Fugazzi Grand III : My Top 500 Albums of All Time, is coming ! One week from today, I will begin to unveil my top 500 albums, and will take all of 2014 to reveal this list. As an appetizer, here are my top 20 extended plays of all time ... let the discussion begin!
20. Souvenirs and Postcards by Andrew Osenga
I discovered Andrew Osenga earlier this year on NoiseTrade. He was giving this EP from 2003 away for free to help promote his current project, a 4 EP collection he's calling Heart & Soul, Flesh & Bone. Each disc will feature 6 songs and being written in a different genre of music (singer/songwriter, blues, rock and instrumental). This idea of giving older material away for free to attract new listeners definitely works, as I was unfamiliar with Osenga prior to this, and now, I'm first in line to pay for the new stuff. He has a new fan for life ...
19. Sketches by Alexa Ray Joel
Maybe you've heard of her father. He's been a favorite in my household my whole life. But Billy hasn't recorded since 1993, so when I saw this release at Atomic Records in 2006, I was curious to hear it. I really enjoyed the piano playing, and the tunes were pretty decent. Sadly, outside of a few singles here and there, this has been the only official release by Alexa, despite talk of a possible full length album. This EP includes a cover of Neil Young's "Don't Let It Bring You Down", and "The Heart of Me" was listed as #895 on Fugazzi Grand: My Top 1000 Songs in 2010.
18. Christmas in Space by Pomplamoose
It's no secret, Nataly Dawn owns my favorite voice in popular music today. But I knew very little about her, or the guy with the beard that she appeared with in those Hyundai ads during Christmas a few years back. After some research, I found out they went by the name Pomplamoose, and the songs that were featured were released as an EP shortly afterwards. Pomplamoose are preparing a full length album as we speak (actually, they are taking a break to read up on themselves on newgazzi!)
17. Champagne in Seashells by Liam Finn & Eliza Jane
Liam Finn was featured on the very first Paste Sampler I ever listened to in December of 2008. His full length album "I'll Be Lightning" is a staple in the Buchholz household, and this charming EP was a Best Buy impulse buy in the fall of 2009. "Long Way To Go" was listed as my 659th favorite song on Fugazzi Grand in 2010.
16. Home Volume IV by Bright Eyes & Britt Daniel
This came out in 2002, but I didn't hear it for the first time until a few years ago. This was originally a limited release EP that eventually received wider distribution as the popularity of Spoon and Bright Eyes increased. Good stuff!
15. Dog Van Boy by Dan Bern
My friend Howard introduced me to Dan Bern in 2004 by sharing his full length record, "Fifty Eggs" with me. It's become a favorite of mine, and many of the songs on this EP have become favorites over time as well. "Talkin' Alien Abduction Blues" was listed as my 798th favorite song on Fugazzi Grand in 2010. This is a fantastic songwriter that needs to be heard.
14. Watery, Domestic by Pavement
My buddy Todd Kemper got me into Pavement in 2003, which was four years after they last recorded anything together. If you're curious about Pavement, this might be a good place to start, as it was recorded in between their first two albums, "Slanted and Enchanted" and "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain".
13. Marriage EP by Marriage
I found this EP on NoiseTrade while I was looking for tracks for newgazzi Vol 3 back in April. I can't wait to see what these guys to next. I don't know the story behind it, but I love the album art that they used ...
12. Sunny 16 by Ben Folds
This is the 2nd of 3 in a 3-EP project that Ben Folds released in 2003-04. Every song on this recording is enjoyable, but I've always been partial to "All U Can Eat" and "songs of love".
11. Songs About Time, Chapter 3 by The Rentals
The Rentals fantastic multi-media project "Songs About Time" was a great idea, but I can't imagine too many fans of The Rentals have $300 to throw around in this economy. That being said, I have a fantastic wife who was able to get her hands on a copy of this last year, and this is the final of the 3 EP's released within the massive project. One of these days, I need to make an entire day of taking in this whole project in it's entirety.
10. Fall Be Kind by Animal Collective
Since Matthew Schewe introduced Noah Benjamin Lennox to me in 2004, I've been a fan of pretty much everything he's done. This happens to be an EP that I stumbled upon at the library when I was teaching Gracie how to read ... Probably not for everyone, but I'm a fan ...
9. End of Daze by Dum Dum Girls
A few years ago, I became familiar with Dum Dum Girls through SPIN and the Paste mPlayer. "Lord Knows" from this EP was chosen as my favorite song of 2012, and I cannot wait until their new album "Too True" drops in late January ...
8. Amanda Palmer Performs the Popular Hits of Radiohead by Amanda Palmer
Up until a year ago, I didn't know a thing about Amanda Palmer. I found this by accident, and was curious. All seven of these Radiohead songs have been re-imagined with ukulele. A fantastic recording ...
7. Silverfish Trivia by Robert Pollard
These songs were supposed to be a part of a full length record, but many of the songs were leaked to the public, and Pollard decided to release about half of it as an EP. The instrumentation on this recording is unique to most other Pollard releases. "Cats Love a Parade" is rare for a Pollard song, in that it is over 7 minutes long. Check this out ...
6. Puckett's Versus the Country Boy by Matt Sharp
After leaving Weezer and releasing a couple of albums with The Rentals in the late 90's, this was Matt Sharp's foray into a solo career. This EP would be an introduction to what his debut solo album would sound like, a more mellow vibe than what we would here from his previous two bands. "Goodbye West Coast" would later be chosen as my 751st favorite song when I published Fugazzi Grand in 2010.
5. Jar of Flies by Alice in Chains
One good thing that came out of my first marriage? Suzy and I each loved Alice in Chains. I still pull this out quite a bit ...
4. Sing Song by The Little Ones
Another solid recommendation my Matthew Schewe. I think Andy Gilson and I listened to this EP about hundred times over an 6 year span on the campus of UW Milwaukee while working at UW Credit Union. Still love it as much as now as I did then ...
3. The Sea & The Rhythm by Iron & Wine
The first few times I listened to this, I didn't get it. It took me a long time to become a fan of Sam Beam, it was hearing "Boy With a Coin" for the first time that made me want to go back and give this another shot. Now I consider it one of my favorite listens.
2. The Bens by The Bens
After Ben Folds released this 3-EP project in 2003 and 2004, he got together with two other pretty competent Bens in the music industry, Ben Kweller and Ben Lee to record this 4 song EP, aptly named "The Bens". I found this at Atomic Records, and remember listening to this in my car, pretty much exclusively, for about 2 months. It's been nearly 10 years, but I kind of hope they do something together again in the future. "Just Pretend" was featured as my 758th favorite song on Fugazzi Grand in 2010.
1. Sold Out by Squirrel Nut Zippers
In 1997, I discovered this band and their hit "Hell", and over the next 3 or 4 years, I considered these guys one of my favorite bands. But then Tom Maxwell left the band, their last full length was, as the kiddies would say, meh, and they haven't done much since then. This EP was released about a year after "Hot" came out, and nearly a year before they would release "Perennial Favorites". It features a few unreleased tunes, an early version of "Pallin With Al" and a fantastic live version of "La Grippe". I really miss this band, and this will always be a favorite of mine ...
