Top Songs of 2007

*Alphabetical by Artist*


"Like It Or Leave It" - Aly & AJ
"Alone" (Feat. Travis Barker) - Avril Lavigne (My most played song, 27 plays!)
"Inconsolable" - Backstreet Boys
"Innocence" - Björk (Was my ringtone for a good chunk of the year)
"Break The Ice" - Britney Spears
"So Small" - Carrie Underwood
"When I'm Gone" - The Click Five
"Run And Tell That" - Elijah Kelly
"Wait For You" - Elliott Yamin
"I Could Get Used To This" - Everlife
"Body Language (No Rap Version" - Heidi Montag
"With Love" - Hilary Duff
"Beautiful Disaster" - Jon McLaughlin
"Angeline" - Jonathan Fagerlund
"No Air" (duet with Chris Brown) - Jordin Sparks
"Over It" - Katharine McPhee
"Up to the Mountain" (Featuring Jeff Beck) - Kelly Clarkson
"Hole"- Kelly Clarkson
"Bleeding Love" - Leona Lewis
"Can't Let Go (Radio Edit)" - Linda Kiraly
"Cara Mia" - Måns Zelmerlöw (My current ringtone)
"Makes Me Wonder" - Maroon 5
"With You, Tonight" - Matt Wertz
"The Heart Never Lies" - McFly
"Relax, Take It Easy" - Mika
"You Can't Stop The Beat" - Nikki Blonsky, Zac Efron, Amanda Bynes, Elijah Kelly,
John Travolta & Queen Latifah
"No Reins" - Rascal Flatts
"Breakin' Dishes" - Rihanna
"Silver Lining" - Rilo Kiley
"When Did Your Heart Go Missing?" - Rooney
"Puttin On the Ritz" - Rufus Wainwright
"Apologize (Feat. One Republic)" - Timbaland
"The Way I Are (Ft. Keri Hilson & DOE & Sebastian) (Extended Version)" - Timbaland
"Hook Me Up" - The Veronicas

Top 15 in '07 Part XV - My wife Brandie

Even though my Top 15 Most Entertaining of 2007 are in no particular order, I couldn't help but to save the best and my favorite for last, my wife Brandie.



We figured out the other day that we've known each other for ten years, crazy! We've known each other for so long and been through so much together and every day is still so much fun. She's been my amazing wife for almost two years now and we've had some great times as a married couple.


This past year we went to Disneyland and Christina Aguilera for our 1st Year Anniversary, celebrated July birthdays in Vegas with Sarah and Jeremiah, saw the Spice Girls with Noelle earlier in the month, and have had countless good times with family and friends.


Brandie always cracks me up and makes me laugh, whether she means to or not. I won't go into detail because most of it won't make any sense if I try to type it out, but lets just say that there are made up words, impressions, facial expressions, and much more random stuff that makes us laugh.


Bran, thank you for being my fave and for doing so much. I love you so much, can't wait see what this next year brings. Bring it!

Top 15 in '07 Part XIV - Pop Music

This was a great year for Pop Music releases in my opinion. There were albums I knew would be good, ones that surprised me and newer discoveries from around the world.


The Sure Bets




Backstreet Boys - "Unbreakable". Their lead single "Inconsolable" quickly went up my Top 25 Most Played this Summer and I knew good things were coming for their new release. The Boys brought it again, keeping with what made their last album a success, more adult-friendly but still keeping a toe in middle of the road pop. Standouts: "Everything But Mine", "Inconsolable", "Something That I Already Know", "Helpless When She Smiles".





Kelly Clarkson - "My December". Kelly herself probably wouldn't want to hear that she's on the list as one of the best Pop releases of the year but she'll just have to deal. I wouldn't go so far to say that I was disappointed with her newest, but I also am not obsessed with it. I respect what she did to get this record out there; she famously went head to head with Clive Davis to get this album out there the way she wanted it to and that's very honorable. There are some really really good songs on here that I think if radio gave them a chance she'd have another hit record on her hands, but it seems that won't be happening. Check out "Hole", "Judas", "Sober", "Haunted", "Maybe" and "How I Feel".





Timbaland - "Presents: Shock Value". Everyone knows he produces great songs, they're all over the charts, and they always lean towards urban pop, so I knew I'd like at least a few of the songs off his solo debut. I knew "Way I Are" would be huge the minute I heard it, and who can deny "Apologize" is just great?


More sure bets (some previously mentioned): Katharine McPhee, Carrie Underwood's "Carnival Ride", Rooney's "Calling the World", The Click Five "Modern Minds and Pastimes", Rascal Flatts "Still Feels Good", Leona Lewis "Spirit", Maroon 5 "It Won't Be Soon Before Long"


Surprises


I'm going to spare everyone and not post a picture with this next entry, it's hard for me to even type this, but Britney Spears' "Blackout" was a surprise pop music release for me this year. With trepidation I listened to what was sure to be a disaster, it had to be right?! But somewhere amidst all the craziness Britney managed to get into a studio and do at least one thing right in her life. Britney of course does not deserve any amount of credit for this album, it's very obvious that the production team is the true star of this release. It's the beats and production value that truly shine on "Blackout", Britney's just kind of there providing another instrument (if you can call her voice that). Key tracks "Piece of Me", "Radar", "Break The Ice", "Ooh Ooh Baby".





Jordin Sparks - I was never a Jordin fan during last season of AI, but I was curious to see what type of album she would put out and I was pleasantly surprised. Her debut is not bubble gum, but it's as close as you will probably get in the US without being part of the Disney Channel. She does a stellar duet with Chris Brown on "No Air" and her ok-on-tv-voice actually sounds good on standouts "One Step At A Time", "Freeze" and "Permanent Monday". She still has that weird vibratto but it's more controlled and isn't given the chance to really come out much. Too bad her labels not really promoting this one, it has a lot of potential.





Rihanna - "Good Girl Gone Bad". Rihanna's alway had been just ok in my opinion, "S.O.S." and "Unfaithful" were the only songs of hers that ever made me stop and listen. However she took it to a whole other level when she released this, her third album this past summer. There was the ubiquitous "Umbrella" which was a grower for me, but with songs like "Breakin' Dishes", "Don't Stop the Music", "Shut Up And Drive", "Hate That I Love You", plus the title track, this was like hit after hit! She just hit the nail on the head, it's the perfect combination of snarly hip pop for the US market, but straight up dancey pop for the Euro markets which equals perfection for me!


Surprise Honorable Mentions: Aly & AJ "Insomniatic", Hilary Duff "Dignity".


Discoveries


Mans Zelmerlow "Stand By For" - was a finalist in Sweden Idol in 2005, I'm currently listening to this album like crazy.

Jon McLaughlin "Indiana" - heard his single "Beautiful Disaster" randomly, then found the promo version of his entire cd at Rasputin for $1.99 and the rest is history.

Matt Wertz "Everything In Between" - technically released in 2006 but Brandie and I enjoyed this CD a lot this year.

Jonathan Fagerlund "Angeline"

Linda Kiraly "Can't Let Go"

The Hairspray Soundtrack - So many great songs, the writer's are brilliant.

Top 15 in '07 Part XIII - iPhone

At the very beginning of 2007 Apple unveiled their beauty of a gadget, the iPhone. I'll never forget gazing at the front page of the Fresno Bee with anticipation, waiting for the day that an iPhone would be mine.


That day came shortly after the iPhone was officially released in June, the perfect birthday gift! The iPhone is everything that I'll ever need in an electronic device: music and video playback, calendar, email, the internet (on which I constantly check my Google Reader feeds), text messaging, the iTunes music store, camera, YouTube, AND a phone! With more to come, because Apple will keep updating the firmware and releasing more capabilities for (hopefully) a long time to come.


Also, the iPhone's just a beauty in terms of design and execution. The screen is sharp and crystal clear, it's super thin, and the whole touch screen thing just makes it so cool.


I can't fail to mention that my iPhone would be nothing without my MacBook Pro which also came about in 2007. Thank you Apple for creating some awesome products that have revolutionized electronics and have made me a Mac convert.

Top 15 in '07 Part XII - Google Reader

I'd tried doing the whole Feeds/RSS thing a while back and it did nothing but confuse me so I gave up. THEN Jeremiah told me about Google Reader and how easy and awesome it is, so I gave it another go....and lo and behold, I'm HOOKED!.


If you don't really understand feeds like I used to, here's a quick breakdown. Blogs and news sites are updated all the time, so Google Reader allows you to subscribe to these blogs, or feeds, and you can view the content live, kind of like email. So say goodbye to visiting every single one of your bookmarks, because if you can subscribe to it's feed, then they're all in once place. It's freakin great, it's like getting presents all day long.


Be careful tho, because some sites update more often than others and if it's one you're not too stoked on then all those little gifts you're getting might become a little annoying. So I had to say goodbye to ew.com's news feed and engadget's too...it was a little too much.


Google Reader totally fits my needs: a one-stop that has all my favorites: music, entertainment news, friends' blogs (shoutouts to Gene, Kelly, Casey and Becky!) and I even read them on my phone (more on that later)! Thank you thank you Google Reader for making my life just that much better.

Top 15 in '07 Part XI - Blockbuster Total Access

At the beginning of the year Brandie and I decided we were going to rejoin Blockbuster's Total Access. It was such a great deal, $7.99 a month for 3 movies shipped to our place, with 3 in-store exchanges and one free movie/game rental a month! Too good to pass up. Plus our local Bbuster is within walking distance. We were stoked.


Until they raised the price to $8.99 and lowered the rentals to 2 a month with no more free movie/game a month. Ok, still a good deal, 4 movies for $9? Sweet.


Fast forward to last week. I get an email from Blockbuster saying that they're raising the price again! With this last price hike and the fact that we realized that since the summer movies just sat on the shelf resulting in us just taking them back without watching them...we had to cancel.


Not to say that Bbuster Total Access doesn't deserve a spot on the top 15. It helped us discover Ugly Betty, numerous films, and I got to try out a few different Wii games. It was fun while it lasted, it was just too good to be true.

Top 15 in '07 Part X - The Brits

These Brits are sprinkled throughout the Top 15, but here's a breakdown of the ones that impacted my year.





Lily Allen - Her album "Alright, Still" was the perfect way to start out my year with its cheeky lyrics and Mark Ronson-produced beats.





Amy Winehouse - Yes she's crazy and all but if you actually listen to her album "Back to Black" you'll discover a great talent. This album blew me away with Mark Ronson producing once again, but this time evoking '60's era girl groups and classic R&B. I know you're tired of "Rehab" so check out the title track and "Love Is A Losing Game" - crazy good.





Mika - You've probably heard his songs on commercials and on various TV shows. His album "Life In Cartoon Motion" is both insanely pop and piano-driven singer/songwriter fare. He's definitely not for everyone, but I had a good time with this album this year.





Leona Lewis - She won the X Factor last year in the UK and her debut album "Spirit" came out there in November. Keep your eyes and ears open for this girl in the coming months, she's impacting the US very soon! She recently was in New York shooting the US video for her AWESOME single "Bleeding Love" (check it out on iTunes). She's one of the most talented vocalists I've heard in a long time. YouTube her and see her insane talent in action. Key tracks: "Bleeding Love", "Homeless", "Take A Bow", "I Will Be" (an Avril B-side cover!)


Also: McFly released a Greatest Hits CD and Live DVD (still need to get...), and Keane did a cover of "Under Pressure" for a Radio1 compilation.

Top 15 in '07 Part IX - Entertainment Weekly

I've had a subscription to Entertainment Weekly since High School, and year in and year out it's consistently one of my favorite reads. I read the entire thing cover to cover every week (kinda sad....maybe?).


Plus any magazine that has a Collector's Issue consisting of four Office covers? A winner in my book. I was worried that my interest in the magazine would wane since everything pop culture is updated to the minute on the internet, but EW still brings it.


The writing is smart and funny and while I don't always agree with their reviews, I enjoy the perspectives. Their website's pretty cool too, I especially enjoy their PopWatch Blog and during American Idol season, their website is the place to go for nonstop coverage.


Thanks for being there with me through another year, EW, let's keep this thing going.

Top 15 in '07 Part VIII - Bands

My brother Sean and I were talking a while ago about how bands aren't big anymore, and while I still agree with this statement it doesn't mean that there aren't bands out there that I don't like.





The most anticipated band release of the year for me was Maroon 5's "It Won't Be Soon Before Long". I've been waiting for a long time for a new M5 record, almost long enough for me not to care anymore, but this album is a good 2nd release for the band. "Makes Me Wonder" was on repeat on my phone all summer long and "Wake Up Call" has a great sing along chorus. If I'm being honest I can't name off anymore tracks by name, BUT it's still a great summer road trip album to listen loudly to.





Another band that was WAY overdue for a follow-up was Rooney. Everyone knows them for their OC hype a few years ago, but Sean introduced me to them long before then. Their first album was Beach Boys-esque, summery, fun, pop-rock fun, their second album "Calling the World" which came out back in July is more synth-rock oriented while keeping the fun atmosphere of their debut. Listen to: "When Did Your Heart Go Missing?"




While Maroon 5 was the most anticipated release of '07, The Click Five's "Modern Minds and Pasttimes" turned out to be my favorite band album of the year.

I'd heard a while before the album came out that TC5's previous lead singer left the group, which was a MAJOR downgrade in my opinion, it was his high-pitched pop-perfect voice that drew me to them in the first place! However, I believed in them enough still to be on board with their new album. Even though the result is different than their debut, I found myself constantly listening to this album....really really loudly.


This album succeeds in a different way than their first did. "Modern Minds" is more rock oriented with a TON of 80's pop influence as opposed to straight up bubble gum rock of their first. PLUS the new lead singer's deeper voice lends itself really well to the overall feel of the album. "When I'm Gone" and "Headlight Disco" land at #'s 12 and 22 on my top 25 most played on iTunes repsectively, but lead single "Jenny" and "Addicted to Me" are also favorites.


The Others...


Jimmy Eat World's "Chase This Light" has so far failed to catch my attention...maybe '08 will bring more Jimmy love...


Same thing goes for Saves the Day's "Under the Boards", come on guys!


Rilo Kiley finally catered to my alt-pop needs with "Under the Blacklight"

Top 15 in '07 Part VII - Brooke Fraser

This year brought a great discovery in music, her name is Brooke Fraser. I've talked about our concert-going experience here previously but I can't not mention her as one of the top 15 most entertaining of the year.


Here's the story. My friend Chris who lives in L.A. told me about this producer Marshall Altman, he produced Marc Broussard's "Momentary Setback" (which I loved) among other albums for up and comers. Chris said that Marshall produced this girl Brooke Fraser and he was loving it, so he burned me a copy of her CD "Albertine". He said she's from New Zealand, she's big there, etc. I thought nothing of it until months later when I decided to take a listen and things changed forever.


I immediately thought of Brandie because I could just TELL this is the kind of music she would love. And love she did. To be completely honest, Brandie was quicker to embrace Brooke than I was; yes, I really liked her CD, but Brandie took it hostage and listened to it in her car long enough to learn all the words before I did!


Upon doing more research I found and downloaded Brooke's first CD "What To Do With Daylight", which is different, but good in and of itself. Then of course came the YouTube search which resulted in numerous videos and live performances which were of course amazing. We were in musical love.


Then (thanks to Wikipedia!) I found out that Brooke's been a part of the Hillsong group, and has written and performed songs with them. Which lead to the discovery of "Hosanna" and "Lead Me To The Cross", two AMAZINGLY beautiful worship songs that Brooke wrote which appeared on the "All Of The Above" Hillsong United album.


Chris was able to meet up with us when we saw her in L.A. and it had all come full circle. At the concert we were finally able to purchase her "Albertine" album legitimately, it wasn't out in the US anywhere ($30 online? no thanks)! It would have been awesome to meet her and have her sign our CD that night, but that wasn't to be. Brooke's music has made a serious impact on me and Brandie, I hope more people get to hear her in the future. More new music in '08 Brooke, please!

Top 15 in '07 Part VI - TV

I haven't been blogging about TV as much as I used to but it's still one of the main ways in which Brandie and I enjoy our free time.

This year......


Gilmore Girls said goodbye


Lost was pretty good, then got CRAZY GOOD the last couple episodes of the season


Grey's wasn't as good as it should've been, now, it's back


Brandie discovered how awesome Run's House is


Giada, Duff, Nigella, Ina, Guy. If you don't know who they are you're missing out...


30 Rock got the love it's deserved from the very beginning


Pam and Jim are finally together! Too bad the season-opening eps were about half an hour too long


Project Runway finally came back


We spread the Jon and Kate Plus 8 love to everyone we know


Little People Big World never ends (a good thing!)


We stopped watching The Hills


We caught up and are live and love Ugly Betty


Reaper and Private Practice joined the lineup


Heroes got boring


More? Property Ladder, Flipping Out, Top Chef, Welcome to the Parker, My Life on the D List, ANTM, Planet Earth, Blue Planet, So You Think You Can Dance

Top 15 in '07 Part V - Country Music

I can't really say Country Music as a whole, it's mainly just that Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flatts both put out albums this year. Good albums (you can see them both on the right).


Carrie's "Carnival Ride" picks up where her last album left off, but she's better prepared this time to serve up a great album. Her voice is the best it's ever sounded (in her vast, what, 2 year career?) and it really shines on tracks like "I Know You Won't" and lead single "So Small". "Last Name" is this albums "Before He Cheats" and that's fine by me. She runs the gamut from snarly-attitude-girl on "Flat on the Floor" to country crooner with pipes of gold (and stunning range/control) on "Just A Dream". Like her first album every song is sing-a-long-able, but these songs are just slighter better; you can tell she spent quality time choosing her songs and songwriters.

Rascal Flatts' "Still Feels Good" kind of took me by surprise, literally. I was looking at CD release dates and theirs popped up...I knew somehow that I'd known about it, but it just came so fast! And then I found that their first single, "Take Me There" was already released, with a video and everything! Anyhow, it made it a little more awesome being surprised cause I didn't have to wait as long for the album to come out!

"SFG" isn't the Flatts' at their ABSOLUTE best, but they're still doing what they do really well: providing very slickly produced country-pop for the masses. Standouts include the title track, "No Reins", and the Jamie Foxx duet "She Goes All The Way". On my first couple listens I thought there were too many slow/mid-tempos on here, but the more I listened, the more I grew to like almost every single song (I still listen to "Bob That Head", unlike Brandie...)

In other 2007 country-ness I discovered Alison Krauss' "Maybe", The Wrecker's released a live CD/DVD, Kelly and Reba did an ok version of "Because of You", and aside from her pretty good "Nothin' Better To Do", Leann Rhimes did a duet with Marc Broussard on her "Family" album.

Top 15 in '07 Part IV - Concerts

I didn't see as many concerts this year as I have in years past, HOWEVER, the ones I did see were quite good and fun and they all shared a central theme - the woman.

That sounded weirder than I meant it, nonetheless, it's true. Back in March for our first Wedding Anniversary Brandie and I saw Christina Aguilera at the Honda Civic Center in Anaheim. Xtina's been one of my favorite voices for a while now, and I was stoked to finally see her live. The disappointing part is that she lip synched a couple songs, probably to save her voice cause she went all out on almost every number. We had a great time, and Bran got to hear her favorite, "Fighter", as the finale.



Then in May, we saw Brooke Fraser at Hotel Cafe in LA. It was a very intimate show and so very awesome cause Brooke's from New Zealand and NEVER comes to the States except to sing with Hillsong. I posted on this trip earlier in the year so check that out (plus more on Brooke in the coming posts...)

In August I had the random opportunity to see Beyonce when she was in Fresno. I also posted on this concert experience, but I will say again, that she put on a really really good show. Vocally she was just crazy. I know a lot of people hate her, but I was impressed.

Then.....

The opportunity of a lifetime....

December 7, Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA: The Spice Girls Reunion Tour

Yes I said it and I will gladly admit that Brandie, myself and our good friend Noelle saw the Spice Girls. I was a fan when they were huge, who wasn't? But Brandie and Noelle share a special bond with the Spice Girls. They watched their awful movie countless times together in Jr. High...need I say more?

The girls actually sang live the whole time (with backing tracks of course), and each girl had their solo time (which for Victoria Beckham consisted of putting on a cape and walking down the catwalk, haha). Of course we had a blast, and it was a great way to cap off our concert year.

Miss You Love You

Two years ago today my cousin and friend Laura Pope died in a car accident. Laura was such a happy person, and I give her all the credit for my Pop Music obsession, I know I'd be doing her proud. It's still hard to conceive that she's gone, but I'll always have the memories of all the great times we shared. Love you Laura, miss you every single day.


Laura and I at Coachella 2005

A quick detour.....

The Lost Season 4 trailer!! Jan 31st can't come fast enough

Top 15 in 07 Part III - Harry Potter

This was definitely the year of Harry. The seventh and final book of the Potter saga "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" came to a dramatic, exciting and sad end. Sad if only for the fact that it's over, and that a ton of people die (oops, spoiler alert).


The UK cover is way cooler than the US one

Also "The Order of the Phoenix" movie came out this summer and it's in battle for my favorite Potter film (it's on "Azkaban!").




Brandie and I joined the Pensiero's once again and the Popes (first timers!) for the movie. "Phoenix" might have to go down in history as one of the best book-to-movie adaptations because it did a really good job of keeping the spirit of the book while being very accessible for those who hadn't read; throw in some awesome action, teen angst, and of course an emotional finale and it's the perfect Potter experience.

Top 15 in 07 Part II - Feel Good Movies

This year I decided that I don't like seeing movies in the theaters that much anymore. However, there are always those movies that come out every year that you just HAVE to go see. The ones that stood out the most to me were:


Enchanted

Hairspray

Ratatouille

The latter possibly being my favorite movie of the year.


These three films made the theater-going experience worth it, because you just felt so good when they were over...heck, I almost wanted to GO BACK to see some of them! (In fact, Sean, Allie and I did go back to see Hairspray a second time, this time with Brandie).

I used to want to see all the studio dramas and cool indies that I read about in magazines, but they're out for such limited times, especially here in Fresno, and I don't have that much time unless I want to go by myself; it's just not worth it (plus my good friend Bittorrent is just a few clicks away :))

Hairspray and Ratatouille are now out on DVD, so if you haven't seen them yet, I strongly advise that you do, and Enchanted is the winter's must-see movie. These movies remind me of what it was like seeing movies as a kid: exciting, enthralling, and just fun! (Even my DAD'S bumping the Hairspray soundtrack these days!)

15 Most Entertaining Things in 2007 Part I - The Wii

*Top 15 are in no particular order*


This year marked a momentous occasion - I purchased my first video gaming system since Super Nintendo. The Nintendo Wii!





I was originally obsessed with getting a Wii because Super Smash Bros. Brawl was supposed to come out waaay back in March (right around when I got mine). HOWEVER, this game has been postponed to February of '08, almost a whole year later! Nonetheless, the Wii has provided me many many hours of enjoyment. Whether it was tennis with Brian, countless bowling matches at get-togethers with friends, Mario Party 8 with Sarah and Jeremiah, or more recently the awesome Guitar Hero III and DDR, the Wii deservedly is one of my most entertaining.

What's so great is that the Wii is the gift that keeps on giving - Brawl WILL come out eventually, as will countless other games that I'm sure I will enjoy far into the future. Also, you can purchase classic Nintendo games straight from the console itself and revisit your childhood.

So thank you Nintendo for reintroducing me, my wife, my family and friends to gaming, and if you haven't got your hands on one of these things yet, come on over, I challenge you to a match of tennis.