03. The Muppets
Release Date: November 23, 2011
Director: James Bobin
Written by Jason Segel, Nick Stoller
Starring The Muppets (obviously), Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, Rashida Jones
Jason Segel’s audition tape of sorts for getting the job of writing The Muppets was the ending of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, involving the Dracula musical. He passed with flying colors, and Disney gave him the gig. Segel, a lifelong Muppets fan, has said that this is his dream job. Co-writing the script, along with Forgetting Sarah Marshall/Get Him to the Greek director/writer Nick Stoller, shows that Disney is willing to give the franchise to really huge fans, as opposed to screeenwriting hacks looking for a paycheck.
Giving the directors chair to Flight of the Conchords director James Bobin is another stroke of genius. The way he balanced the comedy, as well as whimsical musical performances is really a great talent that will serve him well on The Muppets. I am just really excited for this movie. I know Segel and Stoller love The Muppets so much, and know what makes them special. This won’t be the “hip” modernization of the franchise; this will be everything that made the TV show, and the movies so important to generations of people. I’m fairly certain they will nail it, and it will be one of the most joyous moments of 2011.
I just wanted to say I'm really happy you included this film in your list, and at #3 no less! I'm honored. I had a really great time co-writing the script. Segel was an absolute joy to work with, and I mean it. I love the guy. We put together something really special and charming. You won't be disappointed, I guarantee it. Thanks, friend.
These are the albums that just missed the top 40. The reasons why these albums missed the list could be because I didn’t listen to them enough, I started listening to it too late, or because it’s a lesser work from an artist I love.
In no particular order:
Albums That Just Missed the Top 40
Eminem - Recovery
I’m very happy for Eminem’s recent success, and his coming clean with his demons. 2010 has been the start of quite a nice second act in his career, and him re-establishing himself as one of the biggest artists in music today. Recovery itself has some nice touches that I hope carry over to further albums, with the primary one being multiple producers. I was sick of hearing the same old Dre beat used 14 times per album. So, instead, Eminem using tons of great producers like Just Blaze, DJ Khalli, among others, is a great touch that doesn’t isolate himself from his contemporaries. There wouldn’t have been a chance of Em rapping over a Kanye beat in 2005. Now? A very good chance, and that’s nothing but exciting.
It’s also nice that this is the first album of his without a dated pop culture baiting song. Those got tired 4 albums ago. I’m not entirely sure of why this album didn’t make the top 40, beyond that it may just be the first stepping stone for Eminem albums to come. There’s only room to improve from here, and I look forward to it.
Best Song: No Love featuring Lil Wayne
Roc Marciano - Marcberg
Roc Marciano used to be a no-name who was signed with Busta Rhymes’ Flipmode Squad. He didn’t an impact there, but now, with Marcberg, he is now one of backpack rap’s most shining lights. Who would have guessed that a Z-lister from the Flipmode Squad would be one of the main guys trying to bring back classic hip-hop.. He self-produced everything on here, and it really is quite the great album. If you’re a hip-hop fan, you owe it to yourself to check it out.
Best Song: Raw Deal
The Old 97's - The Grand Theatre, Volume One
The first Old 97’s album in many years! I love Rhett Miller, and the whole Old 97’s gang and this is a great album for them. Recorded live in the studio, it has this nice warmth that you don’t hear very often on rock albums today.
Best Song: Every Night is Friday Night (Without You)
The Like - Release Me
I was shocked to see The Like come back all of a sudden in 2010. Not just that, but to come back as a Mark Ronson produced retro act. The last I heard from The Like was when the lead singer sang on a Tim and Eric cover for their Awesome Record, Great Songs! album. Release Me is quite the fun album, and it’s impossible to not be sucked up into its charms. This new career path seems to be working nicely for them, so I hope they continue doing it.
Best Song: Release Me
Best Coast - Crazy For You
Now, here is the annual Sorry TC For Not Listening To This Album Enough selection. He recommended this album to me a few months ago, and I listened to it a couple times and really enjoyed it. However, when it came to putting together the top 40, this album fell short. If I started listening to this album back when it came out, there would be a good shot of it making the top 40. If it’s any consolation, i’ve listened to the last Tegan and Sara album a lot since last year, and it truly is great.
Best Song: Crazy For You
Tindersticks - Falling Down a Mountain
I was first exposed to Tindersticks, as Jody Hill and company used their music for season 1 of Eastbound & Down. It’s really haunting, instrumental music that sticks with you. In 2010 Tindersticks released another album, and Eastbound & Down’s second season used another track from it. Not because i’m a blind fan of the show, but that song is my favourite on the album. It’s just a really terrific group and album. To help you appreciate the song/group, here’s the scene from season 2 , which features the best song on the record. A really oddly beautiful scene directed by David Gordon Green.
Best Song: Hubbards Hills[
Bad Religion - The Dissent of Man
I like this album! /obviouslyifididntitwouldntbeonthislist. You know what you get from a Bad Religion album, and I love that. The Dissent of Man has some curveballs, though, including first single and best song on it “Cyanide.” I understand that some “purists” will scoff at this song, and say it’s not punk or whatever dumb thing that is said. I’ve grown to learn over the past many years that anyone who wants a band to stay the same is dumb. Of course, if what that band turns into is something bad, then criticize away! I don’t feel that is the case with Bad Religion.
Anyway, “Cyanide” is one of the best Bad Religion songs in quite a while, and it features Mike Campbell’s blistering and distinctive guitar playing. It’s like for one song only they are Bad Religion & The Heartbreakers, and I love it.
Best Song: Cyanide
Jenny & Johnny - I'm Having Fun Now
No, Jenny & Johnny, I'm having fun now.
Best Song: Big Wave Robert Plant - Band of Joy
This Robert Plant album is seriously great. No joke, this was probably one of the couple albums that was so close to making it on. Plant tackles some unusual covers by groups like Low, and it’s not done in a conventional way. To people turned off by the Krauss/Plant stuff (for whatever reason), Band of Joy is likely for you.
Best Song: Harm’s Swift Way
Screaming Females - Castle Talk
Thanks to Ted Leo for recommending this album to me! I say that like he’s my best friend or something. OH HOW I WISH. This is a really great sort of early ‘90s indie/punk album. Kinda like Yo La Tengo/Sonic Youth. Just great stuff.
You would think that with those three artists attached to this thing, it would almost certainly be on. The thing is, it’s just a glorified mixtape. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s not surprising. What made Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II my favourite album of 2009 was that it was everything I wanted plus MORE. Wu-Massacre, as entertaining as it can be, is just a fine album. One of the least essential albums in the Wu-Tang canon.
Best Song: Our Dreams featuring Inspectah Deck, Sun God Reflection Eternal - Revoultions Per Minute
Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek are back! Finally, a new Reflection Eternal album. It’s everything you could possibly want from an album like this. It instantly transports you back to 1999. The best song on here, “Just Begun”, is kinda like the backpack rap version of a posse cut. Just like Kanye’s “Monster” or “So Appalled” this year assembled all of the biggest rappers around today to rap on a song, “Just Begun” is a collection of backpack/hip-hop nerd favourites on one song. It’s pretty wonderful to hear Talib, Jay Electronica, J. Cole, Mos Def rapping on a classy Hi-Tek beat in 2010.
Best Song: Just Begun featuring Jay Electronica, J. Cole, Mos Def
Spoon - Transference
I love Spoon. This album is good. I don’t know why it didn’t make it on. Still very good. Statement and period.
Best Song: The Mystery Zone
Willie Nelson - Country Music
T. Bone Burnett produced this album, and it’s everything you want from Willie. He tackles some country classics like “I Am a Pilgrim”, and “Drinking Champagne” and it’s some of the most fun you will have with an album all year. The reason why it didn’t make it on is mainly due to it almost feeling a greatest hits album of sorts. So, Willie does some classics well with a great band and producer, then what? That’s pretty much it. But, with a title like Country Music, it isn’t false advertising. You come for the Country Music and you get it in a great way.
Best Song: Drinking Champagne
Maximum Balloon - Maximum Balloon
Dave Sitek from TV On The Radio put this album together, and it’s pretty great. Highlights include “Tiger” and Karen O singing on “Communion." However, the very best song on here is David Byrne singing on “Apartment Wrestling.” It’s one of the best songs i’ve heard all year. Dave Sitek puts together a wonderful musical backdrop, and David Byrne sings like it’s a 1984 Talking Heads album. This song is the closest thing you will get to a new Talking Heads album, so take advantage of it.
Best Song: Apartment Wrestling featuring David Byrne Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM
This is one of those strange circumstances where I first heard this album last year. It also came out in Europe in 2009, so I was uncertain what to do with this thing. I decided to put it on, as I quite enjoy it. Beck produced it, and if you haven’t still listened to it you really should.
Best Song: IRM
Kathryn Calder - Are You My Mother?
Kathryn Calder doesn’t get the respect she deserves. She appears with The New ****ographers on tour, singing Neko Case’s parts, as well as singing backup vocals on the albums themselves. She’s really great, and Are You My Mother? is a nice album. If you are a fan of the New ****os, Neko Case, and stuff in that style, you really should check it out.
Best Song: Slip Away
Bilal - Airtight's Revenge
Bilal’s first album in a long time! He has had label troubles that have delayed his work, but he finally left the major label business, and struck out on his own. It’s a very classy R&B album, with a very organic full band sound. It’s very much grown man music, and I love that. Commercial R&B is a disgrace today, so stuff like this Bilal album helps you remember how good a genre R&B can be if done well.
Best Song: Restart
Vampire Weekend - Contra
Good album! I didn’t listen to it enough! Sorry!
Best Song: Giving Up The Gun
David Byrne & Fatboy Slim - Here Lies Love
This album is so ambitious and great. In case you don’t know what it is, i’ll let the trusted source of Wikipedia (whose owner looks like the Men’s Warehouse guy) tell you:
Quote:
Here Lies Love is a concept album made in collaboration between David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, about the life of the former First Lady of the PhilippinesImelda Marcos along with the woman who raised her — Estrella Cumpas — and follows Marcos until she and her family were forced to leave the Philippines
The album features mostly guest female singers, including Florence Welch, Allison Moorer, Cyndi Lauper, Tori Amos, Martha Wainwright, Natalie Merchant,Sia Furler, Santigold, Charmaine Clamor, Nicole Atkins, and Kate Pierson among many others, alternately playing the roles of Imelda Marcos and Estrella Cumpas.
Because of how ambitious it is (and that it’s also a double disc album), I didn’t listen to it enough as I wanted to. Man, when I did, though, is it ever good. It’s just great to hear people like Kate Pierson and Cyndi Lauper again. Also appearing on the album are people like Steve Earle (who may not seem right for a project like this, but nails it), as well as the great and wonderful David Byrne himself. I really think it’s worth your time, if you carve out the time to give it a proper listen.
Best song: Eleven Days
Band of Horses - Infinite Arms
Band of Horses are one of the most dependable bands right now. Which kinda reads as “not surprising”, but oh well. At least I know what i’m going to get each time I listen to a Band of Horses album: amazing harmonies, great countryish rock, all that great stuff. The best song on here, “Older”, pushes those country boundaries as far as ever. I wouldn’t mind if they went more full-on country next album, as proven with “Older” they are great at it.
Best Song: Older
Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record
The first BSS album in many years is a good one, if not overwhelming. I wish I listened to it more, but from what I heard was very good.
Best Song: World Sick
I decided to do the albums that missed before part 1, as I could get it out of the way. It also makes more sense to present it first, before getting into the Top 40.
So, yeah, coming up this weekend sometime: THE TOP 40 ACTUALLY BEGINS. Really!
Thanks for all the comments! And a special thanks to Nick Stoller, who i'm honored got to see my thread. I love your work, Stoller!
I was supposed to attend a free screening of Green Hornet with my girlfriend last night, but the theatre was already full. Hopefully they will e-mail us about another screening!
EDIT: Totally agreed with "Cyanide" being the best song on The Dissent of Man. Also, I'm curious as to what Jenny is doing to Johnny's junk in that Jenny & Johnny album cover...
The Parting Gifts are kinda like a garage rock supergroup. They include Reigning Sound member/all together garage rock man of all seasons Greg Cartwright, and The Ettes' Coco Hames (Cartwright also produced The Ettes' Do You Want Power). I love both of them separately, but to hear them together?!?! Forget about it! This **** is unbeatable. Greg sings about half of the songs, and Coco sings the other half. The best song on the album, though, "Bound To Let Me Down" is a duet between both. It is completely electric, and they are really great together. I hope this isn't the only album The Parting Gifts put out, as it is a really great collaboration between two wonderful artists. But, I guess, as long as The Reigning Sound, and The Ettes keep putting out records i'll be OK.
Best Songs:
01. Bound To Let Me Down
02. Strange Disposition
03. Keep Walkin'
39. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - I Learned The Hard Way
What is there to say about Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings? No, seriously, what should I say? Write this writeup for me, please!
Anyway, after that nonsense, i'll just say that I Learned The Hard Way is yet another solid outing from Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings. The Daps are dapper than ever. Sharon sounds better than ever. I hope they keep making albums until the end of time. TIL THE BREAK OF DAWN! /nicolascageinbadlieutenantportofcallneworleans
I apologize, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, for this awful writeup. It's just that there isn't a whole lot to say about their music. They just make great, retro soul that Sharon sings wonderfully. I guess I should have just left it at that, right? What a waste.
Best Songs:
01. I Learned The Hard Way
02. Money
03. She Ain't A Child No More
38. Belle and Sebastian - Belle and Sebastian Write About Love
This album was just barely on the verge of not making it on. But then, I decided to give it more listens and its inherent Belle and Sebastianness came out. It maybe isn't as great as past albums, but there is some really great stuff on here. Tops among them is the great title track, featuring, of all people, Carey Mulligan singing quite nicely. It's a classic Belle and Sebastian track, with great lyrics, catchy hook, good retro sound. It really has it all. The album isn't all that bad, either.
Best Songs:
01. Write About Love featuring Carey Mulligan
02. Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John featuring Norah Jones
03. I Didn't See It Coming
37. Weezer - Hurley
I guess this is my second annual "Hey guys! Weezer isn't all that bad now! Honest!" writeup. I genuinely feel that way, though.
As I have stated ad nauseum in these year-ends over the years, and to many of my friends on the board, I was and still am a huge Weezer fan. Weezer was probably the first band I got into that really spoke to me, back in 2000. I know The Blue Album, and Pinkerton backwards and forewards, and to me those are about as good as albums can get. The Green Album was very exciting to come out in 2001, as it was their first album in many years. There are some great songs on there. Maladroit has some good ones too. Make Believe was good at first, but has the least amount of replay value of the Weezer albums. While, The Red Album is an all-out stinker. Weezer at their worst.
The shift, starting with Raditude, in Weezer was basically when people went bananas. What? Weezer are going pop? What is going on? As I said last year, Rivers is not in the same headspace he was in that he wrote "Across The Sea" or "Say It Ain't So." Those songs, amazing songs that they are, were created under a lot of heartbreak and hurt. Now, Rivers has a wife and a kid that he really loves, and is the happiest he has ever been. So, he has no real urge to go back to those dark days. Rivers attempted to write happy pop songs on his own on The Red Album, and it didn't work out so well. What Raditude started to bring was the addition of co-writers. Famous pop song writers like Dr. Luke helped Weezer create some of the catchiest, and most fun music they have made in ages. I realize i'm in the minority in this.
Anyway, about Hurley, they took everything about Raditude that worked, and continued it. They reached out to more songwriters (Ryan Adams, Dan Wilson, Greg Wells, Desmond Child, Tony Kanal) and have made even sharper poprock music. "Smart Girls" is like a suped up version of Raditude's "I'm Your Daddy", and it's pretty great. "Memories" (which is one of the only songs solely credited to Rivers) is the best first-single they have had since "Dope Nose", and it's just well-crafted poprock. I don't see how anyone who has ever liked Weezer can dislike "Memories."
Of course, I realize some people don't just want catchy poprock from Weezer, but oh well. The best song on the album, "Time Flies" (which was co-written by Mac Davis, who wrote Elvis Presley's "In The Ghetto"), should really satisfy any Weezer fan, as its lo-fi recording, huge harmonies, and heartfelt lyrics make for a wonderful song. I'm not sure what my point has been in these many paragraphs. Just that i've learned to grow with Weezer, and follow them as they do something different. Are they still my favorite band? No, I like quite a few more bands and artists now. But, if Weezer can deliver an album like Hurley (or better) each year, I will always remain a fan.
Best Songs:
01. Time Flies
02. Smart Girls
03. Ruling Me
36. Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh)
I loved Part One of the New Amerykah series, but it lacked the funk that I always loved from Badu. Thank goodness for Part Two, then. Return of the Ankh is just so great. It transports me back to 1999, when The Roots/Common/Talib Kweli/Mos Def/Badu/Jill Scott/D'Angelo, etc were all recording together and making wonderful music. While Part One was a much more progressive album, featuring great Madlib produced beats, Part Two is a much more warm, and organic album using a full band at points. I mean, come on. If you listen to "Turn Me Away", and don't move, you have no pulse.
Best Songs:
01. Window Seat
02. Turn Me Away (Get Munny)
03. 20 Feet Tall
5 More albums! Maybe coming tomorrow? Monday? Who knows! But they are coming.
"Laredo" is an amazing song, but you are right in the sense that Band of Horses has found a niche and are playing it until it is worn and dusty.
As for Hurley, EVERYTHING that I've heard from the album has been great so far. I didn't really connect well with Raditude, but I may need to go back, because Hurley has restored my faith in the band.
There's so much here to check out, most of which I probably never will because I will forget, but the fact that I'm interested in all of the albums that I have not listened to shows me just how much I respect your taste in music when compared to, pretty much, everyone on this forum besides MAYBE one or two people. TELL ME MORE!
Brian Eno needs no introduction, but i'll give him one anyway. One of the best producers music has ever seen (and he still does great work, most recently with U2, David Byrne, and Coldplay), as well as one of its best artists, period. Whether you love the glamrock of Here Come The Warm Jets ("Baby's On Fire" is one of the great, snarling songs ever. and that Robert Fripp guitar solo! Watch out!) or his Ambient series (The term Ambient music, for which he coined), Eno is just a Music Master (did I just coin my own term? Take that, Eno!). I mean, gosh. You want to know how great and prolific Brian Eno is? He created the Windows 95 start up noise. Some of you may be too young to remember that (that statement just makes me feel old as I type it), but to everyone else, that was one of those generation defining noises that everyone knows. He clearly doesn't need to do anything he doesn't want to ever again.
Which brings us to 2010's Small Craft on a Milk Sea, his first album on the Warp label. Practically everyone on that label owes a giant debt to the work of Eno, so it's only fitting that his first solo album since 2005 was released there. It's a great instrumental album that includes some ambient work, and some uptempo stuff (that recalls the "Mombasa" track from Inception, even though they weren't influenced by each other). It's just a really solid album. Whatever his capacity is in making the album, either as sole artist, producer of someone else's work, or whatever else, I will always greatly look forward to anything Eno releases.
Best Songs:
01. Complex Heaven
02. Slow Ice, Old Moon
03. Paleosonic
34. Sarah Harmer - Oh Little Fire
People in Canada already know what a true delight Sarah Harmer is. Do people everywhere else in the world? I hope so! Oh Little Fire is Harmer's first album since 2005's I'm A Mountain. She is amazing at this sort of singer/songwriter rock that many people do, but only a few are as great at it as she is. One of the other people who I would consider to be on her level in Neko Case duets with Harmer on the stunning track "Silverado." If you know how great both Harmer and Case's vocals are you are already salivating at how beautiful the results of it must be. But it's not just "Silverado" as Oh Little Fire includes the great lyrics and vocals that Harmer is known for, and it's everything you could want from her.
Best Songs:
01. Silverado featuring Neko Case
02. Captive
03. Late Bloomer
33. Kurt Vile - Childish Prodigy
NOTE: I am really dumb. This isn't a newsflash, but I really ****ed up involving this album. I was so certain that Childish Prodigy was released in 2010 that I never bothered to look at its release date. Turns out it was released October 9, 2009. Woops! Seeing as I just did my Albums That Just Missed chart, I don't really have any alternatives to fill this spot. I guess if you are a real stickler when it comes to years (and who isn't?), just pretend that Robert Plant's Band of Joy album is at #33. What a disaster. I apologize. The writeup that I originally wrote is as follows:
I had this Kurt Vile album sitting on my harddrive for a while without listening to it. It wasn't until the season 2 finale of Eastbound & Down aired, when it used his song "He's Alright", did I finally crack it open (or rather, just listen to it. No cracking involved. This isn't a book). What a foolish move it was to wait this long. Kurt Vile does many types of genres, but they all come back to garage rock. I'd recommend the album to anybody. Yeah, anybody.
Best Songs:
01. He's Alright
02. Monkey
03. Hunchback
32. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
Gimmick bands aren't supposed to be this good, but then most gimmick bands don't have Damon Albarn. Also, gimmick bands don't generally release a third album. I wouldn't consider Gorillaz to be a gimmick at all, but any band that features cartoon characters as the band can be seen as such by the general public. But, what I love about Damon Albarn and company is that with each successive album they further strip away from any sort of gimmicky/silly crutch, and become more of a full-fledged band. The best example involving this album is that they toured just as themselves, with no reliance on crazy visual effects as the cartoon characters.
So, without the cartoon characters, what is the point of Gorillaz? A venue that Damon Albarn can invite his friends and mentors to perform on music, that is generally much different from the music he did with Blur or his other bands. So he can reunite all the surviving members of The Clash (Mick Jones and Paul Simonion) to play on the trippy title track, get Lou Reed over a dancebeat, and pair the legendary Bobby Womack with Mos Def. The results really shouldn't work this well, but they generally do. I am just imagining Damon Albarn as a kid, worshiping The Clash like any sane person, and then getting the chance to reunite them over something so far removed from their music. If that is all that Damon did with his life, it would be seen as a success. But, clearly, Damon has done a whollllllllle lot more than that, and will continue making intriguing and great music for as long as he can.
Best Songs:
01. Plastic Beach featuring Mick Jones and Paul Simonion
02. Superfast Jellyfish featuring De La Soul and Gnuff Rhys
03. Some Kind of Nature featuring Lou Reed
31. Ryan Bingham - Junky Star
Ryan Bingham is probably best known for winning the Academy Award for Best Original Song in a Motion Picture for "The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)." His first album since the big Oscar win is this pretty wonderful album, that also was produced by T. Bone Burnett. Bingham specializes in this great sort of rock-country that is equal parts sad and moving. I mean, just look at those song titles below. "Lay My Head On The Rail". "Depression", that is far from bright and shiny fare. Yet, it is also compelling, and great to listen to. This isn't an album that makes you depressed for the rest of the day, because those types of albums don't have full-bands rocking as well as this one does.
Best Songs:
01. Hallelujah
02. Depression
03. Lay My Head On The Rail
Next up? Maybe 5 more albums? Maybe i'll start the TV list? Something along those lines. I'll see how I feel when I get there.
Best Songs:
01. Plastic Beach featuring Mick Jones and Paul Simonion
02. Superfast Jellyfish featuring De La Soul and Gnuff Rhys
03. Some Kind of Nature featuring Lou Reed
Vampire Weekend had an unfair advantage of being released at the beginning of the year. It's hard to remember music from that long ago when you only listen to the album once or twice.
HOW DID I MISS THIS
