"Selfless Cold and Composed"Ben Folds Five
Whatever and Ever Amen
For the most part, I'd say I like the work Ben has done as a solo artist and as a member of a band equally. Neither takes extreme precedence over the other. And I think that stands as a great testament to his musicianship.
That, and I've always had a fondness for the piano. Elton John, Billy Joel, Andrew McMahon...I just really like piano-fronted music.
And I like the percussion on this track (especially at the very opening) because it sounds so jazzy and smokey.
"Lovers Need Lawyers"The Good Life
Lovers Need Lawyers
I respect Tim Kasher for 1)being a prolific songwriter and, more importantly, 2)majoring in English.
"The No Seatbelt Song"Brand New
Your Favorite Weapon
Lyrically, technically, and sonically, this album is clearly below the level of Deja Entendu (and for that matter, The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me). But aesthetically, and as far as pure enjoyment value, I think I actually prefer Your Favorite Weapon. This album came out sophomore, and listening to it now, it still sounds like 10th grade. I can appreciate the emphasis this band (which is one of my all-time favorite) has put on growing up, maturing, and improving as musicians. But this is the most fun they've ever been.
"Going Away to College"Blink-182
Enema of the State
Every few months or so, I'll set aside a half hour and play this album straight through.
"World Town"M.I.A.
Kala
Every once and a while, you'll see a truly special band or artist release a phenomenal 1st album and then follow it up with an equally phenomenal 2nd album. If she can pull off a 3rd album of this caliber, things are gonna get nuts.
As usual, the beats on this track are entirely infectious.
"Holy Roman"The Get Up Kids
Guilt Show
Four Minute Mile was an essential album growing up, but I think the inherent problem with the Get Up Kids and a lot of those other similar bands that came out of the Drive-Thru/Vagrant/Victory/etc. record label boom (which, incidentally, make up a lot of my favorite bands) is that beyond a certain age, singing about the things they sing about are no longer relevant. This stuff can be life-changing as a teenager, but completely trivial as a full-grown adult. And I think this is what happened with the Get Up Kids. They eventually outgrew themselves. Just take a look at Guilt Show; aside from "The One You Want," this isn't a good album. And it makes sense, because this was their last studio album before breaking up.
With that being said, I love this band and was bummed big time that they didn't come down to South Florida for their farewell tour.
"Dawn on a Funeral Day"Tsunami Bomb
The Definitive Act
Haha, there aren't many other bands that remind me more of Warped Tour. And she doesn't get enough credit for having a great set of pipes.
"Sunday Morning"No Doubt
Tragic Kingdom
I don't have my nose so high in the air to say that I don't like their later work and her solo work, but I really miss the fun, carefree ska/reggae/calypso stuff this band used to do. They should get back together and make something that sounds like Southern California circa mid-1990s again.
I remember them having a food fight at a picnic table for the music video.
"Help!"The Beatles
Anthology 2 [Disc 1]
One of the problems I have with the Anthology series is the level of audio quality of some of the live tracks. Needless to say, Beatlemania was very noisy. Most of the time, you can only hear a flood of screaming from the audience. I can definitely appreciate the youthful energy (after all, I absolutely adore the early albums like With the Beatles and Please Please Me), but you obviously lose out on an all the technical nuances here.
"Jazz (We've Got)"A Tribe Called Quest
The Low End Theory
Tribe is one of the things my iPod never seems to play when I put it on shuffle. This is like the first time in months this song has actually come up. And it's too bad, because this is one of my favorite hip-hop albums ever. Between the overtly jazzy influences and Q-Tip's soothing flow, it's so smooth and funky and chill. You can play it in the background and just relax and enjoy.
"And yet it's so loud that it stands in the crowd / When the guy takes the beat, they bowed."
"So pay attention, it's not hard to decipher / And after the horns, you can check out the Phifer."
Everything flows from Q-Tip so effortlessly.
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