Eastern Conference Predictions

What an awesome first week of NBA basketball?! The 2 most (at least it seemed so) blatant "tankers" in recent memory have yet to lose a game, unless the Suns lose tonight against the Thunder. Philli has even beat the 2 favorites to win the eastern conference to go to an unimaginable 3-0. I love sports because they are so hard to predict. It's not just about talent. Of course talent matters; the Miami Heat could sleep walk against the Miami Hurricanes women's team and still probably win by 50 to 100. But once you get to the professional level, sometimes people forget, "ALL these guys can play". It is so hard to make it to the highest level; once they do, talent is no longer the biggest issue. It still matters, but it's much more about chemistry, confidence, will, off-season work ethic, luck, momentum, and match-ups. These things are much harder to predict. With that being said, here's my likely-to-be-wrong predictions for this year -- team by team starting with the Eastern Conference (West to come later).

Before I state my prediction, I'll give a range for each team on what I think a bad year could result in (or their worst case scenario due to bad luck, injuries, tanking, bad chemistry, etc), and what a good year could result in (or their best case scenario where everything goes right). Although this will be in low and high win totals, because 2014's draft will be so loaded, I think the lower win total or "bad" scenario may actually be what's "good" for the non-contending 20 or so teams this year. Mediocrity is not the place to be in the NBA.

Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
Celtics: I feel like their season depends on 2 questions: when does Rondo come back and how does Brad Stevens translate to the NBA? Not sure on Rondo, but I personally think Stevens is worth 5 to 10 wins as a coach. So the Celtics may be looking at more wins than Danny Ainge is hoping for.
Bad: 20 wins, Good: 40 wins, My prediction: 32-50.
Nets: I loved the way they looked in their game against the Heat the other night. But I also think they'll have a few nights that Paul and Kevin will have to take off, which may lower their win total just a bit.
Bad: 47 wins, Good: 60 wins, My prediction: 56-26
Knicks: Along with the Nuggets, they look like the easy choice for regression team this year.
Bad: 40 wins, Good 52 wins, My prediction: 44-38
76ers: I am tempted to change my mind with their 3-0 start and the way Turner, Young, Hawes, and MCW look; but the GM won't stand for this much longer. Plus MCW/Turner have been inconsistent since college, and Hawes always gets burned out after like 20 games.
Bad: 15 wins, Good: 35 wins (this used to be 25 before the season began), My prediction: 19-63
Raptors: I think they're trading Rudy Gay and may join the tankers towards the end.
Bad: 20 wins, Good: 38 wins, My prediction: 26-56

Central Division
Bulls: Rose does not look too good right now, but I think he'll get it back. Plus he, Coach Thibs, and the Bulls are so competitive and seem least likely among the contenders to take nights off. That's why I'm picking them to have the best overall regular season record. Their 1-2 start doesn't help my case much.
Bad: 45 wins (with a possible Rose re-injury), Good: 62 wins, My prediction: 60-22
Cavs: A very hard team to predict because of injury-prone players and guys on the borderline of "big leap" or "bust" years. Should be fun to watch though.
Bad: 29 wins, Good: 44 wins, My prediction: 40-42
Pistons: I love the Josh Smith-Monroe-Drummond frontcourt, and I hope KCP has a good rookie season. The pistons could be back in the playoffs.
Bad: 35 wins, Good: 45 wins, My prediction: 42-40
Pacers: Their bench actually doesn't look as improved to me as everyone says, but maybe it's just because Granger hasn't come back yet. Paul George looks almost like an MVP candidate to start the season though. We'll see if he keeps it up all year.
Bad: 46 wins, Good: 59 wins, My prediction: 57-25
Bucks: A roster full of mediocre NBA players who should all be like your sixth or seventh man. Again, mediocrity is not a good place in the NBA. . . But the Bucks love it.
Bad: 26 wins, Good: 38 wins, My prediction: 30-52

Southeast Division
Hawks: Most people don't like the Hawks this year, but I like Horford so much I'm picking them to still make the playoffs. Sorry Atlanta, no Lottery this year.
Bad: 27 wins, Good: 41 wins, My prediction: 38-44
Bobcats: Nobody "wants to be like" Michael Jordan, the Owner.
Bad: 24 wins, Good: 35 wins, My prediction: 28-54
Heat: I don't think they have the stamina, or the desire, for another 20+ game win streak, but I still think they'll have one of the best records this year. I just hope they don't three-peat.
Bad: 54 wins, Good: 65 wins, My prediction: 59-23
Magic: I like this team a lot for the future if they can pick up a few more good pieces through trades and/or next year's draft. But I don't think this is their year.
Bad: 20 wins, Good: 32 wins, My prediction: 28-54
Wizzards: A lot of people are picking them for a final playoff position, including Washington management as evidenced by that silly trade for Gortat this week. But I just don't think Beal and Wall are quite there yet, nor is the help around them. I see them falling short to the Hawks in the end.
Bad: 28 wins, Good: 45, My prediction: 36-46

Here's my quick East playoff predictions: 
Round 1
Bulls beat Hawks 4-0
Heat beat Cavs 4-1
Pacers beat Pistons 4-2
Nets beat Knicks 4-1
Round 2
Nets upset Bulls 4-2
Heat beat Pacers 4-3
Conference Finals
Nets upset Heat 4-3

I don't feel great about the Nets pick, but I am just praying someone knocks off the Heat. And right now, the Heat do look vulnerable and the Nets feel like the best candidate. Who knows though? So many things could change in the next 7 months. It's sports. It's unpredictable.

NBA 2013-14 Preview / Predictions

When I first began liking basketball, the NBA was full of watchable and marketable stars and teams: it was the end of Larry and Magic, and MJ was unstoppable. You had dynamic duos like Mike and Scottie, Clyde and Hakeem, Stockton and Malone, GP and Rain Man, Shaq and Lil' Penny, or my personal favorite, Chuck and Thunder Dan (I realize Mayor KJ was probably better than Dan Majerle, but c'mon, he's my favorite basketball player of all-time). Then you had other stars like Ewing, Reggie, David Robinson, Mitch Richmond, LJ, an old Dominique, a young Grant Hill, and of course, Shawn Bradley. Throw that in with NBC's awesome coverage and theme song, and mid to late 90's NBA basketball is one of my fondest childhood memories.

But then came an influx of unlikable and overpayed players mixed with NBC losing coverage, Michael leaving and even worse allowing his corpse to come back and play for the Wizzards, social media coming alive and revealing way too much about the lives of these used-to-be revered stars, the arrogant Lakers or monotonous Spurs winning every year, and me always seeming to go to summer camp in the middle of the finals. These all seemed to make my NBA excitement go dormant for nearly a decade and I turned to college basketball for most of my b-ball enjoyment.

Now things seem to be changing again. The one-and-done is ruining college basketball, NCAA corruption is not helping any college sports right now, many of the players I loved watching over the years in March Madness now play in the NBA, salaries have lowered, players I didn't like too much are retiring, the league is getting heavy at the top (many contenders) and not so heavy on the bottom (many tankers)--which makes the playoffs much more unpredictable and entertaining, and NBA stars are likable, or at least extremely watchable, again. Likable = Durant, Paul, Harden, Irving, and Curry; watchable = Lebron, Griffin, Westbrook, Rose; others = Dwight Howard (annoying) and Tony Parker (the ultimate "how is he so good?" guy). So I'm officially leaving college for the NBA this year. It's won my heart back. I'm actually so excited for this year, I was tempted for the first time ever to purchase NBA League Pass, but I like my wife a little too much to put her through that.

So to kick off this year, I've been getting ready looking at rosters and thinking of scenarios. I wanted to put together a post about some of my predictions and see how well I do next June. In a soon to come post, I'll give a brief prediction for each team, but first, with ESPN's #NBARank becoming a big thing now, I thought I would give my top 30 players right now (with their 2013's advanced stats).

1. Lebron (26.8 PPG, 31.6 PER, 19.3 total win shares (WS))
2. Durant (28.1 PPG, 28.3 PER, 18.9 WS)
3. CP3 (16.9 PPG, 26.4 PER, 13.9 WS)
4. D Rose (2012 stats in only 39 games played: 22.3 PPG 23.0 PER, 6 WS)
5. Kobe (27.3 PPG 23.0 PER, 10.9 WS)
6. Tony Parker (20.3 PPG, 23.0 PER, 9.3 WS)
7. Harden (25.9 PPG, 23.0 PER, 12.8 WS, Best Beard Award)
8. Westbrook (23.2 PPG, 23.9 PER, 11.6 WS)
9. D Wade (21.2 PPG, 24.0 PER, 9.6 WS)
10. Steph Curry (22.9 PPG, 21.3 PER, 11.2 WS)
11. Carmelo (28.7 PPG,  24.8 PER, 9.5 WS)
12. Duncan (17.8 PPG, 24.4 PER, 8.3 WS)
13. Dwight (17.1 PPG, 19.4 PER, 7.6 WS)
14. Kevin Love (2012: 24.0 PPG, 25.4 PER, 10 WS)
15. Blake Griffin (18.0 PPG, 22.4 PER, 10.6 WS)
16. Kyrie (22.5 PPG, 21.4 PER, 5.3 WS)
17. Rondo (13.7 PPG, 18.1 PER, 3.2 WS)
18. D Will (18.9 PPG, 20.3 PER, 10.9 WS)
19. Dirk (17.3 PPG, 19.8 PER, 5 WS)
20. Bosh (16.6 PPG, 20.0 PER, 9 WS)
21. Gasol - not Pau (14.1 PPG, 19.5 PER, 11.5 WS)
22. P George (17.4 PPG, 16.8 PER, 9 WS)
23. Horford (17.3 PPG, 19.8 PER, 8.8 WS)
24. John Wall (18.5 PPG, 20.8 PER, 4.5 WS)
25. The Truth (18.6 PPG, 19.1 PER, 7.2 WS)
26. Aldridge (21.1 PPG, 20.4 PER, 7.2 WS)
27. Z-Bo (15.4 PPG, 17.9 PER, 7.9 WS)
28. D Lee (18.5 PPG, 19.2 PER, 9.1 WS)
29. Brook Lopez (19.4 PPG, 24.7 PER, 9.0 WS -- I know, a little low for those efficiency numbers on a 4-seeded playoff team, but you also have to add horrible defense, guard-like rebounding numbers and "the dumbest sounding former Stanford student" award)
30. Roy Hibbert (11.9 PPG, 17.3 PER, 6.1 WS, and Miami kryptonite)  

*A few notes: If you could combine Lopez's offense with Hibbert's defense, I think you get a top 10 player easy. NBArank was really hatin' on Paul Pierce and David Lee with rankings in the 40 and 50's after really good years on playoff teams; I like them much better I guess. I think Dirk is in for another big comeback year this year. And I think Anthony Davis easily makes this list after this season.

Some quick predictions for player awards and all-NBA:

MVP - KD! I think he finally wins it due to some voters getting sick of voting for Lebron year after year and because Durant will have to average like 35 and carry his laughable roster until Russell comes back.
Defensive player of the year - Lebron (voters will make up for no MVP here)
Most Improved - Derrick Favors
Sixth Man - Iggy, but he may start, so really I don't know . . .
Rookie of the year - I wanted to go with Kentavious Caldwell Pope because his name is so cool and I think he'll get quality minutes for Detroit, but I can't. My more educated guess is Oladipo.
 
All NBA
First 
Lebron, KD, Dwight, CP, and DRose
Second
PG, Dirk, Marc Gasol, Curry, Harden
Third
Horford, Carmelo, Anthony Davis, Tony Parker, DWade

Well, we'll see how these pan out. Hope you come back next time for team and playoff predictions.
 

Avett Dennen

With their recent new album releases, here's a look at my top ten favorite Avett Brothers and Brett Dennen songs, not including any from the new albums of course.

Let's start with the Avett Brothers, who released Magpie and the Dandelion on October 15. It's a good album, but not great like some of their others. I'd give it a 7.5/10 overall. Better than most stuff put out by popular musicians these days, but too short and too many slow songs without any tracks that significantly move me (at least yet). I also recently saw them live in San Francisco, and although I wish we could have had better seats and it would have been less cold, they were awesome live. There are few bands that can match their talent, emotion and energy in my opinion. Briefly, here's a list of my favorite tunes of theirs - only 2 of which were played in their approximate 25 song set list at the concert.  They obviously have written and recorded a lot of songs beloved by their fans, so these are just ones most meaningful to me. Go check out all their music and you will be energized and enlightened.

10. Ill With Want, from I And Love And You
9. Murder in the City, from The Second Gleam
8. Shame, from Emotionalism
7. The Weight of Lies, from Emotionalism
6. A Father's First Spring, from The Carpenter
5. The Once and Future Carpenter, from The Carpenter
4. I and Love and You, from I And Love And You
3. Salvation Song, from Mignonette
2. The Perfect Space, from I And Love And You
1. If It's The Beaches, from The Gleam
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Now for Mr. Brett Dennen, who released Smoke and Mirrors on October 22. I'm still waiting on this CD to come in the mail, so can't really review it. From the few songs I've heard, I think it will be similar to his last two albums with more of the upbeat singer-songwriter pop feel and splashes of rock, soul, country, and reggae mixed in to different tracks. His recent sound is still great, but very different from his soft and simple, first self-titled album. But my favorites come from old and new Brett. Here they are!

10. Because You Are a Woman, from So Much More
9. Sydney (I'll Come Running), from Loverboy
8. Wrong About Me, from Hope for the Hopeless
7. Frozen in Slow Motion, from Loverboy
6. Oh the Glorious, from Brett Dennen
5. There Is So Much More, from So Much More
4. So Far From Me, from Hope for the Hopeless
3. San Francisco, from Hope for the Hopeless
2. Ain't No Reason, from So Much More
1. Heaven, from Hope for the Hopeless

The used-to-be-not-so famous Amos

To celebrate the soon-to-be released albums of 3 of my favorite artists the following 3 Tuesdays, I wanted to share my top ten songs by each of them and hopefully better introduce some of the most talented and soulful musicians of our day. This week, we will focus on Amos Lee, whose album, Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song, comes out the soonest on October the 8th. By the way, you should stream it on amazon.com. You only got a few more days to do so. Listen to it 2 or 3 times; it really grows on you. At first, I thought it may be like his 2nd and 3rd albums: good but not great, but after listening to it again (and a 3rd and 4th time), I decided it competes with his 1st and 4th full-length albums, which are nothing short of greatness. Here are my top 10 songs among the first 4 albums from good ol' Ryan Anthony Massaro (aka Amos Lee).

10. Street Corner Preacher, from Last Days at the Lodge - This song has a simple, melodic hook to go along with a story about one of Amos's most complex and best lyrical characters.

9. What's Been Going On, from Last Days at the Lodge - He starts and ends this sad song with a great Amos line, "No one says a word to me. They're concerned with my jealousy. I guess that's how its got to be, from now on."

8. Supply & Demand, from Supply And Demand - Probably the best song from his 2nd album beating out Southern Girl and 2 other good songs about philosophies of life and people, Freedom and Shout Out Loud.

7. Learned a Lot, from Mission Bell - I am sure we all know too well about learning a lot "broken down on our bedroom floor."  

6. Truth, from Last Days at the Lodge - It's not often a song by a non-comedic artist makes you laugh for good reasons, but this song still makes me snicker when I hear it. Very clever song-writing and story.

5. Give It Up, from Amos Lee - A fun song to teach a good lesson: some want so-called freedom, but there are some people/things we should "give it up" for such as love, family, God and truth. Plus, is there a cooler sounding way to say, "We live in a world full of confusion."?

4. Violin, from Mission Bell - Until I actually looked at the song's title after a few listens, I thought it was "Vile Land" instead of violin. I still think it might be a play on words; it makes sense with the song. This seems to be one of Lee's most heart-felt, personal, and sincerely written tunes. It's great at the end of any tough day.

3. Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight, from Amos Lee - Maybe the most classic Amos track and definitely one of his early ones that got me hooked.

2. Flower, from Mission Bell - There are so many things I like about "Flower". Content and sound alone and it may be my favorite of his, but it didn't quite have the significance of number one to me.

1. Arms Of A Woman, from Amos Lee - For most people and especially music lovers, usually our all-time favorite songs can take us right back to a particular moment or period of our lives, and this song does that for me more than any other Amos tune. In my opinion, it is the best long-distance love song ever written. My wife and I dated long distance before we got married, and I fell in love with this song then. I can remember going for a run by myself while listening to it early on in our long distance relationship. When I listen to it now, I can go right back to the exact spot (an overpass in Provo) when I realized the applicability of what I was hearing to how I was feeling. It helped me realize how much I liked and missed Angela at the time. And I'd say things worked out pretty well for us; now I can sing "I am at ease in the arms of a woman, and now most of my days are spent with her." Thank you, Amos, for the help.


Well, you should support Amos and purchase some of his music if you've enjoyed anything you've heard today. You won't regret it. If not, thanks for reading and tune in next week as we celebrate The Avett Brothers.  

Infertility: The Good, The Bad, and The Unnecessary

I’m thinking October is going to be my month! I love early fall weather, we have general conference (LDS church’s semi-annual worldwide broadcast), 3 of my 4 favorite musicians are releasing much anticipated new albums (Amos Lee – Oct 8, Avett Brothers – Oct 15, Brett Dennen – Oct 22), the Red Sox are back in the playoffs, and the NBA begins again on the 29^th.  (*For some reason I have been waiting more anxiously for this season than any I can remember in past years – probably due to there being like 7 or 8  contenders to take down Lebron & Co, which is more than the usual 2 or 3 contenders most seasons. And I am not even counting the up-and-coming Warriors, but of course I am counting my Phoenix Suns . . . just kidding.) However, I am hoping all this good fortune means one additional joyous thing happens to me this October. I find out my wife is pregnant.

Many of you likely read my wife’s post from last week about our struggles with infertility and learned that we will be doing In Vitro Fertilization in a few days. We are very excited, and very nervous. Today we are fasting for and we are always praying for a successful procedure, but this focus on IVF has also got me reflecting on the journey of the past 2 ½ years to this point. Many blogs have been written by women about infertility, but rarely has a man voiced his struggles. So I hope I can express myself sincerely and can adequately convey what many husbands feel during a couple’s battle to have kids. My wife put a warning in her post about the length of it, and if you thought her post was long, you probably won’t want to read this; I struggle with concision. (I’m also sorry if I get too specific with infertility issues, but being in the medical field, I don’t find these things awkward to talk about.)

The Good

I don’t want to be all tears and gloom with my post today, because as I look back on our ongoing trial, I see many good things that have become of it. God often blesses us through our trials, and I didn’t quite fully comprehend this until recently. This understanding of God and knowledge that he never abandons us has been a blessing in itself. I’ve also learned that most trials are not given as punishment, prayers are answered, the Holy Ghost is often leading us in small decisions that we don’t realize until later, we cannot judge others and must be sensitive to their possible internal struggles, patience is a virtue, and we should live like we’ve already been blessed because all blessings do come. But the biggest thing I have learned is what my wife mentioned in her post: God’s ways are not our ways, He is in control, and His timing is His timing. This has been most humbling to me, and don’t we all need to be humbled sometimes?

We have been blessed by more than just knowledge over the past 2 plus years. I know that our church teaches that finances should not govern your decision to have children, and it obviously didn’t for us, but financially, we are loads more ready now to have a baby than we would have been 1 or 2 years ago. Angela has been able to continue working to help support us, especially while I was a student. Insurance-wise, we have also been blessed financially. Thanks to Mr. Obama, we decided to put Angela back on her parents’ insurance after her benefits ended with her teaching job. Then, I was given an offer with and without benefits at my new job and took the no benefits/ higher pay package because “it just felt right”. After seeing what her dad’s insurance has covered for infertility and knowing what others often pay for these procedures, we have experienced nothing short of a miracle with her staying on the parents’ insurance. As I mentioned earlier, the spirit often leads us in decisions we don’t realize at the time. This was also evident in us ending up in Reno. Until about a year ago, Reno would have never even come up in places we’d likely live after graduation. But some things led us here and specifically, to the apartment complex we chose to live in. It just so happened, a few weeks into attending church in our new ward boundaries, we discovered a highly successful and well-respected fertility specialist was a member of our ward. I was prompted to talk to him and a few weeks later, we were in his office devising a plan to get us pregnant. The Lord works in mysterious ways!

In addition to finances, I feel we have grown extremely close as a “kidless” married couple, and we are more patient with each other, more spiritually mature, more physically healthy (well, I guess everything besides our fertility health), and ready to be good parents now. I’ve also heard some parents complain about or belittle their kids, and I believe going through all this to start having them will hopefully help me understand they are God’s gift to us and appreciate them even in their times of terror. One last blessing has been the outpouring of love we have received from those that we have told our struggles to. From family to friends to co-workers to fellow church members, we are truly grateful for the support.

The Bad

Unfortunately, there have been some bad, or difficult, things to accompany the good.  For many couples with infertility issues, it is often just the man or just the woman with a problem needing to be fixed. But for us, we seemed to have gotten a perfect storm of male and female factors affecting our chances to conceive. I think, especially for the husband, there are different feelings that accompany either scenario – the wife or his self as the source of infertility – and I have been privileged to experience both along the way.

As I’m sure you know, men like to fix problems. That’s what we do. So as we began realizing the long road it was going to be for us and focused on Angela’s issues thinking that I was “normal”, I wanted to fix our problems. But the more and more I tried to, the more and more I realized my lack of control over the whole thing. I felt so helpless as Angela would cry and feel horrible every time her period came, as we would set goals to better ourselves spiritually and still no baby came, and as my healthy, granola wife struggled with the one health issue at the top of her “never want to have this issue” list. She told me growing up and throughout college for her, her greatest fear was to not be able to have her own kids someday. And as she faced her greatest fear, I felt there was nothing I could do to save her from it.

However, after moving to Portland about a year ago, we began to investigate my possible problems because the results of a semen analysis reported to us as “reasonably normal” turned out to be not so normal when you actually looked at them. We did another SA in February of this year and the results were even worse than before – much worse. (And real quickly for those that have never experienced it, getting a semen sample is a kind of a trial in itself, especially for a good Mormon boy who has never masturbated in his life.) These results took a few days for them to call me about, and like my own father, I was tragically optimistic that they could only be better than before – heck, I was healthier now. Then the call came on my way to my clinical rotation downtown, the tone in the nurses voice already told me they weren’t going to be better. And then I heard what no man ever wants to hear: motile sperm count = ZERO, or in other words, sterility. I had to pull over and gather myself. I cried with actual tears down my cheeks, for the first time about something that made me sad in as long as I could remember. I called Angela and we cried together. Oh yeah, and then I had to go to 8 hours of work with patients and be happy. It was easily one of the 5 worst days of my life. It was like I lost my manhood, learned there was something seriously wrong with me, and gave my wife the worst let down of our marriage all with just one phone call. But we gathered ourselves and met with a male infertility specialist that gave us some hope (which are rare by the way, but another blessing is there was one right across the street from my work in Portland.)  To end this part of the story, I have done some things that have helped give my sperm some life – at least enough to do IVF with ICSI. Thank goodness for that!

The Unnecessary

Along with the letdowns of our own personal issues, there was another bad that was probably unnecessary for me to put myself through. One of the hardest things about our 2 ½ years wanting desperately to have a baby was having to deal with others comments or questions. I always thought I was thick-skinned, but somehow infertility turned me into a softy and made me ultra sensitive. Just like when I was discouraged about dating and despised all the questions about marriage, I began noticing people would ask what I often considered as insensitive questions such as, “When you gonna have kids?”, “You guys have been married a while, you thought about kids?”, or “Your wife pregnant yet?”. Not that these are really insensitive questions, but to “Mr. Extra-sensitive Infertility man”, they were. I also began noticing how much family and raising children and dealing with kids was a topic in all church meetings. It’s difficult hearing about a family-centered gospel when you can’t seem to start a family. Maybe the worst was noticing other parents complain about their kids or having others say, “Wait as long as you can to have kids; they’ll drive you crazy and take away your freedom” or “You guys are lucky not to have any kids”. The whole time I would be thinking painfully, “Then please take away my luck and give me crazy, give me oppression.”  

So was my offense justified? Were my feelings necessary? Probably not. For 2 reasons. 

1. We were very private with this matter over the whole process. Not even our families knew most of these details. Recently as we have finally opened up, we have been amazed at the flood of sincere comments and support. People are actually very sensitive when they actually know your trial. That’s the kicker. I often have that inner feeling of slight awkwardness for someone else as they bare their soul about a trial in a fast and testimony meeting. But they’re likely doing a good thing. We are supposed to mourn with those that mourn and bear each other’s burdens, but how can we do it if we don’t know what burdens they have or don’t even know they’re mourning? I could have solved part of my issues by overcoming my pride and telling more people that we were struggling, especially when the topic came up.  

2. Although the first principle is true, people could still do a better job of being sensitive to other’s issues. I know we can’t know everyone’s trials, but many have the spirit of discernment. Try to use it and think before you speak. (Don’t worry, I am plenty guilty of putting my foot in my mouth and not great at this either). With family preached so much, those not successfully finding a spouse, those with a struggling marriage, or those not being able to produce offspring might be sensitive to such topics. Maybe we could use more caution in bringing up personal questions or doling out advice. I know I would really get ruffled with comments like, “Here’s the key to getting pregnant, [Insert some off the wall anecdotal advice].” I have a sister who’s 25, still single, and the best catch I know; I’m sure she hates hearing, “Here’s what you gotta do to get a husband.” Seriously, do we not remember how tricky dating is, especially in the shrunken technology world we live in today? Whatever people’s trials are, and we all have them, we can be more sensitive and sympathetic by using our gifts, following the spirit, and being thoughtful and understanding.

Well, I hope somebody got something out of my thoughts on our infertility. I pray with all my heart it ends soon, but will be willing to accept whatever the Lord’s timing is with the things I’ve learned from it.

This is all for now. My wife thinks I’m insane and need to stop writing. She’s probably right.                 

Christian & Gospel Music

Now that I am finally graduated and a licensed Physical Therapist, and we are settled in our new town (Reno), I figured I’d get back to blogging about some of my ideas. I don’t know how much longer I’ll stick with my “Life Lessons” series (I guess that means I’ll have to change my blog title soon) because there are some other things I’ve been thinking about lately. But for now, I’m picking up where I left off over a year ago. Since today is the Sabbath Day, here are some spiritual subjects to discuss from the genre of Christian Music.

First off, a little rant about Christian music and Mormons. I am surprised more LDS members don’t listen to mainstream Christian and/or gospel music. I understand there may be many that do, but I’ve seemed to rarely come across it in any music conversations with members and have never heard it playing in cars of members or at church events (And no, I am not counting Stephen Speaks when I say that). With a lot of crap out there, it’s usually a safe bet to be uplifting and wholesome (which is what we are encouraged to listen to). I realize that many members listen to LDS artists, but let’s be honest, if music lovers restricted ourselves to that, I think we would get a little sick of Cherie Call and Ryan Shupe & the Rubberband. There are endless Christian artists out there. And of course, like LDS artists or popular artists, there will be a lot of duds you listen to, but also some gems. The access to Christian music is easy too, with what seems like at least 5 to 10 Christian music stations on most local radio, not to mention the ability to make our own radio stations now with tools like Pandora. If you haven’t ever researched some good Christian music, I encourage you to do so and see what you find. You don’t have to feel comfortable with it all (screamo worship music still just doesn't seem right to me), but I promise, there will be some artists you’ll probably add to your playlists. It’s good stuff, and no, you are not going to feel like you are straying from the doctrines of the Restoration. These are honest worshipers of Christ like you or me that just want to bring people closer to Him through music. (This fact that we are similar reminds me of one last thing for this rant – I’ve always wanted to see an LDS member with talent make it big in the Christian Music scene instead of going the easy way through Deseret Book. What a great way to show we are Christian and to bridge a gap?!  I know it would be difficult, but it would be sweet if it happened.)

Anyway, here are two of my favorite artists in Christian Music and some lessons they've taught me

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First off, Audrey Assad; she’s crept into my top 20 favorite artists recently with the release of a new worship album funded by kickstarter, Fortunate Fall. She’s of Catholic faith and takes a simple yet artistic approach to Christian music. Her beautiful piano melodies and gentle voice combined with her honest and thoughtful songwriting have touched my soul during many different songs. But the one that gets me every time is the following song:

“O My Soul” – Album: Heart

I think people – outsiders, Christians, and LDS members – sometimes feel that we express faith and belief in Christ on the outside and do many things superficially to follow gospel principles and fit in with other church members, but on the inside, we have doubts and questions and worries and are hiding our true selves. I have felt this way before when pondering my use of the words “I know” or when thinking about my true character and desires, but this song teaches me it is the other way around. The doubts, the questions, the worries, the evil thoughts, the distractions; they are the superficial attributes of me. Deep down in my soul I know who I truly am and the hope that is in me. We give in to the “Father of Lies” when we lie to ourselves by belittling our belief in God and doubting our faith. I am not the best with words, but I think Jeffrey R. Holland  explained this recently way better than I can.

My other favorite Christian artist is Jimmy Needham – the Jason Mraz of Christian music. Not that that is the perfect description of his music (or that I am still in love with Mraz's music), but I’ve heard him called that before. He does have some similar sounds as he mixes singer-songwriting with soul, pop, and hip-hop much like Mr A-Z. Though occasionally playful, most of his songs are serious lessons and expressions of Christian faith. The one that tops my list of his greats is the following:

 Don’t you wish you could just linger and stay in some spiritual moments? How many times have you attended an awesome church meeting/ fireside or heard an amazing lesson/ talk, but then forget about everything you just felt and learned a few hours later when you’re home and choose to fill your time with trivial Grantland articles and other media or are being harassed by your 3 kids under the age of 5? (Of course, these are just random things that could distract us among many. . . I guess we don’t have kids yet – a post for a whole other day – so I don’t know for sure how much of a distraction or patience-tester they can be . . . and I am sure any of you that really know me would never expect me to get consumed by a sports/entertainment site run by Bill Simmons ;) ). Anyway, we often quickly forget our closest moments to the Spirit/ Savior and frequently don’t allow these moments to change us like they should because life is ever on-going with much to stress over. I remember on my mission in Pusan, South Korea having an extremely strong spiritual experience in my first area where I actually thought, “I will never question my faith again because this feeling is so strong I know without a doubt that my message is true, God lives, and He loves me and all these people I teach.” My thoughts may have been a little green and naïve like me in the mission field at that time, but I wish I could have stayed in that moment and kept that feeling a bit longer than it lasted. I also recall a few months later in my mission having a period of drought in the work and a few questions about doctrine where I actually thought back to that earlier experience and wondered how I had come so far from that moment. Later in my mission, I would have, and have had since, many moments like that first one where “my fears have no voice at all and the only sound in my ear is the whisper of His call”. And like we learned from Audrey, these are truly the moments that get us in touch with our soul and our Maker, not the superficial doubts and fears. What 2 great songs?! “Don’t lie to yourself”, you need some good Christian music in your life on occasion.

In closing here are some other good songs by these artists if you’re interested:

Jimmy Needham: In the Middle, Clear the Stage, Part the Clouds, The Reason I Sing, Moving to Zion

Audrey Assad: Humble, Good to Me, Restless, Sparrow, Blessed are the Ones

Until next time . . . 

– Mitchell Jay

Lessons From the Creek

I thought I’d begin these lessons with the band that has easily had the most influence on me through their lyrics and music, Nickel Creek. If I made a list of my top 100 favorite songs of all time (which sadly I have done), they would take the cake for most songs on that list (which they do). One thing I love about their albums is each song is so different, and it seems like every time I put on one of their CD’s I discover a new one that stands out to me. Even now this happens, and they haven’t made music together since ’05. I've told my wife if they get back together and go on tour, it’s the only band/artist I’d pay just about anything to go see. So we hope the concert’s either close and cheap, or not for many more years so I don’t make any foolish family financial decisions. Anyway, here are just 4 of Nickel Creek’s songs that have taught me something of value in my life.   

Reasons Why (Album – Nickel Creek, Songwriter – Sean Watkins & somebody else):

-          This song is beautifully sung by Sean’s sister (Sara) and because of this, it kind of has an Alison Krauss, sad love song feel about a woman wandering away from or leaving a man. But after realizing Sean wrote it and really listening to the words, I find there is much more behind it with themes of being distracted from values, faith, love, or family by the world and other dreams/desires. When I ponder on these things, I realize just like the person in the song seems to do that all things must be put in perspective. We’re always told to chase our dreams and never give up on them, but do we ever think, “Maybe there’s something more important in the long run than MY dreams.” Do our dreams or something we want interfere with the most vital things when all is said and done like family, charity, and faith in God? I know that avoiding distractions from the “best” things is easier said than done. I struggle with this concept daily, but a couple of lines teach me ways to stay focused.

“I don’t remember one jump or one leap, just quiet steps away from your lead” – It’s really the little choices that lead to slow drifting we have to be careful of. Examining even small things we decide to do every day is a good way to make sure we are seeking after good things and considering others, especially the people most dear to us.

The last two lines of the song are “With so much deception, it’s hard not to wander away” – Not being selfish and not wandering in life is hard to do and ALL people struggle with it. We all have our things we can’t give up, and our excuses or “reasons why”. Our natural bodies are programmed to always think of our needs first, and society often reinforces this by glorifying pleasure, fame, and gluttony. There truly is a lot of deception and it is hard, but if we can learn ways to recognize deception and combat or avoid it, we are less likely to become lost individuals and wonder, “Where am I today, I wish that I knew.”

So many in the world think it is almost the sole purpose in life to chase your own dreams and do what makes you happy in any moment, and they look to the rich and famous as role models of people who successfully accomplished their dreams. Not that all rich and famous people have horrible lives, but I don’t think that chasing their dreams of becoming rich or famous has brought on any true happiness. Many of them, especially those that didn’t hang on to their roots and morals, are now only stuck in lives full of stress, addiction, and loneliness. This next song is a great example of this very principle.    

Green and Grey (Album – This Side, Songwriter – Chris Thile)

-          This is one of the first Nickel Creek songs I ever fell in love with. It’s uniquely written about a “rock star”-type figure who seems to have everything to his crowds of fans: money, talent, success, etc; but really all he wants is love from the one person who doesn't seem to notice him. The song presents his struggle to balance keeping up his celebrity persona to please everyone else (the green) with actually feeling lonely and confused while longing for this one special person behind the stage (the grey). Success and money don’t bring happiness; it’s just like the Beatles said, “All you need is love.”  

When In Rome (Album – Why Should the Fire Die, Songwriter – Thile)

-          Since it seems we’ve been mostly on the topic of there being greater things than temporal pleasures, this song falls perfectly in line. With Thile, sometimes his explanations of songs aren't exactly what I thought; nonetheless, this is my interpretation of the song.

Rome seems to be the world (more so the Western, modern world), and the lyrics seem to question the old idiom, “When in Rome, do as the Romans.” We put so much trust in the masses and the ways of our world and culture, but maybe “Rome” doesn't always know what’s best. The song has a couple examples.

The first lines ask, “Where can a sick man go, when he can’t choke down the medicine the old doc knows?” I could rant about this for a while. I think it is totally true and sad that western medicine is built on a model of symptom-masking medicines and temporary-relief-giving surgeries (two huge moneymakers). If someone wants something less dramatic, more natural, or (if it’s a chronic issue) more geared towards the actual root of the problem, unfortunately they are usually better off finding someone that didn’t go to medical school.

But the real lesson that I learn from these lyrics comes with the last verse: “Where can a dead man go – a question with an answer only dead men know, but I’m gonna bet they never really feel at home if they spent their lifetime learning how to live in Rome.” These words remind me of scriptural lessons: we’re supposed to be “In the world but not of the world”, God’s ways are not our ways, and we’ll have no interest in heaven in the next life if we can’t learn to give, love, and serve in this life (Mosiah 4:18). We can’t always trust “Rome” to be our guide on how to live, be happy, and succeed. Learning how to be successful by world’s standards in this life doesn’t always mean success in the next.

Doubting Thomas (Album – Why Should the Fire Die, Songwriter – Thile)

-          This is my favorite Nickel Creek song of all time. I could write so many feelings about it, but this post is long enough already and nothing I write could do justice to it. If you’ve ever struggled with doubt or insecurities (which I’m sure everyone has), then please listen. And if you are someone trying to share a message of faith and joy with others, this is a great song for introspection about either being fully converted or having one foot in and one foot out. Not that I’ve ever sat alone and pondered the depths of these lyrics myself . . . Oh wait, it’s music, it’s Nickel Creek, and it’s me . . . Of course I have.  

Life Lessons Learned through Lyrics

It’s been a while, but I’ve decided to make this a permanent, and hopefully frequently updated, Music Blog. I think it’s a good way to share a lot of my thoughts and emotions, while introducing quality music to any who decide to read. Whoever that may be, thanks for taking the time to do so. But if hardly any one reads, just writing about life and beliefs is enjoyable and therapeutic enough for me personally that it won’t matter. I just hope that I can always find time to write something in my life.

There are many things dear to my heart I could write about. Family is mostly covered by our “real” blog: http://mitchandangela.blogspot.com/ (that also needs some overdue updating). I used to mention sports often when I began this blog for a class assignment in 2010, but I watch so little of them now that I don’t think I’d have hardly anything of worth to say anymore (don’t think I’ve lost my love for sports though; it’s just difficult to follow with a busy schedule and no TV—both good things). Health/nutrition is a maturing passion of mine now, but I’ll have my whole professional career to worry about promoting this. I could write about more philosophical subjects like religion or politics, but these can be quite thorny topics for some, and it’s tough to ever come to firm conclusions/solutions, especially with politics. However, music, this is a way to express my opinions in a more harmless manner. Music is always open for personal interpretation and opinions, yet I can still touch on almost all of these areas: love, politics, God, happiness, pleasure, depression, and even health and nature. Plus, I already know I can enjoy blabbing for paragraphs about artists and songs from my last venture on this blog site.

About a year ago, I finished recapping my favorite 100 musical artists (which of course, has changed a bit with new discoveries, changing styles, and surprises or let-downs from old musicians—maybe I’ll do an update later). Although I enjoyed this, I wanted to do something with more substance this time around. And so the idea for my next few posts came to me. I wanted to share some of the songs that have made me feel something or taught me something that I can share with you. I even have a cheesy name: “Life Lessons Learned through Lyrics”.

Any one that truly knows me knows my “obsession” with music is in most part due to my love of good quality lyrics. I think that’s why my playlists can span, literally, all genres of music. If the lyrics are meaningful and the presentation is not horrible, I will likely enjoy it. Although the occasional, typical song about love or heartbreak can catch my ear, I’m usually drawn to the less common songs that tackle other themes of life such as faith, doubt, society, peace, etc. These are the songs that really show the power of music; they can impact lives, spark change, and even ignite a movement. I can’t hear Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” without feeling like I’m right there in the thick of the Civil Rights Movement and want to do something to help. It’s amazing really, that in just 3 or 4 minutes, so many thoughts and feelings can come from one song. With the ever changing, fast-paced, instant access world we now live in, we need more musicians spreading short, uplifting messages to our youth and adults. Instead, most of what we hear on the radio today only reinforces that live-it-up attitude and the instant gratifications so many of us seek. Hopefully, to any who read my posts, you can be enlightened by better messages and informed about better presenters of those messages.

My plan is to share about 3-5 lyric messages per post, hopefully with Youtube links to the entire songs. But for today, I think you’ve heard enough of me. So I hope the introduction was interesting enough that you’ll come back soon (hopefully within a few days) to read my first post of “Life Lessons Learned through Lyrics.” Here’s a quick preview of some of the topics to come (each post will be a new topic or group of songs):
• “Love Your God”
• Songs that Get Me through Trials
• PBA – Maybe the Best Little-known Songwriter
• Lessons from the “Creek”
• Legendary Songwriters
• Modern-day Songwriters
• Friendship
• Meaningful Love Songs


Be back soon!

My Music Blogging Finale

Well, this will be the end of my “100 Artists” music blog. I have enjoyed it, and if any of you are still reading this at all, I hope you’ve enjoyed it too.

20. Jimmy Eat World
It’s interesting how almost all of JEW’s best songs are one-word titles: Kill, Dizzy, Work, Clarity, Seventeen, Futures, Cautioners, Sweetness. . . Throw in Here You Me and Get it Faster and that may be their top ten.
Songs: Any mentioned

19. Jason Mraz
You don’t meet many people that dislike the music Mraz makes. There is just something about his style that is unique and entertaining. And I love the fact that he can freestyle with just his guitar and voice.
Songs: You and I Both, 1000 things, Sleeping to dream

18. Boyz II Men
They were my favorite when I was little. I recently saw them live for a reunion concert. They weren’t quite as mobile as I remember, but their voices were just as good.
Songs: In the Still of the Night, Water Runs Dry, On Bended Knee

17. Mat Kearney
I’m interested in his new album coming soon; but so far, I’m not too impressed with the new song “Hey Mama”. Maybe he’ll rap again in this one though!
Songs: All I Have, Fire & Rain, Girl America

16. Ne-Yo
I love Ne-Yo, but I think “Shaffer” is caught in the wrong era. He’s still pretty dang famous, but I think he could’ve been even bigger 35 years earlier. These days, R&B is pretty much dead, and pop and hip-hop are all about who can make the better song for the club. Sure, Ne-Yo sometimes makes music just for the club too, but he’s got real talent and ingenuity; I don’t think club music is really what he was made for. He’s Michael Jackson of our time, but nobody would ever put them on the same level. Let’s try and compare them though:
Singing – Michael barely wins
Songwriting – Ne-Yo
Dancing – Mike, but Ne-Yo’s pretty good
Swagger – Ne-Yo
Uniqueness – Michael, easy
Acting ability – Ne-Yo
Performing – Probably Jackson
# of hits, fame, legend status, others’ praise – all Jackson (but what if they switched places… I think Mr. Smith would’ve been just as Big!)
Songs: Because of You, One in a Million, Miss Independent

15. Joshua James
The passion, pain, and feeling of James are almost unmatched. He really knows how to capture the essence of loss, sin, and doubt. I like happy music sometimes too, but there’s just something about the sadness and loneliness of some songs that I really, really like. Maybe there just aren’t too many genuinely happy artists out there because I feel sad songs have a lot more feeling, truthfulness, and pure human emotion than do the happy ones. The 2 bests gloomy songwriters have to be James and Ray Lamontagne. Ray touches on the despairs of love well, but James doesn’t really mention love much, which I think makes him unique. His dark songs are more about lack of faith, the woes of the world, and depression.
Songs: Lawn Full of Marigolds; Lord, Devil and Him; Crooked Arrow

14. Eric Hutchinson
It’s funny how I just went on a rant about sad songs, and now my next artist is the fun, pop-sounding, melody-based Hutchinson. His songs, though some lyrics are definitely not all joyful, can’t help but make you happy. I can’t wait for his new album. I’ve been checking his website regularly for a release date for like the last year.
Songs: Oh!, It hasn’t been long enough, Outside Villanova

13. Stevie Wonder
My second favorite old timer all-time (if you don’t include George Strait as an old timer) . . .
Songs: Lately, Overjoyed, I never dreamed you’d leave in Summer

12. James Taylor
And this is my all-time number one old timer. The original JT has so many good songs. He and Carole King together writing songs are magic. I will always love JT and think of old family vacations whenever I hear his timeless music.
Songs: Something in the Way She Moves, Carolina in My Mind, and Caroline I See You

11. The Rocket Summer
I often like to think of Pop Punk music as a thing of my past, but Bryce Avery is one artist I can never let go of. His crafty ability to make tons of his songs applicable to a girl or God, depending on the listener’s preference has always impressed me. I’ve seen him live and the image of his sweat dripping onto his piano will forever be with me. You could tell he is a humble and passionate guy who loves making music.
Songs: Run To You, So In this Hour, Light

*These are my top ten, and I think they are a step up from the rest. They’re those artists for me where I would purchase anything they made and feel ok about it. They can hardly do wrong by me. I’ll list their top five songs as well as their best album, because, well you should hear them; they’re great!

10. George Strait
I’m sure all of you know George Strait. But that’s what is great about him; He never goes away, he has hit after hit, and he is so freakin’ cool. He can hold a guitar on stage and strum it barely once per song and nobody says a thing. How can you; he’s George Strait! I can’t think of anyone ever with a better country swagger and of anyone but my wife with a better smile (and that’s still a close race). It is on my bucket list to see him live. I probably better hurry up, because he’s not getting any younger . . . but then again, he may be making hits into his 90’s!
Songs: She’ll leave you with a smile, I cross my heart, I can still make Cheyenne, I’ve come to expect it from you, The Chair/ The Fireman – tie; Album: Just get his ’50 Number Ones’ if you can afford it, you can never have enough Strait.

9. Joe Purdy
Purdy’s love for music is evident in the fact that he puts out a new CD every year, and sometimes even twice a year. He’s only been around like 10 years and has about 12albums! And none of the albums are low quality either; they are all original songs from his heart and each album even seems to have a little theme of its own. I’m sure 2011’s is coming shortly.
Songs: Take my blanket and go, Sad Clown, Make It Up, Can’t get it right today, Homesick Blues;
Album: Paris In The Morning

8. Alison Krauss
It seems like all my favorite artists have come out with new releases lately. Purdy and Strait always have a new album out, and I was anticipating Ray, Dennen, and Amos’s new albums for months, but Alison and Union Station’s new CD caught me by surprise; I didn’t know they were making music together again. It sounds great just as expected. She can’t really do wrong by me – the best female voice in the biz! She could even sing the Russian alphabet and I’d enjoy it.
Songs: Could You Lie, The Lucky One, A Living Prayer, My Love Follows You Where You Go, Down To the River to Pray;
Album: Raising Sand – with Robert Plant

7. Ray Lamontagne
I think I’ve mentioned Lamontagne in a few other artists’ sections. He is one of the best at what he does. And I like his background and attitude towards music.
Songs: Let It Be Me, Empty, Jolene, Old Before Your Time, Like Rock & Roll and Radio;
Album: God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise

6. The Avett Brothers
The Avett Bro’s had a free video single on I-tunes last year and I thought, I think I would really like this band, but couldn’t really afford (literally) to check them out. Then after I’d forgot about that free video (because who really ever watches music videos on i-tunes anyways), Amazon had another free song of theirs that was even better. When I saw a sale on an album, my wonderful wife let me get it. Then this band jumped up to my top twenty after just the first day of having it. Now, they keep moving up! If anybody knows of a way to get cheaper tickets for their upcoming show this month at the Silverton, please, please let me know.
Songs: If it’s the beaches, The Perfect Space, The weight of lies, Salvation Song, Ten thousand words;
Album: I and Love and You

5. Keith Urban & 4. John Mayer
To keep this blog from getting too long, I’ve bunched these two together. I think all of you know them so they don’t need much explaining. They’ve been favorites for years. Usually, I seem to start to like artists less the more and more famous they get; but not these two for some reason. Their talents and music are just too good.
Keith Songs: Only You Can Love Me This Way (our wedding song), Tonight I Wanna Cry, Got It Right This Time, Stupid Boy, and The Hard Way;
Album: Be Here
John Songs: My Stupid Mouth, The Heart of Life, City Love, Belief, Half of My Heart; Album: Room for Squares

3. Brett Dennen
Ang and I recently saw him in concert, and at first, I was a little bit worried that I was going to have to bump him down a few spots (because live performance is very important to me). If you know his music, you know his last two albums added a lot more instruments with some pop and rock flavor to them, and that’s all he and his band were playing at first. I was getting a little bit bored by the 6th or 7th songs. . . But then he finally slowed it down and then rocked out again to end, and did more and more of his impressive oddball dance moves as the night went on and I was grinning cheek to cheek by the end of the show. His guitar skills were less than I imagined, but his unique voice was even better live. And he’s not as unattractive and weird as some of his pictures and videos would make you think. All-in-all, he’s still a top 3 favorite singer-songwriter who makes you want to make a difference in the world, while dancing and singing the whole time!
Songs: Heaven, Aint no Reason, So Far from Me, San Francisco, Because You Are a Woman;
Album: Hope for the Hopeless

2. Amos Lee
I’m trying to think of why I like Lee, and the list is almost too long: His soulful voice, his passion, his defiance of genre, his life-applicable lyrics, his subtly spiritual song-writing, his pure love of music, his former love of basketball, his history as an elementary school teacher, his Philadelphia upbringing (cool city), his hair, his mysterious ethnicity, his music buddies (Zac Brown, Willie, etc), his simple yet complex songs, his calmness, his lack of concern for fame, his mature swagger, his introspective nature, and on and on. Let’s just say there are some reasons I like the guy and some reasons you should no doubt check him out.
Songs: Arms of a Woman, Keep It Loose Keep It Tight, Flower, Violin, and What’s Been Going On/ Black River - tie;
Album: Amos Lee (1st) or Mission Bell – another toss-up.

1. Nickel Creek
Even if they never get back together (which will be very sad because then I’ll never get to see them live), I think they will always be my number one artist/group/band. There can never be another band like them. Childhood friends growing up playing folk festivals together, two siblings plus “Beethoven” of the mandolin (Thile), three former child bluegrass prodigies forming an award-winning band as teenagers that would progress to touch on (as a band or solos or new bands) every genre besides maybe hardcore metal and rap. These three in my eyes are living musical legends, yet more people would know Nickelback (horrible) than would Nickel creek. This is why you can’t trust the masses, or radio, or MTV anymore. Hopefully, to any who have read some of this blog, you will expand your horizons to discover new talented artists like Creek, Dennen, and Lee on your own. Then figure out who and what YOU like, what makes YOU happy, and what touches YOUR soul. I know no artist makes me enjoy music more than Nickel Creek does!
Songs: Don’t sell yourself short, get all three of their albums; they’re each unique and amazing in their own way. My all-time favorite Creek song is “Doubting Thomas” though.


Well, that’s it for now . . . until I find the next random, trivial thing to blog about. If you read this, I hope you enjoy a couple new artists or at least just think about your own musicians that you cherish. Thanks!

Artists #50-21 of my fave 100!

This has been a crazy, crazy semester for me, but now that I have made it through, I wanted to still finish my top 100 artists that I had started at the beginning of the year. Because I’ll be heading back to school soon, I thought I’d do as many as I could this week. So here are 30 artists (50-21) for your enjoyment!

50. Simon & Garfunkel
I was thinking recently how there’s no way Simon and Garfunkel would get any radio play these days. And then I thought about how much popular music has declined over the years. If you listen to the very old stuff like Ella Fitzgerald or Hank Williams, that was real talent. And then the 60’s brought a lot of political lyrics and experimental music like Dylan and the Beatles. The early 70’s had real “rock & roll” music, and you had Motown running strong through all those years. Then, I think the 80’s brought way too many hair bands, music videos, electronic beats, and voice synthesizers. It wasn’t about the music and talent anymore. Radio continued to decline until today, where it’s all about who and what’s marketable in mainstream music. Now we’re stuck with Gaga, Miley, Katy, Bruno, and Ke$ha every other song on the radio. Do you really think Simon and Garfunkel would have found their music in between any of those songs? Yeah, didn’t think so. But they played it back then! Anyways, that’s my rant; now let’s get to the rest of the countdown.
Songs: The Boxer & 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (Paul Simon)

49. Sam & Ruby
This is a very good duo that not many people have heard of. Shamefully, I first found them while shopping at Hollister.
Songs: Chillin & Heaven’s My Home

48. Willie Nelson
He’s not the best musician or singer, but there’s just something about Willie that people love. He gets me too!
Songs: Always on my mind & Maria (Shut up and kiss me)

47. Dierks Bentley
I have been up and down with Dierks during his career. I loved his first album, and then they just seemed to get worse and worse after that . . . until his latest record. It is maybe his best yet. He even worked with two of my other favorites, Miranda Lambert and Chris Thile, on it. He redeemed himself and shot back up on my list.
Songs: Wish it would break & Long trip alone

46. Jimmy Needham
I first heard him while carpooling with a friend from school and was impressed. He is kind of like a Christian-Pop (with some soul) version of Jason Mraz or Eric Hutchinson.
Songs: The Reason I sing & Part the Clouds

45. Langhorne Slim
It kind of takes a while to get used to his voice, but Slim is a great song-writer and passionate musician.
Songs: Worries & So Glad I’m Coming Home

44. Jack Johnson
Sometimes Jack is one of my favorites; and other times, I don’t really care for him. Either way, it’s always hard to make it through a whole album of his without needed something fresh. That’s why he’s just 44.
Songs: Angel & Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

43. Brendan James
Sometimes I wonder, if I was a little more musically talented and driven, what kind of artist I would be. Genres are so subjective or limiting these days, I think it’s better to compare to an artist. I’ve thought about this before, and I think I would be a mix between Amos Lee, Eric Hutchinson, and Brendan James, both in sound and personality. They all have a good balance of playful and introspective song-writing.
Songs: All I Can See & Hero’s Song

42. Bob Dylan
I’ll admit, I get to about the fourth song of Dylan’s in a row, and I can hardly take his voice anymore. However, I cannot deny his impact on music. He was passionate, innovative, and versatile. He proved to the world you didn’t need a traditional voice if you were singing for a meaningful purpose. His poetic and impactful lyrics helped shape a generation; and he set a path for many future artists to follow - many artists that I really like.
Songs: Blowing in the Wind & Don’t think twice, it’s alright

41. David Gray
Until this winter break, I didn’t really appreciate David Gray. I only remembered that “Babylon” song, and for some reason just associated him with Robbie Williams since their songs were popular close together and they were both British. But I saw he toured with Ray Lamontagne last year and decided to look up some of his music during my break. I’m very glad I did because the man has talent and has put out some quality stuff.
Songs: This Year’s Love & The Other Side

40. Incubus
When I want to listen to 90’s/2000’s rock music, this is one of my go-to bands. They actually made me start liking “white people” music again back in junior high school. I love their fusion of hard rock with funk. Everybody loves their album with Drive and Pardon Me, but I think Morning View (not as popular) was their true masterpiece.
Songs: Stellar & Wish You Were Here

39. The Kooks
This is one of a couple artists that Pandora radio introduced me to. Thanks Pandora! I think “She moves in her own way” still holds the record for most plays in a single day on my i-tunes. It was like 40 or 50 something.
Songs: She Moves In Her Own Way & Seaside

38. Grace Potter & the Nocturnals
Potter has been this semester’s top artist. It seems every few months, I find some new artist that I fall in love with, who quickly becomes one of my favorites. I found her music in December, but it took me a month or two to decide whether I liked it. Her voice is awesome though. She can do anything from rock to country to blues to pop, etc. Heck, she can even do Disney (she sings the main song for Tangled).
Songs: Only Love & Medicine (Also, get the Daytrotter free version of Paris, it’s much better)

37. Zac Brown Band
One problem I have with most artists, especially in country, is you can’t trust them. They may have a song that you like, and they catch your attention for a bit; then they release something horrible and you think, “Why’d I ever like them?” But is there a more consistent band/group/artist out there than Brown and Co.? I feel like you can trust them. Everything they’ve put out has been good. No let downs!
Songs: Colder Weather & Whatever it is

36. Garth Brooks
Garth is just classic. There’s not really much I can say about him besides "classic".
Songs: She’s Every Woman & Beaches of Cheyenne

35. Brad Paisley
Paisley is the perfect example of what I mentioned with the Zac Brown Band. You can’t always trust what he’s going to put out. He has made songs that I'll love forever and songs that I can't stand. He has many greats, and then he has songs like “Ticks”. Still, his volume of the ones I like and his sweet guitar skills make him one of my favorite country men.
Songs: Holding on to You & Little Moments

34. Matt Costa
It was Costa’s Pandora station that introduced me to Brett Dennen, The Kooks, The Shins (who Costa sounds eerily similar to by the way), and Dispatch. I’m happy my brother had a few Costa CD’s around when I got back from my mission to introduce me to him.
Songs: Astair & These Arms

33. Ben Harper
Harper doesn’t really have any “blow you away” or “change your life” songs in his repertoire, but he has consistently been putting out quality music across many genres for 2 decades now.
Songs: Steal My Kisses & Walk Away

32. Tevin Campbell
Yes, he is also known as “Powerline”. I loved his music as a young kid and it’s my opinion that he would have been the next Michael Jackson had R&B not changed drastically in the late 90’s and had he not been such a weirdo and got in trouble with some child sex charges . . . Oh wait, maybe he was the next Jackson.
Songs: I’m Ready & Don’t Say Goodbye Girl

31. Michael Jackson
Speaking of Michael, I don’t care how odd he was, there will never be another like him. His music is timeless and his dancing will never be duplicated.
Songs: Human Nature & of course, MAN IN THE MIRROR!

30. Parachute
This may be the best band that has come out in the past 5 years. I just listened to their sophomore album, and it is just as good as the first. That’s not common (see: The Script and One Republic). I also saw them live and they did not disappoint.
Songs: Under Control & What I Know

29. Bearfoot
This is another contemporary bluegrass group - probably less well-known than the Duhks, the Waifs, or the Wailin’ Jennys; but in my opinion, better. Those Canadians really know how to make good bluegrass folk music!
Songs: Before I Go & Time is No Medicine

28. Citizen Cope
I don’t think he has really done much as of late, but I wish he would. His mix of hip-hop, rock, and acoustic sound is awesome! And there's something about his music that mixes well with movies and TV. Check out his wickepedia and you'll be amazed at how many times he's had his songs in those TV and Film.
Songs: D’Artagnans Theme & Sideways

27. Damien Rice
Rice hasn’t really had any good new stuff lately either. I am also upset that he let Lisa Hannigan go too. It was perfect with his calm, yet coarse voice and her strong, yet pretty backing vocals. I’m sure he has some other girl sing for his live shows now, but I liked Lisa. Still, his music is wonderful and never gets old to me.
Songs: Nine Crimes & Cold Water

26. Peter Bradley Adams
I don’t know if there is a better love song writer right now than Adams (e.g. Keep Us, For You, One Picture, Always, etc). His melodies are peaceful, and the words are original and heart-felt. You don’t find that with love songs very often anymore. That’s because most of them are songs of infatuation about someone they like for one night in the club or maybe a year until they get sick of them and move on to the next. But Adams tunes are well-crafted and sincere.
Songs: Those mentioned, & The Longer I Run

25. Miranda Lambert
Not only is she a newlywed to Blue-eyed Blake Shelton, but she is a unique singer, talented song-writer, and a better-than-Taylor-and-Carrie Country Superstar! I’ve always loved Miranda’s style ever since I saw her on Nashville Star in 2003.
Songs: Gunpowder and Lead & Me and Charlie Talking

24. James Morrison
Morrison caught my attention when I got back from my mission in ’07 and heard a couple of his famous songs. Then I kind of forgot about him because I didn’t have a laptop, cd player, or much access to new music for about a year and a half after my mission. But last summer I started getting into Morrison again. He’s a little bit “Poppy”, but he’s got a lot of soul to him and an amazing voice.
Songs: The Only Night & You Make It Real

23. Kalai
I’ve been to a lot of concerts in my life, but no one has had a voice that sounded even better live than recorded but Kalai. He’s not the best performer I’ve ever seen, in fact he’s pretty chill and talks probably more than he sings, but what he could do with his voice and guitar and his overall style won in my book.
Songs: Patience Lies & Divide Me

22. Jim Croce
Of all the premature deaths in the entertainment business, this is one that probably saddens and disappoints me the most (Chris Farley, a close 2nd). He could’ve been bigger than Simon or JT if he would’ve stuck around longer. He was still young and undeveloped as an artist. I would’ve liked to have more, but I’m still happy for his music I do have.
Songs: Operator & Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy)

21. Something Corporate
This was my favorite band in high school. I had their every song and went to every show when they came to Vegas. My tastes and behaviors have changed a bit since then, but some music never leaves your soul, and Something Corporate will forever be in there!
Songs: Walking By & Ruthless

#60-51

60. Lifehouse – I don’t really know why I like Lifehouse so much. They aren’t really my style of music, they aren’t super talented, and they don’t really do anything that unique to separate them from other artists. I just seem to like a lot of their songs - enough to have them as high as 60.
Song: Take Me Away

59. Mumford & Sons – This band is really gaining a following now. After first hearing about them through some classmates and then noticing their growing popularity, I thought they were ok but wasn’t that impressed. And then I heard “After the Storm”. I fell in love with the song, it changed my opinion of them entirely, and I too jumped on the bandwagon.

58. Maroon 5 – If it wasn’t for Adam’s occasional immature and loose-moraled lyrics, this band would be even higher. I remember hearing their first album in high school and thinking, “If I ever started a rock band, this is the sound I want.” I still appreciate Levine’s voice and their blend of rock, funk, pop, etc.
Song: Must Get Out (Their best song is “She Will Be Loved”, but everyone knows that one.)

57. Matchbox Twenty – This, again, is one of the bands that take a spot in the list because of their history with me and music. There was a time when Matchbox was in my top ten. They have been slipping ever since though (at least 47 spots). Sorry Rob.
Song: 3 AM

56. Delta Spirit – This band is awesome! Thanks to one of my best music sources, Chaela, for introducing me to them. I love his voice and it matches the lyrics so well. If you like the style of Spoon or White Rabbits, you’ll love Delta Spirit. They’re even better!
Song: People, Turn Around

55. Cyndi Thomson – Her music alone would definitely not get her this high, but it’s more than just what you hear when picking your favorite artists. It’s why they do it, what they stand for, and sometimes how they look. I did think she was pretty when she first released “What I Really Meant to Say”. Then I really liked “I Always Liked that Best”. Then I learned she wrote her own songs. Finally, when I tried to find more music from her and realized she left the industry to focus on family, I was sold. She became and still is one of my favorite female artists. Recently, she released a comeback EP, and it too is pretty darn good!

54. Five for Fighting – Five for Fighting, along with Jack Johnson and Ben Harper, were the artists I seemed to listen to most the first six months after my mission. I think I just needed that calming, soft sound to work me back into secular music again.
Song: I like almost all their songs played on the radio, but check out “Policeman’s Christmas Party”. It’s different from their usual stuff, and you wouldn’t know it unless you had their albums.

53. The Wailin’ Jennys – Bluegrass-Folk music. Soft, acoustic sound. Gentle voices. Splendid harmonies. Creative songwriting. If you’re thinking that seems right up Mitch’s alley… yep, you’re right.
Song: One Voice

52. Sara Watkins & 51. Chris Thile (The Punch Brothers) – These are two of the three members of Nickel Creek, the greatest band ever (The Beatles. Pshh. Whatever.) You will hear plenty about Nickel Creek’s greatness later, but as solo artists these two barely fail to make the top 50. Sara is wonderful, and Thile is no doubt “Beethoven” of the mandolin and a creative genius. I love the punch brothers (Thile’s current ‘alternative bluegrass’ band) too, but I have to leave them out of the top 50. Although they’re still great alone, they’re best together and I wish they’d always stay that way.
Songs: Lord Can You Help Me & I’m Nowhere and You’re Everything

25 More Artists! (85-61)

Well, it has been a while since my last post for two reasons: 1) the adapter plug for my computer with i-tunes broke, and I had to wait a few weeks to receive a new one (thank you Best Buy even though you told me 3-5 days); and 2) just when I got the adapter, life (especially school) decided to get really busy. And although I enjoy it, this of course is not at the top of my priority list. But I couldn’t abandon the idea for good, so this week is a treat… 25 artists to make up for the long delay (and probably future delays).

85. Tupac Shakur
Last post and this one begin with a rapper. However, this will be the last rap/ hip-hop artist you see on the list. Some hip-hop music can be very influential, inventive, and even inspiring, but most rap artists, I believe are the furthest thing from “musicians” there are in the industry. In my opinion, a true musician does it for one of three reasons (or all reasons): 1) to make a difference, 2) to cope with pain (kind of like an escape from the stresses of life) or 3) just a “pure” love of music. One thing I love about the so-called “underground” music scene is you get that with most of the artists. But how many rappers can you name that don’t want to be rich and famous? Tupac wanted that too, but I feel like there was so much more to what he did. He had fun, but he spoke his mind and revealed his heart through his music. He lived in the studio and loved what he did. When you listen to his stuff, you feel like you get to hear a part of him. He was real, he was open, he was sometimes crazy, but he was a “musician”.
Song: Keep Ya Head Up

84. SG Wannabe / (Korean Music)
I don’t think this Korean pop group would really be this high on their own, but I had to put some Korean music on here to represent my mission. So they kind of represent all Korean music at this spot. I don’t listen to many Korean tunes anymore, but a few songs of Wannabe have a special place in my heart.

83. Martina McBride
You got to love her. Not just because she’s a very pretty older lady with some amazing pipes that knows how to sing a strong chorus like no other, but because she’s those things, and she’s stayed surprisingly humble and motherly through it all.
Song: Where would you be? …can’t get as high as she does in my car, but you know I still try!

82. Blind Pilot
This is one of the first folk rock bands that I heard after my mission. Their songs all sound awfully similar, but I like their relaxed style.
Song: One Red Thread

81. One Republic and 80. The Script
These bands are like the same band to me. They got popular about the same time, both just came out with not-as-good sophomore albums, and they have almost the exact same sound that mixes mainly piano rock with pop, hip-hop, and 2000’s punk music. With that being said, I still enjoy listening to both. I like people that mix styles even if they aren’t all styles I highly enjoy.
Songs: Say (All I Need) & The Man Who Can’t Be Moved

79. Spoon
I love this guy’s voice. I wish I had the perfect word to describe it. Croaky, raspy, and whiney all come to mind, so maybe I’ll make up a word: “Crinespy”. Add his voice to unique, solid instrumentals and its “Crinesprilliant!”
Song: In honor of March Madness – “The Underdog”

78. Bon Iver
Speaking of good voices, what Justin Vernon (lead singer) can do with his voice is amazing. It is so melodic, yet you can sense so much pain behind it. He recorded practically the whole first album by himself while in seclusion at a Wisconsin cabin.
Song: Blindsided (or “Skinny Love” if you haven’t heard it before)

77. Dean Fields & 76. Teitur
These two are similar artists. They’re talented singer-songwriters that mix pop, soft rock, and folk. Teitur has gained some fame through movie soundtracks, opening for John Mayer, and being on the back of a Doritos bag; but Dean is so not famous that he actually requested to be my friend on Facebook because he saw I liked his music.
Songs: Half-hearted Apology –DF, & One and Only One - Teitur

75. Dan Fogelberg
This is one of my dad’s favorite artists (along with Bread, Jim Croce, James Taylor, and Paul Simon). As much as I hate to admit it, I think my pops and I would’ve had very similar tastes in music. I think I would have expanded my likes to some more soulful stuff over at Motown and some more experimental jam bands like the Allman Brothers, the Grateful Dead, and Crosby, Stills & Nash. But I know his favorites would have been some of mine too. How do I know, because most of them will be on this list just like Fogelberg.
Song: Same Old Lang Syne

74. Joni Mitchell
This is an artist I’m starting to listen to a lot more ever since I’ve discovered what an inspiration she is to so many of the artists I like. She is the mother of modern folk music with Dylan as the Father.
Song: A Case Of You

73. Johnny Flynn
I found Flynn when I spelled the Syracuse basketball player’s name wrong in a search (his has no “h”). He was something new and introduced me to this new British Folk Rock genre (e.g. Mumford and Sons).
Song: The Box or Kentucky Pill

72. Isaac Russell (RuRu)
Very smart move for him to change his stage name from RuRu. I prefer his real name over a childhood nickname. He is young and released his first CD when he was 16, but his music is anything but childish. He’s just a local Provo kid (son of a BYU music professor is what I’ve heard), but he makes my top 100 because it amazes me every time I hear his songs that he was a 15-16 year old when he wrote them. He may be unknown, but he has some of the best songwriting for his age of anyone I’ve ever heard.
Song: West Virginia

71. Xavier Rudd
Rudd is a very talented multi-instrumentalist, singer, and lyricist from Australia. He came to Utah for a small show when I was up there, but I didn’t know him well then and didn’t go. Poor choice!
Song: Better People

70. Norah Jones
When I stop listening to Norah, she seems to creep down my list and I forget about her. Until I hear her music again and remember how awesome she is. Her newest cd, “Featuring Norah Jones” (a collection of her duets), is definitely on my list of CD’s I need once I get more money.
Song: Not Too Late

69. Johnny Cash
There will never be another Cash. He is definitely one of a kind and cannot be duplicated. Yet he embodies what country music is all about to me: pure story telling through music.
Song: God’s Gonna Cut You Down

68. The Format
This is one of a few bands that take a spot in this list because of what they mean to my history of liking music. My tastes are always evolving, but I feel like you can’t just let go of old stuff that used to mean so much to you. Although, among these bands, the Format is one that I can still listen to quite frequently without getting annoyed.
Song: The Compromise

67. The Duhks & 66. The Waifs
These two bands sound similar. They both mix female and male voices and have a modern bluegrass feel. If you’re wondering what this is, it is kind of blend between indie, bluegrass, and folk. It’s actually one of my favorite styles of music… If you’re interested, I have a bluegrass mix on my I-tunes ready to be burned at anytime. I promise, you’ll love it too.
Songs: Fast Pace World – Duhks, & Rescue – Waifs

65. Rascal Flatts
Say what you want about Rascal Flatts, but there aren’t many more successful groups of the 2000’s. It seems like they always have a current hit song on the radio. Most artists come and go, especially groups, but they’ve stayed around strong for a decade. They’re definitely not where they once were with me and sometimes can get a little cheesy, but I’ll always recognize and enjoy his unique, high voice.
Song: If you don’t know a good Flatts song, something’s wrong with you!

64. The Weepies
I’m running out of time and things to say. Good duo. Good song-writing. Good music.
Song: World spins madly on

63. Justin Nozuka
It’s not always, but sometimes I feel that I like girly music (It’s probably because almost all the compliments I’ve ever gotten on my taste in music have come from females). Its artists like Nozuka where I remember that fact though. Whenever I listen to him, I get the sense that his fans are mostly girls. It may not even be true, I just don’t feel very manly with his music... but I still like it anyway.
Song: Golden Train

62. The Killers
They’ve had their share of good songs and bad songs, but there aren’t many songs in history that are better than “All These Things That I’ve Done” -- in my opinion, of course.

*Yes, and that was just 5 “The…” bands out of the last 7 artists. “The” something always makes a good band name!

61. John Legend
I’ve always been a sucker for Rhythm and Blues. Throw in some actual piano talent and good songwriting, and I’m sold. Thank you, John.
Song: Ordinary People

100 Artists... Continued!

Well, hopefully any who read last week’s post enjoyed it; I know I enjoyed writing it. Anybody just starting now may be a little lost as to what I’m doing, and they may want to go back and read the previous post first. Also, I decided that taking 20 weeks to write this silly thing wasn’t really what I wanted to do. So I think I will change it to 10 artists per post to get it over with sooner.

Before I continue the countdown, there is one thing. I have heard some complaints that no one had ever even heard of those artists from last week, so they felt a little indifferent about my analysis. And maybe that’s why there were no comments (or maybe people just don’t want to waste their time with my trivial blog, which is understandable). Well, this week should have some more familiar names, and also, I will try to describe any obscure artists a little better so you may see if they would be of interest to you. That was one of the reasons I started this--to introduce people to new music. And of course, the main reason was to appease myself (reference to last post), so whatever...

*Now all of these next 5 artists are similar in that they may not be some of my current favorites, but they made this list because of where I would have had them in the past. So please, don’t be quick to judge my taste in music off these next picks… let me explain myself.

95. Kanye West & 94 Taylor Swift
In this fued, I guess I side with Taylor since she’s got Kanye by a mere one spot on my list. It’s a very difficult choice though; I’m glad to see they’ve since made up… kind of.

Let’s start with Mr. West. He seems to be hit or miss with me. He’s made/said/done some really childish things, and then he’s made/done (I purposefully left out the “said”; there’s a reason he has an album called ‘College Dropout’) some really brilliant things in his career. There was actually a time I would have gotten anything he touched (around the time of American Boy and 808’s…). Now I may check it out, but he doesn’t get me as excited.
–-Song: Jesus Walks – still one of my all time faves

As for Swifty, I usually won’t even check out her new stuff, but she still has a special place in my music memory. When she first broke out was right when I was returning from my mission in 2007. I hadn’t really got back into the music scene yet, and here was this modest, young girl who wrote her own music and actually semi-knew how to play an instrument. Of course, she quickly became one of my favorites. But the modesty (although she is still extremely humble for how big of star she is) and originality soon wore off. Her songs are catchy and she has some talent, but for her to make ‘some odd’ 50 songs now that all sound awfully similar just doesn’t seem to grab my attention anymore.
--Song: Stay Beautiful

93. The old Kenny Chesney
*This will be another long explanation, but I will try to keep the rest short, I promise.
Country music was the first music I remember listening to as a young boy, but I abandoned it for almost all of elementary and middle school. It wasn’t until I discovered Kenny Chesney that I got back into it. He was cool and good looking, and he sang really good songs. I realized country wasn’t all that bad. I thank him for that.
Now, I love country music, but one thing I hate about it is that the business doesn’t give its artists very much freedom. However, the worst thing that ever happened to Kenny was that they let him do what he wanted to do. Once he got a say in his music, there were no more songs like “The Good Stuff”, “I lost It”, “What I Need to Do”, “You Had Me From Hello”, “There Goes My Life”, and “That’s Why I’m Here”. There were new songs that showed the real Kenny: the beach, booze, laziness, and no real life commitments. Well, the old Kenny makes my list, and I try to tell myself the new one doesn’t exist.
--Song: any I just listed

92. Matt Wertz
I haven’t listened to a lot of his stuff lately, and he’s not an artist you will hear me talk about much, but I secretly like him. He was originally in the Christian music scene, but switched over to popular music. He has a nice voice and some catchy, chill tunes.
--Song: The Way I Feel or 5:19, both good

91. Coldplay
There’s not much to say about them. They are very talented and very well-known, which doesn’t happen a lot these days. I’m not a huge fan of their style, but they have some good songs. I still remember when I first heard “yellow” early in high school. I loved it; that was my favorite color back then.
--Song: Fix You (If you already know that one, then try “The Hardest Part”)

90. Ingrid Michaelson & 89 Regina Spektor
Their genre seems to be a new trend in music; kind of this Indie girl pop thing with lots of piano and songs about love and break-ups. There seem to be tons of bands and solo acts with this similar sound. Some more on the Indie side (Tegan & Sara, Imogen Heap, Kate Nash, KT Tunstall, etc), and some more on the pop side (Sara Bareilles, Missy Higgins, A Fine Frenzy, Christina Perry, etc). I could go on and on with artists, in fact, I bet you can name at least a couple aspiring musician friends that are girls and probably fit this genre. Most of them are decent, but these 2 ladies seem to be some of the originators of the style, have a good balance of both the indie and the pop feel, and have prettier voices and more creativity than the rest. Regina beats Ingrid in those last 2 qualities so she gets the nod at 89.
--Ingrid song: The Chain
--Regina song: Eet

88. She & Him
She and Him could fit right in with that Indie girl pop genre, but the “Him” helps separate them a little bit. For those of you who don’t know, this is a duo of Zooey Deschanel (the girl from Elf, Yes-man, and 500 Days of Summer) and M. Ward (a folk artist and talented guitarist). I don’t personally like Ward’s solo stuff much, but with his electric guitar (and background vocals) and Deschanel’s unique lead voice, it comes together near perfect. When their songs come on in the car, even Angela usually says, “I really like her voice.” And to think Zooey started out as an actress and model.
--Song: Lingering Still

87. Marc Broussard
I found his stuff before and wasn’t that impressed, but then I rediscovered him recently and for some reason this time, I am really digging it. He has an unordinary mix of country, soul, and jazz in his voice and music. If this were a billboard chart or Joe Lunardi bracketology, then Chesney and Swift would have an “on the way down” arrow next to their names, and Broussard would definitely have a “on the rise” arrow.
--Song: I discovered this one today actually – Come In from the Cold ... He also does a great version of Al Green's "Love and Happiness"

86. Ray Charles
I’ve always liked Stevie Wonder and some of those other old soulful brothers, but I really didn’t start appreciating Ray until the movie of the same name came out. It was one of those rare films where I actually disliked it while watching it, and then once it was over decided it was a very good movie. The man had some skills and made some timeless music.
--Song: Since we started this post with Kanye, we’ll give you an original that Kanye later remixed – I Got a Woman