Best albums of 2011

Wow, its been a full year since i remembered i had a blog. must be time for the best albums of 2011!

i'd like to say that i haven't listened to everything. i miss things. like if i'd really been paying attention i would have included the legend of mr rager on last year's list, but i didnt hear it til last month. oh well. this year was stronger.

honorable mentions:
PJ Harvey, Balam Acab, Bon Iver, The Decemberists, Radiohead, and James Blake all put out fantastic albums this year. These 10 were better...

10. Common - The Dreamer, The Believer
It's exactly what you expect out of a Common album: meaningful lyrics, clever hooks, good beats. If you're in to that sort of thing, you'll probably like it.

9. Lady Gaga - Born This Way

You've heard it. And you probably enjoyed listening to it. It's pop music. Get over yourself.

8. The Field - Looping State of Mind

So pretty.

7. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
The [perfectly legal] download I got of this album has its genre listed as "Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy"
Well there you go.

6. Das Racist - Relax
No hip hop album has made me laugh this much since Ludacris was good.

5. Washed Out - Within and Without

I have no words for how beautiful this album is. The sense of space is immaculate. I don't even think that sentence makes sense.

4. The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar
If they made "Rockstar Barbie," they would have to model it after Ritzy Bryan

3. Jay Z and Kanye West - Watch the Throne

That is all.

2. The Weeknd - House of Balloons

Abel Tesfaye has perhaps the best voice in all the world. All 3 of his releases this year could have made this list, but that didn't seem fair. This is the best one.
I'd also like to point out that the clips from "Havoc" in this fan-made music video are awesome.

1. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

Jesus. I spent 5 minutes deciding my favorite song for the embedded video. I'm still not sure.
A little background:
Oasis has been my favorite band since the first time I listened to "Be Here Now" all the way through. Turns out that Liam, Guigsy and Gem were just holding him back. This is the best Oasis album ever.
This may be the best album ever.
It is absolutely the best album of 2011.
And it isn't close.

Here's one more.

Top 10 Albums of 2010

took me awhile to compile this year, but i think i've got it licked now. let's jump right in.

10. tie
Tinie Tempah - Disc-Overy/ Bruno Mars - Doo Wops and Hooligans
went back and forth on this for too long not to put both. neither of these are fantastic, but they are both enjoyable all the way through.

9. B.o.B. presents the Legend of Bobby Ray
would like to embed "airplanes" music video because that song is awesome and i love looking at hayley williams. but its been disabled and, frankly, everyone has heard it. so fuck em.
anyway, i remember when Bob was an underground rapper in atlanta. glad he made it, and this album is why.

8. The Roots - How I Got Over


not like we expect anything less than good hip hop with a message from the roots, but they're still great. apparently they are the house band for jimmy fallon now. i cant explain that.

7. Janelle Monae - ArchAndroid


girl's got soul (he said quite racistly).

6. Cee-Lo Green - The Lady Killer


He makes me laugh, he makes me dance, and he makes me sing along. so fuck you.

5. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening


If i could just hang out with any "celebrity", expecting to gain nothing but some conversation, i would choose james murphy.

4. Matthew Dear - Black City


i can't really talk about it or explain it. just listen to it.

3. Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More


they got really huge really quickly and they seem to deserve it. also, id never seen this video before finding it to post here and i would like to say that i would love to see them live in a freaking bookstore.

2. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach


i'm sad they were so underwhelming at coachella. and i'll admit that that performance might have contributed to them dropping a spot in a very close race for the top 3.

1. Massive Attack - Heligoland


hey guys, lets not wait another 7 years for your next album. how's that sound?
the two tracks with horace andy vocals are just amazing. this album is so beautiful and intense.

NBA Eastern Conference Preview

Do I think anyone reads my blog? No.
Do I think that anyone who does would care about basketball? Also no.
Am I writing it anyway? Fuck yes. This is my blog for writing when I can't sleep. So fuck you.

Anyway...

This is looking like the most exciting NBA season in a long time, and it comes with a lot of questions. Will the Heat mesh? Are the Celtics too old? Can Dwight Howard develop a goddamn offensive game? Can any of these teams beat the Lakers? Well, here we go. Rankings based on how good I think the team is, not regular season record.

1. Boston Celtics
They will coast through the regular season again and still finish 3rd in the east. The addition of 14 feet worth of O'Neals gives them crazy depth in the paint, which happens to be exactly where the Heat are weakest and where a team needs depth (read: fouls to give) to beat the Magic. Shit, it's like they planned it.

2. Orlando Magic
Dwight Howard is the best defensive player in the NBA. No question. But Orlando lives and dies with his offensive ability. If his summer with Hakeem worked, he is the MVP and the Magic make the finals. If not, they lose to the Celtics in the playoffs.

3. Miami Heat
I'm not ready to crown them quite yet. They are, obviously, incredibly talented. But they are weak at point guard and center. LeBron could completely nullify the weakness at the point, but what the hell are they gonna do about Dwight Howard and the 17 big men in Boston?
That said, if LeBron can go for 22/10/12 and Wade can score down the stretch, this team is terrifying.

4. Chicago Bulls
The Bulls had the best offseason outside of Miami. With Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, and Carlos Boozer this team will crush the dregs of the east, which includes most of their division (I'm gonna say something along the lines of 100 wins combined for the Pacers, Pistons and Cavs). But thats about it. Shrug.

5. Milwaukee Bucks
Good young team that's only going to get better. Bogut and Jennings look to be both the present and the future of this franchise, and I have been consistently impressed with John Salmons.

6. New York Knicks
They'll score in bunches and make the playoffs, but unless they manage to acquire Carmelo Anthony I can't really see them making much noise once they get there. Felton led the Bobcats to the playoffs last year, and the new look Knicks are better than than that.

7. Washington Wizards
Because John Wall looks like the fastest player since Allen Iverson and will lead the league in steals. Because Wall, Arenas, and Heinrich are going to be the hardest trio to guard outside of Miami. Because Gilbert can finally just be a scorer. Because JaVale McGee has 4 capital letters in his name (and is a pretty good inside presence along with Andray Blatche). Because I'm a total homer.

8. Atlanta Hawks
Hey look, the exact same team as last year.

9. Philadelphia 76ers
Can Elton Brand possibly be that bad? I think Evan Turner will be better than he's showed so far and Andre Iguodola will continue to careen around the court and make hustle plays. The Sixers have a lot of good young players but they're still a while away.

10. I don't know, Nets?
They got better I guess, and they were already better than 12 wins...

11. Charlotte Bobcats
Ray Felton and Tyson Chandler can lead this team back to the playoffs. Oh wait.

12. Indiana Pacers
One of the teams I'm least likely to watch this year.

13. Detroit Pistons
Will trade Tayshaun Prince or Rip Hamilton to a contender sometime this year. Maybe both.

14. Cleveland Cavaliers
I feel like there's someone missing here. I will always love Antawn Jamison. JJ Hickson could turn into a good player. Ummmmm, shit. Sorry Cleveland. Atleast you're not in Toronto.

1,273. Toronto Raptors
Ranking reflects the number of college, Euroleague, and hockey teams better than the Raptors. Atleast you're not in Seattle.

Pop Music

So I have a new ride. Cuz I crashed my old one...
I basically like it, but its glaring problem is that the only tunes I have access to are "the radio". I think I became rather spoiled with my USB stereo in my last car. Who needs an IPod when you can just listen of a flash drive?
But anyway... I've been listening to the radio. So right now, I think I'm more familiar with pop music than I've ever been. I wanted to comment on some.


First thing I wanted to mention was Nelly. I'm not saying "Only Just a Dream" is a good song. It's alright, but nothing special. But I am really impressed with Nelly. He is an R&B singer now. Which he is, frankly, better at than rapping. I can admit that, but it was much harder for him too. That's a big deal. I am shocked that he was able to overcome his machismo enough to do that. I think it's a Ludacris lyric that says "these rap cats is soft, like R&B singers". It takes a real man to choose that when he doesn't have to. I'm proud of him.


Next thing: Rihanna is extremely talented. She has an amazing voice and made some really great songs. She has not made even a tolerable one since Chris Brown beat her up. I'm not saying it's related...


Third thing. "Like a G6" reminds me of the rave scene when I was part of it. Back in 2002 we danced to rappers that knew how to make beats, not European dudes with laptops. I love this song. This was my favorite song on the radio for about the first week and a half.


Sadly, it has been replaced.


The last thing I wanted to say is that I thought for sure we all would have forgotten Katy Perry a year after "I Kissed a Girl" came out. I was terribly wrong.

Musical expression

Just to update, now at 8.5 hours sleep on the year.

I've always wanted to learn to play an instrument. Yes, I played some drums and some trumpet back in the day. But I was never even decent at either. But it would be nice to be able to express myself musically. Unfortunately, I am not willing to put in the time or effort to actually get to that point. Video editing, on the other hand, I think I could learn...



Also, I would like to add a supplementary album to my top ten of the year. I didn't get around to listening to "Phrazes for the Young" by Julian Casablancas until earlier today. It will require more listening to actually rank it, but I'm going to call it now- it makes the top ten. Fantastic album.

Let us begin the count

I think I'm going to keep a running tab of how much sleep I get for the new year. So far 3 hours. I know we're only 31 hours into the year, but I'm curious exactly how much I get and this seems a good way to keep track. Plus, my insomnia blog has become increasingly less about insomnia (probably a good thing, but whatever).

In related news, I'm pretty sure cigarettes are more effective on a lack of sleep. Go me.


I would also like to share a (edited) quote from an article you wouldn't be interested in.
"Recipes are for wusses. When I cook, I saddle up my trusty Suzuki and set out into the wilderness in search of rare spices, exotic vegetables and the finest meats. Then, back within the gothic vastness of my kitchen I chop things with huge cleavers, sear them over roaring flames and add garlic to them whether they need it or not. This is the untamed frontier of the culinary arts. Cooking the same thing twice is the sign of a civilization in decline."

If someone could tell me if I should have used "an" instead of "a" up there, that would be great. Not sure if the parenthetical remark counts as the next word. I have a suspicion I'm wrong.

ask and ye shall receive

Not going to waste your time talking. Here's the photoshopping I dreamed of.



Matt is amazing. If I was a real blogger, I'd say something about how awesome my fans are. Instead, I HAVE AMAZING FRIENDS!