my favorite arrogants song - 'words apart'. i don't know what it is about it. it just has this... vibe. it's a sad song, but there's still some hope hidden in there. there's many overtly sad songs out there, and i've always enjoyed the "maybe it's not going to work out, but i'm going to give it a try" sentiment. a close second would be 'why t.a.n.g. is my favorite band' because that was my band, and it's always nice to get a little recognition. besides if there was ever a band that deserved the recognition, well, it wasn't t.a.n.g. but it's nice just the same.

first song that iremember loving - 'paradise city' by guns n' roses. it was just so different from the top 40 crap that i'd been listening to up to that point. the energy jumped right out of my crappy little alarm clock radio and hit me across the face.

the best gig i've ever been to - sigur rós at the john anson ford theater on 01.05.2001. i'd been a sigur rós fan for a very short time as they were just starting to develop a name in the states. i was very lucky to get tickets to this show and i remember going to ticketmaster.com and buying them the minute that they went on sale just to make sure that i would get them. even though i wasn't very familiar with their music at the time, the songs really struck a chord with me. the vibe of the whole show was amazing. read the above link to get the whole picture.

my all-time favorite bands (in no particular order) - pedro the lion, low, red house painters, andrew w.k., jeff buckley, embrace, bright eyes, the muffs, elliott smith, fountains of wayne, bedhead.

my musical guilty pleasures -
andrew w.k. - though i don't feel guilty about it at all.
there was a time when britney spears did something for me, but no longer.
the darkness - big hooks. that's all i've got to say.
anything with bagpipes. they make me cry.

five albums that everyone should have in their collection -
1. pedro the lion - 'it's hard to find a friend'.
2. bedhead - 'beheaded'. you've never know minimalism like this. and you thought low had the market cornered. well, you were wrong. bedhead put out several album, all of them, good, but 'beheaded' really does it. if you don't own this album, you really need to get on the ball and make it happen.
3. jeff buckley - 'grace'. a landmark album with a tragic story. one of the most amazing musicians of all time whose life was cut short in his prime.
4. radiohead - 'ok computer'. i've had this argument with many, but i still believe that this is radiohead's best album. it's a close call between 'ok computer' and 'the bends', but 'ok computer' takes the cake in my opinion. it's thematically perfect.
5. the smashing pumpkins - 'siamese dream'. i know it's a little old, but this album is still great, start to finish. it's one of the few album that's perfect start to finish. i couldn't even imagine a different song order. and the production on these recordings is amazing.

my favorite kraftwerk song - anything from 'radio-activity'. if pressed, i guess i would have to say 'ohm sweet ohm'.

the first band that i ever saw live - nirvana in the spokane, washington coliseum in january of 1994 (i was a late bloomer, and spokane, washington didn't provide me with many opportunities). the butthole surfers opened. they were beyond horrible. this show was just a few months before kurt killed himself. being a big nirvana fan, i was really glad to be able to have the opportunity to have seen them.