I Want My Music Television vol. LXXIII

There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I thought I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.


Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby) - Jedward & Vanilla Ice



So let me get this straight: Justin Timberlake grows the Buster Poindexter poof, clones himself, and then somehow convinces Vanilla Ice to perform a song he hates that is mashed up with a song he got sued for stealing. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 10’s and something called Jedward.


The High Road - Broken Bells



I remember when I heard Danger Mouse was hooking up with the dude from The Shins and I thought to myself, “Um, can he just do another Gnarls Barkley album instead.” After perfecting the mash up (The Grey Album) and the pop song (Crazy), I thought his streak would end with teaming up with an indie rocker. If their first single is any indication, I was completely wrong and personally cannot wait to hear more. And where Gnarls Barkley was deceptively dark, there is not hiding it with Broken Bells down to the David Lynchian video.


Temporary Home - Carrie Underwood



Maybe not very coincidental that Carrie underwood breaks out her acting chops in a video just before she land actual acting job like in an upcoming episode of How I Met Your Mother. Well, at least judging from this video she is at the very least a better actress than Megan Fox.


Written in Reverse - Spoon

Nothing that special about the new Written In Reverse - Transference video, I am just digging the song right now.

Best of 2008 Redux

Here we are a week into the New Year, but I want to take one last look at 2008 (for full Best and Worst of the year, be sure to click on the Best of 2008 label at the bottom of the post). First my annual list of artists that had the most impact on be over the past twelve months with how they ranked in my Best lists in parentheses):

Top Artists of the Year

1. Coldplay (Song: 7, 16; Reader’s 1, 11; Mash-up: 12; Live 16; Video: 13, 23, 28; Album: 3)

2. Taylor Swift (Song: 11, 23, 59; Live: 21, 25; Video: 20, 29; Album: 5)

3. Kanye West (Song: 29, 53, 54, 71, 77; Reader’s: 5; Mash-Up: 9, 24; Live: 1, 17; Video: 4, 9, 19)

4. The Roots (Song: 27, 43, 49; Video: 17, 21; Album: 8)

5. Gnarls Barkley (Song: 4, 12, 78; Video: 2, 10; Album: 6)


Next some self congratulatory lists some with the most read posts and labels you all read during the last year.

Most Popular Posts

1. But That Was When I Ruled the World

2. Best Television Shows of 2007-2008

3. Voted Most Likely to End up on the Back of a Milk Carton

4. And You’re Singing a Song Thinking This Is the Life

5. We On Award Tour: 2008 ESPY Nominations

6. Previewing When Weather Changed History

7. 25 Best Characters on Television

8. You Said I Must East So Many Lemon Because I Am so Bitter

9. Press Release: FX There Is No Box

10. First Impressions: Fans vs. Favorites

11. Breathe them Deep into Your Lungs

12. You Got Me on My Knees Begging Please

13. Fourth Annual Scooter Television Awards

14. 2008 Winter Music Preview

15. Previewing The Closer

16. First Impressions: The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother and Heroes

17. Our Name Is Our Virtue

18. One Hor Angel, One Cool Devil

19. Life Is a Maze and Love Is a Riddle

20. First and Second Impressions: Eli Stone

21. This Is Gonna Be Legendary, Wait for it… Dary

22. We Have to Go Back Kate

23. Cause God Stopped Keeping Score

24. 2008 Spring Music Preview

25. I Fear Change or Why Time Waner Wants Me to Cancel their Service


Most Viewed Labels

1. Best of 2007

2. Best of 2008

3. Olympics

4. Album Review

5. Veronica Mars

6. Kelly Clarkson

7. Beauty and the Geek

8. Contest

9. Chuck

10. Best of 2006

100 Best Songs of 2008

Much apologies for being late on this but it does come before the end of the year. And even a day late, this may not be the definitive list that makes up the playlist on my iPod. To pull back the curtain of the 9th Green, typically I have two or three (or ten) drafts of the best songs of the tear before I am content with the results. I doubt I will ever change this post but maybe sometime in the New Year I will make a playlist somewhere for you to listen the songs and post that here. Until then feel free to dissect this list (and if you want to how all 189 potential songs actually ranked, shout me a holla and I will e - mail you my spreadsheet) and hope to see you all back at the 9th Green in 2009 when I have some major projects planned throughout next year.

1. I’m Yours - Jason Mraz

2. Paper Planes - M.I.A.

3. Shine - Anna Nalick

4. Who’s Gonna Save My Soul - Gnarls Barkley

5. Cath... - Death Cab For Cutie

6. Where I Stood - Missy Higgins

7. Lost! - Coldplay

8. Come on Get Higher - Matt Nathanson

9. Hope - Jack Johnson

10. Strange Times - The Black Keys

11. Love Story - Taylor Swift

12. Going On - Gnarls Barkley

13. Free Fallin’ - John Mayer

14. Fix It - Ryan Adams and the Cardinals

15. Love is Noise - The Verve

16. Viva la Vida - Coldplay

17. More Time - Needtobreathe

18. Amen - Kid Rock

19. Always a Friend - Alejandro Escovedo

20. Bottle it Up - Sara Bareilles

21. I Will Possess Your Heart - Death Cab for Cutie

22. Warwick Avenue - Duffy

23. Picture to Burn - Taylor Swift

24. The Resolution - Jack's Mannequin

25. Nothing Ever Hurt Like You - James Morrison

26. Boys With Girlfriends - Meiko

27. Birthday Girl - The Roots and Patrick Stump

28. Listen - Amos Lee

29. Good Morning - Kanye West

30. Just a Dream - Carrie Underwood

31. I Got Mine - The Black Keys

32. Just Stand Up! - Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Fergie, Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge, Natasha Bedingfield, Miley Cyrus, Leona Lewis, Carrie Underwood, Keyshia Cole, LeAnn Rimes, Ashanti, Ciara & Mariah Carey

33. Girls in Their Summer Clothes - Bruce Springsteen

34. This Is the Life - Amy MacDonald

35. Trashcan - Delta Spirit

36. Rock & Roll - Eric Hutchinson

37. If I Had Eyes - Jack Johnson

38. You Are the Best Thing - Ray LaMontagne

39. Your Song - Kate Walsh

40. Pumpkin Soup - Kate Nash

41. You Found Me - The Fray

42. Stepping Stone - Duffy

43. 75 Bars (Black’s Reconstruction) - The Roots

44. How I Could Just Kill a Man - Charlotte Sometimes

45. Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution - The Black Crowes

46. Lovebug - Jonas Brothers

47. Move - Q-Tip

48. Falling Slowly - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova

49. Get Busy - The Roots, Dice Raw, Peedi Peedi, and DJ Jazzy Jeff

50. Oxford Comma - Vampire Weekend

51. Mercy - Duffy

52. Praying for Time - Carrie Underwood

53. Heartless - Kanye West

54. Us Placers - CRS

55. The Show - Lenka

56. The Truth - Jake One featuring Freeway & Brother Ali

57. What's Been Going On - Amos Lee

58. Dream Catch Me - Newton Faulkner

59. Change - Taylor Swift

60. Gettin’ Up - Q-Tip

61. Right as Rain - Adele

62. The Weight of Her - Butch Walker

63. The World Should Revolve Around Me - Little Jackie

64. Whatever You Like - “Weird Al” Yankovic

65. Fast Car - Wyclef Jean featuring Paul Simon

66. Foundations - Kate Nash

67. Everyone Nose (All the Girls Standing in the Line for the Bathroom) - N.E.R.D.

68. Slow Dance - John Legend

69. Madly - Tristan Prettyman

70. A-Punk - Vampire Weekend

71. Champion - Kanye West

72. Violet Hill - Coldplay

73. You Don't Know Me - Ben Folds featuring Regina Spektor

74. Crack the Shutters - Snow Patrol

75. If I Never See Your Face Again - Maroon 5 featuring Rihanna

76. Love That Girl - Raphael Saadiq

77. Love Lockdown - Kanye West

78. Run (I’m a Natural Disaster) - Gnarls Barkley

79. You Cheated Me - Martha Wainwright

80. Hero - Nas featuring Keri Hilson

81. Dance With Me - Old 97’s

82. Sweet And Low - Augustana

83. The Little Things - Colbie Caillat

84. The Fear - Lily Allen

85. Car Crash - Matt Nathanson

86. Chasing Pavements - Adele

87. Mr Rock & Roll - Amy MacDonald

88. New Soul - Yael Naïm

89. Pork And Beans - Weezer

90. My Medicine - Snoop Dogg

91. Nike Boots - Wale

92. Teenage Love Affair - Alicia Keys

93. Catch My Disease - Ben Lee

94. Broken - Tift Merritt

95. Old Enough - The Raconteurs featuring Ricky Skaggs & Ashley Monroe

96. Gives You Hell - The All-American Rejects

97. Ayyomyman - Tre Hardson featuring Fatlip

98. Beat It - Fall Out Boy featuring John Mayer

99. Seven Days of Lonely - I Nine

100. Stuck to You - Nikka Costa

30 Best Music Videos of 2008

This may have been the easiest list to make ever because lets face it, there is nothing more entertaining than boob pong. After that it was a race for the other twenty-nine. I have embedded the first couple videos, the rest you can click the link to follow to YouTube and if you are interested in buying the videos, click the iTunes links.


1. Toe Jam - The BPA



2. Who's Gonna Save My Soul - Gnarls Barkley



3. Honey - Erykah Badu



4. Champion - Kanye West

5. All I Need - Radiohead



6. Strange Times - The Black Keys

7. Pork and Beans - Weezer

8. American TV - Ben Lee

9. Good Morning - Kanye West

10. Going On - Gnarls Barkley

11. Chasing Pavements - Adele

12. Your Song - Kate Walsh

13. Viva la Vida (Anton Corbijn Version) - Coldplay

14. Oxford Comma - Vampire Weekend

15. Just a Dream - Carrie Underwood

16. Cath... - Death Cab For Cutie

17. Birthday Girl - The Roots & Patrick Stump

18. House of Cards - Radiohead

19. Love Lockdown - Kanye West

20. Picture to Burn - Taylor Swift

21. Get Busy - The Roots, Dice Raw & Peedi Peedi

22. The Fear - Lily Allen

23. Violet Hill - Coldplay

24. The Weight of Her - Butch Walker

25. Soon We'll Be Found - Sia

26. Boys With Girlfriends - meiko

27. The Resolution - Jack’s Mannequin

28. Lovers in Japan - Coldplay

29. Love Story - Taylor Swift

30. Gives You Hell - The All-American Rejects

40 Best Albums of 2008

After the most mediocre year last year (see 30 Best Albums of 2007) I thought 2008 was looking up while listening through the almost 200 potential songs that will appear in next week’s Best Songs of 2008 list. Despite being plethora of great songs, there were not really any great albums. There were plenty of good albums released in the last twelve months and here they are.

If you are interested in reading my original review of these albums, check out the link below the album and if you are interested in buying them on iTunes, click on the album link. If you want to buy the physical CD, head over to Scooter McGavin’s Amazon Store where you can order them there:


1. Cardinalology - Ryan Adams and the Cardinals
Turn the Radio Up Loud and Get Down

2. The Renaissance - Q-Tip
It’s Up to Me to Bring Back the Hope

3. Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends - Coldplay
But That Was When I Ruled the World

4. Narrow Stairs - Death Cab for Cutie
And They Carried on Like Long Division

5. Fearless - Taylor Swift
It’s Like a Roller Coaster Kind of Rush

6. The Odd Couple - Gnarls Barkley
Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing

7. Hello…x - Tristan Prettyman
Sitting by the Seashore Soaking Up the Summer Breeze

8. Rising Down - The Roots

9. Sleep Through the Static - Jack Johnson
There Is Still Hope Between the Dreams

10. Attack & Release - The Black Keys

11. Rockferry - Duffy
You Got Me on My Knees Begging Please

12. Two Men with the Blues - Willie Nelson and Wynton Marseilles
Musings from the Back 9: Music Edition VII

13. Last Days at the Lodge - Amos Lee
I Just Want to Be a Part of Your Home

14. 19 - Adele
I’d like to Hear the Words Fall out of Your Mouth

15. This Is the Life - Amy McDonald
And You’re Singing a Song Thinking This Is the Life

16. Asking for Flowers - Kathleen Edwards
You’re the Great One, I’m Marty McSorley

17. Another Country - Tift Merritt
Come Gather Me in Like a Rainstorm

18. Gossip in the Grain - Ray LaMontange
Musings from the Back 9: Music Edition IX

19. Pebble to a Pearl - Nikka Costa
Musings from the Back 9: Music Edition IX

20. Accelerate - R.E.M.

21. We Dance, We Sing, We Steal Things - Jason Mraz
Our Name Is Our Vitue

22. On a Clear Night - Missy Higgins
Breathe Them Deep into Your Lungs

23. Forth - The Verve
Love Is These Words that I’m Singing Again

24. Made of Bricks - Kate Nash
You Said I Must East So Many Lemons ‘cause I Am So Bitter

25. The Way I See It - Raphael Saadiq

26. Life, Death, Love and Freedom - John Mellencamp
I Walked like a Hero into the Setting Sun

27. Way to Normal - Ben Folds
You Wanna See What’s in My My Head

28. Day & Age - The Killers
You Sold Your Soul like a Roman Vagabond

29. Blame it on Gravity - Old 97’s

30. Black Ice - AC/DC
One Hot Angel, One Cool Devil

31. Lenka - Lenka
Life Is a Maze and Love Is a Riddle

32. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
All Your Diction Dripping with Distain

33. This Storm - Sonya Kitchell
This Is the Sound That I’m Thinking Of

34. A Hundred Million Suns - Snow Patrol
Musings from the Back 9: Junior Slumps Edition

35. Some People Have Real Problems - Sia
If I Am a Number I Am Infinity Plus One

36. [Untitled] - Nas
Hate Him or Love Him for the Very Same Reason

37. Meiko - Meiko

38. Learn to Live - Darius Rucker
I’m Gonna Love While I Still Have the Time

39. When the World Comes Down - The All-American Rejects
Nobody Wants to Hear You Sing About Tragedy

40. These Are Good Times People - Presidents of the United States of America
Musings from the Back 9: 90’s Rock Edition

I Want My Music Television vol. XXXVIII

There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available, if not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.


Mystery Man - Gnarls Barkley



With Gnarls Barkley, you have to take the inane with the greatness sometimes. But I have to say the song is growing on me with every listen.


Old Enough - The Raconteurs



If I were to make a list of the greatest music videos of the 00's, Jack White would show up plenty of times. And that is what makes the new Raconteurs video so disappointing. If it had been anyone else, the clones band may have been cool.


Reach Out - Hilary Duff



After hearing the new Hilary Duff song, one has to wonder when does sampling become just blatant stealing? An the artsy beginning and end is pretty laughable considering the rest is just Hilary doing her worst Madonna impression. The song is one of two new songs on her recently released Greatest Hits package. For those keeping track at home, Duff has released three studio albums and two greatest hits albums. Because if there is any artist that needs to update her greatest hits after every album, it is Hilary Duff.


Fanboys Trailer II



Fanboys pretty much had me at Kristen Bell in a Princess Leia costume, but this trailer reaffirms how great this movie is going to be. I love how they do not bother to name any of the actual stars and just names the cameos, and just what they are known for (like whenever you see my older brother Shooter, you think anything else but the dude from Happy Gilmore). Brilliant. If I were a promo monkey, this would be the kind of promo I would make. Now if they would only actually release the movie which has been ready for two years.

The More You Love Music, the More Music Loves You

For any music fan, you know a title of the 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die is worth a look. For novice fans, the book makes good suggestions ranging every musical genre you can think off. For the music fanatic you can read it to pick it apart, because even with a thousand entries, certainly everyone can come up with a least of a hundred recordings that should have been included in the list and a few that you make you scratch your head at their inclusion.

From his picture on the back of the book, it should be noted that author Tom Moon is of the Baby Boomer generation so naturally there is an overabundance of music from the sixties while Bob Dylan and the Beatles are more than represented. Okay old people, we get it, you really loved the Beatles, but really eight albums featuring the band members? Dylan landed four while a few ranked twice. Keep in mind Bruce Springsteen (Born to Run) and Pink Floyd (Dark Side of the Moon) and U2 (The Joshua Tree) only made the list once. I would really like Moon to justify just how Usher’s Confessions, Britney Spears’ Toxic and No Doubt’s Rock Steady (which isn’t even the band’s best work) rank higher than Born in the USA, Wish You Were Here and Achtung Baby.

I also am not sure if I should complain about the exclusion of any Eric Clapton album (seriously, no Slowhand), he does show up with Derek and the Dominos, Cream, John Mayall’s Blues Breakers, The Yardbirds, and Blind Faith. Where the sixties is well populated, looking at this book it is as the nineties didn’t exist unless you were a grunge band or a dead rapper. That did lead to possibly the best write up in the book for Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chamber) where Moon bizarrely starts up the review quoting poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. But enough with the complaints of the selections because if I continued to nit-pick I would write a review that rivals the book’s 1007 pages.

116 of those pages are just indexes. But with indexes for Genre, Occasions (like Parties, Romance), Composers, and Performers. Although it would have been nice if they would have thrown in an extra five pages to list the recording chronologically. But each write up is well done even if Moon doesn’t seem to really understand any the music he included that release after 1980. Each recording also include Key Tracks, Catalog Choice, other works by the artist worth listening to, as well as Next Stop and After That, two recording that are related musically to selection worth checking out.

Easily the most interesting inclusion has to be The Grey Album by Danger Mouse considering that to listen to it you are technically breaking the law. For those unfamiliar, The Grey Album a mash up between The White Album by The Beatles (which of course is also listed) and The Black Album from Jay-Z (which is conspicuously missing from the list) that launched Danger Mouse into a succesful producer and one half of Gnarls Barkley.

But whatever type a music fan you are, there is plenty of gems to find in the book. And the short segment are perfect to have laying around when you only have short spurts of time to kill, as it is currently taking up space in my bathroom. Just keep in mind the 1007 page thick frame is a little cumbersome to hold at time, so the short spurts of reading is really ideal.

1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Got Some Bad News this Morning Which in Turn Made My Day

Gnarls Barkley - Who's Gonna Save My Soul

I Want My Music Television vol. XXVI

There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form so here they are courtesy of YouTube. I advise you to watch them before you read my reviews if you don’t want me to spoil things. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available, if not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.


Violet Hill - Coldplay

I remember reading that the latest Coldplay song was political and thinking that it was just a sign that there was trouble in Gwyneth land with lines like, “If you love me won’t you let me know,” but a closer listen I guess there are some military themes. And the lampooning of politicians only drives that home. George Bush recently said he gave up golf because it didn’t seem right to do it in wartime, yet he continues to dance as seen here. Well at least he still isn’t as bad as Boris Yeltsin. Going On - Gnarls Barkley Usually the latest Gnarls Barkley video is an event for me but I am extremely bitter that the dudes in the video totally stole my go to dance moves when I am inebriated. Hrumph. Ironically while dancing like this I see weird things in door too. Last Name - Carrie Underwood Please, if you will, hop into the 9th Green Timwe Machine (patent pending) and go all the way back to 10/23/07 where I wrote, “then Last Name might very well be a prequel to Before He Cheats.” It looks like someone took note and turned a whole video into that concept. I still haven’t decided if this song is the worst thing ever or worthy of the guilty pleasure title, but all off Carrie Underwood’s hair flipping in the video has me leaning towards the latter. If I Never See Your Face Again - Maroon 5 & Rihanna This is one of those pairing so inane I am convinced that the manatee writers over at Family Guy has to be involved somehow. Maroon5 and Rihanna? Where is Eric Cartman when you need him? You can also buy these songs DRM free, and sometimes a dime cheaper, over at Amazon MP3, check out the widget below: