JamesAsh.com

In my quest to trim down my iPhone playlist, here are more songs I can’t live without.

Dr. Dre feat. Eminem “Forgot About Dre”
“Y’all know me, still the same ol’ G.”  Dre kicks off a great song from a great album.  I used to listen to gangster rap in high school at night on an AM radio station because there wasn’t an FM station in the area that played it.  I’ve always loved rap music, specifically in the beginnings because it was raw and about survival, not about flossing.

Forgot about Dre came about much later.  Rap was mainstream and Dr. Dre was the top producer in the game.  His solo album, The Chronic 2001, was great.  By now, he had discovered Eminem, who was absolutely killing it.  The Eminem verse is what makes this song a keeper.  Dre is great, but Eminem is on fire.

Forgot how great it is?  Check it out on Youtube.

Reel Big Fish “Sell Out”
This is one of the first ska songs I ever heard and I’ve been a RBF fan since.  It’s a satirical song about finally realizing the dream of having a record deal and how you’ve made it now.  No more flipping burgers.  But it’s also a look at how the music business is a scam and how kids are puppets in the game.  I find it interesting that there were two breakout ska hits in 1997:  The Impression That I Get by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Sell Out by Reel Big Fish.  The Bosstones are still played today, but this ditty seems to have faded into obscurity.

Read the previous post if you don’t know the back story on this post.

Third Eye Blind “Motorcycle Drive By”
This track is hidden deep on the band’s first CD, but is one of the favorites on 3eB fans everywhere at live shows.  It’s about a boy and a girl and they are friends, but I am pretty sure that he’s secretly in love with her, almost obsessed.  Anyway, he sees her one last time in New York and then goes home and dies.  I love it because it starts off with just a guy and a guitar and builds into this full band explosion before settling into this calm, peaceful ending.

Brand New “Jesus Christ”
Just a song from an emo band talking to the Messiah.  It comes across deeply personal and definitely something that I have always related to as a Christian – that we are undeserving of salvation.  From lines like “my bright is too slight to hold back all my dark” to “I’m not scared to die, but I’m a little bit scared of what comes after,” the song is well crafted and is deeply emotional.  I saw Brand New last year at the 2009 Voodoo Music Experience and they performed this song live.  It was tremendous.  This also isn’t the last time that they will make an appearance on this list.

Brand New – Jesus Christ (official video) from Lindsay Thomson on Vimeo.

If you read my posts, you will know that I love music. I recently upgraded my iPhone because my other one was too full with music. I’m going to have to pare down the list of music. Maybe if I write about these songs, I’ll figure out what should stay and what should go.

Sister Hazel “All For You” – When I was in college, I worked at the radio station. I discovered much of my music there by reviewing CDs. For the uninitiated, radio stations would get in dozens and dozens of CDs each week. They all had to be listened to so that you could find out what was good and what sucked. The first album that I reviewed was Sister Hazel’s Somewhere More Familiar. Let’s just say that I found it amazing. All For You was the first single and the song that most people know when they remember the band. Sister Hazel is still putting out great music.

The Nixons “Baton Rouge” – The distorted guitar starts it off and the line “somewhere between Baton Rouge and New Orleans” resonates with me because that encompasses where I spend a lot of my time. Other than that, the song really has NOTHING to do with Baton Rouge. But it’s good and you should have it.

Lost is not a show that I watch.  I’ve never seen a single episode and I’ve never wanted to.  Yet, Sunday night, I found myself wondering how it all ended.  Mainly, I just wanted to know if it was all real or imagined.  Did everyone get to go home?  Did a tsunami come and wipe them off the island?  Stuff like that.  I’ve read 3 recaps and one thing is clear: no one knows what happened.  Oh sure, everyone saw your boy laying on the bamboo but no one knows what it means.

Why would you waste six years of your life on a show that doesn’t pay off?  Isn’t this what Sopranos fans complained about with the fade to black?  We get subjected to crap like The Biggest Loser and Minute To Win It because people don’t watch the traditional shows that cost a lot more to produce.  And why would you?  You make the commitment to a show and then it doesn’t resolve anything, either because it gets canceled or because the writers make some ambiguous ending.  It’s ridiculous.

My single favorite reality competition is Survivor.  I love the hypocrisy.  I love the cut throat action.  I love watching Colby rest on his laurels.  Tonight, one of the best seasons ever comes to a conclusion.  Season 20 has fittingly been an all star season.  Who wins?  Let’s examine them:

Colby is the last remaining hero, so the deck is stacked against him.  When you figure in his poor performance, poor attitude, and terrible body language, it is evident that the only reason he is still in the game is because he sucks so bad.  In fact, I predict that Colby was on the verge of going much earlier in the game until Probst went into attack mode at Tribal Council to save his friend.  Odds that Colby wins: 100 to 1

Russell should have won Survivor last season, but the jury laid the pipe to him.  I’m sure he wanted to redeem himself this season, but I also think he thought that he had his season won when he played.  Russell would have made the final 3 if he hadn’t busted up his own alliance core.  Now the girls are together and that always proves doom in Survivor. [Sidebar: Russell absolutely made the right decision by blowing up his own alliance.  Love him or hate him, Russell plays Survivor to win.  He knew he couldn't win the way things were, so he made a move instead of sitting there and settling for going to the Final 3.]  I think Russell is the next to go, but if not, he has better odds than Colby.  Odds are low for Russell to win because I don’t think he gets to the final 3. Odds that Russell wins: 50 to 1

Jerri is perplexing to me.  On one hand, she has suddenly gotten more screen time, so maybe she does win.  On the other, Jerri doesn’t have a winning attitude.  She has been tossed and turned like a leaf in the ocean.  I don’t think that she can do it.  If Jerri wins, it’s a total sympathy vote.  Odds that Jerri wins: 19 to 1

Sandra is my least favorite winner in Survivor history.  She sits around and does nothing and is good at turning the heat off of her at the right time.  I want to see someone go out and dominate the game and earn the victory.  Sandra has been on the outside looking in for weeks, but with Russell going crazy and destroying his alliance, she has moved her way into things with Parvati.  Sandra can win this game and that pains me.  Odds that Sandra wins: 5 to 1

Parvati has to be the odds on favorite.  She has controlled the game.  She let Russell do all the dirty work for her, but not in the typical way of sitting on the sidelines.  She let Russell believe he was the puppet master, all the while controlling him.  It was a brilliant move.  I’ve never really like Parv in the past.  I felt like she won by flirting.  This season, they showed that there is a depth to her flirting and how she truly manipulates not just the men, but also the women.  She seems to be the type that other women would naturally hate, but she’s drawn them in as well.  I think Parvati wins and it isn’t even close.  Odds the Parvati wins: 2 to 1

Tune in at 8/7 Central to see who is the ultimate Survivor on Heroes vs. Villains.

Here is a look at new CD releases coming out this week, with no advance access:

Jason Boesel “Hustler’s Son”
This is the first solo album for the former Rilo Kiley and Bright Eyes drummer.  Click on the album cover to go to the Team Love site and hear the song “Hand of God.”  I don’t have an advanced copy, but if the rest of the album sounds like that song, it’s in the vein of Whiskeytown and My Morning Jacket.

Sarah Elizabeth Foster “Gardening From the Ground Up”
She has a really nice voice, as you can hear on her website. The Pop Rock Indie Blog hits it on the head when they describe it as “More 60′s-pop than rock in a unique acoustic blend of folk and classical.” I like it much more than most of the current pop music slow song women that come on the radio.

OK Go “Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky”
I loved OK Go even before they hit the treadmills for “Hear It Goes Again” and I can’t wait to get a listen at this new album. Word is that the sound is supposed to be more dance-rock, so we will see how that goes. “Paralyzer” by Finger Eleven pops into my head when I hear “dance-rock” and I am not a fan of that song. Twilight fans will recognize “Shooting The Moon” from the recent New Moon soundtrack.

Omarion “Ollusion”
When I was growing up, gangster rap was coming to the forefront, so it’s hard for me today to see the Chris Browns and the Omarions of the world rapping and dancing in these well choreographed videos. Dude, are you Britney Spears?  You can see the video for the first single “I Get It In” featuring Gucci Mane at MTV.com. From what I read, the album version has Lil’ Wayne instead of Gucci. I don’t have much interest in picking up this record.

Ringo Starr “Y Not”
The drummer of the Beattles puts out another solo album and brings his buddy Paul McCartney in to aid in the vocals, according to Rolling Stone.  According to Starr, McCartney listened to the first single “Walk With You” and added his own background vocals that made the song richer and fuller.

Vampire Weekend “Contra”
Who gives a f*** about an Oxford comma? Oh wait, that was their last album. Quite honestly, I still laugh every time I hear that line. Still, an album sharing the name of a great video game has to be good, right? Take a listen at the first track on the album if you don’t believe me.