Foo for Thought -- Reflections on "Foo Fighters: Back and Forth" (2011)

I've been racking my brain for the last hour or so -- something very hard to do, believe me -- trying to figure out what the last great rock album was. The music scene over the last few years has been dominated by dance/pop, hip-hop/rap, and indie rock music. Bands like Arcade Fire, The Black Keys, Radiohead and Muse have all released excellent records, but it's hard to call any of them rock albums. We've seen albums from Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty that have been good, but not great.

My Favorite Songs of 2010

Cee Lo's got two words for us this year...and their not "Merry Christmas."

Screw “Best of…” right? There’s really no such thing anyway. Instead, there are lists that tell us more about the listmaker than they do about the quality of the things on the list.

With that in mind, these are the songs that meant the most to me in 2010. They touched my heart, made me groove, made me reflect, inspired me, and “wowed” me. I’ve put them in alphabetical order, by artist. I’ve come to find that on any given day any of these songs could be my favorite.

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Albums of the Year List

Indie Rock finally has a face...

2010 was the year of Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Kanye West. Yet, for me, it will be the year in which indie rock finally found a face in the Arcade Fire, iTunes finally made the music industry complete its transition from selling albums to selling singles by acquiring the Beatles catalog, and Twitter took over music marketing.

Step Into Christmas -- My Favorite Holiday Music

In the words of Tom Petty, "It's Christmas time...again." That means it's time to break out the fake tree, outdoor lights, chipped porcelain Nativity sets, and the bowls of M & Ms and miniature Reese's. It also means it's time to program the iPod.

And prepare for supermarket/shopping mall/department store sound systems.

The Way It Should Be -- Reflections on "The White Stripes: Under the Great Northern Lights"

Near the beginning of "Under the Great Northern Lights," a documentary about the White Stripes tour of every province of Canada, Jack White addresses critics who have accused the two-person band of being completely "premeditated." It's an interesting moment because you're not quite sure whether the mercurial frontman is flattered or annoyed. White plays his emotions like he's holding a hand at the World Series of Poker: he could be holding the flush or the pair of deuces.

My Ears On... January 29, 2010

Over the last week, I’ve been listening to three new albums that have really captured my ear. What I love about them is the distinct styles of each, and the strong voices of the performers. There is also a thematic quality that oddly enough connects the three: a sense of confusion.

We live in confusing times right now, don’t we? All we have left to hold on to, it seems, is love, but even that appears to be fleeting at times. These records question the idea of fleeting love, and make for some powerful music here at the beginning of this new decade.

Check ‘em out.

Transference by Spoon

Britt Daniel is an amazing songwriter. Spoon never fails to satisfy, and Transference is no exception. It is an eclectic record, with each song holding its own without adhering to a consistent style. The opening track begins the record with the thudding, raspy “Before Destruction” before the album kicks it up with the funky “Mystery Zone,” electronic “Who Makes Your Money,” and the garage rock romp of “Trouble Comes Running.”

What stands out to me the most though, is the lyrical transference the title of the album evokes. At times it feels like Daniel is trying to convince himself of the power of love. In “Nobody Gets Me But You,” he clearly states: “I thought they get me like you/Oh no!/Nobody/Nobody/Nobody.” Either he’s making a definitive statement, or he’s really forcing himself to believe it. A similar idea appears on the driving “Got Nuffin.” “The flowers blooming/The trains collide/Ahhh/I don’t got a thing to lose.” He’s trying to transfer these feelings from his mind into his soul. Pretty heady stuff.

Here’s a video with the song, “Got Nuffin.” It’s just the song, but worth the listen.




End Times by the Eels

Enigmatic songwriter E was divorced last year, and in the midst of his depression he creates one of the Eels most remarkable records, End Times. It’s very reminiscent in tone to Beck’s classic Sea Change. There is a despair on every song here, even uptempo numbers like “Gone Man,” when he sings, “I talk to my dog/just to prove I’m alive.”

Having been recently divorced myself, I can completely relate to his pain. Especially when he says on the last track, “On My Feet:” “When I look back on my life/Most of it won’t seem so important/The shit that matters/And what I’ll really miss/Is falling asleep with your arms around me.” Those were tough mornings after I moved out and tried to start a new life on my own. E’s plaintive lyrics cut to the core of the pain divorcees everywhere must feel, and give this album a dark beauty.




The Sea by Corinne Bailey Rae

Confusion, doubt, fear, despair. Corinne Bailey Rae’s depression after the death of her husband to an accidental drug overdose in 2007 provides the material for her sophomore album, The Sea. These songs are jazzy, meandering, and lacking the pop vibe of her self-titled debut. At times, though, there’s a rocking edge that plays in stark contrast to her light-as-a-feather voice. All of this works together to create my favorite album so far this year. It’s a better record than her first record, although not by much. I can’t get enough of songs like “Are You Here?” “The Blackest Lily,” and “Paris Nights/New York Mornings.”

In the movie High Fidelity, Rob Gordon (John Cusack) opens the movie with the line, “Which came first, the music or the misery?” Here the case is simply made for misery, but from within the misery comes hope and new horizons. “So weary/Someone to love is bigger than your pride’s worth” she cries on the track, “I’d Do It All Again.” There’s someone out there for her; there’s a chance at a new beginning.

My Ears On... January 2010

It's really hard to write about music, because A) it's soooo personal, and 2) how do you describe sound? Sometimes I read the album reviews in Rolling Stone and Spin and wonder how the hell they came up with descriptions like: "Transference is Spoon's seventh album and, at times, sounds like their best: the jaunty drive of "The Mystery Zone"; the rough sugar of "Written in Reverse," with its barroom-rock charge and ooo-weee vocal frosting." What is "vocal frosting?" Anyone?

But, it's so much fun to share music. There's so much to talk about. So, I'm going to highlight what I've been listening to recently and try to share why I like, or don't like, it. As always, I'll talk about how it makes me feel, because that's what I believe music is all about.

Here's what I've been listening to lately.

Contra by Vampire Weekend

This album was just released last week, and it picks up where the group's debut album left off. It reminds me a lot of Paul Simon's Graceland without sounding like a cheap copy. Songs like "Horchata" (yes, like the Mexican rice drink) and "California English" are tons of fun to listen and groove to. This is the kind of album I want to enjoy on either a long road trip up the Pacific Coast Highway, or on Sunday morning over pancakes, orange juice and a newspaper. It's just a kick-back, chillaxin' record.




Live at Reading by Nirvana

Nirvana's music defined my adolescence, and I'm not ashamed to admit I cried my eyes out the day Kurt Cobain killed himself. Everytime I listen to a Nirvana record now, I am usually in a very depressed mood (which isn't uncommon for this bi-polar man). But, Live at Reading made me happy. Hearing the audience singing along, screaming, and celebrating Cobain's brilliant music energized me, bringing out the air guitar-shredding, invisible mosh-pit thrashing man buried inside me. Apparently, this was one of the band's most important concerts, but that's not what makes me love it. It's versions of songs like "All Apologies," "Aneurysm," and "Lithium" that bring a smile (and maybe a tear, if I'm in the right mood).




The Dark Side of the Moon by The Flaming Lips & Stardeath and the White Dwarfs

Remaking perhaps the most famous album by one of rock music's seminal bands is an act that takes major cojones. On that alone, you have to give the Flaming Lips their due. They team up here with Stardeath and the White Dwarfs and Henry Rollins to create a very odd version of what was already a really odd, progressive rock record. There are tons of fuzzy guitars, feedback wails, and sound effects here. Their version of "Time" opens with hurried breathing, coughing, and an alarm clock beeping in the background before exploding into a wall of distortion. "Money" sounds like it was being played on a child's synthesizer, with Wayne Coyne's voice sounding like a robot -- it's almost like they wanted the song to sound as if the lyrics were being spoken by an ATM machine. Overall, this record is really hard to get into, and I only recommend it to people who love Pink Floyd and the Flaming Lips and want to see what the combination of music and style produces.




If there's any music you're listening to lately that you think I should hear, or review, let me know. My ears are always open.

Make-Up Sex -- The Best Albums of 2009

Looking back over my list of best albums of 00, I realized that not a single title came from this past year, which is pretty sad. Over at Metacritic, they said in their year-end review that '09 wasn't a particularly great year, with no album scoring over 90 on their 100-point scale (a first in the decade, I believe). That doesn't mean that '09 didn't have some wonderful music, though.

So, now that I feel bad, it's time to make things up to the past year and feature my top 10 favorite records of 2009 (in no particular order).

1. I And Love And You, The Avett Brothers

Every now and again I hear an album that demands I listen again, and this is one of those. The Avett Brothers, from Tennessee, have created some very beautiful music here. On the surface, it sounds folky, yet with another listen, you can pick out different tastes -- a bit of rock, a bit of country. And lyrically, it's passionate, intimate, and mature. Songs like, "The Perfect Space" show an understanding of the personal journey seldom seen in a pop song: "I wanna have friends that I can trust/that love me for the man I've become/not the man I was." The Avett Brothers are the only brothers you should be listening to right now.

2. The Hazards of Love, The Decemberists

The Decemberists general approach is to mire themselves in anachronism. Albums like The Crane Wife have titles and lyrics that would fit well in the 1800s. The Hazards of Love takes this approach and expands it with a story to match. Colin Meloy's voice has never sounded stronger than it does here as he croons "the beast began to change/singing: oh, the hazards of love/oh, the hazards of love/you'll learn soon enough/the prettiest whistles won't wrestle the thistles undone/undone." The guitar work on this record is also some of the group's best, as well -- lithe, folky, charming, urgent. It's hard not to love this record.

3. Grey Britain, Gallows

This album sounds like the Clash had a conversation with Bad Religion in a dark alley behind a pub. And things didn't go too well. Seriously, this album is all hate, rage and discord, yet with the catchy 3-chord hooks that make the best punk music. Don't get me wrong, though, this is not a pop-punk album. Nothing pop at all about it.

4. 21st Century Breakdown, Green Day

I've been going back-and-forth about whether I liked this album more than American Idiot, and have finally decided that it doesn't matter. They are both masterpieces. Green Day brought back the rock opera, and I don't understand the story of 21st Century Breakdown anymore than I understood the story of American Idiot. What I do understand, though, is the music, and songs like "East Jesus Nowhere," "Last Night on Earth," and "Viva La Gloria" are classic Green Day punk anthems.

5. Kings & Queens, Jamie T

A British rapper? What the fuck? All I can say is this album does for rap music what District 9 did for science fiction movies last year. By changing the setting from the ghettos of Harlem, D.C., and South Central to those of lower London, Jamie T. finds something new to say. He combines the punk attitude of groups like Arctic Monkeys with the flow of Eminem to give us rhymes like "Gave money to man he put a bag in my hand/Said son don't you understand/This isn't the way out this is the way in/You're doubling your troubling."

6. Backspacer, Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam went back to the studio and produced the shortest album in their legendary career, and also one of their finest. The album opens with a heatseeking missile of tracks -- "Gonna See My Friend," "Got Some," and "The Fixer." But by the time the 39 minutes is over, the songs you'll remember are the remarkable ballads, "Unthought Known," "Against the Waves," and Pearl Jam's finest love song (and maybe their only) "Just Breathe."

7. Middle Cyclone, Neko Case

When she's not collaborating with Canada's power-pop group The New Pornographers, Neko Case is making some pretty remarkable solo albums. Middle Cyclone may be her finest. Her voice is soars over the alt-country sounds in majestic swoops and sustains. In the pop music world, all we hear about are techincally good voices -- the American Idol types. Yet, women like Neko Case bring character in phrasing and interpretation. And lyrically...let's just say she's a woman women should be proud of. Throughout the album, she compares herself to everything from a tornado to a glacier to a centrifuge. But it's in the lyrics to the song "People Got a Lot of Nerve" that Ms. Case shows the true colors of her music: "I'm a man-man-man, man-man, maneater/and still you're surprised when I eat you."

8. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Phoenix

These Frenchmen have their roots in the dance/electronica of contemporaries like Daft Punk, and it shows in the absolutely catchy and danceable tunes on this album. A lot has been written and said about Phoenix's breakthrough album, but there's one thing I haven't heard yet: it's fucking awesome to listen to in headphones!

9. Crack the Skye, Mastodon

In high school, we used to think all the "hessians" -- you know, the headbanging crowd -- weren't all that smart. After all, they seemed to spend all their time cutting classes, putting Iron Maiden patches on their leather and jean jackets, and smoking cigarettes, pot, and god knows what else behind the auto shop. Well, here comes Mastodon to throw out that stereotype with a heavy metal concept album about astral projection, Rasputin, and Stephen Hawking's theories of space-time. Fuck! I feel like I need a doctoral degree to even listen to this metal masterpiece. Then I realize that they spent time touring with Slipknot and that makes me feel a little smarter. All kidding aside, Crack the Skye is incredible. The progressive rhythm and chord changes make this band seem like the love child of Dream Theater and System of a Down.

10. It's Blitz!, Yeah Yeah Yeahs

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs decided to add a synthesizer to the mix, and came up with one of the best albums of the year with It's Blitz! The addition seems merely superficial at first when you hear the dance-friendly single, "Zero," but it's songs like "Shame and Fortune" and "Runaway" that reveal Karen O. and company are looking to create some real sonic landscapes here. This album plays like a soundtrack to a subway station, whatever the fuck that means (and I expect you to figure that out yourself).

Honorable mentions:

1. Merriweather Post Pavilion, Animal Collective

This was the critical darling of the year, and while I liked it a lot, it felt cold at times, lacking the emotional power of some of my other picks.

2. En Concerto, Jack Johnson

As with all of Jack Johnson's stuff, it's a great listen. As a live performer, he's exceptional, and guest appearances by Paula Fuga and Eddie Vedder make this album worth it. Couldn't include it, though, because A) it's a live album and B) it's not new material.

3. The Fall, Norah Jones

Norah picks up an electric guitar and releases her best album since her debut.

4. No Line on the Horizon, U2

I had to listen to this record five times before I finally got into it. What does that say about it? Who knows? Maybe I wasn't in the right state of mind to dig it. In the end, though, U2's newest is quite an achievement. Songs like "Magnificent" and "Moment of Surrender" will be added to their greatest hits, but it's the title track, "Put on Your Boots" and "I'll Go Crazy (If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight)" that make this album essential for your collection.

There were plenty of other great records in 2009, I'm sure, but I'm nowhere near as well listened as your neighborhood music critic. What I can say is that this is what I liked, and I hope you'll listen to and like as well.

Let's hope 2010 and beyond give us even better music!

My 50 Favorite Albums of 00

When it comes to music, can there really be a "Best of..." list? I mean, there are certain albums and artists most people can agree upon as being examples of the best (U2, Aretha Franklin, Dark Side of the Moon, Lady GaGa), but since music is so remarkably personal and subjective, I couldn't bring myself to try to create a "definitive" list of the best albums of the double-zeros. Besides, when you consider how many goddamn albums have been released in this decade alone (almost 800 a year, not counting the number of independent releases), it's impossible to listen to them all, so any "Best of..." list would be complete uniformed bullshit.

So, I won't give you my "Best of..." Naw, I'd rather you read through a list of my favorites. Maybe you'll remember some fondly. Maybe some you've never heard of and want to listen to. Maybe you'll think I'm a fucking idiot for liking what I do (and you're probably right), but these are my 50 favs (in no particular order).

In creating my list, though, I had to make a couple rules. First of all, I realized that I had to pick music from different genres. I have more cravings for good rock music, but there were some amazing Hip-Hop/Rap albums released these last 10 years. So, on this list you'll find albums ranging from Rock to Rap to Metal to Bluegrass to Folk. My second rule was not to include multiple albums from the same artist. I love Radiohead, for example, but it wouldn't be fair to take up three spots with Kid A, Amnesiac, and In Rainbows. So, in the event that a favorite artist had more than one great album, I went with my favorite of the group.

Well, now that you're bored, here's that list. Hope it inspires you to listen.

1. Smile, Brian Wilson (2001)

This album took 34 years to finally see the light of day. I won't bore you with the history, but it's a testament to the healing power of music that Wilson was able to finish this amazing album. Smile is a rock symphony; a one-of-a-kind collection that -- at least for me -- inspires, startles, mesmerizes, and transcends. Wilson always said he wanted to create the album that people pray to... I thank God for Smile.

2. Death Magnetic, Metallica (2008)

3. Evil Urges, My Morning Jacket (2008)

4. Back to Black, Amy Winehouse (2006)

5. Elephant, The White Stripes (2003)

If you could name anyone to be the "Artist of the Decade," you would be hard pressed to find an artist more versatile, eccentric, productive, and influential than Jack White. On Elephant, he created a flawless record about heartbreak. Songs like "Seven Nation Army" became anthems, but songs like "I Wanna Be the Boy To Warm Your Mother's Heart" and "Hardest Button to Button" revealed him as a sensitive genius.

6. Lifeline, Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals (2007)

7. In Rainbows, Radiohead (2007)

8. All That You Can't Leave Behind, U2 (2000)

9. Songs in A Minor, Alicia Keys (2001)

10. Illinoise, Sufjan Stevens (2005)

Who would have thought that an album that proposes to tell the story of the state of Illinois would become a deeply reflective album on faith in a decaying world? Songs like the haunting "John Wayne Gacy, Jr." force us to see a connection between our own sin and that of a serial killer, while "Casimir Pulaski Day" becomes a holiday commemorating the loss of a girlfriend and faith in God. This album will grow on you. Trust me.

11. Franz Ferdinand, Franz Ferdinand (2004)

12. Consolers of the Lonely, The Raconteurs (2008)

13. American Gangster, Jay-Z (2007)

14. Raising Sand, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss (2007)

15. Rodrigo y Gabriela, Rodrigo y Gabriela (2006)

Mexican mariachi-folk-metal! Now that's what I call awesome! This group blew my mind when I first heard their version of Led Zeppelin's timeless "Stairway to Heaven," but the real showstopper here isn't any particular song as much as it is Rodrigo y Gabriela's ability to make acoustic guitar song edgy. When you get a chance, check out their website -- Rodrigo gives guitar lessons. Talk about fan-friendly!

16. Dear Science, TV on the Radio (2008)

17. Weezer (Green Album), Weezer (2001)

18. The Fragile Army, The Polyphonic Spree (2007)

19. Extraordinary Machine, Fiona Apple (2005)

20. Corinne Bailey Rae, Corinne Bailey Rae (2006)

From the moment I heard her sing on "Austin City Limits," I was in love. Every song on this debut album from the British R&B singer is a love letter. There's a melancholy joy in Bailey Rae's voice that most other modern R&B singers can't match. But it's the honesty of songs like "Choux Pastry Heart," "Breathless," and "I'd Like To" that make this one of my personal favorites.

21. Pearl Jam, Pearl Jam (2006)

22. Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, Neko Case (2005)

23. Hot Fuss, The Killers (2004)

24. The Revolution Starts Now, Steve Earle (2004)

25. Sea Change, Beck (2002)

Beck's greatest album is his most personal. This is not the party Beck we saw on Odelay! or Midnite Vultures. This Beck is heartbroken, lost, confused, and unsure of his place in the world. It's amazing to think that even these rich and famous people are just as prone to depression as the rest of us. This album got me through my divorce -- there's something comforting about knowing someone's more fucked up than you.

26. Why Should the Fire Die?, Nickel Creek (2005)

27. Wolfmother, Wolfmother (2006)

28. Electric Version, The New Pornographers (2003)

29. City of Evil, Avenged Sevenfold (2005)

30. In Between Dreams, Jack Johnson (2005)

I think all of us need a little Jack Johnson in our lives. Something in his music evokes the need to relax and enjoy the little things, like surf, sand, breathing, dreaming. In Between Dreams is one of the greatest lazy day albums of all-time. No matter where I am, it transports me somewhere better, where there are no worries. You know you're listening to something special when you forget where you are.

31. Van Lear Rose, Loretta Lynn (2004)

32. Gold, Ryan Adams (2001)

33. St. Elsewhere, Gnarls Barkley (2006)

34. Spend the Night, The Donnas (2002)

35. A Rush of Blood to the Head, Coldplay (2002)

I remember when this album came out -- it was the first album by any modern artist my dad had purchased since the early 1990s. Dad was a music snob, so when he said Coldplay was the best thing going, I knew he was probably right. Now, I know he was right. I wish he had gotten the chance to hear Viva la Vida, which I like more, but realize isn't as good as this breakthrough album.

36. The Eminem Show, Eminem (2002)

37. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco (2002)

38. Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend (2008)

39. Toxicity, System of a Down (2001)

40. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, Arctic Monkeys (2006)

I love the wordplay and defiant spirit of this recording. It's like at any time Alex Turner, the lead singer, could jump right through the speakers, start a fight, and try to make out with your girlfriend. "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor," "Still Take You Home," and "Fake Tales of San Francisco" are indie-punk classics.

41. The Execution of All Things, Rilo Kiley (2002)

42. Prairie Wind, Neil Young (2005)

43. Graduation, Kanye West (2007)

44. Neon Bible, Arcade Fire (2007)

45. American Idiot, Green Day (2004)

No one re-invented themselves quite like Green Day did this decade. They were at the end of the road creatively, when suddenly they produce the first rock opera since...? American Idiot is challenging, frustrating, and just goddamn good. It can be added to the pantheon of punk rock records that prove sometimes three chords are all you need to say something worth saying.

46. I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, Bright Eyes (2005)

47. Good News For People Who Love Bad News, Modest Mouse (2004)

48. The Crane Wife, The Decemberists (2006)

49. Modern Times, Bob Dylan (2006)

50. Continuum, John Mayer (2006)

John Mayer said everything I could say about relationships on this album. And that's just with his guitar. "Gravity" is one of my all-time favorite songs, but others like "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room," "Vultures," "In Repair," and the remarkable cover of Hendrix's "Bold As Love" are just as brilliant. Continuum is an album I will keep revisiting -- it's more than an album; it's a friend.

Looking over this list, I forgot a few other favorites:

1. The Rising (2002) and The Seeger Sessions (2006), Bruce Springsteen

2. The Black Parade, My Chemical Romance (2006)

3. Arigato!, John Davis (2007)

4. The Delivery Man, Elvis Costello and the Imposters (2004)

5. Feed the Animals, Girl Talk (2008)

6. World Without Tears, Lucinda Williams (2003)

7. Oracular Spectacular, MGMT (2007)

8. Era Vulgaris, Queens of the Stone Age (2007)

9. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, The Flaming Lips (2002)

10. Stadium Arcadium, Red Hot Chili Peppers (2006)

Pearl Jam is ... Backspacer!

I am one of the world's biggest Pearl Jam fans and have been since I first heard them back in 1992. I used to wait until my parents would leave me home alone, crank up my dad's soundsystem to "11" and play air guitar all day. I'd scream out Ed Vedder's vocals like my life depended on it. About the only thing I couldn't do was stage dive and crowd surf.

Since '92, Pearl Jam has released 8 other albums, showing a remarkable amount of growth for a band that was initially pigeon-holed as a "grunge" act. I'm just as much in love with 1995's "Yield" as I am with "Ten." And while "Riot Act" wasn't their best record, it was filled with a few gems like "I Am Mine," "Love Boat Captain" and "Save You."

In 2006, they released their eponymous album, "Pearl Jam," which was an amazing release. Now, this year they have put together one of the finest efforts of their storied career.

"Backspacer."

Clocking in around 37 minutes, "Backspacer" is a fun record full of terrific tunes. It doesn't break any new ground for the band, but it certainly expands upon what they've accomplished. The opening three tracks ("Gonna See My Friend," "Got Some," and "The Fixer") are blistering and rousing -- modern anthems for generation X. And songs like "Just Breathe," "Amongst the Waves," and "Unthought Known" are among their best ballads. Especially the heartbreaking "Just Breathe," which may be the first traditional "love" song on a Pearl Jam record. Lyrics like, "Did I say that I need you/ Did I say that I want you/ Oh, if I didn't, now I'm a fool you see," provide a mature outlook on relationships revealing Vedder's vulnerability and sincerity.

Despite the fun and games this album represents in the vast PJ catalog, it does have some significant undertones, lyrically speaking. The song cycle seems to be very interested in death and the limited resource that is our time here on Earth. "Gonna take me an astral plane/ I'm gonna tunnel through denial/ I'm gonna shake this thing/ I wanna shake this pain 'fore I retire," Vedder wails on the opening track. And he concludes with a final track simply called, "The End."

Buy this record. If you buy it at Target, you can get the Rock Band version, which not only comes with the entire record ready for download onto the video game, it also offers two downloads of complete concerts from their 2006 world tour. As usual, PJ is the most fan-friendly band on the planet. I'm so happy they're back!