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December 30, 2005

2005 Song Review from iTunes

So in 2005 I added 831 songs to my library, roughly 4.84GB or 2.5 days worth of music. My total library sits at 2319 songs/items or 7 days of music. 308 of those I added last year I have never listened to once and so logically I should be able to just delete those songs... but because I'm a collector I can't. I thought I'd create my own best-of album of songs I bought in 2005. So these aren't songs that necessarily came out in 2005, they were just added to my iTunes library in the last year somehow. So in somewhat of an actual playlist order, here goes:

  • Neighborhood #1 (Tunnel), The Arcade Fire
  • I don't know if there would be as many of their songs on this list if I hadn't seen them live opening up for U2 in November. So many of their songs now conjour up images of 15,000 people singing along that it's hard for me not to love this album.
  • All These Things That I've Done, The Killers
  • While the rest of the album got a bit tiring for me, this song is still a fav of mine. Bringing back the synths.
  • Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, U2
  • Snuck this one in because I bought a single version of the CD. Fast becoming one of my favorite U2 songs, and therefore one of my all time favorites.
  • Fix You, Coldplay
  • It follows a bit of a formula (slow wail over building instruments, close with a sing along and big cymbal crashes), but it's still easily my favorite Coldplay tune.
  • Dreamgirl, Dave Matthews Band
  • I think of a beautiful sunrise whenever I hear the opening to this song. While the album wasn't as good as some of their previous this song is definitely a stand-out.
  • Golddigger, Kanye West
  • Being a white, suburban, middle-class male I have to like Kanye - but I really don't. This song just reminds me of the movie 'Ray' which reminds me of flying to Australia. And that's the true reason why I like this song. Honest. :)
  • Rebellion (Lies), The Arcade Fire
  • Single note piano with pounding drums. What more could you want?
  • Cannonball, Damien Rice
  • This begins the acoustic portion of the set. Travis introduced me to Damien and both Sue and I have loved singing along to this album.
  • Man in Black, Johnny Cash
  • A summary of his life and who he was and why he did what he did and why we should be doing more for those who have nothing.
  • I Walk the Line, Johnny Cash
  • A song of devotion to his new wife after leaving his first wife. A walking contradiction.
  • Better Together, Jack Johnson
  • We played this album, In Between Dreams, a lot when in Australia and so it brings back a lot of good memories for me.
  • Delicate, Damien Rice
  • Before Travis introduced us to this, we first heard it on Lost. That's another addiction of ours. :)
  • Till Kingdom Come, Coldplay
  • As you can tell, I'm a sucker for anything Johnny Cash. And this song was written with him in mind.
  • Banana Pancakes, Jack Johnson
  • Sue's favorite Jack Johnson tune - and therefore one of my favorites as well.
  • A Message, Coldplay
  • A great building song that starts and ends softly on acoustic but blows up into a great middle chorus.
  • The Blower's Daughter, Damien Rice
  • Clearly the best song on his album, O. You can't have the other songs without this one.
  • Folsom Prison Blues, Johnny Cash
  • Why I love Johnny Cash. My dad had this LP and I used to listen to it when I was 10 on our record player - remember those?
  • Delia's Gone, Johnny Cash
  • I have a strange love for dark songs - and this is a dark one. Just packaged in a happy sounding song.
  • Neighborhood #3 (Power Out), The Arcade Fire
  • Great echos and xylophone playing.
  • Wake Up, The Arcade Fire
  • Again, 15,000 people singing along to the 'Ohhhhh's in this song give me shivers each time I hear it.
  • Undivided Focus, Heather Clark
  • Beautiful voice and great message of how unfocused I can become.
  • Small Town (Live in Saskatoon), Pearl Jam
  • My favorite Pearl Jam song sung in my hometown. I wasn't at the concert, but I bought it on the internet. :)
  • The Wanderer, U2 Featuring Johnny Cash
  • Combining my two favorite artists of all time, I don't know that a song better captures the life of Johnny Cash. It's too bad the movie they did this year didn't include some of his later work.
  • Jealous Kind, Jars of Clay
  • I'm sensing a pattern in my life here - I really go for songs that build into a big chorus and end with a sing along.
  • One, Mary J. Blige Featuring U2
  • Next to 'Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own' this was/is my favorite U2 song, especially done live. This is a live version that appears on MJB's new album that re-energizes the song without going over the top.
  • Slow Motion, David Gray
  • A great album, but I got it too late in 2005 to really like it. This is a great song for closing credits.

Your thoughts/comments/tirades?

December 20, 2005

Warming Up on Guitar

Apparently this guy thinks he's awesome or something... he misses a couple notes, you can totally tell he didn't put the effort in to become a truly great guitarist.

December 18, 2005

What's On Bush's iPod?

Beatles, Beach Boys.. Dan, er, Don McLean.

December 13, 2005

Matteo on Laughing Gas

Trying out a little service called www.youtube.com to do some video sharing.

December 12, 2005

How to Make Food For Commercials

In case I ever get hired to make a commercial, here's how to doctor up your food to make it look good for tv.

Little Sunfire Is Gone to a Better Place

Over the weekend we had to give our '95 Pontiac Sunfire up for adoption. Or rather, we had to sell it to a 18 year old girl who'd gone through one car already. It feels a bit like we've sold a child into slavery - but the extra cash in our bank account sure makes those feelings disappear pretty quickly.

Sadly, I don't even have any pictures of our car. At least not in digital form.

Goodbye Sunfire... we hardly knew ye.

December 10, 2005

You're a Strange Animal...

Can Bono Be Trusted? - from the Rick Mercer Report. Scroll down the page a bit to find the ad.

December 7, 2005

The Rest of U2 Okay With Starving Africans

A great bit of satire on Bono's efforts to save the world and how the rest of the band doesn't really care.

Best line:

Mullen added: "You don't win 14 Grammys feeding Africans."

Men Perform Better With An Audience

Maybe I'm just in a weird mood because of the long day at work we've go today - but this made me chuckle.

Not laugh out loud funny, but just laugh in your head funny.

December 6, 2005

The Edge vs Honda


The Edge @ Popmart Rotterdam, 1997
Originally uploaded by u2log.com.


For some reason, the guy in this Honda commercial reminds me of The Edge, Popmart era, with the handlebars. Perhaps this is what he does when he's not 'The Edge'ing.

December 5, 2005

X-Men 3 Trailer

Watch it in HD if you can.

December 2, 2005

I'm Flying

Fly through the sky.

December 1, 2005

The New Gap

Watch the commercial from Spike Jonze first.

At first it looks like something we've all dreamed of doing.. taking a sledge hammer to your nearest Gap store. But then it turns out to just be an ad for... wait for it... the NEW Gap: Now With Higher Prices. How exciting.