Best of the 70s

So I've been listening to a lot of music from the 70s lately and using many "Best Of" lists to sift through all the music released in that decade. Two lists that are quite comprehensive and well-compiled are pitchforkmedia.com's list (http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/top/70s/) which combines popular music with more obscure stuff that is much less obvious, and Rolling Stone's Top 500 Albums of All Time (http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/_/id/5938174?rnd=1129926547225&has-player=false) which, as Rolling Stone is known to do, sticks with mostly more popular music. Now, I decided that I would attempt to combine these two lists and make a full-on Best of the 70s list that both Rolling Stone and pitchfork readers alike can enjoy. The criteria was simple: I broke Rolling Stone's list into just albums from the 70s, then removed the compilations and greatest hits albums and made a Rolling Stone Top 100 of the 70s list. I then compared the two lists and any album that was on both lists made it onto the final copy. The album's placement on this list is based on the average of the placements on the two other lists, so without further ado, here is the list:

1) The Clash – London Calling
2) Bob Dylan – Blood on the Tracks
3) Rolling Stones – Exile on Main Street
4) The Who – Who’s Next
5) Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin IV
6) Stevie Wonder – Innervisions
7) Ramones – Ramones
8) Sly and the Family Stone – There’s a Riot Going On
9) Fleetwood Mac – Rumours
10) Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On
11) Television – Marquee Moon
12) Miles Davis – Bitches Brew
13) Velvet Underground – Loaded
14) The Beatles – Let It Be
15) Pink Floyd – The Wall
16) John Lennon – Plastic Ono Band
17) Sex Pistols – Nevermind the Bollocks
18) Michael Jackson – Off The Wall
19) The Clash – The Clash
20) T. Rex – Electric Warrior
21) Saturday Night Fever – Original Soundtrack
22) Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon
23) Elvis Costello – This Year’s Model
24) The Stooges – Funhouse
25) David Bowie – Low
26) David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust
27) Joni Mitchell – Blue
28) Kraftwerk – Trans-Europe Express
29) Ramones – Rocket to Russia
30) Elvis Costello – My Aim Is True
31) Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here
32) David Bowie – Hunky Dory
33) Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti
34) Neil Young – After the Gold Rush
35) Blondie – Parallel Lines
36) The Stooges – Raw Power
37) Led Zeppelin – Houses of the Holy
38) The Harder They Come – Original Soundtrack
39) Nick Drake – Bryter Later
40) Creedence Clearwater Revival – Cosmo’s Factory

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at the Black Cat

So DCist already covered most of the territory that I would have in this post: http://www.dcist.com/archives/2005/10/19/clap_your_hands_saymeh.php#more

But I wanted to take a second to voice my own opinion. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah made a great album, and did it without a record contract, a very impressive feat that is earning them a lot more money than your average indie band. However, even if they are proud of themselves, that doesn't excuse them from barely showing up at the Black Cat last night to play an uninspired set that disappointed most everyone attending the sold out show. The show kicked off with some promise before singer Alec Ounsworth decided that he could stop caring about 5 songs in. He mumbled words, didn't finish lines and frankly didn't seem to care that all these people had some out to see his band perform. Clearly he thought rather highly of his songs to attempt to release them without a label, but now that he's tasted success, his ego seems to be growing to epic proportions. He's got all the makings of a primadonna who could sabotage his band before they even finish recording their second album. As for the rest of the band, except for guitarist/keyboardist Robbie Guertin, they didn't have an iota of energy. Guertin bounced around, but it appeared the rest of the band was judging him the entire time as brothers Lee and Tyler Sargent stayed stonefaced and looked bored off their asses.

A memo to Ounsworth and Co.: You guys write and record excellent music, but you are not THE SHIT quite yet. Just showing up at a venue is not enough to warrant the thousands of dollars you guys are earning each show. Find yourself a rehearsal space, work on your stage presence, don't look so pissed off that you have the greatest job in the world and get in sync with one another. Come back to me in a year and if you've fixed these things, you may have a future. Otherwise this band is doomed to failure, and sooner rather than later.

I'm the DJ?

Well last Friday, sitting in traffic going to and from the Coldplay concert at Nissan Pavilion (I will never go to a concert there ever again), Ian and I started brainstorming an idea for a Smiths/Cure Dance Party in Charlottesville. We thought that with the lack of things to do in Charlottesville, especially for the under-21 crowd, that putting on something different like this could really succeed. Well Ian mentioned that he happened to know the owner of the Satellite Ballroom, a new venue in Charlottesville that hosts mostly indie rock shows, and that he'd shoot him an email when he got home.

Well, to our surprise, on Tuesday, Ian received an email that read as follows:
ian, i love the idea. what night do you want? i'd like it to be something easy to remember like the 1st X of the month or last X of the month or something like that. let me know and i'll get you a date today. best,peter

Well, we were a bit shocked that he just jumped on the idea so quickly, but damn, we took it. Unfortunately, things hit a couple of speed bumps, namely that it looks like the Dance Party is going to have to be 21+ given the alcohol laws in Virginia, but really, I think we'll survive. I mean, we're hosting a fucking DANCE PARTY!!! So here are the details for all interested:

How Soon Is Now Productions Presents
The Smiths vs. The Cure Dance Party, Saturday November 5th
Satellite Ballroom, Charlottesville
21+

Oh, I neglected to mention, I will be DJing this event, so this will be the first official live performance for DJ Starrscream. It's a bit scary to think that this is in 4 weeks and I don't even have all my equipment yet, but I should be alright, right?