First listen: Wilco - Being There

Artist: Wilco

Album: Being There

Genre: Indie

I had Wilco's entire discography and had never listened to this album before today. I really enjoy Sky Blue Sky, Summerteeth, and AM. I also like Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I am now convinced that I like their entire discography, and appreciate each album separately due to the diversity of their catalog. I thoroughly enjoy this album due to it's Alt-Country, Uncle Tupelo feel.

What I listened to last week.

Sorry for the delay on this post. As you can see, though, I didn't listen to much at all. I listened to an Anberlin album and that was it. I got an iPad 2 on Tuesday and quite frankly, whenever I was home I was playing with that. Plus I didn't go to the gym or take any long walks so the iPod did not get much attention last week. That'll be different this week, hopefully.

What I listened to this week.

I had quite an interesting week, musically. I decided to give Wilco's discography a fair spin, and I realized just how amazing their album Sky Blue Sky is. I also went for Jeff Tweedy's other band, as you can see, with them being #2. It's hard for me to predict what my listening habits will be like for the following week, but I expect Wilco, Jason Mraz, and softer things like that this week. I'm kind of sad there was no Bob in my top 8 this week. That will probably change soon. :)

What I listened to this week.

Nothing too surprising here. I listened to the entire Bob Dylan and The Band collection last week; that is some quality stuff. I was feeling very nostalgic for one of my favorite pop punk bands that disbanded long ago, so I listened to a lot of The Matches. I definitely love Mumford & Sons' record and when I went to search for bands with a similar sound, I had no luck. I haven't given up though.

15 Song Shuffle

Today's theme: None/Entire Library

Steppenwolf - I'm Moving On: Classic rock is a very good start!! I definitely need to listen to them more often, and more than just "Magic Carpet Ride", "Drift Away", and "Born To Be Wild". 9/10

50 Cent - What Up Gangsta: I kinda forgot I had this album. One of my least favorites of this album. 4.5/10

Bon Jovi - Everybody's Broken: Pretty good song. I really enjoy the album Lost Highway as a whole. 8/10

Bob Dylan and The Band - You Ain't Goin Nowhere: I was just listening to their two studio albums earlier. Such quality classic rock/folksy feel. 8/10

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Sinister Purpose: iTunes shuffle has been really good to me. CCR is incredibly solid. 9/10

Grits - Why: My guilty pleasure is Christian rap, and Grits is a rap group. 8/10

Eagles - The Sad Cafe: This is a good song, but it's too slow to hold my interest. 5/10

Geddy Lee - Grace To Grace: Though not as epic, his album basically sounds like Rush. 9/10

Bob Dylan - Tryin' To Get To Heaven: This is on one of his albums I hardly ever listen to. Good song though, as his songs usually are. 9/10

Soundgarden - Head Injury: I like one album of theirs, and Ultramega OK is not it. I see why. 4.5/10

The Beatles - It's All Too Much: I love how the song that comes up is one of their majorly trippy ones. I hate to give them a low rating, but this song is.. meh. 7.5/10

Kenny Chesney - There's Something Sexy About The Rain: His voice is pretty, but it takes a lot for me to like a slow country song. 6/10

Michael Jackson - You Are Not Alone: Despite the music video playing in my head when I hear this song (which majorly disturbs me), this is the king of pop. He did very little wrong, in terms of his music. 9.5/10

Jimi Hendrix - Bleeding Heart: Greatest guitarist to ever live, in my humble opinion. I think every song of his I would rank perfectly. 10/10

Maniac - Just Say Yes: I just got this album today. It's the new project of the lead singer of one of my favorite pop punk bands. It's so drastically different that it needs to majorly grow on me. But I will say their songs are pretty catchy. 8/10

Overall grade: 77% / C+

First listen: Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More

Artist: Mumford & Sons

Album: Sigh No More

Genre: Folk/Bluegrass

Will I download?: Well, I already had this album in my permanent collection, simply because of how much I love their single The Cave. I heard it first on the Grammys - which I was only watching for their performance with Bob Dylan. I've heard it on the radio a few times since then and decided I should check them out. This album is incredibly good.

First listen: Saves The Day - Stay What You Are

Artist: Saves The Day

Album: Stay What You Are

Genre: Pop punk

Will I download?: Absolutely. I shrugged this band off many years ago because I didn't like the guy's voice. It is still sort of annoying (especially in the slower songs), but I can overlook it for the lyrics and the music.

What I listened to this week.

Not surprisingly, blink is the top played. I found myself listening to their self-titled, Enema of the State, and their two new songs quite a bit last week. This is quite an interesting mix - oldies like The Beatles, CCR, and Bob Dylan, and then pop punk like blink, FOB, and MCS, and then Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, which don't fit into either category.

Album of the day: Keith Urban - The Ranch

Artist: Keith Urban

Album: The Ranch

Genre: Country

Rating: 9/10

Favorite songs: Walkin' The Country, Some Days You Gotta Dance, Homespun Love

Keith Urban definitely got poppier as the time went on, and while I like all of his albums in his career, I love his older ones. They have so much spunk to them. This album gets a high rating from me because it's a very easy listen and there are no songs I really dislike.

15 Song Shuffle

Today's theme: Country

Rascal Flatts - Holes: Sweet song, I guess. I just don't dig too many slower country songs. 6/10

Tim McGraw - I Do But I Don't: Another slow one. Meh. 6/10

Brad Paisley - Eastwood: It's like my favorite song on the entire album, and it's an instrumental. I tend to like his instrumentals, but still. This album does not add up to what he's capable of, in my opinion. 8/10

Brad Paisley - Mr. Policeman: Here we go. One of my favorite songs of his. The Brad I know and love. 10/10

Johnny Cash - Where The Soul of Man Never Dies: A slow song, but it's Johnny. He can do no wrong. 8/10

Brad Paisley - Remind Me: Another song from Brad's newest album that was sadly underwhelming. It's a sweet song, one of his better on this album I suppose. 8/10

Johnny Cash - As Long As The Grass Shall Grow: I absolutely love songs with just his voice and a gentle acoustic guitar. It's pretty close to perfection. I love the duets with June so much, and this is one of those. 8.5/10

Dierks Bentley - Good Man Like Me: I do not listen to him enough. Whenever I do I realize how much I like him. This song is great. 9.5/10

Sugarland - Very Last Country Song: Sometimes Jennifer's voice annoys me, sometimes it doesn't. I think it annoys me more in faster ones. This is a slower song. I like the lyrics though. 8.5/10

Johnny Cash - Jackson: This song makes me think of the movie Walk The Line, and if that is really how Johnny proposed to June, that makes this song absolute perfection. It was already pretty great prior to knowing this. 10/10

Keith Urban - Just Some Love: Old Keith Urban can't be topped. Well, he can - but these first few albums are so good. This makes me want to play The Ranch in its entirety later. 9.5/10

Josh Turner - Way Down South: His voice makes my heart melt like no other man can other than the King himself. Love this song. This also makes me want to listen to Josh Turner later today. 9.5/10

Tim McGraw - Good Girls: This is a song off of his new album, which I admit I have not listened to! This is a slower track, and it's decent. 7/10

Tim McGraw - Hard On The Ticker: This song makes me want to get up and do a slow square dance. This is from his 1997 album Everywhere. As is the case with most country artists I like, their earlier albums are better. The same is true for him! 8.5/10

Rascal Flatts - He Ain't The Leavin Kind: I have tons of country artists in my iTunes; I find it funny that only a few are represented in this shuffle. This song is slower and blah. 6.5/10

Overall grade: 82% / B-

blink-182's 2011 set list

The opening night of the Honda Civic Tour was tonight, and therefore blink-182's set list was revealed. Here it is.

1. Feeling This
2. Up All Night*
3. The Rock Show
4. What's My Age Again?
5. Down
6. I Miss You
7. Stay Together For The Kids
8. Dumpweed
9. Always
10. Violence
11. The Predicament*
12. First Date
13. Heart's All Gone*
14. Man Overboard
15. Ghost On The Dancefloor*
16. All The Small Things
17. Josie
-- Encore --
18. Travis Barker Drum Solo
19. Carousel
20. Dammit

* = new song that will be on Neighborhoods, out September 27th

It's definitely a good mixture of old and new. I'm excited to hear the two new songs I haven't heard yet, and apparently they're really good. I like the majority of the set list, but I probably would have picked a few different songs. It's kind of like a greatest hits tour + the new songs. It's mainly their singles, but I guess that's to be expected.

15 Song Shuffle

Today's theme: Nostalgia/Pop Punk

The Audition - Honest Mistake: I don't know about this album. I like their first two but I think after that they went downhill. 4/10

Yellowcard - Lights And Sounds: Love it. A LOT. This song never gets old. 9.5/10

Angels & Airwaves - A Little's Enough: I adore the lyrics of this song. "God himself is coming home to say I can do anything if you want me here. I can fix anything if you'll let me near." 9/10

Cartel - Luckie St.: Ahh, the good pop punk of the "old days". I used to listen to this album all of the time, and this coming up made me decide to spin more Cartel later. 9/10

blink-182 - Depends: Terrible blink song.. but it does make me laugh. 6/10

Jimmy Eat World - Carry You: This is on a great album I don't listen to enough. 8/10

The Used - Greener With The Scenery: I just recently put their discography back in my iTunes. Unsure if they'll stay.. I used to listen to them all of the time. This song was never one of my favorites. 7/10

The Wonder Years - What If We [Swam] Into Nothing?: One of the only newer pop punk bands I've discovered that I like. This song seems off to me for some reason. Can't really explain it. 6.5/10

The Used - The Ripper: I remember really digging this song. As of right now, I'm digging the riffs. 8.5/10

blink-182 - Touchdown Boy: Why are the blink songs that come up both from Cheshire Cat? Fail. This song is better though. 7.5/10

blink-182 - Anthem: Here we go. I can't rate any Enema of the State songs below a 9; that album is perfection. 9/10

The Wonder Years - My Last Semester: I have tons of artists in this shuffle, but I'm getting a lot of repeats. This song is better than the other one that came up. 8.5/10

Midtown - Perfect: I like Cobra Starship; some of their songs are catchy. But then when I listen to Midtown, I realize how much better they were. 9.5/10

blink-182 - Fentoozler: I have a lot of blink but I was not expecting them to come up this many times in my shuffle. Geez. One of my favorite songs on Cheshire Cat. 9/10

Yellowcard - The Takedown: Paper Walls is such a solid album; this song represents it well. 9.5/10

Overall grade: 80% / B

Album of the day: Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmo's Factory

Artist: Creedence Clearwater Revival

Album: Cosmo's Factory

Genre: Classic Rock

Rating: 10/10

Favorite songs: Run Through The Jungle, Up Around The Bend, Lookin' Out My Back Door

My first 10/10, but really, what ISN'T perfect about this album? And this band, for that matter. I mean that pretty much sums it up.

First listen: Spraynard - Funtitled

Artist: Spraynard

Album: Funtitled

Genre: Pop Punk

Will I download: No. I was intrigued by this album prior to listening to it. I liked the album title. I liked the album cover - it was a bearded guy in a turtleneck holding a cat. I liked some of the song titles - The Denver Broncos vs. The Denver Broncos, O.R. They?, and Damn You, A Box. But to me, this album is bland pop punk. Nothing stands out about it, and I think that's why only a few pop punk bands have remained in my iTunes over time.

First listen: Thrice - Beggars

Artist: Thrice

Album: Beggars

Genre: Post-hardcore/Experimental Rock

Will I download?: No. I liked it, and it exceeded my expectations, but I didn't like it enough that I thought I would ever listen to it again. Might see if I like one of their albums better at some point.

Album of the day: Rush - Rush

Artist: Rush

Album: Rush

Genre: Progressive Rock

Rating: 8.5/10

Favorite songs: Working Man, What Are You Doing, Take A Friend

While this is possibly one of their weaker albums, it still is better than 90% of music out there. Arguably the best rock band ever. I know they have some very close contenders. But I would definitely rank Rush as the best, and at the very least ONE of the best.

Band of the month: Fall Out Boy

How I first got into them: They opened for Less Than Jake and Yellowcard at the Quest in Minneapolis, MN in fall of 2003. The people I had met at the show had mentioned their song "Grand Theft Autumn" and how Joe (far left) spun his guitar around and that they were really fun to watch live. They were right! After that show, I picked up their album Take This To Your Grave and I was hooked.

How they rank: I would say they are my 2nd favorite pop punk band of all time, after blink, of course. I love Pete's songwriting and Patrick's voice. They were amazing. I'm sad they are no longer together, but they gave us 4 albums of amazing music, so I can't complain.

Favorite show: Fall 2005, St. Paul, MN with Panic At The Disco and Motion City Soundtrack. I met Pete before the show, I was in the front row on Pete's side, and I got one of his bass picks. The openers were rock solid, too. It was a pretty perfect night.

First show: Fall 2003, Minneapolis, MN with Less Than Jake and Yellowcard

Last show: Fall 2009, Milwaukee, WI with Panic at the Disco and blink-182

How many times I've seen them live: 9

Favorite album: This is pretty hard, because my preference changes depending on my mood. I do not dislike ANY of their albums, but I would have to say their first (major) album, Take This To Your Grave, is my favorite. Although most fans were not huge fans of it, I also liked their last album, Folie A Deux, a lot.

Favorite songs on each album

Take This To Your Grave: The Patron Saint of Liars and Fakes, Dead On Arrival

From Under The Cork Tree: I've Got A Dark Alley, Get Bush Living

Infinity On High: Bang The Doldrums, Hum Hallelujah

Folie A Deux: What A Catch Donnie, Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown