me: thinking of doing a contest with artists who have two first names: George Michael, Billy Joel, James Taylor
mg: much more acceptable
me: much better than my Billy Joel/GEICO idea

Ben Folds at Bowery Ballroom rocked the house. He covered The Darkness, Lucinda Williams and freakin “Careless Whisper”. Good times.

Top 10 for Jeremy Meyers (jeremy@tvtrecords.com). They are A Full-time Employee. It is not in order.
1. Nothingface - Skeletons (The only record with screaming I can stand. That says something)
2. Ambulance LTD - Ambulance LTD (Still not sick of it.)
3. Lamb - Between Darkness And Wonder (Some of the most beautiful music in any genre ever. Far and away the best record of this year.)
4. Anberlin - Blueprints for the Black Market (Best pop record of the year (sorry, Pay The Girl). Hella catchy and happy and not Christian for a Tooth & Nail Record)
5. Audio Bullys - Ego War (The Streets injected with the spirit of Daft Punk and Les Rhythmes Digitales. Shake yer booty music.)
6. Electric Six - Fire (Let’s start a nuclear war!)
7. Bubba Sparxxx - Deliverance (Real southern hip-hop. With banjos. And harmonicas. Timbaland’s best production work in ages.)
8. Daniel Lanois - Shine (Yes, that Daniel Lanois. He of U2 fame delivers a moody reverby masterpiece of confessional singer-songwriter angst)
9. Atmosphere - Seven’s Travels (Best intelligent hip-hop release all year. Doesn’t sacrifice the beats.)
10. Ascii Disko - Ascii Disko (Electro-House is the new everything.)
CD Overlooked Last Year: Daniel Bedingfield - Gotta Get Thru This (Justin Timberlake + The Streets = … well, you know.)
Biggest Letdown of the Year:

What a day, as usual. Got bunches of Nothingface stuff done, need to start on some other bands soon. I get to go to the show at Knitting Factory for free, at least. And yet again, Buffy and Gilmore Girls are reruns.

Oh well, maybe I’ll get some sleep tonight… not likely, though.

Top 10 for Jeremy Meyers (jeremy@tvtrecords.com). They are A Full-time Employee. It is not in order.
1. Wayne - Music on Plastic (TVT) (Criminally overlooked. Pop at its best. THIS should be whats big.)
2. Underworld - A Hundred Days Off (V2) (They continue to be the best electronic act around, crossing over just a little bit more since Darren left. Their live show was breathtaking, as usual.)
3. Filter - The Amalgamut (WBR) (Best melodic rock record of the year. QOTSA sucks. I look forward to what RP has in store now that he’s out of rehab.)
4. The Devlins - Consent (Nettwerk) (Moody, shiny, pretty guitar pop)
5. Concrete Blonde - Group Therapy (Manifesto) (A welcome return from the strongest female voices in rock since Chrissy Hynde and Ann Wilson)
6. OST - Queen of the Damned (WBR) (The Korn record sucked cause Jon Davis shot his load over this one)
7. The Streets - Original Pirate Material (Vice/Atlantic) (no matter what Dolan says, the rhymes aren’t really serious. An impressive debut)
8. Dream Theater - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (Elektra) (LaBrie and Petrucci do it again. Their finest, most accessible album since “Awake”)
9. Soulwax - 2 Many DJs (PIAS America) (The future of dance music? Where genre, artist and copyright are rendered meaningless. All that matters is the sound.)
10. Pain of Salvation - Remedy Lane (The only band to come close to Dream Theater’s reign as kings of ProgMetal)
Worst Release Of The Year: The ______s (DESTROY LO-FI)

Top 10 for Jeremy Meyers, jeremy@tvtrecords.com, in no particular order
1. Chicane - Behind the Sun (Includes the most beautiful track ever, “Saltwater”, featuring Marie Brennan of Clannad)
2. Apoptygma Berserk - Welcome to Earth (Dancy, Hard, Wonderful. Check out ‘Eclipse”
3. Moby - Play (well, maybe not great quality, but it sure is catchy)
4. BT - Movement in Still Life (Lush Shiny Trance. Check out “Dreaming”)
5. Banco De Gaia - Igizeh (Great Ethno-Trance. Check out “Obsidian”)
6. Underworld - Everything, Everything (Go get the DVD. Underworld is the best live band ever.)
7. Iris - Disconnect (Great intro to modern Synth-Pop from these Texans)
8. Fila Brazilia - Brazilification (Best Of the remixes from this Pork Recordings staple. Includes their amazing mix of Lamb’s Cotton Wood)
9. David Gray - White Ladder (If you haven’t heard this by now, go pick it up.)
10. Delerium - Silence EP (especially the Sanctuary Mix)