Favorite Albums: 104 - 103

104. Stunt by Barenaked Ladies (1998)

This is probably BNL's least funny and most musically accomplished album. They finally decided to try to be serious musicians, and the result was one of their best albums. Other than "One Week" and "Alcohol," there really aren't any smart-ass songs here, just good solid tunes. "One Week" is the opener, just a crazy speeding rap rant. "It's All Been Done" and "Light Up My Room" follow, the former being one of the best pure pop songs the band has ever done, the latter being one of the best pure ballads the band has ever done. "I'll Be That Girl" is all about being in love with someone who is so stuck on herself that the only way to get her to notice the guy is for him to become a clone of her. Pretty good stuff. "Leave" and "Alcohol" are both okay but nothing special. "Call and Answer" is one of my favorite Barenaked Ladies songs, very defensive at first then going into full on attack mode. "In the Car" is kind of just there, not a great song, but not a horrible one either. "Never Is Enough" seems to get better every time I hear it. "Who Needs Sleep" is an ode to insomnia that is just a great fun song. The final three songs, "Told You So" "Some Fantastic" and When You Dream," are decent, but again, nothing special. Basically, half the album is really good, the other half is just... there. Not great, not bad, just good. But they really grew up on this album, and it is a lot better than I'm making it sound.
5 Best Songs:
5. "It's All Been Done"
4. "Light Up My Room"
3. "One Week"
2. "Who Needs Sleep"
1. "Call and Answer"

"One Week"


"Who Needs Sleep"


"Call and Answer"



103. Only By the Night by Kings Of Leon (2008)

I had absolutely no idea this was their fourth album until a couple months ago. The previous three are pretty good to, for the record, but I don't own any of them. I love love love love love this album. I just got it at Christmas and it has already surpassed almost 800 other albums I own. This album is actually going to start a trend where I probably put videos for all 5 favorite songs from the album instead of just 3. If I can find them, of course. Fucking YouTube. Anyway. The first song, "Closer," is just bad ass. One of my favorite opening songs on any album. "Crawl" follows, and completely changes the mood from the atmospheric mellowness of "Closer" and just rocks out with its cock out. The next two songs I'm sure everyone has heard, "Sex On Fire" and "Use Somebody." Both very good, but as much as I liked them they weren't enough to make me go get the album. It was only after I heard the whole thing at a poker game that I really wanted it. (So thank your brother for this one being on the list, Leah.) I usually stay away from any songs that mention anything having to do with New York City, but "Manhattan" is just a killer song. Great groove, great song. "Revelry" slows the pace back down again, a nice mellow tune. "17" is the only song on here that I don't care for. Just kind of annoying. "Notion" is a cool song, fast drums mixed with slow guitar riffs plus probably my favorite vocals on the album. Not necessarily best lyrics, just best vocals. "I Want You" is another killer tune, kind of a slow chant more than anything, but a great song. "Be Somebody" could not possibly be more different than "Use Somebody" both in style and quality. "Be Somebody" is just a great song from start to finish, no weaknesses whatsoever. "Cold Desert" brings the album to a close on a nice mellow note, probably my second favorite vocals. Another great song. Overall, in case you can't tell, I love this album. If I'd had it longer than four months at this point it probably would have been way higher on this list, but for now this is a good spot for it. Just a bad ass album.
5 Best Songs: (Only 5? Really? Grrr.)
5. "Notion"
4. "Manhattan"
3. "Closer"
2. "Crawl"
1. "Be Somebody"

"Notion"


"Manhattan"


"Closer"


"Crawl"


"Be Somebody"