other than baseball...

Being a blog about baseball and baseball cards, not many other topics come up around here. With baseball being over (please come back soon!) and baseball cards taking a small back seat (due to lack of releases until 2012 series 1 and playing through The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim), maybe it's time for something different. Not a change in the blog mind you, just a different post.

Music!

I haven't discussed music much on here. I'm not sure what everyone else is into but I've decided to make a top five (well, four) list of the best albums of the year. In my opinion of course.

Five- Well, I was going to make a top five list but I only had four. About 8 years ago I bought many many albums in a year but that has slowed down a considerable amount due to the lack of solid albums coming out. Maybe its my cynical nature in my old age but music sure isn't what it used to be. I've discovered a ton of great music from the 60's through the 80's in the past 10 years and I couldn't be happier with that. We listen to Sirius/XM satellite radio at work, so thats how I hear some of this stuff.


Four:

Foster the People- Torches. Released 05/23. This is a weird album. Its very electronic heavy, so there isn't too much crazy guitar work or anything but its really catchy. They released the song 'Pumped Up Kicks' to radio, which I'm sure you may have heard. A good song but what really caught me was 'Helena Beat'. I don't know why but I can't stop listening to it. Catchy, good beat and a little dance-y (which I don't mind). Be wary, the singer has a higher voice than Geddy Lee of Rush, so there's that (I love Rush, btw).


Three:

The Joy Formidable- The Big Roar. Released 01/24. I heard one song on the radio (Whirring) and it hooked me instantly. I have a thing for female lead singers and love a great band with one. This is no exception. This is a great rock album, through and through. No fancy guitar solos, not much on the electronics, just three people rocking it out but good. Not heavy metal or punk or something like that, so its not crazy. A great listen all the way through.


Two:

Foo Fighters- Wasting Light. Released 04/12. The Foo Fighters have been around for some time now. After forming in 1995 from the ashes of Nirvana, they have released 7 (including this one) albums. Dave Grohl wrote, played, produced and basically did the entire first album himself. After that, he hired a band so they could tour and continue making albums. This album is a very strong release from them and dare I say it's in their top three best. Great rock and roll as usual from Dave and the crew and personally they have never disappointed. Every album is a solid release but some stand out more than others, this is one of them. The song 'Rope' was the first single to radio and the song 'Walk' was used for the closing credits of the movie Thor. The radio plays these two songs plus 'One of These Days', so maybe you've heard at least one of them. The song 'White Limo' is probably my favorite and definitely rocks the hardest of all the songs on the album. The video is cool too with them driving around in a limo, being driven by Lemmy from Motorhead. Good stuff. The album even came with a piece of the analogue tape they used to record the album on. Neat!


One:

Florence and the Machine- Ceremonials. Released 10/28. Of the four albums on this list, this is both the newest release and the newest for me. I heard the two radio singles (Shake it Out and What the Water Gave Me) and thought they were good so I decided to download it on iTunes. I was floored by how incredible this album is. The use of so many instruments (a harp!), layers of depth not heard in many albums and an incredible voice from a small, young woman, all adds up to a very interesting and unique experience. Some of the songs deal with ghosts, of the past I presume. Hauntingly beautiful. Listen to it if you want something different. You won't be disappointed.


Happy Thanksgiving everyone!