My Top 20 Mudic Albums of 2008.

Yes. I know. I am sorry. IT is almost two months into the new year but I have put together some sort of list of my favorite albums of 2008. I am not too into lists of this type and find it sort of silly that we always seem to have to come up with lists like this to quantify different commercial arts.

I also must say that I am in no way saying that these are the best albums of the year but happen to be the twenty albums of last year that at the moment of time where I made this list happened to be the albums that I liked at the time that I have heard this year. It could change tomorrow. It might not.

My main goal of this post is that hopefully you might discover a band you have not heard of before and check them out. Maybe it or future albums by these artists will find your way into a top ten list in your near future.

I will post albums 20-11 today and then at a later time albums 10-1. But first three albums from last year I recently got that I have not had time to properly digest. Maybe with more time they could crack the top 20.

Fucked Up-The Chemistry of Common Life
Gaslight Anthem-The '59 Sound
Atmosphere-When Life Gives You Lemons, Paint That Shit Gold

20) Cut Copy -In Ghost Colors
Kind of like an 80's pop album with modern sensibilities. A pretty strong release but there are songs I do not care for.
Top Songs: Out There On The Ice, Hearts On Fire, So Haunted


19) These New Puritans-Beat Pyramid
These Brits? have the post punk vibe going on. Most of the songs are very angular and bouncy while the lead singer has a very skittish voice. There are also a lot of slower songs which add some time to breath. My only problem with the album is that it doesn't flow well since there are a couple tracks that seem to be filler and don't really add anything.
Top Songs: Numerology, C 16+-, Swords of Truth


18) Vampire Weekend -Self Titled
I'm sure everyone knows these guys. Four liberal arts majors who love wearing sweaters. They make some catchy tunes though. It has been described as Afro-Pop which I say is a fair description. I recommend it with a warning that it all starts to bleed together after a while.
Top Songs- Oxford Coma, Campus, Walcott, Cape Code Kwassa Kwassa


17) Anti-Flag - The Bright Lights of America
I as worried when this album came out since they said it was their experimental album. Luckily in the punk world that means maybe adding an instrument or two to a couple songs and maybe a child choir. Their lyrics are still a little slogany but at least they are singing about some important issues.
Top Songs- The Modern Rome is Burning, Spit in the Face, Good and Ready


16) The Mae Shi - Hillyh
They write punky songs that are catchy as hell that sound like they came from a Nintendo game. Just got into them not too long ago and if that wasn't the case this could be higher up on my list.
Top Songs- Young Marks, Run To Your Grave, Kingdom Come, The Melody


15) The Presets - Apocolypso
A fun little dance album that has some catchy beats. The singer took some warming up to but once I did I was quite surprised by how much I liked this album. Maybe a good way to describe the album is if the lead singer of Joy Division was still around and was in New Order.
Top Songs: This Boy's In Love, Together, Yipyo-Ye


14) Baskervilles - Twilight
I don't know where I found out about this band since I can't find any information about them. They remind me a little bit of Vampire Weekend but they have a female singer as well. I think their arrangements are more exciting than Vampire Weekend and a little bit more chilled out.
Top Songs: Sweet and Sour, Where Did My Summer Go, Caught in a Crosswalk


13) Love Is All - A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night
I really like this album a lot. Catchy as hell and the girls voice really sucks you in. There is a lot of energy on this album with some cool guitar riffs.
Top Songs: Movie Romance, Give It Back, Sea Sick


12) Ponytail - Ice Cream Spiritual
This is some crazy shit to say the least. God knows what the lead singer is singing about but she sounds like she is having a good time. There are some Prog Rock elements to be found i this album that could sway some people away. It might be a little too crazy for some but I really dig the organized chaos. There are not many songs on this album but what there is sure packs a punch.
Top Songs: Sky Drool, Beg Waves, Celebrate The Body Electric


11) Q-Tip - The Renaissance
A very fine rap album. I always liked Q-Tip back when he was in tribe do to his smooth flow. There is nothing too exciting on this album but it is a smooth enjoyable disc with more mellow than most rap found today.
Top Songs: We Fight/Love, Gettin Up, Move, You


10-1 to follow soon along with honorable mentions.

Get ready for the new awesome record from Goro Shimura

Found this on the Avclub (a totally awesome site where I say you should browse regularly). I thought i would post it on here so you could check it out.


New meme: here's a totally random way to make your new random band's new random album cover. Post one! Go to “Wikipedia.” Hit “random” and the first article you get is the name of your band. Then go to “Random Quotations” and the last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album. Then, go to Flickr and click on “Explore the Last Seven Days” and the third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

Goro Shimura



they don't have a J.O.B.

Happy Valentines Day. Seriously.

It is Valentines Day. I am about to go out to the bar right now. I thought I would just post on here on of the greatest songs dealing with love I know. Enjoy Lagwagon. the song is called Violins

Why I'll Never Find True Love (And This Is Not Because It Is Valentines Day

Valentine's Day might be my favorite day out of the whole calender year. Well actually it might be number three right behind Boxing Day and Taco Night at the Bungelow. Valentine's Day is every one's favorite holiday for both retailers and consumers. The stores get to sell flowers and cards, girls get them as gifts, and in the words of the great philosopher and sage Fred Durst the guy might get some nookie, because hey lets admit it, that was what guys are doing it for. It might be a fair guess that Hallmark has gotten more people laid than Levitra.

I'm sure to most of the people reading this post would be shocked, especially after looking at the picture of myself from my profile page, that I do not have a Valentine's this year. I would usually find this to be no big deal but this year I'm starting to think otherwise. I mean I'm a nice looking young man with disposable income who can stomach whatever lame romantic comedy starring Meg Ryan is currently out in the theater.And if I don't have a Valentine how would I ever expect to find my true love. After much introspection I have finally realized why I stand no chance of finding my true love and it is not for my lack of a Valentines. The answer is rather simple. I don't have my own reality show.


This might be easy to dismiss but lets look at the facts. True people were getting married before reality show appeared on television but I'm sure none of those relationships were based on love. How could they be? They aren't real. Anything that is not televised whether it be on basic cable, premium channels, or the networks just is not real. Hence not true love.

All kidding aside I watch these shows and the things that some of the contestants go through to try to win the heart of Tila Tequila or the big boobed blond twins or Flava Flav. These contestants can only complete these tasks if they are truly in love with whatever former celebrity happens to be on whatever reality show they are on.



Take the clip from above. Those people love Tila so much they are willing to debase themselves in a cage and gyrate for her pleasure. All because they are truly in love with her. Heck I remember the one episode where Tila made the contestants eat a pig's vagina to see who was going to win her heart. I mean seriously, how am I supposed to know if a woman is truly in love with me unless I know that she is willing to eat a pig's vagina?

But I have also watched enough reality shows to understand that you do not always find true love on every television show you are on. Some of these reality stars take two or three seasons to find their true love. Case in point look at the famous singer Bret Michaels from the band Why Did Anyone Ever Buy Our Records. First of all it is understandable why he would need a reality show. He is a huge rock and roll star who has traveled the world and parties all the time; where is he ever going to meet women? But this is Brett's third season and he still hasn't found true love. And if someone like Brett Michaels can't find true love even though he has his own reality show, what chances does a guy like myself have?

So next year I hope to have at least a Valentine but the prospect is not looking good for me since I don't have any of the television networks getting into contact with me about having my own reality show. I guess I could always be a contestant on one of these reality shows but I don't know if that is the right way to go for someone like me. I just don't know if I could do something like eat a pig's vagina seeing as it is a little debasing.

(For Valentine's Day cards, flowers, and tacos are all things Chris would like to receive).

Everything I ever needed to know about human rationale and personal relations I learned from a single scene from Independence Day.

For some strange reason that eludes the movie Independence Day has been on basic cable almost constantly over the last couple months. I mean it is on almost every channel I swear; TNT, Bravo, TBS, BET, Verses. I did not really care for the movie then nor do I now.

I remember seeing that movie in the theaters when it originally came out years ago. There were two things about the movie that pissed me off (besides that it existed). The first one was that all it took for the people of the world to unite and work together was the mass extermination of the human race as a species by an extraterrestrial threat that was leap years beyond the people of earth in both terms of technological know how and strategic capability. I hope this thought makes you sleep well at night as it does me. Though I'm sure the minute after Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith lit up their stogies and Goldblum finally won the acceptance of the President by implementing a virus into the mother ship to drop the defensive shields that protected the martians from our ineffective weapons that Israel continued to illegally create more settlements on the Gaza Strip while The United States tried to put missiles in Poland to piss off Russia. I guess for the whole we are the world feeling to kick in again we'll have to wait for Independence Day 2 which I'm sure will involve some sort of asteroid slowly making it way to the earth that will obliterate all civilization as we know it.

The other thing that I remember about the movie Independence was the whole scene where the aliens finally decided to obliterate various parts of the earth with their high tech martian death rays. What we the viewers get to see is millions of people dieing what I can only guess are quick painless deaths. The particular scene that pissed me off was towards the end of all the death and destruction and I'm sure you will remember it to. It was the scene where Vivica Fox's character and her son have to run from their car to escape their impending doom. They are able to break open a door in some sort of tunnel(!) so they can live to be reunited with Will Smith (was it worth it)? Wait one second though because Max the family dog is doing what most dogs do; standing around like a fucking idiot on the street while a wall of fire is rapidly approaching him. Luckily Vivica Fox's tears must smell of kibble so the dog was able to jump in through the door and barely escape a horrible, fiery death.

What I remember really pissing me of at the time was that the whole theater applauded in unison when the screen faded to black and the dog was safe. I for one did not clap because of two reasons. The first reason being I'm not a fucking toddler. The second reason is that I find it hard to clap when millions of people are whipped off the face of the earth in a nanosecond while one dog escapes! Are we serious as a society? Did anyone clap when Vivica Fox's character and her little kid were safe? I don't think so. What does this say about us a society that we value animals more than we do human life. I can bet that if something like this happened there would have been less clapping and more people demanding their money back.

Hey. I do like dogs. I swear I do. I have even had some as a pet. You would be surprised that I even got sad when they died. But I think it says something about who we are as a society that we get upset about cruelty to animals but don't really get too concerned about the quality of life or suffering of are fellow human beings.

And I know what you are saying. "Webby you are full of shit. Independence day is just a movie. You're point sucks." I know it is just a movie. I only recently learned that it wasn't based on a true story like Spaceballs was. Let me remind you of a recent event and how you felt about it in relation to other events around the world.

Remember the Michael Vick case? I'm sure you do because it was all over the news. He is now in jail for federal charges related to his involvement in a dog fighting ring. Yes I know that dog fighting is a vicious and inhuman activity. I know it is particularly egregious since the dogs really have no choice in the matter involving their participation in such an event. How outraged were you? You had a right to be.

Now take into account the amount of people in this country who don't have health care. Statistics say that around 46 million people do not have health care insurance. How do you think their quality of life is? How about our soldiers who fought over in Iraq who lost their lives, limbs, or their mind? How outraged does that make you especially considering the way the war was sold to the American people and managed by those in charge? How about the vast number of Iraqis who have either been killed in the occupation or the millions who have been forced to leave their homes and their countries. How about the thousands of people who died in the Gaza Strip recently. How about are homeless situation? The exploitation of children in third world countries?

I think it says something about are culture and us as Americans when we get more worked up about dogs than we do each other. I would blame the media for pumping up the Vick dogfighting story but I think the American people are more culpable in this situation because the media are only providing what they think the American people want.

I understand why the deaths of some dogs get people more worked up. They are seen as innocent entities and they are cute to boot. Admitely is easy to get worked up about it and people should. I just wish it was easier for people to get as outraged about something like the Michael Vick situation as it it is to get pissed off about the suffering and death of their fellow man. This planet might be a better place. And maybe it wouldn't take an alien invasion and our threatened extinction by an interplanetary enemy to unite the people of earth. Or even worse another horrid we are the world song. Talk about human suffering!

(And I do love dogs honestly. But I should disclose that to keep my youthful appearance I drink the blood of kittens while bathing in the blood of golden retrievers.)

I am on Blogger Now!. Which is obvious.

Hello people on Blogger. I have decided to jump head first blind folded into the deep end onto Blogger!

I left LiveJournal and have taken residence here. I have taken the liberty of taking some of my old post from the Livejournal and posting them on here. Some of them are missing videos so it could be a little confusing. Most of them bash the Republican Party and George W. Bush in particular if you remember who that guy was.

I plan on trying to post more on here than I did the previous one. It will probably be less political than the last one. I try to write in essay form and tend to stay away from the grind which is my life.

Anyways I hope you read this blog because lets face it that is why it exist. Also I would like to hear your feedback/comments/crazy thoughts and would love to check out your blog.

Newt Gingrich and Porp 8

Wow. This is a long convoluted story that has a ton of background that I hope I can breeze by. Sure it might sound sexy because it involves gay marriage, Newt Gingrich, and Bill O Reilly. No Newt and Bill-O are not going to catch an Amtrak regional up to Connecticut to exchange their vows in some sort of No Spin ceremony because I’m pretty sure Newt is still totally in love with his third wife but you can thank me for putting the mental image of these two very old traditional warriors giving each other a reach around in some grimy bathroom stall minutes before going on television to talk about compassionate conservatism.

As I’m sure most people reading this entry are aware of Proposition Eight that was present on the California Ballot. The proposition passed by a majority vote, which meant that same sex marriage was made against the law. People who supported the Proposition said this was a referendum on traditional marriage and were trying to preserve it. Opponents of the Proposition said that it stripped civil rights away from a minority group. I say, metaphors aside, that the passage of Prop 8 was a pretty dick move.
Newt Gingrich, the man who ushered in the Republican majority in the 1990’s with his Contract With America went on the O’Rielly Factor on Fox News not too long ago to talk discuss the protesters who were rightfully pissed off about the passage of this Proposition. Again I am totally jumping a head of myself and you deserve more background.
The main reason that this Proposition passed was because the individuals that supported and voted yes on the Proposition in California were better organized and enjoyed a huge lead in what was the fundraising battle until days before the ballets opened. Unfairly or not after the Proposition passed many people blamed the Mormon Church because their congregants donated a lot of money to the cause. There were also some back and forth ads during the campaign which created some bad blood between both groups.
Cut to a couple weeks ago and the gay marriage supporters had protests across the United States. Sure most of it was peaceful but with any mass movement there were some rather goofy individuals who went a little over board. There is video of some protesters disturbing a church service and it was reported that some old lady who supported Prop Eight had her cross ripped away from her and stomped on (why she had a huge cross is something that I don’t really understand. Was it B.Y.O.C. to the local Crucifixion at her local park)?
Which brings up Newt’s quote from the No Spin Zone: "I think there is a gay and secular fascism in this country that wants to impose its will on the rest of us, is prepared to use violence, to use harassment. I think it is prepared to use the government if it can get control of it. I think that it is a very dangerous threat to anybody who believes in traditional religion."
It is important to remember this quote. Newt Gingrich's critical thinking process is about a step above a magic eight ball. IF he was on another program where the host was not to agree with Newt in regards to his theory on the “gay secular fascism” that is present in this country maybe I would not have to write a blog post about this subject. Most of the people who are to actually believe that Newt is some great scholar either don’t know the history behind him or will not employ any basic logic to see through the mountain of bullshit that he spews here.
I don’t want to go off on how all the ills of society are derived from religion but look at the Mormon Church. I am pretty sure by donating over twenty million dollars and picketing on the street they are proposing their will on America as well which is their constitutional right by the way. But if this were truly a free society gay people should have equal rights in regards to marriage. Religious people; don’t go to a gay marriage and don’t have them get married in your church. But Newt, don’t come out and say that the gay fascists are imposing their will while letting those who want to impose their religious ideology on others off the hook. They are going the same thing as the those you labeled the gay fascists. But Newt that would be intellectually honest unlike your campaign to dupe your followers into believing that drilling for oil offshore would immediately reduce the price of oil (Wow Newt, again gas went down and how much of it was from that oil that we got off our shores).
I really wish to end this blog here but since Newt just pisses me off more than the forty five minutes of the movie Napoleon Dynamite I was able to stay awake through but I will keep on going.
Newt is also worried about the gay crowd preparing to use government to get control of it (it, in this case, I guess equal right for gays). Well Newt I’m sure you’re familiar with the notion of separation of church and state but I’m sure you do not have a problem how the fundamentalists Christians have used the government to implement policy they want to subjugate all of us to like having doctors read statements to woman that are untrue to woman who are thinking about getting an abortion and the implementation of abstinence only education.
And Newt where was this violence you talk about that the gay army’s wrecked their vengeance on the traditional religious folk (where the people who trampled the poor worker at Wal-Mart gay)? I saw Brokeback Mountain and I’m pretty sure the people who killed Jake in that movie were probably wearing their Sunday best when they did it.
And those who want equal marriage rights for gays don’t want to destroy traditional religion which again (what is traditional religion? You don’t define it. Would that even be Monotheism? You are a clown).
I am not sure what Gingrich thinks is traditional religion. But I do know that he knows what traditional marriage is. Why do I know this? Because he has had so many of them. Don’t believe me than just ask Jackie Battley his first wife who happened to be his high school geometry teacher. Her mind might be a little hazy about the divorce since she was in the hospital recovering from surgery she had in relation to uterine cancer. His next wife must have also liked the fact that while he was married to her he was having an affair with who would eventually be his third wife (and to make this even more delicious is that while this was going down Newt was leading the Congressional Investigation in regards to Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky). When Newt goes on television or the radio to defend traditional marriage try not to take him so seriously.
I wish this would have ended with these stupid and might I say hurtful comments Newt made but sadly it didn’t. Some journalists who will sadly probably win more awards than I ever will named Hendrik Hertzberg accurately quoted the exact words I quoted Gingrich saying earlier and came to this conclusion: “This sort of sludge may or may not prove to be of some slight utility in the 2012 Republican primaries, but it is, increasingly, history.”
So Bill on his show goes on to say that this far left zealot Hendrik “ totally distorted” Ginrgich’s comments which he did not. If you are familiar with Bill’s show he sent one of his stooge’s out to confront Hendrick on the street.
Of course because some people in this country still take Newt seriously as some sort of intellectual he had to be asked of his impressions of the video from above that O’Reilly played on his show. Here was Newt’s impressions: If you go back and look at what I said, it was a very narrowly focused reference to people who were invading churches and in one case surrounding a 65-year-old person and harassing her about wearing a cross. Now, in my judgment, people who do that are fascists. And whether they are fascists on the right or fascists on the left, they're fascists, because they believe in imposing their views on you, outside the law, or they believe in using the law to force you to change that you are. And I'm opposed to fascism of any kind."
First of all no Newt you sued those two examples as some sort of overarching theme on where the gay fascists are heading. You labeled the whole gay movement as some sort of third Reich hostile takeover that wanted to control are government by any means necessary. Back pedal all you want but this is what you were clearly implying.
And finally Newt is now calling those traditional religious people as fascists now as well. Aren’t those who actively campaigned on the street that were against gay marriage trying to impose their views on those who supported gay marriage. I won’t call them fascists because I don’t like throwing the word around as much as you like to.
Here are some words I do like throwing around usually when thinking of you. Hypocrite. Liar. Intellectually dishonest. Full of shit.