25. Battles Mirrored
24. Justice ✝
23. Les Savy Fav Let’s Stay Friends
22. Klaxons Myths Of The Near Future
21. Kanye West Graduation
20. Spoon Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
19. Sea Wolf Leaves In The River
18. Datarock Datarock Datarock
17. The Hold Steady Boys And Girls In America
16. LCD Soundsystem Sound Of Silver
15. Feist The Reminder
14. Mark Ronson Version
13. Bat For Lashes Fur & Gold
12. Thurston Moore Trees Outside The Academy
11. Charlotte Gainsbourg 5:55

10. Arcade Fire Neon Bible - I have a love/hate relationship with Arcade Fire. I love them for their artistic integrity and ability to consistently make incredible music the way they want to. I hate them for not being more open to whoring themselves out. Truth be told, it’s totally selfish. I want to work with this band more than any other band in modern music. Even more than Radiohead. Refocusing on the album, if only for a couple of sentences, I’ll say that there’s no reason that this album won’t go down as one of the best albums of the last decade. It’s innovative, pioneering, strangely beautiful and smart. And let’s face it, if you don’t have this album, it’s quite likely you’ve let yourself go in the music department.

9. The Good, The Bad & The Queen The Good, The Bad & The Queen - The Good, The Bad & The Queen are a supergroup. Let’s just establish that straight away. Damon Albarn (Blur/Gorillaz), Paul Simonon (The Clash), Tony Allen (Africa 70/Fela Kuti) and Simon Tong (The Verve) mix everything from dub to African to Brit rock to Reggae and soul. Oh, and they transcend decades of music styles just to keep things interesting. While the album could be described in more ways than I care to go into, at the core are a bunch of really talented musicians having a good time and calling it an album. Bob Marley said it best, “Music is music.”

8. Cherry Ghost Thirst For Romance - I haven’t really seen anyone else talking about this album, at least not in the States. If you’re a Wilco fan, which I will be again when they make a good album, you’ll recognize where the band’s name came from. And it might give you a small indication of what you’re getting into before you put the album on. There’s something to be said for a band that just makes good music. Thirst For Romance could have been released 10 or 20 years ago and it would still be a compelling album and there aren’t many others I could honestly say that about.

7. Okkervil River The Stage Names - Can I be honest with you about something really trite? I hate the band’s name and I was late to the game because of that. You’re rolling your eyes, aren’t you? Look, I’m not proud of it and I’m coming clean so how about you cut me some slack, hipster. This album has Austin written all over it, and incidentally, that’s where they hail from. And while there’s an undeniable yet faint twang, you’ll be be hard-pressed to call this anything but alt-country. Gorgeous layers of guitar, piano, strings and, well, happiness keep me listening to this album over and over. Am I the only one who thinks they sound a lot like the Old 97’s?

6. Band Of Horses Cease To Begin - I’m sure I wasn’t the only one that was worried about a sophomore slump for this band. Their debut was critically acclaimed and there was quite a bit riding on their follow-up. When I first listened to the album, I wasn’t taken by it. There wasn’t anything that particularly stood out to me, but damn if it didn’t grow on me. Seeing them live really sealed it for me as well. There’s enough hope in the music to keep me from thinking something bad is gonna happen, but the excitement of not knowing for sure keeps me listening more intently than I normally do. I still haven’t figured it out, but that’s ok.

5. Menomena Friend And Foe - If I wasn’t paying attention to release dates, I would have totally passed this one over. Menomena first appeared on my monthly mixes last year, thanks to my friend Van at Barsuk (their label), but the album was released in January. I digress… Friend And Foe was the first time I heard Menomena and it’s the only album I can tolerate. I’m a little at a loss for words on how to describe why I like this album so much. The rhythm is unconventional and the song structure isn’t what I’m normally drawn to, but maybe that’s why this particular album is so appealing to me. Somehow, through all of the asymmetries I find the music compelling, if not just short of brilliant. And if I sound a little like a scientist trying to apply logic to my fondness for this album, you’ll understand when you listen to it. It should also be noted that despite working in an office with people that are musically ambivalent (not you, Mara), everyone enjoyed it when I played this album. I’m just sayin’.

4. Radiohead In Rainbows - I can’t bring myself to justify Radiohead’s inclusion on my list. If you don’t understand, there’s nothing I can say to change your mind.

3. The National Boxer - I think I might be in the minority with regards to not placing this album at the top of my list, and I feel a little guilty about it. Simply put, this is one of the most exceptional albums I’ve heard in years. If Boxer was a sweater, it will be tattered, pilled and in dire need of replacement. There’s something inexplicably gorgeous about lead singer, Matt Berninger’s voice and the finely balanced instrumentation. There isn’t a song worth skipping on this near-perfect album.

2. Maps We Can Create - I’m a sucker for electronic and rock music in a blender. And I’m not talking about repetitive rave kind of electronic music. We Can Create is sonic euphoria. An epic album that mixes psychedelia, pop and electronica with precise balance. When I listen to this album, I feel free. There’s an unmistakable familiarity that brings me comfort and makes me feel as though everything’s going to be alright.

1. Kings Of Leon Because Of The Times - I’m hard-pressed to find a band that records a better sounding rock n’ roll record than the Followills. The album hasn’t left my car CD player since it came out. They put on one of the best shows I saw all year and while they rarely dive deeper than sex, drugs, rock n’ roll and god, they’ve got the magic formula down. This album is fun. It’s probably not an album you’ll sit down with to ponder life, but sometimes you need a vacation from the bullshit. Because Of The Times shall serve as your guide.

The ones that got away

Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
Against Me! - New Wave
The Bees - Octopus
Beirut - The Flying Club Cup
Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
Blonde Redhead - 23
Brother Ali - The Undisputed Truth
Caribou - Andorra
Common - Finding Forever
Dan Deacon - Spiderman Of The Rings
Dean & Britta - Back Numbers
Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond
Dungen - Tito Bitar
Editors - An End Has A Start
El-P - I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead
Fink - Distance and Time
Grinderman - Grinderman
Jay-Z - American Gangster
Lil Wayne - Da Drought 3
M.I.A. - Kala
Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
Kate Nash - Made Of Bricks
Fionn Regan - The End Of History
Rilo Kiley - Under The Blacklight
Soulsavers - It’s Not How Far You Fall, It’s the Way You Land
Bruce Springsteen - Magic
Taken By Trees - Open Field
UGK - Underground Kings
White Rabbits - Fort Nightly
Amy Winehouse - Back To Black

I met a paint contractor at the house this morning. It’s the third bid I’m getting to have the exterior of the house painted. Our house is currently blue with white trim and a white picket fence. We’re making things more natural looking with a nice bold red door.

You’d think it wouldn’t be hard to pick someone to paint, but if I have one more person doing something on our house that can’t come close to doing what they say they can do, I’m going to go completely mental. Here are a few red flags to watch for:

• They call themselves an “artist.” Artist means they take too long and they should probably stick with canvases. I’m not looking for someone to paint the Mona Lisa on the side of the house. Solid colors, straight lines, clear outlines… It’s not rocket science and it’s not a gallery.
• It’s 2007 and you should have email. I’ll let this one go if it sounds like you know what you’re talking about and have good references, but seriously, get some email.
• Don’t tell me you don’t have a car. I’m all for public transportation, but not having your own car means you can’t pick things up at Home Depot when the need arises. Kind of a non-starter.

I had a very scary and unique experience today. It was approaching 6pm at work. I was wrapping up a few things and leaving soon for an evening out. I heard what sounded like thunder, which would have been predictable since we’d had horrendous rain and thunderstorms earlier in the day. But the sound rumbled on longer than thunder would. My friend and co-worker, Pari, and I looked at each other with a concerned look that grew more intense as the seconds went by. At one point I even said to Pari, “I have that bad feeling in the pit of my stomach”. She concurred. After a few “what the f’s” and approximately 20 seconds, a few other people in our offices popped out, also concerned. We went to a window and saw people running, full-on racing, down the street. Simultaneously, everyone had the same thought - “let’s get out of here, NOW!”. Leaving computers on, pens clicked on where they lay, folders askew, we grabbed only our personal bags and headed towards the lobby of the 16th floor. Crazy, but instinctively and without discussing it, everyone knew to take the stairs. So down we started. There was already a thin stream of people descending. Not much talking. A few “what happened?” and a few panickers talking out loud or on their cell phones. Pari heard a guy basically saying goodbye to whoever was on the other end of the phone. Pari, in her comfortable ballet flats, raced ahead of me. Every man for him or herself I suppose. (Smiling) I, on the other hand, had worn my 4″ platforms today. So I navigated about 3 or 4 flights with them on, everyone passing me by, until I decided to whip them off and rapidly descend the remaining floors barefoot. Amazing the thoughts that go through one’s head during something like this. The most humorous was probably the realization that it’s really difficult to descend that amount of stories. That my legs were getting a great workout and that maybe I could skip the gym tomorrow morning. The more grave turned to, “so this is what the people felt like at the WTC”, or “I know it wasn’t our building that exploded, but what if we’re next”, or “jesus, they said we were going to be attacked again soon, and here it is”. Anyway, the central point was to go as fast as I possibly could.

I reached the lobby, finally, and Pari was waiting for me. It was mayhem. We ran out to the street and it was worse. We still had no idea what had happened. People were saying it was a building explosion. Maybe Met Life Building. Maybe Grand Central Station. All within two blocks. Someone else said a building was crumbling. We headed south because we both live in that direction, but also it was away from whatever was happening. People everywhere. Fire and police vehicles everywhere. LOUD. Everyone trying to use their cell phone but once again, no service. I felt lost for a minute, looking everywhere, and Pari grabbed my hand. She started running and pulling me. We ran and ran, hand in hand the whole time, passing other people running, people standing around looking lost, little kids crying, Pari saw a woman crying, covered in dirt. I didn’t see her. After about five blocks I realized I was still holding my shoes and was barefoot. Ew, gross. But running in platforms was simply not an option. At one corner we stopped and looked at the sky behind us. It was a cloudy day so we could barely make out a thick cloud of something billowing about a block past our offices. Shaking with fear and rubbery legs, and without speaking about it, we both had the same thought and continued bolting. Remember the news footage? Yeah, get away from that as quickly as possible.

Finally, at approximately 15 blocks from the area, we stopped at a mani/pedi place so that I could buy some flip-flops. At that point my feet could not possibly get dirtier, but I didn¹t’ want to step on something and cut them. And anyway, ew, gross. We reached Madison Square Park where seemingly the people there had no clue what was happening 15 blocks north. Kids were playing on the swingsets, people were leisurely walking their dogs. We sat on a bench to catch our breath and try to reach some family. This is when we started getting glimpses of reports that there was a steampipe explosion. Christ, all this for that? We continued walking south and stopped at a bistro for a drink and a bite to eat and talked about how lucky we were today. But also about the fact that this is now the reality of our lives and the world we live in. It was our instinct to leave the building immediately, to take the stairs, to run far away. To reach out to family and let them know we were okay.

I just wanted to share this with you to remind everyone that we really do need to live for every day.

Audrey and I were at Giants Stadium for Live Earth and she was working the press and celebs like nobody’s business. I’ll be posting a full wrap-up of my experience at the show as soon as I get a chance to finish writing it. I started on the plane back to LA, but haven’t really had a moment to write.

Created with Paul’s flickrSLiDR.

It’s pissing out. Thunder, lightning… The whole shebang. Good thing it let up for a bit so Roger Waters could get his soundcheck in. He was the only one soundchecking this evening. There I was, inside Giants Stadium with a handful of other people, watching Roger go through his set. A private show, if you will. I’m probably not even supposed to be talking about it, but “Another Brick In The Wall” sounded amazing, especially with the kids choir. The graphics on the stage, everyone looking at one another with the same thought in their head, ‘How incredibly cool is this?!’

I had to call someone.

“Jonas, it’s Brad. I’m standing…30 feet away from Roger Waters in an empty Giants Stadium”

“Awesome”

You can hear him playing the bass line for “Money.”

“Do you hear that??”

“Yeah, that’s cool.”

Even though he only said a few words, I could tell he was excited for me. And that’s all I really wanted. I kinda wish I could have brought him with me. Some day. Dad would have probably enjoyed it too.

Tomorrow starts the madness. I’ll be working for 24 hours straight before I actually get a break. According to email I received, 4am - 9am is my shift. I guess that leaves me with a few hours of sleep tomorrow. It’s gonna be work, but adrenaline is rushing through me and it’s one of the most exciting things I’ve ever worked on in my life. As I was watching Roger, with chills on my arms, I was thinking about how incredible my life is. I’m so grateful for all of it and I’ve done some awesome stuff, especially in the last few years. Gorillaz in Manchester and now Live Earth… Just wow.