Top Tens of the 00's and 2009

Happy New Year.
Here are my year ending lists. First the Top Tens for the past year, 2009. Followed by my selections for the past decade. Interestingly, one of my favorite acts of the decade, Franz Ferdinand, fell short of the best of the 00's, but dominated year-ending lists in '04, '05 and '09. And Prince's 3121 was probably in 11th place on the decade best lists. Huh? Don't ask me.

Top 10 LPs of 2009:
10. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
9. Bruce Springsteen - Working On A Dream
8. Hockey - Mind Chaos
7. downhere - How Many Kings: Songs for Christmas
6. Noisettes - Wild Young Hearts
5. Dave Matthews Band - Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King
4. Adam Marsland - Go West
3. Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
2. Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
1. Maxwell - BLACKsummers'night. Imagine if Prince had done an album of slowjams only in 1987. There you go, there you go.

Top Singles of 2009:
10. Arctic Monkeys - Cornerstone
9. Phoenix - Lisztomania
8. U2 - Magnificent
7. Dave Matthews Band - Funny The Way It Is
6. Dizzee Rascal w. Calvin Harris - Dance Wiv Me
5. Ne-Yo - Never Knew I Needed
4. Maxwell - Pretty Wings
3. Friendly Fires - Skeleton Boy
2. Noisettes - Wild Young Hearts
1. Franz Ferdinand - No You Girls. FF strikes back!

TOP TEN'S FOR THE 00's

After some internal debate and revisiting of tunes from the past ten years, here are my top 10 recordings (i.e. singles and tracks) for the 00's. Who knows how I'll feel about these songs in another decade? I reserve the right to change this list eventually. In ascending order:

10. Fill My Little World - The Feeling
9. Last Nite - The Strokes
8. Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
7. 99 Problems - Jay-Z
6. SexyBack - Justin Timberlake
5. Valerie - Mark Ronson feat. Amy Winehouse
4. Everything My Heart Desires - Norman Kelsey
3. Hey Ya - Outkast
2. Flourescent Adolescent - Arctic Monkeys
1. Girls In Their Summer Clothes - Bruce Springsteen

Choosing Bruce as #1 was a combination of how many times did I listen to the song, how badly do I wish I had written it and will it stand the test of time? The Arctic Monkey's cut is thrilling, too. So, it was tough picking one song to represent a decade, but I think this one is representative of my own feelings and the artistry of 10 years. And in fairness, I didn't want to load up the top 10 with my own compositions, because frankly I love my recordings. LOL.

OK, now the double whammy; my top 10 LPs of the decade. The only rule here, it had to have its first official release during the 00s. So you are going to see one album that was recorded in 1971 and withheld by Motown until 2004 for release (which pushed McCartney's Memory Almost Full or maybe Gnarls Barkley's St. Elsewhere out of the #10 perch). There is also a jazz title that constitutes one of my most listened to long players from the past 10. But cheers to the late David Ruffin for putting out my favorite "new" LP that I didn't record during this decade. Otherwise, peers Orson (whose CD has remained in the player for nearly 6 years) are the kings of the 00's.

Top 10 LPs of the 00's:
10. Life On Other Planets - Supergrass
9. Is This It? - The Strokes
8. Love And Theft - Bob Dylan
7. Back To Black - Amy Winehouse
6. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
5. Magic - Bruce Springsteen
4. Gardenias For Lady Day - James Carter
3. Bright Idea - Orson
2. David (The Unreleased LP) - David Ruffin
1. A Talent For Loving - Norman Kelsey

Happy New Year! Happy New Decade of Music!

Post Christmas/Top 30 Chosen for Decades' Top 10

I hope you all had a Happy Christmas! I sure did. Lots of church. I sang solos at both of our worship services. Performed a newer song by downhere called How Many Kings. I'm also pleased to announce my next show will be Friday, Jan. 22, 2010 at the Joint. The Joint is at 8771 W. Pico in LA. I've played there dozens of times, but not in 2+ years. There will be no cover, i.e. a free show!

Well, I've narrowed down the nominees for my own decade ending Top 10 lists. I will begin with the Top 30 recordings (as in singles and tracks) from the past 10 years. There was some great music once I dug through the virtual crates that are my iPod. There are bound to be songs that slipped through the cracks, but if they did, how could they have been one of my top 10 for the 00's?

I'll confess, two of my own sides are listed, but I'd be lying if they weren't among my fave 30 from the past ten. I've turned these 30 cuts into a playlist on my iPod that I will put on shuffle. Then, I will whittle this list down to 10 by Thursday. Here they are, in no particular order:

Hey Ya - Outkast
SexyBack - Justin Timberlake
Last Nite - The Strokes
Crazy In Love - Beyonce
Flourescent Adolescent - Arctic Monkeys
Girls In Their Summer Clothes - Bruce Springsteen
Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
A Talent For Loving - Norman Kelsey
Fill My Little World - The Feeling
Valerie - Mark Ronson feat. Amy Winehouse
White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes
99 Problems - Jay-Z
Warwick Avenue - Duffy
Ms. Jackson - Outkast
Bright Idea - Orson
Grace - Supergrass
Black Sweat - Prince
No You Girls - Franz Ferdinand
Is It Any Wonder? - Keane
How Many Kings - downhere
Gold Digger - Kanye West
You Know My Name - Chris Cornell
Everything My Heart Desires - Norman Kelsey
Are You Gonna Be My Girl - Jet
Guerilla Radio - Rage Against The Machine
Plug It In - Basement Jaxx feat. JC Chasez
Chasing Pavements - Adele
Do You Want To - Franz Ferdinand
Toxic - Britney Spears
Beautiful Day - U2

Let the shuffling commence!

Peace & Disco Beats

Citywalk Video Clip

Here's a taste of the Dec. 4, 2009 show on Citywalk. It is the first verse of Everything My Heart Desires.
Enjoy!

Heifer Project Benefit Show Recap

Today's Heifer Project Benefit at the NOHO FUMC raised a grand to feed some hungry folks around the globe and make them more self-sufficient by providing them with livestock to use to produce more livestock and sustainable food. Thank you to everyone who attended and donated to a truly worthy cause. Thanks to the organizers for inviting me to perform. I hope the set wasn't too indulgent. It was fun to share the bill with improv geniuses USS Rock & Roll.

My solo acoustic set list was:
The First Noel
This Christmas
What Child Is This?
Father Christmas
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Happy Christmas, one and all.

Cityrockin' Holiday Show Recap

Hey Soulsters,
the show tonight at Universal Citywalk was grand. How'd you like the snow and Santa? The band was in top form. We had a lot of fun throwing in our covers and a song or two that we hadn't done in a long time. Thanks to everyone who was there. It was a festive crowd and it is always a blessing to hear everyone singing along.

Here's the set list:
Fall Out
Everyone's Ingenue
You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
Everything My Heart Desires
Supermodels With Gatling Guns
U Had The $
Done Lost My Mind
Put A Little Love In Your Heart/Give Peace A Chance
Hold On, I'm A Comin'
I Can't Cry For You
A Talent For Loving

Keep your eyes peeled for video clips and lots of great photos from the show.Thanks to Citywalk and the Hard Rock Cafe for the booking and sponsorship.And there's nothing like hitting Aroma post-show for Apple Cider. That's how I roll.

Peace and have a wonderful Saturday.