This is it. My favorite two albums which I love dearly and have strong emotional connections to. One is a perfect example of immature punk-pop infused with some hilarious statements about American culture, poolitics, and relationships, while still being serious when needed.

The other?The samepunk-pop group finally reverting completely to their first "serious" CD and dropping my jaw wide open. One is a CD filled with memories of my brother, and the other is a CD I myself have established connections to.

Here they are:

and

Take Off Your Pants and Jacket

1) Anthem Pt. 2 – 5/5: Probably my favorite album intro ever, the opening machine gun riff sets the tone of the song immediately. Tom then brings lyrics of anger, frustration, and a cry for needed change inAmerican culture, specifically in the older generations, especially in the lyric "if we're #$%&ed up, you're to blame." Me and my friends air drum and air strum to this song all the time. One of my favorites.

2) Online Songs – 5/5: Change Josie to a certain Ms. that I know and you have a song I could sing! Mark's opening song is great, and his singing speed and clarity are amazing. This is a great follow up to Anthem, and I remember listening to this song when I was 10 and loving it then!

3) First Date – 5/5: The 'All the Small Things' of this album, but still a great song. I thoroughly agree with every lyric Tom sings, and I absolutely adore the breakdown of this song. One of those made to be on the radio songs, but I still love it nonetheless.

4) Happy Holidays, You Bastard – 5/5: Lol. That's all I have to say about this short, albeit hilarious, song.

5) Story of a Lonely Guy – 5/5: Essentially my social life explained to a tee. Like seriously. Great chorus too, and a great tune to sing while driving around town. Love it.

6) The Rock Show – 5/5: Great catchy guitar riffs, and an awesome singing breakdown make this song in an instant cl@ssic. Mark owns this.

7) Stay Together for the Kids – Favorite song ever/5: Wow. When Mark sings in a sincere, yet somber tone,making youvery sad, perhaps even visibly upset,and thenTom's booming chorus is truly remarkable and chill-inducing. There is not enough for me to say about this for you guys to adequately understand how much I love this song. Anyone who thinks blink 182 is just a gimmicky teen band after listening to this song is REALLY stupid.

8) Roller Coaster – 5/5: Great introduction, with a great chorus. Mark owns yet another song on this album, and the lyrics are great too.

9) Reckless Abandon – 4.5/5: Least favorite song on the CD and the lyrics are not the greatest. Great catchy chorus though.

10) Every Time I Look for You – 5/5: Mark's best song, and the opening verse where Mark and Tom alternate is unbelievably brilliant. How the word "span" ends a line and begins a line is simply remarkable. And the guitar riff on the breakdown is probably one of my favorite blink riffs ever.

11) Give Me One Good Reason – 5/5: Song to my former legalistic high school, this was always delight to my ears after hearing the rants from my prinicipal about how terrible society has turned, and how my hair was "far too long". My favorite lyrics are "They hate the trends and think it's $#%& to care, it's cool when they piss people off with what they wear, oh yeah!" Love this song.

12) Shut Up – 4.5/5: Can't really relate to this song, and it's pretty foul throughout. But I can't deny that I still like it a lot. A very good chorus is what rescues this song from being my least favorite.

13) Please Take Me Home – 5/5: Greatest build-up everand the lyrics are incredible. They describe my latest fling to a tee. "I'm so jaded, calculated, wrong…" pretty much sums up how I was when I liked this girl. Great lyrics and a great build-up make this a great song.

blink 182

1) Feeling This – 5/5: I'm a virgin, and a Christian who tries hard to stay moral. But I can't lie when I say that I relate to the lines that start with "Let me go in her room…" But the song itself is excellent because Tom and Mark sing alternately the whole time in an awesome fashion, and the closing vocals of the song give me chills every time I hear them. Hell of an intro to say the least, though somewhat deceiving in terms of the lyrical approach that the CD takes…

2) Obvious – 5/5: Straight from lust to white-hot rage, this song starts off intense lyrically and never lets up. The guitar breakdown is freaking brilliant too, and Travis takes more liberty drumming in this CD and this song illustrates it well. Great, great song.

3) I Miss You – 5/5: When people tell me this is the only song they know of blink, I get a little pissed off… But, I can't deny that this is a very great song. The lyrics are what carry the song for me, and the simplicity of it is another surprising strength. I try to hate this song, but I can't. It's too good to be hated.

4) Violence – 5/5: Great experimental song, and an awesome bridge make this song great. Also, this song begins the dark tone that continues on to the next couple of songs. Brilliant.

5) Stockholm Syndrome (excluding interlude) – 5/5: The riff in the middle of this song…………

is breathtaking. Not to mention Travis is a madman throughout the 2 and a half minutes. Mark's "I'm so lost, I'm barely here, I wish I could explain myself, but words escape me. It's too late to save me…" is probably his greatest vocal moment EVER. I love this song.

6) Down – 5/5: Another great, and dark, alternative-ish song by blink. Mark's repeating of down always make me feel down, down, down, down… :P Tom's owns this song with the verses and chorus as well. A hidden gem of the CD, and a song that I think should be more popular than "I Miss You".

7) The Fallen Interlude - 5/5: Travis. Shines.

8) GO – 4.5/5: Weakest song on the album, although I really like the lyrics. Mark's repeating of "I don't wanna know" is very great however. Weak track for this song, but still a great track.

9) Asthenia – 5/5: Long intro, and great verses, with a good chorus. And great instrumentals. Not a standout, but not weak either. Which means I like it a lot. :P

10) Always – Barely behind Stay Together for the Kids/5 : Love absolutely everything about this song. But the true, hidden brilliance of this song is how the final mutterings of "Always" are by Mark, who does not sing up to that point. The bridge with only Tom's voice and Travis's drumming is the best part of the entire CD, bar none, and all the verses feel sincere and beautiful. I absolutely ADORE this song.

11) Easy Target – 5/5: #3 favorite blink song, the opening drum roll is excellent. A darkly beautiful song about a girl who knows how to manipulate men to a tee. The best lyrics are "Southern California's breeding mommy's little monster!" Haha Holly, you just got BURNED! Love this song, and the transition from this song to "All of This" is jaw-dropping.

12) All of This – 5/5: Robert Smith steps up tothe mic, alongside Tom, and makes a KILLER alternative track. Or whatever genre you would call it. Great song, if a little on the slow side.

13) Here's Your Letter – 5/5: The verse riff is excellent, and Mark shows us once again why he should have been more on this record. A great song, and one that sounds like a fresh new song every time you hear it.

14) I'm Lost Without You – 5/5: My favorite album ending song ever, this song is simplistic, sincere, and all together awesome. The piano in the middle is great, and Travis's drum solo is great. So is the abrupt ending to the song. Fan-freaking-tastic Mark, Tom, and Travis. Bravo!

Now record me a new freaking CD! :evil:

:P

Listen here.

1) The Downfall of Us All – 5/5: Hell of a good intro song to the album, basically sets the tone pop mosh tone that dominates the CD. Great song.

2) My Life for Hire – 5/5: Great introduction with beautiful singing and br00tal guitar riffs. Just a prime example of why this is the perfect "hybrid" band for my taste.

3) I'm Made of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of? – 5/5: Great chorus, and a killer breakdown. Great track. Awesome ft by TWDP frontman! 8)

4) NJ Legion Iced Tea – 5/5: Another great song with great riffs throughout. Also, my favorite breakdown on the CD. Love this song.

5) Mr. Highway's Thinking About the End – 4.5/5: Great guitar introduction, but not my favorite vocals on the CD.

6) Have Faith in Me – 5/5: I have a strong emotional connection to this song, and the opening riff is almost stolen from Tom. ;) But the riff shortly after it proves that while ADTR takes a few tricks from blink's arsenal, they still have a unique $tyle of play.

7) Welcome to the Family – 5/5: Another song with a great breakdown, and a really good chorus. Solid.

8) Homesick – 5/5: Another song that sounds a bit similar too without directing copying blink. Great chorus, and a great singing breakdown. Love this song.

9) Holdin' It Down for the Underground: - 4.5/5: Great breakdown yet again, and a pretty good chorus. Breakdown is what makes the song for me though.

10) You Already Know What You Are: - 5/5: Great short angry outburst of a song. Love it. Says a lot without actually saying that much.

11) Another Song About the Weekend: - 4.5/5: Great singing, but weak guitar. Weakest song on the CD, but I still like it a lot. Good chorus.

12) If It Means A Lot to You: - 5/5: Holy crap, I Love this song. Sierra and Jeremy are AWESOME together. Very memorable chorus, and ADTR never goes wrong when they pick up an acoustic guitar. My favorite track I think.

PS I'm completely torn on my #2 and #1, so I've decided that they are both equal to me. :)

So my next blog you shall see my 2 #1s!

haha

:D

Btw, screw the fact that you can't say cl@ss or $tyle. So dumb.

DISCLAIMER

I understand that many people hate this band on this forum (not in real life though), and I understand why. But I LOVE anything that Tom Delonge does, and I like how he forumulated his own band that does not sound like his old band. I do, however, think that his old band is WAY better, I just enjoy how the lyrics of this band are often more positive and uplifiting than blink, but I actually do like blink lyrically more too. I just love Tom's voice in pretty much any song, but I understand why users like sammyjenkis and C-Lee hate this band. Different strokes for different folks, imo. If you say something negative about this band or album, that's fine, just don't be a jerk about it, ok?

END DISCLAIMER

Listen here.

1) Valkyrie Missile – 4/5: One of the worst songs on the album and it drags too much. But I still like it because Tom is singing.

2) Distraction – 5/5: Great instrumental (long) intro with a great chorus.

3) Do It For Me Now – 5/5: I have a STRONG emotional connection to this song, and even though Tom rambles in this song I love it. One of my favorites on the CD.

4) The Adventure – 4/5: Least favorite song of the album, but still a good song. Really confused why it's their most popular song to be honest.

5) A Little's Enough – 5/5: Great lyrics, and a great chorus. Probably my favorite lyrics of any AVA song.

6) The War – 5/5: Another great song, probably the "hardest" on the album, and it is a great one.

7) The Gift – 5/5: Favorite chorus of the whole album… One of my favorite songs on the cd.

8) It Hurts – 4.5/5: Great but sad song. I identify to this song as well, and my brother showed it to me first so I automatically liked it by default.

9) Good Day – 4.5/5: Another solid chorus, with typical AVA instrumentals.

10) Start the Machine – 4.5/5: Experimental song. A weak song for the album, but still a great song.

Listen here.

1) "The Truth of a Liar" – 5/5: Excellent intro song, with an awesome opening scream. Basically is great at signifying the intensity of the CD. The breakdown at the end is my favorite part.

2) "Up Against the Ropes" – 4.5/5: Awesome drum intro. Awesome drumming at 1:40, and just intense throughout in a good way. This is metalcore at its best.

3) "Back Burner" – 5/5: Awesome machine gun riffs through the entire song. Probably the most intense song on the album.

4) "The Blinding Light" – 4.5/5: All these songs are awesome in the same way; intensity, drumming, machine gun riffs, and great screaming. Case and point with this song.

5) "Composure" – 5/5: Probably my favorite metalcore song ever made, this has some fantastic lyrics and some great riffs. The breakdown is incredible. This song singlehandedly made me into a (no-pun intended) hardcore metalcore fan.

6) "Vital Signs" – 4/5: The weakest track on the album, but I still like it a lot. Nothing really worth mentioning that what you'd see in every ABR song.

7) "The Eleventh Hour" – 5/5: Great drum intro. And excellent vocal intro as well. 34-37 is probably my favorite part of the song and it's just an example of how awesome ABR is.

8) "The Balance" – 4/5: Another weak track, but still a real good one.

9) "Black Sheep" – 5/5 : Probably my favorite intro of the album. Really good chorus as well. Great song.

10) "An American Dream" – 4.5/5: Another great standard ABR song.

11) "Redemption" - : Best lyrics of the album easily. They're on my wall in fact. Instrumentally and vocally the song is not the best of the album though.

Listen here.

To Plant a Seed

1) To Plant a Seed – 5/5: The strongest track on the record that starts out with a bang and fades into a beautiful singing outro. Essentially, this song is all about excitement, and there is not a dull moment in the song. You'll be singing the outro lines over and over once you hear them. Just a fantastic song.

2) Broken Statues – 5/5: A great follow up to "To Plant a Seed", has a good intro that leads into an incredible guitar led verse. The breakdown however, is the greatest part of this song easily. The changing from screaming to singing to screaming is almost majestic, and gives me chills every time I hear it. Multiple great elements in this song.

3) Intentions – 4.5/5: Typical metalcore intro, but all of the elements that make a great WCAR song are in here. Good song.

4) Roads That Don't End And Views That Never Cease – 5/5: Great singing carries the weight of this song throughout. Basically it's the highlight of the song, and he has a beautiful voice with or without voice correction. Great song, my favorite song of vocals on the album. Great lyrics too.

5) Dreams – 4.5/5: Unbelievably awesome intro, but the excitement dies shortly after the great intro. Still a really good song though. The lyrics of this song are on my wall.

6) We Are the Reasons – 5/5: Great intro, with an excellent harsh-guitar led verse shortly afterwards. Exciting and sweet breakdown-ish in the middle of the verse. Probably my favorite chorus of the CD as well. Everything is great on this song.

7) Beliefs – 4/5: The weakest track on the album, but I still like it a lot. Nothing really worth mentioning other than saying it's a solid metalcore song. And the really cool singing outro.

8) I Will Not Reap Destruction – 5/5: Awesome instrumental intro, with an awesome guitar led verse. The riff from 1:03-1:16 is fantastic, and the lyrics are phenomenal. Just a great song.

9) Searching, Seeking, Reaching, Always – 5/5: Favorite song lyrically. It sounds almost like a rap song's tempo in some parts, and that makes it stand out among the other songs on the album. The lyrics alone make this 5 for me.

10) An Ever-Growing Wonder – 4.5/5: Great lyrics, good instrumentals but not a standout. Nice finish of the CD.

Oh, and I had my first day of work today. It went well!My managersaid I did a good job, and he's pretty relaxed. All of the stuff is pretty basic entry-level work so I'm excited! No weekends or holidays, and the whole staff is failry nice. Have to cut my hair though...

:(

Otherwise, though, I'm really excited!

:)

Pray all goes well! (Or wish me luck! haha)

:)

About not doing #8...

The CD I was gonna review I realized that I didn't like it as much as I thought I did. So this will be a top 9 instead. :P

1) "Sassasfras" - 4.5/5: One hell of an intro to say the least. Starts with unbelievable energy, and keeps into the final note. Good riffs, and excellent singing bridge.

2) "I Hate Buffering" – 4/5: Solid TDWP song, but nothing that truly stands out. Needed more singing to make it a truly great song.

3) "Assistant to the Regional Manager" – 5/5: Arguably my favorite song on the album. Everything that makes a great TDWP song, plus their best breakdown.

4) "Dez Moines" – 4.5/5: Throwing a curve ball by starting with the singer, the angel v demon vocals are best presented in this song. Great chorus and overall a great song.

5) "Big Wiggly $tyle" – 4.5/5: Really cool intro, and awesome keys in the background. Also about a 1/3 of the way in, cool piano/ soft vocals transition. An almost experimental TDWP song. Solid.

6) "Danger: Wildman" – 5/5: Awesome intro, excellent singing, great lyrics, and a killer transition from harsh to clean to harsh vocals. Overall one of the best tracks on the album.

7) "Ben Has a Kid" – 4/5: Solid TDWP song, but nothing special. Overall, good, but not great. Sweet breakdown to finish it off.

8) "Wapakalypse" – 4.5/5: Excellent intro, and really good harsh to clean vocal transition. Really exciting song.

9) "Gimme Half" – 4/5: Solid TDWP song again, but nothing spectacular. Cool keys in the background of the whole song though. And a cool outro to finish the song.

10) "Louder than Thunder" – 5/5: Great break from the mayhem and chaos. Just a great soothing keys driven song.

11) "Lord Xenu" – 4.5/5: Great way to finish off a CD. Cool riff throughout the whole song. Good breakdown as well.

Listen here:

1) "Careful" – 4.5/5: Great drumming, good guitar works, and great vocals from Hayley. Especially on the bridge.

2) "Ignorance" – 5/5: Awesome opening hard rock riff, catchy and intense chorus, and really good lyrics. Just an awesome song in general.

3) "Playing God" – 4/5: Great build-up and verses, but the chorus kind of kills the song. But I love the build-up, so it's still a good song in my opinion.

4) "Brick by Boring Brick" – 4/5: Great drumming, good lyrics. An ok chorus, but a cool riff during the verses. Good, but not great.

5) "Turn It Off" – 4.5/5: Good lyrics, and great vocals. Good drumming and a better chorus than "Brick…" but still kind of dull. But the strength of this song is the bridge, which is what makes it great.

6) "The Only Exception"– 5/5: A great love song, that's also a bit sad. I love how she rarely goes really high even though you expect her to eventually. It's clever. Overall, one of my favorites off of the CD.

7) "Feeling Sorry" - 4.5/5: Punk-pop riffs for the win! Good lyrics, and a good chorus. Just a solid song overall. Sounds REMARKABLY similar to "Looking Up" though.

8) "Looking Up" – 4.5/5: Punk-pop riff for the win… Again. Good lyrics, especially the line "I never thought I'd see the day where you'd smile at me." It's a hard song instrumentally, but sang like a pop song, just like "Feeling Sorry". It's brilliant.

9) "Where the Lines Overlap" – 4/5: Sleeper song of the CD. Nothing bad at all, but nothing remarkable either.

10) "Misguided Ghosts" – 5/5: One of my favorite acoustic songs ever, Hayley just owns this. Sincere, powerful, simple, and sad. This song is just fantastic overall.

11) "All I Wanted" – 5/5: Hayley does it again. Right after her previous masterpiece, she strikes lightning twice. The chorus is great, and the build-up is fantastic. I can identify SO WELL. Fantastic song to finish off the album in a somber way…

Listen here:

1) "I Feel So" - 5/5: Great piano intro, with the guitar coming in shortly afterwards. Awesome and easily identifiable lyrics, and a great chorus. Essentially, Tom at his best.

2) "All Systems Go" – 4/5: Good drumming, and an interesting analysis of politics. One of the weaker choruses of the album, but still a good one. Travis is easily the focal point of this song.

3) "Watch the World" – 5/5: Great drumming, guitar work, and good lyrics. Great chorus, and it's awesome how this song has only two tempos the entire way, but it works so well. Good job Tom.

4) "Tiny Voices" – 4.5/5: A weaker guitar song, other than the bit where Tom sings "everybody will be left out". Overall, that is my favorite part of the whole album vocally. Good drumming but Travis has better songs on this album.

5) "Cat Like Thief" – 4.5/5: Tim Armstrong has a good vocal feat, and Tom sounds good alongside any other singer. Nice and simple easy-paced song. Good message too.

6) "And I" – 4/5: Good lyrics, drumming, and guitar work, but nothing stands out. Overall good, but not great.

7) "Letters to God" – 5/5: Great riff. Challenging lyrics that are some of Tom's best, and the bridge is INCREDIBLE. One of my favorites off the CD.

8) "My First Punk Song" – 3/5: Joke song, but I don't care for it. But it's not horrid.

9) "Sorrow" – 4/5: Filler song. I like it simply because Tom is singing, but it's pretty boring. One of the weakest tracks. Cool drumming breakdown though.

10) "There Is" – 5/5: Good drumming, a great riff, great lyrics, and easily one of Tom's best written choruses of all time. I love this song, and I really do think it is the best on the album. I can relate more to these lyrics than in any of Tom's other songs.

11) "The End With You" – 4/5: Sweet hard guitar riffs, and great break-up lyrics. Overall, a weaker chorus, but a good song overall.

12) "Elevator" – 5/5: One tempo the whole way. Tom and Mark back and forth. It's simply brilliant. Good lyrics too. Great song.

13) "Instrumental" – 4.5/5: cl@ssic blink, and interesting use of the chimes at the end. It's a blink song minus the vocals. Solid.

Black Holes and Revelations:

"Take a Bow"

"Knights of Cydonia"

*"Assassin"

This is what began my interest in "alternative", or whatever you might call it, though my favorite song on this album is far from alternative. Overall, exciting and interesting instrumentals make a good listen.

Cities:

"The Unwinding Cable Car"

"Fin"

"Godspeed"

Being in the Christian circle of social settings and such, there is much commotion over the band "Switchfoot". They are the defining Christianalt rock band, and to be honest I don't like them. On this CD, Anberlin, without question, is far superior in their instumentals and arrangements. Not to mention you won't find a vocalist who sounds remotely like the lead singer. Overall, this is a great CD, but the definite standout is "Godspeed". One of my favorite songs of the past weeks.

Son of the Morning:

"World Without a Sun"

"The Finisher"

*"Son of the Morning"

To be honest, the primary reason I mention this CD is the song titled from the CD, "Son of the Morning". I think it is easily one of my favorite metalcore songs of all time, and has the coolest lyrical approaches I've ever seen. For those usually opposed to metalcore, I beg you to listen to that song. Overall, the CD is full of great guitar work and drumming. Good CD, GREAT track with "Son of the Morning".

Saosin:

"Collapse"

"Voices"

"You're Not Alone"

I love Cove Reber's voice on this album. I could honestly listen to 30 tracks of his voice on this CD and I would always be content. Solid hard rock band with a great frontman with a beautiful voice. "You're Not Alone" is my 2nd favorite suicide song behind "Adam's Song", and that's saying something.

A Beautiful Lie:

"Attack"

"The Kill"

*"A Beautiful Lie"

Greatly produced, and the lead singer's voice is awesome. The CD also just a great intro, as all three of the songs I choose are at the beginning of the CD. Overal, a very emotional album, and I like "A Beautiful Lie" because it helped me get over a tough romanticsituation. Just a good rock album.

When Your Heart Stops Beating:

"When Your Heart Stops Beating"

"Make You Smile"

*"155"

Mark and Travis. 'Nuff said.

The Con:

"Nineteen"

"Like O, Like H"

*"Back In Your Head"

Sammy showed me these guys. Or girls I should say. They effectively create hooks without selling out, and for that, I give them props. Especially on "Back in Your Head". I'm obsessed with that song. Overall, good CD.

I-Empire:

"Rite of Spring"

"Call to Arms"

*"Secret Crowds"

Overall, my favorite vocalist and lyricist with interesting guitar riffs. Not as good as the other two AVA Cds, but still good. Especially "Secret Crowds"

Someday Came Suddenly:

"Catfish Soup"

"Shred, White, and Blue"

*"Hey Bro, Ashley's Here"

As much as they use auto-tune, have bogus videos (Dear God), and are just overall a bad image for the metalcore genre, I will always love this album. The lyrics they sing, whether they mean them or not, are absolutely beautiful, and Austin Carlyle is still one of my favorite frontmen. Overall, I think even the biggest Debbie Downers could find at least one thing they like about this album.

Third Eye Blind: A Collection:

"Wounded"

"Crystal Baller"

"Graduate"

I love this alternative band, and I loved all of their albums from the 90s and early 00s equally. So I just put down there "greatest hits" album. Overall, I like every song on this CD, and that's something that is really rare for me. I have an emotional connection to all of them, and I love the singer's voice. Overall, just a great rock band.

And now, the actual countdown! :P