Blog-tastic!

If no one else has thought of that phrase, feel free to use it. I say that because I am almost sure it is one of the most used in blogging. Any way...

Welcome to my blog where I discuss pop music and other genres. I mean that too! I love pop music. But just because I like pop music doesn't mean I don't like other types. (Also...to clarify. When I say Pop music I mean "Pop" music. Bubblegum pop.)
So at the suggestion of my friend The Greg, I'd like to share the first of what will be several or perhaps many lists. These lists will help you get to know me better as a musician/music fan.

This first list is a list of songs that blew me away. They will be in no particular order. For me to say which song I prefer over another; well that would probably kill me. (this is not the whole list, just the most significant picks)
-Once again in no order: straight from my playlist of the same name-

Breaking Benjamin "So Cold"
This band can write! This song builds and builds and unlike a lot of songs in the modern rock genre, it doesn't lose the energy. From verse to chorus. And then if that weren't enough, there's a guitar solo. Now that...I did not expect to hear. I feel that it was one of the first in a slew of modern rock songs that brought back the guitar solo to rock.

John Legend "Ordinary People"
Before I'd heard this song, I had heard a lot about John Legend. All good, mind you. I was riding to a band practice when I heard this song. I'd never heard the song, but somehow I knew it was by John Legend. I'm a fan of true soul songwriting. And this song delivers on so many levels. And then on top of all of that, Legend delivers one of the most memorable vocal performances of the genre. I always wanted to sing this song, and finally got the chance to my last semester of school. It brought me right back to sitting in that car driving to band practice.

Kelly Clarkson "Since U been Gone"
This song revamped Max Martin's career and created a style of production and brought back chick rock(or at least made it cool again). Drum machine and a single guitar for the verse leads into full on rock band assault and live drums in the chorus. This is a formula that Martin and Dr. Luke have used since. They took the path that The Matrix laid on Avril Lavinge's "Let Go" and Hillary Duff's "Metamorphosis" and ran with it. Five years, they're still doing it. Don't believe me? Listen to Pink's latest album....Kelly's latest.

Linkin Park "What I've done"
I still say to date, this is their best written song. This sound fits them better. This song; this album is a much more mature sounding band. They sound more convincing. On their earlier albums, they flirted with the concept(Crawling, Easier to Run), but it took a true genius (Rick Rubin) to bring it out of them. To be honest another song that blew me away was "Bleed it out" and for the same reason. It wasn't that over distorted power chord driven sound that they beat to death on their first two albums. Real chords. Different strings. I like!

Nelly Furtado "Say it right"
The first time I heard this song was in a strip club. I was hooked. I didn't even pay attention to the girls anymore. You take one of the day's most gifted singer/songwriters and pair her with one of the more creative producers in pop music and you get song that is as catchy as it is haunting. "You should know, this space is holy. Do you really want to go?" The first time I actually heard that last verse I got chills.

Meg & Dia "Lessons in New Jersey"
This is one of the lesser known acts on this list depending on what you listen to. The first version I heard of this was acoustic and the rhythm part is what got me. A nice mix of funk style strumming with a rock sensibility. This is one of the most interesting rhythm parts I've heard in a while. What I like the most about it is that it doesn't have to go to an odd time signature to sound sporadic. It does this all in the confines of 4/4. And the story's not bad either. I love the line "Put that guitar down, put that guitar down." A perfect example of how the way you sing a line can make it stick.

Jeff Buckley "Last goodbye"
This song says everything you could ever need to say to someone you are leaving. I maintain that this IS one of the greatest songs ever written. This might seem to go against my grain, and I can acknowledge that. There is no real chorus or hook in this song. But there in lies it's beauty. With no repetition it gets in all of its message. "Was there a voice unkind in the back of your mind saying maybe you didn't know him at all?"

Slipknot "Duality"
This hook kills! Hands down, etc! This is why Slipknot was at the top of the metal heap upon this release. These guys can write and don't sacrifice their playing to do so. End of story.

to round out the bit of this list...

Madonna "What it feels like for a girl"
Metallica "Day that never comes"
Lisa Loeb "I do"
Our Lady Peace "Clumsy"
JoJo "Too Little too late"
Korn "It's on"
Fuzzbubble "Ordinary"
Injected "Faithless"
Antimateria "Paradise"
The Mars Volta "The Widow"
Lighthouse Family "Ocean Drive"
Kevin Rudolf "Let it rock"
Avril Lavigne "Anything but ordinary"
Jordin Sparks "One Step at a time"
Silverchair "Tomorrow"
Local H "Bound for the floor"
Mad at Gravity "Walk Away"
Matt Nathanson "More than this"
A Perfect Circle "Judith"
Paramore "Crushcrushcrush"
Revis "Caught in the rain"
Sara Bareilles "Gravity"

This is odd

This is my first post in my new music blog.
I'm 24, soon to be 25. I love music, and that's all you need to know. I am open to any and all genres of music. That said....I don't like everything. More posts to come!