Top 100: 60 - 51

This is the homestretch (not really, but it makes me feel better) and we’re getting close to the bottom half. My list is starting to make more sense (and scaring me as my albums are starting to resemble CroutonBoy’s list… should I be worried about that?)

Since I am very behind on my Top 100 Albums List (most, if not all, of my blogmigos have already finished theirs), I’ll be giving you a 2-fer each day from here on out. So now you get #’s 60 – 51 and shortly after, #’s 50 – 41.

Anyway, here we go...


60 – Blood Sugar Sex Majix by Red Hot Chili Peppers. I never really liked RHCP… but then I started dating my wife, who loved them (along with Nine Inch Nails) in college. She had this CD and left it at my place one nigh- uh, day and I listened to it. Wow. It totally changed my mind about them as a band. After that I ‘permanently borrowed’ the disk when she graduated (she was a year ahead of me) but she "got it back" after we got married. Favorite song: “Funky Monks”


59 – Hell Freezes Over by The Eagles. This disc reminds me of college and the first few months of my dating a particular woman, a woman that would become my wife. In fact, Love Will Keep Us Alive is “our” song. Favorite Song: “Love Will Keep Us Alive”


58 –Sinatra at the Sands by Frank Sinatra. It’s Sinatra baby! This album perfectly catches Sinatra in concert, including the dialog between sets and the charismatic performer that Sinatra was. Favorite song: “It Was a Very Good Year”


57 – Elvis' 30 #1 Hits by Elvis Presley. There's a reason I've been to Graceland twice; he's the King. This selection was hard, as I have a plethora of Elvis albums; Elvis' Gospel album, his #1 Hits, his #2 Hits, The Sun Years, etc, so I had to disobey my Greatest Hits compilation rule and choose this one, mainly for the fact that I love every damn song on it, having said that, I still have a favorite, and it’s my all-time favorite Elvis song. Favorite Song: “Kentucky Rain”


56 – Fashion Nugget by Cake. Cake is hit or miss with me. Sometimes I like them, sometimes I don’t. This album falls into the like column… the “like a lot” column at that. It’s rockin’, it’s rollin’, and it’s got an excellent remake of a much-overplayed disco song… that is my Favorite Song: “I Will Survive”


55 – Pomegranate / Electrique Plummagram by Poi Dog Pondering. If you're outside of Chicago you've probably never heard of them. They're a local band with a HUGE (and I mean gargantuan) fan base in the Windy City. There’s a reason there are two albums here; Pomegranate is one of their most commercially successful albums (and my favorite), but Electrique is a re-mix version of Pomegranate; and they both bring it. Some don’t consider this (these) their best albums, but I do. Favorite Song(s): “Diamonds And Buttermilk” (Original version) & “Diamonds And Buttermilk” (Matt Warren Remix). Same song but with completely different sounds.


54 – Blues Traveler by Blues Traveler. Their first album is also their best. This was way before they sold out with 'Four' and quit playing for the masses and started playing for the money. Favorite Song: “Sweet Talking Hippie”


53 – Sticky Fingers by The Rolling Stones. I love the Stones (granted; not as much as the Beatles, but pretty damn close) and this is the first appearance on my list (see the next one for another, and I will give a spoiler that there’s another one way-down the list). Favorite Song: “Sister Morphine”


52 – Beggar's Banquet by The Rolling Stones. Again, this is a great album. Favorite Song: “Sympathy for the Devil”


51 – Catch-all by Swag. Small little band made up of people from Wilco, The Mavericks, and Cheap Trick. The band started-up few years ago on the Mavericks tour bus. The short album gives minutes of honest-to-goodness pure power pop goodie from what can best be described as an underground supergroup. Did you know? If you look at the top right corner, you'll see a small band of gold. It's Robert Reynolds (of the Mavericks) wedding ring from his former marriage to country singer Trisha Yearwood. Favorite Song: “Please Don’t Tell”

Stay tuned, #'s 50 - 41 are forthcoming.

101 - 91, 90 - 81, 80 - 71 and 70 -61.

Random Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon

It’s back. After a brief respite, Random Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon is back…

• My Top 100 Album list is on hiatus this week due to time constraints.
• Oh joy; American Idol auditions are beginning again… (Yes, that was sarcasm…)
• Here’s the winner of the 2006 “Dumbest Fuc*** Law I’ve Ever Seen in my Life” Award; a Minnesota massage therapist could lose her state license for having sexual relations with a former client within a two year period; apparently they’re ignoring the fact that the former client is her husband.
• My troll-battling days are over.
• What the hell is going on in Minnesota??? Read another story from the land of lakes HERE.
• Army World?
• In response to some emails I’ve received from some of my blogmigos. I have been pre-occupied lately as I’m going through some personal, work-related issues (that aren’t my fault) right now. Hopefully, they’ll be resolved soon without loss of job.
• Football season is approaching… yay!
• How would you like to explain this accident to the ER Doc? Well, I was riding along on my watercraft when all of a sudden; this sea monster leaps up, knocks me off my jetski and tries to force me off his turf…
• Saw “Munich” the other night; not Spielberg’s best, nor his worst. It was… meh.
• Sarah asked for help with this, so I’ll throw it out there as well. Head on over to Parentopia and help them come up with a new slogan…
• The Peanut Butter & The Jelly start pre-school in 2 weeks. Where does the time go???
• After 18 weeks, I’m still in First Place in my Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league… whouda thunk it?
• The St. Louis Cardinals are starting to give me the cold sweats whenever I watch their games...
• I think the McCartney divorce saga is gonna get a lot uglier before it’s all over...
• I think Maurice Clarett has finally gone off the deep end...
• Here's what some of my blogmigos are posting about: CroutonBoy is waxing poetic about spoons, MetroDad is talking randomly, Queen of Spain is pissed at Crayola and Lumpyheadsmom is (among other things) extolling the virtues of National Corndog Day .
• Here are some of the recent search phrases that have brought people to my little corner of the blogosphere: “riverside perionatal”, “Kemp Blog”, “mix master music”, “humor fatherhood blog”, “sahd”, “thunder bay lake superior wrecks”, “twins fanning conjoined Chicago”, “cardinal sunglasses”, “top 10 perspectives humor”, “the wiggles are evil” (hard to argue against this one)
• Today’s gratuitous (and superfluous) attempt for the ‘craziest word or phrase used in a blatant attempt to trick people into visiting my site when they type it into Google’is: “Salma Hayek Naked ”
• Today’s gratuitous blog plug is: The Whited News
• Today's mental iPod song of the day is “Eve of Destruction” by P.F. Sloan, as sung by Barry McGuire.

The eastern world it is explodin',
violence flarin', bullets loadin',
you're old enough to kill but not for votin',
you don't believe in war, what's that gun you're totin',
and even the Jordan river has bodies floatin',
but you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

Don't you understand, what I'm trying to say?
Can't you see the fear that I'm feeling today?
If the button is pushed, there's no running away,
There'll be noone to save with the world in a grave,
take a look around you, boy, it's bound to scare you, boy,
but you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

Yeah, my blood's so mad, feels like coagulatin',
I'm sittin' here, just contemplatin',
I can't twist the truth, it knows no regulation,
handful of Senators don't pass legislation,
and marches alone can't bring integration,
when human respect is disintegratin',
this whole crazy world is just too frustratin',
and you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

Think of all the hate there is in Red China!
Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama!
Ah, you may leave here, for four days in space,
but when you return, it's the same old place,
the poundin' of the drums, the pride and disgrace,
you can bury your dead, but don't leave a trace,
hate your next-door-neighbour, but don't forget to say grace,
and you tell me over and over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

Idiots Need Not Apply

Wanted to share with all of you (since he had a problem with me giving out his email address) an email from William Freed. Click on the image to see it better.

I figure I’ll continue to post his emails and email address (wwfried@hotmail.com) until he stops.

Is that immature of me?

Top 100: 70 - 61

A Note: I've been getting some interesting feedback from my list so far (some positive, more of it negative) to the extent that I'm saying this; I'm not looking to make people like my taste in music as my taste can best be described as eclectic (which is one reason I am so big onto Soundtracks and why I'm allowing them on this list) and know that this causes some people frustration as they then can't 'label' me as a "Country fan", "Alternative fan", "Rock 'n' Roll fan" and so on...

The frustration has come across in some of the emails I've received (they dont have the gall to put them into the comments) and I now feel complied to say this to those critics; I refuse to apologize for my taste in music. This was supposed to be a fun excercise, but it seems to be steering vastly far away from that, to the point that I am unsure if I will continue this list and at the same time reinforcing my thoughts I've had about folding my blog all-together as my readership has dwindled and my comments have fallen off the face of the earth. But I'm starting to get preachy andthis post is starting to feel like a friggin' "Very Special Episode" post... so on with the countdown...


70 – The Rat Pack Live at the Sands by The Rat Pack. What can I say, I love ‘em all as you’ll see as this list continues. I’m not sure where my love of Sinatra, et al came from, but it’s there, and this album catches it perfectly with the selection of songs and the dialog between the three of them. This is only the 2nd official release of Rat Pack material (released immediately after the Oceans 11 remake came out) and if you like the Rat Pack, I suggest you pick this one up, you won’t be disappointed.


69 – Head Soundtrack by The Monkees . The soundtrack from their one and only film and years ahead of its time. Favorite Song: “The Porpoise Song”


68 – Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome by Parliament. I like funk, what can I say? And these guys are funk-masters extraordinaire.


67 – Eye to the Telescope by KT Tunstall. One of the best (recent) albums I've heard in years. The fact I discovered her via a free iTunes video of her performance on The Today Show worries me a little… but what can you do? She's good. Favorite Song: “Suddenly I See”


66 – Excitable Boy by Warren Zevon. He was a master, but you have to be in a mood for him. Favorite Song: I know it’s trite to mark this as my favorite, but it is; “Werewolves of London”


65 – Desperado Soundtrack by Various Artists. A very good album with some great music in the mariachi style. Listen to "Quedate Aqui" by Salma Hayak, it’s sexier than Marilyn Monroe's 'Happy Birthday' ditty. Give it a little listen (hopefully, if the site is working today) HERE. Favorite Song: “Strange Face of Love” by Tito & Tarantula


64 – Our Side of the Story by Last Gentlemen. Again! My brother met these guys in concert at U of I while he was a DJ (see #71) and they gave him a few copies of this album and he, as always, gave one to me. All I can say is 'wow'. Can best be described as a mix of punk and alternative with some classic rock thrown in for good measure. Good luck trying to find this album… though I have found a place to download it if you want... for free... and legal.


63 – Burnin’ by Bob Marley & The Wailers. The man. The doobie. The legend. Favorite Song: “Get Up, Stand Up”


62 – Hot House by Arturo Sandoval. One word can describe Sandoval and his music; “¡Ululación!” A bit of a flashback to the trumpet styling of a Dizzy Gilespie, Sandoval blends his Cuban roots into his jazz teachings and the result is an infusion of Latin, jazz and funk. This is one of his later albums (released in 1998), and you can tell that he's still experimenting with his playing... and it still works. Favorite Song: “Funky Cha-Cha”


61 – Mermaid Avenue by Billy Bragg & Wilco. As you’ll soon start to notice, I'm a HUGE fan of Wilco as they will be making multiple appearances on this list. I found this album the same time I found Wilco's double-album "Being There" and it doesn’t disappoint as they take on the song catalog of Woody Guthrie. Favorite Song: “At My Window Sad And Lonely”

Top 100: 80 - 71

What time is it- 5 AM?? Ugh... where's my coffee?? We're out? We only have DeCaf?? DeCaf?? I mean, really, what's the point?? I know I bought real coffee... where is it... where... AHA! Here it is... aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh...

Anyway, while I "patiently" wait for the coffee, here's another part of my list


80 – (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis I know… it’s their most-commercial album and, because of that, a bit of a sell-out. But it’s still my favorite from the Fighting Brothers. Despite Liam and Noah’s objections, the album is full of Beatles-heavy influences and harmonies. Favorite Song: “Don’t Look Back in Anger”


79 – Exile in Guyville by Liz Phair. I’m not a huge fan of Liz, I can take her or leave her, but this is a phenomenal album with some really rockin’ tunes. And she’s easy to look at, which always helps.


78 – Come Away with Me by Norah Jones. She is a singer to be reckoned with as her voice is nearly-flawless, her style is natural and she draws favorable comparisons with Billy Holiday… and did you know that her father is sitar-master Ravi Shankar? This one is a family-favorite on lazy Sunday afternoon’s… calm, cool, and collected. Favorite Song: “I Don’t Know Why”


77 – Curtain Call by Eminem. He’s everything that Vanilla Ice wanted to be but failed spectacularly at. Sure, this is called a greatest hits compilation, but whenever new songs are included, three on this album, it loses it’s ‘GH’ label… at least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.


76 – Pulp Fiction Soundtrack. Another college album with personal connections as well as HoMu and I walked into our wedding to Misirlou (this was in 1997, before everyone else started doing it and before Black Eyed Peas sampled it) Not as good as another QT-directed film’s soundtrack, but darn close. “Flowers on the Wall”


75 - Reservoir Dogs Soundtrack. What can I say? Quentin Tarantino knows how to put together a soundtrack album better than anyone else. Between the Steven Wright monologs and the “Madonna Speech” interwoven between the songs, it’s a stockpile of classic non-disco songs from the 70’s. Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right always struck a chord with me. And the Madonna speech? I had it down pat. Almost every time we went to a bar, one of my friends would ask me to do the speech, and, being a ham, I always obliged. Favorite song: “Stuck in the Middle with You” (ear-cutting scene memories included)


74 – Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by Smashing Pumpkins. I’m not a fan, per se of the Pumpkins, but something about this album spoke to me. Favorite song: “1979”


73 – License to Ill by Beastie Boys. How can you not like this album? Favorite Song: “Fight for your Right to Party”


72 – Madman Across the Water by Elton John. One of his smaller, lesser-known albums, but still my favorite as it showcases Elton and Bernie's more soulful side. Favorite Song: “Indian Sunset”










71 – Goodbye Jumbo by World Party. A great album. While at Illinois, my brother worked as a DJ at a “Chambana,” radio station, and constantly received free CD’s; this was one of them. He got 2 copies of this disk and gave one to me in the hopes that it would transition me from the ‘pop-bubblegum’ crap of my youth to a purveyor of fine musical taste. He succeeded. Funky, bluesy, rockin and mellow, it’s a great album that now, unfortunately, is very hard to find. Favorite Song: “When the Rainbow Comes”

See 101 - 91 and 90 - 81 to get an idea of where I'm coming from with my musical tastes.

Yes...

... sometimes my humor is sophomoric.

I'm Back

I am back.

I will resume the Top 100 Album countdown later this week, right now I am typing a post for Family Vacation 2006 Part Two: “Trip to the Land of No-road signs” that unfortunately did not include a visit to Sarah (didn’t have the time with our driving schedule – yes, we drove to Washington DC from Chicago – and her escape to BlogHer) but included some always-exceptional landmarks, some beautiful scenery, and some more-than-I-needed moronic driving.

Plus I'll tell you why I am the worst best friend in the entire history of friendship...

Stay tuned…

Here’s a picture to whet your appetite…

Editor's Note: No pictures right now. Why you ask? Because Blogger bites it!

Top 100: 90 - 81

And the hits just keep on coming...


90 – Too High to Die by Meat Puppets I know, I know, I know. Serious fans of theirs say this was their weakest album… I disagree. It’s full of some solid rock-out songs, some melodious melodies (wow, I don’t think you can do that to the English language) and some much-needed angst-anthems. Favorite Song: “Evil Love”


89 – Make Believe by Weezer. Not a huge Weezer fan, but I got this album for one of my nephews and then downloaded it onto my iPod. The first time I listened to it I found myself liking it… a lot (except for the overplayed ‘Beverly Hills’) Even if you think their earlier stuff was just this side of pop bubblegum, I strongly suggest you give this one a try. Favorite Song: “This is Such a Pity”


88 – Lola versus Powerman and the Money-Go-Round by The Kinks. A powerful album with some beautifully poetic songs that came amid a five-year, six-album burst that helped set them apart from other groups of the day. Favorite Song: “Lola”


87 – Standards by Ray Charles. One word can sum this album up; wow. Ray does his take on some of the classic songs of the past, and nails it. Favorite Song: “Georgia on my Mind”


86 – Greatest Hits Volume 1 and 2 by Billy Joel. This is one of those strange greatest hits albums in the way that it's more like a regular album like The Beatles Blue and Red albums, which, while technically were GH compilations, had a life all their own. Same thing with this one. And as I said earlier (I think), if it has one or two new songs on it, the GH’s label is not totally relevant. Favorite song(s): Disc 1- “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” Disc 2- “Goodnight Saigon”


85 – Mugzy’s Move by Royal Crown Revue. You can take your Cherry Poppin’ Daddies and your Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, I’ll take Royal Crown Revue. Again, like a lot of others on this list, my brother introduced me to them. They never enjoyed the success of the other two bands which is a shame as they were definitely the more original of the three. Some of the songs on this album were on their Indie Label debut but were given the “real” producing treatment here. If you like swing music with a rock n roll attitude, and have enjoyed CPD and BBVD, then give RCR a try. Favorite Song: “Zip Gun Bop”


84 – Flood by They Might Be Giants. Years and years before they sold out with “Malcolm in the Middle” and The Disney Channel they released this incredible album. While most everyone knows “Istanbul” and “Birdhouse in Your Mind”, I suggest you listen to the other catchy sing-along songs on the album in order to get a real feel for this band. Favorite Song: “Lucky Ball and Chain”


83 – Achtung Baby by U2. Others will say The Joshua Tree was their best, others would say Zooropa. I don’t care about their best, I care about my favorite U2 album… and this is it. Long before Bono forgot that he’s a singer and NOT a worldhealer, the band made this album and it rocks. Hint: If you like the song ‘One” from this album, listen to Mary J. Blige’s version; it blows the U2 version off the map. Favorite Song: “Mysterious Ways”


82 – Abraxas by Santana. I'm sure almost everyone knows two of the songs from this album; arguable Santana's most famous "classic" songs: "Oye Como Va" and "Black Magic Woman", but what they may not know is that they were both on the same album, and the entire thing is a masterpiece. I had this CD in college but it was stolen one night during a party, so I had to buy a new one a few years ago. Still a classic. Favorite song: “Se a Cabo” (To Cabo)


81 – August and Everything After by Counting Crows. Another album from my college days (like most of them on here are). Ignore Mr. Jones as you’ve probably heard I a gazillion times on the radio and click over to one of the other tracks and you’ll find an exceptional album with some truly memorable lyrics. Favorite Song: “Rain King”

It continues...

I will be out of town for the next five days (Washington DC and then West Virginia) so you'll all have to wait until next Monday for the net installment of Kemp's Top 100 Albums.

I know it will be hard, but be strong... I'll be back before you know it.

Top 100: 101 - 91

It’s time.

After days and days of analyzing, postulating, calculating and hypothesizing…

Which was then followed by more re-analyzing, re-postulating, re-calculating and re-hypothesizing…

Which was then followed by even more re-analyzing, re-postulating, re-calculating and re-hypothesizing… I have done it.

Kemp’s Top 100 Albums.

You may all murmur amongst yourselves in anticipation of this grandiose event.

Let me throw out a few ground rules.

On rare occasions I accepted Greatest Hits compilations (it’s my list, so, conceivably, I could do what I wanted…)

I allowed soundtracks. If I didn’t allow soundtracks, that would have negated a few albums that I love and listen to A LOT.

I had to own the album or have the entire album on my iPod.

There are no rules. This was meant to be a fun exercise… as such, some of my favorite albums may not be others people’s idea of a favorite, or even good, album… and that’s my prerogative (No, you won’t be seeing any Bobby “Fisticuffs are my life” Brown on my list… nor his wife, Whitney “What happened to me and my career” Houston.

What you will see is Pearl Jam, The Beatles, The Kinks, Johnny Cash, Elvis and Poi Dog Pondering.

I started out with over 500 albums on my list and have now pared it down to 101 (always the overachiever am I…)

So without further ado…

The countdown begins with numbers 101 - 91… right now! [Whack!!… crash! Tingle… tingle… tingle….]

Damn it, that’s the last time I buy a gong off e-bay… ok, let’s try this again with my gas-powered fanfare machine…

The countdown starts… right now…[sputter, sputter,sputter…]

…

Right now…[sputter...wheeze...sputter...]

…

Son of a bi—

Right now! [Whoosh! Dum de de dum… dum dum dum dem de de dum… Gong!!]


101 – He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince. Come on now… Who can ignore this camp classic? The rap is child-like, the rhythms routine and the lyrics overflow with XX, but it's still catchy in a pop-bubblegum kind of way. Favorite Song: “Parent’s Just Don’t Understand”


100 – Songs from the Big Chair by Tears for Fears. One of those 80’s album that everyone owned. From the sappy “Head over Heels” to the world-domination anthem (if it were a group of 'Up with People') “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”, this album was, and still is for me, one that instantly beams me back to the 1980’s. Favorite Song: “Shout”


99 – No Need to Argue by The Cranberries. This was the album from this Irish band. More emotionally raw and stronger than their first album (which missed being on this list by a smidge) it made some fans of their first album (like my friends Carrie and Angela) come to have feelings of derision for the group. I didn’t fall into that trap and found it to be 100-times better. Favorite Song: “Zombie”


98 - Ten by Pearl Jam. Now, I’m not a huge grunge fan, but the first time I heard this album way back when, I instantly fell in love with it. Eddie and the boys have never sounded better. While at times they band had an ego-problem, they still dished out some mighty-fine tunes. Favorite song: “Even Flow”


97 – Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder. Wonder is a phenomenal talent, and that talent is embodied with this album, which, as the title suggests, deal with things that are close and personal to Wonder and his life. Favorite Song: “Isn’t She Lovely”


96 - Blue Train by John Coltrane. As C-boy said, I could probably do a separate list with Jazz and Blues. One of John C’s best, he piques the interest of everyone who listens to this album. Odds are, you’ll see more of Mr. Coltrane before this list is done. Favorite song: “Blue Train”


95 – Les Misérables by Original Broadway Cast. Yes… it's a Broadway musical. No, I'm not gay (not that there's anything wrong with that), I just really, really like this show and the album. The music and singing are superb and emotional and tell the story, originally written by Victor Hugo, so well. Favorite Song: “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables”


94 - 3 years, 5 months & 2 days in the life of… by Arrested Development. The band was short-lived, but their tuneful blending of funk, rap and “southerness”, made this a great album that, unfortunately, the band couldn’t top. Favorite Song: “People Everyday”


93 – Citizen Steely Dan by Steely Dan. Yes, technically a Box Set, but not in the strict sense of the term. This set has every, single album that the band released before 1980 with each selection crossing every musical genres and forcing every listener to reflect. Favorite song: “East St. Louis Toodle-Do”


92 – Oranges and Lemons by XTC. A fantastic album with some very loud Beatle-ism’s. The band and this album never got as big as they should have, being drowned out by the band and album above them at #100. It’s a shame, as XTC was probably the better of the two bands. Favorite Song: “Mayor of Simpleton”


91 – Birth of the Cool by Miles Davis. Come on… do I really need to explain this one? The quintessential blues album has Miles in excellent and perfect form. Hint; you may see Mr. Davis on this list again. Favorite Song: “Budo”

We're off...