incoming dark clouds.....that play music

It's that time of year for all you hangers on to YFYB. The time of year where you take a look at your inner soul and question if you have the mental fortitude to handle another barrage of posts regarding S.Vincents "20 Best Albums of the Year". I was surprised to see that I have listened to over 120 albums this year. Of course all of them were not 2008 releases, probably around 50% are, but there is a ton of music I have listened to in the past year and its going to be tough to narrow it down again.

Last year turned into a pretty big debacle, but in S.Vincents defense, it got YFYB through some rough times when I didn't have much to post about. It was cold, the holidays were over, and I was rowing, working, rowing, lifting, sleeping every weekday. Plus every weekend, I was away in some of the northeast's most boring and desolate locations for rowing races. The strangest thing was; I got the most hits per week during that period then any other period this year. YFYB was averging about 350 hits a week back then, as opposed to around 100 a week now. I think that was due to some of the labeling I used, I dunno, maybe people really like music

But this year there is going to be a change in format. For one, I am going to start it next week. I am really busy this week otherwise I would start it now, but I want to try to get mine out before I am influenced by the opinions of all the other lists and then see how mine compares. There may be some follow up posting on others opinions if I get bored, but lets cross our fingers that something cool happens to me instead. Like....finding a girl who is willing to follow me around and we can laugh about her behind her back before she finds out how much of an internet nerd I am, and dumps me and then goes to therapy or gets an eating disorder.

For two, there will MUCH less description. I am going to try to knock out 5 albums per post with 1/3 of the drivel that I rambled about last year. I think most people just want to see which albums I picked and not hear about why I like the music that they have never heard of. Maybe thats just me though.....NOT. If they want to know more about the album they can just send me a compliment. There will also be less video examples per album. Just one song if I can find it for the album. I wasted too much time on that last year.

So there we go, get yourself ready and turn your RSS feeders on to FULL BLAST or OFF. It's about to get a little noisey in this piece. As a teaser, SVTV is featuring a song from one of the top 5 candidates that I have rocked once a week since it came out in the early summer. I have no idea why it is not gigantic. Every pop-music idiot I know should LOVE this album.

Speaking of noise. I was recently re-connected with the best headphones I have ever owned and since it is christmas and many of you are scouring for gifts for your loved ones, I will tell you a little about them. I got these headphones in a splurge period when some money was burning a hole in my pocket about 2.5 years ago. The Shure E2C's. About a year and a half ago, I lost them at the gym and figured that the I could get something at least close to as good in a smaller price range. Wrong! at $85 bucks these headphones are the best I have tried and worth at least 150 dollars. And they are cheaper now! The quality of sound is a big thing to me, so I wanted a set of headphones that could deliver, without being 300 bucks. The earbuds that come with the iPod are trash I feel. They don't stay in your ears, only deliver moderate sound, and don't block out any. The Shure E2C's are the opposite of that, they are locked in your ears and the wires wrap around the back of your ears out of sight like a Secret Service agent. The sound is crisp and clear with great bass delivery, and the best part is that they block out a TON of outside noise. Perfect for city dwellers and other loud environments.

The cons....they can be a little uncomfortable at first and for longer periods of listening (2 hours+), but they come with a bunch of different silicone attachments that helps. But mostly, I have found that when they are new, the silicone takes a little while to break in and soften up as well as the cord which will be zig-zagged for a little while from being locked in the packaging. But once they do, they are super comfy and don't budge even when your ipod falls out of your pocket. It will be hanging from your ears! Rare for any headphones.

So if you or someone you know really loves music and is someone you are going to spend more than 50 bucks on. Get them these headphones....like NOW.