http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ_z4FL6yHg

Hello MySpace! How have you been? Check out my new song and video IT RULEZZZ!

What's your problem man? You spent a whole two second blog telling us how great it was going to be and there was going to be an awesome new post soon. What happened? It's been like a month dude! Seriously, you gotta stop messing with us.

Is this going through your mind right now? Like me you are frustrated by the eternal struggle of you wanting content and me wanting to write it. Well folks, it's too bad, you come back at me with your hatred and contempt, I will walk. Sorry to say it folks, but I can't do the myspace blogging thing anymore. I have moved on to bigger and better things. It's called WordPress folks, and it is great! So goodbye Myspace, but please do follow me over to kingwart.wordpress.com. You won't regret it!

Thanks!

I have had some pretty disturbing requests to get a new blog out. OK fans, here it is, just letting you know a full-blown music reviewing party pak will be arriving in the coming weeks!

Blogging is like so two years ago...sorry guys my heart is just not in it this year. I tried to keep up with you all last year, and posted at least once a month, but it has become such an unsufferable burden to post these days. Yes, like the wisps of air flowing through the winds of time, my soul has escaped from its bearings, leaving me lying in a state of uncertainty and failure. These are the albums that helped me get there...enjoy my dearest friends, enjoy.

The Presidents Of The United States Of America - These Are The Good Times People - *** - Great that this band still exists. I know a lot of people probably view this band as a one-hit wonder who did a couple goofy songs in the mid-90's. But I think they have released several great albums since then, and is really a great band that likes to have some fun with music. I find this to be very refreshing. And this album does a great job of just that, having fun.

What Made Milwaukee Famous - What Doesn't Kill Us - *** - A step up from thier last record. I liked the last record, at least a few songs, but it seemed a bit uneven. This brings the sound together to an extent, but there is some unevenness, but I think they stepped up the production of each sound to create a more uniform sound. It's a good record.

Spiraling - Time Travel Made Easy - *** - Good, solid album from Spiraling. Continuing to make great music, and it's good to see them find their voice, and how they are progressing. Great songs, good production, and just an overall good album.

The Racontuers - Consolers of The Lonely - *** - Another great record from The Racontuers. Not quite as impactful as the first one on first listen, but good. Would have liked to have a bit more Brendan Benson, but it's all good.

Brent Cash - How Will I Know If I'm Awake - ***1/2 - A unique sounding CD in these times, borrowing heavily from classic pop of the Beach Boys, Beatles, etc. This album takes it's time and creates a landscape of songs that exist all on their own.

The Kooks - Konk - **1/2 - More good stuff from The Kooks, they have a great style and pretty good songs. This wasn't as exciting to me as their first, but it is very entertaining and fun.

The Weepies - Hideaway - *** - While some songs here seem to be less natural than thier previous work, it is still overall a good record. I felt that some were overproduced and did not sound like the Weepies I know. But the shining moments are worth it.

Blondfire - My Someday - *** - Pretty good first album from this group. I have been following them for a while, so it's good to see they have a final resting place for some of thier older songs and a nice set of newer songs, which makes it a welcome release.

Phantom Planet - Raise The Dead - ***1/2 - Good to hear from Phantom Planet again, they have been one of my favorite bands since I started getting into music. And they really do not disappoint on this album, which their last one did a little. They are back to good form here with soem great songs.

The Wombats - A Guide To Love, Loss, and Desperation - *** - Just getting into this band who have been around for a couple years I think. This album seems to be the best of thier early singles and a few new songs for American release. I really like this band's energy, so while they do tend to sound like a bunch of these new brit-pop bands, they bring thier own energy to it which is great.

Jackie Greene - Giving Up The Ghost - **1/2 - I like Jackie Greene and this album has some great songs. My only complaint about him is that his albums are always a bit too long. There always seem to be a couple songs that could probably have been left off, but he does have some great songs overall.

Pugwash - Eleven Modern Antiquities - ***1/2 - Great stuff from this band who consistently release great songs. THey have a great sound that, while it borrows from a lot of other bands, ends up sounding like its own thing.

Well, it's been slow on the blog lately, I know. It's just I have not much to talk about lately. Life is going fine and at a steady pace, and I haven't made any major life changes lately. But I have been listening to some great music. I want to share these records with you, so join with me in the fun!

She and Him - Volume I - ***1/2 - I really like this album. It is an entirely entertaining experience. At first you kind of wonder about the voice and the sort of off nature of it, but as soon as you accept it and fall in, it is a great record.

Gary Louris - Vagabonds - *** - I love the Jayhawks, and the last few have been essentially Gary Louris calling all the shots, so this doesn't detract too far from that sound, but does have a more intimate feel to it, which is great.

Supergrass - Diamond Hoo Ha - *** - A rocking record from Supergrass. After the last few years of the 10 year best of and other releases made it feel like they were winding down thier career, but if anything, they have picked it up in the past few years, and its great to know they still have the juices flowing.

The Feeling - Join With Us - *** - Loved their first record, almost too much, because its hard for this to match up with the surprise and joy I got out of the first album. The songs here are great, but nothing jumped out to me on first listen. I will definitely give it a few more listens before I make my fianl judgement though.

David Doll - Headsets for Jets - *** - A great power pop record. Great songs, interesting stories and a well made album overall.

They Might Be Giants - Here Comes The 123's - ***1/2 - A fun record from They Might Be Giants. You don't have to be a kid to enjoy this. It's cool to hear them goof around more and really focus on just being entertaining.

Wisely - Between the X's & The O's - *** - Not really an album, but a set of bonus tracks, this doesn't exactly flow well, but the songs are great. Some are just demos of songs on his new albums, but the songs here that were left off that album are just as good as anything else on it.

Simple Plan - Simple Plan - * - Hardly even worth a review. The band decided that they didn't want to have fun anymore, I guess. This is a darker album, with more 80s influenced pop songs, only one track recalls the fun side of Simple Plan. They have always played pretty disposable pop, but this side of pop is not really my thing.

Paul Steel - Moon Rock - ***1/2 - Excellent record from this artist, who seemingly came out of nowhere with this Beach Boys influenced record that is perfect for summer and really any season.  

OK, as always, I seem to miss a bunch of albums from my 2007 list, so here are the albums I have heard since I made that list. These are all great things to hear as we move into 2008 and I yet again force you to see what music I listen to. Some of these probably would have made my list, namely Mike VIola and the Orion Experience. A lot of these are bands I saw on other people's 2007 lists, so I listened to them as well. Please enjoy and I will probably be back next week for my first picks of 2008.

Kenna - "Make Sure They See My Face" ***1/2 - Very good record. I hadn't really heard of Kenna before seeing an interview with him, and I was so impressed with the way he saw his music, so when I heard the songs I was intrigued. Hearing the whole album made me see that it is really worth it. Some of these types of records tend to be boring to me, but this has such an energy that is really engaging.

The Smithereens - "Christmas With The Smithereens" - *** - Well, I love Christmas songs, and really who doesn't? This is a pretty good record, has some interesting approaches, starts really good, but loses steam near the end with some fairly standard style songs.

Relient K - "Let It Snow, Baby...Let It Reindeer" - *** - This is really two Christmas EP's, because much of these songs were on their first Bonus Christmas EP from a few years back, adding in some new songs and filling out a full record. This is fine really, and makes for a good Christmas album.

Barenaked Ladies - "Barenaked Ladies Are Men" - *** - Good follow-up to their last record. It is probably a bit more energetic than that first one, which makes it sound a bit better than the last which had a couple great songs and then some not so great songs. The case is the same here, the great songs are awesome, the not so great songs start to drag things out, and with 16 tracks, you'd think they could edit a bit more.

Raul Malo - "Marshmallow World" - *** - A fairly predictable but enjoyable Christmas record. The orchestra in the back is really a great addition to the mix.

Mike Viola - "Lurch" - **** - Can't go wrong with Mike Viola. He serves up another plate of great songs with real meaning, it is a very entertaining record.

Rivers Cuomo - "Alone: The Home Recordings of" - *** - Interesting recording from the Weezer frontman. It gives us a glimpse of the kind of things he was into and the ability to create music that feels bigger than it probably is.

John Southworth - "The Pillowmaker" - *** - Just caught up to this guy this year, loved his previous albums. This is a bit of a departure, with more folkier sounds, etc., but it is no less enjoyable than his other albums.

The Ditchflowers - "Carried Away" - *** - Pretty good stuff from this band. A good mix of country-esque elements in basically pop songs. It is an enjoyable record.

Art Brut - "It's A Bit Complicated" - ***1/2 - Great album from these guys. It took me some time to get around to hearing them, but I am glad I finally did. They really do a great job of having a unique approach to the songs, while not betraying the appeal of music in the first place. It is a exciting and fun record.

Wiretree - "Bouldin" - *** - Good, interesting record.

The Orion Experience - "Cosmicandy" - **** - Awesome Power Poppin' record. They hit you from the first note with non-stop power and joy all around. It then continues in just the way you want it to and just keeps coming at you. Excellent work.

Poplord - "Poplord" - *** - Cool pop record, clean vocals and great songs that get you moving.

The Crayons - "What's Wrong With You?" - *** - Good record overall, the production on the record stands out, with a clean, crisp, mainstream sound, yet still having some aspects that reach for a different audience than most mainstream music like this.

The Look - "Popularity Boom" - ***1/2 - Cool record from this band, a lot of great sounds and they can do very light stuff and mix it in with some heavier stuff, but in the end it all comes out great.

My List:

01 Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
02 Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
03 The Nines - Gran Jukle's Field
04 Travis - The Boy With No Name
05 Rooney - Calling The World
06 Electric Soft Parade - No Need To Be Downhearted
07 Brakes - Beatific Visions
08 Farrah - Cut Out And Keep
09 Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
10 Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
11 Eleni Mandell - Miracle of Five
12 Rufus Wainwright - Release the Stars
13 Brandi Carlile - The Story
14 Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
15 Kelly Willis - Translated From Love
16 They Might Be Giants - The Else
17 Eric Hutchinson - Sounds Like This
18 The Supers - Re: Arrange
19 The Weakerthans - Reunion Tour
20 Missy Higgins - On A Clear Day

My Detailed List:

01 Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
This is a great record. It is more approachable than their last album, while still maintaining that unique and interesting sound. It's a rocking album that doesn't really slow down and keeps it entertaining for the full CD.

02 Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
They got better? Who knew? I thought they were a great improvement with "The Sunlandic Twins" a few years back, but this album is even better. Despite an 11 minute song in the middle, most of these songs are great, with a mix of several artists and styles that they come out with something uniquely their own.

03 The Nines - Gran Jukle's Field
Always good to hear The Nines. Fantastic songs and great production. Bleu helped out a bit with this record and it is noticeable. The combination of both personalities creates something really interesting.

04 Travis - The Boy With No Name
A great return for an artist. After 6 years without an album, this is a ray of light from their dark last album. It reminds me of why I liked them in the first place. It is a fine addition to a great set of albums before.

05 Rooney - Calling The World
After 5 years or so, you never know what you will get from a band that had such a great debut, but Rooney have delivered something that fits alongside and apart from their first album. They still have a knack for writing cool songs, while stepping away from some of the relaxed sound of the first one, rocking out a bit more and they still seem to be having fun with it, which is great.

06 Electric Soft Parade - No Need To Be Downhearted
They have really found their sound and what they do well, it is a great record, really makes you feel good.

07 Brakes - Beatific Visions
Fantastic. A really fun, energetic record, with just a great sense of humor and thoughtful lyrics, make it a complete package.

08 Farrah - Cut Out And Keep
A really fun record. This album is energetic, catchy and a thrill to listen to. It is a consistently good record and really great summer listening. I think it is as good if not better than their previous releases, all of which I have enjoyed thoroughly.

09 Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
Another great one from Josh Ritter, and again a change from his previous stuff. That is a good sign. His sound now is an amalgam of genres that makes him unique sounding and yet he fits alongside any indie band around. It's an exciting album and keeps the pace up the entire time.

10 Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
Jens Lekman is great. And his music is getting even better. I think this album offers a fuller sound, not necessary, but it does add to the overall effect of the album. I think he was influenced a bit more on this record by 60's soul records or the like. A lot of fun and interesting.

11 Eleni Mandell - Miracle of Five
Can't go wrong with Eleni Mandell, this CD is a cool set of songs. It's a little mellower than some other efforts, but with cool instrumentation and sounds.

12 Rufus Wainwright - Release the Stars
Awesome, back to writing albums of songs rather than epic arrangements and concepts. This is a collection of songs that are all good and interesting and unique. They stand alone great, and is a return to form that is much appreciated by me.

13 Brandi Carlile - The Story
Fantastic album from Carlile, this brings back that over the top style that she does so well. Overall a good listen, not quite as melodic and catchy as the first one, but it definitely has the same energy and intenseness.

14 Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
As much as I did like their last two CD's they do tend to get a little old, with all the deconstructing and all that. This brings back a much more classic band sound, which is good. I think it is different than a lot of their stuff, a few more influences coming in, but it is a refreshing listen from Wilco.

15 Kelly Willis - Translated From Love
Quite a good record, and different than her last. I think she has continued to move more and more away from her country roots, while still maintaining that attitude and a little twang. She gets some help from Jules Shear, who is great and definitely brings some pop sounds to it. She also covers an Iggy Pop song, an Adam Green song, so it is very eclectic and enjoyable.

16 They Might Be Giants - The Else
Always a good choice, TMBG give a collection of songs that is great. The additional production help from the Dust Brothers is welcome and really enhances the album with a refreshing sound. The fact that they can manage to write cool, entertaining, unique songs after 20+ years is a testament to their talent.

17 Eric Hutchinson - Sounds Like This
Excellent record. It is great to hear his songs with more of a fuller arrangement, besides just guitar. It adds a lot and made this record one of my favorites.

18 The Supers - Re: Arrange
Really good record. I wasn't sure if they even still made music, so hearing this was a refreshing blast. It is a great power pop record.

19 The Weakerthans - Reunion Tour
I really like the energy of this band. They are not hyperactive, but they also aren't depressingly mellow. They have a nice balance of soft and loud sounds. Both lyrically and musically. This album is definitely a step up from some of their previous efforts.

20 Missy Higgins - On A Clear Day
She did a great job with this record. She has a knack for writing good songs. It is as good if not better than the first.

Honorable Mentions (no order):

Admiral Twin - The Center Of The Universe
Aliens - Astronomy for Dogs
Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
Apples In Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder
Autumn Defense - Autumn Defense
Coconut Records - Nighttiming
Dan Bryk - Discount Store
Fountains of Wayne - Traffic and Weather
The Hoosiers - The Trick To Life
Hot Hot Heat - Happiness Ltd.
Jason Falkner - I'm OK, You're OK
Ken Sharp - Sonic Crayons
Motion City Soundtrack - Even If It Kills Me
Readymade Breakup - Isn't That What It's For?
Red Button - She's About To Cross My Mind
The Reigning Sound - Too Much Guitar
Rick Altizer - Scripture Memory-Pop Symphonies
Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Living With The Living
Teddy Thompson - Upfront and Down Low

That's a wrap,
Jordan

Time for fun - A poem by Jordan

I have learned to make time for fun,
Just as long as I'm not the only one.
The laughter the joy, the pain and the sorrow,
Makes me feel better and ready for tomorrow.
So follow me friends, into the great unknown,
But remember me dearly as you eat that sno-cone.
For I may not be there in the rough and hard times,
But my heart will be with you crossing the guard lines.
For opening doors that appear to be gone,
is like chomping on whiskey a dog in the lawn.
For candy is like a cheap confection
that opens your soul to massive infection.
Remember I love you and always will try
to rub salt in the wounds causing you to...

Wait a minute! This got really weird, all I am saying is have fun people! Wake up to your feelings! Music time!


Sklar Brothers - "Sklar Maps" - *** - I love the Sklar brothers, and not just because I am a twin. I wasn't sure about them really until I started watching Cheap Seats, which was fanastic, even for a non-sports fan such as myself. This CD is great, very funny and really captures their shows, as opposed to their other CD, which I found to be a little uneven.

Will Hoge - "Draw The Curtains" - *** - Quite good record from Will Hoge. Very engaging. I think the most important thing on here are the vocals, which I think have improved over the years and has some real life in them. I also enjoyed hearing Garrison Starr on one track.

Mexico 70 - "Thirty Five Whirlpools Below Sound" - *** - I wasn't sure if these guys existed anymore. I found one of their records in a bargain bin a year or so ago, and enjoyed it. So a few weeks ago, when I heard about this record I was excited to hear it. I wasn't disappointed. It's almost as if they never stopped making music, and it is great.

Graham Colton - "Here Right Now" - *** - I like Graham Colton to an extent. He has a tendency to get a little too mainstream, but this album shows a little bit of a stray from that. It does have a few really good songs.

The Supers - Re: Arrange" - ***1/2 - Really good record from The Supers. I wasn't sure if they even still made music, so hearing this was a refreshing blast. It is a great power pop record, one of the best this year.

Dan Wilson - "Free Life" - *** - Pretty good record from the former Semisonic frontman. It definitely carries on the sound of Semisonic, but more of the atmospheric, slower aspects of the band. Which is fine, I like those sounds, but I would like a little more pep on a few tracks. But as the type of record it is, it does a good job.

Eric Hutchinson - "Sounds Like This" - ***1/2 - Excellent record from Eric. It is great to hear his songs with more of a fuller arrangement, besides just guitar. It adds a lot and made this record one of my favorites.

The Hoosiers - "The Trick To Life" - ***1/2 - Very good record with some great songs. While the album falls apart a bit at the end, it starts strong with some amazing songs. The other thing about it is that it is not very consistent, and they appear to be apeing some styles in a few songs, but they do it well, and it sort of makes up for it.

Mike Birbiglia - "My Secret Public Journal Live" - *** - Very funny stuff from Mike Birbiglia. This is a collection of funny stories, mostly real things that happened to him and in reflecting these experiences in his own unique way, it makes a very enjoyable record. I had heard some of these as podcasts about a year ago, but they were with the Bob and Tom show, so it was hard to get past the guffaws, so the more toned down audience was good too.

With only two months left in the year it is time for the annual contest. We all remember last year when Samuel named all the types of flightless birds. He went home with a brand new stereo system, I know you were all jealous, but you made it through, and I condemn...err...commend you for that. This year we have something inspired by the film Shrek 3. If you enjoyed the movie as much as I did, your wounds are still healing. I want you to name at least 12 movies with puking babies, your prize will be a lifetime supply of your choice babies or puke. Keep those entries coming and remember, the only way home is by rocket! Music time!

The Stems - "Heads Up" - *** - Great to hear a CD by these guys. I am a huge fan of anything Dom Mariani is involved with, so of course this is enjoyable. And it is nice to hear more of a rocky sound from him.

Sondre Lerche - "Dan In Real Life OST" - ***1/2 - You can't go wrong with Sondre Lerche. While this CD does have a few older songs, it does have a nice selection of new songs that are really quite good. And the movie was pretty good too, and Sondre is the band at the end of the movie, so it's worth it just to see him.

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - "Follow The Lights" - *** - Very good EP from Ryan Adams whose new album this year was kind of a departure, this EP brings things back down to a level, I think. Taking the old and new and bringing something pretty good.

Andrew - "From Me To You" - *** - I like all the albums from Andrew. He has a knack for writing classic sounding songs. This album is good and is really an enjoyable record.

Admiral Twin - "The Center Of The Universe" - *** - Great to hear these guys again. They are still writing great songs, performed well and catchy.

Mando Diao - "Never Seen The Light Of A Day" - *** - A quickie from these guys. Doesn't really add much to the established sound of Mando Diao, but it is a pretty fun record.

The Nines - "Gran Jukle's Field" - **** - Always good to hear The Nines. Fantastic songs and great production. Bleu helped out a bit with this record and it is noticeable. The combination of both personalities creates something really interesting.

Pat DiNizio - "Pat DiNizio" - *** - Pretty good collection of songs from Pat DiNizio. It has been a while since we have heard any original music from him. A covers album by Pat and a Beatles tribute by the Smithereens have been nice, but it's good to have original stuff as well. And Pat delivers pretty good songs. Maybe not as classic as some Smithereens songs, but there's still something there.