i apologize for the lack of consistency here. see, i used to have a lot of free time during the day. now i don’t. which means fewer blogs for you kiddos.

BUT. i did find a spare minute at work to scribble some of my favorite albums of this year onto a post-it note and it’s been stuck to the inside of my wallet for the past three weeks. so now [that i’m on day five of this cold/flu/thing], i’m finally getting around to blogging the list for you. i don’t know how much commentary (if any) i’ll give for each one, but hey, it’s better than nothing at all.

(that was an admiral twin reference…)

NUMBER ONE ::

kings of leon - only by the night
i wrote a blog about this album and, however many months on, i don’t have anything new to add. the record is still amazing, phenominal, classic. i still listen to it as much as i did right after i bought it. my dad bought it for me on vinyl for christmas. i haven’t listened to it yet though because i need to hook up some better quality speakers so i can enjoy it in all its imperfect, vinyl-y goodness.

NUMBER TWO ::

oso closo - rest: remixed
i don’t know how much more i can say about oso closo either. this is THE best band i’ve heard all year. incredible musicians, killer songwriting, and the live show. the live show! they’re going on tour early next…er…this year and i strongly suggest you see them for yourself.

NUMBERS THREE - TEN ::
i can’t rank the rest, so here they are…

jonathan tyler and the northern lights - hot trottin’

ludo - you’re awful, i love you

death cab for cutie - narrow stairs
“i will possess your heart.” enough said.

coldplay - viva la vida

john mayer - where the light is

the effects - …and it is

the raconteurs - consolers of the lonely

david cook - david cook
(that link is to the old one, i don’t remember the “official” link off the top of my head). i’m sure this album won’t make many (any?) other “best of” lists, but i like it. i still listen to it. it’s not great, but it’s not terrible. i think there are some really awesome moments on the record. “lie” is one of the best songs i’ve heard a while. the lyrics are so honest and spot on. i can’t wait to hear “a daily anthem” live again, but this time with a thousand people singing the end part instead of fifteen.

anyway. i had a good year in music terms. there were these releases and i was also introduced to jeff buckley and dredg and ryan adams. i rediscovered the feds and the foo fighters.

dave’s first single (i refuse to acknowledge that lame-ass “coronation song” thing) has debuted on AOL music.

of course it was set to debut wednesday but “because of the huge reaction” to that announcement, they pushed the debut to this afternoon. funny, since songs & albums are always released on tuesdays.

anyway.

the song’s called “light on” and it’s actually pretty good (forgive me, i was preparing for the worst). i say “pretty” good because there is that obvious attempt to make him sound daughtry-ish. or maybe that’s just the uber-professional production of the whole thing.

i can’t complain though. he won american idol and is actually getting to release a rock song…with a guitar solo no less. pretty psyched. i just hope the rest of the album is a liiiiiiiiittle less polished.

but, all said, i like the track. after more listens i’ll probably love it. and, despite my pickiness, this seems like a giant step in the right direction and should ease my fears when it comes to the album.

congrats, buddy!

bands mentioned: david cook

i really have been meaning to update this thing. not that anyone reads it, but i make notes all over the place whenever inspiration semi-strikes. this having a full time job thing kind of hampers the blogging process.

anyway, i don’t really have much time but i have two three things:

i think i’m going to like iTunes Genius. it made a pretty smashing playlist based on jeff buckley’s “hallelujah” this morning. BUT it won’t work for any of my local stuff. i guess the songs have to be in the iTunes library or something for the Genius program to work?

while Genius is pretty awesome, i don’t like the new album view in iTunes 8. i WOULD, but again, my taste in local and regional music means that most of my album artwork is blank because i’ve got to input it manually. that kind of sucks. i’m a visual person. i would LOVE to browse my music in cover flow or this new album view. hell, the artwork is why i’m not giving up on buying the actual cd until the bitter end. i’m not stuck in the dark ages, i know where the music industry is heading. and i like most everything about it. but i’m sad that we’re going to lose the artwork and the CD collections in our living rooms. the music is the most important thing, sure, but the album art is another form of expressing the music within. and i like displaying my albums proudly in my house. i judge you a little by your CD collection when i first enter your house, not gonna lie.

on a non-iTunes related note, this american idol stuff is over. thank god. the tulsa show was an anti-climatic end to the chaos and i’m glad that we and me and hopefully everyone else who likes music can finally focus on who dave cook really is. i’m excited for the record.

bands mentioned: jeff buckley & david cook

you tumblr fans were spared from my weekly american idol ramblings this past season. in short, i’d never watched the show, but when dave made it into the top 24 i became one of those people. you know, the “did you watch idol last night?” people.

i’ve only known dave for about a year and a half (i assume, seeing as how tulsa’s scene is pretty condensed as of late, i’d seen him long before that, but i was never an axium fan and didn’t go see mwk that regularly) but i was lucky enough to catch his live shows numerous times around town before he left for idol. he’s a super cool, chill guy with more talent than any one person should have and he stayed true to the dave we all know while he was on the show.

i’ll admit, during the show i wondered if he should win. if winning would be detrimental to his career. i think anyone with knowledge of the music industry wondered the same thing. but by the time the finale rolled around i can’t imagine sitting there and being disappointed with the result. i’ve been keeping an eye on some of his press and i feel quite confident in his ability to get what he wants when it comes to this record so i don’t feel too apprehensive about the idol influence. (that single has to be forgiven since dave didn’t write it and really had no creative control on that one.)

but speaking of his press, seeing his face in the tabloids and hearing tv people throw his name around will never be normal. it’s still just…. you just sit there for a second and think wtf?. just like today. i went to buy the new issue of rolling stone (i don’t subscribe anymore, but that’s another blog). i knew dave had an interview in this issue but i didn’t expect this…

rem. metallica. david cook.

wtf?

bands mentioned: david cook