The first entry.

The first entry. Sounds so sexual. Maybe it is?

I'm a music fanatic that has been obsessively attending live concerts since the late 70s. Between concerts, sporting events and movies, Im sure I've been to waaaaaaaay more than you.

Its a little late in the game, but I thought it was about time that I shared this obsession with the world.

So I named the blog "I Was There..." A reference to a phrase that covers pretty much any mention of a musical event, large or small -- I WAS there. If I wasn't there, there must be a good reason.

So it's 2006 and im slacking a little bit. I've only seen 5 shows this calendar year so far. But it is January so I've got time.

To give you an idea of my musical tastes, heres my top music list from 2005:

BEST OF 2005

THE 7 BEST CDs OF 2005

1. Death Cab for Cutie/Plans – I always kind of liked this band, but this was the breakthrough album for me. Incredible songs. Gets better and better with every listen, constantly discovering new great songs. Soul meets Body, Marching Bands of Manhattan, Crooked Teeth, I Will Follow You into the Darkness are all incredible.

2. Rolling Stones/A Bigger Bang – Im biased because they ARE the ROLLING STONES, but this is a great album. Great rockers, great r&b/funk, and everyone is playing well on here. A bunch of these songs could easily have been on Tattoo You or Emotional Rescue. Rough Justice kicks in with the classic Watts drums, Ronnie and Keith play together other throughout, with Mick delivering classic Mick. Rough Justice, Rain Fall Down, It Wont Take long, Back of my Hand are all great

3. Trey Anastasio/Shine – what a GREAT rock record. Free of Phish, Trey just rocks out and delivers a classic rock album with some great songs. Shine, Spin, Come as Melody, Wherever you Find it, Sleep Again are all great.

4. Ben Folds/Songs for Silverman – Ben continues to write the most moving pop songs, lyrically and musically. Just incredible stuff. Landed, Late, Bastard.

5. Coldplay/X&Y – much hyped and worth every bit. Their best album yet. Deep complex songs that get better and better with every listen. Square One, Fix You, White Shadows to name a few.

6. Sheryl Crow/Wildflower – completely different than her last record, which I also loved, this is deep, layered and nods to many classic rock icons. Listen carefully (or in some cases, not so carefully) and youll hear Neil Young, George Harrison and Elton john Perfect Lie, Good is Good, Where has all the Love Gone are all great.

7. Dave Matthews Band/Stand Up – easily the best Dave Matthews Band album. American Baby, Dreamgirl, Hunger for the Great Light are all great.

THE NEXT 5

Go Team! – very cool record, especially if you like a mix of EVERYTHING in one place. You cant help but like it.
Hot Hot Heat – great rock record.
NIN – Solid NIN album, as good as the last few without sounding exactly the same.
Rilo Kiley – I have really grown to love this record (I know, its from 2004)
Broken Flowers soundtrack -- turned me on to the incredible ethiopian jazz of mulatu astatge. Who knew?
Audioslave – much better than the first one, with a few great songs. They’ve developed their own sound, without sounding exactly like Chris Cornell fronting Rage, or vice versa.

JUST ANOTHER _______ CD

Good, solid CDs by venerable artists, with a few great songs, but certainly not their best work or anywhere near as good as their better records:

Bon Jovi/Have a Nice Day
Aimee Mann/The Forgotten Arm
Tori Amos/The Beekeeper
Neil Young/Prairie Wind
Paul McCartney/Chaos and Creation in the Backyard

HONORABLE MENTION

This group includes some really good records with a few great songs, but just don’t hold up as the best records of the year.

Kasabian –Very cool record, took me some time to appreciate it.
Aqualung – brighter than sunshine is a GREAT song. The rest is pretty good too.
Bonnie Raitt – better than the past few Bonnie records, some really great songs with great guitar playing
Bruce Springsteen – I really like some of the Bruce record, just not the whole thing
Bruce Dickinson – great metal and much better than the past few iron maiden records
Emiliana torrini – good cd, just not as good as the first one
Jack Johnson – great record, problem is it sounds almost exactly like the last one
My Morning Jacket – I really like it, but it doesn’t stay with me the way a great album does
The Ponys – great band that noone knows about. Sounds like a mix between the Cure and the Stones.
The Posies – great record with some great songs; as good as any record they’ve ever done. Conversations is classic.
Raveonettes – much better than the first record, some great 60s-sounding girl group stuff
Ringo – yes, that Ringo. Am I the only one that likes his records?? He’s put out like 4 good records in a row!
Ric Ocasek – its really not that great, but im just excited to hear Ric do anything
Robert Plant – some very cool songs, and it grows on you. Original. You definitely cant accuse him of ripping off or trying to sound like Zeppelin
Scissor sisters – some cool songs, with one great song, Take Your Mama
Sleater-kinney – the most accessible thing they’ve done, it’s a really good rock record
Spoon – very cool record, builds on, but doesn’t sound exactly like, the last few Spoon records
Steve Wynn – another great record by an artist that people should check out

COULD MAKE NEXT YEAR’S TOP TEN?

Architecture in Helsinki – interesting record, I think I like it
Magic Numbers – im starting to like this one alot
Morningwood – this isn’t out until next year, but the advance I heard is great.

THE BRITISH INVASION 2005

A bunch of great records came from England this year, from both old and new bands:

Aqualung – brighter than sunshine is a GREAT song. The rest is pretty good too.
Echo and the Bunnymen – another great record from a great band, though not as good as the last one
Kaiser chiefs – lots of hype and I loved it when it came out
Magic Numbers – im starting to like this one alot
Dead 60s – some great Clash-ish sounds, even better than the Kaiser chiefs
Stereophonics – not as good as the last record, but still a really solid effort, with some great songs
Super Furry Animals – another great record by a band that more people should check out.

Records from 2004 that I really liked this year:

Killers – I began to appreciate it more and more this year, some great songs
Lenny Kravitz/Baptism – people didn’t like this one, but theres some great songs, Lenny writing about his disillusionment with fame and fortune.
Mastodon/Leviathan – the best true metal in years

UNDECIDED

The Animal Collective, Black Mountain, Diamond Nights, Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah and The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club records have all gotten a buzz, but I haven’t had a chance to decide where they stack up.


THE WORST

Here’s the controversial section. These are the worst records of the year. Some are plain bad, and many will agree. Some are just mediocre, but the hype and adoration from critics and fans alike put them into this category. I feel its important to include these because people need to know that just because some critics love them, they aint all that.

Billy Corgan – I used to love anything he did, but this is just plain bad. His continued attempts to piss off his fans never had any affect on me until now.

Foo Fighters – Ive loved every Foo fighters record to date, so I was thrilled to hear there was a 2 disc set coming out, I thought “wow, dave must have SO MANY great songs.” Wrong. Barely 2 good songs on 2 entire discs.

Kings of Leon – again, hyped like the first one, still just as mediocre.

The National – lots of hype, plain boring.

New Pornographers – everyone seems to love this one too, and its not bad, but its definitely nothing memorable

Oasis – wow. Plain bad. They keep putting out worse and wors-er albums. When will it end?

White stripes – more hype and even worse than the last record that I didn’t really like either.

Wallflowers – a very subpar record, that im sure noone even heard

Weezer – like oasis, they keep putting out worse and wors-er records. Instead of writing 100 useless, tuneless songs every day, Rivers should really write just a few great ones, if he can.

Wilco – Wilco released a live book this year. And a live album. What next year Wilco napkins? Tie clips? The most pretentious, self important rock band since hmmmm cant think of any. I really did used to like them.

Sufjan Stevens – its really not terrible, but its also not all that good. Mediocre soft pop/folk lionized as the greatest thing ever.

Ryan Adams – he continues to release mediocre records at a rapid pace. Didn’t he retire or something a few years ago? The irony is that as much as he hates people calling him “Bryan Adams”, he will never write a song as good as some of Bryan Adams’ hits.

Bright Eyes, Okkervil River, the Decemberists – is this music for people that cant read? Its like books on tape set to boring music. Did Mark Twain make music? I don’t think so. Theres a reason for that. Who listens to this pretentious, faux-americana, “literary” rock crap anyway? Apparently critics, because everyone seems to love these bands. Listen to these three records back-to-back-to-back and you’ll sleep for weeks. Guaranteed. Theres absolutely nothing special about any of these records. Its all been done before, a thousand time better. I wish I could throw the adoring fans of these bands into the pit at a Black Flag/Bad Brains all ages show in 1983.


And so it begins...