Week of Best Albums of the Year

     Like every music nerd i take my best albums of the year list far too seriously. I take this as seriously most people take the holidays. My list will not include some popular favorites on lots of other best of 2013 lists for various reasons. Kanye West- Yezus, nope although I hate to admit I really enjoyed that album. The National- Trouble Will Find Me, good but not as good as High Violet. My Bloody Valentine- Mbv, as much as you want it to me it isn't Loveless 2. Arctic Monkeys- AM, a good record but not like the old stuff. Lastly, Haim- Days Are Gone, I seriously don't get this obsession. Okay mini rant over. Remember this is my opinion and I am not a fan of hip hop, country, or pop, so that will not be included on this list.

Top Ten Albums of 2013

10. Okkervil River- The Silver Gymnasium

This album could have easily flown under most peoples radar this year, but for those who found it you were rewarded. The unusually depressed Okkervil River found happiness by looking back to home and childhood memories. The record is a lot more accessible than their usual stuff and the number of instruments used is amazing. They use the traditional rock band instruments with horns, strings, and lot of other things added in. Summed up this is a happy album full of fun memories and stories told in a truly beautiful way.

9. Foals- Holy Fire

 While doing my research on Foals for this album review I fell in love with this band, and more specifically Holy Fire.  Every track has it purpose on this album and drives a very different felling home with each song. Yannis sings over it and at moments even screams in a deafening roar close to what might be considered nu-metal. Then all of the bands dance rock elements come rushing back with "My Number", a simple but insanely catchy song about an ex who can't text him because he changed his number. "Bad Habit", slows down and pulls things way back in for an emotional ballad about his past sins. "Every time" has sort of a surf rock feel to with crazy percussion on top to make it really catchy song. "Last Night" is a slower but building indie rock song that blasts out the fund toward the end. "Out of the Woods" is a more old school song from Foals a look back to Antidotes era, but it adds to the album as a whole. "Milk and Black Spiders" is my favorite song on the album. It’s simple with lots of layers and it builds beautifully to an amazing finish. "Providence" is a crazed heavy, funky, math rock that explodes to the heaviest music they have ever made. The final two songs "Stepson", and "Moon" are a prefect slower close, ending with more of a Total Life Forever feel bringing the album and the band full circle through all three albums in one.

8. Nine Inch Nails- Hesitation Marks

    This is one of the best albums Trent has written since the 90's. I think the part people miss about this album is how it seamlessly combines all of the sounds from every previous album. Also this is a very personal album for Trent, putting him in a very new place for him, dealing with happiness, success, and living up to his past self. If you can get past the fact that this is a little lighter of an album you will find something truly powerful here with this album. An album from an artist in a new state of mind, truly inspired.

7. Alter Bridge- Fortress

I really don't know how they do it but some how Alter Bridge seem to get better with every album. The guitar solos are harder and faster than ever, Myles's vocals range from high screams to low growls. Everything is bigger and better on this album. The anthems are huge singalongs and the rockers are heavier then ever before. This is an amazing album the only thing I would like to know it is, where do they find the time to do this with all of their side projects?

6. Clutch- Earth Rocker

This album is what happens when true veterans kick it up a notch and remind us why they were awesome in the first place. What can you say about this album other then it's a bad ass, no filler, pure blues rock and roll album. It trashes from begging to end. This album takes the Foo Fighters spot, they may not have reinvented the wheel here buy they didn't need to.

5. Arcade Fire- Reflector

When bands make double albums it either results in one of two things happens. Either a piece of utter garbage is made or a moments of magic happens. This is the latter, through out this album Arcade Fire takes you on a musical journey as they change up there sound entirely. It's a tour of Jamaica and Haiti with Arcade Fire as your soundtrack, and it's a hell of a ride. They took a huge risk on this album and it majorly paid off.

4. Volcano Choir- Reprave

In a year where the heavier albums are delivering more, the ever amazing Justin Vernon now away from his hit project Bon Iver delivers again. This time with Volcano Choir's second album. It sometimes sounds like Bon Iver and why wouldn't it, but where it differs is where he finally lets loose. Away from the spotlight he feels more comfortable to explore more sounds, and we all benefit for it. This is one of the most beautiful albums of the year. Justin Vernon always delivers.

3. Queens of the Stone Age- Like Clockwork...

   The crazy thing about this album is the emotional depth in the stories it tell through the lyrics and songs. You have to remember that this is all stuff that happened to Josh during the darkest and hardest moments in his life. He does his best singing and songwriting of his career on this album. The album was one of the most hyped albums I can remember, and it features so many amazing musicians that it's incredible the way it comes out. It feels like an intimate up close look into the mind of a depressed musician. It's dark it's beautiful and it rocks. You almost forget that it has so many featured artists on it. I still can't believe this is the band that wrote Era Vulgaris.

2. Vampire Weekend- Modern Vampires of the City

Vampire Weekends have been referred to as a group of spoiled ivy league kids that have trouble relating and connecting to their audience's troubles. On this album they may have changed that. Their lyrics are as clever and filled with pop culture references as ever, but now they have more emotional depth. "Ya Hey" even goes so far as to question the existence of god while a chorus of chipmunks sing over the top. "Unbelievers" talks about being involved with the sins of life. The rest of the songs remain as dark and real with talks of running away just to run away, or dying like a Kennedy. This album has the widest arrangement of instrumentation they have ever had, and does what Vampire Weekend always do combining worldly, new wave, and pop genres together into one successful cohesive unit. This album tackles huge issues that most pop artists avoid like life, death, religion, and living in the modern day New York City, where time is moves very differently and how different the lives of the people that live there can.

1. Deafheaven- Sunbather

          There are a ton of reasons why this is my album of the year. It could either be the best alternative album of the year with its shoe gaze guitar work and hazy distortion, or it could be the best metal album of the year with its black metal drumming or vocal howling. Instead the reason I picked it was because with its only seven tracks it was one of the few albums this year that truly took me into a dream like state where all I could think about was the album. It did what every crap dream pop albums tries to do, took me to another place while listening to it and before I new it the album was over.

Week of the Worst Albums of the year

      This past year I have heard some very good albums that have changed my entire outlook on things and then there were those albums that just ruined my day. So this week I will be revealing my five most disappointing or worst albums of the year. Here we go starting from best to worst.

5. The Goo Goo Dolls- Magnetic

     The Goo Goo Dolls have been one of my favorite bands for years and up until now have been putting out good albums. Maybe not as good as the past albums but never before like this. This time around they tried to adopt newer sound of current popular artists instead of doing their own thing. The end was result was terrible, uninspired pop music with nothing else to it. This album made me very sad, because up until now they had never had a miss. Everyone gets one I suppose so here is hoping they do better next time.

4. Mgmt- Mgmt

     When Mgmt started they were one of the coolest things on the music scene. They have been getting weirder and weirder with ever release, there are two theories to this. The first is that they don't like writing pop hits so they self sabotage. The second it that they are now so high that they that they have no idea what they are doing. Their new music is just so strange it's not even listenable some of the time.

3. Relient K- Collapsible Lung

      This a band that has truly lost it's way, and is just phoning in what even they have to know is pop crap. The sad part is this album will probably sell very well, stupid Owl City, and crappy music taste these days. Don't I just sound like a hipster right now anyways. It makes me sad because I was one of the few that defended Christian rock on the occasion because of bands like Relient K, and this is what they give me. Please get over this identity crisis/radio airplay cash in soon and make fun pop punk songs again. Until then I will just pretend like this album never happened.

2. 30 Seconds to Mars- Love Lust Faith + Dreams

     I didn't know that 30 Seconds to Mars were capable of disappointing me anymore, but I was wrong. Jared Leto finds christian music and makes one of the worst albums Ive ever heard. He just keeps getting poppier and poppier. Yes, we get it you want people to listen to you again, and you haven't had an album in a while. Does it has to be the mainstream audience you have to sell to, what about your old audience. They sold out harder than Linkin Park on this album. What could be worse than this?

1. Black Flag- What The...

     Sometimes bands come together 10, 20, 30 years later after breaking up and stir up some magic and sometimes they should never have made it. This falls under the second category. I mean look at that album cover, it just screams piece of legacy ruining shit. It was so bad that even the lead singer Ron Heyes admitted it and the whole reunion didn't live up to his expectations. The grimey dark hardcore sound of previous records is gone on this highly polished record. They try to dive back into past themes like youth and angst, only now it feels forced like a mid life crisis. The music itself falls short like the only one on his game is Gregg Ginn and that isn't enough. It was a sad day and their legacy was tarnished.

Week of My Bloody Valentine, The Fratellis, and Elton John.

     I haven't put up a blog in a while because of getting a new job, but all excuses aside lets do some concert catch up reviews. This week I will be recap reviewing all of the concerts I attended this past two months. Here is my review of My Bloody Valentine, The Fratellis, and Elton John live in concert.

My Bloody Valentine November 1st

     Due to unforeseen problems with the road trip we barely made it to this show getting there just in time for My Bloody Valentine's set. This was the sign we saw as we entered the famous Roy Wilkins Auditorium, and they weren't kidding. This was hands down the loudest show I have ever been. It was also hands down the weirdest experience of my life. The band barely said a work throughout the entire show if not for the band introductions. The band hide mostly in the back or and remained very stoic for most of the show. Throughout the 90 minute show there were strange images images displayed on the screen like the one bellow some of the weirdest images I have ever seen, but that wasn't the weirdest part. The music itself was incredible featuring music off of Isn't Anything, Loveless, and this year's MBV.

     The music took a while to get into on CD at least for me, but live at such a high volume the music really came alive. The opened the show with the very heavy, "Sometimes" and ended the set with the obvious, "Feed Me With Your Kiss" and "You Made Me Realize". In the Middle of "You Made Me Realize", they started playing all their instruments all loud as they could and the images in the background going into insane overdrive. It turned from playing music into pure feedback and sonic noise that actually shook the whole building. It made all the hairs on my arms and neck stood strait up, it was terrifying and I couldn't look away. Everyone in the audience was like a deer in the headlights, in complete shock. I have never done drugs, but if I had to guess what drugs was like this was it. Either that or being a part of one of those weird Five Gum commercials in real life. Even after the show ended I was still in shock for at least an hour afterwords. I felt like an addict, all I could think was please make them do that again.

The Fratellis November 6th

     You know those stupid ideas you can only justify with that stupid "yolo" phrase or as Jack Black says, " Carpe Diem for stupid people. This is one of those ideas. In fact this may be the stupidest idea I've ever had. Like most concert junkies I make important bands on tour lists. When The Fratellis announced a US tour I was all over it. Until I saw that the only Midwest tour date was on a Wednesday in Chicago. So like an idiot I bit my tongue and bought the tickets. i was committed to going.

     The day of the show arrived and we made that harrowing six hour drive there and made it to the show just fine. Chicago's Metro was packed to the brim for the sold out show when The Fratellis took the stage I thought the crowd would go nuts but they didn't, not until the Black Hawks anthem Chelsea Dagger did they even move. The venue itself wasn't any better the sound was awful. The band gave it their all, and the music sounded OK, but the venue dampened it. Then the terrible drive home came. I will never again go to Chicago on a week day, or visit the Metro again unless something spectacular happened. I would however go see The Fratellis again, I love them.

Elton John November 23rd

     This is the perfect example of where everything came together perfectly at the last minute. If one thing had gone wrong this trip wouldn't have happened. I waited to long and the show was sold out. Then I went online and they were too expensive, so I got on the waiting list at the arena. That also was too expensive. Ticketmaster had listed the event as in Omaha, Nebraska, and that was only two hours away. So I said screw let's go. Day of I found out on the arena's website that it's in Lincoln not Omaha. It was almost too late and we arrive 20 minute before and managed to get tickets for only 60$. I literal miracle.

     Elton John sounds amazing  like he hasn't aged a day. He played for two and a half hours and 28 songs, It was all the hits. Elton John is a legend and he is amazing live. It's just him, a piano, his band, and a screen. That's all he needed leave the fancy stuff to the youngins, the real pro's don't need it. The arena was one giant singalong after another, and people were enjoying themselves way too much. In fact I haven't ever seen this many drunk middle-aged women in my life. If you ever get the chance to go see him, go, just go. It's worth it!