Sam's Best of 2011

Rope-Foo Fighters

Prior to this song I personally thought Dave Grohl was a fuck riding the coattails of Kurt Cobain's legacy and that the Foo Fighters made OK at best music then one morning I was woken up by this song's world premier in the KC area and that all changed.

I couldn't ever really consider myself a fan of this band beyond a handful of tracks but of that handful of tracks that make me get why people enjoy this group this song is probably still the one that I'd stand behind as being the track that is everything great about this band.

It's a straightforward high energy rocker with a simple but effective solo near the end point, Grohl perfectly mixing his scream/sung style of vocals, and at the time it didn't get overplayed to a point of making me hate it which is quite the rarity when it comes to this band because like a host of other acts I've enjoyed over the years the radio makes and breaks everything you could possibly love and this song managed to avoid that fate and be an anomaly of a decision I can look at in retrospect and whole heartedly say is still a legitimately great piece of work.

Song of the Day 10/17/14

So apparently as they try to get the hype train a rolling for their new record on the horizon The Foo Fighters have been doing a series of covers on The Late Show with David Letterman and one friend of mine told me to and i quote, "get on that shit," and a few day's later I actually remembered to cover this cover in the form of War Pigs featuring Zac Brown.

In all honesty it's pretty bad ass I can't lie there and Zac Brown seems to really be into it but once the uniqueness of it all kind of wears away I can't find a whole lot to be excited over really it's a solid cover that I'm sure would blow minds to see live and you know what fuck it get rocking people...

Happy 2 Year's SOTD

You know what I realized a few weeks ago? I’ve been writing Song of the Day for 2 years, yeah on February 8, 2010 I wrote my very first Song of the Day on the Smashing Pumpkins forums and it’s been one hell of a ride since then.

Now there wasn’t too much thought process behind doing it other then the attempts to make a thread on there that I could consistently keep updated unlike the other board members at that time and I did to very little feedback in fact most of the members I’m sure mocked me but you know I decided to say fuck it and kept pressing through and eventually after some time I started to thoroughly feel that my abilities as a writer were greatly improving and with the suggestion of a good friend I decided to expand and launch this blog that I’ve been maintaining for just over a year now. It was one hell of a trip keeping posted on the forums, this blog, and my personal Facebook account but I did until of course when I reached the year long anniversary where I made the sad announcement to quit the thread on the Forums and devote myself full time to this website.

Now let’s cut this sad talk because this is a cause of celebration people I’ve been doing this shit for 2 years and I don’t plan on stopping any day soon so let’s get to discussing the things I’ve noticed after doing this for so long.

Fun facts for all fun facts in deed ever since I’ve been doing this I felt it’d be a good idea to keep a list of all the songs I’ve written about and a little log of the number of times I’ve mentioned any particular artist and since I love countdowns I think I’m going to tell you guy’s the top 5 most represented acts and my impressions upon realizing the numbers.

5. Placebo 7 Song’s of the Day



If you know me personally you know I’ve been quite the fan of this little British Trio for quite some time and the fact that they’ve clocked in so many Songs of the day shouldn’t be any surprise.

There’s not much to really say while I do have a tendency to listen to them in certain mindsets and such they’ve honestly made some of the most criminally overlooked tunes with the posted video being an example of such. With a variety of sounds from the dirties of rift rockers to these kind of out there electronic tinged danceable cuts they’ve made songs for every possible interest I’ve had over these two years and time and time again I’ve found myself coming back and reminding myself just why I hold them in high esteem by wanting to bring up a song that truly does speak to me and with many more on the way I’m pretty sure these guys will rope me back in soon enough.

4. Foo Fighters 8 Entries



That cut right there should be more then enough a reason to bring up just why I’ve written about these guys so much so quickly. Wasting Light is one hell of an album and upon listening to this song and then the album I found myself having a new found respect and admiration for a band that I always felt made good songs but hadn’t yet clicked with me.

It is surprising yes to realize that I wrote about 8 different songs but hey I don’t see no problem in that especially when you get to the next two acts like…

3. Neon Trees 9 Entries



This last year has had a lot to do with these numbers I will admit but looking at this I pretty much wrote the equivalent of their whole first album god damn people.

Ok all joking aside I really can’t lie this little power pop group really has made some quality numbers like the one I posted above, and really the fact that the album in question was just filled to the brim with equally worthwhile cuts I really couldn’t help but write about these guys in a pinch. Big chorus’ simple rifts, and a variety of styles really gives these guys a chameleon like quality that managed to give them a tune to describe every possible thing I was going through and time and time again I just had to tell you guys how bad ass one of their songs has been and again their nowhere near ready to quit this so let’s hope the rest of the world gives these guys a shot.

2. Cee-Lo, “Mo Fakun Lady Killa Green,” 17 Entries



I’m aware that it shouldn’t be a surprise that he’s number 2 but HOLY DAMN people 17 cuts from this smoother then smooth boss hoss of a performer and its’ all because of the epic work that is The Lady Killer.

Yes I love that album and pretty much all of the tunes that followed. I was taken at Fuck You and I stayed because he really was someone that just delivered time and time again and the fact that he felt to let the internet be home to some lesser known cuts lead me to not only have to listen to him but write about him pretty much every month for a year straight and if he continues this way he MIGHT just dethrone the champions of champions which if you couldn’t of guessed it by this point well then you just might not know me that well.

1. The Smashing Pumpkins 24 Entries



Ok now in a show of hands who honestly did not expect this to be the case really let me count.

Ok if not only being started on their fan site wasn’t enough these guy’s are my favorite band of all time period the end no questions asked and it’s been that way for as long as I’ve loved this crazy little thing called music people and in the two years I’ve written these songs of the day they’ve been working on that massive behemoth of a project that is Teargarden By Kaleidoscope and of course with each new cut I felt some contractual obligation to discuss and of course with the massive flooding of bands that have interested me over these two years the only constant is that I’ll always have a moment where I fall back on one of their cuts and be reminded just why I love them.

There’s very few outlets where we all feel our voice’s to be spoken and for me this band has made everything I possibly could and will forever want through the rifts and lyrics of one William Patrick Corgan and if my undying gratitude of fandom isn’t enough of a reason to have written about them so much then I’ll never know what is and because of that the most covered artist amongst my collection of tunes has been The Smashing Pumpkins.

It’s crazy really to think of just how many possible things I’ve covered over the past two years and the shifts in interest and genres covered are quite astounding and while I couldn’t really bring myself to figuring out the statistics of genres covered and such there’s one last things that I feel needs to be brought up like….



The first song I ever wrote about for Song of the Day was a cover of the song, “Lovers in A Dangerous Time,” by the Barenaked Ladies, and the reason I bring that up is because looking at my top list you’ll notice there’s a lot of respected alternative acts that in some way are me exercising my credibility muscle but of course the first thing I feel to write about is a band that I’ll occasionally feel a bit embarrassed to say I like because of the fact that their decidedly pop in many ways.

But at the time I started this I was finishing High school and there wasn’t a whole lot going on in my life, I had reached the end of my teenage years and it was time to start being an adult but for whatever reason the only thing I wanted to do was my Choir Class at the time. Yes I know that’s a bit odd to say but it was my last real thing to do and at the time of course like many a person there was a girl I was interested in, but of course in details I’m not willing to talk about opportunities where lost and all I was left with was the desire to sing a song that actually required some talent and that’s where this song came in.

There’s really something magical about this song and it’s messages of love being possible in even the harshest of conditions and of course the fact that this is the most prime example of just how vocally talented this group was just lead me to have this song on endless repeat….that and I think I was just getting hooked on the phenomenon that is Glee but we’ll ignore that whole part for the more credible but cheestatic sounding story now where was I?

Oh yeah this song’s always been a personal favorite of mine and because the band in question kind of shaped my interest to listen to a little bit of everything I felt that starting out with something a bit out there but accessible would lead me to feel comfortable to cover a wide range of tunes and I’m glad to say that has proven correct so why don’t we wrap this bad boy up by raising a toast to Sam’s Song of the Day here’s to more songs to come.

Sams Best of 2011

You know I’ve been seeing a lot of Best of 2011 list floating around the internet and TV and I figured since I enjoy top 5’s and it’s just that time of year to do so I’d compose my picks for the best cuts of the year, but before I get into anything I’m going to point out that while I enjoy just being all about me, myself, and I on this faithful little blog I’m going to have to point out a few tunes that while aren’t the most quality tunes that really do deserve to be noted for just how freaking big they were this year like…


5. Super Bass-Nicki Minaj



This year was chocked full of high energy pop infused electronic mess’ all over radio and for the better part of this year I was forced to listen to quite a bit of top 40 and of all the guilty pleasures I endured this one was honestly the biggest surprise. Now I’ve always been aware of Nicki Minaj and her various assets, but the music she does at best was a very well done series of Rap Verses and easily avoidable songs but one day I’m trolling the Youtube’s and I see this odd little square box for this Video on the main page for this song with a very pink Nicki and decided to give it the old college heave ho and give this song a listen.

I’m not going to lie to you at first I was a good bit unprepared for the 808 heavy blast of sugary sweet pop coated catchiness that I was about to listen to and for whatever reason the only thing that came to mind was that white people would love this….Don’t judge me.

Needless to say I was more then correct because not too soon after a Taylor Swift endorsement this song blew the fuck up and the next thing I know I’m hearing it EVERYWEHRE and while I will note that Party Rock Anthem was the bigger tune this one I feel I would rather note as being worthwhile in the realms of pop tunes I have to note as being worthwhile to losing some credibility over.

Ok I’m going to make note that Pop radio always tries to get atleast one alternative act into their rotation of tunes in order to 1. Give people a break from the auto tuned mess and 2. Give some sense of credibility but every year something odd seems to creep in and oh was this year’s underdog a dozy.



4. Pumped Up Kicks-Foster and the People



Now if threre was one surprisingly HUGE hit that occurred this year it’d be this song by a landslide because I honestly didn’t even remotely expect this spaced out little jam about someone losing their shit and going on a killing spree to even remotely crack top 40 but for whatever reason by the grace of god these guys have become the breakout act of 2011.

You know even after the massive amount of radio play this song has been subjugated to it still has this kind of refreshingly strung out sound to it that’s still as warm and tripped out as the first time I heard it and thought Pumped was some radio edit. The sheer hypnotic nature of this little indie rock gem seemed to really creep into radio and just took over person after person and while I will admit that Mumford and Sons folk rock styling’s where the kick in the balls modern radio needed this song just more seems like a radio staple that’s less pretentious more accessible and think for that it really is one of the best tunes and my personal pick for brake out song of 2011.

Now as great as this song is your reading Sam’s Song Of the Day people and if you’ve been reading every day you know that there’s one particular artist that’s probably dominated more post then anyone else this year.



3. Cry Baby-Cee-Lo Green



AHHHHH yeah people it’s time to yet again write about the all mighty lady killer himself Cee-Lo, “MO Fakun Lady Killa,” Green and I’m guessing this choice is at best a bit confusing but let me explain myself here.

Ok now I’m going to have to say people that while, “Fuck You,” was not only a monumentally amazing number and the most gratifyingly successful number of the year I personally feel that while the song as a whole lacks what really is the finer points of the Lady Killer album which is the showcasing of how Cee-Lo is really the modern day sultan of soul, the man with the master plan to make all them panties drop, the undeniably most well crafted performer out there when it comes to taking that retro-grooved sound and making it sound like an instant classic and of all the songs off the masterpiece that is The Lady Killer I feel that this is the best released single in terms of giving the listener an idea of what’s to come on that album.

Although now that I’m sitting here listening to it for the sake of really being able to review it I’ve come to realize that over its sincerely soulful vocal performance and it’s slower pace it’s really one of the classiest get the hell over yourself tunes I’ve ever heard and in it’s smoother then smooth sound it’s hiding this mildly egocentric tale of how her broke the ex-lovers heart to a point where she’s now made him the bad guy in this situation which is both classy and awesome, but even an amusingly off beat video staring the all mighty Urkle couldn’t catapult this song to the heights of the next two tunes which to say the least was a decision I really had to think hard about.



2. Rolling in the Deep-Adele



Honestly amongst the heap of tunes that felt the desire to come out this year this one slowly but surely managed to chug it’s ever so powerfully soulful sound onto radio and just carved out a path of destruction that almost no one could match.

This song was a slow burner in a lot of ways because the first time I heard it I didn’t really quite understand what I was about to be completely overtaken by but this song grew and grew and then out of nowhere it just suddenly became this behemoth of a hit that everyone just couldn’t escape and didn’t really want to for that matter. This song is even now after so many rotations still this overwhelmingly huge sounding blast of misery that only someone who is both pissed off and vocally gifted could do because this song just starts off ever so simply with a bare boned guitar and Adele’s voice in a hollow room before then erupting in this huge almost tribal sound that she then belts out these god given bits of rage and power that just grab you from the heart strings and make you want to yell fuck you to that person that broke your heart this year.

Really this song is just one of many cuts on an album that really deserves all the credit as being the best of the year and as great as this song and it’s corresponding album are I just can’t call it number one even though every single best off 2011 list out there from Rolling Stone to VH1 would like to tell me there was just one song this year that blew my mind in ways I really couldn’t of ever figured it would and that would be….


1. Rope-Foo Fighters



Now if there was one song this year that I can say that not only made an impact on me that was both instantaneous and lasting it was this and not only did this song blow my damn mind but it finally made me realize just why these guys are constantly considered to be the best, yes ladies and gentlemen I have finally found the way of the foo.

As powerful as Adele’s voice is nothing beats the rush of power an electric guitar can bring and not only did they bring the rock they made my choice for the greatest song of 2011.

To be honesty I’ve always been on the fence about this band because as much as I dislike Dave Grohl as a person I’ve always felt that this band really just makes very catchy records that all grow old as soon as the radio decides to rotate them every five minutes but this song was different. From the first time I really heard the echoing intro I wasn’t sure what to expect but then out of nowhere I suddenly got blasted with this furiously steady stream of ever so heavy guitars before then being greeted with the familiar sound of Dave Grohl giving a very melodic verse before then erupting in a series of bouncing yelps before then singing this ever so larger then life Chorus that instantaneously made me have to go listen to this song another 150 times and buy the album.

No shit people this song alone made walk out and buy a copy of what was to be a surprisingly amazing album and even now after so many rotations just like the first time I ever heard this song I still can’t control my desire to jump up and scream this song as I feverously air guitar the fuck out of this very garage-rock influenced rocker that brought just the right amount of ass kicking rockers Alternative rock radio needed amongst the haze of electro-indie dominance and for that I have to give it credit as being my choice as the best song of 2011.

Well there you go people those are my picks for the 5 best songs of 2011 it really has been a bad ass year for music which is both a surprise and a pleasant change I can’t wait to go through yet another years batch of songs of the day hopefully covering some bad ass tunes before this predicted end of the world.

Thank you for reading this year here's to another year of shenanigans.

-Sam