The End of a Decade

Believe it or not, the end of this year will be the end of a decade known as the 2000s. Doesn't sound as catchy as the '70s, '80s or '90s, does it? While I realize that the millennium officially began in 2001, the decade that will be remembered as the 2000s, or the '00s, or ... whatever it ends up being called, began in 2000. 2010 will be the beginning of the 2010s, or the '10s or the twenty-teens ... or something.
Just like their name, the 2000s didn't seem to have much of an iconic ring either. There really were not many movies that defined them the same way that John Hughes' films captured the '80s, or that Richard Linklater's and Kevin Smith's films scream "'90s." Granted, Linklater's best movie (A Scanner Darkly) was made in 2006.
Musically, it's a slightly different story. With the advent of MP3's, downloading, file-sharing, MySpace and the death of the record store, bands have been able to go from local favorites to being nationally recognized thanks to these media that allow them to become more accessible to more people from farther away than venues in mid-sized cities. Due to this, independent music has almost become the mainstream in the 2000s. Any person's iPod or Zune playlist is different from the next person's. (In theory anyway.) And everyone has prided themselves on discovering new bands and sharing them with their friends.
The 2000s have showed us that there is a lot of good music out there and it's not being played on the radio or MTV. The M has been absent from MTV for sometime now. But everyone knows this.
Television has been a mixed bag of ups and downs. The major down being the contagion known as the reality show. Every major network has at least one and people are drawn like moths to fluorescent lamps to them. Most of these are mindless, tasteless, voyeuristic dramas. Not to mention, much of it is, to varying levels, scripted or plotted. Regardless of this tragic epidemic, a few great television shows have managed to dance their way around the demand for ratings and establish themselves as the shows people will remember when the 2000s are looked back upon as one more decade we lived through.
These and more I plan to write about in a series of blogs to commemorate and countdown to the end of the 2000's.

100 Greatest Hard Rock Albums

As I have noticed a pattern in VH1's "Greatest " series, beginning with the 100 Greatest Artists of Rock and Roll, followed by 100 Greatest Songs, then Hard Rock Artists, then Greatest Albums and most recently the 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs (a very questionable list full of poor taste), I wish to bet VH1 to the punch on making a list of the 100 Greatest Hard Rock Albums.

Defining "hard rock" is not too difficult of a task, as anything that's loud and hard and rock is hard rock.

Defining a good album is not as easy of a task and picking 100 out of several hundred that come to mind is very hard. I will try to make the list as diverse as possible by not allowing any seniority for any band or album to influence it's ranking and limit the number of albums per artist. Also, I will try to be as objective as possible and limit the influence of my personal taste. This means Metallica, Guns N Roses and Def Leppard will be on the list.


100. Gretchen Goes to Nebraska- King's X (1989)
99. Never Turn Your Back On A Friend - Budgie (1973)
98. Burn My Eyes - Machine Head (1994)
97. Bricks are Heavy - L7 (1993)
96. Stay Hungry - Twisted Sister (1984)
95. Operation: Mindcrime - Queensryche (1988)
94. Desolation Boulevard - Sweet (1971)
93. James Gang Rides Again - James Gang (1970)
92. Tyranny and Mutation - Blue Oyster Cult (1972)
91. Eliminator - Z.Z. Top (1983)
90. Album - Joan Jett (1983)
89. Vulgar Display of Power - Pantera (1992)
88. Love It To Death - Alice Cooper (1971)
87. Frances the Mute - The Mars Volta (2005)
86. Psalm 69 - Ministry (1992)
85. Cocked and Loaded - L.A. Guns (1989)
84. Cheap Thrills - Big Brother and the Holding Company (1968)
83. Aenima - Tool (1996)
82. Suzi Quatro - Suzi Quatro (1973)
81. Lullabies to Paralyze - Queens of the Stone Age (2005)
80. Strange Days - The Doors (1967)
79. Atomizer - Big Black (1986)
78. High Voltage - AC/DC (1976)
77. Master of Reality - Black Sabbath (1972)
76. Houdini - The Melvins (1993)
75. Balls to the Wall - Accept (1986)
74. Pretty Hate Machine - Nine Inch Nails (1989)
73. Slippery When Wet - Bon Jovi (1986)
72. Vitalogy - Pearl Jam (1994)
71. Antichrist Superstar - Marilyn Manson (1995)
70. Hysteria - Def Leppard (1987)
69. They Only Come Out at Night - Edgar Winter Group (1972)
68. All the Young Dudes - Mott the Hoople (1972)
67. Whitesnake - Whitesnake (1987)
66. Fun House - The Stooges (1970)
65. Destroyer - Kiss (1976)
64. Blood Sugar Sex Magik - Red Hot Chili Peppers (1991)
63. Rust in Peace - Megadeth (1992)
62. Among the Living- Anthrax (1987)
61. Heaven and Hell - Black Sabbath (1981)
60. 1984 - Van Halen (1984)
59. Pearl - Janis Joplin (1970)
58. Bat Out of Hell - Meat Loaf (1977)
57. Diary of a Madman - Ozzy Osbourne (1981)
56. Demons and Wizards - Uriah Heep (1972)
55. Reign in Blood - Slayer (1986)
54. In Utero - Nirvana (1993)
53. Jailbreak - Thin Lizzy (1976)
52. Dookie - Green Day (1994)
51. Sheer Heart Attack - Queen (1974)
50. Bad Co. - Bad Company (1975)
49. Secret Treaties - Blue Oyster Cult (1974)
48. Spiderland - Slint (1991)
47. Day Dream Nation - Sonic Youth (1988)
46. Piper at the Gates of Dawn - Pink Floyd (1967)
45. Kill 'em All - Metallica (1983)
44. Dirt - Alice in Chains (1992)
43. Dr. Feelgood - Motley Crue (1989)
42. Elephant - The White Stripes (2004)
41. Dreamboat Annie - Heart (1976)
40. Houses of the Holy - Led Zeppelin (1973)
39. Superunknown - Soundgarden (1994)
38. Ride the Lightning - Metallica (1984)
37. Damaged - Black Flag (1982)
36. Never Mind the Bullocks, Here's the Sex Pistols - The Sex Pistols (1977)
35. Highway to Hell - AC/DC (1979)
34. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap - AC/DC (1976)
33. The Clash - The Clash (1977)
32. Disraeli Gears - Cream (1966)
31. Holy Diver - Dio (1982)
30. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness - Smashing Pumpkins (1995)
29. Truth - Jeff Beck (1968)
28. Physical Graffiti - Led Zeppelin (1976)
27. Toys in the Attic - Aerosmith (1976)
26. Badmotorfinger - Soundgarden (1991)
25. Vincebus Eruptum - Blue Cheer (1968)
24. Moving Pictures - Rush (1981)
23. Machine Head - Deep Purple (1972)
22. Blizzard of Ozz - Ozzy Osbourne (1980)
21. Court of the Crimson King - King Crimson (1969)
20. A Night at the Opera - Queen (1975)
19. Aqualung - Jethro Tull (1971)
18. Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine (1992)
17. Boston - Boston (1976)
16. Ten - Pearl Jam (1991)
15. Pyromania - Def Leppard (1983)
14. Raw Power - The Stooges (1973)
13. Nevermind - Nirvana (1991)
12. Led Zeppelin IV - Led Zeppelin (1971)
11. Van Halen - Van Halen (1978)
10. Number of the Beast - Iron Maiden (1982)
9. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin (1969)
8. Master of Puppets - Metallica (1986)
7. Who's Next? - The Who (1971)
6. Back in Black - AC/DC (1980)
5. Led Zeppelin II - Led Zeppelin (1969)
4. Appetite for Destruction - Guns N Roses (1987)
3. Paranoid - Black Sabbath (1970)
2. The Wall - Pink Floyd (1979)
1. Are You Experienced? - Jimi Hendrix (1967)

The Only Movie I Care to See in 2009

2007 was a hopeful year on many fronts. I moved out of an oppressive house where my roommates smoked pot incessantly and hogged the television and still expected me to chip in for the cable. I moved into a community house where I had lived the previous year with a really fun and caring group of people who shared my values.

I got to see Grindhouse with all my favorite people, three times, the first time on my birthday. I was pleased by both movies and the fake trailers.

I spent the entire summer working at a Christian camp teaching kids about Jesus and how to shoot guns and bows. I also met 6 of my favorite people in the entire world: Jon Ault, Ben Prothe, Ben Guiles, Eric Anderson, Beezer and Tyler Crumrine.

I then began my fifth and final year of college the following fall and found a really great deal on rent in Kent with 3 cool guys. Then the Oscar movies came out. No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Into the Wild, Michael Clayton, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, all good movies.

In 2008, however, the Oscar fodder was not as impressive or deserving of the recognition. Slumdog Millionaire does not appeal to me in the slightest way. The only nominee that I am remotely interested in is The Wrestler starring Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei. Rourke is an amazing actor, an icon in my eyes, and Marisa Tomei is gorgeous. I'm not particularly interested in the story, but I have a feeling I'll like it if I give it a chance.

As far as 2009 movies go, there is only one that I am looking forward to: The Watchmen.

I intend on seeing it on opening day and hopefully a few times so that I see it with all of my best friends, even if it takes more than one trip to do so, like with Grindhouse. I worry, though, much as I did with Grindhouse, that it might not be as good as it looks. As a matter of fact, it will either be epically perfect (a five star movie) or a huge disappointment (3-stars or lower). Even if it is half-way decent, that will not be good enough. The greatest graphic novel in the history of graphic novels deserves to be made into a perfect movie.

I am genuinely worried that it will not be as good as it needs to be in order to justify the story being put into the film medium. My first concern is the director, Zack Snyder. He has the Dawn of the Dead bastardized remake under his belt along with 300, which was not as disappointing but disappointing nonetheless.

My second concern is the history of comics being transferred into films. To date, nearly every comic book movie has been complete garbage or at the very best a failure of justice to its source, even if it was well acted and directed. The only exceptions I can think of off hand are Batman, The Dark Knight, Iron-Man, V for Vendetta, Mystery Men (don't hate), Sin City and the first Ninja Turtles movie (which is underrated). I guess I should say superhero movies, instead of comic book movies, as many non-superhero graphic novels have been made into decent movies, such as Ghost World. But there is something about superheroes and the mythopoeia behind them that makes them hard to put onto the silver screen in a way that respects both the film medium and the subject matter.

If The Watchmen is not a perfect movie, it will be, in both my mind and I imagine in the minds of many others, a bad movie. Period. The film rights to the story were bought by 20th Century Fox almost as soon as the graphic novels were released in 1986, which means they had 22 years to conceive the perfect adaptation of the series. That's a very long time for refinement, but it's also a lot of time for it to get totally fucked up too.

It took Hollywood 13 years to get One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest produced and frankly, as a fan of the book, I can't say the movie is a good representation of the story. As a matter of fact, I believe that the fact it took so long for the movie to be made and that the story was '70s-ized by the film kept it from being as powerful as the book. I just hope that what makes The Watchmen what it is as a graphic novel were not lost over the years and in translation to film as they were with Cuckoo's Nest.

My hopefulness for the movie is a tempered one. I can only hope that my enthusiasm can be let wild after seeing it. Especially since it's the only movie I have any anticipation for until next year.

Top 10 Albums of 2008

Originally posted on Facebook.

Album - Artist

10. We Brave Bee Stings and All - Thao with the Get Down Stay Down

While this one dwindles toward the end of the album, I felt it deserved a mention. It starts off very strong and is a lot of fun to listen to. It's nothing epic but very catchy and memorable.

9. Alopecia - Why?

Fans of Butthole Surfers, Eels or Beck ought to find Why? quite pleasing. Their seventh album, or rather their fourth, Yoni Wolf's seventh recording under the moniker, is by far their best. No more "it's been done" or "it just doesn't work." It's fresh and it works. Hip-hop and rock do make a good blend... if mixed and portioned correctly.

8. Break Up the Concrete - The Pretenders

They're back.

7. Oracular Spectacular - MGMT

This one requires a second listen. No, not every song is catchy like "Kids" or "Electric Feel" but it's definitely very well put together and all around enjoyable.

6. Dig Out Your Soul - Oasis

They're also back, and taking a bit of their own advice. While underachieving, or trying too hard, on their last album, Oasis has created something both lyrically rich and mature and inspired on the musical side. It's about damn time.

5. Captured in Still Life - Kensington Prairie

The only thing my crush on Rebecca Rowan has to do with her latest project making my list is her voice. While reminiscent of Paula Cole's in some respect, it melds perfectly with her folksy musical style and lyrics that make the worst of days worth seizing.

4.Lust, Lust, Lust - The Raveonettes

Proof of life for alternative rock in it's purest form.

3. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

By far, Fleet Foxes is the best debut of 2008. Seldom does a band of such widespread acclaim have such a wealth of sincerity in their music. There really is not much else to say that hasn't already been said as I am finishing this list a bit late.

2. Canopy Glow - Anathallo

The extra wait due to a delay in release was very much worth it. I can't say what difference the extra four months made, but I was not disappointed at all. Anathallo has lightened their mood quite a bit on Canopy Glow which makes their music only a tad bit more friendly to the general populace. Their style has not faded, their experimental cunning has not dulled and you are still required to the listen to the album from beginning to end. Sorry general populace.

1. Censored Colors - Portugal. The Man

Contrary to popular belief, Sarah Palin is not the best thing to come out of Wasilla, Alaska. Unfortunately the town is now tied to her name, but perhaps if Portugal. The Man keeps it up then the town's reputation might make a turn for the better, at least among fans of alternative and indie rock. Censored Colors is a slight departure from what Portugal. The Man normally produces, but sometimes properties will be altered with refinement.

The 100 Greatest Alternative Bands and Artists

So feeling ambitious, I decided to compile a list of the greatest alternative rock bands and artists of all time. This is my second attempt at compiling such a list. Unlike my first list, this one has more focus, but rather than that focus restricting me, I felt more freedom than I had with my original list. And rather than trying to narrowly define alternative rock and make a list of bands who fit that mold, I made a list of bands that I felt defined alternative music.
My only objective criteria for qualification is that the artist must have released their first album or EP before the year 2000. This is because alternative rock was pioneered in the late '70s and early '80s and thrived in the late '80s and early '90s. Admittedly, I thought of being even more strict with this by making it either 1994, being the year grunge died, or 1995 for the sake of a round number, which would have left out a shit-ton of influential and definitive alternative artists.
Because the "alternative" label is often slapped onto any artist that strays even slightly from conventional pop or rock, it is often hard to narrowly define it. Also, the evolution of alternative music is very often associated with the Punk and New Wave movements and therefore many artists and groups from these movements are often labeled as alternative. So, for the sake of space, time and fairness to artists who have been key players in the development and advancement of the alternative movement, I have excluded the biggies in punk rock and the more rock-oriented (or rather, less pop-oriented) New Wave. Namely, I originally wanted Talking Heads and Devo on the list, but they seemed out of place with the other artists, and quite frankly, no matter where I put them, it didn't seem to do them justice.
After eliminating artists who are clearly punk and New Wave that didn't cross over into alternative, the only thing I had left to go by was my personal knowledge and opinion of each candidate's work. If a band didn't seem to "fit" the overall aesthetic of the list or just didn't seem to quite "deserve" to make it, they didn't make it.
As far as more positive qualifications go, I tried to compile a very comprehensive list that included the major subgenres of alternative music such as grunge, indie, alt-country, alt-folk, Brit-pop, goth rock, math rock, experimental and post-rock. I also included many influential post-punk groups who bridged the gap between punk and alternative, as opposed to those (such as Blondie) who took it the New Wave route.
Finally, I tried to include as many artists from across the English-speaking world, including bands from the United States, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Canada and Australia. Even one from Japan. As far as order and rank on the list goes, it's very general. In many cases, it's hard to say that any one of these bands is better than another. As a general list, however, I did pay more attention to the artists I placed higher up, and I went nuts trying to decide who I feel deserves the No. 1 spot.

100. Of Montreal
99. Portishead
98. Guided By Voices
97. Sleater-Kinney
96. The Breeders
95. Modest Mouse
94. The dB's
93. Elliott Smith
92. At the Drive-In
91. Eels
90. Superchunk
89. They Might Be Giants
88. Manic Street Preachers
87. The Magnetic Fields
86. Camper Van Beethoven
85. Throwing Muses
84. Shonen Knife
83. The Afghan Whigs
82. Tortoise
81. Social Distortion
80. Belle and Sebastian
79. Robyn Hitchcock
78. Billy Bragg
77. Wall of Voodoo
76. Green Day
75. Kate Bush
74. Sebadoh
73. My Bloody Valentine
72. The Jesus Lizard
71. Hole
70. The Feelies
69. Slint
68. P.J. Harvey
67. Talk Talk
66. Neutral Milk Hotel
65. Wilco
64. 10,000 Maniacs
63. Skin Yard
62. Suicide
61. Cocteau Twins
60. Liz Phair
59. Queens of the Stone Age
58. Blur
57. Midnight Oil
56. Love and Rockets
55. Mudhoney
54. Weezer
53. Suede
52. Siouxsie and the Banshees
51. The White Stripes
50. Foo Fighters
49. Public Image Ltd.
48. Butthole Surfers
47. Violent Femmes
46. Killing Joke
45. Echo and the Bunnymen
44. Yo La Tengo
43. Dream Sydnicate
42. Big Black
41. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
40. Pere Ubu
39. Oasis
38. Björk
37. Tori Amos
36. Gang of Four
35. Nine Inch Nails
34. Radiohead
33. Pavement
32. Beck
31. The Fall
30. Half Japanese
29. Soundgarden
28. Rage Against the Machine
27. Fugazi
26. Minutemen
25. The Stone Roses
24. The Meat Puppets
23. Mission of Burma
22. The Flaming Lips
21. New Order
20. Wire
19. Red Hot Chili Peppers
18. The Damned
17. The Modern Lovers
16. The Smashing Pumpkins
15. Jane's Addiction
14. Daniel Johnston
13. The Jesus and Mary Chain
12. The Cure
11. The Replacements
10. Pearl Jam
9. Dinosaur Jr.
8. The Smiths
7. Nirvana
6. Patti Smith
5. Joy Division
4. Sonic Youth
3. Hüsker Dü
2. Pixies
1. R.E.M.