2009...a year in review

Top albums of 2009--by listen:

1. Baroness "Blue Record"
2. Mastodon "Crack The Skye" **
3. Lamb of God "Wrath"
4. Every Time I Die "New Junk Aesthetic"
5. Pearl Jam "Backspacer" **
6. Russian Circles "Geneva"
7. Big Business "Mind The Drift"
8. Doomriders "Darkness Come Alive"
9. Killswitch Engage S/T
10. Gallows "Grey Britain"**
11. Mariachi El Bronx "El Bronx"
    
12. Priestess "Prior To The Fire"
13. Red Fang S/T
14. Kylesa "Static Tensions"
15. Isis "Wavering Radiant"
16. Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson "Break Up"
17. Muse "The Resistance"
18. ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead "The Century Of Self"
19. Dan Auerbach "Keep It Hid"**^
20. Darkest Hour "The Eternal Return"
21. Dear Landlord "Dream Homes"**^
22. Devildriver "Pray For Villains"
23. Eels "Hombre Lobo"^
24. Franz Ferdinand "Tonight: Franz Ferdinand"
25. We Were Promised Jetpacks "These Four Walls"^
26. Alice In Chains "Black Gives Way To Blue"
27. Frank Turner "Poetry Of The Deed"
28. Pelican "What We All Need To Come"
29. Yeah Yeah Yeahs "It's Blitz!"
30. Them Crooked Vultures **

THIS IS AN EDITORIAL--THESE ARE MY TOP 20 AFTER FURTHER ANALYSIS AND A FINAL LISTEN TO EACH RECORD
** denotes there were way more listens than indicated due to the fact that I listened to these on vinyl, too.
^ denotes that these should be higher on the list as they deserved more listens and stand out the most in my list as favourites of the year from first listen. That's not to discredit the top 10 by listen as those are "gimmes" for favourite records.


Top 10 Shows of 2009 (chronologically)

1. Buckcherry & Avenged Sevenfold (Nokia Theatre - 4/16)
2. Jeff Beck (El Rey - 4/21)
3. Green Day (Music Box at the Fonda - 6/4)
4. Epicenter Festival [Alice In Chains & Tool] (Fairplex at Pomona - 8/22)
5. Pearl Jam (Gibson Amphitheatre 10/7)
6. Reverend Horton Heat & Motorhead (Club Nokia - 10/9)
7. The Lawrence Arms (Troubadour - 11/14)
   
8. High On Fire, Mastodon & Dethklok (Palladium - 11/19)
9. Baroness (Reggie's Rock Club - 11/25)
10. Against Me! (Spaceland - 12/17)
    

as for movies, i can't quite remember what I've seen this year as it's been a nutty one....
in no particular order (based on memory of what I've seen):

1. I Love You Man
   
2. Fantastic Mr. Fox
3. Pirate Radio
   
4. Hangover
5. Law Abiding Citizen
   
6. The Watchmen
7. Inglorious Basterds
8. Zombieland
   
9. Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen
10. UP
11. Public Enemies
12. Up In The Air
    
13. The Informant
14. Ice Age 3: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs
    
15. Star Trek
16. Brothers
    

From what I can recall, the ones in bold stand out as my favourites of the year....I'm sure I saw at least 20 movies in theatres this year, but cannot recall all of them, nor are some worth mentioning...albeit, the company was always better than the movies themselves.

stay tuned for my DECADE list of music.....

...until then: Rock n Roll!
-Uncle J.

2008 in Review...

..a little late, but better than never.

top 20 of 2008 (no particular order)

1. Metallica - "Death Magnetic"
   
2. Scarlett Johansson - "Anywhere I Lay My Head"
   
3. Torche - "Meanderthal"
   
4. Nine Inch Nails - "The Slip"
   
5. Kings of Leon - "Only By The Night"
   
6. Beck - "Modern Guilt"
   
7. Fucked Up - "The Chemistry of Common Life"
   
8. Longwave - "Secrets Are Sinister"
   
9. The Melvins - "Nude With Boots"
   
10. Russian Circles - "Station"
    
11. Bible Of The Devil - "Freedom Metal"
    
12. Burning Brides - "Anhedonia"
    
13. Coldplay - "Viva La Vida"
    
14. Toadies - "No Deliverance" 
    
15. The Sword - "Gods Of The Earth"
    
16. Valient Thorr - "Immortalizer"
    
17. Murder By Death - "Red of Tooth and Claw"
18. Sigur Ros - "Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust"
19. The Raconteurs - "Consolers Of the Lonely"
20. The Gutter Twins - "Saturnalia"

Honorable Mentions:

Nine Inch Nails - "Ghosts I-V"

Norma Jean - "Vs The Anti-Mother"

Local H - "12 Angry Months"

Black Keys - "Attack And Release"

AC/DC - "Black Ice"

Made Out Of Babies - "The Ruiner"

Oasis - "Dig Out Your Soul"

Trivium - "Shogun"

Quatre Tete - "Art Of the State"

....and for the fact that it FINALLY came out, I can't NOT mention:

Guns N' Roses - "Chinese Democracy"

Movies of 2008:

"Iron Man"

"The Dark Knight"

"Incredible Hulk"

"Step Brothers"

"Speed Racer"

"Wall-E"

"The Wrestler"

"Burn After Reading"

"Forgetting Sarah Marshall"

"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"

Back in time.....

In 1998, not only did I graduate High School, but there was some decent music coming out.  Here's a few titles I still listen to today: 

Deftones - "Around The Fur"

Cake - "Prolonging The Magic"

Afghan Whigs - "1965"

Bad Religion - "No Substance"

Avail - "Over The James"

Far - "Water & Solutions"

The Living End - S/T

Local H - "Pack Up The Cats"

Marilyn Manson - "Mechanical Animals"

Queens Of The Stone Age - S/T

Pearl Jam - "Yield"

Rancid - "Life Won't Wait"

Refused - "The Shape Of Punk To Come"

Stone Temple Pilots - "No. 4"

Turbonegro - "Apocalypse Dudes"

System Of A Down - S/T

VAST - "Visual Audio Sensory Theater"

Zeke - "Kicked In The Teeth"

I was only 8 in 1988, so I didn't know of many of these titles from then.  My excuse: a) nobody guide me, b) I'm sure mom wouldn't have bought me any of these:

Bad Religion - "Suffer"

Danzig - S/T

Iron Maiden - "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son"

L.A. Guns - S/T

Metallica - "...And Justice For All"

Ministry - "The Land Of Rape and Honey"

Social Distortion - "Prison Bound"

Traveling Wilburys - "Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1"

Mudhoney - "Superfuzz Bigmuff"

Soundgarden - "Ultramega OK"

Slayer - "South Of Heaven"

Poison - "Open Up and Say..Ahh!"

The Pixies - "Surfer Rosa"

Motley Crue - "Dr. Feelgood"

1978 was a great year, though it was 2 years prior to my conception.  Here's some goodies that are now 30yrs old and still stand the test of time:

Misfits - "Static Age"

Cheap Trick - "Heaven Tonight" and "At Budokan"

Dire Straits - S/T

Rolling Stones - "Some Girls"

Ramones - "Road To Ruin"

The Police - "Outlandos d'Amour"

Van Halen - S/T

Bruce Springsteen - "Darkness On The Edge Of Town"

Black Sabbath - "Never Say Die!"

Led Zeppelin - "In Through The Out Door"

1968.....what can I say?  Some staples in the record collection:

The Who - "Magic Bus

The Beatles - "White Album"

The Doors - "Waiting For The Sun"

Jeff Beck - "Truth"

Otis Redding - "The Dock Of The Bay"

Cream - "Wheels Of Fire"

Velvet Underground - "White Light/White Heat"

Sly & The Family Stone - "Dance To The Music"

Free - "Tons Of Sobs"