Billy Joel - Greatest Hits Volumes I & II (1973 - 1985)

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Order it here: Billy Joel Greatest Hits: Vol. 1-2 (2CD)

For the longest time, from before I was born, to the Atari 2600's last year in the limelight. Billy Joel had some good years. This post commemorates the best of that time period.

Sing us a song. We're in the mood for a melody. New Yorker. American. Inspired by the Beatles. Feel-good. Big shot. Blues. Pick me-up. Honesty. Women. Mythical uptown-women. The good songs I'd hear while in the car with my dad on the road before a day's hard work. Billy Joel inspires, soothes, and makes for good karaoka,ka,ka,ka,ka.... you ought ta know by now.

Keep Saying No to Smoking Cigarettes

Still going. Proud. No need for a new year's resolution. It's still tempting. I've gone
1 year and 2 weeks since I've quit smoking.

• At 1 pack / 3 days, that's 127 packs of cigarettes that I didn't smoke.
• At $4 / pack, that's $508 bucks I didn't spend.
• At losing 1 minute of my life / 1 cigarettes, that's 2,540 minutes of quality life saved. (hearsay statistic)
  

Christmas Eve Eve Morning Top 10 List

1. The Nipple Hair Moustache!
2. Words that sound offensive but aren't.
3. New Packaging Porn for Monopoly.
4. I recommend this list from Rubin Recommends.
5. Single-Malt Whiskey lovers, peep this.
6. Mac vs PC [cheese]
7. Round trip with the NASA Endeavor.
8. Streaking footage at UC-Berkeley.
9. Some environmental changes we may witness in our lifetime.
10. Cool stuff with trees.
    

MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

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MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

Order it here for $9.99: MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

Digitally released on October '07, released in retail January '08, it's safe to say I'm a little late to the party. Seeing as I just discovered it - to it's fullness - last week.

I had heard "Time to Pretend," the first track, when going out but had no idea it was MGMT. Anyway after listening to the whole record there more to say about it than they're just another trendy indie band.

Some of the tracks like "Weekend Wars," "The Youth," and "Pieces of What" remind of me Wes Anderson films. Maybe some scene where the meaning is significantly higher than the action on the screen - if you know what I mean. Dramatic, introspective, but still respectable sounds, including acoustic guitars, vocal cacophonies, and a soundscape soothing keyboard.

The singles are "Time to Pretend" and "Electric Feel." I had discarded both before my download last week. It was actually triggered by a discussion I was having with a coworker. He's 23 and I'm 29, and he had this - man you're too old and don't know whats good anymore attitude. So I decided to check it out and validate he or I, and I admit, he was right, this is pretty good stuff. The songs are a feel-good fun-time and are much less shallow than originally perceived to be.

Somehow this record also fits into this holiday time period. I recommend MGMT - Oracular Spectacular.

Tim McMahon's Rockin' Christmas V

A good friend of mine, Tim McMahon, whom I met when I lived in Gainesville, FL, at UF, makes a Christmas music record every year. It's a compilation with music from different influences. Without fail he has come through with new tunes not used in previous records (to my knowledge). These are easy to listen with friends & family, or at a Christmas party and easlily allows you to engage in the mayhem that the holidays bring on. Here is the record. This is his fifth installment, that's five years of unique holiday records.

The Main Record
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The Playlist
The Sonics - Santa Claus
Deerhoof - Holy Night
John Maus - This IS the Beat
Troy Hess - Christmas on the Moon
Daniel Johnston - Rock Around the Christmas Tree
Asobi Seksu - Merry Christmas
Angry Johnny & The Killbillies - 6 Bullets for Christmas
Beat Happening - Christmas
Wild billy Childish & the Musicians of the British Empire - Christmas Hell
The Legendary Tigerman - Fuck Christmas, I Got the Blues
Beulah - Santa Kissed Me
The Legendary Pink Dots - Frosty
The Free Design - Close Your Mouth (It's Christmas)
Pizzicato 5 - From Party to Party
Sy Mann - Tijuana Christmas
Hasil Adkins - Santa Claus Boogie
Native Tongue - Do You Hear What I Hear?
The White Stripes - Candy Cane Children
Big Star - Jesus Christ
Jimi Hendrix - Auld Lang Syne

This year he also added a surprise disc which I haven't even checked out yet. This is the second time he implements this supplement. It's full of some really old songs best enjoyed on a dark and silent night.

The Surprise Supplement
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Enjoy!
(FYI people - for some reason Tim made the record in .m4a files)