2010 Song Project - Countdown - #450-#441

#450 Holy Fiction - "More Than Ever" from "Hours From It" - The only song from Holy Fiction to make the countdown, "More Than Ever" is a sweeping song with a great chorus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9TZMExzmEs


#449 Rick Ross - "MC Hammer" from "Teflon Don" - Rick Ross put a couple songs on the countdown this year, with this song being a more straight-forward rap song than "Life Fast, Die Young".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4OGoIoOero


#448 Cypress Hill - "Rise Up" from "Rise Up" - 2010 was a surprisingly good year for Cypress Hill. Though they didn't experience much success from their album "Rise Up", it was their best work in years. This track features Rage / Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iatjMEp3bxw


#447 Travie McCoy - "Dr. Feel Good" from "Lazarus" - Cee Lo Green guests on this track, providing a great chorus to go with Travie's rap verses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JFIYjEU_wc


#446 Athlete - "Superhuman Touch" from "Black Swan" - Athlete's style of music is very hit or miss. Their songs will either be stadium-filling pop hits or obtuse misses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5TTe2Gj2LM


#445 Bo Burnham - "Rant" from "Words, Words, Words" - Bo's comedic rant about religion. He's a great lyricist if you can get past his nasal singing voice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hCQLEIWadk


#444 Elvis Costello - "Five Little Words" from "National Ransom" - Elvis seems to have a few songs on every year's list. "Five Little Words" ranks among the best songs he's produced in the past decade.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThzOrkXBLD4


#443 UNKLE - "The Runaway - Lupe's Revenge" from "The Answer" - The Lupe in question is, of course, Lupe Fiasco, who provides the trippy, paranoid rap vocals on this track from UNKLE.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWCDeR6Z-1g


#442 Darker My Love - "Backseat" from "Alive As You Are" - This song has a distinct Grateful Dead vibe to it, with smooth verses bleeding into a hooky chorus and twangy guitars throughout.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-GEKB43I5g


#441 Kate Nash - "Do Wah Doo" from "My Best Friend Is You" - 2010 wasn't quite as good a year for Kate Nash as 2008 was, but she did manage to put this song on the countdown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqV-embx_tA

2011 Album Reviews - 6/24/2011

The Cold War Kids - Mine Is Yours - A+

Motorhead - The World Is Yours - A+

Gang Of Four - Content - B-

Iron And Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean - A+

2010 Song Project - Countdown - #460-#451

#460 Sex Bob-Omb - "Garbage Truck" from "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World Soundtrack" - More Beck-supplied goodness for the fictional band from "Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhGu2CDqQqo


#459 The Arcade Fire - "Deep Blue" from "The Suburbs" - Another piece of the brilliant concept album puzzle that is "The Suburbs" the second-best album of 2010.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_-pm6DFmrA


#458 The Walkmen - "Angela Surf City" from "Lisbon" - Fuzzy surf rock from a band best-known for their aggressive hit "The Rat", which was sort of an indie rock version of "Positively 4th Street".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4BHHMhPMu0


#457 Weezer - "Trainwrecks" from "Hurley" - Another great modern rock track from Weezer with a cathartic chorus. Seems like they have 3 or 4 of these come out every single year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoYHOhqeyO8


#456 Cee Lo Green - "No One's Gonna Love You" from "The Lady Killer" - Cee Lo Green adds his haunting vocals to his cover of a forgotten classic by Band Of Horses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzAof7HjaxU


#455 The Street Dogs - "Bobby Powers" from "The Street Dogs" - The Street Dogs are one of the most under-rated punk bands around. "Bobby Powers" is the latest in a series of fantastic Bad Religion-esque pop / punk tunes from the band that's just an inch away from a major breakthrough.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEuEwm3dnAo


#454 Bruno Mars - "Marry You" from "Doo Wops And Hooligans" - The first of four songs off of Bruno Mars' 2010 R&B pinnacle "Doo Wops And Hooligans".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xDZ_YI8I9Y


#453 The Radar Bros. - "Dear Headlights" from "The Illustrated Garden" - The second of three Radar Bros. songs to make the 2010 countdown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfiBYbCk8Uw


#452 Ozzy Osbourne - "Diggin' Me Down" from "Scream" - Ozzy made a major comeback in 2010 with the release of his best album in over a decade, "Scream" which featured this track. He also supplied guest vocals to a charting song on Slash's self-titled album.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dHHZ6W2tsw


#451 Robyn - "In My Eyes" from "Body Talk" - Another great song from Robyn, an artist on a run comprable to the much more well-known Lady Gaga.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoDIPobm24o

2010 Song Project - Countdown - #470-#461

#470 Brandon Flowers - "Was It Something I Said" from "Flamingo" - The first track off of The Killers lead singer Brandon Flowers' solo record. The record was good. Not "Killers" good, but still better than most indie rock efforts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL0hby-rSmQ


#469 The Streets - "Where My Heart Has Been" from "Computers And Blues" - It does appear as though the "Computers and Blues" album will show up again in 2011, but for 2010 the album already has this representative, though many other songs on the album came close to making the countdown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_adTOvSb8xk


#468 Linkin Park - "When They Come For Me" from "A Thousand Suns" - Every Linkin Park album has one song on it that stands out in my mind. Usually this because the song focuses on the rapper (above average talent there) instead of the screecher, who irritates me greatly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNKv_nrTIeI


#467 B.O.B. - "The Kids" from "B.O.B. Presents: The Adventures Of Bobby Ray" - B.O.B. samples (or borrows rather) the chorus and beat from Vampire Weekend's "The Kids Don't Stand A Chance" and gets guest vocals from Janelle Monae on this track.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHeO-4Ad9IA


#466 RPA And The United Nations Of Sound - "Beatitudes" from "RPA And The United Nations Of Sound" - Apparantly they didn't get good reviews in their native England, but I enjoyed the bombast that RPA brought to the table, as it reminded me of the glory days of Oasis' stadium-filling 90's albums.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvf0_oBn5P4


#465 The National - "Little Faith" from "High Violet" - The National enjoyed something of a break-out in 2010, placing 5 songs on the countdown and gaining national attention for their acclaimed album "High Violet".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XGLwRn6jjw


#464 Les Savy Fav - "Appetites" from "Root For Ruin" - The first of two Les Savy Fav songs on the countdown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yse4ezWaY8w


#463 Alberta Cross - "City Walls" from "Broken Side Of Time" - Alberta Cross is an alt rock band with a bright future. "City Walls" is the second-highest charting song from their "Broken Side of Time" album.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqr14sNwlLU


#462 Rick Ross - "Live Fast, Die Young" from "Teflon Don" - Kanye West (who was everywhere in 2010) provides a guest vocal on Rick Ross' most radio ready song of 2010.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZocrHzjjwVU


#461 Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - "Banned (By The Man)" from "Let It Sway" - SSLYBY finally cracks a year-end countdown after coming close a few years in the past with the catchy indie rock tune "Banned (By The Man)".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pXCM4Srpzk

2010 Song Project - Countdown - #480-#471

#480 My Chemical Romance - "Save Yourself, I'll Hold Them Back" from "Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys" - The first of 7 songs on the countdown from MCR's latest emo / goth / punk concept album.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXXP23rOgV8


#479 DJ Khaled - "Victory" from "Victory" - featuring Nas And John Legend - Nas handles the lyrics and John Legend handles the chorus on this solid hop hop song. I think DJ Khaled was involved somehow as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-K4812NZHo


#478 Of Montreal - "Coquet Coquette" from "False Priest" - The latest charting song from the quirky Canadian outfit Of Montreal, whose future seems brighter now that they're adopting a more radio-friendly sound than their previously obtuse style.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx01UXtjuFg


#477 Galactic - "Heart Of Steel" from "Ya-Ka-May" - Irma Thomas provides the guest vocals on this track from the up-and-coming New Orleans act Galactic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmI-IejJl3U


#476 Ghostface Killah - "Troublemakers" from "Apollo Kids" - Raekwon, Method Man and Redman join Ghostface Killah for a mini Wu Tang Reunion on Ghost's latest hit off of "Apollo Kids".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_pMXFUDG0s


#475 I Blame Coco - "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" from "The Constant" - I Blame Coco is a rising pop singer who I expect to appear frequently on future countdowns. There were a couple songs off of "The Constant" that came close to making the list, but fell just short.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4yweON2N74


#474 Robyn - "Dancing On My Own" from "Body Talk" - Robyn continues to make brilliant pop music that doesn't get played in America. "Dancing On My Own" is the first of 4 Robyn songs on the countdown this year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcNo07Xp8aQ


#473 The Dead Weather - "Blue Blood Blues" from "Sea Of Cowards" - While The Dead Weather is no The White Stripes, they improved dramatically from their debut album with "Sea Of Cowards". "Blue Blood Blues" is a crunchy blues rock monster of a song with some great lyrical turns between guitar burns.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg8DMqFuip8


#472 Big Boi - "Be Still" from "Sir Lucious Left Foot… The Son Of Chico Dusty" - The first of 11 Big Boi songs on the countdown, "Be Still" is best-known for the female vocalist who sings the R&B-style chorus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxV5Y6UufU8


#471 The Radar Bros. - "Radio" from "The Illustrated Garden" - A roots rock style alt rock song with a sunny chorus.

I couldn't find a youtube link.

2011 Album Reviews - 6/23/2011

The Decemberists - The King Is Dead - Another brilliant indie pop / prog / folk concept album from the Decemberists with great songs from start to finish. - A+

Social Distortion - Hard Times And Nursery Rhymes - Another excellent front to back album from Social Distortion, who can probably do this in their sleep at this point. - A+

White Lies - Ritual - B+

The Smith Westerns - Dye It Blonde - B-

2010 Song Project - Countdown - #490-#481

#490 Film School - "Heart Full Of Pentagons" from "Fission" - The first of 2 songs on this year's countdown from the obscure indie pop band Film School.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=favcj3w-R_U

#489 Vampire Weekend - "Run" from "Contra" - The first of 11 Vampire Weekend songs to appear on the countdown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKLlNLwVqWE

#488 Jenny And Johnny - "Committed" from "I'm Having Fun Now" - Jenny Lewis takes on a lot of side projects between Rilo Kiley albums and her latest collaboration produced a pair of songs on the the countdown, starting with "Committed".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWYUr_8bx08

#487 Los Lobos - "Burn It Down" from "Tin Can Trust" - Best known for their cover of "La Bamba", Los Lobos is an enduring roots rock band, as evidenced by this cut off of their latest album.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3a40GoZtb0

#486 Anais Mitchell - "Why We Build The Wall" from "Hadestown" - Anais Mitchell is one of the strangest artists to appear on this year's countdown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAgiK07Py9M

#485 School Of Seven Bells - "Windstorm" from "Disconnect From Desire" - 2010 wasn't as good a year for School of Seven Bells as 2009 was, but they still placed this song on the countdown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWtXttiKBzs

#484 Infant Sorrow - "Yeah Yeah Oi Oi" from "Get Him To The Greek" - Infant Sorrow barely edged out Sex Bob-Omb 5-4 to win the "fake band invented for a movie" award for 2010. It's not impossible to tell that this band is a Spinal Tap-esque fake, but you do have to listen closely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi83C2DFcQI

#483 Iron Maiden - "The Talisman" from "The Final Frontier" - Still awesome after all these years, Iron Maiden continues to make 80's style heavy metal sound more modern and viable than any metal bands born long after the end of Maiden's prime.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maj2NuQfwOY

#482 Sex Bob-Omb - "We Are Sex Bob-Omb" from "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World Soundtrack" - Allison Pill (as Kim Pine) provides the legendary introduction (and title of the song) and Beck provides the funky backbeat and lyrics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoS7b0u79mw

#481 Justin Currie - "Everyone I Love" from "The Great War" - A dark, brooding tune with a singer-songwriter vibe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yyxsB8txr4