Looking Back

Well it's the end of 2008. What a year. A lot's happened. And typically this would be the time when I would write a list of my favorite CDs that came out this year. The problem? I think I've listened to somewhere between one and three albums that were released in 2008. So that puts me in a tight spot. So what I'm going to do instead is write my top ten albums of all time. Now that's quite the feat for me. I have over 300 CDs. Choosing 10 is going to be a monster. But it should be done. Realize that this is subject to change at any given moment. And by the time I'm done it will probably be different haha. Oh well. Enjoy!

10. Weezer - Weezer (the Blue Album)
Now this CD is just a classic. I don't pull it out all that often but when I do it's just great. I enjoy every single song on it. And an album that so many people know and love has got to be great. For extra credit download the album Jay-zeezer. You won't be disappointed. I love it.

9. Fall Out Boy - Take This To Your Grave
I don't care whoever says whatever about Fall Out Boy. This is a solid pop punk record. Yeah they seem to have slipped and lost their touch but I really like this music.

8. Motion City Soundtrack - Commit This To Memory
Motion City Soundtrack is an amazing band. They have the same beginnings as Fall Out Boy, from the same place around the same time. But the incorporation of a moog is amazing. In all honesty I'm not sure what to write about this album. It's just good. Shut up.

7. Ben Folds - Rockin' The Suburbs
Ben Folds is an amazing man. He has a solid control of that friggin piano. His lyrics are thoughtful, music can be light or depressing, and he covers a wide variety of themes. Sure he can be a bit weird, and his mouth can be a little iffy for those sensitive to language, but The Luckiest is the single greatest love song that Conor Oberst hasn't written.

6. Straylight Run - The Needles The Space
I'm actually listening to this CD right now. The first Straylight Run record was a very straightforward emoish rock blurb (albeit a good one) and this time they had such a huge departure they might as well have been a different band. This CD has a lot of indie elements and includes just about every instrument you've heard of and some you haven't. It took a while to get used to it but now that I have I strongly recommend.

5. Rascal Flatts - Melt
Alright now that you're all done laughing and moving on past the CD, I have to say that it's solid so you can all shut up. Mayberry is a great song. Rascal Flatts have really done a great job of merging the incredibly iffy country genre with some poppish rocky kind of stuff. I don't listen to this CD much but it plays me like a harp every time I do.

4. Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous
Go buy this CD right now. Seriously. Sure it has a girl singing but that's alright. She's dang good (you know the girl that sings in The Postal Service songs? Yeah this is her) and this band knows how to play. The lyrics are more like poetry and it's sung to some sweet acoustic and electric guitars with some awesome synths. Like I said. Go buy it. It's bright even when dealing with morose topics and is a great CD to play in the mornings.

3. Relient K - Mmhmm
Seriously do I have to explain? Great guys with great music. Sure three guitars is a little weird but they do it very well (unlike, say, Hawthorne Heights). This album is upbeat, quick, and even has a friggin banjo. Do I have to say any more? Matt Thiesen's voice is incredible and the four minute songs seem over too quickly.

2. Ace Enders and a Million Different People - The Secret War
The first time I heard this album I literally got chills. Sure it's only an eight track EP but it's solid as a rock. It works together as an album and I enjoy every track. When I first got the CD it was the only thing I listened to for two or three weeks straight. Yeah. It's that good. When I remembered this CD I started playing it just now haha. Ace is a musical genius with a great voice and his music is refreshingly slightly different from all that's out there. He definitely does his own thing and it definitely shows. I will burn you this CD. And I will do it with no regrets because he never sold it. It was just up for download haha. Anyway. This is a must have. Seriously. Get it. Any way you can.

1. Brand New - Deja Entendu
This CD is absolutely amazing. I love every song and it's never let me down. It's heavy on emotion through the lyrics and music without being pretentious or super emo. I can listen to it no matter what time of the day or what I'm thinking or feeling and it will have something that fits. It also played a big part of my life during college and before my mission. And I know someone who would literally not be alive if this album hadn't been made. So emotional ties plus amazing music equals great album.

Anyway these are my opinions that, like I said, are subject to change by the minute. What about any of you? Chandrew is probably the only other person who would do it and even then I think it's too big of a task for him haha. He would die from indicision. Anyway. This was great. I needed that. Hope all of you are having a great day.

And I'm still listening to Ace. Seriously go get it.