Top 50 Records of the Decade.

These are albums that effected me in one way or another. It would be too difficult to do an actual order since one may have meant more to me at the time and I wouldn't want to cheat it's importance. There is also a couple records listed in the years it was released but I may not have got into until later. Lastly, you may notice there isn't any albums listed for 2009. That is because there wasn't any new bands/artists to effect me like the years before have. Not to say there weren't great records this year, because there were plenty. Maybe I'm not searching as hard as I used to, or maybe I'm harder to get through to.

Either way. It's been a great decade for punk and independent music. This is me appreciating it. My heart goes out to kids raised in this decade on top 40, because it was garbage. 90's forever motherfuckers.


At The Drive In - Relationship of Command (2000)
BoySetsFire - After The Eulogy (2000)
Cave In - Jupiter (2000)
Death Cab For Cutie - We Have The Facts and We're Voting Yes (2000)
Deftones - White Pony (2000)
Glassjaw - Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence (2000)
Sunny Day Real Estate - The Rising Tide (2000)
The Weakerthans - Left and Leaving (2000)

American Nightmare - Background Music (2001)
Bright Eyes - Fevers and Mirrors (2001)
Converge - Jane Doe (2001)
Cursive - Burst and Bloom (2001)
Hot Cross - A New Set of Lungs (2001)
Pg 99 - Document #8 (2001)
Rival Schools - United By Faith (2001)
Saves The Day - Stay What You Are (2001)
Thursday - Full Collapse (2001)

Against Me! - Reinventing Axl Rose (2002)
And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead - Source Tags & Codes (2002)
Botch - An Anthology of Dead Ends (2002)
Desaparecidos - Read Music / Speak Spanish (2002)
Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights (2002)
Jonah's Onelinedrawing - Visitor (2002)
Lucero - Tennessee (2002)
New Found Glory - Sticks and Stones (2002)
Orchid - S/t (2002)
Rilo Kiley - The Execution of All Things (2002)

Alkaline Trio - Good Mourning (2003)
Belle and Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress (2003)
Brand New - Deja Entendu (2003)
Devine,Kevin - Make The Clocks Move (2003)
The Lawrence Arms - The Greatest Story Ever Told (2003)
The Suicide File - Twilight (2003)
Votolato,Rocky - Suicide Medicine (2003)

The Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004)
Bleeding Kansas - 1859 (2004)
Circle Takes the Square - As The Roots Undo (2004)
mewithoutYou - Catch For Us The Foxes (2004)

Cursed - II (2005)
The Decemberists - Picaresque (2005)
Modern Life is War - Witness (2005)

The Bronx - S/T 2 (2006)
NOFX - Wolves in Wolves Clothing (2006)
P.O.S. - Audition (2006)

Manchester Orchestra - I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child (2007)
The National - Boxer (2007)

The Gaslight Anthem - The 59 Sound (2008)
Margot & The Nuclear So and So's - Not Animal (2008)
Turner,Frank - Love Ire & Song (2008)

I walk with both arms to my side
But in my head they're both spread wide
I'm not looking for a warm embrace
I'm really asking why?
With both limbs open, hands to fingers
The obvious truth always lingers
You can't expect to ever find love
When you've been taught by lonely singers.

I watched my skin walk out of the room
I did not say goodbye, I understood why it left

When I fly solo, I fly so high.

Luis and I went to see Manchester Orchestra tonight in San Diego. The crowd was a joke and downtown San Diego was even worse, but they killed it.

Best band of the last couple years. I'm calling it.

warmth

I've been feeling very loved lately.

My friend Michael sent me a Undertow Reunion Show shirt that his company Hellfish made simply because he knew I didn't have the money to afford it the night of the show. Such an incredibly nice gesture.

I woke up to texts from different members of La Dispute being concerned for me and wanting to make sure I was doing okay. I hadn't returned any calls in a while and I was being a bad friend. It's something I need to work on.

Casey, Sean, and Derek from Fake Problems were just in town and I spent an afternoon with them. They went to SideOneDummy later that day and Sean got me the Gaslight Anthem - Live at Park Ave 10" and both versions of the Revival Road tour LP after telling him I missed out on getting those.

and lastly.. Adrienne and I went to see Margot together the other night and when I dropped her off she gave me a present ever that she had been working on for my birthday back in April.

This is the present:


It's a hand sewn/stuffed slice of Pizza. It even has a face on it. So fucking awesome!!!

jesus christ i cant get over my goddamn blues

Saw Margot & The Nuclear So and So's last night. If you've never given them a chance, you really should.

Margot and the Nuclear So & So's - As Tall as cliffs - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Fire!

I'm finally going to start writing in this. I had a hard time deciding if I wanted there to be a certain point to this blog, but I feel that would become taxing after a while and lose it's joy. So basically, I'm going to be posting anything and everything... Writings, lyrics, what I'm listening to, pictures, complaints, and things that inspire me.

I find it appropriate to post my first entry with the first writing I did that I was ever proud of. I once dated a girl named Randi who I would take the train to see before I drove. I had a lot of time to myself on those long rides so I started to carry a notebook with me and out came so much bad dribble that only a couple extremely close people in my life have ever seen, and I hope have forgotten about.

Here it is:

The newspaper was wrong again
as the tattooed colony saves face and slow grins
the fast food restaurants and red backpacks flood the streets
up and over cracks
cigarette filled lungs cough on their own
while commercials are made false
and real t.v. shows are shown
what happens to orphans when they turn 18?
they get thrown on the concrete along with war heroes and ones that cheat
if Satan himself lived here he would kick up his feet
because his job would have been done
the dumpsters, the mansions
the sick and the sicker
wish for the better and only get richer
game shows and dramas
a child's fantasy or your own
it's all just manifested
and the cancer still grows
wish on stars
wish on christmas lights
wish on anything thats bright
that the dumb kid in the corner of his fourth grade class
isn't left without a card on valentines day
so drink your caffeine
inhale your toxens
gamble your life
and marry witout love
so that when someone cuts in front of you at the bank
you can buy them a birthday card
even if it's not their day.