85. Eminem – “We Made You”
Much anticipated comeback was good, not great. Good to see he still likes to make fun of people though.

84. The National – “So Far Around The Bend”
On the Dark Was The Night compilation – check it out, seriously

83. Manchester Orchestra – “I’ve Got Friends”
Band that you can distinctly hear maturing over their last 3 albums

82. Muse – “Undisclosed Desires”
Need to see these guys in concert. Will be epic.

81. Say Anything – “Hate Everyone”
One of my favorite bands, but didn’t connect with the new album like previous ones

80. Paramore – “Ignorance”
Hayley Williams is adorable. That is all.

79. Anderson – “Trevor On The Dancefloor”
Fun electronic dance-y song you’ve never heard of from a band you don’t know. It’s my list.

78. Yes Giantess – “Can’t Help It”
Michael Jackson-like sounding lead singer makes me miss MJ…the non-crazy, black version

77. Pony Pony Run Run – “Walking On A Line”
Don’t care for the band name, good thing they make catchy music

76. Classified – “Choose Your Own Adventure 3”
White Canadien rapper, eh? I’m as surprised as you are. Also known as the Steve Nash of rap (may or may not have made that last part up)

75. Jay-Z – “Run This Town”
Excellent chorus by Rihanna along with Kanye kept in check made this a winner

74. Peter Bjorn And John – “Nothing To Worry About”
Including singing kids generally makes things better

73. Shakira – “She Wolf (Villians Remix)”
Heavy breathing also makes things better

72. Taking Back Sunday – “Sink Into Me”
A favorite band from high school still has something left in the tank

71. Flight Of The Conchords – “Carol Brown”
“…hoping that you’ll stick around” – would have enjoyed another season of FOTC

70. Harlem Shakes – “Strictly Game”
Good band that unfortunately broke up…luckily it was after I got to see them live

69. Neon Indian – “Deadbeat Summer”
Trippy.

68. The Sounds – “No One Sleeps When I’m Awake (Viking Remix)”
An already good song, but the additions in the remix put it over the top

67. Norah Jones – “Chasing Pirates”
Classiest song of the year

66. Wale – “90210”
Disappointing live, but still one of the top rappers IMO

65. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Zero”
Spin’s song of the year – not mine, but still really good

64. Simian Mobile Disco – “Audacity Of Huge (Dada Life Guerilla Remix)”
The ones who usually do the remixing get remixed themselves – what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, right?

63. The Big Pink – “Dominos”
Methodically paced and catchy song about girls falling like dominos

62. Glee Cast – “Don’t Stop Believin’”
Best song by a fake Glee club

61. The Bird And The Bee – “Love Letter To Japan”
I feel like The Bird and the Bee are a hidden gem – have always enjoyed their quirky songs.

60. Jay-Z – “DOA”
Electric guitar and soprano sax make this much more than your regular rap song

59. Owl City – “Cave In”
Called Owl City a year and a half ago…you’re welcome

58. Parachute – “Under Control”
Charlottesville/UVA band that is gaining popularity – this should have been a bigger hit

57. Florence And The Machine – “Dog Days Are Over”
Florence’s haunting yet fierce voice make the first track of the album stand out

56. The Drums – “Let’s Go Surfing”
Old school sounding song of the year…think a modern indie Beach Boys

So we miiiiight have started the day off by getting a KegBus to take us from Arlington to Merriweather Post Pavilion.  We miiiight have spent the entire day at the 2nd stage, not the main stage.  We also miiiight have been front row for Girl Talk. Who knows?!

See the online album for more pictures from the day.

The Hold Steady
Approachability: High

Now I obviously knew of The Hold Steady and had heard their album a few times.  Never totally did it for me, but I stayed and listened…and obviously they put on a really great show.  The keyboard player was particularly hilarious.  I mean come on, look at him!  I’ll probably be listening to them more now after seeing them live.

For more info, go to their MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/theholdsteady

Public Enemy
Approachability: meh, umm, medium?

Umm, obviously not really my jam.  After watching The Hold Steady we sort of stumbled back over the main stage.  It was completely packed.  The group kinda split up.  We found the food and beer stands.  Then we somehow made it back to the best stage the side stage and were able to catch a few songs from Public Enemy.  It was pretty hilarious to watch.  Flava Flav totally stole the show:

The National
Approachability: Medium/High

Very similarly for me to The Hold Steady, The National is a group that I’ve heard many times, but I just never got that into them.  I think RP3 knew every word to every song, and they definitely put on a good show.  I’ll probably also listen to them more now that I’ve seen them live.

For more info, go to their MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/thenational

Girl Talk
Approachability: Medium/Low

Girl Talk was easily the primary reason that I purchased acquired a ticket for this day of great music.  I’ve listened to his album so many times, and I’ve heard from several of my friends’ first hand accounts that he puts on an amazing show.  I can definitely corroborate their stories.

I literally didn’t move from the stage area after Public Enemy left, and by the time he came on, I was right up against the barriers at the front row.  After every band finished, people shifted around, and we threw some bo’s, and pretty soon we were right up front.  The place was packed:

He pulled like 50 audience members up on stage with him, and shit got pretty nuts pretty quickly:

They were shooting toilet paper ALL OVER the place (as you can see above) and they were throwing these big plastic beach-ball-esque things into the crowd.  So fun.  At the risk of sounding like a 12-year-old girl, we were so close that when he ran down off the stage and jumped around with the front of the crowd, we could touch him (OMG!!11 LOLZ!!).

Whenever he wasn’t in front of his laptop (and sometimes when he was!) he spent a lot of time on top of his table, jumping around with the crowd on stage, and then with the crowd on the ground.  It was such a crazy show.  I heard more than one person around me say it was the best show they’ve ever been to.  When the stage crew came on afterward, they literally squeegeed the stage off.

My favorite description of the set came from Stereogum: “the traveling hipster roadshow that is a Girl Talk set.”  Hilarious.

For more info, go to his MySpace:

http://www.myspace.com/girltalk

This was one of the more fun posts I’ve done in a while.  Got to re-live the day a bit.  Super fun, great music, perfect weather.  Amazing day.

Again, see the album online for more pictures from the day.

Preview Of Things To Come
September is a busy month for me.  I’ve already been to VirginFest and seen Kings of Leon (post forthcoming).  I’m seeing Matt and Kim tonight, then seeing fun. this Friday, and finally seeing Ra Ra Riot in 2 weeks.  And let’s not even talk (yet!) about all the sweet music coming out/just released.

-WJ