Yep, it is that magical time of the year again... Baseball, hot dogs, summer movies, and my 1/2-Way Marker of the Year; the Top 11.
Lot of good music news thus far this year... Guns'N'Roses (one of the only bands worth listening to from that Black Hole known as the '80's) is resurrected as Velvet Revolver with Scott Wieland of Stone Temple Pilot's Fame... Eminem's protege of sorts, 50 Cent, is chart-topping... Couple of good albums released this year already; Meteora by Linkin Park, Songs about Jane by Maroon 5, Get Rich or Die Tryin' by 50 Cent and a couple of others supposedly to be released such as Korn...
11 1/2-ers (Didn't quite make the team)... Listed in no particular order, of course.... Nelly and P. Diddy - Shake Your Tailfeather... Trapt - Headstrong... 50 Cent - P.I.M.P.... Audioslave - Show Me How to Live... Disturbed - Liberate... Good Charlotte - The Anthem... Michelle Branch - Are You Happy Now... Justin Timberlake - Rock Your Body... Queens of the Stone Age - Go With the Flow.
And now, without further ado, the Top 11 of 2003's first half.
POWERMAN 5000... free... After a long absence, Powerman 5000 returns with the same rock and message that made them a name for themselves.
JANE'S ADDICTION... just because... Another band that had been gone just too long. Jane's Addiction returns with a smash single that combines the same sound of their '90s success with an extra kick of rock that makes "Just Because" too hard to resist.
BLACK EYED PEAS and JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE... where is the love?... Ever so catchy. The combination of Black Eyed Peas and Justin make for such a sweet sound with just the right message.
JENNIFER LOPEZ... i'm glad... The year's sweetest, most tender love song comes from a very unexpected source.
MAROON 5... harder to breathe... In a year that's been marked by less than spectacular new bands and one smash (50 Cent), Maroon 5 has quietly stayed out of the limelight, but they have a killer CD and a killer single. So underappreciated now, but hopefully they will emerge soon.
NICKELBACK and KID ROCK... saturdays are all right for fighting... Poor Kid Rock. Looks like he lost Pam, but hey, he got himself on my Top 11 list with his role on the Elton John cover with Canadian rockers, Nickelback. Man, am I glad I was wrong about them. A-material rock, right here. And, Kid, it's the fans that count, anyway, right?
50 CENT... in da club... You knew he would be here. If you ever tune in your radio to 96.3 or 103.5 FM (in the Chicagoland area, of course), you can't help but be exposed to 50 Cent by now. While he's not at the same level as Eminem, there is raw talent here to be molded. "In Da Club" may not (nay, isn't) the best song on "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" but it has become 50's staple song for the time being, much like "My Name Is" was Slim's first album smash. Whether or not this is a long-term success project or merely a one-hit wonder will have to be seen.
AUDIOSLAVE... like a stone... If there was ever a song to get you nostalgic for the good ol' days of Rage Against the Machine, this is it. Chris Cornell's vocals are great, yet there is still something missing. Regardless, there is a certain charm captured in this song...
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE... cry me a river... Anyone who's ever had their heart ripped out of their chest and smashed into a million tiny pieces can relate to this song, whether you want to admit to it or not.
LINKIN PARK... faint... So chastised for sounding just like they did on "Hybrid Theory." Why does everyone always want bands with a unique sound to explore into other strange dimensions? Screw that! While there are a handful of bands that really successfully use the turntable (311, Incubus), none come as close to perfection as the SoCal pentuplet. Why change when no one else is even in your league?
FOO FIGHTERS... times like these (acoustic)... There are a handful of bands/performers that you really can say are at the top of the world right now. Linkin Park, Incubus, and Eminem all immediately come to mind. However, lost in the fog are the venerable Foo Fighters. While they, and especially front-man Dave Grohl, will always have an unfair competition with Grohl's former band, Nirvana and their front-man, the late, great Kurt Cobain, The Foo Fighters have been one of the steadiest and most solid bands of the last 25 years. Nothing fancy; no diamonds, Escalades, or Playboy Bunny girlfriends... Nope, The Foo Fighters have just done nothing but produce great music for nearly a decade now. Their maturation to one of rock's leading voices is now complete. Whether not they're the best band in the world, when I'm an old geezer sitting in Depends, I'll throw on a Foo Fighters CD (or whatever they're using) and be reminded of my good ol' days.
Kind of corny.
But good.
Questions, comments, and general deep thoughts are always welcome.
