Below are the 5 most recent journal entries recorded in dreamNation's LiveJournal:

Saturday, April 29th, 2006
7:58 pm	top 20 albums ever (in my opinion) (because i have too much free time) 1. ted leo & the pharmacists- shake the sheets- unconventional first pick, yes. why? because every single second of this album is pure bliss. everything a great album should be- insanely catchy melodies, intelligent song crafting, important/relevant lyrics, fantastic production. possibly the only album ive ever listened to that i've never gotten tired of. 2. sonic youth- daydream nation- ive already said enough about this album.. 3. pj harvey- rid of me- youve never heard a woman do this on a record, and probably never will again 4. liz phair- exile in guyville- one of the most essential and important indie rock albums of all time 5. radiohead- kid a- without this album, i would have never ventured into indie music in the first place 6. black star- mos def/talib kweli present..- this one is an underground CLASSIC 7. fiona apple- when the pawn...- yes, i know every single word to every song. this album gets overlooked by most fiona fans, but this will always be her peak in my opinion 8. portishead- dummy- just try to come close to this kind of originality. released in 1994, still sounds like the future of music. its huge influence is often overlooked. 9. joy division- closer- the only album to ever scare the shit out of me. the album is ian curtis' suicide note to the world, as he hung himself prior to the record's release. it's a masterpiece. 10. kelis- kaliedescope- not necessarily the best, but one of my favorites. i would love to see kelis work with mf doom or danger mouse 11. viktor vaughn- vaudeville villian- mf doom's strongest point... somehow manages to bring a completely fresh and original sound to his already amazing catalog 12. tori amos- little earthquakes- ah, tori... if only she made music half as good as this anymore 13. pj harvey- to bring you my love- tamer than rid of me, more sex appeal... a perfect medium 14. radiohead- ok computer- used to be #1, but has since aged on me... still a milestone 15. jeff buckley- grace- singers with tragic deaths seem to always be blown out of proportion... jeff buckley is the rare exception. a voice like his is still lacking 16. nas- illmatic- it's on everyone's list, and it's there for a reason. you'll rarely hear lyrics as thought provoking as these. 17. neutral milk hotel- in the aeroplane over the sea- it is so bizarre how loved this album is by indie music lovers. there's just something magical about it. 18. coheed & cambria- in keeping secrets of silent earth...- i don't believe anyone in mainstream rock music today is combining intricate song structure with catchy melody as well as they are... well, maybe tool.. 19. a tribe called quest- midnight maurauders- i have so much respect for this group. true pioneers. 20. air- moon safari- unique, sultry... everything you could want in an album to get completely lost in album art of all 20 albums (#1 in top left, #20 in bottom right) (Comment on this)
Monday, April 17th, 2006
10:46 pm	much props: pre-milkshake kelis, eh: post-milkshake kelis My music tastes are a bit unconventional at times, as I end up absolutely loving certain mainstream artists, that while extremely talented and wonderful, music enthusiasts/magazines generally ignore. 2 come to mind for me- coheed & cambria, and kelis. Yes, Kelis is known as the milkshake girl, but she is so much more than that. She started off in the late 90's with Kaliedescope, which is easily in my top 20 albums of all time. The album came out near the turn of the 21st century, and was entirely produced by the Neptunes a few years before they ever made it big. The album did spawn a minor hit single, "caught out there", which most people know as the one with the chorus where she literally screams. The album is filled with quirky pop/r&b gems, and while not entirely original, has a rather interesting theme of outer space. The beats, accordingly, are out of this world as well. Her 2nd album, Wanderland, expanded on her position as R&B's alternative below-the-mainstream representative, and was so far from the current R&B trends in the US that it didn't even get released in the United States. yes, the "milkshake girl" was once this far from the mainstream. I have mixed feelings about her one major hit in the US. It's sad that one of her weakest songs became her only hit, and that the song became more of a novelty/pop culture reference than validating her as a credible singer. The album "Tasty" was definitely more mainstream, but was still refreshing and much better than what any of her peers were doing. She also began to sell herself as a sex symbol, which was probably more of a pressure from the record company than anything. It's just such a shame that a truly talented artist has to literally sell her body in music videos in order to make it as a star in the United States. Her new video for the song "Bossy" just came out, and I'm truly disappointed. Sure, the song is quite catchy, but the beginning of the video consists of her cutting her hair. This could be interpreted as a symbol that she has left her old self behind and is determined to be just like Beyonce, Rihanna, Shawnna, and Trina... which is a shame. I'll still buy Kelis' new record the day it comes out, and watch her new album flop because record companies really don't know what to do with her. But here's to hoping that Mrs. Nasir Jones can find it in her heart to make an album as good as Kaliedescope once more. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
8:23 pm	cut the bitches: coldplay Coldplay's career in the US started out very well, very much like Radiohead's starting success in the United States. Parachutes and Pablo Honey both spawned minor mainstream hits (Yellow, Creep), and their sophomore albums improved drastically on their first albums. (Rush of Blood to the Head, The Bends) These albums (especially The Bends) will be rememered as quintessential britpop/rock albums for decades to come. So what did Radiohead do after they released The Bends? Created the best (hands down) album of the 90's, OK Computer... a tripped out, electronic sampling, genre bending... okay fuck that, mere adjectives can't even describe it's greatness, and anyone that's heard it will tell you the same. So what does Coldplay do for their 3rd album? They've proved they can make a hell of an album, and find mainstream success at the same time. But instead of experimenting and going for critical acclaim, they make the PEICE OF SHIT RECORD KNOWN AS X&Y, an album with laughable, 5th-grade level lyrics, songs centered around simple guitar riffs all heard before, and shitty ballads tailor made for high school proms. I actually saw them on their Amiptheater tour in the summer of 2005. I'm not gonna lie- they did put on a nice show. The special effects were spectacular. But as I reluctantly bought my brother his requested $35 tour shirt, watched the countless promotional commercials on the huge TV screens, and looked into the audience of mostly families and christian high school kids, I thought to myself "where has coldplay gone?" With this new album, they completely sacrificed artistic merit and critical respect for their pipe dream of becoming the next U2. (whose last album was shit, too) The thing is though, U2 had The Joshua Tree, still a very respected album from the 80's, to validate their success. With X&Y, Colplay immediately downgraded themselves from being in the league of elite britpoppers like Radiohead and Blur to commercial, made-for-radio "rock" such as Nickelback, the Goo Goo Dolls, and Hoobastank. Don't get me wrong, I don't automatically hate a band if it finds mainstream success, as long as the quality is still there. Death Cab for Cutie is a perfect example. I remember listening to them years ago, and I think their newest album, "Plans", is one of their strongest yet. I congratulate their success, and still love them because they found a way to balance a more mainstream sound without sacrificing their indie credibility. I don't hate coldplay completely. Great bands have made shitty records before, and they just aren't remembered for them. But X&Y was definitely one of the biggest disappointments of 2005. (Comment on this)
7:49 pm	much props: Sonic Youth Because the name of my new blog is taken in part from one of the most important albums of our time, Sonic Youth's "Daydream Nation", I figure that I will write about them first. So, for those of you that don't know, this is Sonic Youth. Respect them, because most of your favorite artists today probably wouldn't be around or wouldn't sound the same if it weren't for them. Just last week, the album Daydream Nation was inducted into the fucking Library of Congress' National Recording Registry. The prereq's to get into this? For one, the recording has to be " culturally, historically, or aesthetically important and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." Other recordings that made it in this year were specific songs by Fats Domino and Buddy Holly, and Calvin Coolidge's inaugural address. So what makes Sonic Youth possibly the most awesome band you've never actually listened to so great? Well, they pretty much pioneered the idea of incorporating noise and distortion into rock music. With Daydream Nation, they simply birthed a new era of music. While Debbie Gibson and Tiffany were churning out number one hits and mall tours during the Reagan era, Sonic Youth helped create the building blocks for everything about 90's culture and music, including the grunge era and the early indie rock era (pavement, built to spill) Daydream Nation's lyrics could be described as one huge social commentary of the late 80's. At points they are tongue in cheek; at other points they require close examination. I highly doubt Liz Phair's "Exile in Guyville" would have been as well recieved if people weren't already used to Kim Gordon's more monotone speak/sing off key voice. Nirvana cited Sonic Youth as one of their biggest influences, and we all know what Nirvana did for the early 90's. The influences of Sonic Youth are endless and The coolest thing about Sonic Youth is probably the fact that they are still, for the most part, out of the mainstream. Sure, "Kool Thing" got plenty of MTV spins when it came out, but most modern day college kid music buffs reply with the same response. "Oh yea, I've heard of them, theyre supposed to be really good... never actually listened to them though." So if you've been holding out, make sure to see them at Bonnaroo this summer, and pick up Daydream Nation. It could become the most important album you own. (Comment on this)
7:12 pm	this is my new music blog Hello all, and welcome to my brand new all-music blog. For alot of my friends, I seem to be the go-to music guy, so I figured I would make it easier and write my commentary on what I think about music in general. Most music magazines and web review sites, while insightful and thought provoking, seem to be way too self indulgent and aren't clear enough to get the bottom line across to a casual music listener. With this blog, I will be writing just as much about music I don't like as much as music I do like. I will write about both mainstream and indie artists, and cover a wide array of genres. Most people think that when they say they listen to everything, they figure they are musically diverse if they can listen to James Blunt, 50 Cent, and Gretchen Wilson in one sitting. That isn't listening to everything. It's listening to what record companies feed you on the radio in order to make profit. Fortunately, for some artists, the music still matters, and I hope to expose how great these artists are on here. I don't believe all indie music is good, and that all mainstream music is bad. I just hope to provide helpful commentary on what's going on in music. So, I've divided the entries into 3 simple categories. much props- me pretty much telling you how wonderful and important they are eh- indifference. positive and negative qualities, or just a total sense of apathy cut the bitch(es)- self explanitory... (Comment on this)