Top 10 Albums of 2008 - #7 The Bird and Bee Sides by Relient K

The band Relient K is actually pretty new to me. My sister-in-law introduced me to them earlier this year and since then I've listened to four out of five of their studio albums fairly religiously (no pun intended). They're a Christian rock band seemingly bent on being clever with song and album titles like "Two Lefts Don't Make a Right... But Three Do", "Which to Bury, Us or the Hachet?" and "Failure to Excommunicate". Fortunately, they're sound is genuinely unique and mature for the alternative rock scene, so this obvious tounge and cheekiness is easily excused and even amusing at times*. Their latest "album", The Bird and the Bee Sides is actually a double EP (the single disc contains both The Nashville Tennis EP and The Bird and the Bee Sides EP). There are 26 tracks ranging in genre from country to ska to rock, new tracks and acoustic versions of old ones. For approximately $11.99, 26 tracks is a great buy for any Relient K fan. Now as I stated before, I'm somewhat of a neophyte to Relient K, but in my opinion The Bird and the Bee Sides may not be the best entry point for people unfamiliar with Relient K because of it's broad scope - certainly, there's something for everyone, but a better first album might be Mmhmm or Five Score and Seven Years Ago - Relient K fans call me out if I'm wrong on this one).

My favorite tracks are "At Least We Made It This Far", "Up and Up (Acoustic)" and "The Lining is Silver", but what really makes this album impressive and worthy of the top 10 of 2008 is how it shows off the band's tremendous talent and range.

* like the lyrics "and you can't see the forest for the symmetries" from "The Lining is Silver".

Top 10 Albums of 2008 -- #8 Narrow Stairs by Death Cab for Cutie

Narrow Stairs, the second album by Death Cab for Cutie on major label Atlantic Records, was released in May of 2008. In my opinion, this album would fit well under Kyle's post about albums where the single doesn't do the full album justice. First, if you've heard "I Will Possess Your Heart" on the radio, you haven't heard the whole song. The radio version cuts off a long intro with ethereal sounding bass, piano, drums, and guitar before Ben's voice breaks in at four and a half minutes.

As usual, there are songs of loss and heartache and other less than upbeat subjects. However, even when singing about a loveless relationship on "You Can Do Better Than Me," Death Cab inserts an organ, which gives the song an almost circus-y feel. On "Cath...," which is also beginning to get play on radio stations, Gibbard's voice is particularly emotive and powerful as he describes a woman marrying the wrong man. Other songs of note (in my opinion) are "Your New Twin Sized Bed" and "No Sunlight."

Over all, Narrow Stairs is familiar enough for old fans but also includes enough surprises that the album doesn't feel like something we've heard before.


Cath... - Death Cab For Cutie
Gotta love green shag carpet and unhappy marriages.

Top 10 Albums of 2008 -- #9 Hideaway by The Weepies

The Weepies are husband and wife duo Steve Tannen and Deb Talan. You may have heard their music in one of several movies or on tv (their songs have appeared on several tv shows, JCPenney and Old Navy ads, and even an Obama campaign ad). I fell in love with their first album, Say I Am You, and the cheerful and infectious sound of "All I Want."

I have to admit that I haven't fallen in love with any of the songs on Hideaway the same way I fell in love with "All I Want." Even so, their second album, released in April 22, 2008, is still a beautiful album. Their website describes it as a "darker companion" to Say I Am You. In many ways, it is darker; songs like "Wish I Could Forget" and "How You Survived the War" take on darker subjects and don't have the carefree sound of most of the tracks on their first album. Seeing the darker side of Steve and Deb is definitely not a bad thing--it makes the album perfect for these snowy or rainy winter days.

As with Say I Am You, The Weepies maintain their unique, folksy sound. The pair is an excellent song-writing team, and their unusual harmonies are equally impressive. My favorites on the album are the opener "Can't Go Back Now," "Hideaway," and the surprisingly upbeat "Just Blue."

Bonus #1: The Weepies website has a clever and fun Christmas greeting to their fans on their site. Check it out here.

Bonus #2: The new video to "Can't Go Back Now" is out and looks a little like something from the Muppets. Check it out.

The Weepies - Cant Go Back Now - The Weepies

Top 10 Albums of 2008 - #10 All Sides by O.A.R.

[stock inspirational words about 2008 here]

What a crazy year, it's gone by so fast... let's cut to the chase: for the last 10 days of the year we're going to present Katie and Kyle's top 10 Album's of 2008 beginning with...

#10 - All Sides - O.A.R.

O.A.R. (Of a Revolution) has been around for over a decade (they formed in '96 in Rockville, Maryland) and released 6 studio and 3 live albums during that time. They started off playing on campus at Ohio State University where they attended school, and grew hugely popular with the college crowd. There sound is probably best described as jam rock, a la Dave Matthews Band (they also regularly have a saxophone part). Their previous album Stories of a Stranger put O.A.R. in the mainstream and on radio stations with "Love and Memories" and "Heard the World", though some purists say this album is the least representative of the band (I don't).

Their latest album All Sides came out on July 15, 2008 when my wife and I were on a road trip to San Francisco and we listened to it while driving through San Jose and Santa Cruz - it's great summer, road trip music and the song "This Town" seemed to embody Santa Cruz perfectly. It's the kind of music that makes the sun seem just a little brighter and the oceanic wind a little breezier. All Sides has all the fun, energetic melodies and grooves you'd expect from an O.A.R. album and it makes a good entry point for new fans. The single "Shattered (Turn the Car Around)" is enjoyable enough, but if you really want to hear the melodies and impromptu-sounding jams that make O.A.R. adored, check out "Something Coming Over" and "What is Mine". All Sides isn't groundbreaking for O.A.R., but next to nearly every other mainstream band, O.A.R. is unique, upbeat and void of the angst-ridden grunge that is so overdone in other "alternative rock".

Top 10 Newish Songs to Make You Merry

Yesterday I drove from Spokane to Portland. This doesn't sound like such a tremendous feat, and normally it's not. The drive, which I've done many times, usually takes about five or six hours. Yesterday it took me nine. What was the problem? Turns out I decided to drive through at the same time "blizzard-like" conditions decided to hit the Gorge. Despite a somewhat stressful and very long drive, there is a part of me that can't help but get excited and feel Christmas-y when I see trees blanketed and fluffy flakes falling.

The trouble is that sometimes it's hard to get in the Christmas spirit when every radio station just plays the same old (and, let's face it, sometimes obnoxious) Christmas tunes. So, I've compiled a list of my top 10 newish (and hopefully not overplayed yet) Christmas songs*. Although I dearly love some of the old classics too (I could listen to Nat King Cole sing about roasting chestnuts again and again and again), I kept this list to more contemporary artists.

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

*or newish versions of old songs/hymns.

1. O Come, O Come Emmanuel - Sufjan Stevens
2. Winter Song - Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson
3. All I Want - The Weepies
4. Let it Snow - Michael Buble
5. Angels We Have Heard on High - Chris Tomlin
6. Mistletoe - Colbie Caillat
7. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Death Cab for Cutie
8. In Like a Lion (Always Winter) - Relient K
9. Song for a Winter's Night - Sarah McLachlan
10. O Holy Night - Shawn McDonald

Mistletoe - Colbie Caillat

Sweeney Todd at the Fox

Sweeney Todd, like RENT and Chicago, has received the Hollywood treatment and been put on the silver screen to marginal success (in terms of box office sales and mixed reviews - although Chicago won Best Picture in 2002). These musicals were probably selected because of there edgy and mostly current themes, however, as any theatre-goer knows: they are best enjoyed live on stage. Having seen the film adaptation of Sweeney Todd (and having liked it), I did ask the ticket office how violent the stage performance was compared to the movie before bringing my wife*. The ticket associate assured me it was not violent or gory and let me assure you, it's not. In fact, if you wanted to see the musical, but were worried about seeing the movie because of it's (well-deserved) gruesome reputation, then a stage performance may be exactly what you're looking for. And I can highly recommend this production by NETworks Presentations.

What made this production unique was that all the actors sang and played an instrument at the same time - in fact, many played more than one instrument. The ten-ensemble cast was the orchestra and they played percussion, piano, violin, cello, bass, guitar, clarinet, flute, accordian, trumpet and tuba. They were all very adept musicians, in fact, my guess is that some of them were cast based on their ability to play an instrument (or two or three) over singing. However, the main roles of Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett played by Merritt David Janes and Carrier Cimma were pheneomenal singers as well. "Epiphany" and "A Little Priest" were especially spectacular. And all of the classics: "Johanna", "Pretty Women" and "By the Sea" were remarkably performed.

Contrary to the inferior INB Performing Arts Center, my wife and I could understand almost every single lyric (which speaks well of the performers too). It's difficult to over-emphasize how incredible Merritt David Janes was as Sweeney Todd (we saw him in the 1st national tour of The Wedding Singer also) - some may scoff at this next comment, but his vocals surpassed Johnny Depp's ten fold. Sweeney Todd is without a doubt, a strangely dark and morally askew musical (kind of like the film No Country for Old Men) and therefore some people won't like it - it's about revenge, justice, judgement, innocence, but most importantly it has extraordinary music by Stephen Sondheim.

Here's "Johanna" (the reprise) from the film version of Sweeney Todd:

* in the past, I have been chastised for taking her to overly-violent films (e.g. Pan's Labyrinth, Kill Bill: Part 1, 28 Days Later, A History of Violence, the list goes on...): I was intent on not allowing it to happen again.

Free Eric Hutchinson

If you've been reading our blog at all, you know we love Eric Hutchinson. If you love Eric Hutchinson too, I have good news! You can download the music video to his single "Rock & Roll" for free on iTunes. Just do a search for Eric on iTunes and enjoy!