During the past few months I've reverted back to buying albums in the form of CDs instead of iTunes.
While I love iTunes, it doesn't replace the experience of buying a CD, taking off the plastic wrapping, and browsing through the booklet while you give it it's first listen. You just can't replicate that online.
So when it came time to buy my latest purchase "Warp Riders" by The Sword (a fantastic hard rock band I might add). I decided to go old school and buy the CD. But rather than go out to the nearest Best Buy or Wal-Mart, I decided to do the right thing and support our awesome local store ear-X-tacy.
Don't get me wrong, it's not like I've never shopped there before, but just not lately. Today for whatever reason, I thought it was important to support them instead of the big box stores. I knew they had moved locations and were struggling a bit. Owner John Timmons had said the increasing rent was just too much.
So today I traveled to their new location hoping for the best.
I was pretty let down.
Tucked away in a small shopping center next to a wedding photography service is the new ear-X-tacy. The store is MUCH smaller and the building lacks the character of the old location. It's as if all of the great albums and genre labels were ripped from their old location and placed in an empty warehouse. They looked so out of place.
There were several other customers in the store, and that was pretty good for 1:30pm on a Friday.
While the employees and the overhead music still give you a taste of what ear X-tacy once was, it's nothing but a memory. I know that anybody who spent much time in their old location will feel sad in this new location.
I applaud John Timmons for being so positive about the move, but I have to imagine deep down he is sad to leave behind their previous building that gave them so much of their character.
And the worst part of all this is I'm the reason why ear X-tacy suffered. I hardly ever bought my music from them. Even during my time living just off Bardstown Road, I still got a ton of my music from iTunes and Best Buy.
I felt a lot of guilt when I left that store today. It's a cliche now but we can't let one of Louisville's best stores fail like this. I'll try to make sure I buy my music from them and hopefully it's not too little too late.
It's New Year's Eve and this year there seems to have been so many "Best of" lists of not only 2009 but of the decade as a whole. Not to be left out, I thought I would post my top 10 favorite songs of 2009.
I first want to point out that these songs do not have to be written or released in 2009, just discovered and listened to a lot by me during the year. And while I love all of these songs, they are listed in order with the number one song being my personal favorite song and most listened to of 2009. So here goes!
10. "Walking with a Ghost" by Tegan and Sara
From their album "So Jealous," I came across this song like most, by accident. Kayla and I were cleaning around the house and listening to one of Insight's digital music channels on the TV. This song popped up and I thought it was instantly really catchy and had a great simple melody. It also gets stuck in your head and stays there!
9. "Starstruck" by Lady Gaga
I know it is kind of lame to put a Lady Gaga song on this list but it really was her year when it came to mainstream music in 2009. Although I am not a big fan of her loud, outlandish style of performing, I think her music is great and very well produced. For whatever weird reason, I have always had a weird, unexplainable like for dance/electronic music and this song is one of the best on "The Fame." It has not been released as a single and is not as recognizable as "Poker Face" or "Love Game" but I played this song more than any other on the album, so it makes my list.
8. "Human Nature" by Michael Jackson
I had to put a Michael Jackson song on this list because I have been a fan since childhood and with his death this year, he was thrust back into the spotlight. So many of his songs could have made this list but I listened to "Human Nature" the most because it has an almost melancholy feel to it which goes along with the sad news surrounding his death. It was also included in the film "This is It" as well. The one positive that came out of Michael Jackson's death was the return of respect for him. During the last few years, he had become such a joke and with his death, the public listened to his music and came full circle, appreciating how great he really was.
7. "Alive" by Black Eyed Peas
The album "The E.N.D." by the Black Eyed Peas had a big 2009. It was without a doubt my guilty pleasure album of the year. For all of it's auto-tune and over-produced production, at it's core, it had some great, catchy songs on it. I am a huge Daft Punk fan and it seems to me that the Black Eyed Peas decided to copycat them and make a techno album. ...And you know what? I'm cool with that. I loved "Boom Boom Pow" but I played "Alive" more. It just has a great vibe to it.
6. "Forever Young" by Alphaville
Here is a throwback for you! One of my favorite movies is the classic "Napoleon Dynamite" and I always loved the campy, yet surprisingly good song that played in the background during the school dance. It sounded so nerdy but at the same time, it has a great melody and sound to it. I always noticed it but never took the time to find it. Then one night we were watching "Big Love" on HBO and they played the song during the closing credits. This caused me to like the song even more, so I finally got on iTunes and downloaded it. It's a great song! It's so 80s but that's cool.
5. "Stand Back" by Linus Loves featuring Sam Obernik
As we break into the top five, this is the song nobody is going to understand, and frankly, I do not either. I have no idea why I like this song. It's basically just a copy of a really good song by Stevie Nicks but I guess it's my unexplained like of techno making it's appearance again. There is also a longer instrumental version of this by Linus Loves called "The Terrace" that I really enjoyed listening to as well. Plus the music video is a little camptastic.
4. "Two Weeks" by Grizzly Bear
I just discovered this song last week. It could be potential too fresh to make the list, but after a few minutes thinking about it, I put it on the list anyway. I really like this song! I found it while listening to a best of 2009 segment on Bob Edwards weekend. They played a clip of it and I was completely hooked. I love the production of the harmonies. It sounds like a great Beach Boys song. "Two Weeks" is very similar to a lot of songs that make my best of list such as "Phantom Limb" by The Shins. I guess I like sad depressing songs.
3. "Colony of Birchmen" by Mastodon
Well I have to get my heavy metal entry from somewhere and this absolutely fills the void. This song was included on the video game "Rock Band." I remember playing through it and saying to myself, "this is one of the heaviest songs I've ever heard and actually liked." It's very abrasive but you have to respect the musicianship. The tempo changes and riffs they unleash are amazing. I bought their album "Blood Mountain" and it's great, but none of the other songs give me quite the hard rock satisfaction this song does. Don't be scared by this song, give it a chance!
2. "Change your Mind" by The Killers
I love The Killers. Something about their hybrid of pop, 80s synthesizer, and rock appeals to me. My favorite song of last year was their hit "Human" from the album "Day and Age" so it is no surprise that they make another appearance this year. "Change your Mind" is actually from their earlier album "Hot Fuss," which has so many great songs on it, but for whatever reason, this song slipped through and I failed to notice it. I've likely listened to it at least once a day for most of the year. The lyrics, songwriting, and production are all perfect to me. I was also lucky enough to see them play it live when they performed in Indiana this past Summer.
1. "The Ocean" by Dar Williams
This is a total dark horse winner for my favorite song of the year. VERY RANDOM. Kayla introduced me to Dar Williams and while I am not into this "Lilith Fair" type of music, something about her songs struck a nerve. "The Ocean" is a perfect song. Everything from the music and lyrics, to the mixing and production. It's all flawless. The album "Mortal City" is full of great songs, but this one rises even higher. It's a very sappy song but I've always said that I will never lie when it comes to admitting what music I like. It has a very unique sound, especially when you have a male background voice along with the female lead. That is Kayla's favorite part of the song.
Well these were my songs of 2009. What were yours?
