Countdown Mania

I'm back, and hopefully better than ever. Been a busy last few weeks for the Cahill clan, with lots of fun activities that Rebecca has dutfully logged over at Cahill Craziness. But I have an early New Year's Resolution to be better about blogging.

Showing absolutely no shame in piggy backing on others, I decided to kick start the blog again with the first of a few 2009 "Best Ofs". Leading off, my Top 10 songs of the year. I even checked iTunes and verified that each song was released in 2009, thereby disqualifying at least one song I wanted to include (Life in Technicolor II by Coldplay). Here goes, with the song, artist, alubm, and applicable commentary.

10. “The New Divide”
Linkin Park / Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Soundtrack
- Interesting to see Linkin Park morph from their rap/heavy metal roots into a more polished straight ahead rock group that can create a nice signature piece for the year's biggest movie.

9. “Nutrocker”
Trans Siberian Orchestra / Night Castle
- TSO once again gives us all a nice change Christmas music change-of-pace with this hard rocking take on Tchaikovsky.

8. “Why I Am”
Dave Matthews Band / Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King
- Wonderful showcase for the entire band, upbeat, and at the same time reflective of their departed band mate LeRoi Moore.

7. “Alone”
Glee Cast / Glee Vol. 1
- Yeah, yeah, I can hear it now. But take one listen to that little firecracker from Pushing Daisies belt this one out and you'll be impressed.

6. “Breathe”
U2 / No Line on The Horizon
- Perfect choice for U2's opening anthem during the 360 Degree concert. Bono jumps back and forth between his early preaching singing and more refined soul all throughout this song.

5. “I Gotta Feeling”
Black Eyed Peas / The E.N.D.
- Tonight is gonna be a good, good night. Woo hoooooooo!

4. “Fireflies”
Owl City / Ocean Eyes
- I credit Rebecca for alerting me to this song. Starts out sounding a bit closed in but smartly builds to a sweeping refrain that you can't help not smiling when you hear it.

3. “Panic Switch”
Silversun Pickups / Swoon
- Kudos to Mark Beekman for giving me the heads up on these guys. Now if he would only get on Facebook or Twitter so I can give him a proper social media shout out! Love how the beat and the sound keeps coming at you all the way through their songs. Almost like a more laid back/Alternative Metallica.

2. “Uprising”
Muse / The Resistance
- Combines many of the elements that make me like a song: A driving beat, the desire to "turn it to 11" on the volume setting in your car or earphones, a chorus that you could see yourself shouting in the right place/context, and relateablity in the world around us (whether you agree or not). Well done Muse.

1. “Magnificent”
U2 / No Line on The Horizon
- A song that was born to be played in front of a stadium full of people. Also meets my list of desired characteristics (see #2). Gets the #1 nod ever so slightly this year because of the way U2 made it sound new, yet familiar simultaneously.