AWOLNATION have scored a pretty decently-sized modern rock radio hit with Sail, from 2011′s Megalithic Symphony, the band’s first proper full-length record. The song, a blending of electronic, synth-based beats and a radio-ready hook, is the product of Aaron Bruno, a dude with a unique, grabbing vocal style. If you’re unfamiliar with the song by name, try this on for size:

The purpose of this BtH reflection isn’t merely to say “hey, check out AWOLNATION, they’re great!”. Rather, it’s more of a message of “if you like AWOLNATION, check out Bruno’s past work too!”

A little backstory: on August 10th, 2002, at the Concord Pavilion in Concord, California, I went to see Weezer play a show. Alongside them on the bill were Dashboard Confessional, Sparta, and a side-stage featuring AM Radio, Rooney, and a Southern California-based band called Home Town Hero. Bruno was the lead singer, and their brand of aggressive and extremely melodic post-grunge rock resonated with me. I bought their debut album at that show, and it was in solid rotation in my car for a few months afterwards.

I looked forward to a follow-up to the album, which had been released on Warner Bros. amid a strong promotional campaign behind the song Questions (featured below). Yet, a follow-up never materialized, although the band did self-release an album in 2004 called Bitch City (which has proven to be exceedingly difficult to locate).

I would occasionally remember how good the self-titled debut record was, and then wonder what happened to the band, assuming they had just folded as so many good bands do before their time. I was right.

A few years later, I started hearing about a band called Under the Influence of Giants. Their impossible-to-classify blend of indie-pop, alternative rock, and classic rock, with influences as far-reaching as the Beatles, the Who, the Bee Gees, Prince and so on. Their 2006 self-titled debut album proved to be their only full-length release, despite its pretty successful reception by audiences. Something about them seemed oddly familiar to me, and after some research I discovered why: Aaron Bruno was the singer for this band, and he and HTH’s guitarist Drew Stewart had formed UTIOG in the wake of HTH’s demise.

Yes, the guy who was yelling in a post-grunge band with Home Town Hero was now singing to synth-soaked dance beats, and it sounded great. As with HTH, I longed to catch UTIOG live, but that never happened before they broke up. Sadness, again.

Fast-forward to 2011. I’m hearing this “blame it on my A.D.D.” song everywhere I go, and once again I have that sinking suspicion that the song sounds weirdly familiar…yep, it’s Bruno.

To put it bluntly, Aaron Bruno is an incredibly versatile singer. His talents have allowed him to be in three pretty impressive bands over the years, and personally I’m really glad that he’s finally getting a decent amount of airplay and credit for what he’s been doing.

If you currently are enjoying what you’re hearing from AWOLNATION, I encourage you to delve into Bruno’s back catalog, if you can find it. I don’t assume it’s hard to find UTIOG’s album in a used record store, but I have no idea about HTH’s availability (although the record is on Spotify).

And again, good on you Aaron Bruno, glad you’re finally getting the attention you’ve deserved for a while now.

Are we really that old already?

The Swellers’ new album Good For Me is a top-notch blend of older and newer pop-punk/alternative stylings, but with an added sense of nostalgic homage to the late 1990s that demonstrates that we’ve apparently reached the point where bands refer to that decade with a degree of melancholy and fond memories. Hey, fellow twentysomething music bloggers: we’re getting old.

Album opener Runaway kicks things off with an energetic guitar and drum burst, leading into an upbeat verse with vocalist Nick Diener saying I don’t feel like myself anymore/I need to get out of this room today. Swellers fans familiar with their previous two albums may have found this opening track jarring, as the band seems to have embraced a more straightforward and catchy sound than the rawer tunes on 2009’s breakout album Ups and Downsizing. Runaway is a great introduction to the record, which is full of memorable songs that cast a fond look back to the past.

Inside My Head finds the band channeling both Motion City Soundtrack and Jimmy Eat World. The MCS-like synth and JEW-esque chorus help the song stand out, as it manages to sound like both those bands without sounding like a knockoff. The Swellers are creating their own unique sound using the influence of bands like those two, and it pays off incredibly well. The one-two punch of Runaway and Inside My Head give the album a great opening sequence that leads into The Damage, which starts off a bit slower, allowing Diener’s scruffy voice to take over. The guitar work on this one requires discussion, as both Diener and Ryan Collins alternate between distorted riffage and softer, more melodic notes seamlessly. Some great backup vocals help the bridge shine (something that happens throughout the album).

Parkview keeps the energy going, with Diener expressing that sort of twentysomething layabout boredom that is all too familiar to many of us: It’s been four years/And I still don’t know what I’m doing here/My friends settled down/And all I do when I’m home is sleep in. The song has a peppy chorus with the narrator lamenting about shoveling snow, being paralyzed and not standing up for himself. Paired with the upbeat music which ultimately leads to some wonderfully melodic background vocals at the very end, the song is a great lead in to the album’s biggest highlight, The Best I Ever Had.

The Best I Ever Had gives me the same sense of nostalgia and melancholic vibe that The Ataris’ In This Diary did back in 2003, but without that tune’s cheesiness. I remember April ’94/September ’96/And every day of ’99 (all of ’99)/Whether I waited for those records/Or helped Seattle cry/It was the best I ever had/And I know we’ll never die Diener cries, expressing a fond adoration of the songs that shaped his life all those years ago. He later sings about planning his escape from the suit-and-tie lifestyle that eventually plagued so many of his friends (and everyone else’s).

It’s something that people my age (read: mid-twenties) can instantly relate to, but it’s approached in a much more enjoyable, wistful fashion than most songs that play the “Oh, I miss being a kid!” card so heavy-handedly. The song is becoming a favorite among the AbsolutePunk crowd, and rightly so.

Better Things begins with some acoustic strumming and Diener talking about being on the way to bigger things, before the song explodes into an irresistible chorus, buoyed by a driving rhythm and chord progression. Lyrically, it’s a confident tune with a slight bitterness about the target of the song, with Diener saying I guess you wouldn’t know since you’re not here, but also wishing her (or him) well. Musically, it’s one of Good For Me’s best songs, fully demonstrating how well the Swellers can do the rock/pop thing.

The grungy guitars of On the Line wouldn’t sound out of place on a Foo Fighters record. The buzzy chords give it a dark energy that carries throughout its 3 minutes and 41 seconds. Diener yells I try to scream but there’s no sound/’Cause you’re alone/And I want you to come around while choppy riffs blaze through the chorus. It’s one of the album’s better songs, due in part to the great guitars. Drummer Jonathan Diener and bassist Anto Boros bring a lot of energy to the track, helping to give it its great grunge flavor.

Nothing More and Prime Meridian are both solid tracks, but they’re sandwiched between two of the album’s strongest moments. The aforementioned On the Line and the album-capper Warming Up are some of the Swellers’ greatest accomplishments on Good For Me. With its Pinkerton-like synth and Diener’s vocal delivery, Warming Up sounds like 1996-era Weezer. It’s really a great song about wishing, dreaming, and how the narrator will never be me without you. Long after the song comes to an end, the keyboards and overall melody of the song will loop in your head, which is always the mark of a memorable album-closer.

With Good for Me, The Swellers have really made a statement. The album shows the band’s best qualities throughout its ten songs: energetic, pop-punk-alternative songs about nostalgia, longing, and youthful exuberance being reflected upon by people who are no longer teenagers. That the band explores these themes while sounding like some of the best bands of the era they’re singing about helps the album leave quite a mark on the listener. It’s been a great year so far for pop punk revivals, and The Swellers may have released the best of the bunch.

As 2010 draws to a close, I feel obligated, as a blogger-slash-”music journalist”, to stand atop my Internet soapbox and tell you, the Web-surfing public, what I deem to be the year’s highest achievements in music.

2010 was a year of absurd hype (Kanye West) for various musical projects, and some of them lived up to the hype, incredibly. Others failed. But since I try to keep an optimistic leaning to my writing, I offer you this list of my top albums of the year, in no particular order. Let’s get started!

Fang Island – Fang Island

If you were looking for an album that will inspire you to high-five strangers on the subway, then search no more. The band’s debut on Sargent House Records is absolute bliss: energetic, upbeat, and absurdly fun, with relentlessly catchy guitars and sporadic vocals that often appear in a chorus, creating a euphoric sound that, frankly, sounds like nothing I’ve ever heard. The album begins and ends with fireworks, a fitting bookend to a collection of songs that capture the joy and celebratory nature of music.

Deftones – Diamond Eyes

When bassist Chi Cheng was in a terrible car accident in November 2008 and Deftones subsequently scrapped their in-progress album Eros, it was easy to assume the band would never release another album. Suffering a tragedy like that would take the wind out of most bands’ sails. True to their nature as enduring, passionate pioneers, Deftones re-grouped and wrote Diamond Eyes, arguably one of their strongest albums to date. While the production by Nick Raskulinecz mucks things up a bit, the album still made its way on this list. Chino Moreno‘s fury and trademark soft/quiet singing style are on full display here, and allows Diamond Eyes to basically serve as a fantastic “comeback” record for a band whose future was questionable just a couple of years ago.

Sufjan Stevens – The Age of Adz

When my friend (who admittedly holds Weezer‘s opus Pinkerton close to her heart)  tipped me off to this album by calling it “What Weezer could have been after Pinkerton”, I nearly spit out my PBR. That got my attention, to say the least.

I generally hate the things that trendy tastemakers like Pitchfork cream their pants over, but this time they’re on the right track. They gave this record an obscenely high grade of 10.0 (a grade normally reserved for only Radiohead albums). While that may be a tad too much, this album is flat-out DRUGS, in the best way possible. The mindfuckery that Stevens releases on this record is a far cry from his usual jangly acoustic quirk-pop. And yet, somehow, it works exceedingly well, in a Talking Heads-kind of way. It sounds as if Sufjan traded in his guitars for space keyboards and a trunk full of illicit drugs, and that’s BEFORE you get to the breahtaking 25-minute album capper Impossible Soul. It’s really a mini-album itself, and combined with the other songs on the record Sufjan has really created his “masterwork”. That’s really saying a lot for me, considering I hate that term.

So yeah, buy this record, turn off the lights (or leave them on, I’m not your boss) and let this album make you its bitch like it did to me.

The Black Keys – Brothers

If you hadn’t heard much from the Black Keys before 2010, chances are you have by now. This was their “breakout” record, used in quotes since “breakout” here means “album that put their songs on the radio and TV ads”. I can probably say I’ve heard Tighten Up hundreds of times on the radio in the past five months, and I don’t even listen to the radio.

The album, a true, authentic, rock & roll record, packs more grit and sleazy rhythm into fifteen songs than most bands do in their careers. And while Never Gonna Give You Up sadly isn’t a Rick Astley cover, its slow burn and singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach‘s sensual vocals make up for it.

I’d been a casual Black Keys fan before 2010, respecting their records but not really appreciating them for the visionary dudes they are, but with Brothers, I have finally come full circle.

Linkin Park – A Thousand Suns

Yes, yes, I know you’re ready to click out of this page because I’m offending you with Linkin Park. Yes, I know, nu-metal sucks. I know, Linkin Park is trendy and popular. Yes, I know, any self-respecting and customarily snobbish music critic (such as I consider myself) should have NO PART in saying anything positive about Linkin Park, because they suck or whatever.

But the fact of the matter is, A Thousand Suns is a fantastic record.

Mostly leaving behind the angsty rap/rock sound that catapulted them to stadiums around the world, LP instead decided to challenge themselves and create something that stands alone on its own, which this album definitely does. It’s long, has a bunch of interludes and only nine real “songs” (most being midtempo and atmospheric), but the end product is a cohesive experience that would be considered on most “Best of 2010″ lists were it by anyone other than Linkin Park, a band everyone loves to hate.

If you already hated LP, you probably won’t ever come around, and that’s fine. That’s, like, your opinion, man, and you’re entitled to it.

But if that bias keeps you from enjoying A Thousand Suns, then too bad for you.

Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More

2010 was a huge year for this upstart British group, with the single Little Lion Man getting all kinds of airplay on the radio in the past few months. They basically employ the same formula as Fleet Foxes, the hush-quiet acoustic folk thing combined with incredible vocals (sometimes group vocals) and a quiet energy that builds and builds into sonic explosions of passion and emotion.

Besides Little Lion Man, songs like Thistle & Weeds and The Cave really make this album shine, and cemented its place on this list.

I’m eager to hear what they do as a follow-up.

Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

This album is a monster.

I’ve always been indifferent regarding Mr. West, usually thinking he was “okay” while getting annoyed by his insane ego and self-absorption. When this album was being hyped by the Internet to levels not seen since…well, the last Kanye record, my interest increased slightly, if only to see if the album would possibly live up to such lofty expectations.

Then, he signed up for Twitter and posted updates about emotional fonts and small-ass jets. The other insane Tweets that followed helped promote the album fantastically, as he seemed more and more out of his mind.

Then, the album actually dropped, and everyone ate it up. Because it’s delicious.

Tracks like the 6-minute star-studded Monster, the insanely addictive All of the Lights (with Rihanna on vocal hook duty), and the Auto-Tune loneliness jam Lost in the World make this album more of a “game-changer” type of album than a “hip-hop” album.

Calling this record a “hip-hop” album is like calling Radiohead albums “BritPop” albums. Not applicable.

And no, I’m not equating Kanye West with Radiohead, although both have been featured in classic South Park episodes….

Ben Folds & Nick Hornby – Lonely Avenue

Much more of a “project” than “album”, Lonely Avenue pits piano man and amazing songwriter Ben Folds with British author Nick Hornby (he wrote High Fidelity, for one). They combined their efforts, with Folds writing music to accompany Hornby’s words, the whole thing adding up to form a story. The deluxe version of the album even comes with an illustrated book, so this whole thing is really neat.

Folds is at his best, doing his quirky piano melodies thing, and Hornby’s lyrics add satire and social commentary to everything. The two of them are a great duo, working well of of each other’s strengths as artists, and that shines through on Lonely Avenue.

Oh, and check out Levi Johnston’s Blues,  a song from the perspective of Bristol Palin’s one-time fiance (and baby daddy). Yay, satire!

Jamiroquai – Rock Dust Light Star

2010 marked the return of Jamiroquai, ending a 5 year absence with Rock Dust Light Star. The record, the first since 2005′s Dynamite, finds front man/focal point of the group Jay Kay at his best. Songs like White Knuckle Ride, Smoke & Mirrors, Hurtin’, She’s a Fast Persuader, and Hey Floyd are destined to incite many a dance party (or head-bob if you’re listening to it alone).

The album hasn’t found a distributor in the USA yet, but I hope that doesn’t hurt Jamiroquai’s chances of releasing it and (hopefully) playing a set at Coachella next April. I can only hope.

Portugal. the Man – American Ghetto

Their sixth album in six years, experimental indie rockers Portugal. The Man released American Ghetto in 2010 as their last album before graduating to Atlantic Records.

Every Portugal record is great, but American Ghetto is one of the more impressive ones. The songs transition seamlessly into each other, from the enthralling The Dead Dog all the way until the MGMT-ish album closer When the War Ends.

I can only imagine how great their upcoming record (and Atlantic Records debut) will be. If they build upon the growth shown throughout their amazing career thus far, it will probably find itself on my Best of 2011 list as well.

Honorable Mentions

Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

While I did drink the Kanye Kool-Aid in 2010, I still haven’t quite grasped the “amazingness” of Arcade Fire. That said, The Suburbs is impressive, if overlong. Songs like Ready to Start and Rococo are good examples of why this band gets so much damn attention, but they just don’t put me into “OMG BEST BAND EVER” mode like they do to everyone else. Still, great record.

Weezer – Hurley

Despite the ridiculous cover image, Hurley blew me away, considering I was expecting another “new school” Weezer album – that is, silly pop songs about Los Angeles, party anthems featuring overrated rappers, and a general disregard for the things that made Weezer Weezer.

And yet, somehow, Hurley reminded me of why I ever liked them in the first place. Songs like Unspoken, Hang On, Ruling Me, and Memories are vintage Weezer tracks, and it was great to hear them go back to basics and revisit their glory days.

Eminem – Recovery

Em returned to form in 2010, releasing Recovery, his best record in a long time. He went through some stuff, got over it, ditched the moronic character voices he used, and put out a solid album of songs.

He hadn’t gone anywhere, he just had to fix his shit and get back out there. Now, he’s back in the spotlight, and it’s because of the quality of this record.

The Sword – Warp Riders

These stoner metal gods released a concept record in 2010 about “inhaling deeply of the sacred smoke” on a planet divided, and the protagonist’s battles with the “Chronomancer” and other such ridiculousness.

Not only does the story amuse, but the songs are brutal, sludgy rock awesomeness.

One of the better rock releases in 2010, and arguably the best rock space opera stoner metal concept album ever.

The Budos Band – III

I first discovered this band at 2 am at a party on Halloween, as fatigue-inspired hallucinations set in.

This group’s amazing instrumental jazz/world beat fusion translates very well on record, and I imagine their live show is one big hip-shaking party. There’s no singing, but they don’t need any. The brass and sexy grooves more than make up for it.

I was pleasantly surprised by this album when I heard it, so much so that it ended up on this list.

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So that’s my list, take it or leave it. And leave comments if you want to call me an idiot/jerk/asshole/moron/genius/gay fish, I mean, that’s what the Internet is all about.

Tomorrow, the calender switches to December.

Christmas falls in the month of December.

Therefore, logically, Christmas is rapidly approaching. I’m not much of a logician but that makes sense to me.

I love the Christmas -er, Holiday season, but every time I hear the mall Muzak version of I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas or that ear-splitting Chipmunks Christmas Time is Here song, I want to jab my ear drums with a rusty pencil.

It’s no secret that we’re flooded with more and more “new” versions of Holiday classics (or Holiday-themed original tunes) each year, and most of them are garbage. Occasionally, though, you’ll hear something worthwhile. These “alternative” versions of Christmas classics come along and give a decidedly different spin on what would otherwise be the same old songs. These can vary from bands or artists “interpreting” a tune in a unique manner, or it can mean a group creating their own original Xmas song that stands well on its own.

I’d like to preface this by saying that being inundated with the same Holiday tunes at supermarkets and malls and whatever is better than not hearing any Christmas music at all, but I offer these alternatives to someone seeking something different every now and then.

And here we go:

This first gem comes from South Park‘s amazing holiday special, Mr. Hankey’s Christmas Classics. I remember rushing home from church on Christmas Eve and watching the videotaped broadcast of that all-musical holiday special. It still amuses me to this day, and whenever I hear Carol of the Bells by ANYONE I only think of Mr. Mackey. Mmkay?

No Doubt used to be awesome, and Oi to the World is a good snapshot of those days. Quirky!

Weezer put out a “Christmas with Weezer” EP a few years back, and this was on it. A typically oddball Rivers Cuomo creation, it’s not too shabby of a song itself, IMO.

I first heard this song on a KROQ Christmas compilation album, and thought it rocked. Of course, this was in about 2002, and Sum 41 was awesome to 17-year old me. The addition of Jack Black shouting out ridiculous items on his Christmas list only makes it more rocking. And the riffs, my heavens, the riffs!

If you’ve read any of my articles on this site, you know I love pop punk. And I’ve been a devoted New Found Glory fan for about ten years now. This song, a B-side that made its rounds on KROQ itself, always comes to mind when I think of Christmas, so here it is.

I don’t know what it is about Carol of the Bells, but I’ve heard a lot of hard rock/metal covers of it. This August Burns Red cover was suggested to me on a message board, and I think it’s fun.

More festive pop-punk. Fenix Tx adds a little bitterness to this Mexican-themed holiday tune.

More holiday ska, this time from Save Ferris.

This might not be a “Christmas” song, but it IS about December, and The Matches (r.i.p.) released it on a holiday album. I’ve always loved it for its quirkiness, something I always admired about the Oakland-based band.

Despite what this video claims, this is NOT 311, it’s just Nick Hexum, the group’s lead singer. He brings his normal smooth voice to the island-y Hawaiian jam, and it fits his style nicely.

Thrice‘s take on John Lennon‘s classic politically-themed Christmas tune is a stand out mainly because of the nice treatment Dustin Kensrue gives the vocals, as well as the rich melodies.

And now for something completely different. This song, from a Metal Christmas tribute album, scared me when I first heard it. And yet, Chuck Billy, Scott Ian, Jon Donais, Chris Wyse and John Tempesta give a pretty brutal rendition of Silent Night. Feel free to blast this around your grandma when you’re opening gifts this year.

To close things out, here’s a tender re-working of the Stevie Wonder holiday jam, That’s What Christmas Means to Me. Because, you know, everyone’s Holiday Season could use a bit more Michael McDonald.

Mmkay?

Feel free to suggest ones I’ve missed, because I’m sure I’ve missed more than a few gems.

Oh, and happy holidays!

Seattle resident James Burns has begun an effort to raise $10 million in order to pay Weezer to stop making music. Burns hopes to raise the money on DIY fundraising website thepoint.com, with individuals encouraged to pledge $12 apiece to the cause. Weezer drummer Patrick Wilson responded on Twitter, joking, “if they can make it 20, we’ll do the ‘deluxe breakup’!”

Burns’ full statement reads:

“I have never been a fan of this band. I think that they are pretty much horrible, and always have been. Even in the early 90’s.

“But this isn’t about me. This is about the Weezer fans. They are our brothers and sisters, our friends, our lovers.

“Every year, Rivers Cuomo swears that he’s changed, and that their new album is the best thing that he’s done since ‘Pinkerton,’ and what happens? Another pile of crap like ‘Beverly Hills’ or ‘I’m Your Daddy.’

“This is an abusive relationship, and it needs to stop now.

“I am tired of my friends being disappointed year after year.I am tired of endless whimsical cutesy album covers and music videos.

“I’m sick of hearing about whatever this terrible (and yes, even if you like the early stuff, you should be able to admit that they are wretched now) excuse for a band is up to these days.

“If all 852,000 of you (really?) who bought ‘Pinkerton’ pitch in $12, we will meet our goal.

“I beg you, Weezer. Take our money and disappear.”

Burns notes on the site that nobody who donates to the cause will be charged unless the ten million dollar goal is met and terms agreed to, and there is already a startling amount of donations. It’s hard to say just how serious this campaign is, but it gave me a pretty good laugh.

Holy shit. Is it just me, or was September bursting at the seams with good music?  From predictably great stuff to overwhelmingly pleasant surprises, it really felt like this month had it all. For the first time, ten felt like too small a number; there was just too damn much great stuff that I wanted to include here. But you know, I am a professional guy-who-sits-at-his-computer-and-rants-about-music, and as such, I finally whittled this week’s list down to the article’s namesake. So let’s get on with it, shall we?

Bad Religion – The Day That the Earth Stalled

Looking kinda old, but they sure as shit don't sound it

It’s so nice to hear an almost thirty-year-old band kick this much ass. Stalled kicks off the band’s latest with a fucking kick and a half, with Greg Gaffin sounding as youthful and energetic as he ever has (arguably even more than their somewhat sluggish late 90s period). This thing is incredibly aggressive and catchy as hell, armed with great vocal patterns and killer riffs that make the minute and a half fly by waayy too quickly.

Weezer – Ruling Me

Taking time out to not look obnoxious for once

For all the Weezer fans who kept the faith throughout this past decade, who ignored how shitty Make Believe was (Perfect Situation withstanding), who gave credit to the band for experimenting with the Red album, who resisted irritation with the persona taken on Raditude (like “hey, white people rapping! That’s funny!”), and who didn’t even throw their arms up in the air and declare “to HELL with it!” when they found out that yes, the new album’s cover is a god damn close-up of some TV actor’s face: this is their reward. While Hurley is (thankfully) nowhere near as reliant on a scant handful of good songs as its predecessors, with as good as this song is, I don’t think even the most cynical Weezer fan would mind. The harmonizing vocals in the chorus are just plain brilliant, and the chugging guitar is somehow reminiscent of both old and new Weezer, without alienating either camp. This is easily the best song they’ve done in a long, long time.

Deerhunter – Desire Lines

Clem!

When your main hook is more than just a little reminiscent of a song as great as Arcade Fire’s Rebellion (Lies), it’s going to be a hell of a struggle to make yours really sound like your own. “No problem,” said Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox and Lockett Pundt, before crafting this ethereal, addicting, and flat out wonderful track. Like the rest of Halcyon Digest, Desire Lines sees a startling accessibility to the band’s take on psychedelia, even with the way the guitars ramble on and on to close things out. Despite being nearly seven minutes in length, this track never feels meandering or boring, and the smooth, relaxed chorus could well end up one of the year’s most memorable.

The Birthday Massacre – Shallow Grave

Everybody loves pretty gothic people

Dropping a bit of the creepy atmospherics this time around, goth rockers The Birthday Massacre display a startling grasp on anthemic choruses on their latest album, Pins and Needles, with Shallow Grave being a shining example. The new wave-sounding synths, loud guitars, and of course the lovely Chibi’s vocals all go together very well, with a fun dance beat and ear worm melodies to boot. They sound the closest they ever have to pop music here, and it works far better than one might have thought.

Enslaved – The Beacon

What is it with black metal and churches

For a while it was looking like Watain’s Lawless Darkness might clinch the best black metal album of the year title, but the ridiculously consistent Enslaved and their latest, Axioma Ethica Odini, have come along and snatched it without breaking a sweat. The band’s excellent musicianship is in top form here, finding them moving so briskly through The Beacon‘s different sections that even the bits that should feel jarring (stomping riffage stopping on a dime to accommodate mid-tempo chanting, for example) come across as completely natural. Anyone who’s looking to get into black metal should definitely check this album out.

Swans – You Fucking People Make Me Sick

We hate everything

For me, Michael Gira reviving Swans out of nowhere rivals Hurley as the best unexpected bonus of the year. Fourteen years after their last album, the band picks up right where they left off, with Gira delivering his special brand of misanthropy in typically forward thinking ways. A song with this sort of title might make you expect a loud, raging sound, but Sick takes a different approach entirely, really getting under your skin with its quiet intensity and creepiness. Devendra Banhart’s guest vocals are unexpectedly effective, but what really clinches it is the second half, with the dirty sounding piano and brass; the discordant notes the ragged instruments hit are unsettling to the point of making your skin crawl.

Interpol – Always Malaise (The Man I Am)

So moody... can't even stand it

I’ll make no apologies for gushing over this song a second time – it really is that good. In fact, I like it even more now than I did when I reviewed the album! Malaise pulls off such a gloomy, dramatic build-up that you can’t help but be in awe of it; Carlos D.’s arrangements are absolutely impeccable, with how the piano and progressing horns lead into that climax, and the drums and guitars kick in just underneath Paul Banks’ murmured lyrics. Incredibly powerful stuff, underlined even more by its abrupt ending.

Blonde Redhead – Oslo

Oh my

Blonde Redhead’s Kazu Makino has always had a highly seductive vocal, but on Oslo she really takes it to a new level. The XX, Brazilian Girls, Portishead, this song trumps them all just in how loomingly sexual it feels, with her breathy voice over stuttering electronics, lightly shimmering guitars, and varied percussion. This one is going to dirty up many, many minds.

Das Racist – You Can Sell Anything

We'ze fuktup

From the depraved creative minds that brought us Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell comes some more clever, self deprecating, good humored hip-hop. Diplo’s bare-boned production shows once again that all you need for a good beat is a catchy melody, while Himanshu Suri and Victor Vazquez absolutely kill it with their funny and astonishingly intelligent flows. At first glance, particularly with the Pizza Hut song from earlier this year, it’s easy to write these guys off as a novelty act. However, a much deserved closer look would show just how talented they really are.

Grinderman – Palaces of Montezuma

What're you lookin' at??

Only Nick Cave could sing about JFK’s spinal cord and make it sound romantic. Really though, everything about this song just clicks perfectly – from Cave’s always-poetic lyrics to the gorgeous vocal harmonizing, the band hasn’t sounded better than they do here. The added polish to Grinderman’s second album gives moments like this a slight Bad Seeds flavor, but it Montezuma still sounds like the quartet’s own unique brand of garage rock. Endearing, rousing, and assuaging all at once.

I swear I’m not Vincent Chase.
I don’t normally spend my evenings at lavishly decorated hotels in Hollywood, accompanied by such names as Lamar Odom, whatsherface Kardashian, Weezer, Jorge Garcia (Hurley from LOST), and My Chemical Romance.

I am also not accustomed to being provided with all the free food and all the booze I could ever desire.
Despite the impracticality of all of these things, they somehow all happened last night.

I heard about AXE’s “One Night Only” super-secret concert thing on the radio last week, and when I found out Weezer was playing the special gig, I made sure to get some tickets. The event was being held at the Dunes Inn in Hollywood, a random spot that proved for a random evening.

Since it’s Hollywood and these types of events are generally reserved for the “people who know people” type of people, I was expecting this to be a big mess of cameras and noise and irritatingly flashily-dressed socialites mingling and paying little attention to the music.

Don’t get me wrong, there was plenty of that (Odom, apparently not much of a Weezer fan, spent most of his time in one of the cordoned-off motel rooms), but the spectacle on stage was among the silliest I’ve ever witnessed. I did become a bit disillusioned to see that Khloe Kardashian wasn’t, in fact, a die-hard Weezer fan. I suppose she didn’t grow up listening to Pinkerton every day. Sad face.

I can now finally say I’ve experienced the kind of event that people outside of LA assume happens every day. It just took me two years of living down here for this to happen.

The tickets the AXE people gave away did not guarantee admission, so my friend and I headed down to the “venue” at around 3:30.

We got in the modest line around 4:15, and began our wait until doors opened at 7:00 pm (or so the tickets stated).
As the clock slowly crept closer to 7, people in the line began getting antsy. This was only made worse when AXE hype people walked up and down the line encouraging us to scream and cheer and yell and look excited. Then, randomly, these AXE people would take chunks of the crowd (we’re talking like 15-20 each time) and move them up to the FRONT of the VIP line. The VIP line, we were told, would enter the venue before everyone else.

This became insufferable when they took a bunch of people at the END of the line, who had been there barely an hour, and allowed them to skip all the way to the front, ahead of those of us who had been in line three times longer than they had.

That’s just absurd, frankly.

The AXE Twitter feed said that these were “contest winners” who were in the “wrong line” or something, but that was nonsense. The people around me who got snapped up and sent on their way to the Promised Land of super-cool VIP-ness had not won anything, they just screamed on command.

7 pm came and went. Still in line. Then, slowly, the VIP line diminished and they told us “okay guys, your turn! Woo!” and all that. They let in a few, and then we moved up to the front section of the queue, but not without being a bit forceful. The beefy security guards were doing that “hmm let’s see, we should cut the line about…here” thing, and were ALMOST going to stop the line before us, but we slipped in JUST barely in time.

This was cool, and it was even more miraculous when we heard from the fire marshal that we’d be THE LAST PEOPLE ADMITTED IN PERIOD. That means, hundreds of people behind us in line got totally left in the dark.
That sucks for those true Weezer fans who actually spent all day in line for nothing, and is already becoming a PR nightmare on AXE’s Facebook account.

Anyway, back to the actual show.

The hybrid funk/jazz/fusion band Kinky was set to open the show, but I heard they never played. By the time we got in the converted motel parking lot stage, it was almost time for Weezer.

There was an open bar and free food (yes!), which we took advantage of quickly.

When it was time for Weezer, Jorge Garcia (Hurley from LOST, the guy whose mug adorns Weezer’s just-released album Hurley) popped up on stage and introduced the band.

After a slick instrumental jam intro thing, Rivers Cuomo & pals ripped into Hash Pipe, and it was on.
Despite the holier-than-thou VIP Hollywood special people contingent scattered throughout the crowd, I was actually impressed at the energy level of the event. Most people seemed like they cared, and were singing/dancing along, but that might be partly due to the free booze. Who knows.

Either way, Weezer put on a fantastic show. It’s obvious at this point that neither Rivers or the band give a shit about “selling out”, as Cuomo repeatedly referenced using Axe body spray and AXE products throughout the night. They may be sponsored by the clothing line Hurley and hock deodorant to fancy people in motel parking lots, but you can’t say Weezer doesn’t put on one of the most entertaining live shows today.

Rivers was at his oh-so-eccentric best, running around the entire motel complex, jumping up and down on the bar, and even opening the public bathrooms, singing into them, and then awkwardly caressing a bush and climbing a garbage dumpster to get on top of a roof and be an all-around weird guy. Here’s my video of that moment, which came during the band’s MGMT/Lady Gaga medley.

Setlist-wise, the only new song was Memories. Most of the set were Weezer Greatest Hits, but with the added tweak of Jorge Garcia, who came out and seemed to have a blast singing with Rivers on Perfect Situation. To say that was unexpected would be the biggest of understatements. I’m still not quite sure if I was hallucinating this moment.

Even more unexpected was the appearance of My Chemical Romance, the emo rockers who are prepping a new record themselves. They came out and helped perform My Name is Jonas, with Gerard Way on vocals and MCR’s guitarists adding to the auditory assault onstage.

It was SUCH a Hollywood moment, one of those all-star celebrity rock band hangout jam session cover gig type of things.

It was great watching Josh Freese smash the shit out of the drums, as newly freed guitarist/ex-drummer Pat Wilson slashed it up on lead guitar, opposite other lead guitarist Brian Bell. Scott Shriner was active onstage, moving all around while playing his bass that propelled each song.

Weezer played a 19-song set, and it lasted a bit over an hour. I was afraid this would be a short, 7 or 8 song set, given the promotional background of this event, but instead we got quite a treat.

After the final notes of Buddy Holly faded out, and the band finished their intense drum session (in which Rivers banged drumsticks on the light-up “=W=” backdrop, it hit me that this was one of the most amazing gigs I’ve ever seen.
Leave it to Hollywood to do this to me. I honestly felt like I had wandered onto the Entourage set, with free stuff thrown at my face at every turn.

I managed to snag a picture with Garcia, who was a pretty cool dude.

We also had a small chat with Karl Koch, the guy who runs all of Weezer’s internet websites and is in charge of everything. He was also pretty cool, as was Josh Freese.

After security squeezed us outside the motel, we finagled our way back in and got a picture with Gerard of MCR, who said their upcoming album was going to “kick ass” or be “bananas” or something. Good times.

But enough of me forcing my way into pictures with pretty celebrities.

The night was incredible, and pretty much the quintessential “LA Experience” that I hadn’t yet experienced down here.

I’m extremely lucky to have been there, and I just wish AXE had handled it better. Don’t give away so many HUNDREDS of extra tickets if you’re just going to leave most people out in the cold.

Too many people wasted too much time in their day just to be turned away at the gate.

Still, it was a great commercial for Weezer, AXE, and the so-called “Hollywood lifestyle”.

And man, Rivers is so crazy onstage.

I wish more people (as in real Weezer fans, not just LA socialites and friends of friends) had been able to witness the whole ridiculous spectacle.

Evaluating a Weezer album these days is quite a task.

For one, to appreciate (or disregard) the band’s music accurately requires the listener to have a certain knowledge of the context of each of their albums.

That is, if you listened to the band’s breakthrough “Blue Album” from 1994 and then 2009’s Raditude, without knowing the background of both albums or where Rivers Cuomo & Company were mentally when they wrote the songs, the likely result would be confusion and, potentially, an upset stomach.

Hell, that’s the reaction that even die-hard Weezer fans have been giving the band’s post-Pinkerton output for the last fourteen years, disappointed time and time again.

No, Rivers won’t ever re-create the angsty self-doubt and sexually-charged insecurity of Pinkerton as efficiently as he did in 1996, but with the band’s Epitaph debut Hurley (released next Tuesday but streamed on Myspace this week), he may have come as close as possible to (at least partially) satisfying the ever-irate blogosphere and legions of demanding superfans spread out across the globe.

That was a run-on sentence, but at the heart of its mumbling is the key to this review: Hurley, Weezer’s eighth studio album, is the best thing the band has put out since Maladroit (2002). Sure, it’s hokey and a couple tracks are throwaways, but the majority of the album is the kind of stuff that made all of us middle-class brats become so obsessed with Weezer in the first place.

That’s a lot for me to say, and I definitely wasn’t expecting to like this album so much. First of all, I’m not a fan of LOST, so having Hurley’s goofy face as the ENTIRE ALBUM COVER kind of pissed me off. I don’t care if the band likes the show, that’s an obnoxious choice for album art. Also, the title of the album, which supposedly may or may not reflect the band’s love for (and recent deal with) the clothing company Hurley, also seemed a bit shameless. Despite those hiccups, the quality of the tunes more than make up for the artistic misfires.

Lead single Memories, while not as instantly infectious as some of Weezer’s most notable singles, kicks off the album in energetic fashion. The din of an orchestra swell gives way to a steady rhythm and propulsive guitars, with Rivers reminiscing about the times “When Audioslave was still Rage” and recounting various events that may or may not have been part of his life. The AP review of the album said that the song “sounds like Andrew WK covering the Killers”, and I have to agree about the AWK part. The relentless, pounding rhythm of the song never lets up until it fades out.

Ruling Me finds Rivers doing what he does best lyrically, pining about the intricacies of girls and dating and women and how he’s often on the sidelines wanting something he can’t get. Cries of Everybody wants somebody they can dream of all night long in the chorus, set to thick vocal harmonies bring to mind the long-underappreciated Fountains of Wayne.

We are all in suits

For that matter, the album as a whole sounds like Weezer tried to channel the kind of self-aware-yet-brilliant music that Adam Schlesinger’s genius power-pop band has churned out for years.

Ruling Me is one of my favorite tracks on the album, and sounds like it could have been written by the band 10 or so years ago. It’s shimmery, it’s fun, and it’s not filled with silly pop culture references. It’s a standard Weezer gem.

Trainwrecks is less of a romp, but it’s memorable in its own way. A flurry of instruments accentuates the steady guitars and drumbeat, provided by Pat Wilson. The pre-chorus, soaked in synth, sounds somewhat Sugar Ray-ish (cringe if you must), and Rivers talks of one day “cutting our critics down to size” and “crashing a Diddy party in disguise”, but the song itself isn’t as offensive as those two lines.

The next track, Unspoken, is hands-down my favorite from the disc, and has the kind of old-school Weezer sound to it that the fankids have whined about for years. It starts out with a much younger-sounding Rivers singing to an acoustic guitar played by Brian Bell, before some flutes join the party, spicing things up a bit. Rivers here is again singing about relationships, with the refrain of And if you take this away from me/I’ll never forgive you, can’t you see/Our life will be broken/Our hate will be unspoken repeating over and over, because it’s so damn good. Two minutes in, the acousticness gives way to an oncoming electric explosion (including some bass power from Scott Shriner), and a thunderous guitar riff gives the last minute some serious “bob-along-in-your-car-as-if-no-one-can-see-you” qualities. The refrain mentioned above is one of the most quotable Weezer hooks I can remember in quite a while, and in my opinion Unspoken could and should become one of the band’s “classic” songs. It’s that good.

After it fades out, though, Where’s My Sex comes in puts a damper on things. Musically, the chugging riff reminds me of a weird hybrid of Green Day’s Brain Stew and Good Charlotte’s I Just Wanna Live (yeah, I know). Lyrically, Rivers is singing a song about socks, but somehow the word he uses is “sex”. If that’s supposed to be witty, I don’t get it. It also has a strange off-key bridge toward the end, making the whole thing sound a bit rushed.

This is where I write my stuff

Run Away is a decent mid-tempo number with more Fountains-eque “ooh” vocal hooks all over the place, but the folk-y Hang On, the next track, put me back in a good mood again. Featuring quirkster Michael Cera on background vocals and playing a ‘hurdy-gurdy’ (yes, really), the song manages to sound like an homage to John Mellencamp (the main riff sounds like Small Town), Queen’s Under Pressure (Rivers’ vocals in the verse) and Pete Townshend’s Let My Love Open the Door. Despite these distractions, the song is one of the album’s strongest moments, with a really rich melody and irresistible singalong quality, both key factors for any great Weezer tune.

Smart Girls finds Rivers again obsessing over the fairer sex, while a drum machine pounds out another relentless beat married with more group chorus vocals. The song features the album’s only guitar solo, and it’s short but sweet. The song as a whole has a 1980s feel to it, and it works well.

Brave New World is a more hard-driving song with a leading riff and some vocals in the chorus that sound like the band Lit, circa A Place in the Sun. That is to say, it’s another exercise in power-pop-rock precision.

The album concludes with Time Flies, a stomping acoustic song where Rivers really captures what people have liked about his songs over the years with the line some sad day they’ll be taking me away/But I won’t be dead/‘cause even when I’m gone this stupid damn song/will be in your head. He’s right, you know. Rivers is self-aware (sometimes heavy-handedly so), but this time he’s dead-on.

That’s a fitting way for Weezer’s best album in nearly a decade to end.

Frankly, if this album isn’t able to finally shut up the whiners and babies demanding Pinkerton 2.0, then it’s just impossible to satisfy them. With Hurley, the band has truly created the best music they possibly could at this stage in their career.

Weezer fans have grown to dread each impending album release, being conditioned to expect the worst (considering the albums between Maladroit and this one). Hurley, though, finds the band recapturing a bit of the youthful qualities and melodic chops that made everyone like them in the first place.

Rivers doesn’t have to prove himself to anyone anymore, but he basically did so anyway with Hurley.

I’d say it’s safe to bust out your =W=eezer shirts again without feeling that sense of wistful nostalgia that used to make you miss the band’s ‘golden age’.

The real Weezer is back!!

Apparently, THIS is Weezer’s new album cover. The album, entitled “Hurley”, will be released via Epitaph Records on September 14th. As a result, the album cover is….Hurley from everyone’s favorite “trapped-on-an-island-or-maybe-not-but-maybe-so-wait-who-knows-this-is-silly” series Lost.

I don’t really have any words for this, as it really seems like some kind of joke. I know Weezer is all caught up in the “we can do whatever we want! woo hoo!” period of their career, highlighted by insipid jams with Lil Wayne and album covers with flying dogs and such, but this? Seriously?

The name for the album is already questionable, but making the cover just Jorge Garcia’s face? There’s not even a flying =W= anywhere to be seen.

When I found out about this story, I checked the date…nope it’s not April Fools Day. Hmm….

Part two of our three part series brings us to the top ten songs the boys and I thought got us moving. Won’t you join us? Feel free to leave your favorite songs in the comments below!

Dagan’s De Jour:

10. Camera Obscura – French Navy (from the album My Maudlin Career)
So kitschy you can’t help but love it.

9. A Place to Bury Strangers – Keep Slipping Away (from the album Exploding Head)
Hey, it’s the Cure as a shoegaze band!

8. Thom Yorke – Hearing Damage (from The Twilight Saga: New Moon Soundtrack)
“Hehe my fans are such scenesters.. let’s see what they make of THIS.”

7. Incubus – Black Heart Inertia (from the album Monuments and Melodies)
Just a reminder of what we’re missing out on while they continue their hiatus…

6. Depeche Mode – Wrong (from the album Sounds of the Universe)
Easily their best single since 97′s It’s No Good.

5. Dinosaur Jr. – Over It (from the album Farm)
Also one of the most entertaining videos I’ve seen all year.

4. Röyksopp – The Girl and the Robot (from the album Junior)
Great blend of downtempo and dance, with great vocals.

3. Moderat – Rusty Nails (from the album Moderat)
Again, a great blend – this time upbeat dance with dark melancholy.

2. Basement Jaxx – Raindrops (from the album Scars)
Hands down the most addicting, near-perfect dance song of the year.

1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Zero (from the album It’s Blitz!)
Such an unbelievably fun song. lyk zomg.

Cheese Sandwich’s Collection:

Thrice – In Exile

An incredible song from one of my top 5 albums of the year. Easily my personal favorite from Beggars, with a subdued passion, steady rhythm and incredible melody. Dustin Kensrue’s lyrics are amazing, as well, as I frequently find this song creep into my head every few days, whether I’ve listened to it or not.

311 – Sun Comes Through

Although this track wasn’t included on the retail version of 311’s latest album Uplifter, it was available as an Amazon download. It would have been the best track on Uplifter had it been on the record; Tim Mahoney’s guitar work is crunchy and the vocal melodies by Nick Hexum and SA Martinez are very strong; as a 311 fan boy, it is already one of my favorite songs they’ve ever done, and fittingly it made my list for songs of the year. It wasn’t the cookie-cutter type of pop song (with throwaway lyrics) that 311 has been churning out now and then for the past few years. It’s much more creative and stylized, and it is refreshing to hear that the band can still do that at this stage in their career.

As Tall as Lions – Circles

ATAL clearly made quite an impression on me this year, with both one of my top albums and top songs. Circles is one of the most memorable songs from You Can’t Take it With You. Dan Nigro’s voice is warbled with some cool echo effects, matching up well with the song’s erratic and rhythmic percussion. As the opener to the album it is a great precursor of the brilliance that shines throughout the disc.

Rammstein – Pussy

Okay. Yes, this song is just plain ridiculous. Everyone’s favorite big scary German guys singing in German and English about, well, screwing. Till Lindemann channels the poets of old when he asks, simply, “You have a pussehh…I have a dick-ahhh….so what’s the problem? Let’s do it quickkkkk” with your standard thunderous Rammstein industrial-metal slamfest going on in the background. I included it on this list simply because it’s obvious Rammstein doesn’t give two shits about what you consider ‘appropriate’, and I fully support that way of thinking. Plus, the video for this song is only hosted on porn sites due to its graphic nature. Damn the man.

Every Time I Die – Wanderlust

I tend to shy away from music with crazy yelling vocalists, but I can tolerate Keith Buckley because his lyrics are ridiculous and the music going with it is so aggressive and catchy. Wanderlust is the single from ETID’s album New Junk Aesthetic, and it has a delicious melody interwoven over the four-plus minute track. Buckley does his thing over some Southern-sounding riffs and the song has a luscious rhythm that gives it a relentless fury. Easily one of my favorite hard rock tunes of the past year.

Them Crooked Vultures – Warsaw or the First Breath you Take After You Give Up

This 8-minute jam on TCV’s debut record finds Homme, JPJ and Dave Grohl at their best: it’s a sprawling grimy bastard of a song, and morphs into a groovy foot-stomp halfway through that is simply mesmerizing. To be a fly on the wall when they jammed this song out would have been my life’s highlight. This and Mind Eraser, No Chaser were my favorite tunes from TCV’s record, a refreshing course in Rock 101 that proved that there might still be hope for rock music in the future.

Weezer – (If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To

While the rest of Raditude is silly dance/pop, this one is easily the best song Weezer’s done in years. Sure Pork and Beans was a catchy romp as well, but this one is light years ahead. It’s a shame that Rivers got so preoccupied with making empty dance pop numbers with Lil’ Wayne (yuck) and recording songs written by the All American Rejects (double yuck), because this song rocks. I’ve heard it about three trillion times since it came out, and I’m still not bored with it. My roommate even proposed to his now-fiance onstage during a Weezer cover band show, so it’s also taken on a personal meaning for me as well. This song proves that Rivers still has the talent to craft a near-perfect tune every now and again.

White Rabbits – Percussion Gun

White Rabbits are a very underrated band, and this song is infectious. It’s also very appropriately titled, with a barrage of percussion matching up with the two singers’ vocals nicely. Piano plucking accompanies the dual vocals and percussion noises along with a staccato guitar riff, and the end result is a great little indie rock song that I don’t think enough people have discovered.

Rx Bandits – Mientras La Veo Sonar/ White Lies (I only found the live link for White Lies)

I couldn’t pick either one of these over the other, so they’re both here. Mientras is a spazzed-out jam in English and Spanish, with Matt Embree singing about the future and dreams and other such topics of interest, while the rest of the band rocks out like a less-frantic (and in my opinion more melodic) Mars Volta. White Lies is a more hushed, percussion-centered piece with gorgeous vocal harmonies about frustration and looking for answers. Simply put, the song is breathtaking. The two songs act together to demonstrate the varied tempos of RXB, from a crazy awesome jam session to a slower, more introspective and experimental number.

Alice in Chains – Your Decision

Black Gives Way to Blue was a great comeback album by Alice in Chains, as new vocalist William DuVall filled in for Layne Staley perfectly. This song is a mostly acoustic number with DuVall and Jerry Cantrell sharing vocal duties; the song changes things up a bit after Check My Brain and Last of My Kind start off the record with such loudness and aggression. To me, this is the most Alice in Chains-sounding song on the album; it wouldn’t have felt out of place in the mid 1990’s or on the Unplugged record. The guitar solo in the middle is simple yet artistic, and interweaves the main melody around Cantrell’s dark lyrics and gentle delivery. Simply put, it’s awesome.

Flak’s Fanfare:

10. The Fall of Troy- Battleship Graveyard

I don’t know how, but since the inception of their hit single F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X., The Fall of Troy has had me hooked with at least one song on every album they have put out. This one has some of the most impressive note for note exchanges with the guitar and drums, with a droning bassist (who looks like my brother with dreads) looming in the background. I’m a Mathcore band. Sue me.

9. Brand New- At the Bottom

Brand New is one of those bands that evoke an immense amount of emotion when it comes to the fruition of tracks like this. This song has a elements of the bands new directions, mixed with the tried-but-true sing along power that brings us all screaming the chorus together.

8. Cunninlynguists- The Distance

These guys are true hip hop first of all. The beat steady with the gloomy organ playing along, set the mood for the somber but undeniably impressive flow of Tonedeff. I can’t help but nod to strange journey that this album is named after. Storytelling hip hop has always been the easiest for me to enjoy and relate to. A well produced and well rounded track. I just wish I knew who sang the chorus.

7. Mos Def- Casa Bey

Mos Def, one of the tightest tongue twisters around, brings an organic piece that made to the list for not only the organic nature of the beat, but also for the closer glimpse of this half of Blackstar.

6. RX Bandits- Mientras lo Veo Sonar

I was worried that the RX Bandits would never be the same, but after hearing the insane work of one of my favorite drummers, RX Bandits remain on my top ten must hear live acts. If the boys can get me dancing this much on the cd, I might just have to learn salsa for the live show.

5. Sa-Ra- White Cloud (Which apparently can’t be found…comment below if you do!)

Neo Soul wizards, slept on superstars, American heroes. Sa Ra is one of those groups that say what we were all thinking. I try to find songs to live by, and this is one of em, with lyrics meant to uplift among those stormy masses. You’re just a dark cloud, baby I’m a star.

4. Portugal. The Man-Lovers in Love

Even after spending some time with these guys at several music events this year, I still find the boys from PTM an entrancing enigma. Old school sci fi meets funk and soul. The line “If another lover takes their love away from you//Be careful with your mind, and what you’re bound to do” looms in my head even when the song isn’t playing. Something to think about.

3. A Fine Frenzy- Stood Up

There is so much to say about the stunning Ali Sudol aka A Fine Frenzy. Being a bass guitar fiend, the first thing I loved was the off timing of the bass,which the rest of the band follows suit to. The uplifting lyrics sung by the lovely and lithe Alison (again, my only celebrity crush), made this a no brainer for my songs of the year. Plus, the album was released on my birthday…cmon now.

2. Incubus- Look Alive (This is the live version from the DVD which is a must have for lovers of music and travel)

Meeting sixty percent of the band, coupled with this sleeping release on their greatest hits album got the endorphins rising whilst watching the live video of this song on their dvd Look Alive. Meeting your inspiration, and constantly going about the world with lyrics to live by is one of the most humbling experiences I’ve ever had. This will definately be the next song I master on bass (one of the most badass bass lines in history), and when people tell me “I like the old Incubus”, I think they will come find that this is a happy medium for fans new and old. A perfect song.

1. Robert Glasper- All Matter

Like I’ve said before, and as my close friends know about me, the music goes towards a mood. But with this song, it encompassed more than that. The smooth yet unpredictable elements of jazz, with a neo soul twist, that made this my favorite song of the year. The ups and downs of life, and realization that we are so small, and so alike, that we should make it count as tiny little creatures. That’s the message of the song, and I felt like it’s a message that I wanted to tell, but didn’t quite know how to tell it. Before this year, I knew nothing about Robert Glasper, but by chance was sent his album for review, and can honestly say it changed the way I think about music. Some people might say its just a song, but a song can create a legacy, and I’m sure you’re no stranger to that. Everyone has a song that give them that feel, and this was it for me.

With that, I close on the singles in 2009 that we loved, with the final chapter, albums of the year to come shortly. I hope you’ve enjoyed your read, and again, feel free to leave your favorites down below!

Until next time my friends,

~Flak

P.S.-Honorable Mention

The Lonely Island- I’m On a Boat (I’m sad the unedited version is gone but cmon, you got a good laugh at least once watching the video!)