Certain bands, they get so scratched into our souls. We can do whatever we want, listen to a thousand other albums which are certainly worthy of our attention, but we will always come back to that handful of bands that we can't even classify ourselves as fans of anymore because we have taken our adoration so far. It's like you take possession of the band, and start to take it personally when someone even hints at them being anything less than flawless. You get to a point where you can't even distinguish between any of the band's albums because you have absorbed them in so much, and trying to choose one as your favorite, would be like trying to pick your favorite Seinfeld episode (impossible). They are all so great in their own right that by choosing one, you feel like you cheapen the rest of the band's catalogue because you are saying that this album stands above the others, when in your heart of hearts you know that your comment was simply based on how you were feeling at that particular moment, and that all of their albums could be your favorite at any given time. Yeah, it's kinda disgusting.

Anyhow, if you haven't figured it out yet, i am quickly approaching this phase with the Hold Steady, and if i am not careful, people are going to stop visiting this site because they will think it has just turned into a Hold Steady fanboy forum which will soon be changing its name to "How A Resurrection Really Feels". No fears though. I promise i will lay off the Hold Steady posts for a while after this one. Also, there has been no word (at least as of today) that they will be releasing an album in 2007, so the top tens for the year should be bereft of Craig Finn and Company. Although, no Hold Steady album released in 2007 would break their current streak of one album each year starting in 2004, so i wouldn't count them out just yet. That alone has to be one of the greatest traits of the band though. They just love doing what they do so much, that they can't stop doing it (where "doing it" = rocking out). They are in the studio every chance that they have, which is basically every minute that they aren't touring (which basically means this band is either touring or recording at all times).

As one can imagine then, when the opportunity arose to go see "America's best bar band" live in concert, there was very little that could stop me from going (although my client at work filing their 10-K late made a pretty good attempt at it). Better yet, they would be playing on St. Patrick's Day. For those who are keeping track: Hardest partying and most unabashedly catholic band i listen to, playing in (arguably) the biggest party town in Ohio, on arguably the biggest party day of the year (which just happened to fall on a Saturday). I was stoked.

For those unfamiliar with Newport Music Hall, it is more or less a large, run-down room with a sunken floor and a bar in the back. The whole place can probably hold a couple thousand people, and is a living, breathing fire-hazard. Needless to say, seeing a concert there is a pretty "quaint" experience, and i can't imagine seeing the Hold Steady in a place any larger (or nicer). Fully equipped with a perma-sticky floor (compliments of spilled beer and sweat), and a metal hand railing that left my hands smelling like old pennies for the rest of the weekend, Newport Music Hall is the quintessential "room" that bands write about playing to on their first few albums, and i can't imagine the Hold Steady would want to play a room any larger (or nicer).

As the opening band, the Thermals, played their set of politically-charged indie punk, a predominantly male army of green-clad 20-somethings filled the room. The great thing about going to a show of this size is that you know everyone in attendance is there because they love the band(s) (or know someone who does). Basically, this translates to wealth of people in the room who are there to cut loose to a band that they are used to hearing blared from the speakers of their 93' Camry on a day-to-day basis. These people are there to enjoy a band they love and they don't care what they look like, or how they act in the process. This ability to let one's guard down is a very liberating experience, and i would argue almost necessary at a Hold Steady concert (exhibit 1: Craig Finn's wild stage presence).

When the band took the stage, the place was at a low buzz, but the room felt like it was about pop. As lead-man Craig Finn casually introduced his band to the crowd and the opening guitar licks of "Stuck Between Stations" rolled out, the place swelled like the walls of a shaken-up beer can, and about 20-seconds into the opening song from Boys and Girls In America, when the drums kick in, the room literally burst with the entire crowd simultaneously going into a frenzy. From this point on until the house lights came on, the concert was an all out assault of hard-hitting guitars and drums/pounding pianos exuding into an atmosphere thick with sweat, alcohol, and adrenaline.

It is almost ridiculous how much the Hold Steady like to just play balls-out rock and roll, and seeing them live just confirms this. I can't even compare them to anyone because im not really sure if any of their contemporaries play rock and roll this unapologetically. I mean, there are certainly people out there playing rock music these days, but i just feel like the Hold Steady are doing it in a manner that would only be comparable to those who came before them. To me, they are like a mix of Zeppelins' dirtier guitar days/partying and Bruce Springsteen's energy/storytelling/piano-rock (however, not nearly as talented as either of the aforementioned - but even the fact that im making the comparison says a lot).

As the band flew through a smattering of songs from all three of their albums (drawing most heavily from their most recent release, Boys and Girls In America), the crowd screamed almost every single word right back to Craig Finn as he spit and snarled into the microphone. Spitting and snarling is really the only accurate portrayal of what Finn does though. It would be an injustice to say his lyric delivery is "spoken-word" (as that would imply lack of emotion), but it would also be misleading to suggest that Finn is "singing". This unorthodox delivery is obviously accentuated in the live-setting which finds Finn parading around the stage, popping off at the crowd like an inspired dictator, prophesizing to a group of kids who he pities and envies all at the same time. His followers just eat every word right out of his hand though, consenting to every move Finn is making, further fueling his stage presence, and leading to additional convulsive pointing and swaggering from Finn.

From start to finish the Hold Steady is out there trying to please. The band played the customary encore (which saw the band's softer underbelly momentarily exposed with "First Night", but quickly juxtaposed by the high energy "Same Kooks", which was followed up by the epic Separation Sunday closer, "How A Resurrection Really Feels"). Additionally, Minnesota's rock and roll sweethearts came out for a second encore which treated the crowd to two classic tracks from the band's 2004 debut, Almost Killed Me (album bookends "Positive Jam" and "Killer Parties"...for those keeping track). In the process, the band pulled out all the tricks you expect from an over-the-top rock and roll band (see: guitar solos on top of double-stacked amplifiers and pulls from bottles of Jim Beam between verses), and i must say it was a memorable experience to be a part of.

While i am only one year removed from college, it feels further and further away with each passing day. I feel myself slowly slipping into an adulthood that i was probably too accepting of in the beginning, and now am desperately wishing i could retreat to a time when i would be awoke by the sound of my roomates sliding down the stairs face-first (in a sleeping bag), and when Friday's toughest decision was whether or not i would be ordering from the dollar menu or going "premium" by getting a Big Mac. For me, the Hold Steady serve as a placeholder for these times. While pretty much nobody i know partied as hard as the characters in Craig Finn's tales of middle-class midwestern America, almost everybody i know would enjoy one more night out partying with their friends, and the Hold Steady can give you flashes of that. Maybe that's why i have grown so attached to this rag-tag group of guys from the twin cities. I guess you just get old enough to know, why certain bands they get so scratched into our souls.

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In my quest to come up with the ten greatest Oasis songs of all time I used only one indicator of a song's greatness: how much I like it... so maybe this list is a bit subjective, but any list any where is usually completely subjective so cut me a bit of slack. These are ten incredible songs and they are the ten (eleven?) best oasis songs in my opinion. I attempted to pick at least one song from each album, but in the end I did leave Heathen Chemistry completely off of the list, despite the fact that it is a pretty good album.

Anyways, have a read and enjoy.

10. Stand by Me

The lone representative from Be Here Now, Stand by Me continues to be the only song Oasis continues to play live off of the album. It might suffer from sharing a title with an iconic song, but the general tenderness of the song elevates it to a fantastic level with one of the most sing-along-able live choruses of any Oasis song. It perfectly captures one of Noel Gallagher’s greatest talents: the ability to transcend the audience-artist divide and make the listener feel at one with the band, the song, and the emotions present.

9. Gas Panic!

Another sole representative from an Oasis album, Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, Gas Panic! is one of the most electronically experimental Oasis songs ever produced. It is built upon the same famous “Oasis Chord” that also features in Wonderwall, D’Ya Know What I Mean, and several others, the Em-add9, though it’s presence is barely distinguishable behind the wall of intricately programmed white noise, bleeps and blips, and fantastic atmosphere. The song itself is a bit weird in a Noel Gallagher songwriting sense in that there is no bridge and really no chorus, but the song is a powerful interpretation of Noel’s cold-turkey kicking of cocaine, heroine, and acid.

8. Wonderwall/Don’t Look Back in Anger

This might be a bit of jip, counting two songs as one, but Wonderwall and Don’t Look Back in Anger, the band’s two most successful US singles, are inextricably linked in my mind and probably the minds of everyone who was between 10 and 30 in 1995/1996. We all know the songs and if either one is ever played at a bar we all sing them at the top of our lungs, even if the notes outreach us. There is really no explanation necessary as to why they’re on this top ten list, but one might be necessary to explain their low ranking, and that is simply that there are better songs… believe it.

7. Cigarettes in Hell

A b-side from the Go Let It Out single, Cigarettes in Hell, shows why Oasis is such a special band: even their b-sides are classics. Many Oasis fans and non-fans probably don’t understand why Cigarettes in Hell is this high on the list, or even on the list at all, but it really is a fantastic song which is among the most psychedelic things Oasis has ever done. It intertwines backwards guitars, a rousing Noel vocal, and a slightly modified Dear Prudence guitar solo with one of the most Rock and Roll sentiments ever expressed:

I don’t mind not feeling immortal,
Cause it aint all that as far as I can tell,
And I don’t mind not going to heaven,
As long as they’ve got cigarettes in hell.

6. Cast No Shadow

Written for Noel’s good friend, former Verve frontman, Richard Ashcroft, Cast No Shadow is a magnificent combination of slide guitar, interesting lyrical content, and a vocal delivered pitch perfectly by Liam. The shuffling drums provided by Alan White elevate the song past any previous Oasis epic/ballad by replacing Tony McCaroll’s punky inconsistency and framing the song with sentimental beautiful. It is simply a perfectly executed, gorgeous song about the difficulties of expressing oneself through song.

5. The Importance of Being Idle

One of two songs off of this list from Oasis' most recent studio effort, Don’t Believe the Truth, The Importance of Being Idle is exquisite proof that Oasis have not only lost its touch, it has actually improved and become more interesting. The song is unlike anything in the Oasis catalogue before it, a stirring, drum scuffling freak-out about laziness with more layers of interesting sound than an Earlies album. Noel’s mixed falsetto soars above the song with power and bravado, one of his best vocal efforts ever.

4. Cigarettes and Alcohol

Although the first guitar line is lifted from a T-Rex song, Cigarettes and Alcohol is the ultimate statement song for Oasis. It’s unthinkable to hear a song today off of a debut album with so much swagger, confidence, and presence. Liam’s snarling voice gives what could actually be a bit of a laugher of a song, intensity and enough attitude to knock the wind out of Johnny Rotten. How can a song with the following line not be great:

Is it worth the aggravation to find yourself a job,
When there’s nothing worth working for?
It’s a crazy situation,
But all I need is cigarettes and alcohol.

3. Guess God Thinks I’m Abel

The second song on this list off of Don’t Believe the Truth, Guess God Thinks I’m Abel is the only song on my top ten list written by Liam, although Love Like A Bomb is so close to cracking the top ten it’s crazy. Liam is no longer simply the drunken, Grizzly Adams beard wearing singer anymore, he has proven himself as a fantastic songwriter, and Guess God Thinks I’m Abel is all the proof anyone needs. It has a great groove, relying on hand percussion for its rhythm and among the best melodies in the Oasis catalogue. It is simply a show stopper.

2. Slide Away

Slide Away is the ultimate Oasis rock/epic/ballad, the kind of song Oasis will be forever remembered forever. Coming off of Definitely Maybe, Slide Away simply blows the listener away with slick guitar lines and the patented Oasis wall of guitars as well as what I think is the greatest Noel written chorus of all time. Whereas Live Forever captures the “us against the world” attitude present in many of Noel’s songs, Slide Away layers the sentiment with crying guitars and lyrics which start quite downhearted but end with the most tender and gorgeous final thoughts.

1. The Masterplan

Noel himself believes The Masterplan to be the greatest song he has ever written and I would dare to say that anyone who hears this b-side off of Wonderwall would almost assuredly agree. There is little that can be said for the song other than it is the apex of Noel’s songwriting aspirations, with the verse, bridge, and chorus combining seamlessly with Noel’s phenomenal lyrics. For a band that go from gentle to punk in a matter of seconds between tracks on an album, Noel manages to perfectly capture each aspect of the band’s personality in one phenomenal song on The Masterplan, starting out with the slow building verse and ending with the crescendo of the chorus and outro. All the while the overriding Oasis sentiments of “us against the world” and “we can do anything” are summed up in one of Noel’s best and most intense choruses:

So dance if you wanna dance
Please brother take a chance
You know they’re gonna go
Which way they wanna go to
All we know is that we don’t know
How it’s gonna be
Please brother let it be
Life on the other hand won’t make us understand
We’re all part of a masterplan

-Luke Barnard

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Question: Who was the first Beatle to record a solo #1 single and/or a solo #1 album?

Answer: George Harrison on both counts. My Sweet Lord and the album it came from, All Things Must Pass, hit #1 in 1970, the same year Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band (featuring Love, God, and Working Class Hero) and McCartney’s self titled debut (featuring Maybe I’m Amazed) were released.

Now that piece of obscure music trivia might surprise most people given the relative lack of discussion and radio play Harrison’s solo work has gotten since the early 70s and the ridiculous amount of attention paid to both Lennon and McCartney’s contributions to music. In fact I’m going to go ahead and go out on a limb here:

Neither John Lennon nor Paul McCartney released an album half as good as Harrison’s All Things Must Pass.

This isn’t personal preference; it’s blatantly obvious if one listens to the albums and evaluates them without prejudice. The songs are better, the playing is better, the lyrics are better, the flow of the album is better… the whole thing is arms and legs above anything any other Beatle produced after they broke up and should rank as one of the best albums of the 70s. But for some odd reason, people have mostly forgotten about it and what George Harrison did after the Beatles disbanded, so let’s set the scene before a discussion of All Things Must Pass.

The History:

1970:
-Harrison releases All Things Must Pass, the first ever triple album. It hits #1 on the Billboard Album Chart.
-Releases the single My Sweet Lord, it hits #1.
-Releases the single Isn’t It a Pity, it hits #1.
-Releases the single What is Life, it hits #10.

1971:
-Puts on The Concert for Bangladesh, the first ever mass charity concert, playing to 40,000 people. The band includes Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Leon Russell, Badfinger, Eric Clapton, Ravi Shankar, and Bob Dylan. The event raises nearly $250,000 for the starving in Bangladesh.
-Ringo Starr releases the single It Don’t Come Easy, it hits #1. Harrison wrote and recorded the song for Ringo.

1972:
-Releases The Concert for Bangladesh. It hits #2 on Billboard.
-Wins Grammy for Album of the Year for The Concert for Bangladesh.

1973:
-Releases the album Living in the Material World, it hits #1 on Billboard.
-Releases the single Give Me Love, Give Me Peace On Earth, it hits #1.

It takes a bit of time to marry the commercial and critical successes of Harrison with the image of the quiet Beatle whose solo work has gone almost completely under the radar. Critics might argue that his material didn’t have the impact or staying power like Lennon and McCartney, but the reality is Harrison chose to put himself off the map. After 1973 he continued releasing albums every few years until the 80s, but his focus was no longer on music and they were mainly just a dumping ground for ideas. He released just two albums after 1982, easing into a comfortable retirement, though he did have success playing in The Traveling Willburys in the late 80s.

Whereas the death of Lennon cemented his legend and made his work infinitely more popular and McCartney promoted himself and his image by releasing albums at a torrid pace (and continues to do so), Harrison receded into the background, his incredible work becoming lost as the other Beatles remained in the public consciousness.

So why am I writing so much on things other than the album I’m writing a review of? Any time one reviews any work of a legendary artist or an album that was first released more than thirty five years prior, it is a necessity to create a launching point from which the album and/or artist should begin to be looked at from. The massive popularity, both critically and commercially, of George Harrison’s work in the early 1970s, and in particular All Things Must Pass, can’t be discussed enough when you realize that if you were to ask any music fan or critic in the early 1970s who the solo Beatle they respected, loved, and listened to most was and you would almost undoubtedly be told, “George Harrison.”

Now some people will probably argue at this point that Lennon overtook Harrison critically and commercially with the release of Imagine, but the reality is that Lennon’s celebrity and legend has shaped the view of his career. The single Imagine, hit #3 on the charts in 1973, but Lennon remained firmly behind Harrison in terms of both critical praise and album sales, going up against Living in the Material World.

It is then much more impressive to view Harrison’s achievements knowing the period they were achieved in and the musical culture they were released during. People think of Imagine as the ultimate solo album by any Beatle, but it played second fiddle to an album by Harrison that, although very good, was inferior to his own debut, All Things Must Pass.

The Album:

It is rare for an artist to have the creative reach and catalogue of songs necessary to release a double album, much less a triple album, which is what All Things Must Pass is: the world’s first triple album. Over the course of 23 songs and 105 minutes, Harrison constructs an incredible array of songs encompassing every style and influence he could possibly come up with. It is all things that all albums should be: tender, haunting, barnstorming, creatively interesting, unique, and boundary breaking. The first plaintive tones of I’d Have You Anytime (cowritten with Bob Dylan) through the toweringly heavy guitar lines of The Art of Dying and ending with the loose, jazzy sounds of Out of the Blue each song manages to forge its own fantastic identity while fitting perfectly within the framework of the epic scale of All Things Must Pass.

Anyone who doubted any of The Beatles ability as musicians (a criticism which has been thrown at them by critics who look back at them with modern contexts plaguing their impartiality) must acknowledge the immense skill with which Harrison’s guitar lines are layered and woven throughout the album. Almost every type of sound and song type can be found on All Things Must Pass and Harrison manages to perfectly marry each song with his playing style, evolving and changing his sound through intricately picked chords, slide guitar which cries with every picking, and distorted riffs which come across as heavy as any of the time.

The best moments are those which find Harrison at complete ease in his playing, singing, and lyrical content. Songs such as Isn’t It a Pity (upon which Coldplay based their song The Scientist), All Things Must Pass, and Beware of Darkness would be remembered as among The Beatles greatest moments if Lennon and McCartney had allowed them to replace far inferior songs (Oh Darling!, Sun King, She’s So Heavy, etc.) but instead they are nearly forgotten. They are all as beautiful and delicate as Something and yet improve upon the theoretically wonderful songwriting style which gave us both Something and While My Guitar Gently Weeps. This is not to say, however, that these epics are in any way superior to the rest of the album, especially the more up-tempo rock songs such as the incredible The Art of Dying and the wonderful Wah-Wah (written about Harrison’s frustrations with McCartney as The Beatles broke up).

Harrison also crosses over into the singer-songwriter genre with songs such as Run of the Mill, Behind that Locked Door, and the best of the slower songs The Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let it Roll). It’s nearly impossible to attempt to sum up the best moments of the album simply because each song has its own charm and due to the fact that the album flows so well that each track is necessary to the album’s overall greatness.

All Things Must Pass is among the greatest albums of all time, the crowning achievement of one or music’s most important figures, and a tragically forgotten record featuring some of the best songs released in the last 35 years.

Be sure to click over to http://www.myspace.com/tuesdaysonthephone to listen to some of the best songs from All Things Must Pass including Isn't it a Pity?, The Art of Dying, Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let it Roll), and My Sweet Lord.

-Luke Barnard

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With the recent news of former American pop culture phenomenon, The OC, being cancelled, I have grown a little nostalgic. While I never exactly hid the fact that i was a religious watcher, there were times that i must admit i wasn't exactly forthcoming about my Thursday night rendezvous with Cohen and the gang. Nevertheless, once Grey's Anatomy decided to move to the coveted 9pm Thursday evening slot during fall of 2005, I started to drift away from Newport beach. I tried to keep up by recording The OC on DVR, and watching it on Fridays, but i soon realized that my heart strings could only be spread so thin. The plot began to grow more and more ridonculous (even by OC standards), and come fall of 2006, the season premier felt so uninspired, that i finally pulled the plug on the three year roller coaster romance. I guess The OC, much like the two story beer bong or the pathological lying/kleptomaniac roommate, was just a college thing.

I still have fond memories of the old OC though. What i will always love most about the made-for-tv novella, even more than all the drama and hot chicks, was that it was pretty hip when it came to the music. In fact, while im not exactly proud to admit this, i discovered a number of new bands/artists by first hearing them play in the background of Summer and Seth slow dancing, or over one of those melodramatic moments at the end of an episode where they pan to each cast member intently reflecting about their respective lots in life. It was about this time of my life (the college years) that i went from casual music listener to music obsessed, and i would be lying if i said The OC was not a piece of the puzzle in this change.

As such, i thought it would be a fitting tribute, a fond farewell so to speak, to list my top ten musical moments from The OC (through season three, as i haven't been watching season four). Naysayers and hardasses, can scoff all they want, but the last time i checked, Modest Mouse never stopped by SportsCenter to play a set...and Seth Cohen didn't land Summer Roberts by playing her Sean Paul's "Temperature".

10. Interpol - "Evil" - Season 2: "The Accomplice"
In the midst of a blooming same-sex relationship between the not-so-wholesome Marissa Cooper and the punk-rockin' (underage?) barkeep, Alex, The OC writers decided to take their music from a little darker place. This uncharacteristically upbeat number from one of New York's sketchiest (for lack of a better term) post-punk bands frames one of The OC's most taboo moments perfectly. Opening with a bass line that always makes me look twice for Krist Novoselic, and Interpol's typical lyrical ambiguity hitting on solitary confinement and slowly released pleasure, the song spoke for a girl whose (not so) squeaky clean mother and step-father were horrified at the thought of a potential lesbian scandal. Leading us all to ask the question, "Hey, who's on trial?"

9. Joseph Arthur - "Honey and the Moon" - Season 1: "Premier"
Summer of 2003 was winding down, and from what i can remember, there was not a whole lot of excitement in the prime time summer lineup. Who would have thought that a few rich kids, and a Russel Crowe look alike would change all of that though. When The OC broke on the scene, the first song i remember hearing (besides the over-exhausted Phantom Planet played theme) was Joseph Arthur's "Honey and the Moon". Forever reminding me of late-summer evenings, "Honey and the Moon" was the scruffy, yet inviting, introduction that The OC needed. In just under five minutes, the song pretty much outlined the show's main themes of ever-changing hearts and never knowing what move to make next, all inside a not so simple singer-songwriter package. Most importantly, we learned early that in Newport, anything can happen at anytime, and what is right, may not be right, right now.

8. Stars - "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead" - Season 2: "The Test" What a perfect song for the situation. Seth is losing Summer to that big doofus Zach, who is about to take Ms. Roberts to Italy. Eventually, Seth tells Summer that he is over her, but we all know this is a farce. Seth is doing this because, as the song instructs, when there's nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire. However, if it is over, this tale of a chance encounter between two former flames is a fitting close. In the end, "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead" really reminds me of a Postal Service song, but better (I like the Postal Service too, so this isn't a knock to Gibbard's other gang). Where the Postal Service probably lose some of the passion in their music-by-mail recording style, Stars retain it all (and then some), and it all shines through in the performance.

7. Radiohead - "Fog" - Season 3: "The Day After Tomorrow"
I am pretty sure this was the only time Radiohead made it onto The OC, which is probably a good thing. Nevertheless, the minimalist arrangement of the Radiohead b-side, "Fog", which features nothing more than a piano and Thom Yorke's sometimes undecipherable vocals, lent itself wonderfully to one of those intense episode-ending scenes. This chapter saw Seth revealing to Summer that he would not be attending Brown in the fall (but failing to mention why...he did not get accepted), as well as the slow drifting apart of Ryan and current non-Marissa fling, Sadie. Images of the broken down gang flash before us as "Fog" leads the episode to the credits, and Yorke's difficult to discern vocals clear up just long enough to ask the questions everyone (or at least Summer) is wondering, "How did you go bad? Did you go bad?"

6. Sufjan Stevens - "For the Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti" - Season 3: "The Heavy Lifting"
In an episode where we (finally) say goodbye to that surfer punk that was obsessed with Marissa (Johnny), this Sufjan Stevens track leads us to the promise land (where the promise land equals the credits...which eventually meant Thursday night's most exciting 30 seconds...scenes from next week's episode). Here we have yet another cast spanning scene closing the show, and this time Stevens and his banjo are at the controls. The song slowly simmers from the start, nothing more than Stevens and his aforementioned instrument of choice. Soon though, things heat up (never to a boil though) with Stevens proclaiming "Ill do anything for you". Cue a not-so-subtle shot of Ryan on the screen. Loyalists know the show started with Cooper taking care of Atwood, but the tables quickly turned, and this scene just reinforces that. While we all knew Coop was about to hit (another) low, Sufjan spoke for Ryan, reminding us that we could rest assured, knowing Atwood was still in the pool house.

5. Death Cab For Cutie - "A Lack of Color" - Season 1: "The Goodbye Girl"
For a brief period of time during spring of 2004, you could ask anyone between the ages of 15 and 25 the simple question of "Summer or Anna?", and i'd be willing to bet that more often than not you found someone with an opinion on the matter. Personally, i preferred the more genuine, alternative Anna to the formerly "too cool for Cohen" Summer, although Roberts was my favorite in the end. We all knew Anna (much like Lindsay and Sadie) wasn't a permanent cast member though, and Ben Gibbard's steady girl, Death Cab, served as the backing band when we officially learned this. Gibbard's lyrics, over a simple acoustic guitar lick, tell the story of a desperate man who realizes he has made a mistake, but soon learns that it's too little, too late. Seth has a similar epiphany after he discovers Anna is heading back east, but much like the song's narrator, he never gave the girl a reason to stay.

4. Bloc Party - "Blue Light" - Season 3: "The Aftermath"
Season two left us with the cliffhanger of whether or not Marissa had killed Ryan's dead-beat brother, Trey. Season three's premier revealed that Trey survived the gunshot, and was in intensive care. However, the gang has a new issue: what will happen when Trey wakes up? Will he ruin everyone's "perfect" lives in Newport by telling the cops that Marissa shot him? Luckily, it never comes to that though because Trey vanishes from the ICU when he wakes up, and we see Ryan make it to the bus stop just in time to see his brother skipping town. As the bus pulls away, a remix of Bloc Party's "Blue Light" fades in, and we see a downtrodden Ryan and Trey acknowledge one another through the glass. While Ryan knew that Trey was nothing but trouble, and that his departure was the best thing for everyone, he was still sad to see his big brother go, and that's what this reflective Bloc Party song is all about. Kele Okereke communicates this bittersweet sentiment with the line, "I still feel you and the taste of cigarettes", and Ryan is living this juxtaposition with the loss of his cancerous brother.

3. LCD Soundsystem - "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House" - Season 2: "The Rager"
The episode that this song played in was called "The Rager", and that pretty much sums this selection up. Basically, there is a big-ass party at Marissa Cooper's house (that i never would have been invited to), and James Murphy's LCD Soundsystem is serving as the DJ. Put the track on, and you will see why this party was rocking out. Murphy creates an environment here that really can't be described as it is the sonic equivalent of the word "boogie". Combine a pumping distorted guitar, a corresponding heavy bass line, hand claps, plenty of cowbell, and a ridiculous story about french group, Daft Punk, playing a show at Murphy's abode, and you have what "party music" truly should sound like. Ha-Ow-Ow!

2. Ryan Adams - "Wonderwall" - Season 1: "The Heartbreak"
I realize that to most individuals (specifically die hard 90's music fans), Mr. Adams' cover of a song that many regard as one of the best songs recorded in the 90's, is downright blasphemous (although, id be willing to bet that my blog cohort, a hardcore Oasis fan, would not even consider this song to be one of Oasis' top 10 songs...just a hunch though...kinda like how most die hard Stones fans would not consider "Satisfaction" one of their best songs...just kinda how it works when you devote yourself to a band...but that is whole other blog for an entirely different day). Anyhow, i would argue that Adams' version and the Gallagher's version aren't really comparable. While, yes, the lyrics and general structure are the same, Adams' slows it down to make it an entirely different beast, and i believe that it is not totally impossible for an individual to find great beauty in both versions. Additionally, it is Adams' version that is playing when Seth finally gets the girl. Up to this moment, Summer and Seth had actually had sex and and been "together", but this moment in Cohen's bedroom is when she finally lets her guard down to the indie-rock poster child. Summer reveals to Seth that she too was a virgin when they had sex, and that she was just trying to live up to her "reputation". After this, they both realize they need to slow it down a bit, and what better way to knock it down a couple notches than a slow-dance to a Ryan Adams record (Seth actually puts on the vinyl version of Love Is Hell...furthering his overall music credibility)? This scene had sensitive indie-rock nerds across America jumping up and down in their basements, saying to themselves, "Today is gonna be the day."

1. Jeff Buckley - "Hallelujah" - Season 1: "The Model Home" & "The Ties That Bind"
I should start by saying that Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" is not just my favorite OC musical moment, but one of my favorite songs of all time. "Hallelujah" is nothing more than a solitary man and an electric guitar, and i do not fear that my masculinity is in question when i say that it is one of the most beautiful songs i have in my music collection. This song could have been playing while Caleb Nichol signed a contract to sell the Cohen's home to the devil and i still would have loved the scene. In other words, Jeff Buckley's chilling cover of Leonard Cohen's breathtaking track is worthy of a spot on this list no matter what was happening when the song played. Throw in the fact that OC creators decided to use Buckley's version of the Cohen penned song as bookends for season one, and then you have my all-time favorite OC music moment. As i have alluded to before, i tend to be a sucker for the dramatic, and the OC's creator's played me like a fiddle on this one. The song was first played early in season one (second episode, touching moment between Marissa and Ryan right before Luke and Co. come to beat Ryan's ass, and the model home burns to the ground...i believe) and then is the last song we hear in season one's finale, bringing us full circle. As one would expect, it plays (in it's entirety by the way) during one of the most memorable OC moments: Ryan is leaving Newport and driving back to Chino, Marissa is drinking alone at her new home, and Seth is sailing off into the sunset. In essence, everything great that had built up during the 26 episodes preceding this one, came crumbling down, leaving us on the edge's of our seats until next November (wtf was that by the way? 6 months?!) to find out how it was all going to get put back together again. This really was the pinnacle for the show, and many would argue (quite accurately) that the season one magic was never realized again. For that moment in spring of 2004 though, The OC had America tied to it's proverbial kitchen chair.

In the end, it's the heart that the girls go for, and unfortunately The OC may have played this card a little too liberally, leaving us with nothing more than some great music and a bloody sleeve, but for that, i will forever be indebted.

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To break songs (as opposed to albums...which are considerably more substantial in content)down to a definitive list of best and worst for given period of time can be a somewhat arduous task. Primarily, this is due to the fact that with something that is as mood-dependent as songs are, what an individual likes at a particular moment in time can vary based on the weather, or what you ate for breakfast. While i know this is a bad way to go about doing business (especially as someone who is trying to maintain credibility to all those faithful readers), it is just the honest truth.

Anyways, i had previously posted a songs of 2006 list on my old site, and this one will be pretty similar to that one for the most part. There are some differences though...i have decided to expand the list to 14, and changed the order up a little bit (as well as wording). Unfortunately, even with the expansion of the list, Christina Aguilera's, "Ain't No Other Man", was still snubbed...im pretty close to demanding a recount though.

14. Ray LaMontagne - "Empty": In a year where when the words disappointment and Ray LaMontagne were synonymous (canceled shows, and a halfhearted attempt to follow up his gem of a debut album, Trouble), this was certainly a bright-spot for me. Sounding like the Ray LaMontagne from yesteryear, this track captures everything I fell in love with on the first album: minimal, dreary arrangements, combined with sheer desperation in LaMontagne's (trademark) vocals/lyrics. It is no secret that LaMontagne's music is better when his life is in shambles, so maybe this past year of disappointments will give us all something to look forward to on his next album.

13. Fujiya & Miyagi - "Photocopier": Don't be turned off by the band's moniker. They happily declare that "they were just pretending to be Japanese" anyways. In fact, there is nothing remotely Japanese about this group besides the name (not that there would be anything wrong with that...). The group is actually out of England, and they are in the business of light-hearted electronic pop music. Still skeptical? Id be willing to wager that the non-believers would all be on the dancefloor after a couple drinks if they actually heard this song. It's fun, it's got a beat, it's pop music. Sounds like a winning recipe to me.

12. Justin Timberlake (featuring T.I.) - "My Love": Somehow Justin Timberlake has escaped the black cloud that has hovered over so many other "pop" stars to come from his class. I guess it doesn't hurt that one of the best producers in (pop) music, Timbaland, just happens to be in his back pocket. Timberlake's vocals are spot on here, and laid over the top of one of the stickiest beats/tracks Timbaland has put out in his storied career, one cannot help but enjoy the song. Throw in T.I. who contrasts Timberlake's bubblegum sheen perfectly, keeping the song lighthearted enough for it to still be "fun", and you have most people's song of the year. People can continue write-off Timberlake all they want, but team Timb(er/a) won't be going anywhere for a while if they can keep churning out tracks like this.

11. Phoenix - "Napoleon Says": The opening track to the Phoenix album, It's Never Been Like That, is like an alarm sounding for those expecting to dance, but waiting to rock. For a band that has been primarily been known for music that would be more suitable in the club, Phoenix mixes it up on their third album with a whole lotta guitar, and "Napoleon Says" is the perfect introduction to this new direction. It's a fun, sparkling clean pop-rock song that will move your whole body...sounds accesible enough for me.

10. Arctic Monkeys - "Fake Tales of San Francisco": From the moment Arctic Monkeys frontman, Alex Turner, opens his mouth, there is no mistaking where his band hails from. These boys are British, and they make no attempt at masking that. While "Fake Tales of San Francisco" is less super-charged than the rest of their debut album, it still drips of that bastardized form of britpop-punk that they pump out (a style that leans heavily on equal parts Strokes and Libertines...among others). The guitar hook on the verse is simple, but will keep your head bobbing throughout, and the chorus screams singalong. The song is great, and I must say that it had me at hello with this line..."His bird said it's amazing, though, so all that's left is the proof that love's not only blind but deaf". Brash and British...what an unlikely combination.

9. My Chemical Romance - "Welcome to the Black Parade": Those who know me, know i have a soft spot in my heart for those with a flare for the dramatic. Well, My Chemical Romance was all over that train this year with their 2006 release, The Black Parade. This track, the spearhead single from the aforementioned album, puts it all on the table. There are horns, marching band drums, and an intro (and climax) that sounds more like Queen than Blink-182. Following the path paved by fellow pop-punk gone concept-album buddies, Green Day, My Chemical Romance went for the gold with "Welcome to the Black Parade", and fared pretty well. I must admit that i tried to hate this song, but the bleeding heart in me could not resist the grandiosity that is "Welcome to the Black Parade".

8. Josh Ritter - "Girl in the War": Josh Ritter should be a star...but im glad he isn't. The Idaho born singer-songwriter has crafted intimate folk songs on his first couple albums, but his third full-length release, Animal Years, finally sees some of these songs getting fleshed out. "Girl in the War" opens the 2006 release cheery-sounding, but as Ritter's (not so) ambiguous lyrics roll-out over the top of the bright music, we find a more mature Ritter speaking on the casualties of war, and an apathetic nation that just assumes everything will work itself out. Political views aside, Ritter's songwriting skills have grown stronger with each album, and with well-crafted songs like "Girl in the War", he will soon rise to the top of the ever-growing heap of singer-songwriters fighting to differentiate themselves from the pack.

7. Destroyer - "European Oils": From the first stroke of the piano keys on the best track off of Dan Bejar's solo project, Destroyer's, fifth full-length album, it is difficult not to be intrigued. It is once Bejar opens his mouth however, that the listener is won over. Bejar's clever (sometime clumsy) way with words immediately creates a sense of character in his songs, that pulls you in. "European Oils" is no different, with a number of quotable lines sprinkled throughout. None of this would matter though if the music didn't hold up, and Bejar's talent as a (more than) capable multi-instrument musician is visible throughout "European Oils"...fluttering pianos, dirty guitar solos, and la la's, what a fucking maniac.

6. TV on the Radio - "Wolf Like Me": Best track off an album that every critic in the world thought was this year's masterpiece. I didn't exactly fall for the album, but one cannot deny the brilliance of some of the tracks. On an album that knew no genre, "Wolf Like Me", is TV on the Radio doing their best attempt at rocking out (which for them means, rock and roll with thick layers of noise/sound/vocals stacked on top of one another). It's impossible to listen to this song without having your foot tapping though. Throw in the most accessible melody on the album, one of the best voices in "indie-rock", a flip-the-switch slowdown of a bridge (that accentuates the fervor of the rest of the song), and you have my only nod to TV on the Radio for the 2006 year in music (gasp!).

5. The Killers - "Enterlude" -> "When You Were Young": While technically two songs, i couldnt help but include the 49 second "Enterlude" as part of this entry. Following suit of My Chemical Romance, The Killers went for grandeur with their 2006 release, Sam's Town, only they came up short (or maybe didn't push it high enough?). Either way, they did stumble upon greatness with these tracks. While i should be deducting points for blatantly ripping off both Sgt. Peppers and Bruce Springsteen in a four and a half minute span, i couldn't help but acknowledge the ambition here (like i said, i have a soft spot for bands trying these kind of things). With bombastic guitars and giant-sized lyrics/vocals that make religious references and touch on everything from travel to lost youth to broken hearts, "When You Were Young" is the Killers trying to make themselves the biggest band in the world, and if they could have kept up this pace, they may have had a shot.

4. The Decemberists - "The Crane Wife 3": Every article that has ever been written about the Decemberists, inevitably alludes to the literary quality of Colin Meloy's (Decemberist front man) lyrics. Often times lost in the mix though is how much Meloy has developed over the past couple years as a singer and a songwriter. An excellent example of this metamorphosis is "The Crane Wife 3" (The Crane Wife's slow-rising opener, which, ironically enough, is the conclusion to a 3 part story based on a Japanese folk tale). Musically, "The Crane Wife 3" is the Decemberists doing their best impression of the Decemberists (full bodied acoustic guitar teamed with galloping drums and piano), but the inflection in Meloy's voice carries the story further than any Thesarus could, allowing him to say more while saying less. At about the 3:12 mark of the song, Meloy's made-for-indie-rock voice hits just right (or wrong), chills ensue.

3. Gnarls Barkley - "Crazy": The eccentric love child of DJ Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo, Gnarls Barkley, was introduced to the world through one of the most simple, and yet so soulful songs of the past few years. "Crazy" should not have worked, but it did. A simple drumbeat and guitar, a cooing choir, soaring strings drenching the chorus, and the smooth silk that is the voice of Cee-Lo. It doesn't sound like pop music to me, but throw it all together, and you have one of the most infectious pop songs of recent memory. Gnarls Barkley, i don't know who you think you are, but bless your soul.

2. Damien Rice - "9 Crimes": This was the only track on the new album that Damien's leading lady, Lisa Hannigan, has much of a part on, and it is no surprise that it is the best track on the record. The whole thing is haunting. A barely there piano, and Lisa's voice start the song. Before you know it, they are singing over one another and the cello is bellowing over it all. Of course, Rice's ambiguous lyrics hold it all together, and the fact that neither of these singer's have a "beautiful" (by traditional standards) voice makes this story of cheating lovers all that much more believable. It is the only track off of the new Rice album that wasn't an old track polished to look new, so here's to hoping it's a look at what is to come from Ireland's most depressed busker.

1. The Hold Steady - "Stuck Between Stations": The song opens with one guitar, cue the piano and drums, and then it all kicks in to place. The Hold Steady are one of the best rock bands out there right now making records, and "Stuck Between Stations" is exactly why. The song is soaked in rock and roll; it's everyman vocals, it's loud guitars, it's pounding pianos, and it's lifelike lyrics that tell a story of an America you won't see on television. It has my favorite opening line of the year..."There are nights when i think that Sal Paradise was right, boys and girls in America, they have such a sad time together". It has my favorite chorus of the year..."She was a really good kisser, but she wasn't all that strict of a Christian, she was a damn good dancer, but she wasn't all that great of a girlfriend, he likes the warm feeling, but he's tired of all the dehydration, most nights are crystal clear, but tonight it's like he's stuck between stations on the radio". It has my favorite bridge of the year...the song is about to explode at the 2:40 mark and the doors actually blow off at about 2:55 (one cannot help but take the reigns on air guitar when this all comes to a head). The whole thing just rawks out...

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Though it was a struggle to arrive at the proper list, the ten albums here will let no listener down when it comes to sonic goodness. The top EPs, Singles, and Compilations of the year will follow in a later post, along with the other yearly awards I usually give out

10. South – Adventures in the Underground Journey to the Stars

The follow up to their outstanding 2003 release, With the Tides (which was, incidentally, my number 1 album that year), Adventures in the Underground Journey to the Stars is filled with the complicated song structures and intricate melodies which have become South’s signature, but the album as a whole becomes jumbled with a few missteps between the great moments. Whereas With the Tides was South’s attempt at reigning themselves in after a debut album that featured sixteen tracks including six which clocked in at almost five minutes or more, Adventures in the Underground Journey to the Stars finds them again with shorter songs, but without the thought of With the Tides. Songs like Up Close and Personal, A Place in Displacement, and You Are One are fantastic space rockers which elevate the album to incredible heights, but the album is brought down to earth by folk-y love songs which are not only quite terrible, but almost laughable at times. On the whole, though, the great moments of the album more than make up for the occasional ridiculous song.

9. Yeah Yeah Yeah’s – Show Your Bones

I have to admit that I loathe Karen O’s voice, but Show Your Bones is such a barnstorming rock album that I could not help but fall in love with the songs. Guitarist Nicolas Zinner takes his cues from the best of the noise rock and punk guitarists of the mid 80’s to early 90’s and puts incredible power and melody into each guitar line. The guitar is what makes the album the intense rock experience that it is, not the squealing of Karen O, despite what any mainstream media review might say. Add the ribcage vibrating rhythms of Brian Chase into the mix and you are left with an album which is nothing short of the “make your ears bleed” indie rock which is in far too short of supply these days.

8. Glen Hansard – The Swell Season

Anything written about this album fails to capture the depths of the beauty which is translated into audio by the perfectly matched voices of Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. It is simply a stunning piece of exquisite songwriting and delicately balanced composition which transcends any kind of accurate description. The only thing I can tell you is to buy it, put it on in a dark room, and allow it to seep into your soul.

7. Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not

Any band who receive as much critical praise and media attention as the Arctic Monkeys have this year elicit a great amount of skepticism from me, partly because I have never quite understood or liked the bands which magazines like NME have crowned as the “next big thing” and partly because I’m simply the type of person who usually shies away from massive media attention. Add to this heightened skepticism the fact that Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not became the fastest selling debut album in UK chart history, dethroning my beloved Oasis in that category, and you are left with an extremely agitated Luke. However, the album eventually grew on me, thanks in large part to my girlfriend falling in love with it, and despite the album and band’s massively overblown hype, it is a very good album, which has definitely influenced a large population of current UK acts. The songs are quick, fun, and ridiculously simple, with lyrics which capture the everyday doldrums and events of singer Alex Turner’s life, in a very Libertines inspired way. It’s a great album to put on and simply have fun with.

6. The Kooks – Inside In Inside Out

At first glance it may seem that the Kooks are simply a clone of Arctic Monkeys, as they play similar music with a similarly routine lyrical style and a singer who sings in a similarly heavily accented way, but The Kooks prove themselves better musicians and songwriters than the Arctic Monkeys. The song structures are more complicated and mature than the Monkeys and the musicianship on songs such as Jackie Big Tits, Ooh La, and She Moves in Her Own Way set them far apart from the occasionally sloppy play of the Monkeys and create an album of many different layers. In the then end Inside In Inside Out is another fun album which manages to combine the elements of pop and rock perfectly.

5. Hope of the States - Left

Another band who was a former recipient of the top spot in my top ten of the year lists (earning the number one spot in 2004 for The Lost Riots), Hope of the States gave us their second and final album Left in 2006, transposing their orchestral, apocalyptic rock onto a more hard rock album. The themes of Left are similar to those of The Lost Riots, the evils of industry and big government and the guiding theme and mantra which has carried Hope of the States from their inception, through the suicide of guitarist Jimmy Lawrence, and through their chart successes: hope in the face of adversity. Listening to a Hope of the States album absolutely changes the expectations a listener has for any album or artist that is listened to after, because they approach their albums in such a theoretically correct musical way. Whereas most bands today could tell you which key a song was in and little else, Hope of the States challenge the listener with epic melodies and orchestral arrangements while remaining a great rock band. Left departs from The Lost Riots and most of their previous work, focusing more on being a hard rock guitar band, but they keep enough of their flourishes, violin, and piano to create an atmospheric album of revolutionary proportions which is a fitting swan song for one of the best bands I have ever heard.

4. Human Television – Look at Who You’re Talking To

Oftentimes in music there are albums which a listener connects with and falls in love with despite the fact that the album is perhaps nothing special to anyone else. Look at Who You’re Talking To could very well be one of those albums, though I would expect anyone who listened to the album to enjoy it, even if they wouldn’t put it at the number four spot in a countdown of the top ten albums of 2006. However, the fact that it is a very personal album in terms of how much I love it should not scare anyone away because it is one of the most straightforward and charming albums I have ever come across. The songs and the entire make up of the band is very much in keeping with standard American Indie rock and the band can, at times, sound like The Shins, Nada Surf, or Ambulance Ltd. but Human Television manages to put enough raw emotion and appeal into each track that they are completely unique. Listen to Mars Red Dust or Untitled and you will find yourself instantly charmed.

3. Muse - Black Holes and Revelations

What do you call songs about aliens, the apocalypse, space cowboys, and hatred of George W. Bush? Other than Black Holes and Revelations I would call it strangely addicting and positively genius. Mathew Bellamy, probably among the most talented men alive today (he is a piano and guitar virtuoso), crafts song after song of hard rock beauty, his Thom Yorke-like falsetto operatically stretching to hit notes which no human should be allowed to hit whilst thrashing through an intensely complicated guitar solo. Apart from the abysmal track names (Knights of Cydonia?) Black Holes and Revelations is epic in its scope and reality, encompassing the greatest parts of music from the last forty years, referencing Queen, The Who, The Beatles, The Smiths, and Radiohead, but never coming close to ripping any of them off or becoming hackneyed. From the incredible opening track Take a Bow, through the intensity of Map of the Problematique, and into the epic finale of the aforementioned Knights of Cydonia, Muse have crafted not only the best and most unique hard rock album of 2006, but certainly one of the best of all time.

2. Mellowdrone – Box

After touring with the likes of The Killers, Elbow, Johnny Marr, and The Secret Machines, two incredible EPs, and unending label problems and delays, Mellowdrone (the project of Jonathon Bates) finally released its debut album in 2006 and it, despite the cliché, was definitely worth the wait. Jonathon Bates has among the greatest and most versatile voices I have ever heard, from whisper-soft to full out scream he communicates emotion into every syllable he puts across on this album. With songs as varied as the soft 60’s era R&B pop-rock of Orange Marmalade, the perfect indie rock of Whatever the Deal, and the dark synth of Four Leaf Clover, Bates crafts sonic genius in every guitar line and perfectly married combination of voice, bass, and percussion.

1. Midlake – The Trials of Van Occupanther

Anyone who has talked to me about music since spring will undoubtedly have heard me ramble on endlessly about how much I love this album by Midlake. It is a departure from their Flaming Lips-ish debut album and is more in line with 70s folk artists like America or Neil Young, but the songs are so incredibly perfect that the retro synths and prevalent harmonies don’t feel dated in the least. In fact, they manage to make the corniest parts of the 70s seem not only cool, but topical in today’s music. Much like the Decemberists, Midlake’s songs are really stories told about people living either in rural areas or the late 1800s, lending the album a homespun feel which manages to go hand in hand with the retro influenced music. The arrangements and layering of the songs is absolutely beautiful, allowing a song about a scientist attempting to create a special type of drink to become a universally touching song about rejection and strength of character. The Trials of Van Occupanther is a record which has managed to mean more to me than any album put out by a band concerned with songs of love, loss, regret, hope, despair, or any other emotion bands try to put across in song and it manages to do it without being obvious or cheesy, which is really the mark of a great album and what most of us who love music look for in a band and an album: songs which truly impact the listener.

NOTE: Select songs from Midlake, Hope of the States, Human Television, and Glen Hansard are available to listen to on our myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/tuesdaysonthephone

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