Archive for the 'The Eagles' Category
TSF PICKS THE 2008 GRAMMY WINNERS
Last night was the Grammy nomination show in Los Angeles to announce all of the nominated artists for the 51st annual Grammy Awards. The nominations feature albums released between October 1, 2007 and September 30, 2008.
Now that the nominees have been chosen, we here at TSF have decided to reveal who we would chose as the winners in each category. For the sake of not boring you, we have chosen the 5 most compelling categories.
With each category, we have listened to each song or album and determined a winner.
Not that this isn’t who we think will win, it’s who we would choose to win of the nominated artists.
- winner noted by blue font -
RECORD OF THE YEAR
(given to the artist/engineer/producer as opposed to song of the year, which is awarded primarily to the songwriter)
- Chasing Pavements
Adele - Viva La Vida
Coldplay - Bleeding Love
Leona Lewis - Paper Planes
M.I.A - Please Read The Letter
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
All of these songs are likable and 3 of them are great songs (“Chasing Pavements”, “Bleeding Love”, and “Paper Planes”). Let it be noted that “Paper Planes” was listed on TSF’s Top 5 Songs of 2007-2008 That You Haven’t Heard list, which was posted way back in June, before the song hit the mainstream. TSF also loves Adele as noted by our Adele – The 20-Year-Old Singer/Songwriter Phenom post from September.
“Chasing Pavements” isn’t even the best song on her record and “Bleeding Love” is a great pop song, but I’d almost have to say that “Paper Planes” is the best song of 2008. The Plant/Krauss collaboration is a little overrated, if you ask me.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
- Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
Coldplay
- Tha Carter III
Lil Wayne
- Year Of The Gentleman
Ne-Yo
- Raising Sand
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
- In Rainbows
Radiohead
Not the greatest selections ever. None of these albums are great by any means. Ne-Yo and Lil Wayne are beyond obnoxious. I think Lil Wayne has like 3 or 4 good songs, which isn’t saying much because he releases an EP like every other week and has like a million songs. If terrorist were to capture me, no form of torture would be worse than Ne-Yo’s Year Of The Gentleman on repeat for days on end.
Coldplay is annoying by default and as noted, the Plant/Krauss experiment is quite marginal. Then to top it all off, I’m not a huge fan of anything Radiohead has done outside of The Bends and OK Computer, but if pressed, In Rainbows is the best album of this list. But that isn’t saying much, I wouldn’t put any of these albums anywhere near a top 5 albums of 2008 list.
BEST NEW ARTIST
- Adele
- Duffy
- Jonas Brothers
- Lady Antebellum
- Jazmine Sullivan
First of all, Adele and Duffy are without a doubt from the same British R&B/Soul/Jazz mold, and Adele is much much better.
The thought of the Jonas Brothers winning best new artist makes me throw up in my mouth a little bit. Lady Antebellum is a barely marginal country act with no special qualities.
Jazmine Sullivan seems to be the dark horse of the list. I follow music very closely and had never even heard of her until the nomination. I sat down and listened to her debut album, Fearless, and nothing about it really stood out to me. She’s evidently the protege of Missy Elliot, and it’s very obvious. I must compare her and Duffy to Adele, since they fall into the same overall genre – and Adele is much better than her competitors.
BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE
(BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS)
- Rock N Roll Train
AC/DC - Violet Hill
Coldplay - Long Road Out Of Eden
Eagles - Sex On Fire
Kings Of Leon - House Of Cards
Radiohead
AC/DC’s latest single, “Rock N Roll Train”, doesn’t disappoint but is no match for The Eagles’ “Long Road Out Of Eden”. Given the fact that Kings of Leon are terrible and Radiohead is overrated, The Eagles barely edge out AC/DC in this category. It’s a song with a “Hotel California” vibe and an old school Eagles sound that we haven’t heard in a long-time from one of the greatest country/rock bands of all-time.
BEST ROCK ALBUM
- Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
Coldplay - Rock N Roll Jesus
Kid Rock - Only By The Night
Kings Of Leon - Death Magnetic
Metallica - Consolers Of The Lonely
The Raconteurs
Kid Rock has fallen off since the late 90s and Metallica’s Death Magnetic was recorded practically inaudibly by a bunch of deaf infants – plus, you know our opinion on the other bands.
The Raconteurs rush-released one of the best rock albums of the 2000s in 2008, Consolers Of The Lonely. That album absolutely fucking rocks. It’s arguably Jack White’s best effort of his impressive career and each track is outstanding. It’s safe to say that Nashville’s The Raconteurs should run away with this award. I recommend the songs “You Don’t Understand Me”, “Attention,” “Many Shades of Black”, and “Salute Your Solution”.
“MANY SHADES OF BLACK” ACOUSTIC:
TOP 10 AMERICAN ROCK BANDS OF ALL-TIME
Damn it England, we get it – you have better rock ‘n roll than us. But I’ll be damned if we don’t have better teeth and hotter chicks. Write that down.
The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, The Police … I could go on forever. England has produced not only some of the best music the world has ever heard, but without a doubt the best rock bands of all-time. It is ironic that Rock music was basically invented in the United States – Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Elvis – but England perfected the craft and made it marketable to the masses. John Lennon and Paul McCartney have openly admitted their obsession with American radio and it’s eventual primary influence on everything they would subsequently release under The Beatles name. The Beatles have also openly admitted that one of the best albums of all-time, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, was highly influenced by The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds.
I have decide to completely disqualify all solo artists from the list. My sincere apologies to Mr. Joel and Mr. Young, and all of the other solo artists who have helped pave the way for prominent rock music in America. Springsteen and Petty make the list under the circumstance that they released records with a band that everyone knows by name.
This list is a celebration of the United States holding our own in the best musical genre: rock ‘n roll. I give you,
THE TOP 10 AMERICAN ROCK
BANDS OF ALL-TIME
(11). RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
I really really wanted to put the Chili Peppers in the Top 10, but I just couldn’t find a spot for them. They’ve been doing it for a long time and their latest album, Stadium Arcadium, is just about as good as anything they have released over the course of their impressive career. They have staying power and haven’t released a bad record yet. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are a band that your kid’s kids will be listening to.
10. AEROSMITH
Aerosmith has been on an unimpressive decline that began somewhere around the mid-90s. A band’s longevity determines their place on this list and Aerosmith has landed the #10 spot due to their music’s slow demise over the past decade. They have written and released some of the best American rock music, including the smash hits “Dream On”, “Sweet Emotion”, “Walk This Way” and more.
9. FOO FIGHTERS
Fact: the Foo Fighters are light years better than Nirvana.
Fact: Nirvana is immensely and laughably overrated
Fact: Dave Grohl is more talented than Kurt Cobain.
Fact: If Dave Grohl killed himself right now, other people might recognize his genius.
Fact: The Foo Fighters rock as much as any band on this list.
8. R.E.M.
R.E.M. has one of the most impressive resumes on this list: longevity, impressive songwriting, 10+ songs that your grandmother would recognize, and great musicianship. Michael Stipe is one of the best frontmen of all time and has one of the best voices in rock history. R.E.M. has fallen off in the 21st century, but I don’t think anyone cares. 1983’s Murmur is one of the best American debut albums of all-time and “Losing My Religion” is one of the best rock songs ever recorded.
7. LYNYRD SKYNYRD
The best southern rock band of all-time – period. The Allman Brothers wish they were Lynyrd Skynyrd. If you don’t like “Sweet Home Alabama” or “Tuesday’s Gone” or “The Needle and the Spoon” or “Freebird”, then you probably aren’t American. They have released some of the best music the 1970s has to offer and could have been higher on this list without the unforseen plane crash heard around the world. And don’t even try to tell me that the Lynyrd Skynyrd touring today is as good as the real Lynyrd Skynyrd – ’cause they aren’t.
6. PEARL JAM
As probably the most controversial entry to the American rock bands list, Pearl Jam is the best band of the 1990s and arguably the best band since 1990. Pearl Jam’s Ten is still one of the top 10 albums ever recorded and they were just as responsible as Nirvana for the resurrection of rock out of the embarrassing pit of hell also known as the hair-band fad. Kurt Cobain doesn’t hold a candle to Eddie Vedder and it’s no secret that Pearl Jam rocks a lot harder than any other grunge band of the 1990s. As far as 90s rock is concerned, it doesn’t get much better than “Jeremy”, “Evenflow”, and “Daughter”.
5. CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL
I’d love to refer to Creedence as a southern rock band, but they are from California. I’ve been to California, it’s not southern. Neither is Texas or Kentucky – if you want to experience the “real” south, then go to Louisiana or Mississippi. But that’s another conversation…
Creedence did everything right. John Fogerty is a rock God in his own right and Creedence has put out some of the best folk-rock music America has ever heard. Their best song, in TSF’s opinion, is a lesser known ditty called “Cotton Fields” – a perfect rock-meets-country-meets folk tune.
4. THE BEACH BOYS
I love The Beach Boys, but The Beatles really make them seem a lot worse than they are. If The Beatles didn’t exist, The Beach Boys would be a lot better band. Brian Wilson is nothing short of one of the best musical geniuses America has ever seen, but Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s songwriting is vastly superior. Pet Sounds is one of the top 10 American albums of all time and is the primary reason The Beach Boys land at #4 on this list. If you don’t like “Good Vibrations”, you don’t like music – literally.
3. TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS
Tom Petty & The Heaertbreakers is one of those bands that every single American seems to like. I really can’t imagine a respectable human being claiming that Tom Petty “sucks”. If you think Tom Petty “sucks”, then you have terrible taste in music. They have been doing it for a long long time and doing it well. A perfect example of an American rock band. “Refugee”, “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”, and “American Girl” are American anthems that everyone and their brother know the words to.
2. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND
It was a toss-up between Tom and Bruce for the #2 spot, but personal preference lands Bruce the runner-up position on the American rock bands list. Bruce Springsteen is one of the most – if not the most – respected American musicians of all-time. He is the definition of professionalism and an artist who has perfected his craft. “The Boss” does it just as good – if not better – than any recording artist in American history. At age 59, Bruce rocks as hard as anyone touring right now. His latest album, Magic, is a great example of his longevity and ability to further solidify himself as on of the best songwriters in American rock history.
1. THE EAGLES
There was no competition for the top spot on this list. As I typed the number 1, I immediately placed The Eagles in that position without any thought. If aliens were to land in America and demand that one American band play live for them or they’d blow us off the face of the planet, The Eagles would be that one band. When you see a band like The Eagles in concert, every song on their set list is a classic. No one does it better than Henley, Walsh, Frey, and Schmidt. If I were to make a top 25 American rock songs of all-time list, The Eagles would occupy at least 5-8 spots. “Life In The Fast Lane”, “Take It Easy”, “Witchy Woman”, “Desperado”, “Hotel California”, “Tequila Sunrise”, “Take It To The Limit”, “Lyin’ Eyes” … enough said.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
WEEZER
STEELY DAN
CROSBY, STILLS, & NASH
METALLICA
FLEETWOOD MAC
GREEN DAY
RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
BUDDY HOLLY & THE CRICKETS
