Fall, Glimmer, Sparkle and Fade

:: Saturday, February 28, 2004 ::

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 [+] ::
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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 [+] ::
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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 [+] ::
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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 [+] ::
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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 [+] ::
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