Friday Top 5 – Page 8 – Austin Town Hall

FT5: Ted Leo Albums – An ACL Preview

July 16, 2010 nathan.lankford 2 comments

Are you ready for Austin City Limits Festival? Well, we certainly are, and we’re working with the fine folks at the festival to guarantee that you’re filled in on all the great sights and sounds coming our way. We’re bringing you an introduction, to those who don’t know him, to Ted Leo, one of my personal favorites, and admittedly, my man-crush of many years. I’ve seen him solo, in the club and at a festival, and he never fails to win me over. So, I’ve decided to rank his 5 albums, excluding his work with Chisel, so if you’re a newcomer, you’ll know where to start, and if you’re not, then you can throw out your two cents to make your case. Be sure to follow ACL Festival for more updates on great bands, and we’ll do our part to keep you updated as well.

FT5: Sports Arena Songs

July 9, 2010 Vijay 5 comments

If you’ve ever been to a live sporting event, you know that the excitement and energy of the crowd all around you is a big part of the experience. I’m not talking about the Y-M-C-A or vuvuzelas. I’m talking about jumping up and down in your seat while spilling your drink on the 7 year-old in front of you. And nothing gets you on your feet and gets the fans chanting like the right music. Sometimes just fifteen seconds of the chorus is all you need. Here are some songs that should get you in the mood.

FT5: One Hit Wonder Albums of the 90s

July 2, 2010 -1893llzws 4 comments

Ah the nineties! The smell of grungy teen spirit and catchy pop songs…does this sound like the intro of a late night infomercial yet? Good.

There is plenty of debate regarding epic rock bands and influential artists that derived during the 90s. There are also those bands that developed during this decade, became ridiculously popular, and either faded away or became larger-than-life.

I’m sure each and every one of you reading this is guilty of immediately purchasing an entire album based on one chart-topping track during this time period. The hits that came out of the 90s take you back to where you were when you first heard it, affected your life in some way and ultimately became a part of pop culture iconography.

There is an abundance of one hit wonder singles. However, this is a list of albums that gained bands immediate attention based on those hits, and never really produced another decent album. As you slammed your Pogs, took a break from Nintendo and recorded Fresh Prince on your VHS, you might have been listening to one of these.

FT5: Songs to Get Amped Up For America!!!!!

June 25, 2010 jon.wagner 7 comments

If you love soccer (football) or hate it; you have to admit that every four years “Football (Soccer) Fever” hits our shores. The excitement level builds around water coolers across the country, if only to die down after (American) football season starts again. This short lived, broad sweeping enthusiasm is elevated providing the Yanks have some positive results, and hopefully raising a few jaded eyebrows in the process. If you don’t pay attention, you may not know that our boys in the good ol’ Red, White, and Blue pulled off quite a feat last Wednesday with some late heroics. I have been playing “The Beautiful Game” my whole life and continue to play now, so I am pumped to the max leading up to this weekend’s huge knockout match. To help you get in the mood for a Battle Royale in Rustenburg, South Africa versus Ghana, I present here, the Top 5 songs to get amped up for America!! Don’t tread on me Ghana!
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FT5: Songs About Heading West

June 18, 2010 jon.goodrich 3 comments

Summertime is vacation time. Roadtrip time. So sweaty you stick to your chair my God why don’t I live in a more temperate climate time. So where do you go at a time like this? “California! Californiaaaaaa! Here we COOOOOOOOMMMMME!” Excuse me. I believe I slipped into the theme song of the O.C. for a moment. I thought about making every track on this list “California” by Phantom Planet, but I’m fairly certain I am the only one who would think that is funny. So instead, here a legit list of songs about heading out west. Enjoy.

FT5: Indie Rock African Americans

June 11, 2010 nathan.lankford 5 comments

This is a serious subject, and one I don’t plan to take very lightly. As I’ve attended several shows recently, even small local ones, I began to look at the racial dynamic in the Austin music scene. Oddly, one giant sore thumb sticks out: the lack of African-American attendees at these shows. This is probably the same way in every city across the land, and I tend to think it’s quite unfortunate. I’m not here to debate how to solve the problem, if you deem this a problem, but rather to honor my Top Five African-American participants in the realm of indie rock. This is just my opinion, but I immediately banned the guy from Bloc Party because he put out two bad records and continues to make bad electronica music.
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FT5: Songs Of Summer 2010

June 4, 2010 RayRay 2 comments

Last week Raygun told us that “School’s Out for Summer” and shared the best songs to listen to about the school year finally being over. This week I want to take a look at the best songs from the year that will enhance your summer time easy living philosophy. Follow the jump for the list and a brief explanation.

FT5: Songs About Loving Yourself

May 21, 2010 Vijay 7 comments

“My cousin Walter jerked off in public once. True story. He was on a plane to New Mexico when all of the sudden the hydraulics went. The plane started spinning around, going out of control, so he decides it’s all over and whips it out and starts beating it right there. So all the other passengers take a cue from him and they start whipping it out and beating like mad. So all the passengers are beating off, plummeting to their certain doom, when all of the sudden, snap! The hydraulics kick back in. The plane rights itself and it land safely and everyone puts their pieces or, whatever, you know, away and deboard. No one mentions the phenomenon to anyone else.”

Follow the jump for the Top 5 songs about just that.
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FT5: Pop Artists That Shouldn’t Be On the Airwaves

May 14, 2010 -1893llzws 15 comments

Our ears and minds are usually unwilling to listen to logic when it comes to pop music on the radio airwaves. Despite the combination of dim lyrics and catchy tracks that make it to Billboard’s Top 100, there are a handful of artists that do not deserve to be in the music industry. Pop music on the radio isn’t what it used to be. Being in radio for years, I occasionally unplug my iPod and check out local stations to see what’s going on. The following are current pop artists that shouldn’t be on the airwaves, which includes every track they’ve ever created.
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FT5: Road Trip Albums

May 7, 2010 jon.wagner 6 comments

Well students, it’s nearly finals time for a lot of you and before the prospect of (dare I say it) summer school, many of you have two or so glorious weeks of freedom. It’s time to hit the old dusty trail and have some adventures farting on each other, spilling beer in your friend’s car and of overheating engines in the middle of nowhere. The wildly adventurous times of our youth elude many of us today, but the memories remain; stuck together like the pack of gummi-bears that fell into the dash air vent. Yes, the good old fashioned road trip is about as American as it gets. Piling in a car, carrying more people than available seatbelts and heading towards the border or greener pastures (wherever they might be). Two questions become instantly prevalent: 1.) What should we listen to? and 2.) Where to? (Although the second is MUCH less important) After all, music and the open road are as inseparable as college and binge drinking. Fear not my young compadres, throw the calculus and audio books out the window and crank up the tunes. Here is the FT5 of Road Trip Albums to get you down along the road and back again.

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