Essential Elliott Smith

 

11 years ago we lost Elliott Smith. The world has been worse without him in it.

Cruel, Cruel Summer

Hope everyone enjoyed their Independence Day holiday — or “Friday” for those outside of the US. 4th of July weekend always reminds me that we’re in the midst of summer — if the whole summer was a day, 4th of July weekend is when the sun is highest in the sky — so I thought I’d make a fun playlist on Spotify that you can cruise and bruise hearts to.

Summer always strikes me as a unique time of the year. The nice weather seems to bring with it a chance for new beginnings; I think it stems back to when we were kids and summer vacation would hit. The year was over and there were months of freedom ahead. Chances for new and fleeting romances, fun adventures, and lack of responsibility. It’s a romantic notion, summer, and as romance can often be, is quite cruel.

I tried to capture the excitement, optimism, and bittersweet endings that come with the summer time within a one hour playlist. Roll down your windows and enjoy.

Top 25 Nirvana Songs

It’s always a sad, strange thing to remember somebody on the day that they died. Of course it’s impossible for memories to replace a living, breathing human being, but at least the fans will always have something just as real: the music.

Today marks 20 years since the world lost Kurt Cobain, so I decided to figure out my 25 favorite Nirvana songs — songs that undoubtedly shaped my life in so many indescribable ways. Nirvana’s music means more to me than any other piece of art.

So I’ve listed my 25 favorites and the record they first appeared on — though for the Spotify links I’ve included my favorite versions, from  live albums and what have you. And just as I did on my Top 25 Nine Inch Nails list, there are no cover songs present.

There’s also a complete Joey’s Top 25 Nirvana Songs Playlist you can subscribe to:

Here we go:

Top 25 Nine Inch Nails Songs

This week marks the release of Hesitation Marks, the first Nine Inch Nails record since 2008’s The Slip — which we all assumed was the last hurrah for Trent Reznor in his NIN incarnation. Thankfully, that isn’t the case, and here we are! I’ve been listening to the new record for the past week and it doesn’t disappoint. Production-wise, it calls back to The Downward Spiral while making a significant step forward for the evolving sound of Nine Inch Nails (just take a listen to “Everything,” a song that wears its Joy Division love on its sleeve).

To celebrate Hesitation Marks, I decided to do the impossible task of ranking my top 25 NIN songs. A couple of qualifications: no covers (so “Physical” and “Dead Souls” are absent, I’m afraid), no remixes, and nothing from Ghosts (simply because that record is basically a symphony and should be consumed as a whole).

Here we go!

My Favorite Albums of 2012

There were so many great records this year, I couldn’t resist but to make a dreaded end-of-year summation of my thoughts about them. There are so many more than these, but these are the ones I listened to for weeks on end, particularly the top 5 or so.

I linked to the tracks on Spotify — which, if you don’t use, you should, because it rules so hard — for easy listening, should you be so inclined. Would love to hear your thoughts on your favorite records in the comments or on ye ol’ Twitter. Happy holidays!