I took a stab at a top 100 on obner recently. Here it is, as accurate as any such list can be. (Laugh away.)





01 the lamb lies down on broadway genesis
02 mellon collie and the infinite sadness the smashing pumpkins
03 ok computer radiohead
04 thriller michael jackson
05 purple rain prince & the revolution
06 mtv unplugged in new york nirvana
07 nevermind nirvana
08 kid a radiohead
09 janet. janet jackson
10 ...but seriously phil collins
11 rhythm nation 1814 janet jackson
12 invisible touch genesis
13 0(+> prince & the new power generation
14 in utero nirvana
15 selling england by the pound genesis
16 the moon & antarctica modest mouse
17 faithless street whiskeytown
18 no jacket required phil collins
19 the bends radiohead
20 violator depeche mode
21 a trick of the tail genesis
22 abacab genesis
23 sign 'o' the times prince
24 we can’t dance genesis
25 throwing copper live
26 summerteeth wilco
27 wind & wuthering genesis
28 foxtrot genesis
29 duke genesis
30 face value phil collins
31 bad michael jackson
32 hello, I must be going phil collins
33 yankee hotel foxtrot wilco
34 the marshall mathers lp eminem
35 heartbreaker ryan adams
36 hysteria def leppard
37 the bliss album?... p.m. dawn
38 songs in the key of life stevie wonder
39 in rainbows radiohead
40 big bam boom hall & oates
41 good news for people who love bad news modest mouse
42 gold ryan adams
43 picaresque the decemberists
44 the downward spiral nine inch nails
45 1999 prince
46 kick inxs
47 bleach nirvana
48 hail to the thief radiohead
49 amnesiac radiohead
50 genesis genesis
51 richard marx richard marx
52 vitalogy pearl jam
53 diamonds & pearls prince & the new power generation
54 repeat offender richard marx
55 secret samadhi live
56 talking book stevie wonder
57 foo fighters foo fighters
58 dulcinea toad the wet sprocket
59 no code pearl jam
60 2001 dr. dre
61 lodger david bowie
62 incesticide nirvana
63 young americans david bowie
64 jesus wept p.m. dawn
65 rush street richard marx
66 live through this hole
67 crazysexycool tlc
68 logic will break your heart the stills
69 bridge over troubled water simon & garfunkel
70 nursery cryme genesis
71 emancipation 0(+>
72 chutes too narrow the shins
73 cold roses ryan adams & the cardinals
74 illinois sufjan stevens
75 the life pursuit belle and sebastian
76 hunky dory david bowie
77 music for the masses depeche mode
78 neon bible arcade fire
78 the crane wife the decemberists
79 diamond dogs david bowie
80 tuesday night music club sheryl crow
81 bookends simon & garfunkel
82 ten summoner’s tales sting
83 genesis genesis
84 sixteen stone bush
85 ultra depeche mode
86 sheryl crow sheryl crow
87 i'm wide awake it's morning bright eyes
88 blacklisted neko case
89 so peter gabriel
90 vs. pearl jam
91 (what’s the story) morning glory? oasis
92 new miserable experience gin blossoms
93 play moby
94 automatic for the people r.e.m.
95 the colour and the shape foo fighters
96 songs of faith and devotion depeche mode
97 new jersey bon jovi
98 mike + the mechanics mike + the mechanics
99 very pet shop boys
100 start the car jude cole

IF I were redoing my top 33 of 2007, this is how it'd look today. UP = avett brothers, jim white, jay-z, iron & wine, fujiya & miyagi, over the rhine and justice (who just happen to mark the last spot in the new version of "top XX albums of 2007"). Most of the reason why most of these went up was because i first heard them late in 2007 -- i just didn't hear 'em enough to fully-appreciate 'em. DOWN = modest mouse, ryan adams, bright eyes, kanye west, patrick wolf and voxtrot (which'd fall from #28 off this list). The first 4 of those DOWNers are some of my favs of the 00s, the first two of which are 2 of my fav 4 artists (along with radiohead & decemberists), a "list" of which i might need to amend soon...

Revised top 33 of 2007:

#	artist	album
33	john vanderslice	"emerald city"
32	justice	"(cross)"
31	over the rhine	"trumpet child"
30	m.middleton	"brighter
29	fujiya & miyagi	"transparent things"
28	patrick wolf	"the magic position"
27	animal collective	"strawberry jam"
26	datarock	datarock
25	okkervil river	"the stage names"
24	klaxons	"myths of the near future"
23	iron & wine	"shepherd's
22	kanye west	"graduation"
21	bishop allen	"broken string"
20	wilco	"sky blue sky"
19	bright eyes	"cassadaga"
18	jay-z	"american gangster"
17	shins	"wincing the night away"
16	ryan adams	"easy tiger"
15	jim white	"transnormal skiperoo"
14	tegan&sara	"the con"
13	avett bros	"emotional
12	amy winehouse	"back to black"
11	feist	"the reminder"
10	andrew bird	"armchair apocrypha"
09	new pornographers	"challengers"
08	modest mouse	"we were dead before the ship even sank"
07	of montreal	"hissing fauna..."
06	josh ritter	"the historical conquests of"
05	spoon	GA GA GA GA GA
04	the national	"boxer"
03	!!!	"myth takes"
02	arcade fire	"neon bible"
01	radiohead	"in rainbows"

(i used abbreviations for some entries.)

Make a donation of $5 or more to Barack Obama's presidential campaign in July and you'll be eligible for a seat at the DNC convention in August on the night Obama accepts @ Mile High.

Here are my favorite 10 albums of the first half of 2008 in alphabetical order, going over why i like my current top 10, along with other albums that have a shot at my end-of-year top 20. 2008 continues to look like a weaker year as my current fav of 2008 wouldn't've cracked 2007's top 12. Prime opportunity for those obscure bands to wrest my ears into ecstacy!

top 10 of 2008/2 in alphabetical order:

album	artist	comment
	cut copy	Any of you big into the synth-pop of the early 90s might remember Cause & Effect. They had one hit, "You Think You Know Her". Fun song. This Cut Copy album reminds me a lot of that artist/song. They stretch that template across current euro-idm textures into a thoroughly-engaging dance-house hit album.
	dodos	This is the perfection of what is known as "indie rock" today, mixing a couple non-traditional world-flavor styles faintly into their rock-pop mix. Can't believe i'm not tired of it yet as i'm obviously not, still jamming to these guys on a weekly basis. This is what the second tapes'n'tapes album could've been.
	drive-by truckers	Their brand of southern-fried alt-country really works. The album could be trimmed by a few songs, and lyrically bolstered on the mostly-weaker chick-led tracks, but for the most part, pleasant surprise by an artist i haven't been too impressed with prior.
	girl talk	Night Ripper ripped da sh|t UP! Tough to top. Feed the Animals does not, but serves as Night Ripper II, extending the mashups clocking in at about 10 minutes longer with 2 less tracks, mixing in a little more 80s/90s radio alternative like the cure, dee-lite and sinead o'connor into the mix along with the usual slate of rap/hip-hop/pop over alt and pop-rock classics.
	helio sequence	This is some nice, dreamy alt-pop that sneaks up on the ears as a thoroughly-catchy experience. I've cooled a bit on this since loving it early on in the year.
	hot chip	I'm still debating whether-or-not they've topped their last outing with Made In The Dark. "Ready for the Floor" matches anything from the previous album, plus there's a lot more booty-scooting dance numbers throughout. I think i hear a little more guitar too.
	mountain goats	Not as good as more personal works like Get Lonely, but still a high-quality, not-as-lo-fi effort from an artist whose catalogue has 0 lemons.
	portishead	Album sounds like a more upbeat version of Burial's "Untrue" with more in-the-mix vocals, but that's unfair since Portishead predated Burial by about a decade. In that span of time, Portishead have upped the tempo and darkened the mood slightly. For the most part, Portishead 2.0 works well (sans that acoustic guitar track).
	vampire weekend	Slightly influenced by raggae, general african sounds and paul simon / peter gabriel, these otherwise indie pop gems also aim for the head with a slightly more literative bend on the typical indie lyrics.
	why?	An amalgam of genres, from rock to rap to indie pop to punk, they'd fit right in between tv on the radio and the beastie boys. Intelligent word play seems to meander incoherently at times, but adds up to a cohesive mosaic only why? could conjure. Most unique artist of this top 10.

possible "current" challengers:

• death cab for cutie "narrow stairs" - i haven't completely given up on this as a top 20 candidate, but they've strayed far from the intricate melodies and lyrics of Photo Album to something seemingly more watered down for a general populace.
  
• ladytron "velocifero" - Darker and less hard-hitting as their previous, breakthrough album, but still damned cool & catchy.
  
• mgmt "oracular spectacular" - Rising to the top of this year's large indie pop pool with a bunch of made-for-the-radio tracks.
  
• nada surf "lucky" - A little better than their usual output since-and-including "Let Go".
  

possible upcoming challengers:

• ambulance ltd - last full-length was a big surprise top-20 fav and there were enough interesting minor changes in their following EP to keep up my anticipation
  
• basement jaxx - part of me thinks this kind of balances on how good their guest stars perform.
  
• calexico - Probably as a result of multiple collaborations that year on their album and others', Garden Ruin was a surprise hit for me in 2006 where they limited their instrumentals and toned-down their heavy latin influence in exchange for a little more energetic indie rock. Can they keep it up?
  
• dr. dre "detox" - Most prefer "the chronic", but i thought "2001" was easily his best album. He better hurry before i completely forget about him.
  
• franz ferdinand - First album, highlighted by "Take Me Out", kicked brit arse. Second album was tepid. Have they run out of ideas?
  
• fujiya & miyagi - If they can show some improvement, they have an outside shot.
  
• keane - Again, first album kicked butt with catchy pop harmoies, whereas the second album's effort to do the same felt muddled in the lyrics and delivery.
  
• the killers - First album was a very good mix of duran duran and blur. Second album was a decent mix of bruce springsteen & u2.
  
• kings of leon - Almost made my top 39 of 2007 (placing #40). On the rise in my estimation as a more-rocking version of interpol.
  
• jenny lewis - i loved her first "solo" album featuring the watson twins. Can she duplicate the success on her own?
  
• conor oberst - The main man behind Bright Eyes, the solo album is supposed to feature a more pared-down sound than some of his past over-indulgences. However, i fully-expect the first-person small-town narratives to continue.
  
• of montreal - hissing fauna... was their best yet, my #8 from last year. Can Barnes match the brilliance of that album, or was it a breakup-album fluke?
  
• postal service - I've loved their "give up" album more-and-more over time as it seems they've become the template for many other IDM-meets-indie-vox artists (including one of my current favs, neon neon).
  
• the rakes - If they can improve upon their last album of tuneful indie rock, they have a shot at my 2008 top 20.
  
• the stills - their debut is still one of my top 10 favorites of the decade. no other artist in this post can say the same thing. unfortunately, their follow-up would most likely be placed in my top 10 most disappointing follow-ups of the decade as well. Lead single, while not great, sounds promising.
  
• m.ward - He seems to improve with every album. If so, that could place him in this year's top 10.
  
• amy winehouse - Will she flourish amidst, or drown under, her drug addiction? If she can just put out a B2B sequel, i'd be happy with that.
  
• patrick wolf - Another artist on an upwards trajectory with me. I'm wondering if he'll continue injecting more positive lyrics into his david bowie influenced circus.
  
• the wrens - It took about 2 months-worth of listens before i changed my opinion of "Meadowlands" from a shrug to jamming on a weekly basis.
  

it's about time.

McBush: Do you want LIES with that?


(i'm NOT lovin' it.)

So this post was going to be about how Clinton's minions are trying to seat all 128 michigan delegates for Hillary-Rove, even though she was the only one on the ballet, but then she basically said she was staying the race just in case someone assassinated Obama. Despicable. I want nothing to do with this woman whatsoever. I was contemplating her (and a bevy of others) as Veep possibilities, but now i just want her to go away to wherever she'd be comfortable and out of my face.

The story is affectionately entitled "McBush: Old Man Who Yells At Cloud". He's the engineer of the Straightjacket Express to Dementia. Serving in the military is a responsibility? Really? McBush, please step down from your highwarhorse.

Obama stated who he thought would win the Kentucky Derby. Hillary rooted for the only female horse to win. What happened? The filly Eight Belles finished second behind favorite Big Brown in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, then collapsed with two broken front ankles and was euthanized after crossing the wire. I don't wish any harm to Hillary, but i hope the derby serves as a metaphor for her political future after doing everything she can to sabotage Obama.

If hillary rove clinton somehow seats 60 to 70% of michigan delegates under her name, even though hers was the ONLY name on the michigan ballot, a state contest she and all the other democrat candidates WROTE OFF LITERALLY, aka signed a document saying michigan's votes didn't count in the primary, then i will not vote for her. i'll find the next-best candidate or not vote at all. In fact, if the DNC allows her to do that, i will un-register as a democrat as i won't want to associate with such slimeball, shady politics like that AT ALL.

Now, if she comes close in votes and delegates and the superdelegates choose her for some reason, then there's a 50% chance i'll vote for her. maybe. Honestly though, her do-anything dirty politics has me pretty much soured on her completely, and she was on my short list of the 57 democrats in the running late in 2007. i've soured on bill too. It's looking like history will remember Bill Clinton as the person who saved the democratic party in the 90s, only for Hillary (with some help from Bill) to completely destroy the party a decade later. That's the bitter (yes, i said "bitter") taste of closure.

abc, owned by disney, which favors hillary clinton in the 2008 election, seemed to set obama up for one big fall. It felt as if scripted and hillary was in on all the questions. Obama did himself no favors with some unfocused answers, but it really seemed like abc took up the role of baddy on behalf of Hillary Clinton so that she isn't perceived any more negative than she is right now. (A record high of 54 percent of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of the New York senator, according to the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, ironically enough.) Remember, George Stephanopoulos was a Bill Clinton guy, first as a political adviser then communications director. It really felt rigged.

Despite what is only my opinion of a rigged debate, Barack did good in parts, ok in parts and only seemed flustered once, near the end of a continued barrage of questions that don't even matter in regards to fixing what's wrong in our country from the moderators, culminating in a question from George regarding Barack's alliance to a guy who performed radical acts when Barack was EIGHT YEARS OLD.

Maybe it wasn't rigged and abc just wanted to prove that it was properly vetting Barack. Well, they sure beat the crap out of him like no "unbiased" moderators have done before. If Barack survives this, then he's easily the nominee. If he loses PA by less than 10 points, wins NC by 10+ and can make Indiana near 50% or better, he should win the Dem nomination. If he wins NC and wins either PA or Indiana by any margin, then he should win the Dem nomination. Especially in light of tonight's lopsided grilling.

So after 4 of my favorite 5 artists putting out a new album last year, with only the decemberists abstaining (after putting out new albums in 2006 & 2005), i entered 2008 wondering who would "step up". Maaayyybe ryan adams will put something out this year, but most likely, 2008 is WIDE OPEN for all the underdogs to do nasty things to my ears. Here's my top 5 of 2008 so far after 3 months (a few of which can be found on Emusic):

#	album	artist	my opinion
5	vampire weekend	vampire weekend	They evoke Peter Gabriel's name, and maybe they were an influence from his Secret World live album, but half of this album has Paul Simon written all over it. Check out Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa and tell me you disagree. It's a fun album that marries today's indie pop with that world-music-tinged Paul Simon kinda sound.
4	keep your eyes ahead	the helio sequence	This is more indie pop in the same mold as a bunch of other indie pop i like. i want to resent it as a result, but half the album is knock-out-catchy-and-beautiful, although it's just beginning to lose its luster with me (and could easily be overtaken by the vamps).
3	brighter than creation's dark	drive-by truckers	I've checked out some of their stuff before but didn't dive in until now. DBT's new album is definitely heavily influenced by country atop their usual version of southern rock. First track even has female vox that sound reminiscent of Kasey Chambers (a plus for me), but the male-lead tracks are the strongest.
2	alopecia	why?	Albums #3-5 on this countdown are my first foray into said artists. And while i like them, in any typical year they'd be fighting for a shot to creep into my top 39 of the year. Not so with Why? which has taken every creative lyric, lyrical spin and musical nuance from their previous Elephant Eyelash album and has improved 100-fold. i really liked half of the elephant but can find no bare spots across the skull of Alopecia. Definite top 20 material and, in what looks to be a weak year, possible top 5 with a chance to be this year's !!!
1	heretic pride	the mountain goats	This guy's sure growing quite the catalog. The Sunset Tree is still my fav, but heretic pride has a shot at #2 in his lengthening album list. I think heretic pride lacks the personal slant that gives The Sunset Tree its impact, but he still spins interesting yarns in a small-town way like bright eyes. Again, definite top 20 and possible top 5 in what could be a weak year.

Other notables i've heard: i think the new Portishead and MGMT have the best shot at piercing the current top 5. But the new MGMT just doesn't seem as layered as Vampire Weekend. Portishead suffers from self-comparison -- i LOVE their 2nd self-titled album, and their Dummy was no slouch either.



Upcoming albums that have a good shot: ladytron, death cab for cutie, tapes n' tapes, islands and my morning jacket. Based on the lead singles i've heard from all but MMJ, i think death cab has a good shot at #1. Their "i will possess your heart" is simple but quite effective.

the closest to straight-talk you'll ever hear from a politician: http://my.barackobama.com/ObamasOwnWords . he's the closest we'll have to a john kennedy or abraham lincoln. he is EXACTLY what we need following dumya bush -- the exact opposite of dumya. Obama is smart, sincere and is devout, as opposed to dumya who's the dumbest president you'll find on the internets, lies frequently to the american people, and uses religion as a black shroud for his personal agenda. dumya has divided us across lines of religion, political party, by state and separated us from the humanity across the rest of the world. i sincerely believe obama will steer us in the opposite, more loving and humane direction.

i haven't been posting of late because i changed jobs. i now work for great west life & annuity with what i hope is a temporary lengthy commute. (GObama!)

After doubling up on Hillarypublican and welcoming the Kennedy endorsement, i hold more hope for Obama coming close to splitting delegates with Hillary. This could actually go down to the Denver convention where the convention will actually determine the democratic candidate instead of existing as some glorified coronation. If it goes that far, i think Obama has a good shot, because then it's in the hands of delegates who basically need to ask "who has a better shot at beating the republican candidate?" which i think favors Obama.

A study by two different non-profit organizations has pointed out hundreds of "false statements" about iraq as a thread in the 2 years following 9/11/2001 by george dumya bush and his fear-mongering gang. NO WAY!!!

Here are some random points i want to make at this time:

• hillary "won" michigan but over 75% of black people who voted voted "uncommitted". a majority of young democrats voted "uncommitted" too.
  
• the only republicans i would vote for if i had to vote republican are huckleberry and ron paul (his party's kucinich).
  
• between the bushes and the clintons, there's been a bush or clinton as president or vice president since 1980 -- TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS! Is this -really- a democracy or should we just anoint everyone "Henry" and pop a roman numeral at the end?
  
• if john kerry's a flip-flopper, mitt romney owns the flip-flop company and reigns as president, vice president and mis-director of communications.
  
• One of the more subtle humorous things i've heard in debates recently was John McCain negatively remarking on Washington "crony-ism". HE'S SEVENTY-ONE (71) YEARS OF AGE! What's more crony than a guy 6 years past retirement??
  
• Too bad Kucinich was blocked from the Nevada debate. He might not have a shot at winning, but he can sure shake things up sometimes (and he favors Obama of the big 3).
  
• i'm holding out hope for Obama, but after the Nevada debate, i think Hillary will win. Hope i'm wrong.
  
• the republicans really don't have much to work with. mitt romney says anything to win, mccain slept in Bush's bed in 2004 to have a shot now and comes off as a rich grandpa coot (who has enough $ for a good facelift). huckleberry practices what most republicans only preach (and they can't like that!). guiliani = 911 and nothing else. fred thompson feels like an actor acting his way into a republican nomination.
  
• bill clinton, the "first black president", could ironically help keep our country from electing the first actual true black president.
  

Here's a song that captures my sentiment regarding "who" i think should be president. It's by Over The Rhine from their Trumpet Child album. I love the part sending a jukebox to the moon...

So Barack narrowly "lost" the New Hampshire race he was supposed to be blown out of just a couple weeks ago. Many pundits believe women connected with her based on her misty eyes. I think that, while it helps her, is not what will ultimately sink Barack (and Huckleberry).

Barack is running on a platform of Change, a change where we knock out the cronies and their outdated schemes and put together a government and laws that makes sense for our country in all facets. One group that voted for Hillary more than Barack were the older kids, the baby boomer types. Old democrats and older women voted Hillary. Barack's hope is youth and men.

Men comprise 43% of the electorate, but let's call that a draw. It's the youth factor which will sink Barack. You can't consistently count on the 18-25 year age range to vote. Period. Especially for a Presidential race. So Barack is screwed. He needs to swipe more women (like in Iowa), swipe more of the boomers OR appeal to those who vote for Hillary because her last name is Clinton.

Barack's story is a lot like Bill's 16 years ago. Baby Boomers voted for Bill Clinton when they were in their 40s. They identified with Bill (vs. ole GHWBush) and were sick of the 20 years of a republican machine tanking the economy. They wanted to save their jobs, pensions and social security. So they chose Bill. Then they were duped into thinking Dumya would do the same for them. He needs a connection to the Clinton story but detail how he'd secure their retirement, all while not paralleling his story to Bill's too much. Tricky.

Those are his choices. It's near impossible, because he needs to win all the rest of the states that Hillary isn't already the easy front-runner. (New York has a good pile of delegates.) So i don't think Barack can win.

The only other hope for Barack is if Edwards bows out BEFORE super-tuesday. I like Edwards more than Clinton, but from John's NH concession speech, he's probably in it until he's out of it, which could also take down Barack's slim shot.

i don't think it's possible. I think the baby boomers will choose Hillary and a non-taxing Republican (so much for Huckleberry), someone they feel safe with in their retirement. Because quite frankly, they don't want much change. They want to keep their nest egg and keep their future relatively safe and secure. Change is scary, especially on the other side of 60. The baby boomers arose from World War II helping bring about change from the 60s to Bill Clinton's rise, but now i'm afraid they're helping sink this country into an abyss which might take a generation to claw out of.