Monday, May 19, 2008

MY *NEW* 100 FAVORITE SONGS OF ALL TIME


Soooooooo....

My Top 100 has changed so much in the last few months that I decided to just screw the other list and make an entirely new one.

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For people who want to go out and find these songs, I added markings to the super-rare and very-rare songs, just to let you know in case you want to find a song.

[*] = Super-Rare
[+] = Very-Rare

Super-Rare status refers to songs that were either never released on an album, were on an uncommon EP, or were on albums of very unknown artists.

Very Rare status refers to songs that were released on an uncommon album of a major artist, were bonus tracks or on seperate discs of the same album, or were on sountracks [which in itself is uncommon].


So, just in case you're having trouble pirating the rare ones, just ask me for 'em....

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And now without further ado,


MY 100 FAVORITE SONGS OF ALL TIME


1. Born To Run--Bruce Springsteen
2. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)--Arcade Fire
3.
The Scientist--Coldplay
4. Going Away To College--blink-182
5. Sleep Now In The Fire--Rage Against The Machine
6.
You Belong To Me--Kate Rusby [*]
7. Rendezvous--The Boss [*]
8. Bohemian Rhapsody--Queen
9.
The Wildfire (If It Was True)--Mando Diao
10. Badlands--Bruce Springsteen
11. Waitin’ On A Sunny Day--Bruce Springsteen
12. Make You Smile--+44
13. You Can Make Him Like You--The Hold Steady

14. Jude Law And A Semester Abroad--Brand New
15. Don’t Stop Me Now--Queen

16. Blinded By The Light--Bruce Springsteen
17. Another Girl, Another Planet--blink-182 [+]
18. Better Days--Bruce Springsteen
19. Kiss Me--Sixpence None The Richer
20.
First Day Of My Life--Bright Eyes [*]
21. Thunder Road--Bruce Springsteen
22.
As Lovers Go--Dashboard Confessional
23.
Clock Is Down--LetterKILLS
24. Blood Brothers--Bruce Springsteen [+]
25. Cliffdiving--+44
26.
You And I Both--Jason Mraz

27. The Adventure--Angels And Airwaves
28.
Stay With Me--Finch
29. The Village Anthem--LetterKILLS [*]
30. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)--Bruce Springsteen
31.
When You’re Away--LetterKILLS
32. Somebody To Love--Queen
33. Mr. Brightside--The Killers
34.
Dammit--blink-182
35. Mr. Jones--Counting Crows
36.
Blood Red Summer--Coheed And Cambria
37.
Best of Me--The Starting Line
38.
Killing In The Name--Rage Against The Machine
39. Pressure--Teleo [*]
40. Here’s Your Letter--blink-182
41. The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows--Brand New
42. For You--Bruce Springsteen
43. The Game Of Love--Michelle Branch/Santana
44.
Change Your Mind--The Killers
45. Dive Right In--STORYoftheYEAR
46. A Favor House Atlantic--Coheed And Cambria
47.
First Week--Graham Colton Band
48. Not Now--blink-182 [+]
49. Testify--Rage Against The Machine
50.
Wouldn’t It Be Nice--The Beach Boys
51. Renegades Of Funk--Rage Against The Machine
52.
I’m Not Okay--My Chemical Romance
53. Keep The Car Running--Arcade Fire
54. All I Want For Christmas Is You--Mariah Carey
55.
The Ballad Of Sal Villanueva--Taking Back Sunday [+]
56. Streetcar--Funeral For A Friend
57.
Stuck In The Middle With You--Stealer’s Wheel [*]
58. Go--blink-182
59. Vindicated (Acoustic)--Dashboard Confessional [*]
60. No One--Alicia Keys
61. Livin’ In The Future--Bruce Springsteen
62. A Decade Under The Influence--Taking Back Sunday
63.
The Heart Of Polka Is Still Beating--STORYoftheYEAR [*]
64. Adam’s Song--blink-182
65. Flake--Jack Johnson
66. Big Machine--Goo Goo Dolls
67.
Page Avenue--STORYoftheYEAR
68. Parade--Garbage
69. All I Want Is You--Barry Louis Polisar [*]
70. The General--Dispatch
71. Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
72. Lights Out--LetterKILLS
73. Can’t Help Falling In Love--Elvis
74. Sunshine (Go Away Today)--Jonathan Edwards
75. Stuck Between Stations--The Hold Steady
76.
We Belong Together--Mariah Carey
77. Dark Blue--Jack’s Mannequin
78.
Take A Picture--Filter
79. Don’t Wait--Dashboard Confessional
80.
My Way--Frank Sinatra
81. I Will Follow You Into The Dark--Death Cab For Cutie
82. Faint--Linkin Park
83.
Don’t Know Why--Norah Jones
84.
Until The Day I Die--STORYoftheYEAR
85. Elevator--Boxcar Racer
86. By The Way--Red Hot Chili Peppers
87. Boston--Augustana
88. Hallelujah--Jeff Buckley
89.
Wonderwall--Oasis
90. “Is This My Fate?” He Asked Them--STORYoftheYEAR
91. Makedamnsure--Taking Back Sunday
92.
All The Small Things--blink-182
93.
Roll To Me--Del Amitri
94. Crazy Train--Ozzy Osbourne
95. 99 Luftballons--Nena
96. Enter Sandman--Metallica
97. Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)--Green Day
98. Come On Eileen--Dexy’s Midnight Runners
99.
America, Fuck Yeah--Trey Parker [+]
100. Damn, It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta--Geto Boys [+]



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Obviously I like The BOSS, Bruce Springsteen. He had 3 in the Top 10 and 11 total.
Queen had 2 in the Top 10 and 4 total.
blink-182 had 1 in the Top 10 and 8 total.
Rage Against The Machine had 1 in the Top 10 and 5 total.
The Arcade Fire had 1 in the Top 10 and 2 total.
STORYoftheYEAR had 5 total.
LetterKILLS had 4 total.
Dashboard Confessional had 3 total.
+44, Brand New, Coheed and Cambria, The Hold Steady, The Killers, and Taking Back Sunday had 2 total.




Wednesday, April 9, 2008

CANDY TO MY EARS: THE GREATEST ALBUMS I'VE EVER HEARD

By me.

There have been more albums released than is probably possible to document. So I don't claim to have gone through very many, because, relative to the astronomical number of existing records, I've listened to basically nothing.
However, I still assert that you SHOULD listen to what I tell you too. You'll thank me for it after you have had an amazing love explosion in your head.



It was actually kinda difficult to go through and rate songs and such. Some albums had averages that I either expected to be higher or lower than the actual result. There's always that ONE bad song that brings the whole average down.

Except on alot of these albums, on which every song is amazing.


I also made the executive decision to not include compilations, since these are usually designed to sell, so contain the artists biggest hits.

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Hookay.... So.... Here we go.

I give the album, the artist, the year of release, then the number of copies sold, the average rating of all the songs, and the individual rating of each song.

THE ORDER IS NOT BASED ON AVERAGE RATING.
Nope, the rating is actually based on the albums' intangible value to me. For example Funeral by the Arcade Fire is second, even though it's rating is lower than the Boys And Girls In America by the Hold Steady. This is because, as much as I love the Hold Steady, "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" by the Arcade Fire alone blows the Hold Steady out of the water, in my humble opinion. See John Lane for the dissenting opinion.




  1. Born To Run--Bruce Springsteen [1975]
    6 Million copies (6x Platinum)
    AVERAGE: 9.500



    Thunder Road : 10
    Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out : 9.5
    Night :
    9.5
    Backstreets :
    9.5
    Born To Run : 10
    She’s The One : 10
    Meeting Across The River : 7.5
    Jungleland :
    10

  2. Funeral--Arcade Fire [2004]
    340,000 copies
    AVERAGE:
    9.250



    Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) : 10
    Neighborhood #2 (Laïka) :
    8
    Une Année Sans Lumière :
    9.5
    Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) :
    9.5
    Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles) : 9.5
    Crown Of Love : 10
    Wake Up : 10
    Haïti : 8.5
    Rebellion (Lies) : 10
    In The Backseat :
    7.5

  3. The Bridge--LetterKILLS [2004]
    200,000 copies
    AVERAGE:
    9.417



    Lights Out : 10
    Don’t Believe : 10
    Whatever It Takes : 9
    Brand New Man : 9.5
    Clock Is Down : 10
    Time Marches On :
    9
    Carry You :
    8.5
    Hold My Heart, Pt. 2 : 8.5
    When You’re Away : 10
    Radio Up : 9.5
    Shot To The Chest :
    9.5
    Hold My Heart, Pt. 1 :
    9.5

  4. Page Avenue--STORYoftheYEAR [2003]
    500,000 copies (1x Gold)
    AVERAGE:
    9.292



    And The Hero Will Drown : 10
    Until The Day I Die : 10
    Anthem Of Our Dying Day : 10
    In The Shadows :
    9.5
    Dive Right In :
    10
    Swallow The Knife : 7.5
    Burning Years : 9
    Page Avenue : 10
    Sidewalks : 7
    Divide And Conquer :
    9
    Razorblades :
    10
    Falling Down :
    9.5

  5. Boys And Girls In America--The Hold Steady [2006]
    Information bloody impossible to locate....
    AVERAGE:
    9.318



    Stuck Between Stations :
    10
    Chips Ahoy! :
    9
    Hot Soft Light : 9.5
    Same Kooks : 9
    First Night :
    8
    Party Pit :
    9
    You Can Make Him Like You : 10
    Massive Nights : 9
    Citrus : 9.5
    Chillout Tent :
    10
    Southtown Girls :
    9.5

  6. Enema Of The State--blink-182 [1999]
    7 Million copies (7x Platinum)
    AVERAGE:
    9.000



    Dumpweed : 8
    Don’t Leave Me :
    8.5
    Aliens Exist : 9
    Going Away To College : 10
    What’s My Age Again? :
    9.5
    Dysentery Gary :
    10
    Adam’s Song : 10
    All The Small Things :
    9.5
    The Party Song : 8
    Mutt :
    9
    Wendy Clear : 9.5
    Anthem :
    7

  7. When Your Heart Stops Beating--(+44) [2006]
    350,000 copies
    AVERAGE:
    9.042



    Lycanthrope :
    9.5
    Baby Come On :
    9
    When Your Heart Stops Beating : 9
    Little Death : 9.5
    155 :
    10
    Lilian :
    7
    Cliffdiving : 10
    Interlude : 8.5
    Weatherman : 8
    No, It Isn't :
    8.5
    Make You Smile : 10
    Chapter 13 :
    9.5

  8. A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar--Dashboard Confessional [2003]
    500,000 copies (1x Gold)
    AVERAGE:
    8.923



    Hands Down :
    9.5
    Rapid Hope Loss :
    8
    As Lovers Go : 10
    Carry This Picture : 9.5
    Bend And Not Break : 9.5
    Ghost Of A Good Thing :
    9
    Am I Missing :
    9
    Morning Calls : 7.5
    Carve Your Heart Out Yourself : 10
    So Beautiful : 8.5
    Hey Girl : 9
    If You Can’t Leave It Be, Might As Well Make It Bleed : 8.5
    Several Ways To Die Trying :
    8

  9. What It Is To Burn--Finch [2002]
    Information bloody impossible to locate....
    AVERAGE:
    8.808




    New Beginnings :
    9.5
    Letters To You :
    8.5
    Post Script :
    9
    Grey Matter : 9
    Perfection Through Silence :
    9.5
    Awake :
    7.5
    Without You Here :
    8.5
    Stay With Me : 10
    Project Mayhem :
    8.5
    [Untitled Track] : 8.5
    Three Simple Words :
    8
    Ender : 8
    What It Is To Burn :
    10

  10. In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3--Coheed And Cambria [2003]
    500,000 copies (1x Gold)
    AVERAGE:
    8.708



    The Ring In Return : 8
    In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3 :
    8.5
    Cuts Marked In The March Of Men : 8
    Three Evils (Embodied In Love And Shadow) :
    9.5
    The Crowing :
    7.5
    Blood Red Summer :
    10
    The Velourium Camper I: Faint Of Heart : 10
    The Velourium Camper II: Backend Of Forever :
    8
    The Velourium Camper III: Al The Killer : 9
    A Favor House Atlantic : 10
    The Light And The Glass :
    8
    [Untitled Track] : 8

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So there we go....

I would honestly poop my pants if there wasn't a single mathematic mistake.... If you're bored sometime, check my numbers and get back to me.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

. : : | THE BEST OF THE BOSS: MY FAVORITE SPRINGSTEEN SONGS | : : .

So yes, I'm in love with the Boss. I own every single studio CD from him, plus 2 compilations. I don't have the VERY rare bootlegs [E.G. War And Roses] so if you for some weird reason have one laying around in your room, I'll buy it from you.

Despite having approximately 17 hours, 13 minutes, and 15 seconds of the Boss, I have listened to every song at least 5 times [We have taken alot of roadtrips].
Some songs, like Born To Run, have been listened to 682 times, by my computer's count.

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After sorting through all his work, I have compiled a list of my favorite songs. It was very difficult to narrow down, but I finally managed to compact it to a reasonable 40 tracks.

I have presented it in as organized of a manner as I could while being totally excited about sharing this with the world. First is the song, then the album, the the year of the albums' release, although some songs were written long before that date [for example, Rendezvous was on Tracks, which was released in 1998, but the song was written earlier than even Born To Run].

Red stars, like this one [*] indicate a song that you should have heard of before [or even just HEARD], if you're any kind of American. Though, you may not associate them with Springsteen at first ("Cough" "Cough" Blinded By The Light....).

_________________________________________________________

DISCLAIMER:
If you actually waste your time running this against my top 100 songs list, you'll notice differences. It all obviously depends on what I'm feeling, and the fact that ordering Springsteen songs is DAMN NEAR IMPOSSIBLE.
_________________________________________________________

Without any more impeding nonsense, here is

=THE BEST OF THE BOSS: MY FAVORITE SPRINGSTEEN SONGS=

  1. Born To Run -- Born To Run [1975] [*]
  2. Better Days -- Lucky Town [1992]
  3. Rendezvous --Tracks [1998]
  4. Blood Brothers -- Greatest Hits [1995]
  5. Badlands -- Darkness On The Edge Of Town [1978]
  6. Waitin’ On A Sunny Day -- The Rising [2002]
  7. Blinded By The Light -- Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. [1973] [*]
  8. Thunder Road -- Born To Run [1975]
  9. Livin’ In The Future -- Magic [2007]
  10. Reason To Believe -- Nebraska [1982]
  11. Radio Nowhere -- Magic [2007]
  12. Long Walk Home -- Magic [2007]
  13. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) -- The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle [1973] [*]
  14. For You -- Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. [1973]
  15. Terry’s Song -- Magic [2007]
  16. Take ‘Em As They Come --Tracks [1998]
  17. Born In The U.S.A. -- Born In The U.S.A. [1984] [*]
  18. Backstreets -- Born To Run [1975]
  19. Jungleland -- Born To Run [1975]
  20. Bobby Jean -- Born In The U.S.A. [1984]
  21. The Promised Land -- Darkness On The Edge Of Town [1978]
  22. Dancing In The Dark -- Born In The U.S.A. [1984] [*]
  23. Into The Fire -- The Rising [2002]
  24. Hungry Heart -- The River [1980] [*]
  25. Cover Me -- Born In The U.S.A. [1984]
  26. Incident On 57th Street -- The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle [1973]
  27. I’ll Work For Your Love -- Magic [2007]
  28. Prove It All Night -- Darkness On The Edge Of Town [1978]
  29. It’s Hard To Be A Saint In The City -- Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. [1973]
  30. Darkness On The Edge Of Town -- Darkness On The Edge Of Town [1978]
  31. Johnny 99 -- Nebraska [1982]
  32. Glory Days -- Born In The U.S.A. [1984] [*]
  33. The Rising -- The Rising [2002] [*]
  34. All I’m Thinkin’ About -- Devils & Dust [2005]
  35. I’m A Rocker -- The River [1980]
  36. Living Proof -- Lucky Town [1992]
  37. If I Should Fall Behind -- Lucky Town [1992]
  38. Ain’t Got You -- Tunnel Of Love [1987]
  39. She’s The One -- Born To Run [1975]
  40. I’m On Fire-- Born In The U.S.A. [1984]

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Well, that was fun wasn't it?

[*] Explained:
=> Born To Run is THE Boss song.
=> Born In The U.S.A. is THE American anthem of the last half-century.
=> Blinded By The Light was covered [in absolute shit I might add] by Manfred Mann's Earth Band.

=> The Rising was accepted by generally everyone as THE post-9/11 song that echoed the sentiments of the country.
=> Glory Days, Rosalita, and Hungry Heart get a ton of radio play on oldies stations.
=> Dancing In The Dark was the Boss's biggest Top 40 hit, reaching number 2 against some gay Prince song. As such, it recieves alot of radio play today as well.
It should be known to Minnesotans and Friends fans, though, as the song that put both the Minneapolis Civic Center [where it was recorded] and Courtney Cox [Monica from Friends] on the map.
It's also when people realized that the Boss was decidedly liberal due to his very flamboyant display of support for the gay community.

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So, how do the albums stack up?

Of his 15 studio albums, all but these don't have a single song on my list:
» The Ghost Of Tom Joad
» We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
» Human Touch

Human Touch, in my opinion, just blew.

The Ghost Of Tom Joad was an individual endeavor for which he somehow thought it would be a good idea to go without the Band. For some unbelievably rediculous reason, he attempted this a second time with Devils & Dust. After that one didn't do much better, he realized he needed his E-Street Band.

The Seeger Sessions was a tribute to Pete Seeger, again without the Band, opting to use the less-skilled but just as diverse Sessions Band. The less-than-standard sales once again reminded Bruce that it is Bruce Springsteen AND THE E-STREET BAND that we love.

Of the albums that did land songs on my very presigious list, here's the count:


BORN TO RUN: 5
Born To Run
Thunder Road
Jungleland
Backstreets
She's The One


Born In The U.S.A.: 6
Born In The U.S.A.
Bobby Jean
Dancing In The Dark
Cover Me
Glory Days
I'm On Fire


Magic: 5
Radio Nowhere
Long Walk Home
Livin' In The Future
I'll Work For Your Love
Terry's Song



Darkness On The Edge Of Town: 4
Badlands
The Promised Land
Prove It All Night
Darkness On The Edge Of Town


Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.: 3
Blinded By The Light
For You
It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City


The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle: 2
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Incident On 57th Street


Lucky Town: 3
Better Days
Living Proof
If I Should Fall Behind


The Rising: 3
Waitin' On A Sunny Day
Into The Fire
The Rising


Nebraska: 2
Reason To Believe
Johnny 99


Tracks: 2
Rendezvous
Take 'Em As They Come


The River: 2
Hungry Heart
I'm A Rocker


Greatest Hits: 1
Blood Brothers


Tunnel Of Love: 1
Ain't Got You


Devils & Dust: 1
A'll I'm Thinkin' About

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So, if anyone is interested in getting a copy of my favorite Boss songs, I'd be more than happy to burn you a set [It takes like 2 or 3 discs, depending on what format I choose to use]!!












The Boss playing Born To Run in Barcelona in 2002. In frickin' Barcelona in a stadium of about 30,000+ Europeans and they all know the whole damn song.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

=BRING THAT SHIT IN: The Best of Zack De La Rocha=

So if you don't know who Zack de la Rocha is.... Thank God, there's still hope for you.



He's most famous for leading to Rap/Hip-Hop/Metal/Funk band RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE.




Talk about hitting the ground running....
His dad was a nuts-artist who helped shape who he is today.


Now he's a crazy anarchist who wants to try, hang, and shoot George W. Bush. Since the first part is pre-determined, I 'spose I might-as-well agree with the rest. :P


There's no way to describe him better than ABSOLUTELY FLIPPIN' NUTS.


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I have assembled a list of the best quotes from his songs. Sometimes, mostly in their first album, Rage Against The Machine, he would just say random shit before the shit hits the fan.
Some are quotes from the intro or conclusion of a song from their live record, Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium.
The rest are quotes from lyrics.


Given is:
"The Quote"
The Song
[The Album]


I hope you can find as much inspiration in his words as I do.




THE BEST OF ZACK DE LA ROCHA


"Yeah.... We're comin' back here with another bomb track."
Take The Power Back
[Rage Against The Machine]

"Bring that shit in!"
Take The Power Back

[Rage Against The Machine]

"The movement's in motion with massive militant poetry!"
Take The Power Back
[Rage Against The Machine]


"Fuck you, I won't do what ya told me!"
Killing In The Name
[Rage Against The Machine]

"'Ay yo, it's just another bomb track!"
Bombtrack
[Rage Against The Machine]

"ROCK!"
Killing In The Name
[Live At The Grand Olympic Auditorium]

"Yo, how many Zapatistas we got in da house tonight right here?"
Sleep Now In The Fire
[Live At The Grand Olympic Auditorium]


"SUICIDE!"
Settle For Nothing
[Rage Against The Machine]

"Checka, checka, check it out!"
Bullet In The Head

[Rage Against The Machine]

"Get the fuck off the commode."
Bulls On Parade
[Evil Empire]

"The doors of the jail cell open up to greet you like the reaper!"
Ashes In The Fall
[The Battle Of Los Angeles]

"Mass graves for the pump and the price is set."
Testify

[The Battle Of Los Angeles]

"My panther, my brother, we are at war until you're free."
Voice Of The Voiceless
[The Battle Of Los Angeles]

"Like the priest that fucked you as he whispered holy things."
Ashes In The Fall
[The Battle Of Los Angeles]

"Anger is a gift."
Freedom
[Rage Against The Machine]

"All hell can't stop us now!"
Guerilla Radio
[The Battle Of Los Angeles]

"So raise you fist and march around, just don't take whatcha need."
Sleep Now In The Fire
[The Battle Of Los Angeles]

"The militant poet in once again.... Check it!"
Freedom
[Rage Against The Machine]

"Hey! Hey! Well, sleep now in the fire!"
Sleep Now In The Fire
[The Battle Of Los Angeles]

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"
Sleep Now In The Fire
[The Battle Of Los Angeles]

"MOTHERFUCKER!!!!!!!"
Killing In The Name
[Rage Against The Machine]









Yeeeeeuh.... Senior quote material right there....