding vocals towards the ending gives me chills every time I listen to it. You should download the song from their PureVolume page immediately. And while you're at it, grab the amazing video. The album itself is a pretty strong anti-war album, from the album art to the content of the songs, especially Later That Year, Hands in the Sky, and obviously With God On Our Side. The CD booklet contains the following: "We would like to send our deepest love and support to the men and women who have been forced to fight this pointless and politically motivated war. We want nothing more than to see them returned home quickly and safely."

August Music Recommendations

Haven't updated the music recommendations in the sidebar for well over a month, so let's do that now. I've listened to pretty much just two albums this past week at work Catch Without Arms by Dredg and Illinois by Sufjan Stevens.

Nick turned me onto Catch Without arms a couple weeks ago, and I've really been digging it. The music is rather dark and heavy, but not in a loud and screamy way. At any rate, it's really good and now I'm really disappointed that I missed their set at BFD in June. Favorite songs include the title track, Not That Simple, and my favorite by far is Sang Real. Definitely check this album out.

I got into Sufjan Stevens from Ricci by way of Nick. When Ricci first played introduced me to them, I asked how he found out about them, and he said Nick. And I responded, "I thought so, because this sounds like music Nick would like". I'm not quite sure how to describe it, iTunes classifies it as Folk. And while there is some folksy-ness to it, it's much more complex than that. You should just check it out for yourself. My favorite songs so far Come On! Feel the Illinoise! and The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders.

The other album I've been listening to a fair amount recently is One Fell Swoop by The Spill Canvas. This may be a bit too "emo" for some people, and some of the lyrics are a bit too over the top for me. But nonetheless, there's a lot of good songs on the album. I definitely like Lusta Prima Vista and Polygraph Right Now, which are two of the more electric songs on the album. I also like the final ballad, Self-Conclusion, even if it is almost the same song as The Tide (my favorite song of theirs). The album is out on Tuesday and you can stream half the songs from it on their Pure Volume site.

Now I just can't wait until the end of the month which will see Jack's Mannequin (Andrew from Something Corporate) debut album as well as a new Death Cab for Cutie album. w00t!

And on a side note, best of luck to Andrew with his bone marrow transplant. You've got lots of people praying for you. We all know you will keep on fighting.

Back to School Shuffle

The iTunes Music Store has a new playlist up called Back to School Shuffle. It's an awesome list of songs, and is arranged such that odd numbered songs are fairly well known and the following even numbered song is from a lesser known band of similar style. Good stuff.

Some personal recommendations from the list:

• Different - Acceptance
• Sugar We're Going Down - Fall Out Boy
• Everything is Alright - Motion City Soundtrack
• New Slang - The Shins
• Helena - My Chemical Romance
• The Killers - Mr. Brightside
• This Modern Love - Bloc Party
• The Sound of Settling - Death Cab for Cutie
• Rebellion (Lies) - Arcade Fire
• Collide - Howie Day
• Float On - Modest Mouse
• Such Great Heights - The Postal Service
• Dirty Little Secret - All American Rejects
• Best Mistake - JamisonParker
• Chicago - Sufjan Stevens

And there's a bunch of songs in the playlist that I haven't heard of and am going to need to check out. So if you find anything good that I haven't already mentioned, leave me a recommendation in the comments.

Oh, and I love the text from the Playlist Notes:

Does your roommate think he's cool because he loves Arcade Fire? Trump him with Wolf Parade. Wooing that girl in your lit class who thinks The Killers are the coolest thing going? Sing sweet Bloc Party nothings in her ear and see what happens.

Plus the Playlist Notes use the term "musicologist" which is what I have on my business card.

New Music Recommendations

I updated my music recommendations for the week in the sidebar. I'm not sure if I'll always make an official entry when I update the recommendations, but I wanted to talk at length about a couple of them.

First up is the album Based on a True Story by The Starting Line. Let me just say: Wow! This album is so much more than I expected. I don't put it in quite the same class as Deja Entendu and Forget What You Know, but there's no denying this album his a huge leap from Say It Like You Mean It. You still get the fun poppy hooks and catchy choruses but there's also a lot more this time around. No longer is the lyrical content strictly songs about girls. The album's title is Based on a True Story and it seems to be just that. Lots of lyrics about being on the road, being in a band, and generally growing up. And Kenny has become quite a musician, as he is credited with Vocals, Bass, Guitar, Wurlitzer, Piano, Glockenspiel, Bongos, Synths, and Harpsichord. Very impressive. I loved the acoustic album they put out a couple years ago, so I was very happy to hear a new acoustic ballad in the form of the song Photography. This album is definitely going to be getting lots listens and is sure to make my Top 5 albums of the year.

The next album recommendation is Songs for Silverman by Ben Folds. The first time I listened to this album no one song really jumped out at me and it just sort of all blended together. After a few more listens though the album has really grown on me. I listened to it at least 3 full times at work today. The songs Bastard and Landed have started to stick out as a couple of my favorites. The entire album is pretty mellow and really just pleasant to listen to. I highly recommend it to everyone reading this.

Ben's going on tour soon with Rufus Wainwright and you can be sure I'll be at that show. Also, Nick pointed me to this interview with Ben by The Onion AV Club. If you like Ben Folds, you should definitely give that read. It talks about the weird area he falls into where he doesn't really get much if any radio play, and yet he sells out huge venues everywhere he plays.

Song recommendations for the week include Grazed Knees by Snow Patrol who I saw in concert last week. Sarah had mentioned this song to me as being one of her favorites, and I have to agree. It's definitely a sad song, and yet there's something uplifting about it at the end, sorting giving you hope that everything's going to be ok.

The next song is Gravity by Days Away from their just released album Mapping an Invisible World. This is another mellow song. I really like the way the song sounds during the lyrics "Hey you, over there, is gravity getting you down?".

The last song recommendation, We Can All Get Along With Dinosaurs, I already posted about the other day.

Woo, so this post ended up a bit longer than expected. Anyways, enjoy the music!

We can all live with dinosaurs

Saw this linked to on AP.net. Matt Pryor of The Get Up Kids and New Amsterdams is putting out a children's CD. There's three demo songs for download on that site. I dig it. And this quote from Matt at the end of the article is great:

"My wife was joking that I'm going to do this kids music, and you can listen to that until you're about 14. Then when you go into your angsty teenage phase, you can listen to The Get Up Kids stuff. Then when you go to college, you can start listening to The New Amsterdams," he says. "It's like my own little Viacom."

Songs of the Moment

Haven't really had any music posts for while, so here's a few "singles" I'm currently listening to:

Waiting by Over It
This song is off their soon to be released (March 8) album Silverstrand. Over It and this album in particular highly hyped by AP.net. The album as a whole is quite good, but not "OMG this is amazing". The song Waiting has been stuck in my head for a few days now. It's straight up pop-punk: upbeat and catchy. And what can I say, I'm a sucker for the lyrics. You can download the original version of the song from their PureVolume page.

Save Me by Unwritten Law
This is the first single off their new album, Here's to the Mourning. It's another song with a catchy chorus. The video is pretty cool too (it's animated) and has been getting some play on Fuse lately.

All That I've Got by The Used
First heard this song on the mix CD Mike included with the anime music video DVD he sent me over Christmas. I immediately liked the song then, and now it's become the second single off their album In Love and Death. They've been playing the video on Fuse quite a bit, as they should because it's an awesome video. It's partially animated, and partially the band performing. It follows this kid who is reading a book and he gets sucked into the story and he encounters animated versions of the band members as he tries to find "the end". It's very Alice in Wonderland-esque and one of the cooler videos I've seen in a while.

So Contagiously by Acceptance
Just heard this song today off their upcoming album, Phantoms, and it's my current favorite on the album. It's a bit more mellow than the other songs I've listed.

Ohio is for Lovers by Hawthorne Heights
This is my "screamo" song of the moment. First heard this song on Fuse, and the band is actually from Ohio...Dayton specifically. If I were still at Case, I'd probably go check out their live show.

iGeneration

Check out these mp3s by MC Lars, self proclaimed "post punk laptop rap". He's been pimped on AbsolutePunk for a while, and Jeff just pointed me to the mp3s on his site, so I figured I'd spread the word too.

More Music Picks

Mike posted his Best of 2004 music list. We have pretty similar tastes in music, but our lists differ quite a bit. His top albums includes several I didn't mention, and my album of the year, Futures by Jimmy Eat World, isn't even on his list. Definitely read his write up on I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody's Business. I really only mentioned it in passing on my list, but it really is one of the top albums of this year. It's something I think almost anyone could get into.

I also agree with Mike's assessment that Midtown's Forget What You Know is 2004's Deja Entendu, as well as his prediction that even though we really want a new Finch album, it's going to suck.

Music of 2004

Well it's the end of the year, and time too look back at all the great music that has been released this year. I've done lots more commentary this year than last year. Please leave your top picks and thoughts in the comments.

Album of the Year: Futures by Jimmy Eat World

The advanced copy of this album lived in my car's CD player for many weeks, only to be replaced when Straylight Run's album came out. The songs are upbeat and extremely catchy. It's definitely a great CD to sing along to in the car. Even when I just have it playing as background music while I'm coding I find myself suddenly singing bits and pieces of the songs.

Now, if you're looking for a lyrically diverse album, this isn't it. Pretty typical emo song content: unrequited love, guy regrets leaving girl, erotic escapades in the backseat of a car, living a care free life surrounded by your friends, one night stands, etc. But Jimmy Eat World does these types of songs as well as they've ever been done.

Though they do dip into politics a bit with the title track. It seems to be from the point of view of someone that's decently well off, but maybe not happy with how they got there ("why is it so hard to find balance between living decent and the cold and real"). And overall corporate greed (things like Haliburton perhaps) dictating politicians decisions. And the line "I hope for better in November" pretty much speaks for itself.

I've found myself connecting with this album more than any other released this year. Yeah, yeah, go ahead, call me a lame emo kid. :-p But even aside from that the songs are just fun to listen to and sing along to, so that's why Futures is my 2004 album of the year.

Runner-up albums

Straylight Run - Self Titled
If I had to predict last year, I would have guessed this was going to be my favorite album of 2004. The demos they released on their webpage last summer have become some of my favorite songs (especially Mistakes We Knew We Were Making). The album ended up being about half songs they demoed last summer and half new songs. I have to say though that none of the newer songs really hit me like the demos did. Don't get me wrong, they are all good songs. They just didn't hit me with that 'wow, this is some of the best music I've ever heard' like their demos did.

With that aside, this is still one of the best albums of 2004. The songs are catchy and fun. When introducing people to new music, this is always one of the first albums I have them listen to. And I have yet to find someone that doesn't like what they hear. Their songs have that catchy "pop" feel that you'll find in Top 20 radio hits, but they also have really well done and deep lyrics (especially when you know the whole TBS/Strayligh/Brand New history) that attract the more discerning listener.

Say Anything - Is a Real Boy
I first learned about this band on AbsolutePunk.net, so it's no surprise this album was at the top of many staff members' End of Year lists. I quite gotten addicted to this album yet, but lyrically it's definitely one of the most fun and entertaining albums I've heard. And the lead singer Max Bemis has such a unique voice.

Other Albums

Green Day - American Idiot
Green Day is back. Great album. Still need to figure out the entire story that's being told

New Found Glory - Catalyst (It's NFG at their best. Nothing too new.)

Midtown - Forget What You Know (Huge step forward from their last album. Need to listen to this album more.

My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (My favorite "dark" album of the year)

I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody's Business - Self Titled (Side project of Ace Enders from The Early November. Very different sound and lyrical content. Excellent album)

Don't Look Down - The Fear in Love (Rock with strong guitar sound. Several good songs.)

Sum 41 - Chuck (Haven't really listened to it other than the single We're All to Blame)

Taking Back Sunday - Where You Want to Be (Slightly different sound from their last album. Still angry. Still catchy chorus hooks.)

Modest Mouse - Good News for People Who Love Bad News (Suddenly they appear on MTV and Fuse with this album. Need to listen to this more. Float On and Ocean Breathes Salty were excellent singles)

Punchline - Action (Saw them open for Allister. Pop Punk. Several really good songs.)

Get Up Kids - Guilt Show (Better than On a Wire but still not close to Something to Write Home About)

Sugarcult - Palm Trees and Powerlines (Lots of good songs. Found myself liking this album a lot at first, then just not really listening to it anymore)

Fall Out Boy - My Heart Will Always Be a B-side to My Tongue (FOB does acoustic. And they do it well. Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner is awesome.)

Further Seems Forever - Hide Nothing (Third lead singer in as many albums. Light Up Ahead and Hide Nothing are great songs. Haven't listened to the rest of the album much.)

Senses Fail - Let it Enfold You (Angry and dark. Liked their EP, haven't really gotten into this album at all.)

Vanessa Carlton - Harmonium (Guilty Pleasure)

Switchfoot - The Beautiful Letdown (Good Rock. Have really only heard Meant to Live and Dare You to Move off of this albums but both are excellent songs)

Most Underrated Band of 2004 - Midtown
This band has loads of talent and I don't know why they aren't a hell of a lot bigger than they are. They did have a song on the Spider-man 2 soundtrack and a music video on Fuse, but still haven't really gotten much recognition. Their new album, Forget What You Know, is great and a big step forward both lyrically and in musical complexity from their previous album. They've moved far beyond songs about girls (or songs about another falling out they had). Their lyrics are a lot more metaphorical now and cover a much wider range of topics. This can be seen just in their song titles: To Our Saviors, God is Dead, The Tragedy of the Human Condition, Hey Baby Don't You Know That We're All Whores. Music this good can't go unnoticed for long, so I'd be willing to bet they get pretty big in a year or two. This also means I should catch them performing live in a small venue soon before they get huge.

Top Songs (no particular order)

Gifts and Curses - Yellowcard
Written specifically for the Spider-man 2 Soundtrack. YC (and myself) are big Spider-man fans, so this was a perfect mix. The song is absolutely beautiful and perhaps the piano is showing a future direction for YC to expand their music

Mistakes We Knew We Were Making - Straylight Run
While this song was released as a demo in Summer 2003, it also appeared on Straylight's debut CD. It's another beautiful sounding song and has great lyrics.

Kill - Jimmy Eat World
Hard to pick one song from Futures as my favorite. Looking at playcount in iTunes, this ties with The World You Love and Work as the most played (40 times each). So I picked Kill since I can relate to its lyrics the most.

Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day
Second single off American Idiot, and also one of my favorites on the album.

Failure's Not Flattering - New Found Glory
Classic New Found Glory. (Plus James Dewess from Reggie/TGUK on keyboard) One of their best music videos also.

I'm Not Ok - My Chemical Romance
Great song to sing (scream) along with. Also has a very amusing music video.

But When the Little Fellow Came Close - I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody's Business
Nice acoustic-y song. I love the lyrics.

Put Your Phasers on Stun - Taking Back Sunday
First song on their new album. Fast paced, catchy chorus. Infectious sound that makes it nearly impossible to sit still while listening to this song.

Float On - Modest Mouse
The first single off of their new album. Really catchy and has a good beat. Good song to drive to.

Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner - Fall Out Boy
My favorite song on their acoustic EP. Really fun to sing along with.

Admit It - Say Anything
Incredibly amusing (and accurate) take on the whole "scene" thing. Makes me laugh every time I listen to it.

Run - Snow Patrol
This was a free download on the iTunes Music Store and also a Song of the Week for Nick. I just got hooked on the song recently but it has quickly become one of my favorites. I definitely want to hear the rest of their album. Also, this song manages to do something I wish I could: express strong feelings for someone without sounding cheesy or cliche.

Climbing in the Rafters - Atticus Finch
This is another recently discovered song. I first learned about Atticus Finch from Nick's Song of the Week last year. This song is off their new album. It's hard to say exactly what it is that has me hooked on the song, but I love it. Definitely a different sound from a lot of the guitar heavy stuff I usually listen to. The lead singer has a great voice.

Favorite Lyrics

This is just a small collection of lyrics that have gotten stuck in my head in 2004.

"The city lights shine for her, above them I cry for her" - Gifts and Curses by Yellowcard

"Sing like you think no one's listening" - Existentialism on Prom Night by Straylight Run

"And when they say you're not for me, I'll say 'they say a lot of things'" - Climbing in the Rafters by Atticus Finch

"How does it all add up? How does the story end?" - Autographs and Apologies by Motion City Soundtrack

"I can't help it baby, this is who I am. I'm sorry I can't just turn off how I feel. " - Kill by Jimmy Eat World

"Keep quiet. Nothing comes as easy as you. Can I lay in your bed all day? I'll be your best kept secret and your biggest mistake" - Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner by Fall Out Boy

"Prototypical non-conformist. You are a vacuous solider of the thrift store Gestapo." - Admit It by Say Anything

"Alright don't worry, even if things end up a bit too heavy, we'll all float on" - Float On by Modest Mouse

"Change is coming, know it's nothing personal" - Hide Nothing by Further Seems Forever

Newly Discovered Artists

Matt Nathanson

His newest album came out in Oct. 2003, but I just learned about him this summer when I saw him with Guster and Howie Day. Beneath These Fireworks is a great album. You have to love his 12 string guitar. He is very entertaining live (both the songs and the in-between song talking with the crowd). He's from San Francisco so I hope to get to see him a few more times before he gets big.

Atticus Finch

Another band Nick introduced me to. The lead singer has a really unique voice. Very melodic music. Definitely becoming a favorite.

Lola Ray

Saw them open for Allister at the last show I saw in Cleveland. Fun, amusing songs.

The Format

Saw them open for Something Corporate and Yellowcard. They're out of Arizona and have a slightly similar sound to Jimmy Eat World (also of out of Arizona). Lots of upbeat catchy tunes.

Bands That Blew Up in 2004

Yellowcard

While their CD Ocean Avenue was released in 2003, Yellowcard really took off this year. They've done several videos which have gotten lots of airtime, played live on Pepsi Smash, wrote a song for the Spider-man 2 soundtrack. Their song Ocean Avenue is the number 18 most downloaded song on iTunes. Much of their success can be attributed to pretty much non stop touring the last year and a half. I've seen them play live 3 times since Fall of 2003. The best show being at the Agora Ballroom where Dana and I were in the front row.

Death Cab for Cutie

They signed to a major label (Atlantic). Apparently their music also gets played quite a bit on The O.C.. While I'm happy for their success, I'd love to be able to see them in a tiny venue. Transatlanticism was in the top 40 most downloaded albums on iTunes.

Modest Mouse

They've been around for quite a while, but got big really suddenly with their new album Good News for People Who Love Bad News. I'm not really sure how they all of a sudden got noticed.

Guilty Pleasures

• Vanessa Carlton (Fine the music is girly and admitting to listening to it means Sarah laughs at me. But regardless, she has a good voice, and the songs are good. And hey, she's damn cute.)
• Maroon 5 - She Will Be Loved (Top 40 song. Nothing wrong with Maroon 5 in general but the lyrics in this song are so incredibly sappy...and I love it.)
• Simple Plan - Welcome to my Life (As generic and whiny a song as it is, I still sing along when it's on Fuse. Damn you Simple Plan)
• Good Charlotte - Predictable (Another song I admit to enjoying when it's on Fuse. Can't say the same for their second single, I Just Wanna Live)
• Gwen Stefani - What Ya Waiting For (Incredibly catchy. Love the video.)

Most Anticipated Albums of 2005

Brand New
Deja Entendu was one of the best albums of 2003. The band has said they have big plans for the next album, but it isn't going to sound like Deja. I can't wait to hear the new stuff. I just recently introduced Nick to Deja Entendu and he loves it. We've listened to songs from it (always including Sic Transit Gloria) on all our recent SF concert trips. So that has just heightened the anticipation.

Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab never disappoints. This will be their major label debut (on Atlantic).

Motion City Soundtrack
Mark Hoppus is producing their album (his first time producing). Can't wait to hear it.

Yellowcard
It will be interesting to see if more piano is incorporated to their songs now that Pete is back.

Fall Out Boy
Take This to Your Grave was one of my favorite albums in 2003. FOB does pop-punk better than almost anyone.

And since they did these on AP:
Movies
Garden State (Easily one of my favorite movies ever)
Napoleon Dynamite (The movie for the socially awkward dork in all of us)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (I need to watch this a second time)
The Incredibles (Yay Pixar. Ranks slighty behind Monster's Inc. for Pixar movies.)

TV
Scrubs (Incredibly funny show. Zach Braff is the man.)
The Daily Show (Jon Stewart is brilliant.)
Rescue Me (Drama mixed with Denis Leary humor. Good stuff.)

Best of 2003

2003 was a great year for the punk/indie/emo/whateveryouwanttocallit scene. Many bands (Brand New, Thrice, Thursday, Something Corporate) released highly anticipated sophomore albums while we also saw the emergence of many new bands (Straylight Run, Fall Out Boy, The Postal Service).

AbsolutePunk.net listed its annual Best of... list, and I thought I'd do my own personal list just for fun.

So here it is, my Best of 2003 lists.

Best Album
5. Blink-182 by Blink-182
4. Take This To Your Grave by Fall Out Boy
3. War All The Time by Thursday
2. Deja Entendu by Brand New
1. Give Up by The Postal Service

I purchased no less than 15 albums this year, and loved every single one, so narrowing this list down to my 5 favorite albums and then trying to rank them proved incredibly difficult. In the end, I decided that if I could only listen to one album from 2003 it would have to be Give Up by The Postal Service. Ben Gibbard created another lyrical masterpiece with this album, and the unique sound of the album is something you will never get tired of.

A very close second for my favorite album of 2003 was Brand New's Deja Entendu. This is another simply amazing album, both lyrically and instrumentally and it represented a major change from Brand New's first album, Your Favorite Weapon. Deja Entendu is one of those albums that takes a few listens to grow on you, but then you quickly find yourself listening to it more and more frequently and loving it more and more.

War All the Time by Thursday is by far the most emotional album of 2003. Geoff Rickly shares some of the most traumatic and devastating moments in his life with listeners. You can feel his pain in each and every song and in every word he sings. You can't help but be touched by this album.

Fall Out Boy is "pop punk" at its finest and Take This to Your Grave is just their first album. All the songs are fast and catchy. I've listened to this album probably the most of any album this year, because a lot of times you just want to sit back and hear something upbeat and Take This to Your Grave provides exactly that.

Blink-182 was one of the most anticipated albums of the year and it surprised many, many people. Blink is all grown up and their newest album shows that. Fans looking for more toilet-humor filled "pop punk" may be disappointed, but in my opinion this is Blink's best sounding album to date and I am quite happy with the new Blink.

Best EP
3. From Depths to Dreams - Senses Fail
2. Notes and Photographs - JamisonParker
1. Make Yourself at Home EP - The Starting Line

Best New Band
3. JamisonParker
2. Postal Service
1. Straylight Run

Best Song

5. Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't
4. Play Crack The Sky
3. Such Great Heights
2. Division St.
1. Mistakes We Knew We Were Making

Best Lyricists
4. Jesse Lacey - Brand New
3. Jason Gleason - Further Seems Forever
2. Geoff Rickly - Thursday
1. Ben Gibbard - Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service

Best Vocalist
4. Ben Gibbard - Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service
3. Jason Gleason - Further Seems Forever
2. Claudio Sanchez - Coheed and Cambria
1. Geoff Rickly - Thursday

Best Live Show
5. Finch
4. Something Corporate
3. Yellowcard
2. Fall Out Boy
1. Allister

Most Underrated Bands/Albums
Mae - Destination: Beautiful
Further Seems Forever - How to Start a Fire

Best Music Videos
2. Brand New - Sic Transit Gloria
1. Finch - What it is to Burn

Punk Reminiscing

Mike's love of Deja Entendu prompted him to list some of the albums that he heard that got him into this style of music. Since Mike was the one who got me into punk, I figured I would list some of the first albums punk albums.

The summer of my sophomore year, I was talking to Mike on AIM on day and he sent me a couple mp3s by The Get Up Kids, and a couple by a band called A New Found Glory. Shortly after that I had ordered Something to Write Home About and Red Letter Day by The Get Up Kids and Nothing Gold Can Stay by A New Found Glory. Those are all excellent albums, all three of which I still go back and listen to quick frequently.

Mike also introduced me to AbsolutePunk.net which has become my most frequently visited website. It is a wonderful place to find out about amazing new punk and indie bands.

Mike and I spent much of our freshman year of college finding live performances and other rare mp3s on Napster and sending them back and forth to each other. That was much fun.

One band I want to mention that Mike introduced me to is LWL. They were a pop-punk band from New Jersey and their album Quarter Life Crisis is probably one of my favorite, but often forgotten albums. I listened to it a lot freshman year, and my roomate and I seemed to constantly have Emone and Rubberband stuck in our heads. The band broke up a few years ago, so their album often gets lost as music collection grows, but when I remember it and listen to it, I'm reminded of what a fun pop-punk album it is. And one classic moment involving LWL was last summer when a bunch of us went to New York City, and Mike came up for a day. We ended up going in Toys R Us, and we both start singing LWL's Pop Punk Kid, which is of course set to the tune of the Toys R Us Kid song.

My sophomore year of college I met Sarah, and found out she had the same tastes in music that I did. The first clue I had was her complimenting my A New Found Glory shirt. We've introduced each other to numerous bands. She definitely knows a lot more indie bands than I do and got me interested in bands such as Cake, Death Cab for Cutie (Ben Gibbard is a lyrical genius), Jets to Brazil, Lifehouse, and Switchfoot.

Sarah was the first person I met at CWRU that had actually heard of even half of the bands I had songs by. Meeting Sarah also led to attending my first concert and many, many, many more after that. Of course they are all listed on my Concert Page. The first concert I went to (New Found Glory, Something Corporate, Finch, Further Seems Forever) is still my favorite concert. Even though I did end up paying $100 for a ticket, it was well worth it. The band line up for that concert was amazing, it introduced me to Further Seems Forever (who I really want to see again), and all 4 bands put on excellent live shows.

This post ended up being much longer than I expected, but what can I say, music is a large part of my life. I love finding out about new bands, listening to an album for the first time, finding albums that I listen to over and over again, finding the meaning behind the song writer's lyrics, applying my own meaning to a song, and as the slogan for AbsolutePunk.net says, "Music mends broken hearts."

The Tension and The Terror

Straylight Run posted another mp3 on their page called The Tension And The Terror. It's quite good, just like the rest of their songs. According to their webpage, a couple more songs should be posted very soon. Also, I love the fact that they post the lyrics to all of their songs as well. I really can't wait until their show in Cleveland on September 13.

Straylight Run

Straylight Run posted three mp3s on their webpage today. I highly recommend you check them out. After hearing them, I'm even more excited to see them at the Grog Shop next month.

Space and Down

I decided to write down there lyrics to SoCo's new songs, Space and Down, so here they are. Classic SoCo sound and songwriting. Actually, let me take that back. I said, classic SoCo, but after thinking about it for a few minutes, I couldn't actually compare them to any of their other songs and yet there's no doubt they are SoCo songs, if that makes sense. So, it's the SoCo sound, only much more refined and so, so good.

Space

Home, is this a quiet place where you should be alone? Is this where the tortured and the troubled find their own?

I don't know, but I can tell this isn't you, your cover's blown.
Oh no, don't you dare hang up this phone.

Hey! Give me space so I can breathe.
Give me space so I can sleep.
Give me space so you can drown in this with me.

In this place, a lonely escapade in outerspace,
There's no antidote for irony.
You say that you have, when you know that you don't.
And you'll say that you care when you know that you won't.

Down

Let's get drunk you can drive us to the harbor.
Wish upon a star, but do you know what stars are?
Balls of fire burning up the black space.
Falling from the landscape.
Exploding in the face of God.

Lets get crazy, talk about our big plans,
Places that you're going, places that I haven't been.
Build my walls up, concrete castle.
Keep this kingdom free of hassle.

Yeah, yeah, yeah

*Chorus*
But are you sad?
Echo in the emptiness, all around.
But you can't change his loneliness.
Look what you found, I'm falling down.

Taste the saline rolling down your cheekbone.
Tell me that your alone.
Tell me on the telephone.
Feel your heartache,
Breaks within your chest now.
Try to get some rest now,
Sleep's not coming easy for a while, child, child.

Chorus

So Much Music Goodness

Lot's of music news for me today. Seems like music is mostly what I post about in this blog, but oh well. First up, new tour I just found out about: Fall Out Boy, Rufio, Mae, Motion City Soundtrack, and Northstar will be at the Grog Shop October 14th. I'm definitely going to this show, and I actually have mp3s or CDs of all the bands. Mae sounds a bit like Jimmy Eat World, and has several very catchy songs. Motion City Soundtrack I just found out about less than a week ago. Their song, The Future Freaks Me Out, has been getting a fair amount of play on my iPod. I have a couple Northstar mp3s, though I haven't listened to them much yet. Also, Saves The Day and Taking Back Sunday are at the Agora September 24. I missed Taking Back Sunday at least twice last year, so I'd kind of like to catch this concert too.

Something Corporate posted previews of two new songs, Space and Down, on their website today. Here's a direct link to the Real Media stream. There are also Windows Media streams available on their site, but you need to register to be able to listen to the streams from the site. I'm really looking forward to this album, which is supposed to be out Oct 21.

Finally, Mike has a bit of webspace for "songs of the moment". I reccomend everything there of course. :-) But if you have limited bandwith definitely grab the Brand New and Yellowcard mp3s first. The new Dashboard song, Hands Down, is also excellent. It's on the ITMS as a single, so I bought it the other week. I'd agree with Mike that it's my favorite DC song. The Hum song, is one Finch covered when they were on Jimmy Kimmel a month or so ago. Hadn't heard of them before, so I'm glad to hear the original version. Anyway, I think he's going to be updating it pretty regularly, so keep checking back for new stuff.

Ok, I lied that wasn't the last thing. I bought the new Thrice album, The Artist in the Ambulance, from the ITMS last night. Once again Mike was telling me how good it was, so I figured what the hell, I'm going to buy it at some point, so it might as well be now. It's a lot heavier than a lot of the other bands I've been listening to lately, so it was a good change of pace, and makes excellent biking music. Highly recommended.

That's the music news for today, at some point over the weekend I'll post about the Ben Folds concert.