Top Albums of 2007 (and Happy New Year!)

Clearly I'm biased to the music I listen to...but without further adeieu(sp?), here's my top 5 CDs that got released this year.



#5. The Spill Canvas - No Really, I'm Fine

- Cheesy title for an album name, but it's solid all the way through. The Canvas dudes stayed true to their sound, and have a few radio-friendly songs on there that may or may not hit mainstream airwaves. All though I missed them when they played the Middle East in November, their live show is a good one.

*Top Tracks - "Reckless Abandonment" "All Over You" "Battles"



#4. Relient K - Five Score and Seven Years Ago

- Another band that didn't change much as far as the music goes. It's just as good as their previous full length. Unlike the Spill Canvas, I saw these guys headline at the Avalon in March...their show is Meh at best. Pretty much like every other pop-punk/rock band out there.

*Top Tracks - "Come Right Out And Say It" "Forgiven" "Bite My Tongue"


#3. Mae - Singularity

- Dave Elkins said it best during a show at UNC. "That's what major labels do...they take your soul." Clearly, this is not even close to the quality of their previous two albums. That said, this album is full of heavy catchy rock hooks that'll ring in a few more fans and get some more scans in the checkout line. I'm not sick of this CD yet.

*Top Tracks - "Brink of Disaster" "Just Let Go" "Waiting" "Telescopes" "Reflections"



#2. Anberlin - Cities

- I can't believe I hadn't heard of this band until this year. Cities brings the rock to the table and Stephen Christian's poise and vocal talent on this record stands out. Kickass live show.

*Top Tracks - "Godspeed" "Adelaide" "Alexithymia" "Dismantle:Repair" "*fin"

and my #1 album for 2007.....



























































Coheed & Cambria - No World For Tomorrow
- Redemption is sweet and these guys earned it. FFTEOM was OK, but it was a step back. NWFT is a huge step forward. The catchy guitar licks and musical genius that this album contains are constant. Chris Pennie behind the kit is a great addition to the live show and Claudio Sanchez is slowly becoming a legend in his field. Pretty soon, we'll be able to mention his name among the greatest musicians ever.

*Top Tracks - "No World For Tomorrow" "Feathers" "Mother Superior" "Gravemakers and Gunslingers" "The End Complete"

Waste of time/random ranting.

I've been around the proverbial block a few times. Whenever I've said "this ain't my first rodeo," it's not me trying to be a dick or to create useless bullshit. It means I know I'm doing and I'm going to do what's in the best interest for the situation surround me and others surrounding the situation. Shit happens sometimes, and I've learned to just take it as it is and put it away. One of my best qualities about me is that I'm such a laid-back person that I've been able to express zero emotion. You can't tell if I'm angry or exhilarated. Lately, it seems like I've been on the wrong end of the attitude meter. I remember when making music, and being in a band was efficient and fun. I want that back. I regret taking it too seriously in the past, and I've learned from that. I guess I'm just irritated on the slow progress. I'm impatient. I was used to things going so quickly and having a little bit of success and recognition for it. It was good times packing the van with people and gear every other week and trekkin' on down to that shitty bar in Attleboro to play in front of 10 people all the time. It was a freakin' blastey and a half. I remember doing the sax solo for the pot of gold in two takes. I really wanted to keep the first one, but I played a note somewhere that was so out of key that it made the take go from awesome to horrible. The second take is the one on that recording that got used. Two takes was all it took. And it's not like everyone knew what the hell was going on back then either. I had never been in a recording studio before those sessions. I learned a lot back then. I learned a whole lot more this past summer doing sound at the underground shows. Efficiency. For Natick and Clinton, I brought with me my mixer, my rack full of effects, two speakers, a snake, and all the mics. I had everything set up and ready to go in 15 minutes. I'm not trying to say that I'm a gear god or anything like that, but I sure was hell efficient at it. I got multiple compliments on my work as a sound guy, and it was great to hear having never really done it before. I really want to think that what I'm doing now is going to work itself out. I'm feeling worse about it further and further, and I'm almost to the point where I just want to start fresh. One of my best friends is an insane guitarist and it sucks for me to just not see that talent being put to use right now. I know he feels the same way as he's told me multiple times "I just want to play guitar in a band." I'd want nothing more than to see that happen. Both of us have agreed on wanting to find a female vocalist. I've seen my fair share of them, and that's a crop of talent ripe for the picking. Drummers are harder to find than a needle in a haystack...good ones anyway. I know of a couple really good drummers, one I could see working with no problem, and the other, I'd really want to see work out, but I have a feeling it just wouldn't. Cooperation is a big deal. Maybe I'm still taking this "being in a band" thing too seriously.

Merry belated Christmas...

...and I hope it was a safe and enjoyable one for all. I for one cashed in quite nicely receiving a new printer and one (1) KRK rokit 5 from my Mom. Then my Dad gave me a $200 gift card to GC so there's motivation to pick up the other one. I probably won't though, and I'll probably buy something dumb, but hey, free for me right? The only other things I have to talk about at this point are that I'm still on break until the 22nd, I'm going to be working a lot of overtime hours, and any free time I have will be spent recording music. What sucks about all of this is that it leaves me little to no time to spend catching up with friends that I haven't seen in awhile. I suppose everything can't go one's way though. That would just be too convienent.

I hope everyone has a good time in ringing in 2008 next week. I'll probably have one or two more posts before then.

-Zach

Top Movies of 2007

Transformers <--#1. Hands down.
Superbad
Good Luck Chuck
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
I Am Legend
Hot Fuzz
The Simpsons Movie
Smokin' Aces
Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer <-- acting was mediocre, but still an OK flick.
Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End <-- I still need to see the previous two installments of this series, but this movie in particular was just a total mindfuck.

and the bottom of the barrel award goes to:



drumroll



Spideremo 3.

I still have yet to see 300, Beowulf, Knocked Up, and there may be a couple that I forgot to list, or I haven't seen.


What movies to look forward to in 2008?

-Cloverfield
-Rambo (I really hope this doesn't suck).
-Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (I think that's the name)
-The Dark Knight (very much looking forward to this)
-Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

All I want to do is sleep dammit!

I saw I Am Legend on Friday night. That movie was a lot better than some of the typical "zombie movies" i.e. 28 Days Later or Dawn of the Dead. It scared you without intending to, and when it did mean to be scary, it was just fuckin' creepy. I'm going to go see it again because the ending was badass...and I'll leave it at that.

I went to RIC last night at around 6:30 for a study session that lasted until around 1 AM. I slept on a floor, and it sucked. I didn't get much sleep at all, but it didn't matter - I think I did well on the exam, and I think I'm going to do well on tomorrow's exam too.

O Christmas Shrub...

Well so much for that C that I claimed I was going to get today. I got a B-. A B fucking minus. Now considering that I haven't done that well in the class, A B- is something to be thrilled over. Like I'm pretty happy with that, esp. coming at the end of the semester where I guess the grades are going to matter more, but w/e. 3 more days and I am DONE. I put up the little xmas tree in my room today and it looks way retarded.


I think the lights look better...


I also moved some stuff around in my room and began setting up a small recording studio.

As soon as my band is done recording this batch of songs we've got made, I'll have it fully operational...all I want for xmas this year are GC gift cards.

This could just be the stress talking...

...but I really want out of RIC. Looking back, one of my biggest mistakes was that I totally didn't take the college application process seriously at all. It was pretty much "RIC" "music" "close to home" and that was good enough for me. Three semesters into it, and it's not turning out how I envisioned the college life. I have mediocre grades, a GPA just below 3, I'm taking classes that I have no interest in, and I have teachers bitching at me for not going to classes that I'm not enrolled in (yeah I'm still trying to figure that out too). Again, maybe it's stress, but I know that I would much rather be learning ProTools, engineering, video editing, and other cool shit like that, than memorizing Bach's Gavotte in G minor. Like I'm gonna at best get a C on this quiz tomorrow. What do I gain out of a shitty grade in a class that is going to get me nowhere in life? What am I missing here? I knew school was going to be tough, but I don't think it's very healthy to be losing sleep and literally getting sick to my stomach over it every night.

-Zach

Almost there.

One more full week of classes, and then 3 finals, and then I'm done for the winter. I plan on taking advantage of the winter break to catch up on a lot of lost sleep as well as figure out what I can do better next semester to avoid all of the stress that I've experienced lately. I suppose I should stop procrastinating, but come on, it's human nature; it can't be helped. I think I'm going to catch some sleep now seeing as how it's 9 and I have to be up at 5:30 for work. Oh yeah, and if you wouldn't mind, go check out the new video I put up on myspace. It's pretty much just a montage of stuff from the past year. It's funny, nostalgic, and it was a lot of fun to make. I hope it's an enjoyable experience. Laterz.

-Zach

Welcome

First I did livejournal. Then I tried myspace. Now I'm going to use this as a forum to discuss things, debate things, and just simply talk...or type. I hope you all enjoy the content that will be posted on here. I'm going to try and make this page worthwhile.

-Zach