2012 Music - Year in Review

While the latter part of 2012 has proposed some difficult challenges for me, there is one great thing I can take away from it and that is music.

This has been one of the best years for music that I can recall in quite some time.

I have found many new artists that are quite enjoyable, some of the best albums, and also a new one breaking into my top 5 of all time.

 Just jumping right into it I will start with the top 5 newly discovered artists for this year.

1. Meiko - One of my goals this year was to venture out and find some female artists that would appeal to my ears. She has in fact done that and much more. Her style of writing is unique and honest. For now, she stands above any other female artists I've listened to. If she manages to churn out a third full length album half as good as her first two, she could very well be the first female artist in my top 5 of all time. 

Recommended Songs -

Lie To Me, I'm Not Sorry, Boys With Girlfriends, I'm In Love... (everything she does is good)

2. Scars on 45 - I thought I was finally past my British pop band stage but I can't deny this up and coming group's talent. I've always been a sucker for bands with male and female vocalists, but these guys do it better than any other I've heard. Yes, better than Straylight Run, The Hush Sound, The Civil Wars, and even the popular Lady Antebellum. It's hard to express what it is they do quite so well, it may just be the simplicity of their music with the subtle hint of piano and acoustic guitars driven by simple drum patterns. Their lyrics can be quite poetic at times also which is always a plus for me.

Recommended Songs - 

Give Me Something, Heart On Fire, Warning Sign

3. Jenny Owen Youngs - Funny how some artists never hit your radar until you hear a song on a show or movie and you have to discover who the artist is. Well, that was me for this artist. Her music is some of the most interesting style of poetry and folk mix I've heard. For right now she is one of the better female artists I enjoy more than most I have discovered this year.

Recommended Songs - 

Voice On Tape, F*** Was I, Here Is A Heart

4. Priscilla Ahn - Continuing the trend of female artists here. Priscilla Ahn is definitely worth a look. She is a bit more chill than the previous two artists mentioned, but pleasant to enjoy as well. Her style is subtle, floaty, and carefree. For something that you just want to relax to she fits the bill perfectly.

Recommended Songs -

Dream, I Don't Think So, In A Tree

5. Honestly, I have a couple of artists I could put here but they aren't good enough and won't last long enough to make the top 5 in this category. Therefore, I will only have four here.

***

This was such a good year for album releases. So to pick an order for these five will be quite difficult.

Top 5 Albums released in 2012

1. Marina and the Diamonds - Electra Heart : 

To put this at number one was a bit hard since it isn't really an album I listen to as much these last couple of months. But at the same time I cannot put any other album next to it that I can say is as honest as this one. (that is of all-time) It is blunt, raw, and contagious. Her debut album was excellent and I did not consider for a second the sophomore album would have fared nearly as well. This was the biggest and best surprise in music for me this year. 

Best song off this album - Starring Role

2. Motion City Soundtrack - Go :

I have been a fan of Motion City Soundtrack for years now and they seem to get better with age. This was their fifth full length album and definitely the best to date. Unlike their past albums this one had much more structure as often their music feels a bit chaotic. Lyrically it has been their best also. Not sure how older fans took this album but I thought the changes the occurred were for the better. 

Best song off the album - Timelines

3. Scars on 45 - Scars on 45 : 

Not only did they make my top 5 newest artists list, they also made the best album list. This is one album that I would recommend to any music lover. It is the type of album that anyone would enjoy. It falls under the same as Augustana's Can't Love Can't Hurt and The Fray's How To Save a Life albums. Just go buy it, you won't regret it.

Best song off the album - Give Me Something

4. Meiko - The Bright Side :

She made number one on the best new artists list so it is no surprise to see her 2012 album on this list. This is a very good album. Not a bad song on it. I highly recommend it.

Best song on the album - (very hard pick) Lie to Me

5. Joshua Radin - Underwater :

So this is the type of artist that I envy. His ability to right is phenomenal. I have thoroughly enjoyed every album he has put out, but this has got to be his best to date. His music is slow, soft, and beautiful. He can write the best love songs of any artist I know consistently. 

Best song on the album - Anywhere Your Love Goes

Best albums that just missed the cut - Regina Spektor - What We Saw From The Cheap Seats, Safetysuit - These Times, Jeremy Fisher - Mint Juleps

Originally I intended to include a top 5 songs and top 5 artists that have been forgotten this year but perhaps another time will come for those lists.

2009 : Top 5 Best, Disappointing, and Surprise Films

So the year of 2009 wasn't the best in film but it did bring out a few titles that will be in my favorites years to come.

Top 5 Films of 2009

1. (500) Days of Summer - A film upon first viewing left me quite disappointed. But after reflection and a second chance it has become one of my favorite films of all time. It is one of the few films I could literally watch and enjoy every day. The story is unoriginal for sure, but the delivery is an absolute gem. No film has come close to delivering a better "boy meets girl" story than this one. Not quite a Top 5 of All-Time film, but probably slips into the top 10.




2. Up In The Air - A unique film chock full of dry humor and a subtle notion of a humanizing nature makes this one a winner for me. Not being a huge George Clooney fan it didn't appeal to me at first, but since since this one he has become one I keep on my radar.

3. Taken - A revenge story done right. The old man, Liam Neeon, shows that age doesn't stop you from kicking tail in this action packed thrill ride. The film impresses on all fronts with a very real problem that is happening in the world around us.

4. The Proposal - I will start by saying how much I dislike Sandra Bullock as an actress. On the other hand, Ryan Reynolds is one of the most entertaining actors to me. This duo made one of the most awkward and funny films I have seen of it's kind. It isn't the most original idea and isn't wonderful from start to finish, but it gets through with an overall pleasant performance.






5. Inglourious Basterds - This film had lots of advertising and bound for a big box office. Most of Tarantino's films never really impressed me much, but this one had one of my favorite actors involved - Brad Pitt. A building film that has two stories going throughout it that eventually cross paths leading up to a big finale. It's violent and funny; nothing is quite like this story.





Top 5 Biggest Disappointments of 2009

1. Zombieland - Woody Harrelson starring in a zombie filled horror comedy. Put me down for a yes on that one. Sadly instead of something fun like Shaun of the Dead we are left with a cheesy teenage romance afterthought thrown in to slow this film down to a crawl.

2. Up - Oscar nods, audience rave, and of course a Pixar. I finally get to see this film and wow, what a boring cartoon. It started out like it would have a decent story and the takes a left turn and becomes a quirky and random lackluster film.








3. State Of Play - I always have high expectations for Russell Crowe films and this one is simply summed up in one word - forgettable.









4. Brothers - An interesting looking film about a two brothers and one goes off to war. The one back home falls for his brother's girl and hell breaks loose when he gets home. It never developed the way you hoped and really felt draggy and overly emotional to the point it wasn't even enjoyable.

5. Law Abiding Citizen - Gerard Butler getting some revenge in this intense action. The film would've made a for a good show if the ending presented itself the way it deserved. Sadly it did not, which made the whole point of the film....pointless.







Top 5 Best Surprise Films of 2009

1. The Hurt Locker - Winner of several academy awards including best picture. This film was intense and kept you on the edge of your seat in this modern war film on bomb squads. Go watch it.

2. Whip It - Drew Barrymore's directorial debut in this film about a women's league roller derby team. It was quite entertaining and really unexpected.

3. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - It isn't the best animated film of all-time or anything, but it was very unique and kept me engaged - which is something most animated films fail to do for me.








4. Drag Me To Hell - A film with a seemingly normal beginning takes a dark turn and explodes into a frightening nightmare for a loan officer. I think it is safe to say this was the best horror film of 2009.

5. Gamer - This story has somewhat been done before by a more famously known name as Running Man. This one had a slight twist with actual people playing real people through a video game network type deal. It isn't the next best thing since sliced bread, but it was a good action packed film.

2010: Top 5 Best, Disappointing, and Surprise Films

Looking at picking back up on this blog I figured I will do a series of Top 5 films in the past decade.


2010 wasn't the best year for films in my opinion but there were several that came and went and most to be forgotten. Of course I don't see every film that comes out every year, but I do see a large chuck of them and this is three lists of my favorite five of the year; the top five I was anticipating yet was disappointed with the results; the top five I didn't plan on seeing and was pleasantly surprised by the outcome.


Top 5 Films of 2010

1. The Fighter - Top notch film that really gives a unique story to a genre that has proved to be a contender among some of the best of it's category - Rocky, Cinderella Man, and Raging Bull. Rumor has it there will be a sequel continuing the true story of Micky Ward and his brother. Mark Wahlberg is at the top of his game in his Hollywood career and Christian Bale gives his best performance as an actor to date.







2. 127 Hours - A film of cinematic brilliance. A painful movie to watch and the character is played with such a surreal feeling. James Franco proves he can be a solid performer when presented a god role. Hopefully he can continue this trend and avoid the likes of future choices like Your Highness.






3. True Grit - Having not seen the original I felt as a remake most people would feel this wouldn't do the original justice; as we have seen time and again over the years. Coming out of the theater I must say that the acting was excellent across the board and despite such a simple story it still left me giving it two thumbs up. Since then I have tried watching the original and just can't seem to get through it. Sorry Mr. Wayne, I can't help it, you just don't change your demeanor ever....and for the role needed to play here, it just doesn't work.




4. After.Life - A limited release film starring Liam Neeson, Christina Ricci, and Justin Long was a cast list alone to get me on board for the film. A dark and unique film that keeps you guessing as to what is really going on in the film. Little can be said without giving away the premise of the story.







5. The Company Men - I highly anticipated this all-star cast film about the hurting economy. Equipped with Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones, Ben Affleck, and Chris Cooper. It wasn't a film that would blow your socks off but delivered about what I expected. If you like a good drama with a fragile issue in today's society that delivers spot on, you should check it out.






Top 5 Biggest Disappointments of 2010

1. Inception - Big box office hit. All-Star cast. Same director of The Dark Knight. What could go wrong here? Everything. Hearing about its complexity, depth, and uniqueness along with one of me personal favorite actors - Leonardo DiCaprio; The story was so shallow and because of that I never got hooked. Despite all its pizzazz and glamour, this film couldn't keep its head above water for me.






2. Shutter Island - Another Leonardo film to flop, Martin Scorsese's follow up to the amazing Departed? Yep, double fail. The film just felt so unoriginal, like a story that has been told 100 different ways...it felt like the most cliche piece of film that tried too hard to make twists in the plot line, just to try a play it off as a "wow" factor of "I didn't see that coming".

3. The Town - Jeremy Renner and Ben Affleck in this sweet looking action packed armored truck heist movie. Sure, it's been done before but the preview had this one out to be a unique ride. Despite good acting this film couldn't find its direction throughout the whole thing. It just never found its feet. It was cluttered with trying to develop a back story of a friendship, create an awkward love story, and folly with painfully long ending. Pass.

4. Get Low - Robert Duvall always seems to give superb performances. Seeing the previews for this one gave you a unique story with a lot of mystery ready to be unveiled. Sadly the film was frankly boring. It just didn't capture me.

5. Edge Of Darkness - Mel Gibson coming back to Hollywood since his unique directed movie Apocalypto in 2006. It was a story of vengeance and the preview gave you the vibe of my personal favorite Gibson film - Payback. Sadly this just didn't have quite the memorability that it could have captured.







Top 5 Best Surprise Films of 2010

1.  Easy A - A friend invited me to go see a movie and this was their choice. I knew nothing about it, but standing outside looking at the poster I thought...this will be a waste of 9 bucks. To my surprise it was great. Unique and did a solid job awakening the old classic 80's Cameron Crowe style films. I ended up buying it the week it came out on DVD.

2. Iron Man 2 - Now this wasn't an amazing film by any means. I will say up front that I am not the biggest fan of superhero movies. I did see the first Iron Man and felt that it was okay. The sequel was excellent in comparison. Of course many others think the first one was best....but hey people like what they like.







3. The Runaways - Always been a fan of music and always will be. This is a film about a band from the 70's that I had no clue about - The Runaway's. This movie, much like Ray or Walk the Line, is fairly dark and filled with a lot of the things that make the music industry such an ugly place. The acting was solid and the story kept me engaged throughout.






4. The Crazies - A remake of an old horror movie. I have not seen the original but I am always willing to check out a horror movie when given the chance. It really was nothing incredible new or on the edge of brilliance, it just progressed steadily and had a good ending. Often I find many horror films have some good elements to them but they stumble in other parts.

5. Tangled - As many of you know I don't watch many cartoon movies at all. This showed up on Netflix, so I figured I would give it a shot. Surprisingly it was really good in my opinion. I'd be willing to say it is the best animated film to come out in the past several years as well.









Tune in for the Top 5's of 2009....coming soon....

Top 5 Dramas

So my favorite genre of movies is drama. So I will do my best to figure out my favorites down to 5. This list will be comprised of pure dramas, many dramas tend to flirt between other genres like comedy, romantic, or action...and in time I will do a list for those.

1. American Beauty - Excellent film. Has a very real feel in it, with a dark overbearing feeling of finding the small things in life that make it worthwhile.

2. As Good As It Gets - Great cast and character development. A phenomenal story.

3. Pay It Forward - Sad movie with an awesome ideal goal to make the world a better place.

4. Good Will Hunting - A film that truly shows how one's upbringing really affect the future of your life, and when the right opportunities come along, everything can change.

5. 21 Grams - A creative film with a strong cast that teaches us about life and how every person we come into contact with can affect our whole world.

Top 5 War Movies

Since it was requested....

1. Band of Brothers - Technically this is a miniseries but is the best film that makes you feel the realness of WWII. Geat story about the 101st airborne. Pure excitement and misery from start to finish.

2. We Were Soldiers - Probably the most underrated modern day war film, most likely due to it being the Vietnam War, but it has a great cast and screenplay. Shows not only th warfront, but also the wives and families back home throughout the fim. Realy evokes the emotion of how war can hit home the hardest.

3.Glory - An excellent Civil War film that won a few academy awards and put Denzel Washington's foot in the door of Hollywood. About the first black regiment issued in the Civil War. IT has lots of heart and can really tears down the social/political/racial barriers between soldiers.

4. Windtalkers - This film may have many flaws but it has a part of WWII that I was never taught in school. The Navajo indians were code talkers to help out in the war. It's just a different side of the war that I think goes missed.

5. Letters From Iwo Jima - An American director films a movie from the eyes of the Japanese soldiers during the battle for the island of Iwo Jima. The film is subtitled through the whole thing. The film plucks at your heart strings looking at war as a multi-dimensional struggle, as opposed to a one-sided self-righteous war.

Top 5 Sad Songs

Well...continuing with the music...I figured I would tackle a tough one.

As you all now, I am a bit of a realist at times and not only do I enjoy a good sad or dark drama, not much changes in music for me either. To go on a rant I would say 85% of music is about pain or love and the combination of the two. So I have to break it down into two top 5 lists because for some music is about the sound, while others it is the lyrics. For your listening pleasures, or lack of, I presented you with youtube links to all the songs to evaluate your own opinion (just hover over the artist or name of the song and open the link in a new tab). Some of these are quite clear how sad they are, others that you may not find as sad are for more personal reasons that I relate to, for example number two on the 1st list.

So here's the two lists:


Top 5 Songs (emphasis on sound)
1. Mad World - Gary Jules  - "The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I ever had"
2. Aaron Sprinkle - A Friend I Had - "How can I know where you are love"
3. Hero - Regina Spektor - "Hey, open wide here comes original sin"
4. Hard To Say - The Used - "Since you've been gone it's not the same"
5. Jesus Christ - Brand New - "We all got wood and nails"


Top 5 Songs (emphasis on lyrics)
1. Lived Learned Love & Lost - Ronnie Day - "I'm a lonely guy and I think too much"
2. I Can't Go On - Bayside - "Deflate the air from both of my lungs"
3. Circular Parade - The Beautiful Mistake - "You're in my circular parade of failure"
4. One Eight Seven - Senses Fail - "A gaping hole, shot through my heart"
5. It's Been Awhile - Staind - "It's been awhile since I could say I love myself"

So unless I get some fresh new top 5 lists, you should be expecting some more music top 5's.....who knows, maybe happy songs could be next...

Top 5 Perfect Albums

So once in a blue moon comes along a perfect musical album. Now I did do a top five band list and of all 5 of them, only two of them has a perfect album, so let's see which perfect albums made the top 5 in my book...

1. The Spill Canvas' "One Fell Swoop" (2005). Lead guitarist and vocalist, Nick Thomas, is in my opinion a lyrical genius. This album has an excelllent balance of electric to acousitc mix. It maintains a very open and honest atmosphere discussing love, loss, and lust.
Honorable Mention: The Spill Canvas's debut album "Sunsets and Car Crashes" is quite amazing as well.

2. Augustana's "Can't Love, Can't Hurt" (2008). Augustana started out as a band with a couple of hit singles, "Boston" & "Stars and Boulevards", but they really matured into this album. In this album Augustana progressed more into a mix of progressive rock with a vein of folk pouring through each measure. It's an album with a strange feeling of apathy trying to pull through with a shimmer of hope. I feel this is album of letting go of the past and trying to move foward in life. A struggle I think we all face when we reflect on past fears and heartache.

3. Seabird's "Rocks Into Rivers" (2009). Seabird is a band that may get compared to the likes of piano driven artists like The Fray, but make no doubt this band has someting fresh going on in this album. Throughout this album they use many dissonant and imperfect chords creating a jazz/blues atmosphere all tied together with Aaron Morgan's rustic voice, allows for such an intoxicating sound.
Honorable Mention: Seabird's debut album "Til We See The Shore" could easily  be a contender for a top album as well.

4. Ace Enders and A Million Different People's "When I Hit the Ground" (2009). Arthur "Ace" Enders creates a continuous album that must be listened to from start to finish. The opening few songs feel angry as he vents about the last few years of his life. The anger subdues and moves into a movement of love and changing the heart of mankind. An absolute gem.

5.  Fifth Place Tie:

Ronnie Day's "The Album" (2006). - Another continuous album about a perfect relatinship coming together and then falling apart. Virtually an entire acoustic album with gut-wrenching lyrics as he expresses in detail how it all went down, and his willingness to keep fighting for "Jamie" no matter what.

Secondhand Serenade's "A Twist in My Story" (2008). Singer John Vesely writes all his music for his wife, hence the name "Secondhand Serenade", and he really created a good one here. An album you can turn on and listen from start to finish over and over again. I et I listened to this album 100 times the summer of 2009.
Fun Fact : Ronnie Day and John Vesely we're in a band together when they we're much younger called "Sounds Like Life".

10 Honorable Mentions that didn't make the cut but almost did:

Fair - The Best Worst Case Scenario

Fair - Disappearing World

Brand New - The Devil and God are Raging Inside of Me

Cartel - Chroma

Every Avenue - Picture Perfect

The Classic Crime - The Silver Cord

16 Frames - Where It Ends

Acceptance - Phantoms

Funeral For A Friend - Hours

Gin Blossoms - Major Lodge Victory