First concert of the year……..Girl Talk

Well trying to keep at least one of my three resolutions going, I am about to see my first show of the year in Austin, and I get to take Kristen with me. I think that in 7 years of marriage that Kristen and I have only gone to two shows, Tom Petty and the second was John Mayer. Not too bad, but I need to get her out more. Well, Friday’s show should open her up to a whole new experience in Girl Talk. Gregg Gillis is the mastermind behind Girl Talk. He is to some a “DJ”, but those that know he is a genius and a mash up artist. In his newest album All Day (which you can get for free here), he uses over 372 samples of various songs from rock, to hip-hop, to soul, to alternative. The way he puts all these samples together it forms an entirely new song . His songs and shows are high energy, just like he is when he gets on stage. If you ever get a chance to see him live, please go do so without thinking twice. This will be my second time seeing him, the first in a festival setting, so I am excited to see him in a small venue for this show, and I am really excited that Kristen is coming, don’t worry pics and video will capture her awesome dance moves.

To keep those of you updated on my other new years resolutions, for the golf one, well winter finally came to Central Texas, so I have not been able to play golf or even hit golf balls yet. So still working on that one. As of today, I think I may have found a place to take some guitar lessons. I am very excited about this and I will keep you posted on how this adventure goes. I am thinking it will be fun, but exhausting and frustrating at times, so let’s hope the teacher has some patience with me. I want to, like most things I try, I want to jump in with both feet, but I don’t think I will be able to play “I will follow you into the dark” by Death Cab for Cutie after the first lesson. Don’t worry, voice lessons aren’t next, I will torture Sloan and Kristen with my singing.

Well as I promised I will get to a few more albums this year, so I have had a busy weekend and week of listening to some new music. Here are a few albums I have listened to this week, with my thoughts about the album.

Mystery Jets-Serotonin
The first album up is Mystery Jets’ album Serotonin. I came across this album from reading another blog by Paul Shirley. (Check out the site flip collective for some great blogs) So, from him recommending me some music a few years back, I decided to give it a listen. This is the five piece English bands third studio album, it has got much acclaim since it’s release. This has been one of my favorite albums to listen to this week, and will be in rotation on my ipod for a while. Check out the single Flash a Hungry Smile.

Middle Class Rut- No Name No Color
This duo from Sacramento has been getting some air plan on XM radio for a few months, and after reading about the album I decided to give it a listen. I have to say after listening to them a few times they have an almost 90’s alternative feel to their music. This is their first full LP they have released and it sounds good. I will be interested to see what they do with their sophomore effort. Check out the song New Low.

Drive-By truckers- Big to do
Well, once again I find a band that is on the fence between alternative and alt-country. I have to say the Drive-By Truckers flirt with country a lot more than they do with rock. It took me convincing myself to listen to them, I have hear a lot of good things about them, but the country aspect is what kept me away for a long time. This is their 8th studio album and I have to say it isn’t too bad. There are some really good songs on the album. The one song that has stood out to me on the album is the song You Got Another with is one of their slow songs on the album.

Cake- Showroom of Compassion
Well, I am and always have been a Cake fan. I was actually excited to see they were coming out with a new album. I have to say, being a fan of their music, I was a little disappointed with this album. They have a few more slow songs on this album that I would have wanted, but the patend guitar and horns are still in the mix on this album. Check out the song Mustache Man (wasted) for some good old school Cake.

Cage The Elephant-Thank You Happy Birthday
Well this is the second album from the Bowling Green, Kentucky band that blew up the summer festival circuit last year. I really liked their first album, so I decided I wanted to listen to their sophomore effort. Well, I have to say this album fell far below their first album. I didn’t find too many songs off this album that I just had to listen to again. I feel they moved to far away from what made the first album good. The one song that has stuck out to me on this album is Aberdeen.

Free Energy-Stuck on Nothing
I am really starting to like Indie-Pop, or whatever you want to call it. Free Energy is a band from Philadelphia (I won’t hold that against them, unless they are Phillies fans), and they have a nice 70’s sound much like The Cars. They have been included in the Best Bands of 2010, and Stuck on Nothing was released to critical acclaim. I have to say, this album is awesome, and easily one of my favorite albums I have heard in a while. Every song seems to put you in a good mood. Check out the song Bang Pop.

Another New Year, and more resolutions, music, and a new start

Well, I haven’t finished strong with my blog this past year, I started out great, and fell behind at the end. With a new year also begins a new blog and incentives for me to be better at this whole thing. I am thinking of expanding a little and have tabs for concerts and albums. I guess just streamline this thing a little.

Well, as with most of the world I have made some New Year’s Resolutions. I try to keep them simple, and most of the time I forget them or they fall to the side like everyone’s usually do. This year I have decided to make three goals and stick to them. So here are my three resolutions:

1. Learn to play the guitar. (Kristen got me a guitar for my birthday and my goal is to be able
to do something other than playing a cord or two by the end of the year.)

2. Play golf/ hit golf balls once a week. ( I really like playing golf, and like most golfers I am
not that great at it, but I want to do that more often during the year.)

3. Go to a concert a month for the year. (This is probably my hardest and biggest resolution,
but I have concerts planned for January, February, and April. I need to find something for
March, and once the summer hits, I have my eyes on a few things……..Pearl Jam’s 20th
Anniversary Festival for one)

So, I have to say that I have had my ups and downs during the year, but overall it was a good year. I got to knock a few things of my life list, one being on stage with the Flaming Lips at a major rock show/Festival. I did break a 100 playing golf, and I have a great marriage to a very vibrant, dorky (at times), beautiful wife, now college coed. I also have a very amazing, funny, full of life daughter. I can’t ask for too much more than those two things.

I am sure some are wondering my concert schedule for the upcoming year and some albums I am excited to get. So here are some future ones coming out and my list of shows I am going to see in the next few months, also if you get a chance before it’s gone check out Wick-It the Instigator and his album the Brothers of Chico Dusty, an amazing mash up of the Black Keys Brothers album and Big Boi’s newest album. Hope everyone had a great Christmas and a very awesome New Year.

My concert calendar so far:
· Friday, Jan. 14th- Girltalk in Austin, Tx at Austin Music Hall
· Tuesday, Feb. 1st- Tokyo Police Club in Dallas, Tx at the Granada Theater
· March- Still looking for a show
· Friday, April 1st- Cold War Kids in Austin, TX at Stubbs BBQ

2011 anticipated Albums:
· January: Cage the Elephant, The Decembrists, Smith Westerns, Iron & Wine, Cold War
Kids, Cake, Pearl Jam-Live on Ten Legs
· February: Telekinesis, The Low Anthem, The Boxer Rebellion, Bright Eyes,
· March: Lupe Fiasco, R.E.M., Mountain Goats, Peter Bjorn and John,
· Re-release of Pearl Jam Vs. and Vitalogy

My anticipated albums for 2011:
· Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee Part 2
· Blakroc- Blakroc 2
· The Cool Kids- When Fish Ride Bicycls
· Fleet Foxes
· Franz Ferdinand
· Ben Harper and Relentless7- Give Til It’s Gone
· Santigold
· The Strokes
· Death Cab for Cutie
· Dr. Dre- Detox
· Foo Fighters
· Jay-Z & Kanye West- Watch The throne
· Jane’s Addiction
· My Morning Jacket
· Outkast
· The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
· Radiohead
· Wilco
· The Flaming Lips

Another year coming to a close

Well, another year coming to a close, and it’s been a great up and down roller coaster as usual. I have to be thankful that Kristen and I both have good jobs, and we have a healthy daughter. I got to go to some amazing shows over the year. ACL was amazing for the fact I got to meet the Flaming Lips and be on stage for a major festival show, but the one show that keeps standing out to me is The Hold Steady in Dallas. Sometimes you find yourself down and to me music is probably the most uplifting thing you can listen to, to get you up a little. It was the first time I ever went to a show by myself, and I couldn’t have picked a better band to see. The best thing about Craig Finn’s lyrics is he doesn’t sugar coat anything, he lets you know that you aren’t the only one that is having a hard time. It was the best medicine for that time for me. If you want to check out the Hold Steady, I recommend the album Boys and Girls in America.

Well, I do have two shows on deck for the New Year, Kristen and I are going to see Girl Talk in Austin in January, and yours truly won two tickets for Tokyo Police Club in Dallas in February. I am pumped about both; hopefully Kristen can get that day off too, so she can go with me. So I have a few things on deck for next year. I am hoping that the ups and downs of this year will just give all of us a better new year. We do get to have a small Christmas vacation and go to Houston for Baylor’s bowl game, one thing that we have been planning since we became bowl eligible, so Kristen and I have been looking forward to this, not only for a few months, but the five years I have worked for Baylor. Well I hope everyone has a great Christmas and a very happy and lucky new year.

Well I guess it’s time to do my top 30 albums of 2010. The Rolling Stone and Spin both released theirs this week, so to keep up with them I might as well do it too. Check out these albums, I don’t think you will be disappointed . So with that said here we go:

30. The Roots- How I got Over
29. Yeasayer-Odd Blood
28. Spoon- Transference
27. M.I.A.- Maya
26. Beach House-Teen Dream
25. Neil Young-Le Noise
24. Big Boi- Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
23. The Walkmen- Lisbon
22. Robert Plant- Band of Joy
21. Against Me!- White Crosses
20. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists- The Brutalist Bricks
19. Sleigh Bells- Treats
18. WAVVES- King of the Beach
17. Gorillaz- Plastic Beach
16. Cee Lo Green- The Lady Killer
15. Best Coast- Crazy For You
14. Kid Cudi- Man on the moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager
13. Tokyo Police Club- Champion
12. The Gaslight Anthem- American Slang
11. Drake- Thank Me Later
10. Kings of Leon- Come Around Sundown
9. Eminem- Recovery
8. The National- High Violet
7. The Dead Weather- Sea of Cowards
6. LCD Soundsystem- This is Happening
5. Vampire Weekend- Contra
4. The Hold Steady- Heaven is Whenever
3. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
2. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs
1. The Black Keys- Brothers

Good luck comes in pairs

Well, once again, it’s been a few weeks since I wrote a blog. I haven’t had much to write about, and we have been busy as usual. I had a great birthday and even better surprise present that Kristen got me, not only did she get me Pearl Jam- Backspacer on vinyl she also got me a guitar as well. I have always wanted to learn how to play the guitar, and now I have no excuses. It was a nice Thanksgiving Break for all of us, and we had a great Thanksgiving with a bunch of our friends over for food and drinks. I got some great gifts for my birthday, got an awesome book, Austin City Limits: 35 years in Photographs. For some reason I feel they have way more pictures than that book could hold. I got some new Adidas kicks, and a few other cool presents. I am very lucky.

Well to start off the week, and to shake the cobwebs out, I started off the week listening to the entire catalogue of Wilco and Dinosaur Jr. Sometimes you forget how great bands really are, and I always forget how much I love Dinosaur Jr. Also I hate to admit this, but Wilco is a new love for me. They have always been out there and I have listened to their stuff, but I really got to listen to them at work (where I do most of my music listening) and man they are an amazing band. Don’t worry I have listened to a few new albums. As of right now I am getting around and listening to Warpaint. They played at ACL this year and opened up an aftershow for Sonic Youth. It’s an all girl band and they are really good. Mostly slower stuff, much like a Sonic Youth type band.

Of course, most of you know, I am a hip-hop fan, so yes I have picked up Kanye West’s new album. I have been interested in it, ever since I read in Rolling Stone and Spin about the album and the unusually very high marks they gave the album. After a few listens it is very good, and I love the way he went very far out of the box making this album. The guests on the album range from indie-folk artist Bon Iver (one of my favs), to Jay-Z, to Kid Cudi, and the one person that I feel comes off the best in the song “Monster” Nicki Minaj. If she holds true she will be huge in the next year.

So to get to why my title of this entry is about good luck. Well to start off the past month, Kristen is going to try and go back to school here at Baylor and finish her degree. Last night we found out that she is officially able to go to Baylor starting this semester. On top of that good news, I constatantly try to enter every contest to win tickets to shows I really want to see. Well on top of her good news, the luck traveled down to me and I won two tickets to see Tokyo Police Club in the best venue in Dallas (the best venue I have seen a show in) the Granada Theater. If you get a chance to see a show there, please go, it is very intimate and you get to see great acts up close. So it was a good news day for us yesterday.

I am going to try my best to get this thing updated. I have a ton of music to write about. Check out Warpaint, Kanye West, Kid Cudi for this week. Also if you have not got the Black Keys album Brother, do so now. My pick for album of the year. Also reminds me, I will have my top albums of the year in the next few weeks.