My Music Picks On 94.9 San Diego Today At Lunch

94.9 in San Diego does a thing every weekday at noon where they play somebody's 3 "desert island" discs. The 3 CD's you'd bring with you on a desert island. They are going to be playing my desert island discs today at noon! You can stream the station here:

http://www.fm949sd.com/stream949/Listen.aspx

http://www.fm949sd.com/features/...discs.aspx

Don't You Wanna Touch It Anyway?

In honor of Soundgarden being back. A giant fuck you to all the bad 80's bands like Warrant and Poison making bad music.

Cornell's voice was untouchable in the early 90's.

"Hiro, our bass player at the time, hated that song. He thought it was obnoxious butt rock, a total rock'n'roll cliche. We tried to explain to him that the song was making fun of butt rock. We were fed up with bands beating about the bush, just using euphemisms and metaphors for the sex act. We thought we'll ditch all the euphemisms and say what all the disco dance bands had been trying to say for a decade. We were simply trying to kick all the lame-ass rock'n'roll and dance music of the '80s and late '70s in the butt. It's a parody of the whole genre of stupid rock." --Kim Thayil

KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas Lineup Announced

Details for both nights can be found on KROQ's site or by clicking on the link below.

http://kroq.radio.com/2010/11/15/21st-annual-kroq-almost-acoustic-christmas-line-up-tickets/

My plan? Buy night 1 tickets, resell them, and use it to finance my trip to night 2. A half hour set by The Black Keys is still a half hour set by The Black Keys.

Late Night TV This Week

Tuesday - Soundgarden - Conan TBS



Saturday - Arcade Fire - Saturday Night Live NBC

Random Update

I've been doing not so hot on the update front lately. So I'm just going to tell you that the new Arcade Fire album is pretty good. Here's a few live performances of the new songs:

Arcade Fire Live at MSG 8/5/2010 - "Ready to Start"



Arcade Fire Live at MSG 8/5/2010 - "We Used To Wait"

The Black Keys On The Late Late Show

Queens of the Stone Age and Eagles of Death Metal to Play Benefit Show At Club Nokia

Queens of the Stone Age and Eagles of Death Metal are going to be playing August 12 at Club Nokia in Los Angeles.

This one off show by QOTSA is a benefit show for Brian O'Connor of EODM.  He was diagnoses with a cancer a few weeks ago and is currently undergoing treatment for the disease.

It is not known who will be in the latest version of QOTSA.  There have been many rumors about Nick Oliveri and Mark Lanegan rejoining the band, but nothing has been confirmed.

You can donate to his cause by hitting this link:  http://www.brianeodm.org/

Eagles of Death Metal - Featuring Brian O'Connor (Live on Letterman)

Nicotine, valium, vicodin, marijuana, ecstacy, and alcohol...

Happy Belated 10th Birthday to one of my favorite albums of all-time. "Rated R" turned 10 this month. It features Mark Lanegan, Rob Halford, Barett Martin from Screaming Trees, Nick Oliveri, and of course Josh Homme.

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This is the album that turned me onto Queens of the Stone Age back in 2001 and I haven't been the same since. I "may" have a slight obessesion with anything Josh Homme touches now.

I've written about this album in the past, so go read my review of the Top 20 Albums of the Decade if you're still interested.

It's worth downloading if you haven't ever heard it.  Whether you steal it or buy it.  Just get it.

The Black Keys - Live on the Interface

The Black Keys played 4 songs and did an interview with AOL to promote their new album.  Check out "Next Girl" here or be a loser forever.  It's really your choice...

http://www.spinner.com/interface/the-black-keys/next-girl

KCRW Streaming The New Delta Spirit Album

"History From Below" comes out next Tuesday but you can preview the new album by clicking on the link below.  I became a huge fan of these guys about 2 years ago after seeing them open for Dr. Dog. If you're a fan of indie rock, you'll probably love them too.  I'm really digging the new album, it's been a long time coming. 

http://www.kcrw.com/media-player/mediaPlayer2.html?type=audio&id=ap100524delta_spirit_history

The Black Keys - "Tighten Up" Live On Letterman 5/25/10

"Don't kid yourself, this kid can whistle"

Interview With Ian MacKaye

Former lead singer of Fugazi doing an interview about straight edge.

Faith No More - Cuckoo For Caca

One of Mike Patton's greatest performances. And he has claimed in numerous interviews that he doesn't do drugs, this video would suggest otherwise.

"Next Girl" - Brand New From The Black Keys

Here's a link to the latest new song released by The Black Keys.  This song and "Tighten Up" were given to people that bought presale tickets for their upcoming show and/or pre-ordered the album. 

This almost sounds over-produced for The Black Keys but of course I still really like it.  A great song about losing a girl you were in love with but realizing you don't ever want anything like that again.

"My next girl will be nothing like my ex-girl.  I made mistakes back then, I'll never do it again". 

http://www.filedropper.com/theblackkeys-nextgirl

Can't wait to see them in May with Pearl Jam!

What Does Music Mean To You?

So a few weeks ago I sent out an e-mail to a very select few of you.  I asked you a simple question;  Using one word only, what does music mean to you?
Some of you thought you were too cool for school and didn't answer and others gave me shit for doing something so lame.  I'm OK with both of those.  But I want to thank all of you that took the time to answer.  I do this thing for fun, but I also want to try and involve my friends too.  Cause chances are I've bonded with many of you over a mutual love of music.  (And I also want to put something up that doesn't involve Pearl Jam, The Black Keys, or something Josh Homme is working on)

As many of you know, music is definitely my #1 passion.  I've lost a lot of sleep, money, time, and other things I can't mention here for my love of music.

I got a pretty wide range of answers from people, but my favorite was "life-saving".  That hit home for me, but on a completely different level than the person that answered it.  Either way, that answer truly moved me.  I'm going to use it for my own.  Although it's an obvious answer, I love that every answer basically said, "it moves me". 

Since I promised everybody they'd remain anonymous, here are the words that were chosen:

Inspiring
Intoxication
Life-saving
Emotion
Life-accompaniment
Inspiration
Escape
Release
Spirit-lifting
Release
Energy
Enhance
Head-bob
Soul-bliss
Personality
Life
Life-affirming

No videos this time, just words.  I'm not good at this.....

Ex Sleater-Kinney Members Announce New Project

Janet Weiss and Carrie Brownstein have announced they will be working together on an unnamed project. Unfortunately that's all the news that's out so far. There are two other members in the band but Carrie doesn't/can't mention either of them in the interview.

You can read the whole article here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/mar/22/sleater-kinney-form-new-band

Carrie also talks about the band possibly reuniting in the next 5 years or so., which of course would be really, really fucking awesome.

The Black Keys Release New Single - "Tigthen Up"

The song is produced by DangerMouse. I've read a few stories online that say this is the only song he produced on the album.

It sounds a lot like the stuff off of "Attack and Release" in my opinion, but I love that record, so I'm not really going to complain much about that. The guitar to end the song is probably my favorite thing about it. 2:35 is where the magic starts.

There are some great lyrics on this song, including the opening verse; "I wanted love, I needed love, most of all, most of all. Someone said true love was dead, and I'm bound to fall, bound to fall, for you".

You can download the mp3 from a lot of different sources. I'm sharing this one because it's directly off a legit site with no annoying pop-up ads, etc:

http://squeegiesounds.com/files/2010/03/01-Tighten-Up-Prod.-By-Dangermouse.mp3

Or listen to a lower quality version of it on YouTube:


-Josh

Junior Kimbrough and The Black Keys - "Nobody But You"

One of the many reasons I love The Black Keys so much is because of all the great blues acts they turned me onto. But by far my favorite is Junior Kimbrough. This is probably my favorite and I'm including Junior's version and The Black Keys cover from their "Chulahoma" EP. I hope you enjoy both versions.

Junior Kimbrough - "Nobody But You"


The Black Keys - "Nobody But You"

Pearl Jam and The Black Keys Playing Together

Pearl Jam just announced a small number of dates in the Midwest and East Coast. Sadly no dates near Louisville, where I have a lot of family. But in bigger news, The Black Keys are opening for them one of the nights in New York!! I have to be there.

http://www.pearljam.com/news/announcement

Foo Fighters To Begin Recording In September

So much for the rumors that they'd be taking an extended break because of Dave's work in Them Crooked Vultures. Speaking of TCV, they should be releasing new material in the Summer.

http://www.nme.com/news/foo-fighters/50110

Black Keys To Release New Album On May 18th

The Black Keys are releasing a new album on May 18th titled, "Brothers". This will be their 2nd studio release in less than a year. It's a good year to be me.  I'm excited just by the song titles alone!  Here's the full story from Pitchfork:

http://pitchfork.com/news/38059-the-black-keys-announce-new-album/

My Review of This Weeks American Idol

If I ever start watching that fucking show, please kill me.

The "Yes This Blog Was Almost Named After John Reis" Post

I'm branded by you baby...

The Giraffes - "Honey Baby Child"

This is the only video I can find on YouTube of them playing this song. The quality is so-so, but it's still The Giraffes.

Delta Spirit - "St. Francis"

02/04/10 Live In New York City



I really hope that they include this song on their new album coming out this year. It was one of those songs I fell in love with the second I heard it. They're playing LA next month. If you haven't seen them yet, you should.

Them Crooked Vultures Are Taking Over Your TV

The good news; TCV will be performing tonight on Saturday Night Live.  Bad news?  That douche that does those annoying camera commericals and is married to Demi Moore is the host.

And next Saturday they'll be on "Austin City Limits".  The one hour show was recorded last September when TCV were in town playing the ACL Festival.

A clip of "New Fang" is available online now on the PBS site:

http://video.pbs.org/video/1397464297/

Faith No More To Play Two Nights At The Warfield

Via Twitter this week, Faith No More announced that they are playing two nights at The Warfield in the week leading up to their highly anticipated Coachella appearance. This will be their first shows in the US in over 12 years. Both shows will sell out almost insantly tomorrow when they go onsale to the public. They offered a presale to their Twitter followers and those are both sold out.

And yes, I'll be there.

N.W.A. - Real Niggaz Don't Die

Thank you to my friend Jason for turning me onto N.W.A. This is one of those life changing album moments in my life.

Stanford Prison Experiment - "You're The Vulgarian"

Recorded live at The Barn at UC Riverside. I saw many a show at that venue when it was still open. Including Rage Against The Machine for $5.

One of the most underrated bands in Southern California in the mid to late 90's. They often toured with RATM, Quicksand, and Local H. Nothing I'd like..

Queens of the Stone Age - "Long Slow Goodbye"

Josh singing, "Where have you gone again my sweet?". That means this Josh will probably love it. OK, there is no probably about it.

Although I hated this version of QOTSA live, with no Nick Oliveri and no Mark Lanegan, I still love the first 30 seconds of this. Natasha Shneider is the woman watching Alain (now in Them Crooked Vultures with Josh) play the guitar. They were a couple for years and she passed away in 2008 from a battle with cancer.

Eddie Vedder Releases Single For Haiti Relief

One of the many reasons I love this band is all the charity work they do. The band has already raised over $200,000 for relief in Haiti.

http://www.pearljam.com/news/pearl-jam-haiti-relief-donations

Eddie Vedder covered Bruce Springsteen's, "My City Of Ruins" from the Kennedy Center Honors show on Dec 9th, 2009. The single can be purchased directly from PJ's website by clicking on the link below or through iTunes. Yes, I'm buying it. And for once, no I won't be sharing it. It's for a good cause and it's only 99 cents.



http://www.pearljam.com/news/eddie-vedder-haiti-relief-single

Spend a buck and help out the cause.

"Golden State" - Corin Tucker and Eddie Vedder

My favorite male and female songwriters of all time on the same stage. And my good friend Chris and I were there to see it live. From the 3rd row I might add.

What's Mine Is Yours..

From 2:00 on proves you don't need a penis to rock out with your....well you know.

Alice In Chains - "Got Me Wrong"

This is from their EP, "Sap". It was released in between "Facelift" and "Dirt" and is basically an acoustic album with members of Heart, Mudhoney, and Soundgarden on it. It includes a song that has Layne Staley and Chris Cornell dueting.

Radiohead To Play Benefit For Haiti This Sunday In Hollywood

Tickets are going to be auction only and can be bid on via the link below, starting at 8:00 PM tonight. Sadly, many Radiohead fans are rich, so I won't be participating in the bidding. But I'm glad that they're doing something for the people of Haiti. They should raise a shitload of money with it being auction only. If you can afford it and are a Radiohead fan, you should go. The Fonda is a great venue and Radiohead will probably never play a place this small again.

http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/09004434FC1C86AC

More information from their site:

Radiohead for Haiti

We're doing a show this Sunday (24th January) to raise funds for the relief effort in Haiti. The venue is The Music Box Theatre at The Fonda in Los Angeles, doors at 7pm. All proceeds are going to the Oxfam Haiti relief fund. We're trying to raise as much money as possible, so tickets will be sold by auction at this site from 8pm tonight (Thursday) until 11am Saturday (PST). We're in the middle of recording at the moment, so you'll be catching us on the fly.... but if you're up for it, then we are too.

Pearl Jam - "Alone" Live At Gibson Oct 7, 2009

The best setlist I've ever seen Pearl Jam perform. My friend Jim and I still talk about what a great night this was. This was the first time they had played the song live in over 4 years and I "may have" hugged Jim when this started.

My 20 Favorite Albums Of The Decade

My Top 20 Albums Of The Decade
(You Can Listen To Many Of These For FREE Online By Clicking On The Link I've Provided)


1. Queens of the Stone Age - "Songs For The Deaf"
http://www.lala.com/#album/432627039263957752/Queens_of_the_Stone_Age/Songs_For_The_Deaf

Picking a #1 wasn't tough for me. This is the greatest hard rock album of the decade so I had to put it here.

Three vocalists make up one amazing album. Josh Homme, Mark Lanegan, and Nick Oliveri share the vocal duties on this with something for everybody. Three unique and completely different vocal styles is one of the reasons why this album was so popular.

Homme's voice is the first one most of us heard when "No One Knows" came out. My favorite performance of his is probably on "First It Giveth". It really showcases what is now the signature Homme croon. Smooth, sexy, and still a little dark. Mark Lanegan sounds like he's been on a years long bender of drinking and doing drugs. Probably because he has been. My favorite Lanegan song on "SFTD" is "A Song For The Dead". It also has the best line on the album, "Life's the studying of dying, gotta do it right". That song is my favorite on the album and quite possibly the most perfect song they've ever done. Nick Oliveri sings on a few tracks too. The opening "You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar, But Baby I Feel Like A Millionaire" is my favorite. I've never done cocaine, but this song feels like a coke binge to me.

This album ended up really breaking QOTSA to the masses, thanks in part to Dave Grohl being the guest drummer on the album and joining Queens on the mini-tour that supported it. I was lucky enough to see them play The Troubadour right before the album is released and was completely blown away.

If this record was a person, I’d marry it.

And if you are surprised I put this one here, you probably don't know me that well. My blog is named after Josh Homme for fucks sake.


2. The Black Keys - "Magic Potion"
http://www.lala.com/#album/360569445168809308/The_Black_Keys/Magic_Potion

The Black Keys sound how I've always wanted The White Stripes too. Classic-blues rock with a ton of great riffs. I still listen to them and wonder how this is only two guys making music that sounds so full. From the opening riff in, "Just Got To Be", you know you're listening to a great album. From start to finish, this record is in my wheelhouse. "Just A Little Heat", "The Flame", and "Goodbye Babylon" are the other songs on here I still can't stop listening to.

I've had one person in my life hear them for the first time and not fall in love with them. And she's crazy, so that doesn't count. If for some reason you haven't heard them yet, go listen to them now. You won't be disappointed. They have that cross-over appeal where almost everybody loves them when they hear them.

I got to see these guys play in early 2009 and it just solidified them being one of my favorite bands ever.

I’d usually name more songs to listen to here, but just listen to the whole thing. That’s really how good this album is. If it wasn't for QOTSA, this would be it.

To use a quote of mine, "If you don't like this band, you don't like rock".


3. Tool - "Lateralus"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BecH8JOXDwo

Tool took 5 years between albums to release "Lateralus" due to a dispute with their record company and it's worth the wait. Whether you call this metal, progressive rock, or hard rock, you can't disagree that it just plain rocks.

The title track is still one of my favorite live songs ever, by any band. I remember seeing them close out every show with it on the tours supporting the album. The title song is the definition of "math rock" as between pauses, the syllables in Maynards vocals during the verses form the first few Fibonacci numbers, ascending and descending. Read more about it on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateralus_(song It's worth the read, trust me. I don't know how or why you would do this, but they did. Probably drugs, who am I kidding. Oh, and to make all the douchebags in the Midwest feel smarter about listening to them.

"The Grudge", "Lateralus", "Ticks And Leeches", and "Parabola" are all great hard rock songs.


4. Sleater-Kinney - "One Beat"
http://www.lala.com/album/2017894108902068000

Sleater-Kinney made the perfect post 9/11 album. Instead of going along with the Bush motto of "You're either with us or with the terrorists", SK wrote songs like "Combat Rock" that questioned blindly following your leaders. In "Far Away" Corin sings about the horror of turning on the TV and watching 9/11 happen as she's with her newborn child and praying that her family is safe.

There is also a classic Sleater-Kinney breakup song on here in "The Remainder". They were always great at writing beautiful and heartbreaking relationship songs and this is one of them. I'll know I'm dead on the inside when hearing Corin and Carrie sing songs like this doesn't move me.

And for the Mom's reading this, listen to "Sympathy". Corin sings about almost losing her baby and all the emotions that go with it. My sister had complications when she was pregnant with my nephew and this song still wrecks her if she hears it.

"Light Rail Coyote" is probably Janet's best work ever recorded on drums. It's also probably the hardest song from them, pre "The Woods". The song title is taken from the story of a coyote that rode the Portland Light Rail into the city. It's Sleater-Kinney's ode to their adopted hometown. I loved visiting Portland for the first time in 2006 and knowing a lot of the spots just because of this song.

Sleater-Kinney are one of the bands that I spent a lot of my time and money on in the late 90's/early 2000's. But they were well worth it.


5. Queens of the Stone Age - "Rated R"
http://www.lala.com/#album/432627039263958615/Queens_of_the_Stone_Age/R

This is first QOTSA CD I bought. I read a review of the album and knew I had to buy it. I just thought, "Was this band created for me?". Sadly, I wasn't kidding and the answer was of course, "Yes Josh, they were".

In a moment I look back on with sadness now, I apparently saw them open for Rage Against The Machine at The Forum but was underwhelmed. I say "apparently" because I don't remember the opening band, at all. Then again, it was Rage. With the exception of Stanford Prison Experiment, I never cared for any of their opening bands. Hard to compete with a band that has that much energy. Clearly, I digress though.

I remember popping this CD in and hearing the opening line of "Feel Good Hit Of The Summer" and thinking, "What the fuck is this?". For those of you that don't know, the entire song is the following (6) words repeated over and over again: "Nicotoine, valium, vicodin, marijuana, exctasy, and alcohol". The chorus is Nick Oliveri screaming "KA-KA-KA-COCAINE!!!". Seriously, it's better than it sounds.

Then from this madness they go into their "hit" off of "Rated R" which was, "The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret". The song is about having an affair and keeping the secret to yourself. One of things that I've always loved about Josh Homme's songwriting is the sleazyness is always (and sometimes not so subtely) right below the surface. He has a vocal delivery that is so smooth that it can fool you into thinking this could be a pretty song. But no, he's just talking about fucking somebody you shouldn't.

There are a ton of good songs on this album, check out "Auto Pilot", "Tension Head", and "I Think I Lost My Headache" (a personal favorite of mine to play on a jukebox at a bar cause it has the longest/most annoying ending on it).

But my favorite song on the album is "In The Fade". It features Mark Lanegan on vocals and the best lyrics on it. I love, "Laughing is easy, I would, if I could" and "live till you die". If you only listen to one song on here, make it this one.

God I love this band so fucking much. I hope Josh woke up the rock God in him by doing Them Crooked Vultures and shot that idiot that made "Era Vulgaris" in the face. No more bullshit records Josh, you're better than that guy. Call Lanegan and Nick back, ASAP.


6. Pearl Jam - "Pearl Jam" (AKA: "The Avocado Album")
http://www.lala.com/#album/504684633538967888/Pearl_Jam/Pearl_Jam

Yes, this band still makes music. They didn't fall off the face of the earth after "Vitalogy" came out.

My favorite anti-war/Bush album since we started "Operation Blow Up Everybody Up That Is Muslim And Sits On Oil". There are relevant and heartbreaking songs about war, loss of our personal freedoms, Americans losing their jobs, and grief.

"Army Reserve" is an emotional song about a mother sending her son off to war. "Marker In The Sand" asks, where is God in all this? Especially when both sides are "killing in God's name". It also includes a verse about our freedoms slowly being taken away. This instantly became one of my favorite Pearl Jam songs ever. The single, "World Wide Suicide" includes the lyrics, "Telling you to pray while the devil's on their shoulder". In short Vedder just wants the listener to question all of this garbage that was rammed down our throats by the government during our ongoing "war on terror".

Other songs worth a listen on this one are, "Inside Job", "Severed Hand". And it also includes a great PJ ballad in, "Gone".


7. The Black Keys - "Chulahoma"
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=O5Q7LHGF

The Black Keys record a 6 song tribute EP for Junior Kimbrough. It's also Dan Auerbach's finest guitar playing ever recorded. They didn't just record this for the hell of it, they did it because they wanted to. And it shows in the passion felt over the whole record. This is a true "tribute" album. They don't try to play his songs their way, they just play his songs the best they can.

A bit of history, Junior Kimbrough died in 1998 and shared a label with The Black Keys. He's one of those unknown musicians that inspired and influenced so many of the bands that you listen to today. I'll admit I didn't know who he was until I heard this CD, but I now have all of his music. I'm sure that's exactly what TBK were hoping for when they recorded this album.

The Keys cover his songs so perfectly that the last "song" on the record is a voice message his widow leaves Dan saying she's "very proud" of the job they did. Sure they're bragging a little bit by including it, but they should be.

"Have Mercy On Me" and "Nobody But You" are probably my two favorite Black Keys songs ever, and they're not even their own songs. There are only 6 songs on this, but they're all so damn good you'll wish there was more.

To include my usual personal note with these reviews, I'm letting you know that if you put this in and can't get your lady friend turned on, you should probably kill yourself.

If you're fan of the blues, listen to this. If you're fan of The Black Keys, listen to this. If you're a fan of both, like I am, this is a wet dream.


8. Hot Snakes - "Automatic Midnight"
http://www.ilike.com/artist/Hot+Snakes

For those of you that don't know, Hot Snakes was the first album that John Reis and Rick Forberg made together since Drive Like Jehu broke up. If you're a post-punk/punk/rock/alt-rock fan, you should love these guys. These two musicians are fucking flawless and on the top of their game for this and their second album, "Suicide Invoice".

This is the first of three albums released by the Hot Snakes in this decade. Even though I teeter between liking "Suicide Invoice" better, this still needed to be here. I remember my first listen of them was on my way to Vegas with some friends. A bunch of Rocket From The Crpyt fans thought it was a great idea to all meet up in Vegas. People drove and flew in from all over the country. My friend Mady put this in the tape player and I said it sounded like Fugazi. I wasn't that impressed with the first few listens. Fast forward 3 years and I'm saying things like, "Speedo needs to focus on the Hot Snakes and break up Rocket". This is coming from a guy that saw RFTC over 50 times while they were still a band. Yes, over 50 times. But the Hot Snakes were that good.

So onto the album itself, its another one of those CD's that I can put in and listen to the whole way through. And anybody that knows me well knows that's a rarity with my slight "touch" of A.D.D. My favorite Hot Snakes song, "Light Up The Stars", is on "Automatic Midnight". Back to Mady and I for a second, that was always a moment for us live at Hot Snakes shows. We'd just look at each other and give each other the knowing look of "Yeah, this is happening" and a big smile. It's a borderline emo song. The chorus is, "This is the kind of love that can never happen, turn on the water works right now, I ain't laughing". I remember putting those lyrics up on the Rocket list once and the wrong girl thinking it was for her. I was thought this was so funny, for so many reasons.

Another fave on "Automatic Midnight" is "Salton City". It has some of the catchiest drumming ever and John Reis (aka: Speedo) yelling, "COME ON!!!" during the chorus. Kind of hard to beat that.

"Let It Come" starts off with Rick immediately screaming the lyrics and there is exactly zero lead-in to the song kicking your face in. Yes, I just used "kicking your face in", but it's not that far off. It also has some of the best guitar playing on the whole record.

If you're still reading everything I'm writing, then also check out the title track, "Our Work Fills The Pews", and "If Credits What Matters, I'll Take Credit".

One more related story, they were also one of the best live bands I've ever seen. Did I already say flawless? Their best though was a Trouabadour show in September of 2002 and I remember seeing Zack from Rage Against The Machine outside waiting to get in. It was about 100+ degrees that night in LA and everybody was completely miserable in the heat. The Trobadour was sold out and it was even hotter inside the venue. The entire crowd was a gross, sweaty mess, but nobody cared by the time the Hot Snakes were done because they had just blown us all away. I love a show when you're leaving where everybody is smiling because they know they just saw something special. This was one of those bands.


9. Local H - "Here Comes The Zoo"
http://www.lala.com/#album/1657606138688852210/Local_H/Here_Comes_The_Zoo

Who knew that 6 years later I'd start using "zoo" in my vocabulary all the time?

Let me start off this one with yet another little story. Last year I flew to Chicago to see Local H play (4) of their (7) night stand at The Beat Kitchen. Each night was Local H playing an entire album in it's entirety. I had to make sure "Pack Up The Cats" and this album were included in my trip. This should tell you how much I love this band. I also met a lot of cool people in Chicago and fell in love with the city.

Most of you know them as the band that sang the "you just don't get it, you keep it copasetic" song from the 90's. They also had another hit with "All The Kids Are Right". But guess what? They're a much better band than either of those two songs give them credit for. Sadly, most people view them as a washed up, "grunge era" band. They're still making great music for people that love the rock.

"Here Comes The Zoo" was Local H's first album in 4 years, it's first with new drummer Brian St. Clair, and it's first one on the small "Palm Pictures" label. A lot of firsts for a band that previously had 2 gold records (500,000+ sold). They answered all this with a great, straight-forward rock album. A lot of Local H fans really don't care for this album as much as the others, but it's one of my favorites.

A lot of slower and more mellow songs appeared on "Here Comes The Zoo". "Hands On The Bible", "Tame Me (Baby Wants To)", and "What Would You Have Me Do" all drift away from the usual Local H song style. This could also be why a lot of people didn't care for this album as much. The sadness of a failed relationship in "Tame Me" as the narrator is pushing the person that loves him farther and farther away and the darkness of "What What You Have Me Do" are both welcomed changes in my eyes. Look up the lyrics to the latter.

My favorite memory from this one is "Son of Cha!". My roommate at the time was a single mom with two young girls. The girls loved me and I was kind of a father figure to them. So what did I do with this new found power? Showed them the light with rock n' roll. When I would come home from work they would yell, "Play the song with "DOCTOR GIVE IT TO ME STRAIGHT IN IT!!". It was the cutest thing in the whole world coming from two Mexican girls that were 2 and 6 in age. I'm still not sure if their Mom appreciated the culture I was giving them.

"Rock N Roll Professionals" is a hilarious and cutting song about rockstars selling out for anything and everything that can make them money. "Gone from flipping burgers to just rock and rolling for the Burger King". That's pretty straight forward I think. It also includes Josh fucking Homme on guitar and background vocals. Yes, Josh Homme and Scott Lucas together on the same song.

Right before the album was released Scott Lucas took part in a Live Yahoo Interview where fans got to ask questions through a moderator. I was lucky enough to get one in and asked Scott how he ended up working with Josh Homme on "Rock N Roll Professionals". His answer, "I just called him". That sums Scott Lucas up pretty well. Sarcastic and to the point. A lot of his lyrics are the same way. One of my favorite quotes of his was during an inteview he was asked about Limp Bizkit. He said, "They're filling the void that Weird Al has left".

Another musician I have a little man-crush on. There, I said it. It's out there now. We can all deal with it and move on. Don't make this weird for me.

Local H have also covered Rocket From The Crypt songs and Scott has an RFTC sticker on his amp. More "Josh Points" for that one.


10. Rocket From The Crpyt - "Group Sounds"
http://www.lala.com/#album/432627039262870978/Rocket_From_The_Crypt/Group_Sounds

Speedo is the most underrated front man of all time. Just so you know. If you never got to see them play live, you blew it.

The last great album made by Rocket From The Crpyt. "Live From Camp X-Ray" is still better than 99% of the garbage out there today, but didn't make my list. "Group Sounds" was their first album after they were dropped from Interscope Records and was released in 2001.

Like many of their previous records, "Group Sounds" has a great 1-2-3 punch to start it off. "Straight American Slave", "Carne Voodoo", and "White Belt" have everything in them that I love about Rocket From The Crpyt. Speedo's perfect guitar playing, a great horn section that somehow always worked perfectly with their punk sound, and songs that made you want to dance and clap along.

"Return of the Liar" and "Venon Venom" were two of their best songs live are just as good on the album.

Even if one person reading this decides to go listen to them, I'll be a happy man. I can't explain my love for this band any better than this; I teared up at their last show in October of 2005.

A nearly perfect album by a perfect band. Long live Rocket From The Crypt.


11. Sleater-Kinney – “The Woods”
http://www.lala.com/#album/360569445171206706/Sleater-Kinney/The_Woods

Sleater-Kinney’s last album was released in 2005. They were heavily influenced on this record by touring with Pearl Jam a year earlier. The women in the band realized that they wanted to make a record that would sound good in an arena setting. I would dare even say there is some Zeppelin influences on this album. The result is one of thier best albums, and sadly their last.

I remember putting this CD in it when I bought it and immediately thinking, "This does not sound like MY Sleater-Kinney". "The Fox" starts off with a heavy and fuzzy guitar being played by both Carrie and Corin. But with every SK record, there is no doubt in your mind who you're listening to. Corin has probably the most recognizable voices in music. Corin's voice is more polarizing than politics. You either love it or want to find the closest gun to make the noise stop that's coming out of the speakers. My friends are split pretty equally on that one.

"What's Mine Is Yours" is a song that starts out with Corin singing, "Sit down honey, lets kill some time, rest your head on this heart of mine". I could careless what the rest of the song is about after the vocal delivery of those two lines. I melt every time. I don't mind sharing that either. And from about 2:45 on is fucking rock and fucking roll. "Did you ever get the feeling that you don't belong". Wow, I need to stop listening to these records as I'm writing about them.

"Steep Air" is yet another brilliant SK song about a dying relationship. They were always good at that. "I'm tired of waiting on a ship that won't leave shore" is the opening line. That sets the mood for the entire song. Tired of being the one in the relationship doing all the work? Been chasing somebody and getting very little back? Put this in and you'll feel a lot better. If you can make it through the first few verses.

One of my favorite facts about "The Woods" is that Corin, Carrie, and Janet recorded "Let's Call It Love", and "Night Light" as one song in the studio. They split the songs up on the record but recorded all without stopping. "Let's Call It Love" is the sexiest fucking song ever recorded. Why you ask? Because it's my favorite female musician of all time singing about having sex. The entire song is a build up to orgasm and incase you missed the point, there's even a bell ringing once it's been achieved. "A woman is not a girl, I can show you a thing or two, I got a long time for love". That kills me.

The song ends with a lot of feedback and then goes right into "Night Light". A song about someone being there for you in your time of need. I was going through a breakup when "The Hot Rock" came out and saying I leaned on the band during that time would be an understatement. On a personal level, it's a very fitting song for them to close their career out on.


12. Jay-Z - "The Blueprint"
http://www.lala.com/#album/432627039263940612/Jay-Z/The_Blueprint

If you're a hip hop fan, chances are you remember how great this was when it came out. But I bet you forgot it came out on 9/11. How fucking great does an album have to be to overcome luck like that?! Turns out it's pretty good.

One of the best hip hop albums ever made, period. If you disagree, you're wrong. "Where The Love", "We Runnin' This Rap Shit", and "Hova Is Back" are damn near perfect rap songs. I don't hear too good either, but I think he had a beef with NAS on this album too. That could just be me though.

And love or hate Kanye West, you can thank Jay-Z for him being what he is today. He got a shitload of press for producing this album and it obviously paid off.


13. Arcade Fire - "Funeral" and "Neon Bible"
http://www.lala.com/#album/1801721326119908672/Arcade_Fire/Funeral
http://www.lala.com/#album/1801721326119947044/Arcade_Fire/Neon_Bible

OK, I totally cheated on this one. But I love both of these albums so much I couldn't leave one out. How could I leave out an album that has "Wake Up" on it? This is one of those songs we'll be talking about when we're all much older. I don't know a person that hasn't heard it and fallen in love with it. "Funeral" was the breakthrough for Arcade Fire so in my opinion, I had to put it here. It also has about 443 songs on it with the "Neighborhood" in the title.

But I personally like "Neon Bible" better. "Intervention", "My Body Is A Cage", and "Keep The Car Running" are my three favorite on this record. "Intervention" is the standout to me on this. The lyrics are amazing and it's one of those songs that you can interpret any way you want. I took it as an anti-Bush/war song, which should shock no one. I hate the man, so that isn't saying much. The opening line is, "The king has taken back the throne, a useless seed is sown". "Hear the solider grown, we'll go at it alone" also makes me think it's an anti-Bush song. Regardless of what I think about it, give it a listen for yourself.


14. Fu Manchu – “King of the Road”
http://www.lala.com/#album/432627039558043672/Fu_Manchu/King_Of_The_Road

This record is the barely made the cutoff date for being released in the last decade. This stoner rock masterpiece was released on Feb 15, 2000. And yes, it’s a masterpiece for the genre. This album easily could have been released in 1979 and would have been a great hard rock album then too.

This album also has Brant Bjork on drums, of Kyuss fame.

“King Of The Road” is everything I love about Fu Manchu on one album. Huge riffs, songs about cars, references to 70’s and early 80’s pop culture, and songs about cars. Wait, I mentioned that one already.

With song titles like “King Of The Road”, “Drive”, “Hell On Wheels”, and “Boogie Van”, you know who you’re listening to. This isn’t a band that is trying to impress you with deep, meaningful lyrics. One of the best things about Fu Manchu is they embrace who they are and realize they have a smaller, niche audience. With the exception of maybe a few people I know that really like them, that means dudes that drive muscle cars and smoke too much weed while “rocking out”. They’ll never get beyond playing small clubs like The Troubadour, but they’re having fun doing what they do.

There’s a song on here called, “No Dice” that has a chorus directly ripped off from “Fast Times At Ridgemont High”. “No shirt, no shoes, no dice”. Without a doubt, Jeff Spicoli would love Fu Manchu.


15. The White Stripes – “Icky Thump”
http://www.lala.com/#album/360569445171037526/The_White_Stripes/Icky_Thump

I know this won’t be a popular pick since I could have went with “De Stiijl”, “White Blood Cells”, or “Elephant”. But I like this one the best and it’s my favorite 20 albums, not yours. It’s just like, my opinion, man.

I had kind of drifted away from The White Stripes until this album came out. The two before didn’t impress me all that much and I had almost given up on them. For me personally, this marked the return of their garage/blues rock roots and I loved it.

This has some of Jack White’s best guitar playing on it in a long, long time. Meg White is nothing but filler on most White Stripes album so why even acknowledge her? Sorry, but it’s true. To steal a line from The Simpsons, I think they could shave an ape and have him play those beats for Jack.

“Catch Hell Blues” is probably my favorite White Stripes song now. It features Jack White playing a slide-style guitar and has some great lyrics. The opening line is, “If you go looking for hot water, don’t act shocked when you get burned a little bit”. And it’s followed up by, “If you really want some hot water, I can help you find it”. You can insert some cliché here about playing with fire and getting burned, but the delivery has always got me.

“You Don’t Know What Love Is”, “Rag and Bone”, “I’m Slowly Turning Into You”, and “A Martyr For My Love For You” are my other favorites on here.

One of my fondest memories with my friend Frank is us listening to this in Mexico together with his girlfriend Elaine. We were listening to this whole album as loud as it would play in my stereo. It was a great soundtrack to driving down the toll road in Baja. It was also pretty ironic/funny to be listening to the song “Icky Thump” while being the white guy going to Mexico to eat cheap lobster and drink. The song itself includes many references to the Mexican immigrants and how Americans treat them as a whole. But I’ve done enough social/political talk in this thing as it is so I’ll leave it at that.

I really hope Jack White stops having 34,232 side projects, Meg stops being crazy, and they do another album like this real soon.


16. The Black Keys - "Attack & Release"
http://www.lala.com/#album/360569445168809323/The_Black_Keys/Attack_%26_Release

"Ain't it just like dying, except you can still feel the shame". This is the opening line to "Attack & Release". "All You Ever Wanted" tells the story about a guy being there for the girl going through a bad break up and telling her he'll be there for her. A common theme in TBK songs is "What are you doing with this guy when I'm here". Dan's definitely been through some heartache in his life to use this topic so often. That, or he knows what works.

I love this one from start to finish but I'll cover some of my favorites (yet again) in depth.

"Psychotic Girl" has a pretty self explanatory song title. Which is why I love it so much. The song opens up with Dan playing banjo. Yes, the banjo. Great song about not getting sucked into the games and craziness that some people like to play.

"Same Old Thing" features what sounds like Will Ferrell playing jazz flute in the start of the song. This and "Things Ain't Like They Used To Be" have the best lyrics on the album. The one that gets me on "Same Old Thing" is, "You got a callous heart, from being torn apart. Now you labor every day, love life drifts away".

"Things Ain't Like They Used To Be" features a then 17 year old Jessica Lea Mayfield singing the chorus with Dan. She has a beautiful voice that goes perfectly with the emotion in the song. Another great Black Keys song to kill yourself too. And I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. This is the blues. I don't care if it's two white guys from Ohio.

17. Them Crooked Vultures - "Them Crooked Vultures"
http://www.lala.com/#album/432627041169205845/Them_Crooked_Vultures/Them_Crooked_Vultures

Them Crooked Vultures is the supergroup consisting of Dave Grohl, John Paul Jones, and Josh Homme. Now incase you were living under a rock, you know this was my favorite album of 2009. Nirvana drummer + Led Zeppelin bassist + guitar player/singer from QOTSA = I'm going to be a very happy man. That was before even hearing the album. It did not disappoint me at all. In fact, it's Josh Homme's best work since the last QOTSA album that wasn't named "Era Vulgaris".

Seeing and hearing Dave Grohl on drums again is reason enough for this album to be great. But luckily for us, there is much more to the album than just that.

"Elephants" was the first song I heard from "TCV" when YouTube clips started showing up from their surprise shows in the UK over the Summer. I probably listened to it about 20 times in a row the first day I found it. I hadn't been this excited for a new release in a long time. It was also the first time I had seen Josh Homme happy to be on a stage playing in a long time. The entire record has that vibe of 3 guys being truly happpy to be making music together. Seeing them live last year only confirmed that.

"No One Loves Me And Neither Do I" is my favorite one on here, by a whole hell of a lot. The song starts off with a typical Josh Homme riff, sounding purposefully out of tune and being heavily influenced by the blues. It's a really dirty song about sex with many of the lines being sang from the female point of view, "Don't hold it against me, unless it gets hard" and "I've got a beautiful place to put your face and she was right". The best part of the song is the breakdown when the entire band (including a 63 year old John Paul Jones on slide bass) tear it up for nearly three minutes with Homme singing, "I know how to burn with passion, hold nothing back for future ration" to start it off. This song is like a really dirty quickie, it starts off playful and a little sexy. The next thing you know you're getting your brains fucked out.

"Mind Eraser, No Chaser" features Homme and Grohl sharing the vocals. Like many songs by Josh Homme, it "may" be about drugs. On the chorus Grohl sings, "All I wanna do is have my mind erased". Pretty straight forward there. Who can't use a little escape now and then? There is also a line about a monkey being shot into space. Which of course makes me laugh every time I hear it.

"Spinning In Daffodils" is another drug influenced song that musically sounds like a really bad trip on pills or acid. The vocals are layered on some parts of the song and the bass and drums are in a constant state of trying to make you feel like you're on something. I've never done any illegal drugs, but if I did, I'd stay away from this song. This closes out the album and is a great one on that.

My other favorites on here are "Warsaw Or The First Breath You Take After You Give Up", "Caligulove", and "Reptiles".

There is only one bad song on here, "Bandoliers" and it sounds like it belonged on a "Desert Sessions" CD.

I'm really happy to hear that Grohl has put The Foo Fighters on hold and these three guys plan on recording more music together.


18. Face to Face - "Reactionary"
http://www.lala.com/#album/2306124484406418392/Face_To_Face/Reactionary

Face to Face are my favorite punk band ever. They're also one of a handfull of bands that I've seen over 10 times. My friend Mike and I created a rule that we should have just called the "Face To Face" rule to begin with. It was a rule on driving more than 2 hours to see a band play. They were worth it.

"Reactionary" is another F2F record with a ton of great lyrics, great chords, and songs that make you want to sing along. I've always loved all three of those things about them. Trever Keith is a great songwriter. He's just in a punk band so he doesn't get a lot of credit for it.

"Disappointed" is the opening song and got some airplay on alternative radio stations like KROQ and 91X. It's probably the only song on here anybody would notice that wasn't a hardcore F2F fan. In my opinion this is what a punk song should be, it makes you think and makes you want to move. It's followed up by "Out Of Focus" and "What's In A Name". A great trio of songs to open the album up.

With the exception of their emo album, this is much like the rest of their work. You can listen the whole way through and not be bored and want to skip songs. Not many bands can do that. And yes, I've written that about a lot of the albums on here. But that's why they're on my top 20.

I was at their farewell show in 2005 at the HOB in Hollywood and ran into my oldest friend Jason. I hadn't seen him in years and it just made a special night that much better. Thankfully they're back together now and actively touring.


19. Rage Against The Machine - "Renegades"
http://www.lala.com/#album/504684633536516540/Rage_Against_The_Machine/Renegades

Rage recorded an entire album of cover songs. The word was they did it to fulfill their contract with their label. The result is RATM paying homage to a lot of their influences. They also included a few songs that they'd often cover live.

There are covers of the following artists on the album: The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Devo, The Stooges, Cypress Hill, EPMD, Minor Threat, MC5, and a few more.

"Maggie's Farm" by Bob Dylan, "The Ghost Of Tom Joad" by The Boss, and "I'm Housin" by EPMD are my 3 favorites. The first two I mention sound like they were written for Rage to perform. "Maggie's Farm" is a song Dylan wrote about being held down by the folk music scene and the music world in general. "The Ghost Of Tom Joad" is a song that references the classic novel "The Grapes Of Wrath". The sounds that Morello plays from his guitar before going into the moster riff of that song is f'n amazing. "Welcome to the new world order" is a line Springsteen probably put in with George Bush's famous line in his mind.

"Kick Out The Jams" by the MC5 is a song a lot of artists have covered over the years. It's not the best one I've heard, but it's up there.

The hip-hop covers on here are all great too. Especially if you are a fan of that genre of music.

There are a few misses on "Renegades", but overall I still love this one.


20. Pearl Jam - "Lost Dogs"
http://www.lala.com/#album/504684633536520230/Pearl_Jam/Lost_Dogs

Pearl Jam released "Lost Dogs" in 2003 as a two disc compilation with a bunch of their B-sides and unreleased songs on it. For a huge Pearl Jam nerd like myself, it wasn't that big of a deal as I had most of the songs already from buying way too many CD singles over the years that had a lot of these B-sides on them. But it was nice to have most of them in one place.

One of the things I particularly enjoyed about the release was that many of the songs were different versions than I had previously heard. It was also smart/dirty marketing by the band. So even if the song wasn't "new" to me, the version might be. There were also notes included for each song in the cover of the CD from the band. It included info on the song, when it was recorded, why they didn't include it on an album, etc. Really good nerd info.

My favorites are "Alone", "Hold On", "Down", "Leavin Here" (a song made famous by The Who), "Wash", and "Footsteps". I got to see them play "Alone" for the first time in over 6 years last year at Gibson. Definitely one of my favorite live PJ moments ever.

Even for a casual PJ fan, this has a few "hits" on it. "Yellow Ledbetter" and "Last Kiss" are both included.

There are so many great songs on "Lost Dogs" and it's a great collection for a casual fan that wants to hear Pearl Jam through the years.


**10 Honorable Mentions, In No Particular Order:

Delta Spirit - "Ode To Sunshine"
The Gutter Twins - "Saturnalia"
Local H - "Whatever Happened To PJ Soles?"
Rilo Kiley - "The Execution Of All Things"
Sleater-Kinney - "All Hands On The Bad One",
The Beastie Boys - "To The 5 Boroughs"
Beck - "Sea Change",
Hot Snakes - "Suicide Invoice"
Rocket From The Crpyt - "RIP"
Unida - "The Great Divide" (unreleased)

Coachella Lineup Being Announced On Tuesday

Coachella tweeted two important words last night, "Yes, Tuesday". Hopefully that means the entire lineup will be announced then.

There are several acts already confirmed, Muse being the biggest, and a lot of rumors floating around out there on the internets. If 1/2 the rumors end up being true, it could be the best Coachella in years.

I'd love to see Faith No More, Them Crooked Vultures, Soundgarden, Beastie Boys, Jay-Z, Wilco, and a lot more on there.

The Rolling Stones are also rumored to headline one of the days. Not a real "Coachella" act, but lately they've been adding a huge name from the mainstream (Paul McCartney, Prince, Roger Waters) to sell tickets. Can't realy blame Goldenvoice for doing it in these times. Putting on a show the size of Coachella costs millions of dollars and believe it or not, they're trying to get some of it back.

More rumors here:
http://consequenceofsound.net/festival-outlook/coachella-valley-music-and-arts-festival/

I'll put the full lineup here when it's confirmed.

Them Crooked Vultures - Live At Canal Plus Studios

You can watch the entire show on YouTube. The rumor is these guys are doing Coachella this year too. Throw in Faith No More or Soundgarden and that just guarantees I'll be going this year.

The White Stripes - "I'm Slowly Turning Into You"

I have always loved this song. A simple song about falling in love and what it does to you.

John Garcia To Perform An Entire Set Of Kyuss Songs

Who wants to buy me a ticket to Holland? Please?

http://www.roadburn.com/2009/12/john-garcia-to-perform-very-special-set-at-roadburn-festival/

SOUNDGARDEN REUNITE!!

FUCK YES!!  I'm so excited this is going down. Sadly, they'll probably "debut" at some huge festival like Coachella.

You can sign up for updates on the tour by clicking on the website link I provided. 

http://soundgardenworld.com/

The Night Marchers - "Tropical Depression"

A brand new song from The Night Marchers that they debuted live on Oct 30th, 2009 at Alex's Bar in Long Beach, CA.