Fall, Glimmer, Sparkle and Fade

:: Friday, November 05, 2004 ::

What Have I Missed?

The site should be up and running on a more consistent basis within the next couple weeks. But in the meantime, I need help from all of my faithful readers (yes, all three of you). It's almost time for the Top 20 Albums of 2004. As with years past, I'm sure I have missed more than a few of the better records that were released this past year.

No matter what genre of music, if it's a favorite of yours, leave it in the comment box. The only requirement is that it was released January 1, 2004 or later. If an album will be released between now and December 31st that you think will be worthy of a spot on the Top 20, feel free to include that too.

All help is appreciated!

:: Ryan 11:49 PM [+] ::
...

Title

D thinks I'm an awful person for not posting, but then she takes forever to pick something new:
I suck at life sometimes. Here's your list... Top 5 title tracks. Lame intro I know, but when I fumbled back there... there really is no recovery.

In fact, there was no recovery for her. I guess we're even, since I go two months between posts. Something I've picked up very quickly is that it's so much easier to post without the whole 'job' thing. Nonetheless, I'm not a brain surgeon, so I should be able to get a list up quicker than I have been. I'll do my best. You guys (Yes, both of you) just need to keep up with the suggestions.

I think every time I put up a new list, I talk about how hard it was to come up with. I'm sorry to sound like a broken record, but this really was. If only because there's so little to choose from. Think of all your favorite albums and then think about how many A) have title tracks and B) those that have title tracks, those songs don't suck big... Well, you get the picture. There was no 'science' to this one, I just went through the CD collection, and these are the ones that jumped out to me. For better or for worse, I kept it to relatively recent albums. Enjoy.

1. Bruce Springsteen "The Rising"
- This one seemed all too appropriate with my last post and all. So many albums just take the one song that is 'radio friendly' and sounds nothing like the rest of the record and make that the name of the CD. While this was a single, it was anything but a stand alone sound wise. The Rising was an album that not only helped people heal, but it has a timeless feel to it. There isn't a song that better represents the album.

2. Ben Folds "Rockin' The Suburbs"
- I haven't been keeping track, but Ben might be the #1 artist as far as showing up on these lists go. If you ever get really bored, feel free to count them all up and give me a tally. Anyway. I'd be lying if I really thought this song was the best representation of the album, but the thing with Ben is, even with the Five, you could never pick out just one song from any CD. From start to finish, every album Ben gets involved with ends up giving you a bit of everything. The reason RTS jumped out to me was because it was exactly what people didn't expect. He had been known more of a ballad writer --and for good reason -- but instead of taking advantage of that and releasing something sappy he goes the completely opposite direction.

3. Our Lady Peace "Clumsy"
- What a great record. The first single, "Superman's Dead", was the song that initially turned me onto OLP. But after a few listens, the title track clearly stands out as the backbone of the disc. Intense and dark, but with a touch of hope in there.

4. Jimmy Eat World "Bleed American"
- Though many Jimmy Eat World fans would probably argue with me, I thought this was the perfect lead single for the album. Now, technically it isn't the title track anymore. Since they changed the name of the album to "Jimmy Eat World" after Sept. 11th. Pretty silly if you ask me, thus I still consider this to be the title track. BA isn't the best song on the album -- that distinction belongs to "Hear You Me" -- but I'd have no problem playing this for people and saying: "If you like this, you'll dig the record." In related news, their new album Futures is in stores Oct. 19th.

5. Green Day "American Idiot"
- Finally, a brand spankin new song. It feels like Green Day has been around forever. Wait. They have, haven't they? When I first heard this song, I knew two things: A) It was Green Day and B) I needed to own the album. After giving the record a good couple listens it became apparent they could have picked at least three other songs that would've had more crossover appeal at radio. Kudos to the boys of Green Day for sticking it to the man.

:: Ryan 10:15 PM [+] ::
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Into the Fire
--Bruce Springsteen--

The sky was falling and streaked with blood
I heard you calling me, then you disappeared into the dust
Up the stairs, into the fire
Up the stairs, into the fire
I need your kiss, but love and duty called you someplace higher
Somewhere up the stairs, into the fire

May your strength give us strength
May you faith give us faith
May your hope give us hope
May your love give us love

May your strength give us strength
May you faith give us faith
May your hope give us hope
May your love give us love

You gave your love to see, in fields of red and autumn brown
You gave your love to me and lay your young body down
Up the stairs, into the fire
Up the stairs, into the fire
I need you near, but love and duty called you someplace higher
Someplace up the stairs, into the fire

May your strength give us strength
May your faith give us faith
May your hope give us hope
May your love give us hope

May your strength give us strength
May you faith give us faith
May your hope give us hope
May your love give us love

May your strength give us strength
May you faith give us faith
May your hope give us hope
May your love give us love

It was dark, too dark to see
You held me in the light you gave
You lay your hand on me
Then walked into the darkness of your smoky grave
Up the stairs, into the fire
Up the stairs, into the fire
I need your kiss, but love and duty called you someplace higher
Somewhere up the stairs, into the fire

May your strength give us strength
May your faith give us faith
May your hope give us hope
May your love bring us love...
May your love bring us love

:: Ryan 10:10 PM [+] ::
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Certainly Not Worth The Wait

After roughly two months without a post, here is what you've all (yes, both of you) been waiting for:
What is the worst injury or sickness you ever had? Or if that's really boring, you can say your most interesting injury/sickness, or the stupidest thing you've ever done that has caused you injury/sickness :P

I really thought this site was going to die a slow, horrible death. But somehow there are still roughly 15 people that visit here daily. You've actually read what I post about, right? Well, if you have and you're still here, I thank you for your time.

For this one, I opted (after some convincing) to go with the single "stupidest thing you've ever done that caused an injury" mixed in with a bit of the "most interesting injury" as opposed to a full list. Besides the fact that people find it to be fairly amusing I don't have many battles with illness to tell you about. So you get what has been commonly been known as "the stair incident"(SI).

1) Lets take a trip back in time...
To a post from Wednesday, May 1, 2002:
See the reason I wasn't overly concerned after I realized it wasn't broken is because I did the exact same thing to my ankle in October of Soph. year, except I was sober this time around. See, people don't always do dumb things because they are drunk, they do dumb things because they are dumb. Wait a minute...

Now I could just copy and past that whole post, but there are two reasons why I won't: A) Both of you -- my dedicated readers -- have not waited two months to read something straight out of the archive. B) It's simply not as interesting (not that this is, but still). The paragraph above, really sums up the whole 'incident'. Nothing else to write home about. I fell, it hurt, I yelped, that's it.

Hmm, the SI was a lot like that, but slightly more interesting. Anyways, lets go over this.

Like many college students, I was enjoying a few adult beverages (despite being far from an adult) on a Friday evening. The problem wasn't so much the beverages, but where I was drinking them. I was on the second floor. Big deal you say? Ha! Now when I got there, I was sober, thus getting up the stairs was obviously no challenge. But after a few hours, I had trouble getting off the couch. Getting down those stairs doesn't seem like such an easy task now, does it?! Okay, maybe it should've been anyways. Oh well, that's where my problem was.

I decided I needed to go see Deirdre, who's dorm room was on the first floor. Meaning if I was to follow through with this decision, I was going to have to operate the steps. Several people advised against it, but why? I figured "I got UP the steps, I can certainly get DOWN the steps."

Oh, I got down the steps alright.

I'm walking down the hall, get to the steps and start walking down fairly quickly. As most of you can contest to, when you're drunk, you might do things quicker, but you obviously don't have the same coordination. And since I little coordination to begin with, this was a disaster waiting to happen. Now picture this setup: the steps lead down to the dorm entrance right in front of you and you have to turn either corner to get to the rooms. D's room was directly to the right of the stairs.

So I shuffle my way down the steps. Get ready to quickly turn the corner and in my haste missed something very important. The final step (or two). So I turn the corner and where I think my left food is supposed hit the ground, it gets nothing but air and all my weight goes on that leg as it goes right past the final step (or two). I finally reach the floor and land on my left leg, but not quite the way I had hoped.

To get another visual, let your feet hang down from the chair you're sitting in. Make sure both legs are straight. Now slowly move the bottom of your left foot to the right so the soles of your shoe are facing your right ankle. Now hold that pose. That is how I landed on my ankle. I considered it a super-ankle turn. I've turned an ankle before, but never with all my weight on it after basically falling the height of three steps. I'm not a huge kid, but you try dropping roughly 200 pounds on your ankle and see how it feels.

I've always been a huge sports fan and always scoffed when athletes would say how they "heard a pop" as soon as an injury happens. I always though "C'mon, you blow a ligament in your knee and you can hear it? Please." Well, guess what folks, you certainly do hear a pop.

So as soon as I land I quickly shift my weight to my right leg and hold onto the post at the bottom of the stairs for support. I feel this weird warm rush around my ankle and I know that I've done something very bad too it. But I'm out of my damn mind, so I start laughing. I don't feel much pain, I just know that if I put any weight on my left leg, I'll fall over. Good times.

I'm standing on one leg at the bottom of the stairs, alternating between "Ow" and "haha" and start hopping the three feet to D's door. I don't remember if I knocked or just opened the door but I do know that as soon as I walked in everyone who lived in the room was there, except D.

"Hey Ryan, Deirdre isn't here, she's.... are you okay?"
"Um... She's not... I think I broke my ankle, can I sit down?"

Obviously I didn't wait for a response. Now maybe D can correct me, but at least two of these girls were PT majors. So after I stumble through my explanation they have me elevate my leg, ask exactly what the pain feels like and all that good stuff.

After a while I figured I should go back to where I came from. But those damned steps were in my way again. But, hey, I can handle them. So I hop out the door to the steps and then slowly hop up each step. One by one. "Ow, haha, ow, haha, ow, haha". Somehow, this was all still fairly amusing. Then an equally not sober person is leaning against the railing above me and poses a brilliant question:

"You okay, man?"
"Oh yea, I'm great, thanks for noticing."
"Coooooool."

I'm pretty sure the trip, which should take a minute and a half to walk, took roughly 10 minutes. And when I finally got back, there were a couple more PT students waiting. More elevating, questions about the pain, some icing, etc.

As I start to sober up, I start to realize just how much pain I'm going to be in. Everyone says I should go to the health center, but forget that. I figure I'll stay there (you think I'm hopping home?) and see how it feels in the morning. Well, the morning came a little quicker than I anticipated.

Around 5am, the fire alarm starts going off. It's at this point that I start thinking that I pissed someone off upstairs, because this is just piling it on now. Okay, time to get up and go outside. To give you another visual, place a golf ball in the left side of your sock. Yea, that's what I woke up to.
So that means more hopping. You can't make this shit up. Once we get downstairs, security says we should all go find a friend's room to sleep in, because it'll take them a while to clear the building. Mind you, there was NO fire, but someone pulled the alarm and they can't let people in until they get everyone out and check every single room. Great. So at this point, I'm convinced that the health center is a good idea mainly because they have heat.

The nurse doesn't really do much. She tells me I hurt it (thanks for the tip) and that I should see a doctor. I get it wrapped, pick up some crutches and we all go on our merry way. As we pass by security, one of the officers (are they considered officers?) offers to drive me up to my dorm, since I lived on top of a very steep hill. On the way up he asks how I hurt my ankle. I left out most of the details.

"I missed a step on my way down the stairs."
"Man, I've told those bastards they need to make the stairs and the floors different colors."
"Yea, definitely."

Hmm. Apparently, this security guard thought I didn't see the final two steps because they blended into the ground since they were both the same color. Have you ever heard of something like that? I hadn't, but he said I was the fourth person that semester that busted my ankle up that way. I realize that's not why I hurt myself, but I wasn't about to mess with his version of what happened for two reasons: A) I try to avoid telling security guards about my non-sober adventures and B) He seemed very excited that I had fulfilled his theory for needing to have the stairs be a different color than the floor. Who am I to ruin a man's dream of having multi-colored flooring?

That's really all there is to the story. But let me leave you with some quick notes:
A) After using the crutches for about two days, I only returned them the day before the end of the semester because the health center sent me a letter threatening to charge me a fee for extended use. I shit you not.
B) I never saw a doctor about my ankle. Despite not being able to move freely for two or three months.
C) Roughly six months later, I went to see my doctor for a sore throat or something. And while I was there I mentioned I might have hurt my ankle a while back. He takes a look and with a straight face says "You should have had it looked at, that much is obvious. But at this point any damage you did has healed itself... maybe not correctly, but it's healed." Oh, those zany doctors.

The End.

:: Ryan 4:01 AM [+] ::
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Can You Believe Ashlee Simpson Dyed Her Hair?

Deirdre thinks I read:
Even though the days of summer reading are long gone, what are The Ryno's Top 5 favorite authors?

I'm pretty amazed she dyed her hair too.  But what can you do?  Lets hope JoJo doesn't go down the same road and try something radical with her hair.  At least neither got married, which is something we can't say about Michelle Branch.  Damn shame.  Anyways, where was I.  Oh, right...  favorite authors.  When I think author, I think novel.  Unfotunately (?), I'm not so much a fan of the 'novel'.  Magazines, newspapers, websites...  those I read regularly.  I've never been one to rush out and buy a book by a specific author.  The last three books I read were all by different people.  I'm so uncultured.  I love it.

1. Mike Lupica
- His column in the Daily News every Sunday is the one thing I make an effort to read on a regular basis. We share an equal loathing for George Steinbrenner and the Yankees, which obviously helps. The odd thing with my feelings towards Lupica is that I only enjoy him in print. I never like the stuff he does for ESPN.  He seems to come across a bit too over the top on TV.  Check out his latest Shooting from the Lip.  Get it?  Those wacky writers with their word plays

Kobe Bryant, if he stays out of jail, now gets the chance to play the part he desperately wants to play: Michael Jordan.
But even Michael had rebounders in Chicago.

2. Bill Simmons
- Otherwise known as The Sports Guy on ESPN.com.  Don't let the name deceive you though, he writes about plenty more than just sports.  If he isn't ranting about The Real World or his other reality TV obsession of the week, he's tackling pop culture in general.  His most recent article deals with The Summer of the Jeopardy Guy.  Plus, each and every heartbreaking Red Sox game (and there are plenty of them) comes with an extra bonus.  That bonus being that I know I can read about it the next day on The Sports Guy's page.  Good times. 

I'm obsessed with the Jeopardy Guy. Watching this Mormon assassin emerge as the MJ of nerds has been the highlight of my summer. He's earned the coveted No.1 spot on my TiVo Season Pass, as well as acronym status: the Sports Gal and I refer to him as the JG. I wish I were kidding. Watching him pocket a million-plus during his astounding 35-game winning streak -- still going as I write this -- we alternately revered him and hoped Alex Trebek would punch him in the face.

3. Rick Reilly
- I've decided that this man is responsible for me reading magazines backwards.  I never could put my finger on why I have this stupid quirk in which I start reading a magazine from the back and work my way to the front.  After much debate, I've come to the conclusion that I'll just blame Rick Reilly, because his article -- Life of Reilly -- has been a staple on the back page of Sports Illustraded since before I could even read.  He's also quite the novelist.  Check out his latest book Who's Your Caddy?  Top notch.

Boo to the 'Subscription Only' SI Archive

4. Peter King 
- Another Sports Illustrated writer, King's best work is his weekly Monday Morning Quarterback column.  Unlike Lupica's column, I don't freak out if I miss out on it, but only because I'm new to the column.  There isn't anything he doesn't discuss, including his family life.  And it isn't self indulgent at all.  Instead, I find it adds a bit of humanity to sportswriting that is too often missing.  He's on vacation now, but you'll be able to read new MMQB columns starting this Monday the 26th.

His last Quote Of The Week from MMQB:
"This is a catastrophe of Biblical proportions.''
-- ESPN radio host Mike Greenberg, on the news that Marv Albert would not be doing Knicks games on TV or radio next year.
Plagues. Earthquakes. Tidal waves. No Marv on Knicks games.
That's a good fit.

5. Mark Kriegel
- This guy disappeared for a couple years.  I used to love his column, On The Mark (more of that wacky word play), which showed up Friday's in the New York Daily News, but was always very erratic.  It would run every week for two months and then you wouldn't be able to find it for a month.  Very odd.  Then he left the Daily News altogether and only recently has he resurfaced because of the new biography "Namath" -- in which he wrote -- hits stores on Aug. 23. 

:: Ryan 7:15 PM [+] ::
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It's Not You, It's Me

If only I had the power:
Top 5 other bands that, like creed, you'd like to disband. And why.

Imagine if you could make certain bands just go away. Oh, I get excited just thinking about it. Unfortunately, I don't have that type of power. Damn shame. Although it's not as if I'd just pick my least favorite groups. No, I'd have to go with the ones that are simply doing the most damage to the current state of music. There are a handful of bands I really like that I would feel obliged to end. Sort of like the old family dog. You don't want to put him to sleep, but he's better off if you do. Don't get me wrong, under most circumstances I'd have to dislike them, but I wouldn't want Dave Matthews Band to break up just because they aren't my cup of tea. They've never done anything to me or music as a whole. In fact, they have inspired quite a few amazing artists who otherwise might not have decided on music as a career. So with all that in mind.


1. Nickelback
- This was the easiest choice I think I've ever had to make for any of the lists I've done to this point. Not only do I absolutely hate them, but they have people believing that they should be the bar for which other rock bands are measured by. You know what I think about that? Bullshit. Plain and simple. Maybe if they broke up, they could fade into obscurity like Quiet Riot.

2. Linkin Park
- I understood why these guys were so popular when they came out. They were 'on the edge' and it gave kids that are mad at their parents something to blare on their stereo. That makes perfect sense, we've all needed bands like that. But at this point I really don't get it. To me, their last single sounded way too much like their first. Mix it up or go away.

3. Hanson
- These guys (no longer kids, right?) are like a pesky fly. Just when you think you finally killed it, the damned things starts buzzing around your head again. I respect the persistence, I do. But it's about time they retire to an island somewhere and just count their 'Mmmmbop' money.

4. Third Eye Blind
- They're one of my favorite bands, but I think they've reached the end of the road. The music clearly went downhill after guitarist Kevin Cadogan was ousted by Stephan Jenkins and some would argue they should have called it quits after "Blue" was released. Plus, Jenkins has enough name recognition that he could go solo and still draw a crowd.

5. Train
- This was a tough one for me. I really like their first two records and the new one isn't bad, just very ordinary. Not only do I think they have already peaked, but two members have already left the group. At this point it's looking and sounding way too much like the Pat Monahan Project. I hope they prove me wrong with the next album, but it might be time for these boys to pack up their bags and go home.

:: Ryan 2:37 AM [+] ::
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The True Story Of Mary-Kate Olsen

Oh, how I miss summer vacations:
In light of the fact that I have 3 months of vacation coming up in 3 days, what are the Top 5 things you would do if you still had a summer vacation?

Sorry to get your hopes up, there will be no mention of Mary-Kate or Ashley Olsen. I also won't be discussing if Britney Spears is pregnant or not. Anyways. It's taken me so long to finish this one off that Deirdre is now closing in on one full month of vacation time. I actually had this all written up the other night at work and then the internet crapped out when I hit "Publish Post" and it was gone forever. I guess that's why I get for blogging on the job.

As for the question, I love it and God willing will get to take care of each one of these in the near future. Once D wins the lottery, she is going to give me the money for each of these trips. For the sake of time -- and since I can't remember everything about the final two -- this list has been cut to 3. Good times.

1. Baseball Pilgrimage
- I couldn't come up with a deserving name for this one, until I stumbled across this guy's site. I think I can make it to a couple games at every Major League stadium over the course of three months. It'll be great to spend the summer with the actual boys of summer. I could take it a step farther and follow the Mets around for the summer, but that might be a bit too much, even for me. The bill for this would add up real quick, but I know it'd be worth every penny.

2. One Summer, One Tour
- Virtually every year, there are tons of people that follow Dave Matthews Band and/or Phish around the country. I never understood it, but I think it would make for an interesting trip. Well, I wouldn't be following either of those two bands around, so it wouldn't be that kind of trip. The most consecutive shows I ever attended was three and that was just up to Maine and then back to CT, hitting Providence in between. I remember back when Train used to be good, they had a super fan that went to all of their shows around the country. If my memory serves I think she missed something along the lines of three shows over a two year stretch. That's obviously the extreme, but the same basic idea.

3. Beach Bum
- It would be easy enough to just find a beach around here and do nothing every day, but that would get boring real quick. The beaches I'm talking about are in the Pacific Ocean and would make for a much more interesting trip than the Jersey Shore (as much as I love it). However, if D can only afford to send me to a Florida beach, then I'll just have to accept that and move on.

Donations for any of the above trips are welcomed.

:: Ryan 9:07 PM [+] ::
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Oh Happy Day!

Best. News. Ever.

Creed Break Up

:: Ryan 7:23 PM [+] ::
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Career Fair

I think we've all (those of that work anyways) thought about this one:
Top 5 careers you would have if you didn't already love what you're doing.

Even if you are happy as can be with your career (as I am), there's no harm in a little daydreaming about other possibilities. Just like most kids, I went through the typical "i'm gonna be a doctor/lawyer/police officer" answers when I was posed with the age old question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Now that I've entered the world of 'grown up', my choices have changed dramatically. Due to a major lack of creativity and for the sake of actually posting this before July, I've decided to go with a Top 3. Enjoy.


1. Sports Agent
- What athletically challenged person wouldn't want to get a piece of those massive sports contracts? All the while constantly being around the best athletes in the world and getting front row seats to all the games you have a client(s) playing in. I would be all about showing them the money. Sorry, I just watched Jerry Maguire. I've recently re-visited the idea of giving it a try, but law school gets pretty pricey. Especially since I just got done with my $100,000+ education.

2. Musician
- Some might prefer to use the term 'rock star', but that would be going a bit overboard. Sure, I'd love millions of adoring fans -- who wouldn't? -- but just being able make a living while playing music is a nice gig if you can get it. As it stands now, I'm paid to play other people's music.

3. Poker Player
- Maybe I've watched one too many hours of the World Series of Poker on ESPN, but I think it'd be awesome to make that kind of cash just for playing cards. I know I can hold my own at one of those tables. Would I have the balls to try to bluff when $150,000 is at stake as opposed to $50? Probably not, but we can all dream.

:: Ryan 8:25 PM [+] ::
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Permanent Hiatus

After a bit of a break, here's our next topic:
After reading http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com all day at work, I thought of this list for you...
Top 5 TV shows that are on permanent hiatus.

I couldn't come up with a title, so I'd like to thank Deirdre for her choice of words in her topic. There are dozens of shows that I love that aren't on the air anymore and it would be damn near impossible to cut that list down to five or even ten. So I decided that the shows that had either ran their course (Quantum Leap) or went out on top (Seinfeld, Friends) didn't really need to make this list. Another favorite of mine that would've made the list -- Family Guy -- I'm happy to report is no longer on permanent hiatus. Luckily for everyone that loves good TV, their hiatus wasn't as permanent as we all thought. So after careful thought, these are the five shows that were taken from us (okay... from me) prematurely.

1. Due South
- I'm 99% sure I'm the only person that liked this show in the states, which is the main reason it was only around for three seasons. It came out when I was in grade school and it was a quality show that the critics seemed to really like. But it never completely caught on and was cancelled not once, but three times. The first two times by CBS. After the second cancellation it went into syndication, meaning outside of Canada -- where it was a smash hit -- you had to wait until 2 or 3am to catch the show each week. Why were Americans so threatened by a good willed Mountie?

2. Nowhere Man
- Another show that the critics loved, but UPN only kept it around for one season. I have yet to see another show on their network worth watching and I doubt that will change anytime soon. It was about a documentary photographer -- played by Bruce Greenwood -- who has his entire life erased in one night because of some photos he had taken. Actually, it seemingly was all done when he stepped away from his table at a restaurant to go to the bathroom. I know, it sounds crazy, but it was very well done. It had (has?) a huge cult following and there was a huge letter writing campaign, but the execs at UPN decided to let it die a quick death. Damn shame, because anyone that watched it never got an explanation for the conspiracy to all but erase this man from existence.

3. Picket Fences
- David E. Kelley has had a lot of really unique shows cancelled -- Chicago Hope, Boston Public, Ally, etc... -- but PF was by far the most off the wall. They got in something like four seasons before they were axed, so it's not as if they were one and done, but this was a show that could've been a standard for ten years. Stupid CBS.

4. The Pretender
- This one ran for four seasons as well, but should've lasted much longer. Very simply this show was a casualty of NBC trying to move its time slot 6 or 7 times. You would figure a show that had solid ratings for the first two seasons, would've earned the same slot for the remainder of the time it's on the air. TNT has put together a couple of made for TV movies, but it's not quite the same as a 24 episode season.

5. Bands on the Run
- I had forgotten about this one until the brains behind this list -- Deirdre -- brought it up and how can you turn down the best reality show to reach the air waves? For some reason VH1 decided to let this show die after only one season, which produced a solid winner in Flickerstick. Even the runner-up -- soulcracker -- put on great shows from start to finish of the season. This was a true Battle of the Bands. And VH1 killed it. Shame.

:: Ryan 8:44 PM [+] ::
...

Drivers Wanted

No better time than now for this one:
Hmm.. During the course of this last one, you mentioned a couple you'd play in the car.
Which gives me a nice segue for: *drumroll* Top 5 driving songs! Ta da!

I got into my car this afternoon and for the first time in quite some time, I could drive to work with the windows down. It might sound like nothing, but I consider it one of the best parts of spring and summer. After scanning through my CDs, I realized I didn't have the right songs to properly enjoy this experience. Obviously everyone has different 'needs' when it comes to driving music. If you have a big system in your car, then you want something very bass heavy. In my case, I drive a Ford Taurus. 'Ford Taurus' and 'big system' are words that don't work very well in the same sentence. There are certain songs that just sound right being played with the windows down. Next time you're gonna take a drive on a nice spring/summer day, throw these on and you'll see what I mean. Especially if you're unlucky enough to also be driving a Taurus.

1. Better Than Ezra "This Time of Year"
- I've used this one before, but it works best in the car. Lyrically it's about the time between the summer and fall, but who's keeping score? An absolutely timeless song, which is rare nowadays.

I know there's a reason to change
I know there's a time for us
You think about the good times
And you live with all the bad
You can feel it in the air
Feeling right this time of year

2. Marvelous 3 "Freak of the Week"
- One hit wonders by music industry standards, but that doesn't stop this song from kicking ass. I never felt like these guys really got a fair shake. Butch Walker, the lead singer, is a hell of a producer. You've heard plenty of stuff he's produced (Simple Plan, Midtown, new Avril), it's just that unless you're The Matrix (old Avril, Liz Phair, Jason Mraz, etc...) producers of pop music don't get a whole lot of publicity.

I spend a lot on all the clothes that I got
Cause all the geeks that I meet, they all look cooler than me
What to do when they're all looking at you
Cause you're the freak of the week, cause you're on the TV

3. Something Corporate "I Want to Save You"
- I can't get into a lot of pop/punk stuff since it tends to all sound similar. While the kids of SoCo didn't break new ground on this song or any of their stuff, they tend to separate themselves from the pack. A handful of their songs could be here. It came down to this, "I Woke up in a Car" and "(Hurricane) The Formal Weather Pattern". Pick your favorite and run with it. Er, drive with it.

Home by three
Deafening quiet
The porch light's off
Yes, they forgot it
She'd cry herself to sleep
But she don't dare

4. Everclear "Santa Monica"
- There are about four or five that could go here, but old reliable works best. No matter who's in the car with me, they won't have to give me that confused look when this comes on. Only music snobs enjoy confusing their friends with their music. I don't understand the whole "you don't know this song?! It's only the best B-side to only be available in Japan for three months in June 2002!" No thank you. Everyone can sing along.

I'll walk right out into a brand new day
Insane and rising in my own weird way
I don't want to be the bad guy
I don't want to do your sleepwalk dance anymore
I just want to feel some sunshine
I just want to find some place to be alone

5. Eve 6 "Open Road Song"
- Is this too obvious? I had actually forgotten about it, when LJ kindly reminded me. Another band that I think got brushed aside a bit too quickly. What is it that people dislike about bands that write catchy 3 minute pop songs? If any of these songs is gonna make you want to roll the windows down and sing along, it's this one.

I crack a window and feel the cool air cleanse my every pore
As I pour my poor heart out
To a radio song that's patient and willing to listen
My volume drowns it out

:: Ryan 5:32 AM [+] ::
...

Pump Up The Volume

The ST reference alone makes it a great list:
I was watching Spinal Tap when I came up with this one. "It's one louder." I attempted this once, and only came up with a few songs. Top 5 songs that get better with volume.

If you've been reading this site semi-consistently (I know there are at least three of you out there), then you probably have a good handle on what I tend to listen to. While 3/5 of bands on the list have made at least one appearance on the site before, there are two that are debuting and it should come as somewhat of a surprise. If only for the fact that both bands are on the same suck level as Creed, which is saying quite a bit. All five are great driving songs, so burn yourself a copy and hit the road. Enjoy.

Oh, and I'd like to say hello to all the fine folks that have made their way here looking for the Steven Segal Mountain Dew commercial. It's a great spot, so I understand why you're looking for it but unfortunately I don't have a copy. While you're here, why don't you take a look around? And if you're truly a Steven Segal fan (isn't everyone?), do you also feel that the Rock is starting to turn into a newer version of Segal? I'm pretty sure every Segal movie has the exact same premise as 'Walking Tall', but maybe it's just me. Anyway, where was I? Oh, right. Loud songs. Once again, enjoy and don't forget to turn the volume up to 11 in honor of the wigged ones.

1. Brand New "The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows"
- The perfect blend of a somewhat quiet intro and getting louder/faster as it goes along. On a completely unrelated note, the video to this song is incredible, you can see it here. Make sure the volume is cranked up to 11 when the multiple harmony chorus' kick in. God, I love those screamo kids.

Wasting words on lowercases and capitals
I lie for only you
And I lie well
Hallelujah

2. Buckcherry "Lit Up"
- I had forgotten how fucking loud this song can be. Then I discovered it on an old mix CD that I made and it's now back to being a staple in my car stereo. Especially when I'm on my way home from work at 6am. If this doesn't keep you up, I'm not sure that anything will.

Can you feel it?
Can you feel it tonight?
Are you high love?
Tell me, are you fucking high?

3. The Juliana Theory "If I Told You This Was Killing Me, Would You Stop?"
- TJT were going to have a song on this fine list, it was just a matter of deciding between this one and the equally as wordy "To The Tune Of 5,000 Screaming Children". This one wins out if only because the first 'pop' in the song jumps out and grabs you a bit more.

Watch your mouth
Hold your tongue boy
Because you're running out of breath
Running out of time
Before every careless word that you utter
Renders you utterly useless

4. Limp Bizkit f/ Method Man "N 2 Gether Now"
- Surprise number 1! I am the furthest thing from a fan of LB, but this song just gets better as the volume gets louder. Another Limp song -- "Break Stuff" -- can get pretty nasty too, but you really need to be in a crappy mood for that one. How can you turn Method Man down? You can't.

What's that?
I didn't hear you
Shut the fuck up
Come on a little louder
Shut the fuck up!
Everybody N2 Gether now
Shut the fuck up

5. Linkin Park "One Step Closer"
- Surprise number 2, and quite possibly the upset of the year! Please keep the hate mail to yourself, but I really don't like the boys of LP very much. One of the most important things when it comes to songs you crank, is they have to be produced well. Cause who wants a shitty sounding song to be even louder? And the one thing these kids do is produce the hell out of their stuff so that everything is super slick. Funny side note, I used to think there was a curse in the song. Listen to what he screams right at the end of the breakdown in the middle. The lyrics are 'shut up when I'm talkin to you', but I thought he was saying 'shut up mother fucking ......' If you listen close enough, you might be able to figure out that last word. I was so convinced it was dirty that I pulled it from rotation at my station a few years ago because it wasn't 'edited'. Oops.

Wish I could find a way to disappear
All these thoughts they make no sense
I find bliss in ignorance
Nothing seems to go away
Over and over again
Everything you say to me
Takes me one step closer to the edge
And I'm about to break

:: Ryan 5:15 AM [+] ::
...

This One Time...

Oh, if only she knew how long winded my stories are:
Top 5 anecdotes. Your favorite stories that have happened to you that you tell everyone.

As soon as I saw this one I had a million stories running through my mind. However, after getting through the first couple I realized just how long my stories tend to be. So in the interest of brevity, I'm making this one a Top 3. Please hold your applause until the end. Thank you.


1. The name's have been changed...
- to protect those involved. The scene is a typical college dorm party. Except that the residents of said dorm were tired of having kids steal stuff from their kitchen at all of their parties, specifically their liquor. So in order to exact some revenge, one of the residents -- we'll call him Ken -- decides to relieve himself into a bottle of alcohol, mix in some water (I'm still not sure why the water had to be added) and leave it in the kitchen area. Whoever is stealing their liquor will pay the ultimate price. Well... a few hours into the party and no one has touched the bottle. Then, all of a sudden one of the sober residents -- we'll call him B-Love -- notices their friend -- Chuck? -- not only drinking from the bottle, but posing for a picture with it. Ooops, not really who it was meant for, but the damage was done. So Chuck takes a swig and gets a puzzled look on his face. He proceeds to ask B-Love "what's in that bottle? It tastes kind of salty." Well, Chuck was done drinking for the evening, to say the least. He spent the better part of the night pouring toothpaste into his mouth. Meanwhile, I've spent the better part of the last four years telling people this story.

2. In no way do I...
- mean to insult anyone from the south with the following story. 99% of my time spent in the Carolinas and Georgia was just fine and dandy, but the one time I stopped in Clemson with a couple friends on the way to Atlanta, bizarreness broke out. I actually originally posted this story on April 9th, 2002, but that would make sense, since these are the stories I tell the most. After passing the driving duties off to someone else, I slept for a good three or four hours and awoke when we pulled into an Exxon Mart in Clemson, SC. I was actually unaware of just where we were, so I asked one of my friends and before I could get an answer, the clerk responds with "Y'all in tiger country now." The Clemson Tiger orange apparently runs very deep in those parts. After filling me in on exactly where I was, he continued to show us how he and his fellow Exxon Mart employee were trying to 'win the big one', meaning $100,000 from a scratch off ticket. They both seemed very excited about the fact that you can put the tickets into the machine WITHOUT EVEN SCRATCHING THEM and find out if you won. Apparently he wanted us to try our luck at some tickets so that we could take the $100,000, 'drive to Greenville, then turn the car towards caaaaaaaaaancun'. Our friendly clerk, however, would use the money to open a 'flop house'. Call me crazy, but I had no idea what a flop house was. He let us know that it was exactly what the name says, a place for all your friends to come over and just 'flop around and do nothin'. I love the south.

3. I wouldn't necessarily call...
- this all that interesting, but it's certainly another story I tell too often. Again, the significant names will be changed to prevent any hate mail. I worked for Sony Music for almost three years and had the pleasure of working with so many great artists. And I don't even mean musically, but just accommodating as artists. Five For Fighting, John Mayer, Ben Folds, Our Lady Peace ... the names go on and they were all amazingly easy to work with. There was one artist, however that fit the stereotypical rockstar attitude perfectly. I don't want to piss of any fans by using their real name, so I'll call them Locomotive or just Loco for short. Let me preface the 'meat' of the story by saying the whole band was awesome, except the lead singer. The lead singer of Loco -- we'll call him Pete -- is who the story is about. Now I had been a fan of Loco for years, so I thought it was cool I was going to spend a day with them and help run a couple of their events: radio station visit/performance and pre-show performance for winners from another station. And things were going great when the day started, sitting on the bus hanging out with the guitarist (who the lead singer has since kicked out of the band) and going over the days events with the tour manager. Then the lead singer shows up. Yikes. Apparently they didn't teach eye contact or personality in rockstar school. Okay, no big deal, it happens. So we're coming back from the radio station interview and all he can do is bitch about how he never has a free day. Every time the 'band' has a day off, he is 'forced' to do interviews at various points during the day. Welcome to the world of being a lead singer, but again I gave him a pass because maybe he things were extra hectic and he was having a bad day. Then we're on the bus and they're going over what they should put on the set list for that night's show. Just throwing songs back and forth. I figure, it's a good time to pop in with some info that would at least let them know I'm not blowing record company smoke up their butt when I say I like the record. So I suggest my favorite song, which was on an EP that they played live a bit on their last tour. I got a good response from the drummer "X is hard to get into the show now that we have two albums (it was the tour right after the release of their sophomore record) to get through". Good answer! So I suggest my favorite track off the first album. This time lead singer Pete chimes in with: "What about the new fuckin album?!". Yikes. His fellow bandmates seem as flustered at this point as I am. So I rattle off some songs from the new CD and he puts his head down to look into his cell. He's momentarily settled down. After that wonderful exchange I head to the back of the bus to play some video games with the rodies, who obviously aren't going to be biting my head off about anything. After a while it's getting closer to show time and we had another band on the bill so I head out and on my way towards the door, I stop in the bus lobby to pick up my 'all access' pass from the tour manager, who is going over the upcoming European tour with all the band members. Being polite, I don't interrupt, but instead wait for him to finish. In a lull of the rundown, Pete chimes in with another jewel: "You all set here Ryan?". Wow, he's 2 for 2. I explain I need to pick up my pass and the tour manager happily slaps one of those bad boys on my jacket and now I'm all set. The point of this story is... Well, I guess there isn't a point, but it gave you something to read.

:: Ryan 1:41 AM [+] ::
...

What's Your Sign?

Deirdre always brings top shelf suggestions to the table and this is no different:
Being the stud that you are, I'm sure you never have to use pick-up lines, but hypothetically speaking, what are the Ryno's top 5 pick-up lines?

Just like D says, I certainly don't need to use pick up lines. Nope. Not me. But, if I did, I've come up with a few that would be my first choices to use. I hear that chicks really dig a guy with a great pickup line, so if you're looking for some help, try these on for size. Oh, and if you get slapped? Blame Deirdre.


1. My magical watch says you aren't wearing any panties. Oh, you are? It must be an hour fast.
- Definitely cheesy enough to maybe garner a sympathy laugh and maybe get you a bit of a conversation. Of course, if you get the wrong type of girl, it could get a drink thrown on you. High risk/high reward.

2. You know how some men buy really expensive cars to make up for certain, well, shortages? Well, I own a Taurus.
- Wow, what a coincidence. I drive a Taurus! Anyways. Everyone knows the theory that the more expensive the car, the smaller the unit. Again, you have to be careful who you use the line on. Because despite the small johnson label, a good number of girls still manage to get turned on by a guy who has a muscle car. God knows why.

3. If I could rewrite the alphabet, I would put U and I together.
- This is the most classic of all pick up lines. Not that I would ever use something so cheesy, however, I've heard that you'll usually get a good laugh out of the girl if you actually go this route. Although they're usually laughing at you, not with you. Or so I've been told.

4. Do you know how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie-pop? Wanna find out?
- Similar to No. 1, this is high risk/high reward. You could get creative points or you could get a slap across the face. So, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya?

5. Wow! Are those real?
- Hmm. Okay, no matter how good looking you are or how nice your car is, you probably want to steer clear of this one. Well, unless she looks really dumb, then she might take it as a compliment. Either way, it's mostly high risk/high risk.

:: Ryan 4:49 AM [+] ::
...

Animaniacs

The first genre-specific movie list, from Phoe:
Top 5 animated films. I ask you this because: I CAN. Muahahah.

I'm certainly not the first in line at the movies to see animated films, but I do enjoy the occasional cartoon as much as the next guy. I suppose I should apologize now for not including Finding Nemo, but as cute as it was, I didn't love it as much as seemingly everyone else in the country did. There's nothing too off the wall here, but there's at least one that I'm sure will leave you scratching your head. I'm sure I missed something just as obvious as Nemo, so let me know.


1. Monsters, Inc.
- This was a great movie, not just a great animated movie. I think the fact that I liked this film so much has a lot to do why I didn't think so highly of Finding Nemo. I expected to enjoy Nemo better than this and it didn't happen. John Goodman and Billy Crystal form the best duo in all of animated films.

2. Toy Story
- Even though the sequel was disappointing, it doesn't take away from how good the original is. Easily the best cast of voices top to bottom. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen finish right behind Goodman and Crystal for best animation duo.

3. Oliver & Company
- I mentioned this one to a bunch of people the last couple days and besides the weird looks for bringing up an old cartoon, those that had seen it weren't all that impressed. Maybe I'm biased because I'm a Billy Joel fan -- he was the voice of a main character -- but I really enjoyed this when I was younger. Along with The Wizard of Oz it's the earliest film I can remember watching as a kid. Good times.

4. Lion King
- I never saw the sequel, which I'm guessing is a good thing. For a while I hadn't seen any animated films worth mentioning and this is really the one that made me think maybe it wasn't a lost genre. Could've done without Jonathan Taylor Thomas as 'little' Simba, but that's nit picking. Quality flick.

5. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
- This could get a few of you to scratch your head, but I always thought this was movie was a lot of fun. C'mon, a pseudo love triangle that includes Bob Hoskins, a cartoon rabbit and his hot woman. It doesn't get much better than that.

:: Ryan 5:52 AM [+] ::
...

Comp This

I've always said suggestions didn't have to just be Top 5's and Deirdre finally takes me up on it:
So this isn't technically a Top 5, but what would be on The Ryno's Ultimate Compilation CD? Project must fit onto an 80 minute disc.


Okay, so I have no idea what the title means. I've had a couple lists along these same lines (Ultimate Mix Tape, Soundtrack To My Life) but this is much more broad than either of those were. There's some overlapping from the Soundtrack list, but those are the songs that I couldn't in good conscience leave off. Due to the length of the list, there is no explanation for each song. I know you're upset. As always, I'd love to see what all of you would put on your list.


1. Ben Folds "Annie Waits"
2. Fountains of Wayne "Joe Rey"
3. Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers "Beautiful Disaster"
4. Foo Fighters "Hey, Johnny Park!"
5. For Squirrels "Under Smithville"
6. Better Than Ezra "Desperately Wanting"
7. Dramarama "Anything, Anything"
8. Buckcherry "For The Movies"
9. The Juliana Theory "Into the Dark"
10. Flickerstick "Got A Feeling"
11. Bruce Springsteen "Thunder Road"
12. Everclear "Unemployed Boyfriend"
13. Billy Joel "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant"
14. Our Lady Peace "Thief"
15. Jude "I Do"
16. Josh Joplin Group "Camera One"
17. U2 "With or Without You"
18. Audioslave "I Am The Highway"
19. Third Eye Blind "God of Wine"
20. The Refreshments "Mekong"

Learn It. Burn It. Love It.

:: Ryan 5:01 AM [+] ::
...

For The Movies

From Phoe, who is always straight to the point:
Top 5 movie soundtracks

If you haven't been able to tell, I tend to over think these lists just a bit. I couldn't possibly do it with movie soundtracks. Or could I? There are a lot of great collections of songs out there, so one would think I could just pick the best five and be home free. But what truly makes a great soundtrack is selecting songs that fit within the movie (God forbid). Sure, the soundtrack for Scary Movie 3 had some good tunes on it, but does a movie like that really hinge on songs included in it? Not quite. So here are the five soundtracks that fit best with their film. I know, it's a crazy thought.


1. High Fidelity
- The film -- more or less -- inspired this site, so I am required to not just include it on the list, but give it the top slot. It really is the epitome of what a movie soundtrack should be. Every song throughout the film is perfectly placed and the range of artists is amazing. From The Kinks to Bob Dylan to Stereolab. It even has Jack Black's rendition of "Let's Get It On". Just remember, according to Rob: Liking both Marvin Gaye and Art Garfunkel is like supporting both the Israelies and the Palestinians.

2. The Crow
- A big reason why this movie kicked ass was the soundtrack. Brandon Lee is jumping building to building accompanied by Trent Reznor's vocals. Perfect. Stone Temple Pilots, Rage Against the Machine and even Rollins Band get in on the action here. The best of them all though is The Cure's "Burn". Top notch.

3. I Am Sam
- Even people that loved this film take issue with an entire album of Beatles covers. If you've seen this movie, you know that the songs were a huge part of the movie, but some people will simply never be comfortable with people covering the Beatles. It's a shame, because when you get a roster that's made up of Rufus Wainwright, Ben Folds, the Black Crowes, Howie Day and Grandaddy, you really should take it for all it's worth.

4. Almost Famous
- I'm a fan of Cameron Crowe, so I'm probably biased here, but he made the perfect 'band' movie. Put aside the fact that the soundtrack is made up of The Who, Led Zeppelin, Elton John and Cat Stevens. The songs by Stillwater are quality songs. Who gets good songs our of their imaginary band? C'mon, you can't make this stuff up. Er, I guess you can.

5. Good Will Hunting
- The late Elliott Smith made this soundtrack great. End of story.

:: Ryan 5:47 AM [+] ::
...

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

Inspired by the demise of her favorite show -- NBC's Ed -- Deirdre is back with a vengeance:
Much like my favorite TV shows, the good ones are the first to go, what are the Top 5 bands that shouldn't have broken up?

Plenty of fine acts have prematurely broken up. Don't get me wrong, it's not as if I think every band should hang on for dear life like Quiet Riot, but there are certain bands that leave when it isn't their time. Every band on this list has their music living on through at least one other band/project, but they'll all have trouble matching their original bands.

1. Everclear
- I know. Way too obvious, but I had to. Since 'technically' they aren't broken up, I wasn't going to have them on the list, but after looking at my final five I started to feel very dirty about leaving them off. So here is the greatest and best band in the world. Lead singer Art Alexakis has done a bunch of solo stuff, but the other two members -- Greg Eklund and Craig Montoya -- have pretty much been out of sight since the end of the last Everclear tour. I'm happy to report that I caught their final NYC performance last spring. Silver lining, folks. Silver lining.

2. The Refreshments
- Easily one of the most underrated bands of all time. There is no good reason why they never sold 5 million albums. None. Unfortunately, after their second album tanked, the lead guitarist decided to let his addictions take control of his life and ultimately were a major factor in the demise of the group. Luckily for the world of music, Roger Clyne -- Refreshments lead singer -- went off and started another band -- the Peacemakers -- and while they aren't quite as good, they're pretty damn close. Go out and buy all the Refreshments and Peacemakers albums you can get your hands on.

3. Smashing Pumpkins
- The Pumpkins were going along, making great music and everyone was happy. Then Billy Corgan had to go and come up with this crazy idea that he was the 'God' of rock and roll. That he could decide when rock would 'live' and 'die'. Riiiiiight. How is Zwan, by the way? Damn shame.

4. Dramarama
- It's very possible you've never heard of them. I didn't think that was possible until I started asking around here in Connecticut about them and people had no clue. Dramarama are on that second tier of great Jersey bands. I had forgotten just how much I loved their music until I saw them on Bands Reunited on VH1. Unfortunately their reunion lasted all of one day. I repeat: Damn shame.

5. Ben Folds Five
- In my first draft, I had these guys up in the No. 2 slot. Then I realized the Ben Folds solo albums have been absolutely brilliant. While I would've loved to hear more BFF material, who knows what would've come of the strictly Ben solo songs. Hmm. As great as the Five were, maybe it actually was there time.

:: Ryan 5:33 AM [+] ::
...

School of Rock

One of the more intriguing lists, courtesy of Phoe:
Top 5 songs you would put on a mix tape for someone. Someone can either be "the world at large" or a particular person you have in mind. Your choice.

This is a list that would drive John Cusack's character in High Fidelity absolutely crazy. He would undoubtedly keep changing his answers and never truly be happy with whatever his "final" list was. And most of it would have to do with the standards each song would have to meet to be on the list. I made it much easier on myself. If I had to introduce someone to music, I would simply give them this five song mix tape that would quickly get them up to speed. This isn't a list of my favorite songs, but rather a look at the evolution of popular music. Disagree? Of course you do. No one can squeeze so much history into five songs without snubbing hundreds of deserving artists. If you were putting together a similar tape, what would it sound like?

1. Beatles "A Hard Day's Night"
- Virtually every band cites the Beatles as a major influence. Those that don't, should. It's just a matter of what Beatles song to pick. Good luck getting anyone to agree on one song, but I felt this best represents what the Beatles did best. They wrote amazing pop songs. This was one of the best ever.

2. Led Zeppelin "Stairway to Heaven"
- Again, it's simply a question of what song to use. I'm sorry to make the trendy pick here, but c'mon, it's the most played song in the history of album-oriented radio. I could've went with Hendrix, Aerosmith or the Who here, but Zep narrowly beat them all out.

3. R.E.M. "Radio Free Europe"
- This is about where people will really start to get angry. Not so much because R.E.M. wasn't influential, but instead because I've left out so many other deserving choices. While trying to cover a huge time gap between Zeppelin and the No. 4 selection, Stipe and Co. seemed like a logical fit.

4. Nirvana "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
- I'm one of about four people who weren't fans of Nirvana when they burst onto the scene. But you can't deny the incredible effect their music had -- and still has -- on the industry. Artists that end up having as much influence as Nirvana don't come around very often. In fact there hasn't been one since.

5. Foo Fighters "Times Like These"
- Anyone that didn't disagree with me before, probably just jumped ship. I'm sorry, but Dave Grohl is more deserving to be on this list than the Strokes, White Stripes or any other newer band you can come up with. They are the only band this side of Nirvana I believe will be making meaningful music in ten years.

:: Ryan 5:35 AM [+] ::
...

If you're like me, then you've always wondered what this site would look like in another language.

Wonder no more.

Coolest thing ever.

:: Ryan 6:13 PM [+] ::
...

Absolutely (Story of a List)

Everyone's a comedian. Especially Ms. Boylan:
Top 5 songs that have (parenthesis in the title). Go forth and list. But don't go to fast. You don't want to get a ticket. HA!

For those of you that don't know me (and some that do I imagine), I had the luxury of getting a ticket for speeding two weeks ago. And Deirdre finds that to be amusing. So funny that I'm sure she will offer to pay for it. Anyways. I've had the task of putting together some pretty difficult lists, but this one was honestly the hardest just because no songs popped into my head when I first read the topic. Usually there are at least a few songs that stir around in my head after I see my next 'assignment', but a whole lot of nothing for this one. To make a long story longer, I'm not sure what you can take away from this one, but let me know if anything comes to mind. I apologize for the title, but I couldn't come up with anything clever.


1. Green Day "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)"
- This epitomizes songs with parenthesis. On the back of their album -- 'Nimrod' -- the song is listed the way I have it here. However, after it was released as a single it quickly lost the "Good Riddance" part and became simply "Time of Your Life". For a little while DJs would throw in the 'good riddance' part, but it was tagged onto the end. Now a days the song is simply "Time of Your Life". Further proof that people are idiots. Present company excluded, of course.

2. They Might Be Giants "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)"
- There's no way I could leave this song out. Besides the fact that this is one of the greatest and best songs in the world, it's amusing because there's really no need for the parenthesis (although I suppose none of the songs here need parenthesis). A simple title of "Istanbul, Not Constantinople" would've been rational (or as rational as TMBG could be).

3. 2gether "U + Me = Us (Calculus)"
- Deirdre mentioned this one to me and I was pissed I didn't think of it first. I could have went with their other epic ballad -- "The Hardest Part Of Breaking (Is Getting Back Your Stuff)" -- but finally decided to settle on this little gem of a song.

4. Something Corporate "(Hurricane) The Formal Weather Pattern"
- The boys of SoCo land here because it's one of the few songs with the parenthesis at the beginning of the title. Plus, unlike a lot of songs eligible for this list, this one ended up officially losing the parenthesis. It appeared with them on SoCo's Audioboxer EP but then was listed simply as "Hurricane" on their first full length album for MCA, Leaving Through the Window. It's one thing for radio to drop part of a title (like in Green Day's case) but for a band to do it? Very odd.

5. Billy Joel "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)"
- This is my earliest memory of a song with parenthesis in the title. And damn did it confuse the hell out of me. I can remember as a child not understanding why it wasn't either just "Movin' Out" or "Anthony's Song". How can it be BOTH? More importantly, why did it have to be both? Hmm. Now that I think of it, I still have no idea why it has to be both. I guess we really haven't learned anything here.

:: Ryan 5:23 AM [+] ::
...

Top 100 Movies

No, it's not my Top 100, but I still like the concept. You take IMDB's list of the Top 100 films of all time and bold the ones that you have seen. This just further proves that I'm very uncool. I mean, who hasn't seen Casablanca? Right, that's me.

1 Godfather, The (1972)
2 Shawshank Redemption, The (1994)
3 Godfather: Part II, The (1974)
4 Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The (2003)
5 Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The (2002)
6 Casablanca (1942)
7 Schindler’s List (1993)
8 Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001)
9 Shichinin no samurai (1954)
10 Star Wars (1977)
11 Citizen Kane (1941)
12 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
13 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
14 Rear Window (1954)
15 Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
16 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
17 Memento (2000)
18 Usual Suspects, The (1995)
19 Pulp Fiction (1994)
20 North by Northwest (1959)
21 12 Angry Men (1957)
22 Amelie (2001)
23 Psycho (1960)
24 Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
25 Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il (1966)
26 Silence of the Lambs, The (1991)
27 It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
28 Goodfellas (1990)
29 American Beauty (1999)
30 Vertigo (1958)
31 Sunset Blvd. (1950)
32 Matrix, The (1999)
33 Pianist, The (2002)
34 Apocalypse Now (1979)
35 To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
36 Some Like It Hot (1959)
37 Taxi Driver (1976)
38 C’era una volta il West (1968)
39 Third Man, The (1949)
40 Paths of Glory (1957)
41 Fight Club (1999)
42 Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001)
43 Boot, Das (1981)
44 L.A. Confidential
45 Double Indemnity (1944)
46 Chinatown (1974)
47 Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
48 Maltese Falcon, The (1941)
49 Requiem for a Dream (2000)
50 M (1931)
51 Bridge on the River Kwai, The (1957)
52 All About Eve (1950)
53 Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
54 Se7en (1995)
55 Saving Private Ryan (1998)
56 Raging Bull (1980)
57 Cidade de Deus (2002)
58 Wizard of Oz, The (1939)
59 Rashômon (1950)
60 Sting, The (1973)
61 Alien (1979)
62 American History X (1998)
63 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
64 Léon (1994)
65 Vita è bella, La (1997)
66 Touch of Evil (1958)
67 Manchurian Candidate, The (1962)
68 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
69 Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The (1948)
70 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
71 Great Escape, The (1963)
72 Reservoir Dogs (1992)
73 Clockwork Orange, A (1971)
74 Amadeus (1984)
75 Modern Times (1936)
76 Annie Hall (1977)
77 Jaws (1975)
78 Ran (1985)
79 On the Waterfront (1954)
80 Braveheart (1995)
81 High Noon (1952)
82 Apartment, The (1960)
83 Fargo (1996)
84 Sixth Sense, The (1999)
85 Aliens (1986)
86 Shining, The (1980)
87 Strangers on a Train (1951)
88 Blade Runner (1982)
89 Metropolis (1927)
90 Duck Soup (1933)
91 Finding Nemo (2003)
92 Donnie Darko (2001)
93 General, The (1927)
94 Toy Story 2 (1999)
95 Princess Bride, The (1987)
96 City Lights (1931)
97 Great Dictator, The (1940)
98 Lola rennt (1998)
99 Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
100 Notorious (1946)

:: Ryan 1:51 AM [+] ::
...

Don't Quote Me

Phoe is quick and to the point:
Top 5 favorite quotes. Any source.

If it isn't already glaringly obvious from the "who i'd go out of my way to do" list that I am severely 'uncultured', then it will be very clear after this one. You won't find Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson or T.S. Eliot here. They are obviously all legendary writers. Just not my thing. I'm amused by the simpler things in life and these quotes are no different. There is no rhyme or reason to the order.


1. "If she keeps putting you on hold, it's time to hang up the phone, pardner." -- Larry King
- Sure, there's something to be said for persistence. But at the same time you need to know when to call it a day. We all over pursue something, believing there is a light at the end of that long tunnel. Sometimes you just need to realize the right path might be in the other direction. Although I'm not completely sure Larry King should be telling anyone about knowing when to quit.


2. "On this Father's Day, we'd like to wish all you fathers out there a happy birthday." -- Ralph Kiner, during a Mets telecast on Father's Day 1988
- Ralph is in the baseball Hall of Fame as a player and should be in there as an announcer. This particular Father's Day just happened to be the one time he was a bit off of his broadcasting game. C'mon, like you've never heard someone wish your mother a happy birthday on Mother's Day. You haven't? Oh, well then. That makes Ralph look much worse here.


3. "I think I'm better now than how I used to be." -- Everclear, 'Nervous and Weird'
- This was my high school yearbook quote. Yea, that's right. I said it. I will direct you to the intro of this list where I warned you there would be no Robert Frost here. My yearbook quote wasn't going to be any different. Was I supposed to use 'Two roads diverged in a wood, and I/I took the one less traveled by/And that has made all the difference.' ? Great line, no argument there, but maybe the other 8 people in my graduating class using it were sort of a buzzkill. This quote honestly summed up how I felt walking out of my high school. I loved my time there and I was sorry to leave, but could I be all that sure I was that much better off?


4. "Anytime someone calls you and identifies themselves with their full name, odds are it isn't someone you want to talk to under any circumstances." -- Bill Simmons, ESPN.com
- This holds true 99% of the time. You are either being informed that you owe quite a bit of money or they're delivering much worse news. So next time you pick up the phone and you hear someone's first and last name, immediately hang up the phone and run away.


5. "The rest of those who have gone before us cannot steady the unrest of those to follow." -- Finding Forrester
- Great movie. Great quote. Enough said.

:: Ryan 5:31 AM [+] ::
...

She Bangs

Here's a list every single person should compile at one time or another, courtesy of Deirdre:
God help you if you say Clay Aiken, but what are the top 5 celebrities/models you'd "go out of your way to do"?

No, there will be no mention of Clay Aiken here, but I still think I was able to put a nice list together. I put musicians in the 'celebrities' category and -- as you'll see -- that was a big help. I'm sorry to disappoint those that thought Brooke Burke, Jennifer Lopez and Pam Anderson should've made the cut. I'd love to know who would be on your list, so leave a few names in the comments. I've noticed lately that a huge amount of people have found this site looking for SNL transcripts, so for all of you, the link for every Saturday Night Live transcript ever (or just about) is only a couple posts down the page. Those of you looking for naked photos from the Britney Spears wedding, unfortunately will have to look elsewhere. The same can be said for anyone wanting to download the Paris Hilton sex tape. Sorry. For everyone else, enjoy.

1. Michelle Branch
- This should come as little surprise to anyone that knows me. For everyone else, let me state her case. Not only is she good looking, but I love the fact that she writes her own songs and plays an actual instrument (God forbid). I know playing a bit of guitar shouldn't be a huge deal, but in pop music that's a major hurdle that plenty of superstars never quite get over. Lately she's been working on a little mean streak too. First she named Hilary Duff in an interview when asked "What the worst song of the year was" and now in the new Maxim she takes a swing at Jewel. Oh and speaking of Maxim, take a look at these. The defense rests.

2. Katie Holmes
- I'm starting to think maybe Katie should be lower on this list simply on principle now that she's engaged to Chris Klein. Even still, she's a little bit good girl, little bit bad girl. Even if the only real 'bad girl' mark on her resume is her nude scene in 'The Gift'. She does lose points, however, for allowing her Dawson's Creek character to end up with that schmuck Pacey.

3. Mandy Moore
- She is the ultimate good girl, which most definitely helps her case. There's a certain mystery to a girl that refuses to pose for Maxim. C'mon, Mandy, we're not asking for Playboy here. It'll be curious to see how long she plays the innocent role while dating tennis pro Andy Roddick.

4. Dido
- I should've put more international women on here, cause her accent absolutely kills me. Again, the fact that she's a musician gets her plenty of points too. And since of course I have a shot at her, it's important to note that she is recently single. Hey Dido, have your people call my people. And by my people I mean me.

5. Elisha Cuthbert
- When does a legitimate drama series keep on a character strictly because the actress is easy on the eyes? Meet Elisha Cuthbert's character -- Kim -- from Fox's 24. She and her mother made up one of the main story lines in the first season, but her character has served absolutely no purpose ever since. But since people like me think she's nice to look at between important scenes, they keep her around.

:: Ryan 5:06 AM [+] ::
...

Top 20 of 2003

This was a great year for music and while it didn't live up to 2002, I still had plenty of tough decisions to make while putting together this year's list. If you think I missed anything, please use the comments to let me know. Included with each choice is a caption about the album along with the best track, so you can go and sample a bit of each disc you aren't familiar with. Don't be scared off by the negative comments about certain albums, it's just my way of pointing out why they aren't higher up on the list. You can check out the 2002 and 2001 lists below this year's picks. Enjoy.


1. Fountains of Wayne 'Welcome Interstate Managers'
- There is no band more deserving of a hit record than FoW. Their first album was released nearly 7 years ago and from day one were some of the best songwriters in all of music. In typical Fountains of Wayne fashion, every song on this disc will be stuck in your head for days. You might be tired of hearing "Stacy's Mom" on the radio, but trust me when I say you need to own this album. They join the company of Pete Yorn and Bruce Springsteen as recipients of my 'Best Album of the Year' award (strictly by coincidence are all three from New Jersey). Seriously.
Standout Track: Hey Julie


2. Vendetta Red 'Between The Never And The Now'
- This is the best of any 'screamo' you'll find floating around. Lead singer Zach Davidson's vocals go from 0 to 120 in the blink of an eye, but it never seems out of place or forced. I've never seen such an amazing progression from one album to the next. Their 'Cut Your Noose EP' was average at best, but the boys of Vendetta Red - with some slight help from the best production of the year - hit this one out of the park.
Standout Track: Opiate Summer


3. Everclear 'Slowmotion Daydream'
- It's not often that one's favorite band releases an album and said album isn't on the very top of a 'Best of...' list. Simply put, this wasn't Art and Company's best effort. Hopefully this isn't truly their last album, because they have a better record in them somewhere just waiting to be made. Landing at No. 3 with a sub-par effort is still pretty solid and this is definitely deserving of a spot in your CD rack.
Standout Track: A Beautiful Life


4. Jude 'Sarah'
- If this hadn't just recently been released, I might have been compelled to let it break into the top 3. I can't remember the last time one of my favorite artists exceeded expectations this much on a new album. Jude has always had a way with words, but not since his debut album have they come out so perfectly. There is no good reason why this man is not a star.
Standout Track: Your Love Is Everything


5. Ben Folds 'Speed Graphic' and 'Sunny 16' EPs
- Sure, I would've rather had Ben release a full length album, but there's something to be said for teasing your fans three months at a time with new materiel. Especially when said materiel is absolutely brilliant.
Standout Track: Give Judy My Notice


6. John Mayer 'Heavier Things'
- If I had typed this up a month ago this would be somewhere in the teens. After giving it another chance, I realized how amazing this record really is. After mostly hiding his guitar skills on 'Room For Squares', John was able to let everything loose on this one without making it sound as if he were showing off. This is the best combo possible: As good as RFS, but a completely different album.
Standout Track: Clarity


7. Howie Day 'Stop All The World Now'
- After waiting three years between full length albums, I expected more than 11 tracks (only 9 were actually 'new'), but similar to Ben Folds, it was quality - not quantity - that got him such a high spot on the list. The biggest thing about this record is how much Howie's songwriting has progressed from his first album. Some songs run a minute or so too long, but if it were perfect it'd be number 1, right?
Standout Track: Collide


8. Third Eye Blind 'Out of the Vein'
- If this was released last year, it wouldn't have cracked the Top 10, but as I said previously, this year's albums weren't quite as strong as 2002. Even with that being said, Stephan Jenkins managed to put together one of the catchiest - albeit predictable - albums of the year. The absence of former guitarist/songwriter Kevin Cadogan is obvious from the beginning, with the majority of the songs being more "Semi-Charmed Life" than "Graduate".
Standout Track: Palm Reader


9. Brand New 'Deja Entendu'
- Along with Vendetta Red, BN get to be placed in the "screamo that doesn't suck" category. Talk about a band making huge strides from one album to the next. This disc is a far cry from what they were doing on 'My Favorite Weapon'. There's no wonder why they recently got a reported $1,000,000 to sign with Dreamworks. Get on the bandwagon now, kids.
Standout Track: The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot


10. Blink 182 'Blink 182'
- I've never been particularly impressed with anything these guys released in the past. Don't get me wrong, their songs were always catchy and a lot of fun, but certainly nothing I would write home about. That all changed with this, their sixth studio album, mainly because there are dynamics to the songwriting that were simply just never there before. I guess this is growing up.
Standout Track: I Miss You


11. The Ataris 'So Long Astoria'
- Can you hear that? It's the 'hardcore' Ataris fans screaming and yelling about how they sold out. I have three words for them: Blah, Blah, Blah. Similar to Blink 182, all of their earlier albums were fun, but the songs didn't have very much substance to them. Don't be fooled by "Boys of Summer", there are 13 quality original tracks that will keep you bouncing around the room all day.
Standout Track: The Saddest Song


12. Pete Yorn 'Day I Forgot'
- When is being number 12 on a list not all that impressive? When your last album was number 1. However, this placement really speaks more about how incredible 'musicforthemorningafter' was as opposed to anything negative about 'Day I Forgot'. If you enjoyed the first record, be sure to pick this one up if you haven't already.
Standout Track: Man In Uniform


13. Travis '12 Memories'
- Just like Pete Yorn, Travis drops from being No. 2 down to this spot. And again just like Yorn's album this spot speaks volumes about how great 'The Invisible Band' was. Here the boys of Travis still do what they do best: craft catchy, complex pop songs. There's a bounce to even the darker songs. Quality.
Standout Track: Somewhere Else


14. Something Corporate 'North'
- What would a Top 20 list be without a little pop-punk-emo? The SoCo kids try a bit too hard to be 'deep' at times, but otherwise this is a very solid effort. And i'm sure someday a punk rock guy will get the girl.
Standout Track: Down


15. Dashboard Confessional 'A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar'
- Finally we get to hear a true "full band" Dashboard record and it was well worth the wait. I could've never pictured Chris Carraba releasing this album three years ago, but this just goes to show how far along he has brought this project. You might end up hating women after a listen or two (no matter if you're a guy or a girl), but it'll be worth it just to hear the most dynamic DC disc yet.
Standout Track: Bend and Not Break


16. Hootie and the Blowfish 'Hootie and the Blowfish'
- As long as they release albums, there will be a spot on my Top 20 for Hootie. What can I say? I'm a fan and always will be. Even after all these years, they can still put together a pop song with the best of em.
Standout Track: Space


17. Sarah McLachlan 'Afterglow'
- What a great way to come back from a six year hiatus. All Sarah has ever done is put out great records, but this is pretty damn close to being her best to date. That's saying a lot for someone who has released as much great music as she has, but this is just plaid solid.
Standout Track: Train Wreck


18. Fuel 'Natural Selection'
- I'm starting to think Fuel keeps making the same record over and over. Okay, that's too harsh, because it is a solid disc, but after three albums it doesn't seem like they've gotten all that far. Lead singer Brett Scallions sounds better than ever with new found range.
Standout Track: These Things


19. Train 'My Private Nation'
- As members of the band keep getting booted (first it was guitarist Rob Hotchkiss and then bassist Charlie Colin), Train is starting to sound -- and look -- like the Pat Monahan show. Change is almost always a good thing for bands, but this train is headed in the wrong direction.
Standout Track: All American Girl


20. Maroon 5 'Songs About Jane'
- The M5 guys continue a great tradition of the number 20 spot, following in the steps of Coldplay and Jimmy Eat World. You should pick up this album if only because they are among such great company here. Maroon 5 really has come a long way. Just listen to their first album (they were known as Kara's Flowers) and the difference is absolutely mind blowing.
Standout Track: She Will Be Loved


Top 20 of 2002

1. Bruce Springsteen 'The Rising'
2. Audioslave 'Audioslave'
3. Our Lady Peace 'Gravity'
4. Phantom Planet 'The Guest'
5. Bleu 'Redhead'
6. Ryan Adams 'Demolition'
7. Joseph Arthur 'Redemption's Son'
8. Foo Fighters 'One By One'
9. Counting Crows 'Hard Candy'
10. The Juliana Theory 'Love'
11. Goo Goo Dolls 'Gutterflower'
12. Rhett Miller 'The Instigator'
13. Something Corporate 'Leaving Through the Window'
14. Good Charlotte 'The Young and the Hopeless'
15. Matchbox Twenty 'More Than You Think You Are'
16. Tori Amos 'Scarlet's Walk'
17. Ben Folds 'Ben Folds Live'
18. Riddlin' Kids 'Hurry Up and Wait'
19. Chevelle 'Wonder What's Next'
20. Coldplay 'A Rush of Blood to the Head'


Top 20 of 2001
1. Pete Yorn 'musicforthemorningafter'
2. Travis 'The Invisible Band'
3. Better Than Ezra 'Closer'
4. Ben Folds 'Rockin the Suburbs'
5. John Mayer 'Room for Squares'
6. Jude 'King of Yesterday'
7. Ryan Adams 'Gold'
8. Tenacious D 'Tenacious D'
9. Flickerstick 'Welcoming Home the Astronauts'
10. Starsailor 'Love is Here'
11. Our Lady Peace 'Spiritual Machines'
12. Star64 'You May Be Beautiful'
13. Cousin Kevin 'Coming Back From Yesterday'
14. Remy Zero 'The Golden Hum'
15. Train 'Drops of Jupiter'
16. Something Corporate 'Audio Boxer EP'
17. American Hi-Fi 'American Hi-Fi'
18. Matthew Jay 'Draw'
19. Dashboard Confessional 'Places You Have Come to Fear the Most'
20. Jimmy Eat World 'Bleed American'

:: Ryan 4:21 AM [+] ::
...