THE ATTAGAG: 2011

Saturday, December 31, 2011

BEST SONGS OF 2011

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

FLASHBACK: Best Songs of 2010

Best Songs of 2010

1-Arcade Fire “We Used To Wait” The Suburbs
2-Metric “Gold Guns Girls” Fantasies
3-Vampire Weekend “Cousins” Contra
4-Mumford and Sons “Little Lion Man” Sigh No More
5-New Young Pony Club “Lost a Girl” The Optimist
6-Plastic Operator “Parasols [Easy D Remix]” Parasols Remixes
7-Sophie Ellis-Bextor “Bittersweet” Straight from the Heart
8-Neon Trees “Animal” Habits
9-Kings of Leon “Radioactive” Come Around Sundown
10-The Black Keys “Tighten Up” Brothers
11-Black Eyed Peas “Rock That Body” The E.N.D.
12-Florence + The Machine “Dog Days Are Over” Lungs
13-La Roux “Bulletproof” La Roux
14-Eminen featuring Rihanna “Love The Way You Lie” Recovery
15-Ok Go “White Knuckles” Of the Blue Colour of the Sky
16-Switchfoot “The Sound” Hello Hurricane
17-B.o.B. featuring Bruno Mars “Nothin’ on You” B.o.B. Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray
18-Lady Antebellum “Need You Now” Need You Now
19-Lady Gaga featuring Beyonce “Telephone” The Fame Monster
20-The XX “Crystalised” The XX
21-B.o.B. featuring Hayley Williams “Airplanes” B.o.B. Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray
22-Delphic “Doubt” Delphic
23-Katy Perry “Teenage Dream” Teenage Dream
24-Cee Lo Green “Fuck You” The Lady Killer
25-New Young Pony Club “We Want To” The Optimist
26-The Raveonettes “I Wanna Be Adored” 50 Years of Dr. Martens
27-Silversun Pickups “Substitution” Swoon
28-Arcade Fire “The Suburbs” The Suburbs
29-Chemical Brothers “Swoon” Further
30-Far East Movement “Like a G6” Free Wired
31-Shakira “Waka Waka [This Time for Africa]” Waka Waka [This Time for Africa]-The Single
32-Kylie Minogue “All the Lovers” Aphrodite
33-David Guetta featuring Chris Willis, Fergie, and LMFAO “Gettin’ Over You” One More Love
34-Papa Roach “Kick in the Teeth” Time for Annihilation
35-Pink “Raise Your Glass” Greatest Hits…So Far!
36-Rihanna “Only Girl (In The World)” Loud
37-Daft Punk “Derezzed” Tron Legacy: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
38-Paramore “The Only Exception” Brand New Eyes
39-Janus “Eyesore” Red Right Return
40-LCD Soundsystem “I Can Change” This Is Happening
41-Civil Twilight “Letters from the Sky” Civil Twilight
42-Of Montreal “Coquet Coquette” False Priest
43-Paper Tongues “Trinity” Paper Tongues
44-The Drums “Let’s Go Surfing” The Drums
45-Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros “40 Day Dream” Up from Below
46-Phantogram “When I’m Small” Eyelid Movies
47-Vampire Weekend “Holiday” Contra
48-Shakira “Loca” Sale el Sol
49-Edward Maya featuring Vika Jugulina “Stereo Love” Stereo Love
50-Kylie Minogue “Cupid Boy” Aphrodite
51-David Guetta featuring Rihanna “Who’s That Chick?” One More Love
52-Two Door Cinema Club “Undercover Martyn” Tourist History
53-The National “Bloodbuzz Ohio” High Violet
54-Royksopp “Happy Up Here [Boys Noize Remix]”
55-Yeasayer “Ambling Amp” Odd One
56-The Gay Blades “Try to Understand” Savages
57-Bruno Mars “Just the Way You Are” Doo-Wops and Hooligans
58-Anberlin “Impossible” Dark is the Way, Light is a Place
59-New Young Pony Club “Chaos” The Optimist
60-Gorillaz featuring Mos Def and Bobby Womack “Stylo” Plastic Beach
61-Klaxons “Echoes” Surfing The Void
62-Sick Puppies “Maybe” Tri-Polar
63-Weezer “Memories” Hurley
64-The Heavy “How You Like Me Now” The House That Dirt Built
65-Ovi and Paula Seling “Playing With Fire” Playing With Fire
66-New Pornographers “My Shepherd” Together
67-Robyn “Indestructible” Body Talk
68-Motion City Soundtrack “Her Words Destroyed My Planet” My Dinosaur Life
69-Local Natives “Wide Eyes” Gorilla Manor
70-Afrojack featuring Eva Simmons “Take Over Control”
71-Linkin Park “Catalyst” A Thousand Suns
72-Foals “Blue Blood” Total Life Forever
73-Stone Sour “Say You’ll Haunt Me” Audio Secrecy
74-Arcade Fire “Ready to Start” The Suburbs
75-Silversun Pickups “The Royal We” Swoon
76-Jimmy Eat World “My Best Theory” Invented
77-Junior Caldera featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor “Can’t Fight This Feeling” Debut
78-Hockey “Too Fake” Hockey
79-Miniature Tigers “Bullfighter Jacket” Miniature Tigers
80-B.o.B. featuring Rivers Cuomo “Magic” B.o.B. Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray
81-Belle and Sebastian “I Want the World to Stop” Write About Love
82-Frightened Rabbits “Swim Until You Can’t See Land” The Winter of Mixed Drinks
83-Band of Horses “Laredo” Infinite Arms
84-Sleigh Bells “Tell ‘Em” Treats
85-Freemasons featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor “Heartbreak [Make Me A Dancer]” Freemasons Present Freemaison Volume One
86-Selena Gomez and The Scene “Naturally” Kiss & Tell
87-Florence + The Machine “You’ve Got the Love” Lungs
88-Deftones “Diamond Eyes” Diamond Eyes
89-The Gaslight Anthem “American Slang” American Slang
90-Weezer “Tripping Down the Freeway” Raditude
91-Paramore “Brick by Boring Brick” Brand New Eyes
92-Apocalyptica featuring Gavin Rossdale “End of Me” 7th Symphony
93-Goldfrapp “Alive” Head First
94-Duck Sauce “Barbra Streisand” Duck Sauce
95-TV Buddhas “Fun Girls” TV Buddhas
96-Taio Cruz featuring Ludacris “Break Your Heart”
97-Violent SoHo “Jesus Stole My Girlfriend”
98-The Whigs “Kill Me Caroline”
99-Chevelle “Letter from a Thief” Sci-Fi Crimes
100-Interpol “Barricade” Success
101-Little Big Town ‘Little White Church” Little White Church

FLASHBACK: Best Songs of 2009

Best Songs of 2009

There is a three-way tie for the number one spot. Therefore, there are 13 songs in the top ten and seventy-eight songs in this list, the largest list ever assembled. This is probably the best list I have ever assembled since I began doing this back in 2001.

1-Black Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling” The E.N.D.

My favorite sellouts of all time (“Sell outs? We sell out concerts!”). They may have sold out big time thanks to Target and many other endorsements but they can still big on catchy hits and bring an incredible energy with their music and performances. After Fergie released her solo album, the powerhouse regrouped and released The E.N.D. in the summer of 2009, and they became one of the few artists in history to simultaneously occupy the top two spots of Billboard’s Hot 100 throughout the summer (along with “Boom Boom Pow”). “I Gotta Feeling” is pure fun, it’s not selling you an agenda or trying to become deep and complex like many artists and their works, it works across all boundaries, just like their earlier stuff, like “Let’s Get It Started” and “Where is the Love?”. After a hell-bent year for many people, they found their escape through many ways, and one of the most popular was this song. Plus, it’s great to jump up and down and dance to at the clubs and at parties, or even in the car ride to and/or from the clubs and parties. Tonight’s gonna be a good night indeed.

1-Kings of Leon “Use Somebody” Only by the Night

This song works for many occasions, a romance ballad, an ode to great and energetic music, an anthem to the young and young at heart, a soundtrack staple, a song to rock out to at a concert with thousands of others on a hot summers night (like I did at Lollapalooza when they performed). After years of little fanfare in the States, the Followill brothers and cousin finally broke into the big time with this and other great hits off their Grammy-Award winning platinum bestseller, Only by the Night (2008). Kings of Leon is a fine example of the little rock band that could. And they did, thanks to their down-to-earth and casual attitudes, loads of whiskey, and many more loads of fans. All of that equals to their well-deserved staggering success.

1-Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Zero” It’s Blitz!

When Karen-O first belted out the song “Maps” back in 2003, you knew you were in for a treat. You were also in for something completely different than what was around in alternative at the time. “Rarely, if ever, had female sexuality and innermost emotions been broadcast with such explicit detail, and with such style and panache”, wrote Robin Murray in Clash Magazine. Karen-O, along with Nick Zinner and Brian Chase, brought depth and intensity into each song and performance, especially during their impressive performance at Lollapalooza in August. "The album proves that they can provide epic music with personal themes, that YYYs can expand without losing what made us fall for them in the first place." (Clash) The first single off their incredible third album, It’s Blitz!, provides the same awe, rawness, and frantic yet sexual pace they have provided music lovers for the better part of this decade. “Zero” is a surprisingly great dancefloor song, one that you can rock out at the club or start a mosh pit with at a concert. This is their best work to date, and possibly the first great rock song of the Obama and Twitter era.

2-Ladyhawke “Paris is Burning” Ladyhawke

This is probably the best song about chaos between boys and girls and screaming and getting wasted on wine in the City of Lights. Ladyhawke, aka Pip Brown, is a New Zealand musician who I wish had become a breakthrough success in the US, but not all wishes can come true. Nevertheless, she is a force to be reckon with. Her self-titled debut album, which has reached gold status in the UK, sounds much like a lost ‘80s soundtrack, except it hasn’t aged badly or become irrelevant or sound dated, unlike much music from that era, like Gary Numan (“Cars”) or Duran Duran (“Rio”). “Despite its blatant retro vibe, it still manages to sound fresh thanks to its clever production and Brown's fiery and vibrant vocals.” (Jon O’Brien, Allmusic.com)

3-Phoenix “1901” Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

The French have produced many great things: Moliere, wine, bread, The Eiffel Tower, many romantic stories and dreams, movies, Catherine Deneuve, and Cyrano de Bergerac—but pop music…not so much. (Raise your hand if you own a copy of any Oui Oui album. No takers?) But then comes along Phoenix, a French band that delivers a sense of irony and playfulness to their music. They made pop fun instead of a burden or something forced out of a musician from the record company. Thanks to a Cadillac ad and a Grammy nomination, they are finally gaining some mainstream exposure stateside.

4-Jay Z featuring Alicia Keys “Empire State of Mind” The Blueprint III

One of hip-hop’s talented MCs and one of the most talented singer/songwriters/pianists of our time team up for this new anthem for the Big Apple. After flirting with retirement, Jay Z returned with the concept album American Gangster (2007), which was good, but not as good as Hova’s great works, such as The Blueprint (2001). This ode to New York stands out among his classics and at age forty, he is much more talented, especially lyrically (“Don’t bite the apple, Eve, caught up in the in crowd/Now you’re in style and in the winter gets cold/En vogue with your skin out/the city of sin is a pity on a whim”), than MCs half his age.

5-The Decemberists “The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid” The Hazards of Love

One of seventeen tracks off their rock opera The Hazards of Love, The Decemberists proved that music can be a great tool for captivating storytelling. The Hazards of Love is a love story between a young woman and a shape-shifting beast and the forces that try to destroy their romance. They delivered a powerful and emotionally remarkable performance at this year’s Lollapalooza, which further deepened my admiration for a band that can rock out the accordion and Hammond organ, among other instruments not usually associated with rock music. This is a band that truly deserves the term rock gods.

6-The Kills “Tape Song” Midnight Boom

“Midnight Boom bleeds color, excitement, and emotion into VV and Hotel's music, transforming it into daring, dirty pop that is unrepentantly glamorous and tender, high-end and trashy, and it glitters like diamonds mixed with broken glass.” (Heather Phares, Allmusic.com)
I was too tired to write anything at this point (these were written out of order). I will say that this is a great sexy rock song. Especially the bass and the chorus.

7-Weezer “(If You Are Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To” Raditude

“In writing about love and desire --- about being an adolescent, or at least feeling like one --- Cuomo dials into a purity of feeling that adulthood slowly drains,” wrote Greg Kot when reviewing Weezer’s seventh album. After dealing with middle age and some less than thrilling songs (“Pork ‘n’ Beans” rings a bell?), Rivers Cuomo and Co. fondly look back at those wonder years. And what better song to kick off the nostalgia than this Motown-styled ditty about the trials of young love. “At first, the song seems to be a sophomoric and jokey make-out track hinging on the line, "So make a move 'cuz I ain't got all night." However, the song ends with the teen couple staring at each other as grown-ups in a troubled marriage with nothing left to say to fix their problems but, "make a move 'cuz I ain't got all night." (Matt Collar, Allmusic.com)

8-The Wombats “My Circuitboard City” My Circuitboard City

These Liverpool, UK natives have been a loud and impressive force in the British indie music scene ever since they released their first album, A Guide to Love, Loss, and Desperation (2007). “Looking for the lighter side of crushing disappointment”, wrote Jon Young when reviewing the album for Spin in the summer of 2008, “frontman Matthew Murphy fends off depression with wry quips, recounting how a "sleazy remark about her whorish dress" spoiled a promising encounter ("Backfire at the Disco") and confessing an unhealthy obsession with unattainable women, including a drunken dental hygienist ("Little Miss Pipedream").” “My Circuitboard City” is another great song to add to their collection of off-the-wall songs and absurdness.
Have a dance,
Have a drink,
Suppress it back ruin everything,
Have a dance,
Have a drink,
Suppress it back ruin everything tonight,
Lets ruin everything tonight.

9-Passion Pit “The Reeling” Manners

Passion Pit hails from Cambridge, Massachusetts, a place more known for its halls of academia than for electronic music. “The Reeling” is the first single off their debut album, Manners, which was celebrated with a release party that eventually became a concert on a boat course in New York. “A carefree night on the night and is visually enhanced with a unique paper-ripped effect”, described AOL.com when they premiered the stunning music video in April. “A pop record that exists in a world of its own”, wrote Mike Diver for Clash magazine. The same can be said for this promising act.

10-Lady Gaga “Bad Romance” The Fame Monster

She is undeniably the most outlandish and outstanding pop star that 2009 has produced. Her outfits and on-stage stunts, most notable the VMA performance of “Paparazzi” where her face is covered in blood, are out of this world. But her true talent, other than her sense of fashion, is her music crops, especially the lyrics she penned for The Fame (2008) and The Fame Monster (2009), the former earning her a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. The first artist to have four songs from a debut album go #1 on the Billboard charts, Gaga is a force to be reckoned with. She is a far cry from the pop stars we were spoon-fed at the beginning of this decade. And pop music has rarely been more entertaining because of it.

11-Metric “Help, I’m Alive” Fantasies
12-Black Eyed Peas “Boom Boom Pow! THE E.N.D.
13-Bloc Party “One Month Off” Intimacy
14-Kelly Clarkson “My Life Would Suck Without You” All I Ever Wanted
15-Beyonce “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)” I Am…Sasha Fierce
16-Taylor Shift “You Belong With Me” Fearless
17-Shakira “She Wolf”/ “Loba” She Wolf
18-Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Heads Will Roll” It’s Blitz!
19-Arctic Monkeys “Crying Lightning” Humbug
20-The Cast of Glee “Don’t Stop Believin” Glee Soundtrack Volume 1
21-Lady Gaga “Poker Face” The Fame
22-Silversun Pickups “Panic Switch” Swoon
23-Foals “Cassius” Antidote
24-Ida Maria “I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked” Fortress ‘Round My Heart
25-The Gaslight Anthem “The ’59 Sound” The ’59 Sound
26-Grizzly Bear “Two Weeks” Veckatimest
27-Metric “Gimme Sympathy” Fantasies
28-Airborne Toxic Event “Sometime Around Midnight” Airborne Toxic Event
29-Mariah Carey “Obsessed” Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
30-TV on the Radio “Golden Age” Dear Science
31-Katy Perry “Waking Up in Vegas” One of the Boys
32-Peter Bjorn and John “It Don’t Move Me” Living Thing
33-Taylor Shift “Love Story” Fearless
34-Franz Ferdinand “No You Girls” Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
35-White Rabbits “The Plot” Fort Nightly
36-The Killers “Spaceman” Day & Age
37-Lady Gaga “Paparazzi” The Fame
38-Kid Cudi “Day ‘N’ Nite’ Man on the Moon
39-Pheonix “Lisztomania” Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
40-Black Eyed Peas “Meet Me Halfway” The E.N.D.
41-Matt and Kim “Daylight” Green Label Sound
42-Vampire Weekend “The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance” Vampire Weekend
43-Jay Z featuring Rihanna and Kanye West “Run This Town” The Blueprint III
44-Kings of Leon “Revelry” Only by the Night
45-U2 “Get On Your Boots” No Line on the Horizon
46-Death Cab for Cutie “Equinox” New Moon Soundtrack
47-Silversun Pickups “Substitution” Swoon
48-Cage the Elephant “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked”
49-Pitbull “I Know You Want Me”
50-Sick Puppies “You’re Going Down”
51-Pink “Please Don’t Leave Me” Funhouse
52-Foo Fighters “Wheels” Best of Foo Fighters
53-Ida Maria “Oh my God” Fortress ‘round My Heart
54-The Bravery “Slow Poison”
55-No Age “Teen Creeps” Nouns
56-Kings of Leon “Notion” Only by the Night
57-Blue October “Dirt Room”
58-Metronomy “A Thing For Me” Metronomy
59-Telekinesis “Coast of Carolina”
60-The Noisettes “Never Forget You”
61-3oh!3 “Don’t Trust Me”
62-Them Crooked Vultures “New Fang” Them Crooked Vultures
63-Karen O “All is Love” Where the Wild Things Are Soundtrack
64-Rihanna “Russian Roulette” Rated R
65-Tegan and Sara “Hell”
66-30 Seconds to Mars “Kings and Queens” This is War
67-The Pigeon Detectives “This is an Emergency” This is an Emergency
68-Maxwell “Pretty Things” Blacksummers Night…
69-Sonic Youth “What We Know” The Eternal
70-Eels “All the Beautiful Things” Hombre Lobo
71-Ke$ha “Tik Tok”
72-The Virgins “She’s Expensive” The Virgins
73-Tokyo Police Club “Citizens of Tomorrow” A Lesson in Crime
74-Fleet Foxes “Blue Ridge Mountain” Ragged Wood
75-Spinnerette “Baptized by Fire”

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

FLASHBACK: Best Songs of 2008

1-Hot Chip “One Pure Thought” Made in the Dark

2-Vampire Weekend “A-Punk” Vampire Weekend

3-The Killers “Shadowplay” Sawdust

4-Metro Station “Shake It” Metro Station

5-The Wombats “Kill the Director” A Guide to Love, Loss, and Desperation

6-Rihanna “Please Don’t Stop the Music” Good Girl Gone Bad

7-Kings of Leon “Sex on Fire” Only By the Night

8-Does It Offend You, Yeah? “Being Bad Feels Pretty Good” You Have No Idea What You’re Getting Yourself Into

9- Goldfrapp “Happiness” Clowns

10- Kylie Minogue “Speakerphone” X

11- The Ting Tings “Shut Up and Let Me Go” We Started Nothing

12-Carrie Underwood “Ever, Ever After” Enchanted: Soundtrack from the Motion Picture

13-Sara Bareilles “Love Song” Little Voice

14-R.E.M. “Supernatural Superstitious” Accelerate

15-Weezer “Pork and Beans” Weezer (The Red Album)

16-Estelle featuring Kanye West “American Boy” Shine

17-Death Cab for Cutie “I Will Possess Your Heart” Narrow Stairs

18-We The Kings “Check Yes Juliet” We The Kings

19-Sam Sparro “Black and Gold” Black and Gold

20-MIA “Paper Planes” Kala

21-Muse “Starlight” Black Holes and Revelations

22-Cut Copy “Lights and Music” (Boyz Noise Remix) In Ghost Colours

23-Foo Fighters “Let It Die” Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace

24-Britney Spears “Piece of Me” Blackout

25-Does It Offend You, Yeah? “Epic Last Song” You Have No Idea What You’re Getting Yourself Into

26-Beyonce “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” I Am…Sasha Fierce

27-Flogging Molly “Float” Float

28-Crystal Castles “Vanished” Crystal Castles

29-Ashes Divide “The Stone” Keep Telling Myself It’s Alright

30-T.I. featuring Rihanna “Live Your Life” Paper Trail

31-Rihanna “Disturbia” Good Girl Gone Bad

32-Pink “So What” Funhouse

33-Kylie Minogue “In My Arms” X

34- Jennifer Hudson “Spotlight” Jennifer Hudson

35-Adele “Chasing Pavements” 19

36-Duffy “Mercy” Rockferry

37-MGMT “Kids” Oracular Spectacular

38- Katy Perry “Hot ‘N’ Cold” One of the Boys

39-Does It Offend You, Yeah? “We Are Rockstars” You Have No Idea What You’re Getting Yourself Into

40-Britney Spears “Womanizer” Circus

41-Radiohead “House of Cards” In Rainbows

42-Mystery Jets “Half in Love with Elizabeth” Twenty One

43-Carolina Liar “I’m not over” Coming to Terms

44-Lupe Fiasco “Superstar” The Cool

45-September “Cry for You” September

46-Danger “11h30” Danger

47-The Whigs “I Never Want to Go Home” Mission Control

48-LCD Soundsystem “Someone Great” Sound of Silver

49-The Last Shadow Puppets “The Age of the Understatement” The Age of the Understatement

50-Oasis “The Shock of the Lightning” Dig Out Your Soul

51-The Raconteurs “Salute Your Solution” Consolers of the Lonely

52-Paramore “Decode” Twilight: Soundtrack from the Motion Picture

53- Maroon 5 “Won’t Go Home Without You” It Won’t Be So Before Long

54-Foxboro Hottubs “Mother Mary” Stop Drop and Roll!

55-Bloc Party “Mercury” Single

56-CSS “Move” Donkey

57-Lil’ Wayne “Mr. Carter” Tha Carter III

58-The Heavy “Set Me Free” Great Vengeance and Furious Fire

59-One Day as a Lion “Wild International” One Day as a Lion

60-Thurston Moore “The Shape Is In a Trance” Trees Outside the Academy

61-Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Turn Into” Show Your Bones

62-Gnarls Barkley “Run” Run

63-The Ting Tings “Great DJ” We Started Nothing

64-Franz Ferdinand “Lucid Dreams” Lucid Dreams

65-Kenna “Say Goodbye to Love” Make Sure They See My Face

Monday, December 26, 2011

FLASHBACK: Best Songs of 2007

Best Songs of 2007

1-Red Hot Chili Peppers “Snow ((Hey Ho))”
2-Peter, Bjorn, and John “Young Folk”
3-Feist “1234”
4-Silversun Pickups “Lazy Eye”
5-Kanye West and Daft Punk “Stronger”
6- Interpol ‘The Heinrich Maneuver”
7-Flyleaf “All Around Me”
8-Gwen Stefani featuring Akon “The Sweet Escape”
9-The Cribs “Men’s Needs”
10-Foo Fighters “The Pretender”
11-New Young Pony Club “Ice Cream”
12-Metric “Grow Up (And Blow Away)”
13-Amy Winehouse “Rehab”
14-Rihanna featuring Jay Z “Umbrella”
15-The Shins “Phantom Limb”
16-Radiohead “Bodysnatchers”
17-Linkin Park “What I’ve Done”
18-The White Stripes “Icky Thump”
19-Plain White Ts “Hey There Delilah”
20-Arcade Fire “Black Mirror”
21-LCD Soundsystem “North American Scum”
22-Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova “Fallen Slowly”
23-Modest Mouse “Dashboard”
24-New Young Pony Club “Hiding on the Staircase”
25-Minus the Bear “Knights”
26-Garbage “Tell Me Where It Hurts”
27-We Are Pilots “New Disco”
28-Against Me! “Thrash Unreal”
29-Avril Lavigne “Girlfriend”
30-The Chemical Brothers “Do It Again”
31-Fall Out Boy “Thnks Fr Th Mmrs”
32-Incubus “Dig”
33-Linkin Park “Bleed It Out”
34-Los Campesinos “You! Me! Dancing!”
35-Kylie Minogue “2 Hearts”
36-Sonic Youth “I’m not there”
37-Nine Inch Nails “My Violent Heart”
38-Rilo Kiley “Silver Lining”
39-The White Stripes ‘You Don’t Know What Love Is”
40-Deftones “Mein”
41-Kings of Leon “On Call”
42-Arctic Monkeys “Brainstorm”
43-Rihanna and Sean Paul “Break It Off”
44-Fergie featuring Ludacris “Glamorous”
45-Nelly Furtado “Say It Right”
46-Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Cheated Hearts”
47-New Young Pony Club “Lucky”
48-Jimmy Eat World "Big Casino"
49-Muse “Supermassive Black Hole”
50-The Red Jump Suit Apparatus “Face Down”

Friday, December 23, 2011

FLASHBACK: Best Songs of 2006

Best Songs of 2006

1-Justin Timberlake “Sexyback”
2-Arctic Monkeys “I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor”
3-Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Gold Lion”
4-The Raconteurs “Steady As She Goes”
5-Gnarls Barkley “Crazy”
6-Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean “Hips Don’t Lie”
7-OK Go “Here It Goes Again”
8-Taking Back Sunday “MakeDamnSure”
9-The Killers “When We Were Young”
10-Red Hot Chili Peppers “Dani California”
11-KT Tunstall “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree”
12-Corrine Bailey Rae “Put Your Records On”
13-Snow Patrol “Chasing Cars”
14-Keane “Is It Any Wonder?”
15-Fall Out Boy “Dance, Dance”
16-Rihanna “SOS (Rescue Me)”
17-All American Rejects “Move Along”
18-Christina Aguilera “Ain’t No Other Man”
19-O.A.R. “Love and Memories”
20-Mary J. Blige “Be Without You”
21-The Fray “How to Save a Life”
22-Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland “Promiscuous”
23-The Strokes “Juicebox”
24-Weezer “Perfect Situation”
25-Hinder “Lips of an Angel”
26-Blue October “Hate Me”
27-Natasha Bedingfield “Unwritten”
28-Nelly Furtado “Maneater”
29-30 Seconds to Mars “The Kill”
30-Jack Johnson “Upside Down”
31-Gorillaz “Dare”
32-Justin Timberlake featuring T.I. “My Love”
33-Stone Sour “Through Glass”
34-Death Cab for Cutie “Crooked Teeth”
35-Nada Surf “Always Love”
36-Madonna “Hung Up”
37-Sean Jean “Temperature”
38-Franz Ferdinand “Your Diary”
39-Kelly Clarkson “Walk Away”
40-Scissors Sister “I Don’t Feel Like Dancing”
41-Foo Fighters “Cold Day in the Sun”
42-The Raveonettes “That Great Love Sound”
43-The Thermals “Here’s Your Future”
44-Arctic Monkeys “A Certain Romance”
45-Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Phenomena”
46-Hot Chip “Over and Over”
47-Chris Brown “Run It”
48-Cat Power “Lived in Bars”
49-The Black Keys “You’re the One”
50-Band of Horses “The Funeral”

Thursday, December 22, 2011

FLASHBACK: Best Songs of 2005

Best Songs of 2005

1-The Killers “Mr. Brightside”
2-Stereophonics “Dakota”
3-Gorillaz “Feel Good Inc”
4-Foo Fighters “Best of You”
5-Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx “Gold Digger”
6-Weezer "Beverly Hills"
7-Garbage “Bleed Like Me”
8-Motion City Soundtrack "Everything is Alright"
9-Mariah Carey “We Belong Together”
10-Shakira featuring Alejandro Sanz “La Tortura”
11-Coldplay “Speed of Sound”
12-Death Cab for Cutie “Soul Meets Body”
13-Franz Ferdinand “Do You Want To?”
14-Nine Inch Nails “The Hand That Feeds”
15-Green Day “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”
16-Beck “E-Pro”
17-The Bravery “An Honest Mistake”
18-Fall Out Boy “Sugar, We’re Going Down”
19-Missy Elliott featuring Ciara “Lose Control”
20-Kelly Clarkson “Because of You”
21-The Mars Volta “The Widow”
22-The White Stripes “My Doorbell”
23-Rise Against “Swing Life Away”
24-Queens of the Stone Age “Little Sister”
25-Rihanna “Pon de Replay”
26-Dave Matthews Band “American Baby”
27-Fatboy Slim “Wonderful Night”
28-Foo Fighters “DOA”
29-My Chemical Romance “Helena”
30-Hot Hot Heat “Middle of Nowhere”
31-The White Stripes “Blue Orchid”
32-Nine Inch Nails “Only”
33-OK Go "A Million Ways"
34-Green Day “Wake Me Up When September Ends”
35-Louis XVI “Finding Out True Love is Blind”
36-Beastie Boys “Ch-Ch-Check It Out”
37-Interpol “Narc”
38-Papa Roach “Scars”
39-Gwen Stefani “Cool”
40-The Killers “All These Things That I Have Done”
41-Black Rebel Motorcycle Club “Ain’t No Easy Way”
42-Amerie “1 Thing”
43-Gavin DeGraw “I Don’t Want To”
44-Garbage “Why Do You Love Me?”
45-Jimmy Eat World “Work”
46-Depeche Mode “Precious”
47-Ciara featuring Missy Elliott “1, 2 Step”
48-Kelly Osbourne “One Word”
49-Eminem “Mockingbird”
50-Anna Nalick “Breathe (2am)”

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

FLASHBACK: Best Songs of 2004

Best Songs of 2004

1-Franz Ferdinand “Take Me Out”
2-Jay-Z “99 Problems”
3-Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Maps”
4-Modest Mouse “Float On”
5-Usher featuring Lil’ Jon “Yeah”
6-Gwen Stefani “What You Waiting For”
7-The Killers “Somebody Told Me”
8-Green Day “American Idiot”
9-Twista featuring Kanye West and Jamie Foxx “Slow Jamz”
10-Taking Back Sunday “A Decade under the Influence”
11-Kayne West “All Falls Down”
12-Hoobastank “The Reason”
13-Maroon 5 “This Love”
14-Snoop Dogg “Drop It Like It’s Hot”
15-Alicia Keys “If I Ain’t Got You”
16-Yellowcard “Ocean Avenue”
17-Black Eyed Peas “Let’s Get It Started”
18-Kelly Clarkson “Breakaway”
19-blink-182 “I Miss You”
20-Sugarcult “Memory”
21-Avril Lavigne “My Happy Ending”
22-Switchfoot “Meant to Live”
23-Bowling for Soup “1985”
24-JoJo “Leave (Get Out)”
25-Ashlee Simpson “Pieces of Me”
26-U2 “Vertigo”
27-Nina Sky “Move Ya Body”
28-Dashboard Confessional “Vindicated”
29-Eminen “Mosh”
30-Twista featuring Kanye West “Celebrity Overnight”
31-Kelly Clarkson “Since You’ve Been Gone”
32-Interpol “Slow Hands”
33-Liz Phair “Extraordinary”
34-My Chemical Romance “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)”
35-Britney Spears “Toxic”
36-Linkin Park “Breaking the Habit”
37-Usher and Alicia Keys “My Boo”
38-Modest Mouse “Ocean Breathes Salty”
39-Nelly featuring Tim McGraw “Over and Over”
40-Christina Milian “Dip It Low”
41-Ciara featuring Petey Pablo “Goodies”
42-Evanescence “My Immortal”
43-Sean Paul “I’m Still in Love with You”
44-Eamon “(Fuck You) I Don’t Want You Back”
45-Los Lonely Boys “Heaven”
46-Kylie Minogue “Slow”
47-Beyonce “Me, Myself, and I”
48-Sarah McLachlan “Fallen”
49-Seether featuring Amy Lee “Broken”
50-Counting Crows “Accidentally in Love”

FLASHBACK: Best Songs of 2003

Best Songs of 2003

1-Black Eyed Peas featuring Justin Timberlake “Where Is The Love?”
2-OutKast “Hey Ya”
3-Johnny Cash “Hurt”
4-Thalia “A Quien le Importa”
5-Liz Phair “Why Can’t I?”
6-The White Stripes “Seven Nation Army”
7-No Doubt “It’s My Life”
8-Beyonce featuring Jay-Z “Crazy in Love”
9-The Ataris “In This Diary”
10-Aaliyah “Miss You”
11-50 Cent “In Da Club”
12-Avril Lavigne “I’m With You”
13-Evanscence “Bring Me to Life”
14-Justin Timberlake “Rock Your Body”
15-Baby Bash featuring Frankie J “Suga Suga”
16-R. Kelly “Ignition (Remix)”
17-Jason Mraz “The Remedy (I Won’t Worry)”
18-Audioslave “Like a Stone”
19-Jet “Are You Gonna Be My Girl?”
20-Fountains of Wayne “Stacy’s Mom”
21-Red Hot Chili Peppers "Can't Stop"
22-Busta Rhymes featuring Mariah Carey “I Know What You Want”
23-Simple Plan “Perfect”
24-Hot Hot Heat “Bandages”
25-Michelle Branch “Are You Happy Now?”
26-Radiohead “There There”
27- Interpol “PDA”
28-Beyonce featuring Sean Paul “Baby Boy”
29-Sean Paul “Get Busy”
30-Foo Fighters “Times Like These”
31-Mya “My Love is Like Whoa”
32-All-American Rejects “Swing, Swing”
33-Chingy “Right Thurrr”
34-Missy Elliott featuring Ludacris “Gossip Folks”
35-Trapt “Headstrong”
36-OK Go "Get Over It"
37-Staind “So Far Away”
38-Santana featuring Michelle Branch “The Game of Love”
39-Junior Senior “Move Your Feet”
40-Stacie Orrico “There’s Got to Be More to Life”
41-Pink “Trouble”
42-Maroon 5 “Harder to Breathe”
43-Linkin Park “Faint”
44-50 Cent “P.I.M.P.”
45-Lumidee “Never Leave You (Uh Ooh!)”
46-Lil’ Jon “Get Low”
47-Christina Aguilera “Fighter”
48-Justin Timberlake “Cry Me a River”
49-The Postal Service “Such Great Heights”
50-Jennifer Lopez featuring LL Cool J “All I Have”

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

FLASHBACK: Best Songs of 2002

Best Songs of 2002

1-Avril Lavigne “Complicated”
2-Eminem “Without Me”
3-Kylie Minogue “Can’t Get You Out of the My Head”
4-No Doubt “Hella Good”
5-The White Stripes “Fell in Love with a Girl”
6-Justin Timberlake “Like I Love You”
7-Busta Rhymes featuring P. Diddy and Pharrell “Pass the Courvoisier, Part 2”
8-Jimmy Eat World “The Middle”
9- Nelly “Hot in Herre”
10-Shakira “Underneath Your Clothes”
11-Pink “Just Like a Pill”
12-Dirty Vegas “Days Go By”
13-Jennifer Lopez featuring Ja Rule “Ain’t It Funny?”
14-Sophie Ellis-Bextor “Murder on the Dancefloor”
15-Red Hot Chili Peppers “By The Way”
16-Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland “Dilemma”
17-Missy Elliott “Work It”
18-Paulina Rubio “Don’t Say Goodbye”/”Si Tu Te Vas”
19-Norah Jones “Don’t Know Why”
20-Ashanti “Foolish”
21-Christina Aguilera featuring Redman “Dirrty”
22-The White Stripes “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground”
23-Garbage “Cherry Lips”
24-Angie Martinez featuring Lil’ Mo “If I Could Go”
25-Jay-Z featuring Beyonce “Bonnie and Clyde ‘03”
26-Coldplay “In My Place”
27-Elvis Presley vs. JXL “A Little Less Conversation”
28-DJ Sammy “Heaven”
29-Brandy “What About Us?”
30-Eve featuring Alicia Keys “Gangsta Lovin’”
31-Puddle of Mudd “Blurry”
32-Fat Joe featuring Ashanti “What’s Luv?”
33-Jimmy Eat World “Sweetness”
34-Vanessa Carlton “A Thousand Miles”
35-Eminem “Cleanin’ Out My Closet”
36-Shakira “Objection (Tango)”
37-Aaliyah “More Than a Woman”
38-Chemical Brothers "Star Guitar"
39-No Doubt featuring Lady Saw “Underneath It All”
40-Sophie Ellis-Bextor “Get Over You”
41-P.O.D. “Youth of the Nation”
42-Kylie Minogue “Love at First Sight”
43-Dave Matthews Band “Where Are You Going”
44-Ja Rule featuring Ashanti “Always on Time”
45-lio “Rapture”
46-Moby “We Are All Made of Stars”
47-Tweet featuring Missy Elliott “Oops! (Oh My)”
48-Alanis Morissette “Hands Clean”
49-Britney Spears “Overprotected”
50-The Calling “Whenever You Will Go”

Monday, December 19, 2011

FLASHBACK: Best Songs of 2001

Here is a look back at some of the Best Songs of the Year, which began a decade ago. My music tastes have changed over the years. The Best of 2011 will be posted shortly before New Year's Eve.

Best Songs of 2001

1-Jennifer Lopez featuring Ja Rule “I’m Real”
2-Fatboy Slim “Weapon of Choice”
3-Jay-Z “Izzo”
4-Alicia Keys “Fallin’”
5-Missy Elliott “Get Ur Freak On”
6-Shakira “Whenever, Wherever”
7-Christina Aguilera, Mya, Lil’Kim, and Pink “Lady Marmalade”
8-Eve featuring Gwen Stefani “Let Me Blow Your Mind”
9-Travis “Sing”
10-Mary J. Blige “Family Affair”
11-Destiny’s Child “Survivor”
12-Lifehouse “Hanging by a Moment”
13-Linkin Park “In the End”
14-Staind “It’s Been Awhile”
15-N*Sync “Pop”
16-Janet Jackson “All for You”
17-Daft Punk “One More Time”
18-Aaliyah “Rock the Boat”
19-Nelly “Ride wit Me”
20-No Doubt “Hey Baby”
21-The Wiseguys “Start the Commotion”
22-Nelly Furtado “Turn Off the Light”
23-U2 “Walk On”
24-blink-182 “The Rock Show”
25-Gorillaz “Clint Eastwood”
26-Aerosmith “Jaded”
27-Destiny’s Child “Bootylicious”
28-Sum 41 “Fat Lip”
29-Pink “Get the Party Started”
30-Usher “U Remind Me”
31-P.O.D. “Alive”
32-American Hi-Fi “Flavor of the Week”
33-Britney Spears "I'm A Slave 4 U"
34-City High “What Would You Do?”
35-Cake “Short Skirt, Long Jacket”
36-Blu Cantrell “Hit ‘Em Up Style”
37-Nickelback “How You Remind Me”
38-Michelle Branch “Everywhere”
39-Craig David “Fill Me In”
40-Aaliyah featuring Timbaland “We Need a Resolution”
41-Incubus “Wish You Were Here”
42-Crazy Town “Butterfly”
43-Ludacris “Rollout”
44-Linkin Park “Crawling”
45-Dave Matthews Band “I Did It”
46-Ginuwine “Differences”
47-Garbage “Breaking Up the Girl”
48-Toya “I Do!”
49-Joe featuring Mystikal “Stutter”
50-Jagged Edge “Promise”

Monday, November 14, 2011

New Music Monday

Here are three songs to add to your iPod, iPhone, cell phone, or whatever the hell you listen to music to.

The Kills "Baby Says"

Nero "Promises"

Charlie Simpson "Parachutes"

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Ask a DePaulian

I was sad that this new feature I created did not make it on The DePaulia's site. Good thing I have a blog.

This week, The DePaulia chats with a DePaul student or staff member as they talk about their weekend plans, weekends past, and what does their perfect weekend look like. For our inaugural feature, The DePaulia talks to senior Leah Hendrickson (whose birthday is today), a Journalism and Media Studies double major, on her weekend trip to Washington D.C., the excitement of a Chicago Fire game, and where to enjoy a good brunch.

How was your weekend?
I was in Washington D.C. visiting family.

How was that?
I left on Friday morning. It was a very smooth, easy flight. On Friday night I hung out with my cousin Brent, who’s pretty cool. We went out to some nice little spots in town.
On Saturday I went to the Chicago Fire game (she is an intern for the team). It was fun to see the whole road game atmosphere. It was a crazy game. We were tied ‘til the 89th minute (the score was 0-0) when D.C. was awarded a penalty kick and they converted on it. We were now down 1-0. We were almost eliminated from playoffs contention…but then in three minutes of stoppage time we scored two goals. We ended up winning two-to-one.
On Sunday, I got to walk around Georgetown, which is very preppy. It’s like a combo of Gold Coast and Lincoln Park, or River North actually. There are a lot of well-dressed people. There are no hipsters. I did not see one pair of skinny jeans on a man. There was also no flannel and no fun, nerd glasses on anyone.

What did you see instead?
There were lots of khakis, Polos, and pearls. It was very straight-laced.

Was this your first trip to D.C.?
The last time I went was when I was 11 years old, so it’s been awhile.

What do you do for the Chicago Fire?
I started out as a digital media intern, where I would help out with the website and create photo galleries. I hosted a video series, a practice report called “Toyota Park Today”. It was a lot of fun. Now I am their communications intern. I prepare daily clips and photo galleries, and next year I am going to be a media guide.

Describe your perfect weekend.
I’m a pretty busy girl, so if I have a Saturday or Sunday where I don’t have anything going on, I can wake up whenever my body wakes up, without an alarm clock.
I would spend an afternoon walking around a new neighborhood, checking out a new coffee shop, and spend nights with friends, checking out a bar or two. But as long as I get to do brunch, that’s a good weekend.

Any particular places you go for brunch?
I’m a brunch aficionado. I love trying new places. Toast (746 W. Webster) a great place. Everyone who goes to DePaul loves Toast. The Pesto Scramble is delicious. I went to Mystic Celt (3443 N. Southport) during the summer, where I ate outside on their patio. There’s a new place around the corner where I live called 2 Sparrows (553 W Diversey Parkway). It’s only open for breakfast and lunch (brunch!) so that’s a place I need to check out. #

Video: Chicago Fire’s Stunning Comeback, October 15

Hendrickson appears at the 3:02 mark.

And here is her hosting the web series “Toyota Park Today”

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

The Essential John C. Reilly Youtube Collection

The Essential John C. Reilly YouTube Collection

This is a companion piece for my feature on John C. Reilly. He spoke with fans at the Chicago International Film Festival on October 12. His latest film, We Need To Talk About Kevin, debuted at the festival.

South Side native John C. Reilly began acting at age eight, when he participated in “dram-ma” workshops, which led to a prolific output in high school productions throughout town, and his time at DePaul’s Theatre School. From there, it has snowballed into a rich career that has resulted in one of the most impressive filmographies ever complied on IMDB. Here are some of Reilly’s most memorable roles.

Boogie Nights (1997)
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

This deleted scene, which appears on the DVD, was largely improvised, among several other scenes in which his character, the coke-fueled porn star Reed Rothchild rambles on about stealing back tapes, pumping iron at the gym, and Satanists.

Chicago (2002)
Director: Rob Marshall

Reilly earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor as the husband of accused murderer turned overnight celebrity Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger). Here he is singing his heart out with “Mr. Cellophane”.

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)
Director: Jake Kasdan

This parody of musical biopics that often become awards-baiting movies was ironically up for some awards, including two Golden Globe nods for Reilly (Best Motion Picture Actor in a Musical or Comedy and Best Original Song).

Step Brothers (2008)
Director: Adam McKay

According to Reilly, there has been talk of creating a sequel to this bizarre and hilarious comedy about two middle-aged men who become step brothers and their adventures on this unique journey. “It would give us so much extra space in our room for activities!” This is a sequel that should happen.

“Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!” (2007-2010) and “Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule” (2010)

“I met them in a bowling alley,” said Reilly, “which is where I meet all the important people in my life.” The idea of improvising for Tim and Eric fascinated Reilly. “(Adult Swim) don’t ask for a script AND you have a green screen?! I’ll do it!” He created the role of Dr. Steve Brule, a public television personality who is just as awkward as he appears.

Wine country

Health segment

Sushi

Cedar Rapids (2011)
Director: Miguel Arteta

When Tim (Ed Helms) goes to Cedar Rapids for an insurance convention, Reilly’s hedonistic Dean takes him under his wing and opens his eyes on how to take in a life on the wild side.

Carnage (2011)
Director: Roman Polanski

Reilly had to turn down the Broadway production of God of Carnage due to scheduling conflicts. When Polanski offered him the role, he flew to Paris and shot this adaptation, which is already generating awards buzz. This highly anticipated movie hits theatres on December 16.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

CIFF winds down

Film Festival winds down: Highlights

As the Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) enters its final days, many cinephiles have enjoyed themselves with dozens of films from around the globe, as well as some domestic and English-language fare that are generating awards buzz. Like Crazy, We Need to Talk about Kevin, What Love May Bring and A Dangerous Method, are the biggest movies that have screened.

One of the most exciting parts of the festival has yet to come. On October 19, the second-to-last night, moviegoers are invited for the Surprise Event. The festival will present a world-premiere feature, which could either be a blockbuster or an awards-bait film. “Every year, we love to surprise our audience with a top-secret film that will keep them talking for days,” says the schedule for the Festival. “What will that film be this year?” The festival concludes on October 20, with a presentation of The Artist, which won at Cannes (Best Actor for star Jean Dujardin).

CIFF is not as flashy as Cannes or Toronto, which suits it just fine with most attendees. “(CIFF) can concentrate on what’s important: genuinely searching and screening films all around the world,” commented John N., a Chicago native.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/chicago-international-film-festival-chicago-2

http://www.chicagofilmfestival.com/

Puppet Humor

What is the first thing that came to mind when you read the title of this blog? Did you say the Muppets? They have been receiving quite the hype thanks to a new movie.

Felt is no Muppets show. This mature-adults comedy show with a cast of puppets is not your family fare . Every Wednesday night, puppets take center stage at the iO Chicago (3541 N. Clark). Felt, which was created and realized by Cesar Jaime, premiered in 2006. Every show has a different group of improvisers. The show serves as a stepping stone for the performers and comedians. Many of them graduate to other iO shows and other venues. One of Felt's alumnus, Vanessa Bayer, can be currently seen on "Saturday Night Live."

It’s not often people can get belly laughs from pieces of cloth. "Audiences quick to join the cast in suspending their disbelief will be rewarded handsomely," writes Matt Byrne, in a review of the show for AV Club Chicago. “The fundamental joy of watching puppets onstage is enough to melt the heart of even the most hardened comedy snob, and the well-crafted scenes stacks up against even the best human-based improv.”

http://www.avclub.com/chicago/articles/felt,63444/

http://chicago.ioimprov.com/io/shows/10

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Like Crazy hits the screen

Fans are going "Like Crazy" for this new drama, which has just premiered at the Chicago International Film Festival on October 9. Tickets sold out quickly for the screening, which was attended by the stars and director/writer.

Like Crazy focuses on the romance between Jacob, an American teaching assistant (Anton Yelchin) and Anna, a British undergrad (Felicity Jones). They soon realize that Anna's student visa expires after graduation as well as the complications when Anna is deported. Directed by Drake Doremus, who also wrote the script and allowed the actors to improvise their dialogue, the film debuted at this year's Sundance, where it won the Grand Jury Prize for Drama. Jones also won a best actress prize.

"Like Crazy is an exquisite, beautifully acted gem of a film," praised film critic Andrew Barker . "It's one that should serve as a prelude to bigger things for Jones and Yelchin, as well as director Drake Doremus."

http://www.likecrazy.com/

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117944354?refcatid=31

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Wilco: The Whole Love

After months of anticipation, Wilco released their new album on September 27th. The Chicago alt-rockers's "The Whole Love", is vastly different than any album they have recorded in their 17-year history. For one, this album is mostly what one reviewer described as "Wilco-sounding". This is a strange term. This ideology is usually reserved for an artist who has a vast (and often overrated) influence on the field of art he is in. ("This is a 'Metallicaseque' debut", "The 'Warholian' exhibit did not impress me.") It had me thinking. What does Wilco sound like, overall? They experiment with so many styles over the course of 56 minutes (or 74 if you purchase the deluxe edition, which I highly recommend). The first track, "Art of Almost", blends many instruments and styles, from eerily-sounding synthesizers and the cimbalom to both electric and acoustic guitar. I had no idea that a seven-minute song with all those instruments (and more) could sound so awesome. I am tempted to declare this their best work, but that might sound premature. Plus, "Yankee Foxtrot Hotel" (2001) is so outstanding ten years later. "The Whole Love" is a close second for the best Wilco album ever.

http://www.redeyechicago.com/entertainment/redeye-review-wilcos-the-whole-love-20110926,0,4014986.story

http://wilcoworld.net/#!/home/

http://www.avclub.com/articles/wilco-the-whole-love,62309/

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

R.I.P. R.E.M.

R.E.M. is no more. On September 21st, they announced online that they have “decided to call it a day as a band.” The band formed in 1980 in Athens, Georgia, a college town seventy miles east of Atlanta. Not only did they become one of the most significant American alternative bands of the past half century, but they were one of the first bands to achieve success thanks to college radio and for the first few years of their career, on an independent record label. In 1988, Warner Brothers Records signed them up, allowing Michael Stipe and Co. to sing songs about political and environmental injustice (as well as shiny, happy people) to sold-out stadiums and festivals around the globe. When they renewed their contract in 1996, Warner ponied up a record-breaking $80 million. Yes, record companies once had that much money to give to a recording artist or band just for creating music.
But R.E.M. was more than a band worth paying a ton of money or selling platinum records and singles. The band, especially Michael Stipe, raised awareness about issues that mattered to them, including the environment, human rights, equal rights for women, and voter registration. They were one of a handful of artists (along with Sonic Youth and Violent Femmes) responsible for the advancement of alternative music, a diverse and incredible genre that would later spawn bands such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Weezer, Foo Fighters, Muse, Coldplay, and Chicago’s own Smashing Pumpkins, Local H, and Wilco. They showed that it was possible to achieve your goals and dreams without selling out or trading your values and artistic vision.
While the band is no more, their music and passion for doing good will live on. Here is a list of some of their best songs, along with a few interesting facts.

Note: The songs are listed in chronological order.

“Radio Free Europe”
From the Hib-Tone single release (1981) and later the album Murmur (1983)

Their first single, released one year after their union, was recently added to the National Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry. The citation the song received is equally impressive: “(Radio Free Europe) set the pattern for later indie rock releases by breaking through on college radio in the face of mainstream radio’s general indifference.”

“(Don’t Go Back to) Rockville”
From the album Reckoning (1984)

The second single from Reckoning was written by member Mike Mills, who wrote it as a plea to his then-girlfriend to not return to her hometown of Rockville, Maryland.

“The One I Love”
From the album Document (1987)

Their first big single, this song has strangely become a romantic love song. I mention strangely because this song has the following lyrics: “This one goes to the one I left behind/A simple prop to occupy my time”. Clearly, someone is being used here. That doesn’t sound too romantic, unless you enjoy being in a one-way relationship.

“It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”
From the album Document (1987)

Released during the waning days of the Cold War, this track references four men who share the initials, L.B. (Music composer Leonard Bernstein, Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, shock comic Lenny Bruce, and rock critic/writer Lester Bangs)

“Losing My Religion”
From the album Out of Time (1991)

The phrase “losing my religion” is a Southern expression that means to lose one’s temper. This is often considered their signature song.

“What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?”
From the album Monster (1994)

The track title was taken from an incident in which former CBS newsanchor Dan Rather was mugged and beaten several years prior to the single’s release. One of the assailants asked him “Kenneth, what is the frequency? numerous times.

“Everybody Hurts”
From the album Automatic for the People (1992)

A British suicide hotline once used the lyrics to this song for an ad campaign. Guitarist Peter Buck mentioned that the song was aimed for teenagers, as a way to address them that while life is often tough and unjust, you can’t give up. And everyone hurts at one time or another.

“At My Most Beautiful”
From the album Up (1998)

According to Stipe, the origins of this song were from a line he wrote while stuck in traffic (and late for an appointment): “I found a way to make you smile”

“Bad Day”
From the album In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003 (2003)

This track had been around in another form, as a never-released b-side titled “PSA”, since the mid-1980s. When a single was needed for their “best of” retrospective, the band decided to update the lyrics and shoot a humorous music video spoofing the media.

“Supernatural Superserious”
From the album Accelerate (2008)

I came across a (no-longer updated) message board where several fans were trying to figure out the meaning behind this song. One person stated that he was upset when people demand to find out what the musician was trying to say with the song. “It kills songs for some people and I think all songs have a different meaning for everyone than they do for Michael Stipe,” wrote William Cardno. “There's something beautiful about that.”

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Good Tunes for a Sunday Afternoon

This is a new single from Chicago's own Wilco.

Here's TV on the Radio performing on Letterman.

Here is the number one song in America (according to Billboard, the recorder of popular music since '58), with a music video to show you how to shake that.

Friday, June 17, 2011

The Attagag Version 2.0

The Attagag is moving to a new time and day this summer.

The show will return to the airwaves on Tuesday, June 21st at 5:30pm CST on Radio DePaul: Chicago's College Connection (radio.depaul.edu, the link is on the right of this page).

After spending the past several months as a morning drive show, I figure now is the perfect time to move to an evening show. Hopefully this will bring in more listeners. The show's format will be altered for the new time.

For instance, there won't be a news and weather spot at the top of the second hour. I will still deliver weather and maybe something interesting from the headlines (like something stupid or local).

Also in the past (especially during the first few weeks of the show) I tried giving away prizes (or rather bribes to get listeners, like movie tickets to second-rate Hollywood movies like No Strings Attached and The Eagle). I will not be giving away prizes anymore. This isn't a commercial station. Since this is a hobby I don't plan on wasting valuable airtime to other people's interests unless they interest me. (For example, if someone wishes to promote a charitable cause or a party in which I can genuinely help out or am invited, then I will promote such cause). I'm only on-air two hours, once a week. I can't waste any time.

Last month, the show was nominated for two awards at the inaugural Radio DePaul Awards: Best Show and Most Interactive Host. I did not win either one (and did not expect to.) I would like to improve more on the interaction between me and the listeners. I already have you guys sending me your requests online and via text but there must be more. I'm toying around with the idea of having people call in if there's a story or a topic I wanna discuss on-air (topical stuff like summer plans, BBQs, worst night out, best surprise birthday parties, lousy summer jobs, etc)

Here's a song I might play on Tuesday. It's from a band named after a US senator, Henry Clay (1777-1852).

Tune into "The Attagag", Tuesdays 5:30pm-7:30pm CST starting June 21st!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Childrens Hospital

Childrens Hospital-a highly irrelevant and occasionally offensive comedy mocking 'ER' and 'Grey's Anatomy'. Its back on Adult Swim, Thursdays at 11pm and online.

This episode features Jeffrey Ross, who seeks treatment for his show. But the hospital would rather have him stick around and have him crack jokes. It also features Adam Scott and Clark Duke as Star Trek nerds.

"Where the hell is the bionic arm I asked you for?"
"It doesn't exist, you idiot."

Friday, June 3, 2011

The Entire Transcript

I have here the entire script for my show. This is one way to see how my brain works.

THE ATTAGAG

6.3.2011 | Songs of Summer

[Try to keep intro at 90 seconds or less]

Good morning everyone! This is “The Attagag”, nominated for two Scottie Awards: Best Show and Most Interactive Host for moi. The awards ceremony is happening tonight. I’m excited. No matter who wins, I’m just glad that I was nominated. No, seriously. Its incredible that my passion for being on-air and playing some great music is being recognized by my peers and the brass. And I have you guys to thank you for this honor. Every request you made, every comment about the show is being fully appreciated with these nominations. You guys rock, and thank you for tuning in every week at this ungodly hour for the past several months.

(Shout-out to Scott)

This week, I’m gonna play some tracks that remind me of summer. All these were released during the hot and sunny months or were popular during the dog days of summer. Let’s start with this great cover of “Boys of Summer”, courtesy of The Ataris.

The Ataris “Boys of Summer” (2003)

WEATHER (8:30AM)
[30 SECONDS]

NEWS AND WEATHER [9:00AM]

PLAY RADIO ID DURING SONGS

THIS WEEKEND (9:15AM-9:20AM)
Do-Division Fest (Sat and Sun, Division between Ashland and Leavitt)

Slut-Walk (Sat)

Nearly Naked Charity Run (Sat)

TOPIC (9:21AM-9:25AM)
The Food Pyramid is replaced by a plate. This makes my Threadless tee of the food pyramid completely relevant.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY (9:30AM-9:32AM)
1937-The Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson. The Duke, once known as King Edward VIII, abdicated from the throne in December 1936. His brother, Prince Albert, would become King George VI.
Recommend “The King’s Speech”

1943- In Los Angeles, California, white U.S. Navy sailors and Marines clash with Latino youths in the Zoot Suit Riots. This would inspire a play by Luis Valdez and a 1981 dramatic movie. The play starred Edward James Olmos (he also appears in the film adaptation), won was nominated for a Tony for Best Feature Actor.

1989-The government of China sends troops to force protesters out of Tiananmen Square after seven weeks of occupation. The Chinese government still refuses to acknowledge that Tiananmen Square ever happened, despite annual commemorations and protests.

BIRTHDAYS [9:32AM, KEEP AT 60 SECONDS OR LESS]

Anderson Cooper is 44 (CNN)

Jason Jones is also 44 (The Daily Show)

John Hodgman is 40. Comedian, writer, actor, the PC in the Mac commercials, bestselling author of The Area of My Expertise and More Information Than Required, also a correspondent for “The Daily Show”

Finish the show with Peter Bjorn and John “Young Folks”

PLAYLIST
The Ataris “Boys of Summer”
Blink-182 “The Rock Show”
Black Eyed Peas “Let’s Get It Started”
Eve featuring Gwen Stefani “Let Me Blow Ya Mind”
Martha Reeves and the Vandellas “Heatwave”
Usher “U Remind Me”
Justin Timberlake “Summer Love”
Garbage “Cherry Lips”
Sophie Ellis Bextor “Murder on the Dancefloor”
OK Go “Get Over It”
Metro Station “Shake It”
Sum 41”Fat Lip”
Franz Ferdinand “Take Me Out”
Sugarcult “Memory”
Modest Mouse “Float On”
The Killers “Somebody Told Me”
Foster the People “Pumped Up Kicks”
Pitbull “I Know You Want Me”
Plastic Operator “Parasols (Remix)”
Baby Bash featuring Frankie J “Suga Suga”
TLC “Waterfalls”
Stereophonics “Dakota”
Hot Hot Heat “Middle of Nowhere”
Jennifer Lopez featuring Ja Rule “I’m Real”
Peter Bjorn and John “Young Folk”

Thursday, May 26, 2011

My Next Performance

I am performing this text for a performing spotlight show at school next week. Here is what I must know by heart and perform 110% so that the audience will be blown away.

Chuck Klosterman

"McDiculous"

From Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas (2006)

Staying alive is complicated. It’s the single most difficult thing every single person does every single day. There is just so much in this wicked world that can kill us: cancer, avalanches, liver failure, electric chairs, death squads, hammerhead sharks, werewolves, and a boundless cornucopia of other coldblooded entities who solely exist so that we may not. Everything is bad for you. Food is bad for you. Food—something you need in order to stay alive—is killing you right now. Food hates you. But food cannot be held accountable for its diabolical actions, even if Morgan Spurlock thinks otherwise.
Spurlock is the director of the documentary Super Size Me. The film chronicles Spurlock’s performance-testing on his own thirty-two year old body: for 30 days, he ate nothing but food from McDonald’s. If it wasn’t on the menu, he did not consume it.
The results are staggering: he gains 25 pounds, watches his cholesterol spike 62 points, shows signs of liver failure, becomes profoundly depressed, and sporadically vomits.
It may be irrational to question the reality of Super Size Me, since the evidence appears on the screen. We see Spurlock go to the doctor, we see him eat a shitload of Big Macs, and then we see him go back to track his devolution. Around Day 21, the doctor suggests that Spurlock may die if he doesn’t change his diet.
I question that diagnosis, and here’s why: I once did something very similar to this. In 1996, I ate only Chicken McNuggets for an entire week. And you know what happened to me? Nothing. I gained exactly one pound. In fact, my cholesterol and blood pressure went down.
Now did I feel stellar at the end of the week? Not quite. I felt like I was coated in petroleum jelly. I consciously exaggerated that discomfort for the benefit of the article. It wasn’t a big deal. But in this movie, Spurlock starts struggling immediately. By the third day, he starts to act like a junkie. It all seems pretty sketchy.
Super Size Me is somewhat exaggerated; if it wasn’t, it couldn’t exist. You could not sell a movie about eating fast food and feeling fine. Spurlock didn’t just eat. He gorged himself at every possible turn. He was ramming down 5,000 calories a day. He was eating unreasonably on purpose.
Super Size Me is a movie about alleged victimization. The biggest problem with America is not faceless corporate forces. The biggest problem with America is people who blame faceless corporate forces instead of accepting accountability for their own lives. The movie is about blaming a chain restaurant for offering a product that people choose to consume.
Early in the movie, Spurlock poses an important question: where does personal responsibility end and corporate responsibility begin. He never answers that question so I will. Corporate responsibility begins when corporations start breaking the law and personal responsibility never stops. Spurlock questions the ethics of offering consumers 64-ounce beverages and massive portions of fries because people can’t help themselves. “It’s just human nature to eat what you get, even if you don’t need it or want it,” Spurlock tells me. Well whose fucking fault is that? Why is a restaurant supposed to worry about people who get fat by eating food they supposedly don’t want?
Now I don’t feel altogether comfortable defending McDonald’s. It almost feels like I’m saying “Hey man, Darth Vader had every right to build that Death Star. He had all the proper zoning permits.” However the paradigm advocated by Spurlock is wrong. McDonald’s is a publicly traded capitalist venture. Its function is to earn as much as it can by giving people a product they want. Perhaps you hate that notion. Well, go ahead and hate it. But your personal distaste for an ideal has nothing to do with your real-world problems.
Commercials for McDonald’s claim their food is marvelous and you should eat it constantly. And maybe you believe that. Maybe you need documentary filmmakers to protect you from yourself, because life is dangerous. And life is dangerous. Like I said, staying alive is complicated. But I’ll take my chances.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

New musician spotlight

Here's an artist I heard about from Jim, a friend and fellow on-air personality at Radio DePaul. He's the host of Campus Curmudgeon, which airs Tuesdays 12:30pm-3:00pm from now til the end of the summer.

Friday, May 20, 2011

It's (not) the end of the world as we know and I feel fine about that

THE ATTAGAG

May 20, 2011 | It’s not the end of the world and I feel fine

According to an evangelical leader of a small and strange Christian group, the world is going to end Saturday. That man is crazy, and so is anyone who keeps predicting the Earth’s inevitable end. Let’s not fret over doomsday. Go out to the park, go meet with friends, go call your mom and meet for lunch. Go out on a date night with your partner or spouse, go to the theatre, to a baseball game, bar crawls, the beach, or have a BBQ. Go do something that is exciting and frightening. Stop freaking out about the end and focus on today. It’s all we really have. #

PLAYLIST
R.E.M. “It’s the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine)”
The Wombats “Tokyo (Vampires and Wolves)”
Cage the Elephant “Around My Head”
Rage against the Machine “Sleep Now in the Fire”
Empires “Damn Things Over”
Dirty Vegas “Changes”
OK Go “Here It Goes Again”
MGMT “Kids”
TV on the Radio “Will Do”
New Pornographers “Moves”
Metric “Gold Guns Girls”
Shakira “Loca”
Jimi Hendrix “Fire”
Sugarcult “Memory”
The Raconteurs “Level”
Red Hot Chili Peppers “Snow”

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Song I Found on a Xfinity Channel

I heard this song while I was baking (yes I bake) and I had the Alternative channel on Xfinity. It's a pretty cool channel/station for a Wednesday afternoon.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

An Interview with Tom Conrad from EMPIRES

Eduardo Sayago

Arts & Life | 11 May 2011

You may not know the band Empires but that will change very soon. The Chicago natives, which consist of Tom Conrad (rhythm guitar), Ryan J. Luciani (drums), Max Steger (lead guitar), and San Van Vleet (vocals) are vying for the cover of Rolling Stone thanks to a competition, “Do You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star?”, held by the magazine. If successful, they will be the first unsigned band to grace the cover as well as receive a recording contract from Atlantic Records.
“Morale is very high (amongst the band),” said Tom Conrad during a phone interview with the DePaulia. “We have gained a lot of exposure since we entered the contest.” Last month, the number of contestants went from 16 acts to four, with Empires being one of them. Empires performed in front of a panel, which included musician Patrick Stump and members from Atlantic Records and Rolling Stone. “(There was) lots of energy, lots of intensity, I thought it was awesome,” announced RS senior editor Toure. “We try to be ourselves during the performance,” Conrad said. Hopefully that will allow them to enter into the top two. The winner of the contest will be announced on August 1st.
Before the contest that placed them into the spotlight, Empires was rocking out in the Chicagoland area. After forming together, they released their debut album, Howl, in 2008. The album racked up 70,000 downloads from the band’s site, weareempires.com. The style on the album is high energy pop-punk. When the band began recording Bang last year, they decided to change the sound. “Howl was more of a crafted studio piece,” said Conrad. “When we began working on Bang, we wanted it to be more fleshed out, more of a live performance feel.” After three months of recording and writing, Bang was ready to be unleashed into the world. The album has a raw, intense sound that sounds familiar yet sounds original. Van Vleet’s vocals are full of depth and passion, almost as if he is living through the actions of the song every time he performs. It’s exciting listening to each track, especially “Damn Things Over”, “Bang”, and “Hello Lover”.
Conrad has taken the Rolling Stone competition with a grain of salt. “It’s a crazy contest,” he said. “We haven’t thought much about it.” Empires prefer to continue to practice and perform just as they have been doing for many years now. But they still would like their music to reach new audiences. “Any artist who say they don’t want their work to be seen (or heard), they’re lying,” said Conrad.
On May 21st, Empires is set to perform at Beat Kitchen in Chicago. While Beat Kitchen is a great place for a concert, this location is a significant part of the band’s history. This is first time they performed in front of a large audience. Many people went to check them out after hearing buzz from friends who had seen them perform in either basements, houses, or during practice. While we may not know yet if Empires will be on the cover of Rolling Stone, we do know that they are well-deserving of their newfound exposure and subsequent success. #

Voting for the band continues until Friday May 13th at http://www.weareempires.com/.

Tickets for their show are available for $10 at http://www.beatkitchen.com

Vote here. Give them 5 stars guys!

Monday, May 9, 2011

A Conversation About John Lennon

Yesterday I wore a black shirt with a picture of John Lennon. Underneath his face (this is when he had a beard and long hair) is the phrase “Give Peace a Chance.”

Fatima asked me about Lennon during a car ride home.
Fatima: “Who’s that man?”
Eddie: “His name is John Lennon.”
Fatima: “Is he dead?”
(I don’t know why she assumed he was dead, unless she believes that all people who appear on clothes are dead.)
Eddie: “Yes he is.”
Fatima: “When did he die?”
Eddie: “A very long time ago.”
Fatima: “Oh.”
There is a moment of pause.
Eddie: “He was a singer.”
Fatima: “Really?”
Eddie: “Yes. He wrote music and sang songs.”
There is another pause. Finally she asks this question.
Fatima: “Who killed him?”
I was surprised that she asked this question. How does she know that Lennon was killed? I had no choice by to answer.
Eddie: “A very bad man.”
Fatima: “Why did he kill him?”
Eddie: “I don’t know Fatima. I really don’t know.”
After another moment…
Eddie: “I can play a couple of his songs when we get home.”
Fatima: “Okay. I would like that.”

Normally she would keep asking me questions that I would not be able to answer. This time she didn’t. She knew from my sincere reply that I didn’t not why “a very bad man” killed one of the most talented musicians of all time. I played her a song from him (“Just Like Starting Over”). She seemed to like it. I will play some Beatles music from time to time. She seems to enjoy dancing along to some of their early pop hits like “She Loves You” and “Twist and Shout.”

If nothing else, I hope that my musical tastes can be passed down to a member of a new generation. That way the Beatles and John Lennon can live on, year after year. #

Here is an awesome animated music video for "Come Together"

Friday, May 6, 2011

May 6 playlist

with the exception of three tracks, I played all new music this week.

PLAYLIST
Beastie Boys “Make Some Noise”
Dirty Vegas “Changes”
Mother Mother “Simply Simple”
Justice “Civilization”
Simple Plan featuring Natasha Bedingfield “Jet Lag”
Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong “Summertime”
Louis Armstrong “What a Wonderful World”
Superchunk “Rosemary”
Foo Fighters “White Limo”
The Sounds “Something to Die For”
Danger Mouse featuring Jack White “Two Against One”
The Chain Gang of 1974 “Undercover”
Frankmusik featuring Far East Movement “Do It in the AM”
David Guetta, Flo Rida, and Nicki Minaj “Where Them Girls At”
Of Montreal “Slave Translator”
Taking Back Sunday “Faith (When I Let You Down”
Death Cab for Cutie “Home is a Fire”
Ida Maria “Bad Karma”
We the Kings “Friday is Forever”
Arctic Monkeys “Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I Moved Your Chair”
Jimmy Eat World “The Middle”

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Summertime by Lady Ella

The First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald, performs live in Berlin. This is "Summertime", originally written and performed for the play "Porgy and Bess", a drama about a homeless Southern black family trying to survive during the Great Depression.

Lady Ella is without a doubt one of the greatest American treasures. Each song she performed was delivered with such emotion and complexity. She lived, breathe, suffered, and triumphed with every song.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Bridesmaids

Kristen Wiig co-wrote and stars in this new spin on the big day. I can't wait for this potentially hilarious movie.

Here's a TIME profile on Wiig, who should have been on the magazine's cover.

Kristen Wiig: The Anti-Comedian

Monday, May 2, 2011

No More Boogeyman

No More Boogeyman

Eduardo Sayago | 1 May 2011

For the past decade, our nation (and the world) lived in fear. We were subjected to harsh and often controversial security measures in airports, public places, and government buildings. We looked at our skylines and monuments, fearing that they might not be there the next day or second. An entire ethnic group (Arabs) and a scared religion (Islam) was discriminated and attacked by many people who did not know better or feared them because they were perceived as terrorists who wanted to kill us in cold-blood. Entire legions of talking pundits created careers and gathered followings by attacking Arabs and Islam.

Tragedy often unites people together. On this occasion, a victory unites people together. Osama bin Laden, the most hated man since Adolf Hitler (who committed suicide exactly 66 years after the latter killed himself in a secluded compound in Berlin) was killed in a firefight between US troops in a large compound 60 miles (100 km) from Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.

“Justice has been done,” said President Obama in a live televised broadcast from the West Wing.

I hear fireworks a few houses down the street and several people celebrating outside. Thousands are outside the White House gates, chanting “USA! USA! USA!” waving flags, taking pictures; happy and victorious that their country has defeated the face of evil.

Tomorrow is uncertain. We are not sure what the fate of al-Qaida will be. Will they retaliate? Will they splinter into irrelevance? Will another person replace bin Laden and try to continue the organization’s efforts at demonizing our planet?

Just as soon as this news breaks across the globe, people have taken to the World Wide Web and begun politicizing this event. “Obama got Osama,” chants one commenter on CNN. A few say that this will help Obama’s reelection. I dunno how those two actions are connected. George H.W. Bush got the Iraqis out of Kuwait yet he lost his reelection bid. Winston Churchill got the United Kingdom through WWII and the evil forces of Hitler yet lost his reelection bid mere months after the war ended.

September 11th was not bin Laden and al-Qaida’s only act of terrorism upon civilians and soldiers who did nothing wrong, nothing to deserve their premature deaths. 9/11 sparked many more attacks around the world, from the bombings of trains in Spain to double-deckers and metro stations in London blown beyond recognition. Americans were not the only people who were attacked. Everyone was a target, no matter what their nationality, creed, race, religion or socioeconomic status.

September 11th changed our nation, our world, and our lives. One day we have to explain to children who were born after this tragic day that once upon a time we lived in a world where you didn’t have entire blocks of downtown closed because someone left a duffle bag on a train or in a lobby. Or airport security was much easier to handle. Or the government didn’t have a Department of Homeland Security. Or that Afghanistan is an actual country with a rich history and culture and not the epicenter for a group of terrorists. Three kids in my family, my sister Fatima (age 5) and my cousins Emilio (age 5) and Mia (age 3) will one day see the images of the World Trade Center in a completely different lenses than you and I see it. To them, this world we have been thrown into without warning on that Tuesday morning in 2001 is their world now.

We may have won the battle but we still need a hell of a lot more to accomplish in order to win this war, which becomes more difficult and complex every year. At least now we have been granted justice and some closure. bin Laden may have changed our world for worse by instilling fear amongst its people but he can no longer determine the world’s fate. He does not get to be the boogeyman any more. #

Friday, April 29, 2011

British Invasion Playlist and Thoughts

21 tracks from the United Kingdom to commemorate the wedding of Prince William and Princess Catherine and one song from Alabama to the people of Alabama and the South. I raise my coffee cup to royal couple. My prayers go to my fellow Americans. The South shall rise again.

PLAYLIST
1-The Cure “Friday I’m In Love”
2-PJ Harvey “This is Love”
3-Pet Shop Boys “West End Girls”
4-Dusty Springfield “Son of a Preacher Man”
5-Pet Shop Boys featuring Dusty Springfield “What Have I Done to Deserve This?”
6-Bush “Come Down”
7-Mumford & Sons “The Cave”
8-Spice Girls “Say You’ll Be There”
9-Friendly Fires “Paris”
10-Blur “Song 2”
11-The Kinks “Sunny Afternoon”
12-Franz Ferdinand “This Fire”
13-Travis “Sing”
14-Adele “Rolling in the Deep”
15-Rolling Stones “Satisfaction”
16-The Beatles “She Loves You”
17-Lynard Skynard "Sweet Home Alabama"
18-Fatboy Slim “The Rockafeller Shank”
19-Jamiroquai “Virtual Insanity”
20-Delphic “Doubt”
21-The Beatles “Glass Onion”
22-Elton John “Tiny Dancer”

The unofficial anthem for Alabama

The unofficial anthem for tiny dancers and karaoke singers

To help, visit redcross.org or contact your local Red Cross and/or charity and relief aid organizations. If you have the time, passion, and energy, start your own food or clothing drive.

Peace and love,

Eduardo

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

R.I.P. Empire Carpet Man

The Empire Carpet Man, a.k.a. Lynn Hauldren, died on Tuesday. He was 89. The advertising copywriter has been the spokesman for Empire Carpets for nearly 40 years.

He was known as a key singer in the barbershop quartet arena, recording several albums with the quartet, Chordiac Arrest, and a vocal ensemble called Chicago Natural Gas.

FIVE EIGHT EIGHT, TWO THREE-HUNDRED, EMPIRE!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Friendly Fires

This group from the UK have some very catchy and charming hooks and songs, including this track from her second album, Pala, which hits the streets on May 24th. They will also be in Chicago, performing at Lincoln Hall on Tuesday, May 31st. Tickets are 20 bucks, which is a pretty good deal. Drinks at the place, not so much, unless you enjoy spending $4.50 on some stale Bud Light.

Here is "Paris", released in 2008.

Friday, April 22, 2011

PLAYLIST FOR APRIL 22 SHOW

I wanna thank Diana once again for being such an awesome co-host. "The Attagag" received its highest ratings ever thanks to her awesomeness. I will def think about and try to have a co-host for the show either over the summer or next autumn.

Here is the playlist from the show. Tune in next week when I have all music from the UK.

PLAYLIST

EMF “Unbeliveable”
G Love “Milk and Sugar”
Foo Fighters “Dear Rosemary”
The Saturdays “Higher”
The Raveonettes “Recharge and Revolt”
The Band Perry “Double Heart”
White Stripes “Seven Nation Army”
Adele “Rolling in the Deep”
Maddi Jane “Jar of Hearts” (cover track from Christina Perry)
Garbage “Only Happy When It Rains”
Rihanna “Only Girl in the World”
Coldplay “Clocks”
Katy Perry “Firework”
Jimmy Eat World “Sweetness”
Ramon Ayala “Mil Flores de Mayo”
Kat DeLuna “Whine Up”
Muse “Uprising”
Shakira “Loca”
They Might Be Giants “The Sun”
Queen “We Will Rock You”
Mike Posner “Bow Chicka Wow Wow”
Cyndi Lauper “True Colors”
Will.i.am featuring Nicki Minaj “Check It Out”
Depeche Mode “Just Can’t Get Enough”

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Happy Birthday Queen Elizabeth

To commemorate Her Majesty's 85th Birthday, here is the Sex Pistols with "God Save the Queen", a satirical track that was released during the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977. The single was barred from airplay in the UK. It peaked at #2 on the BBC Singles Charts regardless.

Friday, April 15, 2011

IN THE YEAR 2000: FLASHBACK SHOW

THEN AND NOW

In 2000
Rob Lowe was on NBC’s “The West Wing” as Sam Seaborn. He earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.

Tina Fey was a writer for “Saturday Night Live”. She made her debut as co-anchor of “Weekend Update” alongside Jimmy Fallon, who was the star of the show. He is unable to keep from "breaking" during every other sketch, making him appear unprofessional.

Edie Falco was starring in the HBO series “The Sopranos” as the matriarch of the complex Sopranos family dealing with several demons.

In 2011
Rob Lowe is on NBC’s “Parks and Recreation” as Chris Traeger. (“Ann Perkins!”). He will most likely earn an Emmy nomination (and win) for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

Tina Fey is a multiple-Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG Award winner, creator and star of “30 Rock”. She also has a successful film career (Baby Mama, Date Night, and Megamind).

Jimmy Fallon is the host of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. He is still unable to keep a straight face during monologues or skits, making him appear unprofessional.

Edie Falco is starring in the Showtime series “Nurse Jackie” as the complex nurse dealing with several demons.

On HBO in 2000: “The Sopranos”, “Sex and the City”, “Band of Brothers”, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”
On HBO in 2011: “Game of Thrones”, "Funny or Die Presents", “Mildred Pierce”, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (this fall)

GAS PRICES
2000: $1.56 a gallon
2011: $4.29 a gallon (as of 4.15.2011)

PLAYLIST
1) Destiny’s Child-Say My Name
2) Green Day-Minority
3) Linkin Park-One Step Closer
4) Hoku-Another Dumb Blonde
5) Nine Days-Absolutely (Story of a Girl)
6) Shaggy-It Wasn’t Me
7) SR-71-Right Now
8) Moby and Gwen Stefani-South Side
9) Rage Against the Machine-Renegades of Funk
10) Aaliyah-Try Again
11) Foo Fighters-Breakout
12) Beck-Sexx Laws
13) Incubus-Drive
14) Bush-The Chemicals Between Us
15) Britney Spears-Lucky
16) Matchbox 20-Bent
17) Mya-Case of the Ex
18) N*Sync-Bye Bye Bye
19) Macy Gray-I Try
20) Vertical Horizon-Everything You Want

Friday, April 8, 2011

Playlist for April 8, 2011

Today's show was kinda lousy. I promise next week's show is going to be excellent. I won't have any homework due at noon Friday so I can fully dedicate 110% of my energy to giving you the best morning drive show available on the Internet.

Peace.

Eddie

PLAYLIST

Green Day “Holiday”
Sex Pistols “Anarchy in the UK”
NIN “Capital G”
Oh Land “White Nights” (Remix)
R.E.M. “Losing My Religion”
OK Go “White Knuckles”
Robert Plant “Falling in Love Again”
Rage Against the Machine “Testify”
The Fratellis “Flathead”
Death Cab for Cutie “You are a Tourist”
Foster the People “Pumped Up Kicks”
All Time Low “I Feel like Dancin’”
The Strokes “Call Me Back”
Bob Dylan “Times They Are a Changin’”
Biz Markie “Just a Friend”
Simple Minds “Don’t You Forget About Me”
Local H “Eddie Vedder”
Lit “Miserable”
The Raveonettes “I Wanna Be Adored”
Friendly Fires “Photobooth”
Klaxons “Golden Skans”
White Lies “Farewell to the Playground”

New Music from Death Cab for Cutie

While the world seems to focused on Foo Fighters' new album (which should be available now before I resort to trying to find it on Torrent), Death Cab for Cutie released their new album this past week. Here's the first single off the album, Codes and Keys.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Queens of the Stone Age: Out of place at the Riv

The Riviera Theatre | 1 April 2011

A trend in music has developed over the past year or so. Rather than a band continue the cycle of releasing a new album every year or two, following by a tour to support the new album (and repeat this process until the inevitable breakup) the band will take a break and look back. This retrospective will come in the form of a re-release of a debut or earlier work (often the “signature” album of the band), followed by a small tour. Weezer followed this formula (sort of) when they were last in town. Their latest album, Hurley, was released last September. When they performed in Chicago in January, they played songs from their albums Weezer (The Blue Album, released in 1994) and Pinkerton (released in 1996).
Queens of the Stones will re-release their self-titled debut on April 19th.
They have been touring the country since March 16th and the intimate yet stuffy Riviera Theatre in Uptown was one of their stops. The material off that album, which was released in 1998, is vastly different than their latter-day works, particularly their last studio album, Era Vulgarius, which was released a decade later. The debut is more hardcore and has more intense riffs than “Little Sister” and “No One Knows.”

One question I asked myself before I arrived at the Riviera was why on Earth would QotSA perform at such a small venue. Unless they were trying to state that they wanted to go back to their roots (which is too obvious and trying too hard, especially when re-releasing an early work), they definitely could (and should) have played at a larger venue. The Riviera is way too small and overheated for a hard rock concert. They could perform and sell out the Chicago Theatre or a mid-size amphitheatre like Northerly Island.
It also doesn’t help that mosh pits were formed behind every other song and people were lighting up cigarettes and (possibly) marijuana during the opening act, which was a 1950s era rockabilly band that one spectator called “The Four Seasons”, and the first half of OotSA’s set. It was like being in a concert from 2000 or in a foreign country where no smoking ordinances exist. (I attended a concert at a discreet hole-in-the-wall in Mexico City over spring break. They still have ash trays at the tables and sell cigarettes along with drinks at the bar.)

The mosh pits were different than what I’ve seen in other concerts. These were civilized mosh pits. Every time someone flew down, several other mosh pit participants would help them back up, ask if he was okay, and they would continue their action. The mosh pits were unusually synchronized. The guys involved took turns running around, slamming into each other’s chests, heads, and sides, and jumping up and down constantly while the wall of people immediately surrounding the mosh pit kept them inside the circle and/or shielded the rest of the crowd.
I would have enjoyed QofSA’s performance more if I was able to hear lead singer Josh Homme’s voice throughout a majority of the songs. (I did hear him loud and clear during the encore when they performed 4 songs, including “Little Sister”) I’m still not sure if his barely audible singing was intentional or accidential. To be honest, the mosh pits were a bit more distracting and entertaining. I’m sure some of them forgot that the band was performing right in front of them at one point or another. #