Top Ten Favorite Albums!!

Okay, so I know I've been saying I'd list my top ten albums for sometime now... I apologize for the wait, but hopefully the content of this discussion will more than make up for any delays. Let me start off with explaining why I am posting about my top ten albums (let's call it TTA for short): I can't remember exactly how long ago I was asked to share my TTA, but I want to guess it's been closer to a year. Please correct me if I'm mistaken, but I was tagged in a note on Facebook by a friend (Tim Obermueller for those of you who know him). I didn't want to just slap down the first ten that came to mind and call it a day. For those of you who know me (and those who don't), I'm am a huge music enthusiast. I have hundreds of CD's in my collection, 7000+ songs on my iPod, and go to several concerts a year. Since it was first requested, I have been very methodical in selecting my TTA and have set a few stipulations: 1) It must be in my music collection, 2) I must be able to listen to the album beginning to end and not have the urge to skip a few songs to get to the "good ones" (it must have depth!), 3) The album must be a studio album, and not a compilation or greatest hits CD (if it was, I would have even more difficulty selecting), 4) Finally, it must rock!! ;)

I want to clearly state that in no way am I claiming these albums are the "Greatest of All Time", rather just giving some insight into what I enjoy listening to and hopefully inspire you (my "followers") to check these out and give 'em a listen! I'd love to get some feedback from all of you on what some of your favorites are and maybe some that I may have omitted. Lastly, I've elected to not rank these in order 1-10, simply because I can't choose. My music tastes vary daily and are mostly dependent upon my mood, so what may be #1 today, might be #8 tomorrow...

Better Than Ezra - Before The Robots (2005)

A great album to just chill and listen to! Also a great album to cruise around to with the windows down and the sunroof open. Highlighted by such hits as "A Lifetime" and "Juicy". A few of my favorites are the opening track "Burned", "American Dream", a song that could very well tell the story of the struggles through our lives, and "A Southern Thing", a song with a little bit of a twangy, country guitar that really shows the bands Louisiana roots.

Young Dubliners - Saints And Sinners (2009)

I'm going to be honest in saying that until I was invited to go to the "Celebrate Lincoln Festival" in June of 2009, that I had never heard these guys. I was instantly blown away at how they could make the bagpipes an un-annoying, functioning, rock instrument. Not quite as hard as similar bands Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphy's, but solid nonetheless. Personal favorites "Buy You A Life", "Caroline" and a song in which you can definitely hear their Irish roots, "Saoirse". Definitely and underrated band and album!

Green Day - Dookie (1994)

What kid growing up in the 90's didn't have this album? A classic in its own right! A very early album from a band destined for future success. A very raw feel to it. Well known hits such as "Burnout", "Longview", "Basket Case", "She" and "When I Come Around". Don't forget to check out the song "In The End". A must have in any music collection!!

Jack Johnson - Brushfire Fairytales (2001)

I fondly remember going into Circuit City (before they went bankrupt) and stumbling across this album. I was able to sample it in the store and listened to the album beginning to end, standing with the headphones on for the better part of an hour, absolutely in awe of how amazing a simple acoustic guitar could be when accompanied by smooth tenor vocals and timely percussion. I wasn't going to leave the store without this CD in my hot little hand. A great album to listen to when you just want to chill, relax, and unwind. Some of my favorite tracks are "Flake", "Mudfootball" and "Losing Hope", a song I've often listened to when feeling down. The album's simplicity is what makes it so great.

Live - Throwing Copper (1994)

I didn't really get into Live until I re-discovered 90's alternative rock in about 2005. Once I came across this album, I couldn't put it down. You can hear the religious influence in lead singer Ed Kowalczyk's powerful voice and vocals. Fueled by hits "I Alone", "Lightning Crashes" and"All Over You". There are several other less popular songs that you still shouldn't miss on the album such as "Selling The Drama", "Stage", the hidden and untitled 14th track, and my personal favorite from the album, "Top". Definitely a band on my "Must see in concert before I die list".

Eve 6 - Eve 6 (1998)

The band's major label debut. Best described as Seattle grunge blended with a heavy dose of L.A. punk. Great rhythm guitar combined with crisp drums and thundering bass. Another one of those albums you just want to put in your car's CD player, crank the stereo, drop the windows, open the sunroof, and stomp on the accelerator. The album only spawned one hit: "Inside Out", but much of the album is of the same caliber. Other can't miss songs include "How Much Longer", "Open Road Song", "Tongue Tied", "Superhero Girl" and "There's A Face". Always ceases to amaze me how this album managed to fall through the cracks so easily.

Goo Goo Dolls - Dizzy Up The Girl (1998)

A great follow up to their 1993 album "A Boy Named Goo". Such hits such as "Slide", "Broadway", "Iris" and my favorite "Black Balloon" still receive considerable airplay. A great combination of acoustic and electric guitars with catchy lyrics and potent bass. I had the privilege to see them at an outdoor concert in mid May this year and the band sounds as good today as they did twelve years ago when this album came out. Other songs such as "Dizzy" and "Acoustic #3" didn't gain as much momentum as the hits on this album, but still are an integral part of making this one of the best in my collection.

On a side note, if you haven't yet heard Bronson Arroyo's cover of "Slide" (yes the MLB pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds), you should definitely check it out!

Collective Soul - Afterwords (2007)

In all honesty, this band is what made this list take so long. For those of you who know me, you know how big of a Collective Soul fan I am. I wasn't going to make my TTA list a Collective Soul list, so I limited myself to choosing just one of their albums. It was very close between Afterwords, Youth, Disciplined Breakdown and their first self-titled album "Collective Soul" from 1995. Afterwords barely edged the other three out, but here's why... It's the bands return to prominence. Their second full-length album with new guitarist Joel Kosche. This album features face-melting guitar solos on songs such as "What I Can Give You", "Never Here Alone", and my favorite track "All That I Know". The album also features another rarity, a song that wasn't written or sung by frontman Ed Roland. Joel wrote the lyrics and sang vocals on the song "I Don't Need Anymore Friends". The album did feature a hit single in "Hollywood". This album does feature a more mature sound than past albums but the band's sound does the songs justice and they are nothing even close to sounding bland.

Lenny Kravitz - Baptism (2004)

Okay, I'm sure you're all thinking, of all the albums released by Lenny Kravitz, how could I possibly pick this one... Here's why. From the first track, "Minister of Rock 'N Roll", to the surprise hit, "Lady", to the hit "Where Are We Runnin'?", to the catchy beat of "California", Lenny's skill as a guitarist really shows. The album has kind of a retro 70's funk vibe to it, and it works, it really does. The percussion is spot on and has a "tight" sound to it. Lenny is also not afraid to throw in a heavy dose of guitar solos, in this day and age, a forgotten art. In his solos, a somewhat industrial sound is used to give a raunchy feel that can still have a bit of a unique wail to it.

Theory Of A Deadman - Scars And Souvenirs (2008)

Another band I've had the liberty of seeing in person. You could tell by listening to the band's first two albums that they were on the verge of a breakout mega-hit record, and Scars and Souvenirs is none other than that. Hard rocking lyrics and great guitar riffs show through on hits "So Happy" and "Bad Girlfriend". Other hits such as "Hate My Life" show great melody and they do show a softer side on songs such as "Heaven (Little By Little)" and "End of the Summer". It's an album so complete, it leaves me craving their next release.

For those of you not counting, this concludes my TTA list. If there are some albums I've listed that you aren't familiar with, I strongly encourage you to check them out. Again, please leave any feedback for me including whether or not you agree with my selections, some you would have on your lists, and overall critique.

The Bluff

Boston Red Sox 2010 Season

We're about 2/5 of the way through the 2010 MLB season. To this point, the Red Sox have been disappointing to some of there fans, and it's not without due cause. They're currently a 3rd place team in their division and 5 games out of first place (MLB.com 6/10/10). This off-season GM Theo Epstein elected to focus more on the pitching and defensive aspects of the game, spending $80+ million on free-agent pitcher John Lackey and another $9 million on slick-fielding free-agent 3B Adrian Beltre, even though they had the ability to retain perennial all-star Jason Bay. Many fans were concerned about the possible lack of offense. One thing that can often get lost in the shuffle is how well a pitching and defensive focused team travels. Thus far into the season, they post a .586 win percentage on the road, 3rd most road wins, and 2nd in road winning percentage (ESPN.com 6/10/10). Since May 1, the team has been red hot, posting a 24-14 record.
There is reason for continued optimism due the the emergence of Clay Buchholz as a front-of-the-rotation caliber starter. Jon Lester has followed suit as well, and left his early season funk in the rear-view mirror. David Ortiz, after a month of April that is best forgotten, has returned to the Big Papi of old, hitting .312, as well as hitting double-digit home runs in the month of May. May was the first time he has hit for double-digit home runs, since he hit 10 in August of 2006, helping set his club record of 54. Kevin Youkilis has been the clean up hitter every team wants, leading the Red Sox in HR (12), RBI (40), Runs (51), and OPS (1.054) (ESPN.com 6/10/10). Given the fact that Dustin Pedroia is a career .300 hitter with a Silver Slugger award (2008), there is no way that he will remain at his current .248 average. I've heard that he's been playing through a knee injury (Ian Browne MLB.com 6/10/10). Even though he is a key cog in the Red Sox offense, when he's mired in an offensive slump, he still makes highlight-reel, game-saving, Gold Glove, defensive plays, often willing himself to make plays others would not. Look for him to get hot soon coming off his knee ailment!! With Jacoby Ellsbury out for the forseeable future (I've heard it's likely he won't be back until after the All-star break at the earliest), off-season free-agent signee Marco Scutaro has filled the void amicably, posting about a .280 average, 40 runs scored, and a .355 on-base percentage.
Given all the outfield injuries this season, newcomers Bill Hall, Jeremy Hermida, and Darnell McDonald have been sharing the time filling the voids by Ellsbury and veteran Mike Cameron's trips to the DL. Ace starting pitcher Josh Beckett has been inconsistent, and is in the midst of his own DL stint. Once he is back, watch out, because you'll then have Beckett, Lackey, Lester, Buchholz, and either 2009 All-star Tim Wakefield, or Daisuke Matsuzaka, a pitcher who was 3rd in Cy Young voting in 2008 with 18 wins. That's a pitching rotation that really has four aces (Beckett, Lackey, Lester, and Buchholz) with very little inclination to let up on opponents. When you couple that with the surprisingly potent offense (5th in Avg., 2nd in HR, 2nd in RBI, and 2nd in hits), and the steady hand of Manager Terry Francona (postseason appearances in six of his seven seasons managing the club) that's the makeup for a team primed to make a run in their division.
Let's see if my predictions hold true in the coming months. I'm sure there will be an update on the Red Sox in the near future, keep posted!!

The Bluff

New Blog!!

Okay, so I'm going to be honest, this is my first ever attempt at running a blog. I ask that you please be patient and would love to have your input on both topics to discuss as well as possible improvements I could make. This blog will be mostly opinion which I will try to support with facts I can find. In addition, I will make every effort to list as many sources that I've gathered my information used to form my ideas as I can (those which I remember where I got it from) to give my blog some validation. Topics discussed will include, but not be limited to, music, cars, sports, and general life observations. Again, if you my followers, have any topics you would like me to discuss, by all means, please give me your suggestions. I will attempt to have a new entry or update at least once a week, sometimes more frequently, rarely less. The more feedback I get from you, the better this blog can be. Bottom line is that this should be fun! I'm really looking forward to sharing my thoughts with the world and see what responses I can garner. I've chosen my display name on here as "the bluff". I strongly encourage you to look up bluff in the dictionary as well as a thesaurus... you will soon understand why I chose it :)

Anyways, this is the end of entry #1, look for entry #2 sometime either today or tomorrow. I'm leaning towards discussing some music...

The Bluff