Top Ten: Recordings/Albums I Want To See

Been a while since I’ve posted one of these!

Here’s my list of the top ten records or albums I’d love to see released:

10. I’d love to see a Christmas album from Kelly Clarkson. She’s got a great voice that would lend itself to a great Christmas record.

9. I’d love to see Eddie Vedder re-record some of the old Bad Radio tunes. There were some pretty good tunes from that bad.. especially Believe You Me and What.

8. I’d love to see Chris Daughtry’s studio recordings of his songs from American Idol be released.. if they even exist. I’ve heard rumors that they do, but I’ve not seen confirmation anywhere.

7. I’m a big fan of acoustic versions of songs. In that vein, I think it’d be fun to see Pearl Jam re-record all of their studio albums acoustically.

6. With Carl and Dennis dead, and the ongoing legal issues between Brian, Mike, and Al, this will never materialize..  but I’d love to see a Beach Boys album of hits recorded using modern technology. It would surely be better than the crap that is Summer In Paradise.

5. A Christmas record by Carrie Underwood. She’s got such a great voice and a full length album would be great.

4. I’d LOVE to see a Temple of the Dog reunion. They’re the greatest 90s supergroup. 2011 will mark the 20th anniversary of the original album.. would be great time for a reunion record!

3. Zac Maloy’s next album. Cmon Zac — put out some new music! Maybe even re-record Secret..

2. The long-rumored Garth Brooks / Trisha Yearwood duet album. This has long been rumored to be in the works. When they got married, many speculated that the album would finally see the light of day. But so far, it’s not materialized. If this album does get released, I hope it includes a studio version of “Wild As The Wind” from Garth’s Double Live set.

1. A Pearl Jam covers album. Pearl Jam’s notorious for playing covers at their live shows, so I’d love to hear their favorite covers done in studio. Tracks would need to include: Rockin’ in the Free World (Neil Young), Baba O’Riley (The Who), The Kids Are Alright (The Who), I Won’t Back Down (Tom Petty), Break on Through (The Doors).

Heh, seems Pearl Jam made a big appearance in this list!

Top Ten: Zac Maloy Songs

Zac Maloy was the singer for the 90s band The Nixons and is now a solo artist, writer, and producer. Here’s a listing of my favorite ten songs Zac’s been involved in.

10. Get It On from Zac’s Saturday is Gone CD.

9. Starkiss from Zac’s Yellow EP.

8. Passion from The Nixons’ Halo and Foma CDs.

7. Used To from Zac’s Saturday is Gone CD and Daughtry’s self-titled CD. Both versions are great. Daughtry’s rendition adds a new bridge that he wrote, so they’re different.. but the same.

6. Come Back To You from David Cook’s self-titled CD. An absolutely amazing song!

5. 3 Days from Zac’s Saturday is Gone CD.

4. Early Morning Phone Call from Zac’s Life CD. Zac’s first solo hit.. great tune.

3. Perfect Day from Zac’s Life CD.

2. Sister from The Nixons’ Halo and Foma CDs. When thinking about this list, I initially had this song first.

1. Secret from The Nixons’ Six EP. Not as well-known as Sister, Secret is an amazing ballad. I would love Zac to re-record this for a solo album or EP. Zac, if you’re reading — re-record Secret!

Top Ten: Friends Episodes

Who doesn’t like Friends?! It’s probably my second favorite television show behind I Love Lucy. So without further adieu.. my top ten Friends episodes.

10. The One With The Rumor. Great episode guest starring Brad Pitt.

9. The One Where Eddie Won’t Go. Adam Goldberg’s last episode. The way Chandler gets rid of Eddie is great.

8. The One Where Ross Got High. The dialog aimed at Jack & Judy Geller towards the end is hilarious.

7. The One With The Flashback. Great episode even though it’s not consistent with other facts as we now know them.

6. The One That Could Have Been. Great ‘what if’ episode!

5. The One In Barbados. Aiesha Tyler brought a new dimension to the show, and this is my favorite episode during her guest starring role. The ping pong scenes are hilarious.

4. The One In Vegas. Love this episode! The images of Ross and Rachel getting married and Chandler and Monica almost getting married are classic.

3. The Last One. Great series finale. It left the viewers with a sense of closure with the six main characters all left in a good place. At the same time, I feel the finale also left room for a reunion.. movie anyone?

2. The One With The Embryos. This is the one where Chandler/Joey and Monica/Rachel bet their apartments and switch. So many classic quotes from this episode.

1. The One Where No One’s Ready. Friends at its best. The entire episode takes place in Monica & Rachel’s apartment.

Top Ten: Pearl Jam Songs

This is a VERY difficult list to create since every Pearl Jam song is amazing in its own right.. but I’ll give it a go!

10. Brother from Ten (Redux)

9. Satan’s Ben from Vitaliogy.

8. Animal from Vs.

7. Come Back from Pearl Jam.

6. Off He Goes from No Code.

5. Yellow Ledbetter from Lost Dogs.

4. Alive from Ten.

3. Better Man from Vitalogy.

2. Daughter from Vs.

1. Even Flow from Ten.

Interestingly enough, not all albums are represented in the above list. This was very difficult to compile.. there were a lot more songs I wanted to add!

Top Ten: American Idol Contestants

For quite a while now, I’ve been trying to figure out what I wanted to blog about on here since I post the family-types of things over at tomandmonica.com. So I came up with an idea to post ‘top ten’ lists.. about anything. Fun, right? Well, hey.. I think so.

For my inaugural list, I’ve decided to start out with my top ten American Idol contestants.

(10) Brooke White. Best when at the piano. I love the Carly Simon vibe.

(9) George Huff. Good ol George. His happy, genuine performances were enjoyable. I’d love to see him release a cover album of Motown standards.

(8) Jason Castro. Unique style. His recordings of Jeff Buckley’s ‘Hallelujah’ and Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s ‘Over the Rainbow’ are awesome.

(7) Allison Iraheta. Such a great voice at such a young age. I’m anxious to hear what her album sounds like.

(6) Kris Allen. The newest idol. What I liked about him was that he never swayed from his style. He never overdid his performances.

(5) Blake Lewis. Idol’s original risk taker. His rendition of Bon Jovi’s ‘Living on a Prayer’ was amazing.

(4) David Cook. He has that ‘it’ factor. Great voice, great presence. Very likable and humble.

(3) Carrie Underwood. Outstanding country singer with a somewhat cross-over feel to her. I have a feeling she’s going to be in the business for quite a while.

(2) Kelly Clarkson. The original. No list of this nature would be complete without her. It was really a toss-up between Kelly & Carrie, but Kelly won out since she was the first.

(1) Chris Daughtry. Best rocker to appear on the show. Monica and I saw him in Lubbock.. puts on a great show. His debut CD is one of the few CDs I can actually listen through in its entirety without skipping a track.