• 10. Best of You - Foo Fighters
• 9. Switchfoot - Stars
• 8. Old Man - Lizz Wright
• 7. Come to Jesus - Mindy Smith
• 6. Right Here - Staind
• 5. Sooner or Later - Michael Tolcher
• 4. Feel Good, Inc. - The Gorillaz
• 3. These Words - Natasha Bedingfield
• 2. Breathe (2 a.m.) - Anna Nalick
• 1. Swing Life Away (Acoustic) - Rise Against

• Leaving my favorite album at home is regrettable.
• I can play Interpol's last album for a week straight and not get tired of it.
• My pop-rock side really misses the Gin Blossoms and Semisonic.
• Coldplay will in all likelihood take over the world. Precisely half the world will love this and half the world will hate it. Everyone will think they copied the way U2 would had done it.
• Wilco is surprisingly good driving music.
• I miss liking Live.
• Gas is expensive.
• I like The Offspring more than I think I should.
• I know very little about Ted Leo, but man, he rocks.
• Driving to Florida in July with a broken air conditioner in the Jeep is a bad move. It gets kind of hot.
• Six hours driving in the car with the windows down makes your hair look funny.

Side note: I picked up Michael Tolcher's album. I saw this guy at Music Midtown. He's better live (as everyone should be) but his disc is really good. I think he's a lot like a non-piano Gavin DeGraw (who plays on the album) and a friend compared him to Duncan Sheik. Anyway, the album is ripe with strong, catchy tunes. It's good summer fare.

Thursday, June 15
A side effect of going to a big music festival is hearing a good band you've never heard, or heard of, before. This was the case when I caught Michael Tolcher and Red Letter Agent in Atlanta. If there's any justice in the music world, those two acts should get plenty of airplay.
If you want to play "Sounds Like," then Red Letter Agent sounds like a U.S. take on Coldplay and U2. Tolcher sounds like a stripped-down Maroon 5 or much cooler John Mayer. Both were amazing live.
RLA has an EP out called "Burn The Good Ones Down." Tolcher has a full-length album called "I Am." I can only hope that the recordings measure up to the live experiences.
If these guys sound interesting, check them out. I plan to.

Wednesday, June 14
Back from an extended weekend during which I roadtripped up to Atlanta for Music Midtown to party with 300,000 of my closest friends as I like to say.
The three-day festival is always a great time. This was my fourth year going. ( I did all three days in 2000 and 2001, a day in 2004 and two this year.) It's a lot of walking, but the promoters lay out the stages well and do a good job of placing things where they need to be.
The music was, of course, the highlight. I saw Interpol and The White Stripes on Friday. These were even better because I was about 20-25 feet from the stage. At one point I looked back and all I could see was a mass of sweaty flesh as the crowd filled what seemed to be the entire postal district of Midtown Atlanta.
Saturday was an all-day affair. It started with Louis XIV about 3:30. Bloc Party, The Features, Keane, The Killers and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers followed during what turned out to be a very wet day. I like to think I'm a pretty smart guy, as I took a poncho up there in case it rained. You know, thinking ahead. I'm just not smart enough to not leave it in my hotel room. At one point I think I quoted Ringo from the Beatles' movie "Help!," --- "my skin's soaked right through to the skin."
Interpol put on the best show. I'd seen them before, but they were still amazing.
I also enjoyed The Killers' set. They are playing in Birmingham at CityStages this weekend. Check them out if you get a chance.
A little rain doesn't dampen the spirits, though paying $3 for a Coke or bottled water and $5 for a 12 oz. beer gets them a bit soggy. Let's not forget the $4 hot dog (which while not bad at all, was not worth the price). All of this is the main downside to a festival. The captive audience. The vendors know you aren't going anywhere, so they figure to charge a bit more because they can. I'd go off on a rant here, but I'd probably do the same in their shoes.
The weekend was a great time. It's hard to beat the price for the number of acts. I'm already planning to go next year. So aside from being slightly waterlogged, I'd say it was definitely worth it.
The bass player for Bloc Party said it best, "We didn't bring the sun with us today, but we did bring........the rock."

Tuesday, May 31
I made my first foray in the the world of the DualDisc recently.
It was a good and bad thng really. All of it boils down to one thing: I'm a sheep.
Like a good little consumer, I bought the DualDisc because it has the CD I wanted plus a DVD of video and documentary stuff. It's two, two, two things in one. But really, the DVD doesn't deliver that much. Most of the DualDiscs I have seen offer a video or two and what passes for a documentary. The film on the DVD in question lasts 12 minutes.
Some documentary.
It's not a bad documentary; it's just a short one.
I just don't know if these things have enough to inspire the second purchases I think the record companies are after. People might buy the DVD over the regular disc when it first comes out, but the disc should offer more than a couple of videos.
After all, it takes a lot of effort to turn those things over.
I guess the big thing I have a problem with is the different versions of albums that are coming out. If you are a big fan of a band, you are faced with sometimes three or four versions of an album. These record companies are banking on the die-hards shelling out for at least two of these. Take the new Oasis album for example. The DualDisc has the aforementioned "documentary" and a video, along with the album in 5.1 surround (which I don't have). Then Best Buy sells an "exclusive" version with a five-track live disc, which I really wanted. I dislike this devious marketing ploy.
I care for it even less because I fell for it.

Tuesday, May 31
Today is Tuesday, a day not particularly interesting except for the new music that eaches our stores on this day. This day is of note because the new Oasis album is out. I have been looking foward to this for some time as they are my favorite band.
Let the "Is it stealing or is it influenced by ----?" debate begin once more.
I, for one, maintain that the songs are original, yet heavily influenced, and they don't "steal" their songs.

Sunday, May 29
Sports Illustrated has a feature in it every week called "This Week's Sign of the Apocolypse."
It's usually a tidbit of strange or unnerving news. I learned something the other day that confirms beyond a shadow of a doubt that the end is extremely freakin' nigh.
A ring tone, called "Crazy Frog Axel F," is No. 1 on a U.K. singles chart. It may keep Coldplay out of the top spot and is replacing Oasis, according to an AP article I read. I've never heard of being able to buy a ring tone as a single (it is apparently available on CD) but it seems you can.
Those crazy Brits.

Tuesday, May 3
Usually a trip to the mailbox is a disappointment as the majority of my mail consists of junk and bills. The other day, though, held a special envelope.
I got my Oasis concert tickets.
The band is my personal fav. So it's a little present to myself as the show falls in the general vicinity of my birthday. I have seen the band before, at Music Midtown, in 2000 I think it was. I got to shoot in the photo pit before getting kicked out. It wasn't my fault. Really. I had a press pass and everything, but the security guys got a little freaked out by the crowd and threw everyone out.
I had tickets to a show before, but it was one where the show was called because one Gallagher got ticked off and left the band for a while.
Anyway, I'm excited.
In other concert news: I roadtripped to Atlanta last week to catch Taking Back Sunday and Jimmy Eat World. Good show.
I went with a friend who likes both bands, whereas I have never heard TBS before. The band put on a lively concert, with the singer flinging around his corded mic, but I just couldn't get into them. I don't think I have enough angst to appreciate the music. I tried an "angry young man" phase and just couldn't pull it off.
But Jimmy Eat World was great. They played songs from all four of their albums, focusing on stuff from the latest release "Futures." The biggest reaction from the crowd came from tunes off of "Bleed American/Jimmy Eat World" like "The Middle" and "Sweetness."
The band's set had a bunch of old televisions stacked up. It was sort of Zoo TV meets "Sanford and Son." It looked cool.
From the CD rack: I got around to getting "Bleed Like Me" from Garbage. I've missed the group. The album is moody and high-energy. No one has a voice quite like Shirley Manson. She powers through the whole disc with vocal abandon. The boys in the band more than keep up and put out some killer rock/electronic tracks. It's hard to believe those guys were in Blue Oyster Cult.

Wednesday, April 13
Have had some time with a new disc I got the other day, and I have to say The Bravery's self-titled debut is pretty good.
I had been hearing about them for a while. They are apparently being known as the current Next Big Thing Out Of New York. They've also been called the new Killers. I wouldn't exactly agree with that second part, though there are some similarities. But singer Sam Endicott differs too much from The Killers' Brandon Flowers. Think Julian Casablancas of The Strokes fronting The Killers and you are a little closer.
The Bravery just puts together good synth-rock. They get some criticism for sounding like too many other bands. That may or may not be warranted, but the result is catchy tunes nonetheless.
It's worth a listen. Check out "Unconditional," "An Honest Mistake," "Out Of Line" and "Public Service Announcement."
CONCERT UPDATE: Went up to Atlanta again Sunday for another concert at The Tabernacle to catch Muse.
It was probably the highest-energy show I've seen in a while if not ever. The hard-rocking British trio kept the crowd in it from start to finish. The show, part of MTV's Campus Invasion Tour, drew a young crowd of mostly college kids. We knew better than to risk the floor and headed up to the third level. We got seats right at the rail allowing an awesome vantage point for the show. Lights, keyboards, guitars and drums formed an overwhelming sensory experience. It also may have had something to do sitting in front of a massive speaker hanging from the ceiling.
Muse concentrated on songs from their latest, "Absolution" but mixed in some others as well. The newer "Hysteria," "Time Is Running Out" and "Stockholm Syndrome" sent the floor crowd swaying back and forth. Those kids were packed so tight they just moved as one. They didn't have much choice.
Opening act Razorlight put on a good show. I had heard a couple of their songs and enjoyed their set. The singer had one of the best introductions I've heard for a song as he led into "Leave Me Alone."
He said, "This is a song about mo*******ers."

Monday, March 28
Came into work expecting the usual amount of bad news Mondays come with. Got a little more than I bargained for.
Paul Hester, the drummer for one of my all-time favorite bands, Crowded House, had died.
Neil Finn, a former bandmate of Hester's, posted a very nice note on http://www.finnbros.com expressing his sadness. Neil and brother Tim plan to go ahead with their tour and play to remember Hester.

Saturday, March 26
The summer concert season is presenting a problem for me. I have recently resolved to "get out there more" --- wherever "there" is. A big part of this is going to see the bands I really like. I have occasionally maintained the attitude that you're not a real fan unless you've seen someone live. Though I've backed off that one a bit. Besides, I love going to see shows.
Monday was a solo adventure to Atlanta to see Interpol. They played at The Tabernacle, an old church converted into a concert hall and a very cool place. I enjoy these little trips I sometimes make to the big city. Two and a half hours in the car with good driving tunes is not so bad when rewarded with a killer concert.
The band was great. Awesome show. Loads of energy.
I got there early to get a good spot, about 10 feet from the stage. I was in front of bass player Carlos D, who may very well be the coolest man on the planet. He really does look like Crispin Glover (the actor who played the thin guy in the "Charlie's Angels" tragedies and also was in "Willard").
The problem is there are too many shows I want to go see. Atlanta and Birmingham are playing host to --- in the next few months --- Muse, Iron & Wine, The Decemberists, The Shins, Snow Patrol, Athlete, Weezer and of course there is Music Midtown in June ( the most geographically friendly festival with top-notch bands).
I won't go to all of these. My bank account has decided that one for me. The problem is just picking out which ones to go to.
Decisions, decisions.

Monday, March 14
I have U2 tickets.
This excites me a great deal. Although I know, looking from the seating chart of the arena, that Bono and the lads will merely be specks to my eyes. I also may require an oxygen tank as I hear the air gets thin at that altitude.
None of this bothers me particularly. I'm just excited to get to go.

Tuesday, March 8
Whatever is up with our economy needs to stop. Get Alan Greenspan on the phone. We have to talk.
I know there are a lot of economic troubles in our nation right now. Forget for the moment that April 15 is fast approaching. What has me most concerned right now is the exchange rate for the dollar and the British pound.
This troubles me because I like a fair amount of music that comes from across the pond. Most things I can get here, but there are some albums that are not distributed in the United States. So when I seek them out they are often more expensive because they are imports or I can get them from a U.K. Web site and pay in pounds. Either way is expensive, although I have found I can usually save a couple of bucks by getting it from overseas.
I first was really struck by this recently when I bought a CD from a U.K. Web site. I saw what I wanted and saw I would pay ten pounds for the disc.
First thought: That's not so bad.
Then I figured I would find out exactly how much that is. Turns out ten pounds right now is about $18.
That's a bit much.
So let's work on this shall we? I've got more stuff I want to get and I'm too cheap to pay these high rates.

Monday, Feb. 28
It's been a sad week for my mailbox.
You see, my subscription to Rolling Stone has expired. I have truly enjoyed getting those glossy pages delivered to my home, but now it is, at least temporarily, no more. Just renew you say? Easily done.
The fee does clash with my leanings toward the cheap, though. Added with that is I wasn't paying for the two-plus years I received the magazine. I was getting it thanks to a former girlfriend who set it up for me.
Knowing me, and I don't really, I will likely send off the check here in the next day or so. I can't be without my many glimpses into the musical realm. It is just a question of how many more I may subscribe to. Spin, Under The Radar, Magnet, Q and Fader all beckon to me on occasion from the bookstore racks. I don't have the money to really do something like get all of them. But I guess I can dream.
I really don't need all those magazines lying about anyway.
The playlist is new; a mix of favorites on the radio right now and car CD listenings. Tuesday, Feb. 22 I've had the opportunity lately to give presents to people and sometimes, but not always, I give them a CD or a vinyl album. Now, I occasionally try to fight being labeled the "music guy," but let's face it: That's how a lot of people see me and it's more or less true.
In my experience there are two schools of thought when giving someone music. There's the CD I know that person wants and will like. Then there is the CD they don't have, and me in my infinite wisdom and good taste decides that person simply must have it. It's for their own good.
I admit, I do on occasion fall into that second category.
It's not that I want to be seen as a musical guru or anything like that. I don't really know any more about this or that group than the next guy. But I do know what I like. And aside from my strange affinity for Huey Lewis & The News, I think I've got decent taste. It's just I am a voracious reader of music magazines and think I come across a lot of bands my friends might not otherwise know about. As I like to think I know a little about the people I care about, I may toss something their way they might not know they like unitl they hear it.
Of course, as has happened before, people sometimes hate what they hear and I get that "what were you thinking?" look. I get that one a lot, but it usually has to do with something other than CDs.
I suppose the point is that giving music is simply an honest effort to let that person like what they hear when they put it on. That may come from a safer choice of a person's favorite band's latest or it might be an oddball group you came across and want to expose someone to. It's always hit-and-miss. There's no guarantee that the 3 Doors Down fan is going to like the album the group just put out. But if someone likes the band, get it for them. Or take a chance and give the new LCD Soundsystem disc instead.
I hear it's really good. But what do I know?.

Monday, Feb. 14
In the next couple of months the new album from Coldplay should arrive. And it's about time.
It's not just that it is an anticipated album from one of the best bands of the past few years (if you haven't heard "Parachutes" and "A Rush Of Blood To The Head" please leave your cave and purchase immediately). After their first two albums sold millions, they are threatening U2 as the most important rock act in the world. And yes, U2 is, just ask them.
But a new album may alleviate the rash of bands getting lumped in with Coldplay in their absence. Or at least keep those with musical opinions, people like me, from making constant comparisons to the band. Sounding like Coldplay has almost become a genre in itself. Nirvana, Creed and the Cure all have all become pseudo-genres in themselves. We' ll actually have a Coldplay album to talk about.
Keane is a great band. Their album is still going strong in the United States and back home for them in the United Kingdom. But I wonder if they ever get weary of the aforementioned comparison. As I've looked around on the Internet for new music, I've come across bands that I might like. I haven't heard Feeder, Blue Merle or Thirteen Senses, but if the reviews I've read are true -- if I like Coldplay, I'll like them.
Another band I have grown to enjoy is Athlete. They just released their new album "Tourist."
I like the band's debut album. It was released in 2003, but I just picked it up recently. The band does not apparently put much emphasis on releases here in the States (I got the new one on a U.K. Web site, which involved figuring out how much 10 pounds is in dollars). Anyway, the first disc was sort of odd, really catchy songs. Now the new album is being plugged as more mature. Translation: Critics say it sounds like you know who.
This is not a bad thing, mind you. "Tourist" is a really good album. It's just great Britpop throughout. Songs like "Half Light," "Tourist" and "Modern Mafia" do show the band putting the focus on evolving. Their sound is their own.
I hope it gets a good reception in the states, they just have to release it here.
I really am looking forward to the new album from Coldplay. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan. I just find it interesting getting to watch people fill in the gap between albums with comparisons to their beloved band (and catching myself doing the same thing).
So hurry up boys. We're all waiting.