rickyleepotts…an opinionated realist

He won a major this year. He won a major with a hurt leg. He actually won a major with a broken leg according to the doctors. I mean, it was not as broken as you might picture a broken leg but his leg was in some serious career ending danger. And that was what some of us thought when he dropped out not even half way through the 2008 season to pursue yet another knee surgery. Number 6 to be exact, on the same knee. And he just turned 32. If that is not cause for concern for the next 20 years of his career, I don’t know what is.

So Tiger decided to have surgery and take the rest of the season off. He even missed some events that he hosted due to his doctors advice to not fly. (Of course he could have drove, but I understand how that might be awkward when you own a private jet and might not even own a license.) So he missed the entire second half of the year and taking him out of contention to defend his FedEx Cup that he won in it’s inaugural year and also taking him out of the contention to win player of the year yet again. I am not even sure what the last year he didn’t win that. And the guy that did win that, even if Tiger had played this year, deserved it.

So Tiger, sitting out for more months than my TV can be off the Golf Channel, is sitting and waiting for the next season to come into play. He won’t play very much, if at all, before the Masters. I am not even sure he has decided for certain that he will be playing the Masters, but if you know an ounce about Tiger he will be in Augusta this spring. (How crazy would that be? He sits out all this season pretty much and then comes back and wins his first major since his surgery. Yeah, you and I both know that is not too far from possible.

But the point of this is to not share my passion and desire for this man, it is to talk about the fact he is nearing the chance at loosing his number 1 world golf ranking. This is one he has held for over 500 weeks in a row (yeah, that is a lot of weeks) and is within 4 points of loosing it to Sergio Garcia. Now, that in itself is a shock to me. I mean, even though Tiger is not playing does not mean I do not follow golf. But Sergio is not that good. OK, I take that back. He is good. He is not good enough to be the best player in the world. For a guy that has never won a major, and never will until he learns to putt the ball, he does not deserve the number one world ranking. I mean, neither does Phil, Vijay, Ernie, or Rocco. I mean, Phil can not put together two weeks in a row without a missed cut. Ernie has not done anything since he had surgery a few years ago. Vijah has hot and cold steaks between a short putter and a long putter. (The long putter, though, is cheating. I will argue that until the day I die. Or at least the day I put one in my bag.) Rocco is good, but he is not consistent. He is more consistent than Phil.

Anyway, Sergio does not deserve to hold the highest rank in golf until I see a major in his hands. But it is a real possibility. Sergio is within a little over 3 points from catching Tiger. Now, that in itself (I say that a lot, huh?) says something to Tiger. Of course, there are haters out there that say Tiger should not have the title if he is not playing. But yeah, I think he should. First off, Tiger only plays a few tournaments a year (compared to guys like Vijay that play ever single week) and he still manages to hold that spot. And he spent 4 months off tour this year sitting at home resting and not even swinging a club and still has enough points to hold that title. He deserved to get it in the first place. And he deserves to keep it until someone else takes it over.

And the great thing about Tiger is that if he was to loose it he would not care. Well, he would care, but he would not be upset about it. He will smile, hold a press conference (again, all assuming he does loose it) and congratulate Sergio on his accomplishment. But, he will come out of the gate and take that title back in a few months of being back on the links. And the great thing about that is that Tiger has been hitting balls. He has been hitting for a few weeks now. And according to him and Steve Williams he is hitting the ball better than he ever has. His doctors have said he is at 100% and will be able to walk further with more stamina. Now, does this scare anyone? Because it scares the crap out of me. (Not the “ghosts at Halloween” kind of scare. But the “you are telling me Tiger is getting better” kind of scare.)

Tiger is 33 years old. Well, he will be on Tuesday, December 30th, 2008. But that is tomorrow so it is close enough. (How do you think a guy that is worth over $500 million celebrates his birthday?) To be as good as he is and have won as many times as he has it scares the crap out of me to think what everyone else that is playing will do. I have faith that when Tiger comes back, and you can give him two, maybe three years to prepare himself for that one huge year (I had always thought it would be 2010 though. He has Augusta for the Masters. He has Pebble for the Open. He has St. Andrews for the British) he can win all four majors in one year. It has never been done before in the history of golf. And there will never be someone that will be able to do it in the future. If Tiger does not do it it will never be done. Period.

Last night I was sitting at home just playing around online and talking to a few people on AIM. I was just having a relaxing night in when I received a phone call from my wonderful cousin Christine (it used to be Chris but she changed it.) She and her husband Jim (it has always been Jim) were at the Omni Hotel in downtown Indianapolis spending one last night before they headed back to the much nicer desert. They had just finished up at the Colts game and were having some drinks before heading out to dinner with one of her friends. She called and asked if I was interested in joining them and I decided that after just watching Yes Man, the new movie with Jim Carey, that I had to oblige. I was going to anyway because who can turn down some drinks with family?

So I head downtown and meet them at the bar in the Omni. We begin talking and her friend calls her to tell her that she is interested in going to the Brazilian steak house that just opened downtown. She was confused with the location and the concept and asked me what the situation was all about. I just happened to know not only how incredible the restaurant was but also have had eaten at one in Las Vegas. (I am pretty sure, however, that the one that I ate at in Las Vegas was not an actual Fogo de Chao. But it was very similar if it was not that exact location.)

So I begin to tell her how incredible this place is and how much fun they were going to have when she asked if I was going to be joining them. Um, yeah, I will be joining you. This place is incredible. This will blow any Panera Bread out of the water. And please, Mr. Bread, do not take offense to that. So we head out to make our way to the restaurant (after I made quick reservations before we walked all that way and could not get a table) and all I could hear was Christine complain about how long of a walk this was. OK, 6 blocks in the middle of downtown is not that far. She is just lazy.

So we finally make it to the destination (after meeting her friend on the street in route) and sit for what they were about to experience as a meal of a lifetime. Or at least the month. We begin with the highly acclaimed salad bar. And this was not your typical salad bar. This was a multi-choice lettuce festival of dressing, toppings, meats, and cheeses. I begin with a light salad of spinach as I know what to expect next. (They actually have things on the salad bar that have natural enzymes in them. This is a chemical that helps with digestion and you never really understand why until a few moments later when you begin your adventure for dinner.

They had provided us instructions at the beginning of the meal. They had stated the coaster, that was red on one side and green on the other, is used at your own caution. The guys that control the meat shaving will only pay attention to the card. This is to be used as your green light for go and red light for I am full. And sure enough, by the end of the first ten minutes of shaving that is exactly what I had experienced. The red light for full.

I begin with some fillet Mignon. Then some rack of lamb. Then to the ribs. Then over to the chicken. Then the special meat (still have no idea what it was) then the herb and Parmesan crusted poultry, then the garlic beef. My plate is nearly full when I realize that I need to save space for the mashed potatoes, the plantains, the blocks of queso (thanks for the Spanglish Chris) and the never empty water glass beside me. We had gone from empty plates to heaping piles of meat in about three minutes.

We begin to eat and about a half hour later I was ready for some new samples. They have an ongoing array of 15 meats as well as a special meat of the day. This does not include all the seafood found on the salad bar. Or the sides. I was so full by the time the second round came again I was cautious in my selection. I chose the bacon wrapped rib eye and the chicken wings. I mean, when a place can actually make “fall off the bone” chicken wings you know that they mean business.

By the time dessert was about to make its way around the table we had all given in. Red coaster was facing up, the white towels were folded on the table, and after dinner conversation had begun. It was literally a perfect meal from the amount you get for the money. (Thank you Jim, you did not have to do that.)

But, I do have one simple complaint. And that is in the word that this place has on the streets. I mean, yes, this place was perfect from the attention to detail, the ability to pick and choose your meats, to the amount of selection on the salad bar. But the service, as incredible and spotless as it was, was annoying. I understand this is a very friendly and open space, but when you have ten guys walking around carrying meats shaving on plates here, plates there, it gets old very quickly. Also, every time I took a drink from my water glass it was filled immediately after I sat it down. I mean, is that necessary? There is no need to fill after every single drink. Of course I do base the tip off of the amount of refills I receive, but this was just a bit much.

But all in all this was a near perfect meal. It was quick, incredible quality, and they were very quick to provide what we needed. I asked for bacon wrapped fillet, and I got bacon wrapped fillet. I asked for more mashed potatoes, I got more mashed potatoes. I asked for direction to the restroom and they gave me directions to the restroom. It was literally spotless on all fronts. Welcome to Indianapolis Fogo de Chao.

I wish I could see your face right now. I wish I was sitting there when you read that the best album of 2008 was from the recovering psycho Britney Spears. I wish I could hear you cuss under your breathe telling me that I have no idea what I am talking about. I wish, though, more than anything, that you will take the time to read this and trust me educated and experienced opinion on why this album might not only be the best album that she has ever written and the best album of the year, but maybe one of the best albums that we will ever listen to.

Britney has had some issues. In the last year she has gone from deadbeat mother to divorcing her back up dancing “figure” father to going bald and slamming umbrellas into the side of her car. Oh, did we forget about the part where she gave her child a cigarette, dropped her baby on concrete, and spread eagle getting out of a car while hanging with another figure of our media, Paris Hilton? Well, there is more to it than that, much more to it actually, and for once I will suggest you read her interview with Rolling Stone. (It was in last month’s issue and is very detailed and quite comprehensive. And they do not always agree with the things that she says. It is a nice article from a magazine I tend to disagree with.)

But Britney released an album called Blackout at the end of last year that flopped. It was terrible. It had one decent song on it and a video that made her look like a stripper. It was a sad attempt at a much needed comeback that pushed her deeper into her depression of the industry. But she had talks at the start of the year that she was working on what she called her official comeback album. There was nothing much announced about it until she dropped her first single only a few months ago. It was Womanaizer and became an immediate club hit with it’s techno beats and its pure dance grooves that made you not only sing at the top of your lungs, but hit repeat and do it again until you lost your voice. And speaking of voice, hers was better than it has ever been. That is something I will touch on here in a few moments.

So there is a lot of talk leading to her release this December. It was a late release and I was curious why she waited so long to release it coming in the middle of this great recession we are said to be in and this close to Christmas. But it’s not like she needs the money of the Christmas rush. She doesn’t have access to her money anyway. Her father does. But that is a different story all on its own.

So about a month before this album is to be released I did a Google search to see if there was a track list, a sample of the songs, a story behind the delay; just anything I could learn about the album. And to my absolute shock I found a link that I was so happy I clicked on I passed it around my office, to my friends on AIM, Facebook, and to just about everyone short of the staff at Panera Bread. I found a link to a leaked version of the album. It was high quality. It was full length. It was the album. And it was over a month early. I got so excited I even wrote an article on www.indyconcerts.com about the link hoping that more could experience this album before it’s official release date.

I listed to the album all the way through. From the first listen I was in love. I was in love with her before but this album has fortified that and pushed me into a whole new category of love of her music. Here is why.

Her vocals are the first thing that you notice. The album does not have a consistent feel from start to finish. You have tracks, like Womanaizer that starts the album. She makes you want to dance a minute into the album. But then a few tracks in you are taken aback and given slow, soft, meaningful lyrics. And I am not saying that all the lyrics on the album are not meaningful. The title track, Circus, is a direct interpretation to her current status in the media. The way that the media can put her on such a high pedestal and simply make her seem to be worthless other than a good story is incredible to me. But there is something that a lot of you do not know. Britney is not crazy. She is not a party animal anymore. She does not go out and drink till the early hours of the morning. She is in bed before 10PM every night. She has a very strict diet. She has become a respectable adult. And just in time for the release of this album.

You get a few tracks into this album before you start to get an appreciation for how hard she has worked to make such an incredible set of songs. After you listen to it a few times you feel an almost pattern to the way you are brought up to the dance floor and then back down to the couch as you just sing to your loved ones. The track that I consider the best on the album comes in about the middle. It is called Unusual You. Now, don’t get me wrong, I understand that there are computers at use to make her voice sound the way it does in songs like this. But that is OK. (Please ignore the fact that Kanye West has released an entire album of voice modification. That is just stupid. When you have a song that is said to be from Kanye but sounds like someone, something, that you have never heard before you can not help be get angry at the purpose behind that.)

I could go on for days about why this album is the best album of the year. But I want to leave this a little bit more for your own personal discovery. So go listen to Ms. Spears as she will blow your mind with her latest release. This is by far the best album of the year in my opinion.

All I can start by saying is that these guys have done it yet again. Another year, another tour, another album, and another incredible piece of music. I don’t care how many times the radio can play Photograph this band will go down as the modern day U2. And I do not even care if you get mad at that statement. You hate them, I know you do. You are sitting there wondering why you are even bothering to read this post. But you have to learn why every show they play at bigger venues every year sells out. They could play any venue you put them in and sell it out because of their pure rock hard style and their incredible guitar playing.

I have a history with these guys. When I went to my first concert (yeah, the first one ever) it was to see these guys at then called Deer Creek. I was working at Kroger at the time and we got promotions for shows from Ticketmaster all the time. This was one of them. I was given two tickets to see Nickelback after they first hit the scene. These rockers put on not only one of the best shows I have ever seen to date, they influenced me to become a concert addict.

Nickelback has, in the past, been able to produce albums that have cliche lyrics, typical guitar riffs, and still find a way to melt your face as they scream across the speakers. And I am sure a lot of you are talking right now about his voice. Sure, his voice sounds like he is trying too hard. He sounds like he is in pain when he sings. But that is the beauty of his voice. He has anger in his voice without even trying. That is partly why every song you hear is a rock hard punch in the face. They can’t play slow music. It is not in them. His voice might not be the best one in the industry today but these guys continue to impress me.

This album is a move in a direction I hope they stay away from. If you listen to the album for the first time you have a sense of country in there when you are finished. You hear a Metallica meets Kenny Chesney matched with some ZZ Top. You get some old school guitar solos and some country beats but with hard hitting lyrics that sometimes offend.

I say offend loosely. Half the songs on this album have titles that are directly realted to sex, prostitutes, stippers, and just pure unruly behavior. Take the song Something in Your Mouth. What the heck do you think this song will be about? A tootsie pop? Use your imagination until you hear this album though. Don’t just take my word for it.

Their first single Gotta Be Somebody actually stands pretty tall on this album. Like I said with the Archuleta album, they usually don’t. And I am sure this song will get the same treatment as Photograph did, which is fine. There are so many other great songs on this album that I can listen to. I don’t need a set of singles to be happy. Leaves more of a reason for you to go buy the album. But this single is something we can all relate to. No one wants to be alone. No one wants to be left in the dark looking for love. But we have all been there. Most of us might be there now. Thier lyrics are not always sexual and in that rock hard fashion, just usually.

The main reason why I like this album is because as similar as it sounds to all their other stuff, it is way more mature than their previous albums. The writing, again ignore the fact they are packed with sexual innuendos, is better. His voice is not struggling to find it’s range. I almost feel that he has accepted his sound and is using that to their advantage. And this album makes me want to see them again in concert. I have never paid to see the same band twice. I refuse. I have seen them twice, paying to see Hoobastank and they just happened to be the headliner, but not to see them. But this year might change that. They currently have no Indianapolis dates planned but I might be willing to head to Chicago to see these guys play this album. It is just that good.

But as you sit there you keep saying to yourself, “I hate his voice. I hate their routine sound. I hate how every song sounds the same.” And trust me, I hear you. A fellow coworker and friend of mine said the same thing. I asked him to trust me. I “forced” him to listen to the entire thing before he said anything about it. He did. He liked it. He still thinks that Chad’s voice is awful, but the album did something for him.

Again, I keep going back to the sexual connotations of the album. Lines like, “You know that I always come for you,” just do not seem to be radio friendly. Of course I can not get Matt Nathenson’s song Come on Get Higher out of my head. And everyone says that song is 100% sexual. Maybe my mind is just not as much in the gutter as all of yours. But this Nickelback album, as sexually obvious as it is, does in fact produce an incredible set of tracks. It rocks all the way through.

Buy the album. Listen to it loud. And I guarantee that the more you hear it the more you will like it. I would highly suggest every single other Nickelback album as well. They just continue to impress. They will keep making great hits until they retire. But I do not see that for a long long time. This might just be the best thing Canada has ever produced.

6 months ago I had no idea who this woman was. But I have to be completely honest with you that the only reason I got this album was because of the title, Dancing. I assumed, with the current techno and dance craze that I always seem to find myself in, that this was an album from a European DJ that I had just not heard from yet. I was sadly mistaken when I placed this in my CD player. (OK, you are right, I do not have a CD player. All my music is digital.)

When I began to listen I started my routine of research that I always do with artists. I learned quite a bit about her very quickly. She is Italian born and currently resides in Italy as well as having a home in L.A. She is most well known for her appearance at the closing Olympic ceremonies a few years back. She has also appeared on some national television spots and most recently released Dancing which according to her management will be the one thing she will do to push her to the top of the world charts. She has spend some time on the Billboard singles charts, but nothing with an album. Nothing yet anyway.

I have had the chance to create dialog with her and her management team. I am in the process of working out a way to get her to the city of Indianapolis and also working on some radio air time and promotional work for her album. Her management team is very nice to work with and is making the transition from fan to asset a smooth one. This just ads nothing but incredible forms of appreciation for her and her music.

But the fact she is a nice person does not have anything to do with why she has made her way to number 3 on my 2008 top albums list. She has deserved this spot from producing an incredible, well planned, thought out, produced and engineered album. The sounds that you hear from this album are not what you would expect from an album in my top 5 but I warned you before that I was going to throw a curve ball or two.

The first thing that I noticed about Elisa is that she is in fact European, but her album is entirely in English. That is rare, even to artists that have big American singles like Yael Naim and Kate Ryan. Both these artists have a mix of English and their perspective languages but nothing as smooth as Elisa.

Her voice is what this album was build around. Her songwriting is good, but nothing to write home about. She has an incredible sense and ability to pull you in before she is done with one sentence. I spoke about how David had the ability to throw a look around me and pull me to the stage with how his voice changes. Now, Elisa is doing the same thing. But she just has pure talent and vocals because she is not going through puberty what so ever.

There are a few other things that excite me about this album. She does not fall into the standard 3 minute song routine that every artist seems to. She moves tracks to 5 and 6 minutes but does not loose you. The songs have an incredible, near perfect sense of progression. Almost every single song starts out slow, soft, and intense on her in an almost speaking sense. But by the time the song is over you are doing just what she assumes you will be, dancing. Not club dancing, but ball room style. The kind of dancing that you have to take lessons for.

You get a couple of songs in before you start to realize that this album is not intended to make you roll the windows down and sing at the top of your lungs. She is speaking to you. She is giving the impression you are sitting in church and listening to the choir preach to you. But I can do nothing but go back to the way her voice just tackles you into submission. In the song Stranger her voice speaks simple and clean words but turns them into ring tone quality sounds.

The best song on the album by far is called Broken. It starts about as fast and hard as you are going to hear from her, too. I like to think of this song as a theme song for life. The lines “Broken, broken, like stolen, stolen, a gift it was stolen,” that carries on for a few more lines puts a chill down your back. Her voice changes pitch about six times in one paragraph of lyrics and she brings you back down. Then she comes right back with another set of those same lyrics. The song really does get better and better as you move along. But the way her voice, again, brings you into the track is what makes her album so sucessful.

A way that I can explain her genre, because its not pop, rock, or anything else you could mention here, is Shrek. There are those artists that you hear and just know that if they have not been on a Shrek soundtrack they will be before that series is over. And Elisa gets to the point where she stares Shrek right in the eyes when she covers Hallelujah from any given artist that claims they are the person who sang it. Jeff Buckley will be the one you are familiar with, however. She sounds better tan Buckley (OK, don’t hate me for that, but she does) and the way the organ in the background sets you up for an incredible finish you are just singing in your head, closing your eyes, and moving your foot back and forth.

Elisa is new to me. She might even be new to the industry as far as success is concerned. And she will I am sure be new to you. But what I can promise you is that she has a future. Her voice is something I expect to hear at the highest ranks. You will cringe when you hear her voice on some of these songs. And for the first album on the list the lyrics are not as important as everything else. She could sing about dying cows and make it sound passionate and make you feel almost invincible.

Go buy this album. Don’t even buy it for me and this list. Buy it because of her voice. Buy it because of her career and how you will be able to say, “Hey, I listened to her before she got big.” I feel that I have the ability to pick out an artist that has the talent to make it. And if David Cook can “make it” Elisa is a shoe in.

He is 17. (Well, he turns 18 tomorrow, but still, he is only 17.) He is a heart throb that belongs on the Disney Channel for his vocals and his boyish looks. And he has found his way into the top 5 on this year’s list with his first release straight off of American Idol and his much more worthy second place finish. I am sorry, but David Cook has a good voice, but just because he sounds like Daughtry and have a handicapped relative does not mean you need to win American Idol. I have some issues with that show anyway, but I will discuss that in a future article.

So American Idol is over and we sit back to wait for the first release of these two David’s. You figure that Archuleta will produce something fun, poppy, and a little childish with lacking strength behind his lyrics. And at the same time you assume that Cook will provide rock hard stamina and an album that you feel can last a few years to tour on. Well, that was not the case. When the first single was released, Cook held the title with Light On. It was good, made me want to sway my hands in the air and learn the lyrics. But it was not a club song. The lyrics are more made for country than rock and the pop attitude he brings to the market. Then came the first single on Archuleta’s album. Crush comes out, and sits there a week before I even hear about it. And then my friend Jenna says, “Hey, have you heard that new Archuleta song, Crush? It’s amazing.” So, I take her advice, and head straight to You Tube to listen to this single.

I not only fall immediately in love with his voice, but also his song writing. This single played over and over again until the album dropped in the first half of November. I could not get it out of my head. He was singing directly to me and I didn’t even realize it. The only hope that I had was that it was not going to be like every other artist that releases a good first single and be the best song on the album. And oh boy, was I surprised when I heard this album. That song might quite possibly be the worst song on the album. David has pushed me into a whirlwind spin of incredible music, songwriting, and vocals.

As with #5 on this list, this album speaks a lot to me through lyrics. It does, however, scare me that he is not writing his own lyrics. There is no way that a 17 year old kid has been through this much heartache and pain to write lyrics this intense and dramatic. If he has, however, I feel sorry for him. (I would like to mention here, also, that I am not sure if he even likes that form of a mate. There have been rumors flying since he first hit the scene he was homosexual. I have no idea if he is or not, but listen to an interview and tell me just from his voice he is not a little convincing. But anyway, that has nothing to do what so ever with his ability to make an incredible album.)

This album comes out in November and I get immediately excited to hear it. First because of the first single and the talk that has been made about him releasing a major first release, but also that I had heard nothing but Crush (similar to hearing nothing but Colbie Caillat’s song Bubbly when it first came out) on the radio malls. The album was being completely saturated. Which is fine, it just makes him seem larger than life. But would the album match?

I get the album and listen to it immediately. It was late, I was talking to some people online, and I did not pay as much of attention as I should have. But when I went to work the next day to share the album with Jenna I was upset. I slammed it on her desk and was upset, almost mad, about the quality of the album. I can not even promise that I listened to ever single song. So Jenna listens to it and later around lunch she comes to me and is about as upset as I was. She stated that it was lacking something and that every song sounded the same. I kindly agreed and went on with my day.

I actually let the album sit for about a week or so before I gave it what I call the “Andrew Zimmern Second Taste” listen. (Please tell me you know who Andrew Zimmern is?) Anyway, so I am sitting at home and I put it on with the intention of giving it every second of my attention from start to finish. The album starts with Crush, which I am already in love with but I listen and by this point sing along with. The album then takes me on a an absolute roller coaster of emotion. Highs, lows, and twists are all included. The only way when you listen to this album is hands free and with no further consideration as to what you should expect.

He has the ability to change his voice to fit the emotion of the song. This is a rare feature that a lot of artists have not been able to perfect. And besides the point that he might be going through puberty right now, I hope that he learns to perfect this for his future. He writes songs that make me feel for him. I want to just meet him and shake his hand and say, “I’m sorry for all your hurt and pain.” He is jaded and is still a teenager. Imagine what he will be able to write with some years on his back.

But the album has some songs that I can hear on the radio (and not just Disney Radio) and songs that I can hear being played at people’s weddings and graduation parties. And if you hear him talk you would never guess that he sounds like this with a microphone in his hand.

Every track is a story. This is very similar to the Curtis Peoples album. The lyrics, as great as they are, do lack maturity however. He does a lot of repetition in his slower songs and I am not sure if that is to simply grain those into your mind or is he has run out of stuff to write about in such few songs. But, a couple of the tracks to in fact hit what I would call epic status. The song To Be With You, an duet with Kara DioGuardi, a singer songwriter herself, puts you somewhere. It puts me laying in bed. Candles are lit. A breeze is blowing through the open window. And at the same time I am singing so is “she”. These words, his smoothness, the piano motion, and the pure emotion I hear in his voice make this by far the best track on the album. I have listened to this just as about as many times as Crush, maybe more, and I can just see him singing this to me on stage. I see the lights dimmed down, I see his eyes close, and his fist clinched. This song might be in the running for one of the songs written all year long.

All in all this album does a lot for me. It first grabs my attention at the ability for someone who didn’t win American Idol can blow out the guy that did. Just because they are both named David does not make them equally as talented. It also shows that no matter how old you are, or how little of experience you have in this crazy game of life, you can still write incredible lyrics and make me swoon for more. The last thing this album does is give me the ability to hit replay when it’s over. There are very few albums in my collection that I can say that about. But this album is really one that I feel that I have to listen to at least once a day.

You have done an incredible job with your first release Mr. Archuleta. I applaud you and I think that if you are reading this and have not heard this album you need to do yourself a favor and do so soon. You will not be disappointed.

I have been saying all year long that this album from California born Curtis Peoples was going to hold onto a spot in the top 5. I heard parts of this album very early on in the year, but the release date was not until late August. This album came out with a tour followed by a few more with Curtis, Tony Lucca, Todd Carey, Tyler Hilton, and some others. It seems that when one of those guys goes on tour you can bet you will see a handful of the others too. It really is one big happy family and I am glad to be able to consider myself a friend of everyone on that list.

Curtis and I have been good friends for quite a long time now and I have always seen something in his music. His lyrics, his ability to just crush strings on a guitar, and his pure stage presence is one for bigger stages than I have seen him on. I actually had the chance to bring Curtis to Indianapolis for the first time a few years ago. He played a show with Dave Yaden and Trey Locerkbie. It was at an old venue called the Rouge. The stage was small, the turn out was not what we had wanted it to be, but it broke him into the city. He has since played numerous shows with both Locals Only and Birdy’s and quickly becoming a household name in the city.

But besides all of that, I had to put Curtis in the top 5 this year. There are so many albums that came out this year that were the make or break albums for big artists including Kanye West, The Killers, The All American Rejects, Fall Out Boy, Pink, and many many others. Some were successful. Some were not. You will see a couple of those appear on the upcoming lists.

But Curtis has been able to put together an album that will go down as some of his best work. I say that loosely; Curtis being so young and always having the ability to shock me. But I will stand next to this album any day of the week.

(Just so you know, while I am writing each of these posts, I will be listening to the album at the same time. I feel that I have to be in the moment, feel the songs, understand the lyrics, and let the voice of the artist scream to me while I write about their hard work and music.)

This album starts out with an almost power ballad that puts your foot to the floor and your mind in a coffee shop. Curtis has actually described his music as “coffee shop arena rock”. And that can not be too far from the perfect description. You can tell in the writing and the story telling where Curtis gets his inspiration from as well He names the Beatles as being his holy grail and if the way he can slam 45 minutes of a story into 3 isn’t enough, the logo tattoo on his arm is.

The main reasons why this album is so effective to me is the songwriting. He has the ability to get you in his shoes and walk around his hurt and pain for a while. There is no way that lyrics like this come from creativity. They come directly from experience. They come from broken hearts. They come from tear drops and whiskey. Curtis is young, too. So to think that he has been able to write lyrics you would expect from Willie Nelson speaks a lot to his ability as a songwriter.

This album does a lot for me as well with the way it is not one solid theme all the way across. He takes you on a roller coaster ride from pop dance grooves that you can’t help but get out of your seat to the hold your lighter in the air epic. I am reminded of a show I saw a few years ago at Verizon Wireless Music Center here in Indianapolis. They turned the lights all out and asked for the audience to hold up lighters and cell phones. The crowd was sold out and there was enough light from all of this that the band played an entire song sans lights. I can see this exact same thing happening with him in the future. (He might have already done this, who knows.)

I have heard a lot of people claim Curtis has an almost Disney sound about him. I have to disagree. I feel that, even though he looks like one of the Jonas Brothers, that he is a little bit more mature in his writing than anything on the Disney label. He writes from somewhere that everyone has been. He writes music that matters; songs that you can hear at your wedding.

This album, as a whole, is one that you have to appreciate the genre. You are more than likely not going to see him full band if you see him live. You will see an acoustic guitar playing the same songs as on the album. They are different, there is no question, but not any less good. But if you do get the chance to hear him full band you will hear the exact same things as you do on this album. And that speaks a lot to an artist outside the quality of an album. I saw Anberlin (one of my favorite bands of all time) a few years ago in Chicago. They sounded so bad that I wanted to leave. I was so upset that they could sound so different than their album and that they have the power of studio work to sound good that I almost wanted to stop listening to them all together. I did not, as I think their most recent album is the best one they will ever record both lyrics wise and smoothness. I did see them again on Warped Tour this past year and they were incredible. Totally changed my mind about them as a band. But anyway, this is not about Anberlin.

The best track on Curtis’s album comes in with Holding Me Down. It has an immediate guitar solo and he jumps right into the story. With lines like “Oh I feel like leaving because you’re holding me down. Wrapped up in chains because you’re holding me down,” just get your fists pumping in the air. All I can do is just go back to the lyrics. I mean, sure, being a proclaimed singer songwriter you have to sort of rely on your lyrics to get you where others can not go, but his writing is just on a whole other level.

If you take the time to sit and listen to this understand where he is coming from. Hear the pain in his voice. Hear the hurt behind his guitar. Picture him screaming into the microphone with his eyes closed and sweat running down his forehead. Feel his pain in every song. I can not get over how incredible this album is as a track for track list of stories.

I wrote an article for the magazine that I write for about Curtis and this album. It was more of a review for reader’s sake but it serves a similar purpose. I also had the chance to sit down with him for a one on one interview. You can check both those out on the site. Also, you can listen to some samples of his work and see his tour schedule by clicking on the album cover above.

I highly recommend his music to you. Experience the difference from your every day singer songwriter to someone that has a future in this insanely competitive business. I wish him absolutely nothing but the best in his future. He is going somewhere. I just hope it’s sooner than later. And I truly believe that this album can help him get there. Just don’t forget the little people Curtis.

Every year I make a list. I make a pretty substantial and honest list. Of course, I make lists all the time. I make lists for what I need from the grocery store. I make lists for what I need to do that week. I make lists for what lists I have to make next. I sometimes make lists that have things I have already accomplished on them just so I can scratch them out to feel more productive. You could say I am a list maker at it’s finest.

But the last few years I have made some pretty important lists as well. And they always fall about this time of year. They have been posted, until now, on MySpace under their not so incredible blog service. But this year, since I am an official Blogger with the much nicer and more appreciated Google folks, I will be posting this year’s list here.

What is this all important and mighty high spoken of list all about? Well, there are two lists. The first one is a list of the top 5 albums that were released in that year. These albums come from males, females, groups, individuals, country, rap, rock, or whatever else you can record and put on a CD. You will not agree with this list. I don’t want you to. This list will not be anything remotely near the lists that you will read in Rolling Stone or any other music review. Good, they are too political for my taste anyway.

But this list is real. This list will have an album or three on it that you might have never thought you would let your ear drums hear. This list will make you laugh, cry, smile, and cuss under your breathe that I would have the audacity to list these in the top 5. But I ask one thing of you. Go out and listen to each one of these. Listen to the albums from start to finish. You are only allowed to switch between songs if you hear one that has been over played on the radio.

On this year’s list you will have more than likely have heard of all the bands. That is not uncommon as the bigger and better bands tend to shock me time and time again with their quality of writing (probably not their actual writing) and their abilities to put together award winning music.

The second list that I mentioned above is a similar list to the first. The second list will be the top ten albums that I have heard in that given year. The albums can appear on both lists, but sometimes do not to allow you to hear my thoughts on more music. The first list, of the top 5 albums, will include individual postings and a very detailed description of the album, individual songs, and what make the album deserve a spot on the list for me. The second list, however, will be a single post that will include a brief description of the band and a short break down of why I enjoyed it so much.

I just wanted to give you a back story as to what I am doing over the next week. This is not intended to be a quick set of posts. There is thought, love, lyrics, and dedication to the music industry inside each one of these posts. And I want your comments. I want to hear why you liked, disliked, and disagree with me on my list of what I truly feel are the best 5 albums of this year.

The iPhone has been one of the best things every to happen to technology and cell phone carriers. Well, 1 cell phone carrier, anyway. And with the creation of this incredible technology it opened a door to software developers everywhere. Image the power to create open source applications for a web based cell phone and then be able to put them in a central location, charge whatever you want for them, and then sit back and let the money pour in from your code. And there are plenty of people out there doing it. With over 10,000 applications currently available in the iTunes Application Store (you can access these from both your iTunes account as well as on the phone) you can spend days just searching for the next big thing. If nothing else it will keep you busy during meetings or conference calls.

But there is one application that has caught on like wildfire. With some good, some bad, the fart application is an addiction to iPhone users. I actually just learned of this application yesterday when my good friend Jordan admitted to purchasing this application. I was confused and decided to do a little bit of research.

Now I could go around and explain what the application does, how it does it, and how you can download it, but I will save you all that chatter. This application is meant for one reason and one reason only. You can open the application and fart with your phone. Touch the screen to fart. And for $1.99 you can fart anywhere you want whenever you want.

People are making money on this. That is the kicker. This is not a free application. Someone sat down, coded out an application that you tap and it farts, and is rich. THe fart applications (not just one but the combination of them all) make an average of over $10,000 a month. This just reinstates the fact that I do not feel that we are in a recession if people can spend $10,000 a month on a digital whoppie cushion. Come on people, what is wrong with you? Spend your money on a useful application. I mean, have you downloaded bubble wrap? Yeah, that’s right, a page of virtual bubble wrap. Now that is an application worth buying.

The main reason I wanted to discuss this film with you today is that one, Brad Pitt is the star (one of the best actors of my lifetime) and two, the situation that this character goes through makes you think. I have actually sat down to consider this from time to time. And the movie that Robin Williams starred in a while back where he got old much sooner than his time is what I am reminded of. (What is the name of that movie? It has escaped me. If you get it right you win a prize!)

In this movie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the main character (Mr. Button himself) is born at the age he would be when he died. He starts his life off old and as the years pass he gets younger. I have read very little about this film and have only seen a few scattered trailers, but I am very interested in seeing this film.

Put yourself in those shoes. You are born and you start your life at 70 years old. But ten years from now, you are 60, and so on. Your entire life would be impossible to live I think. Imagine falling in love. The person that you decide to spend the rest of your life will meet you when you are say, 40. Then ten years passes and she is now 50. But you are 30. You are going in reverse order and there is nothing that you can do to stop it. This took me a long time to wrap my mind around it.

The things that I want to know about the film is his education and knowledge. Does he start, old of course, knowing how to speak, walk, learn, read, etc.? Does he already have a feel for what life is all about or does he learn that just like the rest of us? I have been hearing about this film for quite some time and I am just curious to see how it all plays out.

Now the movie poster that is attached above is another thing I wanted to mention. This is not the movie poster that was decided on but was one of the choices sent to the higher ups at the film studio. And the one they chose, while effective to some degree of the time period and the actual feel of the film, does not speak to me as much as this one does. This image portrays exactly what you think this movie will be about. (That is of course if you are aware of the case that Mr. Button suffers from.) You see this woman, in love with her child and holding him close to her, but you notice the baby is old. Your mind (mine anyway) runs laps around the track with what this would be like not only for the person that is suffering from this but also the people he effects in his daily life. Teachers, friends, girls, parents.

Someone try to wrap their mind around this with me. What would you feel like if you were going in the opposite direction?